2017-05-14 18:37:48.472647 UTC Time
"People make their own choices about health. Smoking restrictions will be phased in, with a ban on smoking in NHS and government buildings by 2006, in enclosed public places by 2007, and with the restrictions on smoking in licensed premises introduced by the end of 2008. This White Paper is a missed opportunity." The White Paper outlines plans to cut junk food ads Cutting obesity is a top priority, with measures including restrictions on junk food advertising to children and a coding system to identify healthy food. Mr Reid said: "It is clear we need to do more as a society to improve people's health. It also covers alcohol misuse and sexual and mental health. If the industry has not brought in satisfactory measures by 2007, the government has pledged to introduce measures - and potentially legislation - to force it to conform. The proposals for a smoking ban go further than had been expected. They mean that up to 90% of bars could be smoke-free within a few years. But people do not have the right to damage the health of others, or to impose an intolerable degree of inconvenience or nuisance to others. WHITE PAPER DETAILS White Paper executive summary (1.24MB) Most computers will open PDF documents automatically, but you may need to download Adobe Acrobat Reader. In the foreword, the government says it wants to create an environment in which people are encouraged to adopt healthy lifestyles. However, Mr Reid stressed that even in pubs where smoking will be allowed, nobody will be able to light up in the bar area. PUBLIC HEALTH TARGETS Focus on government's key target areas At-a-glance "This is a sensible solution which balances the protection of the majority with the personal freedom of the minority in England."
From smoking bans to personal trainers, government unveils how it wants people to help themselves to live longer John Reid, the health secretary, yesterday championed personal choice over state dictation as he launched the government's wide-ranging blueprint for disease prevention ranging from smoking bans to personal health trainers, curbs on advertising junk food to children, and speedier access to sexual health clinics. The white paper on public health in England, Choosing Health, went further than some expected in restricting tobacco in public places - smoking at the bar will be illegal even in pubs where cigarettes are not banned - but the emphasis was on allowing individuals to make their own health choices, with NHS support where wanted. Food and advertising industries were also given the chance to respond to concerns about their part in tackling the obesity epidemic, while an industry-funded lobby group was left in control of health messages related to sensible drinking. The medical profession was disappointed but Mr Reid said: "In a free society, men and women ultimately have the right within the law to choose their own lifestyle, even when it may damage their own health. We therefore intend to shift the balance significantly in favour of smoke-free environments." Justifying his decision not to implement a total smoking ban in public places, he said: "I am not a medical officer. I'm a politician charged with maintaining a free democratic society ... A lot of effort is about making sure that people who cannot afford personal trainers and lifestyle gurus - all those whose needs have been ignored for 60 years - are going to get their needs met." He said about £1bn would be devoted to putting proposals into action and that could save £30bn in preventable ill health over the next few years. The mantra behind the white paper shifts public health approaches from "advice from on high to support from next door", and central to this is the appointment of NHS-accredited "health trainers" to whom people can turn for advice. These trainers are likely to be a mix of health professionals, volunteers and community workers, and they will first be properly trained. These "health stock-takers" will draw up guides against which people can then measure their own progress. The government also plans a new NHS service, Health Direct, available via telephone, internet and digital television, to offer information on health choices. There is also a bigger onus on employers to help reduce sickness absence that costs at least £11bn a year. We are disappointed at this missed opportunity to strike the right balance between sensible regulation and voluntary measures that accommodate non-smokers and smokers alike." Anti-smoking campaigners Action on Smoking and Health (Ash) said Dr Reid had made a "ridiculous bodge" in his smoke-free proposals. "There is no excuse at all for the government to accept that secondhand smoke is a serious health and safety issue, and then to try to exempt some of the employees most at risk," Ash director Deborah Arnott said. "It seems bizarre that the government has accepted the wisdom of a ban but is then happy to deny the benefits of it to people who work in private clubs and pubs where food is not served," he said. A smoking ban was put forward by the Scottish Executive last week The White Paper on Public Health plans to make most enclosed public areas, including offices and factories, smoke-free. Only private clubs, where members voted to allow smoking, and pubs which do not serve prepared food would be exempt. But some opponents of smoking are disappointed that they stop short of an outright ban, while pro-smokers have attacked "an attempt to demonise smokers". EXPECTED HEALTH REFORMS Smoking to be banned in restaurants and offices, but only restricted in pubs Restrictions on junk food advertising Traffic light coding for supermarket food Improved access to sexual health clinics Clearer labelling on alcohol Access to 'personal lifestyle gurus' on the NHS White Paper measures Have Your Say: Smoking ban Proposals at-a-glance The Scottish Executive put forward a blanket ban on smoking in enclosed public places last week, but Health Secretary John Reid did not go that far in the proposals for England. Speaking in the Commons, Mr Reid pledged to cut the number of people smoking by 2 million over the next five years. PUBLIC HEALTH TARGETS Focus on government's key target areas At-a-glance "This is a sensible solution which balances the protection of the majority with the personal freedom of the minority in England." Other measures In the foreword to the White Paper, the government says it wants to create an environment in which people are encouraged to adopt healthy lifestyles - but does not believe it is its role to force people to become healthy. Among other plans are restrictions on junk food advertising and a "traffic light" system showing shoppers how healthy the food they are buying is. Liberal Democrat health spokesman Paul Burstow said: "If the Health Secretary admits that passive smoking kills and that there is no safe level of smoke, then there can not be any exceptions for a ban on smoking in enclosed public places.
The presidents of Brazil, Venezuela, Peru, Colombia, Bolivia, Chile, Surinam and Guyana attended the summit. Members of the new community will start by phasing out tariffs. Leaders also hope it will increase South America's clout in international trade talks. THE NEW BLOC Territory: 17,658,000 sq km Population: 361 million GDP: $973bn Exports: $181bn Unemployment: 12% (Can); 12.9% (Mercosur); 8.5% (Chile) Source: Can (2003) Mr Toledo said the new community would also help member nations "confront the challenges of globalisation so that it is fairer". This is why Argentine former president Eduardo Duhalde said leaders of the region chose - contrary to the EU - first to set up political union and then to advance on tariffs and economic policies. Some analysts note that in many cases the South American countries export the same products. Some note that inside the group they even cannot agree on an external common tariff. This could be seen as an admission of how difficult it will be to achieve the integration dreams of Bolivar and San Martin. He is one of the optimists. But much work remains to be done if the dream of a better future is to become reality. The other side shows a region with a huge incidence of poverty. Stumbling blocs But the BBC's Hannah Hennessy in Cuzco says details and disputes must be resolved if the bloc is to live up to expectations. Recent World News Russian police search office of Kremlin critic's foundation MOSCOW Russian police on Thursday searched the Moscow offices of a pro-democracy movement founded by Kremlin critic Mikhail Khodorkovsky which is calling for big anti-government protests on Saturday, activists said.
Recent World News Russian police search office of Kremlin critic's foundation MOSCOW Russian police on Thursday searched the Moscow offices of a pro-democracy movement founded by Kremlin critic Mikhail Khodorkovsky which is calling for big anti-government protests on Saturday, activists said. Russia 'End injustice' pleads Venezuelan official's son over unrest CARACAS The son of Venezuela's pro-government human rights ombudsman has surprised the country amid major protests against the leftist administration by publicly urging his father to "end the injustice." Turkish referendum on Erdogan powers passed by 51.4 percent: final figures ANKARA Final results from Turkey's referendum on expanding President Tayyip Erdogan's powers showed 51.4 percent support for the "Yes" vote to approve the sweeping constitutional changes, the High Electoral Board said on Thursday. Turkey Venezuelans entering Colombia must get migrant card BOGOTA Venezuelans who regularly cross into Colombia to work, study or shop must apply for a special migratory card to ease their passage, the Colombian government said on Thursday. South American countries are creating the third bloc in the world The new South American Community of Nations was launched at a summit in the Peruvian city of Cuzco. Peruvian president Alejandro Toledo, said a new country was being born, which would one day have a common currency, parliament and passport. Members of the new community will start by phasing out tariffs. Leaders also hope it will increase South America's clout in international trade talks. THE NEW BLOC Territory: 17,658,000 sq km Population: 361 million GDP: $973bn Exports: $181bn Unemployment: 12% (Can); 12.9% (Mercosur); 8.5% (Chile) Source: Can (2003) Mr Toledo said the new community would also help member nations "confront the challenges of globalisation so that it is fairer". The move will create a market of 361 million people with a GDP of $973bn, exporting $181bn of goods and services. Stumbling blocs But the BBC's Hannah Hennessy in Cuzco says details and disputes must be resolved if the bloc is to live up to expectations. It is born from the convergence of the two main trade groups of the region - the Andean Community (Can) and Mercosur - as well as Chile, Surinam and Guyana. The Can was created 35 years ago, but it still has not decided on common tariffs for its members. Poverty is one of the greatest challenges for the new bloc There have also been criticisms that countries are putting their own interests first. The region's two biggest powers, Brazil and Argentina, are currently locked in trade disputes, while Bolivia and Chile have no diplomatic relations at all. However former Argentine president Eduardo Duhalde brushed aside the sceptics, saying the new group would not only responded to a very old integration dream but also to modern requirements. To emphasise this move towards greater integration, Peru and Brazil signed a $700m agreement to create a road linking the two countries to be finished by the end of his term in 2006. By Alberto Souviron BBC News business reporter The Community's leaders have high hopes The new South American Community - which Peruvian president Alejandro Toledo described as a country - has been born in Cuzco, Peru, with the purpose of achieving economic, political, commercial and energy integration. Its leaders have said they want to emulate the European Union and give peace, development and prosperity to the 361 million inhabitants of this new entity. Challenges The Community's leaders put their hopes on the huge potential of the region, with a GDP of $973bn and exports of $181bn. The new community also represents - in geographical terms - 45% of the Americas, has about 25% of global water reserves, about eight million square kilometres of forests and huge reserves of oil and gas. MEMBERS OF THE SOUTH AMERICAN COMMUNITY Argentina Bolivia Brazil Chile Colombia Ecuador Guyana Paraguay Peru Surinam Uruguay Venezuela The group has also been born with an external debt of more than $300bn and many of its members are still trying to emerge from financial crisis. In fact they have identified - through the Initiative for the Integration of Regional Infrastructure of South America (IIRSA) - 31 infrastructure projects to be executed between 2005 and 2010, with a cost of $4,316bn. This is why Argentine former president Eduardo Duhalde said leaders of the region chose - contrary to the EU - first to set up political union and then to advance on tariffs and economic policies.
The producer of the piece, Mary Mapes, was terminated. In a memo to CBS News staff sent Monday afternoon, Heywood said it was a "difficult and important" day for CBS News. Advertisement Continue reading the main story The panel was somewhat tempered in its criticism of Mr. Rather. CBS' 60 Minutes II questioned Bush's Vietnam War-era commitment to service in the Texas Air National Guard. Questions about the authenticity of the documents arose immediately. While it acknowledged that he was stretched to the limit while reporting aspects of the Guard segment - he had left the scene of Hurricane Frances in Florida to do an interview - it described him as a distracted participant who did not even watch the completed segment before it was broadcast. Ms. West said that she would have no comment on her status. Resignations were demanded from three others, including Betsy West, a senior vice president. We deeply regret the disservice this flawed '60 Minutes' Wednesday report did to the American public, which has a right to count on CBS News for fairness and accuracy in all it does." The timing of the story prompted charges of political bias against CBS News.While the panel found that some actions taken by CBS News encouraged such suspicions, "the Panel cannot conclude that a political agenda atdrove either the timing of the airing of the segment or its content. An independent panel, led by former attorney general Richard Thornburgh and retired Associated Press chief Lou Boccardi, concluded that producers failed to follow basic journalistic principles in the preparation and reporting of the Sept. 8 piece. CBS News anchor Dan Rather announced in November that he is stepping down as anchor of The CBS Evening News in March, on the 24th anniversary of his first broadcast as anchor.
Personnel should feel comfortable going to this person confidentially and without fear of reprisal, with questions or concerns about particular reports. Foster an atmosphere in which competitive pressure is not allowed to prompt airing of reports before all investigation and vetting is done. Appoint a separate team, led by someone not involved in the original reporting, to look into any news report that is challenged. In a memo to CBS News staff sent Monday afternoon, Heywood said it was a "difficult and important" day for CBS News. "It is an important day because it represents a unique opportunity for all of us at CBS News to learn from the mistakes surrounding the flawed 60 Minutes Wednesday segment and reaffirm our commitment to the American public to practice journalism of the highest standard,'' Heywood said. CBS News anchor Dan Rather announced in November that he is stepping down as anchor of The CBS Evening News in March, on the 24th anniversary of his first broadcast as anchor. Fouremployees, including three executives, have been ousted for their role in preparing and reporting a disputed story about President Bush's National Guard service.The action was prompted by the report of an independent panel that concluded that CBS News failed to follow basic journalistic principles in the preparation and reporting of the piece. The panel also said CBS News had compounded that failure with a "rigid and blind" defense of thereport.Asked to resign were Senior Vice President Betsy West, who supervised CBS News primetime programs;Executive Producer Josh Howard; and Howard's deputy, Senior Broadcast Producer Mary Murphy. "We deeply regret the disservice this flawedreport did to the American public, which has a right to count on CBS News for fairness and accuracy," said CBS President Leslie Moonves.The panel said a "myopic zeal" to be the first news organization to broadcast a groundbreaking story about Mr. Bush's National Guard service was a key factor in explaining why CBS News had produced a story that was neither fair nor accurate and did not meet the organization's internal standards.The report said at least four factors that some observers described as a journalistic "Perfect Storm" had contributed to the decision to broadcast a piece that was seriously flawed. "The combination of a newmanagement team, great deference given to a highly respected producer and the network's news anchor, competitive pressures, and a zealous belief in the truth of the segment seem to have led many to disregard some fundamental journalistic principles," the report said.The piece was aired during a tight and hotly contested presidential race between Mr. Bush and Democratic challenger Sen. John Kerry. The timing of the story prompted charges of political bias against CBS News.While the panel found that some actions taken by CBS News encouraged such suspicions, "the Panel cannot conclude that a political agenda atdrove either the timing of the airing of the segment or its content. "The story, which aired last Sept. 8, relied on four documents allegedly written by one of Mr. Bush's Texas Air National Guard commanders in the early 1970s, Lt. Col. Jerry Killian, who is now dead. Other critics questioned whether Killian would have - or could have - written them.The documents suggested that Mr. Bush disobeyed an order to appear for a physical exam, and that friends of the Bush family tried to "sugar coat" his Guard service.After a stubborn 12-day defense of the story, CBS News conceded that it could not confirm the authenticity of the documents and asked former Attorney General Dick Thornburgh and former Associated Press President Louis Boccardi to conduct an independent investigation into the matter.Their findings were contained in a 224-page report made public on Monday. While the panel said it was not prepared to brand the Killian documents as an outright forgery, it raised serious questions about their authenticity and the way CBS News handled them.The panel identified 10 serious defects in the preparation and reporting of the story that included failure to obtain clear authentication of the documents or to investigate the controversial background of the source of the purported documents, retired Texas National Guard Lt. Col. Bill Burkett.The producer of the piece, Mary Mapes, was also faulted for calling Joe Lockhart, a senior official in the John Kerry campaign, prior to the airing of the piece, and offering to put Burkett in touch with him. The panel called Mapes' action a "clear conflict of interest that created the appearance of political bias. "The panel noted that the Guard segment was rushed on the air only three days afterhad obtained some of the documents from Burkett and that preparation of the piece was supervised by a new management team of executive producer Josh Howard and senior broadcast producer Mary Murphy.A key factor in the decision to broadcast the piece was a telephone conversation between Mapes and Maj. Gen. Bobby Hodges, Killian's commanding officer during the period in question. Mapes told the panel Hodges confirmed the content of the four documents after she read them to him over the phone.Hodges, however, denied doing so. He also told the panel he had given Mapes information that should have raised warning flags about the documents, including his belief that Killian had never ordered anyone, including Mr. Bush, to take a physical.Hodges said that when he finally saw the documents after the Sept. 8 broadcast, he concluded they were bogus and told Rather and Mapes of his opinion on Sept. "This alleged confirmation by Major General Hodges started to marchinto dangerous and ultimately unsustainable territory: the notion that since the content of the documents was felt to be true, demonstrating the authenticity of the documents became less important. "Mapes' telephone conversation with Hodges was part of a vetting process that the panel concluded was wholly inadequate, largely because it had to be done so quickly. The key executives vetting the piece were West, Howard, and Murphy.After rushing the piece to air, the panel said, CBS News compounded the error by blindly defending the story. "The panel finds that once serious questions were raised, the defense of the segment became more rigid and emphatic, and that virtually no attempt was made to determine whether the questions raised had merit," the report concluded.The panel believes a turning point came on Sept. 10, when CBS News Presidentordered West to review the opinions of document examiners who had seen the disputed documents and the confidential sources supporting the story.But no such investigation was undertaken at that time. "Had this directive been followed promptly, the panel does not believe thatwould have publicly defended the segment for another 10 days," the report said.The panel made a number of recommendations for changes, including: Today's Top News Stories • Report: In U.S., record numbers are plunged into poverty - • VP's plane has minor electrical problem - • Israeli troops raid West Bank city - • Severe storms injure 27 in Arkansas - • Va. lawmakers pass slavery apology - • Add USATODAY.com RSS feeds CBS fires 4 over Bush Guard story By Peter Johnson, USA TODAY CBS News let four staffers go Monday for their role in last fall's disputed story about President Bush's National Guard service. An independent panel, led by former attorney general Richard Thornburgh and retired Associated Press chief Lou Boccardi, concluded that producers failed to follow basic journalistic principles in the preparation and reporting of the Sept. 8 piece. Republican National Committee Chairman Ed Gillespie praised CBS for issuing the report but said, "We should remember that today's report would not have come about without a vigilant public." Said White House spokesman Scott McClellan: "We appreciate the steps CBS has taken to hold people accountable, and we hope it will take further steps to prevent something like this from happening again." The panel, without naming names or handing out sanctions, also said CBS News compounded that failure with a "rigid and blind" defense of the 60 Minutes Wednesday report. "We deeply regret the disservice this flawed 60 Minutes Wednesday report did to the American public, which has a right to count on CBS News for fairness and accuracy," CBS President Leslie Moonves said. At the root of the reporting fiasco, the panel said, was a "myopic zeal" to be the first news organization to break new ground about Bush's Guard service. The report said at least four factors that some observers described as a journalistic "perfect storm" had contributed to the decision to broadcast a piece that was seriously flawed. "The combination of a new60 Minutes Wednesday management team, great deference given to a highly respected producer and the network's news anchor, competitive pressures and a zealous belief in the truth of the segment seem to have led many to disregard some fundamental journalistic principles." But while the panel found that some actions taken by CBS News encouraged such suspicions, it "cannot conclude that a political agenda at 60 MinutesWednesday drove either the timing of the airing of the segment or its content." Leslie Moonves, the chairman of CBS, said that Mr. Heyward had "issued direct instructions to investigate the sourcing of the story" but that his instructions had not been "implemented in a prompt or systematic way." Mr. Rather, who narrated the news report but played only a limited role in assembling it, will remain a CBS correspondent for the Wednesday edition of "60 Minutes" - the program that broadcast the troubled news report - as well as the fabled Sunday edition of "60 Minutes."
"There is no doubt, the Colombian police are lying. Mr Chavez said he was investigating reports that members of Venezuela's own security forces may have colluded in the alleged kidnapping. Declaration of Independence get to southern England? The Farc, or Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, is the main leftist rebel group in Colombia. Another call was recorded some hours later from the Venezuelan side of the frontier. Turkish referendum on Erdogan powers passed by 51.4 percent: final figures ANKARA Final results from Turkey's referendum on expanding President Tayyip Erdogan's powers showed 51.4 percent support for the "Yes" vote to approve the sweeping constitutional changes, the High Electoral Board said on Thursday. | U.S., Aerospace & Defense How did a copy of U.S. Mr Chavez said on Sunday he had proof that the Colombians were lying and that Rodrigo Granda was captured in Caracas. Recent World News Russian police search office of Kremlin critic's foundation MOSCOW Russian police on Thursday searched the Moscow offices of a pro-democracy movement founded by Kremlin critic Mikhail Khodorkovsky which is calling for big anti-government protests on Saturday, activists said. | Politics, Election 2016, Health United Airlines reaches settlement with passenger dragged from plane CHICAGO United Airlines and the passenger who was dragged from a Chicago flight earlier this month have reached a settlement for an undisclosed sum, they said on Thursday, in the carrier's latest step to contain damage from an incident which has sparked international outrage. Arkansas plans to end its series of April executions by putting to death on Thursday an inmate convicted of murdering a cheerleader and who escaped from prison and killed two other people before being captured again.
Recent Top News U.S. Republican leaders seek votes for healthcare bill WASHINGTON Prospects for U.S. House passage of a healthcare system overhaul before President Donald Trump's 100th day in office dimmed on Thursday as Republicans struggled to find the needed votes, lawmakers and aides said. | Politics, Election 2016, Health United Airlines reaches settlement with passenger dragged from plane CHICAGO United Airlines and the passenger who was dragged from a Chicago flight earlier this month have reached a settlement for an undisclosed sum, they said on Thursday, in the carrier's latest step to contain damage from an incident which has sparked international outrage. CHICHESTER, England British experts will carry out tests to try to determine how a rare copy of the U.S. Declaration of Independence found its way to an archive in southern England. Arkansas plans to end its series of April executions by putting to death on Thursday an inmate convicted of murdering a cheerleader and who escaped from prison and killed two other people before being captured again. Recent World News Russian police search office of Kremlin critic's foundation MOSCOW Russian police on Thursday searched the Moscow offices of a pro-democracy movement founded by Kremlin critic Mikhail Khodorkovsky which is calling for big anti-government protests on Saturday, activists said. Russia 'End injustice' pleads Venezuelan official's son over unrest CARACAS The son of Venezuela's pro-government human rights ombudsman has surprised the country amid major protests against the leftist administration by publicly urging his father to "end the injustice." Turkish referendum on Erdogan powers passed by 51.4 percent: final figures ANKARA Final results from Turkey's referendum on expanding President Tayyip Erdogan's powers showed 51.4 percent support for the "Yes" vote to approve the sweeping constitutional changes, the High Electoral Board said on Thursday. Turkey Venezuelans entering Colombia must get migrant card BOGOTA Venezuelans who regularly cross into Colombia to work, study or shop must apply for a special migratory card to ease their passage, the Colombian government said on Thursday. "Neither the Colombian army nor the police violated Venezuelan territory or the territory of neighbouring countries," Mr Uribe said, quoted by the Associated Press news agency.
More than 11,000 people, half of them civilians, have been killed. "This will restore peace and effective democracy in this country within the next three years." King Gyanendra of Nepal gives an oath to Nepalese Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba in Kathmandu February 1. The Maoist insurgents said they would disrupt polling. · Nepal is one of the world's poorest countries and its economy depends on aid and tourism. A coalition government fell apart last month over plans to call elections in April. He also declared a state of emergency. Gyanendra ascended the throne in June 2001 after his brother King Birendra and 10 members of the royal family were gunned down in a palace massacre committed by Birendra's son. Supporters of the palace say he has become frustrated by politicians' ceaseless infighting. Armored military vehicles with mounted machine guns were patrolling the streets of Katmandu, the capital, and phone lines in the city had been cut. The King announced through the state-run television that he will form a new government under his own chairmanship, taking control of the Himalayan kingdom for the second time in three years. Recent World News Russian police search office of Kremlin critic's foundation MOSCOW Russian police on Thursday searched the Moscow offices of a pro-democracy movement founded by Kremlin critic Mikhail Khodorkovsky which is calling for big anti-government protests on Saturday, activists said. Turkish referendum on Erdogan powers passed by 51.4 percent: final figures ANKARA Final results from Turkey's referendum on expanding President Tayyip Erdogan's powers showed 51.4 percent support for the "Yes" vote to approve the sweeping constitutional changes, the High Electoral Board said on Thursday.
The King of Nepal seized power yesterday when he sacked the government, put senior politicians under house arrest, declared a state of emergency and put the army on the streets. King Gyanendra promised to restore democracy and order after nearly 10 years of civil war between Maoist rebels and government forces. Speaking before phone lines were cut, diplomats in Kathmandu said armoured vehicles were patrolling the streets. Last night the capital's airport and Nepalese websites were shut down. It is the second time in two years that King Gyanendra has dismissed the prime minister, Sher Bahadur Deuba, and the fourth time he has sacked a prime minister in less than three years. The monarch's statement promised to "restore democracy and law and order in the country in the next three years". He defended the suspension of democracy and citizens' rights in the "larger interest of the Nepalese general public", adding that he would chair the new administration. Political analysts said the king seemed to be trying to return to the days when his family ran the country as feudal autocrats and living Hindu gods, before democracy arrived in 1990. In taking power he has shelved several provisions of the constitution, including the freedoms of press, speech and expression, the freedom to assemble peacefully, the right to privacy, and the right not to be held in preventive detention. Amnesty International said it was alarmed that the emergency could be used to justify the disappearance and summary execution of human rights activists, a trend that had become an ugly feature of the fighting in recent months. Mr Deuba told the Associated Press that politicians would "oppose this step", which "directly violates the constitution and is against democracy". India, Nepal's main trading partner and supplier of military aid, described the royal coup as a matter of "grave concern" which would strengthen the Maoists and undermine democracy. The Foreign Office called in the Nepalese ambassador and made it clear that security and development aid, worth £41m a year, had been put at risk. Britain, the US and India have provided arms and training to the Nepalese army, which has tripled in size in less than 10 years. More than 11,000 people have been killed and hundreds have "disappeared" since 1996. The Maoists oppose the monarchy and want it replaced by a "people's assembly". The king, who is also the supreme commander of the 78,000-member Royal Nepalese Army, said "I have exercised the rights given to the crown under the present constitution and dissolved the government in the larger interests of the people." "For the larger interest of the Nepalese general public, the nation and democracy and people's fundamentals rights, we have decided to form a new government under my own chairmanship." Recent World News Russian police search office of Kremlin critic's foundation MOSCOW Russian police on Thursday searched the Moscow offices of a pro-democracy movement founded by Kremlin critic Mikhail Khodorkovsky which is calling for big anti-government protests on Saturday, activists said. Russia 'End injustice' pleads Venezuelan official's son over unrest CARACAS The son of Venezuela's pro-government human rights ombudsman has surprised the country amid major protests against the leftist administration by publicly urging his father to "end the injustice." Turkish referendum on Erdogan powers passed by 51.4 percent: final figures ANKARA Final results from Turkey's referendum on expanding President Tayyip Erdogan's powers showed 51.4 percent support for the "Yes" vote to approve the sweeping constitutional changes, the High Electoral Board said on Thursday.
In letters to the police and media, the killer called himself BTK, for "bind, torture and kill," a pattern he has followed with most of his victims. The suspect's DNA has been linked to at least one murder, officials said. Dennis Rader is listed as a municipal worker in Park City Dennis Rader was arrested without incident in Park City on Friday and is now suspected of committing 10 murders, police in nearby Wichita said. The pending first-degree murder charges are related to these killings: January 1974: Julie and Joseph Otero are strangled in their home, along with two of their children, Joseph Jr. and Josephine. Families of BTK victims and Kansas government officials also attended Saturday's news conference where the arrest was announced. Additional victims Chief Williams said that work on the case had brought the victim toll to 10. Declaration of Independence get to southern England? CNN could not immediately confirm the sources' information. Davis told KAKE, "Probably the lingering emotion is revulsion." Several Wichita and Kansas authorities also spoke, congratulating each other for their work in the investigation, which was re-ignited last year after the killer re-emerged with a letter on March 17 -- the anniversary of Vian's death -- to taunt investigators again. | U.S., Aerospace & Defense How did a copy of U.S. (BTK-related killings) None of the charges have yet been filed with Sedgwick County District Attorney Nola Foulston. Arkansas plans to end its series of April executions by putting to death on Thursday an inmate convicted of murdering a cheerleader and who escaped from prison and killed two other people before being captured again.
Dennis Rader is listed as a municipal worker in Park City Dennis Rader was arrested without incident in Park City on Friday and is now suspected of committing 10 murders, police in nearby Wichita said. Charges are yet to be brought in the case, which had been thought to consist of eight murders from 1974 to 1986. "The bottom line: BTK is arrested," Police Chief Norman Williams told a news conference where he was applauded. The suspect's DNA has been linked to at least one murder, officials said. Tips from public BTK resurfaced last year when a claim was made for an eighth victim. SUSPECTED BTK VICTIMS Marine Hedge, 53 Delores "Dee" Davis, 62 Joseph Otero, 38, his wife, Julie, 34, and their two children Kathryn Bright, 21 Shirley Vian, 24 Nancy Fox, 25 Vicki Wegerle, 28 (pictured) Killer's reign of terror The Wichita Eagle newspaper received a letter in March enclosing photos and a copy of a driver's licence of Vicki Wegerle, whose 1986 murder was never solved. Other letters to media and police followed, some including jewellery that police believed may have been taken from BTK victims. Tips from the public began to pour in and Kansas police took hundreds of DNA samples. The two additional victims were named as Marine Hedge, 53, and Delores "Dee" Davis, 62. Mayor Carlos Mayans said police had phoned him late on Friday evening to say the DNA of the suspect matched evidence gathered from the scene of at least one BTK murder. It had, he said, been a "long journey" and he put the arrest down to "diligence, tenacity, determination and just plain good police work". Most of the victims were women killed in their homes but the first murder attributed to the BTK killer was that of an entire family in January 1974: Joseph Otero, 38, his wife, Julie, 34, and their two children. Mr Rader is listed by Park City's website as a compliance supervisor, dealing with such things as animal control and broken-down cars. Recent Top News U.S. Republican leaders seek votes for healthcare bill WASHINGTON Prospects for U.S. House passage of a healthcare system overhaul before President Donald Trump's 100th day in office dimmed on Thursday as Republicans struggled to find the needed votes, lawmakers and aides said. | Politics, Election 2016, Health United Airlines reaches settlement with passenger dragged from plane CHICAGO United Airlines and the passenger who was dragged from a Chicago flight earlier this month have reached a settlement for an undisclosed sum, they said on Thursday, in the carrier's latest step to contain damage from an incident which has sparked international outrage. Arkansas plans to end its series of April executions by putting to death on Thursday an inmate convicted of murdering a cheerleader and who escaped from prison and killed two other people before being captured again. Report: Daughter of BTK suspect alerted police 59-year-old Kansan accused of killing 10 WICHITA, Kansas (CNN) -- The daughter of the man whom Wichita authorities arrested in the notorious BTK serial killings approached police with her suspicions and voluntarily gave them a blood sample, Wichita television station KAKE-TV reported Saturday night. KAKE quoted sources as saying the blood of 26-year-old Kerri Rader, whose father, Dennis, was arrested Friday, came back as a 90-percent DNA match to the BTK killer, though the sources did not elaborate. The sources told KAKE that police began surveillance on Dennis Rader after the results were determined. Rader, 59, was arrested without incident shortly after noon Friday during a traffic stop in Park City, just north of Wichita, police said. According to the Wichita Eagle newspaper, Rader had worked as a compliance supervisor for Park City in charge of animal control, nuisances, inoperable vehicles and general code compliance since about 1990. Police plan to file 10 counts against Rader in connection with the killings between 1974 and 1991 -- eight counts of first-degree murder and two other homicide charges -- Lt. Ken Landwehr, commander of the task force investigating the case, and Sedgwick County Sheriff Gary Steed said Saturday. Initially only eight killings were linked to BTK, but Steed said police will file homicide charges for the previously unsolved killings of two Park City women: Marine Hedge in April 1985 and Delores Davis in January 1991. In letters to the police and media, the killer called himself BTK, for "bind, torture and kill," a pattern he has followed with most of his victims. The pending first-degree murder charges are related to these killings: January 1974: Julie and Joseph Otero are strangled in their home, along with two of their children, Joseph Jr. and Josephine. Foulston said the death penalty will not apply in the BTK case because it was reinstated in 1994, three years after the last known killing attributed to BTK. "The bottom line: BTK is arrested," police Chief Norman Williams said to loud applause. Several Wichita and Kansas authorities also spoke, congratulating each other for their work in the investigation, which was re-ignited last year after the killer re-emerged with a letter on March 17 -- the anniversary of Vian's death -- to taunt investigators again. KAKE, which received notes and packages from the BTK killer over the years, said Rader's arrest came after police obtained a DNA match. Wichita Mayor Carlos Mayans thanked police, who "have dedicated thousands and thousands of hours investigating these senseless and horrendous series of crimes that have plagued our city." "Due to the dedication of a community, and the commitment to duty of literally hundreds of law enforcement officers across this nation, victims whose voices were brutally silenced by the evil of one man will now have their voices heard again," he said. Communicating with police The BTK killer sent many notes to Wichita police and local media in the past 31 years -- and even reported Fox's killing to police dispatchers.
"And although not perfect, we believe it remains the fairest way to fund the BBC," she said. BBC Trust to replace governors The composition of the proposed trust will be similar to that of the existing board of governors and it will have ultimate responsibility for the licence fee. The proposals were announced by Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell with the publication of a Green Paper into the corporation's future. In it, the government admits that "governance is the central issue for this charter review" and lays out in detail how the new system will operate and the remits of both the trust and the new executive board. It would also examine whether public money, including licence fee funds, should be given to other broadcasters for public service activities. 10-year charter Ms Jowell says she believes a 10-year charter - from January 1 2007 until December 31 2016 - will give the BBC and viewers "stability" during the switchover to digital. Declaration of Independence get to southern England? Tessa Jowell today unveiled plans for a radical change in the governance of the BBC as she laid out her vision of how the corporation will be run and funded over the next 10 years. "It is regrettable that our own reforms have not had time to prove themselves. | U.S., Aerospace & Defense How did a copy of U.S. But the powers of the director general could be impinged upon by the new regime. Arkansas plans to end its series of April executions by putting to death on Thursday an inmate convicted of murdering a cheerleader and who escaped from prison and killed two other people before being captured again.
The licence fee was "the fairest way to fund the BBC", Ms Jowell said The governors, whose dual role as regulator and cheerleader of the BBC has been criticised, would be replaced by a BBC Trust and an executive board. The proposals were announced by Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell with the publication of a Green Paper into the corporation's future. The licence fee would be kept for at least another 10 years, she said. The main plans in the Green Paper are: BBC governors to be abolished and a new trust established to "speak up" for the licence fee payer Licence fee to remain - but a review will examine other funding methods BBC told not to "play copycat" or "chase ratings for ratings sake" More programmes to be made by independent companies The governors' current role was "unsustainable" and lacked "clarity and accountability", Ms Jowell told the House of Commons. Instead, the BBC Trust would be the voice of the licence fee payer, make sure the corporation fulfilled its obligations and have powers to approve or veto budgets and strategies. Download the reader here Explaining why she favoured keeping the licence fee, Ms Jowell said it retained "a high degree of public support". But rapid changes to technology and viewing habits meant the government would review the system of funding during the next decade. It would also examine whether public money, including licence fee funds, should be given to other broadcasters for public service activities. HOW LICENCE FEE IS SPENT Viewers pay £10 per month, which is spent in the following way: £5 - terrestrial TV £1 - digital £1.20 - radio £1.50 - local TV and radio £0.30 - Online £1 - transmission and collection of licence fee Staff campaign against cuts The public will be consulted on the Green Paper, with firmer recommendations set out in a White Paper due to be published in late 2005. The resulting changes will be brought in with the BBC's next royal charter, setting out the corporation's role, functions and structure, at the start of 2007. BBC chairman Michael Grade, who will chair the new trust, welcomed the proposals but said it was "regrettable" the BBC's own reforms of the governors had "not had time to prove themselves". 'Cosmetic changes' "For the first time in the BBC's history, there is now a clear distinction and appropriate separation between governance and management," he said. I think the TV licence is a thing of the past Andreas Gschwari, Edinburgh Have Your Say Shadow culture secretary John Whittingdale told the House of Commons the Green Paper's plans did "not go far enough". He said they were "largely cosmetic changes to the structure and oversight of the BBC". A White Paper on the BBC's future will be published later this year. The BBC's first royal charter came into force in 1927 and is renewed every 10 years. Recent Top News U.S. Republican leaders seek votes for healthcare bill WASHINGTON Prospects for U.S. House passage of a healthcare system overhaul before President Donald Trump's 100th day in office dimmed on Thursday as Republicans struggled to find the needed votes, lawmakers and aides said. | Politics, Election 2016, Health United Airlines reaches settlement with passenger dragged from plane CHICAGO United Airlines and the passenger who was dragged from a Chicago flight earlier this month have reached a settlement for an undisclosed sum, they said on Thursday, in the carrier's latest step to contain damage from an incident which has sparked international outrage. CHICHESTER, England British experts will carry out tests to try to determine how a rare copy of the U.S. Arkansas plans to end its series of April executions by putting to death on Thursday an inmate convicted of murdering a cheerleader and who escaped from prison and killed two other people before being captured again. Tessa Jowell today unveiled plans for a radical change in the governance of the BBC as she laid out her vision of how the corporation will be run and funded over the next 10 years. Announcing the continuation of the licence fee and the replacement of the BBC governors with a new "BBC Trust", the culture secretary said the corporation was "as much a part of British life as the NHS" and should be kept independent of government. Although her green paper recommends that the licence fee should remain and the royal charter be renewed for another 10 years, Ms Jowell said there had to be changes to how the BBC was run and recommended that its funding should be reviewed within the next charter period. The green paper, entitled "A strong BBC, independent of government", signals Ms Jowell's determination to find a compromise between the proposals of the governors and the more radical recommendations of Lord Burns. In it, the government admits that "governance is the central issue for this charter review" and lays out in detail how the new system will operate and the remits of both the trust and the new executive board. It rejects the idea of an "Ofbeeb", a separate public service broadcasting commission and bringing the corporation under greater regulatory control by Ofcom. But it says chairman Michael Grade's efforts to pre-empt the green paper by separating the governors from BBC management have "not gone far enough". Instead, Ms Jowell proposes a new BBC Trust, which will have responsibility for the licence fee and ensure the corporation fulfils its public service obligations. BBC Trust to replace governors The composition of the proposed trust will be similar to that of the existing board of governors and it will have ultimate responsibility for the licence fee. Trustees will set performance targets for BBC executives, and reflect the views of licence fee payers and safeguard the corporation's independence. As with the governors now, the new executive board will be "formally constituted" and be "responsible for the delivery of all of the BBC's activities and accountable to the Trust for its performance". Although the exact number of people on the executive board has not yet been defined, it will be made up of a "significant minority of non-executives". 10-year charter Ms Jowell says she believes a 10-year charter - from January 1 2007 until December 31 2016 - will give the BBC and viewers "stability" during the switchover to digital. In another bid to make the BBC more accountable, Ms Jowell suggests making the new trust's meetings public and electing members of the public to the corporation's national broadcasting councils. But it is important that the issue has now been settled ahead of the new charter, providing the BBC with the necessary certainty and stability," he said, adding that the new model "heralds the biggest change in the governance of the BBC in 77 years".
It is just important to be there. State television broadcast the funeral live in Nigeria, Ivory Coast, Senegal, the Seychelles, Cameroon, South Africa, Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Madagascar. But he said John Paul was not in a coma and opened his eyes when spoken to, Navarro-Valls said. The pope visited Cuba in 1998. • CASTRO'S COMMENTS | 3:52 a.m. ET U.S. senators, in Rome for the pope’s funeral, are expected to pay their respects in St. Peter’s Basilica this morning. The man is shameless,” said the archbishop. By Friday, the Vatican said his heart and kidneys were failing. Many thousands of people gathered in Rome's St Peter's Square to pay tribute to the pontiff, while church bells throughout the city began tolling. US President George W Bush said the world had lost a champion of freedom. Long applause The Italian government has declared three days of mourning. “The clinical conditions of the Holy Father remain very serious. But I think it is also an indication to the Catholic world.” • BIGGEST SECURITY OPERATION? ... ET A crowd of 1 million worshippers held a candlelight Mass in Krakow in honor of Pope John Paul II, gathering in the same vast meadows that drew crowds during his return visits to Poland. Breathing trouble The Pope's condition deteriorated suddenly on Thursday night with a high fever caused by an infection of the urinary tract. Minutes after his death, the Vatican issued a brief statement to confirm the news, adding that procedures to be carried out in the event of the death of the Pope had been set in motion.
Many thousands of people gathered in Rome's St Peter's Square to pay tribute to the pontiff, while church bells throughout the city began tolling. The Pope had suffered worsening health problems including a heart condition. Our Holy Father John Paul has returned to the house of the Father Archbishop Leonardo Sandri Senior Vatican official Watch the statement The Pope then received the Viaticum, a Catholic rite for the sick and dying. Long applause The Italian government has declared three days of mourning. News of the Pope's death was received with intense emotion The funeral date has not been set but it is not expected before Wednesday. Pope John Paul II died after suffering from heart and kidney problems and unstable blood pressure. THE POPE'S LIFE 1920 - Born near Krakow, Poland 1964 - Archbishop of Krakow 1978 - Elected first non-Italian Pope for 450 years 1981 - Assassination attempt 2002 - Final visit to homeland Obituary: John Paul II The news was met with long applause, an Italian sign of respect, followed by several minutes of silence as the crowd took in the news. "Our Holy Father John Paul has returned to the house of the Father," senior Vatican official Archbishop Leonardo Sandri said. The BBC's Peter Gould, at the Vatican, says people in the square stood in groups, comforting one other. In the Pope's native Poland, people fell to their knees and wept as the news reached them. YOUR TRIBUTES A wonderful beacon of truth and justice for the world John O'Byrne, Dublin, Ireland Send your tributes The Cardinal Chamberlain of the Roman Catholic Church, Eduardo Martinez Somalo, is now in charge. He has to seal the papal apartments and summon the cardinals from around the world to elect the Pope's successor. The cardinals, many of whom are already on their way to Rome, must meet no more than 20 days after the Pope's death to choose a successor. A preliminary meeting has been arranged for Monday morning. Breathing trouble The Pope's condition deteriorated suddenly on Thursday night with a high fever caused by an infection of the urinary tract. He had been suffering from breathing troubles, exacerbated by the progress of Parkinson's Disease, an incurable condition from which he had been suffering for nearly a decade. He appeared briefly at the window of his Vatican apartment on Easter Sunday to bless the faithful, but was unable to speak. Polish-born Karol Wojtyla became Pope in 1978, taking a conservative stand on issues like abortion and contraception. He was the most widely travelled pontiff and visited more than 120 countries during his 26-year papacy. Toaff, who welcomed the pope on his ground-breaking visit to the city’s synagogue in 1986, said in interviews with Italian newspapers published on Friday that he was surprised to be named along with two Roman Catholic prelates. Pope John Paul’s decision to mention a Jew in his will was a sign to his successor to continue and improve his record of opening to Judaism, Rome’s former Chief Rabbi Elio Toaff has said. In Congo’s capital Brazzaville, a giant television screen was set up for those without one at home. This man was great.” “This was a pope and a half, there has never been another like him,” Wanyiri Gitonga told Reuters in Seychelles, as he watched the funeral on television. Normally teeming streets in Africa emptied on Friday as Roman Catholics gathered around televisions to watch the burial in Rome of Pope John Paul, a man many on the struggling continent considered a friend. “The late pope gained more respect as he condemned the war in Iraq and the crimes of Americans in Iraqi prisons.” Former president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, who has hinted at a comeback bid in June’s presidential election, praised the pontiff, who was buried in the Vatican on Friday, for his swift condemnation of U.S. military actions in Iraq. A Polish woman who made the trip from Rome says John Paul was “the most important” person in the world, and that he made it possible for Poland to be free. Instead, they flew from Illinois to Rome to celebrate the man she calls “the greatest father figure in my life.” A French priest who traveled 24 hours to Vatican City says Pope John Paul is the most loved person “in the history of mankind.” The source, speaking to Reuters on condition of anonymity, said the decision was taken at the request of Italian authorities. The Vatican said the crypt where popes are buried below St. Peter's Basilica would remain shut at least until Monday. Italian authorities have asked the Vatican to keep Pope John Paul's burial site closed to visitors for a few days, fearing that crowds which have paralyzed Rome will not leave, a Vatican source said on Friday. At a service in the pope’s hometown of Wadowice, Poland, where some 15,000 flooded the square in front of St. Mary’s Basilica where John Paul was baptized, an orchestra of firefighters played his favorite song, “The Barge.” John Paul, the first pope to set foot in a synagogue, is seen as the pontiff who most helped heal Jewish rifts with the Christian world after the Holocaust. The city’s police chief says some eight-thousand security agents are on hand, including two-thousand uniformed guards in the square mixing with 15-hundred plainclothes officers.
Instead, it appears to have energised his opponents. The vote came after a day of talks between Mr Mesa and Bolivia's main political parties. The people are with you!" The president called for ordinary Bolivians to take to the streets to show their opposition to roadblocks and protests. "We have been given a new opportunity. Traffic blocks The protestors are demanding that the government raise the taxes levied on foreign energy firms from 15% to 50% of their sales. Among 26 foreign oil companies with contracts to exploit Bolivia's large natural gas and oil resources are Total (France), Petrobras (Brazil), British Gas, Exxon Mobil (US), Repsol (Spain) and PlusPetrol (Argentina). By Elliott Gotkine BBC News South America correspondent Mr Mesa's rejected resignation has not quelled opposition towards him In a show of unity with indigenous groups, their supporters have stepped up road blocks across the country. In a nationally broadcast address on Sunday, he said his period in office had been blighted by no fewer than 820 protests. Counter-demonstrations are planned for Thursday. Turkish referendum on Erdogan powers passed by 51.4 percent: final figures ANKARA Final results from Turkey's referendum on expanding President Tayyip Erdogan's powers showed 51.4 percent support for the "Yes" vote to approve the sweeping constitutional changes, the High Electoral Board said on Thursday. President Mesa says that this would not be accepted by the international community. Recent World News Russian police search office of Kremlin critic's foundation MOSCOW Russian police on Thursday searched the Moscow offices of a pro-democracy movement founded by Kremlin critic Mikhail Khodorkovsky which is calling for big anti-government protests on Saturday, activists said.
Carlos Mesa has approval ratings of above 50% He offered to stand down on Monday, amid nationwide protests that he said had left Bolivia "ungovernable". Bolivia's indigenous majority had staged a series of roadblocks and protests against his economic policies. The vote came after a day of talks between Mr Mesa and Bolivia's main political parties. Two of the three main blocs agreed to support him, but the BBC's Elliot Gotkine says the refusal of the main opposition party, MAS, to sign up to the agreement could yet complicate matters. "I am willing to keep working with Congress," Mr Mesa told legislators after the vote, in a speech outlining a national "social pact". Today we have managed to bring the country closer together President Carlos Mesa Bolivan press relieved In pictures: Protest history A referendum on regional autonomy and a constituent assembly to define a new constitution would also be established, he said. Tax issue Bolivia's 157 congressmen unanimously rejected Mr Mesa's resignation less than five minutes after gathering to vote. As the news emerged, the centre of Bolivia's capital, La Paz, saw thousands of Mr Mesa's supporters fill the streets as negotiations on the "social pact" continued late into the evening. They chanted: "Mesa - our friend! Mr Mesa, a political independent, came to power in October 2003 when his predecessor, Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada, fled the country over nationwide protests in 2003 that left at least 60 people dead. Despite the protests, Mr Mesa still retain indigenous support "I cannot continue governing while being besieged by a national blockade that strangles the country, " he said in his letter of resignation on Monday. Among 26 foreign oil companies with contracts to exploit Bolivia's large natural gas and oil resources are Total (France), Petrobras (Brazil), British Gas, Exxon Mobil (US), Repsol (Spain) and PlusPetrol (Argentina). Mr Mesa had come under pressure from the main leftist opposition to increase taxes on foreign gas and oil firms from 18% to 50%. By Elliott Gotkine BBC News South America correspondent Mr Mesa's rejected resignation has not quelled opposition towards him In a show of unity with indigenous groups, their supporters have stepped up road blocks across the country. Traffic blocks The protestors are demanding that the government raise the taxes levied on foreign energy firms from 15% to 50% of their sales. Recent World News Russian police search office of Kremlin critic's foundation MOSCOW Russian police on Thursday searched the Moscow offices of a pro-democracy movement founded by Kremlin critic Mikhail Khodorkovsky which is calling for big anti-government protests on Saturday, activists said. Russia 'End injustice' pleads Venezuelan official's son over unrest CARACAS The son of Venezuela's pro-government human rights ombudsman has surprised the country amid major protests against the leftist administration by publicly urging his father to "end the injustice." Turkish referendum on Erdogan powers passed by 51.4 percent: final figures ANKARA Final results from Turkey's referendum on expanding President Tayyip Erdogan's powers showed 51.4 percent support for the "Yes" vote to approve the sweeping constitutional changes, the High Electoral Board said on Thursday. Turkey Venezuelans entering Colombia must get migrant card BOGOTA Venezuelans who regularly cross into Colombia to work, study or shop must apply for a special migratory card to ease their passage, the Colombian government said on Thursday.
John Shovelan, Washington. Historic law enacted with popular support China enacted on Monday a law aimed at preventing Taiwan's secession from the country. "The zero-opposition result was just what I had expected," claimed Yeh. NPC deputies applaud when the National People's Congress adopted the Anti-Secession Law 2,896 to nil in Beijing Monday. US officials are quoted saying that the Chinese were clearly told that they had to do more and they replied that US rhetoric had been unhelpful and the administration needed to tone it down. It is hailed unanimously as a "powerful legal guarantee for peaceful national reunification" by lawmakers, government leaders and the general public. REPORTER: It's been some eight months since the last six party talks. The NPC deputies, many beaming with smiles, applauded for nearly one minute upon the announcement of the vote outcome, broadcast live nationwide through state television, radio and major news websites. But the President's spokesman, Scott McClellan said the new Chinese law endangered regional peace. The talks have collapsed and the North Koreans have demanded an apology after Dr Rice referred to the DPRK as an outpost of tyranny. Full coverage We'll be talking to China about those issues when we go out there. SCOTT MCLELLAN: I think China has continued its effort, you see the visible evidence of that, to try to get North Korea to come back to the table. The White House says China's adoption of the "Anti-Secession" law to stop any move toward independence by Taiwan threatens regional peace. US officials believe the issue will inevitably finish in the UN Security Council where China has veto power over any resolution.
Historic law enacted with popular support China enacted on Monday a law aimed at preventing Taiwan's secession from the country. It is hailed unanimously as a "powerful legal guarantee for peaceful national reunification" by lawmakers, government leaders and the general public. The NPC deputies, many beaming with smiles, applauded for nearly one minute upon the announcement of the vote outcome, broadcast live nationwide through state television, radio and major news websites. AM - Tuesday, 15 March , 2005 08:20:00 Reporter: John Shovelan TONY EASTLEY: China is becoming a growing diplomatic concern for the Bush administration. The White House says China's adoption of the "Anti-Secession" law to stop any move toward independence by Taiwan threatens regional peace. From Washington, John Shovelan reports the issue is one of several which will dominate the US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's trip to China and the region this week. JOHN SHOVELAN: The passage of China's anti secession law, giving its military the legal basis to attack Taiwan if it moved toward independence occurred just a few days before the US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice arrives in China on her first sweep though Asia. There's been little public focus on the US-Sino relationship post 9/11, but China's hardline stance on Taiwan has added aggravation to a growing list of issues between the US and the emerging Superpower. At the State Department, Spokesman Richard Boucher said the Chinese anti-secession law reversed progress that had been made between the Chinese mainland and the renegade island province. RICHARD BOUCHER: It runs counter to the relatively positive, the recent warming trends that we've seen in cross-strait relations. JOHN SHOVELAN: The White House today assured China that it intended to maintain its support for one China and wouldn't support any move toward independence by Taiwan. But the President's spokesman, Scott McClellan said the new Chinese law endangered regional peace. JOHN SHOVELAN: Dr Rice goes to Asia knowing that the United States needs China's help in negotiations with North Korea. The talks have collapsed and the North Koreans have demanded an apology after Dr Rice referred to the DPRK as an outpost of tyranny. REPORTER: It's been some eight months since the last six party talks. Are you satisfied that China is doing everything it can to urge Pyongyang back to the negotiating table, and do you reject the analysis of some China hands who now believe that Beijing is playing, in effect, a North Korea card in using this for its own leverage? SCOTT MCLELLAN: I think China has continued its effort, you see the visible evidence of that, to try to get North Korea to come back to the table. JOHN SHOVELAN: Another issue not in the foreground of Dr Rice's current visit, but one for most likely later this year is Iran's nuclear program. While the US is allowing the European diplomatic effort to run its course, the administration is pessimistic that it will achieve the desired outcome of the abandonment of any nuclear weapons program. US officials believe the issue will inevitably finish in the UN Security Council where China has veto power over any resolution. To fuel its growing economy the Chinese are increasingly turning to Iran with it supplying 13 per cent of China's oil, and there are grave doubts the Chinese will support any US effort that could affect its supply lines. NPC deputies applaud when the National People's Congress adopted the Anti-Secession Law 2,896 to nil in Beijing Monday. It is hailed unanimously as a "powerful legal guarantee for peaceful national reunification" by lawmakers, government leaders and the general public. The National People's Congress (NPC), China's legislature, ratified the 10-article Anti-Secession Law by 2,896 pros, no con and 2 abstentions Monday morning as it ended a 9.5-day annual fullsession in the Great Hall of the People in downtown Beijing. The NPC deputies, many beaming with smiles, applauded for nearly one minute upon the announcement of the vote outcome, broadcast live nationwide through state television, radio and major news websites. Top legislator Wu Bangguo hailed the high support rate of the deputies for the law as epitomizing the "common will and strong resolve" of the entire Chinese people. The promulgated law provides for "the nature of the Taiwan issue," the pursuit of national reunification through peaceful means, and the employment of non-peaceful means to check Taiwan's secession from China as the last resort. "The Anti-Secession Law has legalized the policy guideline of central authorities on Taiwan, and given full expression to China's consistent position of doing the utmost with maximum sincerity for a peaceful reunification," said Wu, chairman of the NPC Standing Committee, adding the law will "have a major practical and far-reaching historical impact". At a routine annual press conference held shortly after the closing of the NPC session Monday, Premier Wen Jiabao strongly denied allegations that the Anti-Secession Law was a "law of war",calling it a law endorsing peace and stability in the Taiwan Straits instead. The premier added that the law does not target the Taiwan compatriots, but aims at opposing and checking "Taiwan independence" secessionist activities. Though the law has provided for "non-peaceful means and other necessary measures" to stop Taiwan's secession under certain circumstances, Wen said, the Chinese government is unwilling to see such circumstance occur. "The law speaks out the wishes in the bottom of our hearts," said Li Xinming, a Beijing taxi driver who learned the news from the radio. The law's enactment has reflected the "strategic insight and political wisdom" of the central authorities, hailed Wang Hao, a student of the prestigious Beijing University. "History will remember this solemn and exciting moment," said Liu Zhenze, a resident of Fuzhou City, capital of east China's Fujian Province opposite the Taiwan island, while watching the NPC's adoption of the law on TV. "The law issues a stern warning to the secessionists in Taiwan that anyone playing with fire will get burnt themselves," said theold man, who has brothers and sisters on both sides of the Taiwan Straits.
Congress, itself, has no authority to order the feeding tube re-inserted, but the federal court could do so, if it chooses, while it reviews the case. So, that's why it's become such a huge political issue. I suspect not." Leigh, what does this legislation mean for Terri Schiavo? "We are members of Congress. Her husband says she wouldn't want to live like this. ELEANOR HALL: Indeed. The Senate passed the bill by a voice vote earlier Sunday. You've got another tricky issue of State rights. "I think that every American in this country should also be outraged that this government is trampling all over a personal family matter that has been adjudicated in the courts for seven years," he said. We're ready to file under the new law." Florida Gov. Leigh Sales in Washington, thank you. We are not medical experts. Singapore man sentenced in U.S. for plot to export bomb parts to Iran WASHINGTON A Singaporean man was sentenced on Thursday to 40 months in a U.S. prison for his role in exporting to Iran radio frequency modules, some of which were later found in bombs in Iraq, the U.S. Justice Department said in a statement. Declaration of Independence get to southern England? Terri Schiavo has been in a vegetative state for 15 years, and her parents and husband have been embroiled in a bitter legal battle over whether she should live or die. "In our public actions, we must build a culture of life that welcomes and defends all human life." Sunday night, about 200 people were in the House visitors' galleries, filling just a fraction of the available seats.
Arkansas plans to end its series of April executions by putting to death on Thursday an inmate convicted of murdering a cheerleader and who escaped from prison and killed two other people before being captured again. Trump's plan to slash business taxes seen as 'guidepost' by congressional Republicans WASHINGTON President Donald Trump unveiled a one-page plan on Wednesday proposing deep U.S. tax cuts, many for businesses, that would make the federal deficit balloon if enacted, drawing a cautious welcome from fiscal conservatives and financial markets. | Politics, Election 2016 Number of U.S. visas to citizens of Trump travel ban nations drops WASHINGTON The United States issued about 40 percent fewer temporary visas in March to citizens of seven countries covered by President Donald Trump's temporary travel bans than it did in an average month last year, according to a Reuters analysis of preliminary government data released on Thursday. Politics, Election 2016, Idaho man gets 28 years in beating death of gay man SALMON, Idaho An Idaho man who killed a gay man by kicking him up to 30 times with steel-toed boots was sentenced on Wednesday by a federal judge to 28 years in prison, prosecutors said on Thursday. Appeals court grants Trump request to delay mercury air pollution case WASHINGTON A U.S. appeals court on Thursday granted a request from the Trump administration to put litigation on hold in which states and industry groups are challenging an Obama administration pollution control rule for mercury and other toxic emissions from power plants. Environment, Politics, Election 2016, Berkeley braces for unrest despite Ann Coulter cancellation BERKELEY, Calif. Police at the University of California at Berkeley braced on Thursday for potential civil unrest stemming from a now-canceled speaking engagement by conservative commentator Ann Coulter following a recent spate of politically charged violence on or near the campus. Singapore man sentenced in U.S. for plot to export bomb parts to Iran WASHINGTON A Singaporean man was sentenced on Thursday to 40 months in a U.S. prison for his role in exporting to Iran radio frequency modules, some of which were later found in bombs in Iraq, the U.S. Justice Department said in a statement. How did a copy of U.S. CHICHESTER, England British experts will carry out tests to try to determine how a rare copy of the U.S. Declaration of Independence found its way to an archive in southern England. The World Today - Monday, 21 March , 2005 12:14:00 Reporter: Leigh Sales ELEANOR HALL: To politics in the United States now, and the US Senate has voted unanimously today to pass legislation which might force doctors to reinstate the feeding tube of a severely brain damaged woman. Terri Schiavo has been in a vegetative state for 15 years, and her parents and husband have been embroiled in a bitter legal battle over whether she should live or die. Terri Schiavo, in 1990, when she was 26, collapsed and her heart stopped beating for five minutes. It was the result of a potassium deficiency which was reportedly brought on by an eating disorder. Because her heart stopped for so long she sustained massive brain damage, and she's been in this vegetative state for 15 years. She has no control over bowel or bladder, she can't talk, she can't communicate, she can't understand anything. Her parents say that she's still alive and they believe that she responds and that she could get better with treatment, and so the husband and parents have been locked in court battles for seven years to try to work out whether Terri Schiavo should be able to live or die. In those court hearings, there've been a dozen hearings, they've always found with the husband, and in the latest one the court ruled that her feeding tube, which keeps her alive, should be removed. Now, the United States Congress has stepped in to pass legislation to now allow a federal court to look at this case, to review it. It doesn't necessarily mean that the tube will be automatically be reinstated, it means that the federal court will have a look at the case. It might order the tube to be put back in in the short-term, so it has time to consider the case before Terri Schiavo dies. ELEANOR HALL: Now, why has this case become such a huge public issue in the United States, with President Bush even cutting short a holiday in Texas to get involved? Pro-lifers see this case as a perfect example of where medicine or courts intervene to, as they see it, kill somebody who's still alive, whereas of course, on the other side, you have euthanasia activists saying, well this woman doesn't want to live like this, her husband says that, and she should be allowed to die with dignity. You've also got the issue of individual rights, so Terry Schiavo's rights versus the power of government, which has always been a huge thing to Americans. You've also got the issue of the judiciary versus the legislature, and a number of people are very upset that the Congress is basically intervening in a matter that has been before the courts. They're saying it's a violation of the separation of powers. LEIGH SALES: It is, to my knowledge, and that's another reason it's so big, because people expect that it will set some sort of a precedent. Another issue is that the husband, Michael Schiavo, several years ago started having a relationship with another woman and has had children by her, which he and his friends say, look it's been 15 years, he needed to move on with his life, but the parents see this as a reason that Michael Schiavo would want to have their daughter out of the way. Michael Schiavo's been offered money to relinquish his guardianship of Terri Schiavo, which he hasn't done, and he says he just can't bear to see her keep living like this, and he's trying to protect what he thinks she would've wanted.
Overall, the smart phone market remains quite small, leaving plenty of room for rivals to vie for customers as the devices grow more popular. The agreement will enable users of Symbian-based phones to automatically send and receive e-mail from accounts running on Microsoft's Exchange Server, a network platform popularly used by corporations to manage Microsoft's ubiquitous Outlook e-mail and calendar applications. Recent Technology News GoPro reports lower-than-expected quarterly loss Wearable device maker GoPro Inc reported a lower-than-expected quarterly loss on Thursday, helped by strong sales of its flagship cameras and Karma drones. MetLife to invest $1 billion in tech to reach cost-savings goals NEW YORK MetLife Inc plans to invest $1 billion in an efficiency program through 2019 that will eventually reduce annual operating costs by around $800 million, the insurer said on Thursday. In North America and other markets, Symbian has gained only modest traction as compared with rival wireless platforms such as Palm and Windows Mobile from Microsoft. Recent Business News Uber's Levandowski to step aside amid Waymo litigation Uber Technologies Inc [UBER.UL] said the head of its self-driving vehicles unit, Anthony Levandowski, will step aside from his role for the remainder of the company's litigation with Waymo, the self-driving car division of Alphabet Inc . Jobless claims rise, but four-week average at two-month low WASHINGTON, April 27 The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits rose more than expected last week, but the four-week average of claims fell to a two-month low, indicating that labor market conditions continue to tighten. Facebook, Cybersecurity Apple in talks to launch money-transfer service: Recode Apple Inc has held talks with payments industry partners about launching a money-transfer service, technology news website Recode reported on Thursday.
Symbian Ltd., maker of the top operating system for "smart" cell phones, is licensing e-mail technology from Microsoft Corp., an unexpected deal with a rival that may bolster Microsoft's bid to extend its dominance in computer software to mobile devices. The agreement will enable users of Symbian-based phones to automatically send and receive e-mail from accounts running on Microsoft's Exchange Server, a network platform popularly used by corporations to manage Microsoft's ubiquitous Outlook e-mail and calendar applications. Symbian, a joint venture formed by some of the world's best known phone makers, has emerged as the best-selling platform for advanced cell phones designed to double as both handheld computers and mobile entertainment centers. According to the research firm IDC, converged mobile devices accounted for only a few percent of the more than 600 million phones sold in 2004, but that number is expected to grow sharply this year. Starbucks quarterly revenue falls short, stock falls LOS ANGELES Starbucks Corp reported quarterly sales that just missed Wall Street's expectations, hurt by a slight cooling in spending growth by customers in its core U.S. market, sending shares down 4.4 percent in extended trading on Thursday.
"After that is when it exploded," he said. Oil refinery explosion kills at least 14 Blast felt several miles from plant in Texas City, Texas TEXAS CITY, Texas (CNN) -- At least 14 people died and more than 70 others were injured in an explosion that ripped through a BP oil refinery in southeastern Texas on Wednesday, a company spokesman said. Stephen said he hoped to know how many people were on the site by late Thursday morning. Number of U.S. visas to citizens of Trump travel ban nations drops WASHINGTON The United States issued about 40 percent fewer temporary visas in March to citizens of seven countries covered by President Donald Trump's temporary travel bans than it did in an average month last year, according to a Reuters analysis of preliminary government data released on Thursday. The explosion happened in the isomerization unit, where the octane of gasoline is raised. Idaho man gets 28 years in beating death of gay man SALMON, Idaho An Idaho man who killed a gay man by kicking him up to 30 times with steel-toed boots was sentenced on Wednesday by a federal judge to 28 years in prison, prosecutors said on Thursday. The board does not issue citations or fines, but does make safety recommendations. The refinery is spread across 1,500 acres. | Politics, Election 2016 Appeals court grants Trump request to delay mercury air pollution case WASHINGTON A U.S. appeals court on Thursday granted a request from the Trump administration to put litigation on hold in which states and industry groups are challenging an Obama administration pollution control rule for mercury and other toxic emissions from power plants.
A massive explosion tore through America's third largest oil refinery last night, killing at least 14 people and leaving more than 100 injured. The blast happened at the western end of the BP plant in Texas City. The cause was unknown, although a BP spokeswoman said that terrorism was "not a primary focus of our investigation". Charles Gregory, who works at the refinery, said he and several colleagues were inside a trailer getting ready to clean the tank when the floor started rumbling. Judith Mantrell, who was at home on Tiki Island about about five miles across Galveston Bay from the plant, said: "It was unbelievable, the flames shot more than 70 feet (21m) into the air." The explosion occurred in a part of the plant used to boost the octane level of gasoline. Daniel Horowitz, the director of public affairs for the US Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board, confirmed last night that Federal investigators had been dispatched to the blast site. It employs 1,800 people, and processes around 433,000 barrels of crude oil a day, producing 3% of the US's oil supply. However, news of the explosion pushed gasoline futures prices higher in after-hours trading. A refinery explosion forced the evacuation of the plant for several hours in March last year. Oil refinery explosion kills at least 14 Blast felt several miles from plant in Texas City, Texas TEXAS CITY, Texas (CNN) -- At least 14 people died and more than 70 others were injured in an explosion that ripped through a BP oil refinery in southeastern Texas on Wednesday, a company spokesman said. The fire sent huge plumes of smoke high into the air, and the blaze took nearly two hours to extinguish, Bill Stephen said. "We believe it's 14 people, but we will wait for official confirmation from the medical examiner," he told reporters. Stephen added that it was possible the number of dead could rise as emergency crews were continuing to search through the site. It was not immediately clear how many of the 1,800 employees were at the refinery in Texas City, 40 miles southeast of Houston, when the explosion happened at 1:30 p.m. (2.30 p.m. BP site director Don Parus said: "Our primary focus is really on the family and the people that were injured." The refinery -- the country's third-largest -- produced 460,000 barrels of gasoline per day, 3 percent of the U.S. supply, said John Bresland, a CSB board member. Arkansas plans to end its series of April executions by putting to death on Thursday an inmate convicted of murdering a cheerleader and who escaped from prison and killed two other people before being captured again. Number of U.S. visas to citizens of Trump travel ban nations drops WASHINGTON The United States issued about 40 percent fewer temporary visas in March to citizens of seven countries covered by President Donald Trump's temporary travel bans than it did in an average month last year, according to a Reuters analysis of preliminary government data released on Thursday. Politics, Election 2016, Florida Senate seeks pardon for wrongly accused 'Groveland Four' FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. Florida's Senate on Thursday apologized to the families of four black men wrongly accused of raping a white teenager nearly 70 years ago, and lawmakers called on the state's governor to issue full pardons. Idaho man gets 28 years in beating death of gay man SALMON, Idaho An Idaho man who killed a gay man by kicking him up to 30 times with steel-toed boots was sentenced on Wednesday by a federal judge to 28 years in prison, prosecutors said on Thursday. Trump's plan to slash business taxes seen as 'guidepost' by congressional Republicans WASHINGTON President Donald Trump unveiled a one-page plan on Wednesday proposing deep U.S. tax cuts, many for businesses, that would make the federal deficit balloon if enacted, drawing a cautious welcome from fiscal conservatives and financial markets. Environment, Politics, Election 2016, Illinois school districts pressured by payment delay -Moody's CHICAGO Some Illinois school districts, including the Chicago Public Schools (CPS), are being squeezed by late payments due to the state's ongoing budget problems, Moody's Investors Service said on Thursday.
He's reportedly now in neighboring Kazakhstan, with his family. We know where we want to go," Rice said. Opposition leader Kurmanbek Bakiyev emerged from the Parliament building Friday and said he has been named Kyrgyzstan's acting president and prime minister - a day after protesters drove President Askar Akayev's government from power and unleashed widespread looting. Declaration of Independence get to southern England? Asked Thursday whether the situation poses a hazard to Americans, U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld said he does not believe U.S. forces will be harmed by the turmoil. Russia 'End injustice' pleads Venezuelan official's son over unrest CARACAS The son of Venezuela's pro-government human rights ombudsman has surprised the country amid major protests against the leftist administration by publicly urging his father to "end the injustice." Recent World News Russian police search office of Kremlin critic's foundation MOSCOW Russian police on Thursday searched the Moscow offices of a pro-democracy movement founded by Kremlin critic Mikhail Khodorkovsky which is calling for big anti-government protests on Saturday, activists said. | Politics, Election 2016, Health United Airlines reaches settlement with passenger dragged from plane CHICAGO United Airlines and the passenger who was dragged from a Chicago flight earlier this month have reached a settlement for an undisclosed sum, they said on Thursday, in the carrier's latest step to contain damage from an incident which has sparked international outrage. Turkish referendum on Erdogan powers passed by 51.4 percent: final figures ANKARA Final results from Turkey's referendum on expanding President Tayyip Erdogan's powers showed 51.4 percent support for the "Yes" vote to approve the sweeping constitutional changes, the High Electoral Board said on Thursday.
Opposition leader Kurmanbek Bakiyev emerged from the Parliament building Friday and said he has been named Kyrgyzstan's acting president and prime minister - a day after protesters drove President Askar Akayev's government from power and unleashed widespread looting. Both the United States and Russia have military bases near Bishkek, the capital of this strategically important Central Asian nation - sandwiched between China's northwest border and Russia's eastern border, with Afghanistan just one country away. Kyrgyzstan was annexed by Russia in 1864 and returned to independent status in 1991, with the breakup of the Soviet Union. In Washington Thursday, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said the upheaval in Kyrgyzstan could wind up a democratic success story if political change occurs without violence. Russia meanwhile is saying it would not object if the ousted president, Akayev, wants to go to Russia. In Bishkek Friday, opposition leader Bakiyev addressed a crowd of about a thousand supporters in the city's central square, announcing his new status as the nation's acting leader and proclaiming: "Freedom has finally come to us." Bakiyev's appointment as acting president was endorsed by a newly restored parliament of lawmakers who held seats before the elections, which fueled protests against longtime leader Akayev and his government. Bakiyev proposed that former Foreign Minister Roza Otunbayeva be named the country's top diplomat, and said, "All intergovernmental agreements will remain in full force and are in full effect." Recent World News Russian police search office of Kremlin critic's foundation MOSCOW Russian police on Thursday searched the Moscow offices of a pro-democracy movement founded by Kremlin critic Mikhail Khodorkovsky which is calling for big anti-government protests on Saturday, activists said. Russia 'End injustice' pleads Venezuelan official's son over unrest CARACAS The son of Venezuela's pro-government human rights ombudsman has surprised the country amid major protests against the leftist administration by publicly urging his father to "end the injustice." Turkish referendum on Erdogan powers passed by 51.4 percent: final figures ANKARA Final results from Turkey's referendum on expanding President Tayyip Erdogan's powers showed 51.4 percent support for the "Yes" vote to approve the sweeping constitutional changes, the High Electoral Board said on Thursday. Turkey Venezuelans entering Colombia must get migrant card BOGOTA Venezuelans who regularly cross into Colombia to work, study or shop must apply for a special migratory card to ease their passage, the Colombian government said on Thursday. Recent Top News U.S. Republican leaders seek votes for healthcare bill WASHINGTON Prospects for U.S. House passage of a healthcare system overhaul before President Donald Trump's 100th day in office dimmed on Thursday as Republicans struggled to find the needed votes, lawmakers and aides said.
"And that engagement includes security, it includes energy, it includes economy, it includes diplomacy, politics," he said. That's about the only reason Pakistan wants them. The only people they are in a fight with are in India. Advertisement Continue reading the main story State Department officials explained that the arms sale fit into the broader strategic relationship across South Asia. The United States has dramatically shifted its arms sale policy toward South Asian rivals India and Pakistan by announcing F-16 fighter jet sales for Pakistan on Friday. "Two countries that have F-16s have never fought a war." A senior US government official said earlier that the initial plan is to sell 24 to Pakistan. The USadministration has also been fostering better relations with Indiasince Bush's first term, seeing New Delhi as a key potential ally. "Right now the last one would come off the line in 2008," he said. Aboulafia recalled that Lockheed's production of the popular plane was "saved" in 1992 when the administration of President George H.W. The Fort Worth plant had about 5,800 workers in January 2004. Like most newer-generation strike jets, the F-16 can carry nuclear weapons. That will contribute to regional stability." During the telephone talks, Singh expressed India's "great disappointment" at the US decision, the Indian leader's spokesman Sanjaya Baru said. Pakistan has been frustrated for years in its desire to buy newF-16s for its air force, which already has 32 older model F-16s. The cost of the plane is determined by many variables, including how many are purchased and how they are equipped, Jurkowsky said.
The United States has dramatically shifted its arms sale policy toward South Asian rivals India and Pakistan by announcing F-16 fighter jet sales for Pakistan on Friday. (Xinhua/AFP/File) WASHINGTON, March 25 (Xinhuanet) -- The United States has dramatically shifted its arms sale policy toward South Asian rivals India and Pakistan by announcing F-16 fighter jet sales for Pakistan on Friday. According to White House spokeswoman Dana Perino, US President George W. Bush, on vacation at his Texas ranch, spoke by phone on Friday with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to explain his decision to sell F-16s to Pakistan. During the telephone talks, Singh expressed India's "great disappointment" at the US decision, the Indian leader's spokesman Sanjaya Baru said. India has maintained that the sale of F-16s to Pakistan would pose a threat to the region's security environment. US government officials, however, argued that the sale will notchange the overall balance of power between Pakistan and India. US State Department spokesman Adam Ereli said on Friday that the F-16s to be sold to Pakistan would be newly built but the number was still "undetermined." A senior US government official said earlier that the initial plan is to sell 24 to Pakistan. US officials on Friday also indicated a willingness to sell multirole warplanes to India if New Delhi chooses to buy them fromthe United States. Pakistan has been frustrated for years in its desire to buy newF-16s for its air force, which already has 32 older model F-16s. The US Congress canceled a sale of about two dozen F-16s to Pakistan in 1990 because of Islamabad's pursuit of nuclear weapons. The United States has dramatically shifted its arms sale policy toward South Asian rivals India and Pakistan by announcing F-16 fighter jet sales for Pakistan on Friday. (Xinhua/File) But US relations with Pakistan have warmed steadily because of Islamabad's strong support for the US-led war on terrorism. The USadministration has also been fostering better relations with Indiasince Bush's first term, seeing New Delhi as a key potential ally. The tensions between the two long-time South Asian rivals have also eased significantly since they began peace dialogues last year. "Relations between India and Pakistan have never been better," Ereli said on Friday. "To the extent that we can contribute to Pakistan's sense of security and India's sense of security. According to a report of the Associated Press, Jehangir Karamat,Pakistan's ambassador to the United States, opened new political possibilities for advancing Pakistan's stalled 15-year quest for the F-16 fighters when he said last month that Islamabad would notobject to India's buying of American-made jets. India, which traditionally bought most of its weaponry from Russia, is soliciting bids for a purchase of 126 multirole fighterplanes. New Delhi reportedly is considering a number of options, including F-16, the Russian-made MiG-29M, Sweden's Saab Gripen andFrance's Dassault Mirage. US media reports said earlier that Lockheed officials hope to land a significant F-16 order in the next few months that would fill looming gaps in the production line at its Fort Worth plant and extend deliveries beyond 2008. Mr. Bush, speaking from his Texas ranch, told the Indian prime minister that the United States was "responding" to New Delhi's request for information on "multirole combat aircraft," according to White House officials. Advertisement Continue reading the main story The possibility of the F-16 sale to Pakistan had been hinted at by people in the administration and was reported by The Wall Street Journal this month before Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice visited India and Pakistan. Even so, Mr. Singh told Mr. Bush of his "great disappointment" over the pending arms sale and warned that it would undermine regional security, according to Sanjaya Baru, the prime minister's spokesman, as quoted by The Associated Press from India. They have fought three wars, mostly over the Kashmir territory, and now both nations have nuclear arms. And in an important step, the Pakistani president, Gen. Pervez Musharraf, has promised to visit India for a cricket match between teams from the countries early next month. In that role, it has been used extensively in Afghanistan and Iraq to attack suspected insurgent hiding places, and Pakistan has said it would use the plane to strike at terrorists. Advertisement Continue reading the main story The fighters to be sold to Pakistan may be newer models off the production line, and not the older variant purchased by Pakistan in the 1980's. In 1990, it ordered more, but delivery was blocked when Congress passed legislation to punish the Pakistanis for their ambitions to develop nuclear weapons. Advertisement Continue reading the main story State Department officials said the purchase price would be unknown until a formal agreement is reached on which model of the fighter will be sold, and how it will be equipped. The F-16C/D models purchased by the United States Air Force from the Lockheed Martin Corporation in 1998, for example, cost $18.8 million each, though exported versions of the plane typically cost more. The arms sale is seen as reward for cooperation in the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, when Pakistan opened its territory as a crucial portal into neighboring Afghanistan during the war to topple the Taliban government and oust fighters of Al Qaeda. Even so, some military analysts complain that Pakistan is not doing enough today to hunt down insurgents and terrorists still seeking refuge in the mountainous areas of Pakistan just across the Afghan border. The Bush administration has also chosen to overlook or play down other irritants, including what some officials say has been a lack of cooperation in investigating the nuclear black-market network run by A.Q. Advertisement Continue reading the main story State Department officials explained that the arms sale fit into the broader strategic relationship across South Asia. "We are looking to improve security and improve prosperity and improve development of the entire region as a whole through an integrated program of engagement," Adam Ereli, the State Department deputy spokesman, said at a news briefing Friday afternoon. "And part of that is a decision to begin negotiations with the Pakistani government and Congress to sell F-16's to Pakistan and to respond favorably to a request for information from India for the possible sale of multirole combat aircraft." Advertisement Continue reading the main story Mr. Ereli said that "relations between India and Pakistan have never been better," and that "to the extent that we can contribute to Pakistan's sense of security and India's sense of security, that will contribute to regional stability." But State Department officials denied that sales of advanced aircraft to the two countries would increase the ability of either to deliver nuclear weapons across their shared border, citing the fact that both countries have tested medium-range missiles capable of carrying warheads.
Chinese citizens who are not in Kyrgyzstan should defer all non-essential travel to the country, the embassy said. Kyrgyz opposition leader Kurmanbek Bakiyev in front of the Parliament building in Bishkek March 25. (Xinhua/AFP/file) WHEREABOUTS OF AKAYEV UNKNOWN While the new authorities sought to end a chaotic situation in Kyrgyzstan, Akayev's whereabouts remain in mystery. But unconfirmed reports said six people have died so far. ¡¡ INTERIM GOVERNMENT SEEKS ORDER Opposition leader Kurmanbek Bakiyev was named acting president and prime minister by the parliament Friday after President Askar Akayev fled the country amid protests of opposition supporters who took the government building Thursday. Enditem The parliament Saturday set June 26 for the presidential elections. He also denied rumors of his resignation, saying he would return after his "temporary" stay outside the country. The law enforcement agencies were reportedly recruiting volunteers to help maintain security in the capital. Authorities said three people were killed and more than 300 injured in the riot. Russia's Interfax news agency reported Saturday Akayev had arrived in Russia, but the Kyrgyz Embassy in Russia did not confirm the information. Recent World News Russian police search office of Kremlin critic's foundation MOSCOW Russian police on Thursday searched the Moscow offices of a pro-democracy movement founded by Kremlin critic Mikhail Khodorkovsky which is calling for big anti-government protests on Saturday, activists said. Bishkek was relatively calm Friday night compared with the chaotic Thursday night when numerous shops and stores were torched, looted or vandalized. Turkey Venezuelans entering Colombia must get migrant card BOGOTA Venezuelans who regularly cross into Colombia to work, study or shop must apply for a special migratory card to ease their passage, the Colombian government said on Thursday.
BISHKEK, March 26 (Xinhuanet) -- Kyrgyzstan's newly formed interim government is taking measures to restore order in the Central Asian country after two days of unrest that left the government collapsed and three people dead. Kyrgyz opposition leader Kurmanbek Bakiyev in front of the Parliament building in Bishkek March 25. (Xinhua/AFP) With the help of volunteers, helmeted riot police re-emerged Friday night after two days of absence, firing warning shots to disperse crowds of youths gathering around commercial outlets. Bishkek was relatively calm Friday night compared with the chaotic Thursday night when numerous shops and stores were torched, looted or vandalized. Authorities said three people were killed and more than 300 injured in the riot. ¡¡ INTERIM GOVERNMENT SEEKS ORDER Opposition leader Kurmanbek Bakiyev was named acting president and prime minister by the parliament Friday after President Askar Akayev fled the country amid protests of opposition supporters who took the government building Thursday. Bakiyev formed an interim government made up mostly of opposition figures and announced the presidential election would be held in June. Akayev, who had ruled as president of the mountainous country of 5 million since 1990, did not disclose where he is but said he chose to go out of the country in order to avoid bloodshed. BISHKEK, March 26 (Xinhuanet) -- The Chinese Embassy in Kyrgyzstan warned Chinese citizens on Saturday against traveling to the Central Asian state after two days of chaos and looting here left at least three people dead. "The unrest has caused the worst economic damage for Chinese traders in Kyrgyzstan in more than 10 years of bilateral ties," the embassy said. "Due to ongoing concerns about the possibility of robbery targeting foreigners and their interests, the Chinese Embassy continues to warn all Chinese citizens of the danger here and advise them to avoid any unnecessary confrontation with local people," it said. Recent World News Russian police search office of Kremlin critic's foundation MOSCOW Russian police on Thursday searched the Moscow offices of a pro-democracy movement founded by Kremlin critic Mikhail Khodorkovsky which is calling for big anti-government protests on Saturday, activists said. Russia 'End injustice' pleads Venezuelan official's son over unrest CARACAS The son of Venezuela's pro-government human rights ombudsman has surprised the country amid major protests against the leftist administration by publicly urging his father to "end the injustice." Turkish referendum on Erdogan powers passed by 51.4 percent: final figures ANKARA Final results from Turkey's referendum on expanding President Tayyip Erdogan's powers showed 51.4 percent support for the "Yes" vote to approve the sweeping constitutional changes, the High Electoral Board said on Thursday. Turkey Venezuelans entering Colombia must get migrant card BOGOTA Venezuelans who regularly cross into Colombia to work, study or shop must apply for a special migratory card to ease their passage, the Colombian government said on Thursday.
P.S. Maz, Glasgow, UK No! A Salford Doctor Who? I personally found it good - just good. It is one of the most popular show in BBC's history. Well done to Christopher Eccleston and Billie Piper they were great! I have been captivated by both the new Doctor and his assistant, Rose Sylvester McCoy But I have been captivated by both the new Doctor and his assistant, Rose. WHO IS DR WHO? I know it was only the first episode and we can't expect it to be brilliant from the off! Please... get real! "We apologise if it affected viewers' enjoyment of Doctor Who." Detractors should take a long hard look at the original series. After saving her life he blew up the department store in spectacular fashion. Loved it from start to finish. Eccleston I knew could act and was good as the Doctor, but Billy really surprised as an effective and likable assistant (unlike some I could mention). However, the Time Lord had Graham Norton breathing down his neck too, as a technical problem meant the sound from Strictly Dance Fever was briefly played over the opening scenes of Doctor Who. Wonderful casting. On ITV1, Stars In Their Eyes had an average of 5.5 million viewers, but peaked at 6.3 million. I can see why some diehard fans may not be wholly pleased with it, but I don't think it would have stood a chance without fully modernising the Doctor and the special effects etc. It was a pretty good beginning. The Doctor had made his entrance. I loved every moment of the first episode and I will certainly tune in every Saturday without fail.
The new Doctor Who is played by Christopher Eccleston The opening episode of the first full series since 1989 saw the Time Lord - played by Christopher Eccleston - meet his assistant Rose (Billie Piper). Written by Russell T Davies, it is the first of 13 new episodes of the drama, which was first screened in 1963. "We're pleased so many people sat down as a family to watch the return of the Doctor," a BBC spokesperson said. Unofficial overnight figures show the programme got an average of 9.9 million viewers - 43.2% of all viewers - with a peak of 10.5 million viewers, a 44.3% share of the audience. Warm reviews After saving Rose's life the Doctor blew up the department store in spectacular fashion - it was a pretty good beginning Sylvester McCoy Sylvester McCoy's review Doctor Who's comeback helped ramp up the usual Saturday ratings battle between BBC One and ITV1. The Time Lord's comeback was pitted against Ant And Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway on ITV1, featuring England captain David Beckham as a special guest. It attracted 7.2m viewers, peaking at 8.5m. An ITV spokesman said: "The audience for Ant and Dec was up on the show last Easter Saturday, which got 7.1 million viewers, so we have no complaints." Graham Norton's new ballroom dancing show, Strictly Dance Fever, went toe-to-toe with ITV1's Stars In Their Eyes Live Final - both shows appearing twice in the evening. Later in the evening, Strictly Dance Fever's results show had an average of 4.7 million viewers, peaking at 7.2 million. On ITV1, Stars In Their Eyes had an average of 5.5 million viewers, but peaked at 6.3 million. However, the Time Lord had Graham Norton breathing down his neck too, as a technical problem meant the sound from Strictly Dance Fever was briefly played over the opening scenes of Doctor Who. The episode began by zooming into our universe, down to Europe, Britain and London, into the bedroom of Billie Piper's character Rose before she rushed off to her department store job. We were given several glimpses of her day, which wonderfully conveyed a sense that life was passing her by, without a single word being said. After saving Rose's life the Doctor blew up the department store in spectacular fashion - it was a pretty good beginning Sylvester McCoy Have your say on the show The adventures started when Rose went into the shop basement, wandering along famous dark Doctor Who corridors which I always found myself running up and down. When shop dummies suddenly came to life, it was a fitting homage to old Doctor Who stories (1970s episodes Spearhead from Space and Terror of the Autons) as well as introducing a new and exciting Who. Just as Rose was about to be chopped to death by hard plastic hands, another alien came to pull her away. Christopher Eccleston was quite alien as the Doctor - he looked wonderful Sylvester McCoy He had this manic grin which worried me. In a way this Doctor was not the brightest brain in the universe - he's a bit like an Oxford don in that he's full of brains but with not much nous. I loved the one they made for the 1996 Doctor Who movie, a fantastic Jules Verne-type of creation. I was also a bit dismayed that more wasn't made of the show's incidental music, which seemed fairly anonymous in the background. It had a great pace, it moved really quickly and was witty Sylvester McCoy Have your say on the show However, I was pleased to hear the Doctor explain about the speed of the earth's turn and the pollutants which made our planet so attractive to the aliens. There was also a great scene in a restaurant, after Rose's boyfriend had been turned into plastic. I can see why some diehard fans may not be wholly pleased with it, but I don't think it would have stood a chance without fully modernising the Doctor and the special effects etc. How wrong I was - absolutely superb - witty, funny, scary, and finally the visual effects have caught up with the writer's intentions.
In the report, the committee was harshest in its judgment of Mr. Annan's son, Kojo, 31, and the Geneva-based company he worked for, Cotecna Inspection Services. "He regrets the embarrassment that omission caused to his father and to the United Nations and accepts responsibility for it," the letter said. Advertisement Continue reading the main story The report is a second interim accounting from the commission, which will deliver its final verdict this summer. Mr Volcker added: "Taking all of this into account, the committee has not found the evidence is reasonably sufficient to show that the secretary general knew that Cotecna had participated in the bidding process in 1998." The inquiry is still looking into this. I thank them once again for their investigation. The report yesterday was on the specific issue of whether the award of a contract by the UN to Cotecna, which employed Kojo Annan, was free of improper or illicit influence. Mr. Riza was criticized for ordering the shredding of personal files from the startup period of the oil-for-food program. View all New York Times newsletters. Kojo Annan also intentionally deceived the secretary general about this continuing financial relationship." "His lack of leadership, combined with conflicts of interest and a lack of responsibility and accountability point to one, and only one, outcome: his resignation," he said. Cotecna was selected by the UN in December 1998 to conduct inspections of humanitarian goods entering Iraq. "He put $3 million of investment in this and he concluded, 'No story."' Please try again later. As I had always hoped and firmly believed, the Inquiry has cleared me of any wrongdoing.
I have this morning received from Mr. Paul Volcker and his colleagues the second interim report of their independent inquiry into allegations concerning the United Nations oil-for-food programme in Iraq. As I had always hoped and firmly believed, the Inquiry has cleared me of any wrongdoing. On the key issue of the award of the contract to inspect humanitarian goods entering Iraq under the oil-for-food programme, the report states clearly that "there is no evidence that the selection of Cotecna in 1998 was subject to any affirmative or improper influence of the Secretary-General in the bidding or selection process." I will meet the press later today to make a fuller statement on the findings contained in the report, and to answer questions. The position of the UN secretary general, Kofi Annan, was undermined yesterday after an independent inquiry into the oil-for-food scandal heavily criticised his son Kojo and a Swiss company. Although Mr Annan was personally cleared of improper influence in the awarding of a contract to the Swiss company Cotecna, the committee of inquiry's findings about his son left question marks about his stewardship of the UN, which has come under increasing pressure. At a press conference yesterday, the chairman of the inquiry committee, Paul Volcker, said an investigation the secretary general had initiated was "inadequate" and should have been referred to the UN's independent watchdog agency. "As I had always hoped and firmly believed, the inquiry has cleared me of any wrong doing," he said. But the secretary general, who is due to retire next year at the end of two terms, could now find it difficult to push through his reform programme, and to pacify his critics. Norm Coleman,a Republican senator, said yesterday: "His lack of leadership, combined with conflicts of interest and a lack of responsibility and accountability point to one, and only one, outcome: his resignation." Spokesman Scott McClellan said: "This is a very serious matter. We will carefully study the report that Mr Volcker has put forward today. We're also looking forward to seeing the final results of his investigation." It will give its verdict on the wider issue of the conduct of the oil-for-food-programme, which was set up to minimise the impact of sanctions on Iraq by allowing Saddam Hussein to sell oil in return for food, a system open to abuse. An interim report of the inquiry last month was critical of the UN's handling of the programme. The report yesterday was on the specific issue of whether the award of a contract by the UN to Cotecna, which employed Kojo Annan, was free of improper or illicit influence. The report concluded: "There is no evidence that the selection of Cotecna in 1998 was subject to affirmative or improper influence of the secretary general in the bidding or selection process." But the report notes that UN rules were not followed: Cotecna was not asked to submit a financial statement, one that might have helped reveal the company's financial strains at the time. Mr Volcker said: "Our investigation has disclosed several instances in which [Mr Annan] might, or could have become aware, of Cotecna's participation in the bidding process. "However, there is neither convincing testimony to that effect nor any documentary evidence." Mr Volcker added: "Taking all of this into account, the committee has not found the evidence is reasonably sufficient to show that the secretary general knew that Cotecna had participated in the bidding process in 1998." He left Cotecna in 1998 but, apparently unknown to the UN or his father, continued to be paid by the company until 2004. The report said after the media disclosed his relationship with the company in January 1999, Kojo Annan "actively participated in efforts by Cotecna to conceal the true nature of its continuing relationship with him. Kojo Annan also intentionally deceived the secretary general about this continuing financial relationship." The report adds: "Significant questions remain about the actions of Kojo Annan during the fall of 1998 as well as about the integrity of Kojo Annan's business and financial dealings with respect to the programme." The report concluded that Cotecna had cooperated in making documents and staff available, but it "has made false statements to the public, the United Nations and the committee". Mr Annan's former chief of staff, Iqbal Riza, is also criticised for allegedly giving the go-ahead for the shredding of documents relevant to the inquiry. Mr Riza "acted imprudently" and in violation of the document preservation order, the committee concluded. Advertisement Continue reading the main story The report came as an internal review at the United Nations found a string of management abuses, including misuse of funds and tolerance of sexual harassment, at the agency that promotes and monitors elections. "He put $3 million of investment in this and he concluded, 'No story."' In the report, the committee was harshest in its judgment of Mr. Annan's son, Kojo, 31, and the Geneva-based company he worked for, Cotecna Inspection Services. The panel was commissioned by Mr. Annan a year ago to investigate how Saddam Hussein managed to skim billions of dollars from the $65 billion program and whether there had been corruption in addition to mismanagement on the part of United Nations officials. Advertisement Continue reading the main story The first report on Feb. 3 accused Benon V. Sevan, the former head of the program, of a "grave conflict of interest" that "seriously undermined the integrity of the United Nations."
Please re-enter. As of March 1, he noted, China was the 13th-largest foreign supplier of cotton trousers, well behind Mexico, Nicaragua and Honduras. "The U.S. textile industry cannot afford to wait 60 days for a decision." Advertisement Continue reading the main story The administration said Monday that it would investigate the need to impose new quotas to prevent a "market disruption." Last year, the United States trade deficit with China was $162 billion, the largest trade imbalance ever recorded by the United States with a single country. American textile executives say the latest surge of Chinese imports has hit them directly. Since then, shipments from China of various clothing products have risen sharply. Yesterday's action does not guarantee that new limits will be imposed; it triggers a 30-day period during which interested parties may submit comments, followed by another 60-day period, which can be extended, for the government to determine whether safeguards are warranted. The 25 countries of the European Union are also considering some measure to help regulate the surge in their countries. They had been protected under a quota system that expired at the end of 2004. The government released preliminary data late Friday showing that shipments of knit shirts from China had increased by 1,258 percent in the first three months of this year, compared with last year. The decision represents a major victory for U.S. manufacturers, which had been pressing the administration to bring these cases on its own rather than waiting for the industry to petition the government for relief, which could take much longer. In a statement, Commerce Secretary Carlos M. Gutierrez said the administration is committed "to providing assistance to our domestic textile and apparel industry consistent with our international rights and obligations."
Washington Post Staff Writer Tuesday, April 5, 2005; Page A15 The Bush administration took a giant step yesterday toward imposing new caps on imports of Chinese clothing, responding to complaints that China's export juggernaut is starting to dominate the worldwide apparel market since the system governing the global industry was changed on Jan. 1. A U.S. interagency panel said it will initiate proceedings to determine whether new limits should be slapped on imports from China of underwear, cotton trousers, and cotton knit shirts and blouses. In a statement, Commerce Secretary Carlos M. Gutierrez said the administration is committed "to providing assistance to our domestic textile and apparel industry consistent with our international rights and obligations." The move makes it highly likely that a much-anticipated flood of Chinese clothing into the U.S. and world markets will be deferred for a while -- at least for this year, and possibly several more. At year-end 2004, a three-decade-old system of quotas on international textile and apparel shipments expired, arousing widespread predictions that China's enormously efficient and low-cost clothing makers would devastate rival producers once limits were eliminated on individual countries' shipments. But under the terms of its entry into the World Trade Organization, Beijing agreed to allow the United States and other nations to impose "safeguard" caps on imports of Chinese textiles and apparel in the event that such imports rose so quickly as to "disrupt" those markets. The safeguards can limit the annual growth in Chinese imports to as little as 7.5 percent, and they can be used until 2008. Yesterday's announcement came as a huge relief to the U.S. textile industry, which has already suffered massive job losses in recent years, in part because of competition from low-cost manufacturing countries. It has beseeched the administration to take action as quickly as possible against the new threat posed by the Chinese. But the decision angered importers and retailers, who said consumers will miss out on the chance to get lower prices. The European Union, another major market for clothing, is considering similar measures. The U.S. textile industry filed petitions last year seeking safeguards in a number of clothing categories, but those petitions have been tied up in court because they were based only on the potential menace that Chinese imports posed rather than clear evidence of an import surge. In yesterday's move, the administration "self-initiated" the safeguard process, citing preliminary data released last week that showed very sharp increases in many categories of Chinese imported clothing during the first quarter of 2005. Imports of Chinese-made cotton trousers, for example, soared about 1,500 percent, and imports of cotton knit tops rose 1,250 percent. Karl Spilhaus, president of the National Textile Association, said the administration's move "is very welcomed by American textile manufacturers who are struggling against a flood of imports from China." In a statement, he noted that "self-initiation sends a signal that the U.S. government is willing to proactively do something about the crisis in the textile industry." Yesterday's action does not guarantee that new limits will be imposed; it triggers a 30-day period during which interested parties may submit comments, followed by another 60-day period, which can be extended, for the government to determine whether safeguards are warranted. Under the process, however, the government essentially acts as both prosecutor and judge, and textile industry officials said the only real question is how fast the administration will make its decision. "It is critical that the U.S. government undertake a thorough investigation as quickly as possible," said Auggie Tantillo, executive director of the American Manufacturing Trade Action Coalition, another textile industry group, noting that under the rules the administration could render its decision very soon after the 30-day comment period. "The U.S. textile industry cannot afford to wait 60 days for a decision." He added that the industry will soon file new cases in additional textile and apparel categories, although the three covered by yesterday's action are the biggest and most important to U.S. producers. Importers blasted the decision, noting that China's quota-limited share of the U.S. market was low to start with. They also said the administration was trying to garner support for the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) from textile-state lawmakers who have been lukewarm or opposed to the deal. "There is no reason to believe that imports of these products from China are causing market disruption," said Laura E. Jones, executive director of the U.S. Association of Importers of Textiles and Apparel. "The data [the panel] is supposedly relying upon shows only that February was a peak month for imports. Dan Nelson, the Commerce Department press secretary, denied that CAFTA played a role in the decision, saying it was "based on the extraordinary and unprecedented growth in imports from China during the first quarter of this year." Those products are among the few kinds of mass-market clothing still made in the United States. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Fears that China will flood the world market with cheap textile exports have already inflamed tensions between Washington and Beijing. In contrast to a reluctance to browbeat China over the valuation of its currency -- which is having a serious effect on the United States' trade position -- the White House has been willing to use safeguards in the textile dispute to soothe a domestic industry. Last year, the United States trade deficit with China was $162 billion, the largest trade imbalance ever recorded by the United States with a single country. That figure alone has helped build political pressure to address the imbalance, even with textile safeguards, although the retail industry says they will be ineffective. Advertisement Continue reading the main story The administration said Monday that it would investigate the need to impose new quotas to prevent a "market disruption." Advertisement Continue reading the main story In an unusual display of urgency, Commerce Department officials started the process before textile companies requested an investigation. "It sends a strong message to China that predatory trade practices will be investigated." Advertisement Continue reading the main story "Look at the fact that those mills have closed down and those workers who have lost their jobs and you tell me China trade isn't affecting the U.S.," said Missy Brandon, senior vice president of the National Council of Textile Organizations.
And tens of thousands of people have marched through the Sudanese capital, Khartoum, protesting against the UN. But Darfur's two main rebel groups welcome it. It is the first time a case has been referred to the court in The Hague by the Security Council. UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan(R) hands Luis Moreno Ocampo, Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), a sealed envelop containing a list of 51 names of people blamed for war crimes in the conflict of Sudan's Darfur region. We are not people who have to listen to orders from anybody except the Sudan," one demonstrator said. The commission found that Sudanese government forces and militias committed gross human rights violations that could amount to crimes against humanity. "We are coming here to say to America 'no' to these orders. HRW says it has documented the arrest and detention of more than 20 foreign and local aid workers in the past four months. Boxes of documents have been delivered to the court Last week, the UN Security Council passed a resolution referring the situation in Darfur to the tribunal. Recent World News Russian police search office of Kremlin critic's foundation MOSCOW Russian police on Thursday searched the Moscow offices of a pro-democracy movement founded by Kremlin critic Mikhail Khodorkovsky which is calling for big anti-government protests on Saturday, activists said. Mr Ocampo, said the court would work to end the impunity in Sudan and stop the atrocities. Turkish referendum on Erdogan powers passed by 51.4 percent: final figures ANKARA Final results from Turkey's referendum on expanding President Tayyip Erdogan's powers showed 51.4 percent support for the "Yes" vote to approve the sweeping constitutional changes, the High Electoral Board said on Thursday.
UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan(R) hands Luis Moreno Ocampo, Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), a sealed envelop containing a list of 51 names of people blamed for war crimes in the conflict of Sudan's Darfur region. (Xinhua photo) ¡¡UNITED NATIONS, March 5 (Xinhuanet) -- UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan on Tuesday handed Luis Moreno Ocampo, Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), a sealed envelop containing a list of 51 names of people blamed for war crimes in the conflict of Sudan's Darfur region. "Now, we have a common task to end the culture of impunity," Ocampo said on receiving the list compiled by the UN-appointed International Commission of Inquiry five days after the Security Council voted to refer Darfur cases to the tribunal as recommendedby an international panel of inquiry into whether genocide had occurred in Darfur. "I will closely monitor ongoing crimes in Darfur as well as efforts to prevent and stop them," he added. Earlier Tuesday, the ICC, based in The Hague, received thousands of documents collected by the Commission, and Ocampo said he would analyze them and assess the crimes and the admissibility of the cases. Meanwhile in Khartoum, Sudan's capital, the UN mission reportedthat some of the tens of thousands of protesters attacked the perimeter fence of the UN Development Program compound. When that failed, they threw stones into it until a group of elders and community leaders passed a letter into the building for transmission to the Secretary-General. Under the resolution, war crimes and crimes against humanity that have occurred in Darfur since July 1, 2002, will be dealt with by the court. But the ICC will not start investigation or prosecution within one year after the adoption of the resolution. However, the Sudanese government officially announced on Sunday its rejection to United Nations Security Council resolution 1593 referring war crime suspects in Darfur to the International Criminal Court. Ending impunity UN Secretary General Kofi Annan handed the names of the 51 suspects to the ICC's chief prosecutor, Luis Moreno Ocampo, at UN headquarters in New York. The list, drawn up by the UN commission investigating allegations of killings, torture and rape in Darfur, includes Sudanese government and army officials, as well as militia and rebel leaders. Radio stations and newspapers urged people to join the protest Earlier on Tuesday, the UN handed other documents outlining the war crimes allegations to the court in The Hague. Mr al-Bashir swore "thrice in the name of Almighty Allah that I shall never hand any Sudanese national to a foreign court", he is quoted as saying by AFP news agency. Defiance Tens of thousands of people have marched through the Sudanese capital, Khartoum, to protest at the UN's decision to refer the suspects to the ICC. Newspapers, radio stations and even text messages were used to call on all Sudanese people to take part in the government-backed demonstration, says the BBC's Jonah Fisher in Khartoum. All the arrests took place in Nyala, the capital of South Darfur, and according to HRW's Peter Takirambudde are "nothing less than a campaign to harass and threaten aid agencies to keep them in line". Recent World News Russian police search office of Kremlin critic's foundation MOSCOW Russian police on Thursday searched the Moscow offices of a pro-democracy movement founded by Kremlin critic Mikhail Khodorkovsky which is calling for big anti-government protests on Saturday, activists said. Russia 'End injustice' pleads Venezuelan official's son over unrest CARACAS The son of Venezuela's pro-government human rights ombudsman has surprised the country amid major protests against the leftist administration by publicly urging his father to "end the injustice." Turkish referendum on Erdogan powers passed by 51.4 percent: final figures ANKARA Final results from Turkey's referendum on expanding President Tayyip Erdogan's powers showed 51.4 percent support for the "Yes" vote to approve the sweeping constitutional changes, the High Electoral Board said on Thursday. Turkey Venezuelans entering Colombia must get migrant card BOGOTA Venezuelans who regularly cross into Colombia to work, study or shop must apply for a special migratory card to ease their passage, the Colombian government said on Thursday.
Please re-enter. The ambassador, Wang Yi, said Beijing did not condone the protests. Japan has protested to China after stone-throwing protesters attacked Japan's embassy in Beijing on Saturday. Advertisement Continue reading the main story The main purpose of the latest protest was to appeal for Chinese to stop buying Japanese goods. "We demand that Japan recognize its crimes." China says it has mobilised a huge police force to maintain order. View all New York Times newsletters. Anti-Japanese sentiment has also been fuelled by Japan's campaign for a permanent seat on the UN Security Council. The Chinese Communist Party emphasizes its nationalist credentials and often allows civilian groups to organize activities directed against foreign nations viewed as encroaching on China's interests. Turkey Venezuelans entering Colombia must get migrant card BOGOTA Venezuelans who regularly cross into Colombia to work, study or shop must apply for a special migratory card to ease their passage, the Colombian government said on Thursday. A city hall spokesman said the "spontaneous demonstration" was peaceful and under control. Turkish referendum on Erdogan powers passed by 51.4 percent: final figures ANKARA Final results from Turkey's referendum on expanding President Tayyip Erdogan's powers showed 51.4 percent support for the "Yes" vote to approve the sweeping constitutional changes, the High Electoral Board said on Thursday. Recent World News Russian police search office of Kremlin critic's foundation MOSCOW Russian police on Thursday searched the Moscow offices of a pro-democracy movement founded by Kremlin critic Mikhail Khodorkovsky which is calling for big anti-government protests on Saturday, activists said. A Japanese diplomat said some windows in the consulate were broken. But Saturday's demonstration was by some estimates the largest to be held in the capital since a massive outpouring an anti-American sentiment in 1999, after the United States bombed China's embassy in Belgrade during the war against Serbia.
Anti-Japanese protests have been building throughout the week The rallies follow a 10,000-strong march in the Chinese capital - the city's biggest protest since 1999. Protesters are angry at a new Japanese history textbook which they believe plays down Japan's wartime atrocities. Japan has protested to China after stone-throwing protesters attacked Japan's embassy in Beijing on Saturday. Japan's foreign minister is to visit China next week to discuss "a number of bilateral and international issues", a spokesman for Japan's Foreign Ministry said. Security measures At least 3,000 people demonstrated at the Japanese consulate in the southern city of Guangzhou on Sunday, shouting for a boycott of Japanese goods and burning Japanese flags. A Japanese diplomat said some windows in the consulate were broken. A city hall spokesman said the "spontaneous demonstration" was peaceful and under control. China says it has mobilised a huge police force to maintain order. Thousands more marched in Shenzhen, also in the southern Guangdong province, and threw objects at Japanese-owned businesses. On Saturday, Japan summoned the Chinese ambassador to demand a formal apology, after windows at its embassy in Beijing were broken during a demonstration, despite the presence of Chinese police. However, correspondents say the fact that Saturday's demonstration took place at all signals tacit acceptance, if not approval, by the authorities. 'Whitewash' The protests were sparked by new Japanese schoolbooks, which many Chinese say whitewash Japan's occupation of much of China during the 1930s and early 1940s. Critics are angered that one of the books refers to the killing of more than 250,000 civilians by Japanese troops in the Chinese city of Nanjing in 1937 as an "incident", rather than the "massacre" it is known as elsewhere. China says it mobilised police to protect Japanese buildings They also say it glosses over mass sex slavery of Asian women by Japanese troops. Anti-Japanese sentiment has also been fuelled by Japan's campaign for a permanent seat on the UN Security Council. Many Chinese feel Japan has not yet addressed its wartime history, and as such is not fit to take up such a position of responsibility, says the BBC's Rupert Wingfield-Hayes in Beijing. Tokyo says private companies, not the government, were responsible for the texts, and that it is up to individual school districts to decide which books they use. The book, approved by a local education authority, is one of many and has been taken up by a tiny proportion of schools in Japan, our correspondent says. Political ties between China and Japan have become strained over rival claims to a string of tiny islands in the East China Sea, where both countries have taken steps to exploit reserves of natural gas. China has also accused Japan of approving new history textbooks that gloss over the slaughter of millions of innocent people during Japan's World War II-era occupation of China. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Beijing objected to recent moves by Japan and the United States to expand military cooperation and sharply criticized the two nations for pledging jointly to defend Taiwan if China were to attack it. Last week, Beijing made clear that it was not prepared to support an overhaul of the governing structure of the United Nations, effectively delaying consideration of plans to promote Japan and several other major countries to permanent membership on the Security Council. But Saturday's demonstration was by some estimates the largest to be held in the capital since a massive outpouring an anti-American sentiment in 1999, after the United States bombed China's embassy in Belgrade during the war against Serbia. Some protesters said they had the responsibility to raise awareness of Japan's past crimes and compared their current campaign to the May 4, 1919, movement, which also protested the actions of Japan and other foreign powers seen as encroaching on Chinese territory. Recent World News Russian police search office of Kremlin critic's foundation MOSCOW Russian police on Thursday searched the Moscow offices of a pro-democracy movement founded by Kremlin critic Mikhail Khodorkovsky which is calling for big anti-government protests on Saturday, activists said. Russia 'End injustice' pleads Venezuelan official's son over unrest CARACAS The son of Venezuela's pro-government human rights ombudsman has surprised the country amid major protests against the leftist administration by publicly urging his father to "end the injustice." Turkish referendum on Erdogan powers passed by 51.4 percent: final figures ANKARA Final results from Turkey's referendum on expanding President Tayyip Erdogan's powers showed 51.4 percent support for the "Yes" vote to approve the sweeping constitutional changes, the High Electoral Board said on Thursday.
He called the proposal "wildly unrealistic" and would, "if implemented, damage the economy". The Liberal Democrats also intend to introduce a new 50% top rate of income tax on earnings over £100,000. A tired-looking Charles Kennedy launched the Liberal Democrat manifesto this morning and ran into trouble when he stumbled over explaining the party's tax plans. The Tories said a vote for the Lib Dems would mean higher taxes, while Labour said the Lib Dems' sums didn't add up. Free dental checks The party also promises 21,000 extra teachers and an extra £100 a month pension for the over 75s. This group would also on average pay less local taxation - which disproportionally hits home-owning people on pensions. Mr Kennedy, returning after the birth of his son, also wants UK troops to leave Iraq by the end of the year. He also promised an extra 10,000 police and 20,000 community support officers. It offered "dignity for older people, real opportunity for our children and a fair deal for families", he said. Download the reader here The party say the typical family will be £450 better off under the local income tax, with half of households paying less, 25% paying more and 25% paying the same. "It is a fully costed and affordable programme to create a fairer Britain. Lib Dem chairman Matthew Taylor admitted his leader had struggled to remember a figure but put it down to the new father's lack of sleep. It will commit the party to lowering class sizes by providing 21,000 new primary school teachers and scrapping student fees. He will attempt to fight Labour on its home turf, claiming disaffected supporters from the government by focusing on his party's commitment to fairness as well as its opposition to the war in Iraq.
Kennedy: Wants Iraq exit strategy The Lib Dems say replacing council tax with a new local income tax will make 15 million households better off. Mr Kennedy, returning after the birth of his son, also wants UK troops to leave Iraq by the end of the year. The Tories said a vote for the Lib Dems would mean higher taxes, while Labour said the Lib Dems' sums didn't add up. The Liberal Democrats have been the real opposition Charles Kennedy Lib Dem launch Taking charge again on Thursday, two days after his wife Sarah gave birth to their son Donald, Mr Kennedy said the manifesto was "based on fairness, based on opportunity". 'Dignity' He described the document as a "fully-costed and affordable programme to create a fair Britain". It offered "dignity for older people, real opportunity for our children and a fair deal for families", he said. The 20-page newspaper-style manifesto includes plans for a new 50% top tax rate on earnings over £100,000 to pay for its commitments. Download the reader here The party say the typical family will be £450 better off under the local income tax, with half of households paying less, 25% paying more and 25% paying the same. They claim six million pensioners would pay no local tax at all under the plans. But at the launch Mr Kennedy appeared confused about how much the tax would raise and who would end up paying more. Lib Dem chairman Matthew Taylor admitted his leader had struggled to remember a figure but put it down to the new father's lack of sleep. Free dental checks The party also promises 21,000 extra teachers and an extra £100 a month pension for the over 75s. There would also be a new "citizen's pension" so women would have an automatic right to a full state pension based on residence, not National Insurance contributions. KEY LIB DEM PLEDGES 50% top rate tax on earnings over £100,000 Replace council tax with local income tax Scrap university fees 21,000 extra teachers £100 a month pension extra for over 75s Free eye and dental checks 10,000 extra police 20,000 community support officers Lower class sizes Free personal care Scrap the Child Trust Fund Scrap the Child Support Agency Lib Dem fact check Mr Kennedy reminded voters of Lib Dem opposition to the Iraq war. "A vote for the Liberal Democrats is a vote for higher taxes, unlimited immigration and the abolition of mandatory sentences for murder or a second serious sexual or violent crime." Mr Blair, who made a speech claiming that Labour are now the party of wealth creation, attacked Lib Dem plans to have a 50% top rate of tax as "economically wrong". HAVE YOUR SAY The Lib Dems' manifesto contains much with which I fully agree Steve Stacey, Spalding, England Send your views Kilroy manifesto tax pledge Elsewhere on the campaign trail, Tory leader Michael Howard pledged to ensure children of immigrants were taught to master English. He also highlighted plans to abolish university tuition fees by charging a commercial rate of interest on student loans. Former chat show host Robert Kilroy-Silk's Veritas party launched its manifesto with a pledge to introduce a flat rate of income tax. Charles Kennedy will today return to the campaign trail to launch the Liberal Democrats' manifesto and brand his party "the most socially progressive" in Britain. He will attempt to fight Labour on its home turf, claiming disaffected supporters from the government by focusing on his party's commitment to fairness as well as its opposition to the war in Iraq. Mr Kennedy, who is returning from two days of paternity leave following the birth of his first child, Donald, will insist: "It is a great privilege for me, at this general election, to be leading the most socially progressive party in British politics." He will add that his party is an alternative to "authoritarian" Labour and the "insular and narrow-minded" Tories, promising that a Liberal Democrat government would bring "dignity for older people, real opportunity for our children and a fair deal for families". At 16,000 words it has more than double the text of the Tory's A4-format pamphlet, but is 7,000 words short of Labour's detailed book. It will commit the party to lowering class sizes by providing 21,000 new primary school teachers and scrapping student fees. It also promises to put 10,000 extra police and 20,000 community support officers on the street. The manifesto promises a "citizen's pension" for the over-75s, adding £100 a month to their incomes, and the replacement of council tax with a "fairer" local income tax. "Ninety-nine per cent of people will not pay more tax under this proposal - but the benefits will be for 100% of people," he will stress. A tired-looking Charles Kennedy launched the Liberal Democrat manifesto this morning and ran into trouble when he stumbled over explaining the party's tax plans. Mr Kennedy, whose first child was born on Tuesday, said his party's tabloid-sized manifesto was "based on fairness and opportunity, dignity for older people, real opportunity for our children and a fair deal for families". The Liberal Democrat leader was criticised, however, for not spelling out how much a middle income couple would have to pay under the party's plans to replace council tax with a local income tax. The party's manifesto says that the policy would save the typical family £450 a year and stop six million pensioners from paying local taxation at all. The deputy prime minister, John Prescott, seized on Mr Taylor's comment and claimed the Liberal Democrats' plans would cost a couple with a combined income of £41,000 an extra £260 a year.
said Tang. "For many years, China has been educating its people in this way, trying our best to make a correct guidance of the general public," he added. China called this weeks decision by Japan to grant exploration permits a serious provocations and it's against this background that Japan's Foreign Minister Nobutaka Machimura will fly to Beijing on Sunday to attempt to mend some fences. Last week the Chinese public were infuriated by the approval of a controversial new version of history textbook by the Japanese government. But the Japanese prime minister is still visiting the Yasukuni Shrine (where 14 Class A war criminals of World War II are honored) every year. This is Peter Cave reporting from Tokyo, for Saturday AM. China-Japan relations have recently turned tense due to historical and territorial issues. There were new violent anti-Japanese demonstrations in South Korea yesterday. Scuffles erupted when police attempted to seize the coffin. The state councilor said the Chinese government "didn't approveof" and "didn't want to see" the extreme activities which occurred sporadically during the process of public protests. China expects to begin exploiting the disputed gas reserves as early as August. Turkish referendum on Erdogan powers passed by 51.4 percent: final figures ANKARA Final results from Turkey's referendum on expanding President Tayyip Erdogan's powers showed 51.4 percent support for the "Yes" vote to approve the sweeping constitutional changes, the High Electoral Board said on Thursday. (sound of Hiroyuki Hosoda speaking) Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Hiroyuki Hosoda says that Japan will be carefully monitoring how China deals with the calls for new rallies over the weekend.
Recent World News Russian police search office of Kremlin critic's foundation MOSCOW Russian police on Thursday searched the Moscow offices of a pro-democracy movement founded by Kremlin critic Mikhail Khodorkovsky which is calling for big anti-government protests on Saturday, activists said. Russia 'End injustice' pleads Venezuelan official's son over unrest CARACAS The son of Venezuela's pro-government human rights ombudsman has surprised the country amid major protests against the leftist administration by publicly urging his father to "end the injustice." Turkish referendum on Erdogan powers passed by 51.4 percent: final figures ANKARA Final results from Turkey's referendum on expanding President Tayyip Erdogan's powers showed 51.4 percent support for the "Yes" vote to approve the sweeping constitutional changes, the High Electoral Board said on Thursday. Turkey Venezuelans entering Colombia must get migrant card BOGOTA Venezuelans who regularly cross into Colombia to work, study or shop must apply for a special migratory card to ease their passage, the Colombian government said on Thursday. AM - Saturday, 16 April , 2005 08:00:00 Reporter: Peter Cave ELIZABETH JACKSON: But first to Japan, where the country's Foreign Ministry has been sending faxes and emails to all Japanese firms and individuals in China to be prepared for violence if further large anti-Japanese rallies go ahead this weekend as planned. Foreign Minister Nobutaka Machimura, who's due in Beijing on Sunday for fence mending talks with his Chinese counterpart, has warned China it faces unwelcome repercussions if the strained relations continue. In the midst of the territorial dispute, Australian Prime Minister John Howard will next week visit both countries. (sound of protesters shouting) PETER CAVE: Every night this week Japanese television stations have been playing the footage of last weekend's demonstrations over and over, with blanket coverage of the growing feelings of resentment against them in China. Despite recent moves by the Chinese Government to dissuade people from repeating last weekend's violence, phone and internet messages have gone out calling for rallies in Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Guangzhou, Shenyang and Chengdu. (sound of Hiroyuki Hosoda speaking) Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Hiroyuki Hosoda says that Japan will be carefully monitoring how China deals with the calls for new rallies over the weekend. Despite the worsening situation Japan this week gave the go ahead for Japanese companies to begin exploratory drilling in a disputed area of the East China Sea, where China started a similar venture earlier this year. At the heart of the territorial dispute are a small group of islands hardly more than rocks in the sea, which Japan first declared part of its sovereign territory in 1895. Since then, both China and Taiwan have pushed their right to sovereignty as well with the discovery of immense undersea reserves of oil and gas fuelling the dispute. On Friday, in its annual diplomatic report, the Japanese Foreign Ministry labelled the dispute with China over the islands a serious security problem, citing China's illegal energy developments in the area and last year's incursion there of a Chinese nuclear submarine. China called this weeks decision by Japan to grant exploration permits a serious provocations and it's against this background that Japan's Foreign Minister Nobutaka Machimura will fly to Beijing on Sunday to attempt to mend some fences. (sound of Nobutaka Machimura speaking) "The scheduled meetings with my Chinese counterpart on Sunday have become all the more significant because of the recent developments," he says. "I want China to fully realise the unwelcome repercussions that strained bilateral ties will bring, and I will strongly urge China to improve the situation." Hundreds of riot police arrested 27 veterans who attempted to hold a mock funeral for the Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi. Scuffles erupted when police attempted to seize the coffin. The demonstrators let off firecrackers, and one brandished a shotgun before the riot police responded with tear gas and arrests. Tang has made the remarks when meeting Toyohiko Yamanouchi, president of Japan's Kyodo News Agency on Tuesday, according to a press release from the Chinese Foreign Ministry on Friday. Tang, China's former foreign minister, told Yamanouchi that China had made great efforts in preventing the issue from escalating. "A large number of police personnel have been deployed to secure the safety of Japanese agencies and citizens in China." The state councilor said the Chinese government "didn't approveof" and "didn't want to see" the extreme activities which occurred sporadically during the process of public protests. However, he pointed out that such incidents had reflected that China-Japan relations were faced with a "grave and complex situation" which deserved "sufficient attention from both sides". Tang said China had never viewed the broad masses of the Japanese people as the same as a few militarists who started the war of aggression against China 60 years ago, and had never held the opinion that the people in Japan today should be blamed for their country's history of invasion. The state councilor went on to say that the recent demonstrations by some people in China were actually triggered by the Japanese government's adoption of the new right-wing history textbooks, which "tampered with history and beautified aggression",and were aimed at preventing Japan from becoming a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council. "The Chinese people really can't understand how a nation which cannot honestly look at its aggressive history and which cannot correctly understand the feelings of the people of the countries it victimized could be qualified to bid for a permanent seat on the UN Security Council," he said. Tang said that Japan, which once showed an attitude of remorse and apology toward its aggression past and once expressed understanding of and respect for the feelings of the victims of war, now "tends to overemphasize the factor of internal politics while turning a blind eye to the feelings of its neighbors".
"No, we have had no such calls, neither to me nor to my office," he said. Mr Howard denied that such representations had been made. But leaflets to mainly white areas in English trumpeted the party's national tough line on immigration. Lynton Crosby Campaign director Widely praised - or blamed - for the Tories' election campaign which is sharply focused on the party's five "commitments". The inner team Guy Black Press secretary Highly polished figure who is first Tory press secretary in years to be on first-name terms with every national newspaper editor. There fore we need to stitch together those issues in a way which people can say, when we think of the Conservatives, this is what we would get with the Conservatives." One ex-minister on the left of the party sees working class Labour voters deserting in response to the Howard message on crime and immigration, but middle class New Labour and Lib Dem voters resisting it strongly. At his morning press conference the Conservative leader will pledge to scrap the council tax revaluation which is due to take place in 2007. Mr Blair also criticised the proposed costly quota system for economic migrants and what he called "fantasy island" on which asylum claimants would be held. John Howard declared after his win: "There's no better political strategist in Australia than Lynton Crosby." Steve Norris, another former minister, weighed in against the "vaguely distasteful" emphasis on the issue. All they've got to make sure is that they've got it right. The electorate weren't ready for trade union reform in 1974.
Michael Howard declared yesterday that he would continue to be "vigilant" about immigration to ensure that race relations in Britain are not damaged by unease about the highly sensitive issue. Unbowed by harsh criticism from a television audience on Monday about his hardline stance, the Tory leader said that good community relations went "hand in hand" with firm controls on immigration. "If we are to continue to have good community relations in this country you have to be vigilant," Mr Howard said at the Conservatives' daily press conference. "And if people lose confidence in the system and believe it's out of control, I believe that breeds a sense of insecurity and that's damaging to good community relations." Immigration returned to the fore after Mr Howard came under fire on ITV's Ask the Leader programme and after the Guardian reported that frontbenchers had asked him to tone down his hardline policy. "No, we have had no such calls, neither to me nor to my office," he said. The Guardian understands, however, that a number of frontbenchers did contact a Howard aide to ask for a "broadening" of the party's election campaign. Mr Howard, who yesterday pledged to crack down on binge drinkers, will today attempt to show that he has a broad campaign by offering help to middle income earners. At his morning press conference the Conservative leader will pledge to scrap the council tax revaluation which is due to take place in 2007. The announcement came amid a dawning realisation across the party that the Tories may be heading for another heavy defeat after a Populus poll in the Times showed that Labour has increased its lead from two to nine points. Few Tories believe that Mr Howard has made a strategic blunder in the way that William Hague alienated middle ground voters with his warning about Britain turning into a "foreign land". But there are fears that he has made tactical errors, such as concentrating too much on immigration and opening the party up to charges that its brief manifesto looks more like a list of grievances than a programme for government. David Curry, a supporter of the former chancellor Kenneth Clarke who resigned last year from Mr Howard's shadow cabinet, said he was pleased that the party was concentrating on the "real issues" of schools, hospitals, crime, tax and immigration. But the former minister indicated that the leadership needed to do more to show how it would "stitch" its policies together into a vision for Britain. "What we need to do is put them together into a proper account or narrative of the things a Conservative government would stand for. There is also irritation about the tight circle around Mr Howard, whose members make the main decisions about the campaign without consulting many members of the shadow cabinet. The circle consists of Lynton Crosby, the campaign director, Rachel Whetstone, Mr Howard's political secretary, Stephen Sherbourne, his chief of staff, and Guy Black, his press secretary. Derek Conway, a supporter of David Davis, the shadow home secretary, said: "There is criticism of Howard's tight circle and that probably happens for every leader. He added: "I personally don't think the results are going to be as bad as the polls are showing." While Mr Conway's remarks indicate that he is not holding his breath for a Tory victory, he is happy with the direction of the campaign. A strong believer in lower taxes, he said the Tory right was prepared to accept the party's election pledge to cut taxes by a modest £4bn. Howard's calculation is right: that the electorate is not ready yet for a radical tax cutting agenda. Stephen Dorrell, a former cabinet minister, said: "It's normal in a campaign that the Tory party complains endlessly about party HQ and the way the campaign is being fought incompetently. One candidate from the south-west said that crime, immigration and high council tax bills were resonating. One ex-minister on the left of the party sees working class Labour voters deserting in response to the Howard message on crime and immigration, but middle class New Labour and Lib Dem voters resisting it strongly. The inner team Guy Black Press secretary Highly polished figure who is first Tory press secretary in years to be on first-name terms with every national newspaper editor. Lynton Crosby Campaign director Widely praised - or blamed - for the Tories' election campaign which is sharply focused on the party's five "commitments". Whetstone, who served as Howard's special adviser as home secretary, is a pivotal member of the inner circle who is often first port of call when frontbenchers have concerns. Refugee groups have called for the Conservative party's controversial election strategist, Lynton Crosby, to be banned from New Zealand, after it was reported that the country's centre-right National party want to hire him to fight their next election. Spokesman Jack Smit said: "Mr Crosby's election tactics are deliberately designed to create a degree of xenophobia and fear for 'refugee invasions'. The newspaper also reported that the National party - in opposition in the Wellington parliament - is "in negotiations" with Mr Crosby.
Or the Nasdaq. Still, he should try the decaf. The NYSE, all told, reported just over $1 billion in revenue last year. Trading costs are not that big a deal. While those nickels can add up, how much lower will commissions go if all trades were electronic? (For those of American Century, see: “Forbes 2005 Mutual Fund Guide.”) Consider this back-of-the-envelope calculation: A mutual fund owns 1,000 shares of stock with an average cost of $34. Or whether it merges with Archipelago Holdings . “This is a triumphant day for investors,” he said, as quoted by Investor’s Business Daily. Or Instinet Group , which may merge with the Nasdaq. Declaration of Independence get to southern England? | U.S., Aerospace & Defense How did a copy of U.S. The Nasdaq Stock Market Inc. is purchasing Instinet Group Inc.'s electronic trading network for $934.5 million, a move designed to improve Nasdaq's position as competition grows among the world's stock markets.The long-rumored announcement Friday came two days after the New York Stock Exchange said it would merge with Archipelago Holdings Inc. , operator of the ArcaEx electronic trading market, a move that boosts the NYSE's electronic trading offerings and increases its competitiveness against Nasdaq and other markets.Instinet's technology, meanwhile, gives Nasdaq an incremental increase in its own trading technologies. By the time he was reached by The Business Journal of Kansas City, Bradley was unable to contain himself. But if it charges 1% of assets to manage the money, it’s taking in $340. Arkansas plans to end its series of April executions by putting to death on Thursday an inmate convicted of murdering a cheerleader and who escaped from prison and killed two other people before being captured again.
Recent Top News U.S. Republican leaders seek votes for healthcare bill WASHINGTON Prospects for U.S. House passage of a healthcare system overhaul before President Donald Trump's 100th day in office dimmed on Thursday as Republicans struggled to find the needed votes, lawmakers and aides said. | Politics, Election 2016, Health United Airlines reaches settlement with passenger dragged from plane CHICAGO United Airlines and the passenger who was dragged from a Chicago flight earlier this month have reached a settlement for an undisclosed sum, they said on Thursday, in the carrier's latest step to contain damage from an incident which has sparked international outrage. | U.S., Aerospace & Defense How did a copy of U.S. CHICHESTER, England British experts will carry out tests to try to determine how a rare copy of the U.S. | Arkansas nears fourth execution in about a week LITTLE ROCK, Ark. Arkansas plans to end its series of April executions by putting to death on Thursday an inmate convicted of murdering a cheerleader and who escaped from prison and killed two other people before being captured again. The Nasdaq Stock Market Inc. is purchasing Instinet Group Inc.'s electronic trading network for $934.5 million, a move designed to improve Nasdaq's position as competition grows among the world's stock markets.The long-rumored announcement Friday came two days after the New York Stock Exchange said it would merge with Archipelago Holdings Inc. , operator of the ArcaEx electronic trading market, a move that boosts the NYSE's electronic trading offerings and increases its competitiveness against Nasdaq and other markets.Instinet's technology, meanwhile, gives Nasdaq an incremental increase in its own trading technologies. "This transaction will allow Nasdaq to compete more effectively with other U.S. and international market centers by making our technological platform more competitive, which will result in greater cost efficiencies and improved quality of execution in our market," Bob Greifeld, Nasdaq's chief executive officer, said in a statement.Instinet's broker-dealer arm will be sold to a private equity group, Silver Lake Partners, for $207.5 million, while another Instinet subsidiary, which manages commission rebates, will go to the Bank of New York for $174 million. The deal also include $562 billion in cash that Instinet currently holds, bringing the overall value of the sale to $1.9 billion. And now I’ve got it: Add up all the exchanges, and they cost us something under $4 billion. Four billion dollars is not an incidental sum, but it’s no more than Americans are likely to spend on search-engine marketing or pornography. “We would note that this is an issue that we would expect would be addressed by the appropriate government authorities.” Harold Bradley Harold Bradley , an executive at American Century , the Kansas City, Mo.-based mutual fund company, was ecstatic, according to reports. The NYSE, all told, reported just over $1 billion in revenue last year. The average per-share commission on the NYSE is less than a nickel, and the average share price is about $34–making the commission just over one-tenth of 1%. (For those of American Century, see: “Forbes 2005 Mutual Fund Guide.”) Consider this back-of-the-envelope calculation: A mutual fund owns 1,000 shares of stock with an average cost of $34.
"At this point, to my mind, Lebanon is stronger." Most Lebanese analysts expect Syria's deep ties to remain for some time to come, and many fear that Syria may rile things further. A UN team has just gone to Lebanon to verify the withdrawal of all Syrian troops, military assets and intelligence. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Even after the elections, Lebanon's problems may worsen. In September, the Security Council passed a resolution calling for foreign forces to be withdrawn from Lebanon. Hariri death Pressure for Syria to leave grew after the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri in February. "Only now are we going to discover the damage the Syrians left behind," Ms. Mouawad said. Southern control In his report on the implementation of the resolution, Mr Annan pointed out that other UN requirements had still not been met. As part of the 1989 Taif agreement ending the war, Syria was to withdraw from Lebanon in two stages over two years. Trust in government institutions has waned. General Ghazali's base in the town of Anjar was abandoned on Monday, quickly taken over by Lebanese troops. View all New York Times newsletters. Earlier on Tuesday, a parade of about 200 Syrian soldiers in the Bekaa Valley marked the end of the 29-year deployment in Lebanon. Please try again later. With the pro-Syrian establishment in Beirut continuing to unravel by the day, any hope that Damascus might have harbored of retaining some level of influence in Lebanon appears to be fading fast. "We can't tell if they have all gone, so I don't see how they can."
It is not yet clear whether Lebanon has full control of its territory In a report to the Security Council, he said he had received a letter from Syria saying full withdrawal was complete - claims the UN is examining. In September, the Security Council passed a resolution calling for foreign forces to be withdrawn from Lebanon. The council is due to discuss Mr Annan's report later in the week. A UN team has just gone to Lebanon to verify the withdrawal of all Syrian troops, military assets and intelligence. Southern control In his report on the implementation of the resolution, Mr Annan pointed out that other UN requirements had still not been met. SYRIA IN LEBANON Military intervention began in 1976 30,000 troops in Lebanon during 1980s, 14,000 by 2005 Syrian forces helped end Lebanese civil war in 1990 and maintain peace Calls for Syrian withdrawal increased in 2000 after Israeli pull-out from southern Lebanon UN resolution calling for foreign forces' withdrawal in Sept 2004 In pictures: Troops leave Mixed reaction from press Lebanese political reaction Mr Annan said several incidents had shown the government did not have full control of all its territory and he added there had been no change in the position of the militias and that armed vigilante groups were now being set up as well. The UN chief said that according to the Lebanese and Syrian governments assertions that Syrian military intelligence had taken up new positions south of Beirut were untrue. Mr Annan said Lebanon had reached a critical juncture and it was time for all parties to set aside the vestiges of the past. He called for free and fair elections to be held on schedule, warning any delay would threaten the security, stability and prosperity of the country. Hariri death Pressure for Syria to leave grew after the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri in February. Damascus has denied any role in the death of Hariri, who was killed by a car bomb in Beirut, but the event prompted giant protests calling for the Syrians to go. Syria's troops in Lebanon - which at one point numbered up to 40,000 - were scheduled to leave completely by 30 April. Earlier on Tuesday, a parade of about 200 Syrian soldiers in the Bekaa Valley marked the end of the 29-year deployment in Lebanon. Soldiers received medals and shouted support for Syria's president before marching off to the strains of a Lebanese army band. Prominently seated in the audience was Syria's top intelligence chief in Lebanon, Maj. Gen. Rustom Ghazali, who is widely considered to have held the reins of Lebanese politics for years. General Ghazali's base in the town of Anjar was abandoned on Monday, quickly taken over by Lebanese troops. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Syria entered Lebanon in 1976 as part of an Arab peacekeeping force shortly after the Lebanese civil war broke out. Over the years, the Syrians held pitched battles with Israeli forces and various Lebanese factions, and lost thousands of soldiers throughout the conflict. At its peak, Syria had more than 30,000 soldiers in Lebanon, and during peacetime, it gained almost exclusive control of Lebanon's politics and economy. As part of the 1989 Taif agreement ending the war, Syria was to withdraw from Lebanon in two stages over two years. But more than 15 years later, it still maintained a highly visible presence in Lebanon, and last September, the United Nations passed resolution 1559 calling for, among other things, Syria's immediate withdrawal. When former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri was assassinated on Feb. 14, a furor over Syria's alleged involvement in the murder raised international pressure on Syria to get out. "Syria has now fulfilled that demand and has also complied with its portion of the 1989 Taif agreement," the chief of Syria's military, Gen. Ali Habib, said. Advertisement Continue reading the main story In a statement on Monday, the United Nations secretary general, Kofi Annan, said he was dispatching a team to verify that Syria had withdrawn all troops, military assets and the intelligence apparatus in keeping with the 2004 United Nations resolution. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Shortly after the two-hour ceremony here today, General Ghazali and his officers piled into cars and drove across the border, ostensibly for the last time, as buses and jeeps filled with troops followed. The last four Syrian soldiers, who had been holding watch at the border, jumped aboard a Syrian television van this afternoon and crossed back into Syria. Advertisement Continue reading the main story "I respect the Syrians for having left without any conflict with us," said Tanious Abu Hamad, the mayor of the town of Saghbin in the Bekaa Valley, who attended the ceremony. Most politics are still built on sectarianism, and are likely to grow more divisive as the elections approach and power bases shift from pro-Syrian politicians to the opposition. The status of Hezbollah, the militant Shiite movement, has yet to be agreed on, while the exiled former general Michel Aoun and the jailed Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea, both Christians, are expected to return to the political scene, further heating election races. Advertisement Continue reading the main story "We have clearly succeeded in our sovereignty revolution, but we have not yet succeeded in our democratic revolution," said Chibli Mallat, director of the Center for the Study of the European Union, and a prominent lawyer in Beirut. "The revolution only succeeds when the president resigns and when the confessionalism in politics gives way to national representation." "Don't for a minute think everything is over - the story's just begun."
he said. "What counts is, where's the money, senator?" Some of the Iraqi oil documents named Mr. Galloway's charity. Blix was chief U.N. weapons inspector in Iraq before the war. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Mr. Galloway denied having received any money from the scheme. Mr. Levin, along with other Democrats, had earlier criticized United States involvement in the United Nations program as uneven. He said he had met with Saddam "exactly as many times as Donald Rumsfeld has met with him." Norm Coleman of Minnesota. Europeans implicated In addition to Galloway, the panel also implicated former French Interior Minister Charles Pasqua, who allegedly was allocated 11 million barrels. I have never seen a barrel of oil, owned one, bought one, sold one, and neither has anybody on my behalf," Galloway testified. I told the world, contrary to your claims, that Iraq had no connection to al Qaeda. British MP denies oil-for-food charges Called the probe the 'mother of all smokescreens' WASHINGTON (CNN) -- British Member of Parliament George Galloway angrily denied Tuesday that he profited from Saddam Hussein's regime and criticized a Senate panel probing alleged corruption in the U.N. oil-for-food program in Iraq. Please try again later. Zureikat donated about $600,000. "The biggest sanctions busters were not me or Russian politicians or French politicians," he said, "the real sanctions busters were your own companies with the connivance of your own government." A new report from Democrats on the Senate subcommittee concludes the United States ended up with a majority of the oil lifted from Iraq after vendors paid illicit surcharges of 10 cents to 30 cents a barrel to Saddam.
Mr. Pasqua and Mr. Zhirinovsky have also denied any wrongdoing. The vitriolic tone used by Mr. Galloway was rare for a witness in a Senate hearing. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Mr. Galloway, a maverick politician ousted from the Labor Party for his fervent opposition to the Iraq war and his blunt criticism of Prime Minister Tony Blair, did not deny that he had had contacts with Iraq but said that Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld had met more often with Saddam Hussein than he had. The subcommittee's chairman, Senator Norm Coleman, Republican of Minnesota, seemed a bit taken aback by the intensity of Mr. Galloway's remarks, stumbling over some questions, or demanding "yes" or "no" answers, which the British lawmaker refused to give. Mr. Coleman, in an opening statement, repeated the panel's accusations against Mr. Galloway. In one transaction, Mr. Coleman said, surcharges of more than $300,000 were paid illegally to the Hussein regime as part of the covert arrangement. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Mr. Galloway called this "preposterous," adding, "I have never seen a barrel of oil, owned one, bought one, sold one, and neither has anybody on my behalf." Advertisement Continue reading the main story He sarcastically denied accusations made by a former Iraqi vice president, Taha Yasin Ramadan, and by other officials the panel refused to identify. Some of the Iraqi oil documents named Mr. Galloway's charity. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Mr. Coleman later told reporters he did not consider Mr. Galloway "a credible witness." The United Nations program, which lasted from late 1996 to 2003, was meant to prevent Mr. Hussein from using oil profits for weaponry, while easing the sanctions imposed after the first Gulf War amid charges they had resulted in suffering for the Iraqi people. Accusations of widespread fraud in the program have led to some calls for the resignation of the United Nations Secretary-General, Kofi Annan. The unapologetic Mr. Galloway put a dramatic face on a scandal that has been largely bogged down in the arcane details of diverted oil shipments, translated documents, shadowy go-betweens and questionable payments. "The biggest sanctions busters were not me or Russian politicians or French politicians," he said, "the real sanctions busters were your own companies with the connivance of your own government." "What counts is, where's the money, senator?" "Who paid me hundreds of thousands of dollars? Advertisement Continue reading the main story "The efforts on behalf of the United States to help the people of Iraq have been well placed and should be applauded rather than attacked," he said. Those linked by the report to the scandal, Mr. Galloway said, had one thing in common: "They all stood against the policies of sanctions and war which you vociferously prosecuted and which has led us to this disaster." "I gave my political life's blood to try to stop the mass killing of Iraqis by the sanctions on Iraq, which killed a million Iraqis, most of them children." In reply to a question from the ranking Democrat, Senator Carl Levin of Michigan, he said that the matter was academic because "you've already found me guilty, Senator Levin." He had promised earlier to open his testimony by saying that "even in Kafka there was the semblance of a trial"; and to reject charges from what he called a "pro-war, Republican lynch mob." Advertisement Continue reading the main story "There's a pattern here of erratic and inconsistent enforcement of sanctions on Iraq," Mr. Levin said. Advertisement Continue reading the main story The United States, he said, "looked the other way" while Iraq sold $8 billion in oil to Jordan, Turkey and Syria. "We even permitted Jordanian-chartered ships to load oil illegally and to give them safe passage through the Persian Gulf," he said. The Senate committee's report, one of several ongoing investigations, concluded that oil-purchase rights had been given to Mr. Pasqua and Mr. Galloway because they supported Saddam Hussein, but it included no documentary evidence to prove that either man had personally benefited. Advertisement Continue reading the main story The report also said that Mr. Hussein's government had provided Aleksandr Voloshin, former chief of staff to President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia, with oil rights worth nearly $3 million in exchange for support to lift United Nations sanctions. PARIS, May 16 - Charles Pasqua, a French senator implicated in the Iraqi oil-for-food abuse scandal, accused American investigators on Monday of a deliberate attempt to link France's political decisions before the current war in Iraq to reports of bribes paid by Saddam Hussein. "Probably, they think I am close to Jacques Chirac and that I am his adviser," Mr. Pasqua told reporters on Monday, referring to allegations reiterated last week by the United States Senate's Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations that he received lucrative oil contracts from Mr. Hussein. While Mr. Pasqua's name appeared in Iraqi Oil Ministry documents as one of the recipients of those rights, he insisted that he never visited Iraq, never discussed oil with the Iraqis and never instructed anyone else to do so on his behalf. British MP denies oil-for-food charges Called the probe the 'mother of all smokescreens' WASHINGTON (CNN) -- British Member of Parliament George Galloway angrily denied Tuesday that he profited from Saddam Hussein's regime and criticized a Senate panel probing alleged corruption in the U.N. oil-for-food program in Iraq. Galloway, an outspoken critic of the war in Iraq, called the panel's investigation the "mother of all smokescreens" used to divert attention from the "pack of lies" that led to the 2003 invasion.
I am on a contract," he said. BBC television news bulletins and 24-hour channel BBC News 24 could also be badly affected. "I don't support the strike at all. BBC One's Breakfast program was running with a basic service and one presenter. There was severe disruption to radio and TV output with Radio 4's Today and Radio 5 breakfast shows both badly affected, with a mixture of live and recorded programmes taking the place of normal service. I would not have been keen crossing the picket line. Wogan had earlier refused to take a leaflet on the strike action from a representative from broadcasting union Bectu. Curry was one of the few TV presenters who turned up for work. I am [no longer] a member of the NUJ." Striking staff had formed picket lines outside all the major entrances this morning. Members with the National Union of Journalists (NUJ) and two other unions representing technical workers participated the strike on Sunday at midnight 2300 GMT to protest the plans announced in March by BBC Director General Mark Thompson. They also hoped to disrupt coverage of the Chelsea Flower Show, one of the biggest outside broadcast operations of the year. The management have made a very strong case in my view as to why these cuts are necessary. The BBC employs more than 27,000 people in Britain and around the world. The NUJ and the two other unions voted on May 12 to authorize four strike days: 24 hours on May 23, 48 hours over May 31 and June 1, and a fourth day without a set date. He said the service the corporation had been able to offer on Monday was "rather better than we thought".
Striking employees picketed outside BBC Television Centre The BBC said 38% of staff due to work on Monday joined the walkout over plans to cut 3,780 jobs, though unions said they believed up to 55% had taken part. Hardest hit were live shows on BBC Radio 4, Five Live, the World Service and TV channels News 24 and BBC World. Unions threaten further strikes unless "meaningful negotiations" are offered. The strike has scuppered Radio 4's flagship shows including Today and PM and forced changes to BBC One's Breakfast and Chelsea Flower Show coverage. The main news programmes on BBC One throughout the day were taken from News 24. BBC SERVICES DISRUPTED Radio 4's Today, The World at One, PM and The World Tonight cancelled BBC One main 1300, 1800 and 2200 bulletins taken from News 24 Chelsea Flower Show coverage goes ahead but less done live BBC News 24, BBC World and Five Live cut down on live programming BBC News Interactive updated with reduced staffing The World Service, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland plus local stations also hit In pictures: BBC strike Broadcasting union Bectu said up to 15,000 of the 27,000-strong workforce were taking part. The job cuts and plans to privatise parts of the BBC were "savage" and would "decimate programmes [and] devalue the BBC", the unions said. But director general Mark Thompson said they were necessary to prepare the corporation for a hi-tech future and invest more in programmes. He said the service the corporation had been able to offer on Monday was "rather better than we thought". "Clearly we're sorry that some services have been affected and licence fee payers have received a less good service from the BBC than they would expect," he said. "[But] all of our networks are on the air, the disruption has been less than we thought and over 60% of staff have turned up for work as normal." The BBC said 62% of staff due in on Monday reported for work The BBC has offered to "talk" to and "consult" unions about the changes. But unions argue "consultations" give them little say - and are demanding to take part in "proper negotiations". Bectu's BBC official Luke Crawley said: "The BBC must recognise that a negotiated outcome is the only sensible way to proceed." National Union of Journalists (NUJ) general secretary Jeremy Dear said: "We've dealt a major blow in the fight to save the BBC from Mark Thompson's savage cuts. "I hope he will now begin to take notice and begin proper negotiations with the staff unions." Mr Thompson has said he would be "happy to sit down and listen to the unions and listen to staff and discuss whether there are ways of mitigating that number [of job cuts]". The BBC's coverage of the Chelsea Flower Show went ahead The disruptions were a "price worth paying to secure a strong BBC in the long term", he said. On Monday, BBC One's news bulletin at 1300 was simulcast with News 24 without its usual team of presenters or local news. The 2200 BST broadcast managed some regional news. Big names Almost all live programmes on news and discussion radio station Five Live have been replaced with repeats. On the World Service, the English language service has no live programming but there are five-minute news bulletins every 30 minutes. Big names who did turn up for work included Radio 1 breakfast show presenter Chris Moyles and Radio 2's Terry Wogan. LONDON, May 23 (Xinhuanet) - Journalists, broadcasting workers and other employees at the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) started a 24-hour strike Monday over plans to cut 3,780 jobs to make savings of 355 million pounds (663.37 million US dollars). Members with the National Union of Journalists (NUJ) and two other unions representing technical workers participated the strike on Sunday at midnight 2300 GMT to protest the plans announced in March by BBC Director General Mark Thompson. The walkout, expected to be participated by some 11,000 staff, is the first of four planned strikes. The NUJ and the two other unions voted on May 12 to authorize four strike days: 24 hours on May 23, 48 hours over May 31 and June 1, and a fourth day without a set date. The strike caused disruption across its radio, television and internet output. Its flagship "Today" program on Radio 4 was replaced by a pre-recorded program on music and BBC 2's news program "Newsnight" was expected to be canceled later on Monday. She also called on the BBC to "understand and respond to the anger and concern at job cuts which will undermine quality, threaten the working conditions of staff and devalue the BBC for viewers and listeners". The BBC was meanwhile preparing to hire strike- busting freelance television crews to help keep its coverage of the world-famous horticultural Chelsea Flower Show on air, the Mail on Sunday newspaper said. Terry Wogan and business presenter Declan Curry today defended their decision to cross the picket lines at the BBC, where workers are striking in protest at 4,000 proposed job cuts. Widespread disruption was caused to television and radio programmes, but a significant number of presenters turned up for work, including Radio 5's Shelagh Fogarty, to help the BBC deliver a limited service to licence payers. Curry, the only presenter to turn up for work on BBC1's breakfast show, said he did not support the strike and hoped fellow workers would respect his decision. Wogan: sympathy for strikers Terry Wogan, one of the BBC's highest paid presenters, said he supported the strike but felt he was not in a position to join the 24-hour walkout.
On Friday, President Lula sacked the adviser. The Workers' Party president, Jose Genoino, has tried to distance the party from the scandal and the damage it has done by arguing that Mr Diniz was "not enrolled in the party." Mr da Silva is on record favoring the legalisation of the game, whose tentacles extend not only into political parties but also the police and especially Rio de Janeiro's carnival. Declaration of Independence get to southern England? The highlight of the investigation was an audiotape in which a voice said to be that of a party fund-raiser was heard urging the chief of police to go easy on numbers runners. New York Times | U.S., Aerospace & Defense How did a copy of U.S. This is the first such resignation since his Workers' Party took office in January last year. By Steve Kingstone BBC correspondent in Sao Paulo Waldomiro Diniz was accused by a magazine of demanding illegal campaign contributions from a business man in Rio de Janeiro. | Politics, Election 2016, Health United Airlines reaches settlement with passenger dragged from plane CHICAGO United Airlines and the passenger who was dragged from a Chicago flight earlier this month have reached a settlement for an undisclosed sum, they said on Thursday, in the carrier's latest step to contain damage from an incident that sparked international outrage. One opposition senator has called on Lula to remove his chief of staff while the matter is investigated. Brazil's president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has come under growing fire with the emergence of a two-year-old videotape that shows a senior government official soliciting campaign contributions for two of the party's candidates and offering lucrative political favors in return.
Recent Top News U.S. Republican leaders seek votes for healthcare bill WASHINGTON Prospects for U.S. House passage of a healthcare system overhaul before President Donald Trump's 100th day in office dimmed on Thursday as Republicans struggled to find the needed votes, lawmakers and aides said. | Politics, Election 2016, Health United Airlines reaches settlement with passenger dragged from plane CHICAGO United Airlines and the passenger who was dragged from a Chicago flight earlier this month have reached a settlement for an undisclosed sum, they said on Thursday, in the carrier's latest step to contain damage from an incident that sparked international outrage. CHICHESTER, England British experts will carry out tests to try to determine how a rare copy of the U.S. Declaration of Independence found its way to an archive in southern England. | Arkansas nears fourth execution in about a week LITTLE ROCK, Ark. Arkansas plans to end its series of April executions by putting to death on Thursday an inmate convicted of murdering a cheerleader and who escaped from prison and killed two other people before being captured again. Brazil's president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has come under growing fire with the emergence of a two-year-old videotape that shows a senior government official soliciting campaign contributions for two of the party's candidates and offering lucrative political favors in return. The official, Waldomiro Diniz, was fired last Friday, hours after the incriminating video appeared on the website of Epoca, a weekly newsmagazine. But the resulting scandal threatens to engulf the leftwing government led by the Workers' Party, which has always portrayed itself as the only clean force in the murky world of Brazilian politics. Mr da Silva is the founder of the party, and he ran three times for president as its candidate before winning in 2002. Opposition leaders have responded to the revelations by calling for a congressional investigation and demanding the immediate resignation of Jose Dirceu de Oliveira e Silva, the president's chief of staff and Mr Diniz's immediate superior. The Workers' Party president, Jose Genoino, has tried to distance the party from the scandal and the damage it has done by arguing that Mr Diniz was "not enrolled in the party." The videotape and an accompanying transcript show Mr Diniz, then head of the state lottery in Rio de Janeiro, agreeing to rewrite an online lottery contract so as to favour a numbers game kingpin known as "Charlie Waterfall." In return, the numbers game boss agreed to contribute more than £50,000 to the Workers' Party candidates for governor in Rio and Brasilia during the 2002 general election and to pay a 1% "tip" to Mr Diniz. In Sao Paulo, prosecutors have reopened an investigation into the January 2002 killing of Celso Daniel, mayor of the city of Santo Andre and a top official in Mr da Silva's campaign, whose death they now say was the result of a dispute over a multimillion pound kickback scheme. Mr da Silva is on record favoring the legalisation of the game, whose tentacles extend not only into political parties but also the police and especially Rio de Janeiro's carnival. During a parliamentary inquiry in Brazil's southernmost state, a former Workers' Party official testified that numbers game bosses there donated more than £250,000 towards the purchase of the party's new state headquarters. The highlight of the investigation was an audiotape in which a voice said to be that of a party fund-raiser was heard urging the chief of police to go easy on numbers runners. A criminal investigation of the numbers payments was started, but was shelved last year, according to some reports, after Mr da Silva took power. Lula will hope the sacking draws matters to a close but opposition politicians are scenting blood, they want to know more about the working relationship between Mr Diniz and Jose Dirceu, the president's influential chief of staff.
. "If we were given misinformation intentionally by people in this administration, to commit the authority to send boys, and in some instances girls, to go into Iraq, that is wrong," he told the newspaper. On the day before the president's speech, the Berlin station chief warned about using Curveball's information on the mobile biological units in Bush's speech. The question of prewar intelligence has been thrust back into the public eye with the disclosure of a secret British memo showing that, eight months before the March 2003 start of the war, a senior British intelligence official reported to Prime Minister Tony Blair that U.S. intelligence was being shaped to support a policy of invading Iraq. "By fall 2002, the CIA was still uncertain whether the procurement agent was lying," the commission said. These included claims that Iraq was trying to obtain uranium in Africa for its nuclear program, had mobile labs for producing biological weapons, ran an active chemical weapons program and possessed unmanned aircraft that could deliver weapons of mass destruction. More than a year later, the White House retracted the statement after its veracity was questioned. A spokesman for Mr. Blair has said that the memorandum does not add significantly to previous accounts of decision making before the war. The basis for that analysis was a single report that an Iraqi general in late 2000 or early 2001 indicated interest in buying autopilots and gyroscopes for Hussein's UAV program. The manufacturer automatically included topographic mapping software of the United States in the package. © 2005 The Washington Post Company Now Mr Jones appears to agree. Two former Bush administration officials, Richard A. Clarke, the former terrorism adviser, and Paul H. O'Neill, the former treasury secretary, have written books saying that Mr. Bush decided to invade Iraq by the summer of 2002.
CORRECTION APPENDED More than two weeks after its publication in London, a previously secret British government memorandum that reported in July 2002 that President Bush had decided to ''remove Saddam, through military action'' is still creating a stir among administration critics. They are portraying it as evidence that Mr. Bush was intent on war with Iraq earlier than the White House has acknowledged. Eighty-nine House Democrats wrote to the White House to ask whether the memorandum, first disclosed by The Sunday Times on May 1, accurately reported the administration's thinking at the time, eight months before the American-led invasion. The letter, drafted by Representative John Conyers Jr. of Michigan, the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, said the British memorandum of July 23, 2002, if accurate, ''raises troubling new questions regarding the legal justifications for the war as well as the integrity of your own administration.'' It has long been known that American military planning for the Iraq war began as early as Nov. 21, 2001, after President Bush directed Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld to begin a review of what would be required to oust Saddam Hussein, the Iraqi leader. By July 2002, the war planning was sufficiently advanced that newspaper accounts that month reported details of some of what was being considered. On Aug. 26, 2002, Vice President Dick Cheney appeared before the Veterans of Foreign Wars to warn that ''there is no doubt that Saddam Hussein now has weapons of mass destruction'' and that ''there is no doubt that he is amassing them to use against our friends, our allies and against us.'' But Congress did not vote until Oct. 16, 2002, to authorize Mr. Bush to go to war in Iraq. The White House has always insisted that Mr. Bush did not finally decide to carry out the invasion of March 2003 until after Secretary of State Colin L. Powell presented the administration's case to the United Nations Security Council, in a speech on Feb. 5, 2003, that relied heavily on claims, now discredited, that Iraq had illicit weapons and was supporting terrorism. Two former Bush administration officials, Richard A. Clarke, the former terrorism adviser, and Paul H. O'Neill, the former treasury secretary, have written books saying that Mr. Bush decided to invade Iraq by the summer of 2002. But the British memorandum, which records the minutes of a meeting of Prime Minister Tony Blair's senior foreign policy advisers, does provide some contemporaneous validation for those accounts, though only through secondhand observations. Among other things, the memorandum reported that Sir Richard Dearlove, the chief of Britain's Secret Intelligence Service, reporting back from talks in Washington, had told other senior British officials that President Bush ''wanted to remove'' Mr. Hussein, ''through military action, justified by the conjunction of terrorism and W.M.D.,'' or weapons of mass destruction. One of them, Foreign Minister Jack Straw, was reported to have described the case for war as ''thin'' because ''Saddam was not threatening his neighbors and his W.M.D. The British government has not disputed the authenticity of the British memorandum, written by Matthew Rycroft, a top foreign policy aide to Mr. Blair. A spokesman for Mr. Blair has said that the memorandum does not add significantly to previous accounts of decision making before the war. The White House spokesman, Scott McClellan, told reporters on Tuesday that the White House saw ''no need'' to respond to the Democratic letter. The primary observations were those offered by Sir Richard, who had met in Washington with senior American officials, including George J. Tenet, then the director of central intelligence. In the memorandum, Sir Richard is identified only as ''C,'' the letter traditionally used to refer to the chief of British intelligence. ''There was a perceptible shift in attitude,'' it said, in summarizing the intelligence chief's accounts. It reported his view that the National Security Council ''had no patience with the U.N. route,'' apparently a reference to putting international pressure on the Iraqi leadership, ''and no enthusiasm for publishing material on the Iraqi regime's record.'' But now the US politician who led the campaign to change the name of french fries to "freedom fries" has turned against the war. Walter Jones, the Republican congressman for North Carolina who was also the brains behind french toast becoming freedom toast in Capitol Hill restaurants, told a local newspaper the US went to war "with no justification". Mr Jones, who in March 2003 circulated a letter demanding that the three cafeterias in the House of Representatives' office buildings ban the word french from menus, said it was meant as a "light-hearted gesture". Asked by a reporter for the North Carolina News and Observer about the name-change campaign - an idea Mr Jones said at the time came to him by a combination of God's hand and a constituent's request - he replied: "I wish it had never happened." Although he voted for the war, he has since become one of its most vociferous opponents on Capitol Hill, where the hallway outside his office is lined with photographs of the "faces of the fallen". "If we were given misinformation intentionally by people in this administration, to commit the authority to send boys, and in some instances girls, to go into Iraq, that is wrong," he told the newspaper. Prewar Findings Worried Analysts By Walter Pincus Washington Post Staff Writer Sunday, May 22, 2005 On Jan. 24, 2003, four days before President Bush delivered his State of the Union address presenting the case for war against Iraq, the National Security Council staff put out a call for new intelligence to bolster claims that Saddam Hussein possessed nuclear, chemical and biological weapons or programs. The person receiving the request, Robert Walpole, then the national intelligence officer for strategic and nuclear programs, would later tell investigators that "the NSC believed the nuclear case was weak," according to a 500-page report released last year by the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. It has been clear since the September report of the Iraq Survey Group -- a CIA-sponsored weapons search in Iraq -- that the United States would not find the weapons of mass destruction cited by Bush as the rationale for going to war against Iraq. The question of prewar intelligence has been thrust back into the public eye with the disclosure of a secret British memo showing that, eight months before the March 2003 start of the war, a senior British intelligence official reported to Prime Minister Tony Blair that U.S. intelligence was being shaped to support a policy of invading Iraq. Moreover, a close reading of the recent 600-page report by the president's commission on intelligence, and the previous report by the Senate panel, shows that as war approached, many U.S. intelligence analysts were internally questioning almost every major piece of prewar intelligence about Hussein's alleged weapons programs. These included claims that Iraq was trying to obtain uranium in Africa for its nuclear program, had mobile labs for producing biological weapons, ran an active chemical weapons program and possessed unmanned aircraft that could deliver weapons of mass destruction. For instance, Bush said in his Jan. 28, 2003, State of the Union address that Hussein was working to obtain "significant quantities" of uranium from Africa, a conclusion the president attributed to British intelligence and made a key part of his assertion that Iraq had an active nuclear weapons program. But the Senate report makes it clear that even in January 2003, just before the president's speech, analysts at the CIA's Weapons Intelligence, Nonproliferation and Arms Control Center were still investigating the reliability of the uranium information. Similarly, the president's intelligence commission, chaired by former appellate judge Laurence H. Silberman and former senator Charles S. Robb (D-Va.), disclosed that senior intelligence officials had serious questions about "Curveball," the code name for an Iraqi informant who provided the key information on Hussein's alleged mobile biological facilities. The German said his service "was not sure whether Curveball was actually telling the truth," according to the commission report. When it appeared that Curveball's material would be in Bush's State of the Union speech, the CIA Berlin station chief was asked to get the Germans to allow him to question Curveball directly. The station chief warned that the German intelligence service considered Curveball "problematical" and said its officers had been unable to confirm his assertions. The station chief recommended that CIA headquarters give "serious consideration" before using that unverified information, according to the commission report.
The constitution is no more." "The rejection of this treaty is above all the rejection of the government," he said. QUICK GUIDE The EU constitution The BBC's Caroline Wyatt in Paris says the rejection by one of the EU's founding members is a political earthquake, sending reverberations right across Europe. Member states can ratify the document through a referendum or by parliamentary vote. Strong divisions Officials said 66% of voters had cast their ballots by 1700 GMT - three hours before the last polling stations closed. The French leader had campaigned hard for a "Yes" vote. Results are expected late on Sunday or early on Monday Exit polls are expected shortly. Declaration of Independence get to southern England? He urged Mr Chirac either to stand down or dissolve parliament. Officials say turnout appears to be much higher than in France's previous European referendum, held in 1992. So far nine countries have formally endorsed it. | U.S., Aerospace & Defense How did a copy of U.S. The constitution was finalised last year after long negotiations among EU governments. The treaty includes a Charter of Fundamental Rights and the creation of a foreign minister and a diplomatic service. But leading Socialist dissenters joined Communists and union leaders to press for a "No". Recent Top News U.S. Republican leaders seek votes for healthcare bill WASHINGTON Prospects for U.S. House passage of a healthcare system overhaul before President Donald Trump's 100th day in office dimmed on Thursday as Republicans struggled to find the needed votes, lawmakers and aides said. The governing centre-right UMP party and the opposition Socialists have urged voters to support the proposed constitution.
The "No" camp on both the right and the left is jubilant Almost 55% of people voted "No", with 45% in favour. The vote could deal a fatal blow to the EU constitution, which needs to be ratified by all 25 member states. President Jacques Chirac accepted the voters' "sovereign decision", but said it created "a difficult context for the defence of our interests in Europe". The French leader had campaigned hard for a "Yes" vote. QUICK GUIDE The EU constitution The BBC's Caroline Wyatt in Paris says the rejection by one of the EU's founding members is a political earthquake, sending reverberations right across Europe. Winners and losers European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso described the French rejection as "a very serious problem," but insisted: "We cannot say that the treaty is dead." But the BBC's world affairs analyst Paul Reynolds says there is no Plan B for the EU and no clear way forward, with moves towards further integration now in doubt. In his televised address, Mr Chirac said voters had registered their frustrations. He said he would take a decision on the future of his centre-right government "in the coming days", hinting at a possible reshuffle. Late on Sunday jubilant "No" supporters gathered at the Place de la Bastille in Paris - where the French Revolution began - chanting "we won" and sounding horns. Those who rejected the treaty came from across the political spectrum, including Communists, dissident socialists and right-wing parties. The leader of opposition Socialist party Francois Hollande, from the "Yes" campaign, voiced "regret" over the result, but blamed Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin. Referendum season Foreign Minister Michel Barnier said the vote was a "real disappointment" - but urged other EU countries to go ahead with their own votes. ALREADY RATIFIED TREATY Austria Germany Greece Hungary Italy Lithuania Slovakia Slovenia Spain Where EU members stand Member states can ratify the document through a referendum or by parliamentary vote. Eight national referendums are still to come, including one in the Netherlands on Wednesday, where the "No" side is leading the opinion polls. Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende called on his fellow Dutch to approve the treaty despite France's rejection. Its aim is to streamline EU institutions following the admission of 10 new members last year. Recent Top News U.S. Republican leaders seek votes for healthcare bill WASHINGTON Prospects for U.S. House passage of a healthcare system overhaul before President Donald Trump's 100th day in office dimmed on Thursday as Republicans struggled to find the needed votes, lawmakers and aides said. | Politics, Election 2016, Health United Airlines reaches settlement with passenger dragged from plane CHICAGO United Airlines and the passenger who was dragged from a Chicago flight earlier this month have reached a settlement for an undisclosed sum, they said on Thursday, in the carrier's latest step to contain damage from an incident that sparked international outrage. Arkansas plans to end its series of April executions by putting to death on Thursday an inmate convicted of murdering a cheerleader and who escaped from prison and killed two other people before being captured again. Correspondents say a French "Yes" could give the pact new momentum but a "No" may trigger more opposition and threaten the EU's first constitution. Strong divisions Officials said 66% of voters had cast their ballots by 1700 GMT - three hours before the last polling stations closed. That was nearly 10 points more than turnout registered at the same time of the day during the 1992 referendum on the Maastricht Treaty Voters in Paris share their views on the EU constitution In pictures Opinion polls have given the "No" camp a narrow lead, but the government hoped the 20% or more of undecided voters would opt for a "Yes" at the last minute. The campaign has reflected strong divisions between those who say the constitution will ensure France's influence at the heart of Europe and critics who argue it will undermine the country's ability to protect jobs, wages and living conditions. Germany ratified the charter on Friday, with an upper house vote timed to boost France's struggling "Yes" camp.
. Felt, 91 and enfeebled by a stroke, lives in California, his memory dimmed. Deep Throat helped Washington Post reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein uncover the Watergate affair. He became the FBI's No. “The Nixon White House worried him. “What would you think the odds were that this town could keep that secret for this long?” he said. Felt’s identity as Washington’s most celebrated secret source had been an object of speculation for more than 30 years until yesterday, when his role was revealed by his family in a Vanity Fair magazine article. He soon concluded that his own phones -- and the reporters’ -- might be tapped. Nixon's speechwriter and later US presidential candidate Pat Buchanan called Mr Felt a "traitor". He was pardoned by President Ronald Reagan in 1981. He also distrusted the press. The name derived from a famous pornographic film of the time. Eager to break news on a local story of major national importance, Woodward contacted Felt for information on the FBI’s investigation. At first, the two men spoke by telephone. Mark Felt says he only told his secret to his family three years ago The scandal forced the resignation of Republican President Richard Nixon in August 1974. 2 man in the '70s. Bradlee said he was amazed that the mystery had lasted through the decades. “Bob” Haldeman and John H. Ehrlichman; and even to Nixon himself. Woodward had prepared for Felt’s eventual death by writing a short book about a relationship he describes as intense and sometimes troubling. But former Nixon aides condemned him. “He could well have been Mark Felt,” Mann wrote cautiously in a piece that laid bare the institutional reasons why FBI loyalists came to fear and resent Nixon’s presidency.
Deep Throat, the secret source whose insider guidance was vital to The Washington Post’s groundbreaking coverage of the Watergate scandal, was a pillar of the FBI named W. Mark Felt, The Post confirmed yesterday. As the bureau’s second- and third-ranking official during a period when the FBI was battling for its independence against the administration of President Richard M. Nixon, Felt had the means and the motive to help uncover the web of internal spies, secret surveillance, dirty tricks and coverups that led to Nixon’s unprecedented resignation on Aug. 9, 1974, and to prison sentences for some of Nixon’s highest-ranking aides. Felt’s identity as Washington’s most celebrated secret source had been an object of speculation for more than 30 years until yesterday, when his role was revealed by his family in a Vanity Fair magazine article. Even Nixon was caught on tape speculating that Felt was “an informer” as early as February 1973, at a time when Deep Throat was supplying confirmation and context for some of The Post’s most explosive Watergate stories. But Felt’s repeated denials, and the stalwart silence of the reporters he aided -- Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein -- kept the cloak of mystery drawn up around Deep Throat. He was the romantic truth teller half hidden in the shadows of a Washington area parking garage. This image was rendered indelibly by the dramatic best-selling memoir Woodward and Bernstein published in 1974, “All the President’s Men.” Two years later, in a blockbuster movie of the same name, actor Hal Holbrook breathed whispery urgency into the suspenseful late-night encounters between Woodward and his source. For many Americans under 40, this is the most potent distillation of the complicated brew that was Watergate. Students who lack the time or interest to follow each element of the scandal’s slow unraveling in comprehensive history books can quickly digest the vivid relationship of a nervous elder guiding a relentless reporter. “Mark Felt at that time was a dashing gray-haired figure,” Woodward recalled, and his experience as an anti-Nazi spy hunter early in his career at the FBI had endowed him with a whole bag of counterintelligence tricks. Felt dreamed up the signal by which Woodward would summon him to a meeting (a flowerpot innocuously displayed on the reporter’s balcony) and also hatched the countersign by which Felt could contact Woodward (a clock face inked on Page 20 of Woodward’s daily New York Times). “He knew he was taking a monumental risk,” said Woodward, now an assistant managing editor of The Post whose catalogue of prizewinning and best-selling work has been built on the sort of confidential relationships he maintained with Deep Throat. Felt also knew, by firsthand experience, that Nixon’s administration was willing to use wiretaps and break-ins to hunt down leakers, so no amount of caution was too great in his mind. Woodward rode multiple taxis, sometimes in the wrong direction, and often walked long distances to reach the middle-of-the-night meetings. For once, real life was as rich as the Hollywood imagination. But yesterday Woodward and Bernstein expressed a concern that the Deep Throat story has, over the years, come to obscure the many other elements that went into exposing the Watergate story: other sources, other investigators, high-impact Senate hearings, a shocking trove of secret White House tape recordings and the decisive intervention of a unanimous U.S. Supreme Court. By tethering the myth to a real and imperfect human being, Americans may be able to get a clearer picture of Watergate in the future, they said. “Felt’s role in all this can be overstated,” said Bernstein, who went on after Watergate to a career of books, magazine articles and television investigations. You see there that Felt/Deep Throat largely confirmed information we had already gotten from other sources.” The identification is also likely to encourage new arguments about the essential meaning of Watergate, which has been construed by partisans and historians as the fruit of Vietnam, of Nixon’s obsession with the Kennedy family, of the president’s mental instability, and as a press coup, a congressional uprising and more. Felt’s role places the fact of a disgruntled FBI front and center. In 1980, Felt and another senior FBI veteran were convicted of conspiring nearly a decade earlier to violate the civil rights of domestic dissidents in the Weather Underground movement; President Ronald Reagan then issued a pardon. Woodward had prepared for Felt’s eventual death by writing a short book about a relationship he describes as intense and sometimes troubling. His longtime publisher, Simon & Schuster, is rushing the volume to press -- but the careful unveiling of the information did not proceed as Woodward or The Post had envisioned. Yesterday morning, Vanity Fair released an article by a California lawyer named John D. O’Connor, who was enlisted by Felt’s daughter, Joan Felt, to help coax her father into admitting his role in history. O’Connor’s article quoted a number of Felt’s friends and family members saying that he had shared his secret with them, and it went on to say that Felt told the author -- under the shield of attorney-client privilege -- “I’m the guy they used to call Deep Throat.” O’Connor wrote that he was released from his obligation of secrecy by Mark and Joan Felt. He also reported that the Felts were not paid for cooperating with the Vanity Fair article, though they do hope the revelation will “make at least enough money to pay some bills,” as Joan Felt is quoted in the magazine. Woodward had known that family members were considering going public; in fact, they had talked repeatedly with Woodward about the possibility of jointly writing a book to reveal the news. An e-mail from Felt’s daughter over the Memorial Day weekend continued to hold out the idea that Woodward and Felt would disclose the secret together. Throughout those contacts, Woodward was dogged by reservations about Felt’s mental condition, he said yesterday, wondering whether the source was competent to undo the long-standing pledge of anonymity that bound them. Caught flatfooted by Vanity Fair’s announcement, Woodward and Bernstein initially issued a terse statement reaffirming their promise to keep the secret until Deep Throat died. After he consulted with Woodward, Bernstein and Bradlee, “the newspaper decided that the newspaper had been released from its obligation by Mark Felt’s family and by his lawyer, through the publication of this piece,” Downie said. We confirmed it.” Downie praised Woodward’s willingness to abide by his pledge even while the Felt family was exploring “what many people would view as a scoop.” “This demonstrates clearly the lengths to which Bob and this newspaper will go to protect sources and a confidential relationship,” Downie said. In an article being prepared for tomorrow’s Washington Post, Woodward will detail the “accident of history” that connected a young reporter fresh from the suburbs to a man whom many FBI agents considered the best choice to succeed the legendary J. Edgar Hoover as director of the bureau.
| U.S., Aerospace & Defense How did a copy of U.S. Declaration of Independence get to southern England? | Politics, Election 2016, Health United Airlines reaches settlement with passenger dragged from plane CHICAGO United Airlines and the passenger who was dragged from a Chicago flight earlier this month have reached a settlement for an undisclosed sum, they said on Thursday, in the carrier's latest step to contain damage from an incident that sparked international outrage. Recent Top News U.S. Republican leaders seek votes for healthcare bill WASHINGTON Prospects for U.S. House passage of a healthcare system overhaul before President Donald Trump's 100th day in office dimmed on Thursday as Republicans struggled to find the needed votes, lawmakers and aides said. Arkansas plans to end its series of April executions by putting to death on Thursday an inmate convicted of murdering a cheerleader and who escaped from prison and killed two other people before being captured again. In an interview published in the Folha de Sao Paulo newspaper, Mr Jefferson claimed that members of the Liberal Party (PL) and the Progressive Party (PP) had accepted bribes of up to $US12,000. The PT said there was "not a grain of truth" in the allegations. | Arkansas nears fourth execution in about a week LITTLE ROCK, Ark. CHICHESTER, England British experts will carry out tests to try to determine how a rare copy of the U.S. He said the financial arrangement only ended in 2005, after he personally brought the matter to the attention of President Luis Inacio Lula da Silva. Investigation As lawmakers from different parties called on Mr Jefferson to clarify his claims in parliament, supporters of the president were questioning the credibility of the man making the accusations.
Recent Top News U.S. Republican leaders seek votes for healthcare bill WASHINGTON Prospects for U.S. House passage of a healthcare system overhaul before President Donald Trump's 100th day in office dimmed on Thursday as Republicans struggled to find the needed votes, lawmakers and aides said. | Politics, Election 2016, Health United Airlines reaches settlement with passenger dragged from plane CHICAGO United Airlines and the passenger who was dragged from a Chicago flight earlier this month have reached a settlement for an undisclosed sum, they said on Thursday, in the carrier's latest step to contain damage from an incident that sparked international outrage. CHICHESTER, England British experts will carry out tests to try to determine how a rare copy of the U.S. Arkansas plans to end its series of April executions by putting to death on Thursday an inmate convicted of murdering a cheerleader and who escaped from prison and killed two other people before being captured again. Recent Top News U.S. Republican leaders seek votes for healthcare bill WASHINGTON Prospects for U.S. House passage of a healthcare system overhaul before President Donald Trump's 100th day in office dimmed on Thursday as Republicans struggled to find the needed votes, lawmakers and aides said. | Politics, Election 2016, Health United Airlines reaches settlement with passenger dragged from plane CHICAGO United Airlines and the passenger who was dragged from a Chicago flight earlier this month have reached a settlement for an undisclosed sum, they said on Thursday, in the carrier's latest step to contain damage from an incident that sparked international outrage. Arkansas plans to end its series of April executions by putting to death on Thursday an inmate convicted of murdering a cheerleader and who escaped from prison and killed two other people before being captured again. The PT said it was "surprised and outraged" at Mr Jefferson's claims and also upheld its broader commitment to fighting corruption.
A) Berlin, B) Moscow, C) Edinburgh. He said: "Bob's delighted. The question is: Which city is nearest to the G8 summit in July? There is no limit to the number of times people can enter the competition. Four other concerts are being held on the same day across Europe and in the United States under plans announced last week by Bob Geldof to pressure world leaders into eradicating African poverty. To win tickets, entrants have to text the answer - A, B or C - to a simple question to telephone number 84599 by midnight on June 12. Entries can also be posted. A texting lottery for tickets to London's Live 8 charity concert opened today with hundreds of thousands expected to spend up to £20m competing for the chance to attend the July 2 event. Declaration of Independence get to southern England? "They will only have the will to do so if millions of people show them that enough is enough." | U.S., Aerospace & Defense How did a copy of U.S. Some economists are sceptical that the aims of the Make Poverty History campaign would help the people it is targeted at. On Monday he launched another part of the campaign - entitled Sail 8 - to encourage British sailors to cross the Channel to bring people back to join the anti-poverty walk. Entries are £1.50 plus the usual text message charge. It will feature Coldplay, Keane, Sir Elton John, U2, REM and The Cure among others. | Politics, Election 2016, Health United Airlines reaches settlement with passenger dragged from plane CHICAGO United Airlines and the passenger who was dragged from a Chicago flight earlier this month have reached a settlement for an undisclosed sum, they said on Thursday, in the carrier's latest step to contain damage from an incident that sparked international outrage.
Coldplay will be performing in London's Hyde Park More than 150,000 tickets have been made available in the text competition. Entrants aged 16 and over must send the answer to a multiple choice question to 84599 before midnight on Sunday. The question is: Which city is nearest to the G8 summit in July? Entries are £1.50 plus the usual text message charge. Five gigs are being held around the world on 2 July to highlight world poverty. HOW TO ENTER Answer the question: Which city is nearest to the G8 summit in July? A) Berlin, B) Moscow, C) Edinburgh Text A, B or C to 84599 between 8am Monday and midnight Sunday 12 June Calls cost £1.50 (plus operators' standard network rate) and can only be sent from the UK and Channel Islands Competitors must be at least 16 Answers can also be sent on a postcard to Live 8 Ticket Competition, PO Box 4026, Leamington Spa, CV31 9AZ by 1300 BST on Friday. After 12 June a computer will randomly select 72,500 people with the correct answer, to each receive a pair of tickets. A Live 8 spokesman said nearly 1.5 million entries had been received by 1700 BST on Monday. He said: "Bob's delighted. I've just told him and he said: 'It's great'." He added that anyone texting between now and midnight on 12 June would have an equal chance. Organisers said the first £1.6m raised from the text competition will go to The Prince's Trust which is sharing a proportion of the income with Help a London Child. The rest, after paying the costs of the concert, will go to the Band Aid Trust. The gigs, which are part of the Make Poverty History campaign, come four days before leaders of the world's richest countries meet in Gleneagles, Perthshire, for the G8 summit. Organiser Bob Geldof then wants people to head for Edinburgh in time for an anti-poverty "party" on 6 July which he is calling "The Long Walk to Justice". On Monday he launched another part of the campaign - entitled Sail 8 - to encourage British sailors to cross the Channel to bring people back to join the anti-poverty walk. Launching Live 8 last week, Geldof said: "The G8 leaders have it within their power to alter history. "They will only have the will to do so if millions of people show them that enough is enough." Those who do not win tickets will be able to watch the London concert on screens in the centre of cities across the UK including Birmingham, Hull, Liverpool, Manchester, Plymouth, Belfast, Leeds and Wrexham. Recent Top News U.S. Republican leaders seek votes for healthcare bill WASHINGTON Prospects for U.S. House passage of a healthcare system overhaul before President Donald Trump's 100th day in office dimmed on Thursday as Republicans struggled to find the needed votes, lawmakers and aides said. | Politics, Election 2016, Health United Airlines reaches settlement with passenger dragged from plane CHICAGO United Airlines and the passenger who was dragged from a Chicago flight earlier this month have reached a settlement for an undisclosed sum, they said on Thursday, in the carrier's latest step to contain damage from an incident that sparked international outrage. Arkansas plans to end its series of April executions by putting to death on Thursday an inmate convicted of murdering a cheerleader and who escaped from prison and killed two other people before being captured again. A texting lottery for tickets to London's Live 8 charity concert opened today with hundreds of thousands expected to spend up to £20m competing for the chance to attend the July 2 event. Geldof has called for 1 million people to march through Edinburgh four days later when leaders of the world's richest nations meet at the G8 summit at Gleneagles. To win tickets, entrants have to text the answer - A, B or C - to a simple question to telephone number 84599 by midnight on June 12. People can enter as many times as they like to increase their chances of winning tickets, at a cost of £1.50 plus standard texting charges for each entry.
David Folkenflik, NPR News, Washington. "House Republicans have gutted funding for public broadcasting stations across the country." I think it's pretty clear what's going on. But Tomlinson and others at CPB have indicated that if they find PBS' journalistic standards wanting, they could be the ones to withhold money from PBS. Advertisement Continue reading the main story The latest manifestation of the struggle between the stations and the corporation has arisen as the corporation searches for a new president. Officials at National Public Radio said rural and minority communities would be hardest hit by the cuts. Representative DAVID OBEY (Democrat, Wisconsin): The message is think like we think and talk like we talk or we will defund you. "It might be a nice program to do, but not in a flat budget with large budget deficits. A House Appropriations subcommittee Thursday lopped 25 percent from the proposed CPB appropriation of $400 million for next year. The committee's action comes as the head of the CPB has pushed for NPR and PBS to address what he says is the lack of journalistic balance in some of its news programs. Tomlinson -- a Clinton appointee to the board who became chairman in September 2003 -- issued a statement saying he also objected to the cuts. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record. The move comes at a time when public broadcasters are confronting allegations of liberal bias. An NPR employee provided the memo to CNN. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Mr. MARVIN KALB (PBS Advisory Group): They should not be placed under unnecessary, unwarranted political pressures simply because the government provides a certain amount of money each year to make sure they run.
agenda is to control public broadcasting or to defund it," said Representative David R. Obey of Wisconsin, the senior Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee. "House Republicans have gutted funding for public broadcasting stations across the country." Advertisement Continue reading the main story The vote came as public stations and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting are engaged in a debate over the editorial balance in programming and the independence of the stations. The head of the Republican-controlled corporation, Kenneth Y. Tomlinson, has pressed public broadcasting to correct what he and other conservatives consider liberal bias. That has prompted public broadcasting leaders -- including the chief executive of PBS -- to object that his actions pose a threat to editorial independence. Some public broadcasting officials have begun to express concern that the perception of political interference by the corporation would discourage individuals from making financial contributions to the stations. Mr. Tomlinson, meanwhile, has said that the perception that the stations are not balanced could prompt the Republican-controlled Congress to significantly reduce financing. Advertisement Continue reading the main story The latest manifestation of the struggle between the stations and the corporation has arisen as the corporation searches for a new president. Mr. Tomlinson said in an interview in April that he had recommended that the board of the corporation appoint Patricia Harrison, a former co-chairwoman of the Republican National Committee and assistant secretary of state, as the organization's next president. He has said he hopes the post will be filled at a board meeting later this month. Advertisement Continue reading the main story But on Tuesday the Association of Public Television Stations sent Mr. Tomlinson a letter that endorsed an earlier one from Iowa Public Television that objected to the selection of "a political partisan." Please verify you're not a robot by clicking the box. Sign Up Receive occasional updates and special offers for The New York Times's products and services. Thank you for subscribing. "We are concerned that the historical and critically important role of CPB as a shield between programming and a political process that seeks to influence it is being compromised -- in perception by reports of broad involvement in program content, or in fact by what we understand is a desire to appoint a partisan political activist to the currently vacant post of CPB president," the Iowa Public Broadcasting Board wrote. "We believe strongly that such an appointment would be in absolute contradiction to the concept of CPB as a buffer. Advertisement Continue reading the main story John Lawson, president of the Association of Public Television Stations, said that the subcommittee's decision to kill the Ready to Learn program, which provided $23 million for children's shows, came as payback for an episode earlier this year of "Postcards From Buster," in which Buster visits a pair of lesbian parents in Vermont. PBS pulled the episode as it began to face complaints about it. Officials at National Public Radio said rural and minority communities would be hardest hit by the cuts. John Scofield, a spokesman for the Appropriations Committee, said the cuts were not related to the "Postcards" episode that had prompted criticism. Advertisement Continue reading the main story "Ready to Learn was one of more than 50 programs terminated in the spending bill," he said. "It might be a nice program to do, but not in a flat budget with large budget deficits. We felt the same way about 49 other programs." Advertisement Continue reading the main story Gary E. Knell, the president of Sesame Workshop, which produces "Sesame Street" and "Dragon Tales," said the Ready to Learn program had contributed relatively modest amounts to the workshop and that most of the money for those shows comes from license revenue for the products sold by the workshop and money from stations. But he said that the cuts in the program could undermine the workshop's plans to work with the Department of Education and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting to develop new educational programs for 6- to 9-year-olds. "This is the wrong time to be messing with this program," Mr. Knell said. Congress Looks to Cut Funding for Public Broadcasting House Republicans have put funding for public broadcasting on the chopping block. The move comes at a time when public broadcasters are confronting allegations of liberal bias. MELISSA BLOCK, host: Yesterday a key panel in the US House of Representatives recommended deep cuts in funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. The CPB distributes taxpayer money to support public radio and television stations and programs. The committee's action comes as the head of the CPB has pushed for NPR and PBS to address what he says is the lack of journalistic balance in some of its news programs. Then Speaker Newt Gingrich argued it squandered taxpayer dollars on a bastion of liberalism. But it gained new life yesterday when a House subcommittee that decides how much money to give to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting each year decided to cut $100 million, a quarter of its annual budget, and there would be no extra money for necessary technical conversion to digital technology. But off microphone, Scofield said other government programs deserved higher priority than public broadcasting, and he noted the panel's decisions were part of a package making budget cuts in other social programs as well, in large part because of new costs associated with the Medicare prescription drug program. At PBS, those funds help to pay for popular shows such as "Sesame Street" and "The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer."
Some 250 were arrested. A car damaged by an explosion in Ahvaz, Iran, Sunday where at least eight people were killed. One of the bombs exploded outside the governor-general's headquarters. April's trouble in Ahwaz - the capital of oil-rich Khuzestan province - started after a letter circulated on the internet suggested that non-Arabs were being-relocated to the city to dilute its ethnic Arab population. Bombings have been rare in Iran since the end of the 1980-88 war with Iraq. Two went off near government offices and a fourth exploded near the home of a local state television executive. Declaration of Independence get to southern England? Officials at the time confirmed one death but opposition groups said more than 20 demonstrators had been killed. Ahvaz was the site of recent violent protests over alleged plans to alter the proportion of Arabs and non-Arabs in the region. Rumour Iranians go to the polls on Friday to elect a successor to President Mohammad Khatami. A spokesman for the Supreme National Security Council blamed groups affiliated with Saddam Hussein's former Baathist regime in Iraq. | U.S., Aerospace & Defense How did a copy of U.S. Today's Top News Stories • Report: In U.S., record numbers are plunged into poverty - • VP's plane has minor electrical problem - • Israeli troops raid West Bank city - • Severe storms injure 27 in Arkansas - • Va. lawmakers pass slavery apology - • Add USATODAY.com RSS feeds Death toll in Iran explosions rises to 10 TEHRAN, Iran (AP) The death toll from weekend explosions days before Iran's presidential election rose to 10 when one of the injured died, the official Islamic Republic News Agency reported Monday.
The bombs in Ahwaz exploded over a two-hour period Four blasts targeted public buildings in the south-western city of Ahwaz, killing at least eight people and wounding more than 70 others. Hours later, a bomb exploded in the capital Tehran, killing two people. Bombings have been rare in Iran since the war with Iraq ended in 1988. Ahwaz, which is close to the Iraq border, was the focus of unrest between Arabs and Persians in April, when several people were reportedly killed. One of the bombs exploded outside the governor-general's headquarters. Two went off near government offices and a fourth exploded near the home of a local state television executive. The interior ministry also confirmed that a bottle filled with explosives blew up in Vali Asr square in central Tehran, but there were no reports of casualties. A spokesman for the Supreme National Security Council, Iran's top security decision-making body, blamed the attacks on separatist Arabs aided by members of the armed Iraq-based opposition group, the People's Mujahideen, and remnants of the Baath Party. The spokesman, Agha Mohammadi, told the BBC he was sure the Americans were behind the attacks and also suggested that Britain might be involved - but he gave no evidence to support his claims. The People's Mujahideen denied any involvement in the attacks. "Whoever is responsible for this, the target of the blasts is to undermine Friday's presidential elections," said interior ministry spokesman Jahanbaksh Khanjani. April's trouble in Ahwaz - the capital of oil-rich Khuzestan province - started after a letter circulated on the internet suggested that non-Arabs were being-relocated to the city to dilute its ethnic Arab population. Crowds attacked government offices and banks, setting them on fire, and hundreds of people were arrested. Recent Top News U.S. Republican leaders seek votes for healthcare bill WASHINGTON Prospects for U.S. House passage of a healthcare system overhaul before President Donald Trump's 100th day in office dimmed on Thursday as Republicans struggled to find the needed votes, lawmakers and aides said. | Politics, Election 2016, Health United Airlines reaches settlement with passenger dragged from plane CHICAGO United Airlines and the passenger who was dragged from a Chicago flight earlier this month have reached a settlement for an undisclosed sum, they said on Thursday, in the carrier's latest step to contain damage from an incident that sparked international outrage. CHICHESTER, England British experts will carry out tests to try to determine how a rare copy of the U.S. Arkansas plans to end its series of April executions by putting to death on Thursday an inmate convicted of murdering a cheerleader and who escaped from prison and killed two other people before being captured again. Today's Top News Stories • Report: In U.S., record numbers are plunged into poverty - • VP's plane has minor electrical problem - • Israeli troops raid West Bank city - • Severe storms injure 27 in Arkansas - • Va. lawmakers pass slavery apology - • Add USATODAY.com RSS feeds Death toll in Iran explosions rises to 10 TEHRAN, Iran (AP) The death toll from weekend explosions days before Iran's presidential election rose to 10 when one of the injured died, the official Islamic Republic News Agency reported Monday. A car damaged by an explosion in Ahvaz, Iran, Sunday where at least eight people were killed. AP At least 98 people in provincial capital of Ahvaz were wounded — 26 in serious condition, state-run radio quoted Gov. Related video: Four bomb attacks rock Iran The overnight death in the hospital brought the number killed in Sunday's bombings to 10 — nine in Ahvaz and one in Tehran. Another four were wounded in the Tehran blast The bombings, which came ahead of Friday's election, were the deadliest in more than a decade in Iran. Amir Hossein Motahar, director of security at the Interior Ministry, said one car bomb went off in front of the Ahvaz governor's office. He said two separate bombs blew up in the city's housing department and planning department. The fourth bomb, planted in a handbag on the street, exploded as experts tried to defuse it.
"We all did our job, did it conscientiously," said Sneddon. The authorities interviewed the boy and Mr Jackson was charged. "The man's innocent. Four counts of administering alcohol to facilitate child molestation. After the verdicts, the judge read a statement from the jury. Jackson pleaded not guilty to the charges and did not testify during the trial. One count of attempted lewd conduct. Jackson's family members accompanied him to the courthouse to hear the verdict and flanked him as he exited the courthouse to the cheering of supporters. (Key moments) Among the more than 130 people who testified were former child star Macaulay Culkin. Michael Jackson waves as he leaves the Santa Barbara County Courthouse in Santa Maria, Calif. (AP photo) A California jury on Monday acquitted pop superstar Michael Jackson of molesting a 13-year-old boy at his Neverland ranch, backing the singer's argument that he was a victim of an extortion attempt. Testimony in the trial closed with prosecutors showing a police videotape in which the accuser tells detectives the singer gave him wine and masturbated him as many as five times. CNN's Rusty Dornin reported that before the clerk of court read the findings, the courtroom was hushed. Mr Jackson was cleared of all 10 charges, including four counts that he molested the boy in early 2003. District Attorney Thomas Sneddon denied having a vendetta against Jackson. Jackson agreed to take part in the documentary because he hoped it would help his image after years of eccentric behaviour that included transforming his face through plastic surgery. Screams of joy rang out among a throng of fans outside the courthouse.
Jackson not guilty Jurors acquit pop star of all molestation charges SANTA MARIA, California (CNN) -- A California jury has exonerated Michael Jackson of the child molestation, conspiracy and alcohol charges that could have sent him to prison for nearly 20 years. The jury deliberated about 32 hours throughout the course of seven days before reaching its decision. (Fans react) Courtroom observers reported that Jackson dabbed his eyes with a tissue after his acquittal. Prosecutors had charged the singer with four counts of lewd conduct with a child younger than 14; one count of attempted lewd conduct; four counts of administering alcohol to facilitate child molestation; and one count of conspiracy to commit child abduction, false imprisonment or extortion. "In 37 years [as a prosecutor], I've never quibbled with a jury's verdict, and I'm not going to start today," Sneddon said. (Legal reaction) Asked if the acquittal ends California's prosecution of Jackson, Sneddon replied, "No comment." Jackson's family members accompanied him to the courthouse to hear the verdict and flanked him as he exited the courthouse to the cheering of supporters. His lead defense attorney, Thomas Mesereau Jr., told reporters on his way out of the courthouse that "justice was done." "The man's innocent. CNN's Rusty Dornin reported that before the clerk of court read the findings, the courtroom was hushed. Jackson's father, Joe Jackson, stared stiffly with hands clasped as he listened to the verdicts, Dornin said. Upon hearing the findings, Jackson's family members reached out to touch one another and to support Jackson's mother, Katherine Jackson, Dornin said. The matriarch sobbed at hearing the first "not guilty." It stated: "We the jury feel the weight of the world's eyes upon us." The attorney for Debbie Rowe, one of Jackson's former wives, released a statement from her. "Debbie is overjoyed that the justice system really works, regardless of which side called her to testify at the trial," it read. Chain of events Monday's verdicts capped a chain of events that began in February 2003, after the broadcast of "Living With Michael Jackson," an unflattering television documentary by British journalist Martin Bashir. In the program, Jackson was shown holding hands with the boy now accusing him of child molestation, and he defended as "loving" his practice of letting young boys sleep in his bed. A grand jury indicted the 46-year-old pop star in April 2004 on charges of molesting the boy at the center of the trial, giving him alcohol and conspiring to hold him and his family captive in 2003. Prosecutors alleged that, following the broadcast of the Bashir documentary in 2003, Jackson and five associates plotted to control and intimidate the accuser's family to get them to go along with damage-control efforts, including holding them against their will at Neverland. The molestation charges relate to alleged incidents between Jackson and the accuser after the Bashir documentary aired. Jackson's lawyers, however, consistently portrayed the singer as a naive victim of the accuser's family, who, they claimed, were grifters -- schemers -- with a habit of wheedling money out of the rich and famous. On March 10, the first day Jackson's accuser testified, the pop star arrived late for court as the judge threatened to revoke the singer's $3 million bail. Prosecution witnesses included the accuser's mother, who was on the stand for three days, and a former security guard who testified that he saw Jackson engaged in oral sex with another teenage boy. That boy received an out-of-court settlement in his family's molestation case against the pop star for an undisclosed amount. Testimony in the trial closed with prosecutors showing a police videotape in which the accuser tells detectives the singer gave him wine and masturbated him as many as five times. A jury acquitted Michael Jackson today of molesting a 13-year-old cancer survivor at his Neverland ranch, vindicating the pop star who insisted he was the victim of mother-and-son con artists and a prosecutor with a vendetta. Jurors also acquitted Jackson of getting the boy drunk and of conspiring to imprison his accuser and the boy's family at the storybook estate - a complete legal victory but one that may do little to improve his bizarre image. Mr Jackson looked straight ahead as the verdicts were read and showed no visible reaction as he was found not guilty of all counts. The verdict - reached after about 30 hours of deliberations over seven days - ended a star-studded, four-month trial that offered a global audience a lurid look into the weird world of Michael Jackson and presented jurors with vastly different portraits of him: a creepy pervert who preyed on little boys, or the victim of a frame-up by mother-and-son shakedown artists. During the trial, prosecutors who had been pursuing Jackson for years branded him a deviant who used his playland as the ultimate pervert's lair, plying boys with booze and porn before molesting them.
. But especially, again, because it is a swing vote on the court, Justice O'Connor stepping down, there will be enormous pressure on this president. That's why we have a president and that's why we have a Senate." "We have a living Constitution. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Of course, Mr. McCain said, President Bush's nominee will be a conservative. Kagan: Will there be pressure to name a woman? Among the most polarizing issues in American politics and law are abortion and the place of religion in American life. So the White House will wait. "And I would expect people to want their choice. The majority leader and even the Democrats will say they will consider this pick as soon as possible. John King: They are ready to go, Daryn. "It is vital that she be replaced by someone like her, someone who embodies the fundamental values of freedom, equality and fairness." View all New York Times newsletters. Well, add in to that now all the ads we see on cable television and other television, all the grassroots political organizations. And Senator John S. McCain, Republican of Arizona, said he and many others in Arizona rank Justice O'Connor "as one of our greatest citizens." Home Page Get up-to-the minute news from CNN CNN.com gives you the latest stories and video from the around the world, with in-depth coverage of U.S. news, politics, entertainment, health, crime, tech and more. And everybody can't have their own way. But they are prepared for it.
Justice O'Connor, the first woman to serve on the court, has been regarded as a centrist and "swing vote," as was Potter Stewart, the man she succeeded in 1981, after President Ronald Reagan nominated her. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Senator Edward M. Kennedy, Democrat of Massachusetts, who sits on the Senate Judiciary Committee, was just as warm as Senator Reid in his praise of Justice O'Connor - but blunter in threatening to resist a nominee he would find unpalatable. Mr. Kennedy called Justice O'Connor "a mainstream conservative" and "a wise judge who served the nation and the Constitution well." Mr. Bush's choice for a replacement, Senator Kennedy went on, "affects each and every American and has the potential to impact every facet of constitutional law and the freedoms this country was founded upon." "If the president abuses his power and nominates someone who threatens to roll back the rights and freedoms of the American people," Mr. Kennedy said, "then the American people will insist that we oppose that nominee, and we intend to do so." Advertisement Continue reading the main story Republicans have 55 seats in the Senate, so President Bush's nominee will have an excellent chance at confirmation if his or her name is put to a "yes or no" vote by the full chamber. But Democrats have the power to block a nominee through a filibuster, a debate tactic that requires 60 votes to end, and they have used that power to stymie several of the president's choices for federal appellate courts. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Senator Arlen Specter, the Pennsylvania Republican who heads the Senate Judiciary Committee, which will hold hearings on the nominee, acknowledged the political realities of filling a Supreme Court seat, while emphasizing that "I don't want to prejudge anything." Advertisement Continue reading the main story Calling Justice O'Connor "an historic figure," Mr. Specter alluded to the likelihood of heated debate at the coming confirmation hearings. "And I would expect people to want their choice. That's why we have a president and that's why we have a Senate." Please verify you're not a robot by clicking the box. Sign Up Receive occasional updates and special offers for The New York Times's products and services. Among the most polarizing issues in American politics and law are abortion and the place of religion in American life. Conservatives have been intent for years on undoing the Supreme Court's 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that established a constitutional right to choose an abortion. And the court term that just ended included rulings on how and where the Ten Commandments can be displayed on public property. Senator John W. Warner, Republican of Virginia, said that just because Justice O'Connor is regarded as a centrist, the president is not obligated to replace her with another centrist - or with a woman, for that matter. "I don't think this is any quota system, nor should there be," Mr. Warner said. "But I hope that in the course of the life of the court that it will always have women on it." Mr. Warner would not rule out the possibility of the Republican leadership's changing the Senate rules to do away with the time-honored filibuster if the Democrats prove to be recalcitrant, at least in Republican eyes. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Senator Charles E. Grassley of Iowa, a senior Republican on the Judiciary Committee, said Justice O'Connor had served "with dignity and fairness." The senator said he hoped Mr. Bush's next nominee would be treated "with fairness and respect, including an up-or-down vote in the Senate." Advertisement Continue reading the main story Mr. Grassley's comments served as a reminder that Republicans have their own ideas about what puts a jurist outside the mainstream. "I'll be looking forward to hearing from a nominee who understands that the role of the courts is to interpret the law, not create the law," he said. Senator Daniel Akaka, a Democrat from Hawaii who appeared with Senator Kennedy, said Justice O'Connor was someone who, typically for a Westerner, "brought into the court a love of the land and an appreciation for individual rights." Advertisement Continue reading the main story "We want to wish her well in her new life that she has chosen, and look forward to one that will replace her and embody that spirit," Mr. Akaka said, signing on to the statement by Senator Reid. "It is vital that she be replaced by someone like her, someone who embodies the fundamental values of freedom, equality and fairness." And Senator John S. McCain, Republican of Arizona, said he and many others in Arizona rank Justice O'Connor "as one of our greatest citizens." Advertisement Continue reading the main story Of course, Mr. McCain said, President Bush's nominee will be a conservative. "He campaigned for re-election and made no bones about the fact that it would be a conservative nominee," Mr. McCain said. CNN's chief national correspondent John King talked with CNN anchor Daryn Kagan about the looming political battle over choosing a replacement for O'Connor. It won't wait long, in part because the president wants to move quickly to get this confirmation, to get the nomination in the pipeline, the confirmation, and in part because the longer you wait, the more political pressure you face.
Please re-enter. "They've said, This is a super, super high-risk endeavor and you would, you know, you'd lose," Mr. Clifton told Editor & Publisher. The prosecutor is apparently focused on Rove's conversations with Cooper. He mentioned the potential consequences if the newspaper published the two investigative stories. View all New York Times newsletters. Clifton said the Plain Dealer had decided several weeks ago -- before Miller was imprisoned -- to withhold the stories because the leaked documents could result in subpoenas and court sanctions, including jail. Advertisement Continue reading the main story "I hoped the public would be bothered by that," he said. The president and a number of top administration officials have since been called to testify. Wilson based his claim on information gathered on a CIA-sponsored trip to Niger. But he added that Rove had testified fully in the case and had been assured by Fitzgerald that he is not a target in the investigation. It wasn't even a remote possibility that someone was going to get subpoenaed because of Deep Throat squealing. The jailing of New York Times reporter Judith Miller on Wednesday put the issue of press freedom and the confidentiality of sources on front pages across the country, but the heart of the case remains what it has been from the outset: whether senior Bush officials broke the law in the disclosure of a CIA covert operative's identity. That article led Rove's attorney, Robert Luskin, to say in an interview last weekend that his client had spoken to Cooper around the time Novak's column appeared in July 2003. The Supreme Court refused to hear the reporters' appeals on June 27.
The Nation Fearing Legal Battle, Ohio Newspaper Holds Stories On Wednesday, New York Times reporter Judith Miller was jailed for contempt of court after refusing to testify about a confidential source. "It was documentation that would have been illegal to share, so there wasn't any ambiguity about what we had," Clifton said. The Plain Dealer is trying to find a way to publish the stories without relying on the documents, editor Doug Clifton said. CLEVELAND — The Plain Dealer, Ohio's largest newspaper, is holding two investigative stories based on leaked documents because they could result in the type of court showdown that led to a New York Times reporter being jailed, the paper's editor said Friday. A prosecutor wants information from Miller as part of an investigation of how the name of an undercover CIA officer was leaked to a columnist. Clifton said the Plain Dealer had decided several weeks ago -- before Miller was imprisoned -- to withhold the stories because the leaked documents could result in subpoenas and court sanctions, including jail. The stories deal with local and state government. Clifton wrote a column June 30 explaining to readers the importance of protecting sources, and how the public would suffer if reporters' ability to gather news is compromised. He mentioned the potential consequences if the newspaper published the two investigative stories. "Things that are important for the public stand in jeopardy of not getting reported because of the state of the law." "The climate has always been different," Clifton said. "Let's face it: During the Watergate years with 'Deep Throat,' it was never even thought of. The Plain Dealer, which is owned by Advance Publications Inc., has a circulation of about 370,000 weekdays and 480,000 on Sunday. "They've said, This is a super, super high-risk endeavor and you would, you know, you'd lose," Mr. Clifton told Editor & Publisher. "The reporters say, 'Well, we're willing to go to jail,' and I'm willing to go to jail if it gets laid on me, but the newspaper isn't willing to go to jail." Advertisement Continue reading the main story Mr. Clifton likened the situation to the cases of Judith Miller, an investigative reporter for The New York Times, who was sent to jail by a federal judge on Wednesday for refusing to divulge the identity of a confidential source, and of Matthew Cooper of Time magazine, who was spared jail after his source released him from a promise of confidentiality, freeing him to testify before the grand jury. In the most serious confrontation between the press and the government since the Pentagon Papers case in 1971, Ms. Miller and Mr. Cooper were held in civil contempt last year for not cooperating with a federal prosecutor's inquiry into the illegal disclosure of the identity of a covert operative for the Central Intelligence Agency. If anything, Mr. Clifton said, The Plain Dealer's potential legal problem with the leaked documents was "even more pointed" than the cases of Ms. Miller and Mr. Cooper. Advertisement Continue reading the main story "These are documents that someone had and should not have released to anyone else," he said. If an investigation were pursued, the newspaper, its reporters and their sources could all face court penalties for unauthorized disclosures. Sign Up Receive occasional updates and special offers for The New York Times's products and services. Mr. Clifton declined to provide details about the two investigative articles being withheld, but he characterized them as "profoundly important," adding, "They would have been of significant interest to the public." Advertisement Continue reading the main story The Plain Dealer, founded in 1842, is a distinguished name in American journalism and was listed last year as the nation's 21st largest daily. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Mr. Clifton noted that he had first disclosed his newspaper's decision to withhold publication of the two articles in a column he wrote for The Plain Dealer on June 30 in defense of journalists like Ms. Miller and Mr. Cooper who refuse to name confidential sources. "Take away a reporter's ability to protect a tipster's anonymity and you deny the public vital information," Mr. Clifton wrote. And to dramatize the point, he concluded his column by telling readers that The Plain Dealer was itself obliged to withhold stories based on illegal disclosures for fear of the legal consequences. "The public would be well-served to know them, but both are based on documents leaked to us by people who would face deep trouble for having leaked them. Publishing the stories would almost certainly lead to a leak investigation and the ultimate choice: talk or go to jail. Because talking isn't an option and jail is too high a price to pay, these two stories will go untold for now. Mr. Clifton said he was surprised that there had been so little public reaction to his disclosure of "something that newspapers typically don't reveal -- that real live news had been stifled." Correction: July 12, 2005, Tuesday An article on Saturday about a decision by The Cleveland Plain Dealer to withhold two articles that were based on illegally leaked documents misstated the name of the paper's owner. Special prosecutor Patrick J. Fitzgerald has spent the better part of two years trying to answer that question, in a case that grew out of the angry debate over whether President Bush and his advisers hyped or falsified intelligence about weapons of mass destruction to justify going to war with Iraq in the spring of 2003. A White House spokesman long ago asserted that Rove was "not involved" in disclosing Plame's identity. Rove, who has testified before a grand jury investigating the case, likewise has maintained that he did not break the law, saying in a television interview, "I didn't know her name, and I didn't leak her name." The debate two summers ago over why the United States went to war engaged some of the most senior officials in the government and included an incendiary accusation by former ambassador Joseph C. Wilson IV, who had challenged the administration over claims that Iraq was seeking nuclear material in Africa.
Judges, he said, like to be consistent. Judge Jones said that they did, and that she had considered them in determining Mr. Ebbers's sentence. "Doesn't that count?" Advertisement Continue reading the main story Ken Belson contributed reporting for this article. Former WorldCom chief, 63 years-old, could spend the rest of his life in prison. (July 13) Play video NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Ex-WorldCom chief executive Bernard Ebbers was sentenced Wednesday to 25 years in prison for his role in orchestrating the biggest corporate fraud in the nation's history. and about $50,000. The company's collapse led to billions of dollars in losses for shareholders and employees. Executives at several companies have gone to trial in the last year, with mixed results, and some are still waiting. Felder is a partner in the law firm Brown Raysman Millstein Felder & Steiner. Several legal experts said that Ebbers' punishment was reasonable. Please try again later. Mr. Ebbers already agreed in a civil settlement last month to give investors nearly all of his personal assets, including his house in Mississippi and various businesses, valued at about $40 million, after once topping $1 billion. -- CNN producer Winnie Dunbar contributed to this report (Stewart chose to serve her time rather than wait for the appeals court to rule). His wife will keep a modest home in Jackson, Miss. He said afterward that he would appeal the sentence. WorldCom, now known as MCI, filed the largest bankruptcy in U.S. history in 2002. Federal prosecutors had sought a life sentence as a warning to others.
Recent Business News Uber's Levandowski to step aside amid Waymo litigation Uber Technologies Inc [UBER.UL] said the head of its self-driving vehicles unit, Anthony Levandowski, will step aside from his role for the remainder of the company's litigation with Waymo, the self-driving car division of Alphabet Inc . Starbucks quarterly revenue falls short, stock falls LOS ANGELES Starbucks Corp reported quarterly sales that just missed Wall Street's expectations, hurt by a slight cooling in spending growth by customers in its core U.S. market, sending shares down 4.4 percent in extended trading on Thursday. Jobless claims rise, but four-week average at two-month low WASHINGTON, April 27 The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits rose more than expected last week, but the four-week average of claims fell to a two-month low, indicating that labor market conditions continue to tighten. MetLife to invest $1 billion in tech to reach cost-savings goals NEW YORK MetLife Inc plans to invest $1 billion in an efficiency program through 2019 that will eventually reduce annual operating costs by around $800 million, the insurer said on Thursday. As Judge Jones explained the sentence, thunder from a summer storm could be heard inside the courtroom, where Mr. Ebbers, 63, slumped forward in his chair and dabbed his eyes with a handkerchief from his pocket. Later, as the courtroom cleared, he turned to his wife, Kristie, who had been sitting behind him crying quietly, and they embraced. Advertisement Continue reading the main story His lawyers plan to appeal his case, and Judge Jones has not yet decided whether to allow Mr. Ebbers to remain free during that process, which sometimes takes years. Mr. Ebbers's sentence is perhaps the toughest for corporate wrongdoing in recent memory - eclipsing the 15 years handed down last month to John J. Rigas, the 80-year-old former chief executive of Adelphia Communications - and legal analysts said it should help the government negotiate settlements as it prosecutes other cases. "This is the case that is almost the standard for large frauds," David B. Anders, an assistant United States attorney, said in arguing for a severe sentence under federal sentencing guidelines. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Mr. Ebbers's lawyer, Reid Weingarten, was at times in tears today as he pleaded for leniency before Judge Jones. Advertisement Continue reading the main story "The problem is that Bernard Ebbers was transformed into a symbol of corporate corruption," Mr. Weingarten told reporters outside the courtroom. "I was very upset and am very upset. Advertisement Continue reading the main story "I believe we have very meritorious appellate issues," he said. "We can't wait to appeal this case." Mr. Ebbers and his wife left the courtroom quickly and more quietly than they had arrived for the 10 a.m. hearing, when Mr. Ebbers, appearing tense, shoved a news photographer who got in his way. The former chief executive, who Mr. Weingarten said was going home to Mississippi, must check in with a probation officer within 72 hours. Judge Jones said she would recommend that Mr. Ebbers be sent to the federal prison in Yazoo City, Miss., as his lawyers requested. She also responded favorably to his lawyers' request that she recommend that Mr. Ebbers be treated as a low-security prisoner, rather than the medium-security prisoner that his lengthy sentence implies. Sentences longer than 23 years and 6 months typically mandate a medium-security facility. As WorldCom's chairman and chief executive, Mr. Ebbers was accused of orchestrating the largest corporate fraud in United States history, an accounting scheme that inflated the company's profits by $11 billion over a handful of years. Advertisement Continue reading the main story The deception topped a wave of corporate scandals that devastated investors and prompted lawsuits and legislative reforms. Executives at several companies have gone to trial in the last year, with mixed results, and some are still waiting. But Richard M. Scrushy, who founded the HealthSouth Corporation, the country's largest chain of rehabilitation hospitals, was acquitted of directing a $2.7 billion accounting fraud. Kenneth L. Lay, the former chairman of Enron, is to be tried next year on fraud and other charges, as is Jeffrey K. Skilling, Enron's former chief executive. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Mr. Ebbers's fate may prompt other executives facing charges to give serious consideration to plea agreements, said Charles L. Babcock of the Texas law firm Jackson Walker. "In a plea deal, at least you have some certainty of a range" in the sentence, Mr. Babcock, who specializes in trial tactics, said. Michael N. Levy, who specializes in white-collar defenses at McKeen Nelson, described Mr. Ebbers's sentence as "extremely severe," noting by comparison that the maximum federal penalty for manslaughter is 10 years. "If Bernard Ebbers had been sentenced to 10 years in jail, corporate executives would be just as scared of committing fraud," he said. "I'm not sure that there's a substantial deterrent effect to a sentence that large." Before she imposed Mr. Ebbers's sentence, Judge Jones allowed remarks from a former employee of the company who said he represented people who had not benefited from a class-action shareholder settlement that Mr. Ebbers agreed to last month. Mr. Ebbers took the witness stand during his trial - a move that legal analysts described as a gamble - and maintained that he had had no knowledge of the fraud going on at the company. Federal sentencing guidelines, which a Supreme Court ruling last year declared were no longer binding on judges, pointed to a sentence of 30 years' to life imprisonment. "Corporate executives will, in the future, consider the sentence imposed on Ebbers whenever those executives are tempted to mislead shareholders or manipulate the financial statements of their companies," the prosecutors said in court papers seeking a life sentence.
Wilson. He identified her,” Wilson said. Former Ambassador Joseph Wilson called on President Bush on Thursday to fire top aide Karl Rove for discussing Wilson's wife's role as a CIA officer with reporters. "Now we know who was involved in the leak. Rove told the grand jury that by the time Novak had called him, he believes he had similar information about Wilson’s wife from another member of the news media but he could not recall which reporter had told him about it first, the person said. House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi and other leaders asked Friday that Congress hold hearings regardless of the ongoing criminal probe. Abuse of power? ... She is known and has been since we got married as Valerie Wilson. "Wilson says the leak of his wife's name was an attempt by the administration to discredit him after he challenged its assertion that Iraq's Saddam Hussein was seeking to obtain from Niger material to make nuclear weapons. They called for legislation to deny security clearances to officials who disclose the identity of an undercover agent. “If I were to get into discussing this, I would be getting into discussing an investigation that continues and could be prejudging the outcome of the investigation,” White House spokesman Scott McClellan said. Wilson, in an interview broadcast Thursday on NBC’s “Today” show, said he thinks the White House’s posture in this controversy represents a continuing “cover-up of the web of lies that underpin the justification for going to war in Iraq.” Wilson was asked about statements by Rove’s defenders noting that an e-mail describing Rove’s conversation with Time reporter Matthew Cooper indicated that Rove did not specifically mention Valerie Plame by name.
Chief presidential adviser Karl Rove testified to a grand jury that he talked with two journalists before they divulged the identity of an undercover CIA officer but that he originally learned about the operative from the news media and not government sources, according to a person briefed on the testimony. The person, who works in the legal profession and spoke only on condition of anonymity because of grand jury secrecy, told The Associated Press that Rove testified last year that he remembers specifically being told by columnist Robert Novak that Valerie Plame, the wife of a harsh Iraq war critic, worked for the CIA. Rove testified that Novak originally called him the Tuesday before Plame’s identity was revealed in July 2003 to discuss another story. The conversation eventually turned to Plame’s husband, Joseph Wilson, a former ambassador who was strongly criticizing the Bush administration’s use of faulty intelligence to justify the war in Iraq, the person said. Rove testified that Novak told him he planned to report in a weekend column that Plame had worked for the CIA, and the circumstances on how her husband traveled to Africa to check bogus claims that Iraq was trying to buy nuclear materials in Niger, according to the source. Column triggers probe Novak’s column, citing two Bush administration officials, appeared six days later, touching off a political firestorm and leading to a federal criminal investigation into who leaked Plame’s undercover identity. That probe has ensnared presidential aides and reporters in a two-year legal battle. Rove told the grand jury that by the time Novak had called him, he believes he had similar information about Wilson’s wife from another member of the news media but he could not recall which reporter had told him about it first, the person said. When Novak inquired about Wilson’s wife working for the CIA, Rove indicated he had heard something like that, according to the source’s recounting of the grand jury testimony. Rove told the grand jury that three days later, he had a phone conversation with Time magazine reporter Matt Cooper and — in an effort to discredit some of Wilson’s allegations — informally told Cooper that he believed Wilson’s wife worked for the CIA, though he never used her name, the source said. An e-mail Cooper recently provided the grand jury shows Cooper reported to his magazine bosses that Rove had described Wilson’s wife in a confidential conversation as someone who “apparently works” at the CIA. Robert Luskin, Rove’s attorney, said Thursday his client truthfully testified to the grand jury and expected to be exonerated. “Karl provided all pertinent information to prosecutors a long time ago,” Luskin said. “And prosecutors confirmed when he testified most recently in October 2004 that he is not a target of the investigation.” Wilson clarifies comments about wife In an interview on CNN earlier Thursday before the latest revelation, Wilson kept up his criticism of the White House, saying Rove’s conduct was an “outrageous abuse of power ... certainly worthy of frog-marching out of the White House.” Wilson also said “my wife was not a clandestine officer the day that Bob Novak blew her identity.” In an interview Friday, Wilson said his comment was meant to reflect that his wife lost her ability to be a covert agent because of the leak, not that she had stopped working for the CIA beforehand. His wife’s “ability to do the job she’s been doing for close to 20 years ceased from the minute Novak’s article appeared; she ceased being a clandestine officer,” he said. Blowing cover illegal Federal law prohibits government officials from divulging the identity of an undercover intelligence officer. But in order to bring charges, prosecutors must prove the official knew the officer was covert and nonetheless knowingly outed his or her identity. Rove’s conversations with Novak and Cooper took place just days after Wilson suggested in a New York Times opinion piece that some of the intelligence related to Iraq’s nuclear weapons program was twisted to exaggerate the Iraqi threat. Push to strip Rove of clearance “In previous Republican Congresses the fact that a criminal investigation was under way did not prevent extensive hearings from being held on other, much less significant matters,” Pelosi and the other Democratic leaders wrote Speaker Dennis Hastert. On Thursday, Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid of Nevada pressed for legislation to strip Rove of his clearance for classified information, which he said President Bush should have done already. This is an abuse of power.” Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., said Democrats were resorting to “partisan war chants.” Pressed to explain its statements of two years ago that Rove wasn’t involved in the leak, the White House refused to do so this week. Former Ambassador Joseph Wilson called on President Bush on Thursday to fire top aide Karl Rove for discussing Wilson's wife's role as a CIA officer with reporters. I think it's now a question of character for the president. If he is in fact a man of his word he needs to do what he said he'd do and fire Mr. Rove," said Wilson in an interview withFor more ofinterview with Joseph Wilson, click here said Wednesday that he would not discuss the matter further until a criminal investigation is finished. Last year, he said he would fire anyone found to have leaked Plame's name. "This is a serious investigation," the president told reporters after a Cabinet meeting, where Rove sat just behind him. "And it is very important for people not to prejudge the investigation based on media reports. "Wilson dismissed arguments by Rove's defenders that Rove did nothing wrong since he never mentioned Valerie Plame by name during conversations with reporters. "I find it a bit flimsy on the face of it," Wilson said, "since when he says Wilson's wife, Valerie is in fact Mrs. Wilson. "Wilson says the leak of his wife's name was an attempt by the administration to discredit him after he challenged its assertion that Iraq's Saddam Hussein was seeking to obtain from Niger material to make nuclear weapons. "I think this is an attempt on the part of the White House to cover up the web of lies that underpin the justification for going to war in Iraq in the first place," he toldAsked what he'd like to say to Rove, Wilson said, "Nothing you could say on the air without getting in trouble with the FCC." Former Ambassador Joseph Wilson called on President Bush on Thursday to fire deputy chief of staff Karl Rove, saying Bush’s top-level aide engaged in an “abuse of power” by discussing Wilson’s wife’s job with a reporter. Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid wanted to attach the proposal to a spending bill for the Department of Homeland Security -- and aides said he hoped for a vote Thursday.
"What we've got to find is, who encouraged them, who trained them, and who's the chemist," he said. Police are still searching homes in Leeds and Buckinghamshire. Three of the four bombers are also confirmed dead, and the fourth bomber is also thought to have died. Elnashar had left England two weeks before the bombings, and British authorities had initiated a worldwide manhunt for him. One Pakistani intelligence source was reported as saying Tanweer visited Pakistan in 2003 and 2004. Lindsey Germaine: Jamaican-born man who lived in Buckinghamshire. Mr el-Nashar recently completed five years of studies and returned to Egypt about four weeks ago. Sir Ian Blair, the commissioner of the Metropolitan police, yesterday described the suicide bombers as "foot soldiers" and suggested a link would be found between them and al-Qaida. Officials in Cairo tell ABC News that state security officials have already begun to question him with British agents in attendance. The trip was organised as part of a school visit and Khan attended in his capacity as a learning mentor at Hillside primary school with the MP's wife, Sarah, the headteacher of the school. Forensic evidence linking him to Aldgate blast. Mr al-Nashar completed a chemistry PhD at Leeds University Magdi Mahmoud al-Nashar, 33, had not been seen by colleagues at Leeds University since early July. Hasib Mir Hussain(confirmed): Aged 18, lived Holbeck, Leeds. In other developments Friday: Forty-one bomb victims have been identified and 31 named. British police are hunting the financiers, supporters and chemists who assembled the bombs which killed 51 people in London on Thursday.
The U.S.-trained chemist who police believe is the mastermind behind last week's London transit attacks has been captured, Egyptian and Western intelligence sources tell ABC News. Magdy Elnashar, 33, who authorities believe helped build the bombs, was taken into custody in suburban Cairo, Egypt. Elnashar had left England two weeks before the bombings, and British authorities had initiated a worldwide manhunt for him. Police say it was Elnashar who helped the bombers set up their bomb factory in Leeds. Elnashar's capture came as British authorities released the first surveillance photo of one of the bombers in the hours before the attacks. Hasib Hussain, 18, is seen carrying the backpack that exploded on a double-decker bus two-and-a-half hours later. Hussain was described by Britain's top police official as just a foot soldier. "What we've got to find now is the people who trained them, who built their bombs," said Ian Blair, commissioner of London's Metropolitan Police. British authorities also identified a fourth bomber as a Jamaica-born man with a pregnant wife in England and a mother living in the United States. U.S. authorities tell ABC News that Lindsey Germaine had been in the United States within the past two years, and the FBI is now investigating contacts he made in Ohio and New Jersey. Officials in Cairo tell ABC News that state security officials have already begun to question him with British agents in attendance. British police are searching a house in Leeds linked to Mr al-Nashar, but have not formally named him as a suspect in their investigation. British police are hunting the financiers, supporters and chemists who assembled the bombs which killed 51 people in London on Thursday. Three of the four bombers are also confirmed dead, and the fourth bomber is also thought to have died. Our Shahara is returning to her Lord - an innocent and blood-stained martyr Family of bombing victim Shahara Islam First bomb victim's funeral held More victims identified Agents are understood to be with Egyptian authorities in Cairo, questioning Mr al-Nashar, who was arrested on Friday. His alleged link to the plot is unclear, but it was believed he handed over keys to a house in Leeds used by the bombers, said BBC security correspondent Gordon Corera. A community centre and Islamic bookshop near the home of one of the bombers, Shehzad Tanweer were also searched and computers seized from the centre. LONDON BOMBERS Mohammad Sidique Khan: Aged 30, from Beeston, Leeds, recently moved to Dewsbury, married with baby. Bomb suspects: Key facts Explosives made from ingredients available from high-street chemists were found in one of the homes in Leeds, sources have told the BBC. The BBC has also learned a suspected al-Qaeda member entered Britain via a Channel port two weeks before the bombs, but was not kept under surveillance. He said the four bombers were only the "foot soldiers" of the operation and the mastermind was still being sought. He said police would also work with the Muslim community, which he said had been "close to denial" about extremist preachers, to defeat terrorism. Residents evacuated from the Hyde Park area returned on Thursday The names of two bombers - Hasib Mir Hussain, 18, from Holbeck, Leeds and Tanweer, 22, from Beeston, Leeds - were confirmed by police. The hunt continued as the commissioner of the Metropolitan police warned that more attacks were a "very strong possibility".
"I said that was very important. "I didn't actually see the gun, but I heard this 'bang, bang, bang.'" Police confirmed to CNN that armed officers had shot a man dead at Stockwell station in south London. Mr Menezes's family is struggling to come to terms with his death. Sir Ian told Sky News: "This is a tragedy. "People then started to run and I heard two or three more bangs, like people shooting." An ambulance was seen leaving the area. "As the man got on the train I looked at his face. The Brazilian government has expressed its shock at the killing and Brazil's foreign minister Celso Amorim is on his way to London to get an explanation from foreign secretary Jack Straw. Suspicious package A package was found by a member of the public in bushes in Little Wormwood Scrubs on Saturday morning. He said there was no reason to believe the four men sought over the failed bombings - whose images caught on CCTV were released on Friday - had left the country. Jean Charles de Menezes (far right), pictured with friends The man, who died at Stockwell Tube on Friday, has been named by police as Jean Charles de Menezes, 27. Meanwhile a third man has been arrested by police under the Terrorism Act. The shooting is being investigated by Scotland Yard's Directorate of Professional Standards, and will be referred to the Independent Police Complaints Commission. Mr Menezes was from the city of Gonzaga in Minas Gerais state and had lived in London for over three years.
'He looked like a cornered fox' Whitby said he was "totally distraught" after seeing the shooting. RELATED JULY 7 BOMBINGS YOUR E-MAIL ALERTS London Great Britain or or Create Your Own LONDON, England (CNN) -- Eyewitnesses to Friday's shooting at a London Underground station described seeing a man being chased onto a train and then shot several times at close range. Police confirmed to CNN that armed officers had shot a man dead at Stockwell station in south London. (Full Story) One witness, Mark Whitby, told BBC news the man appeared not to be carrying anything but was wearing a thick coat that looked padded. Whitby said a young Asian man was shot five times after being chased into a train carriage by three men. "As the man got on the train I looked at his face. He looked from left to right, but he basically looked like a cornered rabbit, like a cornered fox. "He sort of tripped but they were hotly pursuing him and couldn't have been more than two or three feet behind him at this time. The policeman nearest to me had the black automatic pistol in his left hand, he held it down to the guy and unloaded five shots into him. "He looked like a Pakistani but he had a baseball cap on, and quite a thickish coat. It was a coat like you would wear in winter, a sort of padded jacket. Whitby said he had been about five yards away from where the incident occurred and was "totally distraught" by what he had seen. He said 10 to 15 police officers armed with pistols and sub-machine guns had run down to the platform as he was helping an elderly woman away from the train. "People running in all directions, looks of horror on their faces, screaming, a lot of screaming from women, absolute mayhem. Trying to protect their heads, worried about flying bullets." Shortly after that, as I was about to get onto the train, eight or nine undercover police with walkie talkies and handguns started screaming at everyone to 'Get out, get out'," she said. Chris Wells told the UK's Press Association he was leaving Stockwell station when he saw a man being pursued inside by at least 20 armed police. "The next thing I saw was this guy jump over the barriers and the police officers were chasing after him and everyone was just shouting 'Get out, get out,'" Wells said. "People then started to run and I heard two or three more bangs, like people shooting." Journalist Chris Martin said he was waiting at Stockwell station when several men burst onto the platform. "There was a lot of shouting, I thought it was football fans or something," he told the UK's Press Association. "There was obviously some sort of altercation going on, and then they came flying onto the platform and these guys just threw this man into the open doors of the train. Christine Burgess, a 56-year-old accountant, told PA she had seen police carry a black zip-up bag to an ambulance outside the station as she tried to get home on a bus. CNN's Nic Robertson said the area around Stockwell station, a major transport interchange, had been cordoned off by police, bringing traffic to a halt and causing major disruption. Several police vans and unmarked police cars were still at the scene, along with an air ambulance. Jean Charles de Menezes (far right), pictured with friends The man, who died at Stockwell Tube on Friday, has been named by police as Jean Charles de Menezes, 27. In a statement the government said it "looks forward to receiving the necessary explanation from the British authorities on the circumstances which led to this tragedy". Mr Menezes' cousin, Alex Alves, told O Globo television: "I asked that the body be released as quickly as possible, we need to bring him to Brazil, which is what the family wants". The Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone, said: "The police acted to do what they believed necessary to protect the lives of the public.
Home Page Get up-to-the minute news from CNN CNN.com gives you the latest stories and video from the around the world, with in-depth coverage of U.S. news, politics, entertainment, health, crime, tech and more. The country's jobless rate earlier this year hit 12 percent and topped 5 million -- the highest since the 1930's depression -- and was the key reason Schroeder's Social Democrats lost the country's biggest state election in May. "The process of reduction in unemployment will continue in the coming months and continue more strongly," he said. He is seeking a new mandate to push through more reforms. Political battleground The key element for the economy is really the number of new jobs that are being created, and we haven't seen much progress on that front yet Carsten Klude, MM Warburg The fall in seasonally adjusted joblessness may point to a recovery in Germany's battered labour market, though economists greeted the figures with caution. Unemployment looks set to be a major issue in the forthcoming general election. Schroeder's SPD is polling about 15 points behind the conservatives, but the chancellor hopes to close the gap by arguing that the conservatives want more-painful reforms. But factoring in seasonal adjustments, including former jobseekers on summer vacations and a summer break in job training programs, the number of unemployed dropped by 42,000, the office said. Recent Business News Uber's Levandowski to step aside amid Waymo litigation Uber Technologies Inc [UBER.UL] said the head of its self-driving vehicles unit, Anthony Levandowski, will step aside from his role for the remainder of the company's litigation with Waymo, the self-driving car division of Alphabet Inc .
Unemployment will be a key issue in the forthcoming general election The number of people out of work dropped by 42,000 to 4.8 million, or 11.6% of the workforce, the Federal Labour Office said. But without seasonal adjustments, the jobless rate rose by 68,000 to 4.77 million, or 11.5% of the workforce. The figures come just two months ahead of a planned general election. The ranks of Germany's unemployed often swell in July, as school leavers and trainees who have finished their apprenticeships enter the jobs market. Political battleground The key element for the economy is really the number of new jobs that are being created, and we haven't seen much progress on that front yet Carsten Klude, MM Warburg The fall in seasonally adjusted joblessness may point to a recovery in Germany's battered labour market, though economists greeted the figures with caution. Unemployment looks set to be a major issue in the forthcoming general election. Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder's ruling Social Democrat (SPD) coalition is preparing to face an electorate angry at recent record levels of post-war unemployment. Opinion polls recently showed the SPD lagging behind the conservative opposition Christian Democrats by up to 17 percentage points. Trend remains unclear But economy minister Wolfgang Clement said the latest jobless figures suggested unemployment in Germany was coming under control. However, Carsten Klude, of MM Warburg, said: "The key element for the economy is really the number of new jobs that are being created, and we haven't seen much progress on that front yet." YOUR E-MAIL ALERTS Germany Unemployment or or Create Your Own BERLIN, Germany (CNN) -- Germany's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate fell for a fourth straight month in July, by one-tenth of a percent to 11.6 percent -- a decrease due in part to a shrinking number of Germans seeking work, the Labor Office said. The actual number of jobless rose by 68,000 to 4,772,000, raising the unadjusted rate from 11.3 percent to 11.5 percent, the office said. But factoring in seasonal adjustments, including former jobseekers on summer vacations and a summer break in job training programs, the number of unemployed dropped by 42,000, the office said. The country's jobless rate earlier this year hit 12 percent and topped 5 million -- the highest since the 1930's depression -- and was the key reason Schroeder's Social Democrats lost the country's biggest state election in May. Schroeder's SPD is polling about 15 points behind the conservatives, but the chancellor hopes to close the gap by arguing that the conservatives want more-painful reforms. Starbucks quarterly revenue falls short, stock falls LOS ANGELES Starbucks Corp reported quarterly sales that just missed Wall Street's expectations, hurt by a slight cooling in spending growth by customers in its core U.S. market, sending shares down 4.4 percent in extended trading on Thursday. Jobless claims rise, but four-week average at two-month low WASHINGTON, April 27 The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits rose more than expected last week, but the four-week average of claims fell to a two-month low, indicating that labor market conditions continue to tighten.
he said. Mr Garang's widow, Rebecca, told the BBC that the people of Sudan should carry on with his vision. He declared the peace agreement a "great battle and a major victory". Our correspondent says many of the 4m southern Sudanese living in Khartoum hoped Mr Garang would change their lives, and they are now venting their frustration at his death. "It's a reaction to the reaction from yesterday: 'Where is the government? He signed a deal to end 21 years of civil war in January and was sworn in as deputy leader three weeks ago. Six of his associates and the seven-member crew also died in the crash, which has been blamed on bad weather. The SPLM named Garang's longtime deputy, Salva Kiir Mayardit, to succeed him as head of the movement and president of south Sudan. Three days of national mourning have been declared. Today's Top News Stories • Report: In U.S., record numbers are plunged into poverty - • VP's plane has minor electrical problem - • Israeli troops raid West Bank city - • Severe storms injure 27 in Arkansas - • Va. lawmakers pass slavery apology - • Add USATODAY.com RSS feeds Sudan turns violent after VP's death KHARTOUM, Sudan (AP) Violent mobs surged again into the streets of Sudan's capital Tuesday, a day after 36 people died in riots sparked by the death of Sudanese vice president and former southern rebel leader John Garang. The conflict in Sudan ended with the signing of a peace agreement in January and Mr Garang became vice-president in a new government of national unity.
Southern Sudanese hoped John Garang would change their lives At least 20 people were reported dead in the clashes in the capital. Mr Garang, Sudan's newly appointed vice-president, died in a helicopter crash as he was returning from Uganda. He signed a deal to end 21 years of civil war in January and was sworn in as deputy leader three weeks ago. His former rebel group, the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM), has nominated deputy leader Salva Kiir as his successor and the next vice-president of Sudan. Eerie calm The BBC's Jonah Fisher in Khartoum says that in choosing Mr Kiir, the SPLM has sent a clear message that there will be no radical departure from the Garang era. US President George W Bush, UN Secretary General Kofi Annan and others joined Mr Kiir in urging the Sudanese people to remain calm and continue to implement the peace agreement. Dr Garang was one of the most visionary and incisive revolutionary thinkers and nationalists Africa has ever produced President Yoweri Museveni of Uganda Obituary: John Garang In pictures: John Garang Reaction in quotes Our correspondent says gangs of youths from southern Sudan - Mr Garang's home - appeared on the streets, looting cars, throwing stones and smashing office windows. Gunfire could be heard and there were clashes with security forces as they tried to seal off the city centre. However, shortly after an overnight curfew was imposed at 1800 (1500 GMT), there was an eerie calm on the streets, our correspondent reports. Mr Garang steered the SPLM rebels from the Christian and animist south through a war against the Islamic government in the north which left some 1.5m people dead. Our correspondent says many of the 4m southern Sudanese living in Khartoum hoped Mr Garang would change their lives, and they are now venting their frustration at his death. Peacemaker Mr Garang's death leaves a gaping hole in Sudan's political landscape, our correspondent says. Three days of national mourning have been declared. The news provoked grief in southern Sudan (picture: Mark Pearson) The Ugandan presidential Mi-72 helicopter carrying Mr Garang back from a meeting with President Yoweri Museveni at his ranch in Rwakitura crashed in mountains near Mr Garang's base in New Site, southern Sudan. Six of his associates and the seven-member crew also died in the crash, which has been blamed on bad weather. Mr Garang had ruled the disparate SPLM with an iron hand, and managed to keep it together through years of fighting. The conflict in Sudan ended with the signing of a peace agreement in January and Mr Garang became vice-president in a new government of national unity. Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir said he was confident the peace agreement would remain on course. Today's Top News Stories • Report: In U.S., record numbers are plunged into poverty - • VP's plane has minor electrical problem - • Israeli troops raid West Bank city - • Severe storms injure 27 in Arkansas - • Va. lawmakers pass slavery apology - • Add USATODAY.com RSS feeds Sudan turns violent after VP's death KHARTOUM, Sudan (AP) Violent mobs surged again into the streets of Sudan's capital Tuesday, a day after 36 people died in riots sparked by the death of Sudanese vice president and former southern rebel leader John Garang. Police stand by a car burned by southern Sudanese in response to news that their hero, Vice President John Garang de Mabior, died. APTN TV The initial violence Monday was blamed on Garang supporters from the Christian and animist south who blamed his death in a helicopter crash on Sudan's Muslim-dominated government, but both northerners and southerners reportedly staged attacks Tuesday after a quiet morning. (Related story: Details on the crash) Arab gangs invaded some neighborhoods heavily populated by southerners on the outskirts of Khartoum and attacked people in the streets and raided homes, said William Ezekiel, managing editor of the Khartoum Monitor. "The Arabs are attacking them, entering their houses and looking for southerners," said Ezekiel, whose newspaper focuses largely on southern issues. "It's a reaction to the reaction from yesterday: 'Where is the government? A senior U.N. official in Khartoum said angry southerners from camps outside the capital for people displaced by the long war in southern Sudan attacked the Omdurman area. "The situation is turning religious and that will be even more dangerous," he said, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to journalists. Officials said Monday's riots resulted in 36 people being killed and about 300 injured. The government renewed the 6 p.m.-6 a.m. curfew first imposed Monday night, and by midafternoon downtown streets were nearly empty. After Monday's rampage, the government and Garang's own Sudan People's Liberation Movement said his death was an accident and dismissed talk of a plot as they sought to keep alive the fragile north-south peace deal Garang championed. President Bush said Monday that the United States remained committed to the peace process in Sudan and urged its people to refrain from violence, describing Garang as a "visionary leader and peacemaker." Garang and 13 other people died Saturday when a helicopter crashed into a mountain in southern Sudan in bad weather. Garang, from southern Sudan, became the country's first vice president last month as part of the U.S.-backed peace deal that ended a two-decade-long civil war between his rebel force and the army of Sudan's Islamic-oriented government based in Khartoum. The charismatic Garang was hailed for helping seal the peace deal, particularly across southern Sudan and among the several million southern refugees living in Khartoum, many of whom took part in Monday's violence. A colonel in Sudan's army, he was sent there to quell a rebellion but deserted to form his own rebel movement in the region's fight for a share of wealth and political power. The peace deal and Garang's ascension to the national unity government were signs of hope for others who feel marginalized in Sudan. Six of his associates and the seven-member crew of the Mi 72 Ugandan presidential helicopter also died in the crash, which is being blamed on bad weather.
"He was a very kind, loving, caring, young man. Mr Walker's girlfriend and cousin ran to get help. I need to find out who did this to my brother." Police said a 17-year-old boy had been arrested. The 18-year-old was attacked with an axe by a gang of up to four white men in Huyton, Merseyside, on Friday. He died later in hospital. They did not retaliate to the abuse and left to find another bus stop. Local MP Edward O'Hara has dismissed comparisons between the attack and the murder of Stephen Lawrence. When they returned Anthony was slumped on the ground with massive head injuries. He gave so much of his life to help other people," she added. An axe was found embedded in his skull. "Talk to them because we need the information. She said her brother loved playing football and was an Arsenal fan, but his main sport was basketball and he had trials for the Liverpool and England basketball teams. But they were followed and as they walked through McGoldrick Park they were attacked by a gang of three or four men. "Everyone in the community loves them. He was taken to Whiston Hospital and later transferred to Walton neurological centre where he died at 0525 BST on Saturday. She said: "They are just a lovely family, very well-behaved and intelligent. An 18-year-old held on Sunday morning has been released on bail. "It is entirely untypical of this area. It is just so sad and so terrible that something like this can happen." Merseyside Police said that as the couple waited for a bus outside the Huyton Park pub with Mr Walker's cousin they were subjected to a "torrent of racial abuse" by a man in his 20s wearing a hooded top.
His older sister Dominique, 20, also made an emotional plea for people to help catch the gang who attacked him in Huyton, Merseyside, on Friday night. "If anybody knows anything, they have got to talk to the police," she said. An axe was found embedded in Mr Walker's skull following the attack. He died later in hospital. He gave so much of his life to help other people Dominique Walker Dozens of floral tributes have been left at the murder scene. Dominique Walker begged local people to help police, "Talk to them because we need the information. She said her brother loved playing football and was an Arsenal fan, but his main sport was basketball and he had trials for the Liverpool and England basketball teams. Mr Walker was waiting with his girlfriend at a bus stop outside the Huyton Park pub with his cousin when they were subjected to a "torrent of racial abuse" by a man. They were attacked as they walked to another bus stop. When they returned Anthony was slumped on the ground with massive head injuries. He was taken to Whiston Hospital and later transferred to Walton neurological centre where he died at 0525 BST on Saturday. The close-knit community is shocked at Mr Walker's death The A-level student was attacked by a gang of up to four white men in Huyton, Merseyside, on Friday night. Mr Walker, 18, was bludgeoned with an axe, which was found embedded in his skull. Merseyside Police said an 18-year-old man was arrested after three searches were carried out in the area. Merseyside Police said that as the couple waited for a bus outside the Huyton Park pub with Mr Walker's cousin they were subjected to a "torrent of racial abuse" by a man in his 20s wearing a hooded top. They did not retaliate to the abuse and left to find another bus stop. But they were followed and as they walked through McGoldrick Park they were attacked by a gang of three or four men. His girlfriend and cousin saw a man carrying an axe bludgeon him, and ran to get help. When they returned minutes later they found him slumped on the ground with massive head injuries. Local Labour MP Eddie O'Hara, who lives just yards from where Mr Walker was attacked, offered his condolences to the family. He said: "I feel shocked and saddened and shame on behalf of all of us. Resident Jean Watson's daughter Alyssa, 15, went to school with one of Mr Walker's sisters. A 17-year-old was being held by police on Monday and a man, aged 18, arrested on Sunday has been released on bail. Det Ch Supt Peter Currie, of Merseyside Police, said the attack was "despicable and abhorrent". The force has had more than 50 calls about the murder, but said it needed more information. I need to find out who did this to my brother Dominique Walker "I would like to reassure the community that we will not rest until those responsible for taking Anthony Walker's life are brought before the courts." He told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme: "There is a certain surface comparison but this act was random, exceptional and representative of absolutely nothing." 'Talk to police' Mr O'Hara said it was a racist attack but "entirely untypical of the community in which it happened". Mr Walker's mother Gee has said her son was killed "purely because of the colour of his skin". And Mr Walker's sister Dominique, 20, has appealed for people to help catch the gang who attacked her brother in McGoldrick Park on Friday night. Dozens of floral tributes have been left at the scene of the attack Miss Walker said her brother loved playing football and was an Arsenal fan, but his main sport was basketball and he had trials for the Liverpool and England basketball teams. Stephen Lawrence's mother Doreen Lawrence OBE said Mr Walker's murder was "senseless" and a "loss to society". "All the staff and trustees of the Stephen Lawrence Charitable Trust offer their deepest sympathies and condolences to Anthony Walker's family during this time of great anguish and loss," she added.
No. He is survived by his wife, Kayce Freed, his two children, Elizabeth, 25, and Christopher, 23, and his sister, Sarah Jennings. " he said. He served as the anchor of "Peter Jennings with the News" from 1965 to 1967. He was hired by ABC in 1964. Some days it's reassuring, some days it's absolutely destructive. A man of conscience and integrity, his reporting was a guide to all of us who aspire to better the world around us. I think I measure it by the events. The coverage earned ABC News Peabody and duPont awards. President Bush remembered Jennings as a distinguished journalist. He knew he had lived a good life." In his more than 20 years in the position he was honored with almost every major award given to television journalists. He became a part of the lives of a lot of our fellow citizens, and he will be missed. On April 5, Jennings announced he had been diagnosed with lung cancer. "Your words -- as always -- are a great source of strength. In a written statement to his staff, Westin wrote on Sunday that "we will have many opportunities in the coming hours and days to remember Peter for all that he meant to us all. He wanted to tell people stories. Peter Jennings dies of lung cancer Longtime ABC News anchor was 67 RELATED CAREER HIGHLIGHTS Career: August 3, 1964, joins ABC News 1965-1968, Anchors "ABC Evening News" 1968-1974, Beirut, Lebanon bureau chief, establishing first American television news bureau in Arab world 1975-1976, Anchors "A.M. America," predecessor to "Good Morning America" 1977, Chief foreign correspondent 1978-1983, Chief foreign correspondent for ABC News and foreign desk anchor for "World News Tonight" 1983-2005, Anchor/senior editor for "World News Tonight" Books: "The Century" (with Todd Brewster) "In Search of America" Awards: Sixteen Emmys; two George Foster Peabody Awards; several Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Awards; several Overseas Press Club Awards.
Peter Jennings dies of lung cancer Longtime ABC News anchor was 67 RELATED CAREER HIGHLIGHTS Career: August 3, 1964, joins ABC News 1965-1968, Anchors "ABC Evening News" 1968-1974, Beirut, Lebanon bureau chief, establishing first American television news bureau in Arab world 1975-1976, Anchors "A.M. America," predecessor to "Good Morning America" 1977, Chief foreign correspondent 1978-1983, Chief foreign correspondent for ABC News and foreign desk anchor for "World News Tonight" 1983-2005, Anchor/senior editor for "World News Tonight" Books: "The Century" (with Todd Brewster) "In Search of America" Awards: Sixteen Emmys; two George Foster Peabody Awards; several Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Awards; several Overseas Press Club Awards. YOUR E-MAIL ALERTS Peter Jennings or or Create Your Own NEW YORK (CNN) -- Veteran newsman Peter Jennings was remembered Monday as an outstanding journalist, a hard worker and "a man of conscience and integrity." The longtime anchor of ABC "World News Tonight" died Sunday, some four months after he announced on the air that he had been diagnosed with lung cancer. "Good Morning America" co-host Charles Gibson announced late Sunday that Jennings had died in his New York City apartment. His wife, Kayce, his children Elizabeth and Christopher, and his sister were at his side, Gibson said. He read a statement from the family that said: "Peter died with his family around him, without pain and in peace. He knew he had lived a good life." ABC News President David Westin told reporters Monday that it was a sad day at the network where Jennings had worked for more than 40 years. "Peter, in addition to being an outstanding journalist, an outstanding leader, was also a very warm and decent man and a great friend and colleague to so many of us," Westin said. But in fact he was a very sensitive, warm, decent man who cared passionately for what he did, for what all of us do -- for reporting the news every day of the year." In a written statement to his staff, Westin wrote on Sunday that "we will have many opportunities in the coming hours and days to remember Peter for all that he meant to us all. Anchor Barbara Walters described Jennings as a stickler for details, adding that "if I knew the name of the person in the parade, he knew the name of the horse." One of the things that I think was very interesting about Peter is that he didn't graduate from high school, and this gave him a kind of insecurity that made him want to work harder, and learn more," Walters said. "May God bless his soul." Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said in a statement that she was saddened by the death of her "close, personal friend." "Peter Jennings represented all that was best in journalism and public service. Determined fight Since April 5, when Jennings announced his diagnosis on the news program, he kept his public comments positive. "I wonder if other men and women ask their doctors right away, 'OK, doc, when does the hair go?' Jennings said he was determined to fight the disease, citing National Cancer Institute statistics that nearly 10 million Americans are living with cancer. The network's "World News Tonight" Web site has maintained an online forum where viewers could post expressions of support and good wishes for Jennings. It has also posted statements from Jennings thanking viewers for their support and his thoughts on topics such as the recent terrorist bombings in London. In an April 29 letter posted on the site, Jennings said he had been "spoiled rotten" by well-wishers and added, "I assume there are a few others out there who, like me, are going with the flow until the day gets better." "Many thanks to all of you for your birthday wishes," the statement from Jennings said. "Your words -- as always -- are a great source of strength. I am celebrating today with my family -- we are all grateful." At age 9, Jennings hosted "Peter's Program," a short-lived Saturday morning children's show on the CBC. A high school dropout, Jennings worked as a bank teller for several years before moving into radio and then into television in 1961. But two years later, he told his bosses he needed more seasoning and returned to field reporting, CNN correspondent Jeff Greenfield, a former ABC News employee, has said. Jennings became a foreign correspondent for the network, covering such stories as the 1972 Summer Olympic Games in Munich, Germany, when members of the Arab terrorist group Black September seized the Israeli compound and took athletes hostage and later killed them. Asked how it felt after anchoring ABC's evening news program for 20 years, Jennings told CNN's Larry King on September 8, 2003: "Seems like yesterday; seems like forever -- all at the same time."
It was fine, slightly inconvenient. BA cancel four flights due to a lack of food Thurs: Some BA staff stop work in sympathy with sacked staff. Gate Gourmet has said it will not re-instate staff and said it had told the TGWU it was facing a financial crisis. The three Qantas flights left Melbourne and Sydney - carrying some 1,000 passengers - bound for Heathrow as scheduled. Passengers due to travel on Friday were urged not to turn up at the airport, but to contact the airline or their travel agent for more information. AFFECTED AIRLINE NUMBERS British Airways: 0800 727 800 Qantas: 0870 000 0123 Sri Lankan Airlines: 0208 538 2000 Finnair: 08705 997711 GB Airways: 0870 850 9850 British Med Airlines: 0870 850 9850 Advice for passengers Finnair - another airline that uses BA ground staff - said it had to cancel two morning flights and an early afternoon flight. They are taking unofficial action." "We have been here since 0530 BST and we are just waiting to see what's coming next and no one seems to really know anything. Nearly 100 BA aircraft and 1,000 pilots and cabin crew are still in the wrong place at sites around the world. Acas talks between Transport and General Workers' Union (TGWU) bosses and catering firm Gate Gourmet have begun. The dispute is thought to have cost BA £10m a day. And there is still a huge backlog of passengers from Thursday and Friday's cancelled flights, which could mean disruption for days to come. He denied being heavy-handed over the sacking of staff, saying they were spoken to and given written warnings before being dismissed.
Passengers still do not know when flights will resume About 1,000 ground staff walked out in sympathy with workers sacked by BA's in-flight meals supplier Gate Gourmet. Talks are under way at conciliation service Acas as passengers await news of exactly when flights will leave. CHAOS AT HEATHROW Wed: Gate Gourmet's afternoon shift is sacked after workers miss a deadline to report to work. BA cancel four flights due to a lack of food Thurs: Some BA staff stop work in sympathy with sacked staff. BA cancels all flights into and out of Heathrow until at least 1800 BST on Friday, after talks with unions break down Fri: BA extends its flight cancellations until 2000 BST. BA staff start returning to work Passengers tell of disruption Martin George, a BA director, told BBC News the firm was doing everything in its power to get planes back in the air from 2000 BST. BBC correspondent Rory Cellan-Jones said 31 flights would get away after 2000 BST on Friday, but only those people who had reserved tickets on those flights would be allowed on. Nearly 100 BA aircraft and 1,000 pilots and cabin crew are still in the wrong place at sites around the world. And there is still a huge backlog of passengers from Thursday and Friday's cancelled flights, which could mean disruption for days to come. The first, by about 600 Gate Gourmet employees over the firm's restructuring plans, led to them being dismissed. But it is the second walk-out by BA baggage handlers and other ground staff, in sympathy with the catering workers, that caused the airline to cancel hundreds of flights on Friday. It would usually run about 550 flights a day from Heathrow during the busy holiday season, involving 70,000 passengers. AFFECTED AIRLINE NUMBERS British Airways: 0800 727 800 Qantas: 0870 000 0123 Sri Lankan Airlines: 0208 538 2000 Finnair: 08705 997711 GB Airways: 0870 850 9850 British Med Airlines: 0870 850 9850 Advice for stranded passengers Many disgruntled BA passengers, 1,000 of whom spent the night in the airport, have blamed airport staff for poor communication and say the advice line is constantly engaged. BA said they had extra staff on duty and were trying to answer people's calls as quickly as possible, but recommended people visit the BA website. Gate Gourmet has said it will not reinstate its sacked employees, but will look at "other alternatives". Staff at Heathrow - regarded as the world's busiest international airport - are trying to book travellers on flights with other airlines, while other services including Eurostar have reported a surge in business. BA have cancelled about 500 flights The move was prompted by an unofficial strike by ground staff in support of sacked catering workers. More than 100 flights were grounded on Thursday leaving 15,000 passengers stranded - 1,000 of whom spent the night sleeping in the airport. Mick Temple, managing director at Heathrow, said there would be "significant disruption today and probably for several days to come" for BA passengers, as the airline faces cancelling a total of 550 flights up until 2000 BST on Friday. But the Transport and General Workers' Union said they were optimistic talks could take place on Friday afternoon with conciliation service Acas, and progress could signal the end of industrial action. Earlier talks held on Thursday aimed at reinstating 600 sacked staff from the caterers that serve BA flights, Gate Gourmet, collapsed. CHAOS AT HEATHROW Wed am: Gate Gourmet brings in 130 temporary workers after sacking hundreds of its staff Wed pm: The afternoon shift is sacked by a manager after workers missed a 20-minute deadline to report to work Wed eve: BA cancel four flights from Heathrow to Hamburg and Paris because of lack of food Thurs pm: Some BA staff stop work in sympathy with sacked Gate Gourmet staff Thurs eve: BA cancels all long and short-haul flights out of Heathrow airport for the rest of day Thurs night: BA cancels all flights into and out of Heathrow until at least 1800 BST on Friday, after talks with unions break down Advice for stranded passengers Gate Gourmet director Richard Wells told the BBC: "What is happening here today is not about Gate Gourmet staff, it's the fact that BA staff are not working. BA Chief Executive Rod Eddington said: "It is a huge disappointment to us that we have become embroiled in someone else's dispute." BA said compensation claims will be considered on a case by case basis and all 70,000 passengers caught up in the chaos can rebook or have their flight costs refunded. Staff at Heathrow - regarded as the world's busiest international airport - are trying to book travellers on flights with other airlines, while other services including Eurostar have reported a surge in business. 'Poor communication' BA, which is set to lose £10m for every day that the dispute continues, said about 4,000 passengers were put up at hotels across London and the South East on Thursday night. The dispute began when Gate Gourmet dismissed 600 staff after an unofficial strike on Wednesday over the company's restructuring plans.
she said. "This was not an accident," he said. The family of Mr de Menezes has called for a public inquiry into his death. The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) has said it will not comment on its investigation. He was wearing a denim jacket. Jean Charles de Menezes died after being shot on a tube train at Stockwell station in south London on July 22, the morning after the failed bomb attacks in London. Its statement added: "The IPCC made it clear that we would not speculate or release partial information about the investigation, and that others should not do so. But the report shows that there was a failure in the surveillance operation and officers wrongly believed Mr de Menezes could have been one of two suspects. He pointed the gun at the right hand side of the man's head. It also emerged in the leaked documents that early allegations that he was running away from police at the time of the shooting were untrue and that he appeared unaware that he was being followed. It has now emerged that Mr de Menezes: · was never properly identified because a police officer was relieving himself at the very moment he was leaving his home; · was unaware he was being followed; · was not wearing a heavy padded jacket or belt as reports at the time suggested; · never ran from the police; · and did not jump the ticket barrier. Scotland Yard has continued to justify a shoot-to-kill policy. I then pushed him back on to the seat where he had been previously sitting ... "Had the normal procedures taken place in which a warning is given and officers wear specially marked clothing then this young man may not have been killed."
Family representatives and campaigners for the Brazilian man shot dead on a London tube train are demanding to know how Scotland Yard allowed misleading information to circulate about his killing. In the wake of a leak last night from the independent report, which revealed eyewitnesses seeing Jean Charles de Menezes being held by police in his seat before being shot in the head, attention has now turned to the initial accounts of his death. These claimed he ran from police, vaulted a ticket barrier and was shot on the floor of the carriage. Helen Shaw, co-director of the deaths in custody campaign group Inquest, said today that differences between the accounts - including the disclosure that he was not, as previously claimed, wearing a bulky padded jacket - raised concerns about police conduct. "The public should be told why the Metropolitan police did not correct the misinformation about Mr de Menezes' clothing and actions once the facts became clear," she said. Asad Rehman, a spokesman for the De Menezes family campaign, said the position of Sir Ian Blair, the Metropolitan police commissioner, would no longer be tenable if "it is demonstrated that he wilfully misled the public, that he wilfully misled the family about the circumstances of Jean's death." Mr de Menezes was shot dead in the carriage of a tube train at Stockwell station on July 22 in the mistaken belief that he was linked to the previous day's failed bomb attempts. A report in today's Financial Times said surveillance officers mistook him for Hussein Osman, the July 21 bomb plot suspect whose extradition to Britain was today approved by a court in Italy. Initial accounts suggested that Mr de Menezes had fled from armed officers by vaulting over barriers before stumbling on to an underground train, where the officers opened fire. One witness in the carriage, Mark Whitby, 47, whose account formed an important part of the subsequent reports, said he had seen a man who looked Pakistani "hotly pursued by what I knew to be three plain-clothes police officers". He described the man wearing "a coat like you would wear in winter, a sort of padded jacket" and looking as petrified as "a cornered rabbit" when he got on the train. According to documents obtained by ITV News from the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC), which is investigating the shooting, Mr de Menezes was filmed on CCTV cameras entering the station at a normal walking pace and even picking up a free copy of the Metro newspaper. His family's solicitor, Harriet Wistrich, said the disclosures meant police had no reason to suspect Mr de Menezes was a suicide bomber, beyond the fact that he came out of a house under surveillance. "Had the normal procedures taken place in which a warning is given and officers wear specially marked clothing then this young man may not have been killed." "However, what I'm sure the report will do is make sure the police review and revise the processes that lead to that." · Brazilian was held before being shot · Police failed to identify him · He made no attempt to run away The young Brazilian shot dead by police on a London tube train in mistake for a suicide bomber had already been overpowered by a surveillance officer before he was killed, according to secret documents revealed last night. It also emerged in the leaked documents that early allegations that he was running away from police at the time of the shooting were untrue and that he appeared unaware that he was being followed. Relatives and the dead man's legal team expressed shock and outrage at the revelations. Jean Charles de Menezes died after being shot on a tube train at Stockwell station in south London on July 22, the morning after the failed bomb attacks in London. But the evidence given to the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) by police officers and eyewitnesses and leaked to ITV News shows that far from leaping a ticket barrier and fleeing from police, as was initially reported, he was filmed on CCTV calmly entering the station and picking up a free newspaper before boarding the train. It has now emerged that Mr de Menezes: · was never properly identified because a police officer was relieving himself at the very moment he was leaving his home; · was unaware he was being followed; · was not wearing a heavy padded jacket or belt as reports at the time suggested; · never ran from the police; · and did not jump the ticket barrier. But the revelation that will prove most uncomfortable for Scotland Yard was that the 27-year-old electrician had already been restrained by a surveillance officer before being shot seven times in the head and once in the shoulder. The documents reveal that a member of the surveillance team, who sat nearby, grabbed Mr de Menezes before he was shot: "I heard shouting which included the word 'police' and turned to face the male in the denim jacket. A surveillance officer admitted in a witness statement that he was unable to positively identify Mr de Menezes as a suspect because the officer had been relieving himself when the Brazilian left the block of flats where he lived. The police were on a high state of alert because of the July 7 and July 21 bombings, and had been briefed that they may be called upon to carry out new tactics - shooting dead suspected suicide bombers in order to avoid another atrocity. The IPCC investigation report states that the firearms unit had been told that "unusual tactics" might be required and if they "were deployed to intercept a subject and there was an opportunity to challenge, but if the subject was non-compliant, a critical shot may be taken". On the morning of July 22, police officers were in Scotia Road, Tulse Hill, watching a property they believed contained one or more of the would-be bombers who had tried to detonate four bombs on London transport less than 24 hours before. One firearms officer is quoted as saying: "The current strategy around the address was as follows: no subject coming out of the address would be allowed to run and that an interception should take place as soon as possible away from the address trying not to compromise it." "During the course of this, his description and demeanour was assessed and it was believed he matched the identity of one of the suspected wanted for terrorist offences ... the information was passed through the operations centre and gold command made the decision and gave appropriate instructions that de Menezes was to be prevented from entering the tube system. The gun was within 12 inches of the man's head when the first shot was fired." But the IPCC refused to confirm the documents were genuine adding: "Our priority is to disclose any findings direct to the family, who will clearly be distressed that they have received information on television concerning his death."
Caterpillar Inc., in Peoria, Illinois, reportedly also had problems. The White House said it did not have reports of computer problems. At the New York Times, several computers were hit by a worm earlier in the day. "This laptop will infect your systems from the inside." The patch designed to protect against the vulnerability attacked by Zotob and RBot can be downloaded from Microsoft's Web site. Only computers running the older Windows 2000 version, and other older versions of Windows, were vulnerable to the attacks — and then only if they had not installed the patch released last week. Mr. Manion and other security experts, said the damage did not appear to be as widespread as some more nefarious worms. The Internet Storm Center, which tracks the worldwide impact of computer worms, indicated on its Web site that no major Internet attack was under way. Home Page Get up-to-the minute news from CNN CNN.com gives you the latest stories and video from the around the world, with in-depth coverage of U.S. news, politics, entertainment, health, crime, tech and more. Antivirus firms are having a difficult time distinguishing between the various strains. He also said it is unclear how long the worm may take to run its course, noting that many people are away on summer vacation and may be affected only when they return. A German teenager has been sentenced to 21 months' probation (Full story). At least one of several computer viruses that have been circulating the Internet in recent days hit high-profile media targets in the United States on Tuesday. Reuters reported that some computers at ABC News were also impacted.
Worm strikes down Windows 2000 systems Microsoft in 'emergency response' as worm reported on three continents RELATED QUICKVOTE How would you rate the threat posed by computer worms and viruses? Getting better Getting worse Same as 5 years ago or View Results YOUR E-MAIL ALERTS Computer Worm Computer Security or or Create Your Own WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A fast-moving computer worm Tuesday attacked computer systems using Microsoft operating systems, shutting down computers in the United States, Germany and Asia. Among those hit were offices on Capitol Hill, which is in the midst of August recess, and media organizations, including CNN, ABC and The New York Times. A small number of computers in an administrative office at San Francisco International Airport also crashed, but they were not essential to the airport's operation, spokesman Mike McCarron said. The FBI said the computer problems did not appear to be part of any widespread attack. While the worm affects primarily Windows 2000, it also can affect some early versions of Microsoft XP, said Johannes Ullrich, chief technology officer of the Sans Institute, a network security firm based in Jacksonville, Florida. The director of Microsoft's security response center, Debbie Fry Wilson, said the computer giant was in an "emergency response" mode. "The key thing I want to stress for customers is making sure that they install security updates as quickly as possible," Wilson said. And automatic security updates would have protected most home users, she said. Wilson added that "at least 200 million computer users worldwide" have downloaded the patch. Business software provider AssetMetrix reported in June that Computers running Windows 2000 were on about half of all corporate desks. Lysa Myers, a virus researcher for the computer security firm McAfee, Inc., said the worm exploits a vulnerability in Microsoft's plug-and-play service. "How it's spreading is it's looking for machines that are unpatched and running itself," she said. What was causing the damage was unclear, although experts pointed to a new worm called worm-rbot.cbq. David Perry of Trend Micro, an Internet monitoring firm, said the latest worm may have been derived from the Zotob worm, which was first reported over the weekend. Typically, the worm enters a system via a laptop connected to unsecured networks, Ullrich said. "This laptop will infect your systems from the inside." Around 5 p.m. problems began at CNN facilities in New York and Atlanta before being cleared up about 90 minutes later. The New York Times also was able to bring its systems back up, and "newspaper production will not be affected," spokeswoman Kathy Park said. Improved firewalls and faster patches may have limited the worm's spread, said Jeff Havrila, a technical analyst with the U.S. Computer Emergency Readiness Team, a coalition of public and private groups that combats computer attacks. He also said it is unclear how long the worm may take to run its course, noting that many people are away on summer vacation and may be affected only when they return. At any given time there are thousands of computer worms and viruses in existence. Last year, the Sasser worm shut down millions of computers worldwide. A German teenager has been sentenced to 21 months' probation (Full story). Home Page Get up-to-the minute news from CNN CNN.com gives you the latest stories and video from the around the world, with in-depth coverage of U.S. news, politics, entertainment, health, crime, tech and more. Home Page Get up-to-the minute news from CNN CNN.com gives you the latest stories and video from the around the world, with in-depth coverage of U.S. news, politics, entertainment, health, crime, tech and more. A digital worm that attacks vulnerabilities in some Microsoft Windows computers continued to spread yesterday, hindering Internet access at a handful of major corporations. The worm, called Zotob, and variants of it, first emerged last Saturday, computer security experts said, and continued to propagate itself as corporate networks came to life at the beginning of the week. Some corporations, hoping to protect individual computers, temporarily took their systems off of the Internet to install protective patches to guard against infection. Mr. Manion and other security experts, said the damage did not appear to be as widespread as some more nefarious worms. Among those hit by the attack was the television news operation CNN, which reported last night that its computers were effected both in Atlanta and New York. At least one of several computer viruses that have been circulating the Internet in recent days hit high-profile media targets in the United States on Tuesday. CNN reported on air that its computer network, running Windows 2000, had been hit, causing enough disruption that the cable network had to make some programming changes Tuesday evening. A worm also hit computers at the New York Times, but the impact there was limited, the company said.
he asked. "His comments are inappropriate," he said. Venezuela's Vice President Vicente Rangel accused Robertson of inciting violence and challenged the White House to take action against Robertson. Mr Robertson, founder of the Christian Coalition of America and a former presidential candidate, accused the United States of failing to act when Mr Chavez was briefly overthrown in 2002. "What is the U.S. government going to do about this criminal statement made by one of its citizens?" State Department spokesman San McCormack said Mr Robertson was speaking as a private citizen and that the US administration did not share his views. You know, I don't know about this doctrine of assassination, but if he thinks we're trying to assassinate him, I think that we really ought to go ahead and do it Pat Robertson President Chavez is a regular critic of the US, which regards Venezuela as a possible source of instability in the region. Home Page Get up-to-the minute news from CNN CNN.com gives you the latest stories and video from the around the world, with in-depth coverage of U.S. news, politics, entertainment, health, crime, tech and more. (Full story) But Tuesday, he offered to sell Venezuelan fuel directly to "people who are most in need within the United States" -- bypassing American oil companies to bring cheaper gas prices. The Bush administration denied involvement in the coup attempt, but refused to condemn it. On Wednesday, the White House dispatched the Treasury secretary, the president's chief economic adviser, the commerce secretary, a top national security official and the VA secretary for in-person briefings, including a conference call with a top official in the Department of Education.The breakneck pace of back-to-back-to-back briefings left some reporters running in and out of all of them to chase down the news of the day.
Mr Robertson caused controversy with the comments on his TV show, describing Mr Chavez as "a terrific danger". Venezuela's vice president accused Robertson of making "terrorist" remarks and said the US response would put its anti-terror policy to the test. The US State Department said the comments were "inappropriate" and did not reflect the policy of the US. 'Cheaper than war' Mr Robertson's remarks come amid tense diplomatic relations between Venezuela and Washington. Mr Robertson, 75, said on Monday's edition of the 700 Club: "You know, I don't know about this doctrine of assassination, but if he thinks we're trying to assassinate him, I think that we really ought to go ahead and do it. "It's a whole lot cheaper than starting a war ... and I don't think any oil shipments will stop." Mr Robertson, founder of the Christian Coalition of America and a former presidential candidate, accused the United States of failing to act when Mr Chavez was briefly overthrown in 2002. Venezuela is the fifth-largest oil exporter and a major supplier of oil to the United States. "The ball is in the US court, after this criminal statement by a citizen of that country. "It's huge hypocrisy to maintain this discourse against terrorism and at the same time, in the heart of that country there are entirely terrorist statements like those." State Department spokesman San McCormack said Mr Robertson was speaking as a private citizen and that the US administration did not share his views. A spokeswoman for the Christian Broadcasting Network told the BBC: "We are at a time of war and Pat had war on his mind when he made the comments." U.S. dismisses call for Chavez's killing Venezuela VP urges U.S. to act on Robertson's 'criminal' remark Robertson, shown here in a file photo, said Venezuela's Chavez "is a dangerous enemy." RELATED YOUR E-MAIL ALERTS Venezuela Pat Robertson Hugo Chavez or or Create Your Own WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Bush administration officials Tuesday dismissed Christian broadcaster Pat Robertson's call for the assassination of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez as the remarks of a private citizen, but Venezuela accused Robertson of promoting terrorism. Venezuela's Vice President Vicente Rangel accused Robertson of inciting violence and challenged the White House to take action against Robertson. Robertson told viewers of his longtime show, "The 700 Club," on Monday that Chavez was turning his oil-rich South American country into "a launching pad for communist infiltration and Muslim extremism all over the continent." (Full story) "If he thinks we're trying to assassinate him, I think we really ought to go ahead and do it," said Robertson, founder of the Christian Coalition. (Watch video of Robertson's comments) In Havana, where he had met with Cuban President Fidel Castro to discuss relations between the two countries, Chavez told reporters he had never heard of Robertson. Asked about the broadcaster's call for his assassination, Chavez said, "It doesn't matter to me." State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said Tuesday that Robertson has the right of any private citizen to say whatever he wants, but added that the broadcaster's remarks "do not represent the views of the United States." "Allegations that we are planning to take hostile action against the Venezuelan government are completely baseless and without fact." But Venezuela's ambassador to the United States, Bernardo Alvarez, said Robertson was "no ordinary private citizen" and demanded the White House strongly condemn the remarks. Alvarez said the Christian Coalition, which Robertson no longer leads, claims some 2 million members and helped jump-start President Bush's 2000 presidential campaign after his New Hampshire primary loss. "Robertson has been one of this president's staunchest allies," he said. "The United States might not permit its citizens to use its territory and airwaves to incite terrorists abroad and the murder of a democratically elected president," Alvarez said. Venezuela's vice president said the U.S. response "challenges the antiterrorist ideology of the American government." Former Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole, who ran against Robertson for the GOP presidential nomination in 1988, called the comments "stupid" and "ludicrous" and suggested Robertson apologize "very quickly." Chavez has also said the United States has tried to stir opposition to his government, and he warned this month that U.S. troops would be "soundly defeated" if Washington were to invade Venezuela. (Full story) But Tuesday, he offered to sell Venezuelan fuel directly to "people who are most in need within the United States" -- bypassing American oil companies to bring cheaper gas prices. During her confirmation hearings, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice singled out Venezuela as a "negative force" in the region, and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has suggested Venezuela has interfered with the internal affairs of other countries in the region. He has suggested in the past that a meteor could strike Florida because of unofficial "Gay Days" at Disney World, and that feminism caused women to kill their children, practice witchcraft and become lesbians.
Firefighting aircraft from France, Spain, Germany, the Netherlands, and Italy, joined the efforts against the fires on Tuesday, answering a call to help from Portugal, which does not maintain a fleet of water-carrying planes. "It's a catastrophe. Also "revenge sometimes figures", says Mr Huff. But it is not just firefighters who can profit from fires. People lost everything. "Excitement is one of the big ones for wildfires," he tells the BBC News website. At least 15 people have died in Portugal this year from fires, often started deliberately in bone-dry countryside forests. Investigators say developers may start fires to clear land The 33-year-old head of a Spanish fire fighting unit has been accused of setting about 15 fires in the Galicia region. Portugal is suffering its worst drought for decades. (Pic: ESA) The EU suggested Portugal would be eligible, although the country's agriculture minister said the fires had not caused enough damage. Other villagers described the destruction wrought by the flames. Samuel Infante, of Portuguese environmental group Castelle Branco, told the BBC that poor forest management had contributed to the problem. Another Canadair plane from Italy, and two German helicopters are due to arrive on Monday. 'Hero factor' Many are down to careless accidents - a discarded cigarette or neglected campfire - but a large number, according to experts, are started in cold blood. "These are set by persons who believe they've got a bum deal and want to get back against the world." More than 30 people have been killed by the blazes, while great swathes of countryside and scores of homes have been consumed.
By Sam Wilson BBC News website Arsonists may be motivated by excitement, revenge, or profit Both countries have arrested more than 100 people on suspicion of arson this summer. More than 30 people have been killed by the blazes, while great swathes of countryside and scores of homes have been consumed. While lightning and other environmental factors are responsible for some fires, the majority are started by humans. 'Hero factor' Many are down to careless accidents - a discarded cigarette or neglected campfire - but a large number, according to experts, are started in cold blood. "Generally about 30% of human-caused wildfires are deliberately set," says Timothy Huff, a former FBI profiler specialising in arson, who has investigated hundreds of fires in California and elsewhere. The figures vary between areas, but Spain's Civil Guard believes at least 125 of the 829 fires it has investigated this summer were started deliberately. Investigators say developers may start fires to clear land The 33-year-old head of a Spanish fire fighting unit has been accused of setting about 15 fires in the Galicia region. Mr Huff lists six potential motives for arsonists: revenge, excitement, profit, vandalism, extremism, and to cover another crime. "Excitement is one of the big ones for wildfires," he tells the BBC News website. This covers not only teenaged boys, getting a thrill by watching a fire take hold and spread, but those motivated by the "hero factor" - people who want to be involved and to take the credit for fighting the blaze. Also "revenge sometimes figures", says Mr Huff. "And here there's the overriding factor of power - that is, the power to get revenge against a person that's offended them, or a group or institution, or society in general. "These are set by persons who believe they've got a bum deal and want to get back against the world." Crime of stealth There may be another incentive for part-time or retained firemen to start the very thing they are supposed to stop - profit. Miguel Angel Soto, of the environmental organisation Greenpeace, says the phenomenon is comparatively rare, but adds: "The temptation is there because firemen are paid according to the number of fires they fight." It is harder to work out who started a fire than how it was started Suspicion might also fall on firms who rent out fire-fighting equipment, hunters who want to clear brush, or property developers frustrated by environmental protection for forests. "As long as there are people who make a living from fires, there will be an incentive to set wildfires," forest engineer Ricardo Terra Santos, who has co-authored a book on the state of Portugal's forests, told the AFP news agency. A reader of the BBC website, Miguel Simoes, writes: "My family has several forest lands in the Portuguese Douro valley (where port wine is produced) that are burned every year because land's value is increasing each year." In Spain, the government is considering legislation that would forbid development of burned land for at least 30 years, to prevent developers from profiting. Unknown consequences Investigators can often get an idea of how arson was committed, but identifying and prosecuting the culprit is much harder. "Arson in general is very difficult to prosecute, because it's a crime of stealth," says Alan Clark, executive director of the International Association of Arson Investigators. "With wildland fires there are usually not witnesses and they take place in remote areas. The deadly risk of starting a fire may seem obvious to some, but Mr Huff says the arsonist often does not intend to endanger life. "When the arsonist strikes the match, he doesn't really know the ultimate consequences." Portugal said it could not cope alone in tackling the fires Some blazes have been brought under control, but a string of villages and the ancient city of Coimbra remain threatened by about a dozen fires. Villagers returning to their homes have described how fires tore through some 140,000 hectares and destroyed homes. At least 15 people have died in Portugal this year from fires, often started deliberately in bone-dry countryside forests. These are worst fires I have ever seen Maria Carvalho da Silva Portuguese villager Send us your experiences Portugal fires: Your pics Central and northern Portugal have been hit the worst, and fires are still threatening the outskirts of the third-largest city of Coimbra. 'Catastrophe' Hopes were raised on Tuesday when winds and temperatures dropped and humidity levels fell, before the afternoon sun re-emerged. The burnt body of an elderly woman was discovered by firefighters but it was not clear if she was killed by the flames. European effort The fast-moving wildfires have already destroyed at least 12 houses in the suburbs of the Coimbra, 196km (122 miles) north-east of the capital, Lisbon. (Pic: ESA) The EU suggested Portugal would be eligible, although the country's agriculture minister said the fires had not caused enough damage. Some 3,000 fire fighters, soldiers and police are tackling more than 20 fires, made worse by hot weather and wind.
Dr. To their surprise, they report in Nature, the protection was not there. More than 50 genes present in the human genome are missing or partially deleted from the chimp genome. Advertisement Continue reading the main story The scientists who have compared the whole genomes of the two species say they have found 35 million sites on the aligned genomes where there are different DNA units, and another five million where units have been added or deleted. Page said. A few classes of genes appear to be evolving more rapidly in humans than in chimps. "But many of my colleagues became confused with this blending of gender politics with scientific predictions." The explanation, in his view, lies in the chimpanzee's high-spirited sexual behavior. The new result implies that even before that time, during the first four million years after the chimp-human split, the human mating system did not rely on sperm competition. One problem is the vast number of differences -- some 40 million -- in the sequence of DNA units in the chimp and human genomes. The researchers indicated the rapid evolution of these genes may have contributed to the special characteristics of primates, but further studies are needed to explore the possibilities. Most are caused by a random process known as genetic drift and have little effect. Waterston is a seniorauthor of the study. Related papers will also appear in the journal Science. The 16 X-related genes are present in only single copies. "We still do not have in our hands the answer to a most fundamental question: What makes us human? Biologists suspect that only a handful of genes are responsible for the major changes that reshaped the apelike ancestor of both species into a human and that these genes should be identifiable by having evolved at a particularly rapid rate.
LOS ANGELES, Aug. 31 (Xinhuanet) -- A comprehensive comparison of the newly deciphered chimpanzee genome sequence and that of humans shows our closest living relatives share perfect identity with 96 percent of our DNA sequence, an international research consortium reported Wednesday. In a paper published in the Sept.1 issue of the journal Nature,the Chimpanzee Sequencing and Analysis Consortium, including 67 researchers from the United States, Israel, Italy, Germany and Spain, described the landmark study comparing the genome of the chimp with that of human. Related papers will also appear in the journal Science. "As our closest living evolutionary relatives, chimpanzees are especially suited to teach us about ourselves," said Robert Waterston, chair of the Department of Genome Sciences of the University of Washington School of Medicine. "We still do not have in our hands the answer to a most fundamental question: What makes us human? But this genomic comparison dramatically narrows the search for the key biological differences between the species." The chimp and human genomes are very similar and encode very similar proteins. The DNA sequence that can be directly compared between the two genomes is almost 99 percent identical. When DNA insertions and deletions are taken into account, humans and chimpsstill share 96 percent of their sequence, the researchers found. At the protein level, 29 percent of genes code for the same amino sequences in chimps and humans. In fact, the typical human protein has accumulated just one unique change since chimps and humans diverged from a common ancestor about 6 million years ago. These classes include genes involved in perception of sound, transmission of nerve signals, production of sperm and cellular transport of ions. The researchers indicated the rapid evolution of these genes may have contributed to the special characteristics of primates, but further studies are needed to explore the possibilities. The genomic analyses also showed that humans and chimps appear to have accumulated more potentially deleterious mutations in their genomes over the course of evolution than rodents. While such mutations can cause diseases that may erode a species' overall fitness, they may have also made primates more adaptable to rapid environmental changes and enabled them to achieve unique evolutionary adaptations, the researchers said. Despite the many similarities found between human and chimp genomes, the researchers emphasized that important differences exist between the two species. About 35 million DNA base pairs differ between the shared portions of the two genomes, each of which, like most mammalian genomes, contains about 3 billion base pairs. In addition, there are another 5 million sites that differ because of an insertion ordeletion in one of the lineages, along with a much smaller number of chromosomal rearrangements. Among these genetic changes are those that may be related to the human-specific features of walking upright on two feet, a greatly enlarged brain and complex language skills, the researchers said. The single strongest outlier involves genesthat code for transcription factors, which are molecules that regulate the activity of other genes and that play key roles in embryonic development. More than 50 genes present in the human genome are missing or partially deleted from the chimp genome. Three key genes involved in inflammation appear to be deleted in the chimp genome, possibly explaining some of the known differences between chimps and humans in respect to immune and inflammatory response. On the other hand, humans appear to have lost the function of the caspase-12 gene, which produces an enzyme that may help protect animals against Alzheimer's disease. The researchers also scanned the entire human genome for deviations from normal mutation patterns. Such deviations may reveal regions of "selective sweeps," which occur when a mutation arises in a population and is so advantageous that it spreads throughout the population within a few hundred generations and eventually becomes normal. They found six regions in the human genome that have strong signatures of selective sweeps over the past 250,000 years. Scientists said yesterday that they have determined the precise order of the 3 billion bits of genetic code that carry the instructions for making a chimpanzee, humankind's closest cousin. The fresh unraveling of chimpanzee DNA allows an unprecedented gene-to-gene comparison with the human genome, mapped in 2001, and makes plain the evolutionary processes through which chimps and humans arose from a common ancestor about 6 million years ago. By placing the two codes alongside each other, scientists identified all 40 million molecular changes that today separate the two species and pinpointed the mere 250,000 that seem most responsible for the difference between chimpness and humanness. "Now we can peek into evolution's lab notebook to see what went on there," said Francis S. Collins, director of the National Human Genome Research Institute, which funded the $25 million effort at 18 institutions in five countries. On a practical level, researchers said, the work is likely to explain why chimps are resistant to several human diseases such as AIDS, hepatitis, malaria and Alzheimer's disease -- information that could lead to new ways to prevent or treat many human ills. "We're not going to stand up and say that these 14 things make us human," said Eric S. Lander of the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard in Cambridge, Mass., which along with Washington University in St. Louis led the chimpanzee genome sequencing effort. " As predicted by preliminary studies, the human and chimpanzee genetic codes are essentially 99 percent identical, a testament to how fundamentally similar the two species remain. Because of that 1 percent difference, experts noted, humans now dominate every ecosystem on Earth while chimpanzees and other great apes -- a group that also includes bonobos, gorillas and orangutans -- are at risk of becoming extinct within the next few decades, largely because of human activities. Well aware of that awkward reality, several scientists yesterday used the occasion of the chimp genome's unveiling to focus attention on the creatures' plight, calling for renewed conservation efforts and new rules governing the use of great apes in research. Advertisement Continue reading the main story The comparison of the human and chimp genomes, reported in today's issue of Nature, takes a first step in this direction but has not yet tracked down the critical handful of genes responsible for human evolution. One problem is the vast number of differences -- some 40 million -- in the sequence of DNA units in the chimp and human genomes.
"Until we feel security, you will be our targets," he said. We are at war and I am a soldier. 'Totally evil' The 30-year-old bomber's message was recorded on the same video as a message from al-Qaeda's Ayman al-Zawahri. It is not clear when or where the tape was filmed. The Hindu girlfriend of Mr Ali - himself a Muslim who has studied Islam - was killed in the explosion on the number 30 bus in Tavistock Square. 'Obscene' Muslim Council of Britain spokesman Inayat Bunglawala told BBC News it was "obscene" to suggest justice for the people of Iraq could be obtained by an act of injustice against the people of London. He said: "I talk to you today about the blessed London battle which came as a slap to the face of the tyrannical, crusader British arrogance. Now you too will taste the reality of this situation. Tory leadership hopeful and former minister Malcolm Rifkind said the "widespread belief" among some Muslims that the UK government's foreign policy was directed against Muslims was wrong. And until you stop the bombing, gassing, imprisonment and torture of my people we will not stop this fight. "It's all brainwashing by some wacko scholar who believes his own version of the Koran and has made it his own battle. He said the public was responsible for the atrocities perpetuated against his "people" across the world because it supported democratically elected governments who carried them out. But friends of Khan told BBC News it showed him looking significantly different than he did immediately before 7 July. I and thousands like me are forsaking everything for what we believe.
In the message, broadcast on the al-Jazeera network, Mohammad Sidique Khan said he was "a soldier". Khan, 30, said the UK government had committed atrocities against Muslims and he was inspired by Osama Bin Laden. In a second message on the same tape, al-Qaeda's Ayman al-Zawahri claimed responsibility for the blasts. Public blamed The eldest of the four bombers, Khan, who came from Dewsbury in West Yorkshire, was responsible for the Edgware Road Circle Line explosion which killed six people and injured 120. On the tape the bomber said: "Our words are dead until we give them life with our blood. He said the public was responsible for the atrocities perpetuated against his "people" across the world because it supported democratically elected governments who carried them out. "Until you stop the bombing, gassing, imprisonment and torture of my people we will not stop this fight. 'Enemy's land' In a separate recording, al-Zawahri said the Tube attacks were a "slap" to the policies of Tony Blair. BBC security correspondent Gordon Corera said it was being examined closely for any clues on the 7 July attacks, in which three Tube trains and a bus were bombed. Counter-terrorism sources said they were not treating the messages as conclusive proof that the al-Qaeda leadership directly ordered - rather than simply inspired - the attacks, he said. I talk to you today about the blessed London battle which came as a slap to the face of the tyrannical, crusader British arrogance Ayman al-Zawahri Al-Zawahri tape: Text extracts Profile: Ayman al-Zawahri On his tape, al-Zawahri, speaking in Arabic, said the bombings were proof al-Qaeda had moved the battle to "the enemies' land". He said: "I talk to you today about the blessed London battle which came as a slap to the face of the tyrannical, crusader British arrogance. "It's a sip from the glass that the Muslims have been drinking from. "This blessed battle has transferred - like its glorious predecessors in New York, Washington, and Madrid - the battle to the enemies' land," he said. He added they would target the "lands and interests of the countries which took part in the aggression against Palestine, Iraq and Afghanistan". 'Brainwashing' Muslim Council of Britain spokesman Inayat Bunglawala told BBC News it was "obscene" to suggest justice for the people of Iraq could be obtained by committing an act of injustice against the people of London. It's all brainwashing by some wacko scholar who believes his own version of the Koran - there is no holy war Gous Ali, boyfriend of bomb victim In quotes: Reaction "Holding all British people responsible for the Iraq war is just plain wrong - this country was bitterly divided and many millions, perhaps the majority, clearly opposed the war. "However, this tape does serve to confirm that the war in Iraq and our policies in the Middle East have indeed led to a radicalisation amongst a section of Muslim youth." Tory leadership hopeful and former minister Malcolm Rifkind said the "widespread belief" among some Muslims that the UK government's foreign policy was directed against Muslims was wrong. "I was against the Iraq war - I'm no supporter of the government on that objective, but I do absolve them completely of any anti-Muslim objectives and I think the government has to work a lot harder to explain its foreign policy." 'Lies' He told BBC News al-Qaeda and "other terrorists" were seeking to exploit the controversies aroused by the Iraq war to win recruits willing to carry out "savage acts". The Muslim boyfriend of one of the bomb victims condemned the terrorists' broadcasts as "wrong and all lies". Gous Ali's girlfriend Neetu Jain, a Hindu, was killed in the explosion on the No 30 bus in Tavistock Square. "It's all brainwashing by some wacko scholar who believes his own version of the Koran and has made it his own battle. "They have so much coverage it's damaging, yet the voices of the innocent victims are not being heard." Gous Ali, whose girlfriend Neetu Jain died, said Khan's message was "lies". 'Totally evil' The 30-year-old bomber's message was recorded on the same video as a message from al-Qaeda's Ayman al-Zawahri. He said the video showed how "totally evil" the bombers were. It's all brainwashing by some wacko scholar who believes his own version of the Koran - there is no holy war Gous Ali, boyfriend of bomb victim In quotes: Reaction Community disgusted "I believe it was a pre-planned event. The Hindu girlfriend of Mr Ali - himself a Muslim who has studied Islam - was killed in the explosion on the number 30 bus in Tavistock Square. "It's all brainwashing by some wacko scholar who believes his own version of the Koran and has made it his own battle. He added: "And it happens those who entirely wrongly claim to speak in the name of Islam are mainly killing their fellow Muslims." Clues search BBC security correspondent Gordon Corera said the tape was being examined closely for any clues on the 7 July attacks, in which 52 people died after three Tube trains and a bus were bombed. Counter-terrorism sources said they were not treating the messages as conclusive proof the al-Qaeda leadership directly ordered - rather than simply inspired - the attacks, he said. We are at war and I am a soldier - now you too will taste the reality of this situation Mohammad Sidique Khan Video 'points to al-Qaeda' Khan video: Your reaction Caution urged over tape Khan, from Dewsbury, West Yorkshire, was responsible for the 7 July Edgware Road Circle Line explosion which killed six people and injured 120.
They have no job, no cash." "This is a national emergency. "It's a new Baton Rouge," he said. Ebbert says the U.S. can send massive amounts of aid to tsunami victims in Asia but can't bail out the city of New Orleans. Now thousands of unemployed people are coming here. Local emergency planning is the responsibility of local authorities. We need buses. A political disaster too. But what the devastating consequences of Katrina have shown - along with the response to it - is that for too long now, the fabric of this complex and overstretched country, especially in states like Louisiana and Mississippi, has been neglected and ignored. Mr Bush: time to wake up and cut red tape. Americans will help each other regardless of colour or social level. They are just being dropped off where they get off. It was clear yesterday the crisis was still not under control. If journalists were there with cameras beaming the suffering live across America, where were the officers and troops? Unrest broke out in the Superdome, where more than 20,000 people have been awaiting evacuation. The US Government, both Federal and local; and individuals, failed both before and after the storm to react in a timely organised manner. "If people need water and food, we're going to do everything we can to get them water and food. "Fema has been here three days, yet there is no command and control. Kendall Walsh, Port Washington, NY I agree with all the comments made in the above article. But his administration was criticised by officials in Louisiana for not responding fast enough.
The mayor of New Orleans issued "a desperate SOS" yesterday as the effort to evacuate thousands of people still trapped in the flooded city was hindered by mob violence and gunfire. The appeal came as angry crowds clashed with police, and the city's police chief warned that storm victims were being raped and beaten on the streets. National guardsmen were moving into New Orleans in armoured vehicles to re-establish order and help the evacuation. But reports from the city described desperate scenes in the Superdome stadium and the city convention centre, where tens of thousands were awaiting evacuation, with fights breaking out, rubbish catching fire and dead bodies left uncollected. According to the police chief, Eddie Compass, an angry mob drove back 88 officers who were sent to restore order. "We have individuals who are getting raped, we have individuals who are getting beaten," he said. "Tourists are walking in that direction and they are getting preyed upon." Hurricane Katrina, which struck America's Gulf coast on Monday, and the subsequent flooding of New Orleans, is believed by officials to have taken thousands of lives. It was clear yesterday the crisis was still not under control. Aid officials said helicopter missions to evacuate patients from New Orleans hospitals had been suspended because some helicopters had come under fire, possibly from armed civilians angry they were not being rescued. According to a New Orleans report, a police station had come under attack on Wednesday night, and some policemen were leaving their posts yesterday afternoon. President George Bush called for "zero tolerance" towards criminals and promised the federal government was doing everything possible to speed the rescue. Buses began ferrying stranded people from the New Orleans Superdome to another stadium on dry land, the Astrodome in Houston. But the city's mayor, Ray Nagin, predicted there would not be enough buses to rescue people in the convention centre "This is a desperate SOS," Mr Nagin said on CNN TV. "Right now we are out of resources at the convention centre and don't anticipate enough buses. Currently the convention centre is unsanitary and unsafe and we're running out of supplies." Terry Ebbert, head of New Orleans's emergency operations, complained that Fema was not offering enough help. "Fema has been here three days, yet there is no command and control. We can send massive amounts of aid to tsunami victims, but we can't bail out New Orleans." Officials said that 50,000 part-time national guard troops and military personnel would be committed to the relief effort. But the Pentagon resisted any suggestion that national guard troops from Louisiana should be pulled out of Iraq ahead of schedule. Much of the unrest appeared to be driven by desperation as trapped survivors searched for food and water. Mr Bush made no distinction between those looters and the criminals stealing electronic goods. "I think there ought to be zero tolerance of people breaking the law during an emergency such as this, whether it be looting, or price-gouging at the gasoline pump or taking advantage of charitable giving,," Mr Bush told ABC television. "If people need water and food, we're going to do everything we can to get them water and food. But it's very important for the citizens to take personal responsibility and assume kind of a civic sense of responsibility." Unrest broke out in the Superdome, where more than 20,000 people have been awaiting evacuation. Fights broke out and rubbish caught fire. In a scuffle, a police officer was shot in the leg. Last night CNN reported that a New Orleans hospital had stopped evacuations after coming under sniper fire. A spokesman for the homeland security department, Russ Knocke, said: "In areas where our employees have been determined to potentially be in danger, we have pulled back." "At every one of them, there are reports that as the helicopters come in people are shooting at them." Baton Rouge, the Louisiana state capital, doubled in population overnight from 250,000 to over 500,000 as refugees poured in, according to a local councillor, Mike Walker. Ebbert says the U.S. can send massive amounts of aid to tsunami victims in Asia but can't bail out the city of New Orleans. One hundred buses were due to arrive at the Superdome at 6 a.m., but the first buses of the morning didn't get there until more than three-and-a-half hours later.
His minibus, which he used as a taxi, was destroyed, but he managed to get his two passengers out of the fire, he said. The plane was to be retired in 2016. 'Tragedy' Indonesia's Transport Minister Hatta Radjasa called the crash "a great tragedy". Former North Sumatra Governor Raja Inal Siregar was also reported to be on board the flight. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Another survivor, Rohaid Sitepu, said the plane had swerved to the left immediately after takeoff. One of them was an 18-month-old boy. Third Point likes opportunities in Europe: letter NEW YORK Hedge fund manager Daniel Loeb told investors on Thursday that his $16 billion hedge fund Third Point saw more opportunities in Europe and was positioned to absorb a modest sell-off in U.S. stocks. The Boeing 737-200, run by low-cost airline Mandala, crashed onto a busy road in the Padang Bulan residential area near the city's airport. Recent Business News Uber's Levandowski to step aside amid Waymo litigation Uber Technologies Inc [UBER.UL] said the head of its self-driving vehicles unit, Anthony Levandowski, will step aside from his role for the remainder of the company's litigation with Waymo, the self-driving car division of Alphabet Inc . Please re-enter. An error has occurred. Fire engulfed the wreckage and local TV showed images of dozens of homes and cars destroyed by the impact. One survivor, passenger Freddy Ismail, spoke to Indonesian radio from his hospital bed. The plane was torn into pieces, we could only see the tail." Jobless claims rise, but four-week average at two-month low WASHINGTON, April 27 The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits rose more than expected last week, but the four-week average of claims fell to a two-month low, indicating that labor market conditions continue to tighten.
Recent Business News Uber's Levandowski to step aside amid Waymo litigation Uber Technologies Inc [UBER.UL] said the head of its self-driving vehicles unit, Anthony Levandowski, will step aside from his role for the remainder of the company's litigation with Waymo, the self-driving car division of Alphabet Inc . Starbucks quarterly revenue falls short, stock falls LOS ANGELES Starbucks Corp reported quarterly sales that just missed Wall Street's expectations, hurt by a slight cooling in spending growth by customers in its core U.S. market, sending shares down 4.4 percent in extended trading on Thursday. Third Point likes opportunities in Europe: letter NEW YORK Hedge fund manager Daniel Loeb told investors on Thursday that his $16 billion hedge fund Third Point saw more opportunities in Europe and was positioned to absorb a modest sell-off in U.S. stocks. Jobless claims rise, but four-week average at two-month low WASHINGTON, April 27 The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits rose more than expected last week, but the four-week average of claims fell to a two-month low, indicating that labor market conditions continue to tighten. The Boeing 737-200, run by low-cost airline Mandala, crashed onto a busy road in the Padang Bulan residential area near the city's airport. Fire engulfed the wreckage and local TV showed images of dozens of homes and cars destroyed by the impact. Airline and rescue officials said that at least 13 of those on board survived. One survivor, passenger Freddy Ismail, spoke to Indonesian radio from his hospital bed. After taking off, the plane really shook and then suddenly it plummeted to a main road on top of the cars below," he told El-Shinta. Another passenger, Rohadi Sitepu, said all the survivors were seated in the back row of seats when an apparent explosion ripped through the front of the plane. After taking off, the plane really shook and then suddenly plummeted to a main road Freddy Ismail Crash survivor In pictures: Medan crash See the crash site Mr Sitepu said he escaped the wreckage by fleeing as powerful explosions erupted behind him. Emergency crews of paramedics, police and firefighters struggled to reach the wreckage because of raging fires. One local reporter told Reuters news agency: "Around 10 houses were burned, along with five to six minibuses. The plane was torn into pieces, we could only see the tail." 'Tragedy' Indonesia's Transport Minister Hatta Radjasa called the crash "a great tragedy". The acting director of Mandala Airlines, Asril Tanjung, said investigations were focusing on "take-off failure", but could not say if human error, engine failure or weather problems were to blame. The Governor of North Sumatra province, Rizal Nurdin, was on board the plane, which was heading to the country's capital, Jakarta. Mandala is largely owned by Indonesia's military, and has been forced to cut costs in recent years to stave off losses. The plane entered service in 1981, but was not due to be retired until 2016, and received a full service in June this year. Indonesia's worst air disaster, in 1997, also happened in Sumatra, when an Airbus crashed into mountains near Medan, killing all 234 people on board. Sumatra also bore the brunt of last year's Indian Ocean tsunami, which killed 160,000 people there and left 800,000 more homeless. Mr. Ismail said he had been in seat 20E, near the lavatory in the tail of the plane. After the crash, a wall in the back of the plane cracked open and he managed to crawl through it before the fire broke out, he said. About 10 other people also escaped through the tail area, he said. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Another survivor, Rohaid Sitepu, said the plane had swerved to the left immediately after takeoff. "Then a ball of fire came from the front of the plane toward the end," Mr. Sitepu told Metro TV, a major news channel. Mandala Airlines, a low-fare carrier partly owned by the Indonesian military, said the plane had 112 passengers and a crew of 5. Its fleet of 15 planes consists mainly of aging 737-200 jets like the one that crashed Monday, which was nearly 25 years old, the airline said. He said that pilot error, mechanical failure or weather -- though it was not raining when the plane crashed -- might have been the cause, and that foul play was considered unlikely.
And two women, I think, are a minimum," Specter said. Judge Roberts serves on the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. » Current justices | Chief justice duties | Court appointments | Special Bush nominates Roberts as chief justice Confirmation hearing delayed; Rehnquist funeral Wednesday John Roberts listens as President Bush speaks about Roberts' relationship with the late Chief Justice William Rehnquist Monday. He said he would do so in a "timely manner". Senate leaders made the announcement Tuesday as Rehnquist’s body lay in repose across the street at the Supreme Court. Hearings had been due to start on Tuesday afternoon, but it now seems likely they will not begin until Thursday, after Mr Rehnquist's funeral. Republicans want vote by Oct. 3 With the hearings pushed back a week, Democrats now are refusing to guarantee when the full Senate will give Roberts a final vote. However correspondents say his nomination is unlikely to prove controversial. “Substantive questions will be asked,” said Sen. Patrick Leahy of Vermont, the senior Democrat on the committee. (Watch the report on how appointments change court dynamics -- 3:44) Bush initially named Roberts to succeed Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, who is retiring. Home Page Get up-to-the minute news from CNN CNN.com gives you the latest stories and video from the around the world, with in-depth coverage of U.S. news, politics, entertainment, health, crime, tech and more. He graduated from Harvard Law School with flying colours in 1979, and was a former clerk to Chief Justice Rehnquist before serving in the Reagan administration. He has argued before the Supreme Court 39 times as a private or government lawyer.
Not one senator has shown outright opposition to Judge Roberts Mr Roberts had originally been nominated to replace another Supreme Court judge who is retiring, and was awaiting Senate confirmation. Democrats will want to question him on issues such as abortion, church-state matters and the environment. However correspondents say his nomination is unlikely to prove controversial. Mr Rehnquist, a conservative appointed chief justice by President Reagan in 1986, died at the age of 80 on Saturday from thyroid cancer. Confirmation hope Mr Roberts, 50, said he would be honoured "to succeed a man I deeply respect and admire". JOHN ROBERTS Born in Buffalo, raised in Indiana Graduated from Harvard in 1979 Was clerk to Chief Justice Rehnquist and then served in the Reagan administration Serves on the District of Columbia appeals court Has argued before the Supreme Court 39 times Profile: John Roberts President Bush will now have to nominate another person to fill the vacancy left by Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, who announced her retirement in July. He said he would do so in a "timely manner". Ms O'Connor has offered to continue her duties until a successor is found. Glittering career Mr Bush said he hoped the Senate would confirm Mr Roberts' appointment within a month, when the Supreme Court is due to reconvene. Hearings had been due to start on Tuesday afternoon, but it now seems likely they will not begin until Thursday, after Mr Rehnquist's funeral. If Judge Roberts is not confirmed before the court resumes work in October, Mr Rehnquist's administrative duties will be taken over by liberal Justice John Paul Stevens until a new chief is confirmed. He graduated from Harvard Law School with flying colours in 1979, and was a former clerk to Chief Justice Rehnquist before serving in the Reagan administration. He has argued before the Supreme Court 39 times as a private or government lawyer. » Current justices | Chief justice duties | Court appointments | Special Bush nominates Roberts as chief justice Confirmation hearing delayed; Rehnquist funeral Wednesday John Roberts listens as President Bush speaks about Roberts' relationship with the late Chief Justice William Rehnquist Monday. RELATED SPECIAL REPORT YOUR E-MAIL ALERTS Supreme Court John Roberts George W. Bush William H. Rehnquist or or Create Your Own WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Moving quickly to fill the vacancy left by Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist's death, President Bush on Monday nominated Judge John Roberts to the nation's top judicial post. "It is fitting that a great chief justice be followed in office by a person who shared his deep reverence for the Constitution, his profound respect for the Supreme Court and his complete devotion to the cause of justice," Bush said from the White House, with the judge by his side. "I am honored and humbled by the confidence that the president has shown in me," Roberts said. (Watch nomination and acceptance -- 3:57) "And I'm very much aware that, if I am confirmed, I would succeed a man that I deeply respect and admire, a man who has been very kind to me for 25 years." (Watch the report on how appointments change court dynamics -- 3:44) Bush initially named Roberts to succeed Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, who is retiring. Top Republican officials said Roberts' nomination hearings, originally set to begin Tuesday, would be delayed. Sen. Ted Kennedy, D-Massachusetts, said the hearings must not be rushed, particularly in light of the recovery efforts on the Gulf Coast. "In the midst of a national disaster of biblical proportions, it is difficult for the American people to participate fully in the selection of the next chief justice, one of the most important positions in our government and the chief protector of our Constitution," said Kennedy in a lengthy statement, which also raised questions about Roberts' commitment to voting rights and women's rights. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tennessee, issued a statement Monday saying the president "has made an excellent choice; Mr. Roberts is one of the most well qualified candidates to come before the Senate." Since his nomination for associate justice earlier this summer, Roberts has garnered praise from many Republicans. No Democrats have said they would reject Roberts when he was named to succeed O'Connor, but some have said they have many important questions to ask him in the confirmation hearings. "This nomination certainly raises the stakes in making sure that the American people and the Senate know Judge Roberts' views fully before he assumes perhaps the second most powerful position in the United States," said Sen. Charles Schumer, D-New York, the ranking Democrat on the Judiciary Committee's Administrative Oversight and the Courts Subcommittee, in a written statement. "Judge Roberts has a clear obligation to make his views known fully and completely at the hearings, and we look forward to them." The high court begins its new term the first Monday in October. The high court said that Rehnquist's body will lie in repose in the Supreme Court's Great Hall on Tuesday and Wednesday. His funeral will be held at 2 p.m. The justice, diagnosed with thyroid cancer, had a tracheotomy and received chemotherapy and radiation as part of his treatment. Roberts, 50, who serves on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, considered the most influential federal panel outside of the Supreme Court, took the bench in 2003. He was nominated to the same court in 1992 by the president's father, President George H.W. A longtime appellate attorney, Roberts has argued 39 cases before the Supreme Court, both in private practice and as deputy solicitor general during the elder Bush's administration. The Senate will begin confirmation hearings next Monday for John Roberts to be Supreme Court chief justice, one week after President Bush selected him to replace the late William H. Rehnquist as the 17th leader of the nation’s highest court. Senate leaders made the announcement Tuesday as Rehnquist’s body lay in repose across the street at the Supreme Court.
No. By the president, no." It was not his decision, Brown said. "Yes. Members of Mr. Bush's party also were angry. He was always on time. Last week House Republicans pressed the White House to fire Mr. Brown. Video: New questions about FEMA chief However, a city spokeswoman told Time magazine that Brown had actually worked as "an assistant to the city manager." Advertisement Continue reading the main story For a time, Mr. Lott did not directly criticize Mr. Brown or the federal response in public. Amid harsh criticism of federal relief efforts, Homeland Security chief Michael Chertoff announced Friday that Michael Brown, director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, is handing over Hurricane Katrina relief duties to a Coast Guard official and returning to Washington to oversee the national office. And then I’m going to go right back to FEMA and continue to do all I can to help these victims,” Brown said. But how well was he prepared for the job? ... He sidestepped a question on whether the move was the first step toward Brown’s leaving FEMA. Please verify you're not a robot by clicking the box. "Michael Brown has been acting like a private instead of a general. The report was about the evacuees at the convention center, some dying and some already dead. Every now and again I'd ask him to write me a speech. The White House press release from 2001 stated that Brown worked for the city of Edmond, Okla., from 1975 to 1978 "overseeing the emergency services division." “Other challenges and threats remain around the world,” and Brown is needed to prepare for those, Chertoff said at a news conference in Baton Rouge.
Amid harsh criticism of federal relief efforts, Homeland Security chief Michael Chertoff announced Friday that Michael Brown, director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, is handing over Hurricane Katrina relief duties to a Coast Guard official and returning to Washington to oversee the national office. “Other challenges and threats remain around the world,” and Brown is needed to prepare for those, Chertoff said at a news conference in Baton Rouge. “Michael Brown has done everything he possibly could to coordinate the federal response to this unprecedented challenge,” Chertoff added. He sidestepped a question on whether the move was the first step toward Brown’s leaving FEMA. But a source close to Brown, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the FEMA director had been considering leaving after the hurricane season ended in November and that Friday’s action virtually assures his departure. Coast Guard Vice Adm. Thad Allen Brown, 50, is handing over relief duties to Coast Guard Vice Adm. Thad Allen, who earlier this week was named Brown's deputy to oversee relief and rescue efforts. Chertoff did not allow reporters to ask Brown questions directly and would not respond to the Time magazine report Friday that Brown’s official biography overstated his emergency-management experience. President Bush said last week that the initial federal efforts were not acceptable. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said Friday that local and state officials shouldn’t have to share in the blame for the poor response because they “were in fact victims and not able to respond.” Brown blames media Asked ahead of the announcement if he was being made a scapegoat, Brown told The Associated Press after a long pause: "By the press, yes. By the president, no." “I’m anxious to get back to D.C. to correct all the inaccuracies and lies that are being said,” Brown said. I’m still the director of FEMA.” He said Chertoff made the decision to move him out of Louisiana. “I’m going to go home and walk my dog and hug my wife and, maybe get a good Mexican meal and a stiff margarita and a full night’s sleep. And then I’m going to go right back to FEMA and continue to do all I can to help these victims,” Brown said. This story’s about the worst disaster of the history of our country that stretched every government to its limit and now we have to help these victims.” “That’s all I’ve wanted to do,” Brown said in a telephone interview. GOP senator among critics Republican Sen. Trent Lott, whose Pascagoula, Miss., home was destroyed in the storm, said after the announcement that he had concluded that FEMA “was overwhelmed, undermanned and not capable of doing its job” under Brown’s leadership. “The events of the last ten days have shown that Mr. Brown has repeatedly exercised poor judgment and has failed in his basic responsibilities,” said a letter to Bush from Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid and Sens. “His continued presence in this critical position endangers the success of the ongoing recovery efforts. It is not enough to remove Mr. Brown from the disaster scene.” Bio controversy The Time magazine report centers on Brown's biography. The FEMA Web site says he had once served as an "assistant city manager with emergency services oversight," and a White House news release in 2001 said Brown had worked for the city of Edmond, Okla., in the 1970s "overseeing the emergency-services division." Video: New questions about FEMA chief However, a city spokeswoman told Time magazine that Brown had actually worked as "an assistant to the city manager." "The assistant is more like an intern," Claudia Deakins told the magazine. "Department heads did not report to him." "I regret any misunderstandings that may have occurred as a result of my comments," Deakins said. A former mayor of Edmond, Randel Shadid, confirmed Friday that Brown was an assistant to the city manager. “I would think that is a discrepancy.” Nicol Andrews, deputy strategic director in FEMA’s office of public affairs, told Time that while Brown began as an intern, he became an “assistant city manager” with a distinguished record of service. When President Bush nominated Michael Brown to head the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) in 2003, Brown's boss at the time, Joe Allbaugh, declared, "the President couldn't have chosen a better man to help...prepare and protect the nation." Since Hurricane Katrina, the FEMA director has come under heavy criticism for his performance and scrutiny of his background. Now, an investigation by TIME has found discrepancies in his online legal profile and official bio, including a description of Brown released by the White House at the time of his nomination in 2001 to the job as deputy chief of FEMA. Before joining FEMA, his only previous stint in emergency management, according to his bio posted on FEMA's website, was "serving as an assistant city manager with emergency services oversight." The White House press release from 2001 stated that Brown worked for the city of Edmond, Okla., from 1975 to 1978 "overseeing the emergency services division." In fact, according to Claudia Deakins, head of public relations for the city of Edmond, Brown was an "assistant to the city manager" from 1977 to 1980, not a manager himself, and had no authority over other employees. "The assistant is more like an intern," she told TIME. "Department heads did not report to him."
Celebrity participants include Jennifer Aniston, Cameron Diaz, Ellen DeGeneres, Jack Nicholson, Chris Rock, Ray Romano and Sela Ward.Additional outlets that signed on to carry the "Shelter From The Storm" primetime simulcast, which will be broadcast live (8-9 p.m., ET/CT; tape delayed PT/MT), include AmericanLife TV, CNBC, Court TV, Fox Movie Channel, FUEL TV, Fox College Sports Pacific, GSN, Lifetime, MSNBC, Showtime, SPEED Channel, Style Network and many Infinity Radio stations.In addition to ABC,, FOX, NBC, The WB, UPN and PBS Stations, other previously announced outlets include ABC Family, Black Family Channel, Bravo, E!, Fox Reality, FSN Ohio, FSN South, FSN West, FX, G4, Ovation, Oxygen, PAX, SOAPnet, TBS, The Tennis Channel, Trio, TV Guide Channel, TV One, USA Network and WGN.The special will also be broadcast in more than 100 countries around the world including Latin America, Brazil, Italy, Germany, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, France, Taiwan, Asia, India, the Middle East, the United Kingdom, Greece, Spain, Japan, Israel and Iceland.The event will salute the victims from the devastated areas of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama, while paying tribute to the rescue personnel guiding relief efforts in the region. Nevertheless, he said it's appropriate for artists to voice their opinions. But organizers of a network concert want talk to focus on Gulf Coast needs. “Why didn’t these people just leave when they had the chance? Former President Bill Clinton called in to the BET telethon to express support and was asked by co-host Steve Harvey what his administration would have done differently if it were in power during the hurricane.
share tweet email With the flood waters of Katrina yet to recede, Randy Newman sang about a long-ago hurricane in “Louisiana 1927” to open a benefit program spread across dozens of television networks Friday. Dr. John ended a show suffused with the spirit of a musical city singing a song that’s only a wish now: “Walkin’ to New Orleans.” The hour-long appeal was an echo of a somber event held four years ago to benefit victims of the Sept. 11 terrorist attack, with the same producer. This time, the telethon had more determination than shock and featured native jazz, gospel and swamp-rock sounds. “Tonight let’s show people on the Gulf Coast that they have friends all over the world, friends who care, who understand and are there to give them shelter from the storm,” said comic Ellen DeGeneres, who was raised in New Orleans. ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox, UPN and the WB — the six biggest broadcast networks — aired it along with several cable networks. Viewers in nearly 100 countries were able to tune in. BET was also appealing for help Friday for victims of a tragedy that struck the black community hard, and MTV planned its own concert for Saturday. Former President Bill Clinton called in to the BET telethon to express support and was asked by co-host Steve Harvey what his administration would have done differently if it were in power during the hurricane. Clinton refrained from criticizing Bush, but talked about the importance he placed on the Federal Emergency Management Agency. “We always thought faster was better than slower,” Clinton said. NBC stations televised an appeal last week, marked by rapper Kanye West’s off-script comment that “George Bush doesn’t care about black people.” The performers largely stuck to scripts Friday, including West, who sang “Jesus Walks” with a gospel choir. Only an impish Chris Rock couldn’t resist scaring producers, looking into the camera and saying, “George Bush hates midgets.” “We’ve all heard the question,” Rock said. These people depend on public transportation and these people can’t afford a nice hotel, because some of them work there. Now it’s your chance to help them.” Rock singer John Fogerty, who sang passionately about the Mississippi delta a generation ago, wasn’t there but his music was: the Foo Fighters sang “Born on the Bayou” and Garth Brooks did “Who’ll Stop the Rain.” Paul Simon, who was in Louisiana to help relief efforts this week, sang “Take Me to the Mardi Gras” with an extended coda from a jazz band. Mariah Carey and Neil Young were also backed by gospel singers and Alicia Keys was joined by several gospel stars. U2 needed only one powerful voice, singer Mary J. Blige’s, to enliven the rock band’s anthem “One.” The BET benefit was hipper and more heart-breaking. It interspersed musical performances with film clips of Gulf Coast residents asking for help to locate missing relatives and friends. Keys sang her hit “If I Ain’t Got You,” and Patti LaBelle sang the Pretenders song “I’ll Stand By You.” It was also a little looser: Harvey introduced rappers Jay-Z and Diddy, only to be told they hadn’t arrived yet. Fifteen minutes later they did and made it worthwhile, presenting a $1 million check to the Red Cross from the New York hip-hop community. and the other broadcast networks are raising money for Hurricane Katrina relief all day today, culminating with a "" primetime special tonight.Phone lines for Hurricane Katrina aid opened at 7 a.m. ET during's, ABC's "Good Morning America," NBC's "The Today Show," and the local affiliate morning shows on FOX, The WB and UPN.To make a donation, you can call 1-866-4-AID-NOW. Or you can log on to redcross.org or salvationarmyusa The phone lines will stay open all day and will be promoted on such shows as ABC's "The View," then continue into the network late night programs, including ABC's "Jimmy Kimmel Live,"'s "Late Show with David Letterman" and "The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson" and NBC's "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno," "Late Night with Conan O'Brien" and "Last Call with Carson Daly. "At various points during these programs, viewers will be advised where they can donate to the relief effort. Participation will vary by program.All contributions collected from the morning, primetime and late-night fundraising efforts will go to either to the American Red Cross or The Salvation Army, depending on the donor's preference.As previously announced, musical performers scheduled to appear on "Shelter From The Storm: A Concert For The Gulf Coast" include Sheryl Crow, the Dixie Chicks, Alicia Keys, Randy Newman, Paul Simon, Rod Stewart and Neil Young. Celebrity participants include Jennifer Aniston, Cameron Diaz, Ellen DeGeneres, Jack Nicholson, Chris Rock, Ray Romano and Sela Ward.Additional outlets that signed on to carry the "Shelter From The Storm" primetime simulcast, which will be broadcast live (8-9 p.m., ET/CT; tape delayed PT/MT), include AmericanLife TV, CNBC, Court TV, Fox Movie Channel, FUEL TV, Fox College Sports Pacific, GSN, Lifetime, MSNBC, Showtime, SPEED Channel, Style Network and many Infinity Radio stations.In addition to ABC,, FOX, NBC, The WB, UPN and PBS Stations, other previously announced outlets include ABC Family, Black Family Channel, Bravo, E!, Fox Reality, FSN Ohio, FSN South, FSN West, FX, G4, Ovation, Oxygen, PAX, SOAPnet, TBS, The Tennis Channel, Trio, TV Guide Channel, TV One, USA Network and WGN.The special will also be broadcast in more than 100 countries around the world including Latin America, Brazil, Italy, Germany, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, France, Taiwan, Asia, India, the Middle East, the United Kingdom, Greece, Spain, Japan, Israel and Iceland.The event will salute the victims from the devastated areas of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama, while paying tribute to the rescue personnel guiding relief efforts in the region. Joel Gallen, who produced "America: A Tribute to Heroes" telethon in September 2001, is executive producer of the special. The trio of fundraisers comes a week after rapper Kanye West declared that "George Bush doesn't care about black people" during a live NBC hurricane relief telethon, prompting the network to hastily cut him off. (Saving OurSelves)" telethon airs tonight from 7:30 to 10 p.m. "We want a wide variety of views expressed." NEW YORK — Cable channel executives organizing two telethons to benefit victims of Hurricane Katrina said that musicians participating in the weekend events will have free rein to speak their minds, but it remains unclear whether the commercial broadcast networks sponsoring a third concert will give performers similar latitude to criticize the government's disaster response. Van Toffler, president of MTV Networks Music Group, said that the 45-plus artists participating in "ReAct Now: Music & Relief" running on MTV, VH1 and CMT at 8 p.m. Saturday have been asked to address the musical heritage of the Gulf Coast and the importance of assisting those in need, but will be allowed to speak about whatever they wish. "I can't predict what we will or won't edit, but I will say that no one expects or wants this to be turned into a platform for political statements," said CBS spokesman Chris Ender.
Sue, Leicester, England I do not support the fuel protests. People will only have to buy more petrol. The government says that they can't be blamed for the rising oil prices - but that's not the issue, it's the tax that's the issue. "There will be no blockades so, please, there is no need to panic-buy." Are you taking part in the blockade? If protesters voted ''yes' they would start blockading the refineries that evening, he said. They should realise that none of us are happy about the price of fuel. Patricia Fleming, Peterborough, England Name: Email address: Town and Country: Phone number (optional): Comments: The BBC may edit your comments and cannot guarantee that all emails will be published. There were now 25% fewer filling stations across the UK than in 2000, he told BBC News. He also urged Chancellor Gordon Brown to cut tax immediately. That way they are not using motorists to cover the holes in their budget. Drivers queue for petrol in Glasgow on Monday evening The RAC Foundation and Road Haulage Association in Scotland said a rush to the pumps would create a fuel shortage. But then £30 a week is nothing to them is it? Why should these protestors disrupt my journey and make me lose time with my children. Beginning at Cross Hands in west Wales, they will travel along the motorway to the Magor Services near Newport. "Hauliers feel very strongly about the fact our counterparts in Europe pay 17.5p per mile less for fuel than we do."
Cars queue for petrol in Essex on Tuesday - Photo by Paul Wood The Fuel Lobby's Andrew Spence said no oil refinery blockades were planned so there was no need to stock up. Some petrol stations have reportedly "run dry", while others are employing extra staff to cope with the demand. Merseyside Police have asked people not to ring 999 to ask where to buy fuel after phone lines became strained. HAVE YOUR SAY Have ensured that both mine and my wife's car is full, and made a special trip out to fill up my bike too Paul Sealey, Cannock, England Send us your comments And there are reports of lines of motorists topping up their tanks in Kent, Lincolnshire, Manchester and long queues at station forecourts in east London. Last week the government reportedly discussed plans to deal with a threat to fuel supplies - including the possibility of petrol rationing. A Department of Trade and Industry document details possible measures including purchase limits, restricted opening hours, and moves to discourage motorists from frequently topping up their fuel tanks. "There will be no blockades so, please, there is no need to panic-buy." He also urged Chancellor Gordon Brown to cut tax immediately. Mr Spence said peaceful protests planned for Wednesday were an act of desperation from haulage and farming industries facing collapse. Petrol Retailers Association director Ray Holloway said there had been a day of increased sales and urged the government to set a pre-emptive "minimum fuel purchase". It is just ridiculous to not step in now and bring those prices down Garagewatch head Mark Bradshaw That would prevent drivers with nearly-full tanks needlessly queuing, as many did during the fuel protests in 2000, he said. He also warned motorists to behave responsibly: "I really do appeal to people to actually just buy fuel when they need it. "If people really do buy in the normal way, fuel will be available on the forecourts." There were now 25% fewer filling stations across the UK than in 2000, he told BBC News. Protests against the fuel tax are being planned after the price of unleaded reached £1 a litre in parts of the UK. Revenue boost But few believe the demonstrations would be on the scale of those that left many motorists without fuel and supermarket shelves empty five years ago. This was reflected by supermarket chain Asda, which runs 146 stations. Mark Bradshaw, head of Garagewatch, which represents 6,500 independent retailers in the UK, said forecourts had been "quite quiet". But Mr Bradshaw is calling for a tax cut and a "maximum figure on the pump of 80p a litre". Although the groups remain united in their belief petrol prices are too high, it appears they are united by little else Can the protests succeed? "With the barrel price of oil at a record high now the government are making huge amounts of revenue from North Sea oil. Institute of Directors chief economist Graham Leach also called for a tax cut pointing out that 47p of the 97p pump price went into Treasury coffers. Liberal Democrat shadow chancellor Vince Cable said there was no justification for panic-buying but said "the government needs to have contingency plans in place". PUMPED UP Facts and figures behind UK petrol price rises At-a-glance Roger King, chief executive of the Road Haulage Association, said there was a "very strong case" for the government to reduce fuel duty, particularly for commercial vehicle operators. Hauliers stressed that while there may be protests over rising fuel costs at refineries elsewhere, there were no plans for demonstrations in Scotland. Hauliers feel very strongly about the fact our counterparts in Europe pay 17.5p per mile less for fuel than we do Phil Flanders RHA Scotland She said: "Motorists are trying to keep their tanks full but they will actually end up creating a fuel shortage by not sticking to their normal buying habits. "Although there's no actual shortage at refineries, this kind of panic-buying at the forecourt is exactly the sort of thing that causes the problem." "Hauliers feel very strongly about the fact our counterparts in Europe pay 17.5p per mile less for fuel than we do." Pumps have been running dry in several places Duncan McLaren, chief executive of Friends of the Earth Scotland, said: "This is one time that the chancellor must stand tough with fuel protesters. "There's nothing to complain about, the cost of motoring hasn't been this low for over a decade - the real price of fuel is climate change." Judith McAteer, who works at an Esso garage in Wester Hailes, Edinburgh, said: "We've had pump rage on the forecourts with people beeping at each other and getting very irate indeed." Irene Muir, a member of staff at the Shell petrol station on Victoria Road, Glasgow, said Monday's panic buying was some of the worst she had seen in 16 years in the job. Andrew Black, of the Gordon service station at Bridge of Don in Aberdeen, said: "It's been slightly busier, and it was busy yesterday but nothing exceptional." Hurricane Katrina has affected oil prices The South Wales Hauliers' Association made the vow after a meeting of 60 hauliers and taxi and coach operators. Earlier this week organisers of the 2000 fuel protests said they would act again if fuel tax was not cut. The Treasury says cutting tax would not solve the problem of oil prices forced up after refineries in the US were knocked out by Hurricane Katrina.
she asked. After a year of discussions, the Cleveland Clinic won approval to go ahead with the operation from an internal review board, which included surgeons, psychiatrists, social workers, therapists, nurses and patient advocates. How the operation works How would doctors carry out a face transplant? "It's not a shopping mall," she said. Not like the donor. Proponents of face transplants argue that the procedure could remove the need for years of operations by applying a new sheet of skin in one operation. Dr Siemionow told Associated Press: "You want to choose patients who are really disfigured, not someone who has a little scar." Many critics also question whether a person already traumatised by facial disfigurement would be equipped to cope. She will select the first recipient from the 12 applicants of a new face from a cadaver. Surgeon Maria Siemionow and her team will interview five men and seven women as potential candidates for the 8-10 hour operation. The operation is expected to last up to 24 hours hours. Opponents are most concerned about the possibility of rejection of the transplanted tissue and cultural and ethical problems. Enditem (Agencies) The procedure would take about 10 hours Doctors in the US have already carried out the procedure on bodies donated for medical research. Today's best treatments still leave many with scar-tissue masks that do not look or move like natural skin. Teams of surgeons in Britain, France and the US have previously announced that they are close to performing face transplants, but concerns over the ethical implications of the procedure have halted or delayed their plans.
The procedure would take about 10 hours Doctors in the US have already carried out the procedure on bodies donated for medical research. Now the Cleveland Clinic team will choose a patient whose face is disfigured to receive a "new" face from a dead donor. The chance it will work is around 50% and experts have expressed safety and ethical concerns about the procedure. A new face The recipient would have to take powerful anti-rejection drugs for life, which carry considerable long-term health risks, says the Royal College of Surgeons of England, which formed a working party to look at the issue earlier this year. Also, it is not known how well an individual and their loved ones would adapt psychologically to a completely new face. There are a great many questions to which answers are needed Changing Faces charity It is hard to predict what the person would look like after a face transplant. The procedure would involve taking skin and underlying tissues from a dead donor and placing them on the living recipient. Computer modelling suggests the new face would neither resemble the donor nor recipient's pre-injury self. The face should take on more of the characteristics of the skeleton of the recipient than the soft tissues of the donor. The recipient should be able to eat, drink and communicate again through a wide variety of facial expressions and mannerisms. Picking a patient The working party said it was not against facial transplants in theory, saying they could offer a major breakthrough in restoration of quality of life to those whose faces have been destroyed by accidents or disease. You want to choose patients who are really disfigured, not someone who has a little scar Surgeon Maria Siemionow But it cautioned: "Until there is further research and the prospect of better control of these complications, it would be unwise to proceed with human facial transplantation." After a year of discussions, the Cleveland Clinic won approval to go ahead with the operation from an internal review board, which included surgeons, psychiatrists, social workers, therapists, nurses and patient advocates. Surgeon Maria Siemionow and her team will interview five men and seven women as potential candidates for the 8-10 hour operation. Dr Siemionow told Associated Press: "You want to choose patients who are really disfigured, not someone who has a little scar." Yet they will have to have enough healthy skin for traditional grafts in case the transplant fails. They will be told that their face would be removed and replaced with one from a cadaver, matched for tissue type, age, sex and skin colour. Charity Changing Faces said: "There are a great many questions to which answers are needed before this extremely risky and experimental surgery could be considered a viable option for patients with severe facial disfigurements. "It is our view that today's excellent conventional surgery combined with the very best psychological and social rehabilitation programmes can very effectively enable patients with severe disfigurements to live full and active lives. "The continuing speculation about face transplants is not helpful for people with disfigurements." · Clinic to select patient after getting go-ahead · Critics warn of serious mental and medical risks Doctors at a US clinic will start interviewing potential recipients for the world's first face transplant in the next few weeks, after winning approval from the clinic's internal review board. The medical team at the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio is led by Maria Siemionow, a 55-year-old surgeon who has spent years conducting research into face transplants, including experiments on animals and human cadavers. "You want to choose patients who are really disfigured, not someone who has a little scar," she told Associated Press. The procedure is intended to help patients whose faces are disfigured because of an accident or genetic fault. It is a process that has been labelled "life by 1,000 cuts". Proponents of face transplants argue that the procedure could remove the need for years of operations by applying a new sheet of skin in one operation. While the capability to perform face transplants has existed for years, nobody has attempted it. Teams of surgeons in Britain, France and the US have previously announced that they are close to performing face transplants, but concerns over the ethical implications of the procedure have halted or delayed their plans. Although the Cleveland Clinic team has won approval from an internal review board, critics say an independent review board should determine whether the procedure can go ahead. Last year a team at the University of Louisville in Kentucky, which had successfully transplanted a human hand, decided not to go ahead with face transplants after examining the ethical issues. "At stake is a person's self-image, social acceptability and sense of normalcy," wrote Osborne Wiggins, a philosophy professor and clinical investigator at the university, in the American Journal of Bioethics. In the same journal, Carson Strong, a bioethicist at the University of Tennessee, wrote: "It would leave the patient with an extensive facial wound with potentially serious physical and psychological consequences." "Really, who has the right to decide about the patient's quality of life?" "It's very important not to kind of scare society ... We will do our best to help the patient." A "skin envelope" from a donor is attached to the recipient using one or two pairs of veins and arteries on either side of the face. Should the recipient's body reject the transplant, it raises the possibility that the patient will be left worse off than before.
A British military spokesman, Darren Moss, denied that British troops were fighting Basra police. Go to: Guardian Unlimited home UK news World news Comment is free blog Sport blog Arts & entertainment blog Podcasts In pictures Video ---------------------- Archive search Arts and entertainment Books Business EducationGuardian.co.uk Environment Film Football Jobs Katine appeal Life and style MediaGuardian.co.uk Money Music The Observer Politics Science Shopping SocietyGuardian.co.uk Sport Talk Technology Travel Been there ---------------------- Audio Email services Special reports The Guardian The northerner The wrap ---------------------- Advertising guide Compare finance products Crossword Feedback Garden centre GNM press office Graduate Guardian Bookshop GuardianEcostore GuardianFilms Headline service Help / contacts Information Living our values Newsroom Notes & Queries Reader Offers Soulmates dating Style guide Syndication services Travel offers TV listings Weather Web guides Working for us ---------------------- Guardian Abroad Guardian Weekly Money Observer Public Learn Guardian back issues Observer back issues Guardian Professional Iraqi officials said at least two civilians were killed. Tension has been growing between British forces in the city and Shiite police and militias that operate there. Sadr's Mahdi Army militia joined in the fighting late in the day, witnesses said. The two soldiers were using a civilian car packed with explosives, the source said. "Fakher was an invaluable part of our coverage for more than two years. On Monday, an Iraqi reporter working for the New York Times was found shot dead on the outskirts of Basra with his hands bound, his family and security sources said.
BAGHDAD, Sept. 19 (Xinhuanet) -- Iraqi police detained two British soldiers in civilian clothes in the southern city Basra for firing on a police station on Monday, police said. "Two persons wearing Arab uniforms opened fire at a police station in Basra. A police patrol followed the attackers and captured them to discover they were two British soldiers," an Interior Ministry source told Xinhua. The two soldiers were using a civilian car packed with explosives, the source said. He added that the two were being interrogated in the police headquarters of Basra. The British forces informed the Iraqi authorities that the two soldiers were performing an official duty, the source said. British military authorities said they could not confirm the incident but investigations were underway. BAGHDAD, Sept. 19 -- British armored vehicles backed by helicopter gunships burst through the walls of an Iraqi jail Monday in the southern city of Basra to free two British commandos detained earlier in the day by Iraqi police, witnesses and Iraqi officials said. The incident climaxed a confrontation between the two nominal allies that had sparked hours of gun battles and rioting in Basra's streets. The provincial governor, Mohammed Walli, told news agencies that the British assault was "barbaric, savage and irresponsible." British officials said three soldiers were hurt in the day's violence, in which at least one armored personnel carrier was destroyed by firebombs. Iraqi officials said at least two civilians were killed. But the BBC quoted British defense officials as saying a wall was demolished when British forces went to "collect" the men. Monday's violence underscored the increasing volatility of Basra, a Shiite Muslim-majority city that had previously escaped much of the violence of the Sunni Muslim-led insurgency. On Monday, an Iraqi reporter working for the New York Times was found shot dead on the outskirts of Basra with his hands bound, his family and security sources said. The reporter, Fakher Haider, had been handcuffed and taken away from his home Sunday night by four masked men who said they wanted to interrogate him, his family said. "This murder of a respected colleague leaves us angry and horrified," Bill Keller, the newspaper's executive editor, said in a statement. Elsewhere in Iraq, anti-corruption investigators said they expected charges against the country's former defense minister, Hazim Shaalan, in the alleged embezzlement of more than $1 billion that was meant to help rebuild the country's security forces. In Baghdad, Ayman Sabawi, a nephew of deposed president Saddam Hussein, was sentenced last week by an Iraqi court to six years in prison for financing the insurgency and making bombs, said Army Lt. Col. Near the Shiite holy city of Karbala, bomb and mortar attacks killed at least five Shiite pilgrims as millions gathered for an annual religious festival there. Basra, a city of 1.5 million, is heavily under the control of Shiite political parties and fighters of the Badr militia of the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq, the Shiite religious party that has a leading role in Iraq's government. Earlier Monday, gunmen loyal to Sadr attacked the house of Basra's governor to press demands for the release of two prominent members of the cleric's militia whom British forces arrested Sunday. The killing of the New York Times reporter took place six weeks after an American freelance journalist, Steven Vincent, was kidnapped and killed in Basra, allegedly after being taken away in a marked police car.
And I did. And I did, and then God would tell me, George, go and end the tyranny in Iraq... And I did. Mr Shaath said that in a 2003 meeting with Mr Bush, the US president said he was "driven with a mission from God". So I will get you a Palestinian state." The claims are due to be broadcast in a three-part BBC documentary which analyses attempts to bring peace to the Middle East. He's never made such comments." He told the film-makers: "President Bush said to all of us: 'I'm driven with a mission from God. It seeks to uncover what happened behind closed doors by speaking to presidents and prime ministers, along with their generals and ministers. God would tell me, 'George, go and fight these terrorists in Afghanistan'. The TV series charts recent attempts to bring peace to the Middle East, from former US President Bill Clinton's peace talks in 1999-2000 to Israel's withdrawal from the Gaza Strip this year. Mr McClellan admitted he was not at the Israeli-Palestinian summit at the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh in June 2003 when Mr Bush supposedly revealed the extent of his religious fervour. Mr Bush, who became a born-again Christian at 40, is one of the most overtly religious leaders to occupy the White House, a fact that brings him much support in middle America. Mr Bush's spokesman said the original allegation, which will appear in a BBC documentary next week, was absurd. "When we see more policies reflecting that, it might be easier to believe he has God on his side.
Nabil Shaath said he and other world leaders at a Jordan summit two years ago did not believe Mr Bush thought God had given him a personal message. Mr Bush's spokesman said the original allegation, which will appear in a BBC documentary next week, was absurd. Scott McClellan said the comments had never been made. The comments were attributed to Mr Bush by Mr Shaath, a Palestinian negotiator, in the upcoming TV series Elusive Peace: Israel and the Arabs. Mr Shaath said that in a 2003 meeting with Mr Bush, the US president said he was "driven with a mission from God". "God would tell me, George, go and fight those terrorists in Afghanistan. "And now, again, I feel God's words coming to me, Go get the Palestinians their state and get the Israelis their security, and get peace in the Middle East. And by God I'm gonna do it." Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas, who attended the meeting in June 2003 too, also appears on the documentary series to recount how Mr Bush told him: "I have a moral and religious obligation. 'Strong faith' But in an interview for the BBC Arabic service on Friday, he said the president - who had just announced an end to hostilities in Iraq, was merely expressing his heartfelt commitment to peace in the Middle East. "President Bush said that God guided him in what he should do, and this guidance led him to go to Afghanistan to rid it of terrorism after 9/11 and led him to Iraq to fight tyranny," he said. "We understood that he was illustrating [in his comments] his strong faith and his belief that this is what God wanted." The TV series charts recent attempts to bring peace to the Middle East, from former US President Bill Clinton's peace talks in 1999-2000 to Israel's withdrawal from the Gaza Strip this year. It seeks to uncover what happened behind closed doors by speaking to presidents and prime ministers, along with their generals and ministers. A spokesman for Mr Bush, Scott McClellan, said the claims, to be broadcast in a TV documentary later this month, were "absurd". In the BBC film, a former Palestinian foreign minister, Nabil Shaath, says that Mr Bush told a Palestinian delegation in 2003 that God spoke to him and said: "George, go and fight these terrorists in Afghanistan" and also "George, go and end the tyranny in Iraq". Mr McClellan admitted he was not at the Israeli-Palestinian summit at the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh in June 2003 when Mr Bush supposedly revealed the extent of his religious fervour. Asked if Mr Bush had ever mentioned that God had ordered him into Afghanistan and Iraq, Mr McClellan said: "No, and I've been in many meetings with him and never heard such a thing." Mr Shaath, the Palestinian foreign minister in 2003, claims Mr Bush told him and other delegates that he was spoken to by God over his plans for war. He told the film-makers: "President Bush said to all of us: 'I'm driven with a mission from God. The Palestinian leader, Mahmoud Abbas, who attended the June 2003 meeting as well, also appears on the documentary series to recount how Mr Bush told him: "I have a moral and religious obligation. The TV series, which starts on Monday, charts recent attempts to bring peace to the Middle East, from the former US president Bill Clinton's peace talks in 1999-2000, to Israel's withdrawal from the Gaza Strip this year. The president was variously portrayed with a golden halo, speaking out of a crystal ball, or intoning, messiah-like from on high that he was God���s messenger.The BBC TV series, ���Elusive Peace: Israel and the Arabs���, contains Shaath���s recollections of meeting Bush during the Israeli-Palestinian summit at the Sharm-al Sheikh summit of June 2003, four months after the Iraqi invasion.Shaath, the Palestinians'senior negotiator, recalls, "President Bush said to all of us, 'I am driven with a mission from God���.
In certain areas, almost entire towns, they have vanished from the scene," he said. Aid: Muzaffarabad is the hub of the aid operation in Pakistan-administered Kashmir. Nearly 20,000 people were estimated killed in Pakistan, India and Afghanistan as a result of Saturday's quake. ISLAMABAD AND ELSEWHERE Impact: Two blocks of the Margalla Towers complex in Islamabad collapsed. "It is such a horrendous situation that one cannot imagine. It is thought to have been the strongest earthquake to hit the region in a century. The death toll is expected to rise once remote areas of Pakistani-controlled Kashmir and the country's North-West Province are reached. (Watch the latest rescue efforts - 1:10) Many people were still in their beds when the quake struck. Rescuers are working against time to reach the injured Search for survivors More than 42,000 people are believed to be injured, said the interior minister. Pakistani President Gen. Pervez Musharraf issued a plea on Sunday for foreign aid -- specifically, cargo helicopters and relief goods such as tents and blankets. Soldiers are struggling to clear roads blocked by landslides to get to remote villages. Local officials estimate more than 1,000 dwellings have been damaged or destroyed across Jammu-Kashmir. Only a handful of buildings in the once bustling market town of Balakot are still standing, says our correspondent. Pakistan and India suffer after a massive earthquake In pictures More than 20 bodies have been found and about 90 people have been pulled alive from the rubble. Blankets, water, food and a lot of help is coming from all over the country and overseas also." Rescue workers reported hearing voices from under the debris.
Rescuers are working against time to reach the injured Search for survivors More than 42,000 people are believed to be injured, said the interior minister. The death toll in Indian-administered Kashmir has risen to more than 550, after the bodies of 250 people were found in one town alone. Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf has appealed for greater international help in the relief effort. Large cargo helicopters, "the bigger... the better", are needed to help reach those in "far-flung and cut-off areas", as well as tents, blankets and medicines for the survivors, he said. Map of earthquake zone Interior minister Aftab Sherpao told a press conference the death toll in Pakistan and Pakistani-administered Kashmir had now risen to at least 19,136, and 42,397 had been injured. 'Devoured by earth' The earthquake's epicentre was close to Muzaffarabad, the capital of Pakistani-administered Kashmir. The BBC's Nick Bryant, in Muzaffarabad, says many buildings have been reduced to rubble. Balakot in North-West Frontier Province was among the worst hit Enlarge Image The city's cricket stadium is being used to house the homeless and offer relief to the survivors. The injured are waiting to be airlifted to hospitals in Islamabad. Many of the towns and villages in the surrounding areas bore the brunt of the earthquake and have been virtually razed to the ground. I could only do one thing which was to pick people out of the rubble and with my bare hands I started to dig Karam Umrani Islamabad police officer Eyewitness: 'Cries haunt me' Send us your comments A military spokesman told the BBC that the government's priorities were to evacuate those in need of medical care, establish medical treatment centres on the ground, and provide shelter for thousands of homeless people. 'Nothing left' The earthquake, which hit at 0350GMT on Saturday, was felt as far away as the Afghan capital, Kabul, and India's capital, Delhi. It is thought to have been the strongest earthquake to hit the region in a century. At least 400 children died when two schools collapsed in the North-West Frontier Province's Mansehra district. About 200 soldiers are also thought to have been killed by landslides and falling debris. DEADLY RECENT QUAKES 2004 Asian tsunami, triggered by undersea quake - kills at least 200,000 2003 Bam, Iran - kills 26,271 2001 Gujarat, north-west India - kills more than 20,000 1976 Tangshan, China - kills 242,000 1923 Tokyo - kills 140,000 In Mansehra, shop owner Haji Fazal Ilahi lost his wife, two daughters and his brother when their house collapsed. "I could see rocks and homes tumbling down the mountains," said Mr Ilahi, who was driving home to his village when the earthquake struck. A British team of specialists joined Pakistani rescue workers overnight, bringing out alive a man and a woman to cheers and applause on Sunday morning. Pakistan and India suffer after a massive earthquake In pictures More than 20 bodies have been found and about 90 people have been pulled alive from the rubble. British officials say other voices have been heard from within the rubble, and they are focusing on an area where it is thought two children may still be alive. Line of Control In Indian-administered Kashmir, the initial death toll of 300 - among them 15 soldiers - nearly doubled on Sunday, to more than 550. Some 250 bodies had been discovered in the town of Kupwara, said officials who warned that the death toll could still rise further. The town of Uri, close to the Line of Control that separates divided Kashmir, was also badly hit, with 104 dead. The administration is working overtime to restore essential supplies like electricity and water disrupted by the earthquake, says the BBC's Altaf Hussain in Srinagar. INTERNATIONAL AID EU: $3.6m Australia: $380,000 UK: $177,000 and 60-strong team US: $100,000 China: 49 rescuers, dogs, 17 tons of equipment Japan: 50 rescue workers Russia: 30 rescuers, sniffer dogs, special equipment Germany: $60,000 "The people of the United States offer our deepest sympathies for the loss of life and destruction," said George W Bush in a statement. Mr Annan said he was "deeply saddened by the loss of life" and announced that the UN was sending a team to co-ordinate relief efforts. President Musharraf said he had personally thanked Manmohan Singh, the prime minister of India - a long-time rival with Pakistan for control over Kashmir - for the offer to help with rescue operations. The total death toll stood Sunday at 19,638, including one death in Afghanistan -- a young girl in Jalalabad who died when a wall of her home collapsed.
they asked. This, he thought, was part of his work. Mr Lu said such claims were laughable. "Why did you come to Taishi? How did you meet him?" They put us in a car, told us we were being taken for interrogation. That's why once we are in this we can't go out." The authorities control the village tightly. There were 30 to 50 men - angry, inebriated, bored men. They kicked my legs and body for a couple of minutes. He was last seen lying unconscious on the side of the road. Most looked like thugs. The Guardian has been unable to confirm what happened to Mr Lu. He knew nothing. My head was spinning. He came back in and screamed at us. Since the people of Taishi launched their campaign to remove their chief in July, the village has become a test case for local-level democracy in China. In the report below, we said that Lu Banglie was so injured in the beating that "his eye [lay] out of its socket" and "the ligaments in his neck were broken". I repeated for a third time that I wanted him to get out of the car. His superior arrived: Ms Qi Hong, associate director of the government news office in Guangzhou. The three nearest hospitals said that no one had been admitted yesterday. We had hired a taxi. Eventually, my translator got out. They found my Chinese press pass. "You write write write so much about what's happened here that all these businesses have fled the new industrial zone."
In the report below, we said that Lu Banglie was so injured in the beating that "his eye [lay] out of its socket" and "the ligaments in his neck were broken". Subsequent reports have made it clear that Mr Lu's injuries were not as serious as had been stated. In particular, a report headed Chinese activist vows to continue, despite beating , printed on October 12, stated, after an interview with Mr Lu, "Although he was in pain from his neck, it was not broken and his eye did not come out of its socket." The readers' editor will write about this in his column on October 17.The last time I saw Lu Banglie, he was lying in a ditch on the side of the street - placid, numb and lifeless - the spit, snot and urine of about 20 men mixing with his blood, and running all over his body. He was to show me the way to Taishi, the hotspot of the growing rural uprisings in China. The day I arrived a French radio journalist and a Hong Kong print journalist were rumoured to have been beaten somewhere around Taishi. The Taishi election had also been scheduled for that very day, and news of a hunger strike by one of the two most famous figures in Taishi had just come out. Mr Lu was a very soft-spoken man, one of those skinny guys who looked like he might start tearing at any moment. Born as a peasant in Baoyuesi village of Bailizhou town in Zhijiang city in Hubei province, he was a people's representative and had been in the village of Taishi since the start of a democratic movement in the area. That movement, deeply unpopular with the local authorities, has come to be seen as a weather vane for China's tentative steps toward a more representative society. It has led to beatings and mass arrests among its population as well as for observers who ventured into its environs. I told him he would be endangering himself, the driver and maybe us. I repeated for a third time that I wanted him to get out of the car. So I dropped it, and it was this appeasement that determined Mr Lu's fate. There were 30 to 50 men - angry, inebriated, bored men. Some wore military camouflage uniform. Some wore blue uniforms with badges on the shoulders, and one guy had a greyish-mauve uniform with a walkie-talkie. Our taxi driver, who we had hired randomly in a neighbouring village, was called out by the thugs. They screamed at him: "What the fuck are you doing here?" "Fuck all of you, look now you've gotten me into trouble." We told him to reverse but by that time it was already too late, the car was encircled. The men outside shouted among themselves and those in uniform suddenly left. They pointed flashlights at us, and when the light hit Mr Lu's face, it was as if a bomb had gone off. The beating was loud, like the crack of a wooden board, and he was unconscious within 30 seconds. The body of this skinny little man turned to putty between the kicking legs of the rancorous men. This was not about teaching a man a lesson, about scaring me, about preventing access to the village; this was about vengeance - retribution for teaching villagers their legal rights, for agitating, for daring to hide. He lay there - his eye out of its socket, his tongue cut, a stream of blood dropping from his mouth, his body limp, twisted. The ligaments in his neck were broken, so his head lay sideways as if connected to the rest of his body by a rubber band.
3, where, unfortunately, hostages have been taken." Other fires were reported in Nalchik. Russia's Interior Ministry said groups of rebels were being chased by helicopters. Do you live in the city? An armed clash is continuing at police station No. Itar-Tass news agency reported security forces confiscated a number of weapons and grenades after some of the gunmen were killed. "Separate hotbeds are left. Militants from nearby Chechnya are believed to be behind the attacks. Earlier, Interfax reported that Deputy Interior Minister Alexander Chekalin said 50 militants were dead along with 10 to 12 law enforcement personnel. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Several reports indicated that at least one of the police precincts, Station No. A pro-rebel website said a group known as the Caucasus Front had claimed the attack. By 2:40 p.m. Mr. Kozak was also insisting that Nalchik had partially returned to government control. Nalchik, capital of the internal Russian republic of Kabardino-Balkaria, was promptly declared closed by the authorities, and reinforcements, including special Russian Army units, were reportedly moved into place. Kabardino-Balkarian Premier Gennady Gubin told Interfax that the operation to neutralize guerrillas in Nalchik would be finished by the end of the day. Although it was not immediately clear who was responsible for the attacks, and what the attackers' motives were, a Web site that often carries messages from the Chechen terrorist Shamil Basayev, who planned the school siege last year in Beslan, said the attackers were Islamic fighters aligned with Chechen separatists. Both the airport and public transportation were shut down. Home Page Get up-to-the minute news from CNN CNN.com gives you the latest stories and video from the around the world, with in-depth coverage of U.S. news, politics, entertainment, health, crime, tech and more.
Troops are hunting down those who carried out Thursday's attacks Authorities say that 61 rebels have been killed, but 12 police and 12 civilians also died in the assault on Nalchik in Kabardino-Balkaria province. Officials say militants are holding hostages at a police station in the city, which has been sealed off. Militants from nearby Chechnya are believed to be behind the attacks. A pro-rebel website said a group known as the Caucasus Front had claimed the attack. The raid is the latest in a series of disturbances that have been destabilising Russia's North Caucasus for more than a year. Nalchik is about 100 km (60 miles) north-west of Beslan, where Chechen rebels took hundreds of hostages at a school in 2004, in an attack claimed by warlord Shamil Basayev. 'Find the bandits' Dozens of men armed with rocket launchers are said to have been involved in the fighting which broke out early on Thursday. The BBC's Emma Simpson in Moscow says this appears to have been an all-out attack on Nalchik's law enforcement and security services. A local Interior Ministry source told Itar-Tass that rebels launched a "carefully planned" simultaneous attack on police stations, security forces, military and drugs-control offices and the airport. "All hell broke loose, and the impression was that there was shooting everywhere," a resident told Reuters news agency. President Vladimir Putin responded with an order for the city to be sealed off and for forces to shoot any armed resisters. Officials said two small groups of fighters were holed up in a police station and a shop and were holding small numbers of hostages, but there was no shooting elsewhere. Deputy Interior Minister Andrei Novikov told reporters that 61 militants had been killed. "The city has been taken under firm control. "Now our main task is to find the bandits in the city, including their wounded." Website claim The pro-rebel Kavkaz Center website said that a detachment of the Chechen-linked Kabardino-Balkaria jamaat, called Yarmuk, had entered Nalchik. Gunfire was heard throughout the city The use of the word jamaat indicates that it is made up of radical Islamic fighters. Political changes and a harsh crackdown on alleged Islamic militants appear to have pushed the region to the verge of instability, the BBC's regional analyst Steven Eke says. Our analyst says that after last year's Beslan massacre the government promised more money and support for the impoverished North Caucasus - but nothing has changed. Police battle militants in Russia YOUR E-MAIL ALERTS Russia Chechnya (Russia) or or Create Your Own (CNN) -- Police largely repelled an attack by 80 to 100 militants in the southern Russian region of Kabardino-Balkariya, a Russian official, told the Interfax news agency. He said 12 militants were detained and 20 killed. But 12 police officers and 12 civilians lost their lives in the attack, said Russia's deputy prosecutor, Vladimir Kolesnikov, who said the casualties were "monstrous losses." Two more are holed up in a city building in the center of Nalchik, the region's capital, he said. Earlier, Interfax reported that Deputy Interior Minister Alexander Chekalin said 50 militants were dead along with 10 to 12 law enforcement personnel. The Russian news agency reported that President Vladimir Putin ordered a "complete blockade" of Nalchik and "elimination of armed people resisting detention." "The thugs who attacked the city's law enforcement establishments today have been for the most part dispersed," said Dmitry Kozak, Russian presidential envoy to the Southern Federal District. An armed clash is continuing at police station No. The Health Ministry said the bodies of 10 people, including many in uniforms, had been brought to Nalchik hospitals, along with at least 72 wounded, Interfax reported. A representative from the Rostov branch of the Emergency Medicine Center told Interfax that city hospitals had received 13 dead and 62 wounded, the agency reported. But at about the same time, Kabardino-Balkarian Deputy Mass Communications Minister Nikolai Lyapin declared that that the situation in the city had been brought back to normal and was under the control of security forces, Interfax reported.
"So my guess is, yes, it will be passed," he told CNN. Iraqi police said a sniper killed a civilian at a western Baghdad polling station. About 15.5 million of Iraq's 26 million people were registered to vote. However, the constitution will fail if it was rejected by at least two-thirds of the voters in at least three of the country's 18 provinces. Sunni Arab groups have objected to provisions that would grant more autonomy to Shiite areas in the south and Kurdish areas in the north. Although results aren't expected until next week, the referendum already was being hailed as a success, because turnout appeared to be high enough to legitimize the outcome -- and no major violence was reported. How many ballots were stolen was not clear. But initial results indicated about 70 percent of voters supported the charter while only 20 percent rejected. U.S., British soldiers killed A roadside bomb hit a U.S. Army patrol late Tuesday night, killing one soldier and wounding two near Iskandariyah, 30 miles south of Baghdad, the military said. (Full story) Rejection of the constitution would be a serious blow to Iraq's political evolution since the U.S.-led invasion that toppled Saddam in 2003. The transitional assembly would be dissolved and the process of writing a constitution would have to start over after a new assembly is elected in December. The commission and United Nations officials supervising the count have made no mention of fraud and have cautioned that the unexpected votes are not necessarily incorrect. "This is a very positive day for the Iraqis and, as well, for world peace."
Sunni-led insurgents killed 19 people in Iraq on Wednesday, the opening day of Saddam Hussein’s trial , including six Shiites who were lined up at a factory and gunned down in front of their fellow workers, police said. The day’s fatalities also included three election commission officials who were shot and killed on the outskirts of the capital in Abu Ghraib, as they drove home after another round of counting ballots from last weekend’s constitutional referendum, police said. A bomb also went off at a famous monument in a Baghdad square honoring the 8th-century founder of Baghdad to whom Saddam often compared himself. The blast, which toppled the bust of Abu Jaafar Al-Mansour but caused no injuries, appeared to be a jab at the former dictator. In addition, the military said that two coalition soldiers were killed — one American, the other British — in attacks Tuesday night. Iraqis are still awaiting the outcome of last weekend’s referendum, as the slower-than-expected vote counting continued. Questions about the integrity of the vote and delays in getting marked ballots to the capital mean final results from the landmark vote won’t be announced until Friday at the earliest, officials said. The returns have raised questions over the possibility of irregularities in the balloting — and have prompted an audit into an irregularly high number of “yes” votes. An argumentative Saddam and seven senior members of his regime went on trial Wednesday for a 1982 massacre of about 150 Shiites in the town of Dujail, north of Baghdad. He immediately challenged the legitimacy of the court and pleaded innocent to all charges. In Washington, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice heralded the constitutional referendum and said the U.S. strategy in Iraq was to “clear areas from insurgent control, hold them securely, and build durable, national Iraqi institutions.” Rice told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee the United States is working to dismantle the insurgent network and disrupt foreign support for them, maintain security in areas insurgents no longer hold, and build national institutions to “sustain security forces, bring rule of law, visibly deliver essential services, and offer the Iraqi people hope for a better economic future.” Brutal attack in ‘Triangle of Death’ Wednesday’s worst insurgent attack occurred in a mostly Sunni region south of Baghdad known as the Triangle of Death because of all its militant groups. About nine militants barged into a building materials factory near Iskandariyah, 30 miles south of Baghdad, lined up all the workers and forced the six Shiite ones to identify themselves, said police Lt. The militants then tied up the hands of Shiites, shot them to death in front of the other workers, and fled in several stolen company cars, Mohammed said. Insurgents opened fire on a police checkpoint near the Hai Al-Adil highway in a western Baghdad, killing four policemen and wounding 11, said police Capt. In other attacks in Baghdad on Wednesday, insurgents shot and killed Hakim Mirza, a municipal director, and his driver, in the Dora neighborhood, and Muhsin Chitheer in front of his home in the al-I’alam area, police said. Chitheer was a lieutenant colonel in the Iraqi army that U.S. forces disbanded after invading in 2003. U.S., British soldiers killed A roadside bomb hit a U.S. Army patrol late Tuesday night, killing one soldier and wounding two near Iskandariyah, 30 miles south of Baghdad, the military said. The attack raised to at least 1,981 the number of members of the U.S. military who have died since the war began, according to an Associated Press count. A British soldier also was killed by a roadside bomb late Tuesday night in the southern region of Basra, where most British forces are based, the Ministry of Defense said in London. In Kirkuk, 180 miles north of the capital, a vehicle carrying Kurdish tribal leader Sheik Anwar Khalifa was hit by a car bomb, police said. He escaped unhurt, but a relative with him was injured, and one passer-by was killed and three wounded, police said. Elsewhere in northern Iraq, insurgents shot and killed two men at a gas station near Baqouba, 35 miles northeast of Baghdad, police said. In Baghdad, the bombing of the famous monument honoring Al-Mansour knocked his bust off the top of a 30-foot-tall triangular monument, said police Capt. The attack occurred at 1:30 a.m. in a northwestern area named after Al-Mansour, a caliph, or supreme religious leader of the Islamic empire, who built Baghdad on the banks of the Tigris River in 762 A.D. During his dictatorial rule from 1979 to 2003, Saddam often tried to compare himself and his accomplishments to those of Al-Mansour. Examining suspect ‘yes’ votes The audit of the referendum by Iraq’s Electoral Commission will examine results that show an oddly high number of “yes” votes — apparently including the crucial provinces of Ninevah and Diyala that could determine the outcome. The commission and United Nations officials supervising the count have made no mention of fraud and have cautioned that the unexpected votes are not necessarily incorrect. But Sunni Arab leaders who oppose the charter have claimed the vote was fixed in Ninevah, Diyala and elsewhere to swing them to a “yes” after initial results reported by provincial officials indicated the constitution had passed. But initial results indicated about 70 percent of voters supported the charter while only 20 percent rejected. Sunnis fear the constitution would divide Iraq into three districts: oil-rich Kurdish and Shiite mini states in the north and south, and a mostly Sunni region in western and central Iraq that would include a weak government in Baghdad. Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari (CP file photo) The Iraqi government says it appears voters have approved the country's new constitution, although the ballots from Saturday's referendum are still being counted. Final results won't be known until several more days, but Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari said Sunday that all indications were "encouraging and positive for a 'Yes' vote for this constitution." U.S. President George W. Bush congratulated the Iraqi people, saying he was pleased to see a bigger turnout than in the country's parliamentary election in January. "I'm also pleased from the initial indications that the level of violence was considerably less than the last election," Bush told a news conference in Washington on Sunday. "That's a tribute to the Iraqi forces, who we trained, as well as coalition forces that worked hard to make sure that democracy could move forward in Iraq. The Sunnis, who represent about 20 per cent of the population, needed a two-thirds majority in at least three of Iraq's 18 provinces to block the constitution. Vote count under way in Iraq Results expected next week; no major violence reported BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- By nightfall Saturday election workers in Iraq were hand-counting the millions of paper ballots cast in the war-weary nation's constitutional referendum.
But I was in a daze. "From the timing, it seems the same group was behind all three cases," Karnail Singh, joint commissioner of police, told a news conference in Delhi. Most of the people affected were ordinary people out shopping in the festival season, he says. India's long-term rival Pakistan condemned the explosions. In a brief televised address, he said: "These are dastardly acts of terrorism. The blasts left a scene of widespread devastation In pictures Most of those killed died in the blast at the southern Sarojini Nagar market, they say. Two of the explosions ripped through crowded markets. (Watch a report on the explosions -- 2:18 ) Terrorists suspected While no one has claimed responsibility, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said the government was convinced terrorists were behind the attacks, but officials named no one. Indian authorities had issued some warnings in advance of Diwali, saying people should beware of the possibility of violence. Heavy security is in place across India ahead of two major religious festivals which take place next week. We are resolute in our commitment to fighting terrorism in all forms." The third blast occurred in the area of Govindpuri which is in the southern part of the city. Pakistan strongly condemned the attack. Home Page Get up-to-the minute news from CNN CNN.com gives you the latest stories and video from the around the world, with in-depth coverage of U.S. news, politics, entertainment, health, crime, tech and more. I could not help them." A further 16 died in the first explosion, minutes before, in the crowded central neighbourhood of Paharganj, close to Delhi's main railway station.
India grieves in the aftermath of deadly blasts In pictures They also say it is likely that one group was behind all three attacks. Heavy security is in place across India ahead of two major religious festivals which take place next week. A previously little-known group called Inqilabi has said it carried out the attacks. "From the timing, it seems the same group was behind all three cases," Karnail Singh, joint commissioner of police, told a news conference in Delhi. The three blasts came within minutes of each other at dusk on Saturday, when many people were out shopping ahead of the Hindu festival of Diwali and the Muslim Eid celebration. A third exploded on a bus but killed no-one, police say. 'Dastardly acts' Police have raided guest houses and hotels in Delhi for clues. MAJOR INDIAN ATTACKS Delhi, Oct 2005: More than 60 die in three explosions in busy markets Delhi, May 2005: One killed and 49 injured in blasts in two cinemas Mumbai, Aug 2003: 52 killed in twin bomb attacks in the financial capital Delhi, December 2001: 14 die, five of them gunmen, in militant raid on parliament Mumbai, May 1993: More than 250 die in a series of bomb blasts "Our people are making good progress. All leave has been cancelled for medical staff as hospitals struggle to deal with the injured. More than 100 people are being treated, some of them in critical condition. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has visited victims in hospital and has held emergency talks with top security advisers. HAVE YOUR SAY It is particularly tragic that this has happened just days before Diwali Steven Bake, London, UK Send us your comments Chaos and confusion Security officials said they could not rule out the involvement of Lashkar-e-Toiba, one of the leading groups fighting Indian rule in Kashmir. Some observers believe militants might have been trying to scupper improving relations between Pakistan and India, who hours after the attacks decided to open the Kashmir Line of Control to help victims of the recent earthquake. Pakistan condemned the explosions as a "criminal act of terrorism". Police said on Sunday that 43 of the 59 people confirmed dead perished in the blast at Sarojini Nagar. A further 16 died in the first explosion, minutes before, in the crowded central neighbourhood of Paharganj, close to Delhi's main railway station. The third blast, at Govindpuri, killed no one but the bus driver and his conductor were seriously injured, reports said. Blasts in New Delhi kill 55 Terrorists blamed for pre-festival marketplace attacks SPECIAL REPORT RELATED YOUR E-MAIL ALERTS New Delhi (India) Acts of terror or or Create Your Own NEW DELHI, India (CNN) -- Three explosions ripped through New Delhi within minutes of each other Saturday evening, killing at least 55 people. Most of the deaths occurred at a marketplace crowded with thousands of people getting ready for India's festival of lights, the state of Delhi's chief minister, Sheila Dikshit, told CNN. She said at least 31 people died at the Sarojini Nagar marketplace in central Delhi and the others were killed at the Paharganj marketplace, both packed with people preparing for the Hindu holiday of Diwali, India's largest festival. (Watch a report on the explosions -- 2:18 ) Terrorists suspected While no one has claimed responsibility, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said the government was convinced terrorists were behind the attacks, but officials named no one. "I am confident that the people of India have the will, capacity and resolution to win the war against terrorism." "This kind of cynical attack on the people of India is just not acceptable," Singh's media adviser, Dr. Sanjay Baru, told CNN. (A look at where the blasts happened) "It's a very sad day for all of us because Delhi is celebrating a festive season," Dikshit said. Witness: Bag exploded A man who owns a store near the Sarojini Nagar market told CNN's Satinder Bindra that he noticed an abandoned bag sitting near his store and warned people to get away. While Indian authorities are blaming terrorists for Saturday's attack, they are not saying if a particular group is believed to be responsible. Pakistan's foreign office issued a statement condemning the attack, calling it a criminal act of terrorism, and expressing the government's sympathies with the people of India. Delhi was the site in December 2001 of an attack on Parliament in which nine police officers, a government staffer and all five terrorists were killed.
Sen. Mr Alito, seen as a conservative, said the role of a Supreme Court justice was to interpret, not make, the law. "Harriet Miers was a feminist who had no judicial experience and her strongest qualification was that she's a friend of the president's. (Watch Bush call Alito 'fair-minded and principled' -- 4:15) "I urge the Senate to act promptly on this important nomination so that an up-or-down vote is held before the end of this year," Bush said. Democrats pointed to Alito’s rulings that sought to restrict a woman’s right to abortion. Alito, a 55-year-old judge on the 3rd U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania, the Republican chairman of the Judiciary Committee, praised Alito's record and said the committee would have an abundance of material to review. During visit to the office of Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, an aide to the Nevada Democrat said Reid doesn't think hearings will be possible before the Christmas break. Leahy's reaction was decidedly different from his comments after the president nominated John Roberts to succeed the retiring Sandra Day O'Connor. McClellan refused to comment on the case on Monday. Bush nominates Alito to Supreme Court Conservatives, liberals ready for heated debate Samuel Alito has been an appellate judge for 15 years and is a former U.S. attorney for New Jersey. Circuit Court of Appeals since 1990, is one step in Bush’s political recovery plan as he tries to regain his footing after a cascade of troubles — including the Iraq war and the indictment of the vice president’s chief of staff — rocked his presidency. The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence sarcastically described “Machine Gun Sammy” as a “perfect Halloween pick.” Alito had argued for greater state rights in reasoning that Congress had no authority to regulate private gun possession.
Bush nominates Alito to Supreme Court Conservatives, liberals ready for heated debate Samuel Alito has been an appellate judge for 15 years and is a former U.S. attorney for New Jersey. Circuit Court of Appeals, is a favorite of conservatives, many of whom objected when Bush nominated White House legal counsel Harriet Miers at the beginning of the month. After Miers withdrew Thursday, her nomination criticized by both Democrats and Republicans, conservatives eagerly awaited a nominee with judicial experience and credentials similar to Justices Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas. (An overview of Alito's judicial record) Bush touted Alito's 15 years as a federal appellate judge and said, "This record reveals a thoughtful judge who considers the legal merits carefully and applies the law in a principled fashion." (Watch Bush call Alito 'fair-minded and principled' -- 4:15) "I urge the Senate to act promptly on this important nomination so that an up-or-down vote is held before the end of this year," Bush said. Soon after his nomination was announced, Alito paid courtesy calls to some of the senators who will decide his confirmation. During visit to the office of Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, an aide to the Nevada Democrat said Reid doesn't think hearings will be possible before the Christmas break. Democratic criticism Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee, which will hold hearings on Alito's confirmation, slammed Bush's decision as pandering to his conservative base. (Reaction) "This is a needlessly provocative nomination," said Sen. Pat Leahy of Vermont, the top Democrat on the committee. "Instead of uniting the country through his choice, the president has chosen to reward one faction of his party, at the risk of dividing the country." Leahy's reaction was decidedly different from his comments after the president nominated John Roberts to succeed the retiring Sandra Day O'Connor. Another Democrat on the Judiciary Committee, Sen. Charles Schumer of New York, also panned the president's pick. "The initial review of Judge Alito's record shows that there's a real chance that he will, like Justice Scalia, choose to make law rather than interpret law and move the court in a direction quite different than it has gone," Schumer said. If Alito is confirmed, it would leave Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg as the lone woman on the court. "This appointment ignores the value of diverse backgrounds and perspectives," Reid said. "It's going to be tough," the Tennessee Republican said. Sen. Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania, the Republican chairman of the Judiciary Committee, praised Alito's record and said the committee would have an abundance of material to review. "We have a very good idea as to his approach to jurisprudence," Specter said. Specter said he doesn't think the nomination meets the standard that could allow a filibuster under the terms of an agreement reached by the so-called Gang of 14. The Senate narrowly avoided a showdown over Bush's appellate court nominees in May when the bipartisan group agreed to limit their support of filibusters to what they termed "extraordinary circumstances." The Gang of 14 hasn't staked out a position yet but is scheduled to meet Thursday in the office of Sen. John McCain, an Arizona Republican. Specter, who supports abortion rights, met for more than an hour with Alito and said afterward that the nominee told him "there is a right to privacy" in the Constitution. "The qualifications issue, I don't think will cut against him at all," CNN's senior legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin said. In 1991, in one of his more well-known decisions, Alito was the only dissenting voice in a 3rd Circuit ruling striking down a Pennsylvania law that required women to notify their husbands if they planned to get an abortion. (Notable decisions) But in another case from 2000, Alito agreed with other judges who found unconstitutional a New Jersey law banning late-term abortions. The court said states needed to provide exceptions if a woman's health is endangered. (Abortion decision could be focus of attention -- 1:42) As opposed as they were to Miers' nomination, conservative activists were equally pleased with the president's latest choice. "Harriet Miers was a feminist who had no judicial experience and her strongest qualification was that she's a friend of the president's. "Judge Alito would undermine basic reproductive rights, and Planned Parenthood will oppose his confirmation," said Karen Pearl, interim president of the organization. "Federal judges have the duty to interpret the Constitution and the laws faithfully and fairly, to protect the constitutional rights of all Americans, and to do these things with care and with restraint, always keeping in mind the limited role that the courts play in our constitutional system," he said. "I pledge that, if confirmed, I will do everything within my power to fulfill that responsibility." (Samuel Alito accepts with reverence and thanks -- 4:15) Alito, a Yale law school graduate, was appointed to the appeals court by the first President Bush in 1990 after his service as U.S. attorney for New Jersey. President Bush praised Samuel Alito's broad judicial experience He described Mr Alito as "one of the most accomplished and respected judges in America" and urged the Senate to quickly approve his nomination. Announcing the nomination, Mr Bush stressed Mr Alito's "extraordinary breadth of experience", saying he had a greater judicial record than any nominee in the past 70 years. He went on: "I'm confident that the United States' Senate will be impressed by Judge Alito's distinguished record, his measured judicial temperament, and his tremendous personal integrity." As a supporter of restricting, if not entirely abolishing, the right of American women to have abortions, Mr Alito's selection would galvanise the conservative base of Mr Bush's Republican party but horrify the US left.
"Yes, I was. Mr Howard said Mr Blair's authority was now "haemorrhaging". Mr Blunkett said he had asked to see Mr Blair in Downing Street this morning, and that the prime minister had asked him to stay. John Reid Alternatively, the current defence secretary could be relied on to bully, browbeat and bruise the parliamentary party - with an outright majority cut to now just 66 - into line over cutting incapacity benefit. 'My fault' He had been due to appear before the Commons work and pensions committee on Wednesday morning. He was replaced this afternoon by cabinet office minister John Hutton. He suggested that he had not yet sold his shares in DNA Bioscience, but would be consulting with his sons about what to do next. Mr Blunkett broke ministerial rules by taking that job without consulting an independent committee which advises former ministers on whether they should take up jobs. This second resignation from the cabinet will almost certainly prove terminal to Mr Blunkett's remarkable career, which has seen him overcome blindness to become one of Labour's biggest hitters as first education secretary and then home secretary. It was the same fault on three occasions arising from the same misunderstanding by me. I wish to support him, I wish him to continue taking forward the modernisation." David Miliband Only a cabinet minister since May, and only just 40 years old, Mr Miliband is often tipped as a future Labour prime minister - or at least party leader. Later today it emerged that Lucy Siddiqi, a director of DNA Bioscience, one of the firms at the centre of the row, had resigned as director because of the "intense media attention".
He said he was guilty of making a mistake on three occasions and was now "paying the price for it". Tony Blair described Mr Blunkett as a "decent and honourable man". Mr Blunkett quit after breaking the ministerial code of conduct over paid work he took while out of the Cabinet. Michael Howard said the events showed a "haemorrhage" of Mr Blair's authority. David Blunkett chose to resign because he had reached the conclusion that the position was untenable and that he would be unable to continue in his position Prime Minister's official spokesman Mr Blunkett was previously forced to step down as home secretary in December 2004. At the centre of the recent controversy was Mr Blunkett's two-week directorship of DNA Bioscience before May's election, while he was out of the Cabinet. Mr Blunkett broke ministerial rules by taking that job without consulting an independent committee which advises former ministers on whether they should take up jobs. At a news conference in central London, Mr Blunkett told reporters he had been considering quitting since last week, but made his mind up to go on Wednesday "to protect the government". 'My fault' He had been due to appear before the Commons work and pensions committee on Wednesday morning. "What I am clear about is that I have made a mistake," he said. HAVE YOUR SAY After a promising ministerial start, his career lapsed into a series of incidents characterised by poor judgement Michael, London Send us your comments Our voters' panel's reaction He should have consulted an advisory committee before taking up new jobs after leaving office for the first time in December, he said. 'Blair is the target' But he denied he had done anything wrong by buying shares in DNA Bioscience. "Having investments and holding shares in modern Britain is not a crime, declaring them is imperative," he said. It was only while travelling between Downing Street and Portcullis House, where he was due to appear before the work and pensions committee, that he could "smell and feel it was time to step away". "I am deeply sorry for the embarrassment I have caused the prime minister," he said. "It's the prime minister that some people wish to target. One of the directors of DNA Bioscience, Lucy Siddiqi, has said she is stepping down because of the "intense" media attention on her and her family. 'Seepage of authority' The mistakes arose out of an "honest misunderstanding", said the prime minister, and Mr Blunkett had left office "with no stain of impropriety against him whatsoever". But outgoing Tory leader Michael Howard dubbed Mr Blair a "lame duck" prime minister, adding that the week had seen the "seepage of his authority turn into a haemorrhage". Mr Blunkett's decision to go came as it emerged that Lord Nolan, ex-chairman of the Committee on Standards in Public Life, had suggested Mr Blair should sack or demote Mr Blunkett. Lord Nolan told the Yorkshire Post: "Blair should insist on ministers all round obeying the rules. Harry Harpham, Mr Blunkett's constituency agent, said the MP "had been hounded out of office" by a combination of pressure from the Conservative party and the press. Shadow Commons leader Chris Grayling, who has written to Tony Blair on a number of occasions about Mr Blunkett's conduct, said his resignation had been "inevitable". "Joining a company for two weeks during the general election campaign and becoming a director - people don't do that sort of thing. "Through his own actions, he created huge question marks over his judgement." Mr Blunkett stepped down as home secretary last year over claims his office had fast-tracked a visa application for his lover's former nanny. With the departure of David Blunkett, one of the most demanding policy portfolios of Tony Blair's third term - what he himself describes as his "legacy term" - is left vacant. At least one of those - the planned slimming down and cuts in invalidity benefit payments - may face a large-scale revolt within the parliamentary Labour party, while plans to either raise the pensionable age or increase taxation to pay for the pensions crisis are hardly natural vote winners either. On the other hand, with so much riding on it, and Mr Blair's personal gaze very much on the department, it could be a career-making appointment for one of Mr Blunkett's more ambitious colleagues. Among the likely candidates are: John Hutton Hardly a household name, but the current minister for the Cabinet Office - a cabinet-level job - is highly respected within Downing Street, and widely liked within the wider parliamentary Labour party. He only reached the cabinet table this May, in the wake of the election, but before that was a junior health minister, and previously the parliamentary private secretary - essentially backbench bag-carrier - for Margaret Beckett. With the reform of incapacity benefit likely to be enormously controversial with Labour backbenchers, the persuasive former union leader's experience minimising parliamentary revolts could be useful. Alistair Darling The current transport secretary is seen as something of Brownite - many tip him to be the first chancellor under a Gordon Brown premiership - but with a strong background as a former chief secretary to the Treasury, he can handle the numbers side of the brief, whilst his cool and low-key handling of the troublesome transport brief, in the wake of Stephen Byers's tempestuous tenure, has earned him plaudits from Number 10. John Reid Alternatively, the current defence secretary could be relied on to bully, browbeat and bruise the parliamentary party - with an outright majority cut to now just 66 - into line over cutting incapacity benefit. Currently displaying an enormous appetite for putting a positive gloss on Iraq as defence secretary, Dr Reid has also done many of the other prime jobs around the cabinet table in recent years - health secretary until the election, before that leader of the Commons, Northern Ireland secretary, Scottish secretary and Labour party chairman all within the past few years.
Police officials deny that. The unrest began after teenagers Bouna Traore, aged 15, and Zyed Benna, 17, were accidentally electrocuted at an electricity sub-station in Clichy-sous-Bois. He said the government was "unanimous about standing firm" against violence. Unrest began after the deaths of two youths in a rundown suburb of Paris. Thursday night's incidents occurred in several towns to the north-east and west of the capital, including Aulnay-sous-Bois. 'Troublemakers' Amid reports of a cabinet split on the handling of the riots, Mr de Villepin has held talks with Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy and other ministers, as well as MPs and mayors from affected towns. Muslim leaders have urged politicians to show respect for immigrant communities. Rioters overturned and burned a French TV truck in the northern suburb of Le Blanc-Mesnil and pelted a police station in the western town of Hauts-de-Seine with gasoline bombs, the Agence France-Presse news agency reported. Local people say they were fleeing police - a claim the authorities deny. Cars were torched in the eastern city of Dijon, and sporadic unrest broke out in southern and western France. Many analysts see the violence as a response to high unemployment and lack of services. Most of the attacks took place in the largely immigrant area of Seine-Saint-Denis, where about 1,300 police had been deployed. "The return to calm and the restoration of order are the priority -- our absolute priority." Firefighters were called in to deal with a number of burning vehicles, two schools and a paper recycling facility outside the capital. Gangs of attackers As on previous nights, gangs of youths armed with bricks and sticks roamed the streets of housing estates.
The deaths of two teenagers of African origin triggered the unrest Nicolas Sarkozy said setting cars on fire could "cost dear in terms of sentences" after a night which saw nearly 900 vehicles damaged. More unrest was reported on Saturday, with arson attacks in Essonne near Paris and Toulouse in the southwest. Firefighters were called in to deal with a number of burning vehicles, two schools and a paper recycling facility outside the capital. There were eight incidents involving cars in the southern city, France's fourth largest. Earlier hundreds of people joined marches in Paris suburbs to protest against the violence. In Aulnay-sous-Bois, which has seen some of the worst of the rioting, residents walked past burnt out vehicles and buildings with banners reading "No to violence" and "Yes to dialogue". What I want from the authorities, from Mr Nicolas Sarkozy, the prime minister and senior officials are words of peace Dilil Boubakeur Head of Paris mosque Alienated and angry in Clichy Riots in pictures The suburb's mayor, Gerard Gaudron, appealed for calm outside a fire station which had come under attack. But youths at the rally in the suburb's rundown Mitry estate predicted violence would continue until Mr Sarkozy resigned. Later Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin met eight key ministers and the head of the Paris mosque, Dalil Boubakeur. After the meeting, Mr Boubakeur urged a change in tone from the government. "What I want from the authorities, from Mr Nicolas Sarkozy, the prime minister and senior officials are words of peace," he said. Mr de Villepin has been holding a series of meetings with public figures and ordinary people from the affected areas as he seeks an end to the crisis. Bouna Traore, 15, and Zyed Benna, 17, were accidentally electrocuted at an electricity sub-station in Clichy-sous-Bois after reportedly fleeing from police in an incident now being investigated. Arson attacks Police arrested more than 250 people on Friday night as arsonists attacked nurseries and a school and unrest spread to Nice, Lille, Marseille and Toulouse. Mr Sarkozy's much-quoted description of urban vandals as "rabble" (racaille) a few days before the riots began is said by many to have already created tension. Reports of a police tear gas grenade hitting a mosque during the riots further inflamed feelings. During Friday night's unrest rioters tended to avoid direct clashes with police, but arson attacks were widespread: Two nurseries, one in Yvelines and another in Bretigny-sur-Orgeand, were set on fire along with a school in Seine-et-Marne, the French news agency AFP reports A blaze in an underground car park in Suresnes, Hauts-de-Seine, left at least 36 vehicles destroyed An emergency services vehicle was attacked and burnt out in Meaux, Seine-et-Marne Several car torchings were reported in the cities of Dijon, Marseille and Rouen, as were violent attacks in Nice, Lille and Rennes. The unrest has been spreading See the aftermath Youths burned buildings and more than 500 vehicles in the eighth consecutive night of rioting. Cars were torched in the eastern city of Dijon, and sporadic unrest broke out in southern and western France. The unrest was sparked by the deaths of two teenagers of African origin. Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin has pledged to restore order following criticism of the government's failure to end violence. Thursday night's incidents occurred in several towns to the north-east and west of the capital, including Aulnay-sous-Bois. Most of the attacks took place in the largely immigrant area of Seine-Saint-Denis, where about 1,300 police had been deployed. In the reported overnight incidents: A 56-year-old disabled bus passenger suffers severe burns when a Molotov cocktail is thrown on board in the northern Sevran suburb Shots are fired at riot police in various parts of Paris, slightly wounding five officers, police say A carpet warehouse in Paris is set alight during the riots Enlarge Image A group of officers is targeted near a synagogue in the Seine-Saint-Denis area of Stains, where a primary school is partially burned Police say 519 vehicles were burned and 78 people held in the Paris region, in the worst night of riots so far More than 100 firefighters fight a blaze at a carpet warehouse in Aulnay-sous-Bois; another warehouse is also set alight in Le Blanc Mesnil area Twenty-seven buses are burned at Trappes depot in Yvelines, west of Paris Outside Paris, as well as the cars set alight in Dijon, unrest flared in the Rouen area of Normandy and in the Bouches-du-Rhone region near Marseilles in the south. The unrest began after teenagers Bouna Traore, aged 15, and Zyed Benna, 17, were accidentally electrocuted at an electricity sub-station in Clichy-sous-Bois. Local people say they were fleeing police - a claim the authorities deny. Mr Sarkozy had earlier sparked some criticism with hardline comments saying the government would not allow "troublemakers, a bunch of hoodlums, think they can do whatever they want". PARIS, Nov. 3 -- The street rampage of angry youths continued to expand across immigrant-dominated suburbs of Paris Thursday, with gangs attacking commuter trains, elementary schools and businesses in an eighth night of violence, according to local police officials. French government leaders met in emergency sessions for a second day but again failed to agree on how to stem the violence. Other attackers torched a car dealership, supermarket and gymnasium in violence in at least nine impoverished towns and communities populated primarily by immigrants and first-generation French citizens. Police reported that guns were fired at police in the town of La Courneuve, north of Paris, and at firefighters in two other communities. Law enforcement officials had prepared for more unrest Thursday night, the Muslim holy night of Eid al-Fitr, with the deployment of 1,300 police officers on the streets of the inflamed suburbs, officials said. Local police officials estimated that as many as 175 cars and trucks were set ablaze by marauding rioters Wednesday night and Thursday morning as many residents of the towns' high-rise, subsidized housing projects cowered inside their apartments.
For now, then, it seems that the cloaked-rootkit issue is dead. This leaves Sony in a real tangle. Advertisement Continue reading the main story My take? Virus writers have begun taking advantage of Sony-BMG's use of rootkit technology in DRM software bundled with its music CDs. The subject line of the message is: "Photo Approval Deadline". Of course, then you canÂt play the CD on your computer.) Soon after Mr Russinovich exposed how XCP worked security experts speculated that it would be easy to hijack the anti-piracy system to hide viruses. I was also surprised at how dismissive Sony BMG and First 4 Internet seem to be. If the malicious payload contained in this email is executed then the Trojan installs an IRC backdoor on affected Windows systems. Audio CDÂs that install software onto your PC are just creepy. "It was already getting bad press about its copy-protection software, and this new hack exploit will make it even worse." It will not be found in any process and file listing. ÂItÂs benign content protection. (Instead you should use the Uninstall link on Sony BMGÂs customer-service Web site, whose link appears on the Help screens of Windows Media Player. Romanian anti-virus firm BitDefender confirms that the malware is in the wild but a full technical analysis of the Trojan is yet to be completed. Some of the problems: * The hidden-rootkit trick has been used by virus writers to conceal their tracks. ÂItÂs a tempest in a teapot, Mr. Gilliat-Smith says. Those opening and running the program attached to the mail will have their computer infected with the Stinx-E trojan.
The CDs affected in the US include Natasha Bedingfield's Unwritten In late October Sony was found to be using stealth techniques to hide software that stopped some of its CDs being illegally copied. Now three virus variants have been found that use the Sony software to evade detection by anti-virus programs. Sony has apologised, saying it is working with computer security firms to address the problems. Viral trio The stealthy methods that Sony BMG used to protect its anti-piracy system were uncovered by Windows programming expert Mark Russinovich on 31 October. It was already getting bad press about its copy-protection software, and this new hack exploit will make it even worse Graham Cluley, Sophos XCP uses these techniques to install a proprietary media player that allows PC users to play music on the 20 CDs Sony BMG is protecting with this system. The CDs affected are only being sold in the US. Soon after Mr Russinovich exposed how XCP worked security experts speculated that it would be easy to hijack the anti-piracy system to hide viruses. Now anti-virus companies have discovered three malicious programs that use XCP's stealthy capabilities if they find it installed on a compromised PC. "The development we feared most from Sony's inclusion of rootkit technology to conceal its DRM software was its use to conceal malicious code," said David Emm from security firm Kaspersky Labs. Backdoor virus Security firm Sophos said it had found a virus attached to a spam message posing as an e-mail from a British business magazine. The subject line of the message is: "Photo Approval Deadline". Sony was trying to stop illegal copying of its CDs A bug in the code of the first variant of this virus prevented it working properly but now other versions of the malicious program are appearing that fix this problem. So far the numbers of people caught out by the virus is thought to be very low. "This leaves Sony in a real tangle," said Graham Cluley from security firm Sophos. "It was already getting bad press about its copy-protection software, and this new hack exploit will make it even worse." Mr Cluley said he expected other virus writers to start exploiting the Sony XCP code. In response to the concerns, Sony has released a statement "deeply regretting any disruption that this may have caused." As the news about the viruses was breaking, more legal challenges to Sony's use of the anti-piracy program were being launched. As the Boycott Sony blog pointed out, the appearance of these viruses could make it much easier for lawyers to argue that the XCP software can cause real harm to a user's computer. Virus writers have begun taking advantage of Sony-BMG's use of rootkit technology in DRM software bundled with its music CDs. Sony-BMG's rootkit DRM technology masks files whose filenames start with "$sys$". A newly-discovered variant of of the Breplibot Trojan takes advantage of this to drop the file "$sys$drv.exe" in the Windows system directory. "This means, that for systems infected by the Sony DRM rootkit technology, the dropped file is entirely invisible to the user. Only rootkit scanners, such as the free utility RootkitRevealer, can unmask the culprit," warns Ivan Macalintal, a senior threat analyst at security firm Trend Micro The malware arrives attached in an email, which pretends to come from a reputable business magazine, asking the businessman to verify his/her "picture" to be used for the December issue. If the malicious payload contained in this email is executed then the Trojan installs an IRC backdoor on affected Windows systems. The response of anti-virus firms, some of which have only promised to flag up rather than block system changes made by Sony-BMG's rootkit, remains unclear. Last week, a programmer and blogger named Mark Russinovich dug a little deeper, and found out something disturbing: the Sony watchdog program not only installs itself deep in the core of WindowsÂitÂs whatÂs called a rootkitÂbut it also makes itself invisible. It says explicitly whatÂs about to occur: ÂThis CD will automatically install a small proprietary software onto your computer.
The mine lacked a required safety license. More than 12,000 Chinese mines have been ordered to suspend production, and they will be closed if they fail to pass government assessments at the end of this year, the committee said. Enditem SHIJIAZHUANG, Nov. 20 (Xinhuanet) -- Seven miners were killed in acoal mine flooding accident which took place on early Saturday in north China's Hebei Province while seven others are still missing as of Sunday morning, local government source said. Yuanda coal mine reports an annual output of 60,000 tons. This is the second fatal mine accidents in Xingtai in two weeks. A spokesman with the bureau said Yuanda Coal Mine, a collectively-owned mine in Neiqiu county of Xingtai, was flooded at around 5:00 a.m. and all the 14 miners working down the pit were trapped. Cave-ins at three plaster mines on Nov. 6 have caused 33 deaths and left at least four missing. The committee said in a statement that other mines should draw serious lessons from the deadly accident and "steadfastly prevent illegal production and curb the occurrence of big mining accidents." A gas explosion occurred on Nov. 11 at a mine run by the Bayinsai Coal Tar Co. Ltd. in Wuhai, a city in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, killing 16 miners and wounding three others. Rescue operation started quickly after the accident, and by 7 a.m. Sunday, the bodies of seven miners were found and retrieved but the whereabouts of the seven others remain unknown. Owners of the coal mine have already been detained by local police and the investigation into the cause of the flooding is underway. BEIJING, Nov. 20 (Xinhuanet) -- A committee for safe production under the State Council, or the Chinese central government, on Sunday urged the relevant local governments to go all out to streamline the operation of mines and close unqualified ones.
SHIJIAZHUANG, Nov. 20 (Xinhuanet) -- Seven miners were killed in acoal mine flooding accident which took place on early Saturday in north China's Hebei Province while seven others are still missing as of Sunday morning, local government source said. The source said the tragedy occurred at 5:00 a.m. Saturday in Yuanda Coal Mine in Xingtai City, trapping 14 miners underground. Rescue operation started quickly after the accident, and by 7 a.m. Sunday, the bodies of seven miners were found and retrieved but the whereabouts of the seven others remain unknown. Owners of the coal mine have already been detained by local police and the investigation into the cause of the flooding is underway. SHIJIAZHUANG, Nov. 19 (Xinhuanet) -- A coal mine flood early on Saturday has trapped 14 people in north China's Hebei Province and rescue work is going on, the local work safety supervision bureau said. A spokesman with the bureau said Yuanda Coal Mine, a collectively-owned mine in Neiqiu county of Xingtai, was flooded at around 5:00 a.m. and all the 14 miners working down the pit were trapped. A gas explosion occurred on Nov. 11 at a mine run by the Bayinsai Coal Tar Co. Ltd. in Wuhai, a city in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, killing 16 miners and wounding three others. The committee said in a statement that other mines should draw serious lessons from the deadly accident and "steadfastly prevent illegal production and curb the occurrence of big mining accidents."
Fortunately, it's not summer," he said. "There is sufficient water. Panic was today spreading in Harbin, with officials preparing to cut off water supplies as heavily polluted river water flowed towards the Chinese city. Benzene is a highly poisonous toxin that is also carcinogenic. An official at the Heilongjiang United Petrochemical Corporation told the Interfax news agency that people were relying entirely on mineral water. Neighbouring Russia is urgently seeking information from China on the spill. Are you in the area? Russia's environmental protection agency today said it feared the pollution could reach the border city of Khabarovsk, 435 miles downstream from Harbin on the Songhua. The river has been contaminated with more than 30 times the usual levels of benzene after an explosion at a chemical plant on its banks. "We are not going to take a bath these days. Send us your comments using the form below: Name Your E-mail address Town & Country Phone number (optional): Comments Residents were storing water supplies in bathtubs and buckets ahead of the expected three-day drought. Third Point likes opportunities in Europe: letter NEW YORK Hedge fund manager Daniel Loeb told investors on Thursday that his $16 billion hedge fund Third Point saw more opportunities in Europe and was positioned to absorb a modest sell-off in U.S. stocks. A doctor from the Ningjiang District Central Hospital and a teacher from Ningjiang No. Short-term exposure to the chemical in drinking water can cause long-term damage to the nervous system, while long-term exposure can result in cancer and leukaemia. Stockpiling began afresh at midnight when the local government switched taps on again for 12 hours after having cut off supplies to almost four million people yesterday.
Panic was today spreading in Harbin, with officials preparing to cut off water supplies as heavily polluted river water flowed towards the Chinese city. Stockpiling began afresh at midnight when the local government switched taps on again for 12 hours after having cut off supplies to almost four million people yesterday. The temporary switch-on came after revised calculations showed the pollution would not reach Harbin until early tomorrow morning. "As the exact time of the pollutants flowing to the city's drinking water intake spot has been confirmed, we hoped that citizens could take time to hoard as much water as possible ahead of the water cut-off," an executive from the Harbin water company said. Residents were storing water supplies in bathtubs and buckets ahead of the expected three-day drought. Supermarkets reported panic buying of water, milk and soft drinks, while Harbin's airport and railway station were jammed with people fleeing the area. The provincial government was also trucking in water from neighbouring areas, testing little-used local wells and demanding 1,400 tonnes of activated charcoal to purify the water intake after the pollution had passed through the city. Harbin's authorities warned residents not to even approach the Songhua river because of the risk of pollutants escaping into the atmosphere when the polluted water hits the city around 5am tomorrow. Rumours of terrorist attacks and an impending earthquake increased public alarm, although seismologists said there was no reason to expect a tremor. The city, in China's icy north-eastern Heilongjiang province, has a population of 3.8 million and draws most of its water from the Songhua. The river has been contaminated with more than 30 times the usual levels of benzene after an explosion at a chemical plant on its banks. The blast, in the neighbouring Jilin province, happened on November 13, killing five people and causing 10,000 to be evacuated from the area, officials said. Short-term exposure to the chemical in drinking water can cause long-term damage to the nervous system, while long-term exposure can result in cancer and leukaemia. The state Xinhua news agency said nobody had yet been taken ill, but 15 hospitals were on standby to deal with pollution victims. We also have safe underground water," a government spokesman told Reuters. An official at the Heilongjiang United Petrochemical Corporation told the Interfax news agency that people were relying entirely on mineral water. Water supplies were also reported to have been cut in at least one district of Songyuan city, around 90 miles southwest of Harbin, although local officials denied the reports. Russia's environmental protection agency today said it feared the pollution could reach the border city of Khabarovsk, 435 miles downstream from Harbin on the Songhua. However, Chinese officials said the pollution would have become more diluted by the time it reached Russia because several major tributaries flowed into the river. A government-sponsored conference in China's eastern Jiangxi province today heard that 70% of China's lakes and rivers are polluted, and the country loses 20 lakes a year due to human activity. People in the city stocked up on water with the toxic spill en route Authorities have shut off water to Harbin after confirmation that the accident 10 days ago sent pollution downstream towards the city. "Benzene levels were 108 times above national safety levels," said China's Environment Protection Administration. HARBIN TIMELINE 13 November Explosion at petrochemical plant, Jilin city 21 Nov Water to Harbin city cut off; local government cites mains maintenance 22 Nov State media say water could have been contaminated after the blast 23 Nov Authorities admit very high levels of benzene have been found in the water Chinese press critical Truth emerges after secrecy It should take two days to pass through Harbin, a city of more than three million people, officials say. HARBIN Capital of Heilongjiang province Strong Russian influence Hosts annual ice festival China's ice capital Residents wait and worry There have also been reports of frantic well-digging amid fears water from the river could be dangerous for days to come. More than 16,000 tons of drinking water is being brought into Harbin by road, the Chinese state news agency Xinhua said - though this is less than Harbin's residents normally use in a day. Russia's environmental protection agency said it was worried the pollution could affect drinking water supplies in its Khabarovsk region, which the Songhua enters downstream from Harbin. BENZENE Colourless, highly flammable liquid distilled from petroleum Used as a cleaning agent, solvent, in dyes and paints Lethal to humans exposed to it in high levels Chronic exposure leads to progressive degeneration of bone marrow and leukaemia Dangers of benzene "I can say that we feel safe and fine. Starbucks quarterly revenue falls short, stock falls LOS ANGELES Starbucks Corp reported quarterly sales that just missed Wall Street's expectations, hurt by a slight cooling in spending growth by customers in its core U.S. market, sending shares down 4.4 percent in extended trading on Thursday. Third Point likes opportunities in Europe: letter NEW YORK Hedge fund manager Daniel Loeb told investors on Thursday that his $16 billion hedge fund Third Point saw more opportunities in Europe and was positioned to absorb a modest sell-off in U.S. stocks. Jobless claims rise, but four-week average at two-month low WASHINGTON, April 27 The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits rose more than expected last week, but the four-week average of claims fell to a two-month low, indicating that labor market conditions continue to tighten.
But, the diplomat said, "it was foolish for someone to write it down, and now it will be a story for days." Clarke told the Mirror he returned the document to Blair's office immediately when he realized it was confidential. When Mr Blair met Mr Bush in Washington, military advisers were urging the prime minister to send extra forces only on British terms. The attorney general, Lord Goldsmith, warned that publication of further details from the document would be a breach under section five of the Official Secrets Act. Pictures of the attack shown on al-Jazeera had infuriated US generals. U.S. officials called the incident an accident. Keogh and O'Connor are to appear in court next week. Kilfoyle could not be reached for comment Tuesday evening. LONDON, Nov. 22 -- President Bush expressed interest in bombing the headquarters of the Arabic television network al-Jazeera during a White House conversation with Prime Minister Tony Blair in April 2004, a British newspaper reported Tuesday. The National Union of Journalists today accused the government of a "double attack on the freedom of the press and freedom of information" after it issued a reminder to editors about the provisions of the Official Secrets Act. The Daily Mirror report was attributed to two anonymous sources describing a classified document they said contained a transcript of the two leaders' talk. David Keogh, a former Cabinet Office official, has been charged under the secrets act with sending the memo on the Blair-Bush conversation to Leo O 'Connor, researcher to the former Labour MP Tony Clarke. The source was also quoted as saying: "There's no doubt what Bush wanted to do -- and no doubt Blair didn't want him to do it."
The National Union of Journalists today accused the government of a "double attack on the freedom of the press and freedom of information" after it issued a reminder to editors about the provisions of the Official Secrets Act. The attorney general threatened newspapers with the act and the Contempt of Court Act in the context of an allegedly leaked memo, relating to a dispute between Tony Blair and George Bush over the conduct of military operations in Iraq. This intervention by the attorney general followed the publication of a front page story in the Daily Mirror yesterday under the headline "Bush plot to bomb his ally", in which the paper claimed the memo revealed that the US president last year planned to attack the Qatar headquarters of Arabic news broadcaster al-Jazeera. "This is a heavy-handed attempt to shut the stable door after the horse has bolted. It is a double attack on the freedom of the press and freedom of information," said the NUJ secretary, Jeremy Dear. "These sort of attempts to stifle uncomfortable revelations printed in a newspaper, which is only carrying out its proper duty to inform the British public, does the government of what is supposed to be a democracy no credit whatsoever. "What we need in this country is free and open debate and a proper political dialogue over important issues of this sort, not a knee-jerk panic reaction." The attorney general, Lord Goldsmith, warned that publication of further details from the document would be a breach under section five of the Official Secrets Act. In its news story on the attorney general's warning today, the Daily Mirror said it had "essentially agreed to comply". · To contact the MediaGuardian newsdesk email editor@mediatheguardian.com or phone 020 7239 9857 · If you are writing a comment for publication, please mark clearly "for publication". LONDON, Nov. 22 -- President Bush expressed interest in bombing the headquarters of the Arabic television network al-Jazeera during a White House conversation with Prime Minister Tony Blair in April 2004, a British newspaper reported Tuesday. The Daily Mirror report was attributed to two anonymous sources describing a classified document they said contained a transcript of the two leaders' talk. One source is quoted as saying Bush's alleged remark concerning the network's headquarters in Qatar was "humorous, not serious," while the other said, "Bush was deadly serious." In Washington, a senior diplomat said the Bush remark as recounted in the newspaper "sounds like one of the president's one-liners that is meant as a joke." But, the diplomat said, "it was foolish for someone to write it down, and now it will be a story for days." Bush administration officials have contended that through that type of broadcasting the network often serves as a conduit for terrorist propaganda. In 2003, during the invasion of Iraq, a U.S. missile hit the network's office in Baghdad, killing a correspondent. Washington said the targeting officers did not know that the site was an office of the television service, believing instead that it was used by al Qaeda. A former senior U.S. intelligence official said that it was clear the White House saw al-Jazeera as a problem, but that although the CIA's clandestine service came up with plans to counteract it, such as planting people on its staff, it never received permission to proceed. A spokesman for Blair's office declined to comment on grounds that the document is part of a criminal investigation. Two civil servants have been charged with violating Britain's Official Secrets Act for allegedly disclosing the document. The source was also quoted as saying: "There's no doubt what Bush wanted to do -- and no doubt Blair didn't want him to do it." "It would cast serious doubts in regard to the U.S. administration's version of previous incidents involving Al Jazeera's journalists and offices." Former defense minister Peter Kilfoyle, a member of Blair's Labor party who has strongly opposed the Iraq war, told the Press Association news agency Tuesday that officials at Blair's office should make the classified document public. "If it was the case that President Bush wanted to bomb al-Jazeera in what is after all a friendly country, it speaks volumes," Kilfoyle told the agency. "And it raises questions about subsequent attacks that took place on the press that wasn't embedded with coalition forces." Fears that fresh revelations about disputes between Tony Blair and George Bush on the Iraq conflict could damage Downing Street's intimate relationship with the White House prompted this week's unprecedented threat by the attorney general to use the Official Secrets Act against national newspapers. Senior MPs, Whitehall officials and lawyers were agreed yesterday that Lord Goldsmith had "read the riot act" to the media because of political embarrassment caused by a sensitive leak of face-to-face exchanges between the prime minister and the US president in the White House in April 2004. He acted after the Daily Mirror said a memo recorded a threat by Mr Bush to take "military action" against the Arabic TV station al-Jazeera. The government was also arguing with Washington about the number of extra British troops to be sent to Iraq at a time when it was feared they would be endangered by what a separately leaked Foreign Office memo called "heavy-handed" US military tactics.
The timing, she said later, was not coincidental. "Sometimes," she added, "these efforts are misunderstood." The CIA flights and reports that the US spy agency ran secret prisons in Europe is set to dominate Ms Rice's tour. Advertisement Continue reading the main story News reports over the last month have said the C.I.A. That is one reason some terror suspects were taken to Guantánamo Bay in Cuba and to other foreign locations. Ms. Rice arrived in Berlin too late Monday night to meet with any German officials or to gauge any reaction to her remarks in Washington. View all New York Times newsletters. Both countries have denied the allegations. Analyses of flight records of United States government aircraft have suggested that Romania may have been the site of one covert detention center, but Romanian officials have said that no such facility existed. - INDEPENDENT Asked about that conflict while speaking to reporters on her plane, Ms. Rice did not answer directly and instead repeated her statement about respecting American laws and obligations. Mrs Merkel is keen to improve relations with the US Mrs Merkel told a joint news conference that democratic rules should be adhered to, but added that intelligence services must be able to do their job. The mistreatment of prisoners at the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq as well as the ongoing debate over the imprisonment of terror suspects at Guantánamo, have raised questions among Europeans and human rights organizations about the treatment of suspects held in the C.I.A. Although it provided no proof that the planes were used to transport suspected Islamic militants, the issue was expected to dominate talks between Secretary of State Rice and newly elected Chancellor Angela Merkel.
Mrs Merkel is keen to improve relations with the US Mrs Merkel told a joint news conference that democratic rules should be adhered to, but added that intelligence services must be able to do their job. Ms Rice reiterated that the US does not carry out or condone torture. The CIA flights and reports that the US spy agency ran secret prisons in Europe is set to dominate Ms Rice's tour. Her next stop, Romania, is one of the countries that human rights activists believe housed a CIA secret prison - a charge the Romanian government denies. Ms Rice has refused to address claims of secret prisons where suspects are said to have been interrogated without reference to international law. We will live up... to our commitments under our laws, and to our international obligations Condoleezza Rice Press examines CIA ops Mrs Merkel said Ms Rice had given "important" reassurances that the US would use "every lawful means" to protect citizens from the threat of international terrorism. Ms Rice said the US respected the sovereignty of its partners, adding that the US had an obligation to defend its people and would use every lawful means to do so. "We will live up, in the United States, to our commitments under our laws, and to our international obligations," she said. 'Form of kidnapping' The new German chancellor came to power pledging to improve links with Washington and emphasising the importance of the war on terror. HAVE YOUR SAY Hats off to the Bush team for doing what's necessary to protect his country Vin Raj, Bombay, India Send us your comments Before she left the US, Ms Rice admitted that terror suspects were flown abroad for interrogation but denied they were tortured. She said suspects were moved by plane under a process known as rendition, and that this was "a lawful weapon". A leading US-based human rights group accused Ms Rice of seeking to "mischaracterise" the true nature of rendition. "Secretary Rice made extra-legal rendition sound like just another form of extradition," said Tom Malinowski, a Human Rights Watch official in Washington. "In fact, it's a form of kidnapping and 'disappearing' someone entirely outside the law." New revelations The controversy surrounding claims of covert CIA operations on foreign soil has been swirling for weeks. In Germany, it has been alleged that some German officials knew about the secret flights. According to media reports, former German Interior Minister Otto Schily was informed last year by the US about a German citizen seized in Macedonia and then flown to a prison in Afghanistan, where he was kept for five months. Meanwhile, ABC News claims the CIA moved 11 top al-Qaeda suspects from prisons in eastern Europe to a new facility in North Africa last month. Current and former CIA members reportedly told the US channel the move was carried out hurriedly ahead of Ms Rice's visit to Europe. By Tony Paterson BERLIN - Damaging revelations about the scale of covert CIA flights allegedly used to transport terrorist suspects throughout Europe will overshadow a visit by Condoleezza Rice to Germany for talks to achieve a rapprochement between Washington and Berlin. Germany's Der Spiegel magazine disclosed yesterday that German air traffic controllers had handed the Government a list of at least 437 flights suspected of being operated by the CIA in German air space. The magazine said the CIA had used planes registered as private aircraft and that two alone accounted for 137 and 146 uses of airspace or landings in 2002 and 2003 at airfields in Berlin, Frankfurt and the American military airbase at Ramstein. Although it provided no proof that the planes were used to transport suspected Islamic militants, the issue was expected to dominate talks between Secretary of State Rice and newly elected Chancellor Angela Merkel. Merkel has declared that improving the German-American relationship, soured by her predecessor's outright opposition to the Iraq war, is one of the main foreign policy objectives of her grand coalition government of conservatives and Social Democrats. The covert CIA practice known as "extraordinary rendition" is used to interrogate terrorist suspects outside the US, where they are not subject to American legal protection. Earlier this year, the US authorities indirectly confirmed that they had kidnapped Lebanese-born German citizen Kahled el-Masri and taken him for interrogation in Afghanistan before eventually freeing him. More recently the Washington Post reported on the existence of alleged secret CIA interrogation jails in eight countries, with Romania and Poland singled out as the chief suspects in eastern Europe. German Government officials were yesterday at pains to stress that the flight list gave no indication of what the suspected CIA aircraft were carrying. Wolfgang Bosbach, a senior conservative in Merkel's Government said: "I assume that the German authorities were not informed about these alleged CIA prisoner flights." "We must bring terrorists to justice wherever possible," she said, "but there have been many cases where the local government cannot detain or prosecute a suspect, and traditional extradition is not a good option." Advertisement Continue reading the main story "In those cases," she added, "the local government can make the sovereign choice to cooperate in" the transfer of a suspect to a third country, which is known as a rendition. Officials from the White House, State Department and Central Intelligence Agency labored over Ms. Rice's statement for days and said it would serve as the basis of the government's official answer to an inquiry from the European Union -- one of a half dozen under way. Analyses of flight records of United States government aircraft have suggested that Romania may have been the site of one covert detention center, but Romanian officials have said that no such facility existed. officers say that 11 top Qaeda suspects have been moved from secret C.I.A.
But the drink floundered and was shelved. Future sandwich and song combinations under consideration include "Prawn To Be Wild," "Let It Brie" and that old Julio Iglesias favorite, "Fillings," Tesco said. PepsiCo Inc. (Research)'s Starbucks Frappuccino and DoubleShot account for more than 88 percent of the market, according to Beverage Digest. NEW YORK (Reuters) - Coca-Cola Co. will launch a new line of ready-to-drink coffee under the Godiva brand name in the second half of 2006, according to a report in an industry newsletter. Who needs paper? Third Point likes opportunities in Europe: letter NEW YORK Hedge fund manager Daniel Loeb told investors on Thursday that his $16 billion hedge fund Third Point saw more opportunities in Europe and was positioned to absorb a modest sell-off in U.S. stocks. The Arizona Republic reported that sales of the Neorest have been slow at a local retailer, possibly because it costs more than a low-mileage used car. Recent Business News Uber's Levandowski to step aside for duration of Waymo litigation Uber Technologies Inc [UBER.UL] said the head of its self-driving vehicles unit, Anthony Levandowski, will step aside from his role for the remainder of the company's litigation with Waymo, the self-driving car division of Alphabet Inc . Wall Street has been expecting more action from Coke in the small but fast-growing and high-margin ready-to-drink coffee segment. Jobless claims rise, but four-week average at two-month low WASHINGTON, April 27 The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits rose more than expected last week, but the four-week average of claims fell to a two-month low, indicating that labor market conditions continue to tighten.
Recent Business News Uber's Levandowski to step aside for duration of Waymo litigation Uber Technologies Inc [UBER.UL] said the head of its self-driving vehicles unit, Anthony Levandowski, will step aside from his role for the remainder of the company's litigation with Waymo, the self-driving car division of Alphabet Inc . Starbucks quarterly revenue falls short, stock falls LOS ANGELES Starbucks Corp reported quarterly sales that just missed Wall Street's expectations, hurt by a slight cooling in spending growth by customers in its core U.S. market, sending shares down 4.4 percent in extended trading on Thursday. Third Point likes opportunities in Europe: letter NEW YORK Hedge fund manager Daniel Loeb told investors on Thursday that his $16 billion hedge fund Third Point saw more opportunities in Europe and was positioned to absorb a modest sell-off in U.S. stocks. Jobless claims rise, but four-week average at two-month low WASHINGTON, April 27 The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits rose more than expected last week, but the four-week average of claims fell to a two-month low, indicating that labor market conditions continue to tighten. NEW YORK (Reuters) - Coca-Cola Co. will launch a new line of ready-to-drink coffee under the Godiva brand name in the second half of 2006, according to a report in an industry newsletter. Spokesmen at both Coke (Research) and Campbell Soup Co. (Research), which makes Godiva chocolates, refused to confirm or deny the report. At an investor conference in New York on Wednesday, Coke marketing chief Mary Minnick said the company intends to launch "indulgence coffees" in North America next year. Trade magazine Beverage Digest said those coffees will be sold under the Godiva brand name, citing unidentified sources. Godiva already sells premium coffees in various flavors. The bottled and canned coffee market stands at about 40 million cases a year. It grew at a rate of more than 15 percent in 2004, according to Beverage Digest data. PepsiCo Inc. (Research)'s Starbucks Frappuccino and DoubleShot account for more than 88 percent of the market, according to Beverage Digest. Volume sales of Starbucks Frappuccino jumped 22 percent last year, according to Beverage Digest. Coca-Cola several years ago acquired a bottled coffee brand called Planet Java, folding it into a joint venture with Swiss food giant Nestle. Many might have thought Coca-Cola was being a soda jerk for canning Vanilla Coke last month, but now we know the reason behind the move: The company was clearing space on supermarket shelves for a coffee-flavored drink called Coca-Cola Blak. Apparently tired of losing the thirst-share of Generation X-ers addicted to Starbucks and Red Bull, the beverage behemoth will launch Coca-Cola Blak in coffee-craving France next month, with a worldwide rollout soon to follow. This brand is ideal for any part of the day when people are looking for renewed energy or simply to take a break," said Marc Mathieu, vice president of global core brands. With an estimated 1 million workers eating lunch at their desk each day in the U.K., the idea has marketing potential for record companies looking for an offbeat way to launch songs by new artists, said a Tesco spokesman.
. Before the 2004 election, the official said, some N.S.A. 's domestic eavesdropping program. ". Advertisement Continue reading the main story According to officials, F.B.I. It is the Foreign -- not Federal --Intelligence Surveillance Court. The agency can choose its eavesdropping targets and does not have to seek approval from Justice Department or other Bush administration officials. Several national security officials say the powers granted the N.S.A. View all New York Times newsletters. eavesdrops without warrants on up to 500 people in the United States at any given time. operation. "Generally," Mr. Mueller said, "I would say generally, they are not allowed to spy or to gather information on American citizens." CNN has not confirmed the exact wording of the president's order. to target Americans. (Transcript) The NSA eavesdrops on billions of communications worldwide. Senators contemplating a vote Friday on whether to renew some controversial portions of the Patriot Act used The New York Times' report as evidence that the government could not be trusted with the broad powers laid out in the act. He added that the law clearly lays out how to obtain permission for wiretaps. Judge Kollar-Kotelly did not return calls for comment. But final passage has been delayed under the threat of a Senate filibuster because of concerns from both parties over possible intrusions on Americans' civil liberties and privacy. was monitoring the communications of a terrorist suspect under a F.I.S.A.-approved warrant, even though the National Security Agency was already conducting warrantless eavesdropping. A White House Briefing After the special program started, Congressional leaders from both political parties were brought to Vice President Dick Cheney's office in the White House.
Congressional leaders of both parties called for hearings and issued condemnations yesterday in the wake of reports that President Bush signed a secret order in 2002 allowing the National Security Agency to spy on hundreds of U.S. citizens and other residents without court-approved warrants. Bush declined to discuss the domestic eavesdropping program in a television interview, but he joined his aides in saying that the government acted lawfully and did not intrude on citizens' rights. "Decisions made are made understanding we have an obligation to protect the civil liberties of the American people," Bush said on "The NewsHour With Jim Lehrer." Disclosure of the NSA plan had an immediate effect on Capitol Hill, where Democratic senators and a handful of Republicans derailed a bill that would renew expiring portions of the USA Patriot Act anti-terrorism law. Opponents repeatedly cited the previously unknown NSA program as an example of the kinds of government abuses that concerned them, while the GOP chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee said he would hold oversight hearings on the issue. "There is no doubt that this is inappropriate," said Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.), who favored the Patriot Act renewal but said the NSA issue provided valuable ammunition for its opponents. Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), a member of the intelligence and judiciary committees, called the program "the most significant thing I have heard in my 12 years" in the Senate and suggested that the president may have broken the law by authorizing surveillance without proper warrants. "How can I go out, how can any member of this body go out, and say that under the Patriot Act we protect the rights of American citizens if, in fact, the president is not going to be bound by the law?" Officials across the government yesterday declined to publicly acknowledge the presidential order. But they defended, in general terms, the administration's aggressive strategies in attempting to combat terrorism since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and said that all programs have been lawful and protective of individual rights. "Let me just say that winning the war on terror requires winning the war of information," Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales told reporters. And so we will be aggressive in obtaining that information, but we will always do so in a manner that's consistent with our legal obligations." Government officials credited the new program with helping to uncover and disrupt terrorist plots, including plans by Iyman Faris, an Ohio truck driver who pleaded guilty in 2003 to planning to blow up the Brooklyn Bridge. Faris's attorney, David B. Smith, said he and his client were never informed about the NSA surveillance and had presumed that the monitoring of his cell phone had been authorized by a court-issued warrant. The existence of the NSA domestic surveillance program was reported late Thursday by the New York Times and confirmed by U.S. intelligence and counterterrorism officials. The Washington Post, citing an informed U.S. official, reported that the NSA's warrantless monitoring of U.S. subjects began before Bush's order was issued in early 2002 and included electronic and physical surveillance carried out by other military intelligence agencies assigned to the task. RELATED QUICKVOTE Was the New York Times right to publish details of a secret program that allows spies to eavesdrop on Americans without a warrant? After The New York Times reported, and CNN confirmed, a claim that Bush gave the National Security Agency license to eavesdrop on Americans communicating with people overseas, the president said that his actions were permissible, but that leaking the revelation to the media was illegal. During an unusual live, on-camera version of his weekly radio address, Bush said such authorization is "fully consistent" with his "constitutional responsibilities and authorities." (Watch Bush explain why he 'authorized the National Security Agency ... to intercept' -- 4:29) Bush added: "Yesterday the existence of this secret program was revealed in media reports, after being improperly provided to news organizations. As a result, our enemies have learned information they should not have, and the unauthorized disclosure of this effort damages our national security and puts our citizens at risk." He acknowledged during the address that he allowed the NSA "to intercept the international communications of people with known links to al Qaeda and related terrorist organizations." The highly classified program was crucial to national security and designed "to detect and prevent terrorist attacks," he added. The court is set up specifically to issue warrants allowing wiretapping on domestic soil. 'Sad day' After hearing Bush's response, Sen. Russ Feingold, D-Wisconsin, said there was no law allowing the president's actions and that "it's a sad day." "He's trying to claim somehow that the authorization for the Afghanistan attack after 9/11 permitted this, and that's just absurd," Feingold said. "There's not a single senator or member of Congress who thought we were authorizing wiretaps." "They can ask for a warrant to do that, and even if there's an emergency situation, they can go for 72 hours as long as they give notice at the end of 72 hours." Bush defended signing the order by saying that two of the September 11 hijackers who flew the plane into the Pentagon -- Khalid Almihdhar and Nawaf Alhazmi -- "communicated while they were in the United States to other members of al Qaeda who were overseas, but we didn't know they were here until it was too late." He said the authorizations have made it "more likely that killers like these 9/11 hijackers will be identified and located in time, and the activities conducted under this authorization have helped detect and prevent possible terrorist attacks in the United States and abroad." "I intend to do so for as long as our nation faces a continuing threat from al Qaeda and related groups." The New York Times had not responded to Bush's allegations that the paper endangered national security as of Saturday afternoon. But in a Friday statement, Executive Editor Bill Keller said the newspaper postponed publication of the article for a year at the White House's request, while editors pondered the national security issues surrounding the release of the information. The political ramifications of the newspaper's report were felt even before Bush acknowledged the report's veracity. (Read about the Patriot Act vote) In particular, Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pennsylvania, said such behavior by the executive branch "can't be condoned," and Sen. Charles Schumer, D-New York, said the report swayed his decision on the Patriot Act proposal. "Today's revelation that the government listened in on thousands of phone conversations without getting a warrant is shocking and has greatly influenced my vote," Schumer said.
"We are very, very worried," he said, and prayed for "mercy from Heaven." It is Mr Sharon's second stroke in just over two weeks. ET), the prime minister's office said. The Israeli leader's powers have been transferred to his deputy Ehud Olmert. Emerging from the hospital during the initial surgery, Gissen told CNN that "the operation is progressing well. Polls have suggested his new party is in the lead ahead of the election in March. The Palestinian Authority has struggled to gain control over Gaza since Israel completed its withdrawal in September. In Washington, President Bush issued a statement saying he and first lady Laura Bush were "praying for his recovery." Sharon also was being treated with drugs to try to stop the bleeding in his brain, the doctor said. Olmert and the rest of the Cabinet are to meet Thursday at 9 a.m. (2 a.m. The director, Shlomo Mor-Yosef, said Sharon remains in serious condition. He suffered a minor stroke on 18 December which doctors said could have been the result of a blood clot caused by the hole in the heart. Sharon fell ill at his ranch Wednesday evening and was rushed to Hadassah Hospital in Jerusalem, where he was diagnosed with a cerebral hemorrhage. Home Page Get up-to-the minute news from CNN CNN.com gives you the latest stories and video from the around the world, with in-depth coverage of U.S. news, politics, entertainment, health, crime, tech and more. The procedure lasted six hours. Sharon's stroke plunged the country into political uncertainty less than three months before a pivotal election.
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon was transferred to intensive care after seven hours of surgery, and his vital signs are stable, the director of Hadassah Hospital said Thursday. "The prime minister has had a CT scan that showed the cerebral hemorrhaging has stopped," Mor-Yosef said. "The prime minister is now being transferred to the neurosurgical intensive care unit. The prime minister is still in serious condition," the director said. Sharon fell ill at his ranch Wednesday evening and was rushed to Hadassah Hospital in Jerusalem, where he was diagnosed with a cerebral hemorrhage. Doctors began emergency surgery about midnight to stop "massive, wide-spread bleeding" in his brain. Surgery apparently had been complicated by blood thinners he had been given following a mild stroke on Dec. 18, and the medication may also have contributed to Wednesday's stroke. Mor-Yosef did not address Sharon's prognosis, but neurosurgeons not involved in Sharon's treatment said a full recovery was not likely following such a massive stroke. They said it usually takes at least a day after the surgery to determine the extent of any damage. The session was convened to send a message of stability and continuity to the Israeli people, one government minister said. A doctor told CBS News correspondent David Hawkins that people generally emerge from this type of surgery with severe disabilities. Sharon's cerebral hemorrhage, or bleeding stroke, came at a time of upheaval among Palestinian factions in Gaza and in the midst of both Israeli and Palestinian election campaigns. Hawkins reports that Sharon's stroke throws Israeli politics into a period of uncertainty as Sharon runs for re-election on March 28 as the head of a new centrist party, Kadima. The party's strength is centered on Sharon, and if he were forced to step down, Israel's political scene would be thrown into turmoil. Ehud Olmert, "is a veteran Israeli politician," said Daniel Kurtzer, former ambassador to Israel. He is a proven leader but he will now have to build a popular base certainly for the next few months of governing." In a written statement, President Bush praised Sharon as "a man of courage and peace," saying he and first lady Laura Bush "share the concerns of the Israeli people ... and we are praying for his recovery." If Sharon is not able to continue his political relationship with Mr. Bush, it remains unclear whether his successor would have the clout and credibility to move the Middle East peace process forward, reports CBS News chief White House correspondent John Roberts. "We are very, very worried," he said, and prayed for "mercy from Heaven." Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas contacted Israeli officials Thursday to express concern over Sharon's health, Abbas' office said. "President Abbas phoned Israeli officials over the health deterioration of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and he voiced his concern about his health," said an Abbas aide, Nabil Abu Rdeineh. Pan-Arab satellite television broadcasters beamed out largely straightforward, nonstop live coverage from outside the hospital where Sharon, a particularly despised figure among many Arabs, struggled for his life. ... We thank God for this gift he presented to us on this new year," Ahmed Jibril, leader of the Syrian-backed faction Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command, a small radical group, told The Associated Press. Speaking to reporters outside the hospital, Sharon aide Raanan Gissin warned Israel's enemies: "To anyone who entertains any notion to try and exploit this situation ... the security forces and IDF (Israeli military) are ready for any kind of challenge," he said. But a Palestinian commentator on the Saudi-owned Al-Arabiya network offered Sharon unexpected praise as "the first Israeli leader who stopped claiming Israel had a right to all of the Palestinians' land," a reference to Israel's recent withdrawal from the Gaza Strip. Sharon's personal physician said early Thursday that he expects Sharon to emerge from surgery "safely." "The prime minister is currently in surgery, it is proceeding properly," said Dr. Shlomo Segev. "It's among the most dangerous of all types of strokes," with half of victims dying within a month, said Dr. Robert A. Felberg, a neurologist at Ochsner Clinic in New Orleans. Sharon fights for life after stroke Power transferred to Israel's deputy prime minister RELATED YOUR E-MAIL ALERTS Ariel Sharon Israel or or Create Your Own JERUSALEM (CNN) -- Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon was in "serious" condition and was expected to undergo several more hours of brain surgery after suffering a major stroke, a hospital official said Thursday morning. Sharon underwent about six hours of surgery that initially appeared to stop the bleeding in his brain, said Shlomo Mor-Yosef, the director of Jerusalem's Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital. But a subsequent brain scan revealed more bleeding and resulted in Sharon being taken back to the operating room, Mor-Yosef said. Sharon also was being treated with drugs to try to stop the bleeding in his brain, the doctor said. Sharon, 77, was taken by ambulance Wednesday night from his home in the Negev Desert, in southern Israel, to the hospital after complaining of chest pain and weakness, according to his senior adviser, Ra'anan Gissen. Cabinet Secretary Israel Maimon told reporters that after consultations with Olmert and Attorney General Menachem Mazuz, the decision was made to transfer Sharon's powers to Olmert when it became clear the prime minister would have to be sedated for treatment.
He was not at my home. U.S. authorities believe al-Zawahiri, 54, a doctor from a prominent Egyptian family, helped mastermind the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Sources: Airstrike may have killed bin Laden's No. The Pakistani information minister said he was unable to confirm the attack. We are law-abiding people." Pakistan has about 70,000 troops in the border region. "I don't know him. Survivors in Damadola denied militants were in their hamlet, but there were news reports quoting unidentified Pakistani officials as saying up to 11 extremists were believed among the dead. The US military says it is not aware of any operations taking place in the Bajaur tribal area. "We are conducting tests to identify the bodies," a Pakistani intelligence official told CNN. The village is about 7km (4.5 miles) inside Pakistan. The strike left three homes hundreds of yards apart in ruins. Shah Zaman said he lost two of his sons and a daughter. Reports that al-Zawahri could be close to capture have surfaced before. Pakistan's government insists it does not allow the 20,000 U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan to cross the border in the hunt for Taliban fighters or al-Qaeda members believed to be hiding in the remote mountains of the frontier region. Doctors told AP at least 17 people died, including women and children, but residents put the death toll at more than 30. Copyright 2006 The Associated Press. Egyptian-born Rabia was described as al Qaeda's operations chief and No. Last Saturday, U.S. helicopters reportedly attacked a house in the North Waziristan tribal region, killing eight people.
Sources: Airstrike may have killed bin Laden's No. 2 From David Ensor CNN Intelligence suggests that Ayman al-Zawahiri, seen in this September video, may have been killed. RELATED (CNN) -- Ayman al-Zawahiri -- Osama bin Laden's right-hand man in the al Qaeda terrorist network -- was the target of a CIA airstrike Friday in a remote Pakistani village and may have been among those killed, knowledgeable U.S. sources told CNN. There has been no confirmation that al-Zawahiri was killed in the attack, which took place in the village of Damadola, near the Afghan border. However, the sources said there was intelligence suggesting he was in one of the buildings hit during the strike. (Watch how al-Zawahiri was targeted -- 5:39) Pakistani officials were at the scene, trying to determine if al-Zawahiri was killed, the U.S. sources told CNN. Contacted by CNN, Pakistan's information minister could not confirm that al-Zawahiri had been the target of a CIA strike. Eighteen people died in Friday morning's strike -- eight men, five women and five children, Pakistani intelligence sources said. "We are conducting tests to identify the bodies," a Pakistani intelligence official told CNN. The strike came a week after the Arabic language news network Al-Jazeera aired a new videotape with a message from al-Zawahiri, in which he called on U.S. President George W. Bush to admit defeat in Iraq. U.S. authorities believe al-Zawahiri, 54, a doctor from a prominent Egyptian family, helped mastermind the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. He has also been indicted in the United States for his alleged role in the 1998 bombings of U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania. The U.S. government has put up a $25 million reward for information leading to his capture. While bin Laden himself hasn't been heard from since October 2004, last week's videotape was the fifth message from al-Zawahiri released over the past year, including several claiming responsibility for the July attacks on London's transit system. Considered the intellectual and ideological driving force behind al Qaeda, al-Zawahiri has been associated with bin Laden since at least 1987, when they first met in Pakistan. He is also believed to act as bin Laden's personal physician. In 1998, al-Zawahiri merged his own Islamic militant group, Egyptian Islamic Jihad, into bin Laden's organization. Three months after the 9/11 attacks, U.S. forces attacked al-Zawahiri's residence in Afghanistan, killing his wife and children. Last month, Pakistani officials confirmed the death of a top al Qaeda official, Abu Hamza Rabia, who was killed in an explosion December 1 north of the border town of Miram Shah (Full story). But witnesses gave conflicting accounts of how he died. Villagers said he was killed in a missile strike, while Pakistan offficials said he died while working with explosives. -- CNN Producer Syed Mohsin Naqvi contributed to this report Home Page Get up-to-the minute news from CNN CNN.com gives you the latest stories and video from the around the world, with in-depth coverage of U.S. news, politics, entertainment, health, crime, tech and more. Home Page Get up-to-the minute news from CNN CNN.com gives you the latest stories and video from the around the world, with in-depth coverage of U.S. news, politics, entertainment, health, crime, tech and more. Al-Zawahiri has eluded US capture since 2001 despite a $25m bounty At least 18 people were killed in the raid but it remains unclear if Ayman al-Zawahiri was among them. The Pakistani information minister said he was unable to confirm the attack. The US military says it is not aware of any operations taking place in the Bajaur tribal area. The BBC's Zaffar Abbas in Karachi says tribesmen there are convinced the strike was the work of the Americans and are very angry at the cross-border attack. Jets reportedly fired missiles at a particular housing compound in the village, which may have been an al-Qaeda hideout, our correspondent says. Some accounts say foreigners were killed in the attack, and their bodies removed. Zawahiri, seen as Osama Bin Laden's second-in-command, has eluded capture since the US toppled the Taleban in Afghanistan in 2001 despite a $25m bounty on his head. 'Still investigating' US television networks, quoting Pakistani military sources, say five of those killed in the strike are thought to be senior al-Qaeda members. He said: "We are investigating and as of now we are not in a position to say yes or no." US television network NBC quoted Pakistani sources as saying the strikes were probably carried out by unmanned CIA Predator drones, which fired up to 10 missiles. 'Children killed' The raid took place in the village of Damadola in the Bajaur tribal area, about 200km (125 miles) north-west of Pakistan's capital, Islamabad. Shah Zaman said two sons and a daughter were killed in the strike Last weekend, Pakistan protested after eight died in nearby Waziristan in what it said was cross-border firing.
Please re-enter. "I suppose we will work this all out," he said, adding that the military aircraft also had civilian uses, which were well proved in disaster relief efforts in Jamaica, Cuba, Grenada and Colombia in 2005. The US says Venezuela's Socialist President Hugo Chavez could use the planes to destabilise the region. The U.S. embassy in Spain said that it hoped the refusal would not harm the "excellent relations" the Bush administration has with Spain. Advertisement Continue reading the main story When the C.I.A. Spanish Defence Minister Jose Bono travelled to Caracas last November to attend the signing of the deal with Mr Chavez. The Venezuelan government has been trying to buy Super Tucano fighter planes made by Brazil, but the purchase has also been blocked by Washington as the planes contain U.S. motor technology. In the American Embassy statement, officials stressed that their opposition to the sale did not reflect antagonism toward Spain. View all New York Times newsletters. Over the past year, Spain has been working steadily to repair relations with the United States, which deteriorated in 2004 after Mr. Zapatero withdrew Spanish troops from Iraq. María Teresa Fernández de la Vega, the deputy prime minister, said Friday during her weekly news conference that the airplanes were designed for transportation, not combat, and that the ships were intended for coast guard work. Both Madrid and Caracas have said the equipment - also including eight patrol boats - is for defensive purposes. Enditem You must select a newsletter to subscribe to. Chavez said he would go to Brasilia on Wednesday and Thursday next week for talks with his Brazilian counterpart Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
¡¡CARACAS, Jan. 13 (Xinhuanet) -- Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez on Friday denounced an attempt by the United States to block Spain from selling 12 military planes equipped with U.S. parts to Venezuela. Washington's refusal to allow Venezuela to buy Spanish-built planes which use some U.S. technology is "an imperialist outrage", Chavez told the National Assembly on Friday. "This is an evidence of the horrible imperialism that Washington wants to impose on the world. I must denounce once again the imperialist outrage against the government and people of Venezuela," Chavez said at the opening of the Assembly. The United States refused permission, requested by Spanish consortium EADS-CASA, to sell 12 warplanes to Venezuela, saying that what Venezuela had said and done contributed to regional instability. The U.S. embassy in Spain said that it hoped the refusal would not harm the "excellent relations" the Bush administration has with Spain. Spain decided in early last November to go ahead with a plan tosell military planes and patrol crafts with a combined value of 2 billion U.S. dollars to Venezuela despite U.S. opposition. The country said on Friday that it will replace U.S. made components with parts made elsewhere, adding that the planes will be used for transport rather than for battling ends. Chavez said that the Venezuelan air force was also having a problem with buying training aircraft from Brazil. The Venezuelan government has been trying to buy Super Tucano fighter planes made by Brazil, but the purchase has also been blocked by Washington as the planes contain U.S. motor technology. Chavez said he would go to Brasilia on Wednesday and Thursday next week for talks with his Brazilian counterpart Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. "I suppose we will work this all out," he said, adding that the military aircraft also had civilian uses, which were well proved in disaster relief efforts in Jamaica, Cuba, Grenada and Colombia in 2005. In rejecting Spain's request, American officials said the sale amounted to support for an oppressive government that threatened to spread instability. Advertisement Continue reading the main story "Despite being democratically elected, the government of President Hugo Chávez has systematically undermined democratic institutions, pressured and harassed independent media and the political opposition, and grown progressively more autocratic and antidemocratic," the embassy said in a statement. Spanish officials said they respected the American position, but disputed the assertion that the sale would destabilize the region. María Teresa Fernández de la Vega, the deputy prime minister, said Friday during her weekly news conference that the airplanes were designed for transportation, not combat, and that the ships were intended for coast guard work. was accused last year of using Spanish airports during antiterrorist missions, Spain refused to criticize the United States openly, and rejected accusations from human rights groups that the planes had been involved in the kidnapping and torture of terrorism suspects. The signing ceremony was attended by Spain's defence minister (l) However, the aircraft will be made with more expensive European parts because the US has blocked the use of its technology for Venezuela.
he said. complaints, the N.S.A. "This wasn't our program," an F.B.I. officials. Advertisement Continue reading the main story F.B.I. Immediately after the Sept. 11 attacks, the Bush administration pressed the nation's intelligence agencies and the F.B.I. as tips by tracing phone numbers in the United States called by suspects overseas, and then by following the domestic numbers to other numbers called. View all New York Times newsletters. The White House fired back at Al Gore on Tuesday, accusing the former vice president of hypocrisy for his assertion that President Bush broke the law by eavesdropping on Americans without court approval. information played a significant role. director. counterterrorism sting investigation. But another government official said Mr. Mueller had questioned the administration about the legal authority for the program. program or distance themselves from the agency. Please verify you're not a robot by clicking the box. eavesdropping program might have assisted in the investigations of people with suspected Qaeda ties in Portland and Minneapolis. "After you get a thousand numbers and not one is turning up anything, you get some frustration." But as in the London fertilizer bomb case, some officials with direct knowledge of the Faris case dispute that the N.S.A. But the results of the program look very different to some officials charged with tracking terrorism in the United States. The administration has launched an investigation into who leaked details of the spying, saying the disclosure threatens national security. And because the program was a closely guarded secret, its role in specific cases may have been disguised or hidden even from key investigators.
In December, The New York Times reported that, in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, President Bush authorized the National Security Agency to eavesdrop on Americans and others in the country without obtaining the warrants typically required for domestic surveillance. The revelation of the wiretapping has led to calls for an independent investigation by Democrats, and some Republicans. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Bush administration officials have defended the surveillance and said the president's power to authorize it comes from a Congressional resolution endorsing the war against terrorism enacted soon after the attacks. The administration has launched an investigation into who leaked details of the spying, saying the disclosure threatens national security. Please verify you're not a robot by clicking the box. Invalid email address. You must select a newsletter to subscribe to. Sign Up Receive occasional updates and special offers for The New York Times's products and services. "I think most Americans understand the need to find out what the enemy's thinking, and that's what we're doing," Mr. Bush said earlier this month. Mr. Gore, who since leaving the political stage in 2001 has recast himself as a professor, entrepreneur and venture capitalist, acknowledged that the threat posed by terrorists remains grave. But he suggested that the Bush administration and its supporters in Congress were being disingenuous in using the threat as a pretext to amass power for the executive branch. "Is America in more danger now than when we faced worldwide fascism on the march - when our fathers fought and won two World Wars simultaneously?" "It is simply an insult those who came before us and sacrificed so much on our behalf to imply that we have more to be fearful of than they." Mr. Gore frequently invoked Martin Luther King Jr., noting that his activities and communications were being monitored by the F.B.I. during the civil rights struggle, and he quoted former Supreme Court justices and the nation's founding fathers. Mr. Gore, who lost the presidency to Mr. Bush in the disputed 2000 election, has periodically injected himself in the issues of the day in Washington with speeches that have been sharply critical of the president in the last five years. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Mr. Gore was supposed to be introduced by Bob Barr, the former Republican representative from Georgia who works with the American Civil Liberties Union and has criticized the Bush administration's record on civil liberties. But organizers experienced problems with a live satellite feed and could not patch him into the Daughters of the American Revolution Constitution Hall in Washington. The White House fired back at Al Gore on Tuesday, accusing the former vice president of hypocrisy for his assertion that President Bush broke the law by eavesdropping on Americans without court approval. "If Al Gore is going to be the voice of the Democrats on national security matters, we welcome it," White House press secretary Scott McClellan said in a swipe at the Democrat, who lost the 2000 election to Mr. Bush only after the Supreme Court intervened.Gore, in a speech Monday, called for an independent investigation of the National Security Agency program that he says broke the law by listening in — without warrants — on Americans suspected of talking with terrorists abroad.Gore called the program, authorized by President Bush, "a threat to the very structure of our government" and charged that the administration acted without congressional authority and made a "direct assault" on a federal court set up to authorize requests to eavesdrop on Americans.McClellan said the Clinton-Gore administration had engaged in warrantless physical searches, and he cited an FBI search of the home of CIA turncoat Aldrich Ames without permission from a judge. He said Clinton's deputy attorney general, Jamie Gorelick, had testified before Congress that the president had the inherent authority to engage in physical searches without warrants. "I think his hypocrisy knows no bounds," McClellan said of Gore.Meanwhile, two civil liberties groups – the American Civil Liberties Union and the Center for Constitutional Rights –Tuesday seeking to block the administration's eavesdropping program, which they called unconstitutional electronic surveillance of American citizens.In a related development, The New York Times reported Tuesday that the NSA sent the FBI thousands of tips about alleged terrorists in the months after the Sept. 11 attacks.But nearly all the tips, according to current and former officials, failed to pan out or lead to innocent Americans, the Times said.Gore said Attorney General Alberto Gonzales should name a special counsel to investigate the program, saying Gonzales had an "obvious conflict of interest" as a member of the Bush Cabinet as well as the nation's top law enforcement officer. But the results of the program look very different to some officials charged with tracking terrorism in the United States. More than a dozen current and former law enforcement and counterterrorism officials, including some in the small circle who knew of the secret program and how it played out at the F.B.I., said the torrent of tips led them to few potential terrorists inside the country they did not know of from other sources and diverted agents from counterterrorism work they viewed as more productive. Advertisement Continue reading the main story "We'd chase a number, find it's a schoolteacher with no indication they've ever been involved in international terrorism -- case closed," said one former F.B.I. Intelligence officials disagree with any characterization of the program's results as modest, said Judith A. Emmel, a spokeswoman for the office of the director of national intelligence. Ms. Emmel cited a statement at a briefing last month by Gen. Michael V. Hayden, the country's second-ranking intelligence official and the director of the N.S.A. "I can say unequivocally that we have gotten information through this program that would not otherwise have been available," General Hayden said. The N.S.A., an intelligence agency, routinely collects huge amounts of data from across the globe that may yield only tiny nuggets of useful information; the F.B.I., while charged with fighting terrorism, retains the traditions of a law enforcement agency more focused on solving crimes. program from the law enforcement and counterterrorism officials, many of them high level, are the first indication that the program was viewed with skepticism by key figures at the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the agency responsible for disrupting plots and investigating terrorism on American soil. Advertisement Continue reading the main story The law enforcement and counterterrorism officials said the program had uncovered no active Qaeda networks inside the United States planning attacks. and other law enforcement officials also expressed doubts about the importance of the program's role in another case named by administration officials as a success in the fight against terrorism, an aborted scheme to topple the Brooklyn Bridge with a blow torch.
He was 70. Magrabi, sources told ABC News, was the son-in-law of Ayman al-Zawahiri, al Qaeda's No. US officials have refused to comment on the attack. The ... Paul McCartney expands ‘One on One’ tour with new US dates 28-Apr-17 Paul McCartney expanded his long-running "One on One" tour with several new US dates. Pakistani intelligence officials say they are still trying to identify a fourth person killed. And a third victim was reported to be Abu Obaidah al-Misri, al-Qaeda's head of operations in Kunar province, just over the border in eastern Afghanistan. Jets - or in some accounts a Predator drone - reportedly fired missiles at a particular housing compound in the village. He said the authorities were still investigating their identities. Reporters who reached Damadola spoke of three houses hundreds of metres apart that had been destroyed. The United States had posted a $5 million reward for Mursi's capture. The Egyptian has also become its most visible spokesperson, issuing a number of video and audio tapes, whilst Osama Bin Laden has not been seen or heard from for more than a year. 2 man. Vinod Khanna dies aged 70; the matinee idol had been battling cancer 28-Apr-17 Veteran actor and politician Vinod Khanna passed away on April 27, in Mumbai. But the government says the bodies have not been recovered for identification. Films of the flamboyant, versatile actor we’ll always remember 28-Apr-17 'Achanak' — remember Akshay Kumar's recent film 'Rustom' based on the KM Nanavati scandal for which he won the National Film ... Islamic romance novels set hearts excited in Bangladesh 27-Apr-17 Kasem bin Abubakar was told nobody would buy his chaste romance novels about devout young Muslims finding love within the strict moral confines of ...
Vinod Khanna dies aged 70; the matinee idol had been battling cancer 28-Apr-17 Veteran actor and politician Vinod Khanna passed away on April 27, in Mumbai. The hospital where Khanna had been undergoin ... Elton John cancels eight shows after infection, intensive care visit 28-Apr-17 A "harmful and unusual bacterial infection" has forced Elton John to cancel his upcoming April and May run of "The Million Dollar Piano" gigs at th ... Beyonce announces ‘Formation Scholars’ scholarship programme 28-Apr-17 Beyoncé celebrated the one-year anniversary of her album 'Lemonade' with the announcement of her "Formation Scholars" programme. The ... Paul McCartney expands ‘One on One’ tour with new US dates 28-Apr-17 Paul McCartney expanded his long-running "One on One" tour with several new US dates. Films of the flamboyant, versatile actor we’ll always remember 28-Apr-17 'Achanak' — remember Akshay Kumar's recent film 'Rustom' based on the KM Nanavati scandal for which he won the National Film ... Islamic romance novels set hearts excited in Bangladesh 27-Apr-17 Kasem bin Abubakar was told nobody would buy his chaste romance novels about devout young Muslims finding love within the strict moral confines of ... A number of villagers lost their homes in the strike Some unconfirmed intelligence reports say three high-ranking al-Qaeda members were among four foreign militants killed in the raid. Last Friday's attack, near the Afghan border, killed 18 local people, sparking widespread condemnation. 'Removed from site' The Pakistan Information Minister, Sheikh Rashid Ahmed, would only repeat that a number of militants had been killed in Friday's US attack on a village in the Bajaur Agency region on the border with Afghanistan. Earlier, some intelligence officials were reported as saying that Egyptian bomb expert Midhat Mursi - information on whose whereabouts carries a $5m US bounty - was among those killed. Abdul Rehman al-Misri al-Maghribi - al-Qaeda deputy leader Ayman al-Zawahiri's son-in-law and reputed head of the network's media operations - was also reported to have died. And a third victim was reported to be Abu Obaidah al-Misri, al-Qaeda's head of operations in Kunar province, just over the border in eastern Afghanistan. Pakistani intelligence officials say they are still trying to identify a fourth person killed. There have been conflicting reports over the aftermath of the attack, with some accounts saying that the bodies of those foreigners who were killed were removed from the site by sympathisers. Border village When news of Friday's attack first emerged, there were reports that Ayman al-Zawahiri had been killed. Jets - or in some accounts a Predator drone - reportedly fired missiles at a particular housing compound in the village. ABC News has learned that Pakistani officials now believe that al Qaeda's master bomb maker and chemical weapons expert was one of the men killed in last week's U.S. missile attack in eastern Pakistan. He is described by authorities as the man who ran al Qaeda's infamous Derunta training camp in Afghanistan, where he used dogs and other animals as subjects for experiments with poison and chemicals. "He's the man who trained the shoe bomber Richard Reid and Zacarias Moussaoui, as well as hundreds of others." "Pakistani intelligence says this was a very important planning session involving the very top levels of al Qaeda as they get ready for a new spring offensive," explained Alexis Debat, a former official in the French Defense Ministry and now an ABC News consultant As for Zawahiri, U.S. and Pakistani officials agree that it is still possible but increasingly unlikely that he was killed.
We do not negotiate with terrorists, we put them out of business," he said. "He's not dead. A chronology of statements attributed to bin Laden Arab television station Al Jazeera aired a new audio tape Thursday said to be from Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden. But Mr. Rashid says that is unlikely. The conditions for such a truce were not made clear. - Reuters He also tells Britain and the US they will not have peace until they pull their troops out of Iraq and other Muslim nations. Aug. 4: Zawahri warns Britons of more attacks. But then there is his message to Muslims. "[The] Madrid [bombings] came first [in March 2004], then he offered the truce, and then there were the London bombings," Scheuer says. I don't think anybody would believe him ... "The new operations of al-Qaeda has not happened not because we could not penetrate the security measures. They are in the planning stages and you will see them in the heart of your land as soon as the planning is complete." As in the past, the Islamist radical is also believed to be sending a message as much to the Muslim world as to the United States. Now they view Iraq in the way they viewed Afghanistan." He denounces Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf. As translated from Arabic by CNN, the voice says: "I would also like to say that the war against America and its allies will not be confined to Iraq. Wars 'definitely going our way' "It was not my intention to talk to you about this, because those wars are definitely going our way.
WASHINGTON, Jan. 19 (Xinhuanet) -- Analysts at the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) believed that the voice on a tape, aired earlier Thursday by Arab television station Al Jazeera, was that of Osama bin Laden, an agency official said. The official, speaking anonymously, said that following technical analysis, the CIA determined that the voice on the tape was that of bin Laden, chief of the al Qaeda terrorist organization. Bin Laden warned in the tape that attacks were under preparations against the United States and its allies, and offered a truce in response to U.S. public opinion favoring withdrawal American troops from Iraq. "We don't mind offering you a long-term truce on fair conditions that we adhere to," he said in the tape. He said both sides could "enjoy security and stability under this truce so we can build Iraq and Afghanistan, which have been destroyed in this war." Speaking on the Fox News channel, Vice President Dick Cheney said he believed the truce offer was a ploy and that it was too early to draw any conclusions. "I'm not sure what he's offering by way of a truce. It sounds to me like it's some kind of a ploy, but again not having seen the entire text or validated the tape and the timing of it, I'm reluctant to draw any conclusions," he said. At a luncheon speech in New York on Thursday, Cheney warned that the United States still faced significant threats from terrorists attempting to establish a radical Islamic empire. White House spokesman Scott McClellan said President George W. Bush had been informed about the tape, and that the United States would not negotiate with terrorists. The Department of Homeland Security had no plan to raise the country's security alert level in response to the tape, department officials said. In new audiotape, the Al Qaeda leader both threatens the US and offers a kind of truce. A new audiotape of Osama bin Laden is designed to counter Western intelligence speculation that the Al Qaeda leader has been cornered or killed, terrorism experts say - and to raise jitters that America's most wanted is still planning terrorist attacks. "It proves two things," says Michael Scheuer, former head of the CIA's Bin Laden unit. And despite all the things we say about him being isolated and alone, he can clearly dominate the international media when he wants to." In a brief audiotape aired Thursday on Arab television station Al Jazeera, the speaker scoffs at claims that US antiterrorism measures are the reason no more attacks have hit the US since Sept. 11, 2001. In a new twist, the speaker refers to rising US public opinion against the war in Iraq and says, "We have no objection to responding to this with a long-term truce." In an April 2004 tape, bin Laden offered Europe a truce - a move some analysts saw at the time as an effort to exploit a divide among Western allies over Iraq and antiterrorist measures. In the same way, bin Laden might be trying to take advantage of what he sees as divisions in the US - although some analysts caution against reading more into the latest tape than a basic desire to reaffirm that the terrorist leader is alive and well. "He's saying that whatever measures we've taken, they have not affected him," says Judith Yaphe, a former CIA Middle East analyst now at the National Defense University in Washington. "He's got to reassure people that he's alive and well." "There has been this long discussion in the media - is Osama bin Laden alive, is he dead, why hasn't he spoken, et cetera? So this is probably a reaction to that," says Ahmed Rashid, author of "The Taliban" and a longtime observer of jihadist groups in Pakistan and Afghanistan. Of course, if the voice on the tape does turn out to be confirmed as bin Laden's, it does not necessarily prove that bin Laden is unaffected by US and other counterterrorism measures aimed at him and other Al Qaeda operatives. "It's extremely easy for him to get a message out like this," says Mr. Scheuer, the former US intelligence analyst. Still, the tape holds particular messages - both to the US, in the form of an offered "truce," and to the Muslim world, Scheuer says. One goal is probably to reconfirm bin Laden's standing among Muslims as a leader. Other experts agree, noting that whatever Al Qaeda leaders may be trying to communicate to the US, they - like all wartime leaders - first and foremost are speaking to the homefront. "Their real message is meant for consumption by their followers and potential recruits," says Brian Jenkins, a terror expert at the Rand Corp. in Santa Monica, Calif. "It says, No. With the new tape surfacing on the heels of this week's CIA-directed attack on suspected Al Qaeda strongholds in Pakistani tribal areas, some observers speculate the tape may be an effort to establish Al Qaeda's operability after the attack.
But it will be very stressed." A grey scar, or growth, was visible on the left of its bulbous, black head. A taxi hailed and instructed to "follow that whale". A spokesman said three whales were spotted east of the Thames Barrier on Thursday but only one managed to get upstream. She told the BBC News website: "This is extremely rare in British waters as they are normally found in deep waters in the North Atlantic. Experts were at the scene, and a four-strong flotilla of boats - including a harbourmaster's vessel - kept watch on it. A sprint over Lambeth Bridge. Efforts could then be made to refloat it using specialist inflatable pontoon equipment that was being sent to the scene and could help direct it back towards the sea. Alan Knight, of the British Divers Marine Life Rescue, was coordinating the rescue and that of another reported beaching at Southend in Essex. Sperm whales have been seen in the Thames Estuary and porpoises have feasted on fish near Vauxhall Bridge, in central London. It swam as far up river as Chelsea before lifeboats turned it around just short of Albert Bridge. It is a very long way from home and we don't know why it has ended up here." The whale is thought to weigh about seven tonnes. "The last thing we want to do is stress the animal out," she said. Men from the harbourmaster's launch jumped out and splashed about to scare it into deeper water. It is the first time since 1913 that a northern bottlenose whale has been seen in the Thames, and hundreds of onlookers rushed to the riverside to watch as it progressed past parliament.
The animal was spotted as it passed the Houses of Parliament The 16-18ft (5m) northern bottle-nosed whale, which is usually found in deep sea waters, has been seen as far upstream as Chelsea. A rescue boat has been sent to protect the whale and rescuers have been trying to keep it away from the river banks. Specialist equipment, including inflatable tubes to re-direct the animal downstream, are being sent. The whale has come within yards of the banks and has crashed into an empty boat causing slight bleeding. The last thing we want to do is stress the animal out Liz Sandeman Marine Connection Watch the whale Whale in pictures Vets are remaining on standby and experts have said it does not appear to be ill, but are concerned it will get weaker and may become beached. Tony Woodley, of the British Divers Marine Life Rescue, which will be handling the rescue, said the animal's welfare was the main priority. He said if attempts to re-direct the whale downstream failed, it might be necessary to put it down to prevent from suffering further. 'Breathing normally' The RNLI say it is the first whale rescue on the Thames. A spokesman said three whales were spotted east of the Thames Barrier on Thursday but only one managed to get upstream. But at 0830 GMT on Friday, a man on a train called in to say he might have been hallucinating, but he had just seen a whale in the Thames. Alison Shaw of the Marine and Freshwater Conservation Programme at London Zoo, said the northern bottle-nosed whale was usually found in groups of three to 10. She told the BBC News website: "This is extremely rare in British waters as they are normally found in deep waters in the North Atlantic. The whale is thought to weigh about seven tonnes. The whales usually weigh about seven tonnes, which will complicate any rescue attempt, experts said. "This is a very active swimming animal and it's not going to go anywhere it doesn't want to go so we have to persuade it to swim back out." Liz Sandeman, a medic of the Marine Connection, a whale and dolphin protection charity, accompanied the RNLI to examine the animal. Sperm whales have been seen in the Thames Estuary and porpoises have feasted on fish near Vauxhall Bridge, in central London. Hyperoodon ampullatus Adult length: 7-10m (23-33ft) Weight: 5.8-7.5 tonnes Diet: Squid, fish Habitat: Deep offshore waters Range: Arctic and North Atlantic Status: Lower risk, conservation dependent, protected since 1977 Distinctive feature: Bulbous forehead Do you have any pictures or moving footage of the whale? Fears were growing for a whale which swam upstream in the Thames today, reaching central London after losing its way in the North Sea. It is the first time since 1913 that a northern bottlenose whale has been seen in the Thames, and hundreds of onlookers rushed to the riverside to watch as it progressed past parliament. Experts say they are very concerned for the whale - normally found in deep seawater - and there was increasing concern about its chances of making it back to the sea, around 40 miles downstream. There was speculation that if it became beached and stranded it could have to be put down in a mercy killing to minimise its suffering. At one stage before 2pm, the 4.5 metre (15ft) long mammal came close to becoming beached near Battersea, coming within yards of the riverbank. A number of members of the public jumped into the river and splashed around to encourage the whale to move back into deeper waters. By 5pm, the whale - not yet thought to be fully grown - had moved away from the banks near Westminster and was spending more time beneath the surface. Experts were at the scene, and a four-strong flotilla of boats - including a harbourmaster's vessel - kept watch on it. Earlier today Liz Sandeman, a marine mammal medic who went out in a lifeboat to examine the whale, said: "It looks quite healthy and quite relaxed. However, a statement released by the British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR) later said the whale was showing increasing signs of "poor health". Alan Knight, of the BDMLR, said there was currently a flood tide and the whale could become stranded when the tide changed. Efforts could then be made to refloat it using specialist inflatable pontoon equipment that was being sent to the scene and could help direct it back towards the sea. It appeared to have received a small cut from rocks, and earlier today there were signs of blood in the water - but Mr Knight said this was not a serious concern. "Then at 8.30am today we got a phone call from someone on a train who thought they had just hallucinated and seen a whale going up the Thames near Waterloo Bridge." A source from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said: "Because this is a deep water creature coming into shallow waters, it is possible that its sonar has been affected and it could be disorientated." A taxi hailed and instructed to "follow that whale".
DOREEN JOHNSON: That's right, yeah. Bob didn't include an address. She received a letter from a 10-year-old from Perth, who said he had found the bottle in a local boatyard. KERRI RITCHIE: So it would be nice for Bob to know what a celebrity he is? Alesha's note read: "If you get this message, please write back." Alesha Johnson got a reply to her message from Australia Alesha Johnson threw the bottle into the water at Morecambe Bay last July, enclosing her picture and Heysham address as part of a nursery project. DOREEN JOHNSON: She understands a little bit because we've talked about like the sea going in and going out. Doreen Johnson is the manager of the kindergarten. But oceanographer Peter Challenor said it could not have travelled unaided. The Australian boy, who said only that his name was Bob, wrote backing saying he had asked his father to look up Heysham on the internet. I mean, 9,000 miles doesn't mean anything to a child. But for the moment, this amazing true story has lost its leading man. Last week, almost six months later, an envelope arrived at her kindergarten. DOREEN JOHNSON: The furthest we thought it might go was the Isle of Mann which is just across from Morecambe, France at the furthest. AM - Saturday, 21 January , 2006 08:28:00 Reporter: Kerrie Ritchie TONI HASSAN: When a young British girl put a message in a bottle last year and threw it into the ocean off the west coast of England she hoped she'd hear back from someone.
AM - Saturday, 21 January , 2006 08:28:00 Reporter: Kerrie Ritchie TONI HASSAN: When a young British girl put a message in a bottle last year and threw it into the ocean off the west coast of England she hoped she'd hear back from someone. Last week, almost six months later, an envelope arrived at her kindergarten. But when staff opened it, they were shocked to find it had been sent by a 10-year-old boy named Bob, who had found the bottle 14,500 kilometres away in Perth. KERRI RITCHIE: In July last year, as part of a kindergarten project, four-year-old Alesha Johnson drew a picture of herself, and wrote next to it "Hello, if you get this message please write back". She included the address of her kindergarten in the coastal town of Heysham and put the piece of paper inside a bottle. With the help of her mum she sealed it up and threw it in the Irish Sea at Morecambe Bay on England's north-west coast. DOREEN JOHNSON: I thought it's rather strange that a child of four was getting a letter with just a first name and nobody you know, and not a home address or anything. KERRI RITCHIE: The letter was from a 10-year-old boy named Bob who lives in Perth. He'd found the bottle at Hillary's boatyard. KERRI RITCHIE: Bob wrote that his dad had looked up where Heysham was on the internet, and he'd drawn a map showing the 14,500 kilometers the bottle had travelled. But she hasn't grasped the situation of what it's evolved to, and how far the bottle has gone. I mean, 9,000 miles doesn't mean anything to a child. Doreen Johnson says they had a bit of trouble reading Bob's handwriting, but think his surname starts with the letter "F". KERRI RITCHIE: Would you say that Bob's the talk of the town at the moment? DOREEN JOHNSON: Well, he's the talk of our nursery, I don't know about the town, but he will be now it's been in the papers (laughs). It has probably got a lift caught up in a ship Peter Challenor, National Oceanography Centre He said the world's currents would have prevented the bottle getting to Australia. 'It's amazing' Doreen Johnson, the manager of the nursery Alesha attends in Heysham, said: "We were all very excited when the letter from Australia arrived addressed to Alesha. "We never dreamed the bottle would go that far, it's amazing."
Please re-enter. "As a 40-year-old man," Mr. Lestitian said, "I should be able to decide who my family is." Murdock's decision waded directly into the debate over gay marriage. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Gov. A Baltimore Circuit Court ruling yesterday struck down as discriminatory and unconstitutional a 1973 law outlawing same-sex marriage. · Curran's office moved to appeal. "When tradition is the guise under which prejudice or animosity hides, it is not a legitimate state interest." "A man can marry a woman, but a woman can't marry a woman," Mr. Choe said. But she rejected all the arguments offered in favor of the law, among them that children are best served by one male parent and one female parent. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. (R) wrote a letter to Attorney General J. Joseph Curran Jr. (D) advising him to appeal the decision and offering additional resources to support the effort. Maryland made much the same argument with regard to the marriage law's effect on men and women. View all New York Times newsletters. Judge Murdock relied on a 1967 decision by the United States Supreme Court, Loving v. Virginia, which struck down bans on interracial marriages. Advertisement Continue reading the main story The plaintiffs -- nine gay or lesbian couples and one individual -- sued court clerks in five Maryland counties who had denied marriage licenses to same-sex couples. Courts have generally been unreceptive to the argument that the prohibition on gay marriage is a form of sex discrimination. "The test is not whether a voter thought of every conceivable fact pattern that could have come up."
A Baltimore Circuit Court ruling yesterday struck down as discriminatory and unconstitutional a 1973 law outlawing same-sex marriage. The opinion set off a cascade of actions in all branches of state government. Among them: · Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. (R) wrote a letter to Attorney General J. Joseph Curran Jr. (D) advising him to appeal the decision and offering additional resources to support the effort. · Curran's office moved to appeal. "We have noted an appeal and think it appropriate that the court stayed the operation of its order," Kevin J. Enright, a spokesman for Curran, said in a statement. "We await having the decision of Maryland's appellate courts." · House Speaker Michael E. Busch (D-Anne Arundel) said the House of Delegates set aside Jan. 31 for hearings in the Judiciary Committee on proposals dealing with same-sex marriage, including a proposed constitutional amendment. · The Maryland Court of Appeals will signal whether it will take up the case directly or wait for the mid-level appellate court to rule. BALTIMORE — A Maryland Circuit Court judge sided with nine gay couples Friday, ruling that the state's law defining marriage as being between a man and a woman violates the state's constitution. It is the latest decision in an intense national debate over the rights of gays and lesbians to marry. The ruling in the Circuit Court for Baltimore City will not make Maryland gay couples immediately eligible for marriage licenses, however. Judge M. Brooke Murdock stayed the order pending an appeal, which the state attorney general's office filed right away. Murdock's decision waded directly into the debate over gay marriage. "Although tradition and societal values are important, they cannot be given so much weight that they alone will justify a discriminatory statutory classification," the decision stated. "When tradition is the guise under which prejudice or animosity hides, it is not a legitimate state interest." Thirteen states have adopted constitutional amendments outlawing gay marriage, 11 of which were approved in 2004. Courts have generally been unreceptive to the argument that the prohibition on gay marriage is a form of sex discrimination. Advertisement Continue reading the main story But Ken Choe, a lawyer with the American Civil Liberties Union's Lesbian and Gay Rights Project, which represented the plaintiffs in the Maryland case, said men and women were indeed treated differently under the law Judge Murdock struck down. "A man can marry a woman, but a woman can't marry a woman," Mr. Choe said. The State of Virginia had argued that its ban was not discriminatory, because it affected blacks and whites equally. Maryland made much the same argument with regard to the marriage law's effect on men and women. William B. Rubenstein, a law professor at the University of California, Los Angeles, and author of "Sexual Orientation and the Law," said Judge Murdock's analysis of the Loving decision could be viewed in two ways. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Mr. Choe said the equal rights amendment provided a sound basis for Judge Murdock's ruling even if the people who had voted for it did not know they were endorsing same-sex marriage. "The voters of Maryland in the early 70's enacted a broad prohibition on sex discrimination," Mr. Choe said. "Prevention of same-sex marriage," she wrote, "is not rationally related to the state's interests in promoting stable families and protecting the best interests of children." Advertisement Continue reading the main story The plaintiffs -- nine gay or lesbian couples and one individual -- sued court clerks in five Maryland counties who had denied marriage licenses to same-sex couples. One plaintiff, John Lestitian, the chief code compliance officer in Hagerstown, Md., said Judge Murdock's decision "is a step in a very long process."
They are democracies. It came as a boost for India, which has not signed the nuclear non-proliferation treaty, and therefore needs a change in US law. No treaties So what of Iran's claim of there being double-standards, especially in Washington? Mr Kerry said that the nuclear deal would have large implications internationally. The agreement hinges on India separating its military and civilian nuclear facilities and allowing international inspectors access to its civilian facilities. Key allies Iran has been far from forthcoming about much of its past nuclear history - and that is one reason why there is so much concern. Delhi is keen on a deal on ways to share nuclear technology to help meet its growing energy needs. "What Congress will or won't do is going to depend on what the four corners of the agreement finally say when it is arrived at." India is quite open about its nuclear weapons programme, but this has not stopped the Americans from proposing an ambitious programme of civil nuclear co-operation with the Indians. Indian and US officials have held several rounds of talks to resolve their differences especially ahead of the visit of US President George W Bush to India later this year. So what price consistency? In stark diplomatic terms Israel and India are in a different category to Iran. Iran Both countries also face domestic pressure. It insists that its nuclear ambitions are solely for peaceful purposes. Critics of the accord, which has to be ratified by the US Congress, fear it could harm non-proliferation efforts. Both though maintain close ties with the Americans. In principle I support this - this is a great gain, a positive gain John Kerry Mr Kerry, loser in the last US presidential election, is an influential Democrat member of the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee and an advocate of non-proliferation controls.
India must separate its civilian and military nuclear facilities US Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns made the remarks after two days of talks in the Indian capital, Delhi. Under the deal India would gain access to US civilian nuclear technology. Critics of the accord, which has to be ratified by the US Congress, fear it could harm non-proliferation efforts. "The situation is unique, India's position is unique and there is complexity and difficulty to these talks which is inherent in the subject," Mr Burns told journalists in Delhi. The agreement hinges on India separating its military and civilian nuclear facilities and allowing international inspectors access to its civilian facilities. Correspondents say that may not be very easy as some of the country's major research facilities are thought to straddle both fields. Iran Both countries also face domestic pressure. Some US politicians and policymakers feel that making an exception in the case of India, which has not signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), would send a dangerous signal to non-proliferators, especially countries such as Iran. On Friday, Mr Burns described Iran as a threat to global peace and said it had "overstepped the limits of international law in seeking to pursue its nuclear ambitions". India wants to rid itself of US sanctions imposed in 1998 India, which voted against Iran at the IAEA last year, urged caution on both sides. "It stands to reason that India which has with Iran a very longstanding... relationship, would not like see a situation of confrontation developing in a region that is very close to India," Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran said. Change in law The agreement was signed last July during a visit by Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to Washington. Under the agreement, US companies will be allowed to build nuclear power plants in India, and also supply fuel for nuclear reactors. The US imposed curbs on nuclear technology transfers to India in the wake of India's nuclear tests in 1998. Delhi is keen on a deal on ways to share nuclear technology to help meet its growing energy needs. By Jonathan Marcus BBC Diplomatic correspondent Western powers suspect Iran's nuclear ambitions are not peaceful The developing diplomatic row over Iran's nuclear ambitions has highlighted the question of consistency in US and Western efforts to halt the spread of nuclear weapons. Close US ally Israel is widely believed to have an advanced nuclear arsenal which rarely, if ever, draws any criticism from Washington. India is quite open about its nuclear weapons programme, but this has not stopped the Americans from proposing an ambitious programme of civil nuclear co-operation with the Indians. So has strategic interest trumped consistency in the non-proliferation field? It insists that its nuclear ambitions are solely for peaceful purposes. Iranian experts say other countries have fully-fledged nuclear weapons programmes, but they do not incur Washington's wrath. Iran has been far from forthcoming about much of its past nuclear history - and that is one reason why there is so much concern However, North Korea shows some of the limitations of diplomacy in tackling such thorny non-proliferation issues. But military options to halt its nuclear programme are almost unthinkable - just as with Iran. The onus remains on the diplomats to find a way through this complex crisis which involves energy policy, security issues and basic nationalism. No treaties So what of Iran's claim of there being double-standards, especially in Washington? Israel has a very close military relationship with Washington and the Bush administration seems to have thrown initial reservations about India's nuclear programme to one side and is now eager to step-up nuclear co-operation, at least in the civil field. Neither India nor Israel, nor Pakistan for that matter - which is also thought to have a small nuclear arsenal - have signed the Non-Proliferation Treaty. Key allies Iran has been far from forthcoming about much of its past nuclear history - and that is one reason why there is so much concern. And many US arms control experts see the Bush administration's plans for civil nuclear co-operation with India as driving a coach and horses through the broader non-proliferation regime. India says it wants nuclear power to meet its energy needs The landmark 2005 deal to grant India access to civilian nuclear technology must be ratified by the US Congress.
reported. But the military prosecutor, Maj. Tiernan Dolan, said that Mr. Welshofer had abused General Mowhoush, treating him "worse than you would treat a dog," The A.P. It was a very difficult time in Iraq. A US army officer was guilty of negligent homicide in the death of an Iraqi general during an interrogation, a military court ruled on Saturday. A day later, Mowhoush died after being put in a sleeping bag by Welshofer. 's involvement remained largely a mystery. Advertisement Continue reading the main story In his testimony, Mr. Welshofer and his lawyers argued that the Army had provided no guidance for what was authorized and unauthorized. He was found not guilty of murder and faces up to three years in prison when sentencing takes place today. He was also convicted of dereliction of duty. Mr. Spinner asked. View all New York Times newsletters. He had been commander of air defenses in western Iraq under Saddam Hussein, and military intelligence officials believed he might have been a leader and financier of the insurgency there, providing money and housing for fighters coming in from Syria. Please re-enter. The widely publicized incident has drawn special attention from human rights groups as one of the worst instances of abuse against detainees in American custody in Iraq, and because General Mowhoush had been beaten shortly before his death by a team that included one or more C.I.A. He was acquitted on charges of assault by a jury made up of army officers. Invalid email address. His supervisor had approved the technique but he did not tell her that he sat on prisoners. Prosecutors told the court that Welshofer had crossed a line and had not upheld the Geneva convention.
A US army officer was guilty of negligent homicide in the death of an Iraqi general during an interrogation, a military court ruled on Saturday. Chief warrant officer Lewis Welshofer is the highest-ranking army officer tried on murder charges arising from the Bush administration's campaigns in Afghanistan and Iraq. He was found not guilty of murder and faces up to three years in prison when sentencing takes place today. The court heard that Welshofer caused the death of Major General Abed Hamed Mowhoush by putting him head-first into a sleeping bag, tying electrical cord around him, straddling him and covering his mouth. Welshofer was also found guilty of negligent dereliction of duty, which carries a sentence of up to three months. He was acquitted on charges of assault by a jury made up of army officers. Welshofer's lawyer, Frank Spinner, told reporters: "The verdict recognises the context in which these events took place. There was confusion, and they were not getting clear guidance from headquarters." The US military had believed that Mowhoush, who had been close to Saddam Hussein, was in charge of the growing insurgency in western Iraq. Prosecutors told the court that Welshofer had crossed a line and had not upheld the Geneva convention. "This case has been about our officer corps' need to maintain the high ground, especially in a country like Iraq where our presence may be resented," lead prosecutor Major Tiernan Dolan said. The defence argued that Welshofer was interpreting an email from superiors sent in August 2003, three months before Mowhoush died. The email, from Captain William Ponce, said: "The gloves are coming off, gentlemen ... we want these individuals broken. A subsequent memo from Lieutenant General Ricardo Sanchez, the commanding officer in Iraq, authorised new interrogation techniques including, Welshofer claimed, the sleeping bag method. Mowhoush's death came two days after he was beaten with rubber hoses by Iraqi contractors working for the CIA. A day later, Mowhoush died after being put in a sleeping bag by Welshofer. His supervisor had approved the technique but he did not tell her that he sat on prisoners. Welshofer's attorney noted that several witnesses were granted immunity from prosecution in exchange for cooperating. The widely publicized incident has drawn special attention from human rights groups as one of the worst instances of abuse against detainees in American custody in Iraq, and because General Mowhoush had been beaten shortly before his death by a team that included one or more C.I.A. Advertisement Continue reading the main story The case also underscores the confusion among military interrogators and their superiors over the use of aggressive interrogation techniques in the summer and fall of 2003, when the insurgency in Iraq was rapidly gaining momentum and ferocity, and top Pentagon officials and commanders in Iraq were demanding better intelligence with which to combat the militants. Testimony at Mr. Welshofer's court-martial last week confirmed that a team of Iraqis had beaten the general two days before he died, but the C.I.A. At one point, a defense lawyer, Frank Spinner, questioned a witness whose identity was so secret that he was shielded from reporters and others in the courtroom by a green tarp suspended from the ceiling, The Associated Press reported. The witness said that when he spoke to Mr. Welshofer on the day before General Mowhoush died, he was alarmed when Mr. Welshofer told him he thought the Army's interrogation guidelines were being broken every day. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Mr. Welshofer said he received an e-mail message from his unit's commanders saying that there were no rules for interrogations yet, and that top officers were "tired of taking casualties and that the gloves were coming off." He said he never received memorandums from Sept. 14 and Oct. 12, which first authorized the use of "stress positions," but called for prior approval of Lt. Gen. Ricardo S. Sanchez, the top general in Iraq at the time. A small hole was cut in the bottom of the sleeping bag to allow the detainee to breathe. He had been commander of air defenses in western Iraq under Saddam Hussein, and military intelligence officials believed he might have been a leader and financier of the insurgency there, providing money and housing for fighters coming in from Syria. But a jury of six army officers found Chief Warrant Officer Lewis Welshofer Jr not guilty of the murder of Maj-Gen Abed Hamed Mowhoush in 2003.
Yesterday, on Sunday, temperatures in some coastal areas, like Bega and not far from the coast, 42 degrees, and in Sydney, out in the west, Richmond, 37 degrees. DANIEL HOARE: In Victoria there's fire-fighters fighting on a number of fronts. About 170 fires are still burning in Victoria and there are also fires in South Australia, Tasmania and Western Australia. And fire brigades are on standby in southern New South Wales as the hot conditions move north along the coast. But he says the north-east of the state will be on high alert today as temperatures head into the high 30s and low 40s. At least seven homes have been lost there and two bodies have been discovered after a car crash in a burnt-out area in the state's northwest. How do you think the weather's going to play out for fire-fighting in the next few days? Fire-fighters across all four states are hoping to take advantage of Monday's brief respite from the weekend's heat wave. PHIL KING: Well, really what you want is rain. PETER CAVE: The Victorian Country Fire Authority's Geoff Evans ending that report from Daniel Hoare. GREG ESNOUF: Some we've been lucky enough to bring under control, but the ones that are still listed as going are the very large fire in the Grampians that started in the Grampians National Park, but has now burnt 100,000 hectares of the park and also surrounding private properties to the east of the Grampians. Southern Australia also suffered bushfires earlier in January One firefighter was killed and three were injured when their vehicle rolled over as they headed towards a blaze.
The World Today - Monday, 23 January , 2006 12:30:00 Reporter: Daniel Hoare PETER CAVE: As fire-fighters across much of southern Australia continue fighting a number of blazes, the extent of the damage caused by yesterday's fires in Victoria is beginning to emerge. At least seven homes have been lost there and two bodies have been discovered after a car crash in a burnt-out area in the state's northwest. Fire-fighters in four states are trying to extinguish a number of blazes, the worst of which are in Victoria. The weather bureau says there'll be little respite for fire-fighters there, with conditions set to heat up again during the week, reaching more than 40 degrees on Thursday. And fire brigades are on standby in southern New South Wales as the hot conditions move north along the coast. Two people have died in car accident at the Grampians in the state's west - one of the worst-affected bushfire areas. Authorities haven't confirmed whether or not the deaths were a direct result of the fires, but the bodies were found in the car's wreckage in a burnt-out area. Fires have also destroyed sheds and vehicles and killed livestock in a number of areas of Victoria. In Western Australia, the efforts of fire-fighters battling a blaze in the state's south-west are being hampered by hot, gusty winds. In South Australia, fire-fighters are predicting worsening bushfire conditions as they fight blazes at the Ngarkat Conservation Park in the state's south-east, and on Kangaroo Island. In Tasmania, fire-fighters have had more luck, containing most of the 20 fires which were burning across the state yesterday. But there's still one fire burning on Tasmania's west coast, near Zeehan. A cool change in southern Victoria overnight has helped ease the bushfire threat in the state's south, but the hot conditions are now moving north, with fire-fighters in southern New South Wales now on high alert. The week ahead is also expected to be tough for Victorian fire-fighters with the hot, windy conditions experienced at the weekend likely to be back within days. So that hot air had been around, and it's probably going to be a little bit hotter on the New South on the east coast today. The front that's just gone through over Sunday and Monday, it's moving along the coast, the Gippsland coast, and it's going to go up along the New South Wales coast on Monday and into Tuesday. The temperatures have moderated significantly from Sunday, but it is very difficult to put fires out without rain, particularly big fires in bush areas. DANIEL HOARE: The Victorian Country Fire Authority's Geoff Evans says fire-fighters will be battling to contain the state's bushfires before the sweltering conditions return later in the week. GEOFF EVANS: We really would like to be able to lock all these fires down certainly before Thursday, but that will almost be impossible with the size of the Grampians fire and the Meandarra fire, they are large fires involving some very rugged area, and even fires in the Glenburn/Yea area, the King Lake fires, they're in very difficult terrain and will be difficult to lock down, but we certainly need to do our best work on them up until Thursday before we start experiencing hot, windy weather again. AM - Monday, 23 January , 2006 08:24:00 Reporter: Daniel Hoare KAREN PERCY: Fire-fighters across much of southern Australia are bracing for another busy day, after working through the night trying to control a number of large blazes. Bushfire brigades in much of south-western New South Wales are watching and waiting, fearing an outbreak as the extreme temperatures which struck South Australia, Victoria and Tasmania over the weekend move into the region. Victoria was the worst affected at the weekend, and as many as 250 fires are still burning, and as many as 20 homes have been lost. DANIEL HOARE: A cool change late yesterday in Victoria has helped fire-fighters in the south of the state, but temperatures across the state are likely to hit the 40 degree mark again by Thursday. Strong winds and temperatures into the 40s fanned blazes across the state yesterday, from Anakie, west of Melbourne, to the Grampians in the state's west, as well as in Gippsland. Residents of Yallourn North in Victoria's Latrobe Valley are also on alert as bushfires burn on the outskirts of town, with embers threatening to set fire to the state's power stations. GREG ESNOUF: Some we've been lucky enough to bring under control, but the ones that are still listed as going are the very large fire in the Grampians that started in the Grampians National Park, but has now burnt 100,000 hectares of the park and also surrounding private properties to the east of the Grampians. In the north the change has dropped temperatures a little bit, but because it's not necessarily deep, it won't be quite as significant as temperatures in the north and north-west of the state are getting up into the mid 30s generally. NEIL FRASER: It's very hot across much of or all of inland New South Wales as well, we're expecting temperatures to reach the low 40s again today. The wind is not terribly strong though, and it's initially coming in from the north, north-west, down through the Riverina, south-west slopes area, at around about 25 kilometres per hour. So the wind change may cause some problems today, but the fire rating for today is extreme.
But, more seriously, it is letting ourselves down. This was not my intention." For them, the row over the Danish cartoons is yet another confirmation of this perception. Muslims love the Prophet more than anyone - even their own families - and have a very strong belief that he is the messenger of God. "His life was the reflection of Allah's Words. The world is becoming like a village, you can't suppress what is being published in the West from the Third World. But in the Islamic culture it is very different. I embrace freedom of expression but with freedom comes responsibility. There seems to be a confusion between two issues: the Islamic ban on any pictorial representation and respect for the character of Muhammad. We were not treating Islam or the Prophet any differently from how we treat everybody else in Denmark. We believe the governments that allowed these freedoms to be abused should apologise to the Muslim communities. On the other hand, in a secular Europe, freedom of speech has developed as one of our sacred values. And the second thought was that we think that we are living in a secular society where even religion can be subjected to criticism and satire. Munira Mirza is a commentator on multicultural issues and Islamophobia British newspapers should publish the images. There were attacks earlier in the day on the Austrian embassy in Tehran. But part of the Western consensus is that poking fun at religious figures is acceptable. For example, do we have a right to say whatever we want even if it is false and dangerous? I'm sure the level of offence is far greater than would have been intended.
Muslim protesters infuriated by cartoons depicting the prophet Muhammad raised the diplomatic stakes last night as Iran's best-selling newspaper announced it would retaliate by running images satirising the Holocaust. The decision by the rightwing Hamshari daily to launch an international competition to find the most suitable caricatures came as demonstrators hurled firebombs and stones at the Danish embassy in Tehran and the Iranian government imposed a formal trade ban on Danish imports. Last night mobs were attempting to storm the Danish compound. In London, the home secretary, Charles Clarke, branded the activities of Islamist protesters outside the Danish embassy last week as "unacceptable". He told MPs he was pleased the response to the publication of the Danish cartoons had "in general been respectful and restrained in the best traditions of British tolerance". But he added: "If the police conclude there have been breaches of the law and decide to take any action, we would, of course, support them." Scotland Yard has set up a special squad to investigate the demonstrations and the placards on display which called for the death of those who "insult Islam". The inquiry will examine everything from video recordings made by officers to photographs published in newspapers. One protester, who was photographed apparently dressed like a suicide bomber, apologised "wholeheartedly" yesterday. He said he had not intended to cause offence to the victims of the July 7 London bombings or their relatives but added that his protest remained valid because of the hurt caused to Muslims by the publication of the Danish cartoons. "I felt the Danish newspaper had been provocative and controversial, deeply offensive and insensitive. My method of protest has offended many people, especially the families of the victims of the July bombings. Fresh protests raged across the Muslim world throughout the day, claiming four lives in Afghanistan and one in Somalia, but the involvement of the Iranian authorities added a further twist to the diplomatic tensions between western governments and Tehran. Hamshari is owned by Tehran city council and its plan follows a string of anti-Zionist statements by Iran's hardline president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who has dismissed the killing of 6 million Jews by the Nazis in the second world war as a "myth" and called for Israel to be "wiped off the map". Farid Mortazavi, the paper's graphics editor, said the cartoons would be published to test the argument of western newspapers which have cited freedom of expression in printing the prophet Muhammad images. "The western papers printed these sacrilegious cartoons on the pretext of freedom of expression, so let's see if they mean what they say and also print these Holocaust cartoons," Mr Mortazavi said. In Afghanistan, police opened fire on 2,000 protesters as they tried to break into the main US base in Bagram, north of Kabul, killing two and wounding five, said local chief Kabir Ahmed. Another two demonstrators died in the central town of Mehtarlam, after police fired live rounds into a crowd of demonstrators burning tyres and hurling rocks. A shot from within the crowd provoked the police into shooting, officials said. The paper admitted several of its Muslim distributors had refused to sell the day's issue and said some had torn the offending caricatures out. The cartoons have been published in virtually every major country across Europe - except Britain. Speaking from Beirut, Omar Bakri Mohammad, the leader of the Islamist group al-Muhajiroun which is banned in Britain, called for those who "blasphemed" against the prophet to be executed. "In Islam, God said, and the messenger Muhammad said, whoever insults a prophet, he must be punished and executed," he told BBC radio. Political and religious leaders in Lebanon attempted to calm sectarian tensions a day after Islamic extremists torched the building housing the Danish embassy and rampaged through a Christian quarter of Beirut. In Somalia, a 14-year-old boy died during clashes with police in the port city of Bosasso after protesters hurled stones at offices used by international aid agencies. The cartoons are seen as an attack on Islam by the West These tend to be exalted representations of a human figure, and nobody can say to what extent they are a realistic portrayal of a historical figure. He became the Qur'an in person," a cleric wrote recently, in response to a question about the "noble character of the Prophet" sent to the "Fatwa Bank" section in the popular website, IslamOnline. But at the same time it stands in sharp contrast to another Islamic tradition, based on the following Koranic verse: "Say: 'I am but a man like yourselves'." There seems to be a confusion between two issues: the Islamic ban on any pictorial representation and respect for the character of Muhammad But that does not explain why the cartoons in themselves were so offensive, since no-one could seriously claim that he or she recognised the features of the Prophet in any of the images drawn by the Danish cartoonists. The ban seems to have been based on the perception that cultures which consider animals or their statues to be sacred literally worship these animals, rather than a complex set of meanings and values that these creatures symbolise. Causes The row over the Danish cartoons would probably have remained a local dispute between some Muslims and a Danish newspaper had it not been for three factors: the rise of violent political Islam America's war on terror modern transnational media America's war on terror is still largely perceived in the Arab world as a war on Islam - a perception reinforced by the fact that it is happening exclusively in Muslim countries, namely Iraq and Afghanistan.
"It is not possible, because we covered all these areas with radar," he said. A sister ship of the al-Salam '98 sank in the Red Sea in October after a collision. Page: 1 2 3 RELATED YOUR E-MAIL ALERTS Saudi Arabia Egypt or or Create Your Own SAFAGA, Egypt (CNN) -- Distraught relatives kept vigil near the port of Safaga Saturday, waiting to find out whether their loved ones were among more than 340 people who survived after an Egyptian ferry sank in the Red Sea with about 1,400 people on board. Most were feared lost but officials said at least 314 made it to safety. There were high winds and a sandstorm overnight on Saudi Arabia's west coast. Rescue boats and helicopters are searching the area, but are being hampered by poor weather. One lifeboat was spotted from a helicopter during the day bobbing in the waves with what appeared to be about a dozen or more passengers. Police ringed the hospital. Hurghada is below the Sinai Peninsula. He ruled out the possibility of a collision with another ship, saying the other vessel would have reported the incident. Egyptian officials initially turned down a British offer to divert a warship to the scene and a U.S. offer to send a P3-Orion maritime naval patrol aircraft to the area. Four Egyptian frigates were looking for survivors, said Egyptian Transport Minister Mohammed Lutfy Mansour. But then Egypt reversed itself and asked for both the Orion and the Bulwark to be sent ― then finally decided to call off the Bulwark, deciding it was too far away to help, said Lt. Cdr. They didn't elaborate.
Most of 1,400 on Egypt ferry feared lost (AP/Reuters) Updated: 2006-02-04 08:26 An aging ferry sank in the choppy waters of the Red Sea on Friday with more than 1,400 people on board, mainly Egyptian workers returning from Saudi Arabia. Most were feared lost but officials said at least 314 made it to safety. A spokesman for President Hosni Mubarak said the ferry did not have enough lifeboats, and questions were raised about the safety of the 35-year-old, refitted ship that was weighed down with 220 cars as well as the passengers. "It's a roll-on, roll-off ferry, and there is big question mark over the stability of this kind of ship," said David Osler of the London shipping paper Lloyds List. "It would only take a bit of water to get on board this ship and it would be all over. The percentage of this type of ferry involved in this type of disaster is huge." There were high winds and a sandstorm overnight on Saudi Arabia's west coast. Officials said more than 185 bodies were recovered while hundreds remained missing in the dark, chilly sea nearly 24 hours after the ship went down. One lifeboat was spotted from a helicopter during the day bobbing in the waves with what appeared to be about a dozen or more passengers. This is an aerial image from TV which shows people in a dinghy in the Red Sea, Friday, Feb. 3, 2006. [AP] Hundreds of angry relatives of the passengers crowded for hours outside Egypt's port of Safaga, where the ferry had been heading. They shouted at police barring the iron gates and complained they had no information on their loved ones. "This is a dirty government, may God burn their hearts as they burned mine," one woman wailed, slapping her face in grief. A Transport Ministry spokesman said 314 people, including a 3-year-old child, were rescued. Some of the survivors were taken from the ferry's lifeboats, others from inflatable rescue craft dropped into the sea by helicopters, and others were pulled from the water wearing life jackets, the governor of Red Sea province, Bakr al-Rashidi, told The Associated Press. A police official at the operations control room in Safaga said 185 bodies were pulled from the sea. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the press. Well after nightfall, there were contradictory reports whether any survivors had been brought to shore. A security official said 20 had been sent to a Safaga hospital, but police at the port's entrance told families none was back. Egyptian officials initially turned down a British offer to divert a warship to the scene and a U.S. offer to send a P3-Orion maritime naval patrol aircraft to the area. But then Egypt reversed itself and asked for both the Orion and the Bulwark to be sent ― then finally decided to call off the Bulwark, deciding it was too far away to help, said Lt. Cdr. In the end, the Orion ― which has the capability to search underwater from the air ― was sent, but the Bulwark was not, he said. 1,000 ferry passengers missing in Red Sea Ship went down amid high seas, bad weather Rescue boats search the Red Sea on Friday for survivors of a ferry sinking. RELATED YOUR E-MAIL ALERTS Saudi Arabia Egypt or or Create Your Own SAFAGA, Egypt (CNN) -- Distraught relatives kept vigil near the port of Safaga Saturday, waiting to find out whether their loved ones were among more than 340 people who survived after an Egyptian ferry sank in the Red Sea with about 1,400 people on board. One day after the vessel sank, rescue boats were searching the chilly sea through the night for hundreds of people feared dead. The Al Salam Boccaccio 98 was loaded to near capacity with about 1,400 people -- about 1,300 passengers and 100 crew members -- and dozens of vehicles when it sank at midnight (5 p.m. Thursday ET), Egyptian officials said. Egypt's state-run Nile TV reported that at least 100 people had died, though Egyptian officials said earlier that far fewer deaths had been confirmed. About 1,000 family members and friends, many of them sobbing, were gathered at the port before Transport Minister Mohammed Lufty Mansour announced the latest survivor tally of 343. Riot police were on hand to quell any violence. However, some of the survivors who were taken to Hurghada, off Egypt's north-central Red Sea coast, reported to CNN that there was a fire on board before the ship sank with its cargo of passengers and freight.
Continued below. The images have been re-published in Bulgaria, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Switzerland, Hungary and New Zealand. "In the name of freedom of expression the media has taken this matter to the extreme," he said. The Dominion Post in Wellington and The Press in Christchurch published the cartoons Saturday. National's trade spokesman Murray McCully was also reluctant to comment. New Zealand embassy staff in Muslim countries have been put on high alert but have not yet encountered any problems. He added: "Good sense should prevail. - NZPA Islamic teachings forbid any images of the Prophet Mohammed, and outcry has erupted throughout Islamic and non-Islamic nations condemning the publication. Helen Clark was reported to be speaking to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs officials before making a statement. Hundreds of people have marched in Auckland protesting over the decision by two New Zealand newspapers to publish cartoons which have angered Muslims worldwide. Related Content Political Roundup: Freedom of speech vs PC culture Watch NZH Local Focus: Ditching Daniel's dreads Your Views: Readers' letters New Zealand has embassies in the Middle East in Iran, Saudi Arabia and one is being establishing in Egypt. Javed Khan, president of the Federation of Islamic Associations of New Zealand, said editors should "realise the serious implications and damage their papers have caused by such an irresponsible, insensitive and hurtful act against the Muslims". "The mature and honourable thing to do now is for The Dominion Post to apologise and retract such printing. "The posts closest to the action have been instructed to contact (us) by phone overnight if there were any issues, and there have been no responses," Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade spokesman Rob Hole said Sunday.
A renowned New Zealand cartoonist has stepped into the controversy surrounding the publishing of Muslim caricatures in newspapers around the globe. Tom Scott, who in 1969 faced a blasphemy prosecution for an anti-Christian cartoon, said the Islamic community needed to get a sense of humour. "(They) clearly have god on their side so they don't need cartoonists as well," he added. Mr Scott said he was sorry his original blasphemy charge had not gone to court as his defence team "was going to subpoena god". A number of European newspapers recently re-published the Muslim caricatures, first published by a Danish newspaper in September, triggering outrage and protests in some Muslim countries. Two Fairfax papers - The Dominion Post in Wellington and The Press in Christchurch -- yesterday followed suit, despite the outrage they have caused in the Muslim world. A New Zealand Muslim leader yesterday called on The Dominion Post to apologise for its irresponsible and hurtful act in publishing "disrespectful" cartoons of the Prophet Mohammad. Federation of Islamic Associations of New Zealand president Javed Khan said he was deeply saddened and that The Dominion Post should have known better. "In the name of freedom of expression the media has taken this matter to the extreme," he said. "Freedom of expression does not mean 'absolute' freedom, going as far as mocking other religions and their beliefs. Mr Khan said he hoped The Dominion Post editor Tim Pankhurst, also chair of the Commonwealth Press Union, would "realise the serious implications and damage the paper has caused by such an irresponsible, insensitive and hurtful act against the Muslims." Related Content Political Roundup: Freedom of speech vs PC culture Watch NZH Local Focus: Ditching Daniel's dreads Your Views: Readers' letters He said good sense should prevail. "The mature and honourable thing to do now is for The Dominion Post to apologise and retract such printing. "The Federation would also like to call upon the Muslims in New Zealand to show restrain in the face of such flagrant provocation and seek God's grace for patience and forbearance," Mr Khan said. The New Zealand Muslim community had shown its commitment to work towards a "cohesive, vibrant and progressive New Zealand," he said. "New Zealanders of all race and religion should rally together to build bridges across different ethnicities and help keep our country safe and secure for ourselves, our families and friends." Mr Pankhurst said yesterday his paper's portrayal of the controversial cartoons was an issue of solidarity and supporting press freedom, and he was not setting out to deliberately antagonise the Muslim communities of New Zealand. Ethnic Affairs Minister Chris Carter today said both newspapers had ignored their social responsibility and undermined New Zealand's reputation as a tolerant country. He said that although press freedom was important, it was also important to respect other people's beliefs. "Publication of these cartoons will not only incense the feelings of the Muslim community but it is also an outrageous attack on any efforts to create unity throughout Aotearoa," co-leader Tariana Turia said. Co-leader Pita Sharples said standards of decency must be established to prevent this kind of cultural offence. "It's one thing to promote freedom of the press and freedom of expression, but quite another to use those rights to justify the decision to insult religions and beliefs," Dr Sharples said. WELLINGTON, Feb. 5 (Xinhuanet) -- New Zealand embassy staff in Muslim countries are on high alert after two New Zealand papers published controversial cartoons of Prophet Mohammed this week. "The posts closest to the action have been instructed to contact (us) by phone overnight if there were any issues, and there have been no responses," Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade spokesman Rob Hole said Sunday. Thousands of Syrians stormed the embassy, setting fires and burning the flag in reaction to a Danish newspaper's publication of 12 Mohammed caricatures in September last year. Islamic teachings forbid any images of the Prophet Mohammed, and outcry has erupted throughout Islamic and non-Islamic nations condemning the publication. "We've also advised our posts in other Muslim countries in South East Asia and in Europe where there have been protests," said Hole. He said that at this stage New Zealand doesn't appear to have been singled out. Hundreds of people have marched in Auckland protesting over the decision by two New Zealand newspapers to publish cartoons which have angered Muslims worldwide. The protestors carried placards denouncing the publication of the cartoons by Wellington's Dominion Post and The Press in Christchurch as they walked down Queen Street. There is a possibility that New Zealand could be hit by a trade ban from Iran worth $100 million in lost exports, which would be felt largely in the meat and dairy industries. Javed Khan, president of the Federation of Islamic Associations of New Zealand, said editors should "realise the serious implications and damage their papers have caused by such an irresponsible, insensitive and hurtful act against the Muslims". "We've had an association with Iran, for example, for now 40 years -- it's a relationship that's been developed over a long period of time," Mr Grant said.
The bodies of Rachel Entwistle, 27, and Lillian, nine months, were found in Hopkinton, Massachusetts, last month. "He was observed at Logan Airport" the next day, said Coakley. After that, Neil Entwistle allegedly returned the .22-caliber handgun to his father-in-law's home in Carver. He faces charges of murder and illegal possession of a firearm in the US. ET) at a subway station in London. Entwistle had debts in England at the time he and his family left for the United States, Coakley said. On January 22, the bodies of his wife and daughter were found shot to death in the rented home they had moved into just 10 days earlier. An arrest warrant was issued out of Framingham District Court last night. The 27-year-old was taken into custody about noon (7 a.m. 'Probable cause' Ms Coakley said forensic evidence linked the gun to Mr Entwistle and his wife. Early Saturday morning on Jan. 21, he purchased a one-way ticket to London on British Airways and departed later that morning, Coakley said. She added that he also had new financial obligations, including the lease on his five-bedroom home. "Authorities went to the UK to pursue that investigation. London Metropolitan Police said Entwistle's first court appearance would be Friday at Bow Street Magistrates Court, the customary venue for extradition cases. CNN's Paula Newton contributed to this report Home Page Get up-to-the minute news from CNN CNN.com gives you the latest stories and video from the around the world, with in-depth coverage of U.S. news, politics, entertainment, health, crime, tech and more.
Briton charged in killing of wife, baby Arrested in England, he faces murder charges in Massachusetts RELATED YOUR E-MAIL ALERTS Massachusetts Great Britain Boston (Massachusetts) or or Create Your Own BOSTON, Massachusetts (CNN) -- The British man whose American wife and baby were found shot to death last month near Boston has been arrested in England, and charged with murder, officials said Thursday. Neil Entwistle faces two counts of murder, one count of illegal possession of a firearm and one count of illegal possession of ammunition, said Melissa Sherman of the Middlesex County, Massachusetts, district attorney's office. If convicted, he could face life in prison without parole. Massachusetts does not have the death penalty. (Watch the alleged trail of the gun and the suspect -- 3:37) At a magistrate court appearance a few hours later, he acknowledged the charges against him and said he did not consent to extradition to the United States. Middlesex District Attorney Martha Coakley said authorities believe Entwistle's wife, Rachel, and their 9-month-old baby, Lillian, were shot sometime during the morning of January 20 at their home in Hopkinton, Massachusetts. "There's no indication in the past of trouble," said Coakley, describing the picture investigators got of "a young couple starting out on a happy future." A spokesman for Rachel Entwistle's family said members were "shocked by the news" of the charges against her husband. Neil was a trusted husband and father, and it is incomprehensible how that love and trust was betrayed in the ultimate act of violence," Joe Flaherty read from the family's statement. Flaherty said the family was "always confident that the case would be solved and those responsible would be brought to justice." (Watch family spokesman tell of their heartbreak -- 2:20) There's not a clear-cut motive for the killings, but the investigation did turn up some "financial difficulty," Coakley said. The investigation also found that Entwistle "may have found himself in financial difficulty" in the United States after trying to start businesses "on the Internet, on eBay and also undertaking a lease and other financial obligations," Coakley said. Authorities believe the killings were "possibly" intended to be a murder-suicide, "but we cannot confirm that," Coakley added. She said that the .22-caliber handgun used in the killings was registered to Joseph Matterazzo, the stepfather of Entwistle's wife, and that forensic information linked the gun to Rachel and also Entwistle. "We know the defendant was aware" that Matterazzo owned guns, Coakley said, adding, "He had used that handgun with his father-in-law." Authorities say they believe Entwistle "secured" the gun before the killings and returned it to Matterazzo's home sometime during the late morning or afternoon of January 20, when no one was home, Coakley said. "He was observed at Logan Airport" the next day, said Coakley. "He purchased a one-way ticket on British Airways at approximately 5 a.m. ... and was on an 8:15 flight to the United Kingdom that day." On January 22, the bodies of his wife and daughter were found shot to death in the rented home they had moved into just 10 days earlier. The next day police found Entwistle's car in a parking garage at Logan Airport. No signs of struggle, prosecutor says Rachel Entwistle, also 27, was shot in the head and died immediately, and her baby was shot in the stomach and bled to death within minutes, according to the medical examiner's report. (Watch why it's tough to figure out when they died -- 1:34) The bodies were found on the bed in the master bedroom covered with bedding. "It just looked like an unmade bed," she said, explaining why the first two searches failed to find the bodies. Rachel Entwistle's mother last spoke to her daughter on January 19. Friends showed up for dinner January 21 and found no one home, and Rachel's worried family called police. CNN's Paula Newton contributed to this report Home Page Get up-to-the minute news from CNN CNN.com gives you the latest stories and video from the around the world, with in-depth coverage of U.S. news, politics, entertainment, health, crime, tech and more. Neil Entwistle was planning a murder-suicide when he shot his wife and infant daughter with his father-in-law's gun in Hopkinton, according to Middlesex District Attorney Martha Coakley, who held a press conference on the matter this morning. Entwistle, 27, was arrested this morning in England on two counts of murder and charges of illegal possession of a handgun and illegal possession of ammunition, prosecutors said. Coakley said police believe he had financial problems and killed his wife, Rachel, 27 and his nine-month-old baby daughter Lillian on Friday morning, Jan. 20 in their rented home, before abandoning the plan to kill himself.
She was so funny. Linda had the most wonderful, exact terminology. Radio 4 Controller Mark Damazer said Linda Smith was a Radio 4 giant. News Quiz regular Jeremy Hardy paid an emotional tribute, calling her "the wittiest and brightest person working on TV or radio panel games". She didn't even try. Her partner Warren Lakin was Jewish and had a great influence on her. The quirky English expressions she used were the most wonderful daft ways the English express themselves. I think she thought that by talking about the cancer she was giving it a platform that she didn't think it deserved. She had a record in her mind of everything she'd ever read or every film she'd seen. She had a very Jewish way of expressing herself in her humour and inflexion. She could quote you Shakespeare or the Bible. She made frequent appearances on Just A Minute and I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue, as well as the TV shows Have I Got News For You, Room 101 and Mock the Week. Jeremy Hardy was speaking to BBC Radio 4's PM programme. It annoyed her because she loved life. She was a very proud woman and she hated the cancer. 'Cared passionately' Having a cup of tea with Linda, you'd think this is a cup of tea I am going to enjoy. Linda was diagnosed with ovarian cancer three and a half years ago but she really didn't want people to know. She loved all beautiful things including gardening, theatre and films. Dedicated humanist She still managed to find time for a 35-date national tour in 2004, performing her show, Wrap Up Warm, to sell-out audiences.
Linda Smith is survived by her partner Warren Lakin The writer and broadcaster was a staple of the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and BBC Radio, whose listeners voted her "Wittiest Person" in 2002. She made frequent appearances on Just A Minute and I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue, as well as the TV shows Have I Got News For You, Room 101 and Mock the Week. Radio 4 controller Mark Damazer said her passing was "a terrible loss". Comedian Jeremy Hardy pays tribute "Linda was a Radio 4 giant," he added. "She generated an energy and warmth in every programme she ever did that made her fellow comedians and millions of listeners love her." News Quiz regular Jeremy Hardy paid an emotional tribute, calling her "the wittiest and brightest person working on TV or radio panel games". Her many TV credits include Have I Got News For You "Even when she was very ill, she had her friends laughing and feeling uplifted despite our sadness. "I am so lucky to have had such a wonderful friend." Mr Hardy told Radio 4 she had been ill for some time from ovarian cancer. A special tribute edition of the News Quiz will be broadcast on Friday at 1830 GMT, presented by her fellow panellist Andy Hamilton. By Jeremy Hardy Radio 4 comedian and writer Linda Smith's TV appearances included Room 101 and QI Jeremy Hardy, who worked with Linda Smith on BBC Radio 4 shows such as the News Quiz, pays tribute to the late comic. Linda was diagnosed with ovarian cancer three and a half years ago but she really didn't want people to know. She was a very proud woman and she hated the cancer. I think she thought that by talking about the cancer she was giving it a platform that she didn't think it deserved. She was a very proud and dignified woman who didn't want to be thought of as a patient or a victim. She'd make you raise your game and if you weren't on form you could just enjoy listening to Linda. The quirky English expressions she used were the most wonderful daft ways the English express themselves. Linda had the most wonderful, exact terminology. The quirky English expressions she used were the most wonderful daft ways the English express themselves. She had a very flat, south-east London, suburban working class, Kentish drone and some people thought: 'What on earth is happening to Radio 4?' Linda Smith: Witty commentator on modern life Her roots, in Erith, south-east London, were working-class, but she stubbornly refused to fit any stereotype, her deadpan diatribes about everyday irritations resonating with millions. And the mid-90s saw the start of her prolific career on BBC radio, as a regular panellist on the former Radio Five's weekly news satire programme, The Treatment. Linda Smith appeared with Paul Merton on BBC Two's Room 101 She was the first woman team captain and regular on the network's News Quiz and a frequent panel guest on two long-running Radio 4 favourites, Just a Minute and I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue.
She said he was not known to be violent. The school, which has about 1,500 students enrolled, has been evacuated, and crisis centres for parents and students have been set up. She added: "He was very depressed when he left two years ago." Police have surrounded the building and officers are negotiating with the man, who has barricaded himself and the hostages in a classroom. A receptionist at the Colbert de Torcy secondary school told the BBC News website: "He looked normal when he walked in... We let him in because we knew who he was." The students are said to be aged 16 to 18 and are being held in a classroom on an upper floor. French special forces are en route from Paris to the scene by helicopter. The town is located about 40 kilometres away from the city of Le Mans in northwestern France. 'Barricaded' The siege began early in the afternoon on Thursday. One report said the man had asked to talk to the country's education minister, François Fillon. (AP Photo) A former teacher surrendered Thursday after holding 23 students and teachers hostage at gunpoint in a French high school for several hours. The 33-year-old hostage-taker was reported to be severely depressed because he hadn't been able to find a job. Send us your comments and experiences using the form below. Top local official Stephane Bouillon said the man had respect for the children and wanted "his distress to be dealt with". He allowed the students to send cellphone text messages and call their relatives during the siege. Jean Luc Prigent, head of security for the region, told French Info radio it was "a happy end" to the event.
The students held hostage were aged 16 to 18 The captives, mostly students aged 16 to 18, were unharmed and the handover passed off calmly, officials said. The 33-year-old man, carrying a handgun, was said to be protesting about his employment problems. He had lost his job as a supply teacher at the Colbert de Torcy secondary school two years ago. The students, and two adults described as playground workers, were barricaded inside a classroom on an upper floor of the school. He just wanted someone to listen to him, to understand his distress Local official Stephane Bouillon Pictures of the siege Staff 'let in hostage taker' Police surrounded the building quickly and French special forces were sent in to conduct negotiations. Jean Luc Prigent, head of security for the region, told French Info radio it was "a happy end" to the event. He said the special forces were able to reach "a complete release of the group without violence". 'Depressive state' French special forces were called to the school The man's demands during the crisis to speak to the media and a former education minister from the region - as well as accounts from school workers who knew him - suggested he was depressed about not finding work for a prolonged period of time. Top local official Stephane Bouillon said the man had respect for the children and wanted "his distress to be dealt with". A receptionist at the school told the BBC News website: "He looked normal when he walked in... We let him in because we knew who he was." She added: "He was very depressed when he left two years ago." (AP Photo) A former teacher surrendered Thursday after holding 23 students and teachers hostage at gunpoint in a French high school for several hours. Intense negotiations led to the standoff being resolved peacefully, police said. From about 2:30 p.m. local time until early evening, he held a handgun on his hostages in an upper-floor study hall at Colbert de Torcy High School in Sable-sur-Sarthe. Police in Le Mans said one of the hostages was a teacher, another was a school employee, and the rest were high school students aged between 16 and 18. A school receptionist told the Associated Press that the gunman had told school staff he wouldn't harm the students. He allowed the students to send cellphone text messages and call their relatives during the siege. One report said the man had asked to talk to the country's education minister, François Fillon. The students held hostage were aged 16 to 18 The man, who is armed with a handgun, is holding the hostages at a school in Sable-sur-Sarthe in western France. He looked normal when he walked in... We let him in because we knew who he was Bernadette Mercier School receptionist Staff 'let in hostage-taker' The man reportedly entered the school during the afternoon. Vincent, 17, a student outside the school, told the AFP news agency he had exchanged text messages with an 18-year-old student named Elise, who described to him her fear as she was taken hostage with classmates. Hostages are using mobile phones to communicate with relatives She said the man had calmed down and was letting the students call their parents. 'Depressed state' A police official said the hostage-taker "wants to talk to the press about his employment problems".
(June 2004 - Three seats BNP 1659, Lab 1417, 1354, Con 1142, 1108, Lab 1073, Ind 903, Con 895, Ind 584, Lib Dem 582, 399, 345). Keighley West is the BNP's most secure council seat in the country. "The first time was in the general election. "People say 'I admire you for standing against them and for what you did for your daughter'," said Ms Sinfield. In last year's general election, party leader Nick Griffin chose to stand in Keighley but received only 9% of the vote. Labour scored a key council byelection victory against the BNP at Bradford, bringing the prospect that the extreme right party will be contained in May's main city council polls. Her daughter was 13 when she was targeted by a group of local men, some white, some Asian, who were grooming girls as young as 11 for sex. C hold. When the the BNP got wind of what was going on, it exploited the story to help gain a political foothold in the town. BNP spokesman Dr Phil Edwards said: "This is by no means a disastrous result and does not mean we are not welcome in Keighley. Ms Sinfield secured 1,819 votes and Mr Dawson received 1,216 while Lionel Lockley for the Conservatives polled 627 and Liberal Democrat Victoria Salmons got 208. The only other seat to change hands this week was at knife-edge marginal Ewhurst at Surrey's Waverley borough where a shock win by independent Diane James delivered blows to all three major parties. Labour's Angela Sinfield won the Keighley West seat with a majority of 603 after its BNP councillor Angela Clark stood down last month.
Labour's Angela Sinfield won the Keighley West seat with a majority of 603 after its BNP councillor Angela Clark stood down last month. Standing for the BNP, Ian Dawson came second, followed by the Conservative and Liberal Democrat candidates in a poll which saw a 35% turnout. Later, Ms Sinfield described the result as a victory over extremism. "The first time was in the general election. The BNP need to get the message that they are not welcome in Keighley and need to leave." BNP spokesman Dr Phil Edwards said: "This is by no means a disastrous result and does not mean we are not welcome in Keighley. "We have secured nearly a third of the votes, which is still a good result." The BNP won four seats on Bradford Council in 2004 but this has now been reduced to three. In last year's general election, party leader Nick Griffin chose to stand in Keighley but received only 9% of the vote. Ms Sinfield secured 1,819 votes and Mr Dawson received 1,216 while Lionel Lockley for the Conservatives polled 627 and Liberal Democrat Victoria Salmons got 208. Labour scored a key council byelection victory against the BNP at Bradford, bringing the prospect that the extreme right party will be contained in May's main city council polls. A key factor in the triumph of Angela Sinfield at Keighley West appears to have been widespread tactical voting by supporters of other mainstream parties. The BNP emerged on to the city council in 2004. The latest result leaves it with three members, two of whom are up for election in May. The only other seat to change hands this week was at knife-edge marginal Ewhurst at Surrey's Waverley borough where a shock win by independent Diane James delivered blows to all three major parties. The Tories lost the seat but the Lib Dems' failure to win it meant they did not take overall control of the authority. Labour polled just six votes with their candidate failing to persuade at least four of the 10 people who assented to his nomination to actually support him at the poll. But there was better news for Liberal Democrats at Millfield, Sunderland city when they easily defended the seat in a ward which has two Labour councillors The Rev Angie Paterson scored a landslide victory for the Tories to hold a previously marginal Watlington seat at South Oxfordshire district. Swing 6.7% Lib Dem to C. Bradford city - Keighley West: Lab 1819, BNP 1216, Con 627, Lib Dem 208. (June 2004 - Three seats BNP 1659, Lab 1417, 1354, Con 1142, 1108, Lab 1073, Ind 903, Con 895, Ind 584, Lib Dem 582, 399, 345). (May 2005 - Two seats Con 853, 803, Lib Dem 741, 617). (June 2004 - Three seats Lib Dem 893, Lab 846, 824, 728, Lib Dem 629, Con 579, 570, Lib Dem 557, Con 530, BNP 360). Sitting in the upstairs room of a terrace house, surrounded by leaflets and streetmaps, Angela Sinfield says she knows only too well what is at stake when she takes on the British National party in a byelection today. Two years ago her teenage daughter, who had been groomed for sex by a local gang, was used by the far-right party to whip up racial tension in her home town of Keighley. The BNP portrayed her daughter's case as an issue of race and religion - Asian men preying on "local" white girls - and the fallout saw the far right make its first breakthrough in Bradford, winning four seats on the city council. Since then Keighley has become known as a BNP town, with BNP leader Nick Griffin singling it out as his number one target in last year's general election. Her daughter was 13 when she was targeted by a group of local men, some white, some Asian, who were grooming girls as young as 11 for sex. "The thing about grooming was that it was about the exploitation of young women, it was about these girls being exploited for whatever reason, but it was never about race," said Ms Sinfield, who joined the Labour party last year and is standing as its candidate. In 2004 it won 51% of the vote and although Mr Griffin was soundly beaten, with just 9%, in last year's general election, it is now considered as one of the party's heartlands. "We had Griffin's trial, then the Danish cartoons and the pictures of the demonstrator in London with the fake suicide bomb.
This is Jill. Carroll, 28, said her captors treated her "very well." ... We are elated by Jill's safe release." The family released a statement on the website of the Christian Science Monitor, saying: "Our hearts are full. Washington's ambassador to Iraq said no ransom was paid by the U.S. embassy. They dropped her off outside the Baghdad offices of the Sunni Arab Iraqi Islamic Party, where she called American officials. “We’ve had an arduous three months,” Jim Carroll said. “The journalism faculty has been calling each other on the phone. "I'm just happy to be free. Held in room with window, given newspaper She was held in a room that had a window, although she couldn't see out because it was frosted, and had a washroom and shower nearby. Carroll was shown in two videos on Arabic television network Al-Jazeera in January. Abducted on Jan. 7 Carroll was abducted by militants on Jan. 7 while she was on her way to an interview with a Sunni Arab politician. “I’m glad she’s alive.” No involvement from military In Washington, a Pentagon spokesman said the U.S. military was not involved in Carroll’s release. Then, Thursday morning, her father picked up the phone to the sound of her voice: “Hi Dad. “It’s been very, very difficult on the family and all of the friends, and obviously all the people around the world. Many U.S. government agencies and the FBI worked diligently behind the scenes on the Jill Carroll kidnapping case. ... We're going to work as hard as we can to help her get home as soon as possible."
Reaction to reporter Carroll's release (CNN) -- The release Thursday of American journalist Jill Carroll nearly three months after her kidnapping in Baghdad elicited joy from family, friends and officials as well as expressions of hope for the release of other hostages in Iraq: Jim Carroll, the reporter's father, said he was asleep when the telephone rang about 6 a.m. I'm released." (Watch a spokesman express the family's feelings -- 1:15) Mary Beth Carroll, Jill's mother, said in a statement read by her brother, Peter Alonzi, in Evanston, Illinois: "My wish is that this joyous occasion will offer hope to all the mothers of Iraq whose children have been kidnapped. ... May they all be returned safely and quickly to their mothers' arms." Richard Bergenheim, editor of The Christian Science Monitor, the paper for which Carroll freelanced, said, "Often more than 30 Iraqis a day are kidnapped, and the world does not hear their voices or that of their families. ... I can't help but reflect on the conditions in which other captives have been held, which have been very grim." Tariq al-Hashimi, secretary-general of the Iraqi Islamic Party, was seen on a videotape offering Carroll presents, including the Quran: "I extend my congratulations to you, your family, to the American people for your safety and I'm very pleased you are with us today." I'm just really grateful she was released, and I want to thank those who worked hard to release her, and we're glad she's alive." U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice hailed the release, expressing "the great delight and the great relief of the United States." (Watch the president and Rice react to Carroll's release -- 1:27) Zalmay Khalilzad, U.S. ambassador to Iraq, said Carroll "is safe, she is free, and she appears in good health and in great spirits. The Christian Science board of directors said in a statement: "We're deeply thankful for the monumental labors that went on in agencies and offices of the United States government, within the government of Iraq, and among individuals in Iraq and worldwide. Micah Garen, former captive in Iraq, said: "Jill is a wonderful person, and she showed so much compassion to Iraq. Jackie Spinner, a Washington Post reporter who covered Iraq, said of Carroll: "This is a woman of tremendous courage. Obviously she did something right to get herself out of the situation, starting from the fair reporting that she did during her many months in Iraq." Ann Cooper, executive director of the Committee to Protect Journalists, said: "We are overjoyed that this ordeal has finally ended and that Jill Carroll has been returned safely. We continue to call for the release of other remaining captives in Iraq, and we urge armed groups to stop targeting innocent civilians." Reporters Without Borders said: "We thank all those throughout the world, particularly the major Arabic media, who campaigned for the release of this young journalist. ... Our campaign will not be over until the three Iraqi reporters, Rim Zeid, Marwan Khazaal and Ali Abdullah Fayad, have been released in their turn." Ibrahim Hooper, spokesman for the Council on American-Islamic Relations, said that the group welcomes Carroll's release as "a positive development and we hope it leads to the release of all hostages currently held in Iraq. ... We hope that we had at least some small part in winning her release and convincing the kidnappers their actions were counterproductive to the interests of the people of Iraq." Richard Kolko, FBI spokesman, said, "We are obviously pleased that Jill Carroll has been released. Many U.S. government agencies and the FBI worked diligently behind the scenes on the Jill Carroll kidnapping case. The phone rang just before 6 a.m. After three months of captivity in Iraq, freelance reporter Jill Carroll called her dad to let him know she was alive — and free. “It was quite a wake-up call, to say the least,” Jim Carroll said Thursday outside his home. She’s apparently in good health and mentally strong and we’re all very pleased about that.” Jill Carroll was heading to an interview with a Sunni Arab politician in Baghdad on Jan. 7 when she was kidnapped. Her translator was killed, and her captors, calling themselves the Revenge Brigades, demanded the release of all women detainees in Iraq by Feb. 26 or they would kill Carroll, too. Reunion with family planned Near Chicago, her mother, Mary Beth Carroll, said she was trying to figure out the travel plans so she could hug her daughter again. Meanwhile, German authorities said Thursday they arrested a man who is accused of trying to extort $2 million from the Christian Science Monitor by promising to win Carroll’s release. A U.S. arrest warrant and FBI affidavit made public Thursday by federal prosecutors in Washington said that Kelvin Kamara, a west African native living in Germany, struck up an e-mail exchange with a Monitor editor in Washington little more than a month after Carroll’s abduction in early January.
And there has to be. DeLay: Oh, they did? I'm working on some district things. TIME: Thank you for sitting down with TIME. I want to continue to work for a Republican majority. It's obvious to me over the last few months, I have tremendous support, not just in the 22nd District. Former aides of Mr. DeLay confirm that he ... So I don't know exactly the date. There is a connection between religion and politics, and religion and government. We're going to lay it out. I felt very good, very free about giving that speech. The state Republican election committee will pick someone to run on this ballot. I feel very close to the Members and have a great relationship with the members. The people that go to church understand that a country has to be based on some sort of religion and fear of God because they understand that. I've been around awhile. I could keep fighting for the things I believe in, outside of Congress. I'll probably come up with a date in the next couple weeks. We will send a [videotaped] speech to all the media outlets. But it depends on the Congressional schedule. FREE PREVIEW DeLay Won't Run For Re-Election To House Seat Word Count: 355 WASHINGTON -- Rep. Tom DeLay (R., Texas), once one of the most powerful Republicans on Capitol Hill, won't seek another term in Congress, former aides of Mr. DeLay and current House Republican leaders said last night. I can evaluate political situations. I spent a lot of time talking to friends and people I have respect for and staffChristine and I every day discussing what the future holds.
FREE PREVIEW DeLay Won't Run For Re-Election To House Seat Word Count: 355 WASHINGTON -- Rep. Tom DeLay (R., Texas), once one of the most powerful Republicans on Capitol Hill, won't seek another term in Congress, former aides of Mr. DeLay and current House Republican leaders said last night. Mr. DeLay announced earlier this year that he wouldn't try to run for another term in the Republican leadership after he became the center of two separate investigations. Tom DeLay, the Texas republican representative and former House Majority Leader, and his wife, Christine, sat down at their kitchen table in Sugar Land, Texas, on Monday with TIME White House correspondent Mike Allen to explain DeLay's decision not to seek reelection, and to give up his Congressional seat in the next few months. Joining the discussion were his campaign manager, Chris Homan, and his House press secretary, Shannon Flaherty. DeLay: After the primary [March 7], I started looking atreevaluating the primaryevaluating what the general election was going to be, looking at the landscape. I spent a lot of time talking to friends and people I have respect for and staffChristine and I every day discussing what the future holds. And I'm very proud of my record and I feel very strongly about what the 22nd District that I represent deserves. And it was obvious to me that the 22nd District needed an election that discussed issues. And although I felt, I feel that I could have won the race, I just felt like I didn't want to risk the seat and that I can do more on the outside of the House than I can on the inside right now. It's obvious to me over the last few months, I have tremendous support, not just in the 22nd District. I mean, when I say "tremendous support," I'm talking about people who strongly support me and are emotional about what we've been fighting for and what we've been working for. And I have felt that support around the country, too, and in Washington, D.C. And I'm looking at being focused right here in this district, fighting a referendum on me, versus being able to go out and work for the conservative cause and the Republican majority. I made a speech last week, and that pretty much cinched it for me. A good friend of mine, Dr. Rick Scarborough, who startedand I urged him, and we've worked together over the yearsan organization called Vision America, which is out recruiting pastors to get involved in the political arena. So I made a speech on Wednesday. It was covered by C-Span and, frankly, a bunch of cameras. The reaction was incrediblejust an outpouring of love and support from the audience. I could keep fighting for the things I believe in, outside of Congress. TIME: What was it that made you feel free, and what was your main point? DeLay:My main point was that this country was built on morals and religion. Our greatest leaders were very strong believers. There is a connection between religion and politics, and religion and government. There has to be for this country to have accomplished all it's accomplished and for its future. How many times have the great leadersRonald Reagan, Roosevelt, Lincoln, George Washingtonhave said there is a connection between morals and religion. The people that go to church understand that a country has to be based on some sort of religion and fear of God because they understand that. DeLay: Well, most of 'em knew who I wasthey knew who I was. DeLay: I'm going to announce tomorrow [Tuesday] that I'm not running for reelection and that I'm going to leave Congress sometimeI haven't figured out because I have some things to do, to finish. I'm working very hard on the President's vision for NASA and that's incredibly important for the nation, as well as this district.
"We have to assume that". More birds, including swans, are being tested The ex-head of the British Veterinary Association, Dr Bob McCracken, said he found it "difficult to accept" there would not be more cases. Experts believe it is likely the domestic swan contracted the virus by mixing with another infected bird. However, there are thought to be no poultry farms in the immediate area of flu case. Testing Scotland's Chief Veterinary Officer, Charles Milne, announced on Thursday that a surveillance zone was being extended to 965 sq miles (2,500 sq km). The H5N1 strain can be fatal to humans. He also advised poultry owners to keep birds indoors if possible. She said: "When I found the dead bird, I called the police, who told me to phone the RSPB, who in turn told me to phone Defra. The Scottish Executive said restrictions had been put in place around Cellardyke, east of Anstruther. Leading microbiologist Professor Hugh Pennington urged the public not to worry about any personal health risk. And if infection did spread to a farm, containment measures could be implemented to prevent the virus spreading to other flocks - including culling. First Minister Jack McConnell said he had spoken to other ministerial offices and was being kept informed of the situation. He told BBC Scotland that the number of people who have died from bird flu had been very small compared to the millions of birds who have perished. "Bird keepers outside the protection zone should redouble their efforts to prepare for bringing their birds indoors if that becomes necessary. Over the last few weeks we've seen swans and other birds dying in Western Europe Dr David Nabarro UN bird flu co-ordinator Mr McConnell was notified whilst on an engagement in Washington as part of his involvement in Tartan Week.
More birds, including swans, are being tested The ex-head of the British Veterinary Association, Dr Bob McCracken, said he found it "difficult to accept" there would not be more cases. But Dr McCracken said that did not mean it was certain the virus would spread to poultry. He also advised poultry owners to keep birds indoors if possible. Seagulls Fourteen other birds, including 12 swans, are currently being tested by experts to see if they have the virus. I would start from the assumption that a small pool if wild birds in the Fife area are infected Dr Bob McCracken, British Veterinary Association Experts think there will be other positive cases, particularly because the initial case was in a mute swan, which is native to the UK, rather than a migratory species. Dr McCracken said: "I would start from the assumption that a small pool if wild birds in the Fife area are infected and potentially passing it on to other birds." Professor John Oxford, a virologist at Barts and the London Queen Mary's School of Medicine and Dentistry, agreed the swan would not be the last UK case. Dr McCracken also warned that seagulls, who are known to have been pecking at the carcass of the dead bird, could also be infected. But he said measures - most significantly keeping birds indoors - would protect domestic flocks from becoming infected. And if infection did spread to a farm, containment measures could be implemented to prevent the virus spreading to other flocks - including culling. In both cases poultry on nearby farms were infected but poor hygiene standards and a failure to keep birds indoors were blamed. Testing Scotland's Chief Veterinary Officer, Charles Milne, announced on Thursday that a surveillance zone was being extended to 965 sq miles (2,500 sq km). Poultry owners within the wild bird risk area must keep birds indoors or, if not possible, ensure they are kept away from wild birds. The zone contains 175 registered premises, with 3.1 million poultry. Scotland's chief medical officer said it was thought the bird was a native mute swan, which does not migrate. Experts believe it is likely the domestic swan contracted the virus by mixing with another infected bird. Test results have confirmed that the swan died from the H5N1 strain of the virus, the first case seen in the UK. On Wednesday, an initial 1.8 mile (3km) protection zone was set up around the village of Cellardyke, where the swan was found and, on Thursday afternoon, a surveillance zone was extended to 965 sq miles (2,500 sq km). Chief Veterinary Officer Charles Milne confirmed that the swan's body had been partially eaten but added there was no evidence to suggest this had been done by a domestic animal such as a pet cat or dog. 'Lack of urgency' Ian Thomson, bird expert from the East Lothian Ranger Service, told BBC Scotland that another bird was likely to have carried the virus to UK shores. He said: "Mute swans are residents in Britain therefore it is very unlikely that this bird brought the avian flu here. The exact spot where the swan was found in Cellardyke harbour The swan was discovered eight days ago by a local woman who was walking near-by. Locals reportedly spotted the dead bird floating around in the water for several days, with one woman saying she had seen seagulls pecking at it. Tina Briscoe, 68, who works at St Andrew's University, found the dead swan washed on the shore at the pier. She said: "When I found the dead bird, I called the police, who told me to phone the RSPB, who in turn told me to phone Defra. It's not a virus that's a threat to the British population - you have to have extremely close contact with the birds to be at risk Professor Hugh Pennington However Mr Milne defended the length of time it took to remove the bird. He said: "The swan was reported after 5pm on 29 March and it was collected the next day between working hours. He told BBC Scotland that the number of people who have died from bird flu had been very small compared to the millions of birds who have perished. "It is worth noting that the number of human cases around the world has been very small compared to the amount of virus that has been doing the rounds both in wild birds and commercial. QUICK GUIDE Bird flu "It's not a virus that's a threat to the British population - you have to have extremely close contact with the birds to be at risk. "The only people in Britain who are at risk from this virus - and that's if it got a hold of the poultry industry - would be people looking after those poultry, people going in hen houses and the vets making any diagnosis." The H5N1 virus does not at present pose a large-scale threat to humans, as it cannot pass easily from one person to another. However, experts fear the virus could mutate to gain this ability, and in its new form trigger a flu pandemic, potentially putting millions of human lives at risk.
This is our job. Plan is "start of a process", Bertie Ahern says In fact, I look at this as a start of a process. The British and Irish governments would then work on partnership arrangements to implement the Good Friday Agreement. Assembly members have been given until 24 November to set up an executive. Mr Paisley also condemned the Irish government's involvement in Northern Ireland. SINN FEIN PRESIDENT GERRY ADAMS The Sinn Fein leader said there were "negatives and positives" in the statement. The assembly is to be recalled on 15 May with parties being given six weeks to elect an executive. PRIME MINISTER TONY BLAIR "If the parties really can't find a way forward, we have to call a halt and find a different way forward. Devolved government at Stormont was suspended in October 2002 following allegations of a republican spy ring. I appeal to Unionism to seize this opportunity. If that attempt fails, salaries will stop. It is about a shared future for all the people on this island. ULSTER UNIONIST LEADER SIR REG EMPEY Sir Reg said he welcomed the recall of the assembly. That's why the SDLP will need to see the legislation that follows it. We believe that this is possible and that is why we are here today." This is a framework that only works if the parties choose to use it for proof of good faith, not to themselves and their own community but to the community of the other Above all, this is a moment to let the process be governed not by suspicion but by the faith that the other does want this to succeed.
President Bush has urged politicians to give leadership His comments came after the British and Irish prime ministers unveiled a blueprint for reviving devolution. Assembly members have been given until 24 November to set up an executive. In a statement from the White House, Mr Bush urged politicians to "demonstrate leadership" to resolve the outstanding issues. "Today is an opportunity for all in Northern Ireland to take control of their future and bring the political process to a successful completion this year," the White House said on Thursday evening. "President Bush calls on all parties to demonstrate leadership and seize this opportunity to work together to restore the power-sharing government and resolve outstanding issues. BLUEPRINT TIMETABLE Assembly recalled on 15 May: politicians given six weeks to form executive If this fails, further 12 weeks after summer recess to form executive If this is not achieved by 24 November deadline, assembly members' salaries and allowances stopped Governments would then work on partnership arrangements to implement the Good Friday Agreement In full: Joint NI statement Reaction to governments' plan "We remain steadfast in our support of the peace process and the efforts of the British and Irish governments to achieve a lasting peace under the principles of the Good Friday Agreement." Tony Blair and Bertie Ahern travelled to Northern Ireland on Thursday to give parties a "take-it-or-leave-it" plan. The assembly is to be recalled on 15 May with parties being given six weeks to elect an executive. If that fails, the 108 members get a further 12 weeks to try to form a multi-party devolved government. Mr Blair said it was "a moment to let the process be governed, not by suspicion but by the faith that the other does want this to succeed." Mr Ahern said the politicians have been given a "finite" time to reach agreement. Devolved government at Stormont was suspended in October 2002 following allegations of a republican spy ring. They confirmed the assembly will be recalled on 15 May with parties being given six weeks to elect an executive. If that fails, the 108 members get a further 12 weeks to try to form a multi-party devolved government. Despite denials of involvement in Tuesday's murder, the Democratic Unionist Party is blaming the IRA and that has pushed the prospect of power-sharing even further away. BLUEPRINT TIMETABLE Assembly recalled on 15 May: politicians given six weeks to form executive If this fails, further 12 weeks after summer recess to form executive If this is not achieved by 24 November deadline, assembly members' salaries and allowances stopped Governments would then work on partnership arrangements to implement the Good Friday Agreement In full: Joint NI statement Reaction to governments' plan Speaking from Navan Fort in County Armagh on Thursday, Mr Blair said it was "a moment to let the process be governed, not by suspicion but by the faith that the other does want this to succeed." "We have today set out a framework beginning with the recall of the assembly on the 15th of May and running up to November of this year for that ultimate decision to be made," he said. "At that point we close the chapter... or we close the book." Mr Ahern said the politicians have been given a "finite" time to reach agreement. The Stormont government has been suspended since October 2002 Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams said there were "negatives and positives" in the statement. "We welcome that the assembly has been brought together... we have concerns about the timeframe, about other aspects of the statement, but we think that's a good forward step. DUP leader Ian Paisley said: "Currently there is no evidence that Sinn Fein/IRA will be any further advanced in giving up criminality in November. "Given the reality that there will be no executive formed for the foreseeable future the best way forward is to get working in the assembly." "We urgently need to have an input into, and make changes to, direct rule decisions on education, water rates and the Review of Public Administration to name but three.
It has gained Lambeth. 2006 ENGLISH ELECTIONS Labour losses: Newcastle-under-Lyme, Derby, Stoke-on-Trent, Bury, Redditch, Barrow-in-Furness, Warrington, Crawley, Lewisham, Bexley, Merton, Hammersmith and Fulham, Croydon Tory gains: Shrewsbury and Atcham, Crawley, Mole Valley, Hillingdon, Harrow, Coventry, Ealing Tory losses: West Lindsey, Gosport Lib Dem gains: St Albans, South Lakeland Lib Dem losses: Milton Keynes, Islington BNP: Won 11 seats in Barking and Dagenham Greens: Gained 14 seats, including four in Norwich Every council, every result Analysis: Heat on Blair Voters' panel's reaction The result is one of the worst on record for Labour at a local election - and its worst share of the vote in an election since the early 1980s. The party said the poll did not produce the "meltdown" some had predicted. The borough went to no overall control and the Liberal Democrats are now the largest party there. The projected vote share if the polls were held nationwide shows the Tories on 40%, Lib Dems 27% and Labour 26%. It is the first electoral test for Conservative leader Mr Cameron since he became leader last December. The Conservatives gained 317 councillors and took control of councils across London and the South-East, but failed to make hoped-for gains in Northern cities such as Liverpool, Newcastle and Manchester. The Greens and Respect also made gains. He indicated he would be talking to the prime minister at the weekend about the way forward. The UK Independence Party has won a seat in Hartlepool. "There's plenty more to do, and plenty more change to be made and work to be done, but I think this is a very important step forward," he told BBC Radio 4's Today.
With net gains of 316 seats, the Tories won control of councils such as Crawley, Ealing and Croydon. On the projected share of the votes if the local polls were held nationwide, the Conservatives were on 40%, ahead of the Lib Dems' 27% and Labour's 26%. Tory chairman Francis Maude called it a "good" result. But opponents said the Tories had failed in northern cities. 'Change and optimism' Mr Maude said the result was "at the top end" of predictions, adding: "We are continuing to build our support while Labour's melts away. "David Cameron's message of change, optimism and hope is in tune with what Britain wants today." It was the Tories' best local election performance since they last won national power in 1992. Party leader David Cameron said: "There's plenty more to do, and plenty more change to be made and work to be done, but I think this is a very important step forward." He added: "I think that we have shown right across the board that where Labour are collapsing, we are building." 'Bellweather seat' There were Tory wins in areas such as Shrewsbury & Atcham, Bassetlaw and Mole Valley. The party's win in Crawley stripped Labour of control of the town for the first time since the early 1970s. And the Tories picked up Ealing from Labour in what is seen as a "bellweather seat" for general election prospects. After three recounts in Wheathampstead ward each had 1,132 votes, and the seat was won by the party that picked the longest pencil. Among the councils the party held were Tamworth in Staffordshire - where it gained five seats from Labour - and Brentwood in Essex, where it gained six seats from Liberal Democrats. It is the first electoral test for Conservative leader Mr Cameron since he became leader last December. Liberal Democrat frontbencher Ed Davey said the Tories had failed to make inroads in cities such as Manchester and Liverpool. Prescott headlines may have impacted on the campaign The main winners were the Tories, who had their best results since 1992. The prime minister has reshuffled his Cabinet to try to regain momentum after days of bad headlines. The projected vote share if the polls were held nationwide shows the Tories on 40%, Lib Dems 27% and Labour 26%. Turnout is estimated at 36% - down three points from 2004. The party said the poll did not produce the "meltdown" some had predicted. Nevertheless it did lose 319 councillors and control of a string of key councils including Camden in London, which it has controlled for 35 years. The borough went to no overall control and the Liberal Democrats are now the largest party there. Ex-health secretary Frank Dobson said there should be a "new management". The Conservatives gained 317 councillors and took control of councils across London and the South-East, but failed to make hoped-for gains in Northern cities such as Liverpool, Newcastle and Manchester. Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott's personal life hit the headlines, while Charles Clarke - who was sacked as home secretary following the elections - was attacked because over revelations of foreign criminals living in the UK. The Labour leader of the city council in Stoke-on-Trent fired a parting shot after losing his seat. Mick Salih said leading party figures were "arrogant" and that Labour had become "the Conservatives in disguise". Chancellor Gordon Brown said the results were a "warning shot" for the government and that the party had to "renew" itself to deal with the challenges of the future. "We have got to show we are listening to people's concerns and we are going to respond to them," he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme. He said the government had suffered a bad two weeks leading up to the poll and there were problems that had to be sorted out "immediately". Following the election results, the prime minister moved forward a Cabinet reshuffle originally planned for Monday. Tory victories Conservative leader David Cameron said that overall the results were "very pleasing" and "far beyond what we expected", although he acknowledged they had work to do in cities like Manchester and Newcastle. "There's plenty more to do, and plenty more change to be made and work to be done, but I think this is a very important step forward," he told BBC Radio 4's Today. ELECTION SCOREBOARD Councillors Councils PARTY +/- TOT +/- TOT CON 316 1830 11 68 LAB -319 1439 -17 30 LD 2 909 1 13 OTH -2 240 0 0 NOC - - 6 66 After 176 of 176 councils NOC = No control Full results Labour lost overall control of 18 councils, including Stoke-on-Trent in Staffordshire and Bury in Greater Manchester, and Lewisham, Merton and Camden in London. Party leader Sir Menzies Campbell said he was not down-hearted adding: "This wasn't a test for me, it was a test for the party after the difficulties of the earlier part of this year. The party unseated council leader Michael Keith but Labour is the biggest party in the East London borough and with 26 seats has retained control.
Yes. In November, one of his commanders, Mani Arko Minawi, had himself elected chairman at a meeting to which Mr. Nur was not invited. What has happened to Darfur's civilians? "The deal is peace - I think that the victory today is for Sudan," he said. Rebel groups have also been held responsible for some atrocities. Advertisement Continue reading the main story The smaller S.L.A. The government has also agreed to sign. How many have died? About two million people have been displaced The smallest rebel group, the Justice and Equality Movement (Jem), insisted that it wanted fundamental changes to the document. SEARCH FOR PEACE May 2006: Khartoum makes peace with main Darfur rebel faction, Sudan Liberation Movement; Jem rejects the deal May 2008: Unprecedented assault by Jem on Khartoum Jul 2008: ICC calls for arrest of President Bashir Nov 2008: President Bashir announces ceasefire Nov 2008: ICC calls for arrest of three rebel commanders Feb 2009: Army says it has captured key town of Muhajiriya Feb 2009: Khartoum and Jem sign a deal in Qatar Mixed views on Darfur deal Darfuris say the Janjaweed patrol outside the camps and men are killed and women raped if they venture too far in search of firewood or water. The International Criminal Court in The Hague issued an arrest warrant last year for war crimes and crimes against humanity. Qatar, the United Nations, the African Union, Arab League and Chad have all helped to arrange peace talks between Khartoum and Jem over the past few years. Then on Tuesday, the mediators gave the negotiators another 48 hours, to end at midnight on Thursday.
The breakthrough came when SLM leader Minni Minnawi returned to the talks, following a late-night session. However, two smaller groups rejected the deal, following last-minute efforts to secure their support. The government has also agreed to sign. International negotiators say the deal is the best hope for peace in Darfur, where 2m people have fled their homes. The BBC's Alex Last, who is at the talks in the Nigerian capital, Abuja, says a huge round of applause was heard shortly after Mr Minnawi returned to the talks. "I accept the document with some reservations concerning the power sharing," Mr Minnawi said. DARFUR DRAFT PEACE PLAN Pro-government Janjaweed militia to be disarmed Rebel fighters to be incorporated into army One-off transfer of $300m to Darfur $200m a year for the region thereafter Compensation for those forced to flee their homes Regional government, if approved in a vote Q&A: Darfur crisis Have Your Say: Darfur crisis One of his officials told the Reuters news agency that the Sudanese Liberation Movement (SLM) wanted more seats in parliament but had agreed to the deal to end the suffering of the people in Darfur. Meanwhile, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour has accused Sudan's government of offering "broad immunity" to members of the security forces involved in the Darfur violence and trying to minimise the scale of the problems. In Abuja, government spokesman Abdulrahman Zuma looked forward to the end of the fighting. "The deal is peace - I think that the victory today is for Sudan," he said. However, a signing ceremony was delayed for three hours, as mediators try to persuade Abdelwahid Muhamed El Nur, leader of the smaller SLM faction, to sign up to the deal. Our correspondent says there are doubts as to whether the plan is workable, but the mediators are counting on the fact that they have managed to get the support of the largest rebel group. 'Misgivings' Sam Ibok, head of the AU mediation team, said the government thought the plan envisaged too many rebel fighters being integrated into the army. "They have great misgivings about the amendments and they say practical problems will arise in the implementation... but they don't want to give anybody grounds to continue the war," he said. About two million people have been displaced The smallest rebel group, the Justice and Equality Movement (Jem), insisted that it wanted fundamental changes to the document. The group's chief negotiator, Ahmed Tugod, reiterated the rebels' demands for the post of vice-president in the Khartoum government and for Darfur to have a greater share of national wealth. The three-year-old Darfur conflict has claimed some 200,000 lives and displaced more than two million people. The rebels took up arms in 2003, accusing the government of discriminating against the black African residents of Darfur. Pro-government Arab militia then launched a campaign, described as "genocide" by the US. The Sudan government denies backing the Janjaweed militias accused of the worst atrocities, such as mass killing, rape and looting. As many as 300,000 people have died in the conflict Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir and the main rebel group in Darfur, the Justice and Equality Movement (Jem), are about to sign a ceasefire. Some 2.7 million people have fled their homes since the conflict began in the arid western region, and the UN says about 300,000 have died - mostly from disease. The Sudan Liberation Army (SLA) and Justice and Equality Movement (Jem) began attacking government targets in early 2003, accusing Khartoum of oppressing black Africans in favour of Arabs. Darfur, which means land of the Fur, has faced many years of tension over land and grazing rights between the mostly nomadic Arabs, and farmers from the Fur, Massaleet and Zaghawa communities. It admits mobilising "self-defence militias" following rebel attacks. But it denies any links to the Arab Janjaweed militia - who are accused of trying to drive out black Africans from large swathes of territory. KEY REBEL PLAYERS SLM: Minni Minnawi's faction SLM: Abdul Wahid Mohammad Ahmed al-Nur's faction Jem: Khalil Ibrahim, one of the first rebel groups A step forward for Darfur peace? President Omar al-Bashir has called the Janjaweed "thieves and gangsters". But refugees say air raids by government aircraft would be followed by attacks from the Janjaweed, who would ride into villages on horses and camels, slaughtering men, raping women and stealing whatever they could find. The US and some human rights groups have said genocide is taking place - though a UN investigation team in 2005 concluded that war crimes had been committed but there had been no intent to commit genocide. Trials have been announced in Khartoum of some members of the security forces suspected of abuses - but this is viewed as part of a campaign against attempts to get suspects tried at the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague. The United Nations says more than 2.7 million people have fled their homes and now live in camps near Darfur's main towns. SEARCH FOR PEACE May 2006: Khartoum makes peace with main Darfur rebel faction, Sudan Liberation Movement; Jem rejects the deal May 2008: Unprecedented assault by Jem on Khartoum Jul 2008: ICC calls for arrest of President Bashir Nov 2008: President Bashir announces ceasefire Nov 2008: ICC calls for arrest of three rebel commanders Feb 2009: Army says it has captured key town of Muhajiriya Feb 2009: Khartoum and Jem sign a deal in Qatar Mixed views on Darfur deal Darfuris say the Janjaweed patrol outside the camps and men are killed and women raped if they venture too far in search of firewood or water. Chad's eastern areas have a similar ethnic make-up to Darfur and the violence has spilled over the border area, with the neighbours accusing one another of supporting each other's rebel groups. Janjaweed gunmen are accused of prowling outside refugee camps President Bashir puts the death toll at 10,000. The numbers are crucial in determining whether the deaths in Darfur are genocide or - as the Sudanese government says - the situation is being exaggerated.
He is to hold talks with the government in the capital, Khartoum, on Monday. On Friday Khartoum and the largest rebel group in Darfur signed a peace deal. The agreement has raised hopes the government will allow UN peacekeepers to take over from African Union troops in the region. Aid officials said attacks on humanitarian workers were increasing as the security situation deteriorated. Pro-government Arab militia then launched a campaign, described as "genocide" by the US. The three-year conflict has killed about 200,000 people and left about two million homeless. The Sudan government denies backing the Janjaweed militias accused of mass killing, rape and looting. Aid problem Aid organisations say the conflict has created one of the world's worst humanitarian crises. Deadlines came and went in recent days, as diplomats exerted pressure on parties after all the rebels had rejected the original draft. Mr Egeland will have talks with local leaders and visit refugee camps before heading to Khartoum on Monday for meetings with Sudanese officials, according to French news agency AFP. DARFUR DRAFT PEACE PLAN Pro-government Janjaweed militia to be disarmed Rebel fighters to be incorporated into army One-off transfer of $300m to Darfur $200m a year for the region thereafter Compensation for those forced to flee their homes Regional government, if approved in a vote Life 'worse' for civilians Q&A: Darfur crisis Have Your Say: Darfur crisis The pro-government Janjaweed militia are to be disbanded and the rebels incorporated into the security forces. About 200,000 refugees have crossed the border into Chad to escape the violence in Darfur. Hundreds of thousands have been displaced by the violence His five-day visit comes amid signs the government may allow a UN peacekeeping force into the war-torn area.
Speaking from Darfur, Jan Egeland told the BBC there was a sea of militias in the region and without security the humanitarian work could not succeed. Mr Egeland is in Darfur, in western Sudan, to assess conditions there and in refugee camps in neighbouring Chad. He is to hold talks with the government in the capital, Khartoum, on Monday. The government and the biggest rebel group signed a peace deal on Friday. The agreement has raised hopes the government will allow UN peacekeepers to take over from African Union troops in the region. It has previously said it would only consider doing so if a peace deal was signed. Some 7,000 African Union troops are in the region - an area the size of France - but have struggled to contain the fighting. DARFUR PEACE PLAN Pro-government Janjaweed militia to be disarmed Rebel fighters to be incorporated into army One-off $300m transfer to Darfur $200m a year for the region thereafter Compensation for those forced to flee their homes Regional government, if approved in a vote Q&A: Darfur crisis Have Your Say: Darfur crisis "Half of the population now has become war victims...so I believe, yes, we are turning the corner, but the whole world has to put pressure on the parties." He was speaking in the town of Gereida which is held by the rebel group which signed the peace deal, the Sudan Liberation Movement under Minni Minnawi. Just a month ago, the government banned Mr Egeland from visiting Darfur. Tens of thousands of people around Gereida have been displaced in recent weeks, and the UN has warned of an impending disaster. Earlier, Mr Egeland held talks with the deputy governor of South Darfur in the town of Nyala and called for aid workers to be given unlimited access, as agreed in the peace deal. The peace plan, brokered by the African Union, creates a temporary regional government for Darfur, in which rebels will take part. The three-year conflict has killed about 200,000 people and left about two million homeless. Money for the world's largest aid operation is running out. Rations for May have been cut in half and many of Darfur's 2m displaced people will go hungry. The BBC's Jonah Fisher says Khartoum appears to be sending out mixed messages on the issue of whether to allow UN peacekeepers into the region. The rebels took up arms in 2003, accusing the government of discriminating against the black African residents of Darfur. Pro-government Arab militia then launched a campaign, described as "genocide" by the US. The Sudan government denies backing the Janjaweed militias accused of mass killing, rape and looting. Hundreds of thousands have been displaced by the violence His five-day visit comes amid signs the government may allow a UN peacekeeping force into the war-torn area. But on Saturday the US welcomed Khartoum's "new willingness". Earlier UN Secretary General Kofi Annan urged Khartoum to issue visas to his team of assessors so they could begin planning for the arrival of an international peacekeeping force to replace the 7,000 African troops later in the year. DARFUR DRAFT PEACE PLAN Pro-government Janjaweed militia to be disarmed Rebel fighters to be incorporated into army One-off transfer of $300m to Darfur $200m a year for the region thereafter Compensation for those forced to flee their homes Regional government, if approved in a vote Life 'worse' for civilians Q&A: Darfur crisis Have Your Say: Darfur crisis The pro-government Janjaweed militia are to be disbanded and the rebels incorporated into the security forces. Aid workers are helping refugees from violence in Darfur A man in military fatigues shot the 37-year-old Spanish woman, a Unicef employee, in the town of Abeche and made off with her jeep, witnesses said.
"It's a big gamble, I know it is. Provisional squad: Robinson (Tottenham), James (Manchester City), Green (Norwich); G Neville (Manchester United), Ferdinand (Manchester United), Terry (Chelsea), Cole (Arsenal), Campbell (Arsenal), Carragher (Liverpool), Bridge (Chelsea), Beckham (Real Madrid), Carrick (Tottenham), Lampard (Chelsea), Gerrard (Liverpool), Hargreaves (Bayern Munich), Jenas (Tottenham), Downing (Middlesbrough), J Cole (Chelsea), Lennon (Tottenham), Rooney (Manchester United), Owen (Newcastle), Crouch (Liverpool), Walcott (Arsenal). I think he will be one of the best strikers in England one day." But England coach Sven-Goran Eriksson says King could still make the World Cup finals despite failing to even make his standby list. Theo has not been tested yet but he will be. It was sad to not pick people but we had to make a decision," he said. He is an impact player who can come on and change the game. Theo Walcott has made only 21 senior appearances - all for Championship side Southampton this season. "I wasn't taking anything for granted but I was very hopeful of being included. Jennings believes Walcott would be the ideal replacement if Wayne Rooney and Michael Owen fail to shake off their injuries. "I have played against him in training and he is really, really quick. "This morning I talked to those players.
Jol thinks Defoe should be in the squad Jol said: "I think it is amazing that Jermain is not in the squad. "But with the situation with Wayne Rooney and Michael Owen's fitness I still believe he will be in there." Another Spurs player, defender Ledley King, missed out through injury and Jol added: "It is all about fitness and he just got his injury at the wrong time." But England coach Sven-Goran Eriksson says King could still make the World Cup finals despite failing to even make his standby list. King is unfit after breaking a bone in his foot in April. I wasn't taking anything for granted but I was very hopeful of being included Darren Bent "If he is better then he might become an option. He was disappointed at not being picked but he understood." Charlton striker Darren Bent says he will book an immediate holiday after being overlooked altogether. Bent, the top scoring Englishman in the Premiership this season with 18 goals, was not only left out of Eriksson's squad but also the standby list. "I am obviously really disappointed," Bent said on his agents' website. "I wasn't taking anything for granted but I was very hopeful of being included. Aaron (Lennon) is such an exciting talent Martin Jol Spurs coach And Jol said that their selection was reward for their hard work and endeavour during the season. "Jermaine showed real consistency and he's scored the goals we predicted he would - we asked for six or seven and he did that," added Jol. "Michael's had such a fantastic season. I don't really even have to say well done because he's England's number one and he's proved that. "It's great news for Aaron. He's developed quickly, he's a bright lad and hopefully he'll play some part." By John May Walcott is no stranger to an England shirt Huw Jennings was Saints academy director when Walcott was with the south coast club, before his £12m switch to Arsenal in January. Jennings told BBC Sport: "Theo has a circle of serenity around him which enables him to cope and keep a sensible perspective on things. Jennings, who is now the head of youth development at the Premier League, hinted that England coach Sven-Goran Eriksson had sounded out Arsenal coach Arsene Wenger on the 17-year-old sensation. "Thinking about the last 10 days, Arsene Wenger was asked the question about Theo and he said England could do worse by not taking him. "I would have assumed that some talks had taken place between Arsene and Sven," added Jennings, who believes Eriksson has also taken advice from his right-hand man, Tord Grip. He has a confidence in his ability and as a result, fears nothing Premier League youth development officer Huw Jennings Theo Walcott career details "I know Tord saw him play for England Under 17s a year or so ago and was very impressed by him." If Theo Walcott plays in England's World Cup build-up game against Hungary on 30 May, he will become England's youngest ever player, aged 17 years, 75 days. Wayne Rooney is currently England's youngest ever player after appearing against Australia in February 2003, aged 17 years, 111 days. Theo Walcott has made only 21 senior appearances - all for Championship side Southampton this season. Wayne Rooney made 26 senior appearances before his England debut - all for Premiership side Everton. Walcott has made a big impression at Arsenal despite being yet to make his senior debut. He is an impact player who can come on and change the game Huw Jennings He explained: "In the past, England have been criticised for not having enough options to change if things are not going to plan. Arsenal paid an initial £5m of a £12m package which made Walcott the world's most expensive 16-year-old when he moved from Southampton.
They cannot be deported. It is time, in my view, that it should close. He went on to defend the European Convention on Human Rights and the UK's Human Rights Act. Of course terrorism is not a new phenomenon. "I would very much like to get people to a court." The basic principle - that a state must not in any circumstances subject those within its control to torture or inhuman or degrading punishment - is surely right. But given the current threat to our national security we have to be flexible about how we achieve this. There has been international criticism of conditions at the US camp and the length of time detainees have been held there without trial. The Government's response has been threefold. Why will the ordinary criminal law not suffice? Finding this balance is a difficult task. But the existence of Guantanamo Bay remains unacceptable. We had a head-start in terms of legislation due sadly to the situation in Northern Ireland and long experience of terrorism and therefore of terrorist legislation. As I explained, we cannot deport these individuals if there are substantial grounds for believing that there is real risk that they will face ill-treatment on their return. And it was proposed that the period of pre-charge detention should be increased to three months in order to deal with the complexity of modern terrorism investigations: the international spread of the investigations and the consequent need for liaison with foreign agencies; the problems of computer decryption; foreign language documents; very large networks etc. Fair trial Lord Goldsmith told the Royal United Services Institute there was a case for limiting some rights for collective security.
The attorney general believes the camp should close He is reported to have serious doubts about whether the indefinite detention of "enemy combatants" is legal or fair. State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said the US did not want to release people who might "end up on the battlefield" or commit terrorist acts. UK Prime Minister Tony Blair has called the camp in Cuba an "anomaly". But in the strongest worded condemnation yet from a British government minister, Lord Goldsmith said: "The existence of Guantanamo remains unacceptable. The historic tradition of the United States as a beacon of freedom, liberty and of justice deserves the removal of this symbol Lord Goldsmith Transcript of speech in full Call shows 'significant shift' "It is time, in my view, that it should close. Not only would it, in my personal opinion, be right to close Guantanamo as a matter of principle, I believe it would also help to remove what has become a symbol to many - right or wrong - of injustice. "The historic tradition of the United States as a beacon of freedom, liberty and of justice deserves the removal of this symbol." There has been international criticism of conditions at the US camp and the length of time detainees have been held there without trial. Rights groups have said the detainees, held on suspicion of involvement in terrorism, are mistreated through cruel interrogation methods - a charge the US denies. Fair trial Lord Goldsmith told the Royal United Services Institute there was a case for limiting some rights for collective security. Fundamental rights must be protected if we are to preserve our democracies but given the current threat to our national security we have to be flexible Lord Goldsmith But he said the right to a fair trial should never be compromised. Nine British nationals at Guantanamo were returned to the UK in 2004 and 2005 after government intervention. Lord Goldsmith said the UK was "unable to accept that the US military tribunals proposed for those detained at Guantanamo Bay offered sufficient guarantees of a fair trial in accordance with international standards". "Fundamental rights must be protected if we are to preserve our democracies but given the current threat to our national security we have to be flexible about how we achieve this," he said. 'Right balance' Despite recent legal challenges to control orders, Lord Goldsmith contended that the protection of the public from the risk of terrorism "by means of civil orders and the use of secret intelligence to make out the case is untouched". And he said deportation agreements with countries with a record of human rights abuses meant to guarantee a returnee's safety were a way of achieving the "right balance between collective security and fundamental liberties". Lord Goldsmith also defended the creation of new criminal offences in the Terrorism Act 2006 to counter "some features of al-Qaeda type terrorism which distinguish it from other forms of crime". The fact of the matter is that the people there are dangerous people Sean McCormack US State Department spokesman Echoing the words of US President George W Bush - who in a TV interview on Sunday said he would like to "end" the detention centre - spokesman Mr McCormack said the US would "like nothing better than at some point in the future to close down Guantanamo". "Nobody wants to be a jailer for the world," he added, saying "many detainees" had moved back to their countries of origin. "One thing we don't want to do is release people now who might at some point in the future end up on the battlefield facing our troops or somebody else's troops, or committing acts of terrorism against civilians." The breadth of experience and expertise from across the world represented at this important conference is very impressive and I am honoured to have been asked to give the closing address. You have asked me particularly to talk about the UK legislative response to the threat of terrorism and that is what I shall focus on. It hardly needs me to say that terrorism is a huge international challenge. But terrorism is a particular challenge for democracies who must strive to protect individual liberties whilst at the same time ensuring collective security. The need to reconcile these competing demands is the theme of my speech this evening and I hope to explain how the UK has sought to achieve the right balance in enacting its domestic legislation on terrorism. Since then in Europe we have had the Madrid train bombings, and then last summer the attacks on the London underground in which four British born suicide bombers killed 52 innocent commuters. In recent years thousands of lives have been lost to terrorism in Europe, whether as a result of campaigns by indigenous groups such as the IRA or ETA or at the hands of international terrorists, for example, Black September's attack on the Munich Olympics in 1972 or Abu Nidal's attacks on Vienna and Rome airports in 1985. Nor is the bombing of transport systems a novelty - we remember the horror of the bombing of the Paris metro in 1995. These new outrages are, I believe, of a different nature from older forms of terrorism and therefore more difficult to tackle: it is not just the scale - over 3000 people of many different nationalities were killed in the Twin Towers - but the aspirations of the terrorists - they would have killed 10 times as many if they could have; the use of suicide bombers - it is very hard to guard against attacks by people who not only do not care if their lives are lost but positively want it; the use of modern technology - to attack: commercial planes and dirty bombs if they could get them; and to communicate: no more do terrorists need to conspire in a darkened cellar where they might be overheard but through encrypted emails and scrambled telephone messages which are much more difficult to intercept. A government's response to the threat of terrorism will need to be on a number of different levels - new legislation perhaps, a subject to which I want to return later, increased international co-operation, new methods of infiltrating terrorist cells, new ideas as to how to combat the root causes of terrorism. When he addressed the Institute on 13th February 2006, Gordon Brown outlined a number of the key steps that have to be taken to meet the imperatives of the deeply threatening situation in which we find ourselves: major investment in our domestic frontline forces, building on the world-class capacity of the Metropolitan police, other police forces and the security and intelligence agencies; cutting off the sources of terrorist finance; improving border controls. These are the very liberties and values which the terrorists seek to destroy, not only through mass murder and destruction of property but also through the climate of fear that their actions create, and are intended to create, and which threaten those values and our way of life.
he said. Nearby, Gladys Skinner, 42, a laundress from Gulfport, wasn't so sure. "How can we be sure they're not listening?" CAULEY: That's -- that's the big question. No doubt, NSA and the Bush administration would argue it certainly is. Customers' names, street addresses and other personal information are not being handed over as part of the program, USA TODAY reported. But what are they able to do when they put all those phone numbers and all of those records into the computer? So that includes literally tens of millions of Americans. Will this be enough to turn public opinion against Bush on civil liberties and terrorism? This is the art of scrambling signals to prevent people from tapping into telephone signals and other communications. O'BRIEN: All right. Reporter: NSA collects lists of numbers Americans call Lesley Cauley YOUR E-MAIL ALERTS CNN Access National Security Agency (NSA) BellSouth Corporation Verizon Communications or or Create Your Own (CNN) -- USA Today reported Thursday that the National Security Agency has been secretly collecting records of the phone calls of ordinary Americans. On Capitol Hill, Democrats expressed outrage over the secret project, and some leading Republicans — House Majority Leader John Boehner of Ohio and Senate Judiciary Chairman Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania among them — expressed concern. He predicted the issue also would divide and disenchant some conservatives worried about the expansion of government power. CAULEY: Since at least -- since at least 2001, with the 9/11 attacks. No warrants Among the controversies over the database, however, is that it was built without court warrants or the approval of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, a panel of federal judges established to issue secret warrants, according to people with direct knowledge of the arrangement.
What author Malcolm Gladwell described as small things that make a big difference seems like an apt metaphor for the latest developments on civil liberties and the Bush administration. First was Thursday morning's story , declaring, "NSA Has Massive Database of Americans' Phone Calls." The story dominated the morning news shows and drove the day's events, with the President racing to the microphones in the Diplomatic Room of the White House before departing on a trip to Mississippi. Bush didn't get into the specifics of thestory, but he did defend the program, saying the federal government is not "mining or trolling through the personal lives of innocent Americans." To date, the Bush Administration has enjoyed public support for a slew of policies including detentions without trials and new methods of eavesdropping that critics describe as an encroachment on civil liberties. Last year, the Democrats tried to make renewal of the USA Patriot Act an issue, but in the end they buried their objections and passed a bill that Bush could sign. When the NSA's policy of warrantless eavesdropping on some domestic calls was revealed by The New York Times in December, Democrats along with many Republicans also screamed from the rafters, but the program proved popular with the public. Presidential advisers thought it was such a winner that they put it in Bush's State of the Union address. Despite calls to investigate the program and shut it down, what the White House dubs the "terrorist surveillance program" continued unabated. According to the story, the NSA is not actually listening in on the phone calls but monitoring the patterns of calls in a kind of giant Google search, with the hope that their algorithm will detect something untoward and worth investigating. But even if your call to Aunt Sally isn't being listened to by some NSA officer, the program sounds creepy enough that no shortage of senators jumped all over it. The Republican Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania, said he'd subpoena the heads of the three telecommunications companies involved AT&T, Verizon and BellSouth before hearings to find out what they knew. Democratic Senator Diane Feinstein, who had kind words about former NSA head Gen. Michael Hayden when he was nominated to be the new CIA boss on Monday, talked ominously about a "showdown" over the Fourth Amendment's prohibition on unlawful search and seizure. At the same time, conservative Judge Michael Luttig of the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago, whom many on the right wanted President Bush to name to the Supreme Court, abruptly resigned yesterday, reportedly in part because of civil liberties issues. The Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday that Luttig was shocked back in November when the Bush Justice Department announced that the government would file charges against suspected terrorist Jose Padilla as if he were a regular citizen. Just two months earlier, Luttig had written a seminal opinion saying that the federal government could detain Padilla without a charge, reasoning that the government must have had an extraordinary case against Padilla to justify such an extraordinary imprisonment. When the Bush administration reversed position and in effect acknowledged that the regular old justice system was able to accommodate the case, Luttig was enraged, saying the reversal strained the Bush administration's "credibility before the courts." If provoking the anger of a conservative's conservative like Luttig wasn't enough, another development out of the Justice Department was nearly as stunning. On Wednesday, the Justice Department's point man on government accountability, H. Marshall Jarrett, wrote to Congress saying that he was shutting down his review of the NSA spying probe because his staff was denied access to the agency's files and personnel. So to review the bidding: Bush's Justice Department is blocked from investigating its own controversial spy program; a leading conservative jurist resigns, reportedly in part over the government's handling of civil liberties; and a big NSA program of eavesdropping on Americans' phone-calling patterns is revealed. Will this be enough to turn public opinion against Bush on civil liberties and terrorism? Given the collapse in public support for the President on so many issues, it wouldn't be surprising. Reporter: NSA collects lists of numbers Americans call Lesley Cauley YOUR E-MAIL ALERTS CNN Access National Security Agency (NSA) BellSouth Corporation Verizon Communications or or Create Your Own (CNN) -- USA Today reported Thursday that the National Security Agency has been secretly collecting records of the phone calls of ordinary Americans. AT&T, Verizon and BellSouth telephone companies began turning over records of tens of millions of their customers' phone calls to the National Security Agency program shortly after the September 11, 2001, attacks, the paper reported. CNN's Miles O'Brien spoke Thursday with Lesley Cauley, the USA Today reporter who broke the story. O'BRIEN: It's certainly -- it's very simple to do that. CAULEY: The explanation put forth by NSA is simply that they are -- it is part of a counterterrorism campaign.
Carola, from Sweden, who was the bookmakers' favourite before the contest and won in 1991, came fifth. Lithuania - 162 "We are a rock band and we just won Eurovision - that's weird," their lead singer, also called Lordi, said. "This evil and satanic Finnish band is not welcome in Greece." We've never made it to the finals before, or even been given 12 points by any country. The result means Finland will host the competition next year. But UK rapper Daz Sampson could only manage to come 19th out of 24 countries with his song Teenage Life. Lest the likes of Terry Wogan, and his gentle mockery got the better of Greece in its moment of glory, Athens's otherwise decidedly uncool conservative government went out of its way to ensure that last night's would be the 'show of all shows'. "I thought mine was one of them - obviously Europe didn't agree." The band have become Finland's first Eurovision winners Now 32, Putaansuu started drawing monster designs on his face with his mother's make-up at the age of seven and was making horror films with his parents' video camera three years later. But they may also have captured the imaginations of those who wanted to register a protest vote against Eurovision's normal diet of plastic pop. Bosnia and Herzegovina's entrant Hari Mata Hari was in third place, followed by Romania's Mihai Traistariu. From the outset, the competition which launched the likes of Abba and Celine Dion appeared determined to cast its clean-living image into the dustbin of history.
This hard rock band were already successful in their home country, but have now become a phenomenon in Europe. That is partly thanks to their gloriously over-the-top theatrics and stadium rock anthems. But they may also have captured the imaginations of those who wanted to register a protest vote against Eurovision's normal diet of plastic pop. Their fearsome appearance and religious references led to some protests in Finland and host country Greece before this year's contest. Lordi say they will never remove their masks And a group of Greek protesters known as the Hellenes called on the Finnish government to intervene. "We ask the Finnish Commission of the Eurovision Song Contest to cancel the procedure and choose another song," they said. "This evil and satanic Finnish band is not welcome in Greece." But Lordi's lead singer, also known as Lordi, brushed aside the complaints, insisting: "We have nothing to do with satan worshipping or anything like that - this is entertainment." Real name Tomi Putaansuu, the singer hails from Arctic Lapland and says his band's masked personas are just characters. "The guys behind the masks are not interesting - they walk the dogs," he said. The band have become Finland's first Eurovision winners Now 32, Putaansuu started drawing monster designs on his face with his mother's make-up at the age of seven and was making horror films with his parents' video camera three years later. He graduated from film school and earned a living drawing storyboards, forming Lordi in 1992. They spent the first 10 years trying to get a record deal but their debut album Get Heavy went platinum in their home country in 2002 and their "greatest hits" compilation has been released in 20 countries. Springboard They thought the Finnish Eurovision board had made a mistake when they approached the band to take part in the contest while they were recording their third album. But Lordi agreed and won 42% of the vote in the national competition to pick Finland's entry. There were fears that they could flop and prove a laughing stock - but they have now become the country's first Eurovision winners. And now with a newfound global fan base, they could use their Eurovision success as a springboard to the next level of rock stardom. Any doubts that the Eurovision Song Contest is still a squeaky clean, bubble-gum pop fiesta were laid to rest last night when judges across the Continent voted overwhelmingly for Lordi, a hitherto barely known but outrageously monstrous heavy-metal band from Finland. With their ghoulish prosthetic faces and demon-red eyes, the Finnish fivesome may not have projected the most flattering image of the Nordic nation, but their victory will end Finland's 'trauma' of coming last in nearly every contest it has ever entered. 'I hope what we have done here will prove that we don't eat babies,' the fire-spewing group's gargantuan-sized frontman, 'Mr Lordi', told The Observer. 'We've always been 110 per cent serious about our act even though in my country so many people have said such terrible things about us because we've got horns protruding from our heads.' In the run-up to the show from Athens the rockers, who swayed voters with 'Hard Rock Hallelujah' - a song that warns of the 'day of Rockening' - had been forced to fend off allegations of devil worshipping, not least from the Greek press, all of which made victory especially sweet last night. Mr Lordi, a former film student who, when he is not in monster garb, goes by the name of Tomi Putaansuu, said he hoped the Finnish government would honour the chaps inside the suits with a military flypast when they returned home. We've never made it to the finals before, or even been given 12 points by any country. If we win I think the Finns will go insane,' he said in an exclusive interview after a rousing dress rehearsal yesterday. 'Underneath, there's just a boring, normal guy who walks the dogs, goes to the supermarket, watches DVDs and eats candies. But it wasn't just the Finnish five-piece's monster tactics that made the event more surreal than ever. Video scenes posted on the internet of Croatia's contestant, the former model-cum-TV star, Severina Vuckovic, having sex with a former boyfriend, cheated the fiesta of its wholesome feel before it started. Balkan backstabbing - Serbia-Montenegro withdrew at the eleventh hour after allegations of vote-rigging- and ethno-religious rivalries all made this contest a little more ribald than the rest. Lest the likes of Terry Wogan, and his gentle mockery got the better of Greece in its moment of glory, Athens's otherwise decidedly uncool conservative government went out of its way to ensure that last night's would be the 'show of all shows'. After bankrupting itself staging the 2004 Olympic Games, Greece poured an estimated £9m into the extravaganza, more than any other host country in the 51-year history of the jamboree. European viewers voted for Lordi's song Hard Rock Hallelujah in a show that is normally associated with catchy pop and big ballads. "I thought mine was one of them - obviously Europe didn't agree." Lithuania - 162 "We are a rock band and we just won Eurovision - that's weird," their lead singer, also called Lordi, said. UK rapper Daz Sampson was not a hit with Eurovision viewers The band had been accused by some conservative Greek organisations of promoting Satanism but said they had no connection with the occult. Lordi amassed 292 points after a public vote - 44 ahead of Russia, whose performance featured a ballerina emerging from a grand piano.
| Politics, Election 2016, Mexico It is connected to the complex by underground passages. Uber's Levandowski to step aside for duration of Waymo litigation Uber Technologies Inc [UBER.UL] said the head of its self-driving vehicles unit, Anthony Levandowski, will step aside from his role for the remainder of the company's litigation with Waymo, the self-driving car division of Alphabet Inc . Trump steps back from brink of killing North American trade pact WASHINGTON President Donald Trump said on Thursday he pulled back from the brink of killing the 23-year-old trade pact with Canada and Mexico after requests from their leaders and expressed optimism about winning better U.S. terms in a renegotiated deal. Police had asked people in the building to lock their offices The alert happened when shots were reported at garage level in the Rayburn House building, where members of the US House of Representatives have offices. Recent Business News Berkshire's Duracell sues over gray market battery imports Duracell, a unit of Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc , on Thursday filed a lawsuit accusing a Missouri wholesaler of illegally selling gray market versions of its copper-top alkaline batteries. Starbucks quarterly revenue falls short, stock falls LOS ANGELES Starbucks Corp reported quarterly sales that just missed Wall Street's expectations, hurt by a slight cooling in spending growth by customers in its core U.S. market, sending shares down 4.4 percent in extended trading on Thursday. She told a press conference that workers in a lift shaft had made noises that "sounded like gunshots". During the alert a woman was taken to hospital after suffering a panic attack, but was released a short time later.
Recent Business News Berkshire's Duracell sues over gray market battery imports Duracell, a unit of Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc , on Thursday filed a lawsuit accusing a Missouri wholesaler of illegally selling gray market versions of its copper-top alkaline batteries. Uber's Levandowski to step aside for duration of Waymo litigation Uber Technologies Inc [UBER.UL] said the head of its self-driving vehicles unit, Anthony Levandowski, will step aside from his role for the remainder of the company's litigation with Waymo, the self-driving car division of Alphabet Inc . Starbucks quarterly revenue falls short, stock falls LOS ANGELES Starbucks Corp reported quarterly sales that just missed Wall Street's expectations, hurt by a slight cooling in spending growth by customers in its core U.S. market, sending shares down 4.4 percent in extended trading on Thursday. Trump steps back from brink of killing North American trade pact WASHINGTON President Donald Trump said on Thursday he pulled back from the brink of killing the 23-year-old trade pact with Canada and Mexico after requests from their leaders and expressed optimism about winning better U.S. terms in a renegotiated deal. Recent Business News Berkshire's Duracell sues over gray market battery imports Duracell, a unit of Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc , on Thursday filed a lawsuit accusing a Missouri wholesaler of illegally selling gray market versions of its copper-top alkaline batteries. Uber's Levandowski to step aside for duration of Waymo litigation Uber Technologies Inc [UBER.UL] said the head of its self-driving vehicles unit, Anthony Levandowski, will step aside from his role for the remainder of the company's litigation with Waymo, the self-driving car division of Alphabet Inc . Starbucks quarterly revenue falls short, stock falls LOS ANGELES Starbucks Corp reported quarterly sales that just missed Wall Street's expectations, hurt by a slight cooling in spending growth by customers in its core U.S. market, sending shares down 4.4 percent in extended trading on Thursday. Trump steps back from brink of killing North American trade pact WASHINGTON President Donald Trump said on Thursday he pulled back from the brink of killing the 23-year-old trade pact with Canada and Mexico after requests from their leaders and expressed optimism about winning better U.S. terms in a renegotiated deal. Police had asked people in the building to lock their offices The alert happened when shots were reported at garage level in the Rayburn House building, where members of the US House of Representatives have offices. The security operation was launched after a single telephone call to police at 1030 local time (1430 GMT) that reported "gunfire, shots fired, [or] a loud sound" inside the building. Two women were later reported to have run out of the building and told police they saw a white man with a gun inside.
Douglas and Brolan, both London-based, were killed. "This is a devastating loss for CBS News," said Sean McManus, President, CBS News and Sports. Al-Maliki's plan is intended to bridge the communal animosities fueling Iraq's violence. Dozier sustained serious injuries in the attack and underwent surgery at a U.S. military hospital in Baghdad. On Sunday two members of the Queen's Dragoon Guards were killed and two injured by a roadside bomb in Basra. "More journalists and journalistic support staff have died now in the three years since the war in Iraq began formally than in 10 years in the Vietnam War. Clearly there are elements of the population that are trying to disrupt our activity Major Sebastian Muntz Military spokesman TV crew die in Baghdad attack Dozens die in new bombings The CBS team had been on a patrol with soldiers of the 4th Infantry Division. "It is becoming increasingly dangerous for our troops. Our deepest sympathy goes out to the families of Paul and James, and we are hoping and praying for a complete recovery by Kimberly. The attack, which also killed a US army officer and an Iraqi interpreter, was one of a wave of bombings in and around the Iraqi capital which left at least 40 dead, mainly Iraqi civilians. Former MP and BBC correspondent Martin Bell told BBC News 24 that the journalists' deaths were symptomatic of a deteriorating situation. Mr Brolan was a freelancer who had been working for CBS in Afghanistan and Iraq during the last year. Saturday's toll raised the city's violent deaths to more than 180 just since Wednesday — either slain by bombs and gunfire or tortured and shot before being dumped, a hallmark of reprisal killings being waged between Shiite and Sunni Muslims.
A female reporter was also injured in the Baghdad attack Cameraman Paul Douglas, 48, and soundman James Brolan, 42, died when the US military unit they were based with came under attack in Baghdad. On Sunday two members of the Queen's Dragoon Guards were killed and two injured by a roadside bomb in Basra. Nine UK service personnel have now been killed in Iraq this month. CBS correspondent Kimberly Dozier, 39, who holds dual US-British citizenship and previously worked for BBC World Service radio, was seriously injured in Monday's attack in Baghdad, the network said. She is undergoing a second bout of surgery at a US military hospital. Clearly there are elements of the population that are trying to disrupt our activity Major Sebastian Muntz Military spokesman TV crew die in Baghdad attack Dozens die in new bombings The CBS team had been on a patrol with soldiers of the 4th Infantry Division. The attack, which also killed a US army officer and an Iraqi interpreter, was one of a wave of bombings in and around the Iraqi capital which left at least 40 dead, mainly Iraqi civilians. Mr Douglas was a veteran of numerous war zones, including Afghanistan and Bosnia, and had been working for CBS since the early 1990s. Basra Battlegroup Sunday's attack on the British troops happened in Gizayza, north-west Basra, at 1830 BST. Aftermath of the attack that killed two British troops Scene of the attack In Pictures: Day of violence A Ministry of Defence spokesman said: "The soldiers were from the Queen's Dragoon Guards, part of the Basra City Battlegroup. The next of kin of those killed have been informed." The Queen's Dragoon Guards, which can trace its history back to 1685, recruits largely from Wales and its regimental museum is in Cardiff. Defence Secretary Des Browne said: "It was with profound sorrow that I heard of the tragic deaths last night of two British soldiers." After news of Monday's attack broke, a British Embassy spokesman in Baghdad said: "It is always a tragedy when terrorism claims the life of any innocent person in Iraq and our sympathies go to their friends and families in Iraq and elsewhere." 'Broad support' Military spokesman Major Sebastian Muntz said Sunday's attack on the soldiers followed "some very successful operations over the last few days". "The broad mass of the population support what we are doing and are very much on side," he said. "Clearly there are elements of the population that are trying to disrupt our activity and don't want the secure environment that our soldiers are trying to provide." "More journalists and journalistic support staff have died now in the three years since the war in Iraq began formally than in 10 years in the Vietnam War. After a one-day lull, bloodshed surged again in the capital Saturday, with at least 17 people dead in attacks and 27 probable victims of sectarian killings found dumped in the streets as Iraq's prime minister launched a fresh appeal for reconciliation. Violence has escalated sharply in Baghdad over the past week, except for Friday, when only three killings were recorded — two Iraqis shot to death and a U.S. soldier killed by a bomb. Saturday's toll raised the city's violent deaths to more than 180 just since Wednesday — either slain by bombs and gunfire or tortured and shot before being dumped, a hallmark of reprisal killings being waged between Shiite and Sunni Muslims. In other developments: The Arab League's representative to Iraq has submitted his resignation, citing slow progress on the Pan-Arab organization's efforts to foster reconciliation among Iraqis and insufficient funding, Arab diplomats said Saturday. U.S. officials say they have not written off Iraq's troubled Anbar province — the country's largest, and one of its most violent — but neither are they sending more U.S. troops there to battle the insurgents. In fact, they have shifted some troops from Anbar to Baghdad this summer, not because security conditions are improving in the western province but because they are deteriorating even more in the capital area. A U.S. soldier was missing Friday after a truck driven by a suicide bomber exploded near an Iraqi power substation about 12 miles west of Baghdad. "In many parts of the country, insurgent, militia and terrorist attacks, as well as gross violations of human rights, have continued to inflict untold suffering, particularly on innocent civilians, most notably women, children and minorities," Ashraf Qazi told the U.N. Security Council. Al-Maliki's plan is intended to bridge the communal animosities fueling Iraq's violence. Since the plan was unveiled in late June, car bombings, mortar attacks and shootings have killed hundreds of Iraqis. A CBS News television crew embedded with the 4th Infantry Division of the U.S. Army came under attack today in central Baghdad.
Victims are treated outside a hospital after a strong earthquake in Yogyakarta, Central Java, Indonesia, Saturday, May 27, 2006. "Our thoughts and prayers are with those affected by this tragedy and all of the people of Indonesia," he said. The effects of the quake closed Yogyakarta's airport. The aid agency Save the Children has sent out a team from the UK, while a team from British medical aid charity Merlin is flying to Java from Aceh - the epicentre of the 2004 tsunami. Many are still afraid to go back to their houses. The quake hit at 0554 local time (2253 GMT Friday), around 25km (15 miles) south of the city of Yogyakarta, the US Geological Survey (USGS) said. Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has ordered the military to help evacuate victims, and plans to visit the area immediately. His mother was killed. It is important in these circumstances that we offer the right kind of help, that is why it is essential to know what is needed UK International Development Secretary Hilary Benn At least 2,900 people have been injured, and many more are still thought to be trapped under rubble and collapsed buildings. Mr Howells added the government had offered support to the Indonesian government and were "ready to respond to all requests". The Queen also sent a message of sympathy. The Indonesian Red Cross estimates some 200,000 people fled their homes after the quake hit early in the morning. The BBC's Orlando Guzman in Yogyakarta says every other house on the main road south of the city is either flattened or seriously damaged.
The Indonesian Red Cross estimates some 200,000 people fled their homes after the quake hit early in the morning. Electricity and communications across the city were also down, police said. My large bed was jumping inches from side to side Kevin Freedman, Yogyakarta Readers' experiences Send us your comments At least 2,900 people have been seriously injured, and many more are still thought to be trapped under rubble and collapsed buildings. Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono called on rescuers to work around the clock, as he visited the area with a team of Cabinet ministers on Saturday. The Indonesian Red Cross said it had sent rapid response teams to the area, and 21 field hospital units were working at full capacity. The United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan said a UN disaster response team was ready to help with humanitarian relief, the AFP news agency reported. The effects of the quake closed Yogyakarta's airport. Yogyakarta is near the Mount Merapi volcano, which threatened to erupt earlier this month, forcing thousands of people to be evacuated. The quake left the dazed and injured scattered in the streets In pictures Experts were divided over whether the quake would affect Merapi, but there are reports of heightened activity at the volcano. There was an eruption soon after the quake which sent debris some 3.5km (2 miles) down its western side. Officials said that although the area affected was coastal there was no tsunami resulting from the quake. The quake hit at 0554 local time (2253 GMT Friday), around 25km (15 miles) south of the city of Yogyakarta, the US Geological Survey (USGS) said. Yogyakarta, Indonesia's ancient royal capital and one of its biggest cities, is about 440km (275 miles) south-east of the capital, Jakarta. "The earthquake was felt to be massive - larger than the locals here say they've felt in their lives," said Brook Weisman-Ross, regional disaster co-ordinator for Plan International children's charity in Java. "I was shaken from my bed... As furniture was falling, concrete chunks started falling from my hotel room as people were running out in panic in their bedclothes," he told the BBC. He said there was extensive damage across the city and that many of the smaller, older houses had collapsed. The BBC's Orlando Guzman in Yogyakarta says every other house on the main road south of the city is either flattened or seriously damaged. Another correspondent in the area, Andrew Harding, says there are a number of dead bodies by the side of the road. Aftershocks Local radio said there were not enough doctors to cope with the numbers of injured. DEADLY RECENT QUAKES 2005 Muzaffarabad, Kashmir - kills more than 73,000 2004 Asian tsunami, triggered by undersea quake - kills at least 200,000 2003 Bam, Iran - kills 26,271 2001 Gujarat, India - kills more than 20,000 1995 Kobe, Japan - kills 6,430 1999 Izmit and Istanbul, Turkey - kills more than 17,000 1990 Gilan, Iran - kills around 40,000 1976 Tangshan, China - kills 255,000 (official) Deadly history of quakes People were ferried to hospital in lorries and buses, or made the journey on foot, because of a shortage of ambulances. Aftershocks have forced medical staff to move injured patients outside. Orlando Guzman says people here, who have been living in fear of a volcanic eruption for weeks, are very much still on edge. We don't want to go home," said Hendra, one of hundreds of people who took refuge at Yogyakarta's Marganingsih Catholic Church. Indonesia is in a zone known as the Pacific "ring of fire", which is prone to earthquakes and volcanic activity. In December 2004, a huge earthquake off Indonesia's coast killed hundreds of thousands of people across the Indian Ocean by triggering a tsunami. The quake has flattened buildings More than 3,000 people have been killed and thousands more injured by a strong earthquake that struck the Yogyakarta area, officials have said. Mr Benn told BBC News 24: "It is the people and the authorities there who will bear the brunt [of helping] and the Indonesian military is on its way to assess the damage. We're still afraid - we don't want to go home Hundreds die in Asian quake "On the basis of the information we get and requests we receive, then we are ready to give assistance," said Mr Benn. Oxfam - which already has personnel on the ground - said among its immediate objectives in Yogyakarta were to help restore water supplies, while a British Red Cross spokesman said it was ready to send supplies. John Holland, the organisation's operations director, said: "We have a team of 15 volunteers who are ready to go and have been since this morning." 4,600 killed in Indonesia quake; China offers aid (AP/Xinhua) Updated: 2006-05-28 08:32 Rescue workers dug desperately for survivors on Sunday and hospitals struggled to cope with the thousands of injured, a day after an earthquake killed more than 4,600 people on Indonesia's Java island.
They have not been arrested. They have always been nice to us," she said. "They have lived there for a long time. A 20-year-old man is also being held at a central London police station. Several people in the house at the time of the raid have been moved to other premises. Deputy Assistant Commissioner Peter Clarke, head of the Met's anti-terror branch, said the operation was planned in response to "specific intelligence". Surveillance BBC home affairs correspondent Danny Shaw said the raids follow an investigation into international terrorism targeting the UK. One eyewitness said officers smashed a window to gain access Officers from MI5 are thought to have been watching a group of British young people of Bangladeshi origin for weeks. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Sky News broadcast what it said was an interview with two friends of the man who was shot. An air exclusion zone was imposed around the scene, banning aircraft from flying below 2,500ft above the site. See an aerial view of the area surrounding the raided house Enlarge Image Lansdown Road, and neighbouring Rothsay Road and Prestbury Road, are all closed. Please try again later. Mr Kahar was arrested on suspicion of the commission, preparation and instigation of acts of terrorism as he was being treated at the Royal London hospital. Another neighbour said a family lived at the address. The IPCC said it would use its own investigators to "examine the circumstances surrounding the discharge of a police firearm". Security sources have described the Forest Gate raid as "potentially significant" and said it followed months of surveillance. The search of the premises is expected to take several days.
Police have cordoned off three roads in the area Residents' reactions The man, who was later arrested, was taken to hospital after the search in Forest Gate, east London. A 20-year-old man is also being held at a central London police station. A single shot was fired, according to the Independent Police Complaints Commission, which will investigate. The operation was not linked to the London bombings of July 2005, police have said. Deputy Assistant Commissioner Peter Clarke, head of the Met's anti-terror branch, said the operation was planned in response to "specific intelligence". "Because of the very specific nature of the intelligence we planned an operation that was designed to mitigate any threat to the public either from firearms or from hazardous substances," he said. He said the purpose of the raid was to prove or disprove intelligence they had received. BBC home affairs correspondent Daniel Sandford described it as the most significant anti-terror operation this year. The 23-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of the commission, preparation and instigation of acts of terrorism as he was being treated at the Royal London hospital. The 20-year-old man was being questioned at Paddington Green police station. Police officers in protective clothing have moved into the terraced house in Lansdown Road in what is being described as a "precautionary measure". A white and yellow tent has been set up outside the property, while workmen are erecting a two-storey high scaffolding screen around the building. Several people in the house at the time of the raid have been moved to other premises. See an aerial view of the area surrounding the raided house Enlarge Image Lansdown Road, and neighbouring Rothsay Road and Prestbury Road, are all closed. A 14-year-old boy Nimesh Patel, who saw the raid, said police broke in through a window, and then opened the front door. He said the person shot appeared to have a shoulder injury. Another witness said he had seen a man wearing a bloodstained T-shirt being carried out of the house after the raid. Meanwhile, a group of around 20 Asian men have gathered outside the gates of the Royal London hospital to protest at what they believe was heavy handed treatment by the police in the raid. Surveillance BBC home affairs correspondent Danny Shaw said the raids follow an investigation into international terrorism targeting the UK. Security sources have described the Forest Gate raid as "potentially significant" and said it followed months of surveillance. One eyewitness said officers smashed a window to gain access The IPCC, in a statement, said it would use its own investigators to "examine the circumstances surrounding the discharge of a police firearm". Deborah Glass, IPCC commissioner, said: "The incident was referred to the IPCC immediately and investigators were deployed to the scene. "An examination of the officers' firearms confirms that a single shot was discharged in circumstances that are currently under investigation." The Civil Aviation Authority says an air exclusion zone has been set up over east London and will be in place for four days. Mixed community Residents said Forest Gate was a typical east London "mixed" community with a large number of Bengali and Pakistani families, along with a recent influx of Eastern Europeans. One neighbour said the operation early this morning had involved "the most police I've seen in my life". The kids all go to school locally." You can send pictures and video to yourpics@bbc.co.uk or text them to 07725 100 100. In the raid, some 250 officers encircled the Forest Gate house under the cover of darkness before swarming in, smashing a window as they went. The authorities later ordered an air exclusion zone around the house to keep airplanes and helicopters away, and they built a tent-like structure around the house to prevent evidence from being tainted and to keep the details of their investigation secret. Photo Peter Clarke, London's ranking counter-terrorism police officer, said the raid was planned "in response to specific intelligence." "The intelligence was such that it demanded an intensive investigation and response," Mr. Clarke said. "The purpose of the investigation, after ensuring public safety, is to prove or disprove the intelligence that we have received." Advertisement Continue reading the main story After today's raid, armed police officers mounted a guard on the hospital where the wounded man was taken for treatment. He and the younger man arrested in the house in Forest Gate may have been brothers who were living with their parents and possibly other family members, according to British news reports.
The Mississauga suspects are Zakaria Amara, 20, Asad Ansari, 21, Shareef Abdelhaleen, 30, Qayyum Abdul Jamal, 43, Ahmad Mustafa Ghany, 21, and 19-year-old Saad Khalid. More arrests are said to be possible. Officials said the group "posed a real and serious threat" with "the capacity and intent to carry out these attacks". The FBI said two men from Georgia visited Toronto last year and met at least three of the Canadians arrested late Friday night and accused of planning attacks in southern Ontario. "Today, Canada's security and intelligence measures worked. He said the U.S. government had no direct involvement in the Canadian arrests. Most of the 12 adults, whose ages range from 19 to 43, have Arabic names but police say no one community should be singled out. Lawyer gearsup to fight charges Another lawyerfor someof the accused talked to reporters outside a courtroom in Brampton where the suspects were taken on Saturday. The affidavit alleges the group "developed a plan to receive military training at one of the several terrorist-sponsored training camps" and that Ahmed travelled to Pakistan for training. 'Enough for three Oklahomas' Ammonium nitrate is a commonly used fertiliser which has also been used to make bombs. Sadequee was arrested in April in Bangladesh and is accused of making false statements in connection with a terrorism investigation. "For various reasons, they appear to have become adherents of a violent ideology inspired by al-Qaeda," said Luc Portelance, Assistant Director of Operations for the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS). The first case involves Mohammad Momin Khawaja, an Ottawa-area man charged with participating in the activities of a British terrorist group and facilitating a terrorist activity.
The arrest of 17people accused of planning attacks in southern Ontariotook on an international twist Saturday when theFBI said some Canadian suspects had been in contact with two men arrested by the U.S. on terrorism-related charges. The FBI said two men from Georgia visited Toronto last year and met at least three of the Canadians arrested late Friday night and accused of planning attacks in southern Ontario. FBI Special Agent Richard Kolko said U.S. authorities have been co-operating with Canadian police since the two Georgia men were arrested this spring on terrorism-related charges. The two were identified as Syed Ahmed, a 21-year-old student at the Georgia Institute for Technology and Ehsanul Sadequee, 19. A U.S. court affidavit said Ahmed and Sadequee travelled to Toronto in March 2005 to meet "like-minded Islamic extremists." It is believed they met with at least three Toronto residents to discuss training and tactics, leading to a major international investigation and the arrests on Friday. A U.S. affidavit obtained by Canadian Press quoted Ahmed as saying they"discussed strategic locations in the United States suitable for a terrorist strike, to include oil refineries and military bases. They also plotted how to disable the global positioning system in an effort to disrupt military and commercial communications and traffic." The affidavit alleges the group "developed a plan to receive military training at one of the several terrorist-sponsored training camps" and that Ahmed travelled to Pakistan for training. Ahmed was arrested in Atlanta in March.He has pleaded not guilty to charges of material support for terrorism. Sadequee was arrested in April in Bangladesh and is accused of making false statements in connection with a terrorism investigation. "We're lucky to have a robust partnership that mitigates many of the threats we face. He said the U.S. government had no direct involvement in the Canadian arrests. Officers surrounded a police station in Pickering, east of Toronto, where the suspects were brought shortly after their arrests. (CBC) The 12 men and five youths accused of plotting to build bombs to set off in southern Ontario were supporters of al-Qaeda, law enforcement officials alleged Saturday. "For various reasons, they appear to have become adherents of a violent ideology inspired by al-Qaeda," said Luc Portelance, Assistant Director of Operations for the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS). "Any movement that has the ability to turn people against their fellow citizens is obviously something CSIS is very concerned about," said Portelance, although officials stressed there's no direct link between those chargedand the militant group. Raids involved 400 officers Led by the RCMP's anti-terrorism task force, more than 400 police officers from across Ontario made the series of arrests Friday night and early Saturday morning. Of the adults arrested, four are from Toronto, six are from nearby Mississauga, and two are from Kingston in eastern Ontario. Most of the suspects are Canadian citizensand all areresidents, said police,who added that some are students, some are employed and some are unemployed. He emigrated from Egypt at the age of 10 with his father who is now an engineer on contract with Atomic Energy of Canada, the lawyer said. Lawyer gearsup to fight charges Another lawyerfor someof the accused talked to reporters outside a courtroom in Brampton where the suspects were taken on Saturday. The arrests mark the second time people have been detained under Canada's Anti-terrorism Act. The first case involves Mohammad Momin Khawaja, an Ottawa-area man charged with participating in the activities of a British terrorist group and facilitating a terrorist activity. Police said the suspects planned "al-Qaeda-inspired" attacks Five other youths have also been charged, following an investigation involving more than 400 officers. Officials said the group "posed a real and serious threat" with "the capacity and intent to carry out these attacks". Some family members sobbed during the hearing while others attempted to speak or wave to the detainees, Reuters news agency reports. One guy was doing some criminal activity, selling guns for money Aly Hindy Imam at a Toronto mosque who knows some of the accused "To put it in context, the 1995 bombing of the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City that killed 168 people was completed with only one ton of ammonium nitrate," said assistant commissioner Mike McDonell of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Most of the 12 adults, whose ages range from 19 to 43, have Arabic names but police say no one community should be singled out.
ET on Thursday, Caldwell said. The US ambassador to Iraq, Zalmay Khalilzad, said Zarqawi's death marked "a great success for Iraq and the global war on terror... Zarqawi was the godfather of sectarian killing and terror in Iraq". ‘Painstaking intelligence effort’ The spokesman said U.S. and Iraqi intelligence found al-Zarqawi by following his spiritual adviser. Several other people were reported to have been killed in the raid. Zarqawi was lying on a stretcher at the scene of the bombing, in a village about 35 miles north of Baghdad, when U.S. forces arrived Wednesday evening and tentatively identified him as the wanted insurgent leader. The United States put a $25 million bounty on his head, the same as bin Laden. The general attributed the discrepancies to inaccuracies in early reports. The two crucial roles had remained unfilled despite the formation of a coalition government last month. “We want to give you the joyous news of the martyrdom of the mujahed sheik Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. The video provided the most up-to-date picture of the fugitive. A day earlier, when asked about reports that Zarqawi had somehow survived the blast from two 500-pound bombs dropped by Air Force fighter jets, Caldwell had told reporters, "He was dead when we arrived there." His body lay in a pool of blood. This is a message to those who choose the path of violence to change their direction before it is too late Nouri Maliki Iraqi Prime Minister Statement in full In quotes: World reaction Watch the speech Jordanian-born Zarqawi was said to have been in a meeting with associates at the time. But he cautioned that it would not end bloodshed in the country.
BAGHDAD, June 9 -- Abu Musab al-Zarqawi was clinging to life when Iraqi and, later, American forces arrived at the scene of the bombing that killed him, a U.S. general said Friday, revising his earlier account of the al-Qaeda leader's death. Meanwhile, other circumstances surrounding the killing remained cloudy. Zarqawi was lying on a stretcher at the scene of the bombing, in a village about 35 miles north of Baghdad, when U.S. forces arrived Wednesday evening and tentatively identified him as the wanted insurgent leader. He mumbled something indistinguishable and tried to move but was restrained, according to Maj. Gen. William B. Caldwell IV, a U.S. military spokesman in Baghdad. "Everybody re-secured him back onto the stretcher, but he died almost immediately thereafter from the wounds he'd received from this airstrike," Caldwell said. A day earlier, when asked about reports that Zarqawi had somehow survived the blast from two 500-pound bombs dropped by Air Force fighter jets, Caldwell had told reporters, "He was dead when we arrived there." In a video briefing for Pentagon reporters Friday, Caldwell also slightly adjusted earlier reports of who was killed in the bombing, saying that in addition to Zarqawi and his spiritual adviser, Sheik Abdel Rahman, another man and three women were among the dead but not a child, as he had first said. The general attributed the discrepancies to inaccuracies in early reports. In the northern city of Baqubah, near the site of the bombing, U.S. soldiers delivered the bodies of four people killed with Zarqawi, including two women, to the morgue at Baqubah General Hospital, according to Ahmad Fouad, the morgue director. Even as new details emerged, many questions remained about the events surrounding Zarqawi's death, perhaps the greatest triumph for U.S. forces in their bloody campaign against Iraq's three-year-old insurgency. Caldwell said he was unsure why U.S. forces did not try to capture Zarqawi alive to glean intelligence. "I do know that if in fact U.S. military or coalition forces feel that, in the execution of a target, that it's going to lead to exorbitant American or coalition forces losses, that we'll use proportional force rather than put young men and women's lives at risk," Caldwell said. In addition, it was not clear why, if U.S. commanders were certain Zarqawi was at the target site, Iraqi police were the first ground forces to reach the scene afterward. When reporters asked Caldwell how anyone could have survived such a bombardment, Caldwell said Air Force experts had assured him that it was possible. Ahmed Mohammed, a local resident who said he rushed to the scene shortly after the bombs struck at 6:15 p.m. Wednesday, said on Friday that he and others helped pull a bearded man he now believes was Zarqawi from the rubble. When he did not respond, the soldiers kicked him and hit him, Mohammed said, until his nose began to bleed. Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the al-Qaida leader in Iraq who waged a bloody campaign of suicide bombings and beheadings, was killed overnight by F-16 jets dropping two 500-pound bombs, U.S. and Iraqi officials said Thursday. Al-Zarqawi and seven aides, including spiritual adviser Sheik Abdul Rahman, were killed inside a building in a remote area 30 miles northeast of Baghdad, officials said. U.S. military spokesman Maj. Gen. William Caldwell showed what he said was a picture of al-Zarqawi after he was killed, and a videotape of an attack in which he said F-16 fighter jets dropped two 500-pound bombs on the site. ‘Painstaking intelligence effort’ The spokesman said U.S. and Iraqi intelligence found al-Zarqawi by following his spiritual adviser. “What everyone needs to understand is the strike last night did not occur in a 24-hour period.” Caldwell also said U.S. and Iraqi troops carried out 17 raids around Baghdad following al-Zarqawi's killing. “It truly was a very long, painstaking, deliberate exploitation of intelligence, information gathering, human sources, electronics, signal intelligence that was done over a period of time, many, many weeks,” Caldwell said. Earlier Thursday, Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki had called a press conference to announce that “al-Zarqawi was terminated.” At the White House, President Bush hailed the killing as “a severe blow to al-Qaida and it is a significant victory in the war on terror.” But he cautioned, “We have tough days ahead of us in Iraq that will require the continuing patience of the American people.” Al-Qaida in Iraq confirmed al-Zarqawi’s death and vowed to continue its “holy war,” according to a statement posted on a Web site. It will only increase our persistence in continuing holy war so that the word of God will be supreme.” Identification efforts Gen. George Casey, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, said the hunt for al-Zarqawi began two weeks ago, and his body was identified by fingerprints and facial recognition. There were six people in the house bombed by U.S. warplanes, including a woman and a child, but only Zarqawi and Abdul-Rahman have been identified. Video from the scene of the attack showed children scrambling over a flattened jumble of cinderblocks, concrete reinforcing bars, blankets, blue plastic bowls and other debris. The announcement about al-Zarqawi’s death came six days after he issued an audiotape on the Internet, railing against Shiites in Iraq and saying militias were raping women and killing Sunnis. Slideshow: 'Terminated' Al-Zarqawi is believed to have beheaded two Americans — Nicholas Berg of West Chester, Pa., and Eugene Armstrong, formerly of Hillsdale, Mich. — prompting supporters to dub him “the slaughtering sheik.” Al-Maliki said the Wednesday night airstrike by U.S. forces was based on intelligence reports provided to Iraqi security forces by area residents. The US said he was killed in an air strike "approximately 8km (five miles) north of Baquba". "Iraqi police were first on the scene after the air strike," he said, followed shortly afterwards by coalition forces. Reports say a statement on the internet attributed to an umbrella group for jihadi organisations including al-Qaeda in Iraq has confirmed Zarqawi's death.
Linda, thanks very much. Israel entered Gaza after Palestinian militants captured a young Israeli soldier. What's their purpose here? And Linda, what are Israeli officials saying about the arrests of these Hamas officials? GRADSTEIN: Thank you. "This is a provocative action and it is totally rejected," the Syrian official said. Now he's been found dead near you. Some of them are without water. INSKEEP: You mentioned a lot of anger in Ramallah, where you are. The military wing of Hamas is one of three groups that claimed responsibility for the raid on Sunday that killed two Israeli soldiers and led to the capture of the third. Copyright © 2006 NPR. Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas called the air strikes collective punishment. They say that it's part of an operation against a terrorist organization, Hamas. Israel arrested dozens of political leaders from the Palestinian group Hamas. The detained ministers include Finance Minister Omar Abdal Razeq, Social Affairs Minister Fakhri Torokma and Prisoners' Affairs Minister Wasfi Kabha and Deputy Prime Minister and Education Minister Nasser Shair. Mr Haniya urged the UN Security and Arab League to move to end the crisis. Recently, an 18-year-old Jewish settler disappeared. Gaza Strip in detail Enlarge Map But an Israeli army spokeswoman told Reuters the detainees "are not bargaining chips for the return of the soldier". GRADSTEIN: People are both angry and worried. GRADSTEIN: Well, the question is, you know, how is this government going to function? So, there is the sense that Israel is kind of stepping up the pressure, but also escalating the situation.
Israeli artillery continued shelling areas in the Gaza Strip Israeli forces in Gaza Sixty-four MPs and officials were seized, amid Israeli efforts to secure freedom for a captured soldier in Gaza. Israeli forces meanwhile massed at Gaza's northern border, as troops and tanks dug into positions in the south, a day after their original incursion. Air strikes have damaged infrastructure in Gaza without causing casualties. Much of Gaza has been left without electricity and running water after a power plant was hit, while several bridges were also destroyed, preventing travel between the north and south of the 45km Strip. The Israeli army dropped leaflets in northern Gaza urging residents to avoid moving in the area because of impending military activity They are not bargaining chips for the return of the soldier. It was simply an operation against a terrorist organisation Israeli army spokeswoman Press review Voices from Gaza The militants escaped, although one was lightly injured in the blast, witnesses said. Separately, the body has been found of an Israeli settler who Palestinian militants abducted and killed at the weekend. The body of Eliyahu Asheri, 19, was found in a shallow grave near the city of Ramallah. Another missing Israeli, who militants also claimed to have seized, was found dead, apparently from natural causes. 'Blackmail' Hamas has condemned Israel's seizure of its officials. Gaza Strip in detail Enlarge Map But an Israeli army spokeswoman told Reuters the detainees "are not bargaining chips for the return of the soldier". "It was simply an operation against a terrorist organisation," she was quoted as saying. Cpl Gilad Shalit was seized by Palestinian militants in an attack on an Israeli border post on Sunday, that also left two Israeli soldiers and two militants dead. 'Wanton destruction' We are living, but we feel as if we are dead Doaa Abu-Harb Student, Rafah In pictures: Gaza offensive Seized settler found dead Air strikes continued throughout Wednesday, with missiles striking a road near Khan Younis refugee camp and a sports field of the Islamic University in Gaza City. In southern Gaza, where the Rafah crossing with Egypt has been closed since Cpl Gilad's capture, militants blew a large hole in the border wall. Palestinian security forces stopped people from pushing through the gap by forming a human cordon and a curfew was imposed. Amnesty International, the human rights group, called for all hostages to be released and for "an end to the wanton destruction and collective punishment" by Israel. CAPTURED ISRAELI SOLDIER Cpl Gilad Shalit, 19 First Israeli soldier captured by Palestinians since 1994 Family waits for news Send us your comments A spokesman for US President George W Bush said Israel had a right to defend itself and the lives of its citizens. The spokesman said Hamas must shoulder the blame for the Israeli assault because militants linked to it had captured Cpl Shalit. "The Israeli occupation must put an end to its aggression before the situation gets complicated and the crisis gets worse," Mr Haniya said. Israeli Warplanes Make Warning Flight Over Syria Reuters Wednesday, June 28, 2006 3:06 PM JERUSALEM, June 28 (Reuters) - Israeli warplanes flew over one of President Bashar al-Assad's palaces on Wednesday to warn Syria against supporting Palestinian militants who abducted an Israeli soldier, the Israeli army said. An army spokeswoman said the planes flew over Assad's palace near the city of Latakia, "because the Syrian leadership supports and harbours terrorist leaders, among them Hamas, the kidnappers of the soldier". The armed wing of the ruling Hamas movement was among the three factions that took part in the cross-border raid into Israel from Gaza in which the soldier was seized on Sunday, but it has not said it is holding him. Exiled Hamas leaders say they were not involved in the operation to capture the soldier, but are taking seriously Israeli threats to kill them. A senior Syrian official told Reuters that two Israeli planes had penetrated Syrian air space and that Syrian air defences forced them to leave. Israeli television said no ground to air missiles were fired at the Israeli aircraft. Syrian political commentator Thabet Salem said in Damascus: "The Israelis are trying to make their problems into a regional one because the capture of the solider and settler is embarrassing for their military establishment." LINDA GRADSTEIN reporting: Well, Israeli officials say that they're not arrested as bargaining chips to exchange for the soldier. The military wing of Hamas is one of three groups that claimed responsibility for the raid on Sunday that killed two Israeli soldiers and led to the capture of the third.
Click here. There are some who need to be tried in U.S. courts," Bush said. "They are cold-blooded killers. Chief Justice John Roberts, named to lead the court last September by Mr. Bush, recused himself in the case because as an appeals court judge he had backed the government over Hamdan.Thursday's ruling overturned that decision. Hamdan was a driver for Osama Bin Laden He added that he would work with Congress "to determine whether or not the military tribunals will be an avenue in which to give people their day in court". The ruling does not demand the release of prisoners held at Guantanamo but gives the administration an opportunity to come up with another way of trying those held. The case was a major test of President Bush's authority as commander in chief during war. "The procedures adopted to try Hamdan also violate the Geneva Conventions," the justices said. The Guantanamo Bay facility opened in 2002 and holds about 460 men suspected of links to al Qaeda and the Taliban. (More reaction) The ruling means the Bush administration will have to adopt a military commission system for trying accused terrorists that meets international standards. The 5-3 ruling means officials will have to come up with a new policy to prosecute at least 10 so-called "enemy combatants" awaiting trial. It does not address the government's right to detain suspects. Want to comment on this story? The BBC's Nick Miles in Washington says the implications of the decision are profound, as Washington will either have to court-martial the detainees or try them as civilians. "One of the things we will do is that we will send people back to their home countries.
Adjust font size: WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday strongly limited the power of the Bush administration to conduct military tribunals for suspected terrorists imprisoned at the U.S. Navy base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The 5-3 ruling means officials will have to come up with a new policy to prosecute at least 10 so-called "enemy combatants" awaiting trial. It does not address the government's right to detain suspects. The case was a major test of President Bush's authority as commander in chief during war. Bush has aggressively asserted the power of the government to capture, detain and prosecute suspected terrorists in the wake of the attacks of September 11, 2001. (Watch analyst say administration has to start over -- 3:50) At the center of the dispute was a Yemeni man, Salim Ahmed Hamdan, captured in Afghanistan in 2001 shortly after the 9/11 attacks. Officials said he has admitted being a personal assistant, bodyguard and driver to al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden. "The military commission at issue is not expressly authorized by any congressional act," said Justice John Paul Stevens, writing for the majority. The tribunals, he said, "must be understood to incorporate at least the barest of those trial protections that have been recognized by customary international law." "In undertaking to try Hamdan and subject him to criminal punishment, the executive [Bush] is bound to comply with the rule of law that prevails in this jurisdiction," Stevens wrote. "Indeed, Congress has denied the president the legislative authority to create military commissions of the kind at issue here." Breyer noted, however, that "nothing prevents the president from returning to Congress to seek the authority he believes necessary." "To the extent there is latitude to work with the Congress to determine whether or not the military tribunals will be an avenue in which to give people their day in court, we will do so," Bush said at a news conference with Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi. (More reaction) The ruling means the Bush administration will have to adopt a military commission system for trying accused terrorists that meets international standards. The court's ruling also establishes that federal courts have jurisdiction to hear appeals involving "enemy combatants" held overseas in U.S. military custody. Late last year, Congress passed and Bush signed the Detainee Treatment Act, which ostensibly limited court intervention over the prisoner issue. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist said Thursday afternoon he would introduce legislation after the Fourth of July break that would authorize military tribunals. "To keep America safe in the war on terror, I believe we should try terrorists only before military commissions, not in our civilian courts," said the Tennessee Republican. Dissenting in the ruling were justices Antonin Scalia, Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito, each of whom entered separate opinions. Scalia called the court's reasoning a "mess," and Thomas wrote that the ruling would "sorely hamper the president's ability to confront and defeat a new and deadly enemy." "The president's decision to try Hamdan before a military commission for his involvement with al Qaeda is entitled to a heavy measure of deference," Thomas said. "It seems clear that the commissions at issue here meet the standard" established by the government to try the accused terrorists, Alito wrote. Hamdan's lawyers argued that Bush exceeded his authority by setting up military commissions to try terrorist suspects, whom the administration terms "enemy combatants," rather than prisoners of war. (Watch military lawyer defend terror suspect -- 2:18) They also argued that the government's charge of conspiracy against Hamdan is not allowed under international standards of law for prisoners of war, and that earlier federal courts had rejected that standard as well, since it was too broadly defined. The administration's position was that the term means detainees do not have the rights usually afforded prisoners of war, as outlined in the Geneva Conventions. The enemy combatant designation, according to the Bush administration, means the suspect can be held without charges in a military prison without the protections of the U.S. criminal justice system, such as the right to counsel -- a status the court rejected. The Guantanamo Bay facility opened in 2002 and holds about 460 men suspected of links to al Qaeda and the Taliban. Many world leaders have pressured Bush to close the camp, and he said last week he was considering doing so, noting he would decide after the court ruled. The Supreme Court ruled Thursday that President Bush overstepped his authority in ordering military war crimes trials for Guantanamo Bay detainees.The ruling, a rebuke to the administration and its aggressive anti-terror policies, was written by Justice John Paul Stevens, who said the proposed trials were illegal under U.S. law and international Geneva conventions.The case focused on Salim Ahmed Hamdan, a Yemeni who worked as a bodyguard and driver for Osama bin Laden. He faces a single count of conspiring against U.S. citizens from 1996 to November 2001.Two years ago, the court rejected Mr. Bush's claim to have the authority to seize and detain terrorism suspects and indefinitely deny them access to courts or lawyers. In this follow-up case, the justices focused solely on the issue of trials for some of the men.That decision rejects the Bush administration's claims that al Qaeda prisoners aren't protected under the Geneva accords, reports. But the ruling gives Mr. Bush a way out, suggesting he use the court martial system or go back to Congress.The vote was split 5-3, with moderate Justice Anthony M. Kennedy joining the court's liberal members in ruling against the Bush administration. Chief Justice John Roberts, named to lead the court last September by Mr. Bush, recused himself in the case because as an appeals court judge he had backed the government over Hamdan.Thursday's ruling overturned that decision. "Any way you slice it, this is a defeat for the Bush Administration, which wanted the go-ahead from the Court to begin prosecuting these detainees under military procedures that government lawyers had come up with,"says. Speaking after a meeting with Japan's visiting prime minister Thursday, President Bush said he will work with Congress to get approval to try terrorism suspects before military tribunals.Today's ruling "won't cause killers to be put out on the street," Mr. Bush said, and that he "will not jeopardize the safety of the American people.
Of those, it said, 64 were members of Hamas. (Watch more Israeli strikes on Gaza -- 2:08) Palestinian sources said an expanded Israeli push into northern Gaza was delayed to allow time for diplomacy. "Their arrests were not arbitrary. Israel sealed all border crossings Monday. Gilad Shalit. As part of Thursday's operations, the IDF said it had attacked a car in Gaza City. The Israeli military said it targeted the Interior Ministry building because it was being used for "directing and planning terror activities." There were also reports of heavy exchanges of fire between militants and an undercover Israeli force near the northern town of Jabaliya early on Friday. GAZA CRISIS TIMELINE Sun 25 June: Cpl Shalit Gilad captured in cross-border attack Mon 26 June: Palestinian Popular Resistance Committees demand prisoner releases in exchange for Gilad Tues 27 June: Israel launches air strikes on Gaza, military enters southern strip Thurs 29 June: Israel detains dozens of Hamas officials Gaza infrastructure suffers Gazans fear war Gaza voices: Thursday A member of the militant Islamic Jihad group was killed in a missile strike in Rafah in southern Gaza, Palestinian medical sources said. Israeli television reported that the president was at home at the time. Saeb Erekat, an aide to Mr Abbas, accused Israel of trying to bring down the Palestinian presidency and government. Among the Cabinet members arrested were Labor Minister Mohammad al-Barghouti, Minister of Jerusalem Affairs Khaled Abu Arafeh, Minister of Local Governments Issa al Jaabari and Religious Affairs Minister Naif al Rajoub, Palestinian sources said. Syria said its anti-aircraft batteries fired on the Israeli warplanes and chased them away.
Israel targeted militants in Rafah in the latest air strikes The Palestinian interior ministry was hit, while a militant was reported killed in an air strike - the first fatality since the offensive began. Meanwhile the UN has warned of an imminent humanitarian crisis in Gaza. On Thursday Israel said it was postponing sending troops into northern Gaza to give diplomacy a chance. In an interview with the Egyptian newspaper al-Ahram, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak said the Palestinian militant group Hamas had agreed to the conditional release of Cpl Gilad Shalit, who was captured on Sunday. "Up to now, the Israeli side does not accept," Mr Mubarak is quoted as saying, without giving details of the Palestinian conditions. Gaza Strip in detail Enlarge Map Egyptian officials have been trying to negotiate Cpl Shalit's release since the beginning of the crisis. 'All-out war' In the latest round of air strikes, Israeli warplanes fired missiles into the unoccupied Palestinian interior ministry in Gaza City shortly after midnight on Friday, setting the building ablaze. GAZA CRISIS TIMELINE Sun 25 June: Cpl Shalit Gilad captured in cross-border attack Mon 26 June: Palestinian Popular Resistance Committees demand prisoner releases in exchange for Gilad Tues 27 June: Israel launches air strikes on Gaza, military enters southern strip Thurs 29 June: Israel detains dozens of Hamas officials Gaza infrastructure suffers Gazans fear war Gaza voices: Thursday A member of the militant Islamic Jihad group was killed in a missile strike in Rafah in southern Gaza, Palestinian medical sources said. At least 20 other targets included an office of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah group, militant training camps, a weapons storage facility in Gaza City and sites used by militants to fire rockets at Israel. "Israel is now waging an open-ended all-out war against the Palestinian people that aims to topple the Palestinian presidency and the Palestinian government, and act as though there is no Palestinian official or government," he told the BBC. There were also reports of heavy exchanges of fire between militants and an undercover Israeli force near the northern town of Jabaliya. The Israelis have denied that there are any of its troops in northern Gaza, but in reality they would be unlikely to confirm the presence of an undercover unit, says the BBC's Alan Johnston in Gaza. Israel is continuing to hold dozens of officials from the ruling Hamas party, including at least eight cabinet members and at least 20 MPs detained on Thursday. Humanitarian fears Meanwhile, the UN's emergency relief co-ordinator Jan Egeland said that Gaza was on the brink of a humanitarian crisis after the destruction by the Israeli air force of the only power plant there on Tuesday night. "We are appalled by seeing how they're playing with the future of defenceless civilians, including children." Much of Gaza's water supply and the sewerage system is dependent on electricity. "I'm confident that the parties will see that we're heading for the abyss unless we get electricity and fuel restored," Mr Egeland said. Airstrikes and artillery pound Gaza Israel says Interior Ministry building used in terror planning YOUR E-MAIL ALERTS Israel Gaza Syria or or Create Your Own JERUSALEM (CNN) -- Israel rounded up members of the Hamas-led Palestinian government Thursday, and warplanes fired a rocket into the Palestinian Authority's Interior Ministry building in Gaza City. The Israeli military said it targeted the Interior Ministry building because it was being used for "directing and planning terror activities." (Watch images from the aftermath of the strikes -- 7:02) Several other airstrikes hit in and around Gaza City about 2:30 a.m. Friday. Targets hit included a Hamas training camp and what the Israeli military said was a weapons storehouse. The raids knocked out power to some parts of the territory not blacked out Wednesday, when aircraft took out the main power plant before Israeli troops moved into southern Gaza. The Israel Defense Forces says the action is part of an attempt to rescue kidnapped army Cpl. On Thursday, the IDF fired more than 400 artillery shells into northern Gaza in an attempt to end the firing of Palestinian rockets into Israel, and troops moved through southern Gaza in search of Shalit. (Watch more Israeli strikes on Gaza -- 2:08) Palestinian sources said an expanded Israeli push into northern Gaza was delayed to allow time for diplomacy. Israeli troops are moving slowly to avoid "undue misery," said Daniel Ayalon, Israel's ambassador to the United States. "Kidnapping Palestinian lawmakers and holding the Palestinian government hostage will neither strengthen Israel's hand in bargaining nor bring any good to anyone in the region," Erakat said. According to the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, the arrests were planned weeks ago but received approval from Israel's attorney general Wednesday. Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Mark Regev denied the lawmakers were arrested in an effort to secure Shalit's release, insisting the Israeli government had finally run out of patience with the political unrest in the territories.
Sadly, however, that is not to be in 2006." Sent Off: Rooney (62). "Truly if there was any justice England would now be preparing for a World Cup semi-final. Rooney's Manchester United team-mate Ronaldo scored the winning spot-kick. It was unclear which incident led to Horacio Elizondo showing the red card. Only Hargreaves - who had easily his best game in an England shirt - was successful from the spot. Booked: Petit, Ricardo Carvalho. "I am not a referee and I don't have the power to send off a player," said Ronaldo. This goalless draw was the first time Portugal had failed to win inside 90 minutes at this tournament. England had to play with 10 men for nearly an hour before crashing out of the tournament in a penalty shoot-out. Crouch almost got on the end of a Gerrard cross but at the other end it needed some desperate last-ditch defending and some solid keeping from Robinson. Eriksson was forced to change things round six minutes into the second half with Beckham struggling with an ankle problem. The drama continued through to extra-time with England showing remarkable energy to match their opponents. England have been eliminated by a Luiz Felipe Scolari led side in the last three major tournaments. England's best hope of a goal was a set-piece and Lampard fired in a free-kick that Ricardo did well to keep out, with Lennon scuffing his attempt to put in the rebound. At Euro 2004, Rooney was taken off against Portugal with a foot injury in the quarter-final and England went on to lose on penalties. The striker looked angry and kicked out in frustration on the touchline.
Ricardo was the hero for Portugal with three penalty saves England lost skipper David Beckham to injury just after half-time and Wayne Rooney was sent off after 62 minutes for a stamp on Ricardo Carvalho. They battled on bravely for the rest of normal time and extra-time with 10 men to take the game to a shoot-out. But Frank Lampard, Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher missed to end their hopes and Sven-Goran Eriksson's reign. The Swede leaves his post as England coach after going out at the quarter-final stage of a major tournament for the third time in succession and now hands over to Steve McClaren. Eriksson had promised a big performance from his side but until Rooney's early exit it was not forthcoming. The young striker endured a frustrating game and his patience finally snapped as he got tangled up with Carvalho and Armando Petit and appeared to aim a stamp at the Chelsea player's groin. Elizondo took a moment before sending Rooney from the field and with him seemingly went England's World Cup hopes. But roared on by the England fans that made the AufSchalke Arena like a home game, they finally showed the passion and heart for a battle so often missing in this World Cup campaign. Portugal were far from their best but they at least caused some worrying moments at the back for England in a tense first half. A deep Luis Figo free-kick was not dealt with by Gary Neville or Lampard and there was huge relief for England to see Tiago slip with the goal at his mercy. Tiago almost caused further problems when he was given a free header in the box that Paul Robinson clambered across to save. Eriksson was forced to change things round six minutes into the second half with Beckham struggling with an ankle problem. Beckham almost won a penalty with his last contribution of the game - and probably his chances of winning a World Cup - when his cross hit the hand of Nuno Valente but England's appeals came to nothing. He was replaced by Aaron Lennon and was seen on the sidelines looking anguished as treatment was performed on his ankle, although he did later bear the pain long enough to berate the referee following Rooney's dismissal. Rooney saw red after 62 minutes for stamping on Carvalho Lennon's introduction gave England brief hope as his pace took him past two players, but when the ball fell for Rooney he almost completely missed and Joe Cole's effort was just too high. But then came Rooney's premature exit, with Joe Cole sacrificed for Peter Crouch. With temperatures again close to 30C it seemed only so long that England's brave 10-man backs-to-the-wall effort could hold out the Portugal onslaught. England's best hope of a goal was a set-piece and Lampard fired in a free-kick that Ricardo did well to keep out, with Lennon scuffing his attempt to put in the rebound. A deflected John Terry shot just looped over the bar after some brilliant work from an outstanding Owen Hargreaves, but Helder Postiga also blazed over in a nerve-jangling injury time. The drama continued through to extra-time with England showing remarkable energy to match their opponents. The game seemed destined to be decided by a penalty shoot-out, just like when the sides met at the same stage of Euro 2004. And unfortunately for England it ended in the same result - with Portugal coach Luiz Felipe Scolari getting the better of Eriksson. Only Hargreaves - who had easily his best game in an England shirt - was successful from the spot. Lampard, Gerrard and Carragher - who scored at the first attempt but had to retake - all saw their efforts saved by Ricardo, who became the first player in World Cup shoot-out history to save three penalties. Hugo Viana and Armando Petit had missed to give Eriksson's side brief hope, but when Helder Postiga and Ronaldo scored England's dream of being crowned world champions was over for another four years. Portugal now face France in Wednesday's semi-final in Munich. He joined Ray Wilkins (1986) and David Beckham (1998) who also saw a direct red card in a World Cup encounter. Portugal have seen an opposing player sent off on four separate occasions, a figure with which they lead all other nations at the 2006 finals. This goalless draw was the first time Portugal had failed to win inside 90 minutes at this tournament. Rooney was dismissed with an hour of the game gone The Manchester United player was dismissed after a 62nd minute foul on Ricardo Carvalho and a confrontation with club team-mate Cristiano Ronaldo. He seemed to be pulled back by Carvalho, and then trod on his opponent's groin as the Chelsea defender was on the floor trying to win the ball. Rooney tangles with Carvalho - and his exit is imminent Television pictures appeared to show Ronaldo winking towards the Portugal bench as Rooney made his way off.
'Ismail Haniyeh, the current Prime Minister, appears not to have any say in what is going on in this regard,' he said. Israel would also be expected to end its attacks on the Gaza Strip. Captors' demands The three groups believed to be holding Cpl Shalit have demanded the release of 1,000 prisoners held in Israeli prisons, and an end to the Israeli offensive. Learn More $9.95 1 month archives pass 1 month archives pass $24.95 3 months archives pass 3 months archives pass $74.95 1 year archives pass Casualties in Gaza have been relatively light since the incursion began, with the deaths of two militants reported before Sunday's air strikes. He met Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas for an hour after the attack, which came a day after the interior ministry was targeted. An Israeli military spokeswoman confirmed the air strike, but the official of the ruling Islamist militant party Hamas, was not thought to be in the office at the time. They also triggered a domino effect that will lead to water shortages and sewage flooding within days if Israelis don't allow in more fuel to power emergency generators, UN ... (Full article: 1375 words) This article is available in our archives: Globe Subscribers FREE for subscribers Subscribers to the Boston Globe get unlimited access to our archives. Some groups have warned of a looming humanitarian crisis for the civilian population. "They have to understand that we will not continue to let them run amok." The Islamic Army appears to be a part of the Popular Resistance Committees, but some Gazans believe it is a new group which draws its inspiration from Osama bin Laden and al-Qaeda rather than the quest for Palestinian liberation.
The Gaza City offices were hit by two Israeli missiles The HQ was left in flames by the latest in a string of air raids and incursions carried out by Israel since Wednesday. Israel says the military action will go on until Cpl Gilad Shalit, captured by militants a week ago, is freed. "We will strike and will continue to strike at [Hamas's] institutions," said Interior Minister Roni Bar-On. "They have to understand that we will not continue to let them run amok." Other strikes overnight on Saturday hit a school in Gaza City and Hamas bases in northern Gaza, killing a 34-year-old militant. Attack denounced Palestinian PM Ismail Haniya said the attack on his office, which injured three security guards, was senseless. Gaza Strip in detail Enlarge Map "They have targeted a symbol for the Palestinian people," he said, inspecting his burning office. He met Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas for an hour after the attack, which came a day after the interior ministry was targeted. Mr Abbas was also due to have talks on Sunday with UN envoy Alvaro de Soto, as diplomatic efforts to defuse the crisis continue. Speaking before the latest strikes, Mr Abbas said he was still hopeful of a peaceful resolution, and the door to an agreement had not been closed. Crossing reopened As the military pressure continues, Israel reopened its main commercial crossing into Gaza on Sunday to allow fuel and other key supplies to be taken into the strip. GAZA CRISIS TIMELINE Sun 25 June: Cpl Gilad Shalit captured in cross-border attack Mon 26 June: Palestinian Popular Resistance Committees demand prisoner releases in exchange for Shalit Weds 28 June: Israeli military enters southern strip after launching air strikes on Gaza Thurs 29 June: Israel detains dozens of Hamas officials Sat 1 July: Groups believed to be holding Cpl Shalit demand 1,000 prisoners be released In pictures: Gaza HQ raid Facing Gaza hardships Send us your comments The Karni crossing - shut after Cpl Shalit's capture - would be open six hours a day for four days this week, an Israeli official told AP news agency. The Israeli air strikes have knocked out Gaza's only power station, leaving only limited electricity supplies and shrinking fuel stocks. Some groups have warned of a looming humanitarian crisis for the civilian population. Mr Olmert said fuel, essential goods and humanitarian aid would be allowed through the Karni crossing. Captors' demands The three groups believed to be holding Cpl Shalit have demanded the release of 1,000 prisoners held in Israeli prisons, and an end to the Israeli offensive. Egyptian mediators have so far failed to secure the soldier's release. Cpl Shalit, a tank gunner, was seized in a raid on his border post last Sunday in which two other soldiers and two of the attackers died. A large Israeli force remains poised on Gaza's northern edge. Casualties in Gaza have been relatively light since the incursion began, with the deaths of two militants reported before Sunday's air strikes. NUSSEIRAT, Gaza Strip -- When Israeli jets fired missiles at Gaza's only power plant Wednesday morning, the airstrikes didn't just knock out nearly half the electricity supply for 1.3 million Palestinians. They also triggered a domino effect that will lead to water shortages and sewage flooding within days if Israelis don't allow in more fuel to power emergency generators, UN ... (Full article: 1375 words) This article is available in our archives: Globe Subscribers FREE for subscribers Subscribers to the Boston Globe get unlimited access to our archives. Learn More $9.95 1 month archives pass 1 month archives pass $24.95 3 months archives pass 3 months archives pass $74.95 1 year archives pass Palestinian militant sources claimed last night that they were close to reaching an agreement in negotiations over the release of an Israeli soldier. Speaking at a news conference in Ramallah, Ziad Abu Aen cited 'mediators' as telling him that Shalit, captured during a raid into Israel by militants last Sunday, had three wounds: 'I guess shrapnel wounds.' An Israeli military spokeswoman confirmed the air strike, but the official of the ruling Islamist militant party Hamas, was not thought to be in the office at the time. Yesterday the three groups holding Shalit said they would free him if Israel released 1,000 Palestinian women, children and humanitarian cases from prison. Awad said Israel was threatening to ramp up military action unless the soldier was freed by midnight Saturday. But there was no relief for Gaza yesterday as the sonic booms of Israeli attacks from sea and air could be heard every hour. An airstrike on an electricity plant left homes and hospitals without essential power while the World Food Programme, which helps feed about 600,000 people in the occupied territories, says that many Palestinians are now living on one meal a day, and there has a been a rise in anaemia and kidney problems due to poor nutrition. Karen Koning AbuZayd, the head of the UN's relief agency, said there was a humanitarian crisis growing for Gaza's 1.4 million people.
"We cannot accept these results," Mr. López Obrador, 52, declared. Advertisement Continue reading the main story It worked. “We are going to the Federal Electoral Tribunal with the same demand — that the votes be counted — because we cannot accept these results,” Lopez Obrador said. | Politics, Election 2016, Mexico The tribunal's decisions have made sweeping changes on the political landscape. The ruling party’s Felipe Calderon won the official count in Mexico’s disputed presidential race Thursday, a come-from-behind victory for the stiff technocrat. “I have met with President Bush several times. "What would be worrisome is if there were not legal mechanisms and all we had were the streets." In the last 10 years, the court has annulled gubernatorial elections in the states of Tabasco and Colima, and it has imposed multimillion-dollar fines for illegal campaign financing. Mr. Calderón rode his coattails. Mr. López Obrador then will have until Monday to present his case for a recount, officials at the electoral institute said. The tribunal has the power to order any number of ballot boxes opened to make its decision. Later he won and served two separate terms in Congress, but lost a race for the governorship of his home state in 1995. With all of the 41 million votes counted, Calderon of President Vicente Fox’s National Action Party had 35.88 percent to 35.31 percent for Lopez Obrador, of the Democratic Revolution Party. Trump steps back from brink of killing North American trade pact WASHINGTON President Donald Trump said on Thursday he pulled back from the brink of killing the 23-year-old trade pact with Canada and Mexico after requests from their leaders and expressed optimism about winning better U.S. terms in a renegotiated deal.
Recent Business News Boeing seeks U.S. anti-dumping probe against CSeries jet PARIS/NEW YORK Boeing Co said on Thursday it had asked the U.S. Commerce Department for an investigation into alleged subsidies and unfair pricing for Canadian planemaker Bombardier's CSeries airplane. Berkshire's Duracell sues over gray market battery imports Duracell, a unit of Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc , on Thursday filed a lawsuit accusing a Missouri wholesaler of illegally selling gray market versions of its copper-top alkaline batteries. Uber's Levandowski to step aside for duration of Waymo litigation Uber Technologies Inc [UBER.UL] said the head of its self-driving vehicles unit, Anthony Levandowski, will step aside from his role for the remainder of the company's litigation with Waymo, the self-driving car division of Alphabet Inc . Trump steps back from brink of killing North American trade pact WASHINGTON President Donald Trump said on Thursday he pulled back from the brink of killing the 23-year-old trade pact with Canada and Mexico after requests from their leaders and expressed optimism about winning better U.S. terms in a renegotiated deal. | Politics, Election 2016, Mexico The ruling party’s Felipe Calderon won the official count in Mexico’s disputed presidential race Thursday, a come-from-behind victory for the stiff technocrat. Calderon, a conservative who preached free-market values and financial stability during the campaign, was already reaching out to other parties to build a “unity government.” His opponent, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, blamed fraud for his narrow loss in the vote count and called on his supporters to fill Mexico City’s main square Saturday in a show of force. With all of the 41 million votes counted, Calderon of President Vicente Fox’s National Action Party had 35.88 percent to 35.31 percent for Lopez Obrador, of the Democratic Revolution Party. Roberto Madrazo, whose Institutional Revolutionary Party controlled Mexico for 71 years until Fox’s victory in 2000, had 22.27 percent, and two minor candidates split the rest. Once the count is complete, challenges go before the country’s top electoral court. Mexican stocks opened higher and the peso rebounded Thursday on news of Calderon’s apparent victory. If his victory is upheld by electoral courts, he will face a Congress dominated by opposition parties, as well as a divided nation that sends millions north to work in the United States illegally. Bush's border plan raising tension President Bush’s decision to send National Guard troops to the border has increased tensions in Mexico, as has a U.S. congressional proposal to extend walls along the two countries’ frontier. Calderon wants to rely on Mexico’s many free-trade accords to create jobs and crack down on rising crime, and says he’ll try to smooth U.S. relations without letting Washington dominate. “I want to establish a very constructive relationship without bowing my head and lowering my eyes to the Americans,” Calderon said in heavily accented English during an interview with The Associated Press. I have interviewed with President Bush and several members of the American Congress, and I know it’s possible to establish a more constructive relationship, and that would be very good for both countries.” Addressing hundreds of cheering supporters before dawn Thursday, he called on Mexicans to move beyond the bitter campaign and “begin a new era of peace, of reconciliation.” He reached out to the millions of people who voted against him, asking for a “chance to win your confidence.” For months, Lopez Obrador had been the easy front-runner in the race, promising to govern for the poor and launch big public works projects. “It was Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador’s election to lose, and he lost,” said Andrew Selee, director of the Mexico Institute at the Woodrow Wilson Center in Washington. Allegations of fraud On Thursday, the former Mexico City mayor said that widespread fraud — not campaign missteps — cost him the election, and he called on his supporters to gather Saturday for an “informational assembly.” “We are always going to act in a responsible manner, but at the same time, we have to defend the citizens’ will,” he said. He denounced election officials for going forward with an official count of poll-workers’ vote tallies, as required by election law, and ignoring his demand for a ballot-by-ballot review. A busload of children from a private school jeered at three women bawling uncontrollably as they held up banners. The official tally opened a new phase in the bruising political battle between the men. Mr. López Obrador's refusal to concede defeat set the stage for a legal challenge that could take weeks to decide who would be the next president. Advertisement Continue reading the main story He called on his supporters to rally in the historic central square of the capital on Saturday in a show of strength that suggested he would use huge street demonstrations to put public pressure on the court to grant his request for a recount. Mr. López Obrador's determination to challenge the results means that a special Federal Electoral Tribunal, set up to handle electoral disputes, will end up deciding whether there will be a recount. He and the leaders of his Party of the Democratic Revolution complained that, during the official tally on Wednesday and Thursday, local election officials had ignored demands that boxes of ballots be recounted from polling places that they thought had unusual results. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Aides to Mr. López Obrador said he would argue in court that a recount was needed because poll officials had tossed out large number of ballots — 904,000 — because they could not tell the intention of the voters. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Mr. López Obrador is also likely to point out that, in the few cases where election officials did recount votes during the official tally, mistakes had been found. But, announcing the vote, Luis Carlos Ugalde, the chairman of Federal Electoral Institute, maintained that electoral officials had "complied with the law and guaranteed that the votes of Mexicans have been counted with absolute transparency." Mr. Calderón, a technocrat, campaigned on promises to make Mexico more competitive in the global economy, to attract foreign investment and to continue the free trade policies that his opponent blamed for impoverishing many Mexicans.
In Japan, U.S. North Korea's intentions were left unclear, he said. It was Pyongyang's first test of a long-range missile since a self-imposed moratorium in 1999. The US called the tests "provocative", and urged a resumption of multilateral talks. A foreign ministry official said such launches were a matter of national sovereignty, Japanese media reported. NATO [This] poses a serious threat to the region and the international community at large. The UN Security Council has held an emergency meeting on the crisis. These concerns are particularly linked to fears that such missiles could carry weapons of mass destruction. They will only add to tensions on the Korean Peninsula. North Korea test-fired at least six missiles yesterday, including its long-range Taepodong-2, senior U.S. officials said, defying strong warnings from the United States and regional powers in Asia. Japanese and South Korean military are on high alert, and share prices have fallen in both countries. Among them was the Taepodong missile - thought capable of reaching Alaska. (Speaking to ABC Radio) HELEN CLARK, NEW ZEALAND PRIME MINISTER This is completely unacceptable behaviour and does really send it [N Korea] down the road of being condemned as a rogue state. SHINZO ABE, JAPANESE CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY North Korea has gone ahead with the launch despite international protest. We hope that all sides will maintain calm and restraint. NORTH KOREAN MISSILE MOVES 1998: Tests long-range Taepodong-1 over Japan 1999: Agrees to moratorium on long-range tests 2003: Six-nation talks begin on N Korea's nuclear programme 2005: Six-nation talks stall July 2006: N Korea launches seven missiles, including long-range Taepodong-2, which fails N Korea's missile programme According to US officials, the six earlier launches took place over a four-hour period, beginning at 0332 Japan time (1832 GMT Tuesday).
The Taepodong-2 may be able to reach Alaska The seven missiles included a long-range Taepodong-2, which the US said failed shortly after take-off. The US called the tests "provocative", and urged a resumption of multilateral talks. Japan went on to announce a range of sanctions against Pyongyang. The UN Security Council has held an emergency meeting on the crisis. The ambassadors of the US, Japan and the UK said there had been widespread concern with not a single member of the council defending North Korea's actions. A draft resolution drawn up by Japan and the US is said to demand that Pyongyang immediately stop the development, testing and deployment of ballistic missiles. It also calls on member states to prevent the transfer of resources, items and technology that could contribute to North Korea's missile programme. Experts are beginning discussion on the document but there is no indication when it may be passed by the council. Tokyo - one of North Korea's harshest critics, and in easy reach of a long-range missile - has already said it will ban the entry of North Korean officials, chartered flights and a ferry. In its first response to the tests, China urged all sides to remain calm. Japanese and South Korean military are on high alert, and share prices have fallen in both countries. A foreign ministry official said such launches were a matter of national sovereignty, Japanese media reported. The BBC's Charles Scanlon in Seoul says the North has been feeling under pressure and ignored in recent months, with the US refusing to negotiate on its demands over its nuclear plans. HAVE YOUR SAY It's regrettable that a poor country invests its resources in weaponry John, UK Send us your comments Market reaction Japanese views US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said the strong reaction from the international community demonstrated that this was not a matter between the US and North Korea. Ms Rice said the six-party talks provided the forum for discussing the missile crisis. Without specifying what punitive measures the US could take, she said: "The international community does have at its disposal a number of tools to make it more difficult for North Korea to engage in this kind of brinksmanship and to engage in the continued pursuit of its nuclear weapons programmes and of its missile programmes." Heightened alert Some observers believe it was not a coincidence that North Korea launched six of the missiles as the US celebrated its Independence Day holiday and launched the space shuttle from Florida. NORTH KOREAN MISSILE MOVES 1998: Tests long-range Taepodong-1 over Japan 1999: Agrees to moratorium on long-range tests 2003: Six-nation talks begin on N Korea's nuclear programme 2005: Six-nation talks stall July 2006: N Korea launches seven missiles, including long-range Taepodong-2, which fails N Korea's missile programme According to US officials, the six earlier launches took place over a four-hour period, beginning at 0332 Japan time (1832 GMT Tuesday). Among them was the Taepodong missile - thought capable of reaching Alaska. The seventh missile launch came hours later, at 1722 Japan time (0822 GMT) according to local media reports. The US and North Korea's neighbours have been on heightened alert in recent weeks amid suspicions that Pyongyang was preparing to launch the Taepodong-2, which has a range of up to 6,000 km (3,730 miles). The last time North Korea tested a long-range missile was in 1998, when it launched a Taepodong-1 over northern Japan. North Korea test-fired at least six missiles yesterday, including its long-range Taepodong-2, senior U.S. officials said, defying strong warnings from the United States and regional powers in Asia. Diplomatic and military officials played down any imminent threat, but Stephen J. Hadley, President Bush's national security adviser, called the display of firepower on the Fourth of July "provocative behavior." Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice began calling Asian capitals that were waking to the news, and the U.N. Security Council was set to take up the matter today. Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Aso said Tokyo was likely to impose economic sanctions against North Korea in response to the missile tests; Japanese authorities said they would begin by banning North Korean ships from Japanese ports for six months or more. In Pyongyang, an official from North Korea's communist government met with Japanese reporters and acknowledged the missile launches. Japan's NHK television quoted Foreign Ministry official Lee Byong Dok as saying: "This is an issue of national sovereignty, and other countries do not have the right to judge. Over the past several weeks, U.S. intelligence officials had warned of a possible long-range missile test by North Korea, and the issue became the subject of increasingly acrimonious exchanges between the United States and North Korea. Last night, Hadley said the launch "just shows the defiance of the international community by North Korea." The tests could further isolate North Korea and tilt U.S. policy in favor of Bush administration hard-liners who have argued that stronger sanctions are the only way to bring North Korea back to the table in stalled disarmament talks. In a nationally televised announcement in South Korea, Suh Choo Suk, senior presidential secretary for security policy, said the North's "provocative act" would deepen its isolation and affect inter-Korean ties. The South Korean government has said it would punish Pyongyang in the event of a missile test by curbing the massive investment and humanitarian aid that has formed an integral part of its rapprochement with the North in recent years. Hadley said that although the test was a clear violation of that moratorium, it offered the United States important insight about North Korea's weapons capabilities: "The Taepodong is a failure.
"Now, the subject has many dimensions," he said. Iraqi and U.S. investigations are continuing. Advertisement Continue reading the main story The victim in the suspected rape was Abeer Qassim Hamzeh. At least four other U.S. soldiers still in Iraq are under investigation in the attack, which occurred near the town of Mahmoudiya. Green is the only one to be formally charged, but officials have not ruled out additional charges. Maliki spoke two days after former Army Pfc. Advertisement Continue reading the main story A senior American commander in Mahmudiya visited Mr. Fadhil and other local officials on Thursday and "expressed sorrow for the killing of the family and the behavior of the soldiers," Mr. Fadhil said. The military is also investigating a number of other alleged atrocities by U.S. troops against Iraqi civilians, including allegations that marines killed 24 unarmed Iraqis near Haditha last November. Masri's specialty is car bombs, the general said. "We found them dead in the house. "The family didn't involve the police when the crime took place. Mashhadani and seven of her bodyguards were seized Saturday by gunmen at a checkpoint in a Shiite part of eastern Baghdad. Iraqi vendors who had gathered around the pilgrims were among the victims. Four were announced in June alone. Steven D. Green appeared in court on Monday in Charlotte, N.C., to face charges that he and other soldiers raped a young Iraqi woman. "We believe that the immunity given to members of coalition forces encouraged them to commit such crimes in cold blood (and) that makes it necessary to review it," Maliki told reporters in Kuwait.
Steven D. Green appeared in court on Monday in Charlotte, N.C., to face charges that he and other soldiers raped a young Iraqi woman. army private with rape and murder after an investigation into the death of four civilians in Iraq last March. Steven D. Green appeared in court on Monday in Charlotte, N.C., to face charges that he raped a young Iraqi woman.He is also charged with killing the woman andthree members of her family to cover up the crime. The age of the victim is not known. While the FBI estimated her to be 25, a neighbour said she was 14. His honourable discharge from the army is not related to the crime, prosecutors said, but was "due to a personality disorder." An 11-page affidavit filed by the prosecution gave no further details of that. His case is being handled in the civilian courts because he is no longer on active military duty. Conspiracy alleged The affidavit said Green and three fellow soldiers were posted to a traffic checkpoint in the town of Mahmoudiya —south of Baghdad —when they conspired to rape the young woman. It said they consumed alcohol and put on dark clothing before going toher home. Green and one of the othersoldiers sexually assaulted the woman, the affidavit claims. Then, in a statement from one of the soldiers involved in the rape, the affidavit says Green took the woman and three members of her family to another room where he shot them dead. Last week, the army confirmed that up to five members of its 502nd Infantry Regiment were being investigated in connection with the incident at Mahmoudiya. Green is the only one to be formally charged, but officials have not ruled out additional charges. The mayor of Mahmoudiya, Mouayad Fadhil, said Monday that U.S. investigators want permission to exhume one of the bodies. Green could face the death penalty if convicted. The military is also investigating a number of other alleged atrocities by U.S. troops against Iraqi civilians, including allegations that marines killed 24 unarmed Iraqis near Haditha last November. Iraqi PM demands inquiry of rape-slaying BAGHDAD (AP) Iraq's prime minister Wednesday demanded an independent inquiry of the rape-slaying of a girl and the killing of her family, saying the immunity from Iraqi prosecution enjoyed by U.S. forces "encouraged them to commit such crimes." Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, whose brief tenure has been marked by several high-profile allegations of abuse by U.S. forces, called for an Iraqi investigation — or at least a joint inquiry — into the March 12 rape and murder of Abeer Qassim Hamza, and the killing of her mother, father and sister at their home in Mahmoudiya, south of Baghdad. He also said the agreements under which U.S.-led coalition troops enjoy immunity from prosecution by Iraqi courts should be reviewed. "We believe that the immunity given to members of coalition forces encouraged them to commit such crimes in cold blood (and) that makes it necessary to review it," Maliki told reporters in Kuwait. Steve Green was charged in federal court in Charlotte, with rape and four counts of murder. At least four other U.S. soldiers still in Iraq are under investigation in the attack, which occurred near the town of Mahmoudiya. In Baghdad, an American military spokesman stressed that the U.S. command was taking the allegations seriously and would discuss Maliki's demands when he returns from a tour of Persian Gulf countries. "When the prime minister gets back, the coalition will engage with him and discuss what he wants to discuss." Green and the four others were members of the same unit as two soldiers whose mutilated bodies were found June 19, three days after they were abducted by insurgents in Youssifiyah. "It appears they're very separate and distinct events that occurred, from what we've been able to find thus far," he said, adding the ongoing questioning of some 20 "persons of interest" has yielded no information that would link the two incidents. U.S. officials had said they were investigating how the three slain soldiers were left alone last month in an al-Qaeda-infested area. The alleged rape-slaying occurred after the soldiers left a checkpoint for the victims' house, according to court documents. In Mahmoudiya, Abeer's uncle said the family thought insurgents had been responsible until the U.S. military announced an investigation last week. Taha said he arrived at the scene about four hours after the killings and found the charred body of his 15-year-old niece, along with those of her mother, Fikhriya Taha, her father, Qassim Hamza, and her younger sister, Hadeel Qassim Hamza. Abeer's 8-year-old brother, Ahmed Qassim, said he and his brother found the bodies when they came home from school. We also found the house blackened and smoke coming from it," Ahmed said, holding a shovel and sitting near a mud puddle with a cow grazing behind him. Masri's specialty is car bombs, the general said. "I think it would only be prudent for us to expect to see a rise in vehicle-borne improvised explosive devices ... given his specialty and background and training that we've seen that he's used," Caldwell said. The U.S. military reported 74 car bombs in the four weeks ending June 9, two days after Zarqawi was killed, compared with 125 in the four weeks since that date.
We will do that." Pte Jackson had also served in Northern Ireland in June, 2004 and, then in Basra, Iraq. He added: "They are fighting a battle that I think is important not just for the security of Afghanistan. More than 3,000 UK troops are now in Afghanistan The soldier, from the 3 Para Battle Group, was shot while on a patrol near the town of Sangin. His death follows the loss of two British servicemen in Helmand at the weekend. He died while he was being given treatment. The BBC's source said a request for more troops was being passed up the chain of command but had yet to reach ministers. There followed a firefight in which he was killed. "One of the very best in all respects, he will be sadly missed by all his comrades in 3 Para and our thoughts are with his family and friends at this difficult time." Members of the Army, RAF, Royal Marines and special forces have lost their lives in the fight against the Taliban. The incident came as Tony Blair told MPs that the UK's Afghan role was vital for world security. The raid took place on Tuesday night in the village of Gujdar, some 25km (16 miles) east of Musa Qala in the south of the province. "We fully support the British Army in Afghanistan whilst in no way supporting or condoning a government policy which has placed our young men and women in such dreadful danger." He was also a team medic and had shown was interested in becoming a combat medic. Pte Jackson's commanding officer, Lieutenant Colonel Stuart J C Tootal, said also paid tribute.
The soldier served in Northern Ireland and Iraq during his career The 19-year-old soldier, of South Shields, Tyne and Wear, was shot while on a patrol near the town of Sangin. His father, Daniel, said he was "extremely proud" of his son but added that government policy was putting UK forces into "dreadful danger". The death of Pte Jackson, of the 3 Para Battle Group, on Wednesday follows the loss of two British servicemen in Helmand at the weekend. One of the very best in all respects, he will be sadly missed by all his comrades in 3 Para and our thoughts are with his family and friends at this difficult time Lieutenant Colonel Stuart J C Tootal Daniel Jackson said: "I wish everyone to know just how extremely proud I am of my son Damien - of all that he has achieved in his lifetime and of the fact that he died, when duty called, protecting others, in the service of his country. "A fine, upstanding South Shields lad, Damien was immensely proud to have achieved his ultimate ambition in becoming a member of the finest regiment in the British Army." "We fully support the British Army in Afghanistan whilst in no way supporting or condoning a government policy which has placed our young men and women in such dreadful danger." 'Excellent soldier' He described Pte Jackson as an "excellent young soldier" who represented "the very best of what being a paratrooper is all about". "One of the very best in all respects, he will be sadly missed by all his comrades in 3 Para and our thoughts are with his family and friends at this difficult time." More than 3,000 UK troops are now in Afghanistan The soldier, from the 3 Para Battle Group, was shot while on a patrol near the town of Sangin. The incident came as Tony Blair told MPs that the UK's Afghan role was vital for world security. A UK defence source told the BBC extra troops could be sent to Afghanistan, where six troops have died in a month. The BBC's source said a request for more troops was being passed up the chain of command but had yet to reach ministers. Answering a question from Conservative leader David Cameron, the prime minister told the Commons he had received no request for equipment or troops but they would get what they need. BBC correspondent in Kabul, Alastair Leithead, said the political debate meant commanders would be given a "blank cheque" to meet their needs in the field. A statement from the Ministry of Defence said: "We can confirm that during a patrol in Sangin town, members of 3 Para battle group were attacked by suspected Taleban forces. "It is with deep regret we can confirm that during the incident a British soldier has been killed." On Wednesday, Afghanistan's capital Kabul was hit by blasts for a second day - one person died and at least 40 were wounded in three bombings targeted at buses carrying Afghan army officers and government workers. The number of deaths stands at 456 after two RAF personnel were among five people who died in a helicopter crash on 11 October 2015.
The police were investigating that. Police said the co-ordinated blasts took place at Matunga, Khar, Mahim, Jogeshwari, Borivali and Bhayandar, with most on moving trains and two at stations. People jumped and were killed as the train hit them. There have been a number of bomb attacks in Mumbai in recent years. "What we didn't have was the place and the time," Patil said. Officials said at least 464 people were injured in the blasts in the city's western suburbs as commuters made their way home. A CNN-IBN correspondent who was on one of the trains said it was leaving a station when the blast occurred. Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh appealed for calm and described the incidents as a "shocking and cowardly attempt to spread a feeling of hatred". Authorities suspect militants are responsible for that attack on a minibus in Srinagar. All seven blasts came within an 11-minute span, between 6:24 and 6:35 p.m. (12:54 and 1:05 p.m. GMT). Correspondents say Tuesday's bombers could hardly have struck a target with greater impact - both practical and psychological. Police in the capital of New Delhi also heightened security. Airports across India were put on high alert, too. Both the 2005 London bombings and the 2004 Madrid bombings, that killed 191 people, were directed against rush hour commuters on mass transit systems. "Limbs [are] lying everywhere, bodies [were] cleared from the tracks by local business owners who rushed from their shops," the correspondent said. U.S. officials said suspicion fell on two Islamic terrorist groups whose focus has been on the disputed territory of Kashmir -- Lashkar-e-Tayyiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed.
Rescue efforts have been hampered by heavy rain The first of the near-simultaneous blasts went off at about 1830 local time (1300 GMT), during the rush hour in the suburbs on the Western Railway. Correspondents spoke of scenes of pandemonium, with people jumping from trains and bodies flung onto tracks. There have been a number of bomb attacks in Mumbai in recent years. Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh appealed for calm and described the incidents as a "shocking and cowardly attempt to spread a feeling of hatred". Pakistani leaders also condemned the blasts as a "despicable act of terrorism". Police said the co-ordinated blasts took place at Matunga, Khar, Mahim, Jogeshwari, Borivali and Bhayandar, with most on moving trains and two at stations. Local reports said the bombs appeared to have targeted first-class compartments, as commuters were returning home from the city's financial district. A shopkeeper near one explosion said it was so powerful they thought they had been hit by lightning. Television images show dazed and bloodied commuters being carried by fellow passengers to waiting ambulances, as rescue workers clambered through wreckage to reach victims. The force of the blasts ripped doors and windows off carriages, and scattered luggage. A medical student at a hospital in Parel, which has received many of the wounded, told the BBC News website the "floors are filled with bloodstains". Correspondents say the confusion in the city has been made worse by the collapse of mobile phone networks, and long queues have formed for the payphones still working. Repeated target There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attacks, which are the worst in the city for more than a decade. MUMBAI FACTS Changed named to Mumbai in late 1990s Population: 17 million HQ to many big Indian companies and foreign multinationals Home of the Indian film industry, Bollywood Thousands arrive monthly from rural areas, with many living in slums Property prices are among the most expensive in the world At least 250 people died in serial bomb blasts in the city in 1993 India looks for Mumbai clues Railway lifeline Home Minister Shivraj Patil told reporters authorities had "some" information an attack was coming, "but place and time was not known". More than 250 people died in a string of blasts in the city in 1993. Correspondents say Tuesday's bombers could hardly have struck a target with greater impact - both practical and psychological. The city's suburban train system is one of the busiest in the world, carrying more than six million commuters a day. The blasts came hours after suspected Islamic extremists killed seven people in grenade attacks in the summer capital of Kashmir, Srinagar. Debris is cleared from the first-class compartment of a local train hit by a bomb blast in Mumbai. Yes No or View Results YOUR E-MAIL ALERTS India or or Create Your Own MUMBAI, India (CNN) -- A series of seven explosions killed at least 174 people on crowded commuter trains and stations Tuesday evening in the Indian financial capital of Mumbai, police said. Officials said at least 464 people were injured in the blasts in the city's western suburbs as commuters made their way home. All seven blasts came within an 11-minute span, between 6:24 and 6:35 p.m. (12:54 and 1:05 p.m. GMT). Analysts are comparing the attack with the mass transit bombings in Madrid in 2004 and London last year, saying they all involved a series of mutiple blasts and were well-coordinated. There was some confusion about the number of dead and injured as information was compiled from hospitals and explosion sites in Mumbai, the west Indian seaport previously called Bombay. "There still are bodies being recovered," said Pooja Saxena, with the International Federation of the Red Cross, speaking early Wednesday. (Watch rescuers pull victims from wrecked trains -- 1:59) "When I jumped from the train, I saw that the first-class compartment was totally ripped apart and people were hanging from the train. (Read a full account of the horror Jacob witnessed) One person was arrested in New Delhi in police raids after the explosions, reported CNN-IBN, CNN's sister network, but there's been no claim of responsibility for the attacks. U.S. officials said suspicion fell on two Islamic terrorist groups whose focus has been on the disputed territory of Kashmir -- Lashkar-e-Tayyiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed. Last year's July 7 terror bombings in London that killed 52 people came as UK Prime Minister Tony Blair was hosting the G8 summit in Scotland and one day after London was awarded the 2012 Olympics, Gohel told CNN International. Both the 2005 London bombings and the 2004 Madrid bombings, that killed 191 people, were directed against rush hour commuters on mass transit systems. Gohel noted that at least one of Tuesday's attacks targeted a first-class commuter car, and police were looking at that carriage to see if it might yield clues. The seventh explosion struck a train between the Khar and Santacruz stations, a police official told CNN-IBN. (Train map) Video footage from a train station showed people in bloodstained clothes receiving medical treatment, while others were carrying victims and some lying motionless near railroad tracks. It seems to be that the explosive was packed off in pipes and kept in the first class men's compartment."
Others, like Barrett, aren’t acting at all. Shine on you crazy diamond." He was long gone as Pink Floyd amassed more than 200 million album sales throughout their career. "It's just a sophisticated version of what they were doing then." Barrett released two solo albums — “The Madcap Laughs” and “Barrett” — but soon withdrew from the music business altogether. Keith Richards was well on his way to being Keith Richards when Barrett’s band debuted. “His impact on my thinking was enormous,” said David Bowie, a lifelong fan, upon learning of Barrett’s death. Barrett had suffered from diabetes for years. Autistic? But he departed the group while battling mental illness after just one album, The Piper At The Gates Of Dawn, which he had largely written. Barrett co-founded Pink Floyd in 1965 with Waters, Mason and Wright, and wrote many of the band’s early songs. The group’s jazz-infused rock and drug-laced, multimedia “happenings” made them darlings of the London psychedelic scene. When Pink Floyd achieved global stardom in 1973 with Dark Side Of The Moon, Barrett was living as a recluse - as he continued to do for the rest of his life. Syd Barrett, a true manchild tuned to another frequency, created the mold. The British producer Joe Meek (“Telstar”) literally tried to record voices from beyond the grave, in cemeteries. Occasionally spotted on long walks or errands to the corner store, he was the subject of much armchair speculation: Was he an undiagnosed schizophrenic? "Remember when you were young, you shone like the sun. Little Richard and Jerry Lee Lewis both earned their reputations by playing as if possessed.
share tweet email A little bit of rock mythology died with Syd Barrett, the psychically damaged founding member of Pink Floyd who apparently succumbed to complications from diabetes last Friday at age 60.Every creative discipline has its unstable geniuses – poets, painters, actors. Rock music, with its crazy energy and relentless search for the new, has always been an especially apt breeding ground for wayward types. Syd Barrett, a true manchild tuned to another frequency, created the mold. There were, to be sure, earlier examples of beguiling, irrational behavior in rock. The British producer Joe Meek (“Telstar”) literally tried to record voices from beyond the grave, in cemeteries. But the psychedelic era brought a new strangeness to popular music, and Barrett was one of the most prominent early acid casualties. A key founding member of Pink Floyd, who gave the group its name (borrowed from the bluesmen Pink Anderson and Floyd Council) and wrote most of the band’s debut album, “The Piper at the Gates of Dawn,” Barrett was forced to quit by early 1968. After cobbling together two fragile but enduring solo albums, “The Madcap Laughs” and “Barrett” (both released in 1970), the frequently incoherent singer frittered away the rest of his years in his mum’s house in Cambridge, England. Occasionally spotted on long walks or errands to the corner store, he was the subject of much armchair speculation: Was he an undiagnosed schizophrenic? Did the drugs trigger a latent mental illness, or were they the sole cause of his incapacity? Whatever the case, Barrett — once, however briefly, a leading luminary on the London scene and a confidante of Jimi Hendrix — dropped out of the public eye completely. Inspiring new musicThe recipe has become a familiar one in the shadowy world of cult stardom in rock, from Moby Grape’s Skip Spence, another hippie-era casualty whose solo albums sold little but spawned multiple generations of admirers, to the prolific “outsider” songwriter Daniel Johnston, unapologetic acidheaded acts such as the Flaming Lips and freak-folkies like Devendra Banhart. For that matter, Pink Floyd itself would never have attained such monumental heights if the band wasn’t continually haunted and inspired by his memory: Many of the band’s cornerstone songs, including “Brain Damage” and “Shine On You Crazy Diamond,” were overt tributes to their lost band mate. Bowie recorded a version of Barrett’s “See Emily Play” way back in 1973, and he performed another early Floyd single (the band’s first), “Arnold Layne,” just last month at Floyd guitarist David Gilmour’s concert at the Royal Albert Hall. It’s hard to fathom now, but when Pink Floyd was making its first inroads in America, the band actually appeared on “American Bandstand,” singing “See Emily Play.” In an infamous bit of rock trivia, Barrett refused (or was unable to) lip-synch the words to his own song. Mental health problems were blamed on drug use He was the band's co-founder and initially its undisputed leader and principal songwriter - he even came up with the name, reportedly inspired by US bluesmen Pink Anderson and Floyd Council. When Pink Floyd achieved global stardom in 1973 with Dark Side Of The Moon, Barrett was living as a recluse - as he continued to do for the rest of his life. He was long gone as Pink Floyd amassed more than 200 million album sales throughout their career. And it is not known whether he was aware of the band's highly-trumpeted stage reunion, after more than 20 years, at last year's Live 8 concert in London. 'Barrett's image' But BBC Radio 2 DJ Bob Harris says: "I truly believe that the spirit of Syd Barrett has always lived in Pink Floyd and what they do." In those first three years Pink Floyd were "crafted in [Barrett's] image", Willis has written, "and they never quite put him out of their minds." Remember when you were young, you shone like the sun Lyrics from Shine On You Crazy Diamond, Pink Floyd's eulogy to Syd Barrett "In many ways they have been true to the legacy ever since," says Harris. The decades of music that followed, including commercial highpoint Dark Side Of The Moon, had their "foundation stones in the work that Syd Barrett did with Pink Floyd in '66 and '67", says Harris. He adds: "A Pink Floyd album now sounds much more finished and smooth than it did then, but the creative forces that are informing it are much the same. "It's just a sophisticated version of what they were doing then." Crazy diamond In a statement following the announcement of Barrett's death, Pink Floyd themselves acknowledge their former colleague was "the guiding light of the early band line-up and leaves a legacy which continues to inspire". But perhaps 1975's Wish You Were Here album offers a more suitably cryptic and poetic tribute to Barrett. share tweet email Syd Barrett, the troubled Pink Floyd co-founder who spent his last years in reclusive anonymity, has died, the band said Tuesday. A spokeswoman for the band said Barrett died several days ago, but she did not disclose the cause of death.
Both denied any wrongdoing. A Labour spokesman said the party "has and will continue to co-operate fully with this police investigation and, because of the ongoing nature of the investigation, we will not be commenting further". What did Lord Levy say? What about Tony Blair? Just how big a political bombshell is Lord Levy's arrest? Lord Levy becomes the second person - and the most closely connected to the prime minister - to be arrested by Scotland Yard in its inquiry into the allegations that Labour lenders were recommended for peerages. However, loans made on a commercial basis do not count. She was also questioned on suspicion of perverting the course of justice. Police are examining whether honours were ever given as reward for financial help to any of the three main parties. He added: "I want this issue cleared up once and for all in British politics." In February 2007 the Crown Prosecution Service said there would not be any charges against Mr Smith, due to "insufficient evidence". Labour later revealed that it had been secretly loaned nearly £14m before the last general election. Scottish National Party MP Angus MacNeil wrote to the Metropolitan Police asking them to investigate whether any laws had been broken. The BBC revealed this week that a senior Labour figure told Sir Gulam not to inform the lords appointment committee about the loan. What do those who were arrested and subsequently released without charge say? The peer has been bailed pending further inquiries. Number 10 refused to comment on what it declared was a "party matter". "He therefore complied with a request to attend today at a police station where the police used their arrest powers, totally unnecessarily, apparently in order to gain access to documents that Lord Levy would quite willingly have provided without this device.
Lord Levy is a close friend of Tony Blair Lord Levy, 61, denies any wrongdoing and accused the police of using their arrest powers "totally unnecessarily". The peer was one of the key figures in the securing of multi-million pound loans to the Labour Party last year. Police are examining whether honours were ever given as reward for financial help to any of the three main parties. Critics of Mr Blair have seized on news of the arrest as Lord Levy is a close ally and tennis partner of the prime minister, as well as his Middle East envoy. Scottish National Party leader Alex Salmond claimed the water was now "lapping around the prime minister's feet". 'No offence' Scotland Yard is conducting a wide-ranging investigation into loans and donations made to all three parties to see if there is any evidence that honours have been given as rewards for financial help. It follows the revelation earlier this year that multi-million pound loans were secretly given to Labour before the last election. It is ludicrous for the prime minister to refuse to comment on the basis that this is a party matter Norman Baker Lib Dem MP Analysis: How bad for Blair? A police spokesman confirmed a man had been arrested and questioned about possible infringements of honours and election laws. Lord Levy's spokesman said: "He has not been charged and does not expect to be, as he has committed no offence." His spokesman added: "Lord Levy has made it clear that he is ready at all times to co-operate with the police investigation. "He therefore complied with a request to attend today at a police station where the police used their arrest powers, totally unnecessarily, apparently in order to gain access to documents that Lord Levy would quite willingly have provided without this device." The prime minister's official spokesman said he could not comment on Lord Levy's arrest because it was a party, not a government, matter. I want this issue cleared up once and for all in British politics David Davis Shadow home secretary Q&A: Cash for peerages affair Profile: Lord Levy Some of the lenders were subsequently nominated for peerages by Tony Blair. Lord Levy's arrest comes two days after it was alleged he told a businessman he did not have to tell a Lords vetting committee about his loan to the party. BBC political editor Nick Robinson says the fate of Lord Levy and Mr Blair is "intertwined". "This could not be more serious for Tony Blair personally," he says. 'Freeze honours' call Former Home Secretary David Blunkett said critics of Mr Blair would take a particular attitude but others would wait until the police had finished their work. "Let's ask the Metropolitan Police to do the job quickly and thoroughly and without theatricality," Mr Blunkett told BBC News 24. A Labour spokesman said the party "has and will continue to co-operate fully with this police investigation and, because of the ongoing nature of the investigation, we will not be commenting further". BBC political editor Nick Robinson Read Nick's analysis in full Angus MacNeil, the Scottish National Party MP who initiated the police inquiry, called for a freeze on all future honours until the investigation was completed. "This is a significant development and one that would appear to justify my decision to report this matter to the police," he said. Shadow home secretary David Davis said Lord Levy's arrest demonstrates "that the police are taking the cash-for-peerages question very seriously". He added: "I want this issue cleared up once and for all in British politics." Liberal Democrat MP Norman Baker said: "It is ludicrous for the prime minister to refuse to comment on the basis that this is a party matter. Scotland Yard investigated claims that laws made in 1925 banning the sale of honours had been broken by political parties giving peerages in return for donations and loans. It also investigated whether a law made in 2000 which says that all donations of more than £5,000 must be declared, had been breached. During the investigation, the police also asked questions about alleged conspiracy to pervert the course of justice. It emerged last year that a number of large secret loans had been made to the Labour Party before the 2005 general election, and that some of those lenders had subsequently been nominated for peerages. The main file handed over by the police to the Crown Prosecution Service was 216 pages long, and more than 6,300 documents have also been handed over. Mr Blair became the first prime minister to be questioned by police in the course of an investigation. Mr Blair's chief fundraiser Lord Levy was arrested for a second time, on suspicion of conspiracy to pervert the course of justice, in January.
That to me is very significant. Afterward, they were asked to rate their experiences for sacredness, transcendence, unity and intuitive knowledge. "The long-term side effects are not known." In that study, psilocybin also produced mystical experiences in most of the participants. It is in the same drug class as LSD. Some said they had the same feelings a year later. The researchers recruited well-educated middle-aged people who had never taken hallucinogenic drugs. "If you step back and ask: Have we ever used illegal drugs in other medical research? It took the researchers six years to come up with 36 subjects. Using the active ingredient in illegal hallucinogenic mushrooms, researchers at Johns Hopkins University have induced a lingering sense of spirituality that they believe has the potential to help patients struggling with addiction or terminal cancer. She also wasn't that impressed by the drug's effects on mood. Other brain researchers hailed the experiment as much for the fact that it was done at all as for its findings. The chemical promoted a mystical experience in two-thirds of people who took it for the first time, according to a new study. "I am not saying that psilocybin would have helped Andrea Yates and she would not have killed her kids... The subjects were surveyed two months later and reported that they continued to feel a sense of well-being. Two-thirds of them described their drug trip as among the five most profound events in their lives, rivaling the birth of a child. The findings are in some ways unsurprising, as the hallucinogenic effect of the drugs -- used by some Native American groups for religious rituals -- has been known for centuries.
Psilocybin, the active ingredient of "magic mushrooms," expands the mind. After a thousand years of use, that's now scientifically official. The chemical promoted a mystical experience in two-thirds of people who took it for the first time, according to a new study. One-third rated a session with psilocybin as the "single most spiritually significant" experience of their lives. The study, published online today in the journal Psychopharmacology, is the first randomized, controlled trial of a substance used for centuries in Mexico and Central America to produce mystical insights. Almost no research on a psychedelic drug in human subjects has been done in this country since the 1960s. It confirms what both shamans and hippies have long said -- taking psilocybin is a scary, reality-bending and occasionally life-changing experience. The researchers say they hope the experiment opens a door to the study of a class of compounds that alter human perception and erode the boundaries of self -- at least in some users. They hope it will provide new insight into how the brain works and what neurochemical events underlie moments of mystical rapture. If the generally positive effects of the drug are confirmed by other studies, the research is likely to raise the question of whether people should be allowed access to psilocybin for self-improvement or recreation. Research on them was a casualty of the muddled mix of science and advocacy by people like Timothy Leary, the LSD guru and former Harvard psychologist once called the "most dangerous man in America" by President Richard M. Nixon. "Our study has shown we can conduct a study of this type safely, and that the effects produced are really quite interesting," said Roland R. Griffiths of Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, who ran the experiment. "There is a clear neuroscience agenda to understand those effects, and clear clinical applications that could be pursued." Other brain researchers hailed the experiment as much for the fact that it was done at all as for its findings. "These are some of the most potent compounds we know of that can change consciousness," said David E. Nichols, a professor of medicinal chemistry at Purdue University who has studied the effects of psychedelics on rats and cultured cells. "It's kind of peculiar they have just been kind of sitting on the shelf for 40 years. The study, which involved 36 middle-aged adults from the Baltimore-Washington area, was conducted over five years. The subjects were chosen from 135 people who answered newspaper ads. All said they were members of a religious organization, practiced meditation or took part in other spiritual activity. The study was designed to minimize the effects of anticipation and group enthusiasm, which might color a person's response. It also sought to examine the delayed, as well as immediate, effects of the drug. The volunteers were randomly assigned to take either 30 milligrams of psilocybin (chemically synthesized, not extracted from mushrooms) or 40 milligrams of methylphenidate, the stimulant sold as Ritalin. The sessions lasted eight hours in a room where a person could listen to music, relax on a couch with eyeshades or talk with two monitors always in attendance. Of the 36 people, 22 had a "complete" mystical experience as judged by several question-based scales used for rating such experiences. Two-thirds judged it to be among their top five life experiences, equal to the birth of a first child or death of a parent. One-third of the subjects, however, said they experienced "strong or extreme" fear at some point in the hours after they took the hallucinogen. Alan Leshner, who headed the National Institute on Drug Abuse for seven years and now leads the American Association for the Advancement of Science, was both wary and excited about psilocybin's reported effects. "If it is ultimately shown to be benign but enriches people's lives, who could object to that? THE NATION Counterculture Drug Provides Spiritual Boost Mushrooms may help patients struggling with addiction or terminal cancer, researchers say. The study, published today in the medical journal Psychopharmacology, is one of a handful looking at the potential of a classic 1960s counterculture drug. Neurological discoveries in the last decade have revived scientific interest in the drug's ability to alter the chemistry of the brain. At UCLA, for example, researchers are studying the drug as psychological therapy for cancer patients. Despite the dangers, researchers concluded that psilocybin, the compound in the mushrooms, might have therapeutic value in improving the outlook of addicts and terminal cancer patients under enormous psychological burdens. Researchers said that the 36 subjects in the tightly controlled experiment -- none of whom had ever taken the drug before -- already had deep religious convictions, which primed them for a mystical experience. Using the active ingredient in illegal hallucinogenic mushrooms, researchers at Johns Hopkins University have induced a lingering sense of spirituality that they believe has the potential to help patients struggling with addiction or terminal cancer. "This is old stuff," said Father Harvey D. Egan, a professor of theology at Boston College, adding that it didn't take a scientific experiment to know that psilocybin users felt that their experience under the influence was at times transcendent -- whether it really was or not.
"Now, suddenly, it is Damascus once again, and it's Iran once again. Two have died in Hezbollah attacks on Israel. Israeli government spokesman Mark Regev said Israel was responding to "an unprovoked act of aggression" by Lebanon. Haifa is more than 30km (18 miles) from the Lebanese border and had been thought to be out of Hezbollah's range. The Hezbollah television station al-Manar in southern Beirut was also hit, injuring three. The airport was closed and all flights were diverted. Hezbollah has fired dozens of rockets into northern Israel Hezbollah denied firing any rockets at the northern port - Israel's third largest city. Most of the dead are civilians. Eight soldiers were killed and two were injured, in addition to the two captured in a Hezbollah ambush. ISRAEL IN LEBANON March 1978: Israel invades to stop Palestinian attacks 1982: Full-scale invasion reaching Beirut; pro-Israel forces massacre Palestinians May 1983: Israel pulls back, but keeps "security zone" February 1992: Israeli air strike kills Hezbollah leader 1996: Israel launches "Grapes of Wrath" raids on Hezbollah; 100 civilians die under Israeli shelling of UN base at Qana May 2000: Israel withdraws troops from Lebanon January 2004: Prisoner swap between Hezbollah and Israel Lebanon timeline Who are Hezbollah? The offensive follows a day of heavy fighting in which the Israelis suffered their worst losses on the border for several years. US President George Bush described Hezbollah as a "group of terrorists who want to stop the advance of peace". The operation comes as Israel continues a separate offensive in the Gaza Strip.
Israeli warplanes hit Beirut suburb Israel attacks airports, major highway after Hezbollah lobs rockets QUICKVOTE Do you think the Israeli military response inside Lebanon is justified? Yes No or View Results YOUR E-MAIL ALERTS Israel Lebanon or or Create Your Own JERUSALEM (CNN) -- Israeli warplanes early Friday bombed southern Beirut, home to the offices of Hezbollah and the group's leader, as the Israeli-Lebanese violence that has killed dozens of Lebanese civilians and 10 Israelis entered its third day. Lebanese police said the planes hit the airport road, which crosses through the southern district considered a Hezbollah stronghold. A Lebanese army official said bombs also hit two bridges in the southern suburbs of the capital and a stadium. Earlier, Israel had dropped leaflets warning residents to stay away from the Hezbollah offices in southern Beirut, where Hezbollah leader Sheik Hassan Nasrallah is thought to live. Israeli planes also bombed the main highway between Beirut and the Syrian capital of Damascus. Hezbollah guerillas on Thursday lobbed dozens of Soviet-era Katyusha rockets into northern Israel. Rockets also landed in the northern port city of Haifa, which would mark the deepest point into Israel that Hezbollah rockets have ever reached, but Hezbollah denied that they fired the rockets. An Israeli diplomat called the rocket attacks "a major escalation" in the violence. Israeli airstrikes and artillery hammered hundreds of targets in Lebanon, including two strikes on the Beirut airport, where helicopter gunships left craters in runways and turned fuel tanks into fireballs. (Watch the strike on Beirut's airport -- :44) Israel said it targeted the airport because it is a transfer point for weapons and supplies to Hezbollah. The violence began Wednesday when Hezbollah forces crossed into Israel, killing three soldiers and abducting two others. Since that cross-border raid, five more Israeli soldiers have been killed, as well as two Israeli civilians, two Lebanese soldiers and 45 Lebanese civilians, according to Israeli and Lebanese sources. Despite the fact that several countries -- including the Unites States and Lebanon -- have said that the Lebanese government doesn't have the capacity to extend its authority into Hezbollah-held territory, Israel has blamed the Lebanese government for the violence and charged it with the soldiers' safe release. Maj. Gen. Udi Adam, head of Israel's Northern Command, said Wednesday he had "comprehensive plans" to battle Hezbollah throughout Lebanon, not just in the Islamic militia's southern stronghold. The attack on the Beirut-Damascus highway -- where witnesses said hundreds of tourists were lined up on the Syrian border in an attempt to flee Lebanon -- follows several Israeli attacks on what appear to be strategic targets. On Wednesday, Israel said its air force had conducted more than 100 airstrikes on Hezbollah bases and weapons-storage facilities, and on roads and bridges that could be used to transport the kidnapped soldiers. In addition to Thursday's attack on Beirut's Rafik Hariri International Airport, Israel also targeted Rayak Air Base in the Bekaa Valley near the Syrian border and a small military airport in Qulayaat in northern Lebanon, according to Lebanese army sources. (Beirut airport map) Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Daniel Ayalon told CNN Thursday night that Israel's attacks are intended to "de-fang the Hezbollah so that they will not have the capabilities to launch their rockets ... and hopefully this will strengthen the Lebanese government so that they will exercise their sovereignty" in the south of the country, where Hezbollah is virtually autonomous. A broadcast tower was destroyed and three people were injured, but the station continued its broadcasts, said al-Manar Editor Ibrahim Moussawi. Israeli warships set up a blockade, preventing cruise ships from docking in Beirut and cutting off the delivery of fuel used to operate Lebanese power plants. (Watch as fighting along the border intensifies -- 1:45) When the violence will end is unclear, as neither side seems willing to relent. Ayalon, who called the Haifa attacks a "major escalation," said there was no timetable for Israel's offensive in Lebanon. Israeli Defense Minister Amir Peretz said Israel won't let Hezbollah, a Shiite Muslim militia, return to the border -- raising the prospect that Israel may again occupy southern Lebanon, as it did from 1978 to 2000. Under the treaty that ended Lebanon's 15-year civil war in 1990, Hezbollah was allowed to retain its weaponry to fight Israeli troops in southern Lebanon. It says it won't disarm until Israeli troops leave the disputed Shebaa Farms region near the Syria border, which the United Nations recognizes as Syrian territory. Naim Qasem, Hezbollah's deputy secretary-general, said Thursday that Hezbollah members have the right to remain on "any part of Lebanese soil." "We intend to send a clear message that we wish not to escalate this conflict by killing civilians," Qasem said. Nasrallah has defended the abductions of 31-year-old Ehud Goldvasser and 26-year-old Eldad Regev as Hezbollah's "natural, only and logical right." (Full story) In Straslund, Germany, President Bush said Israel has a right to defend itself -- but he urged it not to weaken Lebanon's government, in place since 2005 elections that led to the withdrawal of Syrian troops. Imad Moustapha, the Syrian ambassador to Washington, took issue with the remarks and with what he called the Bush administration's "flagrant bias toward Israel." Hezbollah has fired dozens of rockets into northern Israel Hezbollah denied firing any rockets at the northern port - Israel's third largest city.
No casualties were reported from those strikes, the officials said. He further called Israel's offensive "surgical" and Hezbollah's "indiscriminate." Israeli warplanes also struck northern Lebanon near its border with Syria. As of Saturday, at least 100 Lebanese and 13 Israelis had been killed, according to Lebanese and Israeli sources. (What is Hezbollah?) Airstrikes have destroyed the bridge between Sidon and Beirut, leaving roads deserted. Israel has deployed Patriot interceptor missiles in the northern port city of Haifa which was hit by rockets earlier. (Watch how the Mideast crisis is hitting your wallet -- 2:07) Countries including the US and France are making plans to evacuate their nationals from Lebanon. Siniora called for an immediate U.N.-backed cease-fire and international help to stop Israel's attacks. In past hostilities, much of the mainly Shia population of the south has sought refuge in Beirut's largely Shia southern suburbs, which are now under attack too. The town has been targeted since the conflict between Israel and the Lebanese-based guerrilla group started Wednesday. Israel later declared a state of emergency in the northern Galilee region, Regev said. Other developments: Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa called the Middle East peace process "dead." Israel also said it had attacked the Beirut headquarters of Hamas, the Palestinian movement that dominates the Palestinian Authority government. Israeli officials reiterated Sunday that the fighting would not end until Israel believes it has permanently improved its security along the northern border. Body found After more than 12 hours, the Israeli military Saturday located the body of one of four sailors missing since Friday after a Hezbollah missile hit an Israeli warship, the IDF confirmed.
Israeli strikes are targeting Lebanese infrastructure Enlarge Image Warplanes fired rockets on the Lebanon-Syrian border and hit the centre of Beirut for the first time. More than 80 Lebanese have died, including 18 fleeing border areas, in the strikes launched after Hezbollah militants seized two Israeli soldiers. Hezbollah launched rockets on the town of Tiberias in the deepest such attack in Israel. Israel has deployed Patriot interceptor missiles in the northern port city of Haifa which was hit by rockets earlier. One Israeli soldier was killed and three were missing from a warship struck by Hezbollah on Friday. In an emotional appeal on Lebanese television, Prime Minister Fouad Siniora called for an immediate ceasefire and urged the US to intervene. "Lebanon is a disaster zone... and (it) pleads to its friends in the world to rush to its aid," he said. In other Israeli attacks on Saturday: Warplanes struck the northern port city of Tripoli, and carried out raids in north and north-eastern Lebanon for the first time Mid-East crisis map Who are Hezbollah? strikes targeted the port and a lighthouse in the capital Beirut the headquarters of Hezbollah were destroyed in a series of strikes on Beirut's southern suburbs - a Hezbollah stronghold three civilians were killed in an Israeli attack in Hermel, on the border with Syria, Hezbollah's al-Manar TV said warplanes also targeted sites in the eastern city of Baalbek. 'Bodies litter road' Women and children were among at least 18 killed when their vehicles were struck by missiles on the coastal road to the southern city of Tyre. Beirut residents voice concern over conflict In pictures The main road had been under continuous bombardment, Ahmad Ali Ubayd said. The Israeli Army said the responsibility for endangering the civilian population rested with Hezbollah, and they regretted civilian casualties while targeting areas used as a launching ground for missiles. In past hostilities, much of the mainly Shia population of the south has sought refuge in Beirut's largely Shia southern suburbs, which are now under attack too. HAVE YOUR SAY What is happening in the Mid-East is proof that trust in the West will never help Muslims Hosan, Egypt Send us your comments Day by day: Crisis unfolds A number of bridges, petrol stations and key roads have also been hit, including the main road linking northern Lebanon to Syria. Thousands of foreigners have also left Beirut, leaving its economy in tatters. HAIFA, Israel, July 17 -- Israel battered targets across Lebanon Sunday and early Monday after a rocket fired by the radical Shiite group Hezbollah struck a railroad yard here and killed eight workers as other rockets rained deep into the Galilee region in northern Israel. The Israeli assault killed at least 28 people in south Lebanon, including seven Lebanese holding Canadian citizenship. Airstrikes killed 17 Lebanese people, including nine soldiers who died in assaults on two Army bases on the northern coast, news services reported. The Sunday morning rocket attack by Hezbollah effectively shut down Haifa, Israel's third-largest city, and sent thousands of northern Israel residents fleeing for safety along southbound highways. The Israeli defense minister, Amir Peretz, declared a 48-hour state of emergency in the north, and security officials warned residents as far south as Tel Aviv that they may be vulnerable to Hezbollah's new, longer-range rockets, two of which hit the cities of Nazareth and Afula, which is 25 miles from the Lebanese border. It was the deepest strike yet inside Israel; no injuries were reported. Israeli warplanes, meanwhile, hammered south Beirut and other targets across south Lebanon for a fifth day while the Bush administration made preparations to evacuate some of the 25,000 U.S. citizens from a country now virtually cut off from the outside world. Two helicopters arrived in Beirut and began shuttling embassy staff out of the country. Israel also expanded the second front of its military operation against radical Islamic groups operating along its northern and southern borders by pushing tanks and troops into the Gaza Strip on Sunday, setting off fighting that killed at least five Palestinian gunmen. "Nothing will deter us, whatever far-reaching ramifications regarding our relations on the northern border and in the region there may be," Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said before his weekly cabinet meeting. The rocket attack in Haifa and the intensifying airstrikes in Lebanon marked an escalation of a conflict that began last week when a Hezbollah cross-border raid resulted in the deaths of eight Israeli soldiers and the capture of two others. Israel implicated Syria and Iran in Sunday's rocket attack in Haifa that military officials said demonstrated the new reach and potency of Hezbollah's arsenal. Israeli officials reiterated Sunday that the fighting would not end until Israel believes it has permanently improved its security along the northern border. Miri Eisin, an Israeli government spokeswoman, said at the scene of the attack in Haifa that "we are determined that at the end of this war we will be in a different strategic situation on our border." Israeli forces operating in Gaza, where the military wing of Hamas helped capture an Israeli soldier in a June 25 cross-border raid, are seeking also to win the soldier's release, stop rocket fire into southern Israel and weaken the radical Islamic movement's hold on the Palestinian government. Yes No or View Results YOUR E-MAIL ALERTS Israel Lebanon or or Create Your Own BEIRUT, Lebanon (CNN) -- Israel took its fight against Hezbollah back into the Lebanese capital's southern suburbs, targeting a militant stronghold in Dahiya, the Israel Defense Forces said. Israeli jets earlier this week targeted Hezbollah's headquarters in Beirut and the city's international airport, and the Israeli Air Force continued on Saturday and Sunday to conduct airstrikes on Beirut and other targets around Lebanon.
said Mr Blair. "These are not honours, they are working peerages reserved for party supporters, Conservative supporters, Labour supporters, Liberal Democrat supporters." Just how big a political bombshell is Lord Levy's arrest? Former Labour deputy leader Lord Hattersley has called on Mr Blair to quit as prime minister in September. His spokesman added: "Lord Levy has made it clear that he is ready at all times to co-operate with the police investigation. It follows the revelation earlier this year that multi-million pound loans were secretly given to Labour before the last election. Get on with the job, that's what the public want and we are," he told BBC One's Politics Show. Shadow foreign secretary William Hague said: "I think the whole body politic should be embarrassed by the fact these police inquiries have taken place." Mr Blair, who is currently at the G8 summit in St Petersburg, was asked if he would still be prime minister when the G8 summit comes round again next summer. "This could not be more serious for Tony Blair personally," he says. I mean I've seen hoards of newspaper allegations about something to do with cowboy boots and some belt or something." It is ludicrous for the prime minister to refuse to comment on the basis that this is a party matter Norman Baker Lib Dem MP Analysis: How bad for Blair? "Has anybody got any actual evidence that John has interfered in this process in an improper way?" "What goes around comes around and they are now suffering from that themselves."
Lord Hattersley says Gordon Brown should be the next Labour leader He said any tenure in Downing Street beyond this year's Labour conference would damage the party. Last week left-wing backbencher John McDonnell, Hayes and Harlington MP, said he would run for the Labour leadership when Tony Blair stands down. But Lord Hattersley said Chancellor Gordon Brown was the "ideal" candidate to take over the reins of the party. 'High note' "The prime minister ought not to announce he's going at party conference - he ought to go at party conference," the Labour peer told GMTV's Sunday Programme. "I'm not sitting there, you know, obsessing the entire time about when the precise date is and all the rest of it. Get on with the job, that's what the public want and we are," he told BBC One's Politics Show. He said the Labour Party had a "very strong sense of direction". I think what the Labour Party needs to win the next election is a solemn, serious, if you like, son of the manse Lord Hattersley Blair defiant over departure date Mr Hattersley said Mr Blair should point to Labour's achievements since coming to power in 1997, pass the leadership baton to his successor and "thank the party for what they've done". "If we did that I think he'd go out on a high note in the party, I think that'll ripple out through the country. He also said that if Mr Blair stayed until 2007, it would be "impossible to put new life" into the party. 'Deeply damaging' The deputy leader of the Labour party from 1983 to 1992, Lord Hattersley said the chancellor was the best successor to Mr Blair. Lord Hattersley wants Tony Blair to stand down as PM by September "I think Gordon Brown increasingly becomes the ideal next leader of the Labour party," he said. "I think what the Labour Party needs to win the next election is a solemn, serious, if you like, son of the manse. Lord Hattersley also felt the cash-for-honours allegations were "deeply damaging" to Labour. But the former MP for Birmingham Sparkbrook said be believed Mr Blair and his fundraiser Lord Levy - who was arrested last week but has not been charged - were innocent. He said he would be "astonished" if either the prime minister or Lord Levy were charged. He described Mr Blair as "instinctively honest". Liberal Democrat party president Simon Hughes said: "Roy Hattersley's call for the prime minister to go this year just piles on the pressure. "Every month that passes looks more and more like the end of the Blair era. "But good government for Britain and our reputation abroad requires a prime minister with a future not a past and a prime minister who commands authority in his party as well as the support of the British people." However, he said the perception that "cash-for-honours" allegations involved wrongdoing by Labour was a problem. Mr Blair also appeared to rule out an early exit from Downing Street by saying he was "looking forward" to next year's G8 summit. "The fact that is sometimes excluded from the public's mind in relation to this debate is that there are places in the House of Lords that are reserved for party nominees for their party supporters. Mr Blair refused to speak directly about the arrest of his ally, Labour's chief fundraiser Lord Levy, in the ongoing police investigation into cash-for-honours allegations. Mr Blair said: "Perception is a real problem and obviously one of the biggest worries in this is that whilst the police inquiry goes on, effectively everyone gets tried in the media, which is not always the most objective and impartial on these issues". The prime minister said the rules over party funding might have to be changed, with the possibility that taxpayers could be asked to contribute. I think the whole body politic should be embarrassed by the fact these police inquiries have taken place William Hague Shadow foreign secretary Former prime minister John Major said the allegations facing the government were worse than those made against his party when he was in power. He said: "The question of sleaze and mud was originally invented by the Labour Party, who threw it at the Conservative Party to damage us politically. Shadow foreign secretary William Hague said: "I think the whole body politic should be embarrassed by the fact these police inquiries have taken place." Mr Blair defended Mr Prescott over the deputy PM's contacts with American billionaire Philip Anschutz who wants to create a "super casino" at the Millennium Dome. Mr Blair, who is currently at the G8 summit in St Petersburg, was asked if he would still be prime minister when the G8 summit comes round again next summer. Lord Levy is a close friend of Tony Blair Lord Levy, 61, denies any wrongdoing and accused the police of using their arrest powers "totally unnecessarily". Scottish National Party leader Alex Salmond claimed the water was now "lapping around the prime minister's feet". It follows the revelation earlier this year that multi-million pound loans were secretly given to Labour before the last election.
He was sent to Lebanon in January, 2006, as a UN observer. China on Wednesday felt "deeply shocked" by and "strongly condemned" an Israeli air raid and urged for immediate ceasefire. Xinhua said the Chinese observer killed was Du Zhaoyu. In Jerusalem, Israel expressed regret on Wednesday over the deaths of four UN observers in south Lebanon. China's state-run news agency -- Xinhau -- said Chinese Assistant Foreign Minister Zhai Jun called in Israeli Ambassador Yehoyada Haim Wednesday morning to discuss the attack. After each call, the Israeli officer promised to have the bombing stopped, an officer at the U.N. Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) base in Noqoura said. "China urges the concerned sides, especially Israel, to take tangible measures to ensure the security of UN peacekeepers," said Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao. In the last decade, six Chinese military staff have been dead during UN peacekeeping mission. Full story <<< "China will work with the international community, further diplomatic efforts and push the Middle East situation back to peace and stability at an early date," Liu said. Special report: Israel-Lebanon conflicts [Gallery] [Videos] [Special Report] Related: Chinese team to head for Lebanon on aftermath of dead UN observer BEIJING, July 26 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Hu Jintao on Wednesday expressed his "deep condolences" over the death of a Chinese UN observer killed in an Israeli air raid on a UN post in south Lebanon, according to a statement from Chinese Foreign Ministry. Enditem Israel has intensified its air raids on Lebanese targets since launching a massive assault on July 12 when Lebanon's Hezbollah guerillas kidnapped two Israeli soldiers and killed eight in cross-border attacks.
» Special Report | Video archive | E-mail us: Your stories | How to help civilians U.N.: Observers made many calls before strike Annan, China condemn attack that killed 4 YOUR E-MAIL ALERTS Israel Lebanon Hezbollah or or Create Your Own BEIRUT, Lebanon (CNN) -- The U.N. observers killed when an Israeli bomb hit their bunker in Lebanon Tuesday called an Israeli military liaison about 10 times in the six hours before they died to warn that aerial attacks were getting close to their position, a U.N. officer said. After each call, the Israeli officer promised to have the bombing stopped, an officer at the U.N. Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) base in Noqoura said. Finally, an Israeli bomb exploded directly on the U.N. post near Khiyam, killing four U.N. observers from Austria, Finland, Canada and China, the U.N. officer said. As of Wednesday morning, three of the four bodies had been recovered from the rubble, an officer at the UNIFIL base in Noqoura said. Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Mark Regev said the incident would be "thoroughly investigated" and that the Israeli military had taken measures since the start of its bombardment of southern Lebanon to protect the U.N. observers there. "Israel would never deliberately target U.N. personnel," Mark Regev said. According to Regev, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert called U.N.Secretary-General Kofi Annan and "expressed his regret at this tragedy in Lebanon." Annan issued a sharply worded statement Tuesday evening which said he was "shocked and deeply distressed by the apparently deliberate targeting ... of a U.N. observer post in southern Lebanon." He called on Israel to conduct "a full investigation into this very disturbing incident." "This coordinated artillery and aerial attack on a long established and clearly marked U.N. post at Khiyam occurred despite personal assurances given to me by Prime Minister Ehud Olmert that U.N. positions would be spared Israeli fire," Annan said. "Furthermore, General Alain Pelligrini, the U.N. force commander in south Lebanon, had been in repeated contact with Israeli officers throughout the day on Tuesday, stressing the need to protect that particular U.N. position from attack." The timeline provided CNN by a U.N. officer in Lebanon showed the first bomb exploded about 200 yards from the U.N. outpost at 1:20 p.m. Tuesday, prompting the first call by the UNIFIL observers to their designated contact with the Israeli military. The officer said they were assured by the Israeli liaison that he would stop the attacks. A series of about nine more bombs hit within 100 to 400 yards from the observers over the next several hours, with a call to the Israeli military following each explosion. The U.N. base at Noqoura lost contact with the outpost at 7:40 p.m., apparently the time of the direct hit, the officer said. China issued a strong condemnation of the Israeli airstrike, according to a statement posted on the Chinese Foreign Ministry Web site Wednesday. "China urges the concerned sides, especially Israel, to take tangible measures to ensure the security of UN peacekeepers," said Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao. China's state-run news agency -- Xinhau -- said Chinese Assistant Foreign Minister Zhai Jun called in Israeli Ambassador Yehoyada Haim Wednesday morning to discuss the attack. "China strongly condemns the activity to raid the UN peacekeeping post and urge Israel to carry out thorough investigation and apologize to China and the victim's families and coordinate with China to deal with the aftermath," Xinhau quoted Zhao as telling the Israeli ambassador. Xinhua said the Chinese observer killed was Du Zhaoyu. Home Page Get up-to-the minute news from CNN CNN.com gives you the latest stories and video from the around the world, with in-depth coverage of U.S. news, politics, entertainment, health, crime, tech and more. Home Page Get up-to-the minute news from CNN CNN.com gives you the latest stories and video from the around the world, with in-depth coverage of U.S. news, politics, entertainment, health, crime, tech and more. Special report: Israel-Lebanon conflicts [Gallery] [Videos] Chinese observer to UN killed in Israeli airstrike in Lebanon 4 UN observers killed in Israeli attack in Lebanon, including 1 Chinese BEIJING, July 26 (Xinhua) -- China on Wednesday felt "deeply shocked" by and "strongly condemned" an Israeli air raid on a United Nations post in south Lebanon, and urged for immediate ceasefire. The air raid killed four UN observers, including one from China. "China urges the sides concerned, especially Israel, to take tangible measures to ensure the security of UN peacekeepers," said Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao on Wednesday. He called on sides concerned back to the track of talks to seek a political solution. "China will work with the international community, further diplomatic efforts and push the Middle East situation back to peace and stability at an early date," Liu said. "We feel deep sorrow for the victims and convey sincere condolences to their families," Liu said. The Chinese victim Du Zhaoyu was among the four UN peacekeepers killed in the Israeli air strike Tuesday night. Du, a Lieutenant Colonel of the Chinese People's Liberation Army with a postgraduate degree, was born in Jinan, capital of east China's Shandong Province. He was sent to Lebanon in January this year as a UN observer. In the last decade, six Chinese military staff have been dead during UN peacekeeping mission. "China strongly condemns the activity to raid the UN peacekeeping post and urges Israel to carry out a thorough investigation and apologize to China and the victim's families, and coordinate with China to deal with the aftermath," Zhao told the ambassador. Yehoyada Haim expressed the Israeli government's apology for the event, pledging to carry out a broad and in-depth investigation to find the truth at an early date. Chinese Ambassador to the UN Wang Guangya on Wednesday made an emergency call to UN Deputy Secretary-General Mark Malloch Brown, asking the UN to require Israel to take every measure to ensure the security of UN peacekeepers, including those from China, and look into the event. Milos Struger, spokesman of the UNIFIL said earlier that an Israeli bomb directly hit the base of the UN Observer Group in the town of Khiam near the eastern end of the border with Israel. UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan said in a statement that he was "shocked and deeply distressed" by the attack, saying it's "apparently deliberate targeting by Israeli Defense Forces." "Israel sincerely regrets the tragic death of the UN personnel in south Lebanon," said Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Mark Regev. Israel has intensified its air raids on Lebanese targets since launching a massive assault on July 12 when Lebanon's Hezbollah guerillas kidnapped two Israeli soldiers and killed eight in cross-border attacks. Enditem Related: Chinese FM expresses condolences over death of UN peacekeepers KUALA LUMPUR, July 26 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing here on Wednesday expressed shock and sadness over the death of four United Nations peacekeeping observers in Israeli bombings and expressed deep condolences to their families. Chinese military observer Du Zhaoyu was among the four UN peacekeeping observers who were killed in Israel's bombings on southern Lebanon early in the day. President Hu "demanded the Chinese departments concerned properly handle the aftermath of the incident and take every measure necessary to ensure the safety of Chinese nationals in Lebanon," said the statement.
"We want this to stop," a villager shouted. Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said Israel would "continue to act with no hesitation against Hezbollah" which has been firing rockets into Israel from southern Lebanon. [Note: The number of people killed in the Israeli bombing of Qana was later revised. Aides said Rice will now turn to a U.N. Security Council resolution. The BBC's Jim Muir, in Qana, says many did not have the means - or were too frightened - to flee. Mr Blair said he was making urgent calls to world leaders, including Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora. May God have mercy on the children. After news of the attack broke Sunday morning, angry Lebanese leaders said they told Rice -- who had arrived in Jerusalem a day earlier to negotiate a settlement -- not to visit Beirut as planned. The U.S. package also calls for creating an international force of at least 10,000 troops to deploy in Lebanon to back up the government and beef up the army. There is no reason such a resolution should not be introduced into the council very quickly Sir Emyr Jones-Parry British ambassador to UN Our correspondent said Mr Blair was speaking to US president George Bush as well as other world leaders in the hope of developing a package which could be voted on and agreed by the UN, leading to a resolution allowing both sides to end the conflict. The announcement of a pause in airstrikes was made after midnight by State Department spokesman J. Adam Ereli to reporters traveling with Rice. Intense bombing Witnesses said the early-morning strike hit the three-storey building where families had been sheltering in the basement, crushing it sideways into an enormous crater.
Lebanon described the bombing as a "heinous crime" Enlarge Image Displaced families had been sheltering in the basement of a house in Qana, which was crushed after a direct hit. Lebanon's prime minister denounced "Israeli war criminals" and cancelled talks with the US secretary of state. Israel said it regretted the incident - but added that civilians had been warned to flee the village. Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said Israel would "continue to act with no hesitation against Hezbollah" which has been firing rockets into Israel from southern Lebanon. What has happened in Qana shows this is a situation that simply cannot continue British Prime Minister Tony Blair Lebanon crisis 'cannot continue' Hundreds of Lebanese protesters staged a violent demonstration, ransacking the UN headquarters in Beirut, chanting slogans against the US and Israel and in support of the Hezbollah militants. Several countries have condemned the attack and renewed their calls for an immediate ceasefire - opposed by Israel and the US. At an urgent meeting of the UN Security Council, Mr Annan urged members to strongly condemn the Qana attack and to put aside differences to call for an immediate ceasefire. They came here to escape the fighting Qana survivor In pictures: Qana strike Carnage at Qana British Prime Minister Tony Blair said on Sunday the situation could not continue and that all hostilities ought to cease once a UN resolution is adopted. Lebanon's health minister now says about 750 people - mainly civilians - have been killed by Israeli action in Lebanon since their operations began 19 days ago. Several Katyusha rockets hit the border town of Kiryat Shemona on Sunday, wounding several people, in what residents described as the worst day so far. A total of 51 Israelis, including at least 18 civilians, have been killed in the conflict, sparked by Hezbollah's capture of two Israeli soldiers in a cross-border raid on 12 July. Intense bombing Witnesses said the early-morning strike hit the three-storey building where families had been sheltering in the basement, crushing it sideways into an enormous crater. One survivor said the "bombing was so intense that no-one could move". Elderly, women and children were among those killed in the raid, which wrought destruction over a wide area. Reporters spoke of survivors screaming in grief and anger, as some scrabbled through the debris with bare hands. "May God have mercy on the children. Our correspondent saw a Red Cross rescue worker sitting in the sunshine just sobbing, overcome with emotion. The BBC's Jim Muir, in Qana, says many did not have the means - or were too frightened - to flee. 'Heinous crime' Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora denounced Israel's "heinous crimes against civilians", and said there was "no room on this sad morning" for talks until Israel had halted its attacks. He called for an "immediate, unconditional ceasefire", and praised Hezbollah militants who were "sacrificing their lives for Lebanon's independence". HAVE YOUR SAY Surely the lives of the innocent should take precedence Nikki, Warwickshire Send us your views The US secretary of state said she was "deeply saddened by the terrible loss of innocent life. Qana was the site of an Israeli bombing of a UN base in 1996 that killed more than 100 people sheltering there during Israel's "Grapes of Wrath" offensive, which was also aimed at destroying Hezbollah. The Washington based human rights group Human Rights Watch investigated the incident and issued a report on 3 August saying that 28 people were known to have died, while 13 people were missing.] BEIRUT, July 31 -- Israeli warplanes hunting Hezbollah rocket launchers in southern Lebanon on Sunday killed at least 57 civilians, most of them children, huddled inside a three-story building in a small village. But after an intense day of negotiations in Jerusalem, Israel agreed to suspend air attacks on southern Lebanon for 48 hours. Hezbollah, the radical Shiite Muslim movement, vowed revenge, and more than 150 rockets slammed into northern Israel, wounding at least five people. [Israel launched airstrikes in eastern Lebanon overnight, but the raids occurred before the 2 a.m. start of a 48-hour suspension of aerial bombardments in the south, an Israeli military spokeswoman said Monday. Earlier, Lebanese security sources said that at least two Israel airstrikes hit roads near the Lebanese border with Syria after the suspension went into effect, the Reuters news agency reported.] The two-day pause, which will include a 24-hour window for relief organizations to deliver supplies and allow residents to leave southern Lebanon, could be jeopardized if Hezbollah continues firing rockets or Israel detects an imminent launch, a U.S. official said. After news of the attack broke Sunday morning, angry Lebanese leaders said they told Rice -- who had arrived in Jerusalem a day earlier to negotiate a settlement -- not to visit Beirut as planned. According to a senior Israeli official in attendance, Olmert added, "We won't stop this campaign despite this morning's tragic events.
"I'm not afraid of negotiating peace," Uribe, 54, said after taking the oath of office. He is Colombia's first sitting president to be reelected. The group had killed more than 20 security officers in the past week. After reforming the constitution last year to allow himself to seek a second term, Uribe coasted to victory in the May 28 elections with 62 percent of the vote -- 10 percentage points more than he won in 2002. Half the population lives in poverty despite unprecedented economic growth in the past four years. The ceremony was attended by 11 South American heads of state as well as dignitaries from other nations. The US president called Mr Uribe to congratulate him on a victory that gives America some relief from a political tilt to the left in South America that has brought a string of anti-American leaders to power. Rebels from the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Farc) fired a barrage of mortars at the presidential palace, killing at least 20 people in a poor neighbourhood a few streets away. Despite his reputation as a free-market conservative and Washington's closest ally in Latin America, Uribe at times in his speech sounded like the left-leaning social democrats favored of late by voters in neighboring countries. Police said they deactivated a car bomb outside Bogota on Monday. Uribe made no bold proposals for improving the lot of the 50 percent of Colombians who live below the poverty line -- on less than three U.S. dollars a day -- even as the rich benefit from the increased foreign investment that improved security has brought. He has won praise for his relentless offensives against Marxist guerrillas and a generous amnesty law for right-win paramilitaries over the last four years.
BOGOTA, Colombia, Aug. 7 -- President Alvaro Uribe began a second term Monday, promising to seek an elusive peace with leftist rebels while maintaining the hard-line security policies credited with a sharp drop in murder and kidnappings. In an inauguration ceremony attended by 11 heads of state, Uribe said he would devote "all of his energies" to pursuing a peaceful end to this nation's four-decade-old civil war. "I'm not afraid of negotiating peace," Uribe, 54, said after taking the oath of office. "I confess what worries me more is falling short of that goal and instead seeing our gains in security eroded." After reforming the constitution last year to allow himself to seek a second term, Uribe coasted to victory in the May 28 elections with 62 percent of the vote -- 10 percentage points more than he won in 2002. He is Colombia's first sitting president to be reelected. Despite his reputation as a free-market conservative and Washington's closest ally in Latin America, Uribe at times in his speech sounded like the left-leaning social democrats favored of late by voters in neighboring countries. "We are against a fiscally tight macro-economic policy that leaves economic growth to the luck of supply and demand. Uribe made no bold proposals for improving the lot of the 50 percent of Colombians who live below the poverty line -- on less than three U.S. dollars a day -- even as the rich benefit from the increased foreign investment that improved security has brought. Uribe has taken a hard line against terrorism and drug trafficking Before presidents and officials from more than 20 countries, he pledged to seek peace with left-wing rebels and improve the country's economy. Rebels from the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Farc) fired a barrage of mortars at the presidential palace, killing at least 20 people in a poor neighbourhood a few streets away. The group had killed more than 20 security officers in the past week. Increased security in Bogota included army and police checkpoints on the outskirts of the city, snipers positioned on rooftops around the presidential palace and a ban on alcohol consumption.
They include all beverages, shampoo, sun tan lotion, creams, toothpaste, and hair gel. Chertoff said the plans were "suggestive of an al Qaeda plot," and President Bush said the arrests are a "stark reminder" that the U.S. is "at war with Islamic fascists." (Full story) High security is causing delays at all UK airports. Thursday was the first time the DHS has raised the threat level for a specific group of flights. "The message for passengers is very clear. Armed police have been drafted in to many airports. The items must be in checked luggage. Three US airlines are believed to have been targeted. The new rules include: No liquids or gels of any kind in carry-on baggage. Mitt Romney ordered the National Guard to Boston's Logan Airport, and California Gov. British and Pakistani authorities teamed up to thwart the attacks, and 24 men were arrested in overnight raids in Britain, authorities said. We also believe that the intended targets were flights from the United Kingdom to the United States of America." One source told the BBC the "way we travel will never be the same again". All airports have been put under the restrictions Reid statement It is thought the plan was to detonate explosive devices smuggled in hand luggage on to as many as 10 aircraft. Those travelling with children will be allowed items essential for caring for them on the flight. "We should have at least been given something to eat and drink and money to phone home. Earlier, sources close to Transport Secretary Douglas Alexander indicated restrictions could become permanent.
All airports have been put under the restrictions Reid statement It is thought the plan was to detonate explosive devices smuggled in hand luggage on to as many as 10 aircraft. Police are searching premises after 21 people were arrested. Home Secretary John Reid said they believed the "main players" were accounted for. High security is causing delays at all UK airports. The threat level to the UK has been raised by MI5 to critical after the arrests in London, High Wycombe and Birmingham. Critical threat level - the highest - means "an attack is expected imminently and indicates an extremely high level of threat to the UK". Mr Reid said had the attack gone ahead it would have caused a loss of life of "unprecedented scale". He said they were "confident" the main players were in custody, but neither the police nor government are "in any way complacent". We are confident that we have disrupted a plan by terrorists to cause untold death and destruction Metropolitan Police Deputy Commissioner Paul Stephenson Flights disruption across UK At-a-glance: Travel advice Police statement Prime Minister Tony Blair, on holiday in the Caribbean, paid tribute to the the police and the security services. He said they had tracked the situation for a "long period of time" and had "been involved in an extraordinary amount of hard work." "I thank them for the great job they are doing in protecting our country. "There has been an enormous amount of co-operation with the US authorities which has been of great value and underlines the threat we face and our determination to counter it," he said in a statement. BBC security correspondent Gordon Corera said the plot was thought to have involved a series of "waves" of simultaneous attacks, targeting three planes each time. He also said the plan "revolved around liquids of some kind". "Officials say the explosives would have been sophisticated and extremely effective," our correspondent said. Airport 'crammed' Meanwhile, at Heathrow Airport incoming short-haul flights have resumed, but long-haul services are seriously delayed. The airport is crammed with thousands of passengers, while at Stansted more than 2,000 people are queuing to pass through customs. Metropolitan Police Deputy Commissioner Paul Stephenson said the alleged plotters had intended "mass murder on an unimaginable scale". HAVE YOUR SAY This disruption is one of the short term limits on freedom that are needed Tony Shield, Chorley Send us your experiences "We are confident that we have disrupted a plan by terrorists to cause untold death and destruction and to commit, quite frankly, mass murder," he said. "We believe that the terrorists' aim was to smuggle explosives on to aeroplanes in hand luggage and to detonate these in flight. We also believe that the intended targets were flights from the United Kingdom to the United States of America." Police had spoken to a "good number of community leaders to make them aware that a major operation was under way," he added. Head of the Met's anti-terrorist branch Deputy Assistant Commissioner Peter Clarke said the investigation had had "global dimensions" and had seen an "unprecedented level" of surveillance. According to BBC sources the "principal characters" suspected of being involved in the plot were British-born. BBC home affairs correspondent Andy Tighe said police sources had told him they had found "interesting items" which were being examined. In other major developments: Houses in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, are evacuated by police US air marshals are being sent to the UK to provide extra air security The US Department of Homeland Security increased the threat level applied to US-bound commercial flights originating in the UK to "red" - the first time it has done this for flights coming in from another country The Home Office confirmed there had been meetings overnight and on Thursday morning of the Cabinet's emergency committee, Cobra, chaired by Home Secretary John Reid, to discuss the terror alert A spokesman for Number 10 said Tony Blair had briefed US President George Bush on the situation during the night BBC home affairs correspondent Daniel Sandford said despite the arrests the threat level had been raised "in case there is some other sub-plot, back-up plot around this that the police aren't aware of". Total: 21 people arrested London: 'Majority' of arrests - exact locations not known Birmingham: Two arrests High Wycombe: At least one arrest The Department for Transport set out the details of the security measures at UK airports. Passengers are not allowed to take any hand luggage on to any flights in the UK, the department said. Only the barest essentials - including passports and wallets - will be allowed to be carried on board in transparent plastic bags. Many planes have been grounded at Heathrow BAA advice Armed police are patrolling terminals and travellers are undergoing searches. Heathrow airport has been the worst affected, although the ban on short-haul flights into the airport was lifted on Thursday afternoon. "It's been open all day today and it will continue to be open tomorrow and going forward," he told BBC News on Thursday night. "Don't bring carry on luggage and don't bring personal belongings unless they fit the list that's been provided and presented in a clear plastic bag. "And please, most importantly, check with your airline that their schedule's being operated tomorrow or over the weekend before you come to the airport. "Finally, allow enough time for the new security processes." All cabin baggage must be processed as hold baggage and carried in the hold of passenger aircraft departing UK airports Advice to passengers At a glance: disruption New luggage guidelines Send us your experiences A Department for Transport spokeswoman said the government hoped the current hand baggage restriction would be in place only for a "limited time". The measures were "proportionate to the threat now" and would continue "only as long as the situation demands", she added. Many holidays have been ruined by the delays The BBC News website's Krishan Rama at Heathrow said travellers were not as worried by the security operation as by the inconvenience of being allowed to take just passports and medicines on the plane. Courteney Dane, who is travelling back to Australia, said: "I'm worried about the cost and the fact I've got a 24 hour flight with nothing to read.
Power was largely cut off inFuding, Xiapu, Zherong, Fu'an and Ningde. It said at least 54,000 houses had been destroyed. Typhoon Saomai, the eighth to hit China this year, landed in neighboring Zhejiang Province late Thursday. China's official Xinhua news agency reported that 104 people had been killed in the provinces of Zhejiang and Fujian, with 190 were missing. "I haven't seen a typhoon this strong in years." Losses exceeded 4.5 billion yuan (562 million U.S. dollars) in Wenzhou. It lashed Fuding with winds of up to 270 km per hour, according to the provincial flood control headquarters. Tropical Storm Bilis killed more than 600 in July. In the nearby town of Jinxiang, the bodies of 41 villagers, including eight children, were found in the ruins of a collapsed house. Soldiers and officials were being sent to the region to help emergency rescue efforts. On a local highway, trees had been blown over and debris from buildings was strewn around. At least 752 people have been killed and 280 are missing following floods and landslides caused by three of the other storms. More than 100 people were today reported to have died as the strongest typhoon to hit mainland China for 50 years battered industrial districts in the east of the country yesterday. Reports said up to 1.6 million people were being evacuated from the heavily-populated coastal areas. Cyclone Bopha would be the ninth cyclone to hit China this year. Its center was over Yingtan City, Jiangxi Province, at 10 a.m. and it was continuing to lose force, said the provincial meteorological observatory. Typhoon Saomai slammed Fujian soon after it made landfall.
Special Report: Saomai lands in China [ Video1 ][ Video2 ] Motorcycles are overthrown by strong wind on a street in Fuding, a city in southeast China's Fujian Province, Aug. 10, 2006. Typhoon Saomai, the eighth to hit China this year, landed in neighboring Zhejiang Province late Thursday. (Xinhua Photo) Photo Gallery >>> HANGZHOU, Aug. 11 (Xinhua)-- Typhoon Saomai, the strongest storm to hit the Chinese mainland in 50 years, has left at least 98 people dead and 149 missing in east China, according to local government sources. Eighty-one of the dead and 11 of the missing were in Wenzhou, Zhejiang Province, where 2.1 million people were affected and 18,000 houses were destroyed, said the civil affairs bureau of Wenzhou on Friday. Seventeen of the dead and 138 of the missing were in Fujian Province, said the flood control office of Fujian. More Saomai, the eighth typhoon to hit China, landed in Cangnan County of Wenzhou city at 5:25 p.m. Thursday with wind speeds of up to 244 km per hour, bringing torrential rains and strong winds. Saomai is the most powerful typhoon to hit the Chinese mainland since Aug. 1, 1956 when a typhoon made a landfall in Zhejiang with winds of up to 234 km per hour, leaving 4,900 dead and 15,000 injured in the province. In Jinxiang Town of Cangnan, the bodies of 43 people, including eight children, have been retrieved from the rubble of collapsed houses, where they had sought shelter from rains and high winds. Emergency relief materials worth 500,000 yuan (62,500 U.S. dollars), including quilts and medicine, were sent on Friday to Cangnan from Hangzhou, the provincial capital, said the provincial Red Cross Society. It lashed Fuding with winds of up to 270 km per hour, according to the provincial flood control headquarters. "It is the strongest typhoon that we have ever seen," said an official with the Fuding flood control office, adding that the scenes were really terrible. Houses of the headquarters were seriously damaged with all glasses of the buildings lashed into pieces. Rainfall in Fuding exceeded 300 mm in 12 hours. More than 10,000 houses were destroyed and 80,000 others were damaged in Fuding, said the official. Twelve people in two vessels from Taiwan Province and a fishing boat from Fujian have been rescued by local maritime workers, saidthe provincial flood control office. They had been reported missing after failing to anchor in Fuding because of high winds. The provincial government has allocated 2 million yuan (250,000U.S. dollars) in cash and a batch of disaster relief materials, including 1,500 tens, 3,000 quilts and 50,000 pieces of clothes toSaomai-hit areas. Its center was over Yingtan City, Jiangxi Province, at 10 a.m. and it was continuing to lose force, said the provincial meteorological observatory. East China's Anhui Province has started an emergency plan to combat Saomai as rainstorms and strong winds were forecast in its south. Three other storms this year, Bilis, Kaemi and Prapiroon, caused floods, mud flows and landslides in east and southern China,leaving at least 752 dead and 280 missing. Natural disasters had killed 1,699 people in China and left 415 missing this year, the Red Cross Society of China said on Thursday. More than 100 people were today reported to have died as the strongest typhoon to hit mainland China for 50 years battered industrial districts in the east of the country yesterday. At least 41 people were killed when a concrete building collapsed in Jinxiang, an industrial town in Cangnan county close to where the typhoon hit land. China's official Xinhua news agency reported that 104 people had been killed in the provinces of Zhejiang and Fujian, with 190 were missing. It said at least 54,000 houses had been destroyed. Reports said up to 1.6 million people were being evacuated from the heavily-populated coastal areas. "Lots of people were hurt here, but my family are all OK," Wu Yelian, a woman selling noodles and drinks to motorists stuck in nearby traffic, told Reuters. Storm winds were gusting up to 216kmph, with up to 47cm of rain falling in 15 hours when the cyclone hit land at 5.25pm local time (1025 BST) yesterday. At least 752 people have been killed and 280 are missing following floods and landslides caused by three of the other storms. The Chinese Red Cross reported that 1,699 people had been killed, with 415 missing, in natural disasters this year. Officials said 36,000 boats had been sent back to harbour in advance of the storm, and warned that financial losses in the city of Wenzhou alone would amount to 4.5bn yuan (£300m). Dozens of people are still missing The typhoon, which has now been downgraded to a tropical storm, was continuing to batter coastal regions with heavy rain and winds. In the nearby town of Jinxiang, the bodies of 41 villagers, including eight children, were found in the ruins of a collapsed house. They had been sheltering in the concrete structure because they thought it would withstand the storm better than their own houses, state news agency Xinhua said. Heavy rain Neighbouring Fujian province was also hard-hit, with at least 17 people killed and 138 missing, according to Xinhua.
His brother, 75, has temporarily taken over his presidential duties. Immediately after surgery, Mr Castro asked for his birthday celebrations to be postponed. What material is he made of?" He is reported to have expressed admiration for the Cuban leader's stamina, saying: "What kind of human being is this? But hundreds attended a huge concert on Saturday, held outside the US Interests Section in Havana and lasting all night. Fidel Castro became Cuban president 47 years ago after leading the overthrow of Fulgencio Batista. Gifts were exchanged during Hugo Chavez's visit The photos show gifts being exchanged and the two leaders eating what Granma called a "frugal snack". "I ask you all to be optimistic and at the same time to be ready to face any adverse news," the statement said. He has not been seen since he handed power temporarily to his brother. Cubans warned On Sunday, Mr Castro also released a statement, saying his health had improved considerably but warning that his recovery would not be quick. · Have your say on Observer blog Castro 'up and walking' Earlier Raul Castro made his first public appearance since taking over, welcoming Mr Chavez to Havana. The Venezuelan leader is quoted as saying that Mr Castro is made of caguairan - likening Cuba's revolutionary leader to a sturdy tropical hardwood tree. He is one of the world's longest-ruling leaders, and has outlasted nine US presidents. The pictures released by the Juventud Rebelde newspaper show Mr Castro speaking on the phone and holding Saturday's edition of the Communist Party newspaper Granma, in an apparent move to show the pictures are current.
The two leftist presidents appeared to exchange jokes Video of Castro Lying in bed, the Cuban president smiles and shakes hands with Mr Chavez, a close ally, as they celebrate his 80th birthday. The state newspaper Granma earlier published still photos of the meeting. Their authenticity had been questioned by White House spokesman Tony Snow and Cuban exile leaders in Miami. Fidel Castro underwent intestinal surgery two weeks ago. His brother, 75, has temporarily taken over his presidential duties. 'Emotional exchange' Granma called the bedside visit "Three Hours of Emotional Exchange". Gifts were exchanged during Hugo Chavez's visit The photos show gifts being exchanged and the two leaders eating what Granma called a "frugal snack". The accompanying story quoted Mr Chavez - one of Mr Castro's closest political allies - as saying: "This is the best visit I've ever had in my life." He is reported to have expressed admiration for the Cuban leader's stamina, saying: "What kind of human being is this? The Venezuelan leader is quoted as saying that Mr Castro is made of caguairan - likening Cuba's revolutionary leader to a sturdy tropical hardwood tree. Official celebrations to mark Fidel Castro's 80th birthday on Sunday were cancelled but a giant concert was held in the Cuban capital, Havana, on Saturday. The paper also carried an 80th birthday message attributed to Mr Castro, saying he was recovering but warning Cubans to be ready for "adverse news". The pictures released by the Juventud Rebelde newspaper show Mr Castro speaking on the phone and holding Saturday's edition of the Communist Party newspaper Granma, in an apparent move to show the pictures are current. Havana's party to honour Fidel Castro lasted all night He thanked Cubans for their loving support and said that on the day of his birthday, 13 August, he "felt very happy". The photographs in Juventud Rebelde came a day after Granma carried the most detailed account to date of Mr Castro's health since he underwent surgery on 31 July. In a report of a visit to the Cuban president's bedside, the paper suggested Mr Castro was "firm like a caguairan" - likening Cuba's revolutionary leader to a sturdy tropical hardwood tree. Mr Chavez had said earlier he would bring as gifts a dagger and a cup once carried by the 19th Century Latin American independence fighter Simon Bolivar: "I'm taking him a good present, a good cake, and there we will celebrate the 80 years of that great figure of our America." Cuban leader Fidel Castro, who handed temporary power to his brother for the first time in 47 years after surgery to halt internal bleeding, is now 'up' and 'working', according to the state-run newspaper Granma 'The leader of the revolution, after receiving some physiotherapy, took his first steps in the room, then, sitting on a coach, talked vividly,' an anonymous friend of Castro told the paper.
But he added, "Indicators are very transparent. A successful test would remove any doubt that North Korea is a nuclear power. (It) could be or could not be." U.S. officials caution that the intelligence is not conclusive. The report said the White House was told about the intelligence last week. asked one senior military official, referring to North Korean leader Kim Jong Il. Cables can be used in nuclear testing to connect an underground test site to outside observation equipment. South Korea's spy agency, the National Intelligence Service, also declined to comment directly on the report. Only seven other nations in the world have ever conducted nuclear tests. Home Page Get up-to-the minute news from CNN CNN.com gives you the latest stories and video from the around the world, with in-depth coverage of U.S. news, politics, entertainment, health, crime, tech and more. On July 4, North Korea conducted seven ballistic missile tests, which provoked international condemnation, including a unanimous United States Security Council resolution condemning its actions. The imagery detected wire bundles above ground at the site, the location of which was not disclosed. U.S. officials said in May 2005 that they detected possible signs of a nuclear test, citing construction of a tunnel and a reviewing stand, but nothing more happened at that time. The activity includes the unloading of large reels of cable outside P'unggye-yok, an underground facility in northeast North Korea. The comments came after ABC News quoted an unidentified State Department official as saying a North Korean nuclear test was "a real possibility." Copyright 2006 The Associated Press.
S. Korea: No evidence of North nuke test SEOUL (AP) South Korea said Friday it has no clear evidence that communist North Korea is preparing for a nuclear test, responding to a news report citing a U.S. official saying intelligence showed possible signs of an upcoming test. "I haven't heard that we have confirmed clear evidence that North Korea is pursuing a nuclear test," Unification Minister Lee Jong-seok told lawmakers at a committee hearing. Lee said there is frequent speculation about the North's nuclear program, but that not all of it turns out to be true. "We are closely monitoring North Korea's activities related to the nuclear program and missiles," he said. Lee Yong-joon, head of the South Korean Foreign Ministry's task force on the North Korea nuclear issue, said South Korea was monitoring movements in North Korea in close cooperation with the United States. He declined to comment directly on the report about a possible test, citing protocol. South Korea's spy agency, the National Intelligence Service, also declined to comment directly on the report. "We cannot specifically confirm the report as it is an intelligence matter," a spokesman said on condition of anonymity, citing policy. The comments came after ABC News quoted an unidentified State Department official as saying a North Korean nuclear test was "a real possibility." The report also cited an unidentified senior U.S. military official as saying that a U.S. intelligence agency recently had seen "suspicious vehicle movement" at a suspected test site, including the unloading of reels of cable outside an underground facility in northeast North Korea. Such cables are connected to outside monitoring equipment and could be a possible sign of an upcoming test. The White House declined to confirm the report, but an official there who refused to be identified said Washington's position was that a "North Korean nuclear test would be an extremely provocative action that would draw universal condemnation from the international community." North Korea claims to have nuclear weapons but has not conducted any known test that would confirm that assertion. U.S. officials said in May 2005 that they detected possible signs of a nuclear test, citing construction of a tunnel and a reviewing stand, but nothing more happened at that time. The North test-fired seven missiles last month over international objections, drawing U.N. Security Council sanctions. No progress has been made since then on the impasse, and the North has refused to return to international talks on its nuclear programs that have been stalled since November. A researcher with links to the South Korean intelligence community said Friday that "caution is needed" when dealing with observations of activity inside North Korea because their intentions are often unclear, declining to comment directly on the latest report. He said it was too early to say whether a test was imminent from a single piece of information, noting that equipment to measure radioactivity and seismic activity, as well as excavators, would have to be in place for a nuclear test. Also, people would have to be evacuated from near the possible test site, he said, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of his position. There is new evidence that North Korea may be preparing for an underground test of a nuclear bomb, U.S. officials told ABC News. A senior military official told ABC News that a U.S. intelligence agency has recently observed "suspicious vehicle movement" at a suspected North Korean test site. Cables can be used in nuclear testing to connect an underground test site to outside observation equipment. North Korea is believed to have enough nuclear material to build as many as a dozen nuclear bombs, but it has never tested one. U.S. officials fear a nuclear test could provoke a nuclear arms race in East Asia, forcing Japan and South Korea to develop their own nuclear weapons. "A nuclear test is going to be alarming and troubling for everyone and would cause a very strong reaction I think from all of North Korea's neighbors," said former National Security Council official Michael Green, now with the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Last year U.S. spy satellites picked up suspicious activity at suspected test sites in North Korea, leading some to predict an imminent nuclear test, but nothing happened. Officials acknowledge that nobody really knows Kim Jong Il's intentions, but there is a belief among analysts that he is upset about the recent U.N. resolution condemning his missile tests and upset with the Chinese for supporting that resolution. "It is the view of most in the community that there is a 50-50 chance North Korea will conduct a nuclear test by the end of the year," said one analyst. Asked what the United States would do in response to a nuclear test, a senior U.S. official told ABC News, "We would try to hermetically seal the hermit kingdom." ( Watch U.S. weigh what North Korea might do -- 1:44 ) The bundles could be used to wire the site above ground, so that in the event of an underground nuclear test, North Korean technicians could monitor it from a distance.
I am panicking. There is no indication, as yet, of who carried out the attacks. "They are not too badly injured. "We got off the bus about 5 metres from where the explosion happened," she said. Another blast in Istanbul wounded six people. Name: Email address: Town and Country: Phone number (optional): Comments: The BBC may edit your comments and cannot guarantee that all emails will be published. He also told her at least one explosion took place on a bus in a busy area in the centre of Marmaris. Four people - including three foreigners - were killed in an explosion in Antalya in June. The bomb in Istanbul was detonated in the city's commercial district. It was not thought any of the Britons had suffered life-threatening injuries. Were you near the explosions? There were no immediate claims of responsibility for the blasts. "There were ambulances and police cars going everywhere. Kurdish separatists, Islamic militants and leftist extremists have all carried out attacks in Turkey in the past. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office said last night all 10 British nationals were hospitalised, four of them with serious injuries. The Turkish state news agency said the man was from the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) separatist group. Both Marmaris and Antalya are popular with European and Russian holidaymakers. The Federation of Tour Operators (FTO) said its members currently have about 14,000 customers in the resort area. Danielle Pearson, a British woman holidaying in Marmaris, said the bomb she heard went off around 2am local time. Mr Thornton was walking with his girlfriend Laura Stalker, 17, when he saw the explosion.
The cause of the blast is being investigated by police The explosion happened close to shops and restaurants in the heart of the popular Mediterranean city of Antalya. The blast came hours after three bombs hit another coastal resort, Marmaris, injuring at least 21 people. Another blast in Istanbul wounded six people. Meanwhile, Turkish police arrested a man they said was plotting a further bomb attack in the city of Izmir. The Turkish state news agency said the man was from the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) separatist group. It said other people were also detained for helping the suspect and that plastic explosives were seized in the operation. Nervous atmosphere The cause of Monday's blast in Antalya is not yet known, but the authorities were said to be looking for two suspects. Meanwhile, a Kurdish militant group with links to the banned PKK has claimed responsibility for Sunday's blasts in Marmaris and Istanbul. "We had warned before, Turkey is not a safe country. Tourists should not come to Turkey," the Kurdistan Freedom Falcons (Tak) said on its website. The Turkish economy is heavily reliant on tourism, which Kurdish separatists have repeatedly threatened to target. ATTACKS IN TURKEY 27 August: 21 injured in three blasts in Marmaris 27 August: Six wounded in blast in Istanbul 25 June: 4 killed, 25 injured in southern resort of Antalya 16 April: 31 injured in Bakirkoy district of Istanbul 31 March: 1 killed, 13 injured in Istanbul's Kocamustafapasa district 9 February: 1 killed, 16 injured at internet cafe in Istanbul's Bayrampasa district 18 November: One killed and 11 injured in the Beylikduzu district of Istanbul In pictures: Turkey blasts Turkey bomb blasts timeline The explosion happened in a busy shopping area in Antalya in the late afternoon. Police spokesman Akif Aktug said the blast occurred between two mopeds parked in front of a municipal building, according to Turkish news agency Anatolia. The force of the blast ripped off the building's facade, badly damaged nearby shops and restaurants and sparked a fire. Mr Aktug said 20 people had been wounded, adding that this number did not include those who had suffered light injuries. Two Russians, four Israelis and a Jordanian were said to be among the injured, although one government official said they were not among those receiving hospital treatment. One French tourist told the AFP news agency that the wounded were being treated on the spot. Some were bleeding heavily with wounds to the face. The area around the scene was cordoned off as the police investigation got under way. Whatever the cause of the blast, this latest incident has only added to an already nervous atmosphere, the BBC's Sarah Rainsford says. Wave of bombings Most of those injured in Marmaris - including 10 Britons - were on a minibus ferrying local people and holidaymakers along the main street. Istanbul was also hit by a bomb attack on Sunday night, when a roadside device exploded injuring six Turkish nationals. The attacks are the latest in a wave of similar bombings in Turkey in recent years, blamed on either Kurdish separatists, Islamic militants or left-wing extremists. Four people - including three foreigners - were killed in an explosion in Antalya in June. Initial investigations suggest a gas canister exploded, but doubt was cast over whether it had been an accident. The blasts, which injured at least 21, took place in a busy tourist area Scenes of the blasts The main explosion went off on a local minibus as it travelled through the centre of Marmaris close to midnight. Six Turkish nationals were also injured in Istanbul after a bomb exploded late on Sunday night, local reports said. Turkish police in Marmaris said only one device apparently detonated properly, on the minibus which was travelling down a busy main street. BBC correspondent Sarah Rainsford said that the whole area has now been cordoned off by police. Turkey blasts: Advice Britons worried about relatives in the area can call the Foreign Office helpline on 020 7008 0000 UK tour operator Thomas Cook said five of its customers are among the injured Tour operator First Choice says it does not believe any of its customers were caught in the blasts The other two devices reportedly went off in rubbish bins, but no-one is said to have been injured from these explosions. She said it was likely that the 10 injured were holidaymakers but that British nationals could be living in the area. Despite the attack, the Foreign Office's travel advice for the thousands of people who visit Turkey each week has remained largely unchanged. There was chaos and all you could smell was diesel in the air Robyn Berry, eyewitness Blasts: Eyewitness accounts Marmaris: Holiday haven Tayfun Sentop, a spokesman for the Ahu Hetman hospital, where six of the injured have been taken, said their injuries were "nothing serious". "They have general body traumas and nothing very serious - they are having treatment as inpatients," he told the BBC. And Julie Midgley - another Abu Hetman representative - said the six at the hospital, who range from a seven-year-old boy to a 65-year-old woman, had spent a "comfortable" night and "their spirits seem to be good". Suzanne Poyraz, foreign operations manager at the hospital, said they had suffered burns and shrapnel injuries to their legs and lower extremities. ATTACKS IN TURKEY 25 June: 4 killed, 25 injured in southern resort of Antalya 16 April: 31 injured in Bakirkoy district of Istanbul 31 March: 1 killed, 13 injured in Istanbul's Kocamustafapasa district 9 February: 1 killed, 16 injured at internet cafe in Istanbul's Bayrampasa district 18 November: One killed and 11 injured in the Beylikduzu district of Istanbul Tourists hit by attacks Turkey bomb blasts timeline She said following the attack "there was chaos and all you could smell was diesel in the air".
Asked if he was innocent, he said no. Karr told reporters he was "with JonBenet when she died" but that "her death was an accident." The 6-year-old's beaten and strangled body was found December 26, 1996, in the basement of her family's Boulder home. They're not proceeding with this case. But outside court in Colorado on Monday public defender Seth Temin said in a statement: "The warrant on Mr Karr has been dropped by the district attorney. Prosecutors later confirmed that. He will be held by the Boulder authorities pending his extradition to California to face the child porn charges. "We're deeply distressed by the fact that they took this man and dragged him here from Bangkok, Thailand with no forensic evidence confirming the allegations against him, and no independent factors leading to a presumption that he did anything wrong." Prosecutors abruptly dropped their case against John Mark Karr in the slaying of JonBenet Ramsey on Monday, saying DNA tests failed to put him at the crime scene despite his repeated insistence he killed the 6-year-old beauty queen. The schoolteacher’s arrest in Thailand a week and a half ago was seen as a surprise break in the decade-old murder mystery that had cast suspicion over JonBenet’s parents. The contact also related that he was in continuing contact with young girls, the court papers stated. (Read the documents -- viewer discretion advised.) He wanted to be a rock star one time. The date of the call was not disclosed. Curious history Karr began teaching children in Georgia and Alabama before he became a substitute in Petaluma, Calif., where he lived until 2001 with his wife and three sons.
Mr Karr had told reporters JonBenet's death was an accident The case against John Mark Karr was dropped after forensic tests found that his DNA did not match that discovered at the scene of the crime. Mr Karr, 41, was arrested in Thailand two weeks ago and had been due to appear in court on Monday. He has said he was there when the girl died, but her death was an accident. But outside court in Colorado on Monday public defender Seth Temin said in a statement: "The warrant on Mr Karr has been dropped by the district attorney. "We're deeply distressed by the fact that they took this man and dragged him here from Bangkok, Thailand with no forensic evidence confirming the allegations against him, and no independent factors leading to a presumption that he did anything wrong." However, Mr Karr is still in police custody, following a request that he be taken to California to face child pornography charges dating back to 2001. 'No forensic evidence' Mr Karr's arrest sparked hopes in the United States that one of the most infamous crimes of recent years might finally be solved. The BBC's John Kay in California says there has been hysterical media coverage of developments since he was arrested in Bangkok. He was held on a US warrant which sought his arrest for murder, kidnapping and sexual assault of a child. But Mr Karr's ex-wife Lara has insisted he was with her in Alabama for the entire Christmas period of 1996, when JonBenet died. And Mr Karr's family insisted he was innocent, saying he was deluded, possibly as a result of taking drugs. JonBenet's body was found in the cellar of her family home after her parents had reported her missing on 26 December 1996. JonBenet's family, who later moved to Atlanta, Georgia, fought for years to clear their names of persistent accusations that they were involved in the death of their daughter. Adjust font size: BOULDER, Colorado (CNN) -- Prosecutors abandoned their case against schoolteacher John Mark Karr on Monday, saying that DNA tests failed to link Karr to the slaying of child beauty contestant JonBenet Ramsey. Karr was briefly freed from jail but was quickly returned to await extradition to California, where he is wanted on five misdemeanor child pornography counts, Boulder County Sheriff Joseph Pelle said. District Attorney Mary Lacy revealed how the case against Karr was built -- and unraveled -- in a five-page motion asking a judge to drop the arrest warrant that brought Karr from Bangkok, Thailand. DNA tests completed Saturday confirmed that Karr "was not the source of the DNA found on the underwear of JonBenet Ramsey" -- disproving his claim that he was sexually involved with the child and killed her by accident. Karr's family also provided "strong circumstantial" evidence he was with them in Georgia at the time of the crime, court papers stated. The prosecutor's motion said "no evidence has developed, other than his own repeated admissions, to place Mr. Karr at the scene of the crime." (Watch the case against Karr fall apart -- 1:17 ) Karr's Colorado public defender, Seth Temin, first disclosed that no charges would be filed and that a hearing scheduled for late Monday afternoon had been canceled. Defender 'distressed' "We're deeply distressed by the fact they took this man, dragged him back here from Bangkok, Thailand, with no forensic evidence confirming the allegations against him and no independent factors leading to a presumption that he did anything wrong," Temin said. Prosecutors said in Monday's motion that "there was a great risk that [Karr] might disappear if he became aware that people from his past were being interviewed about his admissions." Prosecutors said they also feared Karr could be a danger because he had expressed "sexual interest in specific young girls" at a Thai school where he had taken a job as a teacher. According to Lacy's court papers, University of Colorado journalism professor Michael Tracey brought Karr to the attention of investigators in April. Using the pseudonyms "D" and later, "Daxis," Karr began communicating in 2002 with the professor, who has produced documentaries on the 10-year Ramsey investigation. At first, court papers say, "Daxis" claimed to know two people who participated in the crime, but later insisted he was personally responsible. He claimed to be sexually involved with the child, including "temporarily asphyxiating her," the court papers said. 'Lost track of time' And, he said he "had 'accidentally' killed her by becoming so sexually involved that he lost track of time so that the asphyxiation lasted longer than he intended, causing her severe injury and leading him to inflict a severe blow to her head," the document stated. Tracey reached out to authorities in April when his contact became increasingly interested in contacting Patsy Ramsey, JonBenet's mother, who was in the final weeks of her life. "Law enforcement agencies cooperated in an unsuccessful effort to trace that call," prosecutors said Monday in their motion. In a court filing last week, Boulder prosecutors said they had known Karr's identity for just five days before he was arrested and that the investigation into his possible role in the case was in its preliminary phase. The 6-year-old's beaten and strangled body was found December 26, 1996, in the basement of her family's Boulder home. Karr's arrest, nearly 10 years after the grisly crime that grew into an international media sensation, had given the Ramsey family hope that the slaying had, at long last, been solved. Prosecutors abruptly dropped their case against John Mark Karr in the slaying of JonBenet Ramsey on Monday, saying DNA tests failed to put him at the crime scene despite his repeated insistence he killed the 6-year-old beauty queen. The move came just a week and a half after the 41-year-old schoolteacher was arrested in Thailand and put on a plane to the U.S. in what was regarded as a remarkable break in the decade-old murder mystery that had cast suspicion on JonBenet's parents. Karr, 41, will be held in custody by the Boulder County sheriff's office pending extradition to Sonoma County, Calif., to face child pornography charges dating to 2001. Earlier in the day, Denver’s KUSA, citing two sources close to the investigation, said that hair and saliva taken from Karr in Boulder after his arrival last week were tested over the weekend at the Denver police crime lab and that he was ruled out as the source of the DNA taken from the crime scene.
All the victims had been shot. If you go down that street, it's almost guaranteed a car will stop, pick you up, and you'll disappear." "Sunni families left on their own. Police said a huge fire was hampering rescue efforts. At least 10 other bodies were dumped behind a Shia mosque in the west of the city. Witnesses told Reuters the explosion happened at about 2300 local time (1900 GMT) on Monday, when a large group of people were taking fuel from two pools. Mehdi guard Ahmad Abdel Karim, 21, is a police officer and Mehdi army member, and helps guard the area. Officials say the cause of the blast in Diwaniya is still being investigated. The US military in Iraq announced on Tuesday that two US soldiers died in Iraq - one in fighting in Anbar province and the second from injuries sustained in a vehicle accident. Iraqi police told the AFP news agency the militiamen were killed in an attack on the office of radical cleric Moqtada Sadr. He says he is not part of a militia. The deaths come at a time when US and Iraqi security forces are engaged in a new security operation aimed at reducing the level of violence in the city. Eleven of the bodies were found near a school in a south-western district of the capital. Casualty reports varied widely - one put the death toll at 74. The oil pipeline explosion caused a huge fire A police spokesman said people had been siphoning fuel from the pipeline in an industrial zone south of Diwaniya, 130km (80 miles) south of Baghdad.
The oil pipeline explosion caused a huge fire A police spokesman said people had been siphoning fuel from the pipeline in an industrial zone south of Diwaniya, 130km (80 miles) south of Baghdad. Casualty reports varied widely - one put the death toll at 74. Police said a huge fire was hampering rescue efforts. In a separate development, police found more than 20 bodies at two sites in Baghdad. All the victims had been shot. Officials say the cause of the blast in Diwaniya is still being investigated. Witnesses told Reuters the explosion happened at about 2300 local time (1900 GMT) on Monday, when a large group of people were taking fuel from two pools. A unnamed police source quoted by Reuters news agency said 50 people had been killed, while AFP quoted a health official saying 74 died. Some people were left horrifically injured by the blast. "Some of the wounded have burns on 75% of their bodies," Hamid Jaafi, a health official in Diwaniya told Reuters. He said that besides those confirmed dead, relatives said dozens of people were still missing. Government officials said the pipeline, which used to carry petrol to the capital, had been out of operation since 2003. But a defence ministry official said it still held residues of fuel and residents often cut holes in it to siphon off petrol, which is in short supply despite Iraq's wealth of oil deposits. Security operation After the bodies were found in Baghdad, police said the victims had been bound and shot, and some bore signs of torture. Eleven of the bodies were found near a school in a south-western district of the capital. At least 10 other bodies were dumped behind a Shia mosque in the west of the city. Iraqi police told the AFP news agency the militiamen were killed in an attack on the office of radical cleric Moqtada Sadr. The US military in Iraq announced on Tuesday that two US soldiers died in Iraq - one in fighting in Anbar province and the second from injuries sustained in a vehicle accident.
He's the second man in the organisation," Mr Rubaie said. 2 operative in Iraq, Hamed Jumaa Al Saeedi, has been arrested, the U.S. military and Iraq's national security adviser announced Sunday. Al-Saeedi was captured by Iraqi Forces, without a shot being fired. Al-Masri succeeded Abu Musab al-Zarqawi after he was killed during a U.S. airstrike in June. Baquba is about 60 km (37 miles) north of Baghdad. "It comes in the wake of killing of Zarqawi and also a number of Zarqawi associates. Al-Saeedi is reportedly the mastermind behind the February bombing of a Shia shrine in Samarra. Earlier in the day, another shooting incident -- this one targeting a police patrol -- left two officers dead and another wounded, police said. The bombing led to a sharp rise in sectarian attacks across the country. He wanted to use children and women as human shields as our forces attempted to capture him Mowaffaq al-Rubaie National security adviser Who are the insurgents? Other developments A U.S. Army officer has recommended that four U.S. troops accused of killing three Iraqi detainees in May face the death penalty if convicted, lead defense lawyer Paul Bergrin told CNN Sunday. "We announce today the arrest of the most important al-Qaeda leader after the criminal Abu Ayyub al-Masri. In a separate statement, the military said one Marine died from wounds sustained on Friday and a second died from wounds sustained Sunday. The Bush administration has consistently linked the Afghan and Iraq conflicts with an overall war on terror, which was sparked by the September 11 attacks. The two soldiers were killed Sunday when their vehicle was struck by a roadside bomb in eastern Baghdad, the U.S. military said in a statement.
Zarqawi Lieutenant Arrested in Iraq An Iraqi government official says al-Qaida in Iraq's second in command has been captured. Iraq's National Security Adviser Mufaq al-Rubaie told reporters Sunday that Hamed Farid al-Saeedi was arrested a few days ago. That attack is one of the seminal moments of modern Iraq. Images of the shattered gold dome of the shrine sparked the wave of sectarian violence that has Iraq on the verge of a full-scale civil war. Al Rubaie said that was al-Qaida's goal. "Under the orders of Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi," he said, "al-Saeedi planned the bombing to ignite a civil war between Sunnis and Shi'ites." In addition to the bombing, al-Saeedi is believed to have planned and carried out countless kidnappings, bombings and assassinations. Working on intelligence gained after the death of Zarqawi, Hamed al-Saeedi was tracked down to a house in Tikrit, where he was reportedly found hiding behind women and children. Al-Saeedi was captured by Iraqi Forces, without a shot being fired. Rubaie also said this successful raid shows the capability and professionalism of Iraq's security forces and intelligence operations. U.S. military sources confirmed to NPR the capture of al-Saeedi and his status as the deputy commander of al-Qaida in Iraq. Saedi is accused of ordering the Samarra shrine's destruction Iraq's national security adviser, Mowaffaq al-Rubaie, told a news conference the man, Hamad Jama al-Saedi, was detained a few days ago. Mr Rubaie said the man was behind the bombing of a Shia shrine in Samarra in February that drew revenge attacks. American troops killed the insurgent group's key leader, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, in June. He wanted to use children and women as human shields as our forces attempted to capture him Mowaffaq al-Rubaie National security adviser Who are the insurgents? "We announce today the arrest of the most important al-Qaeda leader after the criminal Abu Ayyub al-Masri. He's the second man in the organisation," Mr Rubaie said. This is a reference to the man believed to be al-Qaeda's current leader in Iraq, who remains at large. In other developments: The formal handover of control of Iraq's armed forces by the US-led coalition is delayed for a second day Two US soldiers are killed in eastern Baghdad when their vehicle hits a roadside bomb A row with Kurds in northern Iraq intensifies, as Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki orders that the national flag is the only one that should be flown across the country 'Severe blow' Iraqi and US officials have blamed the group for some of the worst attacks against civilians, and for inciting sectarian tensions between its Sunni supporters and Iraqi Shias. The bombing of the shrine provoked revenge killings Mr Rubaie said Mr Saedi's arrest had dealt a severe blow to the group. Mr Saedi has been closely interrogated over the last few days and as a result, 11 second level leaders and nine other members of al-Qaeda in Iraq have been arrested or killed. "He wanted to use children and women as human shields as our forces attempted to capture him." The bombing led to a sharp rise in sectarian attacks across the country. The al-Askari shrine, part of the Imam Ali al-Hadi mausoleum, is one of Shia Islam's holiest sites and attracts pilgrims from around the world. Core conflict In June, Mr Rubaie announced the capture of a Tunisian identified as Abu Qudama, who was one of several men wanted in connection with the attack. When you remove one head another will take its place Daniel de Cruz, London Send us your comments The BBC's James Shaw in Baghdad says the Iraqi government will see these latest arrests as a significant strike against the insurgency, particularly because they were carried out by Iraqi forces. On Friday, a report by the Pentagon warned that "the core conflict in Iraq (had) changed into a struggle between Sunni and Shia extremists." Story Highlights • Al-Suaidi linked to Samarra mosque bombing in February • Iraqi forces had tracked al-Suaidi since June death of al-Zarqawi • Number of U.S. troops killed in 'war on terror' now exceeds 9/11 toll Adjust font size: BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- Al Qaeda's No. 2 operative in Iraq, Hamed Jumaa Al Saeedi, has been arrested, the U.S. military and Iraq's national security adviser announced Sunday. Deliberate intelligence work both by Iraqi forces as well as multinational forces have dealt a very severe blow to al Qaeda organization in Iraq." Important information on al Saeedi and his location that led to his arrest was gained after former al Qaeda in Iraq leader al-Zarqawi's death. The security adviser added that al Saeedi was "directly responsible" for Haitham al-Badri, the man believed to have been the mastermind of the Askariya Mosque bombing in Samarra in February. The report -- covering June, July and August -- calls the level of violence a "setback" affecting "all other measures of stability." The Iraqi government, "as we promised the Iraqi people," will continue fighting terrorism and "the terrorists who want to plant the seeds of fear in the heart of all Iraqis and agitate the sectarian sedition between Iraqi people," Al Rubaie said. Attacks near Baghdad, Baquba and Mosul Coalition officials also said Sunday that one of the most wanted insurgents in the Euphrates River Valley city of Rawah was killed a day earlier by Iraqi police during a counterinsurgency operation there. Four people were killed and 21 others wounded when a bomb exploded in an outdoor market in Khalis, a town about 20 km (12 miles) north of Baquba, at about 7 p.m., Baquba police said. Earlier in the day, another shooting incident -- this one targeting a police patrol -- left two officers dead and another wounded, police said. In Mosul, about 420 km (261 miles) north of Baghdad, a car bomb targeted an Iraqi police patrol in the eastern part of the city, killing two police officers and wounding three others, according to police. In the capital, a roadside bomb targeted a police patrol in eastern Baghdad's Baladiyat district, wounding two police officers, a Baghdad police official said. 4 U.S. troops, 2 Iraqi police officers killed Two U.S. soldiers and two Marines were reported killed in action in Iraq Sunday, raising the total number of Americans killed in the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts above the number of Americans and foreign nationals killed in the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
in his television program, Crocodile Hunter. Irwin was director of the Australian Zoo in Queensland. "He came over the top of a stingray and a barb, the stingray's barb went up and put a hole into his heart," he said. Foreign Minister Alexander Downer praised Mr Irwin for his work to promote Australia. His documentary producer and longtime friend John Stainton was with him when he died. Steve Irwin, 44, was famous for his enthusiasm for wildlife and his catchword 'Crikey!' The incident happened at Batt Reef, off Port Douglas. Police in Queensland confirmed the environmentalist's death and said his family had been notified. 'I feel very distressed and I'm quite upset.' It's a huge loss to Australia - he was a wonderful character John Howard, Australian Prime Minister Australian Prime Minister John Howard said he had known Mr Irwin well, and that the country had lost a "wonderful and colourful son". CNN reported on Monday evening that online tribute sites for Irwin were becoming overloaded and that many sites were crashing as people around the world tried to log on. He is survived by his American-born wife Terri and their two children, Bindi Sue, born 1998, and Robert (Bob), born December 2003. Carmel Robertson, with the Australian Broadcasting Corp., told CBC News that Australians are in shock. Paramedics from Cairns rushed to the scene but were unable to save him. Stings, while painful,are rarely fatal according to Shaun Collin,a University of Queensland marine scientist. Escaped charges He later acknowledged that he should have done things differently and officials in Australia's Queensland state decided not to file charges against him.
Adjust font size: SYDNEY, Australia (CNN) -- Steve Irwin, the TV presenter known as the "Crocodile Hunter," has died after being stung by a stingray in a marine accident off Australia's north coast. Media reports say Irwin was diving in waters off Port Douglas, north of Cairns, when the incident happened on Monday morning. Irwin, 44 was killed by a stingray barb that went through his chest, according to Cairns police sources. Ambulance officers confirmed they attended a reef fatality Monday morning off Port Douglas, according to Australian media. (Watch scenes of Irwin, known for his his enthusiasm, support for conservation -- 2:49) Queensland Police Services also confirmed Irwin's death and said his family had been notified. Irwin became a popular figure on Australian and international television through Irwin's close handling of wildlife, most notably the capture and relocation of crocodiles. Irwin's enthusiastic approach to nature conservation and the environment won him a global following. He was known for his exuberance and use of the catch phrase "Crikey!" But his image suffered a setback in January 2004 when he held his then 1-month-old baby Bob while feeding a crocodile at his Australian zoo. (Full story) In a statement released to Australian media, Foreign Minister Alexander Downer expressed his sorrow and said that he was fond of Irwin and was very appreciative of all the work he had done in promoting Australia overseas. In 2003, Irwin spoke to the Australian Broadcasting Corp.'s Australian Story television program about how he was perceived in his home country. "When I see what's happened all over the world, they're looking at me as this very popular, wildlife warrior Australian bloke," he said, the ABC reported. "You know, there's this... they kind of cringe, you know, 'cause I'm coming out with 'Crikey' and 'Look at this beauty.'" The naturalist worked to protect Australian wildlife Irwin with crocodiles Mr Irwin, 44, died after being struck in the chest by the stingray's barb while he was filming a documentary in Queensland's Great Barrier Reef. Police in Queensland confirmed the environmentalist's death and said his family had been notified. Mr Irwin's manager John Stainton told the BBC the stingray's barb had pierced the personality's heart. "He came over the top of a stingray and a barb, the stingray's barb went up and put a hole into his heart," he said. "We got him back within a couple of minutes to Croc 1, which is Steve's research vessel, and by 12 o'clock when the emergency crew arrived they pronounced him dead." It's a huge loss to Australia - he was a wonderful character John Howard, Australian Prime Minister Australian Prime Minister John Howard said he had known Mr Irwin well, and that the country had lost a "wonderful and colourful son". "I am quite shocked and distressed at Steve Irwin's sudden untimely and freakish death", he said. "It's a huge loss to Australia - he was a wonderful character, he was a passionate environmentalist, he brought entertainment and excitement to millions of people." The stingray is a flat, triangular-shaped fish, commonly found in tropical waters. What happened to Steve Irwin is like being stabbed in the heart Dr Geoff Isbister Clinical toxicologist Attacks on humans are a rarity - only one other person is known to have died in Australia from a stingray attack, at St Kilda, Melbourne in 1945. "Stingrays only sting in defence, they're not aggressive animals so the animal must have felt threatened. Baby stunt Experts say that while painful, stingray venom is rarely lethal and it would have been the wound caused by the barb itself, which could measure up to 20cm long, which proved fatal. STINGRAYS Members of the Dasyatidae family of cartilaginous fish, with about 70 species worldwide Mostly found in tropical seas, but exist in freshwater too Feed primarily on molluscs and crustaceans on sea floor Swim with flying motion using large pectoral wings Usually docile, not known to attack aggressively Equipped with venom-coated razor-sharp barbed or serrated tail, up to 20cm long "What happened to Steve Irwin is like being stabbed in the heart. It has little to do with the venom and all to do with the trauma caused by the barb of the stingray," Dr Geoff Isbister, a clinical toxicologist at the Mater Hospital in Newcastle, Australia, said. He sparked outrage across Australia after cradling his one-month-old son a metre away from the reptile during a show at Australia Zoo. An investigation was launched into whether Mr Irwin and his team interacted too closely with penguins and whales while filming in the Antarctic, but no action was taken. Steve Irwin, the man known around the world as the "Crocodile Hunter," has died in a stingray attack off the Great Barrier Reef. "The world has lost a great wildlife icon, a passionate conservationist and one of the proudest dads on the planet," Stainton told the Australian Broadcasting Corp. "He left this world in a peaceful and happy state of mind. Irwin and a cameraman were snorkelling in shallow water when the intrepid animal-lover swam over the stingray, which then stuck out the barb, Stainton said, adding he believed his friend died instantly. "People can't believe that the man they thought was quite invincible is dead," she said.
But it has to be said. It is with the greatest regret, therefore, that I must leave the government. The party and the Labour government's work is more important than any individual. "People in the country want a change," he added. Yours sincerely Chris Bryant Signed on behalf of: Chris Bryant (Rhondda), Tom Watson (West Bromwich East), Sion Simon (Birmingham Erdington), David Wright (Telford), Wayne David (Caerphilly), Khalid Mahmood (Birmingham Perry Barr), Jim Sheridan (Paisley and Renfrewshire North), Ian Lucas (Wrexham), Hywel Francis (Aberavon), Mark Tami (Alyn and Deeside), Kevan Jones (North Durham), Mark Lazarowicz (Edinburgh North and Leith), Anne MacKechin (Glasgow North), David Hamilton (Midlothian), Chris Mole (Ipswich). We are three years from the next election. Your leadership since 1994 has been inspirational. 'Clear timetable' Mr Watson and the six parliamentary private secretaries (PPSs) - who are unpaid ministerial aides at the bottom rung of the government ladder - were among a number of normally loyal Labour MPs from the 2001 intake who signed a letter calling on Mr Blair to quit. We believe that you have been an exceptional Labour prime minister. I also accept entirely that you are entitled to your view about the best way for the Labour Party to renew in office. Yours ever Tony KHALID MAHMOOD'S RESIGNATION Dear Tony It is with great regret that I am writing to you to offer my resignation from my position as parliamentary private secretary to Tony McNulty MP at the Home Office.
Mr Blair is being urged to make a public announcement He branded ex-junior minister Tom Watson, the most senior person to quit, "disloyal, discourteous and wrong" for signing a letter urging him to go. The resignations came as Mr Blair faces growing pressure to name a departure date or even quit now. Gordon Brown's backers say assurances he will resign in May are "not enough". 'Brownite plot' But Mr Blair's supporters claim the calls for him to quit are an orchestrated plot by supporters of Mr Brown, who has so far declined to comment on the furore. In a statement, former Home Secretary David Blunkett said: "It is now in Gordon Brown's - and the Labour Party's - best interests for those seeking the prime minister's immediate departure to back off. "This is not only to avoid our opponents exploiting the impression of disintegration and division, but also to avoid the split of our party, which would have lasting consequences. "No-one can benefit from a split in the government or the party now, or in the foreseeable future, and this is patently avoidable by a return to common sense." 'Clear timetable' Mr Watson and the six parliamentary private secretaries (PPSs) - who are unpaid ministerial aides at the bottom rung of the government ladder - were among a number of normally loyal Labour MPs from the 2001 intake who signed a letter calling on Mr Blair to quit. Without an urgent change in the leadership of the party it becomes less likely that we will win that election Loyal Labour MPs urge Blair to quit In full: 2001 intake letter The six were: Khalid Mahmood, Wayne David, Ian Lucas, Mark Tami, Chris Mole and David Wright. In a joint statement, four of the PPS group said Mr Blair had "not ended the uncertainty over when you intend to leave office, which is damaging the government and the party". Mr David told BBC Radio 5 Live he was worried about next year's elections in Scotland and Wales, adding: "We obviously will do much better if we have a clear timetable set out for transition". Mr Watson, who has already been replaced as a junior defence minister by junior transport minister Derek Twigg, said he no longer believed that it was in the best interests of the party or the country for Mr Blair to continue. Impossible position But Mr Blair hit back saying that calls for his resignation were putting Labour's electoral prospects at risk. GOVERNMENT HIERARCHY Cabinet: 23 people - appointed by PM to head departments and decide government policy Minister of State: 28 people - middle-ranking ministers responsible for specific area Parliamentary Secretaries/ Under secretaries of state: 36 people - the most junior ministers, often responsible for aspect of department's work Whips: 23 people - communicate government objectives and MPs' concerns Law Officers: 3 people - provide high-grade legal advice Parliamentary Private Secretaries: 55 people - act as unpaid assistant to minister. Seen as first rung on ladder He said he had been "intending to dismiss" Mr Watson anyway "but wanted to extend to him the courtesy of speaking to him first". The prime minister added: "Had he come to me privately and expressed his view about the leadership, that would have been one thing. "It would therefore have been impossible for him to remain in government." 'Change wanted' The Sun newspaper said earlier that Mr Blair will go on 31 May, but Number 10 has insisted it had not leaked the date. Meanwhile, leading Brownites are calling for the prime minister to make a public declaration about when he will go, so that he cannot go back on it. If this is a coup, are Brown's allies ready to follow through? BBC political editor Nick Robinson Read Nick's thoughts in full One of the chancellor's closest allies, who asked not to be named, told the BBC News website: "From Gordon's point of view there has to be a public statement. HAVE YOUR SAY I think Mr Blair is left with no option but to lay out a clear timetable for departure Mark Thomas, Hastings Send us your comments "There should be a new leader in place by the end of March," said Mr Henderson, in time for the local elections and mid-term polls in Scotland and Wales. Conservative leader David Cameron said the government was "in meltdown", while Lib Dem leader Sir Menzies Campbell added that Mr Blair "should either resign or state a date". I have served the party at every conceivable level and your own leadership since 1994 in a dozen different capacities, latterly as MP for West Bromwich East, a government whip, and as parliamentary under-secretary of state at the Ministry of Defence. For the sake of the legacy you have long said is the only one that matters - a renewed Labour party re-elected at the next general election - I urge you to reconsider your determination to remain in office. As you know, I had a conversation with the chief whip last night, in which she asked me to withdraw my support from the 2001 intake's letter calling on you to stand down, or my position would be untenable as a government minister. Nor do I believe that newspaper reports of potential dates which may have appeared since I signed the 2001 intake's letter can provide the clarity the party and the country so desperately need. The way to renew and win again now is not to engage in a divisive - and since I have already made it clear I will be leaving before the election - totally unnecessary attempt to unseat the party leader, less than 15 months after our historic third term victory; but through setting out the policy agenda for the future combined with a stable and orderly transition that leaves ample time for the next leader to bed in.
he wrote. "We know that shots were fired, both by this man and the police," he said. Police direct students away from the shooting scene at Dawson College in Montreal on Wednesday. ((Peter McCabe/Canadian Press)) DeSousa was shot dead inside the building,said Montreal's ambulance agency. The school was declared empty about three hours after the first shots were heard. Boyer said he saw at least one man holding a gun. Police saidthe gunman died during the shootout. Neighbours told CBC Radio that Gill lived with his parents in the house. In the last seven photos, he is wearing a black trench coat and holding the rifle. People were seen running down the streets, crying and talking on their cellphones. The hospital said it would not issue a further statement on the victims' conditions until early Thursday. "Work sucks ⦠School sucks ⦠Life sucks ⦠What else can I say?" Some students fled in terror as he opened fire, while others barricaded themselves in classrooms. The suspect reportedly walked into Dawson College around 12:41 p.m. Television images showed police officers dragging a bloody body out of the main doors of the building, leaving a trail of blood on the street. He apparently fired several shots. Paramedics realized veryquickly that there was nothing they could do to resuscitate or revive the young woman. Officers thensearched the school, floor by floor and room by room, amid initial fears that there might have have beenasecond gunman. Police arrived three minutes later. ET and began firing at students in the cafeteria. Student Michel Boyer sought shelter behind a reception desk after seeing a gunman and fleeing from the vicinity of the shootings.
Kimveer Gill referred to himself as the 'angel of death' in an online diary. ((Canadian Press)) Thegunman who went on a shootingrampage at a Montreal college Wednesday apparently left an online journal with chilling comments and photos of himself brandishing a rifle. Gill, 25, was dressed entirely in black, wearing a trench coat and armed with a rifle when he arrived at Dawson Collegeon Wednesday afternoon. One woman was shot to death and19 people were injured, at leastsixof them critically, in the rampage that followed. Montreal police said the victims ranged in age from 17 to 48. On Thursday, police identified the dead student asAnastasia DeSousa, an 18-year-old from the greater Montreal area, who was a business student at Dawson College. Officers pulled the gunman's lifeless body out of Dawson College as students fled the building Wednesday. ((Peter McCabe/Canadian Press)) DeSousa was shot dead inside the building,said Montreal's ambulance agency. "The environment was still very hostile when we got there," said André Champagne, a spokesman for Urgences Santé. Paramedics realized veryquickly that there was nothing they could do to resuscitate or revive the young woman. "Her wounds were fatal, and the death was declared on site," he said. DeSousa's body was removed from the college early Thursday morning. Chaos on campus Investigators with the Montreal police major crimes unit and theSûreté du Québec, the provincial police force, spent the night picking through the crime scene to collect forensic evidence. Eyewitnesses say they saw a tall, Goth-looking man in a long black coat drive up near the college on Maisonneuve Streetin a black Pontiac Sunfire at around 12:30 p.m. The gunman then walkedtoward the college's southwest entrance. "I'm not sure who he was shooting at, but the [cafeteria] atrium was completely cleared." The first policeofficers were on the scene within three minutes, said Montreal police chief Yvan Delorme. Officers with guns drawn rushed into the building, at which pointwitnesses reported hearing more shots fired. Montreal police confirmed that theofficersexchanged gunfire with the suspect, and that the suspect was hitby at least one officer. Police saidthe gunman died during the shootout. Preliminary autopsy results released Thursday showed Gill died of a self-inflicted wound, Quebec police said. Panic in the streets Pandemonium broke out inside the college and on surrounding streets minutes after the shooting began. While hundreds of studentssought refuge at nearby Concordia University, others hid for as longas three hours,until police with dogs escorted them out to safety. "There was glass everywhere, and a big pile of blood, with tracks out the front door and outside the school itself," he said. Police officers were seen dragging a bloody body out of the school about 45 minutes after the first gunshots were heard. Gunman said he was 'ready for action' Policesearched Gill's carlate Wednesday night, and visited his parents' home inFabreville,a borough in Laval, north of Montreal. "It's not business as usual ⦠What happened yesterday deserves to be handled with great care and Dawson will do everything it can.
he said. Street protests were held in Pakistan, India, Turkey and Gaza. Some Muslim leaders accept apology Some Muslim leaders said they accepted the Pope's personal apology. "I am deeply sorry for the reactions in some countries to a few passages of my address at the University of Regensburg, which were considered offensive to the sensibility of Muslims," he told pilgrims. I hope that this serves to appease hearts and to clarify the true meaning of my address, which in its totality was and is an invitation to frank and sincere dialogue, with great mutual respect. Hours before the Pope spoke, two churches in the West Bank were attacked with firebombs in what was believed to be a reaction to the Bavaria speech. The 14th Century Christian emperor's quote said the Prophet Muhammad brought the world only evil and inhuman things. On Sunday, in the Pope's first public appearance since he made the controversial comments, Benedict said the text he quoted during a university lecture in Germany on Sept. 12 did not reflect his personal opinion. But State Minister Mehmet Aydin said the pontiff appeared to be saying he was sorry for the outrage but not necessarily the remarks themselves. In the Somali capital Mogadishu, an Italian nun was shot dead by gunmen. I thank God for the interior joy which he made possible, and I am also grateful to all those who worked hard for the success of this Pastoral Visit. 'Mutual respect' Pope Benedict XVI issued his apology from the balcony at his residence at Castel Gandolfo outside Rome as gave the Angelus blessing. Yesterday, the Cardinal Secretary of State published a statement in this regard in which he explained the true meaning of my words.
The Pope said he wanted to clarify the true meaning of his address He said the medieval text which he quoted did not express in any way his personal opinion, adding the speech was an invitation to respectful dialogue. Some Muslim leaders said his statement was sufficient to defuse the row, but others said it did not go far enough. The 14th Century Christian emperor's quote said the Prophet Muhammad brought the world only evil and inhuman things. I hope this serves to appease hearts and to clarify the true meaning of my address, which in its totality was and is an invitation to frank and sincere dialogue, with mutual respect Pope Benedict XVI Text of Pope's apology Excerpts from original speech Turkey's most senior Muslim religious figure, Ali Bardakoglu, welcomed the Pope's statement, and described his respect for Islam as a "civilised position". "You either have to say this 'I'm sorry' in a proper way or not say it at all - are you sorry for saying such a thing or because of its consequences?" HAVE YOUR SAY Pope Benedict probably should self-criticise Christianity's violent past before commenting on the other faith John Lin, Illinois Send us your comments In Germany, the Central Council of Muslims said the Pope had taken an important step towards calming the unrest of the past few days. 'Mutual respect' Pope Benedict XVI issued his apology from the balcony at his residence at Castel Gandolfo outside Rome as gave the Angelus blessing. "I am deeply sorry for the reactions in some countries to a few passages of my address at the University of Regensburg, which were considered offensive to the sensibility of Muslims," he told pilgrims. Several West Bank churches have been attacked "I hope this serves to appease hearts and to clarify the true meaning of my address, which in its totality was and is an invitation to frank and sincere dialogue, with mutual respect." Hours before the Pope spoke, two churches in the West Bank were attacked with firebombs in what was believed to be a reaction to the Bavaria speech. In the Somali capital Mogadishu, an Italian nun was shot dead by gunmen. The shooting may have been connected to strong criticism of the speech by a radical Somali cleric. Conservative cleric Ahmad Khatami compared the pontiff to US President George W Bush, saying the two were "united in order to repeat the Crusades". Stressing that they were not his own words, he quoted the emperor saying: "Show me just what Muhammad brought that was new and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." He also said violence was "incompatible with the nature of God and the nature of the soul". Dear Brothers and Sisters, The pastoral visit which I recently made to Bavaria was a deep spiritual experience, bringing together personal memories linked to places well known to me and pastoral initiatives towards an effective proclamation of the Gospel for today. At this time, I wish also to add that I am deeply sorry for the reactions in some countries to a few passages of my address at the University of Regensburg, which were considered offensive to the sensibility of Muslims. I hope that this serves to appease hearts and to clarify the true meaning of my address, which in its totality was and is an invitation to frank and sincere dialogue, with great mutual respect. Pope Benedict XVI said he was "deeply sorry" in a personal apology made Sunday to Muslims who were upset by his use of a quotation that called some Islamic teachings on holy war "evil and inhuman." A day earlier, the Vatican's secretary of state issued a statement saying the Pope sincerely regretted that Muslims were offended by his comments — but many Muslim leaders in the Middle East and Asia had condemned the statement as insufficient, demanding a personal apology from the Roman Catholic leader. On Sunday, in the Pope's first public appearance since he made the controversial comments, Benedict said the text he quoted during a university lecture in Germany on Sept. 12 did not reflect his personal opinion. "I hope that this serves to appease hearts and to clarify the true meaning of my address, which in its totality was and is an invitation to frank and sincere dialogue, with great mutual respect," Benedict said. The Pope sparked the controversy when, in a speech to professors, he cited the words of a 14th-century Byzantine emperor who characterized some of the teachings of the Prophet Muhammad, Islam's founder, as "evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." Morocco recalled its ambassador to the Vatican to protest the "offensive" remarks, and Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono described the Pope's reference as "unwise and inappropriate," the Kompas daily reported. On Saturday, Palestinian Muslims firebombed two churches and shot at five others in the West Bank and Gaza Strip to protest against the Pope's comments, sparking concerns of a rift between Palestinian Muslims and Christians. On Sunday, gunmen shot and killed an Italian nun at a children's hospital in the Somalia's capital, Mogadishu, in an attack that some witnesses said was retaliation for the Pope's comments.
"But that pressure is in your own head. At the time, Hammond defended the programme, saying: "Top Gear is an entertaining show, for people that are interested in cars, that is driven by people who have been motoring journalists for many, many years." Former Top Gear presenter Quentin Willson said the presenter was "irreplaceable". The crash will be investigated by the Health and Safety Executive and the BBC. The presenter is being treated at Leeds General Infirmary The 36-year-old was taken by air ambulance to Leeds General Infirmary's neurological unit on Wednesday. Mr Hammond had been in a dragster-style car capable of reaching speeds of about 300mph at Elvington airfield near York. Hammond was driving a jet-powered dragster similar to the Vampire - used by Colin Fallows to set the British land speed record. The hospital said his wife was at his bedside and, at the request of his family, no more information would be released. "One of the parachutes had deployed but it went on to the grass and spun over and over before coming to a rest about 100 yards from us." Referring to Hammond by his nickname, Clarkson said in statement: "Both James and I are looking forward to getting our 'hamster' back." The police and the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) are also investigating. In 1999 a group of MPs criticised the series for being "obsessed with acceleration and speed". "That's not any good anymore... the audience and the TV producers want you as a presenter to be there, on the inside." His crew and an ambulance rushed over and had to cut Hammond free from the wreckage.
The presenter is being treated at Leeds General Infirmary The 36-year-old was thought to be driving at about 300mph on an airfield near York when he crashed on Wednesday. Top Gear co-host Jeremy Clarkson, who was visiting the hospital, said many motorists were "rooting for" Hammond. Clarkson was joined at the Leeds General Infirmary by the show's other presenter, James May. He said in a statement that Hammond and his family were "the most important concerns we have". The audience and the TV producers want you as a presenter to be there, on the inside Steve Berry Former Top Gear presenter Send us your comments "I would just like to say how heartened Richard will be when I tell him just how many motorists and truck drivers on my way here wound down their windows to say they were rooting for him." He was initially reported to have suffered serious head injuries and was taken to the neurological unit of hospital by helicopter. A spokesman said Hammond's condition, which was described as serious but stable, had showed some improvement overnight. Doctors confirmed that his wife was at his bedside and his family had requested that no further information be released. Hammond was driving a jet-powered dragster similar to the Vampire - used by Colin Fallows to set the British land speed record. Vampire Estimated top speed: 370mph Acceleration: 0 to 272mph in 6 seconds Engine: Rolls Royce Orpheus Fuel economy: 7-10 gallons per mile Weight: 2,200 lbs (998kg) Length: 30 feet (9.14m) Enlarge Image The BBC said in a statement that they had already begun to investigate the accident and promised full co-operation with the Health and Safety Executive. "We continue to be concerned about his condition and we are keeping in touch with his family," the statement said. In 1999 a group of MPs criticised the series for being "obsessed with acceleration and speed". Last year, lobby group Transport 2000 called for the show to be taken off the air accusing it of "glamorising speed and failing to make the connection with danger on the roads". At the time, Hammond defended the programme, saying: "Top Gear is an entertaining show, for people that are interested in cars, that is driven by people who have been motoring journalists for many, many years." Parachutes deployed Former firefighter Dave Ogden, who was working with Hammond at the Elvington airfield near York, said the car had done several runs when it "veered off to the right". "One of the parachutes had deployed but it went on to the grass and spun over and over before coming to a rest about 100 yards from us." Steve Berry, one of Top Gear's former presenters, said the show had changed over the years. In the past, he said audiences would have been happy to see the presenter interviewing the driver. "That's not any good anymore... the audience and the TV producers want you as a presenter to be there, on the inside." Scene of Richard Hammond's crash at Elvington airfield Enlarge Image Hammond's wife Mindy was at his bedside in the Leeds hospital and he was also visited by Top Gear co-hosts Jeremy Clarkson and James May. The presenter had been driving a jet-powered dragster similar to the Vampire - used by Colin Fallows to set the British land speed record of 300.3mph. A spokesman for the firm said the vehicle Hammond was driving "had been prepared and was being operated to the highest of standards". "We continue to be concerned about [Hammond's] condition and we are keeping in touch with his family," the statement said. Vampire Estimated top speed: 370mph Acceleration: 0 to 272mph in 6 seconds Engine: Rolls Royce Orpheus Fuel economy: 7-10 gallons per mile Weight: 2,200 lbs (998kg) Length: 30 feet (9.14m) Enlarge Image Top Gear has courted controversy in the past over its big-budget car stunts, and in 1999 a group of MPs criticised the series for being "obsessed with acceleration and speed". Last year, lobby group Transport 2000 called for the show to be taken off the air accusing it of "glamorising speed and failing to make the connection with danger on the roads". At the time, Hammond defended the programme, saying: "Top Gear is an entertaining show, for people that are interested in cars, that is driven by people who have been motoring journalists for many, many years." Hammond had to be cut free from the car on Wednesday evening after eyewitnesses at the Elvington airfield near York described how he "veered off to the right" and the car's parachutes were deployed. He has brought an awful lot to the programme Quentin Willson, former Top Gear presenter Send us your comments The dragster car he was driving was believed to have been travelling at about 300mph when it crashed. Motoring expert Adam Rayner, of Fast Car magazine, said that at those speeds the driver would experience forces similar to those endured by fighter pilots. The scene at the former RAF airfield where the crash happened "They had just done one more run and were planning to finish when it veered off to the right. He said his crew and an ambulance that was already on the airfield rushed over and found the car upside down and "dug in" to the grass.
Internationally, the coup has been widely condemned. The new military leaders said he could return to Thailand but may face trial. Mr Thaksin was met by the media while shopping in London Mr Thaksin also urged all parties to work together towards "national reconciliation", in a statement issued to reporters in London. But opposition leader Abhisit Vejjajiva challenged the military's timeframe and called for elections in six months. The military dismissed Thaksin, repealed the constitution and promised that the country would swiftly return to democracy after political reforms. But in light of the coup, the U.S. government is reviewing the portion of that figure which goes directly to the Thai government. The general is believed to be close to the king, although he says the monarch had nothing to do with the actual coup. "The country has to move forward and the best way forward is for the coup leaders to quickly return power to the people and carry out reforms they promised," he said. Mounting restrictions Bangkok residents returned to work on Thursday for the first time since Tuesday's bloodless takeover, with tanks continuing to patrol the capital's streets. State Department spokesman Tom Casey told a news briefing that he had seen reports that Thai coup leaders had instituted a ban on political activities. Two of ousted PM Thaksin Shinawatra's ministers were detained by the military leaders, joining his deputy PM and top aide who were already being held. We will probably go to Europe to have a rest," he was quoted by Thailand's The Nation newspaper as saying. Everyday life has been continuing despite the tanks on the streets Enlarge Image They also say they have assumed legislative powers and duties in the absence of a parliament.
Mr Thaksin was met by the media while shopping in London Mr Thaksin also urged all parties to work together towards "national reconciliation", in a statement issued to reporters in London. Mr Thaksin was in New York for a UN General Assembly meeting when the bloodless coup got under way. The new military leaders said he could return to Thailand but may face trial. He hopes the new regime will quickly arrange a new general election Statement from Mr Thaksin's office The statement said that as of now, Mr Thaksin was taking a break from politics and he "will be planning to work on research, on development and possible charity work for Thailand". The billionaire politician flew from New York to London, where he owns a property, on Wednesday. Europe-bound "The events in Thailand during the last two days should not detract from my main aim of national reconciliation," the statement quoted Mr Thaksin as saying. He "would like to urge all parties to find ways and means to reconcile and work towards national reconciliation for the sake of our King and country," the statement went on. "He hopes the new regime will quickly arrange a new general election and continue to uphold the principles of democracy for the future of all Thais," the statement added. He emerged on Thursday morning, telling reporters he was "going to buy some groceries". We will probably go to Europe to have a rest," he was quoted by Thailand's The Nation newspaper as saying. Everyday life has been continuing despite the tanks on the streets Enlarge Image They also say they have assumed legislative powers and duties in the absence of a parliament. Two of ousted PM Thaksin Shinawatra's ministers were detained by the military leaders, joining his deputy PM and top aide who were already being held. Mr Thaksin said he planned a "deserved rest", but called for quick elections. But opposition leader Abhisit Vejjajiva challenged the military's timeframe and called for elections in six months. US Assistant Secretary of State Chris Hill said the country was reviewing its aid to Thailand, and described the coup as a "very sad development" for Thai democracy. Mounting restrictions Bangkok residents returned to work on Thursday for the first time since Tuesday's bloodless takeover, with tanks continuing to patrol the capital's streets. The country has to move forward and the best way forward is for the coup leaders to quickly return power to the people and carry out reforms they promised Abhisit Vejjajiva Opposition leader 'Deserved rest' for Thaksin Regional press worried It also summoned the editors of a number of television stations and asked them not to broadcast opinions from the public sent in by text message. The military has been blocking broadcasts it deems harmful, and had already forbidden gatherings of more than five people. The BBC's Jonathan Head in Bangkok says opinion polls suggest most Thais - both urban and rural - have accepted the military takeover as a necessary step to end the crisis over Mr Thaksin's leadership. BBC readers send in their coup pictures and experiences In pictures Mr Abhisit, who leads the Democrat party, the main opposition to Mr Thaksin, said he was not overly alarmed by the coup leaders' new measures but wanted clarification. "The country has to move forward and the best way forward is for the coup leaders to quickly return power to the people and carry out reforms they promised," he said. King's backing The coup followed months of growing tension in Thailand, with protests against Mr Thaksin and a general election which was annulled due to concerns about its legitimacy. HAVE YOUR SAY The coup leaders are showing absolute disdain for the democratic process Andrew Murphy, London Send us your comments The coup leader has promised to appoint a new prime minister within two weeks, and said the interim government would draft a new constitution with the aim of restoring democracy within a year. Special report: Army coup in Thailand WASHINGTON, Sept. 21 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. State Department said on Thursday that any move by Thailand's new military government to ban political activities would be a setback to democracy. "As we move forward and move toward elections in Thailand, that also means that there's got to be unfettered participation for all the political parties and for the media in the democratic life of the country," he said.
"I have no comment. "This is not a rumor," said the source. (See pictures of the life of Osama Bin Laden.) A French newspaper quoted a document as saying the Saudi secret services were convinced the al-Qaeda leader had died of typhoid in Pakistan in late August. "As far as the information itself is concerned, it's not confirmed in any way. Internal organs paralysed In its report, French regional daily L'Est Republicain said it had obtained a copy of a DGSE foreign intelligence service report dated 21 September. "Officials from Afghanistan to Washington expressed doubts about the report and a Saudi Interior Ministry official refused comment. Hayden was asked by a Time reporter. But we don't have any concrete information to say that he is dead." Bin Laden is blamed for attacks across the world Mr Chirac told reporters he was surprised the memo had been leaked, and refused to comment on the claim itself. He got a water-related sickness and it could be terminal... Pakistani intelligence sources, who monitor the mountainous regions where Bin Laden is believed to be hiding out, had also dismissed the reports of the terror leader's death. AP General Michael Hayden, Director of the CIA, walked into the celebration of Saudi Arabia's national day in Washington D.C. and was immediately posed with the question of the day. His last videotaped message was released in late 2004, but several audio tapes have been released this year - the last at the end of June, in which Bin Laden praised Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the leader of al-Qaeda in Iraq, who was killed in an American air strike.
AP General Michael Hayden, Director of the CIA, walked into the celebration of Saudi Arabia's national day in Washington D.C. and was immediately posed with the question of the day. "Nope," Hayden said, immediately adding to the accumulating statements on the paucity of evidence that Osama bin Laden was dead. About an hour before, the Saudi government itself declared that it "has no evidence to support recent media reports that Osama bin Laden is dead. Pakistani intelligence sources, who monitor the mountainous regions where Bin Laden is believed to be hiding out, had also dismissed the reports of the terror leader's death. A well placed source in Washington said the idea of Bin Laden's demise appears to have originated as a "hypothesis of some Saudi intelligence analysts with no hard evidence to back it up. No one at a high level is satisfied it's true." At his country's national day celebration in Washington, Saudi Ambassador Prince Turki al-Faisal said, "My understanding is that [Bin Laden] is alive and well and kicking. Earlier on Saturday, the French newspaper L'Est Republicain cited a report by the French intelligence service, Direction Generale des Services Exteriors (DGSE), saying that Saudi intelligence officials "seem to have become convinced that Osama bin Laden is dead." The report quoted by the newspaper said the Saudis believe bin Laden "might have succumbed to a very serious case of typhoid fever resulting in partial paralysis of his lower limbs while in Pakistan on August 23, 2006." Echoing that report, a Saudi source, speaking on condition of anonymity, told TIME that Saudi officials have received multiple reports over the last several weeks that Bin Laden has been suffering from a water-borne illness. With reporting by Tala Skari/Paris See pictures of people celebrating Osama bin Laden's death. Bin Laden is blamed for attacks across the world Mr Chirac told reporters he was surprised the memo had been leaked, and refused to comment on the claim itself. A French newspaper quoted a document as saying the Saudi secret services were convinced the al-Qaeda leader had died of typhoid in Pakistan in late August. His last videotaped message was released in late 2004, but several audio tapes have been released this year - the last at the end of June, in which Bin Laden praised Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the leader of al-Qaeda in Iraq, who was killed in an American air strike. "The information gathered by the Saudis indicates that the head of al-Qaeda fell victim, while he was in Pakistan on August 23, 2006, to a very serious case of typhoid that led to a partial paralysis of his internal organs." "We've seen nothing from any al-Qaeda messaging or other indicators that would point to the death of Osama Bin Laden," director Ben Venzke told the Associated Press news agency. French President Jacques Chirac said Saturday that information contained in a leaked intelligence document raising the possibility that Osama bin Laden may have died of typhoid in Pakistan last month is "in no way whatsoever confirmed. "We have no response to the question of whether bin Laden is dead or alive," the Interior Ministry official said on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.A senior White house official says of the information, "I wouldn't hold your breath," reportsA senior official in Afghanistan's Foreign Ministry said he is "very skeptical of the truthfulness" of the document, noting past false reports of the death of bin Laden. He was not authorized to address the issue and asked that his name not be used.Pakistan's Foreign Ministry spokesman, Tasnim Aslam, called the information "speculative," saying that Pakistan like other countries was "clueless about him."
"There is a trend that suggests that our war is over," he said. The Real IRA was behind arson attacks in Newry The Independent Monitoring Commission's report accused the Real IRA of being behind firebomb attacks in Newry. However, the IMC said the attack was not sanctioned by the UVF leadership. Most of its reports have concentrated on activity by paramilitary groups in Northern Ireland. Some have also continued efforts to obtain weapons. "Some individual units still recruit new members. "The UVF was responsible for more threats against people than any other loyalist group over the 12 months to August 2006. "The attempted murder of Mark Haddock we think was sanctioned. "The organisation continues to raise funds through the smuggling and distribution of tobacco and it has demanded protection money from foreign workers." Sinn Fein President Gerry Adams said: "The DUP don't have anything other than very limited options. "It is likely that the murder of Mark Christie was committed by people connected with the UDA although we have no information to suggest it was sanctioned by the UDA leadership. ANALYSIS This is exactly what the British and Irish governments wanted to hear Vincent Kearney NI home affairs correspondent Report satisfies governments Game on for devolution deal? Active and dangerous "These incidents represent an escalation in RIRA terrorism, which had been at a relatively low level since the end of its campaign of incendiaries in early 2005." It was also behind a number of bomb hoaxes. "The IRA has done what we asked it to do, and while issues like policing remain to be solved, the door is now open to a final settlement, which is why the talks next week in Scotland are going to be so important."
The report said some IRA members remain involved in crime Monitors' statement He was speaking after the Independent Monitoring Commission said the IRA had changed radically and some of its most important structures were dismantled. The prime minister said politicians now had a "unique opportunity" to reach a "final settlement". The government hopes the report will help its efforts to restore devolution before the 24 November deadline. Out of the IMC's 12 reports so far, it is its most positive report about IRA activities to date. READ THE REPORT Independent Monitoring Commission 12th report [912KB] Most computers will open this document automatically, but you may need Adobe Reader Download the reader here The report indicates that a number of key parts of the IRA's structure have been dismantled or substantially reduced. Mr Blair said there was "now a consensus across all main players in the politics of Northern Ireland, that change can only come through persuasion and not through violence of any sort". "The IRA has done what we asked it to do, and while issues like policing remain to be solved, the door is now open to a final settlement, which is why the talks next week in Scotland are going to be so important." ANALYSIS This is exactly what the British and Irish governments wanted to hear Vincent Kearney NI home affairs correspondent Report satisfies governments Game on for devolution deal? "That doesn't mean that criminal activity by all members has stopped but the leadership has made public statements and internal directions, investigated incidents of breach of the policy, even expelled some members and has emphasised the importance of ensuring that business affairs are conducted in a legitimate way," he said. The report said there was not enough evidence or intelligence information for it to say who killed Denis Donaldson, the self-confessed British spy and former head of Sinn Fein's office at Stormont, who was shot dead in County Donegal in April. DUP leader Ian Paisley said he was encouraged that his party's pressure was working and if Sinn Fein signed up to policing there could be a deal. "All the DUP can do is to delay, is to attempt to slow down, but they can't stop the process of changing." Northern Ireland Secretary Peter Hain said: "We believe this report does lay the basis for a final settlement of the conflict in Northern Ireland and an end to the political stalemate. "As such we think it presents a unique opportunity for this generation of politicians to reach that final solution, an opportunity the government hopes the parties will now seize and not miss a fantastic window." In a statement, Irish Taoiseach Bertie Ahern "warmly welcomed" the report's findings. Referring to talks due to take place in Scotland next week aimed at restoring devolution he said: "It is time to make decisions and for Northern Ireland to look to the future." The SDLP's Alasdair McDonnell said: "What's very clear is that the Army Council has moved forward and dismantled the war machine. HAVE YOUR SAY The only thing that will bring N Ireland's problems to an end is the total disarmament of all paramilitaries Martyn Leman, Wigan, UK Send us your comments PUP leader David Ervine said he did not accept that the IMC was independent. The UUP's Dermot Nesbit said that while "IRA terrorism and paramilitary activity" has ceased the "organisation remained". However, it also monitors the "normalisation" of security measures in the province. The Real IRA was behind arson attacks in Newry The Independent Monitoring Commission's report accused the Real IRA of being behind firebomb attacks in Newry. It said Real IRA members tried to attack a police vehicle in Ballymena. The commissioners said it was also trying to recruit members; procure and develop weapons and collecting protection money from drug dealers. "In August we think it likely that RIRA was the dissident group responsible for incendiary devices which caused extensive damage to commercial premises in Newry," the report said. "On the following day there were several hoax alerts and viable devices were found which failed to explode. Active and dangerous "These incidents represent an escalation in RIRA terrorism, which had been at a relatively low level since the end of its campaign of incendiaries in early 2005." The commission said: "We have no doubt that CIRA remains committed to terrorism, although it continues to be the case that its capabilities do not generally match its aspirations and the police, north and south, have had a number of welcome successes against it." The organisation continues to raise funds through the smuggling and distribution of tobacco and it has demanded protection money from foreign workers IMC on INLA The commission was unable to attribute a number of incidents to specific groups but believed dissidents were behind forcing a delivery van driver at gunpoint to drive his vehicle with a bomb on board to a police station in Londonderry. As the Provisional IRA pursued its strategy of ending paramilitary activity over the past six months, the report noted the emergence of a maverick faction, the Republican Defence Army, at the graveside of a republican in the north west in June. "The organisation continues to raise funds through the smuggling and distribution of tobacco and it has demanded protection money from foreign workers." The UVF was behind more threats than any other loyalist group The IMC reported that the attempted murder of north Belfast loyalist Mark Haddock was sanctioned by the group's leadership.
TheU.S. According to the indictment, Gadahn, referring to prior attacks in Europe, said, "Yesterday, London and Madrid. Gadahn goes by "Azzam the American." The Justice Department says Adam Gadahn, formerly Adam Pearlman, is the first American to be charged with treason since World War II. Gadahn is from California but officials say he is neither in the United States nor in U.S. custody. In one video, he appeared al-Qaida leader Ayman Al Zawahiri. It's going to be very difficult for him to become an operative. (Watch how Gadahn came to be indicted for al Qaeda ties -- 1:59 ) Threat issued Gadahn has appeared in several al Qaeda messages speaking English and appealing to Americans. He is not in U.S. custody — he is believed to be in Pakistan, where he moved after converting to Islam. He has been put on the FBI's Most Wanted Terrorists list, and the State Department is offering a $1 million reward for information leading to his arrest and conviction. His father was a rock guitarist before starting the farm with his wife. McNulty said he believes that Gadahn has been involved in issuing propaganda but not in carrying out any terrorist attacks. Justice Department in Washington announced the charges against 28-year-old Adam Gadahn, who is alleged to have appeared in several videos made in support of al-Qaeda. If apprehended and convicted, Gadahn could face the death penalty. "But this is the right case for this charge." Gadahn was raised in Orange County, Calif. In a video posted on a militant Islamic website last month, Gadahn is said to have called for U.S. President George W. Bush to repent his actions and toaccept the Muslim faith.
Adam Gadahn, the first American charged with treason in more than 50 years. (Associated Press) An American citizen was charged with treason Wednesday for the first time since just after the Second World War. Justice Department in Washington announced the charges against 28-year-old Adam Gadahn, who is alleged to have appeared in several videos made in support of al-Qaeda. Gadahn is from California but officials say he is neither in the United States nor in U.S. custody. The FBI says Gadahn was originally known as Adam Pearlman but changed his name when he converted to Islam at the age of 17. His nom de guerre is said to be Azzam the American. Officials say he moved to Pakistan in 1998where heattended al-Qaeda training camps and associated with leaders of the militant group. In a video posted on a militant Islamic website last month, Gadahn is said to have called for U.S. President George W. Bush to repent his actions and toaccept the Muslim faith. A video released in July allegedly features Gadahn praising those who kill Western troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. Under American law, treason can carry the death penalty. Story Highlights • NEW: Gadahn placed on most-wanted list; $1 million reward offered • Californian first American charged with treason since World War II era • Gadahn, 28, appealed to Americans in al Qaeda videos • Nicknamed "Azzam the American," he hailed 9/11 hijackers in video Adjust font size: WASHINGTON (CNN) -- An American al Qaeda propagandist was indicted Wednesday on treason charges, the first person charged with the offense during the United States' war on terrorism, officials said. Adam Yahiye Gadahn, who has appeared in five al Qaeda videos, is also charged with offering material support for terrorism, U.S. Deputy Attorney General Paul McNulty said. He has been put on the FBI's Most Wanted Terrorists list, and the State Department is offering a $1 million reward for information leading to his arrest and conviction. The 28-year-old California native is the first American to face the charge since the World War II era, McNulty said. "A charge of treason is exceptionally severe, and it is not one we bring lightly," McNulty said at a news conference in Washington. "But this is the right case for this charge." If apprehended and convicted, Gadahn could face the death penalty. McNulty said he believes that Gadahn has been involved in issuing propaganda but not in carrying out any terrorist attacks. (Watch how Gadahn came to be indicted for al Qaeda ties -- 1:59 ) Threat issued Gadahn has appeared in several al Qaeda messages speaking English and appealing to Americans. In his latest video appearance, Gadahn called for the world to convert to Islam and praised the hijackers who carried out the September 11, 2001, attacks as "dedicated, strong-willed, highly motivated individuals with a burning concern for Islam and Muslims." That video, issued days before the fifth anniversary of 9/11, featured both Gadahn and Osama bin Laden's second-in-command, Ayman al-Zawahiri. In a September 2005 video, Gadahn referred to the 9/11 attacks as "the blessed raids on New York and Washington." The FBI first put out an alert on Gadahn in 2004, saying he was "being sought in connection with possible terrorist threats against the United States," although the agency said it had "no information indicating this individual is connected to any specific terrorist activities." FBI Director Robert Mueller last month said Gadahn was of "significant" importance to al Qaeda as a spokesman. The charge of treason is rarely used because, in order to win a conviction, the Constitution requires testimony from "two witnesses to the same overt act," or a confession. While McNulty would not discuss the evidence against Gadahn in detail, he said prosecutors were "very confident" they could meet the requirement for two witnesses, noting that "a number of individuals" could identify Gadahn as the person speaking in the al Qaeda videos. California roots Wednesday's indictment was handed down by a federal grand jury in Santa Ana, California. "As I began reading English translations of the Quran, I became more and more convinced of the truth and authenticity of Allah's teachings contained in those 114 chapters."
That this was OK at Guantanamo, that this is how the detainees get treated." "The investigation is consistent with U.S. Southern Command's policy to investigate credible allegations of abuse" at Guantanamo detention facilities, the Southern Command said in a statement. Naval Base in Cuba last month and said she spent an hour with the guards at the military club. Pentagon spokesman Lt. Cmdr. Muneer Ahmad, a civilian defense lawyer for Omar Khadr, a Canadian detainee whose military counsel is Vokey, said that Vokey and Cerveny were ordered Friday by the U.S. Marines not to speak with the press. ... Everyone in the group laughed at the others' stories of beating detainees." A call to the inspector general's office was not immediately returned Navy Cmdr. CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. -- The Pentagon said Friday that it will investigate a Marine's sworn statement that guards at Guantanamo Bay bragged about beating detainees and described it as a common practice. Asked Thursday if the conversation could have been exaggerated bar talk, she said, "I don't think that they were trying to impress me in any way. The military Joint Task Force that runs the detention camps in Guantanamo Bay pledged to work with investigators from the Southern Command, which oversees U.S. military operations in the Caribbean and Latin America. He attached a sworn statement from his paralegal, Sgt. A spokeswoman for the Marines confirmed the order, saying Vokey's supervisor _ Col. Carol Joyce, the Marines' chief defense counsel _ had directed him not to communicate with the media "pending her review of the facts." "It was a general consensus that I (detected) that as a group this is something they did.
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico -- A paralegal and a military lawyer who brought forward allegations about prisoner abuse at the Guantanamo Bay detention center have been ordered not to speak with the press, lawyers and a military spokeswoman said Saturday. Marine Lt. Col. Colby Vokey, who represents a detainee at the U.S. naval base in eastern Cuba, filed a complaint with the Pentagon last week alleging that abuse was ongoing at the prison. He attached a sworn statement from his paralegal, Sgt. Heather Cerveny, in which she said several Guantanamo guards bragged in a bar about beating detainees, describing it as common practice. Muneer Ahmad, a civilian defense lawyer for Omar Khadr, a Canadian detainee whose military counsel is Vokey, said that Vokey and Cerveny were ordered Friday by the U.S. Marines not to speak with the press. A spokeswoman for the Marines confirmed the order, saying Vokey's supervisor _ Col. Carol Joyce, the Marines' chief defense counsel _ had directed him not to communicate with the media "pending her review of the facts." "This is necessary to ensure all actions of counsel are in compliance with regulations establishing professional standards for military attorneys," the spokeswoman, 1st Lt. Blanca E. Binstock, said in a statement. Reached by telephone, Vokey declined to comment, saying, "I can't even talk about it." When asked if he was going to abide by the order for the time being, he said, "Yes." Ahmad said Vokey was also barred from talking to the media about anything related to the military commissions _ tribunals set up to try detainees. He said he didn't know how the order was issued and that Vokey previously had the military's authorization to speak with the media. "I think he is very concerned about his ability to perform his job as a lawyer," Ahmad said. "It's really quite troubling ... at this point I'm not sure what our next steps will be." Cerveny, 23, visited Guantanamo last month and has said she spent an hour with the guards at the military club. She said the guards stopped discussing beating detainees after finding out that she works for a detainee's legal team. Only 10 of the detainees have been charged with crimes. SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico -- The U.S. Southern Command on Friday launched an investigation into "credible allegations" that guards at Guantanamo Bay abused detainees, and appointed an Army colonel to head the probe. The Pentagon's Inspector General's office told The Associated Press on Friday that it had ordered the Miami-based Southern Command to investigate after Marine Lt. Col. Colby Vokey, who represents a detainee at the U.S. naval base in eastern Cuba, filed the "hotline" complaint last week. Heather Cerveny, 23, in which she said several guards in a bar at Guantanamo Bay bragged about beating detainees and described it as common practice. "Other ones of them were talking about how when they get annoyed with the detainees, about how they hit them, or they punched them in the face," Cerveny said during a telephone interview Thursday night. The guards quit discussing beating detainees after finding out she works for a detainee's legal team. In her complaint, she wrote: "From the whole conversation, I understood that striking detainees was a common practice. ... Everyone in the group laughed at the others' stories of beating detainees." She said she filed the complaint because "I don't think it's right for us to be allowing these prisoners to be treated poorly ... Gary Comerford, spokesman for the Pentagon's Inspector General's office, told the AP that in the past two days, the case "has been referred to Southcom for action. "The investigation is consistent with U.S. Southern Command's policy to investigate credible allegations of abuse" at Guantanamo detention facilities, the Southern Command said in a statement. CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. -- The Pentagon said Friday that it will investigate a Marine's sworn statement that guards at Guantanamo Bay bragged about beating detainees and described it as a common practice. The Marine, a paralegal who was at the U.S. Navy station in Cuba last month, alleges that several guards she talked to at the base club said they routinely hit detainees. "From the whole conversation, I understood that striking detainees was a common practice," the sergeant wrote. The woman's name was blacked out of a copy of a two-page affidavit provided to The Associated Press by a civilian defense attorney working with Lt. Col. Colby Vokey, the Marine Corps' defense coordinator for the Western United States and based at Camp Pendleton. Vokey, who sent the statement Wednesday to the Inspector General at the Department of Defense, called for an investigation, saying the abuse alleged in the affidavit "is offensive and violates United States and international law." Robert Durand, spokesman for the Joint Task Force that oversees detention facilities at Guantanamo, said the force "will participate fully with the inspector general to learn the facts of the matter and will take action where misconduct is discovered."
. I know it's a sad day for them, too," Jones said. Ted Haggard confessing to "sexual immorality." The letter was read to the church by the Rev. The final pre-election USA TODAY/Gallup Poll found Democrats favored over Republicans for Congress by 51%-44%. ON DEADLINE: Where do you see the polls pointing? Some glitches reported as voters turn out for midterm elections WASHINGTON Millions of voters, including President Bush, began voting today for critical midterm elections, but voting machine glitches in at least three states caused some jangled nerves and early delays. Both parties continued to pour money into close House and Senate races. Larry Stockstill, senior pastor of Bethany World Prayer Center in Baker, La., addresses members of the New Life Church in Colorado Springs on Sunday. Two GOP targets, in Tennessee and Virginia, now lead by 3 percentage points among likely voters. Other polls show Democratic challengers ahead in Ohio and Pennsylvania. "We've got to get all ours out, and then you've got to hunt for people still standing on the diving board," Clinton said. ... With voting underway, the key question is whether Democrats can take advantage of national dissatisfaction with Bush and the war in Iraq to win the 15 seats they need to control the House of Representatives and six seats they need to take the Senate. SEX CLAIMS HIT CHURCH LEADER SEX CLAIMS HIT CHURCH LEADER Latest news: Haggard admits to 'sexual immorality' | Megachurch's membership stunned Leader's fall: Haggard ousted as megachurch leader over sex allegations Critical moment: Claims against evangelical leader shake movement | Video Voice expert: Man on prostitute's voicemails 'certainly sounds' like Haggard Analysts: Fall of anti-gay leader unlikely to affect Colo. vote on same-sex marriage Ted Haggard AFP/Getty Images 2004 file photo Ousted evangelical leader confesses to followers, admits 'sexual immorality' COLORADO SPRINGS (AP) Less than 24 hours after he was fired from the pulpit of the evangelical megachurch he founded, the Rev.
Some glitches reported as voters turn out for midterm elections WASHINGTON Millions of voters, including President Bush, began voting today for critical midterm elections, but voting machine glitches in at least three states caused some jangled nerves and early delays. At stake are all 435 House seats, 33 Senate seats and governorships in 36 states in an election that will set the tone and agenda for the final two years of Bush's second term. As polls opened across the country, electronic voting machine problems frazzled voters and election workers in dozens of precincts. Voting was delayed in Indiana and Ohio, while in Florida some election officials had little choice but to turn to paper ballots instead. In Cleveland, voters rolled their eyes as poll workers fumbled with new voting machines that they couldn't get to start properly. "We got five machines — one of them's got to work," said Willette Scullank, a trouble shooter from the Cuyahoga County, Ohio, elections board. Election officials in Delaware County, Ind., planned to seek a court order to extend voting after an apparent computer error prevented voters from casting ballots in 75 precincts. Delaware County Clerk Karen Wenger said the cards that activate the machines were programmed incorrectly. "We are working with precincts one-by-one over the telephone to get the problem fixed," Wenger said. In two precincts, the electronic ballots were mixed up, delaying votes for about half an hour. In the other two, a poll worker unintentionally wiped the electronic ballot activators, delaying voting for more than an hour, said Mary Cooney, spokeswoman for the Broward County Supervisor of Elections. In the Jacksonville suburb of Orange Park, voters were forced to use paper ballots after an electronic machine broke. With voting underway, the key question is whether Democrats can take advantage of national dissatisfaction with Bush and the war in Iraq to win the 15 seats they need to control the House of Representatives and six seats they need to take the Senate. Republican leaders cited narrowing polls in Senate races in Montana, Rhode Island and Maryland as signs of an 11th-hour surge. Bush, who finished the campaign before an estimated 10,000 people in Dallas Monday night, voted this morning at a fire station near his home in Crawford, Tex. "We live in a free society and our government is only as good as the willingness of our people to participate," said Bush, wearing an "I voted" sticker on his jacket. "Therefore no matter what your party affiliation or if you don't have a party affiliation, do your duty, cast your ballot and let your voice be heard," he said. The final pre-election USA TODAY/Gallup Poll found Democrats favored over Republicans for Congress by 51%-44%. Polls in Missouri, Montana, Rhode Island, Tennessee and Virginia found Democrats struggling to win the final Senate seat they need for control. "I believe we're going to defy the experts and maintain our majority in the House and the Senate," GOP Chairman Ken Mehlman said on CBS's The Early Show. As candidates made a final sprint, both parties kicked in operations to get their core voters to the polls. Turnout should increase from 39.7% in 2002 and may exceed the most recent midterm high of 42.1% in 1982, according to Curtis Gans, director of American University's Center for the Study of the American Electorate. Gans does not expect this year's turnout to top the all-time benchmark of 47% in 1970. A low pressure system was expected to move east through the central and eastern Gulf states and bring widely scattered showers and thunderstorms to Ohio and the Tennessee Valley as well as the mid-Atlantic and southeastern states. Dry and warm weather was forecast for the Plains and southwestern states. This year's spending is expected to be $2.8 billion, according to the non-partisan Center for Responsive Politics, which tracks campaign money. That's a 27% increase from 2002. On the campaign's final day, the two parties had their best-known campaigners continuing to barn-storm the country. In Florida, GOP gubernatorial nominee Charlie Crist did not attend Bush's rally for Republican candidates in Pensacola. "Let's see how many people show up in Palm Beach on 24 hours notice," Rove said. "We've got to get all ours out, and then you've got to hunt for people still standing on the diving board," Clinton said. Polls: Democrats' leads shrinking but still strong WASHINGTON Democrats, poised to score gains in the U.S. Senate, are struggling to pull ahead in the final seat they need to win control, USA TODAY/Gallup Polls in six key states find.
"What's changed today is the election is over," he said, "and the Democrats won." Mr Rumsfeld will continue in his post until then. Gates is a close friend of the Bush family, and particularly the first President Bush. "Secretary Rumsfeld's war plans in Iraq have failed. The Democrats won control of the House of Representatives in the polls, and AP news agency says they are also set to take the Senate. Former CIA Director Robert Gates has been nominated to replace Mr Rumsfeld. The question is, will the Republican base let him? Both sides agreed the decision would be made after the election, when Bush would make the final call based on how Republicans did. Beleaguered After the 9/11 attacks on America, Mr Rumsfeld led the planning and execution of the US invasion of Afghanistan in 2001 and the military operation in Iraq two years after that. He served in the intelligence community for more than a quarter century, under six presidents. The defense secretary's removal was part of a broader White House effort to restructure Bush's presidency in the wake of the Democratic victory. And Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, who had intervened in the past to shore up support for Rumsfeld, issued a statement saying, “Washington must now work together in a bipartisan way — Republicans and Democrats — to outline the path to success in Iraq.” The Pentagon offered no date for Rumsfeld’s departure. As we know, there are known knowns, there are things we know we know - we also know there are known unknowns ... Donald Rumsfeld in quotes Popular frustration over the war in Iraq has been a key factor during the current election campaign, and correspondents say Mr Rumsfeld had been looking increasingly beleaguered because of its apparent failures.
President Bush emerged from an election in which his party took what he described as a "thumping" and ousted Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld yesterday, saying that a "fresh perspective" is needed to guide the military through the difficult war in Iraq. Speaking at a White House news conference the day after Democrats took control of the House of Representatives, and possibly the Senate, an apparently chastened and conciliatory Bush said he was nominating former CIA director Robert M. Gates to replace the long-embattled Rumsfeld. After six years of a presidency that has been about drawing lines against the Democrats and taunting them as weak, Bush presented a sharp about-face in an appearance in the White House East Room. "What's changed today is the election is over," he said, "and the Democrats won." Acknowledging that the elections amounted to a rebuke of Republican leadership, Bush said voters had signaled they wanted cooperation and problem-solving in Washington. If anything, he seemed to greet defeat with an air of relief, as though the results had allowed him to abandon an all-is-well pretense that was increasingly at odds with his actual political circumstances. He said that he had begun to contemplate Rumsfeld's exit before the election -- even while he was publicly vowing that he would keep the defense secretary through the end of his term and insisting that polls forecasting Republican defeat were wrong. "I thought we were going to do fine yesterday," Bush insisted. But "win or lose, Bob Gates was going to become the nominee." Rumsfeld understood as well as he did, Bush said, that "Iraq is not working well enough, fast enough." The defense secretary's removal was part of a broader White House effort to restructure Bush's presidency in the wake of the Democratic victory. Beyond the switch at the Pentagon, White House aides in recent weeks developed an agenda designed to attract bipartisan support, including an increase in the minimum wage -- a longtime Democratic priority -- as well as comprehensive immigration legislation, energy measures, and the extension of the No Child Left Behind education program. "The message yesterday was clear," Bush said. "The American people want their leaders in Washington to set aside partisan differences, conduct ourselves in an ethical manner, and work together to address the challenges facing our nation." Despite the sharp confrontation that has characterized his tenure, Bush "will make the best of the situation he finds," predicted Ari Fleischer, his former press secretary. The question is, will the Republican base let him? Instead, he said, Bush should use the next two years to define differences between the parties heading into the 2008 election. Although the White House had insisted repeatedly that it was not making contingency plans for a Democratic victory, an official said yesterday that Chief of Staff Joshua B. Bolten assigned deputies Karl Rove and Joel D. Kaplan, national security adviser Stephen J. Hadley, counselor Dan Bartlett, and other aides to begin "quietly preparing in case this eventuality came," the official said. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld stepped down as defense secretary on Wednesday, one day after midterm elections in which opposition to the war in Iraq contributed to heavy Republican losses. Asked whether his announcement signaled a new direction in the war that has claimed the lives of more than 2,800 U.S. troops, Bush said, “Well, there’s certainly going to be new leadership at the Pentagon.” Bush lavished praise on Rumsfeld, who has spent six stormy years at his post. The president disclosed he met with Gates last Sunday, two days before the elections in which Democrats swept control of the House and possibly the Senate. Military officials and politicians dissatisfied with the course of the war had called for Rumsfeld’s resignation in the months leading up to the election. Source: Cheney stuck by Rumsfeld But a source told NBC News’ military analyst Bill Arkin that prior to the election, Vice President Dick Cheney argued with other politicians over whether Rumsfeld should stay. Both sides agreed the decision would be made after the election, when Bush would make the final call based on how Republicans did. According to the source, Bush agreed Rumsfeld should be removed after seeing election results favoring Democrats. "It's been quite a time," said Mr Rumsfeld in a short departing speech, delivered alongside President Bush, two hours after the president had announced that he would be replaced.
. Advertisement Continue reading the main story “That’s cut and run, and, of course, as the president has said, cut and run is not his cup of tea,” Mr. Hadley said. "We have to make some changes." The Rumsfeld memo suggests that in the days leading up to the Nov. 7 elections, the administration was torn between staying on course in Iraq and considering options it repeatedly had rejected. That is a troop-intensive approach that calls for clearing contested areas with American and Iraqi troops, holding them with American and Iraqi forces and then carrying out reconstruction programs to win support. View all New York Times newsletters. Please try again later. “Recast the U.S. military mission and the U.S. goals (how we talk about them) — go minimalist,” he added. Stephen A. Cambone, under secretary of defense for intelligence, is the most senior Pentagon official to announce he is leaving since Mr. Rumsfeld tendered his resignation last month. Advertisement Continue reading the main story One of the more provocative options would punish provinces that failed to cooperate with the Americans by withdrawing economic assistance and security. He denied that its disclosure was in any way authorized by the White House or his office. "He's rejected everything that reflects on his policy or that suggests that his policy is wrong or that we've got to change course." It also puts on the table several ideas for troop redeployments or withdrawals, even as there have been recent pronouncements from American commanders emphasizing the need to maintain troop levels for the time being. He said leaking it was “an effort to embarrass” Mr. Bush and Mr. Maliki on the eve of their summit meeting.
The memo suggests frustration with the pace of turning over responsibility to the Iraqi authorities; in fact, the memo calls for examination of ideas that roughly parallel troop withdrawal proposals presented by some of the White House’s sharpest Democratic critics. (Text of the Memo) Advertisement Continue reading the main story The memo’s discussion of possible troop reduction options offers a counterpoint to Mr. Rumsfeld’s frequent public suggestions that discussions about force levels are driven by requests from American military commanders. It also puts on the table several ideas for troop redeployments or withdrawals, even as there have been recent pronouncements from American commanders emphasizing the need to maintain troop levels for the time being. The memorandum sometimes has a finger-wagging tone, as Mr. Rumsfeld says that the Iraqis must “pull up their socks,” and suggests that reconstruction aid should be withheld in violent areas to avoid rewarding “bad behavior.” Advertisement Continue reading the main story Other options called for shrinking the number of bases, establishing benchmarks that would mark the Iraqis’ progress toward political, economic and security goals and conducting a “reverse embeds” program to attach Iraqi soldiers to American squads. Advertisement Continue reading the main story The memo was finished one day after President Bush interviewed Robert M. Gates, the president of Texas A&M University, as a potential successor to Mr. Rumsfeld and one day before the midterm elections. By then it was clear that the Republicans appeared likely to suffer a setback at the polls and that the administration was poised to begin reconsidering its Iraq strategy. Advertisement Continue reading the main story The memo provides no indication that Mr. Rumsfeld intended to leave his Pentagon post. It is unclear whether he knew at that point that he was about to be replaced, though the White House has said that Mr. Bush and Mr. Rumsfeld had a number of conversations on the matter. Told that The New York Times had obtained a copy of it, a Pentagon spokesman, Eric Ruff, confirmed its authenticity. “As it became clear that people were considering options for the way forward, the secretary had some views on the subject, and this memo reflects those views,” he said. At the Pentagon, Mr. Rumsfeld has been famous for his “snowflakes” — memos that drift down to the bureaucracy from on high and that are used to ask questions, stimulate debate and shape policy. Mr. Rumsfeld’s Nov. 6 memorandum, circulated as part of the administration’s review of Iraq policy, is written in that spirit and with the same blunt aphorisms that Mr. Rumsfeld frequently uses in public. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Unlike the lawyerly memo on Iraq policy submitted Nov. 8 by Stephen J. Hadley, the national security adviser, Mr. Rumsfeld’s listed more than a dozen “illustrative options” that the defense secretary did not endorse, but suggested merited serious consideration. “Many of these options could, and in a number of cases, should be done in combination with others,” Mr. Rumsfeld advised. In recent weeks, some have been discarded as the Bush administration tries to adjust its military and political strategy in Iraq. But others, like increasing the number of advisers attached to Iraqi forces, live on and have also been recommended by others. Mr. Rumsfeld, who has presided over two wars and is one of the longest-serving Pentagon chiefs, is scheduled to leave when his designated successor, Mr. Gates, is confirmed by the Senate, expected later this month. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Titled “Iraq — Illustrative New Courses of Action,” the memo reflects mounting concern over a war that, as Mr. Rumsfeld put it, has evolved from “major combat operations to counterterrorism, to counterinsurgency, to dealing with death squads and sectarian violence.” The first section of the memo contains two pages of options that Mr. Rumsfeld describes as “above the line” ideas worthy of consideration. Some that Mr. Rumsfeld found intriguing appear to reflect his long-held view that the United States should use relatively modest force in intervening in foreign countries to avoid creating a dependency on American power. That approach, critics have charged, left the United States unprepared to deal with the chaos that followed the ouster of Saddam Hussein. On Oct. 31, just a week before finishing the memo, Mr. Rumsfeld told a radio interviewer, “I feel that we are making good progress with the piece of it the Defense Department has.” Advertisement Continue reading the main story One option Mr. Rumsfeld offered calls for modest troop withdrawals “so Iraqis know they have to pull up their socks, step up and take responsibility for their country.” Advertisement Continue reading the main story Another option calls for redeploying American troops from “vulnerable positions” in Baghdad and other cities to safer areas in Iraq or Kuwait, where they would act as a “quick reaction force.” That idea is similar to a plan suggested by Representative John P. Murtha, a Pennsylvania Democrat, a plan that the White House has soundly rebuffed. Still another option calls for consolidating the number of American bases in Iraq to 5 from 55 by July 2007, a considerable shrinking of the American footprint. Advertisement Continue reading the main story One of the more provocative options would punish provinces that failed to cooperate with the Americans by withdrawing economic assistance and security. “No more reconstruction assistance in areas where there is violence.” Some military officers have said that the idea of denying assistance in some areas ignores the fact that many Iraqis are afraid to cooperate with the Americans for fear of retaliation by insurgents. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Falluja has been the focus of reconstruction efforts following an offensive by Americans that crippled city services and damaged scores of buildings, leaving the United States few options beyond rebuilding or evacuating the city. Many of the other towns in the region have become even more hostile because the economic assistance has been minimal, leaving the residents feeling neglected by the authorities in Baghdad, military officers say. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Then, too, work on infrastructure that sprawls across the country, like the electrical grid and the oil pipelines, network, cannot be limited to nonviolent areas. Bush is open to several previously rejected possibilities because he realizes "things are not proceeding well enough or fast enough in Iraq," national security adviser Stephen J. Hadley told ABC News's "This Week."
"It's not only Orhan Pamuk who's won here. His first novel, Cevdet Bey and His Sons, was published in 1982. This prize will be a chance for all the world to get to know Turkish literature." But Orhan Pamuk is a difficult hero for some in Turkey. The charges - which drew international condemnation - were dropped in January. The Nobel academy said the Istanbul-based author had "in the quest for the melancholic soul of his native city... discovered new symbols for the clash and interlacing of cultures". The dissident publisher is on trial himself here for publishing books on the fate of the Ottoman Armenians. Turkey says that figure is inflated and that the conflict at the time also claimed the lives of many Muslim Turks. Mixed feelings But in the narrow cobbled streets close to his Istanbul home his neighbours are divided over the news. His best known works are the novels Snow and My Name Is Red. Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul said "It is great happiness for us all that a Turkish writer has won such a prestigious award". Bookmark with: Delicious Digg reddit Facebook StumbleUpon What are these? It is given to recognise a body of work, rather than an individual book. The prize announcement came on the same day that the French parliament voted to make denial of the Armenian genocide a criminal offence, a decision that infuriated many Turks. He has faced prosecution for talking about the murder of hundreds of thousands of Armenians in Turkey during World War I and thousands of Kurds in subsequent years. demands the headline in Vatan newspaper. Some critics see him as too westernised and aloof from his country.
By Sarah Rainsford BBC News, Istanbul Pamuk is one of the youngest writers to have won the prize "Our Pride," is the headline in Radikal. "Thank you Orhan!" blazes BirGun. "It's very important, I congratulate him," says bookseller Mehmet, who moved all his Pamuk stock to the front of the store as soon as he heard that the first ever Turk had won the Nobel Prize for Literature. "It's not only Orhan Pamuk who's won here. This prize will be a chance for all the world to get to know Turkish literature." Even before the Nobel announcement, Orhan Pamuk was Turkey's best-selling novelist by far. He has been translated into dozens of foreign languages - and demand is now soaring. In the first four hours after the news from Sweden, Pamuk's publishers in Istanbul received another 6,000 orders. They have had to allocate extra printing presses to keep up. 'Western plot' Earlier this year nationalist groups labelled the author a traitor when he spoke out on two of Turkey's most sensitive issues - claims that Ottoman Turks committed genocide against the Armenians nine decades ago, and the plight of ethnic Kurds in modern-day Turkey. His comments earned him death threats - and criminal charges. He didn't get this award for his literature, they gave it to make a point to us here in Turkey Pamuk critic "For his words, or his pen?" "I'm not proud Pamuk won. This is all political," Gokhan protests outside another Istanbul bookshop sporting a brand-new window display devoted to the writer. "He didn't get this award for his literature, they gave it to make a point to us here in Turkey." "The nationalists will see Pamuk's win as their loss. It's as if they let in a goal in a football match," Ragip Zarokolu explains. The dissident publisher is on trial himself here for publishing books on the fate of the Ottoman Armenians. "But I feel those of us who dare to speak about our history and face our taboos have won a moral victory with this award too," Ragip Zarokolu adds. "It's an award for the right not to be silent, for freedom of expression." "He comes in here sometimes to buy kiwi fruit and chocolate, he always says hello," enthuses Mehmet, shopkeeper at Pamuk's nearest grocer's. Turkish people should recognise that Orhan Pamuk has achieved a great success and that he is serving the Turkish nation Bahar Siber Pamuk editor "He wanted fame and he's got it," the local florist fumes. But other Turkish officials did not rush to praise Pamuk - a sign perhaps of how divisive a figure he is here and how sensitive the Armenian issue in particular remains. For those who agree, there is good news: the editor revealed that Orhan Pamuk's next novel is due out next year. "I'm excited," Bahar Siber admits, explaining that the book will be a new departure for the author - a contemporary love story, to be called Museum of Innocence. The 54-year-old's books have been translated into more than 20 languages, and typically deal with clashes between civilisations and Islam's relationship with secular nationalism. The Nobel academy said the Istanbul-based author had "in the quest for the melancholic soul of his native city... discovered new symbols for the clash and interlacing of cultures". Pamuk has won several international literary awards including the German book industry's peace prize in October 2005, in Frankfurt. He was praised at the ceremony in Germany for novels that trace "the imprints of the East on the West and those of the West on the East". Pamuk's court case thrust him into the international spotlight Last year he faced charges of "insulting Turkishness" that could have seen him jailed for up to three years. They were prompted by Pamuk's remarks to a Swiss newspaper that "30,000 Kurds and one million Armenians were killed in these lands, and nobody but me dares talk about it". Turkey is sensitive over the 1915 killings of Armenians, strongly denying Armenian claims that about 1.5 million of their people were killed systematically by Ottoman Turks in a "genocide". It also denies that its crackdown on Kurdish separatists in the 1980s and 1990s can be classed as "genocide".
Yes, they can do it. Other sources, said Johnson had. (Posted 5:20 a.m.) --CNN's Mohammed Tawfeeq contributed to this report. According to a verdict handed down by a judge, the charges against Rauf were "flimsy" and had "no substance." The court unsealed the legal documents Wednesday. (Posted 10:48 p.m.) Bush, Pentagon officials meeting on Iraq WASHINGTON (CNN) -- President Bush meets Wednesday with top Pentagon officials to hear their views on the way forward in Iraq. Fisher said the senator was able to walk back to his office in the Hart Senate Office Building, then began having problems with his right arm. South Dakota Secretary of State Chris Nelson said the appointment would fill the vacancy until a general election could be held in November 2008. Bush called Talabani and the two spoke for about 15 minutes. According to Palestinian security sources, one Palestinian was killed near Nahal Oz just north of Karni crossing. The illness was initially thought to be a stroke. He was taken to the hospital shortly afterward. A State Department official told CNN that the department had waived a rule requiring members of the North Korean mission to the United Nations to stay within 25 miles of the United Nations. One study in Kenya of 2,784 HIV-negative men showed a 53 percent reduction in the risk of getting HIV; another in Uganda of 4,996 HIV-negative men found male circumcision reduced the risk by 48 percent. The engineers and clerk worked for the local government, police said. Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki received the delegation, which included Sens. Under the plan, coalition forces would still be very much involved.
Democratic Sen. Tim Johnson of South Dakota was hospitalized Wednesday, weeks before his party was to take control of the Senate by a one-vote margin. The one thing that appeared to be true was that Johnson had some undiagnosed illness that has left him with difficulty speaking and moving. The Washington Post reported that Johnson was undergoing surgery. Johnson, who turns 60 on Dec. 28, was admitted to George Washington University Hospital, said Julianne Fisher, Johnson's communications director. The illness was initially thought to be a stroke. Fisher later said, however, that Johnson did not suffer a stroke or heart attack. In a statement late Wednesday, Fisher said, "Senator Johnson continues to undergo testing and procedures at George Washington University Hospital. Admiral John Eisold, attending physician of the U.S. Capitol, issued a statement saying Johnson was admitted to the hospital "with the symptoms of a stroke." While many on Capitol Hill voiced frustration about the lack of immediate information, aides noted the senator promptly received medical attention after feeling ill earlier in the day. Johnson became disoriented during a conference call with reporters at midday Wednesday, stuttering in response to a question. He appeared to recover, asking if there were any additional questions before ending the call. Fisher said he walked back to his Capitol office after the call with reporters but appeared to not be feeling well. A statement released by Johnson's office then said, in part, "At this stage, he is undergoing a comprehensive evaluation by the stroke team. Filling a vacated Senate seat Democrats won a 51-49 majority in the November election. South Dakota’s Republican governor, Mike Rounds, would appoint a replacement to serve until the 2008 election should Johnson die or resign. The appointment would last until the next general election — in this case, 2008. Johnson's term expires that year. The 17th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution says state legislatures can give their governors the power to appoint someone else to take over, but only in the case of "vacancies." Under the rules of the Senate, tie votes are settled by the vote of the vice president — currently Republican Dick Cheney — effectively giving control of the Senate to the Republicans. Previous cases The Senate historian's office cites several examples of a senator being incapacitated for years and remaining in office. Most recently, Sen. Karl Mundt (coincidentally, also from South Dakota) suffered a stroke in 1969 and was incapacitated, but he refused to step down. Mundt was pressured repeatedly to step down during his illness, but he demanded that the governor promise to appoint his wife. Another example was Sen. Carter Glass, D-Va. Glass had a heart condition that prevented him from working for most of his last term after his re-election in 1942. Yet Glass refused to resign, and finally died of congestive heart failure in May 1946, in his apartment at the Mayflower Hotel in Washington. Story Highlights • NEW: Staff says tests rule out stroke, heart attack • Senator undergoing more tests, will remain hospitalized overnight, aide says • If Democrat Johnson could not serve, GOP governor could name replacement • Johnson has been a South Dakota senator since 1996 Adjust font size: WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Sen. Tim Johnson, D-South Dakota, was hospitalized Wednesday after he suffered stroke-like symptoms in his Washington office, his staff said. A statement issued by Johnson's office said he was suffering from a "possible stroke." But a spokeswoman later said that tests showed Johnson had suffered neither a stroke nor a heart attack, although it was not clear what had happened. (Listen to Johnson's difficulty speaking during a WNAX radio interview -- MP3, 749 kb) Julianne Fisher, a spokeswoman for Johnson, told CNN he was still undergoing tests and will stay hospitalized overnight, but she would not characterize his condition. "We're taking one day at a time," Fisher said, "saying a lot of prayers and waiting until morning." Fisher said Johnson was in the Capitol Wednesday morning conducting a conference call with South Dakota reporters when "his speech pattern slipped off." She said the senator was able to walk back to his office in the Hart Senate Office Building, then began having problems with his right arm. Johnson battled prostate cancer in 2004, and after surgery, tests showed he no longer had the disease, according to his Web site. Adjust font size: Editor's Note: The CNN Wire is a running log of the latest news from CNN World Headquarters, reported by CNN's correspondents and producers, and The CNN Wire editors. Police: Islamic seperatists kill 2 Thai government engineers From CNN's Narunart Prapanya in Bangkok BANGKOK (CNN) -- Muslim seperatist insurgents raided a local government administration office in southern Thailand and shot to death two male engineers and wounded a female clerk Wednesday, police said. The attack by about six armed men took place in the Krong Penang office in Yala province, about 600 miles south of Bangkok, in a building recently constructed to replace one burned down last year by insurgnets, police said.
In fact, I was there to help him, and he respected that," Sgt Ellis said. "Saddam is gone. (Full story) Word of Hussein's execution was followed by Iraqi street celebrations. Today Iraq is an Iraq for all the Iraqis, and all the Iraqis are looking forward. The former leader also watered a patch of weeds. He said he understood why many Iraqis - including those heard on the video - would have such strong feelings. (Watch as Hussein's body lies in a shroud -- graphic content, viewer discretion advised ) Al-Rubaie said that while the execution was carried out with due respect to Hussein -- and following "all international and Islamic standards" -- some witnesses and the executioner could not resist celebrating by dancing around the body after the hanging. He was not afraid of death." His sons Uday and Qusay were killed by US troops in 2003. Images of Saddam Hussein being taken to the gallows in a Baghdad building his intelligence services once used for executions were broadcast on state TV on Saturday. The White House issued a statement praising the Iraqi people for giving Hussein a fair trial. One of them shouts the name of Moqtada al-Sadr, a prominent Shia cleric. But the Iraqi presidential adviser told the BBC's Newshour programme the taunts came from bystanders. Onlookers? The former president, 69, was sentenced to death by an Iraqi court on 5 November over the killings of 148 Shias from the town of Dujail in the 1980s. A further four corpses - two women and two men - were also reported to have been found in the northern city of Mosul, AFP reports.
When Sgt Ellis left, Saddam Hussein said he would be his brother In an interview with a US newspaper, Master Sgt Robert Ellis provided a rare glimpse into the last years of Saddam Hussein, who was executed on Saturday. Sgt Ellis looked after the former Iraqi leader - whom they called 'Victor' - in 2004 and 2005 at a camp near Baghdad. The prisoner rarely complained during his time in captivity, he said. He added that he was under strict orders to do whatever necessary to keep Saddam alive. "Saddam Hussein cannot die in US custody," he said a US colonel had told him. 'Coping skills' Sgt Ellis, from St Louis, told the St Louis Post-Dispatch that Saddam Hussein was held in a six foot by eight foot (1.8m to 2.4m) cell with a cot, table, two plastic chairs and two wash basins. In fact, I was there to help him, and he respected that Robert Ellis When he was allowed to go outside, Saddam Hussein saved bread scraps from his meals to feed to the birds, Sgt Ellis said. The former leader also watered a patch of weeds. "He said he was a farmer when he was young and he never forgot where he came from," Sgt Ellis said. "He had very good coping skills," Sgt Ellis said. Saddam talked about when he used to read bedtime stories to his young children and recalled giving his daughter medicine for an upset stomach. Sgt Ellis said Saddam Hussein once asked him why the US had invaded when "the laws in Iraq were fair and the weapons inspectors didn't find anything". Sgt Ellis, 56, checked on Saddam Hussein - or Victor as he was referred to in military code - twice a day. When the nurse had to leave because his brother was dying, Saddam Hussein hugged him and said he would be his brother. The former president, 69, was sentenced to death by an Iraqi court on 5 November over the killings of 148 Shias from the town of Dujail in the 1980s. Saddam Hussein's body was handed to clan leaders for burial Final moments "This whole execution is about justice," Hiwa Osman, an adviser for the Iraqi president told the BBC. Mr Osman's remarks come after new video filmed on a mobile phone showed a man taunting Saddam Hussein on the gallows. Correspondents say the manner of the execution may exacerbate divisions in Iraq between supporters and opponents of the former leader. Violence continues The country experienced yet another day of violence on Sunday with a car bomb killing one and injuring at least six in Baghdad's northern Hurriyah neighbourhood, AFP reports. Police said they had found 12 bodies dumped in the capital on Sunday, according to the Associated Press, a relatively low number by recent standards. A further four corpses - two women and two men - were also reported to have been found in the northern city of Mosul, AFP reports. Meanwhile, scores of Saddam supporters have been flocking to the site where the former leader's body was buried on Sunday. The former president, 69, was sentenced to death by an Iraqi court on 5 November over the killings of 148 Shias from the town of Dujail in the 1980s. Images of Saddam Hussein being taken to the gallows in a Baghdad building his intelligence services once used for executions were broadcast on state TV on Saturday. His past caught up with him and he got what he deserved Munawar, Tehran Saddam death: Your reaction Video shows gallows taunts They showed a respectful, if businesslike, team of hooded volunteers shuffling the formally dressed ex-leader onto the platform and slipping the noose over his neck. But the unofficial video images - posted on the internet and shown on Arab and Western channels - show he exchanged taunts with onlookers from the gallows. The taunts using the cleric's name will reinforce the view among Saddam Hussein's own Sunni tribesmen that the execution was more about Shia revenge than Iraqi justice, says the BBC's Peter Biles in Baghdad. They felt very proud as they saw their father facing his executioners so bravely Spokeswoman for Saddam Hussein's daughters Reaction in quotes Insurgency to outlive Saddam Timeline: Saddam's Iraq "We don't quite know who was shouting at Saddam or with whom he was exchanging the insults but I do not think it was any members of the government who were doing this," Hiwa Osman said. He said he understood why many Iraqis - including those heard on the video - would have such strong feelings. God has decided that Saddam Hussein should have such an end, but his march and the course which he followed will not end Mohammed Natiq Saddam supporter Mid-East media fears Pictures of aftermath His sons Uday and Qusay, killed by US troops in 2003, are also buried there. Story Highlights • Iraqi TV shows pictures of Saddam Hussein's body after his execution • Former Iraq dictator hanged for crimes during his rule • Hussein to be buried in the "next few hours," official says • Hussein's final words mock Muqtada al-Sadr, says witness Adjust font size: BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- Defiant to the end, Saddam Hussein mocked Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr moments before he was hanged, a witness said Saturday. (Watch noose placed around Hussein's neck -- graphic content, viewer discretion advised ) A witness, Iraqi Judge Munir Haddad, said that one of the executioners told Hussein that the former dictator had destroyed Iraq, which sparked an argument that was joined by several government officials in the room. As a noose was tightened around Hussein's neck, one of the executioners yelled "long live Muqtada al-Sadr," Haddad said, referring to the powerful anti-American Shiite religious leader. Hussein, a Sunni, uttered one last phrase before he died, saying "Muqtada al-Sadr" in a mocking tone, according to Haddad's account.
For now, we wait. "The test is not the first 100 hours," he said. The support for the president's policy in Iraq has reached its lowest ebb to date. House Republicans have begun to complain that Democrats are backing away from their promise to work cooperatively. Democratic leaders say they are torn between giving Republicans a say in legislation and shutting them out to prevent them from derailing Democratic bills. So it would be fitting if President Bush came forward this week with a milestone of his own, a speech announcing a new direction in Iraq that actually included a new direction for U.S. policy there. The Republican turnaround has been unmistakable on the question of the troop surge. He has also let it be known that he is leaning toward a marginal escalation — committing more U.S. troops to the war. And the powerful Baker connection may have been counterproductive. It would maintain the commitment the United States has made over the past four years to establishing a Western-style democracy in Iraq. The move comes with figures from Iraqi ministries suggesting that deaths among civilians are at record highs. The ISG was a 10-member bipartisan commission, carefully chosen by Congress to assess the situation. Although the idea is backed by Sens. By Justin Webb BBC News, Washington Mr Bush has come under pressure to change his strategy on Iraq The speech will reveal a plan to send more US troops to Iraq to focus on ways of bringing greater security, rather than training Iraqi forces. Milestones at Home and in Iraq Enlarge this image toggle caption Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images Rarely have so many historical milestones been crowded into so tight a time frame.
By Justin Webb BBC News, Washington Mr Bush has come under pressure to change his strategy on Iraq The speech will reveal a plan to send more US troops to Iraq to focus on ways of bringing greater security, rather than training Iraqi forces. The move comes with figures from Iraqi ministries suggesting that deaths among civilians are at record highs. The BBC was told by a senior administration source that the speech setting out changes in Mr Bush's Iraq policy is likely to come in the middle of next week. The speech, the BBC has been told, involves increasing troop numbers. The exact mission of the extra troops in Iraq is still under discussion, according to officials, but it is likely to focus on providing security rather than training Iraqi forces. The proposal, if it comes, will be highly controversial. Already one senior Republican senator has called it Alice in Wonderland. The need to find some way of pacifying Iraq has been underlined by statistics revealed by various ministries in the Iraqi government, suggesting that well over 1,000 civilians a month are dying. As they prepare to take control of Congress this week and face up to campaign pledges to restore bipartisanship and openness, Democrats are planning to largely sideline Republicans from the first burst of lawmaking. House Democrats intend to pass a raft of popular measures as part of their well-publicized plan for the first 100 hours. They include tightening ethics rules for lawmakers, raising the minimum wage, allowing more research on stem cells and cutting interest rates on student loans. But instead of allowing Republicans to fully participate in deliberations, as promised after the Democratic victory in the Nov. 7 midterm elections, Democrats now say they will use House rules to prevent the opposition from offering alternative measures, assuring speedy passage of the bills and allowing their party to trumpet early victories. Nancy Pelosi, the Californian who will become House speaker, and Steny H. Hoyer of Maryland, who will become majority leader, finalized the strategy over the holiday recess in a flurry of conference calls and meetings with other party leaders. A few Democrats, worried that the party would be criticized for reneging on an important pledge, argued unsuccessfully that they should grant the Republicans greater latitude when the Congress convenes on Thursday. The Democrats must demonstrate that they can break legislative gridlock and govern after 12 years in the minority, while honoring their pledge to make the 110th Congress a civil era in which Democrats and Republicans work together to solve the nation's problems. Yet in attempting to pass laws key to their prospects for winning reelection and expanding their majority, the Democrats may have to resort to some of the same tough tactics Republicans used the past several years. Democratic leaders say they are torn between giving Republicans a say in legislation and shutting them out to prevent them from derailing Democratic bills. "My sense is there's going to be a testing period to gauge to what extent the Republicans want to join us in a constructive effort or whether they intend to be disruptive. They are working on their own strategy for the first 100 hours, and part of it is built on the idea that they might be able to break the Democrats' slender majority by wooing away some conservative Democrats. Democrats intend to introduce their first bills within hours of taking the oath of office on Thursday. The first legislation will focus on the behavior of lawmakers, banning travel on corporate jets and gifts from lobbyists and requiring lawmakers to attach their names to special spending directives and to certify that such earmarks would not financially benefit the lawmaker or the lawmaker's spouse. That bill is aimed at bringing legislative transparency that Democrats said was lacking under Republican rule. Democratic leaders said they are not going to allow Republican input into the ethics package and other early legislation, because several of the bills have already been debated and dissected, including the proposal to raise the minimum wage, which passed the House Appropriations Committee in the 109th Congress, said Brendan Daly, a spokesman for Pelosi. "We've talked about these things for more than a year," he said. "The test is not the first 100 hours," he said. "The test is the first six months or the first year. The president often says that the families of fallen U.S. soldiers tell him to "finish the job" so as to honor their sacrifice. The surge would also signal the White House's attitude toward the recommendations of the Iraq Study Group, and this too may be seen as a virtue within the president's inner circle. But the ISG's bitter prescriptions have not found favor in the White House.
I happen to know something about that, as do some on this committee," he said. "We are not the ones being meddlesome and troublesome in Iraq." Iran and the Kurdish regional government called for their release. The Iraqi state television reported earlier that Multi-National Forces in Arbil detained staff members of the Iranian consulate there and confiscated computers and some documents. Story Highlights • Biden warns secretary of state against cross-border raids • Hagel makes comparison to bombing of Cambodia during Vietnam War • Rice says president will do what's necessary to protect troops Adjust font size: WASHINGTON (CNN) -- President Bush's warnings to Iran and Syria to not interfere in Iraq and the arrest of six Iranians in Iraq by U.S. troops raised eyebrows Thursday on Capitol Hill, where senators warned Bush against widening the nearly four-year-old war. Advertisement Continue reading the main story The Iranian embassy in Baghdad has sent a letter of protest to the Iraqi Foreign Ministry, Mr. Hosseini told the IRNA news agency. He again accused Iran of contributing “material support” for attacks on American forces. "Surely the United States is not the one being threatening," she said. << "Do we really believe that the Iranians are going to treat Iraq over here and not demand that we do something to alleviate the pressure that we are now bringing on their nuclear program and their nuclear ambitions? Please try again later. View all New York Times newsletters. Gen. Peter Pace, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters that "we can take care of the security for our troops by doing the business we need to do inside of Iraq."
TEHRAN, Jan. 11 (Xinhua) -- U.S. forces raided the Iranian consulate in Iraq's northern city of Arbil and arrested five of its staff members, Iran's official IRNA news agency reported on Thursday. After disarming the consulate's guards and breaking into the gate, U.S. troops ent ered the office building early Thursday morning, IRNA said, confirming Iraqi state television's earlier reports. The Iraqi state television reported earlier that Multi-National Forces in Arbil detained staff members of the Iranian consulate there and confiscated computers and some documents. The U.S. troops arrested five staff members and confiscated computers and documents, IRNA quoted "reliable sources" as saying. The Iranian Embassy in Baghdad sent a letter to the Iraqi Foreign Ministry Thursday morning to protest against "the U.S. illegal move" and call on the Iraqi government to help secure immediate release of the five people, IRNA said. According to Iran's state television, Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad Ali Hosseini said that U.S. forces in Iraq "bear full responsibility for the fate of the abducted diplomats." Top envoys of the Iraqi Embassy as well as the Swiss Embassy, which takes care of the U.S. interests in Iran, were summoned to the Iranian Foreign Ministry for explanations, the television said. Quoting its reporter in Arbil, the television said that forces under the control of Iraq's Kurdish leader Massoud Barzani had tried to prevent U.S. troops from taking away the diplomats, deeming the U.S. move as an affront to the authority of the self-rule regional government. Under an agreement between Baghdad and Tehran, Iran set up its consulate in the city in 2006 to facilitate cross-border visits of their citizens. TV: Coalition forces detain Iranian diplomatic personnel in N Iraq BAGHDAD, Jan. 11 (Xinhua) -- Multi-National Forces in Arbil province detained staff of the Iranian consulate there, Iraq's state-run television reported on Thursday. The troops also confiscated computers and some documents, the report said. Story Highlights • Biden warns secretary of state against cross-border raids • Hagel makes comparison to bombing of Cambodia during Vietnam War • Rice says president will do what's necessary to protect troops Adjust font size: WASHINGTON (CNN) -- President Bush's warnings to Iran and Syria to not interfere in Iraq and the arrest of six Iranians in Iraq by U.S. troops raised eyebrows Thursday on Capitol Hill, where senators warned Bush against widening the nearly four-year-old war. Sen. Joseph Biden, the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, warned Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice that Bush did not have the authority to send U.S. troops on cross-border raids. "I believe the present authorization granted the president to use force in Iraq does not cover that, and he does need congressional authority to do that," Biden, D-Delaware, said during a Thursday hearing on Iraq. (Watch heated exchanges between Rice and several senators ) Rice did not directly reply to Biden's remark, but she said the country expects Bush "to do what is necessary to protect our forces." Biden sent a follow-up letter to the White House after Thursday's hearing, calling on Bush to explain his position. In his Wednesday night speech announcing the deployment of more than 20,000 additional troops to Iraq, Bush blamed Iraq's neighbors for stoking the violence there and accused Iran in particular of "providing material support for attacks on American troops." (Watch how the plan will work ) "We will disrupt the attacks on our forces. Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Nebraska, said Rice's responses had echoes of the debate over the Vietnam War, when the Nixon administration denied U.S. troops were conducting raids into neighboring Cambodia to stop the flow of weapons to South Vietnam's communist insurgency. Hagel, a veteran of that war, called Bush's plan "the most dangerous foreign policy blunder in this country since Vietnam." (Full story) "When our government lied to the American people and said we didn't cross the border going into Cambodia, in fact we did. "Madame Secretary, when you set in motion the kind of policy that the president is talking about here, it's very, very dangerous." Gen. Peter Pace, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters that "we can take care of the security for our troops by doing the business we need to do inside of Iraq." Thursday, U.S. troops in the northern Iraqi city of Irbil detained six Iranians "suspected of being closely tied to activities targeting Iraqi and coalition forces," a military statement said. The president announced that he had ordered a second aircraft carrier battle group to the Persian Gulf and would share Patriot air-defense missile systems with U.S. allies in the region. Furthermore, the choice of a Navy officer, Adm. William Fallon, was Bush's pick to lead U.S. forces in the Middle East has raised speculation that operations in the Persian Gulf will take on greater importance. White House spokeswoman Dana Perino told CNN that Bush's condemnation of what she called "Iran's meddlesomeness" was an important signal to the region. Rice said talks with Tehran and Damascus over Iraq "put us in the role of supplicant" while Washington is trying to pressure Iran to halt uranium enrichment and get Syria to stop leaning on Lebanon's pro-Western government. "Do we really believe that the Iranians are going to treat Iraq over here and not demand that we do something to alleviate the pressure that we are now bringing on their nuclear program and their nuclear ambitions? A Foreign Ministry spokesman, Mohammad Ali Hosseini, said that United States forces arrested five Iranian staff members at the consulate early this morning, and confiscated computers and documents. Noting that the consulate was protected by international agreement and that the regions under Kurdish control have been fairly calm, the statement said the raid “does not help the efforts to bring peace, stability and security to the rest of Iraq.” Advertisement Continue reading the main story The statement suggested that the raid was an unwelcome surprise to the Kurdish authorities. American officials have long accused Iran of sending weapons and money into Iraq to fuel violence; in December the American forces detained two Iranian men in Baghdad and accused them of running guns and planning sectarian attacks.
In addition, 41 Israeli civilians were killed, most of them by rocket fire. Halutz was appointed the first air force officer to lead Israel's military in July 2005 by then-Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. In his resignation letter, Halutz expressed "great pride" in his career and said he had "fulfilled my obligations." Advertisement Continue reading the main story Mr. Olmert is the fourth consecutive Israeli prime minister to be investigated. The general told the broker to sell some mutual funds as planned. Since the end of the 33-day war, Halutz has come under heavy pressure from senior reserve officers to step down. Hezbollah fired about 4,000 short- and medium-range rockets into Israel, including more than 100 on the last day of fighting. Maj. Gen. Udi Adam, head of the Northern Command, resigned in September. Hirsch called on Halutz to resign at the same time. Please try again later. In addition, the Lebanese reported that many of their casualties were civilians, which worked in many quarters to turn international opinion against the Israeli campaign. No 'running away' Earlier this month he told a news conference that would he stay on ''to correct what can be corrected',' dismissing calls for his resignation saying it would be "running away". "In order to guide and lead we must live up to our responsibilities," he wrote. Most Israelis serve in the military because of mandatory service requirements, making the chief of staff position one of the most highly esteemed and scrutinized in the country. His resignation may also draw a line under the military failings of the summer, and allow the Israeli Defense Forces to rebuild their prestige.
There had been failures in combat, he said, "notably in the areas of logistics, operations and command". After more than a month of fighting, Hezbollah was still able to fire rockets into the north of the country, and the two soldiers whose capture had sparked the conflict were still in captivity. Gen Halutz, a former Air force chief, was accused of relying too heavily on aerial bombardment, and of botching the ground offensive. Some told of spending days without food, forced to drink water from the canteens of dead Lebanese guerrillas. In order to guide and lead we must live up to our responsibilities Dan Halutz's resignation letter Critics wondered why the army appeared not to have been prepared for a war on the northern border. In September, General Udi Adam - the head of Israel's Northern Command - resigned. Gen Halutz maintained that Israel had delivered a huge blow to Hezbollah, killing hundreds of its fighters. He even shrugged off a revelation that he had sold his share portfolio in July, the day senior politicians and commanders were deciding whether to go to war. No 'running away' Earlier this month he told a news conference that would he stay on ''to correct what can be corrected',' dismissing calls for his resignation saying it would be "running away". Hezbollah fired thousands of rockets despite Israel's offensive "I have not heard my superiors calling on me to resign," he went on, "if they do I will respond." In his resignation letter addressed to Mr Olmert, Gen Halutz said he had decided to end his service after completing the process of investigating and drawing conclusions from the war. Gen Halutz's departure will focus attention on the decisions taken by the government. Already, opposition politicians have renewed their calls for Ehud Olmert and Amir Peretz to follow the general's lead. JERUSALEM, Jan. 17 -- Lt. Gen. Dan Halutz, head of the Israel Defense Forces, resigned abruptly Tuesday after one of his predecessors presented findings of an internal review that sharply criticized the military's leadership during the war with Hezbollah last summer. Since the end of the 33-day war, Halutz has come under heavy pressure from senior reserve officers to step down. The war failed to achieve the stated goals of freeing two Israeli soldiers captured by the Lebanese Shiite militia in July and stopping Hezbollah rocket attacks on Israeli cities. But Halutz insisted as recently as two weeks ago that he would remain in his post unless called on to resign by the Winograd Commission, an inquiry panel established by Prime Minister Ehud Olmert to examine the performance of the military and political leadership during the war. The commission's interim report was due in coming weeks. Olmert, who has also been severely criticized for his management of the war, reportedly expressed regret over Halutz's decision to resign after trying to persuade him to change his mind. "It is the nature of people not to be overjoyed serving in a system that is not appreciated and not protected by those it represents," Halutz wrote in his letter of resignation, according to a translation published online by the newspaper Haaretz. "We must promise never to reach a situation in which people of quality would hesitate to tie their fate and future with" the Israel Defense Forces, he wrote. "Neither good education nor a strong economy would help us then, and there is a danger that the threats the state of Israel faces will become more substantial." Halutz was appointed the first air force officer to lead Israel's military in July 2005 by then-Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. But it won him few supporters among hawkish lawmakers and reserve officers, some of whom opposed the withdrawal on strategic and ideological grounds. Sharon's decision to appoint Halutz reflected the shifting priorities within the military from infantry to air power. The sharp public criticism of his leadership during the most recent Lebanon war, much of it from senior reserve officers, has focused on Halutz's heavy reliance on air power against an entrenched guerrilla force often fighting from residential areas. Earlier Tuesday, Dan Shomron, a retired lieutenant general who led Israel's military from 1987 to 1991, told the Israeli parliament's defense and foreign affairs committee that the summer war in Lebanon was "run without any goal." "The prime minister instructed the army to halt the rocket fire on Israel, but the army failed to translate it into a military objective," Shomron told the committee, although he did not call on Halutz to step down. Halutz is the third general to resign as a result of the war against Hezbollah, whose performance against Israel's modern military has strengthened its position within Lebanon's fractious political system and drawn praise across the Arab world. Israel relied heavily on the air force to strike at Hezbollah’s rocket launchers, but the Lebanese group was able to continue firing 100 or more rockets daily on northern Israel throughout the war, to the great frustration of the Israelis.
The man, from Salford, was pronounced dead at the scene. Police said the weather had had a "significant effect" on the accident. KENTISH TOWN, NORTH LONDON Two-year-old Saurav Ghai was killed when a wall fell on him. The north-west of England was particularly badly affected Winds of up to 99mph also caused travel disruption, damaged homes and businesses and left thousands of people without power. BRIDGNORTH, SHROPSHIRE An airport chief died after a branch fell on his car. CHESTER, CHESHIRE A German lorry driver was killed when his vehicle overturned on the A55 near Chester's Forte Posthouse hotel. Name Your E-mail address Town & Country Phone number (optional): Comments Are you in the areas affected by the heavy storms? They hit hurricane force in Germany, the worst in nearly a decade. Rail and air passengers still faced some disruption, though most trains were running normally by the afternoon. Many schools were closed on Friday because of damage to buildings or because of power cuts. BAMBER BRIDGE, LANCASHIRE Martin Hunt, 58, was hit by a falling canopy at a petrol station in Bamber Bridge, Lancashire. He was taken to hospital by ambulance suffering from a serious head injury, but was pronounced dead at 1445 GMT. MANCHESTER A 62-year-old man was killed when he was blown into a metal shutter on an industrial estate in the Strangeways area of Manchester. Fire crews cut him free, but he was pronounced dead at the scene on Thursday. Insurers say the repair bill will run into hundreds of millions of pounds. But as the clear-up went on, rail companies had to operate reduced services as debris was cleared from lines, though by mid-afternoon most firms were running normal services, with the Stansted Express and GNER services from London to Scotland via York and Newcastle among the few still affected.
The north-west of England was particularly badly affected Winds of up to 99mph also caused travel disruption, damaged homes and businesses and left thousands of people without power. Insurers say the repair bill will run into hundreds of millions of pounds. KENTISH TOWN, NORTH LONDON Two-year-old Saurav Ghai was killed when a wall fell on him. He was taken to hospital by ambulance suffering from a serious head injury, but was pronounced dead at 1445 GMT. A relative said: "He was a beautiful boy - he was smiling from the day he was born, that's how we will remember him." BRIDGNORTH, SHROPSHIRE An airport chief died after a branch fell on his car. Richard Heard, 49, managing director of Birmingham International Airport, died when a tree branch went through his windscreen. Mr Heard, who leaves behind two daughters aged 18 and 14, had been driving to work at about 0545 GMT on Thursday. His wife Kay paid tribute to Mr Heard as "a caring and loving person - a wonderful husband and father and also my best friend". STREATLEY, BERKSHIRE A 36-year-old man, who was the front-seat passenger in a Ford Fiesta, died when a tree fell on the car on the A329 Reading Road shortly after midday on Thursday. A Thames Valley Police spokesman said on Thursday that the man, from Pangbourne, was pronounced dead at the scene. The driver, who was injured, was being treated at a local hospital, the spokesman added. SKIPTON, NORTH YORKSHIRE High winds blew Christine Doran's lorry off the A629 Christine Doran, 49, of Moston, Manchester, died when her vehicle left the road, overturned and landed part-way in a canal. High winds had blown her lorry off the A629 Skipton western bypass, near the junction with the A59. Ms Doran was certified dead at the scene of the crash by emergency crews. They said the vehicle, which was empty, had been thrown "like a box" from the bridge by the gales. CHESTER, CHESHIRE A German lorry driver was killed when his vehicle overturned on the A55 near Chester's Forte Posthouse hotel. It is thought she had tried to shelter behind the 1.5m (5ft) stone wall in Marple, near Stockport, on Thursday afternoon. A gust of wind toppled the wall on to the woman. She suffered serious injuries in the incident and was pronounced dead at Stepping Hill Hospital, Stockport. MANCHESTER A 62-year-old man was killed when he was blown into a metal shutter on an industrial estate in the Strangeways area of Manchester. BYLEY, CHESHIRE Derek Barley, 61, from Manchester, died after being struck by a tree while working on a construction site in Byley, near Middlewich. KEADBY, LINCOLNSHIRE An elderly man was killed after a shed collapsed in Keadby, near Scunthorpe. Firefighters freed the man who was rushed by ambulance to Scunthorpe General Hospital where he died. A spokeswoman for Humberside Police said: "We can confirm that an elderly male died as a result of injuries sustained when a shed roof collapsed on him during high winds." A spokesman said: "Unfortunately, his condition deteriorated in the early evening, and he subsequently died." WOOFFERTON, SOUTH OF LUDLOW, SHROPSHIRE A lorry driver was killed when his vehicle collided with an oncoming car on the A49 at Woofferton and then plunged down an embankment. Fallen trees left a train stranded overnight in the Czech Republic Aftermath of storms At least six people were reported killed in Poland as winds of more than 200km/h (124mph) were recorded. Late on Friday, high winds reached Russia and Ukraine, with a pipeline carrying Russian oil to the EU via Ukraine being temporarily shut down after power was knocked out. Chart the storm's progress In maps In Germany, the 11 dead included an 18-month-old baby killed by a door that was ripped off its hinges in Munich, while a 73-year-old man died in Augsburg when a barn door fell on him. As the storm moved east, a Polish crane operator in the southern town of Katowice was reported killed when his machinery collapsed, and another died in Zaborow, near Warsaw, when the roof of his house fell in. The disruption came after Berlin's new central station, the biggest rail hub in Europe, was evacuated after the winds tore off a two-tonne steel girder, which crashed 40m (130ft) onto a stairway. Saurav Ghai was killed when a wall fell on him in north London In full: Deaths in storms Saurav Ghai was crushed under the wall in Kentish Town, north-west London, while walking with his childminder.
Now, that can be done. "They cannot get into government and not support the police." The British government has said Sinn Fein support for policing and the DUP's commitment to power-sharing are essential if devolution is to be restored in Northern Ireland. I have always said that no ideology or individual should stand between the public and that service and that the community is entitled to have their public representatives hold this police service to account. About 900 party members voted on the motion at a special party conference (ard fheis) in Dublin which was attended by more than 2,000 people. As Gerry Adams now accepts, nationalist areas need policing. PSNI Chief Constable Sir Hugh Orde also welcomed the move. The tragedy is that it has taken republicans so long to wake up to change and play their last card. SDLP leader Mark Durkan said: "They now need to sign with no ifs or buts. It is vital that we continue to maintain the momentum from the St Andrews agreement and the timetable set out in that agreement. Mr O'Bradaigh has consistently denied that his party is linked to the dissident paramilitary group Continuity IRA (CIRA). You have created the potential to change the political landscape on this island forever Gerry Adams Reaction to the Sinn Fein vote Q&A: The vote Speaking after the vote, Sinn Fein President Gerry Adams said the decision was truly historic. DAVID LIDINGTON, SHADOW NI SECRETARY We welcome this as a step forward. "If the promise and hope of the peace process is to deliver peace and prosperity, that means beginning a real dialogue, an anti-sectarian dialogue, a dialogue which will move us to a real future," he added.
About 900 party members voted on the motion at a special party conference (ard fheis) in Dublin which was attended by more than 2,000 people. A six hour debate was cut short as the leadership forced a vote which was carried with 90% support. The decision gives Sinn Fein's ruling executive the authority to declare its support for the PSNI and the criminal justice system when devolution is restored and policing and justice powers are transferred to the Northern Ireland Assembly. You have created the potential to change the political landscape on this island forever Gerry Adams Reaction to the Sinn Fein vote Q&A: The vote Speaking after the vote, Sinn Fein President Gerry Adams said the decision was truly historic. "Today you have created the potential to change the political landscape on this island forever," he said. "You have created the opportunity to significantly advance our struggle and you have seized the opportunity to further our primary objective of united Ireland through the building of greater political strength." Mr Adams also said that republicanism and unionism had reached an historic compromise. "If the promise and hope of the peace process is to deliver peace and prosperity, that means beginning a real dialogue, an anti-sectarian dialogue, a dialogue which will move us to a real future," he added. A spokesman for Tony Blair said the prime minister welcomed the "historic decision and recognised the leadership it has taken to get to this point". Irish Taoiseach Bertie Ahern said the ballot was a "landmark decision" which opened the way to Northern Ireland power-sharing. He said: "It is vital that we continue to maintain the momentum from the St Andrews agreement and the timetable set out in that agreement." "What had always been a massive impediment to stable and lasting government (in Northern Ireland) has been removed," he said. "Our view has always been that policing is a public service which every member of the community should be able to access on an equal and equitable basis," he said. "I have always said that no ideology or individual should stand between the public and that service and that the community is entitled to have their public representatives hold this police service to account." HAVE YOUR SAY Slowly but surely there is a sign of lasting peace Ciaran Murphy, Belfast Send us your comments "Full political and community support for policing will be for the benefit of the whole community," he added. He said: "The ultimate test of this, because there is no trust in Sinn Fein, is will they deliver on supporting policing before they get into government? "They cannot get into government and not support the police." 'Massive step' Ulster Unionist leader Sir Reg Empey said the move was "a massive step change in the republican psyche". "It is an admission that the violent 'cause' has been abandoned and that Sinn Fein are prepared to support the forces of law and order in this part of the United Kingdom," he added. GERRY ADAMS, SINN FEIN PRESIDENT If we are to make progress as a people, as an island people, then republicans and nationalists and unionists will have to set the terms of our relationship. This means persuading the British government to face up to its responsibilities - and that means the British government leaving Ireland. I have always said that no ideology or individual should stand between the public and that service and that the community is entitled to have their public representatives hold this police service to account. I recognise and pay tribute to the courage and determination of people both inside and outside the police service who have enabled us to arrive at this moment. Sinn Fein's Martin McGuinness said on Thursday that the police had warned him of new threats to his life. On Thursday night, Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams told republicans in Londonderry that if the party did support policing it would be to "put manners" on the PSNI. He was addressing more than 1,000 people at the party's last rally ahead of this weekend's special ard fheis (conference) on policing to be held in Dublin.
That confidence, however, is not universal. "It's almost like it will be extinguished from this earth." NEW ORLEANS, Jan. 11 -- Angry homeowners screamed and City Council members seethed Wednesday as this city's recovery commission recommended imposing a four-month building moratorium on most of New Orleans and creating a powerful new authority that could use eminent domain to seize homes in neighborhoods that will not be rebuilt. Advertisement Continue reading the main story People who rebuild in those areas will be forced to leave, according to the proposal. But Mr. Canizaro said the prospect of a fortified flood control system, promised by the Bush administration, made him confident that the city would not suffer the same devastation from a storm similar to Hurricane Katrina. Severely damaged areas must prove their viability Residents and officials including urban planners, historic preservation experts and environmental health consultants will work together to produce a redevelopment plan. Nguyen did not bother to pick one up. The report recommends that reconstruction can begin there immediately under existing planning regulations. "Give me a break: We don't need a light-rail system. The Bush administration has promised some $3.1bn (£1.7bn) towards repairs and limited improvements of flood defences over the next few years. Mindful that Bush will have a tremendous influence on how much money finds its way to Louisiana, Beckham displayed some of the president's pledges on large screens. "Every neighborhood in New Orleans will not be able to come back safe." The city is also waiting on the Federal Emergency Management Agency to determine base elevation levels required before flood insurance can be issued.
NEW ORLEANS, Jan. 11 -- Angry homeowners screamed and City Council members seethed Wednesday as this city's recovery commission recommended imposing a four-month building moratorium on most of New Orleans and creating a powerful new authority that could use eminent domain to seize homes in neighborhoods that will not be rebuilt. Hundreds of residents packed into a hotel ballroom interrupted the presentation of the long-awaited proposal with shouts and taunts, booed its main architect and unrolled a litany of complaints. One by one, homeowners stepped to a microphone to lampoon the plan -- which contemplates a much smaller city and relies on persuading the federal government to spend billions on new housing and a light-rail system -- as "audacious," "an academic exercise," "garbage," "a no-good, rotten scheme." "You missed the boat," homeowner Fred Yoder, who lived in heavily flooded Lakeview, told committee members. The plan released Wednesday is the first stage of what is sure to be a multi-layered, multi-level effort to resuscitate New Orleans. Mayor C. Ray Nagin, who can accept or alter the proposal, will have to present the plan to a state commission that will control allocation of billions of federal dollars, as well as to Donald E. Powell, President Bush's hurricane recovery coordinator, and the White House. The commission's recommendations are heavily dependent on federal money, counting on $12 billion to buy storm-damaged homes and $4.8 billion for infrastructure improvements, including an ambitious light-rail proposal to connect downtown New Orleans with the city's airport, Baton Rouge and the Mississippi Gulf Coast. The furious reaction to the plan is the latest agonizing episode in this city's troubled campaign to reinvigorate itself after the devastating floods caused by Hurricane Katrina last August. Nagin, already politically weakened by widespread criticism of his response to the flooding, now faces the difficult challenge of guiding decisions about whether some parts of the city will cease to exist. Some activists have long accused the commission -- which was appointed by Nagin -- of trying to find ways to abandon predominantly black neighborhoods, such as the Lower Ninth Ward. Wednesday's unveiling did nothing to assuage their fears, even though commission members promised to give all neighborhoods an opportunity to prove that they should be rebuilt by convening planning groups in coming months. The proposed moratorium would be in the city's most damaged neighborhoods, and officials would use the four-month period to gauge whether enough residents will come back to make the areas viable. "If this plan goes forward as it is, many people's worst fears about our African American heritage and population will come true," said Sue Sperry of the New Orleans Preservation Resource Center. "It's almost like it will be extinguished from this earth." Within minutes of the plan's unveiling, Nagin was already showing signs that he might back away from the commission's most controversial proposal. At least two of the commission's proposals -- the creation of the Crescent City Rebuilding Authority to buy flood-damaged homes and the implementation of a master redevelopment plan -- will require changes to the city charter, a prospect sure to be contentious because of the mayor's long-standing animosities with the New Orleans City Council. The city is also waiting on the Federal Emergency Management Agency to determine base elevation levels required before flood insurance can be issued. Despite the hurdles ahead, the commission urged fast action on a broad set of recommendations, including stronger levees and a restructured school system. John Beckham, a consultant who helped devise the plan, urged residents to "imagine the best city in the world." Beckham -- who declined repeated requests Wednesday to identify the private foundation that hired him to draw up the plan for the commission -- told the audience that New Orleans could have "a park in every neighborhood," "a bustling downtown" and a city connected by bike paths and public transportation systems. Beckham was introduced by the commission's urban planning chairman, Joseph C. Canizaro, a real estate developer and major fundraiser for Bush, who chuckled when he was booed by some in attendance. Mindful that Bush will have a tremendous influence on how much money finds its way to Louisiana, Beckham displayed some of the president's pledges on large screens. The commission's recovery plan anticipates a city that will be only a fraction of its pre-Katrina size of nearly half a million residents. The City Council, which has clashed with Nagin repeatedly -- most recently trying to use zoning laws to block sites he selected for temporary housing trailers -- has effectively been cut out of the power loop in the recovery process and does not have authority over the recovery plan. Before the commission's report had even been announced, five City Council members -- responding to leaks of the plan's main components to the city's influential newspaper, the Times-Picayune -- held a news conference to condemn the committee in the same hotel where the recovery plan was to be unveiled. Council member Jackie Brechtel Clarkson called the proposal "a blatant violation of property rights." "I think it's unprecedented in America," said Clarkson, who is also a real estate agent. "We have 700, 800 families already returned, ready to gut and fix their houses." But ultimately, the areas that fail to attract a critical mass of residents in 12 months will probably not survive as residential neighborhoods, Mr. Canizaro said, and are likely to end up as marshland as the city's population declines and its footprint shrinks. Assuming the commission's recommendations are formally adopted by Mayor C. Ray Nagin, the plan will defer for a year one of the most contentious issues in the city's struggle to recover from the flooding that followed the hurricane: the fate of the most heavily damaged and flood-prone neighborhoods. Some civic leaders who had hoped the mayor's panel, the 17-member Bring Back New Orleans Commission, would take a firm stand on the issue expressed disappointment. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Andy Kopplin, executive director of the state commission, declined to comment on the specifics of the city's report, which "hasn't been formally presented to us."
he asked. However, it is still Iraqi militant groups, not the Iranians, who, in the end, use the weapons against U.S. forces. "There should be no foreigners in Iraq. The intelligence analyst at the briefing said there was no involvement by the Iraqi government at any level. Why should we be afraid?" Advertisement Continue reading the main story Mr. Ahmadinejad brushed off the possibility of a military strike by the Untied States against Iran. Earlier Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad Ali Hosseini had called the US allegations baseless propaganda. The officials would not go further than that to associate the leader of the powerful Shi'a militia to Iran. Sadr is the highest-profile and likely the most effective single opponent of the American presence in Iraq. Our nation has made it clear that anyone who wants to attack our country will be severely punished.” But he is also a power broker in Iraq's government and a key supporter of the Iraqi prime minister. “Such accusations cannot be relied upon or be presented as evidence,” he said. Such explosively-formed penetrators (EFPs) have killed 170 U.S. troops and wounded 620 more since the spring of 2004. Please re-enter. “I think that Americans have made a mistake in Iraq and unfortunately are losing, and this is a shame for Americans of course, and that’s why they are trying to point their fingers to other people, and pointing fingers to others will not solve the problem,” he said. The United States has accused Iran of having a secret nuclear weapons program and of arming Shiite militants in Iraq. 'Baseless propaganda' In the interview with ABC Television in Tehran, Mr Ahmadinejad was asked if he feared a US military attack.
There should be no foreign troops in Iraq, the president said Interview clip Mr Ahmadinejad made the comments in a rare US television interview on Monday. He was speaking after US officials said they had evidence Iran was providing weapons to Shia militias in Iraq who were attacking the US military. Mr Ahmadinejad said Iran "shied away from all conflict" and that no peace would come with foreign troops in Iraq. 'Baseless propaganda' In the interview with ABC Television in Tehran, Mr Ahmadinejad was asked if he feared a US military attack. "Fear? Mr Ahmadinejad said he thought the possibility of such an attack was "very low". The US is following another policy, trying to hide its defeats and failures and that's why it is pointing its fingers to others Mahmoud Ahmadinejad Ahmadinejad excerpts "We think there are wise people in the US who would stop such illegal actions," he said. And he stressed that Iran's position was clear, saying, "Anyone who wants to attack our country will be severely punished." The Bush administration denies it is planning to invade Iran but has indicated it is willing to use military force to deal with any Iranian interference inside Iraq. He said the accusations were "excuses to prolong the stay" of US forces and that they would need a "court to prove the case". "The US is following another policy, trying to hide its defeats and failures and that's why it is pointing its fingers to others," Mr Ahmadinejad said. Democratic Senator Chris Dodd said the Bush administration had tried to falsify evidence before, and it would be a mistake to create a premise for future military action. On Monday, White House spokesman Tony Snow reiterated that the administration believed the weaponry was coming directly with Iranian government approval. And a spokesman for UK Prime Minister Tony Blair said: "We keep finding the weaponry which we don't believe to be sourced from anywhere else." “I think that Americans have made a mistake in Iraq and unfortunately are losing, and this is a shame for Americans of course, and that’s why they are trying to point their fingers to other people, and pointing fingers to others will not solve the problem,” he said. Such charges are unacceptable.” Tensions between Iran and the United States have increased in recent months over Iran’s nuclear program and its role in Iraq. Iran says that its nuclear program is for peaceful energy purposes and that it favors stability in Iraq. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Iran, which is governed by Shiite clerics and like Iraq has a Shiite majority, has close ties with Iraqi Shiites, many of whom lived in Iran in exile when Saddam Hussein was in power in Baghdad. “We are opposed to any conflict and also the presence of foreign forces in Iraq,” he said, “and that’s why we are opposed to the Americans.” Advertisement Continue reading the main story As for American assertions that serial numbers linked weapons in Iraq to their origins in Iran, he seemed unconcerned, suggesting that there was more overt evidence of American force in Iraq. Advertisement Continue reading the main story “I can give you figures and numbers, which are known: more than 160,000 American troops are in Iraq,” he said, adding, “What are they doing in Iraq?” Mr. Ahmadinejad also referred obliquely to American raids in Baghdad and the northern city of Erbil in which Iranian officials were picked up and accused of working with extremist groups to plan attacks on American and Iraqi forces. “It was childish for the U.S. government to do something like that to arrest defenseless people,” he said. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Mr. Ahmadinejad brushed off the possibility of a military strike by the Untied States against Iran. Such explosively-formed penetrators (EFPs) have killed 170 U.S. troops and wounded 620 more since the spring of 2004. But the reason for the break from standard procedure, the officials said, was the origin of the EFPs: the weapons, they claimed, are produced in Iran and smuggled into Iraq by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps' (IRGC) elite al-Quds Force. And yet, the officials at the briefing (who declined to be named but who included an intelligence analyst and an explosives expert) were at pains to distance themselves from what one called the "tremendous hype" in Washington an apparent reference to recent U.S. claims of Iranian involvement in Iraq, which some fear might be a prelude to aggressive action against Tehran.
Booked: Agger, Kuyt, Sissoko, Bellamy. John Arne Riise celebrates Liverpool's winner Bellamy had already escaped the Barcelona defence once to nod Gerrard's free-kick against the side-netting and he was soon at it again. Chelsea: Cech, Diarra, Terry (Robben 14), Carvalho, Bridge, Essien, Makelele, Ballack, Lampard, Shevchenko (Kalou 88), Drogba, Robben (Mikel 47). So it was no real surprise when the home side took the lead on 14 minutes. But an attacking Barca line-up - with Javier Saviola flanked up front by Ronaldinho and Lionel Messi - were soon into their stride. Goals: Deco 14. Porto's Ricardo Quaresma also struck a post, but neither side found a winner. Uefa rejected their initial protest and a subsequent appeal so the French club considered taking their protest to the Court of Arbitration of Sport. That played into Liverpool's hands and another Valdes error gave them their first chance of the second half when he picked up a back-pass with 20 minutes left. Lille were eliminated from the Champions League on Wednesday, with United completing a 2-0 aggregate victory. The keeper saved Gerrard's shot with his feet and was glad to see Kuyt head over when Alonso swiftly sent over an inviting cross. Goals: Raul Meireles 12. First Saviola shot wide after getting past Carragher, then Jose Reina had to make a good low save to deny Deco after he had ghosted on to Messi's through ball. The last 16 first-leg clash got off to the worst possible start for Chelsea when influential skipper Terry went over on his right ankle and could not continue.
Lille appeared to consider walking off in protest The French side were angry that Ryan Giggs' free-kick was allowed to stand to give United a 1-0 advantage. Uefa rejected their initial protest and a subsequent appeal so the French club considered taking their protest to the Court of Arbitration of Sport. But on Friday Lille, who also lost the second leg 1-0, announced they would not be taking their appeal any further. A statement on the club's official website said: "In order not to sink into relentless legal proceedings with no end in sight, (we) have taken the decision not to pursue its appeals to the Court of Arbitration for Sport." Uefa also charged Lille with the improper behaviour of their players, who appeared to contemplate leaving the pitch in protest at United's goal. On an incident-filled evening, United fans were involved in a crush scare in the Stade Felix-Bollaert and Uefa's control and disciplinary body will discuss the safety and security issues on 22 March. By Chris Bevan Craig Bellamy celebrated his goal by imitating a golf swing Deco nodded Barca in front from Gianluca Zambrotta's precise cross. But Liverpool dug in and they levelled when Barca keeper Victor Valdes let Bellamy's header creep over the line. Barca poured men forward but the Reds took the lead when Bellamy teed up Riise to fire home and they held on to win despite seeing Deco hit the post. The pre-match headlines had been all about an alleged training camp fracas between Bellamy and Riise - but both were in Liverpool's starting line-up and instantly linked up as the Reds made a confident start to the game. Inside the first four minutes Steven Gerrard released Riise and his driven cross from the left was only just too strong for the Welshman. But an attacking Barca line-up - with Javier Saviola flanked up front by Ronaldinho and Lionel Messi - were soon into their stride. So it was no real surprise when the home side took the lead on 14 minutes. Zambrotta escaped Gerrard on the left and, with Riise napping, his cross found Deco on his own at the far post to score with a bullet header. It almost got worse for Rafa Benitez's side as Barcelona looked to press home their advantage. The Reds had no answer to the home side's quick incisive passing that gave them two more chances in quick succession. First Saviola shot wide after getting past Carragher, then Jose Reina had to make a good low save to deny Deco after he had ghosted on to Messi's through ball. But Liverpool rode the storm and two minutes before half-time they were handed an unlikely route back into the game. Much has been made of Barca's recent defensive vulnerability and it reared its head again here, thanks to a disastrous mistake by goalkeeper Victor Valdes. John Arne Riise celebrates Liverpool's winner Bellamy had already escaped the Barcelona defence once to nod Gerrard's free-kick against the side-netting and he was soon at it again. The Wales striker was all on his own to meet Steve Finnan's cross and, although Valdes caught the ball, he carried it over the line before pushing it back out. Dirk Kuyt followed up to make absolutely sure of the equaliser but it was not a surprise to see Bellamy claim the goal after his turbulent week - and he celebrated it with a golf swing. Frank Rijkaard's side seemed to run out of ideas and, in the absence of any clear gameplan, settled for sending more men forward. That played into Liverpool's hands and another Valdes error gave them their first chance of the second half when he picked up a back-pass with 20 minutes left. The keeper saved Gerrard's shot with his feet and was glad to see Kuyt head over when Alonso swiftly sent over an inviting cross. Reina saved well from Saviola and, when Liverpool came forward again, Valdes denied Kuyt - but the ball fell for Bellamy who fed Riise to sweep the ball home. But, in truth, it was Porto that edged an eventful opening half, with Petr Cech brilliantly denying Lisandro Lopez and Ricardo Quaresma twice going close - the second time striking the woodwork with a delightful effort with the outside of his boot. Strangely, Porto also decided to opt for safety first, with defender Marek Cech replacing goalscorer Meireles and, as a result, the second half failed to live up to the quality of the first.
"It is a matter of concern," he said. In 2005, Iran's Russian-made satellite was put into orbit by a Russian rocket. Bahrami provided no other details beyond saying that Iran had successfully launched what he called a space rocket or space missile. But officials later said it was for research and would not go into orbit. The latest launch - if confirmed - comes at a time of mounting tension between Tehran and the West over Iran's controversial nuclear programme. Science and Technology Minister Mohammad Soleimani said Sunday that Iran would speed up its space program, the official IRNA news agency reported. It also hopes to expand its satellite capabilities to let Internet users to rise to 35 million from 5.5 million in the next five years. But shortly afterwards Iranian military officials said they were preparing a satellite launch vehicle of their own, and last month they announced they were ready to test it soon. But it has revealed little information about the project. The announcement, made on state-run television, was unclear, but appeared to refer to Iran's efforts to launch commercial satellites into orbit. It would not remain in orbit but could rise to about 150km (94 miles) before a parachute-assisted descent to Earth. The five permanent members of the UN Security Council and Germany are due to meet on Monday to discuss the possibility of more sanctions over the nuclear issue. Ahmadinejad has claimed Iran's right to nuclear technology It quoted the head of Iran's aerospace research centre, Mohsen Bahrami, as saying that "the rocket was carrying material intended for research created by the ministries of science and defence".
But officials later said it was for research and would not go into orbit. Experts say if Iran has fired a rocket into space it would cause alarm abroad as it would mean scientists had crossed important technological barriers. Iran has made little secret of its desire to become a space power and already has a satellite in orbit launched by the Russians. The latest launch - if confirmed - comes at a time of mounting tension between Tehran and the West over Iran's controversial nuclear programme. The five permanent members of the UN Security Council and Germany are due to meet on Monday to discuss the possibility of more sanctions over the nuclear issue. On Sunday, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad delivered another defiant speech insisting there is no going back on Iran's nuclear programme. Iran's potential nuclear military programme, combined with an advanced missile capability, would destabilise the region Sir Richard Dalton, former UK ambassador to Iran One of his deputy foreign ministers, Manouchehr Mohammadi, said they had prepared themselves for any situation arising from the issue, even for war. Meanwhile, foreign ministers from seven Muslim states meeting in Pakistan have called for a diplomatic solution to the "dangerous" stand-off. "It is vital that all issues must be resolved through diplomacy and there must be no resort to use of force," said a statement issued after talks involving ministers from Egypt, Indonesia, Jordan, Malaysia, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkey. Missile technology Iranian TV broke the news of the reported test saying: "The first space rocket has been successfully launched into space." Ahmadinejad has claimed Iran's right to nuclear technology It quoted the head of Iran's aerospace research centre, Mohsen Bahrami, as saying that "the rocket was carrying material intended for research created by the ministries of science and defence". However, Ali Akbar Golrou, executive director of the same facility, was later quoted by Fars news agency as saying the craft launched by was a sub-orbital rocket for scientific research. "What was announced by the head of the research centre was the news of launching this sounding rocket," Mr Golrou said. No pictures of the reported launch have been shown on Iranian state TV, and no Western countries have confirmed tracking any such test-firing. Some Western diplomats suspect Iran may have backtracked on the announcement when it realised what negative publicity this would bring at a sensitive time, says the BBC's Frances Harrison in Tehran. The reports come a day after Iran's Defence Minister spoke of plans to build a satellite launcher and join the space club. Also, an Iranian official quoted in Aviation Week earlier this month said Iran would soon test a new satellite launcher. Britain's former ambassador to Iran, Sir Richard Dalton, told the BBC that, if confirmed, such a launch could destabilise the Middle East. "Iran's potential nuclear military programme, combined with an advanced missile capability, would destabilise the region, and of course if there were a bomb that could be placed on the end of this missile, it would be in breach of Iran's obligations under the non-proliferation treaty." Military experts believe that if Iran has sent a rocket into space it means scientists have mastered the technology needed to cross the atmospheric barrier. In practice, they say, that means there is no technological block to Iran building longer range missiles now, something that will be of great international concern. But shortly afterwards Iranian military officials said they were preparing a satellite launch vehicle of their own, and last month they announced they were ready to test it soon. Special report: Iran Nuclear Crisis TEHRAN, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) -- Iran on Sunday successfully launched its first rocket into space with the purpose of research, the state-run television reported. Mohsen Bahrami, the head of Iran's aerospace research center, was quoted as saying by the TV that "the first space rocket has been successfully launched into space", adding "materials created by the Science and Technology and Defense ministries for research use was on the rocket." A top Iranian lawmaker last month had said Iran would soon test-launch its rocket into space, and disclosed that the country wanted to launch more home-made satellites with commercial purpose. Iran's Sunday launch of rocket came at a time of escalating tensions between Tehran and the West as Iran refused to heed the UN Security Council's Feb. 21 deadline to stop its uranium enrichment activities. Tehran has rejected such allegations, insisting on its "inalienable right" for peaceful nuclear energy.
So far, officials said, there's no threat to public drinking water. Thousands of gallons of a toxic chemical spilled into the Ohio River between Illinois and Kentucky after a barge hit a lock wall, environmental officials said Wednesday. "Any spill is serious. Lt. Wayne Chapman of the U.S. Coast Guard said the barge, owned by Kirby Marine, hit the wicket dam, which is a type of movable dam, near Brookport and began leaking cumene, a solvent used to produce other chemicals. ... but my answer would be that there would not be a risk to human health." State park closed As a precaution, local authorities had also requested the closure of Fort Massac State Park, near the spill site, Illinois Emergency Management Agency spokeswoman Patti Thompson. The damaged barge remains on the river, with traffic limited to one direction for a mile in either direction of the vessel. Maggie Carson of the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency told CNN's Fredricka Whitfield that experts are trying to determine the environmental impact of the spill. The lower Ohio River has reopened to barge traffic after being shut for more than 12 hours due to a tow boat hitting a lock and a barge leaking a petrochemical into the waterway, the U.S. Coast Guard said on Thursday. Company spokesman Mark Buese downplayed the severity of the incident, saying the spill should not pose a health risk to area residents. He said no one was injured in the accident and that its cause was under investigation. Breathing cumene can cause headaches and dizziness and irritate the eyes, nose and throat; it also can be damaging to animals directly exposed to it.
The lower Ohio River has reopened to barge traffic after being shut for more than 12 hours due to a tow boat hitting a lock and a barge leaking a petrochemical into the waterway, the U.S. Coast Guard said on Thursday. REUTERS/Graphic CHICAGO The lower Ohio River has reopened to barge traffic after being shut for more than 12 hours due to a tow boat hitting a lock and a barge leaking a petrochemical into the waterway, the U.S. Coast Guard said on Thursday. The stretch of the river near Brookport, Illinois, reopened around 10:30 p.m. CST Wednesday (0430 GMT Thursday), said Lt. Wayne Chapman at the Marine Safety Unit in Paducah, Kentucky. The closure was from mile marker 938 to 940. The barge was carrying 960,000 gallons of cumene or isopropylbenzene, a colorless liquid used in paint thinners, motor fuels and rubber. The closure did not greatly affect the flow of grain or petroleum on the waterway, traders said. The damaged barge remains on the river, with traffic limited to one direction for a mile in either direction of the vessel. About 10,300 gallons of cumene leaked into the river, but further contamination was not expected, Chapman said. Story Highlights • A barge hit an underwater dam, Coast Guard said • There's no threat to public drinking water, officials said • Cumene, a solvent used to produce other chemicals, was spilled • Experts determining the environmental impact of the spill Adjust font size: BROOKPORT, Illinois (CNN) -- As many as 8,000 gallons of a toxic solvent spilled into the Ohio River Wednesday after a barge hit an underwater dam, Coast Guard and Illinois state officials told CNN. Lt. Wayne Chapman of the U.S. Coast Guard said the barge, owned by Kirby Marine, hit the wicket dam, which is a type of movable dam, near Brookport and began leaking cumene, a solvent used to produce other chemicals. So far, officials said, there's no threat to public drinking water. Water intake stations along the river have not reported finding the chemical in their systems, Chapman said. Maggie Carson of the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency told CNN's Fredricka Whitfield that experts are trying to determine the environmental impact of the spill. "There's a tremendous volume of water going through there, so there's a dilution factor, and this will be taken into consideration as they try to take measures to contain it," she said. Thousands of gallons of a toxic chemical spilled into the Ohio River between Illinois and Kentucky after a barge hit a lock wall, environmental officials said Wednesday. Company says little human risk The company that owns the barge, Houston-based Kirby Inland Marine said the barge hit a guide wall of a lock Tuesday night. State park closed As a precaution, local authorities had also requested the closure of Fort Massac State Park, near the spill site, Illinois Emergency Management Agency spokeswoman Patti Thompson.
"When the conditions are met, the Democratic Unionist Party is ready," he said. Mr Hain met Sinn Fein on Friday and is to meet the DUP. Meanwhile, UK Unionist Party leader Bob McCartney has lost his North Down seat in the Northern Ireland Assembly election. "It's a really good achievement and I'm glad that it's happened," he added. In third place in first preferences, the SDLP received 15.2% of first preferences, the Ulster Unionists 14.9% and Alliance 5.2%. Tony Blair and Bertie Ahern speaking in Brussels Mr Hain said it was up to the parties to decide if they would sign up to power-sharing by the 26 March deadline. He added: "People want to see elected politicians deliver on issues that matter to Northern Ireland." The talks come as the British and Irish prime ministers urged political leaders not to miss an opportunity of "historic proportions" to restore power-sharing. He secured just 1806 votes and was eliminated on the seventh count. Direct rule has been in place since that date. "That is for local politicians who sought a mandate to execute that mandate in the institutions of the Good Friday Agreement." Mr Wilson, a member of Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth, joined the Green Party three years ago. Get the latest results and live coverage by clicking on this link A full results service is also available on Ceefax page 190. Tony Blair said the election was called on the understanding that a devolved government would be established. "Our commitment to devolution and a functioning executive has been made clear in the election campaign.
Brian Wilson said he was thrilled to be elected The party's NI chairperson Brian Wilson was elected in the North Down constituency on the 10th count after polling 2,839 first preference votes. Mr Wilson has been a councillor on North Down Borough Council since 1981, representing Alliance, then as an independent, before joining the Greens. He said he was thrilled "to have the opportunity of pushing forward Green Party policy in the assembly". "We are one of the youngest political parties in Northern Ireland but these elections have shown the level of support out there for our policies, and how quickly this support is growing. Irish Green Party leader Trevor Sargent, a member of the Irish parliament, said Mr Wilson's election was a breakthrough for the party in the whole of Ireland. "Brian's election, which resulted from extensive cross-community support, means that there is now Green representation at every level of political power on this island," Mr Sargent said. Mr Wilson, a member of Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth, joined the Green Party three years ago. Tony Blair and Bertie Ahern speaking in Brussels Mr Hain said it was up to the parties to decide if they would sign up to power-sharing by the 26 March deadline. The talks come as the British and Irish prime ministers urged political leaders not to miss an opportunity of "historic proportions" to restore power-sharing. "I think the parties that have been successful can take charge in Northern Ireland." Mr Blair said the electorate had shown "real leadership" by signalling that they wanted "genuine power-sharing". Questioned on whether the March 26 deadline for striking a devolution deal was final, Mr Blair responded: "The date's there and the reason it was called is so people would go into government." Mr Ahern said it was the "first time Northern Ireland's been able to have that kind of election on the kind of issues the PM and I deal with every day". "It's a really good achievement and I'm glad that it's happened," he added. Sinn Fein has warned that failure to meet the deadline means that the British and Irish governments must implement their plan of increased cross border co-operation. Party president Gerry Adams told a press conference: "We look to both governments to accept what the people overwhelmingly voted for yesterday, which is for local politicians who sought a mandate to exercise that mandate in the institutions of the Good Friday Agreement." Speaking after meeting Mr Adams and Martin McGuinness, Mr Hain said Northern Ireland's politicians had reached a point where they must either "put up or shut up" over the return of devolved government. He said: "It is either a functioning executive with powers devolved on March 26 or it's dissolution and the politicians stop getting paid, Stormont closes down and we pack up Northern Ireland politics, maybe for years to come. "I will be writing to the party leaders and to the new elected MLAs later today explaining what the St Andrews legislation means because some seem unaware of it." NI Secretary Peter Hain said time was critical He was speaking on the second day of counting in the Northern Ireland Assembly elections. The DUP and Sinn Fein have taken more than half the first preference votes between them in the assembly election. Mr Hain warned the assembly would close if the parties did not sign up to power sharing in the next two weeks. Earlier on Friday, prime ministers Tony Blair and Bertie Ahern said in a joint statement that voters in Northern Ireland had issued a clear message they want devolved government back. As a second day of counting got under way, the premiers said: "Restoration of the devolved institutions represents an opportunity of historic proportions." Ulster Unionist leader Sir Reg Empey said he would have liked more seats but respected the electorate's decision. Speaking at the count in North Down, she said her party's vote management had been "woeful, to put it mildly", and added that she had "a lot to think about".
It was unclear what they were doing in the mine. The mine, at Novokuznetsk, was opened in 2002 and had modern equipment, regional officials said. Russia's coal mines have a poor safety record. A methane blast at a Kemerovo coal mine killed 21 miners in 2005. It occurred at 1030 (0730 GMT) on Monday, at a depth of about 270m (885 feet). Are you in the area? "There was a bang and smoke then the rescuers came," survivor Alexei Loboda told Russian TV. Name: Email address: Town and Country: Phone number (optional): Comments: The BBC may edit your comments and cannot guarantee that all emails will be published. A UK engineer was also among the dead. The accident occurred at the Ulyanovskaya mine in Kemerovo region about 11:16 a.m. Moscow time (4:16 a.m. A special investigative team was sent to the disaster site, the ministry said. Emergencies Minister Sergei Shoigu was sent to the area by President Vladimir Putin to oversee the rescue operation. Associated Press contributed to this report. He said that after getting as many people out as possible, the priority was to ensure that fire did not break out. Kemerovo Governor Aman Tuleyev was quoted as saying the explosion occurred after a rockslide caused methane gas to build up in part of the huge mine. Russian mines suffered from the loss of state subsidies after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. One more body was recovered late on Tuesday at the Ulyanovskaya mine, and officials said the search for the three still missing was proving difficult.
Mines in Siberia's Kuzbass coal area have suffered from underfunding Attempts to rescue three Russian coal miners trapped underground are continuing, after an explosion killed 107 people at a Siberian pit on Monday. One more body was recovered late on Tuesday at the Ulyanovskaya mine, and officials said the search for the three still missing was proving difficult. Some 93 people were rescued from the mine, devastated by a methane blast. Virtually the whole of the mine's management died in the explosion. Rescuers described a scene of utter devastation, with collapsed and flooded mineshafts and bodies ripped apart. The BBC's Rupert Wingfield-Hayes in Moscow says it is Russia's worst mining disaster for a generation. Russian mines suffered from the loss of state subsidies after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. However, the mine in question was only built a few years ago and had just had a new safety system installed. The mine is run by Yuzhkuzbassugol, an affiliate of Russian coal and steel firm Evraz Group SA. It lies in the Kuzbass coal area in Kemerovo region, nearly 3,000km (1,850 miles) east of Moscow. Obstacles At a temporary morgue on the edge of the forest, distraught relatives gathered in the freezing cold to identify the bodies. The governor of Kemerovo province, Aman Tuleyev, said 20 members of the mine's management team were among the dead, including the facility's chief engineer and chief mechanic. Russia's mine safety woes "Today we were to launch at this mine an English system to ensure the secure mine work underground," he said. Mr Tuleyev's spokesman Sergei Cheremnov said the search was "very difficult" as there was "bad ventilation, flooding and a lot of destruction". Officials said rescuers were working by hand, and divers had been sent into flooded parts. Rescuers also reported smoke, pockets of gas and collapsed roofs. There were thought to be about 200 miners working in the mine when the methane exploded. "There was a bang and smoke then the rescuers came," survivor Alexei Loboda told Russian TV. Modern mine Many of Russia's mines have poor safety standards and have not been updated since the fall of communism. A methane blast at a Kemerovo coal mine killed 21 miners in 2005. But the Ulyanovskaya mine was opened only four-and-a-half years ago and Governor Tuleyev said the mine had been fitted with modern equipment. Mr Putin has declared Wednesday a day of mourning for victims of the mine disaster, as well as of Tuesday's fire at an old people's home in the southern Krasnodar region and Saturday's plane crash in Samara, central Russia. E-mail this to a friend Printable version Bookmark with: Delicious Digg reddit Facebook StumbleUpon What are these? Rescuers are racing against time to reach trapped miners They said 83 miners, several of them injured, had been rescued after the blast at the mine, nearly 3,000km (1,850 miles) east of Moscow. About 200 miners were believed to be underground at the time, and more than 40 are still trapped, officials said. Russia's coal mines have a poor safety record. A methane blast at a Kemerovo coal mine killed 21 miners in 2005. The blast happened at 1030 Moscow time (0730 GMT) at the Ulyanovskaya mine in Kemerovo region. Kemerovo Governor Aman Tuleyev was quoted as saying the explosion occurred after a rockslide caused methane gas to build up in part of the huge mine. According to Reuters news agency, rescue work was being hampered by thick smoke and roof collapses in horizontal shafts stretching for up to 5km. Russia's coal mines are largely unprofitable and many have not invested in new safety equipment since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. Story Highlights • About 200 miners were inside the mine when the blast occurred • Accident occurred at the Ulyanovskaya mine in Kemerovo region • A special investigative team is on its way to the site of the disaster Adjust font size: MOSCOW, Russia (CNN) -- At least 75 miners are dead, a number that could rise, and at least 43 are missing after a methane gas explosion Monday at a coal mine in southwestern Siberia, the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations said.
Use of that ingredient, which was not named, has been discontinued, it said. The wet-style pet food was made by Menu Foods, a Mississauga-based company. Menu Foods told the FDA it received the first complaints of kidney failure and deaths among cats and dogs from pet owners on Feb. 20. "Now I feel so guilty," she says, "because I'm the one who brought him the food and if I hadn't fed it to him he'd still be laying on the couch in the sun." FINANCIAL IMPACT Menu Foods estimates the recall will cost it between C$30 million ($25.6 million) and C$40 million ($34 million). Tuite told AP earlier that the recalled products were made using wheat gluten purchased from a new supplier, which has since been dropped. Forty to 50 animals were tested. The recall now covers dog food sold throughout North America under 51 brands and cat food sold under 40 brands, including Iams, Nutro and Eukanuba. Norrif took Robin to the veterinarian on March 5. "We're trying to find out whether or not that company may have supplied other companies," Sundlof said. An animal could be in trouble if it: Stops eating Appears tired and lifeless Seems excessively thirsty Urinates much more than usual Vomits Has diarrhea Seems to have abdominal pain Source: The FDA; veterinarian Laurie Miller of the Hope Center for Advanced Veterinary Medicine in Vienna, Va. Digg del.icio.us Newsvine Reddit Facebook Federal regulators said Monday that contaminated wheat gluten is the most likely source of deaths in a large pet food recall, and that it is investigating whether other pet food makers got wheat gluten from the same supplier.
WASHINGTON – As many as one in six animals died in tests of suspect dog and cat food by the Canadian manufacturer after complaints were received that the products were poisoning pets around the United States, the U.S. government said today. A federal investigation is focusing on wheat gluten as the likely source of contamination that sparked a recall last Friday of 60 million cans and pouches of the suspect food, said Stephen F. Sundlof, the Food and Drug Administration's top veterinarian. The ingredient, a protein source, is commonly used as filler. The wet-style pet food was made by Menu Foods, a Mississauga-based company. Menu Foods told the FDA it received the first complaints of kidney failure and deaths among cats and dogs from pet owners on Feb. 20. During those tests, the company fed its product to 40 to 50 dogs and cats and some seven animals – the mix of species was not immediately known – died, Sundlof said. The contamination appeared more deadly to cats than to dogs, he said. The recall now covers dog food sold throughout North America under 51 brands and cat food sold under 40 brands, including Iams, Nutro and Eukanuba. The food was sold under both store and major brand labels at Wal-Mart, Kroger, Safeway and other large retailers. The FDA has yet to tally how many reports it has received of cats and dogs suffering kidney failure or death. The company has reported just 10 deaths, of nine cats and a single dog. "We are still trying to find out what the true picture is out there of animals. We're talking about 1 per cent of the pet food (supply) and it's really just impossible to extrapolate at this point," Sundlof said. Menu Foods spokeswoman Sarah Tuite told Associated Press Radio that the company was "still trying to figure out the cause.'' "We're testing and testing, but we can't identify the problem in the product," Tuite said. Other companies – Nestle Purina PetCare Co., Procter & Gamble and Hill's Pet Nutrition Inc. – said that as a precaution they were voluntarily recalling some products made by Menu Foods. A complete list of the recalled products along with product codes, descriptions and production dates was available from the Menu Foods Web site, http://www.menufoods.com/recall . The company became aware of a potential problem after it received an undisclosed number of owner complaints that dogs and cats were vomiting and suffering kidney failure after eating its products. Tuite told AP earlier that the recalled products were made using wheat gluten purchased from a new supplier, which has since been dropped. Wheat gluten itself wouldn't cause kidney failure, leading FDA investigators to suspect contamination by other substances, including heavy metals like cadmium and lead or fungal toxins. Aflatoxin, a corn fungus, sparked a 2005 dog food recall. The new recall covers the company's "cuts and gravy" style food, which consists of chunks of meat in gravy, sold in cans and small foil pouches from Dec. 3 to March 6. The company said it makes pet food for 17 of the top 20 North American retailers. It is also a contract manufacturer for the top branded pet food companies. Cats cuddle as they looks out at visitors from their air-conditioned room in this February 2, 2007 file photo. U.S. health officials said on Monday they were still trying to find a reason for the deaths of a number of pets, two days after a company based in Ontario, Canada,... REUTERS/Tim Chong LOS ANGELES U.S. health officials said on Monday they expected the number of pet deaths to increase as they probe the cause of tainted pet food that has already killed at least 10 animals through kidney failure. Wheat gluten was the likely cause of contamination that prompted a recall last Friday of more than 50 "cuts-and-gravy"-style labels of wet pet food made by Canada-based Menu Foods. The recalled products represent 1 percent of all the pet food sold in the United States, officials with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said. "We're trying to find out whether or not that company may have supplied other companies," Sundlof said. The recall involves such well-known brand names as Iams, Eukanuba, President's Choice and Nutro Max Gourmet Classics, produced at Menu Foods' Emporia, Kansas facility between December 3 and March 6. A cat in the study exhibited signs of kidney failure and died on March 2. FINANCIAL IMPACT Menu Foods estimates the recall will cost it between C$30 million ($25.6 million) and C$40 million ($34 million). The units dropped C$2.48 to C$3.02 before climbing back to C$4.15 at the market close, off C$1.35 or 24.5 percent. The company also makes pet food under contract for national brands like Procter & Gamble's Iams unit, the Hills Pet Nutrition unit of Colgate-Palmolive and Nestle's Purina PetCare.
"I was shaking. Daniele Mastrogiacomo, 52, thought he would be killed Daniele's ordeal Daniele Mastrogiacomo, who works for the La Repubblica daily, was seized two weeks ago in southern Helmand province. He said his Afghan driver had been decapitated in front of him by their Taleban guards. Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi said the release had not been "simple" and that more details would be released later. He was taken to an Italian-run hospital and has been in touch with Italy's ambassador to Afghanistan, according to the ministry and the newspaper. The Taliban say he was freed after the Afghan government handed over four of five insurgent leaders, including the brother of military commander Mullah Dadullah. "(He is in) very good health," Sequi told reporters late on Monday night. Italian officials say the journalist will arrive in the Afghan capital, Kabul, on Tuesday and then fly home to Italy. Hundreds of family and friends of Mastrogiacomo's executed driver... REUTERS/PeaceReporter/Handout LASHKAR GAH, Afghanistan Security forces arrested an Afghan hospital head on Tuesday after hundreds of people protested to demand information about the executed driver of kidnapped Italian reporter Daniele Mastrogiacomo. 'Horrific' Mr Mastrogiacomo was abducted while trying to interview senior Taleban officials. The men were kept in chains and moved 15 times while in captivity, he said. They chanted "Death to Rahamatullah! His body had not been recovered. He did not explain why he was travelling in an area regarded as unsafe for foreigners. "My head is still spinning but I am happy. Reasons for his arrest were not immediately known.
Daniele Mastrogiacomo, 52, thought he would be killed Daniele's ordeal Daniele Mastrogiacomo, who works for the La Repubblica daily, was seized two weeks ago in southern Helmand province. Mr Mastrogiacomo was said to be in good health in hospital. His driver's body has yet to be handed over, while his translator has still not been freed. The men were kept in chains and moved 15 times while in captivity, he said. 'Horrific' Mr Mastrogiacomo was abducted while trying to interview senior Taleban officials. I saw him be decapitated... Then they wiped the knife on his clothes Daniele Mastrogiacomo "I'm very happy, I thank you all. I knew you wouldn't abandon me, and that gave me strength and courage," he said on Monday via La Repubblica's online television station. "I saw him being decapitated, it was horrific," he told Italian TG3 television. Obviously I thought 'it's my turn now." Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi said the release had not been "simple" and that more details would be released later. Italian officials say the journalist will arrive in the Afghan capital, Kabul, on Tuesday and then fly home to Italy. Fears Fears for Mr Mastrogiacomo's safety grew last week when reports first emerged that his Afghan driver, a father of four, had been killed. Shortly afterwards, a tape was released in which the journalist said he had just two days to live. One Taleban leader, military commander Mullah Dadullah, told Reuters by satellite phone from an undisclosed location that Mr Mastrogiacomo had been freed after Afghan authorities released five senior Taliban officials, including his own brother. La Repubblica newspaper reporter Daniele Mastrogiacomo (L) speaks on a telephone after his release, while accompanied by Emergency aid agency doctor Gino Strada in Kandahar, Afghanistan March 19, 2007. Hundreds of family and friends of Mastrogiacomo's executed driver... REUTERS/PeaceReporter/Handout LASHKAR GAH, Afghanistan Security forces arrested an Afghan hospital head on Tuesday after hundreds of people protested to demand information about the executed driver of kidnapped Italian reporter Daniele Mastrogiacomo. Rahamatullah Hanafi was arrested outside the Italian charity hospital in the southern town of Lashkar Gah, where the journalist was housed for the night after his release by the Taliban who had kidnapped him two weeks ago. But it came hours after hundreds of family and friends of the executed driver, Syed Agha, blockaded the emergency hospital, demanding to know what happened to the dead man. Mastrogiacomo spent the night in the hospital after being freed by the Taliban following almost two weeks in captivity, accused of spying and threatened with execution himself. Agha's throat was slit on Thursday after a Taliban court convicted him of spying, rebel officials said. "(He is in) very good health," Sequi told reporters late on Monday night. The journalist said he had been "bound hand and foot" by his captors and moved to 15 different locations "as small as sheep pens, in the middle of the desert". Adjust font size: KABUL, Afghansitan (CNN) -- Italian journalist Daniele Mastrogiacomo has been released two weeks after he was reportedly taken captive by the Taliban, according to the Italian Foreign Ministry and the reporter's employer, La Repubblica newspaper. Over the weekend, Prodi's private jet was flown to Kabul's airport in hopes of transporting the journalist back to Italy.
"We have asked for full details on who is holding them, where they are and for access to them," she said. But Iranian state television quoted the Iran foreign ministry as saying they had illegally entered Iranian waters. A spokeswoman for the British embassy in Tehran said British diplomats had requested permission to visit the detained men. A spokesman at the UK defence ministry said British forces in Iraq were using boats to train the Iraqi river patrol service, and the craft may have strayed across the maritime border by mistake. The BBC's diplomatic correspondent, Bridget Kendall, says no-one is suggesting that this is a deliberate gesture by Iran of diplomatic retaliation. He said he had been arrested by Iranian revolutionary guards. The UK defence ministry said in a statement: "We can confirm that eight Royal Navy personnel from the Royal Navy training team based in southern Iraq have been detained by the Iranian authorities while delivering a boat from Umm Qasr to Basra. We understand that they were in two boats that were operating in Iraqi waters Margaret Beckett, Foreign Secretary Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett has demanded the immediate and safe return of the HMS Cornwall servicemen. Tense relations Iranian naval sources quoted by Iran's official Arab-language al-Alam satellite TV news station said weapons and maps were found on board the vessels. Iranian officials have in the past denied such claims. It is also embroiled in a dispute with the US, the EU, and the UN over its nuclear programme. Helicopters had reported seeing two British boats being moved along the Shatt al-Arab waterway to Iranian bases and there had been no evidence of fighting, he added.
The men were seized at 1030 local time when they boarded a boat in the Gulf, off the coast of Iraq, which they suspected was smuggling cars. The Royal Navy said the group was on a routine patrol in Iraqi waters and were understood to be unharmed. But Iranian state television quoted the Iran foreign ministry as saying they had illegally entered Iranian waters. The Associated Press news agency is quoting US Navy official, Commander Kevin Aandahl, as saying that Iran's Revolutionary Guard were responsible. Mr Aandahl is also reported as saying the naval force had told them in a radio message that the British were not harmed. We understand that they were in two boats that were operating in Iraqi waters Margaret Beckett, Foreign Secretary Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett has demanded the immediate and safe return of the HMS Cornwall servicemen. She added that she had called for a "full explanation" from Iran and had left them in no doubt that she wanted the group and their equipment back immediately. The task force's commander, Commodore Nick Lambert, said he was hoping there had been a "simple mistake" over territorial waters. "There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that they [British personnel] were in Iraqi territorial waters. He said that despite scant communication, the 15 people were understood to be safe and had reacted in an "extremely professional way, in line with the rules of engagement". HMS CORNWALL FACTS Multi-national force flagship in the northern Gulf Type 22 frigate Crew: 250 (Max 301) Length: 148.1m / 485.9ft Speed: 30 knots Source: Royal Navy Profile of HMS Cornwall Ex-detainee 'concerned' Mrs Beckett said: "We understand that they were in two boats that were operating in Iraqi waters in accordance with the Security Council Resolution 1723 in support of the government of Iraq to stop smuggling." The foreign secretary said the meeting had been "brisk but polite" and said the British ambassador in Iran had also been speaking to officials in Tehran. The MoD said it had contacted relatives of the group, which comprised eight sailors and seven marines. There has been no official response so far from Iran, where many ministries and official buildings were closed for a public holiday. However, state television has reported that the British envoy was summoned to Iran's foreign ministry. Servicemen would have been in boats similar to those pictured Shadow foreign secretary William Hague and Sir Menzies Campbell, leader of the Liberal Democrats, have both backed the call for the group's immediate and safe return. The incident comes at a time of renewed tensions with Iran over its nuclear programme and follows claims that most of the violence against UK forces in Basra is being engineered by Iranian elements. British army Colonel Justin Maciejewski, who is based in Iraq, said Iran was providing "sophisticated weaponry" to insurgents and "Iranian agents" were paying local men to attack British troops. In 2004, Iran detained eight British servicemen for three days after they allegedly strayed over the maritime border. The UK claimed the men were "forcibly escorted" into Iranian territorial waters. The men were paraded blindfolded and made to apologise on Iranian TV before their release was agreed. The BBC's diplomatic correspondent James Robbins said the difference this time was that the present Iranian government under President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was much more hardline. "The political climate is worse with Britain among those confronting Iran over its controversial nuclear programme," he added. The government's attempts to resolve a deepening diplomatic row with Iran over the capture of British sailors and marines were poised on a knife edge last night after a day in which two of the men appeared in blindfolds on Iranian television and apologised for entering the country's territorial waters. We apologise because this was a big mistake," one of the men, who identified himself as Sergeant Thomas Hawkins of the Royal Marines, said, according to a translation of the Arabic voice-over provided by al-Alam satellite television news channel. The Foreign Office last night described the apparent confessions, and earlier television footage showing the eight men blindfolded, as "deeply concerning". Earlier, pictures on Iran's main state-run channel, showed the men sitting silently on chairs and a sofa. In a day of mixed messages from the Iranians, the al-Alam station described an Iranian officer as saying: "Their weapons, instruments, large equipment, machine guns and submachine guns, and the flag of their special naval unit indicate that they are not regular sailors." Later, Ali Reza Afshar, the deputy head of the Iranian armed forces, said that if the interrogations showed that the men "didn't have any bad intention, they will be released soon". Iran's ISNA news agency, quoting "unofficial sources", said the revolutionary guards had been ordered to free the men. It said they were delivering the boats from the port of Umm Qasr to Basra for the newly formed Iraqi river police. Iran's ambassador to Britain, Morteza Sarmadi, was summoned to see the FO's political director, John Sawers, to explain why Iran had arrested the men who were on a "routine mission". Others said that the Iranian government itself might have seized the opportunity to make the point - not least to the new Iraqi interim govern ment which takes office on July 1 - that it regards the issue of the oft-disputed border with Iraq along the Shatt al-Arab as extremely serious. A commentary on Iran's state-run radio yesterday said the British vessels "openly violated a recognised border treaty", and that Iran was sending a "message to countries disrupting stability in the Persian Gulf".
It's an impossible position. Supported by Belgium, France, Italy, Panama, Peru, Slovakia and the United States, Britain sought international backing from the 15-member Security Council before turning to European Union foreign ministers, who meet on Friday in Bremen, Germany. Iran, in its statement, said that "a number of U.K. Marines have themselves confirmed that they were in Iran's territorial waters when they were arrested by the Iranian coast guards." It's wrong in terms of the UN conventions which govern this, and it's wrong in terms of basic humanity. He said a pledge by Iranian foreign minister Manouchehr Mottaki that British officials in Tehran would be given consular access to the personnel had not taken place. Ban said he wished for an "early resolution of this problem" but did not call publicly for an immediate release. Tony Blair's official spokesman said the UK was not seeking a confrontation. On Wednesday, Iranian state television broadcast an interview with LS Turney and footage of the 14 servicemen seized with her. Britain says satellite data proved its sailors and Marines were in Iraqi waters when they were seized last Friday. Ambassador Vitaly Churkin was quoted by diplomats as telling the 15 council members in closed consultations. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon held talks with Iran on the detention at a summit in Riyadh. She's a nice girl - friendly, happy and chirpy, it's really quite sad this has happened Nicola Jones Neighbour of Faye Turney Neighbours 'shock' at capture Those who know the sailor have spoken of their shock at the news her release may be delayed.
The captured sailors have been shown on Iranian television Iranian TV footage Ali Larijani, Iran's chief nuclear negotiator, appeared to be referring to the UK's refusal to agree the crew had been in Iranian waters. Iran's insistence the group was in its waters last Friday saw the UK release GPS evidence to back up its denials. Mr Larijani, head of Iran's supreme national security council, said: "It was announced that a woman in the group would be freed, but (this development) was met with an incorrect attitude." He later added on Iranian state radio the UK had "miscalculated" in its handling of the case. The British leaders are miscalculating the case." Mr Blair's spokesman said footage of Leading Seaman Faye Turney and the others on Iranian TV was wrong in terms of "basic humanity". It's wrong in terms of the UN conventions which govern this, and it's wrong in terms of basic humanity. Prime minister's spokesman Scots marine among captives The Foreign Office said the UN was preparing to issue a statement calling for the release of the crew. And the European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana said he had spoken briefly to Iran's foreign minister and reiterated the EU's call for an end to the "illegal" detention. Iran 'isolated' The prime minister's spokesman said: "What is important is that Iran knows that it is isolated on this issue. UK VERSION OF EVENTS 1 Crew boards merchant ship 1.7NM inside Iraqi waters 2 HMS Cornwall was south-east of this, and inside Iraqi waters 3 Iran tells UK that merchant ship was at a different point, still within Iraqi waters 4 After UK points this out, Iran provides alternative position, now within Iranian waters UK version in more detail "We are not seeking to put Iran in a corner. He said a pledge by Iranian foreign minister Manouchehr Mottaki that British officials in Tehran would be given consular access to the personnel had not taken place. Neighbours 'shocked' Iran's foreign minister had previously said LS Turney could be released. Iranian state-run television reported LS Turney would not be released "for the time being". She's a nice girl - friendly, happy and chirpy, it's really quite sad this has happened Nicola Jones Neighbour of Faye Turney Neighbours 'shock' at capture Those who know the sailor have spoken of their shock at the news her release may be delayed. Nicola Jones, who lives near LS Turney's home in Plymouth, said: "It's really shocking. "She's a nice girl - friendly, happy and chirpy. UNITED NATIONS The U.N. Security Council expressed "grave concern" on Thursday at Iran's detention of 15 British sailors and Marines and called for their release and an early resolution of the controversy. But Britain failed to win support from Russia, at times backed by South Africa and Indonesia, for a stronger statement that would have deplored Iran's detention of the crew and called for their immediate release. But Iran immediately responded by saying that Britain's initiative to involve the Security Council was "not helpful" and said the case should be settled through bilateral channels. "We will not be able to accept a call for the immediate release of the 15 United Kingdom naval personnel," Russia's U.N. Iran, in its statement, said that "a number of U.K. Marines have themselves confirmed that they were in Iran's territorial waters when they were arrested by the Iranian coast guards." Calling the move blatant propaganda, the government labelled the letter's release "outrageous and cruel." TEHRAN Iran will delay the release of the only woman among 15 British personnel detained last week if Tehran is faced with "fuss and wrong behaviour" from Britain, a senior Iranian official said on Thursday.
This was not the role of the agency, they argued. Backers of the .xxx domain said they were disappointed by the decision and would pursue the matter further. "That consideration had led a majority of the board to believe that the proposal should be rejected." Paul Twomey, Icann's chief executive abstained from the vote. The board of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), which manages the Internet's domain-name address system, decided to reject the application for .XXX sites at a meeting in Portugal. Board members said they were concerned that approval would put the agency into the position of a content regulator. We are extremely disappointed by the board's action today Stuart Lawley, ICM Registry At the time, ICM Registry - the backer of the .xxx scheme - gave pledges that it would ensure sites signing up did not hit users with spam or spyware. "My decision turned on one point and one point only," board member Steve Goldstein told Associated Press. ICANN should only reject domains for moral reasons in the rare circumstance that they are universally opposed - that would truly promote competition in the TLD racket, and once and for all get ICANN out of the content regulation business. The IPv6 is much larger and should have enough IP addresses for a long time", Dr Vinton Cerf said. It was rejected by nine votes to five. The debate seemed to follow attitudes hardened by years of politics surrounding the issuance of the domain. Standards such as meeting the technical and financial requirements, which are black and white and are not subject to political pressure from government or government-connected moralizers.
The Icann board rejected the proposal nine votes to five The proposal for the .xxx domain was voted out by the overseer of the net's addressing system, seven years after the ideas was first put forward. Board members said they were concerned that approval would put the agency into the position of a content regulator. Backers of the .xxx domain said they were disappointed by the decision and would pursue the matter further. Law-makers The idea of creating a net domain for pornography was first floated in 2001 and was given approval in June 2005 by Icann which oversees the net's addressing system. Final approval was scheduled to take place in December 2005 but this was delayed until May 2006 when the proposal was abruptly dropped over worries about how sites signing up to use .xxx would be policed. We are extremely disappointed by the board's action today Stuart Lawley, ICM Registry At the time, ICM Registry - the backer of the .xxx scheme - gave pledges that it would ensure sites signing up did not hit users with spam or spyware. ICM also had to give assurances that it would put in place systems to prevent children seeing the sites and that no .xxx sites would contain images of child abuse. A final decision on the domain name was taken at a meeting of board members in Lisbon, Portugal. Paul Twomey, Icann's chief executive abstained from the vote. "This decision was the result of very careful scrutiny and consideration of all the arguments," said Dr Vinton Cerf, chairman of Icann. "That consideration had led a majority of the board to believe that the proposal should be rejected." Many on the board voted against the proposals because they felt that accepting the domain would mean Icann would be seen as a regulator of content, deciding what is pornographic and what is not. "My decision turned on one point and one point only," board member Steve Goldstein told Associated Press. "The last point in our board's resolution that under the revised agreement that we, Icann, would be forced to assume ongoing management and oversight roles regarding the content and that is inconsistent with Icann's technical mandate." Others, who backed the schemes, said that content could be managed by local and national laws. "We are extremely disappointed by the board's action today," Stuart Lawley, ICM's president and chief executive told Associated Press. Critics have pointed out that use of the .xxx domain is entirely voluntary and some suspect that few sites would sign up to use the suffix. ICANN Lisbon In an unusual open board meeting today, ICANN once again rejected the establishment of a .xxx top level domain (TLD). The debate raged largely around the phony issue of whether a .xxx domain would put ICANN in the content regulation business, when rejecting the domain is itself a content regulation decision. Those opposed to the domain repeatedly issued proclamations about the supposed lack of proof that it would provide a "responsible" forum for adult entertainment. The dissenters pointed out the ludicrous hypocrisy of this position, particularly in light of the fact that ICANN had previously approved the contract, and emphasised over the course of the week that promoting competition in the TLD business has become its central mission. The opponents of .xxx went to great pains to emphasize that political pressure had nothing to do with their decision, although the only other rational explanation were the qualms board members felt over the concept of the .xxx domain - although they practically tripped over themselves claiming that they were voting to keep ICANN out of the content regulation business. The board of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), which manages the Internet's domain-name address system, decided to reject the application for .XXX sites at a meeting in Portugal. "This decision was the result of very careful scrutiny and consideration of all the arguments," Dr Vinton Cerf, chairman of ICANN, said in a statement on the group's Web site.
Thank you very much, sir." He said the British people should be told the truth about what the "British soldiers" were doing in Iranian waters. Video grab shows Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad speaking to Britons who had been detained in Iran at a ceremony to mark their release, April 4, 2007. In Britain, relatives of the 15 expressed their joy. "I would like Mr Blair's government not to punish the sailors for acknowledging and telling the truth. Tehran says they strayed into its territorial waters. "Unfortunately, the British government not even was brave to tell their people - to tell them the truth - and tell them that [there] was a mistake. but said: "Now the questions: Were they in Iranian waters? We wanted our rights and we really didn't want to have any confrontation. "It is brilliant news. The one female crew member, Faye Turney, wore a blue headscarf and jacket. REUTERS/Stringer British naval personnel detained in Iran are seen after they were released, in Tehran April 4, 2007. They can go to the airport and they can go to their families. I'm sure the British people have every right to ask their government... what their soldiers were doing in Iraq or in Iranian water. Earlier on Wednesday Syria revealed that it had been mediating between Iran and the UK over the sailors and marines. British newspapers also welcomed the end of the standoff but questioned how it came about. And he praised the bravery of the Iranian commander who captured the Brits. The BBC's Frances Harrison asked him what prompted his change of heart.
"On the occasion of the birth anniversary of the great prophet of Islam, and on the occasion of Easter and Passover, I would like to announce that the great nation of Iran, while it is entitled to put the British military personnel on trial, has pardoned these 15 sailors and gives their release to the people of Britain as a gift. "I would like Mr Blair's government not to punish the sailors for acknowledging and telling the truth. "After this meeting they are free. "I ask Mr Blair instead of occupying the other countries, I ask Mr Blair to think about the justice - to think about the truth and work for the British people not for himself." He said the British people should be told the truth about what the "British soldiers" were doing in Iranian waters. "Unfortunately, the British government not even was brave to tell their people - to tell them the truth - and tell them that [there] was a mistake. I'm sure the British people have every right to ask their government... what their soldiers were doing in Iraq or in Iranian water. Mr Ahmadinejad said the people of Iran were very upset at what he called the "invasion by the British sailors". "At this moment I wanted to say on behalf of the Iranian people - I wanted to thank the people who... arrested [them], I'm... admiring the commander who managed to capture these people who came to our water. In response to another reporter's question, President Ahmadinejad said that no concessions had been made by the British government in order to secure the releases, but that the British government had assured Iran the incident would not be repeated. The UK government has sent a note, a memo, to the ministry of foreign affairs of the Islamic Republic of Iran, and in that letter they mentioned that incident would not be repeated. Of course, that decision that we are going to release the 15 British sailors is not related to that letter, and it was a present from the Iranian people to the British people." Our correspondent also asked President Ahmadinejad if he had any message for the 15 sailors and marines. "These personnel are the same as the other people... We respect them as human [beings] and the messages are what I said - we are a peaceful people, we want to have peace and security - we want peace and security for all people. "We are very upset that the British people... [went] to [war] and thousands of kilometres far away from their country, fighting somewhere which is not legal - we are upset about that." Video grab shows Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad speaking to Britons who had been detained in Iran at a ceremony to mark their release, April 4, 2007. REUTERS/Iranian TV via REUTERS Faye Turney walks away after meeting Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad after 15 British naval personnel were released, in Tehran April 4, 2007. REUTERS/Stringer British naval personnel detained in Iran are seen after they were released, in Tehran April 4, 2007. REUTERS/Morteza Nikoubazl A British seaman (L) shakes hands with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad after 15 British naval personnel were released, in Tehran April 4, 2007. REUTERS/Stringer British naval personnel detained in Iran are seen after they were released, in Tehran April 4, 2007. REUTERS/Morteza Nikoubazl Vehicles carrying the British naval personnel who were detained in Iran pass in front of a picture of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as they arrive at Tehran's airport to leave Iran April 5, 2007. REUTERS/Raheb Homavandi British naval personnel who were detained in Iran wave to journalists after they were released as a 'gift to the British people' by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in Tehran April 4, 2007. REUTERS/Morteza Nikoubazl TEHRAN The 15 British military personnel who had been held by Iran left Tehran on Thursday on a flight to London, Iran Radio reported, ending a standoff that raised international tension and rattled financial markets. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad told a news conference broadcast round the world on Wednesday he had decided to forgive and free the 15 even though Britain was not "brave enough" to admit they had strayed into Iranian territory. The peaceful end to the two-week standoff, which began when Tehran seized the 15 in the Shatt al-Arab waterway between Iraq and Iran on March 23, prompted a drop in oil prices from recent highs. Iranian officials whisked the 15 sailors and marines through the airport building to the British Mediterranean Airways plane, keeping them away from journalists, the witnesses said. "The 15 will be accompanied by three or four British embassy staff and there will be no access for the media until the plane reaches Britain," said the diplomat. At his news conference, Ahmadinejad said: "Under the influence of the Muslim Prophet, (Iran) forgives these 15 people and gives their freedom to the British people as a gift." "They're coming home," read the headline in the Daily Telegraph, adding: "But was a secret deal struck to secure the release of 15 British prisoners?"
Then, almost as an afterthought, came the announcement. Iranian media said the British crew members "shouted for joy" on hearing the news. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Neither Iran nor Britain admitted to backing down. Royal Marine Adam Sperry's family watched his return to the UK on television at home in Leicester. 'Theatrical gesture' Mr Ahmadinejad announced the decision to release the Britons at a news conference In Tehran. One Iranian official said Seaman Turney would be released; another said she would not. I'd like to thank yourself and the Iranian people... Britain says the 15 were in Iraqi waters under a UN mandate when they were captured nearly two weeks ago. Earlier on Wednesday Syria revealed that it had been mediating between Iran and the UK over the sailors and marines. “We got the sense that the Iranians were sort of taking stock during the course of Monday and Tuesday,” a government official said, speaking on condition that his name not be used, according to British government policy. Tony Blair welcomed their return but accused elements of the Iranian regime of supporting terrorism in Iraq. There was a disapproving lecture about American and British foreign policy, a discussion of the Security Council (equally disapproving) and a burst of lavish praise — and a medal — for the members of the Revolutionary Guards who seized the Britons in the first place. De-briefing The navy personnel arrived at Tehran Airport early on Thursday in a fleet of official cars after 13 days in Iranian custody. HAVE YOUR SAY The UK government and its forces have been made to look like total fools Bob, Dundee Send us your comments Commentators are divided over whether the release represents a diplomatic triumph for the UK, or a public relations coup for the Iranian president.
Leading Seaman Chris Coe was shown on Iranian television The crew, freed by Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as a "gift" to the British people on Wednesday, touched down at Heathrow Airport at 1200 BST. They were then flown to a Royal Marines base in Devon to see friends and relatives, and to be de-briefed. 'Dual strategy' In a press conference given outside Downing Street, the prime minister said he was "glad" the crew had been returned "safe and unharmed". He said "no deal" had been done with the Iranians to secure the crew's release. He contrasted the rejoicing at the return of the crew with the "sober and ugly reality" of the deaths of four British soldiers in Iraq in what he described as a "terrorist act". The crew were flown by helicopter to Devon And he repeated allegations that there were "elements of the Iranian regime" that were "financing, arming and supporting terrorism in Iraq". However, he said it was "too early to say" whether the UK troops had been killed by Iranian-backed insurgents. The prime minister said the government had pursued a "dual-track strategy" of remaining open to dialogue with Iran, while "mobilising international support and pressure". "In my view it would be utterly naive to believe that our personnel would have been released unless both elements of the strategy had been present." Defence Secretary Des Browne said the navy crew, most of whom are in their 20s, had "acted with immense courage and dignity". De-briefing The navy personnel arrived at Tehran Airport early on Thursday in a fleet of official cars after 13 days in Iranian custody. They had travelled first class on a British Airways flight. In emotional scenes, the sailors and marines dressed in military uniform, embraced relatives, friends and colleagues. A de-briefing will take place later and they will undergo health checks. BBC correspondents say military chiefs will be keen to assess the physical and psychological impact captivity has had on the crew. Royal Marine Adam Sperry's family watched his return to the UK on television at home in Leicester. His aunt, Theresa Fowler, told BBC News: "We are just longing to see him and put our arms around him and give him a kiss." Iranian television has broadcast pictures and statements from several members of the crew, including the only woman in the group, Leading Seaman Faye Turney. Before they left Tehran, she was shown saying: "Apologies for our actions, but many thanks for having it in your hearts to let us go free." HAVE YOUR SAY The UK government and its forces have been made to look like total fools Bob, Dundee Send us your comments Commentators are divided over whether the release represents a diplomatic triumph for the UK, or a public relations coup for the Iranian president. A senior government source said Iran realised it had made a "clumsy mistake" and had "not done itself any favours". The source added the UK thought the matter might be resolved peacefully but had had no idea President Ahmadinejad would announce their release on Wednesday. The 15 service personnel had disembarked from HMS Cornwall in the Gulf when they were detained by Iran's Revolutionary Guard on 23 March. On Wednesday, Iranian state television showed the president smiling, chatting and shaking the hands of some of the captives. Dressed in ill-fitting clothes apparently issued by their captors, the Britons waited in line to meet the president, looking almost as if they were a visiting sports team. Advertisement Continue reading the main story News of the planned release, after days of behind-the-scenes diplomatic maneuvering, brought a peaceful, almost anticlimactic end to a crisis that began on March 23 when the Britons were seized in the disputed waters of the Shatt al-Arab waterway, just north of the Persian Gulf. Britain bore no ill will toward the Iranian people, he told reporters, and respected Iran’s “proud and dignified history.” Photo Officials denied that concessions were made for the Britons’ release. But on Tuesday, an Iranian diplomat held by Iraqi forces for eight weeks was released, and on Wednesday, American officials said they were reviewing an informal request from the Iranian government for an envoy to visit five Iranians imprisoned after an American raid in northern Iraq in January. Iran has argued throughout that the Britons strayed into its territorial waters; Britain has said that the group — seven marines and eight sailors, including one woman — was conducting a routine, United Nations-sanctioned operation in Iraqi waters. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Throughout the crisis, Iran vacillated between pugilistic statements and conciliatory ones in a seeming reflection of internal power struggles. Advertisement Continue reading the main story “I think Iran was becoming increasingly aware that what they had done was a mistake and that the longer they held these people, the more the whole thing began to resemble the ugly hostage crisis of 1979,” Wayne White, former deputy director of the State Department’s Middle East intelligence office, said in a telephone interview.
My father. Badabing, badabang, badaboom." "But that's the way it is." That tight!!! Bert Richards died in 2002 at age 84. Richards said in an interview published on Tuesday that he once snorted his father's ashes mixed with cocaine. He was cremated and I couldn't resist grinding him up with a little bit of blow ... . He added: "I've been trepanned. The Rolling Stones are gearing up for a European tour that begins June 5 in Belgium. Last year he hit his head while on vacation in Fiji and had to undergo brain surgery. It went down pretty well, and I'm still alive." I was number one on the Who's 'Likely To Die' list for 10 years. I wouldn't take cocaine at this point in my life unless I wished to commit suicide." "The truth of the matter is that I planted a sturdy English Oak. Keith Richards admits ingesting all manner of substances in his time. I snorted my father," he told NME magazine. That story also grew out of a flippant remark to journalists. He had been a factory labourer and wounded in the second world war. "The strangest thing I've tried to snort? That's quite an interesting experience, especially for my brain surgeon, who saw my thoughts flying around in my brain. I was sitting on that shrub again today, but I happened to fall off it the wrong way that day." He said his longevity in the face of multiple drug abuse over decades was just luck, and advised others not to follow his lead.
Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards holds his head as he appears backstage during the 22nd annual Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York March 12, 2007. Richards said in an interview published on Tuesday that he once snorted his father's ashes mixed with cocaine. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid This is an undated file photo of Bert Richards, father of Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards, provided by a Reuters reporter. Keith Richards denied on April 4, 2007 that he mixed his father's ashes with cocaine and snorted the ghoulish concoction. REUTERS/Staff LOS ANGELES Keith Richards may never have met a drug he didn't like, but on Wednesday the Rolling Stones guitarist denied mixing his father's ashes with cocaine and snorting the ghoulish concoction. The 63-year-old rocker caused an international uproar on Tuesday when newspaper New Musical Express quoted him as saying: "The strangest thing I've tried to snort? My father. Richards, known for his death-defying appetite for drugs, said in a statement on his band's Web site, rollingstones.com, that "the complete story (was) lost in the usual slanting." "The truth of the matter is that I planted a sturdy English Oak. I took the lid off the box of ashes, and he is now growing oak trees and would love me for it!!! I was trying to say how tight Bert and I were. I wouldn't take cocaine at this point in my life unless I wished to commit suicide." The World War Two veteran was estranged from his son for decades, but they made up in the 1980s, and the father moved to his son's Connecticut estate, where they played dominoes every Friday night. With his mutton-chop sideburns, pipe and crossword puzzle, Bert Richards was frequently spotted at Rolling Stones concerts. While Keith Richards may have drawn the line at snorting his dead dad, the so-called "walking laboratory" and "world's most elegantly wasted human being" is inextricably linked to tales of legendary hard living and drug abuse. He once went for nine days without sleep, and said he wrote most of his songs during the '70s while on heroin. The consequences of his actions have been relatively minimal, with Richards falling prey to just a few freak accidents. Last year he hit his head while on vacation in Fiji and had to undergo brain surgery. Keith Richards is known as a hellraiser NME's Mark Beaumont The story surfaced in the NME, where Richards said in an interview: "He was cremated and I couldn't resist grinding him up with a little bit of blow." Sixty-three-year-old Richards also told NME of his disdain for modern bands, calling Arctic Monkeys, The Libertines and Bloc Party "a load of crap". He said in the interview that his father's ashes "went down pretty well". The Stones' Bigger Bang World Tour started in 2005 "I wouldn't take cocaine at this point in my life unless I wished to commit suicide," he said. "I took the lid off the box of ashes and he [Richards' father] is now growing oak trees and would love me for it!" There were too many details for him to be making it up," he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme. 'Cut open' Richards also revealed more details of the accident which left him facing brain surgery last year in Fiji, when it was widely reported he had fallen out of a tree, forcing dates on the Rolling Stones tour to be cancelled. That's quite an interesting experience, especially for my brain surgeon, who saw my thoughts flying around in my brain. "They cut my head, brain, skull open, went in and pulled out the crap, and put some of it back again." In a wide-ranging interview published today, the 63-year-old veteran of tequila breakfasts and drug marathons described how he once sampled his father's ashes mixed with cocaine.
By then the shootings were over. "When I landed, I was in a daze, standing outside of the building," Wargo said. Dormitory shooting two hours earlier Two people were killed in a separate incident at a dormitory on the campus about two hours before the Norris Hall incident, at around 7:15 a.m. Students said they could not get on Virginia Tech's site for information. Campus police have identified a person of interest who is not currently in police custody. By then, the gunman had struck a second time. While Flinchum would not name any of the victims, he did say university staff members were among the dead. "I guess they were afraid, like us -- like the shooter was going to be among one of us." The first e-mail to students about the first shooting went out at 9:24 a.m., according to copies forwarded to ABC News. Federal investigators told NBC News’ Pete Williams that they believed the man was a Virginia Tech student in his early 20s. By then, the classroom shooting was under way. (Officials thought shooter had fled) The university has scheduled a convocation for 2 p.m. Classes also have been canceled Tuesday. He apparently shot himself in the head after the killings; part of his face was missing when his body was found. A law enforcement source close to the investigation told CNN a .22-caliber handgun and a 9 mm handgun were recovered at the scene. In a press conference on Monday night, Steger gave a detailed timeline of the morning's tragic events. Eighteen were sent to Montgomery Regional Hospital in Blacksburg.
Story Highlights • Witness describes gunman coming back to classroom • University officials say 33 dead, including a gunman • Attacks mark deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history Adjust font size: BLACKSBURG, Virginia (CNN) -- A gunman who killed at least 30 people in one of two shootings on the campus of Virginia Tech was dressed "almost like a Boy Scout," said a student who survived by pretending to lie dead on a classroom floor. "He just stepped within five feet of the door and just started firing," said Erin Sheehan, who was in one of the Norris Hall classrooms where the second shooting incident took place. Sheehan described the gunman -- who later shot and killed himself, according to police -- as a young man wearing a short-sleeved tan shirt and black ammunition vest. "He seemed very thorough about it -- getting almost everyone down -- I pretended to be dead," she said. (Watch student describe surviving by playing dead ) "He was very silent," said Sheehan, one of only four students in her 25-student German class who were not shot. The gunman left but returned in about 30 seconds. "We forced ourselves against the door so he couldn't come in again, because the door would not lock." The man tried three more times to force his way in and then began firing through the door, she said. She and about 20 other people took refuge behind a locked door in a teacher's office. Police officers with bulletproof vests and machine guns were in the area. (Watch a student's recording of police responding to loud bangs ) "They were telling us to put our hands above our head and if we didn't cooperate and put our hands above our heads they would shoot," Otey said. "I guess they were afraid, like us -- like the shooter was going to be among one of us." "These two kids, I guess, had panicked and jumped out of the top-story window, and the one kid broke his ankle and the other girl was not in good shape just lying on the ground." Madison Van Duyne said she and her classmates in a media writing class were on "lockdown" in their classroom, where they where writing about the shootings and posting online. Shooter chained doors shut University President Charles Steger told reporters Monday night that police found the front doors of Norris Hall chained shut and that by the time they got to the second floor, the gunfire stopped. (Watch gunfire on the campus ) The shooter attacked more than one classroom at Norris Hall, according to police. The death total there -- 31 including the gunman -- makes it the deadliest shooting in U.S. history. A law enforcement source close to the investigation told CNN a .22-caliber handgun and a 9 mm handgun were recovered at the scene. University police Chief Wendell Flinchum said at a Monday night news conference that authorities had a preliminary identification of the shooter at Norris Hall but were not releasing it. Dormitory shooting two hours earlier Two people were killed in a separate incident at a dormitory on the campus about two hours before the Norris Hall incident, at around 7:15 a.m. (Campus map) Flinchum said police were still investigating whether the two incidents are related. (Watch the police chief explain where bodies were found ) At the time of the later shootings at Norris Hall, police were investigating a "person of interest" in the dormitory shootings, Flinchum said. But the man -- a non-student who knew one of the victims -- had not been arrested, and it is unclear if he has any link to the other gunman, he said. One dormitory victim identified Courtney Dalton, an 18-year-old student who worked at West End Dining Hall, said a friend named Ryan Clark was one of the two dormitory victims. Officials thought first incident was isolated Asked why the campus, which has more than 26,000 students, was not shut down after the first shooting, Flinchum responded that police determined "it was an isolated event to that building and the decision was made not to cancel classes at that time." (Officials thought shooter had fled) The university has scheduled a convocation for 2 p.m. Last August, the first day of class was cut short at Virginia Tech by a manhunt for an escaped prisoner accused of killing a Blacksburg hospital security guard and a sheriff's deputy. Before Monday, the deadliest mass shooting in the United States occurred in 1991, when George Hennard drove a pickup truck into a Killeen, Texas, cafeteria and fatally shot 23 people, before shooting and killing himself. Local, state and federal investigators scoured a university campus in Virginia for clues to what set off the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history after a gunman shot two people to death in a dormitory Monday morning before making his way to a classroom building where, silently and coolly, he killed 30 more people before turning his weapon on himself, authorities said. The shootings, which came just four days before the eighth anniversary of the Columbine High School bloodbath, in which two students killed 13 people and themselves near Littleton, Colo., created panic and confusion at the university, which was already on edge after two weeks of bomb threats. After the scope of the carnage was clear, angry students and employees demanded to know why the first e-mail warning from police and administrators did not go out to them for more than two hours, even though the killer of two people was at large. Early reports in the initial confusion said police had a suspect in custody, but Flinchum said later that the person was only being questioned for information because he knew one of the dormitory victims.
Plus, he said, "there were a few screams." Then the students went to the windows. Norris Hall. The investigations will also need to look into the response by the campus and local police. Two hours later a second, more lethal round of shooting claimed some 30 lives in an engineering building across campus. As the investigation of the Virginia Tech shootings unfolds in coming days, it will be important to ascertain whether there were any hints of the tragedy to come and what might be done to head off such horrors in the future. In Room 207, Mr. Bishop's German class is underway. Yesterday morning. "A steady pop, pop, pop, pop," Mallalieu said. (South Korean convention sometimes call sof the last name to be used first.) Our hearts and the hearts of all Americans go out to the victims and their families. NPR is using Seung-Hui Cho. Sympathy was not enough at the time of Columbine, and eight years later it is not enough. It is not easy to guarantee a safe haven. Norris Hall shooter identified Listen to this 'Talk of the Nation' topic Listen University police have confirmed the identity of the gunman in yesterday's killing spree in Blacksburg. At first, he got down and hid behind a desk as Librescu held the classroom door closed. He shot a girl in the mouth, a boy in the legs. But it seems a safe bet that in one way or another, this will turn out to be another instance in which an unstable or criminally minded individual had no trouble arming himself and harming defenseless people.
Yesterday’s mass shooting at Virginia Tech — the worst in American history — is another horrifying reminder that some of the gravest dangers Americans face come from killers at home armed with guns that are frighteningly easy to obtain. Not much is known about the gunman, who is reported to have killed himself, or about his motives or how he got his weapons, so it is premature to draw too many lessons from this tragedy. But it seems a safe bet that in one way or another, this will turn out to be another instance in which an unstable or criminally minded individual had no trouble arming himself and harming defenseless people. In the wake of the 1999 Columbine High School massacre — in which two alienated students plotted for months before killing 12 students, a teacher and themselves — public school administrators focused heavily on spotting warning signs early enough to head off tragedy. As the investigation of the Virginia Tech shootings unfolds in coming days, it will be important to ascertain whether there were any hints of the tragedy to come and what might be done to head off such horrors in the future. Campuses are inherently open communities, and Virginia Tech has some 26,000 students using hundreds of buildings over 2,600 acres. The investigations will also need to look into the response by the campus and local police. The initial shootings killed two students in a dormitory around 7:15 a.m., prompting a 911 call and a police response. Tragically, the police assumed that was the end of it and thought the shooter might have left the campus and even the state. Two hours later a second, more lethal round of shooting claimed some 30 lives in an engineering building across campus. If the same gunman was responsible for both incidents, the police will have to explain why they failed to intercept his second foray or did not lock down the whole campus. What is needed, urgently, is stronger controls over the lethal weapons that cause such wasteful carnage and such unbearable loss. Norris Hall shooter identified Listen to this 'Talk of the Nation' topic Listen University police have confirmed the identity of the gunman in yesterday's killing spree in Blacksburg. The police chief also said that victims were found in four different classrooms and in stairwells in Norris Hall. Ballistic experts also said that the gun used in the shootings at West Johnson Amber Hall early Monday morning is the same gun used later in the shootings in Norris Hall. Shot after shot, "some 30 shots in all," said Trey Perkins, who was seated in the back of the German class. The gunman left, and Perkins, sounding shaken in a telephone interview yesterday, said "three or four" students appeared to be dead. In Room 204, the engineering students were watching Librescu's slides on the subject of virtual work when they began to hear shots from what sounded like an adjacent classroom, said Mallalieu, 23, a student from Luray, Va. "At first I tried to convince myself they weren't gunshots, that if anything, maybe a presentation was going on, to try to convince myself it wasn't," Mallalieu said in a telephone interview from his Blacksburg apartment.
Those efforts, Gates said, would, in turn, create an environment in which violence could be reduced. "I think that there is progress being made. 3 U.S. soldiers killed Three U.S. soldiers were killed in the Baghdad area Wednesday, the U.S. military said Thursday. Gates explained that there aren't "thousands of people in the streets in Iraq trying to kill each other." Words across the screen said it was al-Zarqawi's voice. Al Qaeda-led Iraqi insurgents issued a video Thursday purporting to show the killing of 20 kidnapped Iraqi police and soldiers, each shot in the head execution-style as they knelt in a row. At least 11 people died in another blast in the capital on Thursday. The violence was the worst since a US-led security push began in February. The visit is Mr Gates' third to Iraq since he took office in December. U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates landed in Baghdad on Thursday to deliver a sharp message to Iraqi political leaders: The U.S. military's commitment to the war is not open-ended. Five more policemen were wounded in the shooting. The arrested officer, whose name was not immediately released, was the Iraqi Army commander in charge of security in Sadriya, and will face an investigative committee looking into the bombings. The Islamic State of Iraq -- an umbrella group of Sunni extremists that includes al Qaeda in Iraq -- said Tuesday it killed the security officers after several demands it made of the Iraqi government hadn't been met. Some 28,000 extra US troops were ordered to Iraq as part of President Bush's security offensive in Baghdad. Iraq's hotly debated draft oil law is to be sent to parliament next week, the country's oil minister said on Wednesday, and CBS News reporter Larry Miller says Iraqis could be sitting on nearly twice as much oil as previously thought, according to a comprehensive new geological study (read more) A policeman and a civilian woman were killed when gunmen opened fire on a police patrol in Baqouba, 35 miles northeast of Baghdad, police said.
Taking into account the untapped potential of Iraq's western desert, the war-torn country's oil reserves could be nearly twice as large A Sunni insurgent coalition announced an "Islamic Cabinet" for Iraq and named the head of al Qaeda in Iraq as "minister of war" in a Web video Thursday aimed at showing their strength in leading the fight against the Iraqi government. Al Qaeda-led Iraqi insurgents issued a video Thursday purporting to show the killing of 20 kidnapped Iraqi police and soldiers, each shot in the head execution-style as they knelt in a row. The Islamic State of Iraq, a coalition of Sunni insurgents including al Qaeda in Iraq, claimed on Saturday to have abducted the 20 and threatened to kill them after 48 hours unless the government freed female prisoners and handed over police accused of a rape. President Bush sparred across the table with Democratic congressional leaders opposed to the Iraq war in a prelude to a veto showdown over a conflict that has claimed the lives of more than 3,200 U.S. troops and tens of thousands of Iraqis. During an hour-long meeting at the White House on Wednesday, the president told lawmakers directly that he will not sign any bill that includes a timetable for withdrawing American forces, and they made it clear Congress will send him one anyway. Iraq's hotly debated draft oil law is to be sent to parliament next week, the country's oil minister said on Wednesday, and CBS News reporter Larry Miller says Iraqis could be sitting on nearly twice as much oil as previously thought, according to a comprehensive new geological study (read more) A policeman and a civilian woman were killed when gunmen opened fire on a police patrol in Baqouba, 35 miles northeast of Baghdad, police said. An Iraqi soldier was gunned down near Kut, 100 miles southeast of Baghdad, according to officials at a nearby hospital where his body was brought. In the oil-rich city of Kirkuk, 180 miles north of Baghdad, seven employees of the North Oil Company, a state-run enterprise, were seriously wounded in another drive-by shooting, police said. U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates landed in Baghdad on Thursday to deliver a sharp message to Iraqi political leaders: The U.S. military's commitment to the war is not open-ended. "The clock is ticking," Gates told reporters, saying he will warn Iraqi officials that they must move faster on political reconciliation. "I know it's difficult, and clearly the attack on the council of representatives has made people nervous, but I think that it's very important that they bend every effort to getting this legislation done as quickly as possible. "A suicide bomber infiltrated the parliament building in the heavily fortified Green Zone a week ago, delivering a blow to the U.S.-led effort to pacify the capital's streets.Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki called the violence in Baghdad an "open battle. "Gates, traveling to Iraq for the third time in four months, took a decidedly stronger tone this time, reflecting U.S. frustration and the political tumult in Washington where President Bush and Congress are deadlocked over whether to set an end date for the war.The defense secretary stressed again, however, that the debate has been helpful in letting the Iraqis know that American patience with the war is ebbing. Democrats have seized on those remarks to bolster their arguments that there must be a deadline for the Pentagon to begin withdrawing troops from Iraq.The last time a U.S. defense secretary visited Fallujah — which until late 2004 was a key stronghold of the Sunni insurgency — it was Donald H. Rumsfeld, who stopped here in December 2005 to announce a plan to begin reducing U.S. troops. In February 2006 the spectacular bombing of a mosque in Samarra, north of Baghdad, set off a wave of sectarian retribution and a surge of civilian deaths that scuttled U.S. plans to pull out more troops.Meantime, Gates said the Iraqis must, as quickly as possible, push through legislation on political reconciliation and the sharing of oil revenues among the Sunni, Shiites and Kurds. "It's not that these laws are going to change the situation immediately, but I think ... the ability to get them done communicates a willingness to work together," he said. But he acknowledged, "I'm sympathetic with some of the challenges that they face." Mr Gates' visit comes amid continuing violence in Baghdad Mr Gates flew to Baghdad from Israel, where he told reporters he wanted to see "faster progress" towards political reconciliation in Iraq. His visit came a day after bombings in Baghdad killed nearly 200 people. As he set off for Baghdad, the defence secretary said the Iraqi leadership must be aware that the US' military commitment to the country was not "open-ended". Another 21 people were injured in the blast, which happened in the mainly Shia Karrada district of the city at 1315 (0915 GMT). Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Maliki condemned Wednesday's bombings, describing those behind the attacks as "soldiers of Satan". He also ordered the arrest of the army commander responsible for security in Sadriya district, where 140 people died in a blast at a food market. Story Highlights • New Baghdad suicide blast kills at least 12 • U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates arrives in Iraq • Commander arrested after Wednesday attacks kill 198, wound about 240 • Video claims to show executions of 20 Iraqi security forces Adjust font size: BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates arrived in Iraq on Thursday after a bloody 24-hour stretch in Baghdad that left more than 200 people dead. Gates -- who intends to meet with U.S. commanders and Iraqi government officials -- has been visiting other countries in the region and his stop in Iraq is an unannounced visit, a pool report said. At least 198 people were killed in six bombings on Wednesday and 12 more were killed in a blast on Thursday. Ashraf Qazi, the U.N. special representative in Iraq, Thursday denounced the "killing and wounding more than 500 innocent civilians, including men, women and children," saying the attacks were "malicious and premeditated mass murders, aimed at tearing apart prospects for peaceful and lasting coexistence among Iraq's different communities." He urged all Iraqis "to resist being pushed into the abyss of calamitous sectarianism" and "called on Iraqi authorities to vigorously pursue the criminal perpetrators of these atrocious acts and bring them to justice." Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's office later said a brigade commander was arrested because of "the weakness of security measures put in place to protect civilians in Sadriya." He said there could be progress once "sectarian" factions "decide to live peacefully with one another." They were killed with what is believed to be al-Zarqawi's voice in the backdrop, saying "decide which side you want to be on."
Leicester: Vesty, Varndell, Hipkiss, Gibson, A. Tuilagi, Burke, Ellis, Castrogiovanni, Chuter, White, Cullen, Kay, T. Croft, S. Jennings, M. Corry. Replacements: Terblanche for Byrne (70), Connor for A. Bishop (79), Spice for Marshall (70), B. Williams for Bennett (68), James for A. Jones (55), Powell for Cockbain (79), Pugh for Tiatia (68). Wasps started the second half as they had finished the first. But Tom Varndell's second score proved decisive, Nikki Walker's late try not thwarting the treble-chasing Tigers. Pens: Reihana 2. Former England captain Lawrence Dallaglio said a strike would "obviously be a last resort". Man-of-the-match Sackey then killed the game off 10 minutes from the end. They now take on Leicester in the Heineken Cup final on 20 May. The Ospreys again came back, Walker having the power and reach to barge over in midfield from short range. Damien represents the players and from his own point of view he would probably be interested in ballotting the players to see what their opinions are. Cons: Van Gisbergen. Northampton were warned for persistently killing the ball and referee Alan Lewis eventually lost his patience and sin-binned Ben Lewitt within nine minutes of the restart. The dispute between Premier Rugby, the umbrella body for the English Premiership clubs, and the Rugby Football Union, English rugby's governing body, is over shareholding and voting rights in European Rugby Cup Ltd, the organisation behind the Heineken Cup. Gathering a short pass from Lewsey near the touchline, the wing danced round two tacklers to score under the posts.
Hopley may consider balloting his members over strike action The players' union are considering balloting members over taking action to force a settlement in the dispute over a shareholding in the Heineken Cup. Damian Hopley, boss of the players' union, told the Daily Telegraph. "The game isn't so much shooting itself in the foot, as blowing off both feet." The dispute between Premier Rugby, the umbrella body for the English Premiership clubs, and the Rugby Football Union, English rugby's governing body, is over shareholding and voting rights in European Rugby Cup Ltd, the organisation behind the Heineken Cup. We have this Jerry Springer-type washing of dirty linen in public, which does no-one any good Damian Hopley, chief executive of the Professional Rugby Players' Association The clubs want a 50% shareholding and claim the RFU has gone back on a deal struck last October. But the RFU deny an agreement over the release of international players involved commercial rights in Europe and pulled out. That led to England's top-flight clubs joining their French counterparts in opting out of next season's European competitions. The RFU, in turn, have written to the clubs to warn them of the legal implications of a boycott. Hopley, chief executive of the Professional Rugby Players' Association, added: "If revolution is the only language that people can understand, then maybe we will have to ballot our members and see if they are willing to take strike action. We might lose the odd battle but we're going to win the war Northampton owner Keith Barwell "We have this Jerry Springer-type washing of dirty linen in public, which does no-one any good." Former England captain Lawrence Dallaglio said a strike would "obviously be a last resort". The Wasps skipper told BBC Sport: "I don't think it's something the players have really been discussing. "Certainly in the changing room it's not a topic of conversation. Damien represents the players and from his own point of view he would probably be interested in ballotting the players to see what their opinions are. "My concerns are more to do with the structure of the tournament and making sure our best players are taking part in the competition every year." Northampton owner Keith Barwell argues the escalating power struggle could lead to a breakaway league. "I wouldn't be surprised if a Kerry Packer-style figure saw this stand-off as a chance to seize control of northern hemisphere rugby," he told the Guardian newspaper. 606: DEBATE "If they pay each club £3m that would leave a tidy profit." And Barwell added: "We might lose the odd battle but we're going to win the war. "Give us another 10 years and you'll see the clubs in full ascendancy - with the RFU reduced to a figurehead role in the game. Wasps hit back with a Paul Sackey try and were irresistible after the break, with Sackey crossing in-between efforts from James Haskell and Josh Lewsey. Elite director of rugby Rob Andrew has already said any player taking part will not be considered for the first Test against South Africa on 26 May. 606: DEBATE As Wasps and Leicester provided the entire pack for England's final Six Nations match against Wales last month, this will be a major blow for coach Brian Ashton. Meanwhile, Northampton must now concentrate on trying to secure their Premiership survival by beating London Irish in their last match of the season. Saints belied their lowly league position at the Ricoh Arena by making a powerful and aggressive start to the game. Wayward goalkicking has been one of Northampton's biggest problems throughout the season, yet Reihana converted from near the touchline before adding two more tricky penalties. Northampton were warned for persistently killing the ball and referee Alan Lewis eventually lost his patience and sin-binned Ben Lewitt within nine minutes of the restart. Wasps were then awarded a penalty after Lewitt thumped his knee into the side of the prone Sackey's head and Lewsey made the scoreline even more emphatic with a late try.
But Royal, who has been dogged by questions about her competence, faces a daunting challenge. France's twelve candidates who stand in France's first round presidential election vote to be held on Sunday April 22, 2007. "In a way, Sarkozy helped us. (Reporting by the Paris bureau) The remaining 17 percent was split among eight minor political groups, including three Trotskyist political parties, the French Communist Party and the ecologically minded Greens. He also wants to create a ministry of immigration and identity -- something critics say is a measure aimed at wooing far-right voters attracted by Le Pen's anti-foreigner rhetoric. And they are the ones who are going to make the difference." REUTERS/Files PARIS Conservative leader Nicolas Sarkozy secured a commanding lead in the opening round of France's presidential election on Sunday and will meet Socialist rival Segolene Royal in a run-off on May 6. We told the young people that their strength rested in their voter identification card. A pro-Sarkozy youth leader in Argenteuil said he respects the candidate because he has a long record of visiting underprivileged areas, where he emphasizes hard work, upward mobility and equal opportunity. Sarkozy resigned as interior minister recently to run for president. Front-runner Sarkozy finds himself on the defensive in the leftist bastions, but he has supporters there too. REUTERS/Jean-Philippe Arles Francois Bayrou, France's UDF centrist political party presidential candidate, signs an official register after casting his ballot in the first round vote at a polling station in Pau, south-western France, April 22, 2007. "I want to tell all the French who are scared, who are scared of the future, who feel fragile, vulnerable, who find life harder and harder, I want to tell them that I want to protect them," Sarkozy said in a victory speech to supporters at a concert hall near the Champs Elysees.
PARIS, April 22 -- French voters Sunday chose ruling party candidate Nicolas Sarkozy and Socialist Ségolène Royal to compete in the French presidential runoff in two weeks, with a massive voter turnout backing a generational shift of the country's leadership. Sarkozy, the tough-talking former interior minister and candidate of the Union for a Popular Movement party, won 31 percent of the vote, and Royal, who has cast herself as a maternal protector vying to be France's first female president, received 26 percent, with nearly all of the ballots counted. Eighty-four percent of the 44.5 million eligible voters cast ballots -- an apparent record in a first-round presidential ballot in France -- reflecting the urgency of an election that centered on the country's fear of economic decline at home and diminishing influence abroad. The election results indicate that French voters want a clear choice in the decisive May 6 runoff, which will be a classic right-left showdown pitting the hard-line, pro-business, pro-American Sarkozy, 52, against Royal, 53, who advocates greater spending for social welfare programs and supports more multipolar global relations. Royal, a mother of four, is the first woman to advance to the second round in a French presidential race. The comments clearly were aimed at voters who tell pollsters they find Sarkozy, the son of a Hungarian immigrant, too tough and divisive. Royal, speaking to boisterous supporters in her voting district town of Melle in southwestern France, said she wanted to lead "the fight for change, so that France can stand up again, to get optimism back." In a clear swipe at Sarkozy -- though she didn't name him -- Royal said she wanted to "change France without brutalizing it." "Together, we are going to put the smile back on the face of our country, and conquer the demons of depression and decline," Royal said. The campaign was dominated by voter calls for change as the domestic economy and job market have stagnated and France's international financial and diplomatic influence is waning. Voters said they fear encroaching globalization and rising immigration, which they see as threatening their traditional way of life and the cradle-to-grave benefits of the state's social welfare system. Both Sarkozy and Royal pledged major changes to shake France from its doldrums, and both promise a less imperial presidency that is more in touch with the people. Whoever wins will be the first French president from the baby boomer generation, heralding what voters hope will be a more modern style at the Elysee Palace. François Bayrou, 55, of the small Union for French Democracy party, who had billed himself as a centrist between Sarkozy and Royal, came in third with 18 percent of the vote, and Jean-Marie Le Pen, 78, a hard-right anti-immigration nationalist, ranked fourth with 11 percent, according to preliminary results. The remaining 17 percent was split among eight minor political groups, including three Trotskyist political parties, the French Communist Party and the ecologically minded Greens. Going into the final week of the campaign, pollsters said that as many as 40 percent of likely voters were undecided, leaving the election an unpredictable horse race to the end. France's twelve candidates who stand in France's first round presidential election vote to be held on Sunday April 22, 2007. Candidates include, from L-R, top row: Revolutionary Communist League (LCR) leader Olivier Besancenot, Communist (PCF) Party's Marie-George Buffet, far-left Workers' Party Gerard Schivardi, UDF centrist party's Francois Bayrou. REUTERS/Files A French youth enters the curtained voting booth to prepare his ballot during the first round presidential election vote at a polling station in Macon, central France, April 22, 2007. REUTERS/Robert Pratta French Muslim women cast ballots in the first round presidential election vote at a polling station in Clichy-sous-Bois, near Paris April 22, 2007. REUTERS/Victor Tonelli France's incumbent President Jacques Chirac casts his ballot in the first round presidential election vote at a polling station in Sarran, central France, April 22, 2007. REUTERS/Jean-Philippe Arles Francois Bayrou, France's UDF centrist political party presidential candidate, signs an official register after casting his ballot in the first round vote at a polling station in Pau, south-western France, April 22, 2007. REUTERS/Jean-Paul Pelissier Jean-Marie Le Pen, France's National Front far-right political party presidential candidate, displays his electoral card as he exits the voting booth before casting his ballot in the first round vote at a polling station in Saint-Cloud, near Paris April 22, 2007. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier Segolene Royal, France's Socialist Party presidential candidate, casts her ballot in the first round vote at a polling station in Melle, south-western France April 22, 2007. REUTERS/Regis Duvignau Nicolas Sarkozy (L), France's UMP political party presidential candidate, casts his ballot in the first round vote as his wife Cecilia (R), and her daughters Judith (2L) and Jeanne-Marie Martin (2R) look on at a polling station in Neuilly-sur-Seine near Paris, April 22, 2007. REUTERS/Vincent Kessler Supporters for France's UMP political party presidential candidate Nicolas Sarkozy react to the announcement of results in the first round vote at a theatre in Paris, April 22, 2007. REUTERS/Philippe Wojazer Supporters for Segolene Royal, France's Social political party presidential candidate, react to the announcement of results in the first round vote at party headquarters in Paris, April 22, 2007. REUTERS/Pascal Rossignol Conservative leader Nicolas Sarkozy finished first in the opening round of France's presidential election on Sunday and will meet Socialist rival Segolene Royal in a run-off vote, initial returns showed April 22, 2007. Sunday's turnout was a huge 84.5 percent, attesting to the enormous interest the election has generated, with France's volatile voters reversing a previous trend and shunning the political extremes in favor of mainstream parties. Centrist Francois Bayrou came third with 18.4 percent and far-right leader Jean-Marie Le Pen, who stunned France by coming second in the 2002 election, finished fourth on 11 percent -- his lowest score in his last three attempts at the presidency. As expected, none of the 12 presidential candidates won an absolute majority, opening the way for the run-off. Four polls carried out late Sunday put Sarkozy at between 52-54 percent in the second round showdown, and Royal, seeking to become France's first woman president, on 46-48 percent. Sarkozy's biggest problem as he heads into the second round is his reputation as an authoritarian bully, with rivals turning the first round into a referendum on his personality and accusing him of courting the hard-right vote. Jubilant Socialist fans at their party headquarters waved red roses at news Royal had made it through to the run-off, relieved there was no repeat of the nightmare of 2002, when Le Pen knocked their candidate out of the race. "There are many of us today ... who don't want a France dominated by the law of the strongest and most brutal and blocked in by the power of money where power in concentrated in the hands of always the same few people," Royal told supporters. The combined score for leftist candidates on Sunday was little more than 35 percent, amid signs that France has shifted distinctly to the right, and she will have to hope Bayrou's voters turn her way en masse. In the past, Bayrou's party has always allied itself to the conservatives and Royal will have to tone down her leftist economic rhetoric if she wants to draw centrists towards her.
Its ruling cannot be appealed. Parliament, in which the AK Party has a big majority, elects the president for a seven-year term. But the BBC's Sarah Rainsford in Istanbul says the army had made it clear it would not tolerate Mr Gul as president. REUTERS/Fatih Saribas (TURKEY) ANKARA Turkey's Islamist-rooted government said on Tuesday it would put its presidential candidate to a new vote in parliament on Wednesday, after the Constitutional Court annulled a ballot held last week. Riot police officers detain May Day protesters forcing their way into Taksim Square in Istanbul May 1, 2007. Both Mr. Gul and Mr. Erdogan have their roots in political Islam, and the prospect of a president — the highest secular post in the country — whose background is in political Islam has alarmed some Turks. Analysts say early national polls are the only way to defuse the standoff. The court ruled there was not a quorum for the vote The only candidate, Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul, failed to win the required majority after a boycott by secularist opposition parties. They deny there is any hidden agenda. Cicek told a news conference the government was ready to hold early national polls as sought by opposition parties and the business elite, provided parliament agreed to legislation lowering the age threshold for parliamentarians to 25 from 30. It warned it would defend the separation of state and religion, the legacy of the state's founder Mustafa Kemal Ataturk. AK believes this will boost its electoral chances. Economy Minister Ali Babacan said the economy was ready for early elections, a comment seen as an attempt to calm markets.
Riot police officers detain May Day protesters forcing their way into Taksim Square in Istanbul May 1, 2007. REUTERS/Fatih Saribas Riot police detain a May Day protester trying to force his way into Taksim Square in Istanbul, May 1, 2007. REUTERS/Fatih Saribas Protesters shout slogans in front of the building housing the city headquarters of ruling AK Party where banners showing Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan (L) and his party's presidential candidate Abdullah Gul (R) hang during a rally to oppose the government's presidential candidate in Istanbul, April 29, 2007. REUTERS/Fatih Saribas (TURKEY) ANKARA Turkey's Islamist-rooted government said on Tuesday it would put its presidential candidate to a new vote in parliament on Wednesday, after the Constitutional Court annulled a ballot held last week. Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan left the door open to possible early national elections to resolve the standoff between his government and Turkey's secularists, including the army which has threatened to intervene. Turkish financial markets recorded their biggest falls in a year on Monday and the currency lost more ground on Tuesday as the standoff rocked the predominantly Muslim European Union candidate nation. The Constitutional Court ruled not enough parliamentarians were present when the first round was held in the assembly last week. "What we have cancelled is the first round of voting," Hasim Kilic, deputy head of the court, told reporters. Government spokesman Cemil Cicek said shortly afterwards the cabinet would seek the required attendance of 367 parliamentarians for Wednesday's vote in which Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul, a former Islamist, would be the sole candidate. Cicek told a news conference the government was ready to hold early national polls as sought by opposition parties and the business elite, provided parliament agreed to legislation lowering the age threshold for parliamentarians to 25 from 30. The AK Party believes this change would bolster its chances in national elections, which must be held by November in any case. The army, which sees itself as the final guarantor of the secular state, has ousted four governments in the last 50 years, most recently in 1997 when it acted against a cabinet in which Gul served. Secularists fear if the AK Party secures control of the presidency it will chip away at the secular system. Analysts say early national polls are the only way to defuse the standoff. Earlier, riot police beat and detained hundreds of May Day protesters in Istanbul. Police detained 700 people in Istanbul in street battles with leftist demonstrators protesting on the May Day anniversary of a mass shooting 30 years ago by unknown gunmen. Riot police fired tear gas and used water canons to break up the crowds. The court ruled there was not a quorum for the vote The only candidate, Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul, failed to win the required majority after a boycott by secularist opposition parties. Army concern The constitutional court backed the opposition's argument that a quorum of two-thirds of the 550 lawmakers was not present for Friday's vote. A total of 361 lawmakers voted - 357 for Mr Gul - but 367 were needed to make a quorum. Abdullah Gul was just short of the required majority After the ruling, Mr Cicek said the government would be prepared to meet an opposition call for an early general election provided parliament agreed to lower the age limit for MPs to 25. Photo Earlier today, the sense of unease surrounding the current political confrontation was heightened when Turkish police arrested hundreds of protesters who took to the streets in a May Day rally in Istanbul, beating some and dispersing the crowds with water cannon, according to news agency reports.
Reid was dismissive. The Nation Some in GOP split with Bush on Iraq "Obviously, the president would prefer a straight funding bill with no benchmarks, no conditions, no reports," said Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine). "There is no easy road out. GOP leaders in the House and Senate continue to criticize the Democratic drive to force an end to the 4-year-old war. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque Republican congressional leaders talk to reporters after their meeting with President Bush at the White House in Washington May 2, 2007. Democrats backed off after the House failed, on a vote of 222 to 203, to override the president's veto of a $124 billion measure that would have required U.S. forces to begin withdrawing as early as July. He made his position clear. But a growing number of GOP lawmakers want language that would hold the administration and the Iraqi government more accountable. "Today is a day where we can work together to find common ground." Flanking Bush are Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (L) and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. Defense Secretary Robert Gates suggested the problem may not be the benchmarks themselves, but spelling out consequences -- such as troop withdrawals -- if the Iraqis fail to meet the targets. But a new dynamic also is at work, with some Republicans now saying that funding further military operations in Iraq with no strings attached does not make practical or political sense. "I think one of the issues will be: To what degree are there consequences involved if one or another benchmark isn't met?" Bush in January ordered the deployment of an additional 21,500 troops to try to stabilize Iraq.
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (L) and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid talk to reporters after their meeting with President Bush at the White House in Washington May 2, 2007. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque Republican congressional leaders talk to reporters after their meeting with President Bush at the White House in Washington May 2, 2007. From left are Sen. Trent Lott (R-MS), Rep. John Boehner (R-OH), Rep. Roy Blunt (R-MO) and Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY). REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque U.S. President George W. Bush meets Congressional leaders in the Cabinet Room of the White House in Washington May 2, 2007. Flanking Bush are Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (L) and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. Bush vetoed a bill yesterday that would force him to begin withdrawing U.S. troops from Iraq this year as a condition of funding the war, angering Democrats who vowed to fight on. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque WASHINGTON Democrats on Wednesday failed to override President George W. Bush's veto of Iraq war funding legislation that would force a troop pullout timetable, prompting the start of tense negotiations on a compromise. Bush welcomed somber Democratic leaders to the White House shortly after the veto override attempt failed in the House of Representatives and said he was confident an agreement could be found on a bitterly debated $124 billion war funding bill. "Yesterday was a day that highlighted differences," Bush said of Tuesday's veto. "Today is a day where we can work together to find common ground." Democratic leaders called the session positive but insisted their main goal is to find a way to end the four-year-old Iraq war, in which 3,300 Americans and countless Iraqis have been killed. Of course, we must stand our ground if we can't find it. But we must strive to find that common ground," said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California. White House Chief of Staff Josh Bolten, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada and McConnell are to meet on Thursday for some initial soundings. But Bush added to partisan tensions by charging in a veto message sent to Capitol Hill that Democrats were acting out of their constitutional bounds by trying to legislate a troop pullout that would begin this year. He said the legislation was unconstitutional because "it purports to direct the conduct of the operations of the war in a way that infringes upon the powers vested in the presidency by the Constitution, including as commander in chief of the armed forces." The Constitution gives Congress authority to approve the U.S. budget and lawmakers in the past have used that power to force changes in foreign policy. "For him to talk about something being unconstitutional, that's a little unusual, and I don't want to get into the other things that have been done with this administration which have clearly been unconstitutional," Reid said. The House override vote was 222-203, far short of the two-thirds majority needed, but it showed growing support in the House for pulling the troops out of a war that is testing the patience of the American people. IRAQI BENCHMARKS Bush said it was time to agree on legislation that would give U.S. troops the money and flexibility to do their job. "Even if you think it was a mistake to go into Iraq, it would be a far greater mistake to pull out now," Bush told the Association of General Contractors of America. The Bush administration says an infusion of funds is needed soon, but Democrats argue that the U.S. Army has enough money on hand to finance the Iraq war through most of July. Anticipating they would not be able to override the veto, congressional leaders are negotiating over new approaches for getting the war funds into the pipeline with conditions that Bush would accept. Among ideas circulating on Capitol Hill were "benchmarks" for measuring the Iraqi government's progress in stabilizing the country, where violence has been particularly gruesome recently. Defense Secretary Robert Gates suggested the problem may not be the benchmarks themselves, but spelling out consequences -- such as troop withdrawals -- if the Iraqis fail to meet the targets. "I think one of the issues will be: To what degree are there consequences involved if one or another benchmark isn't met?" The Nation Some in GOP split with Bush on Iraq "Obviously, the president would prefer a straight funding bill with no benchmarks, no conditions, no reports," said Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine). As Democrats start work on a new war spending bill to replace the one President Bush vetoed, at least three Republican senators who opposed the Democratic withdrawal plan said Wednesday that the new bill should include so-called benchmarks for the Iraqi government to meet. These lawmakers are advocating proposals that would tie the U.S. commitment in the war to the Iraqi government's ability to demonstrate that it is working to quell the sectarian conflict. Collins, who opposed Bush's troop buildup but balked at the Democratic withdrawal plan, is working on legislation that would require Iraqis to meet certain goals to receive U.S. reconstruction aid. Most Republicans are expected to stick with the White House until September, when the U.S. military commander in Iraq plans to deliver a major assessment of the president's war strategy. But the call for establishing benchmarks with concrete consequences challenges the position of the president and GOP leaders, much as the Democrats did when they tried to link the same measurements with a troop withdrawal. Rep. Jack Kingston, a Georgia Republican who has supported Bush's war strategy even as the public has turned against it, said, "The marketplace has become ripe for a new idea." "They have a responsibility to bring forward a clean bill that supports our troops and supports our effort in Iraq," Boehner said, flanked by his senior legislative lieutenants. Democratic leaders are trying to decide how they will respond to Bush's veto of their $124-billion war spending bill. The bill mandated that the president begin to withdraw U.S. troops by July 1, unless the Iraqi government made substantial progress on a number of benchmarks, such as disarming sectarian militias. President Bush and congressional leaders began negotiating a second war funding bill yesterday, with Democrats offering the first major concession: an agreement to drop their demand for a timeline to bring troops home from Iraq. Democrats backed off after the House failed, on a vote of 222 to 203, to override the president's veto of a $124 billion measure that would have required U.S. forces to begin withdrawing as early as July. Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (Nev.) outlined a second measure that would step up Iraqi accountability, "transition" the U.S. military role and show "a reasonable way to end this war."
"All ordnance has been put beyond reach," it added. The UVF statement said its weapons would be stored in a number of arms dumps "under the control of the UVF leadership, but not accessible for use by members". During the Troubles in Northern Ireland, the loyalist paramilitary group murdered more than 500 people. The UVF declared a ceasefire 13 years ago However, the Independent International Commission on Decommissioning urged the UVF to work with it to destroy its weaponry. Sinn Fein's John O'Dowd said: "This is a welcome statement if it signals a recognition of the new political reality where there is no room for armed or violent actions." Its campaign also claimed the lives of 33 people in bomb attacks in Dublin and Monaghan in 1974. It said it welcomed the statement, but was "concerned by their intention to deal with their arms without the involvement of the IICD". The DUP's Peter Robinson said: "The decision that the UVF is moving to a civilian mode is undoubtedly a major development and it is critical that all paramilitary groups follow this clear path." Speaking in Fernhill House in west Belfast on Thursday, Gusty Spence said the UVF and its associated group, the Red Hand Commando, "will assume a non-military, civilianised role". The Ulster Unionist Party's Fred Cobain said: "We hope it signals the destruction of materials of war so that they cannot again be used to inflict harm." However, it did not elaborate on what this means, or whether the general will be allowed to verify its claim.
A man strolls past a mural, depicting a loyalist paramilitary group Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) fighter holding a gun, on a street corner in Belfast, in a September 26, 2005 file photo. The UVF, the most lethal of Northern Ireland's Protestant paramilitary groups, said on... REUTERS/Dylan Martinez/Files BELFAST The Ulster Volunteer Force, the most lethal of Northern Ireland's Protestant paramilitary groups, said on Thursday it would put "beyond reach" weapons it used against Catholics opposed to British rule in the province. The UVF also said it had ended recruitment and military training and instructed members to obey the rule of law. The group, which killed more people than any other Protestant gang during 30 years of sectarian conflict in the province, said its move followed disarmament by the opposing and predominantly Catholic Irish Republican Army. London and Dublin welcomed the news five days before politicians from opposite ends of Northern Ireland's sectarian divide begin running the province's day-to-day affairs. "We need to see how today's announcement is translated into action," a spokesman for Prime Minister Tony Blair said. Irish premier Bertie Ahern said the move was "potentially very important" but joined others in pointing out that putting weapons beyond reach was not the same as disarming. When the IRA ended its armed campaign against British rule and so-called 'loyalist' groups such as the UVF, it refused to dispose of its weapons in public but did agree to the presence of independent monitors to verify the scale of decommissioning. "While we're encouraged by their proposal to end their involvement in paramilitarism, and to reject criminal activity, we are concerned by their intention to deal with their arms without the involvement of the IICD," the commission said. VIOLENCE AND CRIME The UVF said its decision was in response to a deal between the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) of hard-line Protestant cleric Ian Paisley and IRA political ally Sinn Fein that will see the two sides sharing power from May 8. London and Dublin called on the UVF and other loyalist groups to stand down last month after a ceasefire watchdog found that while they had not recently been engaged in "terrorism", some members were involved in violence and crime. A 1998 peace deal largely ended 30 years of violence in Northern Ireland but paramilitary groups continued to exist. The IRA pledged in 2005 to dump its arms and pursue its goal of a united Ireland through peaceful means, paving the way for historic talks between the DUP and Sinn Fein in March, but opposing groups such as the UVF had been slow to follow suit. During the 1970s the UVF carried out some of the worst attacks of the conflict, including killing 33 people with car bombs in Dublin and Monaghan in May 1974. Of more than 3,600 people killed during three decades of sectarian conflict, the UVF was responsible for the deaths of around 540 people -- most of them civilians. However, the body which oversees arms decommissioning said it was "concerned" by the UVF's intention to deal with weapons without their involvement. During the Troubles in Northern Ireland, the loyalist paramilitary group murdered more than 500 people. Its campaign also claimed the lives of 33 people in bomb attacks in Dublin and Monaghan in 1974. In a statement, it said its weapons would be stored in a number of arms dumps "under the control of the UVF leadership, but not accessible for use by members". We are prepared to meet with the UVF representative to discuss how we can work together in dealing with arms Independent International Commission on Decommissioning UVF statement in full It declared a ceasefire 13 years ago, but since then its members have been blamed for more than 20 murders. The statement also condemned any criminal activity by its members, and said they should "cooperate fully with the lawful authorities in all possible instances". The UVF has accepted that "the IRA's war is over" and said it was making this move now because it was satisfied that Northern Ireland's place within the United Kingdom was now safe. Sinn Fein's John O'Dowd said: "This is a welcome statement if it signals a recognition of the new political reality where there is no room for armed or violent actions." The Ulster Unionist Party's Fred Cobain said: "We hope it signals the destruction of materials of war so that they cannot again be used to inflict harm." The PSNI said: "Whilst we welcome today's announcement, individuals and organisations will be judged by their actions - actions always speak louder than words." The UVF declared a ceasefire 13 years ago It also said it will keep its weapons, but has put them "beyond reach". The UVF statement said its weapons would be stored in a number of arms dumps "under the control of the UVF leadership, but not accessible for use by members". The UVF has accepted that "the IRA's war is over" and said it was making this move now because it was satisfied that Northern Ireland's place within the United Kingdom was now safe. The statement said: "We have taken the above measures in an earnest attempt to augment the return of accountable democracy to the people of Northern Ireland and as such, to engender confidence that the constitutional question has now been firmly settled."
There were 10 survivors. The last communication with the missing plane was received by the control tower in Douala, on the coast, shortly after take-off, Kenya Airways said. NATIONALITIES OF MISSING 35 Cameroon 15 India 9 Kenya (crew) 7 South Africa 6 China 6 Ivory Coast 6 Nigeria 5 Britain 3 Niger 2 Central African Republic 2 Democratic Republic of Congo 2 Equatorial Guinea 1 Ghana; Sweden; Togo; Mali; Switzerland; Comoros; Egypt; Mauritius; Senegal; Congo; Tanzania; US; Burkina Faso 3 unidentified Source: Kenya Airways A crisis management centre has been set up in Nairobi. On Saturday, there were distressing scenes at Nairobi's Jomo Kenyatta International Airport where a number of worried friends and relatives gathered. However, 169 people died when one of its planes crashed in 2000. Our correspondent says it will raise questions of whether other aircraft will be taken out of service. "We need to get information from the technical experts as to whether it was occasioned by the weather or pilot error or mechanical fault," he was quoted by the Associated Press as saying. The Boeing 737-800 was just six months old and part of a new fleet bought by the airline. 'Anxious and desperate' Kenyan Transport Minister Chirau Ali Makwere - who is leading a team of Kenya Airways and government officials to Douala - said it was too early to determine what had happened to the plane. The missing come from more than 20 countries, including five Britons. Mr Naikuni said the search and rescue operation was proving to be difficult because it was taking place in the heavily-wooded terrain.
Worried friends and relatives gathered at Kenya's main airport Rescuers in southern Cameroon have resumed searching for a Kenya Airways airliner thought to have crashed on Saturday with 114 people aboard. The flight, which originated in Ivory Coast, is believed to have come down in dense jungle after taking off in heavy rain from Douala en route to Nairobi. Searchers using helicopters are focusing on the Lolodorf area after reports of an explosion there. The missing come from more than 20 countries, including five Britons. The Boeing 737-800 was just six months old and part of a new fleet bought by the airline. The presumed crash will raise questions about whether other aircraft will be taken out of service, the BBC's Karen Allen reports from Nairobi. Kenya's national carrier has a good safety record but 169 people died when one of its planes crashed in 2000. 'Confusion' Flight KQ 507 originated in Abidjan and left Douala, Cameroon, at 0005 on Saturday (2305 GMT Friday), being due to reach Nairobi at 0615 (0315 GMT). The last communication with the missing plane was received by the control tower in Douala, on the coast, shortly after take-off, Kenya Airways said. A distress signal was later sent out by the plane, Kenyan Airways chief executive Titus Naikuni said, adding that this would have been sent out automatically. A BBC correspondent in Lolodorf says the situation there has been chaotic, and heavy rains on Saturday prevented a ground search from taking place. 'Anxious and desperate' Kenyan Transport Minister Chirau Ali Makwere - who is leading a team of Kenya Airways and government officials to Douala - said it was too early to determine what had happened to the plane. On Saturday, there were distressing scenes at Nairobi's Jomo Kenyatta International Airport where a number of worried friends and relatives gathered. In January 2000 a Kenya Airways plane crashed into the sea after taking off from Abidjan airport in Ivory Coast killing 169 people. JOHANNESBURG Three Cameroon referees were missing, feared dead, aboard a Kenya Airways passenger plane that crashed in southern Cameroon shortly after takeoff, a Confederation of African Football official said on Saturday. The official said they would attempt to find replacement referees from neighbouring Congo Brazzaville to allow the fourth round, first leg tie between TP Mazembe Englebert of the Democratic Republic of Congo and Zimbabwe's Mwana Africa to go ahead as planned on Sunday or otherwise postpone the match. Military and civil aviation helicopters were scouring a wide zone in Cameroon between Kribi on the Atlantic coast and Ngomedzap, south of the capital Yaounde in search of the missing plane. Kenya Airways said the 737-800 airliner, which began its journey in Ivory Coast's main city Abidjan and stopped over in Cameroon, was carrying 105 passengers and nine crew. Worried friends and relatives are gathering at Kenya's main airport Friends and relatives The flight, which originated in Ivory Coast, was reported missing on Saturday after it failed to arrive in Kenya. Cameroon state radio said the plane came down south of Douala, although Kenya Airways has only confirmed so far that it is missing. The BBC's Karen Allen in Kenya's capital, Nairobi, says the Boeing 737-800 involved in Saturday's incident was just six months old and was part of a new fleet bought by the airline. Kenya Airways said the last communication with the missing plane was received by the control tower in Douala, on Cameroon's coast, shortly after take-off. Cameroon radio initially said the plane came down near Niete, south along the coast from Douala, although spotter helicopters were later searching for wreckage further inland - near the town of Lolodorf. "The search location has now been centred around 100kms (62 miles) south-west of [Cameroon's capital] Yaounde," Kenyan Airways chief executive Titus Naikuni told a news conference.
"We have to act, the French people expect it. France has given me everything, and now it is my turn to give back to France what France has given me Nicolas Sarkozy Sarkozy victory speech World reacts to Sarkozy win What next for Sarkozy? REUTERS/Robert Pratta PARIS Hundreds of people were arrested in France overnight in clashes between police and protesters angry over conservative Nicolas Sarkozy's victory in Sunday's presidential election, police said. Sarkozy defeated Socialist Party candidate Segolene Royal on Sunday. On Monday, Mr Sarkozy revealed that his choice of prime minister would be Francois Fillon, who is currently Mr Sarkozy's senior political adviser. REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes Young demonstrators protest against France's newly-elected President Nicolas Sarkozy in the center of Lyon, southeastern of France, May 6, 2007. Afterwards we need to rebuild the left," he told RTL radio. Police say on an average just over 100 cars are set ablaze in France each night. Some 52 percent of women also voted for him. The first key hurdle for the new president will be nationwide parliamentary elections in June. SARKOZY: KEY POLICIES Exempt overtime (above 35 hours) from taxes and social security charges Minimum sentences for repeat offenders, tougher sentences for juveniles Selective immigration that favours arrival of qualified workers Increase taxes on polluters Oppose Turkish EU membership He has pledged to bring unemployment down from 8.3% to below 5% by 2012. Mr Sarkozy is expected to quickly name a 15-strong cabinet for the start of his five-year term in office. Police used tear gas to disperse around 400 protestors in the western town of Nantes and french radio also reported several hundred protestors in the towns of Caen and Tours.
Media surround Segolene Royal, France's Socialist Party presidential candidate, as she arrives at her headquarters in Paris May 7, 2007, the day after her defeat by conservative UMP party candidate Nicolas Sarkozy, who was elected as France's President in the runoff vote. REUTERS/Thierry Roge Nicolas Sarkozy, France's newly-elected President, reacts to election results with UMP political party supporters in Paris, May 6, 2007. Sarkozy, a combative conservative, won a strong mandate for political and economic change by winning 53.06 percent of the vote in Sunday's presidential run-off against 46.94 for Socialist Segolene Royal. But he needs to secure a majority in the election for the National Assembly on June 10 and 17 to make good on his vows to loosen rigid labor laws, trim fat from the public service, cut taxes and restore full employment. "We are going to see how we can give him the biggest parliamentary majority possible so he can put into effect his undertakings," Defense Minister Michele Alliot-Marie told reporters outside Sarkozy's campaign headquarters. Sarkozy left Paris in the morning with his wife and son, after spending the night in a luxury hotel. They arrived unannounced on a private aircraft on the Mediterranean island of Malta, airport sources told Reuters on Monday. "These few days rest were planned to put him more in the mindset of a president after the tumultuous battle," said Claude Gueant, his campaign director. "It will also be a few days to let him reflect on the make-up of his government team," he told RTL radio. On Monday night, between 300 and 400 youths who were chanting anti-Sarkozy slogans smashed shop windows and burnt at least 2 scooters at the historic Place de la Bastille in central Paris. More than 100 people were arrested. Police used tear gas to disperse around 400 protestors in the western town of Nantes and french radio also reported several hundred protestors in the towns of Caen and Tours. Police arrested 592 people overnight between Sunday and Monday after demonstrators set fire to 730 cars and injured 78 policemen in numerous incidents. SOCIALIST WOUNDS Sarkozy, the son of a Hungarian immigrant, will take office on May 16, succeeding President Jacques Chirac who is standing down after 12 years in power. He is widely expected to appoint his closest political aide, Francois Fillon, as prime minister and name women to half the posts in a compact cabinet of just 15 ministers. As the right prepared to extend their grip on power, France's beaten Socialists looked to the future after suffering their third consecutive defeat at a presidential election. The moderate wing shaped up for a fight with the left over the heart and soul of the party. But Socialist General Secretary Francois Hollande, who is the partner of Royal, called for a truce until after France's election marathon ended in June. A breakdown of the election results by pollsters IPSOS made sober reading for the Socialists, with Sarkozy winning backing from a majority of private sector workers, pensioners and the self-employed. Some 52 percent of women also voted for him. Royal, who made a big play for the female vote, gained support from the unemployed and those aged under 25. REFORM RUSH Sarkozy has promised a deluge of reforms in his first 100 days including plans to curb union powers, tighten sentencing for criminals and undermine the 35-hour work week, introduced by a previous leftist government, by cutting taxes on overtime. Union leaders have denounced his proposals and France could face crippling strikes in the autumn of the sort that tripped Chirac when he took office in 1995 and tried to impose change. Foreign leaders rushed to congratulate Sarkozy and a White House spokesman said Washington looked forward to working with the new president following often frosty relations with Chirac, who was vehemently opposed to the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq. A firefighter works to control a car set ablaze in Clichy-sous-Bois outside Paris May 6, 2007 after demonstrations against the election of France's new President Nicolas Sarkozy. REUTERS/Robert Pratta PARIS Hundreds of people were arrested in France overnight in clashes between police and protesters angry over conservative Nicolas Sarkozy's victory in Sunday's presidential election, police said. Official figures released on Monday said demonstrators set fire to 730 cars and injured 78 policemen across France, with 592 people arrested in the violent protests against the tough-talking former interior minister. The tally was revised sharply upwards after an initial report appeared to downplay the clashes and was at odds with local police figures and eyewitness reports, which suggested widespread troubles in numerous French cities. Leftist sympathizers clashed with police in and around Paris's Place de la Bastille after Sarkozy's victory against Socialist Segolene Royal and security forces fired tear gas and at least one burst of water cannon to disperse the crowd. "Everyone got hit," said Sophie Wolkowitch, whose pharmacy suffered 14,000 euros ($19,000) of damage. In Nantes, 26 people were held for questioning and six police were slightly injured after 1,000 people joined a march against Sarkozy in the western city, said Yves Monard, head of public security of the Loire-Atlantique department. Cars and shop windows were also damaged in Nantes while to the northwest, in Caen, four police were hurt and an attempt was made to set fire to the local office of Sarkozy's UMP party. At the time Sarkozy branded the troublemakers as scum and Royal said last week that a victory by her opponent would provoke violence in French suburbs. "The second round of the presidential election did not generate any large demonstrations of urban violence in sensitive neighborhoods," said the memo. It added that the level of violence was above that usually seen on July 14 Bastille Day, France's national holiday, "but below that of New Year's celebrations".
But as the Rev. In the end, it took the naysayers, Paisley and Adams, to negotiate what looks to be a durable peace. "Northern Ireland was synonymous with conflict. It's a good day for Ireland, it's a good day for all of the people of this island. Mr McGuinness said he was confident he and the DUP leader could work together. Tony Blair and Bertie Ahern witnessed the creation of the new executive. Unlike at any other time, I believe we are now able to make progress." Under the agreement, Northern Ireland remains part of Britain unless -- Sinn Fein would say until -- a majority in the province votes to leave Britain and join Ireland. There can be no return to the politics of the past. MARK DURKAN, SDLP LEADER What today shows is that when finally you have a government setting a deadline and setting terms and keeping to them, you can get somewhere. MARTIN MCGUINNESS, DEPUTY FIRST MINISTER We've already taken joint decisions, but that was in the context of not having power. Ministers from the four main parties took the pledge of office, which includes support for the police. But the two, Protestant David Trimble, then head of the Ulster Unionist Party, and Catholic John Hume, former leader of the Social Democratic and Labor Party, were beset with opposition from radicals within their own movements. We need to create a genuinely shared future if we are to have a chance of making devolution work. And it's that process that has now been brought to completion: brought to completion by parties that were ambiguous or hostile to the agreement at the time it was made.
Tony Blair and Bertie Ahern saw devolution return Enlarge Image DUP leader Ian Paisley and Sinn Fein's Martin McGuinness took office as first and deputy first ministers as five years of direct rule ended. Mr Blair said that the day's events offered the chance for Northern Ireland to "escape the heavy chains of history" and "make history anew". In October 2002, allegations of intelligence gathering within Stormont led to the suspension of power-sharing institutions. A subsequent court case collapsed. "Look back and we see centuries pock-marked by conflict, hardship, even hatred, among the people of these islands," the prime minister said. Irish Premier Bertie Ahern thanked all the politicians who have been involved in the peace process, but reserved special praise for Mr Blair. Mr Paisley said: "Today we are starting upon the road which I believe will take us to lasting peace in our province." He added: "I welcome the pledge we have all taken to that effect today... that is the rock foundation upon which we must build." Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness said he wished Ian Paisley all the best as they began "the greatest, yet most exciting, challenge of our lives". "We must overcome the difficulties which we face in order to achieve our goals and seize the opportunities that now exist," he said. SDLP leader Mark Durkan said: "What today shows is that when finally you have a government setting a deadline and setting terms and keeping to them, you can get somewhere." William Hay was appointed as the new speaker, replacing the outgoing Eileen Bell. Protesters tried to block the PM's motorcade Demonstrators protesting against the war in Iraq were forcibly removed by police after they attempted to block the arrival of Mr Blair's motorcade. The protesters, who had been standing in front of Parliament Buildings, ran down the hill to the Carson Statue and lay down on the road. Ministers from the four main parties took the pledge of office, which includes support for the police. The return of devolved government follows an historic meeting in March between Mr Paisley and Sinn Fein President Gerry Adams, where they agreed to share power. VIP guests at Stormont included US Senator Ted Kennedy, the DUP leader's wife Baroness Paisley and Peggy McGuinness, the deputy first minister's mother. Also attending was Jeanette Ervine, the widow of Progressive Unionist Party leader David Ervine, who died in January. IAN PAISLEY, FIRST MINISTER Mr Paisley said Northern Ireland was on the road to prosperity And I would challenge the people of Northern Ireland to rise to the challenge today and be determined that come what may, we'll make this a country when all men and women will be equal under the law and equally subject to the law. Mr McGuinness said the assembly has the backing of all the people of Ireland All of that is going to change in the next couple of hours, and by midday today, we're going to be in charge, and we're going to be charged with the responsibility of governing in the interests of the people. PETER HAIN, NORTHERN IRELAND SECRETARY Mr Hain believes the DUP and Sinn Fein will make the assembly work It's going to stick, I believe, because the DUP and Sinn Fein - Gerry Adams and Martin McGuinness on the one hand, Ian Paisley and Peter Robinson on the other - these are the two most polarised forces in Northern Ireland's politics, they have done the deal and that's why I believe it's here to stay for good. It's a good day for Ireland, it's a good day for all of the people of this island. "But sometimes politics is about that in order to achieve a better end -- and there are always two kinds of people in politics -- those who stand aside and commentate and those who get their hands dirty and do. Bertie Ahern paid tribute to his British counterpart For 10 tough years, he has spent more times dealing with the issues of the island of Ireland than any person ever could have asked any other person to do. SIR REG EMPEY, ULSTER UNIONIST LEADER The mission of the Ulster Unionist Party in the months and years ahead, as we rebuild and reform, is to demonstrate that unionism and politics in general is not about a sectarian power-grab. MARK DURKAN, SDLP LEADER What today shows is that when finally you have a government setting a deadline and setting terms and keeping to them, you can get somewhere. It actually took people like the McCartney sisters to show governments how to set terms and hold terms in which the IRA had to move. An assembly in which local politicians take decisions on issues like schools or water charging provides the best hope of delivering a government that is accountable to the people of Northern Ireland. EDWARD KENNEDY, US SENATOR A brighter day has dawned for the people of Northern Ireland, and it would not have been possible without the commitment and determination by all of Northern Ireland's political leaders to find a new way forward.
But it is clear that for now, at least, that there is no one who can replace him," Yusufzai said. The officials did not have details of where and when Dadullah was killed. REUTERS/Handout KANDAHAR, Afghanistan Mullah Dadullah, the Taliban's top operational commander in southern Afghanistan, was killed during a clash with Western and Afghan forces in Helmand province, officials said on Sunday. "They can take revenge for the killing. The left leg was missing. Dadullah was believed to be behind a campaign of suicide bombings and a series of kidnappings of foreigners and Afghans and beheadings of hostages or collaborators. There may be more reprisal attacks. NATO issued a statement confirming the feared Taliban commander had been eliminated in a U.S.-led operation. A Reuters reporter who had seen Dadullah in the past recognized the body brought to Kandahar. "They have now knocked out two senior military commanders. He had been shot in the head and in the stomach. A senior Pakistani security official, who requested anonymity, gave a different version, saying Dadullah was killed on Friday night in an airstrike. The death of Dadullah represents the biggest setback to the Taliban command since the insurgency began, after its Islamic militia government was toppled by U.S. backed forces in 2001. SAVAGE REPUTATION Dadullah was a member of Taliban's 10 member leadership council and close to the movement's fugitive leader, Mullah Mohammad Omar. Dadullah boasted in an interview this year that he had deployed 6,000 fighters for a spring offensive and that suicide bombers had infiltrated every major Afghan city. Several people said they were happy Dadullah was gone but skeptical his death would make much of a positive difference.
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, May 13 -- Mullah Dadullah was the face of the Taliban movement in Afghanistan as it used suicide bombings, videotaped beheadings and targeted assassinations to escalate its insurgent campaign over the past two years. Dadullah periodically turned up on television to taunt the Afghan government and U.S.-led international forces with threats of ever more ambitious attacks. On Sunday, his face was on display again, resting on a pink sheet, bloody and lifeless. A bullet hole was visible in the back of his head, with two more piercings in his stomach. Dadullah, the Taliban's top operational commander, was killed Saturday after U.S.-led troops and Afghan forces tracked him down and surrounded him in southern Afghanistan, according to Afghan and international security officials. His death was hailed by those officials as a critical victory in the fight against the Taliban at a time when the extremist Islamic movement has destabilized large portions of the country through Dadullah's uncompromising approach to warfare. "We fully expect Mullah Dadullah will be replaced in time, but for now the insurgency has received a serious blow," said Maj. John Thomas, a spokesman for the NATO-led force that patrols Afghanistan and that supported U.S.-led operations against Dadullah. Although the group's overall leader, Mohammad Omar, remains at large, he is believed to play a lesser role in the organization's military operations. A Taliban spokesman denied that Dadullah had been killed, but witnesses who inspected the body as it lay at the governor's palace in the southern city of Kandahar on Sunday identified it as Dadullah's, based on distinctive facial features and a missing left leg. Last year was the bloodiest in Afghanistan since the Taliban was ousted in a U.S.-led invasion in late 2001, and the number of civilian deaths rose dramatically. Dadullah boasted in an interview this year that he had deployed 6,000 fighters for a spring offensive and that suicide bombers had infiltrated every major Afghan city. Those claims, however, were widely believed to have been exaggerated, and the offensive has largely failed to materialize. "Dadullah killed a lot of people," said Raza Nedizad, 24, a shopkeeper in Kabul, the Afghan capital. "But now I worry the suicide bombings will increase because the Taliban are angry and they want to take revenge." An undated file video grab shows Mullah Dadullah, top Taliban commander, at an undisclosed location in Afghanistan. REUTERS/via RVN/File A handout received by Reuters through email on April 24, 2007 shows an undated image of Taliban military commander Mullah Dadullah who is said to be surrounded in Uruzgan province of Afghanistan. REUTERS/Handout KANDAHAR, Afghanistan Mullah Dadullah, the Taliban's top operational commander in southern Afghanistan, was killed during a clash with Western and Afghan forces in Helmand province, officials said on Sunday. The death of Dadullah represents the biggest setback to the Taliban command since the insurgency began, after its Islamic militia government was toppled by U.S. backed forces in 2001. "He was killed last night and right now I have his body before me," Assadullah Khalid, governor of neighboring Kandahar province, told Reuters. "Mullah Dadullah Lang left his sanctuary into Southern Afghanistan where he was killed in a US-led coalition operation supported by ISAF," the statement issued by NATO, which leads the International Security Assistance Force, said. "It's the biggest setback to the Taliban since they started resistance in 2001," said Rahimullah Yusufzai, a Peshawar based journalist and expert on tribal affairs in the Pashtun lands straddling the Pakistan-Afghan border where the Taliban operate. "His claim to fame was suicide bombings," a senior Pakistani security official said, adding that Dadullah had been a frequent visitor to Waziristan, a Pakistan tribal region regarded as a hotbed of support for the Taliban. In December, U.S.-led forces killed another top Taliban official, Mullah Mohammad Akhtar Osmani, in an air attack in the south of the country after a tip-off by Pakistan. KANDAHAR, Afghanistan, Sunday, May 13 — Afghan government officials showed the body of Mullah Dadullah, the top operational commander for the Taliban insurgency, to reporters here Sunday morning, saying he had been killed in a joint operation of Afghan and coalition forces.
"Some were detained and some were killed," it said. Last June, al Qaeda abducted two U.S. soldiers in the same area where the patrol of seven U.S. soldiers and one Iraqi army interpreter were ambushed on Saturday. It was the second attack on Kurdish areas in Iraq in four days. A US military spokesman said the search would continue until the fate of the missing soldiers was known. The group promised more details later.The Islamic State is a coalition of eight insurgent groups. An extra 30,000 US troops are being deployed in Baghdad and Anbar province as part of a four-month old joint Iraqi-American security drive. The deal would stave off a threatened Sunni walkout that could have toppled the al-Maliki's embattled government. A suicide truck bomb tore through the offices of a Kurdish political party in northern Iraq, killing 50 people, and a car bombing in a crowded Baghdad market killed another 17.Troops surrounded the town of Youssifiyah and told residents over loudspeakers to stay inside, residents said. Iraqi lawmakers say Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki plans to give Sunnis more say in security operations in their areas. The soldiers marked each searched house with a white piece of cloth.Soldiers also searched cars entering and leaving the town, writing "searched" on the side of each vehicle they had inspected. The group offered no proof to back up its claim. Talks between Shi'ite Iran and the United States, which accuses Tehran of supplying and training Shi'ite militia in Iraq, are rare. The patrol was attacked 11km (seven miles) west of the town at 0444 (0044 GMT), spokesman Maj Gen William Caldwell said.
(AP) In Other Developments: The United States and Iran said Sunday they will hold upcoming talks in Baghdad about improving Iraq's security — a historic political turnabout that comes amid a last-ditch U.S. military and diplomatic push to stabilize the country. Iraqi lawmakers say Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki plans to give Sunnis more say in security operations in their areas. The deal would stave off a threatened Sunni walkout that could have toppled the al-Maliki's embattled government. Lawmakers describe the agreement as an understanding and not a formal pact; similar arrangements have broken down in the past. The deal could help assuage Sunni complaints that security forces dominated by Shiites unfairly target Sunni areas but have not cracked down on Shiite militias linked to influential lawmakers. A suicide bomber in northern Iraq slamming a truck into local offices of the Kurdistan Democratic Party, which is headed by Massoud Barzani, leader of the autonomous Kurdish region in northern Iraq. At least 50 people were killed and 115 were wounded, including the city's mayor, Abdul Rahman Delaf, who also is a prominent Kurdish writer, and the director of the KDP office, said Ziryan Othman, the health minister of the Kurdish regional government. In Baghdad, a parked car exploded near the popular Sadriyah market in the center of the city Sunday, killing at least 17 people and wounding 46, police said. An al Qaeda front group announced Sunday it had captured American soldiers in a deadly attack the day before, as thousands of U.S. troops searched insurgent areas south of Baghdad for their three missing comrades.The statement came on one of the deadliest days in the country in recent weeks, with at least 124 people killed or found dead. A suicide truck bomb tore through the offices of a Kurdish political party in northern Iraq, killing 50 people, and a car bombing in a crowded Baghdad market killed another 17.Troops surrounded the town of Youssifiyah and told residents over loudspeakers to stay inside, residents said. The soldiers marked each searched house with a white piece of cloth.Soldiers also searched cars entering and leaving the town, writing "searched" on the side of each vehicle they had inspected. Several people were arrested, witnesses said.It's a massive search, including 4,000 U.S. troops, reports. And increasingly desperate, to ease the anguish of the missing and their families.On its web site, the Islamic State in Iraq claimed credit for the ambush, and for capturing "a number of crusader soldiers. "It said more details — implying proof — will come soon, addsThe Islamic State in Iraq offered no proof for its claim that it was behind the attack in Mahmoudiya that also killed four U.S. soldiers and an Iraqi translator. But the Sunni area known as the "triangle of death" is a longtime al Qaeda stronghold.If the claim proves true, it would mark one of the most brazen attacks by the umbrella Sunni insurgent group against U.S. forces here.Maj. Gen. William Caldwell, spokesman for the U.S. military, said U.S. troops backed by aircraft and intelligence units were scouring the farming area as the military made "every effort available to find our missing soldiers. "President Bush was also getting regular updates on the missing soldiers, said Gordon Johndroe, a spokesman for the White House's National Security Council in Washington.The early morning attack on two U.S. military vehicles outside of Mahmoudiya, about 20 miles south of Baghdad, left the bodies of the four U.S. soldiers and their translator badly burned.Caldwell said the bodies of the interpreter and three of the slain soldiers had been identified, but the military was still working to identify the fifth.Later Sunday, the Islamic State of Iraq posted a brief message on a militant Web site saying it was responsible for the attack and held an unspecified number of U.S. soldiers. The group promised more details later.The Islamic State is a coalition of eight insurgent groups. Late last month, it named a 10-member "Cabinet" complete with a "war minister," an apparent attempt to present the Sunni coalition as an alternative to the U.S.-backed, Shiite-led administration of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.U.S. military officials said they had no indication of who was behind Saturday's attack. "It's difficult to verify anything that al Qaeda in Iraq would say because they lie," said Lt. Col. Christopher Garver, a military spokesman. An Iraqi soldier takes position in the bushes while searching for three missing U.S. soldiers in the Shibaiya palm grove area, near the town of Yusufiya, 9 miles south of Baghdad, May 12, 2007. REUTERS/Ibrahim Sultan BAGHDAD Thousands of American troops searched on Sunday for three U.S. soldiers missing in Iraq after an ambush in which al Qaeda said it seized "crusader" forces, while a suicide bomber killed 50 people in the Kurdish north. The self-styled Islamic State in Iraq, a group led by al Qaeda, said in an Internet posting it was holding soldiers who survived an attack south of Baghdad in which the U.S. military said four U.S. troops and an Iraqi army translator were killed. That attack and the suicide truck bombing came as President George W. Bush deploys 30,000 more U.S. troops due in Iraq in June in what is seen as a final push to halt a slide into all-out civil war between majority Shi'ites and Sunni Arabs. Last June, al Qaeda abducted two U.S. soldiers in the same area where the patrol of seven U.S. soldiers and one Iraqi army interpreter were ambushed on Saturday. Their badly mutilated bodies were found days later. The two countries, at loggerheads over Iran's nuclear program, have not had diplomatic ties for more than a quarter century. In Baghdad, a car bomb killed 12 people in a popular market in a mostly Shi'ite area, police said. The attack was of the kind U.S. and Iraqi officials say are carried out by Sunni al Qaeda in a campaign to stoke sectarian passions heightened since a Shi'ite shrine was bombed in Samarra in 2006. KURDS FEAR VIOLENCE As U.S.-led troops backed by helicopters and jets combed the ambush area south of the capital known as the Sunni "Triangle of Death", a truck bomb killed 50 people and wounded 70 in the northern town of Makhmour, the governor said. A truck bomb on Wednesday in the city of Arbil, capital of Kurdistan, killed 15 people and wounded more than 100 in an attack claimed by al Qaeda that sparked fears violence engulfing much of Iraq was spreading to the relatively peaceful region. Major-General William Caldwell, chief spokesman for the U.S. military in Iraq, told a news conference U.S. troops would make "every effort available to find our three missing soldiers." Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Barham Salih told CNN television al Qaeda appeared to have abducted the soldiers, though he was not sure the Web site that carried the group's claim was authentic.
After his election, Mr Sarkozy spoke of governing for all of France, and Mr Fillon's appointment could be seen in this spirit. During the ceremony the new prime minister said: "I will listen to everyone because a France in motion needs everyone." Royal comprehensively won the party's presidential primary last year. "It will be a government of the right that will conduct policies of the right, with a president of the right. Mr Bruter told Guardian Unlimited: "Since his work on pensions, he has had the reputation as a reformer ... he is not despised by the left or the unions. Recent surveys see his conservatives ahead of the Socialists. PARIS French Socialist leaders accused president-elect Nicolas Sarkozy of trying to undermine their party by appointing leftists to his cabinet and said it would be treacherous for opposition figures to heed his call. Mr Fillon will lead the UMP party into parliamentary elections in June. Reform agenda The new president said on his first day in office that France needed to bring in more reforms quickly. Mr Fillon served as social affairs minister between 2002 to 2004, pushing through a major overhaul of the country's pension system in the midst of large street protests. At a news conference on Tuesday, Hollande did not elaborate on his idea for a new party, saying the focus now lay on winning legislative polls. The current labour minister, Jean-Louis Borloo, 56, is also tolerated by the unions and has also been mentioned as a possible prime minister, but Mr Fillon is the clear favourite to succeed Dominic de Villepin. One needs to have coherence and constancy.
Francois Fillon oversaw Nicolas Sarkozy's election campaign Mr Fillon, 53, a moderate conservative senator, helped direct Mr Sarkozy's successful election campaign. He is expected to play a leading role in the president's plans to reform France's employment and welfare laws. Mr Sarkozy, who succeeded Jacques Chirac on Wednesday, is due to name the rest of his government on Friday. He has promised to halve the number of government ministers to 15, and has said about half will be women. The outgoing prime minister, Dominique de Villepin, who resigned from the post on Tuesday, received his successor and formally handed over power in a ceremony on Thursday morning. FRANCOIS FILLON Nicolas Sarkozy's election campaign director and jogging partner A senator, from the left of Mr Sarkozy's conservative UMP party Has a Welsh wife, Penelope, and five children Profile: Francois Fillon In line with tradition, the Republican Guard was deployed in ceremonial uniform and Mr Fillon arrived via a red carpet laid out across the courtyard at the prime minister's official residence, the Matignon. During the ceremony the new prime minister said: "I will listen to everyone because a France in motion needs everyone." Afterwards Mr de Villepin emerged from the Matignon, wished Mr Fillon good luck and said: "He has all the necessary qualities to succeed in the service of our country." Mr Fillon served as social affairs minister between 2002 to 2004, pushing through a major overhaul of the country's pension system in the midst of large street protests. He has also served in several other government posts for the UMP party, but lost his place in Mr Chirac's administration in 2005 and pledged his loyalty to Mr Sarkozy. Getting France moving again - Mr Sarkozy sets the pace "There is a demand for change. The BBC's Caroline Wyatt, in Paris, says all this is a new and very different style for France, whose heads of state here have traditionally been patrician, somewhat remote figures. It is clear that Mr Sarkozy and Mr Fillon are serious about getting this nation moving again, she says, beginning by setting their own personal example. Mr Fillon's renowned conciliatory skills will be much needed as prime minister if he is to succeed in a post often described as a poisoned chalice, says the BBC's Alasdair Sandford in Paris. Mr Fillon will lead the UMP party into parliamentary elections in June. PARIS French Socialist leaders accused president-elect Nicolas Sarkozy of trying to undermine their party by appointing leftists to his cabinet and said it would be treacherous for opposition figures to heed his call. The news has jolted the Socialists, who are still reeling from their third straight presidential defeat, and highlighted the deep divisions that risk undermining the party's efforts to rally support for parliamentary elections in June. Socialist Party leader Francois Hollande said he had warned Kouchner that he would belong to a rightist team if he took up Sarkozy's offer. The rest is a matter for one's conscience," he said, urging more "morality in politics". "Poaching, treachery, profiting from people's frustrations - I leave that to others," he said. "(Sarkozy) is campaigning for the parliamentary elections and his goal is to have as little opposition as possible and to spark divisions on the left," Jean-Marc Arnault, the leader of the Socialist group in parliament, told a news conference. He dismissed a "Sarko show" designed to "discourage leftist voters." Royal comprehensively won the party's presidential primary last year. But her subsequent emphasis on her independence from the party caused anger within Socialist ranks and the knives have been out for her since her May 6 election defeat. Hollande, Royal's partner and father of her four children, added to the confusion on Sunday when he called for the creation of a major new leftwing party. At a news conference on Tuesday, Hollande did not elaborate on his idea for a new party, saying the focus now lay on winning legislative polls. The start of the briefing was interrupted when a microphone fell to the floor, prompting a wry joke from Hollande: "I'll start again. Unions and the left say they could work with François Fillon, rumoured to be Nicolas Sarkozy's choice as prime minister, writes Mark Oliver Nicolas Sarkozy was reportedly overheard telling Tony Blair on the telephone during a victory party on Sunday night that his choice for his new prime minister was François Fillon. Mr Fillon and Mr Sarkozy have not always been best friends but, since 2005, the former has been the new French president's closest adviser and mastermind behind an "exceptionally vigorous and competitive campaign", as the right-leaning Le Figaro newspaper put it yesterday. Asked in a pre-election interview if Mr Fillon had the "ideal profile" for prime minister, Mr Sarkozy agreed he had the "profile", but would not elaborate. Mr Fillon was the minister for Labour under prime minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin's first government, in 2002, which took on the vexed task of starting to reform France's 35-hour week and pensions system. If he does become prime minister, Mr Fillon will be mindful of Mr Villepin's problems following protests last year against the introduction of a law that allowed firms to sack employees under the age of 26 within two years of engaging them.
But there have been concerted efforts, particularly by the South, at reconciliation in recent years. North Korea has so far only agreed to a one-off test-run. One of those on board the North-bound train was a conductor who made one of the last railway crossings before they ended because of the 1950-53 Korean War. "The trains represent the dreams, the hopes and the future of the two Koreas," Lee said. Advertisement Continue reading the main story The protesters were calling for North Korea to return their relatives. To entice the North to allow the historic rail crossing, Seoul has offered $80 million in aid for its light industries. 'New era' Hundreds of people gathered at Munsan station in west South Korea to cheer the five-carriage train as it set off on the 25km (16 miles) trip to Kaesong, across the heavily-armed border. Each train carried 150 passengers from both Koreas - and included celebrities and politicians. REUTERS/Jo Yong-Hak North Korean students shout 'Fatherland's Unification!' "I never thought this day would come". REUTERS/Korea Pool A North Korean train carrying 50 North Koreans returns to the North after a two Koreas train crossing ceremony in South Korea at the demilitarized zone at Kosung, May 17, 2007. “These are not just test runs,” Unification Minister Lee Jae-Joung of South Korea said. View all New York Times newsletters. The North Korean military cleared mines and moved some of its weapons to make room for the rail system and the Gaesong industrial complex. A trans-Korea railroad would offer a faster and cheaper way for South Korea to bring exports that are now shipped by sea to China and Europe.
The trains crossed on opposite sides of Korea Historic crossing The two trains - one travelling from the North and one from the South - each carried 150 invited passengers. South Korea hailed it as a landmark in relations between the two countries. But Thursday's crossing remains largely symbolic, the BBC's Charles Scanlon says. For that, our correspondent adds, Pyongyang has demanded a high price. South Korea has agreed to supply it with $80 million (£41m) worth of economic aid for the development of light industry. 'New era' Hundreds of people gathered at Munsan station in west South Korea to cheer the five-carriage train as it set off on the 25km (16 miles) trip to Kaesong, across the heavily-armed border. Firecrackers and white balloons were set off and crowds waved white-and-blue "reunification flags". KOREAN BORDER Heavily fortified border has separated the two Koreas since 1950-53 war 240 km long and 4 km wide, the DMZ takes up about 5% of the Korean peninsula N Korea has 1.1m man army, S Korea and US forces total more than 700,000 In pictures: Train crossing History of Korean War On the eastern side, children bearing flowers welcomed the North Korean train as it arrived at Jejin station. One carriage carried a banner reading: "The train once boarded by great president Kim Il-sung". Each train carried 150 passengers from both Koreas - and included celebrities and politicians. Passengers on the South Korean train said they were warmly received in the North, while female cabin attendants in military uniforms on board the North train posed for pictures upon arrival at the station in the South. One of those on board the North-bound train was a conductor who made one of the last railway crossings before they ended because of the 1950-53 Korean War. "I wish I could operate this train myself," Han Chun-ki, 80, said. "I never thought this day would come". South Korean Unification Minister Lee Jae-joung expressed his hope that the crossing could herald a new era in North-South relations. "This will be a turning point for overcoming the legacy of the Cold War era, tearing down the wall of division and opening a new era for peace and reunification," he said. A North Korean official, Kwon Ho-ung, said both nations "should not be derailed from the tracks" towards unification. A small number of protesters - mainly relatives of South Koreans allegedly abducted by the North following the war - gathered at Munsan. "I wish the train would come back with my son if he is still alive," a tearful Lee Kam-shim, 72, told the Associated Press. Border tension The South has long pushed for a railway connection with the North - not only as a way of improving links with its neighbour, but also to establish better transportation links to China and beyond. But the secretive Communist country has been less enthusiastic, and previous talks have collapsed as Pyongyang has sought to extract concessions on other issues, such as a disputed sea border. The train from the North was welcomed by flag-waving onlookers Thursday's historic crossing was made possible after the North's military agreed last week to provide security across what is the world's most heavily fortified border. The two sides are still technically at war - having never signed an official ceasefire at the end of the Korean War. The railway tracks - which run alongside roads across the border - were built and maintained by South Korea part of recent reconciliation projects. And landmines and tank traps were cleared from the narrow border strip two years ago when the lines were reconnected. No train had crossed the border since the last trains carrying refugees and wounded soldiers arrived in South Korea from the north during the Korean War in 1951. Advertisement Continue reading the main story For decades here, in South Korean postcards and school textbooks, the bullet-scarred, rusting hulks of wartime locomotives trapped in the demilitarized zone have symbolized a divided Korea and a conflict that has never formally ended. North Korea and South Korea are still technically at war since the Korean War ended in a truce, not a peace treaty. “They mean reconnecting the severed bloodline of the Korean nation.” He spoke during a ceremony at Munsan Station, 12 kilometers south of the demilitarized zone. “The trains carry our dream of peace.” His North Korean counterpart, Kwon Ho Ung, who was also in Munsan, said the trains represented the “Korean nation’s wish to gallop to the destination of reunification,” despite what he called outside forces — apparently a reference to the United States — that are “not happy with reconciliation among Koreans.” Advertisement Continue reading the main story The major television networks in South Korea broadcast the event live. The South Korean train, carrying 150 people from both sides of the border, pulled out of Munsan around 11:30 a.m. as fireworks exploded overhead. Advertisement Continue reading the main story It traveled 27 kilometers to Gaesong, a North Korean border town where South Korea runs factories employing workers from the North and where labor is less costly than in the South. The North Korean train, which also carried passengers from both sides of the border, made a similar journey, traveling between the Diamond Mountain resort and Jejin, 40 kilometers to the south. Advertisement Continue reading the main story South Korea has long dreamed of building a trans-Korea railroad that would connect its train network to China and to the Trans-Siberian Railway in the former Soviet Union, creating a so-called Iron Silk Road. A trans-Korea railroad would offer a faster and cheaper way for South Korea to bring exports that are now shipped by sea to China and Europe. Such a rail system would save South Korea $34 to $50 a ton in shipping costs, said Lim Jae Kyung, a researcher at the Korea Transport Institute. Advertisement Continue reading the main story But before the dream of a trans-Korea rail system comes true, transportation analysts and government officials say, years of confidence-building talks and billions of dollars in investment in North Korea’s decrepit rail system will be needed. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Officials acknowledge that such a dream will not be made real until after North Korea gives up its nuclear weapons and improves its human rights record.
The bank gave no further details of its agreement with Mr Wolfowitz. The board is made up of representatives of the Bank's leading members including the US, UK, Japan, France and Germany. But it acknowledged that a "number of mistakes" had been made. When Mr Wolfowitz took over Ms Riza was transferred to work for the US state department, to avoid any conflict of interest. The World Bank has since been investigating the extent of Mr Wolfowitz's role in securing the pay increase. Her salary rose quickly to about $193,000 (£98,000) - more than the $186,000 that Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice receives before tax. The bank said it would start an immediate search for his successor. He is due to appear before the full 24-member board in Washington. The board has the power to dismiss him or report a lack of confidence in his leadership or simply reprimand him. And the separate track is what is gonna be best for the institution." The White House, which had backed Mr Wolfowitz, said President George W Bush reluctantly accepted his decision. A panel of the World Bank later found that Mr Wolfowitz had provoked a "conflict of interest" and broken its code of conduct. But he is less popular with European governments, which hold key positions on the board of the bank. He had faced widespread calls for his resignation after being accused of a conflict of interest over a pay rise given to ex-bank employee Shaha Riza. He asked to be allowed to recuse himself, or step aside, from any decisions regarding her future.
Paul Wolfowitz says he has been the victim of a smear campaign After lengthy talks with the bank's board, Mr Wolfowitz said he would quit the global lending body on 30 June. He had faced widespread calls for his resignation after being accused of a conflict of interest over a pay rise given to ex-bank employee Shaha Riza. Mr Bush's former deputy defence secretary joined the World Bank in 2005. The bank said it would start an immediate search for his successor. 'Good faith' In a statement, the board of directors said it accepted Mr Wolfowitz's assurances that he had "acted ethically and in good faith" in the handling of Ms Riza's role and remuneration. But it acknowledged that a "number of mistakes" had been made. I have concluded it is in the best interests of those whom the institution serves for that mission to be carried forward under new leadership Paul Wolfowitz The Bank after Wolfowitz Reaction to resignation Q&A: Wolfowitz row In response, Mr Wolfowitz said his decision to resign was "in the best interests" of the institution, which has more than 180 member countries worldwide. The BBC's Justin Webb in Washington says that by accepting his claim that his actions were honourably intended, the bank has allowed Mr Wolfowitz to leave with, in theory at least, his reputation intact. He has been under severe pressure for weeks, with a number of European politicians calling on him to step down to prevent the Bank's credibility from being eroded. HAVE YOUR SAY Wolfowitz was an embarassment to the US and his departure was long overdue Bob Apthorpe, Austin, USA Send us your comments The White House strongly supported Mr Wolfowitz - although experts believed its influence would not be enough to save his position in the face of European hostility. A spokeswoman for the bank's staff association - which had been at the forefront of calls for Mr Wolfowitz's resignation - said: "He has damaged the institution and continues to damage it every day that he remains as its president." Conflict of interest Mr Wolfowitz came under fire after details emerged about his role in securing a pay rise for Ms Riza, who used to work at the bank. When appointed to his post in 2005, he notified the bank of a potential conflict of interest because of his relationship with Ms Riza. Paul Wolfowitz's leadership of the World Bank has attracted critics Mr Wolfowitz then proposed to move Ms Riza to the US state department, where she would be paid and promoted apparently in line with her prospects at the World Bank. Her salary rose quickly to about $193,000 (£98,000) - more than the $186,000 that Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice receives before tax. A panel of the World Bank later found that Mr Wolfowitz had provoked a "conflict of interest" and broken its code of conduct. The panel found that the salary Mr Wolfowitz arranged for Ms Riza had been higher than her due and that he had acted "in opposition to the rules of the institution". While admitting he made a mistake in his handling of the case, Mr Wolfowitz says he has been the victim of a smear campaign and ought to have followed his initial instinct to recuse himself. The board is made up of representatives of the Bank's leading members including the US, UK, Japan, France and Germany. Paul Wolfowitz will have to appear before the 24-member board "We've made clear that we support Paul Wolfowitz," said spokesman Tony Snow, but added that the bank's "best interests" also had to be served. A day earlier, the bank had said Mr Wolfowitz broke its rules by helping secure a pay rise for his girlfriend. The comments come in advance of Mr Wolfowitz's hearing before the bank, which will decide his future there. Mr Wolfowitz is set to appear before the bank's 24-member board later on Tuesday. 'Not a firing offense' On Monday, a panel of World Bank executives said Mr Wolfowitz provoked a "conflict of interest" at the bank, by breaking its code of conduct and violating the terms of his contract. Mr Wolfowitz has faced calls for him to step down since details emerged about his role in securing a pay rise for his partner, Shaha Riza, who used to work at the bank. Mr Snow told journalists at the White House that Mr Wolfowitz agreed "a lot of mistakes were made" in the process, but they were not a "firing offence". "In that sense... all options are on the table," US backing When Mr Wolfowitz was appointed president of the World Bank in 2005, Ms Riza was transferred to work for the US Department of State, to avoid any conflict of interest. But her salary rose quickly to about $193,000 (£98,000) - more than the $186,000 that Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice receives before tax. Paul Wolfowitz is mired in a scandal regarding payments to his girlfriend The directors said the full board of the World Bank should consider whether Mr Wolfowitz was still able to provide effective leadership. The full board must address the issue of Mr Wolfowitz's ability to continue in his job, the panel urged. A spokesman for the US treasury secretary said the panel's findings did not merit Mr Wolfowitz's dismissal. Censure 'likely' "[The board must consider] whether Mr Wolfowitz will be able to provide the leadership needed to ensure that the bank continues to operate to the fullest extent possible in achieving its mandate," the panel concluded. But her salary rose quickly to about $193,000 (£98,000) - more than the $186,000 Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice receives before tax. David Rifkin, a former justice department lawyer and friend of Mr Wolfowitz, told the BBC he found the panel's position inexplicable because Mr Wolfowitz had acted based on advice from the bank.
We see the results of it in America, Britain, Spain, Italy and all places," Erdogan said. Forensic officers investigate the scene of an explosion in Ankara May 22, 2007. "People were running away... Its fighters have been staging attacks against Turkey in the country's southeast and from the Kurdish region of neighboring Iraq. The blast occurred during evening rush hour at the entrance to a shopping centre in the district of Ulus. Turkish media said the injured Pakistanis were in Ankara for a defense industry fair organized by the Turkish armed forces. PKK LINKS? (Additional reporting by Umit Bektas and Daren Butler) One of the dead was a Pakistani and the others were Turks. Turkish broadcasters CNN Turk and NTV said police were studying whether the bomb was placed in a package by a bus stop or if it was the work of a suicide bomber. The area has been cordoned off and an investigation has begun. State-run news agency Anatolian later said a sixth person had died in hospital and that six Pakistanis were also among the wounded. A security source, who declined to be named, told Reuters the government suspected the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) -- which is waging an armed struggle for greater Kurdish rights -- as the bombing bore the hallmarks of the rebels. Turkey has been hit by bombings in recent years. Rescuers tended to the injured lying in the street next to piles of glass "We have seen a vicious, ruthless terror attack at Ankara's busiest time," said Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who was visiting the scene. Some have been blamed on Kurds and others on Islamic militants.
Forensic officers investigate the scene of an explosion in Ankara May 22, 2007. REUTERS/Umit Bektas A view of the damage to a shopping mall caused by an explosion in Ankara May 22, 2007. REUTERS/Umit Bektas Turkey's Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan (C) visits the site of an explosion in Ankara May 22, 2007. REUTERS/Umit Bektas Search and rescue team members carry a body from an explosion site in Ankara May 22, 2007. REUTERS/Umit Bektas Riot police secure the area around the scene of an explosion in Ankara May 22, 2007. REUTERS/Umit Bektas Police and residents help injured people lying on the street after an explosion rocked a shopping mall in Ankara May 22, 2007. REUTERS/Ihlas News Agency An injured man is helped after an explosion rocked a shopping mall in Ankara May 22, 2007. REUTERS/Ihlas News Agency A view of the damage to a shopping mall caused by an explosion in Ankara May 22, 2007. REUTERS/Firat Yurdakul/Anatolian Police and residents help injured people after an explosion rocked a shopping mall in Ankara May 22, 2007. REUTERS/Ihlas News Agency ANKARA A powerful bomb outside a crowded shopping mall in the heart of Turkey's capital Ankara killed six people and injured 80 others on Tuesday, authorities said. It was believed to be the worst in at least a decade to strike near Turkey's power center, which houses the influential armed forces, the presidency and the government. "We have seen a vicious, ruthless terror attack at Ankara's busiest time," Prime Tayyip Erdogan told reporters at the scene of the blast in the city's historic Ulus district. There was no immediate claim of responsibility but a security source said all eyes were on separatist Kurdish rebels in the volatile southeast and Turkey's military chief said he feared similar blasts could hit other large cities. Analysts said the blast was certain to raise tension ahead of July general elections, a contest fraught with strain between Turkey's secularist elite, the ruling Islamist-rooted AK party and Kurdish factions who accuse Erdogan's government of sidelining their candidates. Erdogan said four Turks and one Pakistani were killed in the rush hour blast. State-run news agency Anatolian later said a sixth person had died in hospital and that six Pakistanis were also among the wounded. Turkish broadcasters CNN Turk and NTV said police were studying whether the bomb was placed in a package by a bus stop or if it was the work of a suicide bomber. A security source, who declined to be named, told Reuters the government suspected the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) -- which is waging an armed struggle for greater Kurdish rights -- as the bombing bore the hallmarks of the rebels. Parts of the mall's entrance collapsed, shop windows were blown out, debris was strewn across the street and police cordoned off the area as rescue workers carried injured people, many covered in blood, to ambulances. More than an hour after the blast, three bodies, badly mutilated, laid in the street in front of the 5-storey building long after the blast occurred, a Reuters witness said. At a prosecutor's request, an Ankara court imposed a ban on broadcasters and newspapers carrying footage or pictures of the bombing for the sake of the investigation and subsequent prosecution, Anatolian said. Mehmet Yilmaz, a shop owner in the area of the blast, told Turkish television he saw someone on fire and tried to put out the flames by covering him with rugs and water. I brought one of them to hospital," Harun Kiraz, a 42-year-old taxi driver, told Reuters. Turkish media said the injured Pakistanis were in Ankara for a defense industry fair organized by the Turkish armed forces. Police officers at the scene said A-4 plastic explosives were believed to the cause of the blast. "This is an explosion by an organized terror group," armed forces Chief of General Staff General Yasar Buyukanit said after visiting the site. Kurdish separatists, leftist militants and hardline Islamists have all launched bomb attacks in Turkey in the past. The secular establishment, including the military, judges and opposition parties, derailed the government's plan to elect Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul as president, fearing he might weaken the official separation of religion and state. Rescuers tended to the injured lying in the street next to piles of glass "We have seen a vicious, ruthless terror attack at Ankara's busiest time," said Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who was visiting the scene. In November 2003, more than 60 people were killed by a series of suicide bombings in Istanbul which the authorities linked to al-Qaeda.
Iran has not suspended its enrichment-related activities. "We want a new, improved, better relationship with Iran, but that requires Iran to meet the conditions established by the Security Council and if she does that, then we're in business of having discussions," he added. The IAEA said its ability to monitor Iran's activities had "deteriorated" The International Atomic Energy Agency report also said Tehran was blocking IAEA efforts to probe suspicious nuclear activities. Mr ElBaradei has faced criticism from Europe and the US It followed a UN nuclear watchdog warning that Tehran was stepping up enrichment and obstructing inspections. "It has started feeding cascades with UF6 (uranium gas). The time has come to look at additional pressure... to bring about a change in Iranian calculations US envoy Zalmay Khalilzad UN lists Iran defiance 'Third way' on Iran issue? However IAEA inspectors still regularly visit Iran's atomic facilities under the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. Iran's defiance of another 60-day deadline set by the Council when it imposed a second set of sanctions on March 24 will expose Tehran to tougher penalties over its nuclear work, which the West fears is a front for assembling atom bombs. The US and other European allies were so angered by Mr ElBardei's "unhelpful comments" that they were expected to deliver a formal complaint. A senior UN official said if Iran continued at the present rate it would have 3,000 centrifuges by the end of June. Mr ElBaradei has suggested that Iran be allowed to keep part of its enrichment programme. Our correspondent says Washington may have some difficulty in persuading all members of the UN Security Council to impose further sanctions.
Mr ElBaradei has faced criticism from Europe and the US It followed a UN nuclear watchdog warning that Tehran was stepping up enrichment and obstructing inspections. Mohamed ElBaradei is due to address a joint US-Russian conference on nuclear proliferation later on Thursday. He is set to call on the international community to prevent Iran enriching uranium on an industrial scale. Formal complaint Mr ElBaradei is expected to voice what many analysts fear - that the focus on halting Iran's enrichment experiments has been overtaken by events, says our correspondent in Luxembourg, Jonathan Marcus. The time has come to look at additional pressure... to bring about a change in Iranian calculations US envoy Zalmay Khalilzad UN lists Iran defiance 'Third way' on Iran issue? This point of view is at odds with that of the US and of a number of key European governments. The US and other European allies were so angered by Mr ElBardei's "unhelpful comments" that they were expected to deliver a formal complaint. The US described the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)'s report as "a laundry list of Iran's continued defiance of the international community". Iran has denied hindering the IAEA and said it will "continue to co-operate". In March, the UN Security Council imposed a second round of sanctions on Iran for failing to suspend uranium enrichment, prompting Tehran to limit its co-operation with the agency. However, IAEA inspectors still regularly visit Iran's atomic facilities under the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. 'Additional pressure' After the IAEA issued its report on Wednesday, the US representative to the UN, Zalmay Khalilzad, said his government was now considering taking further steps against Tehran. The IAEA said its ability to monitor Iran's activities had "deteriorated" "The time has come to look at additional pressure [...] to bring about a change in Iranian calculations." "It's now for the international community to consider how we respond to that," he told reporters. The IAEA said its ability to monitor Iran's activities had "deteriorated" The International Atomic Energy Agency report also said Tehran was blocking IAEA efforts to probe suspicious nuclear activities. "There are no obstacles to lawful and legal IAEA inspections of Iran's nuclear facilities," said Mohammad Saeedi, the deputy head of Iran's atomic energy organisation. IAEA report The White House described the IAEA's latest report as "a laundry list" of Iran's continued defiance of the international community. The BBC's Jonathan Beale in Washington says the US is determined to step up the pressure, convinced that Tehran is secretly trying to develop nuclear weapons - a charge it denies. In its report, the IAEA said Iran was operating eight cascades of 164 centrifuges, which are sets of machines used for enrichment at its underground site in Natanz. The report also said Iran had agreed to unannounced inspections and surveillance measures at Natanz but that the IAEA's ability to monitor the nuclear programme had "deteriorated" because of lack of access. Mr ElBaradei has said Iran possessed "the knowledge about how to enrich" and the focus should now be on preventing industrial-scale production. Envoys from the US, France, Germany and Britain are expected to visit Mr ElBaradei this week to deliver a formal complaint that the agency chief's comments "were not helpful". Iranian technicians lift a barrel of ''yellow cake'' to feed it into the processing line of Uranium Conversion Facility (UCF) in Isfahan, about 261 miles south of Tehran, August 8, 2005. Iran's defiance of another 60-day deadline set by the Council when it imposed a second set of sanctions on March 24 will expose Tehran to tougher penalties over its nuclear work, which the West fears is a front for assembling atom bombs. Iran has continued with the operation of their pilot fuel enrichment plant and with construction of their (planned industrial underground) enrichment plant," the U.N. nuclear watchdog said in its report. "Unless Iran addresses long-outstanding verification issues, and implements ... required transparency measures, the Agency will not be able to fully reconstruct the history of Iran's nuclear program and provide assurances about the absence of undeclared nuclear material and activities in Iran or about the exclusively peaceful nature of that program," the report said.
outside the station. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. "He's losing more than he thinks he's gaining. Chavez accuses RCTV of participating in a bungled 2002 coup against him. We will return soon." It was the largest of several protests that broke out across Caracas hours after Radio Caracas Television ceased broadcasting at midnight Sunday and was replaced with a new state-funded channel. She said about 20 protesters were treated for inhaling tear gas. RCTV is being forced off the air after President Hugo Chavez's administration refused to renew its broadcasting license which ends on Sunday. REUTERS/Jorge Silva Supporters of Radio Caracas TV (RCTV) attend a demonstration outside the TV station in Caracas May 27, 2007. Two other channels that were once staunchly anti-Chavez — Venevision and Televen — have recently toned down their criticism. Digg del.icio.us Newsvine Reddit Facebook CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) Venezuelan police fired tear gas and plastic bullets Monday into a crowd of thousands protesting a decision by President Hugo Chavez that forced a television station critical of his leftist government off the air. Others launched fireworks and danced in the streets. Chavez says he is democratizing the airwaves by turning the network's signal over to public use. Conversation guidelines: USA TODAY welcomes your thoughts, stories and information related to this article. She said the protest near her university was peaceful, but National Guard troops said they acted after students hurled rocks and sticks. Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. Disheartened actors and comedians wept and embraced in the final minutes on the air. Founded in 1953, RCTV was the nation's oldest private channel and regularly topped viewer ratings with its talk shows, sports, soap operas and comedy programs.
Enlarge By Gregorio Marrero, AP A university student, with his face covered by a Venezuelan flag, throws a rock toward riot police at a protest against Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez's decision to shut down opposition-aligned television station Radio Caracas Television, RCTV, in Caracas Monday. Digg del.icio.us Newsvine Reddit Facebook CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) Venezuelan police fired tear gas and plastic bullets Monday into a crowd of thousands protesting a decision by President Hugo Chavez that forced a television station critical of his leftist government off the air. Police fired toward the crowd of up to 5,000 protesters from a raised highway, and protesters fled amid clouds of tear gas. Some tossed rocks and bottles at police, prompting authorities to scatter demonstrators by firing more gas. It was the largest of several protests that broke out across Caracas hours after Radio Caracas Television ceased broadcasting at midnight Sunday and was replaced with a new state-funded channel. Chavez had refused to renew RCTV's broadcast license, accusing it of "subversive" activities and of backing a 2002 coup against him. MORE FROM VENEZUELA: Chavez pulls plug on critical TV station At least three protesters and one police officer were injured in skirmishes. Some protesters were seen in television footage hurling spent tear gas canisters back at police. Office workers poured out of buildings to join student protesters, while organizers called for the demonstration to remain peaceful. RCTV talk show host Miguel Angel Rodriguez led the crowd in chants of, "They will not silence us!" Separately, Information Minister Willian Lara accused the private Globovision TV channel of encouraging an attempt on Chavez's life by broadcasting the chorus of a salsa tune — "Have faith, this doesn't end here" — along with footage of the 1981 assassination attempt against Pope John Paul II in St. Peter's Square. "They incite the assassination of Venezuela's president," he said. Globovision director Alberto Federico Ravell denied any wrongdoing, calling the allegations "ridiculous." The new public channel, TVES, launched its transmissions early Monday with artists singing pro-Chavez music, then carried an exercise program and a talk show, interspersed with government ads proclaiming, "Now Venezuela belongs to everyone." Thousands of government supporters reveled in the streets as they watched the midnight changeover on large TV screens, seeing RCTV's signal go black and then be replaced by a TVES logo. Inside the studios of RCTV — the sole opposition-aligned TV station with nationwide reach — disheartened actors and comedians wept and embraced in the final minutes on the air. Chavez says he is democratizing the airwaves by turning the network's signal over to public use. The socialist president accused the network of helping to incite a failed coup in 2002, violating broadcast laws and "poisoning" Venezuelans with programming that promoted capitalism. Founded in 1953, RCTV was the nation's oldest private channel and regularly topped viewer ratings with its talk shows, sports, soap operas and comedy programs. Some protesters on Monday blocked roads with rocks and burning trash, saying they fear for the future of free speech. "I plan to keep protesting because we're Venezuelans and it's our right," said Valentina Ramos, 17, a Metropolitan University student who was hit in the head with a tear gas canister and received stitches. She said the protest near her university was peaceful, but National Guard troops said they acted after students hurled rocks and sticks. She said about 20 protesters were treated for inhaling tear gas. The group Reporters Without Borders called for international condemnation of the RCTV decision as "a major setback to democracy and pluralism." Robert Menard, the Paris-based group's secretary-general, called the measure Chavez's "first serious international political error." Germany, which holds the European Union presidency, officially declared its concern that Venezuela let RCTV's license expire "without holding an open competition for the successor license." Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez Getty Images Digg del.icio.us Newsvine Reddit Facebook CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) Venezuela's oldest private television station went off the air following President Hugo Chavez's decision to pull the plug on the popular channel harshly critical of the government, a move that sparked violent clashes between protesters and police. But the decision not to renew Radio Caracas Television's broadcast license and replace it at midnight Sunday with a public service station was celebrated in the streets by supporters of Chavez, who watched the new channel's first transmission on large TV screens. Oswaldo Quintana, RCTV's legal representative, told The Associated Press that armed military personnel "took control of our station's transmitters" shortly before midnight to guarantee TVES could broadcast. Chavez says he is democratizing the airwaves by turning a "coup-plotting" network's signal over for public use. Founded in 1953, RCTV had broadcast a mix of talk shows, sports, soap operas and the popular comedy program "Radio Rochela," which poked fun at presidents — including Chavez — for decades. RCTV was regularly the top channel in viewer ratings, but Chavez accused the channel of "poisoning" Venezuelans with programming that promotes capitalism. Actors and producers involved in launching the new station later presented upcoming programming, including cartoons, sports, and an educational program for children emphasizing socialist values. "We've come here to start a new television with the true face of the people, the face that was hidden, the face that they didn't allow us to show," said Roman Chalbaud, a pro-Chavez filmmaker appointed by the government to TVES' board of directors.
Continued below. Mrs Muliaga's son Letitaia, 20, said the employee showed no compassion. "He says he was just doing his job." The family say they asked the contractor to leave the power on so the oxygen machine could work. Mr Sheehan called for a full investigation by the company and police. * Disconnection will then take place if no payment or arrangements to make payment are received. The family had made two fortnightly payments before the bill with an outstanding balance of $168.40 was sent last week. Letter released Energy Minister Trevor Mallard released this afternoon a letter from Mercury Energy about their initial understanding of events in the run-up to the Mangere house being disconnected. - NZPA The death of Mrs Muliaga was the first time she had heard of someone dying because their power was cut. "We were simply unaware that loss of electricity to the household was putting a vulnerable customer at risk," general manager James Moulder said. He did note that she had a medical tube in her nose but this was not connected to any equipment. When that happened, the power was reconnected as soon as it could be, and that would have happened with or without the bill being paid. About 2 1/2 hours later the 44-year-old mother of three was dead. Mercury Energy has stood its ground, saying it did not put a foot wrong when it cut power to a South Auckland home shortly before a sick woman died. I don't think it is appropriate to go into a hell of a lot more detail on this. The invoice also shows they paid $61.90 on May 1 and $45 on May 17.
The oxygen machine was reliant on the electricity supply Folole Muliaga, a 44-year-old mother of four, died within two hours of the electricity being switched off at her home in the northern city of Auckland. Police said they were investigating the circumstances of Mrs Muliaga's death. The power company, Mercury Energy, said it had been unaware any disconnection would put her life at risk. Relatives of Mrs Muliaga, a schoolteacher, said she had been off work since February with a heart and lung condition. 'Deeply sympathetic' When a company representative arrived at the house to disconnect the supply, they said they impressed upon him her dependency on the machine to stay alive. Mrs Muliaga's son Letitaia, 20, said the employee showed no compassion. "He said he is here doing his job and he's here to cut the power off," he was quoted by local media as saying. Paramedics were called but she died within two hours of the power being cut, he added. Mercury Energy said it was "deeply sympathetic" about the death, but disputed that its contractor had been made aware of Mrs Muliaga's condition. "We were simply unaware that loss of electricity to the household was putting a vulnerable customer at risk," general manager James Moulder said. Police Inspector Bruce Bird said the authorities were investigating the incident, but he added that it was too early to speculate on possible criminal charges. "I do think it is important that the facts are established before people rush to judgement," he said. By Elizabeth Binning, Errol Kiong, Louisa Cleave Hooked up to an oxygen machine and seriously ill with heart and lung disease, Auckland woman Folole Muliaga pleaded "for a chance". But her plea fell on deaf ears and a contractor cut off her power after saying he was "just doing his job". About 2 1/2 hours later the 44-year-old mother of three was dead. Mercury Energy has described the death as "an absolute tragedy" and has launched an internal investigation. However, we were simply unaware that loss of electricity to the household was putting a vulnerable customer at risk," said James Moulder, the general manager. Mr Moulder said the contractor spoke to the family but was not told Mrs Muliaga could be put at risk. The dead woman's family, who were last night giving police a statement, strongly disagree. Her son Ietitaia, 20, said the contractor knocked on the back door of their Mangere home at 11am on Tuesday, saying he was there to switch off the electricity because a bill of $168.40 had not been paid. Mrs Muliaga - who was sitting in a chair with tubes running from an oxygen machine to her nose - wanted to speak to the contractor and so they discussed the matter in the lounge. The family say they told the contractor they needed power to run Mrs Muliaga's machine, but the man was adamant. Related Content Muliaga family to sue over mum's death Watch NZH Local Focus: Ditching Daniel's dreads Political Roundup: Freedom of speech vs PC culture The power was then cut. As the contractor spoke briefly again to Mrs Muliaga her oxygen machine's emergency warning blared, indicating it was about to shut down. Mrs Muliaga's nephew, Brenden Sheehan, said there was absolutely no doubt the contractor knew she was on oxygen and needed power to keep it running. "We're angry at Mercury and the apparent actions of the company in coming and cutting off the power without giving her a chance to address the problem - particularly when I look at her power bill and there'd been two payments made in the last month. "I am told that Victim Support contacted the company and asked them to put the power on after our aunt had passed away, and they refused to do so until the bill was paid ... I don't believe the statements made by Mercury [yesterday morning] that they put the power back on to help the family - I think they put it back on to avoid public embarrassment." The power was only reconnected at 8am yesterday - after Mr Sheehan, a union organiser, contacted Mercury's chief executive. "He passed his condolences and he was appropriately remorseful but he didn't say sorry for the company's actions." "Someone's died unnecessarily as a result of these actions and they need to be brought to account." Mr Sheehan said they would have been in the same situation if there had been a standard power cut but "without all the upset that goes with it so they probably would have been more clear-headed in their thinking". He said although Mrs Muliaga's breathing had been getting worse she told her young teenage son not to panic and to wait until her husband arrived home.
Their extradition was being sought, officials said. "This is a very determined group," he said. PLOT SPREAD FROM U.S. Officials said the plot began in the United States and spread to Trinidad and Guyana. Other lines service LaGuardia Airport and New Jersey’s Newark Liberty International Airport. The informant recorded some of the conversations he had with Mr Defreitas. JFK's fuel tanks and pipeline were the target of the alleged plot They include a former cargo worker and a former MP for the Caribbean nation of Guyana. In a recorded conversation one suspect predicted there would be few survivors and that the attacks would result in the destruction of "the whole of Kennedy." Among the three suspects arrested since Friday was Russell Defreitas, a U.S. citizen and native of Guyana who was arrested in New York. "To hit John F. Kennedy, wow ... they love John F. Kennedy like he's the man ... if you hit that, this whole country will be mourning. Authorities announced Saturday they had broken up the suspected terrorist cell, arresting three men, one of them a former member of Guyana’s parliament. It was "one of the most chilling plots imaginable," US attorney Roslynn Mauskopf told a news conference. The arrests came well before the plan came to fruition and the FBI said there was no threat to the public from the plot. Two other men, Abdul Kadir of Guyana and Kareem Ibrahim of Trinidad, were in custody in Trinidad. Six men were arrested last month on charges of plotting to attack Fort Dix army base in the state of New Jersey. He was arraigned Saturday in federal court in Brooklyn, where he was held pending a bail hearing Wednesday.
A plane departs JFK International Airport in New York en route to Chicago O'Hare International airport March 20, 2007. Several people have been arrested in connection with a plot against ground operations at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport, CNN said on... REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton NEW YORK Four people, including a former member of Guyana's parliament, have been charged with planning to blow up New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport, U.S. officials said on Saturday. This was "one of the most chilling plots imaginable," Roslynn Mauskopf, U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of New York, said at a news conference in New York. "The devastation that would be caused ... is just unthinkable." The plotters sought to blow up the airport's jet fuel tanks and part of the 40-mile (64-km) pipeline feeding them from New Jersey. Three of the four suspects, who included a former airline cargo handler, have been arrested, federal law enforcement officials said. In a recorded conversation one suspect predicted there would be few survivors and that the attacks would result in the destruction of "the whole of Kennedy." There was no connection to al Qaeda, officials said, but some suspects were linked to an Islamist extremist group in Trinidad. In one recorded conversation, a suspect compared the plot to the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center, saying, "Even the twin towers can't touch it." He added, "This can destroy the economy of America for some time." The indictment said the suspects referred to their plot as "the chicken farm" or "the chicken hatchery" but did not explain the code name. News of the foiled plot comes weeks after six suspected Islamist militants were detained on charges of planning to attack a U.S. Army base at Fort Dix in New Jersey. Targets in the airport plot included terminal buildings, aircraft and fuel tanks, as well as the fuel pipeline to the airport. The plot was foiled with the help of an informant who recorded conversations with the suspects, some as recent as last month. Mark Mershon, assistant director in charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation's New York field office, declined to say whether there might be more arrests. Mershon said the cell had shown unusual persistence, seeking finance and expert advice and gathering photographic and video surveillance as well as satellite photographs. Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said the plot was "different in its distinct ties to the Caribbean, a region that is rarely thought of in terms of terrorism but of increasing concern to us as a crucible in the foment of Islamic radicalism." "This case is a good example of international counterterrorism cooperation," she said. Among the three suspects arrested since Friday was Russell Defreitas, a U.S. citizen and native of Guyana who was arrested in New York. Authorities said he was a former airport employee who conducted surveillance for the group, using his knowledge of the site to identify targets and escape routes. "Any time you hit Kennedy, it is the most hurtful thing to the United States," Defreitas said in one recorded conversation. "To hit John F. Kennedy, wow ... they love John F. Kennedy like he's the man ... if you hit that, this whole country will be mourning. You can kill the man twice." Authorities said two suspects were in custody in Trinidad and Tobago -- Abdul Kadir, a citizen of Guyana and former member of its parliament, and Kareem Ibrahim, a citizen of Trinidad and Tobago. Officials in Trinidad and Tobago said one of the suspects arrested there was caught on a flight preparing to take off for Venezuela. Mershon said the fourth suspect, Abdel Nur, a citizen of Guyana, was believed to be at large in Trinidad. Authorities said Kadir and Nur were associates of Jamaat Al Muslimeen, a Muslim group behind a 1990 coup attempt in Trinidad. Federal authorities said a plot by a suspected Muslim terrorist cell to blow up John F. Kennedy International Airport, its fuel tanks and a jet fuel artery could have caused “unthinkable” devastation. But while pipeline and security experts agreed that such an attack would have crippled America’s economy, particularly the airline industry, they said it probably would not have led to significant loss of life as intended. Authorities announced Saturday they had broken up the suspected terrorist cell, arresting three men, one of them a former member of Guyana’s parliament. A fourth man was being sought in Trinidad as part of the plot that authorities said they had been tracking for more than a year and was foiled in the planning stages. “The devastation that would be caused had this plot succeeded is just unthinkable,” U.S. Attorney Roslynn R. Mauskopf said at a news conference, calling it “one of the most chilling plots imaginable.” In an indictment charging the four men, one of them is quoted as saying the foiled plot would “cause greater destruction than in the Sept. 11 attacks,” destroying the airport, killing several thousand people and destroying parts of New York’s borough of Queens, where the pipeline runs underground. Symbolic target One of the suspects, Russell Defreitas, a U.S. citizen native to Guyana and former JFK air cargo employee, said the airport named for the slain president was targeted because it is a symbol that would put “the whole country in mourning.” “It’s like you can kill the man twice,” said Defreitas, 63, who first hatched his plan more than a decade ago when he worked as a cargo handler for a service company, according to the indictment. “Pulling off any bombing of this magnitude would not be easy in today’s environment,” former U.S. State Department counterterrorism expert Fred Burton said, but added it was difficult to determine without knowing all the facts of the case. Richard Kuprewicz, a pipeline expert and president of Accufacts Inc., an energy consulting firm that focuses on pipelines and tank farms, said the force of explosion would depend on the amount of fuel under pressure, but it would not travel up and down the line. Kadir, a member of Parliament in Guyana until last year, was arrested in Trinidad for attempting to secure money for “terrorist operations,” according to a Guyanese police commander who spoke on condition of anonymity.
"It was a strategy. And of those imprisoned, many also had "medical conditions," just as Hilton reportedly had. Will the good behavior continue when she's out? Sauer said he never endorsed the Los Angeles County sheriff's decision to release Hilton from jail and into home confinement after only three days because of an unspecified medical condition. "I am going to serve the remaining 40 days of my sentence. (Blog: Is this a miscarriage of justice?) She was sentenced to three years' probation and had her license suspended. The judge ordered the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department to get Hilton and bring her to court after a back-and-forth decision on whether or not she would physically show up in court. According to her lawyer, Hilton was holding up in prison after her first night. In January, she pleaded no contest to a charge of alcohol-related reckless driving. Although she reported to the jail just before midnight Sunday and departed in the early hours of Thursday, she was given credit for five days, he said. Hilton has now been fitted with an electronic ankle bracelet and will serve the remainder of her 45-day sentence at her home. Hilton was spotted crying when she was driven from her house to the court, and the crying continued in the courtroom. … One client [had] a grotesque staph infection that was eating away at his leg -- this is common in jail. A Two-Tiered System? So we're back to the drawing board. Whitmore added, "She has paid her debt to society." She was stopped by the California highway patrol for speeding in February and charged with violating her probation.
Paris Hilton was released from prison today after serving just three days of her 45-day sentence, but has been placed under house arrest. The socialite and hotel heiress, jailed for driving offences, was admitted to the Century regional detention facility in Los Angeles just after 11.30pm on Sunday. Hilton had originally been sentenced to 45 days in jail, but this was reduced to 23 for good behaviour. At 2:09am on Thursday morning, Hilton, 26, was "reassigned" to the LA County probation department for medical reasons, and fitted with an electronic tag as part of her punishment. Steve Whitmore, a spokesman for the LA County sheriff's department, said the decision to transfer Hilton was taken after "extensive consultation with medical personnel" but would not comment on what those medical issues were. Hilton's lawyer, Richard Hutton, said his client had been doing well after her first night in jail "under the circumstances" on Monday. Hilton has now been fitted with an electronic ankle bracelet and will serve the remainder of her 45-day sentence at her home. She has 40 days left, as the LA authorities have counted Sunday night and Thursday morning towards her sentence. Rumours of Hilton's early release were posted on celebrity gossip website TMZ early this morning and the sheriff's department confirmed Hilton's release at a press conference this afternoon. The actor, author, model and star of reality TV show, The Simple Life, pleaded no contest (a guilty plea) in January to charges of alcohol-related reckless driving and was sentenced to three years' probation. She was stopped by the California highway patrol for speeding in February and charged with violating her probation. Hilton turned herself into the authorities on Sunday night, almost walking off the red carpet at the MTV movie awards in Hollywood and going straight to the detention centre. She was held in a separate unit for high-profile inmates, away from the general prison population. She is reported to have been paid $500,000 (£251,200) to keep a prison diary, but others fear the short spell will finish her lucrative career. Story Highlights • NEW: Paris Hilton under house arrest, will wear ankle bracelet • NEW: "Medical considerations" led to new arrangement • Hilton served five days in jail, according to spokesman • "Celebutante" was convicted of violating probation Adjust font size: LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) -- Paris Hilton was let out of jail Thursday morning, days after she began serving what was to have been a 45-day sentence for violating probation, a spokesman for the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department said. Hilton must wear a monitoring bracelet and remain at her home for another 40 days, said sheriff's department spokesman Steve Whitmore. Medical considerations "played a part" in the decision to offer Hilton home confinement for the remainder of her sentence, Whitmore said. (Watch Whitmore detail Hilton's deal ) He said privacy rules prohibited him from giving details about the medical issues, but celebrity Web site TMZ.com earlier quoted sources saying Hilton was refusing to eat much of the jail food served her. Whitmore said that after "extensive consultation with medical personnel" it was decided to offer Hilton "reassignment" to home confinement, which she and her attorneys accepted. (Watch Hilton enter jail ) Part of the deal was that her original sentence of 45 days, which had been reduced to 23 days if she showed good behavior behind bars, would be restored to the full length. Whitmore said the decision to send Hilton home was made by a panel of officials in the sheriff's department, although the judge who sentenced her was advised of the move. "I want to thank the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department and staff of the Century Regional Detention Center for treating me fairly and professionally," said Hilton in a statement from her attorney, Richard A. Hutton. "I am going to serve the remaining 40 days of my sentence. In February, she was caught driving on a suspended license, which later was ruled a probation violation. Hilton entered jail Sunday after attending the MTV Movie Awards, where she answered questions from the press and was the subject of host Sarah Silverman's jokes. Paris Hilton's tumultuous week of being in jail, then out of jail and under house arrest, has come to an end. The heiress got a taste of the comforts of her own home for a little more than 24 hours before the judge sent her right back where she came -- jail. The arguments heard in today's courtroom were dominated by who had the right to determine the manner in which Hilton would serve her sentence. Sauer said he never endorsed the Los Angeles County sheriff's decision to release Hilton from jail and into home confinement after only three days because of an unspecified medical condition. "At no time did I approve the defendant being released from custody to her home on Kings Road," Sauer said. The judge said he asked repeatedly for Sheriff Lee Baca to file motions regarding Hilton's medical status, but he failed to see one come across his desk. As police arrived at Hilton's Hollywood Hills home this morning, helicopters hovered overhead, and a band of Chihuahuas could be seen on her patio barking at all the action. Delgadillo questioned why Hilton's medical condition wasn't treated at the detention facility, which has a medical staff and an infirmary.
But this is not unusual." In late May, North Korea fired a short-range surface-to-ship missile off its east coast. "They have a medium-size inventory of anti-shipping cruise missiles. Both South Korean and U.S. officials dismissed the launch as part of regular military drills. Despite international alarm at the North's long-range missile and nuclear tests last year, the US and Pyongyang's regional neighbours played down the May test. The officials said several other leaders expressed agreement. They are believed to be ground-to-ship or ship-to-ship missiles with a range of some 100km (60 miles), they say. CNN Seoul Bureau Chief Sohn Jie-Ae contributed to this report "The United States and our allies believe that North Korea should refrain from testing missiles," said National Security Council spokesman Gordon Johndroe. "I believe North Korea launched two missiles into the West Sea today [Thursday] - one in the morning and the other in the afternoon," a South Korean intelligence official is quoted as saying by South Korean news agency Yonhap. "From time to time, their military tests these short range missiles," Hill told reporters. The tests come weeks after the North missed the February deadline to shut down its Yongbyon nuclear reactor in return for economic and energy aid. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe urged fellow G8 leaders to keep up the pressure on North Korea over its nuclear programme, Japanese officials said on Thursday. Any self-respecting second rate military would." Missed deadline South Korea confirmed at least one missile was test-fired into the Sea of Japan on 25 May, although earlier reports suggested several had been fired.
A North Korean soldier looks south through a pair of binoculars while a comrade stands guard at the truce village of Panmunjom, in the demilitarised zone separating the two Koreas, about 55 km (34 miles) north of Seoul, in this April 4, 2007 file photo. North Korea fired... REUTERS/Jo Yong-Hak SEOUL North Korea fired up to two short-range missiles off its west coast on Thursday, said U.S. and South Korean officials, prompting quick U.S. criticism of Pyongyang over the second such launch in as many weeks. The launch occurred a day after U.S. President George W. Bush and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe agreed at a bilateral meeting there were limits to their patience with Pyongyang's failure to honour a nuclear disarmament agreement. "What I have been advised is that it (was) a cruise missile test," White House National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley told reporters. "We saw I think in the last week or 10 days a similar test." A South Korean Defence Ministry official confirmed reclusive communist North Korea had fired at least one missile but could not specify the exact number or type. White House National Security spokesman Gordon Johndroe said North Korea's missile test activity was "not constructive" and Pyongyang should focus on dismantling its nuclear programme. "The United States and our allies believe that North Korea should refrain from testing missiles," Johndroe said in a statement to reporters on the sidelines of a Group of Eight (G8) summit in Heiligendamm, Germany. BARRAGE North Korea fired a barrage of long and short range missiles last year, triggering United Nations sanctions. It drew more punitive measures with its first nuclear test in October. Military experts have voiced concern about North Korea's firing of long-range missiles, which could carry a nuclear warhead to Alaska or possibly other parts of the United States. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe urged fellow G8 leaders to keep up the pressure on North Korea over its nuclear programme, Japanese officials said on Thursday. "We cannot allow the development of nuclear weapons by North Korea," one official quoted Abe as saying at the opening of a working lunch. Pyongyang has refused to implement a February 13 deal with South Korea, the United States, Russia, China and Japan under which it agreed to begin shutting down its nuclear programme in return for energy aid. "We have consistently pointed out that North Korea's missile programme is a concern that poses a potential threat to the region." Pike said he believed the North Korean inventory of anti-shipping cruise missiles could be in the hundreds. "They have to test fire them just to reassure themselves that if they actually had to use them in the real thing, that they would work and that the crews would know how to make them work," he said. Pyongyang test-fired at least one short-range missile at the end of May - off its east coast - as part of what appeared to be military exercises. "I believe North Korea launched two missiles into the West Sea today [Thursday] - one in the morning and the other in the afternoon," a South Korean intelligence official is quoted as saying by South Korean news agency Yonhap. Thursday's suspected test off the west coast may have been carried out after a similar test failed on 25 May, when the North test-fired missiles off the east coast, a South Korean official was quoted as saying earlier. The North "should focus on the denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula and fulfil its obligations" under a February agreement to close down its only nuclear reactor, he added.
"Police were called," Blackford said. "The vehicle is part of the delegation that is staying at the Blair House." Security was already tighter because of Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's visit from Monday. 10 years ago WASHINGTON (CNN) - The Secret Service evacuated the temporary press center across the street from the White House on Monday after a dog got a "suspicious hit" on an Israeli vehicle entering the secured area around the White House, according to a Secret Service spokeswoman. Olmert is staying at Blair House in advance of a meeting on Tuesday with President George W. Bush. (Additional reporting by Jeremy Pelofsky and Andy Sullivan) Secret Service spokesman Darrin Blackford said a dog singled out a vehicle parked on Jackson Place, in front of the press quarters. The temporary filing center is around the corner from Blair House, where dignitaries often stay. The press is temporarily quartered at Jackson Square during renovations in the White House's West Wing. - CNN's Suzanne Malveaux and Ed Henry contributed to this report The area was given the "all clear" about an hour and 40 minutes after the 2:50 p.m. incident. Nothing was found in the vehicle, the Secret Service said later. WASHINGTON The press center across the street from the White House was briefly evacuated on Monday after a bomb-sniffing dog prompted a security check of an Israeli vehicle, U.S. officials said. The prime minister will be staying at Blair House, the president's official guest residence across the street from the West Wing and adjacent to Lafayette Park. Secret Service spokeswoman Kim Bruce told CNN the service evacuated the area, including Lafayette Park, Pennsylvania Avenue in front of the White House and the press center at Jackson Square, "out of an abundance of caution," but the White House itself was not evacuated.
WASHINGTON The press center across the street from the White House was briefly evacuated on Monday after a bomb-sniffing dog prompted a security check of an Israeli vehicle, U.S. officials said. The temporary filing center is around the corner from Blair House, where dignitaries often stay. Security was already tighter because of Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's visit from Monday. Secret Service spokesman Darrin Blackford said a dog singled out a vehicle parked on Jackson Place, in front of the press quarters. "The vehicle is part of the delegation that is staying at the Blair House." Nothing was found in the vehicle, the Secret Service said later. 10 years ago WASHINGTON (CNN) - The Secret Service evacuated the temporary press center across the street from the White House on Monday after a dog got a "suspicious hit" on an Israeli vehicle entering the secured area around the White House, according to a Secret Service spokeswoman. The area was given the "all clear" about an hour and 40 minutes after the 2:50 p.m. incident. Secret Service spokeswoman Kim Bruce told CNN the service evacuated the area, including Lafayette Park, Pennsylvania Avenue in front of the White House and the press center at Jackson Square, "out of an abundance of caution," but the White House itself was not evacuated. "The president's schedule has not been affected," she said. The press is temporarily quartered at Jackson Square during renovations in the White House's West Wing. The prime minister will be staying at Blair House, the president's official guest residence across the street from the West Wing and adjacent to Lafayette Park. - CNN's Suzanne Malveaux and Ed Henry contributed to this report WASHINGTON The press center across the street from the White House was briefly evacuated on Monday after a bomb-sniffing dog prompted a security check of an Israeli vehicle, U.S. officials said.
I mentioned this yesterday. "I think there's something bigger at stake here," he said. The school says the ring is not an essential part of the Christian faith. Miss Playfoot says Sikh and Muslim pupils can wear bangles and headscarves in class. Who do you side with? Playfoot's lawyers will argue that her right to express religious belief is upheld by the Human Rights Act. Lydia Playfoot has worn her ring since she was 14 Lydia's argument Lydia Playfoot was told by Millais School in Horsham, West Sussex, to remove her ring, which symbolises chastity, or face expulsion. A 16 year-old girl is at the High Court today. The organisers of the movement say as many as 25,000 young people have joined so far in the UK and that numbers are growing. The rings are inscribed with a reference to the biblical verse I Thessalonians 4:3-4, which translates as: "God wants you to be holy, so you should keep clear of all sexual sin. Uniform code Lawyers for the school will insist that it is not operating a discriminatory policy because allowances made for Sikhs and Muslims only occur for items integral to their religious beliefs. But her father Phil, who is a pastor, said she wanted to pursue the case because of its wider significance for all Christians. BBC News religious affairs correspondent Robert Piggott said a group of girls at the school were wearing the rings as part of a movement called the "Silver Ring Thing" (SRT). James from WHYS has been working on it for the past two days and we'll be speaking to some of you in the affected communities.
LONDON A teenage schoolgirl will appeal to the High Court on Friday to overturn a ban on her wearing a "purity ring" at school to symbolize her decision to abstain from sex before marriage. Lydia Playfoot, 16, from West Sussex, says the silver ring is an expression of her faith and should be exempt from the school's rules on wearing jewellery. "Muslims are allowed to wear headscarves and other faiths can wear bangles and other types of jewellery. It feels like Christians are being discriminated against." Playfoot's lawyers will argue that her right to express religious belief is upheld by the Human Rights Act. There have been a series of rows in schools in recent years over the right of pupils to wear religious symbols or clothing, such as crucifixes and veils. Last year, the Law Lords rejected Shabina Begum's appeal for permission to wear a Muslim gown at her school in Luton. That case echoed a debate in France over the banning of Muslim headscarves in state schools. Lydia Playfoot's parents help run the British arm of the American campaign group the Silver Ring Thing, which promotes abstinence among young people. Members wear a ring on the third finger of the left hand. 4:3-4," a reference to a Biblical passage from Thessalonians which reads: "God wants you to be holy, so you should keep clear of all sexual sin." Lydia's father, Phil Playfoot, said his daughter's case was part of a wider cultural trend towards Christians being "silenced." "What I would describe as a secular fundamentalism is coming to the fore, which really wants to silence certain beliefs, and Christian views in particular," he said. Leon Nettley, head teacher of Millais School in Horsham, denies discrimination, saying the ring contravenes the school's rules on wearing jewellery. "The school is not convinced pupils' rights have been interfered with by the application of the uniform policy," he told the Brighton-based Argus newspaper. "The school has a clearly published uniform policy and sets high standards." They have tickets after all, and there were plenty of us disappointed on that front (I'll get over it in a few months). This story's getting massive coverage here in the UK. She's contesting a decision by her school to stop her wearing a ring which symbolises her commitment to remain a virgin until she marries. JOKE BEFORE DEATH Yesterday, we were planning to talk about the death row inmate who is asking for the best joke to say before he dies. Lydia Playfoot has worn her ring since she was 14 Lydia's argument Lydia Playfoot was told by Millais School in Horsham, West Sussex, to remove her ring, which symbolises chastity, or face expulsion. The school denies breaching her human rights, insisting the ring is not an essential part of the Christian faith. BBC News religious affairs correspondent Robert Piggott said a group of girls at the school were wearing the rings as part of a movement called the "Silver Ring Thing" (SRT). Human rights barrister Paul Diamond told the High Court the school's action was "forbidden" by law. He said a question the judge would have to answer was: "What are the religious rights of schoolchildren in the school context?" The rings are inscribed with a reference to the biblical verse I Thessalonians 4:3-4, which translates as: "God wants you to be holy, so you should keep clear of all sexual sin. In a written statement to Deputy Judge Michael Supperstone QC, Miss Playfoot said young girls faced a "moral and ethical crisis" and that other teenage girls at her school had become pregnant. She said other pupils regularly broke the uniform code with nose rings, tongue studs, badges and dyed hair. The only reason for banning the rings was because the school refused to "give respect to aspects of the Christian faith they are not familiar with", Miss Playfoot said. HAVE YOUR SAY All religious symbols should be kept out of the classroom Chris Gray, Trelawnyd Send us your comments "The real reason for the extreme hostility to the wearing of the SRT purity ring is the dislike of the message of sexual restraint which is counter cultural and contrary to societal and governmental policy," she added. But headteacher Leon Nettley, said the school was applying a basic uniform policy, which "has the overwhelming support of pupils and parents".
"There is no privacy to it. It was this area that made him the man, and indeed, the politician he is now." This is the last time that Mr Blair will be seen in public as the prime minister. "He's been their local MP. And what will Gordon Brown be thinking of? It is official - Britain has a new prime minister. BBC political editor Nick Robinson says that the gap between the handover is a fraction of what it once was. The Browns are moving into 10 Downing Street Brown at Number 10 Posing outside 10 Downing Street with his wife Sarah, the man who has been Mr Blair's chancellor since 1997 said: "Let the work of change begin." The Blairs leave the palace at 1340 BST. Mr Blair has stood down as MP for Sedgefield after 24 years to become a Middle East peace envoy. A Cabinet reshuffle is expected on Thursday. You don't get another Tony Blair. The new prime minister's official spokesman confirms that Gordon Brown has spoken to Conservative leader David Cameron and Lib Dem leader Sir Menzies Campbell. "I will have no such further meetings today - or any other day," he adds, to a great roar of laughter from MPs. This is my promise to all of the people of Britain. As is traditional, the Queen invited him to form the next government - they spoke for 55 minutes. "I want the best of chances for everyone. He tells supporters it is good to be back where it all began for him, but stresses that all good things must come to an end.
The Blair family pose outside Downing Street for a final time Blair's PMQs farewell He handed in his resignation to the Queen during a private meeting at Buckingham Palace. Earlier, Mr Blair received a standing ovation from MPs in the Commons in unprecedented scenes at the end of his final prime minister's questions. Conservative, Lib Dem and DUP leaders all paid tribute to Mr Blair, who is expected to stand down as an MP to take up a job as a Middle East envoy. He will stand down later as an MP before taking up a new job as a Middle East peace envoy for the "quartet" of the UN, EU, America and Russia. As they left Downing Street the Blair family - including their four children - posed for the gathered world media. Mr Blair said nothing to the press as they got in the car, but wife Cherie smiled and waved at the press and said she would not "miss" them. Earlier MPs from all sides called a halt to the usual House of Commons hostilities to pay tribute to him during Mr Blair's final half hour question time session. Mr Blair admitted he had "never pretended to be a great House of Commons man" but he paid tribute to the "noble" work of MPs and - in his final words to Parliament - said: "I wish everyone, friend or foe, well and that is that, the end." MPs gave departing Mr Blair a standing ovation Mr Blair, who was being watched from the public gallery by his family, also paid tribute to troops killed in Iraq. He hailed Britain's armed forces as the "bravest and the best" and said he was "truly sorry about the dangers they face today in Iraq and Afghanistan". He added: "I know some people think they face those dangers in vain. "I believe they are fighting for the security of this country and of the wider world against people who would destroy our way of life." Conservative leader David Cameron hailed Mr Blair's "remarkable achievement" in being prime minister for 10 years, praising peace in Northern Ireland and Mr Blair's work in the developing world which he said will "endure". 'Generosity' He wished Mr Blair "every success for whatever he does in the future". HOW THE DAY UNFOLDED 1200 - 1230: Final PMQs 1300: Blair says farewell to staff at No 10 1312: Blair arrives at Palace, where he tenders resignation in private audience with Queen 1330: Brown departs Treasury with wife Sarah 1340: Blair leaves Palace 1351: Brown arrives at Palace where Queen asks him to form a government 1448: Brown leaves Palace 1455: Brown enters No 10 for first time as prime minister Day at-a-glance Nick Robinson's view Mr Blair thanked Mr Cameron for his tributes and said although he could not wish the Tory leader well politically, "personally I wish both him and his family very well indeed". Lib Dem leader Sir Menzies Campbell said that, despite their political disagreements, Mr Blair had been "unfailingly courteous" and extended his party's best wishes to the outgoing prime minister and his family. Call an election and see if he gets a proper mandate to be PM Annie, Aberdeenshire Send us your comments Asked by Lib Dem MP Richard Younger-Ross to advise his successor Gordon Brown on the relationship between faith and the state, Mr Blair sparked more laughter by saying, after a brief pause: "I think I'm really not bothered about that one." Looking ahead to his new role, Mr Blair told MPs he believed a solution could be found in the Middle East but it would take a "huge intensity of focus and work". He told MPs: "As I learned in respect of Northern Ireland, it is important to be able to bring people together, including people who have been very hostile towards each other." Mr Blair is travelling to his Sedgefield constituency, in the north east of England, where he is expected to announce he is standing down as an MP with immediate effect after 24 years. John Prescott is also stepping down from frontline politics after 10 years as deputy prime minister. Mr Brown is thought likely to carry out the bulk of his Cabinet reshuffle on Thursday, but it has already emerged that one definite change will see Patricia Hewitt stepping down as health secretary. It has been a historic day for British politics, with Tony Blair leaving Downing Street after more than 10 years as prime minister. He visited Buckingham Palace to resign at lunchtime, with Gordon Brown making the journey a few minutes later and leaving as the country's new leader. No longer prime minister, he has today announced he is standing down as the local MP to be a Middle East envoy. Ministers will not face the traditional "walk of shame" or "walk of fame" in front of the media in Downing Street when Gordon Brown reshuffles the Cabinet, the BBC learns. Trimdon Labour Club is a "pretty humble" location for Tony Blair, compared to the other buildings he has seen today, the BBC's Mark Simpson in Sedgefield says. From Jersualem, BBC correspondent Matthew Price reports that there has been some local reaction to Mr Blair's appointment as a Middle East envoy. Mr Brown moved quickly to call world leaders after arriving at No 10 He says there was some debate among the members of the quartet - the United States, Russia, the United Nations and the European Union - about Mr Blair's terms of reference. BBC business editor Robert Peston understands that the Department of Trade and Industry will be "broken into two" by Mr Brown. A separate department will be created to emphasise Mr Brown's commitments to "improving the skills of British people" and "making Britain more competitive with training and skills", he adds.
A number of other airports have stepped up security, including Edinburgh, Newcastle, Birmingham, Manchester and Blackpool. "It turned out they were unmarked police cars. Public co-operation "Once again the emergency services have served the capital well," he said in a statement. It is the highest possible level and was also in place after the 7 July 2005 suicide bomb attacks on London. TERROR THREAT LEVELS Low - an attack is unlikely Moderate - an attack is possible but not likely Substantial - strong possibility of an attack Severe - an attack is highly likely Critical - an attack is expected imminently Security has also been tightened at airports across the US following the attempted attacks. All flights to and from Glasgow Airport were suspended on Saturday. The item was examined by experts and found not to be an explosive device. The scientists painstakingly examine car bombs in the specialist "X47" laboratory built during the IRA era. Later, two more arrests were made on the M6 in Cheshire in connection with the two incidents. Mr Salmond echoed the prime minister's calls for vigilance. Different teams look for different things. Unconfirmed reports suggest police may have an image of a suspect leaving the vehicle left outside the Tiger Tiger club. While details of their work remains secret, many of their conclusions become public when the investigators take to the witness stand as experts in prosecutions. Petrol and gas A Scottish government spokesperson said Scottish Ministers were in touch with their Whitehall opposite numbers and First Minister Alex Salmond and have spoken to Mr Brown. This can lead to literally thousands of boxes of rubble being taken to the laboratories.
Two men were arrested after ramming a burning car into the airport's main terminal, a day after police thwarted two attempted bombings in the capital. Police said the incident was being treated as terror related. Later, two more arrests were made on the M6 in Cheshire in connection with the two incidents. Anti-terror police from the Metropolitan Police's Counter Terrorism Command assisted by officers from the West Midlands Counter Terrorism Unit made the arrests, Scotland Yard said. 'Clear similarities' Peter Whitehead was driving on the M6 when he witnessed the arrests there. He told BBC News 24 that three cars straddled the motorway and brought traffic to a halt. "It turned out they were unmarked police cars. In front of them were a couple of other unmarked police cars and they forced a car onto the hard shoulder and got the occupants out and as far as I can see arrested them," he said. Strathclyde Police told a news conference the attack on Glasgow Airport was now being linked to the car-bomb plot in London - foiled by police on Friday. Mr Brown thanked the emergency services for their professionalism Airport attack was terrorism Your pictures: Glasgow alert Chief Constable Willie Rae said: "There are clearly similarities, and we can confirm that this is being treated as a terrorist incident." Two men were arrested at the scene at 1515 BST after the blazing Jeep Cherokee was driven into the airport's main terminal. One of the suspects taken to the city's Royal Alexandra Hospital to be treated for severe burns was in possession of "a suspect device" which had been found on his person, Chief Constable Rae said. The second man was being detained in police custody while the vehicle was said to be too unstable to be removed from the airport. Investigation focus BBC home affairs correspondent Danny Shaw said the events at Glasgow Airport dramatically altered the direction of the London car bombs inquiry. And the decision to raise the threat level to "critical" - which means an attack is imminent - reflected concern that those responsible have the capability and intent to carry out further bombings. TERROR THREAT LEVELS Low - an attack is unlikely Moderate - an attack is possible but not likely Substantial - strong possibility of an attack Severe - an attack is highly likely Critical - an attack is expected imminently Security has also been tightened at airports across the US following the attempted attacks. The national terrorism threat level was raised after a meeting of the government emergencies committee, Cobra. Ministers, police and security service officials held their third meeting of Cobra in recent days on Saturday evening, this time with a video link to ministers in Scotland. In a televised statement, Mr Brown thanked the police, the security and emergency services for the "dedicated professionalism" that has been shown in London and Glasgow Airport. "The first duty of the government is the security and safety of all the British people, so it is right to raise the level of security at airports and in crowded places in the light of the heightened threat," he said. Mr Salmond echoed the prime minister's calls for vigilance. "We cannot and must not live our lives in a state of alarm but alert individuals have a substantial role to play in supporting our police services," he added. Flights from Glasgow airport were suspended after the crash Earlier in the day, Cobra met to discuss the London car bomb attempts. In the early hours of Friday, two Mercedes containing petrol, gas cylinders and nails were found left outside the Tiger Tiger club in Haymarket and a nearby street but the devices did not detonate. Unconfirmed reports suggest police may have an image of a suspect leaving the vehicle left outside the Tiger Tiger club. A grey Mercedes packed with 60 litres of petrol, gas cylinders and nails, was found in the early hours in Haymarket, central London. "All London's communities have their part to play in dealing with this threat," the mayor said. Public co-operation "Once again the emergency services have served the capital well," he said in a statement. "I think we would all want to thank the explosives officers for their bravery in dismantling this device, which will also yield invaluable clues." He said the ambulance crew who originally spotted the suspect car showed "great vigilance" and deserved praise. "As the police have made clear the help of the public is going to be essential to completing this investigation." By Dominic Casciani BBC News home affairs Slow work: Scientists could take months to examine car bomb The first car bomb found in central London on Friday morning has been taken to a specialist maximum security laboratory. The scientists painstakingly examine car bombs in the specialist "X47" laboratory built during the IRA era. While the 130-year-old laboratory is an arm of the Ministry of Defence, much of its work is with police forces, dealing with all types of incidents from reckless garden-shed experimenters through to the attacks on 7 July 2005.
. Now, Congress is responding to what he has done," he adds. He also offered to release documents on the firings that involved communications between the White House and Justice Department, but not internal White House communications. "It would take a couple of years by the time it's all resolved. The Bush administration says that offer is off the table until the subpoenas are withdrawn. If the president does not comply with these subpoenas Senate Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy said he will seek to cite the White House for criminal contempt of Congress. The next step is for the congressional committee chairman to rule on the validity of the privilege claims. 29 letter. But critics say the NSA program poses even more significant questions over executive power than the attorney firings. "Law enforcement can't be partisan. In a new batch of subpoenas last week, lawmakers are also seeking more information on the legal justification for the Bush administration's warrantless domestic surveillance program. The change, backed by Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), is intended to halt a recent practice in which several U.S. attorneys have simultaneously held jobs as senior aides to Gonzales and spent most of their time in Washington. The lawmakers had sought documents and testimony from former White House political director Sara M. Taylor and former White House Counsel Harriet E. Miers. In response, the chairmen of the Judiciary committees called on the administration to "immediately provide us with the specific basis for your claims regarding each document withheld." Those steps could culminate in Congress voting to find the president in criminal contempt and to refer the matter to a federal prosecutor with a recommendation to issue an indictment.
The White House won't release documents on domestic surveillance or allow aides to testify on US attorney firings. A flurry of subpoenas is pushing Congress and President Bush toward a historic clash over executive powers that could wind up in the courts. For now, lawmakers are targeting two issues: the dismissal of nine US attorneys and the Bush administration's authorization of warrantless domestic surveillance. If the president does not comply with these subpoenas Senate Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy said he will seek to cite the White House for criminal contempt of Congress. But the outcomes of these disputes also could tip the balance of powers between Congress and the executive branch for a generation. "It feels like a climactic moment," says Julian Zelizer, a congressional historian at Princeton University. "The Bush administration has been about presidential power since they took office – even before 9/11." "We've seen a push by Vice President Cheney to reverse everything that happened in the 1970s and fully restore the powers of the presidency. At issue is whether lawmakers have a right to question, under oath, two senior White House aides on the attorney firings, which critics say were motivated for improper political reasons or to squelch ongoing corruption investigations. In a new batch of subpoenas last week, lawmakers are also seeking more information on the legal justification for the Bush administration's warrantless domestic surveillance program. On Thursday, the White House invoked executive privilege in refusing to allow the release of documents requested by the Senate and House Judiciary Committees. If subpoenas for two former aides to testify are not withdrawn by the response date of July 12, Mr. Bush will also cite executive privilege in not permitting them to appear, said a senior administration official in a briefing last week. "For the president to perform his constitutional duties, it is imperative that he receive candid and unfettered advice," said White House counsel Fred Fielding, in a letter to the Senate and House Judiciary committees last week. He also offered to release documents on the firings that involved communications between the White House and Justice Department, but not internal White House communications. The Bush administration says that offer is off the table until the subpoenas are withdrawn. In response, the chairmen of the Judiciary committees called on the administration to "immediately provide us with the specific basis for your claims regarding each document withheld." "We had hoped our Committees' subpoenas would be met with compliance and not a Nixonian stonewalling that reveals the White House's disdain for our system of checks and balances," said Senate and House Judiciary Chairmen Leahy (D) of Vermont and John Conyers (D) of Michigan in a Jun. Moreover, Judiciary panel investigations found many inconsistencies in the official explanations of the firings of US attorneys last year. This "heightens our concern about the involvement of White House officials in these firings and in the inaccurate testimony given to our Committees, about them, including possible obstruction of justice and other violations of federal law," they wrote. Should the standoff continue, Congress's next option is to seek a Senate or House contempt citation and take the matter to a grand jury. "We ought to give consideration to bringing in those individuals and find out what we can under the president's terms. While Congress is doing a lot of wheel spinning, the Justice Department continues in "total disarray," Senator Specter added. A court battle could go on for two years, so Congress should "take what information we can get now [and] try to see if we can't wind this up," he said. "The political branches realize it's in their own best interest to reach some sort of accommodation," says Carl Tobias, a law professor at the University of Richmond School of Law. Last week, White House spokesman Tony Snow called the subpoenas "an outrageous request." "Domestic wiretapping is a critical issue for congressional oversight to ensure that the authorities granted to the executive [branch] to protect the nation do not trample constitutional rights of our citizens. "If they don't cooperate, yes, I'd go that far," Sen. Patrick J. Leahy (D-Vt.) said on NBC's "Meet the Press." Leahy's comments raise the stakes in a growing conflict between the Democrat-controlled Congress and the Bush White House, suggesting that the constitutional clash may end up in a court case that could last beyond Bush's tenure as president. Congressional investigators want testimony, internal e-mails and other documents to clarify what role President Bush's senior staff members played in the Justice Department's removal of nine prosecutors last year. The White House has refused congressional requests for information, asserting executive privilege, a claim invoked since George Washington's time to mean that the separation of powers embodied in the Constitution allows each branch to operate freely from the control or supervision of the others. In a letter sent last Friday to Leahy and House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers Jr. (D-Mich.), White House counsel Fred F. Fielding said the privacy of the documents must be respected to ensure that presidential advisers feel free to provide "candid and unfettered advice." But Leahy said yesterday that he sees the documents and public testimony as key to the investigation of alleged political interference by the White House with the nation's judicial system. Lawmakers have given the White House until next Monday to provide a signed letter from the president asserting executive privilege, as well as a description of each withheld document, a list of who has seen the documents and the legal basis for arguing that the documents may be shielded from public view.
A fourth doctor, Mohammed Asha, 26, is also being held at Paddington Green. He is under armed police guard at the same Paisley hospital. A man was arrested when he returned to the bag and said it was his property Police spokeswoman "A man was arrested when he returned to the bag and said it was his property. Paisley - Burning car driven into doors of Glasgow Airport on Saturday. Two controlled explosions were carried out on two vehicles at the hospital. The attempted attack came a day after two Mercedes containing petrol, gas cylinders and nails were found outside a nightclub in London's Haymarket and in a nearby street. Another man detained at Glasgow airport along with Dr Abdullah suffered severe burns and remains in a critical condition under armed police guard at the Royal Alexandra Hospital in Paisley - where Dr Abdullah was employed as a locum. Name: Email address: Town and Country: Phone number (optional): Comments: The BBC may edit your comments and cannot guarantee that all emails will be published. He described the investigation into the failed bombings as "extremely fast-moving", with forensic searches of vehicles proving "extremely valuable" and thousands of hours of CCTV being sifted through. Australian Prime Minister John Howard said Australian police there had acted on information from the UK authorities. Detectives are trying to trace the movements of the green Jeep Cherokee - registration L808 RDT - which crashed into the airport. Police have been searching houses in the Renfrewshire village of Houston, near Glasgow Airport. Two men arrested in Scotland on Monday over the Glasgow attack are being handed over to the Metropolitan Police.
Police have continued to search the Royal Alexandra Australian media reports have identified the man as Dr Mohammed Haneef, aged 27, who was detained while trying to board a plane to India. In addition, Australian police are interviewing a second doctor. Two men arrested in Scotland on Monday over the Glasgow attack are being handed over to the Metropolitan Police. British Transport Police said explosives experts performed a controlled explosion on three fire extinguishers left on a pavement outside Hammersmith Tube station, which serves the District and Piccadilly lines. Three explosions were also carried out on the car in Glasgow as a precaution, but Strathclyde Police said there had been "absolutely no specific information" regarding a threat. Australian Prime Minister John Howard said Australian police there had acted on information from the UK authorities. The man detained at Brisbane airport was an Indian national who had been trying to return to India with a one-way ticket, he added. Australian Attorney-General Philip Ruddock said police had executed search warrants at the Gold Coast Hospital in Southport, eastern Queensland - where the detained doctor worked as a registrar - and at other locations across the state. Queensland Premier Peter Beattie said the detained man had been working at the hospital since September, and that he had been based in Liverpool when he answered an advert in the British Medical Journal in March 2006. Mr Beattie said a second doctor, also recruited from Liverpool, was being interviewed by police. In Scotland, the Lord Advocate approved the transfer of two men, who had been held in a high security police station in Govan, to the Met. M6 arrest ARRESTS TIMELINE 30 June Two men arrested at Glasgow airport after burning car driven into doors of main terminal 30 June A 26-year-old-man, Dr Mohammed Asha, and a 27-year-old woman arrested on the M6 near Sandbach, Cheshire 1 July A 26-year-old man arrested near Liverpool's Lime Street station 1 July A 28-year-old man and a 25-year-old man arrested in Paisley 2 July A 27-year-old male doctor is detained in Australia, and a second doctor is questioned Timeline: Failed bomb attacks Speaking at a Muslim Council of Britain press conference, Dr Muhammed Abdul Bari said those who sought to kill or maim innocent people were "enemies of all of Muslims and non-Muslims". He reiterated the government's view that it was "unacceptable to hold any one faith group or any community as being somehow collectively responsible for the actions of the few". Meanwhile, it is understood Iraqi Bilal Abdullah - a doctor arrested at Glasgow airport on Saturday - is to be taken from Scotland to Paddington Green police station in London. Another man detained at Glasgow airport along with Dr Abdullah suffered severe burns and remains in a critical condition under armed police guard at the Royal Alexandra Hospital in Paisley - where Dr Abdullah was employed as a locum. A forensic team was at the scene of the Glasgow Airport attack Enlarge Image Dr Asha, who was brought up in Jordan and worked as a junior doctor at the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital and the Princess Royal Hospital in Telford, was arrested on the M6 in Cheshire on Saturday night along with a 27-year-old woman thought to be his wife. Two men, aged 28 and 25, were arrested on Sunday at residences of the Royal Alexandra Hospital and another man, aged 26, was arrested in Liverpool on Sunday. Security raised Dr Abdullah is said to have qualified in Baghdad in 2004 and first registered as a doctor in the UK in 2006. It has emerged that detectives visited a taxi company in Paisley six hours before the Glasgow attack on Saturday to search for details about Dr Abdullah, who had used cabs to go to work at the Royal Alexandra Hospital. Taxi firm owner, Denis O'Donnell, said police had come to his office on Saturday morning to look through records to find out more about Dr Abdullah's movements. Property searches This follows the news that police also tried to contact a letting agent in Paisley the same afternoon asking for information about the suspected plotters. Detectives are trying to trace the movements of the green Jeep Cherokee - registration L808 RDT - loaded with gas cylinders, which crashed into the doors of Glasgow airport's main terminal and burst into flames on Saturday afternoon. The attempted attack came a day after two Mercedes containing petrol, gas cylinders and nails were found outside a nightclub in London's Haymarket and in a nearby street. Home Secretary Jacqui Smith said 19 locations had been searched by police investigating the attacks. Various parts of the airport were cordoned off Bomb disposal experts checked the bag, found near the entrance shortly before 1900 BST, but later concluded it was "not suspicious". The alert came after police stepped up their presence at Stansted following incidents in Glasgow and London. A man was arrested when he returned to the bag and said it was his property Police spokeswoman "A man was arrested when he returned to the bag and said it was his property. "Police had some concerns over the contents of the bag so the man was detained for questioning," said a police spokeswoman. Ms McLean said earlier: "Police officers started cordoning off various parts of the airport. Sniffer dogs "There must be a couple of hundred people here waiting to leave the airport. "From what I understand flights are still departing from the airport but people can't get in and out of the airport. "Police have just told us a package was found at the front of the airport." Roddy MacPhee, 64, who had flown to Stansted from Glasgow said: "There is an armed response unit, sniffer dogs, a bomb disposal unit and the fire brigade here. One of the two suspected of driving the flaming Jeep loaded with gas canisters into the arrivals hall at Glasgow Airport, suffered severe burns and remains in a critical condition. Two people arrested at scene London - Two car bombs that failed to detonate found in West End on Friday Paisley - Controlled explosion carried out on car at Royal Alexandra Hospital Cheshire - Man and woman arrested on M6 on Saturday night, then taken to London for questioning while in Liverpool a man is arrested and police search two addresses Houston - Police searching houses in the Renfrewshire village, near Glasgow Airport Newcastle-under-Lyme - Police searching two addresses in Staffordshire Strathclyde - Two men, aged 28 and 25, are arrested by Strathclyde Police Paisley - A second controlled explosion is carried out at the doctors' quarters at the Royal Alexandra At a glance: Terror alert impact A second doctor being held is Mohammed Asha, 26, of Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire, who was arrested in a dramatic police swoop on the M6 motorway.
REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun Alan Johnston, a BBC journalist, waves after he was released in Gaza July 4, 2007. His father said he was "overjoyed" after a "living nightmare". Fawzi Barhoum, a Hamas spokesman, accused Mr Johnston's captors of smearing the Palestinian people's reputation. But the week ends with a shocking claim by a militant group that it has killed him. 17 March: The EU reiterates calls for his release. The BBC says it is unable to substantiate the claim and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas says his security forces have confirmed Mr Johnston is alive. Rallies are held as far afield as Beijing and Jakarta on World Press Freedom Day. The only international correspondent still working in the lawless Gaza Strip, he had been kidnapped on his way home from his Gaza City office on 12 March. The Hamas force has detained several members of the Dogmush family at roadblocks while Dogmush gunmen abducted 10 students of the Islamic University from their residence in the Sabra area. The group had demanded Britain and other states free Islamist prisoners. The Army of Islam was involved in the abduction of the Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit more than a year ago, although it was sidelined soon afterwards. British Prime Minister Gordon Brown welcomed a "great relief". BBC staff mark his 100th day in captivity with a worldwide vigil. The activity was considered as part of a policy to increase pressure on the kidnappers. Concern grew last month when the group issued a video of Mr Johnston in what appeared to be a vest packed with explosives and threatened to kill the reporter if there was an attempt to free him.
SHOW YOUR SUPPORT Add this button to your blog or website to show your support for Alan Johnston How to do this BBC correspondent Alan Johnston has been released after four months in captivity. The only international correspondent still working in the lawless Gaza Strip, he had been kidnapped on his way home from his Gaza City office on 12 March. WEEK 16 Alan Johnston is freed and handed to Hamas officials in Gaza. He thanked all those who had called for his release and said he had been in the hands of "dangerous and unpredictable" people. 4 July WEEK 16 Hamas security forces in Gaza seize several members of the Army of Islam - the group which claims to have abducted Alan Johnston. Hamas says the arrests were made after "all negotiation attempts... failed" to free the reporter. BBC employees hold a rally to mark the 16th week of Mr Johnston's disappearance. 2 July WEEK 15 The captors of Alan Johnston release a new video of him in which he is wearing what he says is an explosives vest. In Gaza, victorious Hamas vows to use force to free the reporter if demands for his immediate release are not met. The UK government says the development is "disturbing". 24 June WEEK 14 Hamas says it has sent a message to the kidnappers of Alan Johnston and is taking "practical steps to secure his release". In Britain, the Archbishop of York, John Sentamu, holds a special service to mark the passing of three months since the abduction. Meanwhile unprecedented violence breaks out on the streets of Gaza, as Hamas gunmen oust the pro-Fatah security forces. 15 June WEEK 13 The BBC News website highlights the plight of Alan Johnston at an annual Webby Awards ceremony in New York, saying: "Alan, we're thinking of you." WEEK 12 A video is released on the internet showing the first pictures of Alan Johnston since his abduction. The Quartet of Middle East mediators - the US, Russia, the UN and the EU - calls for the release of Mr Johnston, urging the Palestinian Authority to do everything it can to ensure his release. 1 June WEEK 11 A Palestinian government spokesman and member of the militant Hamas party says Alan Johnston alive and safe. There is no way to confirm Ghazi Hamad's statement, nor his assertion that the reporter "could be freed soon". Meanwhile, signatories of an online petition calling for Alan's release pass the 100,000 mark. 27 May WEEK 10 Palestinians in the UK hold a day of solidarity to highlight Mr Johnston's plight and call for his immediate release. As well as the usual series of Monday vigils, special celebrations are held on Thursday to mark Alan's 45th birthday. 17 May WEEK NINE A video tape purporting to be from Mr Johnston's kidnappers is sent to al-Jazeera TV. The tape, from a group calling itself Jaish al-Islam (Army of Islam), contains no new images of him, but does include a picture of his BBC identity card. The British consul-general in Jerusalem meets the Palestinian prime minister and tells him Mr Johnston's continued captivity remains of "great concern" to the UK. 10 May WEEK EIGHT Palestinian leaders tell European Parliament members that Mr Johnston is alive, while Palestinian PM Ismail Haniya says he is working hard for his release. Britain's Tony Blair says the UK is doing all it can, and UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon adds his voice to the campaign. The BBC's veteran radio presenter, John Humphrys, receiving an award for news journalist of the year, says correspondents like Mr Johnston deserved the award more. 3 May WEEK SEVEN The seventh week of Alan Johnston's abduction begins with vigils across the UK calling for his safe return. In Pakistan's capital, Islamabad, local journalists and foreign correspondents protest to demand the correspondent's release. 26 April WEEK SIX Anxiety about Alan Johnston's wellbeing hits a peak after the unknown militant group, the Tawhid and Jihad Brigades, claims to have killed him to highlight the plight of Palestinian detainees held by Israel. The BBC says it is unable to substantiate the claim and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas says his security forces have confirmed Mr Johnston is alive. 25 March: WEEK ONE Alan Johnston's car is found abandoned in Gaza City shortly after he left his office to drive home.
We call for her immediate and safe release," she said. Militants say they have been left out of talks on the Delta's future The child, Margaret Hill, was seized from a car on her way to school in the oil city of Port Harcourt. "He wanted to go down for his baby but the police commander told him not to." More than 100 foreign oil workers have been taken hostage in the region this year. Our correspondent says there are a plethora of armed gangs operating in the Niger Delta and kidnapping for ransom has become big business. - REUTERS A local state legislator's daughter was also kidnapped last week. Her mother, Oluchi, told the BBC that the kidnappers then called her at 1000 (0900 GMT) and allowed her to speak to the baby. High Commission officials are in contact with Nigerian authorities. MEND Formed early 2006 Close links to militant Mujahid Dokubo-Asari's Niger Delta Volunteer Force Split into two rival groups late 2006 Demand 100% control of Nigeria's oil wealth Demand release of impeached Bayelsa governor on trial for money laundering Operate from creeks of Niger Delta Communicate with media by e-mail Nigeria's shadowy militants Mend has said it had nothing to do with that attack. The British Foreign Office confirmed the abduction. Hostages are nearly always released unharmed. Most abductions are for ransom although a few have been politically motivated. Margaret was snatched by gunmen at 0730 (0630 GMT) on Thursday after they smashed a window of her car as it stood in traffic. The kidnapping follows that of five oil workers on Wednesday, the first since the main militant group in that area called off a month-long ceasefire.
Mrs Hill says her husband was willing to give-in to the demands Margaret Hill, the daughter of an expatriate worker, was grabbed from a car on her way to school in the oil city of Port Harcourt. Her mother, Oluchi, told the BBC that the kidnappers had called her demanding a meeting in a town in the Niger Delta. Margaret was snatched by gunmen at 0730 (0630 GMT) on Thursday after they smashed a window of her car as it stood in traffic. They say I can bring my husband to swap with the baby Oluchi Hill Oil rich city's woes Oil worker recalls kidnap Her father Mike Hill, who has lived in the country for 10 years, runs a bar in Port Harcourt. The region's main militant group - the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (Mend) - has offered to help find the girl, according to the AP news agency. "We will join in the hunt for the monsters who carried out this abduction and mete out adequate punishment for this crime - We abhor all forms of violence against women and children," the group said in an e-mail sent to AP. Mrs Hill, a Nigerian national, said the kidnappers told her to meet them in a town in Bayelsa State in the Niger Delta region, but that neither she nor the police had been able to locate it. "They say I can bring my husband to swap with the baby," she said. "He wanted to go down for his baby but the police commander told him not to." The kidnappers then threatened to kill Margaret if Mr Hill did not come within three hours, she said. After the deadline had expired, Mrs Hill said Margaret was being fed just "bread and water". "The people who are holding her just called again and they were threatening to kill the baby," Oluchi Hill was quoted as saying by Reuters news agency. The UK's Foreign Office has called for the "immediate safe release" of the girl. He says that no hostages had ever been killed by Nigeria's oil militants and that most situations are resolved after a ransom is paid. MEND Formed early 2006 Close links to militant Mujahid Dokubo-Asari's Niger Delta Volunteer Force Split into two rival groups late 2006 Demand 100% control of Nigeria's oil wealth Demand release of impeached Bayelsa governor on trial for money laundering Operate from creeks of Niger Delta Communicate with media by e-mail Nigeria's shadowy militants Mend has said it had nothing to do with that attack. Our correspondent says there are a plethora of armed gangs operating in the Niger Delta and kidnapping for ransom has become big business. More than 100 foreign oil workers have been taken hostage in the region this year. Although the Delta accounts for more than 90% of Nigeria's income, the region remains highly impoverished, a situation the militants say they want to change with their campaign. Militants say they have been left out of talks on the Delta's future The child, Margaret Hill, was seized from a car on her way to school in the oil city of Port Harcourt. The kidnapping follows that of five oil workers on Wednesday, the first since the main militant group in that area called off a month-long ceasefire. The UK's Foreign Office called for the "immediate safe release" of the girl. The BBC's Alex Last in Lagos says that in almost all previous cases it is foreign oil workers who have been taken hostage but in recent months the children of wealthy Nigerians have also become targets. There are a plethora of armed gangs which operate in the Niger Delta and kidnapping for ransom has become big business, he adds. 'Swap' deal Margaret Hill was snatched by gunmen at 0730 (0630 GMT) after they smashed a window of her car as it stood in traffic. Her mother, Oluchi, told the BBC that the kidnappers then called her at 1000 (0900 GMT) and allowed her to speak to the baby. They say I can bring my husband to swap with the baby Oluchi Hill "She was crying... 'They took her to the bush and she wants to go to school'," she told the BBC World Service. Mrs Hill said the kidnappers had told her to meet them in a town in Bayelsa State in the Niger Delta region, but that neither she nor the police had been able to locate it. "They say I can bring my husband to swap with the baby," she said. "He wanted to go down for his baby, but the police commander told him not to." The kidnappers then threatened to kill Margaret if Mr Hill did not come within three hours, her mother said. A local state legislator's daughter was also kidnapped last week. MEND Formed early 2006 Close links to militant Mujahid Dokubo-Asari's Niger Delta Volunteer Force Split into two rival groups late 2006 Demand 100% control of Nigeria's oil wealth Demand release of impeached Bayelsa governor on trial for money laundering Operate from creeks of Niger Delta Communicate with media by e-mail Nigeria's shadowy militants Oil rich city's woes Both were later released unharmed after ransom payments, the BBC's Abdullahi Kaura in Port Harcourt says. Although the Delta accounts for over 90% of Nigeria's income, the region remains highly impoverished, a situation the militants say they want to change with their campaign. By Austin Ekeinde PORT HARCOURT, Nigeria - Gunmen kidnapped a three-year-old British girl in the Nigerian oil city of Port Harcourt while she was on her way to school on Thursday morning, police said. A police spokeswoman said the child was snatched from the car in which she was being driven as it was stuck in traffic.
The U.S. Elsewhere, there was indifference, and even indignation. Weber said he was starting a new campaign Sunday to choose the new seven natural wonders of the world. Basil's Cathedral. "Things are just going ballistic." more photos » The final tally produced this list of the world's top human-built wonders: • The Great Wall of China • Petra in Jordan • Brazil's statue of Christ the Redeemer • Peru's Machu Picchu • Mexico's Chichen Itza pyramid • The Colosseum in Rome • India's Taj Mahal Before the vote ended Friday, organizers said more than 90 million votes had been cast for 21 sites. He said Egypt's pyramids are a "symbol of the genius of the ancient people" -- and are above any sort of online poll. One message urged voters to use text messages as an alternative form of voting. Statue of Liberty also was among the choices. Among the places left out were the Acropolis in Athens, Greece; the Statues of Easter Island, Chile; Cambodia's Angkor; Turkey's Hagia Sophia; and Russia's Kremlin and St. The event was hosted by Oscar winners Hilary Swank and Ben Kingsley as well as Bollywood star Bipasha Basu. Many in the 50,000-member audience at a soccer stadium jeered when the United States' Statue of Liberty was announced as one of the candidates. The popularity contest was the creation six years ago of Bernard Weber, a Swiss filmmaker and self-styled adventurer. E-mail to a friend All About Travel and Tourism • UNESCO Romans would finally lift their heads and look at it." Those major attractions were on the shortlist of 21 before the announcement of the results at a ceremony in Lisbon, Portugal.
The world's most wondrous wonder is actually the computer. Millions of people from across the globe joined in what was essentially a huge publicity stunt, voting via the Internet to choose a new list of the Seven Wonders of the World, announced Saturday. And the seven winners, announced on the seventh day of the seventh month in the year '07, were: The Great Wall of China, the ancient city of Petra in Jordan, the statue of Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro, Machu Picchu in Peru, the Maya ruins of Chichen Itza in Mexico, the Colosseum in Rome and India's Taj Mahal. The lucky seven represented a collection of mystical, centuries-old places and more modern constructions of limited transcendence -- chosen in a decidedly unscientific poll. "We are celebrating the cultural diversity of our world," proclaimed actor Ben Kingsley, co-host of a glitzy ceremony late Saturday in Lisbon's Stadium of Light, where the winners were announced amid highly orchestrated fanfare. The popularity contest was the creation six years ago of Bernard Weber, a Swiss filmmaker and self-styled adventurer. Nearly 200 early candidate sites chosen by Internet balloting were scaled down by a panel of experts to 21 finalists, each from a different country, from Greece's Acropolis to the Statue of Liberty. Online and telephone call-in voting on the finalists began a little over a year ago. Nothing prevented repeat voting by fans, citizens, governments, tourism agencies, you name it. Weber promoted the project with flashy appearances in hot-air balloons, on camelback and inside a blue blimp, traveling to each of 21 final candidates. The reception was mixed. In developing countries where the Internet is taking off, such as China, millions of people enthusiastically cast votes for their favorite monuments. Since the Great Wall was one of the candidates (and a winner), it was an easy guess just where most of those votes went. In the fabled Incan capital of Cuzco, Peru, Internet cafes reportedly had been full for weeks with supporters clicking their votes for the nearby majestic ruins of Machu Picchu. In Jordan, Queen Rania lobbied (successfully) on behalf of the ancient red-stoned desert city of Petra. Chilean President Michelle Bachelet, referring to the enormous volcanic-rock carvings on Chile's remote Easter Island, said: "None of us need a vote to know that Easter Island is a marvel." Apathy and disdain apparently doomed Stonehenge, Britain's prehistoric collection of circularly arranged megaliths. "The polling arrangements" in the contest "are so flawed that they make even Eurovision Song Contest judges look objective," sniffed London's Independent newspaper. And in Rome, the campaign never caught fire. Calls last week to both the city government and the Culture Ministry could find no one who had even heard of the competition. Fortunately for the 2,000-year-old Colosseum near downtown Rome, there is enough popular sentiment among Italians and, especially, among legions of foreign visitors to catapult the onetime amphitheater of the gladiators into the winner's circle. Stefania Morelli, an accountant in Rome, said a win for the Colosseum would be a good thing for residents and tourists alike. "We drive past the Colosseum with our motorini day after day, and we don't appreciate it; we don't even look at it anymore," Morelli, 41, said ahead of Saturday's announced results. "Should the Colosseum win, I think Romans would look at it and think about how beautiful [it is] and how lucky we are to have it in Rome. Speaking of Rome, the Roman Catholic Church complained that none of the finalists was a Christian church, noting instead the inclusion of Istanbul's Hagia Sophia, a 6th century Byzantine church converted to a mosque by the Ottoman Turks nine centuries later. Perhaps the Vatican took solace in the designation as a wonder of the 125-foot Christ the Redeemer statue, erected atop a mountain above Rio in the 1920s. Weber's "New 7 Wonders" campaign has not received the backing of major mainstream monument-designation organizations. Officials at UNESCO's World Heritage agency, for example, questioned Weber's methodology and goals. Organizers of the Internet campaign cast themselves as successors to the Greeks who about 2,000 years ago compiled the original list of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Initial plans to include the pyramids as a candidate for the new list so incensed Egyptian officials that organizers were forced to back down. The Supreme Council of Antiquities of Egypt argued that the pyramids already enjoyed wondrous status, and the organizers agreed to put the carved-stone monuments automatically on the new list as the eighth wonder. (CNN) -- The new seven wonders of the world were named Saturday following an online vote that generated server-crushing traffic in its final hours. The Great Wall of China was among the top vote-getters of the "New 7 Wonders of the World" project. more photos » The final tally produced this list of the world's top human-built wonders: • The Great Wall of China • Petra in Jordan • Brazil's statue of Christ the Redeemer • Peru's Machu Picchu • Mexico's Chichen Itza pyramid • The Colosseum in Rome • India's Taj Mahal Before the vote ended Friday, organizers said more than 90 million votes had been cast for 21 sites. "We have traffic that is simply off the scale," Tia Vering, spokeswoman for the "New 7 Wonders of the World" campaign, told CNN.com. Send CNN.com photos and video of your favorite "wonder" The top contenders for the seven wonders were last made public in early June. Voting nearly doubled after the June results, when organizers said about 50 million votes had been cast.
"We have been patient. I want to say to the ones who have been left inside: they should come out and surrender, and if they don't, I am saying this here and now: they will be killed," he said. An army commander was shot dead by students inside the mosque on Sunday. While the government says20 people have died since the siege began,Ghazi was quoted on Saturday as sayingthe number is closer to 70. Earlier, Mr ul-Haq said up to 250 militants - including foreign radicals - were leading the fighting. On Saturday, Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf told the students they had no option but to surrender. Our correspondent says he has heard intermittent gunfire in the area and the boom of heavy weapons. Troops have been trying to blast holes in the wallsin the hopes that women and children inside will escape, but have held back from an all-out assault. Abdul Rashid Ghazi has denied the presence of any banned extremist groups. One of the soldiers remains in hospital. According to Pakistani officials, the president's plane came under fire as it took off from a military airfield that ought to have been far more secure. Since coming to power, General Musharraf has had to juggle the demands of the west and the need to avoid unduly provoking the Islamist forces that threaten to overwhelm his government. A broken window is seen after heavy gunfire at the Red Mosque in Islamabad on Sunday. The students are led by clerics seeking to impose Islamic law, or Shariah, in the capital. Any successor would face the same dilemmas. Ahmed was wanted in connection with an assassination attempt against Pakistani Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz in the northern Pakistani town of Attock in 2004.
Troops are blocking all entrances and roads to the mosque Ejaz-ul-Haq said the militants were "hardened terrorists" holding women and children hostage inside the Red Mosque. The Pakistani army has kept a tight grip on the mosque, also known as Lal Masjid, since fighting began last week. The mosque's leader, Abdul Rashid Ghazi, said he and his followers would commit suicide rather than surrender. An army commander was shot dead by students inside the mosque on Sunday. At least 21 people have been killed since the stand-off began last Tuesday. Abdul Rashid Ghazi said as many as 1,800 followers remained in the mosque, although this cannot be verified. 'Al-Qaeda links' Mr ul-Haq told the BBC that between two and five of the militants were wanted in connection with "high-profile cases". Mr ul-Haq said the government became aware of the militants' presence after a man killed on the first day of the siege was identified as Maqsood Ahmed, a member of Jaish-e-Mohammad, an outlawed radical Muslim organisation which has been linked to al-Qaeda. Ahmed was wanted in connection with an assassination attempt against Pakistani Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz in the northern Pakistani town of Attock in 2004. He says those inside are students of his religious school and he is in charge. Earlier, Mr ul-Haq said up to 250 militants - including foreign radicals - were leading the fighting. 'Surrender or die' Lt Col Haroon Islam, who died on Sunday, was in charge of an operation to blow holes in the mosque compound walls to enable civilians to escape. Water and power to the mosque have been cut off and food is said to be getting scarce. Our correspondent says he has heard intermittent gunfire in the area and the boom of heavy weapons. Col Islam was shot dead by students inside the mosque An increased military presence on the streets, combined with the refusal to let a delegation of Islamic figures through to the mosque, suggests that the government is now closing the door to negotiation, our correspondent adds. I want to say to the ones who have been left inside: they should come out and surrender, and if they don't, I am saying this here and now: they will be killed," he said. More than 1,000 supporters left last week under mounting pressure from security forces, although only about 20 have left since Friday. ((Anjum Naveed/Associated Press)) A Pakistani army officer was killed on Sunday while leading an operation to demolish the outside walls of an Islamabad mosque, where Islamist students have been holed up in a days-long standoff. Militants inside the seminary adjoining the Lal Masjid, or Red Mosque, responded with gunfire after army forcestried to blast through the walls for a second day,an army official said. The man killed was a lieutenant-colonel and one of two commandoshit by gunfire,Maj.-Gen Waheed Arshad said. Both men belonged to the army's Special Services Group, an elite force that President Gen. Pervez Musharraf once commanded. They have been runningan anti-vice campaign for months,abducting alleged prostitutes and attacking police. On July 3, after tensions between government security forces and Islamic studentserupted into deadly street clashes, armoured vehicles and hundreds of troops —many sheltered behind sandbags —surrounded the mosque and seminary. More than 1,200 people, mainly students from the mosque's two Islamic schools, have since fled the complex. Troops have been trying to blast holes in the wallsin the hopes that women and children inside will escape, but have held back from an all-out assault. Gunfire and heavy explosions could be heard just after midnight Sunday and then sporadically throughout the dawn hours, punctuating the thunder of a fierce monsoon downpour. Arshadsaidsecurity forces have used explosives to blast six or seven holes in the perimeter walls of the embattled school and several people have escaped through them. The president said his government had exercised restraint to ensure the safety of women and children, who government officials say are being held hostage byone of the mostsenior clerics, Abdul Rashid Ghazi. According to Pakistani officials, the president's plane came under fire as it took off from a military airfield that ought to have been far more secure. Meanwhile, in the wild north-west region, a suicide bomber killed six soldiers, and in the capital, Islamabad, thousands of troops continued their siege of pro-Taliban militants at the Red Mosque - a siege which has already cost at least 19 lives. But it is troubling none the less, and it underlines a paradox: General Musharraf's regime is one of the foundations on which western policy in Afghanistan and in the battle against al-Qaida-linked terrorism rest - and yet Musharraf's success against extremists on his home patch has been limited, to put it mildly. But alarm grew when "Talibanisation" from the frontier province surfaced in the heart of the capital, courtesy of the Red Mosque, early this year. For weeks, General Musharraf seemed reluctant to crack down on the mosque's activities, apparently fearing bloodshed - which in turn emboldened the militants.
And again, Federer won it. That's where Nadal's opportunities slipped through his grasp. "It was a tough match," Federer said, "and I have the highest respect for him." Advertisement Continue reading the main story Federer had glided into the final with little sweat. They have met in the last two French Open and Wimbledon finals, and each has nudged closer to winning a title on the other’s favorite surface. He lost only one set along the way. They came to see which player on the court below would join them in the record book. He had more of a game plan this time. Obviously I'm disappointed because I had some good chances in the fifth set, but I was playing against one of the best players in the history of tennis on grass so I have to be pleased with my performance. Last year he came out and hit it hard but maybe didn't know why. The first, against Robin Soderling in the third round, was postponed during warm-ups on the first Saturday of the tournament, and, after seven rain delays, concluded Wednesday. If there was a difference, it was Federer's serve, which extricated him from break points time and again. And to see him after the match was great as well. Surely no men's champion has been so loved and respected at the All England Club, other than Borg himself. “I win my share, he wins his. But this coronation -- courtesy of a 7-6 (9-7), 4-6, 7-6 (7-3), 2-6, 6-2 victory over Spain's Rafael Nadal -- assumed its own place in Federer's heart because he had been tested so mightily, depleted physically, mentally and emotionally.
“I’m just happy with such a great run, especially at Wimbledon, the most important tournament of my life,” Federer said. “I’m loving every minute of it, that’s clear.” Photo Borg sat in the front row of the royal box, next to Manolo Santana, the last Spaniard to win Wimbledon, in 1966. It was Federer, whose victory adds to the discussions of whether he is the best player of the modern era. Borg, who won Wimbledon from 1976 to 1980, greeted Federer in the clubhouse, where they shared a few words and a quick embrace. Advertisement Continue reading the main story “To see him waiting there was great,” Federer said. The victory was the first five-set match of Federer’s five-year reign at Wimbledon, and the first in any of his appearances in Grand Slam finals, where he is now 11-2 (Nadal is the only man to have beaten him, in the past two French Open finals). On Sunday, as Federer basked in another Wimbledon victory, Nadal stood nearby, wearing a brave smile. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Federer looked beatable after Nadal raced away with the fourth set and Federer fell behind, 15-40, during his first two service games in the fifth. But Federer fought off all four break points to regain his balance, mostly with strong, timely serves. With typical grace and cool, Federer won four games in a row to pull the grass out from under Nadal’s hopes. Advertisement Continue reading the main story “I know if I have the break in the fifth, I have very good chances for the title,” Nadal said. The match was closer than the Wimbledon final a year ago, when Federer defeated Nadal in four sets. Photo The two have combined to win 10 consecutive men’s Grand Slam singles titles, dating from the 2005 French Open: Nadal has won three straight French Opens, and Federer has won everywhere else. They have met in the last two French Open and Wimbledon finals, and each has nudged closer to winning a title on the other’s favorite surface. Advertisement Continue reading the main story “I like it,” Federer said of the rivalry. We’ve been at the top for over 100 weeks together. It is building up to one of, maybe, the great rivalries.” Still, no matter how close the gap, Federer keeps winning most of the major tournaments. “Maybe if we have to find any difference, maybe the difference is the serve. He serves better than me, and that’s important on every surface, but on this surface more.” Advertisement Continue reading the main story Federer had 24 aces to Nadal’s one. Since winning his first Wimbledon, in 2003, Federer has won 11 of 17 Grand Slam events. Photo At Wimbledon, only Sampras and William Renshaw, with seven championships each, have more than Borg and Federer. The familiar pair took the court under blue skies and cotton-ball clouds, a sunny ending to the rain-soaked two-week tournament. The sky was particularly noticeable, too, because of the lack of a partial roof for the first time in the 85-year history of Center Court. The arena is being fitted with a retractable roof, and the awning was dismantled for this year’s tournament. After fighting off the break points in the fifth set, he broke Nadal with a backhand-forehand combination that Nadal could not handle. The first shot threw Nadal to his left, and the second was out of reach to his right. Photo This was a rare threat to Federer’s prowess on grass, where he has won 54 matches in a row, including 34 at Wimbledon. The first, against Robin Soderling in the third round, was postponed during warm-ups on the first Saturday of the tournament, and, after seven rain delays, concluded Wednesday. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Nadal arrived to Sunday’s final having played 14 hours 56 minutes of tennis. But his hold on Wimbledon’s trophy grew slippery about the time the match approached three hours, longer than any Federer had played in the tournament. WIMBLEDON, England, July 8 -- With his idol looking on and his fiercest rival across the net, Roger Federer put an end to a five-set battle of artistry and stamina in Sunday's Wimbledon championship with a thunderous overhead slam. The pressure Federer had shouldered with such grace this Wimbledon fortnight erupted in the form of tears the moment his winning shot delivered his fifth consecutive Wimbledon championship, equaling the mark set from 1976 to '80 by the masterful Bjorn Borg, who watched with approval from the Royal Box. But this coronation -- courtesy of a 7-6 (9-7), 4-6, 7-6 (7-3), 2-6, 6-2 victory over Spain's Rafael Nadal -- assumed its own place in Federer's heart because he had been tested so mightily, depleted physically, mentally and emotionally.
Then, on the day of the deadline, the State Department retracted the bulletin. Citizenship and Immigration Services. So did about 200 other green card applicants, most of them professionals, natives of India and working legally in this country. They did it because that's what Gandhi would have done. Each applicant for the fast tract process announced by USCIS last month is said to have spent upward of $ 2000 to submit documentation.Except for the $ 325 filing fees which USCIS has said it will refund, the rest of the money, including towards attorney fees, medical exams, couriers etc is down the drain, several applicants said. In a Gandhi-inspired protest, foreigners working legally in the United States sent thousands of flowers to a top immigration official yesterday to draw attention to their complaints about job-based visas. These guest workers don't get a refund when they return home if they do not qualify or wish not to become permanent US residents.The Indian government has been trying in vain to arrive at a 'totalisation agreement' with the US in this regard to refund the money. Those who tried to apply were told they had to wait. The agency forwarded them to soldiers recovering at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. Some new applications may be considered again starting Oct. 1, but others may have to wait for years. "The idea of overwhelming the USCIS office in Washington DC with flowers arose from a fervid discussion on the bulletin boards of Immigration Voice where many skilled workers vent their frustration over the long drawn green card process. WASHINGTON: Hundreds of Indian high-skilled professionals in the US who have been on a roller coaster ride over the past month in their effort to get the green card will draw attention next week to their frustration -- with white flowers.In a unique display of Gandhigiri -- a demonstratively peaceful Gandhian protest popularised in a recent Hindi movie -- scores of Indian H1-B visa holders who feel jilted by the abrupt changes in US immigration rules are planning to deluge US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Director Emilio Gonzalez with flowers on July 10.Their peaceful venting stems from a June 12 USCIS notification that promised to fast track the green card process for tens of thousands of skilled foreign professionals and their spouses -- only to disappoint later.
Shyam Bindingnavale had spent years of anguish in pursuit of permanent residency, so when the government offered him an opportunity to apply for it and then abruptly snatched it away, he was furious and deeply disappointed. Bindingnavale, 36, a Gaithersburg resident and financial analyst working here on an H1B visa for skilled technical workers, struck back the most effective way he could imagine: He sent flowers to Emilio Gonzalez, the director of the U.S. So did about 200 other green card applicants, most of them professionals, natives of India and working legally in this country. Yesterday, their bouquets of purple roses, pink lilies and yellow daisies, which cost about $40 each and which were sent from all over the country, piled up on the immigration office's loading dock at 20 Massachusetts Ave. NW, addressed to Gonzalez and stacked in columns taller than people. We donated them in the same spirit in which they were provided to us," said an agency official who spoke on condition of anonymity because of a lawsuit over the matter filed by an advocacy group. The idea for the protest began with the Indian immigration community on the online forum Immigration Voice, a site devoted to issues facing skilled, legal workers seeking permanent residence in the United States. Their method was inspired by Mohandas K. Gandhi, who spent years campaigning nonviolently for India's independence from Britain. Green card applicants were given hope on June 12, when the State Department posted a bulletin offering H1B visa holders who had been stuck in a bureaucratic logjam an opportunity to take that last step needed to apply for permanent residency. Thousands of engineers, doctors and other educated foreigners began a mad scramble to file their applications before the July 2 deadline. Elderly parents in far-flung corners of the world stood in line for hours to get copies of birth certificates and immunization records. The wait has become even longer after a surge in green card applications, amplified by a provision in 2001 that allowed undocumented immigrants or immigrants who had overstayed their visas to apply for green cards. In a Gandhi-inspired protest, foreigners working legally in the United States sent thousands of flowers to a top immigration official yesterday to draw attention to their complaints about job-based visas. “They were very appreciative, and they were excited.” The flower protest was staged by temporary workers, many from India, who felt jilted by the immigration agency’s decision last week to withdraw tens of thousands of job-based visas. The State Department announced last month that green cards would be available starting July 2 for applicants across the range of high-skilled categories, but the immigration agency later said there had been a misunderstanding and no visas would be available. WASHINGTON: Hundreds of Indian high-skilled professionals in the US who have been on a roller coaster ride over the past month in their effort to get the green card will draw attention next week to their frustration -- with white flowers.In a unique display of Gandhigiri -- a demonstratively peaceful Gandhian protest popularised in a recent Hindi movie -- scores of Indian H1-B visa holders who feel jilted by the abrupt changes in US immigration rules are planning to deluge US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Director Emilio Gonzalez with flowers on July 10.Their peaceful venting stems from a June 12 USCIS notification that promised to fast track the green card process for tens of thousands of skilled foreign professionals and their spouses -- only to disappoint later. "The idea of overwhelming the USCIS office in Washington DC with flowers arose from a fervid discussion on the bulletin boards of Immigration Voice where many skilled workers vent their frustration over the long drawn green card process. Each applicant for the fast tract process announced by USCIS last month is said to have spent upward of $ 2000 to submit documentation.Except for the $ 325 filing fees which USCIS has said it will refund, the rest of the money, including towards attorney fees, medical exams, couriers etc is down the drain, several applicants said. "I'd guess that with about 100,000 people filing along with at least one secondary applicant each, that's $ 400 million down the drain. That's not chump change," Vikas Chowdhry, an applicant who has been closely tracking the process, told ToI.The bonanza for immigration lawyers and physicians who conduct medical fitness tests, who had a busier four weeks than normal, comes on top of millions of dollars of social security tax that the US government collects each year from temporary guest workers (including H1-B visa holders). But Washington has been resisting it because without continuous contribution from new immigrants, the country's social security system would go bust.The 'florid' protest aside, AILF, the litigation arm of the American Immigration Lawyers Association, is also considering filing a lawsuit against USCIS for possibly having violated federal regulations and precedents, apart from the personal trauma and stress caused to individuals.
he said. "I want to talk to her about these proposals," he said. "We know how much influence Brown had under Tony Blair's government. 'Bad decision' Mr Stringer told the BBC he had heard nothing about the review until prime minister's questions. Sir Richard Leese, leader of Manchester City council, which won the bid to be the first supercasino site, remained optimistic that the venue would be built. Gordon Brown has just signalled the scrapping of plans to build super-casinos. "When he looks at the report he referred to on problem gambling in the autumn, will he look at the special needs of areas like Blackpool?" It is thought the 16 smaller casinos will go ahead. Why didn't he say something then?" We will continue to push for a destination casino in east Manchester which we believe will deliver the maximum regeneration benefits for the area. Pointing out the 400,000 problem gamblers in the country, Mr Reed urged the new PM to focus on the original intentions of the 2005 legislation: to put in place stricter regulations around gambling in the UK. This is a victory for an alliance of some on the right (the aforementioned Daily Mail), some within the Labour Party, and a coalition in the House of Lords - remember, it was in the Lords, not in the Commons, where the government suffered a defeat on this issue which forced them to reconsider the plans. He announced a review of other ways to regenerate towns and cities. Liberal Democrat leader Sir Menzies Campbell said if any decision was to be taken "it obviously ought to have the fullest scrutiny of Parliament."
Manchester put forward the winning bid for the UK's first super-casino Whitehall sources told the BBC the idea of using a super-casino to regenerate run-down areas was "dead in the water". The PM promised a report on the "social effects" of gambling by September. But Manchester MP Graham Stringer said it would be a "weak and bad decision" if the city's successful bid to build the first super-casino was overturned. 'No consensus' During prime minister's questions, Mr Brown was told by Labour MP Andy Reed that most people thought super-casinos would make gambling addiction worse. The prime minister replied the issue would be "subject to reflection over the next few months". LARGE CASINOS Great Yarmouth Hull Leeds Middlesbrough Milton Keynes Newham Solihull Southampton Q&A: What is a super-casino? "In September we will have a report that will look at gambling in our country - the incidence and prevalence of it and the social effects of it," Mr Brown said. "I hope that during these summer months we can look at whether regeneration in the areas for the super-casinos maybe a better way of meeting their economic and social needs than the creation of super-casinos." Peers rejected The BBC understands the review will look at the "whole issue" of super-casinos, not just the controversial decision to award one to Manchester. In January, Manchester was named the preferred site for such an attraction at the expense of Blackpool, whose supporters said it would benefit more. The policy had been backed by former prime minister Tony Blair, who said in May that he thought both Manchester and Blackpool should get super-casinos, if there was sufficient investment. The BBC's political editor Nick Robinson said Mr Brown was effectively "tearing up one of Tony Blair's plans". 'Bad decision' Mr Stringer told the BBC he had heard nothing about the review until prime minister's questions. He told BBC Radio 4's World at One: "The idea that Manchester City Council haven't thought of all the possible ways to regenerate east Manchester is quite frankly insulting." BBC political editor Nick Robinson Read Nick's thoughts in full And Angie Robinson, of Manchester's chamber of commerce, told the BBC: "I think it will be devastating quite frankly. Shadow culture secretary Jeremy Hunt said the move raised "serious questions" about Gordon Brown's credibility. Liberal Democrat leader Sir Menzies Campbell said if any decision was to be taken "it obviously ought to have the fullest scrutiny of Parliament." UPDATE 1340: A Whitehall source has confirmed my instinct on hearing Gordon Brown by telling the BBC that super-casinos are "dead in the water". The only reason that many people in the Labour Party supported the idea of super-casinos in the first place was the prospect of money and jobs to inner-city Manchester, run-down Blackpool and other parts of the country. Graham Stringer - Labour MP and former leader of Manchester City Council has described the decision as "weak and bad" and said it's "insulting" and "risible" to suggest that the City hasn't looked at other ways to revive the city. This is a victory for an alliance of some on the right (the aforementioned Daily Mail), some within the Labour Party, and a coalition in the House of Lords - remember, it was in the Lords, not in the Commons, where the government suffered a defeat on this issue which forced them to reconsider the plans. My guess is that having seen David Cameron gain a lot of good publicity for his musings on the issue of a "Broken Society" Team Brown thought they'd trump him with an announcement to scrap super-casinos. The prime minister distanced himself from a Labour pledge to introduce Las Vegas-style casinos in Britain, just months after Tony Blair's government claimed that the plans were "very much alive". The new prime minister broke ranks with his predecessor to announce that he would consider a report which outlined the social ills caused by gambling to see whether supercasinos remained the best route for regenerating disadvantaged areas. "We can look at whether regeneration to tackle social ills is a better way forward than supercasinos," Mr Brown told MPs in his second turn at prime minister's questions. Mr Brown's comments come just months after Mr Blair's government insisted that a Lords defeat over proposals to erect a supercasino in Manchester would not derail the project in the long term. Ms Jowell, who lost her job in Mr Brown's reshuffle last month but retains responsibility for the Olympics, insisted at the time that the House of Lords' vote had not spelt the end for the venue, despite MPs' warnings that ministers might need to abandon the regional casino, or at least allow further consultation over it, to win approval for 16 smaller ones. Andy Reed, a Labour backbench MP, prompted Mr Brown to announce the strategy rethink by asking whether the government had benefited from a "period of reflection" over its casino plans. Pointing out the 400,000 problem gamblers in the country, Mr Reed urged the new PM to focus on the original intentions of the 2005 legislation: to put in place stricter regulations around gambling in the UK. "When he looks at the report he referred to on problem gambling in the autumn, will he look at the special needs of areas like Blackpool?" The prime minister signalled his preference for alternative means of regenerating deprived areas by pointing to a number of bids put forward by Blackpool. Jeremy Hunt, the shadow culture secretary, said that the prime minister's comments raised "serious questions" about his credibility. "Council tax payers in areas that bid for casinos will rightly be furious at so much money going down the drain."
She was 94. The couple had two daughters, Lynda Bird, born in 1944, and Luci Baines, born in 1947. E-mail to a friend All About Lady Bird Johnson That's what the staff does in the White House." The former president died in 1973. "She needed their help. Became First Lady After Kennedy's Assassination Lyndon Baines Johnson became the 36th president when John F. Kennedy was assassinated on Nov. 22, 1963. She died at her Austin home of natural causes and she was surrounded by family and friends, said spokeswoman Elizabeth Christian. Ranch in Texas, where they lived quietly. His nomination as vice president on Kennedy’s ticket drew her deep into a national campaign. In 1937 she used part of an inheritance to fund her husband's first bid for public office and campaigned with him to win a congressional seat. “Her beautification programs benefited the entire nation. She was also a strong advocate for the Head Start program. Their time was largely devoted to Lyndon's political career. She translated her love for the land and the environment into a lifetime of achievement,” Betty Ford said. But the escalation of U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War cast a shadow over his term. She raised hundreds of thousands of dollars to beautify Washington. With a $17,500 inheritance from her mother, she purchased a small, faltering radio station in 1942 in Austin. The center was renamed the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center in 1998. The family business later expanded into television and banking. She once appeared for 47 speeches in four days. After suffering a stroke in 2002 that limited her ability to speak, she communicated chiefly by writing.
AUSTIN, Texas (CNN) -- Lady Bird Johnson, who was first lady during the 1960s and in her later years became an advocate for beautifying public landscapes, died Wednesday, family spokesman Tom Johnson said. more photos » She was the widow of Lyndon Baines Johnson, sworn in as the nation's 36th president on November 22, 1963, just hours after President John F. Kennedy's assassination. Lady Bird Johnson was briefly hospitalized last month with a low-grade fever. She was released and returned to her Austin home on June 28. Upon news of her death, Texas Gov. Rick Perry ordered flags in the state to be flown at half-staff. "Lady Bird Johnson embodied all that is beautiful and good about the great state of Texas," Perry said. "She inspired generations of Americans with her graceful strength, unwavering commitment to family and keen sense of social justice." The former first lady was born Claudia Alta Taylor in 1912 in Karnack, Texas, a small town near the Louisiana line. She got her unusual nickname while still a toddler from her nurse, who proclaimed the child was as "purty as a lady bird." Lady Bird attended St. Mary's Episcopal School for Girls, a junior college near Dallas and then transferred to the University of Texas at Austin. She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in history in 1933, then stayed an extra year to earn a journalism degree. She hoped to become a newspaper reporter, but those plans changed after she met a 26-year-old congressional aide named Lyndon Baines Johnson. Watch the former first lady's life in restrospect » They married in 1934 after a whirlwind courtship and soon moved to Washington. Early on, Lady Bird Johnson proved herself to be the quintessential political wife. In 1937 she used part of an inheritance to fund her husband's first bid for public office and campaigned with him to win a congressional seat. She used more of her mother's money and Johnson's connections to purchase a faltering Austin radio station in 1942 for $17,500. She turned it around and later used the station as a base for a multimillion-dollar communications company based in Austin. After three failed pregnancies, she gave birth to the Johnsons' first daughter, Lynda Bird, in 1944, followed by Luci Baines three years later. A day later, he agreed to become Kennedy's running mate. Lady Bird Johnson traveled more than 35,000 miles during that campaign. After one of the closest presidential elections in U.S. history, Johnson was sworn in as vice president on January 20, 1961. With Kennedy's assassination, Johnson became the 36th president. As the Johnsons moved into the White House, Lady Bird Johnson "went around and went to all of the staff that was remaining in their jobs, told them how happy she was to have them there," said Leticia Baldridge, Jacqueline Kennedy's former social secretary. That's what the staff does in the White House." Of the eight Southern states that many had expected to vote for Republican Barry Goldwater, six went for LBJ -- in part, it was said, because of the first lady's efforts. During her husband's one term as president, Lady Bird Johnson worked tirelessly for the beautification of America, promoting the Highway Beautification Act, which sought to limit billboards. Its mission is the research and preservation of native plants throughout the United States. As a child, a family nurse declared she was as "pretty as a ladybird." Although Lady Bird Johnson lived much of her life in the shadow of one of the most powerful men of the 20th century, she played a pivotal role in some of the nation's most turbulent years. Became First Lady After Kennedy's Assassination Lyndon Baines Johnson became the 36th president when John F. Kennedy was assassinated on Nov. 22, 1963. In her 800-page book White House Diary, published in 1970 from the 1,750,000-word daily journal that detailed nearly every aspect of her and her husband's life, Johnson described the aftermath of that fateful day in Texas, the Johnson's home state, and how she tried to comfort Jackie Kennedy. "Oh, Mrs. Kennedy," Johnson reportedly said, "You know we never even wanted to be vice president and now, dear God, it's come to this." The nation's new first lady did her best to ease the painful transition into the White House following the violent murder of President Kennedy.
Just brilliant." The 18 riders in the leading group are the previously mentioned Rogers, Voeckler, Millar, Willems, Vaugrenard, Goubert, Hincapie, Schumacher and Auge, plus Jose Gutierrez, Jens Voigt, Mario Aerts, Jose Luis Arrieta, Jorge Azanza, Gorka Verdugo, Bernhard Kohl, Christophe Le Mevel and Cristian Moreni. Stage eight result: 1. The peloton is a further 20 seconds back. Michael Rasmussen (Den / RAB) 39:37:42" 2. "Looks like that's it for Rogers, that's a real shame." He is four minutes and three seconds off the yellow jersey in the overall classification. The 20km first category Cormet de Roseland climb looms. After Monday's rest day he has another day in the Alps to consolidate his lead and the first time trial - the format in which he generally struggles - is not until next Saturday. Still 70km to go today. 1545: The leaders are over the summit and Rasmussen is six minutes ahead of the race leader. He is a minute behind Kohl. FigRollEnergy on 606. "The Tour is not lost. The T-Mobile rider had been selected to contest the sprint finishes but bad luck limited him to two top-10 places. 1615: Mayo has been caught by a small group containing Moreau, who attacks again. 1456: Disaster for Rogers and Arroyo as they hit a barrier on a bend when trying to escape on the descent, Arroyo going over the railings. Sylvain Chavanel starts the stage wearing the King of the Mountains jersey, with 42 points, while Linus Gerdemann and David De La Fuente both have 30.
By Martin Gough Rasmussen has been King of the Mountains in the last two years Denmark's Michael Rasmussen went it alone for victory in Tignes to secure the Tour de France yellow jersey. Rasmussen, who began the day 39th overall, was part of a breakaway halfway through the 165km eighth stage. Alexandre Vinokourov and Andreas Kloeden both lost 4:29 while Michael Rogers crashed out of the race. T-Mobile leader Rogers was in the same group as Rasmussen - and the race leader on the road - on the descent of the Cormet de Roseland when he hit a roadside barrier. 606: DEBATE There's plenty of time to consider strategy over the rest day FR He bravely carried on before being forced to pull up later with a dislocated shoulder. "It's a real shame because I could see the yellow jersey," he said. "One moment I was in the lead, the next I was lying on the ground with my back wheel where my front wheel should have been." O'Grady was taken to hospital after a crash on the same descent as Rogers while McEwen, who won the first stage in Canterbury last Sunday, was eliminated from the race after finishing outside the 40-minute time limit. X-rays showed that O'Grady broke five ribs in the fall, as well as fracturing three vertebrae and a shoulder blade. This could be my year as the Pyrenees are extremely difficult but, again, I need to improve in the time trials Michael Rasmussen After a stage which included three category-one climbs, Rasmussen also took the lead in the King of the Mountains competition, which he has won overall for the last two years. After Monday's rest day he has another day in the Alps to consolidate his lead and the first time trial - the format in which he generally struggles - is not until next Saturday. Asked if he would aim to take the yellow jersey in Paris in a fortnight's time he said: "The way I'm riding, I would be stupid not to." "I am a pure climber so I need to grab as much time as I can in the mountains. "When I came close to the podium two years ago, it crossed my mind I could win the Tour in the future. "This could be my year as the Pyrenees are extremely difficult but, again, I need to improve in the time trials." French champion Christophe Moreau was rewarded for a day of attacks on the big names with fourth place on the stage, moving up to seventh overall. The Tour is not lost; if I had lost five minutes, it would have been over Alexandre Vinokourov He finished in a group with overall contenders Cadel Evans and Frank Schleck, just behind Spain's Alejandro Valverde. However Vinokourov, still in pain after a crash on Thursday, was unable to go with those men as they chased Moreau and finished 4:29 behind the leader. And Kloeden was ordered to help his Astana team-mate over the line even though the German had begun the day 38 places ahead of Vinokourov in the general classification, with a good chance of contending. Vinokourov, now 22nd in the overall standings, believes he can still win the title even though he trails Rasmussen by 5:23. If I had lost five minutes, it would have been over," he said. The pace in the Alps proved too much for Britain's Mark Cavendish, who had planned to pull out at the end of the stage but in fact gave up 35km into the day. Alberto Contador (Spa / DSC ) +3:31" 9. By Matt Braithwaite LATEST ACTION AS IT HAPPENED (ALL TIMES BST) 1647: Gerdemann finishes five minutes and four seconds down, handing the yellow jersey to stage winner Rasmussen. 1642: Rasmussen underlines his status as one of the world's greatest climbers as he wins the stage in a time of 4:49:40.
“We cannot save them from themselves,” he said just before the vote. With McConnell are Senators John McCain (R-AZ)(L) and Jon Kyl (R-AZ)(2nd L). Advertisement Continue reading the main story Democrats and Republicans accused one another of being obstructionists. One is to pass a defense authorization bill, but with a deadline dealing with Iraq," Reid said. Senate Democrats halted their quest to change President Bush's war strategy yesterday after Republicans blocked a proposal to begin withdrawing troops from Iraq. “It is moving in the right direction and it is very significant change.” But Mr. Alexander said he would not support the Democratic withdrawal proposal and the majority leader, Mr. Reid, said he had not decided whether there would be a vote on Mr. Alexander’s approach. Only three Republican senators pledged in advance to support the measure. "By the end of September, this could be a different debate," Durbin said. Senator Judd Gregg, Republican of New Hampshire, labeled the Democratic plan calling for a troop pullout to begin within 120 days vague and unenforceable. Four Republicans broke with Bush and voted to move toward passage of the withdrawal amendment. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY)(C) speaks after Republicans blocked a Democratic amendment attached to the Defense Authorization Bill to begin withdrawing troops from Iraq on Capitol Hill in Washington, July 18, 2007. Cots that had been brought in for the overnight session were wheeled back out to a congressional storage facility, after being used by just six senators. Although Democrats won four Republican defectors, they fell eight votes short of the 60 needed to overcome the GOP's procedural objections.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV)(L) and Senator Carl Levin (D-MI)(R) take part in a news conference after Republicans blocked a Democratic amendment attached to the Defense Authorization Bill to begin withdrawing troops from Iraq on Capitol Hill in Washington July 18, 2007. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV)(C) and Senators Carl Levin (D-MI)(R) and Jack Reed (D-RI) arrive for a press conference after Republicans blocked a Democratic amendment attached to the Defense Authorization Bill to begin withdrawing troops from Iraq on Capitol Hill in Washington, July 18, 2007. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts Senator John McCain (R-AZ)(R) speaks after the Republicans blocked a Democratic amendment attached to the Defense Authorization Bill to begin withdrawing troops from Iraq on Capitol Hill in Washington, July 18, 2007. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY)(C) speaks after Republicans blocked a Democratic amendment attached to the Defense Authorization Bill to begin withdrawing troops from Iraq on Capitol Hill in Washington, July 18, 2007. With McConnell are Senators John McCain (R-AZ)(L), Jon Kyl (R-AZ)(2nd L) and Lindsey Graham (R-SC). REUTERS/Joshua Roberts Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY)(C) speaks after Republicans blocked a Democratic amendment attached to the Defense Authorization Bill to begin withdrawing troops from Iraq on Capitol Hill in Washington, July 18, 2007. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts WASHINGTON U.S. President George W. Bush's fellow Republicans in the Senate on Wednesday blocked a Democratic proposal to force him to withdraw American combat troops from Iraq after a rare round-the-clock debate. The action prompted weary and frustrated Senate Democrats to postpone consideration of other measures to bring the war to an end. On a vote of 52-47, backers fell short of the needed 60 to clear a Republican procedural hurdle and move toward passage of an April 30, 2008, deadline for removing U.S. combat troops from Iraq. Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid of Nevada responded by suspending consideration on a defense policy bill until Republicans drop procedural tactics that prevented passage of the withdrawal plan. One is to pass a defense authorization bill, but with a deadline dealing with Iraq," Reid said. "If that's tomorrow, we'll do it tomorrow. Critics called the nearly 24-hour Senate debate, which had featured cots, pillows and take-out pizza, a theatrical stunt by Democrats who have been hammered for their inability to keep a 2006 campaign vow to end the increasingly unpopular war. White House press secretary Tony Snow tweaked Congress, whose approval ratings have dropped to under 25 percent, beneath those even for the unpopular Bush. "You had a Senate that brought in the cots yesterday, which is a pretty good metaphor for a Senate that's been asleep for the last seven months," Snow said. But Democrats described the debate as a wake-up call to pressure wavering Republicans, many of whom are up for re-election next year, to break ranks with Bush. Reid had urged support for the measure, which would have begun troop withdrawals within 120 days, saying, "It couldn't be clearer that if you give this president a choice, he will stay hunkered down in Iraq until the end of his failed presidency." Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky countered that the measure was a poor alternative to current strategy. "Last night's theatrics accomplished nothing," McConnell said. 'WE'RE NOT DONE' Democrats' drive to change the course of the war likely will now move back to the House of Representatives, which was expected to stage more votes on Iraq before an August recess. "We're not done," a House leadership aide said. Last week, the House approved a troop withdrawal plan, although it appears to have little, if any, immediate chance to clear Senate Republican roadblocks. "It's going to be an interesting summer for a lot of senators who have either told their home states that they are ready for change or know in their heart of hearts that they cannot sustain" support for the war, Durbin told Reuters. The Senate may not return to the war debate until after its August recess when the Pentagon is to give a mid-September report to Congress on progress in Iraq. In addition to withdrawing combat troops by the end of April, the Democratic measure blocked by Republicans would have kept an unspecified number of noncombat U.S. troops in Iraq to help train Iraqi soldiers, conduct counterterrorism missions and protect U.S. diplomats. Democrats noted that more than 3,600 U.S. soldiers had been killed in the war, now in its fifth year, and that a change in strategy was needed amid a mounting civil war. Four Republicans broke with Bush and voted to move toward passage of the withdrawal amendment. “This is tragic," said Senator John McCain, Republican of Arizona, delivering a blistering criticism of Democratic leaders for pulling the military policy bill from the floor. He said America’s fighting men and women deserve better from their lawmakers. Mr. Reid said he wants to bring the spending bill back to the floor as soon as possible, “but with a deadline dealing with Iraq.” He brushed off Republican charges that by pulling the bill he is letting down military people, noting that even if the bill were approved right now, it would not take effect until October, when the fiscal year begins. But Senator Trent Lott of Mississippi, the Republican whip, said the bill is “very important for our men and women in uniform, and for our country,” and said Mr. Reid apparently “wants to play games with it.” Mr. Reid had implored Republicans to “stop blocking a vote on this crucial, war-ending amendment,” an allusion to the withdrawal measure offered by Senators Carl Levin of Michigan and Jack Reed of Rhode Island, both Democrats. Advertisement Continue reading the main story But the Republican minority leader, Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, said the Democrats’ arguments were illogical, given that they had voted to confirm Gen. David H. Petraeus as the American commander in Iraq and thus, implicitly at least, had voted to give the administration strategy a chance to succeed. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Mr. McConnell said some of the speeches from the all-nighter reminded him of a bad movie, or perhaps “The Twilight Zone.” But Mr. Reid said the Republicans’ stance meant that “they chose to continue protecting their president instead of our troops." Despite growing misgivings about the administration’s approach in Mr. Bush’s own party, none of the Republican senators who spoke overnight signaled new support for the Democratic plan to set a deadline to remove troops from Iraq. But Mr. Reid did not use his full power to force senators to attend — no lawmakers, for example, were brought back to the chamber by the sergeant-at-arms — and 40 senators did not record their presence during a 5 a.m. attendance check.
Mitt Romney. Thompson, a former Tennessee senator, describes himself as "pro-life." The campaign is also playing better defense. Bush's administration. Yesterday, Mr. Corallo said the family planning group was an Arent Fox client. The New York Times published an article detailing the billing records Thursday. Advertisement Continue reading the main story He continued, “In almost 30 years of practicing law I must have had hundreds of clients and thousands of conversations about legal matters. But his record on abortion has not always been as clear cut. Please try again later. Giuliani tries new campaign strategy by nurturing relationships with reporters and driving coverage with his own message. In an interview with the conservative RedState Radio, Thompson questioned the authenticity of the board minutes. Just this week, the campaign has e-mailed 24 press releases, research documents and advisories to the national media—about twice as many as it would have sent in any given week earlier in the year. “Ninety percent of our work at first was responding to incoming,” conceded a source close to the campaign. "I don't think America is going to elect a Washington insider the next president." Despite Giuliani’s status as a top candidate in most national and early primary state polls, the candidate had been playing catch-up with the better-organized campaigns of McCain and former Massachusetts Gov. It attacked the messengers as Democratic water-carriers and lined up two retired firefighters to counter the criticism in a news conference. WASHINGTON — The emergence of Fred Thompson as a top contender in the Republican presidential race has sparked a clash with rival Mitt Romney over the social conservatives who are crucial to winning the GOP nomination.
Giuliani tries new campaign strategy by nurturing relationships with reporters and driving coverage with his own message. Giuliani catches up on organization After months of tough press and a corresponding drop in his once-soaring poll numbers, Rudy Giuliani’s campaign has put a new strategy in place, nurturing relationships with reporters and trying to drive coverage with its own messaging. Mastering some of the basic fundamentals of the modern presidential campaign simply hasn't come easily for Giuliani, who started his quest much later than his GOP peers and has sometimes seemed to have difficulty adjusting to the umatched scrutiny of a run for the White House. Story Continued Below But the campaign of the former New York mayor seems to be finding its equilibrium. Just this week, the campaign has e-mailed 24 press releases, research documents and advisories to the national media—about twice as many as it would have sent in any given week earlier in the year. Also this week, the campaign began sending a daily e-mail alerting reporters to the message of the day and Giuliani’s schedule. Additionally, campaign staff have engaged individual reporters on a near-daily basis, seeking to get ahead of the news cycle. Perhaps most important, the campaign has started bracketing news announcements with complementary messaging designed to drive home Giuliani's agenda. For example, Giuliani did not simply announce his promise to appoint constructionist justices to the bench—part of his so-called “12 Commitments” policy plan. Rather, his campaign held a press conference Tuesday unveiling his “Justice Advisory Committee,” a group of lawyers whose purpose is to reassure conservatives of the pro-choice candidate’s intentions. When Giuliani spoke about his promise on Wednesday, the campaign reinforced the message by posting a column on the topic exclusively on PajamasMedia, a popular conservative website. When the firefighters union released a long-expected video last week criticizing Giuliani’s post-9/11 performance, the campaign was ready. It attacked the messengers as Democratic water-carriers and lined up two retired firefighters to counter the criticism in a news conference. This blocking and tackling goes hand-in-hand with running for president in 2007, but the forward-leaning approach is new for a national frontrunner whose campaign infrastructure has not matched his standing in the polls. Now Sen. John McCain’s (R-Ariz.) financial difficulties and former Sen. Fred Thompson’s delay in entering the race have given Giuliani the opportunity to take a more aggressive posture. “There is no doubt that we are better organized and in a better position on the communications side than we were three months ago,” said Katie Levinson, Giuliani’s communications director. But, she added, “the same holds true on the political side and on the fund-raising side” of the operation. “It is the natural trajectory of the campaign to become more organized, more efficient and more sophisticated” in every area, she said. Despite Giuliani’s status as a top candidate in most national and early primary state polls, the candidate had been playing catch-up with the better-organized campaigns of McCain and former Massachusetts Gov. While the two rivals were lining up aides and consultants throughout 2006, the former mayor has put together his team largely during the first half of this year, on the fly. But Giuliani faced a bigger problem when a torrent of scrutiny he was unprepared for came his way during the first half of 2007. “Ninety percent of our work at first was responding to incoming,” conceded a source close to the campaign. Now, though, a candidate who relishes nothing more than talking about how important it is for the country to “stay on offense” in the war on terror, is putting his own campaign on a proactive footing. The Nation Thompson, Romney struggle for the 'family values' banner Records of his abortion rights work complicate the Tennessean's bid. He would be the only prominent Southerner in the contest, and polls have found that he has a strong appeal to religious conservatives. Thompson, a former Tennessee senator, describes himself as "pro-life." But billing records released Thursday confirmed that -- contrary to his initial denial -- he charged $4,790 for lobbying and legal work he did for the National Family Planning and Reproductive Health Assn. In his opening salvo, Romney has seized upon Thompson's work as a lobbyist who tried to lift federal restraints on abortion counseling in the early 1990s. WASHINGTON — The emergence of Fred Thompson as a top contender in the Republican presidential race has sparked a clash with rival Mitt Romney over the social conservatives who are crucial to winning the GOP nomination. That dynamic poses a threat to Romney, the former governor of Massachusetts who has tried to position himself as the party's most viable "family values" candidate. "In many ways, the Romney campaign and the emerging Thompson campaign are on a collision course when it comes to campaigning for this constituency of conservative Christians," said John C. Green, senior fellow at the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life. For weeks, Thompson has targeted the party's conservative wing as the foundation of his nascent candidacy, using talk radio and blogs to build grass-roots support as he has traveled the nation raising money. But disclosure of his lobbying to ease a rule that barred abortion counseling at federally funded clinics gave Romney an opening to try to block Thompson's momentum. When the Los Angeles Times reported Thompson's lobbying for the family-planning group earlier this month -- based on minutes of one of the organization's board meetings and several interviews with those familiar with the matter -- his spokesman, Mark Corallo, denied it had taken place. "There's no documents to prove it, there's no billing records, and Thompson says he has no recollection of it -- says it didn't happen," Corallo said. "It's like, I come up with a piece of paper and say it's true because I wrote it down here," Thompson said, adding that he would not "respond to client matters or alleged client matters." "I'm not going to go back and get into 'who shot John' every time they scrounge up somebody who I may not even be able to remember," he told RedState Radio. The records showed that Thompson billed for 19 hours of work for the family planning group in 1991 and 1992. In an interview published Wednesday on the San Francisco Examiner's website, Romney suggested that Thompson's years of work as a Washington lobbyist and senator would hinder the Tennessean's presidential campaign. In questionnaires Mr. Thompson answered during his 1994 Senate campaign, for instance, he checked a box stating that he believed abortion should be legal under any circumstances during the first three months of pregnancy and said, “I do not believe that abortion should be criminalized.” He has also opposed a constitutional amendment banning all abortion, also on the grounds of states’ rights. Photo But in answering questions by the conservative Tennessee group Flare during the 1994 campaign, Mr. Thompson promised not to support tax-financed clinics that recommend “abortion as a method of birth control.” Advertisement Continue reading the main story His representation of the National Family Planning and Reproductive Health Association, which was trying to overturn the ban on abortion counseling, put him at odds with the anti-abortion movement, which considered the ban a crucial victory.
These youngsters. 1217: "With Cancellara still losing time to Wiggins, and Millar now on the road, this is getting exciting." Alexandre Vinokourov (Kaz) Astana @ 5 mins 10 secs 10. Contador is one minute 36 seconds down and Sastre one minute 41 seconds. What of Michael Rasmussen? Further back down the course a rider's down. Two minutes 14 seconds up on Bradley Wiggins. 1524: Andreas Kloden is third fastest at the first check. Keep an eye out for Cadel Evans as well. Unfortunately it was during the Tour. He is 52 seconds up on Bradley Wiggins at the second check with the Cote de la Bauzie to come. Stage 13 result: Individual time-trial, Albi to Albi, 54km 1. Discovery can also boast two riders in the top five of the general classification in Alberto Contador and Levi Leipheimer. Will he be wearing yellow tomorrow? 1442: Thomas Dekker comes in in provisional fifth. But the day's big loser was French favourite Christophe Moreau. I didn't take any risks. Good enough for fourth behind Sylvain Chavanel who is 30 seconds back. Alexandre Vinokourov 2. We could shut the telephones and hide or we could lie. 1624: Iban Mayo finishes six minutes four seconds down. Things are getting fruity on 606. Vladimir Gusev takes a tumble. Alejandro Valverde (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne @ 6 mins 8 secs 52. Ouch! "Why did Mr Worre wait until 19 July with Rasmussen in the yellow jersey to give elements he had at his disposal since 28 June. "UCI said a third 'no show' would be considered as a positive test."
606: DEBATE Stage 13: Albi to Albi (54km) Individual time-trial LATEST ACTION AS IT HAPPENS (ALL TIMES BST) By Charlie Henderson Overall standings 1. Alberto Contador @ two minutes 31 seconds Alexandre Vinokourov climbs from 19th to ninth The stage result 1. Alexandre Vinokourov 2. Cadel Evans @ one minute 14 seconds 3. Andreas Kloden @ one minutes 39 seconds 1627: Michael Rasmussen finishes two minutes 54 seconds down on Alexandre Vinokourov and Alejandro Valverde finishes soon after. 1626: Michael Rasmussen is into the final kilometre, but there is no rest for him. He has to pick up more time in the three mountain stages coming up to have any chance of taking the yellow jersey all the way to Paris. 1624: Iban Mayo finishes six minutes four seconds down. Further back on the course Michael Rasmussen overhauls Alejandro Valverde just before the two kilometre to go banner. Alexandre Vinokourov will deservedly take the plaudits, but this is an excellent ride from Rasmussen as well. 1623: It has been a bit of a mathematical moutful today, but one thing's for sure, it is set up brilliantly for Sunday in the Pyrenees. 1620: Just three men still out on the course and two of them are big losers. 1617: The Danish race leader Michael Rasmussen is pumping out the kilomteres and was one minute 36 seconds down on Cadel Evans at the top of the Cote de la Bauzie. 1616: Will Cadel Evans take first or second tonight? It looks like second... on both counts. He is one minute 14 seconds down on Alexandre Vinokourov which places him second in the stage, but that's not the key margin. 1614: Next home is Alberto Contador. Two minutes 18 seconds down on Alexandre Vinokourov and the young Spaniard can be happy with that. 1613: Carlos Sastre finishes 23rd, a touch over four minutes off Alexandre Vinokourov. 1610: Michael Rasmussen is two minutes 40 seconds off Alexandre Vinokourov at the 35.6km mark. That's one minute 28 seconds off the time set by Cadel Evans. He had a two minute 41 second advantage over Evans coming into the stage. 1609: Apologies for the flood of numbers. In short, Cadel Evans and Michael Rasmussen are the men to look out for now and things should take shape in a bit when less people are out on the course. 1608: Andreas Kloden, sporting a graze on his right knee following that early tumble, is second, one minute 38 down on Alexandre Vinokourov. 1606: Levi Leipheimer strikes the pose in the home straight. The American uses every last ounce of energy and comes home sixth, two minutes 39 seconds down on Alexandre Vinokourov. 1603: Iban Mayo and Alejandro Valverde are labouring and will need to put in some stunning rides in the Pyrenees to have a chance of winning the Tour. The Spanish duo are more than four minutes down at the 35.6km mark. Andreas Kloden is up to second at the fourth check - one minute 38 seconds down on team-mate Alexandre Vinokourov. 1601: And the course is still drying out, which in itself puts an even sharper focus on how good Alexandre Vinokourov's ride was. It may be too early to make assumptions with the abacus yet to be dusted down, but Evans is surely riding himself into yellow. 1559: Cadel Evans has a slender advantage over Andreas Kloden at the third check. 1558: Alberto Contador has gained time on the climb to Cote de la Bauzie. He began the climb more than two minutes down but cuts that to one minute 49 at the top. He finishes nine minutes 26 seconds down. 1552: Andrey Kashechkin is motoring and second at the fourth check, four seconds faster than Bradley Wiggins. 1550: That crash has cost Andreas Kloden a bundle of time. He was 34 seconds off top spot at the first check but is one minute 16 seconds down at the second. 1547: Race leader Michael Rasmussen is one minute 42 seconds down after 18km. It was never going to be Iban Mayo's day, but fellow Spaniard Alejandro Valverde being two minutes 18 seconds down at the first check is a bit of a shock. 1541: Andrey Kashechkin is ramping up the speed and is third fastest at the top of the Cote de la Bauzie with 15.5km still to go.
It will be very good for Turkey," said Sadi, one of the supporters. This party is new and it's learning all the time." "There are other people they can nominate. REUTERS/Umit Bektas An AK Party supporter celebrates the results of the national elections in front of the party headquarters in Ankara, July 22, 2007. But the AKP has its roots in political Islam. COMPROMISE PRESIDENT? HAVE YOUR SAY As a secular Turk I have every confidence that Turkey has a great future in the hands of Prime Minister Erdogan and his party. The AKP's 47% means it would get up to 341 seats in the 550-member parliament. "The military will feel squeezed by this election - they can't act against such a large majority," he says. I want more democracy." EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn said the government must press on with reforms required of Turkey in stalled EU entry talks. Two other, secularist, parties made it into parliament -- the nationalist Republican People's Party (CHP) with 112 seats and the far-right National Movement Party (MHP) with 71. So does this second term success mean Turkish society is becoming more religious and more introverted? Secularists say Abdullah Gul has a hidden Islamist agenda When he appeared with his wife at party headquarters on Sunday, the crowds shouted: "Gul for president". But despite his election win, Mr Erdogan will lack the two-thirds parliamentary majority to force through his presidential choice. And now they are back with a stronger mandate than ever. But Professor Ergil does not believe the party will nominate the foreign minister again.
By Sarah Rainsford BBC News, Ankara Unofficial results prompted wild street celebrations by supporters Turkey's powerful military warned it would intervene to protect the republic, if required. This Sunday, 46.4% of the electorate cast their votes for the AKP across the country, proving they did not believe in any such danger. It was a resounding victory and, as the results rolled in, there was euphoria at the brand new party headquarters in the city. It will be very good for Turkey," said Sadi, one of the supporters. He voted for the AKP so democratic reforms would continue, moving Turkey closer to the European Union. So does this second term success mean Turkish society is becoming more religious and more introverted? "Today nearly half of the people voted AKP, and half of all people here do not want Turkey to be an Islamic society," he explained. From a balcony overlooking the crowd of supporters, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Turkey's democracy had "successfully passed a test". "Our unity, democracy and republic have emerged stronger from the ballot box," he added. Dogu Ergil, a political analyst, says the AKP's victory was "a vote for stability and continuity". It was also helped significantly by a feel-good factor created by the economy doing well, and the failure of the main opposition parties to unite against the AKP. Military 'squeezed' But for many Turks, the strong AKP showing at this general election was primarily a backlash against the role of the military and secular establishment in the controversial presidential vote earlier this year - that is what sparked the entire crisis. Turkish voters give their verdict on the election result In pictures "This election sends a very clear signal to the military and the bureaucracy not to meddle," analyst Ihsan Dagi says. "In that sense, I think the result is a slap in the face for the military." Newspaper columnist Burak Bekdil agrees that Turkey's generals, who paint themselves as the protectors of the republic, will be unable to intervene any further without losing legitimacy. "The military will feel squeezed by this election - they can't act against such a large majority," he says. "That will really limit their room for manoeuvre against what they see as an Islamist threat to Turkey's constitutional regime." Presidential dilemma When it is time for the new parliament to try again to elect a president, AKP leaders will be under great pressure from the party faithful to nominate Mr Gul once again. Secularists say Abdullah Gul has a hidden Islamist agenda When he appeared with his wife at party headquarters on Sunday, the crowds shouted: "Gul for president". But Professor Ergil does not believe the party will nominate the foreign minister again. "They won't want to jeopardise their new legitimacy," he says. This party is new and it's learning all the time." An opposition supporter, Fadik, claims the AKP are against the republic. "They are not following the path of our great leader, Ataturk - they're completely against him," she says. "We didn't used to see women wearing chadors on the streets before. Covered women didn't used to give you condemning looks." Mr Erdogan said that "democracy has passed a very important test" Mr Erdogan also said his Islamist-rooted AK Party would seek national unity and respect Turkey's secular constitution. Two opposition parties won the 10% share needed to guarantee seats in parliament - the secularist Republican People's Party (CHP) polled 20%, and the right-wing Nationalist Action Party (MHP) 14%. 'Ringing endorsement' The election was touted as one of the most important in Turkey's history and turnout was reported to be extremely high, with many people breaking off holidays to return home to vote. The key test now, says the BBC's Sarah Rainsford in Ankara, will be who the party puts forward for president and whether or not it is willing to compromise.
So there you are then. 1320: Rinero, smiling, is out of the back of the breakaway. So that's great. Rasmussen to finish 2nd." Alberto Contador (Spa) Discovery Channel, @ 3 mins 10 secs 3. 1520: Sastre's breakaway group is now down to four - and under two minutes - as they descend the Col de Marie-Blanque. On the Aubisque? I now just shrug my shoulders "C'est La Tour !" We've been looking forward to this stage all race. Garcia-Acosta is midway between the escapees and the chasing peloton. DeGuzman on 606 What's your prediction for the day? Discovery are having a real go at the yellow jersey. Alexander Vinokourov has tested positive for blood doping and the pre-race favourite and the rest of his Astana team are now out of the event. 1604: Leipheimer catches up with Evans, attacks him and now has the lead two in his sights. 0946 BST: The riders have gathered for the start of stage 16. Cofidis are one of 11 teams not to win a stage yet. 1205: The front four are now just under five minutes ahead of the chasing trio of Soler, Castre and Iban Mayo, who are just over a minute ahead of the peloton. What a way to get this stage going, it can only get better from here. The 218.5km trip is the last mountain stage of the Tour and contains an hors category climb up the Port de Larrau as well as two other first category ascents. According to French newspaper L'Equipe, another rider has failed a doping test, this time for testosterone.
Wiggins had performed well in the time trials on the Tour Moreni, who was Italian champion in 2004, tested positive for testosterone following last Thursday's 11th stage. Wiggins, the reigning Olympic pursuit champion, was lying 138th - two hours 42 minutes and 20 seconds off the lead. "I don't want to continue in the Tour de France anyway, it is not supposed to be like this," he told the Guardian. "It is completely gutting to have to quit the Tour but everyone knows where I stand on doping. "It's pure stupidity on the part of Moreni. "It makes you think about your future as a professional cyclist. It makes me question the whole thing, but then you think why not continue because I get a lot of pleasure out of it." Cofidis team president Francois Migraine said: "It's the only thing to do in such circumstances." Wiggins finished fourth in the prologue, which was held in London, and fifth in last Saturday's 54km time-trial in Albi. The 27-year-old would have expected to do well in next Saturday's time-trial between Cognac and Angouleme. 606: COMMENT The best start ever to a Tour de France - that is what the organisers were saying in London 18 days ago; it seems like a long time ago now BBC Sport's Phil Sheehan Wiggins' trainer Shane Sutton told Five Live: "Bradley has always been clean from day one and he will be very disappointed. "One mindless individual has put everybody at risk and it is a shame." London's mayor Ken Livingstone, who watched Wiggins in the prologue, said: "This is deeply disappointing for Bradley Wiggins, who has had a fantastic Tour de France. "As a steadfastly clean rider, he is well-known for his vocal condemnation of drug use in his sport, and has been a tremendous ambassador for London and cycling." Cofidis are one of 11 teams not to win a stage yet. Their voluntary withdrawal leaves 19 teams in the race after Astana were asked to withdraw following Alexandre Vinokourov's positive test. Vinokourov, a pre-race favourite, tested positive for blood doping after winning last Saturday's time-trial stage. The Kazakh rider reportedly had two different kinds of red blood cells, indicating he has taken blood from someone of a compatible group. Just 24 hours later, Moreni became the second competitor to fail a drugs test. The Italian was questioned by police and Cofidis team manager Eric Boyer told Reuters: "He accepted his wrongdoing and did not ask for a B-sample." Rasmussen extended his lead to over three minutes The race leader was followed by rivals Alberto Contador and Levi Leipheimer for the whole day, but left them standing on the Col d'Aubisque. In a day marred by Alexandre Vinokourov's failed dope test, Rasmussen extended his lead to over three minutes ahead of Contador. After the overnight news had left the race reeling once again, riders from eight teams, who have formed the Movement for a Credible Cycling, began the day with a protest against doping, delaying the start by 13 minutes. Once the stage got underway, Stephane Auge, Vincente Garcia-Acosta, Gorka Verdugo and Christophe Rinero made an early break, and established a lead of nearly nine minutes by the time they reached the first climb of Port de Larrau. Looking to leapfrog Rasmussen at the top of the polka dot jersey competition, Juan Mauricio Soler broke off from the front of the peloton and was joined by sixth-place Sastre and Amets Txurruka. Sastre got himself to within two minutes of Rasmussen's overall lead when the Dane's Rabobank team-mates responded at the front of the peloton. They gradually reeled in the escapees, and by the time the race reached the final, hors category climb of the Col d'Aubisque, it had become a four-way battle between the top-placed riders overall - Rasmussen, Contador, Leipheimer and Cadel Evans. In an epic mountain duel on the previous stage's finish on the Col de Peyresourde, Contador had relentlessly attacked Rasmussen but here, despite help from team-mate Leipheimer, the Colombian could not wear the Dane down. And in the final kilometre of a gruelling climb, Rasmussen stood up on his pedals and powered away from his rivals to win the stage and all but seal his grip on the yellow jersey. Aferwards, Rasmussen admitted that he had used a different strategy to handle Contador's attacks: "On Monday I was finding it tough to follow him," he said. "So I decided to use a different strategy and go at my tempo," he added.
Or hives, to you and I. The points were won by: 1. Markus Fothen (Ger) Gerolsteiner, @ same time 3. Looks like it's not going to be Millar time after all. "The race will start without him and the yellow jersey will be given out after the stage." Matteo Tosatto 4 points 2. The Tour is clinically dead. Alberto Contador (Spa) Discovery Channel, 80 hrs 42 mins 8 secs 2. Three riders tried an early break but were quickly pulled back. Daniele Bennati 1 point 1325: Another climb - the Cote de Mielan - crested, and the points were won by: 1. I've said as much before and been proved wrong, but could this be the day I get it right? Daniel Righi 1 point 1235: The break is now 1'20" ahead of the peloton, which is being lead by Cadel Evans' Predictor-Lotto team, perhaps looking for bonus seconds at the first sprint. 1555: Voigt tries again and is followed by Bonnati, Fothen and Elmiger. It won't be easy though. Manuel Quinziato 6 points/6" 2. 1215: A group of riders have broken away and established a 40-second gap. 606: DEBATE Stage 17: Pau to Castelsarrasin (188.5km) LATEST ACTION AS IT HAPPENS (ALL TIMES BST) By Andy Nicolson 1614:Cat and mouse... Fothen goes... but Bennati's with him and takes the win easily in the end. Damn Vinokourov! Charlie Wegelius (GB) Liquigas, @ 9 mins 39 secs Overall standings 1. Before the start of the stage, many of the riders had been very clear that they were happy to see Rasmussen go, but the sombre mood of resignation among the Dane's former Rabobank team was palpable.
Michael Rasmussen was leading the race when he was thrown out With allegations of blood-doping, drug-taking and lying swirling around the race, the French press bemoan the "death" of an event that still retains an endless fascination. FRANCE SOIR Death notice: the Tour de France died on 25 July 2007, at the age of 104, after a long illness... It is a broken toy, a burst soap bubble popped by careless kids, unaware that they are damaging themselves, their health and their childhood dreams as well. It's all the more painful as we had almost begun to believe in the Tour again... in these soap-and-water cyclists who we were so ready to love. LE FIGARO It really doesn't matter who wins the Tour. The 2007 edition died on 24 July on the heights of Loudenvielle. Killed by Alexandre Vinokourov, idolised by the media and cycling fans, but revealed to have the blood of another running in his veins on the finishing line. LIBERATION The Tour is seriously ill... four days from the final leg, the Tour has just one goal: to hold tight and make it to Paris. The race is rapidly losing its meaning. Whoever wins is instantly under suspicion and no human activity can move forward under assumed guilt. And in its wake are drops of blood, which might not even be its own. LE MONDE Despite everything, 52% of the public say they continue to "love the Tour". Year in, year out, the television audience remains stable since 1998 and the Festina affair. "TV viewers watch the Tour as they might watch a soap opera," he says. "There is even the pursued and the pursuer. In one way, the drug scandal just adds a bit of spice to the whole story." Contador will face a challenge from Cadel Evans in Saturday's time trial Italian Daniele Bennati, part of a breakaway that included David Millar, recorded his first Tour victory with an easy sprint win in Castelsarrasin. The break finished over nine minutes ahead of Contador, but the Discovery team controlled the peloton, ensuring the Spaniard took the overall lead. Contador's main rival, Cadel Evans, remains just under two minutes behind. In a podium ceremony marked by muted applause from the crowd after the day's race, Contador admitted that his overall lead is not ideal. I would have preferred to take the yellow jersey in yesterday's stage but there are particular circumstances." The new leader, who was cleared by a Spanish judge of any involvement in the 'Operation Puerto' doping affair, was adamant that he was clean. "If I wasn't clean, then I wouldn't be here," he said. "I've undergone all the required doping tests, both at the race and before it. "Operation Puerto was something which concerned my former team, and I was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time." Following Rasmussen's exit on Wednesday evening, the stage began without a rider in the yellow jersey. And, when eight men who were no threat to the overall lead broke clear just 8km from the start, they were allowed to escape. Bennati and Millar were joined by Martin Elmiger, Daniele Righi, Markus Fothen, Manuel Quinziato, Matteo Tosatto and Jens Voigt but, matched by a high pace in the peloton, the group initially failed to stretch their lead beyond two minutes. However, by the time the main field reached the feed station after 86km in the baking heat on the comparatively flat 188.5km stage from Pau to Castelsarrasin, there appeared to be an acceptance that the break would be allowed to succeed. Before the start of the stage, many of the riders had been very clear that they were happy to see Rasmussen go, but the sombre mood of resignation among the Dane's former Rabobank team was palpable. Having worked tirelessly to secure and protect the yellow jersey, many of the team struggled to find the will to carry on, and it all became too much for Denis Menchov who simply stopped riding and got into the team car near the half-way mark. From then on, the gap grew to over eight minutes as the breakaway approached the final climb of the day, 19km from the finish. Plastered in sun-block to protect his skin allergy, Millar was the first to attack, but could not shake off the attentions of the others. Attacks came and went until Voigt - followed by Bonnati, Fothen and Elmiger - was able to get clear, leaving Millar, Tosatto, Righi and Quinziato in their wake. The leading quartet weaved around the road playing cat and mouse as they each sought to gain an advantage on each other. After his maiden win, the Italian echoed the views of many other riders on the day: "We have to fight against doping," he said. "I hope the sport will see the end of the tunnel because I think there are riders who do their job honestly."
The Nasdaq Composite Index sank 64.73 points, or 2.51 percent, to 2,511.25. Bear Stearns ended at $108.35, down 6.3 percent on the New York Stock Exchange. The major indexes all fell more than 2%. Financial shares had already been dragging on the market, after the latest signs mortgage market distress, American Home Mortgage Investment Corp. announced plans to close most operations on Friday and lay off nearly 7,000 employees.. Worries about credit also extended to credit card companies on the theory that consumers struggling with mortgage payments would also fall behind on credit card debt. In another sign of malaise in the economy, the Institute for Supply Management said its index for the service sector was 55.8 in July, reflecting a much slower pace of growth than June's reading of 60.7. This was the... It was the seventh trading session that the VIX rose above 20. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq had their worst one-day percentage drops since the February 27 global equity rout. ECONOMIC TROUBLE? U.S. government bond prices climbed, as falling stocks sent jittery investors scrambling for the safety of Treasury debt, bond traders and fund managers said. "The Bear Stearns comments are what really pushed the market over the edge." The Dow Jones industrial average tumbled 281.42 points, or 2.09 percent, to 13,181.91, with every one of its 30 components ending the day in the red. Lenders say they are being forced to raise interest rates and stop offering... (Additional reporting by Ellis Mnyandu and Caroline Valetkevitch) Problems in the housing sector, where lenders are encountering difficulties with rising mortgage defaults and prices are declining in many metro markets, appeared to spread into hiring as construction businesses cut jobs.
Bear Stearns lived up to the "bear" part of its name Friday, with new troubles for the investment bank once again dimming hopes for a speedy recovery in the credit markets. The major indexes all fell more than 2%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 281.42 points to 13181.91, with selling accelerating in the final hour of trading. Every one of the blue-chip index's 30 companies ended the day in the red. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid NEW YORK Stocks slid sharply on Friday after Bear Stearns said credit markets were in their worst shape in two decades, while jobs data aroused further concerns about weakness in the economy. Bear Stearns Cos. stock fell 6 percent after the comments from its chief financial officer, which exacerbated mortgage jitters and drove the three major indexes down more than 2 percent in a broad market sell-off. Earlier, Standard & Poor's lowered its outlook on Bear Stearns' debt to "negative," saying the biggest U.S. underwriter of mortgage bonds may have problems, including with its hedge funds, that could hurt the firm "for an extended period." "The Bear Stearns comments are what really pushed the market over the edge." The Dow Jones industrial average tumbled 281.42 points, or 2.09 percent, to 13,181.91, with every one of its 30 components ending the day in the red. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq had their worst one-day percentage drops since the February 27 global equity rout. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index dropped 39.14 points, or 2.66 percent, to 1,433.06. The sharp declines prompted the New York Stock Exchange to institute downside trading curbs at 3:29 p.m. (1929 GMT). The day's sell-off ended a week of wild market swings, pushing all indexes firmly down into negative territory for the week -- the Dow fell 0.7 percent, while the S&P 500 shed 1.8 percent and the Nasdaq lost 2 percent. U.S. crude oil futures ended more than a dollar lower, sparking worries in energy markets that petroleum demand might drop as the economy slows. On the New York Mercantile Exchange, September crude fell $1.38, or 1.8 percent, to settle at $75.48 a barrel. U.S. government bond prices climbed, as falling stocks sent jittery investors scrambling for the safety of Treasury debt, bond traders and fund managers said. The 10-year U.S. Treasury note jumped 23/32 in price to 98-19/32, while its yield fell to 4.68 percent from 4.77 percent late on Thursday. The CBOE Volatility Index, or VIX, which is known as Wall Street's fear gauge, jumped 18.6 percent to end at 25.16. U.S. employers expanded their payrolls in July at the slowest pace since February, adding only 92,000 jobs, and the unemployment rate rose to 4.6 percent, its highest level since the start of the year, a government report showed on Friday. Problems in the housing sector, where lenders are encountering difficulties with rising mortgage defaults and prices are declining in many metro markets, appeared to spread into hiring as construction businesses cut jobs. NO EASY CREDIT Bear Stearns stock, which had already slid 24 percent over the past three months, fell as low as $106.55, its lowest since November 2005, before recouping some of its losses by the close. At its session low, the stock of Bear Stearns suffered its biggest percentage drop since September 17, 2001, the first day of trading after the attacks that destroyed the World Trade Center's twin towers in New York. Financial shares had already been dragging on the market, after the latest signs mortgage market distress, American Home Mortgage Investment Corp. announced plans to close most operations on Friday and lay off nearly 7,000 employees.. Worries about credit also extended to credit card companies on the theory that consumers struggling with mortgage payments would also fall behind on credit card debt. Trading was active on the NYSE, with about 2.12 billion shares changing hands, well above last year's estimated daily average of 1.84 billion, while on Nasdaq, about 2.51 billion shares traded, also surging ahead of last year's daily average of 2.02 billion.
It is a process that does not end immediately, but will continue for some time," he said. The streets in Lima were immediately filled with people fleeing buildings and crying. President Alan Garcia declared a state of emergency in Ica and ordered the country's 100,000 police officers to report to duty. "A great deal of energy is released during an earthquake. The night sky in the city was illuminated several times by massive short circuits at power plants. The quake struck as Peruvians were beginning to make their way home from work. Schools will be closed in Peru on Thursday so principals can evaluate damage. In Chincha province, 100 miles south of Lima, inmates at the Tambo de Mora prison took advantage of the chaos to escape, according to the state news agency Andina. In Ica, one hospital partially collapsed while others overflowed with victims. In a speech to the nation, Garcia offered his condolences to the families of the dead but also berated the telecom companies for the failed service. Several coastal cities were preparing to evacuate Wednesday night as a result of the warnings. He said there was no morgue in the city and bodies were being gathered in the main square and on street corners. The National Police reported incidents of looting of homes and stores in Ica. LIMA, Peru, Aug. 16 -- Peru was hit by a strong earthquake early Wednesday night, killing at least 48 people and injuring 200, according to early reports from civil defense units. The U.S. Geological Survey reported that the 7.9 magnitude earthquake was centered about 90 miles southeast of Lima, the capital, and struck at 6:40 p.m.
Peru quake kills 500, bodies in streets Updated Peruvians pulled hundreds of dead and wounded from the rubble of homes and churches overnight and some gathered them on street corners after a massive earthquake ravaged the country's central coast. About 500 people were killed and a further 1,600 injured in the 8.0-magnitude quake on Thursday, the president's chief of staff said. As rescuers scrambled through the debris in search of survivors, dazed residents guarded bodies in the street, not sure where to take them. The US Geological Survey upgraded the quake's magnitude to 8.0 from an earlier 7.9 measurement, and powerful aftershocks rattled the country. Many mud-brick houses crumbled, residents placed the bodies of relatives and neighbours on street corners and hospitals were overwhelmed with injured in Chincha and the nearby city of Pisco. On the road into Chincha, which lies 200 kilometres south of the capital Lima and is home to some 170,000 people, fuel tanks and merchandise were spilled onto highways where trucks had turned over when the quake buckled the pavement. Wounded people lay on the floor in Chincha's San Jose hospital, where walls were destroyed by the quake. Prisoners escape Hundreds of prisoners ran out of Chincha's Tambo de Mora prison, an old building that collapsed during the earthquake. "The authorities couldn't do anything. It was really hard to control all the prisoners," Manuel Aguilar, vice president of Peru's prison authority, said. He said 29 prisoners stayed behind. In the San Juan de Dios hospital in Pisco, doctor Ricardo Cabrera said staff was struggling to cope with 200 wounded and more than 40 dead, with no power and a large part of the hospital damaged. He said there was no morgue in the city and bodies were being gathered in the main square and on street corners. "There are a lot of bodies still in the rubble," Dr Cabrera told RPP radio, calling for blood, bandages and medicines. Many people were forced to sleep outside in cities devastated by the huge tremor, which cracked highways and cut power and telephone lines. "The first impression of the team is that damage is severe, especially to houses," said Giorgio Ferrario, the South America representative for the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. "We know for the moment, according to local authorities, that at least 350 people are dead, but the toll will certainly rise as search and rescue operations continue." A fire department official said at least four people were trapped when the main tower of the Senor de Luren church in the city of Ica, home to some 120,000 people, was toppled. President Alan Garcia sent condolences to the families of the quake's victims and said the country had narrowly escaped even greater disaster. - Reuters Topics: earthquake, disasters-and-accidents, peru First posted LIMA, Peru, Aug. 16 -- Peru was hit by a strong earthquake early Wednesday night, killing at least 48 people and injuring 200, according to early reports from civil defense units. The U.S. Geological Survey reported that the 7.9 magnitude earthquake was centered about 90 miles southeast of Lima, the capital, and struck at 6:40 p.m. The town of Ica, about 175 miles south of Lima, appeared to be the hardest hit, though the temblor rippled streets and damaged buildings in Lima. Several coastal cities were preparing to evacuate Wednesday night as a result of the warnings. More than 100 aftershocks continued to rattle the area by the end of Wednesday. "A great deal of energy is released during an earthquake. In Chincha province, 100 miles south of Lima, inmates at the Tambo de Mora prison took advantage of the chaos to escape, according to the state news agency Andina. President Alan Garcia declared a state of emergency in Ica and ordered the country's 100,000 police officers to report to duty. Several districts in the city of nearly 8 million people lost power and the telecommunications network, both mobile and land lines, collapsed. The quake was a lesson, he said, and the government would not let the phone system collapse again. LIMA, Peru, Aug. 16 -- Peru was hit by a strong earthquake early Wednesday night, killing at least 48 people and injuring 200, according to early reports from civil defense units. President Alan Garcia declared a state of emergency in Ica and ordered the country's 100,000 police officers to report to duty.
Padilla was once suspected of, but not charged with, plotting a "dirty bomb". A covert CIA officer -- who testified in disguise at Padilla's trial -- said he was given the form in Afghanistan, and a fingerprint expert found Padilla's prints on the form, prosecutors said. They were convicted of conspiracy to murder, kidnap and maim; conspiracy to provide material support for terrorism; and providing material support for terrorism. A federal court jury in Miami deliberated for just under two days before handing down the verdict. He was accused of planning to detonate a radioactive dirty bomb and held in US military custody for more than three years. They also tried to rebut a key piece of prosecution evidence -- an al Qaeda terrorist training camp application or "mujahedeen data form." Jose Padilla, a former Chicago gang member who converted to Islam, was today found guilty of helping terrorists orchestrate attacks on American targets in a range of countries over the past decade. Justice Marcia Cooke could sentence the defendants to life in prison. The case relied on 300,000 FBI wiretap intercepts collected from 1993 - 2001, mainly involving Hassoun and Jayyousi, with Padilla recorded on only seven. The indictment against him made no mention of the alleged bomb plot. Defence lawyers argued that the three men had links with countries such as Afghanistan and Bosnia because they were involved in humanitarian aid for Muslims and said the charges against them were exaggerated. Following a long battle between the Bush administration and civil liberties groups, Padilla was transferred to the civilian courts in 2006. Jurors declined to speak to the media.
MIAMI, Florida (CNN) -- Former Chicago gang member Jose Padilla was found guilty Thursday of supporting Islamic terrorism overseas. Jose Padilla was originally accused of planning a "dirty bomb" attack in the United States. Co-defendants Adham Hassoun and Kifan Jayyousi were also found guilty of the three counts charged: conspiracy to murder, kidnap, and maim people in a foreign country; conspiracy to provide material support for terrorists; and providing material support for terrorists. Padilla was originally arrested on accusations that he planned to set off radioactive "dirty bombs" in the United States. Thursday's convictions are not related to those accusations, and prosecutors did not present the "dirty bomb" plot to the jury. A federal court jury in Miami deliberated for just under two days before handing down the verdict. "They've had enough," said court clerk Ivan Marchena. Watch latest news of Padilla verdict from CNN's Susan Candiotti » All three defendants face life in prison when they are sentenced on December 5. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales -- who is on vacation this week -- issued a statement saying, "The conviction of Jose Padilla -- an American who provided material support to terrorists and trained for violent jihad -- is a significant victory in our efforts to fight the threat posed by terrorists and their supporters." "We commend the jury for its work in this trial and thank it for upholding a core American principle of impartial justice for all," the statement said. Padilla's mother, Estela Lebron, told CNN her son will appeal the verdict. "I'm not surprised by anything in this place anymore," she said. Lebron blamed President Bush for the outcome of the trial and said there was not enough evidence in the case to convict her son. Attorneys for the other defendants also vowed to appeal, saying they were "stunned" by the decision. "An innocent man was wrongly convicted today and we're going to do what we can to clear his name," said William Swor, the attorney for Jayyousi. "We're all stunned ... because Dr. Jayyousi is innocent, because there was no evidence presented except pieces of conversations spun from another language that have so many different meanings. "We're going to fight to get him released," he added. The verdict is a "critical vindication" for the U.S. Department of Justice and its post-9/11 strategy for prosecuting terrorism cases, said Kendall Coffey, former U.S. attorney in Miami who comments on legal matters for CNN. "I think this is huge for DOJ," he said, "given the case's background of controversy and the government's mixed results in other (terror) trials." "Critics of the post-9/11 war on terrorism can point to this and say you don't need military tribunals, you can get the job done with civilian trials," Coffey said. During the trial, prosecutors played more than 70 intercepted phone calls among the defendants for jurors, including seven that featured Padilla, 36. FBI agent John Kavanaugh testified that the calls were made in code, which Padilla used to discuss traveling overseas to fight with Islamic militants, along with side trips to Saudi Arabia and Afghanistan. They also tried to rebut a key piece of prosecution evidence -- an al Qaeda terrorist training camp application or "mujahedeen data form." A covert CIA officer -- who testified in disguise at Padilla's trial -- said he was given the form in Afghanistan, and a fingerprint expert found Padilla's prints on the form, prosecutors said. "The al Qaeda application virtually sealed his fate," said Jonathan Turley, a professor at George Washington University Law School. He compared the document's value as evidence to "putting a duffle bag with severed heads on the table." Just as prosecutors did not present the dirty bomb plot to the jury, neither were jurors told that Padilla was held in a Navy brig for 3½ years without charges before his indictment in the Miami case. "The evidence changed very little in the 3½ years Padilla was held without charges or access to a lawyer as an 'enemy combatant,' " he said. Before trial, his lawyers tried to argue that he was no longer mentally competent to stand trial after years of solitary confinement and abuse -- allegations the government strongly denied. Padilla was taken into custody in Chicago as he stepped off a flight from Pakistan in 2002, and Bush declared him an "enemy combatant" and had him transferred to military custody. He was never charged as an "enemy combatant" and was eventually transferred from military to civilian custody where he was finally charged. The Supreme Court ducked the chance to rule on the legality of Padilla's military detention in 2006, arguing that the issue was moot after his transfer to civilian custody for the Miami trial. The chief evidence presented against Padilla was what the prosecution called an al-Qaeda application form bearing his fingerprints and date of birth that was found in Afghanistan.
"They said they were from al-Qaida," the passenger said. Passengers jumped from the plane's exits Passengers flee plane The Atlas Jet plane was flying from Northern Cyprus to Istanbul when the two men tried to divert it to Iran. The report said that the passenger aircraft with 136 passengers and six crew on board was hijacked on flight from Nicosia to Istanbul and landed at Antalya Airport for refuelling. [1] [2] [3] [4] One of the hijackers was speaking Arabic and had a knife and the other was carrying a package that he claimed to be a bomb, Anatolia reported. They are being questioned by interior ministry officials. (Xinhua/AFP Photo) Photo Gallery>>> Meanwhile, other passengers rushed to the gates to flee from the plane. The plane later landed at an airport in the southern Turkish city of Antalya for refueling and the pilots left the airplane, said the report. Plane hijacks and bomb threats are not uncommon in Turkey, where a number of radical groups - ranging from Kurdish separatists to far-left militants - operate. Editor: Chen Feng Related Stories Home Back to Top In the last 18 months several such incidents have been defused without any passengers being harmed. The two pilots also jumped from the cockpit on the tarmac, in order to avoid having to fly the plane to Tehran. An important part of them managed to get out, said the sources, adding that some passengers were injured. Eventually all passengers and crew members were released unharmed and the hijackers surrendered. The hijackers announced after the plane landed that women and children could leave.
ANKARA, Aug. 18 (Xinhua) -- Most of the passengers on the hijacked aircraft of the AtlasJet which was heading for Istanbul from the northern Cyprus, managed to flee from the plane at Antalya Airport in southern Turkey on Saturday, the semi-official Anatolia news agency reported. Sources were quoted as saying that Turkish security forces began releasing elderly passengers and children on board as a result of negotiations with two hijackers after the plane was landed at the airport for refueling. This television image shows passengers leaving the Atlasjet aircraft from the emergency exits after it was hijacked on its way to Istanbul from northern Cyprus, at Antalya Airport August 18, 2007. (Xinhua/AFP Photo) Photo Gallery>>> Meanwhile, other passengers rushed to the gates to flee from the plane. Sources also said that the hijackers are still holding nine passengers and two crew members as hostages. The hijackers wanted to fly the plane to Iranian capital city of Tehran after it took off from the Ercan Airport in Nicosia in northern Cyprus at 07:15 a.m. local time (0415 GMT), according to the report. One of the hijackers was speaking Arabic and had a knife and the other was carrying a package that he claimed to be a bomb, Anatolia reported. Other media reported that the two hijackers claimed they were from al-Qaida, an escaped passenger told NTV television. When pilots said they needed to refuel, the hijackers tried to storm the cockpit but they could not manage it, Anatolia said, adding that they took one of the hostesses hostage and threatened to harm her. The plane later landed at an airport in the southern Turkish city of Antalya for refueling and the pilots left the airplane, said the report. There are 136 passengers and six crew members on board the plane, operated by the private Turkish airline company Atlas Jet, it added. Passengers jumped from the plane's exits Passengers flee plane The Atlas Jet plane was flying from Northern Cyprus to Istanbul when the two men tried to divert it to Iran. Instead, the pilot landed the plane in the southern city of Antalya, claiming it needed refuelling. The hijackers announced after the plane landed that women and children could leave. Not uncommon The men are not thought to have had guns, though passengers described a suspect package that might have been a bomb. When they did not succeed, the men asked to be flown to Iran, but the plane landed in Antalya, after the pilot claimed it needed refuelling. TV: Passenger aircraft en route from Cyprus to Turkey hijacked www.chinaview.cn 2007-08-18 14:18:23 Print ANKARA, Aug. 18 (Xinhua) -- A hijacked passenger aircraft belonging to Atlas-Jet landed at Antalya Airport in southern Turkey on Saturday, local NTV reported. The report said that the passenger aircraft with 136 passengers and six crew on board was hijacked on flight from Nicosia to Istanbul and landed at Antalya Airport for refuelling.
But a number of Dow stocks rose, including Honeywell (up $1.36 to $55.82, Charts, Fortune 500), Intel (up $0.41 to $24.11, Charts, Fortune 500), Caterpillar (up $1.41 to $74.05, Charts, Fortune 500), Alcoa (up $1.03 to $34.32, Charts, Fortune 500) and other recently battered components. Shares fell 10 percent. "There's still a number of potential shoes that could drop" in the mortgage and credit markets. The sector closed up 1.3%. U.S. stock index futures pointed to a higher open on Wall Street on Monday, as Friday's cut by the Federal Reserve in the interest rate it charges for lending to banks boosted investor confidence. Market breadth was mixed. That was the biggest one-day move in more than 20 years. On Monday, the central bank said it had added another $3.5 billion to the banking system overnight, extending its recent run of infusing cash into the system, in tune with central banks worldwide. Additionally, the move raised bets that the Fed will cut the fed funds rate at the Sept. 18 policy meeting. The worst piece of news was that Thornburg took a massive loss, but that's mostly bad news for Thornburg." NYSE Adv/Dec 2001/1327...Nasdaq Adv/Dec 1559/1485 [BRIEFING.COM] After trading relatively unchanged all morning, and then languishing in negative territory throughout much of the afternoon as renewed credit concerns fostered a more risk-averse mindset among investors, stocks rallied back late in the day but only enough to close the major averages mixed.
A sign over the floor of the at the New York Stock Exchange August 16, 2007. U.S. stock index futures pointed to a higher open on Wall Street on Monday, as Friday's cut by the Federal Reserve in the interest rate it charges for lending to banks boosted investor confidence. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid NEW YORK Stocks fell on Monday, led by losses in financial companies, as worries about spillover from the subprime mortgage market lingered despite the Federal Reserve's surprise discount rate cut on Friday. U.S. one-month Treasury bill yields dropped to their lowest since December 2004, while Thornburg Mortgage TMA.N Chief Operating Officer Larry Goldstone said there was a crisis in investor confidence in the mortgage sector. The U.S. central bank's emergency move to stabilize credit markets followed sharp declines in world stock markets in recent weeks as problems in the risky U.S. subprime mortgage sector spread to other markets. U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson is scheduled to meet with Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd to discuss the recent volatility in the financial markets, Dodd said. "I think there was too much complacency coming into the market today," said Michael James, senior trader at regional investment bank Wedbush Morgan in Los Angeles. "There's still a number of potential shoes that could drop" in the mortgage and credit markets. The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI was down 51.62 points, or 0.39 percent, at 13,027.46. Shares of Thornburg dropped 10.2 percent to $13.50. JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM.N), down 3.8 percent at $45.61, and Citigroup Inc. (C.N), down 2 percent at $47.86, were among the top drags on the S&P 500 index. A 2 percent drop in oil prices pushed down shares of energy companies, adding to the drop. Shares of Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM.N) fell 1.4 percent to $82.98. In other financial news, Countrywide Financial Corp. CFC.N fell 9 percent to $19.50 after the stock was downgraded by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Inc. Last week Countrywide, the largest U.S. mortgage lender, unexpectedly tapped an entire $11.5 billion credit line to help fund operations. NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- The Dow Jones industrial average staged a comeback Monday, recovering from an earlier selloff sparked by renewed worries about the credit and mortgage markets. The Dow Jones industrial average (up 42.27 to 13,121.35, Charts) added about 0.3 percent, while the broader S&P 500 (down 0.39 to 1,445.55, Charts) index ended little changed. All three major gauges seesawed throughout the session, slumping in the early afternoon, rallying in the late afternoon, and then giving up some of that advance right near the close. Even so, the relatively mild day was a welcome relief after several weeks of extremely volatile markets, said Art Hogan, chief market analyst at Jefferies & Co. "We'll take it," Hogan said. The worst piece of news was that Thornburg took a massive loss, but that's mostly bad news for Thornburg." He was referring to lender Thornburg Mortgage (down $1.54 to $13.50, Charts), which said Monday that it sold over 35 percent of its assets and reduced its borrowing to lower its risk. Stocks have gotten pummeled in volatile trading in recent weeks, reflecting investor worries about ongoing problems in the credit and mortgage markets. After the close, Capital One Financial (Charts, Fortune 500) said it was closing its troubled GreenPoint mortgage unit, that it will cut 1900 jobs and shutter 31 offices by the end of the year. Stocks jumped Friday after the Federal Reserve cut its little used discount rate - the rate the central bank charges banks for temporary loans - by a half-percentage point to 5.75 percent. Although it did not cut the more widely-watched fed funds rate, which affects consumer loans, the move nonetheless soothed worries about the credit and mortgage markets that have roiled Wall Street for weeks. Additionally, the move raised bets that the Fed will cut the fed funds rate at the Sept. 18 policy meeting. On Monday, the central bank said it had added another $3.5 billion to the banking system overnight, extending its recent run of infusing cash into the system, in tune with central banks worldwide. "As long as the Federal Reserve and other central banks worldwide can keep the liquidity flowing, the crisis for stocks will be limited," said Robert Loest, portfolio manager at Integrity Funds. J.P. Morgan Chase (down $0.52 to $46.49, Charts, Fortune 500) was one of the Dow's biggest losers, attesting to the midday selloff in financial stocks. In other news, Countrywide Financial (down $1.62 to $19.81, Charts, Fortune 500) has reportedly started laying off employees, in an effort to cut costs amid its ongoing credit crunch, the Wall Street Journal reported. SunTrust (down $0.58 to $79.92, Charts, Fortune 500) banks said it will cut about 2,400 jobs or 7 percent of its workforce by 2009. Lowe's (up $1.63 to $28.50, Charts, Fortune 500) reported a bigger-than-expected jump in second-quarter profits Monday, sending shares higher. Novellus Systems (up $0.85 to $28.11, Charts) rose after Goldman Sachs boosted its rating to "neutral" from "sell," Reuters reported. In economic news, the July index of Leading Economic Indicators (LEI) rose 0.4 percent, in line with estimates, after falling 0.3 percent in June. U.S. light crude oil fell 86 cents to settle at $71.12 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, sliding on signs that Hurricane Dean is unlikely to disrupt refining centers in the Gulf of Mexico.
Further away there are more bodies. Yet, despite their efforts, officials said the flames had not been tamed. It's terrible." I-Report: Greek fires Do you have photos or video footage of the forest fires sweeping Greece? Fire crews said they had found at least 30 bodies in villages near Zaharo as they searched burned out cars and houses. Prime Minister Kostas Karamanlis called the situation "an unspeakable tragedy". Officials say 47 people have died and many others may be trapped on the Peloponnesian peninsula. Fires burnt all through Saturday around Zaharo Six deaths were confirmed in the seaside town of Areopolis in the Mani region of Greece's deep south. The government appealed for EU help and later declared a state of emergency. A hot, dry summer, with temperatures recently touching 40C (104F) has made much of the country vulnerable. Are you a holidaymaker affected by the blazes? It was burning close to Athens International Airport, forcing officials to close a highway. The Associated Press reported that a car had crashed into a fire engine, causing a traffic jam from which people could not escape as the flames advanced. And in the northern city of Kavala two youths have been detained on suspicion of arson. 'Astonishing speed' A local official close to the scene described it as horrific. Fire officials confirmed that a mother and her four children had perished, as had three firefighters. "The situation is extremely dire... Please get in touch. The winds hampered the use of fire-fighting planes, though some helicopters have managed to take flight. Greek newspapers are calling the southern Peloponnese region a "crematorium", says the BBC's Malcolm Brabant in Athens.
The fires spread rapidly, catching many people unawares Prime Minister Kostas Karamanlis said the country had to "mobilise all means and forces to face this disaster". Officials say 47 people have died and many others may be trapped on the Peloponnesian peninsula. Police suspect many fires were started deliberately. A 65-year-old man has been charged with arson and murder relating to a fire which killed six people in Areopolis. And in the northern city of Kavala two youths have been detained on suspicion of arson. Campaigning for the country's general election has been suspended. Analysts say the vote may have to be postponed. Blackened skies The BBC's Malcolm Brabant, in Pyrgos, says radio stations are being inundated with calls from people in remote mountain villages saying they are surrounded by fire. We are living through an unspeakable tragedy today Prime Minister Kostas Karamanlis In pictures: Forest fires Witnesses tell of fire horror Meanwhile, many bodies have been taken to a mortuary in the city of Patras. Our correspondent said relatives of the dead were sobbing quietly in the hospital corridors, waiting for a chance to identify their loved ones. Almost 200 fires have been reported - there were about 70 new blazes during Saturday, while many others continued to burn from the previous day. Strong winds have blown smoke and ash towards Athens 330km (200 miles) away, starting more fires and blocking out the sun over the capital. Burnt-out houses The prime minister has promised to bring any arsonists to justice. "No-one has the right to take human lives and destroy the environment... to destroy our country," said Mr Karamanlis. Most of the dead came from villages near the town of Zaharo, on the west coast of the Peloponnesian peninsula. At least nine people are reported to have burnt to death in their cars as they attempted to flee the flames near Zaharo. The Associated Press news agency reported that a car had crashed into a fire engine, causing a traffic jam from which people could not escape as the flames advanced. Fire crews said they had found at least 30 bodies in villages near Zaharo as they searched burned out cars and houses. "It's a tragedy," an eyewitness told Greek television. "I can see the burnt bodies of a mother holding her child in her arms. Emergency workers have been finding charred bodies in fields, homes, and in cars, including the remains of a mother clutching her four children. The speed with which this fire has been spreading is astonishing," said the mayor of Zaharo, Pantazis Chronopoulos. Fires burnt all through Saturday around Zaharo Six deaths were confirmed in the seaside town of Areopolis in the Mani region of Greece's deep south. Hotels and several villages have been evacuated, fire officials said. A hot, dry summer, with temperatures recently touching 40C (104F) has made much of the country vulnerable. Firefighters have already battled ferocious fires this summer, but the current outbreak is thought to be the most serious for decades. Some 500 soldiers have been sent to affected areas and the Greek government has appealed to its EU partners for help. There has been widespread public anger at the government's response, which many have criticised as inadequate and slow. The speed with which the fire spread caught many people unawares Officials raised the death toll from the fires over the past two days to 46. Greek newspapers are calling the southern Peloponnese region a "crematorium", says the BBC's Malcolm Brabant in Athens. We are living through an unspeakable tragedy today Prime Minister Kostas Karamanlis In pictures: Forest fires Witnesses tell of fire horror Some of the worst fires are concentrated along an 80km (50 mile) stretch on the west coast of the Peloponnese to Mani in the very south of the peninsula. Two new fires broke out near Athens, forcing a road between the city and its airport to be closed A monastery and homes were evacuated as flames closed in on the capital Arson was suspected in several cases, with 20 new fires starting during the night, a fire department spokesman said All top football matches were postponed on the opening weekend of the season France responded to Greece's appeal for help, sending two water-dropping planes, which were scheduled to arrive on Saturday afternoon, AFP reported Family found At least nine people are reported to have burnt to death in their cars as they attempted to flee the flames near the town of Zaharo, west of the Peloponnese. The Associated Press reported that a car had crashed into a fire engine, causing a traffic jam from which people could not escape as the flames advanced. Fire crews said they had found at least 30 bodies in villages near the town, as they searched burned out cars and houses.
Topics: horse-racing, influenza, rural, livestock-welfare, sport, randwick-2031, australia, nsw, sydney-2000, qld, warwick-4370, vic First posted All have now been placed in quarantine. "It's a precaution, these horses have got elevated temperatures. Racing New South Wales spokesman Peter V'Landys says no chances are being taken. "Horses that have tested as positive outside of Centennial Park attended that event," he said. More than 150 DPI staff are working on the outbreak. Blood samples have been sent to a laboratory in Victoria and the results are not expected until later this week. Mr Bentley says industry officials are working on a plan with the Queensland Department of Primary Industries that would provide exclusion zones for owners wanting to work their horses. Flu crisis spreads to Randwick Updated Australia's horse flu crisis deepened this morning when symptoms were reported in thoroughbred racehorses for the first time. The Warwick event is hosting around 300 horses from all around the world. Today's confirmed case in New South Wales took the overall number of horses confirmed with the disease to 12. Victorian chief veterinary officer Hugh Millar says the current lockdown is working well. "The Centennial horses in Sydney were shod and then went on to compete at the ranch in the Hunter Valley. The DPI has enforced a ban on the movement of horses and advised any person or equipment that has been in contact with horses to be cleaned down. Police across the region have been given orders to stop and search vehicles that may be transporting horses in country areas of the state to prevent the spread of equine influenza.
Flu crisis spreads to Randwick Updated Australia's horse flu crisis deepened this morning when symptoms were reported in thoroughbred racehorses for the first time. All track work has been stopped at Sydney's Randwick Racecourse after three horses developed higher than normal temperatures. One of the horses involved is from the stable of star trainer Gai Waterhouse while another is being trained by 'Cups King' Bart Cummings. Racing New South Wales spokesman Peter V'Landys says no chances are being taken. "We have spoken to the chief veterinarian and organised to have those horses tested immediately and for the tests to go out to the Menangle government laboratory for analysis," he said. "It's a precaution, these horses have got elevated temperatures. "Two of the horses have only got slightly elevated temperatures, but in the current circumstances we're not prepared to take any risks whatsoever." More cases in Warwick At least 10 horses at the Morgan Park site in Warwick, in southern Queensland, are now showing signs of the virus, but vets there have not yet confirmed a flu diagnosis. Blood samples have been sent to a laboratory in Victoria and the results are not expected until later this week. In New South Wales, 47 horses were confirmed with the disease before the latest cases at Randwick. Queensland Racing chairman Bob Bentley has called for an inquiry into the outbreak, which has brought the racing industry to its knees. Around 6,000 horses are locked up in stables throughout Queensland because of the national ban on moving horses. Mr Bentley says industry officials are working on a plan with the Queensland Department of Primary Industries that would provide exclusion zones for owners wanting to work their horses. Victoria looks clear Racing Victoria spokesman Stephen Allanson says more than 90 per cent of Victorian stables have now been cleared of the virus. "All the information that I'm gathering here at Racing Victoria says that we don't have an issue in Victoria, so if that's the case we should be up and racing later this week." Victorian chief veterinary officer Hugh Millar says the current lockdown is working well. Dr Millar says checks are being made on horses with any symptoms. "At this time of the year, just like people, there are horses with runny noses and things that need to be followed up, but there is absolutely no suspicion that the disease is existing in Victoria at the moment," he said. DPI battles horse flu outbreak Posted A state disease control centre has been set up at the Department of Primary Industries' (DPI) headquarters in Orange, in central western New South Wales, to deal with an outbreak of horse flu. A total of 47 horses around the state, including several at Parkes, have now been found to be infected with influenza A. The state's chief vet, Bruce Christie, says they are focused on tracking down horses that attended an event last weekend at Carroll's Ranch in Maitland. "We're very, very concerned about where those horses are, we would like the owners of those horses to make contact with us, we're attempting to contact them now, but we would certainly appreciate those people contacting us and also watching their horses," he said. Police across the region have been given orders to stop and search vehicles that may be transporting horses in country areas of the state to prevent the spread of equine influenza. Horse flu spreads, fears for Qld Updated Australia's potentially devastating equine influenza outbreak is spreading, with a new case confirmed in rural New South Wales and fears for more horses in southern Queensland. This morning NSW authorities said they urgently wanted to contact the connections of up to 200 horses which took part in a club meeting at Carol's Ranch Riding Club in the Hunter Valley town of Maitland last weekend. Seperately, Biosecurity Queensland chief veterinary officer Ron Glanville said it was likely that three New South Wales horses competing at the state's Warwick horse trials had tested positive to influenza A. Today's confirmed case in New South Wales took the overall number of horses confirmed with the disease to 12. Australian equestrian coach Heath Ryan has five horses at the Warwick event and says the virus spread after a farrier shod an infected overseas stallion at a Sydney quarantine station. "That's all about ensuring that we can isolate where the influenza is, we can take steps to ensure that any horses that have come into contact with horses in New South Wales that have that influenza can be isolated and contained," he said. "If racing was delayed [for] a month it would be extremely hard to run the carnival as it is, because all the horses would have missed so much work and racing that they couldn't possibly be ready."
Schumer said. Earlier in Washington, Gonzales announced his resignation, saying, "I have lived the American dream." Solicitor General Paul Clement will serve as acting attorney general, Bush said, until a nominee has been confirmed by the Senate. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Mr. Gonzales’s resignation is the latest in a series of high-level departures that has reshaped the end of Mr. Bush’s second term. It's an open book. Senior Justice Department officials say Gonzales' resignation is not expected to affect the scope or pace of an ongoing internal investigation into the U.S. attorneys' dismissals and other issues. White House spokesmen also insisted on Sunday that they did not believe that Mr. Gonzales was planning to resign. All About Alberto Gonzales In the probe into the U.S. attorney firings, the Senate Judiciary Committee looked into whether the administration may have fired some or all of the U.S. attorneys for political reasons. "I wouldn't say yes; I wouldn't say no. "He lacked independence, he lacked judgment and he lacked the spine to say no to Karl Rove." Another name that emerged is Larry Thompson, a former deputy attorney general who currently serves as vice president and general counsel for PepsiCo. Some senior administration officials floated Homeland Security chief Michael Chertoff as a possible replacement, but others waved CNN away from Chertoff, saying that his nomination could run into problems because of his role during Hurricane Katrina. “The unfair treatment that he’s been on the receiving end of has been a distraction for the department,” the official said. “Alberto Gonzales was never the right man for this job,” said Senator Harry Reid of Nevada, the majority leader.
Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales, one of President Bush's closest confidants and a key architect of his controversial counterterrorism policies, announced yesterday that he is quitting after seven months of bitter confrontation with Congress over his honesty and his competence to run the Justice Department. His resignation, submitted Sunday to President Bush and disclosed yesterday, removes one of the nation's most controversial attorneys general since the Watergate era. He will leave behind a Justice Department battered by allegations that partisan politics has infected its law enforcement mission. Gonzales had long been a lightning rod for critics of the administration's harsh interrogation policies, its secret overseas prisons and its expanded domestic surveillance -- all supported by legal analyses conducted under his supervision or with his concurrence. But his political undoing stemmed from his tangled account of having approved the dismissals of nine U.S. attorneys in 2006 while denying detailed knowledge of the circumstances or reasons. The events that led to his resignation began with a Democratic-led inquiry into those firings, and they included accusations that Gonzales had lied to lawmakers. Most of his senior aides have already departed, and Congress is now locked in conflict with the White House over its access to documents related to Gonzales's decision-making. Lawmakers began floating names of possible replacements yesterday, but administration officials insisted that no candidate has been tagged. With unwavering support from Bush, his longtime mentor, Gonzales long defied demands from lawmakers of both parties that he step aside. But within the past week, Justice aides and other officials said, Gonzales concluded that his credibility with Congress, his employees and the public was so shattered that he could not promise to remain through the end of Bush's term, as the White House chief of staff had demanded of Cabinet officers. Gonzales, a son of migrant workers and the nation's first Hispanic attorney general, gave no reason for his departure during a brief news appearance in Washington, emphasizing his "remarkable journey" from a poor childhood in Texas to the height of power in Washington. "I often remind our fellow citizens that we live in the greatest country in the world and that I have lived the American dream," Gonzales said, his voice cracking slightly. "Even my worst days as attorney general have been better than my father's best days." Bush told reporters yesterday that he accepted Gonzales's resignation reluctantly, casting his friend as the victim of "months of unfair treatment that has created a harmful distraction at the Justice Department." He added: "It's sad that we live in a time when a talented and honorable person like Alberto Gonzales is impeded from doing important work because his good name was dragged through the mud for political reasons." The FBI director and others undercut Gonzales's standing in recent months by providing accounts of events surrounding the government's warrantless surveillance program and the prosecutor firings that were at odds with Gonzales's account. Justice investigators have said they are examining whether Gonzales purposely misled Congress or attempted to improperly influence a witness in his employ. Gonzales also repeatedly angered lawmakers by saying that he could not recall key episodes and details related to the U.S. attorneys' dismissals, testifying nearly 70 times at one hearing alone that he could not remember specific events. Some Democrats called for a special prosecutor to conduct a perjury probe, while a handful of Republicans said the department would be improved by his departure. White House officials said that Gonzales and his wife, Rebecca, had discussed the possibility of his leaving the post for months. One Justice official said the decision was hastened by White House Chief of Staff Joshua B. Bolten's directive that senior administration officials should leave by September if they did not plan to stay until the president's term ends, in January 2009. “It’s sad,” Mr. Bush said, asserting that Mr. Gonzales’s name had been “dragged through the mud for political reasons.” Advertisement Continue reading the main story The president said the solicitor general, Paul D. Clement, would serve as acting attorney general until a permanent replacement was chosen. Mr. Bush has not yet chosen a replacement but will not leave the position open long, the senior administration official said early this morning. Among those being mentioned as a possible successor were Michael Chertoff, the secretary of homeland security who is a former federal prosecutor, assistant attorney general and federal judge; Christopher Cox, the head of the Securities and Exchange Commission; and Larry D. Thompson, a former deputy attorney general who is now senior vice president and general counsel of PepsiCo Inc. Mr. Bush repeatedly stood by Mr. Gonzales, an old friend and colleague from Texas, even as Mr. Gonzales faced increasing scrutiny for his leadership of the Justice Department over issues including his role in the dismissals of nine United States attorneys late last year and whether he testified truthfully about the National Security Agency’s surveillance programs. For the previous six months, the Justice Department has been virtually nonfunctional, and desperately needs new leadership.” Advertisement Continue reading the main story Senator Schumer said that “Democrats will not obstruct or impede a nominee who we are confident will put the rule of law above political considerations.” Another Democrat on the Judiciary Committee who has been highly critical of Mr. Gonzales, Senator Russell D. Feingold of Wisconsin, said the next attorney general must be a person whose first loyalty is “to the law, not the president.” Advertisement Continue reading the main story But a Republican senator who has known Mr. Gonzales for years, Kay Bailey Hutchison of Texas, paid tribute to the Harvard-educated Mr. Gonzales, the first attorney general of Hispanic heritage. “He has served in difficult times and I believe is a good, honest man who has worked hard in public service all his life,” the senator said in a statement. The official who disclosed the resignation in advance today said that the turmoil over Mr. Gonzales had made it difficult for him to continue as attorney general. Advertisement Continue reading the main story On Saturday night Mr. Gonzales was contacted by his press spokesman to ask how the department should respond to inquiries from reporters about rumors of his resignation, and he told the spokesman to deny the reports. After months of standing by his top prosecutor and "close friend," Bush spoke briefly in Texas to praise Gonzales, saying the attorney general endured "unfair treatment that has created harmful distraction at the Justice Department." Bush said it's "sad that we live in a time when a talented and honorable person" is impeded "from doing important work." The first Latino to helm the Justice Department said his "worst days as attorney general have been better than my father's best days." A congressional source familiar with deliberations about Gonzales' replacement told CNN that the successor will not be Chertoff and that senior administration officials are "playing you guys," referring to the media.
Most of the trouble here, I imagine, is because of drugs. They had found their own house. "I don't know if it was a shot bang or a car bang. A father and son were named among the victims of a triple shooting in Hertfordshire, police said on Thursday. Early information suggests this was a targeted incident and not a random attack." Two women were left seriously wounded. A three-year-old girl was under police guard last night after a gunman burst into a house she was in and shot dead three men and wounded two women in Bishop's Stortford, Hertfordshire. The pair were seen making off from the scene in a small red car, and were described by police as being aged in their late teens or early 20s. We share the concern and sense of shock within the community. Mr Whiteley added: "We are fairly confident that there was some knowledge between the victims and those responsible. They are in a critical but stable condition in hospital. You had Keith living there with his wife and then there was their son Matty and his girlfriend Clare whose daughter Angel lived with them. The family dog, a pit bull called Glorious, was also killed. Neighbours described hearing a series of bangs at about 9.30pm on Tuesday evening. Gun crime is low in Hertfordshire. The vehicle then sped off. I thought nothing of it but then I came back from the pub at about 12 and then this had happened." "I mean, before I went out I heard a bang and a car speed off quite quickly but it's something that I hear round here quite regularly so I didn't really expect it to be anything, anything bad.
A father and son were named among the victims of a triple shooting in Hertfordshire, police said on Thursday. REUTERS/File LONDON A father and son were named among the victims of a triple shooting in Hertfordshire, police said on Thursday. Keith Cowell, 52, and his son Matthew, 17, were found dead at a house in Bishop's Stortford on Tuesday evening. Two women, aged 54 and 23, who have not been named, are in a serious but stable condition in hospital. A three-year-old girl was found in the house unharmed and is being cared for by child protection officers. Police have described the shooting as a disturbing and targeted attack and are searching for two young Asian men who were seen leaving the house. · Three men shot dead, two women seriously injured · Hunt for pair seen driving up to Hertfordshire house. A three-year-old girl was under police guard last night after a gunman burst into a house she was in and shot dead three men and wounded two women in Bishop's Stortford, Hertfordshire. Detectives were last night hunting two Asian men who witnesses said had driven up to the house just before the shooting. One is described as entering the house, before returning to the red car where an accomplice was waiting. Police did not name those shot but official records and neighbours said the house was occupied by Keith Cowell, 52, a taxi driver for a firm based at nearby Stansted airport. His 17-year-old son Matthew is also believed to have been shot dead as well as a 33-year-old man. Official records show that Mr Cowell's wife, Nicole, 46, lived at the house, and neighbours said the other wounded woman was the girlfriend of Matthew Cowell and the mother of the three-year-old child. The family dog, a pit bull called Glorious, was also killed. Last night the girl was being cared for by family and detectives are waiting to see if she saw anything of the attack and whether she can recall any details. Chief Superintendent Al Thomas, the area commander for east Hertfordshire police, said: "We don't underestimate the impact of these murders. Early information suggests this was a targeted incident and not a random attack." Chief Constable Frank Whiteley said witnesses had described seeing two young Asian men, aged in their late teens to early 20s, driving away from the scene in a small red car towards the M11. We are a quarter down on gun crime in total this year." Gary Sanderson, spokesman for East of England Ambulance Services, said: "The three males were pronounced dead almost immediately. The women were treated rapidly and were taken to hospital with serious injuries. Neighbour Richard Guy, 19, who was at home when the shooting happened in Plaw Hatch Close, said: "At about 9.30pm or 9.45pm last night me and my dad heard a crash or a bang and a car reversed away quickly and sped out. Rosie Knight, 13, who used to walk the family's pet staffordshire bull terrier, said: "They were a lovely family. A car sped off after the shootings, one neighbour said Hertfordshire police were called to an incident at a house in Plaw Hatch Close, Bishop's Stortford, on Tuesday. "Early information suggests this was a targeted incident and not a random attack, we have no information to suggest this is part of a trend or escalation in gun crime in the county." Witnesses at the scene said a father and son had been killed in the attack, but police have not yet released the identities of the victims or their relationships.
"For the most part, Iran has made only promises," U.S. Longtime observers of Iran's program were struck by the report's revelations of slow progress of uranium enrichment. More than 650 centrifuges are being tested or are under construction, the agency said. Some U.S. officials have cited the links as evidence that Iran's nuclear program has a weapons goal. PARIS, Aug. 30 -- The United Nations nuclear watchdog agency gave an upbeat assessment of Iranian cooperation with international inspectors in a new report Thursday that could make it more difficult for the United States to win tougher U.N. sanctions against Iran. The quality of the uranium also was lower than expected, the IAEA said. Experts doubt these claims. They have threatened to impose a fourth round of sanctions on Tehran when the United Nations Security Council takes up the issue again, probably next month. That number is far short of Iran’s projection that by now it would be running 3,000 centrifuges. Iran appears to be running well behind its own self-imposed schedule for building new centrifuge machines, and its existing machines are operating well below capacity. Warrick reported from Washington. "The work plan is a significant step forward," the IAEA report says of last week's agreement. The International Atomic Energy Agency said in its report that Tehran was being unusually cooperative in agreeing to answer questions about an array of suspicious nuclear activities that have led many nations to believe it is concealing an effort to make nuclear arms. “This is the first time Iran is ready to discuss all the outstanding issues which triggered the crisis in confidence,” said Mohamed ElBaradei, the IAEA director general.
The World Tehran sharing more nuclear data, agency says Iran is still enhancing its effort to enrich uranium but the endeavor falls well short of capacity, a U.N. report declares. But U.S. and European officials suspect that Iran's network of nuclear facilities masks a clandestine effort to obtain technology that could be used in the making of an atomic bomb. They have threatened to impose a fourth round of sanctions on Tehran when the United Nations Security Council takes up the issue again, probably next month. Iran insists that its nuclear program is meant to meet its civilian energy needs. In theory, about 3,000 centrifuges operating at full capacity for a year could produce enough material to make one bomb. According to the report by the International Atomic Energy Agency, Iran operates 1,968 centrifuges for producing enriched uranium that could ultimately be used to make nuclear weapons or generate electricity, a 50% increase over the number it had on line in April. However, the uranium has been enriched to only 3.7%, far less than the 90% estimated to be necessary for weapons-grade material. CAIRO — Iran continues to expand its ability to enrich uranium, but is operating far below capacity and cooperating more fully in clearing up questions about its efforts, a U.N. report said Thursday. The International Atomic Energy Agency, or IAEA, distributed copies of its report ahead of a Sept. 10 meeting of the organization's 35-member board. The findings reflect an Aug. 21 agency agreement with Tehran that Iranian officials began publicizing several days ago. That accord said that there were "no other remaining issues and ambiguities regarding Iran's past nuclear program and activities." "The work plan is a significant step forward," the IAEA report says of last week's agreement. The report warns, however, that Iran needs "to continue to build confidence about the scope and nature of its present and future nuclear program." "The report emphasized once again that there exists no sign or evidence indicating diversion of Iran's nuclear activities and that all Iran's nuclear materials have been audited," Ali Asghar Soltanieh, Iran's representative to the IAEA, told Tehran's Fars News Agency. Assertions by Iranians and the U.N. nuclear watchdog agency that there were "no other remaining issues or ambiguities" outraged some nonproliferation experts, who said the IAEA was ceding too much to Iran. "The idea of 'closing files' violates fundamental safeguards principles," arms control experts David Albright and Jacqueline Shire, of the Washington-based Institute for Science and International Security, wrote in a criticism published this week. "The agreement does not specify that Iran would provide the IAEA access to key people, facilities, and documents that are needed to verify Iranian answers to the IAEA's questions." Most Western nonproliferation experts also said the latest agreement contained little that could dissuade key policymakers in Washington, London, Paris and Berlin from pushing forward with another round of Security Council sanctions. Independent experts said Iran's latest agreement with the IAEA, which gives inspectors access to more nuclear sites and information, fell well short of the West's demand that Tehran halt the production of the concentrated uranium that could potentially be used for a bomb. Tom Casey, a State Department spokesman, said that although the report "may offer some new details or some new insight into how Iran's program is developing, the fact of the matter is that they have not met any of their international obligations in this regard." PARIS, Aug. 30 -- The United Nations nuclear watchdog agency gave an upbeat assessment of Iranian cooperation with international inspectors in a new report Thursday that could make it more difficult for the United States to win tougher U.N. sanctions against Iran. The report by the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna also concluded that while Iran continues to enrich uranium in violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions, its fuel enrichment plant has produced "well below the expected quantity for a facility of this design." The report praised Iran for taking "a significant step forward" by agreeing to a new work plan and timelines for resolving numerous questions about the history of its nuclear program. Iran claims that its nuclear program is entirely peaceful and intended to generate electricity, while the United States and numerous other Western countries contend it is secretly aimed at developing nuclear weapons. The report suggests that if Iran adheres to the program and timelines, the agency could resolve its remaining questions about the nature of the country's nuclear program by the end of the year and close the file. "For the first time in a couple of years, we have been able to agree with the Iranians on a working arrangement, on how to resolve the outstanding issues," the U.N. agency's deputy director, Olli Heinonen, told reporters in Vienna. "What Iran is now facing is actually a litmus test" on whether it will deliver what it has promised, because its failure to do so in the past triggered Security Council action, Heinonen said. The United States made the case for going to war against Iraq based on claims that Saddam Hussein had programs to develop nuclear technologies and other weapons of mass destruction, but U.S. forces found no evidence of such programs after invading the country. A senior Iranian official, Mohammad Saeedi, deputy secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, welcomed the IAEA report, telling the state-run news agency IRNA that it "put an end to all U.S. baseless allegations" about his country's nuclear program and "once again endorsed the authenticity of the statements of the Islamic Republic of Iran." But the report also gave ammunition to Iran's critics, who noted that the country has not stopped its uranium enrichment, as demanded by the U.N. Security Council. Such a step is necessary "for the international community to gain confidence that Iran's nuclear activities are exclusively for peaceful purposes." France said that it would continue pursuing sanctions as long as Iran continued enriching uranium, and a statement by the British Foreign Office said that it also lacked confidence in Iran's nuclear intentions. The IAEA report, which covers developments in the agency's dealings with Iran since May, will be discussed at a meeting of the agency's 35-member board on Sept. 10 in Vienna. The document lists "outstanding issues" that need to be resolved for the agency to assess the nature of Iran's nuclear program, including alleged links between Iran's uranium enrichment, high-explosives testing and the design of a missile capable of flying above the atmosphere and then reentering it.
Fossett, though, had no parachute, which is required for aerobatics. "It's a very large haystack," she said. Fossett is the first person to solo around the world in a balloon, and has broken numerous other flight records. E-mail to a friend All About Steve Fossett The search for him began about six hours later, Ryan said. I took a flight in a small Cessna aircraft over the area from which Steve Fossett took off on Monday. He was searching for dry and empty lake beds which might be suitable for his plan to break the land speed record." Rescuers are focusing on 600 square miles. Fossett, 63, was in a single-engine plane when he took off at 9 a.m. (noon ET) in good flying conditions from hotel magnate Barron Hilton's Flying M Ranch, Ryan said. Helicopters and planes from Naval Air Station Fallon, in Fallon, Nevada, the Nevada Air National Guard and the California Highway Patrol are helping in the search. I don't do any of this for the thrills. Citabria Super Decathlon 2-seater aircraft Often used as aerobatic trainer 32-foot wingspan Withstands positive 6 or negative 5 Gs Base model costs $141,900 Source: Plane manufacturer American Champion Aircraft Web site He's credited with 115 world records or world firsts, and holds official world records in five sports, according to his Web site. High winds have also hampered the search effort making it difficult for planes to fly low enough for their pilots to peer into the gulleys. I'm doing them for the personal achievement."
By David Willis BBC News, Nevada The airport in Minden is serving as a base for the rescue effort Helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft took turns to taxi down the narrow runway. More than a dozen are playing their part in the hunt for Steve Fossett. Spotting the millionaire adventurer and his single-engine blue and white plane would be a bit like trying to find a needle in a haystack. High winds have also hampered the search effort making it difficult for planes to fly low enough for their pilots to peer into the gulleys. No signal Since Steve Fossett did not file a flight plan the search area is immense - more than 600 sq miles (1,554 sq km). Maj Cynthia Ryan, of the Civil Air Patrol, said it could take a week to search the entire area. She is confident Steve Fossett will be found, although when I put it to her that his silence seemed ominous she agreed. Given Steve Fossett's experience - he has circumnavigated the globe no fewer than five times - the question is how could a freak joyride have gone so wrong? Steve Fossett not only had plenty of fuel when he set out, he also had with him a radio and a cell phone, and the aircraft was fitted with an electronic beacon. Maj Ryan said no signal had been received from the beacon, which suggested that it had either developed a fault with the battery, or been destroyed or submerged in water. Millionaire adventurer Steve Fossett, who has cheated death time and again in his successful pursuit of aviation records, was missing Tuesday after taking off in a single-engine plane the day before to scout locations for a land-speed record, officials said. Teams searched a broad swath of rugged terrain in western Nevada near the ranch where he took off, but searchers had little to go on because he apparently didn't file a flight plan, a Federal Aviation Administration spokesman said. "They are working on some leads, but they don't know where he is right now," FAA spokesman Ian Gregor said. Fossett, the first person to circle the world solo in a balloon, was seeking places for an upcoming attempt to break the land speed record in a car, said Paul Charles, a spokesman for Sir Richard Branson, the U.K. billionaire who has financed many of Fossett's adventures. The 63-year-old took off alone at 8:45 a.m. Monday from an airstrip at hotel magnate Barron Hilton's Flying M Ranch, about 70 miles southeast of Reno. A friend reported him missing when he didn't return, authorities said. Thirteen aircraft were searching for Fossett in addition to ground crews, said Maj. Cynthia S. Ryan of the Civil Air Patrol. The teams were doing "grid" searches over hundreds of square miles. "If they get too bad we could have to suspend air search operations," she said. Said Charles: "We understand that Steve Fossett was flying solo and he was carrying four full tanks of gas on board. He was searching for dry and empty lake beds which might be suitable for his plan to break the land speed record." Ryan described the plane as a Bellanca Citabria Super Decathalon, blue and white with orange stripes and blue sunburst designs on the wings. In 2002, Fossett became the first person to fly around the world alone in a balloon. John Kugler, a longtime friend who taught Fossett ballooning, described Hilton's ranch as a place where aviation enthusiasts gather for weekends of good food and flying. Kugler said that Fossett is a careful, capable flyer and that his aircraft is a "safe plane," and he held out hope Fossett would be found alive. "He's going to be hungry and want some good food." Three years later, in March 2005, he became the first person to fly a plane solo around the world without refueling. He and a co-pilot also claim to have set a world glider altitude record of 50,671 feet during a flight in August 2006 over the Andes Mountains. He also swam the English Channel in 1985, placed 47th in the Iditarod dog sled race in 1992 and participated in the 24 Hours of Le Mans car race in 1996 and broke the round-the-world sailing record by six days in 2004. "I'm hoping you didn't give me this award because you think my career is complete, because I'm not done," Fossett said. (CNN) -- Although there were no signs of missing aviation adventurer Steve Fossett Tuesday evening, an official leading the rescue said she remained optimistic.
Replacements: Oliver, Tialata, Masoe, Lauaki, Leonard, Mauger, Toeava. The All Blacks added further tries through Chris Jack, Howlett (2) and Jerry Collins (2), before Mirco Bergamasco grabbed a consolation try. Kosei Ono's penalty was the least that Japan's valiant effort deserved, but they were over-run in the second half. The score was just 3-3 after 20 minutes before two Olly Barkley penalties edged England 9-3 clear in Lens on Saturday. New Zealand: MacDonald; Howlett, Muliaina, McAlister, Sivivatu; Carter, Kelleher; Woodcock, Mealamu, Hayman, Jack, Williams, Collins, McCaw, So'oialo. Replacement Drew Mitchell scored with his first touch, before George Smith created a try for himself out of nothing. Former Sale, Scarlets and Dragons fly-half Hercus landed the conversion to make it 28-10. Australia tried to assert their authority - they are some 16 places above Japan in the world rankings - from the off but some stout and committed defence kept them at bay. It took a break from Josh Lewsey to finally open the Eagles up and when England recycled the ball Mike Catt's pin-point kick floated into the hands of Robinson, who crossed untouched. Tom Rees scored their third try after 48 minutes but England could not lift their game and the USA had the final word through Matekitonga Moeakiola. By Phil Harlow Elsom joins Doug Howlett as the tournament's top try-scorer Australia (23) 91 Tries: Sharpe, Elsom 3, Ashley-Cooper, Latham 2, Barnes 2, Mitchell 2, Smith, Frier Cons: Mortlock 7, Giteau 3 Pens: Mortlock 2 Japan (3) 3 Pen: Ono Rocky Elsom claimed a hat-trick as Australia overpowered Japan to get their campaign off to a winning start.
By James Standley Winger Sitiveni Sivivatu grabbed a first-half brace for the All Blacks New Zealand (43) 76 Tries: McCaw 2, Howlett 3, Muliaina, Sivivatu 2, Jack, Collins 2 Cons: Carter 7, McAlister 2 Pens: Carter McCaw 2, Howlett 3, Muliaina, Sivivatu 2, Jack, Collins 2Carter 7, McAlister 2Carter Italy (7) 14 Tries: Stanoevic, Mirco Bergamasco Cons: Bortolussi, de Marigny Favourites New Zealand laid down a World Cup marker by destroying Italy in their opening game in Marseille. Richie McCaw (2), Doug Howlett, Mils Muliaina and Sitiveni Sivivatu (2) scored before Marko Stanojevic crossed for Italy to make it 43-7 at the break. The All Blacks added further tries through Chris Jack, Howlett (2) and Jerry Collins (2), before Mirco Bergamasco grabbed a consolation try. Italy have a reputation as a physical, abrasive unit but they were taken apart by the All Blacks in a devastating opening quarter. New Zealand have a history of peaking between World Cups but since losing in the semi-finals of the 2003 tournament they have won 38 of their 43 Tests. 606: DEBATE They thrilled the passionate 60,000 crowd at Olympique Marseille's Velodrome stadium by performing their traditional pre-match Ka Mate haka, rather than the Kapa O Panga haka they have used frequently over the past couple of years. The Italians chose to spurn the challenge by going into a group huddle and they seemed to turn their backs once again just 60 seconds into the game. All Blacks second row Ali Williams peeled round the back of a line-out and New Zealand captain McCaw romped over untouched from the 22. McCaw, the IRB player of the year in 2006, added his second try just six minutes later before two Carter conversions and a penalty put the tournament favourites 17-0 up after just 11 minutes. Italy looked shell-shocked and a panicky kick soon landed in the hands of the lethal Sivivatu, who sparked a sweeping passing move ended by Howlett in the far corner. The battered Azzurri tried to respond by imposing themselves physically, but twice Carter saw their blitz defence coming, twice he chipped over the thin blue line and twice the All Blacks scored. Muliania and Sivivatu were the lucky recipients and, with Carter maintaining his 100% success rate with the boot, the tournament favourites had 38 points on the board after just 18 minutes. All Blacks blind-side Jerry Collins grabbed two second-half tries With their worst nightmare unfolding before them, Italy finally woke up and they restricted the hosts to just one more try before the interval, Sivivatu finishing off a lightning attack started by Leon MacDonald taking a quick tap in his own 22. Carter missed the conversion but, with the game already won well before half-time, the All Blacks started to play fantasy rugby. They duly paid the price as one ambitious break-out ended with Stanojevic intercepting and racing clear to score, with David Bortolussi adding the conversion to make it 43-7 at the break. Italy's task was made somewhat easier when giant New Zealand tight-head Carl Hayman was sent to the sin bin for a punch a minute into the second half. It took 10 minutes before towering second row Jack, who will join Saracens after the World Cup, strode over for his side's seventh try and they continued to arrive at regular intervals. The Munster-bound Howlett grabbed a brace to move level on 46 tries with legendary full-back Christian Cullen as the All Blacks' all-time leading try scorer, while Collins also picked up a double. Carter and Luke McAlister, who is heading to Sale Sharks, added four conversions between them before the younger of the two Bergamasco brothers went over for Italy, with Roland de Marigny converting. Marseille may be famed for the Mistral, the strong wind which frequently sweeps over the southern port city, but on Saturday it was the All Blacks who simply blew the opposition away. By Phil Harlow Elsom joins Doug Howlett as the tournament's top try-scorer Australia (23) 91 Tries: Sharpe, Elsom 3, Ashley-Cooper, Latham 2, Barnes 2, Mitchell 2, Smith, Frier Cons: Mortlock 7, Giteau 3 Pens: Mortlock 2 Japan (3) 3 Pen: Ono Rocky Elsom claimed a hat-trick as Australia overpowered Japan to get their campaign off to a winning start. Japan lacked nothing in bravery, but Australia's physical superiority told as tries from Elsom and Nathan Sharpe put them 23-3 up at the break. Kosei Ono's penalty was the least that Japan's valiant effort deserved, but they were over-run in the second half. It was no surprise that Australia were happy to go for the direct route early on, with the Wallaby pack enjoying a significant physical advantage over their counterparts. Australia tried to assert their authority - they are some 16 places above Japan in the world rankings - from the off but some stout and committed defence kept them at bay. Japan had clearly earned the respect of their opponents and Mortlock took no liberties when two kickable penalties came his side's way, slotting both for a 6-0 lead after 16 minutes. Ono scored his side's only points in Lyon The two-time World Cup winners finally got over the line two minutes later when Sharpe emerged with the ball after a draining rolling maul. Elsom benefited from a clever pass from Stephen Larkham to cross for his first try on 24 minutes, and soon after he claimed a second down the left touchline following Chris Latham's scoring pass. Japan were still competing gamely though and when Mortlock tugged Hirotoki Onozawa's jersey to concede the penalty, Ono stroked the ball through the posts to get his side on the scoreboard to the delight of the crowd. Australia made the perfect start to the second half, scoring within a minute of kick-off as Elsom cut a lovely line off of Larkham. It was one-way traffic for most of the half as Japan's physical exertions of the first half saw them begin to fall off tackles. England may have gone into the match as defending champions but the current side is a pale shadow of the World Cup-winning team and, on this display, their chances of repeating the 2003 victory look remote to say the least. And the world champions nearly conceded the first try when Hercus read a forced pass and intercepted beautifully, but his inside pass to Paul Emerick saw the Dragons centre halted by a blatant trip by England captain Phil Vickery. It took a break from Josh Lewsey to finally open the Eagles up and when England recycled the ball Mike Catt's pin-point kick floated into the hands of Robinson, who crossed untouched.
Replacements: Carpenter, D Pletch, M Pletch, Burak, Yukes, Fairhurst, Smith. Wales finally won enough ball to allow their backs to show their class Wales (9) 42 Tries: Parker, AW Jones, Williams (2), Charvis Cons: Jones (4) Pens: Hook (3) Parker, AW Jones, Williams (2), CharvisJones (4)Hook (3) Canada (12) 17 Tries: Cudmore, Culpan, Williams Cons: Pritchard Wales survived a huge scare in their opening World Cup match before overcoming a determined Canada side. If Samoa's try had been awarded, they might still have been in with a shout but within little more than 10 minutes South Africa had cut loose with a quickfire try treble. Parks kicked the conversion to give the Scots a 7-0 lead and Lamont got his second try two minutes later when he shrugged off challenges from Diogo Mateus and Jose Pinto to score. Bryan Habana and Percy Montgomery tries gave the Boks a 21-7 half-time lead. Portugal scored their first ever World Cup try through Pedro Carvalho. Scotland: R Lamont; S Lamont, Di Rollo, Dewey, S Webster; Parks, Blair; Jacobsen, Lawson, E Murray, Hines, S Murray, White (capt), Hogg, Taylor. "You could see a lot of nerves out there from both sides early on but all credit to our boys. Replacement hooker Ross Ford got the Scots' eighth and final try of the game when he grabbed a bouncing ball and sped past the tiring Portuguese defence. Lima is the first player to appear in five World Cups but was injured after producing a dangerous tackle Springboks centre Jean de Villiers was helped off the field with an arm injury and was replaced by Francois Steyn.
Wales finally won enough ball to allow their backs to show their class Wales (9) 42 Tries: Parker, AW Jones, Williams (2), Charvis Cons: Jones (4) Pens: Hook (3) Parker, AW Jones, Williams (2), CharvisJones (4)Hook (3) Canada (12) 17 Tries: Cudmore, Culpan, Williams Cons: Pritchard Wales survived a huge scare in their opening World Cup match before overcoming a determined Canada side. But the introduction of Stephen Jones and Gareth Thomas sparked Wales to life as they dominated the last half hour. Sonny Parker, Alun Wyn Jones, Colin Charvis and Shane Williams (2) crossed to ensure the victory which had looked a distant dream for the Welsh side. Wales, wearing black armbands in honour of former Welsh Rugby Union president Sir Tasker Watkins who died on Sunday, lined up in unfamiliar grey jerseys. 606: DEBATE Gareth Jenkins is no clearer in knowing exactly his best XV BBC Sport's Nabil Hassan They at least managed to force Canada to concede penalties in their own half, and James Hook kicked three of his four attempts to put Wales 9-0 up after 15 minutes. Canada's intentions were clear after picking a strong and experienced pack, and their opening try on 25 minutes all down to forward power. A scrum deep in Wales 22 provided the perfect attacking platform, and Cudmore eventually barged his way over from a few yards out as Wales buckled under heavy pressure. Wales were left stunned 10 minutes later as Culpan ran almost the length of the field to score Canada's second try. Wales had looked destined to score as a break by centre Tom Shanklin put Canada on the back foot, but Hook's attempted long pass was intercepted by Culpan and the centre had enough pace to race home. The break had little effect, though, as Canada scored their third try after just five minutes of the second-half. Scrum-half Williams made the initial break before the Canada forwards again inched their way towards the Wales line with powerful drives. Wales needed a quick response, and coach Gareth Jenkins immediately turned to the experience of Thomas and Stephen Jones The change had the desired effect as Wales finally came alive. But the crucial score arrived moments later from the resulting scrum as Jones' reverse pass sent Parker over. Jones converted to bring Wales back to within a point. Wales finally had the initiative, and they regained the lead five minutes later. A Canada clearance from behind their own tryline was charged down and lock Alun Wyn Jones pounced on the loose ball to score. With the Canadians tiring, the outstanding Shanklin then had a hand in the next two Wales tries as Williams crossed twice in as many minutes. A Stephen Jones break then laid a try on a plate for flanker Charvis, another replacement who played a huge part in Wales' revival. Jenkins had stressed the importance of starting their campaign with a win, but Wales will need to raise their game a few notches if they hope to challenge Australia in next Saturday's crucial group match in Cardiff. By James Standley Flying wing Habana scored four tries for South Africa South Africa (21) 59 Tries: Habana 4, Montgomery 2, Fourie, Pietersen Cons: Montgomery 5 Pens: Montgomery 3 Habana 4, Montgomery 2, Fourie, PietersenMontgomery 5Montgomery 3 Samoa (7) 7 Tries: Williams Cons: Williams South Africa survived a brutal first-half battering by Samoa as they opened their World Cup campaign with an impressive victory in Paris. With two of the most physical teams on the planet taking the field at the Parc des Princes the match always promised to be a bash-fest and so it proved as they combined to put on a thrilling opening 40 minutes. Man for man the Samoans could match their Springbok counterparts for power but in the tight phases of the game, the scrum and the line-out, the Springboks had a clear edge. Former Leicester number eight Henry Tuilagi produced some ferocious charges, but poor discipline allowed Montgomery to make them pay with three penalties in the opening 15 minutes. The opening 40 minutes was the most physical so far in France The Pacific islanders' inability to secure their own ball at the line-out was costing them dear but when they finally managed some decent possession they opened the scoring with a superb try. You could see a lot of nerves from both sides early on the way they finished it off in the second half is a huge positive South Africa coach Jake White When he took Fourie's pass as the Boks attacked down the blind-side of a ruck there looked to be little on. Montgomery missed the fairly simple conversion but South Africa were soon back on the attack and after a series of attacking scrums Montgomery blasted through the final defender for the Springboks' second try. The veteran full-back added the conversion to make it 21-7 at the break but Samoa came desperately close to cutting the gap when Iosefa Fekori plunged over straight after the restart, only to be pulled back for offside. Lima is the first player to appear in five World Cups but was injured after producing a dangerous tackle Springboks centre Jean de Villiers was helped off the field with an arm injury and was replaced by Francois Steyn. If Samoa's try had been awarded, they might still have been in with a shout but within little more than 10 minutes South Africa had cut loose with a quickfire try treble. Habana then collected his second spectacular long-range score of the match, beating three men on a dazzling run to the line, and two Montgomery conversions meant South Africa suddenly led 40-7 after an hour's play. As the game went on South Africa were happy not to pick up any injuries, while Habana confirmed his status as the world's most dangerous finisher with two more tries. Montgomery converted the first effort and the Springboks will head into Friday's encounter with faltering world champions England brim full of confidence. "I'm not saying we would've won but we wouldn't have conceded so many points."
But, he said, "with all respect to you ... Petraeus." The general's testimony could be key to the White House's attempt to stem a rising tide of Republican dissent over Iraq. General: Pre-Surge U.S. Troop Levels in Iraq By July 2008 That would leave the United States with about 130,000 troops in Iraq by July 2008 -- roughly the same number of U.S. troops that were in Iraq before the President decided to dispatch additional forces. Bush called the area one of the safest places in the country. The Democratic leadership in Congress has been unable to force further reductions. The ambassador said he was frustrated with the progress of the Iraqi government. Many Iraqis said they do not believe their security has improved. All About David Petraeus • Baghdad • The Pentagon • Iraq War Tension Among Military Leadership There is consensus among the military leadership about beginning the drawdown of the surge but beyond that there is some real tension about the way forward. Monday is the first hearing on Iraq for Petraeus and Crocker, and begins a weeklong focus on the future of the Iraq conflict. The protesters were ejected from the committee room, with Skelton vowing they would be prosecuted. An administration report earlier this summer showed mixed results, as well. He said the number of attacks in Iraq is lower than at any time in more than a year; civilian deaths are down by 45 percent; and sectarian killings are down by 55 percent. I don't buy it," Lantos said. Rep. Duncan Hunter of California, the ranking Republican on the Armed Services Committee, criticized Democrats for questioning the general's credibility.
Gen. David Petraeus told Congress on Monday he envisions the withdrawal of roughly 30,000 U.S. troops by next summer, beginning with a Marine contingent later this month. In long-awaited testimony, the commanding general of the war said last winter's buildup in U.S. troops had met its military objectives "in large measure." As a result, he told a congressional hearing and a nationwide television audience, "I believe that we will be able to reduce our forces to the pre-surge level ... by next summer without jeopardizing the security gains we have fought so hard to achieve." Petraeus unleashed a volley of numbers to support his claim the surge is working, reports CBS News national security correspondent David Martin. He said the number of attacks in Iraq is lower than at any time in more than a year; civilian deaths are down by 45 percent; and sectarian killings are down by 55 percent. But the charts show violence is still high, running at levels comparable to 2005, before the bombing of the Samarra mosque triggered sectarian fighting that nearly tore Iraq apart, adds Martin. Testifying in a military uniform bearing four general's stars and a chestful of medals, Petraeus said he had already provided his views to the military chain of command. Rebutting charges that he was merely doing the White House's bidding, he said firmly, "I wrote this testimony myself. It has not been cleared by nor shared with anyone in the Pentagon, the White House or the Congress." Petraeus' testimony came at a pivotal moment in the war, with the Democratic-controlled Congress pressing for troop withdrawals and the Bush administration hoping to prevent wholesale Republican defections. Ambassador Ryan Crocker, testifying alongside Petraeus, strongly suggested the administration's troop buildup had prevented a debacle. Crocker said 2006 was a "bad year for Iraq. The country came close to unraveling politically, economically and in security terms. But Crocker, evaluating Iraq's ability to govern itself, the ultimate goal of the surge, has a lot fewer success stories to point to than Petreaus, reports CBS News chief White House correspondent Jim Axelrod, with a paralyzed parliament unable so far to pass major laws that would foster Sunni-Shiite reconciliation. "I do believe that Iraq's leaders have the will to tackle the countries pressing problems, although it will take longer than we originally anticipated," said Crocker. One organization with ties to the administration has spent millions on television advertisements, and Mr. Bush traveled to Anbar province last week to highlight improved security in the vast western stretches of Iraq. Mr. Bush also called Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki in the hours before Petraeus spoke, and is expected to deliver a nationwide address on the war in the next few days. Mr. Bush has urged lawmakers to listen to Petraeus with an open mind, but CBS News correspondent Chip Reid reports many influential Democrats said they already know what he's going to say and have already rejected it. "The president's policy as well as his surge are not working," Sen. Joe Biden, D-Del., told CBS News. "The policy was to build up the Iraqi army so we could stand down. It's an abject failure." Petraeus said that a unit of about 2,000 Marines will depart Iraq later this month, beginning a drawdown that would be followed in mid-December with the departure of an Army brigade numbering 3,500 to 4,000 soldiers. That would leave the United States with about 130,000 troops in Iraq, roughly the number stationed there last winter when President Bush decided to dispatch additional forces. He said he believes withdrawals could continue even after the 30,000 extra troops go home, but added that it would be premature to make any further recommendations. Using 13 pages of colorful charts, Petraeus conceded that the military gains have been uneven in the months since Bush ordered the buildup last winter. WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The 30,000 additional troops deployed to Iraq in January could come home by next July, but further American withdrawals would be "premature," the U.S. commander there told a fractious congressional hearing Monday. more photos » "Our experience in Iraq has repeatedly shown that projecting too far into the future is not just difficult, it can be misleading and even hazardous," Gen. David Petraeus said at a joint hearing of the House Armed Services and Foreign Relations committees. Watch Petraeus say how "surge" has worked » Rep. Ike Skelton, D-Missouri, the Armed Services Committee's chairman, ordered several protesters arrested for interrupting what he said "may be the most important hearing of the year." It is time to change the mission of our troops to one that will promote regional stability and combat terrorism, so that the numbers of our brave men and women in uniform in Iraq can be reduced on a much more aggressive timetable than the one outlined today by Gen. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nevada, said, "Our enemies around the globe gain great advantage by having the United States mired in an Iraqi civil war." "The longer we keep over 130,000 troops in Iraq, the less incentive Iraqis have to engage in the needed political reconciliation and the longer we avoid dealing with several pressing threats to our national security," namely that Osama bin Laden remains at large, Reid said.
Replacements: Taukafa, Toke, Vaki, Filipine, Tu'ipulotu, Tupou, Havili. Qera's long-range try lit up an error-strewn first half and his second score on 49 minutes put Fiji 17-12 up. Italy found the going tough against a spirited Romania side Italy: (8) 24 Tries: Dellape, penalty Con: Pez Pens: Bortolussi, Pez 3 Romania: (0) 18 Tries: Manta, Tincu Con: Dimofte Pens: Dimofte 2 Italy's stuttering World Cup campaign continued with a less-than-convincing win over Pool C minnows Romania. 606: DEBATE Japan coach John Kirwan said: "Obviously we are disappointed with the result. The Americans found themselves 13-0 down after 26 minutes thanks to an early try from Toulouse flanker Finau Maka and two Pierre Hola penalties. Japan: Aruga; Loamanu, Imamura, Onishi, Endo; Robins, Yoshida; Nishiura, Matsubara, Soma, Ono, Thompson, Makiri, O'Reilly, Miuchi (capt). Our scrum was outstanding and it was one of the keys for our victory." Eagles prop Mike MacDonald made the score 13-8 with a try in the corner but Tonga responded through Joseph Vaka. Japan showed some real grit though and Soma came up with the ball after a rolling maul crashed over the line. We've had our chances to win the game. Thompson's brace set up a thrilling finish but it was not enough for Japan Onishi added two penalties either side of the break to make the score 12-10 but Qera claimed his second after supporting a Mosese Rauluni break. But Italy went off the boil as Romania fought back, and the Azzurri started making a catalogue of errors as well as looking lacklustre in defence.
Finau Maka crossed over for Tonga in the first two minutes USA: (3) 15 Tries: MacDonald, Stanfill Con: Hercus Pens: Hercus Tonga: (13) 25 Tries: Maka, Vaka, Vaki Cons: Hola 2 Pens: Hola 2 Tonga got their World Cup campaign off to a winning start with victory over a battling USA in Montpellier. The Americans found themselves 13-0 down after 26 minutes thanks to an early try from Toulouse flanker Finau Maka and two Pierre Hola penalties. Eagles prop Mike MacDonald made the score 13-8 with a try in the corner but Tonga responded through Joseph Vaka. USA flanker Louis Stanfill then crossed from close range but Viliami Vaki's superb score sealed victory for Tonga. The result was a disappointing one from America's point of view following on from their impressive display against England last weekend. 606: DEBATE They seemed to be feeling the effects of the quick turnaround and Tonga made an explosive start with Toulouse's Maka going over after a rolling maul from a line-out after 72 seconds. The Eagles, boosted by a Hercus penalty just before the break, dominated for long periods of the second period and twice got back to within a score of their opponents. MacDonald powered his way over to score in the corner on 46 minutes but Tonga responded with the help of an incisive break from skipper Nili Latu which led to Joseph Vaka scoring his first try for his country. America had renewed hope when Stanfill bundled over from his own tap penalty but Vaki struck the decisive blow with 10 minutes left - leaving the Eagles ruing their wasted opportunities. "That's an easy excuse to use." "I'm very pleased. It's not often you get the chance to play in a World Cup and it's a good feeling to get a victory. Winning today is a confident step up for us." Akapusi Qera's two scores proved vital for Fiji Japan: (9) 31 Tries: Thompson 2, Soma Cons: Onishi 2 Pens: Onishi 4 Fiji: (10) 35 Tries: Qera 2, Rabeni, Leawere Cons: Little 3 Pens: Little 3 Gloucester-bound flanker Akapusi Qera scored two tries as Fiji hung on for a thrilling win over Japan in Toulouse. Qera's long-range try lit up an error-strewn first half and his second score on 49 minutes put Fiji 17-12 up. Luke Thompson responded for Japan but a try from Leicester's Seru Rabeni seemed to end the Japanese challenge. But Tomokazu Soma was bundled over on 62 minutes and although Kele Leawere crossed for Fiji, Thompson's second try set up a grandstand finale. "We were our own worst enemies. We knew they would play 100 miles an hour. We were throwing balls and they didn't stick." 606: DEBATE Japan coach John Kirwan said: "Obviously we are disappointed with the result. "I think on the positive note the players played their hearts out and did take one point out of the game." A weakened Japan had lost 91-3 to Australia at the weekend but former Italy coach Kirwan changed his entire starting line-up for the match in Toulouse. Fiji, though, had not played in the opening round of games and they started the match brightly, Nicky Little becoming the 12th man to pass 600 points in international rugby union with a fourth-minute penalty. Inside centre Shotaro Onishi kicked two penalties to give the Japanese a 6-3 advantage but Qera showed great pace to cross from 75 metres out after picking up a loose ball. Thompson's brace set up a thrilling finish but it was not enough for Japan Onishi added two penalties either side of the break to make the score 12-10 but Qera claimed his second after supporting a Mosese Rauluni break. Nicky Little's penalty edged Fiji in front and Rabeni's score, after some good work from full-back Kameli Ratuvou and wing Vilimoni Delasau, gave the men in white a six-point cushion. Japan showed some real grit though and Soma came up with the ball after a rolling maul crashed over the line. Leawere's pick and drive put Fiji ahead once again but the tenacious Japanese refused to give up and flanker Hare Makiri's fine offload set up Thompson for his second try with just two minutes left. Japan desperately tried to claim a dramatic match-winning score as the clock ticked down but despite keeping the ball alive well into injury time, Fiji did just enough for the win. Italy found the going tough against a spirited Romania side Italy: (8) 24 Tries: Dellape, penalty Con: Pez Pens: Bortolussi, Pez 3 Romania: (0) 18 Tries: Manta, Tincu Con: Dimofte Pens: Dimofte 2 Italy's stuttering World Cup campaign continued with a less-than-convincing win over Pool C minnows Romania. 606: DEBATE Recalled fly-half Pez created Dellape's score after just six minutes although the lock played no further part in the game as he fell awkwardly while touching down. Bortolussi increased the lead seven minutes later and Italy could have added a second try but hooker Carlo Festuccia's score was ruled out when video evidence indicated he had taken the ball into touch. Hooker Tincu scored Romania's second try on 48 minutes Manta was awarded a try by the video referee despite appearing to lose control of the ball as he was bundled over, while Tincu added a second score after brushing off some poor tackling. Italy were able to hang on for the win but they look a shadow of the side that defeated both Scotland and Wales in this year's Six Nations and their inability to claim a bonus point could prove costly.
Yes. If you had money in there, what would you do?" Some leaving Northern Rock branches said they had withdrawn the bulk of their deposits. Dozens of Northern Rock customers have contacted the BBC to complain that the bank's website was inaccessible, while all the bank's phone lines were jammed. "We're just small fry. The Bank of England has offered an emergency loan to Northern Rock after the mortgage lender became the biggest British casualty of the credit squeeze sparked by the crisis in the U.S. subprime mortgage market. REUTERS/Dylan Martinez The sign of the Northern Rock bank is seen outside a branch in central London September 14, 2007. It raises most of the money which it provides for mortgages by borrowing from banks and other financial institutions. Other bank shares fell, with Bradford & Bingley, Alliance & Leicester and HBOS down nearly 8%, 7% and 4% respectively. Interbank lending costs rose to their highest level for nine years this week as banks scaled back lending to each other. All three said they had no need for extra funding, but analysts said any bank reliant on money markets for funds could need help if credit market conditions remain tough. (Additional reporting by Jonathan Cable and Gavin Haycock) Northern Rock Chief Executive Adam Applegarth appealed for patience and advised customers that it was "business as normal". We don't know what's going on behind the doors. Chancellor Alistair Darling told BBC Radio that Northern Rock was the only institution to have called for Bank aid and that the economy and banking system was sound. The central bank's support -- the first time it has acted as lender of last resort in this way since becoming independent on interest rate policy in 1997 -- puts a prop under Northern Rock, which has been hit by banks' reluctance to lend as they hoard cash to cope with the fallout from bad U.S. loans.
Some customers were queuing outside Northern Rock branches But experts and officials insist that Northern Rock, which has £113bn in assets, is not in danger of going bust. Despite the reassurances lines of customers formed outside many Northern Rock branches around the UK. The bank has struggled to raise money to finance its lending ever since money markets seized up over the summer. Stock market hit NORTHERN ROCK FACTS Founded in 1965 after merger of Northern Counties Permanent Building Society and Rock Building Society Headquarters in Newcastle Became a public company in 1997 Has 6,400 staff Has 18.9% share of new UK lending Loans and assets of £113bn Deposits from customers of £24bn Northern Rock's share price What if a bank goes bust? Other bank shares fell, with Bradford & Bingley, Alliance & Leicester and HBOS down nearly 8%, 7% and 4% respectively. House builders were also hit, with companies like Persimmon, Taylor Wimpey, Bovis Homes and Berkeley Group falling around 6% and more. The London stockmarket's benchmark index, the FTSE 100, at one point dropped more than 2.2% before recovering during the afternoon. The index closed at 6,289 - a loss of 74 points or 1.17%. Unlike most banks, which get their money from customers making deposits into savings accounts, Northern Rock is built around its mortgage business. Speaking on BBC Radio 4's Today programme, Chancellor Alistair Darling said: "The problem here is there is a lot of money in the system but they are reluctant to lend it to each other at the moment." Queues at branches Mr Darling said that "in order to create a stable banking system, the Bank [of England] steps in and it makes facilities available to the Northern Rock." "Northern Rock can draw on them when it requires, but it means it can carry on trading, people can use their accounts in the normal way, they carry on making their mortgage payments in the usual way, Northern Rock will be able to carry on its business." Angela Knight, chief executive of the British Bankers' Association, said that anybody who was "either a saver with Northern Rock or has got a mortgage... can be absolutely confident that they have got their money with or they have borrowed from a very sound financial institution." All the calming words did not stop some Northern Rock customers moving some or all of their money to accounts with other banks. Dozens of Northern Rock customers have contacted the BBC to complain that the bank's website was inaccessible, while all the bank's phone lines were jammed. Emergency reserve untouched The emergency lending facility to Northern Rock was agreed by Mr Darling, on advice from Mervyn King, governor of the Bank of England. Northern Rock chief executive Adam Applegarth said that it had not yet borrowed any of the "unlimited" funds available. He urged customers to remain calm, and stressed that it was "business as normal". However he indicated that it may, in future, be more expensive worldwide for institutions to borrow money, and that in turn could mean that mortgages generally become more expensive. 'Lender of last resort' On the assumption that the current conditions remain until the end of 2007, there will clearly be an impact on Northern Rock's 2007 asset growth and, therefore, on profits Northern Rock statement Send us your reaction The decision for the Bank of England to become the "lender of last resort" is extremely rare - and also comes after consultation with the Financial Services Authority (FSA). It is an unlimited facility, with interest rated at a "penal rate" of more than 1% above Bank base rate. To obtain the money, the Northern Rock will have to deposit some of its customers' mortgages as collateral, which are regarded by the Bank of England as sound. In a statement, Northern Rock said it had "agreed with the Bank of England that it can raise such amounts of liquidity as may be necessary by either borrowing on a secured basis from the Bank of England or entering into repurchase facilities with the Bank of England". "On the assumption that the current conditions remain until the end of 2007, there will clearly be an impact on Northern Rock's 2007 asset growth and, therefore, on profits." An FSA statement said Northern Rock "exceeds its regulatory capital requirement and has a good quality loan book". The Bank of England has offered an emergency loan to Northern Rock after the mortgage lender became the biggest British casualty of the credit squeeze sparked by the crisis in the U.S. subprime mortgage market. The Bank of England has offered an emergency loan to Northern Rock after the mortgage lender became the biggest British casualty of the credit squeeze sparked by the crisis in the U.S. subprime mortgage market. REUTERS/Dylan Martinez LONDON Financial authorities stepped in to rescue mortgage lender Northern Rock on Friday as the group, which has lent aggressively to home buyers, fell victim to the sharp rise in borrowing costs between banks. In Britain's biggest casualty of a global financial crisis sparked by U.S. mortgage defaults, customers queued on the streets as they waited to withdraw savings from Northern Rock branches, with some reports of fighting in its home town of Newcastle. The central bank's support -- the first time it has acted as lender of last resort in this way since becoming independent on interest rate policy in 1997 -- puts a prop under Northern Rock, which has been hit by banks' reluctance to lend as they hoard cash to cope with the fallout from bad U.S. loans. The government said on Friday it had authorised the Bank of England to provide an unspecified amount of liquidity to Northern Rock, which had the biggest share of the new mortgage market in the first half of this year and provides over 730,000 mortgages. But there were signs of panic among customers and investors, and the bank's shares crashed over 30 percent, one of the biggest falls for a major bank in recent memory. While it has little exposure to poorer-quality, or "subprime," U.S. mortgages, Northern Rock has been hit by the liquidity squeeze triggered by the crisis in that market because it has a small deposit base and so has to draw most of its funding from money markets. Northern Rock declined to comment on the details of the financial support, though Chief Executive Adam Applegarth told reporters that "clearly a substantial amount is required" and that it would be charged a penalty interest rate. It had been a darling of the bank sector in recent years after posting 23 years of record earnings, but now there is a strong chance it will be taken over by a well capitalised rival, analysts said. "The only potential short-term fillip for the share price would come from an acquisition by a bank with the capability to fund the business on an ongoing basis or a stabilisation of the credit markets," said Landsbanki analyst Ian Poulter. Northern Rock shares closed down 31.5 percent at 438 pence, valuing the bank at 2 billion pounds, down over 60 percent since the start of the year.
"We talked at length about them. Some of the videos accessed by Langham, 58, of Golford, Kent, showed the most "horrific level" of abuse. The 58-year-old actor never denied downloading child abuse images, but said he was pleading not guilty because he was not a paedophile. He was convicted last month on 15 charges. He told the court he had been researching a sex offender character for the BBC comedy series Help, which he was co-writing. "The video clips found on Christopher Langham's computer were a high quality reproduction of real children in real abusive situations. One of the victims was about eight years old and others were aged between 11 and 13, according to Judge Philip Statman. REUTERS/Luke MacGregor MAIDSTONE, Kent Chris Langham was jailed for 10 months on Friday after being found guilty of downloading child pornography from the Internet. He added: "Your activity took place in the comfort of your own home, no doubt at the time feeling safe in the knowledge that you would never be caught." The actor was cleared of charges of indecently assaulting an underage girl as well as two counts of a serious sexual offence. They were downloaded between September and November 2005 and Langham claimed in police interviews and during the trial that he was researching a character he was developing for Help. The Bafta-winning star of comedy dramas Help and The Thick Of It wept as he was sentenced at Maidstone Crown Court. Langham will serve half the sentence, minus the 43 days he has already spent in custody. The worst video was 15 minutes long and it showed in quite graphic detail the sadistic brutalisation of an eight-year-old girl in the UK Det Ch Insp Paul Fotheringham Langham's future behind bars He told Langham: "Some of the children viewed are clearly prepubescent, others are fully developed, some of the children are clearly of Filipino extract.
Chris Langham was convicted in August on 15 charges Actor Chris Langham has been jailed for 10 months for downloading indecent videos of children from the internet. The Bafta-winning star of comedy dramas Help and The Thick Of It wept as he was sentenced at Maidstone Crown Court. Some of the videos accessed by Langham, 58, of Golford, Kent, showed the most "horrific level" of abuse. Langham will serve five months in prison, less the 43 days he has spent in custody already. One of the victims was about eight years old and others were aged between 11 and 13, according to Judge Philip Statman. The worst video was 15 minutes long and it showed in quite graphic detail the sadistic brutalisation of an eight-year-old girl in the UK Det Ch Insp Paul Fotheringham Langham's future behind bars He told Langham: "Some of the children viewed are clearly prepubescent, others are fully developed, some of the children are clearly of Filipino extract. "All have had inflicted upon them horrifying sexual abuse and, I want to make this absolutely clear to you, I must first think of those children. He added: "Your activity took place in the comfort of your own home, no doubt at the time feeling safe in the knowledge that you would never be caught." He was arrested in November 2005 after video files were found on a computer, a laptop and an external hard disk drive at his home. They were downloaded between September and November 2005 and Langham claimed in police interviews and during the trial that he was researching a character he was developing for Help. 'Abusive situations' Det Ch Insp Paul Fotheringham said: "Fifteen [images] is reasonably low to be honest, most police forces have probably had cases where they've had people with hundreds of thousands of images. "The worst video was 15 minutes long and it showed in quite graphic detail the sadistic brutalisation of an eight-year-old girl in the UK, with some serious sexual offences against her." He added: "There is no excuse for downloading and viewing images of child sex abuse. "The video clips found on Christopher Langham's computer were a high quality reproduction of real children in real abusive situations. "Paedophiles viewing images creates a demand which encourages others to continue abusing and hurting children. Langham starred in the BBC's political satire The Thick of It "It is important for everyone to realise that these images are real abusive situations involving children from across the world including Kent." In a statement read out in court, Langham's wife Chrisse said: "I was shocked at the charges he was facing. "Our family has suffered so much in the last two years. The actor was cleared of charges of indecently assaulting an underage girl as well as two counts of a serious sexual offence. The award-winning actor Chris Langham was today sentenced to 10 months in jail for downloading pictures and videos of child abuse to his home computer. The star of the BBC satire The Thick of It was convicted last month of 15 counts of making an indecent photograph of a child. The Crown Prosecution Service said material found on Langham's computer included images of sadism and non-consensual sex between adults and children. Some of the images were classified by police as category five - the most severe grading. Passing sentence at Maidstone crown court today, the judge, Philip Statman, said one of the child abuse victims shown in the images Langham downloaded had been around eight years old, while others were between 11 and 13. "All have had inflicted upon them horrifying sexual abuse and, I want to make this absolutely clear to you, I must think first of those children. Langham will also be placed on the sex offenders' register for 10 years, and will be subject to a five-year sexual offenders' prevention order. The actor was cleared of six charges of indecent assault and two charges of buggery after the jury found him not guilty of having sex with a 14-year-old female fan he had befriended outside a London theatre in the mid-90s. "There's nothing in the papers before me to indicate that you are a sexual predator in the sense that is ordinarily used," he told the actor. During the trial, Langham, of Golford, near Cranbrook, Kent, repeatedly denied claims that he systematically groomed and then assaulted the girl when she was 14 and 15. The 58-year-old actor never denied downloading child abuse images, but said he was pleading not guilty because he was not a paedophile. REUTERS/Luke MacGregor MAIDSTONE, Kent Chris Langham was jailed for 10 months on Friday after being found guilty of downloading child pornography from the Internet.
Australia: Latham, Mitchell, Mortlock, Giteau, Tuqiri, Barnes, Gregan, Dunning, Moore, Shepherdson, Sharpe, Vickerman, Elsom, Smith, Palu. - and Georgia clear. "It is stuttering stuff at the moment from Ireland." Replacements: Hook for G. Thomas (22), Morgan for Parker (18), Phillips for Peel (70), R. Thomas for Rees (66), D. Jones for A. Jones (66), Owen for Gough (66). 74 mins: Another drop goal attempt from Kvirikashvili but the ball sails wide. The Leinster full-back breaks a tackle to score Ireland's second try. "This has been the best match of the World Cup so far. I don't think it was a disappointing game, it was a good spectacle and there was a great atmosphere in the stadium. Giteau missed another kick, Wales then eating into the Wallabies' lead with a Hook penalty. Get involved via text using the number above or on 606. But it is an awful night for Irish rugby. BBC Radio 5live analyst Hugo MacNeill 51 mins: Wallace is back on the field and finds a gap in the defence from a line-out to put his side on the front foot. O'Gara converts. New Zealand started to swarm over Os Lobos and, in the last 18 minutes of the first half, added further tries by Toeava, Williams, Mauger, Collins, Masoe and Hore. The nerves are still there then? Eddie O'Sullivan will not be happy to see that. The Georgian pack rumble over the try line and they appeal for what would be a match-winning try.
By James Standley Jerry Collins enjoyed the chance to get his hands on the ball in space New Zealand: (52) 108 Tries: Rokocoko 2, Toeava, Williams, Mauger 2, Collins, Masoe, Hore, Leonard, Evans, Ellis, MacDonald, Smith 2, Hayman Cons: Evans 14 Rokocoko 2, Toeava, Williams, Mauger 2, Collins, Masoe, Hore, Leonard, Evans, Ellis, MacDonald, Smith 2, HaymanEvans 14 Portugal: (3) 13 Tries: Cordeiro Cons: D Pinto Pens: D Pinto Drop-goals: Malheiro New Zealand ran in 16 tries as they brushed aside Portugal in Lyon. Joe Rokocoko (2), Isaia Toeava, Ali Williams, Aaron Mauger, Jerry Collins, Chris Masoe and Andrew Hore went over for the All Blacks in the first half. Portugal managed a converted Rui Cordeiro try to add to Goncalo Malheiro's earlier drop goal. The Portuguese, 22nd in the world, had eagerly awaited their opportunity to meet the world's top ranked team and they visibly relished the chance to face the haka. The winger soon added a second try, but the next score went to Portugal as Malheiro, their all-time record points scorer, drilled over a fine drop-goal. The All Blacks, the tournament favourites, said they would be "sensitive" up against a largely amateur team, but conceding points was not part of the deal and the drop-goal had the same effect as poking a wasps' nest. Duarte Pinto duly kicked the conversion to put the minnows within 42 points. But Leonard rapidly hit back for the All Blacks and, although Portugal defended bravely, Evans, Ellis, Mauger, MacDonald, Smith, who grabbed a double, and Hayman all crossed as the floodgates opened once more. Evans converted 14 tries and claimed a personal haul of 33 points as New Zealand finished well short of the record 145 points they ran up against Japan in 1995. "We started a little slower than last week and that was credit to the Portuguese but we got into a rhythm. "I'm delighted the way the guys handled this particular game. "I think it was a pretty good game all round and I hope the Portuguese are pleased. "Our goals for the game were very clear we knew we were playing against New Zealand, the greatest team in the world in recent years. "They have beaten good teams by 70 or 80 points, but we scored a try and played very well. All the players that came back today came as survivors, we couldn't resist their physicality but we played rugby from the first to last." By Sean Davies Matt Giteau celebrates the opening try at the Millennium Stadium Wales 20 (3) Tries: J Thomas, S Williams Cons: J Hook (2) Pens: S Jones, Hook Australia 32 (25) Tries: Giteau, Mortlock, Latham (2) Cons: Mortlock (2), Giteau Pens: Mortlock DG: Barnes Australia seized control of Pool B as they put Wales to the sword with a physical and dynamic show in Cardiff. Hopes of a recovery were ended by Latham's second try from a garryowen, Shane Williams scoring a consolation. SCRUM V DEBATE ON 606 Send your thoughts on Wales v Australia Scrum V's Gareth Lewis The result means that the Wallabies are likely to face a quarter-final in Marseille against either Samoa or England. Wales had an awful start, failing to control ruck ball from the kick off and conceding a first-minute penalty, kicked by Mortlock. Thomas felt the force of the Wallabies' power in midfield But the visitors were also nervous, and a mistake from Drew Mitchell on the slippy Millennium Stadium turf set up the position for Stephen Jones to equalise following a penalty at the scrum. Jones missed a second chance, and a woeful kicking game again cost Wales when Gareth Thomas' poor clearance put the Wallabies on the offensive on the home 22. Berrick Barnes - the rookie fly-half brought in for his first Test start at the last minute in place of knee injury victim Stephen Larkham - threw a delightful inside dummy and found Giteau supporting inside him, the number 12 crossing under the posts. Bruce Pope's World Cup blog Australia's greater physicality made its mark, Parker taken off after a heavy tackle. We have to learn to play for 80 minutes Wales fly-half Stephen Jones More Wales reaction A strong Lote Tuqiri tackle on Mark Jones knocked the ball loose from the Wales winger, prop Matt Dunning quickly gathering possession and feeding George Gregan. We're still warming up in this tournament Man-of-the-match Chris Latham More Australia reaction The winger ran out of space, but fed inside to man-of-the-match Latham, who crossed for the third try.
Replacements: Ibanez, Mas, Pelous, Harinordoquy, Beauxis, Jauzion, Rougerie. Canada hit back, with Ryan Smith's try and James Pritchard's third penalty trimming the gap to six points. And Julien Bonnaire, Chabal (2), Jean-Baptiste Elissalde, Clerc (2) and Raphael Ibanez added further tries. "For us the first two games were the important ones. Samoa had battered South Africa for 40 minutes in their opening match in France before running out of steam in the second half. Fiji were making little headway until Saracens winger Ratuvou, playing at full-back for Fiji, injected some pace into the game. We played to our strengths." Hola then added another three points before Tonga took the lead when Taione finished off a powerful forward drive. First he sliced through to within a couple of yards of the line before losing the ball in a tackle. The score could have been 120-0. Four penalties from Gavin Williams gave Samoa a 12-6 half-time lead. They scored 13 tries against a Namibia side reduced to 14 men after 20 minutes when Jacques Nieuwenhuis was sent off for a high tackle on Sebastien Chabal. France: Poitrenaud; Clerc, Marty, Traille, Heymans; Michalak, Elissalde; Poux, Szarzewski, de Villiers, Chabal, Nallet, Nyanga, Dusautoir, Bonnaire. We had to drive our World Cup forward in this match. The final word went to Namibia as centre Bradley Langenhoven grabbed an interception try, which was converted by Tertius Losper, in the last minute. "Normally back at home Sunday is a rest day, but we had this draw to play on Sunday and so we had a prayer instead.
By James Standley Saracens winger Kameli Ratuvou was a constant threat for Fiji Fiji (15) 29 Tries: Leawere, Ratuvou 2, Delasau Cons: Little 3 Pens: Little Leawere, Ratuvou 2, DelasauLittle 3Little Canada (6) 16 Tries: Smith Cons: Pritchard Pens: Pritchard 3 Fiji kept in the hunt for a place in the World Cup quarter-finals with a bonus-point win over Canada in Pool B. Canada hit back, with Ryan Smith's try and James Pritchard's third penalty trimming the gap to six points. But Ratuvou's late try ended Canada's hopes as Fiji stay on course for what is likely to be a winner takes all contest against Wales on 29 September. The game was always going to be a clash of styles, with Canada relying on their forward strength and a more structured approach to combat Fiji's greater pace, power and skill out wide. However, Fiji tried to take Canada on with a deliberate game initially, kicking several penalties for touch, and a penalty apiece from James Pritchard and Nicky Little saw the sides level at 3-3 after the early exchanges. First he sliced through to within a couple of yards of the line before losing the ball in a tackle. A couple of minutes later he smashed his way through the first line of defence and when Fiji switched play to the right, second row Leawere was on hand to blast over by the posts. Little converted to make it 10-3 and although Pritchard narrowed the gap with his second penalty after 26 minutes, within two minutes Fiji had stretched their lead as Ratuvou once again stamped his mark on the game. Number eight Sisa Koymaibole's charge took Fiji within sight of the line and Ratuvou burst over from close range to make it 15-6 at half-time. When winger Delasau got his hands on the ball veteran Canadian prop Rod Snow was all that barred his way to the line and he stepped him with ease. Little converted and when Pritchard missed a kickable penalty soon after the writing was on the ball for Canada. However, they hit back just before the hour mark when Smith slipped Little's tackle to score from close range after a sustained attack, with Pritchard's conversion making it 22-13. A sweeping Canada attack then ripped the Fijians apart but Mike Pyke's effort was controversially ruled out for a double movement after Canada worked a huge overlap. But Pritchard trimmed the gap to six points with a penalty and the Canadians came desperately close to completing an unlikely fight back when they mounted a sustained assault on the Fiji line in the closing moments. However, they turned the ball over after a series of drives by the forwards and Ratuvou showed the despairing Canadian chasers a clean pair of heels to score Fiji's fourth try and wrap up a bonus-point victory. Fiji coach Ile Tabua: "We knew it was going to be tough against Canada. Canada coach Ric Suggitt: "It's a bit of a heartbreaking loss, when we got so close to the goal line. Virtually half a metre off the goal line the ball spills out then its typical Fijian style rugby, they just pick up the ball and sprint 100 metres for the victory." By James Standley Samoa (top) went into the game as favourites but played very poorly Samoa (12) 15 Pens: Williams 5 Williams 5 Tonga (6) 19 Tries: Taione Cons: Hola Pens: Hola 4 Tonga shocked Pacific Island neighbours Samoa to throw the race for Pool A qualification wide open. A fourth Williams penalty trimmed the gap but Tonga held on to consolidate their second place in the group despite despite losing two men late on. Samoa, who are England's next opponents on 22 September, had been expected to provide the greatest threat to the floundering world champions' hopes of reaching the quarter-finals. But this result means England must now be dreading their meeting with Tonga, who beat USA in their opening game, on 28 September in Paris as well. 606: DEBATE Tonga and Samoa have a reputation for being among the two most explosive sides in the world game but anyone expecting a pulsating opening to the encounter was to be disappointed. Samoa had battered South Africa for 40 minutes in their opening match in France before running out of steam in the second half. But they started slowly against Tonga, who drew first blood through Hola's penalty. Samoa soon hit back through a penalty from Williams, the son of former New Zealand legend Brian, and were also denied a try when the televison match official ruled out a score from Elvis Seveali'i. Samoa's territorial advantage led to two more Williams penalties, the second after a trademark charge from powerhouse Leicester winger Alesana Tuilagi. When Tonga saw former Newcastle and Sale player Taione sin-binned after yet another infringement at a ruck, a fourth Williams penalty made it 12-3 after 28 minutes. Toulouse flanker Finau Maka excelled for Tonga Tonga, ranked four places below Samoa, reduced the deficit through a second Hola penalty as the half ended 12-6. Things went from bad to worse for Tonga as replacement Toma Toke was shown a yellow card for a high tackle to reduce the Sea Eagles to 13 men. "I'm not really in a position to rate this victory, that will be up to the rugby community at home, but I would say it is one of the tops, to win two games in the World Cup is a major achievement."
They are afraid," he said. : "This has been mistaken for a crater." Another local villager, Romulo Quispe, said people were worried that the water was no longer safe to drink. But some experts have questioned whether it was a meteorite or some other object that landed in Carancas. Swamp gas?” It also may be all in their mind. Jorge Lopez, health director in the Puno region, told Reuters that his team examined about 100 people who suffered vomiting and headaches. More than 600 villagers fell ill, the Peruvian radio network RPP reported Tuesday. The object then hit the ground, leaving a 30m (98ft) wide and 6m (20ft) deep crater. If that is the case, the larger meteor’s cold interior would become the smaller meteor’s cold exterior. According to Living in Peru, radiation is indeed being looked at as a possibility, and the tests are still being completed. Geologists have called on the authorities to stop people going near the crash site. I think there's also a certain psychological fear in the community Local mayor Nestor Quispe Can meteorites make you ill? Leave it to Pravda, Russia’s state-run a Russian newspaper, to be first to report the most political explosive hypothesis for the hole in Peru. Agence France Presse quoted a local official, Marco Limache, as saying that "boiling water started coming out of the crater, and particles of rock and cinders were found nearby." The crater spewed what officials described as fetid, noxious gases. Since hardly any surface heating takes place lower than about 30km, this cold surface doesn’t warm up by any appreciable amount.
Reports on a small Peruvian town’s plight over the past few days include more than a few elements to boggle the mind — and then to make you wonder whether an episode of “The X-Files” is playing out in real time. (To set the spooky mood, just watch this short video.) On Saturday night, a fiery object fell from the sky. Stunned residents said they tracked it to a fresh hole in the earth that was more than 60 feet wide, 15 feet deep, filled with boiling water and steaming with noxious fumes, according to a statement from the Health Ministry. And then people started getting sick: more than 150 reported symptoms like dizziness, vomiting and skin lesions, according to a government statement quoted by Bloomberg News. The Associated Press reports that a local official confirmed through tests that a “rocky meteorite” created the crater. But a meteorite expert at the Natural History Museum in London, who was interviewed by BBC News, said that “increasingly we think that people witnessed a fireball,” which she said would not be uncommon, and that the hole in the ground was unrelated. After seeing the fire in the sky, the local people “went off to investigate, and found a lake of sedimentary deposit, which may be full of smelly, methane-rich organic matter,” Dr. Caroline Smith suggested. “This has been mistaken for a crater.” A NASA scientist interviewed by Space.com agreed, saying of the steaming pond that “statistically, it’s far more likely to have come from below than from above.” Adding to the confusion, the scientist concedes that the meteorite explanation was not impossible, but he would expect it to be a metal one, not the rocky one identified by tests at the scene. A well-informed blogger also raises the possibility of a mud volcano and voices more doubts that a meteor was responsible. The local official who confirmed the meteorite strike also said that the water in the crater was boiling for 10 minutes, a detail that first emerged from witnesses in what appears to be the first English-language article about the incident, from Agence France-Presse. “And this is where the story falls apart,” a blogger at Wired writes, adding to that explanation in a post that started off, “Shades of the Andromeda Strain! They’ve been out in the frigid blackness of space for many billions of years — these rocks are cold down to their very center. Second, because of its size there’s a good chance that this meteorite was originally part of a larger meteor that broke up anywhere between 60 and 30km above the surface. If that is the case, the larger meteor’s cold interior would become the smaller meteor’s cold exterior. Since hardly any surface heating takes place lower than about 30km, this cold surface doesn’t warm up by any appreciable amount. Some meteorites, located soon after landing, have actually been reported to have frost on the surface due to their still cold interior. Leave it to Pravda, Russia’s state-run a Russian newspaper, to be first to report the most political explosive hypothesis for the hole in Peru. The crater, according to Russian Military Intelligence Analysts, was created when the United States Air Force shot down one of its own satellites, the paper says. You see, the satellite was spying on Iran, and destroying it helps the United States lay the groundwork for an invasion, Pravda says. For a good conspiracy yarn, go read the rest of the article, which manages to tie together 9/11, the briefly missing nukes from a few weeks ago, and more. Radiation from the supposed satellite’s fuel cell is what sickened all those people, Pravda asserts. With residents recovering from their relatively minor ailments, a blogger at Knight Science Journalism Tracker was in a joking mood: “Maybe it’s panspermic alien microbes. A doctor who visited the area told The Associated Press that the scary event could have “provoked psychosomatic ailments.” Here’s what his team found: A team of doctors sent to the isolated site, 3 1/2 hours travel from the state capital of Puno, said they found no evidence the meteorite had sickened people, the Lima newspaper El Comercio reported Wednesday. Modesto Montoya, a member of the team, was quoted as saying doctors also had found no sign of radioactive contamination among families living nearby, but had taken blood samples from 19 people to be sure. More definitive results are expected later today, so stay tuned. Update, 6:48 PM Eastern More convincing tests are in: It’s a meteorite, but there’s still no explanation for the boiling water, the odors and the sickness. The crater has been spewing fetid gases, reports say Crater site They say the object left a deep crater after crashing down over the weekend near the town of Carancas in the Andes. "Increasingly we think that people witnessed a fireball, which are not uncommon, went off to investigate and found a lake of sedimentary deposit, which may be full of smelly, methane rich organic matter," said Dr Caroline Smith, a meteorite expert at the London-based Natural History Museum. A team of scientists is on its way to the site to collect samples and verify whether it was indeed a meteorite. I think there's also a certain psychological fear in the community Local mayor Nestor Quispe Can meteorites make you ill? A local journalist, Martine Hanlon, told the BBC experts did not believe the meteor would make anybody sick, but they did think a chemical reaction caused by its contact with the ground could release toxins such as sulphur and arsenic. Local resident Heber Mamani said a bull and some other animals had become ill. "That is why we are asking for an analysis, because we are worried for our people. The incident took place on Saturday night, when people near Carancas in the remote Puno region, some 1,300km (800 miles) south of the Peruvian capital, Lima, reported seeing a fireball in the sky coming towards them.
Analysts say this is just a pretext. "We are starting our door-to-door campaign on Wednesday and now we aim to bring about a republic from street protests," Ananta, a Maoist deputy commander, told AFP. Nepal's prime minister say the assembly must decide the monarchy's fate. The ruling alliance was represented by leaders of seven political parties in the interim government, formed after King Gyanendra gave up absolute power last year, officials said. Analysts say the Maoists fear they will do badly in the polls. The civil war ended with a historic peace accord last November. Calling the Maoist pullout unfortunate, visiting British minister for international development Shahid Malik met Koirala and urged him to hold the election in time. Both sides say more talks are planned. On Tuesday, deputy Maoist leader Baburam Bhattarai warned there may be violence if the former rebels were prevented from holding protests. What next? "All our sister organisations will be mobilised from Wednesday to ensure the constituent assembly elections are unsuccessful," he said. The mood in the capital Kathmandu was nervous. The fighting brought further poverty and misery to one of the poorest countries in the world. The Maoists remain in the interim parliament but have ruled out an early return to the cabinet. More than 13,000 people were killed during the rebels' 10-year fight for a communist republic. Human rights groups regularly accused both the Maoists and the military of gross human rights abuses. Maoist leader Dev Gurung echoed those sentiments. "All top leaders of the eight political parties agreed that there is a need for unity among themselves to carry forward the peace process and democracy," said Peace and Reconstruction Minister Ram Chandra Poudel.
KATHMANDU: Even as pressure mounted on Nepal prime minister Girija Prasad Koirala to woo the Maoists back into the government and avert a crisis, a day after the rebels quit the government and trained their sights on the November election, reconciliation talks among the eight parties on Wednesday failed to appease the rebels. Though the leaders of the remaining seven parties in the ruling alliance said the parleys had been positive, the meeting started on a stormy note with Maoist supremo Prachanda staying away initially. Though scheduled to have started from 2 pm, the talks began almost two hours late sans Prachanda. After he finally made an appearance, the meet ended with an agreement to continue the talks. However, no date has been fixed for the next round of talks despite the gravity of the situation and with the constituent assembly election only 63 days away. One of the rebel leaders, Chandra Prakash Gajurel, who heads the Maoists' foreign affairs division, said at a public programme in the capital on Wednesday that his party would start collecting signatures for a campaign to convene parliament, bring a no-trust motion against Koirala and have two-thirds of the MPs declare Nepal a republic with the abolition of monarchy. Other party leaders however said that there was no immediate plan to do so but the step could be taken at an appropriate time. As Maoist supporters began mass meetings countrywide, international pressure increased on Koirala to resolve the standoff. Calling the Maoist pullout unfortunate, visiting British minister for international development Shahid Malik met Koirala and urged him to hold the election in time. Malik, who said his government would assist Nepal's peace process with $8 million, also asked the parties to effect a quick reconciliation. The pullout is the most serious setback to peace moves since the Maoists ended a 10-year insurgency last year. They withdrew on Tuesday in protest at the government's refusal to abolish the monarchy ahead of November elections to a constituent assembly. Nepal's prime minister say the assembly must decide the monarchy's fate. Street protests Ahead of the talks, Dev Gurung, one of four Maoist ministers who resigned on Tuesday, said the former rebels were continuing to hold discussions with other mainstream political parties despite leaving the government. All our sister organisations will be mobilised from Wednesday to ensure the constituent assembly elections are unsuccessful Ananta, Maoist commander Q&A: Nepal's future "We can hold protests and talks in parallel," Mr Gurung, the former local development minister, told the AFP news agency. Prime Minister GP Koirala has not yet accepted the resignations, which some analysts believe may be a Maoist pressure tactic. Peace and Reconstruction Minister Ram Chandra Poudel, meanwhile, told the Reuters news agency that the government would try to convince the Maoists to return to the interim government and take part in the 22 November constituent assembly elections. "We are starting our door-to-door campaign on Wednesday and now we aim to bring about a republic from street protests," Ananta, a Maoist deputy commander, told AFP. King Gyanendra's future is the centre of debate He said that the rebels would now launch a three-week campaign of protests aimed at derailing the constituent assembly elections. "All our sister organisations will be mobilised from Wednesday to ensure the constituent assembly elections are unsuccessful," he said. On Tuesday, deputy Maoist leader Baburam Bhattarai warned there may be violence if the former rebels were prevented from holding protests. More than 13,000 people were killed during the rebels' 10-year fight for a communist republic. Human rights groups regularly accused both the Maoists and the military of gross human rights abuses. King Gyanendra was forced to surrender his powers in April 2006 after the Maoists joined forces with a coalition of seven political parties in a sustained campaign of street protests against his direct rule. (Adds Maoist comment) By Gopal Sharma KATHMANDU, Sept 19 Nepal's ruling alliance said it had positive talks with the Maoists on Wednesday as it tried to persuade the former rebels to rejoin the government and back a historic poll to decide the country's political future. The negotiations came a day after the Maoists quit the interim government following refusal by other parties to establish a republic immediately, ahead of a Nov. 22 vote to decide the future of the monarchy. Their decision is seen as a setback to last year's peace deal which ended a decade-long civil war and brought the Maoists into the mainstream. "We had positive talks and the meetings will continue," said Madhav Kumar Nepal, general-secretary of the Communist Party of Nepal (UML), the second biggest political party. The ruling alliance was represented by leaders of seven political parties in the interim government, formed after King Gyanendra gave up absolute power last year, officials said. "All top leaders of the eight political parties agreed that there is a need for unity among themselves to carry forward the peace process and democracy," said Peace and Reconstruction Minister Ram Chandra Poudel. The former guerrillas have vowed to launch nationwide street protests to disrupt polls for a special assembly meant to draft a new constitution and decide the future of the monarchy. They say the Maoists fear they will perform badly in the elections and want to distance themselves from the government and delay the polls until they have a chance to rebuild their popularity among voters. Thousands of Maoist fighters have assembled in camps around the country under U.N. supervision and locked their weapons away, but the former rebels could still create "anarchy", some government leaders said. "The peace process can be rescued and the Maoists are not going back to jungles," said Kunda Dixit, editor of the Nepali Times weekly.
Tonga: Lilo, Tu'ifua, Hufanga, Taione, Vaka, Hola, Tuipulotu, Maka, S. Tonga'uiha, Lutui, Pulu, Hehea, Kauhenga, Vaki, Latu. By Rob Hodgetts Giteau scored a brace and kicked 17 points for Australia Australia (22) 55 Tries: Giteau (2), Mitchell (3), Ashley-Cooper, Hoiles Cons: Giteau (4) Pens: Giteau (3) Drops: Barnes Giteau (2), Mitchell (3), Ashley-Cooper, HoilesGiteau (4)Giteau (3)Barnes Fiji (5) 12 Tries: Neivua, Ratuva Cons: Bai Cons: Lemi Australia romped to a comfortable 55-12 victory over a second-string Fiji in the Pool B clash in Montpellier. Dan Carter had a miserable day with the boot for New Zealand Carter then saw a penalty rebound off the upright and Howlett failed to capitalise when he looked set to score his second try of the game. Tonga edged ahead with a Pierre Hola penalty on three minutes and were delighted to remain clear when South Africa's Andre Pretorius missed two shots at goal. The All Blacks welcomed back captain Richie McCaw and fly-half Dan Carter. A Scotland side featuring 13 changes to the side which defeated Romania failed to create anything of note. He made no mistake with the conversion as the Scots must have longed for full-time. Replacements: Smit, B. Botha, Matfield, Smith, Habana, Steyn, Montgomery. But the All Blacks were showing no mercy and Kelleher got the third try of the first half after Masoe tenaciously broke through a couple of tackles. The abrasive Tongans had the Springboks rattled and it took 17 minutes before South Africa managed to cross the line, when Ruan Pienaar took a quick tap on the left and dived over.
By Rob Hodgetts Giteau scored a brace and kicked 17 points for Australia Australia (22) 55 Tries: Giteau (2), Mitchell (3), Ashley-Cooper, Hoiles Cons: Giteau (4) Pens: Giteau (3) Drops: Barnes Giteau (2), Mitchell (3), Ashley-Cooper, HoilesGiteau (4)Giteau (3)Barnes Fiji (5) 12 Tries: Neivua, Ratuva Cons: Bai Cons: Lemi Australia romped to a comfortable 55-12 victory over a second-string Fiji in the Pool B clash in Montpellier. The Wallabies ran in seven tries to secure top spot in the group, setting up a likely quarter-final against either England or Tonga in Marseille. Fiji scored tries from Isoa Neivua and Aca Ratuva but the Wallabies were in training mode ahead of bigger tests. "It was a little bit scrappy in the first half, but we showed we are able to defend well at times," said man-of-the-match Giteau, who also kicked 17 points and won his 50th cap. "Fiji defended well and put us under pressure. "We thought we had a few chances at end of first half to chase the score and I was pleased with the younger players coming through, knowing that we've got a tougher game against Wales next week," said Fiji coach Ilie Tabua. Australia took their time to unlock the Fiji defence and had to wait until 16 minutes for the first try after Wycliff Palu and Lote Tuqiri combined to put in Giteau. 606: DEBATE The Wallabies went close soon after when George Gregan, equalling Will Carling's record of 59 caps as captain, was foiled yards from the line after Rocky Elsom's break, but Fiji, to their credit, held off the next Australia score until the half hour mark. Full-back Chris Latham slipped a cute grubber kick through for winger Mitchell to gather and five minutes later Giteau added a second when he sneaked through following sustained Australian pressure. The Wallabies were cruising but right on the whistle, a textbook Fijian passing move down the three-quarters picked out left wing Neiuva, who outmuscled five Australian defenders to crash over. After the break, the hard-headed Australians spurned the chance to probe the corner with a penalty and took three more points through Giteau before Berrick Barnes added a drop-goal for good measure. Fiji, though, were not prepared to go through the motions as understudies and a dazzling break from replacement Mosese Raulini fed open-side Ratuva for his side's second try. But the game lost its shape for a while following a host of substitutes until Fiji went close with a promising break, only for Australia to surge upfield and score at the other end through Mitchell. A male streaker 10 minutes from the end drew the biggest cheer of the day but Australia were not ready to start partying and ran in further scores from Hoiles and Mitchell. By Thomas McGuigan The Scots struggled to cope with New Zealand's relentless attacks Scotland (0) 0 New Zealand (20) 40 Tries: McCaw, Howlett (2), Kelleher, Williams, Carter Cons: Carter (2) Pens: Carter (2) Scotland failed to score against a dominant New Zealand in a one-sided World Cup encounter at Murrayfield. The All Blacks ran in tries from Richie McCaw, Doug Howlett - his two making a new All Black career record 48 - Byron Kelleher, Ali Williams and Dan Carter. A Scotland side featuring 13 changes to the side which defeated Romania failed to create anything of note. But they placed a higher priority on beating Italy next Saturday - a result which is vital if they are to come second in their group - and named a second-string side with new caps. Howlett had a simple run-in for New Zealand's second try when he took Leon McDonald's pass, moving clear of Christian Cullen's previous record of 46 tries for New Zealand. Scotland's frantic defending was struggling to keep the relentless New Zealand attacks at bay. Hugo Southwell's kick was then charged down as the home fans in the stands groaned. Carter was uncharacteristically poor with the boot as he missed another conversion but the number 10 added another penalty minutes after the re-start. The group leaders made 11 changes for the match but trailed 7-10 in the second half before calling up five first-choicers to mount a renaissance. The Springboks, who have yet to face the USA in their final pool match, will probably face Wales in Marseille on 7 October in their quarter-final.
"We have under-achieved. We have been waiting for this, and it is important that we achieved it. By Rob Hodgetts Samoa survived a late USA rally to win in St Etienne Samoa (22) 25 Tries: Fa'atau, A Tuilagi, Thompson Cons: Crichton (2) Pens: Crichton (2) Fa'atau, A Tuilagi, ThompsonCrichton (2)Crichton (2) USA (3) 21 Tries: Ngwenya, Stanfill Pens: Hercus (3) Cons: Hercus Samoa ground out a stuttering 25-21 victory against the USA in their final Pool A match in St Etienne. We had opportunities in the second half to pull away and we didn't do it." A third penalty from Kvirikashvili put Georgia 16-0 ahead and he added the conversion after Machkhaneli scored a superb solo try. With five minutes to go to the break the Canucks launched a sustained assault on the Japan line but the attack petered out when they could not get quick ball from a ruck. It's our first victory - we're amateurs at winning!" The Brave Blossoms took the lead through Kosuke Endo's superb early try to lead 5-0 at the break before Canada hit back through hooker Pat Riordan. The expectation of our people was for us to do better and I take that on my shoulders as coach. After Pyke had just been denied in the corner from a grubber kick the Japanese won their line-out, but the clearance kick was charged down. The powerful Georgia left wing hit Namibia full-back Heini Bock with a thunderous tackle before picking up the loose ball and racing clear to score under the posts.
By James Standley Fly-half Merab Kvirikashvili (right) turned in a fine display for Georgia Georgia (13) 30 Tries: Guiorgadze, Machkhaneli, Kacharava Cons: Kvirikashvili 3 Pens: Kvirikashvili 3 Guiorgadze, Machkhaneli, KacharavaKvirikashvili 3Kvirikashvili 3 Namibia (0) 0 Georgia claimed their first-ever World Cup victory as they defeated Namibia in wet conditions in Lens. Merab Kvirikashvili landed two penalties and converted Akvsenti Guiorgadze's try to put the Lelos 13-0 up at the break. Kvirikashvili then kicked a third penalty and a conversion after Irakli Machkhaneli engineered a fine solo try. The Georgians added a third converted try when Davit Kacharava intercepted and raced clear at the death. Georgia won the inaugural meeting between the two sides 26-18 in June and they had the upper hand from the first whistle in northern France on Wednesday night. Namibia, in the south west of Africa, is generally hot and dry and their national side had reportedly not played in the rain for over 30 years. 606: DEBATE Namibia infringed at the resulting ruck and fly-half Kvirikashvili, who plays for French second division side Pau, landed the penalty. Namibia were struggling to get into the game and when they failed to find touch Malkhaz Urjukashvili counter attacked and took Georgia deep into Namibia territory. After a couple of phases they moved the ball to Kvirikashvili but his grubber kick between the posts ran dead before any of the Georgian chasers could get to it. The fly-half missed a second penalty after 23 minutes but two minutes later he was on target to give them a 6-0 lead. Georgia rarely looked threatened but right winger Giorgi Shkinin's inability to cope with any ball kicked at him was proving a handicap. It's our first victory - we're amateurs at winning Georgian flanker Rati Urushadze It was the first time Namibia had had a sniff of any points but fly-half Tertius Losper pushed his kick wide. Georgia were soon back on the attack and they took a decisive grip on the game when hooker Guiorgadze drilled his way over from close range after a pulverising drive by the Lelos pack. Kvirikashvili converted to give Georgia a commanding 13-0 lead at the break and although he missed a penalty early in the second half they continued to dominate both territory and possession. It took Namibia 20 minutes to get out of their half but their brief flurry came to nothing as they become just the fourth team - after England, Romania and Scotland - to fail to trouble the scorers in the tournament. A third penalty from Kvirikashvili put Georgia 16-0 ahead and he added the conversion after Machkhaneli scored a superb solo try. The powerful Georgia left wing hit Namibia full-back Heini Bock with a thunderous tackle before picking up the loose ball and racing clear to score under the posts. Namibia tried to end the match on a high but their adventure played into the hands of outside centre Kacharava, whose interception try ensured they would be dancing in the streets of Tblisi. "There's no question of letting go. Georgian flanker Rati Urushadze: "This day is the best day yet for Georgian rugby, and all of Georgia. It's our first victory - we're amateurs at winning!" By Rob Hodgetts Samoa survived a late USA rally to win in St Etienne Samoa (22) 25 Tries: Fa'atau, A Tuilagi, Thompson Cons: Crichton (2) Pens: Crichton (2) Fa'atau, A Tuilagi, ThompsonCrichton (2)Crichton (2) USA (3) 21 Tries: Ngwenya, Stanfill Pens: Hercus (3) Cons: Hercus Samoa ground out a stuttering 25-21 victory against the USA in their final Pool A match in St Etienne. The Eagles managed to stem the tide until just before the break when Samoa's Kane Thompson scored a third. USA hit back with a try from wing Takudzwa Ngwenya but they fell short despite Louis Stanfill's late score. USA still have to play pool leaders South Africa on 30 September in Montpellier but are likely to go home without a win in their four group matches. We've spent more time in valleys than on the mountain tops Samoa coach Micahel Jones Samoa were brisk and bristling from the start and quickly pounced on a free ball under the USA posts, with London Irish centre Seilala Mapusua passing to Fa'atau to slice over. Soon after, fly-half Eliota Fuimaono-Sapolu made the first of several useful breaks, and fed giant winger Alesana Tuilagi, who crashed over in the left corner on nine minutes. Eagles' number eight Fifita Mounga gave his side even more of a mountain to climb when he was sin-binned for deliberately slowing down ruck ball on 50 minutes. We toughed it out and the US public like to see that - they like to see effort put in USA coach Peter Thorburn The Eagles enjoyed a real purple patch and Hercus' second penalty gave USA a real target to chase. "It's been that kind of journey for us - we've spent more time in valleys than in the mountain tops.
Fiji: Ratuvou, Delasau, Rabeni, Bai, Neivua, Little, Rauluni, Dewes, Koto, Railomo, Leawere, Rawaqa, Naevo, Qera, Koyamaibole. Replacements: Phillips for Peel (57), R. Thomas for Rees (47), D. Jones for Horsman (66), Gough for Evans (66), Owen for Popham (66). Canada got on the board through two James Pritchard penalties either side of a George Smith try for Australia. The All Blacks set out their intentions from the start with the first of Sivivatu's tries coming with less than a minute on the clock. With a record of six wins from 20 games in charge of Wales, coach Gareth Jenkins' position will now come under serious question. Everyone knows New Zealand are the best team in the world. "Romania played with a lot of passion and were very physical. A fine three-quarter move from an attacking scrum saw Hook free Mark Jones with an inside pass. Wales pounced on 14-man Fiji after the break, and after a Martyn Williams turnover in his own 22 Shane Williams danced inside from the wing with a superbly balanced run, beating three defenders and crossing under the posts. By James Standley Canada defended bravely throughout the 80 minutes Australia (13) 37 Tries: Baxter, Frier, Smith, Mitchell 2, Latham Cons: Shepherd 2 Pens: Huxley Baxter, Frier, Smith, Mitchell 2, LathamShepherd 2Huxley Canada (0) 6 Pens: Pritchard 2 Pool B winners Australia made it four wins out of four as they laboured to a bonus-point victory over lowly Canada in the pouring rain in Bordeaux.
Rokocoko had too much pace and power for Romania New Zealand (36) 85 Tries: Sivivatu 2, Masoe, Rokocoko 3, Evans, Mauger, Toeava 2, Hore, Smith, Howlett Cons: McAllister 4, Evans 6 Sivivatu 2, Masoe, Rokocoko 3, Evans, Mauger, Toeava 2, Hore, Smith, HowlettMcAllister 4, Evans 6 Romania (5) 8 Tries: Tincu Pens: Vlaicu Joe Rokocoko went over for a hat-trick of tries as New Zealand ran in 13 tries to beat Romania in their final Pool C clash in Toulouse. The All Blacks were in dominant form with two tries apiece for Sitiveni Sivivatu and Isaia Toeava. Romania tried hard but their only try came after 31 mintues through hooker Marius Tincu. The All Blacks set out their intentions from the start with the first of Sivivatu's tries coming with less than a minute on the clock. 606: DEBATE From then on it was one-way traffic as the Romanians had no answer to New Zealand's fast attack and the All Blacks built up a 31-0 lead after 25 minutes. Romania showed some determination to take more from the contest early in the second half but the relentless All Blacks could not be contained. Rokocoko completed his hat-trick in the second half and his side finished with a flourish with replacement Doug Howlett stretching his all-time New Zealand try scoring record to 49. With four wins out of four, the All Blacks will travel to Cardiff next weekend in confident mood to play France, Argentina or Ireland in the quarter-finals. "Romania played with a lot of passion and were very physical. "Overall we're pretty pleased, and we had no injuries, which is a pretty big plus. "There is obviously still room for improvement." "We're happy, especially with the fact we scored a try. Everyone knows New Zealand are the best team in the world. "I think for a while we kept our heads together, but then we had five or six minutes out of the game and boom, we conceded five or six tries." By James Standley Canada defended bravely throughout the 80 minutes Australia (13) 37 Tries: Baxter, Frier, Smith, Mitchell 2, Latham Cons: Shepherd 2 Pens: Huxley Baxter, Frier, Smith, Mitchell 2, LathamShepherd 2Huxley Canada (0) 6 Pens: Pritchard 2 Pool B winners Australia made it four wins out of four as they laboured to a bonus-point victory over lowly Canada in the pouring rain in Bordeaux. Winger Drew Mitchell helped himself to two tries before Chris Latham cruised over for Australia's final score. Australia - the only nation to win the Web Ellis Trophy twice - had already sewn up the pool and took the chance to rest a host of big name players ahead of next Saturday's quarter-final against defending champions England. The Wallabies took the lead through an early Julian Huxley penalty but struggled to put their usual free-flowing, multi-phase style of play into practice in the wet conditions. Canada, who failed to win a match at the World Cup for the first time, were typically gutsy in defence and they lasted 23 minutes before Baxter powered over out wide. Hooker Frier then profited as the Australian pack took charge but with Huxley missing both conversions they only led 13-0 at the break. Pritchard's penalties gave Canada, ranked just 14th in the world, something to smile about but, despite being some way short of their best, Australia were always comfortably in control. Smith profited from a poor Canadian line-out throw to score their third try before Mitchell went over for his quickfire brace to become the leading scorer in France with seven. The Wallabies' final try came when Latham finished off a crisp move from first phase to claim his 11th World Cup try, joining former England winger Rory Underwood in third on the all-time list. Cameron Shepherd managed two conversions while the Wallabies suffered a blow when number eight David Lyons was taken away in a wheelchair with what was later revealed to be a broken leg. Australia coach John Connolly: "It wasn't the greatest game to watch but we were happy to win. "The conditions probably didn't help and it was one of those games we were always confident we would get away with so subsequently we were a bit loose." By Sean Davies Wales could not cope with Fiji's power and pace Wales (10) 34 Tries: Popham, S Williams, G Thomas, M Jones, M Williams Cons: Hook, S Jones (2) Pens: S Jones Popham, S Williams, G Thomas, M Jones, M WilliamsHook, S Jones (2)S Jones Fiji (25) 38 Tries: Qera, Delasau, Leawere, Dewes Cons: Little (3) Pens: Little (4) A late try from Graham Dewes saw Fiji dump Wales out of the World Cup and get a quarter-final against South Africa. Wales' open style played into Fiji's hands, big hits and strong running leading to tries from Akapusi Qera, Vilimoni Delasau and Kele Leawere. SCRUM V DEBATE ON 606 Back to the drawing board again for Wales, something is seriously rotten in the Welsh camp eifionlewis It was Fiji's first win in nine games against Wales and sees them advance to their first quarter-final since 1987. With a record of six wins from 20 games in charge of Wales, coach Gareth Jenkins' position will now come under serious question. His side had aimed to banish their slow-starting blues at the Stade de la Beaujoire in Nantes, and in the first minute a superb Stephen Jones break deep in his own half should have led to a try. We tried our best but we'll probably get beaten down for this Wales captain Gareth Thomas More reaction Phil Bennett on Wales Jones found the supporting Tom Shanklin, but he delayed his pass to a free Mark Jones, allowing the defence to rally. The islanders attacked quickly with a flowing move, the ball coming to Gloucester flanker Qera who stormed over from close range. A panicked Wales spurned penalties in front of goal, and were finally rewarded in the 34th minute as a five-metre scrum was walked over for Popham's try. Wales pounced on 14-man Fiji after the break, and after a Martyn Williams turnover in his own 22 Shane Williams danced inside from the wing with a superbly balanced run, beating three defenders and crossing under the posts. The wing found Gareth Thomas, who celebrated becoming the first Welshman to 100 caps by taking his record try tally to 40. Williams thought he had sealed the win for Wales Dwayne Peel found acres of space from a line-out to spark the next try, accurate passing along the line sending Mark Jones in at the corner and regaining the lead for Wales, Stephen Jones' conversion making it 29-25.
Ireland: Murphy, Horgan, O'Driscoll, D'Arcy, Hickie, O'Gara, Reddan, Horan, Flannery, Hayes, O'Callaghan, O'Connell, Easterby, D. Wallace, Leamy. Winger Lucas Borges ran over to score Argentina's first try Argentina (18) 30 Tries: Borges, Agulla Cons: Contepomi Pens: Contepomi (3) Drop-goals: Hernandez (3) Borges, AgullaContepomiContepomi (3)Hernandez (3) Ireland (10) 15 Tries: O'Driscoll, Murphy Con: O'Gara Pens: O'Gara Ireland's disappointing World Cup ended with them failing to get out of the pool stages for the first time. Montgomery converted before adding a penalty to put South Africa 10-0 up. Ngwenya beat Habana on the outside for a dazzling try Hercus converted to make it 24-10 at the break but Habana, who must have spent the interval fuming, raced over for his second try just two minutes after the re-start. Tries from Clement Poitrenaud, Yannick Nyanga and Lionel Beauxis helped France into a 30-0 half-time lead. South Africa: Montgomery; Ndungane, Fourie, Steyn, Habana; James, Du Preez; Du Randt, Smit (capt), BJ Botha, Van den Berg, Matfield, Van Heerden, Smith, Burger. Christophe Dominici (2), Sebastien Bruno, Lionel Nallet, Remy Martin and Julien Bonnaire completed the rout. The Boks suffered a major scare when Habana went off with blood pouring from his face after a clash of heads. Brian O'Driscoll got over for an Irish touchdown with Geordan Murphy briefly raising Irish hopes with a try early in the second half. Disappointingly unconvincing wins over Namibia and Georgia and defeat by France left them with a mountain to climb against Argentina in the final Pool D match.
The win meant France briefly went top of the group but Argentina's win over Ireland relegated them to second place. France must now travel to Wales while Argentina, whose victory over the hosts in the first match of the tournament set them on their way to topping Pool D, will meet Scotland in Paris in the last eight. In the end it was a game too far for Georgia, who have lit up the World up with their never-say-die attitude. They won their first ever World Cup match when they downed Namibia and also came within inches of shocking Ireland, but there was nothing left in the tank in Marseille on Sunday. France took an early lead through a Beauxis penalty and he added the conversion after the classy Yannick Jauzion made a superb outside break to set up Poitrenaud, who glided over for the opening try. Georgia never gave up but France were ultimately too strong Beauxis, who scored 24 points in all, landed two further penalties either side of a missed penalty attempt by fly-half Merab Kvirikashvili for Georgia and France ran in two more tries before the break. Nyanga crossed down the blindside for the first before Beauxis went over after a neat scissors with Poitrenaud. Beauxis converted both scores to put France 30-0 up at the break and they scored their fourth try, earning a bonus point in the process, when Dominici latched onto the fly-half's inch-perfect cross-kick. Sale hooker Bruno marked his arrival with a score before Dominici latched onto a neat Jean-Baptiste Elissalde kick to grab his second. Nallet and Martin extended the lead before Zviad Maisuradze powered over for a converted try from a quick tap penalty to give the Georgian fans something to cheer about. There was a sour note late on, with Otar Eloshvili lucky not to be sent off after a shocking spear tackle on Martin, but overall Georgia's time in France has been a triumph. The hosts had the last word as number eight Bonnaire went over out wide but they must now travel outside French borders as they bid to keep their World Cup bid alive. Replacements: Szarzewski, Mas, Pelous, Martin, Elissalde, Skrela, Clerc. Winger Lucas Borges ran over to score Argentina's first try Argentina (18) 30 Tries: Borges, Agulla Cons: Contepomi Pens: Contepomi (3) Drop-goals: Hernandez (3) Borges, AgullaContepomiContepomi (3)Hernandez (3) Ireland (10) 15 Tries: O'Driscoll, Murphy Con: O'Gara Pens: O'Gara Ireland's disappointing World Cup ended with them failing to get out of the pool stages for the first time. Eddie O'Sullivan's men needed to score four tries and beat Argentina by eight points to get through but they fell to a 15-point defeat at Parc des Princes. Ronan O'Gara then kicked a penalty but Argentina replied instantly with a drop-goal from Juan Martin Hernandez. Irish hopes were momentarily lifted eight minutes from the break when skipper O'Driscoll smashed through tame tackling for a try and O'Gara's conversion edged them into a two-point lead. Argentina punished slack Irish defending in the 38th minute with Agulla getting over for their second try and Felipe Contepomi converted, making it 18-10 to the Pumas at half-time. It looked all over for Eddie O'Sullivan's men but hope flickered again when full-back Murphy scored a 47th-minute try after the ball was swung out to the right flank from a line-out. However, two Contepomi penalties and a third Hernandez drop-goal sealed Argentina's victory to leave Ireland packing their bags for an early flight home. By James Standley Bryan Habana went off with blood pouring from his face South Africa (24) 64 Tries: Burger, Steyn, Habana 2, van der Linde, Du Preez, Fourie 2, Smith Cons: Montgomery 6, James 2 Pens: Mongtomery Burger, Steyn, Habana 2, van der Linde, Du Preez, Fourie 2, SmithMontgomery 6, James 2Mongtomery USA (10) 15 Tries: Ngwenya, Wyles Cons: Hercus Pens: Hercus Group A winners South Africa made it four wins out of four as they cruised past the USA in Montpellier. "Bryan's fine - he's got some stitches in his right cheek," said White. 606: DEBATE South Africa, who finished five points clear of England, scored the opening try after nine minutes through Burger, playing out of position at number eight on his return from a two-match ban.
"It was terrible," he said. The accident had left the miners trapped 2.2km (1.4 miles) underground. The Elandsrand mine is in the Witwatersrand Basin, which holds the world's largest gold deposit. The miners were brought out through a small shaft normally used for mining equipment. Harmony Gold said clean air and water had been pumped to the workers while they were underground. Some had been there for 40 hours. "Our safety records both as a company and as a country leave much to be desired," he told reporters. Minerals and Energy Minister Buyelwa Sonjica, who visited the mine, said it would be closed for six weeks to ensure it was safe to continue operations. Gold is important to South Africa's economy, says the BBC's Peter Biles in Johannesburg, although the industry has been in decline in recent years. There were no injuries... Harmony chairman Patrice Motsepe said the incident was a "wake up call to all of us". The National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) blamed poor safety standards and Harmony's practice of mining 24 hours a day. Maintenance questioned The miners were trapped in a cramped space where temperatures could reach 30-40C (86-104 Fahrenheit). She also complained that she and President Thabo Mbeki had not been informed of the accident by the company and learned of it from the evening news. Ms Soares said a compressed pipe column fell down the mineshaft, damaging steel work in the shaft and cutting electrical cords connected to the lifts underground. His ordeal began late Wednesday night when an electricity cable to the mine's main lift was severed, stranding the mine's workforce, which included an estimated 200 women.
The miners could only be brought to the surface in small groups The final group was lifted to safety from Elandsrand mine, 80km (50 miles) from Johannesburg, officials said. The accident had left the miners trapped 2.2km (1.4 miles) underground. Some had been there for 40 hours. The miners were brought out through a small shaft normally used for mining equipment. Only 75 workers could be hauled clear at a time, adding up to no more than 300 in an hour. 'Room for improvement' One of the last miners brought to safety, Richman Maneli, told AFP news agency he was happy to be out. "We had no food, no water and we are exhausted." Each group of miners was greeted with shouts of joy and whistling, South African Press Association (Sapa) reported. Earlier, another rescued miner, Granny Makad, told South Africa's Mail and Guardian newspaper many of the trapped miners were crying and believed they would die underground. "There was not enough air and they tried putting in more and ventilating the areas where we were trapped." ELANDSRAND GOLD MINE Elandsrand mine has 6.9 million ounces of proven reserves Located 80km (50 miles) west of Johannesburg It has two vertical shafts - a men/material shaft and a rock/ventilation shaft A new mine, to be finished by 2010, is being built under the existing mine, which is still in use Harmony Gold Mining bought the mine in 2001 In pictures: Mine rescue The accident at the mine, owned by Harmony Gold Mining, happened at about 1000 (0800 GMT) on Wednesday morning. Harmony chairman Patrice Motsepe said the incident was a "wake up call to all of us". Minerals and Energy Minister Buyelwa Sonjica, who visited the mine, said it would be closed for six weeks to ensure it was safe to continue operations. Ms Sonjica greeted some of the miners as they emerged and said the government wanted to "tighten up" mine safety laws. "I wouldn't call it a crisis given that mining is risky in its nature, so incidents of this kind will occur, but I still think there is room for improvement and to reduce accidents in the mines," Ms Sonjica said. She also complained that she and President Thabo Mbeki had not been informed of the accident by the company and learned of it from the evening news. "All the miners are okay," National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) spokesman Lesiba Seshoka told the BBC News website. Maintenance questioned The miners were trapped in a cramped space where temperatures could reach 30-40C (86-104 Fahrenheit). A spokeswoman for the mining company, Amelia Soares, said the bottom of the shaft where they were trapped was well ventilated, and that the miners had had access to water. Ms Soares said a compressed pipe column fell down the mineshaft, damaging steel work in the shaft and cutting electrical cords connected to the lifts underground. The NUM blamed Harmony's practice of mining 24 hours a day, which the union said left little time for safety checks. "Our guys there tell us that they have raised concerns about the whole issue of maintenance of shafts with the mine, but they have not been attended to," Lesiba Seshoka told the Associated Press news agency. The Elandsrand mine is in the Witwatersrand Basin, which holds the world's largest gold deposit. (Recasts with end of rescue mission, minister dancing) By James Macharia ELANDSRAND MINE, South Africa, Oct 4 The last of 3,200 miners trapped deep in a South African mine shaft was saved on Thursday, capping a day-long rescue mission that began with fears of the worst and ended in wild celebrations. Minerals and Energy Minister Buyelwa Sonjica was among those who danced and sang when an exhausted Mandis Mandanga, 57, walked out of Harmony Gold's (HARJ.J) Elandsrand gold mine outside of Johannesburg at 1838 GMT. His ordeal began late Wednesday night when an electricity cable to the mine's main lift was severed, stranding the mine's workforce, which included an estimated 200 women. They were stuck in a cramped space in the mine, where temperatures were believed at times to have reached 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit). The accident prompted the government to order Harmony Gold, the world's fifth biggest gold miner, to shut down operations at the mine for six weeks. As she and others emerged from 2.2 km (1.4 miles) underground they were handed food packages before they headed to their hostel accommodation. Company chairman Patrice Motsepe described the accident as a "wake up call to all of us". Sonjica, who visited a mine operated by AngloGold Ashanti (ANGJ.J) this week where four workers died in a rock fall, ordered the Carletonville operation be shut down for six weeks. The miners were trapped when an air pipe broke off and hurtled down the shaft, damaging steelwork and severing an electrical cable carrying power to the main lift, said Graham Briggs, Harmony's acting chief executive. The National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) blamed poor safety standards and Harmony's practice of mining 24 hours a day. South African gold mines are the deepest in the world, and unions have often criticised companies for not doing enough to ensure workers' safety.
"Even if we were to attend the negotiations it will not be Tripoli," he said. Meanwhile, key rebel leader Khalil Ibrahim has threatened to boycott the Darfur peace talks if more than two rebel groups are invited. Mr Ibrahim, head of the Justice and Equality Movement (Jem), said only his group, a united Sudan Liberation Army and the government should participate. Since last year, Darfur rebels have split into as many as 12 factions. Mr Ibrahim criticised the African Union and United Nations envoys - Jan Eliasson and Salim Ahmed Salim - as being ill prepared for the talks, which are scheduled to begin in the Libyan capital on 27 October. Khartoum says the West has exaggerated the conflict and refuses to hand over the suspected war criminals. He also criticized the mediation's choice of venue, saying the rebels were not consulted and a more neutral country should have been chosen. At least 200,000 people have died and some two million forced from their homes during the four-year conflict in Darfur. Ibrahim also said the SLM had to "reform itself and make one delegation and one position". Khartoum and the AU have rejected non-African troops, U.N. officials say. We don't want to start with chaos." "Trust is being lost," says Andrew Natsios Andrew Natsios said the atmosphere between the governments of north and south Sudan had become poisonous. Diplomats are concerned that without his approval any deal that is signed will not be backed by thousands of Abdul Wahid's supporters in Darfur, our correspondent says. Delays in deploying a 26,000-strong U.N.-AU joint force to absorb the struggling AU peacekeepers have been delayed by a lack of pledges from nations with enough skilled and equipped soldiers.
"Trust is being lost," says Andrew Natsios Andrew Natsios said the atmosphere between the governments of north and south Sudan had become poisonous. The CPA is seen as a key factor in achieving resolution of the conflict in the Darfur region. At least 200,000 people have died and some two million forced from their homes during the four-year conflict in Darfur. Talks between Khartoum and rebel groups over Darfur are scheduled to begin in the Libyan capital on 27 October, although on Saturday a key rebel leader threatened to boycott them. 'Tension rising' Mr Natsios said it was hoped when the 2005 governmental peace deal was signed that the two enemies in war would be partners in peace. But he said that had not happened and described the governments of north and south Sudan as opponents unable to resolve their differences. He said tensions, particularly along the border areas where armed units confront each other, were rising. Meanwhile, key rebel leader Khalil Ibrahim has threatened to boycott the Darfur peace talks if more than two rebel groups are invited. Since last year, Darfur rebels have split into as many as 12 factions. The BBC's Amber Henshaw says many fear the talks are doomed from the outset because the factions are not united and another key leader, Abdul Wahid al-Nur of the Sudan Liberation Army, is refusing to take part. Khalil Ibrahim, rebel leader of the Sudanese Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), waves to African Union envoy to Sudan Salim Ahmed Salim in the area of Kariarii, near the Chadian border July 8, 2007. REUTERS/Mohamed Nureldin Abdalla KHARTOUM Darfur rebel leader Khalil Ibrahim said on Saturday he would not attend peace talks in Libya this month if more than two rival rebel groups are invited, casting further doubts over the peace process. "The AU and U.N. mediation until now have failed to detail very precisely who will be invited to the peace talks," he said, adding that only one delegation from JEM and one from the Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM) should be allowed to attend. "If the mediation fails to take this decision by October 27 then JEM is not attending the peace talks," he said. Only one of three negotiating insurgent factions signed the 2006 peace deal, which has seen little implementation as violence has spiraled. International experts estimate some 200,000 have died and 2.5 million driven from their homes since mostly non-Arab rebels took up arms in early 2003. Ibrahim's threat to boycott the peace talks came a week after AU peacekeepers suffered their worst attack, with 10 soldiers killed and almost a dozen wounded. Their base in Haskanita town in southeast Darfur was overrun, burnt and looted in an attack blamed on suspected rebel factions, although they have denied involvement. He also criticized the mediation's choice of venue, saying the rebels were not consulted and a more neutral country should have been chosen.
So far, a number of the soldiers have been freed, while several others have been killed. The battles are said to have begun when militants ambushed a number of army convoys on Saturday. "We are leaving." The fighting is centred around the town of Mir Ali. All changed Traditionally the security forces kept out of the tribal border areas. E-mail to a friend CNN's Dan Rivers in Islamabad contributed to this report All About Pakistan • Islamabad • The Taliban • Al Qaeda It is the heaviest fighting in the Waziristan region, which borders Afghanistan, for many months. But critics say that the military has not done enough to crack down on the militants. Pakistani officials offered few other details about the scope of the latest fighting which follows recent attacks on Pakistani security forces and a breakdown over the summer of a ceasefire between the Islamabad government and tribal leaders. Other people were using loudspeakers at the mosques to beg the military not to fire at their homes, a local resident said. There were unconfirmed reports that about 50 militants had been killed. Locals are reported to be fleeing the clashes. Intelligence sources said 12 to 15 soldiers remain missing. American and NATO troops pushed the terrorist network and its Taliban allies out of power in Afghanistan following the 2001 terrorist attacks on New York and Washington, but top leaders -- including al Qaeda mastermind bin Laden -- are believed to have found refuge in the mountainous border zone. One official said up to a dozen civilians were killed yesterday after a shell hit a home. The army has been bombing suspected militant positions in villages using helicopter gun ships and jet fighters.
Lahore, Pakistan (CNN) -- Pakistani air force planes swooped down on the country's troubled tribal region on the border with Afghanistan Tuesday, launching a blistering airstrike that left as many as 50 militants dead, Pakistan Army sources said. The strike in the Miran Shah region was the latest salvo in intense fighting between Pakistani security forces and Taliban and al Qaeda militants that broke out Saturday, as the summer cease-fire crumbled even further. Those battles -- in North Waziristan, part of the country's largely lawless tribal region -- killed up to 150 militants, as well as 50 government troops, an army spokesman said. Another 20 security forces have been wounded. Intelligence sources said 12 to 15 soldiers remain missing. According to the army spokesman, the military operation, which was launched Sunday, will continue until peace is completely restored to North Waziristan. Pakistani officials offered few other details about the scope of the latest fighting which follows recent attacks on Pakistani security forces and a breakdown over the summer of a ceasefire between the Islamabad government and tribal leaders. That truce was blamed for an increase in attacks on U.S. troops over the border in Afghanistan, as Taliban fighters were able to prepare, train, and reconstitute weapons supplies without interference from the Pakistani government. U.S. intelligence officials say al Qaeda has established a "safe haven" in Waziristan, just over the border into Pakistan -- and that Osama bin Laden is believed to be in the area. American and NATO troops pushed the terrorist network and its Taliban allies out of power in Afghanistan following the 2001 terrorist attacks on New York and Washington, but top leaders -- including al Qaeda mastermind bin Laden -- are believed to have found refuge in the mountainous border zone. Pakistan's president, Gen. Pervez Musharraf, cracked down on al Qaeda militants and arrested many in the Waziristan area before the truce was reached, but critics say he has failed to prevent the militants from gaining strength within the country. E-mail to a friend CNN's Dan Rivers in Islamabad contributed to this report All About Pakistan • Islamabad • The Taliban • Al Qaeda Tens of thousands of Pakistani civilians are fleeing a town on the border with Afghanistan following three days of fighting which has killed up to 250 people, locals and military officials said today. About 90% of the population of Mir Ali, a town of 50,000 people in the lawless north Waziristan region, has fled the fighting using cars and tractors or on foot, a local man told the Reuters news agency. About 50 suspected al-Qaida and Taliban-linked militants were killed in a new wave of air strikes today close to Mir Ali, an army spokesman said. However, local resident Noor Hassan said the attack had struck the bazaar in a village just outside the town, with a number of civilians killed. "The bombing destroyed many shops and homes," said Mr Hassan. Previously, the military said the battles - the fiercest in the region since the fall of the Taliban in late 2001 - had left 150 militants and 45 soldiers dead, with up to 15 troops listed as missing. Pakistan's president, General Pervez Musharraf, who secured a new five-year term in office in a controversial vote at the weekend, faces intense US pressure to crack down on militant activity. Washington fears North Waziristan has become a safe haven for al-Qaida forces, which are using it as a launching pad to attack coalition forces in Afghanistan. The Pakistani army operation has proved unexpectedly bloody, with soldiers struggling to impose any authority in the remote, mountainous area. The army, which has used helicopters and jets to strafe militant positions, said it had re-established contact with 35 soldiers reported missing in an ambush yesterday. The pro-Taliban rebels are well trained and equipped, and are using the "latest weaponry and lots of money" brought across the border, a Pakistani official told the AFP news agency. One official said up to a dozen civilians were killed yesterday after a shell hit a home. Most families have moved to relatives' homes in neighbouring towns," resident Faridullah Khan told the agency. The fighting follows the collapse of several peace deals in which tribal elders were meant to curb local militancy in return for a withdrawal of security forces. The army faces well-armed, well-trained militants in Waziristan Unconfirmed reports say 50 more rebels died in fresh air strikes on Tuesday. One man interviewed by the BBC Urdu service on Tuesday morning who was among those leaving said that his nephew had been killed by army shelling. As well as soldiers confirmed killed, the army says up to 15 soldiers who went missing on Monday are still unaccounted for. The army says it has rejected a ceasefire proposed by the militants and will "continue punitive action till complete peace is restored", AP said. The army has been bombing suspected militant positions in villages using helicopter gun ships and jet fighters.
When it was all over, five people had been shot, but the only fatality was Coon, who police said killed himself in a classroom. He threatened to blow up our school. Students described the gunman as being "odd." E-mail to a friend All About Cleveland He did not know how Coon got into the building Wednesday. The main scene of the shooting on the 4th floor of the Lakeside Avenue building is still being processed by the city's coroner's office, he added. McGrath said Coon and another student were suspended Monday after they apparently got in a fight outside the school. Rodgers was treated and released from the hospital, but others were more seriously injured. Officials said two teachers and two students were shot, and a 14-year-old girl fell and hurt her knee while running out of the school. The SuccessTech Academy is a 250-student alternative high school that specialises in business and technology. District schools will be closed Thursday. Fifty-seven-year-old Kachadourian was in stable condition, he said. Security guard on first floor Blackwell said that there was a security guard on the first floor, but that the position of another guard on the third floor had been eliminated. Mike started walking. ... "Schools are supposed to be safe places, safe places. Ronnell Jackson, 15, told the Associated Press that he saw the attacker running down a hallway. “You never know what’s going on in someone’s mind,” said Deberry, adding that she was required to go through a metal detector and present an identification card whenever she wanted to drop off something at school for her children.
(CNN) -- It was only after a crowd of screaming students ran past Darnell Rodgers in a stairway at his Cleveland, Ohio, high school Wednesday afternoon that he realized he had been shot. "They were screaming, 'Oh my God! Oh my God,'" said Rodgers, a senior at SuccessTech Academy near downtown Cleveland. Rodgers suddenly felt his arm "burning," he said, and realized he had been shot in the elbow. At around 1:15 p.m. ET, 14-year-old gunman Asa Coon, who was a student at the school, walked the halls firing a gun in each hand, Cleveland Police Chief Michael McGrath said. When it was all over, five people had been shot, but the only fatality was Coon, who police said killed himself in a classroom. Police found a .22- caliber revolver and .38-caliber revolver near Coon's body, along with a box of ammunition and three knives, said McGrath. Investigators have reason to believe some victims were specifically targeted by Coon, who had been suspended from school Monday. Watch what happened at the school -- and the warning signs » "We do not believe this was a random shooting," McGrath said. "It may have been the teachers he went to the school looking for. Rodgers was treated and released from the hospital, but others were more seriously injured. Coon shot 57-year-old teacher David Kachadourian in the back and shot a 42-year-old teacher in the chest, officials said. Edward Eckart, commissioner of EMS Cleveland, said the 42-year-old underwent surgery at MetroHealth Medical Center and was in stable condition at 8 p.m. Wednesday. In addition, a 15-year-old male with a gunshot wound to his side and a 15-year-old female with a knee injury were transported to Rainbow Babies and Children's Hospital, where they were in stable condition Wednesday night, Eckart said. McGrath said Coon and another student were suspended Monday after they apparently got in a fight outside the school. Coon had a previous arrest last year for a domestic violence incident, and police had been to his home before for incidents that involved weapons, according to McGrath. Police searched the gunman's locker after the shooting and are watching surveillance footage of the school taken at the time of the shooting, he said. Students said they took cover in closets after the school principal announced a "Code Blue" on the intercom. Students described the gunman as being "odd." He called the shooting "very shocking" and said he was "sad" it could happen at a school he thought was safe. Check out other school shootings in recent years » "I never thought it would personally happen at my school." Friday was already going to be a professional day for faculty and will now be devoted to figuring out how to go about resuming classes on Monday. Cleveland Municipal School District CEO Eugene Sanders said the community and everyone with ties to SuccessTech needs "to take a breather and relax a moment and put this in perspective." SuccessTech is a nontraditional high school, according to local school officials. "Since it is a specialty school," it doesn't have "the typical population of a large high school," said Lisa Matthews of the superintendent's office. It is a "school of choice" -- students have to apply to get in, said Ruthie Williams, also of the superintendent's office. She said classrooms are on the first and third floors of the four-story building and the rest contains the school district's administrative offices. The academy describes itself on its Web site as a "small, nontraditional high school that provides a learning environment in which all student believe in their ability to succeed." No metal detectors were at the school on Wednesday, although the school board has portable detectors that are randomly moved from school to school, McGrath said. Shaken students stood outside the building waiting for news Students' reaction Mayor Frank Jackson said four people were wounded when the teenager entered the SuccessTech Academy and walked down a corridor on the fourth floor firing. Two teenage boys and two adults were shot, and another girl injured her knee while fleeing, Mr Jackson said. 'Gun in each hand' At a news conference, Cleveland Police Chief Michael McGrath said his force's initial investigation indicated that the 14-year-old boy had killed himself before police arrived and that he had at least two guns. When he got suspended, he said 'I got something for y'all' SuccessTech Academy student Timeline: US school shootings Mr McGrath said video surveillance would allow them to determine how long the gunman was in the school before the shooting, but the student is believed to have arrived early on Wednesday morning. The main scene of the shooting on the 4th floor of the Lakeside Avenue building is still being processed by the city's coroner's office, he added. Witnesses reported having seen the shooter roam through school corridors with a gun in each hand. The victims of the shooting are in a stable condition in hospital "He was aiming at me, I got out just in time," he said. Schools closed Cleveland's mayor said those injured in the shooting included two teenage boys aged 14 and 17, who were both in a "stable, good condition".
"It's been a very annoying morning," he said. Police felt there was enough risk to act. Buchanan said he had not been involved in any training camps. Another appeared in Hamilton District Court, facing six charges and was remanded to the Auckland District Court on Friday. Police today arrested 17 people in nationwide raids linked to alleged weapons training camps in the Bay of Plenty. "There have never been firearms in the house." She would not comment on whether she was told of any threat against her or any other politicians. One person appeared in Palmerston North this afternoon. "Based on the information and the activity known to have taken place, I decided it was prudent that action should be taken in the interests of public safety," Mr Broad said. Most faced weapons charges and were granted interim name suppression, including four arrested in Wellington. Iti was remanded in custody for a bail application to be made tomorrow at 3pm. Read the full coverage of the raids - and what the hunters saw - in Tuesday's Herald. Are you in the area? New Zealand First said the unearthing of suspected terrorist groups was "a disturbing and frightening evolution" in the history of criminal gangs. The raids appear to have targeted Maori, political and environmental activists and were conducted under the Suppression of Terrorism Act and Firearms Act. Those in vehicles coming through the roadblock told Ms Rowan police had used mirrors to search their cars in Ruatoki. Judge James Rota asked the media and about 10 members of the public to leave while Iti and the woman's cases were dealt with.
One of those arrested was Maori rights campaigner Tame Iti More than 300 police were involved in the operation, reportedly targeting Maori sovereignty and environmental activists - not foreign groups. Police Commissioner Howard Broad said those arrested had used firearms and other weapons at military-style training camps. Among those held was the prominent Maori rights campaigner, Tame Iti. The North Island raids were the first use of the country's Terrorism Suppression Act. The people targeted were from "a range of motivations" and from various ethnicities, the police chief said. "Based on the information and the activity known to have taken place, I decided it was prudent that action should be taken in the interests of public safety," Mr Broad said. Months of planning Armed police raided camps in the eastern Bay of Plenty, as well as a number of addresses in Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, Palmerston North and Hamilton, police said. One of the videos reportedly showed a military-style training exercise with live ammunition being fired in mountainous terrain. New Zealand's Prime Minister Helen Clark said she was briefed on the planned police raids last week. Asked if she was surprised by the police information, she said: "Yes and no. Tame Iti made headlines last month when he went to Fiji to offer support to coup leader Voreqe Bainimarama. Read the full coverage of the raids - and what the hunters saw - in Tuesday's Herald. Two hunters alerted police to the presence of armed men in camouflage in the Ureweras after stumbling into their camp, the Herald can reveal. Police today arrested 17 people in nationwide raids linked to alleged weapons training camps in the Bay of Plenty. The story of what the hunters saw - to be reported exclusively in Tuesday's New Zealand Herald - forms part of the background to an extensive investigation by 300 police including the specialist police anti-terrorist unit. The raids appear to have targeted Maori, political and environmental activists and were conducted under the Suppression of Terrorism Act and Firearms Act. Police Commissioner Howard Broad said the sting was the culmination of a year-long investigation into the alleged guerrilla-style training camps. Napalm is an incendiary gel developed during World War II. The police investigation focused on a core group of about 20 people but with 40 more potentially involved. A number of those arrested in today's raids - including Maori activist Tame Iti - appeared this afternoon in district courts in Wellington, Palmerston North, Hamilton and Auckland. Most faced weapons charges and were granted interim name suppression, including four arrested in Wellington. Related Content Political Roundup: Freedom of speech vs PC culture Your Views: Readers' letters Watch NZH Local Focus: Ditching Daniel's dreads The two men, aged 28 and 23, and two women, aged 36 and 30, faced a total of 20 charges between them when they appeared in Wellington District Court this afternoon. The charges included possession of shotguns, semi-automatic weapons, molotov cocktails, and rifles, allegedly committed in Rotorua over the past year. One woman was charged with possession of .22 calibre cartridges in Wellington. The four were remanded in custody until Friday, but the judge said an application to transfer the cases to Auckland could be heard on Wednesday afternoon. Five of those people, four men and one woman, were granted interim name suppression by Judge Josephine Bouchier until their next court appearance on Friday October 19. Judge James Rota asked the media and about 10 members of the public to leave while Iti and the woman's cases were dealt with. The numbers of people attending the training camps had been in the "tens", he said. "I believe it's prudent action that I have authorised in keeping with the interests of public safety."
Certainly not America, not Britain, not France, Germany, Europe, Japan." Mr Swan says Labor will make a responsible judgement on tax cuts before the election. "It's about providing additional incentives for people to work. We've said we'll put out all our policies well before the election and we'll do that," he said. Mr Costello says the Coalition is the only party to release a plan for Australia's economic future and he is continuing to pressure Labor to release its tax plan. Prime Minister John Howard and his Treasurer Peter Costello today announced income tax cuts worth $34 billion over the next three years. "It means that household consumption is going to be higher than it otherwise would be, residential construction is going to be higher than it otherwise would be. Rudd won't be pressured on tax policy Updated Federal Opposition Leader Kevin Rudd says he will not be rushed into releasing his tax policy. "But in terms of what the Government's put forward, we will take our time to study the detail. The Chamber of Commerce also says the proposal to reduce the top tax rate by 5 per cent will make the Australian tax system the most competitive in the world. The charge that we have run out of ideas has never been true." Topics: federal-election-2007, government-and-politics, elections, tax, rudd-kevin, australia First posted "That of course would help to fund the tax cuts to not just lower income Australians but higher income Australians." Senator Murray says despite finally making some changes, the Coalition's tax policy still has some big weaknesses.
Coalition keeps up pressure on Labor over tax Updated John Howard and Peter Costello have used a visit to a small business in the marginal New South Wales electorate of Eden-Monaro to push the Coalition's plan to progressively reduce the tax rates. Mr Costello says the Coalition is the only party to release a plan for Australia's economic future and he is continuing to pressure Labor to release its tax plan. Mr Howard says the Coalition's $34 billion proposal will encourage more people into work, or to start their own business. "Our tax plan is not just about putting extra dollars in the pockets of middle Australia but it's very much about further growth of the Australian economy," he said. "It's about providing additional incentives for people to work. It's about continuing our growth and opportunity society." Deputy Opposition Leader Julia Gillard says Labor will not be bullied into rushing out a tax policy, saying that John Howard took his time in 1996. "We know of course Mr Howard when he was opposition leader didn't announce his tax plan until weeks into the campaign," she said. Greens leader Bob Brown says the tax cuts will benefit wealthy Australians but the money should be spent on services such as health and education which would benefit all of the community. "The big end of town has to be happy with Peter Costello's $34 billion tax cuts, but it's the wrong way for Australia," he said. "These tax cuts should have been channelled into making this country a fairer country." Rudd won't be pressured on tax policy Updated Federal Opposition Leader Kevin Rudd says he will not be rushed into releasing his tax policy. The Government today unveiled its first major campaign pledge,$34 billion in tax cuts over three years. Labor is now under pressure to release its own tax plans, but Kevin Rudd has told the 7:30 Report he is taking a cautious and considered approach. "However Mr Howard and Mr Costello want to run around and characterise the politics of that, and the sky will fall in if we don't produce a tax policy by Wednesday lunchtime, that's a matter for them," he said. "Mr Costello today admitted that for months they've been working on this with the full support of the Treasury and out they plonk the official fiscal outlook today and release their tax policy within 30 seconds of doing so. "A cautious and considered approach means that we will do this in our own season and we will do that." Opposition treasury spokesman Wayne Swan says Labor will not be outlining its tax plan until he has had time to assess the Coalition's tax proposal. Mr Swan says Labor will make a responsible judgement on tax cuts before the election. 'New ideas' Prime Minister John Howard says his multi-billion-dollar tax plan proves the Coalition has not run out of new ideas. Mr Rudd has been arguing the Coalition is tired and stale after 11 years in office, but Mr Howard has told SBS that today's tax announcement proves that is not the case. But Mr Howard slipped up on a key economic figure today, telling Channel Nine the official interest rate was 6.25 rather than 6.5 per cent. Tax cuts will 'put pressure on inflation' Updated Some economists are warning sweeping tax cuts announced by the Coalition today will make the Reserve Bank nervous and could push interest rates higher. Prime Minister John Howard and his Treasurer Peter Costello today announced income tax cuts worth $34 billion over the next three years. Mr Costello says the plan would still mean the Government's underlying budget surplus would remain above 1 per cent of gross domestic product. "I cannot imagine were it not for an election the Treasurer would be contemplating these tax cuts of this order. "Let me make the point if you'd have spent the money you could have inflationary consequences, but to return it to people and to help them with their bills at a time when they're facing cost of living pressures, I think is a very responsible thing to do," he said Peter Hendy from the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI) agrees. "The fact is that the Australian economy can always easily afford income tax cuts," he said. The Chamber of Commerce also says the proposal to reduce the top tax rate by 5 per cent will make the Australian tax system the most competitive in the world. "We've argued for Mr Costello to adopt a structural tax plan and he's consistently refused to do so," he said. "I mean for years we dubbed him the no tax plan man and it is disappointing that only now, when they're under real pressure they're finally recognising the needs of lower income Australians." Opposition treasury spokesman Wayne Swan says Labor will not be outlining its tax plan until he has had time to assess the Coalition's tax proposal. World beaters Peter Costello says the Coalition's tax cut plan announced today is economically responsible, because it is fully costed and has already been paid for in the budget.
“Threats are not useful,” he said, according to Bloomberg News. The autonomous Kurdish regional government in northern Iraq warned Turkish MPs that any intervention would be "illegal". Advertisement Continue reading the main story “The government has been bringing the P.K.K. Turkey has been calling for help in tackling the PKK for months. Mr. Erdogan will try to leverage the new permission to press them into action. “This is a very big warning sign to the Americans and to the Iraqi Kurds.” Security experts here and in the United States agreed that Turkey was unlikely to cross the United States with a full-scale military operation. The government plans to put the motion to a vote on Wednesday and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's AK Party, which has a majority, is expected to vote in favour. The US fears any incursion could destabilise the region The vote was taken in defiance of pressure from the US and Iraq, which have called on Turkey for restraint. The vote came as relations between the countries were strained by a House committee’s passage last week of a bill calling the World War I-era mass killing of Armenians an act of genocide. Photo “We are making it very clear to Turkey that we don’t think it is in their interests to send troops into Iraq,” Mr. Bush said. Taking away American access to the base, one potential consequence of Turkish anger over American policy, would undermine Turkey’s interest in keeping Iraq intact, he said. The Iraqi government calls on the Turkish government to pursue a diplomatic solution and not a military solution Ali al-Dabbagh Iraqi government spokesman Profile: PKK rebel group "The Iraqi government calls on the Turkish government to pursue a diplomatic solution and not a military solution to solve the [problem] of terrorist attacks which our dear neighbour Turkey has witnessed from the PKK," Ali al-Dabbagh said.
The vote came as relations between the countries were strained by a House committee’s passage last week of a bill calling the World War I-era mass killing of Armenians an act of genocide. In a nod to Turkey’s importance as an ally in Iraq, Congressional leaders began to back away on Wednesday from a commitment to hold a vote on that bill. Advertisement Continue reading the main story “We are at a defining moment in Turkish-American relations,” said Morton Abramowitz, the American ambassador to Turkey during the Persian Gulf war of 1991, commenting on the Turkish vote. “This is a very big warning sign to the Americans and to the Iraqi Kurds.” Security experts here and in the United States agreed that Turkey was unlikely to cross the United States with a full-scale military operation. Still, the government is closer than it has been in years to military action of some sort, embarrassed into acting by a public angry over mounting deaths and what is seen as American inaction. More than two dozen Turks, some of them civilians, have been killed in cross-border rebel attacks in the past several weeks, and the powerful Turkish military which, unlike the government, has long been pressing for action, is fanning public anger. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Along Turkey’s border with Iraq on Wednesday, Gen. Ilker Basbug, commander of the Turkish land forces, told villagers in Besagac that the killing of 12 Turks in late September by Kurdish rebels was “a crime against humanity,” according to Turkey’s official Anatolian News Agency. Advertisement Continue reading the main story “We share your grief,” he said. The vote itself drew responses from the leaders of three countries — the United States, Syria and Iraq — and set off a flurry of diplomacy as officials in several countries worked strenuously to avert military action. Photo “We are making it very clear to Turkey that we don’t think it is in their interests to send troops into Iraq,” Mr. Bush said. “There’s a better way to deal with the issue than having the Turks send massive troops into the country.” Advertisement Continue reading the main story He said Turkish troops were already in Iraq, a reference to the small number of soldiers based at observation posts near the border, which is loosely controlled by Iraqi Kurdish forces but is largely porous. The United States does not have troops stationed there but it controls the airspace. Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki of Iraq, in a 30-minute phone conversation on Wednesday with his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, said, “Let’s do whatever is necessary together,” the Anatolian News Agency said. Advertisement Continue reading the main story But Turkish officials say that recent diplomatic efforts have failed. Turkey signed a security agreement with Iraq in September, but since then, killings by Kurdish rebels, the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, known as the P.K.K., have only risen. issue in at every high-level meeting with the U.S., but we have achieved nothing in the last five years,” said Egeman Bagis, a lawmaker and Erdogan adviser. “The Armenian resolution has come as the last straw of the disappointment.” He and others argue that Turkey supports the United States in fighting its war on militancy in Iraq — 70 percent of American air cargo for Iraq travels through Turkey — but that the Americans have not reciprocated, even though they formally occupy the area in question. Advertisement Continue reading the main story “The U.S. must realize the seriousness of this situation and Turkey’s determination to root out terrorism,” said a lawmaker, Nihat Ergun, during the debate. “Iraq has become a stomping ground for terrorists.” Please verify you're not a robot by clicking the box. Sign Up Receive occasional updates and special offers for The New York Times's products and services. Once considered a dutiful follower of United States policies, Turkey no longer shies away from talks with world leaders the United States opposes. Turkey signed a preliminary agreement on buying natural gas from Iran, a deal harshly criticized by the Bush administration last month. The response to Wednesday’s vote underscored that new independence, with President Bashar al-Assad of Syria, an antagonist of the United States with his own Kurdish minority, weighing in on the issue after official meetings in Ankara, the Turkish capital. Advertisement Continue reading the main story “We certainly support and back the decisions by the Turkish government in combat against terror and terror activities,” Mr. Assad said. He also took a swipe at the Bush administration: “It is important to note that the powers that have invaded Iraq are those primarily responsible for the terror activities and attacks because they control the country.” Photo The vote places Mr. Erdogan in a delicate position. He was skeptical of the Turkish military’s desire for offensive action last spring, but he is now advocating it himself in what Turkish political analysts characterized as a last-ditch effort to press the United States and its closest allies in Iraq, the Iraqi Kurds, to act. Mr. Abramowitz cited Incirlik, the American air base in southern Turkey, as an example. Taking away American access to the base, one potential consequence of Turkish anger over American policy, would undermine Turkey’s interest in keeping Iraq intact, he said. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Mr. Erdogan, who played down plans for military action on Tuesday, gave few new clues on Wednesday, saying, “What matters is what Parliament has said,” Reuters reported. It made several large-scale raids in the 1990s, under a deal with Saddam Hussein, most recently in 1997 with more than 40,000 troops, but security experts said a small commando strike was more likely. “We hope the wisdom of our friend Prime Minister Erdogan will be so active that there will be no military intervention,” said President Jalal Talabani of Iraq, a Kurd, who was on a visit to Paris, Agence France-Presse said. The US fears any incursion could destabilise the region The vote was taken in defiance of pressure from the US and Iraq, which have called on Turkey for restraint. Click to view a detailed map of the border region Enlarge Map He said Washington was "making it clear to Turkey it is not in their interest to send more troops in... there is a better way to deal with the issue".
“Unless there is some thought given to that, this is what emboldens the militants,” she said. Ms Bhutto has been prime minister twice. Advertisement Continue reading the main story The government had promised before Ms. Bhutto’s arrival to provide security. Gen Musharraf said the attack on Ms Bhutto's convoy was a "conspiracy against democracy". They say that people want change. Such supporters were among the majority of those killed and wounded. The explosions now seem certain to add fresh venom to relations between the Pakistan Peoples Party and the government. Nearby cars were burned but police do not believe a bomb was inside the car. The United States also condemned the blasts. Many danced on bus tops and in the road. He was standing at the front of the truck and was knocked down by the force of the blast, he said. “The militants have risen in power. KARACHI, Pakistan (CNN) -- At least 136 people were killed and more than 387 wounded around midnight Thursday in a suicide bombing near a motorcade carrying former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, who returned to the country earlier in the day after eight years of self-imposed exile, according to hospital and police sources. White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe said, "extremists will not be allowed to stop Pakistanis from selecting their representatives through an open and democratic process." She wants to contest parliamentary elections due to be held in January and she has been negotiating with President Pervez Musharraf over a possible power-sharing agreement. There was blood all around and it was chaos - we didn't know where to go, what to do Farzana Raja PPP spokeswoman On board Bhutto's flight In pictures: Blast scene "I felt lots of really hot air coming and we all - there were about 15 of us on the top of the bus - we all literally went to the ground."
KARACHI, Pakistan (CNN) -- At least 136 people were killed and more than 387 wounded around midnight Thursday in a suicide bombing near a motorcade carrying former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, who returned to the country earlier in the day after eight years of self-imposed exile, according to hospital and police sources. Bhutto, recently returned to Pakistan, is helped from her vehicle following the bombing. more photos » Bhutto and those with her were unhurt, and her companions said she reached her family home safely. Video footage showed her exiting the bullet- and blast-proof vehicle after the blasts. Pakistan's president, Gen. Pervez Musharraf, called Bhutto Friday to condemn the bombing and assure her that an independent investigation will be completed as soon as possible, his office said. She apparently had moved from the roof of the vehicle inside and downstairs just moments before the blasts. "I can see body parts strewn all over the road," said CNN's Dan Rivers, at the scene. "There are dead bodies everywhere. It is a large-scale attack, by the looks of things." Authorities believe the suicide bomber was on foot and threw a grenade to attract attention before setting of the second, major blast, Karachi police chief Azhar Farooqi told CNN. The bomber is believed to have acted alone. Police do not think a car bomb was involved, he said. Nearby cars were burned but police do not believe a bomb was inside the car. He would not say who authorities believe was behind the bombing, citing the ongoing investigation. "Although the truck that Benazir Bhutto was riding on was surrounded by police cars, so the suicide bomber could not get onto the truck and could not get anywhere near it, so he blew himself up and that has caused many casualties, mostly among the policemen who were riding beside the truck," Tariq Azim Khan, Pakistani information minister, told CNN. Other officials said at least one bomb apparently had been placed in a car on the street where Bhutto's supporters had gathered to see her convoy pass. One witness told Rivers he saw a car with three people inside explode. Watch witnesses describe what happened » Video footage showed a chaotic scene after the explosions, with crowds of people trying to flee as emergency vehicles jammed streets. Other footage showed wounded victims writhing on a road, awaiting medical attention, and at least one fire apparently sparked by the blasts. The windshield of the vehicle Bhutto was riding in was smashed by the blasts, Rivers said, and a vehicle that was following hers was burned out. The scene, he said, was "absolutely horrendous," with blood running in streams down the street. Onlookers resorted to ferrying the injured to hospitals in private cars. Rivers said he and his crew, filming the convoy just before the blasts, remarked on the lack of security surrounding it. Qasim Zia, a leader of Bhutto's Pakistan People's Party, was riding on Bhutto's vehicle and told CNN one of his bodyguards was killed and another seriously hurt. The wounded included at least 20 leaders of the party, he said, and most of those killed were members of security forces or police who were surrounding Bhutto's truck at the time of the explosions. The bomb detonated as Bhutto's motorcade was nearing the tomb of Muhammad Ali Jinnah, who led Pakistan to independence and championed equal rights for all Pakistani citizens regardless of their religion. The United States was swift to condemn what it called "terrorist attacks in Karachi during peaceful political demonstrations." "There is no political cause that can justify the murder of innocent people," State Department spokesman Tom Casey said in a written statement. White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe said, "extremists will not be allowed to stop Pakistanis from selecting their representatives through an open and democratic process." United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon also issued a statement condeming the bombing, and British Foreign Secretary David Miliband said he was "appalled" by the "horrific" attacks. The terrorist watch group IntelCenter said the death toll from the bombing places it among the top 10 deadliest terror attacks within the past nine years. E-mail to a friend CNN's Syed Mohsin Naqvi contributed to this report. Ms. Bhutto’s arrival here around 2 p.m. local time on Thursday had drawn huge crowds, perhaps 200,000 or more, who danced on the tops of buses and surged forward as she inched her way through her home city. Advertisement Continue reading the main story The strong outpouring provided an emotional homecoming for Ms. Bhutto and political vindication of sorts for a woman twice turned out of office as prime minister, after being accused corruption and mismanagement. It also demonstrated that Ms. Bhutto remained a decisive political force in Pakistan, even after her long absence, and marked what supporters and opponents alike agreed was a new political chapter for the nation.
"This is not a personal beauty contest," he said. Mr Webb's backing will help Mr Clegg ensure he cannot be portrayed by supporters of Mr Huhne as a rightwinger. Former leader Lord Ashdown and finance spokeswoman Julia Goldsworthy have also pledged their support. He added: "I believe that my work with colleagues on our policy platform has given us a firm foundation as a party. We now need a leader who will excel in communicating those core Lib Dem values and policies and who has the strategic political judgment that we need. His rival, Chris Huhne, launched his leadership campaign on Wednesday. Ruled out A number of other senior figures - including acting leader Vince Cable and MP David Laws - have already ruled themselves out of the running. The leadership was prompted by the surprise resignation of Sir Menzies Campbell on Monday. Eighteen of the 63 Lib Dem MPs told the Guardian they would nominate the home affairs spokesman, while eight said they would back his rival. DECLARED CLEGG BACKERS Lord Ashdown Julia Goldsworthy Steve Webb Ed Davey Sarah Teather Danny Alexander "We cannot go on testing the patience of the British people. "I believe that Nick best combines those qualities and can take our party on to a new level. " 'Challenge' Birmingham Yardley MP John Hemming is still hoping to gain the necessary seven MPs' support so he can enter the race. We must come together now and make a long-term commitment to British Liberalism. Mr Clegg pledged to unite the Liberal Democrats He told an audience in his Sheffield Hallam constituency he wanted to reach millions of people who shared liberal values but who did not vote Lib Dem.
Nick Clegg will formally announce his bid to run for the Liberal Democrat leadership today, having already signed up more than twice as many MPs as his rival, Chris Huhne. The home affairs spokesman, regarded as the frontrunner in the race to succeed Sir Menzies Campbell, received a boost yesterday as the manifesto coordinator, Steve Webb, stood aside in his favour. Mr Webb's backing will help Mr Clegg ensure he cannot be portrayed by supporters of Mr Huhne as a rightwinger. But some senior Liberal Democrats are disappointed that Mr Webb, regarded as one of the party's leftwingers, is not standing. It is understood the former leader tried to persuade him to stand in the last leadership contest. Eighteen of the 63 Lib Dem MPs told the Guardian they would nominate the home affairs spokesman, while eight said they would back his rival. Mr Webb said he had the support of enough MPs to get on the ballot, but the "huge cost" to his family, and Mr Clegg's qualities, had persuaded him not to run. He added: "I believe that my work with colleagues on our policy platform has given us a firm foundation as a party. We now need a leader who will excel in communicating those core Lib Dem values and policies and who has the strategic political judgment that we need. I believe that Nick best combines those qualities and can take our party on to a new level." Mr Clegg will today pay tribute to his "friend and colleague" Sir Menzies before laying out his vision for the party. He will warn that Liberal Democrats have to end their long period of "self-analysis" and look outwards to the concerns of the British people or risk irrelevance. If they succeed, he will argue, they will get the opportunity to end the "oppressive grip" of two-party politics and encourage people to embrace British liberalism. Mr Clegg's early lead among his colleagues does not necessarily mean he will do so well among the Liberal Democrat members who will decide the contest. Coming from second place is not necessarily a disadvantage." Mr Clegg pledged to unite the Liberal Democrats He told an audience in his Sheffield Hallam constituency he wanted to reach millions of people who shared liberal values but who did not vote Lib Dem. His rival, Chris Huhne, launched his leadership campaign on Wednesday. Mr Clegg, an early favourite with bookmakers, said the contest was likely to be "a two-horse race". 'Comfort zone' He said: "My feeling is that it's likely to be Chris and myself as the candidates, I don't think there's anybody else." Mr Clegg has gained the support of former leader Lord Ashdown and MP Steve Webb, who had been expected to mount a leadership bid of his own. Mr Clegg, 40, told activists the party has been "caught-up in internal self-analysis" for the past two years. "We must step up or risk falling back for good." He said the party had to move outside of its "comfort zone" and "take greater risks than ever before". Green taxes Mr Clegg paid tribute to former leader Sir Menzies Campbell, saying he had restored credibility to many of the party's policies and had led the opposition to the war in Iraq. But while he was proud of the party's progress, Mr Clegg said: "We are not where we need to be, not yet." He pledged to break the "stifling grip of two-party politics" and appeal to "to the millions of people who don't feel they have a voice in British politics at all". "I want our party to be a gathering point for everyone who wants a different type of politics in Britain," he said. He said he had launched his campaign in Sheffield because the party wanted to change the "old tired way of Westminster politics". DECLARED HUHNE BACKERS Lynne Featherstone Tom Brake Sandra Gidley Martin Horwood David Howarth Asked about his only declared rival, Mr Huhne, he said they had both been colleagues in the European Parliament and he had "immense admiration" for him. Mr Huhne, 53, who went to the same public school as Mr Clegg and, like him, was an MEP before entering Parliament in 2005, launched his leadership bid at a Westminster restaurant on Wednesday. The former economist was the architect the Lib Dems' green tax proposals - elements of which have been copied by both Labour and the Conservatives - and is expected to make the environment a key plank of his campaign. Ruled out A number of other senior figures - including acting leader Vince Cable and MP David Laws - have already ruled themselves out of the running. I think I've had my shot Charles Kennedy Former Lib Dem leader Charles Kennedy has said he will not be endorsing a candidate - and is unlikely to throw his own hat into the ring despite receiving "thousands" of e-mails urging him to do so. "I've had two general elections to lead the party, which has been a great privilege. "I think I've had my shot," Mr Kennedy told BBC One's Question Time in Bradford, where he received the loudest applause of any guest when the panel was introduced at Thursday's recording. Mr Clegg has yet to make an announcement that he will run Steve Webb, the party's manifesto writer, said he was backing Mr Clegg - the home affairs spokesman - and would take "several" other MPs with him. 'Overwhelmed' Mr Webb - seen as being on the left of the party, unlike Mr Clegg and Mr Huhne - had been widely expected to run, and his decision increases the prospect of a two-horse race. We now need a leader who will excel in communicating core Lib Dem values Steve Webb MP In a statement, Mr Webb said he had had enough support among MPs to stand and had seriously considered entering the race. But the "huge cost" to his family and Mr Clegg's abilities had persuaded him against it. Mr Webb said: "I have been overwhelmed by the many messages of support and encouragement that I have received since first indicating that I would consider running as leader of the party."
Topics: air-and-space, accidents, disasters-and-accidents, government-and-politics, federal-government, foreign-affairs, law-crime-and-justice, courts-and-trials, indonesia, australia First posted That's enough," he said. The final report into the crash found the pilots were to blame, but it did not recommended any criminal prosecutions. Five Australians were among the 21 people killed when Garuda flight 200 crash-landed in March. Police will not have access to the primary evidence gathered by the NTSC. The copilot was also criticised for not taking control of the aircraft when it was clear the landing conditions were unsafe. The families of the Australian victims are preparing a class action and Mr Downer says the Government is happy to talk to them about their plans. Garuda pilots face jail if found guilty Updated Indonesian police say they are gathering evidence to pursue manslaughter charges against the two pilots who survived the crash of a Garuda plane earlier this year. "The investigation determined the flight crews' compliance with procedures was not at the level to ensure the safe operation of the aircraft. While the report is also scathing about the pilot and co-pilot's performance, National Transportation Safety Committee Chairman Tatang Kuniardi stopped short of recommending prosecution. The delay in extinguishing the fire and the lack of appropriate fire suppressant agents may have significantly reduced the passengers' chances of surviving the crash, the report says. Witness testimony, expert witness testimony, suspect testimony, documents and physical evidence or clues can all be drawn on to build a criminal case against the pilots, but only two of these are required to name the pilots as suspects. Labor leader Kevin Rudd says he has called the head of Indonesia's Foreign Affairs Department to express his view that those found responsible for the plane crash should be prosecuted.
Garuda pilots face jail if found guilty Updated Indonesian police say they are gathering evidence to pursue manslaughter charges against the two pilots who survived the crash of a Garuda plane earlier this year. Five Australians were among the 21 people killed when Garuda flight 200 crash-landed in March. The pilots, if found guilty, could face up to five years in jail. A spokesman for Indonesia's National Police, Sisno Adiwinoto, has said that two out of five requirements must be met before Garuda flight 200's pilots, Marwoto Komar and Gagam Rachman, can be named as suspects in negligently causing the deaths. Witness testimony, expert witness testimony, suspect testimony, documents and physical evidence or clues can all be drawn on to build a criminal case against the pilots, but only two of these are required to name the pilots as suspects. A damning report by Indonesia's National Transport Safety Committee or NTSC points to pilot errors, and Inspector General Adiwinoto says the case will proceed if enough evidence is found. Downer offers support for Garuda crash charges Updated Foreign Affairs Minister Alexander Downer says the Government will lobby for criminal charges to be brought against those responsible for the Garuda crash which killed five Australians in Indonesia earlier this year. The five were among 21 people killed at Yogyakarta airport in March. The final report into the crash found the pilots were to blame, but it did not recommended any criminal prosecutions. "You're dealing with the Indonesian system here, it's a different system from our own, so it's not necessarily going to be very easy," he said. Labor leader Kevin Rudd says he has called the head of Indonesia's Foreign Affairs Department to express his view that those found responsible for the plane crash should be prosecuted. Indonesian police may bring crash pilots to trial Updated Indonesia's police say they may pursue the prosecutions of two pilots criticised in the final report on the crash of a Garuda airliner in Yogyakarta in March. The report on the crash of the Garuda jet which killed 21 people, including five Australians, has found that there was only one review of Garuda's safety records by airline regulators in the past nine years. While the report is also scathing about the pilot and co-pilot's performance, National Transportation Safety Committee Chairman Tatang Kuniardi stopped short of recommending prosecution. Damning report The final report on the crash strongly condemned the pilot in charge for flying too fast for the plane's wing-flaps to be operated properly.
Russia is not our enemy," he said. Gates said activation of the missile shield could depend on "definitive proof" of a threat. Washington's negotiations are ongoing with both the Czech Republic and Poland. U.S. concerns about Iran extend beyond its nuclear program. President George W. Bush speaks at the National Defense University in Washington October 23, 2007. Russia argues the system would be a threat to its security. He warned that Iran could have a ballistic missile capable of reaching Europe or the US by 2015. Tehran denies this. President Vladimir Putin said the United States should use a Russian-operated early warning radar in Azerbaijan instead. Gates said the possible delay was one of the proposals he and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice put forward in talks with Russian officials to try to ease Moscow's concern and win its cooperation over the defense system. IRANIAN DEFIANCE Bush's latest remarks came just hours ahead of talks in Rome aimed at defusing the Iranian nuclear situation. But British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said on Tuesday he was prepared to consider more sanctions against Tehran. Iran threat In a speech at the National Defence University in Washington, Mr Bush said: "The need for missile defence in Europe is real and I believe it's urgent." The Americans also offered to allow the Russians to maintain a presence at the Czech site, to promote transparency. Bush said Iran had indicated it is developing missiles with a range of 1,200 miles and thus able to strike U.S. allies in Europe. Western countries accuse Iran of seeking to build atomic bombs under cover of a civilian program.
Bush said on Tuesday a planned missile shield in Europe is vital to protect against an ''emerging Iranian threat'' as he pressed an escalating U.S.-led campaign against Tehran.... REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque WASHINGTON President George W. Bush said on Tuesday a planned missile shield in Europe is vital to protect against an "emerging Iranian threat" as he pressed an escalating U.S.-led campaign against Tehran. Laying out his position in the clearest terms so far, Bush used a policy speech at the National Defense University to hammer home the theme that Iran poses a grave danger because of its simultaneous pursuit of nuclear and missile technologies. Bush's latest verbal salvo followed his stark warning last week that a nuclear-armed Iran could lead to World War Three, a remark that drew criticism from political opponents at home who accuse him of stoking tensions with Tehran. "The need for missile defense in Europe is real, and I believe it's urgent," Bush said. "Iran is pursuing the technology that could be used to produce nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles of increasing range that could deliver them." Bush sought to reassure Russia that it need not fear U.S. plans to locate components of the anti-missile defense system in Poland and the Czech Republic, and said Iran would be the key target of such a shield. Trying to shore up international opposition to Iran, the Bush administration has sharpened its rhetoric in the standoff over Tehran's nuclear program. Western countries accuse Iran of seeking to build atomic bombs under cover of a civilian program. His efforts to win U.N. backing for a third round of sanctions against Iran have faced resistance from Russia and China, veto-holding members of the Security Council. Russia has said it is not convinced Iran is trying to develop nuclear weapons or that it will pose a serious missile threat anytime soon. IRANIAN DEFIANCE Bush's latest remarks came just hours ahead of talks in Rome aimed at defusing the Iranian nuclear situation. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was quoted as telling state television that his government will not negotiate with anyone about its right to nuclear technology. Bush said Iran had indicated it is developing missiles with a range of 1,200 miles and thus able to strike U.S. allies in Europe. He said U.S. intelligence had concluded that with continued foreign assistance, Iran could have an intercontinental ballistic missile capable of reaching the United States and all of Europe before 2015. Vice President Dick Cheney accused Tehran on Sunday of being a "growing obstacle to peace" in the Middle East and of having a role in the deaths of U.S. soldiers in Iraq, where the U.S. officials say it is supplying arms and training to militants. "Russia is not our enemy," said Mr Bush Mr Bush said the missile threat was from the Middle East, not Russia, which strongly opposes sites for the shield in Poland and the Czech Republic. He warned that Iran could have a ballistic missile capable of reaching Europe or the US by 2015. Iran threat In a speech at the National Defence University in Washington, Mr Bush said: "The need for missile defence in Europe is real and I believe it's urgent." The mayor of nearby Slubsk is disappointed that the base may be put to this use [US missile defence], rather than turned into a civilian airport and business centre Mark Mardell BBC Europe editor Euroblog: Poland's fears He said the planned system was not designed to tackle missiles from Russia as it would be easily overwhelmed by Moscow's arsenal. Mr Bush said the US had invited Russia to "join us against an emerging threat that affects us all... we ought to respond to this threat together". The president said if "rogue states" had less confidence their missiles would strike, they would be "less likely to engage in acts of aggression in the first place". Earlier, Mr Gates had said activation of the European shield could be delayed until there was "definitive proof" of a missile threat from states such as Iran. He said after meeting Czech Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek in Prague: "We would consider tying together activation of the sites in Poland and the Czech Republic with definitive proof of the threat - in other words, Iranian missile testing and so on." The missile shield system would see a radar site set up in the Czech Republic and a missile interceptor base in Poland. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Moscow saw the shield as a "potential threat" to its security and wanted to "neutralise" it. In this file photo people pass by a sign at the entrance to the town of Debrzno, northern Poland, May 1, 2007, the potential site of the planned missile shield. The United States has proposed keeping parts of its missile defense shield on ''stand-by'' short of full readiness... REUTERS/Peter Andrews PRAGUE The United States has proposed delaying the activation of parts of its European missile defense shield if Russia cooperates on the project, U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said on Tuesday. The U.S. plans to place interceptor missiles in Poland and a radar system in the Czech Republic as part of a system Washington says is needed to counter possible attacks from "rogue states" including Iran and North Korea. Gates said activation of the missile shield could depend on "definitive proof" of a threat.
She was with other officers at the Sheraton Hotel, near Heathrow Airport, when the suspect, who was accompanied by a female, drove up to the entrance. "It is believed that the officer was attempting to arrest a man in connection with a West Midlands police investigation," a Metropolitan police statement said. Det Con Corbett was with other officers, two of whom suffered minor injuries. I thought it was just a car wheel spinning. The hospital is a specialist for neurosurgery. A woman aged 32 has also been held in London in connection with the case. The suspect escaped in a blue Peugeot 207, which was later found abandoned in nearby Harlington Road. The Metropolitan Police is treating the incident as attempted murder. He said: "I didn't think anything of it at the time. Det Con Corbett is a serving member of the economic crime team of the force. "But then I heard the noise of the brakes and the flap of the flat tyre and I wondered what was going on." He then crashed into a black Ford Focus, damaging its front bumper and bonnet, as he made his escape. The suspect's vehicle then collided with another vehicle before driving off." "The female officer was with a team from West Midlands police in Hayes to effect an arrest in connection with an ongoing fraud investigation." The police officer underwent surgery at Charing Cross Hospital on Friday afternoon and her family are at her bedside, West Midlands Police said. She is also a good person. The officer, who has been in the West Midlands force for 18 years, was trying to arrest the man when he escaped by car and knocked her over at 0800 GMT.
Det Con Corbett has been with the police force for 18 years Det Con Catherine Corbett, 39, of Solihull, suffered head injuries in the incident in Hayes, west London, and remains critical after surgery. Firearms officers arrested a 41-year-old man in Birmingham on suspicion of attempted murder of the West Midlands Police officer. A woman aged 32 has also been held in London in connection with the case. Police were expected to continue questioning the man and woman on Saturday. The man, who was picked up in Bordesley Green area of Birmingham, was initially held at a police station in the city and was taken to London overnight. The police officer underwent surgery at Charing Cross Hospital on Friday afternoon and her family are at her bedside, West Midlands Police said. The hospital is a specialist neurosurgery centre. Car abandoned Police said the officer had been in London for the previous two days as part of a fraud investigation. She was with other officers at the Sheraton Hotel, near Heathrow Airport, when the suspect, who was accompanied by a female, drove up to the entrance. The officers parked in front of and behind his car but he drove off, carrying two officers along on the bonnet for a short distance. Det Con Corbett was knocked down as a suspect drove off As he reversed, the open passenger door hit Det Con Corbett, who was in plain clothes. He then crashed into a black Ford Focus, damaging its front bumper and bonnet, as he made his escape. Detectives said they had been hunting the man for about 12 months. Two other officers suffered minor injuries and shock and are being treated at Hillingdon Hospital, west London. The suspect escaped in a blue Peugeot 207, which was later found abandoned in nearby Harlington Road. Ervis Topalli, who works at a nearby car-wash, said the car's wheels span as it sped away from the car park before it stopped and a tall, blonde woman got out and ran away. 'Very good officer' He said: "I didn't think anything of it at the time. "But then I heard the noise of the brakes and the flap of the flat tyre and I wondered what was going on." I didn't see the man but police told me that he was driving." Det Con Corbett, who has served with the West Midlands force for 18 years, is single, has no children and is a serving member of the economic crime team. Assistant Chief Constable Gareth Cann said: "Cathy is an experienced police officer and a very good police officer. The officer, who has been in the West Midlands force for 18 years, was trying to arrest the man when he escaped by car and knocked her over at 0800 GMT. The suspect was being sought as part of a fraud investigation Det Con Corbett, who was in plain clothes, was attempting to arrest the man outside the Sheraton Hotel, near Heathrow Airport. Ervis Topalli, who works at a nearby car-wash, said one of the car's tyres was punctured in the collision. A West Midlands police spokeswoman said: "[Det Con Corbett] was with a team from West Midlands Police in Hayes to effect an arrest in connection with an ongoing fraud investigation." Police said they were treating the incident, which happened soon after 8am outside the Sheraton hotel in Hayes, west London, as attempted murder. "It is believed that the officer was attempting to arrest a man in connection with a West Midlands police investigation," a Metropolitan police statement said. "We can confirm that a female officer has been seriously injured this morning in the Hayes area of London while attempting to arrest a man in connection with a West Midlands police investigation," a spokesman for the West Midlands force said. "The female officer was with a team from West Midlands police in Hayes to effect an arrest in connection with an ongoing fraud investigation."
Pakistan is on the verge of destabilisation," he said. President Pervez Musharraf imposed emergency rule on Saturday because of mounting militant attacks and interference by members of the judiciary, according to the text of his order. REUTERS/Mian Khursheed Pakistan police block the road leading to the President House in Islamabad November 3, 2007. "At this point the declaration does not impact our military support of Pakistan's efforts in the war on terror." The court was to decide whether Gen Musharraf was eligible to run for re-election last month while remaining army chief. It is not clear whether the parliamentary elections due in January will go ahead. Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry has been replaced and the Supreme Court surrounded by troops, who also entered state-run TV and radio stations. (Additional reporting by Andrew Gray) The United States had cautioned Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf against declaring emergency rule and urged him on Saturday to stick to his pledge to hold free elections... REUTERS/Mian Khursheed WASHINGTON The United States had cautioned Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf against declaring emergency rule and urged him on Saturday to stick to his pledge to hold free elections early next year. "I cannot allow this country to commit suicide." But Pentagon Press Secretary Geoff Morrell told reporters the emergency had no immediate impact on U.S. military cooperation. Musharraf imposed emergency rule on Saturday in a bid to reassert his flagging authority against challenges from Islamist militants, a hostile judiciary and political rivals. The Bush administration has become increasingly impatient with a backslide in democracy and has been pushing moderates including opposition politician Benazir Bhutto to form a partnership with Musharraf. "This action is very disappointing," said White House National Security Council spokesman Gordon Johndroe.
Pakistan police block the road leading towards the President House in Islamabad November 3, 2007. The United States had cautioned Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf against declaring emergency rule and urged him on Saturday to stick to his pledge to hold free elections... REUTERS/Mian Khursheed WASHINGTON The United States had cautioned Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf against declaring emergency rule and urged him on Saturday to stick to his pledge to hold free elections early next year. "This action is very disappointing," said White House National Security Council spokesman Gordon Johndroe. "President Musharraf needs to stand by his pledges to have free and fair elections in January and step down as chief of army staff before retaking the presidential oath of office," Johndroe added. Musharraf imposed emergency rule on Saturday in a bid to reassert his flagging authority against challenges from Islamist militants, a hostile judiciary and political rivals. "All parties involved should move along the democratic path peacefully and quickly," Johndroe said. Earlier, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, while on a visit to Turkey, said she was "deeply disturbed" by Musharraf's declaration of emergency rule, calling it a step backward for democracy. "The U.S. has made very clear that it does not support extra-constitutional measures as they would take Pakistan away from the path of democracy and civilian rule," Rice told reporters as she was taking off from Turkey. "We will be urging the commitment to hold free and fair elections be kept and we will be urging calm on all parties," she said while en route to Jerusalem. Rice said she had spoken multiple times recently to Pakistan's leaders as had other Bush administration officials and expressed strong U.S. reservations about declaring emergency rule. "I am not going to provide the details of those discussions except to say we made very clear that extra-constitutional means would not be supported by the United States," said Rice. NO IMMEDIATE IMPACT ON MILITARY COOPERATION When speculation was rife in August that Musharraf was set to declare a state of emergency, Rice called him twice to make clear this was a move Washington strongly opposed and there must be greater efforts toward civilian rule via democratic elections. "At this point the declaration does not impact our military support of Pakistan's efforts in the war on terror," he said. Pakistan is a very important ally in the war on terror," he told reporters on Gates' aircraft en route from Washington to Beijing. Nuclear-armed Pakistan's internal security has deteriorated sharply in the past few months with a wave of suicide attacks by al Qaeda-inspired militants, including one last month that killed 139 people. The Bush administration has become increasingly impatient with a backslide in democracy and has been pushing moderates including opposition politician Benazir Bhutto to form a partnership with Musharraf. While impatient with Musharraf over human rights and other issues, the United States has sought to remain on close terms with him as it needs Pakistan's close cooperation on fighting terrorism. "Americans should value President Musharraf's friendship and Pakistan's help in the war on terror, but this cannot sway us from our concern for Pakistani democracy," said Republican Sen. John McCain, who is running for nomination for the U.S. presidency. "Today's action takes a disappointing step in the wrong direction," he added. Islamabad's political and judicial core has been sealed off Musharraf defiant He defended his actions in a national address, saying he was curbing a rise in extremism in Pakistan. Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry has been replaced and the Supreme Court surrounded by troops, who also entered state-run TV and radio stations. The moves come as the Supreme Court was due to rule on the legality of Gen Musharraf's October election victory. The BBC's Barbara Plett reports from Islamabad that fears had been growing in the government that the Supreme Court ruling could go against Gen Musharraf. Former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, who recently returned to the country after years of self-exile to lead her party in planned parliamentary elections, was in Dubai on a personal visit when news of the declaration broke. However, she immediately flew back to Karachi where she condemned Gen Musharraf's decision. Suicide warning Pakistan has been engulfed in political upheaval in recent months, and the security forces have suffered a series of blows from pro-Taleban militants opposed to Gen Musharraf's support for the US-led "war on terror". In a lengthy televised speech late on Saturday, Mr Musharraf said the situation had forced him into making "some very painful decisions". "I suspect that Pakistan's sovereignty is in danger unless timely action is taken," he said. "Extremists are roaming around freely in the country, and they are not scared of law-enforcement agencies," the president said. US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said the declaration of emergency rule was "highly regrettable" and called upon Pakistan to have free and fair elections. UK Foreign Secretary David Miliband also expressed concern, saying it was vital Pakistan's government "abides by the commitment to hold free and fair elections on schedule". New chief justice Gen Musharraf's address echoed the text of the declaration of emergency rule, which opens with a reference to the "grave threat" posed by the "visible ascendancy in the activities of extremists and incidents of terrorist attacks".
This is a complicated matter," Rice said. "Musharraf's days are numbered. Since emergency rule was declared, opposition figures have been rounded up and the nationwide crackdown continued Sunday. US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has said Washington is reviewing the aid which it gives to Pakistan in the wake of Gen Musharraf's decision. Authorities arrested a top leader of exiled former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's party and several other opposition figures. Pakistani lawyers announced they would strike on Monday in protest at the president's decision. He has not imposed emergency rule but has imposed martial law," Mehmood told Reuters from a police station where he was detained. Court issue Following the announcement of emergency rule, the country's chief justice was replaced and the Supreme Court surrounded by troops. It also receives billions of dollars in counter-terrorism assistance. The United States has been pushing hard for Pakistan to go ahead with elections, which were due in January. Time has come to end the political role of the army." "Obviously we are going to have to review the situation with aid, in part because we have to see what may be triggered by certain statutes," Ms Rice said. Tough new media restrictions are controlling the news available throughout Pakistan: all non-state TV stations and some radio channels have been taken off the air, as have international services such as BBC World TV. 'COMPLICATED MATTER' Pakistan this year is receiving about $700 million in U.S. economic and military assistance and is expected to receive more than $800 million in 2008. But the litmus test will be whether she calls for street protests and risks arrest herself or seeks to persuade Musharraf to reverse his decision.
Armed police were sent to guard key locations in Islamabad Bhutto's reaction Shaukat Aziz told a news conference that the government remained committed to the democratic process. But he said parliament might change the date of elections planned for January, and gave no end date for the emergency. Rights have been suspended, media has been restricted and hundreds of people arrested under the emergency decree. Mr Aziz said 400 to 500 "preventative arrests" had been made so far, and said the emergency, imposed by Gen Musharraf on Saturday, would last for "as long as is necessary". Small protests have started in the capital, Islamabad, where police and security forces are on the streets surrounding key sites. Obviously we are going to have to review the situation with aid Condoleezza Rice, US Secretary of State The moves came as the Supreme Court was due to rule on the legality of Gen Musharraf's October election victory. US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has said Washington is reviewing the aid which it gives to Pakistan in the wake of Gen Musharraf's decision. In recent years Gen Musharraf has been a key ally in Washington's war on terror and has received about $10bn in aid since 2001. "Some of the aid that goes to Pakistan is directly related to the counterterrorism mission," Ms Rice said, adding that that complicated the issue. Threat of force After a calm start to Sunday, a few dozen people staged a brief protest near the parliament building in Islamabad before police moved in to break up the gathering. HAVE YOUR SAY The world is entering into 2008 and still we are at 1958 Nasir, Islamabad Your views on emergency West faces new dilemma More protests are expected throughout the rest of the day, he adds, with police appearing ready to use force against unauthorised demonstrations. Tough new media restrictions are controlling the news available throughout Pakistan: all non-state TV stations and some radio channels have been taken off the air, as have international services such as BBC World TV. Independent newspapers have been allowed to continue publishing, but Gen Musharraf's decree severely limits what they can report. Local newspapers and key opposition leader Benazir Bhutto accused Gen Musharraf of bringing in martial law without formally declaring it. But Pakistan's attorney general said the prime minister and parliament remained in place and the civilian government would continue to function. Opposition anger Among the hundreds of people arrested since the declaration was Javed Hashmi, acting head of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's Pakistan Muslim League. "Musharraf's days are numbered. Time has come to end the political role of the army." EMERGENCY RESTRICTIONS Constitutional safeguards on life and liberty curtailed Police get wide powers of arrest Suspects can be denied access to lawyers Freedom of movement restricted Private TV stations taken off air New rules curtail media coverage of suicide bombings or militant activity Chief justice replaced, others made to swear oath of loyalty Supreme Court banned from rescinding emergency order In pictures: Emergency rule Declaration: Full text Ms Bhutto, who recently returned to Pakistan from self-imposed exile, flew back to Karachi from a trip abroad upon hearing news of Gen Musharraf's decision. She confirmed that troops were not surrounding her Karachi home, contrary to some earlier reports, and laid out her demands for the holding of free and fair elections. "We the political parties are calling for the restoration of the constitution, and for the holding of the elections under an independent election commission," she told the BBC. There is no word yet whether she plans to enter dialogue with the president or to lead opposition to his rule. President defiant In a TV address on Saturday evening, Gen Musharraf explained his decision, saying the current situation had forced him into making "some very painful decisions". "Extremists are roaming around freely in the country, and they are not scared of law-enforcement agencies," the president said. "Inaction at this moment is suicide for Pakistan and I cannot allow this country to commit suicide." Court issue Following the announcement of emergency rule, the country's chief justice was replaced and the Supreme Court surrounded by troops. Gen Musharraf moved quickly to appoint a new chief justice The Supreme Court was to decide whether Gen Musharraf was eligible to run for re-election last month while remaining army chief. Pakistani lawyers announced they would strike on Monday in protest at the president's decision. Embassy/Handout JERUSALEM U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said on Sunday the United States would review billions of dollars in financial aid to ally Pakistan after President Pervez Musharraf declared emergency rule. Rice, who was speaking to reporters in Jerusalem, also urged Musharraf to call elections and reiterated U.S. displeasure at emergency rule, which she advised against in two phone calls with Pakistan's president on October 31. Asked whether she regretted that the United States had put so much faith in Musharraf as a leader, Rice responded: "The United States has never put all of its chips on Musharraf." "I'm not sure how much good that military aid we're giving him to fight the extremists is doing us anyway," Biden said on CBS News' "Face the Nation." "There's still this faint hope that this martial law will last only a day or two, but I think we're kidding ourselves." Republican presidential candidate Fred Thompson, a former senator from Tennessee, said on NBC's "Meet the Press" that it was too soon to pull U.S. aid from Musharraf's government, but said "we've got to play hardball with him." 'COMPLICATED MATTER' Pakistan this year is receiving about $700 million in U.S. economic and military assistance and is expected to receive more than $800 million in 2008. Rice, on a visit to Israel and the Palestinian Territories, said the United States had made clear to Pakistan's leaders before emergency rule was announced that such a move would not be supported by the United States. Middle East envoy Tony Blair, the former British prime minister, said the situation was "obviously a tragedy for Pakistan." "The sooner that we return to the pledges to restore democracy that were set out, the better," he said on CNN's "Late Edition." "But it's a very, very difficult situation this indeed, and it's a situation that if it's not resolved in the right way, I think it's extremely worrying for the whole of the world, not just for Pakistan."
. At the finish, Radcliffe hugged her daughter, Isla, and so did Wami. William Kipsang (Ken) 2:15:32 He's inspired me. The cardiologist who examined Shay said he likely died instantly, Joe Shay said. Radcliffe had won this race in 2004 and she knew the course intimately. View all New York Times newsletters. "I've trained with Ryan. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Instead, at 33, Radcliffe was here to resume her marathon career after an absence of two years and to bolster her reputation as the greatest female marathoner of all time. I don't know where to begin." Paula Radcliffe (GB) 2 hrs 23 mins 09 secs 2. By Mile 6, it was 47 seconds. As recently as Thursday night, she had practiced running the final uphill stretch in Central Park. Hall, 25, will be joined on the Olympic team by second-place finisher Dathan Ritzenhein, a 10,000-meter specialist who like Hall was competing in just his second marathon, and Brian Sell, who had vowed to go to dental school if he did not win one of the three Olympic berths. Radcliffe has now won all seven of the marathons she has finished in her career - only at the 2004 Olympics in Athens did she drop out. I'm sure I will dedicate my race in Beijing to him and his family and [his wife] Alicia. Women's race results: 1. Please try again later. Prokopcuka had wanted to run the first half of the marathon in 1:12, but after several miles she knew the race would be much faster.
Radcliffe was running in her first marathon for over two years Radcliffe twice tried and failed to shake off the Ethiopian as the race reached its climax, and her great rival briefly threatened to snatch victory. But the 2004 winner put in a final burst to leave Wami behind and broke the tape in 2hrs 23 mins and 9 secs. She told BBC Sport: "I've had years of her outsprinting me and I wasn't going to let it happen again." Wami, 32, perhaps paid the price for successfully defending her Berlin Marathon title just five weeks before the Big Apple race. Radcliffe, 33, who gave birth to her first child, Isla, in January, was competing in her first marathon since winning the world title in Helsinki in 2005. People thought having a baby would be the end of my career - I never thought it would be Paula Radcliffe Running in dry, sunny conditions, she and Wami soon left the rest of the women's elite field trailing in their wake. Radcliffe reached the halfway point in 1hr 10.40 secs, but that new course record pace slowed in the later stages. She led for virtually the whole race, but admitted Wami gave her a scare when she drew level in the final mile. "It was tough - I didn't have the breathing problems I usually get towards the end, but my legs felt very tired," she said. "I just kept repeating to myself 'I love you Isla' to keep my rhythm going." Radcliffe paid tribute to American elite runner Ryan Shay who collapsed and died during Saturday's US men's marathon trials in Central Park. 606: DEBATE Paula looked to be back to her best - it has to rate as one of her greatest triumphs MB "This (winning) is sport but that is a tragedy, and it puts everything into perspective," she said. Radcliffe has now won all seven of the marathons she has finished in her career - only at the 2004 Olympics in Athens did she drop out. Wami finished 23 seconds behind, with two-time defending champion Jelena Prokopcuka a distant third in 2:26.13. Kenya's Martin Lel, who won the London Marathon in April, triumphed in the men's race. As he did in London, he burnt off Morocco's Abderrahim Goumri in the last few hundred metres to win in 2.09.04. South Africa's Hendrick Ramaala, who won in New York in 2004, finished third in 2:11.24. Edith Hunkeler of Switzerland won the women's wheelchair race ahead of Britain's Shelly Woods. Women's race results: 1. Alvina Begay (US) 2:42:46 Men's race results: 1. Running with her familiar pained expression, head bob and wide arm carriage, Radcliffe broke Wami’s determination and reached the finish line farther ahead of her Ethiopian challenger than at any other point in the 26.2-mile race, winning by 23 seconds in 2 hours 23 minutes 9 seconds. While Radcliffe took home $130,000 for first place, Wami won $500,000 as the victor in the World Marathon Majors series, a points contest held over the past two years for participants in the New York City, Boston, Chicago, London and Berlin marathons. Jelena Prokopcuka of Latvia, who was seeking to become the only female runner other than Norway’s Grete Waitz to win New York three years in a row, fell off the opening pace almost immediately and took third in 2:26:13, more than three minutes behind Radcliffe. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Instead, at 33, Radcliffe was here to resume her marathon career after an absence of two years and to bolster her reputation as the greatest female marathoner of all time. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Yesterday’s result also appeared to show that Radcliffe had recovered from complications of overuse after she resumed training, including a stress fracture of her sacrum, the triangular bone located at the base of her spine. Prokopcuka had wanted to run the first half of the marathon in 1:12, but after several miles she knew the race would be much faster.
"But," he continued, "the Mafia never dies." After Mr Provenzano's arrest, Mr Lo Piccolo was believed to be among his most likely successors, along with Antonino Rotolo and Matteo Messina Denaro. New boss? His son and two other top mafia bosses were arrested with him. The prosecutor who oversaw the operation warned it could unleash a power struggle within Cosa Nostra. The silver-haired don arrived at the main Palermo police station to scenes of jubilant disorder. Domenico Gozzo said: "A very dangerous phase has now begun." Bernardo Provenzano is held in a high security jail He is being held in isolation at a high security jail in Terni, central Italy. This is an important arrest and an important day Leoluca Orlando, ex-mayor of Palermo Breaking the Mafia Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi hailed the arrests as "a success for the state... and all honest citizens." Lo Piccolo controlled a wide swath of the Sicilian regional capital and its hinterland. Provenzano was caught after 43 years on the run Professor James Walston, a writer on the Italian Mafia from the American University in Rome, says the US connection harks back to the days when the gangs were running drugs through Sicily to the US. According to investigators, the trans-Atlantic alliance uncovered in August involved drug trafficking and money laundering. Police and prosecutors were last night still combing the house at Giardinello. The head of the Italian parliament's anti-Mafia committee, Francesco Forgione, alleged that the Lo Piccolos were linked to US crime syndicates. "Since the arrest of Bernardo Provenzano, the boss of the so-called Corleonesi Mafia, Salvatore Lo Piccolo was considered to be the new boss of the Corleonesi group."
Sicily's Cosa Nostra yesterday suffered a dizzying blow with the arrest of the mafia don regarded as the successor to Bernardo Provenzano, the "boss of bosses" seized last year. Salvatore Lo Piccolo, 65, was captured when police raided a "godfathers' summit" in the hills above Palermo. His son and two other top mafia bosses were arrested with him. The prosecutor who oversaw the operation warned it could unleash a power struggle within Cosa Nostra. Some organised crime experts pointed to a "baby boss" in his 20s as a likely contender for the top job. Among signs of instability in the world's most fabled crime syndicate was that Lo Piccolo was said by investigators to have been betrayed by his own chief "enforcer". The silver-haired don arrived at the main Palermo police station to scenes of jubilant disorder. As the convoy of police vehicles hurtled towards the entrance, officers wearing face masks gave "V for victory" signs to applause from a crowd outside. As the car with the "godfather" and his son came to a halt in the inner yard, police officers banged on the bodywork shouting "You piece of shit!" An elite squad of police and paramilitary Carabinieri had earlier surrounded a house near the town of Giardinello where the top don was meeting with two other fugitive "godfathers", Andrea Adamo and Gaspare Pulizzi. Lo Piccolo's son, 32-year-old Alessandro, who has himself been on the run for seven years, emerged from the garage saying "We give up". While the arrests were made, police said, a weeping Alessandro Piccolo cried out: "I love you, dad." Italy's prime minister, Romano Prodi, called the raid "a success for the state, for the rule of law and all honest members of the public". The chief anti-mafia prosecutor, Piero Grasso, said Lo Piccolo was "the only one capable of taking on the mantle of Provenzano". He was "head of Cosa Nostra in Palermo and attempting to climb to the top of the organisation [island-wide]". But his power base was a notorious housing estate, a conglomeration of desolate concrete blocks housing some 16,000 people on the outskirts of the city. Early speculation after Provenzano's arrest stressed the risk of a war of succession between Lo Piccolo and Matteo Messina Denaro, a mafioso from Trapani, west of Palermo, known as the "playboy don" because of his love of fast cars and expensive clothes. Subsequent investigation suggested, however, that the two men had reached an accommodation and that the real threat to Lo Piccolo came from another boss who was arrested in June last year. Sources in Palermo said that chief among them was Gianni Nicchi, a fugitive and reputed hit man aged only 26. Yesterday's operation was reportedly made possible by information provided by Francesco Franzese, a mafioso arrested in August who masterminded the Lo Piccolo clan's protection racket. They had already found eight pistols and evidence that Lo Piccolo recently awarded himself a pay rise, to roughly £335,000 a year. All four men were among Italy's top 30 most wanted Mafia suspects, police officials said. Mr Lo Piccolo, 65, is believed to have succeeded the Cosa Nostra Mafia's "boss of bosses", Bernardo Provenzano, after he was arrested last year. Leoluca Orlando, the former mayor of Palermo and a Mafia expert who tried to tackle the problem when in office, told the BBC News website: "This is an important arrest and an important day. RISE OF THE BARON Lo Piccolo began his crime career as a bodyguard for a Sicilian Mafia boss He is believed to have taken over after Provenzano's arrest in 2000 Magistrates believe he fought for the leadership with Matteo Messina Denaro Lo Piccolo has been on the run since 1983 He said investigators would need to focus on the so-called "Americans" who he described as the new Mafia bosses in Sicily. There have been fears that members of Sicilian families, who were forced to flee the island in the 1980s after losing the power struggle with the Corleone gang, were being brought back from the US to fill the void left by the arrests of Provenzano and many of his lieutenants. Mr Orlando said the "Americans" would no doubt view the arrest of Lo Piccolo as an opportunity to try to seize greater control.
"We urgently need, at this moment, someone to run that department, because right now, it's being run down," Specter said. “I like Michael Mukasey. That was good enough for all nine Republicans and two Democrats on the 19-member Senate Judiciary Committee who voted to send the nomination to the full Senate for confirmation. "Judge Mukasey has clearly demonstrated that he will be an exceptional attorney general at this critical time." "Waterboarding is already illegal under United States law. Advertisement Continue reading the main story But his supporters will not include Senator Harry Reid, the majority leader, who announced this afternoon that he would vote against the nominee. Bush says torture is prohibited but refuses to disclose U.S. interrogation methods. “Some have sought to find comfort in Judge Mukasey’s personal assurance that he would enforce a future, a new law against waterboarding if this Congress were to pass one,” Mr. Leahy said today. Gonzales resigned under pressure and amid complaints he had injected politics into the administration of justice. Officials in both parties predicted Tuesday that Mukasey would win more than the 60 votes required to head off a filibuster. Sen. Edward Kennedy, a Massachusetts Democrat, mocked such an assurance in opposing Mukasey. Ranking Republican Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania said the burden for outlawing the practice rests with Congress anyway. The retired federal judge was expected to win confirmation easily by the end of next week, but not without significant floor discussion inspired by his refusal to say that waterboarding amounts to illegal torture. Senators Schumer and Feinstein were more restrained in their praise, acknowledging the nominee’s qualifications and declaring that the best qualification is that Mr. Mukasey is not Alberto R. Gonzales, the former attorney general.
“Some have sought to find comfort in Judge Mukasey’s personal assurance that he would enforce a future, a new law against waterboarding if this Congress were to pass one,” Mr. Leahy said today. “Unsaid, of course, is the fact that any such prohibition would have to be enacted over the veto of the president.” Advertisement Continue reading the main story “Now, I wish I could support Judge Mukasey’s nomination,” Mr. Leahy said at another point. We have many things in common in our past careers. I certainly don’t question his intellectual ability or his independence.” But Mr. Leahy said the Justice Department needs “an attorney general who believes and understands that there have to be limitations on executive power.” Before he voted “no,” Senator Edward M. Kennedy, Democrat of Massachusetts, said, “We need a leader who will inspire confidence in the rule of law. We need a leader who is worthy of the trust we place in our attorney general to support and defend the Constitution of the United States. Michael Mukasey, regrettably, is not that leader.” Photo The committee’s ranking Republican, Senator Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania, said he too had been dissatisfied with some of Mr. Mukasey’s responses to questions about torture and the limits on presidential power and that he looked forward to more Congressional deliberations on those issues. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Mr. Mukasey’s endorsement by the committee, though close, seems to guarantee his confirmation by the full Senate, perhaps before the end of the week. In fact, vote-counters in both parties have predicted that he will be confirmed easily. Advertisement Continue reading the main story But his supporters will not include Senator Harry Reid, the majority leader, who announced this afternoon that he would vote against the nominee. “However, given our recent history, it is of crucial importance that our next attorney general be able to stand up to the president and for the rule of law. Because I am not confident that Judge Mukasey will, I will oppose his nomination.” Advertisement Continue reading the main story And all four Democrat senators who are running for president have said they will vote against Mr. Mukasey. The chief White House spokeswoman, Dana Perino, thanked the committee for voting to forward the nomination, and said that Mr. Mukasey “has clearly demonstrated that he will be an exceptional attorney general at this critical time.” Republicans on the Judiciary Committee praised Mr. Mukasey, a former federal judge in New York City, as eminently qualified to head the Justice Department. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Mr. Gonzales was widely criticized by many Democrats, and some Republicans, for the firing of several United States attorneys last year. Mr. Gonzales’s critics accused him repeatedly of acting too much like an in-house lawyer for the president rather than an independent head of a vital Cabinet department. WASHINGTON -- Michael Mukasey's nomination as the nation's next attorney general was sent to the full Senate on Tuesday as a vehicle for the broader, and more bitter, debate over the legality of the Bush administration's interrogation techniques for terrorism suspects. The retired federal judge was expected to win confirmation easily by the end of next week, but not without significant floor discussion inspired by his refusal to say that waterboarding amounts to illegal torture. Within hours of the Judiciary Committee's 11-8 endorsement of the nomination Tuesday, Mukasey's name was invoked in the same sentence as "torture" in a campaign appeal on behalf of Democrats. "If he can't say no to torture, we say no to Mukasey," read a letter sent out by Friends for Harry Reid, the Senate majority leader who had announced earlier in the day he would vote against confirmation. Mukasey's comments on torture rankled senators of both parties, but the nominee averted a rebellion by promising to enforce any law Congress passes outlawing the practice _ or quit the post if President Bush ignores his legal advice. "We appreciate the vote of senators on the Judiciary Committee to forward the nomination of Judge Michael Mukasey to the full Senate," White House press secretary Dana Perino said. "Judge Mukasey has clearly demonstrated that he will be an exceptional attorney general at this critical time." Officials in both parties predicted Tuesday that Mukasey would win more than the 60 votes required to head off a filibuster. But before any more votes are cast on the matter, a full-blown floor debate was expected about waterboarding, a brutal interrogation method that creates the sensation of drowning and which is banned by domestic law and international treaties. Those policies don't govern the CIA's use of the practice, however, and the Bush administration has sidestepped questions about whether it has allowed the agency's employees to use it against terror detainees. At Senate confirmation hearings last month, Mukasey frustrated senators of both parties by repeatedly refusing to say whether he considers waterboarding a form of torture, as claimed by an unlikely coalition of military officials, doctors and humans rights groups. Mukasey's assurances won enough support to survive a vote by the committee that looked uncertain only a few days earlier. A divided Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday approved Mukasey as U.S. attorney general despite concerns about the retired judge's... REUTERS/Jim Young WASHINGTON A divided Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday backed Michael Mukasey as attorney general despite concerns about the retired judge's refusal to denounce "waterboarding" -- simulated drowning -- as unlawful torture. On an 11-8 vote, with two Democrats joining all nine Republicans, the committee sent President George W. Bush's nomination of Mukasey to the full Democratic-led Senate for confirmation, which is virtually assured. "It's been no secret how I feel about waterboarding," said Reid, a Nevada Democrat. Critics have accused the United States of torturing suspects in the war on terrorism, with the CIA reportedly using the simulated drowning technique while interrogating at least three high-level detainees after the September 11, 2001, attacks. Lawmakers were encouraged by Mukasey's vow to review administration security policies to make sure they adhere to the law and resign if Bush crossed the line. MUKASEY'S ASSURANCE Sen. Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania, senior Republican on the committee, said he, too, had concerns about Mukasey's refusal to declare waterboarding torture.
The children, who were hospitalized, have since recovered. That's when I told them." The toy was named Australia's 2007 Toy of the Year. "I'm just appalled. All replacement beads and new shipments will include this ingredient," it said. The duck wind-up toys were sold from January through August 2007 for about $8. Christopher Zinn from consumer association Choice says the ban on Bindeez Beads could have been better managed if there was a national body for product safety. The toy cars recalled Wednesday were sold at Dollar General retail stores from April through October this year for about $1 per pack of two or four cars. Complaint in July It wasn't that long ago that Moose Enterprises was being described as a great Victorian business success story. Australia announced a nationwide ban on Wednesday on the Chinese-made toy which investigations showed contained a chemical which metabolizes into a ''date rape'' style drug when swallowed. (Recasts with Aqua Dots recall) By Karey Wutkowski and Julie Vorman WASHINGTON Nov 7 About 4.2 million Chinese-made Aqua Dots toys were recalled for possibly containing a "date rape" drug, U.S. safety officials said on Wednesday after earlier announcing another batch of toy recalls for unacceptably high levels of lead. The toy is a wind-up music box with ducks that spin as the music plays. Consumers can contact Schylling for a refund or replacement. Today the company is saying nothing. The Federal Government supports the idea and blames the states for blocking the reforms. Moose Enterprise said tests had shown that some batches of the beads did not "exactly match the laboratory tested and approved formula".
(Recasts with Aqua Dots recall) By Karey Wutkowski and Julie Vorman WASHINGTON Nov 7 About 4.2 million Chinese-made Aqua Dots toys were recalled for possibly containing a "date rape" drug, U.S. safety officials said on Wednesday after earlier announcing another batch of toy recalls for unacceptably high levels of lead. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) said the Aqua Dots craft toys include a chemical, 1,4 butanediol, on their beads which, if swallowed, can turn toxic and cause unconsciousness, respiratory depression, or seizures. The Aqua Dots toys made Wal-Mart Stores Inc's (WMT.N) list of top 12 Christmas toys and have been sold at major U.S. retail stores since April for between $17 and $30. Australian officials issued a nation-wide ban on a similar toy after three children were hospitalized. Also on Wednesday, the CPSC issued recalls for about 403,000 toys with paint containing excessive levels of lead, including 380,000 toy cars sold at Dollar General stores. Other warnings were for Dizzy Ducks music boxes, Winnie-the-Pooh spinning tops, "Big Red" wagons, Dragster and Funny Car toys, and Duck Family collectible wind-up toys, all because of paint with unsafe levels of lead. Recalls involving millions of mostly Chinese-made toys, the majority over lead in their paint, have alarmed American consumers in recent months. Lead is toxic and can pose serious health risks to children, including brain damage. No injuries were reported in Wednesday's lead-related recalls but a CPSC spokesman said the agency had two reports of American children who swallowed the Aqua Dots beads and became unconscious. It urged consumers to take away the Aqua Dots toys from their children and look for any stray beads that may have fallen out of the craft kits. The toy is distributed in North America by Spin Master, Ltd a Toronto company, which said it had recalled Aqua Dots from Canadian retail stores as well. Australia announced a nationwide ban on about 1 million of the toys after investigations showed they contained 1,4 butanediol, which when swallowed metabolizes into a date-rape drug. Three Australian children became severely ill after they swallowed beads from the toy, sold there as "Bindeez." The toy was named Australia's 2007 Toy of the Year. U.S. lawmakers have proposed legislation that would virtually ban lead in toys and give the product safety agency more funding for testing, recalls and enforcement. They have also criticized the safety agency's acting chairman, Nancy Nord, for accepting industry-funded trips. The toy cars recalled Wednesday were sold at Dollar General retail stores from April through October this year for about $1 per pack of two or four cars. Consumers should return the toy cars to a Dollar General store for a refund. The duck wind-up toys were sold from January through August 2007 for about $8. The duck music boxes were sold from March through October 2007 for about $12. The recalled Winnie-the-Pooh spinning tops are related to a similar recall in August, and includes toys sold from April 2003 through November 2003 nationwide for about $12. Tops with plastic handles are not included in this recall, the safety agency said. Northern Tool & Equipment Co of Burnsville, Minnesota, recalled about 7,200 "Big Red" wagons, which were sold through the company's catalog Web site and U.S. retail stores from July through September 2007 for about $60. Toxic bead toy still for sale in some states Updated One of Australia's most popular children's toys, Bindeez Beads, is still being sold in stores in Victoria, even after it was recalled by the manufacturer late yesterday. Now banned in four states, the toy releases a substance similar to the illegal drug GHB, or fantasy, if swallowed. It has already caused three children to need hospital treatment in New South Wales and Queensland. It has been reported that two Auckland children also needed hospital treatment after swallowing the so-called 'magic beads'. The manufacturer, Moose Enterprises, has voluntarily recalled all Bindeez products, but they are still for sale in some states, raising questions about whether Australia's recall system is adequate. In a statement, the company says that after the incidents, it reviewed the ingredients used in the production of the beads in China and discovered that some batches don't match the laboratory tested and approved formula. The Melbourne-based company is investigating how the toxic chemical - a kind of adhesive - ended up in its beads. Despite four states having withdrawn Bindeez Beads, they were still being sold in Sydney yesterday afternoon, and this morning Bindeez Beads could still be found on store shelves in Melbourne. "It's not possible to conclude absolutely that, for example, all of the products on the shelves are contaminated with the same product, or indeed that the circumstances in every other case would be exactly the same," he said. "It's a fairly popular toy so the supply chain is fairly extensive.
It's lamentable, very annoying." Transport unions are striking over plans by French President Nicolas Sarkozy to reform a special category of pensions. The French railroad authority said just 25 percent of its workers were absent Tuesday and the rest were working, and the Paris subway authority said 19 percent of its staff were on strike. The civil servants' purchasing power has dramatically lowered. Nationwide protests over issues ranging from pension reform to the cost of living disrupted schools, trains, postal services and airports. "A small group of people are holding the country hostage. They are the biggest threat to Sarkozy's planned reforms since he was elected president in May. The French finance minister said Monday the strikes were costing the economy an estimated €350 million ($517 million) a day. The government is focusing on pension plans which allow some workers -- mostly train drivers -- to retire as early as 50. The education ministry said 40% of teachers had walked out but union officials said the figure was more like 60%. E-mail to a friend All About Nicolas Sarkozy • France REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes Paris commuters cycle to work during a continuing transport strike against pension reforms, November 20, 2007. And rail and bus workers are on their seventh day of an indefinite stoppage against planned pension cuts. Newspaper distributors also began a one-day strike over planned restructuring. The teachers union said about half its members would still be in the classrooms, so classes would be combined to make up for the teacher absences. Bookmark with: Delicious Digg reddit Facebook StumbleUpon What are these? A dwindling number of transport workers were supporting the open-ended walkout.
French commuters have been hard-hit by the transport strikes Strike action spreads Hundreds of thousands of civil servants have joined striking transport and energy workers as France is paralysed by a second week of industrial action. Teachers, postal workers, air traffic controllers and hospital staff are holding a 24-hour stoppage over planned job cuts and higher wage demands. It could end up as the biggest show of defiance at President Nicolas Sarkozy's reform plans since his election in May. The latest nationwide stoppage left many schools closed, hospitals providing a reduced service and newsagents without newspapers. Sarkozy's silence The French capital's two airports and Marseille airport in the south suffered delays and cancellations. I think they have the right to go on strike Paris commuter Strike fever hits France France's workplace anger Are you affected? French energy workers, who began a third 24-hour strike on Monday night, have cut nearly 9% of capacity at nuclear plants, union officials said. And rail and bus workers are on their seventh day of an indefinite stoppage against planned pension cuts. Finance Minister Christine Lagarde said the dispute was costing France up to 400m euros (£290m) a day. Half of the country's high-speed TGV trains were operating on Tuesday, while in Paris only one metro train in three was in service and less than half of buses were expected to run. State rail operator SNCF, which is due to hold talks with transport unions on Wednesday, says the number of its workers on strike had fallen since last week. STRIKERS' GRIEVANCES Teachers, civil servants oppose job cuts and want more pay Newspaper distributors angry at planned restructuring Transport workers on strike for a week over pension reforms Students protest at changes they say could exclude poor In pictures: Strikes spread But with traffic gridlock on the capital's roads on Tuesday morning, the stoppage still caused havoc for commuters. BBC world affairs correspondent Nick Childs says the French president has been keeping a low profile, perhaps to test the public mood. Mr Sarkozy may wish to avoid a counter-productive confrontation, but his public absence risks being construed as a sign of weakness, our correspondent says. Opinion polls suggest voters back the French leader's plans to reform "special" pensions which allow transport and utility workers to retire early, but a majority sympathises with civil servant grievances. Walking to work in the centre of Paris, commuter Guy Cousserant, 56, told Reuters: "A small group of people are holding the country hostage. But one woman in the capital told AP news agency: "The civil servants' purchasing power has dramatically lowered. The education ministry said 40% of teachers had walked out but union officials said the figure was more like 60%. Eight unions representing 5.2 million state employees - around a quarter of the entire workforce - say their spending power has fallen 6% since 2000, though the government disputes that figure. 'SPECIAL' PENSIONS SYSTEM Benefits 1.6m workers, including 1.1m retirees Applies in 16 sectors, of which rail and utilities employees make up 360,000 people Account for 6% of total state pension payments Shortfall costs state 5bn euros (£3.5bn; $6.9bn) a year Some workers can retire on full pensions aged 50 Awarded to Paris Opera House workers in 1698 by Louis XIV Can street protests succeed? Solidarity amid French crisis They also oppose plans to cut 23,000 jobs in 2008, half in education. Students are continuing to block access to campus buildings in half of the country's 85 universities. PARIS, France (CNN) -- A 24-hour walkout by French civil servants has coincided with the seventh straight day of crippling strikes by transit workers, putting further pressure on the French government to negotiate an end to the weeklong walkout. The striking civil servants -- who include teachers, hospital workers, tax collectors, customs officials and post office staff -- planned a march Tuesday afternoon in Paris and other parts of the country. The French railroad authority said just 25 percent of its workers were absent Tuesday and the rest were working, and the Paris subway authority said 19 percent of its staff were on strike. Still, the small number of striking workers was able to disrupt services because it represented train drivers, conductors, and others crucial to the operation of the lines. The French finance minister said Monday the strikes were costing the economy an estimated €350 million ($517 million) a day. The government is focusing on pension plans which allow some workers -- mostly train drivers -- to retire as early as 50. Among the government's possible proposals is reforming the way pensions are calculated to give workers more pension money upon retirement.
This does arrive at the NAO. "This is the third and most serious breach at HMRC," said Mr Osborne. November 10: Alistair Darling is informed that the data is missing. "There are 25 million people whose personal details have been lost by this government. He says the discs have still not been found. MARCH 2007 A junior official at HM Revenue and Customs gives the National Audit Office a full copy of HMRC's child benefit data, in breach of security procedures. 15 NOVEMBER The chancellor goes to Information Commissioner Richard Thomas, who agrees that remedial action must be taken before a public statement is made. 24 OCTOBER The NAO tells HMRC it has not received the package. He asked when the prime minister was told - to which Mr Darling replied: "Within half an hour of me being told." 14 NOVEMBER The chancellor decides the HMRC searches have failed and tells HMRC chairman Paul Gray to call in the Metropolitan Police. "Never mind the lack of vision just get a grip and deliver a basic level of competence." A second copy is sent, again in breach of procedures, but this time it is sent by registered post and arrives safely. He accused Mr Darling of lurching "from one crisis to another" and of failing every family in the land. Ministers say there is no evidence they have been intercepted by criminals. 17 DECEMBER Transport Secretary Ruth Kelly is set to give details to MPs later about the loss of personal details held by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency. Also in September, a laptop containing around 400 ISA (individual savings accounts) customers' details is stolen.
October 18-November 8: On finding that the package had not arrived at the NAO, a further copy of this data is sent, this time by registered post. November 8: A senior manager at HMRC is told that the original package never arrived at the NAO. November 10: Alistair Darling is informed that the data is missing. He orders "comprehensive searches be carried out of all premises where the missing data might be found". November 12: HMRC informs chancellor that the data was likely to be found. November 14: It becomes clear to the chancellor that the HMRC searches have failed to find the package. Darling therefore instructs the chairman of HMRC to call in the Metropolitan police to conduct a full investigation. November 15: The Met police is asked to provide assistance to inquiries being led by HMRC. The chancellor makes a Commons statement, admitting that the personal details of 25 million people have gone astray. The chancellor apologises for the "anxiety" caused to the 7.25 million families claiming child benefit. Two CDs containing personal details of 25m people have been lost by HM Revenue and Customs. MARCH 2007 A junior official at HM Revenue and Customs gives the National Audit Office a full copy of HMRC's child benefit data, in breach of security procedures. SEPTEMBER Records of about 15,000 people's details go missing after being sent by HMRC to Standard Life. Also in September, a laptop containing around 400 ISA (individual savings accounts) customers' details is stolen. 18 OCTOBER Child benefit data is again sent to the NAO by a junior official, using the courier company TNT, which operates the HMRC's post system. The package containing two CDs, containing details of 25 million individuals, is not recorded or registered and fails to arrive. An HMRC spokeswoman said the official believed it may have been delayed by the postal strikes or in the NAO's office move and did not report it. A second copy is sent, again in breach of procedures, but this time it is sent by registered post and arrives safely. 8 NOVEMBER Senior HMRC management are informed that the 18 October package is missing. 12 NOVEMBER Mr Darling is told by HMRC that evidence has been found which might help to find the missing package. 14 NOVEMBER The chancellor decides the HMRC searches have failed and tells HMRC chairman Paul Gray to call in the Metropolitan Police. 15 NOVEMBER The chancellor goes to Information Commissioner Richard Thomas, who agrees that remedial action must be taken before a public statement is made. 21 NOVEMBER Prime Minister Gordon Brown apologises for the "inconvenience and worries" caused and orders security checks on all government departments. The Conservatives produce e-mails they say show senior HMRC officials approved the downloading of the entire Child Benefit register - including bank details - on to discs to save cash. 22 NOVEMBER HMRC writes to seven million families to reassure them that the missing data is "likely to still be on government property". 28 NOVEMBER Lib Dem acting leader Vincent Cable says the two missing computer discs could be worth up to £1.5bn to criminals. He says he understands that on the black market one identity was worth "something in the order of £60". 4 DECEMBER Several firms admit security failings in the wake of HMRC's loss, MPs are told. He says they are not on the scale of the HM Revenue and Customs mistake, but more would "come out in the wash". A separate report, by the Independent Police Complaints Commission, highlights "woefully inadequate" processes and a "muddle-through" culture at HMRC in which staff were not properly trained in data security. Shadow chancellor George Osborne said the HM Revenue and Customs error, which includes child benefit and bank details of 25m people, was "catastrophic".
The rail authority, government and unions all condemned the acts. Wednesday, the SNCF said about 22 percent of its workers were on strike, compared to 27 percent the day before. French Transport Minister Dominique Bussereau denounced "grave abuses" and described the coordinated character of the acts as "unacceptable." They are striking over plans by French President Nicolas Sarkozy to reform a special category of pensions. Commuters wait for trains at Paris Saint-Lazare subway station. Another fire along the TGV East line slowed service. Didier Le Rester of France's General Labour Confederation has predicted that the negotiations could last up to a month. Union leaders also condemned the attacks. Name Your E-mail address Town & Country Phone number (optional): Comments Saboteurs staged a co-ordinated attack on France's high-speed rail network early Wednesday, causing nationwide delays to services already hit by an eight-day transport strike, the SNCF state railways said. TGV ROUTES Very large fire reported to have damaged signal equipment affecting 30km of track on the Atlantic line Signal switches in the South East and East lines reported to have been sabotaged Fire reported to have damaged signal cables affecting the North line Are you being affected by the strike, or are you taking part in it? The sabotage came as three-way talks opened in a bid to end the strike. The government is focusing on pension plans which allow some workers -- mostly train drivers -- to retire as early as 50. The week of strikes has caused havoc for millions of commuters across France. This is ludicrous! Unionists said later some progress had been made in the talks but cautioned each local committee would decide on whether to continue the strike in their daily vote as usual on Thursday.
Cables were blackened by apparent acts of arson on the railway It said acts of sabotage overnight, including fires, caused huge delays to TGV services already hit by a transport union strike in its eighth day. The sabotage came as three-way talks opened in a bid to end the strike. Managers from SNCF and the Paris metro operator RATP were meeting unions and government representatives to try to reach a compromise on reforms to transport workers' pensions. The government has vowed not to back down on its core proposals. Fires In a statement, the SNCF said there had been "several acts" occurring "at the same time" on lines running north, west, east and south-east out of Paris. They are all a bunch of lazy people, and I am personally both enraged and ashamed at their behaviour! Sophie Pradere Paris resident French strikes: Your reaction In pictures: Train 'sabotage' Sarkozy: 'Thatcher moment'? It said these included a "very large" fire on the TGV's Atlantic branch that damaged signals affecting 30km (18 miles) of track. At a cabinet meeting, President Sarkozy ordered the justice and interior ministers to investigate, vowing to punish the perpetrators "with the utmost severity", Transport Minister Dominique Bussereau told France 2 TV. Union officials also deplored the attacks as acts of vandalism by "cowards", warning that they put people's safety at risk. Bernard Thibault, chief of the powerful CGT union, suggested the acts could have aimed to discredit the strike movement. 'No budging' The TGV network was targeted several hours after French Labour Minister Xavier Bertrand said he hoped that conciliation talks would help end the strike. 'SPECIAL' PENSIONS SYSTEM Benefits 1.6m workers, including 1.1m retirees Applies in 16 sectors, of which rail and utilities employees make up 360,000 people Account for 6% of total state pension payments Shortfall costs state 5bn euros (£3.5bn; $6.9bn) a year Some workers can retire on full pensions aged 50 Awarded to Paris Opera House workers in 1698 by Louis XIV Can street protests succeed? "I think the conditions are there for everyone to get out of it honourably," Mr Bertrand was quoted as saying by the AFP news agency. "Everyone must ask whether it is right to continue a strike which has already cost users - and strikers - so dear." The government has said there could be incentives of salary rises and a top-up scheme for pensions. But it has stressed that there will be no budging on the core issue of eliminating special pensions which allow 500,000 transport and utility workers to retire early. Commuter havoc Before the latest incidents, SNCF had estimated there would be slightly improved rail services on Wednesday as the number of strikers steadily declined. SNCF now claims that only 23% of its staff remain on strike. The week of strikes has caused havoc for millions of commuters across France. TGV ROUTES Very large fire reported to have damaged signal equipment affecting 30km of track on the Atlantic line Signal switches in the South East and East lines reported to have been sabotaged Fire reported to have damaged signal cables affecting the North line Are you being affected by the strike, or are you taking part in it? Rush hour traffic backs up near the Eiffel tower as commuters make their way home as transport strikes continue in Paris November 20, 2007. Saboteurs staged a co-ordinated attack on France's high-speed rail network early Wednesday, causing nationwide delays to services already hit by an eight-day transport strike, the SNCF state railways said. REUTERS/Mal Langsdon Commuters crowd into a train at the Gare de l'Est metro station in Paris November 21, 2007, during a nationwide strike of French transport workers to protest against a government pensions reform. REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes Commuters crowd into the train at the Gare de l'Est metro station in Paris November 21, 2007, during a nationwide strike of French transport workers to protest against a government pensions reform. REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes PARIS Saboteurs staged a coordinated attack on France's high-speed rail network on Wednesday, causing nationwide delays to services already hit by an eight-day transport strike, the SNCF state railways said. The pre-dawn attack on signaling connections targeted the four main TGV train services out of Paris before government, management and unions resumed negotiations on ending the dispute over pension reform. Unionists said later some progress had been made in the talks but cautioned each local committee would decide on whether to continue the strike in their daily vote as usual on Thursday. "There have been a number of advances, of announcements," said Didier Le Reste, head of the CGT union's rail division. "I trust railway workers to take decisions that are appropriate." Only a minority of railway workers remained on strike on Wednesday, with the SNCF reporting that 77.2 percent of its staff had turned up to work against 73 percent on Tuesday. MORE TRAINS The pensions showdown is the biggest challenge Sarkozy has faced since taking office in May and his government fears its credibility would be destroyed if it gives in to the unions. Sarkozy said on Tuesday he would not renounce the core element of his pension reform, which entails an end to early retirement rights for transport and energy workers, but indicated he was ready to make concessions in other areas. The head of France's business lobby said on Wednesday the dispute was causing "incalculable" damage to the economy. An opinion poll published in the conservative Le Figaro newspaper on Wednesday gave Sarkozy a boost, saying 68 percent of people thought the transport strike was not justified. In a separate dispute, teachers, postal workers and civil servants returned to work after a one-day strike on Tuesday called to protest against the government's economic program. Tobacco shop owners also took to the street on Wednesday, protesting against a smoking ban in bars due next year and many universities were disrupted by protests over education reform. PARIS, France (CNN) -- Striking railway workers have carried out "a coordinated campaign of sabotage" on the tracks of France's high-speed TGV rail network, setting fire to cables and signal boxes and causing delays of up to three hours, France's national rail authority said Wednesday.
"The time is right, the cause is just, and with hard effort, I know they can succeed," he said. But both Mr. Abbas and Mr. Olmert mentioned it during their speeches. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Iraq was not among the Arab countries that attended the conference here. Israeli officials do not like that term and have been adamant that Palestinian refugees have a right of return only to a future Palestinian state, and not to Israel. Mr Bush wants a peace deal agreed before he leaves office News conference Opening a Middle East peace conference, US President George W Bush said all outstanding issues dividing the two sides would be on the table. "Our purpose here in Annapolis is not to conclude an agreement. Rather, it is to launch negotiations between the Israelis and Palestinians," he said. “We demand an end to terror, an end to incitement and to hatred. “I say that this opportunity might not be repeated. ANNAPOLIS SCHEDULE 1400 GMT (0900 Washington time): Arrivals 1440-1530 GMT: Closed meeting between Bush, Olmert and Abbas 1600 GMT: Speeches by all three leaders 1700 GMT: Three sessions on international support, economic and institutional development and regional peace 0030 GMT: End of meeting press conference In Gaza on Tuesday tens of thousands of people joined a rally protesting against the talks, many of them chanting "Abbas is a traitor" and "We will not recognise Israel". We are prepared to make a painful compromise, rife with risks, in order to realize these aspirations,” he said. They fear that including the Arab League language in the joint statement could handcuff Israel later in negotiations.
“We meet to lay the foundation for the establishment of a new nation: a democratic Palestinian state that will live side by side with Israel in peace and security,” Mr. Bush told the gathering of officials from 49 countries at the United States Naval Academy. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Flanked by Prime Minister Ehud Olmert of Israel and the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, Mr. Bush cast peace between Israelis and Palestinians as part of a broader struggle against extremism in the Middle East. It was a moment of diplomatic theater, endorsed by the attendance of a member of the Saudi royal family and orchestrated by Mr. Bush, who pledged that the United States would “monitor and judge the fulfillment of the commitment of both sides.” The agreement, cast as a “joint understanding” between the Israelis and the Palestinians, fell short of the detailed five-page document that Palestinian officials have been pushing. But it went somewhat further than the Israelis had wanted, calling for an immediate start to wide-ranging talks aimed at reaching a final peace accord within 13 months. “We agree to immediately launch good-faith bilateral negotiations in order to conclude a peace treaty, resolving all outstanding issues, including all core issues without exception, as specified in previous agreements,” the joint understanding said. “We agree to engage in vigorous, ongoing and continuous negotiations, and shall make every effort to conclude an agreement before the end of 2008.” Advertisement Continue reading the main story It was not clear until Mr. Bush, Mr. Olmert and Mr. Abbas stepped onto the podium in the ornate frescoed Memorial Hall at the Naval Academy, near a replica battle flag from the War of 1812 declaring “Don’t Give Up the Ship,” whether the Israelis and the Palestinians had agreed on anything at all. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Even this morning, Mr. Bush held last-minute talks with Mr. Olmert and Mr. Abbas, while outside the room, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice buttonholed her Israeli and Palestinian counterparts, Tzipi Livni and Abu Alaa, to wring agreement on the wording of the accord. In making the announcement, Mr. Bush read aloud the joint understanding wearing his glasses, suggesting there had not been enough time to convert the just-agreed document to large type for his speech. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Mr. Abbas shook hands with Mr. Olmert and Mr. Bush and then pointedly and emotionally put all of the most divisive issues squarely at the center of the talks that are scheduled to begin on Dec. 12. “I am not making an overstatement, Mr. President, if I say that our region stands at a crossroad that separates two historical phases: pre-Annapolis phase and post-Annapolis phase,” Mr. Abbas said. And if it were to be repeated, it might not enjoy the same unanimity and impetus.” When Mr. Olmert spoke, he too was emotional and highly personal. Advertisement Continue reading the main story The Annapolis gathering brought about the highest-level official contacts between Israel and Saudi Arabia, which do not have diplomatic relations. Seated across the room squeezed between the delegates from Senegal and Qatar, Prince Saud al-Faisal, the Saudi foreign minister, took notes during Mr. Olmert’s remarks, his head slightly bowed. When he arrived in Washington on Monday for the conference, Prince Saud had vowed that he would not shake Mr. Olmert’s hand. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Mr. Olmert looked directly across the hall at Prince Saud and said that Israel aspires to “normalization” with the Arab world. Like us, you know that religious fanaticism and national extremism are a perfect recipe for domestic instability and violence, for bitterness and ultimately for the disintegration of the very foundations of coexistence based on tolerance and mutual acceptance.” Advertisement Continue reading the main story When the Israeli leader finished his speech, Prince Saud politely clapped. Later, during remarks to the foreign ministers, Prince Saud said that “the time has come for Israel to put its trust in peace after it has gambled on war for decades without success.” He called on Israel to withdraw from the West Bank. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Palestinian officials said one obstacle to the joint statement had been Israel’s refusal to include a reference to the Arab League’s peace initiative. That initiative, which was reaffirmed by Arab states earlier this year, calls on the Israelis and the Palestinians to reach an “agreed” resolution of the Palestinian refugee issue. Israeli officials do not like that term and have been adamant that Palestinian refugees have a right of return only to a future Palestinian state, and not to Israel. They fear that including the Arab League language in the joint statement could handcuff Israel later in negotiations. Advertisement Continue reading the main story The two sides resolved the issue by leaving mention of the Arab League initiative out of the joint understanding. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Mr. Bush cast the reinvigorated negotiations as a historic moment, an opportunity to advance democracy in a region torn by conflict, with the United States and its troops intricately entwined in it. “And when liberty takes root in the rocky soil of the West Bank and Gaza, it will inspire millions across the Middle East who want their societies built on freedom and peace and hope,” the president said. That country, and the American war there, went unmentioned in Mr. Bush’s remarks today, though he did mention Lebanon’s aspirations for peace and independence from Syrian influence. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Going forward, the White House said Mr. Bush’s role will be as a mediator, willing to weigh in on the negotiations when necessary, but leaving the workaday details of American diplomacy to his secretary of state, Ms. Rice. “But what the president told the leaders today is that he’s only a phone call away.” Middle East experts said that perhaps the best thing to come out of the Annapolis conference is that it has publicly committed Mr. Bush, Mr. Olmert and Mr. Abbas to push for peace. The US president said the two sides had committed themselves to "good faith bilateral" negotiations in a joint declaration that had been the principal goal of the Annapolis conference. Applause greeted Bush's declaration as he, the Israeli prime minister, Ehud Olmert, and the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, engaged in a three-way handshake that echoed the historic handshake between Yasser Arafat and Yitzhak Rabin on the White House lawn in 1993. The first formal negotiating session is to begin on December 12, Bush said as he opened the conference, designed to kickstart negotiations for a Palestinian state that will live side by side in peace with Israel. Abbas said the Palestinians needed east Jerusalem to be their capital, called for a halt to settlements and said he would live up to the revived "road map".
Here there is a justice for the poor, one for the rich and another for the police," he said. The youths said they were avenging the two teenagers killed when their motorcycle hit a police car on Sunday. Around a dozen cars were set ablaze in suburbs in Paris. "What happened, that's not violence, it's rage." REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes French riot policemen fire rubber bullets behind a burning car during clashes one day after two youths died in a motorbike accident with a police car in Villiers le Bel in the northern suburb of Paris, November 26,2007. A senior union official said the riots had been more intense than in 2005. President Nicolas Sarkozy, visiting China, called for calm, while police braced themselves for more unrest after hours of running street battles. I am calling all the men and women of Villiers-le-Bel to help me do this." But there were only isolated incidents of vandalism and officials reported no major clashes between youths and police in contrast to Monday night when around 80 police officers were injured when rioters pelted them with stones and petrol bombs. "Our colleagues will not allow themselves to be fired upon indefinitely without responding," he told the radio station, RTL. Name Your E-mail address Town & Country Phone number (optional): Comments REUTERS/Pascal Rossignol VILLIERS-LE-BEL, France Youths in Paris suburbs and the city of Toulouse torched cars and set rubbish ablaze in fresh urban violence in France on Tuesday. The mayor, Didier Vaillant, urged local people not to resort to violence. Two years ago the death of two boys allegedly fleeing the police in the Paris suburb of Clichy-sous-Bois sparked weeks of violence in France's rundown estates.
Rioting youths blamed the French police for the teenagers' deaths Youths target police The police say some officers suffered bullet wounds, while others were hurt by stones, fireworks and petrol bombs thrown at them in Villiers-le-Bel. The youths said they were avenging the two teenagers killed when their motorcycle hit a police car on Sunday. The 2005 unrest, sparked by the accidental deaths of two youths, spread from a nearby suburb of Paris to other cities and continued for three weeks, during which more than 10,000 cars were set ablaze and 300 buildings firebombed. 'Fired upon' The second consecutive night of rioting began early in the evening in Villiers-le-Bel, the northern suburb that saw most of the violence on Sunday. Police fired tear gas and rubber bullets to keep at bay gangs of youths who were attacking them with stones, fireworks and petrol bombs. Our colleagues will not allow themselves to be fired upon indefinitely without responding Patrice Ribeiro Secretary, Synergie police union Paris riots replayed Have your say More than 70 vehicles and buildings, including the municipal library, two schools and several shops, were set on fire. The national secretary of the Synergie police union, Patrice Ribeiro, said at least 77 officers had been injured in the violence and that several had been wounded by shotgun pellets fired at them. The French Interior Minister, Michele Alliot-Marie, said six police officers had been injured seriously and that they included those who had been "struck in the face and close to the eyes". Mr Ribeiro said police were facing a situation that was "far worse than that of 2005", which began in the nearby suburb of Clichy-sous-Bois. "Our colleagues will not allow themselves to be fired upon indefinitely without responding," he told the radio station, RTL. On Sunday, about 30 cars and several buildings, including a police station, were torched in Villiers-le-Bel and neighbouring Arnouville. Twenty-six police and firefighters were injured and nine people were arrested. 'Organised' Ms Alliot-Marie said she believed the trouble had been organised and correspondents say the scale of the fury involved suggested the riots might have attracted people from outside the area. The violence happened despite appeals for calm from the families of the two teenagers of Algerian origin whose deaths sparked the violence on Sunday evening. A state prosecutor has ordered the National Police General Inspectorate (IGPN) - an oversight body - to carry out a detailed inquiry into the circumstances in which the two teenagers - named only as Moushin, 15, and Larami, 16, lost their lives. Police sources have said that in Sunday's incident, the motorcycle was going at top speed and was not registered for street use, while the two teenagers were not wearing helmets and had been ignoring traffic rules. The police car was on a routine patrol and the teenagers were not being chased by police at the time, the officials added. But local youths have said the police car's stoved-in bonnet suggests it rammed the teenagers. The state prosecutor who ordered the investigation, Marie-Therese de Givry, told LCI television that the teenagers had turned into the path of the police car. Two witnesses are said to have confirmed this, but the teenagers' relatives and other local residents say the police did nothing to help the dying teenagers. President Sarkozy said he wanted "everyone to calm down and let the justice system decide who was responsible." Mr Sarkozy was heavily criticised two years ago after he called for crime-ridden neighbourhoods to be "cleaned with a power hose" and described violent elements as "gangrene" and "rabble". You can send pictures and video to: yourpics@bbc.co.uk or to send via mobile please dial +44 (0)7725 100 100. Police fired teargas and rubber bullets at rioters armed with molotov cocktails and firecrackers last night, in the second day of violence after two youths died in a motorcycle accident involving a police car. President Nicolas Sarkozy, visiting China, called for calm, while police braced themselves for more unrest after hours of running street battles. The accident resembled the event that triggered suburban riots in France in 2005, sparking fears of more violence to come. Two years ago the death of two boys allegedly fleeing the police in the Paris suburb of Clichy-sous-Bois sparked weeks of violence in France's rundown estates. Dozens of youths descended on Villiers-le-Bel on Sunday evening, torching the police station, looting shops and setting cars and dustbins on fire. Nine people were arrested yesterday morning, according to police. The crash that sparked the riots occurred at around 5pm on Sunday, when a mini-motorcycle and a police car on patrol collided, killing a 15-year-old, Moushin, and his friend, Larami, 16. "We are sorry about the death of these young people, but it appears that they were unfortunately the victims of a traffic accident," said Francis Debuire, of the Force Ouvrière police union. Shortly after the riots broke out the local mayor and a police chief arrived, but were forced to turn back after the policeman was hit in the face and his car set on fire. REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes French riot policemen fire rubber bullets behind a burning car during clashes one day after two youths died in a motorbike accident with a police car in Villiers le Bel in the northern suburb of Paris, November 26,2007.
Naval Academy in Annapolis, November 27, 2007. "This was an investment of presidential prestige that we hadn't seen before," he said. U.S. President George W. Bush (C) stands on stage with Israel's Prime Minister Ehud Olmert (L) and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas at the Israel-Palestinian Peace Conference at the U.S. Tens of thousands of Hamas supporters demonstrated in Gaza on Tuesday against the talks. Advertisement Continue reading the main story “For the Arab centrists, the new Middle East is a nasty one, and the Palestinian issue resonates emotionally and deeply,” he said. It’s fear of Iran. "But you have a somewhat improved ... context in which you make those decisions of political will and political courage." Later, Israeli and Palestinian leaders will begin peace talks in Washington to build on the Annapolis conference. "I am not persuaded yet that they have grasped the seriousness and the amount of work that is required to do what they say they want to do -- to reach an agreement on the core issues by the end of the Bush administration," he added. Shuttered It is the second day of protests against the Annapolis meeting. Traders shuttered their shops in central Hebron as protesters hurled rocks and police beat people with clubs. “They want to try for a resolution to an Israeli-Palestinian conflict that has always been the focal point for mobilization of Islamic and radical groups,” he said. In part, skepticism about Bush's commitment is born of what critics consider his relative neglect of the issue for the first six years of his presidency. Levy also praised the fact that the Israelis and Palestinians had agreed to work to resolve the final status issues and to try to improve the situation on the ground simultaneously as a step in the right direction.
Naval Academy in Annapolis, November 27, 2007. Bush has set himself the Herculean... REUTERS/Jim Young ANNAPOLIS, Maryland U.S. President George W. Bush has set himself the Herculean task of shepherding an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal by the end of next year, but doubts remain about his commitment. As Bush proudly beamed behind them, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas shook hands on Tuesday over an agreement to immediately begin their first formal peace negotiations in seven years. Their goal is to craft a peace treaty by the end of 2008 -- just before the U.S. president leaves office -- but analysts remain skeptical the two politically weakened leaders can cut a deal and that Bush will seriously push them to do so. "They have got enough time. The question is whether they have the will and the skill," Aaron David Miller, a scholar at the Woodrow Wilson Center think tank in Washington and a former U.S. peace mediator, said of the Bush administration. "I am not persuaded yet that they have grasped the seriousness and the amount of work that is required to do what they say they want to do -- to reach an agreement on the core issues by the end of the Bush administration," he added. Talks on those issues -- borders, settlements, the status of Jerusalem and the fate of Palestinian refugees -- are to begin December 12 and any agreement would require compromises that will be painful for both sides. Analysts question whether Olmert, who is unpopular among Israeli voters in part because of corruption investigations, and Abbas, who lost control of the Gaza Strip to the Islamist Hamas group in June, can deliver on any deal they might make. "Neither has the support at home or the control of his government to do something extremely serious," said Jon Alterman of the CSIS think tank in Washington. In part, skepticism about Bush's commitment is born of what critics consider his relative neglect of the issue for the first six years of his presidency. "There is, I think, considerable doubt remaining about whether the administration is prepared to take on the heavy lifting ... to make this work," said Bruce Riedel, an analyst at the Brookings Institution. In his speech at Annapolis, Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal raised some doubt about U.S. determination, noting Washington had committed to try to settle the conflict "within a specific time frame and we shall hold them to that." However, Daniel Levy of the New America Foundation think tank said he saw some reasons for "very, very guarded optimism," including the fact that Bush demonstrated his interest in the issue simply by hosting the 44-nation meeting in Annapolis. "This was an investment of presidential prestige that we hadn't seen before," he said. Levy also praised the fact that the Israelis and Palestinians had agreed to work to resolve the final status issues and to try to improve the situation on the ground simultaneously as a step in the right direction. "The key question is still the political will, the political courage on all sides," Levy said. Dozens were detained after attending the Hebron protest Witnesses said Palestinian police shot into the air to disperse hundreds of mourners at the funeral in Hebron. At least 24 people were reported injured, one seriously, and a number of people were arrested. We are prepared to make a painful compromise rife with risks Ehud Olmert Israeli prime minister Key excerpts: Speeches Reactions to Annapolis The Syrian delegation at Annapolis said Damascus hoped the meeting - despite the difficulties and differing opinions - would constitute a point of departure for a peace process. Meanwhile, Israeli aircraft have targeted a Hamas base in southern Gaza, killing two Hamas men and wounding more than 10 others, Palestinian officials said. Palestinian critics, led by the Hamas militant Islamist group which controls Gaza, say the talks were convened to prop up Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and undermine their long-term aspirations. In Hebron, security forces loyal to Mr Abbas fired in the air to disperse crowds at Hisham Baradi's funeral after Islamist protesters, including form the rival Hamas movement, started throwing stones at police. Traders shuttered their shops in central Hebron as protesters hurled rocks and police beat people with clubs. Hospital official said three people were treated for gunshot wounds after Wednesday's clashes and more than 20 others for other injuries. Mr Abbas's government, which holds sway in the West Bank having lost control of Gaza to Hamas in June, announced a ban on public demonstrations ahead of the Annapolis meeting. One of Israel's fiercest critics, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, has condemned the Annapolis talks, saying the Jewish state was doomed to "collapse". HAVE YOUR SAY Ignoring Hamas and the Iranian regime could increase their popularity in the Arab world Shahram, Isfahan Send us your comments US officials hailed Tuesday's meeting attended by more than 40 countries and international agencies a success, after the low expectations beforehand. "It's going to be hard, but you had support in that room [in Annapolis] that you had not had from Arab states in the past," said Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said on US television. Israeli and Palestinian negotiators have agreed hold their first joint session somewhere in the Middle East on 12 December. Last year's parliamentary election winner Hamas - which does not recognise Israel's legitimacy and has been shunned by the US and Israel as a terrorist organisation - immediately rejected the outcome of Annapolis. “There is a genuine concern and fear among political classes in the Arab world that the Islamic trend hasn’t reached its plateau,” said Hisham Melhem, the Washington bureau chief for Al Arabiya television. “They worry that Iran and its allies act as if this may be the beginning of the end of America’s moment in the Middle East.” Advertisement Continue reading the main story Those concerns are linked in the minds of the region’s leaders to the Palestinian issue, he said. The countries of the gulf in particular, he said, “are worried about regional stability, about their kids and about jeopardizing their extraordinary economic power.” The moderate Arab states are “vulnerable to militancy because of the Arab-Israeli conflict and Iraq, and they want to reduce their vulnerability.” Advertisement Continue reading the main story Aaron David Miller, a former negotiator for the Clinton administration, said that while he applauded the effort at Annapolis, he doubted that the Bush administration “has the will and skill” to pull off a peace treaty.
Even if they can do that in Europe, they cannot do it here in Sudan. The leaflets condemned Gibbons as an "infidel" and accused her of "the pollution of children's mentality" by her actions. The Foreign Office said there would be further talks with the Sudanese government Friday. KHARTOUM, Sudan -- Two British parliament members met officials in Sudan Saturday to try to secure the release of a British teacher imprisoned for naming a teddy bear Muhammad and later said the Khartoum government wants to resolve the case. Staff from Gibbons' school, including director Robert Boulos, were present. Name Your E-mail address Town & Country Phone number (optional): Comments Do you have a family member in prison abroad? Gillian Gibbons, 54, was given 15 days in jail late Thursday after she was convicted of insulting religion. "I want people to know I've been well treated, and especially that I'm well fed. The protesters gathered in Martyrs Square, outside the presidential palace in the capital, many of them carrying knives and sticks. Lord Ahmed, who is being accompanied by the Conservatives' Baroness Sayeeda Warsi, expects to meet President Omar al-Bashir and possibly the chief justice. Fiona Long, a Channel 4 News spokeswoman, told The Associated Press that the program stood by the accuracy of its report. What we have here is a case of cultural misunderstandings Ali Alhadithi Federation of Student Islamic Societies Reaction to verdict Sudan's 'harsh' prisons Send us your comments The marchers took to the streets after Friday prayers to denounce the sentence as too lenient. Hundreds of riot police were deployed but they did not break up the demonstration.
KHARTOUM, Sudan -- Two British parliament members met officials in Sudan Saturday to try to secure the release of a British teacher imprisoned for naming a teddy bear Muhammad and later said the Khartoum government wants to resolve the case. Britain's Channel 4 News quoted the teacher, Gillian Gibbons, as saying in a statement from police custody that she was being treated well. "I want people to know I've been well treated, and especially that I'm well fed. I've been given so many apples I feel I could set up my own stall. "The Sudanese people in general have been pleasant and very generous, and I've had nothing but good experiences during my four months here. I'm really sad to leave, and if I could go back to work tomorrow then I would." Channel 4 said the statement came from Gibbons' legal team in Khartoum but her lawyer, Kamal al-Gizouli, said he was unaware of any such statement being put out. Baroness Sayeeda Warsi and Lord Nazir Ahmed, both Muslim members of Parliament's upper house, had earlier visited Gibbons in prison for more than an hour. "Gillian was surprisingly in good spirits considering the last seven days," Warsi, a Conservative, told Sky News. Concern for Gibbons' safety was sparked Friday after thousands of Sudanese, many armed with clubs and swords and beating drums, burned pictures of her and demanded her execution during a rally in the capital Khartoum. "The Sudanese government (does) want to resolve this matter. "They've been very positive so far," Ahmed said in an interview with the BBC. "We've had very frank discussions, and we are very hopeful that ... we'll be meeting more ministers and officials and this will continue until such time as we can reach a satisfactory conclusion." KHARTOUM, Sudan (CNN) -- Hundreds of angry protesters, some waving ceremonial swords from trucks equipped with loud speakers, gathered Friday outside the presidential palace to denounce a teacher whose class named a teddy bear "Mohammed" -- some calling for her execution. An undated amateur photo of Gillian Gibbons, who has been found guilty of insulting religion. The protesters, which witnesses said numbered close to 1,000, swore to fight in the name of their prophet. Gillian Gibbons, 54, was given 15 days in jail late Thursday after she was convicted of insulting religion. She was cleared of charges of inciting hatred and showing contempt for religious beliefs, her lawyer, Ali Ajeb, said. The two members of the House of Lords were set to arrive in Khartoum about 5 a.m. Saturday (9 p.m. Friday ET), Time magazine reporter Sam Dealey told CNN, citing British and Sudanese sources. A heavy police presence was maintained outside the school, but no demonstrators were there. Watch men brandish knives, shout » Armed with swords and sticks, the protesters shouted: "By soul, by blood, I will fight for the Prophet Mohammad." Gibbons is being held in a women's prison in the Omdurman district of Khartoum, and she will be deported at the end of her prison term, British consular officials told CNN. British Embassy staff said they were giving the teacher -- from the northern British city of Liverpool -- full consular assistance. In leaflets distributed earlier this week by Muslim groups, the protesters promised a "popular release of anger" at Friday's protests. The leaflets condemned Gibbons as an "infidel" and accused her of "the pollution of children's mentality" by her actions. Omer Mohammed Ahmed Siddig, the Sudanese ambassador to Britain, was summoned for a second time to meet with the British foreign secretary late Thursday after the court's ruling. Gibbons was arrested Sunday after she asked her class to name the stuffed animal as part of a school project, the Foreign Office said. She could have received a sentence of 40 lashes, a fine or jail term of up to a year, according to the Foreign Office. Watch a report on reactions to the verdict » In an editorial, the tabloid newspaper, The Sun, said Gibbons' jailing was a "grotesque insult to Islam" and called Gibbons "an innocent abroad." Don't Miss Teacher charged in teddy bear case Teacher charged in teddy bear case Bid to stop whipping Bid to stop whipping TIME.com: The blasphemous teddy bear The blasphemous teddy bear Web site: Unity High School Four vans filled with riot police were waiting outside the courthouse at Thursday's hearing, but there were no disturbances. Protests took place in Khartoum following Friday prayers Protests in Khartoum Gillian Gibbons, 54, from Liverpool, was jailed for 15 days on Thursday after allowing children in her class to name a teddy bear Muhammad.
- AFP/BBC Topics: aids-and-hiv, arts-and-entertainment, world-politics, health, diseases-and-disorders, south-africa, australia, china, european-union First posted "It's about preventing the infections. "For AIDS is a disease unlike any other," he said. South Africa has more HIV infections than any other country - five million South Africans are HIV positive. (Xinhua Photo) [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] Mr Ban has called on governments around the world to allow universal access to HIV prevention and treatment. Official reports say there are estimated to be as many as 700,000 people living with HIV/AIDS in China. In India, the Red Ribbon Express is spreading anti-Aids advice And Chinese President Hu Jintao has appeared on the front page of major state-controlled newspapers shaking the hand of a woman with HIV. The concert was the latest event organised by the 46664 campaign - which is named after Mr Mandela's old prison number and began five years ago. Yet the Vatican refuses to end its opposition to the use of condoms. Worldwide ceremonies Earlier United Nations secretary-general Ban Ki-moon launched the 20th World AIDS Day at a midnight ceremony at St Bartholomew's Church in New York. Campaigners warn that better treatment has bred complacency about the risks. All of us working together with government, communities and civil society can make the difference that is needed," he added. In Changsha, capital of Hunan Province in central China, more than 40,000 official warning signs were put on the bedstand of 120 hotels across the city. And I call for leadership at all levels to scale up towards universal access to HIV prevention, treatment, care and support by 2010 Ban Ki-moon UN Secretary General Fears over homeopathy role UN chief Ban Ki-moon said strong leadership was needed if the fight against the disease was to be won.
Nelson Mandela has been at the forefront of the fight against Aids Mandela urges action The UN recently reduced its estimate of the number of people with HIV/Aids, but the figure still stands at 33 million. Campaigners warn that better treatment has bred complacency about the risks. "The trend is encouraging but still for every person receiving treatment four others are newly infected," said former South African President Nelson Mandela. 'Breaking the cycle' Mr Mandela was speaking at a concert in Johannesburg, South Africa, where international musicians, including Annie Lennox and Peter Gabriel, were performing alongside local talent. IN PICTURES Mozambican orphans with cameras: Beauty and poverty "If we are to stop the Aids epidemic from expanding, we need to break the cycle of new HIV infections. All of us working together with government, communities and civil society can make the difference that is needed," he added. The concert was the latest event organised by the 46664 campaign - which is named after Mr Mandela's old prison number and began five years ago. South Africa has more HIV infections than any other country - five million South Africans are HIV positive. After years in which the South African government was accused of "Aids denial", the country now has the world's largest programme of antiretroviral treatment. But Aids campaigners say more must still be done - especially in preventing mother-to-child HIV transmission. And I call for leadership at all levels to scale up towards universal access to HIV prevention, treatment, care and support by 2010 Ban Ki-moon UN Secretary General Fears over homeopathy role UN chief Ban Ki-moon said strong leadership was needed if the fight against the disease was to be won. And he called for renewed efforts to focus on helping women, who now make up half of those living with Aids worldwide, and for better funding for prevention and care programmes. "I call for leadership among all governments in fully understanding the epidemic - so that resources go where they are most needed," he said in a speech in New York. "And I call for leadership at all levels to scale up towards universal access to HIV prevention, treatment, care and support by 2010," he added. US fund increase US President George W Bush on Friday urged the US Congress to authorise the doubling of financial aid to combat HIV/Aids to $30bn (£15bn) over the next five years. "We will turn the tide against HIV/Aids once and for all," he said, adding that he would visit Africa during 2008. In China, the Miss World pageant is coinciding with World Aids Day Almost three-quarters of Aids-related deaths during 2006 were in sub-Saharan Africa. But the number of people living with the virus has increased everywhere, with the most striking increases in East Asia and Central Asia/Eastern Europe. The BBC's David Loyn, in Afghanistan, says that nearly 30 years after HIV/Aids first emerged onto the world stage, it is now moving into the country with unpredictable consequences. Only 266 cases of HIV/Aids have been recorded in Afghanistan but returning refugees, truck drivers, and Afghans now flying abroad to work are bringing in the disease. There are fears the official figures are just the tip of the iceberg, our correspondent says. Vatican view In India, the Red Ribbon Express, a train with a giant Aids ribbon running the length of its side, has set off on a journey of almost 27,000km (16,000 miles) to spread advice about tackling the disease to almost 60,000 villages across the country. An estimated two and a half million people in India are affected by the Aids virus - only Nigeria and South Africa have higher numbers. In India, the Red Ribbon Express is spreading anti-Aids advice And Chinese President Hu Jintao has appeared on the front page of major state-controlled newspapers shaking the hand of a woman with HIV. The head of the Roman Catholic Church, Pope Benedict XVI, has said this week that he is spiritually close to victims of Aids and their families, but the Vatican still opposes the use of condoms as a means of fighting the epidemic. At his weekly general audience the pope called for stepped-up efforts to stop the spread of the HIV virus that causes Aids and deplored the disdain with which Aids sufferers are often treated. Roman Catholics in many parts of the world, however, believe condom use helps save lives, according to an opinion poll published by a liberal Catholic group in the United States, Catholics for Choice. According to the survey, a majority of Catholics living in Ghana, Ireland, Mexico, the Philippines and the US all believe that Catholic hospitals and government-funded clinics should be required to include condoms as part of Aids prevention. The event was organised by the 89-year-old Nelson Mandela's 46664 AIDS campaign, named after his prison number from his 27 years in jail during South Africa's apartheid regime. Thirteen years after apartheid ended and after Mr Mandela became president in South Africa's first ever democratic elections, the country is now on the front line of the struggle against HIV. Around 5.5 million of its 48 million people are infected - the world's worst rate, according to recent UN data. "It is still alarming that for every person who receives treatment there are four others who are newly infected," said the Nobel laureate, after slowly walked to the podium with the aid of his wife and a walking stick. It's about caring for the people who are already sick ... it's about rolling out the treatment, and ensuring we empower women who are at the frontline of the battle," she said. December 1 has become a time of grim stocktaking as AIDS campaigners worldwide sound the alarm over the disease's rampage through Africa, the threat it poses to Asia and former Soviet republics, and the risks to vulnerable communities such as sex workers, drug users and gay men. Australian government figures show that by the end of 2006, 26,267 Australians had been diagnosed with HIV and 10,l25 people had been diagnosed with AIDS, with 6,723 having died.
So far, they have shown no signs of the disease. China has reported 26 human cases of bird flu since 2003. "At this stage we don't have any more information about how he (Lu) would have contracted it," she said. Scientists fear the virus could mutate into a form that could pass easily from person to person, sparking a global pandemic. The local government had also taken prevention and control measures. All 69 people who had close contact with Lu have been put under strict medical observation. The man, surnamed Lu, was taken to hospital in Jiangsu province on Tuesday with a fever and died on Sunday, Xinhua news agency said, adding he had had no contact with dead poultry and there had been no reported poultry outbreak in the province. The World Health Organisation (WHO) said Chinese authorities had informed them about the case and they were in touch with the Ministry of Health. A total of 17 people have died in China from the H5N1 virus and millions of birds have been culled. After Lu's death, the Jiangsu Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Bureau and other provincial government departments conducted immediate inspections in marketplaces where live poultry was sold. The 24-year-old, surnamed Lu, developed fever, chills and other symptoms on Nov. 24. The figure was 12 percentage points more than the national standard. Sample tests all proved negative of pathogeny. Indonesia has been hardest hit, with more than 90 deaths. (Reporting by Ben Blanchard and Lindsay Beck; Editing by Sanjeev Miglani) He was hospitalized on Nov. 27 after being diagnosed with "lower left lobe pneumonia" and his condition further deteriorated.
Special report: Global fight against bird flu NANJING, Dec. 3 (Xinhua) -- A man in east China's Jiangsu Province died of bird flu on Sunday, the provincial health department reported. The 24-year-old, surnamed Lu, developed fever, chills and other symptoms on Nov. 24. He was hospitalized on Nov. 27 after being diagnosed with "lower left lobe pneumonia" and his condition further deteriorated. He was the 17th Chinese to die of avian flu since 2003. A respiratory tract sample from the man that was examined by Jiangsu Provincial Disease Control and Prevention Center on Saturday was H5N1 positive. The term referred to the virus's genetic make-up. Before he developed symptoms, Lu had been staying at home preparing for an exam and eating home-cooked food, according to local sources. He also had no contact with infected or deceased fowl, the health department said. In line with the World Health Organization (WHO) definition of avian flu infection as well as the Chinese standard, a bird flu prevention and control expert panel of the Chinese Ministry of Health concluded Lu had been infected with the flu. Jiangsu-based specialists for prevention and control of the disease said bird flu was an infectious disease shared by poultry and man. Human infections, however, were mainly caused by contact with dead or diseased domestic fowl or spread by migratory birds. No cases of human-to-human transmission of the flu have been reported, the experts said. "We have been implementing a compulsory vaccination program against highly-pathogenic bird flu since the second half of 2003," said a Jiangsu Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Bureau official. "Vaccines totaling 280 million milliliters were used for vaccinating poultry in the province this year." A recent province-wide survey over anti-pandemic work showed all its poultry had been vaccinated, and 92 percent of the birds had developed antibodies. The province had also been practicing a market access system under which all live poultry would be quarantined before being sent to market so as to ensure only the sale of healthy birds. After Lu's death, the Jiangsu Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Bureau and other provincial government departments conducted immediate inspections in marketplaces where live poultry was sold. The provincial forestry authority said there were no reported cases of abnormal bird deaths from monitoring stations around Jiangsu. China has reported 26 human cases of bird flu since 2003. The H5N1 bird flu virus has mutated to infect people more easily, although it still has not transformed into a pandemic strain, researchers said on Thursday. REUTERS/Stringer BEIJING A 24-year-old man from eastern China has died of the H5N1 strain of bird flu in the first case in the country since June, bringing the death toll from the disease to 17. The man, surnamed Lu, was taken to hospital in Jiangsu province on Tuesday with a fever and died on Sunday, Xinhua news agency said, adding he had had no contact with dead poultry and there had been no reported poultry outbreak in the province. With the world's biggest poultry population and millions of backyard birds roaming free, China is at the centre of the fight against bird flu. Scientists fear the bird flu virus could mutate into a form that could pass easily from person to person, sparking a global pandemic. China's Xinhua news agency said the man, named only as Mr Lu, died after being admitted to hospital on 27 November with severe chills and fever.
"It was just so loud, and then it was silence," she said. Police identified the gunman as Robert A. Hawkins of Nebraska. Watch police talk about the shooting » President Bush had visited Omaha Wednesday before the shooting. He said he'd left a note explaining everything." Witness Jennifer Kramer told CNN she heard at least 25 shots. Most of the victims were shot inside the Von Maur store, Sgt. Others described scenes of horror as they fled the mall. Three other people were taken to the University of Nebraska Medical Center. Maruca-Kovac then called Hawkins' mother, who went to the Maruca-Kovacs' house and retrieved the note, which she took to authorities. She says by the time officers arrived - six minutes later - the shooting was over. They have recovered an SKS assault rifle and the suspect's vehicle. "We believe there was one shooter, and one shooter only," he said. E-mail to a friend All About Nebraska • Murder and Homicide • Suicide A Creighton spokeswoman said a second female was undergoing surgery and was in critical condition Wednesday afternoon. Learn more about the victims » The other two -- a 34-year-old man who was shot in the arm, and a 55-year-old man who fell and struck a clothing rack as he was trying to escape -- were treated and released, she said. The shootings began about 1:42 p.m. Witnesses said the gunman fired down on shoppers from a third floor balcony of the Von Maur store. He came to live with her about a year and a half ago, telling her he could not stay with his own family because of "some issues with his stepmother and him."
(CNN) -- A 19-year-old gunman who killed eight people and then himself Wednesday at the Westroads Mall in Omaha, Nebraska, left a suicide note, police said. Police have identified the gunman as Robert A. Hawkins, 19, of Nebraska. more photos » Five other people were injured, and two of them were in critical condition, hospital officials said. Chief Thomas Warren of the Omaha Police Department called the shooting "premeditated," but said it "appears to be very random and without provocation." Surveillance cameras may have captured the shooting, Warren said. "We'll be here throughout the night; it's a very extensive crime scene," he said. They have recovered an SKS assault rifle and the suspect's vehicle. Debora Maruca Kovac, Hawkins' landlord who found the suicide note, said he wrote he was sorry for everything and did not want to be a burden to anyone any longer. Watch landlord describe phone call from shooter » Hawkins said in the note he loved his friends and family, but "he was a piece of s--- all his life, and now he'll be famous," she told CNN. She said Hawkins was a friend of her sons and "reminded me of a lost puppy that nobody wanted." He came to live with her about a year and a half ago, telling her he could not stay with his own family because of "some issues with his stepmother and him." Seven people were found dead at the scene by officers arriving six minutes later; two others, a male and a female, died after being transported to Creighton University Medical Center, said Fire Chief Robert Dahlquist. A Creighton spokeswoman said a second female was undergoing surgery and was in critical condition Wednesday afternoon. One, a 61-year-old man who sustained a chest wound after being shot in the armpit, underwent surgery and remained in critical condition in the intensive care unit Wednesday night, said hospital spokeswoman Maggie O'Brien. Learn more about the victims » The other two -- a 34-year-old man who was shot in the arm, and a 55-year-old man who fell and struck a clothing rack as he was trying to escape -- were treated and released, she said. Maruca Kovac told CNN that Hawkins left home Wednesday about 11 a.m., and called the house about two hours later, sounding upset. Witness Jennifer Kramer told CNN she heard at least 25 shots. Watch witnesses describe the ordeal » "He just kept firing," she said. A dispatcher told her other calls had been received and help was on the way, but she said it seemed to take "a long time" for them to arrive. She said as she was being escorted out by police, she saw a man lying injured by the escalator where she had been previously. "All of us were slightly confused because we didn't know what it was," said mall employee Charissa Tatoon about the first burst of gunfire. "I was in the women's shoe department and there was a gentleman coming down the escalator that was very near the shoe department, and he was heard saying that he was calling 911, and immediately after that, the shooter shot down from the third floor and shot him on the second floor." Warren, the police chief, said the victims included five females and three males, not including Hawkins. "When he first came to live with us, he was in the fetal position and chewed his fingernails all the time," she said. Hawkins' former school district released a photo of a youth with glasses and long black hair. Witnesses described chaos and frantic shoppers running away from the Von Maur store, where the shooting began just before 2 p.m. "You're in such shock, it's hard to think. "We had to put up our hands and follow the police to the outside." "The president is deeply saddened by the shootings in Omaha, Nebraska, earlier today," White House press secretary Dana Perino said.
Topics: child-abuse, community-and-society, family-and-children, indigenous-aboriginal-and-torres-strait-islander, stolen-generations, child-health-and-behaviour, sexual-offences, aurukun-4871, cairns-4870 First posted "I think there's areas where we don't get it right. A review of sexual abuse sentences in Aboriginal Queensland has been ordered. "I am not prepared to just write this off as an unusual one-off case," she said. System failed 10yo rape victim, Bligh admits Updated Queensland Premier Anna Bligh has acknowledged that the system failed a 10-year-old girl who was gang-raped by nine males in the Cape York Indigenous community of Aurukun. Foster Care Queensland executive director Bryan Smith says safety must be the priority rather than the placement of a child within a culturally appropriate setting. Six boys were sentenced to 12-month probation orders, with no convictions recorded, while three others aged 17, 18 and 26 were given suspended sentences. Sentencing seven of the accused in Cairns in October, Judge Bradley told them that the girl involved was not forced into sex, according to a report in The Australian newspaper. Opposition child safety spokeswoman Jan Stuckey says the policy of first placing Indigenous children with extended family might need to be reviewed. "There is nothing culturally, there is nothing morally, there is nothing socially and there is definitely nothing legally that would ever allow this sort of decision to be made," she said. That inquiry led to an intervention programme in the Northern Territory. "We had an external review of those decisions and the people involved were subject to dismissal and disciplinary action. Nine males pleaded guilty to the rape but escaped serving jail time. "I think we've got to work closer with Indigenous communities throughout the state to try and get it right."
Sexual abuse has been a noted problem in indigenous communities A judge's decision not to jail nine men guilty of raping a 10-year-old girl in an Aboriginal community has triggered outrage in Australia. The offenders were either placed on probation or given suspended sentences for the 2005 rape in the Aurukun settlement, in northern Queensland. In her ruling, Judge Sarah Bradley told them that the victim "probably agreed to have sex with all of you". A review of sexual abuse sentences in Aboriginal Queensland has been ordered. Sentencing seven of the accused in Cairns in October, Judge Bradley told them that the girl involved was not forced into sex, according to a report in The Australian newspaper. She placed six of the offenders, who were minors at the time of the rape, on probation for 12 months, local media said. The three other defendants were handed suspended six-month prison sentences. Judge Bradley later defended her sentencing, telling The Australian that the sentences were "appropriate" because they were the penalties sought by the prosecution. 'No excuse' But Australia's newly-elected Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has spoken out against the ruling, saying he was "appalled" by the verdict after it was revealed in the Australian press on Monday. "I am horrified by cases like this, involving sexual violence against women and children. My attitude is one of zero tolerance," he told reporters in Queensland, his home state. I am not prepared to just write this off as an unusual one-off case Anna Bligh Queensland Premier Boni Robertson, an Aboriginal activist in Queensland, said there could be no excuse for the judge's decision. Queensland Premier Anna Bligh has now announced a review of all sentences given over the last two years in the communities in the Cape York region where the case occurred. "I want to satisfy myself that the people of Cape York, and the people who live in remote indigenous communities, are receiving the same level of justice as we can expect in any other community in Queensland." The offenders came from some of the most powerful and prominent Aboriginal families in Cape York, while the victim's family had a lower status, The Australian reported. The case comes six months after a high-profile inquiry into child sex abuse in remote northern Australia said it found problems in every Aborigine community visited by researchers. System failed 10yo rape victim, Bligh admits Updated Queensland Premier Anna Bligh has acknowledged that the system failed a 10-year-old girl who was gang-raped by nine males in the Cape York Indigenous community of Aurukun. Nine males pleaded guilty to the rape but escaped serving jail time. There are reports today that the girl was removed from a white foster family and sent home to the community where the attack occurred. The report, in The Australian, says the girl was in foster care because she had previously been sexually abused. The paper says social workers decided to remove the girl from her non-Indigenous foster family in Cairns because to keep her there would be tantamount to "another stolen generation". Speaking to Channel Nine, Ms Bligh said an external review of the girl's case led to disciplinary action against a number of child safety officers. "When all of this happened two years ago the Government at the time identified that child safety officers had failed to protect her and that their decision making was seriously flawed," she said. "I think that's a trial for all of us ... in terms of how we go about trying to ensure that children and young people remain in their culture, however we have a drastic shortage of Indigenous foster carers throughout the state," he said. Aboriginal leaders want rape case judge dismissed Updated Queensland Aboriginal leaders have called for a District Court judge to be stood down after she allowed nine Indigenous males who raped a 10-year-old girl at Aurukun on Cape York to walk free.
"There was a massive blast. REUTERS/ Zohra Bensemra Rescue workers stand outside the Constitutional Court building after a bomb blast in Algiers, December 11, 2007. Everything fell," a U.N. worker wrote anonymously on a BBC Web site. Up to 200,000 people have been killed. Al Qaeda's North African wing said in a statement on an Islamist Internet site that two of its members carried out the bombings in the North African oil and gas exporting country. One of Tuesday's blasts occurred near the Constitutional Court building in the Ben Aknoun district and the other was near the U.N. offices and a police station in the Hydra area. The bombs were the latest in a series of attacks in Algeria this year. (Editing by Ralph Gowling) No group has admitted responsibility, but Mr Zerhouni has blamed a militant Islamist group linked to al-Qaeda. REUTERS/Louafi Larbi Rescue personnel carry the body of a bomb blast victim near the Constitutional Court building in Algiers, December 11, 2007. The interior minister said a suicide attacker appeared to have detonated the Hydra car bomb. SCHOOL BUS Students traveling in a school bus were among the casualties in Ben Aknoun, the official APS news agency said. Western nations have expressed concern at militant Islamist activity in the North African region and dependants of several Western firms operating in Algeria have been repatriated over the past 12 months due to security worries. The UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Antonio Guterres, whose staff were caught in the blast, told the BBC that he had "no doubt that the UN was targeted". It has previously focused on Algerian state symbols and foreign energy workers.
A rescue worker (L) and a gendarme stand at the site of a bomb blast at the Constitutional Court building in Algiers December 11, 2007. REUTERS/ Zohra Bensemra A gendarme stands at the site of a bomb blast at the Constitutional Court building in Algiers December 11, 2007. REUTERS/Zohra Bensemra A policeman stands near a pool of blood at the site of a bomb blast outside the Constitutional Court building in Algiers December 11, 2007. REUTERS/ Zohra Bensemra Rescue workers carry the body of a bomb blast victim outside the Constitutional Court building in Algiers, December 11, 2007. REUTERS/ Zohra Bensemra Rescue workers remove the body of a bomb blast victim from a car outside the Constitutional Court building in Algiers, December 11, 2007. REUTERS/ Zohra Bensemra Rescue workers carry the body of a bomb blast victim outside the Constitutional Court building in Algiers, December 11, 2007. REUTERS/ Zohra Bensemra Rescue workers carry the body of a bomb blast victim near the Constitutional Court building in Algiers December 11, 2007. REUTERS/ Zohra Bensemra Rescue personnel carry the body of a bomb blast victim near the Constitutional Court building in Algiers, December 11, 2007. REUTERS/ Zohra Bensemra The body of a bomb blast victim lies on the ground in Algiers, December 11, 2007. REUTERS/Louafi Larbi Rescue personnel carry the body of a bomb blast victim near the Constitutional Court building in Algiers, December 11, 2007. REUTERS/ Zohra Bensemra Rescue workers stand outside the Constitutional Court building after a bomb blast in Algiers, December 11, 2007. REUTERS/ Zohra Bensemra A rescue worker (L) and and a gendarme stand at the site of a bomb blast at the Constitutional Court building in Algiers December 11, 2007. T REUTERS/ Zohra Bensemra Bomb experts inspect a crater caused by a blast outside the Constitutional Court building in Algiers, December 11, 2007. REUTERS/ Zohra Bensemra A bomb expert inspects the site of a blast at U.N. offices in the Hydra district of Algiers December 11, 2007. REUTERS/Louafi Larbi Rescue workers carry an injured bomb blast victim outside U.N. offices in the Hydra district of Algiers December 11, 2007. REUTERS/LOUAFI LARBI The body of a bomb blast victim lies outside the constitutional court building in Algiers December 11, 2007. REUTERS/Stringer A rescue worker stands at the site of a bomb blast at U.N. offices in the Hydra district of Algiers December 11, 2007. REUTERS/ LOUAFI LARBI A rescue worker walks past a damaged university students bus at the site of a bomb blast near the Constitutional Court building in Algiers, December 11, 2007. REUTERS/ Zohra Bensemra Republican guards walk near the site of a bomb blast at the Constitutional Court building in Algiers December 11, 2007. REUTERS/ Zohra Bensemra A damaged police car is seen at the site of a bomb blast at the Constitutional Court building in Algiers December 11, 2007. REUTERS/ Zohra Bensemra A rescue worker walks past a damaged car at the site of a bomb blast at the Constitutional Court building in Algiers December 11, 2007. REUTERS/ Zohra Bensemra ALGIERS Suspected al Qaeda militants detonated twin car bombs in Algeria's capital on Tuesday, killing at least 26 people and destroying U.N. offices in one of the bloodiest attacks since civil strife in the 1990s. Al Qaeda's North African wing said in a statement on an Islamist Internet site that two of its members carried out the bombings in the North African oil and gas exporting country. The group posted pictures of what it said were the two suicide bombers holding assault rifles. An official tally put the death toll at 26, while a Health Ministry source said 67 people were killed. Algeria's state radio, monitored by the BBC in London, said the dead included three Asian nationals, a Dane and one Senegalese. Prime Minister Abdelaziz Belkhadem said the government had no reason to hide casualties and that it was immoral for international media to "bid up" the death toll. The United Nations said at least five of its employees were feared to have been killed when one blast destroyed the offices of the U.N. Development Program and badly damaged the offices of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees. "I have no doubt that the U.N. was targeted," the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, Antonio Guterres, told BBC television. Algerian state television reported six people were pulled from the wreckage of the U.N. offices during the evening and that rescuers were still searching for other possible survivors. Al Qaeda's North African wing claimed responsibility for a similar bombing in Algiers in April and other blasts east of the capital this year that have worried foreign investors in the OPEC member state. The White House, concerned by Islamist militancy in North Africa, described the attackers as "enemies of humanity". One of Tuesday's blasts occurred near the Constitutional Court building in the Ben Aknoun district and the other was near the U.N. offices and a police station in the Hydra area. A body lay on the road covered with a white blanket, two buses were burning, debris from damaged cars was strewn across pavements while police struggled to hold back onlookers. Algeria, a major gas supplier to Europe, is recovering from more than a decade of violence that began in 1992 when the then army backed government scrapped an election a radical Islamic party was poised to win. The violence has subsided but attacks this year, including the April 11 bombing that killed 33 in Algiers, has raised fears the country could slip back into the turmoil of the 1990s. One European official said the targeting of a U.N. building -- in line with past al Qaeda statements denouncing the world body as an agent of injustice against Muslims -- was a significant new departure for al Qaeda. REUTERS/ Zohra Bensemra Rescue workers remove the body of a bomb blast victim from a car outside the Constitutional Court building in Algiers, December 11, 2007.
Jalal. If his party wins, "there will be no peace in Pakistan," says Ayesha Jalal, a professor of history at Tufts University, in Medford, Mass. Bhutto said lifting the emergency was 'an important step forward' but said more needed to be done for the 'restoration of democracy'. In the end, it could be in Musharraf's interest to hold free elections, to avoid an uprising. Both parties will now contest the election. "People would be coming to him for patronage." And his political opposition is weaker and more fractured than before. In six weeks of emergency rule, which was lifted on Saturday, Pakistan's president has tightened his hold on power. Ms. Bhutto and Mr. Sharif – who share a deep antipathy for Musharraf – could also marginalize him or overturn the safeguards he introduced. With parliamentary elections still ahead in January, he has not yet won. The curbs on media remain, and some people are still under house arrest, most notably the former chief justice of the Supreme Court, who had become a rallying point for the anti-Musharraf campaign. Two soldiers and three civilians were killed near a Pakistani army camp by a suicide bomber on a bicycle yesterday, underscoring a growing number of insurgent attacks this year in which hundreds of people have been killed. 'All this tampering with the constitution is to keep him and an unaccountable military in power.' Pakistan still needed to agree on the rights and obligations of the mission and how to ensure its safety, he added. Former prime minister Nawaz Sharif waves to his supporters during an election rally in Patoki near Lahore December 16, 2007.
Former prime minister Nawaz Sharif waves to his supporters during an election rally in Patoki near Lahore December 16, 2007. REUTERS/Zulfikar Balti BRUSSELS The European Commission welcomed on Monday the lifting of emergency rule in Pakistan but called for all restrictions to be removed ahead of elections. The move by President Pervez Musharraf on Saturday meant it would be possible to send a limited European Union mission of about 50 people to observe the January 8 general election, a spokesman for the EU executive said. "We welcome President Musharraf's lifting of state of emergency and the revoking of the provisional constitutional order," Amadeu Altafaj Tardio told a regular briefing. "It is essential for all restrictions on fundamental rights and freedoms to be lifted in advance of the parliamentary elections," he said. "We thus appeal to the government to take further steps to enhance confidence in the political process." Altafaj underlined it needed to allow a level playing field for all political parties and to ensure complete transparency in the election process. EU External Relations Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner now believed it would be possible to send an election mission to Pakistan, but some points needed to be clarified, he said. Musharraf, a key ally of the West in the battle against Islamist militancy, restored the constitution after more than a month of emergency rule in which he sacked senior judges, locked up lawyers and rounded up thousands of activists. In six weeks of emergency rule, which was lifted on Saturday, Pakistan's president has tightened his hold on power. When Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf declared emergency rule six weeks ago, it was a decision fraught with peril – the opposition was threatening mass protests, and he seemed in imminent danger of being overthrown. In six weeks, he has packed the courts with loyal judges, amended the Constitution to protect him from legal challenges, and eviscerated the media's powers. With parliamentary elections still ahead in January, he has not yet won. Before he declared emergency rule on Nov. 3, Musharraf's reelection as president was challenged by lawsuits and undercut by the fact that much of the opposition boycotted the vote. The curbs on media remain, and some people are still under house arrest, most notably the former chief justice of the Supreme Court, who had become a rallying point for the anti-Musharraf campaign. With Musharraf's handpicked judges sworn in, opportunities for legal redress seem slight. "The lifting of the emergency will not make much of a difference," says Mr. Jan. "I don't think [civil society] will be able to get justice." The ultimate success or failure of Musharraf's gambit could depend on the results of the parliamentary elections scheduled for Jan. 8. If the elections are free and fair, as Musharraf has promised, polls suggest that voters will return a hung parliament – split three ways between the parties of former prime ministers Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif, and Musharraf. Such a scenario would make it unlikely that one of Musharraf's party would become prime minister – making it tempting for him to rig the elections, experts say. For instance, Sharif has said his party, the Pakistan Muslim League – Nawaz (PML-N), will reinstate the sacked Supreme Court justices. Musharraf was accused of tampering with election results in 2002 to ensure a majority for his party. President Pervez Musharraf yesterday lifted emergency rule in Pakistan but otherwise gave few signs of further concessions towards restoring democracy in the nuclear-armed country ahead of the 8 January election. After six weeks of emergency rule which have seen hundreds of lawyers, judges and opposition activists deposed and imprisoned, many, including Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry, remained under house arrest and the purged judiciary continued in place. Two soldiers and three civilians were killed near a Pakistani army camp by a suicide bomber on a bicycle yesterday, underscoring a growing number of insurgent attacks this year in which hundreds of people have been killed.
For the moment, at least, there is respite in Belgium's governmental crisis. They will be led by outgoing Flemish Liberal Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt. The government consists of five political parties: Liberals and Christian Democrats from both language communities, along with the French-speaking Socialists. Mr Verhofstadt's cabinet will remain in office until March The five-party cabinet of caretaker Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt will stay in office for three months. Coalition talks had failed to reconcile party leaders. It will then hand power to the Christian Democrats - the winners of elections on 10 June. King Albert appointed him last Thursday for a three-month term. The 14 ministers in the unity government who took their oaths of office Friday will face a full parliamentary vote of confidence on Monday. Mr Leterme remains determined to fulfil his election pledge to devolve more power to the regions. The European Commission has warned that the political paralysis was beginning to affect Belgium's economy. "They were planning to use weapons and explosives to free him ... Although there is relief that Belgium finally has a government, there is a niggling fear that this particular Christmas present will not keep the country's factions satisfied for long. The main political dispute is over greater regional autonomy - a move broadly favoured by the Dutch-speaking Flanders region but opposed by the French-speaking south. An emergency coalition is thought to be one way of helping them understand each other better. Last week, thousands of trade unionists took to the streets in Brussels, complaining about the political stalemate and rising food and fuel prices. The interim cabinet means that the clock stopped on 194 days without a new Belgian government, only a couple of weeks short of the European record of 208, set by the Netherlands in 1977.
Mr Verhofstadt's team has a backlog of important business Belgium's caretaker Prime Minister, Guy Verhofstadt, won a vote of confidence on Sunday by 97 votes to 46. Belgium's Dutch-speaking Flemish majority and the French-speaking Walloons remain deeply divided over questions of regional autonomy. Mr Verhofstadt, a Dutch-speaking Liberal, has pledged to spend the next three months drafting a new budget, tackling rising prices and preparing reforms to devolve more power to the regions. In March his five-party cabinet will hand power to Yves Leterme's Flemish Christian Democrats - the winners of the 10 June elections. Mr Leterme remains determined to fulfil his election pledge to devolve more power to the regions. Walloon politicians especially dislike Flemish plans to loosen federal control over taxation and social security. Mr Leterme is deputy prime minister and minister for the budget, transport and institutional reform in the 14-member interim government, which includes politicians from the French-speaking community. Mr Verhofstadt's cabinet will remain in office until March The five-party cabinet of caretaker Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt will stay in office for three months. It will then hand power to the Christian Democrats - the winners of elections on 10 June. Belgium had been without a full cabinet since the polls, but rival parties from the Dutch- and French-speaking regions finally struck a deal early this week. The main political dispute is over greater regional autonomy - a move broadly favoured by the Dutch-speaking Flanders region but opposed by the French-speaking south. His government will stay in office until March to tackle urgent economic issues neglected during the political crisis. Mr Verhofstadt, who was already prime minister of the outgoing cabinet, is due to outline main priorities for his caretaker government later on Friday. Belgium's King Albert II on Thursday asked Mr Verhofstadt to lead the country after five parties had agreed to participate in the new cabinet. Last week, thousands of trade unionists took to the streets in Brussels, complaining about the political stalemate and rising food and fuel prices. The European Commission has warned that the political paralysis was beginning to affect Belgium's economy. Thierry Roge / Reuters An outside view of Belgium's Parliament in Brussels Perhaps it was the advent of Christmas that focused the minds of Belgium's squabbling factions, who finally joined together Friday to form an emergency coalition government. Because there have been precious few gestures of goodwill between Belgium's Flemish and French speakers during six months of political deadlock that seemed to tear the country apart. Tensions have always existed between the Flemish, who account for around 60% of Belgium's 10.5 million citizens, and the French speakers. But the stalemate since the June 10 elections appear to have frayed ties even more, with the Flemish in particular questioning why they should be subsidizing the French speakers, based mainly in the poorer, southern region of Wallonia. The bad blood even extended to the Miss Belgium contest in Antwerp last weekend: the eventual winner, Alizée Poulicek, is of Czech origin, but despite speaking French and English, her failure to master Dutch earned her boos from the local crowd. The interim cabinet means that the clock stopped on 194 days without a new Belgian government, only a couple of weeks short of the European record of 208, set by the Netherlands in 1977. But there won't be any time for a honeymoon period: no sooner had the coalition formed than 14 people were arrested after authorities foiled a plot to free an al-Qaeda suspect arrested in September 2001. Verhofstadt's caretaker administration has been tasked by King Albert II to manage pressing problems such as the 2008 budget, the Belgian troop presence in Lebanon, and the rise in food and fuel prices. Last week, the Belgian central bank said inflation would speed up next year to its highest rates of the decade, while economic growth will slow more than previously projected.
“P.P.P. Ms. Bhutto, 54, was shot in the neck or head, according to differing accounts, as she stood in the open sunroof of a car and waved to crowds. is now in turmoil for the time being,” he said. Ms Bhutto returned from self-imposed exile in October after years out of Pakistan where she had faced corruption charges. One former government minister said the backlash could make Mr. Musharraf’s position untenable. Since her return relations with Mr Musharraf have broken down. Her brother, Murtaza - who was once expected to play the role of party leader - fled to the then-communist Afghanistan after his father's fall. How did they allow people to come so close to her? Photo The attack bore hallmarks of the Qaeda-linked militants in Pakistan. There was immediate speculation that elections would be postponed and another state of emergency declared. A former senior Pakistani intelligence official said he did not believe that the country’s intelligence agency was involved. The assassination is likely to deepen suspicion among Ms. Bhutto’s supporters of Pakistan’s security agencies. The PPP has the largest support in the country. In the months before her death, she had emerged again as a strong contender for power. Two years later he was executed after a much criticised trial on charges of conspiring to murder a political opponent. She had just addressed the rally in the town of Rawalpindi. It was hit by a double suicide attack that left some 130 dead. But he served at least eight years in jail. Mr. Musharraf went on national television on Thursday evening, describing the killing as “a great national tragedy” and announcing a three-day period of national mourning.
National and provincial assembly elections are due on 8 January. In October some 130 people were killed in an attack on Ms Bhutto's cavalcade when she returned to the country. It was one of the worst incidents of violence in a year of deteriorating security in Pakistan. 'Deafening sound' Thursday's blast happened at one of the entrance gates to the Liaquat Bagh park in Rawalpindi. Benazir Bhutto on the campaign trail PPP spokesman Farahtullah Babar said Ms Bhutto was only some 50 metres away when the bomb exploded, the Associated Press news agency reports. Mr Babar said that Ms Bhutto was safe, but subsequently PPP party members have said that Ms Bhutto was injured in the blast and taken to hospital. Her return was the result of a power-sharing agreement with President Musharraf in which he granted an amnesty that covered the court cases she was facing. It was hit by a double suicide attack that left some 130 dead. Earlier on Thursday at least four people were killed ahead of an election rally that Pakistan's former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was preparing to attend close to Rawalpindi. Ms Bhutto had a volatile political career BBC interviews Bhutto Her two brothers also suffered violent deaths. Like the Nehru-Gandhi family in India, the Bhuttos of Pakistan are one of the world's most famous political dynasties. Benazir's father, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, was prime minister of Pakistan in the early 1970s. His government was one of the few in the 30 years following independence that was not run by the army. Born in 1953 in the province of Sindh and educated at Harvard and Oxford, Ms Bhutto gained credibility from her father's high profile, even though she was a reluctant convert to politics. She was twice prime minister of Pakistan, from 1988 to 1990, and from 1993 to 1996. Stubbornness On both occasions she was dismissed from office by the president for alleged corruption. The dismissals typified her volatile political career, which was characterised by numerous peaks and troughs. At the height of her popularity - shortly after her first election - she was one of the most high-profile women leaders in the world. Young and glamorous, she successfully portrayed herself as a refreshing contrast to the overwhelmingly male-dominated political establishment. Asif Zardari has faced numerous corruption charges The determination and stubbornness for which Ms Bhutto was renowned was first seen after her father was imprisoned by Gen Zia ul-Haq in 1977, following a military coup. Two years later he was executed after a much criticised trial on charges of conspiring to murder a political opponent. Ms Bhutto was imprisoned just before her father's death and spent most of her five-year jail term in solitary confinement. During stints out of prison for medical treatment, Ms Bhutto set up a Pakistan People's Party office in London, and began a campaign against General Zia. After Gen Zia died in an explosion on board his aircraft in 1988, she became one of the first democratically elected female prime ministers in an Islamic country. Corruption charges During both her stints in power, the role of Ms Bhutto's husband, Asif Zardari, proved highly controversial. He played a prominent role in both her administrations, and has been accused by various Pakistani governments of stealing millions of dollars from state coffers - charges he denies, as did Ms Bhutto herself. Many commentators argued that the downfall of Ms Bhutto's government was accelerated by the alleged greed of her husband. Ms Bhutto left Pakistan in 1999 to live abroad, but questions about her and her husband's wealth continued to dog her. Western powers saw in her a popular leader with liberal leanings who could bring much needed legitimacy to Mr Musharraf's role in the "war against terror". Her brother, Murtaza - who was once expected to play the role of party leader - fled to the then-communist Afghanistan after his father's fall.
They have been put on alert, there have been various speculations, jihadis, the spillover effect." But a spokesman for Bhutto's Pakistan People's Party rejected the official explanation. "The government is nervous," he said. It did so in November when President Pervez Musharraf declared a state of emergency. REUTERS/Danish Ismail Police fire tear gas during an anti-government protest by supporters of assassinated opposition leader Benazir Bhutto in Rawalpindi December 28, 2007. For India the issue is whether it can now rely on any Pakistani leader. She had spoken of al Qaeda plots to kill her. Former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto was buried Friday in her ancestral hometown, one day after her assassination in Rawalpindi. Security officials had earlier said she was shot in the head and neck. Her husband and three children arrived Friday to prepare for the ceremony, and thousands of mourners joined the funeral procession, reports The Times (UK). In a televised speech, Musharraf blamed the attack on Islamist militants along the border with Afghanistan. But that might not last long. But she also had enemies in other quarters including among the powerful intelligence services and some allies of Musharraf. But for India, the worry is that instability in Pakistan could spill over the border and lead to increased militant attacks in Indian-ruled Kashmir or bomb blasts in Indian cities. There were also sporadic protests elsewhere in the country and one person was killed in the eastern city of Lahore. "With her death, the world has ended for us." Musharraf, who seized power in a military coup in 1999 but left the army last month to become a civilian president, has appealed for calm and blamed Islamist militants for the killing.
Pakistani opposition leader Benazir Bhutto waves as she leaves a rally in the city of Rawalpindi shortly before she was killed in a gun and bomb attack, December 27, 2007. REUTERS/Reuters TV People look at shops which were burned by supporters of former Pakistani prime minister Benazir Bhutto after she was assassinated on Thursday, in Rawalpindi, December 28, 2007. REUTERS/Faisal Mahmood Supporters of Pakistan's assassinated opposition leader Benazir Bhutto carry black flags as they march to attend her funeral in Naudero, December 28, 2007. REUTERS/Nadeem Soomro Mirwaiz Umar Farooq (C), chairman of a moderate faction of All Parties Hurriyat (Freedom) Conference (APHC), offer prayers for Benazir Bhutto inside the 500-year-old Grand Mosque in Srinagar December 28, 2007. REUTERS/Danish Ismail Police fire tear gas during an anti-government protest by supporters of assassinated opposition leader Benazir Bhutto in Rawalpindi December 28, 2007. REUTERS/Mian Khursheed Supporters of assassinated opposition leader Benazir Bhutto attend her funeral outside her ancestral graveyard in Garhi Khuda Bukhsh near Naudero, December 28, 2007. REUTERS/Zahid Hussein Vehicles are set on fire by supporters of Pakistan's assassinated opposition leader Benazir Bhutto in Hyderabad, December 28, 2007. REUTERS/Akram Shahid Supporters of assassinated Pakistani opposition leader Benazir Bhutto cry during a gathering to mourn her death in Dubai, December 28, 2007. REUTERS/Jumana El Heloueh Supporters of assassinated opposition leader Benazir Bhutto crowd around an ambulance carrying her body during her funeral outside their ancestral mausoleum in Garhi Khuda Bukhsh near Naudero December 28, 2007. REUTERS/Zahid Hussein Supporters of assassinated opposition leader Benazir Bhutto place her body into a grave during her funeral in Garhi Khuda Bukhsh, near Naudero, December 28, 2007. REUTERS/Zahid Hussein GARHI KHUDA BAKHSH, Pakistan Benazir Bhutto was laid to rest next to her father in the family mausoleum on Friday after the opposition leader's assassination plunged Pakistan into crisis and triggered violent protests. Pakistan's government said it had evidence al Qaeda was responsible for killing Bhutto in a suicide attack at an election rally on Thursday, but her party dismissed the claim. The 54-year-old's death stoked fears a January 8 election meant to return Pakistan to civilian rule could be put off amid a backlash threatening to engulf embattled President Pervez Musharraf. "We have intelligence intercepts indicating that al Qaeda leader Baitullah Mehsud is behind her assassination," an Interior Ministry spokesman said. Mehsud, based near the Afghan border, is one of Pakistan's most wanted militant leaders. "The government is nervous," he said. "They are trying to cover up their failure" to provide adequate security. Troops were called out to quell protests in Bhutto's home province of Sindh, where she had huge support, particularly among the rural poor. Officials said 31 people, including four policemen, had been killed since Bhutto's assassination. Tens of thousands of mourners cried and beat their heads as Bhutto was borne from her ancestral home to the domed mausoleum. Bhutto's husband, Asif Ali Zardari, wept as he accompanied her coffin, draped with the green, red and black tricolor of her party, on the 7-km (4-mile) journey to the tomb in the dusty village of Garhi Khuda Bakhsh. He then prayed there with the couple's three children, son Bilawal, 19, and daughters Bakhtawar, 17 and Aseefa, 14. Many mourners chanted slogans against Musharraf and the United States, which has long backed the former army general in the hope he can maintain stability in the nuclear-armed country racked by Islamist violent. "Bhutto was my sister and Bhutto was like my mother," cried farmer Imam Baksh. Musharraf, who seized power in a military coup in 1999 but left the army last month to become a civilian president, has appealed for calm and blamed Islamist militants for the killing. SMOULDERING VEHICLES World leaders urged Pakistan to stay the course towards democracy, as Bhutto's death rattled markets and triggered a flight to less risky assets such as bonds and gold. "Unrest in Pakistan is eroding the market sentiment dramatically as Pakistan, unlike North Korea or Iran, is known to really have nuclear weapons," said Koichi Ogawa, chief portfolio manager at Daiwa SB Investments. In Sindh, authorities issued an order to shoot violent protesters on sight. Hundreds of cars, trucks and buses smoldered in the interior of the province and crowds of men set up road blocks and chanted slogans against Musharraf. Meanwhile, a blast at an election meeting in Pakistan's troubled northwest killed six people including a candidate for the party that supports Musharraf, police said. There were also sporadic protests elsewhere in the country and one person was killed in the eastern city of Lahore. The Interior Ministry said Bhutto had not been shot, nor hit by shrapnel, but had been killed when the force of the explosion smashed her head against a lever on the sun-roof. In 1988, aged just 35, Bhutto became the Muslim world's first democratically elected woman prime minister.
"We are all in mourning," he said. But today party officials said the party would participate if the PPP did. Mr. Zardari, known as Mr. Benazir Bhutto." Advertisement Continue reading the main story “If there is a gunshot wound the security was abysmal,” Ms. Riedel said. Bilawal's focus on the "stability of the federation" was significant. He added the government did not accept the inquiries being conducted by the government of President Pervez Musharraf. She says he was not accompanied by any security at Oxford. Ten Percent during his reign as Minister for Investment during Ms. Bhutto’s second term as Prime Minister, was jailed in Pakistan for eight years on corruption charges. New pictures Earlier, Pakistani television released new pictures it said showed Ms Bhutto's attackers - a gunman and a suicide bomber. You can exile a man but not an idea. The assassination opened the question of whether elections due on 8 January would go ahead as planned. Zidari was openly protective of his son during the press conference, at one point saying that he, not Bilawal, would answer all questions because while the young man may be the head of one of Pakistan's biggest parties he was "of a tender age." But the doctors had stressed to him that “without an autopsy it is not at all possible to determine as to what had caused the injury,” Mr. Minallah wrote in his open letter. But those polls are now likely to be put off because of the continuing violent unrest around the country. Mr. Zardari urged the main opposition leader, Nawaz Sharif, who heads a faction of the Pakistan Muslim League and promised to boycott the election, to contest the election, too.
Bilawal says his father will run the party while he is away Bilawal, who will be a titular head while he finishes his studies at Oxford University, said: "My mother always said democracy is the best revenge." Ms Bhutto's widower, Asif Ali Zardari, who will run the party day-to-day, said it would contest upcoming elections. But it is unclear whether the vote will go ahead as planned early next month. Mr Zardari appealed to the former prime minister Nawaz Sharif - a long-time Bhutto rival - to drop his threat to boycott the polls. Name change Mr Zardari and his son were speaking at a news conference after a meeting of the PPP leadership in Naudero, near Larkana in southern Pakistan. PPP TOP LEADERS Asif Ali Zardari (pictured) Benazir's widower and former political ally, has faced corruption and other charges Bilawal Bhutto Benazir's son, a 19-year-old Oxford University student, considered too young by some PPP members Makhdoom Amin Fahim Senior PPP figure and top aide to Benazir Profile: Bilawal Bhutto Mourners blame Musharraf Search for stability continues Another senior party official, vice-chairman Makhdoom Amin Fahim, said Ms Bhutto had named Mr Zardari as her successor as party chairman. But he said Mr Zardari had turned it down in favour of his son - a decision he said the party leadership had endorsed. Mr Zardari also announced that the couple's children would now change their names and be called Bhutto Zardari. Sitting between his father and Mr Fahim, Bilawal himself said his father would run the party while he was away at university. "When I return, I promise to lead the party as my mother wanted me to," he said. But Mr Zardari blocked any further reporters' questions to Bilawal, saying that although party chairman, he was still of "tender age". Mr Zardari also said he had refused to allow an autopsy on Ms Bhutto's body. "I've lived here long enough to know how and where an autopsy would have been conducted," he said. Instead, he said the party was asking the United Nations and the British government to conduct an investigation similar to the one carried out after the killing of the former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. And he appealed for an end to the unrest in Pakistan, which has killed at least 38 people since Ms Bhutto's killing. New pictures Earlier, Pakistani television released new pictures it said showed Ms Bhutto's attackers - a gunman and a suicide bomber. They also apparently showed Ms Bhutto was inside her car, and no longer standing through the sun roof, when the explosion happened. Pakistani media picked out two suspected attackers, one of which apparently raised a gun (bottom) The images added to the dispute over Ms Bhutto's death. Interior ministry spokesman Brig Javed Iqbal Cheema said on Friday that she was killed when the force of the bomb blast knocked her head against a sun roof fitting, and was not hit by bullets. The PPP has insisted she was killed by two bullets, one of which pierced her skull and another which hit her in the neck. The assassination opened the question of whether elections due on 8 January would go ahead as planned. The ruling party says they are likely to be delayed for several weeks, on the grounds that the vote would "lose credibility" if held under current conditions. Pakistan's election commission has called an emergency meeting for Monday, to decide whether the poll should be delayed. But the PPP says it wants the elections to go ahead as planned - even though it is not clear who would be its leading candidates. And his father has been repeatedly accused of corruption - though he denies the charges and has never been convicted in court. Mr Zardari said party vice-chairman Mr Fahim would probably be its candidate for prime minister. But the BBC's Owen Bennett-Jones - reporting from Naudero - says filling the political gap left by Benazir Bhutto will be a very big challenge for her party. Ms. Bhutto’s husband, Mr. Zardari, said the party had passed a resolution that would be sent to the United Nations calling for an international inquiry into the circumstances of her death. Advertisement Continue reading the main story The decision to contest the election is seen as a pragmatic move to attract the massive sympathy vote that the party expects in the wake of Ms. Bhutto’s assassination. Some analysts said they believed the party could top the government party’s vote, and command a new parliament. Advertisement Continue reading the main story As pressure increased on Pakistan to accept an international inquiry into Ms. Bhutto’s death, the team of doctors who frantically tried to revive her Thursday said they had requested an autopsy but were rebuffed by the chief of police in Rawalpindi, according to a member of the board of the hospital where she was treated. Photo On the night Ms. Bhutto died, an unnamed Interior Ministry spokesman was quoted by the official Pakistani news agency as saying that the former prime minister had died of a “bullet wound in the neck by a suicide bomber.” Advertisement Continue reading the main story The next day, Javed Iqbal Cheema, the Interior Ministry spokesman, said at a news conference that Ms. Bhutto had died of a wound suffered when she hit her head on a lever attached to the sunroof of the vehicle that was carrying her through a crowd after a political rally.
Kenya mafia," it reads, adding, "Kill 2, get 1 free." A witness said police had opened fire. Mr Kibaki's national margin of victory was 230,000 votes. While Odinga himself appealed for calm, some ODM supporters say the violence is understandable. “We are going back to the days of dictatorship.” Advertisement Continue reading the main story But a lot of people have not given up. "The international community knows exactly what has happened: Mr. Kibaki lost the election," says opposition presidential candidate Raila Odinga at a Monday press conference. There were running battles in Nairobi slums, and violence was reported in the coastal town of Mombasa. Government forces are cracking down on protesters in the wake of Thursday's controversial vote. He told the BBC that people had taken to the streets in protest because their "democratic right had been usurped by a small clique". Charges of rigging from both major parties, violent protests, and a spiral of ethnic violence – some of it prompted by racist cellphone text messages – have killed more than 120 Kenyans around the country. “Why are we fighting now?” One Luo man yelled out: “Let Raila and Kibaki fight! All Kenyan television broadcasts have been severely restricted, with bans on live broadcasts, and all other news items subject to government censorship. Many of the roads to town were blocked by soldiers who warned drivers that if they entered the city, their cars would be burned. View all New York Times newsletters. Some neighborhoods, such as the Nairobi slum of Kibera, have been sealed off to prevent the spread of violence.
Government forces are cracking down on protesters in the wake of Thursday's controversial vote. The thousand-odd protesters carried leafy branches – a standard totem of protest in Kenya – and returned to the slum of Kibera after being turned back, peacefully, by police. It is a calm exception to the looting, shooting, and tear gas that have followed Kenya's most closely contested presidential election. It is also a sign that opposition discontent – peaceful or otherwise – over the announced victory of incumbent President Mwai Kibaki shows no sign of stopping. "The international community knows exactly what has happened: Mr. Kibaki lost the election," says opposition presidential candidate Raila Odinga at a Monday press conference. If the Dec. 27 elections were a test of Kenyan democracy, as analysts said they would be, the past few days show Kenya heading for a failing grade. Charges of rigging from both major parties, violent protests, and a spiral of ethnic violence – some of it prompted by racist cellphone text messages – have killed more than 120 Kenyans around the country. "From an outside perspective, it looks like [this election] happened too fast," says Bradley Austin, an election expert at the International Foundation for Election Systems. "I don't think they had all the systems in place that they wanted. And then you add in 2 million additional voters [since the 2002 election], with such a high voter turnout, and you have what you have here." Some neighborhoods, such as the Nairobi slum of Kibera, have been sealed off to prevent the spread of violence. Police in riot gear and paramilitary troops with ax handles have taken positions in key intersections, closing off sensitive areas with boulders and yellow tape. Spasms of ethnic violence In towns across Kenya, ethnic violence is breaking out, with members of Mr. Odinga's Luo community attacking Kikuyus in western parts of the country, and members of Mr. Kibaki's Kikuyu community attacking Luos in Central Province. Police response to that violence has been swift, with reports of soldiers and paramilitary forces using live ammunition to clear away looters and protesters. All Kenyan television broadcasts have been severely restricted, with bans on live broadcasts, and all other news items subject to government censorship. The government says this is necessary to prevent violence reminiscent of the 1994 genocide in Rwanda. But without independent journalism, rumors are spreading like wildfire, and irresponsible or hateful statements gain power. One cellphone text message making the rounds calls for violence against Kikuyus: "Let's wipe out the Mt. Kenya mafia," it reads, adding, "Kill 2, get 1 free." At the same time, election observers have begun to criticize the Dec. 27 elections as deeply flawed. Observers allege fraud "I myself have seen forms which have been changed and no one could tell me who had done the changes," said chief European Union election observer Alexander Lambsdorff. At their campaign headquarters, leaders from Odinga's Orange Democratic Movement Party (ODM) met to discuss their next move. A planned march into the city for an "alternative swearing-in ceremony" was squashed when police sealed off all routes to the planned venue: Uhuru Park. "He was not given the ballots by the majority of the people." "This is not a cocktail party," says one losing ODM parliament candidate, at ODM headquarters. "The little man is asserting his rights. He tried to do that in the legal way by casting his vote, but the state used its machinery to stop him. The most intense fighting, though, is in western Kenya, Mr. Odinga’s stronghold, where a mix of hooliganism, political protest and ethnic violence has claimed dozens of lives. The police have responded by shooting looters on sight and forbidding people in Kisumu to leave home at night or walk around during the day in groups larger than two. On Monday, they had planned to hold their own inauguration and crown Mr. Odinga, 62, the “people’s president.” But the government warned that such an event would be considered a coup and sent hundreds of riot police officers in padded suits to the Nairobi park where the ceremony was to take place.
Maybe not. Sometimes, he said, especially at night and on weekends, not enough personnel are available. "In the hospital should be the best place to have a cardiac arrest." What's the solution to this problem in hospitals nationwide? Advertisement Continue reading the main story Dr. Saxon said the automatic defibrillators should be used more, along with the type of heart monitoring now given mostly to cardiac patients. Delays often occurred after-hours and on weekends, doctors report in Thursday's New England Journal of Medicine. Only about 30% survive long enough to go home. But delay defibrillation — even by a few minutes — and your chances tumble to 22.2 percent. ON THE WEB: Read the study No one knows precisely how many patients go through cardiac arrest and resuscitation. Krumholz says the data shed no light on why black patients waited longer than others. Because they are fully automated, the machine decides whether a shock is needed, and quickly administers it — so that anyone can use it quickly. Dr. Chan said researchers thought they knew some of the reasons for delays. Hospitals with the best track records may keep their staffs sharp, he said, by conducting resuscitation drills or “mock codes,” and may have rapid response teams, which are specially trained groups that take care of all cardiac arrests. Medical guidelines recommend shocking such patients' hearts back to life within two minutes using defibrillator paddles. Please try again later. Their information would be transmitted to a computer network that would send out an alert if needed. Delays were seen most often in blacks and in hospitals with fewer than 250 beds.
If your heart were to stop suddenly, you'd think a hospital would be the safest place to be. Maybe not. An alarming new study, released today in the New England Journal of Medicine, says that in about a third of cardiac arrest cases nationwide, hospital staffs do not respond quickly enough, which increases the risk of brain damage and death, and may contribute to the deaths of thousands of Americans every year. Watch the full report tonight on "World News with Charles Gibson" at 6:30 p.m. ET Click here to ask one of the authors of this new study a question about hospital heart care. On television a "code blue" is called, and doctors and nurses come running with a defibrillator to shock the heart back to life. But in actuality, hospital staffs often don't move that fast, and the consequences can be chilling. If you get prompt defibrillation within two minutes of cardiac arrest, your changes of surviving are nearly 40 percent. But delay defibrillation — even by a few minutes — and your chances tumble to 22.2 percent. Today's study, which looked at 6,789 cardiac arrest cases at 369 hospitals, showed that hospital staffs took longer than two minutes nearly one-third of the time. Now compare those statistics to the more than 50 percent of patients who survive heart attacks while in a crowded airport or a casino, where defibrillators are readily available. Delays in hospitals were most common at night and on weekends. Patients in smaller hospitals with fewer than 250 beds, and in units without heart monitors, are in especially grave danger. What's the solution to this problem in hospitals nationwide? Researchers say hospitals should conduct resuscitation drills to keep their staffs sharp, and they should also invest in newer equipment. Most hospitals rely on traditional defibrillators, which can be more cumbersome and time-consuming, and usually require a doctor. But newer defibrillators, which cost about $500 each and can be found in many airports and hotels, are much faster and easier to use. Because they are fully automated, the machine decides whether a shock is needed, and quickly administers it — so that anyone can use it quickly. The sad reality, say some doctors, is that, with so many of these devices now in public places, you may actually be better off if your heart stops in a department store than in many hospitals. The study, being published Thursday in The New England Journal of Medicine, is the largest ever to look at what happened to patients with “shockable” abnormalities in heart rhythm, and to correlate their outcomes with the time it took to deliver the needed shock. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Delays were more likely in patients whose hearts stopped at night or on the weekend, who were admitted for noncardiac illnesses, in hospitals with fewer than 250 beds and in units without heart monitors. Being black also increased the odds of a delay, but the researchers said this finding probably reflected the quality of hospitals in areas where most blacks live and are treated, rather than a decision by medical workers to drag their feet because of a patient’s race. In hospitals as a whole, delays may be even more frequent than is suggested by the 30 percent figure in the hospitals studied, said the lead author, Dr. Paul S. Chan of St. Luke’s Mid America Heart Institute in Kansas City, Mo., and the University of Michigan. Dr. Chan said that because all the hospitals in the study had joined a national registry on cardiac arrest, meaning that they were already putting special efforts into trying to meet resuscitation guidelines, they probably performed better than average. Advertisement Continue reading the main story The registry, created by the American Heart Association, keeps the data on which the study was based anonymous, Dr. Chan said, so it not possible to identify hospitals that performed especially well or poorly. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Dr. Leslie A. Saxon, chief of cardiology at the University of Southern California and author of an editorial accompanying the study, said most people probably assumed that a hospital would be the best place to have a cardiac arrest. Advertisement Continue reading the main story “I think it’s something doctors have always known but not thought about,” she said, adding that Dr. Chan’s team had conducted a “great study” that would help doctors recognize the problem and try to solve it. While exact numbers are not known, researchers estimate that 370,000 to 750,000 hospitalized patients have a cardiac arrest and undergo resuscitation every year in the United States. (The rest need drugs or other treatments.) “We have the technology available, and certainly the knowledge and skilled personnel in the hospital to shock patients back to normal rhythm.” Please verify you're not a robot by clicking the box. In some hospitals, nurses other than those in the intensive care unit are not allowed to use defibrillators, and must wait for a doctor to show up. Advertisement Continue reading the main story “In a small hospital in the middle of the night,” Dr. Chan said, “the only doctor may be in the emergency room.” The next step in the research, he said, is to learn precisely what successful hospitals do that sets them apart, so that others can learn. Hospitals with the best track records may keep their staffs sharp, he said, by conducting resuscitation drills or “mock codes,” and may have rapid response teams, which are specially trained groups that take care of all cardiac arrests. Traditional defibrillators used in hospitals require that a doctor or a nurse look at the patient’s electrocardiogram, verify that the problem is “shockable,” adjust the machine and deliver the shock. By contrast, the automatic defibrillators that have come into use in public places like airports and casinos during the last decade or so are meant to be used by laymen: trained employees or even bystanders. Connected to the chest of someone who has collapsed, the machine senses electrical activity in the heart and delivers a shock only if it is needed. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Dr. Saxon said the automatic defibrillators should be used more, along with the type of heart monitoring now given mostly to cardiac patients.
In 2004, about 125,000 came out, the party said. "It starts here, but it doesn't end here." Change was Obama's calling card in the arduous campaign for Iowa's backing. Polls from New Hampshire indicate that the Democratic race is between Mrs Clinton and Mr Obama, while the Republican contest is between Mr Romney and Senator John McCain. Nearly complete returns showed Huckabee with 34 percent support, compared with 25 percent for Romney. KEY DATES 3 Jan: Iowa caucuses 8 Jan: New Hampshire primary 15 Jan: Michigan primary 19 Jan: Nevada caucuses; South Carolina primary (Rep) 26 Jan: South Carolina primary (Dem) 29 Jan: Florida primary 5 Feb: some 20 states including California, New York, New Jersey Iowa state profile Q&A: Primaries and caucuses "He's a fantastic candidate. Former Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina gained second, barely edging out Clinton, the former first lady. "You came together as Democrats, Republicans and independents to stand up and say that we are one nation, we are one people and our time for change has come." Watch an audio slideshow of the candidates' speeches » Huckabee's victory can be attributed to his overwhelming support among evangelical voters and women, the polls indicate. "A new day is needed in American politics, just like a new day is needed in American government," the former Arkansas governor told cheering supporters. All About Hillary Clinton • Barack Obama • Mike Huckabee • Mitt Romney • Iowa I thought he would win but I didn't know it was going to be quite this good," she said.
DES MOINES, Iowa (CNN) -- Barack Obama and Mike Huckabee have claimed victories in Iowa's first-in-the-nation caucuses. With all Democratic precincts reporting, Obama had the support of 38 percent of voters, compared to 30 percent for John Edwards and 29 percent for Hillary Clinton. "The numbers tell us this was a debate between change and experience, and change won," said CNN political analyst Bill Schneider. Both have decided to abandon their White House runs. New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, who finished fourth, said his campaign plans to "take the fight to New Hampshire." Watch where millions of dollars and months of campaigning have left candidates » On the GOP side, Sen. John McCain of Arizona, whose campaign was languishing six months ago, and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney are now tied for first place in New Hampshire, according to the poll, which was released Wednesday. He was already in New Hampshire by Thursday afternoon, trying to get a jump on his rivals. For the winners of both party's caucuses in Iowa, it's an age revolt for Democrats versus a religious revolt for Republicans, Schneider said. Among Democrats, Obama took 57 percent of the under-30 vote, according to CNN's analysis of entrance polls. Watch Obama celebrate his victory Speaking to supporters, Obama called the night a "defining moment in history." "You came together as Democrats, Republicans and independents to stand up and say that we are one nation, we are one people and our time for change has come." Watch an audio slideshow of the candidates' speeches » Huckabee's victory can be attributed to his overwhelming support among evangelical voters and women, the polls indicate. With 92 percent of Republican precincts reporting, Huckabee, former governor of Arkansas, had the support of 34 percent of voters, compared to 25 percent for Romney. » Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who has turned the focus of his campaign to the February 5 "Super Tuesday" primaries, trailed with 4 percent. "We've paid a lot of attention to states that some other candidates haven't paid a lot of attention to," Giuliani said, adding, "Time will tell what the best strategy is." Watch Giuliani describe his strategy » Huckabee was vastly outspent by Romney, who poured millions of dollars into a sophisticated get-out-the-vote operation. "People really are more important than the purse, and what a great lesson for America to learn," Huckabee said in thanking his supporters. Watch Huckabee claim victory » For most of 2007, Huckabee languished in the single digits in the polls and had very little success raising money. But his momentum picked up in the final six weeks of the year when social conservatives -- an important voting bloc in Iowa -- began to move his way. "We won the silver ... You win the silver in one event. It doesn't mean you're not going to come back and win the gold in the final event, and that we are going to do," Romney said. Clinton, speaking with 96 percent of the vote in, portrayed herself as the candidate who could bring about the change the voters want. "I am so ready for the rest of this campaign, and I am so ready to lead," she said. Clinton had worked to convince Iowa caucus-goers she has the experience to enact change, while Edwards and Obama preached that she is too much of a Washington insider to bring change to the nation's capital. Edwards, in a tight race for second, said Iowa's results show that "the status quo lost and change won." Watch Edwards describe his next move » "Now we move on ... to determine who is best suited to bring about the changes this country so desperately needs," he said. McCain, who had largely abandoned Iowa to focus on the New Hampshire primary, said, "The lessons of tonight's election in Iowa are that one, you can't buy an election in Iowa; and two, that negative campaigns don't work." Watch what McCain says about the results » With such a close race on both sides, voter turnout was key. See how candidates courted voters » The Iowa Democratic Party said 124,000 people participated in the 2004 caucuses, while the Republican Party of Iowa estimated that 87,000 people took part in the 2000 caucuses. The White House hopefuls campaigned down to the wire in Iowa, determined to reach as many people as possible before the 1,781 caucuses that started at 7 p.m. Iowa Democrats, unlike Republicans, use a more complicated system to determine a candidate's viability. Democrats are asked twice: an initial question of support, and a second if their first-choice candidate does not reach a 15 percent threshold to achieve viability. Sen. Barack Obama, bidding to be the first black president in American history, won the Iowa caucuses Thursday night, pushing Sen. Hillary Clinton back to third place in the opening test of the race for the Democratic presidential nomination. Obama, 46, told a raucous victory rally his triumph showed that in "big cities and small towns, you came together to say, 'We are one nation, we are one people and our time for change has come.'"
Their father, Muhammad Fayyad, a farmer, was wounded. It said an Israeli Army spokeswoman said troops had shot at a gunman and confirmed hitting him. Advertisement Continue reading the main story The Israelis also carried out airstrikes on what they said was an Islamic Jihad warehouse in Gaza City and three other military targets. Israel says it is trying to stop rocket fire into Israel. Mr. Dahdouh was killed Dec. 17; Mr. Murshad was killed a week ago. Palestinian residents said the Israeli tank shells hit a house in the eastern outskirts of Bani Sohayla village east of Khan Younis in southern Gaza Strip. At least two people died in those strikes, said medics. In a separate exchange of fire in Gaza City, Hamas reported one of its gunmen dead. A Fatah leaflet said Israeli aircraft bombed a prison in Rafah in the afternoon, killing a Fatah member. Please try again later. The king had met Wednesday with the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas. “Peace with Egypt is fundamental to us. A rocket launched on Thursday reached the city of Ashkelon, some 17km (10 miles) north of Gaza. Residents said there was a real war at the scene, where Israeli soldiers and Palestinian militants confronted each other for several hours before the Israeli army's withdrawal from the area in the early afternoon. View all New York Times newsletters. Photo Medics at Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis said that Sami Fayyad’s wife was wounded, and that the couple’s 3-year-old daughter was clinically dead. Israeli officials said Mr. Olmert told the king that Israel would not build any new settlements in the West Bank and would avoid further land appropriations there, briefed him on the Katyusha rocket strike and said that unless the Palestinians cracked down on terrorism, no progress could be made.
Israel is upset with Cairo for allowing more than 2,000 Gazans to return home from the hajj pilgrimage through the Rafah border crossing with Gaza, rather than, as originally agreed, through the Kerem Shalom crossing controlled by Israel. Israel wanted to check the returning pilgrims to see if they were smuggling cash back for Hamas, which runs Gaza, or if some of those returning were wanted militants who had received military training in Lebanon, Syria or Iran. “So we want to try to encourage Egypt to do more, but at the same time to ensure that the relationship remains stable,” Mr. Regev said. But if Hamas is allowed through a porous border to strengthen itself, build a more formidable military regime and expand the range of its rockets, it’s not in Egypt’s interests, either.” Israel continued its attacks on Palestinian militants in Gaza, especially from Islamic Jihad. In an incursion in southern Gaza, in a village near Khan Yunis, Israeli troops and tanks, backed by helicopter gunships, destroyed a house, killing two brothers, Ahmad and Sami Fayyad, their sister, Asma Fayyad, 24, and their mother, Karima Fayyad, 60. Photo Medics at Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis said that Sami Fayyad’s wife was wounded, and that the couple’s 3-year-old daughter was clinically dead. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Sami Fayyad, 30, was a fighter with Islamic Jihad’s military wing. Ahmad Fayyad, 32, was a former member of the Palestinian Authority security forces. Israeli Army spokesmen said the brothers were firing on Israeli forces from alongside and inside the house. The house was hit by at least one tank shell, and Palestinian witnesses said Israeli forces, using armored bulldozers, then collapsed the rest of the house. Advertisement Continue reading the main story In a statement, Israel said blame for the deaths of the women “lies with the gunmen, who operated intentionally from a civilian environment.” Advertisement Continue reading the main story At the Khan Yunis hospital were the bodies of two other Palestinian fighters killed in an exchange of fire with Israeli troops. Munir Burhom, 22, and Burhom Abu Lehyia, age unknown, were members of Hamas’s military wing. Two more Hamas fighters were also killed Thursday, while more than 30 people were wounded, including five children on the way to school, hit by shrapnel. Three bodies, so far unidentified, were taken from a house destroyed by Israel. Early Friday, Israeli troops killed at least one Palestinian militant in a clash near the northern Gaza town of Beit Hanoun, Reuters reported. It said an Israeli Army spokeswoman said troops had shot at a gunman and confirmed hitting him. But Palestinians said the Israelis also bombed the Gaza City homes of two senior Islamic Jihad commanders whom the Israelis killed in rocket attacks a week ago or more ago. Mr. Dahdouh was killed Dec. 17; Mr. Murshad was killed a week ago. Photo The Israelis, like the British during the Mandate, often destroy the homes of prominent enemies, usually by bulldozer in the occupied West Bank. To destroy homes from the air in Gaza, where Israel no longer keeps a permanent military presence, seems to be a new policy, intended to deter other militants by underlining the risk not just to their own lives but to the livelihood of their families. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Israeli military officials insisted, however, that the four targets bombed were specific military objectives and not homes, and that only one airstrike took place in Gaza City, on the warehouse. A more primitive Qassam rocket landed in a backyard of the Israeli town of Sderot, damaging a house and sending the owner, a woman, into shock. In the West Bank, Israeli troops in about 70 jeeps moved into the center of Nablus and arrested three senior members of Al Aksa Martyrs Brigades, affiliated to Fatah, and dozens were wounded in the raid. In their talks, in Aqaba, the king warned Israel against expanding its settlements on occupied land and said such moves threatened to obstruct progress on a lasting peace accord, a palace official told Reuters. Israeli officials said Mr. Olmert told the king that Israel would not build any new settlements in the West Bank and would avoid further land appropriations there, briefed him on the Katyusha rocket strike and said that unless the Palestinians cracked down on terrorism, no progress could be made. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Separately, Israel announced that it had detected the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu in poultry in a petting zoo near a kindergarten in the northern, coastal town of Binyamina. The government said that 18 contaminated birds were found dead last week, and it ordered the destruction of poultry and banned the transportation of animals in a two-mile radius of the town. GAZA, Jan. 3 (Xinhua) -- A Fatah prisoner in a prison in Gaza border town of Rafah was killed on Thursday afternoon, increasing the Palestinian toll in a daylong of Israeli air and ground strikes against militant groups in the Gaza Strip to nine while around 30 others were wounded, witnesses and hospital officials said. In a leaflet, Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) said three of its members were killed in three separate air and ground strikes, adding that two were killed in eastern Khan Younis and one was killed and five others wounded in a fresh Israeli air strike on a group of Hamas in Sheja'eya neighborhood in eastern Gaza City. Residents said there was a real war at the scene, where Israeli soldiers and Palestinian militants confronted each other for several hours before the Israeli army's withdrawal from the area in the early afternoon.
During his trip, he said, he will remind allies that "Iran was a threat. The US Pentagon says the American ships were about to open fire when the Iranian boats withdrew. Internal U.S. Navy transmissions can also be heard on the tape. US President George W Bush described the incident as "provocative", adding that it was a "dangerous situation" that should not have happened. “Inbound small craft: You are approaching a coalition warship operating in international waters. ... You will explode,” according to a video released Tuesday by the Pentagon. U.S. military officials, including Cosgriff, cautioned, however, that they have not been able to connect definitively the radio call with one of the Revolutionary Guards boats. The two on the left “were more energetic and made a number of runs toward the lead ship, the USS Hopper.” The two boats dumped boxes into the water. Bush also met yesterday with his national security team and members of Iraq's Provisional Reconstruction Teams (PRTs) to assess what he called the "civilian surge" to accelerate development in Iraq's 18 provinces. Your identity is not known; your intentions are unclear,” the unidentified Navy crew member says. President Bush warned Iran yesterday that its confrontation with three U.S. warships in the Persian Gulf on Sunday was a provocative act, as the Pentagon released audio and video recordings of the dawn showdown. In Tehran, Iran’s Foreign Ministry suggested that the Iranian boats had not recognized the U.S. vessels. I don’t know what their thinking was, but I’m telling you what my thinking was. Warning You will explode Voice on US tape Radio communications The video, said to be shot from the bridge of the USS Hopper in the Strait of Hormuz, appears to show the small boats racing near the wake of the US ships and crossing close to each other.
Iran says US video was fabricated The US says Iranian boats were being provocative and dangerous The confrontation Iran's Revolutionary Guards say the US navy fabricated evidence that a convoy of its ships was harassed by Iranian speedboats in Gulf waters on Sunday. The US has released grainy footage, apparently showing small boats speeding near the American warships. In an audio recording, an Iranian radio operator appears to say "I am coming at you; you will explode". The Iranian parliamentary speaker has dismissed the affair as being part of a US propaganda campaign against Tehran. "The footage released by the US Navy are file pictures and the audio has been fabricated," Iranian state-run TV quoted a Revolutionary Guards source as saying. The US Pentagon says the American ships were about to open fire when the Iranian boats withdrew. US President George W Bush described the incident as "provocative", adding that it was a "dangerous situation" that should not have happened. Warning You will explode Voice on US tape Radio communications The video, said to be shot from the bridge of the USS Hopper in the Strait of Hormuz, appears to show the small boats racing near the wake of the US ships and crossing close to each other. One boat is shown in close-up - a blue speedboat with at least two crew. After spotting the approaching vessels, a Navy crewman can be heard over the radio, warning them they are approaching a coalition warship. "Request you establish communications, identify yourself and state your intentions, over," he says. He refers to "five unidentified small surface" boats, and the ships' sirens can be heard in the background. At the end of the US recording, the screen goes black and the remainder is in audio only. The US issues a final warning that if the boats do not change course immediately they will be "subject to defensive measures". The speedboats, believed to belong to Iran's Revolutionary Guards, came within about 200m (650ft) of the US vessels, Pentagon officials said. The weekend stand-off happened in a major oil shipping route, in what the Pentagon insists were international waters. Iranian officials earlier played down the event, calling it an "ordinary occurrence". An Iranian foreign ministry spokesman said: "This... happens for the two sides every once in a while and, after the identification of the two sides, the issue is resolved." E-mail this to a friend Printable version Small Iranian fast boats swarmed around massive U.S. warships in the Persian Gulf, and a man speaking heavily accented English threatened, “I am coming to you. The Iranian boats appeared to ignore repeated warnings from the U.S. ships, including horn blasts and radio transmissions, as the ships moved through the Strait of Hormuz into the Gulf. In a four-minute, 20-second video, shot from the bridge of the destroyer USS Hopper, the small boats — including a bright blue one — can be seen racing near the wake the U.S. ships and crossing close to each other. From the Hopper’s bridge, after spotting the approaching Iranian boats, a Navy crew member says over the radio: “This is coalition warship. Over.” Often uneven and shaky, the video condenses what Navy officials have said was a 20-minute or so clash early Sunday between three Navy warships and five Iranian fast boats. It ends with a blank screen, as only the audio of the Navy’s final warning can be heard, just after the voice warns that they are coming. After a pause, the man with the accent issues a final threat: “You will explode after (indecipherable) minutes.” A Navy crew member then repeated the threat as he heard it: “He says, ‘You will explode after a few minutes.”’ At that point the tape ends. 'Dangerous,' Bush says President Bush on Tuesday denounced the incident as a “provocative act.” Video: Bush on Iran, Middle East trip “It is a dangerous situation,” Bush said during a White House news conference. The top Navy commander in the gulf said the Iranian fleet of high-speed boats charged at and threatened to blow up the Navy convoy as it passed near but outside Iranian waters on Sunday. He is expected to discuss the U.S. posture toward Tehran with Arab allies also worried about Tehran’s desire for greater regional power. Many Arab countries fear the Iranian-American rivalry could erupt into a military confrontation that would put them in the crossfire and hurt vital oil traffic through the Strait of Hormuz.
. Tom, at least, was more discreet. In Scientology the focus is on sex. I asked for an interview with David Miscavige,” Morton said. As controlling, competitive, and macho as he was, Cruise had met his match — and more — in the Scientology leader. Although he was one of the first she told about her new part, she gave no hint of a flirtation with her new leading man. For the next two years, according to at least one former Sea Org member, the film unit never had a day off. "I know she's Tom's child. It could come to that." “Within a matter of days of Tom splitting with Mimi, he and Nicole were coming to Gold. “I stand by every word in the book. It was just two people who weren’t meant to work and it wasn’t what I wanted for my life. His mother left his father when Cruise was 12, and he has said that his father was abusive. Both sides were keen that Tom’s first visit to the base be discreet and secret. If he went swimming, three would dive in with him. Tom commented that when he made a Hollywood movie, he worked flat out until it was finished. She recalls: “Men who are obsessed with fabrics tend to be feminine in nature. We should be testing these people.” He pointed to Cruise’s influence and his advocacy of Scientology, which was founded by science-fiction writer L. Ron Hubbard some 40 years ago and has been under assault as a cult in a number of countries around the world.
The controversial author of a new biography of Tom Cruise is defending his claim that the actor is the de facto “second in command” of the Church of Scientology and says a lengthy church statement rebutting the book supports the charge. Labeled a writer of “outlandish and malicious lies” by Cruise’s publicist, Andrew Morton told TODAY co-host Meredith Vieira in an exclusive interview that he knew that there would be a backlash when he set out to explore the deep ties between Cruise and the church founded by the late science-fiction writer L. Ron Hubbard. “I think this is a fair, evenhanded treatment of Tom Cruise’s life,” said Morton, who’s also written biographies of Princess Diana, Monica Lewinsky and Madonna. “He’s a man who deserves attention.” “Tom Cruise: An Unauthorized Biography” was released in the U.S. Tuesday after publishers in the United Kingdom and elsewhere reportedly passed on it due to concerns about lawsuits. The release was greeted by a 15-page rebuttal issued by the Church of Scientology, of which Cruise is a member, which calls attention to Morton’s background as a British tabloid journalist and states: “His book is a bigoted, defamatory assault replete with lies.” The church took particular exception to Morton’s claim that Cruise, who has been named the most powerful celebrity in the world by Forbes magazine, is effectively the second-in-command of the controversial religion. “Insinuations that Mr. Cruise is second-in-command of the Church are not only false, they are ludicrous,” the church’s statement says. “He is neither 2nd nor 100th. Mr. Cruise is a Scientology parishioner and holds no official or unofficial position in the church hierarchy.” “It’s nonsense for them to say that, because he’s one of the most significant members of the church,” Morton told Vieira. “I stand by every word in the book. This book is very carefully researched, very carefully vetted.” When Vieira asked who told him that Cruise is effectively second-in-command, Morton said, “People who worked with David Miscavige, the head of the Church of Scientology, people who’ve just left, people who’ve been in executive positions.” Further, he said, it’s unusual for a church to issue a lengthy rebuttal of a book for an ordinary member. “How many churches support one parishioner — a lowly parishioner — that way?” he asked. Countering Morton’s assertions of accuracy, the church pointed out that the book is not being published in Australia, England and New Zealand because of those countries’ strict libel laws. And in its review, The New York Times wrote that Morton “pushed the limits of responsible reporting.” “Their policy is always to attack the attacker,” Morton said of Scientology, which in his book he calls a cult. “Their tactic is to denigrate those who seek to talk about it.” He said that the book delves deeply into Scientology, which Germany has moved to ban as a cult, because Cruise and the religion are inextricably intertwined. I’m trying to place Tom Cruise’s life in the context of a man who’s come from nowhere in New Jersey to become one of the most important movie stars of his generation, a man who’s shaping the future of Hollywood, who has an agenda as the poster boy of his faith.” Morton denied the church’s allegations that he did not talk to anyone who knows Cruise or to the church’s leader, David Miscavige. I was instructed to ask for it by the publisher’s attorneys, and so what they’re saying is nonsense.” He said that he spent two years researching the book and spoke to hundreds of people, including many who knew or had known Cruise. He also spoke to many former members of the church, including executives, who, he said, have e-mailed him to affirm the accuracy of the book. “I think this has been a very carefully researched book,” he said. “I wanted to explore Tom Cruise both as a man and as a symbol and to find out what really made him tick. He’s extremely litigious, and also, today, extremely angry.” The 45-year-old Cruise was born in Syracuse, N.Y., but moved frequently as a child, by one account attending 15 schools in 12 years. His mother left his father when Cruise was 12, and he has said that his father was abusive. He attended high school in New Jersey, where he had his first taste of acting as the star of a production of “Guys and Dolls.” From the start, Morton said, he was a natural, pegged for stardom. His first big hit movie was “Risky Business” in 1983, but the movie that propelled him to stardom was the 1986 mega-hit “Top Gun.” Slideshow: Top gun First married in 1987 to Mimi Rogers, who is said to have introduced him to Scientology, he was also married to Nicole Kidman from 1990-2001. In 2005, he began dating actress Katie Holmes, who inspired his famous couch-jumping episode on “The Oprah Winfrey Show.” It was while watching that scene that Morton said he was inspired to write the actor’s biography. Morton said that Cruise’s life is worthy of close inspection, given his influence in the world. “In this age of celebrity, where celebrities get a free pass to assert as opposed to argue, where they get access to presidents, prime ministers and politicians — not because of what they know, but because of who they are — that’s a dangerous slide into an unreflective world. We should be testing these people.” He pointed to Cruise’s influence and his advocacy of Scientology, which was founded by science-fiction writer L. Ron Hubbard some 40 years ago and has been under assault as a cult in a number of countries around the world. share tweet email Author Andrew Morton returns with yet another controversial celebrity biography — his past subjects have included Princess Diana, Monica Lewinsky and Madonna — this time aiming his tabloid-trained ink at actor Tom Cruise. The book, “Tom Cruise: An Unauthorized Biography,” explores the actor's love life, rumors about his sexuality, his connections to Scientology and his family. Here is an exclusive excerpt, taken from chapter 6: As anxious as a teenager on his first date, David Miscavige, the young leader of Scientology, impatiently paced around the immaculately arranged cabana as he waited for his guest on a Saturday night in the late summer of 1989. By the time Tom, who had recently finished filming "Born on the Fourth of July", arrived at the Gold Base Scientology fortress, it was long past eleven o’clock, and the actor, tired by the journey from Beverly Hills, went straight to bed. In the heart of the desert scrub, he was to have been taken to a swimming pool next to a $565,000 life-size replica of a three-masted schooner.
I do." "," click here The Church of Scientology said in a statement that the video was Cruise's acceptance speech after he was awarded the religion's "Freedom Medal." We're the authorities on the mind. So, Cruise gets some bling, but Scientology gets something far more valuable: an A-list Hollywood actor, ever ready to extol the virtues of his movement. Cruise is one of the best-known Scientologists. Criminom -- we can rehabilitate criminals, we are the way to happiness, we bring peace and unite cultures. According to Andrew Morton's new unauthorised biography of Cruise, the actor is the second most powerful person in the organisation. (Additional reporting by Steve Gorman; Editing by David Storey) Scientology's preoccupation with medals mirrors that of its founder, science fiction writer L Ron Hubbard, with Scientologists and internet researchers disputing how many US Navy awards he received during the second world war. "It's about rolling up your own personal sleeves and making a very big difference for people who need help," she says. It popped up on several Web sites and some took it down after copyright claims by the church. Mr Cruise is a Scientology parishioner and holds no official or unofficial position." In a subsequent appearance on NBC's "Today" show, Cruise called psychiatry a "pseudo science" and told interviewer Matt Lauer: "You don't know the history of psychiatry. It was shown to 5,000 church parishioners and guests. "Being a Scientologist, when you drive past an accident it's not like anyone else.
'It's rough and tumble, wild and woolly" and "a blast," according to Tom Cruise. The actor and proselytiser for the Church of Scientology was awarded this gold-coloured medallion by the movement in 2004 but an edited video clip of Cruise giving an intense spiel for the award ceremony has only just emerged on YouTube. The gong features two interlocking triangles on their sides with an "S" snaking through and the words "freedom medal" around the top. According to Andrew Morton's new unauthorised biography of Cruise, the actor is the second most powerful person in the organisation. In a statement condemning Morton's book, the Scientologists described him rather more dismissively as "a Scientology parishioner" who "holds no official or unofficial position in the Church hierarchy". Eighty Scientologists have been awarded Scientology's standard "Freedom Medal" since it was established in 1985, including Kirstie Alley and John Travolta. Cruise's is the same, says Janet Laveau, of the Church of Scientology in Britain, but "the Medal of Valour means the humanitarian work he did reached a larger global population". Scientology's preoccupation with medals mirrors that of its founder, science fiction writer L Ron Hubbard, with Scientologists and internet researchers disputing how many US Navy awards he received during the second world war. Laveau insists the awarding of medals is not related to financial donations to the organisation. "It's about rolling up your own personal sleeves and making a very big difference for people who need help," she says. To see photos from Cruise's career, click here. The Internet is buzzing with a video that shows a behind-the-scenes interview of Tom Cruise discussing The Church of Scientology.But the inside look has left many people wondering about the religion.The video can be found on Gawker and YouTube, and is the center of a legal battle between Scientology and Gawker.The video is a "Tom-Cruise-in-his-own-words"-type presentation that was played at a Scientology awards dinner as a preamble to Cruise winning an award several years ago.Mark Oppenheimer, who's researched and written about Scientology for The New York Times and other publications, analyzed the video onThursday.Oppenheimer, author of "Knocking on Heaven's Door: American Religion in the Age of Counterculture," clarified what Cruise was saying, and what he meant by many of the terms he used. Oppenheimer also shed light on several aspects of Scientology.Among the points Cruise made:"Orgs are there to help but we as the public, we have a responsibility, it's not just orgs, it's not just David Miscavige, not just me -- it's you, it's everyone out there that's rereading KSW and looking at what needs to be done and saying, 'OK, am I gonna do it or am I not gonna do it?!' ""I just go through that tech and it's just literally -- it's not how to run from an SP, it's PTSSP -- it's how to confront, shatter suppression, you apply it and it's like boom! "You know we have more work, I need more help; you gotta get those spectators either in the playing field or out of the arena. ""We are the authorities on getting people off drugs, we are the authorities on the mind, the authority on improving conditions. Tom Cruise looks on as actor Will Smith gets his hands and feet in cement at Grauman's Chinese Theatre in Los Angeles, December 10, 2007. A video of Cruise touting himself and fellow Scientologists as ''authorities on the mind'' has appeared on the Internet, coinciding with... REUTERS/Chris Pizzello NEW YORK A video of actor Tom Cruise touting himself and fellow Scientologists as "authorities on the mind" has appeared on the Internet, coinciding with a new biography that examines his role in the movement. The origin of the footage, which the Church of Scientology said was a video shown at a 2004 International Association of Scientologists meeting, was not clear. Cruise, shown wearing a black turtleneck sweater and speaking while the musical theme to his hit movie "Mission: Impossible" played in the background, said he was dedicated to changing people's lives. "It's a privilege to call yourself a Scientologist and it's something that you have to earn," he said. "We're the authorities on getting people off drugs. In June 2005 he publicly attacked actress Brooke Shields for revealing that she had taken medication as treatment for postpartum depression. In a subsequent appearance on NBC's "Today" show, Cruise called psychiatry a "pseudo science" and told interviewer Matt Lauer: "You don't know the history of psychiatry. The Church of Scientology said in a statement that the video was Cruise's acceptance speech after he was awarded the religion's "Freedom Medal." The Internet site Gawker.com said the video had "been passed around privately by reporters and writers investigating Cruise's ties to Scientology," which was founded more than 50 years ago in Los Angeles by science fiction writer L. Ron Hubbard. On Tuesday, in a 15-page statement posted on the NBC "Today" show Web site, the church disputed claims made in the book "Tom Cruise: An Unauthorized Biography" by British author Andrew Morton. Cruise's lawyer, Bert Fields, has described material in the book to Reuters as "outrageous, sick stuff" and said that it "is actionable," although he declined to comment on legal issues. He slammed what he called a "sick comparison of (Cruise's) child to 'Rosemary's Baby'" as a "grotesque lie." Morton wrote that some Scientologists wondered if Cruise's wife, actress Katie Holmes, "had been impregnated with Hubbard's frozen sperm."
She was 86. 9 years ago Jacqueline Kennedy, right, pours tea for AP correspondent Frances Lewine, left, in 1960. "All of journalism has lost a true pioneer." Palacio was one of the world's most prominent defenders of the unique Garifuna culture and language. LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Actress Suzanne Pleshette, best known as the feisty but level-headed wife of Bob Newhart on television's 1970's hit "The Bob Newhart Show," has died at age of 70, friends said on Sunday. BELIZE CITY Belizean musician Andy Palacio, who brought the world the music of the Garifuna people descended from Central American natives and shipwrecked African slaves, has died aged 47. He died on Saturday after a series of massive strokes, a heart attack and respiratory failure. Lewine was regarded as a trailblazer who battled for women's rights in journalism, fighting to open the National Press Club and the Gridiron Club - a Washington journalists' organization - to women. Full story He will be buried next week in the coastal village of Barranco where he was born. Born January 31, 1937, in New York City, Pleshette attended Manhattan's High School of the Performing Arts and Syracuse University and went on to train at the Neighborhood Playhouse under acting great Sanford Meisner. Two centuries on, numbering roughly 250,000 in Central America, they are battling to keep ancestral lands where generations of Garifuna have fished from dugout canoes, harvested food crops and woven baskets from local vines. "It's amazing that at her age, Fran was still staking out administration and elected officials after weekend talk shows," CNN Washington Bureau Chief David Bohrman said.
9 years ago Jacqueline Kennedy, right, pours tea for AP correspondent Frances Lewine, left, in 1960. WASHINGTON (CNN) - Frances Lewine, who covered the White House for the Associated Press during the administrations of six presidents and spent nearly three decades as a CNN assignment editor and field producer, died Saturday of an apparent stroke. Lewine was regarded as a trailblazer who battled for women's rights in journalism, fighting to open the National Press Club and the Gridiron Club - a Washington journalists' organization - to women. "It's amazing that at her age, Fran was still staking out administration and elected officials after weekend talk shows," CNN Washington Bureau Chief David Bohrman said. BELIZE CITY Belizean musician Andy Palacio, who brought the world the music of the Garifuna people descended from Central American natives and shipwrecked African slaves, has died aged 47. He died on Saturday after a series of massive strokes, a heart attack and respiratory failure. Palacio toured the world last year promoting his album "Watina," which won international accolades. Two centuries on, numbering roughly 250,000 in Central America, they are battling to keep ancestral lands where generations of Garifuna have fished from dugout canoes, harvested food crops and woven baskets from local vines. LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Actress Suzanne Pleshette, best known as the feisty but level-headed wife of Bob Newhart on television's 1970's hit "The Bob Newhart Show," has died at age of 70, friends said on Sunday. She had received chemotherapy for lung cancer in 2006 and appeared at a "Bob Newhart" reunion in September in a wheelchair.
Ledger. Ledger, said, “I’d met them. Mr. Father Kim Ledger said that the death of his 28-year-old "dearly loved son" had been "tragic" and "accidental". The actor Heath Ledger has been found dead at a residence in downtown Manhattan, according to a New York police spokesman. Williams played his wife in the 2005 film Brokeback Mountain. She has never owned the apartment. Ledger played the son of Billy Bob Thornton in Monster's Ball and had starring roles in A Knight's Tale and The Patriot. HAVE YOUR SAY Terrible to see his young daughter lose her father. But the role for which Mr. “I think it’s really sad,” Ms. McIntosh said. (His death came on the same day that the 2007 Oscar nominations were announced.) Around 6:30 p.m., city workers rolled Mr. Ledger’s body, in a black body bag on a stretcher, out of the building. We knew that he was in the neighborhood. The masseuse was let in to the home by a housekeeper, who then knocked on the door of the bedroom Mr. "There were pills within the vicinity of the bed." Ledger grew up in Perth and began doing amateur theater at the age of 10. [Now online: Comprehensive coverage prepared for Wednesday editions of The Times.] Ledger starred in I'm Not There, as one of several actors in a role representing singer Bob Dylan. "We are investigating the possibility of an overdose," police spokesman Paul Browne told Reuters news agency. Police, journalists and crowds of fans gathered outside the Broome Street apartment in the fashionable SoHo area.
"He was found unconscious at the apartment and pronounced dead," the New York Police Department said, adding that pills were found near the body. Police are reportedly investigating if the Australian actor - nominated for an Oscar for Brokeback Mountain - died of an overdose of prescription pills. Father Kim Ledger said that the death of his 28-year-old "dearly loved son" had been "tragic" and "accidental". Speaking in the actor's home town of Perth, in Western Australia, Mr Ledger said that his son had been a "down to earth, generous, kind hearted, life-loving, unselfish individual". "Heath has touched so many people on so many different levels during his short life that few had the pleasure of truly knowing him." The actor was found dead in the apartment he had been renting for several months at 1526 (2026 GMT) on Tuesday. Split New York police said they did not suspect foul play and that his body had been discovered with prescription pills nearby. "We are investigating the possibility of an overdose," police spokesman Paul Browne told Reuters news agency. "There were pills within the vicinity of the bed." He was just taking off and to lose his life at such a young age is a tragic loss Mel Gibson Obituary: Heath Ledger The BBC's Matthew Price in New York says the exact cause of death was still being investigated, but suicide has not been ruled out. Police, journalists and crowds of fans gathered outside the Broome Street apartment in the fashionable SoHo area. His family said Heath was "generous" and "life-loving" The housekeeper went to tell him the masseuse had arrived and found him dead on Tuesday afternoon. The medical examiner's office said an autopsy would be carried out on Wednesday. In September the Perth-born actor split from his girlfriend Michelle Williams, with whom he has a two-year-old daughter, Matilda. Hollywood mourning Hollywood stars were quick to offer their tributes and mourn Ledger's death. I've been looking forward to seeing him in the new Batman movie Mark, Houston "I had such great hope for him," said Oscar-winning actor-director Mel Gibson. "He was just taking off and to lose his life at such a young age is a tragic loss." In 2001, Mr Gibson had cast Ledger to play his son in the American war of independence epic, The Patriot. My heart goes out to his family," said fellow Australian actress Nicole Kidman. American actor John Travolta, who was in Australia at the time of Ledger's death, said the young actor had been one of his favourite performers. "His abilities are rare...it's a tremendous loss," said Mr Travolta. Brokeback breakthrough Ledger had split up with fellow Brokeback star Michelle Williams Brokeback Mountain director Ang Lee said Ledger's performance had been a "miracle" of acting, echoing a young Marlon Brando. He won an Oscar nomination for his role as a gay cowboy in the film but the award went to Philip Seymour Hoffman for his role as Truman Capote. He also plays the Joker in yet-to-be-released Batman film, The Dark Knight. Ledger also starred in A Knight's Tale and The Patriot, and played a suicidal son in Monster's Ball. Updated, 10:17 p.m. | The actor Heath Ledger was found dead Tuesday afternoon in an apartment in Manhattan, according to the New York City police. Some signs pointed to an accidental overdose or a suicide, although no note was found, police sources said. At 3:31 p.m., according to the police, a masseuse arrived at the fourth-floor apartment of the building, at 421 Broome Street, between Crosby and Lafayette Streets in SoHo, for an appointment with Mr. The masseuse was let in to the home by a housekeeper, who then knocked on the door of the bedroom Mr. When no one answered, the housekeeper and the masseuse opened the bedroom and found Mr. Ledger naked and unconscious on a bed, with sleeping pills — both prescription medication and nonprescription — on a night table. Ellen Borakove, a spokeswoman for the office of the city’s chief medical examiner, Dr. Charles S. Hirsch, said that employees of the office were at the apartment and that an autopsy would be conducted on Wednesday. Around 6:30 p.m., city workers rolled Mr. Ledger’s body, in a black body bag on a stretcher, out of the building. She and her sister have an apartment in New York City but they are not in this building.” An earlier version of this article reported the erroneous detail from the police.)
Please re-enter. But there, too, he found himself boxed in, as Mr. Huckabee, a Baptist minister, had laid a deeper claim to evangelical Christian voters. Watch how Thompson's withdrawal could affect the race » Thompson played to the voters as a staunch conservative and a son of the South. "Throughout this campaign, Fred Thompson brought a laudable focus to the challenges confronting our country and the solutions necessary to meet them," Romney said in a statement. He finished with 16 percent of the vote. Former Sen. Fred Thompson of Tennessee has dropped out of the race for the GOP presidential nomination. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Mr. Thompson ruminated for many weeks about whether to run. View all New York Times newsletters. Thompson's withdrawal may have little effect on Tuesday's Republican contest in Florida, where the remaining five candidates are already trading barbs. "The votes that he took essentially were votes that I would have most likely had," Huckabee told the network. “I do not expect him to endorse anyone,” Mr. McCain said. He was quick to praise Mr. Thompson — “a very fine man” — and just as quick to answer the pressing political question of the day. It was the image of Thompson as commander in chief -- a part he played in a movie -- that seemed so promising when he contemplated running for the White House last spring and summer. Short of cash and sinking in national polls, Thompson had staked his hopes on South Carolina, where a strong showing could have reinvigorated his flagging campaign. "I hope that my country and my party have benefited from our having made this effort.
(CNN) -- Former Sen. Fred Thompson on Tuesday ended his run for the presidency, coming off the heels of a disappointing third-place finish in South Carolina's GOP primary and heading into the showdown state of Florida next week. Former Sen. Fred Thompson of Tennessee has dropped out of the race for the GOP presidential nomination. "Today I have withdrawn my candidacy for president of the United States," Thompson said in a statement. "I hope that my country and my party have benefited from our having made this effort. Thompson entered the race in September, long after his Republican rivals had announced their candidacies and began raising money. His campaigning style was criticized as lackluster, and he was never able to capitalize on the anticipation supporters had built before he announced that he was getting into the race. Thompson was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1994 and represented Tennessee for eight years. Short of cash and sinking in national polls, Thompson had staked his hopes on South Carolina, where a strong showing could have reinvigorated his flagging campaign. Watch how Thompson's withdrawal could affect the race » Thompson played to the voters as a staunch conservative and a son of the South. While he did draw some evangelical voters from one-time Baptist preacher and former Arkansas Gov. He finished with 16 percent of the vote. Sen. John McCain won Saturday's contest with 33 percent, followed by Huckabee with 30 percent. "He's really been good lately, but it's too late," CNN analyst Bill Bennett said of Thompson after South Carolina returns started to come in. "If you're a Southern conservative and you can't make it in South Carolina, it's over." Thompson teased Republicans all last summer after forming a fundraising committee for a possible presidential campaign on June 1. When he announced in September that he was formally entering the race, it was well after the other Republicans had launched their campaigns, and analysts said the late entry may have hurt him. Thompson is an actor best known for his role as District Attorney Arthur Branch on NBC's "Law & Order." Giuliani has largely skipped the early voting states to focus on the January 29 primary in Florida and the delegate-rich races in the "Super Tuesday" primaries February 5. Former senator Fred D. Thompson of Tennessee, whose candidacy fizzled after a summer of expectations, pulled out of the Republican presidential race yesterday after disappointing finishes in all of the primary contests held so far. In a terse, three-sentence statement, the actor-politician abandoned a candidacy that once seemed to offer everything a Republican voter could want: solid conservative credentials, Washington experience, Hollywood panache, Southern charm and a commanding personality. "Today I have withdrawn my candidacy for President of the United States," Thompson said in the news release. "I hope that my country and my party have benefited from our having made this effort." The statement was a diminutive end to a campaign that began with enormous hype. It was the image of Thompson as commander in chief -- a part he played in a movie -- that seemed so promising when he contemplated running for the White House last spring and summer. Instead, the campaign became roiled in staff disputes that centered on Thompson's wife, Jeri, and was dogged by assertions that Thompson did not have the desire or energy to mount an aggressive presidential campaign. That view was affirmed soon after Thompson entered the race in early September. Thompson's withdrawal may have little effect on Tuesday's Republican contest in Florida, where the remaining five candidates are already trading barbs. Rumors had suggested for weeks that Thompson was staying in the race only to help McCain by pulling votes from other rivals. Two senior Republicans in Washington with knowledge of the campaign said yesterday that Thompson told them he will not endorse anyone anytime soon. "The votes that he took essentially were votes that I would have most likely had," Huckabee told the network. "Throughout this campaign, Fred Thompson brought a laudable focus to the challenges confronting our country and the solutions necessary to meet them," Romney said in a statement. With or without a direct endorsement, the remaining Republican candidates will begin courting Thompson's supporters for what appears to be a tight race in Florida. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Mr. Huckabee has moved to scale back his own campaign after his South Carolina showing, and has backed away from plans to campaign heavily in Florida.
Without them, on paper, the coalition lacks a majority. "We will demand elections." Worried about the Senate vote, Prodi's allies were pressing him Wednesday to resign after the chamber confidence vote, so that his expected victory there would mean he resigned by choice and not because he was required to do so. Napolitano has said in the past he wants the electoral law reformed before any new election. But Mr. Berlusconi also faces uncertainty. That left the government two votes shy of a majority in the upper chamber, the Senate. But one senator, Domenico Fisichella — whose vote was seen as crucial for Prodi — made clear Wednesday that the premier no longer had his support. Napolitano could accept a Prodi resignation, dissolve Parliament and call early elections. Advertisement Continue reading the main story In this country where more than 60 governments have fallen since World War II, the latest crisis began Monday, when Clemente Mastella, who resigned as justice minister last week amid a corruption investigation, said he would no longer support Mr. Prodi. Rome residents digesting the news in a cafe appeared used to such crises but tired of the inherently unstable voting system. Opinion polls suggest his centre-right would win them by a clear margin. Experts said Mr. Prodi should have no problem in the lower house, where he enjoys a comfortable margin. Please try again later. The nation’s president, Giorgio Napolitano, who will play a leading role in what happens next, remained silent on which option he favored. Without his two-seat Senate majority, he relies entirely on seven unelected lifetime senators to survive.
(Adds 1st vote, opposition, analysis and quotes) By Stephen Brown ROME, Jan 23 Italy's centre-left government struggled to stay afloat on Wednesday and even the president appeared to doubt that Prime Minister Romano Prodi, weakened by defections, could survive a confidence vote in the Senate. As expected, Prodi won a first confidence vote in the lower house where he has a clear majority. But with Prodi under pressure to step down before the vote in the upper house due on Thursday, the third biggest economy in the euro zone seemed doomed to prolonged political upheaval that will further delay reforms, just when a global slowdown looms. Ordinary Italians, who have seen 61 governments since World War Two, seemed jaded by the prospect of more turmoil, while in worried markets, the spread between Italian government bonds and German bunds widened to levels not seen for 6-1/2 years. A government source said President Giorgio Napolitano had advised Prodi to "review" the wisdom of facing the Senate, where he has lost his majority. "After today it's 100 percent certain Romano Prodi will resign to avoid being beaten in the Senate," said right-wing National Alliance leader Gianfranco Fini. "We will demand elections." Prodi's once slim Senate majority has been erased by the defection of former justice minister Clemente Mastella's Catholic Udeur and the centrist Liberal Democrats. Losing or drawing the vote would force Prodi to quit but the 68-year-old prime minister fuelled speculation he might resign earlier by visiting Napolitano -- a reminder of his tactical resignation last February meant to scare his allies into line. "MINORITY DICTATORSHIP" Prodi's fate hangs on whether he can muster enough support in the Senate to compensate for the defections and for two coalition dissidents who have said they will vote 'no'. Without his two-seat Senate majority, he relies entirely on seven unelected lifetime senators to survive. Giulio Andreotti, an ex-prime minister and honorary senator, said he saw "no alternative at the moment to this government, so I will vote for Prodi". But Roberto Maroni, a deputy from the right-wing Northern League, said it would be a "minority dictatorship" if Prodi clung to power on the votes of unelected elder statesmen. Conservative former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi, who was beaten by Prodi in 2006 elections, hopes a Senate defeat for Prodi will trigger snap elections. But Napolitano might appoint an interim government to reform the messy electoral system before a new election is held. "There is very little chance we will see a vote without the system being changed because both the government coalition and the opposition want to change it," said politics Professor Franco Pavoncello of John Cabot University in Rome. "Still today he is certainly the leading force in the centre-right coalition." Rome residents digesting the news in a cafe appeared used to such crises but tired of the inherently unstable voting system. "We had hoped they would last a bit longer, but we're used to it," said Franco Fonte. "I just hope at least they can reform the electoral system." Italian Premier Romano Prodi faced mounting pressure Wednesday to resign even before a crucial parliamentary confidence vote, as prospects dimmed that his 20-month center-left coalition could survive the loss of a crucial ally. The premier met Wednesday with Italian President Giorgio Napolitano, who as head of state would decide how to proceed were Prodi to resign, the president's office said. The Italian news agency ANSA reported that Napolitano had requested the meeting — which was held hours before the first of two scheduled confidence votes — to suggest that Prodi abandon his plans to put his government to a vote Thursday in the Senate, the upper house where his forces no longer have a majority. Wednesday's confidence vote in the Chamber of Deputies, the lower house of Parliament, was unlikely to bring defeat for the governing coalition, since Prodi's forces hold a comfortable majority there even without the defecting Christian Democrats. Critical vote But all eyes would be on Thursday's Senate vote, where even with the support of the Christian Democrats his coalition held only a one-seat majority. Worried about the Senate vote, Prodi's allies were pressing him Wednesday to resign after the chamber confidence vote, so that his expected victory there would mean he resigned by choice and not because he was required to do so. That person could be Prodi, another center-left leader or a technocrat, who could then lead the country until a new electoral law can be passed and a general election scheduled. "That's the prospect if Prodi doesn't get burned with the 'no' from the Senate," said Giovanni Russo Spena, a Communist leader in the Senate, the Apcom news agency reported. Berlusconi urges quick resignation Former Premier Silvio Berlusconi, who has pressed for a quick election, said Prodi would do best by resigning immediately, although he said the current government should remain in place to plan for new elections. Prodi's government has been shaky from the start, but it was thrown into turmoil Monday after the UDEUR Christian democratic party led by former Justice Minister Clemente Mastella announced it was withdrawing its support. Prodi said Tuesday he would seek confidence votes in both houses of Parliament, gambling that he could be rescued by some of the seven senators appointed for life or that his often-rebellious allies would close ranks and back him for fear that early elections would bring back Berlusconi, whom Prodi defeated in April 2006. Opinion polls have shown Prodi's popularity slipping over the past year. Some in Berlusconi's conservative bloc are reluctant to sink Prodi before Parliament can change Italy's electoral system, which is widely blamed for the country's chronic political instability. The proportional representation system helps tiny parties have a good deal of weight in fragile coalitions. By the end of the day, no signs of easy resolution had emerged, as the full complexity of Italian politics — in which friends fight friends as often as enemies — revealed itself.
The vote was 161-156. Prodi, 68, was undermined by his own allies, just as when his first spell in office was cut short in 1998. "Stopping the government's work is a luxury Italy cannot afford," he said. Mr Berlusconi announced a surprise party at his house in Rome. REUTERS/Tony Gentile The seat of Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi is vacant before a confidence vote session at the Senate in Rome January 24, 2008. President Giorgio Napolitano must now choose whether to call a snap election or appoint an interim government. In a rowdy debate, where one senator spat at another who was then carried out of the chamber on a stretcher, even the support of unelected lifetime senators could not save Prodi, who lost by 156 votes to 161. The 68-year-old former economics professor said he will not stand again for premier. Nuccio Cusumano (centre) fainted after reports of abuse and spitting He said that the country needed continuity and backing the government would allow it to deal "urgently" with electoral reform, economic renewal and its role in international affairs. He created U.S.-style primary elections that he handily won, and then made allies publicly agree to stick by him until the next scheduled elections in 2011. Prodi can take credit for starting to tidy up the public finances of the euro zone's third largest economy. He was the only man to have beaten Berlusconi, a billionaire media mogul known for his charisma and communications skills. Under the current system rushed in by Mr Berlusconi, smaller parties with only a handful of seats hold the balance of power in parliament.
The seats of Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi (top C) and his cabinet ministers are vacant before a confidence vote session at the Senate in Rome January 24, 2008. REUTERS/Tony Gentile The seat of Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi is vacant before a confidence vote session at the Senate in Rome January 24, 2008. REUTERS/Tony Gentile Italy's Prime Minister Romano Prodi (R) leaves the Quirinale Palace with his aide Enrico Letta after submitting his resignation to President Giorgio Napolitano after losing a confidence vote in Rome January 24, 2008. REUTERS/Enrico Oliverio/Italian Presidency Press Office/Handout ROME Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi resigned on Thursday after his centre-left government lost a confidence vote in the Senate, prompting opposition leader Silvio Berlusconi to demand immediate elections. We will say what we want to do in the first 100 days of our government," said conservative former prime minister Berlusconi, who has led Prodi in opinion polls. But President Giorgio Napolitano may first appoint an interim government to reform a messy electoral system, which in 2006 landed Prodi with a tiny Senate majority and an unstable nine-party coalition ranging from Catholics to communists. Analysts said the demise of the 61st government since World War Two should not hurt economic growth prospects, as Prodi had been too busy surviving politically to carry out deep reforms, but could threaten a recent improvement in public finances. Many Italians hope for electoral reform to cure chronic instability, illustrated by the fact that Prodi's 20-month spell in power was the seventh longest government in post-war Italy. "Markets don't like uncertainty but if what follows Prodi is a stronger government, then that could be positive." Berlusconi's senators opened champagne to celebrate, earning a rebuke from Senate President Franco Marini who said: "Get rid of that bottle, we're not in a pub here." Rome taxi drivers who support him honked their horns and shouted: "We've done it!" Prodi, 68, was undermined by his own allies, just as when his first spell in office was cut short in 1998. This time a small Catholic party's defection erased his tiny majority in the Senate and made a vote of no confidence almost inevitable. Napolitano will begin consulting party and parliamentary leaders and former heads of state on Friday to see whether he can muster support for an interim government, to be run by a senior political figure or a technocrat. "POWER VACUUM" The softly spoken former European Commission president, known as the "Professor", had warned senators Italy "cannot afford a power vacuum" when the world economy is slowing down. In a rowdy debate, where one senator spat at another who was then carried out of the chamber on a stretcher, even the support of unelected lifetime senators could not save Prodi, who lost by 156 votes to 161. Even one of Prodi's most acerbic critics, Senator Roberto Calderoli of the far-right Northern League, said he admired his pluck: "He will lose the confidence vote but he will fall with a soldier's honor for having fought to the end." Media magnate Berlusconi, who twice lost elections to Prodi in 1996 and 2006, hopes Napolitano will call quick elections which, according to opinion polls, he would win by a clear margin. Prodi can take credit for starting to tidy up the public finances of the euro zone's third largest economy. But the European Union fears Italy's finances may worsen in 2008 and that the budget will still not be balanced by 2011 as promised. Italian growth forecasts are being cut, industrial output is falling and consumer confidence at its lowest in two-and-a-half years. Analyst Tito Boeri said that while Berlusconi is Italy's richest man, he may not be the best option for the economy. Prodi's record fighting tax evasion meant "his management of public finances was better than ... under Berlusconi," he said. Mr Prodi, who had led his centre-left coalition for 20 months, was defeated by five votes, despite the support of several unelected lifetime senators. "We will say what we want to do in the first 100 days of our government," he said. 'Political vacuum' Mr Prodi won a confidence vote in the lower house of parliament on Wednesday, but had been widely expected to resign rather than risk a humiliating defeat in the Senate, with many commentators saying he had no chance of winning. The loss of the small, centrist Udeur party's three seats in the upper house left him without a majority and requiring the support of several unelected life senators. Stopping the government's work is a luxury Italy cannot afford Romano Prodi Analysis: Chaos and betrayal Profile: Romano Prodi Udeur pulled out, citing a lack of support for its leader, the former Justice Minister Clemente Mastella, who resigned after he and his wife were named in a corruption probe. In an impassioned speech before the vote, Mr Prodi warned that a defeat for the government would mean a paralysing "political vacuum" for weeks until a new coalition could be formed, or new elections held. "Stopping the government's work is a luxury Italy cannot afford," he said. Nuccio Cusumano (centre) fainted after reports of abuse and spitting He said that the country needed continuity and backing the government would allow it to deal "urgently" with electoral reform, economic renewal and its role in international affairs. At one stage it seemed he had won a much-needed defection when Udeur senator Nuccio Cusumano announced he was breaking with his party to back the government. The move forced a brief suspension of the session after shouts that the senator was a "traitor" and a "clown" and one senator made a hand gesture as if to shoot Mr Cusumano. Jim Bo, Sweden There is widespread agreement among several senior senators - even among the prime minister's opponents - that the country needs new electoral laws, our correspondent says.
Deaths Total cases AZERBAIJAN 5 8 CAMBODIA 7 7 CHINA 17 27 DJIBOUTI 0 1 EGYPT 19 43 INDONESIA 100 124 IRAQ 2 3 LAOS 2 2 MYANMAR 0 1 NIGERIA 1 1 PAKISTAN 1 1 THAILAND 17 25 TURKEY 4 12 VIETNAM 48 102 ------------------------------------------------- TOTAL 223 357 ------------------------------------------------- The H5N1 virus remains mainly a virus of birds, but experts fear it could change into a form easily transmitted from person to person and sweep the world, killing millions. Suyono said a nine-year-old boy and a 23-year old woman had died from the disease over the weekend. Following is a list of confirmed human cases of H5N1. Indonesia is the nation worst affected by bird flu and has struggled to contain the virus. Almost all infected people are thought to have contracted the disease from poultry. (Writing by David Cutler and Keith Weir, London Editorial Reference Unit) Initial tests usually take a day or two to confirm if someone has H5N1. A 9-year-old boy died at a Jakarta hospital on Sunday and was tested positive of having the H5N1 virus, and on the same day a 23-year-old woman from the Jakarta suburb of Bekasi became the 100th victim, Metro TV news reported. Since the H5N1 virus emerged in South East Asia in late 2003, it has claimed more than 220 lives around the world. Jan 29 The World Health Organisation (WHO) confirmed on Tuesday the deaths of a 23-year-old Indonesian woman and a nine-year-old Indonesian boy from the H5N1 strain of avian influenza.
Of the 124 cases confirmed to date in Indonesia, 100 have been fatal. There have been 223 human deaths globally from the H5N1 strain and 357 confirmed cases of infection since 2003, according to WHO data. Following is a list of confirmed human cases of H5N1. Deaths Total cases AZERBAIJAN 5 8 CAMBODIA 7 7 CHINA 17 27 DJIBOUTI 0 1 EGYPT 19 43 INDONESIA 100 124 IRAQ 2 3 LAOS 2 2 MYANMAR 0 1 NIGERIA 1 1 PAKISTAN 1 1 THAILAND 17 25 TURKEY 4 12 VIETNAM 48 102 ------------------------------------------------- TOTAL 223 357 ------------------------------------------------- The H5N1 virus remains mainly a virus of birds, but experts fear it could change into a form easily transmitted from person to person and sweep the world, killing millions. JAKARTA, Jan. 29 (Xinhua) -- The number of bird flu casualties in Indonesia has reached 100, following the death of two more patients over the last few days, according to local media on Tuesday. A 9-year-old boy died at a Jakarta hospital on Sunday and was tested positive of having the H5N1 virus, and on the same day a 23-year-old woman from the Jakarta suburb of Bekasi became the 100th victim, Metro TV news reported. In overall, Indonesia has confirmed 124 bird flu cases in human since the virus began ravaging in 2003. Most people killed by the disease have handled infected poultry Two Indonesians from the outskirts of Jakarta succumbed to the H5N1 strain of the disease over the weekend, said Joko Suyono of the National Bird Flu Centre. Indonesia is the nation worst affected by bird flu and has struggled to contain the virus. "The woman died yesterday [Sunday] but we just received the results that she's positive with bird flu," Suyono told AFP news agency. But scientists fear the virus could mutate into a form which could be easily passed from human to human, triggering a pandemic and potentially putting millions of lives at risk.
Instead, he brought them to the house in Gurgaon, they said. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Three police officers guard the ward. E-mail to a friend All About India • Kidney Failure Police told the Guardian today that "two British people have not been let out of the country" as part of their investigation". One is that western patients can pay a poor person a year's salary for an organ. “We suspect around 400 or 500 kidney transplants were done by these doctors over the last nine years,” said Mr. Lal, the Gurgaon police commissioner. “The men who did this should be hanged.” An Indian man named Shakil says he was drugged and his kidney removed against his will. Authorities Tuesday asked for the public's help in tracking down Kumar after a raid last week on a home in Gurgaon, a city near New Delhi. Five labourers, three of whom had lost kidneys, were also rescued. The father said his son’s damaged health would keep him from working, leaving the family destitute. Doctors running the illegal operation charged 1.5m rupees (£18,750) for a kidney transplant while the donor was paid about 40,000 rupees. Officials neglected to investigate further even after at least one television investigation exposed his work. Please try again later. Shakil and others in nearby hospital beds said a man approached them with promises of well-paying jobs. "Only 20% in the country can access any kind of medical care. However, the ring is believed to have seen more than 500 organs bought in the past nine years. Some prospects were asked outright if they wanted to sell a kidney and were offered $1,000 to $2,500.
Indian police have confiscated the passports of two Britons who allegedly travelled to the country to buy kidneys in an organ transplant racket, investigators said today. After raiding a private hospital last week in Gurgaon, an upmarket suburb of Delhi, police found that poor labourers had had their kidneys removed, sometimes against their will, and sold to clients from around the world. Doctors running the illegal operation charged 1.5m rupees (£18,750) for a kidney transplant while the donor was paid about 40,000 rupees. The trade has shocked India, which banned the sale of kidneys for commercial gain in 1994 with jail terms of up to five years for those found guilty. However, the ring is believed to have seen more than 500 organs bought in the past nine years. The police seized computers and are decoding e-mail accounts. Five labourers, three of whom had lost kidneys, were also rescued. A number of foreign nationals, caught waiting for transplants, have been questioned. Police told the Guardian today that "two British people have not been let out of the country" as part of their investigation". They are helping with our investigation... [There] are allegations that they are part [of the buying ring]," said the deputy commissioner of Gurgaon police, Rakesh Arya. "We are cross checking certain things. The police refused to divulge their names and the British High Commission said it had not been informed of an investigation. The masterminds behind the illegal trade, say officers, were two Indian brothers, neither of whom had any medical training but apparently supervised surgery. One of the brothers has been arrested in Mumbai but the alleged kingpin, named as Amit Kumar, is believed to be on the run in Canada. Television channels reported that a nurse, a foreign national called Linda, had confessed to police about breaking the law. The investigation has now spread to seven Indian states, with doctors accused of operating across northern Indian. The country's top investigating agency has been drafted in to lead a probe while the health minister, Anbumani Ramadoss, said he would make the existing organ trade legislation "more stringent". According to a government estimate, more than 100,000 kidney transplants are required in India every year, but only 5,000 are performed legally. Experts say that the black market for kidneys is booming for two reasons. One is that western patients can pay a poor person a year's salary for an organ. The second is that there is no affordable public health care system in India, and hospital facilities for the storing and transporting of organs remain inadequate. "This problem comes from the economic disparity between the western hemisphere and the poor here. Western patients can simply buy organs and in this country we have no national health service," said Sandeep Guleria, professor of medicine at Delhi's All India Institute of Medical Sciences. We need a much bigger deterrence in terms of jail sentences." “We suspect around 400 or 500 kidney transplants were done by these doctors over the last nine years,” said Mr. Lal, the Gurgaon police commissioner. Editorial writers have been particularly incensed by the failure of the police to capture the main doctor, who has many names but was known most recently as Amit Kumar. He was arrested in 1994 on suspicion of running a kidney transplant racket in Mumbai, but jumped bail, changed his name and set up work again from several clinics hidden in residential apartments in Gurgaon, a prosperous city outside Delhi. Photo On Tuesday, The Times of India called on the government to investigate “the nexus between the organ traders and the police.” Advertisement Continue reading the main story Investigators were alerted to the ring on Thursday by a donor who said the operation had ruined his health. Advertisement Continue reading the main story He said a team of criminals he called kidney scouts usually roamed labor markets in Delhi and cities in Uttar Pradesh, one of India’s poorest states, searching for potential donors. Some prospects were asked outright if they wanted to sell a kidney and were offered $1,000 to $2,500. A car equipped with testing equipment was often on hand so that potential donors could be checked immediately to see whether their kidneys matched the needs of prospective patients. The police suspected that they were about to receive kidney transplants, Mr. Lal said, but they were allowed to return home because the evidence was insufficient to detain them.
He was 69. Opposition leaders, however, say that is not the point. The police said they later arrested Mr. Moache as he tried to flee. It is unclear who will succeed Christodoulos as head of Greece’s Orthodox Church. "Kenya is a country that was a hope for the continent. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Neither of the opposition lawmakers killed this week was especially prominent. "I call on the Kenyan people: stop the killings and end the violence now before it's too late." We are even talking about ethnic cleansing. Some residents said they believed the killing was political. He shot Ms. Chepkwony in the stomach and Mr. Too in the head several times. The officer then sped away. Kibaki has ruled it out. Feb 1 UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon to arrive in Nairobi. The Patriarchate in Istanbul also issued a statement expressing its sadness at the death. Jan 7 John Kufuor, the African Union chairman and president of Ghana, arrives for fruitless mediation. Odinga is demanding a new ballot. "I condemn this second execution of an ODM member of parliament. A meeting of the Holy Synod, the church’s top decision-making body, was called for Monday afternoon. But public criticism of the church leader quickly faded after news of Christodoulos’ illness spread, and prominent left-wingers visited him in the hospital. He grew up in Athens where was drawn to the priesthood from a young age. Each side claims to have won the election, and so far each has refused to back down. He was one of several leaders of national Orthodox churches across the world.
ATHENS, Greece — The leader of Greece’s powerful Orthodox Church, Archbishop Christodoulos, who eased centuries of tension with the Vatican but was viewed as reactionary by his liberal critics, died Monday. Christodoulos, who headed the church for a decade, was first hospitalized in Athens in June before being diagnosed with cancer of the liver and large intestine. He spent 10 weeks in a hospital in Miami but an October liver transplant operation was canceled when doctors discovered the cancer had spread. He refused hospital treatment in the final weeks of his life. He died at his home in the Athens suburb of Psyhico, church officials said. The Interior Ministry announced four days of national mourning and said Christodoulos would be buried on Thursday with full state honors. Across the country flags flew at half-staff, including atop the ancient Acropolis and on the parliament building. The archbishop’s flag-draped coffin was taken to the cathedral in Athens, where his body will lie in state until his funeral. Hundreds of people began gathering outside to pay their respects. Christodoulos was elected church leader in 1998 and is credited with reinvigorating the vast institution that represents 97 percent of Greece’s native born population. He was one of several leaders of national Orthodox churches across the world. Christodoulos helped create church Web sites and radio stations, and frequently issued detailed checklists on how black-clad Orthodox priests should conduct themselves in public. In 2001, Christodoulos received the late John Paul II — the first pope to visit Greece in nearly 1,300 years. The archbishop followed up in 2006 with an historic visit to the Vatican, where he and Pope Benedict XVI signed a joint declaration calling for inter-religious dialogue and stating opposition to abortion and euthanasia. Christodoulos was born Christos Paraskevaidis in 1939 in the northeastern Greek city of Xanthi, one of two sons of a wholesale food importer and devoutly religious mother. His skills were soon spotted by members of the church hierarchy. The coup leaders had installed their own church leadership under the late Archbishop Ieronymos to help realize their strictly conservative social agenda. In a television interview years later, Christodoulos famously asserted he had been unaware of widespread abuses carried out during the dictatorship because of his demanding religious studies. After the junta collapsed, he was elected metropolitan bishop of a diocese based in the central city of Volos, where he remained until he was elected archbishop on April 28, 1998. Church elders turned to Christodoulos in the hopes that he could remedy years of administrative disorder under the leadership of the long-ailing Archbishop Seraphim, who had rarely appeared in public in the years leading up to his death in 1998. In contrast to his predecessor, Christodoulos appeared on television daily, touring schools and churches, and watched his approval rating rise to 75 percent in opinion polls. He frequently weighed in on a variety of issues — in equal measure delighting the religious right and infuriating liberal and left-wing opponents. In one of his most vociferous campaigns, Christodoulos led a petition drive against the introduction of new state identity cards that would end the practice of listing the bearer’s religion. The church gathered some 3 million signatures, more than a quarter of the population. “They are trying to take away our society’s Christian and Orthodox identity, using various groundless arguments, because they hate God and want to marginalize the church,” Christodoulos had said during the dispute, claiming he was fighting the “forces of evil.’’ The campaign ultimately failed, and Greeks’ identity cards dropped the religion entry. He was regularly named Greece’s most popular public figure in opinion polls, but his abrasive tactics also made him enemies in the church and the media, who openly called for his resignation when several senior clerics were accused of embezzling funds, involvement in sexual scandals, and even trial-fixing in 2005. Christodoulos publicly apologized for failing to contain the scandal and defeated a no-confidence motion in the Holy Synod by 67-1 votes. A decision on when elections will be held to chose a successor must be made within 20 days, Metropolitan Chrysostomos of Zakinthos said on Greek television.
Al-Qaeda spokesman Libi, 41, has appeared in a number of al-Qaeda videos. All About Al Qaeda • Pakistan The officials said al-Libi was killed by a missile from an airplane. "But it's not bin Laden and Zawahri. The US has linked him the bombing at the US base at Bagram in Afghanistan in February last year that killed 23 people. They do have an ability to regenerate and replace these guys." Earlier, a knowledgeable Western official and a military source confirmed al-Libi's death to CNN. He did not say who buried the bodies. 'Drone spotted' Unnamed Pakistani intelligence officials say he was killed in a missile attack in North Waziristan on Tuesday. Libi is thought to have directed recent suicide attacks News of his death emerged on a website used by Islamist groups. A U.S. counterterrorism official told CNN he was a significant, senior al Qaeda figure who had taken on a more prominent role in the organization in recent years. Libyan Abu Laith al Libi served as an al Qaeda field commander and spokesman. "So, how would anybody confirm who got killed?" US Vice-President Dick Cheney was at the base at the time. Residents reported having seen a drone aircraft in the region before the attack. He was on a "most wanted" list of 12 accused terrorists which was issued in October by the Combined Joint Task Force-82 -- an anti-terror unit in Afghanistan. ABU LAITH AL-LIBI Born: Libya, around 1967 Description: 193cm (6'4") tall, solid build, dark hair and eyes, scars on back Role: Senior operations commander; al-Qaeda spokesman Source: Globalsecurity.org Profile: Abu Laith al-Libi He has acted as a spokesman for the group, announcing in 2002 that Osama Bin Laden and Taleban leader Mullah Omar had survived the US invasion of Afghanistan.
Libi is thought to have directed recent suicide attacks News of his death emerged on a website used by Islamist groups. Ekhlaas.org said he had "fallen as a martyr". Pakistan says it cannot confirm reports that Libi was killed by a US missile strike in Pakistan on Tuesday Libi is believed to have behind an attack at an Afghan air base last year while the US vice-president was there. Most analysts say Libi's death would be a blow to al-Qaeda, both symbolically and operationally. But the BBC's security correspondent Frank Gardner says al-Qaeda has proved itself to be resilient to individual losses and setbacks, and no-one is predicting an immediate decline in attacks in the region. US Defense Secretary Robert Gates said he did not "have anything definitive" to say about the news, the Associated Press reported. ABU LAITH AL-LIBI Born: Libya, around 1967 Description: 193cm (6'4") tall, solid build, dark hair and eyes, scars on back Role: Senior operations commander; al-Qaeda spokesman Source: Globalsecurity.org Profile: Abu Laith al-Libi He has acted as a spokesman for the group, announcing in 2002 that Osama Bin Laden and Taleban leader Mullah Omar had survived the US invasion of Afghanistan. "This individual is in the top half-dozen figures in al-Qaeda... who has a long record of military activity on behalf of al-Qaeda," an unnamed Western official told Reuters news agency. He is thought to be one of al-Qaeda's most senior field commanders in Afghanistan, and to have directed a number of recent suicide bomb attacks in the east of the country. The US has linked him the bombing at the US base at Bagram in Afghanistan in February last year that killed 23 people. 'Drone spotted' Unnamed Pakistani intelligence officials say he was killed in a missile attack in North Waziristan on Tuesday. But Pakistan's main military spokesman, Maj Gen Athar Abbas said it was not possible to confirm Libi's death. "We cannot negate nor confirm because the moment it happened, they removed the bodies and buried them," Maj Gen Abbas told the AFP news agency. "So, how would anybody confirm who got killed?" Seven Arabs and six Central Asians died in the missile strike that hit a village near Mir Ali, Pakistani intelligence officials said. One told Reuters: "The missile appeared to have been fired by a drone." Correspondents say the US has launched a number of strikes at suspected militants in Pakistan - some of them missiles fired by drones. Pakistan has repeatedly insisted in public that it will not accept foreign military action on its territory. Two years ago Pakistan complained to the US after a similar strike, reportedly aimed at al-Qaeda number two Zawahri, killed 18 people in a village near the Afghan border. The man who some U.S. intelligence circles reportedly call al Qaeda's No. 3 has been killed in Pakistan, government officials confirm. "It's significant," a Western intelligence official, who confirmed al Libi is believed to have been killed in this week's attack by an unmanned predator in North Waziristan, tells ABC News. He was considered to be responsible for al Qaeda's military operations in Afghanistan, according to intelligence officials. He was believed to have been behind the suicide bombing that killed 23 people outside the Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan last February when Vice President Dick Cheney was visiting inside. In a 2006 audio interview al Libi said, "We showed the Muslims in Afghanistan that the mujahedeen in Afghanistan are able to organize a strong, orderly opposition that can stop the enemies in their tracks." A jihadi Web site today carried a banner congratulating the Muslim worldwide community for the "martyrdom of Sheikh Abu Al-Laith Al-Libi." WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Abu Laith al-Libi, a wanted al Qaeda terrorist, was killed in Pakistan by a CIA airstrike, three U.S. officials told CNN Thursday. He was on a "most wanted" list of 12 accused terrorists which was issued in October by the Combined Joint Task Force-82 -- an anti-terror unit in Afghanistan. Earlier, a knowledgeable Western official and a military source confirmed al-Libi's death to CNN. The same official said al-Libi is "not far below the importance of the top two al Qaeda leaders" -- Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri. "May God have mercy on Sheikh Abu Laith al-Libi and accept him with his brothers, with the martyrs," said a eulogy posted on a main Islamist site, Al-Ekhlaas. Watch senior Arab affairs editor Octavia Nasr detail al-Libi's significance » In an earlier role, he was a leader of the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group, which eventually merged with al Qaeda, the counterterrorism official said, and was responsible for planning attacks throughout North Africa and the Middle East. The official described al-Libi as part of al Qaeda's inner circle, who helped fill the void created by the capture or death of other senior people in the organization.
"We have all the content here," he said. The earlier break disrupted service in Egypt, the Middle East and India. Dubai has been hit hard by an Internet outage apparently caused by a cut undersea cable. But Egypt's communications ministry said damage to the cables in the Mediterranean was not caused by ships. The fibre optic wires in question - called Flag Europe-Asia and Sea-Me-We 4 - are some of the most vital information pipelines between Europe and the east. Between them, the two lines are responsible for around 75% of all connectivity in the Middle East and south Asia. TeleGeography officials also said most traffic between the U.S., Canada and Mexico is carried over land, and there is a plentiful supply of undersea cables carrying traffic under the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. Flag Telecom said a repair ship was expected to arrive at the site of the first break - 8.3km from Alexandria in Egypt - on 5 February, with repair work expected to take a week. All About Dubai • United Arab Emirates The cause of the break has still not been confirmed. Countries in east Asia and the Pacific remained unaffected as they pipe most of their internet traffic to Europe through the US, but it could be several weeks before things are back to normal in the affected countries. "It's not going to be felt other than we won't get the BBC." Schoonover said the two cables damaged Wednesday collectively account for as much as three-quarters of the international communications between Europe and the Middle East, so their loss had a much bigger effect. The Indian ISPs were still alerting customers to slowdowns over the next few days with service quality delays of 50 percent to 60 percent, he said.
The first cut caused widespread disruption to net services The Falcon cable, owned by a firm which operates another damaged cable, led to a "critical" telecom breakdown, according to one local official. The cause of the latest break has not been confirmed but a repair ship has been deployed, said owner Flag Telecom. "The situation is critical for us in terms of congestion," Omar Sultan, chief executive of Dubai's ISP DU, told The Associated Press, following the most recent break. Wednesday's incident caused disruption to 70% of the nationwide internet network in Egypt on Wednesday, while India suffered up to 60% disruption. Flag Telecom said a repair ship was expected to arrive at the site of the first break - 8.3km from Alexandria in Egypt - on 5 February, with repair work expected to take a week. A repair ship deployed to the second break - 56km from Dubai - was expected to arrive at the site in the "next few days", the firm said. Web returns The first cable - the Fiber-Optic Link Around the Globe (FLAG) - was cut at 0800 on 30 January, the firm said. INSIDE A SUBMARINE CABLE 1 Polyethylene cover 2,4 Stranded steel armour wires 3,5 Tar-soaked nylon yarn 6 Polycarbonate insulator 7 Copper sheath 8 Protective core 9 Optical fibres Not to scale A second cable thought to lie alongside it - SEA-ME-WE 4, or the South East Asia-Middle East-West Europe 4 cable - was also split. FLAG is a 28,000km (17,400 mile) long submarine communications cable that links Australia and Japan with Europe via India and the Middle East. SEA-ME-WE 4 is a submarine cable linking South East Asia to Europe via the Indian subcontinent and the Middle East. The two cable cuts meant that the only cable in service connecting Europe to the Middle East via Egypt was the older Sea-M-We 3 system, according to research firm TeleGeography. The firm said the cuts reduced the amount of available capacity on the stretch of network between India and Europe by 75% percent. Initial reports suggested that it could have been snapped by a ship's anchor. But Egypt's communications ministry said damage to the cables in the Mediterranean was not caused by ships. The transport ministry said that footage recorded by onshore video cameras of the location of the cables showed no maritime traffic in the area when the cables were damaged. "The ministry's maritime transport committee reviewed footage covering the period of 12 hours before and 12 hours after the cables were cut and no ships sailed the area," a statement said. Internet service providers said they expected India's to be back to about 80% of its usual speed by the end of Friday. "However, it's not before ten days until the internet service returns to its normal performance," Kamil told the state Al-Ahram newspaper. The following clarification was printed in the Guardian's Corrections and clarifications column, Saturday February 2 2008 Dubai is one of the seven emirates that make up the United Arab Emirates; Dubai is also the name of its capital city. A flotilla of ships may have been dispatched to reinstate the broken submarine cable that has left the Middle East and India struggling to communicate with the rest of the world, but it took just one vessel to inflict the damage that brought down the internet for millions. According to reports, the internet blackout, which has left 75 million people with only limited access, was caused by a ship that tried to moor off the coast of Egypt in bad weather on Wednesday. Since then phone and internet traffic has been severely reduced across a huge swath of the region, slashed by as much as 70% in countries including India, Egypt and Dubai. "People who download music and films are going to affect businesses who have more important things to do," said ministry spokesman Mohammed Taymur. But as backroom staff at businesses across the globe scrambled to reroute their traffic or switch on backup satellite systems, experts said the incident highlighted the fragility of a global communications network we take for granted. "People just don't realise that all these things go through undersea cables - that this is the main way these economies are all linked," said Alan Mauldin, the research director of TeleGeography. "Even when you're using wireless internet, it's only really wireless back to your base station: the rest is done over real, physical connections." Despite the clean, hi-tech image of the online world, much of the planet remains totally reliant on real-world connections put in place through massive physical effort. The expensive fibre optic cables are laid at great cost in huge lines around the globe, directing traffic backwards and forwards across continents and streaming millions of conversations simultaneously from one country to another. One expert suggested that this week's accident should be a "wake-up call" to convince governments that keeping such connections secure should be a higher priority. Officials must spend more time and energy making sure that critical communications such as mobile phones and the net are adequately protected - whether from disaster or a terrorist strike, said Mustafa Alani, head of security and terrorism at the Gulf Research Centre in Dubai. Although the direct effect of the Mediterranean accident is being felt as far west as Bangladesh, the greatest impact has been in India, which has the world's fifth largest internet population and an economy that is increasingly reliant on hi-tech communications. The Indian stock markets had already closed when reports of the collapse first surfaced on Wednesday, but the impact of a 50% drop in bandwidth was being felt keenly yesterday - particularly by the country's expansive outsourcing industry. American corporations were reporting a number of problems with their Indian-based support services and call centres as the domino effect kicked in, although a spokesman for BT - one of Britain's biggest outsourcers - said the company had so far seen little direct evidence of problems. "It will depend on how bad the damage is, but they'll find the sections in question and bring them up onto a ship for repair before sinking them again," said Mauldin. The fibre optic wires in question - called Flag Europe-Asia and Sea-Me-We 4 - are some of the most vital information pipelines between Europe and the east. "The problems are really at pinch points where increasingly huge amounts of information are coming through," said Jim Kinsella, chairman of Interoute, Europe's largest fibre optic network provider. He said that improvements are scheduled for submarine cabling, but that plans to send more internet traffic over land connections rather than under the sea had been set back by political wrangling. The loss of the two Mediterranean cables -- FLAG Telecom's FLAG Europe-Asia cable and SeaMeWe-4, a cable owned by a consortium of more than a dozen telecommunications companies -- has snarled Internet and phone traffic from Egypt to India.
Clinton." Clinton was on her way to events in Tucson, Arizona, and Albuquerque, New Mexico, before overnighting in St Louis. Mitt Romney is McCain's chief Super Tuesday rival. Democratic presidential candidate US Senator Hillary Clinton (D-NY) speaks at a campaign rally in San Jose, California February 1, 2008. "I'm the most electable -- any poll will show you that -- against Sen. Obama and Sen. We talked about which states they'll be -- California is among the states." Romney also said he would have liked California Gov. All About U.S. Presidential Election • Democratic Party • Republican Party Former Massachusetts Gov. Those who lose a state can still come away with a big chunk of delegates. REUTERS/Joshua Lott Republican presidential candidate and US Senator John McCain (R-AZ) takes a phoograph with a supporter during a rally at the Odeum Expo Center in Villa Park, Illinois February 1, 2008. But $18 million of that was loaned by Romney to his campaign, meaning $9 million came from contributions. "The president made a deal with Sen. Kennedy and neither one of them meant to mess it up," the former president said, referring to Kennedy's support for President Bush's No Child Left Behind education plan. The endorsement came after the group allowed its members to vote over the last two days on either Obama or rival Sen. Hillary Clinton. All of the candidates are increasing TV advertising in several of the delegate-rich states. Both presidential endorsements are the paper's first since 1972. Self-identified conservatives comprised 63 percent of the Republican primary electorate during the same year.
With 72 hours to go before Super Tuesday, and with some two dozen states at play, the candidates are hop-scotching the country this weekend, trying to scoop up delegates like pebbles. "Seeing the two of us was just so exciting for so many people," Clinton told PBS host Tavis Smiley in an interview after the two debated Thursday night. With delegates allotted proportionally, a candidate doesn't have to win the state to walk out closer to the nomination. "This is, frankly, a delegate race at this point," Obama admitted at a campaign rally earlier this week. Sen. Clinton's number one surrogate, her husband, came home to Arkansas where he took a shot at Sen. Edward Kennedy for "messing up" education reform. "The president made a deal with Sen. Kennedy and neither one of them meant to mess it up," the former president said, referring to Kennedy's support for President Bush's No Child Left Behind education plan. Clinton's fellow Arkansan Mike Huckabee is staying south for the Republican race -- trying to prevent his fellow evangelicals from flocking to rival Mitt Romney. "I've got a far more conservative record than Mitt Romney ever dreamed of having," Huckabee said this week. Sen. John McCain is also down south today in Nashville, trying to build on momentum from big endorsements and his Florida win before he heads to Massachusetts, the home state of Mitt Romney. Romney is sinking more of his millions into TV ads in Super Tuesday states, but for the first time he hinted he needs to get a serious return on his investment Tuesday to keep going. ATLANTA, Georgia (CNN) -- Republican and Democratic candidates are ramping up TV ads, racking up endorsements and heading West to stump for votes ahead of next week's Super Tuesday contests. Republican Sen. John McCain of Arizona, along with Democratic Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois, Friday won the backing of the Los Angeles Times, one of the most-read newspapers in the United States and especially in delegate-rich California. In separate editorials, the paper praised Obama as an "inspiring leader who cuts through typical internecine campaign bickering," and McCain as a consistent conservative with "fundamental individualism." Both presidential endorsements are the paper's first since 1972. MoveOn.org, the liberal political action committee that claims more than 3 million members, endorsed Obama's White House bid -- the first time the group has made a primary endorsement. The endorsement came after the group allowed its members to vote over the last two days on either Obama or rival Sen. Hillary Clinton. Obama beat the New York senator 70 percent to 30 percent. "Our members' endorsement of Sen. Obama is a clear call for a new America at this critical moment in history," said Eli Pariser, MoveOn.org's executive director. In Sacramento, one of California's largest unions, the Service Employees International Union, threw its support to Obama, spokeswoman Jeanine Meyer Rodriguez told The Associated Press. The 650,000-member union's backing could help Obama cut into Clinton's lead in California polls of Democratic base voters, many of whom are union members -- a constituency known for doing door-to-door campaigning. Union officials will urge their members to vote for Obama, but said they do not plan to do a wider get-out-the-vote campaign. Also on Friday, talk-show host Oprah Winfrey was confirmed as the headliner of an Obama event in Los Angeles Sunday, two days before Democrats in California and 21 other states head to the polls. The event will mark Winfrey's return to the campaign trail two months after the media mogul stumped for Obama in Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina, drawing record-breaking crowds and heavy media coverage. Obama's wife, Michelle, and Caroline Kennedy will also attend the Sunday event, though Obama is scheduled to be in Delaware that day. Clinton, meanwhile, after completing nearly a dozen local satellite interviews Friday in Super Tuesday states, was in California attending "Solutions for America" town hall meetings in San Diego and San Francisco, followed by a "Low-Dollar fundraiser," also in San Francisco. In somewhat of a shocking "endorsement," conservative commentator Ann Coulter said Thursday she is prepared to vote for Clinton over McCain in a general election matchup. "If you are looking at substance rather than if there is an R or a D after his name, manifestly, if he's our candidate, than Hillary is going to be our girl, because she's more conservative than he is," Coulter said. "I think she would be stronger on the war on terrorism." McCain, who has come under criticism from pundits like Coulter and Rush Limbaugh, was endorsed Friday by former presidential candidate Steve Forbes in Missouri, where McCain was attending campaign rallies in Chesterfield and Villa Park. Earlier Friday, former Solicitor General Ted Olson, a onetime supporter of Giuliani's failed White House bid, announced he was backing McCain. Based on a review of the Super Tuesday map, polling and delegate rules, CNN's John King said the Romney campaign has little room for error. Watch CNN's coverage of candidates campaigning » "We divided the nation in three major parts. In 2004, they comprised roughly one-quarter -- or 26 percent -- of the Republican primary electorate. McCain is poised to make a "significant" Super Tuesday ad buy that will put his television commercials on the air in about 20 states -- every Super Tuesday state except Utah, campaign sources said. McCain's campaign said the ad is called "true conservative," and it seems intended to counter several conservative pundits' concerns over his credentials. The ad touts McCain's "commitment to conservative principles on economic, social and national security issues as well as his readiness to lead as commander in chief on day one," the campaign said. The sources refused to give a specific dollar figure, but said it was a "seven figure" buy.
England: Balshaw, Sackey, Noon, Flood, Vainikolo, Wilkinson, Gomarsall, Payne, Regan, Stevens, Shaw, Borthwick, Haskell, Lipman, Easter. Replacements: Parker for Shanklin (71), S. Jones for Hook (58), Peel for Phillips (58), Jenkins for D. Jones (54), Rees for Bennett (58), D. Jones for Gough (73), Delve for R. Jones (62). Italy's response was swift. Ahead 19-6 at the break, Cedric Heymans' try increased the lead before Ireland hit back with a penalty try. A turnover gifted Clerc his first score and the winger's two other tries came after Irish mistakes. Elissalde added the conversion and France led 19-6 at the interval. Highlights: Wales 30-15 Scotland Interview: Man of the match Martyn Williams Interview: Wales coach Warren Gatland Interview: Scotland coach Frank Hadden Wales began with the momentum of last week's stunning win over England, man-of-the-match Martyn Williams and Hook pouncing on a loose Scotland line-out to win their side a scrum five metres from the visitors' line. There were only five points in it with six minutes left when O'Gara struck a superb long-range penalty. The second half was scrappy at best with England struggling for ball and conceding penalty after penalty - Bortolussi sending over a further two kicks to give his side hope. Ireland responded with Andrew Trimble's charge putting the French defence under pressure in the 11th minute but a knock-on by John Hayes ended the opportunity. And Simon Picone's late try set up a tense finish but England held on.
By Sean Davies Williams' second try was highly controversial Wales (10) 30 Tries: S Williams 2, Hook Cons: Hook 2, S Jones Pens: Hook, S Jones 2 Scotland (6) 15 Pens: Paterson 5 A spectacular brace of Shane Williams tries saw Wales maintain their 100% start to the RBS Six Nations. The home side dominated possession and territory and their flair saw first half tries for Williams and James Hook. But dogged Scotland held on through the boot of Chris Paterson, the wing landing all five of his goal kicks. Leading just 17-15 on 60 minutes, Wales changed their half-backs and regathered before Williams split the defence and squeezed in for a controversial score. Highlights: Wales 30-15 Scotland Interview: Man of the match Martyn Williams Interview: Wales coach Warren Gatland Interview: Scotland coach Frank Hadden Wales began with the momentum of last week's stunning win over England, man-of-the-match Martyn Williams and Hook pouncing on a loose Scotland line-out to win their side a scrum five metres from the visitors' line. 606: DEBATE Martyn Williams remains the scavenger supreme BBC Sport's Bruce Pope Scotland's defence proved stout through a series of Welsh drives, and they escaped with a penalty when Tom Shanklin held the ball on the floor. The Welsh were looking to spread the ball in front of a record crowd at Cardiff's Millennium Stadium, but Hook spun a midfield pass into the arms of Andrew Henderson. Paterson hacked forward to the Wales line, securing the position from which the wing - restored to Frank Hadden's team this week after the miserable loss to France - opened the scoring with a 10th-minute penalty. Wales hit back in style, Mike Phillips carrying powerfully after gathering a misjudged open-field chip from Hugo Southwell. It's 100% certain that I scored, there's no doubt in my mind Shane Williams More Wales reaction The ball was spun left, Hook putting Lee Byrne into space with a delightful pass after Gavin Henson helped straighten the line. Byrne's pass went behind Williams, but the winger gathered and threw a trademark side-step to cross for the opening try, converted by Hook. The visitors saw 50-cap man Nathan Hines sin-binned for foolishly lashing out at Byrne when he was held at a ruck. The 14 men held out, Hook and Paterson exchanging penalties after his return to leave Scotland relieved with a scoreline of 10-6 at the break. The visitors were soon back to within a point, Paterson slotting an easy penalty after a bullocking run from Allister Hogg, an impressive first-half injury replacement for skipper Jason White. Hook was replaced with 20 minutes of the game to go The unerring boot of Paterson clawed back two more penalties, though, cutting the gap to two points and prompting Wales coach Warren Gatland to replace half-backs Hook and Phillips with Stephen Jones and Dwayne Peel. Confidence rose in the home side, and after an impressive build-up the ball came to Williams who spotted half a yard of space in midfield. The wing sailed outside Henderson and Southwell, before a desperate Nikki Walker tackle forced him to ground from mid-air with his body outside the touchline for a spectacular and hotly disputed try awarded by video referee Carlo Damasco. Gatland will try to keep Welsh expectations in check, but with a home game against Italy in two weeks and a Triple Crown game in Dublin on 8 March, that seems unlikely. Watch the match in full on BBC iPlayer for seven days from Saturday (UK users only) Watch here Wales: Byrne, Roberts, Shanklin, Henson, S. Williams, Hook, Phillips, D. Jones, Bennett, A. Jones, Gough, Evans, Thomas, M. Williams, R. Jones. Ahead 19-6 at the break, Cedric Heymans' try increased the lead before Ireland hit back with a penalty try. David Wallace's try and a Ronan O'Gara penalty cut the gap to five but despite intense pressure, France held on. Highlights: France 26-21 Ireland Interview: Ireland coach Eddie O'Sullivan Interview: France's Vincent Clerc Ireland started brightly but Aurelien Rougerie's break forced the scrambling Irish defence to concede a penalty, although Jean-Baptiste Elissalde missed the chance. Ireland responded with Andrew Trimble's charge putting the French defence under pressure in the 11th minute but a knock-on by John Hayes ended the opportunity. 606: DEBATE Brian O'Driscoll tried to inspire his side but was outshone by the French backs BBC Sport's Nabil Hassan A turnover in a ruck gifted France their opening try as Elissalde's kick behind the Irish defence was gathered by Clerc who had the simple task of touching down. After Elissalde had added the conversion, O'Gara's quick reply from a penalty gave the Irish some respite but Clerc, the man who had broken Irish hearts at Croke Park last year, was at it again in the 19th minute. Rob Kearney had initially failed to hold on to the restart and slack Irish midfield tackling enabled the barging David Skrela to set up Clerc for the simple finish. Ireland squandered a glorious chance to hit back in the 27th minute after a turnover but Eoin Reddan's wild pass meant that Girvan Dempsey was quickly gobbled up by the French defence. Ireland's Rob Kearney is tackled by Damien Traille Heyman ran in France's fourth try after Brian O'Driscoll's charge-down of a Skrela kick sat up perfectly for the full-back.
"He was able to talk," she said. Jose Ramos-Horta won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1996 Jose Ramos-Horta Mr Ramos-Horta was shot in a pre-dawn attack on his Dili home, and later airlifted to Australia for treatment. East Timor gained independence in 2002. Australian peacekeeping soldiers have cordoned off the President's residence. The attack happened after the prime minister had left his house. Mr Dunn says he has been told Mr Ramos Horta was shot twice in the stomach. Rebel leader Alfredo Reinado and another rebel died in the attack on Mr Ramos-Horta. One soldier was also reported to be seriously wounded. REUTERS/Lirio Da Fonseca U.N. police from Portugal patrol outside the office of East Timor Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao in Dili February 11, 2008 after rebels attacked the house of President Jose Ramos-Horta. The factional bloodshed two years ago killed 37 people and drove 150,000 from their homes, with foreign troops needed to restore order. Unrest fear An Australian-led UN force has been in charge of security in the capital since mid-2006. He received three gunshot wounds - one in the stomach and two in the chest - and his condition is described as "serious but stable". Reinado has led a revolt against the government and was charged with murder during the 2006 factional violence. But the Darwin hospital's general manager told AFP news agency he was hopeful for a full recovery. Ramos-Horta was shot and critically wounded at his home in Dili on Monday in an assassination attempt by rebel soldiers that analysts said could spark renewed violence and political chaos in the tiny nation. Dili is reported to be quiet and heavily patrolled by local and international security forces.
U.N. police from Portugal patrol outside the office of East Timor Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao in Dili February 11, 2008, after rebels attacked the house of President Jose Ramos-Horta. Ramos-Horta was stable after he was shot in the stomach during an attack on his Dili home by rebel soldiers, Foreign Minister Zacarias da Costa said on Monday. REUTERS/Lirio Da Fonseca Soldiers from Australia guard outside the office of East Timor Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao in Dili February 11, 2008, after rebels attacked the house of President Jose Ramos Horta. Ramos-Horta was stable after he was shot in the stomach during an attack on his Dili home by rebel soldiers, Foreign Minister Zacarias da Costa said on Monday. REUTERS/Lirio Da Fonseca A New Zealand soldier from the international security force patrols near the house of East Timor President Jose Ramos-Horta in Dili February 11, 2008. Ramos-Horta was stable after he was shot in the stomach during an attack on his Dili home by rebel soldiers, Foreign Minister Zacarias da Costa said on Monday. REUTERS/Lirio Da Fonseca East Timor Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao (R), who escaped injury in an attack, speaks during a news conference in Dili February 11, 2008. East Timor President Jose Ramos-Horta was shot in the stomach on Monday at his home in Dili in a separate assassination attempt by rebel soldiers that analysts said could spark renewed violence and political chaos in the tiny nation. REUTERS/Lirio Da Fonseca U.N. police from Portugal patrol outside the office of East Timor Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao in Dili February 11, 2008 after rebels attacked the house of President Jose Ramos-Horta. Ramos-Horta was stable after he was shot in the stomach during an attack on his Dili home by rebel soldiers, Foreign Minister Zacarias da Costa said on Monday. REUTERS/Lirio Da Fonseca Medical personnel move a stretcher carrying East Timor's President Jose Ramos-Horta from an ambulance into Royal Darwin Hospital in Australia, February 11, 2008. REUTERS/Stringer East Timor's President Jose Ramos-Horta speaks to Reuters at his office in Dili in this June 29, 2007 file photo. Ramos-Horta was shot and critically wounded at his home in Dili on Monday in an assassination attempt by rebel soldiers that analysts said could spark renewed violence and political chaos in the tiny nation. REUTERS/Bazuki Muhammad CANBERRA East Timor President Jose Ramos-Horta was in a serious but stable condition on Tuesday in an Australian hospital, but medics were planning more surgery for up to three gunshot wounds, a senior doctor said. Ramos-Horta was critically wounded at his home in Dili on Monday in an assassination attempt by rebel soldiers and was airlifted to Darwin on life support and in an induced medical coma after treatment at an Australian military hospital. "We'll have to go back to theatre, probably in the next 24 to 36 hours for some staged surgery, but at this stage we're looking at quite stable," Dr. Len Notaras, general manager of Royal Darwin Hospital, told local radio. "The president's injuries are serious injuries." Notaras said the Nobel peace prize winner was on a ventilator to assist his breathing and his most serious injury was a bullet wound in his right lung. "His condition is quite good from the perspective that if he needed to breath by himself, he would be capable of doing that," Notaras said. Around 200 fast reaction troops from Australia and more police will arrive in Dili on Tuesday to back up international forces who put the capital under a 48-hour curfew after the attack, in which rebel leader Alfredo Reinado was killed. The former Portuguese colony of almost 1 million people gained full independence in 2002 after a U.N. sponsored vote in 1999, marred by violence, ended more than two decades of brutal Indonesian occupation. The army tore apart along regional lines in 2006 and factional bloodshed killed 37 people and drove 150,000 from their homes, with foreign troops needed to restore order. Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, who will fly to Dili this week after a request from his East Timor counterpart Xanana Gusmao, said the capital was calm on Tuesday morning, with security forces braced for unrest and in control of the streets. Rudd said a decision on whether international troops would begin a hunt for the rebels involved in the attack would be taken later by operational commanders. Reports in Dili and Australia said Ramos-Horta was ambushed while returning from a morning jog and he suffered up to three bullet wounds in the attack. United Nations forces were also accused of leaving the president to bleed on his bed for up to an hour before Portuguese paramilitary police arrived to transport him to care. Jose Ramos-Horta won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1996 Jose Ramos-Horta Mr Ramos-Horta was shot in a pre-dawn attack on his Dili home, and later airlifted to Australia for treatment. He said the "attempt to assassinate the democratically elected leadership of a close friend and neighbour of Australia's is a deeply disturbing development". JOSE RAMOS-HORTA Founder of East Timor's independence movement Spent 24 years in exile after Indonesia invaded Won Nobel Peace Prize in 1996 Former journalist, fluent in five languages Unrest fears after shooting Timorese shock at shooting In pictures: Timor leader shot Two cars drove past the president's house on the outskirts of the capital, Dili. He apparently tried to return home after hearing gunshots but was shot on the way in, according to UN officials. He received three gunshot wounds - one in the stomach and two in the chest - and his condition is described as "serious but stable". "He's not fighting for his life but his injuries are extremely serious." The attack happened after the prime minister had left his house. Peacekeepers were invited into the country to quell violent clashes between police and the military, triggered by then Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri's decision to sack a third of the armed forces.
This doesn't mean, however, we should be distracted from the urgency of Darfur." "China is also concerned about the humanitarian situation in Darfur. The director said his conscience would not allow him to continue in his role. 'Ongoing failure' Mr Spielberg's announcement late on Tuesday is Beijing's first big setback in staging the Olympics, analysts say. Sudan sells some two-thirds of its oil to Beijing, while Beijing sells weapons to the Sudanese government and has blocked efforts to pressure Khartoum in the UN Security Council. A UK newspaper has published a letter from 80 Nobel laureates and artists urging Beijing to help end the conflict. "Most progressive governments accept that there are wholly unacceptable aspects of Chinese policy, but that did not stop the International Olympic Committee awarding them the games. At least 200,000 people have been killed and two million forced from their homes in the five-year conflict. "He will certainly go down in history as someone who gave human lives precedence over fame and money." OLYMPICS ROW Famous names involved in advising the Olympics include director Zhang Yimou and Kung Fu star Jackie Chan Hollywood stars Mia Farrow and George Clooney have criticised China over Darfur Athletes put focus on Darfur Spielberg action: China reacts China's dilemma over Darfur Beijing says it has appointed a special envoy to Darfur and sent peacekeepers to the region. "A call for a boycott doesn't serve any purpose and it would be a great pity. "This is a noble move by Spielberg," Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM) leader Abdul Wahid Mohammad Ahmed al-Nur told the Sudan Tribune newspaper. But the BBC's James Reynolds in Beijing says the decision will anger and worry the authorities there.
'A call for a boycott doesn't serve any purpose and it would be a great pity' Boycotting the Olympics would not help the human rights situation in Darfur, the Olympics minister Tessa Jowell said today. She said that although aspects of Chinese policy were "wholly unacceptable", a boycott was not the right way to exert pressure on Beijing. Jowell was speaking in response to calls from Sudanese rebels for the international community to boycott the Olympics because of China's support for the Sudanese government and its role in Darfur. "The world has known for the last seven years that Beijing would host the Olympics," Jowell told the Times. "Most progressive governments accept that there are wholly unacceptable aspects of Chinese policy, but that did not stop the International Olympic Committee awarding them the games. "A call for a boycott doesn't serve any purpose and it would be a great pity. Mr Spielberg's decision is a high-profile blow to Olympic organisers The foreign ministry said "ulterior motives" may be behind criticism of its links with Sudan. China has strong economic and military ties with Sudan, which campaigners say it should use to put pressure on Khartoum to resolve the Darfur crisis. A UK newspaper has published a letter from 80 Nobel laureates and artists urging Beijing to help end the conflict. 'Empty rhetoric' Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao said: "We have taken notice that recently there have been many controversies and actions involving China and Darfur. "It is understandable if some people do not understand the Chinese government policy on Darfur, but I am afraid that some people may have ulterior motives, and this we cannot accept," he told a news conference. OLYMPICS ROW Famous names involved in advising the Olympics include director Zhang Yimou and Kung Fu star Jackie Chan Hollywood stars Mia Farrow and George Clooney have criticised China over Darfur Athletes put focus on Darfur Spielberg action: China reacts China's dilemma over Darfur Beijing says it has appointed a special envoy to Darfur and sent peacekeepers to the region. At least 200,000 people have died and two million forced from their homes in the five-year conflict in Sudan's Darfur region, where pro-government militia are accused of widespread atrocities. Sudan sells some two-thirds of its oil to Beijing, while Beijing sells weapons to the Sudanese government and has blocked efforts to pressure Khartoum in the UN Security Council. Campaigners say arms sold by China to the Sudanese government that have been used in Darfur. 'Ongoing failure' Mr Spielberg's announcement late on Tuesday is Beijing's first big setback in staging the Olympics, analysts say. HAVE YOUR SAY The real question is why the Olympics were awarded to China in the first place Vladi, California "Sudan's government bears the bulk of the responsibility for these ongoing crimes, but the international community, and particularly China, should be doing more," he said. Adding to the pressure, British newspaper the Independent has published on its front page the full text of a letter signed by 80 Nobel laureates, politicians and artists to Chinese President Hu Jintao urging greater action on Darfur. The letter, released by campaigning group Crisis Action on 12 February, said China had both the opportunity and the responsibility to help bring peace to the troubled region. "Ongoing failure to rise to this responsibility amounts, in our view, to support for a government that continues to carry out atrocities against its own people," the letter said. Mr Spielberg formally announced his decision in a statement In a statement, he accused China of not doing enough to pressure Sudan to end the "continuing human suffering" in the troubled western Darfur region. This is a noble move by Spielberg - he will certainly go down in history as someone who gave human lives precedence over fame and money Abdul Wahid Mohammad Ahmed al-Nur Sudanese rebel leader China's dilemma over Darfur A source in the Beijing Olympic Committee said a response was being discussed at the highest levels but had not yet been made public. OLYMPICS ROW Famous names involved in advising the Olympics include director Zhang Yimou and Kung Fu star Jackie Chan Hollywood stars Mia Farrow and George Clooney have criticised China over Darfur Architect Ai Weiwei, who designed the main Olympic stadium, says the Games are a "public relations sham" Athletes put focus on Darfur He added: "Sudan's government bears the bulk of the responsibility for these on-going crimes, but the international community, and particularly China, should be doing more." "The IOC recognise Darfur is a highly complex issue, with tragic circumstances, but is a matter for the UN to resolve," the committee said in a statement. She said: "I'm delighted by his decision and it's a desperate time for Darfur, so this is a shred of good news in a very bleak week."
In all, there were 23 casualties in the shooting, including the gunman. "We have not." She said 'run!' Kazmierczak had no criminal record. He killed five students and then himself in a lecture hall where he himself had once helped teach a class. Kazmierczak, who went by Steve, graduated from NIU in 2007 and was a graduate student in sociology there before leaving last year and moving on to the graduate school of social work at the University of Illinois in Champaign, 130 miles away. Authorities still search for a woman who police believe may have been Kazmierczak's girlfriend. Several of the victims were taken to hospitals, where three died. A bomb squad safely opened it and the Chicago Tribune reports that investigators found ammunition. He bought the two other handguns at the same shop — a Hi-Point .380 on Dec. 30 and a Sig Sauer on Aug. 6. "It didn't seem like he was aiming. "There is no note or threat that I know of," NIU president John Peters told ABC News. Elsewhere, flat-screen TVs flashed images of the campus in the days and months following the tragedy. And he had once helped teach a class in Cole Hall, the scene of Thursday’s tragedy, according to old documents on the Northern Illinois University Web site. "If he had [a] different gun, it would have been worse," said Kevin. The motel manager says Kazmierczak also left a laptop computer behind. Carrying the shotgun concealed in a guitar case, and the handguns under his coat, he entered the hall through a door near the front of the room's stage.
NIU campus gathers to commemorate 1 year since fatal rampage Victims are mourned and community aims to move forward in victims' honor On Saturday, the sophomore returned to the center, joining another crowd to pay tribute to the victims once again. But this time, the mood was different, as the university also celebrated its triumph of recovery. Alyssa Everley was among thousands of students who gathered solemnly at Northern Illinois University's Convocation Center last February for a memorial service honoring five victims slain in a bloody rampage. "Last year it was shock and pain," Everley said. "Now we still want to pay respect to the victims, but we also realize the best way to honor them is by moving forward." Twelve months have passed since a suicidal gunman, Steven Kazmierczak, shot 25 students in an NIU lecture hall, leaving the campus plagued with confusion, anger and sadness. On the first anniversary, the university spent sun-up to sundown honoring the victims, while heralding the compassion and courage demonstrated on the campus. "This is a celebration of character," proclaimed NIU President John Peters, speaking at the morning kick-off ceremony, which honored first responders who arrived on the scene of the shootings, the volunteers who poured onto campus and those who donated cash, quilts and other support to the university. "A year ago, a year ago in this very place, we pledged to not let a single act of violence define us," Peters said. "We have not." The university used the day of remembrance to unveil plans for a $160,000 memorial garden to be built near Cole Hall, the building where the shootings occurred. Only the bell from the student center tower could be heard as the procession progressed. The families placed the wreaths at what will become the Reflection Wall, five sections of cardinal red granite 4 1/2 feet high featuring the names of the victims: Gayle Dubowski, Catalina Garcia, Julianna Gehant, Ryanne Mace and Daniel Parmenter. In May, the university announced the lecture hall would be renovated but no longer a classroom. Another lecture hall would be built elsewhere on campus to make up for the lost learning space. Quinn said Saturday he wants to include money to pay for the projects in a large-scale construction bill he's working with state lawmakers to pass. Elsewhere, flat-screen TVs flashed images of the campus in the days and months following the tragedy. A song from the musical "Rent" was among those played, posing the question: "How do you measure a year?" And yet on Thursday, Kazmierczak, armed with three handguns and a brand-new pump-action shotgun he had carried onto campus in a guitar case, stepped from behind a screen on the stage of a lecture hall at Northern Illinois University and opened fire on a geology class. The manager of a motel near the university said Saturday that Kazmierczak checked into a room just three days before the deadly rampage. He paid cash and signed in under only his first name, said hotel manager Jay Patel. He was last seen at the Travelodge on Tuesday, according to the manager. A bomb squad safely opened it and the Chicago Tribune reports that investigators found ammunition. "It's scary," said Patel, adding that he called police when he found the laptop and clothes. While friends, family, educators and investigators remain baffled and shocked at the gunman's acts, a closer look reveals that Kazmierczak's friendly exterior masked a troubled mind. A former employee at a Chicago psychiatric treatment center said Kazmierczak's parents placed him there after high school. Authorities still search for a woman who police believe may have been Kazmierczak's girlfriend.
It will be breached. Defense officials said the satellite, known as L-21, was built by Lockheed Martin Corp. All About The Pentagon • U.S. Navy The goal is to hit the satellite just before it enters Earth's atmosphere and blast it apart so that the hydrazine tank explodes. China drew criticism But Joint Chiefs of Staff vice-chairman Gen. James Cartwright denied that, saying classified technology is not an issue because the heating that would occur on re-entry would destroy any technology and "would not justify using a missile to shoot it down." What makes this different is the likelihood that the satellite could release much of the more than 1,000 pounds (454 kg) of hydrazine fuel as a toxic gas, according to James Jeffries, deputy national security adviser. NASA administrator Michael Griffin said the risks to the International Space Station and space shuttle Atlantis were negligible. But some experts questioned Bush's decision and the calculation of the risks associated with shooting the missile down compared with allowing it to burn up upon re-entry. "The likelihood of it falling in a populated area is small. WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The U.S. military may try within days to shoot down a failed satellite using a missile launched from a Navy ship, officials announced Thursday. But there was enough of a risk that the president asked us to review our options," said Jeffrey. He also said the plan to shoot it down as it enters the atmosphere will reduce the potential for debris to remain in orbit. The Lake Erie has long been used as the platform for the sea-based missile defense program. If it came down in one piece, nearly half the spacecraft would survive re-entry and the hydrazine -- heated to a gas -- could spread a toxic cloud roughly the size of two football fields, Cartwright said.
The Pentagon plans to shoot down a disabled U.S. spy satellite before it enters the atmosphere to prevent a potentially deadly leak of toxic gas from the vehicle's fuel tank, officials said on Thursday. REUTERS/NASA/File WASHINGTON The Pentagon plans to shoot down a disabled U.S. spy satellite before it enters the atmosphere to prevent a potentially deadly leak of toxic gas from the vehicle's fuel tank, officials said on Thursday. President George W. Bush decided to have the Navy shoot the 5,000-pound (2,270 kg) minivan-sized satellite with a modified tactical missile, after security advisers suggested its reentry could lead to a loss of life. U.S. officials said they were not trying to protect classified information on the satellite or to demonstrate their capabilities to China, which downed one of its own satellites with a missile last year, drawing criticism from Washington. But some experts disagreed and questioned the risks associated with shooting down the satellite. Two defense officials also cited disagreement within the administration over the action and said the decision appears to have been strongly influenced by the White House. The Pentagon hopes to strike the satellite just before it reaches the atmosphere and drive it into ocean waters. Thousands of space objects fall to Earth each year, but they generally scatter over a huge area and there have never been any reported injuries. What makes this different is the likelihood that the satellite could release much of the more than 1,000 pounds (454 kg) of hydrazine fuel as a toxic gas, according to James Jeffries, deputy national security adviser. He said the satellite was unlikely to hit a populated area and described the danger from toxic gas as limited. But Jeffries added: "There was enough of a risk for the president to be quite concerned about human life." Jeffries and other U.S. officials rejected suggestions that Bush opted to shoot down the satellite out of concern that classified material on board could survive reentry into Earth's atmosphere, and potentially land in the wrong hands. They also said Washington was not shooting the satellite down in response to China's anti-satellite test last year, noting the United States had already demonstrated its capability to hit a space object with a missile in the 1980s. China did not notify other countries before its test, marking a significant departure from U.S. efforts this week. But some experts questioned Bush's decision and the calculation of the risks associated with shooting the missile down compared with allowing it to burn up upon re-entry. Jonathan McDowell, astronomer with the Harvard-Smithsonian Center For Astrophysics, called the decision "regrettable." "Clearly someone in the administration who has the instincts of a cowboy has decided this is the perfect excuse to rattle our sabers and show the Chinese that we have the same capabilities," he said. SATELLITE NEVER WORKED The satellite is a classified National Reconnaissance Office spacecraft launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California in 2006, according to four senior U.S. officials, who asked not to be named. It cost hundreds of millions of dollars but the U.S. government will not say precisely how much, calling the figure classified. The satellite has been out of touch since shortly after reaching its low-Earth orbit. Since the satellite never became operational, it has toxic rocket fuel on board that would have been used to maneuver the satellite in space. Officials said that without the shootdown, about half the satellite, including the fuel tank, would survive reentry into Earth's atmosphere and estimated a crash could spread toxic material across an area equal to two football fields. The hydrazine will reach the ground and that's not an outcome we want to see," NASA administrator Michael Griffin said at the briefing. WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The U.S. military may try within days to shoot down a failed satellite using a missile launched from a Navy ship, officials announced Thursday. While much space trash and debris have safely crashed to Earth after burning up in the atmosphere on re-entry, authorities said what makes this 5,000-pound satellite different is the approximately 1,000 pounds of frozen toxic hydrazine propellant it carries. If it came down in one piece, nearly half the spacecraft would survive re-entry and the hydrazine -- heated to a gas -- could spread a toxic cloud roughly the size of two football fields, Cartwright said. Learn more about the shoot-down mission » Hydrazine is similar to chlorine or ammonia in that it affects the lungs and breathing tissue, the general said. The option of striking the satellite with a missile launched from an Aegis cruiser was decided upon by President Bush after consultation with several government and military officials and aerospace experts, said Deputy National Security Adviser James Jeffrey. "After further review of this option and, in particular, consideration of the question of saving or reducing injury to human life, the president, on the recommendation of his national and homeland teams, directed the Department of Defense to carry out the intercept," Jeffrey said. The goal is to hit the satellite just before it enters Earth's atmosphere and blast it apart so that the hydrazine tank explodes. Experts said that with three-quarters of Earth covered in water, there's a 25 percent chance the satellite's remnants will hit land -- and a 1 percent chance they will hit a populated area. He brushed off blog theories that the military wants to shoot down the satellite with a missile to destroy any classified data it may have accumulated in its short life, or to prevent other countries from acquiring the technology.
Kosovo, or part of it, cannot join any other country. Serbia's government also opposes independence. FRENCH FOREIGN MINISTER BERNARD KOUCHNER "I wish good luck to Kosovo." Several Serbian ministers had travelled to Kosovo to show their support for the ethnic Serbian minority. "There should be no differences between us. Russian protest The UN Security Council went into emergency session on Sunday evening after Russia called for the United Nations to declare the Kosovo declaration illegal. "Today, this policy of force thinks that it has triumphed by establishing a false state," Mr Kostunica said. Thaci assured minority groups -- especially Serbs -- that they would have a role in society and government in a future Kosovo. Three EU states - Cyprus, Romania and Slovakia - have told other EU governments that they will not recognise Kosovo, says our correspondent. Kosovo has been under U.N. control since shortly after NATO warplanes forced out Serbian forces in 1999. It will be supervised by an international presence. Russia's foreign ministry has indicated that Western recognition of an independent Kosovo could have implications for the Georgian breakaway provinces of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Celebrations went on into the night after Prime Minister Hashim Thaci promised a democracy that respected the rights of all ethnic communities. E-mail to a friend All About Kosovo • Serbia • United Nations • European Union As long as the Serb people exist, Kosovo will be Serbia." US PRESIDENT GEORGE W BUSH "We have strongly supported the Ahtisaari plan [for Kosovan independence]... George W Bush is currently on an African tour We are heartened by the fact that the Kosovo government has clearly proclaimed its willingness and its desire to support Serbian rights in Kosovo.
Albanian and American flags have been on prominent display Declaration Kosovo's parliament has unanimously endorsed a declaration of independence from Serbia, in a historic session. Celebrations went on into the night after Prime Minister Hashim Thaci promised a democracy that respected the rights of all ethnic communities. Serbia's PM denounced the US for helping create a "false state". A split later emerged at the Security Council, when Russia said there was no basis for changing a 1999 resolution which handed Kosovo to the UN. Seven Western countries said it was quite clear the situation had moved on. Tens of thousands of people had thronged the streets of Kosovo's capital, Pristina, since the morning. We have waited for this day for a very long time... from today, we are proud, independent and free Hashim Thaci Kosovo Prime Minister Kosovo's 'dream come true' Mark Mardell's Euroblog Serb and Albanian views Crowds surrounded an independence monument which was unveiled during the evening and signed by Mr Thaci and Kosovo President Fatmir Sejdiu. Hand grenades The first sign of trouble in Kosovo came in the ethnic Serbian area of the flashpoint town of Mitrovica, where two hand grenades were thrown at international community buildings. Police clash with protesters in Belgrade Enlarge Image One exploded at a UN court building while the other failed to go off outside offices expected to house the new EU mission. In Belgrade, demonstrators threw stones and broke windows at the US embassy as riot police tried to fend off a crowd of around 1,000 people. The protesters, described as gangs of youths, also attacked a McDonald's restaurant, the Serbian government building and the embassy of Slovenia which currently holds the EU presidency. Several Serbian ministers had travelled to Kosovo to show their support for the ethnic Serbian minority. Kosovo's 10 Serbian MPs boycotted the assembly session in protest at the declaration. Serbia's Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica blamed the US which he said was "ready to violate the international order for its own military interests". "Today, this policy of force thinks that it has triumphed by establishing a false state," Mr Kostunica said. KOSOVO PROFILE Population about two million Majority ethnic Albanian; 10% Serb Under UN control since Nato drove out Serb forces in 1999 2,000-strong EU staff to take over from UN after independence Nato to stay to provide security In pictures: Celebrations East-West split over Kosovo In quotes: World reaction "We have waited for this day for a very long time," Mr Thaci told parliament before reading the text, paying tribute to those who had died on the road to independence. From today, he said, Kosovo was "proud, independent and free". "The independence of Kosovo marks the end of the dissolution of the former Yugoslavia," the prime minister said. HAVE YOUR SAY Unfortunately today Kosovo and Serbia are to become two dispensable chess-pieces of EU/NATO and Russia Mat, Ljubljana, Slovenia The international military and civilian presence - also envisaged by the Ahtisaari plan - was welcome, the PM said. Russian protest The UN Security Council went into emergency session on Sunday evening after Russia called for the United Nations to declare the Kosovo declaration illegal. Russia's UN ambassador Vitaly Churkin told reporters that the resolution allowing the UN to administer Kosovo since 1999 was still in force so there could be no legal basis for any change in status. But seven Western states said the UN Security Council could not agree on Kosovo's future and all attempt to reach a negotiated outcome had been exhausted. "We regret that the Security Council cannot agree on the way forward, but this impasse has been clear for many months," Belgium's UN ambassador Johan Verbeke said. Limitations of independence The declaration approved by Kosovo's parliament contains limitations on Kosovan independence as outlined in Mr Ahtisaari's plan. Recognition by a number of EU states, including the UK and other major countries, will come on Monday after a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels, says the BBC's Paul Reynolds. Three EU states - Cyprus, Romania and Slovakia - have told other EU governments that they will not recognise Kosovo, says our correspondent. US PRESIDENT GEORGE W BUSH "We have strongly supported the Ahtisaari plan [for Kosovan independence]... George W Bush is currently on an African tour We are heartened by the fact that the Kosovo government has clearly proclaimed its willingness and its desire to support Serbian rights in Kosovo. We also believe it's in Serbia's interests to be aligned with Europe and the Serbian people can know that they have a friend in America." RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTRY "We expect the UN mission and Nato-led forces in Kosovo to take immediate action to carry out their mandate... including the annulling of the decisions of Pristina's self-governing organs and the taking of tough administrative measures against them." CZECH PRESIDENT VACLAV KLAUS "Some parties in other states could realise that they do not feel completely at ease within a big state in which they are now." "Tomorrow will be a day of calm, of understanding and of state engagements for the implementation of the will of the citizens of Kosovo," Thaci is reported to have said to journalists, adding that it would be a "a day of thanksgiving for a sovereign and independent Kosovo."
It's hilarious. no acknowledgement' at a news conference in the Frank Crowley Courts Building in Dallas, Texas, February 18, 2008. Ruby: How is that? "We don't know if this is an actual conversation or not," District Attorney Craig Watkins told a news conference. The commission said that Ruby and Oswald had never met. REUTERS/Mike Stone DALLAS John F. Kennedy assassination conspiracy buffs have been handed a Presidents' Day present they are sure to savor. The Dallas Morning News reported the transcript and other material were found in a safe on the 10th floor of the county courthouse. Ruby shot Oswald two days after the president's death. The purported Lee-Ruby meeting took place at Ruby's Carousel Club on October 4, 1963. Among the documents found was a contract signed by Wade for a movie deal. The gun was not there because it is privately owned. Lee: "There is a way to get rid of him (Attorney General Robert Kennedy) without killing him." The transcript reads like scripted cloak-and-dagger dialogue. Watkins said the items were still being processed and would eventually be made available to the public. Official records from Ruby's trial, a gun holster that probably belonged to Ruby or Oswald and personal letters from former District Attorney Henry Wade, the prosecutor in the Ruby trial, also were found inside the safe. Oswald: I can shoot his brother. Oswald says in the transcript: "I can still do it, all I need is my rifle and a tall building; but it will take time, maybe six months to find the right place; but I'll have to have some money to live on while I do the planning."
A letter dated April 1964 from the FBI agent J. Gordon Shanklin to Dallas chief of Police Jesse Curry was presented by Dallas County district attorney Craig Watkins at a news conference in the Frank Crowley Courts Building in Dallas, Texas, February 18, 2008. REUTERS/Mike Stone A letter dated April 1964 from the FBI to Dallas chief of Police Jesse Curry was presented by Dallas County district attorney Craig Watkins at a news conference in the Frank Crowley Courts Building in Dallas, Texas, February 18, 2008. REUTERS/Mike Stone A letter containing the racist terms 'dago', 'wop' and 'kike' was presented to the media by Dallas County District Attorney Craig Watkins along with blank membership cards to the night club owned by Jack Ruby, The Carousel Club, at a news conference in the Frank Crowley Courts Building in Dallas, Texas, February 18, 2008. REUTERS/Mike Stone Two pairs of brass knuckles and a gun holster purportedly belonging to Jack Ruby are a few of the artefacts presented by Dallas County District Attorney Craig Watkins at a news conference in the Frank Crowley Courts Building in Dallas, Texas, February 18, 2008. REUTERS/Mike Stone Dallas County District Attorney Craig Watkins discusses specific documents, many containing racial overtones, as he stands beside approximately a dozen boxes of artefacts and memorabilia at a news conference in the Frank Crowley Courts Building in Dallas, Texas, February 18, 2008. REUTERS/Mike Stone Blank membership cards of The Carousel Club, the nightclub owned by Jack Ruby, were presented to the media at a news conference in the Frank Crowley Courts Building in Dallas, Texas, February 18, 2008. REUTERS/Mike Stone A letter dated March 1964 addressed to then district attorney Henry Wade from a Hunt County, Texas official was presented by Dallas County District Attorney Craig Watkins at a news conference in the Frank Crowley Courts Building in Dallas, Texas, February 18, 2008. REUTERS/Mike Stone DALLAS John F. Kennedy assassination conspiracy buffs have been handed a Presidents' Day present they are sure to savor. The Dallas County district attorney said on Monday that he could not categorically dismiss as fake a transcript of an alleged conversation between Kennedy's assassin Lee Harvey Oswald and Oswald's killer Jack Ruby. The transcript is one of many items related to the Kennedy slaying in November 1963 and Ruby's trial that were found in an old safe in a Dallas courthouse about a year ago and have been painstakingly cataloged. In the purported conversation nearly two months before the assassination, Oswald and Ruby discuss killing Kennedy to halt the mafia-busting agenda of his brother, Attorney General Robert Kennedy. "It will open up the debate as to whether or not there was a conspiracy to assassinate the president." Yet if it were proven these two key figures in one of the most captivating periods in U.S. history did meet ahead of that day in Dallas, then the Kennedy assassination was almost certainly a conspiracy. One theory about the transcript holds that it is part of a movie script that Henry Wade, the district attorney who prosecuted Ruby, worked on later with producers for a film that was never made. Among the documents found was a contract signed by Wade for a movie deal. Adding fuel to the conspiracy fires, Watkins said his predecessors in the DA's office were "aware of the contents of the safe" but had decided to keep them secret "for whatever reason." He said that may have been related to the "racist tone" of some of the documents that he said painted an unflattering portrait of the criminal justice system at the time. Watkins is the first black district attorney ever of Dallas County. Watkins and others in his office came across the items after being told the gun used to kill Oswald was in the courthouse. The purported Lee-Ruby meeting took place at Ruby's Carousel Club on October 4, 1963. Lee: "There is a way to get rid of him (Attorney General Robert Kennedy) without killing him." Ruby: "How's that?" Ruby: "You mean the president?" Lee: "Yes, the president." A bit later Ruby tells Oswald: "You're asking too many questions; remember, they know who you are already; but you don't know them. They'll be watching you ..." Legions of conspiracy theorists have long questioned the conclusion of the Warren Commission that investigated the slaying that Oswald acted alone when he shot Kennedy as his motorcade swept past the Texas School Book Depository. Ruby shot Oswald dead at point-blank range as police were escorting their prime suspect. It reads like a movie screenplay, but when Dallas officials release a just-discovered transcript of a purported conversation between Lee Harvey Oswald and Jack Ruby today, it is likely to give new life to conspiracy theories that there was something more to President Kennedy's assassination. The papers were discovered in a forgotten Dallas courtroom safe and may be a President's Day gift to conspiracy believers who have long disagreed with the official version of what happened Nov. 22, 1963. The true story behind the death of Camelot's king has saturated history and pop culture with a variety of alleged plots discussed since Kennedy's death. This new batch of papers discusses the mob's plans to kill then-Attorney General Robert Kennedy, who had cracked down on the mob. Official records from Ruby's trial, a gun holster that probably belonged to Ruby or Oswald and personal letters from former District Attorney Henry Wade, the prosecutor in the Ruby trial, also were found inside the safe. The record – described as reading like a conspiracy theorist's dream - appears to minute talks between Oswald and Jack Ruby, who killed Oswald after Kennedy's assassination. Today, the Dallas County district attorney's office said other documents found included letters from former district attorney Henry Wade, the prosecuting lawyer in Ruby's trial.
"People have evacuated to the mountains," he said. The Hawaii-based Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre issued a tsunami watch for Indonesia but said that a destructive widespread tsunami threat did not exist based on historical earthquake and tsunami data. Everything shook very strongly for more than a minute and I ran along with the others Ahmad Yushadi "Everything shook very strongly for more than a minute and I ran along with the others. 'Mass panic' Local residents said Wednesday's earthquake, which hit Simeulue at 1508 (0808 GMT) according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS), lasted for almost a minute. The epicentre was close to that of the earthquake which triggered the 2004 Asian tsunami, killing 200,000 people. It was felt strongly more than 300km (185 miles) away in the provincial capital, Banda Aceh, where people left their offices after buildings started shaking. Three months later, an 8.7-magnitude earthquake killed 1,000 people on Simeulue and the neighbouring island of Nias. Indonesia lies on the so-called Pacific Ring of Fire, one of the most seismically active regions of the world. Indonesia's meteorology and geophysics agency said the quake measured 6.6 on the Richter scale. An official from the Indonesian ministry of health, Rustam Pakaya, said the authorities on Simeulue had reported three deaths and 25 serious injuries caused by the earthquake. I heard people screaming in panic," Ahmad Yushadi told the Associated Press news agency. A nine-magnitude earthquake close to Simeulue on 26 December 2004 triggered the Asian tsunami which spread thousands of kilometres across the Indian Ocean. Tsunami warning centres initially issued alerts, but later lifted them.
The tremor, whose epicentre was near the island of Simeulue, 319km (198 miles) off the coast of Sumatra, also damaged many buildings, they added. The epicentre was close to that of the earthquake which triggered the 2004 Asian tsunami, killing 200,000 people. 'Mass panic' Local residents said Wednesday's earthquake, which hit Simeulue at 1508 (0808 GMT) according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS), lasted for almost a minute. It was felt strongly more than 300km (185 miles) away in the provincial capital, Banda Aceh, where people left their offices after buildings started shaking. Everything shook very strongly for more than a minute and I ran along with the others Ahmad Yushadi "Everything shook very strongly for more than a minute and I ran along with the others. An official from the Indonesian ministry of health, Rustam Pakaya, said the authorities on Simeulue had reported three deaths and 25 serious injuries caused by the earthquake. After the earthquake, the Hawaii-based Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre and Thailand's National Disaster Warning Centre briefly issued precautionary tsunami alerts for Indonesia and nearby coastal areas. A nine-magnitude earthquake close to Simeulue on 26 December 2004 triggered the Asian tsunami which spread thousands of kilometres across the Indian Ocean. Three months later, an 8.7-magnitude earthquake killed 1,000 people on Simeulue and the neighbouring island of Nias. The epicentre was close to that of the earthquake which triggered the 2004 Asian tsunami, killing 200,000 people. 'Mass panic' Local residents said Wednesday's earthquake, which hit Simeulue at 1508 (0808 GMT) according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS), lasted for almost a minute.
U.S. They include the United States, Britain, France, Italy and Germany. Kosovo is Serbia!" REUTERS/Oleg Popov Protesters set the U.S. embassy on fire in Belgrade February 21, 2008. The swarm of rioters had broken away from a massive rally held earlier in the day to protest against Washington's recognition of Kosovo's declaration of independence. "We have made known to the Serbian government our concern and displeasure that their police force did not prevent this incident." American officials said only security personnel were at the embassy at the time, in a different area. REUTERS/Damir Sagolj Serb protestors are seen through thick smoke as they throw stones during a protest at the Gate 3 border post near Podujevo in Kosovo February 21, 2008. "As long as we live, Kosovo is Serbia," Kostunica told the crowd in front of the same building. State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said the US had warned Mr Kostunica and his foreign minister that it would hold them personally responsible for further damage. The UN Security Council condemned the attacks. ((Vladimir Gogic/Associated Press)) Doctors at Belgrade's emergency clinic reported treating more than 30 injured, half of whom were police officers. The violence followed a peaceful rally by at least 150,000 people in the city. Firemen later found an unidentified charred body inside. REUTERS/Ivan Milutinovic A protester waves a Serbian flag during a mass protest rally in Belgrade against Kosovo's declaration of independence, February 21, 2008. Police beat back crowds gathered outside the Turkish and British embassies in another part of the city. The neighbouring Croatian Embassy was also attacked by the same group of protesters.
A charred body has been discovered inside a torched office at the U.S. Embassy in Serbia's capital Belgrade, embassy officials said Thursday, just hours after several hundred demonstrators attacked the compound. The swarm of rioters had broken away from a massive rally held earlier in the day to protest against Washington's recognition of Kosovo's declaration of independence. The U.S. Embassy in Belgrade burns after masked attackers broke into the building and set an office on fire. ((Associated Press)) Flames and smoke billowed out of an office on the embassy grounds around 7 p.m. local time after crowds of masked young men broke into the compound and used metal bars to smash into the first floor of the building. A few demonstrators climbed the building and set the U.S. flag on fire as others used a door to ram the metal-barred windows. "Our embassy was attacked by thugs," White House press secretary Dana Perino said while travelling from Africa with reporters and U.S. officials on Air Force One. "We have made known to the Serbian government our concern and displeasure that their police force did not prevent this incident." Embassy spokesman William Wenland said all embassy staffers were accounted for, and noted the person who died was likely a protester. "It appeared to have been a protester who was caught in the fire that had been set by the protesters and not as a result of any interaction with U.S. security forces," Wenland said. Firefighters quickly extinguished the fire at the embassy, which had been closed for the week, according to U.S. officials. Dozens of heavily armed police patrolled the area soon after, while riot police used shields and tear gas to push back the mostly male demonstrators, who then fled into side streets and continued to clash with security forces. It reportedly took 45 minutes for police and firefighters to arrive on the scene. State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said the U.S. ambassador to Serbia was staying safe at his home and was in contact with U.S. officials as the clashes were ongoing. Security officials and marine guards were in a different part of the compound, but no embassy staff were inside the attacked building, McCormack told reporters Thursday afternoon in Washington. The embassy staff live in residences elsewhere in the city. Injured protesters 'extremely drunk' Serbs gather in front of the National Assembly building during a rally against Kosovo's independence in Belgrade on Thursday. ((Vladimir Gogic/Associated Press)) Doctors at Belgrade's emergency clinic reported treating more than 30 injured, half of whom were police officers. Dusan Jovanovic, deputy chief of the clinic, said most of the injured protesters were "extremely drunk." The State Department's McCormack called on Serb authorities to provide additional security to the facility and "devote the assets to deal with this situation." He said Serbian security "wasn't adequate" at the embassy at the time of the attack, and he said the U.S. would hold Serbia's prime minister and foreign minister personally responsible for any further damage. Serbia's President Boris Tadic, on an official visit to Romania, appealed for calm and urged the protesters to stop the attacks and clear the streets. While Serbia's ambassador to Canada blamed the rioting on high emotions, he acknowledged nothing justified such violence. "There is no way Serbia will ever recognize this illegal act," Dusan Batakovic told CBC News. The last time a mob broke into a U.S. Embassy was when Iranians seized an American embassy on Nov. 4, 1979, and took American staffers hostage. PM speaks to crowd Earlier in the day, about 150,000 people attended a largely peaceful rally outside the parliament building in Belgrade. Serb demonstrators stand on top of a bridge after Kosovo police clad in riot gear prevented them from passing at the Merdare border crossing between Serbia and Kosovo on Thursday. ((Visar Kryeziu/Associated Press)) The state railway company provided free service to Serbians who wanted to attend the event, which organizers said will demonstrate Serbia's commitment to holding on to the province of two million people. Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica addressed the crowd in front of Serbia's parliament, saying Serbians will never give up their identity or Kosovo. The U.S. embassy warned American citizens to stay away from the Belgrade rally, saying the event may turn "confrontational and possibly escalate into violence." The Department of Foreign Affairs also "strongly advised" Canadians travelling to Serbia "to avoid all demonstrations and political gatherings and to stay away from areas where they will occur, as they may turn violent without warning." More than a dozen countries have recognized Kosovo's declaration of independence, which was made on Sunday. "If we accept this kind of violation of international law, the whole international order is at stake," Batakovic said in an interview from Ottawa Wednesday with the Canadian Press. Serb protestors are seen through thick smoke as they gesture toward police during a protest at the Gate 3 border post near Podujevo in Kosovo February 21, 2008. REUTERS/Damir Sagolj Several hundred Bosnian Serb students protest in the Serb-held part of the Bosnian capital Sarajevo against Kosovo's declaration of independence from Serbia, February 21, 2008. REUTERS/Marko Djurica Protesters wave Serbian flags as they arrive at a mass protest rally in Belgrade against Kosovo's declaration of independence, February 21, 2008.
"There are no survivors." Only the tail of the twin-engine ATR-42 plane, operated by the Santa Barbara airline, was visible from the air. However, the weather on departure was said to have been normal for Merida. REUTERS/Jorge Silva A general view of the crash site of the Santa Barbara airlines ATR 42-300 at the Andean mountains February 22, 2008. The plane that crashed on Thursday was the day's last flight out. Rescuers abseiled down from helicopters to search the wreckage. It is notoriously difficult to navigate around the city. The mostly Venezuelan victims among the 43 passengers and three crew members included three Colombians and a US citizen. The pilot was experienced and had specialized training for flying through the Andes. Merida is located about 680km (420 miles) south-west of Caracas. All About Venezuela • Air Disasters Pilots are given special training to take off and land at the airport because the city is surrounded by high mountains. Wall of rock "The impact was direct. The aircraft is practically pulverised," firefighter Sgt Johnny Paz told the Venezuelan TV station Globovision. President Hugo Chavez said Venezuela was in mourning and called for a full investigation into the incident. Whipped by cross-winds, rescue mountain-climbers struggled to lower themselves down the cliff to reach the plane operated by the small local airline Santa Barbara, civil defense chief Antonio Rivero said. The mountainous region is known for their condors and adventure trails. "Unfortunately everyone aboard died." Visibility is often poor and planes are not allowed to take off at night. Olivia Gil, who was related to a woman on board, fought back tears behind wide sunglasses but kept up hope for a miracle.
A rescue worker practises rappelling in Barinas February 22, 2008 before departing to search for the Santa Barbara airlines ATR 42-300 plane that was declared missing as it was flying over the Andean mountains. REUTERS/Stringer A rescue helicopter takes off from Barinas February 22, 2008 to search for a Santa Barbara airlines ATR 42-300 plane that was declared missing as it was flying over the Andean mountains. REUTERS/Jorge Silva Aerial view of the plane crash site of the Santa Barbara airlines ATR 42-300 at the Andean mountains, near Merida February 22, 2008. REUTERS/Ivan Altuve A general view of the crash site of the Santa Barbara airlines ATR 42-300 at the Andean mountains February 22, 2008. REUTERS/Stringer MERIDA, Venezuela All 46 people on board died when a Venezuelan passenger plane slammed into the sheer face of a foggy Andean mountain after veering off course after takeoff, officials said on Friday. Rescuers rappelled from helicopters to search for remains in the shattered wreckage lodged 13,000 feet above sea level on a craggy, rock wall known as "Indian Face." The blue-and-white tail of the twin-engine plane rested on the mountainside, which was charred by flames. Pieces of white fuselage and other remains from the crash littered the area, images from a video shot by searchers showed. Whipped by cross-winds, rescue mountain-climbers struggled to lower themselves down the cliff to reach the plane operated by the small local airline Santa Barbara, civil defense chief Antonio Rivero said. "This plane was found completely wrecked, smashed against the face of one of the mountains," Rivero said. With few clearings to land choppers, searchers set up camp almost a mile away and trekked across the rugged terrain to the wreckage. The plane crashed 6 miles from the tourist city of Merida after taking off for the capital Caracas on Thursday before dusk in a notoriously difficult region to navigate. He pledged a thorough investigation into what caused the crash. For years, Venezuelans have debated whether the Merida airport should be shut because it is hemmed in among mountains, although its accident record is not especially noteworthy. The weather had been good, and the roughly 20-year-old plane had a solid maintenance record and no history of technical problems, authorities said. The pilot made no distress calls before crashing with 43 passengers and a crew of three aboard. HOPE AND LUCK A well-known Venezuelan political analyst, a local mayor and his 11-year-old son and an American woman working at the Venezuelan arm of financial services company Stanford Financial Group were among those killed, authorities said. "They have given us the news that there's nothing there, that there are no survivors but now rescuers are going in to look," she said. He had been scheduled to take the flight but moved up his trip by a few hours "on an impulse." "It's a day when I was not on the list (to die). My time was not due," he told Reuters, adding he would not be flying for a while because "I don't want to push my luck." Pilots need special training to fly from Merida and aircraft are banned from flying there at night. The plane that crashed on Thursday was the day's last flight out. Santa Barbara is a small airline that covers domestic routes and has seven Merida flights a day. Thursday's was the second major air accident in Venezuela this year. Last month, 14 people, including eight Italians and one Swiss passenger, died when a plane crashed into the Caribbean close to a group of Venezuelan islands. Relatives of some passengers were given the news at Merida airport Wreckage of the plane was found early on Friday just 10km (six miles) north-east of the city of Merida. They have given us the news that there's nothing there, that there are no survivors Olivia Gil, relative of victim "It crashed at an altitude of 12,000 feet (4,000 metres) against a wall of rock," he said. "The plane is just too destroyed and it is in such a tough area," said Gerardo Rojas, a regional civil defence chief. Santa Barbara airline's president, Jorge Alvarez, said the plane had been well maintained and had no history of technical problems.
Photograph taken February 18, 2008. HAVE YOUR SAY Prince Harry is a trained soldier. REUTERS/John Stillwell/Pool Prince Harry patrols through the deserted town of Garmisir close to FOB Delhi (forward operating base), in Helmand province, southern Afghanistan. The government is reviewing Prince Harry's presence in Afghanistan, where he has been deployed with the army for 2-1/2 months, following leaks in the international media that he was deployed there, the Defence Ministry said on February 28, 2008. Gordon Brown said the prince had served with "great distinction" but it was the "right decision" for him to return. Photograph taken January 2, 2008. Prince Harry is being withdrawn from Afghanistan immediately, the Defence Ministry said on February 29, 2008, after news leaked on the Internet that he had been secretly fighting on the front lines for 10 weeks. But for security reasons and in agreement with the Ministry of Defence, the British media did not report the deployment. REUTERS/John Stillwell/Pool Prince Harry cleans the dust from a machine gun on his Spartan armoured vehicle in the desert in Helmand province, southern Afghanistan, February 20, 2008. Last year, a planned tour to Iraq had to be cancelled at the last minute because of a security risk. He's obviously shown great courage and bravery as all our soldiers do out there. There had been fears the prince, who is third in line to the throne, could become a target for the Taleban. It said the decision to withdraw Harry had been taken by Air Chief Marshal Sir Jock Stirrup, chief of defence staff, in consultation with General Sir Richard Dannatt, chief of the general staff and head of the army, "following a detailed assessment of the risks".
British media agreed not to report the prince's deployment The 23-year-old royal, who has spent the last 10 weeks serving in Helmand Province, is flying back to the UK amid concerns for his safety. The move follows the collapse of a news blackout deal over his tour of duty, which was broken by foreign media. There had been fears the prince, who is third in line to the throne, could become a target for the Taleban. In a statement, the Ministry of Defence described the reporting of Harry's deployment by foreign media as "regrettable" but said that contingency plans for such a leak were in place. Prince Harry, in an interview recorded in Afghanistan prior to his withdrawal, said he had enjoyed being away from the press and England. "I don't want to sit around Windsor, because I generally don't like England that much and it's nice to be away from all the press and the papers.....," he said. More recently he took part in a major operation to disrupt Taleban lines of communication Brigadier Andrew Mackay It added that while the prince should have returned "in a matter of weeks" with his Household Cavalry regiment battlegroup, the situation had now "clearly changed". Brigadier Andrew Mackay, Commander of Task Force Helmand, said Harry had been "deployed in the field, conducting operations against the Taleban" at the time of the decision. He continued: "He has seen service both in the south of Helmand and in the north. 'Risks' Chief of the Defence Staff, Air Chief Marshal Sir Jock Stirrup, in consultation with head of the Army, General Sir Richard Dannatt, had taken the final decision to withdraw Harry immediately, the statement said. "This decision has been taken primarily on the basis that the worldwide media coverage of Prince Harry in Afghanistan could impact on the security of those who are deployed there, as well as the risks to him as an individual soldier," it added. Prime Minister Gordon Brown paid tribute to the prince and said Britain owed him a "debt of gratitude" for his service in Afghanistan, but he added that it was correct to bring Harry back to the UK. I'm in the service too and I'm pleased for him that he was allowed to go Deborah, Hampshire, UK "Security considerations come first. That has been the deciding factor which was made by our defence staff and I think that everybody will respect that is the right decision." He thanked Harry, a second lieutenant, for the "professionalism and dedication he has shown", and said the decision to bring him home was a reminder of the "difficulties and challenges" the armed forces faced on active duty. Conservative leader David Cameron agreed that it was "right" to withdraw the prince from Afghanistan, but said everyone in Britain should be "proud of what he has done". Work involved calling up allied air cover in support of ground forces and going out on foot patrols. Defence Secretary Des Browne also commended Harry, saying the prince was "an example of a generation of young people" who were "prepared to take on these very serious and dangerous tasks for our security". The Queen, opening the Queen's Court Care Home in Windsor, said she believed he had done "a good job in a very difficult climate". THE EDITORS' BLOG A news black-out is unusual, but not unique Jon Williams, World news editor, BBC News Jon's comments in full The prince's deployment was subject to a news blackout deal struck between the MoD and newspapers and broadcasters in the UK and abroad. It is understood that the news was first leaked in an Australian publication in January but only after it appeared on the influential US website, The Drudge Report, did the deal break down. In exchange for not reporting the prince's deployment, some media organisations were granted access to the prince in Afghanistan for interviews and filming. The prince's withdrawal is the second major blow to his army career. Last year, a planned tour to Iraq had to be cancelled at the last minute because of a security risk. Prince Harry is being withdrawn from Afghanistan immediately, the Defence Ministry said on February 29, 2008, after news leaked on the Internet that he had been secretly fighting on the front lines for 10 weeks. REUTERS/John Stillwell/Pool Prince Harry (L) speaks with a Gurkha soldier, after firing a 50 calibre machine gun at Taliban fighters from the observation post at JTAC Hill, close to FOB Delhi (forward operating base), in Helmand province, southern Afghanistan January 2, 2008. The government is reviewing Prince Harry's presence in Afghanistan, where he has been deployed with the army for 2-1/2 months, following leaks in the international media that he was deployed there, the Defence Ministry said on Febraury 28, 2008. REUTERS/John Stillwell/Pool Prince Harry mans a 50 calibre machine gun on the observation post at JTAC Hill, close to FOB Delhi (forward operating base), in Helmand province, southern Afghanistan January 2, 2008. The government is reviewing Prince Harry's presence in Afghanistan, where he has been deployed with the army for 2-1/2 months, following leaks in the international media that he was deployed there, the Defence Ministry said on February 28, 2008.
F.B.I. If it is inhaled, a person may develop fever, a cough, nausea, fluid in the lungs and organ failure. We have no indication why the ricin was in that room." They said the visitor was not a suspect. The deadly poison ricin and an "anarchist-type textbook" were found in a room in this Las Vegas hotel. Two tests had confirmed the substance found was ricin, and that a man who was staying there has been hospitalized for more than two weeks and is in critical condition, police said Friday. All About Poisoning • Centers for Disease Control and Prevention It has limited medical uses -- it can be used to kill cancer cells and destroy bone marrow cells. Several of the beans were also found in the room, Suey told reporters. Advertisement Continue reading the main story “We’re not doing anything here with it,” Dr. Vogelzang said. Joe Lombardo. That's our concern." Both are within a mile of the Extended Stay America hotel involved. An evacuation ensued and seven people were taken to local hospitals for treatment, though they were released when they showed no signs of exposure, Deputy Chief Suey said. The report was sent to law enforcement agencies and was obtained by CNN. The FBI said the incident was not thought to be terrorism related. There is no known antidote and most victims die within 36 hours to 72 hours from exposure to as little as a pinhead amount of the substance. This is the second major public health scare in Las Vegas this week. Please re-enter. View all New York Times newsletters.
LAS VEGAS, Nevada (CNN) -- Officers who found the deadly poison ricin in a Las Vegas, Nevada, extended-stay hotel room also discovered firearms and an "anarchist-type textbook" with an entry about ricin bookmarked, police said Friday. The deadly poison ricin and an "anarchist-type textbook" were found in a room in this Las Vegas hotel. Two tests had confirmed the substance found was ricin, and that a man who was staying there has been hospitalized for more than two weeks and is in critical condition, police said Friday. The 57-year-old man, whose name was not released, summoned authorities February 14 and asked to be transported to a hospital because of difficulty breathing, Kathy Suey, deputy chief of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, told reporters. But police were not aware of the ricin's existence until Thursday, when a second man, who identified himself as a relative of the victim, went to the Extended Stay America room to clear the victim's possessions out and found the substance. That man brought the poison, which was in vials in a plastic bag, to the manager's office, and police were notified. "He felt it was something that required police attention," said Las Vegas police Capt. "He brought it to the management and said that 'I'm not comfortable with whatever this item is.'" Watch how ricin can be used to kill » Lombardo said police first were called to the room on Tuesday after weapons were discovered there. He said officers discovered "general firearms," which have been impounded, and an "anarchist-type textbook" marked at an entry on ricin. The room was tested for ricin at that time but none was found, Lombardo said. When officers returned Thursday, they found the ricin, but a test of the room showed it was not contaminated. Ricin Poison made from castor beans Can be inhaled, swallowed or injected Prevents cells of a person's body making proteins, can cause death No antidote Used in cancer treatment and bone marrow transplants Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Although seven people were checked as a precaution Thursday, all have been released, Suey said, and none is showing signs of ricin exposure. Suey said police do not know if the man staying in the room manufactured the ricin, as he has been unable to speak to investigators. "We don't know an awful lot" about the victim, Suey said. "For the last 12 hours, our efforts have been on the containment and cleanup of the area and areas where there could have been exposure. A report from the Washington Regional Threat and Analysis Center said the FBI considers the discovery "criminal in nature with no nexus to terrorism." However, the hotel room and other areas tested negative for the poison, police said in a statement issued by the Threat and Analysis Center. Lombardo said a room at The Excalibur hotel was tested "as a precautionary measure" and found to be safe. Don't Miss Notable ricin cases Notable ricin cases KLAS: Deadly poison found in Vegas hotel room "At this point we feel extremely positive we have all the ricin involved and there is no terrorist threat," Lombardo said. Two of the animals were fine; the third, an ailing dog, was euthanized after having been without food and water in the room for a week, she said. Several of the beans were also found in the room, Suey told reporters. As little as 500 micrograms of ricin -- an amount the size of the head of a pin -- can kill an adult in three to five days, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It has limited medical uses -- it can be used to kill cancer cells and destroy bone marrow cells. The discovery of ricin typically alarms law enforcement agencies because authorities in several countries have investigated links between suspected extremists and ricin. He said ricin is not illegal to own, but is illegal if processed to be used for poisoning. CNN's chief medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, said although a small amount can kill somebody if injected, tons of the substance would be needed to make it a mass terrorism tool. He said there are three ways someone might be exposed to ricin: inhalation, ingestion and injection. The hotel was reopened early Friday after public health officials determined they had found and removed all the ricin. national spokesman Richard Kolko said the incident did not appear to be related to terrorism “based on the information gathered so far.” Still, Deputy Chief Suey said police could not explain why the ricin was present or what its intent might have been. A weekly scheduled conference call between police and heads of casino security was coincidentally held on Friday morning and included a statement from officials that the ricin incident was “very contained and isolated,” said Harrah’s Entertainment spokesman Gary Thompson, whose company owns the Rio All-Suites Casino-Resort and Caesars Palace. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Laboratory tests conducted on Friday confirmed Thursday’s initial tests that found the substance was ricin, a deadly poison derived from beans of the common weed castor.
Ter-Petrosian was there but was not arrested, he said. "These are innocent people," she said. (CNN) -- Armenian President Robert Kocharian declared a state of emergency Saturday night after a day of clashes between police and protesters, a spokeswoman for the Armenian Foreign Ministry said. Are you in Armenia? Ghazarian said Sunday that the government had reached out to the opposition. The protests began soon after the February 19 presidential election. Name: Email address: Town and Country: Phone number (optional): Comments: The BBC may edit your comments and cannot guarantee that all emails will be published. Reports say tracer bullets were also fired over the heads of demonstrators. Watch a report on clashes between police and the opposition » The embassy official estimated that the demonstrations in Freedom Square grew to as many as 60,000 Armenians at times over the last 10 days. It is to remain in force until 20 March. E-mail to a friend All About Armenia • Yerevan • Robert Kocharian They just want to be heard. I don't know if he had been shot. They finally dispersed after a message from Mr Ter-Petrosian was read out. Shots fired The centre of the capital saw pitched battles between security forces and protesters. Send your comments or pictures using the form below. The same reader said she and others were chased by troops. Witnesses told CNN that Saturday morning's action by Armenian riot police was bloody, but the U.S. official said there were no confirmed deaths or serious injuries. Protests had continued for 11 days over alleged rigging of the vote which gave a convincing win to PM Serzh Sarkisian.
(CNN) -- Armenian President Robert Kocharian declared a state of emergency Saturday night after a day of clashes between police and protesters, a spokeswoman for the Armenian Foreign Ministry said. The protesters claim last month's presidential election was rigged. The state of emergency will "hopefully bring some order" to the capital, Yerevan, said Salpi Ghazarian, assistant to the Armenian foreign minister, who spoke to CNN early Sunday. The state of emergency could last until March 20, she said, but the government hopes "that it will be lifted sooner." The clashes began when authorities used force to clear Freedom Square of thousands of demonstrators who had camped there for the past 10 days, according to a U.S. Embassy official. Ghazarian said the authorities "moved in" because "they thought that there were arms there, and it turned out that they were right." Watch a report on clashes between police and the opposition » The embassy official estimated that the demonstrations in Freedom Square grew to as many as 60,000 Armenians at times over the last 10 days. As of early Sunday morning, Freedom Square was empty, Ghazarian said, but the protesters were demonstrating in a main square elsewhere in the city. Watch Ghazarian discuss the situation in Armenia » "What is happening on the streets of Yerevan is people protesting what they consider to be unfair elections," Ghazarian said. "After the president was forced to declare a state of emergency, things have quieted down. "We're convinced that this will come to an end soon." Witnesses told CNN that Saturday morning's action by Armenian riot police was bloody, but the U.S. official said there were no confirmed deaths or serious injuries. An Armenian woman interviewed by CNN said there was "huge chaos" when police moved in. They are being beaten up, some people have horrible wounds." As night fell Saturday, the sounds of gunfire could be heard from the direction of the protesters' gathering, and tracer fire could be seen in the sky, according to another Yerevan resident, who also asked not to be identified out of fear for his safety. The man said his wife saw two demonstrators hit by a police car earlier in the day. The opposition party immediately accused the government of vote fraud and demanded that the results be voided. "We are hoping with the help of the international community, the opposition, the leader of the opposition, will come and enter a political dialogue rather than continuing this debate on the streets," she said. Haroutiun Khachatrian, editor of the Noyan Tappan News Agency, told CNN that riot police arrested several hundred people in the square Saturday morning, including many opposition party officials. The U.S. Embassy has warned the several hundred Americans living in Yerevan to stay at home and avoid the downtown area where the demonstrations have been taking place, the U.S. official said. Riot police poured into the centre of the city on Saturday Thousands of supporters of defeated presidential election candidate Levon Ter-Petrosian were involved in clashes with police and troops on Saturday. Protests had continued for 11 days over alleged rigging of the vote which gave a convincing win to PM Serzh Sarkisian. 'Over the edge' The message from Mr Ter-Petrosian, who says he is under house arrest, read: "I do not want any victims and clashes between police and innocent people." We could see red tracer bullet fire being shot in two directions Alan, witness Eyewitness: Yerevan violence In pictures: Yerevan protests Demonstrators hurled stones and petrol bombs, setting vehicles on fire, and police and troops responded with truncheons. No official data on injuries and arrests among the protesters were given immediately but police say eight of their officers were injured, some seriously. It "must have ricocheted as police were shooting in the air to disperse an opposition rally being held nearby", one demonstrator was quoted as saying by Reuters news agency. A young BBC news website reader who attended the protests says she saw the body of a dead boy being taken away by ambulance. "We saw a 12-year-old boy killed," she said.
The U.S. Police officers work around the military recruiting station in Times Square, after an explosion damaged the front of the building, in New York March 6, 2008. "We will not tolerate such attacks." He said it could have caused injury or even death. REUTERS/Keith Bedford Broken glass covers an armed forces recruiting poster at the scene of an explosion outside the Armed Forces Career Center in New York's Times Square, March 6, 2008. The person leaves shortly before the blast. Law enforcement officials speculated the letters may have been sent to coincide with the fifth anniversary of the start of the Iraq war, which is March 19. The bomb was larger than those used in the grenade attacks on the British and Mexican consulates, Kelly said. In both incidents, a man was seen fleeing on a bicycle. He said forensic teams would investigate whether they were in fact linked. When investigators went through the evidence, they found a metal ammunition box that is believed to have contained the explosive. Democratic lawmakers were startled to receive the letters in their office mail just hours after the early morning New York bombing, and turned them over to the Capitol Police. In October 2005, a group of activists called the Granny Peace Brigade protested against the Iraq war. TARGETS OF PROTEST The one-story recruiting center in a traffic island in the middle of Times Square invites people to sign up for the U.S. armed forces and periodically attracts anti-war protesters. Investigators were also scrutinizing surveillance video and forensic evidence after a bicycle-riding bomber struck the landmark station Thursday, scarring one of the world's most recognizable locations.
Authorities on Friday were investigating whether an explosion at the Times Square military recruiting office was connected to strikingly similar bombings at two foreign consulates in New York, but ruled out a link to mysterious letters sent to Capitol Hill offices. Investigators were also scrutinizing surveillance video and forensic evidence after a bicycle-riding bomber struck the landmark station Thursday, scarring one of the world's most recognizable locations. Authorities said there was no connection between the blast and a letter sent to as many as 100 members of Congress bearing the words "Happy New Year, We Did It." The lengthy anti-war letters — which arrived with photos of a man standing in front of the recruiting office before it was damaged — contained no threats, officials said. Laura Eimiller, an FBI spokeswoman in Los Angeles, said an individual was questioned there about the letters to Congress and "there is no evidence linking the letters, which contained no threat, to the bombing." A law enforcement official in Washington, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the investigation of the bombing is continuing, called the timing of the letters an "incredibly unbelievable coincidence" and said no charges were expected in connection with them. One law enforcer said the "We did it" referred to the Democratic wins. The Democrats gained control of Congress in 2006. Letters likely mailed well before bombing In an e-mail to lawmakers, Capitol Police said the envelopes went through the standard security process. That process, which involves radiating incoming mail, can easily take a week or more, making it likely the letters were mailed well ahead of the bombing. Law enforcement officials speculated the letters may have been sent to coincide with the fifth anniversary of the start of the Iraq war, which is March 19. And the "We did it" claim may simply be sarcasm connected to the war, one official said. Each envelope was stamped with two $1 stamps and contained a white label with a return address, which the police did not identify in the e-mail. Video: Probe widens The man in the photo was thin with graying hair, wearing a striped flannel shirt and jeans, the Democratic aide said. A law enforcement official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the case is ongoing, confirmed some of the contents of the letters as described by the aide. The Associated Press obtained a copy of an e-mail sent from the office of Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., to other lawmakers Thursday that reads: "A few offices on the House side have received a letter today addressed to 'Members of Congress' with a picture of a man standing in front of the Times Square recruiting station that was bombed in New York today with the statement 'We did it.' No one injured in blast The small bomb caused minor damage to the New York military recruiting station before dawn Thursday and police were searching for a hooded bicyclist described by a witness and seen on a surveillance video pedaling away. No one was hurt, but Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said the device, though unsophisticated, could have caused "injury and even death." When investigators went through the evidence, they found a metal ammunition box that is believed to have contained the explosive. Kelly said the box was readily available in Army-Navy surplus stores. 'We will not tolerate such attacks' Mayor Michael Bloomberg said the act “insults every one of our brave men and women in uniform stationed around the world.” “Whoever the coward was that committed this disgraceful act on our city will be found and prosecuted to the full extent of the law,” said Bloomberg. “We will not tolerate such attacks.” Though subway cars passed through the Times Square station without stopping in the early hours of the investigation, normal service was soon restored, with some delays. The recruiting station, located on a traffic island surrounded by Broadway theaters and chain restaurants, has occasionally been the site of anti-war demonstrations, ranging from silent vigils to loud rallies. The recruiting station was renovated in 1999 to better fit into the flashy ambiance of Times Square, using neon tubing to give the glass and steel office a patriotic American flag motif. U.S. authorities also are checking whether several people stopped at the Canadian border are linked to an explosion that damaged a military recruiting station in New York, police said on Friday. REUTERS/Chip East NEW YORK A small explosion damaged a U.S. military recruiting station but caused no injuries in New York's Times Square before dawn on Thursday, triggering a Pentagon alert for other stations across the country. Times Square -- the normally bustling "Crossroads of the World" with shops, restaurants, hotels, theaters and office towers -- was largely empty when the crude bomb went off at around 3:45 a.m. (0845 GMT). Low-grade explosives packed in an ammunition box cracked the recruiting station's thick glass door and twisted its metal framing, police said.
"We were doing what we usually do, which is putting stink bombs on deck," he said. Watson's ship has been harassing the Japanese whaling fleet for weeks. Sea Shepherd captain 'shot by Japanese whalers' Updated The Captain of the Sea Shepherd anti-whaling ship, the Steve Irwin, claims he has been shot by Japanese whalers during a confrontation in the Southern Ocean. 'Aimed at us' Mr Watson told Australian radio that he found a bullet in his Kevlar vest. He says one of his crew was hit by a grenade and received minor injuries. Australia said Japan had said "no gunshots had been fired". "We go out of our way to make sure we don't throw them near anybody, but they were throwing the flash grenades directly at us." "There are two coastguards aboard the Nisshin Maru. "Is it all right to hurt humans in order to protect whales? The Coast Guard says it will release a statement shortly detailing the current situation. Foreign Affairs Minister Stephen Smith says Japanese officials have told the Australian embassy in Tokyo that warning balls or flashbangs were fired at the ship. "I felt this impact on my chest. He says he absolutely condemns actions by crew members of any boat that could injure anyone on the high seas. The foreign ministry said the Japanese coastguard on board the Nisshin Maru ship had thrown a baseball-sized device, which exploded near the activists' ship emitting a loud noise. (Additional reporting by Isabel Reynolds and Teruaki Ueno in Tokyo; Editing by Sanjeev Miglani) "... but it also came through and I have this badge and it hit the badge and bent that too so it just left a bruise really on my chest - so it could have - if I wasn't wearing the vest it could have been pretty serious," Mr Watson said.
A member of the Japanese Coast Guard (2nd-L) throws a 'flash grenade' during a clash with protesters on anti-whaling ship the Steve Irwin in the Southern Ocean March 7, 2008. REUTERS/Sea Shepherd Conservation Society/Handout Paul Watson, captain of anti-whaling ship the Steve Irwin, shows what he says is a bullet (on left) and a bent badge after he said a member of the Japanese Coast Guard shot at at him from the Japanese whaling ship Nisshin Maru during a confrontation in the Southern Ocean March 7, 2008. REUTERS/Sea Shepherd Conservation Society/Handout SYDNEY A hardline anti-whaling activist, Sea Shepherd captain Paul Watson, said he was shot during a clash with Japanese whalers in the Southern Ocean on Friday, but survived because he was wearing a kevlar vest. But Japan's fisheries agency said coastguard officials aboard the whaling ship had only thrown "flash grenades", which are used for crowd control and are not regarded as weapons. Watson told Australian radio from his ship that anti-whaling activists threw "stink bombs" on to the Japanese whaling factory ship the Nisshin Maru. The Japanese retaliated throwing "flash grenades" on to the deck of the Steve Irwin and during the clash, Watson said he was shot. "I felt this impact on my chest. I found a bullet buried in the kevlar vest that I wear. It bruised my shoulder but it would have hit my heart if I didn't have the vest," Watson said. Sea Shepherd posted photos on its news Web site showing Japanese throwing smoking canisters and Watson holding what he said was a bullet and a dented badge hit by the object. "I didn't see anyone shoot at me and it was pretty hard for any of the crew to see anything because everyone was ducking from these flash grenades," said Watson. Australia's foreign affairs department initially said it had been told by Japan that warning shots had been fired, but later clarified its statement saying Japanese whalers fired three "warning balls", also known as "flashbangs". "He must have heard the bang of the flash grenade and got a shock," the fisheries ministry official said. Coastguard officials have been assigned to Japan's whaling vessels this season after escalating clashes with anti-whaling activists, who say the industry is cruel and unnecessary. "The Australian government once again calls on all parties in the Southern Ocean, including all protest and whaling vessels, and their respective crews, to exercise restraint," he said. Japan's top government spokesman criticised Sea Shepherd's attacks. "They have repeatedly resorted to such activities and it is truly unforgivable," Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Nobutaka Machimura told reporters. "Is it all right to hurt humans in order to protect whales? I think whales are cute and important creatures, but even so, hurting humans is unforgivable," he added. Watson's ship has been harassing the Japanese whaling fleet for weeks. In an earlier confrontation two activists boarded a Japanese ship in January and were held until an Australian fisheries patrol ship in the Southern Ocean intervened. During the January stand-off, Japan suspended its plan to kill nearly 1,000 whales during the year's Antarctic summer. Japan, which considers whaling to be a cultural tradition, abandoned commercial whaling after agreeing to an international moratorium in 1986, but began what it calls a scientific research whaling programme the following year. Australia has promised to try to stop Japan's whaling programme but the two countries have agreed not to let the issue hurt bilateral ties. Activists have regularly attacked the Japanese with "stink bombs" Paul Watson, of the Sea Shepherd group, said his colleagues had been throwing stink bombs, but the Japanese responded with "flash grenades" and gunfire. But Tokyo denied any bullets had been fired, saying "warning devices" were thrown after their ship was attacked. The foreign ministry said the Japanese coastguard on board the Nisshin Maru ship had thrown a baseball-sized device, which exploded near the activists' ship emitting a loud noise. The device was not designed to hurt people, and the ministry said it was not aware of any injuries. Sea Shepherd captain 'shot by Japanese whalers' Updated The Captain of the Sea Shepherd anti-whaling ship, the Steve Irwin, claims he has been shot by Japanese whalers during a confrontation in the Southern Ocean. Paul Watson says members of his crew threw stink bombs aboard the whaling ship, the Nisshin Maru, and the Japanese responded by returning flash grenades. "... but it also came through and I have this badge and it hit the badge and bent that too so it just left a bruise really on my chest - so it could have - if I wasn't wearing the vest it could have been pretty serious," Mr Watson said. "These people are criminals, they're down here killing whales illegally in a place they're not supposed to be." Japan's Coast Guard Agency has told the ABC in Tokyo that it received a report earlier today from its officers on board the whaling fleet that the Sea Shepherd had been obstructing one of the Japanese ships. The devices are designed to make a loud noise but not to injure Japan has also advised the Australian Embassy that a crew member on board the Japanese whaling boat fired a warning shot in the air.
"Who the people involved in the incident were, where they were from, what their aim was and what their background was, we are now investigating," he said. Official: Terrorist attack prevented for Olympics BEIJING, March 9 (Xinhua) -- The terrorists killed earlier this year in the northwestern Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region had planned an attack targeting the Beijing Olympic Games, a senior Chinese official said here on Sunday. On Friday police foiled a planned attack on a passenger plane taking off from Urumqi. Repeated calls to the spokesman's office of China Southern went unanswered. It landed in the northwestern city of Lanzhou on Friday after the crew discovered and foiled the attempt to "cause an air disaster", Xinjiang Governor Nuer Baikeli told reporters on the sidelines of the annual session of parliament. Chinese police smashed a terrorist gang in January in Urumqi, capital of Xinjiang, killing two and arresting 15 others. The attackers were stopped in time, and all the passengers and crew members on board were safe, according to Nur Bekri, chairman of the autonomous regional government, who added that further investigation is still going on. Knives, axes and books about terrorism were seized. Wang vowed to adopt a strike-first policy against the "three evil forces" of terrorists, separatists and extremists, saying "we are prepared to strike whenever their conspiracies are detected." The group was said to have collaborated with the East Turkestan Islamic Movement, a group the United Nations labeled a terrorist organization in 2002. The suspects were currently in custody in Lanzhou, an official with the Xinjiang regional government said, without giving the number of the suspects.
BEIJING, March 9 (Xinhua) -- The terrorists killed and captured more than a month ago in the northwestern Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region had planned an attack targeting the Beijing Olympic Games, a senior official said here on Sunday. Chinese police smashed a terrorist gang in late January in Urumqi, capital of Xinjiang, killing two and arresting 15 others. Knives, axes, grenades and books about terrorism were seized. "Obviously, the gang had planned an attack targeting the Olympics," said Wang Lequan, chief of the Xinjiang autonomous regional committee of the Communist Party of China on the sidelines of the national parliamentary session. The group was said to have collaborated with the East Turkestan Islamic Movement, a group the United Nations labeled a terrorist organization in 2002. "Those terrorists, saboteurs and secessionists are to be battered resolutely, no matter what ethnic group they are from," said the official, adding that such evil forces usually attempt to deceive the world under the name of ethnic and religious causes. Wang vowed to adopt a strike-first policy against the "three evil forces" of terrorists, separatists and extremists, saying "we are prepared to strike whenever their conspiracies are detected." Xinjiang police crushed a terrorist training camp in January 2007, in which 18 terrorists were killed and 17 others captured. The police also seized 22 hand grenades and more than 1,500 half-finished grenades, and some home-made explosives. On Friday police foiled a planned attack on a passenger plane taking off from Urumqi. The attackers were stopped in time, and all the passengers and crew members on board were safe, according to Nur Bekri, chairman of the autonomous regional government, who added that further investigation is still going on. BEIJING, March 9 (Xinhua) -- China on Friday foiled a planned attack on a passenger plane taking off from Urumqi, capital of the northwestern Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, an official said here on Sunday. The China Southern Airlines aircraft took off at 10:35, and landed in Lanzhou, capital of neighboring Gansu Province, at 12:40 Friday, before reaching its destination Beijing, because "some people were attempting to create an air disaster," said Nur Bekri, chairman of the Xinjiang regional government, on the sidelines of the ongoing parliament session. The attackers were stopped in time by the air police, and all the passengers and crew members on board are safe, he told reporters after a panel discussion at the ongoing session of the National People's Congress (NPC). An official with the airliner told Xinhua in a telephone interview that he cannot confirm whether the incident was a terror attack, "it's up to the police department to verify." The crew and air police reported the incident to control tower, and landed in Lanzhou under the instruction of the tower, said the aviation official on condition of anonymity. The suspects were currently in custody in Lanzhou, an official with the Xinjiang regional government said, without giving the number of the suspects. Nur Bekri, the regional government chairman, said that the authorities are currently investigating "who the attackers are, where they are from and what's their background." Official: Terrorist attack prevented for Olympics BEIJING, March 9 (Xinhua) -- The terrorists killed earlier this year in the northwestern Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region had planned an attack targeting the Beijing Olympic Games, a senior Chinese official said here on Sunday. Chinese police smashed a terrorist gang in January in Urumqi, capital of Xinjiang, killing two and arresting 15 others. Full story China vows to strike first in combating terrorism BEIJING, March 9 (Xinhua) -- Chinese authorities would adopt a strike-first policy against the "three evil forces" of terrorists, separatists and extremists in the northwestern Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, a senior official said here on Sunday. BEIJING China foiled a bid to cause an air disaster on a passenger jet en route to Beijing and the plane made a safe emergency landing, an official said on Sunday, in what state media called an attempted terrorist attack. The China Southern flight originated in Urumqi, capital of the restive far western Chinese region of Xinjiang, where militant Uighurs have agitated for an independent "East Turkestan". It landed in the northwestern city of Lanzhou on Friday after the crew discovered and foiled the attempt to "cause an air disaster", Xinjiang Governor Nuer Baikeli told reporters on the sidelines of the annual session of parliament. The source, who requested anonymity, said inflammable material was found in the plane's toilet. "The crew and air police reported the incident to the control tower, and landed in Lanzhou under the instructions of the tower," Xinhua cited an unnamed aviation official as saying. China has said its police had shot dead two members of a "terrorist gang" and rounded up 15 others in a raid in January in Xinjiang.
. Eliot Spitzer, with his wife, Silda, by his side, apologizes to his family and to the public. We all think now he's negotiating a plea." New York Gov. "It would be difficult for him to govern. 871 -- at the Washington hotel. ... At that time, Kristen told Lewis Client-9 had left and she had collected $4,300. The affidavit does not mention Spitzer by name, but a source with knowledge of the case said the subject identified as Client-9 is the governor. He is also known for prosecuting prostitution rings. I know what my purpose is. The wiretap was set up as part of a federal investigation of an exclusive prostitution ring, known as Emperors Club VIP. His political opponents in the state legislature were already calling for his resignation. He worked for three New York law firms and decided to run in his mid-30s for attorney general. Client 9 also is alleged to have paid for the woman's train tickets, cab fare, mini bar and room service, travel time and hotel. It was only months later that the IRS and the FBI determined that Spitzer wasn't hiding bribes but payments to a company called QAT, what prosecutors say is a prostitution operation operating under the name of the Emperor's Club. He has not been charged. This is the kind of money I make very easily in photo shoots and the reason I wanted to join your site [was] to make an extra money." "The American people are tired of corrupt and hypocritical politicians. On Tuesday, according to the affidavit, Lewis sent a message to Kristen, saying Client-9's deposit had not arrived but she should be able to "do the trip" if it arrived the next day.
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Federal prosecutors have unsealed an affidavit that details a rendezvous in a Washington hotel room last month between a prostitute and a client who a source tells CNN was New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer, with his wife, Silda, by his side, apologizes to his family and to the public. The affidavit does not mention Spitzer by name, but a source with knowledge of the case said the subject identified as Client-9 is the governor. Spitzer took office in January 2007 after serving eight years as the state's attorney general, when he rose to national prominence as a hard-charging prosecutor. He has not been charged. Spitzer, who is married with three children, went before reporters Monday to confess to an undisclosed personal indiscretion, saying he had acted "in a way that violates my obligations to my family, that violates my or any sense of right and wrong." Watch Spitzer's apology » His alleged involvement with the ring was caught on a federal wiretap, the source said. The prostitute, identified only as "Kristen" worked for the Emperors Club, which charged between $1,000 and $5,500 an hour and operated in New York; Los Angeles, California; Miami, Florida; London, England; and Paris, France, according to court papers. According to the affidavit, defendant Temeka Rachelle Lewis -- who is accused of working as a booking agent for the club -- wrote a text message Monday, February 11, asking the operation's day-to-day organizer to "pls let me know if (Client-9's) 'package' arrives 2mrw. Appt wd be on Wed." Prosecutors say the message was a reference to a deposit. On Tuesday, according to the affidavit, Lewis sent a message to Kristen, saying Client-9's deposit had not arrived but she should be able to "do the trip" if it arrived the next day. View a gallery of recent political sex scandals » In a later conversation, Lewis and Kristen discussed when the prostitute could take a train from New York's Penn Station to Washington's Union Station, the affidavit says. Client-9 would be "paying for everything -- train tickets, cab fare from the hotel and back, mini bar or room service, travel time, and hotel." The affidavit says that, about 5 p.m. Tuesday, February 12, Lewis spoke with Client-9 on the telephone and told him that his "package arrived today." The client asked Lewis whom he would be meeting and, when told it was Kristen, said, "Great, OK, wonderful." The two discussed how the woman would get a key to his room for a Wednesday rendezvous and how they could arrange credit for future services. "Client-9 asked Lewis to remind him what Kristen looked like and Lewis said that she was an American, petite, very pretty brunette, 5 feet 5 inches and 105 pounds," the affidavit reads. In a call to Lewis, Client-9 was told the balance would be $2,712.41, but Lewis suggested he give Kristen $1,500 or $2,000 more so that he would have a credit. Spitzer facts Time magazine names Spitzer "Crusader of the Year" during his two terms as New York attorney general. Tabloids label him "Eliot Ness," because of his reputation for rooting out corruption, busting white-collar criminals and tackling organized crime. According to the affidavit, Kristen called Lewis about 9:32 p.m. Wednesday, February 13, and told her she was in Client-9's room -- No. No more calls were logged until 12:02 a.m. Thursday -- Valentine's Day -- nearly 2½ hours later. At that time, Kristen told Lewis Client-9 had left and she had collected $4,300. Lewis told the prostitute she'd been told that Client-9 "would ask you to do things that, like, you might not think are safe -- you know -- I mean that ... very basic things," the affidavit says. See a timeline of his life » Now his lawyers may be questioned about how he paid for the alleged hotel encounter, whether the trail was concealed and whether any banking laws were circumvented as a result, the source said. The investigation into the Emperor's Club, which began in October 2007, included evidence from a confidential source identified in court papers as a prostitute who worked at the club in 2006 and was given immunity. It also included statements from an undercover officer who posed as a customer, more than 5,000 intercepted phone calls and text messages, more than 6,000 e-mails recovered with search warrants, bank records, travel and hotel records and physical surveillance. Despite the high cost of the club's services, the job was not alluring to one potential employee, who sent an e-mail to the club's management January 28 after speaking to a friend who was working for the agency. "I wasn't very happy to find out that it's only 500 ph + over 50% commission fees ... This is the kind of money I make very easily in photo shoots and the reason I wanted to join your site [was] to make an extra money." She added: "The other think [sic] I was a little bit shock and confuse that she had a sex with him twice in an hour and without her taking her out for dinner before. "I think there's no question if he is involved -- and I'm not saying he is, because we don't know all the facts -- I would say he'd have to resign," said James Tedisco, the Republican minority leader in the state Assembly. Tedisco said that Spitzer's push to reform government "loses all validity if he was involved in something illegal like that."
The 15-year-old, who cannot be named because of his age, denies murder. One can be heard shouting "get off him", while the other describes Mr Maltby as being "practically dead". Miss Lancaster died two weeks after the incident. Are they breathing? I don't even know him but he's just been battered and it's horrible." She tells the operator: "Just about they said. We need an ambulance at Bacup Park quick on the skate park." Sobbing and crying throughout, the tape played to Preston Crown Court begins with the girl detailing the attack. They're still breathing but they are full of blood. Please just help us quick, please, please." Murder charges against three other youths - two aged 17 and one aged 16 - were withdrawn. She was in a coma after suffering head injuries and never regained consciousness. Mr Shorrock said the gang had turned on the young couple simply because they were Goths or "moshers" and dressed differently to them. Sophie Lancaster was with her boyfriend when she was attacked Sophie Lancaster, 20, and boyfriend Robert Maltby, 21, were in Stubby Lee Park in Bacup, Lancashire, when they were attacked on 11 August 2007. The girl then tells the operator Mr Maltby is being sick and she is told to put them both in the recovery position. A 15-year-old youth is due to stand trial for the murder - he denies the charge but admits causing grevious bodily harm with intent. It would appear that [they] were singled out, not for anything they had said or done, but because they dressed differently to the defendant and his friend Michael Shorrock QC Prosecuting Prosecuting, Michael Shorrock QC told the court the young couple, from Bacup, were walking home from a friend's house when they "fell into conversation" with a group of teenagers.
Sophie Lancaster died in hospital two weeks after the attack The call, lasting about 13 minutes, was made near the end of the attack on Sophie Lancaster and Robert Maltby in Bacup, Lancashire, last year. Sobbing and crying throughout, the tape played to Preston Crown Court begins with the girl detailing the attack. "We need, we need an ambulance at Bacup Park, this mosher's just been banged because he's a mosher. We need an ambulance at Bacup Park quick on the skate park." As the operator asks for the address she adds, "It's a mosher just been banged for no reason. "Yeah we need an ambulance because he's lying on the floor not even breathing. I don't even know him but he's just been battered and it's horrible." They're just laid there with blood all over their face, they can't even move, they just look like dummies Witness Goth clothes prompted killing In the background two of the girl's male friends can be heard trying to stop the attack. One can be heard shouting "get off him", while the other describes Mr Maltby as being "practically dead". The girl continues: "Everyone is still on him, but don't tell 'em I'm on the phone to you right now." "She's choking on her blood, please will you help us quick." Despite pleading for help, the girl is then heard asking if she will get in trouble for reporting the attack. Robert Maltby was put in the recovery position by the three She says: "I'm not going to get done for reporting this am I? The operator, struggling to calm the girl down, tells her and her two friends to check if the victims are breathing. Calling to her friends, the girl is heard saying: "Oi, are they breathing? The operator then tells the girl to try to stem the blood with something so she takes her t-shirt off and orders her friends to do the same. After the operator asks if this has helped, she replied: "No, it's all over their hands, all coming out of their eyes, all out their nose and everything. The girl then tells the operator Mr Maltby is being sick and she is told to put them both in the recovery position. She adds: "They're just laid there with blood all over their face, they can't even move, they just look like dummies." The drunk teenager was among a gang of five who "savagely and mercilessly" attacked Sophie Lancaster, 20, and her boyfriend, Preston Crown Court heard. Miss Lancaster was begging the gang to stop beating Robert Maltby, 21, when they turned on her in Stubbylee Park in Bacup, Lancashire, the jury was told. At an earlier hearing a 16-year-old boy, who was aged 15 at the time of the attack, admitted Miss Lancaster's murder and admitted attacking Mr Maltby. The accused, and four other youths, two aged 17 and one 16, have already pleaded guilty to grievous bodily harm to Mr Maltby. The court heard Miss Lancaster's facial injuries were so severe, paramedics did not know what sex she was. As Miss Lancaster kneeled down, cradling her boyfriend's head on her lap and calling for help, the accused and the then 15-year-old youth who has already pleaded guilty to murder, turned on her. Robert Maltby suffered head injuries in the attack Paramedics found the couple lying side by side, covered in blood and unconscious. Mr Shorrock said the gang had turned on the young couple simply because they were Goths or "moshers" and dressed differently to them. Mr Shorrock said the five, none of whom can be named, were "acting like a pack of wild animals". A 15-year-old youth is due to stand trial for the murder - he denies the charge but admits causing grevious bodily harm with intent.
The Netherlands, too, refused to grant him asylum. Gay rights leaders in Britain said that Kazemi's partner was tortured into naming Kazemi before he was killed and that Kazemi has been suicidal over the whole ordeal. "The history of gays in Iran has been horrific." Home Secretary Jacqui Smith said she would review the case of a 19-year-old gay Iranian asylum seeker who fears he will be put to death if he is forced to return home. Mehdi Kazemi believes he will face persecution if he is made to return to Iran. LONDON, England (CNN) -- Britain says it will reconsider the asylum application of a gay Iranian teenager who claims he will be persecuted if he is returned home. Last year while in New York City, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was asked about executions of homosexuals in his country, and he replied: "We don't have homosexuals like in your country. When the government first rejected his appeal, Kazemi fled to the Netherlands, where lawmakers took up his cause. E-mail to a friend All About Iran • United Kingdom • Netherlands • Human Rights Policy The European Parliament passed a resolution Thursday demanding that a solution be found to Kazemi's case. Mr. Kazemi says that his boyfriend in Iran publicly named him as his partner before being charged with sodomy and executed. The resolution asked EU member states "to find a common solution to ensure that Mehdi Kazemi is granted asylum or protection on EU soil and not sent back to Iran." An uncle who lives in Britain was also quoted in a British newspaper as saying that if authorities didn't kill Kazemi, his father in Iran would.
LONDON, England (CNN) -- Britain says it will reconsider the asylum application of a gay Iranian teenager who claims he will be persecuted if he is returned home. Mehdi Kazemi believes he will face persecution if he is made to return to Iran. Friday's announcement came after the European Parliament urged a resolution to the case and said that Iran routinely detained, tortured and executed homosexuals. He fled to the Netherlands and sought asylum there -- but the government turned him down, saying the case should be dealt with in Britain, where he first applied. "Following representations made on behalf of Mehdi Kazemi, and in the light of new circumstances since the original decision was made, I have decided that Mr. Kazemi's case should be reconsidered on his return to the UK from the Netherlands," British Home Secretary Jacqui Smith said in a statement. See the latest twist in the teenager's case. » Kazemi was studying in Britain in 2006 when he learned that his partner in Iran had been arrested, charged with sodomy, and hanged, according to Kazemi's uncle -- who spoke to CNN on condition that his name not be revealed because of safety concerns. "Under torture and pressure, (the partner) revealed Mehdi's name as his boyfriend," the uncle said. Homosexuality is illegal in Iran, and gay sex is considered a capital crime. In Kazemi's application for asylum in Britain, he wrote that Iranian police were now after him, and he feared execution if he returned home. Kazemi's father disowned him when he learned his son was gay, the uncle said. Britain's Home Office initially rejected Kazemi's asylum application, saying that although homosexuality was illegal in Iran and gays did experience discrimination there, Britain did not believe that homosexuals were routinely persecuted purely because of their sexuality. He made three successive appeals for asylum in the Netherlands before the Council of State -- the highest Dutch court -- announced Tuesday that it rejected his plea. The decision complied with a European Union agreement that an asylum application submitted in any EU country would be handled by that country alone, according to council spokeswoman Daniela Tempelman. » In order for the Dutch court to consider Kazemi's asylum application, he needed to prove that Britain did not handle his asylum application properly, but he wasn't able to, Tempelman said. The resolution pointed out that the Iranian authorities "routinely detain, torture and execute persons, notably homosexuals" and that "Mehdi's partner has already been executed, while his father has threatened him with death." It said the EU and its member states could not send people back to countries where they risk persecution, torture and death because that would violate international human rights obligations. The resolution asked EU member states "to find a common solution to ensure that Mehdi Kazemi is granted asylum or protection on EU soil and not sent back to Iran." Home Secretary Jacqui Smith said she would review the case of a 19-year-old gay Iranian asylum seeker who fears he will be put to death if he is forced to return home. But Home Secretary Jacqui Smith, Britain's top law enforcement figure, said Thursday that "in light of new circumstances" Kazemi's appeal would be reconsidered, handing him a temporary reprieve that his supporters hope will ultimately lead to his being granted the right to stay in Britain. Eighty members of Britain's upper house of Parliament signed a letter sent to Smith urging the government to "show compassion and allow Mr. Kazemi to have a safe haven in the United Kingdom." "It's cruel to even suggest sending him back," said David Allison, a spokesman for Outrage!, a gay rights group in Britain.
This is, I think, a big concern." "My Tibetan friends are all scared. Are you in Tibet or do you know anyone currently in Tibet? The president has said consistently that Beijing needs to have a dialogue with the Dalai Lama." China's rule of Tibet has led to a marginalization of locals and deep concerns that Tibet's culture may soon be eroded by China's influence, Whitticase says. The Chinese government has been downplaying the situation. Police line the street during a protest in Amdo Labrang, Tibet March 14, 2008 in this cell phone image. Peaceful street marches by Tibetan Buddhist monks over past days gave way to the biggest and angriest demonstrations the remote, mountainous region has seen in nearly two decades, with anti-riot police patrolling the streets just months before the Beijing Olympics. Name: Email address: Town and Country: Phone number (optional): Comments: The BBC may edit your comments and cannot guarantee that all emails will be published. Stones were thrown and buildings burnt in Lhasa An emergency official said that many people had been hurt and an unspecified number had died. "The Sera monastery is surrounded by Chinese soldiers or police," the same eyewitness told ABC News. "I also urge my fellow Tibetans not to resort to violence." Reports indicate that the shops targeted were Chinese-owned. Rallies have continued all week in what are said to be the largest protests against Beijing's rule in 20 years. "We are fully capable of maintaining the social stability of Tibet," the Xinhua news agency quoted an official as saying in a statement repeated across Chinese state media on Saturday.
Stones were thrown and buildings burnt in Lhasa An emergency official said that many people had been hurt and an unspecified number had died. The US-based Radio Free Asia quoted witnesses who said they had seen at least two bodies on Lhasa's streets. Tibet's government would "deal harshly" with the protesters, its Chairman Qiangba Puncog warned. "We will deal harshly with these criminals who are carrying out activities to split the nation," he told the Associated Press news agency, denying that police had opened fire. China's state-run Xinhua news agency earlier said police had fired warning shots and used tear gas to disperse protesters. Rallies have continued all week in what are said to be the largest protests against Beijing's rule in 20 years. 'Totally crazy' A Western tourist in the city told the BBC: "[The rioters] seemed to go for all the Chinese shops and the Chinese people as well. I saw quite a few Chinese people beaten up... it turned totally crazy." British journalist James Miles, in Lhasa, told the BBC rioters took control of the city centre on Friday. China's government is braced for any further unrest on Saturday, with reports that a curfew is in place. TIBET DIVIDE China says Tibet always part of its territory Tibet enjoyed long periods of autonomy before 20th century 1950: China launched a military assault Opposition to Chinese rule led to bloody uprising in 1959 Tibet's spiritual leader the Dalai Lama fled to India In pictures: Tibet protests Quick guide: Tibet Media remains silent Beijing accused the Dalai Lama's followers of "masterminding" the unrest, an allegation the Tibetan spiritual leader's spokesman labelled as "absolutely baseless". The rallies began earlier this week when a number of Buddhist monks were reportedly arrested after a march marking the 49th anniversary of a Tibetan uprising against Chinese rule. In other developments on Friday: Hundreds of monks led a rally at Xiahe, in China's north-western Gansu province, the site of one of Tibetan Buddhism's most important monasteries More then 100 Tibetans in New York staged a protest outside the UN headquarters Police in New Delhi, India, clashed with protesters trying to reach the Chinese Embassy In Kathmandu, Nepal, police reportedly scuffled with some 1,000 demonstrators at a rally BBC China editor Shirong Chen in Beijing says the Chinese government certainly does not want bloodshed - echoing that last September in Burma - five months before staging the Olympic Games. 'Marginalised' The US urged China to "respect Tibetan culture" and the American ambassador to China urged officials in Beijing to show restraint. PROTEST TIMELINE 10 March: Monks arrested while marking 49th anniversary of failed uprising 11 March: Police use tear gas to disperse monks staging peaceful rallies 13 March: Police seal off key Lhasa monasteries 14 March: Rioting in Lhasa A White House spokesman said: "The president has said consistently Beijing needs to have a dialogue with the Dalai Lama." "We would like to see some kind of reconciliation between the Chinese authorities and the Tibetan representatives," said Dimitrij Rupel, foreign minister of Slovenia, which currently holds the EU's rotating presidency. Hollywood actor Richard Gere - a supporter of Tibet - told the BBC he would back a boycott of the Beijing Olympics unless China adopted a new approach. "The Tibetans have been marginalised in recent years, much more than before, and that's why you see this pressure cooker effect," he said. China says Tibet has always been part of its territory - although Tibet enjoyed long periods of autonomy before the 20th Century and many Tibetans remain loyal to the Dalai Lama, who fled in 1959. Peaceful street marches by Tibetan Buddhist monks over past days gave way to the biggest and angriest demonstrations the remote, mountainous region has seen in nearly two decades, with anti-riot police patrolling the streets just months before the Beijing Olympics. Peaceful street marches by Tibetan Buddhist monks over past days gave way to the biggest and angriest demonstrations the remote, mountainous region has seen in nearly two decades, with anti-riot police patrolling the streets just months before the Beijing Olympics. Peaceful street marches by Tibetan Buddhist monks over past days gave way to the biggest and angriest demonstrations the remote, mountainous region has seen in nearly two decades, with anti-riot police patrolling the streets just months before the Beijing Olympics. Peaceful street marches by Tibetan Buddhist monks over past days gave way to the biggest and angriest demonstrations the remote, mountainous region has seen in nearly two decades, with anti-riot police patrolling the streets just months before the Beijing Olympics. Peaceful street marches by Tibetan Buddhist monks over past days gave way to the biggest and angriest demonstrations the remote, mountainous region has seen in nearly two decades, with anti-riot police patrolling the streets just months before the Beijing Olympics. Protesters in Tibet's capital burnt shops and vehicles and yelled for independence on Friday as the region was hit by protests, prompting the Dalai Lama to urge Beijing to stop 'brute force'. REUTERS/Gopal Chitrakar BEIJING The Tibetan capital Lhasa braced for more possible confrontation on Saturday after independence protesters challenged China's rule in the fiercest protests to have rocked the region in two decades. China accused followers of the Dalai Lama of "masterminding" the uprising, which shatters its carefully-cultivated image of national harmony in the build-up to the Beijing Olympic Games. Angry crowds in the remote mountain city on Friday attacked government offices, burned vehicles and shops and threw stones at police in bloody confrontations that left many injured, according to Chinese state media reports. China has said that Tibet's exiled spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, engineered what were the biggest protests in disputed region since 1989, a claim he quickly denied. "Police cordoned off a few downtown sections and are on close lookout for comeback of violence," the official Xinhua agency said.
"For those people who are still active or have committed serious crimes, we will deal with them harshly," he said. China says Tibet has always been part of its territory. But Qiangba Puncog said calm was returning to Lhasa after the protests. He blamed the unrest on outside forces including Tibet's spiritual leader the Dalai Lama, who heads the Tibetan government-in-exile from India. The exiled Tibetan government says at least 80 protesters died in the Chinese crackdown. One Lhasa resident told the BBC late on Sunday that there was a heavy police presence in the city - but signs of normal life had returned. Eyewitness: Lhasa 'in cinders' Send us your comments China has given Tibetans involved in the Lhasa protests a deadline of midnight on Monday local time to surrender to police. (Xinhua reporters Jia Lijun, Wu Chen contributed to this report) Dalai cited the "rule of terror" and "cultural genocide" in its latest separatist remarks after the Lhasa riot, according to media reports. Dozens of security personnel were injured after days of protests by Buddhist monks broadened on Friday into riots involving the general population in which houses and shops were burned and looted. Groups of people also took down the Chinese flag and set it on fire, replacing it with the Tibetan flag, he said. But Tibet enjoyed long periods of autonomy before the 20th Century and many Tibetans remain loyal to the Dalai Lama, who fled in 1959. The unrest comes as preparations for this year's Olympic Games in Beijing are well advanced. The Dalai Lama has called for an international inquiry into China's crackdown, while Western leaders have called for restraint.
Special report: Dalai's separatist activities condemned BEIJING, March 17 (Xinhua) -- High-ranking Tibetan officials refuted Dalai Lama's "cultural genocide" and "terror rule" remarks on Sunday and said such arguments were a tale of a tub and "downright nonsense." Dalai cited the "rule of terror" and "cultural genocide" in its latest separatist remarks after the Lhasa riot, according to media reports. "Should the Dalai separatists group not spoil (the stability in Tibet), Tibet would be in its best period of development in history," said Lhasa Mayor Doje Cezhug. "Nowadays, Tibetan people have been living a modern life while enjoying the development of traditional Tibetan culture." Legqog, director of the Standing Committee of the Tibetan Regional People's Congress, said that "'the rule of terror in Tibet', as Dalai claimed, was downright nonsense." "The concept of 'citizen' didn't even exist in the old Tibet," he said. "Under the serfdom rule, slaves had nothing and were traded by their owners. "The Tibetan people only started to manage their own affairs after the regional autonomy was inaugurated in 1965," Legqog said. He said the Tibetan culture has thrived, quite contrary to the so called "cultural genocide." "There were 161 cultural sites in Tibet, including 35 on the list of state-level protection. The Party and government has attached great importance to the cultural development of Tibet and have carried out a large scale of survey, salvage and protection for Tibet's cultural relics, said Qiangba Puncog, Tibet Autonomous Regional Government chairman. "The state has decided to invest 570 million yuan from 2006 to 2010 to renovate 10 cultural relics sites, including the Jokhang Temple, and we can say Tibetan culture has never been so flourish as today," said the chairman. Purbu, deputy to the National People's Congress, said he was "shocked and very much saddened" upon learning what happened in his hometown. "The government has shown consistent restraint from the beginning to the end and it has also offered chance for the lawbreakers to surrender themselves, showing utmost respect to humanity" he said. "We should cherish the hard-earned achievements of Tibet," said the man, who lived 56 years in the city. Guide: Life in Tibet Tibetans describe unrest Chinese react to violence The deadline for Tibetan protesters to surrender to the police has passed, after a quiet day in the city of Lhasa. Exiled Tibetans said security forces had been rounding up political dissidents and witnesses said there was a heavy police presence on the streets. Dozens are feared dead after days of rioting in Lhasa. Qiangba Puncog, the Tibetan regional governor, said earlier that 13 "innocent civilians" had been killed by mobs in Lhasa. He blamed the unrest on outside forces including Tibet's spiritual leader the Dalai Lama, who heads the Tibetan government-in-exile from India. TIBET DIVIDE China says Tibet was always part of its territory Tibet enjoyed long periods of autonomy before 20th century 1950: China launched a military assault Opposition to Chinese rule led to a bloody uprising in 1959 Tibet's spiritual leader the Dalai Lama fled to India Q&A: China and Tibet International reaction Tibet adds to Olympic woes "The Dalai group and some other people in Western countries look at the beating, burning and smashing activities in the riots in Lhasa as peaceful demonstrations," he said. "No democratic country in the world will tolerate this kind of crime." The exiled Tibetan government says at least 80 protesters died in the Chinese crackdown. One Lhasa resident told the BBC late on Sunday that there was a heavy police presence in the city - but signs of normal life had returned. "The schools are now open and children are going to school but shops are still closed as lots have been damaged and burned," he said. Rocks hurled Meanwhile, in neighbouring Sichuan province, rights groups say seven people were killed when security forces opened fire on Tibetan protesters in the city of Aba on Sunday. And in Machu, Gansu province, a protester told the BBC a crowd of people set government buildings on fire on Sunday. Eyewitness: Lhasa 'in cinders' Send us your comments China has given Tibetans involved in the Lhasa protests a deadline of midnight on Monday local time to surrender to police. BEIJING Chinese security forces exercised "massive restraint" in their response to riots in Tibet last week, the region's governor said on Monday, but he promised harsh punishment for those involved in the violent unrest. "I can say with all responsibility we did not use lethal weapons, including opening fire," Qiangba Puncog, the government chief in Tibet, told a news conference in Beijing. Tibet's government has set a midnight deadline for those who took part in the protests that he said had killed 13 "innocent civilians". Those who complied and showed remorse would be treated leniently, and possibly punished with "re-education, but others could expect harsher treatment, Qiangba Puncog said.
He had no children. The Last Theorem, co-written with Frederik Pohl, will be published later this year, it said. In 1948 he wrote the story "The Sentinel," which would eventually form the basis for the "2001" film. TheArthur C. Clarke Foundationconfirmed Clarke's death on its Web site Tuesday. 'Great prophet' British astronomer Sir Patrick Moore had known Sir Arthur since they met as teenagers at the British Interplanetary Society. He was the co-author with Stanley Kubrick of Kubrick's film 2001: A Space Odyssey, but he was regarded as far more than a science fiction writer. He moved to the Indian Ocean island of Sri Lanka in 1956 after embarking on a study of the Great Barrier Reef. He served in the Royal Air Force during World War II, and foresaw the concept of communication satellites. Since 1995, the author had been largely confined to a wheelchair by post-polio syndrome. He died of respiratory problems, according to media reports. He founded his ownscuba diving schoolthere. He ultimately achieved the rank of flight lieutenant. He died at 0130 local time (2000 GMT) of respiratory complications and heart failure, according to his aide, Rohan De Silva. HAVE YOUR SAY His writing inspired many people to wonder what might be possible Pratik, California The author married in 1953, and was divorced in 1964. He was credited with the concept of communications satellites in 1945, decades before they became a reality. He joined American broadcaster Walter Cronkite as commentator on the US Apollo moonshots in the late 1960s. He was 90. His visions of space travel and computing sparked the imagination of readers and scientists alike.
Sir Arthur C Clarke was famous for his science fiction writing The Somerset-born author achieved his greatest fame in 1968 when his short story The Sentinel was turned into the film 2001: A Space Odyssey. His visions of space travel and computing sparked the imagination of readers and scientists alike. Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse paid tribute, hailing the writer as a "great visionary". Since 1995, the author had been largely confined to a wheelchair by post-polio syndrome. He died at 0130 local time (2000 GMT) of respiratory complications and heart failure, according to his aide, Rohan De Silva. Far-seeing scientist "Sir Arthur has left written instructions that his funeral be strictly secular," his secretary, Nalaka Gunawardene, was quoted as saying by news agency AFP. She said the author had requested "absolutely no religious rites of any kind". A farmer's son, Sir Arthur was educated at Huish's Grammar School in Taunton before joining the civil service. Sir Arthur's detailed descriptions of space shuttles, super-computers and rapid communications systems inspired millions of readers. When asked why he never patented his idea for communication satellites, he said: "I did not get a patent because I never thought it will happen in my lifetime." In the 1940s, he maintained man would reach the moon by the year 2000, an idea dismissed at the time. He was the author of more than 100 fiction and non-fiction books, and his writings are credited by many observers with giving science fiction a human and practical face. He collaborated on the screenplay for 2001: A Space Odyssey with the film's director Stanley Kubrick. 'Great prophet' British astronomer Sir Patrick Moore had known Sir Arthur since they met as teenagers at the British Interplanetary Society. Sir Patrick paid tribute to his friend, remembering him as "a very sincere person" with "a strong sense of humour". Tributes have also come from George Whitesides, the executive director of the National Space Society, where Sir Arthur served on the board of governors, and fellow science fiction writer Terry Pratchett. HAVE YOUR SAY His writing inspired many people to wonder what might be possible Pratik, California The author married in 1953, and was divorced in 1964. There, he pursued his interest in scuba diving, even setting up a diving school at Hikkaduwa, near the capital, Colombo. "Sometimes I am asked how I would like to be remembered," he recalled recently. A statement from Sir Arthur's office said he had recently reviewed the final manuscript of his latest novel. Arthur C. Clarke, the visionary science fiction writer who won worldwide acclaim with more than 100 books on space, science and the future, has died today in his adopted home of Sri Lanka, an aide has said. Clarke, who had battled debilitating post-polio syndrome since the 1960s, died after suffering breathing problems, his aide Rohan De Silva said. "I'm perfectly operational underwater," he once said. He was the co-author with Stanley Kubrick of Kubrick's film 2001: A Space Odyssey, but he was regarded as far more than a science fiction writer. Science fiction writer, inventor, scuba diver, and visionary Sir Arthur C. Clarke died Tuesday at his home on the island nation of Sri Lanka at the age of 90. Clarke was best known in popular culture as the author of the story that inspired Stanley Kubrick's 1968 film "2001: A Space Odyssey," but his greatest contribution to technology is creating the conceptual framework for geostationary satellites -- machines that would remain in the same spot above the earth and act as relay stations for signals from the ground, covering a wide area. In 1948 he wrote the story "The Sentinel," which would eventually form the basis for the "2001" film.
"I think this is an amazing stand-down, U-turn, by the Express newspapers," he said. The McCanns received a public apology read in open court McCann spokesman Madeleine McCann's parents have welcomed a libel settlement and apology from Express Newspapers for suggesting they were responsible for her death. The Daily Express and Daily Star have issued front-page apologies admitting the stories were inaccurate. "We acknowledge that there is no evidence whatsoever to support this theory and that Kate and Gerry are completely innocent of any involvement in their daughter's disappearance." The McCanns' lawyers said that some of the newspapers' articles were "grossly defamatory". The newspaper group has paid £550,000 to the Find Madeleine campaign. E-mail this to a friend Printable version Bookmark with: Delicious Digg reddit Facebook StumbleUpon What are these? Utter falsity Madeleine disappeared days before her fourth birthday, during a family holiday in the resort of Praia da Luz, in the Algarve, on 3 May last year. Acted 'reluctantly' The couple were not at London's High Court for the settlement of their action against Express Newspapers on Wednesday. Further apologies are expected in the publications' sister Sunday titles at the weekend. It is also paying all their costs. We are pleased that Express Newspapers have today admitted the utter falsity of the numerous grotesque and grossly defamatory allegations that their titles published McCann statement Full McCann case statements Is apology a turning point? They hired private investigators to help find their daughter after Portuguese police named them as suspects in September. Madeleine McCann went missing in Portugal in May 2007 The settlement was confirmed at a High Court hearing, although the amount of damages was not formally disclosed.
The McCanns received a public apology read in open court McCann spokesman Madeleine McCann's parents have welcomed a libel settlement and apology from Express Newspapers for suggesting they were responsible for her death. In a statement the McCanns said they were pleased that the newspaper group had admitted the "utter falsity" of the "grotesque" stories written about them. The newspaper group has paid £550,000 to the Find Madeleine campaign. Under review The papers said: "We acknowledge that there is no evidence whatsoever to support this theory and that Kate and Gerry are completely innocent of any involvement in their daughter's disappearance. " We are pleased that Express Newspapers have today admitted the utter falsity of the numerous grotesque and grossly defamatory allegations that their titles published McCann statement Full McCann case statements Is apology a turning point? The couple reportedly hope the libel action against Express Newspapers will serve as a deterrent, but reserve the right to take action in the future. But in a statement, they said: "We embarked on this course of action reluctantly, indeed with a heavy heart, as we did not wish the pursuit of it to become a distraction from our sole aim - finding Madeleine." They called on Portuguese police investigating her disappearance to end their status as suspects [in Portuguese, arguidos]: "We hope that the Portuguese authorities lift our arguido status in the very near future so that everyone can focus on finding our beautiful little girl." Utter falsity Madeleine disappeared days before her fourth birthday, during a family holiday in the resort of Praia da Luz, in the Algarve, on 3 May last year. The McCanns said: "We are pleased that Express Newspapers have today admitted the utter falsity of the numerous grotesque and grossly defamatory allegations that their titles published about us on a sustained basis over many months. "The exceptional publication of these apologies, together with today's statement of full apology in open court before Mr Justice Eady, was the only just and proper response by Express Newspapers following our complaint." The couple's representatives said that from the late summer of 2007 until February this year, the Daily Express, the Sunday Express, the Daily Star and the Daily Star Sunday published more than 100 articles which were seriously defamatory of the couple. Madeleine McCann went missing in Portugal in May 2007 In court Stephen Bacon, representing the newspapers, said: "Express Newspapers regrets publishing these extremely serious, yet baseless, allegations." Wednesday's editions of the Daily Express and Daily Star both carry front-page apologies under the headline, "Kate and Gerry McCann: Sorry". The Express said it accepted that a "number of articles in the newspaper have suggested that the couple caused the death of their missing daughter Madeleine and then covered it up". The Star said it was making a "wholehearted apology to Kate and Gerry McCann for stories suggesting the couple were responsible for, or may be responsible for, the death of their daughter Madeleine and for covering it up". The McCanns will receive a public apology, read in open court A newspaper group is paying £550,000 to the parents of Madeleine McCann after it settled a libel case over reports of her disappearance. They say they were wrong to suggest the couple, of Rothley, Leicestershire, were responsible for Madeleine's death. In a statement read out on behalf of the McCanns at the High Court on Wednesday, they said they were pleased that Express Newspapers had admitted the "utter falsity" of the numerous stories written about them over many months. Madeleine disappeared, days before her fourth birthday, during a family holiday in the resort of Praia da Luz, in the Algarve, on 3 May last year. The Express said it accepted that a "number of articles in the newspaper have suggested that the couple caused the death of their missing daughter Madeleine and then covered it up". The paper added that Mr and Mrs McCann are "completely innocent of any involvement in their daughter's disappearance". The Star said it was making a "wholehearted apology to Kate and Gerry McCann for stories suggesting the couple were responsible for, or may be responsible for, the death of their daughter Madeleine and for covering it up". 'Trust and credibility' Richard Bilton, BBC News special correspondent, said one of the couple's representatives had said the response of the newspaper group was "much more responsible than they were perhaps initially with these articles". Media commentator Roy Greenslade said that for two national newspapers to carry front-page apologies at the same time was "unprecedented". The McCanns will receive a public apology, read in open court "I think when people realise that more than 100 stories have been complained about as being grossly defamatory, it will annihilate the Express' readers sense of trust and credibility in their newspaper." "Clearly the Express' lawyers felt this was a case they should settle without a high-profile trial - which it would be - and as a result have saved considerable costs," he said. "It certainly is a warning sign to newspapers in the future - if they're going to speculate, they've got to be very careful about what they speculate about." Two newspapers said on Wednesday they will pay ''substantial'' damages to Madeleine's parents for a series of articles alleging... REUTERS/Stephen Hird LONDON Two tabloid newspapers made unprecedented front page apologies on Wednesday to the parents of missing girl Madeleine McCann for suggesting they might have killed their daughter and covered up her death. The Daily Express and Daily Star admitted the allegations against Kate and Gerry McCann, whose daughter went missing on holiday in Portugal last May, were "baseless" and agreed in court to pay 550,000 pounds in libel damages. At a High Court hearing London, the McCanns' lawyer Adam Tudor said it was "difficult to conceive a more serious allegation than to be falsely accused of being responsible for the death of one's daughter." He told the court that the articles included a variety of false claims, including that the McCanns killed their daughter, sold her to pay off debts or were involved in "wife-swapping".
Bush. "At this point, we just started an investigation," he said. The department is ordering an investigation through the State Department's Inspector General's office. Stanley Inc. officials confirmed that two of its employees had unauthorized access to Obama passport files. McCormack declined to reveal what information was accessed in the breaches. One of the contractors who viewed Obama's file also looked at the file of McCain, the probable Republican presidential nominee. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice spoke with the three presidential candidates on Friday to apologize. All About Barack Obama • Hillary Clinton • John McCain After speaking with Obama, Rice told reporters: "I told him that I was sorry, and I told him that I myself would be very disturbed." This contract employee has been reprimanded, but not fired. The individual no longer has access to passport records, he said. It "includes not only name and address, but date of birth, place of birth, citizenship and Social Security number. McCain, who is in France, said in a statement that the federal government has the responsibility to respect the privacy of all Americans. Don't attack other readers personally, and keep your language decent. The incidents raise questions as to whether the information may have been accessed for political purposes. The Washington Times first reported the incident involving Obama. McCormack said the one-time violation was immediately recognized and the person was admonished. But Mukasey did not rule out the possibility of the Justice Department taking an independent look at the passport breach. Obama's records were accessed without permission on three separate occasions — Jan. 9, Feb. 21 and as recently as last week, on March 14.
State Department employees snooped through the passport files of three presidential candidates — Sens. Barack Obama, Hillary Rodham Clinton and John McCain — and the department's inspector general is investigating. State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said the violations of McCain and Clinton's passport files were not discovered until Friday, after officials were made aware of the unauthorized access of Obama's records and a separate search was conducted. The incidents raise questions as to whether the information was accessed for political purposes and why two contractors involved in the Obama search were dismissed before investigators had a chance to interview them. It recalled an incident in 1992, when a Republican political appointee at the State Department was demoted over a search of presidential candidate Bill Clinton's passport records. McCormack said one of the individuals who accessed Obama's files also reviewed McCain's file earlier this year. This contract employee has been reprimanded, but not fired. "I can assure you that person's going to be at the top of the list of the inspector general when they talk to people, and we are currently reviewing our (disciplinary) options with respect to that person," McCormack said. In the meantime, State Department officials headed to Capitol Hill to brief the candidates' staffs. After speaking with Obama, Rice told reporters: "I told him that I was sorry, and I told him that I myself would be very disturbed." Attorney General Michael Mukasey said the case has not yet been referred to the Justice Department for investigation, and indicated prosecutors likely would wait until the State Department's inspector general concludes its inquiry. But Mukasey did not rule out the possibility of the Justice Department taking an independent look at the passport breach. "Have they asked us to become involved — no," Mukasey told reporters during a Friday briefing. Asked what another basis could be, Mukasey said: "I don't want to speculate but if somebody walked in here with a box full of evidence, they wouldn't be turned away." Record of incidents In Clinton's case, an individual last summer accessed her file as part of a training session involving another State Department worker. Obama's records were accessed without permission on three separate occasions — Jan. 9, Feb. 21 and as recently as last week, on March 14. McCormack declined to name the companies that employed the contractors, despite demands by a senior House Democrat that such information is in the public interest. McCain, who was in Paris on Friday, said any breach of passport privacy deserves an apology and a full investigation. It is not clear whether the employees saw anything other than the basic personal data such as name, citizenship, age, Social Security number and place of birth, which is required when a person fills out a passport application. Privacy issues Aside from the file, the information could allow critics to dig deeper into the candidates' private lives. While the file includes date and place of birth, address at time of application and the countries the person has traveled to, the most important detail would be their Social Security number, which can be used to pull credit reports and other personal information. The firings and unspecified discipline of the third employee already had occurred when senior State Department officials learned of the break-ins to the files. The violations were detected by internal State Department computer checks because certain records, including those of high-profile people, are "flagged" with a computer tag that tips off supervisors when someone tries to view the records without a proper reason. Former Independent Counsel Joseph diGenova said the firings of the contract employees will make the investigation more difficult because the inspector general can't compel them to talk. "My guess is if he tries to talk to them now, in all likelihood they will take the Fifth," diGenova said, referring to the Fifth Amendment's protection against self-incrimination. "I will fully acknowledge this information should have been passed up the line," Kennedy told reporters in a conference call. In answer to a question, Kennedy said the department doesn't look into political affiliation in doing background checks on passport workers. (CNN) -- Sen. Barack Obama called for an investigation Friday into how the security of the passport files of the three remaining presidential candidates was breached. "And when you have not just one but a series of attempts to tap into people's personal records, that's a problem not just for me but for how our government is functioning," he said. Watch Obama call for an investigation » Obama said he expected "a full and thorough investigation" by the administration in conjunction with congressional oversight committees. Don't Miss Spokesman: Passport cases 'imprudent curiosity' Spokesman: Passport cases 'imprudent curiosity' ElectionCenter 2008 State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said Obama's files had been viewed three times by contractors working for the agency starting in January. Watch Rice apologize for the breach » "If anyone's privacy was breached, then they deserve an apology and a full investigation, and I believe that will take place," McCain said in Paris Friday.
This had to be resolved. "Life will return to all of Iraq as before," he said. Al-Sadr's statement came after what an aide described as direct talks between al-Sadr's representatives and the Iraqi government in Najaf that started Saturday night. All About Iraq War • Baghdad • Basra • Muqtada al-Sadr Also on Sunday, roadside bombings in northern and western Iraq killed two U.S. troops, while attacks on Iraqi police and others left another 19 dead, Iraqi police and U.S. military officials reported. The fighting began with operations against militias in Basra Iraqi Shia cleric Moqtada Sadr has ordered his fighters off the streets of Basra and other cities in an effort to end clashes with security forces. But a vehicle ban will stay in place in three Shiite militia strongholds -- neighborhoods in the capital, including Sadr City, Kadhimiya and Shulaa, Atta said. Those include the Mahdi Army as well as groups closely allied with the Americans. It was the second such find since Thursday, when 37 bodies were found. The government called the move "positive", while the military said a curfew in Baghdad would end on Monday. Iran's involvement? A high-ranking Iraqi security official said at least 200 people have been killed and 500 wounded in Basra battles since Tuesday. 'Not one of us' Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Maliki had given militias until 8 April to surrender their weapons in return for cash. Moqtada Sadr told followers to "work with Iraqi government offices" The cleric also demanded that the government apply the general amnesty law, release detainees and stop what he called illegal and random raids.
BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr called on followers to stop shooting and cooperate with Iraqi security forces Sunday, a move Iraq's government praised as a step toward ending six days of fighting that has left hundreds dead. A Shiite fighter runs toward an Iraqi Army armored vehicle Sunday after clashes near a TV station in Basra. "We announce our disavowal from anyone who carries weapons and targets government institutions, charities and political party offices," al-Sadr said in a nine-point statement issued by his headquarters in Najaf. The statement was accompanied by demands that the Iraqi government issue a general amnesty to his followers and release any being held. The move was welcomed by Iraq's government, whose forces have been fighting al-Sadr's militia, the Mehdi Army, in six days of clashes with so-called "outlaws" who had taken control of much of the southern city of Basra. Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, who had vowed not to leave Basra until his government reclaimed control of the city, called al-Sadr's statement a "step in the right direction" and said he hoped it would help to stabilize the region. "We renew our assurance that the process of enforcement [of] the law in Basra does not target any political or religious group, including the Sadr movement," al-Maliki said in a prepared statement. Witnesses reported continued clashes throughout the day in Basra even after Sunday's announcements. But Iraqi authorities said after al-Sadr's announcement they would lift an indefinite curfew that had been imposed on Baghdad since Thursday. Watch how the cease-fire affects Shiite vs. Shiite fights » The curfew is scheduled to be lifted 6 a.m. Monday (11 p.m. Sunday ET), said Gen. Qassim Atta, an Iraqi military spokesman. But a vehicle ban will stay in place in three Shiite militia strongholds -- neighborhoods in the capital, including Sadr City, Kadhimiya and Shulaa, Atta said. Al-Sadr's statement came after what an aide described as direct talks between al-Sadr's representatives and the Iraqi government in Najaf that started Saturday night. Iraqi government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh denied there were talks with al-Sadr's representatives, directly or indirectly. But speaking on Iraqi state TV, al-Dabbagh said "A large number of people will listen to Muqtada al-Sadr's call." "The statement is positive and responsive; we as the government of Iraq believe this effort will be in the common interest and help the security efforts that the government is working to achieve." Death tolls are difficult to obtain, but reports from Iraqi and coalition authorities suggest more than 400 people have died since fighting began Tuesday. The fighting has been heaviest in Basra, Iraq's second-largest city and major oil port, and a U.S. military analysis of the battle indicated the government push was not going as well as American officials had hoped, several U.S. officials said Friday. In Washington, CIA Director Michael Hayden told NBC's "Meet the Press" Sunday that about 70 percent of Basra was under the control of "criminal elements" when the assault was launched. Though the increase in violence was disappointing, he said, the government assault "was something that we all knew we had to go through." You just can't have the second major city in the country -- economically, the most important city in the country -- beyond the control of the government," Hayden said. And we may find that the Iraqi army did not do a very good job of planning and executing this effort," Graham, a Senate colleague and close ally of Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain, told "Fox News Sunday." Graham said the militia fighters that Iraqi troops are battling are backed by Iran, which he said was "killing Americans" by arming the militias. Nassar al-Rubaie, an official in al-Sadr's political movement, said the army and police were being used "for political reasons." A high-ranking Iraqi security official said at least 200 people have been killed and 500 wounded in Basra battles since Tuesday. Also on Sunday, roadside bombings in northern and western Iraq killed two U.S. troops, while attacks on Iraqi police and others left another 19 dead, Iraqi police and U.S. military officials reported. Other developments • In northern Iraq, five Iraqi police officers were killed and two bystanders were wounded when gunmen attacked a police patrol in the town of Dhuluiyah Sunday, Samarra police said. They were found 100 yards from where 37 bodies were found buried Thursday, the military said. • Ten people were killed Sunday when a suicide car bomb struck a checkpoint manned by members of the Awakening Council, Baiji police said.
Hajir Bille, a local official, said the identities and motives of the gunmen were unknown. "The individuals concerned were not employed by the FAO or any other UN agency." (CNN) -- Two United Nations contract workers, a Briton and a Kenyan, were kidnapped Tuesday in southern Somalia, according to the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization. The men were abducted earlier today after gunmen opened fire on their car somewhere between Bule and Sakow, in the Middle Jubba province, earlier today, local government officials said. Kidnapping is lucrative for Somali criminals, who are known for treating captives well, viewing them investments on which they can earn a handsome reward in the form of ransom payments. Local elders and militiamen pursued the kidnappers toward Jilib district, 280 km (175 miles) south of Mogadishu. More than 1 million citizens in the lawless country currently depend on foreign aid. A call to Genesys offices in Bangalore was not answered. Most abductions for ransom in the past year have taken place in the safer northern parts of Somalia, which are relatively stable. E-mail to a friend Alison Small, based at the FAO's Rome headquarters, said the workers had been hired under contract to carry out aerial surveys of Somalia. The kidnappings confirmed today come after a string of attacks on aid workers in previous months, including abductions and landmine attacks on vehicles. Somalia has not had a functioning government since 1991, when rival warlords overthrew the then dictator, Mohamed Siad Barre, before turning on each other. (Additional reporting by Aweys Yusuf in Mogadishu and Bryson Hull in Nairobi; editing by Tim Pearce) (For full Reuters Africa coverage and to have your say on the top issues, visit: africa.reuters.com/ )
(Recasts with UN statement, adds details) By Ibrahim Mohamed and Mohamed Abdi MOGADISHU, April 1 Somali gunmen on Tuesday kidnapped two contractors, a Briton and a Kenyan, working for a U.N.-funded project in southern Somalia, the United Nations said. Local militias were pursuing the kidnappers in the hope of freeing the captives, residents said, and local clan elders were pressing the gunmen to release the two men. "Two foreign nationals -- a Briton and a Kenyan -- were abducted this morning by unknown gunmen between Saakow and Bu'aale in Middle Juba," the U.N. country office for Somalia said in a statement. The two work for Genesys International Corporation Ltd of Bangalore, India, which has been hired by the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organisation to carry out a survey of the Juba and Shabelle rivers, the statement said. "Witnesses on the ground say there was gunfire when the men were taken, but there is no information to suggest that any serious injury was sustained by either man," it said, referring to reports that one of the men had been wounded. The two are being held in or near the town of Jilib, and "clan elders and community leaders who do not condone such abductions are putting pressure on the perpetrators to release the men," the statement said. Local elders and militiamen pursued the kidnappers toward Jilib district, 280 km (175 miles) south of Mogadishu. "These foreign men have been in Sakow for three days, there is no tight administration there and they have not contacted us over their security. Most abductions for ransom in the past year have taken place in the safer northern parts of Somalia, which are relatively stable. (CNN) -- Two United Nations contract workers, a Briton and a Kenyan, were kidnapped Tuesday in southern Somalia, according to the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization. Gunmen kidnapped two men, one a Briton, who were working on a UN project in southern Somalia, the UN food and agriculture organisation confirmed today. The men were abducted earlier today after gunmen opened fire on their car somewhere between Bule and Sakow, in the Middle Jubba province, earlier today, local government officials said. The Briton is believed to have been injured when clan militiamen began firing at the car before taking him and a Kenyan national. Alison Small, based at the FAO's Rome headquarters, said the workers had been hired under contract to carry out aerial surveys of Somalia. Mohamed Mumin, a local resident, said he saw six armed men open fire on the car as it approached them.
. And the progress, while real, is fragile and is reversible," he told the Senate Armed Services Committee. Commander in Iraq General David Petraeus (3rd L) and U.S. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque US Commander in Iraq General David Petraeus and US Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker take their seats to testify before the Senate Armed Services Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington April 8, 2008. Petraeus: "It could be more than that. Crocker said a long-term agreement the U.S. is now negotiating with Iraq will give a needed legal framework for the continued presence of U.S. troops. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst U.S. While Republican candidate Sen. John McCain said current policy is succeeding, Democratic senators Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton called for faster troop withdrawals, a move opposed by the two top U.S. officials in Baghdad. Lawmakers said they want to question Petraeus about the performance of Iraqi security forces in last week's military engagement between government forces and the Mahdi Army militia of cleric Moqtada al-Sadr in Basra. Bring them home!" — interrupted the hearing and was escorted out. What are the consequences? On Thursday Bush will make a speech about the war, now in its sixth year, and his decision about troop levels. Levin demanded to know how many U.S. troops would be in Iraq at the end of 2008. just say we're coasting through and waiting for the next president." REUTERS/Joshua Roberts US Commander in Iraq General David Petraeus testifies to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington April 8, 2008. Among the questions these and other lawmakers said they plan to ask Petraeus and Crocker is why the United States is still paying for Iraqi domestic needs ranging from military training to garbage pickup when the Maliki government has $30 billion in reserves -- held in the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and the Bank for International Settlements in Switzerland -- as well as $10 billion in a development fund, significant budgetary surpluses from previous years and a projected 7 percent economic growth rate for 2008.
In a reprise of their testimony last September, Army Gen. David H. Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan C. Crocker came to Capitol Hill today to tell lawmakers that security has improved in Iraq and that the government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has taken steps toward political reconciliation and economic stability. But unlike in September, when that news was fresh and the administration said a corner had been turned, even some of the war's strongest supporters in Congress have grown impatient and frustrated. Petraeus, the top U.S. military commander in Iraq, and Crocker are facing many lawmakers today and tomorrow who had expected more by now and who are wondering whether any real change will occur before the clock runs out on the Bush administration. "I think all of us realize we're disappointed at where we are," Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) said at a hearing last week. Norm Coleman (R-Minn.) asked, "How do we get out of this mess?" While the cost in U.S. lives and money increases, said another senior GOP senator, who spoke on the condition of anonymity: "We cannot . Among the questions these and other lawmakers said they plan to ask Petraeus and Crocker is why the United States is still paying for Iraqi domestic needs ranging from military training to garbage pickup when the Maliki government has $30 billion in reserves -- held in the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and the Bank for International Settlements in Switzerland -- as well as $10 billion in a development fund, significant budgetary surpluses from previous years and a projected 7 percent economic growth rate for 2008. Sen. Carl M. Levin (D-Mich.), chairman of the Armed Services Committee, and Sen. John W. Warner (Va.), the panel's ranking Republican, who projected that Iraqi oil income would reach $56.4 billion this year, asked the Government Accountability Office last month to investigate how much money the Iraqi government has. "I think it's a very significant issue that has not had sufficient exposure," Levin said in an interview. "They're perfectly content to watch us spend our money while they build up these huge cash reserves from oil windfalls. Charles P. Ries, Crocker's deputy for economic policy in Baghdad, said in an e-mail that both the Iraqi constitution and Iraq's arrangement with the International Monetary Fund prohibit spending the nation's reserves. The amount in Iraq's accounts, he said, is not "abnormally high to back up the dinar, given the size of the economy and their dependence on a single commodity for most of export revenues." Although the United States has spent nearly all of the approximately $21 billion appropriated for Iraqi reconstruction since 2003, $500 million has been budgeted annually for the past three years for the Commander's Emergency Response Program, distributed by U.S. officers on the ground for local development efforts. Despite considerable U.S. expenditures on oil and electricity infrastructure, oil exports and the supply of electricity and other services have not risen significantly since 2004. In early April, according to State Department statistics, the electricity supply met 58 percent of demand, compared with 66 percent a year earlier. The International Committee of the Red Cross reported last month that "millions of Iraqis have insufficient access to clean water, sanitation and health care." Lawmakers said they want to question Petraeus about the performance of Iraqi security forces in last week's military engagement between government forces and the Mahdi Army militia of cleric Moqtada al-Sadr in Basra. The fighting, along with continued intra-Shiite fighting in Baghdad that killed at least four U.S. soldiers over the weekend, has complicated efforts to portray Iraq as moving toward stability. Although the administration has put a positive face on the offensive -- describing it as evidence that Maliki's government and the Iraqi military are capable of independent, decisive action -- U.S. military and administration officials privately draw a more mixed picture. U.S. air power was called in to back flailing government forces three days into the operation. A senior U.S. officer in Iraq described Maliki's action as "both bold and impulsive/hasty." While some Iraqi troops "fought well," he wrote in an e-mail, others were "largely ineffective." Up to 1,000 army and police personnel reportedly either deserted or refused to fight. In the National Police, which is known to be sympathetic to Sadr, "hundreds" of officers were fired, one administration official said. The top U.S. commander in Iraq told Congress Tuesday that hard-won gains in the war zone are too fragile to promise any troop pullouts beyond this summer, holding his ground against impatient Democrats and refusing to commit to more withdrawals before President Bush leaves office in January. In testimony that featured questioning by the major presidential candidates, Army Gen. David Petraeus painted a picture of a nation struggling to suppress violence among its own people and to move toward the political reconciliation that Bush said a year ago was the ultimate aim of his new Iraq strategy, which included sending more than 20,000 extra combat troops. The Petraeus plan, which Bush is expected to embrace, reflects a conservative approach that leaves open the possibility that roughly 140,000 U.S. troops could remain in Iraq when the president leaves office next year. Levin worries about 'no end' In exchanges with several senators, Petraeus refused to say when he thought it would be safe to resume troop reductions beyond July without risking "fragile and reversible" security gains. Petraeus said the recent flare-up of violence in Basra, in Baghdad and elsewhere points up the importance of the cease-fire declared last year by anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr and highlighted the role Iran allegedly plays in funding and training Shiite militias through cells the U.S. military calls "special groups."
REUTERS/Robert Galbraith A torch bearer, identified as Li Lin, runs along the waterfront at the start of the Olympic Torch relay in San Francisco, California April 9, 2008. "This is the first time China has had the Olympics. We should be proud of this." Demonstrators carrying Tibetan flags marched to the Chinese consulate to denounce Beijing's policy on Tibet. Hundreds of security officers deployed across San Francisco on Wednesday ahead of expected large protests against China policies as the Olympic torch makes its only relay in the United States. Extra police will line the torch's route as it follows a six-mile (10km) route through San Francisco, starting at 1300 (2000 GMT). REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni A pro-Tibet demonstrator shouts into a megaphone before the beginning of the Olympic torch relay in San Francisco, California April 9, 2008. Mayor Gavin Newsom said he had been in touch with officials in the UK and France to discuss ways of handling the protesters. The Dalai Lama denies this. REUTERS/Carlos Avila Gonzalez-San Francisco Chronicle/Pool A torch runner carries the flame during the Olympic torch relay in San Francisco April 9, 2008. Bush and other Western leaders are facing a delicate balancing act as calls mount for them to boycott the Olympics opening ceremony. The torch was a magnet for chaotic demonstrations in London and Paris in the last week over a range of China issues from China's crackdown on Tibet last month to human rights. Thousands of pro-China spectators gathered along the original planned route, many flying the five-star Communist Chinese flag alongside U.S. and Olympic flags. The bewildering changes united supporters and protesters divided by politics by angering both sides over the sudden change during the only relay leg in North America on its journey to the Beijing Olympic Games in August.
REUTERS/Kimberly White Pro-China demonstrators chant before the beginning of the Olympic Torch relay in San Francisco, California April 9, 2008. Hundreds of security officers deployed across San Francisco on Wednesday ahead of expected large protests against China policies as the Olympic torch makes its only relay in the United States. Hundreds of security officers deployed across San Francisco on Wednesday ahead of expected large protests against China policies as the Olympic torch makes its only relay in the United States. REUTERS/Robert Galbraith Archbishop Desmond Tutu (L) and actor Richard Gere pose for a photograph prior to speaking at a pro-Tibet rally in San Francisco, California April 8, 2008. REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni A demonstrator shouts from behind a Tibetan flag before the beginning of the Olympic torch relay in San Francisco, California April 9, 2008. REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni A pro-Tibet demonstrator shouts into a megaphone before the beginning of the Olympic torch relay in San Francisco, California April 9, 2008. REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni A man carries a Tibetan flag past demonstrators with Chinese flags before the start of the Olympic Torch relay in San Francisco, California April 9, 2008. Hundreds of security officers deployed across San Francisco on Wednesday ahead of expected large protests against China policies as the Olympic torch makes its only relay in the United States. REUTERS/Robert Galbraith Pro-Tibet and pro-China demonstrators face off before the beginning of the Olympic Torch relay in San Francisco, California April 9, 2008. REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni A pro-Tibet demonstrator tries to remove the Chinese flag that blocks him before the beginning of the Olympic Torch relay in San Francisco, California April 9, 2008. REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni A man with the Chinese flag painted on his face shouts before the beginning of the Olympic Torch relay in San Francisco, California April 9, 2008. REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni A torch bearer, identified as Li Lin, runs along the waterfront at the start of the Olympic Torch relay in San Francisco, California April 9, 2008. REUTERS/Robert Galbraith The first torch bearer (R), identified as Li Lin on her badge, joins unidentified dignitaries at the start of the Olympic Torch relay in San Francisco, California April 9, 2008. REUTERS/Robert Galbraith The first torch bearer Li Lin, with an unidentified man, prepares to start the Olympic Torch relay in San Francisco, California April 9, 2008. REUTERS/Robert Galbraith The first torch bearer, identified as Li Lin on her badge, waves to the crowd at the start of the Olympic Torch relay in San Francisco, California April 9, 2008. REUTERS/Robert Galbraith San Francisco riot police walk along the street as supporters and demonstrators gather during the Olympic Torch relay in San Francisco, California April 9, 2008. REUTERS/Robert Galbraith San Francisco riot police line the street during the Olympic Torch relay in San Francisco, California April 9, 2008. REUTERS/Robert Galbraith A torch runner carries the flame during the Olympic torch relay in San Francisco April 9, 2008. REUTERS/Carlos Avila Gonzalez-San Francisco Chronicle/Pool A torch runner carries the flame during the Olympic torch relay in San Francisco April 9, 2008. REUTERS/Carlos Avila Gonzalez-San Francisco Chronicle/Pool Mayor Gavin Newsom (L) talks with a police officer before the Olympic torch relay in San Francisco April 9, 2008. REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni The first torch bearer, identified as Li Lin on her badge, waves to the crowd at the beginning of the Olympic Torch relay in San Francisco, California April 9, 2008. REUTERS/Robert Galbraith A torch bearer runs along the waterfront at the start of the Olympic Torch relay in San Francisco, California April 9, 2008. REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni A pro-Tibet demonstrator is arrested during the Olympic Torch relay in San Francisco, California April 9, 2008. REUTERS/Erin Siegal SAN FRANCISCO The Olympic torch's only stop in North America turned into the mystery of the missing flame on Wednesday, as San Francisco abruptly changed the torch route, angering both China supporters and protesters who had waited hours to see it. Thousands of people converged along the announced scenic waterfront route for the passage of the torch. "I think we were cheated, because I think the meaning of the relay was to show the whole world that our country is hosting the Olympics," said Michael Huo, 30, a Chinese engineer working at a Silicon Valley start-up company. The torch was a magnet for chaotic demonstrations in London and Paris in the last week over a range of China issues from China's crackdown on Tibet last month to human rights. "We assessed the situation and felt that we could not secure the torch and protect the protesters and supporters to the degree that we wished," Newsom said by cell phone. If they can't run the torch through the city, it means that no one is supporting the games," said Matt Helmenstine, 30, a California high school teacher who carried a Tibetan flag. After the torch disappeared from view after the opening ceremony, police boats and jet skis hinted it might be headed up the waterfront by boat. In front of the city's ferry building, Christine Lias, 30, was quickly surrounded by more than 30 Chinese-Americans after she yelled: "Free Tibet now!" On a beautiful spring day, San Francisco deployed hundreds of security officers, including FBI agents, backed up by police cars with flashing lights, harbor boats, jet skis and helicopters. "I'm loyal to the U.S. but I love China because it's my motherland," said Alice Liu, 50, who came to the United States after the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests.
During the visit, the pope and Bush and his wife, Laura, who are Methodists, prayed together for the institution of the family, a Vatican spokesman said. REUTERS/Larry Downing Pope Benedict XVI greets the crowd during an arrival ceremony on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, April 16, 2008. He ended with a call of "God bless America". REUTERS/Yuri Gripas Pope Benedict XVI visits the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception and holds a Vespers prayer service with the Catholic Bishops of the United States in Washington, April 16, 2008. He sprinkled his speech with references to the U.S. founding fathers -- citing the Declaration of Independence and the first president, George Washington. View all New York Times newsletters. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Mr. Isley added that like most victims, he wants two clear actions from the pope. “It is a great suffering for the church in the United States and for the church in general and for me personally that this could happen,” Benedict said, adding that he would work to keep pedophiles out of the priesthood. (Additional reporting by Patricia Zengerle, Matt Spetalnick, Andy Sullivan, David Alexander and Jeremy Pelofsky) (Writing by Philip Pullella; Editing by Patricia Zengerle) (For more on religion, see the Reuters religion blog FaithWorld at blogs.reuters.com/faithworld) But the overwhelming number of those who lined his motorcade route welcomed the pope with joy, dancing and shaking tambourines as they waited for hours to glimpse him. About 200 people held banners objecting to various aspects of Catholic orthodoxy, as well as the sexual abuse scandal.
Miguel Lenarduzzi travelled for 24 hours by van from Texas to join more than 13,000 of the faithful from across the US to welcome Pope Benedict XVI to Washington today. "We made a long trip. The thousands of people here just want to say hi to the Pope," the 43-year-old waiter said. With the country in the grip of Pope-mania, about 9,000 gathered on the White House lawn to hear the pontiff. Another 4,000-plus without tickets, like Lenarduzzi, lined the streets outside to sing, pray and catch a glimpse of his motorcade. The Pope, making his first visit to the US since his election in 2005, was greeted on the White House lawn by President Bush, and given a 21-gun salute and a serenade from a top opera singer. Spectators sang happy birthday to Benedict — 81 today — who smiled, clasped his hands together and bowed in acknowledgement. Lenarduzzi, who travelled in a convoy of nine vans from Dallas, had four hours' sleep before getting up early to bag a spot in the street close to the White House. There had been an expectation that this Pope, only the second to visit the White House, might not generate the same fervour as his predecessor, whose charisma he does not share. Instead, he concentrated on saying he had "great respect for this vast pluralistic society". He ended with a call of "God bless America". The only remark in any way critical was a call to support the UN, a target of the Bush administration. The Pope called for support "for the patient efforts of international diplomacy to resolve conflicts and promote progress." In stark contrast, Bush used the occasion to make several explicit political points. He declared that the visit was a reminder to Americans to "distinguish between simple right and wrong". He added: "We need your message to reject this dictatorship of relativism and embrace a culture of justice and truth." Bush told the pontiff that in America "you'll find a nation that welcomes the role of religion in the public square" and that "in a world where some evoke the name of God to justify acts of terror and murder and hate, we need your message that God is love. And embracing this love is the surest way to save man from falling prey to the teaching of fanaticism and terrorism". The Pope, as he had promised, then raised the Iraq war and his concern for the treatment of illegal immigrants in the US, who make up an estimated 12 million to 20 million of the population, most of them Latino. Back on Pennsylvania Avenue, decked out in the red, white and blue of the US and the yellow and white flag of the Holy See, was another who had travelled a long way, Alex Bengoa, 33, an IT manager from New Orleans. He too will follow the Pope to New York but did not know where he would stay: "In New York, the Lord will provide." He said his faith had helped get him off drugs and he wanted to "come to show support for the Holy Father". About 200 people held banners objecting to various aspects of Catholic orthodoxy, as well as the sexual abuse scandal. “We don’t really need his sense of shame,” said Ms. Ianni, who said she was abused by her parish priest in Alexandria Va., from age 9 to 11. “We need him to take firm actions to correct the situation.” Advertisement Continue reading the main story Speaking to reporters on his flight to the United States, Benedict addressed the scandal that has produced more than 13,000 sexual abuse victims and cost the church more than $2 billion. “It is a great suffering for the church in the United States and for the church in general and for me personally that this could happen,” Benedict said, adding that he would work to keep pedophiles out of the priesthood. “It is difficult for me to understand how it was possible that priests betray in this way their mission.” Robert Costello, however, was among the child abuse victims not moved by the pope’s remarks. Advertisement Continue reading the main story At a news conference in Boston organized by a victims’ group, Mr. Costello, who said he was abused by a priest in West Roxbury, Mass., starting when he was 10, said he was shocked that the pope would talk about his own suffering and that of the church while making no mention of the harm done to victims. Advertisement Continue reading the main story “What about the suffering of the children?” he said, adding that he planned to travel to New York to read aloud the names of victims on Friday while the pope addresses the United Nations. David Carney, who says a priest abused him during his freshman year at Catholic Memorial High School in West Roxbury, also dismissed the pope’s comments as insincere. Advertisement Continue reading the main story “Don’t sit around on your plane and talk about it,” said Mr. Carney, 41, who also attended the Boston news conference.
Sincerely, James Boyce --------------------------------------------------------------- I like to think I've seen it all, or at least a good portion it. Mr. Mathis said in an interview that he had confronted Dr. Dawkins in the question and answer period after the screening and that Dr. Dawkins withered. But what hasn't been discussed as much is the fact that Yoko Ono either sold or gave the rights to "Imagine" to the producers of the film. I will also find out more about the producers of the movie and what their motives are. However, I have learned that in fact Yoko Ono did not license the song for use in the film Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed, and any use of the song in that film is being made without authorization. Advertisement Continue reading the main story “It is impossible to imagine what Mathis is afraid of,” Dr. Dawkins said. Who knows? View all New York Times newsletters. Please re-enter. And both had earlier complained that they originally agreed to appear in the movie — then called “Crossroads” — because producers told them it would be an examination of religion and science, not a defense of intelligent design, an ideological cousin of creationism. Bloggers had accused Ms. Ono, Mr. Lennon's wife, of selling out... Dr. Scott said she and other supporters of the teaching of evolution have been having “a horselaugh” over the events as Dr. Myers recounted them, immediately, on his blog, Pharyngula.
Having ruffled feathers in the scientific community, the filmmakers behind a documentary questioning evolution theory have now incurred the wrath of one of the most powerful figures in the popular music business, Yoko Ono, and have generated a blogosphere mini-drama in the process. The flap concerns the film's use of the song "Imagine," by the late John Lennon. Bloggers had accused Ms. Ono, Mr. Lennon's wife, of selling out... I never thought that someone, far less Ben Stein, would take a song as famous as "Imagine" and use it in his film without permission. However, I have learned that in fact Yoko Ono did not license the song for use in the film Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed, and any use of the song in that film is being made without authorization. I will also find out more about the producers of the movie and what their motives are. Sincerely, James Boyce --------------------------------------------------------------- I like to think I've seen it all, or at least a good portion it. But this Friday, a new movie comes out; one that is nothing more than creationist propaganda in the fine tradition of cigarettes don't kill you and global warming is just a natural occurrence. But what hasn't been discussed as much is the fact that Yoko Ono either sold or gave the rights to "Imagine" to the producers of the film. In screenings around the country, and in copies of the movie reviewed, everyone notes the odd inclusion of the song. I guess that the $20 million plus the estate earns every year isn't enough for Yoko Ono, not only does she feel the need to license the song out, she probably held out for the highest bidder, in this case, the money behind the movie, Walt Ruloff, who made over one hundred million dollars selling his company to Microsoft. (Irony is that a company who makes computers, perhaps the ultimate daily example of the higher power of science in our lives, indirectly funded a movie that doesn't believe science should be taught in schools.) Of course, it wasn't just Yoko Ono that sold out, the Killers did too (and I am a bigger Killers fan than I am fan of hers to be honest.) Their song, "All These Things That I've Done," is also in the movie. I hear that the going rate for a song like this is a million dollars, again, why can't the Killers be happy with the tens of millions they are making every year? "Imagine" and "All These Things I've Done" are great, great songs -- maybe one day they'll get sold to a movie I actually am going to see. Mark Mathis, a producer of the film who attended the screening, said that “of course” he had recognized Dr. Dawkins, but allowed him to attend because “he has handled himself fairly honorably, he is a guest in our country and I had to presume he had flown a long way to see the film.” Advertisement Continue reading the main story Actually, Dr. Myers and Dr. Dawkins said in interviews that they had long planned to be in Minneapolis this week to attend a convention of atheists. And both had earlier complained that they originally agreed to appear in the movie — then called “Crossroads” — because producers told them it would be an examination of religion and science, not a defense of intelligent design, an ideological cousin of creationism. People who have seen the movie say it also suggests that there is a link between the theory of evolution and ideas like Nazism, something Dr. Dawkins called “a major outrage.” In an interview, Dr. Myers said he registered himself and “guests” on a Web site for the film’s screening. A security guard pulled him out of the line but admitted his wife, daughter and guests — including Dr. Dawkins, who, Dr. Myers said, no one seemed to recognize.
. "I believe it's the beginning, and not just for me," McDaid, 52, of Peabody, Mass., said shortly before flying home. Advertisement Continue reading the main story In Washington on Thursday, the pope held an unannounced meeting with several victims of abuse by priests in the Boston area. Would it also lead to new steps to address the biggest crisis in the history of the Roman Catholic Church in the United States? He met with Benedict, then Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, in 2004 to discuss the scandal. Our correspondent says that for the third time in as many days, the pontiff has done what many Catholics have been asking for years. Meeting with US bishops and prayer service in Washington (evening) 17 Apr: Washington Mass; addressed Catholic University; interfaith meeting 18 Apr: Addresses UN 19 Apr: New York Mass at St Patrick's Cathedral 20 Apr: Ground Zero visit; Yankee Stadium Mass In pictures: Papal Mass Pope's tour: Reporter's diary Latinos welcome Pope's words Pope Benedict then attended an evening ecumenical service with Protestant and Orthodox clergy at St Joseph's church in Manhattan. "If states are unable to guarantee such protection, the international community must intervene with the juridical means provided in the United Nations Charter and in other international instruments." And he talked of the need to protect religious freedom, pointing out that religious minorities in some countries are subject to discrimination and prejudice. On Friday afternoon, Benedict met with members of the local Jewish clergy at the Park East Synagogue, a historic Upper East Side Orthodox congregation founded by Austro-Hungarian Jews in 1890.
And in a passage that will have particular resonance for the current United Nations leadership, which is trying to establish the right of the outside world to intervene in situations where nations fail to shield their own citizens from atrocities, the pope said that “every state has the primary duty to protect its own population from grave and sustained violations of human rights.” Photo The concept, known as “responsibility to protect,” is one that Ban Ki-moon, the secretary general, has championed as a way for international institutions to take action in regions like Darfur. “If states are unable to guarantee such protection,” the pope said, “the international community must intervene with the juridical means provided in the United Nations charter and in other international instruments.” In an apparent allusion to countries that claim such international actions constitute intervention in their national affairs, he said instead they “should never be interpreted as an unwarranted imposition or a limitation of sovereignty.” Advertisement Continue reading the main story He added, “On the contrary, it is indifference or failure to intervene that do the real damage.” On his fourth day in America —and his first visit as pope — Benedict traveled north from Washington on “Shepherd One,” the Alitalia papal plane, to New York, where he will visit ground zero and celebrate Mass at Yankee Stadium before departing for Rome on Sunday night. Advertisement Continue reading the main story After traveling by helicopter and motorcade to the United Nations, Benedict delivered a speech that touched on themes important both to his three-year-old papacy and his decades of writing as Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger. Advertisement Continue reading the main story At base, the pope presented the idea that there are universal values that transcend the diversity — cultural, ethnic or ideological — embodied in an institution like the United Nations, founded to help prevent the ruin of another world war. Those values are at the base of human rights, he said, as they are for religion. Thus religion, he said, cannot be shut out of a body like the United Nations, which he said aims at “a social order respectful of the dignity and rights of the person.” Advertisement Continue reading the main story “A vision of life firmly anchored in the religious dimension can help achieve this, since recognition of the transcendent value of every man and woman favors conversion of heart, which then leads to a commitment to resist violence, terrorism, war and to promote justice and peace,” he said. Photo Benedict was introduced to the thronged General Assembly hall by Mr. Ban, who called the United Nations a secular institution but is “home to all men and women of faith around the world.” Mr. Ban said the pope supported many of the goals of the United Nations, such as climate change, world peace, the eradication of poverty, and maintaining a dialogue among the world’s religions. The speech to the General Assembly is a papal tradition: Pope Paul VI made an appearance in 1965, and Pope John Paul II in 1979 and 1995. On Friday afternoon, Benedict met with members of the local Jewish clergy at the Park East Synagogue, a historic Upper East Side Orthodox congregation founded by Austro-Hungarian Jews in 1890. It was the first papal visit to a synagogue in this country, and only two other visits have ever been recorded, both in Europe. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Rabbi Arthur Schneier, a Holocaust survivor who has led the synagogue since 1962, greeted Benedict and told him that his visit was “a reaffirmation of your outreach, good will, and commitment to enhancing Jewish-Catholic relations.” He presented Benedict with a silver seder plate and a box of matzoh, just in time for Passover, which begins on Saturday. Advertisement Continue reading the main story “The Jewish community make a valuable contribution to the life of the city,” the pope told the crowded congregation, “and I encourage all of you to continue building bridges of friendship with all the many different ethnic and religious groups present in your neighborhood.” Advertisement Continue reading the main story The pope then met and posed for photographs with several prominent Jewish New Yorkers, including Edward I. Koch, the former mayor. Benedict is expected to lead a prayer service on Friday evening at the Church of St. Joseph, also on the Upper East Side. Photo So far, Benedict’s American journey has been notable for a willingness by the pope to address the sexual abuse scandals of the past decade, which have left lasting wounds for many American Catholics. Advertisement Continue reading the main story In Washington on Thursday, the pope held an unannounced meeting with several victims of abuse by priests in the Boston area. The pope prayed and spoke personally to the handful of victims who attended, in a meeting that lasted about 25 minutes. The meeting made clear that for all the messages that Benedict wished to send during his brief time in the United States, the one concerning priestly abuse was most central. He raised the issue first with reporters on his trip from Rome on Tuesday, and did so for a third time Thursday morning during a huge open Mass at Nationals Stadium before nearly 50,000 people, his first major encounter with America’s diverse church. Sign Up Receive occasional updates and special offers for The New York Times's products and services. “No words of mine could describe the pain and harm inflicted by such abuse,” the pope said in his homily. “It is important that those who have suffered be given loving pastoral attention.” Advertisement Continue reading the main story But some abuse victims in the New York area have largely ignored the pope’s visit and say they are dubious about his public pronouncements about how deeply he has been affected by the crisis, even questioning the motives behind his meeting on Thursday. Jim Hackett, of Cheshire, Conn., who waited 30 years before going public with his account of abuse by a priest, said he is still waiting for Benedict to publicly articulate specific steps the church will take to help prevent others from suffering the way he did. Photo Mr. Hackett and other abuse victims planned to stage vigil on Friday outside a SoHo art gallery displaying an exhibit of photographs of victims. As Benedict addressed the United Nations, Robert Costello, who said he was abused by a priest in West Roxbury, Mass., starting at age 10, planned to read aloud the names of victims. Advertisement Continue reading the main story For years, victims of abuse in the United States had beseeched the Vatican for a meeting with the pope, first asking John Paul II, who died in 2005, and finally, six years after the outbreak of the scandal, one was granted. The scandal affected nearly every diocese in America, revealed more than 5,000 abusive priests and more than 13,000 victims and has cost the church more than $2 billion in settlements and legal fees. It also has cost the church trust and respect, both of which the pope clearly hopes to restore. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Cardinal Sean P. O’Malley of Boston, who organized Thursday’s meeting and attended, gave the pope a notebook listing some 1,000 boys and girls who had been abused in the Boston Archdiocese alone going back several decades, a Vatican official said. “The fact that we finally got the pope to actually stand up and put a statement on record, I really think he set the bar this week,” said Gary Bergeron, who said he had been abused by a priest in Lowell, Mass. Mitchell Garabedian, an attorney who represented hundreds of people abused by priests, none of whom attended the meeting with the pope, said he hoped that the pontiff would meet with more victims. Advertisement Continue reading the main story In his speech, the Pope did not refer explicitly to recent controversies over what kinds of curriculums, outside speakers, campus clubs, and artistic expression are acceptable at a Catholic institution. But he said that church teachings must shape “all aspects of an institution’s life, both inside and outside the classroom,” in an insistence on adherence to church doctrine that Benedict stresses for Catholics in all parts of their lives, from their personal behavior to what kind of politicians they support.
"Some counted me out and said to drop out," she said. All About Pennsylvania • Hillary Clinton • Barack Obama African-Americans made up about 14 percent of Tuesday's vote. And whether they were inspired for the first time or for the first time in a long time, we registered a record number of voters, and it is those new voters who will lead our party to victory in November." Neither candidate is expected to win the 2,025 delegates needed to clinch the nomination by the end of the primary season in June. We rallied people of every age and race and background to the cause. Historic turnout for marquee battle Turnout was described as historically heavy in the last of the big-state contests in the fiercely fought Democratic presidential campaign. See the exit polls Obama also scored big with new Democrats in Pennsylvania. The balance in Pennsylvania was held by white male votes, a majority of whom backed Clinton by 55% to 45%. And they deserve a president who doesn't quit either." “I just think Hillary owes it to her people who vote for her,” Mike Montenero of said as he left his polling place in South Philadelphia. According to CNN's latest count, Obama leads in the delegate count -- 1,694 to 1,556. Those results could be significantly delayed because many counties are split into multiple districts. Meanwhile, Obama’s chief strategist, David Axelrod, said his candidate was moving on to Indiana and would focus more of his attention on the general election. Voters got to look at both of us, consider both of us. Sen. Hillary Clinton addresses supporters following her win in Pennsylvania.
A defiant Hillary Clinton signalled today she is staying in the Democratic race for the long haul after beating Barack Obama in the key Pennsylvania primary. With 95% of the precincts reporting, Clinton racked up 1,181,047 votes, 55%, to Obama's 972,236, 45%. Speaking at a victory party in Philadelphia, she vowed to fight on, in spite of Obama holding an almost unassailable lead overall. In a passionate speech, Clinton rejected calls from inside the party to bring the protracted contest to an end by standing down. "But the American people don't quit. And they deserve a president who doesn't quit either." She said it was "long road" to the White House, and appealed for funds for her cash-strapped campaign, which is carrying a debt of $10m, in contrast with the millions Obama has raised. "Tonight, more than ever, I need your help to continue this journey ... We can only keep winning if we can keep competing with an opponent who outspends us so massively," she said. Obama, anticipating defeat, left Pennsylvania early to begin campaigning in Indiana, the next primary on May 6. He congratulated Clinton on running "a terrific race". But he claimed that he had done better than expected, defying those who had said he would be "blown out of the water" and had closed the 20-point lead she had had the start of the Pennsylvania campaign. However, he spent an estimated $8m on ads in Pennsylvania over the last six weeks, two to three times as much as Clinton, in the hope of knocking her out of the race. The epic battle between Clinton and Obama looks set to continue through to at least Indiana and possibly even on to the last primary on June 3 or the party convention in Denver in August. If the margin of Clinton's win had been small, she would have faced a chorus of calls today from senior Democrats to quit in the interests of party unity. But, with almost all the votes counted, she appeared to have secured the 10-point lead she needed to stave off such calls. Clinton was helped by winning a majority of older voters, women and the working class. There was a clear cultural divide, with a majority of churchgoers, gun-owners and those living in rural areas and small towns opting for Clinton. Obama may have suffered from the controversy over the views of his pastor, Jeremiah Wright, and his apparently derogatory remarks about those living in small towns. The balance in Pennsylvania was held by white male votes, a majority of whom backed Clinton by 55% to 45%. Reflecting the racial divide that has dogged the primary contests, African-Americans threw their weight overwhelmingly behind Obama, by 92% to Clinton's 8%, but they make up only 10% of the voters. Obama began the night with a substantial lead in delegates, who will choose the party's nominee - 1,648 to 1,509 - and ended it with Clinton having made only a small dent in it. The proportional system used by the party means the 158 delegates at stake in the Pennsylvania primary will be divided between them and that she will make no real impression on his lead. Most supporters at the Clinton party were unwilling to admit the victory was unlikely to save Clinton from defeat in the long run. Enid Adler, a local lawyer, was unmoved by warnings that a long race could hurt the party. "That's just an excuse," she snapped. "This idea of throwing in the towel that's a mans thing. " She added: "more and more people are realising she is not going to quit. " Terry McAuliffe, chairman of the Clinton campaign, grinning from ear to ear at the victory party, said that money was flowing in online as a result of the victory. But some at the party admitted it would still be difficult for Clinton to clinch the nomination. There were also fears a protracted battle could hurt the party in November. "It's tough, it's really tough," said Bob Subb, a volunteer from south Philadelphia. "The sad part about this is the party is not united". more photos » "It's a long road to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, and it runs right through the heart of Pennsylvania," she told supporters in Philadelphia. "I'm in this race to fight for you ... You know you can count on me to stand up strong for you every single day in the White House." Watch Clinton claim victory » Clinton's big-state victory follows her wins in Ohio, New York, Texas and California. Her campaign said that should raise questions about whether Obama, who leads Clinton in the overall Democratic race, can beat presumptive Republican nominee John McCain in November. Watch what Obama's campaign says about the results » Clinton will pick up a majority of the state's 158 delegates. "Yesterday, we had record turnout in Pennsylvania," she said on CNN's "American Morning" Wednesday. "I won that double-digit victory that everybody on TV said I had to win, and the voters of Pennsylvania clearly made their views known -- that they think I would be the best president and the better candidate to go against Sen. McCain. But the win still leaves Obama ahead in the race to the Democrats' August convention in Denver, and he is likely to hold that lead unless "the wheels come off his wagon," said CNN analyst David Gergen, a former adviser to both Republican and Democratic candidates.
However, progress has stalled. "This has nothing to do with North Korea and Syria," he said. For weeks after the Israeli attack in September, neither Israeli nor American officials would talk about the attack, Israel’s first on a nuclear site since the 1981 attack on the Osirak nuclear reactor in Iraq. The images - said to have been obtained by Israel - showed striking similarities between the Syrian facility and the North Korean reactor at Yongbyon, the US said. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Mr. Hill was put in charge of the talks more than three years ago in the hope of finding a new way to deal with the North Koreans. The Bush administration is going public with the video at a sensitive time in negotiations with North Korea about its nuclear programme. Pyongyang's foreign ministry today said technical matters had been discussed with the US team. Please try again later. But his State Department colleagues say that he has been told not to defend the deal, or even explain it. Syria must "come clean" about its secret nuclear programme, the White House said in a statement after CIA officials briefed members of Congress. SEQUENCE OF EVENTS 6 Sept 2007: Israel bombs site in Syria 1 Oct: Syria's President Assad tells BBC site was military 24 Oct: New satellite images taken show site bulldozed clear Full text: US allegations US allegations raise questions Send us your comments In late October 2007, an independent American research organisation, the Institute for Science and International Security (ISIS), released pre- and post-strike satellite images of the site which indicated it had been bulldozed flat after the bombing.
The White House was today set to reveal video images it claims support allegations that North Korea was helping Syria to build a nuclear reactor. The suspected reactor was destroyed by Israeli planes last September in a raid reminiscent of its 1981 raid on the Osirak nuclear reactor in Iraq. Little remains known about the raid seven months later, and today's evidence has been keenly anticipated. US media reports said the video images – believed to have been obtained via Israeli intelligence - show Korean faces among the workers at the Syrian plant. The reports said the video also revealed that the Syrian reactor core's design was the same as that of the North Korean reactor at Yongbon, including a virtually identical configuration and number of holes for fuel rods. Following the Israeli attack, Syria kept relatively quiet about the bombing raid on its territory, bulldozing the area and constructing a new building on the exact location of the old one. Damascus refused to allow international nuclear inspectors to visit the location, fuelling suspicions that it had something to cover up. Speaking in London, the Syrian ambassador to Britain dismissed US accusations that it was helping build a nuclear reactor that could produce plutonium. Sami al-Khiyami told Reuters that the accusation was intended to put pressure on North Korea in talks about Pyongyang's nuclear programme. "They just want to exert more pressure on North Korea. "The cooperation between North Korea and Syria has nothing to do with [building] a nuclear facility. The Bush administration is going public with the video at a sensitive time in negotiations with North Korea about its nuclear programme. Under a recent deal, Pyongyang said it would reveal full details of its nuclear programme in return for a lifting of US economic sanctions. North Korea failed to meet a December 31 2007 deadline for giving a complete list of its fissile material and nuclear weaponry as well as responding to US suspicions of proliferating technology to Syria. Pyongyang's foreign ministry today said technical matters had been discussed with the US team. "The negotiations proceeded in a sincere and constructive manner," a statement said. There has been speculation that the timing of the briefing is a ploy by administration hawks, such as the vice-president, Dick Cheney, to scupper the talks with North Korea. They believe North Korea is about to be rewarded for its "bad behaviour". Christopher Hill, the US negotiator with North Korea, has played down the importance of the Syrian incident as a sideshow, and believes the key is stopping Pyongyang from producing more plutonium and giving up what it has. "Making public the pictures is likely to inflame the North Koreans," a senior administration official told the New York Times. "And that's just what opponents of this whole arrangement want, because they think the North Koreans will stalk off." Syria has denounced US and Israeli claims about the alleged reactor, pointing out that the Bush administration presented bogus evidence to the UN security council before the Iraq war. “Making public the pictures is likely to inflame the North Koreans,” said one senior administration official who would not speak on the record because the White House and the State Department have declared there would be no public comment until the evidence is released. “And that’s just what opponents of this whole arrangement want, because they think the North Koreans will stalk off.” Photo But another senior official said it was possible that the revelations would force the North Koreans to describe their actions in Syria more fully when they issued a long delayed declaration of their nuclear activities. That proposed deal, negotiated by Christopher R. Hill, the assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs and the primary interlocutor with North Korea, has become the latest battleground in a seven-year struggle within the Bush administration over North Korea policy. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Mr. Hill was put in charge of the talks more than three years ago in the hope of finding a new way to deal with the North Koreans. But support for him has wavered, and President Bush has repeatedly warned aides not to agree to anything that “makes me look weak,” according to former officials who sat in on meetings with him on North Korea. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Mr. Cheney’s office and other conservatives have argued that Mr. Hill’s proposed deal would amount to a huge concession. In return for a minimal declaration from North Korea — an accounting of how much plutonium it has produced — it would be removed from the terrorism list and would no longer be subject to economic sanctions under the Trading With the Enemy Act. North Korea has refused to say what, exactly, it provided to the Syrians, or what happened to an effort to start a second pathway to building arms, using uranium. Advertisement Continue reading the main story The deal would allow the North to continue to fudge on those matters, leaving unexplained the question of why it appeared to be buying uranium enrichment equipment from Pakistan. That equipment, many experts believe, was intended to help North Korea build a second path to a bomb, in case it was forced to give up its plutonium program. Photo In a presentation on Thursday to crucial members of Congress, and then in a presentation to reporters, American intelligence officials are expected to show images from a video, believed to have been obtained through Israeli intelligence services. The video, which Mr. Hill has shown to senior South Korean officials, shows Korean faces among the workers at the Syrian plant. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Other pictures, officials say, show what appears to be the construction of a reactor vessel inside the building that Israel later destroyed. For weeks after the Israeli attack in September, neither Israeli nor American officials would talk about the attack, Israel’s first on a nuclear site since the 1981 attack on the Osirak nuclear reactor in Iraq. When The New York Times published a lengthy account of the Syria attack on Oct. 14, revealing that Israeli and American analysts judged that the target was a partly constructed nuclear reactor, Mr. Bush and the White House refused to answer questions about it.
There's a twist. Mr Paddick said: "We are talking to, and listening to, different communities right across London and we will be working for them. Vote for London." The mayor said it was not an election for Have I Got News For You's host London Mayor Ken Livingstone has described Boris Johnson as a "joke" on the last day of campaigning before the mayoral elections. Liberal Democrat Brian Paddick appealed to undecided voters to ignore the top two candidates and vote for him. He said: "Tomorrow you have a choice between new policies and fresh energy from a new mayor in City Hall or more of the same from a tired, out-of-date administration that is beset by allegations of sleaze. The Labour mayor posted a million postcards with the message "Don't Vote for a Joke" and predicted voters would decide at the last minute that they couldn't risk electing Johnson. Any enthusiasm for addressing this democratic deficit could be diminished if the May 1 elections see the British National Party pick up its first-ever Assembly seats. The campaign has grown increasingly bitter in the run-up to polling day on Thursday. Livingstone, who is known for a sharp turn of phrase and once quipped that "if voting changed anything, they'd abolish it," is trying to scare Londoners off voting for Johnson by suggesting that the Conservative is the funnier man, perhaps even the ultimate joke candidate. The winner will oversee the biggest investment in transport infrastructure in decades and will help prepare the capital for the Olympic Games in 2012. * For a full list of candidates and the latest news, reaction and blogs from the mayoral race, visit: here (Edited by Steve Addison)
Candidates in the race to become the new mayor of London (L-R) Conservative Boris Johnson, Labour's Ken Livingstone and Liberal Democrat Brian Paddick are seen appearing on the BBC's Politics Show in this handout photograph, in London on April 20, 2008. REUTERS/Jeff Overs/BBC/ Handout London Mayor Ken Livingstone walks out of Ken's Cafe in West Ham while canvasing for votes, April 30, 2008. REUTERS/Stephen Hird LONDON Boris Johnson and Ken Livingstone traded personal attacks on Wednesday as they made a final push for votes on the last day of campaigning in the London mayoral race. The Conservative hopeful sent half a million emails to Londoners accusing Livingstone of being "tired, out-of-date and beset by allegations of sleaze". The Labour mayor posted a million postcards with the message "Don't Vote for a Joke" and predicted voters would decide at the last minute that they couldn't risk electing Johnson. The campaign has grown increasingly bitter in the run-up to polling day on Thursday. The main candidates have clashed over crime, the congestion charge and public transport. The winner will oversee the biggest investment in transport infrastructure in decades and will help prepare the capital for the Olympic Games in 2012. Most polls put Johnson ahead, although Livingstone's camp hotly contests the way they were conducted. "The election is not a joke, it will affect the day to day life of every Londoner," Livingstone's campaign team said. "The momentum has moved decisively in Ken's direction." In an interview, the mayor predicted that his rival would suffer from "hovering pencil syndrome", where voters decide at the last moment not to take a risk on a change at City Hall. "Although people may be toying with the idea of voting for Boris, when it comes to it they will find they just can't do it," he told Wednesday's Evening Standard newspaper. Livingstone's camp has repeatedly accused Johnson of not being a serious candidate. They have played on his popular image as a floppy-haired joker best known by many as the sometime host of "Have I Got News for You" and as a former newspaper columnist responsible for a string of gaffes. Johnson has hit back by accusing Livingstone of cronyism and a lack of fresh ideas after eight years in office. The mayor's advisor Lee Jasper resigned in March over allegations of misuse of public funds. In a statement, Johnson said: "Tomorrow you have a choice: between new policies and fresh energy from a new mayor in City Hall, or more of the same from a tired, out-of-date administration that is beset by allegations of sleaze." "I am fed up with career politicians and their broken promises -- and even if asked, I will not work for either Ken Livingstone or Boris Johnson," he said. Polling stations open between 7 a.m. and 10 p.m. on Thursday, counting begins at 9 a.m. on Friday and the result will be announced about 12 hours later. * For a full list of candidates and the latest news, reaction and blogs from the mayoral race, visit: here (Edited by Steve Addison) The mayor said it was not an election for Have I Got News For You's host London Mayor Ken Livingstone has described Boris Johnson as a "joke" on the last day of campaigning before the mayoral elections. Mr Johnson said the mayor was "out of date" and that his administration "was beset by allegations of sleaze". The Lib Dem's Brian Paddick said he will not take part in "Punch and Judy politics". Mr Johnson said he was optimistic about London's future Mr Johnson has been speaking to commuters at Waterloo station, Mr Livingstone has been meeting people in east London and Mr Paddick has been speaking to elderly people in south London. Unveiling a campaign poster in West Ham, Mr Livingstone warned voters not to "risk" London by voting for Mr Johnson. The billboard ad, which will also be printed on postcards and sent to one million Londoners, reads: "Don't vote for a joke. Brian Paddick is listening to London's communities "It's about who is best placed to run an £11bn budget every year." He said: "Tomorrow you have a choice between new policies and fresh energy from a new mayor in City Hall or more of the same from a tired, out-of-date administration that is beset by allegations of sleaze. "I am optimistic about London's future and believe we can make London a greater place to live in." "I am not getting involved in Ken and Boris's Punch and Judy politics." Since the launch a quarter of a century ago of the Official Monster Raving Loony Party, contenders sporting ridiculous names and deliberately nonsensical manifestos have taken part in many of the country's parliamentary, municipal and mayoral polls, and sometimes even won them. In the 2002 mayoral race in the port city of Hartlepool, for instance, a man dressed as a monkey and promising free bananas decisively beat Labour and Britain's two other leading parties, the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats. So it's not surprising that Ken Livingstone, the Labour politician aiming to win a third consecutive four-year term as London's mayor, hopes humor will help him to defeat his main challenger, Conservative Boris Johnson, when Britain's capital goes to the polls on May 1. Livingstone, who is known for a sharp turn of phrase and once quipped that "if voting changed anything, they'd abolish it," is trying to scare Londoners off voting for Johnson by suggesting that the Conservative is the funnier man, perhaps even the ultimate joke candidate. Billboard posters and 4.2 million postcards being distributed by Livingstone's campaign urge voters to imagine Johnson, despite more than six years as a member of parliament still best known for his many comically chaotic appearances on British TV game shows, in charge of London. "Suddenly he's not so funny," warns Livingstone's campaign literature. Voters throughout England and Wales are casting ballots in municipal elections on the same day, and Gordon Brown's battered Labour government is expected to perform miserably, losing perhaps as many as 200 local council seats.
Please turn on JavaScript. In his victory speech, he described Mr Livingstone as "a very considerable public servant". Have your say: What kind of mayor will Mr Johnson be? Conservative Boris Johnson is declared Mayor of London, ousting Labour's Ken Livingstone. FIRST PREFERENCE VOTES Boris Johnson (Tory): 1,043,761 Ken Livingstone (Lab): 893,877 Brian Paddick (Lib Dem): 236,685 Sian Berry (Green): 77,374 Richard Barnbrook (BNP): 69,710 Alan Craig (Christian Choice): 39,249 Gerard Batten (UKIP): 22,422 Lindsey German (Left List): 16,796 Matt O'Connor (Eng Democrats): 10,695 Winston McKenzie (Ind): 5,389 Livingstone's highs and lows He said he hoped it showed the party had changed "into a party that can be trusted after 30 years with the greatest, most cosmopolitan, multi-racial generous hearted city on earth". The government would get behind Londoners' decision at the polls, he added. We have a new team ready to go into City Hall. Media requires JavaScript to play. I accept that responsibility and I regret that I couldn't take you to victory." His triumph capped an outstanding set of local election results for the Tories, and suggests David Cameron is well on course to become Prime Minister in two years’ time. The result means that Londoners have swapped one of the most colourful politicians in the country for an even more flamboyant character. Mayoral voting by constituency He said he would work to earn the trust of those that had opposed him, or who had hesitated before voting for him.
His triumph capped an outstanding set of local election results for the Tories, and suggests David Cameron is well on course to become Prime Minister in two years’ time. The final declaration was delayed as record turn-out led tellers to continue counting ballots well into the evening. Mr Johnson’s victory was in part secured as a result of the increased numbers who took to the polls, as his team’s successful “doughnut strategy” of wooing natural Tories in the outer boroughs who in the past failed to vote in London elections proved devastating for Labour. The toppled mayor, Ken Livingstone, proved equally successful in getting the vote out in his inner London heartland, but was outnumbered by the more numerous suburban residents. Such was the strength of the campaign run by the Australian Lynton Crosby, that at one stage it even looked as if Mr Johnson would be declared the winner on first preference votes. In the end, it took the second preferences of the defeated Liberal Democrats and the minor parties to secure Mr Johnson victory by a margin greater than even he had hoped to dare for. The result means that Londoners have swapped one of the most colourful politicians in the country for an even more flamboyant character. Although Mr Johnson’s team successfully curbed their candidate’s more indiscrete tendencies, many onlookers are hoping that he will now shed his new-found seriousness and bring some levity to City Hall. The mayor-to-be spent the day at his home in North London, leaving only to go for a jog accompanied by a number of camera crews. Boris Johnson has won the race to become the next mayor of London - ending Ken Livingstone's eight-year reign at City Hall. The Conservative candidate won with 1,168,738 first and second preference votes, compared with Mr Livingstone's 1,028,966 on a record turnout of 45%. He paid tribute to Mr Livingstone and appeared to offer him a possible role in his new administration. 'Exuberant nerve' After signing his official declaration of office at City Hall, he urged people to help build upon the "very considerable achievements of the last mayor of London". FIRST AND SECOND PREFERENCE VOTES Boris Johnson: 1,168,738 Ken Livingstone: 1,028,966 Analysis: Boris's big win The Boris Johnson Story He added: "You shaped the office of mayor. Mr Johnson also paid tribute to his "courage and the sheer exuberant nerve with which you stuck it to your enemies, especially in New Labour". Mr Johnson told Mr Livingstone he hoped to "discover a way in which the mayoralty can continue to benefit from your transparent love of London". Mayoral voting by constituency He said he would work to earn the trust of those that had opposed him, or who had hesitated before voting for him. Livingstone 'sorry' He promised to focus on crime by promoting 24-hour policing, transport, including promoting cycling, green spaces, affordable homes and getting value for money for taxpayers. Mr Johnson's victory crowns the Conservative Party's May Day local election wins in England and Wales. Mr Livingstone's defeat ended what Gordon Brown called a "bad" day for Labour, in which it suffered its worst council results for 40 years. "There is absolutely nothing that I could have asked from the Labour Party that it didn't throw into this election, from Gordon Brown right the way down to the newest recruit, handing out leaflets on very wet, cold days. "I'm sorry I couldn't get an extra few points that would take us to victory and the fault for that is solely my own. You can't be mayor for eight years and then if you don't at third term say it was somebody else's fault. Mr Straw admitted that the row over the 10p tax rate had left some voters "understandably very upset".
Please re-enter. At the same time, Microsoft began seeking a partner for its bid, holding talks with the News Corporation, controlled by Rupert Murdoch, as well as AOL. Mr. Ballmer stuck to his $33 price, and Mr. Yang said Yahoo’s board would accept $37 a share. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Microsoft’s decision to walk away casts a cloud of uncertainty over Yahoo and its shareholders. The BBC's Peter Bowes says analysts believe the breakdown in talks may have an adverse affect on Yahoo shares and generate uncertainty among investors about the company's management. The software giant had wanted to do a deal to be able to compete with Google, which dominates the lucrative market for internet advertising. Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer formally withdrew the offer in a letter to Yahoo chief executive Jerry Yang. Please try again later. Microsoft had threatened to pursue a hostile takeover if it could not come to an agreement with Yahoo’s management. In recent weeks, many had expected Microsoft to escalate the fight by beginning a proxy fight. The company has never denied that it would take a hard line in its negotiations with its target. "After careful consideration, we believe the economics demanded by Yahoo do not make sense for us, and it is in the best interests of Microsoft stockholders, employees and other stakeholders to withdraw our proposal." View all New York Times newsletters. E-mail this to a friend Printable version Bookmark with: Delicious Digg reddit Facebook StumbleUpon What are these? On April 15, Microsoft and Yahoo held a secret meeting in Portland, Ore., in which the companies discussed “social issues” — like who would run the Yahoo unit if it were folded into Microsoft — but no decisions were made.
A person close to Yahoo said the price was not the only stumbling block. The person said Yahoo was also concerned that the deal could be blocked by regulators and wanted a higher offer, in part, as a hedge against that risk. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Microsoft’s decision to walk away casts a cloud of uncertainty over Yahoo and its shareholders. The breakdown in the talks is likely to send Yahoo’s shares plunging, and Mr. Yang and his team will have to decide how to placate investors. The company has been exploring alternatives to a marriage with Microsoft, including a partnership in search advertising with its arch rival, Google, which could lift Yahoo’s profit and perhaps its stock price. Yahoo has also discussed possible mergers with the AOL unit of Time Warner and the MySpace unit of the News Corporation. The MySpace talks have not been active of late. A Google partnership would be likely to attract scrutiny from regulators because of Google’s dominance over online search and advertising, while AOL and Yahoo have many overlapping businesses and technologies, making a merger difficult. Advertisement Continue reading the main story In a statement issued late Saturday, Mr. Yang said, “With the distraction of Microsoft’s unsolicited proposal now behind us, we will be able to focus all of our energies on executing the most important transition in our history.” Advertisement Continue reading the main story Reactions inside Yahoo are likely to be mixed. Several senior executives favored selling to Microsoft and said in recent days that they were hoping to see a deal happen. Yet other executives were high-fiving each other for defeating Microsoft’s bid, people close to the company said. Advertisement Continue reading the main story While its stock may fall on Monday, Yahoo’s management was encouraged by discussions with its largest investors in which they urged management to not accept $33 a share, these people said. For Mr. Yang, Microsoft’s withdrawal is considered a “personal victory,” according to one person who spoke with him. Microsoft has spent years and billions of dollars trying to build an online business. Yet it has steadily lost ground to Google in the search business and has failed to gain significant momentum with advertisers. Microsoft’s decision to abandon its pursuit of Yahoo is not necessarily the last chapter in the three-month-old saga. If Yahoo’s shares fall significantly, the company will be under intense pressure to act, and may choose to resume negotiations. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Earlier this year, under intense shareholder pressure, BEA Systems did just that, agreeing to a takeover by Oracle soon after Oracle dropped an unsolicited offer it had made for BEA. Advertisement Continue reading the main story “This seems like a very strong but serious negotiating tactic,” said Jonathan Miller, the former chairman and chief executive of AOL. “It will be up to Yahoo to come back to the negotiating table.” Please verify you're not a robot by clicking the box. Sign Up Receive occasional updates and special offers for The New York Times's products and services. That could have involved an appeal directly to Yahoo’s shareholders and an effort to remove members of Yahoo’s board of directors. This approach would necessarily involve a protracted proxy contest.” Advertisement Continue reading the main story He added: “Our discussions with you have led us to conclude that, in the interim, you would take steps that would make Yahoo undesirable as an acquisition for Microsoft.” Mr. Ballmer took particular aim at Yahoo’s discussions of a partnership with Google, noting that it would “make an acquisition of Yahoo undesirable to us for a number of reasons.” Microsoft’s decision to abandon its bid is likely to raise questions among investors about the judgment of both Microsoft and Yahoo. Advertisement Continue reading the main story When Microsoft made its initial bid, it said Yahoo was an important part of its strategy to take on Google. Its choice to withdraw, after threatening to force a shareholder vote, may prompt its shareholders to doubt its resolve. At the same time, many Microsoft shareholders who did not want the company to bid for Yahoo may be relieved and send shares of Microsoft higher on Monday. Many Yahoo shareholders would have preferred that the company accept the offer of about $47.5 billion, which was roughly 70 percent higher than the company’s market value at the end of January. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Over the last three months, the companies had infrequent talks, according to people involved in the negotiations from the start who were not authorized to be quoted by name. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Frustrated by the lack of discussions, Microsoft sent a threatening letter to Yahoo on April 5 suggesting that Microsoft would try to force a shareholder vote to circumvent Yahoo’s management if the companies could not reach an agreement within three weeks. On April 15, Microsoft and Yahoo held a secret meeting in Portland, Ore., in which the companies discussed “social issues” — like who would run the Yahoo unit if it were folded into Microsoft — but no decisions were made. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Three days later, bankers for Microsoft and Yahoo held a conference call in which Yahoo’s bankers suggested that $40 a share would be a “slam dunk” that would get the deal done. In those talks, Mr. Yang overruled his bankers, telling Mr. Ballmer that Microsoft did not have to go as high as $40 a share to get a deal done, and suggested that they begin negotiations. Mr. Ballmer stuck to his $33 price, and Mr. Yang said Yahoo’s board would accept $37 a share. Yahoo's shares are expected to fall when markets open on Monday Software giant Microsoft has dropped its three-month-old bid to buy internet firm Yahoo because the two sides cannot agree on an acceptable sale price.
In all, 1,738 voters were polled. In Indiana, 59 percent of Obama backers said they'd vote for Clinton, and 70 percent of Obama backers in North Carolina said vote for her against McCain. The votes were the final major Democratic primaries which help decide the party's White House candidate. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Once again, Mrs. Clinton drew most of her support from women and older voters. All About U.S. Presidential Election PRIMARY RESULTS North Carolina Senator Obama 56% Senator Clinton 42% Indiana Senator Clinton 51% Senator Obama 49% Figures from AP In pictures: US primaries Who are the delegates? Clinton told her supporters in Indianapolis, "it's full-speed on to the White House." Even with her investment, Mr. Obama outspent Mrs. Clinton in both states. Please turn on JavaScript. Mrs Clinton won 58% of non-black voters in the state, according to the polls. The Obama campaign was poised to present a new cache of superdelegates — the party officials who may have to settle the nominating fight — as early as Wednesday to press its case that the results from Tuesday are reason enough to back his candidacy and end the torturous nominating fight. But ultimately, this race is not about Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama or John McCain. Six in 10 of the whites voted for Mrs. Clinton; about 9 in 10 blacks favored Mr. Obama. "This election is about you -- the American people -- and whether we will have a president and a party that can lead us toward a brighter future." Watch what the exit polls show » A third of Clinton voters said they would pick McCain over Obama, while 17 percent said they would not vote at all.
In the first three minutes of her address, she asked supporters to contribute money, saying, “Tonight, I need your help to continue this journey.” Advertisement Continue reading the main story Clinton advisers acknowledged that the results of the primaries were far less than they had hoped, and said they were likely to face new pleas even from some of their own supporters for her to quit the race. They said they expected fund-raising to become even harder; one adviser said the campaign was essentially broke, and several others refused to say whether Mrs. Clinton had lent the campaign money from her personal account to keep it afloat. The advisers said they were dispirited over the loss in North Carolina, after her campaign — now working off a shoestring budget as spending outpaces fund-raising — decided to allocate millions of dollars and full days of the candidate and her husband in the state. Seven hours after the polls closed in Indiana, the race remained too close to call. Incomplete results from Lake County — home to the city of Gary, just across the state line from Chicago — left the statewide tally in doubt early Wednesday. The delay meant that Mrs. Clinton did not appear on television until well after Mr. Obama, allowing him to put his stamp of victory on the evening. The Obama campaign was poised to present a new cache of superdelegates — the party officials who may have to settle the nominating fight — as early as Wednesday to press its case that the results from Tuesday are reason enough to back his candidacy and end the torturous nominating fight. Advertisement Continue reading the main story In his speech earlier in the evening, Mr. Obama, of Illinois, congratulated Mrs. Clinton “for what appears to be her victory in the great state of Indiana.” Then, he used his televised forum to deliver a speech highlighting how he was likely to come under attack. In doing so, he made an argument for his viability in a general election, which his rivals believe has been damaged because of his association with his former pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr.. Advertisement Continue reading the main story “Yes, we know what’s coming; I’m not naïve,” Mr. Obama said, adding, “The attempts to play on our fears and exploit our differences, to turn us against each other for political gain, to slice and dice this country into red states and blue states; blue-collar and white-collar; white, black, brown; young, old; rich, poor.” “This is the race we expect” regardless of who is the Democratic nominee, he went on. “The question, then, is not what kind of campaign they will run; it’s what kind of campaign we will run.” Democrats said they expect to see more superdelegates flow to Mr. Obama in the next few days, including perhaps some now aligned with Mrs. Clinton. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Senator Claire McCaskill, an Obama supporter from Missouri, called the results “a big, big night” for Mr. Obama given the Wright episode. “This shows he can take major blows and kind of rise above it,” Ms. McCaskill said. “I think there was a sense that she has some momentum, and I think it has just ground to a screeching halt tonight.” Please verify you're not a robot by clicking the box. Sign Up Receive occasional updates and special offers for The New York Times's products and services. And the campaign has been pushing the cause of seating disputed delegates from Florida and Michigan, states that were penalized for holding primaries before party rules allowed. Advertisement Continue reading the main story “You know it seems, it would be a little strange to have a nominee chosen by 48 states,” she told her supporters in Indianapolis. “We’ve got a long road ahead, but were going to keep fighting on that path because America is worth fighting for.” The Rules and Bylaws Committee of the Democratic National Committee will convene on May 31 to settle the issue of whether to seat the delegates from those two states. Photo Going forward, both candidates intend to spend time in Washington, courting superdelegates and party officials. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Senator Ben Nelson of Nebraska, an Obama supporter, said the candidate accomplished what he needed to by outperforming expectations in both states and showing that Mr. Wright was not driving off voters en masse. “The next question will be what happens with the undecided superdelegates,” Mr. Nelson said. I don’t see anything to suggest they should start going her way.” Advertisement Continue reading the main story In North Carolina, Mr. Obama’s performance was bolstered by a strong black vote. He captured more than 90 percent of those voters in that state, where blacks accounted for one in three voters. But over all, Mrs. Clinton continued to draw strong support among whites, particularly older women. The voting in Indiana and North Carolina came at the conclusion of an acrimonious two-week campaign that found Mr. Obama on the defensive over incendiary remarks by Mr. Wright. Yet there was little evidence either argument caused significant shifts in electoral patterns of previous states, with most Clinton voters saying the Wright episode affected their vote and Obama backers saying it had not. Mr. Obama held onto his mainstays of support — blacks, young voters and liberals — and made small gains in Indiana with lower-income white voters who have eluded him in the past. Advertisement Continue reading the main story In both states, the candidates’ final arguments centered on a summertime suspension of the federal gasoline tax, which Mrs. Clinton proposed as an economic lift for voters and Mr. Obama derided as a political gimmick. At this stage in the nominating fight, most voters seemed to have settled on their preferences before the battle intensified. About 9 in 10 voters in Indiana and 8 in 10 voters in North Carolina said the economic slowdown had affected their family at least somewhat. At least three in five voters in both states said the economy was the most important problem facing the country, according to surveys of voters leaving polling places that were conducted in both states by Edison/Mitofsky for the television networks and The Associated Press. Advertisement Continue reading the main story In Indiana, about 8 in 10 voters were white and about 15 percent were black. Barack Obama has scored a clear win in the Democratic presidential primary in North Carolina, while Hillary Clinton has narrowly won the Indiana primary. The votes were the final major Democratic primaries which help decide the party's White House candidate. Mrs Clinton has appealed to supporters for more funds to carry on the fight, but her team also announced that she had lent her campaign $6.4m (£3.28m) in the last month. Speaking to a raucous rally in Raleigh, North Carolina, Mr Obama said: "Tonight we stand less than 200 delegates away from securing the Democratic nomination for president of the United States."
"The quake was really strong, continuous. Two aftershocks could be felt." Earlier, four schoolchildren were reported to have died, and more than 100 others were injured, when primary school buildings collapsed in the Chongqing area near Sichuan province, Xinhua reports. See CNN's interview with an American in Chengdu » Thousands of people were evacuated from Beijing buildings immediately after the earthquake. The huge Three Gorges Dam -- roughly 400 miles east of the epicenter -- was not damaged, a spokesman said. All About Earthquakes • U.S. Geological Survey • China Cries for help There are harrowing reports from the scene of the collapse in Dujiangyan city - about 100km (60 miles) from the epicentre in Wenchuan county. Many children were buried under the rubble of their schools. Premier Wen Jiabao is travelling to the area and troops are being sent to help with disaster relief efforts. The Chinese government said the death toll was sure to rise. RECENT CHINA QUAKES March, 2008: 7.2 quake in Xinjiang - damage limited February 2003: 6.8 quake in Xinjiang - at least 94 dead, 200 hurt January 1998: 6.2 quake in rural Hebei - at least 47 dead, 2,000 hurt April 1997: 6.6 quake hits Xinjiang - 9 dead, 60 hurt January 1997: 6.4 quake in Xinjiang - 50 dead, 40 hurt In Chengdu, residents streamed on to the streets, cracks were reported in some buildings and water pipes burst. Tremors were also felt as far afield as the Thai capital, Bangkok, and Hanoi in Vietnam. Rescue workers have been trying to reach students of Juyuan Middle School Almost 900 students are buried after an earthquake measuring 7.8 caused a building to collapse in south-western China, state media reports.
CHENGDU, China (CNN) -- Rainy weather and poor logistics thwarted efforts by relief troops who walked for hours over rock, debris and mud on Tuesday in hopes of reaching the worst-hit area of an earthquake that killed nearly 10,000 in central China, state-run media reported. Setting out from Maerkang in Sichuan Province at 8 p.m. Monday, the 100 or so troops had to travel 200 kilometers (124 miles) to go before reaching Wenchuan, the epicenter of the quake, also in the province, Xinhua reported. After seven hours, they still had 70 kilometers (43 miles) to go. "I have seen many collapsed civilian houses, and the rocks dropped from mountains on the roadside are everywhere," the head of the unit, Li Zaiyuan, told Xinhua. Added CNN Correspondent John Vause: "The roads here are terrible in the best of times ... right now they're down right atrocious. They've resorted to going in one man at a time on foot." Nearly all the confirmed deaths were in Sichuan Province, but rescuers were hindered because roads linking it to the provincial capital, Chengdu, were damaged, Xinhua reported. Local radio quoted disaster relief officials as saying a third of the buildings in Wenchuan collapsed from the quake and another third were seriously damaged. The earthquake was powerful enough to be felt throughout most of China. The Chinese government said the death toll was sure to rise. An expert told CNN the 7.9-magnitude quake at about 2:28 p.m. Monday (6:28 a.m. GMT) was the largest the region has seen "for over a generation." Residents as far as Chongqing -- about 200 miles from the epicenter in Sichuan Province -- spent the night outdoors, too afraid of aftershocks to sleep indoors. Local radio in Sichuan quoted disaster relief officials as saying a third of the buildings in Wenchuan collapsed from the quake and another third were seriously damaged. Watch as the death toll rises » The state-run Zhongxin news agency reported that a survivor who escaped Beichuan county in Sichuan Province described the province as having been "razed to the ground." The Red Cross Society of China, coordinating some of the international aid efforts, encouraged financial donations because of the difficulty of getting supplies to those most in need. At least six schools collapsed to some extent in the quake or aftershocks that followed, Xinhua reported. See a report on rescue operations at the school » At one school, almost 900 students -- all eighth-graders and ninth-graders, according to a local villager -- were believed to be buried. See workers in Chengdu hiding under their desks during the quake » At least 50 bodies were pulled from the rubble by Monday night at Juyuan Middle School in Juyuan Township of Dujiangyan City, Sichuan Province, Xinhua reported. "Some buried teenagers were struggling to free themselves from the ruins while others were calling for help. Devastated parents watched as five cranes worked at the site and an ambulance waited," Xinhua reported. "A tearful mother said her son, ninth-grader Zhang Chengwei, was buried in the ruins." Meanwhile, 2,300 people were buried in two collapsed chemical plants in Sichuan's Shifang city, and 80 tons of ammonia leaked out, Xinhua reported. The plants were among a series of buildings that collapsed, including private homes, schools and factories. The local government has evacuated 6,000 civilians from the area and was dispatching firefighters to help at the scene, Xinhua reported. The Yangtze River flows through the province and the Three Gorges Dam in the nearby Hubei Province controls flooding to the Sichuan -- though there were no reports of damage to the world's largest dam. The last major earthquake in the region occurred in the northwestern margin of the Sichuan basin when a 7.5-magnitude quake killed more than 9,300 people on August 25, 1933. A driver for the seismological bureau said he saw "rows of houses collapsed" in Dujiangyan, Xinhua reported. Bonnie Thie, the country director of the Peace Corps, told CNN she was on a university campus in Chengdu about 60 miles from the epicenter, in the eastern part of China's Sichuan province, when the first quake hit. An earthquake with 7.5 magnitude in the northern Chinese city of Tangshan killed 255,000 people in 1976 -- the greatest death toll from an earthquake in the last four centuries and the second greatest in recorded history, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. At least seven more earthquakes -- measuring between 4.0 and 6.0 magnitudes -- happened nearby over the four hours after the initial quake at at 2:28 p.m. local time, the USGS reported.
"I'm very upset, really very upset. But Mr Sharif also said his party would join lawyers in protest, demanding that the government reinstate the judges. SACKED JUDGES March 2007: President Musharraf suspends Supreme Court chief justice, triggering protests 6 Oct 2007: President Musharraf wins election 3 Nov 2007: President declares state of emergency and sacks around 60 judges 22 Nov 2007: New Supreme Court upholds Musharraf election win 18 Feb 2008: New coalition government of PPP and PML-N emerge victorious in parliamentary polls 30 April 2008: Deadline set by two parties to reinstate sacked judges 12 May 2008: Second deadline to restore judges Q&A: Pakistan's judges Commonwealth readmits Pakistan He wants the judges to be given their jobs back without conditions. Let's do a last-minute effort so that this issue is somehow resolved Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani How serious is the split? It would also reinforce a perception that Zardari was in league with the unpopular Musharraf, analysts say. Sometimes I think I should leave the country." The BBC's Barbara Plett in Islamabad says the move has raised fears of another round of political turbulence in Pakistan. (Additional reporting by Aftab Borka; Editing by Robert Birsel and Sanjeev Miglani) (For a Reuters blog about Pakistan please see blogs.reuters.com/pakistan) The resignations, which the prime minister has yet to accept, follow landmark general elections in February. But the restoration of the judges is likely to spark a showdown with Musharraf and the two leaders failed to agree on how it should be done. It had also been due to rule on a controversial amnesty covering Mr Zardari and his wife Benazir Bhutto, who was later assassinated.
ISLAMABAD May 13 Pakistanis are shocked by the split of a six-week-old coalition government on which they had pinned hopes for stability and change, and fear another bout of political polarisation and instability. Former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, who heads the second biggest party in the coalition, announced on Monday his members, were quitting the cabinet after failing to reach agreement with the party of slain former prime minister Benazir Bhutto on the restoration of judges fired by President Pervez Musharraf. The two parties defeated former army chief Musharraf's allies in a February election and their alliance had raised hopes for a stable civilian government in a country ruled by generals for more than half its history since its independence in 1947. "I voted in the hope that something good will happen but I don't see that," said Nighat Anis, a teacher at a school on the outskirts of the capital, Islamabad. "I'm very upset, really very upset. The nine members of Sharif's party in the government, including Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, were due to hand in their resignations on Tuesday afternoon. The fate of the judges has monopolised the attention of the coalition parters since the election, to the cost, critics say, of action on surging inflation, a slumping currency and stocks and the fight against militancy. The rupee PKR=PK has fallen more than 10 percent this year as the brewing political crisis has undermined a currency under pressure from a surging oil import bill and fiscal deficit. Nuclear-armed Pakistan's Western allies in the campaign against terrorism dread more instability in a country plagued by turbulence since March last year when Musharraf tried to dismiss the country's top judge, touching off protests. As part of his efforts to secure another term as president, Musharraf fired about 60 judges seen as hostile to him in November, after he imposed a brief state of emergency. "POLITICS OF VENDETTA" Sharif, the prime minister Musharraf ousted when he seized power in 1999, had made the restoration of the judges his main condition for joining a coalition with Bhutto's party, led by her widower, Asif Ali Zardari, since her assassination in December. While pulling his party out of the coalition after a deadline for the return of the judges passed, Sharif promised not to destabilise it and to support it on an issue-by-issue basis. Despite that, the split has stoked fears of turmoil. "Pakistan could ... be going back to a polarisation it has known in the past," the Daily Times said in an editorial. A law student in Karachi, Zain Korai, said the whole country was depressed: "For the first time in our history we felt that change for the better was happening in politics. Zardari has said he would not appoint new minsters to the portfolios vacated by Sharif's party, except for the finance post, and would try to persuade Sharif back into the fold. The split in the coalition, analysts say, would be welcomed by U.S. ally Musharraf who has been isolated since his allies were defeated in the February polls. Like Musharraf, Zardari is reluctant to see the return of some of the purged judges, particularly former chief justice Iftikhar Chaudhry, who accepted legal challenges to an amnesty Musharraf granted Zardari, Bhutto and others against graft cases. Mr Sharif has staked his name on restoring the judges to their jobs Nine ministers from a leading party in Pakistan's new coalition have handed in their resignations, plunging the country into political uncertainty. The resignations, which the prime minister has yet to accept, follow landmark general elections in February. SACKED JUDGES March 2007: President Musharraf suspends Supreme Court chief justice, triggering protests 6 Oct 2007: President Musharraf wins election 3 Nov 2007: President declares state of emergency and sacks around 60 judges 22 Nov 2007: New Supreme Court upholds Musharraf election win 18 Feb 2008: New coalition government of PPP and PML-N emerge victorious in parliamentary polls 30 April 2008: Deadline set by two parties to reinstate sacked judges 12 May 2008: Second deadline to restore judges Q&A: Pakistan's judges Commonwealth readmits Pakistan He wants the judges to be given their jobs back without conditions. Analysts say the coalition parties are deeply politically divided - the Pakistan People's Party wanted to avoid a confrontation with the president, while Nawaz Sharif was prepared for one.
K.L. "Obviously, it's a terrorist plot," said A.S. Gill, the police chief of Rajasthan, hours after the attack. Police in Jaipur have so far questioned nearly a dozen people. The bombings on Tuesday were Jaipur’s first in an India wracked by terrorist attacks. "But there is peace in the city. Most Bangladeshis are Muslim. One went off at a market near a temple dedicated to the Hindu monkey god Hanuman. The blasts began around 7:30 p.m. Tuesday. But soon after the attack, authorities were suggesting blame would eventually fall on Pakistan and the Islamic militant groups India accuses it of backing. "The curfew is a precaution to ensure peace,” said Mrs Raje. The seven bombs killed 80 people including 10 children and injured another 200 when they went off over a 20-minute period in the city’s crowded bazaars on Tuesday evening. Don't attack other readers personally, and keep your language decent. Security was also stepped up at airports and railway stations across the country. Each new bombing has brought fears of a new outbreak of violence between Hindus and Muslims, which has sporadically bled India throughout its history. Pakistan-based Islamic militants, fighting Indian rule in the disputed Jammu and Kashmir province, are blamed routinely for such attacks. You share in the USA TODAY community, so please keep your comments smart and civil. Nearby lay four-year old Sameena Khan who had lost her mother and two aunts in the blasts as they had accompanied her shopping. The Indian authorities, however, remain circumspect about blaming Pakistan explicitly as the Jaipur bombings come a week before the foreign minister Pranab Mukherjee travels to Islamabad to attempt to revive the stalled bilateral peace process.
The seven bombs killed 80 people including 10 children and injured another 200 when they went off over a 20-minute period in the city’s crowded bazaars on Tuesday evening. An eighth device failed to detonate. “We have arrested two people and have detained several more for questioning,” said Vasundhara Raje, the chief minister of Rajasthan state of which Jaipur is the capital. Mrs Raje, who belongs to the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party, made a thinly veiled jibe at India’s neighbouring nuclear rival Pakistan. “This seems to have been done by some international group,” she claimed. Pakistan-based Islamic militants, fighting Indian rule in the disputed Jammu and Kashmir province, are blamed routinely for such attacks. The bombings on Tuesday were Jaipur’s first in an India wracked by terrorist attacks. The state police chief, Amarjeet S Gill, said that nine teams of terrorists were deployed to carry out the bombings. Mrs Raje also said that the bombs used in the attack were a mix of plastic RDX explosive, ammonium nitrate and ball-bearings that acted like tiny missiles once the devices were detonated. Officials and witnesses said these ball bearings, which were yesterday still embedded in walls and doors in areas where the blasts took place, were largely responsible for the fatalities. Officials said the bombs were all tied to newly purchased bicycles and scattered in a 500 yard arc around the busy market place that is the hub of Jaipur’s emerald and gold market and the city’s principal commercial centre. They were detonated within a 20-minute period beginning at 7.20pm. "They (the bombs) were ensured to inflict the maximum damage at a time when the market was packed,” said R S Malik, a banker who witnessed one of the explosions near a Hindu temple. "Jaipur’s fate is now sealed as it has become the terrorists’ target,” said Sanjay Bhatia, who was speaking from his bed in a local hospital, where he was carried after first being given up for dead. Its future is bleak, he lamented. Nearby lay four-year old Sameena Khan who had lost her mother and two aunts in the blasts as they had accompanied her shopping. “There is no one left for me in this world,” she whispered. Police, meanwhile, imposed a daylong curfew in Jaipur to prevent any retaliatory violence between the city’s majority Hindu community and Muslims who comprise around a fifth of Jaipur’s population. "The curfew is a precaution to ensure peace,” said Mrs Raje. The authorities suspect Islamic militants were behind the blasts, and though no one has claimed responsibility for them, like most bombings in India, a “foreign country” determined to wreck India’s growing prosperity has been blamed by the government. The allegation, which refers to Pakistan, came as India claimed to have been the victim of “unprovoked” gunfire by the Pakistani army across the disputed Kashmir border in violation of a four-year old ceasefire. The Indian authorities, however, remain circumspect about blaming Pakistan explicitly as the Jaipur bombings come a week before the foreign minister Pranab Mukherjee travels to Islamabad to attempt to revive the stalled bilateral peace process. President Pervez Musharraf of Pakistan and his prime minister Yousaf Raza Gilani, however, have condemned the Jaipur blasts as have many other senior politicians in Islamabad. But India believes that many Islamic militant groups attempting to infiltrate its territory in northern Jammu and Kashmir state from across the disputed border in recent days were backed by Pakistan. Meanwhile, funeral processions marched through Jaipur all day as the dead were cremated. “We never even dreamt that such a thing could happen to our family and city,” said M K Sharma of his Brahmin brother who died while leading the prayers in a temple that was targeted. JAIPUR, India, May 15 -- With a dawn-to-dusk curfew stopping everything but funerals a day after seven bombs exploded in this ancient walled city, police and community leaders were hopeful they could prevent an outbreak of communal violence between the local Hindu majority and Muslim minority. The toll rose to at least 80 killed and 200 injured in Tuesday's attack, India's deadliest since train bombings that killed nearly 200 people in Mumbai in July 2006. Authorities arrested at least a dozen people and issued a sketch of a suspect said to have a strong accent belonging to the largely Muslim Bengal region, which straddles eastern India and Bangladesh. In e-mails sent to police and a Hindi news channel, they said they chose to attack Jaipur to target the tourism industry. Bombings always lead to fear of Hindu-Muslim riots of the type that have plagued India off and on since 1947, when what are now Pakistan and Bangladesh were split off from India by British colonial authorities amid horrendous communal violence. "There may just be no rioting at all over this and Jaipur can heal," said Aril Mishra, a prominent historian in Rajasthan state, which has Jaipur as its capital. Vasundhara Raje, chief minister of Rajasthan, said Jaipur's people were "limping back to normal." Charuvedia, publicity chief for the Rajasthan wing of the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party, called the blasts "the handiwork of Bangladesh immigrants" whom he described as living unlawfully in Jaipur as laborers and putting pressure on the local economy. "We can't play the blame game so quickly," said Iqbal Ansari of Muslim Human Rights, a nonprofit group. "We have a structural problem in dealing with terrorism in India," said Prakash Singh, a retired police official. "When a terrorist crime is conceived in one place, details hatched in a second place and executed in a third place, then the need for a central federal instrument to handle this is critical." Wednesday's curfew ended at 6 p.m.; the streets were largely back to normal by 6:15 p.m., save for the presence of police and other security forces. "We don't want to lose everything when the politicians will start blaming each other and sparking tensions," said Vipin Godha, 28, a jeweler who was at a hospital visiting a friend injured in the bombings.
Essentially, the administration is giving a gift to Big Oil, and short shrift to the polar bear." But in announcing the listing, Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne said the decision should not be "misused" to regulate global climate change. Scientists predict that two-thirds of the world's polar bears will disappear in the next 50 years. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Management of the bear populations is the responsibility of Canadian provinces and territories. They spend most of their time on sea ice, this cap of ice that is floating around on the surface of the Arctic Ocean. But it should not open the door to use of the Endangered Species Act to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from automobiles, power plants, and other sources," said Kempthorne. The Center for Biological Diversity was one of three environmental groups, including Greenpeace and the Natural Resources Defense Council, that sued the federal government to force a decision on the status of the polar bears. "That would be a wholly inappropriate use of the ESA law. People close to these officials indicated that two separate documents — one supporting the listing, and the other supporting a decision not to list the bear — had been prepared for Mr. Kempthorne. They are not terrestrial animals. View all New York Times newsletters. Learn more about polar bears and their habitat » Controversy over the status of the polar bear is tied to the fact that this is the first time a species has been considered for listing specifically because its habitat is threatened by global warming. Amstrup spoke to CNN in March. The Bush administration was supposed to make a decision on the status of the polar bear by January 9 of this year.
ATLANTA, Georgia (CNN) -- Polar bears will now be listed as "threatened" under the Endangered Species Act. Scientists predict that two-thirds of the world's polar bears will disappear in the next 50 years. But in announcing the listing, Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne said the decision should not be "misused" to regulate global climate change. "Listing the polar bear as threatened can reduce avoidable losses of polar bears. But it should not open the door to use of the Endangered Species Act to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from automobiles, power plants, and other sources," said Kempthorne. The ESA is not the right tool to set U.S. climate policy." Watch Kempthorne explain the decision » While there are an estimated 20,000 to 25,000 polar bears now in the Arctic, scientists from the U.S. Geological Survey predict two thirds of the world's polar bears will disappear in the next 50 years because of a decline in Arctic sea ice. Learn more about polar bears and their habitat » Controversy over the status of the polar bear is tied to the fact that this is the first time a species has been considered for listing specifically because its habitat is threatened by global warming. Some environmental groups are wary of some of the climate change caveats to the decision, saying it weakens protection for the animals. "This decision is a watershed event because it has forced the Bush administration to acknowledge global warming's brutal impacts," said Kassie Siegel, climate program director at the Center for Biological Diversity. "It's not too late to save the polar bear, and we'll keep fighting to ensure that the polar bear gets the help it needs through the full protections of the Endangered Species Act. The administration's attempts to reduce protection to the polar bear from greenhouse gas emissions are illegal and won't hold up in court," said Siegel. But other animal protection organizations praised the decision. "Today's decision is a tremendous victory for one of the world's most iconic and charismatic animals," said Carter Roberts, president and CEO of World Wildlife Fund US on the group's Web site. "The other big winner today is sound science, which has clearly trumped politics, providing polar bears a new lease on life." "After years of delay, the Bush administration was forced to face the reality that global warming has endangered the polar bear and that the polar bear needs to be placed on the Endangered Species Act," said Markey in a statement to CNN. "But the administration has also simultaneously announced a rule aimed at allowing oil and gas drilling in the Arctic to continue unchecked even in the face of the polar bear's threatened extinction. Essentially, the administration is giving a gift to Big Oil, and short shrift to the polar bear." The Center for Biological Diversity was one of three environmental groups, including Greenpeace and the Natural Resources Defense Council, that sued the federal government to force a decision on the status of the polar bears. The Bush administration was supposed to make a decision on the status of the polar bear by January 9 of this year. Some environmentalists say the delay of a decision, was made to make it easier for oil companies to finalize $2.7 billion in offshore oil leases in the Chukchi Sea. That area between Alaska and Siberia is home to about 20 percent of the planet's polar bears. "Had the polar bear been listed prior to January 9 as the law required, that lease sale could not have moved forward without some substantial additional review of the impacts to polar bears," said Siegel. "We don't have any substantial records that the oil and gas exploration have created an issue for the polar bear," said Dale Hall, director of Fish and Wildlife. USGS scientist Steve Amstrup, who has studied polar bears for nearly 30 years, explained why the sea ice can mean life or death for polar bears. "A lot of people don't understand how polar bears live. "These seals are kind of like giant 'fat pills' that have allowed polar bears to become the largest of the bears and to expand across the range of the sea ice. As that sea ice declines, you can think of it as a decline in the carrying capacity of polar bears, just as if you took a field that supported a certain number of cattle, for example, and plowed up half the field and there was no longer grass there, you've lost the carrying capacity for half the animals that live out there," said Amstrup. Scientists from the World Wildlife Fund said before Kempthorne's announcement that a positive decision on the bear's status could mean the United States could regain a leadership role in global species conservation. "The polar bear is a compelling symbol. The center, based in Arizona, has been explicit about its hopes to use this — and the earlier listing of two species of coral threatened by warming seas — as a legal cudgel to attack proposed coal-fired power plants or other new sources of carbon dioxide emissions. But in both cases, the Bush administration has parried this legal thrust, saying it had no obligation to address or try to mitigate the cause of the species’ decline — warming waters, in the case of the corals, or melting sea ice, in the case of the bears — or the greenhouse-gas emissions from cars, trucks, refineries, factories and power plants that contribute to both conditions.
In America, he said, "you should never be homeless, you should never be hungry." All About John Edwards • Barack Obama He also praised Clinton. ... So far in the battle for the Democratic presidential nomination, Mr Obama has won more of the delegates who will choose the party's nominee at the Democratic National Convention this summer. "There is one man who knows and understands that this is a time for bold leadership. Watch a report on the timing of the endorsement » Clinton campaign Chairman Terry McAuliffe said Wednesday that "We respect John Edwards, but as the voters of West Virginia showed last night, this thing is far from over." You could also make the argument that there's a lot of support out there amongst people that will go to Hillary," he said. Edwards is a South Carolina native with an undergraduate degree from North Carolina State University and law degree from the University of North Carolina. Clinton has 1,718 total delegates (pledged: 1,445, superdelegates: 273). Edwards dropped out of the Democratic race on January 30 after poor showings in the early contests. 'Bold leadership' "The Democratic voters in America have made their choice and so have I," John Edwards told a crowd of cheering supporters in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Edwards didn't even tell many of his former top advisers of his decision because he wanted to inform Clinton personally, said the person close to him. Video: What’s the impact of Edwards’ nod? Please turn on JavaScript. Edwards had campaigned on the message that he was standing up for the little guy, the people who are not traditionally given a voice in Washington, and that he would do more to fight special interests.
It would have meant more in February or March, but John Edwards' endorsement of Barack Obama for the Democratic presidential nomination was welcomed nonetheless by a politician eager to turn the page. Edwards' surprise appearance at a rally Wednesday steered some of the attention away from Hillary Rodham Clinton's landslide win over Obama in Tuesday's West Virginia primary. Despite the victory, the former first lady faces long odds in trying to deny Obama the presidential nomination. But after finishing second to Obama in Iowa, the former North Carolina senator and 2004 vice presidential nominee placed third in the next three contests, then left the race. The endorsement would have carried more clout had Edwards made it months ago, when the outcome of the Democratic contest was very much in doubt. "We are here tonight because the Democratic voters have made their choice, and so have I," Edwards said to thunderous applause. He said Obama "stands with me" in a fight to cut poverty in half within 10 years, a claim Obama confirmed moments later. Praise for Clinton Edwards told the rally that "we must come together as Democrats" to defeat Republican John McCain in November. "We are a stronger party" because of her involvement and "we're going to have a stronger nominee in the fall because of her work," he said. Then as Edwards sat on stage and watched, Obama gave one of his most animated addresses in days, much of it devoted to fighting poverty. Clinton campaign chairman Terry McAuliffe said in a statement: "We respect John Edwards, but as the voters of West Virginia showed last night, this thing is far from over." Political strategist and Clinton ally James Carville said Edwards' endorse was a psychological boost for Obama, but unlikely to sway many voters. Aiming to unify party "I think it certainly helps in terms of the psychology of the superdelegates," Carville told ABC's "Good Morning America" on Thursday, referring to the elected officials and party leaders who will ultimately determine the Democratic nominee. A person close to Edwards, speaking on condition of anonymity, said he wanted to get involved now to begin unifying the party. Edwards and Obama spoke by phone Tuesday night, and Edwards agreed to fly to Grand Rapids the next day. Edwards didn't even tell many of his former top advisers of his decision because he wanted to inform Clinton personally, said the person close to him. His wife, Elizabeth, who has said she thinks Clinton has the superior health care plan, did not accompany him and is not part of the endorsement. "The reason I'm here tonight is because the Democratic voters have made their choice, and so have I," he told the boisterous crowd. "There is one man who knows and understands that this is a time for bold leadership. There is one man that knows how to create the change, the lasting change, that you have to build from the ground up," Edwards said. "There is one man who knows in his heart there is time to create one America, not two ... and that man is Barack Obama." Edwards also praised Sen. Hillary Clinton's candidacy. "What she has shown ... is strength and character, and what drives her is something that every single one of us can and should appreciate," Edwards said. "She is a woman who, in my judgment, is made of steel, and she's a leader in this country not because of her husband but because of what she has done." Watch Edwards give his endorsement » He said that when the nomination battle is over, "and it will be over soon, brothers and sisters ... we must come together as Democrats." Don't Miss Election Center 2008 "I am so grateful ... for John Edwards to come to Michigan tonight. I'm grateful for his support ... but more importantly, I want to thank John for everything that he has already done to make us one America," Obama said. Watch an analysis of the endorsement » After the announcement, Republican National Committee Chairman Robert Duncan released a statement asking, "Why didn't Edwards endorse sooner?" "Edwards' endorsement of a candidate he previously blasted as inexperienced, hypocritical and lacking substance will not help Obama with voters looking for real change," he said. Watch a report on the timing of the endorsement » Clinton campaign Chairman Terry McAuliffe said Wednesday that "We respect John Edwards, but as the voters of West Virginia showed last night, this thing is far from over." According to CNN's latest estimates, Obama has 1,884 total delegates (pledged: 1,600, superdelegates: 284). Edwards, meanwhile, has 19 total pledged delegates who may or may not pledge their support for Obama at the Democratic National Committee's August convention in Denver, Colorado. Edwards, who is not a superdelegate, said last week that it was fine for Clinton to continue making her case but expressed concern that a continued campaign could damage the party's prospects in November. Wednesday's endorsement could help Obama reach out to white blue-collar voters, a demographic that Obama has failed to capture, most notably in the recent Pennsylvania and West Virginia primaries. Watch Edwards discuss Obama and Clinton on "Larry King Live" » An endorsement from Edwards, who ran as vice president on Sen. John Kerry's ticket in the 2004 presidential election, would have a significant impact on the race, Democratic strategist Peter Fenn said after Edwards dropped out. "The conventional wisdom is that Barack Obama will pick up maybe 60 percent of them, and in some places, that makes a huge difference," former presidential adviser David Gergen said in January. Time magazine's Joe Klein said Clinton "represents a lot of the things that [Edwards] campaigned against, you know, the old Washington Democratic establishment that he believes got too close to the corporations in the '90s." With his wife and children at his side, Edwards said he couldn't predict "who will take the final steps to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue," but he said it would be a Democrat.
The deaths have occurred in Anhui, Guangdong, Guangxi, Hainan, Hunan, Zhejiang, Beijing and Hubei. All 42 people who died have been children. "Under the regulations of the Ministry of Health, the child from Hebei should not be included in Beijing's HFMD death toll," said Deng. All About China • Summer Olympics The deaths are blamed on enterovirus 71, or EV-71, one of the most common causes of hand-foot-mouth disease (HFMD). More than 27,500 cases have been reported in China as of last Friday, Xinhua said earlier, with the number of new cases in Anhui province starting to decline. REUTERS/Jianan Yu BEIJING China's capital has recorded its first death from an outbreak of hand, foot and mouth disease as authorities try to contain the spread of a potent virus just three months before the city hosts the Olympic Games. The child from Chaoyang died on the way to a hospital on Sunday. Those sickened by EV71 often show serious symptoms. There is no treatment for severe EV-71 infections nor does a vaccine exist. No further details of that case were disclosed. Lab work by the Hubei Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention has confirmed the boy died of HFMD triggered by the enter virus 71,also known as EV71. Xie died at 8 p.m. on Monday during surgery after showing symptoms including respiratory and circulatory failure. HFMD usually starts with a slight fever followed by blisters and ulcers in the mouth and rashes on the hands and feet. HFMD can be caused by a number of intestinal viruses, of which EV-71 and Coxsackie A16 are among the most common.
BEIJING, China (CNN) -- The death toll in China's outbreak of hand-foot-mouth disease has risen to 42 children, with the capital Beijing reporting its first case Wednesday, state media said. Parents sit with children being treated for the virus in Fuyang, China, last month. The child died on the way to a hospital Sunday, health authorities told the Xinhua news agency. Another child died of the virus at a Beijing hospital, but that death was counted in the child's home province of Hebei, which neighbors Beijing, the news agency said. So far, the virus has sickened 24,934 children on the Chinese mainland, authorities said. All 42 people who died have been children. The deaths are blamed on enterovirus 71, or EV-71, one of the most common causes of hand-foot-mouth disease (HFMD). The official count of infections has increased dramatically in recent days since an order issued late last week by the Ministry of Health mandating that all cases be reported. HFMD is not related to foot-and-mouth disease, which affects farm animals. Don't Miss Death toll from virus rises in China Death toll from virus rises in China Virus spreading in China In mild cases, EV-71 causes cold-like symptoms, diarrhea, and sores on the hands, feet and mouth. Severe cases can cause fluid to accumulate on the brain, resulting in polio-like paralysis and death. There is no treatment for severe EV-71 infections nor does a vaccine exist. Adults with well-developed immune systems can usually fend off the virus, but children are particularly vulnerable to it, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Public health officials expect the number of cases to peak this summer, since the disease thrives in warm weather. The virus is a concern for Chinese officials as the nation prepares to host the Summer Olympic Games starting August 8. Taiwan had a large outbreak of HFMD in 1998 with 78 deaths, and smaller outbreaks in 2000 and 2001, according to the CDC. China is also coping with the devastation left by a magnitude-7.9 earthquake that struck Monday, killing thousands and leaving even more people trapped in debris or simply listed as missing. BEIJING, May 14 (Xinhua) -- Hand-foot-mouth disease (HFMD), the intestinal viral disease rampant among children, has continued to spread in China, with the national death toll now standing at 42. Beijing's health authority on Wednesday confirmed that two children had died of HFMD in the capital. The other child was transferred to Beijing for further medical treatment from Hebei after the illness worsened. It was not immediately known when the child was transferred or when that death occurred. "Under the regulations of the Ministry of Health, the child from Hebei should not be included in Beijing's HFMD death toll," said Deng. Meanwhile, the Hubei Provincial Health Department has confirmed that a 21-month-old boy from Chibi City in Hubei had died of HFMD on Monday. The boy, surnamed Xie, checked in at a local village clinic for a fever on May 10 and was soon transferred to a township hospital where he was diagnosed as a suspected HFMD case. He was moved to Pufang Hospital in Chibi City, which has been designated as the facility for treatment of HFMD patients, on Monday. Xie died at 8 p.m. on Monday during surgery after showing symptoms including respiratory and circulatory failure. Lab work by the Hubei Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention has confirmed the boy died of HFMD triggered by the enter virus 71,also known as EV71. The Hubei Provincial Health Department said as of midnight on Tuesday, there were 3,176 cases of HFMD infection province-wide, including 1,494 children who were treated and discharged from hospitals, and one death. According to the Guidelines Regarding Prevention and Control of HFMD published on the Ministry of Health website, HFMD can be caused by a host of intestinal viruses, but EV71 and the Coxsackievirus (Cox A16) were the most common. A doctor (R) examines a child for hand, foot and mouth disease infection at a hospital in Hefei, Anhui province May 11, 2008. REUTERS/Jianan Yu BEIJING China's capital has recorded its first death from an outbreak of hand, foot and mouth disease as authorities try to contain the spread of a potent virus just three months before the city hosts the Olympic Games. Beijing Health Bureau spokeswoman Deng Xiaohong said a 13-month-old boy from the city's northern Changping District died on the way to a hospital on Sunday. Hubei province to the south also confirmed the death of a toddler from hand foot and mouth, taking the nationwide toll to 42. The spokeswoman said the child in Beijing had tested positive for enterovirus 71 (EV71), a virus that has caused the majority of the deaths in the latest outbreak, which started weeks ago in the eastern province of Anhui's Fuyang city. Deng also said another child had died of the disease in a Beijing hospital, but that case would be recorded in neighbouring Hebei province, where the child contracted the disease. Hand, foot and mouth disease is a common childhood illness, with a number of causes, but the current outbreak has been linked to the EV71 virus, which can cause a severe form of the disease, characterised by high fever, paralysis and meningitis. At least two Beijing kindergartens were suspended last week after children showed symptoms of the disease, but a Health Ministry spokesman said then that the number of cases was not abnormal.
But with all her might, she failed. (Xinhua Photo) Photo Gallery>>> "It's really heartrending," she said. China on Monday begins a three-day national mourning for the tens of thousands of people killed in a powerful earthquake which struck the country's southwest on May 12. Full story Chinese President encourages quake victims to overcome difficulties Chinese President Hu Jintao consoles locals in a village in Beichuan county, May 16, 2008. SEARCHING FOR LIFE In the quake-hit Sichuan Province, rescue work has continued into the seventh day in desperate hope of more miracles. At 4:58 a.m., the national flag at the Tian'anmen Square in downtown Beijing flew at half-mast after a complete flag-raising ceremony. Many other areas were also affected. Next to the lists are pictures of missing children – and in some cases of children who are missing their parents. She had made the flowers herself. The search, rescue and disaster relief efforts are continuing. Some of those in the Changhong factory were survivors from the school. Fifty-three years old Shen Peiyun was saved on Sunday after the rescuers' eight-hour efforts. "Each day, we pray: for the salvation of the dead and blessings of the living. For three minutes, the Chinese mourned. Go! Horns and sirens were wailing. Policemen stood in silence, cap in hand and pedestrians stopped their hurried footsteps. The death toll from the massive quake rose to 32,476 nationwide as of 2 p.m. Sunday, while the injured numbered 220,109, according to the emergency response office under the State Council. Beichuan is one of the worst hit places, with several schools completely demolished in the town and residents of remote villages still clambering over broken roads to find aid.
China's national flag flies at half-mast after the flag-raising ceremony on Tian'anmen Square in Beijing Monday morning, May 19, 2008. China on Monday begins a three-day national mourning for the tens of thousands of people killed in a powerful earthquake which struck the country's southwest on May 12. (Xinhua Photo) Photo Gallery>>> BEIJING, May 19 (Xinhua) -- China on Monday began a three-day national mourning for the tens of thousands of people killed in a powerful earthquake which struck the country's southwest on May 12. At 4:58 a.m., the national flag at the Tian'anmen Square in downtown Beijing flew at half-mast after a complete flag-raising ceremony. About 2,600 people watched the flag-raising ceremony in the square. "I have been watching TV to know the disaster situation these days," said Yu Huilin, a 58-year-old retired teacher. "It's really heartrending," she said. "But I see the quake-affected people have got help from so many people. I believe they can recover from the disaster soon rebuild their homes." All national flags will fly at half-mast at home and Chinese diplomatic missions abroad from Monday to Wednesday. At 2:28 p.m. Monday, Chinese citizens nationwide will stand in silence for three minutes to mourn for the victims, while air raid sirens and horns of automobiles, trains and ships will wail in grief. In the mourning period, condolence books will be opened in China's Foreign Ministry and Chinese embassies and consulates around the world. The Beijing Olympic torch relay will also be suspended from Monday to Wednesday. The death toll from the massive quake rose to 32,476 nationwide as of 2 p.m. Sunday, while the injured numbered 220,109, according to the emergency response office under the State Council. Among the dead, 31,978 were in Sichuan alone with the rest in six other provinces and a municipality. Some 113,080 Chinese soldiers and armed police have been mobilized to help with rescue operations. Rescuers carry Shen Peiyun, who is saved 145.5 hours after Monday's earthquake, to a hospital at Yingxiu Township of Wenchuan County, the epicenter of Monday's earthquake in southwest China's Sichuan Province, on May 18, 2008. Fifty-three years old Shen Peiyun was saved on Sunday after the rescuers' eight-hour efforts. (Xinhua Photo) Photo Gallery>>> Special report: Strong Earthquake Jolts SW China National flags at Chinese diplomatic missions fly at half-mast in mourning for quake victims BEIJING, May 19 (Xinhua) -- Chinese embassies and consulates in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Japan, Australia, New Zealand and other countries flew Chinese national flags at half-mast on Monday morning in mourning for victims in the May 12 earthquake in Sichuan, China. Full story China quake death toll rises to 32,477 by 14:00 Sunday BEIJING, May 18 (Xinhua) -- The death toll from the powerful earthquake that jolted southwest China's Sichuan Province had risen to 32,477 nationwide as of 2 p.m. Sunday, while the number of injured reached 220,109, according to the emergency response office under the State Council. Full story Magnitude of SW China earthquake revised to 8.0 BEIJING, May 18 (Xinhua) -- The China Seismological Bureau (CSB) Sunday revised the magnitude of southwest China earthquake from 7.8 to 8.0 on the Richter scale. Full story Chinese President expresses gratitudes for foreign aid in quake relief Chinese President Hu Jintao Saturday night speaks at a meeting on rescue and relief work of the earthquake, expressing gratitudes to foreign countries and people who have offered aid since a major earthquake struck the country. (Xinhua Photo) Photo Gallery>>> CHENGDU, May 18 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Hu Jintao Saturday night expressed gratitude to foreign countries and people who have offered aid since a major earthquake struck the country. Full story President Hu renews call to save lives in remote villages Chinese President Hu Jintao (R) talks with with military officers when he inspects disaster relief work in the quake-hit Xuankou Town of Wenchuan County in southwest China's Sichuan Province, May 17, 2008. (Xinhua Photo) Photo Gallery>>> CHENGDU, May 17 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Hu Jintao on Saturday urged rescue teams to reach remote villages that were battered by the strong earthquake in the southwestern Sichuan Province as soon as possible. Full story Chinese President encourages quake victims to overcome difficulties Chinese President Hu Jintao consoles locals in a village in Beichuan county, May 16, 2008. (Xinhua Photo) Photo Gallery>>> BEIJING, May 16 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Hu Jintao Friday went to Beichuan County of Mianyang City to visit people affected by the southwest China earthquake, encouraging them to be confident in overcoming hardships caused by the disaster. Full story Chinese Premier stresses all-out efforts to rescue quake victims Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao presides a meeting of the general headquarters of quake relief under the State Council Saturday afternoon. Rescue work stopped on hundreds of collapsed buildings in devastated towns and villages at 2.28pm, a week to the minute after the ground began to shake across the province. Among the most poignant scenes was the main hall of a television factory in Mianyang, a city of 800,000 people which is also now home to the remaining population of Beichuan county. Beichuan is one of the worst hit places, with several schools completely demolished in the town and residents of remote villages still clambering over broken roads to find aid. The factory has been turned into a camp for middle school students who have lost their families, in the hope that it can be a focal point for parents looking for their children. A television set showed a ceremony live from Tiananmen Square, with the national anthem followed by the raising of the Chinese flag in front of the portrait of Chairman Mao that hangs over the entrance to the Forbidden City. During the silence, it switched to pictures of rescue workers also standing to attention, ending with the site at Beichuan middle school, where 1,000 children are feared to have lost their lives.
And, you know, he was never defeatist. All About Edward M. Kennedy "He's left a great void in our public life." Bill Clinton, former president: "Senator Ted Kennedy was one of the most influential leaders of our time, and one of the greatest senators in American history. He was for those who did not have health care. (CNN) -- Massachusetts Sen. Edward Kennedy, the patriarch of the first family of Democratic politics, died late Tuesday at his home in Hyannis Port, Massachusetts. And more Americans could be proud of their country. And today I lost a treasured friend. He was known to the world as the "Lion of the Senate," a champion of social justice, and a political icon. Like brothers John and Robert, Edward Kennedy attended Harvard. U.S. President Barack Obama: For five decades, virtually every major piece of legislation to advance the civil rights, health and economic well being of the American people bore his name and resulted from his efforts. Many have come before, and many will come after, but Ted Kennedy's name will always be remembered as someone who lived and breathed the United States Senate and the work completed within its chamber." For America, he was the defender of a dream." The extraordinary good that he did lives on. Kennedy himself survived a 1964 plane crash that killed an aide, suffering a broken back in the accident. She died in 2005 after more than 60 years in mental hospitals. His future prospects were diminished one night in 1969, when his car went off a bridge and a young woman drowned.
(CNN) -- A sampling of reactions to the death of Sen. Edward Kennedy, who died Tuesday night at age 77: Sen. Harry Reid says Kennedy's "mighty roar may now fall silent, but his dream shall never die." U.S. President Barack Obama: For five decades, virtually every major piece of legislation to advance the civil rights, health and economic well being of the American people bore his name and resulted from his efforts. I valued his wise counsel in the Senate, where, regardless of the swirl of events, he always had time for a new colleague. And even as he waged a valiant struggle with a mortal illness, I've profited as President from his encouragement and wisdom. An important chapter in our history has come to an end. Our country has lost a great leader, who picked up the torch of his fallen brothers and became the greatest United States Senator of our time. You could just see it in the nature of his debate, in the nature of his embrace, in the nature of how he every single day attacked these problems. And in the process of his doing, he made everybody he worked with bigger -- both his adversaries as well as his allies." Bill Clinton, former president: "Senator Ted Kennedy was one of the most influential leaders of our time, and one of the greatest senators in American history. His big heart, sharp mind and boundless energy were gifts he gave to make our democracy a more perfect union." Jimmy Carter, former president: "Senator Kennedy was a passionate voice for the citizens of Massachusetts and an unwavering advocate for the millions of less fortunate in our country. The courage and dignity he exhibited in his fight with cancer was surpassed only by his lifelong commitment and service to his country." Al Gore, former vice president: "He was a true giant. He was a warm, funny, thoughtful, and generous friend and he was the most effective member of the United States Senate with whom I served. In the grief that Tipper and I share with so many, we know that the legacy of his brilliant work will carry on for decades to come. Ted was a champion for those Americans who had no voice -- the sick, the disabled, the poor, the under-privileged -- and they could have had no greater friend in the Senate. Now, Ted would want nothing more than for his colleagues to continue his life's work and to make real his dream of quality health care for all Americans." Gen. Colin Powell, retired, former secretary of state: "I knew Senator Kennedy very, very well. I have known him for something like 46 years, if I count properly -- longer, more like 47 years, and I knew him at the very beginning of his career when he first got out of the Army and he started to run for office. Deval Patrick: "One of the Commonwealth's brightest lights went out last night. U.S. Sen. Robert Byrd (D-West Virginia): "I had hoped and prayed that this day would never come. My heart and soul weeps at the loss of my best friend in the Senate, my beloved friend, Ted Kennedy." Harry Reid, Senate majority leader: "Because of Ted Kennedy, more young children could afford to become healthy. More minorities, women and immigrants could realize the rights our founding documents promised them. The liberal lion's mighty roar may now fall silent, but his dream shall never die." Nancy Reagan, former first lady: "Given our political differences, people are sometimes surprised by how close Ronnie and I have been to the Kennedy family. In recent years, Ted and I found our common ground in stem cell research, and I considered him an ally and a dear friend. Sen. Orrin G. Hatch (R-Utah): "Today America lost a great elder statesman, a committed public servant, and leader of the Senate. Many have come before, and many will come after, but Ted Kennedy's name will always be remembered as someone who lived and breathed the United States Senate and the work completed within its chamber." Over a lifetime of leadership, Senator Kennedy's statesmanship and political prowess produced a wealth of accomplishment that has improved opportunity for every American."
For now, at least. Justice Latey repeatedly said in a family division case that Scientology was a "cult" - one that was "immoral", "socially obnoxious", "corrupt", "sinister" and "dangerous". The police's job is to protect and serve. City of London Police gave us this statement: City of London police had received complaints about demonstrators using the words 'cult' and 'Scientology kills' during protests against the Church of Scientology on Saturday 10 May. Following advice from the Crown Prosecution Service some demonstrators were warned verbally and in writing that their signs breached section five of the Public Order Act 1986. After the exchange, a policewoman handed him a court summons and removed his sign. "'Within five minutes of arriving I was told by a member of the police that I was not allowed to use that word, and that the final decision would be made by the inspector." A file on the case will be sent to the CPS. Who is being served and who is being protected in this situation? He has contacted the civil rights group Liberty for legal representation if it's required. The boy, who is described only as a minor, was taking part in a demonstration outside the church's central London headquarters on May 10 when City of London Police officers ordered him to remove the placard. In response, the teenager quoted back a High Court judgement from 1984. The unnamed GCSE student involved posted a request for advice the next day to the anti-Scientology messages boards at Enturbulation.org. No date was given on the summons.
The boy, who is described only as a minor, was taking part in a demonstration outside the church's central London headquarters on May 10 when City of London Police officers ordered him to remove the placard. It read: "Scientology is not a religion, it is a dangerous cult." When he refused, he was issued with a form of summons for an alleged breach of public order. The boy was part of a group who gathered outside the church's premises on Queen Victoria Street, close to St Paul's Cathedral. A spokesman for the force said the youth had been "reported" under section five of the Public Order Act, which contains measures against displaying signs considered to be "threatening, abusive or insulting". Writing anonymously on an internet forum, the boy said: "Within five minutes of arriving … I was told by a member of the police that I was not allowed to use 'that word'." He said he was given 15 minutes to remove the sign, which was eventually confiscated by officers. Chief Supt Rob Bastable said: "City of London Police upholds the right to demonstrate lawfully, but we have to balance that with the right of all sections of community not to be alarmed, harassed or distressed as a result of other people's behaviour." The case was described as "barmy" and an attack on free speech by Shami Chakrabarti, the director of Liberty, the human rights group. She said: "They will be banning words like 'war' and 'tax' from placards and demonstrations next. Scientology, founded by the author L. Ron Hubbard in the 1950s, teaches that humans are immortal spiritual beings known as thetans, who have passed through previous lives. Anti-Scientology campaigners are up in arms after it emerged that City of London police issued a court summons to a teenager for displaying a sign that branded the Hollywood-bothering, UFO-fancying sect a "cult". The incident occurred on 10 May outside Scientology's controversial Square Mile headquarters, at a rally spearheaded by the online activist movement Anonymous. His sign read: "Scientology is not a religion, it is a dangerous cult." Within five minutes of arriving, the teenager was approached by a female police officer and told he was not allowed to use the word "cult" to describe Scientology, and that the Inspector in charge would make a decision. The Act makes it an offence to display "any writing, sign or other visible representation which is threatening, abusive or insulting, within the hearing or sight of a person likely to be caused harassment, alarm or distress thereby". Justice Latey repeatedly said in a family division case that Scientology was a "cult" - one that was "immoral", "socially obnoxious", "corrupt", "sinister" and "dangerous". The City of London police again approached the protestor 30 minutes later to serve notice of a court summons, and to confiscate the sign. The protestor wrote that he believes it "could be a few weeks, could be a few months". He has contacted the civil rights group Liberty for legal representation if it's required. City of London Police gave us this statement: City of London police had received complaints about demonstrators using the words 'cult' and 'Scientology kills' during protests against the Church of Scientology on Saturday 10 May. One demonstrator, a juvenile, continued to display a placard despite police warnings and was reported for an offence under section five. The financial district's police force was heavily criticised at the time for their apparent endorsement of the sect. Kevin Hurley, the force's Chief Superintendent praised its work for bringing "positive good" at the opening of the multimillion-pound site, and it later emerged that officers had accepted hospitality from Scientology, including tickets to film premieres, lunches and concerts at police premises. The organisation also made donations of thousands of pounds to the City of London Children's Charity Posters on Enturbulation.org raged at City police's latest action on the Scientology controversy. "It's the right of every person on this goddamn planet to question the beliefs and structure of everything and anything." Another wrote: "I am a Brighton anon, and I am tempted to come to London next protest just so I can wave the largest CULT sign they have ever seen. In a further statement sent to us today, City of London Chief Superintendent Rob Bastable said: "City of London Police upholds the right to demonstrate lawfully, but we have to balance that with the rights of all sections of the community not to be alarmed, distressed or harassed as a result of others' actions." A video of the "cult" placard incident has been posted here at YouTube. A teenager is facing prosecution for using the word "cult" to describe the Church of Scientology. Officers confiscated a placard with the word "cult" on it from the youth, who is under 18, and a case file has been sent to the Crown Prosecution Service. Demonstrators from the anti-Scientology group, Anonymous, who were outside the church's £23m headquarters near St Paul's cathedral, were banned by police from describing Scientology as a cult by police because it was "abusive and insulting". Writing on an anti-Scientology website, the teenager facing court said: "I brought a sign to the May 10th protest that said: 'Scientology is not a religion, it is a dangerous cult.'
"When I composed the song, it reminded me of my childhood," he explains. jokes the country's Eurovision boss. Azerbaijan qualified for the finals on May 24. He tips Switzerland - also performing in Italian - to win. A lot of the world knows neither where San Marino is or if it even exists. REUTERS/Ivan Milutinovic Sirusho of Armenia performs during the first semi-final for the Eurovision Song Contest in Belgrade May 20, 2008. O Julissi composer Michel Vangheluwe was inspired by his childhood But that is not what Michel Vangheluwe had in mind. But if Ishtar does well in Belgrade, Peter Vantyghem thinks it could all change: "I think suddenly their song would go from being a Flemish entry to a Belgian entry. REUTERS/Marko Djurica DUBLIN (Reuters Life!) Michel says he did not want to make a point about Belgium's never-ending linguistic squabbles. This is maybe why people understand the song even when they don't understand the words." E-mail this to a friend Printable version Bookmark with: Delicious Digg reddit Facebook StumbleUpon What are these? We will have three minutes on stage like every other country. Other parts of the lyrics are inspired by Ukrainian and Serbian. 'More potential' "We chose something that would bring Italian and Sanmarinese culture to Europe - a melodic song from our tradition," explains Mr Capicchioni. While the band has gone almost unnoticed in the French-speaking press, De Standaard has almost daily reports from Belgrade following their progress. "We're a little state, we need tourism, we need our name to be spread. In 2003, the folk group Urban Trad came second with Sanomi, the first time anyone had sung in an imaginary language at a Eurovision song contest.
Bosnia and Herzegovina's entry qualified for the finals on May 24. REUTERS/Ivan Milutinovic 'Elnur & Samir' of Azerbaijan perform during the first semi-final for the Eurovision Song Contest in Belgrade May 20, 2008. Azerbaijan qualified for the finals on May 24. Armenia's entry qualified for the finals on May 24. Greece's entry qualified for the finals on May 24. REUTERS/Ivan Milutinovic Nico & Vlad of Romania perform during first semi-final for the Eurovision Song Contest in Belgrade May 20, 2008. Romania's entry qualified for the finals on May 24. REUTERS/Ivan Milutinovic Isis Gee of Poland performs during the first semi-final for the Eurovision Song Contest in Belgrade May 20, 2008. Poland's entry qualified for the finals on May 24. - Eurovision contender Dustin the Turkey's rapping antics failed to prove a hit with audiences in Europe and some back in Ireland were relieved that the gloved puppet did not make the song contest's final. Surrounded by a troupe of feathered dancers and perched on top of a souped-up shopping cart, Dustin's performance of the song "Irelande Douze Pointe" (Ireland 12 points) generated boos from a crowd in Belgrade during the contest's semi-final run-offs on Tuesday evening, ahead of the final on May 24. "Irelande Douze Pointe ... is now set to take its rightful place in the annals of Euro songs which only the drunk, demented or both will add to their party repertoire," wrote Dan Collins in the Irish Examiner newspaper. Dustin, renowned for his burps and thick Dublin accent, had vowed to put Ireland, which has a record seven Eurovision wins, back on the map after several disappointing years. "I am disgusted we did not get through," the plucky performer told Irish broadcaster RTE on Wednesday. RTE's Gareth O'Connor, who was in the Serbian capital, said the fowl-mouthed bird may still have the last laugh. "Dustin's unique sense of humor may have got lost in translation but already he's looking to the future and, I suppose, the inevitable business opportunities which will follow in Eastern Europe and beyond," O'Connor wrote. By Oana Lungescu BBC Europe correspondent, Sint-Lievens-Esse, Belgium Belgium's Dutch- and French-speakers are deeply divided over language and politics but Eurovision could bring them all together in harmony. Soetkin Baptist has the task of singing O Julissi's invented lyrics The Belgian entry for the Eurovision song contest, O Julissi by the Flemish group Ishtar, is sung entirely in an invented language. I found him practising his guitar at his home, a converted barn in the Flemish village of Sint-Lievens-Esse, just hours before he was to fly to the Serbian capital Belgrade where the band is to take part in Tuesday's semi-final. Like all the members of Ishtar - named after the Babylonian goddess of love - Michel is a classically trained musician. His band could be described as Euro-trad rather than Euro-trash, as their repertoire consists of traditional and mediaeval love songs from all over Europe sung in the original, whether it is Icelandic, Estonian or Bulgarian. But even he admits the lyrics of his latest offering do not trip off the tongue: "O julissi na jalyni, O julissi na dytini, O bulo diti non slukati, Sestrone dina katsu..." Luckily, he will not be the one singing in Belgrade, but the fiery mezzo-soprano Soetkin Baptist. The only words that most people will understand are "kolosali krokodili" - possibly a reference to the band's mascot, a toy crocodile called Mr Croc. Linguistic squabbles Although the song was not composed especially for Eurovision, some hope that the Slavic-sounding lyrics might appeal to viewers in the Balkans and the former Soviet Union who would not otherwise consider voting for Belgium. "I was very touched, because I really felt the happiness and the joy of a child that doesn't have any problems. This is maybe why people understand the song even when they don't understand the words." Michel says he did not want to make a point about Belgium's never-ending linguistic squabbles. On the contrary, he says, the imaginary language could be "a symbol for bringing people together". "Language nowadays can be a political issue, but it shouldn't," he adds. "Music is something that brings people together and whatever language you sing in, you get the message and that's the most important thing." As someone who has widely toured throughout Europe, Michel sees no problem with many communities living together in one country: "I feel Flemish, but I also I feel Belgian, I feel European. Ishtar fans have sent O Julissi to the top of Belgium's Flemish charts "Belgium - 12 points!," shouts Georges, who has been following Eurovision for years. The highlight was the rehearsal where the singer's red and white dress slid down to reveal a black lace bra.
The impact has been massive, but until now, largely economic. Bangladesh announced its first known human case of bird flu, in a child who was infected in January. The H5N1 virus was first detected in Bangladesh in March last year and since then the authorities have culled around 2 million chickens and destroyed more than 2 million eggs. It says it has done all it can - and that there is no reason for people to be alarmed. Bangladesh authorities announced the case on Thursday, and the WHO said it had been confirmed by a laboratory at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta. Alarming rate The authorities say that he does not live on, or near a chicken farm, but in one of the capital's crowded and unhygienic slums. The health ministry says it will step up its monitoring of such places. The government has always seen it as simply a matter of time before a person here was infected by the H5N1 virus. It said that the boy, who lives in a slum in the capital Dhaka, had recovered after treatment. E-mail this to a friend Printable version Bookmark with: Delicious Digg reddit Facebook StumbleUpon What are these? Bird flu has been able to spread so quickly simply because there are so many people, and so many chicken farms squeezed together into this relatively small country. It is the first in Bangladesh," WHO spokesman Gregory Hartl told Reuters. The news underscored the difficulty of proper surveillance and detection of the deadly virus, particularly dangerous in countries like Bangladesh where people live near poultry. The virus rarely infects people but experts fear it could mutate or combine with the highly contagious seasonal influenza virus and spark a pandemic, which could kill millions of people.
GENEVA The World Health Organisation (WHO) on Friday confirmed the first human case of bird flu in Bangladesh, a baby boy who has recovered, bringing the number of countries which have recorded human infections to 15. Bangladesh authorities announced the case on Thursday, and the WHO said it had been confirmed by a laboratory at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta. "The case was confirmed by CDC in Atlanta. The 16-month-old boy was infected in January and has since recovered, he said. Bangladesh authorities informed the United Nations agency promptly about the case but it took time for the international laboratory testing to be completed, Hartl said. The H5N1 virus was first detected in Bangladesh in March last year and since then the authorities have culled around 2 million chickens and destroyed more than 2 million eggs. Avian influenza has spread through 47 of Bangladesh's 64 districts, causing losses of about 45 billion taka ($650 million) for the growing poultry sector, which accounts for 1.6 percent of the impoverished nation's gross domestic product. It shows the need to control the disease in animals if you are going to reduce the chances of transmission to humans," Hartl said. The virus rarely infects people but experts fear it could mutate or combine with the highly contagious seasonal influenza virus and spark a pandemic, which could kill millions of people. Prior to the Bangladesh case, 14 countries had reported 382 cases including 241 fatalities since 2003, according to the WHO. Bangladesh announced its first known human case of bird flu, in a child who was infected in January. The government health department said that the child tested negative initially, but that tests of his virus culture by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention turned up positive this week. The news underscored the difficulty of proper surveillance and detection of the deadly virus, particularly dangerous in countries like Bangladesh where people live near poultry. By Mark Dummett BBC News, Dhaka The authorities have embarked on a major culling programme The Bangladeshi health ministry says that a 16-month-old boy has been confirmed as the country's first human case of the H5N1 strain of bird flu. Alarming rate The authorities say that he does not live on, or near a chicken farm, but in one of the capital's crowded and unhygienic slums. After being first discovered in Bangladesh just over a year ago, bird flu has spread at an alarming rate - infecting chickens, ducks and wild birds in more than two-thirds of country's districts, as well as neighbouring parts of India. According to government figures more than a million birds have been culled, $60m lost, and more than one and a half million people put out of work.
"Half measures are not enough," he said. The appeal was issued to mark the WHO's World No Tobacco Day. GENEVA May 30 The World Health Organisation called on Friday for a ban on all tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship to prevent young people from starting to smoke. Most smokers take up the habit before the age of 18, and almost a quarter of new smokers are younger than 10, according to the WHO. (Reporting by Laura MacInnis; Editing by Stephanie Nebehay) (geneva.newsroom@reuters.com; Tel. In a survey of 13-to-15 year-olds worldwide, the agency said that 55 percent had reported seeing advertisements for cigarettes on billboards in the previous month, and 20 percent owned an item with a cigarette brand logo on it. It accused manufacturers of using increasingly sophisticated marketing techniques to ensare young people, particularly girls in poorer countries. "When one form of advertising is banned, the tobacco industry simply shifts its vast resources to another channel. We urge governments to impose a complete ban to break the tobacco marketing net." Douglas Bettcher, director of the WHO's Tobacco Free Initiative, said a full ban was necessary to ensure young people were shielded from dangerous messages. The UN agency says the more they are exposed to tobacco advertising, the more likely people will start smoking. "It is the only legal consumer product that kills one third to one half of those who use it as intended by its manufacturers, with victims dying 15 years prematurely," said the statement. WHO said while most countries in Africa have or are developing legislation that prohibits advertising tobacco products, many of them have not effectively enforced the regulations.
World No Tobacco Day is held annually on 31 May The World Health Organisation (WHO) has called on governments to ban all tobacco advertising to help prevent young people taking up the habit. It accused manufacturers of using increasingly sophisticated marketing techniques to ensare young people, particularly girls in poorer countries. The UN agency says the more they are exposed to tobacco advertising, the more likely people will start smoking. The organisation said only 5% of the world's population was covered by comprehensive bans on tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship. It says current restrictions are not enough to protect the world's 1.8bn young people, who are targeted through the intenet, magazines, films, concerts and sporting events. 'Dangerous messages' In Russia, which has few anti-smoking laws, the number of female and adolescent smokers has tripled in the last decade. However, in Canada, where smoking and cigarette advertising has been severely restricted, numbers of smokers are at their lowest in 40 years. The UK has recently announced plans to outlaw cigarette vending machines and packets of 10 to prevent children and young people smoking. The WHO also accused manufacturers of continuing to attract young people by "falsely" associating cigarettes with "glamour, energy and sex appeal". Most smokers take up the habit before the age of 18, with almost a quarter of those before the age of 10, according to the organisation. In a WHO worldwide survey of 13 to 15 year olds, 55% reported seeing billboard advertisements for tobacco, while 20% owned an item with a cigarette brand logo. Douglas Bettcher, director of the WHO's Tobacco Free Initiative, said a full ban was necessary to ensure young people were shielded from dangerous messages. We urge governments to impose a complete ban to break the tobacco marketing net." KAMPALA, May 31 (Xinhua) -- The World Health Organization (WHO) has called for the complete banning of tobacco advertising and promotion as measure of combating tobacco use, which kills one third to half of those who use it. "The WHO appeals to member states and policy-makers to require by law a comprehensive ban on all forms of advertising, promotion, and sponsorship of tobacco products," said Luis Sambo, WHO Regional Director for Africa, in statement issued here on Saturday. The statement, released to mark World No Tobacco Day, said a ban on tobacco advertising is a powerful tool to protect more than85 percent of the world's 1.8 billion young people living in developing countries. "As the tobacco industry intensifies its efforts to catch new, young and potentially life-long tobacco users, the health of a significant percentage of the world's you this seriously threatened by these deadly products," it said. According to the health body, by 2030, 10 million people will die per year from tobacco with over 70 percent of these deaths occurring in developing countries. "It is the only legal consumer product that kills one third to one half of those who use it as intended by its manufacturers, with victims dying 15 years prematurely," said the statement. "The more young people are exposed to tobacco advertising, the more likely they are to start smoking," it said, accusing cigarette makers of "falsely associating use of tobacco products with qualities such as glamour, energy and sex appeal." In a survey of 13-to-15 year-olds worldwide, the agency said that 55 percent had reported seeing advertisements for cigarettes on billboards in the previous month, and 20 percent owned an item with a cigarette brand logo on it.
Hundreds more were to be flown out Sunday, it added. BEIJING (AP) China's official news agency says a military transport helicopter carrying people injured in the country's earthquake disaster has crashed. "The lake problem is under control, we do not have any fears there will be an uncontrollable flood," said Han Guijun, a top official in quake-devastated Beichuan county. Xinhua says a search and rescue operation is underway. Earthquake relief operations in Sichuan Province have been hampered in recent days by intermittent heavy rains. It says the helicopter crashed Saturday afternoon in fog and strong turbulence. Authorities had originally planned to blast the blockage away with dynamite but feared that could cause all the rubble to give away, thus letting loose a deluge. Lake drainage Meanwhile, hundreds of thousands of Chinese waited anxiously for drainage work on a menacing lake created by the May 12 quake to take effect. The crash highlights the ongoing challenges as China seeks to respond to a tragedy that has also left nearly 15 million people homeless and raised fears of epidemic outbreaks in affected areas. No information on casualties was immediately available. Officials have expressed confidence that the risk of a disastrous flood is now remote. An AFP journalist in Beichuan county downstream from Tangjiashan saw about 15 buses carrying armed police driving away from the zone Sunday morning. Xinhua reported that the aircraft had encountered “strong air currents” prior to the accident. Using air-dropped equipment, military engineers are working around the clock to drain rivers that have been dammed by landslides caused by the earthquake. More than 197,000 people had been evacuated in case of flooding, officials told AFP, but a total of 1.3 million stood ready to move should the controlled release of water turn into a flood.
China quake helicopter crashes with 14 on board Updated A military helicopter crashed while evacuating injured survivors of China's earthquake, underlining the lingering risks of a disaster that has left more than 68,000 dead. The chopper crashed on Saturday (local time) amid fog and strong turbulence as its crew of four was evacuating 10 injured residents from quake-hit areas in south-west China's Sichuan province, state-run Xinhua news agency said. The crash highlights the ongoing challenges as China seeks to respond to a tragedy that has also left nearly 15 million people homeless and raised fears of epidemic outbreaks in affected areas. The helicopter had ferried a team of military experts on disease outbreaks to Li county and was returning with the injured residents when it lost contact with ground command, Xinhua reported. President Hu Jintao, touring quake-stricken areas in neighbouring Shaanxi province, immediately ordered a search and rescue operation, Xinhua said. The overall death toll from the earthquake, China's worst natural disaster in a generation, reached 68,977 on Saturday, with another 17,974 missing, the Government said. Lake drainage Meanwhile, hundreds of thousands of Chinese waited anxiously for drainage work on a menacing lake created by the May 12 quake to take effect. Army and police crews who had toiled for a week to dig a diversion channel for the Tangjiashan "quake lake" wrapped up late on Saturday and authorities said the rising waters could begin spilling into the channel as early as Sunday. The lake, formed when a huge landslide blocked the Jian River, has emerged as the most serious lingering threat to the region's traumatised citizens, as it poses a flood risk to areas populated by more than one million people. More than 197,000 people had been evacuated in case of flooding, officials told AFP, but a total of 1.3 million stood ready to move should the controlled release of water turn into a flood. They now hope to slowly drain away water in the lake, whose level has been rising by nearly two metres a day. "About 1.3 million people are prepared for evacuation," a disaster relief official in Mianyang city downstream from the lake, who gave only his surname Pu, told AFP on Saturday. "If the water drainage goes as planned peacefully, they won't have to." State television broadcast images of hundreds of troops and heavy equipment being helicoptered away from the lake, their work complete. An AFP journalist in Beichuan county downstream from Tangjiashan saw about 15 buses carrying armed police driving away from the zone Sunday morning. "The lake problem is under control, we do not have any fears there will be an uncontrollable flood," said Han Guijun, a top official in quake-devastated Beichuan county. SHANGHAI — A Chinese military helicopter involved in relief operations crashed in heavy fog near the town of Yingxiu on Saturday with 14 people on board, according to China’s official news agency, Xinhua, which provided no details about casualties. The risk of a bursting barrier dam near the town of Tangjiashan threatens millions of people who live downstream, and the authorities have been working feverishly in recent days to evacuate hundreds of thousands of residents of the river’s watershed area even as they try to prevent a flood. BEIJING (AP) China's official news agency says a military transport helicopter carrying people injured in the country's earthquake disaster has crashed.
. After the surgery, Kennedy told his wife, Vicki, "I feel like a million bucks," an aide to the senator said. Dr. Friedman at Duke did not report what percentage of the tumor he removed. Massachusetts General said Kennedy's tumor was in the left parietal lobe of the brain. Advertisement Continue reading the main story It was not clear from either statement how long his course of chemotherapy and radiation treatment would take, or why the doctors decided to move Mr. Kennedy to Duke for surgery. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston and a major brain tumor center at the University of California, San Francisco. A Yale-trained doctor who has played a role in steering medical treatment for others in the Kennedy clan, Horowitz is organizing a group of experts and former Kennedy staff members to scour medical literature and research experimental treatments to help Kennedy decide which cutting-edge cancer treatments to pursue. This allows the surgical team to map the precise areas that support language and to preserve them. They put the patient under anesthesia and cut away a piece of the skull just above the tumor. Sen. Kennedy has been one of the most respected as well as polarizing figures in U.S. politics. About half of people with the deadliest of the gliomas die within 15 months; but new drugs are extending survival, researchers say, and some patients live more than four years. The decision to undergo surgery was apparently made last week. President Kennedy was assassinated in 1963 in his third year in office. REUTERS/Brian Snyder DURHAM, North Carolina U.S. Sen. Edward Kennedy, a Democratic icon and a leading backer of presidential contender Barack Obama, had successful surgery on Monday to remove a malignant brain tumor and should suffer "no permanent neurological effects," his surgeon said.
Mark Schreiner with Duke University Hospital hands out statements to the media about Senator Edward Kennedy's brain surgery at Duke University Hospital in Durham, North Carolina, June 2, 2008. REUTERS/Chris Keane Senator Edward Kennedy waves as he walks out of Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, May 21, 2008. REUTERS/Brian Snyder DURHAM, North Carolina U.S. Sen. Edward Kennedy, a Democratic icon and a leading backer of presidential contender Barack Obama, had successful surgery on Monday to remove a malignant brain tumor and should suffer "no permanent neurological effects," his surgeon said. "I am pleased to report that Senator Kennedy's surgery was successful and accomplished our goals," Dr. Allan Friedman said in a statement after a 3 1/2-hour operation at Duke University's Medical Center in Durham, North Carolina. After the surgery, Kennedy told his wife, Vicki, "I feel like a million bucks," an aide to the senator said. Friedman, Duke's chief of neurosurgery, did not specify how much of the cancerous tumor he was able to remove. He called the operation "the first step" in a treatment plan for the 76-year-old senator from Massachusetts, head of America's most fabled political family. "After a brief recuperation, he will begin targeted radiation at Massachusetts General Hospital and chemotherapy treatment," Friedman said. Dr. Mark Gilbert of the University of Texas' cancer center, speaking at a news conference at a meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology in Chicago, said: "If all you do is surgery, even if you do a beautiful job, the tumor will be back in one or two months" without other treatments. Kennedy was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor called a glioma, a type of tumor that usually kills within three years, after suffering a seizure on May 17. Massachusetts General said Kennedy's tumor was in the left parietal lobe of the brain. Several doctors agreed that surgery in this region could affect a patient's ability to speak and understand language, and perhaps could paralyze the patient's right side as well. But Friedman said, "Senator Kennedy was awake during the resection (tumor removal) and should therefore experience no permanent neurological effects from the surgery." CONFIDENT OF RETURN TO SENATE There was no immediate word on when Kennedy would be able to return to work in the Senate where he has served since 1962 when he took the seat vacated by his older brother, President John F. Kennedy. "After completing treatment, I look forward to returning to the United States Senate and to doing everything I can to help elect Barack Obama as our next president," he said. Obama, a first-term U.S. senator from Illinois, has been likened to one of Kennedy's older brothers, Robert, who was assassinated during the 1968 Democratic presidential campaign. Yet news of his condition shook Washington last month and prompted colleagues on both sides of the political aisle to offer prayers and words of praise. "I am deeply grateful to the people of Massachusetts and to my friends, colleagues and so many others across the country and around the world who have expressed their support and good wishes as I tackle this new and unexpected health challenge," Kennedy said in his statement. Sen. Chris Dodd, a Connecticut Democrat, said, "I know Ted is a fighter and he'll be back on the Senate floor soon fighting for the American people." Until then, Dodd said, Kennedy asked him to take the lead on some of his pending legislation, including a bill to upgrade insurance coverage of mental illnesses. "I'm honored to help shepherd this legislation through until he returns," said Dodd, who serves on the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee chaired by Kennedy. In the days after being diagnosed with potentially inoperable brain cancer, Senator Edward M. Kennedy began crafting a strategy for his health, one not altogether different than those he's devised to pass healthcare legislation, run for president, or win regattas on Nantucket Sound. A Yale-trained doctor who has played a role in steering medical treatment for others in the Kennedy clan, Horowitz is organizing a group of experts and former Kennedy staff members to scour medical literature and research experimental treatments to help Kennedy decide which cutting-edge cancer treatments to pursue. Doherty said Horowitz and the Kennedys are looking at a doctor at Duke University Medical Center, which has a brain tumor research center that is conducting several clinical trials on malignant glioma, the type of tumor with which Kennedy has been diagnosed. And when Edward M. Kennedy Jr. was diagnosed with a dangerous bone cancer in his right leg, Horowitz helped the family find the innovative treatments that saved the 12-year-old boy's life. To many in the vast network of Kennedy family members, friends, and staff members, it seemed logical that he would turn to Horowitz as the senator pursues a path similar to millions of other patients in this age of Internet information: conducting independent research in addition to consulting with a doctor. But in this case, Kennedy's own analysis is being carried out by a deep bench of knowledgeable current and former staff members who have vast experience with medical research and bureaucracy - most of it gained through working for Kennedy himself. General, Brigham, anywhere across the country," said Horowitz, who since Kennedy's diagnosis has had dozens of discussions with doctors and researchers from the National Institutes of Health, the Food and Drug Administration, research hospitals, and the pharmaceutical industry. Malignant glioma, the most common form of brain cancer, accounts for about 9,000 cases diagnosed each year in the United States, according to the National Cancer Institute. About half of people with the deadliest of the gliomas die within 15 months; but new drugs are extending survival, researchers say, and some patients live more than four years. Massachusetts General, which has a top-flight neurosurgery team, did not mention surgery as an option after diagnosing the senator on May 20; the hospital’s report cited only “various forms of and radiation and chemotherapy” as the usual treatment.
She will not ruin the party." The AP report quoted the campaign officials as saying that for all intents and purposes, Clinton's campaign was over. At least one superdelegate -- the highest-ranking African American in Congress Jim Clyburn -- announced his endorsement Obama on Tuesday, saying Obama had "energized" constituents. All About U.S. Presidential Election • Democratic Party Clinton's campaign chairman Terry McAuliffe told CNN Clinton will not concede at a New York rally being held after voting closes Tuesday night in the last two primary states. Clinton told voters in South Dakota Monday: "We're going to make our case to all the delegates as to who would be the best president, number one -- because that's the most important question -- and number two, who would be the stronger candidate against John McCain; and I believe on both of those questions I am the person who should get the support to get the nomination for our party." "In her speech tomorrow night she will convey the message that first and foremost she is committed to Democrats winning in November and will do whatever she's asked to do," a close friend of the New York senator said. Watch how the race could end » Obama insiders are said to be split over whether a joint ticket with Clinton will be a good idea, with some doubting she can deliver, despite claims the pairing would help "ram down the animosity" between supporters of the two that many fear could cost the Democrats the election. "Those who have been with her since nearly the beginning are saying she will not push this into the convention.
(CNN) -- The titanic struggle for the Democratic candidacy neared its end Tuesday with final voting expected to push Hillary Clinton aside and usher in Barack Obama as the first ever black U.S. presidential nomination for a major political party. After months of primaries and caucuses, the Democratic party still does not have a nominee. Clinton's campaign chairman Terry McAuliffe told CNN Clinton will not concede at a New York rally being held after voting closes Tuesday night in the last two primary states. That was a reaction to an Associated Press story quoting two senior Clinton campaign officials as saying she will concede Tuesday night or early Wednesday that Obama has done enough to secure the Democratic nomination, while stopping short of formally suspending or ending her race. But Clinton told New York lawmakers she is willing to be the vice presidential nominee on Obama's presidential ticket, those lawmakers told CNN. Democrats in South Dakota and Montana cast the final votes Tuesday in a long and bitter campaign that has cost the candidates dearly in dollars and left the party struggling to unite to challenge Republican John McCain and succeed George W. Bush at the White House. Obama needs the support of about 40 more Democratic delegates to make the 2,118 needed to capture the nomination at the party's August convention but he is likely to depend on superdelegates -- party officials free to back any candidate -- to tip the balance. The Illinois senator, who has sought to dispel fears of inexperience by campaigning on a message of change, has emerged as favorite in recent weeks despite a dogged campaign by Clinton who as former first lady claims to have more political experience. Although campaigns for both parties said there had been no formal discussion, sources close to Clinton said she was poised to acknowledge her inevitable defeat by Tuesday signaling her willingness to accept an offer of becoming Obama's running mate if asked. "In her speech tomorrow night she will convey the message that first and foremost she is committed to Democrats winning in November and will do whatever she's asked to do," a close friend of the New York senator said. Her husband, former U.S. President Bill Clinton, also told voters in South Dakota on Monday that "this may be the last day I'm ever involved in a campaign of this kind." Watch how the race could end » Obama insiders are said to be split over whether a joint ticket with Clinton will be a good idea, with some doubting she can deliver, despite claims the pairing would help "ram down the animosity" between supporters of the two that many fear could cost the Democrats the election. Democratic Party insiders are also discussing how to patch up Clinton's relationship with the black community and how to bring African American Clinton supporters into the Obama fold, several top Clinton supporters said. Feuding between the two camps reached fever pitch at the height of the campaign, after Clinton and Obama saw off main rival John Edwards then traded blows on sideline issues including Obama's links to a controversial preacher and Clinton's claims to have dodged bullets in Bosnia. But despite forecasts of defeat, Clinton -- dubbed the "comeback kid" for earlier popularity resurgences -- campaigned into the night on Monday, clinging to the outside prospect of an upset in the final two U.S. states to make their selections in the six month primary voting season. Clinton told voters in South Dakota Monday: "We're going to make our case to all the delegates as to who would be the best president, number one -- because that's the most important question -- and number two, who would be the stronger candidate against John McCain; and I believe on both of those questions I am the person who should get the support to get the nomination for our party." CNN senior political correspondent Candy Crowley reported that "only a handful of people at the inner core of the Clinton campaign knows what she's thinking about doing when Tuesday's dust settles." Clinton's campaign chairman Terry McAuliffe said the New York senator was "absolutely not" conceding the campaign and said the AP report was incorrect. (CNN) -- The titanic struggle for the Democratic candidacy neared its end Tuesday with final voting expected to push Hillary Clinton aside and usher in Barack Obama as the first ever black U.S. presidential nomination for a major political party. Obama needs the support of about 40 more Democratic delegates to make the 2,118 needed to capture the nomination at the party's August convention but he is likely to depend on superdelegates -- party officials free to back any candidate -- to tip the balance. Although campaigns for both parties said there had been no formal discussion, sources close to Clinton said she was poised to acknowledge her inevitable defeat by Tuesday signaling her willingness to accept an offer of becoming Obama's running mate if asked. "In her speech tomorrow night she will convey the message that first and foremost she is committed to Democrats winning in November and will do whatever she's asked to do," a close friend of the New York senator said. Watch how the race could end » Obama insiders are said to be split over whether a joint ticket with Clinton will be a good idea, with some doubting she can deliver, despite claims the pairing would help "ram down the animosity" between supporters of the two that many fear could cost the Democrats the election. Feuding between the two camps reached fever pitch at the height of the campaign, after Clinton and Obama saw off main rival John Edwards then traded blows on sideline issues including Obama's links to a controversial preacher and Clinton's claims to have dodged bullets in Bosnia. But despite forecasts of defeat, Clinton -- dubbed the "comeback kid" for earlier popularity resurgences -- campaigned into the night on Monday, clinging to the outside prospect of an upset in the final two U.S. states to make their selections in the six month primary voting season. Clinton told voters in South Dakota Monday: "We're going to make our case to all the delegates as to who would be the best president, number one -- because that's the most important question -- and number two, who would be the stronger candidate against John McCain; and I believe on both of those questions I am the person who should get the support to get the nomination for our party."
He was 70. "They are working as best as they can in these difficult circumstances, in this building that doesn't really function, so we have to work from other places, other addresses, too," he said. Officials were trying to determine if it was a suicide attack. ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (AP) Al-Qaeda or an affiliate was "likely" behind a car bombing outside the Danish Embassy in Islamabad that killed six people including one Danish citizen, Denmark's intelligence service said. The blast also comes as Pakistan seeks to deflect pressure to stop negotiating peace deals with militants in regions along the border with Afghanistan. The singer will perform in Newark, New Jersey on Septe ... On Tuesday, Pakistani investigators searched through the rubble at the scene of the explosion, which came weeks after al-Qaeda threatened Denmark over published caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad. You know yesterday it was panic here. Other militant factions - accused of being involved in similar attacks in the past - have also recently engaged in talks with the government. Senior police officer Ahmed Latif said the attacker apparently used a fake diplomatic licence plate to get the car near the embassy and they were looking at security video footage. You share in the USA TODAY community, so please keep your comments smart and civil. But the U.S. — which condemned the attack — has warned the deals could simply give militants time and space to rebuild strength. In Denmark, hundreds of Foreign Ministry staffers gathered outside the ministry on the Copenhagen waterfront to mourn the two embassy staffers killed. Vinod Khanna dies aged 70; the matinee idol had been battling cancer 28-Apr-17 Veteran actor and politician Vinod Khanna passed away on April 27, in Mumbai.
Vinod Khanna dies aged 70; the matinee idol had been battling cancer 28-Apr-17 Veteran actor and politician Vinod Khanna passed away on April 27, in Mumbai. The hospital where Khanna had been undergoing treat ... Elton John cancels eight shows after infection, intensive care visit 28-Apr-17 A "harmful and unusual bacterial infection" has forced Elton John to cancel his upcoming April and May run of "The Million Dollar Piano" gigs at th ... Beyonce announces ‘Formation Scholars’ scholarship programme 28-Apr-17 Beyoncé celebrated the one-year anniversary of her album 'Lemonade' with the announcement of her "Formation Scholars" programme. The ... Paul McCartney expands ‘One on One’ tour with new US dates 28-Apr-17 Paul McCartney expanded his long-running "One on One" tour with several new US dates. The singer will perform in Newark, New Jersey on Septe ... Films of the flamboyant, versatile actor we’ll always remember 28-Apr-17 'Achanak' — remember Akshay Kumar's recent film 'Rustom' based on the KM Nanavati scandal for which he won the National Film ... Islamic romance novels set hearts excited in Bangladesh 27-Apr-17 Kasem bin Abubakar was told nobody would buy his chaste romance novels about devout young Muslims finding love within the strict moral confines of ... ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (AP) Al-Qaeda or an affiliate was "likely" behind a car bombing outside the Danish Embassy in Islamabad that killed six people including one Danish citizen, Denmark's intelligence service said. On Tuesday, Pakistani investigators searched through the rubble at the scene of the explosion, which came weeks after al-Qaeda threatened Denmark over published caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad. Danish investigators were expected to join the probe. The Danish Security and Intelligence Service, known as PET, said in a statement late Monday that the embassy was the likely target. "It is PET's assessment that al-Qaeda or an al-Qaeda-related group likely is behind the attack," agency director Jakob Scharf said. He added that "a series of other militant Islamic groups and networks in Pakistan also could have the intention and the capacity to hit Danish targets in Pakistan." The blast also comes as Pakistan seeks to deflect pressure to stop negotiating peace deals with militants in regions along the border with Afghanistan. It wounded some 35 people, left a deep crater on the road outside the embassy and severely damaged a development group's office nearby. The embassy building remained standing, though its windows shattered. Senior police officer Ahmed Latif said the attacker apparently used a fake diplomatic license plate to get the car near the embassy. Muhammad Mustafa, one of the Pakistani investigators searching the scene Tuesday, said they were "just trying to find any clue, any evidence. He said embassy staff were working Tuesday but would not specify what business was conducted. "They are working as best as they can in these difficult circumstances, in this building that doesn't really function, so we have to work from other places, other addresses, too," he said. A message Tuesday on the telephone answering system at the embassy said it was closed. On its website, Danes were advised against traveling to Pakistan and those already in the country were told to "exercise particular vigilance." Ben Venzke, CEO of IntelCenter, a U.S. group that monitors al-Qaeda messages, said al-Qaeda called for attacks against Danish diplomatic facilities and personnel in a video last August, and repeated its threat in April. "I urge and incite every Muslim who can harm Denmark to do so in support of the prophet, God's peace and prayers be upon him, and in defense of his honorable stature," IntelCenter quoted al-Qaeda No. The attack could heighten pressure on Pakistan to stop striking peace deals with militants along its border with Afghanistan, where al-Qaeda and Taliban fighters are believed to have found sanctuary. Pakistan insists it is not talking to "terrorists" but rather militants willing to lay down their weapons. But the U.S. — which condemned the attack — has warned the deals could simply give militants time and space to rebuild strength. Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani said in a statement Monday that the blast would "redouble our resolve" to "continue on our avowed path to fight terrorism and extremism." However, Interior Ministry chief Rehman Malik said the attack would not affect the peace talks. Analysts said it was possible groups other than al-Qaeda who also were angry about the cartoons could be behind the blast. Mahmood Shah, a former security chief for the tribal regions, said al-Qaeda attacks tend to be more lethal. Radical local clerics could have inspired it, although if it was a suicide bombing, it likely originated from the unruly border regions, he said. Even if the attack isn't linked to the tribal regions, the U.S. and the West "will use this ... to say look, your policy (on peace deals) is not working," analyst Talat Masood said. Monday's attack follows a bombing in March at a restaurant in Islamabad that killed a Turkish aid worker and wounded at least 12 others, including at least four FBI personnel. Many foreign missions were already on high alert following that blast, but there was no immediate indication that they or aid agencies would evacuate personnel after the new attack. The Berlingske Tidende daily lashed out in a comment titled "Pakistan's poor security."
U.S. "The police put up a roadblock, stopped the vehicles, slashed the tires, reached in and grabbed the telephones from my personnel," said McGee, who was not in the convoy. All About Zimbabwe • U.S. Department of State A Zimbabwean driver working with an US embassy security official was also beaten up by the group, he added. Ambassador James McGee's claims of intimidation and said the diplomats were detained after trying to flee police at a roadblock. "The violence cannot be allowed to continue. "This government is not following their own laws and definitely not following any international laws." A spokesman for Mr Mbeki, Mukoni Ratshitanga, told the BBC that Mr Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) had contacted the president "to inform him about the arrest". Since the election, opposition and church groups have reported kidnappings, torture and other violence, including the deaths of opposition party members. The US and UK governments denounced the incident and demanded an explanation from the Zimbabwean authorities. Just hours after the incident, Zimbabwe Social Welfare Minister Nicholas Goche said that all aid organizations were ordered to cease operations in the country until the presidential runoff is concluded, a journalist in the country said. British Foreign Secretary David Miliband said the detained Britons had been engaged in "the normal business of diplomacy." Matonga said the embassy officials were traveling in an area they didn't have authorization to enter. "The war veterans threatened to burn the vehicles with the people inside unless they removed themselves from the vehicle," he said. The U.N. Security Council convened Thursday to discuss the diplomats' detention.
(CNN) -- U.S. and British diplomats are safe after Zimbabwe police, soldiers and "war veterans" stopped their convoy Thursday and threatened to burn them alive, U.S. officials said. U.S. Ambassador James McGee visits a reported victim of political violence at a Harare clinic this month. State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said five American Embassy employees and two local staff members had been detained. "While this immediate incident has been resolved, it will not be forgotten," McCormack said. Just hours after the incident, Zimbabwe Social Welfare Minister Nicholas Goche said that all aid organizations were ordered to cease operations in the country until the presidential runoff is concluded, a journalist in the country said. Despite Goche's announcement, Boniface Chidyausiku, the Zimbabwean ambassador to the United Nations, said CARE International was the only aid group told to suspend work. The government had accused some of the 300 CARE employees in Zimbabwe -- mostly Zimbabweans -- of passing out brochures in favor of an opposition political party, CARE spokesman Kenneth Walker said. Chidyausiku said the Zimbabwean minister of social services is reviewing the activity of all non-governmental organizations in light of accusations that some have been politicizing their operations and campaigning for the opposition. "What we find is that there have been complaints about NGOs operating as Trojan horses for the oppositions, but the opposition has denied it," he said. Henrietta Fore, administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development, urged the government of Zimbabwe to "lift the suspension on all international aid agencies involved in humanitarian work in the country." Fore told CNN that the "suspension is a direct threat to the lives and well-being of tens of thousands of innocent people in Zimbabwe." U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said, "This demonstrates this is a regime that is very much out of step with international norms." British Foreign Secretary David Miliband said the detained Britons had been engaged in "the normal business of diplomacy." "Obviously, this is a window into the lives of Zimbabweans," Miliband said. "Diplomats are protected by papers and international contacts in a way too many Zimbabweans are not protected." Watch U.S. official call the detentions outrageous » Zimbabwean Deputy Information Minister Bright Matonga denied U.S. Ambassador James McGee's claims of intimidation and said the diplomats were detained after trying to flee police at a roadblock. Two U.S. Embassy cars and a British Embassy vehicle were going to check on reports of recent violence when they were stopped, McGee said. "The police put up a roadblock, stopped the vehicles, slashed the tires, reached in and grabbed the telephones from my personnel," said McGee, who was not in the convoy. "The war veterans threatened to burn the vehicles with my people inside unless they got out of the vehicles and accompanied the police to a station nearby," he added. Matonga said the embassy officials were traveling in an area they didn't have authorization to enter. "They went to an area without informing the foreign affairs," Matonga said. And we know why you are doing it, but the police will stop this." McCormack called the assertion that officials were not informed "absurd." Zimbabwe officials have accused members of the U.S. ambassador's office of trying to aid the opposition party in the coming presidential runoff. When McGee found out that embassy personnel were detained, he sent an embassy security officer to the scene to see whether he could help, he said. "This government is not following their own laws and definitely not following any international laws." He added, "Zimbabwe has become a lawless country." Matonga argued that the diplomats were detained because they wouldn't "comply" with police and tried to flee a roadblock. He denied outright that a U.S. Embassy employee was beaten and that Zimbabwean forces slashed the tires of an U.S. Embassy vehicle. According to the U.S. State Department, McGee and diplomats from five other missions in Harare were detained and questioned by Zimbabwe's security forces May 13. On May 8, McGee penned a statement, officially breaking his silence on the political violence wracking Zimbabwe. "I feel compelled, as a supporter of human rights, to speak out about the atrocities being committed across Zimbabwe," McGee wrote, saying the U.S. had received more than 700 reports of violence. He continued, "Let me also be clear that the U.S. is aware of the identities of many of those responsible for instigating the violence and for carrying it out. After the election, the country's electoral commission reported that neither candidate received more than 50 percent of the vote. Zimbabwe police stopped and detained U.S. and British embassy staff, slashing the tires of the cars they were traveling in, on Thursday in a move the U.S. ambassador blamed on the southern African country's government. REUTERS/Graphics HARARE U.S. and British diplomats who were detained and held for several hours by Zimbabwean police have been released, the U.S. embassy said on Thursday.
U.S. "No comment at this stage, please," he says. Pocock said: "We were in a place where there's been violence. HARARE, Zimbabwe, June 6 (UPI) -- U.S. and British diplomats report threats and other harassment in Zimbabwe amid government banning of all work by foreign aid agencies. Police were called in. They didn't want us to see it. President Robert Mugabe faces a June 27 runoff against the opposition's Morgan Tsvangirai. Matonga later told South African Radio 702 that the diplomats had addressed the MDC rally. No-one will talk for fear of jeopardising access to people who still need help USAid doctor The country directors of these organisations have become strangely reticent on the nature of their work, who they are feeding and where. They were asked to disembark ... We are not allowed to campaign in these areas, and the government is doing everything to disrupt our president's campaign Tinei Munetsi Movement for Democratic Change "Look," he says. But the US ambassador, James McGee, said in a CNN interview that the convoy carrying American officials had been stopped by Zimbabwean "war veterans who threatened to burn our people alive in the car if they did not leave the vehicles". A quick look through the Harare phonebook will reveal the existence of Save The Children UK, Save The Children US, Save The Children Norway, Care International and Christian Aid - all operating in Zimbabwe. The handing out of basic foodstuffs like cooking oil and maize meal was many residents' only lifeline. A spokesman for Mbeki said the MDC had contacted the Mbeki to tell him about the arrest.
By Farai Sevenzo Harare Basic foods are fast becoming beyond the reach of even those with jobs In the week in which world leaders met in Rome to discuss an ongoing global food crisis, will Zimbabwe's own food crisis be exacerbated by the announcement that aid groups and non-governmental organisations should stop operations at once and re-apply for their permits? Put together the facts - a recurring poor harvest of basic cereals like maize and wheat; persistent droughts; a farming infrastructure which has been in renewal or chaos; economic inflation beating even the projected figures - and you can see that this country is seriously in need of the kind of assistance these groups have been told to stop providing. And there are many of them, all channelling food for the needy throughout Zimbabwe from the UN, the World Food Programme (WFP) and elsewhere. A quick look through the Harare phonebook will reveal the existence of Save The Children UK, Save The Children US, Save The Children Norway, Care International and Christian Aid - all operating in Zimbabwe. No-one will talk for fear of jeopardising access to people who still need help USAid doctor The country directors of these organisations have become strangely reticent on the nature of their work, who they are feeding and where. A call to Save the Children Norway, in the capital's Five Avenue, has one begging for anonymity and then clamming up. "No comment at this stage, please," he says. "No-one will talk for fear of jeopardising access to people who still need help," explains an doctor with the US Agency for International Development (USAid). "We don't know what the ban means, so we won't say anything at the moment." Inaccessible countryside The charge against them is that they have been campaigning for the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) under the pretext of distributing aid. Zimbabwe's government said aid agencies were helping the opposition Aid in Zimbabwe's case encompasses hospitals and their medicines, the care of orphans, Aids, schools, water and the search for it in the shadow of drought. And while undertaking all these tasks, it is the government's contention that medics are neglecting polio immunisation programmes in favour of distributing MDC campaign matter. Large parts of the countryside have become inaccessible to the media and to international agencies as roadblocks controlled by pro-government militias have sprung up. Opposition supporters have meanwhile lost relatives and limbs in a post-election campaign of incredible brutality. The Red Cross had begun to treat the victims, many of whom have horrific injuries. The handing out of basic foodstuffs like cooking oil and maize meal was many residents' only lifeline. Late on Thursday evening, a moneychanger sent a text around to his usual clients: "110 million to the US." The implications of this are enormous for the 80% of Zimbabwe's population that is unemployed - everything is pegged to a currency industrialists can believe in. Bread, flour, maize meal, cooking oil are fast becoming beyond the reach of the workers with jobs, and impossible for the millions still waiting to harvest their crops. We are not allowed to campaign in these areas, and the government is doing everything to disrupt our president's campaign Tinei Munetsi Movement for Democratic Change "Look," he says. "I know the donor agencies have been stopped from working. "This Friday afternoon, Amai Chipiro, our organising secretary's wife, was burned to death in her hut. "We are not allowed to campaign in these areas, and the government is doing everything to disrupt our president's [Morgan Tsvangirai] campaign. "How do you suppose the agencies would campaign on our behalf?" Failed crops and new farmers who prefer the cash crops of tobacco and cotton mean the work of the banned agencies is needed now more than ever. But the business of politics will take the front pages until the presidential run-off election between Mr Tsvangirai and President Robert Mugabe on 27 June. Return to top E-mail this to a friend Printable version Bookmark with: Delicious Digg reddit Facebook StumbleUpon What are these? The Zimbabwean government has banned all work by foreign aid agencies, accusing them of campaigning for opposition parties during the country's disputed presidential elections in March. Last week, Robert Mugabe banned some groups, but yesterday's announcement covers all overseas organisations working in the country. In a public statement, Zimbabwe's social welfare minister, Nicholas Goche, said: "I hereby instruct all PVOs (private voluntary organisations)/NGOs to suspend all field operations until further notice." The decision came as security forces yesterday detained and harassed UK and US diplomats trying to investigate violence against the opposition. Zimbabwe's ambassador to Britain, Gabriel Machinga, was summoned to the Foreign Office to explain why the diplomats, who were travelling in two separate convoys, had been stopped at roadblocks north of the capital, Harare. David Miliband, the foreign secretary, condemned what he called a "serious incident" but said no violence had been directed at the UK personnel. "It gives us a window into the lives of ordinary Zimbabweans, because this sort of intimidation is something that is suffered daily, especially by those who are working with opposition groups," he said in a statement. "It's a window into lives that in some cases are marked by brutal intimidation, by torture and, in 53 cases that have been documented over the last few weeks, by death." But the US ambassador, James McGee, said in a CNN interview that the convoy carrying American officials had been stopped by Zimbabwean "war veterans who threatened to burn our people alive in the car if they did not leave the vehicles". In Washington, the state department called the detention and harassment of the US diplomats "absolutely outrageous" and indicative of the "repression and violence" Zimbabwe's government was willing to use against its own people. The diplomats fled from the scene," Zimbabwe's deputy information minister, Bright Matonga, told Sky News. They refused, and basically the police told them they were not going anywhere unless they got out of the car. The British ambassador said there had been two separate incidents involving two convoys, one with American diplomats and the other with "British embassy defence staff" - thus accounting for the differences in the British and American accounts of what happened.
XICHANG, Sichuan Province, June 9 (Xinhua) -- China is ready to launch a new communications satellite, Zhongxing-9, with a Long March-3B rocket carrier on Monday at the Xichang Satellite Launch Center. Zhongxing-9, a satellite ordered by China Satcom and produced by the France-based Thales Alenia Space, will be used for television live broadcast before the Beijing Olympic Games. As the only company engaged in international commercial satellite launching services, CGWIC has launched 34 foreign satellites for 28 services. Audiences would be able to watch live broadcasts of Olympic events via the satellite. The quality and coverage of the country's television and broadcasting services were to be increased, and people in remote regions of China would receive clear television programs. It was the 107th launch mission for the Long March series of carrier rockets. The China Great Wall Industrial Corporation (CGWIC), the contractor of the satellite launch, signed the launch service contract with China Satcom in November 2005. (Xinhua Photo) Photo Gallery>>> Zhongxing-9, a satellite ordered by China Satcom from the France-based Thales Alenia Space, would be used for live television broadcast and put into use before the Beijing Olympic Games in August. The satellite was shot into space aboard the Long March-3B rocket carrier. Both the satellite and carrier were in good conditions, and the weather was suitable for satellite launching, sources from the center said. [Xinhua] XICHANG, Sichuan Province -- China launched a new communications satellite, Zhongxing-9, from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in the southwestern Sichuan Province at 8:15 p.m. (Beijing Time) Monday. A Long March-3B rocket carrying Zhongxing-9 blasts off from the launch pad at the Xichang Satellite Launch Center, southwest China's Sichuan Province, June 9, 2008.
(Xinhua) Updated: 2008-06-09 20:47 Zhongxing-9, a new communications satellite, is launched aboard a Long March-3B rocket carrier from Xichang Satellite Launch Center in Sichuan Province June 9, 2008. [Xinhua] XICHANG, Sichuan Province -- China launched a new communications satellite, Zhongxing-9, from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in the southwestern Sichuan Province at 8:15 p.m. (Beijing Time) Monday. The satellite was shot into space aboard the Long March-3B rocket carrier. Zhongxing-9, a satellite ordered by China Satcom from the France-based Thales Alenia Space, would be used for live television broadcast and put into use before the Beijing Olympic Games in August. The quality and coverage of the country's television and broadcasting services were to be increased, and people in remote regions of China would receive clear television programs. The China Great Wall Industrial Corporation (CGWIC), the contractor of the satellite launch, signed the launch service contract with China Satcom in November 2005. As the only company engaged in international commercial satellite launching services, CGWIC has launched 34 foreign satellites for 28 services. A Long March-3B rocket carrying Zhongxing-9 blasts off from the launch pad at the Xichang Satellite Launch Center, southwest China's Sichuan Province, June 9, 2008.
E.U. treaties," he said. "Ireland is the only one of the E.U. 's Plan B. It wasn't the first time Irish voters have shocked the EU. 's 27 countries to have a referendum on the treaty, as it is legally obliged to do. Only Ireland has held a public vote on it. Other European leaders expressed hope that Ireland would still find a way to sign up to the pact. And what now? He called for other states to continue their ratification processes and said a solution should be sought. An Irish flag flies next to an European Union flag near the EU Commission headquarters in Brussels June 13, 2008. officials. It was due to take effect on January 1, but cannot come into force if a single member fails to ratify it. Mr Barroso said he had spoken to Irish Prime Minister Brian Cowen and agreed with him that this was not a vote against the EU. Constitution, which was rejected by French and Dutch voters in 2005. Turnout is said to have been about 45%. (Writing by Peter Graff; Editing by Caroline Drees) (For more stories on the referendum, visit: here To have your say, click on: here) Just over three million Irish voters are registered - in a European Union of 490 million people. "The result does bring about considerable uncertainty and a difficult situation. Mr Ahern was the first senior figure from the Irish government to admit that it looked like the treaty had failed. Many voters said they simply did not understand what they were voting on.
PA Photos Protestors calling for a No vote before the Lisbon treaty referendum, hand out flyers in Dublin city centre. Officials in Brussels and other European capitals appeared shell-shocked as they absorbed the news they had dreaded to hear on Friday the 13th: Irish voters had rejected the Lisbon Treaty aimed at updating the European Union's creaking institutions. Ireland's population of 4.2 million amounts to less than 1% of the E.U. 's 490 million citizens, but in the mire of the defeat that offered no comfort to E.U. The Union's consensus-based decision-making system requires that all 27-member states approve the treaty, and a veto by one is enough to torpedo it. Ireland was the only member state to submit the long and confusing document to a popular referendum, and the resulting "no" vote, by a decisive margin of 54% to 46%, has created a crsisis for the E.U. The Irish result set off a whirl of confusion, with officials struggling to suggest how the E.U. "The Treaty is not dead," said European Commission President José Manuel Barroso. "We should now try to find a solution." The first step, he urged, would be to continue the process of ratification, a task all other member states have left to their parliaments. "The ratification process is made up of 27 national processes, 18 member states have already approved the treaty, and the European Commission believes that the remaining ratifications should continue to take their course," he said. 's Plan B. Ireland's "no" came despite support for the treaty from virtually the entire Irish political establishment, all leading business and industrial organizations, the trade union movement, farming associations and the mainstream media. for, including funding of more than $82 billion since 1973 that had catalyzed the country's recent rapid economic growth, turning it from a source of emigration to booming "Celtic Tiger." They were greatly aided by the form of the treaty itself 346 pages of turgid text on the minutiae of Europe's institutional machinery, with no grand project, such as the euro or eastern enlargement, to capture the public's imagination. At the same time, the "no" campaigners played on public ignorance to raise fears about alleged threats to sovereignty and the Irish way of life in everything from taxation and defense policy to abortion, gay marriage, prostitution and hard drugs. The sucker punch of the "no" vote will sap the political will of governments hoping to reform Europe's institutions, said Hugo Brady, from the Centre for European Reform (CER). "It's going to be massively difficult," Brady said. 's 27 countries to have a referendum on the treaty, as it is legally obliged to do. But the high turnout, and high 'no' vote, suggest we could not expect another referendum any time soon. governments have until the end of the year to complete their ratification processes, and Brady said a number of ideas would be floated, but all were hazardous. José Ignacio Torreblanca, a senior research fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR), said such a scenario would effectively split the E.U. "The question is whether Ireland can oblige other Europeans to reject a treaty which they do indeed desire," he said. The answer lies in the treaty coming into force in countries in favor of it, providing they make up two thirds or three quarters of member states and the E.U. 's half-century old institutions, designed for a dozen states, couldn't cope with a membership that has burgeoned to 27. presidency on January 1, 2009, has already prepared a provisional plan on how to deal with a "no" vote by working within the E.U. An Irish flag flies next to an European Union flag near the EU Commission headquarters in Brussels June 13, 2008. REUTERS/Francois Lenoir UK Independence Party (UKIP) political agent Andrew S. Reed displays a badge saying No to EU constitution in front of the European Commission's Headquarters in Brussels, June 13, 2008.
Yang, 28, was apprehended by police at the scene and detained. A policeman puts up a security line outside Shanghai Zhabei's district police station in Shanghai July 1, 2008. "He was bandaged and one foot was shoeless," she said. (Photo:cns) Photo Gallery>>> He then charged into the building and attacked nine officers with his knife. A man went on a rampage in a police station in Shanghai on Tuesday, stabbing five people to death and wounding another five, local media reported. He was unemployed and from Beijing. Four policemen and a security guard were also injured and are being treated in hospital for stab wounds. He was arrested last year on suspicion of stealing bicycles. Chen said she saw another policeman in blood-stained clothing carried out later. Blood was all over some of their faces." The man was arrested after the attack in the Public Security Bureau office in the city's Zhabei district. He was unhappy about the interrogation and wanted revenge. The other two, both in their thirties, were stable and recovering from head and chest wounds. The suspect, surnamed Yang, stabbed a security guard at a police branch in the Zhabei district of Shanghai at 9:40 a.m. with a knife and started a fire at the gate of the facility. Television pictures showed some of the wounded being taken to hospital. (Reporting by Ian Ransom; Editing by Benjamin Kang Lim and Ben Tan) China, which is preparing for an influx of foreign visitors for the Beijing Olympics starting August 8, has been at pains to boost security.
A policeman puts up a security line outside Shanghai Zhabei's district police station in Shanghai July 1, 2008. A man went on a rampage in a police station in Shanghai on Tuesday, stabbing five people to death and wounding another five, local media reported. He was later... REUTERS/Stringer SHANGHAI A man went on a rampage in a police station in Shanghai on Tuesday, stabbing five people to death and wounding another five, local media reported. The man charged into Shanghai's Zhabei district police station, stabbed nine police officers and a security guard before being restrained, the Oriental Morning Post said on its website (www.dfdaily.com), without saying what his motive was. "Five people have already died, among them four police officers and a security guard. All-out efforts are being made to save the five injured," the report said, citing Shanghai television. Media reports later identified the man as a 28-year-old unemployed Beijing resident who had been investigated by the police for bicycle theft last year. The man, surnamed Yang, had been "dissatisfied" with the police and "committed the violent act out of vengeance", a report posted on news portal Caijing (www.caijing.com.cn) said, citing the Shanghai Public Security Bureau. China, which is preparing for an influx of foreign visitors for the Beijing Olympics starting August 8, has been at pains to boost security. SHANGHAI, July 1 (Xinhua) -- A man from Beijing stabbed five policemen to death in Shanghai on Tuesday in an attack meant as revenge for an interrogation last year, police sources said. The suspect, surnamed Yang, stabbed a security guard at a police branch in the Zhabei district of Shanghai at 9:40 a.m. with a knife and started a fire at the gate of the facility. The suspect, surnamed Yang, is arrested after he stabbed 5 police to death at a police branch in the Zhabei district of Shanghai July 1, 2008. (Photo:cns) Photo Gallery>>> He then charged into the building and attacked nine officers with his knife. Five police officers died of their injuries, authorities said. "When the four of them were carried into the emergency room, their bodies were soaked with blood and their faces were pale," said a witness surnamed Jia in the Shanghai Changzheng Hospital. One policemen named Fang Fuxin, 47, died before reaching the hospital and Zhang Jianping, 48, after two hours of treatment. (Xinhua Photo) Photo Gallery>>> Both died of traumatic hemorrhagic shock in the lower right lung, according to doctors with the hospital. He allegedly told police he had been interrogated in October last year by police in the branch who suspected he had stolen bicycles. "I saw two people in police uniform carried out from the office at around 10 a.m., one clearly with his stomach cut open" said a female witness surnamed Chen, who worked in a Christine's Bakery near the Zhabei Police Office. The attack took place in Shanghai's Zhabei district A man has stormed into a police station in the Chinese city of Shanghai and stabbed at least five officers to death, officials said.
By Thursday, calm had returned to the streets. Protesters ransacked the offices of the ruling MPRP party during Tuesday's violence [AFP] Protesters ransacked the offices of the ruling MPRP party during Tuesday's violence [AFP] Ulan Bator was reported to be calm on Thursday, but with a tight security presence on the streets. Enkhbayar also urged the political parties to respect the results declared by the Mongolian General Election Commission. The rioting left five people dead and injured 220. "The processes appeared to have been transparent and free throughout," Infante said. President Nambaryn Enkhbayar declared a state of emergency in the capital of Ulaanbaatar. All About Mongolia • China • Russia They broke through the police cordon in the evening and set fire to all the rooms of the building and part of the Central Cultural Palace. In the parliamentary election in 2004, neither the MPRP nor the Democratic Party garnered a majority in the parliament and the two established a coalition government. One person died of smoke inhalation inside the party headquarters, Montsame reported. Rioting continued until Wednesday morning when more than 1,800 police were called in to dispel protesters with rubber bullets and teargas. The non-profit organization -- which seeks to bolster democratic institutions -- met with the party's general secretary Monday night and "he indicated a possibility for the MPRP to win as many as 43 seats," Infante told CNN. The government issued a 10 p.m.-to-8 a.m. curfew that is expected to last until Saturday. It made a peaceful transition to democracy in the early 1990s and the ex-Communist MPRP has won most of the parliamentary elections held since then.
Protesters ransacked the offices of the ruling MPRP party during Tuesday's violence [AFP] Protesters ransacked the offices of the ruling MPRP party during Tuesday's violence [AFP] Ulan Bator was reported to be calm on Thursday, but with a tight security presence on the streets. Witnesses said police continued to keep the centre of the city largely sealed off although Mongolia's justice minister was quoted as saying soldiers would be ordered to return to barracks. "The situation has stabilised and there is no immediate danger of violence so armed forces have been removed from strategic positions and have been replaced by police," Tsend Munkh-Orgil told AFP. Tuesday's clashes saw thousands of rock-throwing protesters battle with police as they mobbed the headquarters of the ruling MPRP and set it on fire. The demonstrators also attacked the General Election Commission, demanding that officials resign. Call for calm Five people were reportedly killed in Tuesday's violence [AFP] Police and troops imposed a 10pm to 8am curfew, and downtown streets were nearly deserted on Wednesday night. The president's nine-point state of emergency decree also allowed police to use force in dealing with demonstrators, who had reportedly also looted an art gallery and government buildings. Mongolia's national news agency Montsame said five people died in Tuesday's violence in which officers used tear gas, rubber bullets and water cannon to beat back rioters wielding bricks and iron rods. The report did not say how they died. ULAN BATOR, July 3 (Xinhua) -- Riots in the Mongolian capital Ulan Bator calmed down on Thursday, with citizens going about their business as usual and a small number of soldiers and police patrolling the main streets. Five people were killed and more than 300 others injured in the political turmoil on Tuesday, sparking a four-day state of emergency declared by President Nambariin Enkhbayar. The riots were a result of alleged fraudulent practices in Sunday's parliamentary elections, a competition between the Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party (MPRP) and the Democratic Party, the partners of the coalition government. After preliminary election results pointed to the MPRP as the winner, Democratic Party Chairman Tsakhya Elbegdorj on Tuesday claimed fraudulent practices in the ballot counting, demanding a recount of votes in some electoral districts. On Tuesday afternoon, around 1,000 supporters of the Democratic Party and other parties marched in the city's central square to protest against alleged fraud in the elections. They broke through the police cordon in the evening and set fire to all the rooms of the building and part of the Central Cultural Palace. Rioting continued until Wednesday morning when more than 1,800 police were called in to dispel protesters with rubber bullets and teargas. Government officials said the illegal activities have caused huge damage. To restore order, President Enkhbayar on Tuesday declared a state of emergency in the capital, during which protests are banned and police are allowed to use force to break up protests. On Thursday morning, the MPRP and the Democratic Party agreed to maintain social order at a parliament session, which also approved the presidential order of a state of emergency in Ulan Bator. According to preliminary results released by the election commission on Wednesday, the ruling MPRP won 44 of the 76 parliament seats, while the rival Democratic Party secured 27 seats. Under the platform, the country's annual economic growth rate will exceed 10 percent on average and the per capita GDP will reach 5,000 U.S. dollars by 2012. The capital city of Ulaanbaatar was in the second day of a four-day state of emergency after thousands of protesters, alleging election fraud, clashed with police late Tuesday. Late Wednesday, the election commission announced preliminary results on national television, and those results indicated that the ruling Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party was expected to capture most of the seats. The non-profit organization -- which seeks to bolster democratic institutions -- met with the party's general secretary Monday night and "he indicated a possibility for the MPRP to win as many as 43 seats," Infante told CNN. Watch as protesters mob the ruling party headquarters » The political rally descended into violence, as rioters clashed with police and set fire to the MPRP headquarters and a cultural center, according to the state news agency Montsame.
Please re-enter. World leaders, such as those from the West, the U.N. Security Council and Israel, have been suspicious that Iran is using its nuclear program to develop weaponry. Elham said "Iran's stand on the issue has not changed" and that Iran "will not withdraw from legitimate rights of its people," IRNA reported. The exact content of both the EU proposal and the Iranian response have not yet been made public. That would mean Iran would be allowed to continue to use the more than 3,000 centrifuges it already has but could not manufacture more in that period. Iran insists that is nuclear programme is for peaceful purposes. The incentives package builds on a previous offer of 2006 and says that if Iran suspends uranium enrichment, then talks can start about a long-term agreement. View all New York Times newsletters. Jafari -- who boasted of the Guards' advanced rockets and fast boats -- said his comments were meant to underline the forces' capabilities and strategies, not as a prediction of any war. All About Iran • Israel • Nuclear Energy • European Union The letter added that such treatment “will not remain unnoticed in the eyes of intelligent statesmen.” Advertisement Continue reading the main story It also called United Nations Security Council sanctions illegal and spoke of a “lack of trust” because of the “duplicitous behavior of certain big powers,” the officials said. Mehr News Agency reported on Friday that Jalili and Solana "agreed to hold further talks later this month." Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki has suggested that Iran would never launch an unprovoked attack on Israel. “We still have to decide on the conditions for negotiations.
(CNN) -- Iran's government spokesman on Saturday reiterated its right to develop nuclear power for peaceful purposes, a state-run news agency reported. Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki has suggested that Iran would never launch an unprovoked attack on Israel. Gholam-Hossein Elham made the remark to reporters a day after Iran delivered a response to a world powers proposal that Iran suspend its uranium enrichment in exchange for economic and other incentives, the state-run Islamic Republic News Agency reported. World leaders, such as those from the West, the U.N. Security Council and Israel, have been suspicious that Iran is using its nuclear program to develop weaponry. Iran has consistently disputed that and said it plans to use nuclear power for energy. Elham said "Iran's stand on the issue has not changed" and that Iran "will not withdraw from legitimate rights of its people," IRNA reported. "Tehran's stand is based on the legitimate rights of the Iranian nation as well as the international regulations. The Iranian nation will continue with the path determined by the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei," Elham said. The remarks in the IRNA report are paraphrased comments. The incentives proposal to Iran was made last month by the foreign ministers of the five U.N. Security Council permanent members -- the United States, Britain, China, Russia and France -- and by the foreign minister of Germany, which has been involved in nuclear negotiations, and by European Union security chief Javier Solana. Watch what a deal could mean » Iran responded to those ministers on Friday. Saeed Jalili, Iran's top nuclear negotiator, told Solana in a phone call that Iran's response focused on "common ground between the two sides and a constructive and creative view," according to Iranian news reports. Along with the incentives, the European Union, acting on behalf of the world powers, also is offering a six-week "pre-negotiations" phase proposal, a gesture of goodwill and an effort to jump-start talks that have been at an impasse over Iran's nuclear aspirations. It is calling for suspending any new sanctions if Iran takes a six-week break from installing or manufacturing any more centrifuges that enrich uranium. That would mean Iran would be allowed to continue to use the more than 3,000 centrifuges it already has but could not manufacture more in that period. But the world powers said in its letter to Iran last month "formal negotiations can start as soon as Iran's enrichment-related and reprocessing activities are suspended." Mehr News Agency reported on Friday that Jalili and Solana "agreed to hold further talks later this month." The talks come amid tensions between the Jewish state of Israel and the Islamic Republic of Iran, which doesn't recognize Israel's existence. Israel believes Iran is intent on developing nuclear weapons and officials there have said the country won't tolerate a nuclear-armed Iran. There are fears in the world community that Israel might be pondering a strike on Iran's nuclear facilities. U.S. President George W. Bush has said he favors a diplomatic approach to settling the nuclear dispute with Iran but has not ruled out a military option. In a recent interview, Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki suggested that Iran would never launch an unprovoked attack on Israel -- in contrast to some interpretations of hostile comments toward Israel by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. On Saturday, the commander of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards said any "act of aggression" against Iran will prompt a stiff response. "By using advanced rockets and lightning tactics, vessels of (Iran's) enemies shall sink deep into the Persian Gulf waters," said Maj. Gen. Mohammad Ali Jafari, who spoke to semi-official Fars News Agency. Jafari -- who boasted of the Guards' advanced rockets and fast boats -- said his comments were meant to underline the forces' capabilities and strategies, not as a prediction of any war. "Regardless of how well equipped and advanced the enemies' vessels may be, the tactics of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards and their lightning speed will give the enemy no chance to escape," he said. Iran says its stance on its nuclear programme remains unchanged, despite an EU offer of incentives to suspend uranium enrichment. A government spokesman said the country was prepared to negotiate with major world powers, but insisted the talks must address Iran's nuclear rights. Correspondents say the latest statement suggests Iran is not ready to slow down its nuclear activities. In the first official comments since Iran submitted its response to the EU, spokesman Gholamhossein Elham said that Iran "will not go back on its rights on the nuclear issue". "Iran's stand regarding its peaceful nuclear program has not changed. Iran insists on negotiations while respecting its rights and avoiding any loss of international rights," he said. On offer is recognition of Iran's right to develop nuclear energy for peaceful purposes and the treatment of Iran in "the same manner" as other states under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. It has repeatedly rejected demands to halt enriching uranium, which can be used as fuel for power plants or material for weapons if refined to a greater degree.
As of 11 p.m. MIAMI, Florida (CNN) -- Hurricane Bertha -- the first hurricane of the 2008 Atlantic season -- increased in strength Monday evening, according to the National Hurricane Center. All About Hurricanes and Cyclones • Bermuda ET advisory said. The eye was moving toward the west-northwest at about 12 mph. It's still to early to tell whether Bertha will hit the island, but forecasters urged residents to monitor the storm's progress. Bertha formed last Thursday near the Cape Verde islands off Africa. "A gradual turn toward the northwest with a decrease in forward speed is expected over the next couple of days," the Miami-based center said. A Category 3 has wind speeds of 111 to 130 mph. It is unusual for storms to form so far east so early in the season. Maximum sustained winds have increased to speeds of 90 mph with higher gusts. ET, Bertha was 695 miles (1,115 km) east-northeast of the northern Leeward Islands and about 1,085 miles (1,745 km) southeast of Bermuda. The record 2005 season, which included Katrina which swamped New Orleans and killed 1,500 people on the U.S. Gulf Coast, saw 28 storms. A satellite picture from 5:45 a.m. Hurricane forecasters have predicted this six-month season, which began on June 1, will be average or above average. But the storm has already delivered surprises and forecasting long-range hurricane intensities and tracks is an uncertain science. Learn more about hurricanes » The first tropical storm of the season, Arthur, formed May 31 near the coast of Belize and dumped heavy rain on Central America and southern Mexico.
Hurricane Bertha is seen in a satellite image taken on July 7, 2008. REUTERS/NOAA/Handout MIAMI Strengthening far more swiftly and vigorously than predicted, Hurricane Bertha became a "major" hurricane in the open Atlantic on Monday, with sustained winds of at least 115 miles per hour (185 kph), U.S. forecasters said. The second named storm of the 2008 Atlantic hurricane season was heading west-northwest in the direction of Bermuda when it became a Category 3 storm on the five-step Saffir-Simpson scale of hurricane intensity, the National Hurricane Center said. "A gradual turn toward the northwest with a decrease in forward speed is expected over the next couple of days," the Miami-based center said. That could take Bertha near Bermuda, a wealthy mid-Atlantic British colony that is viewed as one of the more storm-proof islands in the region, with tough building codes and a storm-conscious population. The National Hurricane Center said it did not expect Bertha to get much stronger due to unfavorable atmospheric conditions in its path. But the storm has already delivered surprises and forecasting long-range hurricane intensities and tracks is an uncertain science. At 5 p.m. EDT, the storm's center was located around 1,150 miles southeast of Bermuda and it was moving at around 12 mph (19 kph) to the west-northwest. Energy markets have paid close attention Atlantic storms since the devastating 2004 and 2005 hurricane seasons, during which a number of powerful hurricanes ripped through the Gulf of Mexico, toppling oil rigs and severing pipelines. None of the computer models used to predict storm tracks indicated Bertha would steer south into the Caribbean or toward the Gulf. Hurricane forecasters have predicted this six-month season, which began on June 1, will be average or above average. An average season has 10 tropical storms, of which six reach hurricane strength with winds of at least 74 mph (119 kph). The record 2005 season, which included Katrina which swamped New Orleans and killed 1,500 people on the U.S. Gulf Coast, saw 28 storms. As of 11 a.m. EDT Monday, the Atlantic season's first hurricane was centered about 775 miles east of the northern Leeward Islands. It's still to early to tell whether Bertha will hit the island, but forecasters urged residents to monitor the storm's progress. While Bertha's power may fluctuate over the next day, it is expected to begin gradually weakening by Wednesday, the center's 11 p.m.
Yet Labour are completely immobilised. During his campaign visit, Mr Cameron said it was the Conservative's mission "to heal the wounds of poverty, crime, social disorder and deprivation". Margaret Curran is currently the MSP for Glasgow Baillieston Glasgow East: Candidate profiles Margaret Curran has been named as the Labour candidate in the Glasgow East Westminster by-election. Campaigning on Monday also saw the SNP call for action on fuel bills. The Liberal Democrats will formally launch their campaign on Tuesday as will the Scottish Socialist Party. The by-election was triggered by the resignation of Labour MP David Marshall on health grounds. E-mail this to a friend Printable version Bookmark with: Delicious Digg reddit Facebook StumbleUpon What are these? The by-election will take place on 24 July. Mr Cameron and former Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith joined candidate Davena Rankin in the constituency on Monday. "People in Glasgow and across Scotland are suffering as energy bills and petrol prices rise. "Whether it is knife crime or any other symptom of our broken society, we will repair the damage by treating not just the symptoms, but the causes too." Other candidates declared include Glasgow councillor John Mason for the SNP, university worker Davena Rankin for the Conservatives, maths teacher Ian Robertson for the Liberal Democrats, retired GP Eileen Duke for the Scottish Greens, former MSP Frances Curran for the Scottish Socialist Party and council worker Tricia McLeish for Solidarity. "Let me be clear: Labour's fightback starts right here, right now." It also had the highest Labour vote share in the city at the General Election. Labour was expected to name George Ryan as its candidate on Friday night but he failed to turn up for a selection meeting.
David Cameron campaigned with former leader Iain Duncan Smith SNP launches by-election campaign Conservative leader David Cameron has highlighted what he called Labour's "broken society" while campaigning in the Glasgow East by-election. Mr Cameron and former Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith joined candidate Davena Rankin in the constituency on Monday. Labour, which has yet to choose a candidate, said it was getting people off benefits and into work. The SNP campaign launched with a call for action on rising energy costs. The 24 July by-election was triggered by Labour MP David Marshall's resignation on health grounds. During his campaign visit, Mr Cameron said it was the Conservative's mission "to heal the wounds of poverty, crime, social disorder and deprivation". He said social breakdown in Glasgow East was simply an "extreme version" of what could be seen elsewhere and highlighted the high level of welfare dependency and knife crime. Whether it is knife crime or any other symptom of our broken society, we will repair the damage by treating not just the symptoms, but the causes too David Cameron Conservative leader In full: Glasgow East candidates "This is the broken society by-election," said Mr Cameron. "It comes in a place where the people are shouting 'Gordon Brown, wasn't Labour supposed to end this degrading poverty?'. "It comes at a time when the country is asking 'What is going on with the knife crime and violence on our streets?'." Mr Cameron said the Conservatives had a clear plan to foster social cohesion while they attempted to rebuild the economy and improve the NHS. "We can and will bring hope and aspiration to places where there is resignation and despair," he said. "Whether it is knife crime or any other symptom of our broken society, we will repair the damage by treating not just the symptoms, but the causes too." E-mail this to a friend Printable version Bookmark with: Delicious Digg reddit Facebook StumbleUpon What are these? John Mason is the party's candidate in Glasgow East Cameron focus on social breakdown The Scottish National Party has launched its campaign for the Glasgow East by-election. SNP leader Alex Salmond joined the party's candidate, Glasgow councillor John Mason, for the launch in the city's Easterhouse area. Mr Mason said the vote would be a chance for local people to elect an MP who was "not out of touch like Labour". Speaking at the launch of his campaign, Mr Mason said: "As an east end councillor I know the opportunities ahead for Glasgow East but I also know the burden felt by families facing rising fuel, energy and food prices. An SNP win in Glasgow East will force Gordon Brown to take action on fuel prices - at the pumps and in the home Alex Salmond SNP leader "This by-election is the chance for people in Glasgow East to elect an MP who is on their side, not out of touch like Labour. "By electing an SNP MP voters will put Glasgow East on the map and force action from Gordon Brown." Mr Salmond said his party's campaign had got off to a "flying start". "This by-election is time for Glasgow East to elect an MP who will send a shockwave to London and force action over rising energy costs," he said. "People in Glasgow and across Scotland are suffering as energy bills and petrol prices rise. "An SNP win in Glasgow East will force Gordon Brown to take action on fuel prices - at the pumps and in the home." Other candidates declared include university worker Davena Rankin for the Conservatives, maths teacher Ian Robertson for the Liberal Democrats, retired GP Eileen Duke for the Scottish Greens, former MSP Frances Curran for the Scottish Socialist Party and council worker Tricia McLeish for Solidarity. Let me be clear: Labour's fightback starts right here, right now Margaret Curran MSP Labour candidate Ms Curran emerged as the new frontrunner over the weekend amid speculation that several other party figures had turned down the chance to stand.
・"...they are only intended for those who dare attack Iran," he added. ・IRGC successfully test fired new long- and mid-range missiles on Wednesday. Tehran has tested the missile before, but the latest launch comes amid rising tensions with the US and Israel over the country's nuclear programme. (Xinhua/Reuters File Photo) Photo Gallery>>> WASHINGTON, July 9 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Wednesday that the United States and Iran are not close to a military confrontation after Iran test-fired long and medium range missiles. "Our missile capacity is just for defensive purposes, to safeguard peace in Iran and the Persian Gulf region," Najjar was quoted as saying. The Payambar-e Azam 3 war games were conducted by missile units of the IRGC's naval and air forces, Press TV reported. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has insisted his country had no intention of attacking Israel. Iranians test-fire missiles At least one of nine launched is capable of reaching Israel, which recently held its own long-range exercises. Iran said this week that it would retaliate against U.S. and Israeli interests in the region if its nuclear facilities were attacked. News coverage on A1 and A4. E-mail this to a friend Printable version Bookmark with: Delicious Digg reddit Facebook StumbleUpon What are these? Media requires JavaScript to play. It later became clear that the original photo showed only three rockets. The launches came a day after seemingly contradictory statements from top Iranian officials. IRGC Air Force Commander Hossein Salami said the aim of the war games were to demonstrate "just how strong-willed the Islamic Republic is in defending its sovereignty against any challenges by those enemies that have used harsh and threatening words against Iran in recent weeks."
Advertisement The US and Israel have condemned Iran after it test-fired a long range missile capable of reaching Tel Aviv. Iran state media said nine missiles had been fired in total, including a new Shahab-3, with a range of 2,000km (1,240 miles). Tehran has tested the missile before, but the latest launch comes amid rising tensions with the US and Israel over the country's nuclear programme. A senior US state department official said the launch was "provocative". Wednesday's early morning test at a remote desert site sent oil prices climbing. Israel should prepare itself to do what is needed to do Ze'ev Boim Israeli minister Brig Gen Hoseyn Salami, commander of Iran's Revolutionary Guards' air force, said: "Our missiles are ready for shooting at any place and any time, quickly and with accuracy." Western leaders have been attempting to convince Tehran to stop enriching uranium, which it has continued doing despite sanctions from the UN and the European Union, insisting its nuclear programme is purely for civilian energy. US Under-secretary of State William Burns said that thanks to UN sanctions, Iran's real progress on its nuclear programme had been "modest", despite its sabre-rattling. "We view force as an option that is on the table but a last resort," he told a Congressional hearing on Wednesday. The launches were intended to deter any Israeli or US strike against Tehran's nuclear installations, says BBC diplomatic correspondent Jonathan Marcus. Our correspondent - who is in Israel - says the country has a fully operational anti-ballistic missile system, which Israeli military experts believe can counter any Iranian threat. HAVE YOUR SAY Why is it ok for Israel, the US and the UK to have WMDs or nuclear weapons but not for any other country? Mike, London, UK In the Israeli parliament, Housing Minister Ze'ev Boim said: "I suggest Israel will not talk, and Israel should prepare itself to do what is needed to do." Describing Iran as a "great threat", the Democratic challenger, Barack Obama, called for tougher sanctions while his Republican rival, John McCain, said the test demonstrated the need for effective missile defence. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad says Iran has no intention of attacking Israel On Monday, an adviser to Iran's supreme leader said it would retaliate against any military attack by hitting the Israeli city of Tel Aviv. Other commanders have threatened to close the Strait of Hormuz, through which a large part of the world's oil flows, and to target the US and its allies around the world if Iran comes under attack. Speaking on a visit to Malaysia on Tuesday, Mr Ahmadinejad dismissed the possibility of an attack by the US or Israel as a "joke". E-mail this to a friend Printable version Bookmark with: Delicious Digg reddit Facebook StumbleUpon What are these? Special Report: Iran Nuclear Crisis ・"Our missile capacity is just for defensive purposes...," Najjar said. TEHRAN, July 9 (Xinhua) -- Iranian Defense Minister Mostafa Mohammad Najjar said Wednesday that Iran's missile capacity is only for defensive purposes, Iran's satellite channel Press TV reported. "Our missile capacity is just for defensive purposes, to safeguard peace in Iran and the Persian Gulf region," Najjar was quoted as saying. A video grab from Al Alam television shows one of nine long- and medium-range missiles being fired during a test in Iran July 9, 2008. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo) Photo Gallery>>> "Our missiles will not be used to threaten any country and they are only intended for those who dare attack Iran," he added. The Iranian defense minister made the remarks shortly after Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) successfully test fired new long- and mid-range missiles in response to threats from the United States and Israel. In military exercises dubbed Payambar-e Azam 3 (Great Prophet 3), the IRGC on earlier Wednesday test fired a Shahab 3 missile, which can hit any target within a range of 2,000 km, Press TV said. A video grab from Al Alam television shows three of nine long- and medium-range missiles being fired during a test in Iran July 9, 2008. The Payambar-e Azam 3 war games were conducted by missile units of the IRGC's naval and air forces, Press TV reported. IRGC Air Force Commander Hossein Salami said the aim of the war games were to demonstrate "just how strong-willed the Islamic Republic is in defending its sovereignty against any challenges by those enemies that have used harsh and threatening words against Iran in recent weeks." The Bush administration said it focused on diplomacy to try to resolve Iran's nuclear issue, but has insisted that it will take "no option off the table." Full story Iran test fires new long- and mid-range missiles TEHRAN, July 9 (Xinhua) -- Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) has successfully test fired new long- and mid-range missiles in response to threats from the United States and Israel, Iran's satellite channel Press TV reported Wednesday. In military exercises dubbed Payambar-e Azam 3 (Great Prophet 3), the IRGC test fired a Shahab 3 missile, which can hit any target within a range of 2,000 km, Press TV said. Full story Germany urges Iran to halt missile test BERLIN, July 9 (Xinhua) -- Germany was concerned with Iran's missile tests and urged Tehran to halt "all form of saber rattling", a government spokesman said on Wednesday. For The Record Los Angeles Times Friday, July 11, 2008 Home Edition Main News Part A Page 2 National Desk 1 inches; 54 words Type of Material: Correction Iran missile test: A photo from Iran's Revolutionary Guard that accompanied an article in Thursday's Section A about the country's test of medium- and long-range missiles apparently was digitally altered to show four missiles successfully launching. The tests were the latest drama in the long standoff over Iran's uranium enrichment program, which Tehran says will produce power for civilian use but the West and Israel allege is aimed at building a bomb. U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who was traveling in Bulgaria, said the launches constituted "evidence that the missile threat is not an imaginary one." Iranian TV showed three simultaneous launches, one of a new version of the Shahab-3 missile, which Tehran says carries a 1-ton conventional warhead and can travel 1,250 miles, well within the range of U.S. troops in Iraq, the Navy's 5th Fleet in Bahrain and American allies Israel, Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Egypt.
"The store is basically broken at this point," said Michael Rose, a blogger for tuaw.com, which reports on Apple. The total average monthly cost of the iPhone 3G from Rogers is $60 US, below the global average of $74 US. iPhone iNdex See the iPhone iNdex for a comparison of basic service plans from the 27 carriers in 21 countries that have announced pricing for the device's launch on July 11. [/CUSTOM] On an average monthly basis, however, Rogers' prices fare better in comparison with carriers around the world. Other customers were derailed when attempting to purchase or download add-on applications at all. Later that night after an hourlong wait for phone support an Apple technician was able to walk me through the necessary steps to get my email working properly on the phone. Consumers were not the only disappointed constituents on Friday.
Anticipation quickly turned to frustration on Friday for the millions of Apple customers trying to upgrade their old iPhones to the new software, or activate their newly purchased iPhone 3G. With Apple's servers overloaded and unable to accommodate customer demand, eager buyers who had camped out all week to acquire the new phone were thwarted. Though the new-generation phones were designed to be activated in-store, salespeople instructed customers Friday to go home, connect the phone to a personal computer and download new software to activate it. Apple did not return phone calls or emails asking for an explanation of its launch-day problems, but by 10 p.m. EST on Friday, this reporter at long last reached a technical support representative, who identified himself only as George: "It's been crazy the whole day," he said. "Our server has been really busy and has been timing out." The logjam was a major misstep for a company that markets its products as simpler, more elegant and easier to use than the competition's. "The store is basically broken at this point," said Michael Rose, a blogger for tuaw.com, which reports on Apple. When he tried to upgrade his older iPhone Touch early Friday to take advantage of the new software, he says he received an error message informing him the iTunes store was unavailable (the iPhone must be authenticated through Apple's iTunes program to complete a software upgrade). Cassel Kroll, 37, waited in line for three hours Friday morning at the AT&T store on Manhattan's Upper East Side to purchase his new high-tech toy. "I haven't figured out how to use this thing properly," Kroll told TIME at the end of the business day on Friday. Although he was able to make phone calls, when he tried to load applications onto the new phone, he received a perplexing error message stating that applications in his iTunes library could not be installed on the new iPhone for lack of authorization. Representatives for AT&T, the sole wireless carrier for the new device, referred most technical questions to Apple. An AT&T technician informed TIME only of the obvious predicament that Apple was "experiencing some challenges due to the launch of the new iPhone" and was unable to resolve problems accessing the Apple App store, downloading applications, or setting up AOL and Yahoo email accounts on the device. Apple's own support lines were so jammed that we were unable to get through until late Friday evening. On a day that should have been a celebration for the company, Apple's stock fell more than 2%. And by midnight I had wirelessly downloaded my first app directly onto the device, without any snafus. A spokesman for AT&T Inc., the exclusive carrier for the iPhone in the U.S., said there was a global problem with Apple Inc.'s iTunes software that prevented the phones from being fully activated in-store, as had been planned. Instead, employees were telling buyers to go home and perform the last step by connecting their phones to their own computers, spokesman Michael Coe said. Enthusiasm was high for the new model ahead of the 8 a.m. launch in the U.S. At the flagship Apple store on Manhattan's Fifth Avenue, a line of hundreds encircled the block. According to CBCNews.ca's iPhone iNdex, which compares basic service plans from the 27 carriers in 21 countries that have announced pricing for the device's launch on Friday, Canadians who buy the device before Aug. 31 will be faced with a total minimum cost of $2,176 US over the course of the three-year deal they must sign with Rogers. That is second only to the $2,554 US customers of Vodafone will pay in Italy with their two-year service agreement. The total minimum commitment cost counts the up-front fee for the iPhone plus the monthly service charge for each month of the contract that customers are required to sign. iPhone iNdex See the iPhone iNdex for a comparison of basic service plans from the 27 carriers in 21 countries that have announced pricing for the device's launch on July 11. When Rogers' special pricing promotion ends on Aug. 31, however, the company will take the most expensive spot with a total cost of $2,572 US, by virtue of its three-year contract — the longest service commitment in the world. Belgium is an aberration on the iPhone iNdex because the country's laws prohibit the selling of goods that are tied to other services, effectively making cellphone contracts illegal. The iPhone's carrier in Belgium, Mobistar, is therefore selling the device with an upfront fee of $679 US and a monthly plan of $47 US. [/CUSTOM] On an average monthly basis, however, Rogers' prices fare better in comparison with carriers around the world. The total monthly cost, which averages the iPhone's initial up-front fee plus service charges for each month in the contract that customers are required to sign, is an average $74 US across all carriers. Swisscom's plans don't include any calling minutes, which means customers will have to pay extra to talk, but the carrier is charging only 67 cents US per hour of voice usage.
Some were threatened with rape. The heaviest sentence, five years, was given to the camp commander, Antonio Biagio Gugliotta. Protesters said they were beaten after being strip-searched by police. The Bolzaneto trial was one of three arising from the Genoa G8 summit. There were extensive clashes during the G8 meeting in 2001 An Italian court has found 15 officials guilty of mistreating protesters following violent protests at the G8 meeting in the city of Genoa in 2001. He was accused of failing to inform authorities after some of the detainees were sprayed with asphyxiating gas. It sentenced them to prison terms ranging from five months to five years. Another 30 defendants were cleared of charges including assault. The detainees at Bolzaneto included about 40 who were arrested in a raid on a school being used as a dormitory. Most of the others convicted were police officers. Detainees were made to join in chants in praise of Italy's late fascist dictator, Benito Mussolini. Street-battles between demonstrators and police left one protester dead and hundreds of others injured. The sentences totalled less than a third of what had been demanded by the prosecution. The judges issued their verdicts after 11 hours of closed-doors deliberations. Another chant, lauding Chile's Augusto Pinochet, ended: "Death to the Jews." All of those convicted are expected to appeal; none can go to prison until the appeals process is complete, which normally takes years. However, the Italian government will be forced to pay out millions of pounds to those who were victims of police brutality during their detention. Please turn on JavaScript. E-mail this to a friend Printable version Bookmark with: Delicious Digg reddit Facebook StumbleUpon What are these?
GENOA, Italy (Reuters) — An Italian court found 15 police officers guilty on Monday of beating protesters at the Group of 8 summit meeting in Genoa in 2001. It sentenced them to prison terms ranging from five months to five years. All of those convicted are expected to appeal; none can go to prison until the appeals process is complete, which normally takes years. The heaviest sentence was given to an inspector in the penitentiary police department. The police were accused of organized brutality at the Diaz high school, where protesters were camping during the summit meeting, and later at the Bolzaneto police barracks, where arrested protesters were taken. One protester was killed and hundreds were injured during street battles with the police. · Sentences up to five years for mistreatment in 2001 · Verdict likely to embarrass Berlusconi government Fifteen Italian police officers and doctors were last night sentenced to jail terms of up to five years after being found guilty of abusing protesters detained during riots at the 2001 G8 summit in Genoa. Thirty other defendants were cleared of charges ranging from assault to the denial of basic human rights. The court heard former detainees including Britons testify that they were insulted, beaten and sprayed with asphyxiating gas. Another chant, lauding Chile's Augusto Pinochet, ended: "Death to the Jews." Between 100,000 and 200,000 demonstrators converged on Genoa seven years ago to take part in anti-globalisation protests. Most were peaceable, but some were not, and the situation deteriorated as the police employed tactics that many witnesses described as heavy-handed. More than 250 of those arrested were taken to a holding camp that had been created at Bolzaneto, six miles from Genoa, where the abuses took place. Twelve other police officers, eight men and four women, received jail terms of five to 28 months. The chief of medical services at Bolzaneto, Giacomo Toccafondi, was given one year and two months in jail; he was accused of insulting detainees and failing to inform authorities after they were sprayed with asphyxiating gas in cells. The detainees at Bolzaneto included about 40 who were arrested in a raid on a school being used as a dormitory. One, a Briton, Richard Moth, later told the Guardian that, despite injuries sustained in the raid that had him "screaming with pain", he was made to stand for hours spread-eagled against a wall. In December 2007, 24 demonstrators were found guilty of damage to property and looting. In the third, ongoing trial, 28 defendants, including some of Italy's most senior police officers, face charges related to the raid on the school, which left 62 injured, three in comas. There were extensive clashes during the G8 meeting in 2001 An Italian court has found 15 officials guilty of mistreating protesters following violent protests at the G8 meeting in the city of Genoa in 2001. A judge handed down prison sentences ranging from five months to five years to the accused - who include police, prison officials and two doctors. The BBC's David Willey in Rome says it is unlikely that any of those sentenced will actually serve time in prison because their offences will have expired under Italy's statute of limitations before the appeal process is completed. However, the Italian government will be forced to pay out millions of pounds to those who were victims of police brutality during their detention. Prosecutors said those arrested were beaten, made to sing fascist songs, and that some women were stripped naked, had their heads shaved and were threatened with rape. Doctor jailed The commander of the camp, Biagio Gugliotta, was sentenced to five years - the heaviest penalty handed out on Monday. One of the prosecutors in the case, Patrizia Petruziello, said that 40 protesters who were arrested suffered "four out of five" of the European Court's criteria for "inhuman and degrading treatment".
Staff at a mine clearance centre at Corbas, near Lyon, noticed that thieves had apparently broken into the site, which was not guarded, and taken explosives and detonators. In a statement released late on Friday the interior ministry said there had been "security failings" which had made the theft possible. All About France • Michele Alliot-Marie Semtex has been used by various terrorist groups French anti-terrorist officers are searching for 28kg (61lb) of Semtex explosive missing from a depot in the suburbs of the city of Lyon. Police sources have declined to confirm a newspaper website report which said that the store had been unguarded. France's interior ministry confirmed an investigation was underway, saying the manager of the site had been suspended. The depot, in a disused 19th century fort at Corbas, is used for storing explosives by a civil defence unit charged with the job of blowing up bombs and ammunition left over from the two world wars. A bomb containing about half a kilogram of the explosive caused the blast which brought down Pan Am flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, in 1988, killing 270 people. Journalist Leonard Schoenberger contributed to this report. PARIS French anti-terrorism police are investigating the theft of 28 kg (61 lbs) of plastic explosives from a site near the southeastern city of Lyon, officials said on Friday. Interior ministry spokesman Gerard Gachet told France's LCI television that the director of the centre had been suspended for allowing the explosives to be stored at the unsecured site. Semtex is a powerful explosive favoured by terrorist groups as it is odourless and difficult to detect. Semtex, which was first made in the Czech Republic, is used in mining and demolition work.
PARIS French anti-terrorism police are investigating the theft of 28 kg (61 lbs) of plastic explosives from a site near the southeastern city of Lyon, officials said on Friday. Staff at a mine clearance centre at Corbas, near Lyon, noticed that thieves had apparently broken into the site, which was not guarded, and taken explosives and detonators. Interior ministry spokesman Gerard Gachet told France's LCI television that the director of the centre had been suspended for allowing the explosives to be stored at the unsecured site. Semtex has been used by various terrorist groups French anti-terrorist officers are searching for 28kg (61lb) of Semtex explosive missing from a depot in the suburbs of the city of Lyon. France's interior ministry confirmed an investigation was underway, saying the manager of the site had been suspended. Police said detonators were also missing and that they are treating the theft "very seriously". The depot, in a disused 19th century fort at Corbas, is used for storing explosives by a civil defence unit charged with the job of blowing up bombs and ammunition left over from the two world wars. In a statement released late on Friday the interior ministry said there had been "security failings" which had made the theft possible. A bomb containing about half a kilogram of the explosive caused the blast which brought down Pan Am flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, in 1988, killing 270 people. About 62 pounds (28 kilograms) of explosives were stolen from a depot at the civil security site at Fort de Corbas, the ministry said in a written statement, because of an apparent breach in the site's protection.
"If you have ischemic tissue, it's dying tissue, so the faster you can establish blood flow, the better," she said. They used endothelial progenitor cells, which mature into cells that line the blood vessels, and mesenchymal progenitor cells, which differentiate into the cells that surround the lining and provide stability. Dr Joyce Bischoff, who led the research team, said: "What's really significant about our study is that we are using human cells that can be obtained from blood or bone marrow rather than removing and using fully developed blood vessels." More information Learn about the procedures currently used to restore blood flow in the heart from the American Heart Association. The so-called progenitor cells teamed up to form working blood vessels that connected to the circulatory systems of the mice, the team at Harvard Medical School and Children's Hospital Boston reported. "We see very good and extensive vasculature in seven days and we'd like to see that in 24 or 48 hours. The ability to develop swiftly a new network of tiny blood vessels - known as capillaries - would be a prize for scientists. They hope to find a way to help the body replace blocked or damaged blood vessels, such as arteries blocked in a heart attack or stroke. They found that a mix of the two kinds of progenitor cells derived from adult blood and bone marrow or umbilical cord and adult bone marrow gave the best growth of blood vessels. (Reporting by Maggie Fox) "For clinical use, the way we envision it, if a patient has need to vascularize ischemic tissue, we can get cells from the patient ahead of time, grow them and inject them back into the patient."
WASHINGTON Cells taken from human bone marrow, blood and umbilical cords grew into functioning blood vessels in mice with just the right coaxing, U.S. researchers reported on Saturday. The so-called progenitor cells teamed up to form working blood vessels that connected to the circulatory systems of the mice, the team at Harvard Medical School and Children's Hospital Boston reported. "What's really significant about our study is that we are using human cells that can be obtained from blood or bone marrow rather than removing and using fully developed blood vessels," said Harvard's Joyce Bischoff, who led the study. Her team used immature cells, known as progenitor cells, grown under special lab conditions before being implanted into mice. Once implanted, the cell mixture grew and differentiated into a small ball of healthy blood vessels, they reported in the journal Circulation Research, published by the American Heart Association. They used endothelial progenitor cells, which mature into cells that line the blood vessels, and mesenchymal progenitor cells, which differentiate into the cells that surround the lining and provide stability. A mixture of cells from adult blood and bone or from umbilical cord blood worked the best, they said. They hope to find a way to help the body replace blocked or damaged blood vessels, such as arteries blocked in a heart attack or stroke. "We see very good and extensive vasculature in seven days and we'd like to see that in 24 or 48 hours. If you have an ischemic tissue, it's dying tissue, so the faster you can establish blood flow the better." FRIDAY, July 18 (HealthDay News) -- Researchers say they have grown in mice the kind of functioning heart blood vessels that cardiac surgeons create with bypass operations. One ultimate goal is to replace some heart surgery with injections of laboratory-grown cells that would establish themselves in the body, providing a system of blood vessels for damaged hearts that need more oxygen, said Juan M. Melero-Martin, a co-author of a paper in the July 18 issue of the journalCirculation Research: Journal of the American Heart Association. "We are proving the concept in mice who are compromised so that they don't reject human cells," said Melero-Martin, a research fellow at Harvard Medical School and Children's Hospital Boston. "For clinical use, the way we envision it, if a patient has need to vascularize ischemic tissue, we can get cells from the patient ahead of time, grow them and inject them back into the patient." They found that a mix of the two kinds of progenitor cells derived from adult blood and bone marrow or umbilical cord and adult bone marrow gave the best growth of blood vessels. The work being done at Harvard could eventually be used to treat a number of conditions in which new blood vessels would help, such as severe wounds, the researchers said. The structure of blood vessels is complex Scientists have used human cells to grow new blood vessels in a mouse for the first time, a US journal reports. A mixture of "progenitor" cells, taken from blood and bone marrow, made cells lining the vessels, and also those surrounding the lining. The ability to develop swiftly a new network of tiny blood vessels - known as capillaries - would be a prize for scientists. There are dozens of potential applications in medicine, particularly in the treatment of conditions which involve damage to a tissue's blood supply, such as that to the heart muscle following a heart attack. What's really significant about our study is that we are using human cells that can be obtained from blood or bone marrow rather than removing and using fully developed blood vessels Dr Joyce Bischoff Harvard Medical School The latest study, published in the journal Circulation Research, uses two types of "progenitor" cells, which have the ability, like stem cells, to form different cell types. In this case, "endothelial" progenitor cells have the ability to form the cells which line blood vessels, while "mesenchymal" progenitor cells can form the cells adjacent to this lining, which help to support it. Pig progress Within seven days, a "vigorous network" of new vessels formed, joined up with the host animal's blood vessels and started transporting blood. Dr Joyce Bischoff, who led the research team, said: "What's really significant about our study is that we are using human cells that can be obtained from blood or bone marrow rather than removing and using fully developed blood vessels." He said: "It could certainly assist in the connection of other engineered organs to the body's blood supply.
"Until last week, it was paradise here," he said. More than 80% of France's electricity is generated by the country's 58 nuclear reactors - the world's highest ratio. People living near the Tricastin plant remain concerned. But for two weeks the cover has been on as the family ordered tests on radioactivity levels in the pool water. PARIS Around 100 staff at a nuclear power plant in southern France were contaminated with a low dose of radiation on Wednesday, power firm EDF said, the latest incident there after a case of uranium spillage two weeks ago. The leak rated at level one of the seven-stage scale of nuclear incidents. Maintenance work at the reactor was also suspended. Like a handful of rural homes near the nuclear site, hers is plumbed into the local groundwater from wells. Even after the official ban was lifted this week and the families' urine samples tested normal, Eymard won't drink from the tap. Nuclear safety authority ASN criticized Areva for its handling of that incident, notably in the way in which it communicated with authorities. President Nicolas Sarkozy has been touring the world in recent months promoting France's nuclear prowess and its new generation of EPR reactors. Experts said that the latest incident involved the highest number of workers to be collectively contaminated in French nuclear history. It also pointed to unsatisfactory security measures and operational procedures. The treatment plant has been shut and the subsidiary's director removed. That prompted Environment Minister Jean-Louis Borloo to order tests at all of France's nuclear power plants to ensure such leaks had not occurred elsewhere.
French nuclear companies are hoping to play a central role in the government's plan to build a new generation of reactors. At home, however, the industry has been buffeted by a series of mishaps. Angelique Chrisafis reports from Bollène Sylvie Eymard's Provence farmhouse kitchen should be the picture of French rural calm. For the past two weeks, Eymard, 41, and her children, 13 and seven, have had a phobia of taps. To wash up, they go out to the yard and fill a bowl from a specially delivered plastic tank of purified water on a fork-lift tractor. Even the dog drinks bottled water, and it is left out for the birds. "I feel as if everything's constantly dirty," Eymard said, her hands deep in soapy lather scrubbing plates. The view from the house over the fields is dominated by the nearby cooling towers of the Tricastin site, a nuclear power plant run by EDF, the company which is poised to buy British Energy and take control of most UK nuclear stations. Next to the plant is a nuclear treatment centre run by a subsidiary of Areva, the nuclear group which hopes to design many of the new British reactors. Last month an accident at the treatment centre during a draining operation saw liquid containing untreated uranium overflow out of a faulty tank. Eymard's house is 100 metres from one of these streams. Like a handful of rural homes near the nuclear site, hers is plumbed into the local groundwater from wells. But after the incident there was a ban on drinking the groundwater, using it to water fields - as all local farmers do - or swimming or fishing in local lakes and streams. Since then, Eymard feels like she is in an episode of The Simpsons, in a Springfield where people's trust has been abused by haphazard mistakes. "It feels like a science fiction film where experts constantly come to examine and film the people who've been exposed." At 10.30am on the dot, two men in green overalls from the nuclear site appear at her door to collect the daily sample of water from her tap to analyse it for uranium. Even after the official ban was lifted this week and the families' urine samples tested normal, Eymard won't drink from the tap. But now I wonder, have there been other accidents in the past we haven't been told about?" The nuclear site at Bollène sits in a picturesque corner of Provence between the lavender fields and cypress trees that stretch north to the nougat capital of Montélimar and to the historic town of Avignon 30 miles to the south, which was hosting its famous theatre festival when the spillage occurred. Until now most locals have accepted the plant as a risk-free part of everyday life in nuclear-dependent France. More than 80% of France's electricity is generated by the country's 58 nuclear reactors - the world's highest ratio. But the leak has shaken French trust in nuclear safety and embarrassed Nicolas Sarkozy as he crusades for a French-led world renaissance in atomic power. The president wants to export French nuclear know-how around the world, including to Britain where nuclear power supplies 19% of electricity, and London and Paris are to cooperate on a new generation of nuclear power plants. Last year it clinched the biggest commercial nuclear power contract on record, worth €8bn (£6.3bn), to supply China with two reactors and provide nuclear fuel for nearly two decades. Areva has been criticised by France's nuclear safety watchdog over the Tricastin leak for not adequately informing local authorities and for unsatisfactory measures and operational procedures. It was detected on the night of July 7 but the town hall and locals who continued to drink water contaminated with uranium were not informed until the following afternoon. Areva's chief executive, Anne Lauvergeon, called the leak an "anomaly" which posed no danger to humans or the environment. In Romans-sur-Isère, north of Tricastin, at another site run by an Areva subsidiary, officials discovered a burst underground pipe which had been broken for years and did not meet safety standards. This week, about 100 staff at Tricastin's nuclear reactor number four were contaminated by radioactive particles that escaped from a pipe. In basil and coriander fields farmed by the extended Eymard family not far from the nuclear site, part of the crop was ruined after wilting during the ban on using contaminated water. France's IRSN nuclear safety institute has pinpointed high levels of uranium in the groundwater that it said could not have been caused by the recent leak alone. A separate commission raised the possibility that this contamination could be linked to military nuclear waste at the Tricastin plant from 1964 to 1976. The area's image has been so dented that the nearby Rhône Valley wine makers whose label is Coteaux du Tricastin want to change their name. But for two weeks the cover has been on as the family ordered tests on radioactivity levels in the pool water. The day the emergency water ban was announced, more than 50 people swimming in a local lake were ordered out and fled.
"No-one panicked, there was no screaming. She said passengers had been startled by an "incredible boom". Qantas plane makes emergency landing after fuselage rupture Updated A Qantas 747 has made an emergency landing in the Philippines capital Manila because of a large rupture in the plane's fuselage. Were you on the flight? Seeing the hole caused a lot of emotion. Another passenger, Brendan McClements, said: "We were flying out of Hong Kong, I heard a very loud noise, a bang. Peter Gibson from the Civil Aviation Safety Authority says initial reports indicate a problem with the air pressure in the cabin. Everyone applauded the pilot." It's about two metres by four metres. There were 350 people up there who were very lucky. "The pilot has some pressurisation warnings about a door on the left hand side of the aircraft, but exactly what went wrong is still being determined," he said. "There was a terrific boom and bits of wood and debris just flew forward into first (class) and the oxygen masks dropped down," she said. The flight, which had been due to arrive in Melbourne at 1145 GMT, landed in Manila just after 0300 GMT (1100 local time ). In pictures: Plane drama Airport authority spokesman Octavio Lina said part of the flooring near the affected section gave way, exposing some of the cargo below, and part of the ceiling also collapsed. Engineers are investigating what caused the hole - about 2.5m to 3m in diameter - which led to cabin pressure problems. It wasn't your typical television movie," he told the BBC News website.
Qantas plane makes emergency landing after fuselage rupture Updated A Qantas 747 has made an emergency landing in the Philippines capital Manila because of a large rupture in the plane's fuselage. The flight with 365 people on board was flying from London to Melbourne, via Hong Kong when it was forced to land. Less than two hours after flight QF 30 left Hong Kong this morning, the pilot sought an emergency landing at Ninoy Aquino International Airport after reporting a hole in the plane's cargo section near the right wing. The plane was flying at 29,000 feet when its fuselage ruptured causing the cabin to lose air pressure. Passengers on the flight have said that the plane plunged about 20,000 feet and a door apparently popped open. Qantas has confirmed the plane has landed at Manila and is being inspected on the tarmac, but will not say what caused the emergency landing. Qantas chief executive officer Geoff Dixon said initial inspections showed the aircraft had sustained a hole in its fuselage, and it was being inspected by engineers. He said the flight crew performed emergency procedures after oxygen masks were deployed and there were no reports of any injuries. Peter Gibson from the Civil Aviation Safety Authority says initial reports indicate a problem with the air pressure in the cabin. "The pilot has some pressurisation warnings about a door on the left hand side of the aircraft, but exactly what went wrong is still being determined," he said. The Transport Safety Bureau has confirmed a large hole was ripped into the fuselage in the cargo section of the plane. Speaking from the Manila airport, passenger Dr June Kane says she heard a loud bang from underneath the plane, and saw debris fly through the cabin. "I'm looking at the plane now and on the left hand side, just forward of the wing, there's a gaping hole from the wing to the underbody," she said. "It's about two metres by four metres and there's baggage hanging out so you assume that there's a few bags that may have gone missing." Dr Kane says she heard the bang while the plane was flying over the South China Sea. "There was a terrific boom and bits of wood and debris just flew forward into first (class) and the oxygen masks dropped down," she said. "We were told that one of the rear doors, a hole had blown into it, but I've since looked at the plane and there's a gigantic gaping hole in the plane. Another passenger, Brendan McClements, says there was a rush of wind and the plane began to shake "I had my seat belt on and I strapped it on a bit tighter, put the mask over my head and from then on it was like what happens happens," he said. A Qantas supervisor in Manila says all the passengers have been taken to hotels in Manila. The Australian embassy in Manila is assisting travellers who are expected to be put on another flight later today. Engineers are investigating what caused the hole - about 2.5m to 3m in diameter - which led to cabin pressure problems. People were physically shaking Phill Restall, passenger Eyewitness: Qantas flight drama What went wrong on the plane? In pictures: Plane drama Airport authority spokesman Octavio Lina said part of the flooring near the affected section gave way, exposing some of the cargo below, and part of the ceiling also collapsed. 'Gust of wind' Passengers described hearing a large bang and feeling a rush of wind and debris through the cabin about an hour after Flight QF30 left Hong Kong at 0900 local time (0100 GMT). Delayed shock Mr Restall, who was reassured to see the engines "still spinning", said they wore the oxygen masks for about 15 minutes, until the plane levelled out. WHY QF30 DESCENDED 20,000FT Planes are pressurised as cruising altitudes are freezing and lack sufficient oxygen to breathe Hole causes decompression, rapidly reducing air pressure and risking exposure Oxygen masks are deployed and pilot makes emergency descent to breathable altitude The pilot then told passengers they were going to land in Manila to have a look at the damage.
Of course. Then, amazingly, he picks up the 32 kilo weights! All About Barack Obama • Germany "Of course!" That's his message from Berlin: Let's try this together!" But will they make concessions to him?” Dissenters? He'll call for more German participation during international crises; he'll call for more German soldiers," said Bild. I put my arm around his hip -- wow, he didn't even sweat! Germans love Obama. "What better thing could have happened to us than the potential next president of the U.S. sending this message to the world from here?" “Like it or not, the Obama team has raised the bar with this speech at this setting, especially coming after a week that candidates dream about. Schulz has watched historic speeches here by a string of American presidents -- John F. Kennedy in 1963, Ronald Reagan in 1987 and Bill Clinton in 1994 -- and on Thursday added the Democratic presidential contender to the list. "Obama (with toned arms and a strong back) puts on his headphones for his iPod to listen to pop music. He is also slated to meet British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and opposition leader David Cameron in London later Friday. But Bild warned that an Obama presidency would place fresh demands on traditional allies such as Germany, which fell out with Washington over the war in Iraq and has refused to contribute combat troops to NATO operations in Afghanistan. Very slowly he lifts them, first 10 curls with his right, then 10 with his left. We’ll see how it plays and if the media writes a real review or decides to get even for Obama’s… er… audacity.” “The speech also endeavored to reconcile patriotism with self-criticism of America, which some Republicans are already trying to locate in his anti-war candidacy and indeed in this very trip abroad,” writes Greg Sargent at TPM.
BERLIN — He didn't break into German, but he spoke of tearing down walls of division, and the crowd loved it. Tens of thousands of Germans, along with some resident Americans, filled Berlin's Tiergarten park to hear Barack Obama talk about the U.S., Europe and their shared visions and challenges. It was a remarkable turnout for the lazy days of late July, when most Germans are more focused on summer vacations than foreign politics. The audience repeatedly interrupted his speech with applause and cheers, and erupted in chants of "Yes, we can!" A lot of Europeans are hoping Obama will give them a reason to love America again. "I expect Obama to be a president who makes it possible to be proud of being a fan of the USA," said Gerda Schulz, a 72-year-old retiree. Schulz has watched historic speeches here by a string of American presidents -- John F. Kennedy in 1963, Ronald Reagan in 1987 and Bill Clinton in 1994 -- and on Thursday added the Democratic presidential contender to the list. "In the last seven years, it was rather embarrassing here to say, 'I like the Americans and I am thankful for what they did for us,' " she said. (CNN) -- Barack Obama touched hearts during an impassioned speech to a 200,000-strong crowd in Berlin, German newspapers agreed, but suspicions remain about the White House contender's motives for courting a European audience. Berlin's Der Tagesspiegel wondered whether so many young people had ever gathered for a political event in Germany and said that Obama's address -- which echoed speeches by former U.S. presidents John F. Kennedy and Ronald Reagan when the divided city was in the Cold War frontline -- could only have been made in the German capital. "Barack Obama's address might not have been statesmanlike and it definitely wasn't worldly-wise. But with its symbolism and the message of this 46-year-old, it certainly was the signal of a new era for a new generation on both sides of the Atlantic," the newspaper said. "What better thing could have happened to us than the potential next president of the U.S. sending this message to the world from here?" Obama moved on from Germany to France on Friday where he was due to hold talks with President Nicolas Sarkozy. He is also slated to meet British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and opposition leader David Cameron in London later Friday. German tabloid Bild said Obama had articulated his version of the American dream -- the idea that politics can change the world: "Unlike George W. Bush, he wants to do this in cooperation with others, especially Europe. That's his message from Berlin: Let's try this together!" But Bild warned that an Obama presidency would place fresh demands on traditional allies such as Germany, which fell out with Washington over the war in Iraq and has refused to contribute combat troops to NATO operations in Afghanistan. iReport.com: View photos from the scene "He didn't say what he expects, but it's not hard to figure it out. He'll call for more German participation during international crises; he'll call for more German soldiers," said Bild. But it concluded: "No matter how you might feel about this: A President Obama would be Germany's friend -- and a fan of Berlin!" Munich's Sueddeutsche Zeitung sounded a more cautious note, warning that an Obama presidency would be "expensive for Germany." "He explicitly called for German soldiers for Afghanistan -- he did not say 'more soldiers' but that was what he meant," said commentator Reymer Kluever. "And Obama also indicated this: he will want support as president to wind up the Iraq adventure." The paper noted too that the speech had been intended less for the crowds gathered in Berlin's Tiergarten park than for "hesitant white voters in Ohio and Pennsylvania, Colorado and Virginia" and said that Obama had proved himself to be a clever tactician, capable of shifting positions to suit his audience. "He wants to convince (voters) that the world will also listen to a black president... And there's one other thing one shouldn't forget when talking about Obama: He easily reworks even positions that have been written in stone and adjusts to new requirements." But nobody in the German press appears to have been quite as smitten by their visitor as Bild reporter Judith Bonesky, who had the opportunity to work out with Obama in the gym of the Ritz Carlton Hotel earlier in the day. "Obama (with toned arms and a strong back) puts on his headphones for his iPod to listen to pop music. "He picks up a pair of 16 kilo weights and starts curling them with his left and right arms, 30 repetitions on each side. "My name's Judith" I reply. Chancellor Merkel, while a gracious host, emphasized that she has ‘no plans to go beyond pledges made last month for the NATO-led ISAF mission.’ Additionally, a poll in February showed 85 percent opposed to sending German troops to the south of Afghanistan. “What it really came down to, after a long history lesson on the Berlin Airlift, was Obama the messiah giving the world a giant pep talk … am sure speech will play well in Europe, whose devotion to idealistic Utopian schemes is well known, and among the liberal media, who faint every time Obama rises to speak.
Lawmakers in both parties hailed the bill, saying it was crucially needed. It also said there is a 5% chance that Freddie's and Fannie's losses could cost the government $100 billion. Advertisement Continue reading the main story The new power will give the F.D.I.C. The funding had been opposed by the White House, which said it would benefit lenders and not homeowners. Create an affordable housing trust fund. Permanently increase "conforming loan" limits. (Here are more details on this provision.) Give grants to states to buy foreclosed properties. To help stabilize markets, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson asked Congress to temporarily empower Treasury to offer the companies a backstop if needed. Bush is expected to sign it soon. Bar down-payment assistance for FHA loans. Fannie and Freddie guarantee the purchase and trade of mortgages and own or back $5.2 trillion in mortgages. WASHINGTON — The House approved a sweeping plan Wednesday to ease the country's most serious housing crisis since the Great Depression by providing aid to homeowners facing foreclosure and a federal backstop for struggling mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. “This bill has fallen prey to the special interests on Wall Street and K Street at an unjustifiable expense to taxpayers and homeowners on Main Street,” he said in a statement. The bill includes $15 billion in housing-related tax incentives, including a $7,500 tax credit for first-time homebuyers and business tax breaks for home builders and other large corporations. Though the Senate vote was 72 to 13, the bill was not without its staunch opponents. Those estimates were based on the CBO's assessment of who is likely to qualify under the program and accounts for a certain number likely to default anyway.
The Senate, convening for a rare Saturday session as it neared summer recess, approved the bill by a vote of 72 to 13, with 27 Republicans joining all the Democrats in attendance to support it. The measure now goes to President Bush, who has said he will sign it, perhaps early next week, to send a reassuring message to the credit markets. Advertisement Continue reading the main story The White House quickly issued a statement praising the vote, but also affirming opposition to nearly $4 billion in grants to local governments to buy and refurbish foreclosed properties, which Mr. Bush views as a giveaway to lenders. “It’s good that the Democratic Congress has finally acted,” Tony Fratto, the deputy White House press secretary said. Lawmakers in both parties hailed the bill, saying it was crucially needed. “It will make a difference not only in the housing market but in the entire economy,” the majority leader, Senator Harry Reid of Nevada, said. Senator Christopher J. Dodd, Democrat of Connecticut and the chairman of the banking committee, said prior to the vote, “We are in the midst of the most serious economic crisis to face our nation in many years. This bill is going to make a difference almost immediately.” Advertisement Continue reading the main story The federal intervention has certainly been bold. The nearly $29 billion loan by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York in March to orchestrate the sale of Bear Stearns to JPMorgan Chase & Company may seem small compared with the Federal Housing Administration’s authority, granted in the new legislation, to insure up to $300 billion in refinanced mortgages to help stem a tide of foreclosures. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Analysts, including the Congressional Budget Office, expect less than $100 billion of that authority to be used. The risk to taxpayers is minimal, analysts say, given higher insurance fees that will be charged to recipients of the refinanced loans. Advertisement Continue reading the main story And yet, even that $100 billion could seem small compared with the Treasury Department’s authority to spend unspecified amounts of tax dollars to rescue Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac if they are in peril of collapse. The Treasury secretary, Henry M. Paulson Jr., an architect of the rescue plan, said he expected never to use the new authority. And the Congressional Budget Office predicted that any bailout between now and Dec. 31, 2009, when the authority sunsets, would most likely cost $25 billion or less, and that there was a better-than-even chance of no cost at all. But the only real limit on the Treasury’s authority is the new $10.6 trillion debt ceiling. There is roughly a $1.1 trillion cushion between the new limit and existing federal debt of $9.5 trillion. Advertisement Continue reading the main story And naysayers in Congress who voted against the housing bill warned that the government was taking on too much risk, and that government aid would only reward irresponsibility by corporations and individuals. Advertisement Continue reading the main story “This bill has moral hazard written all over it,” Representative Jeff Flake, Republican of Arizona, said during the debate in the House on Wednesday. “We are pretending to chain a monster here and we are, instead, letting that monster loose.” Senator Charles E. Grassley, Republican of Iowa, voted against the bill even though he had worked on many of its tax provisions. “This bill has fallen prey to the special interests on Wall Street and K Street at an unjustifiable expense to taxpayers and homeowners on Main Street,” he said in a statement. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Senator Jim DeMint, Republican of South Carolina, said the bill should have barred the mortgage companies from spending millions to lobby members of Congress. The provision gives the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation the authority to create so-called bridge institutions for failing savings associations, mirroring a capability that has existed since 1991 for failed banks. more latitude to continue the operations of savings associations like IndyMac in California, which failed earlier this month, and buy regulators time to work out a resolution at the lowest possible cost. Politics aside, the measure approved by Congress was the most aggressive government intervention in the housing market since the 1989 response to the savings and loan crisis and perhaps the boldest attempt to aid troubled borrowers since the creation of the Home Owners’ Loan Corporation in 1933 as part of the New Deal. Advertisement Continue reading the main story In addition to the program to prevent foreclosures and the rescue plan for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the 694-page bill contains a sweeping new regulatory structure for the mortgage giants, including the creation of an independent regulator, a stand-alone federal agency with a director appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate. The bill includes $15 billion in housing-related tax incentives, including a $7,500 tax credit for first-time homebuyers and business tax breaks for home builders and other large corporations. There are provisions, for example, that grant or extend Section 8 federal housing subsidy eligibility to residents of specific properties in Malden, Mass., and San Francisco. And there is a provision tailored narrowly for Chrysler to ensure that it can benefit from a corporate tax incentive even though the company is now structured as a partnership not a corporation. The bill does not name Chrysler but rather describes an unnamed automobile manufacturer “that will produce in excess of 675,000 automobiles” between Jan. 1 and June 30, 2008. NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- The Senate on Saturday overwhelmingly passed a landmark housing bill that will offer up to $300 billion in loans for troubled homeowners and establish a government rescue plan for mortgage finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The legislation, one of the most far-reaching on housing in decades, marks the centerpiece of Washington's efforts to address the nation's housing meltdown. But as others have said, it's a step - and I hope an important step - to putting our nation on the road to economic recovery," said Sen. Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., chairman of the Senate Banking Committee and a principal author of the bill. "I'm not going to tolerate a slow walk," he said. "This bill has fallen prey to the special interests on Wall Street and K Street at an unjustifiable expense to taxpayers and homeowners on Main Street," Grassley said. The bill has two principal objectives: to offer affordable government-backed mortgages to homeowners at risk of foreclosure, and to bolster Fannie and Freddie with a temporary rescue plan and a new, more stringent regulator. Helping at-risk borrowers Provisions in the 700-page bill that would most directly affect consumers and communities include: Increase the Federal Housing Administration's role. The FHA will be allowed to insure up to $300 billion in new 30-year fixed-rate mortgages for at-risk borrowers in owner-occupied homes if their lenders agree to write down loan balances to 90% of the homes' current appraised value. The cost of the new FHA program - which would begin on Oct. 1 and be in place for just a few years - would be funded by fees from Fannie and Freddie, along with fees paid by both lenders and borrowers. While the bill authorizes the FHA to insure up to $300 billion in loans, the CBO estimates that the agency is only likely to insure up to $68 billion and help keep roughly 325,000 people in their homes. The new regulator will have a greater say over how well funded the two government sponsered enterprises (GSEs) are - a major concern in the markets that has sent stocks in both companies plunging. The bill would permanently increase the cap on the size of mortgages guaranteed by Fannie and Freddie to a maximum of $625,500 from $417,000. The bill includes a tax refund for first-time home buyers worth up to 10% of a home's purchase price but no more than $7,500.
The previous survey, which was conducted in 2003, counted 55,674 pairs. The population of puffins on the Farne Islands had been growing steadily Mr Steel told BBC News that there was no visible explanation for the decline on the islands. "But something is going badly wrong somewhere." One theory is that many of the birds are dying from starvation during the eight months they spend at sea. Numbers of puffins at England's largest colony, on the Farne Islands off the Northumberland coast, have mysteriously tumbled by a third in the past five years. In order to monitor the situation, Mr Steel said the Trust would carry out another survey next year. The first detailed puffin count on the Farnes was in 1969, when the islands had 6,800 pairs. Staple Island and Brownsman Island, where the majority of puffins can be found, have seen the numbers of breeding pairs fall by more than 30 per cent since the last survey was carried out in 2003. Harris said: "We're pretty sure that shortage of food will have something to do with this. The results reflect the findings of an earlier survey on the Isle of May, in the Firth of Forth - the UK's largest puffin colony. Puffins nest in burrows, so their numbers are assessed by counting the number of occupied burrows, after the birds have cleaned out their nests and before vegetation begins to grow over. Presumably fewer birds are surviving over winter than are needed to maintain current numbers." Experts had expected to see a slight increase in the population on the Farne Islands, owned by the National Trust.
By Mark Kinver Science and nature reporter, BBC News England's biggest colony of puffins has seen the birds' numbers fall by a third in just five years, a survey shows. Experts had expected to see a slight increase in the population on the Farne Islands, owned by the National Trust. The Trust says the size of the decline is unprecedented, adding that it will carry out another survey in 2008 in order to monitor the situation. One theory is that many of the birds are dying from starvation during the eight months they spend at sea. "We were expecting a slight increase because since the last survey in 2003, we had a number of good years for puffins," explained David Steel, the Trust's head warden on the islands. "There were plenty of chicks fledging from the nests, so we were not only getting enough to maintain the population, but increase it. Advertisement Winter losses The three-month survey, carried out on eight of the islands, recorded 36,500 breeding pairs. The population of puffins on the Farne Islands had been growing steadily Mr Steel told BBC News that there was no visible explanation for the decline on the islands. "The birds had been bringing in good quantities of food, and there was not a predator problem on the islands." One suggestion for the downturn is the survival rate over the winter months, when the puffins spend eight months at sea. "The dramatic decline on the Farnes leaves no doubt that the North Sea has lost a substantial number of its puffins," explained Professor Mike Harris, emeritus fellow at the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology. "With poor survival of adult birds a likely factor in the decline, we urgently need to know more about puffins during the eight months of the year that they spend in the open sea." The results reflect the findings of an earlier survey on the Isle of May, in the Firth of Forth - the UK's largest puffin colony. David Steel said this year's results had left his team feeling anxious about the puffin population on the Farne Islands. In order to monitor the situation, Mr Steel said the Trust would carry out another survey next year. Puffins nest in burrows, so their numbers are assessed by counting the number of occupied burrows, after the birds have cleaned out their nests and before vegetation begins to grow over. Mr Steel explained: "We can then compare them with this year's results because we actually have 20 square metres on each island mapped, so we can go back to a particular spot and see what the impact is next year. E-mail this to a friend Printable version Bookmark with: Delicious Digg reddit Facebook StumbleUpon What are these? One of Britain's best-known and most vivid birds has suffered an abrupt and unexplained decline in numbers on its island strongholds in the North Sea. After uninterrupted population increases for 40 years, puffin colonies on the Farne Islands off Northumberland and the Isle of May in the Firth of Forth have fallen by a third in five years. Some colonies have seen fewer than half their adult birds return from the usual eight months spent overwintering out at sea. "There may be some still out at sea, but I'm afraid it's more likely that they are dead," said Professor Mike Harris, emeritus research fellow at the Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, who has studied the Isle of May's puffins for 36 years. The last time Farne puffins were surveyed, in 2003, there were 55,674 adult pairs, but this year's survey, for which a team of National Trust staff checked every one of the nesting burrows, recorded only 36,500. "Stocks of sand eels, the staple food of puffins in the summer, are in good supply around the islands and there is a lack of ground predators, creating a good environment for puffins to breed." He added: "Extensive monitoring work shows that good numbers of young puffins are successfully fledging each year but it would appear they're just not coming back to the islands the following years. Records for the number of breeding pairs of puffins found on the Farne Islands date back to the 1930s, but the first detailed count took place in 1969 when there were 6,800 pairs.
Only the pier and the donkeys." He said: "Fortunately, we're not in danger, no other properties are in any other danger. What is Weston? Advertisement A huge fire has destroyed the historic Grand Pier at Weston-super-Mare. There's nothing left now. It first opened in 1904 and was later bought by the Brenner family who sold it earlier this year in a multi-million pound deal to brother and sister Michelle and Kerry Michael. Please turn on JavaScript. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Although long, the Grand pier is not in the top 10 of Britain’s longest piers, according to the National Piers Society. "He is absolutely devastated. 100 years of entertainment "All those people's livelihoods and businesses - where will they go?" This is a tragedy for the town as a whole and for them in particular. No-one was injured in the fire, which firefighters said started in an area containing deep fat fryers. Deputy leader of North Somerset Council Elfan Ap Rees said: "The structure going out of the pavilion is intact, the main structure underneath looks reasonably intact. Only the pier and the donkeys Nicky Mager As the flames engulfed the pier a plume of black smoke was seen as far away as Wales. "I think of it as my pier and I think all Westonians will know what I mean." E-mail this to a friend Printable version Bookmark with: Delicious Digg reddit Facebook StumbleUpon What are these? View all New York Times newsletters. Mr Thomas, a Westonian, went to see what was left of the pier as soon as he could.
No one was injured in the fire, the authorities said. According to the British media, suspicion for the cause of the blaze centered on a deep fat-fryer in kitchens at the sea end of the pier, although the police said their investigations were ongoing. A local fire officer, Kevin Pearson told the Daily Mail newspaper, “We believe the fire to have started in a kitchen area and it could have been a chip pan.” Advertisement Continue reading the main story Film footage on the BBC showed flames ravaging the two-story white walled pavilion at the end of the pier and dense grey clouds of smoke rising up into the blue summer sky over the small seaside town. The fire was first reported about 6:46 a.m., according to James Bladon, a spokesman for the Avon Fire and Rescue Services. He said at the height of the blaze 13 fire engines and 100 firefighters were at the scene. “The area where the fire broke out was a commercial kitchen and that will be one strand of the investigation,” he said. There is nothing left.” Advertisement Continue reading the main story The pier had been busy in the past couple of days, he said. “We’ve had a couple of nice summer days so it was busy yesterday.” Please verify you're not a robot by clicking the box. Sign Up Receive occasional updates and special offers for The New York Times's products and services. The footage showed that within about two hours, the flames had reduced the pavilion — which was mostly wood — to cinders, although the part of the pier closer to the shore remained intact and the underlying metal structure survived. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Although long, the Grand pier is not in the top 10 of Britain’s longest piers, according to the National Piers Society. That honor belongs to the pier at Southend-on-Sea, which is 7,080 feet long. Advertisement Continue reading the main story The pier received official historical protected status in 1979, and was honored in 2001 by Britain’s National Piers Society. The society was founded in 1979 by the poet Sir John Betjeman “to promote and sustain interest in the preservation and continued enjoyment of seaside piers.” “At the turn of the last century almost a hundred piers existed: now only half remain and several face an uncertain future,” the society says on its Web site. According to Mr. Heath, Mr. Michael had invested nearly $2 million to “put in a new go-cart track, the first of its kind in Britain, a climbing wall for youngsters, a pub, the first time a pub has been on the pier since it opened.” Elaine Parker, who lives in Weston-super-mare, told the BBC: "What a scene — the smoke was hundreds of feet in the air. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Later, Mr. Michael said in a statement: “We regarded ourselves as custodians rather than owners, just looking after it for future generations to enjoy. For this tragic event to have taken place during our watch is truly devastating.I feel very sorry for our dedicated staff, many of whom have been on the pier all of their working lives.They treasured the pier, in particular the main pavilion, and I don’t know how they will come to terms with its sad loss.” He said he would “work tirelessly to restore this magnificent structure to its former glory.” The Grand Pier had recently undergone a £1m refurbishment Since it first opened to the public in 1904, Weston-super-Mare's Grand Pier has been the iconic image associated with the resort. But as fire ripped through the mostly-wooden structure, it was destroyed for the second time in its history. When BBC Somerset's breakfast presenter Adam Thomas saw the images coming in live of the Grand Pier burning he said he "gasped live on-air". Only the pier and the donkeys Nicky Mager As the flames engulfed the pier a plume of black smoke was seen as far away as Wales. Retired couple Norman and Joan Foster, 86 and 82, have been enjoying day trips to Weston since 1965, shortly after they were married. Mrs Foster said: "It's so sad when these sorts of buildings go. "We used to enjoy it because there was so much there - rolling the pennies down, that sort of thing." Rachel King, who lives on the seafront in Weston, said she woke up to see a "massive ball of fire". "As I looked out of my flat, I could see the flames fill the windows - we are devastated," she said. Nicky Mager, 37, whose family owns a chain of refreshment outlets and donkey rides on the seafront said the resort was "doomed" after the tragedy.
REUTERS/NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona/Handout. In 2006, Nasa scientists, using images from the orbiter, Mars Global Surveyor, found evidence of water flowing fleetingly on the surface. The space agency's Phoenix lander has identified ice in a soil sample analysed by its on-board laboratory. "We are moving towards understanding whether there were or could be places on Mars that are habitable," Meyer said. Mission scientists said the extension would give time for more analysis of Martian samples. The other is to study the potential for life in the ice-soil boundary. NASA scientists said on Thursday they had definitive proof that water exists on Mars after further tests on ice found on the planet in June by the Phoenix Mars Lander. The extension will add about $2 million (1 million pounds) to the $420 million cost of landing Phoenix on May 25 for what was a scheduled three-month mission, Meyer said. The latest scientific finding is the first piece of good news for a mission that has been dogged by difficulties in recent weeks. Two previous attempts to deliver fresh material to the lander's on-board oven failed when the soil became stuck in the scoop. "We've now finally touched it and tasted it," William Boynton of the University of Arizona said during a news conference in Tucson on Thursday. By melting icy soil in one of its lab instruments, the robot confirmed the presence of frozen water lurking below the Martian permafrost. They compared images of the side of a crater taken in 2001 and 2005. In 2002, the orbiting Odyssey spacecraft spied what looked like a reservoir of buried ice.
The Phoenix spacecraft has tasted Martian water for the first time, scientists reported Thursday. By melting icy soil in one of its lab instruments, the robot confirmed the presence of frozen water lurking below the Martian permafrost. Until now, evidence of ice in Mars' north pole region has been largely circumstantial. After Phoenix arrived, it found what looked like ice in a hard patch underneath its landing site and changes in a trench indicated some ice had turned to gas when exposed to the sun. "We've now finally touched it and tasted it," William Boynton of the University of Arizona said during a news conference in Tucson on Thursday. It is conducting experiments to learn whether the ice ever melted in the red planet's history that could have led to a more hospitable environment. After two failed attempts to deliver ice-rich soil to one of Phoenix's eight lab ovens, researchers decided to collect pure soil instead. Surprisingly, the sample was mixed with a little bit of ice, said Boynton, who heads the oven instrument. Researchers were able to prove the soil had ice in it because it melted in the oven at 32 degrees Fahrenheit (0 Celsius) — the melting point of ice — and released water molecules. The latest scientific finding is the first piece of good news for a mission that has been dogged by difficulties in recent weeks. An electrical short on one of Phoenix's test ovens threatened the instrument, but scientists said the problem has not recurred. The lander, which spent the past several weeks drilling into the hard ice, also had trouble delivering ice shavings into an oven until the success this week. The space agency on Thursday announced that it would extend the mission for an extra two months until the end of September, adding $2 million more to the $420 million price tag, said Michael Meyer, Mars chief scientist at NASA headquarters. Unlike the twin rovers roaming near the Martian equator, Phoenix's lifetime cannot be extended much more because it likely won't have enough power to survive the Martian winter. The science team also released a color panorama of Phoenix's landing site using more than 400 images taken by Phoenix. The space agency's Phoenix lander has identified ice in a soil sample analysed by its on-board laboratory. Others indicated there was ice on the red planet - but Phoenix's discovery is the first direct evidence. "I can now say I'm the first mission to Mars to touch and then taste the water," came the message from Phoenix's Twitter feed yesterday. "Phoenix is healthy and the projections for solar power look good, so we want to take full advantage of having this resource in one of the most interesting locations on Mars," said Michael Meyer, chief scientist for the Mars exploration programme at Nasa HQ in Washington. Two previous attempts to deliver fresh material to the lander's on-board oven failed when the soil became stuck in the scoop. This time the scientists exposed most of the material in the sample to the air for two days, so some water vapourised, thus making the soil easier to handle. The find fulfils one of the Phoenix lander's two main objectives - to "study the history of water in the Martian arctic". In 2006, Nasa scientists, using images from the orbiter, Mars Global Surveyor, found evidence of water flowing fleetingly on the surface. A full circle panoramic view of Mars taken by NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander is shown in this undated handout photo released to Reuters July 31, 2008. NASA scientists said on Thursday they had definitive proof that water exists on Mars after further tests on ice found on the planet in June by the Phoenix Mars Lander. The Robotic Arm on NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander carries a scoop of Martian soil bound for the spacecraft's microscope in handout photo released on June 13, 2008. NASA scientists said on Thursday they had definitive proof that water exists on Mars after further tests on ice found on the planet in June by the Phoenix Mars Lander. LOS ANGELES NASA scientists said on Thursday they had definitive proof that water exists on Mars after further tests on ice found on the planet in June by the Phoenix Mars Lander. "We've seen evidence for this water ice before in observations by the Mars Odyssey orbiter and in disappearing chunks observed by Phoenix last month, but this is the first time Martian water has been touched and tasted," he said, referring to the craft's instruments. NASA on Thursday also extended the mission of the Phoenix Mars Lander by five weeks, saying its work was moving beyond the search for water to exploring whether the red planet was ever capable of sustaining life. The extension will add about $2 million (1 million pounds) to the $420 million cost of landing Phoenix on May 25 for what was a scheduled three-month mission, Meyer said.
Please re-enter. But it named the Czech Republic, Italy, Romania, Spain, Ukraine and India, saying they have more than 70 suitable aircraft needed for the mission. The resolution notes an African Union request for the Council to postpone the ICC's work but does no more than that. "The United States abstained from the vote because language added to the resolution would send the wrong signal to Sudanese President Bashir and undermine efforts to bring him and others to justice," said U.S. Deputy Ambassador Alejandro Wolff, who repeatedly referred to the "genocide" in Darfur. Advertisement Continue reading the main story African and Arab states have also suggested that the court. The UN-AU mission lacks helicopters and has yet to be fully deployed The UN Security Council has renewed the mandate for peacekeepers in Sudan's Darfur region for another year just two hours before it was due to expire. Khartoum says 10,000 people have been killed. That position had the strong backing of activists and international law experts. But the UK, France, the US and central American countries objected, saying there should be no link between the peacekeeping force and whatever the court might do. Many do not have the equipment they need, according to a report backed by 36 human rights groups and non-governmental organisations (NGOs). Seven council members -- South Africa, Libya, Russia, China, Vietnam, Indonesia and Burkina Faso -- had made a reference to the international court in the text a condition for voting for renewing the peacekeeping mandate. On Thursday, two courts sentenced 22 Darfur rebels to death for their involvement in a raid on the capital in May, the first time rebels had reached Khartoum.
“We don’t think it should be loaded up like a Christmas tree with a bunch of other topics,” said Richard Grenell, the spokesman for the United States Mission to the United Nations. “We made it clear from the beginning that trying to introduce the I.C.C. language into a simple roll-over resolution was problematic.” Advertisement Continue reading the main story The language had already been heavily diluted from what was first proposed by Libya and South Africa, with the support of Russia and China, among others, that would have invoked Article 16 in the court charter, which allows the Security Council to suspend action by the court for a year. Moscow and Beijing reiterated their positions after voting. China, which has about 300 engineers in the peacekeeping force, said its priority was to allow negotiations to proceed and, among other goals, to avoid putting its soldiers in harm’s way. The indictment threatens to derail any future negotiations, Ambassador Wang Guangya suggested, by wrecking any trust between Sudan and the United Nations. “No progress will be possible without the full cooperation of the Sudanese government,” Mr. Wang said, calling the proposed indictment “an inappropriate decision made at an inappropriate time.” Advertisement Continue reading the main story Mr. Wang said China would soon bring to the Security Council the idea of postponing any action by the international court. He and the Russian ambassador, Vitaly Churkin, noted opposition to the proposed indictment from the Arab League, the Organization of the Islamic Conference and the Non-Aligned Movement. A meeting of African Union leaders earlier this month issued a communique saying that the court was unfairly concentrating on Africa and that pushing peace negotiations warranted suspending any action against Mr. Bashir. Advertisement Continue reading the main story African and Arab states have also suggested that the court. is not an evenhanded independent body, but a tool of the Western powers. Sudan’s United Nations ambassador, Abdalmahmood Abdalhaleem, called the court prosecutor, Luis Moreno-Ocampo, “a screwdriver in the workshop of double standards.” Given that the peacekeeping force relies heavily on contributions from African countries, the general sentiment was that some reference should be made to their concerns. Most countries accepted the idea that the fight over Article 16 could be postponed. Please verify you're not a robot by clicking the box. You must select a newsletter to subscribe to. That position had the strong backing of activists and international law experts. “They should get the language out,” said Harold H. Koh, a professor of international law at Yale Law School and a former assistant secretary for human rights in the 1990s. If the U.S. wants to keep the pressure on Bashir they don’t want to suggest that somehow he is being unfairly targeted; he is not.” Advertisement Continue reading the main story Activists dismiss the notion that Africa is a particular target, saying leaders there have asked for court investigations in some of their countries. Advertisement Continue reading the main story The haggling went on well into the night — the vote came at 9:45 p.m. — because by tradition votes to support peacekeeping forces are unanimous. Anything less than a 15-0 vote is considered to signal that the force does not have the Council’s full support. The force, the largest and most expensive in United Nations history, has had problems since its inception a year ago, fielding less than half its projected 26,000 members and lacking critical contributions like helicopters. The United Nations estimates that the five-year conflict pitting rebel Darfur groups against the Sudanese government has left 300,000 people dead and 2.7 million displaced. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Meanwhile, in Sudan on Wednesday, two courts sentenced 22 Darfur rebels to death by hanging on Thursday for their involvement in a raid that reached the outskirts of the capital in May, lawyers told Reuters. * Resolution makes clear African concerns at ICC moves * U.S. criticizes resolution over ICC, abstains from vote * Sudan warns of "catastrophic" fallout if Bashir indicted By Louis Charbonneau UNITED NATIONS, July 31 The U.N. Security Council renewed the mandate for peacekeepers in Darfur on Thursday in a resolution that Washington criticized for raising concerns about moves to indict Sudan's president for genocide. Most Western powers accepted wording that makes clear the council would be willing to discuss freezing any International Criminal Court indictment of President Omar Hassan al-Bashir for genocide in the interest of peace in Darfur. Of the 15 council members, 14 voted for the resolution. Five years of war have brought humanitarian disaster to the western Sudanese region, and Darfur campaigners accuse the world of failing to provide helicopters and other badly needed support for the struggling peacekeeping mission there. Washington backed the basic point of the resolution to extend the mission through July 2009, but criticized a key paragraph in the British-drafted text added to accommodate African concerns about the ICC. "The United States abstained from the vote because language added to the resolution would send the wrong signal to Sudanese President Bashir and undermine efforts to bring him and others to justice," said U.S. Deputy Ambassador Alejandro Wolff, who repeatedly referred to the "genocide" in Darfur. But council members had wanted a unanimous vote to show undivided support for peacekeepers in the line of fire in Darfur. Human Rights Watch welcomed the U.S. abstention, saying it was a vote against "get out of jail free card" for Bashir. Chinese Ambassador Wang Guangya said an ICC indictment of Bashir would "seriously undermine" prospects for peace in Darfur and told reporters he would soon raise the issue of suspending any ICC prosecution in the council. Sudan's Ambassador Abdalmahmoud Abdalhaleem also welcomed the adoption of the resolution and the suggestion that the council would discuss blocking any ICC moves on Bashir. But he warned that an indictment of Bashir would have grave repercussions: "No one will be immune from its catastrophic consequences, the whole of Sudan and the entire region." The vote took place hours before the mandate for UNAMID -- the joint U.N.-African Union peacekeeping force -- was to expire at midnight (0400 GMT Friday). International experts and U.N. officials estimate at last 200,000 people have died and 2.5 million been driven from their homes in Darfur since mostly non-Arab rebels took up arms in early 2003 accusing central government of neglect. KILLINGS Security in Darfur, an area roughly the size of France where oil was discovered in 2005, has been deteriorating, making work ever harder for the world's biggest aid operation.
By their own admission, the F.B.I. said. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Whether the focus on Dr. Ivins had resolved the case of the anthrax letters was unclear. The Justice Department, the FBI and the U.S. Kemp maintained that Ivins was innocent and said the pressure of the government investigation led to his client's suicide. A top government scientist who helped the FBI analyze samples from the 2001 anthrax attacks has died in Maryland from an apparent suicide, just as the Justice Department was about to file criminal charges against him for the attacks, the Los Angeles Times has learned. Mental health counselor Jean C. Duley requested that the court in Frederick County, Md., issue a "peace order" — a type of restraining order — against Ivins earlier this month. The death -- without any mention of suicide -- was announced to Ivins' colleagues at the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases, or USAMRIID, through a staffwide e-mail. He is survived by his wife of 33 years and two children. investigation when he worked at the Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque. Federal investigators began to suspect Ivins in late 2006 after a change in leadership at the FBI prompted a re-examination of the evidence, according to the Times report. The relentless pressure of accusation and innuendo takes its toll in different ways on different people, as has already been seen in this investigation. A year later, Hatfill sued various Justice Department officials, including Ashcroft. "We assert his innocence in these killings, and would have established that at trial. Two postal workers in a Washington mail facility, a New York hospital worker, a Florida photo editor and an elderly Connecticut woman were killed.
In the early days after the letter attacks, in September and October 2001, Dr. Ivins joined about 90 of his colleagues at the Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases in a round-the-clock laboratory push to test thousands of samples of suspect powder to see if they were anthrax. Later, in April 2002, he came under scrutiny in an Army investigation of a leak of potentially deadly anthrax spores outside a sealed-off lab at Fort Detrick. He later admitted he had discovered the leak but not reported it. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Whether the focus on Dr. Ivins had resolved the case of the anthrax letters was unclear. A federal law enforcement official said that Dr. Ivins had been regarded as a strong suspect and that agents had been nearing an arrest, and a lawyer familiar with the investigation said he believed that prosecutors had planned to charge only Dr. Ivins. The link between Dr. Ivins’s suicide and the federal investigation was first reported on Friday in The Los Angeles Times. But the Federal Bureau of Investigation declined on Friday to make public its case against Dr. Ivins, noting that evidence was under court seal as part of a grand jury investigation. Officials said they were briefing the victims of the anthrax letters — those who recovered, as well as family members of those who died — and would need to go to court to have evidence unsealed before it could even be summarized for the public. A lawyer who had represented Dr. Ivins since May 2007, Paul F. Kemp, insisted that Dr. Ivins was innocent and had been driven to suicide by false suspicions. Advertisement Continue reading the main story “For six years, Dr. Ivins fully cooperated with that investigation, assisting the government in every way that was asked of him,” Mr. Kemp said in a written statement, calling the microbiologist “a world-renowned and highly decorated scientist who served his country for over 33 years with the Department of the Army.” Advertisement Continue reading the main story “We assert his innocence in these killings and would have established that at trial,” Mr. Kemp said. “The relentless pressure of accusation and innuendo takes its toll in different ways on different people, as has already been seen in this investigation.” Photo Mr. Kemp was clearly referring to the case of Dr. Hatfill, who was the focus of intensive F.B.I. and news media attention in the case beginning in mid-2002 and received a $4.6 million settlement from the government in June to settle a lawsuit accusing the F.B.I. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Whatever the cause of his suicide, Dr. Ivins had been behaving bizarrely in the weeks before his death. He was hospitalized briefly for depression and, according to a complaint filed with the police, threatened to kill a social worker who had treated him in group therapy, among others, in rants referring to his expectation that he would be charged with five counts of capital murder. “It’s out of character,” said Norman M. Covert, a former spokesman and historian for the Army biodefense center who served with Dr. Ivins on an animal care committee. was really leaning on him, what a tremendous load that was on him.” Advertisement Continue reading the main story A spokesman for the Frederick police, Lt. Clark Pennington, said he could not say whether Dr. Ivins had left a suicide note because the anthrax investigation remained open. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Investigators in the huge inquiry traveled to many countries and by late 2006 had conducted 9,100 interviews, sent out 6,000 grand jury subpoenas and conducted 67 searches, the F.B.I. But the prime focus steadily narrowed: first to the Army infectious diseases laboratories, apparently linked to the letters by genetic analysis, then to Dr. Hatfill, a medical doctor who had become a bioterrorism consultant, and finally to Dr. Ivins, who worked in the same building as Dr. Hatfill and lived two blocks away from him outside the gates to Fort Detrick. Because the notes in some of the letters mailed to news media organizations and two senators included radical Islamist rhetoric, investigators initially believed the letters might have been sent by Al Qaeda. quickly settled on a different profile: a disgruntled American scientist or technician, perhaps one specializing in biodefense, who wanted to raise an alarm about the bioterrorism threat. That theory accounted for the letters’ taped seams and the notes’ use of the word anthrax, a warning that allowed antibiotic treatment — not to be expected from a Qaeda attack intended mainly to kill. That theory of a biodefense insider placed many scientists at the infectious diseases institute and other laboratories under scrutiny, even as they helped the F.B.I. would be remiss not to look at us, especially those of us who worked with anthrax,” said John W. Ezzell, an anthrax researcher who hired Dr. Ivins at the institute and knew him well. Advertisement Continue reading the main story The other puzzle involved the skills necessary to produce the high-quality aerosol powder contained in the letters addressed to the senators, Tom Daschle, Democrat of South Dakota, and Patrick J. Leahy, Democrat of Vermont. Photo Scientists familiar with germ warfare said there was no evidence that Dr. Ivins, though a vaccine expert with easy access to the most dangerous forms of anthrax, had the skills to turn the pathogen into an inhalable powder. “There are very few people who have their feet in both camps.” Advertisement Continue reading the main story Mr. Ezzell said Dr. Ivins had worked on many projects involving anthrax spores and the toxin they produce, including experiments in which animals were exposed to anthrax to test vaccines. Since then, at least 19 government and university laboratories have worked on the investigation, using clues like the genetic fingerprints of the anthrax, and radioactive isotopes in the water used to grow it, to try to trace it to a source. Advertisement Continue reading the main story On Capitol Hill, where anthrax contamination in 2001 led to the evacuation of many offices, several members of Congress voiced skepticism about reports that the hunt for the anthrax killer might be over. Regarded as a skilled microbiologist, Ivins also helped the FBI analyze the powdery material recovered from one of the anthrax-tainted envelopes sent to a U.S. senator's office in Washington. Bruce E. Ivins, 62, who for the last 18 years worked at the government's elite biodefense research laboratories at Ft. Detrick, Md., had been informed of his impending prosecution, said people familiar with Ivins, his suspicious death and the FBI investigation. A top government scientist who helped the FBI analyze samples from the 2001 anthrax attacks has died in Maryland from an apparent suicide, just as the Justice Department was about to file criminal charges against him for the attacks, the Los Angeles Times has learned. The anthrax mailings killed five people, crippled national mail service, shut down a Senate office building and spread fear of further terrorism after the Sept. 11 attacks.
But in Beijing, public excitement over the Games mounted. The police said the two attackers had been arrested, and one got a leg injury in the raid. Authorities have named the Xinjiang separatist "East Turkistan Islamic Movement" as a threat to the Olympics. REUTERS/Nir Elias A member of the security forces directs journalists and locals away from the scene where earlier today a bomb attack took place, in Kashgar August 4, 2008. China's leaders hope the Games will showcase their country's economic progress and new global clout. The attack came four days before the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games. Another 16 policemen were hurt. The quake killed 70,000 people in May. Kashgar, known as Kashi in Chinese, is some 2,500 miles (4,000km) from Beijing, near the border with Tajikistan. Are you in the area? Your comments may be published on any BBC media worldwide. Human rights groups say Beijing is suppressing the rights of Uighurs. The official Xinhua news agency said they wanted better compensation after their houses were demolished to make way for pre-Olympic redevelopment. The Communist government says drastic measures -- like ordering nearly 2 million of the city's cars off the road and closing smoke-belching factories -- have helped. He also saw a broken wire pole and three tree stubs left from the accident. Police had warned ethnic Uighur separatists were planning attacks in the run-up to the Games. A small group of people, shouting and waving their fists, demonstrated close to Tiananmen Square. The Beijing Organizing Committee of the Games said it was sure athletes and spectators would be safe, while the IOC also reassured millions of visitors and more than 10,000 athletes taking part in what it called a "landmark event".
・A raid of a border armed police division in Xinjiang Monday morning killed 16 policemen. ・The incident was suspected as a terrorist attack, according to the local police. ・The police said the two attackers had been arrested, and one of them got a leg injury. URUMQI, Aug. 4 (Xinhua) -- Terrorist plot was suspected in the violent attack targeting border police in China's westernmost city of Kashi, which left at least 16 policemen killed and 16 others injured Monday. The attack occurred in the front of the Yiquan Hotel, which is nearly 200 meters away from the Kashi border armed police division, Xinhua correspondent reported from Kashi. The reporter said the police investigation found that two attackers drove a tip lorry to hit a team of policemen who were jogging to pass the hotel in a regular morning exercise at about 8:00 a.m. The suspects then got off the lorry to throw explosive and hack the policemen with knives, after the vehicle veered to knock on a roadside wire pole, said the Kashi police. The reporter corrected the previous account of the raid of the border armed police division, saying that the attackers did not break into the division station and the explosion took place outside the station. Fourteen policemen were killed on the spot and two others died on the way to hospital, according to the police source. Xinhua reporter saw blood stain left on the sidewalk, although the accident site had been cleaned by police. He also saw a broken wire pole and three tree stubs left from the accident. No civilians were hurt in the attack so far. The police said the two attackers had been arrested, and one got a leg injury in the raid. The regional public security department said it had got intelligence that the "East Turkistan Islamic Movement" planned to make terrorist attacks during Aug. 1-8, just ahead of the opening of the Olympic Games in Beijing. Chinese police foiled an attempted sabotage instigated and conducted by the "Eastern Turkistan" separatists on board a Southern Airlines flight in March. Three suspects detained by police fully admitted that the attack was masterminded. The "East Turkistan Islamic Movement" was one of the main security worries to the Olympics, which also include separatist forces for "Tibet independence", and the Falun Gong cult, according to Tian Yixiang, a senior PLA commander and also a security chief for the Games. Kurexi Maihesuti, vice chairman of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region Government, told a press conference in Beijing last week that Xinjiang police had cracked five terrorism groups in the first half of 2008, detaining 82 suspected terrorists who allegedly plotted sabotage against the Olympics. Fireworks explode over Beijing's Tiananmen Square during a rehearsal of the opening ceremony for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games August 2, 2008. REUTERS/Gil Cohen Magen Young musicians from the Beijing 2008 Olympic Orchestra take part in a special concert at Tiananmen Square opposite the Forbidden City, prior to the Olympic Games in Beijing August 3, 2008 REUTERS/Nir Elias Athletes row past the Olympic rings during a training session for the Beijing 2008 Olympics on a hazy day in Beijing August 4, 2008. REUTERS/Darren Whiteside Tourists take pictures in front of the National Stadium, known as the Bird's Nest, during a day marked by smog and haze in Beijing ahead of the 2008 Olympic Games, August 4, 2008. REUTERS/Gil Cohen Magen Police patrol the bridge of Beijing's 4th ring road, located close to the exit to the Olympic Green, August 4, 2008. REUTERS/Marcos Brindicci Police stand guard on the bridge of Beijing's 4th ring road, located close to the exit to the Olympic Green, August 4, 2008. REUTERS/Gil Cohen Magen A member of the security forces directs journalists and locals away from the scene where earlier today a bomb attack took place, in Kashgar August 4, 2008. REUTERS/Nir Elias A member of the security forces directs journalists and locals away from the scene where earlier today a bomb attack took place, in Kashgar August 4, 2008. REUTERS/Nir Elias A member of the security forces directs journalists and locals away from the scene where earlier today a bomb attack took place, in Kashgar August 4, 2008. REUTERS/Nir Elias A member of the security forces tries to keep order for people and traffic next to the scene where a bomb attack took place earlier in the day, in Kashgar August 4, 2008. REUTERS/Nir Elias BEIJING Suspected Muslim separatists with homemade bombs killed 16 police in western China on Monday, state media said, reporting one of the worst attacks by militants on Chinese soil just four days before the Olympics. China's President Hu Jintao told a meeting of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) the Games would display the desire of the world's most populous country to join with the rest of the planet in "building a bright future". The Beijing Organizing Committee of the Games said it was sure athletes and spectators would be safe, while the IOC also reassured millions of visitors and more than 10,000 athletes taking part in what it called a "landmark event". About 100,000 police and soldiers are on standby ahead of Friday's opening ceremony, and security has been stepped up in Tiananmen Square, scene of the 1989 pro-democracy uprising, with all visitors' bags being screened. American swimming phenomenon Michael Phelps slipped into town to begin an Olympic adventure that could end with him breaking Mark Spitz's record of seven golds in one Olympics. The lanky 23-year-old eluded female fans and a media scrum in the arrivals hall at Beijing's vast new international airport terminal, entering the country through a side door. Phelps won six gold and two bronze medals at the 2004 Athens Olympics and will get a $1 million bonus from sponsor Speedo if he can equal compatriot Spitz's haul from the 1972 Munich Games. The IOC said it filed a lawsuit in California against six Web sites last Friday, but a U.S. lawyer who said he had lost $12,000 in the scam accused Olympic officials of complacency. The Communist government says drastic measures -- like ordering nearly 2 million of the city's cars off the road and closing smoke-belching factories -- have helped.
Still, it was an estimate. A "degree of separation" is a measure of social distance between people. The Microsoft researchers said that, to their knowledge, their study had for the first time validated Milgram's theory on a planetary scale. Of those letter chains that were complete, the average number of degrees of separation was 6.2. Urban myth? Turns out, it is a small world. Any two people on average are linked by seven or fewer acquaintances, they say. "What we're seeing suggests there may be a social connectivity constant for humanity. Horvitz and fellow Microsoft researcher Jure Leskovec looked at over 30 billion conversations over Microsoft Messenger in June 2006. But we are showing on a very large scale that this idea goes beyond folklore." The Microsoft research focused on the popular concept that has inspired games such as Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon and a well-known play by John Guare. People have had this suspicion that we are really close. Examining the minimum chain lengths it would take to connect all the users in the database, they found the average length was 6.6 steps and that 78% of the pairs could be connected in seven links or fewer. You are one degree away from everyone you know, two degrees away from everyone they know, and so on. The subjects were told to send the letter to an acquaintance who could best advance the letter to the target, but most failed: Only 64 of the original 296 letters reached the stockbroker. The conversations represented about 180 million people around the world, according to a report by the Washington Post.
They're probably better than you think. According to a new study by Microsoft, not only are the odds pretty good, but you can probably be linked to anyone else by fewer than seven acquaintances. The findings throw more science behind the old "small world" theory that all strangers are connected through people they know, popularized by a trivia game about the interconnectedness between the rest of the world and actor Kevin Bacon. "What's the distance between you and any random person on the planet? That's the kind of result we were seeking," Microsoft researcher Eric Horvitz told "Good Morning America." Horvitz and fellow Microsoft researcher Jure Leskovec looked at over 30 billion conversations over Microsoft Messenger in June 2006. The conversations represented about 180 million people around the world, according to a report by the Washington Post. Play They found that on, average, any two random people were connected by 6.6 people. "What we're seeing suggests there may be a social connectivity constant for humanity. But we are showing on a very large scale that this idea goes beyond folklore." For years now, the "small world" theory found practicality in a trivia game called the Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon, in which competitors would attempt to connect the actor with other actors using as few links as possible. The University of Virginia Computer Science department took the game to a higher level, creating a computer program called "The Oracle of Bacon" that automatically maps the links between Kevin Bacon and any other actor or actress through information at the Internet Movie Database. For example, linking Clive Owen, star of "Inside Man" and "Shoot 'Em Up," is relatively easy using the program. Owen was in "The Follow" with Forest Whitaker, who was in "The Air I Breathe" with Bacon. With Microsoft's new information, however, it seems that anyone, not just movie stars, is much closer to Kevin Bacon than previously believed. Instant messaging has become part of everyday life for millions A US study of instant messaging suggests the theory that it takes only six steps to link everyone may be right - though seven seems more accurate. Microsoft researchers studied the addresses of 30bn instant messages sent during a single month in 2006. Any two people on average are linked by seven or fewer acquaintances, they say. The theory of six degrees of separation has long captured people's imagination - notably inspiring a popular 1993 film - but had recently seemed discredited. One of the researchers on the Microsoft Messenger project, Eric Horvitz, said he had been shocked by the results. "What we're seeing suggests there may be a social connectivity constant for humanity," he was quoted as saying by the Washington Post newspaper. The database used by Mr Horvitz and his colleague Jure Leskovec covered all of the Microsoft Messenger instant-messaging network, or roughly half of the world's instant-messaging traffic, in June 2006. For the purposes of the study, two people were considered to be acquaintances if they had sent one another an instant message. Examining the minimum chain lengths it would take to connect all the users in the database, they found the average length was 6.6 steps and that 78% of the pairs could be connected in seven links or fewer. The idea of six degrees of separation was conceived by US academic Stanley Milgram, after experiments in which he asked people to pass a letter only to others they knew by name. The average number of times it was passed on, he said, was six - hence, the six degrees of separation. However, in July 2006, Judith Kleinfeld, professor of psychology at Alaska Fairbanks University, went back to Milgram's original research notes and discovered that 95% of the letters sent out had failed to reach their target. She suggested that the six degrees theory might be the academic equivalent of an urban myth. The Microsoft researchers said that, to their knowledge, their study had for the first time validated Milgram's theory on a planetary scale. E-mail this to a friend Printable version Bookmark with: Delicious Digg reddit Facebook StumbleUpon What are these? The "small world theory," embodied in the old saw that there are just "six degrees of separation" between any two strangers on Earth, has been largely corroborated by a massive study of electronic communication. With records of 30 billion electronic conversations among 180 million people from around the world, researchers have concluded that any two people on average are distanced by just 6.6 degrees of separation, meaning that they could be linked by a string of seven or fewer acquaintances. The database covered all of the Microsoft Messenger instant-messaging network in June 2006, or roughly half the world's instant-messaging traffic at that time, researchers said. In recent years, the massive databases yielded by cell phone records have been exploited by researchers to better understand human movements and social networks. The subjects were told to send the letter to an acquaintance who could best advance the letter to the target, but most failed: Only 64 of the original 296 letters reached the stockbroker.
Why that is, we don't know," Levine says. TREATMENT IMPACT See the impact of vitamin C treatment on mice with tumours. 'Leads to cancer cell deaths' "That hydrogen peroxide leads to death of some cancer cells and does not seem to kill normal cells. Scientists involved with the study also pointed to evidence that "these high ascorbate concentrations could be achieved in people." Researchers at the National Institutes of Health noted the phenomenon in brain, ovarian and pancreatic cancers, according to findings published today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. (Agencies) Warning: the image may disturb. The vitamin was then injected into their abdominal cavity. Tumour growth and weight fell by between 41% and 53%, and while in untreated mice, the disease spread rapidly to involve other body parts, no such spread was seen in the vitamin C-treated animals. "This is encouraging work but it's at a very early stage because it involves cells grown in the lab and mice. However, Cancer Research UK said other studies suggested large vitamin C doses may interfere with cancer treatment. The dose they employed - up to four grams per kilo of bodyweight - was far greater than any that could be achieved using diet or vitamin pills, as the digestive system does not absorb more than a fixed amount taken orally. By injecting mice with 43 cancer and five normal cell lines, the researchers discovered that high concentrations of ascorbate had anticancer effects in 75 percent of cancer cell lines tested, while sparing normal cells. The researchers believe the elevated amounts of ascorbic acid generate hydrogen peroxide in the body that acts against the cancer cells.
BEIJING, Aug. 5 (Xinhuanet) -- High-dose injections of vitamin C, also known as ascorbate or ascorbic acid, can stop the spread of cancer and slow the growth of tumours by 50 percent in lab mice tests. In a study in Tuesday's issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, researchers from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) injected ascorbate into the veins or abdominal cavities of rodents with aggressive brain, ovarian, and pancreatic tumors," delivering "up to four grams per kilogram of body weight daily." The researchers, however, tested the idea that ascorbate, when injected at high doses, may have prooxidant instead of antioxidant activity. Prooxidants would generate free radicals and the formation of hydrogen peroxide, which, the scientists hypothesized, might kill tumor cells. By injecting mice with 43 cancer and five normal cell lines, the researchers discovered that high concentrations of ascorbate had anticancer effects in 75 percent of cancer cell lines tested, while sparing normal cells. Scientists involved with the study also pointed to evidence that "these high ascorbate concentrations could be achieved in people." Vitamin C, which is found in fruit and vegetables, plays a critical role in health, and a prolonged deficiency leads to scurvy and eventually to death. Vitamin C was considered as a possible treatment for cancer three decades ago, but fell out of favour when studies where the vitamin was given orally failed to live up to expectations. News in Science Injected vitamin C cuts cancer growth Injections of high doses of vitamin C have almost halved the rate of tumour growth in mice, leading US researchers to believe it may be useful in the treatment of cancer in humans. The idea that vitamin C, also known as ascorbic acid, could be used to treat cancer was advanced in the 1970s by American scientist Linus Pauling, who was awarded the Nobel Prize in chemistry in 1954. 'Some promise' "When you eat foods containing more than 200 milligrams of vitamin C a day, for example, two oranges and a serving of broccoli, your body prevents blood levels of ascorbate from exceeding a narrow range," says Dr Mark Levine, the study's lead author and chief of the Molecular and Clinical Nutrition Section of the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. Scientists "injected ascorbate into the veins or abdominal cavities of rodents with aggressive brain, ovarian, and pancreatic tumours", the report says, delivering "up to four grams per kilogram of body weight daily". By injecting mice with 43 cancer and five normal cell lines, "the researchers discovered that high concentrations of ascorbate had anticancer effects in 75% of cancer cell lines tested, while sparing normal cells". "The key finding here is that this is ascorbic acid used as a drug and it appears to have some promise in treating some cancers," says Levine. The researchers believe the elevated amounts of ascorbic acid generate hydrogen peroxide in the body that acts against the cancer cells. 'Leads to cancer cell deaths' "That hydrogen peroxide leads to death of some cancer cells and does not seem to kill normal cells. "In immune-deficient mice with rapidly spreading ovarian, pancreatic, and glioblastoma (brain) tumours ... the ascorbate injections reduced tumour growth and weight by 41% to 53%." The researchers say the findings "provide the first firm basis for advancing pharmacologic ascorbate in cancer treatment in humans". However, Cancer Research UK said other studies suggested large vitamin C doses may interfere with cancer treatment. The dose they employed - up to four grams per kilo of bodyweight - was far greater than any that could be achieved using diet or vitamin pills, as the digestive system does not absorb more than a fixed amount taken orally. The researchers wrote: "These pre-clinical data provide the first firm basis for advancing pharmacologic ascorbate in cancer treatment in humans." "Some research even suggests that high doses of antioxidants can make cancer treatment less effective, reducing the benefits of radiotherapy and chemotherapy."
This putsch is such a pity. Laila al amine, Kaedi, Mauritania With the leadership here in Mauritania, we all knew it was going to happen (the coup), it was just a matter of when. President Sidi Ould Cheikh Abdallahi was held after he tried to dismiss the military's top commanders. A security source in the capital Nouakchott said Mr Abdelaziz was leading the coup. "They came here to find him," she told Radio France International. President Sidi Mohamed Ould Cheikh Abdallahi was overthrown and arrested along with his prime minister on Wednesday by the head of his presidential guard, Mohamed Ould Abdelaziz. The governments of South Africa and Nigeria - both major players in the African Union - also criticised the military takeover. One government was sacked in May while another resigned in July when faced with the prospect of a vote of no confidence. Advertisement Troops in Mauritania have overthrown the country's first freely-elected leader and say they have formed a state council to rule the country. The coup received the backing of many parliamentarians who hitherto supported Abdallahi but walked out of his PNDD-ADIL party on Monday after weeks of political turmoil. The elections were deemed to have been free and fair and appeared to herald a new era of democracy. France's foreign ministry says a group of Mauritanian army generals is reported to be holding Mr Waghf. The desert nation, a former French colony of more than three million people, has been looking to oil revenues to boost its economy. Mr Abdallahi won elections last year and took over from a military junta that had ruled since it toppled President Maaouya Ould Sid'Ahmed Taya in a bloodless coup in 2005.
Mauritania coup leaders seize President, PM Updated A coup has taken place in the north-west African republic of Mauritania, where the army has seized the President and the Prime Minister after the President sacked several top army officers. A presidency source says soldiers seized President Sidi Mohamed Ould Cheikh Abdallahi, Prime Minister Yahya Ould Ahmed Waghf and the interior minister, and took them to an unknown destination. Troops have also shut down Mauritania's state radio and television, witnesses say. The President's daughter, Amal Mint Cheikh Abdallahi, has confirmed that presidential guardsmen seized have seized her father. "The security agents of the BASEP (Presidential Security Battalion) came to our home around 9.20 and took away my father," she said. France's foreign ministry says a group of Mauritanian army generals is reported to be holding Mr Waghf. "We are in contact with our embassy to obtain confirmation of the events that appear to be taking place in Nouakchott," a ministry spokesman said. "Based on initial information, it seems that a group of generals are holding the Prime Minister." In a decree published earlier on Wednesday by the national news agency, Mr Abdallahi sacked army chief of staff General Mohamed Ould Cheikh Mohamed Ahmed Ghazouani and presidential guard chief Mohamed Ould Abdelaziz. A security source in the capital Nouakchott said Mr Abdelaziz was leading the coup. Gulf-based Arabic television news channel al-Arabiya reported that both he and General Ghazouani were involved. The head of the Gendarmerie paramilitary police force was also replaced in the decree. Mr Abdallahi replaced one government in May following criticism over its response to soaring food prices and to attacks over the last year carried out by al Qaeda's north African arm. But the new government resigned last month in the face of a proposed no-confidence vote which prompted a cabinet reshuffle. This week most of the members of parliament belonging to Mr Abdallahi's PNDD-ADIL party walked out from the party en masse, in a move some political sources said were supported by senior military officials. Mr Abdallahi won elections last year and took over from a military junta that had ruled since it toppled President Maaouya Ould Sid'Ahmed Taya in a bloodless coup in 2005. Mauritania is one of the world's poorest nations. A former French colony which gained independence from France four decades ago, it straddles Arab and black Africa on the Sahara's western fringe. It imports more than 70 per cent of its food needs and has been hard hit by the food crisis. Advertisement Troops in Mauritania have overthrown the country's first freely-elected leader and say they have formed a state council to rule the country. President Sidi Ould Cheikh Abdallahi was held after he tried to dismiss the military's top commanders. Troops are out on the streets of the capital, Nouakchott, where tear gas was fired at about 50 protesters. President Abdallahi came to power in free and fair polls last year, taking over from a military junta. Troops rounded up the president - along with his Prime Minister Yahia Ould Ahmed El-Waqef - apparently without needing to use force on Wednesday. Earlier in the day, the president tried to dismiss four senior army officers, including the head of the presidential guard, Gen Mohamed Ould Abdelaziz, who responded by launching the coup. The country has been in the grip of a political crisis since a vote of no confidence in the cabinet two weeks ago. They arrested [President Abdallahi] and took him to the battalion base. It's a textbook coup d'etat Amal Mint Cheikh Abdallahi President's daughter What next for coup leaders? Reports suggest some of the generals orchestrated the mass resignation, our correspondent James Copnall says. Nouakchott airport has been closed, security sources told the AFP news agency on Wednesday. A journalist based in Nouakchott, Hamdi Ould Mohamed el-Hacen, told the BBC people had gathered on street corners to discuss the coup - in particular the fate of the president and prime minister. Unusual movements Culture Minister Abdellahi Salem Ould El-Mouallah read a statement on TV on behalf of the coup leaders announcing the presidential decree sacking the top army officers had been "annulled legally and practically". An army statement said the president was no longer in charge The first indications of a military coup came as state radio and television were taken off the air amid reports of unusual troop movements in Nouakchott. The president's daughter, Amal Mint Cheikh Abdallahi, said soldiers seized her father at his house at 0920 local time (0920 GMT). "They arrested him here and took him to the battalion base. It's a textbook coup d'etat." The governments of South Africa and Nigeria - both major players in the African Union - also criticised the military takeover. Earlier this year, however, the president dismissed the government amid protests over soaring food prices. Your comments: I have had no trouble walking around the streets of Nouakchott this morning and as I type, cavalcades of cars are driving around the capital sounding their horns in celebration of the coup d'etat.
Naval Base, in Cuba, July 23, 2008. The White House had earlier said the trial was "fair". REUTERS/Janet Hamlin/Pool Defendant Salim Hamdan attends his trial inside the war crimes courthouse at Camp Justice, the legal complex of the U.S. Military Commissions, at Guantanamo Bay U.S. REUTERS/Janet Hamlin/Pool A sketch by a courtroom artist shows Osama bin Laden's driver Salim Hamdan (L) at the Guantanamo Bay U.S. Rights groups have condemned the tribunal system. The charges Hamdan was cleared of -- two counts of conspiring with al Qaeda to attack civilians, destroy property, and commit murder in violation of the laws of war -- were the only charges against him in the first prosecution attempt. The Pentagon said Hamdan would serve his sentence and then be eligible for review. The military jury of five men and one woman found Hamdan guilty of supporting al-Qaeda by driving and guarding bin Laden and ferrying weapons for the terrorist group. The judge, Navy Capt. Hamdan could then appeal to the U.S. federal appeals court in Washington and finally to the U.S. Supreme Court. Deputy defense counsel Michael Berrigan called the trial a "travesty" but said the defense team "is not at all unhappy with the results." Salim Hamdan was convicted on Wednesday of supporting terrorism, but acquitted of conspiracy to murder. At that time he will still be considered an enemy combatant. Among the dozens of other inmates due to be tried there in the coming months are men accused of plotting the 9/11 attacks. E-mail this to a friend Printable version Bookmark with: Delicious Digg reddit Facebook StumbleUpon What are these?
This was the first US war crimes trial since World War II Osama Bin Laden's former driver has been sentenced to five-and-a-half years in prison at the first US military trial in Guantanamo Bay. Prosecutors had demanded a sentence of not less than 30 years. On time served Hamdan could be released in five months but the Pentagon has said he will still be retained as an "enemy combatant". The US has always argued it can detain such people indefinitely, as long as its so-called war on terror continues. The Pentagon said Hamdan would serve his sentence and then be eligible for review. Regret The BBC's Kim Ghattas at the trial says the sentence is a dramatic snub to the Bush administration and came after just one-and-a-half hours of deliberation. The jury of six US military officers, not the judge, imposed the sentence under the tribunal rules. "It is my duty as president [of the jury] to inform you that this military commission sentences you to be confined for 66 months," a juror told Hamdan. HAMDAN CHARGES Conspiracy: Not guilty of two counts of conspiring with al-Qaeda to attack civilians, destroy property and commit murder Providing support for terrorism: Guilty on five counts, including being the driver and bodyguard for Osama Bin Laden, a man he knew to be the leader of a terrorist group. Not guilty on three other counts All sides claim victory Profile: Salim Hamdan Timeline: Al-Qaeda Our correspondent says Hamdan looked nervous as he walked in for sentencing but after hearing it, he told jurors: "I would like to apologise one more time to all the members and I would like to thank you for what you have done for me." The judge, Navy Capt Keith Allred, told Hamdan: "I hope the day comes when you return to your wife and your daughters and your country." Hamdan, who is aged about 40, smiled as he left court and said thank you to those in the room. After the sentencing, Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said: "He will serve out the rest of his sentence. The boards decide annually on the threat posed by detainees and the possibility of their transfer or release. The White House had earlier said the trial was "fair". Rights groups have condemned the tribunal system. Amnesty International said it was "fundamentally flawed" and should be abandoned. 'Worked for wages' In his earlier plea for leniency to the jury, Hamdan said in a prepared statement: "It's true there are work opportunities in Yemen, but not at the level I needed after I got married and not to the level of ambitions that I had in my future." He said he regretted the loss of "innocent lives". Hamdan had admitted working for Bin Laden in Afghanistan from 1997 to 2001 for $200 (£99) a month, but said he worked for wages, not to wage war on the US. Among the dozens of other inmates due to be tried there in the coming months are men accused of plotting the 9/11 attacks. E-mail this to a friend Printable version Bookmark with: Delicious Digg reddit Facebook StumbleUpon What are these? GUANTANAMO BAY, Cuba, Aug. 6 -- A military jury on Wednesday found a former driver for Osama bin Laden guilty of supporting terrorism but not of conspiring in terrorist attacks, handing the Bush administration a partial victory in the first U.S. war crimes trial in a half a century. The verdict, reached after about eight hours of deliberations over three days, only intensified the debate over whether Salim Ahmed Hamdan's conviction was preordained in an unfair system -- or whether military trials are appropriate for people accused of committing heinous acts against the United States. The administration seized on the acquittal to defend its military justice system against accusations that it was politicized and drawn up to ensure convictions. "We're pleased that Salim Hamdan received a fair trial," White House spokesman Tony Fratto said. "The military commission system is a fair and appropriate legal process for prosecuting detainees." With the conclusion of the trial -- the first by military commission since the end of World War II -- U.S. prosecutors can move ahead with military trials for up to 80 Guantanamo Bay detainees, including those accused of planning the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. One reason Hamdan, who even the military judge labeled "a small player," was tried first is so the system could be tested on him. The military jury of five men and one woman found Hamdan guilty of supporting al-Qaeda by driving and guarding bin Laden and ferrying weapons for the terrorist group. Keith J. Allred, called it "an emotional moment" for Hamdan, who was later led back to his cell at the U.S. detention facility here, his home for the past six years. President Bush first empowered the commissions after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, reversing a tradition of trying alleged terrorists in civilian courts in an effort to seek swift and tough-minded military justice. Deputy defense counsel Michael Berrigan called the trial a "travesty" but said the defense team "is not at all unhappy with the results." Ben Wizner, a lawyer with the American Civil Liberties Union who attended the trial as one of several human rights observers, ridiculed the administration for inaugurating the military system on "a marginal figure." In this photograph of a sketch by courtroom artist Janet Hamlin, reviewed by the U.S. Military, defendant Salim Hamdan (front, 2nd L) looks at a video screen showing an exhibit as part of his trial inside the war crimes courthouse at Camp Justice, the legal complex of the U.S. Military Commissions, at Guantanamo Bay U.S. REUTERS/Janet Hamlin/Pool A sketch by a courtroom artist shows Osama bin Laden's driver Salim Hamdan (L) at the Guantanamo Bay U.S. REUTERS/Janet Hamlin/Pool A photograph of a sketch by courtroom artist Janet Hamlin, reviewed by the U.S. military, shows defendant Salim Hamdan (far L) sitting with his defense team during testimony on day three of his trial inside the war crimes courthouse at Camp Justice, the legal complex of the U.S. Military Commissions, at Guantanamo Bay U.S. REUTERS/Janet Hamlin/Pool A photograph of a sketch by courtroom artist Janet Hamlin, reviewed by the U.S. military, shows defendant Salim Hamdan (L) sitting with his defense team during testimony on day three of his trial inside the war crimes courthouse at Camp Justice, the legal complex of the U.S. Military Commissions, at Guantanamo Bay U.S.
Police has cordoned off the area where the explosions occurred, the witnesses said. Xinjiang police have described the attack as an well-planned terrorist attack. A Xinhua reporter is on the way to Kuqa from Urumqi. Two Uighur suspects have been detained. (Editing by Nick Macfie) Human rights groups say Beijing is suppressing the rights of Uighurs. Two militants died in the bombings and five were killed by police, Xinhua says Seven militants and a security guard have been killed after a series of bombings in China's north-western region of Xinjiang, state media says. "Casualties of the incident may still rise, Xinhua reported, citing witnesses who "saw flashes of fire and heard sporadic gunshots after the explosions". The pre-dawn violence in southern Kuqa county targeted a police station and other government buildings. Olympics threat World Uighur Congress spokesman Dilxat Raxit told the BBC that the Chinese government was responsible for the latest blasts because of what he called repressive policies in Xinjiang. Local military sources confirmed the incident and said the military force have been put on alert. The incident follows an attack on border police in Kashi Monday, resulting in the death of 16 police officers and the injury of 16 others. Xinjiang is home to many Muslim Uighurs, some of whom want independence in the region they call East Turkestan. Uighurs now make up slightly less than half of its 20 million people, and most of the rest are Han Chinese. It has a population of about 400,000. A man drove a truck into a team of more than 70 police officers who were doing regular morning exercise outside the police station.
(Adds details of injured suspects, background of unrest) By Chris Buckley BEIJING Aug 10 A series of blasts killed at least two people in China's restive far northwest Xinjiang on Sunday, underscoring volatile tensions there two days into the Olympics and less than a week after a blast killed 16 police. The blasts in central Kuqa, a major town in southern Xinjiang more than 3,000 km (1,860 miles) from Beijing, occurred before dawn, Xinhua news agency quoted witnesses as saying. "Casualties of the incident may still rise, Xinhua reported, citing witnesses who "saw flashes of fire and heard sporadic gunshots after the explosions". Four or five suspects were killed or injured in the blasts, Xinhua said, raising the possibility that the two dead were perpetrators. No group has claimed responsibility or been blamed for the blasts, but Chinese officials have said militants seeking an independent homeland for Xinjiang's largely Muslim Uighurs are one of the top security threats to the Beijing Olympics, which started on Friday. "With these special circumstances and the special background of the eve of the Beijing Olympic Games, hostile forces at home and abroad will surely act like cornered mad dogs and step up their terror and sabotage activities," said the governor of Xinjiang, Nuer Baikeli, in the Xinjiang Daily on Friday. An attack at a border police station in Xinjiang killed 16 police on Monday. Many of Xinjiang's 8 million Uighurs chafe at the strict controls on religion that China enforces and resent influxes of Han Chinese migrant workers and businesses. Uighurs now make up slightly less than half of its 20 million people, and most of the rest are Han Chinese. Human rights critics and exiled Uighurs say Beijing has exaggerated the threat of violence in Xinjiang and stirred discontent by encouraging the migration of millions of Han Chinese into the region. Kuqa county, where the town of the same name lies, is an ethnically mixed area with a population of some 450,000 that has seen unrest. In 2001, the police chief of Kuqa was killed in what authorities called a separatist assassination. In April, Xinjiang's hardline Communist Party chief, Wang Lequan, visited Kuqa and told officials "stability comes before all else", according to a report on the Kuqa government website (www.xjkc.gov.cn). Two militants died in the bombings and five were killed by police, Xinhua says Seven militants and a security guard have been killed after a series of bombings in China's north-western region of Xinjiang, state media says. The pre-dawn violence in southern Kuqa county targeted a police station and other government buildings. Earlier this week, China said 16 policemen were killed in an attack by Islamist separatists in Xinjiang. "The lawbreakers drove a taxi to the local public security office, industry and business administration and other sites and tossed homemade explosives, destroying two police vehicles," Xinhua news agency reported. Two of the militants died in the attacks, while five were killed later by police, Xinhua news agency reported. "In order to stop the East Turkestan situation getting worse, I urge the international community to exert pressure on China to immediately stop its systematic repressive government policies," he said. URUMQI, Aug. 10 (Xinhua) -- Two persons were known to have been killed in a series of explosions that rocked Kuqa county in China's remote Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region early Sunday morning, local sources said. The explosions occurred between 3:20 a.m. and 4 a.m. in downtown Kuqa, a major town in southern Xinjiang, the witnesses said, adding they saw flashes of fire and heard sporadic gunshots after the explosions. A man drove a truck into a team of more than 70 police officers who were doing regular morning exercise outside the police station. At the same time, another man threw an explosive device toward the gate of the police station and brandished a knife at officers who had been run over by the truck. Liu Yaohua, chief of the Xinjiang Public Security Bureau, said the explosive devices and a home-made gun seized at the site are similar to those found at a terrorist training camp destroyed by Xinjiang police in January 1.
"This provocation was aimed at occupying South Ossetia, Abkhazia and then all of Georgia," he said. It is thought that Russian troops could also be targeting a Georgian radar station in Senaki. (Reporting by Margarita Antidze) A Georgian Defence Ministry spokesman said that Russian armoured vehicles had seized a military base in the town. Witnesses have reported that at least six Georgian attack helicopters have bombed targets in the region around the South Ossetian capital of Tskhinvali, apparently breaking their self-imposed ceasefire. Senaki lies outside the so-called security zone that runs along the de facto Abkhaz boundary with the rest of Georgia. The action appeared to countermand a Georgian declaration of an end to military activity over the separatist region. The troops, who were flanked by about 40 vehicles including lorries and armoured personnel carriers, were carrying heavy weaponry and could be seen securing positions, including ambush positions. The deployments into areas beyond the disputed territories of South Ossetia and Abkhazia follow a threat from Moscow that Russian forces would move into the main area of the country if Georgian troops refused to disarm. Russian peacekeepers have been stationed since the territory broke away in the 1990s. The Gergian President, Mikheil Saakashvili, said in a televised address that Russia is seeking to occupy all of Georgia. Control of the highway could cut off the port of Poti on the Black Sea, south of Abkhazia. The Daily Telegraph has seen a large group of Russian soldiers wearing flak jackets near Senaki. TBILISI Aug 10 Russian troops advanced 40 km (25 miles) from separatist Abkhazia to the town of Senaki inside Georgia proper on Monday, the Georgian Interior Ministry said.
GORI, Georgia Aug 11 At least six Georgian attack helicopters bombed targets in the region around the South Ossetian capital Tskhinvali, a Reuters witness said. The action appeared to countermand a Georgian declaration of an end to military activity over the separatist region. The reporter said the helicopters flew from Georgia proper and attacked targets just over the de facto boundary with South Ossetia, sending dark smoke billowing into the air. Russia had earlier accused Georgia of shelling Russian troops, which drove Georgian forces from Tskhinvali this week. TBILISI Aug 10 Russian troops advanced 40 km (25 miles) from separatist Abkhazia to the town of Senaki inside Georgia proper on Monday, the Georgian Interior Ministry said. Russian peacekeepers have been stationed since the territory broke away in the 1990s. A Georgian Interior Ministry spokesman said that Russian forces had also moved into the town of Zugdidi and seized police stations. The deployments into areas beyond the disputed territories of South Ossetia and Abkhazia follow a threat from Moscow that Russian forces would move into the main area of the country if Georgian troops refused to disarm. The new troop movements were revealed as Gordon Brown, the UK Prime Minister, said there was "no justification" for Russia's military action in Georgia and that there was a "clear responsibility" on Moscow to agree a ceasefire and bring a swift end to the conflict which threatened a "humanitarian catastrophe". Justifying the advance into Senaki, a Russian Defence Ministry spokesman said: "Russian peacekeepers and support units are carrying out an operation aimed at preventing Georgian forces from regrouping to carry new attacks on South Ossetia. Witnesses have reported that at least six Georgian attack helicopters have bombed targets in the region around the South Ossetian capital of Tskhinvali, apparently breaking their self-imposed ceasefire. Earlier today the Russian President, Dmitry Medvedev, said that the "major part" of his country's assault on Georgia was over, raising hopes of a swift end to the fighting, which was sparked on Friday after Georgia entered South Osettia, attempting to wrest back control of the breakaway state by military means.
I wanted gold," he said. "I don't care about this medal. South Korea had earlier won both the men's and women's team gold medals. REUTERS/Oleg Popov The bronze medal belonging to Ara Abrahamian lies on the floor during the medal ceremony for the men's 84kg Greco-Roman wrestling competition at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games August 14, 2008. Gold medallist Andrea Minguzzi of Italy watches from the left. Swedish fans booed loudly as the judges filed out of the arena. China settled for the silver medal, and the United States took the bronze. The three finished tied on 93 targets -- and Cainero hit the first two targets of the shoot-off, with Rhode and Brinker each missing one. Zhang needed to shoot a nine on her final arrow to win, but said she never doubted she could do it. Abrahamian places his medal on the competition mat in protest at a judging decision. "This will be my last match. (Additional reporting by Simon Denyer; editing by Keith Weir) Kharlan then scored the winning touch to complete a remarkable comeback. But roared on by a passionate home crowd, Zhang beat Park 110-109 in a tense final on a rain-swept course for a famous victory. Du led by one point entering the finals and shot a 101.3 to win with an Olympic record 690.3 points. Abrahamian, the silver medallist at Athens 2004, announced he was quitting the sport after his bronze medal bout. Heavy rain disrupted much of Thursday's action and there was no action possible in either the rowing or canoeing events. The host nation suffered a rare disappointment when the Chinese trio lost to Ukraine in the final of the women's team saber fencing.
Melonin Noumonvi of France (in red) fights Ara Abrahamian of Sweden during the men's 84kg bronze medal Greco-Roman wrestling competition at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games August 14, 2008. REUTERS/Hans Deryk Bronze medallist Ara Abrahamian (R) of Sweden throws his medal on the floor during the medal ceremony for the men's 84kg Greco-Roman wrestling competition at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games August 14, 2008. REUTERS/Oleg Popov The bronze medal belonging to Ara Abrahamian lies on the floor during the medal ceremony for the men's 84kg Greco-Roman wrestling competition at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games August 14, 2008. REUTERS/Oleg Popov Ara Abrahamian of Sweden walks off the stage during the medal ceremony for the men's 84kg Greco-Roman wrestling competition after throwing his bronze medal on the floor at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games August 14, 2008. REUTERS/Hans Deryk The bronze medal belonging to Ara Abrahamian of Sweden lies on the floor during the medal ceremony for the men's 84kg Greco-Roman wrestling competition at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games August 14, 2008. REUTERS/Hans Deryk Melonin Noumonvi of France (in red) fights Ara Abrahamian of Sweden during the men's 84kg bronze medal Greco-Roman wrestling competition at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games August 14, 2008. REUTERS/Oleg Popov BEIJING Swedish wrestler Ara Abrahamian threw down his Olympic bronze medal in protest on Thursday after his bid for greco-roman gold was ended by a decision denounced by the Swedish coach as "politics". Abrahamian took the bronze from around his neck during the medal ceremony, stepped from the podium and dropped it in the middle of the wrestling mat then walked off. A bitter Abrahamian, silver medallist at Athens 2004 who had high hopes of top honours in the 84kg competition in Beijing, announced he was quitting the sport. The Swedish wrestler had to be restrained by team mates earlier when a row erupted with judges over the decision in a semi-final bout at the Chinese Agricultural University Gym with Andrea Minguzzi of Italy, who went on the take gold. He angrily threw off the restraining arm of a team official then turned and left. The gold medallist, who kissed the Chinese medal bearer after receiving his gold, said Abrahamian's walkout "did in a way spoil the victory ceremony for me". "Certainly one can always question decisions made in the course of refereeing, but in sports it is appropriate to show sportsmanship and accept the results," Minguzzi said. Hungary's Zoltan Fodor, an outsider who said he "never dreamed of reaching the final" won the silver. The International Olympic Committee said it was investigating the dispute with the wrestling federation FILA, which Abrahamian said "does not play fair". Abrahamian later said he believed his loss to the eventual gold medallist Minguzzi was "totally unjustified". The wrestler said his friends "called me just 20 minutes before the (bronze) competition, begging me to compete". Swedish coach Leo Myllari said: "It's all politics." Abrahamian was beaten in the 84 kg class by eventual gold medal winner Andrea Minguzzi of Italy but was furious with the verdict, shouting at the referee before confronting the judges. The medal was later returned to the sport's governing body. In archery, China's Zhang Juanjuan has broken one of the Olympics' tightest strangleholds by upsetting South Korea's defending champion Park Sung-Hyun to win the women's individual gold medal. Korean women archers have won every Olympic gold since Seo Hyang-Soon first took the title at the 1984 Games in Los Angeles. The bronze went to second seed Yun Ok-Hee, also of South Korea, who was desperate to win a medal for her coach Moon Hyung-Cgul who is fighting thyroid cancer. There was another gold for the host nation in the judo hall when Yang Xiuli won the women's 78kg competition -- China's second judo gold. Naidan Tuvshinbayar won Mongolia's first ever Olympic gold medal when claiming the men's 100kg title. Naidan, who upset Athen's Olympic champion Keiji Suzuki of Japan in his opening bout, scored a waza ari with just under two minutes remaining, then added two yuko to seal the victory Azerbaijani fighter Movlud Miraliev took bronze by beating Poland's Przemyslaw Matyaszek, before celebrating with an impressive backflip, while European champion Henk Grol of the Netherlands also claimed bronze, beating Georgian Levan Zhorzholiani. Meanwhile, Chiara Cainero of Italy won the gold medal in women's skeet shooting, beating American Kim Rhode and Christine Brinker of Germany in a shoot-off.
Now, the US has met its main demands. Poland will host the missiles as part of a defence shield the US says it needs against "rogue states" like Iran. Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski told the BBC's World Tonight programme on Thursday that the timing of the missile deal had nothing to do with hostilities in Georgia. But Mr Medvedev said it demonstrated that Russia's concerns about new systems in eastern Europe were valid. Already, the Russian Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov, has cancelled his upcoming trip to Warsaw. E-mail this to a friend Printable version Bookmark with: Delicious Digg reddit Facebook StumbleUpon What are these? This is the news Web site of the Associated Press, its member newspapers and broadcasters. A top general in Moscow said the move would worsen ties with the West already strained by the Georgian conflict. The Kremlin says the system will upset the regional security balance and could be used against itself. Now, with the signing of this agreement, relations between the two countries will be in the freezer, at least in the short-term. Under the deal signed on Thursday, the US will install 10 interceptor missiles at a base on the Baltic coast in return for help strengthening Polish air defences. 'New proposals' The US has urged Russia to withdraw troops that have fought with Georgian forces after Tbilisi attempted to retake the separatist region of South Ossetia late last week. "I consider that the United States is not acting in a cautious manner in this situation," Mr Rogozin said, when asked about US-Russian relations and the situation in Georgia. To close the menu, click on the state again.
This is the news Web site of the Associated Press, its member newspapers and broadcasters. To get the latest news from the AP and a member Web site, click on the state and select a member from the list. To close the menu, click on the state again. Copyright 2014 Associated Press. All rights reserved. The missiles would be similar to those based in Alaska and California Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has said that a preliminary deal allowing the US to site missiles in Poland is aimed against Russia. Poland will host the missiles as part of a defence shield the US says it needs against "rogue states" like Iran. But Mr Medvedev said it demonstrated that Russia's concerns about new systems in eastern Europe were valid. "The deployment of new anti-missile forces has as its aim the Russian Federation," he said. Under the deal signed on Thursday, the US will install 10 interceptor missiles at a base on the Baltic coast in return for help strengthening Polish air defences. A top general in Moscow said the move would worsen ties with the West already strained by the Georgian conflict. 'Worsen ties' Russia's envoy to Nato has meanwhile been quoted as saying the timing of the deal shows its true purpose is to counter Russia's "strategic potential". At a press conference in Moscow on Friday, Russia's deputy chief of general staff, Gen Anatoly Nogovitsyn, said the US move "cannot go unpunished". "It's a cause for regret that at a time when we are already in a difficult situation, the American side further exacerbates the situation in relations between the United States and Russia," Gen Nogovitsyn said. The deployment of new anti-missile forces has as its aim the Russian Federation Dmitry Medvedev Russian President Q&A: US missile defence Guide to planned US missile shield Deal cools Polish-Russian relations Russia's envoy to Nato, Dmitry Rogozin, meanwhile reportedly criticised the decision to sign the deal during a "very difficult crisis in the relations between Russia and the United States over the situation in Georgia". Mr Rogozin told Reuters news agency the timing showed "the missile defence system will be deployed not against Iran but against the strategic potential of Russia". Moscow has long argued the project will upset the military balance in Europe and has warned it will be forced to redirect its missiles at Poland. 'New proposals' The US has urged Russia to withdraw troops that have fought with Georgian forces after Tbilisi attempted to retake the separatist region of South Ossetia late last week. "I consider that the United States is not acting in a cautious manner in this situation," Mr Rogozin said, when asked about US-Russian relations and the situation in Georgia. Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski told the BBC's World Tonight programme on Thursday that the timing of the missile deal had nothing to do with hostilities in Georgia. "We agreed this negotiating phase a week ago, which was... before the events in Georgia, and because of the US calendar there was some urgency," he said. Unlike the US, Poland sees Russia as a bigger threat to its security than so-called rogue states such as Iran, the BBC's Adam Easton in Warsaw says. E-mail this to a friend Printable version Bookmark with: Delicious Digg reddit Facebook StumbleUpon What are these? By Adam Easton BBC News, Warsaw The timing of the signing of a preliminary agreement between the US and Poland to host part of Washington's controversial missile defence system on Polish soil might seem curious. The US says the shield will prevent missile attacks by "rogue states" At a ceremony in Warsaw, both the US chief negotiator, acting Under-Secretary of State John Rood, and Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski played down any connection to the ongoing conflict in Georgia. Just 24 hours earlier, Mr Sikorski announced that the US had made a new, improved offer during the latest round of talks in response to Poland rejection of the terms last month. However, the Polish defence minister made a clear connection. "In Washington's eyes, this conflict proved that Russia was not a stable partner for the States." US guarantee The US wants to locate 10 interceptor missiles in a former military base near Poland's Baltic Sea coast. Moscow says that the missiles in Poland could threaten its own defences It says the interceptors will protect both it and much of Europe against long-range missile attacks from what it calls "rogue elements" such as Iran. Sandwiched between Western democracies like Germany to the west, and undemocratic Belarus and the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad to the east, Polish officials see Russia as a bigger threat to its security than Iran. Although it is a member of both the EU and Nato, the Polish government believes only the US can guarantee its security. The Kremlin says the system will upset the regional security balance and could be used against itself. In the freezer Under the agreement the US has declared it will come to Poland's assistance in the event of an attack from a third party. This is the beginning of the strengthening of the Polish defence capabilities and making the Polish-American alliance concrete Radoslaw Sikorski Polish Foreign Minister Q&A: US missile defence Guide to planned US missile shield And crucially for Poland, the US has agreed to station a battery of Patriot missiles and US servicemen on Polish soil to beef up the country's short and medium-range air defences. We will have one base used to protect the whole of the North Atlantic Treaty against long-range ballistic missiles," Mr Sikorski said after signing of the agreement. "We will also have a battery of 96 Patriot missiles located in a spot chosen by Poland according to our defence needs." Despite Washington's insistence that they have nothing to fear from the missile defence shield, the deal is bound to anger the Russians. A battery of Patriot missiles will strengthen Poland's air defences Moscow does not want such an installation in a former Soviet bloc country.
he asked. "We will not cast them aside," he said. All About South Ossetia • Republic of Georgia • Russia Advertisement Continue reading the main story Mr. Bush has not directly addressed his relationship with Mr. Putin or his successor, Mr. Medvedev, and Mr. Bush’s aides declined Thursday to discuss his personal views. Rice emphasized that all Russian troops must return to the positions they held before the conflict began. Georgia President Mikheil Saakashvili announces Friday he signed a cease-fire agreement with Russia. A contentious relationship with Russia is not in America's interest. iReport.com: Did you experience the Cold War? "Moscow must honor its commitment to withdraw its invading forces from all Georgian territory," Bush said. I think you make national security policy based on interests and on realities.” "The days of satellite states and spheres of influence are behind us. "We support Georgia's sovereignty; we support its independence; we support its territorial integrity; we support its democracy and its democratically elected government," Rice said. “Russia’s behavior over the past week has called into question the entire premise of that dialogue and has profound implications for our security relationship going forward, both bilaterally and with NATO,” Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said Thursday at the Pentagon. View all New York Times newsletters. Standing beside Mr. Saakashvili in Tbilisi, Ms. Rice said: “This must take place and take place now.” Tensions between Washington and Moscow have risen sharply in the past 24 hours, as Russia’s president and foreign minister made it clear that they would support separatist efforts by two breakaway Georgian territories and as the specter of a resurgent Russia helped persuade Poland to agree to a long-stalled deal on an American missile defense system.
It soon became clear that Russian forces had turned this provision to their advantage as Russian troops, pushed further into Georgia and seized full control of the central city of Gori in recent days. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Ms. Rice addressed these concerns, and called for the speedy deployment of an international peacekeeping force for the two separatist enclaves, which would make any further Russian presence unnecessary. She said Russian and Georgian troops must now pull back to the positions they occupied before hostilities began over a week ago. Only Russian troops performing a true peacekeeping role should remain in the two enclaves, she said. Standing beside Mr. Saakashvili in Tbilisi, Ms. Rice said: “This must take place and take place now.” Tensions between Washington and Moscow have risen sharply in the past 24 hours, as Russia’s president and foreign minister made it clear that they would support separatist efforts by two breakaway Georgian territories and as the specter of a resurgent Russia helped persuade Poland to agree to a long-stalled deal on an American missile defense system. Advertisement Continue reading the main story In a news conference in Tbilisi that was dominated by Mr. Saakashvili, who bitterly criticized Russia, Ms. Rice warned of “consequences” for Russia over its military offensive in Georgia. Earlier, in Washington, President Bush condemned as unacceptable what he called Russia’s “bullying and intimidation.” He also said Friday that Russia must withdraw its troops from all of Georgian territory and said the United States would stand with Georgia in the conflict. Advertisement Continue reading the main story “Georgia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity must be respected,” he said. However, neither Ms. Rice’s remarks nor those by Mr. Bush contained any hint of any further American response should Russia fail to pull back its troops. Advertisement Continue reading the main story As Ms. Rice and Mr. Bush spoke, Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany met with the Russian president, Dmitri A. Medvedev, in the Black Sea resort town of Sochi. Ms. Merkel said Russia had taken military action in Georgia that was “not proportionate.” At a joint news conference with Mr. Medvedev, Ms. Merkel urged Russia to withdraw its troops from Georgia, though she added that “both sides are probably to blame” for the conflict. She left open the possibility that Georgia could still join NATO, though analysts have suggested that the likelihood of the country’s accession is now very slim. Advertisement Continue reading the main story “Peace needs to be restored and guaranteed in the region, so that no one gets any more idiotic ideas into their heads,” he said. Russia now has to “put itself back on the path of responsible nations,” Mr. Bush said. On Friday Russia’s military offensive into Georgia has forced the start of a wholesale reassessment of American dealings with Russia, according to senior Bush administration officials, and jeopardized talks on everything from halting Iran’s nuclear ambitions to reducing strategic arsenals to cooperation on missile defenses. Advertisement Continue reading the main story The conflict punctuated a stark turnabout in the administration’s view of Vladimir V. Putin, the president-turned-prime minister whom Mr. Bush has repeatedly described as a trustworthy friend. “Russia’s behavior over the past week has called into question the entire premise of that dialogue and has profound implications for our security relationship going forward, both bilaterally and with NATO,” Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said Thursday at the Pentagon. “If Russia does not step back from its aggressive posture and actions in Georgia, the U.S.-Russian relationship could be adversely affected for years to come.” Advertisement Continue reading the main story The unspoken new danger is that a cooling relationship could cost the administration any hope of working closely with Russia on some of its topmost priorities, like controlling nuclear proliferation, countering terrorism or resolving the problems of the Middle East. Photo If Russia and the United States rarely have acted as allies during Mr. Bush’s presidency, they also have rarely allowed disagreements to undermine what Mr. Bush considered one of his bedrock diplomatic relationships. After their first meeting in 2001, Mr. Bush said famously that he had looked into Mr. Putin’s eyes and “got a sense of his soul.” Advertisement Continue reading the main story Mr. Bush has pursued policies that Mr. Putin vigorously opposed, including supporting the independence of Kosovo from Serbia, a Russian ally, expanding NATO to include some former Soviet bloc nations and stationing elements of a missile defense system in Eastern Europe. Advertisement Continue reading the main story “Got a lot of folks, smart folks, analyzing the situation on the ground and, of course, briefing us on different possibilities that could develop in the area and the region,” he said, flanked by the agency’s director, Michael V. Hayden, and his deputy, Stephen R. Kappes.
Instead, we have become more independent," he said after the launch. REUTERS/FARS NEWS Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (2nd R) looks at the Safir (ambassador) satellite-carrier rocket before launch at Iran's space centre in Tehran August 17, 2008. In October 2005 a Russian-made Iranian satellite named Sina-1 was put into orbit by a Russian rocket. [1] [2] [3] [4] "Sanctions have not isolated us. Advertisement Iran says it has successfully launched a rocket capable of carrying its first domestically built satellite. The White House voiced concern, saying the technology could also be used for launching weapons. The West accuses Iran of trying to obtain nuclear arms under cover of a civilian program. Media requires JavaScript to play. State and military officials confirmed the launch had taken place. Ahmadinejad insisted international sanctions had made Iran even stronger, IRNA reported. According to Iran's English-language Press TV satellite channel, the domestically manufactured Omid Satellite will pass over the country six times a day. In February it sent a probe into space as part of preparations for the launch of the satellite. "This action and dual use possibilities for their ballistic missile programme are inconsistent with their UN Security Council obligations." REUTERS/FARS NEWS TEHRAN Iran said it had put a dummy satellite into orbit on a home-grown rocket for the first time on Sunday -- a move likely to increase Western concerns about its nuclear ambitions. Iranian television showed the rocket on its desert launch pad, but did not show the actual lift-off. It cites Iran's missile potential, among others, as the reason why it needs to install an anti-missile defense system in eastern Europe.
Advertisement Iran says it has successfully launched a rocket capable of carrying its first domestically built satellite. Officials said only the rocket had been fired, correcting state media reports that the communications satellite itself had been sent into orbit. The White House voiced concern, saying the technology could also be used for launching weapons. Tehran has pursued a space programme for years, despite international concern over its nuclear plans. Long-held ambition Footage aired on Irinn (Islamic Republic of Iran News Network) showed the launch of the Safir rocket in darkness. State and military officials confirmed the launch had taken place. In October 2005 a Russian-made Iranian satellite named Sina-1 was put into orbit by a Russian rocket. Sunday's launch comes amid a long-running dispute over Iran's nuclear activities. White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe said: "The Iranian development and testing of rockets is troubling and raises further questions about their intentions. "This action and dual use possibilities for their ballistic missile programme are inconsistent with their UN Security Council obligations." The US and some European countries have demanded that Iran curtail uranium enrichment - but Iran protests that its purposes are peaceful and says it has a right to continue. An image grab from the Arabic-language Iranian TV station Al-Alam shows the launching into space of Iran's Safir Omid rocket, which is capable of carrying a satellite into orbit, an undisclosed location in the Islamic republic. (Xinhua/AFP Photo) Photo Gallery>>> TEHRAN, Aug. 17 (Xinhua) -- Iran announced Sunday that it launched a satellite into space earlier in the day, the country's first domestically made. The satellite, Omid (hope), was launched Sunday by using Safir (ambassador) satellite-carrier rocket, the armed forces said in a statement, quoted by the official IRNA news agency. The Omid Satellite which was successfully fired on the birth anniversary of the last Imam (prophet) of Shiites, Hazrat Mahdi (who is believed to reappear at the end of the world) illustrated the auspicious name of the Imam in the space, IRNA said. According to Iran's English-language Press TV satellite channel, the domestically manufactured Omid Satellite will pass over the country six times a day. The launch of Safir rocket aimed to test remote sensing, satellite telemetry, and geographic information system (GIS) technology as well as remote and ground station data processing, Press TV said. Another news agency Fars quoted government spokesman Gholam-Hossein Elham as saying that President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was at the launch of the communications satellite from Iran's space station. In February, Iran said it has prepared for the satellite launch by sending a probe into space of a rocket on the mission. Ahmadinejad announced in his press interview in Istanbul Friday that Iran would in near future launch its first domestic satellite to the space. Iran, embroiled in a standoff with the West over its disputed nuclear ambitions, has pursued a space program for several years, according to media reports. The Safir (ambassador) satellite-carrier rocket is seen before launch at Iran's space centre in Tehran August 17, 2008. Iran put a dummy satellite into orbit on a home-grown rocket for the first time on Sunday, proving its capacity to launch satellites, the head of Iran's aerospace body said. REUTERS/FARS NEWS Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (2nd R) looks at the Safir (ambassador) satellite-carrier rocket before launch at Iran's space centre in Tehran August 17, 2008. REUTERS/FARS NEWS The Safir (ambassador) satellite-carrier rocket is seen before launch at Iran's space centre in Tehran August 17, 2008. REUTERS/FARS NEWS TEHRAN Iran said it had put a dummy satellite into orbit on a home-grown rocket for the first time on Sunday -- a move likely to increase Western concerns about its nuclear ambitions. "The Safir (Ambassador) satellite carrier was launched today and for the first time we successfully launched a dummy satellite into orbit," Reza Taghizadeh, head of the Iranian Aerospace Organisation, told state television. Iran, embroiled in a standoff with the West over its nuclear ambitions, caused international concern in February by testing another domestically made rocket as part of its satellite program, the Explorer 1.
Athletics medals table Rank Country Gold Silver Bronze TOTAL 1 also show each event results for USA 7 9 7 23 Men's 100m 0 0 1 Men's 110m Hurdles 0 1 1 Men's 200m 0 1 1 Men's 400m 1 1 1 Men's 400m Hurdles 1 1 1 Men's 4 x 400m Relay 1 0 0 Men's Decathlon 1 0 0 Men's Shot Put 0 1 0 Women's 10000m 0 0 1 Women's 100m Hurdles 1 0 0 Women's 200m 0 1 0 Women's 400m 0 0 1 Women's 400m Hurdles 0 1 0 Women's 4 x 400m Relay 1 0 0 Women's Discus Throw 1 0 0 Women's Heptathlon 0 1 0 Women's Pole Vault 0 1 0 2 also show each event results for Russia 6 5 7 18 Men's 20km Walk 1 0 0 Men's 4 x 400m Relay 0 0 1 Men's 50km Walk 0 0 1 Men's High Jump 1 0 1 Men's Pole Vault 0 1 0 Women's 20km Walk 1 0 0 Women's 3000m Steeplechase 1 0 1 Women's 4 x 100m Relay 1 0 0 Women's 4 x 400m Relay 0 1 0 Women's Heptathlon 0 0 1 Women's High Jump 0 0 1 Women's Javelin Throw 0 1 0 Women's Long Jump 0 1 0 Women's Pole Vault 1 0 1 Women's Triple Jump 0 1 0 3 also show each event results for Jamaica 6 3 2 11 Men's 100m 1 0 0 Men's 200m 1 0 0 Men's 4 x 100m Relay 1 0 0 Women's 100m 1 2 0 Women's 200m 1 0 1 Women's 400m 0 1 0 Women's 400m Hurdles 1 0 0 Women's 4 x 400m Relay 0 0 1 4 also show each event results for Kenya 5 5 4 14 Men's 10000m 0 0 1 Men's 1500m 0 1 0 Men's 3000m Steeplechase 1 0 1 Men's 5000m 0 1 1 Men's 800m 1 0 1 Men's Marathon 1 0 0 Women's 1500m 1 0 0 Women's 3000m Steeplechase 0 1 0 Women's 800m 1 1 0 Women's Marathon 0 1 0 5 also show each event results for Ethiopia 4 1 2 7 Men's 10000m 1 1 0 Men's 5000m 1 0 0 Men's Marathon 0 0 1 Women's 10000m 1 0 0 Women's 5000m 1 0 1 6 also show each event results for Belarus 1 3 3 7 Men's Decathlon 0 1 0 Men's Hammer Throw 0 1 1 Men's Shot Put 0 0 1 Women's Hammer Throw 1 0 0 Women's Shot Put 0 1 1 7 also show each event results for Cuba 1 2 2 5 Men's 110m Hurdles 1 0 0 Men's Decathlon 0 0 1 Men's Long Jump 0 0 1 Women's Discus Throw 0 1 0 Women's Hammer Throw 0 1 0 8 also show each event results for Australia 1 2 1 4 Men's 20km Walk 0 0 1 Men's 50km Walk 0 1 0 Men's Pole Vault 1 0 0 Women's 100m Hurdles 0 1 0 9 also show each event results for Great Britain 1 2 1 4 Men's High Jump 0 1 0 Men's Triple Jump 0 1 0 Women's 400m 1 0 0 Women's 400m Hurdles 0 0 1 10 also show each event results for Ukraine 1 1 3 5 Men's Pole Vault 0 0 1 Women's 1500m 0 1 1 Women's Discus Throw 0 0 1 Women's Heptathlon 1 0 0 11 also show each event results for Belgium 1 1 0 2 Women's 4 x 100m Relay 0 1 0 Women's High Jump 1 0 0 12 also show each event results for Norway 1 1 0 2 Men's Javelin Throw 1 0 0 Women's 20km Walk 0 1 0 13 also show each event results for Poland 1 1 0 2 Men's Discus Throw 0 1 0 Men's Shot Put 1 0 0 14 also show each event results for Italy 1 0 1 2 Men's 50km Walk 1 0 0 Women's 20km Walk 0 0 1 15 also show each event results for New Zealand 1 0 1 2 Men's 1500m 0 0 1 Women's Shot Put 1 0 0 16 also show each event results for Bahrain 1 0 0 1 Men's 1500m 1 0 0 17 also show each event results for Brazil 1 0 0 1 Women's Long Jump 1 0 0 18 also show each event results for Cameroon 1 0 0 1 Women's Triple Jump 1 0 0 19 also show each event results for Czech Republic 1 0 0 1 Women's Javelin Throw 1 0 0 20 also show each event results for Estonia 1 0 0 1 Men's Discus Throw 1 0 0 21 also show each event results for Panama 1 0 0 1 Men's Long Jump 1 0 0 22 also show each event results for Portugal 1 0 0 1 Men's Triple Jump 1 0 0 23 also show each event results for Romania 1 0 0 1 Women's Marathon 1 0 0 24 also show each event results for Slovenia 1 0 0 1 Men's Hammer Throw 1 0 0 25 also show each event results for Trinidad & Tob 0 2 0 2 Men's 100m 0 1 0 Men's 4 x 100m Relay 0 1 0 26 also show each event results for Turkey 0 2 0 2 Women's 10000m 0 1 0 Women's 5000m 0 1 0 27 also show each event results for Bahamas 0 1 1 2 Men's 4 x 400m Relay 0 1 0 Men's Triple Jump 0 0 1 28 also show each event results for Morocco 0 1 1 2 Men's Marathon 0 1 0 Women's 800m 0 0 1 29 also show each event results for Croatia 0 1 0 1 Women's High Jump 0 1 0 30 also show each event results for Ecuador 0 1 0 1 Men's 20km Walk 0 1 0 31 also show each event results for France 0 1 0 1 Men's 3000m Steeplechase 0 1 0 32 also show each event results for Latvia 0 1 0 1 Men's Javelin Throw 0 1 0 33 also show each event results for South Africa 0 1 0 1 Men's Long Jump 0 1 0 34 also show each event results for Sudan 0 1 0 1 Men's 800m 0 1 0 35 also show each event results for China 0 0 2 2 Women's Hammer Throw 0 0 1 Women's Marathon 0 0 1 36 also show each event results for Nigeria 0 0 2 2 Women's 4 x 100m Relay 0 0 1 Women's Long Jump 0 0 1 37 also show each event results for Canada 0 0 1 1 Women's 100m Hurdles 0 0 1 38 also show each event results for Finland 0 0 1 1 Men's Javelin Throw 0 0 1 39 also show each event results for Germany 0 0 1 1 Women's Javelin Throw 0 0 1 40 also show each event results for Greece 0 0 1 1 Women's Triple Jump 0 0 1 41 also show each event results for Japan 0 0 1 1 Men's 4 x 100m Relay 0 0 1 42 also show each event results for Lithuania 0 0 1 1 Men's Discus Throw 0 0 1 BBC Sport's Olympic map Find out about the Beijing athletics and football venue see also Greek Halkia officially expelled 19 Aug 08 | Athletics Sotherton fifth as Dobrynska wins 16 Aug 08 | Athletics Two more athletes fail dope tests 15 Aug 08 | Olympics Cyclist first to fail drugs test 11 Aug 08 | Cycling Sotherton voices Beijing concerns 16 Nov 07 | Athletics Sotherton anger at Blonska silver 27 Aug 07 | Athletics BBC Olympics blog 15 Aug 08 | Olympics Beijing 2008 14 Feb 08 | Olympics related internet links: Beijing 2008 - athletics Olympic schedule from the BOA Athletics from the BOA International Athletics The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites
Britain's Olympic medal haul was given a surprise boost after Tasha Danvers produced a superb run to seal a bronze medal in the women's 400m hurdles. The London-born athlete, who has endured an injury-plagued season and almost failed to make the British team, qualified for the world championship final last year but finished last in that race and has never previously threatened the medal placings in major championships. But her time of 53.84sec was enough for third place today, with Jamaica's Melaine Walker taking gold and Sheena Tosta of the USA taking silver. Blonska, 30, failed a test in the early hours after last weekend’s competition and now faces a lifetime ban for what is a second doping offence if she is found guilty by an IOC disciplinary commission which is expected to report its findings today. Sotherton condemned Blonska at last summer’s world championships in Osaka, calling her a cheat and claiming that she should not have been allowed back into the sport after testing positive for the steroid, stanozolol in 2003. On that occasion, Blonska had beaten Sotherton to the silver medal but the Briton’s gain in Beijing will only mean her moving up a place, from fifth to fourth. The American, Hyleas Fountain would be awarded the silver medal and Russia’s Tatiana Chernova the bronze. If the B sample comes back positive then that’s a life ban, which will bring an end to the saga. I’m happy I’ve moved up one place but I’m still disappointed with my performance.” If she is found guilty of a doping offence, the immediate punishment for Blonska would be the loss of her medal and expulsion from the Games. So far, four athletes have been disqualified from competitions and expelled from these Olympics after failing drug tests. Giselle Davies, the IOC spokeswoman, said 4,133 tests had been conducted during the Games, including more than 3,290 urine controls and 840 blood screenings. By the time the Games’ closing ceremony ends on Sunday, the IOC will have carried out between 4,500 to 5,000 doping tests in Beijing, up from 3,600 in Athens, four years ago. Blonska has been thrown out of the athetes' village Ukrainian heptathlete Liudmyla Blonska has had her Olympic silver medal taken away and faces a lifetime ban from the sport after failing a drugs test. The silver will go to Hyleas Fountain of the United States, while Russia's Tatiana Chernova will take the bronze. Blonska was handed a two-year ban in 2003 after traces of banned substance stanozolol were found in her system. Sotherton, who has been moved up to fourth in a competition won by the Ukraine's Nataliia Dobrynska, pointedly refused to shake Blonska's hand after the end of the competition in Beijing. "I've been saying all along that she got caught doping when she was scoring 6300 points, so how can she not be doping and scoring 6800? The IOC report into the case reported that Blonska was "shocked" by the positive result, and that she did not understand how the substance had ended up in her body. It was the fifth positive test of the Games - after the Spanish cyclist Maria Isabel Moreno, North Korean shooter Kim Jong Su, Vietnamese gymnast Do Thi Ngan Thuong and Greek hurdler Fani Halkia failed tests - but by far the most high profile. Had Blonska's first positive test been under current anti-doping rules, she would have received a four year ban and been denied the opportunity to compete in the following Olympics. "She's been caught once before and I'm all for giving people one more chance but it's obvious that if you're going to cheat you probably will always be a cheat, and I'm glad she'll be gone from the sport for good," Lewis told BBC Radio 5 Live. Athletics medals table Rank Country Gold Silver Bronze TOTAL 1 also show each event results for USA 7 9 7 23 Men's 100m 0 0 1 Men's 110m Hurdles 0 1 1 Men's 200m 0 1 1 Men's 400m 1 1 1 Men's 400m Hurdles 1 1 1 Men's 4 x 400m Relay 1 0 0 Men's Decathlon 1 0 0 Men's Shot Put 0 1 0 Women's 10000m 0 0 1 Women's 100m Hurdles 1 0 0 Women's 200m 0 1 0 Women's 400m 0 0 1 Women's 400m Hurdles 0 1 0 Women's 4 x 400m Relay 1 0 0 Women's Discus Throw 1 0 0 Women's Heptathlon 0 1 0 Women's Pole Vault 0 1 0 2 also show each event results for Russia 6 5 7 18 Men's 20km Walk 1 0 0 Men's 4 x 400m Relay 0 0 1 Men's 50km Walk 0 0 1 Men's High Jump 1 0 1 Men's Pole Vault 0 1 0 Women's 20km Walk 1 0 0 Women's 3000m Steeplechase 1 0 1 Women's 4 x 100m Relay 1 0 0 Women's 4 x 400m Relay 0 1 0 Women's Heptathlon 0 0 1 Women's High Jump 0 0 1 Women's Javelin Throw 0 1 0 Women's Long Jump 0 1 0 Women's Pole Vault 1 0 1 Women's Triple Jump 0 1 0 3 also show each event results for Jamaica 6 3 2 11 Men's 100m 1 0 0 Men's 200m 1 0 0 Men's 4 x 100m Relay 1 0 0 Women's 100m 1 2 0 Women's 200m 1 0 1 Women's 400m 0 1 0 Women's 400m Hurdles 1 0 0 Women's 4 x 400m Relay 0 0 1 4 also show each event results for Kenya 5 5 4 14 Men's 10000m 0 0 1 Men's 1500m 0 1 0 Men's 3000m Steeplechase 1 0 1 Men's 5000m 0 1 1 Men's 800m 1 0 1 Men's Marathon 1 0 0 Women's 1500m 1 0 0 Women's 3000m Steeplechase 0 1 0 Women's 800m 1 1 0 Women's Marathon 0 1 0 5 also show each event results for Ethiopia 4 1 2 7 Men's 10000m 1 1 0 Men's 5000m 1 0 0 Men's Marathon 0 0 1 Women's 10000m 1 0 0 Women's 5000m 1 0 1 6 also show each event results for Belarus 1 3 3 7 Men's Decathlon 0 1 0 Men's Hammer Throw 0 1 1 Men's Shot Put 0 0 1 Women's Hammer Throw 1 0 0 Women's Shot Put 0 1 1 7 also show each event results for Cuba 1 2 2 5 Men's 110m Hurdles 1 0 0 Men's Decathlon 0 0 1 Men's Long Jump 0 0 1 Women's Discus Throw 0 1 0 Women's Hammer Throw 0 1 0 8 also show each event results for Australia 1 2 1 4 Men's 20km Walk 0 0 1 Men's 50km Walk 0 1 0 Men's Pole Vault 1 0 0 Women's 100m Hurdles 0 1 0 9 also show each event results for Great Britain 1 2 1 4 Men's High Jump 0 1 0 Men's Triple Jump 0 1 0 Women's 400m 1 0 0 Women's 400m Hurdles 0 0 1 10 also show each event results for Ukraine 1 1 3 5 Men's Pole Vault 0 0 1 Women's 1500m 0 1 1 Women's Discus Throw 0 0 1 Women's Heptathlon 1 0 0 11 also show each event results for Belgium 1 1 0 2 Women's 4 x 100m Relay 0 1 0 Women's High Jump 1 0 0 12 also show each event results for Norway 1 1 0 2 Men's Javelin Throw 1 0 0 Women's 20km Walk 0 1 0 13 also show each event results for Poland 1 1 0 2 Men's Discus Throw 0 1 0 Men's Shot Put 1 0 0 14 also show each event results for Italy 1 0 1 2 Men's 50km Walk 1 0 0 Women's 20km Walk 0 0 1 15 also show each event results for New Zealand 1 0 1 2 Men's 1500m 0 0 1 Women's Shot Put 1 0 0 16 also show each event results for Bahrain 1 0 0 1 Men's 1500m 1 0 0 17 also show each event results for Brazil 1 0 0 1 Women's Long Jump 1 0 0 18 also show each event results for Cameroon 1 0 0 1 Women's Triple Jump 1 0 0 19 also show each event results for Czech Republic 1 0 0 1 Women's Javelin Throw 1 0 0 20 also show each event results for Estonia 1 0 0 1 Men's Discus Throw 1 0 0 21 also show each event results for Panama 1 0 0 1 Men's Long Jump 1 0 0 22 also show each event results for Portugal 1 0 0 1 Men's Triple Jump 1 0 0 23 also show each event results for Romania 1 0 0 1 Women's Marathon 1 0 0 24 also show each event results for Slovenia 1 0 0 1 Men's Hammer Throw 1 0 0 25 also show each event results for Trinidad & Tob 0 2 0 2 Men's 100m 0 1 0 Men's 4 x 100m Relay 0 1 0 26 also show each event results for Turkey 0 2 0 2 Women's 10000m 0 1 0 Women's 5000m 0 1 0 27 also show each event results for Bahamas 0 1 1 2 Men's 4 x 400m Relay 0 1 0 Men's Triple Jump 0 0 1 28 also show each event results for Morocco 0 1 1 2 Men's Marathon 0 1 0 Women's 800m 0 0 1 29 also show each event results for Croatia 0 1 0 1 Women's High Jump 0 1 0 30 also show each event results for Ecuador 0 1 0 1 Men's 20km Walk 0 1 0 31 also show each event results for France 0 1 0 1 Men's 3000m Steeplechase 0 1 0 32 also show each event results for Latvia 0 1 0 1 Men's Javelin Throw 0 1 0 33 also show each event results for South Africa 0 1 0 1 Men's Long Jump 0 1 0 34 also show each event results for Sudan 0 1 0 1 Men's 800m 0 1 0 35 also show each event results for China 0 0 2 2 Women's Hammer Throw 0 0 1 Women's Marathon 0 0 1 36 also show each event results for Nigeria 0 0 2 2 Women's 4 x 100m Relay 0 0 1 Women's Long Jump 0 0 1 37 also show each event results for Canada 0 0 1 1 Women's 100m Hurdles 0 0 1 38 also show each event results for Finland 0 0 1 1 Men's Javelin Throw 0 0 1 39 also show each event results for Germany 0 0 1 1 Women's Javelin Throw 0 0 1 40 also show each event results for Greece 0 0 1 1 Women's Triple Jump 0 0 1 41 also show each event results for Japan 0 0 1 1 Men's 4 x 100m Relay 0 0 1 42 also show each event results for Lithuania 0 0 1 1 Men's Discus Throw 0 0 1 BBC Sport's Olympic map Find out about the Beijing athletics and football venue see also Greek Halkia officially expelled 19 Aug 08 | Athletics Sotherton fifth as Dobrynska wins 16 Aug 08 | Athletics Two more athletes fail dope tests 15 Aug 08 | Olympics Cyclist first to fail drugs test 11 Aug 08 | Cycling Sotherton voices Beijing concerns 16 Nov 07 | Athletics Sotherton anger at Blonska silver 27 Aug 07 | Athletics BBC Olympics blog 15 Aug 08 | Olympics Beijing 2008 14 Feb 08 | Olympics related internet links: Beijing 2008 - athletics Olympic schedule from the BOA Athletics from the BOA International Athletics The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites
Sadosky added, "We are taking all necessary precautions," which he said included an evacuation of the office in Centennial, Colorado, outside Denver, where dozens of people work. All About John McCain The Denver letter was received at 3 p.m. at McCain's regional campaign office, McCain's campaign said. It was initially reported that the Denver letter contained an unknown white powder and a threatening message, but a fire department spokesman said there was no white powder, just a small amount of an unknown substance. They have started a call line as officials return media calls one by one. Manchester Police said they examined the letter and found no dangerous substance. A U.S. Secret Service spokesman, Malcolm Wiley, said the envelope sent to the McCain campaign office was opened by a campaign staffer there, and that an FBI hazardous materials team was dispatched to the scene, along with Secret Service personnel and local authorities. The Democratic National Convention is due to open in Denver on Monday. (Reporting by Steve Gorman, Dan Whitcomb and Jill Serjeant; editing by Eric Beech) Four or five people from the office drove themselves to a nearby hospital, said Bruce Williamson of the Arapahoe County Sheriff's Office. Republican presidential candidate Senator John McCain smiles during a campaign stop at the General Motors Technical Center in Warren, Michigan July 18, 2008. The two letters were sent to a campaign office in suburban Denver and to an office in Manchester, New Hampshire. CNN's Joe Johns, Justine Redman and John King contributed to this report. Five people died in 2001 after anthrax powder was mailed to U.S. congressional offices and media outlets in the weeks following the September 11 attacks.
DENVER, Colorado (CNN) -- Suspicious letters, one containing white powder, received at two of Sen. John McCain's campaign offices were not dangerous, police and fire officials said. Sen. John McCain's camp received two threatening letters, including one that contained white powder. The two letters were sent to a campaign office in suburban Denver and to an office in Manchester, New Hampshire. It was initially reported that the Denver letter contained an unknown white powder and a threatening message, but a fire department spokesman said there was no white powder, just a small amount of an unknown substance. Manchester Police said they examined the letter and found no dangerous substance. The Denver letter was received at 3 p.m. at McCain's regional campaign office, McCain's campaign said. Four or five people from the office drove themselves to a nearby hospital, said Bruce Williamson of the Arapahoe County Sheriff's Office. The people were treated and released after the hospital determined they were not ill. Others in McCain's office were evacuated, Williamson said. The Denver campaign headquarters of John McCain was evacuated on Thursday after the office received an envelope... REUTERS/Rebecca Cook DENVER A suburban Denver campaign office of U.S. presidential candidate John McCain was evacuated on Thursday, and several people went to a hospital, after receiving an envelope containing a threatening letter and an unidentified white powder, a campaign spokesman said. The letter arrived in the mail in the afternoon, and the campaign immediately notified local and federal law enforcement authorities, said Jeff Sadosky, a spokesman for the campaign in suburban Washington, D.C. McCain, 71, a Republican senator from Arizona, was taking the day off from the campaign, spending the day at his home in Sedona, Arizona. Five to 10 people who were in the office went to a nearby hospital, where "they are currently being seen by health-care professionals," Sadosky said. Five people died in 2001 after anthrax powder was mailed to U.S. congressional offices and media outlets in the weeks following the September 11 attacks. John McCain's campaign office in Denver, Colorado, has received a letter containing a threat and "an amount of white powder in it," a McCain campaign spokesman told"We immediately notified local and federal law enforcement agencies and are looking to cooperate with them," McCain spokesman Jeff Sadosky said.The city of Denver is at a heightened security level, as the Secret Service and other officials prepare for the Democratic National Convention, which is set to begin on Monday.The Arapaho County Police Station was abuzz with activity when they were called to confirm receiving word of the threat,reports.
Gov. In the Keys, about 45,000 tourists were affected, many of them from the UK. Total rainfall from Tropical Storm Fay reached 30 inches in some areas. They can't get the car out," McClinton said. "My parents are old. Contributing: Rick Neale of Florida Today in Melbourne, Fla. Richard Pasch, a hurricane specialist at the hurricane center, said the rain was unprecedented in some areas. President Bush declared a federal state of emergency, opening the door for government help in dealing with the storm's costs. The storm reportedly claimed the lives of two swimmers Thursday afternoon -- an Indiana woman near Jacksonville and a New York woman at Daytona Beach. You share in the USA TODAY community, so please keep your comments smart and civil. There was sporadic flooding around Naples and Fort Myers with some roads under knee-high water. Fay was expected to weaken throughout the day and officials predicted life would be back to normal by Wednesday. Fierce winds knocked out power to nearly 60,000 customers. VIDEO: FLA. IS WITNESSING HISTORIC RAINFALL VIDEO: FLA. IS WITNESSING HISTORIC RAINFALL THE 2008 HURRICANE SEASON THE 2008 HURRICANE SEASON Storm names, dates: 2008 tropical storms and hurricanes Federal forecasters expect busy Atlantic hurricane season Colorado State forecasters predict 'pretty active' hurricane season Hurricane high-risk areas have lost residents For a fourth weary day, Tropical Storm Fay continued its soggy march through Florida Thursday, forcing dozens more residents to flee floodwaters and even driving alligators and snakes out of their habitats and into streets. Use the "Report Abuse" button to make a difference. He said he heard rumors of a 5-foot alligator swimming through the flooded park.
A car makes it way down a street flooded by the rain from Tropical Storm Fay in Melbourne, Fla., Thursday, Aug. 21, 2008. Enlarge By John Raoux, AP Residents of the Groveland Mobile Home park walk down a street flooded by rain from Tropical Storm Fay in Melbourne, Fla., Thursday, Aug. 21. VIDEO: FLA. IS WITNESSING HISTORIC RAINFALL VIDEO: FLA. IS WITNESSING HISTORIC RAINFALL THE 2008 HURRICANE SEASON THE 2008 HURRICANE SEASON Storm names, dates: 2008 tropical storms and hurricanes Federal forecasters expect busy Atlantic hurricane season Colorado State forecasters predict 'pretty active' hurricane season Hurricane high-risk areas have lost residents For a fourth weary day, Tropical Storm Fay continued its soggy march through Florida Thursday, forcing dozens more residents to flee floodwaters and even driving alligators and snakes out of their habitats and into streets. Residents of Lamplighter Village, a Melbourne neighborhood, were urged to evacuate because of floodwaters reaching 5 feet, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission spokesman Lenny Salberg said. "Without a doubt, this is the worst I've seen across the state," Gov. Charlie Crist said, after touring the neighborhood. "We saw snakes and fish and all kinds of stuff." Total rainfall from Tropical Storm Fay reached 30 inches in some areas. The National Weather Service predicted more rain Friday and Saturday for north Florida, as the storm began a slow march from the Atlantic to the state's western Panhandle. The center of the storm was forecast to cross the Alabama border and enter Mississippi by Sunday, the National Hurricane Center in Miami said. The federal disaster declaration authorizes the Department of Homeland Security and FEMA to provide equipment and federal funds for 75% of debris removal costs. Some areas of south Brevard County reported 30 inches of rain, according to the governor's office. Richard Pasch, a hurricane specialist at the hurricane center, said the rain was unprecedented in some areas. "Port St. Lucie has had some of the worst flooding they've ever seen." Melbourne resident Bill McClinton waded through murky thigh-deep water to and from his parents' home in Lamplighter Village, carrying a plastic bag with medicine and personal items. He said he heard rumors of a 5-foot alligator swimming through the flooded park. "My parents are old. In Jacksonville, more than 70,000 utility customers were without power, said Ben Pennymon, a spokesman at the city's emergency operations center. Jacksonville beaches were closed after a woman, 21, drowned Thursday while swimming in the storm's surf, Pennymon said. About 25% of Florida's citrus groves were in the area affected by the storm, said Doug Bournique, executive vice president of the Indian River Citrus League, which represents 1,100 growers from Daytona to West Palm Beach. He said this year's crop is likely to survive, but after four days of deluge, the trees' root systems can't last much longer under water. "Everybody's trying to move water (out) as fast as humanly possible." Use the "Report Abuse" button to make a difference. Use the "Report Abuse" button to make a difference. The deadly weather system, which claimed as many as 40 lives in its passage across the Caribbean, failed to reach hurricane strength before reaching the mainland but still brought torrential rain and 60 miles per hour winds that felled trees and twisted signs. The Foreign Office, which estimates some 200,000 Britons visit Florida in August, said nearly 100 UK tourists were evacuated from the Keys and a special consular team of 30 was on standby to help others in distress. ABTA, the Association of British Travel Agents, said it had tens of thousands of holidaymakers in the area but everyone in the storm's path, including the Keys and low-lying resorts in Clearwater and St Petersburg, had been evacuated. At least 30 people remained missing in Haiti two days after a truck carrying more than twice that number was swept into a river swollen by the storm. Mario Di Gennaro, the Mayor of Monroe County in the Keys, where residents were left without power, said: "We have some cleanup to do and have to finish damage assessments, but I believe visitors can return to the Keys on Wednesday." Orange juice prices shot up on Monday amid fears Fay could hit Florida's main citrus growing areas.
2. Well, it's seven. All About Joseph Biden • Barack Obama • John McCain The choice by Mr. Obama in some ways mirrors the choice by Mr. Bush of Dick Cheney as his running mate in 2000; at his age, it appears unlikely that Mr. Biden would be in a position to run for president should Mr. Obama win and serve two terms. He wasn't ready then and he isn't ready now." "How many houses does he own? Advertisement Continue reading the main story Mr. Biden is known for being both talkative and prone to making the kind of statements that get him in trouble. Biden will make his first big speech as the vice presidential candidate Wednesday, the third night of the Democratic convention. "Today, I've come back to Springfield to tell you I've found that leader," he said. His e-mail announcement began: “Friend — I have some important news that I want to make official. View all New York Times newsletters. He first ran for the Senate from Delaware when he was just 29. Photo “There has been no harsher critic of Barack Obama’s lack of experience than Joe Biden. Thousands of cheering supporters gathered Saturday for the rally in Springfield, Illinois, where Obama announced his candidacy last year. He is also something of a fixture in Washington, and would bring to the campaign — and the White House — a familiarity with the way the city and Congress works that Mr. Obama cannot match after his relatively short stint in Washington. He was born in a working-class family in Scranton, Pa., a swing state where he remains well-known.
His e-mail announcement began: “Friend — I have some important news that I want to make official. Mr. Obama’s aides viewed the introduction of his vice presidential choice — including an afternoon rally Saturday at the old State Capitol in Springfield, Ill., the same place where Mr. Obama announced his candidacy on a freezing winter morning almost two years ago — and a tour of swing states as the beginning of a week-long stretch in which Mr. Obama hopes to dominate the stage and position himself for the fall campaign. Word of Mr. Obama’s decision leaked out hours before his campaign had been scheduled to inform supporters via text and e-mail message, and hours after informing two other top contenders for the vice presidential nomination — Senator Evan Bayh of Indiana and Gov. As the selection process moved to an end, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York, whom Mr. Obama had defeated in his bid for the Democratic presidential nomination, had slipped out of contention — to the degree that Mr. Obama had never seriously considered her. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Mr. Biden is Roman Catholic, giving him appeal to that important voting bloc, though he favors abortion rights. He was born in a working-class family in Scranton, Pa., a swing state where he remains well-known. Mr. Biden is up for re-election to the Senate this year and he would presumably run simultaneously for both seats. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Mr. Biden is known for being both talkative and prone to making the kind of statements that get him in trouble. In 2007, when he was competing for Mr. Obama for the presidential nomination, he declared that Mr. Obama was “not yet ready” for the presidency. Advertisement Continue reading the main story The McCain campaign jumped on that early Saturday, as it responded to the selection, offering a glimpse into the line of criticism that awaits the Democratic ticket. Biden has denounced Barack Obama’s poor foreign policy judgment and has strongly argued in his own words what Americans are quickly realizing — that Barack Obama is not ready to be President,” said Ben Porritt, a spokesman for Mr. McCain. Although Mr. Biden is not exactly a household name, he is probably the best known of all the Democrats who were in contention for the spot, given his political and personal history (not to mention his regular appearances on the Sunday morning television news shows). He first ran for the Senate from Delaware when he was just 29. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Mr. Biden has run twice for the presidency himself, in 1988 and again in 2008, dropping out early in both cases. He was also the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee during two of the most contentious Supreme Court nomination battles of the past 50 years: the confirmation proceedings for Robert H. Bork, who was defeated, and Clarence Thomas, who was confirmed after an explosive hearing in which Anita Hill had accused Mr. Thomas of sexual harassment. Please verify you're not a robot by clicking the box. Sign Up Receive occasional updates and special offers for The New York Times's products and services. Mr. Obama’s choice of Mr. Biden suggested some of the weaknesses the Obama campaign is trying to address at a time when national polls suggest that his race with Senator John McCain, the presumptive Republican nominee, is tightening. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Chief among Mr. Biden’s strengths is his familiarity with foreign policy and national security issues, highlighted just this past weekend with the invitation he received from the embattled president of Georgia, Mikheil Saakashvili, to visit Georgia in the midst of its tense faceoff with Russia. From the moment he dropped out of the presidential race, he had been mentioned as a potential Secretary of State should either Mr. Obama or Mrs. Clinton win the election. He is also something of a fixture in Washington, and would bring to the campaign — and the White House — a familiarity with the way the city and Congress works that Mr. Obama cannot match after his relatively short stint in Washington. Advertisement Continue reading the main story At 65, Mr. Biden adds a few years and gray hair to a ticket that otherwise might seem a bit young (Mr. Obama is 47). He is, as Mr. Obama’s advisers were quick to argue, someone who appears by every measure prepared to take over as president, setting a standard that appears intended to at least somewhat hamstring Mr. McCain should he be tempted to go for a more adventurous choice for No. He was forced to apologize to Mr. Obama almost the moment he entered the race for president after he was quoted as describing Mr. Obama as “the first mainstream African-American who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy,” a remark that drew criticism for being racially insensitive. While campaigning in New Hampshire, Mr. Biden said that “you cannot go to a 7-Eleven or a Dunkin’ Donuts unless you have a slight Indian accent.” Advertisement Continue reading the main story Mr. Biden quit the presidential race this year after barely making a mark; he came in fifth in Iowa. He was forced to quit the 1988 presidential race in the face of accusations that he had plagiarized part of a speech from Neil Kinnock, the British Labor Party leader. Shortly afterward, he was found to have suffered two aneurysms. He is also, at least arguably, a Washington insider, having worked there for so long, though he still commutes home to Wilmington every night by train. The choice by Mr. Obama in some ways mirrors the choice by Mr. Bush of Dick Cheney as his running mate in 2000; at his age, it appears unlikely that Mr. Biden would be in a position to run for president should Mr. Obama win and serve two terms. Shorn of any remaining ambition to run for president on his own, he could find himself in a less complex political relationship with Mr. Obama than most vice presidents have with their presidents. As a young man, he was in the center of a gripping family drama: barely a month after he was elected to the Senate, his wife and their three children were in a car accident with a drunken driver resulted in the death of his wife and daughter. SPRINGFIELD, Illinois (CNN) -- Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama introduced Sen. Joe Biden to the nation as his running mate Saturday, telling supporters that he is "a leader who is ready to step in and be president." I searched for a leader who understood the rising costs confronting working people and will always put their dreams first," Obama said. The rally is the pair's first joint appearance since Obama announced that Biden, the senior U.S. senator from Delaware, would be his running mate on his Web site and in a text message to supporters early Saturday morning. Watch what Biden would bring to an Obama presidency » As he took to the podium at Saturday's rally, Biden invoked the 16th U.S. president, Abraham Lincoln, who was from Illinois.
Brig. "On such a serious allegation as this one, we have to look into it," he said. Afghan military officials in Herat said an investigation of the site revealed that about 90 people were killed in the operation. He vowed to take measures to prevent further civilian casualties. NATO and U.S. protocols require high-level approval for airstrikes when civilians are known to be in or near Taliban targets. KABUL, AFGHANISTAN — President Hamid Karzai on Saturday denounced an airstrike by U.S.-led forces that his government said killed 76 Afghan civilians. The interior ministry has originally put the death toll from Friday's attacks at 76, including about 50 children and 19 women. He said the bombing prompted widespread protests in the district. Conflicting accounts The chief of police in the western Herat province of Afghanistan told Al Jazeera on Sunday that 95 civilians had actually died. Karzai has come under increasing public pressure to address the rising number of civilian casualties resulting from coalition operations. The United Nations has reported that 255 of nearly 700 civilian deaths in fighting in Afghanistan this year have been caused by Afghan and US-led international troops. Shah Nawaz, a member of the Shindand district council, disputed reports of recent Taliban activity in the area, saying the attack on the compound was unprovoked. We're investigating the incident," General Mohammad Zahir Azimi, a defence ministry spokesman, said. According to the officials in Herat, the bombing began late Thursday as dozens of villagers in the district of Azizabad gathered for a memorial ceremony for a villager who was killed last year. "Karzai has been under a lot of pressure, he has lost a lot of support among the local population as a result of these air strikes," she said.
KABUL, AFGHANISTAN — President Hamid Karzai on Saturday denounced an airstrike by U.S.-led forces that his government said killed 76 Afghan civilians. Civilian casualties are an extremely sensitive subject in Afghanistan, where the government has repeatedly pleaded with Western troops to exercise greater care to avoid injuring and killing noncombatants. The U.S. military initially put the number of dead at 30, describing all of those killed Friday in a remote part of Herat province, on Afghanistan's western border, as Taliban militants. On Saturday, U.S. spokesmen said that five of the dead were believed to be women or children, and that allegations of a much higher and predominantly civilian death toll would be investigated. Accounts of the fighting provided by Afghan authorities, human rights groups and the U.S. military have varied widely, and the remoteness of the area made it difficult to determine exactly what had happened. ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, Aug. 23 -- U.S. military officials said Saturday that they are investigating allegations by Afghan officials that a U.S.-led bombing raid killed at least 70 civilians in western Afghanistan in the past week. Lt. Col. Rumi Nielson-Green, a spokeswoman for the U.S. military, said 30 Taliban insurgents were killed in the operation, which targeted a compound occupied by a local Taliban commander. But Afghan President Hamid Karzai said in a statement that about 70 civilians were killed in the raid. Afghan military officials in Herat said an investigation of the site revealed that about 90 people were killed in the operation. Raouf Ahmedi, a spokesman for the western regional command of the Afghan army in Herat, said Afghan military officials who inspected the site Saturday found the bodies of 60 children and 19 women among the dead. "We couldn't and we haven't found any identification showing they are Taliban," Ahmedi said. According to the officials in Herat, the bombing began late Thursday as dozens of villagers in the district of Azizabad gathered for a memorial ceremony for a villager who was killed last year. Ahmed Dehzad, one of the province's parliamentary representatives, said that local officials received reports of Taliban activity in the vicinity several days before the ceremony but that coalition forces did not issue a warning before the attack on a compound near where the ceremony was held. Shah Nawaz, a member of the Shindand district council, disputed reports of recent Taliban activity in the area, saying the attack on the compound was unprovoked. "The coalition forces have made mistakes so many times and killed so many civilians. Last month, U.S. officials said they would investigate three separate airstrikes that Afghan officials said killed at least 78 civilians. In one of the cases, Afghan officials say 47 women and children were killed when coalition forces bombed a wedding party in the eastern province of Nangahar. Military officials say insurgents commonly take up positions in civilian homes, mosques or schools -- increasing the chances of civilian casualties. Gen. Richard Blanchette, a spokesman for NATO in Afghanistan, said investigators sent to the site immediately after the bombing verified the deaths of five civilians -- two children and three women who may have been relatives of the Taliban commander. "In the tragic air strike and irresponsible and imprecise military operation in Azizabad village in Shindand district, more than 89 of our innocent countrymen, including women and children, were martyred," the statement read. The interior ministry has originally put the death toll from Friday's attacks at 76, including about 50 children and 19 women. About 15 houses destroyed in the raids belonged to men who worked as security guards at an airstrip used by international troops about 120km south of the city of Herat, locals said. Angry villagers and relatives of the victims staged a demonstration on Saturday, torching a police van, overturning a delivery lorry and carrying banners that read "Death to America".
opinion 8/22/08 48 42 3 3 1 1 * 2 7/13/08 49 43 2 4 * 1 0 2 6. ------------------ Yes ------------------ Resp Other HH Both resp and NET is member is other HH member are No No op. 8/22/08 RV 47 16 32 20 10 10 33 6/15/08 RV 43 11 32 21 12 9 36 6/15/08 49 10 28 25 13 12 36 f. Bill Clinton ------- Favorable ------- ------ Unfavorable ------ No NET Strongly Somewhat NET Somewhat Strongly opinion 8/22/08 RV 55 30 25 43 15 28 2 4/13/08 RV 47 26 21 51 16 35 2 4/13/08 47 25 22 51 16 34 3 2/1/08 RV 55 32 23 43 14 29 2 2/1/08 55 32 23 42 15 27 3 2/25/07 55 33 22 42 13 30 2 1/19/07 61 NA NA 37 NA NA 2 5/15/06 59 36 24 39 13 25 2 12/15/00 56 NA NA 40 NA NA 4 7/23/00 44 23 21 50 36 13 6 6/6/99* 52 NA NA 44 NA NA 4 2/14/99 57 32 25 40 29 11 3 1/30/99 54 35 19 42 30 12 3 9/28/98 48 NA NA 47 NA NA 5 8/23/98 45 NA NA 49 NA NA 6 8/21/98 56 NA NA 40 NA NA 4 8/19/98 39 NA NA 57 NA NA 4 7/12/98 54 NA NA 40 NA NA 6 5/12/98 54 NA NA 42 NA NA 4 4/4/98 55 NA NA 39 NA NA 6 2/18/98 56 NA NA 41 NA NA 3 1/30/98 60 NA NA 35 NA NA 6 1/25/98 54 NA NA 42 NA NA 5 1/24/98 51 NA NA 44 NA NA 5 1/19/98 59 NA NA 35 NA NA 6 1/12/98 59 NA NA 33 NA NA 7 10/13/97 59 NA NA 37 NA NA 4 9/10/97 57 NA NA 38 NA NA 5 3/9/97 60 NA NA 38 NA NA 3 9/4/96 RV 58 NA NA 38 NA NA 4 6/30/96 56 NA NA 38 NA NA 5 10/30/95 54 NA NA 41 NA NA 6 7/17/95 59 NA NA 38 NA NA 3 6/8/95 53 NA NA 43 NA NA 4 3/19/95 55 NA NA 42 NA NA 3 10/31/94 51 NA NA 44 NA NA 5 5/15/94 57 NA NA 40 NA NA 3 3/27/94 59 NA NA 37 NA NA 4 1/23/94 60 NA NA 32 NA NA 8 11/14/93 58 NA NA 37 NA NA 5 11/11/93 52 NA NA 43 NA NA 6 8/8/93 56 NA NA 39 NA NA 5 4/26/93 59 NA NA 29 NA NA 12 2/23/93 59 NA NA 30 NA NA 11 1/17/93 68 NA NA 20 NA NA 11 10/18/92 LV 56 NA NA 36 NA NA 8 9/27/92 LV 55 NA NA 36 NA NA 9 8/23/92 RV 54 NA NA 36 NA NA 10 7/19/92 RV 58 NA NA 23 NA NA 18 7/8/92 52 NA NA 33 NA NA 15 6/7/92 41 NA NA 38 NA NA 21 3/18/92 37 NA NA 37 NA NA 26 3/11/92 39 NA NA 31 NA NA 30 2/2/92 37 NA NA 24 NA NA 39 1/27/92 23 NA NA 11 NA NA 66 10/21/91 13 NA NA 9 NA NA 78 *Post poll 10.
DENVER, Colorado (CNN) -- It's a dead heat in the race for the White House. Both John McCain and Barack Obama had the support of 47 percent of people questioned in the CNN poll. The first national poll conducted after Barack Obama publicly named Joe Biden as his running mate suggests that the battle for the presidency between the Illinois senator and John McCain is all tied up. In a new CNN/Opinion Research Corp. poll released Sunday night, 47 percent of those questioned are backing Obama, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominees, with an equal amount supporting his Republican opponent, McCain. "This looks like a step backward for Obama, who had a 51 to 44 percent advantage last month," said CNN Polling Director Keating Holland. "Even last week, just before his choice of Joe Biden as his running mate became known, most polls tended to show Obama with a single-digit advantage over McCain." So what's the difference now? It may be supporters of Hillary Clinton, who still would prefer the New York senator and former first lady as the Democratic Party's presidential nominee. » Sixty-six percent of Clinton supporters -- registered Democrats who want Clinton as the nominee -- are now backing Obama. That's down from 75 percent in the end of June. Twenty-seven percent of them now say they'll support McCain, up from 16 percent in late June. "The number of Clinton Democrats who say they would vote for McCain has gone up 11 points since June, enough to account for most, although not all, of the support McCain has gained in that time," Holland said. Clinton and Obama battled throughout the primary season, with Clinton winning more than 40 percent of the delegates. The majority of registered voters, 54 percent, say Obama's choice of Biden, D-Delaware, as his running mate is an "excellent" or "good decision." That number jumps to 73 percent when just asked of registered Democrats. But it drops to 59 percent when narrowed to Clinton supporters. Watch more on the new VP candidate » "It's not that there's anything wrong with the choice of Joe Biden. Voters think he is qualified to be president, and with the exception of Al Gore in 1992, the public ranks Biden as the most qualified running mate in recent times," Holland said. Watch more on Biden and the road ahead » "A lot of Americans don't know who he is, but his favorable rating is 13 points higher than his unfavorables. Among all Democrats, only 38 percent say Obama should have selected Clinton as his running mate. Still, 74 percent of all voters questioned in the survey said Obama's selection of Biden as a running mate won't have any effect on their vote for president. The survey's sampling error is plus or minus 3.5 percentage points for all voters. For registered Democrats, it is plus or minus 4.5 percentage points, and for Democrats who still support Clinton for the party's nomination, it is plus or minus 7.5 percentage points. Poll: More than half of Clinton backers still not sold on Obama DENVER Fewer than half of Hillary Rodham Clinton's supporters in the presidential primaries say they definitely will vote for Barack Obama in November, a USA TODAY/Gallup Poll finds, evidence of a formidable challenge facing Democrats as their national convention opens here today. In the survey, taken Thursday through Saturday, 47% of Clinton supporters say they are solidly behind Obama, and 23% say they support him but may change their minds before the election. Obama holds a 47%-43% edge over McCain among registered voters and a 48%-45% edge among likely voters. Among the findings: • Obama has not eased concerns about his depth of experience: 57% worry he lacks the experience to be an effective president, and 44% question whether he could handle the responsibilities of commander in chief. He is preferred by double digits over McCain on handling the economy, but a GOP drumbeat on taxes seems to be working: A majority of those surveyed predict Obama will raise their federal income taxes if elected. • McCain is credited as a strong and decisive leader, but he has lost ground since earlier this year on handling the economy, the electorate's top issue. Four in 10 worry McCain is too old to be president — he'll turn 72 on Friday — and 66% say they're concerned he'll pursue President Bush's course.
Topics: sexual-offences, law-crime-and-justice, police, bathurst-2795, australia, nsw First posted "The college involved has been cooperating with the police completely with this inquiry." The school's principal says he is not aware of any current paedophile activity at the school. "It is absolutely a requirement for this matter to be open, for this matter to be addressed and this matter to be resolved," he said. John Edwards says he received information several years ago about alleged sexual misbehaviour at St Stanislaus during the 1980s, and forwarded it to police. Another eight men are now alleging similar abuse. "If there's anyone out there that is currently concerned they may be the subject of this particular investigation they are urged to come forward in the strictest confidence and contact CrimeStoppers," he said. Meanwhile the lawyer for the former priest accused of sexually abusing students says he has not seen any new claims against his client. "I would be looking forward to being extended the basic courtesy of being served with some witness statements." Mr Edwards says the allegations are "gravely concerning" and he hopes they are properly dealt with by the courts. The commander of the Bathurst-based Chifley Command, Superintendent Michael Goodwin, says the investigation is ongoing. Earlier this year police charged a 65-year-old Sydney man with 33 counts of sexual assault and gross acts of indecency on five juveniles aged between 10 and 18. "This school is very concerned to ensure that children are treated well and that their interests are protected." "I don't know anything about eight alleged other victims, I've not been served with any witness statements so I really can't comment about it," he said.
Bathurst head 'not aware' of current sex abuse Updated The principal of Bathurst's St Stanislaus College says he is not aware of any current paedophile activity at the school. John Edwards says he received information several years ago about alleged sexual misbehaviour at St Stanislaus during the 1980s, and forwarded it to police. In May, police charged a 65-year-old former priest with 33 counts of sexual assault and gross acts of indecency against five boys. Another eight men are now alleging similar abuse. Mr Edwards says the allegations are "gravely concerning" and he hopes they are properly dealt with by the courts. "This school is very concerned to ensure that children are treated well and that their interests are protected." "These allegations happened some 20-odd years ago, there is absolutely no suggestion whatsoever that the college involved is/has been looking to anything in the current day. "The college involved has been cooperating with the police completely with this inquiry." Meanwhile the lawyer for the former priest accused of sexually abusing students says he has not seen any new claims against his client. "I don't know anything about eight alleged other victims, I've not been served with any witness statements so I really can't comment about it," he said. Bathurst head 'not aware' of current sex abuse Updated The principal of Bathurst's St Stanislaus College says he is not aware of any current paedophile activity at the school. John Edwards says he received information several years ago about alleged sexual misbehaviour at St Stanislaus during the 1980s, and forwarded it to police. In May, police charged a 65-year-old former priest with 33 counts of sexual assault and gross acts of indecency against five boys. "This school is very concerned to ensure that children are treated well and that their interests are protected." "The college involved has been cooperating with the police completely with this inquiry." Meanwhile the lawyer for the former priest accused of sexually abusing students says he has not seen any new claims against his client. "I don't know anything about eight alleged other victims, I've not been served with any witness statements so I really can't comment about it," he said. Police broaden probe into school sex abuse Updated Police in New South Wales have broadened their investigation into alleged sexual assaults at a Catholic boarding school in Bathurst around 30 years ago. Earlier this year police charged a 65-year-old Sydney man with 33 counts of sexual assault and gross acts of indecency on five juveniles aged between 10 and 18. "These allegations happened some 20 odd years ago, there is absolutely no suggestion whatsoever that the college involved is/has been looking to anything in the current day.
“America, we cannot turn back,” Mr. Obama said. Coverage of John Kerry’s acceptance speech in 2004 had 24.4 million viewers; coverage of George W. Bush’s convention speech that same year drew 27.5 million. Advertisement Continue reading the main story He said Mr. McCain was out of touch with the problems of everyday Americans. Furthermore, the four-night Democratic convention ranks as the most-watched convention of either party, Democratic or Republican, since Nielsen began measuring conventions in 1960. And it came on a night that offered — by the coincidence of scheduling — a reminder of the historic nature of the Obama candidacy: 45 years to the day after the Rev. View all New York Times newsletters. Obama's historic address, by the first African American chosen to lead a major political party in the race for the White House, averaged 38.4 million U.S. viewers across all major networks, Nielsen Media Research reported on Friday. Sarah Palin as his vice presidential running mate, will raise the excitement level for his campaign. “And we are here because we love this country too much to let the next four years look just like the last eight. Please try again later. Comparisons to previous conventions must include a number of important caveats. (Fox News Channel defeated the broadcasters during the Republican convention in 2004.) His aides chose the stadium to signal a break from typical politics and to permit thousands of his supporters from across the country to hear him speak. This year’s conventions are being shown on at least ten TV channels. Barack Obama accepted the Democratic nomination for president on Thursday as an estimated 38 million viewers watched on television, setting a new record for convention viewership, according to Nielsen Media Research.
(Recasts 1st paragraph; adds details, background) By Steve Gorman LOS ANGELES Aug 29 Over 38 million Americans tuned in for television coverage of Barack Obama accepting the Democratic nomination for U.S. president on Thursday in what is believed to be the most watched convention speech ever. Obama's TV audience, reaching nearly a fourth of all U.S. households, was by far the largest of the four-day Democratic National Convention, surpassing the addresses by his running mate, U.S. Sen. Joe Biden of Delaware, and his onetime rival for the nomination, Sen. Hillary Clinton of New York. It also easily eclipsed the acceptance speeches of either of Obama's two immediate Democratic predecessors or the 27.6 million viewers President George W. Bush drew on the fourth night of the Republican National Convention in 2004, when he was nominated for a second term. Obama's historic address, by the first African American chosen to lead a major political party in the race for the White House, averaged 38.4 million U.S. viewers across all major networks, Nielsen Media Research reported on Friday. That figure is the highest for any single night of any major party convention going back to 1996, the last election cycle for which Nielsen keeps night-by-night data. The 1992 conventions as a whole garnered higher household ratings in prime time than this week's Democratic gathering in Denver, meaning a larger percentage of homes were tuned in to those earlier events. The same is true for most conventions held from 1960 to 1984. But because today's household ratings translate into a larger number of individuals based on population growth, Nielsen analyst Anne Elliot said Obama's audience tally is probably the biggest for any televised convention speech in history. By comparison, 24.4 million viewers saw the 2004 Democratic nominee, Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry, give his acceptance speech, and fewer still, 21.8 million, tuned in for the final night of the 2000 convention when then-Vice President Al Gore was nominated as the party's standard bearer. The robust total for Obama, who delivered his speech in a football stadium packed with 84,000 cheering supporters, was yet another sign of the excitement generated by the Illinois senator's charisma and message of change. The prime-time TV audience for all four days of the convention, averaging 30.2 million viewers, also easily topped the 24.4 million total for 2004 and 20.6 million from 2000. In 2004, for example, Nielsen measured viewership across six networks -- the Big Three broadcasters ABC, CBS and NBC and cable news networks Fox News Channel, CNN and MSNBC -- whereas this year Nielsen added four smaller networks -- BET, TV One, Univision and Telemundo. Moreover, Nielsen is now including time-shifted viewing by people watching later the same day through digital video recorders -- data not included in previous cycles. Sarah Palin as his vice presidential running mate, will raise the excitement level for his campaign. Barack Obama accepted the Democratic nomination for president on Thursday as an estimated 38 million viewers watched on television, setting a new record for convention viewership, according to Nielsen Media Research. Mr. Obama’s speech — a historic one given his status as the first African American nominee of a major political party — reached significantly more viewers than the comparable addresses in 2004. Coverage of John Kerry’s acceptance speech in 2004 had 24.4 million viewers; coverage of George W. Bush’s convention speech that same year drew 27.5 million. The audience estimate of 38.3 million means that Mr. Obama’s speech reached more viewers than the Olympics opening ceremony in Beijing, the final “American Idol” or the Academy Awards this year, the Associated Press notes. The four nights of “common coverage” by networks — 10 to 11 p.m. Monday through Thursday — were viewed by an average of 22.4 million households, Nielsen said Friday. Previously, the highest-rated Democratic convention occurred in 1980 with 20.5 million households watching, and the highest-rated Republican convention occurred in 1976 with 21.9 million households watching. For one thing, until the 1980s conventions were shown on just three networks, and they were covered in greater length than they are now. This year’s conventions are being shown on at least ten TV channels. Additionally, consumers have the option to record the convention and play it back later using a digital video recorder, and those viewers won’t be counted for weeks. Perhaps most significantly, this convention is being streamed online on a number of different Web sites, and the Internet audience will be hard, if not impossible, to measure. By any measurement, this convention was a popular one among viewers. Early ratings from Nielsen — subject to revision later in the day — suggested that CNN had reached a milestone on Thursday, with more than 8 million viewers during the 10 p.m. hour, more than any of the broadcast networks. If confirmed by Nielsen this afternoon, the ratings would represent CNN’s first time topping the broadcast networks. The 38 million figure from Nielsen includes the audience on ten networks: ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, FOX News Channel, MSNBC, BET, TV One, Univision and Telemundo. PBS estimated that it averaged 3.5 million viewers between 8 and 11 p.m. In the course of a 42-minute speech that ended with a booming display of fireworks and a shower of confetti, he offered searing and far-reaching attacks on his presumptive Republican opponent, repeatedly portraying him as the face of the old way of politics and failed Republican policies. “It’s because John McCain doesn’t get it.” And he went so far as to attack the presumed strength of Mr. McCain’s campaign, national security. “You know, John McCain likes to say that he’ll follow bin Laden to the gates of hell, but he won’t even follow him to the cave where he lives,” he said. Advertisement Continue reading the main story To that end, he emphasized what he described as concrete steps he would take to address the anxieties of working-class Americans, promising tax cuts for the middle class and pledging to wean the country from dependence on Middle East oil within 10 years to address high fuel prices.
Gov. The oldest, Track, serves in the U.S. Army; the youngest, Trig, has Down syndrome. All About John McCain • Republican Party • Sarah Palin That's not the change we need; it's just more of the same," Obama spokeswoman Adrianne March said. "We should all be proud of Gov. Palin is the youngest person elected governor of Alaska and the first woman to hold the job. Tim Pawlenty and Sen. Joseph Lieberman, an independent from Connecticut and 2000 Democratic vice presidential nominee. iReport.com: What do you think of McCain's VP pick? "She is exactly who this country needs to help us fight the same old Washington politics of me first and country second," McCain told supporters in Dayton. She also was a City Council member in the town and was chairwoman of Alaska's Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, which regulates oil and gas resources. She suspended the staffer who made the call. Under investigation for firing But Palin’s seemingly bright future was clouded in late July when the state Legislature voted to hire an independent investigator to find out whether she tried to have a state official fire her ex-brother-in-law from his job as a state trooper. The pipeline would be the largest construction project in the history of North America. After a raucous rally here before what the campaign said were 15,000 supporters -- the largest gathering of McCain's campaign -- the two spent six hours together. Frank Murkowski in the Republican primary in 2006 and went on to defeat former Gov. They have five children. At 44, she is a generation younger than Sen. Joseph Biden of Delaware, who is Barack Obama's running mate on the Democratic ticket.
Sarah Palin as his vice presidential running mate, a decision that guarantees that either an African American or a woman will ascend to the White House for the first time in history next year. The senator from Arizona lived up to his maverick reputation, bypassing former rivals and more experienced governors to choose the little-known Palin, 44, as the person "who can best help me shake up Washington." The self-described "hockey mom" brings a blue-collar conservatism and strong antiabortion views to the ticket and appeals to a party base sometimes suspicious of McCain. She made an immediate pitch to female voters, especially those who had supported Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton in the Democratic primaries, saying that her selection "could help shatter the glass ceiling once and for all." But she is also less than two years into her term as governor, and her only previous political experience came as mayor of the town of Wasilla, which has a population of about 6,700. Democrats immediately seized on her lack of political experience, noting that McCain, who turned 72 on Friday, will be confirmed next week as the oldest first-time presidential nominee in history. After a raucous rally here before what the campaign said were 15,000 supporters -- the largest gathering of McCain's campaign -- the two spent six hours together. They traveled by bus to Pittsburgh, ingratiating themselves to Ohioans as they bought Ohio State Buckeye paraphernalia and stopped for ice cream at a roadside stand. The trip provided valuable bonding time for two people who acknowledge they barely know each other. McCain met Palin at a governor's conference in February, and did not see her again until she secretly flew to Arizona on Wednesday night. After a phone interview with the senator on Sunday night, she arrived in the state three days later for a session with McCain's two top lieutenants. She met with McCain's wife, Cindy, on Thursday morning at the couple's Sedona ranch, then McCain joined them and offered her the job on the deck of the house around 11 a.m. Thursday. While Palin, pronounced PAY-lin, had been mentioned as a dark-horse candidate for the job, she was never described as being on the shortlist under consideration by McCain. Tim Pawlenty and Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman (I-Conn.) -- had spent months doing surrogate duty for McCain around the country, something Palin had not been called on to do. There were reports of bruised feelings, especially because the McCain campaign's ironclad resolve to keep news of the pick from leaking meant some of the finalists were not told they were not chosen until the last minute. McCain and Democratic rival Barack Obama, opposites in so many ways, took dramatically different paths in making their vice presidential selections. Obama, 47, a first-term senator from Illinois who is battling the charge that he lacks the experience for the job, chose 65-year-old Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr., a 35-year member of the Senate and a foreign policy expert. McCain, a war hero and world traveler who has served in Congress for more than a quarter-century, selected a woman who has no national or international experience and is younger than two of his children, but who he said shares his belief in reform and relishes the role of outsider. "She's exactly who this country needs to help me fight the same old Washington politics of me first and country second," the presumptive Republican nominee said at a Dayton, Ohio, rally of about 15,000 supporters, who welcomed the surprise pick of the relatively unknown politician with cheers and flags. "She's got the grit, integrity, good sense and fierce devotion to the common good that is exactly what we need in Washington today," McCain said. Palin, 44, described herself as a fighter against corruption and a bipartisan reformer in her first appearance as a candidate for vice president, an office she said she never expected to seek. "I was just your average hockey mom in Alaska" before getting involved in politics, she said. "When I found corruption there, I fought it hard and brought the offenders to account." Watch Palin say she's honored to be picked » Palin is a first-term governor who unseated incumbent Gov. ET see full schedule » Campaigning for governor, she described herself as a "conservative Republican, a firm believer in free-market capitalism" and "a lifelong Alaskan who grew up hunting and fishing." Palin will be the first woman to be nominated for vice president as a Republican and only the second to run for vice president on a major party ticket, after Democrat Geraldine Ferraro in 1984. She described herself Friday as "commander in chief of the Alaska National Guard" and noted that her oldest son, Track, is a U.S. soldier scheduled to deploy soon to Iraq. McCain introduced her as a former union member and the wife of a union member, a nod to Ohio's strong organized-labor culture. She has been instructed to hand over documents and recordings of telephone conversations as part of the inquiry, which grew out of allegations that she sacked Monegan for refusing to fire her former brother-in-law from the state police. Palin has admitted that the call could be interpreted as pressure to fire state trooper Mike Wooten, who was locked in a child-custody battle with Palin's sister. Watch McCain praise Palin » "Hillary left 18 million cracks in the highest, hardest glass ceiling in America.
Play In total, five members of the cult, including Ramkissoon, have been charged with murder. "The leader of the cult -- Queen Antoinette -- made the decision. Javon's body was finally discovered after Baltimore police received a tip from a caseworker with New York's child welfare authority. People just left them alone." "They told me not to come back to get her because they would drive her home. They say she hid his body in a suitcase and transported it with the group when it moved to new quarters in Philadelphia, where it was found by detectives, the newspaper said. When she returned to the house two days later with a police officer, Khadan-Newton says her daughter was already transformed. Ria Ramkissoon, 21, was charged with first-degree murder in the death of her son Javon Thompson, whom authorities say was systematically starved to death when he refused to say "amen" at meals served at the 1 Mind Ministries in West Baltimore, the Baltimore Sun reported Monday. "He was such a nice little boy. Ramkissoon, who was also known as Princess Marie, called her mother Sunday, the first time they have talked in several years. "She sounded like she was going to die. I got him a swing, and he used to love to be on that swing. The child was denied food and water and became thin with dark circles under his eyes, according to a statement of charges filed by Detective Vernon Parker. After being evicted from a Red Roof Inn, they lived on the streets before meeting Samuel Morgan, an elderly man who allowed them to stay at his home for one week.
They wore all white, refused medical care, referred to themselves with titles such as "Princess" and "Queen," talked to the walls and attempted to banish demons. From the moment that Ria Ramkissoon and her baby boy Javon joined the tiny religious cult, 1 Mind Ministries, in April 2006, her life would change irrevocably. Now, the 21-year-old woman is sitting in the psychiatric unit of a city jail in Baltimore accused by police of slowly starving her son to death and allowing cult members to beat him for disobeying orders such as saying "amen" at meals. After he stopped breathing in his mother's arms, they stuffed Javon's body into a green suitcase, which cult leader "Queen Antoinette" occasionally sprayed with Lysol to cover up the stench, drove to Philadelphia and left the suitcase inside a shed where it sat for a year until police made the gruesome discovery in April, according to a statement of charges. Play In total, five members of the cult, including Ramkissoon, have been charged with murder. Three members -- Queen Antoinette, Trevia Williams and Marcus Cobbs -- are already in jail and federal marshals in the New York area are searching for a fourth member, Steven Bynum. A bail hearing for Ramkissoon, who is charged with first- and second-degree murder, child abuse, assault, reckless endangerment and conspiracy, is set for today. Ramkissoon, who was also known as Princess Marie, called her mother Sunday, the first time they have talked in several years. She had a confrontation with somebody, and she's in the psychiatric ward right now." Khadan-Newton still remembers that fateful day in 2006 when she dropped off her daughter and grandson at a house in West Baltimore, assuming that a babysitter lived there to take care of the boy while Ramkissoon went to school. "They told me not to come back to get her because they would drive her home. When she returned to the house two days later with a police officer, Khadan-Newton says her daughter was already transformed. "I was screaming and crying and she just stood there -- Ria used to be such a lively, jolly person -- and the other people would not let me see the baby." Khadan-Newton says she spent the next two years trying to rescue her daughter and grandson, contacting the police and social services, but claims that cult members would ignore the court papers sent to the home. The group's practices were notorious in their neighborhood where local residents recalled the shouting and screaming that would come from their home. "You'd hear it in the middle of the night -- loud noises and chanting," said one neighbor who declined to be identified. Khadan-Newton says she only found out about Javon's death when one of the cult member's sisters was committed to a mental institution and contacted her parents about the child's murder. Leaving behind the suitcase, cult members moved on to Brooklyn, where three cult members were arrested on accusations of assaulting an officer who was attempting to retrieve a child involved in a custody dispute from their home. Javon's body was finally discovered after Baltimore police received a tip from a caseworker with New York's child welfare authority. Khadan-Newton still harbors sweet memories of her grandson, for whom she is planning a memorial service at a local church once his remains are returned from Philadelphia. BALTIMORE, Aug. 12 (UPI) -- The alleged leader of a Baltimore religious cult has been charged with the slaying of a toddler, whom prosecutors say was starved to death as discipline. Police say the toddler incurred the wrath of Ellsberry and other cult members because he refused to say "amen" when the group gathered at its West Baltimore home for meals. Ellsberry allegedly labeled the boy "a demon" and assured his mother he would be raised from the dead, the newspaper said. Authorities say Javon probably died in December 2006 and two months later the group fled to Philadelphia, taking the boy's body in a green suitcase with wheels. Ria Ramkissoon, 21, was charged with first-degree murder in the death of her son Javon Thompson, whom authorities say was systematically starved to death when he refused to say "amen" at meals served at the 1 Mind Ministries in West Baltimore, the Baltimore Sun reported Monday.
background check, an F.B.I. At the time Palin said she wanted the department to move in a new direction. Mr. McCain had also been interested in another favorite, former Gov. Advertisement Continue reading the main story State Senator Hollis French, a Democrat who is directing the ethics investigation, said that no one asked him about the allegations. "I think people's families are off-limits, and people's children are especially off-limits. At the least, Republicans close to the campaign said it was increasingly apparent that Ms. Palin had been selected as Mr. McCain’s running mate with more haste than McCain advisers initially described. A separate federal probe This investigation is separate from a higher profile federal probe of corruption of Alaska politics. “Hold me accountable,” she challenge her critics. Palin's performance as governor or her potential performance as a vice president." The Legislature is investigating whether Palin fired public safety commissioner Walt Monegan after he refused to fire a state trooper who had divorced Palin’s sister. Please try again later. iReport.com: Share your thoughts on Palin All About Barack Obama • Sarah Palin Was the motive personal? Monegan could not be reached for comment, but he recently told the Anchorage Daily News that he was never directly told by Palin or anyone to fire Wooten. ... official said Monday the bureau did not vet potential candidates and had not known of her selection until it was made public. “I called 30 to 40 people, political leaders, business leaders, community leaders. In July, a legislative oversight committee approved $100,000 to investigate whether Palin abused her power in firing Monegan.
Although the McCain campaign said that Mr. McCain had known about Bristol Palin’s pregnancy before he asked her mother to join him on the ticket and that he did not consider it disqualifying, top aides were vague on Monday about how and when he had learned of the pregnancy, and from whom. Advertisement Continue reading the main story While there was no sign that her formal nomination this week was in jeopardy, the questions swirling around Ms. Palin on the first day of the Republican National Convention, already disrupted by Hurricane Gustav, brought anxiety to Republicans who worried that Democrats would use the selection of Ms. Palin to question Mr. McCain’s judgment and his ability to make crucial decisions. At the least, Republicans close to the campaign said it was increasingly apparent that Ms. Palin had been selected as Mr. McCain’s running mate with more haste than McCain advisers initially described. Up until midweek last week, some 48 to 72 hours before Mr. McCain introduced Ms. Palin at a Friday rally in Dayton, Ohio, Mr. McCain was still holding out the hope that he could choose a good friend, Senator Joseph I. Lieberman, independent of Connecticut, a Republican close to the campaign said. Mr. McCain had also been interested in another favorite, former Gov. Advertisement Continue reading the main story But both men favor abortion rights, anathema to the Christian conservatives who make up a crucial base of the Republican Party. As word leaked out that Mr. McCain was seriously considering the men, the campaign was bombarded by outrage from influential conservatives who predicted an explosive floor fight at the convention and vowed rejection of Mr. Ridge or Mr. Lieberman by the delegates. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Perhaps more important, several Republicans said, Mr. McCain was getting advice that if he did not do something to shake up the race, his campaign would be stuck on a potentially losing trajectory. He had his first face-to-face interview with her on Thursday and offered her the job moments later. Advisers to Mr. Pawlenty and another of the finalists on Mr. McCain’s list described an intensive vetting process for those candidates that lasted one to two months. “They didn’t seriously consider her until four or five days from the time she was picked, before she was asked, maybe the Thursday or Friday before,” said a Republican close to the campaign. “This was really kind of rushed at the end, because John didn’t get what he wanted. Photo Mr. McCain’s advisers said repeatedly on Monday that Ms. Palin was “thoroughly vetted,” a process that would have included a review of all financial and legal records as well as a criminal background check. A McCain aide said the campaign was well aware of the ethics investigation and had looked into it. Advertisement Continue reading the main story “It was obviously something that anybody Googling Sarah Palin knew was in the news and there was a very thorough vetting done on that and also on the daughter,” the aide said. People familiar with the process said Ms. Palin had responded to a standard form with more than 70 questions. Although The Washington Post quoted advisers to Mr. McCain on Sunday as saying Ms. Palin had been subjected to an F.B.I. official said Monday the bureau did not vet potential candidates and had not known of her selection until it was made public. Please verify you're not a robot by clicking the box. Mark Salter, Mr. McCain’s closest adviser, said in an e-mail message that Ms. Palin had been interviewed by Arthur B. Culvahouse Jr., a veteran Washington lawyer in charge of the vice-presidential vetting process for Mr. McCain, as well as by other lawyers who worked for Mr. Culvahouse. Mr. Salter did not respond to an e-mail message asking if Ms. Palin had told Mr. Culvahouse and his lawyers that her daughter was pregnant. Advertisement Continue reading the main story In Alaska, several state leaders and local officials said they knew of no efforts by the McCain campaign to find out more information about Ms. Palin before the announcement of her selection, Although campaigns are typically discreet when they make inquiries into potential running mates, officials in Alaska said Monday they thought it was peculiar that no one in the state had the slightest hint that Ms. Palin might be under consideration. “They didn’t speak to anyone in the Legislature, they didn’t speak to anyone in the business community,” said Lyda Green, the State Senate president, who lives in Wasilla, where Ms. Palin served as mayor. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Representative Gail Phillips, a Republican and former speaker of the State House, said the widespread surprise in Alaska when Ms. Palin was named to the ticket made her wonder how intensively the McCain campaign had vetted her. “I started calling around and asking, and I have not been able to find one person that was called,” Ms. Phillips said. “I called 30 to 40 people, political leaders, business leaders, community leaders. Alaska is a very small community, we know people all over, but I haven’t found anybody who was asked anything.” Advertisement Continue reading the main story The current mayor of Wasilla, Dianne M. Keller, said she had not heard of any efforts to look into Ms. Palin’s background. Advertisement Continue reading the main story State Senator Hollis French, a Democrat who is directing the ethics investigation, said that no one asked him about the allegations. A number of Republicans said the McCain campaign had to some degree tied its hands in its effort to keep the selection process so secret. Advertisement Continue reading the main story “If you really want it to be a surprise, the circle of people that you’re going to allow to know about it is going to be small, and that’s just the nature of it,” said Dan Bartlett, a former counselor to President Bush. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Former McCain strategists disagreed on whether it would have been useful for Ms. Palin’s name to have been more publicly floated before her selection so that issues like the trooper investigation and her daughter’s pregnancy might have already been aired and not seemed so new at the time of her announcement. “It’s a risk,” said Dan Schnur, a former McCain aide who now directs the Jesse M. Unruh Institute of Politics at the University of Southern California. Sarah Palin, the GOP vice presidential candidate, is being represented by an attorney in the investigation into the firing of her public safety commissioner. The Legislature is investigating whether Palin fired public safety commissioner Walt Monegan after he refused to fire a state trooper who had divorced Palin’s sister. The committee released an e-mailed letter it had received from the lawyer on Friday, the day McCain announced she would be McCain’s running mate. Please know that we intend to cooperate with this investigation.” Tucker Eskew, a senior McCain adviser, said the state, not Palin herself, hired the attorney to represent her in her capacity as governor, and he has been working for several weeks.
Please re-enter. Still, some of the other Wall Street banks, facing billions of dollars in losses themselves, have resisted this approach. Lehman will be lucky to end the day as independent bank." Advertisement Continue reading the main story A spokesman for the New York Federal Reserve Bank in New York confirmed the meeting but declined to provide details on the discussions. Lehman Brothers has lost 80% of its market value since Monday. Lehman’s successor will still be able to borrow from the Fed’s new lending program for major investment banks, which the Fed created in response to the collapse of Bear Stearns in March. The BBC's business editor Robert Peston says that Bank of America is the main candidate to buy Lehman but Barclays may also play a role in the rescue. The group, which consisted of the heads of most major financial institutions,... Photo But Mr. Paulson and Mr. Geithner made it clear to the company, its potential suitors and to the meeting participants on Friday that the government has no plans to put taxpayer money on the line. Six months ago the stock was trading at $48.65. Our correspondent says that the US Treasury is working assiduously behind the scenes to facilitate a takeover of the bank. Bankers close to Lehman warned that failure to conclude a deal by then would be devastating for firm. Traders from the banks wound down the fund over time, averting what might have been big losses across the financial system. Concerns over the fate of Lehman follow the bail-out on Sunday of mortgage giants Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae. They said he told them that if the industry failed to solve the problem their individual banks might be next.
Lehman Brothers has lost 80% of its market value since Monday. Executives at Lehman Brothers are racing to meet a deadline of Sunday night to find a new owner for the troubled US bank, the BBC has learned. The BBC's business editor Robert Peston says that Bank of America is the main candidate to buy Lehman but Barclays may also play a role in the rescue. Bankers close to Lehman warned that failure to conclude a deal by then would be devastating for firm. Investors sent Lehman shares tumbling again in New York trading. "If a solution isn't found by the time Asia opens for business on Monday, well the consequences would be disastrous," a senior banker told the BBC. Our correspondent says that the US Treasury is working assiduously behind the scenes to facilitate a takeover of the bank. He says that Barclays is taking part in the negotiations to buy all or part of Lehman but a US solution, led by Bank of America, is still the most likely outcome. Lehman's fund management business, which is in relatively good shape, may be sold separately, he adds. Losses mount Lehman announced the biggest loss in its history on Wednesday and investors remain unconvinced by the bank's plans to strengthen its finances. Lehman shares fell 13.5% to close at $3.65 in New York after falling around 40% on Thursday. Lehman will be lucky to end the day as an independent bank Robert Peston, BBC business editor Read Robert's blog The company has lost 80% of its market value since Monday. Six months ago the stock was trading at $48.65. The Financial Times reported that Bank of America is considering a joint bid for Lehman with with private equity firm JC Flowers and China Investment Co, the Chinese sovereign wealth fund. Concerns over the fate of Lehman follow the bail-out on Sunday of mortgage giants Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae. The lenders were thrown into financial difficulty after the collapse of the US sub-prime mortgage market. Our correspondent says that Wall Street has lost confidence in Lehman's capacity to survive as an independent entity. But he questions whether any company would take the plunge and take over Lehman without some government support. "The US Treasury may... have to provide some backstop underwriting for Lehman, so that an orderly resolution of Lehman's woes can be achieved," our correspondent says. "When confidence in a bank erodes, it ebbs at first and then is gone in a great whoosh. Lehman will be lucky to end the day as independent bank." White House spokesman Tony Fratto said the US Treasury "is closely monitoring the markets and they stay in contact with market participants". E-mail this to a friend Printable version Bookmark with: Delicious Digg reddit Facebook StumbleUpon What are these? Mr. Geithner told the participants that an industry solution was needed, no matter what, and that it was not about any individual bank, according to two people briefed on the meeting but who did not attend. They said he told them that if the industry failed to solve the problem their individual banks might be next. Advertisement Continue reading the main story A spokesman for the New York Federal Reserve Bank in New York confirmed the meeting but declined to provide details on the discussions. The Wall Street executives included the following chief executives: Lloyd Blankfein of the Goldman Sachs Group, James Dimon of JPMorgan Chase, John Mack of Morgan Stanley, Vikram Pandit of Citigroup and John Thain of Merrill Lynch. The meeting was reminiscent of the circumstances that preceded the near-collapse 10 years go of Long Term Capital Management. At that time, William J. McDonough, then the president of the New York Fed, summoned the heads of big Wall Street banks to the Fed to stop the failure of L.T.C.M., a hedge fund firm that had made big bets on esoteric securities using borrowed money and which had already lost $4.5 billion. The bankers ended up committing $3.65 billion to save L.T.C.M., though Bear Stearns, the hedge fund’s clearing broker, refused to contribute to the investment. Traders from the banks wound down the fund over time, averting what might have been big losses across the financial system. But the fallout from a failure of Lehman Brothers could be even more severe, given the firm’s much larger size and its entanglements with trading partners around the globe. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Policy makers fear its losses could ripple through the financial industry at a time when banks and securities firms are trying to overcome $500 billion in write-downs. Advertisement Continue reading the main story One observer briefed on the situation described the session as a “game of chicken” between the government and the heads of the major banks. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Bank of America and two British firms, Barclays and HSBC, have expressed interest in bidding for Lehman Brothers, according to people briefed on the situation. But they have indicated that their bids are contingent upon receiving support from the government, just as it did with the rescues of Bear Stearns, and the government-sponsored agencies, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Photo But Mr. Paulson and Mr. Geithner made it clear to the company, its potential suitors and to the meeting participants on Friday that the government has no plans to put taxpayer money on the line. The government is deeply worried that its actions have created a moral hazard and the Federal Reserve does not want to reach deeper into its coffers. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Fed officials, for example, are now embedded at each of the big Wall Street investment banks and have at least some capacity gauge the firms’ exposure to hedge funds and other big players, as well as their positions in financial derivatives and other opaque markets.
. "This situation, particularly early on, with people inside the train, with the injuries, and with people moaning and crying and screaming, it was a traumatic experience." He said it is up to local dispatchers. It is common in California for freight and commuter trains to use one track. Metrolink said the train's engineer, whom it did not identify, died in the crash. We don't know what condition they're in. Two other passenger cars remained upright. Hours after the crash Friday afternoon, Los Angeles City Fire Capt. There was no word on the fate of the Union Pacific crew. Between Chatsworth and Simi Valley there is only one set of tracks because of narrow tunnels that trains use to go through the Santa Susana Pass. Victims identified Authorities released the names of 20 of the victims Saturday. "He told me they were going 40 mph and came to a dead stop," Dinger said. Investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board will examine many possibilities, but the most immediate questions are these: Did a warning signal malfunction? Injured passengers, some of them in critical condition, were taken to several nearby hospitals, including Providence Holy Cross Medical Center, Huntington Hospital, Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center, UCLA Medical Center and Northridge Hospital Medical Center. Steve Ruda said his firefighters had never seen such carnage. That total includes three killed in a Placentia crash in 2002 and 11 in a Glendale accident in 2005 that at the time was the deadliest in Metrolink history. Authorities later announced that the effort to recover bodies from the Metrolink train's crushed front car had ended, with the death toll at 24.
A commuter train engineer who ran a stop signal was blamed Saturday for the nation's deadliest rail disaster in 15 years, a wreck that killed 25 people and left such a mass of smoldering, twisted metal that it took nearly a day to recover all the bodies. A preliminary investigation found that "it was a Metrolink engineer that failed to stop at a red signal and that was the probable cause" of Friday's collision with a freight train in Los Angeles' San Fernando Valley, Metrolink spokeswoman Denise Tyrrell said. She said she believes the engineer, whose name was not released, is dead. "When two trains are in the same place at the same time somebody's made a terrible mistake," said Tyrrell, who was shaking and near tears as she spoke with reporters. Authorities later announced that the effort to recover bodies from the Metrolink train's crushed front car had ended, with the death toll at 24. It rose to 25 when a 50-year-old man transported to a hospital from the wreck died. "It was a very, very difficult operation," Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa said of the search for bodies. "It was like peeling an onion to find all the victims there." 'Like an accordion' A total of 135 people were injured, with 81 transported to hospitals in serious or critical condition. There was no overall condition update available Saturday, but a telephone survey of five hospitals found nine of 34 patients still critical. Many were described as having crush injuries. Firefighter Searcy Jackson III, a 20-year veteran and one of the first to pull bodies from the wreckage, said he had never seen such devastation. The 50-year-old said his team pulled one living passenger from the train and cut the mangled metal to remove about a half-dozen bodies. "The metal was pushed together like an accordion," Jackson said. "There are some things we are trained for, there are some things I don't care what kind of training you have, you don't always prepare for," fire Capt. "This situation, particularly early on, with people inside the train, with the injuries, and with people moaning and crying and screaming, it was a traumatic experience." The collision occurred on a horseshoe-shaped section of track in Chatsworth at the west end of the San Fernando Valley, near a 500-foot-long tunnel underneath Stoney Point Park. There is a siding at one end of the tunnel where one train can wait for another to pass. "What we believe happened, barring any new information from the NTSB, is we believe that our engineer failed to stop ... and that was the cause of the accident. "We don't know how the error happened," she said, adding that Metrolink determined the cause by reviewing dispatch records and computers. National Transportation Safety Board member Kitty Higgins said her agency, which is leading the probe, is waiting to complete its investigation before making any statements about the cause of the accident. It hopes to complete its final report within a year. Higgins said rescue crews on Saturday recovered two data recorders from the Metrolink train and one data recorder and one video recorder from the freight train. The video has pictures from forward-looking cameras and the data recorders have information on speed, braking patterns and whether the horn was used. The Metrolink train, heading from Union Station in downtown Los Angeles to Ventura County, was carrying 220 passengers, one engineer and one conductor when it collided with the Union Pacific freight, with a crew of three, about 4:30 p.m. Friday. The crash forced the Metrolink engine well back into the first passenger car, and both toppled over. "It's the worst feeling in the world because you know what you're going to find," said fire Capt. Alex Arriola, who had crawled into the bottom of the smashed passenger car. "You have to put aside the fact that it's someone's husband, daughter or friend." Police set up what they called a unification center at a local high school to try to connect worried people with information about friends or relatives who they believed were aboard the train. Families of eight of the dead had been notified and two women who were pronounced dead at hospitals were unidentified, coroner's Assistant Chief Ed Winter said. They include Los Angeles police Officer Spree Desha, 35, of Simi Valley, who was riding the train home. "She was just the sweetest, kindest, always-trying-to-help-everyone person you would ever meet," Gonzalez said of the 18-year-old, who had just started her first semester at the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising in downtown Los Angeles. Tom Dinger, a retired Amtrak engineer, said the common practice is for northbound passenger trains to effectively pull over onto a side track at the Chatsworth station until southbound freight trains have passed. As investigators sift through the wreckage of Metrolink 111 and the Union Pacific freight train it collided with Friday afternoon, they will look for clues that will help explain the failure of safety systems developed for decades to avert exactly this sort of disaster. Dinger said locomotive operators go no faster than 40 mph around the curve where Friday's crash took place.
"Do whatever you can. My world has changed," Singh said, crying inconsolably. REUTERS/N.Ananthanarayanan Police inspect the site of a bomb blast in New Delhi September 13, 2008. "There were about 100-200 people around this place." The Indian Mujahideen e-mail mentioned nine bombs. The same group has claimed responsibility for two other recent bombing attacks. Others exploded within minutes of each other in busy markets around the city. India has blamed Islamist militant groups for these previous bombings. An eyewitness told CNN that one of the bombs at Connaught Place was hidden near a public trash can at the market. While it is too early to say exactly what caused Saturday's blasts in Delhi, they appear similar to the earlier attacks. BOMB ATTACKS IN INDIA IN 2008 13 September: Five bomb blasts kill 18 in Delhi 26 July: At least 22 small bombs kill 49 in Ahmedabad 25 July: Seven bombs go off in Bangalore killing two people 13 May: Seven bomb hit markets and crowded streets in Jaipur killing 63 Police believe that at least three other devices were planted at busy markets in the Karol Bagh area, on the Barakhamba Road and in the Greater Kailash area. Chanchal Kumar helped carry several casualties to ambulances after witnessing one of the explosions, outside a metro station. Don't Miss Bhagat refused comment about who might have carried out the attack. Television pictures show scenes of chaos at the blast scenes. "We have news of 20 people killed, and the toll could rise as many people are seriously injured," Delhi police commissioner Y.S. (Writing by Simon Denyer; Editing by Caroline Drees)
Advertisement Five bombs have ripped through busy shopping areas of India's capital, Delhi, within minutes of each other, killing at least 20 people, police say. The explosions, which also injured about 90 people, are not thought to have been very powerful but happened in crowded areas. Four unexploded bombs were also found and defused, police said. More than 400 people have died since October 2005 in bomb attacks on Indian cities such as Ahmedabad and Bangalore. India has blamed Islamist militant groups for these previous bombings. They want to break the spirit of Delhi Arti Mehra, Mayor of Delhi In pictures: Delhi blasts CNN-IBN, a local TV news channel, said it had received an e-mail before the blasts from a group calling itself the "Indian Mujahideen". "Do whatever you can. Stop us if you can," the e-mail reportedly said. The Indian government has put the security agencies on high alert. Chaotic scenes Two bombs are believed to have been planted in dustbins metres away from each other in the central shopping district of Connaught Place. BOMB ATTACKS IN INDIA IN 2008 13 September: Five bomb blasts kill 18 in Delhi 26 July: At least 22 small bombs kill 49 in Ahmedabad 25 July: Seven bombs go off in Bangalore killing two people 13 May: Seven bomb hit markets and crowded streets in Jaipur killing 63 Police believe that at least three other devices were planted at busy markets in the Karol Bagh area, on the Barakhamba Road and in the Greater Kailash area. Chanchal Kumar helped carry several casualties to ambulances after witnessing one of the explosions, outside a metro station. "Around 1830 we heard a very loud noise, then we saw people running all over the place," Reuters news agency quoted him as saying. "There were about 100-200 people around this place." "I was stepping out for a cup of tea when everything turned black in front of me," he was quoted as saying by AFP news agency. "Then everyone started running." Television pictures show scenes of chaos at the blast scenes. 'Enemies of humanity' The Mayor of Delhi, Arti Mehra, said the city would not be intimidated by the "cowardly" attacks. "They want to break the spirit of Delhi," he told reporters. Pakistan's new President, Asif Ali Zardari, "strongly condemned" the bomb attacks, expressing "shock and grief over the loss of precious human lives". After bombings in Jaipur and Bangalore, a group calling itself the Indian Mujahideen also claimed responsibility. While it is too early to say exactly what caused Saturday's blasts in Delhi, they appear similar to the earlier attacks. The earlier attacks involved multiple small devices hidden in small boxes or bags and aimed at soft targets such as crowded markets, analysts say. The devices contained shrapnel such as nuts, bolt and ball bearings while the explosives used were improvised. E-mail this to a friend Printable version Bookmark with: Delicious Digg reddit Facebook StumbleUpon What are these? NEW DELHI, India (CNN) -- The death toll in a string of explosions that ripped through busy marketplaces in New Delhi has risen to 20, police said Sunday. The number of people wounded in the Saturday blasts also went up to 98, said New Delhi police spokesman Rajan Bhagat. Bhagat said police have not made any arrests in the attack, for which the Muslim militant group Indian Mujahedeen took responsibility. Five minutes before the first blast, CNN-IBN -- CNN's sister network in India -- received an E-mail from the group warning of an impending strike. Two other bombs found near a movie theater and near central park in the Connaught Place area were defused, he said. He said the force of the blast blew a small vehicle from one side of the street to the other. India's Home Minister Shri Shivraj Patil blamed the attack on "anti-national elements" who he said "have been trying to disturb peace and create panic among the people in various parts of the country." "I am confident that security agencies will soon be able to get to the bottom of these incidents and the culprits will be brought to book." Indian Mujahedeen claimed responsibility for 17 blasts that struck the western Indian city of Ahmedabad on July 26, killing 49 and wounding more than 100 others. Indian Mujahedeen also claimed responsibility in May for near-simultaneous bomb attacks that killed 63 people in the northwest city of Jaipur. In the Jaipur claim, the group declared "open war" against India in retaliation for what it said were 60 years of Muslim persecution and the country's support of United States policies CNN's Saeed Ahmed contributed to this report All About India At least five bombs exploded in the heart of India's capital New Delhi on Saturday, killing at least three people and injuring more than 20 others, local television said.
. At least 21 non-Russians were on board, including passport-holders from Azerbaijan, Germany, France, Italy, Switzerland and Ukraine, said Lev Koshlyakov, Aeroflot's deputy director general. "It looked like fireworks." But Russian officials investigating the crash said a faulty engine had forced the plane to crash. A video grab shows the wreckage of a Russian airliner near the Siberian city of Perm, September 14, 2008. It crashed, killing all 75 people on board. Airline safety in Russia and the former Soviet Union is among the worst in the world. But Aeroflot is considered one of the safer airlines in the region. Investigators have recovered two black box recorders from the crash site. CONTACT LOST Contact with the airliner was lost when it was at an altitude of 1,100 metres (3,600 ft) while descending to land, said an Aeroflot spokeswoman. Twenty-one foreign passengers were on board the Aeroflot Nord flight. It is the second crash in the region involving a Boeing 737 in less than a month. Part of the Trans-Siberian railway was shut down as a result of damage to the main east-west train track and the blaze took two hours to extinguish. Has a war begun or what?' "We have no information that the aircraft exploded in mid-air," Interfax news agency quoted Russia's transport minister Igor Levitin as saying. The exact cause of the pre-dawn crash is under investigation, but government spokesman Vladimir Markin said "a technical breakdown" was a likely cause. Television showed fire fighters walking around the smouldering remains. She said: "My daughter ran in from the next room crying: 'What happened?
MOSCOW, Russia (CNN) -- A passenger jet caught fire early Sunday, exploded and crashed into railway tracks in the central Russian city of Perm, killing all 88 people on board. Wreckage from the Aeroflot-Nord Boeing 737, which crashed near Perm, lies across a railway track. The exact cause of the pre-dawn crash is under investigation, but government spokesman Vladimir Markin said "a technical breakdown" was a likely cause. Markin said in televised remarks that the failure of one of the Boeing 737-500's two engines may have caused the plane to come down, The Associated Press reported. "We think it's very doubtful that it was the result of a terrorist attack, because at the scene, there were no traces of explosives as we know for now," said Lev Koshlyakov, Deputy Director General of Aeroflot. It took firefighters more than two hours to extinguish the blazing wreckage. When the sun rose, pieces of the Aeroflot jet were strewn about the railroad tracks. "It slammed in front of my house, and there was a huge flame," an unidentified woman in Perm told Russian state television. She said the impact of the crash "threw me across my sheets.... Then my daughter ran in from the next room and asked if a war had started." Don't Miss Kyrgyzstan plane crash kills 65 She and other witnesses said they saw the aircraft burning before it came crashing down. The jet was en route to Perm from Moscow when the pilots lost communication with air traffic control just before landing about 3:10 a.m. (2110 GMT), an Aeroflot official said. He described the weather at the time as "mediocre." The public safety minister for the Perm region said investigators were combing a 2.5-mile (4-kilometer) area, including homes and railways. Watch more about the crash » "Right now, it's apparent that there was a fire on the plane at one kilometer in the air," Yuri Orlov said. "After that, all contact was cut off -- the plane exploded." The flight data recorder has been recovered and will be analyzed by the International Aviation Commission, Russian Transport Minister Igor Levitin said. The plane carried 82 passengers, including seven children, and a crew of six. At least 21 non-Russians were on board, including passport-holders from Azerbaijan, Germany, France, Italy, Switzerland and Ukraine, said Lev Koshlyakov, Aeroflot's deputy director general. The U.S. Embassy confirmed that no Americans were on board the flight, even though one passenger was listed as a U.S. citizen. It is the second crash in the region involving a Boeing 737 in less than a month. An Iran-bound Boeing 737 with 90 people on board crashed on August 24 just outside the airport in Kyrgyzstan's capital, Bishkek, killing 68. The 737 is a workhorse of the airline industry, with thousands of planes in service. "We conduct audits and inspections of all the affiliate companies we work with in the realm of their effectiveness, safety and reliability of the airplanes." Aviation experts say poor maintenance, inadequate pilot training and weak government controls are major factors. Sunday's crash is the first fatal accident for the airline since 1994, when a Russian pilot handed control of an Airbus to his 15-year-old son. Russia's government has now ordered an inquiry into the latest incident, to find out how another routine flight could have ended in tragedy. REUTERS/RU-24 via Reuters TV A video grab shows firefighters working near the wreckage of a Russian airliner near the Siberian city of Perm, September 14, 2008. REUTERS/RU-24 via Reuters TV A part of the undercarriage of an Aeroflot airliner is seen at the site where the plane crashed outside the Ural city of Perm September 14, 2008. REUTERS/Alexei Zhuravlev/KP-Perm PERM, Russia Engine failure caused an Aeroflot Boeing 737-500 plane crash in Russia on Sunday which killed all 88 people on board, officials said, dismissing fears terrorists had attacked the airliner. The dead included 21 foreign nationals flying on the plane from Moscow to Perm in the Urals when it plunged into scrubland and railway on the edge of the city, narrowly missing houses. Russian news agencies and television quoted eyewitnesses who said they saw an explosion before the plane fell to earth and wreckage was spread over a wide area fuelling speculation of a terrorist attack. But Russian officials investigating the crash said a faulty engine had forced the plane to crash. "We have no information that the aircraft exploded in mid-air," Interfax news agency quoted Russia's transport minister Igor Levitin as saying. Alexander Bastrykin from the Russian Prosecutor-General's office investigating the crash blamed it on a technical fault, according to RIA Novosti news agency. One of the only recognisable pieces of the aircraft was a white fuselage panel showing the logo of Aeroflot, Russia's national carrier.
"There is no evidence for a creator, and creationism explains nothing. Should creationism be taught in science lessons? 'Michael Reiss's views are completely in keeping with those of the Royal Society,' he said. It is based on religious beliefs and any discussion should be in religious studies." Professor Reiss estimated yesterday that perhaps 10 per cent of the public believe in creationism, but this may be a severe underestimate: according to a 2006 Mori poll, 39 per cent of people believe in either creationism or intelligent design – and more than 40 per cent believe they should be taught in schools. But it is very hard to make the case for creationism as a legitimate scientific theory. Why is teaching creationism controversial? Yes... * If science education ignores creationism, those who believe in it will ignore science * It may strengthen the case for evolution to explain why creationism is not scientific * A belief held by large numbers of people should not be dismissed out of hand No... * Presenting creationism alongside evolution gives it a false scientific credibility * No one says evolution should feature in RE classes: why should this be any different? They believe the world is 13-14 billion years old. While not as high as in America, more children are brought up in evangelical Christian and in Muslim households than in the past. They (the creationists) don't have a problem with science, they have a problem with argument. Two Nobel prize winners - Sir Harry Kroto and Sir Richard Roberts - have demanded that the Royal Society sack its education director, Professor Michael Reiss.
Creationism should be included in science lessons to reduce the confusion among the rising numbers of schoolchildren who have been brought up to reject the principles of evolution, one of the country's leading scientists said yesterday. Citing evidence that more than one in 10 children in British state schools now believes in creationism, Professor Michael Reiss, the director of education at the Royal Society, called for such beliefs to be discussed and debated in class by science teachers, but not taught as a subject. The professor, who is also an ordained Church of England clergyman, said the move would help pupils understand that such literal beliefs in religious scripture are not supported by scientific evidence. The Qualifications and Curriculum Authority, the body responsible for the national curriculum, has ruled that discussion of creationism should be omitted from the science curriculum because creationism is "not a scientific theory". But at the British Association's science festival at Liverpool University, Professor Reiss said it was necessary for this to change. "I'm trying to make it less likely that students will ignore science, that they will detach from it, because it makes them feel that they cannot continue with science because it conflicts with their beliefs... But I feel if a science teacher feels comfortable with it then it could reduce confusion." Surveys show that more than 10 per cent of children believe that the Earth is only a few thousand years old rather than the four billion years or so accepted by science. An even greater proportion of schoolchildren does not believe that humans and all other species of life on earth evolved from common ancestors as a result of Darwinian natural selection, he said. While not as high as in America, more children are brought up in evangelical Christian and in Muslim households than in the past. "We have an increasing number of children in schools from Muslim backgrounds and a very high proportion of Muslim families have creationist beliefs," Professor Reiss said. "Secondly, while Christianity as a religion is becoming less important in British society, within Christianity there is quite a high proportion of families that do hold fundamentalist beliefs, and that often means they are creationists." "A better way forward is to say, look, I simply want to present you with the scientific understanding of the history of the universe and how animals and plants and other organisms have evolved." Martin Johnson, the deputy general secretary of the Association of Teachers and Lecturers, said: "Our feeling is that our members would need some convincing that creationism should be taught in science lessons – unless it is just as a theory whose validity can be debated." And a recent documentary found that there are a number of schools where creationist ideas are taught as an alternative to the mainstream evolutionary point of view. Proponents of evolution believe species change by a process of random genetic mutations. Creationists, in contrast, believe that the Earth is less than 10,000 years old, and that its existence is the result of one of the processes described in religious texts like the Bible. A related theory, intelligent design – sometimes described as "creationism in a cheap tuxedo" – attempts to strip the religious element out of the formal theory, instead referring to an unknown intelligent force at the beginning of the universe. Creationist beliefs, he argues, are much more likely to be part of a complex set of related cultural ideas than a simple misconception; a 50-minute science lesson that ignores them is more likely to alienate a student than suddenly endow him with a new worldview. Instead, according to Reiss, the best a science teacher can hope for is to lay out the evidence for evolution, and at least make sure that they see that the word "theory" does not simply mean a hypothesis about the way things might work, but a rigorously supported system of ideas that fit with the available evidence. "While it is unlikely that this will help students who have a conflict between science and their religious beliefs to resolve the conflict," he concludes, "good science teaching can help students to manage it – and to learn more science." According to a More 4 report earlier this year, there are at least 40 schools in Britain that teach creationism in science lessons. In 2002, Tony Blair said that he was relaxed about the Emmanuel Schools position, saying that "it would be unfortunate" if the issue stood in the way of "getting as diverse a school system as we properly can". It says that creationism and intelligent design should not be taught as part of the national curriculum; but, crucially, it adds that "there is a real difference between teaching 'x' and teaching about 'x'", and argues that questions about creationism "could provide the opportunity to explain why they are not scientific theories". Professor Reiss estimated yesterday that perhaps 10 per cent of the public believe in creationism, but this may be a severe underestimate: according to a 2006 Mori poll, 39 per cent of people believe in either creationism or intelligent design – and more than 40 per cent believe they should be taught in schools. Our 39 per cent of people being adherents to creationism may sound high, but it is considerably lower than the United States, where surveys say that 66 per cent of people believed that the world was less than 10,000 years old – and even 16 per cent of biology teachers are creationists. America's culture war makes it particularly fertile ground for evangelical Christians, whose catchphrase – infuriating to a unanimous scientific community – is "Teach the Controversy". Elsewhere, the Council of Europe recently declared that member governments should "firmly oppose" the teaching of creationism in science classes, denouncing it as a potential threat to human rights.
Then the rouble was devalued, the country defaulted on its debts, and many banks failed. As Russia's stock market went into... President Dmitry Medvedev said supporting the financial system was the government's "most important priority". Moscow markets have collapsed since highs in May Moscow's stock markets are to remain closed until Friday, as the government tries to stem a plunge in share prices and restore confidence in the economy. It pledged to lend a further 60 billion rubles ($2.36 billion) to the country’s three largest banks — Sberbank, VTB and Gazprombank — in an attempt to filter money down to smaller lenders, who have less ability to access funding. Facing a liquidity squeeze, central bank officials on Thursday cut the reserves banks were allowed to hold, forcing them to release billions of roubles. Since Russia’s invasion of Georgia last month, the ruble has lost nearly 5 percent against the U.S. dollar. Markets around the world have dived this week as several big banking names have gone under due to the effects of the credit crunch. “You know a guy called Putin? “If they simply buy shares in order to dispose of them at a later time ... that would make a lot of sense. But complacency may not last if the rot spreads, particularly to the overheated real estate sector. He said that everything is okay, everything is under control, the situation is being dealt with effectively and no one should panic,” said Digomer, watching over a mall that teems with shoppers late into the night. Investors flee Financial regulators halted trading on Wednesday after stocks fell to the lowest level in nearly three years.
The Kremlin is in crisis mode, pledging a $20 billion boost Thursday to shore up Russia’s battered markets as it seeks to ward off a financial crash and restore confidence in its fragile banking sector. For a second day, stock markets remained closed after a dizzying plunge in share prices, triggered by a wave of panic selling and margin calls. MICEX, where most trading takes place, fell 25 percent in three days this week and has lost 56 percent since its May peak. The government, which sits on the world’s third-largest financial reserves, has clutched for breathing space by simply halting trading as it debates a raft of measures designed to bring relief to the markets and the banking system — suffering from a lack of liquidity, or ready cash to operate with. It pledged to lend a further 60 billion rubles ($2.36 billion) to the country’s three largest banks — Sberbank, VTB and Gazprombank — in an attempt to filter money down to smaller lenders, who have less ability to access funding. Yet, amid the turmoil on Wall Street and world financial markets, the problem is not just lack of cash but lack of trust. He ordered his government to consider putting up to 500 billion rubles ($20 billion) into the country’s financial markets, a move that provided an immediate boost to Russian shares trading as American Depositary Receipts, or ADRs, in London. Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin said the government would use the money to buy securities on the stock market if shares remain undervalued for an extended period, the RIA-Novosti news agency reported. The Central Bank said last week it spent a net $5.3 billion from its foreign currency reserves in the first 10 days of September to prop up the ruble — which has plunged as capital is whisked out of the country. Since Russia’s invasion of Georgia last month, the ruble has lost nearly 5 percent against the U.S. dollar. Most Russians have come to see Vladimir Putin, now prime minister after eight years as president, as a powerful protector of Russian interests at home and abroad. Russia — which saw its economy grow by a robust 8.1 percent last year — could face knock-on effects from a lending freeze if it chokes off credit to businesses. The government’s efforts to boost bank liquidity — which include slashing the reserve requirements for banks by 4 percent and cuts on oil export duties — come as it seeks to fend off comparisons to the financial collapse of 1998, which saw the ruble devalued, default on the country’s sovereign debt and widespread bank failures. Still, Russia’s situation is markedly different now — the government has huge cash reserves and virtually no debt, plus deposit insurance to discourage people from pulling their money from banks out of fear. MOSCOW -- With stock markets closed for a second day and fears of an economic slowdown growing, President Dmitry Medvedev unveiled an expanded $120 billion rescue package for Russia's financial system. The emergency moves represent a humbling turnabout for the Kremlin, which had until recently insisted Russia's strong economy and ample reserves would protect it from global financial turmoil. Moscow markets have collapsed since highs in May Moscow's stock markets are to remain closed until Friday, as the government tries to stem a plunge in share prices and restore confidence in the economy.
These people are not Muslims," he said. "Pakistan is a frontline country in the war on terror. Last year a suicide bomber killed himself and one other in an attack at the hotel. Advertisement A massive bomb blast has hit the Marriott Hotel in Pakistan's capital, Islamabad, killing at least 40 people. Your comments may be published on any BBC media worldwide. Are you in the area? US President George W Bush condemned the attack and pledged assistance. Heavy security A huge area of the 315-room hotel remained on fire hours after the explosion. The Czech Embassy would not confirm the report to CNN Sunday. Please turn on JavaScript. Pakistani Interior Minister Rehman Malik said authorities received a threat two days ago. Militants have also carried out waves of attacks in Pakistan in recent years. Terms & Conditions Bookmark with: Delicious Digg reddit Facebook StumbleUpon What are these? President Asif Ali Zardari condemned the attack and vowed to "continue to fight terrorism and extremism". You can send your pictures and videos to yourpics@bbc.co.uk or text them to +44 7725 100 100. E-mail this to a friend Printable version Located near the diplomatic section of the city and heavily guarded by police and military, the facility is popular among tourists and had been packed Saturday night. Details and the number of fatalities are still unclear because of conflicting initial reports. The blast created a 20ft (6m) deep crater, and destroyed the entire front section of the hotel. It attributed its information to officials at the Czech foreign ministry. Many of the diners would have been breaking their daytime Ramadan fast.
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (CNN) -- A suicide truck bombing destroyed the packed Marriott Hotel in the city of Islamabad, Pakistan, on Saturday night. more photos » The attack, which occurred near the Parliament building and the prime minister's home, killed at least 40 people and wounded another 200, police said. People were still trapped in the hotel, which burst into flames after the explosion caused a natural gas pipe leak, officials said. The fire was still burning at 2 a.m., six hours after the blast, according to The Associated Press. Rescuers worked to move bloodied bodies from the hotel but were forced to stop out of fear that the structure could collapse. Watch a witness describe walking over bodies » The gas leak set the top floor of the five-story, 258-room hotel on fire, police said, and the blaze quickly engulfed the entire structure. Mohammed Ali, an emergency service official, told the AP that rescue workers made an initial chaotic search for survivors, but rescuers could make only two trips. Ali said that during the short forays into the hotel, they had found neither bodies nor survivors and had to retreat quickly. "The fire has eaten the entire building," he told the AP. See where the attack occurred » Police said the vehicle bomb went off about 7:30 p.m., after the breaking of the fast during the holy month of Ramadan. The explosion left a path of destruction -- felled trees and shattered windows -- for miles. Watch the scene at the site of the blast » Video showed a deep crater in the pavement where, presumably, the bomb detonated. More than a dozen cars were reduced to twisted steel. CNN's Reza Sayah was inside a building more than two miles from the hotel when he felt the blast. GEO TV's Hamid Mir, who was at the site, said he saw at least 52 bodies. Mir said most of the fatalities appeared to be drivers who were waiting with their cars outside the Marriott Hotel and hotel staff, most of them being security guards. An Interior Ministry spokeswoman said 257 people had been taken to hospitals and 28 confirmed dead, but government spokesman Fahatullah Babar put the death toll at "about 40." A spokesman for the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences, Dr. Wasim Khawaja, said it had received 25 bodies and 106 people who were hurt, 30 of whom were severely injured. Watch bombing victims rushed into hospital » Mir said someone saw the hotel gates rammed open by a small car, followed by an explosive-laden truck, which detonated. Babar said initial reports said only a small truck laden with explosives broke through the gate. However, the hotel manager said the blast went off outside the gates of the hotel, which is near the compound that contains the parliament building, the prime minister's house, the Supreme Court and the presidency. "They were able to come right up to the hotel, close to the seat of power," Mir said. "Then, there was a flash of light, the truck caught fire and then exploded with an enormous bang," he said. Newly elected President Asif Ali Zardari had addressed a joint session of Parliament and promised to root out terrorism just hours earlier. A few hours after the attack, he addressed the nation on television, saying he also knows the pain of terrorism because his wife, former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, was killed in December as she was campaigning for the post. Located near the diplomatic section of the city and heavily guarded by police and military, the facility is popular among tourists and had been packed Saturday night. "Today's attack demonstrates the grave and urgent threat that al Qaeda and its affiliates pose to the United States, to Pakistan and to the security of all nations," Democratic nominee Sen. Barack Obama said. GOP candidate Sen. John McCain called the attack "an outrageous act of violence."
Of these, 104 have serious symptoms, and 1,579 have been cured and discharged, the agency said. "Following press reports in Hong Kong earlier today claiming that traces of melamine had been found in a Nestle growing up milk, Nestle is confident that none of its products in China is made from milk adulterated with melamine," the company said. China's Health Ministry announced Sunday that 12,892 infants and young children have been sickened by tainted milk powder -- more than double the number previously reported -- according to state-run Xinhua news agency. All About China • Food Safety • Product Recalls • Hong Kong The child in Hong Kong was diagnosed with a kidney stone at Princess Margaret Hospital, the government reported, citing a hospital statement. It has shown up in testing done on milk and yogurt, prompting at least two supermarket chains in Hong Kong to pull dairy products by Mengniu and Yili from store shelves, representatives from the companies told CNN Friday. Early Saturday, Beijing... "The level of melamine detected in the Nestle sample was 1.4 ppm (parts per million), which the center believed is low. The chemical, a byproduct of plastic manufacturing, can be used to mimic high-protein additives. Previously, Chinese officials said more than 6,200 children had been sickened by melamine found in baby formula. Watch CNN visit the company at the center of the scandal » The latest statistics from mainland China come after Hong Kong reported late Saturday that a 3-year-old girl has been sickened by a suspected melamine-tainted milk product -- the first known illness outside of mainland China. The Telegraph also said the Dutch firm Friesland Foods, which sells Chinese-supplied milk in Asia under the Dutch Lady label, has recalled its products after a milkshake tested positive for melamine.
HONG KONG, Sept. 21 (UPI) -- The Chinese tainted milk scandal spread to Hong Kong Sunday, with officials saying a 3-year-old girl had been hospitalized with a kidney stone. Citing unnamed sources, The Daily Telegraph reported Sunday that Hong Kong's Princess Margaret Hospital was treating a girl who regularly drank milk supplied by Yili, one of China's two biggest dairy companies. The British newspaper said Hong Kong officials yanked all Yili products off the shelves last week after some were found to contain the banned additive melamine, sometimes used by farmers and wholesalers to disguise substandard and watered down milk. The Telegraph also said the Dutch firm Friesland Foods, which sells Chinese-supplied milk in Asia under the Dutch Lady label, has recalled its products after a milkshake tested positive for melamine. BEIJING -- Milk came off the shelves in supermarkets, schools and Starbucks outlets across China -- and in markets in Hong Kong and Singapore -- as the scandal that began with poisoned baby formula spread in earnest to milk and other products from some of the country's biggest, most venerable dairy brands. A person close to the situation said China's government is considering a recall of all locally produced dairy goods and could force all companies to reapply for permission to sell their products. BEIJING, China (CNN) -- The number of children sickened by suspected melamine-tainted milk products in China has more than doubled and apparently spread beyond mainland China -- raising fears that the impact of the tainted products could be more widespread that initially thought. China's Health Ministry announced Sunday that 12,892 infants and young children have been sickened by tainted milk powder -- more than double the number previously reported -- according to state-run Xinhua news agency. Previously, Chinese officials said more than 6,200 children had been sickened by melamine found in baby formula. In addition, nearly 40,000 other infants and young children have received outpatient medical treatment and consultation as a result of the tainted milk, Xinhua reported on Sunday. Watch CNN visit the company at the center of the scandal » The latest statistics from mainland China come after Hong Kong reported late Saturday that a 3-year-old girl has been sickened by a suspected melamine-tainted milk product -- the first known illness outside of mainland China. The child in Hong Kong was diagnosed with a kidney stone at Princess Margaret Hospital, the government reported, citing a hospital statement. Although tests are still ongoing, her illness is suspected to be linked to consuming milk products containing melamine, the hospital statement said. In a news release on its Web site, Nestle did not address the report regarding its Dairy Farm Pure Milk, but it disputed press reports that -- according to Nestle -- said melamine was found in its powdered toddler milk formula, NESLAC Gold 1+, designed for children ages 1 to 3. "Following press reports in Hong Kong earlier today claiming that traces of melamine had been found in a Nestle growing up milk, Nestle is confident that none of its products in China is made from milk adulterated with melamine," the company said. "In fact, the Chinese authorities have issued official certificates for all tested Nestle products stating that no melamine has been detected in any of them." Nestle noted that "melamine is found throughout the food chain across the world in minute traces which do not represent any health risk for consumers."
There was no official confirmation. - Reuters Topics: terrorism, pakistan, united-states Pakistani troops fire on intruding US choppers Posted Pakistani troops have fired on two US helicopters that intruded into Pakistani airspace, forcing them to turn back to Afghanistan, a senior Pakistani security official has said. "The helicopters were heading towards our border. The helicopters flew into the tribal North Waziristan region from Afghanistan's Khost province at around midnight, the reports say. It emerged earlier this month that US President George W Bush has in recent months authorised military raids against militants inside Pakistan without prior approval from Islamabad. We retaliated again, firing in the air and not in their direction, from both the army position and the FC position, and they went back." Relations between the two allies became frayed earlier this month after U.S. commandos raided a border village in South Waziristan and killed 20 people, including women and children, on Sept. 3. Our correspondent says standard procedure would be to first fire warning shots. Tensions have risen after an increase in US attacks targeting militants. "We don't have any information on border violation by the American helicopters," Major Murad Khan, a military spokesman, said. Pakistanis were outraged by the incursion and the six-month-old civilian government issued a diplomatic protest. 'Crisis in relations' The two countries held talks last week on anti-militant co-ordination. The helicopters violated the border in the area of Lowara Mandi, west of Miranshah, the main town in the North Waziristan tribal region, around 9 pm on Sunday (local time), the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the subject.
Tensions show no sign of abating in the border area Pakistani troops have fired warning shots at two US helicopters forcing them back into Afghanistan, local Pakistani intelligence officials say. The helicopters flew into the tribal North Waziristan region from Afghanistan's Khost province at around midnight, the reports say. The incident comes amid mounting security fears after a militant bomb attack on the Islamabad Marriott hotel. Pakistan's army has said it will defend the country's sovereignty and reserves the right to retaliate to any border violations. The government has said it will take targeted action against the militants, promising raids in some "hotspots" near the border with Afghanistan. Meanwhile in the city of Peshawar, Afghan consul Abdul Khaliq Farahi was kidnapped after six unidentified men ambushed his car, officials say. His driver died in the attack. 'Firing in the air' Last week Pakistani troops fired into the air to prevent US ground troops crossing the border into South Waziristan. BORDER TENSIONS 3 Sept: First reported ground assault by US troops in Pakistan - Islamabad responds furiously 15 Sept: Pakistani troops reportedly fire in air to stop US troops crossing in S Waziristan 17 Sept: Top US military chief Adm Mike Mullen visits Pakistan to calm tensions 16 Sept: Pakistan says it was not told of fresh US missile strike 22 Sept: Pakistani troops in fresh firing to deter US incursion into N Waziristan, officials say Confusion over Marriott 'escape' 'We are all in pain and agony' The latest confrontation between US and Pakistani forces took place in North Waziristan's sparsely populated Ghulam Khan district, west of the main town in the region, Miranshah, local officials say. They told the BBC that troops at border posts in the mountainous region fired at two US helicopters which crossed into Pakistani territory. A senior security official based in Islamabad told the AFP news agency that the helicopters had been repelled by both army troops and soldiers from the paramilitary Frontier Corps (FC). A Pakistani military spokesman, Maj Murad Khan, said he had no information "on border violation by the American helicopters". The BBC's Barbara Plett in Islamabad says after increased American incursions this month, the army stressed that it reserved the right to retaliate. Our correspondent says standard procedure would be to first fire warning shots. The helicopters violated the border in the area of Lowara Mandi, west of Miranshah, the main town in the North Waziristan tribal region, around 9 pm on Sunday (local time), the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the subject. Relations became strained between the allies in the war on terrorism after US commandos raided a border village in South Waziristan and killed 20 people, including women and children, on September 3. Relations between the two allies became frayed earlier this month after U.S. commandos raided a border village in South Waziristan and killed 20 people, including women and children, on Sept. 3.
Of course, we will cooperate with the FBI." Two officials with knowledge of the FBI investigation into the mortgage crisis said "the investigation is all very preliminary". Bail-out Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae and AIG are all being bailed out by the US government. The sources said the probes of Fannie (FNM, Fortune 500), Freddie (FRE, Fortune 500), Lehman (LEH, Fortune 500) and AIG (AIG, Fortune 500) are believed to be in the early stages. Then the bubble popped, and lenders - as well as mortgages - took the hit. The investigations come as Congress considers a $700bn bailout package for the financial industry. Senior executives at the companies are also believed to be in the FBI's sights, while the securities and exchange commission is also reportedly assessing possible civil fraud claims against the four firms. "Don't expect indictments tomorrow or next week or next month," one of the officials told CNN. This prompted the credit crunch as bad debts were bundled together with higher quality assets and sold on by banks. Last week, mortgage insurer AIG narrowly avoided bankruptcy when the federal government took 80% of its equity in exchange for an $85 billion loan from the Federal Reserve while Lehman filed the largest bankruptcy in American history. In June, two Bear Stearns executives were arrested over charges that they misled investors as the subprime market began to disintegrate. Other bank failures and takeovers have led to the Bush administration's current proposal to spend $700 billion to shore up the financial markets. "Where we find evidence of criminal wrongdoing, we will prosecute."
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The FBI is investigating Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, Lehman Brothers and AIG - and their executives - as part of a broad look into possible mortgage fraud, sources with knowledge of the investigation told CNN Tuesday. Two officials with knowledge of the FBI investigation into the mortgage crisis said "the investigation is all very preliminary". They said the investigation is in the preliminary stages, and so far it is a broad look at the companies involved. "From what I've seen so far, I really don't believe we're going to find widespread fraud," according to one of the officials. Just because an investigation has been opened doesn't mean there will be charges. At this point, the officials said they are not pursuing specific individuals at the four firms under investigation because these firms are facing serious financial problems and they need to find out if it's the result of criminal activity. "Don't expect indictments tomorrow or next week or next month," one of the officials told CNN. FBI spokesman Special Agent Richard Kolko had no comment on that information, but said 26 firms are currently under investigation as part of the bureau's mortgage fraud inquiry. Earlier this month, FBI Director Robert Mueller told Congress that 1,400 individual real estate lenders, brokers and appraisers are now under investigation in addition to two dozen corporations. "The FBI currently has 26 pending corporate fraud investigations involving subprime lenders," Kolko said. "As we have seen, this number can fluctuate over time; however we do not discuss which companies may or may not be the subject of an investigation." Previously, CNN has reported that lender Countrywide and Atlanta-based homebuilder Beazer (BZH) - which dropped out of the mortgage business early this year - are part of the investigation. The sources said the probes of Fannie (FNM, Fortune 500), Freddie (FRE, Fortune 500), Lehman (LEH, Fortune 500) and AIG (AIG, Fortune 500) are believed to be in the early stages. One source said the government would be "remiss" if it didn't look into what happened at these companies because of the financial problems they are involved in and the actions of individuals running them. Earlier this decade, mortgage lenders relaxed restrictions on obtaining mortgages as home prices soared about 85% from 1996 through 2006 in inflation-adjusted dollars, creating a bubble. Then the bubble popped, and lenders - as well as mortgages - took the hit. Last week, mortgage insurer AIG narrowly avoided bankruptcy when the federal government took 80% of its equity in exchange for an $85 billion loan from the Federal Reserve while Lehman filed the largest bankruptcy in American history. Beazer dropped its mortgage arm early this year after an internal investigation - prompted by a Charlotte Observer investigation - found "evidence that employees violated [federal] regulations ... back to at least 2000." Other bank failures and takeovers have led to the Bush administration's current proposal to spend $700 billion to shore up the financial markets. The proposal is under consideration by Congress, where lawmakers from both sides of the aisle have balked at the proposal's lack of oversight provisions, among other issues. In June, its Mortgage Fraud Task Force arrested more than 400 mortgage brokers, lenders, appraisers and other industry insiders who, it said, were responsible for more than $1 billion in losses. Last month, a Mortgage Asset Research Institute (MARI) study found that the number of fraudulent loans issued during the first three months of 2008 skyrocketed 42% compared with the same period in 2007. The FBI is investigating four Wall Street institutions at the heart of the financial crisis over their role in the sub-prime mortgage meltdown, it emerged today. Reports said preliminary investigations into potential corporate fraud at the US mortgage finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the insurer American International Group and the investment bank Lehman Brothers had been opened. Senior executives at the companies are also believed to be in the FBI's sights, while the securities and exchange commission is also reportedly assessing possible civil fraud claims against the four firms. "The FBI continues to investigate a number of companies for sub-prime lending practices, but the department brings criminal prosecutions based solely on the facts and the law," Brian Roehrkasse, a Justice Department spokesman, said. The Bush administration's plan would allow the Treasury to buy toxic bad debts from troubled financial institutions. Eight months ago, the FBI began an investigation into the sub-prime mortgage market, in which loans were given to people who were not in a position to repay them.
Obama, however, said the debate in Oxford, Mississippi, should go forward. Also Wednesday night, McCain and Obama said in a joint statement that the bailout plan was "flawed" but that "the effort to protect the American economy must not fail." Between McCain's announcement and Bush's speech, congressional leaders said progress has been made in negotiations. (CNN) -- Presidential candidates Sen. John McCain -- who said Wednesday that he was suspending his campaign because of the nation's economic crisis -- and Sen. Barack Obama will meet Thursday with President Bush to discuss a proposed Wall Street bailout. "Action by Congress is urgently required to stabilise the situation and avert what otherwise could be very serious consequences for our financial markets and for our economy." Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson told Congress that the proposal was about "benefiting the American people". US Federal Reserve chief Ben Bernanke has urged politicians to "act quickly" to support the proposed $700bn (£378bn) bail-out of the financial markets. Congress and the White House are trying to negotiate the details of what would be the most sweeping economic intervention by the government since the Great Depression. iReport.com: Which candidate took the right approach? "The program we have proposed is not a spending program. Watch Bush's address » While McCain and Obama jointly called for bipartisan cooperation on the economic crisis, in a separate statement Obama outlined some principles he said should guide the legislation and called on McCain to support them. Obama said it's unacceptable to expect the American people to "hand this administration or any administration a $700 billion check with no conditions and no oversight when a lack of oversight in Washington and on Wall Street is exactly what got us into this mess."
(CNN) -- Presidential candidates Sen. John McCain -- who said Wednesday that he was suspending his campaign because of the nation's economic crisis -- and Sen. Barack Obama will meet Thursday with President Bush to discuss a proposed Wall Street bailout. McCain suspended his campaign, saying it was time for both parties to come together to solve economic crisis. McCain and Obama accepted Bush's invitation to discuss the proposed $700 billion bailout with him and congressional leaders at the White House, the candidates' aides said Wednesday night. Also Wednesday night, McCain and Obama said in a joint statement that the bailout plan was "flawed" but that "the effort to protect the American economy must not fail." "Now is a time to come together -- Democrats and Republicans -- in a spirit of cooperation for the sake of the American people," read the statement, which was released about 15 minutes before Bush made a televised address on the economy. Earlier Wednesday, McCain announced that he would suspend his campaign to go to Washington and participate in negotiations on the bailout plan, and he called for a postponement of Friday's presidential debate. Watch McCain's announcement » His campaign suggested that he would skip the debate if Congress hadn't passed legislation addressing the crisis by then. "It's my belief that this is exactly the time when the American people need to hear from the person will be the next president," the Democrat said in Clearwater, Florida. "It is going to be part of the president's job to deal with more than one thing at once. It's more important than ever to present ourselves to the American people." The University of Mississippi, the host of Friday's presidential debate, said it is going ahead with preparations for the event. Watch Obama say debate shouldn't be postponed » McCain's suspension of his campaign hours before Bush's address to the nation on the troubled state of the U.S. financial system, a problem for which Bush's administration has proposed having the Treasury Department buy up to $700 billion in firms' troubled assets -- mainly mortgage-backed securities -- whose values declined as the housing market imploded. The plan's goal is to stabilize the companies and prompt them to lend again. Watch Bush's address » While McCain and Obama jointly called for bipartisan cooperation on the economic crisis, in a separate statement Obama outlined some principles he said should guide the legislation and called on McCain to support them. Obama said the plan should help the "millions of families facing foreclosure" and not just Wall Street; create "an independent, bipartisan board to ensure accountability and complete transparency"; have Wall Street repay taxpayers for the bailout; and have an independent, bipartisan board to oversee the bailout. "This plan cannot be a welfare program for CEOs whose greed and irresponsibility has contributed to this crisis," Obama's statement said. McCain senior adviser Mark Salter said that the campaign will suspend airing all ads and all campaign events pending Obama's agreement. Salter also said McCain called Bush and talked to colleagues in Washington and learned that passage of the bailout plan as it then stood was next to impossible. Between McCain's announcement and Bush's speech, congressional leaders said progress has been made in negotiations. "We agree that key changes should be made to the administration's initial proposal," House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and House Republican Leader John Boehner said in a joint statement. "It must include basic good-government principles, including rigorous and independent oversight, strong executive compensation standards, and protection for taxpayers." Obama told reporters that before McCain suspended his campaign, he had called McCain on Wednesday to propose a joint statement of principles to govern the bailout. Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-New York, said McCain's move was "just weird." "We haven't heard hide nor hair of Sen. McCain in these negotiations," said Schumer, chairman of the Senate Banking Committee. "He has not been involved except for an occasional, unhelpful statement, sort of thrown from far away, and the last thing we need in these delicate negotiations is an injection of presidential politics." Watch Schumer call McCain's move "weird" » But Sen. Lindsey Graham, a McCain ally, said that having the candidates join in negotiations over the bailout would be "enormously helpful." "We need a solution on this financial crisis more than we need a foreign policy debate," said Graham, R-South Carolina. And Rep. Roy Blunt, the Republicans' House whip, said McCain's decision "is a testament to the fact that [he] is a guy who would rather be part of the solution than run away from the fight." Obama said it's unacceptable to expect the American people to "hand this administration or any administration a $700 billion check with no conditions and no oversight when a lack of oversight in Washington and on Wall Street is exactly what got us into this mess." He said that struggling homeowners must be taken care of in any economic recovery plan -- and that taxpayers should "not be spending one dime to reward the same Wall Street CEOs whose greed and irresponsibility got us into this mess." Republican Sen. John McCain said he would suspend campaigning to help tackle a $700 billion bailout proposal and called on Democratic rival Sen. Barack Obama to postpone their debate Friday, as the roiling U.S. financial crisis took center stage in the presidential campaign. US Federal Reserve chief Ben Bernanke has urged politicians to "act quickly" to support the proposed $700bn (£378bn) bail-out of the financial markets. He added the US economy risked "serious consequences" if action was not taken. "It has become clear that no consensus has developed to support the administration's proposal and I do not believe that the plan on the table will pass as it currently stands," he said.
Jawad, now about 23, was arrested in 2002 near Kabul. Col Vandeveld is the fourth Guantanamo military prosecutor to quit. "There are no grounds for his ethical qualms," Morris said. The Jawad case is one of several in which the Pentagon's former legal advisor to military commissions, Air Force Brig. In his declaration, Vandeveld said military prosecutors routinely withhold exculpatory evidence from the defense in terrorism cases. Gen. Thomas W. Hartmann from further participation in various aspects of the military commissions. Maj Frakt told reporters that Col Vandeveld had wanted to negotiate a plea deal for the detainee, but that his superiors had blocked this. He also expressed concerns over Mr Jawad's treatment. Guantanamo prosecutor quits The Army reservist was concerned about a lack of due process for war crimes defendant, defense attorneys say. -- josh.meyer@latimes.com The case involves an Afghan detainee accused of throwing a grenade at a US military jeep, injuring three people. Jawad is one of about two dozen detainees facing charges in the Pentagon's specially designed system for prosecuting alleged terrorists. Hearings on various issues will be held next week at Guantanamo Bay, including a discovery motion on Hartmann's role in the Mohammed case. The prosecution is said to have withheld evidence that others had confessed to carrying out the attack. His deputy, Michael Chapman, will become the new legal adviser. His trial is set for December. The assertions by Berrigan and Frakt were denied Wednesday evening by Army Col. Lawrence J. Morris, lead prosecutor for the military commissions. Q&A: Guantanamo tribunals The declaration can only be made public by a tribunal judge, but in a copy obtained by the Associated Press news agency, Col Vandeveld wrote that "potentially exculpatory evidence has not been provided".
Guantanamo prosecutor quits The Army reservist was concerned about a lack of due process for war crimes defendant, defense attorneys say. He is charged with attempting to commit murder in violation of the law of war for allegedly throwing a grenade into a jeep transporting troops, injuring two soldiers and an interpreter. Vandeveld, an Army reservist, said in a four-page declaration filed with the court that "potentially exculpatory evidence has not been provided" to the defense. Lt. Col. Darrel Vandeveld quit the case -- and the Office of Military Commissions -- after growing increasingly concerned about the lack of due process afforded to Mohammed Jawad and his legal team, according to Michael J. Berrigan, deputy chief defense counsel for the commissions. GUANTANAMO BAY, CUBA — Contending that the government had suppressed evidence that could help a young man facing life in prison, a prosecutor has quit the war crimes tribunals here, several military defense lawyers said Wednesday. His Pentagon-appointed defense attorney, Air Force Maj. David Frakt, also said that the prosecutor had quit in recent days over significant concerns about the case. "He was uncomfortable being a prosecutor under the conditions, and [his superiors] told him to do his job," Berrigan said, adding that Vandeveld then took his concerns to higher authorities but was rebuffed. Both defense lawyers said Vandeveld had spelled out his allegations in the sealed affidavit. Vandeveld said in his declaration that prosecutors knew Jawad may have been drugged before the attack and that the Afghan Interior Ministry said two other men had confessed to the same crime. Frakt said he had moved to call Vandeveld as a defense witness; the prosecutor had indicated he would testify about his ethical concerns and about how he wanted to offer Jawad a plea deal that would allow him to walk free in the near future. But Vandeveld's superiors rejected the plea deal and blocked his testimony, Frakt said, adding that he would ask the judge, Army Col. Steve Henley, to compel him to testify. Morris said Vandeveld told him he was quitting for personal reasons, and he would not discuss whether his office had rejected any proposed plea deal for Jawad. He described Vandeveld as a disgruntled prosecutor "who was disappointed that his superiors did not agree with his recommendations in the case." "There are no grounds for his ethical qualms," Morris said. Several prosecutors have quit or asked to be reassigned in protest, including Air Force Col. Morris Davis, the former chief prosecutor for the military commissions. He went public with claims that he had been pressured by politically appointed senior Defense officials to pursue cases deemed "sexy" in the run-up to the 2008 elections. The Jawad case is one of several in which the Pentagon's former legal advisor to military commissions, Air Force Brig. Gen. Thomas W. Hartmann, has been banned from playing an oversight role because of charges that he lost his neutrality by withholding exculpatory information in recommending the charges. A Pentagon official said that Vandeveld had defended Hartmann against the undue-influence allegations in the Jawad case in recent weeks but lost, and that the general had retaliated against him, causing the prosecutor emotional distress and prompting him to quit and go public with his concerns. Jawad is one of about two dozen detainees facing charges in the Pentagon's specially designed system for prosecuting alleged terrorists. Col Vendeveld wanted to negotiate a plea deal, defence lawyers say A US military prosecutor at Guantanamo Bay has resigned in what defence lawyers describe as a row over ethics. Lt Col Darrel Vandeveld had quit because his office suppressed evidence that could have cleared a client, defence lawyer Major David Frakt said. The case involves an Afghan detainee accused of throwing a grenade at a US military jeep, injuring three people. Court declaration Col Lawrence Morris, the Guantanamo military commissions chief prosecutor, told reporters that there were no grounds for Col Vandeveld's "ethical qualms". Q&A: Guantanamo tribunals The declaration can only be made public by a tribunal judge, but in a copy obtained by the Associated Press news agency, Col Vandeveld wrote that "potentially exculpatory evidence has not been provided". He blamed this on a failure by "prosecutors and officers of the court". Col Vandeveld said prosecutors knew that Mr Jawad might have been drugged before the attack, and that the Afghan interior ministry said two other men had confessed to the same crime. In August, a military judge ruling barred the tribunal's legal adviser, Air Force Brig Gen Thomas Hartmann, from Mr Jawad's case, accusing him of having compromised his objectivity. Brig Gen Hartmann allegedly "pushed" for Mr Jawad to be charged because of the "gripping" details of his case. The judge, Col Steve Henley, said that Brig Gen Hartmann's public statements aligning himself with prosecutors and defending the Pentagon's system for prosecuting terror suspects had compromised his objectivity. Defense officials, who would discuss the reassignment only on the condition of anonymity, said Hartmann's position became untenable after judges ruled that he improperly influenced prosecutors by pressing them to move to trial quickly and, over their objections, used evidence obtained from interrogations that involved coercive techniques. "Elevating his deputy and leaving him in the process, I'm afraid, will be like the Vladimir Putin-Dmitry Medvedev relationship where there's some real doubt over who pulls the strings," said Col. Morris Davis, a former chief military prosecutor at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, drawing a parallel to the Russian prime minister and the protégé he helped elevate to the presidency. William Kuebler, military defense counsel for Canadian defendant Omar Khadr, said in a statement that "Hartmann's reassignment should be seen for what it is -- a thin veneer for what amounts to being fired for his excessive and unlawful interference in the military commissions process."
Mr. Ayers was not present and had not suggested Mr. Obama, she said. Advertisement Continue reading the main story “If you ask my wife, we had the first coffee for Barack,” Rabbi Wolf said. Mitt Romney and others were saying last week: Let Palin Be Palin. View all New York Times newsletters. Mr Obama served on a charity board several years ago with Mr Ayers, who is now a professor at the University of Illinois. Speaking to some 18,000 people at a rally in Virginia, Senator Obama described the Arizona senator's policy as "radical" and claimed 20 million people would be left out by it. But the two men do not appear to have been close. Mr Obama meanwhile attacked the healthcare plans of Republican presidential nominee John McCain. The group was blamed for a number of bombings in the US in the 1960s. Steve Chapman, a columnist for The Chicago Tribune, defended Mr. Obama’s relationship with the Rev. But he added that the Weathermen had “showed remarkable restraint” given the nature of the American bombing campaign in Vietnam that they were trying to stop. “This is not a man who sees America as you see it and how I see America. Please try again later. A Democratic spokesman accused the Republicans of gutter politics. Photo That project was part of a national school reform effort financed with $500 million from Walter H. Annenberg, the billionaire publisher and philanthropist and President Richard M. Nixon’s ambassador to the United Kingdom. In remarks at a Colorado airport hangar today, Gov. What’s clear is that John McCain and Sarah Palin would rather spend their time tearing down Barack Obama than laying out a plan to build up our economy.” So if Mr. Obama was 8 years old at the time, Ms. Palin was 5?
Please turn on JavaScript. US Republican vice-presidential nominee Sarah Palin has accused the Democratic presidential candidate, Barack Obama, of associating with terrorists. She said he had been "palling around" with an ex-member of US-based militant group Weather Underground, which opposed the Vietnam War in the 1960s. Mr Obama once served on a charity board with a member of the group, but he has denounced its activities. A Democratic spokesman accused the Republicans of gutter politics. "What's clear is that John McCain and Sarah Palin would rather spend their time tearing down Barack Obama than laying out a plan to build up our economy," Hari Sevugan said. Commentators say Mrs Palin's attack forms part of a broader Republican strategy to attack Mr Obama's character. Denunciation Speaking to supporters in Colorado and later in a Los Angeles suburb, Alaska Governor Palin said the time had come to take the gloves off. The White House candidates face their second debate on Tuesday Quoting a New York Times article, she attacked Senator Obama over his link to Bill Ayers, a founder of the Weather Underground, which waged a violent campaign against the Vietnam War. The group was blamed for a number of bombings in the US in the 1960s. Mrs Palin described Mr Obama as someone who saw the US "as being so imperfect... he is palling around with terrorists who would target their own country". Mr Obama served on a charity board several years ago with Mr Ayers, who is now a professor at the University of Illinois. The White House hopeful, who was a child when Weather Underground was active, has denounced Mr Ayers' radical past. Focus on healthcare The Alaska governor also said she wished the McCain campaign had not this week pulled out of the battleground state of Michigan, effectively conceding it to the Democrats. Mr Obama meanwhile attacked the healthcare plans of Republican presidential nominee John McCain. Speaking to some 18,000 people at a rally in Virginia, Senator Obama described the Arizona senator's policy as "radical" and claimed 20 million people would be left out by it. HAVE YOUR SAY I'm a McCain supporter, but Palin really needs to fire the person who told her to say that J Young, USA A spokesman for Mr McCain, who is in his home state preparing for Tuesday's second presidential debate, said that was "a bald-faced lie". Healthcare is important to voters and the Obama campaign has unveiled new adverts attacking Mr McCain on the issue in every battleground state. Mr Obama's Virginia rally came ahead of a Monday deadline for voters to register there and in more than a dozen other states, including Pennsylvania, Michigan, Ohio, Indiana and Florida. Voter turnout could be vital in deciding the outcome of the 4 November presidential election. Meanwhile, viewing figures show a record 69.9 million people tuned in to watch Mrs Palin take part in Thursday's televised vice-presidential debate with Democratic nominee Joe Biden. Without apparently mentioning the name of William C. Ayers, a professor in Chicago who is a former member of the radical Weathermen, Ms. Palin said, according to a pool report from her appearance: “There is a lot of interest, I guess, in what I read and what I’ve read lately. Turns out one of Barack’s earliest supporters is a man who, according to the New York Times, and they are hardly ever wrong, was a domestic terrorist and part of a group that quote launched a campaign of bombings that would target the Pentagon and US Capitol. If we can be that beacon of light and hope for others who seek freedom and democracy and can live in a country that would allow intolerance in the equal rights that again our military men and women fight for and die for for all of us. Our opponent though, is someone who sees America it seems as being so imperfect that he’s palling around with terrorists who would target their own country?” The aforementioned article, by Scott Shane, delved into the relationship between Mr. Ayers and Mr. Obama, who together served on education boards in Chicago years ago. Mr. Shane wrote: A review of records of the schools project and interviews with a dozen people who know both men, suggest that Mr. Obama, 47, has played down his contacts with Mr. Ayers, 63. Nor has Mr. Obama ever expressed sympathy for the radical views and actions of Mr. Ayers, whom he has called “somebody who engaged in detestable acts 40 years ago, when I was 8.” The Republican efforts to remind the voting public of Mr. Obama’s old ties to Mr. Ayers and their mutual education projects in Chicago date back much farther than today, but they include a new McCain ad highlighting the relationship that is up on television. Ms. Palin’s line of attack also comes on the heels (forgive us for that and we’ll get back to those spikes in a minute) of reports indicating that the McCain campaign may begin lobbing more negative critiques against the Democratic presidential nominee in the final month of this election cycle. Or as Ms. Palin put it today, a donor had suggested that she get tougher on her opponents: “And I turned to one of the staffers and said, ‘O.K. they’re serious!’ Jason the campaign staffer said, ‘O.K., let’s look at it this way, Sarah, the gloves are off, the heels are on, let’s get to work!’ ” Would those be her blood-red heels? Hari Sevugan, a spokesman for the Obama campaign, fired back almost immediately in a statement: “Governor Palin’s comments, while offensive, are not surprising, given the McCain campaign’s statement this morning that they would be launching Swiftboat-like attacks in hopes of deflecting attention from the nation’s economic ills. In fact, the very newspaper story Governor Palin cited in hurling her shameless attack made clear that Senator Obama is not close to Bill Ayers, much less ‘pals,’ and that he has strongly condemned the despicable acts Ayers committed 40 years ago, when Obama was eight. Frances Owens, the former Colorado first lady, lauded her: “Since joining the Republican ticket, she has energized millions of voters … I am very honored to introduce to you a card-carrying, lipstick-wearing professional Republican woman who totally knocked it out of the park last Thursday.” She was referring to Ms. Palin’s debate performance, which had been watched closely — and some would say nervously — by many Republicans who had been fretting over the stumbles she made in limited TV interviews during the last month. Don’t bottle her up, as the McCain campaign had done before the debate, some argued; give her free rein to become accustomed to the give-and-take in the glare of a national spotlight. A review of records of the schools project and interviews with a dozen people who know both men, suggest that Mr. Obama, 47, has played down his contacts with Mr. Ayers, 63.
If there is violence, we have to negotiate," he said Wednesday. Thai soldiers prepare a 105mm artillery gun near the Thai-Cambodian border, in the disputed border area with Cambodia, near the Preah Vihear temple, in Si Sa Ket province, northeast of Bangkok, October 16, 2008. REUTERS/Adrees Latif A woman rests in her cart, during an evacuation from the northern Cambodian border with dozens of other families, about 120 km (75 miles) northeast of Siem Reap, October 16, 2008. "We need to defend our land. The two sides have had troops and equipment in the area since July Generals from Thailand and Cambodia have been holding talks in an attempt to resolve a border dispute that led to a fatal exchange of fire on Wednesday. But people on the streets of Phnom Penh were angry. The recent fighting arose in July after UNESCO approved Cambodia's request to have the temple declared a world heritage site. Meanwhile the issue continues to stoke fervent nationalist passions. "If the Thais continue their attempt to cross our border, I am ready to join the army to fight back." The foreign ministers from the countries were already talking, Thai Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat said. Reports say both sides have agreed to joint border patrols as a way to ease the tensions. The court failed to determine the ownership of 1.8 square miles (4.6 sq km) of scrub next to the stunning but remote Hindu ruins, which have been off-limits to tourists for months. REUTERS/Chaiwat Subprasom PREAH VIHEAR, Cambodia Thai and Cambodian army commanders ended five hours of talks on Thursday with no agreement to withdraw their forces after heavy fighting near a disputed 900-year-old temple killed two Cambodian soldiers.
The two sides have had troops and equipment in the area since July Generals from Thailand and Cambodia have been holding talks in an attempt to resolve a border dispute that led to a fatal exchange of fire on Wednesday. Reports say both sides have agreed to joint border patrols as a way to ease the tensions. But there are no reports of further progress and Thailand has also implied that Cambodian soldiers have been planting mines in the disputed area. Two Cambodian soldiers were injured, along with seven Thai troops, in the skirmish, which lasted less than an hour. New conflict near ancient ruins In pictures: Thai-Cambodia strife Both countries claim the area around the temple, and despite several rounds of talks a settlement remains elusive. The issue of ownership is partly a nationalist one, but the area is also prized because the temple became a Unesco World Heritage site in June and the site could one day generate lucrative tourist revenues. Small step "We will introduce the joint patrol to avoid this kind of incident happening again," Lieutenant General Wiboonsak Neeparn, Thailand's north-eastern army commander, was quoted as saying after the five-hour meeting. But he also suggested "not much" progress had been made, pointing out "troops on both sides will stay where they are", a report said. No progress has been reported on issues such as reducing troops in the zone or on the core issue of settling the border. Thailand has also implicitly accused Cambodia of planting further mines in the already heavily mined area, claiming a number of new Russian-made mines have been found buried in the ground and that two Thai soldiers had their legs blown off earlier this month. Meanwhile, there is confusion over the fate of 13 Thai soldiers Cambodia claimed it captured during Wednesday's confrontation. Cambodia says it has returned the men's weapons and released them. Nationalist passions Senior government figures on both sides have called for negotiations to continue, and played down Wednesday's confrontation. Thousands of Cambodians have fled the area But the incident prompted thousands of Cambodians to flee their homes, and some reports say Cambodian military reinforcements are still being dispatched to the disputed zone. According to the BBC's South East Asia correspondent Jonathan Head, the Thai government is nervous about committing itself to any deal over the border, for fear of stirring up more nationalist anger, or of violating the constitution, which it was judged to have done when it initially supported Cambodia's bid to get World Heritage status for the temple. But Cambodia needs a deal soon if it is to present its management plan for the site by the World Heritage Committee's deadline of February next year. The temple sits on top of a cliff, and access from the Cambodian side will still be impractical for tourists unless a new route can be built through the disputed territory, our correspondent says. 'Death zone' The military stand-off began in July when Cambodian troops detained three Thai protesters who had entered the site illegally. TEMPLE DISPUTE TIMELINE 1970s-1990s: Khmer Rouge guerrillas occupy site 2001-2002: Thai troops block access over water row July 2008: Unesco lists temple as a World Heritage Site July 2008: Thai FM quits after court rules he violated constitution for backing Cambodia's Unesco bid July 2008: Both sides move troops to temple area August 2008: Troops withdrawn after high-level talks October 2008: Fighting erupts around temple area More than 1,000 soldiers from both countries moved into the area, digging trenches into the rough terrain around the temple. Both sides agreed in August to withdraw their personnel, but last week Cambodia claimed that Thai troops had returned, and Prime Minister Hun Sen threatened to turn the area into a "death zone" if they did not withdraw. REUTERS/Chaiwat Subprasom A woman breastfeeds her infant, as dozens of families evacuating the northern Cambodia border line the roadside with their belongings, about 120 km (75 miles) northeast of Siem Reap October 16, 2008. REUTERS/Adrees Latif A boy peers out of the back of a truck full of families evacuating the northern Cambodia border, about 120 km (75 miles) northeast of Siem Reap, October 16, 2008. REUTERS/Adrees Latif A woman rests in her cart, during an evacuation from the northern Cambodian border with dozens of other families, about 120 km (75 miles) northeast of Siem Reap, October 16, 2008. REUTERS/Chaiwat Subprasom Cambodian soldiers stand guard near the site where two soldiers were killed during an exchange of gunfire between Cambodia and Thai troops on Wednesday, at Sraem village in Preah Vihear province, 543 km (337 miles) north of Phnom Penh October 16, 2008. He said they had agreed on joint border patrols to ease tensions after Wednesday's 40-minute gun and rocket battle, the worst clash in years between the fractious Southeast Asian neighbors.
Other military police were on horseback. - BBC Topics: police, unrest-conflict-and-war, brazil Sao Paulo is the capital of a Brazilian state with the same name. The incident happened when striking officers marched towards a building being used by the governor to demand a pay rise. Riot police dressed in black then began firing tear gas, stun grenades and rubber bullets. Another hospital said a senior officer involved in the negotiations with the protesters was among the injured, the BBC reported. In one incident, a marked police vehicle could be seen trying to force its way through a police cordon, and there were a number of heated exchanges. The strikers wanted to meet him in order to negotiate a 15% pay rise. Mr Serra later said many protesters had not been police, but members of other unions and political groups. In a statement, the authorities said the trouble began when strike leaders accepted a proposal to receive an official representative in the area where they were staging the protest. Live television picture showed pushing and shoving and some punches being thrown as the protesters pushed forward. Please turn on JavaScript. The city's Albert Einstein Jewish Hospital said it treated more than a dozen people injured in the clash, but did not say if they were police or detectives. E-mail this to a friend Printable version Bookmark with: Delicious Digg reddit Facebook StumbleUpon What are these? The striking officers are from the branch of the state police responsible for detective work and criminal investigations, while those trying to hold the demonstrators back are from the military police, whose role is broadly to maintain law and order on the streets.
Advertisement By Gary Duffy BBC News, Sao Paulo Riot police in the Brazilian city of Sao Paulo have clashed with other police officers who are on strike. The confrontation happened when the striking officers tried to force their way past barriers to reach a building used by state governor Jose Serra. Tear gas and rubber bullets were used to keep back the demonstrators and 15 to 20 injuries have been reported. Heated exchanges The clashes happened in the Morumbi district of Sao Paulo as the police officers, who have been on strike for a month, tried to reach the building used by the governor. The strikers wanted to meet him in order to negotiate a 15% pay rise. In a statement, the authorities said the trouble began when strike leaders accepted a proposal to receive an official representative in the area where they were staging the protest. Riot police dressed in black then began firing tear gas, stun grenades and rubber bullets. In one incident, a marked police vehicle could be seen trying to force its way through a police cordon, and there were a number of heated exchanges. Hospitals nearby received a small number of people with slight injuries, including a senior officer who had been involved in the negotiations with the protesters. The striking officers are from the branch of the state police responsible for detective work and criminal investigations, while those trying to hold the demonstrators back are from the military police, whose role is broadly to maintain law and order on the streets. SAO PAULO, Oct. 17 (UPI) -- Military police with riot shields and striking plainclothes detectives clashed in Sao Paulo, injuring at least 22 people, Brazilian authorities said Friday. Hundreds of black-clad military police fired teargas, stun grenades and rubber bullets at striking civilian officers seeking a 15 percent pay raise as the officers tried to force their way into the Palacio dos Bandeirantes, the seat of the Sao Paulo state government, television reports showed. The city's Albert Einstein Jewish Hospital said it treated more than a dozen people injured in the clash, but did not say if they were police or detectives. Brazilian states generally have two separate police forces -- a uniformed military force in charge of maintaining public order and a state, or civilian, police force responsible for detective work and criminal investigations. Brazilian police clash over pay claim Posted Members of the Brazilian police force have clashed with each other on the streets of Sao Paulo.
"Food, all food, must meet international standards." Wen said his government will handle the incident seriously and make sure lessons are learnt from it. The contaminated milk killed four babies and left tens of thousands sick Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao has said the government is partly responsible for the tainted milk scandal which has left thousands of children sick. "We feel that although problems occurred at the company, the government also has a responsibility." "I once again solemnly emphasize that it is absolutely impermissible to sacrifice people's lives and health in exchange for temporary economic development," he said. The government feels “great sorrow” over the crisis that has sickened 53,000 children, Mr. Wen said in an interview on Sept. 20 that was published in last week’s Science magazine. Wen said important steps in making milk products--production of raw milk, collection, transportation, processing and making formula--all should have clear standards and testing requirements and corresponding responsibilities, including legal responsibilities. Correspondents say domestic and export markets in products containing Chinese milk powder have stymied, and scores of dairy firms in the country have collapsed. He also said the government will look into and draw up a plan for the revival of China's food industry. Suppliers are believed to have added the banned chemical, normally used in plastics, to watered-down milk in order to make it appear higher in protein. A Chinese version of the interview in the People’s Daily, the Communist Party’s newspaper, quoted Mr. Wen as saying that the government had been especially lax in “supervision and management.” BEIJING (AP) — In a rare interview with a foreign publication, Prime Minister Wen Jiabao of China said that the government was partly responsible for the tainted milk scandal that has been blamed in the deaths of at least three babies and has shaken consumer confidence.
The contaminated milk killed four babies and left tens of thousands sick Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao has said the government is partly responsible for the tainted milk scandal which has left thousands of children sick. In a rare interview with Science magazine, Mr Wen said the government felt "great sorrow" about the crisis, which also killed four children. He said while the problems were with a private company, the government had not properly supervised the dairy industry. Suppliers are believed to have added the banned chemical, normally used in plastics, to watered-down milk in order to make it appear higher in protein. Firms collapse "We feel great sorrow about the milk incident," Mr Wen was quoted as saying in the magazine, which is published by the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Correspondents say domestic and export markets in products containing Chinese milk powder have stymied, and scores of dairy firms in the country have collapsed. Mr Wen said that clear standards and testing requirements were needed in all the steps of making milk - the production of raw milk, collection, transportation, processing and making formula. BEIJING (AP) — In a rare interview with a foreign publication, Prime Minister Wen Jiabao of China said that the government was partly responsible for the tainted milk scandal that has been blamed in the deaths of at least three babies and has shaken consumer confidence. The government feels “great sorrow” over the crisis that has sickened 53,000 children, Mr. Wen said in an interview on Sept. 20 that was published in last week’s Science magazine. In the exclusive interview at the Zhongnanhai leadership compound, Alberts said the Chinese government's response to the tainted milk incident was "very impressive". The government shall also strengthen legislation so as every phase of food production, from the farm to the dinner table, is put under strict supervising according to the law, said the Premier.
Livni, the current foreign minister, narrowly won the leadership of the ruling party, Kadima, in an internal vote last month. The negotiations with Shas were difficult from the start. Ms. Livni announced this week that she would decide Sunday whether to try to form a government or move toward early elections. Livni could still cobble together a coalition without Shas. Advertisement Continue reading the main story “If she will have 66 members, Barak won’t be an obstacle, though he is not excited about this,” the associate said, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly. View all New York Times newsletters. Livni has until Nov. 3 to assemble a proposed government, which must then be approved by a majority of the 120-member Knesset, Israel's parliament. Weeks of talks between the two sides have centered on two main Shas demands: millions of dollars in welfare payments that favor ultra-Orthodox families and a pledge by Livni not to discuss dividing Jerusalem in her peace talks with the Palestinians. But Israeli military officials say their faith in the Palestinian forces has been growing with more cooperation, even in foiling efforts by Hamas to carry out attacks. Why not Wednesday? Please re-enter. She already had the support of the Labour party, giving her a total of 48 seats, and could expect the support of at least one other small party, but still hoped for Shas's 12 seats. Most polls show that Netanyahu, a former prime minister, would gain ground in a fresh national vote. “We decided that we are in the government and now are setting about writing the agreement,” Avshalom Vilan, a Parliament member from Meretz, said by telephone.
“I do not see this as the end of the story with Shas,” said Otniel Schneller, a Parliament member from Ms. Livni’s Kadima Party, in a telephone interview, making a point echoed by others. “We decided that we are in the government and now are setting about writing the agreement,” Avshalom Vilan, a Parliament member from Meretz, said by telephone. Mr. Barak wants as broad a government as possible because he worries that a narrow one will not last and will lead inevitably to early elections in which the opposition Likud Party, led by Benjamin Netanyahu, is ahead in the polls. An associate of Mr. Barak said he would be willing to move forward if both Meretz and Yahadut Hatorah signed on, bringing her governing majority to 66. Advertisement Continue reading the main story “If she will have 66 members, Barak won’t be an obstacle, though he is not excited about this,” the associate said, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly. Please verify you're not a robot by clicking the box. Invalid email address. You must select a newsletter to subscribe to. Ms. Livni announced this week that she would decide Sunday whether to try to form a government or move toward early elections. Monday is the official opening of the parliamentary session, and if she does not have a government by then, the departing prime minister Ehud Olmert, who is leaving to fight corruption charges, will make the day’s major speech, not she. Her aides say she considers this both politically and symbolically highly undesirable. She has also said she must draw a limit to negotiations. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Nahum Barnea, the country’s top political columnist, wrote in Friday’s issue of Yediot Aharonot newspaper an article headlined “Tzipi in Wonderland,” in which he enumerated the political debate over the errors she was perceived to have committed. They included having involved herself too personally in the negotiations and having mishandled Mr. Barak to having relied on lieutenants viewed as insufficiently seasoned. He added: “She has innocence, and she has love of the homeland, in the good old sense of the word. But in the cruel game that she has chosen to participate, innocence is at most grounds for leniency. She paid in hard cash: in money and in leadership.” The Barak associate likewise criticized Ms. Livni’s handling of the negotiations, primarily her failure to bring Shas on board but also her style, saying: “She has a tendency to impose deadlines when they are not necessary. Sometimes, you just have to negotiate.” In an unrelated development, 600 Palestinian security officers, some of them trained under American auspices in Jordan, were expected to take up new positions in the West Bank city of Hebron this weekend, the next stage in a process of their taking greater responsibility from Israeli forces. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Hebron’s volatile Jewish settlers have complained about the Palestinian deployment, saying the officers are terrorists in disguise. But Israeli military officials say their faith in the Palestinian forces has been growing with more cooperation, even in foiling efforts by Hamas to carry out attacks. Israel moved closer to an early general election yesterday when an ultra-Orthodox party refused to join a coalition that the prime minister-designate, Tzipi Livni, has spent weeks trying to form. The decision by Shas, a rightwing party representing religious Jews from non-European backgrounds, means that Livni faces the prospect of forming a coalition with a slim majority, or failing outright, which means elections would follow early next year. Livni, the current foreign minister, narrowly won the leadership of the ruling party, Kadima, in an internal vote last month. She already had the support of the Labour party, giving her a total of 48 seats, and could expect the support of at least one other small party, but still hoped for Shas's 12 seats. The party made two key demands: an increase in child allowances and a promise that in any peace negotiations Israel would not agree to divide Jerusalem. Livni offered less money for the allowances, but proposed to extend the jurisdiction of rabbinical courts. However, the party's spiritual leader, Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, decided to pull out of the talks. WORLD Prospects for an Israeli coalition dim The ultra-Orthodox Shas party deals a blow to Livni by rejecting her offer. However, Livni, the nation's current foreign minister, who narrowly won leadership of the centrist Kadima Party last month, has indicated she won't take negotiations down to the wire. Livni has until Nov. 3 to assemble a proposed government, which must then be approved by a majority of the 120-member Knesset, Israel's parliament. JERUSALEM — Israeli Prime Minister- designate Tzipi Livni suffered a blow to her efforts to build a new government Friday when the ultra-Orthodox Shas party announced it would not join her coalition. Although the declaration by Shas, which holds 12 Knesset seats, could be an exercise in brinkmanship, party Chairman Eli Yishai insisted Friday that the decision by Shas' Council of Torah Sages was final. Weeks of talks between the two sides have centered on two main Shas demands: millions of dollars in welfare payments that favor ultra-Orthodox families and a pledge by Livni not to discuss dividing Jerusalem in her peace talks with the Palestinians.
Topics: international-financial-crisis, business-economics-and-finance, markets, currency, futures, stockmarket, japan "It's hard to see where the market will stop. Among banks, Mitsubishi UFJ fell 14.6 percent to 583 yen, while Mizuho lost 14.8 percent to 230,000 yen and Sumitomo Mitsui shed 11.5 percent to 385,000 yen. A staff at Tokyo Stock Exchange looks at a stock quotation board as he works at the bourse in Tokyo October 27, 2008. In Asia, Japan's Nikkei index .N225 was down 6.4 percent at its lowest close since 1982 as the stronger yen hit exporters such as Canon Inc (7751.T) and Toyota Corp (7203.T). "If we don't have something like this, today's low -- the 26-year low -- won't be significant at all." Shares of Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (8306.T) slid after sources said it may need to raise up to $10.8 billion in capital to offset hefty losses on its stock portfolio. Japanese companies are being marked down because of the impact a slowing global economy will have on their earnings, and also the rapidly strengthening yen, which has reached a 13-year-high against the US dollar. Gains in the yen came despite a G7 warning about excessive volatility in the currency -- a warning that the Japanese government had requested. The actions by Asian policymakers come days ahead of a widely expected U.S. interest rate cut of 50 basis points by the Federal Reserve on Wednesday and a report on U.S. third-quarter economic growth on Thursday. The latest joint effort by the world's major industrialized nations to stem the worst financial crisis in 80 years did little to convince that governments around the world can quench the turmoil that has ravaged markets, as investors rush to pull money out of any region or asset class with a hint of risk.
Nikkei dives to 26-year low Posted Japan's main stock index hit its lowest level in 26 years in early trading today as the global economic crisis continued to batter markets. The Nikkei index has tracked share prices in Japan since the 1940s and heavy falls last week saw it touch its lowest in five years. Shortly after opening this morning the index plunged below 7,500, a level not seen since 1982. Japanese companies are being marked down because of the impact a slowing global economy will have on their earnings, and also the rapidly strengthening yen, which has reached a 13-year-high against the US dollar. The Nikkei's all-time high was set in 1989, when it reached 38,915 points - more than four times its current level - at the height of Japan's so-called "bubble economy". REUTERS/Issei Kato TOKYO Japan's Nikkei average slid 6.4 percent on Monday to its lowest close in 26 years, as the yen rose to batter exporters such as Toyota Motor Corp (7203.T) and banks tumbled on concerns they would need to beef up capital. Gains in the yen came despite a G7 warning about excessive volatility in the currency -- a warning that the Japanese government had requested. "We need something that surprises the market in a good way, perhaps something like the government intervening to sell yen," said Masayoshi Okamoto, head of dealing at Jujiya Securities. "If we don't have something like this, today's low -- the 26-year low -- won't be significant at all." In its fourth straight negative day, the Nikkei .N225 shed 486.18 points to close at 7,162.90, its lowest close since October 1982 -- when Ronald Reagan was the U.S. President and Sony Corp released the CD player. The benchmark has lost 36.4 percent so far this month and 53 percent this year. The broader Topix .TOPX was down 7.4 percent at 746.46. Shares of Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (8306.T) slid after sources said it may need to raise up to $10.8 billion in capital to offset hefty losses on its stock portfolio. Asian shares also fell, hurt by the view that central bank policy moves, including a record rate cut in South Korea, were not enough to allay a global recession. Trade was active, with some 3.1 billion shares changing hands on the Tokyo Exchange's first section compared with last week's daily average of 2.1 billion. TOYOTA HITS FIVE-YEAR LOW The dollar slipped against the yen and was fetching around 93.20 yen, erasing gains made on a G7 warning against excessive volatility in yen exchange rates that raised the prospect of official intervention. Among blue-chip exporters, Toyota fell 8.1 percent to 2,940 yen, its lowest close since mid-2003 and Honda (7267.T) slid 8.9 percent to 1,812 yen. After the close, it reported a 26 percent fall in quarterly operating profit and cut its annual outlook to predict its first profit decline in 9 years, hit by sluggish demand for copiers and digital cameras and a stronger yen. Among banks, Mitsubishi UFJ fell 14.6 percent to 583 yen, while Mizuho lost 14.8 percent to 230,000 yen and Sumitomo Mitsui shed 11.5 percent to 385,000 yen. The measures underscore the difficulties now facing lenders in the world's No.2 economy, which at first appeared to have avoided the credit crisis, allowing them to invest in overseas rivals. REUTERS/Stringer A stockbroker reacts as he monitors share prices during the morning trading season in a securities company in Jakarta October 27, 2008. The latest joint effort by the world's major industrialized nations to stem the worst financial crisis in 80 years did little to convince that governments around the world can quench the turmoil that has ravaged markets, as investors rush to pull money out of any region or asset class with a hint of risk. U.S. stock futures were down between 1.3 and 2.2 percent, suggesting a modest decline at the start of trading on Wall Street, where shares tumbled to 5-1/2 year lows on Friday, fueled by worries that the global slowdown could be worse than originally thought. The euro hit a two-year low against the dollar and its lowest since March 2002 against the yen, while in another sign of profound risk aversion, European credit spreads hovered just shy of Friday's record highs. "There's lots of volatility, not just in the equity market but in the interest rate and currency markets too," said Neil Parker, market strategist at Royal Bank of Scotland. The MSCI world index of shares .MIWD00000PUS, which on Monday was down by nearly 3 percent, has lost nearly 50 percent this year to reach its lowest since 2003 as investors around the globe have dumped stocks. Japan promised fresh measures on Monday to try to shield the world's second-biggest economy from the financial crisis while South Korea slashed interest rates and Australia's central bank intervened for a second day to support its tumbling currency.
"All of them are civilian, unarmed, and they are on Syrian territory," he said. Syria has already closed a US community school and cultural centre in response to the US raid. Iraq on Wednesday demanded that a crucial security deal under discussion with the U.S. must include a ban on U.S. troops using Iraqi territory to attack Iraq's neighbors. Abu Ghadiya led the attack, the official said. The Damascus Community School, also known as the American School, was told to close its doors on Tuesday. Mekdad rejected the U.S. reports and insisted all those killed were Syrians. He added that the search for Abu Ghadiyah by Syrian and foreign intelligence agencies should continue. "Killing civilians in international law means a terrorist aggression. That and a U.S. embassy warning to be vigilant has raised concerns among Americans living in Damascus. An unnamed US government source was quoted as saying that the target of the raid was a smuggling ring taking fighters into Iraq. Syria says it is doing all it can to safeguard its long, porous border. "It was a successful operation ... Amateur video footage obtained by Al Jazeera shows bodies of the victims of the US raid on Sukariya Amateur video footage obtained by Al Jazeera shows bodies of the victims of the US raid on Sukariya The Syrian government has ordered the closure of a US school and cultural centre in the capital, Damascus, in the wake of the raid. Thursday's government-sanctioned protest was expected to draw tens of thousands. Muallem, who had been in London for talks with his British counterpart, said US officials knew "full well that we stand against al-Qaeda".
Syria hardened its stance against the U.S. on Wednesday, threatening to cut off cooperation on Iraqi border security while demanding America apologize and promise not to repeat a deadly cross-border raid into its territory. The U.S. Embassy announced that it was closing its doors on Thursday "due to security concerns." The statement on its Web site did not say for how long. The closure announcement came ahead of a government-sanctioned mass demonstration set for Thursday in Damascus to protest Sunday's raid that Syria said killed eight people in the eastern border community of Abu Kamal. That and a U.S. embassy warning to be vigilant has raised concerns among Americans living in Damascus. According to a State Department official, America's senior diplomat in the country, Maura Connolly, was officially notified of Syria's request that the American Cultural Center be closed effective immediately. "We are looking at how to respond," State Department deputy spokesman Robert Wood said, adding that in the meantime: "we expect the Syrian government to provide adequate security for the buildings in which the American Cultural Center and Damascus Community School are housed." Earlier Wednesday, Syrian Deputy Foreign Minister Fayssal Mekdad demanded an investigation into Sunday's raid and assurances that Iraqi territory not be used for attacking Syria. "We ask of them (Iraqis) and the Americans to investigate and provide us with the background for such a criminal, terrorist act against an independent state ... (and) make an official apology for this aggression and pledge not to repeat it," Mekdad told The Associated Press. "What is required of the American government is to confess to this aggression and not be cowardly," he said, adding that the U.S. should also compensate Syria. But U.S. officials, speaking to the media on condition of anonymity, have said the target of the raid was Badran Turki al-Mazidih, a top al Qaeda in Iraq figure who operated a network smuggling fighters into the war-torn country. "The allegation that this person was killed is a false claim. Therefore, a search for him by world intelligence agencies, including Syria's, should continue," he said. Though Syria has long been viewed by the U.S. as a destabilizing country in the Middle East, in recent months, Damascus has been trying to change its image and end years of global seclusion. Its president, Bashar Assad, has pursued indirect peace talks with Israel, mediated by Turkey, and says he's open for future direct talk as early as next year. Syria also has agreed to establish diplomatic ties with Lebanon, a country it used to dominate both politically and militarily. But one of the sore points in U.S.-Syria relations has been American accusations that Syria wasn't doing enough to prevent foreign fighters from crossing its borders into Iraq. Despite its opposition to the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, Syria also has moved to improve relations with Baghdad, sending an ambassador earlier this month for the first time in 25 years. Iraq on Wednesday demanded that a crucial security deal under discussion with the U.S. must include a ban on U.S. troops using Iraqi territory to attack Iraq's neighbors. Thursday's government-sanctioned protest was expected to draw tens of thousands. "I feel that it might be tough for me to say that I am an American, for a while, but I don't have any concerns for my personal safety," said Kate Alberswerth, a 24-year-old New York native who is studying Arabic in Damascus. In a 1998 demonstration, small violent groups trashed the American ambassador's residence and entered the American and British cultural centers in Damascus to protest U.S.-British airstrikes against Iraq. In 2006, thousands of outraged Syrians protesting offensive caricatures of Islam's Prophet Muhammad torched the Danish and Norwegian embassies in Damascus. At the Damascus Community School in an upscale neighborhood, students and teachers attended classes as usual Wednesday despite the government's closure order. But later Syria's official media said the Foreign Ministry summoned the U.S. envoy to formally convey the government's decision. Syria today demanded an apology and compensation from the US after a helicopter raid into its territory left at least eight people dead. The deputy foreign minister, Faisal Mekdad, also rejected US claims that Sunday's attack killed a top operative of al-Qaida in Iraq, Abu Ghadiyah, who had been about to conduct an attack in Iraq, according to US intelligence. It has also condemned the US for launching "criminal and terrorist aggression" on its soil. The Iraqi government has defended action against foreign jihadis, though it has warned that this could complicate plans for a controversial security agreement between Baghdad and Washington. Walid al-Muallem, Syria's foreign minister, who was in London this week, suggested Sunday's raid had been designed to halt the gradual improvement in Syria's relations with the EU and Britain. Unnamed US officials said the raid's target, Abu Ghadiya, was a former aide of the Iraqi insurgent leader, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. Major General John Kelly said Iraq's western borders with Saudi Arabia and Jordan were fairly tight as a result of good policing by security forces in those countries, but Syria was "a different story". Last year, the then US commander in Iraq, General David Petraeus, praised Syria's cooperation in reducing violence in Iraq. On Monday, Syria's foreign minister accused the US of conducting a planned act of "criminal and terrorist aggression" in broad daylight with "blunt determination". Walid Muallem, speaking in London, said he did not believe the killing of civilians had been a mistake and warned that "we would defend our territories" if there is a repeat of the weekend raid. An unnamed US official said that a lieutenant to the late leader of al-Qaeda in Iraq had been killed in the raid, but the US is yet to say officially whether or not it carried out the attack.
His stint in the show had been "the most extraordinary time, it's been bewildering, life changing, very exciting", he said. The four Tennant specials will be the only Doctor Who episodes broadcast next year. It would be very easy to cling on to the Tardis console forever and I fear that if I don't take a deep breath and make the decision to move on now, then I simply never will... Tennant's charisma as the Doctor has elevated his status to one of the most popular actors on British television, with the actor picking up the National Television award's most popular actor award last year and best actor in 2006. An average of 8.1 million people a week watched the latest series - the fourth since it made a comeback in 2005 - in its Saturday evening slot on BBC One. Media requires JavaScript to play. "I don't ever want it to feel like a job, so I want to move on when it still feels exciting and fresh and that means I'll miss it." David Tennant has recently acted with the Royal Shakespeare Company A fifth series of the show is scheduled for 2010. He made the announcement after winning the outstanding drama performance prize at the National Television Awards. When Tennant took over the role from Christopher Eccleston in 2005, some fans were sceptical about his ability to fill the role, but he became one of the most popular Doctors in the history of the series. Tennant will also star in the Doctor Who Christmas special this year. Bookmark with: Delicious Digg reddit Facebook StumbleUpon What are these?
David Tennant, one of the most popular time lords ever to step into the Tardis, said last night he would leave the BBC's Doctor Who series at the end of next year. Tennant's decision will bring to an end his four-year tenure as the 10th Doctor, which has seen him win over a new generation of fans and amass an enviable collection of television awards. Tennant, 37, made his announcement by videolink at last night's National Television awards, where he won an outstanding drama performance award and Doctor Who also won most popular drama. The BBC said he would play the Doctor in the four specials due to screen as part of the 2009 series before a new time lord "regenerates" for the 2010 series. Tennant will also star in the Doctor Who Christmas special this year. The Scottish actor first expressed interest in fulfilling his childhood dream to play the Doctor for the 2005 series, but the role went to Christopher Eccleston. But the following season, the BBC confirmed Tennant would take up the battle against the Zygons and Daleks. Tennant's charisma as the Doctor has elevated his status to one of the most popular actors on British television, with the actor picking up the National Television award's most popular actor award last year and best actor in 2006. In the estimation of readers of Doctor Who Magazine, he even surpassed fans' perennial favourite, Tom Baker, as best Doctor. On announcing his departure last night, Tennant said: "It would be very easy to cling on to the Tardis console forever and I fear that if I don't take a deep breath and make the decision to move on now, then I simply never will. You would be prising the Tardis key out of my cold dead hand." The actor has ended months of speculation by announcing that he will leave after filming four special episodes, to be screened next year. "I've had the most brilliant, bewildering and life-changing time working on Doctor Who, I have loved every day of it. It would be very easy to cling on to the Tardis console forever and I fear that if I don't take a deep breath and make the decision to move on now, then I simply never will... Tennant, 37, said that when the time comes for him to vacate the Tardis he will be "honoured to hand on the best job in the world to the next lucky git - whoever that may be." The show's outgoing writer, Russell T Davies, promised Tennant's swansong would be "the most enormous and spectacular ending". Names in the frame include David Morrissey, who will appear in a Doctor Who Christmas special entitled The Next Doctor, and newcomer Russell Tovey, who appeared in last year's festive episode. The BBC1 show's outgoing writer, Russell T Davies, has put Tovey forward as a possible replacement and hailed him as an "amazing" talent. When Tennant took over the role from Christopher Eccleston in 2005, some fans were sceptical about his ability to fill the role, but he became one of the most popular Doctors in the history of the series. The actor has become such a star that the entire run of his forthcoming West End role as Hamlet sold out in one day, and the Royal Shakespeare Company felt compelled to ask Doctor Who fans not to besiege the stage door. Tennant stepped into the Tardis in 2005, and will leave the role after four special episodes are broadcast next year. "I love this part, and I love this show so much that if I don't take a deep breath and move on now I never will, and you'll be wheeling me out of the Tardis in my bath chair." 'I'll miss it' Bets on next Doctor Paterson Joseph - 3-1 (pictured) David Morrisey - 5-1 James Nesbitt - 6-1 John Simm - 8-1 Source: Paddy Power Three years was "about the right time" to play the role, he told the BBC in an exclusive interview. "I think it's better to go when there's a chance that people might miss you, rather than to hang around and outstay your welcome," he said. His stint in the show had been "the most extraordinary time, it's been bewildering, life changing, very exciting", he said. "That's one of the reasons I think it's right to take a deep breath and bow out when it's still fun, when it's a novelty. Almost 10 million people watched as the Time Lord apparently started the process of regeneration - but did not complete it. An average of 8.1 million people a week watched the latest series - the fourth since it made a comeback in 2005 - in its Saturday evening slot on BBC One. 'Spectacular' exit Russell T Davies, executive producer, said: "I've been lucky and honoured to work with David over the past few years - and it's not over yet, the Tenth Doctor still has five spectacular hours left! HAVE YOUR SAY James Nesbitt would be a good, dark Doctor Grant, Manchester In December last year, Tennant denied rumours that he was planning to quit after Catherine Tate - his new companion in the Tardis - told the Jonathan Ross radio show she thought the next series of Doctor Who would be Tennant's last.
He is planning cuts, too. So do I,” Mr. Yemma said. That's what we will be doing. In the first of what could be a series of print newspaper closings, the Christian Science Monitor has announced the end of its daily print format and its switch to a Web-based publication. "Next year we are anticipating budget cuts of 11 per cent," says Yemma, "so I anticipate a staff reduction of between 10 to 15 per cent." Web revenue is about $1.3 million, he said. Perhaps changing the name would help? Starting April 2009, the 100-year-old news organization will no longer publish daily physical newspapers and will focus its content on the Internet. “There’s nothing like it. In April, the US daily will ditch its paper edition and channel resources into its website, with a daily email bulletin and weekly 44-page magazine for subscribers. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Before The Monitor, a handful of small papers had shifted away from print. "There is so much out there that I think you need a snapshot of the day. At a recent conference held by the City University of New York’s journalism school, a group of publishing executives discussed what a cost-efficient newsroom should look like. The Monitor is a nonprofit financed by a church and delivered through the mail, and has seen a steady decline in readership over the past 40 years. Moving from print to online is hardly a novelty: for many struggling publications it's the elephant in the newsroom as circulation dwindles and print costs soar. The majority of the decision is based on money.
Its readers are a snapshot of a bygone age – retired diplomats, missionaries and maiden aunts – but The Christian Science Monitor has plans that many a forward-looking editor would blanche to think of. In April, the US daily will ditch its paper edition and channel resources into its website, with a daily email bulletin and weekly 44-page magazine for subscribers. Moving from print to online is hardly a novelty: for many struggling publications it's the elephant in the newsroom as circulation dwindles and print costs soar. But the Monitor will be the first nationally circulated daily paper to surrender its print version altogether and, according to its editor, John Yemma, it will not be the last. "We've always been burdened by the unwieldy mechanism of publishing and distributing a daily paper simultaneously across America," he says. So in a sense, we have had to wait for the internet to be born." Later this month, The Christian Science Monitor marks its 100th birthday, but you would be forgiven for never having heard of it. Founded in 1908 by Mary Baker Eddy (right), the then 87-year-old founder of the Christian Science Movement, the paper was a high-minded response to the "yellow", or sensationalist journalism of the day. Since the late 1890s, a circulation war had been raging between the New York World and the New York Journal, both being dragged downmarket by rival proprietors Joseph Pulitzer and William Randolph Hearst. Mary Eddy was "aghast" as the quality of journalism, says Yemma, and with the Monitor she tapped into a surge of Puritanism which, with the help of church funds, allowed the paper to flourish. "She wanted really good clear news that was unbiased and impartial. Her mission was not to proselytise, which remains the aim to this day." The irony that The Monitor should go on to win seven Pulitzer prizes would, one imagines, not have been lost on its founder. As a news-gathering organ, the paper is blessed with enviable resources, including an astonishing 95 full-time editorial staff, with correspondents all over America and in seven bureaux worldwide. Inevitably, the move online will mean staff cuts, but as yet there are no plans to close any bureaux. "Next year we are anticipating budget cuts of 11 per cent," says Yemma, "so I anticipate a staff reduction of between 10 to 15 per cent." Although a mainstream national title, the Monitor's circulation of 52,000 is less than many special interest magazines. It owes its existence to the deep pockets of the Christian Science Movement, although the church has no say on editorial policy. "When it was founded, about 90 per cent of our readers were Christian Scientists. "In all our 100-year history, we've only made money or broken even for one or two of those," he adds cheerfully. "We pretty much put that question to rest 100 years ago. There have never been plans to alter the name." The new model planned for the Monitor will rely on subscribers and web advertising. Yemma is particularly enthusiastic about the daily email service that will present subscribers with 300-word resumes of the day's major stories. It's what editors are paid for – to edit the news." He claims this news digest will appeal particularly to the Monitor's older readers, who, he believes, may not be familiar with the internet but are able to read emails. He also reveals that another major US news magazine is to follow the Monitor's lead, "in the next couple of weeks", but refuses to say which as he is involved in the project. "It's like the early days of television," says Yemma. “This is a new model.” Lou Ureneck, the chairman of the journalism department at Boston University, said that it was difficult to interpret what the move meant for other newspapers, because The Monitor was nonprofit and most newspapers were not. This year, The Capital Times in Madison, Wis., went online only, and The Daily Telegram in Superior, Wis., announced it would publish online except for two days a week. Advertisement Continue reading the main story “If that much revenue is tied up in the print product, if tomorrow these companies dropped those editions, they would have 90 percent less revenue,” Mr.
Madelyn Dunham, 86, had cancer. All About Barack Obama "She was the person who encouraged and allowed us to take chances." Obama has described his grandmother as a role model The grandmother of US candidate Barack Obama has died on the eve of the presidential election. When her health deteriorated last month, the Democratic candidate left the campaign trail for two days to visit her in Hawaii. She had been a key figure in Mr Obama's early life, and helped raise him. In a statement released Monday afternoon, Obama and his sister said that Dunham was "the cornerstone of our family, and a woman of extraordinary accomplishment, strength, and humility." Our thoughts and prayers go out to them as they remember and celebrate the life of someone who had such a profound impact in their lives." Dunham passed away peacefully at her home shortly before midnight Sunday night (5 a.m. Bookmark with: Delicious Digg reddit Facebook StumbleUpon What are these? She was proud of her grandchildren and great-grandchildren and left this world with the knowledge that her impact on all of us was meaningful and enduring. Obama remembered her as "one of those quiet heroes we have across America, who aren't famous ... but each and every day they work hard. Although he later cut his ties to the Reverend Wright, at the time he said he could no more disown him than he could disown his white grandmother, who had once admitted her fear of passing black men in the street. CNN political producer Ed Hornick contributed to this report. Our debt to her is beyond measure."
"It is with great sadness that we announce that our grandmother, Madelyn Dunham, has died peacefully after a battle with cancer," Mr Obama said in a joint statement with his sister Maya Soetoro-Ng, released on the eve of the US election. "She was the cornerstone of our family, and a woman of extraordinary accomplishment, strength, and humility. "She was proud of her grandchildren and great-grandchildren and left this world with the knowledge that her impact on all of us was meaningful and enduring. Obama took a day-and-a-half away from the campaign trail late last month to visit Dunham in his native Hawaii after saying she may not live until the election on Tuesday. (CNN) -- Sen. Barack Obama's grandmother, Madelyn Dunham, has died following a bout with cancer, Obama and his sister, Maya Soetoro-Ng, said Monday. At a rally in Charlotte, North Carolina, Monday night, the Illinois senator said "she has gone home and she died peacefully in her sleep with my sister at her side." "I'm not going to talk about it long because it's hard to talk about," he added. Obama remembered her as "one of those quiet heroes we have across America, who aren't famous ... but each and every day they work hard. In a statement released Monday afternoon, Obama and his sister said that Dunham was "the cornerstone of our family, and a woman of extraordinary accomplishment, strength, and humility." Watch CNN contributors discuss Obama's grandmother » "She was the person who encouraged and allowed us to take chances. Obama and Soetoro-Ng asked that donations be made for the search for a cure for cancer in lieu of flowers. A small private ceremony will be held "at a later date." Dunham passed away peacefully at her home shortly before midnight Sunday night (5 a.m. She said Obama learned of her death around 8 a.m. Obama's republican rival, Sen. John McCain, issued a statement Monday afternoon: "We offer our deepest condolences to Barack Obama and his family as they grieve the loss of their beloved grandmother. The Democratic presidential candidate left the campaign trail on October 23 and flew to Honolulu, Hawaii, to spend the day with Dunham, whose health deteriorated after she suffered a broken hip. Obama said in an interview taped for that day's "Good Morning America" that Dunham had been "inundated" with flowers and messages from strangers who read about her in Obama's 1995 book, "Dreams From My Father." Watch Obama tell supporters that his grandmother was "one of those quiet heroes" » The candidate resumed his campaign on October 25. "She's the one who put off buying a new car or a new dress for herself so that I could have a better life," he said in his acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention. Obama has described his grandmother as a role model The grandmother of US candidate Barack Obama has died on the eve of the presidential election. When her health deteriorated last month, the Democratic candidate left the campaign trail for two days to visit her in Hawaii. The politics of bereavement Obituary: Madelyn Dunham "Our thoughts and prayers go out to them as they remember and celebrate the life of someone who had such a profound impact in their lives," they said in a statement. Ten days ago, Mr Obama broke away from the campaign trail to pay one last visit to Ms Dunham, whom he had mentioned at several key moments during his run for the White House. At his speech to the Democratic Convention, he praised her as a role model - someone who had risen from bank clerk to bank vice-president through endeavour, but who had been prevented from getting to the very top because of her gender. And in the speech he gave on race in Philadelphia, he spoke of her in connection with his former pastor, Jeremiah Wright - whose inflammatory comments about white America had threatened to derail Barack Obama's presidential campaign. Although he later cut his ties to the Reverend Wright, at the time he said he could no more disown him than he could disown his white grandmother, who had once admitted her fear of passing black men in the street.
In Virginia, early voting doubled. In three swing states -- North Carolina, New Mexico and Colorado -- the number of voters who have already cast their ballots has reached more than 70% of the number who voted there in 2004. Election officials said the problems resulted from machines that were improperly calibrated. "What we don't know is how reliable and accurate the voter databases are," said Dan Tokaji, an Ohio State University professor who specializes in election law. Polls in at least a few places remained open later than scheduled to accommodate the throngs or for other reasons. * In Florida, the 11 million eligible voters who are registered is up 7.8% over 2006. The day had its share of snags. ELECTION 2008: TURNOUT AT THE POLLS Early-voting totals reach record highs Analysts say the final participation figures could top the percentage peak set a century ago. The influx in many places seems to be favoring Obama, as Democratic early voters outnumber Republicans in all but one state that keeps track of party affiliation, according to data compiled by the U.S. An unprecedented outpouring of voters translated into waits of several hours yesterday at polling sites from Arizona to southeastern Virginia, amid sporadic reports around the country of problematic voting machines, faulty registration lists, and deceptive text messages and other high-tech efforts to deter young people and minorities from casting ballots. Elections Project at George Mason University. Details about CNN's projection process Poll closing times by state and time zone• "Party change" denotes a race where the 2008 projected winner is from a different party than the previous winner or incumbent.• Not all candidates are listed• This site is designed for Flash; download the latest version of the Flash player here
An unprecedented outpouring of voters translated into waits of several hours yesterday at polling sites from Arizona to southeastern Virginia, amid sporadic reports around the country of problematic voting machines, faulty registration lists, and deceptive text messages and other high-tech efforts to deter young people and minorities from casting ballots. Nationally, the quadrennial ritual of selecting a president produced few problems widespread enough to cast the outcome in doubt, according to election observers, state election officials and the political parties. In fact, the record-shattering turnouts transformed the protracted waits in some places into de facto street parties, with citizens snapping photos with their cellphones as they waited their turn at democracy's most basic task. In Santa Monica, Calif., crowds in line at 7 a.m. for the polls to open at City Hall broke into cheers and songs as the sun rose. One Kansas City, Mo., ward received scrambled registration lists, prompting huge backups, for two hours until the rolls were straightened out, as poll workers verified eligibility. A suspicious white powder closed one Rhode Island polling station for four hours until officials determined the substance to be soap. Chesapeake, Va., in the Tidewater region had some of the longest lines in the country, as voting-machine problems produced seven-hour waits early in the day. Last-minute lawsuits challenging election procedures were lodged yesterday in Philadelphia, Indianapolis, New Hampshire and Ohio. But election law specialists said potential problems at the polls had been averted by nearly a dozen lawsuits nationwide filed in recent weeks, in which federal and state courts upheld the eligibility of hundreds of thousands of voters. "From the national view, we just haven't had the kind of breakdowns people feared," said Doug Chapin, director of Electionline.org, a nonpartisan project that monitors election administration. The logistics of voting have emerged as a large-scale partisan and legal issue since the disputed 2000 election, in which George W. Bush's victory hinged on court rulings about the handling of ballots in Florida. The pattern across the country, which continued yesterday, is that Republicans tend to allege instances of voter fraud, while Democrats often contend that eligible voters are being denied the right to cast ballots. In the half-dozen years since the law passed, $3 billion in federal funds have been spent to overhaul voting operations, much of it for new equipment. With touch-screen machines falling out of favor, an increasing number of the nation's voters -- slightly more than half -- used paper ballots read by optical scanners that produce a paper trail. He said the answer would not be evident for at least a few days, until it becomes clear how many people were forced to cast provisional ballots because their eligibility was in doubt and how many of those ballots ultimately were ruled valid. In Gwinnett County, Ga., northeast of Atlanta, where a printing error on absentee ballots had made them unreadable by high-speed tabulators, election officials last night still had not finished hand-copying the 19,000 votes onto new ballots so they could be tallied. ELECTION 2008: TURNOUT AT THE POLLS Early-voting totals reach record highs Analysts say the final participation figures could top the percentage peak set a century ago. That may represent the beginning of a tidal wave of voting participation that could match or break a record set a century ago, when two-thirds of eligible voters went to the polls for the 1908 presidential election. The number of voters registered nationwide increased about 2.5% to include 73.5% of the eligible population -- the highest level at least since women won the right to vote in 1920, according to an estimate by the Center for the Study of the American Electorate. The early-voting options offered in 32 states -- which allow people to vote by mail or in person before election day without offering any excuse -- may ease the crunch at polling places today. * In North Carolina, the early voters seemed tilted in Obama's favor: 51% are Democrats and 26.1% are African Americans (even though only 21.5% of all registered voters are black). Details about CNN's projection process Poll closing times by state and time zone• "Party change" denotes a race where the 2008 projected winner is from a different party than the previous winner or incumbent.• Not all candidates are listed• This site is designed for Flash; download the latest version of the Flash player here
"If some people don't have a sense of humour, then it's their problem,'' he said. Berlusconi's comments on Obama were not the only ones raising eyebrows today. While campaigning, Barack Obama said he could hold direct talks with Tehran[AFP] While campaigning, Barack Obama said he could hold direct talks with Tehran[AFP] Diplomatic ties between the two countries have largely been cut since the revolution removed the country's US-backed leader from power. Obama has said he would be willing to toughen sanctions on Iran, and like George Bush, the current president, would not rule out military action against Tehran. 'War-oriented' policies Ahmadinejad said in the statement published by Irna, Iran's official news agency, that he hoped Obama would put an end to the United States' "war-oriented" policies. The Prime Minister congratulated the President-elect at 8pm and the two men talked about "global and bilateral issues," according to Downing Street. The Iranian president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, sent a congratulatory message, the first time an Iranian leader has offered his good wishes to an American president-elect since the Islamic Revolution in 1979. "We have beautiful ladies and beautiful women, so my suggestion from the bottom of my heart is to try to make investments in Italy,'' he said. On Thursday, the Bush administration further restricted Iran's access to the US financial system by banning certain types of fund transfers, the US treasury department said. When asked by a reporter about the future prospect of US-Russian relations, Berlusconi referred to the youth of both leaders - Medvedev, 43, and Obama, 47 - which he said should make it easier for Moscow and Washington to work together.
The Prime Minister congratulated the President-elect at 8pm and the two men talked about "global and bilateral issues," according to Downing Street. A Number 10 source said that they agreed they were the areas that would need close co-operation. While campaigning, Barack Obama said he could hold direct talks with Tehran[AFP] While campaigning, Barack Obama said he could hold direct talks with Tehran[AFP] Diplomatic ties between the two countries have largely been cut since the revolution removed the country's US-backed leader from power. During campaigning, Obama said if elected, he would consider holding direct talks with Iranian leaders over the country's nuclear programme, which Western powers have alleged is for developing weapons. 'War-oriented' policies Ahmadinejad said in the statement published by Irna, Iran's official news agency, that he hoped Obama would put an end to the United States' "war-oriented" policies. "Other nations expect war-oriented policies, occupation, bullying ... and imposing discriminatory policies on them to be replaced by those advocating respect ... and non-interference in other countries' state matters," he said. Obama has said direct talks could be necessary to give those decisions greater credibility and criticised the outgoing administration for not pushing for more diplomacy and engagement with Tehran. On Thursday, the Bush administration further restricted Iran's access to the US financial system by banning certain types of fund transfers, the US treasury department said. Speaking to Mehr news agency, he said that "through the lifting of the past government's cruel sanctions against Iran, Barack Obama can demonstrate his goodwill to the Iranian people". Israeli caution The UN has imposed three rounds of sanctions since 2006, in addition to bilateral measures by Washington, over Iran's refusal to halt uranium enrichment - a process that can have either civilian or military uses. Tzipi Livni, Israel's foreign minister and leader of the ruling Kadima party, warned Obama against rushing into any engagement with Tehran. The Italian prime minister raises eyebrows with more of his off-key remarks, this time about Barack Obama Silvio Berlusconi, the Italian prime minister, offered his own particular form of praise today for America's president-elect Barack Obama, describing him as "young, handsome and tanned.'' He then continued: "I told the president that [Obama] has everything needed in order to reach a deal with him: he's young, handsome and tanned." Later, when he returned to his hotel, Berlusconi said his comment that Obama was "giovane, bello e abbronzato", "was a big compliment," which only "imbeciles" would misinterpret, Italy's state news wire Ansa reported.
The Rev. In Arizona, where same-sex marriage was already against the law, the victory for Proposition 102, which amends the State Constitution, was met with a shrug by some. To gay rights advocates, the issue was one of civil rights. Advertisement Continue reading the main story “It is the definition of bittersweet,” Mr. Turman said. Exit polls in California found that 70 percent of black voters backed the ban. And I approve of Him." But I still have my beliefs, and if I can vote my beliefs that's what I'm going to do. "God doesn't approve it, so I don't approve it. More than 40 states now have constitutional bans or laws against same-sex marriages. Colorado also has an abortion-related question on the ballot. Similar measures passed easily in Florida and Arizona. That law was overturned in May by the State Supreme Court. It doesn't mention abortion, but would force legislators and courts to confront which legal rights to extend to foetuses – and whether the amendment effectively bans abortion. View all New York Times newsletters. The outlier of the proposition was African Americans. Many are churchgoing; many had ministers tell them to vote." Samuel Rodriguez, a pastor in Sacramento and president of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference, said the campaign to pass Proposition 8 had begun with white evangelical churches but had spread to more than 1,130 Hispanic churches whose pastors convinced their members that same-sex marriage threatened the traditional family. The outcome that placed two pillars of the Democratic coalition -- minorities and gays -- at opposite ends of an emotional issue sparked street protests in Los Angeles and a candlelight vigil in San Francisco.
As the world focused on the presidential election, voters in a number of US states decided questions on a hot-button social and cultural issues. Voters in Colorado and South Dakota defeated ballot measures aimed at restricting abortion, while Massachusetts and Michigan approved measures to slacken marijuana laws. In Washington state, voters approved a law allowing physician-assisted suicide. In South Dakota, voters rejected a ballot proposition that would have outlawed abortion except in cases of rape, incest and serious health threat to the mother. Had it passed, the law would likely have provoked a constitutional challenge, setting up an fight in the US supreme court over a woman's right to choose abortion. In 2006 South Dakotans rejected a stricter abortion ban that did not include the exceptions for rape and incest. Voters today decide on a constitutional amendment that would define human life as beginning at conception. It doesn't mention abortion, but would force legislators and courts to confront which legal rights to extend to foetuses – and whether the amendment effectively bans abortion. Michigan became the 13th state to legalise marijuana for medical use, while Massachusetts decriminalised possession of one ounce or less of the substance, making the offence punishable with a citation and a $100 fine. "Tonight's results represent a sea change," said Rob Kampia, executive director of the Marijuana Policy Project, which backed the Massachusetts and Michigan ballot proposals. "Voters have spectacularly rejected eight years of the most intense government war on marijuana since the days of 'Reefer Madness.'" In Arkansas, voters approved a measure on the ballot to bar unmarried couples from adopting or taking in foster children. The referendum is intended as a constitutionally permissible way to prevent gays from adopting, supporters say. Meanwhile, Californians today voted on a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage. Late polls showed a tight race. The state supreme court in May forced the state to allow gays to marry, but Christian conservatives launched a successful campaign to put a proposed constitutional amendment on the ballot. The state allows gay civil unions, but social conservatives worry that gay marriage in California will set a trend that will spread nationwide. The losses devastated supporters of same-sex marriage and ignited a debate about whether the movement to expand the rights of same-sex couples had hit a cultural brick wall, even at a time of another civil rights success, the election of a black president. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Thirty states have now passed bans on same-sex marriage. Supporters of same-sex marriage in California, where the fight on Tuesday was fiercest, appeared to have been outflanked by the measure’s highly organized backers and, exit polls indicated, hurt by the large turnout among black and Hispanic voters drawn to Senator Barack Obama’s candidacy. Exit polls in California found that 70 percent of black voters backed the ban. Slightly more than half of Latino voters, who made up almost 20 percent of voters, favored the ban, while 53 percent of whites opposed it. Democratic Club, a gay political group here, said he called his mother in tears when Mr. Obama won the presidency, only to be crying over the same-sex marriage vote in a different way not much later. As a gay man, I thought, ‘How can this be happening?’ ” Advertisement Continue reading the main story Proposition 8’s passage left only Massachusetts and Connecticut as states where same-sex marriages are legal, though both Rhode Island and New York will continue to recognize such ceremonies performed elsewhere. Advertisement Continue reading the main story On Wednesday, five months of same-sex marriages in California — declared legal by the State Supreme Court in May — appeared to have come to a halt. “This city is no longer marrying people” of the same sex, Gavin Newsom, the mayor of San Francisco, announced at a grim news conference at City Hall, where hundreds of same-sex couples had rushed to marry in the days and hours leading up to Tuesday’s vote. The status of those marriages, among 17,000 same-sex unions performed in the state, was left in doubt by the vote. Photo The cities of Los Angeles and San Francisco, and Santa Clara County, as well as several civil rights and gay rights groups, said on Wednesday that they would sue to block the ban. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Some opponents of the proposition were also still holding out slim hopes that a batch of perhaps as many as four million provisional and vote-by-mail ballots would somehow turn the tide. Joel Hunter, an evangelical pastor in Florida, said many religious conservatives felt more urgency about stopping same-sex marriage than about abortion, another hotly contested issue long locked in a stalemate. Samuel Rodriguez, a pastor in Sacramento and president of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference, said the campaign to pass Proposition 8 had begun with white evangelical churches but had spread to more than 1,130 Hispanic churches whose pastors convinced their members that same-sex marriage threatened the traditional family. Proposition 8 was one of the most expensive ballot measures ever waged, with combined spending of more than $75 million. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Forces on both sides viewed California as a critical test of the nation’s acceptance of gay people, who have made remarkable strides in the decades since the 1969 riots in New York at the Stonewall Inn, considered the beginning of the gay rights movement.
And now it will be on the moon though it will not be hoisted. The probe, painted with the Indian flag, crashed into the Moon's surface at 2034 (1504 GMT), the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) said. Advertisement India has successfully launched its first mission to the Moon. "The downloading of data from the MIP to the orbiting Chandrayaan and then to the ground station will start once the spacecraft comes over the north pole of the moon. Malapert Crater is not far from the Shackleton crater," he added. This metallic element has been found in lunar meteorites, but scientists know little about its distribution in the lunar crust. FROM THE TODAY PROGRAMME Please turn on JavaScript. CHANDRAYAAN 1 1 - Chandrayaan Energetic Neutral Analyzer (CENA) 2 - Moon Impact Probe (MIP) 3 - Radiation Dose Monitor (RADOM) 4 - Terrain Mapping Camera (TMC) 5 - Moon Mineralogy Mapper (M3) 6 - Chandrayaan 1 X-ray Spectrometer (C1XS) 7 - Solar Panel India sets its sights on the Moon In Pictures: India Moon mission It will also drop the Indian flag on the surface of the Moon. The launch is regarded as a major step for India as it seeks to keep pace with other space-faring nations in Asia. The far side is both more heavily cratered and different in composition to the one facing Earth. E-mail this to a friend Printable version Media requires JavaScript to play. Bookmark with: Delicious Digg reddit Facebook StumbleUpon What are these? Last month, China became only the third country in the world to independently carry out a spacewalk.
India sends probe on to the Moon The lunar surface viewed by the Moon Impact Probe on its descent India's first unmanned lunar spacecraft, Chandrayaan 1, has sent a probe on to the surface of the Moon. The probe, painted with the Indian flag, crashed into the Moon's surface at 2034 (1504 GMT), the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) said. During its controlled plunge, it took readings including measurements of the composition of the Moon's atmosphere. The BBC's Sanjoy Majumder in Delhi says the success of the mission has been hailed in India where many see it as another sign of the country's emergence as a global power. Video journey Earlier this week Chandrayaan 1 began orbiting the Moon some three weeks after it was launched from a space centre in southern India. CHANDRAYAAN 1 1 - Chandrayaan Energetic Neutral Analyzer (CENA) 2 - Moon Impact Probe (MIP) 3 - Radiation Dose Monitor (RADOM) 4 - Terrain Mapping Camera (TMC) 5 - Moon Mineralogy Mapper (M3) 6 - Chandrayaan 1 X-ray Spectrometer (C1XS) 7 - Solar Panel India sets its sights on the Moon In Pictures: India Moon mission The dropping of the Moon Impact Probe (MIP), weighing about 30kg, concludes the first phase of the mission. "During its descent from Chandrayaan 1, an onboard video camera transmitted lunar pictures to the ISRO command centre," spokesman S Satish said, AFP news agency reports. For the next two years, Chandrayaan 1 will map a three-dimensional atlas of the Moon and also check for the presence of water-ice with the help of instruments built by India and other countries including the US, Britain and Germany. The chairman of India's space programme, Madhavan Nair, has described the mission as 95% successful so far and has announced a second lunar mission to be launched by 2012. "We have now successfully put our national flag on the lunar surface," he told a news conference. Mr Nair has also said India is considering sending a satellite to Mars. Bookmark with: Delicious Digg reddit Facebook StumbleUpon What are these? MUMBAI: If things go as planned, the Indian tricolour will mark its presence on the moon tonight (around 8.30pm IST) after having flown 3,86,000km from the earth. The timing of this proud moment has been specially designed to coincide with Children's Day. ( ) The United States, the former Soviet Union and the European Space Agency comprising 17 countries already have their flags on the moon. The Indian tricolour is painted on all sides of the 29-kg Moon Impact Probe which is attached to the main orbiting spacecraft, Chandrayaan-1, which was launched on October 22. The inclusion of the MIP as part of the Chandrayaan mission came at the suggestion of former President A P J Abdul Kalam, a former rocket scientist, during the International Lunar Exploration Working Group conference held at Udaipur in November 2004. And now it will be on the moon though it will not be hoisted. The flight of the MIP on Friday is expected to be a forerunner to the second Indian moon mission, Chandrayaan-2, which will carry a Russian rover and alander slated for lift-off between 2010 and 2012. The crash landing of MIP will help in assessing future soft-landing technologies. Chandrayaan project director Mylaswamy Annadurai explained to TOI on Friday that at about 8 pm on Friday, a command will be flashed to the MIP from Isro's telemetry, tracking and command network (Istrac) at Bangalore for it to detach from the orbiter. "The MIP will separate and with its three instruments, zoom towards the lunar south pole at a velocity of 1.5km per second," he said. "At Istrac's mission control room, we will immediately come to know that the MIP has separated from the orbiter. The MIP's flight path will first take it over the Malapert crater for about nine seconds and then crashland near the Shackleton Crater about 25 minutes after its detachment from the orbiter. Annadurai said that after this, the orbiter will fly in the opposite side and thus data will not be immediately available. "The downloading of data from the MIP to the orbiting Chandrayaan and then to the ground station will start once the spacecraft comes over the north pole of the moon. He said that once the MIP crashlands on the moon, its own survivability and that of the three instruments will be in question. "India's physical presence on the moon with the tricolour will be assured," he said. The unmanned Chandrayaan 1 spacecraft blasted off smoothly from a launch pad in southern Andhra Pradesh to embark on a two-year mission of exploration. Indian PM Manmohan Singh hailed the launch as the "first step" in a historic milestone in the country's space programme. People on the streets give their reaction to India's moon mission. In pictures "Our scientific community has once again done the country proud and the entire nation salutes them," Mr Singh said in a message. "Today what we have charted is a remarkable journey for an Indian spacecraft to go to the moon and try to unravel the mysteries of the Earth's closest celestial body and its only natural satellite," Mr Nair said. Competitive mission An Indian-built launcher carrying the one-and-a-half-tonne satellite blasted off from Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, an island off the coast of Andhra Pradesh, at about 0620 local time (0050 GMT). The mission is expected to cost 3.8bn rupees (£45m; $78m), considerably less than Japanese and Chinese probes sent to the Moon last year. The country's tricolour is painted on the side of the probe and, if successful, India will become the fourth country after the US, Russia and Japan to place its national flag on the lunar surface. C1XS will map the abundance of different elements in the lunar crust to help answer key questions about the origin and evolution of Earth's only natural satellite.
Continued below. The top four men - Mr Key, Bill English, Gerry Brownlee and Simon Power - will cover tourism, finance, economic development, energy and justice. He said National and ACT were committed to stable government. Under this afternoon's Maori Party agreement, Dr Sharples will become Maori Affairs Minister as well as as Associate Education Minister and Associate Corrections Minister. Under Act's support agreement a "special select committee" will be set up to review the current ETS and any proposed amendments "in light of the current economic circumstances". Eight other ministers will work outside cabinet. It also requires the lifting of a ban imposed this year on non-essential new fossil fuel-based power generation. But Prime Minister-elect John Key is still confident an amended ETS will be passed into law before the end of next year. That deal will be signed at a joint press conference later today and Mr Key will also hold a joint press conference with Mr Dunne. While the climate change review takes place, implementation of the emissions trading scheme (ETS) will be delayed. It includes ministerial roles outside Cabinet for Mr Hide and deputy Heather Roy as well as policy concessions. National campaigned on watering down the existing legislation within nine months to reduce what it said were barriers to economic growth. Of the 20-member cabinet, six are women, one is a first-time MP and six have less than three years' experience. Parliament will be recalled to sit on December 8 for two weeks. Mr Key today played down the significance of the draft terms of reference for the review, saying they were a proposal from Act and the final terms would be altered after National input.
Mr Key's National Party won 45% of the vote, against 34% for Labour New Zealand's prime minister-elect John Key has formed a cabinet, promising to focus on the economy amid recession. The top four men - Mr Key, Bill English, Gerry Brownlee and Simon Power - will cover tourism, finance, economic development, energy and justice. Veteran MP Murray McCully is named foreign affairs minister and ex-diplomat Tim Groser will cover trade. Of the 20-member cabinet, six are women, one is a first-time MP and six have less than three years' experience. The first-time member of parliament, Steven Joyce, was made minister of transport, in an apparent reward for successfully managing Mr Key's campaign. A second surprise was the award of the big-budget social development portfolio to Paula Bennett, who only became an MP in 2005. Because the ministers from the Act party, United Future and Maori Party will not sit in cabinet, they will be allowed to oppose government policy outside their own portfolios. Mr Key, a multi-millionaire former investment banker, has worked fast to form a government ahead of being signed in on Wednesday so he can leave for a summit in Peru the next day. Economic challenge "The National-led government takes office at a challenging time for the country," Mr Key said after announcing his line-up. "The growth outlook is weak, and international and domestic difficulties abound. "This government will concentrate on boosting economic growth because that is what will lead us out of these challenging times," he said. New Zealand media quoted business leaders expressing approval of the new conservative administration. New Zealand entered recession in the first half of the year, and last week the outgoing government warned that prospects for a recovery had worsened due to the global turmoil. During the campaign Mr Key promised that his government would accelerate tax cuts, increase help for people who lose their jobs and expand infrastructure investment. Mr Key ended Helen Clark's nine years as leader of New Zealand in elections on 8 November. Ms Clark has resigned as leader of the Labour Party and is widely expected to embark on a new international career. By Grant Fleming The incoming National government will completely review the emissions trading scheme (ETS) - possibly including the science that says humans are to blame for climate change - as part of its support deal with Act. But Prime Minister-elect John Key is still confident an amended ETS will be passed into law before the end of next year. National campaigned on watering down the existing legislation within nine months to reduce what it said were barriers to economic growth. Under Act's support agreement a "special select committee" will be set up to review the current ETS and any proposed amendments "in light of the current economic circumstances". A draft terms of reference for the review attached to the agreement, includes hearing "competing views on the scientific aspects of climate change" and looking at the merits of a "mitigation or adaptation approach". It also includes looking at the merits of an ETS, as opposed to a carbon tax, and the timing of any future climate change interventions. The deal requires the National government to pass immediate legislation delaying the implementation of the ETS until the review is complete. It also requires the lifting of a ban imposed this year on non-essential new fossil fuel-based power generation. He said he personally believed human-induced climate change was real and it was still possible National would pass an amended ETS into law within the time-frame it had promised - which "broadly speaking" was the end of September next year. Related Content Marie Weber's 21 years with the circus started in Whangarei Barry Soper: In politics, timing is everything Cyclone Cook: Riders on the storm If that deadline could not be met he was confident changes could be passed before the end of 2009. He said that would give businesses enough certainty as the existing scheme did not take effect until 2010. "I'm quite confident the select committee will come up with what we always wanted which is more balance in this whole debate." Mr Key said lifting of the ban on fossil-fuel power generation would not lead to a blow-out in emissions as planned Resource Management Act changes would make it easier for companies to get the green light for large-scale renewable projects. Mr Hide said he was happy with the "fundamental review" of the legislation, given that Act had only won 3.7 per cent of the vote. At a joint press conference with ACT leader Rodney Hide today, Mr Key announced he had formally signed up Act's support. Click here for the full agreement Mr Key said United Future had also agreed to back National, giving his government 70 votes on confidence and supply issues in the incoming 122-member Parliament. Mr Key's formal inking of the deals paves the way for him to announce his Cabinet tomorrow afternoon and for him and his ministers to be sworn in on Wednesday. Under this afternoon's Maori Party agreement, Dr Sharples will become Maori Affairs Minister as well as as Associate Education Minister and Associate Corrections Minister. Photo John Key forms the Government Kiwis better off making their own emergency kits, Consumer NZ report finds Mrs Turia will be Minister for the Community and Voluntary Sector, Associate Health Minister and Associate Social Development Minister. National will also support legislation on ACT's hardline "three-strikes" sentencing policy for violent offenders to the select committee stage and a complete review of climate change policy settings.
B.C. I knew it would all pay off at some point, and what do you know, here I am." Burris and Calvillo will face off against one another on the field in Sunday night's 96th Grey Cup game in Montreal. "We had some drives that we didn't finish. Calgary Stampeders kicker Sandro DeAngelis was the other finalist. ((Ryan Remiorz/Canadian Press)) Home advantage proved to be no advantage at all for the Montreal Alouettes. Peterson is the first Eskimo to win an outstanding player award since rush end Elfrid Payton was named the league's top defensive player in 2002. DeAngelis responded with a field goal of his own, splitting the uprights from 44 yards early in the second quarter. Duval then put his team up by a point with a punt single. "I'm year-to-year," he said. "We've spent a lot of time together the last six months, we can't let the last three hours define our team. It's going to make it a long off-season and its not going to be fun." An eight-year CFL veteran, Peterson had his best CFL season in 2008, leading all Eskimo receivers with 101 receptions for 1,317 yards and four touchdowns. He also had five forced fumbles — another league high — and 65 tackles. And we turned the ball over a couple of times and that hurt us." The rookie of the year honour went to slotback Weston Dressler of the Saskatchewan Roughriders. The Alouettes fate was sealed when quarterback Anthony Calvillo threw his second interception of the second half into the end zone midway through the fourth quarter, and Henry Burris responded by putting the Stampeders in position for a 50-yard placement by DeAngelis and an eight-point lead with 4:12 left to play.
Tailback Avon Cobourne scored Montreal's only touchdown and Damon Duval booted two field goals and a single as the Alouettes lost for the fifth time in six Grey Cup appearances since 2000. They failed in a bid to become the first team to win a Grey Cup on home turf since the B.C. "We've been through big time ups and downs. I know the difference between reality and playing a game, that's why I kept everything in perspective. "It's like I'm still dreaming," said an emotional Henry Burris, the game MVP. ... Brett Ralph had the only touchdown for the Stampeders, who won the sixth Grey Cup in their history and the first since they beat Winnipeg in the same stadium in 2001. MONTREAL–Sandro DeAngelis kicked five field goals as the Calgary Stampeders won the Grey Cup with a back-and-forth 22-14 victory over the Montreal Alouettes before a packed Olympic Stadium on Sunday night. "I knew I was going to make it," said DeAngelis. "I blew one against B.C., last week and this time, I knew I'd make it. It was the longest field goal of the season for the Calgary kicker, who was the game's top Canadian. The Alouettes fate was sealed when quarterback Anthony Calvillo threw his second interception of the second half into the end zone midway through the fourth quarter, and Henry Burris responded by putting the Stampeders in position for a 50-yard placement by DeAngelis and an eight-point lead with 4:12 left to play. "I'm trying to hold back tears right now," a choked up Burris said on the field after the game. "Just the thought of being a champion – wow. "To win in such a tough circumstance, on the road and in Grey Cup against a team that was playing at home in front of a million people at Olympic Stadium – it's huge. But it shows the character of this team." The 66,308 fans in the domed stadium were deafening as they rooted for the hometown Alouettes. It was the second largest crowd in Grey Cup history after the 68,318 that attended Montreal's win in the 1977 game, also at Olympic Stadium. "We all know this will take a few days for us to get over," said Montreal coach Marc Trestman. "We've spent a lot of time together the last six months, we can't let the last three hours define our team. Jamel Richardson, who had five receptions for 101 yards in the first half alone, made a catch over the middle, broke two tackles and romped 55 yards to set up Duval's 14-yard field goal 4:34 into the game. Burris led a 10-play drive to the Montreal 36 and DeAngelis tied the score with a 43-yard effort 1:12 into the second quarter. But Burris, who completed his first 11 passes, mostly for short yardage, followed his first incomplete toss with a throw straight to Alouette middle linebacker Reggie Hunt for a turnover at the Montreal 51. Ben Cahoon made two catches as Montreal got to the 16, where Cobourne flew untouched up the middle for the game's first touchdown at 7:18. A 42-yard punt return by Larry Taylor set up a 19-yard Duval field goal, but Calgary struck right back with an eight-play scoring drive, and Burris scrambled out of the pocket and found Ralph alone in the end zone from 20 yards with 44 seconds left in the half. Burris used his feet to move the ball early in the second half and took the ball to the Montreal five, but Demetris Summers dropped a sure TD pass and DeAngelis was forced to kick a 12-yard field goal to tie the game. Another Burris drive fell short as Nik Lewis missed a catchable ball in the end zone and DeAngelis hit a 21-yard field goal for a 16-14 Calgary lead on the final play of the third quarter. Calvillo opened the fourth by throwing an interception to Calgary's Dwight Anderson, but despite a wild reception in which a Burris pass went off Ken-Yon Rambo's hands into the arms of Lewis, they settled for another field goal, this one from 30 yards. The Alouettes responded by marching down to the Calgary 20 before Shannon James intercepted Calvillo's pass in the end zone with seven minutes left. "This is what you thrive for, to compete, to get a chance to play in this game and of course to win it and the record is not good on our side, and it's never fun losing your chance. Calvillo easily got the 14 career Grey Cup completions he needed to pass Doug Flutie's former record of 108. Both had losing 2007 seasons, with Calgary at 7-10-1 and Montreal 8-10, and both lost in division semifinals, but the two teams roared back this year under new first-year head coaches – John Hufnagel for the Stamps and Trestman for the Als. Henry Burris threw for a touchdown and Sandro DeAngelis kicked five field goals to lead the Calgary Stampeders to a 22-14 win over the hometown Montreal Alouettes in Sunday's 96th Grey Cup game. Buoyed by the roar of 66, 308 fans — the second-largest crowd in Grey Cup history — the Alouettes jumped out to a 13-3 lead in the second quarter but let the game slip away from them as the Stampeders slowly chipped away and took the lead for good on the last play of the third quarter. Stamps show character "I'm trying to hold back tears right now," a choked up Burris said after the game.
Please turn on JavaScript. India: New Delhi: Indian External Affairs Ministry: +91-11-23015300 Mumbai: Police Control Room: +91-22-22625020; +91-22-22621855 Mumbai: J J Hospital: +91-22-23735555 Mumbai: St. George Hospital: +91-9869050622 Australia: The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade hotline: 1800 002 214 U.S.: The State Department has established a Consular Call Center: 888-407-4747. The doors were locked very quickly, the lights turned off, and everybody just lay very still on the floor," she said. India has suffered a wave of bomb attacks in recent years. Gunmen are also said to be holding people captive in an office block. One eyewitness told the BBC he had seen a gunman opening fire in the Taj Mahal's lobby. At least seven high-profile locations were hit in India's financial capital, including two luxury hotels where dozens of hostages are being held. Police say four suspected terrorists have been killed and nine arrested. A claim of responsibility has been made by a previously unknown group calling itself the Deccan Mujahideen. If the reports are true, our security correspondent Frank Gardner says it implies an Islamist motive - attacks inspired or co-ordinated by al-Qaeda. But the latest shootings come at a time when ties between India and Pakistan have improved. BOMB ATTACKS IN INDIA IN 2008 30 October: Explosions kill at least 64 in north-eastern Assam 30 September: Blasts in western India kill at least seven 27 September: Bomb blasts kills one in Delhi 13 September: Five bomb blasts kill 18 in Delhi 26 July: At least 22 small bombs kill 49 in Ahmedabad 25 July: Seven bombs go off in Bangalore killing two people 13 May: Seven bomb hit markets and crowded streets in Jaipur killing 63 International reaction "There were about 20 or 30 people in each room.
NEW DELHI An organisation calling itself the Deccan Mujahideen has claimed it was behind attacks in India's financial capital Mumbai that have left at least 80 people dead, television channels reported on Thursday. The previously unknown or little known group sent an email to news organisations claiming responsibility. India has suffered a wave of bomb attacks in recent years. Most have been blamed on Islamist militants, although police have also arrested suspected Hindu extremists thought to be behind some of the attacks. Employees and guests of the Taj Mahal Palace hotel are rescued by fire crews Gunmen have carried out a series of co-ordinated attacks across the Indian city of Mumbai (Bombay), killing 101 people and injuring 287 more. At least seven high-profile locations were hit in India's financial capital, including two luxury hotels where dozens of hostages are being held. Police say four suspected terrorists have been killed and nine arrested. Attacks leave India reeling Witnesses tell of violence In pictures: Mumbai attacks As day broke in Mumbai, the situation on the ground was still confused with reports of gunfire and explosions at between seven and 16 locations. The city's main commuter train station, a hospital, a restaurant and two hotels - locations used by foreigners as well as local businessmen and leaders - were among those places caught up in the violence. Commandos have surrounded the two hotels, the Taj Mahal Palace and the Oberoi Trident, where it is believed that the armed men are holding dozens of hostages. In other developments: • Fire crews evacuate people from the upper floors of the Taj Mahal Palace, where police say a grenade attack caused a blaze • The head of Mumbai's anti-terrorism unit and two other senior officers are among those killed, officials say • The White House holds a meeting of top intelligence and counter-terrorism officials, and pledges to help the Indian government • Trading on India's Bombay Stock Exchange and National Stock Exchange markets will remain closed on Thursday, officials say. See detailed map of the area Gunmen opened fire at about 2300 local time (1730 GMT) on Wednesday at the sites in southern Mumbai. One eyewitness told the BBC he had seen a gunman opening fire in the Taj Mahal's lobby. BOMB ATTACKS IN INDIA IN 2008 30 October: Explosions kill at least 64 in north-eastern Assam 30 September: Blasts in western India kill at least seven 27 September: Bomb blasts kills one in Delhi 13 September: Five bomb blasts kill 18 in Delhi 26 July: At least 22 small bombs kill 49 in Ahmedabad 25 July: Seven bombs go off in Bangalore killing two people 13 May: Seven bomb hit markets and crowded streets in Jaipur killing 63 International reaction "There were about 20 or 30 people in each room. A BBC correspondent outside the landmark Taj Mahal Palace said there were gunshots between police and the armed men, and that 11 officers were killed in the skirmishes. If the reports are true, our security correspondent Frank Gardner says it implies an Islamist motive - attacks inspired or co-ordinated by al-Qaeda. Mumbai itself has also been attacked in the past: in July 2006 a series of bomb attacks on busy commuter trains killed almost 190 people and injured more than 700.
So, the work is not unknown to him. "What's the use of this rain now that the harvest is over?" Chidambaram has earlier been a minister of internal security. So, if Deshmukh goes, so will R R Patil. She said the time for resolutions was over and now was the time for action. All About India • Pakistan • Mumbai • Terrorism In this chop-and-replace exercise, P Chidambaram is being drafted in as the new home minister and PM Manmohan Singh will look after finance ministry. The appointment also came hours before the start of the all-party meeting convened by the Prime Minister to discuss the Mumbai attacks and evolve a consensus on how to combat terror. Singh had held the finance portfolio for five years under the late P V Narasimha Rao. The larger effort of the government leaders is seen in political circles as an exercise aimed at minimising the political damage of the Mumbai carnage by carrying out some sort of window-dressing that will grab headlines and convey the impression of the government now being glavanised into action. Follow us on Twitter for TOI top stories Twitter Facebook Share Print Email Save Comment Text Size: | More Stories from this section The chairman of the company that owns the hotel told CNN that the company had been warned about the possibility of a terrorist attack before the massacre. U.S. President George Bush spoke to Singh on Sunday. He was in the thick of matters handling the situation arising out of first the global meltdown and later the deep recession. ( Watch Deshmukh's fate will be decided on Monday and a decision on his deputy will follow.
Chidambaram takes over as home minister Text Size: | 63-year-old Chidambaram, who has had a stint as minister of internal security under the late Rajiv Gandhi in late 1980s, was shifted to the home ministry after amidst demands for the ouster of Patil, who had come under severe attack for his handling of internal security matters. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, himself an economist of repute, will hold the finance portfolio at a time when the country is suffering from the ripple effects of the global recession. Singh had held the finance portfolio for five years under the late P V Narasimha Rao. A Rashtrapati Bhawan communique announced the appointment of Chidambaram as home minister after acceptance of Patil's resignation. Indications that Chidambaram would be given the new responsibility came when he was called as a special invitee to the Congress Working Committee (CWC) on Saturday night and he met the Prime Minister on Sunday morning to discuss the situation arising out of the Mumbai terror attacks. After recommending Patil's resignation to President Pratibha Patil, who is away in Indonesia, the Prime Minister spoke to Chidambaram formally conveying the decision to give him the new assignment. The appointment also came hours before the start of the all-party meeting convened by the Prime Minister to discuss the Mumbai attacks and evolve a consensus on how to combat terror. Shortly after his appointment, home secretary Madhukar Gupta gave him a briefing on the ministry, especially in the current context of tackling the menace of terrorism. A Harvard-educated MBA and an eminent lawyer, Chidambaram brings to home ministry his vast experience as a political administrator he had gained during his various stints in the government at the Centre. He started as a deputy minister of personnel and training in 1985 and was promoted as minister of state within a quick time. Then he was made minister of state for commerce with independent charge in the Narasimha Rao government and had teamed up with Manmohan Singh in the post-1991 economic reforms era. Chidambaram, who has the confidence of Sonia Gandhi, was also responsible for trying to get ahead with economic reforms in the face of strong opposition from the Left allies in the coalition. NEW DELHI: Finance minister P Chidambaram was on Sunday appointed home minister after incumbent Shivraj V Patil resigned owning moral responsibility for the Mumbai terror attacks, the worst the country had seen. ( Watch 63-year-old Chidambaram, who has had a stint as minister of internal security under the late Rajiv Gandhi in late 1980s, was shifted to the home ministry after amidst demands for the ouster of Patil, who had come under severe attack for his handling of internal security matters.Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, himself an economist of repute, will hold the finance portfolio at a time when the country is suffering from the ripple effects of the global recession. Singh had held the finance portfolio for five years under the late P V Narasimha Rao.A Rashtrapati Bhawan communique announced the appointment of Chidambaram as home minister after acceptance of Patil's resignation. It said the Prime Minister will hold the additional charge of finance.Indications that Chidambaram would be given the new responsibility came when he was called as a special invitee to the Congress Working Committee (CWC) on Saturday night and he met the Prime Minister on Sunday morning to discuss the situation arising out of the Mumbai terror attacks.After recommending Patil's resignation to President Pratibha Patil, who is away in Indonesia, the Prime Minister spoke to Chidambaram formally conveying the decision to give him the new assignment.The appointment also came hours before the start of the all-party meeting convened by the Prime Minister to discuss the Mumbai attacks and evolve a consensus on how to combat terror.Shortly after his appointment, home secretary Madhukar Gupta gave him a briefing on the ministry, especially in the current context of tackling the menace of terrorism.A Harvard-educated MBA and an eminent lawyer, Chidambaram brings to home ministry his vast experience as a political administrator he had gained during his various stints in the government at the Centre.He started as a deputy minister of personnel and training in 1985 and was promoted as minister of state within a quick time. Then he was made minister of state for commerce with independent charge in the Narasimha Rao government and had teamed up with Manmohan Singh in the post-1991 economic reforms era.Later, he held the finance portfolio in the United Front government under H D Deve Gowda and I K Gujral, a ministry he got again when the Congress-led UPA came to power in 2004.Chidambaram, who has the confidence of Sonia Gandhi, was also responsible for trying to get ahead with economic reforms in the face of strong opposition from the Left allies in the coalition. Follow us on Twitter for TOI top stories Next > 1| 2 Twitter Facebook Share Print Email Save Comment Single page view Text Size: | More Stories from this section MUMBAI, India (CNN) -- A second Indian official offered his resignation Monday in the wake of last week's deadly terrorist attacks as Pakistan urged its nuclear neighbor to withhold blame until further investigation. Vilasrao Deshmukh, chief minister of the state of Maharashtra where Mumbai is located, said he would leave it up to his ruling Congress party to decide whether his resignation would be accepted. His announcement followed Sunday's resignation of federal Home Minister Shivraj Patil, who quit amid criticism of the response to Wednesday's attacks that left 179 dead. The attacks have damaged India's already strained relationship with Pakistan, which says India has yet to offer any proof to support allegations that a Pakistani-based Islamic militant group was behind the massacre. One captured suspect has told police that he is Pakistani, Indian officials said. Sources told CNN's sister station, CNN-IBN, that the captive has said he was trained by Lashkar-e-Tayyiba, a Pakistan-based terror group allied with al Qaeda. The suspect also said he and his fellow attackers were told to memorize Google Earth maps of Mumbai's streets so they could find their targets, CNN-IBN reported. Watch how investigators are focusing on the suspect » But Rehman Malik, head of Pakistan's Interior Ministry, told CNN, "So far what has been shown has been unjust." "If anybody has used our soil, I give assurance and I assure my friends and people from India that we will take action," Malik said. In Washington, Pakistan's ambassador to the United States said the attacks could be a chance to improve cooperation and ease "the burden of history" between the longtime South Asian rivals, who have fought three major wars since independence and conducted tit-for-tat nuclear weapons tests in 1998. It is important to understand that this is an opportunity for India and Pakistan to work together," Ambassador Husain Haqqani told CNN's "Late Edition with Wolf Blitzer" on Sunday. Police in Mumbai, located in Maharashtra state, on Monday revised downward the death toll from Wednesday's attacks and the sieges that followed to 179 dead and about 300 wounded. Victims share their tales of survival and escape » The official death toll does not include at least nine gunmen killed in three days of battles with police and the Indian military, police said Monday. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh accepted the resignation of Patil, the home minister, and immediately named Finance Minister P. Chidambaram to take over the post, according to a source in the prime minister's office. Indian officials allege that in the 1990s, Lashkar-e-Tayyiba was a state-sponsored terror group used by the Pakistani government to get control of the disputed northern Kashmir region. Pakistan's new democratic government, which took office earlier this year, is battling its own insurgency along the rugged border with Afghanistan, where U.S. and NATO troops have been fighting al Qaeda and Taliban militants since al Qaeda's 2001 attacks on New York and Washington. Haqqani said the militants want India and Pakistan to remain "at each other's throats so they can flourish," but he said his government has seen no sign of an Indian buildup along the border.
The answer is no." Samantha Power, the Obama adviser forced to quit after describing Clinton as a "monster", has joined Obama's transition team, where she is advising on national security agencies, including Clinton's new fiefdom, the state department. He said the current Defence Secretary, Robert Gates, would remain in his job. HOLDER: Historic pick for A.G. faces challenges NAPOLITANO: Tasked with Homeland Security overhaul JONES: Not regarded as 'political general' SUSAN RICE: U.N. ambassador to mend fences Also nominated for top jobs were Eric Holder as attorney general, Arizona Gov. Foreign policy was one of the major differences between Clinton and Obama during their long-fought battle for the Democratic presidential nomination. Selecting Mr Gates - who was appointed by President George W Bush two years ago - allows Mr Obama to honour a promise to name at least one Republican cabinet member. Clinton differed with Obama during the campaign on when to use force and when to use diplomacy. US President-elect Barack Obama has nominated his former rival, Hillary Clinton, as his secretary of state. Please turn on JavaScript. "The American people have demanded not just a new direction at home, but a new effort to renew America's standing in the world as a force for positive change," she said. He also agreed to identify all future donors. Was she negotiating treaties? "I'm a strong believer in strong personalities and strong opinions. Don't attack other readers personally, and keep your language decent. He has also agreed to submit future engagements, speeches and sources of income to the State Department and the White House and to take a more behind-the-scenes role in the daily running of his foundation, sources said.
CHICAGO President-elect Barack Obama promised "a new dawn of American leadership" in the world Monday from a diverse national security team that has not always agreed with him. The team, led by his former campaign rival, Hillary Rodham Clinton, and President Bush's Defense secretary, Robert Gates, is charged with reinvigorating diplomacy, using power pragmatically and renewing what Clinton called "America's standing in the world as a force for positive change." HOLDER: Historic pick for A.G. faces challenges NAPOLITANO: Tasked with Homeland Security overhaul JONES: Not regarded as 'political general' SUSAN RICE: U.N. ambassador to mend fences Also nominated for top jobs were Eric Holder as attorney general, Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano as Homeland Security secretary, retired Marine general Jim Jones as national security adviser and Susan Rice as U.N. ambassador. "America's security is not a partisan issue — witness the team," Vice President-elect Joe Biden said. "I'm a strong believer in strong personalities and strong opinions. I think that's how the best decisions are made," Obama said. "I'm going to be welcoming a vigorous debate inside the White House." Clinton differed with Obama during the campaign on when to use force and when to use diplomacy. Gates differed with Obama's 16-month timetable for withdrawing U.S. combat troops from Iraq. Michael O'Hanlon, senior fellow at the left-leaning Brookings Institution, said keeping Gates is "a fairly clear indication from Obama that he's going to be flexible on Iraq." Foreign policy experts said the group will differ more in style than substance from the moderate team, led by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, that Bush installed halfway through his presidency. That team replaced Bush's first-term unilateralism with an emphasis on working with allies and a willingness to talk to enemies. "There is no doubt that Obama's impulses are different from Bush's," said Nathan Brown, director of the Institute for Middle East Studies at the George Washington University. Bush's policies "have begun to resemble those of his gentler critics." Obama's hands could be tied by the many problems he will inherit: an international financial crisis, two wars, a hostile Iran, unstable Pakistan and re-emerging Russia, tensions with China, stalled Middle East peace talks and strains in the NATO alliance. TRANSITION NEWS: Bill Clinton praises wife's nomination "President Obama may talk about change, 'smart power' … and restoring America's reputation," said Anthony Cordesman, a former State and Defense department official now at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. "The fact remains, however, that he must deal with the foreign policy legacy from hell." While Obama repeated Monday that the U.S. has only one president at a time, he met with his team to discuss last week's terrorist attacks in Mumbai, India, that killed more than 170 people, including six Americans. He called terrorist havens in South Asia "the single most important threat against the American people." Aaron David Miller of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, who has worked for six secretaries of State, said Obama's team must focus more on diplomacy. "While we are determined to defend our freedoms and liberties at all costs, we also reach out to the world again, seeking common cause and higher ground," Clinton said. Use the "Report Abuse" button to make a difference. Use the "Report Abuse" button to make a difference. Mr Obama described the former first lady as a woman of "tremendous stature" who had his "complete confidence". Mrs Clinton lost out to Mr Obama when they contested a bitterly fought race for the Democratic Party's nomination. OBAMA'S SECURITY TEAM Secretary of State: Hillary Clinton Defence Secretary: Robert Gates National Security Adviser: General James Jones Department of Homeland Security: Janet Napolitano Ambassador to the UN: Susan Rice Attorney General: Eric Holder A balanced foreign team Obama's team so far World press: Pragmatic choice Send us your comments His foreign policy team under Hillary Clinton will reassure the more hawkish elements in the US, but might disappoint those who wanted a more radical shift, says BBC News website world affairs correspondent Paul Reynolds. Mr Obama said Mrs Clinton "knows many of the world's leaders" and "will command respect in every capital". He added: "Hillary's appointment is a sign to friend and foe of the seriousness of my commitment to renew American diplomacy and restore our alliances." Complicated agreement Former President Bill Clinton had cleared the way for his wife's appointment by reaching a complicated agreement on his financial arrangements, reports said. The American people have demanded not just a new direction at home, but a new effort to renew America's standing in the world as a force for positive change Hillary Clinton Correspondents said there had been fears her nomination could falter over the appearance of conflicts of interest between her husband's charitable foundation and lucrative speechmaking schedule. "The American people have demanded not just a new direction at home, but a new effort to renew America's standing in the world as a force for positive change," she said. We will also ensure that we have the strategy - and resources - to succeed against al-Qaeda and the Taleban Barack Obama The current secretary of state, Condoleezza Rice, praised Mrs Clinton as an "inspiration" who would "bring enormous energy and intellect" to the role. Mr Gates said he was "deeply honoured" to be asked to continue and that he did so with "a profound sense of personal responsibility, to and for our men and women in uniform and their families".
Aboard the ship there were 14 Danish, 12 Americans, 11 Australians, nine Germans, seven Argentines, seven British, six Chinese, six Spaniards, five Swiss, three Italians, three French, two Canadians, two Irish, a Belgian and a passenger from New Zealand. The cruise liner was rescued Friday by the Chilean navy. A cruise ship with 33 crew members and 89 passengers is stranded in Antarctica on Dec. 4. A rock damaged the hull as the Ushuaia passed through the Gerlache Strait, about 300 km from Argentine base Maramnio and 1,300 km south of Ushuaia. All of them were in "perfect" conditions, rescuers said. A rescue mission is underway to rescue all 122 people on the Ciudad de Ushuaia, which is leaking fuel and taking on water after running aground on Thursday. All About Antarctica • Argentina • Travel and Tourism • Chile The crash left the boat adrift in Guillermina Bay, northwest of Antarctic Peninsula. The Ushuaia was sitting about 300 kilometers (186 miles) southwest of Argentina's Marambio naval base in Antarctica. Related Content Political Roundup: Freedom of speech vs PC culture Watch NZH Local Focus: Ditching Daniel's dreads Your Views: Readers' letters It regularly departs from Ushaia, the southernmost Argentine city that is a popular destination for Argentines and foreigners. It was being helped by another passenger ship in the area, the Associated Press reported, without naming the assisting vessel. - NZPA and wires Aquiles is expected to arrive the Chilean base early Saturday, where the passengers will be taken by a Hercules C-130 plane of the Argentine Air Force to the Port of Ushuaia in southern Argentina.
SANTIAGO, Dec. 5 (Xinhua) -- The 33 crew members and 89 passengers abroad the cruise liner Ushuaia stranded in Antarctica were rescued Friday by the Chilean navy. The rescuers used the boats on the cruise ship to take all the passengers and crew members to the Chilean navy vessel Aquiles. A cruise ship with 33 crew members and 89 passengers is stranded in Antarctica on Dec. 4. The cruise liner was rescued Friday by the Chilean navy. (Xinhua/AFP Photo) Photo Gallery>>> "The Aquiles is sailing with all the passengers to the Chilean Crei Base," which is located 350 km from the accident place, the Argentine navy said in a statement. Aquiles is expected to arrive the Chilean base early Saturday, where the passengers will be taken by a Hercules C-130 plane of the Argentine Air Force to the Port of Ushuaia in southern Argentina. The cruise ship has a Panamanian flag but is owned by an Argentine company. It sent out alarms midday Thursday after it started leaking fuel and taking in water. A rock damaged the hull as the Ushuaia passed through the Gerlache Strait, about 300 km from Argentine base Maramnio and 1,300 km south of Ushuaia. The crash left the boat adrift in Guillermina Bay, northwest of Antarctic Peninsula. All of them were in "perfect" conditions, rescuers said. The cruise ship, built in 1970, operates from the Port of Ushuaia, transporting passengers to Antarctica and islands in the waters of the South Atlantic. BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (CNN) -- All 122 people aboard a cruise ship stranded off Antarctica have been evacuated and are "in perfect health," the Chilean navy said Friday. The cruise ship "Ushuaia" is seen stranded off the coast of Antarctica. The Panamanian-flagged Ushuaia was carrying 89 passengers and 33 crew members Thursday when it struck ice and began to take on water and lose fuel, the Argentinian navy said. Two helicopters and two Chilean navy ships were dispatched to the scene to assist, though the Ushuaia was never in danger of sinking, the Chilean navy said. The crew aboard the Chilean navy's Lautaro, the second ship to reach the crippled Ushuaia, was working to stem the fuel leak, the navy said. One New Zealander is among the passengers on board a stricken Argentinean cruise ship that is leaking and adrift in Antarctic waters, Australian authorities say. A rescue mission is underway to rescue all 122 people on the Ciudad de Ushuaia, which is leaking fuel and taking on water after running aground on Thursday. Related Content Political Roundup: Freedom of speech vs PC culture Watch NZH Local Focus: Ditching Daniel's dreads Your Views: Readers' letters It regularly departs from Ushaia, the southernmost Argentine city that is a popular destination for Argentines and foreigners. In December last year, a Norwegian cruise liner, Fram, floated adrift for two hours before rescue in the same region with 256 passengers and 70 crew on board after its engines failed. Its 154 occupants abandoned ship in lifeboats and were rescued without injury, though a massive fuel slick sullied the pristine protected nature zone.
"Farmers too are concerned," he said. It ordered an immediate recall of all pork and pork products. The UK's Food Standards Agency has said pork from the Irish Republic and Northern Ireland should not be eaten. With dioxins it's a problem when you have exposure at high levels over a long period of time. Nine farms in Northern Ireland have used the contaminated pig feed, Ireland's Newstalk radio said on Sunday. "From the information that we have at this time we do not believe there is significant risk to UK consumers," the FSA said. But the presence of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) was only confirmed yesterday by tests from a UK laboratory. Chronic long-term exposure to the dioxin can have serious health effects, including causing cancers, but Irish officials said the recall would ensure consumers only had minimum exposure to it. Agriculture Minister Michelle Gildernew said restrictions had been placed on the farms on Friday. We are only talking about a problem since September." Tests on the slaughtered Irish pigs showed some pork products contained up to 200 times more dioxins than the recognised safety limit. The industry exports approximately 60% of its production and is worth more than 250m euros (£216m) a year. Bookmark with: Delicious Digg reddit Facebook StumbleUpon What are these? The contamination has been traced back to an ingredient in an animal feed from one supplier, which was used at 47 different farms. The Irish Association of Pigmeat Processors said 10 farms had been using the tainted feed, responsible for less than 10 percent of Irish pigmeat production. They include 37 beef farms, but it has not yet been necessary to withdraw the beef products.
Irish pork products on sale since September 2008 were recalled last night following fears that pigs had been given feed contaminated by harmful toxins. The Food Standards Agency of Ireland revealed pork products on several farms across the country were found to have up to 200 times more dioxins than the accepted safe limit. The recall affects products sold across Ireland and the UK since 1 September. Consumers and retailers are now being encouraged to destroy all Irish pork and bacon products bought since that date. The FSAI admitted suspicions over contamination were first raised last Monday, as a result of routine testing of pigs, when restrictions were placed on some pig farms. But the presence of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) was only confirmed yesterday by tests from a UK laboratory. The contamination has been traced back to an ingredient in an animal feed from one supplier, which was used at 47 different farms. They include 37 beef farms, but it has not yet been necessary to withdraw the beef products. Chronic long-term exposure to the dioxin can have serious health effects, including causing cancers, but the FSAI said the recall will ensure consumers only had minimum exposure to it. The Food Standards Agency in the UK said it did not think British consumers were at significant risk and was waiting for confirmation from the Irish authorities on whether any affected products had been distributed in the UK. It said in a statement: 'The FSA will assess information as it becomes available.' Consumers have been advised to avoid Irish pork Nine Northern Ireland farms have used the same contaminated feed which has led to a recall of all pig products processed in the Republic. The UK's Food Standards Agency has said pork from the Irish Republic and Northern Ireland should not be eaten. In Great Britain, Waitrose said it had withdrawn two lines of sausages sold under Northern Irish celebrity chef Paul Rankin's brand as a precaution. The recall started after dioxins were found in slaughtered Irish pigs, thought to have eaten contaminated feed. She said the nine Northern Ireland farms were identified on her department's electronic monitoring system. "My officials have been in close contact with their counterparts in the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (DAFF) since this situation developed," she said. "There is obviously a large amount of north south movement of these products in Ireland and we need to carefully consider the way ahead." BBC Northern Ireland consumer affairs correspondent Martin Cassidy said it was unclear if pig processors would be working as normal on Monday. "The contamination issue couldn't have come at a worse time in the run-up the lucrative Christmas gammon market." "From the information that we have at this time, we do not believe there is significant risk to UK consumers as adverse health effects from eating the affected products are only likely if people are exposed to relatively high levels of this contaminant for long periods," the FSA said. Tests on the slaughtered Irish pigs showed some pork products contained up to 200 times more dioxins than the recognised safety limit. Exports The Irish Minister for Agriculture, Brendan Smith, said the problem was confined to 47 farms in his jurisdiction, including 38 beef farms. The Irish authorities have said contaminated pig meat could have been exported to as many as 25 countries. Padraig Walshe, president of the Irish Farmers' Association, described the recall as "an absolute disaster" at an important time of the year for the pig sector. About 7,000 people are employed in the Republic of Ireland's pig industry, including about 1,200 on farms. Almost 500 farmers produce 3.6 million pigs annually, according to the Irish Agriculture and Food Development Agency. The presence of the dioxin polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) - a substance banned in the Irish Republic since the 1970s - in animal feed and pork samples was confirmed on Saturday afternoon in test results from a UK laboratory. Chronic long-term exposure to the dioxin can have serious health effects, including causing cancers, but Irish officials said the recall would ensure consumers only had minimum exposure to it. "The Food Standards Agency is today advising consumers not to eat pork or pork products, such as sausages, bacon, salami and ham, which are labelled as being from the Irish Republic or Northern Ireland," the FSA said on its website. The Irish government said on Saturday that laboratory tests of animal feed and pork fat samples confirmed the presence of dioxins, with toxins at 80-200 times the safe limits. Ireland exported 368 million euros (317 million pounds) worth of pigmeat in 2007, half of it to Britain, but the FSA said it did not believe there was any "significant" risk.
The technique, which is said to simulate drowning, has been considered a war crime in the past. All About Guantanamo Bay • September 11 Attacks "It was clear to me they know what they did and are willing and want to plead guilty." She attended Monday's hearing. The families watched the military court proceedings from behind a glass partition. But Mr Mohammed said he would postpone entering his plea until an investigation into the mental state of two of his co-defendants was complete. One pledges loyalty to Bin Laden. The five men face death sentences if convicted of roles in the 2001 attacks. Two of the defendants, Mustafa Ahmad al-Hawsawi and Ramzi Binalshibh, have been precluded from immediately filing pleas as the judge has ordered mental competency hearings for them. 'No intimidation' For the first time, nine relatives of the 9/11 victims were flown to Cuba by the US military to watch Monday's pre-trial hearing. The commissions to try foreign terrorists have been delayed for years by legal challenges. The White House has consistently denied that the United States practices torture, but CIA officials have admitted to using "waterboarding." Correspondents say no trial date has been set and there seems little chance that one will begin before President-elect Barack Obama takes office. The proceedings are the last scheduled before the Bush administration leaves office. Bookmark with: Delicious Digg reddit Facebook StumbleUpon What are these? Khalid Sheikh Mohammed -- the confessed architect of the attacks, who was captured two years later in Pakistan -- and four other alleged co-conspirators asked a military judge if they could withdraw all pending motions and plead guilty, Maj. Gail Crawford said in an e-mail.
The Nation Chaos at Guantanamo tribunal Five alleged Sept. 11 plotters offer to plead guilty, then three decline. For The Record Los Angeles Times Wednesday, December 10, 2008 Home Edition Main News Part A Page 2 National Desk 1 inches; 34 words Type of Material: Correction Guantanamo Bay: An article in Tuesday's Section A about the military commissions at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, incorrectly gave the name of the Uniform Code of Military Justice as the Uniformed Code of Military Justice. But given the chance to enter pleas later in the day, Mohammed and two others declined because they were concerned that pleading guilty without a military jury present might make them ineligible for a sentence of death. Mohammed mocked the tribunal for its bureaucracy and dismissed his Navy lawyer for having served in Iraq, where U.S. troops have been "killing our brothers and sisters." Khalid Shaikh Mohammed and his alleged co-conspirators renewed their vows to die as martyrs at the hands of the U.S. military, offering to plead guilty and dispense with pretrial matters to hasten their execution. GUANTANAMO BAY, CUBA — Five men accused of plotting the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks turned what might have been their last appearance before a Guantanamo court Monday into a tribute to Osama bin Laden and a call on fellow holy warriors to strike the U.S. with weapons of mass destruction. The judge newly assigned to the Sept. 11 defendants' case, Army Col. Stephen R. Henley, asked government lawyers whether rules for the military commissions, as the trials are known, allowed him to find the men guilty. The law enacted by Congress two years ago calls for a military jury of at least 12 members to sentence a defendant to death. No jury has been assembled because the court had expected to address only pretrial issues this week. The tribunal's chief prosecutor, Army Col. Lawrence J. Morris, said the confusion about the death penalty arose because the Uniformed Code of Military Justice that governs military courts-martial prohibits guilty pleas in capital cases to protect defendants from being railroaded to execution. Henley also declined to allow two of the men, Ramzi Binalshibh and Mustafa Ahmed Hawsawi, to represent themselves until the court reviews their psychiatric evaluations. Upon learning that they wouldn't be allowed to enter their pleas together, the five said they would wait until they could stick with their strategy of united action. In a dramatic finale to a day in court that was watched by nine people who lost loved ones in the attacks in New York, Pennsylvania and at the Pentagon, Binalshibh proclaimed the defendants' allegiance to Bin Laden and his international jihad against the U.S. "I want to send my greetings to Osama bin Laden, and I want to reaffirm my allegiance. I hope the jihad continues and strikes the heart of America with all kinds of weapons of mass destruction," said Binalshibh, a Yemeni who allegedly provided the logistics for the sleeper cell in Hamburg, Germany, where three of the hijackers lived until 2000. The families watched the military court proceedings from behind a glass partition. Maureen Santora brought photos of her son, Christopher, and 35 other firefighters killed in the World Trade Center so they could symbolically confront their alleged killers. "Their demeanor showed a complete absence of contrition," said Hamilton Peterson, whose father and stepmother died when United Airlines Flight 93 crashed into a field in Pennsylvania. "It was clear to me they know what they did and are willing and want to plead guilty." A tearful Alice Hoagland, whose son Mark Bingham died in the same crash, said she thought Americans should demonstrate a respect for life that was greater than the defendants' by sparing the men. WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Five detainees at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, say they want to confess to conspiracy charges for planning the September 11, 2001, attacks, a Pentagon spokeswoman said Monday. A sketch shows Walid bin Attash, left, and Khalid Sheikh Mohammed in court at Guantanamo Bay in June. Khalid Sheikh Mohammed -- the confessed architect of the attacks, who was captured two years later in Pakistan -- and four other alleged co-conspirators asked a military judge if they could withdraw all pending motions and plead guilty, Maj. Gail Crawford said in an e-mail. The defendants announced their decision in front of relatives of victims in the al Qaeda-orchestrated attacks, said Jennifer Daskal, senior counterterrorism counsel for Human Rights Watch. The military judge accepted the requests from Mohammed, Ali Abdul Azziz Ali and Walid bin Attash, but ruled that competency hearings are first needed for Mustafa al Hawsawi and Ramzi bin al Shibh, because "questions exist as to their competency to stand trial," Crawford said. Watch more on the hearing » It has not been determined whether the defendants, formally charged in June, will face a potential death sentence. "What should have been a major victory in holding the 9/11 defendants accountable for terrible crimes has been tainted by torture and an unfair military commissions process," Daskal said. "This is the government's last hurrah," she added, referring to the final weeks of the Bush administration's second term, which ends January 20. Denis McDonough, a senior adviser to President-elect Barack Obama, said no decisions have been made about what to do with the 255 inmates at the U.S. detention facility in Guantanamo Bay, "and there is no process in place to make that decision until [Obama's] national security and legal teams are assembled." Officials close to the Obama team said the incoming administration is considering putting some of the inmates on trial in existing federal courts, setting up a special national security court to deal with cases involving sensitive intelligence, and releasing other inmates. "There's really no place in the United States that can replicate the sort of operational security features that Guantanamo has," said David Rivkin, a former Justice Department official. The Pentagon's chief prosecutor resigned in protest in 2007 after declaring the military commissions had become "deeply politicized." Critics say the camp has damaged the reputation of the United States overseas, with a U.N. report declaring that interrogation techniques used on prisoners "amounted to torture." The White House has consistently denied that the United States practices torture, but CIA officials have admitted to using "waterboarding." The detention facility, which was intended to house foreign fighters captured on the battlefield, was created on the grounds of the naval base after the September 11, 2001, attacks that killed almost 3,000 people in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania. At the opening of the proceedings, the military judge read aloud a letter in which the men said they wanted to withdraw all pending defence motions filed by their court-appointed lawyers and requested "an immediate hearing session to announce our confessions." We don't want to waste time Khalid Sheikh Mohammed Obama's Guantanamo dilemma 'Extraordinary day' Q&A: Military tribunals But he later refused to enter his plea, telling the court he wanted to stand trial alongside all of his co-accused.
Topics: child-abuse, community-and-society, pornography, law-crime-and-justice, police, nsw More arrests are expected this week. "It is not specifically just Brazilian children," he said. Twenty-two men across Australia are accused of trading images and videos of child abuse on the internet. Assistant Commissioner Gaughan says the operation began last December after the AFP received information from the Brazilian Federal Police. The global internet network they are alleged to have been a part of is said to involve more than 200 offenders in 70 countries. They say they include victims as young as 12-months and abuse that spans up to two hours. The waiter from Blakehurst in southern Sydney is one of five men arrested in New South Wales over the alleged ring. More than 15,000 videos have been seized with police describing them as among the worst they have ever seen. Australian Federal Police (AFP) began their investigation after a tip-off from Brazilian authorities. A Queen's Counsel from Victoria is among 19 arrested so far across NSW, Victoria and Queensland. "We are finding with these type of images that it is very difficult for law enforcement to track them down but we are receiving information that they are based primarily in eastern Europe and North and South America." AFP deputy commissioner Andrew Colvin says Operation Resistance extended overseas. The men who have been charged include a police officer, a senior lawyer and a childcare worker. Police expect to make more arrests over the next few days. Please turn on JavaScript. The method allows members to share files without going through a central network server, avoiding filters operated by internet service providers, making the crime harder to detect.
More child porn arrests expected: AFP Updated Australian Federal Police (AFP) say they expect to make more arrests in relation to an alleged internet child sex abuse network. Police have charged 22 men from three states after a 12-month investigation, and the AFP has seized more than 500,000 images and 15,000 videos as part of their inquiries. Twenty-eight search warrants were carried out and the suspects include seven people from Victoria; nine from New South Wales; and five from Queensland. One of those arrested was a 74-year-old retired Victorian Queen's Counsel from Newham, several child care workers and a police officer. Police say the investigation started in December after a tip off from Brazillian police. "Over 200 suspects have been identified across a number of countries, over 70 countries and I think on any scale that's a good result," he said. World-wide problem AFP Acting Assistant Commissioner Neil Gaughan said earlier the sexual abuse images involve children from all over the world. "We are finding with these type of images that it is very difficult for law enforcement to track them down but we are receiving information that they are based primarily in eastern Europe and North and South America." "We, through our international liaison network, received information from the Brazilian police that there was a large amount of males throughout the world in over 70 countries involved in the trading of this sort of information in a peer to peer network," he said. "They passed the information on to the AFP and we then conducted significant inquiries with internet service providers and then moved forward." Topics: pornography, child-abuse, children, police, australia, nsw, qld, vic First posted Australian police have charged at least 19 men with being part of a global child pornography network involving people in 70 countries. The men who have been charged include a police officer, a senior lawyer and a childcare worker. Some 500,000 images of child abuse and 15,000 videos were seized, and the Australian Federal Police said more arrests were expected later this week. Some of the seized videos showed victims as young as 12 months old, while others showed children being abused for more than two hours. At least two children had been removed from harm as a result of the investigation, police said. Child abuse accused appears in Sydney court Posted A man accused of being part of an on-line child abuse ring has been remanded in custody after an appearance at Sydney's Central Local Court.
The conference was called, he said, because of the extraordinary nature of the find. All About Argentina • Buenos Aires The thousands of bone fragments were found at a former detention centre. They are widely called "los desaparecidos," or "the disappeared." There they were tortured and killed. The discovery, the first of human remains in a detention center, supports the testimony of hundreds of survivors who have said for years that the authorities tortured and killed political opponents and burned their bodies. But the families and forensic investigators have never given up their search for truth and justice. Civilian governments in the 1980s and 1990s pardoned many of the perpetrators of what became known as the Dirty War. Bones were unearthed during a seven-month search at an ex-detention post in La Plata, Argentina, officials said. Critics say this latest find will remind Argentina that justice has still not been done for one of the darkest periods in the country's history. By the time civilian control of the government resumed in 1983, up to 30,000 Argentines had been abducted and taken to the secret government detention centers, where they were tortured and killed. The bone fragments were unearthed between February and September, and Mr. Fondebrider and his team announced Tuesday that the remains were human. Now, months of laboratory work is needed to determine even the minimum number of bodies that were destroyed in the pit. Human rights groups and survivors have made such allegations but the military deny them. Two hundred bullet marks were found in a wall bordering the mass grave. Don't Miss Life sentence for Argentine ex-army chief Thousands more people were abducted and killed by right-wing dictatorships in other South American countries during the 1970s and 1980s, particularly in Chile and Uruguay.
By Daniel Schweimler BBC News, Buenos Aires The remains of hundreds of people killed during Argentina's military dictatorship about 30 years ago have been found in a pit. The thousands of bone fragments were found at a former detention centre. Investigators say the discovery proves that the authorities tortured, killed and burned the bodies of their political opponents. Human rights groups and survivors have made such allegations but the military deny them. The official figures say that 13,000 people were killed under military rule in Argentina in the late 1970s and and early 1980s. But the families, survivors and human rights campaigners say many more - up to 30,000 - were kidnapped by the authorities and taken in unmarked cars to clandestine detention centres. 'The disappeared' But many of the bodies have never been found and the authorities eliminated all record of their grisly actions. And this find - 10,000 human bone fragments at a former detention centre in the city of La Plata, just south of Buenos Aires - they say confirms what they have always said. They are still working on the bones, but say the evidence uncovered so far shows that the bodies were thrown into the pit, covered in fuel then set alight alongside tyres to cover the smell of burning flesh. Two hundred bullet marks were found in a wall bordering the mass grave. But the trials resumed a couple of years ago and a small number of minor officials have been prosecuted and sent to jail. Critics say this latest find will remind Argentina that justice has still not been done for one of the darkest periods in the country's history. BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (CNN) -- More than 10,000 charred bone fragments were found buried at the site of a former Argentine government detention center, the first find of its kind at one of the secret centers, Argentine officials said. Searchers said they also found a wall with more than 200 bullet holes and an "important quantity" of spent ammunition shells on the ground nearby. A team of six professional anthropologists and support crew said it believed the remains were human, but it was unable to determine how many bodies the fragments represented. "I ask the forgiveness of family members, because I can imagine what the mothers and all who are gathered here will feel, but what we are about to show is not to detail the genocide but so that we have proof for the trials that are to come," said Sara Derotier de Cobacho, secretary of human rights for Buenos Aires province. The detention center was among those used in Argentina during the country's "Dirty War," which started in 1976 when a group of generals staged a coup and started a vicious crackdown against anyone considered a subversive. By the time civilian control of the government resumed in 1983, up to 30,000 Argentines had been abducted and taken to the secret government detention centers, where they were tortured and killed. In 25 years of searching, this was the first time that human remains were found at a former detention center, said Luis Fondebrider, president of the EAAF. "We've worked throughout the country and have always found remains in cemeteries, never outside," Fondebrider said in the release. The searchers will start analyzing the remains next year and are working with two prominent forensic genetic laboratories that specialize in working with remains that are in poor condition, he said. BUENOS AIRES (AP) — Inside a once secret detention center where political dissidents were tortured and killed during Argentina’s dictatorship 25 years ago, forensic anthropologists have discovered a pit containing 10,000 bone fragments. The discovery, the first of human remains in a detention center, supports the testimony of hundreds of survivors who have said for years that the authorities tortured and killed political opponents and burned their bodies.
Please re-enter. In a telling moment that seemed to signal the end, for now, of the Thaksin era, Mr. Newin last week was reported to have told Mr. Thaksin over the telephone, “Boss, it is all over.” Advertisement Thailand's opposition leader, Abhisit Vejjajiva, has been confirmed as the country's new prime minister after winning a special vote in parliament. Advertisement Continue reading the main story When a parliamentary election was held a year ago, Mr. Thaksin’s supporters won again. Mr Somchai and several other PPP leaders were also barred from politics for five years. The vote returned a Democrat Party-led government to power for the first time... The PAD called off its action following the Constitutional Court ruling. However, lawmakers from the three parties who escaped the politics ban quickly formed a new party - Puea Thai (For Thailand) - or joined other parties. Media requires JavaScript to play. The military, which ousted him in a coup in 2006, has in recent months refused orders by the pro-Thaksin government to crack down on anti-Thaksin demonstrators. “And of course the most important thing is how to stamp his authority on the fragile coalition. The speaker of the lower house, Chai Chidchob, said the Democrat Party leader had beaten former police chief Pracha Promnok by 235 votes to 198. Outside Parliament on Monday, about 200 red-shirted Thaksin loyalists shouted and threw bricks, raising the possibility that street demonstrations might now begin from the other side of the political divide. View all New York Times newsletters. Bookmark with: Delicious Digg reddit Facebook StumbleUpon What are these? The protest culminated in a week-long occupation of Bangkok's main international airport which left 300,000 foreign tourists stranded.
Advertisement Thailand's opposition leader, Abhisit Vejjajiva, has been confirmed as the country's new prime minister after winning a special vote in parliament. The speaker of the lower house, Chai Chidchob, said the Democrat Party leader had beaten former police chief Pracha Promnok by 235 votes to 198. Mr Abhisit will become Thailand's fifth leader in a little over two years. The previous prime minister, Somchai Wongsawat, was forced to resign after a court ruling earlier this month. ABHISIT VEJJAJIVA Born in Britain, educated at Eton and Oxford Entered parliament in 1992 as one of its youngest members Party leader since 2005 Opposed military coup that overthrew Thaksin Shinawatra Profile: Abhisit Vejjajiva Mountain to climb for new PM Send us your comments The BBC's Jonathan Head in Bangkok says Mr Abhisit will start his term in office confronting some formidable challenges. The 44-year-old British-born politician needs to restore battered economic confidence, cool the emotional political climate, and impose his authority on a cabinet drawn up as a result of days of bargaining with his coalition partners, our correspondent says. 'Silent coup' After the speaker of parliament had gone round and asked each of the 436 MPs to state the choice, he announced that Mr Abhisit had won and that the Democrats would be given their first chance to govern for eight years. "Abhisit gained more than half of the vote, therefore I declare that Abhisit has been elected the new prime minister," Mr Chai said. Advertisement However, correspondents say the new coalition may only last a few weeks, as by-elections will be held on 11 January to fill 29 seats held by Thaksin supporters barred from politics by the court ruling. There are also questions about the nature of the behind-the-scenes bargaining needed to persuade Thaksin loyalists to switch sides, with lucrative cabinet posts and, allegedly, large sums of cash being offered by both sides. Outside the parliament, about 200 supporters of the ousted government reacted furiously to what they called a "silent coup", hurling barricades at the gates and stopping MPs from leaving. Several cars had their windows broken. Some chanted "Abhisit, army nominee", Reuters news agency reported. The military is seen as being close to the Democrats. Most demonstrators dispersed peacefully but promised to gather again later in the day. Months of deadlock Earlier this month, the Constitutional Court found Mr Somchai's governing People Power Party (PPP) guilty of fraud during the last election a year ago, and banned it and two other parties in the governing coalition. Mr Somchai and several other PPP leaders were also barred from politics for five years. However, lawmakers from the three parties who escaped the politics ban quickly formed a new party - Puea Thai (For Thailand) - or joined other parties. On Sunday, Mr Somchai's brother-in-law, exiled former PM Thaksin Shinawatra, accused the army of using the courts to undermine the government and warned them not to interfere in politics. The country was stricken by months of political deadlock as anti-government protesters from the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) mounted a campaign to topple the PPP. The PAD accused the PPP of being a proxy for Mr Thaksin, who was ousted in a coup in 2006. The protest culminated in a week-long occupation of Bangkok's main international airport which left 300,000 foreign tourists stranded. The PAD called off its action following the Constitutional Court ruling. Outside Parliament on Monday, about 200 red-shirted Thaksin loyalists shouted and threw bricks, raising the possibility that street demonstrations might now begin from the other side of the political divide. Advertisement Continue reading the main story On Saturday, more than 40,000 supporters gathered in downtown Bangkok to hear a video address by Mr. Thaksin, taped in Bali, Indonesia, in which he implicitly condemned what he called military interference in the vote. The military, which ousted him in a coup in 2006, has in recent months refused orders by the pro-Thaksin government to crack down on anti-Thaksin demonstrators. The election of a new prime minister is a low point for Mr. Thaksin, who fled abroad in October to avoid sentencing on a conflict of interest conviction. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Although the vote offered the possibility of a respite from political tensions that have all but paralyzed the government in Thailand, intense social and political divides remain unresolved. Advertisement Continue reading the main story The Democrat Party enjoys strong support from the middle class, the urban elite and many in the business sector, but a majority of voters among the rural poor still overwhelmingly support Mr. Thaksin. Advertisement Continue reading the main story “I don’t even want to talk about their ability to heal that division — rich-poor, rural-urban and old establishment and Thaksin,” said Pavin Chachavalpongpun, a visiting research fellow at the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies in Singapore. “Just to bring back economic confidence, especially after the airport closings, that will be a major challenge,” he said of the new prime minister. “Sorry to be so pessimistic.” Advertisement Continue reading the main story By-elections are due next month to fill 29 seats that were previously held by pro-Thaksin legislators, and the result could tip the balance against Mr. Abhisit. But the new prime minister, Samak Sundaravej, was forced to resign when a court ruled that he had accepted money for appearing on a cooking show. BANGKOK --Thailand's parliament elected Democrat Party leader Abhisit Vejjajiva prime minister Monday in a vote which - if Mr. Abhisit's fragile coalition holds together - could offer one of Southeast Asia's largest economies a way out of years of sometimes violent political turmoil.
"There were no relatives. The typhoon, currently centred off southeastern Catanduanes, is forecast to move slowly northwest, but not expected to hit land, the weather bureau said. The ferry Maejan was approaching Aparri in Cagayan province in the north of the country when its bamboo outrigger broke in heavy seas off Ballesteros. Most probably his parents perished with him," said Mr de los Santos. Only 57 passengers and crew of the 850 people aboard survived the accident, making it the worst maritime disaster in the Philippines for 20 years. Sea accidents are common in the Philippine archipelago because of tropical storms, badly maintained boats and weak enforcement of safety regulations. "They panicked and grabbed anything like water container that will keep them afloat then jumped off the boat," Senior Inspector Alex de los Santos told the Associated Press news agency. Coast guard, navy and air force troops have been dispatched to help in the search and rescue operation, Castro said. Police said many survivors swam ashore and were found shivering on land. The dead — including a 1-year-old boy and a town councillor — were taken to funeral parlors, where relatives gathered to identify them. Hours before the ferry capsized, three children fell into the sea as the vessel was lashed by huge waves, Calayan Mayor Joseph Llopis said. The state weather bureau over the weekend warned of an approaching storm from the Pacific with winds of up to 60 miles (95 kilometers) per hour. Among the bodies recovered late on Sunday was that of an unidentified one-year-old boy. Ferr MANILA At least 23 people drowned and 26 were missing after a motorboat capsized in high seas off the northern Philippines, officials said on Monday.
The wooden-hulled ferry, Maejan, was approaching its destination in Aparri town in Cagayan province after an eight-hour journey from Calayan islands in the Luzon Strait when it overturned near the mouth of the Cagayan River on Sunday evening, said Senior Inspector Alex de los Santos. He said passengers jumped into the cold water after strong waves broke the ferry's bamboo outrigger, causing it to bob wildly. "They panicked and grabbed anything like water containers that will keep them afloat then jumped off the boat," de los Santos told The Associated Press by telephone. He said most of the 46 survivors swam to shore in Aparri, about half a mile (kilometer) away, where police and villagers found them shivering close to midnight. The dead — including a 1-year-old boy and a town councillor — were taken to funeral parlors, where relatives gathered to identify them. De los Santos said coast guard and navy vessels joined the search for 33 people still missing, but bad weather was hampering the effort. Coast guard chief Vice Adm. Wilfredo Tamayo said criminal charges will be filed against the owner and surviving crew members of the 28-ton Maejan, which was authorized to carry only 50 people. Hours before the ferry capsized, three children fell into the sea as the vessel was lashed by huge waves, Calayan Mayor Joseph Llopis said. Two of the children were plucked alive, but it was not clear if they survived the final capsizing, said Llopis, who lost 10 of his relatives in the disaster. The accident was especially tragic because many of the passengers from his town of 17,000 people were traveling to Aparri to buy food and other goods ahead of Christmas, Llopis said. Last month, a cargo ship sank in rough seas north of Cagayan, and passing vessels plucked 16 of 20 people from shark-infested waters. In December 1987, the ferry Dona Paz sank after colliding with a fuel tanker, killing more than 4,341 people in the world's worst peacetime maritime disaster. The state weather bureau over the weekend warned of an approaching storm from the Pacific with winds of up to 60 miles (95 kilometers) per hour. A wooden ferry carrying about 100 passengers has sunk in the Philippines, with at least 22 people drowned and about another 30 missing. "They panicked and grabbed anything like water container that will keep them afloat then jumped off the boat," Senior Inspector Alex de los Santos told the Associated Press news agency. MANILA At least 23 people drowned and 26 were missing after a motorboat capsized in high seas off the northern Philippines, officials said on Monday. "It was because of strong currents between Calayan and Aparri," Melchito Castro, regional director of the government's disaster coordinating body told reporters.
Alright, so what. First Up: A New Face AZUZ: First up, surgeons at the Cleveland Clinic declare success following the nation's first, near-total face transplant. Advertisement Continue reading the main story “Our patient was called names and was humiliated,” Dr. Siemionow said. Not legit! But because facial structure varies among people, the woman is not expected to look like her donor, the doctors said. On what continent would you find the Mekong Delta? "It became very difficult for her just to go outside of her house." (END VIDEO CLIP) Shoutout GEORGE RAMSAY, CNN STUDENT NEWS: Time for the Shoutout! One can't live without the other. She could breathe only through a hole in her windpipe because of scarring from the trauma and earlier reconstructive surgery. One group began removing the donor's facial skin; all of the muscles in the mid-face; the upper lip; all of the nose; most of the sinuses around the nose; the upper jaw, including some teeth; and the facial nerve. HUPPERT: Just a month ago, some feared the economy would steal Christmas from Minnesota's tree sellers. -- mary.engel@latimes.com Elizabeth Cohen explores the details. It helps if you're an elephant who can only play two chords on a harmonica. Twin Cities is also a place in Oklahoma! Dr. Maria Siemionow had been preparing for 20 years to make the phone call. But the surgeons who performed the procedure argue that it offers hope to patients who have been severely disfigured. Another group spent almost three hours sewing the patient's blood vessels to the vessels of the donor face to restore blood circulation.
Surgeons discuss landmark face transplant In a Wednesday news conference, the Cleveland Clinic doctors who conducted the world's most extensive facial transplant described the 22-hour surgery they said took place at the clinic within the last two weeks. Then she headed to the hospital to give a woman who had no upper jaw, nose, cheeks or lower eyelids -- who was unable to eat, talk, smile, smell or breathe on her own -- a new face. "We have a donor," she told Dr. Frank Papay, the chief of dermatology and plastic surgery at the Cleveland Clinic, late one night. Dr. Maria Siemionow had been preparing for 20 years to make the phone call. It was the first facial transplant to be done in the U.S. and the fourth in the world. At the patient's request, the clinic did not release her name, age or details about what caused her disfigurement -- only that it was severe. "It became very difficult for her just to go outside of her house." The day after Siemionow's phone call unfolded like the countdown to a rocket launch, Papay said. First came the wait while the laboratory determined that the deceased donor matched the patient's blood type, gender, race and approximate age. The marathon operation involved eight surgeons. One group began removing the donor's facial skin; all of the muscles in the mid-face; the upper lip; all of the nose; most of the sinuses around the nose; the upper jaw, including some teeth; and the facial nerve. That took nine hours. Another group spent almost three hours sewing the patient's blood vessels to the vessels of the donor face to restore blood circulation. Surgeons rotated in and out of the operating room, taking turns fitting together layers of bone, muscle and skin like so many pieces of a jigsaw puzzle. Siemionow spent decades preparing for the surgery, practicing on animals and doing trial runs on cadavers. In 2004, the Cleveland Clinic gave her permission to perform the experimental transplant on humans, and she began assembling a team. A French physician performed a partial transplant in 2005. Because the surgery is experimental, the Cleveland Clinic paid for it and will pay for follow-up care, a spokesman said. The hope is that with physical therapy, she will be able to smile, talk, blink and breathe without a breathing tube. (CNN Student News) -- December 18, 2008 Quick Guide A New Face - Learn about the details of the nation's first, near-total face transplant. Thriving Tradition - Hear how one holiday tradition is thriving despite the struggling economy. CARL AZUZ, CNN STUDENT NEWS ANCHOR: From reconstructed features to rediscovered species, we're covering it all in this Thursday edition of CNN Student News. First Up: A New Face AZUZ: First up, surgeons at the Cleveland Clinic declare success following the nation's first, near-total face transplant. But the surgeons who performed the procedure argue that it offers hope to patients who have been severely disfigured. ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Her doctors call it the first surgery of its kind: a near-total face transplant was performed less than two weeks ago at the Cleveland Clinic. SIEMIONOW: I must tell you how happy she was when, with both her hands, she could go over her face and feel that she has a nose, that she has a jaw and she has a full face in front of her. COHEN: In a breakthrough, 22-hour surgery, surgeons transplanted 80% of her face. From a cadaver came skin, facial muscles and nerves, lower eyelids, cheekbones, upper jaw, blood vessels, arteries. COHEN: The identity of the patient is being kept a secret, but we do know she suffered from severe trauma several years ago, and as a result, is blind in her right eye. Her sibling says in a statement: STATEMENT FROM FACE TRANSPLANT PATIENT'S SIBLING: We never thought for a moment that our sister would ever have a chance at a normal life again, after the trauma she endured. Fish, frogs, spiders, snakes -- everything you want to cuddle up with -- even a rodent that was thought to be extinct for centuries!
"The calm is over." However, analysts say that many Palestinians feel the fight between the two factions has become less about ideology, but more about power, control and, ultimately, revenge. Israel accused them of being members in a banned organization that carried out attacks against Israel. Tough talk as truce ends Voices: Gaza ceasefire ends Guide: Gaza under blockade Papers fear end of Gaza truce Israeli foreign ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor said Hamas had chosen "violence over truth and rocket-shooting over ceasefire". According to earlier reports, Dweik's lawyer Fadi el-Qawasmeh told reporters that Dweik was brought to the Ofer military base in the West Bank. Hours after the announcement, Palestinian television carried pictures of militants conducting exercises. Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, the head of Fatah which controls parts of the West Bank, is in Washington to discuss the situation with US President George W Bush. CAIRO, Dec. 18 (Xinhua) -- The Interim Arab Parliament (IAP) has called on the international community to work for the release of Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) Speaker Aziz Dweik, who is held at an Israeli jail, the Egyptian MENA news agency reported on Thursday. Israel says the blockade - in place since Hamas took control of Gaza in June 2007 - is needed to isolate Hamas and stop it and other militants from firing rockets across the border at Israeli towns. Although publicly neither side is rushing in, both have an interest in restoring the quiet. Please turn on JavaScript. Humanitarian aid Hamas blamed Israel for the end of the ceasefire on Friday, saying it had not respected its terms, including the lifting of the blockade under which little more than humanitarian aid has been allowed into Gaza.
The six-month truce between Hamas and Israel ended yesterday with the militant Islamists who rule Gaza declaring the agreement dead, 24 hours before it was due to officially expire. The declaration followed another day of escalating violence, beginning with an Israeli air raid on Gaza, which Hamas has controlled for the past 18 months. Hamas responded to Israel's attack, which destroyed a weapons store and a rocket factory, by firing eight rockets and five mortars at Israel's southern towns. "The calm, which was reached with Egyptian sponsorship on 19 June and expires on 19 December, is finished because the enemy did not abide by its obligations," said Ayman Taha, who represented Hamas in talks with other Palestinian factions. The truce was due to end today but has been unravelling ever since Israel crossed into Gaza, killed six Hamas fighters and destroyed a tunnel on 4 November. On Wednesday one struck a parking lot near a supermarket in Sderot, the Israeli town that borders Gaza's northern perimeter and bears the brunt of Palestinian missile attacks. As the fighting escalated, Israel tightened its blockade, forcing the UN Relief and Works Agency, which feeds 750,000 Palestinian refugees in the coastal territory, to suspend food deliveries yesterday. The eruption of violence follows five months of relative calm in which each side seemed prepared to turn a blind eye to the other's transgressions: Israel maintained its crippling blockade on Gaza and Palestinian militants continued firing a small number of missiles into neighbouring Israeli townships. Earlier in the week Israel's defence minister, Ehud Barak, reportedly sent negotiator Amos Gilad to Cairo to seek a last-minute extension, but to no avail. Although publicly neither side is rushing in, both have an interest in restoring the quiet. For Hamas, the truce allowed it to redeploy its forces from fighting Israel to cracking down on rival militias. For Israel, the truce not only gave the residents of towns such as Sderot a reprieve, it deflated the hard right's push for a full-scale invasion into Gaza. CAIRO, Dec. 18 (Xinhua) -- The Interim Arab Parliament (IAP) has called on the international community to work for the release of Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) Speaker Aziz Dweik, who is held at an Israeli jail, the Egyptian MENA news agency reported on Thursday. On Tuesday, an Israeli military court gave a three-year sentence to Dweik, who has already been in the Israeli jail for more than two years. The Israeli verdict is unfair and violates the basic rules of the international human rights law, Saqr said. Dweik, who is also a senior Islamic Hamas movement leader in the West Bank, was arrested along with some 40 Hamas lawmakers and ministers by Israel in the summer of 2006. According to earlier reports, Dweik's lawyer Fadi el-Qawasmeh told reporters that Dweik was brought to the Ofer military base in the West Bank. El-Qawasmeh doubted that Israel would soon free Dweik, who will succeed current Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas after the end of his presidential term on Jan. 9 according to Hamas. Hamas celebrated its 21st anniversary with a mass rally last weekend The Islamist militant group Hamas says it has ended its six-month ceasefire with Israel in the Gaza Strip. As the ceasefire expired at 0400 GMT, Hamas issued a statement blaming Israel which had not "respected" the truce. Israel's foreign ministry spokesman said the militants, who control Gaza, "had chosen violence over truth". The Egyptian-brokered deal began on 19 June but has been tested regularly by Palestinian rocket attacks on Israel and Israeli operations in Gaza. The Israeli military reported a minor shooting incident in the fields of a kibbutz farm near the Gaza border and two rockets exploding in southern Israel, but there were no reports of casualties. Israel's Haaretz newspaper reported that the Israeli military had cancelled weekend leave for all troops stationed near the Gaza Strip and instructed units to prepare for mobilisation. Israel says the blockade - in place since Hamas took control of Gaza in June 2007 - is needed to isolate Hamas and stop it and other militants from firing rockets across the border at Israeli towns. The UN's relief agency says the situation has created a "profound human dignity crisis". Announcing the end of the truce on its website, Hamas said: "The ceasefire is over and there won't be a renewal because the Zionist enemy has not respected its conditions." Tough talk as truce ends Voices: Gaza ceasefire ends Guide: Gaza under blockade Papers fear end of Gaza truce Israeli foreign ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor said Hamas had chosen "violence over truth and rocket-shooting over ceasefire".
The deal secures, for now, the jobs of 950 employees who work in its stores, which sell tea, coffee and crockery. On Tuesday, The Whittard of Chelsea chain of shops was sold to a private equity firm after going into administration. Adams also makes clothes for health and beauty retailer Boots. Difficult year It has been a tough year for retailers amid the global economic downturn. "We welcome the opportunity to take the business forward and look forward to a successful future." He said the deal would protect the jobs of 900 people. It was bought by the Icelandic investment company Baugur in 2005 for about £21m. It became one of the biggest retail companies in the UK with flagship stores in London's Oxford Street and north-east England. E-mail this to a friend Printable version Bookmark with: Delicious Digg reddit Facebook StumbleUpon What are these? The Officers Club was started in the early 1990s in Sunderland. It has already been a tough few months for well-known retailers, with MFI already having closed down and Woolworths due to shut its shops in January. The insolvency experts Begbies Traynor predicted only a week ago that up to 15 national retail chains would go bust by mid-January. PriceWaterhouseCoopers (PWC) are likely to be appointed administrators and take over the running of Adams until a new owner can be found. Whittard has 130 stores in the UK and was founded by Walter Whittard in 1886. High Street legend Woolworths went into administration last month, and all its 800 stores will be closed by 5 January with 30,000 job losses. Retailers are vulnerable in January because they generally have more cash and less stock than at any other time of the year, so if creditors are going to force them into administration it is the best time to do so.
It has been a tough few months for well-known retailers UK menswear retailer The Officers Club has gone into administration and 32 of its 150 shops will shut immediately, while the remainder have been sold. The retailer was put up for sale by administrators PricewaterhouseCoopers as it fell victim to the downturn. They said the 118 stores had been sold to TimeC 1215 limited, which is backed by David Charlton, chief executive of The Officers Club. He said the deal would protect the jobs of 900 people. It became one of the biggest retail companies in the UK with flagship stores in London's Oxford Street and north-east England. 'Employment protected' "We are very pleased to be able to secure this deal and protect the employment of over 900 people in the stores and head office," said Mr Charlton. "We welcome the opportunity to take the business forward and look forward to a successful future." Insolvency experts are warning that more than 10 national or regional retail chains risk going bust next month. Retailers are vulnerable in January because they generally have more cash and less stock than at any other time of the year, so if creditors are going to force them into administration it is the best time to do so. It has already been a tough few months for well-known retailers, with MFI already having closed down and Woolworths due to shut its shops in January. On Tuesday, The Whittard of Chelsea chain of shops was sold to a private equity firm after going into administration. Administrators Ernst & Young said the company, sold for an undisclosed sum to EPIC private equity partners, "had been experiencing trading difficulties". "The business will continue to operate as a going concern, and all stores will remain open," Ernst & Young said. The deal secures, for now, the jobs of 950 employees who work in its stores, which sell tea, coffee and crockery. WHITTARD'S HISTORY Established by Walter Whittard as a tea company in 1886 Moved to Chelsea in 1940 Opened two new sites in Bath and Oxford in 1980 The business was sold to Iceland's Baugur in 2005 The company has 130 stores across the UK It also operates a wholesale business called Boaters which sells flavoured coffee products. He also said it was "too early to say" what the ultimate shape of the group might be either in terms of employment or the number of shops. The insolvency experts Begbies Traynor predicted only a week ago that up to 15 national retail chains would go bust by mid-January.
. But a relative, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the dead included Pardo's ex-wife, her parents, two of her brothers and their wives, a nephew and a sister. "He's still shooting out there." Members of the Ortega family declined to speak to the media Saturday. Bruce Jeffrey Pardo went on a shooting rampage in a Los Angeles suburb on Wednesday, police say. The Covina home had two floors. The boy is now 9 years old, Alvirez said. LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) -- The man who police say dressed as Santa Claus and killed nine people at a Christmas Eve party lived with guilt from an incident that left his son from a previous relationship a paraplegic, according to an attorney who once represented the woman in that relationship. The missing Authorities say these nine people are unaccounted for after the Christmas Eve incident: Sylvia Pardo, 43, Pardo's ex-wife Alicia Ortega, 70, Sylvia Pardo's mother Joseph Ortega, 80, Sylvia Pardo's father Charles Ortega, 50, Sylvia Pardo's brother Cheri Ortega, 45, Charles Ortega's wife James "Junior" Ortega, 52, Sylvia Pardo's brother Teresa Ortega, 51, James Ortega's wife Alicia Ortiz, 46, Sylvia Pardo's sister Michael Ortiz, 17, Sylvia Pardo's nephew (Alicia's son) In an interview Saturday with CNN, Alvirez -- who represented Pardo's former girlfriend Elena Lucano in a child support case against Pardo -- said that Pardo and Lucano were in an "off-and-on again relationship" in 2001 and that Pardo was watching their 13-month-old son, Matthew, one Saturday while Lucano went grocery shopping.
The Ortega home, a tidy, one-story structure at the end of a Covina cul-de-sac, had been at the center of so many family events: pizza nights, poker parties and an annual Christmas Eve party where the large, close-knit family gathered to celebrate the holidays. Leaning toward the yellow police tape that encircled the ruins of the home, family members wrapped their arms around each other. They gestured at items that had been salvaged and laid on the front lawn: a file cabinet, charred photo albums and singed pictures. FOR THE RECORD: Holiday massacre: An article in Sunday's California section said that the home of the Ortega family, nine of whom were believed slain by Bruce Jeffrey Pardo on Christmas Eve, was a single-story structure. — Three days earlier, the ex-husband of one of the Ortegas arrived at their holiday celebration dressed as Santa Claus and armed with four semiautomatic weapons and an incendiary device. When he left, nine family members were dead and the house was engulfed in flames. Members of the Ortega family declined to speak to the media Saturday. Whether it was betting on a horse race and splitting the winnings or going en masse to donate blood when a friend's child was ill, the Ortegas did things together. "If you were a friend of any of them, you were a friend to all of them," said Linda Perez, who has known the Ortegas for eight years. The idyllic togetherness was shattered Wednesday night by Bruce Jeffrey Pardo, who later drove to his brother's house in Sylmar, booby-trapped his rental car and killed himself. Covina police Saturday released the names of the nine people they believe perished but who have not been officially identified by the coroner's office: Pardo's ex-wife, Sylvia Pardo, 43; her parents, Joseph and Alicia Ortega, 80 and 70 respectively; three of her four siblings, James Ortega, 52, Charles Ortega, 50, and Alicia Ortiz, 46; James' wife, Teresa Ortega, 51; and Charles' wife, Cheri Ortega, 45; and Michael Ortiz, 17, Alicia Ortiz's son. The slayings left 15 children without one or both parents. The patriarch and matriarch, known as Papa Joe and Alice, were at the center of the family's life. Papa Joe wore a different baseball cap almost every day; Alice doted on her two dogs, a mutt and an Alaskan husky. "She'd always say, 'Que lindo,' and would baby talk to them," said Robert Magcalas, a neighbor who still had on his kitchen table the stocking and Christmas card he was planning to give the Ortegas. "You could tell she really cared for them and was a nice lady." Three years ago, they celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary in Torreon. On Saturday, the newspaper reported that the couple married 53 years ago in Torreon and soon after immigrated to the U.S. Javier Garza, editorial director of the newspaper, said Alicia Ortega's family is well known in the city. The children of Alicia's sisters "are well-respected businessmen," Garza said. Papa Joe played blackjack and poker; Alice spent most of her time playing quarter video poker. Pardo's mother, Nancy Windsor, 72, still reeling from the events of the last few days, her eyes red-rimmed from crying over the ghastly deaths of her son and those killed Christmas Eve, echoed the sentiment about the family's welcoming spirit. She said she had spoken over the phone with Sylvia Pardo's son from a previous marriage, Sal Castillo, in the aftermath of the shooting. "I will say this to you," said the sobbing Windsor, who has been living out of a suitcase since last month when her home at Oakridge Mobile Home Park was destroyed in the Sylmar fire. LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) -- The man who police say dressed as Santa Claus and killed nine people at a Christmas Eve party lived with guilt from an incident that left his son from a previous relationship a paraplegic, according to an attorney who once represented the woman in that relationship. Prime suspect Bruce Jeffrey Pardo, who police said committed suicide hours after he went on a shooting rampage and started a raging house fire in the Los Angeles suburb of Covina, had a son who sustained severe brain damage several years ago in an apparent swimming pool accident while he was in Pardo's care, according to attorney Jeffrey Alvirez. Police have said Pardo targeted his rampage at his former wife, Sylvia Ortega Pardo, and her family at the family's Christmas Eve party. On Saturday, Covina police released the names of the nine people unaccounted for since the shooting and fire. "The bodies were so badly burned they cannot be identified any other way," Covina police Lt. Pat Buchanan said.
“Right now, we have to hit Hamas hard to stop the launching,” he added. All About Gaza • Israel • Hamas One Israeli was killed in the rocket fire, medics said. "We will defend our people, we will retaliate against this aggression ... our military will retaliate." The U.N. Security Council has called for an immediate end to the airstrikes, which began Saturday. Photo President Mahmoud Abbas of the Palestinian Authority angrily condemned the Israeli airstrikes. Hamas security sources said that raid targeted the home of a senior leader in the group's military wing. Egypt has opened the Rafah crossing with the Gaza Strip to receive injured people, Egyptian officials said. After the initial airstrikes, dozens of rockets were fired into southern Israel, where an emergency was declared. Watch as Gaza endures third day of attacks » Israel has struck more than 300 Hamas targets since Saturday, its military said. The dead included civilians, including several construction workers and at least two children in school uniforms. There was no immediate response from Hamas to the IDF statement. Islam Shahwan, a Hamas police spokesman, said a police graduation ceremony in Gaza City was struck by Israel. The international community refused to accept a Hamas-led government, demanding that the faction recognise Israel and renounce violence. The Arab League initially called an emergency meeting for Sunday in Cairo with all the foreign ministers from the member states, but later postponed it to Wednesday to give ministers time to respond. Several compared what was happening to the 2006 war between Israel and the Lebanese militia Hezbollah, when Israel reacted to the capture and killing of soldiers along its northern border with air raids, followed by a ground attack.
GAZA CITY (CNN) -- The death toll from a weekend of Israeli airstrikes on Gaza has topped 300, Palestinian medical sources said Monday as a third day of air raids hit the Hamas-ruled territory. Fires rage overnight in Gaza, where Israel has been bombing what it says are Hamas targets. more photos » Another 650-plus people have been wounded in the strikes, the sources said. The U.N. Security Council has called for an immediate end to the airstrikes, which began Saturday. But Israel says its objective is to stop an ongoing stream of rockets fired by Hamas militants into southern Israel, and Prime Minister Ehud Olmert told Cabinet ministers Sunday that the situation "is liable to continue for some time." Watch as Gaza endures third day of attacks » Israel has struck more than 300 Hamas targets since Saturday, its military said. The Israel Defense Forces said Monday that more than 150 rockets have been launched into Israeli territory from Gaza since the campaign began. Watch parts of Gaza reduced to rubble » Palestinian security and medical sources said airstrikes hit the Jebaliya refugee camp in Gaza early Monday, and a home near Hamas leader Ismail Haniya's residence was hit overnight. Hamas security sources said that raid targeted the home of a senior leader in the group's military wing. The Jebaliya raid left five children dead in a home that was damaged when a nearby mosque was targeted, said Dr. Mu'awiya Hassanein. And a few minutes after midnight, an Israeli F-16 fired rockets into at least one building at the Islamic University of Gaza, a Gaza-based journalist at the scene -- whose name was withheld for security reasons -- told CNN. There were no immediate reports of casualties from that strike, which the IDF said targeted "a center for weapon research and development." The Palestinian television station Ramattan showed firefighters trying to put out a fire at a building identified by the Palestinian network as part of the university, while others sifted through large piles of debris and rubble. Read reactions to Israel's strike on Gaza » "There was a loud series of explosions ... the entire apartment I'm in was shaking," said Sami Abdel-Shafi, a Palestinian business consultant in Gaza City. "It was scary and a very disappointing position to be in for the 'nth' time." An Israeli military statement said the targets of the raid were "buildings that were used as meeting places for senior leaders of Hamas." Watch an ambassador say Israel is only defending itself » "One of the structures struck housed explosives laboratories that were an inseparable part of Hamas' research and development program, as well as places that served as storage facilities for the organization," the IDF statement said. "The development of these weapons took place under the auspices of senior lecturers who are activists in Hamas. Among the weapons that have been developed and manufactured at this site are Qassam rockets." As dusk fell, Israel continued to bomb the strip, firing on a metal foundry in the south. Salam Fayyad, the Palestinian prime minister, condemned the attack and demanded an immediate cessation. Hours after the Israeli assault, Gaza fighters fired home-made rockets into southern Israel, heeding calls by Hamas and other affiliated Palestinian groups to avenge the attacks, unprecedented in their scale. One Israeli was killed in the rocket fire, medics said. Taher al-Noono, a Hamas spokesman, described Israel's operation as a "massacre", adding: "However, our resolve cannot be dented and cannot be shaken. Islam Shahwan, a Hamas police spokesman, said a police graduation ceremony in Gaza City was struck by Israel. Its 1.5 million residents area already experiencing shortages in medicine, power and basic supplies due to 18 months of an Israeli blockade. 'War crimes' Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian president and leader of Fatah, condemned the "aggression" in Gaza. Smoke billowed into the air above the Gaza Strip [AFP] Mousa Abu Morzouz, the deputy leader of Hamas, told Al Jazeera: "Until now the aggression didn't stop ... they are targeting all the police headquarters and offices. Morzouz called on the world's most powerful nations to condemn the attacks: "Nobody in this world can accept what happened and the Israeli aggression ... [we expect] the international community to stand against this and say that it is not acceptable." He accused Israel of committing "war crimes" and demanded that Abbas and his government stop all relations with Israel. 'Only just beginning' The Israel army released a statement saying "terrorist installations" were hit and that all Israeli pilots returned unharmed. The air raids follow the decision by the Israeli security cabinet to increase reprisals for cross-border rocket attacks against Israel, and the breakdown of a six-month-old Israel-Hamas truce earlier this month. Weakened security services Mohyeldin said that Hamas, which rule the Gaza Strip, was being held responsible by Israel for any attacks from the territory into Israel, even if they are undertaken by other Palestinian factions. Palestinian officials called on the international community to condemn the raids [AFP] However, officials of the deposed government in Gaza which maintains law and order, while being Hamas member in the main, are separate from the group's military wing and other factions responsible for attacks into Israel. Jacky Rowland, Al Jazeera's correspondent in Jerusalem, said that Israel's decision to strike at this moment was down to Hamas withdrawing from the ceasefire and the intensified rocket fire coming from the Gaza Strip in recent days.
Mr Atta Mills, aged 64, is a former vice-president. RIVALS AT A GLANCE JOHN ATTA MILLS (left) Age: 64 Party: National Democratic Congress Executive posts: Vice-president 1997-2000 Profession: University professor Hobbies: Hockey, swimming Family: Married with one child NANA AKUFO-ADDO (right) Age: 64 Party: New Patriotic Party Executive posts: Attorney general 2001-03; foreign affairs minister 2003-07 Profession: Lawyer Family: Married with five children Q&A: Ghana election run-off He has 50.13% of the approximately nine million votes already cast, compared with 49.87% for Mr Akufo-Addo. "I assure Ghanaians that I will be president for all." Analysts says Ghana's poll could help salvage the tarnished image of constitutional democracy in Africa, after last year's flawed elections in Kenya and Zimbabwe and military coups in Mauritania and Guinea. The electoral commission had said it would investigate those claims if provided with evidence. The ruling party had boycotted the Tain constituency vote. Outgoing President John Kufuor earlier urged both candidates to respect the final result. NPP officials said the atmosphere in the rural district was not conducive to a free and fair election. The NDC in turn complained of alleged intimidation and vote-rigging in the Ashanti region. Each politician and each political party should keep the stability of the country over and above their own interests Mohammed Ibn Chambas Regional body Ecowas President Kufour is stepping down after serving the maximum two terms in office and his successor is due to be sworn in on 7 January. E-mail this to a friend Printable version Bookmark with: Delicious Digg reddit Facebook StumbleUpon What are these?
Mr Atta Mills won 50.23% of the votes, the electoral commission said Opposition candidate John Atta Mills has won a tight presidential run-off in Ghana, saying he will be "a president for all". Electoral officials announced the result after the last constituency to vote showed him extending his lead over his rival, Nana Akufo-Addo. Mr Akufo-Addo congratulated Mr Atta Mills, but a spokesman said the party would challenge the result in court. Officials say there was no evidence of vote-rigging, as alleged by both sides. The run-off, with the last vote held in Tain constituency, was closely watched as Ghana remains a rare example of a functioning democracy in West Africa. The ruling party had boycotted the Tain constituency vote. Celebration The electoral commission said the results of the run-off showed Mr Atta Mills had won narrowly with 50.23% of the votes, against 49.77% for Mr Akufo-Addo. RIVALS AT A GLANCE JOHN ATTA MILLS (left) Age: 64 Party: National Democratic Congress Executive posts: Vice-president 1997-2000 Profession: University professor Hobbies: Hockey, swimming Family: Married with one child NANA AKUFO-ADDO (right) Age: 64 Party: New Patriotic Party Executive posts: Attorney general 2001-03; foreign affairs minister 2003-07 Profession: Lawyer Family: Married with five children Voters give their views on result In pictures: Ghana marks result Profile: John Atta Mills Wind of change for Ghana "On the basis of the official results given, it is my duty to declare Professor John Evans Atta Mills the president-elect of the Republic of Ghana," the commission's head, Kwado Afari-Gyan, said in the capital, Accra. He said the commission had considered allegations of vote-rigging by both sides but "did not find the evidence provided sufficient to invalidate the result". Outgoing President John Kufuor earlier urged both candidates to respect the final result. He appealed for calm and said any complaints of vote-rigging should be dealt with by the courts after the new president is expected to be sworn in on Wednesday. Addressing jubilant supporters on the streets of Accra around the NDC headquarters, Mr Atta Mills, who had failed twice before to become president, said: "The time has come to work together to build a better Ghana. "I assure Ghanaians that I will be president for all." He also congratulated "all other contestants, especially Nana Akufo-Addo, for giving us a good fight." Although Ghana remains a very divided nation when it comes to choosing a president, it has proved that democracy can work, BBC correspondent Will Ross in Accra says. Mr Atta Mills, aged 64, is a former vice-president. On Saturday, he told reporters: "I acknowledge the electoral commissioner's declaration and congratulate Professor Mills," Reuters news agency reported. A spokesman later told the BBC that, contrary to earlier reports, he had not conceded defeat, and that the ruling party would go to court to contest the result. Analysts says Ghana's poll could help salvage the tarnished image of constitutional democracy in Africa, after last year's flawed elections in Kenya and Zimbabwe and military coups in Mauritania and Guinea. The stakes have been raised in these elections because Ghana has just found oil, which is expected to start generating revenue in 2010. Tain is set to decide the cliff-hanger presidential race Voting is under way in a remote Ghana district to decide the outcome of a knife-edge presidential election, despite a governing party boycott. The New Patriotic Front (NPP) has sought an injunction to delay Friday's voting in Tain constituency, but the court adjourned the case until Monday. NPP officials said the atmosphere in the rural district was not conducive to a free and fair election. Opposition candidate John Atta Mills has a narrow lead over the ruling party's Nana Akufo-Addo. Raised tensions There is growing pressure on the governing party to accept the outcome of the election and to avoid stalling the process via the courts, say the BBC's Will Ross, in Ghana's capital Accra. Amid heightened fears of poll-related violence, President John Kufour has again spoken out to urge both candidates to accept the election result, appealing to them to avert a constitutional crisis. Each politician and each political party should keep the stability of the country over and above their own interests Mohammed Ibn Chambas Regional body Ecowas President Kufour is stepping down after serving the maximum two terms in office and his successor is due to be sworn in on 7 January. Soldiers and police have been deployed across Tain - the last of Ghana's 230 constituencies to vote - and polling stations are due to close at 1700 GMT. The electoral commission is not expected to announce the outcome from the district, along with the presidential result, until Saturday at the earliest. Ghana state radio reported that NPP agents with loudhailers had toured towns and villages in the district on Thursday night urging supporters to boycott the vote. The party's attempts to block the ballot have been criticised by civil groups. 'Not fair' "We are trying to stop the election because we think the security situation on the ground is not conducive for a free and fair election," NPP spokesman Arthur Kennedy told AFP news agency. Our correspondent says Mr Akufo-Addo cannot realistically win enough support among Tain's 53,000 eligible voters to overturn the lead held by Mr Atta Mills of the National Democratic Congress (NDC). Officials from the NPP have been meeting and election observers suggest the party is now split on whether Mr Akufo-Addo should accept defeat, says our correspondent. The body's president, Mohammed Ibn Chambas, told the BBC that in the interests of the country the candidate with the least votes should concede by the end of Friday. He said: "I believe that there comes the moment when each politician and each political party should place the supreme interest in the country to keep the stability of the country over and above their own interests.'' The NPP has said it wants a re-run of voting in a number of constituencies in the Volta region, claiming their polling agents were victims of brutality and intimidation in last Sunday's poll. Ghana is one of Africa's most stable democracies but stakes have been raised in this election - the fifth since the country's return to democracy in 1992 - by the discovery of oil off the coast. Voting opened Friday in the final constituency in Ghana's presidential run-off despite a boycott by the ruling party, which is trailing narrowly in the election and tried to have the ballot postponed.
"He has respect from all parties. Flemish Christian Democrat Van Rompuy, 61, is president of the lower house of parliament. He's very experienced, but he's never led a government and this is certainly not the easiest time to be taking over," Devos said. (Editing by Charles Dick) Belgium is expected to have entered a recession in the fourth quarter, faces a lingering bank crisis and is beset by a dispute over devolution that has seen it lurch from one political crisis to another since the June 2007 election. * He is respected among French speakers and was among the most palatable to them of the likely successors to Leterme. He was budget minister between 1993-1999 and brought Belgium's debt down sharply from some 130 percent of gross domestic product in his first year in office. Van Rompuy's sole mention of the Fortis debacle was to call for an investigation into alleged meddling in a court's decision to freeze the Fortis bailout to be non-partisan. BRUSSELS Dec 31 New Belgian Prime Minister Herman Van Rompuy urged parliament on Wednesday to pass bills to revive an economy heading into recession and to resolve a political dispute that threatens to pull the country apart. It could be until 2011, when the next federal elections are due to be held, but it could just a matter of months, when Leterme might have been cleared by a parliamentary commission. He has also expressed doubts about government plans to spend its way out of the current economic downturn. Leterme's government proposed earlier this month pumping 2 billion euros ($2.84 billion) into the economy next year, part of a 200 billion euro EU-wide stimulus package.
BRUSSELS Dec 31 New Belgian Prime Minister Herman Van Rompuy urged parliament on Wednesday to pass bills to revive an economy heading into recession and to resolve a political dispute that threatens to pull the country apart. "The year that ends today has been marked by the most serious global financial crisis since the 1930s," he said in a declaration before a vote of confidence due on Friday. "Domestically it has been a year of uncertainty, partly due to political moments of crisis and the consequences of the financial crisis," he continued in the Belgian equivalent of a state of the union address. Van Rompuy, 61, became Belgium's third premier in a year on Tuesday, succeeding Yves Leterme whose government collapsed on Dec. 19 over the stalled bailout of stricken bank Fortis FOR.BR and asset sale to France's BNP Paribas (BNPP.PA). Belgium is expected to have entered a recession in the fourth quarter, faces a lingering bank crisis and is beset by a dispute over devolution that has seen it lurch from one political crisis to another since the June 2007 election. Leterme's government proposed earlier this month pumping 2 billion euros ($2.84 billion) into the economy next year, part of a 200 billion euro EU-wide stimulus package. "It is clear that in the coming weeks and months the government will take new initiatives to cope with the challenges that the crisis poses for the economy and employment." Van Rompuy also pressed bickering parties to settle a dispute over whether the regions should have greater autonomy. The majority Dutch-speakers want more powers for Flanders over the labour market and justice, but French-speakers fear further devolution will hit their less vibrant economy and risks breaking the 178-year-old country in two. The prime minister first wants results from a committee looking into the thorny issue of electoral boundaries around Brussels and demanded changes implemented from next summer. Van Rompuy's sole mention of the Fortis debacle was to call for an investigation into alleged meddling in a court's decision to freeze the Fortis bailout to be non-partisan. * Van Rompuy, 61, has been president of the lower house of parliament since July 2007 and has at times been critical of the Leterme government. * Budget minister 1993-1999 in the Christian Democrat-led government, he reduced Belgium's public debt sharply from 130 percent of gross domestic product in the year he took office. A budgetary hardliner, he has criticised the previous government's plan to spend its way out of recession and increase the deficit. * After saying he did not want to replace Leterme as prime minister, he appears to have given in to pressure from fellow Flemish Christian Democrats who feared the liberals might otherwise insist on the return of former PM Guy Verhofstadt. (Adds more background, analyst) By Huw Jones BRUSSELS Dec 28 Belgium's King Albert asked parliamentary speaker Herman Van Rompuy on Sunday to form a new government to end the third political crisis in a year and respond to a looming recession. He is set to succeed fellow Christian Democrat Yves Leterme whose government collapsed on Dec. 19 after the Supreme Court said there were clear indications of political meddling in a court ruling over the bailout of stricken bank Fortis FOR.BR. He was budget minister between 1993-1999 and brought Belgium's debt down sharply from some 130 percent of gross domestic product in his first year in office. Van Rompuy's appointment as "formateur" follows a six-day mediation mission by former prime minister Wilfried Martens. Fortis investors, angry at seeing their shares tumble below 1 euro, won an appeal court ruling earlier this month freezing the group's break-up by the Dutch, Luxembourg and Belgium and latter's sale of Fortis assets to BNP Paribas (BNPP.PA).
"The lights went out, and at that moment, my back started burning, and I was breathing in hot air," he said. Are you in Bangkok? He says there was only one exit from the building. Were you in the area where the fire broke out? More than 200 people, including at least four Britons, were injured in the fire at the Santika club. Many of the victims were Thai, but it is not known how many foreigners were inside at the time. All About Thailand • Bangkok Your comments may be published on any BBC media worldwide. Three Aussies hurt in Bangkok nightclub blaze Updated The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) has confirmed three Australians have been injured in a fire in a Bangkok nightclub which killed 60 people. CNN's Kocha Olarn contributed to this report. Some witnesses saw flames shooting up from a stage in the club shortly after midnight, setting the ceiling alight. Please turn on JavaScript. Fireworks of often questionable quality are used liberally to celebrate New Year in Thailand. Survivors have accused the venue of ignoring basic safety rules. iReport.com: Eyewitness captures scene of deadly aftermath Hall said his wife escaped ahead of him, but he got caught in a crowd. Many people died from smoke inhalation, and others were crushed as they tried to escape through the only exit on the ground floor. E-mail this to a friend Printable version The police say there are no grounds yet for charging the owners of the club, but an investigation into the causes of the fire will be completed within two to three weeks.
Advertisement Police are investigating the cause of a fire in a Bangkok nightclub that killed 59 people, amid reports that fireworks were to blame. More than 200 people, including at least four Britons, were injured in the fire at the Santika club. Survivors have accused the venue of ignoring basic safety rules. Customers were reportedly allowed to detonate firecrackers inside the club, which lacked a fire exit and had bars on the windows. The police say there are no grounds yet for charging the owners of the club, but an investigation into the causes of the fire will be completed within two to three weeks. Safety concerns Only a full investigation can give a definitive answer as to whether the Santika was unsafe, the BBC's Jonathan Head reports from Thailand. But already there is enough circumstantial evidence from the accounts of survivors to conclude that the club probably failed to meet the most basic safety standards, he says. The management allowed fireworks to be lit inside a building packed with up to 1,000 revellers. Material that ignited in the ceiling - possibly soundproofing - flared into an inferno in just a few minutes and produced toxic fumes which killed many of the victims. The venue was not even registered as a nightclub - a situation which our correspondent says is not uncommon in Thailand. Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, who went to see the charred building, said he believed guests had been allowed to bring firecrackers into the club and he called for stricter controls. Some witnesses saw flames shooting up from a stage in the club shortly after midnight, setting the ceiling alight. Hazy safety in party zone 'Angel' saved Briton in Thai fire They described panic among the crowd as the club was plunged into darkness and the burning ceiling collapsed. A resident of an apartment block behind the nightclub, Sompong Tritweelap, told the Associated Press news agency he had seen screaming people battling to escape the flames. "I saw people, particularly young girls, being pushed away and crushed underneath as others were stomping on them trying to get out," he said. A joint roster provided by Bangkok hospitals shows that three Japanese, two South Koreans and one Singaporean were treated while another Singaporean died. One of the Japanese casualties was in a coma and suffering from burns over 60% of his body, doctors said. BANGKOK, Thailand (CNN) -- At least 59 people were killed and more than 200 others injured early Thursday after a fire broke out at an upscale Bangkok nightclub where about 1,000 revelers were ringing in the new year, Thai police said. The fire began at the nightclub Santika about 12:35 a.m., police said. Steven Hall, a British national who was hurt in the fire, told CNN that flames began to spread along the ceiling above the stage where a band and DJ were performing. The blaze started near a stage where fireworks were being used as part of a performance on the club's closing night, said police Maj. Gen. Chokchai Deeprasertwit. Watch the fire engulf the building » "It may have been caused from sparks, but we don't know if it was sparks from guests or from the nightclub's countdown display on the nightclub stage," he said. Its Web site features images of bands and DJs performing on both indoor and outdoor stages, and says that it "innovatively blends the comfort of nature with the excitement of the Bangkok nightlife." The site advertises the club's New Year's party, which was named "Goodbye Santika." Three Aussies hurt in Bangkok nightclub blaze Updated The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) has confirmed three Australians have been injured in a fire in a Bangkok nightclub which killed 60 people.
The bombing wounded 30 people, three of them critically, authorities said. All About Sri Lanka • Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam • Kilinochchi "Today our heroic troops have made that dream a reality. Police and army officials at the site of the suicide bombing in Sri Lanka's capital Colombo. The defence ministry said troops were moving towards Mullaitivu, another northern town where the rebels are known to have military facilities. Bitter fighting "We should pay the gratitude of the whole nation to those heroic soldiers who achieved that victory," President Rajapaksa said in a nationally televised address announcing the capture of Kilinochchi. Both sides have recently claimed to have inflicted heavy casualties on each other in the north of the island. The LTTE started fighting the government in 1983. He urged the rebel fighters to lay down their arms. Terms & Conditions COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (CNN) -- A suicide bomber on a motorcycle blew himself up outside air force headquarters Friday in Colombo, killing two air force police officers and a member of the bomb-disposal unit, authorities said. Your comments may be published on any BBC media worldwide. "We will take all possible measures to avert any more terrorist attacks, they (LTTE) are desperate now with the biggest defeats in the northern war front so they will try more attacks," said Nanayakkara. COLOMBO Sri Lankan jets and attack helicopters bombed Tamil Tiger positions in the north of the island on Saturday, the military said, a day after ground forces seized the rebels' de facto capital Kilinochchi. It says it is battling for the rights of ethnic Tamils in the face of mistreatment by successive governments led by the Sinhalese majority since Sri Lanka won independence from Britain in 1948.
COLOMBO Sri Lankan jets and attack helicopters bombed Tamil Tiger positions in the north of the island on Saturday, the military said, a day after ground forces seized the rebels' de facto capital Kilinochchi. The military is now targeting the port town of Mullaitivu and other rebel strongholds in the north, as it seeks to deliver a knockout blow to end the island's 25-year separatist war in which more than 70,000 people have been killed. At least three people were injured and several vehicles damaged in an explosion on Saturday in the commercial quarter of Colombo, the second in the capital in two days. Military spokesman Brigadier Udaya Nanayakkara blamed rebels for the attack which he said was an attempt to scare people or to show that Colombo was not secure. "A small IED (Improvised Explosive Device) fixed underneath of a van exploded and three people injured," Nanayakkara said. There has been no direct comment from the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam on the fall of Kilinochchi, long the centre of the rebels fight for an independent homeland for the Tamil minority. "Fighter Jets raided a Sea Tiger base in Mullaitivu while the MI-24 helicopters attacked rebel positions in and around Mullaitivu in support of ground troops," Air Force spokesman Wing Commander Janaka Nanayakkara said. Troops fought their way into Kilinochchi, deep in the north, on Friday in one of the biggest blows for the rebels in years. Details of casualties from the fighting have not yet emerged and a pro-rebel web site www.tamilnet.com said the Tigers had moved their headquarters further northeast before the town fell. "The Sri Lanka Army (SLA) has entered a virtual ghost town," the website said. Nanayakkara said troops were carrying out search and recovery operations in Kilinochchi town on Saturday. Security has been tightened across the island following a suicide bombing that killed three air force personnel in the capital Colombo shortly after President Mahinda Rajapaksa announced the fall of Kilinochchi. Defence Spokesman Keheliya Rambukwella said the troops were 2 km from Elephant Pass, a key rebel position in the neck of the northern Jaffna peninsula, and 6 km from Mullaitivu town, and that troops would capture them soon. ATTACKS FEARED Military officials say the rebels have in the past hit back with suicide bombings in the capital and elsewhere whenever they have come under pressure on the northern frontlines. "We will take all possible measures to avert any more terrorist attacks, they (LTTE) are desperate now with the biggest defeats in the northern war front so they will try more attacks," said Nanayakkara. The LTTE started fighting the government in 1983. It says it is battling for the rights of ethnic Tamils in the face of mistreatment by successive governments led by the Sinhalese majority since Sri Lanka won independence from Britain in 1948. Exactly a year ago, Rajapaksa's government formally scrapped an increasingly tattered six-year truce brokered by Norway, saying the rebels were using it as cover to regroup and re-arm. Over the past month, it has been assaulting Tiger defences encircling the town and both sides claim to have inflicted ever higher death tolls on the other. "It was the constant dream of all Sri Lankans, whether Sinhala, Tamil or Muslim, who are opposed to separatism, racism, and terrorism, and have always, sought peace, freedom and democracy," Rajapaksa said in a nationally televised address on Friday. A short while ago, our brave and heroic troops have fully captured Kilinochchi that was considered the main bastion of the LTTE." In Washington, State Department spokesman Gordon Duguid said the Tamil Tigers had been "one of the most notorious and brutal terrorist organizations over the past 20 years" but he urged the government to address Tamil concerns. COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (CNN) -- A suicide bomber on a motorcycle blew himself up outside air force headquarters Friday in Colombo, killing two air force police officers and a member of the bomb-disposal unit, authorities said. Police and army officials at the site of the suicide bombing in Sri Lanka's capital Colombo. The bombing occurred about one hour after President Mahinda Rajapaksa urged the Tamil Tigers to lay down their arms and end a quarter-century of civil war. Before he made that request, government troops retook the separatists' former capital, Kilinochchi. Initial reports indicate the bomber triggered explosives strapped to his chest when air force personnel tried to stop him for a search. "The time is not far off when people of the north can breathe freedom again," Rajapaksa said. He invited the Tigers -- who have fought for an independent homeland for Sri Lanka's ethnic Tamil minority since 1983 -- to surrender as government troops closed in on their last remaining strongholds. The Tamil Tigers ran a parallel administration from Kilinochchi with their own police force, courts, prisons and taxes, and they had declared government plans to retake the city a "daydream." But after Sri Lanka launched a new offensive against the rebels in the fall, the insurgents moved their nerve center and logistics bases to Mullaitivu, on the northeastern coast. Government troops have been advancing on Kilinochchi for months Sri Lankan forces say they are pressing on with their offensive on the Tamil Tigers rebels, a day after capturing their de facto capital, Kilinochchi. We should pay the gratitude of the whole nation to those heroic soldiers who achieved that victory President Mahinda Rajapaksa In pictures: Kilinochchi advance The Sri Lankan army has for months been advancing towards Kilinochchi, which has been in the hands of rebels for the last decade. Bitter fighting "We should pay the gratitude of the whole nation to those heroic soldiers who achieved that victory," President Rajapaksa said in a nationally televised address announcing the capture of Kilinochchi. The pro-Tamil website TamilNet confirmed the occupation of Kilinochchi, but said troops had entered a "virtual ghost town" as the civilian population and rebels shifted further north-east.
They are now getting it," Peres said in an interview. Hamas said it had captured two Israeli soldiers but the Israeli army denied that. "Indonesia's military must go to war against Israel, not just as peacekeepers. They are speaking with the ordinary civilians in Gaza... People are suffering. Also killed in Israeli shelling was a Palestinian paramedic, the Oxfam aid agency said. A spokesman for Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of the Hamas, told Al Jazeera on Sunday that Israeli troops faced death or capture. Mufid Saleh Walweel, 22, was shot in the head in the West Bank city of Qalqilya during a protest against Israel's military operation in the Gaza Strip, they said. Around 9,000 military reservists have been called up to assist in the ground assault. (Reporting by Wafa Amr; Editing by Andrew Dobbie) Israel says at least 30 soldiers have been wounded in the fighting, two of them seriously [AFP] Israel says at least 30 soldiers have been wounded in the fighting, two of them seriously [AFP] The Israeli assault, codenamed "Operation Cast Lead", has killed more than 507 Palestinians and wounded more than 2,400 others. While the UN secretary-general called for an immediate end to the operations, the Security Council failed to agree on a resolution calling for a ceasefire after an emergency meeting. He said power lines have been cut throughout Gaza and more than 250,000 people in the northern part of the territory were without electricity. Humanitarian crisis Fears of a humanitarian crisis have also grown in recent days, as the strip, home to 1.5 million people, is already suffering shortages of fuel, food and medical supplies due to a two-year economic blockade imposed by Israel.
"I call on the Israeli authorities to respect their international obligations and ensure a 'humanitarian space' for the delivery of vital relief," he said. Protester killed In the occupied West Bank, where Palestinians rallied for a third day of protests, Israeli soldiers shot and killed a man, Palestinian medical sources said. Mufid Saleh Walweel, 22, was shot in the head in the West Bank city of Qalqilya during a protest against Israel's military operation in the Gaza Strip, they said. There were also protests in Turkey, where organisers claimed 700,000 people had turned out for an anti-Israeli demonstration. Protesters called on Turkey, Israel's only Muslim ally, to re-evaluate ties with the Jewish state if it does not halt its incursion in the Gaza Strip. In Greece, demonstrators set fire to banks, threw rocks and fired flares at police in the capital Athens. In Morocco, a crowd of 40,000 gathered in Rabat to condemn "the silence of Arab regimes". Mustapha Ramid of the Islamist Party of Justice and Development, said "the blood of Gazan martyrs has mobilised the masses in Morocco and throughout the rest of the Arab world". Several countries have called on Israel to exercise restraint as the civilian death toll continues to rise. Russia on Sunday said it was "extremely concerned" by Israel's land operation in Gaza and said it was sending a special envoy to the region to help bring about a ceasefire by both sides. Thousands of demonstrators in Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim nation, denounced Israel as a "terrorist" force and called on the government to send troops to fight Israeli forces. "Indonesia's military must go to war against Israel, not just as peacekeepers. We ask the government to send troops there, not just medicine," Farid Wadjdi, the local head of the Hizbut Tahrir movement, was quoted as saying by news website Detikcom. Iranian warning Iran, which has seen angry protests since the Israeli raids began last week, also added its voice. Ali Larijani, the parliament speaker, praised Palestinian resistance against the ground invasion. Even Egypt, which has faced criticism from the Arab and Muslim world, condemned the Israeli incursion, and called on the UN to work to end the violence. Shoes litter Whitehall in London in protest against Israel [AFP] In Britain, where one of the world's largest demonstrations against the Israeli incursion took place on Saturday, Gordon Brown, the prime minister, took a more measured approach, saying that Israel's ground offensive had created a "very dangerous moment" before calling for increased efforts on both sides to secure a ceasefire. Secondly, we need some resolution of the problem over arms trafficking into Gaza and, thirdly, we need the borders and the crossings open and that will need some international solution." For its part, the US state department said it told the Israeli government that any military action should be "mindful of the potential consequences to civilians". It also condemned Hamas, saying the group was holding the people of Gaza "hostage" and contributing to a "very bad daily life" for the coastal territory's residents. (Adds details) JERUSALEM, Jan 4 Israeli soldiers shot and killed a Palestinian man during clashes in the occupied West Bank on Sunday, Palestinian medical sources said. Mufid Saleh Walweel, 22, was shot in the head in the West Bank city of Qalqilya during a protest against Israel's military operation in the Gaza Strip, they said. Israeli tanks and infantry launched a ground offensive in the Gaza Strip after eight days of deadly air strikes failed to halt the Islamist group Hamas's rocket attacks on Israel. Israel says at least 30 soldiers have been wounded in the fighting, two of them seriously [AFP] Israel says at least 30 soldiers have been wounded in the fighting, two of them seriously [AFP] The Israeli assault, codenamed "Operation Cast Lead", has killed more than 507 Palestinians and wounded more than 2,400 others. Four Israelis have been killed by the Hamas rocket strikes in the same time. Among the latest victims were a mother and her four young children, killed in an Israeli air strike on their home in Gaza. Also killed in Israeli shelling was a Palestinian paramedic, the Oxfam aid agency said. "The battle has just started and the enemy should endure the consequences and results. Al Jazeera's Sherine Tadros, reporting from the Shifa hospital in Gaza City, said doctors were struggling to cope amid low supplies and the rising number of wounded. Humanitarian crisis Fears of a humanitarian crisis have also grown in recent days, as the strip, home to 1.5 million people, is already suffering shortages of fuel, food and medical supplies due to a two-year economic blockade imposed by Israel. The UN has warned that there were "critical gaps" in aid reaching Gaza, despite claims from Tzipi Livni, the Israeli foreign minister, that there was no crisis and that aid was getting through. Elsewhere in the strip, heavy artillery, tracer fire and rockets could be heard while reports said Israeli troops had reached the northern towns of Beit Lahiya and Beit Hanoun. 'Fear and terror' Ayman Mohyeldin, Al Jazeera's correspondent reporting from Gaza City, said: "Perhaps the most significant military development on the ground is that Gaza has now actually been split into two. "That area, mostly in the former settlement of Nitzerim, it was an open area after Israel withdrew the settlement, so they were able to make strong advances all the way across Gaza, essentially cutting off the northern part from the southern part." He said power lines have been cut throughout Gaza and more than 250,000 people in the northern part of the territory were without electricity.
The company obeys Chinese law, she said. "We apologize to Internet users for any negative effects given to society." Despite China's all-pervasive censorship machine, pornography is widely available online to China's nearly 300 million users, many in their teens. Popular Chinese web portals frequently show sexually explicit pictures and provide links to pornographic websites. Both Google and Sohu staff said they have not been notified of any punishment to date. "After we received notice from relevant government departments ... (we) cleaned up links to vulgar content that could have adverse effects on Internet users," it said (here). Analysts have linked the campaign to broader efforts to stifle dissent ahead of sensitive political dates this year, especially the 20th anniversary year of the government's bloody crackdown on pro-democracy protests centered on Beijing's Tian'anmen Square in 1989. Chinese authorities arrested or detained nearly a dozen people for circulating the photos. The statement, which was posted to a news and information website managed by the State Council, said violators will be severely punished, but did not give details. The office is working on punishment schemes, he said, adding that some small-scale Web sites were previously closed down for the distribution of inappropriate material. Pornography and obscene contents are explicit and more easily recognized. The official Xinhua News Agency said the national campaign would last for one month. Baidu did not immediately return an email seeking comment, and phones at Sina and Sohu rang unanswered. A Google spokeswoman in China, Cui Jin, defended the site's operations, saying it is a search engine and does not generate any pornographic content.
People use computers at an Internet cafe in Changzhi, north China's Shanxi province June 20, 2007. REUTERS/Stringer BEIJING Three Chinese Internet operators have apologized for failing to purge "vulgar" content following a government pledge this week to expose and shut down offending websites. China on Monday launched a renewed crackdown to stamp out vulgar current on the Internet, which analysts linked to a broader campaign to stifle dissent and protest as the economy slows in a year of politically sensitive anniversaries. Officials named and shamed 19 Internet operators and websites, including search engines Google and Baidu, it said had flouted warnings about pornography and other content deemed inappropriate by state censors. "We feel deeply guilty," Baidu, China's number one search engine, said in a statement posted on its website on Wednesday. "We apologize to Internet users for any negative effects given to society." NetEase.com.Inc, China's number two online game operator, and SINA Corp also issued public apologies on their websites. "As to our problems and any harm they could possibly have caused Internet users, SINA feels deeply sad and concerned," the online media group said. Google's China office stopped short of offering an apology on its website, but promised to "work hard" with Internet users and society to build a healthy Internet culture. "After we received notice from relevant government departments ... (we) cleaned up links to vulgar content that could have adverse effects on Internet users," it said (here). Despite China's all-pervasive censorship machine, pornography is widely available online to China's nearly 300 million users, many in their teens. China's ruling Communist Party is wary of threats to its grip on information and has conducted numerous censorship efforts targeting porn, anti-government criticism and websites selling fake drugs. Analysts have linked the campaign to broader efforts to stifle dissent ahead of sensitive political dates this year, especially the 20th anniversary year of the government's bloody crackdown on pro-democracy protests centered on Beijing's Tian'anmen Square in 1989. China has warned Google and other popular web portals that they must do more to block pornographic material from reaching Chinese users, the latest in a series of government crackdowns targeting internet content. The crackdown focused on pornography but is part of a larger Chinese effort to control freedom of expression and root out material it considers destabilising, such as sites that criticise the Communist Party, promote democratic reform or advocate Taiwan independence. Popular Chinese web portals frequently show sexually explicit pictures and provide links to pornographic websites. The announcement said Google and Baidu, China's two most heavily used search engines, had failed to take "efficient" measures after receiving notices from the country's internet watchdog that they were providing links to pornographic material. The statement also criticized popular web portals Sina and Sohu, as well as a number of video sharing sites and popular online bulletin boards such as Tianya, that it said contain problematic photos, blogs and postings. Jeremy Goldkorn, founder of Danwei.org, a website that covers Chinese media issues, said such campaigns happen regularly in China to keep internet sites in line with the government and the mention of Google and Baidu is meant to send a strong message to the whole industry. "The fact that they rapped every major website on the knuckles ... it is sending a message out to be on their best behaviour and that's a system that everyone understands," he said. Charles Freeman, a China specialist at the Washington-based Centre for Strategic and International Studies, said the pornography issue was a "stalking horse" for the Chinese government. "They're looking extensively at political speech, the sort of things traditionally cast under the First Amendment in this country," Freeman said. He said 2009 is a "very sensitive year politically in China," noting it was 50 years since the Dalai Lama fled Tibet after a failed uprising, 30 years after the democracy wall movement, and 20 years after the crackdown on pro-democracy protesters in Tiananmen Square. Beijing loosened some media and internet controls during the 2008 Summer Olympics - gestures that were meant to show the international community that the games had brought greater freedom to the Chinese people, but blocked The New York Times' website on Dec. 19. Last month over 300 lawyers, writers, scholars and artists signed a petition online called "Charter 08", calling for a new constitution guaranteeing human rights. In the past, the Foreign Ministry has defended China's right to censor websites that have material deemed illegal by the government, saying that other countries also regulate internet usage. It was unclear what the government classifies as pornographic but it said seven government agencies will work together on the campaign to "purify the internet's cultural environment and protect the healthy development of minors," the notice said. This happened early last year when explicit photos of Hong Kong actor Edison Chen and several female partners performing sex acts circulated online. A Google spokeswoman in China, Cui Jin, defended the site's operations, saying it is a search engine and does not generate any pornographic content. China has the world's largest population of internet users with more than 250 million, and China's attitude to love and sex has changed markedly since it was denounced as a bourgeois decadence under Mao Zedong, a by-product of rising prosperity and looser government restrictions on private life. BEIJING, Jan. 6 (Xinhua) -- China's major portal Sohu.com on Tuesday responded to a watchdog's accusations of being slow in deleting online porn and erotic materials by asking media and users to boycott obscene contents. Chen Luming, vice president of Sohu, said the move was meant to raise people's awareness in purifying the online environment and stop making portals the scapegoats for troublemakers who intentionally upload obscene contents. "We call on all Internet communities, media and netizens not to publicize nude photos, videos and literature ... and not to spread pornography... and show respect to people's privacy by not filing personal information." Sohu, with another 18 Web sites, including search engine giants Google and Baidu, were accused by the China Internet Illegal Information Reporting Center(CIIRC) of failing to block pornographic and "vulgar" materials on Monday. Cui Jin, a Google public relations manager in Beijing, said it was technically challenging to delete sensitive issues and Web site links as the definition for pornography and "vulgar" contents was too vague. "We are open to users' reports and any warnings and would take immediate actions to delete porn, but it's important to stop people who make them." She said the definition for "pornography" and "vulgar" materials was too vague for the Web site to decide which pictures and videos would fall into those categories. The law regarding punishment for distributing "vulgar" materials, however, is not as clearly delineated since the definition for what constitutes vulgarity is more vague, according to Wang Qiang, staff with the Beijing Internet management office, the organization responsible for punishing Internet law violations.
For some of us, there is something more personal at stake. Even when you've exhausted, or been exhausted by "Who will be the next Doctor?" Yet I am optimistic about the show's future – precisely because of how unusual a choice Smith is. Tennant said it had been "impossible to carry on without surgery" Actor David Tennant has returned to the lead role of Hamlet on the London stage after undergoing back surgery. Still, the BBC seems to have got away with it – according to the instant polling provided by a trawl through Facebook, groups such as "We hate Matt Smith as Doctor Who!!!!" Media requires JavaScript to play. Buchan said of Party Animals: "For our part, we all clicked and shared a massive enthusiasm for making the show the best it could be. Riseborough went on to play a young Lady Thatcher in The Long Walk To Finchley , and appeared in the Mike Leigh film Happy-Go-Lucky . We were a quality group of friends working on excellent scripts, and that meant we all looked forward to work every day. Conn became a star of the BBC drama Mistresses, which returns this spring for a second series. The big winner, of course, is the man lucky enough to have played both the Dane and the Doctor. The 37-year-old's run at the Novello Theatre is due to finish on 10 January. Whatever his merits, he and new head writer Steven Moffat could find themselves in the collective shadow of Tennant and outgoing writer-producer Russell T Davies: the equivalent of the men who take over Manchester United after Sir Alex Ferguson retires and Cristiano Ronaldo is transferred.
The great thing about Doctor Who, as a colleague pointed out, is that you don't have to watch the show to feel part of it. Even when you've exhausted, or been exhausted by "Who will be the next Doctor?" and moved into "I'm sorry, who will be the next Doctor? ", there's still a full cycle of gossip to come: you can speculate about the identity of the Doctor's companion, and then the guest stars, and then the year's big villain, and then – as a pick-me-up at the end – whether this season will be the Doctor's last. At this rate, by the time Matt Smith actually steps into the Tardis, in 2010, we'll probably be vigorously debating the merits of his successor. The BBC certainly knows the value of the publicity to what is, according to audience satisfaction figures, its most-loved show. Whereas the Queen only gets 10 minutes over Christmas, the show's producers were offered a full half-hour on Saturday evening for their message to the nation. Even with all the careful priming, even with the drip-drip of comments that this was the youngest Doctor, that he was only 26, the moment when the boy himself popped up on screen was still a shock. Still, the BBC seems to have got away with it – according to the instant polling provided by a trawl through Facebook, groups such as "We hate Matt Smith as Doctor Who!!!!" Other internet commentators are taking the middle ground: they'll watch him in the role, as long as he gets rid of the Spandau Ballet hairstyle. Only marginally better-known than Smith when he took the latter role, David Tennant is now a certified national treasure, able to pick and choose any role that takes his fancy. Whether Smith will become as beloved is a moot point: although obviously a talented actor, and from all accounts a bright and enthusiastic guy, he lacked, at least in that initial, unscripted interview, the articulacy and wit that defined Tennant's performance. Whatever his merits, he and new head writer Steven Moffat could find themselves in the collective shadow of Tennant and outgoing writer-producer Russell T Davies: the equivalent of the men who take over Manchester United after Sir Alex Ferguson retires and Cristiano Ronaldo is transferred. Yet I am optimistic about the show's future – precisely because of how unusual a choice Smith is. Despite all the speculation about a black Doctor or a female Doctor, all the show's bosses had to do to keep the gravy train rolling was find a well-known name, a Bill Nighy or David Morrissey, who was prepared to spend a couple of years chained to the production treadmill down in Cardiff. Although ratings were modest, the young cast won great acclaim and the show was likened to This Life , an ensemble drama which reached cult status. Smith, 26, who played a young political researcher in the show, will become the biggest star of all after winning the role of the 11th Doctor. Buchan said of Party Animals: "For our part, we all clicked and shared a massive enthusiasm for making the show the best it could be. He's got that huge hair, a twinkle in his eye - Matt's the king of geek chic. Tennant said it had been "impossible to carry on without surgery" Actor David Tennant has returned to the lead role of Hamlet on the London stage after undergoing back surgery. But they added his return would be assessed on a "day by day" basis and theatre-goers are advised to check the website for updates. "My back problem has progressed to the point where it is currently impossible for me to carry on without surgery," he said last month.
We had no electricity, no blankets, no food. "Without that, it's a joke," he said. (See pictures of Israeli soldiers sweeping into Gaza.) Israel says it will not halt its ground offensive until Hamas stops firing rockets into Israel. He said UN staff vetted those Palestinians who sought shelter at the school. Also on Thursday, Israel said it halted its military operations for three hours to allow humanitarian aid into the strip. A relative came and told me one of my sons was killed. "We hoped it would be safe. But the IDF did not explain how it was able to identify them among the many casualties. Homes, mosques and government buildings have been hit in the Israeli bombardment [AFP] Homes, mosques and government buildings have been hit in the Israeli bombardment [AFP] 'Tragic deaths' John Ging, the head of Unrwa in Gaza, said the casualties in Thursday's convoy attack were Palestinian civilian contractors hired to bring supplies from the crossing points. More than 3,121 people have also been wounded. Some reports say that Israel struck with artillery shells, while others say with mortars. Children started to scream. I found my son's body with his two cousins. Before Israeli bombs fell outside the school, some 400 Palestinians fleeing shelling of the Jabalya refugee camp had taken shelter inside Fakhura, hoping that the U.N. flag would shield them from harm, according to survivors. The rising casualty toll, more than 640 Palestinians killed since the assault began 12 days ago, gave fresh impetus to diplomatic efforts. Tanks and troops also moved on the southern town of Khan Yunis.
Homes, mosques and government buildings have been hit in the Israeli bombardment [AFP] Homes, mosques and government buildings have been hit in the Israeli bombardment [AFP] 'Tragic deaths' John Ging, the head of Unrwa in Gaza, said the casualties in Thursday's convoy attack were Palestinian civilian contractors hired to bring supplies from the crossing points. "They were co-ordinating their movements with the Israelis, as they always do, only to find themselves being fired at from the ground troops," he told Al Jazeera. "We've lost confidence. We have been reassured continuously over the last number of days that these incidents will not reoccur, and I have taken that in good faith because of the humanitarian imperative. "We want to believe we are safe here ... but the bottom line is that I've lost confidence in the Israeli side and that needs to be restored urgently, and it is their duty to restore this confidence," Ging said. All convoys to Erez and the Kerem Shalom, which has been the main crossing point used for bringing humanitarian supplies into Gaza, were suspended after the incident. The Israeli military said it was looking into reports of Thursday's incident. Also on Thursday, Israel said it halted its military operations for three hours to allow humanitarian aid into the strip. The lull also allowed 50 bodies to be recovered, raising the death toll of Palestinians in Gaza to at least 763, including more than 200 children, since the Israeli offensive began on December 27. Eight Israeli soldiers and three civilians have died in the same period. Explosions were heard in northern Gaza shortly after the three-hour lull, but even during the three hours, Israeli bulldozers crossed into Gaza and destroyed a number of houses, Al Jazeera's Alan Fisher, reporting from southern Israel near the border, said. Rafah bombing Thousands of Palestinians fled their homes in the southern Gaza Strip as Israeli forces bombarded Rafah earlier on Thursday. The Red Cross says Israel has failed to meet its humanitarian law obligations [Reuters] Homes, a mosque and tunnels were hit in the area along the Egyptian border, witnesses said. The Israeli military had dropped leaflets beforehand, warning it would "bomb the area due to its use by terrorists to [dig] tunnels and to stock up [on weapons]". Hundreds of tunnels are believed to cross under the Egyptian border around Rafah allowing Palestinians to smuggle in daily necessities - in short supply due to the Israeli blockade – as well as weapons. An Israeli army spokeswoman said the military had dropped the flyers "as in the past, to avoid civilian casualties". Besieged Gazans But Al Jazeera's Ayman Mohyeldin, reporting from Gaza City, said the Israel had in effect cut the Gaza Strip in two and those in the southern part would not be able to go to the north seeking refuge and vice versa. It was unclear if the latest offensive was the "third stage" of the offensive approved by the Israeli security cabinet on Wednesday. A senior Israeli defence official said a meeting chaired by Ehud Olmert, the prime minister, had "approved continuing the ground offensive, including a third stage that would broaden it by pushing deeper into populated areas". The International Committee for the Red Cross (ICRC) on Thursday accused the Israeli military of not helping wounded Palestinians in an incident in Gaza City that it described as "shocking". ICRC and Palestinian Red Crescent workers said in a statement that several wounded Palestinians and four weakened children were found alongside 12 dead bodies in houses hit by shelling in Zaytun, less than 100 metres from Israeli positions. "The ICRC believes that in this instance the Israeli military failed to meet its obligation under international humanitarian law to care for and evacuate the wounded," it said. The Red Cross team, including four ambulances, had only gained safe passage from Israeli army to access the neighbourhood on January 7 after trying for four days, the ICRC said. Israel's assault on Gaza has exacted the bloodiest toll of civilian lives yet, when the bombing of UN schools being used as refugee centres and of housing killed more than 50 people, including an entire family of seven young children. The UN protested at a "complete absence of accountability" for the escalating number of civilian deaths in Gaza, saying "the rule of the gun" had taken over. Doctors in Gaza said more than 40 people died, including children, in what appears to be the biggest single loss of life of the campaign when Israeli bombs hit al-Fakhora school, in Jabaliya refugee camp, while it was packed with hundreds of people who had fled the fighting. Pictures on Palestinian TV showed walls heavily marked by shrapnel and bloodstains, and shoes and shredded clothes scattered on the ground. Hours before, three young men who were cousins died when the Israelis bombed Asma elementary school in Gaza City. Abed Sultan's father, Samir, said the bodies were so mangled that he could not tell his son from the cousins. "We came to the school when the Israelis warned us to leave," he said. The Palestinian authority president, Mahmoud Abbas, last night delivered an impassioned plea to the UN security council to act immediately to stop the Israeli operation, which he described as a "catastrophe" for his people. The rising casualty toll, more than 640 Palestinians killed since the assault began 12 days ago, gave fresh impetus to diplomatic efforts. Explaining its attack on al-Fahora school, the Israeli military claimed that a mortar was fired from the playground, and it responded with a single shell whichkilled known Hamas fighters; the resulting explosion was compounded because Hamas "booby-trapped the school". "It was entirely inevitable if artillery shells landed in that area there would be a high number of casualties," he said.
Quesada said. "We thought, 'Fantastic! Enlarge Marvel Comics Superheroic fist bump: Barack Obama and Spider-Man. Loved ya in the debates." Would McCain have gotten a special issue had he won? "As president of the United States, I think that's a credo that he should live by." We have a comic-book geek in the White House.' At one point, Spider-Man says he mistook Vice President-elect Joe Biden for the Vulture (a vintage Spider-Man villain). Don't attack other readers personally, and keep your language decent. Read more Presidents have appeared as more shadowy figures in recent years. Inside are five pages of the two teaming up and even a fist-bump between Spidey and the new president. The special edition of the weekly Spider-Man comic features a six-page story about the superhero saving the day when an imposter tries to take Obama's place as president. Superman tells Kennedy. You share in the USA TODAY community, so please keep your comments smart and civil. Use the "Report Abuse" button to make a difference. "I was just floored, absolutely floored, to find out that the future commander-in-chief was actually going to be the future nerd-in-chief." Obama told Entertainment Weekly magazine in August that his favorite superheroes were Spider-Man and Batman because "they have some inner turmoil." "I was inundated with tons of fan mail saying 'Have you read this?'" The story is set on January 20 in Washington, where Spidey's alter ego, Peter Parker, is on assignment as a photographer covering Inauguration Day. It is due to hit newsstands next Wednesday.
NEW YORK Barack Obama will be "nerd-in-chief" when he takes office as U.S. president this month, according to Marvel Comics, which is putting him on the cover of its next "Spider-Man" comic. The special edition of the weekly Spider-Man comic features a six-page story about the superhero saving the day when an imposter tries to take Obama's place as president. Marvel editor in chief Joe Quesada said the idea for the "Spidey meets the President!" edition came from a statement from Obama's campaign listing 10 little known facts about the Democrat who will be America's first black president. "Right at the top of that list was he collected Spider-Man comics," Quesada told Reuters in an interview on Thursday. "I was inundated with tons of fan mail saying 'Have you read this?'" "I was just floored, absolutely floored, to find out that the future commander-in-chief was actually going to be the future nerd-in-chief." Excitement about Obama's election has already fueled a boom in memorabilia, from posters to front pages of November 5 newspapers announcing his victory. The Spider-Man edition, likely to become an instant collectors' item, features Obama on the cover, smiling and giving a thumbs-up. Spidey hangs upside down behind him whispering in his ear: "Hey, if you get to be on my cover, can I be on the dollar bill?" The story is set on January 20 in Washington, where Spidey's alter ego, Peter Parker, is on assignment as a photographer covering Inauguration Day. When an imposter turns up, Spider-Man leaps into action, greeting Obama with the words: "Hiya, prez-elect! "Spider-Man tends to sell out anyway on a regular basis," he said. Quesada said that since the stories are set in the real world, there is a long history of presidents appearing in Spider-Man comics, from Franklin D. Roosevelt through to George W. Bush, who has appeared on several occasions. But Obama has the honor sooner than most because he made a point of saying he was a fan, Quesada said. "We thought 'He gave us a shout out, let's give him a shout back.'" Obama told Entertainment Weekly magazine in August that his favorite superheroes were Spider-Man and Batman because "they have some inner turmoil." "I think one of the reasons why Obama would be a huge Spider-Man fan is probably because of the mantra by which he lives, ... that with great power there must also come great responsibility," he said. "As president of the United States, I think that's a credo that he should live by." Barack Obama is teaming up with Spider-Man in a comic from Marvel, which will see the future president exchanging a fist-bump with the superhero. Spider-Man's alter ego, Peter Parker, is covering the event as a photographer, and saves the day. He tells Obama: "This is your day, and I know it wouldn't look good to be seen palling around with me" - in a nod to Sarah Palin's comment that Obama had been "palling around with terrorists". "When we heard that president-elect Obama is a collector of Spider-Man comics, we knew that these two historic figures had to meet in our comics' Marvel Universe," said the publisher's editor-in-chief, Joe Quesada. FIRST LOOK: Check out some panels from 'Amazing Spider-Man #583' "It was a natural after we learned the new president is a Spider-Man fan," says Marvel editor in chief Joe Quesada about reports that Obama once collected Spider-Man comics. " The White House transition team did not respond to a question about the extent of Obama's comic-book geekiness, but Obama did mention Spider-Man during the campaign, primarily at children-oriented events. And during an Entertainment Weekly pop culture survey, Obama said Batman and Spider-Man were his top superheroes because of their "inner turmoil." The issue, selling for $3.99 at comic-book specialty shops (find one at comicshoplocator.com), is expected to be an instant sellout, especially because the Obama cover, by Phil Jimenez, is limited to half the run. "I expect this will be on the collectors' market for $20 by the first day."
"That, too, is where the petitioners' remedy lies." All About Rod Blagojevich • Illinois A two-thirds vote in the Senate is required to remove the governor from office. The report said Blagojevich did not need to be found guilty of a crime for the House to impeach him. State Supreme Court Says White's Signature Not Required on Gov. "It remains within the power of the U.S. Senate to seat Mr. Burris. “This governor has breached the public trust,” said Representative Barbara Flynn Currie, a Democrat, who was chairwoman of the impeachment committee. It was a foregone conclusion," Blagojevich said at a news conference in Chicago. "Is that an impeachable offense?" Burris denied any quid pro quo with Blagojevich for his appointment to the Senate. Pat Quinn would become acting governor. On Thursday, the Illinois House committee unanimously recommended impeaching Blagojevich amid corruption allegations. The governor was roundly denounced on various fronts, including for his arrest last month on federal corruption charges involving, among other things, scheming to sell the United States Senate seat vacated by President-elect Barack Obama. For a governor to be removed from office, two-thirds of the Senate — 40 of the 59 members — must vote to convict him. "The House action today was not a surprise. ... The embattled governor said lawmakers' actions were politically driven. But in a statement following the impeachment vote, Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan once again called upon Blagojevich to yield. Hours after the Illinois House of Representatives voted 114-1 to impeach Gov. With its decision Friday, the state Supreme Court put the onus back on the Senate to decide whether to seat Burris.
Rod Blagojevich on corruption charges that include his allegedly trying to sell the U.S. Senate seat vacated by President-elect Barack Obama, the governor reiterated Friday, "I am not guilty of any criminal wrongdoing." "I am confident that at the end of the day, I will be properly exonerated," Blagojevich said at a rambling press conference which ended, as had his first news conference following his Dec. 9 arrest, with his quoting a British poet. Watch "World News With Charles Gibson" Tonight at 6:30 p.m. Blagojevich added that the full House vote was "not a surprise" because, "What the House did today they've been talking about doing for the last couple of years." He was joined onstage at his news conference by a man in a wheelchair and various other individuals he claimed were helped by his policies, and he blamed the Illinois House for repeatedly standing in the way of his bringing advances to the people of Illinois. He referenced various efforts to extend health care only to be blocked, he said, by a House chamber that "consistently stood in the way of those expansions." After quoting Rudyard Kipling at an earlier press conference, the governor this time drew from Alfred Lord Tennyson's "Ulysses," reciting, "Though we are not now the strength which in old days moved Earth and Heaven, that which we are, we are. One equal temper, of heroic hearts, made weak by time and by fate, but strong in will, to strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield." But in a statement following the impeachment vote, Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan once again called upon Blagojevich to yield. Blagojevich has harmed the people of this state, and by refusing to recognize his utter inability to govern effectively, he continues this harm," she said. "I call on the governor, once again, to do what is right, what is best for the people and what is clearly long overdue: The governor should resign immediately." Impeachment Process The article of impeachment -- essentially an indictment -- now goes to the state Senate for a trial, which requires a two-thirds vote to convict Blagojevich and remove him from office. The trial will be presided over by the chief justice of the Illinois Supreme Court and could begin as early as Jan. 26. The vote to impeach the embattled governor is a dramatic development in an unprecedented chain of events triggered by his Dec. 9 arrest. The vote came one day after an Illinois House committee investigating Blagojevich unanimously recommended that the full House impeach him for "abuse of power." The committee cited a litany of corruption allegations, including the attempted sale of Obama's empty Senate seat, extortion of Children's Memorial Hospital, extortion of the Chicago Tribune and various other pay-to-play schemes. In the panel's draft report released Thursday morning, state lawmakers investigating the governor concluded, "The Special Investigative Committee for the Illinois House of Representatives, 95th General Assembly finds that the totality of the evidence warrants the impeachment of the governor for cause. "The committee, therefore, recommends that the House consider an Article of Impeachment against the governor." The governor's office Thursday night called the panel's vote "a foregone conclusion" that was "flawed, biased and did not follow the rules of law." 's Appointment On Friday, the Illinois Supreme Court also made a decision in the complex legal efforts to fill Obama's former Senate seat, ruling that Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White is not required by law to sign a certificate certifying Blagojevich's appointment to the position. The drama surrounding Blagojevich escalated when he tapped former Illinois Attorney General Roland Burris to fill the seat just after Christmas, in the midst of the scandal. Burris was denied the right to be seated in the Senate Tuesday because Democrats said he lacked White's signature on his appointment certificate. "Today the Illinois Supreme Court ruled that the secretary of state's signature is not needed to validate my appointment to the U.S. Senate by the governor," Burris said today in a statement. "I am very happy that the Supreme Court ruled supporting our argument that everything surrounding this appointment was legal and complete." He added, "I am confident I have cooperated with all the requests of the U.S. Senate, and I expect they will validate my credentials and seat me in a timely manner." White, along with Madigan, had made the argument in writing to the state Supreme Court that White's signature was not required by law but only recommended by a Senate rule. "The secretary has performed all of his legal duties and the ultimate determination whether to seat petitioner Burris lies with the U.S. Senate," the filing stated. "That, too, is where the petitioners' remedy lies." "It remains within the power of the U.S. Senate to seat Mr. Burris. Election law attorneys have said that senators may not have the constitutional power to refuse to admit Burris into the Senate without some indication that his appointment was corrupt. "I have been in government for 20 years and never participated in anybody's quid pro quo," Burris said. Upon being approached to fill the seat amid the allegations involving the governor, Burris said he was "surprised" and took the weekend to think it over and consult with friends before accepting the appointment. Rod Blagojevich proclaimed Friday that he was not guilty of impeachable offenses and would fight "every step of the way." "The House's action today, and the causes of the impeachment, are because I've done things to fight for families who are with me here today," he added. Watch Blagojevich fire back at critics » Blagojevich said one of the reasons the House voted to impeach him because he wanted to expand health care benefits to Illinois residents.
"Some are well," she said. All About Earthquakes • U.S. Geological Survey • Costa Rica Also earlier Friday, Red Cross official Milton Chaverri told CNN there were 14 dead and 22 missing. The Geological Survey placed the earthquake's epicenter at 20 miles (32 kilometers) north-northwest of San Jose at a depth of 2.8 miles (4.5 kilometers). The 6.2-magnitude quake struck Thursday. Another 1,000 people were living in shelters, he said. iReport.com: Are you there? Randall Picado, a government rescue official, said many residents were without water and other necessities. Landslides, tumbling rocks and collapsed buildings caused widespread devastation and death. In addition, Carballo said, rescuers were trying to reach 300 tourists stranded in a hotel in Varablanca. Don't Miss Strong Costa Rica quake kills two girls "I saw how the earth moved and how it took my family -- my aunt, my cousin and her babies," Miguel Angel Marin told CNN affiliate Teletica TV. The remote area near Alajuela, where the quake hit strongest, is difficult to reach, and officials said they were having to rely on helicopters for medical evacuations and to airlift supplies. About 2,000 aftershocks have been felt in San Jose, the capital, and other cities throughout the nation, Red Cross spokeswoman Vilca said. About 400 volunteers and Red Cross personnel were giving aid in 15 communities, Chaverri said. The Commission for National Emergencies had issued a news release earlier Friday saying the quake had killed four people. "It was very hard because I wanted to save them but I couldn't."
(CNN) -- The number of people killed from an earthquake in Costa Rica rose to 34 on Saturday, a government official said. Rigoberto Vargas weeps with his daughters for his missing son on Saturday in San Miguel di Sarapiqui. Another 64 people were listed as missing two days after the 6.1-magnitude earthquake shook north-central Costa Rica, the official said. Emergency personnel continued to search for victims affected by the quake, according to Ministry of Infrastructure spokeswoman Silvia Chaves. Rescuers reached 200 tourists who had been stranded in a hotel in Varablanca, and they were taken to safety, she said. Survivors described Thursday's quake, which was centered about 20 miles north-northwest of the capital city of San Jose, as sudden and brutal. Landslides, tumbling rocks and collapsed buildings caused widespread devastation. "I saw how the Earth moved and how it took my family -- my aunt, my cousin and her babies," Miguel Angel Marin told CNN affiliate Teletica TV. Don't Miss Strong Costa Rica quake kills two girls On Friday, the U.S. government dispatched a team of 34 U.S. military personnel and four helicopters from Honduras-based Joint Task Force-Bravo to Costa Rica to assist. Send photos, video The remote area near Alajuela, where the quake hit strongest, is difficult to reach, and officials said they were having to rely on helicopters for medical evacuations and to airlift supplies. About 400 volunteers and Red Cross personnel were giving aid in 15 communities, Chaverri said. The temblor was felt throughout Costa Rica and in southern and central Nicaragua, the U.S. Geological Survey reported on its Web site. About 2,000 aftershocks have been felt in San Jose, the capital, and other cities throughout the nation, Red Cross spokeswoman Vilca said. The Geological Survey placed the earthquake's epicenter at 20 miles (32 kilometers) north-northwest of San Jose at a depth of 2.8 miles (4.5 kilometers). CNN's Maria Callejas contributed to this report. SAN JOSE, Costa Rica (CNN) -- The official count of confirmed deaths grew to 15 Friday afternoon, one day after a 6.1-magnitude earthquake shook north central Costa Rica, a government emergency official said. Reinaldo Carballo, a spokesman for the federal Commission for National Emergencies, said the updated death toll came from information given to the agency by Costa Rica Vice President Rodrigo Arias. In addition, Carballo said, rescuers were trying to reach 300 tourists stranded in a hotel in Varablanca. Carballo said he did not know the tourists' nationalities or the name of the hotel. There were conflicting reports on the number of dead from Thursday's earthquake. The Commission for National Emergencies had issued a news release earlier Friday saying the quake had killed four people. Also earlier Friday, Red Cross official Milton Chaverri told CNN there were 14 dead and 22 missing. On Friday, the U.S. government dispatched a team of 34 U.S. military personnel and four helicopters from Honduras-based Joint Task Force-Bravo to Costa Rica to assist. Don't Miss Strong Costa Rica quake kills two girls "I saw how the earth moved and how it took my family -- my aunt, my cousin and her babies," Miguel Angel Marin told CNN affiliate Teletica TV. An unidentified woman told Teletica, "Everything started to move and everything fell on top of us. Send photos, video "Many people were injured, many buildings were damaged and landslides blocked roads in the area," the U.S. Geological Survey said. "I felt the earthquake," Costa Rican office worker Erick Solorzano told CNN in an iReport message. At least 15 people were killed and 42 were still missing on Friday after an earthquake set off landslides in the verdant mountains of northern Costa Rica.
The ship is free, the crew is free," Mohamed Said, one of the pirate leaders, told Agence France-Presse by telephone. The Saudi supertanker seized by Somali pirates in the world's biggest ever hijacking has been freed following a reported ransom payment of $3m. "All our people have now left the Sirius Star. On Friday, Somali pirates also reportedly freed a Saudi-owned super-tanker carrying 2 million barrels of crude oil which was also hijacked in November. The report did not mention whether any ransom had been paid for the release of Delight. Individual countries such as Russia, China and Iran have sent their own warships to patrol Somalia's coast. The CRC is also believed to be holding the Faina, tugboats from Nigeria and Indonesia, and two Turkish cargo ships. Last night the US navy released a photo showing a small package apparently containing the ransom parachuting to the deck of the Sirius Star from a small aircraft. Haradhere, which has been used by pirates to launch their attacks on international vessels off east Africa, is a Somali coastal town close to where the Saudi supertanker ship was anchored. Local sources said that the ransom payment held by the eight pirates on their get away boat had been lost at sea. A regional maritime group confirmed the release. TEHRAN, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- An Iranian-chartered ship which wasseized in the Gulf of Aden by Somali pirates in November has been released, Iran's semi-official Fars News Agency reported on Saturday. The pirate gang's income may increase in the coming days. Two Britons – chief engineer Peter French, from County Durham, and second officer James Grady, from Renfrewshire – are among the crew of 25 who were all reported to be unharmed.
The Saudi supertanker seized by Somali pirates in the world's biggest ever hijacking has been freed following a reported ransom payment of $3m. Last night the US navy released a photo showing a small package apparently containing the ransom parachuting to the deck of the Sirius Star from a small aircraft. A parachute apparently containing the $3m ransom floats down to the hijacked Sirius Star. Photograph: David Hudson/AP The Sirius Star, which was carrying 2m barrels of oil when it was captured on November 15, sailed from the pirate lair of Harardheere on Somalia's eastern coast today. Two Britons – chief engineer Peter French, from County Durham, and second officer James Grady, from Renfrewshire – are among the crew of 25 who were all reported to be unharmed. The ship is free, the crew is free," Mohamed Said, one of the pirate leaders, told Agence France-Presse by telephone. An associate of the pirates, who call themselves the Central Regional Coastguard (CRC), said the owner of the ship, the oil giant Saudi Aramco, had paid a ransom of $3m (£2m). The pirates had originally demanded $25m. Both the $100m cargo and the daring nature of the attack, which took place 500 miles off the coast of Kenya, prompted numerous governments around the world to send warships to the region. The shipping lanes in the Gulf of Aden, to Somalia's north, and the Indian Ocean, to the east of the lawless country, are among the busiest in the world. With no effective government on land to stop them, at least five Somali pirate gangs equipped with speedboats, AK-47 machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades attacked more than 100 ships near the Horn of Africa in 2008, netting tens of millions of pounds in ransoms. More than a dozen ships, including the Faina, a Ukrainian vessel carrying 33 T-72 battle tanks, are still being held along Somalia's east coast. The Sirius Star, whose cargo represents a quarter of Saudi Arabia's daily oil production, was en route to the US when it was hijacked. The EU now has a dedicated naval fleet escorting ships in the region, while the US navy announced that it had created a new international force specifically to deal with Somali pirates. The estimated £2 million paid to release it on behalf of the ship's owners was split between many members of the gang. The ship named "Delight," which was carrying 36,000 tons of wheat when it was hijacked, was released Friday night, Fars quoted the urgent reaction committee of the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines (IRISL) as saying.
Some were in Spanish. Vladimir Florez, Vladdo, de la revista Semana, defendió al autor de Mother Goose & Grimm. y ella le contesta: "No preguntes". I haven't got any letters or e-mails [from the Colombia Coffee Growers]. El chiste no le hizo gracia a Juan Valdez ni a los cafeteros. MIKE PETERS: It's crazy. (The strip ran in The Washington Post.) I buy Colombian. Matador le dice a BBC Mundo que él cree que nadie dejará de "consumir una deliciosa taza de café colombiano por una tira cómica". The cartoon spoofed the federation's marketing character. MC: So do you get used to drawing fire and controversy? Mr Peters has said he intended no offence. Envíe esta nota por e-mail Imprima esta nota NOTAS RELACIONADAS Colombia/coca: erradicación en duda 29 12 08 | América Latina Colombia: el debate que no cesa 10 12 08 | Internacional "No es la champaña de las drogas" 18 11 08 | América Latina Cómic mexicano desata polémica en EE.UU. I'm an editorial cartoonist. MP: You're always going to offend someone. This was 30 years ago. What he never anticipated was facing international legal action over a comic strip. I was not trying to do anything bad about them. I learned about the Pringles guy and thought: "What a great little [premise for] a series." On Jan. 2, "Mother Goose and Grimm" -- referencing violence in Colombia -- had a character say: "Y'know, there's a big crime syndicate in Colombia.
The character of Juan Valdez was created 50 years ago Colombian coffee growers are planning to sue a US cartoonist for millions of dollars over a cartoon they say damages the reputation of Colombian coffee. The cartoon is by Mike Peters, whose work is published in the US and abroad. In it, one character refers to crime in Colombia and then to Juan Valdez, the fictional coffee grower used for years to advertise Colombian coffee. Coffee growers say the cartoon links their industry with violence. Mr Peters has said he intended no offence. The cartoon strip which appeared on 2 January is part of the Mother Goose and Grimm series that Mr Peters draws. Another character comments: "Y'know, there's a big crime syndicate in Colombia. So when they say there's a little bit of Juan Valdez in every can, maybe they're not kidding." This plays on a former slogan used to advertise Colombian coffee. National dignity Colombia's National Coffee Growers' Federation, Fedecafe, said they had instructed their lawyers in the US to begin proceedings against Mr Peters and the agency which distributes his work, for "damage and harm, detriment to intellectual property and defamation". In a statement, Fedecafe said the cartoon "associated organised crime and the atrocities committed by violent groups with the hard, delicate and honest work of more than 500,000 coffee growers and their families". The cartoon also affected the reputation of Juan Valdez, the "icon and symbol" of Colombian coffee, by suggesting that there was a connection between coffee tins and the victims of violence, Fedecafe said. The iconic coffee grower, accompanied by his faithful mule, was created in 1959, and has appeared in countless TV advertisements, in the US and elsewhere. The federation said they would expect coffee growers to be adequately compensated for damage caused. Humorous subject Gabriel Silva Lujan, Fedecafe's general manager, told reporters in Bogota that the cartoon "was an attack on national dignity and the reputation of Colombian coffee." He said he expected the lawsuit to be filed by the end of the week and would be for at least $20m (£13m). "The cartoon is meant to be read along with the rest of the week as a series of which the theme is based on the fact that the inventor of the Pringles can had his ashes buried in one," Mr Peters said in a statement, reported by the Associated Press. "I thought this was a humorous subject and all my Mother Goose and Grimm cartoons are meant to make people laugh. 'Mother Goose & Grimm' vs. Juan Valdez--The Lawsuit By Michael Cavna THIS JUST IN: Cartoonist Mike Peters v. Juan Valdez "Mother Goose and Grimm" cartoonist MIKE PETERS is used to getting sued over his political cartoons. What he never anticipated was facing international legal action over a comic strip. Now, though, he could be in legal hot water over a cartoon that invoked the character Juan Valdez -- and provoked the Colombian Coffee Growers Federation, which represents more than a half-million growers. Beginning Dec. 29, Peters ran a weeklong series whose comic premise played off the fact that the creator of the Pringles can, who died in 2008, had some of his ashes buried in his invention. On Jan. 2, "Mother Goose and Grimm" -- referencing violence in Colombia -- had a character say: "Y'know, there's a big crime syndicate in Colombia. The cartoon spoofed the federation's marketing character. Now, according to the Associated Press, the Colombian federation says it will sue Peters "for damage and harm, detriment to intellectual property and defamation." The federation, founded in 1927, will file the suit Friday for at least $20 million and will demand a retraction from any newspaper that ran the cartoon, according to the federation's Web site and AP. MIKE PETERS (Gerald Martineau/The Washington Post) MIKE PETERS (Gerald Martineau/The Washington Post) Enlarge Image Peters, who is also a Pulitzer-winning political cartoonist, invoked a number of commercially popular product characters in the weeklong series, including Colonel Sanders, Betty Crocker and Dr. Pepper. According to Peters's syndicate, King Features, the strip appears in about 800 newspapers. On Wednesday, Comic Riffs spoke with Mike Peters about the series of cartoons and the reportedly imminent legal action: MICHAEL CAVNA: So, were you completely surprised by this news? I learned about the Pringles guy and thought: "What a great little [premise for] a series."
P.C. Satyam, one of India’s largest outsourcing companies, is struggling to survive after the revelations of fraud, and the government has taken control of the company’s board. Gupta said the new board plans to meet Monday. World Bank India's IT sector was dealt a further blow after the World Bank said that three Indian firms, including Satyam, were on a list of- companies that are banned from doing business with the bank. Mr Raju admitted last week that the firm had been falsifying its accounts. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Mr. Gupta said that the board would meet within the next 24 hours and decide who would serve as Satyam’s new chairman. Shares in Wipro and Megasoft fell sharply on the news. We are looking to induct fresh blood, like the chief executive and chief financial officer into the company, but it will take time," he added. The other new directors are Kiran Karnik, the former boss of technology trade group Nasscom, and C Achuthan, a former member of the Securities and Exchange Board of India. At a news conference Sunday, Indian Corporate Affairs Minister P.C. WORLD BANK BLACKLIST Satyam barred for 8 years Wipro barred for 4 years Megasoft barred for 4 years Source: World Bank This was the first time the World Bank had disclosed the list of companies barred from receiving direct contracts under its corporate procurement program. The Raju brothers have also been charged with criminal breach of trust and falsifying documents. "Our immediate priority is to ensure sustainability of services with minimum disruption," Mr Parekh said. Please re-enter. Shares in Satyam jumped 44.2% to close at 34.40 rupees after the stock lost 87% last week.
The new board members want to inject "fresh blood" into the firm. Shares in Indian software firm Satyam have jumped 44% on hopes of a rescue plan for the scandal-hit firm. On Sunday, the Indian government appointed three leading businessmen to the company's board. The board has met to discuss the future of the firm, which has been at the centre of a scandal over the falsifying of accounts. Meanwhile, the World Bank revealed that Satyam and two other Indian IT firms are on a business blacklist. The Satyam scandal has undermined investors' confidence in India's booming outsourcing industry. Deepak Parekh, a senior banker and one of the firm's new bosses, said that the firm would appoint a new accounting firm within the next 48 hours to work on restating the company's accounts. "Our immediate priority is to ensure sustainability of services with minimum disruption," Mr Parekh said. "We will provide strategic direction to Satyam, not run it on a daily basis. We are looking to induct fresh blood, like the chief executive and chief financial officer into the company, but it will take time," he added. Shares in Satyam jumped 44.2% to close at 34.40 rupees after the stock lost 87% last week. World Bank India's IT sector was dealt a further blow after the World Bank said that three Indian firms, including Satyam, were on a list of- companies that are banned from doing business with the bank. WORLD BANK BLACKLIST Satyam barred for 8 years Wipro barred for 4 years Megasoft barred for 4 years Source: World Bank This was the first time the World Bank had disclosed the list of companies barred from receiving direct contracts under its corporate procurement program. Satyam was banned in September 2008 for eight years and Wipro Technologies was blacklisted for four years from June 2007 for providing improper benefits to World Bank staff. Wipro said it was banned for offering World Bank employees shares in its stock offer in the US in 2000. Megasoft Consultants was banned for 4 years from December 2007 for taking part in a joint venture with World Bank staff while also conducting business with the Bank. Arrests The entire board of Satyam, a private company, had been sacked after its founder and former chairman had been arrested. Ramalinga Raju and his brother Rama, also a former Satyam director, were arrested on charges including criminal conspiracy and forgery. He said the company had exaggerated its cash reserves by some $1bn (£661m). The company, which employs 53,000 people and enjoyed a turnover of $1.73bn last year, is now fighting for its life. The Raju brothers have also been charged with criminal breach of trust and falsifying documents. They have been remanded in custody until 23 January, and could face life in prison. Indian police have also now detained Vadlamani Srinivas, Satyam's chief financial officer, for questioning. Gupta, India’s minister of corporate affairs, speaking at a press conference in New Delhi, said the government had selected three “eminent persons” to serve on Satyam’s board, the minimum number of directors required under Indian law. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Mr. Gupta said that the board would meet within the next 24 hours and decide who would serve as Satyam’s new chairman. In India, a board may have up to 10 members and Satyam’s former board had nine directors. Mr. Gupta also said that the government would consider requests from Satyam’s large shareholders for seats on the board, but that it was up to the new board to decide who would be invited to join. Lazard, the French investment bank that has increased its stake in Satyam to 7.4 percent, has said it is seeking input into the company’s decision-making, but has not yet requested a seat on the board. S. Bharat Kumar, lawyer for the Raju brothers, said in an interview that he believed the two had a “good case” for being released on bail, but the police said they intend to push to keep the brothers locked up while awaiting trial. The money management arm of the investment bank Lazard has asked the Indian government to be consulted on any changes at the company, and sent letters to India’s corporate affairs minister and the market regulator, SEBI, with that request, a Lazard representative said Saturday.
Mr Cardozo's Wiltshire-based firm, Parajet, makes the "paramotors" that propel the Skycar once it is airborne. A team of British Adventurers will journey from London to Timbuktu (across the Sahara Desert) in the world's first road-legal, bio-fuelled flying car on January 14. They hope to fly over the Straits of Gibraltar. Experienced adventurer Neil Laughton is the designated pilot of the craft on its epic journey. The Skycar's fabric wing is folded and packed in the back of the car when driving on the road. In 'fly mode', it has a top speed of 68mph and a range of 186 miles. Expedition leader Neil Laughton and deputy expedition leader Tim Maw were the first people to circumnavigate Britain by jet-ski. SKYCAR IN NUMBERS Weight: 1,000lb (480kg) Engine: Four cylinders, 1,000cc Flight range: 185 miles (300km) Cruising altitude: 2,000-3,000ft (600m-900m) Top speed: 70mph (110km/h) airborne; 110mph (180km/h) road Cost: £50,000 ($76,000) Speaking before the departure, Mr Laughton said: "I just can't wait to see their faces when we fly in and start playing football with them. "It's not your everyday means of transport by any means, but it's a great, fun alternative way of getting around -- like a quad bike, like a Jet Ski, like anything like that." Media requires JavaScript to play. The chief pilot is Giles Cardozo, who invented and piloted one of two Para-motor aircraft that flew over Everest, in the process smashing the existing world altitude record by more than 10,000 feet.
LONDON, England (CNN) -- From the noisy and lovable Chitty Chitty Bang Bang to the time-traveling DeLorean in "Back to the Future," flying cars have been a fixture of movies and science fiction that never quite cut it in the real world -- until now. The Skycar's fabric wing is folded and packed in the back of the car when driving on the road. A flying car devised by a British inventor and a team of engineers took off from London on Wednesday on an epic journey to Timbuktu, Mali, in West Africa -- a trip they hope will prove the fantasy has become reality. The "Skycar" is a road-legal all-terrain buggy with a huge rear propeller and a fabric wing, the result of 18 months of design and research. "We started with a car rather than starting with an aircraft and made a car into an aircraft," said Skycar's creator, Giles Cardozo. "It's a really exciting piece of kit to drive but of course, it also flies." The Skycar's 3,720-mile (6,000-kilometer) trip will take it through France, Spain and Morocco, then the Western Sahara, Mauritania and Mali to the famously isolated city of Timbuktu. Its design gives it the performance of a motorbike while also allowing it to fly over impassable terrain and the sand seas of the Sahara, the designers said. In propeller mode, the engine makes a lot of noise. The two-person seat is a tight fit with room for a driver and a passenger who controls the car in flight. Don't Miss Skycar Expedition 2009 "I'm a bit nervous, but that's what adventure and exploration's all about," Laughton told CNN. Watch as flying car takes off » Although some eccentric-looking flying cars have been attempted before, Cardozo and his team of engineers say advances in flexible wing technology have made their car more practical, with more precise handling and increased safety over traditional rigid wings. The flexible wing is folded and packed in the back of the car when driving on the road and can deploy immediately when it is ready to fly. The car, which runs on biofuel, has a takeoff speed of 73 km/h (45 mph) and requires a distance of less than 200 meters (220 yards), meaning it can take off on a beach or in a park. He admits the Skycar has trouble in high wind or turbulence, but it has some safety measures. "It will be easier and safer to fly than any other aircraft, as it has no pitch control and (is) therefore impossible to stall or dive," the inventors say. "Should the engine fail, the pilot would simply glide down into the nearest field or strip of sandy desert. In the event of catastrophic wing failure, car connection system failure or mid-air collision, an emergency ballistic reserve parachute can be deployed." The expedition hopes to help out some charities along the way, and if it is successful the car's creators hope to market it commercially. "If people see the fun in this and it catches on, I think it could be a great fun toy," Cardozo said. "It's not your everyday means of transport by any means, but it's a great, fun alternative way of getting around -- like a quad bike, like a Jet Ski, like anything like that." Cardozo hopes his "toy" will arrive in Timbuktu by late February, proving that flying cars aren't just the stuff of movies or children's stories anymore. Advertisement A team of British adventurers has set out to complete a schoolboy fantasy - journeying for 42 days from London to Timbuktu by "flying car". Led by pilot Neil Laughton, 45, of West Sussex, the team will make the 3,600-mile trip in a Parajet Skycar - a dune buggy with a fan and paragliding wing. The team said it was the "world's first road legal bio-fuelled flying car". "I don't think they will be able to believe somebody in a flying car has just visited them." The self-taught engineer has been dreaming of creating a flying car since childhood and plans to sell Skycars commercially at £50,000 each. A team of British Adventurers will journey from London to Timbuktu (across the Sahara Desert) in the world's first road-legal, bio-fuelled flying car on January 14. This self-stabilising 'Para-Wing' enables the car to fly at up to 100mph, and can be folded into the car's boot by one person.
"We are with you and we will not let you down. Bin Laden, who is about 51, is the head of the al Qaeda terrorist network, which was responsible for the September 11, 2001, attack on the United States that killed 2,751 people. Watch as experts discuss Osama message » "[America is] now drowning in a global financial crisis," he said. Israel launched a military offensive in Gaza on December 27 to stop Hamas rocket strikes on southern Israel. Previous messages from al-Qaida have been posted on the same websites. "It's a reminder of President-elect Obama's inheritance of some of the difficult problems out there that he has to confront," said Roemer, who is president of the Center for National Policy. Emergency session The UN General Assembly said on Tuesday that it was set to hold an emergency session on Thursday to discuss the crisis after a previous session was postponed last week ahead of a UN Security Council vote on the issue. God has bestowed us with the patience to continue the path of jihad for another seven years, and seven and seven … The question is, can America continue its war with us for several more decades to come? The Israeli toll stood at 13, including three civilians, according to Israeli police and military officials. He said it wasn't 19 Arab armies or 19 Arab states that attacked the United States. That message urged his followers to liberate Palestine. We, the mujahideen, sympathise with you also," Reuters reported the speaker as saying in the 22-minute tape titled A Call for Jihad to Stop the Aggression Against Gaza.
(CNN) -- Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden has apparently released a new audio message calling for a jihad, or holy war, against Israel for its Gaza campaign. Osama bin Laden, in an undated photo, apparently taped a message calling for jihad against Israel. The 22-minute message contains "an invitation" from bin Laden to take part in "jihad to stop the aggression against Gaza." The audio message was posted on a radical Islamist Web site that has posted other statements from bin Laden in the past. CNN could not independently confirm the authenticity of the message, but the speaker's voice was similar to other recordings that bin Laden has made. While not naming President-elect Barack Obama, bin Laden refers to the future of the United States in the face of the current global economic crisis. Watch as experts discuss Osama message » "[America is] now drowning in a global financial crisis," he said. "They're even begging all nations, small and large, for help. America is no longer feared by its enemies nor respected by its allies. "The decline of the American power is one of the main reasons for Israel's rushed and barbaric aggression on Gaza in a desperate attempt to take advantage of the last days of [President] Bush's term in office." He appears, however, to refer to Obama, saying "Bush leaves his successor with the worst inheritance ... two long guerrilla wars and no options. He either withdraws and faces military defeat, or carries on and drowns his nation in financial trouble." Watch Obama comment on bin Laden's message » The message also names Vice President-elect Joe Biden. "Here is Biden, the vice president of the president-elect ... [he] says that the crisis is bigger than they expected and that the American economy, all of it, is open to collapse," bin Laden said. On December 20, Biden said in an interview that the economy "is in much worse shape than we thought it was in." White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe said the message "demonstrates [bin Laden's] isolation and continued attempts to remain relevant at a time when al Qaeda's ideology, mission and agenda are being questioned and challenged throughout the world." He noted that the message also appears to be "an effort to raise money as part of [al Qaeda's] ongoing propaganda campaign." "The United States promotes an alternative, hopeful ideology while continuing to partner with over 90 countries to pursue terrorists wherever they are," Johndroe said. The last time bin Laden released an audio message was in mid-May, timed to coincide with Israel's 60th anniversary. Israel launched a military offensive in Gaza on December 27 to stop Hamas rocket strikes on southern Israel. The death toll in Gaza was nearing 1,000 on Wednesday, including more than 300 children, according to Palestinian medical sources. The Israeli toll stood at 13, including three civilians, according to Israeli police and military officials. Bin Laden, who is about 51, is the head of the al Qaeda terrorist network, which was responsible for the September 11, 2001, attack on the United States that killed 2,751 people. He's been in hiding since the U.S. assault on Afghanistan that followed the 9/11 attacks. The U.S. government is offering a $25 million reward for information leading to his capture. President Bush, whose term ends next week, told CNN's Larry King on Tuesday that he remains optimistic that bin Laden would be found. The message is important to the incoming U.S. president because it signifies that bin Laden is still "out there," said Tim Roemer, a former Democratic congressman from Indiana who served on both the congressional and the presidential September 11 commissions. "It's a reminder of President-elect Obama's inheritance of some of the difficult problems out there that he has to confront," said Roemer, who is president of the Center for National Policy. A new audio message purportedly from the al-Qaida leader, Osama bin Laden, has called for all Muslims to launch a holy war to stop the Israeli offensive in Gaza, according to Islamist websites. The recording, which the websites said was by Bin Laden, also condemned Arab governments for preventing their people from acting to "liberate Palestine". In the tape, Bin Laden said the US was losing its dominant position in the world: "The jihad of your sons against the crusader-Zionist coalition is one of the key reasons for these destructive effects among our enemies.
As we do, we recognize that here in America, our destinies are inextricably linked. REUTERS/Brian Snyder President-elect Barack Obama speaks at the 'We Are One': Opening Inaugural Celebration at the Lincoln Memorial Washington January 18, 2009. He's been elected to be president of the United States," Davis said. (Editing by Eric Beech) It is also the day President George W Bush leaves the White House after two terms in office. "He has not been elected to be a black leader. 1300 GMT (0800 EST): People with tickets to watch the swearing-in ceremony at the US Capitol can start entering the area. Mr Biden is sworn in as vice-president. But that does not stop black Americans -- who make up about 13 percent of the population -- from viewing him as a vehicle for their own hopes. INAUGURATION ON THE BBC 1600-2100 GMT: Live video on BBC News website, available to UK and overseas users 1600-1800 GMT: Live coverage of inaugural ceremony on BBC One and BBC News channel, simulcast on BBC World News and BBC America 1600-1900 GMT: Radio 5 Live Drive comes from Washington 1630-1800 GMT: Extended programme on BBC Radio 4's PM 1900-2100 GMT: Parade to the White House on BBC News channel, simulcast on BBC World News and BBC America 2230-2340 GMT: Extended programme on BBC Two Newsnight 0000-0100 GMT (Weds): Inauguration special on BBC World News America 0300-0400 GMT (Weds): Inauguration special on BBC World News America 0900 GMT (0400 EST): The National Mall opens for people without tickets for the swearing-in ceremony to start entering the area.
Members of the public wait at the end of the Reflecting Pool for the 'We Are One': Opening Inaugural Celebration in honor of President-elect Barack Obama at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC January 18, 2009. REUTERS/Brian Snyder President-elect Barack Obama (L) and Vice President elect Joe Biden (2nd L) lay a wreath with Major General Richard Rowe at the Tomb of the Unknowns at Arlington Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia, January 18, 2009. REUTERS/Jason Reed People attend the 'We Are One' Opening Inaugural Celebration at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC January 18, 2009. REUTERS/Carlos Barria A person in the crowd waves a flag for U.S. President-elect Barack Obama at the 'We Are One: Opening Inaugural Celebration' at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC January 18, 2009. REUTERS/Carlos Barria Martin Luther King III speaks on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial where his father delivered his famous 'I Have A Dream' speech, at the start of the 'We Are One' Inaugural Celebration for U.S. President-elect Barack Obama at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, January 18, 2009. REUTERS/Gary Hershorn Sasha (L) and Malia Obama, daughters of U.S. President-elect Barack Obama, take pictures during the 'We Are One': Inaugural Celebration at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington January 18, 2009. REUTERS/Carlos Barria President-elect Barack Obama and his wife Michelle sing along with performers at the 'We Are One': Opening Inaugural Celebration at the Lincoln Memorial Washington January 18, 2009. REUTERS/Jim Young U.S. President-elect Barack Obama waves next to his wife Michelle on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial during the 'We Are One': Opening Inaugural Celebration at in Washington January 18, 2009. REUTERS/Jim Young President-elect Barack Obama prepares a room for painting in Sasha Bruce House, an emergency shelter for teens in Washington January 19, 2009. REUTERS/Jim Young President-elect Barack Obama hugs a girl during a visit to Sasha Bruce House, an emergency shelter for teens in Washington, January 19, 2009. REUTERS/Jim Young President-elect Barack Obama greets volunteers who were performing service projects for the troops at Calvin Coolidge High School in Washington January 19, 2009. REUTERS/Jim Young Michelle Obama talks to a girl as she celebrates National Day of Service by helping volunteers with 'Operation Gratitude and 'Serve DC' by assembling care packages for US troops overseas in Washington, January 19, 2009. REUTERS/Jim Young People pose for a photograph with a cardboard cutout of Barack Obama as preparations continue for the inauguration in Washington, January 19, 2009. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton A girl poses with a flag featuring an image of President-elect Barack Obama at the Washington Mall, January 19, 2009. REUTERS/Jason Reed WASHINGTON On the eve of his historic inauguration, Barack Obama joined on Monday in honoring slain civil rights leader Martin Luther King, underscoring racial barriers the Illinois Democrat overcame to be elected the first black U.S. president. Taking time away from preparing for an address he will deliver when he is sworn in at noon (1700 GMT) on Tuesday, Obama visited wounded troops at a military hospital and issued a call to Americans to remember King by recommitting themselves to public service. Hundreds of thousands of visitors streamed into Washington for inaugural festivities but the celebration was tempered by the daunting challenges Obama will face -- unfinished wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression. Obama's inauguration, coming back-to-back with Monday's federal holiday honoring King, has added to the deep symbolism of an African-American receiving the keys to the White House, which was built partly with the labor of black slaves. "Tomorrow, we will come together as one people on the same mall where Dr. King's dream echoes still. In crafting one of the most eagerly awaited inaugural addresses ever, Obama will try to reassure recession-weary Americans they can rebound from hard times, and he will signal to the world his desire to fix a battered U.S. image overseas. But Obama, elected on a promise of change after eight years under Republican President George W. Bush, will also be mindful that if he sets expectations too high, he could risk disappointment. IDLE HANDS NOT AN OPTION Obama has vowed to spend hundreds of billions of dollars to jolt the economy out of the doldrums, and has said he wants to bring U.S. combat forces out of Iraq within 16 months. After rolling up his sleeves to help paint a wall at a shelter for homeless and runaway teenagers, Obama touched on a theme of personal responsibility expected to figure prominently in Tuesday's speech from the U.S. Capitol steps. In the evening, Obama sought to encourage a spirit of unity by having dinner with the man he defeated for the presidency, Republican Sen. John McCain. "John is not known to bite his tongue, and if I'm screwing up, he's going to let me know. And that's how it should be," Obama said, adding -- to applause -- that the presidency was just one branch of the U.S. government. Obama's relatively smooth transition to power suffered a hiccup when Texas Republican Sen. John Cornyn said he may hold up Hillary Clinton's nomination to become secretary of state if his concerns about foreign donations to former President Bill Clinton's foundation are not resolved. In addition, Vice President-elect Joe Biden's wife, Jill, suggested on "The Oprah Winfrey Show" that her husband had been offered two plum jobs, vice president or secretary of state, and that she had encouraged him to take the vice presidency because it would involve less travel. The inauguration of Obama, son of a black father from Kenya and a white mother from Kansas, will mark a milestone in America's turbulent history of race relations. Parties, concerts and seminars marking Obama's inauguration were launched over the weekend and will hit full stride after Tuesday's ceremony. Outside the White House, an activist coalition calling itself "Arrest Bush" piled a motley collection of dozens of old shoes -- including tan combat boots said to have been worn by U.S. troops in Iraq and children's yellow flip-flops. He opted only to commute the sentences of two Border Patrol agents convicted for shooting an unarmed Mexican drug smuggler in the buttocks. Bush's final official act will be to welcome Obama to the White House before the swearing-in and accompany him there by motorcade to attend the ceremony before flying home to Texas.
Topics: prisons-and-punishment, author, government-and-politics, federal-government, foreign-affairs, states-and-territories, law-crime-and-justice, crime, thailand, australia, vic, melbourne-3000 First posted It is not known if she has been charged by police. Nicolaides pleaded guilty to defaming Thailand's crown prince on Monday and faces up to 15 years in jail when he is sentenced later in the day. JONATHAN HEAD - The British BBC correspondent in Bangkok has received three lese majeste complaints. His arrest coincided with a speech by Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva saying the law should not be abused. (Editing by Darren Schuettler; Editing by Sanjeev Miglani) There, he was charged with insulting the monarchy in a university lecture he gave in December the previous year. Mr Hulls says he is trying to find out if the Victorian Government can help. Even though the king said in 2005 he should not be above criticism, the number of lese majeste cases filed has mounted dramatically during the political turbulence that has followed the putsch. REUTERS/Sukree Sukplang Australian writer Harry Nicolaides waits inside a detention cell of the Bangkok's Criminal Court January 19, 2009. Only seven copies of the book were sold. "The lese majeste laws are there to protect the military and to protect governments that come to power through military action. SUWICHA THAKHOR - Suwicha was arrested last week on suspicion of posting comments on the Internet that insulted the monarchy. It carries up to 15 years in jail although critics say the law is frequently abused by politicians since a complaint can be filed by anybody against anybody else, no matter how trivial or tangential the alleged disrespect to the crown.
Pressure Thailand to release jailed Aust author: Xenophon Updated Independent Senator Nick Xenophon has called on the Federal Government to do everything it can to bring an Australian man jailed in Thailand back home. Melbourne writer Harry Nicolaides, 41, has been jailed for three years in Bangkok over a passage he wrote in a 2005 novel about the Thai Crown Prince. Senator Xenophon says the Government should put pressure on Thailand to allow him to return to Australia. His Australian lawyer, Mark Dean SC, says the imprisonment has taken a heavy toll on his physical and mental health. His legal team will apply for a royal pardon this week but he has already served five months in jail. Australian writer Harry Nicolaides waits inside a detention cell of the Bangkok's Criminal Court January 19, 2009. Nicolaides pleaded guilty to defaming Thailand's crown prince on Monday and faces up to 15 years in jail when he is sentenced later in the day. REUTERS/Sukree Sukplang Australian writer Harry Nicolaides waits inside a detention cell of the Bangkok's Criminal Court January 19, 2009. Nicolaides pleaded guilty to defaming Thailand's crown prince on Monday and faces up to 15 years in jail when he is sentenced later in the day. REUTERS/Sukree Sukplang BANGKOK Police filed formal charges against Thailand's leading leftist political commentator on Tuesday, accusing him of insulting the king in a 2007 book criticising the previous year's military coup. Giles Ungpakorn of Bangkok's Chulalongkorn University denied all charges, and said the army and Democrat Party-led government were merely using Thailand's draconian lese majeste laws to crush dissent and freedom of expression. "Lese majeste is being used to destroy free speech," Giles said outside the central Bangkok police station where he heard the charges he said stemmed from a complaint filed by his own university bookstore which had pulled the book from sale. "The lese majeste laws are there to protect the military and to protect governments that come to power through military action. As he left the station after 30 minutes of questioning, he was greeted by a noisy crowd of 20 red-shirted anti-government supporters waving banners calling for the scrapping of the law. It carries up to 15 years in jail although critics say the law is frequently abused by politicians since a complaint can be filed by anybody against anybody else, no matter how trivial or tangential the alleged disrespect to the crown. An Australian author was sentenced to three years in jail Monday for defaming the crown prince in a 2005 novel that only sold seven copies. Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva has said he wants to "strike the balance between upholding the law and allowing freedom of expression," although his administration has blocked 2,300 websites deemed critical of the palace. Even though the king said in 2005 he should not be above criticism, the number of lese majeste cases filed has mounted dramatically during the political turbulence that has followed the putsch. Others to have fallen foul of the lese majeste law in the last year include a pro-Thaksin minister, a British correspondent for the BBC and a democracy activist who refused to stand up for the king's anthem at the start of a movie screening. BANGKOK Thai police formally charged leading leftist commentator Giles Ungpakorn on Tuesday with insulting the king, the latest in a slew of lese majeste cases critics say are stifling dissent and freedom of speech. Following are details of some of those who have recently fallen foul of the law, which carries between 3 and 15 years in prison for insults or threats to the deeply revered monarchy. In many cases, the status of the investigation is unclear due to police reluctance to discuss the taboo issue of the monarchy's role in politics, which is officially nil. JAKRAPOB PENKAIR - A spokesman for ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, Jakrapob had to resign as a minister in the pro-Thaksin government in May after being accused of slandering the king in a talk at Bangkok's Foreign Correspondents' Club. CHOTISAK ONSOONG - The young political activist was accused by police in April of insulting the monarchy for refusing to stand during the royal anthem that precedes all movie screenings in Thailand. SULAK SIVARAKSA - A leading academic and long-time critic of the lese majeste law, the 75-year-old was taken from his Bangkok home late one night in November and driven 450 km (280 miles) to a police station in the northeast province of Khon Kaen. HARRY NICOLAIDES - An Australian author, English teacher and long-time resident of Thailand, Nicolaides was sentenced to three years in jail this week for defaming the crown prince in his 2005 novel, 'Verisimilitude'.
games. Typically, he shrugged. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Flacco dropped back again. The Cardinals, a 9-7 team that slumped at the end of the season, will play in their first N.F.L. View all New York Times newsletters. Please re-enter. Rice said McGahee played through myriad injuries this season. Fitzgerald caught nine passes for 152 yards, including touchdowns of 9 yards, 62 yards and 1 yard. Had Dockett fumbled, Philadelphia could have picked up the ball and run the other way for a touchdown. The key difference: two playoff victories, compared with one. The Ravens were forced to punt again. You must select a newsletter to subscribe to. After several minutes, he was carted off the field. Invalid email address. Sign Up Receive occasional updates and special offers for The New York Times's products and services. Please verify you're not a robot by clicking the box. The hit tore the three ligaments in McGahee’s left knee. Flacco forced a pass toward Mason on third down late in the fourth quarter. “Joe went out there and competed and battled and fought and tried to find a way to win the football game. Thank you for subscribing. An error has occurred. The Steelers led, 23-14, their bid for the Super Bowl mere minutes from completion. Please try again later. He also made enough plays — including three deep throws against the Titans — to allow the Ravens’ defense to carry the team to victory. Did he know what the Chinese message on his shirt meant? “You never want anything to end,” he said.
history to win two playoff games, Flacco ran into the Steelers’ ferocious top-ranked defense at Heinz Field. They sacked Flacco three times, intercepted him three times, forced 17 incompletions in 30 attempts and held him to 141 yards passing. “I don’t believe in any of that stuff.” Flacco entered the game here lacking the star power or statistical prowess of his counterpart, the Steelers’ Ben Roethlisberger. But as he neared the end of his first season, Flacco had already compiled a rookie campaign better than even Roethlisberger had in 2004. The key difference: two playoff victories, compared with one. Never mind that Flacco had never played on a stage this size. Forget that he first played organized football in seventh grade, that he transferred from the University of Pittsburgh to Delaware, that he started training camp third on the Ravens’ depth chart, or that he threw seven interceptions in his first five N.F.L. During that stretch, he threw 13 touchdown passes and five interceptions. The Ravens won nine of those games and sneaked into the playoffs as the sixth seed. He also made enough plays — including three deep throws against the Titans — to allow the Ravens’ defense to carry the team to victory. Please verify you're not a robot by clicking the box. Sign Up Receive occasional updates and special offers for The New York Times's products and services. The Steelers ended that postseason success, as Flacco turned in an abysmal first half. Flacco completed 3 of 14 attempts in the first two quarters, and his quarterback rating registered 9.8. Flacco, after all, had completed only half of his 22 attempts against the Titans, but 161 passing yards proved enough to win. With light snow falling on the field, with yellow towels waving in the stands, Flacco walked to the line of scrimmage. Flacco found receiver Derrick Mason for a 16-yard gain. Flacco lost 8 yards on the play. Advertisement Continue reading the main story It was that kind of night. So I certainly have no complaints about that.” After Flacco led the Ravens on a six-play, 58-yard drive that cut the Steelers’ lead to 16-14, disaster struck again. Flacco forced a pass toward Mason on third down late in the fourth quarter. Of all the passes he threw this season, that one was most surely the one he would like to take back. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Polamalu stepped in front of the pass, twirled and burst down field. Flacco and the Ravens’ offense would get the ball back. Their rookie quarterback’s youth movement was ending. No, he said, before adding, “I think it says the Arizona Cardinals are going to the Super Bowl.” There was enough joy inside the noisy University of Phoenix Stadium on Sunday to ricochet against Camelback Mountain, roll across the desert and power the Arizona Cardinals to Tampa, Fla., where they will face Pittsburgh in the Super Bowl on Feb. 1. Arizona Coach Ken Whisenhunt and the assistant head coach Russ Grimm are former Steelers assistants, who came to the Cardinals two years ago after being contenders to replace Bill Cowher in Pittsburgh. championship game since they lost the league title after the 1948 season, when they were based in Chicago.
BEIJING, Jan. 2 (Xinhua) -- China will continue to provide free treatment to sickened babies in the tainted milk powder scandal, said Mao Qun'an, spokesman of the Ministry of Health on Thursday. Tian was convicted of manufacturing and selling fake or substandard products by the Shijiazhuang Intermediate People's Court and sentenced to life in prison Thursday. Another 296,000 infants suffered kidney stones and other urinary problems. Full story Sanlu Group fined nearly 50 million yuan over melamine scandal SHIJIAZHUANG, Jan. 22 (Xinhua) -- Sanlu Group at the heart of China's melamine-tainted milk scandal was fined about 50 million yuan (7.3 million U.S. dollars) and its former board chairwoman Tian Wenhua was fined more than 20 million yuan, according to a court ruling on Thursday. Children who were diagnosed with serious diseases will receive consultation and guidance from provincial medical experts' committees. Tian would have received a sentence of up to seven years in jail under a conviction of liability of a major accident. Among the families of six dead children and 891 other infants who were seriously sickened, all except two had accepted compensation, it said. There were no new cases reported in majority of areas, and no serious cases were reported. prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" / Liang told Xinhua that Tian plans to appeal because the judgment said that the milk powder produced by Sanlu since Aug. 2damaged consumers' health, while she and her lawyers believe the ruling lacks evidence. The dairy producers also set up a fund to pay the medical bills from the sickened children until they reach the age of 18.
SHIJIAZHUANG, Jan. 24 (Xinhua) -- The former board chairwoman of the Sanlu Group, Tian Wenhua, plans to appeal after being sentenced to jail for life for her role in the melamine scandal, according to her lawyer Liang Zikai on Saturday. prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" / Liang told Xinhua that Tian plans to appeal because the judgment said that the milk powder produced by Sanlu since Aug. 2damaged consumers' health, while she and her lawyers believe the ruling lacks evidence. Tian was convicted of manufacturing and selling fake or substandard products by the Shijiazhuang Intermediate People's Court and sentenced to life in prison Thursday. She was also fined 24.7 million yuan (3.6 million U.S. dollars). Three other former Sanlu executives received sentences of 5 to 15 years in jail for their roles in the scandal that left at least six Chinese infants dead and almost 300,000 ill. Sanlu decided to limit the level of melamine within 10 mg for every kg of milk, instead of ceasing production of melamine-tainted products, on Aug. 1 last year after the Hebei Provincial Entry-Exit Inspection and Quarantine Bureau confirmed samples sent by the company were contaminated. Tian said last month during her trial that she made the decision not to halt production of the tainted products because a board member, designated by New Zealand dairy product giant Fonterra that partly owned Sanlu Group, presented her a document saying a maximum of 20 mg of melamine was allowed in every kg of milk in the European Union. The Sanlu Group, whose bankruptcy petition was accepted by the Shijiazhuang Intermediate People's Court last month, was fined 49.37 million yuan, according to the Shijiazhuang court Thursday. BEIJING, Jan. 2 (Xinhua) -- China will continue to provide free treatment to sickened babies in the tainted milk powder scandal, said Mao Qun'an, spokesman of the Ministry of Health on Thursday. Mao said those who still remained in designated hospitals for having stones in kidney an d other parts of urinary system after drinking melamine contaminated milk, will continue to receive free treatment. "Children under three years old, who had drunk tainted milk and had disease symptoms could still come to local hospitals for check-ups, and would receive free treatment if diagnosed with stones in the urinary system," the spokesman said. He said that the statistics from hospitals across the country and epidemic sample surveys showed that most of the sickened babies have already been diagnosed and given treatment. "This shows that the nationwide screening for sickened children has basically come to an end," he said. Six babies died and more than 290,000 infants suffered from urinary problems such as kidney stones in the country's tainted dairy scandal which was exposed in September of 2008. Sanlu, the dairy producer at the center of the scandal, and other 21 firms blamed in the scandal had decided to set up a compensation fund for the victim infants, according to the China Dairy Industry Association (CDIA). BEIJING, Jan. 23 (Xinhua) -- About 90 percent of the families of the victims in the country's tainted milk scandal have been compensated, the China Dairy Industry Association said Friday. As of Thursday, families of 262,662 children who were sickened after drinking the melamine-contaminated milk products had signed compensation agreements with involved enterprises and accepted compensation, the association said, without saying how much the compensation was. In a letter sent to victims last month, Sanlu Group, which was at the center of the scandal and faces bankruptcy, and 21 other dairy companies offered 200,000 yuan for families whose children died, 30,000 yuan for serious cases such as kidney stones and acute kidney failure, and 2,000 yuan for less severe cases. On Thursday, two men who produced or added melamine-laced "protein powder" to milk were sentenced to death by a court in Shijiazhuang City, Hebei Province where Sanlu was based. China to continue free medical treatment for tainted milk victims BEIJING, Jan. 3 (Xinhua) -- China will continue to provide free medical treatment to sickened babies in the tainted milk powder scandal, said Mao Qun'an, spokesman of the Ministry of Health on Thursday. Full story Two in connection with China milk scandal sentenced to death SHIJIAZHUANG, Jan. 22 (Xinhua) -- Two men in connection with China tainted milk scandal have been sentenced to death as of 3:00 p.m. Thursday by a local court.
Inevitably, the site is open to puerile abuse. In the entry for Obama's predecessor, a prankster wrote that "dubya" stood for "w******". The call for flagged revisions came from Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales The online user-generated encyclopaedia Wikipedia is considering a radical change to how it is run. To date, Wikipedia has allowed almost anybody to make changes to most of its 2.7m entries. If the site grants new powers to editors, it would bring Wikipedia even closer to traditional encyclopedia websites such as Britannica, which last week announced that it would be launching a new online version that would allow readers to submit their own updates to entries. Another link: blue whale have a gestation period of ten months and suffered badly during the Second World War. It is a possibility that has caused furore among Wikipedians. It doesn't need to be breaking news; it needs to have an editorial process to stop people reporting perfectly healthy people as dead. In 2005, Wikipedia said it was going to prevent anonymous users from creating entries as a way of stopping cyber-bullying and vandalism. A user poll on the website suggests 60% are in favour of trials, which could take place within the next few weeks. The proposal comes after edits of the pages of Senators Robert Byrd and Edward Kennedy gave the false impression both had died. Charismatic megafauna? In any case, a 2005 study by science journal Nature found the two to be fairly comparable for accuracy. The software also suggested that a computer within the Vatican was used to edit entries on Gerry Adams, and that a CIA official altered comments about the Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
Premature news of Ted Kennedy's demise appeared on the day of President Obama's inauguration, along with a similar report about the supposed death of the longest serving senator, Robert Byrd. They are just the latest incidents in a long and rich history of vandalism since the 2001 launch of the online encyclopaedia which anyone can amend. To date, Wikipedia has allowed almost anybody to make changes to most of its 2.7m entries. Until an American journalist was falsely linked in 2005 to the JFK assassination, you didn't even have to be registered to make changes. But the false death notices of two of America's most prominent politicians has lead co-founder Jimmy Wales to propose that all future amendments by site users now be approved by a group of editors. It is a possibility that has caused furore among Wikipedians. Some Wiki enthusiasts are worried that the future of the site, currently ranked as the world's seventh largest, will be threatened. In the entry for Obama's predecessor, a prankster wrote that "dubya" stood for "w******". At the height of his unpopularity, Tony Blair was briefly given the middle-name "Whoop-de-doo", while one vandal erased the entire entry for Harry Potter, replacing it with the brutal plot spoiler: "Snape is the half-blood prince and kills Dumbledore." The entry on dyslexia has suffered from anonymous users enjoying regularly scrambling the text. Alm93, also known as the Sneaky Stats Vandal, caused mischief in 2006 by making subtle changes to statistics such as population figures. After Steve Irwin's death, an entry on Stingrays was changed to state that the cartilaginous marine fish "hate Australian people". Other, more subtle vandals appear to have had their own self-serving reasons. Online scanning software that tracks computer IP addresses gathered convincing evidence in 2007 that the staff of Australian premier John Howard had been altering damaging entries. The software also suggested that a computer within the Vatican was used to edit entries on Gerry Adams, and that a CIA official altered comments about the Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. I am a Wiki enthusiast myself and love it despite its manifest faults, many of which – liberal bias, waffling prose, threat to traditional publishers, inconsistency and lack of proper sources – it lists in meticulous detail, along with footnotes, on its own pages. Wiki means "fast" in Hawaiian and it certainly is. I click on a link and discover that tigers are among the most recognisable of the world's "charismatic magafauna". Another link: "large animal species with widespread popular appeal that environmental activists use to achieve conservation goals well beyond those species. Another link: blue whale have a gestation period of ten months and suffered badly during the Second World War. Two links later and I'm on Tom Cruise's new film Valkyrie, in which Stephen Fry (another link) was apparently offered a part. As Wales says: "The main thing about Wikipedia is that it is fun and addictive." There is a famous example of a Wiki prankster writing about the fans of the football club AC Omonia "wearing hats made from discarded shoes and having a song about a little potato". It was included in a feature published in a British newspaper ahead of the club's game with Manchester City. But as Wales also points out, the site should be seen as a "stepping stone" to other sources. The Wikipedia entry might have been appallingly written, but it was good to know who Burns was in advance, and not be too surprised when someone produced a knife and stabbed it into a sheep's stomach. But under proposals put forward by the website's co-founder Jimmy Wales, many future changes to the site would need to be approved by a group of editors before going live. A user poll on the website suggests 60% are in favour of trials, which could take place within the next few weeks. On the day of Barack Obama's inauguration, the site reported the deaths of West Virginia's Robert Byrd - the longest-serving senator in American history - and Ted Kennedy, who has been diagnosed with a brain tumour and collapsed during the inaugural lunch.
One of the survivors, 60-year-old Rahmi Keles, said he saw the avalanche approaching but, unable to escape, was pulled under it. Rescue efforts are continuing at the Turkish resort of Zigana, where 10 people have died. At least two of the survivors were hospitalized, Salihoglu told CNN Turk. Three people were killed in an avalanche in the Scottish Highlands on Saturday. CNN's Talia Kayali contributed to this report All About Scotland • Natural Disasters • Turkey Television footage from the region showed military personnel and locals struggling to carry one climber lying on a sheet through deep snow. "Unfortunately we lost 10 of our friends. Police also reminded climbers there is a high risk of avalanches in the Highlands in the next few days. The group belonged to a climbing club based in the neighbouring Black Sea province of Trabzon. In France, on Sunday two female skiers lost their lives in the Savoie region - a woman in her seventies when she was hit by an avalanche while cross-country skiing in Areches Beaufort, and a 45-year-old Swiss woman who was when skiing off-piste in La Toussuire. Two of our friends are in hospital and five escaped without being caught by the avalanche," Housing Minister Faruk Nafiz Ozak said after arriving at the scene. (Editing by Katie Nguyen) The men were among several groups climbing the Buchaille Etive Mor in the Glencoe region. Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan called the local governor for information on the rescue operation, state-run Anatolian news agency reported. Many parts of Turkey are mountainous and although still a minority interest, winter sports are becoming increasingly popular in mountain ranges across the country.
An avalanche slammed into a group of Turkish hikers on a trip to a remote mountain plateau on Sunday, dragging them more than 1,640 feet into a valley and fatally burying 10. The members of a skiing and mountaineering club were taking part in an annual winter sports celebration on 7,200-foot Mount Zigana. In France, on Sunday two female skiers lost their lives in the Savoie region - a woman in her seventies when she was hit by an avalanche while cross-country skiing in Areches Beaufort, and a 45-year-old Swiss woman who was when skiing off-piste in La Toussuire. On Saturday, two people died while snow-shoe trekking in Flaine in the Haute-Savoie region after a suspected collapse of ledge. The body of a 21-year-old man was also uncovered by a team of sniffer dogs after he was buried in a metre of snow while skiing off-piste in the Deux-Alpes holiday resort. Finally, two skiers, aged 16 and 18, also lost their lives while skiing off-piste in Saint-Francois-Longchamp at the Valmorel resort, despite the efforts of the emergency services to revive them. French weather forecasters had given out an avalanche warning on Saturday. The deadly European avalanches come after three men were killed in an avalanche on Buchaille Etive Mhor, near Glencoe in the Scottish Highlands on Saturday. ISTANBUL An avalanche that swept down a mountain near a small winter resort killed 10 climbers in northeast Turkey on Sunday, but seven of their companions survived the crush, a government minister said. Rescue teams worked through the afternoon to retrieve survivors and bodies from the 17-person group which had set out on a hike from the village of Zigana in mountainous Gumushane province, near Turkey's Black Sea coast. Orange-clad search teams and locals equipped with shovels and accompanied by dogs continued to scour the snowy slopes as the light faded. Two of our friends are in hospital and five escaped without being caught by the avalanche," Housing Minister Faruk Nafiz Ozak said after arriving at the scene. "This is a great loss, a major incident. My condolences to our nation," the minister said in comments broadcast on Turkish television channels. The group belonged to a climbing club based in the neighbouring Black Sea province of Trabzon. Thank God she was brought up like an angel," he told Anatolian from his hospital bed in the coastal town of Trabzon. Television footage from the region showed military personnel and locals struggling to carry one climber lying on a sheet through deep snow. Broadcasters showed medics placing a climber with a neck brace into an ambulance which raced off to hospital. Many parts of Turkey are mountainous and although still a minority interest, winter sports are becoming increasingly popular in mountain ranges across the country. (CNN) -- An avalanche at a ski resort in northeastern Turkey buried a group of hikers on Sunday, killing 10 of them, authorities said. Rescue workers pulled seven survivors from the snow at the resort in Zigana, Turkey, according to Enver Salihoglu, the governor of the nearby city of Gumushane. "We were walking in a single-person line when all of a sudden we saw snow coming down and it took us away," one of the survivors told Turkey's Dogan News Agency from his hospital bed.
The SDA, which has 18 seats, has been headed by Foreign Minister Ingibjorg Gisladottir. A NEW GOVERNMENT? ICELAND'S EXPANSION: -- Iceland's financial stature had swelled in recent years as its banks expanded rapidly overseas. The economy is forecast to contract as much as 10 percent this year. He said he could not accept the Social Democrats' demand to lead the country. Prime Minister Geir Haarde had called early elections for May Iceland's coalition government has collapsed under the strain of an escalating economic crisis. "The only plausible option is if the Independence Party would form a minority government by themselves. THE COUNTRY - SOME DETAILS: CAPITAL - Reykjavik POPULATION - 320,000 ETHNICITY - Some 96 percent of Icelanders are descendants of Norwegian, Scottish and Irish immigrants. However, then the other parties in the Althing (parliament) could pass a law ousting Oddsson from the bank." It also negotiated about $10bn in loans with the International Monetary Fund and donor countries. Among other things, the IMF called for a sharp boost in interest rates to a fresh record high soon after the collapse of the island's banks and its currency. Recently treated for a brain tumour which proved benign, Gisladottir said on Monday she was taking a leave of absence for one or two months. Unemployment was seen rising to an average of 7.8 percent in 2009 and rising even further in 2010, to 8.6 percent. The Thomson Reuters conversational dealing system showed no international trade in the crown EURISK=D3 since January 21, when it was valued at 210-215 to the euro. LANGUAGE - Modern Icelandic is closely related to Old Norse, the language of the original Viking settlers.
Prime Minister Geir Haarde had called early elections for May Iceland's coalition government has collapsed under the strain of an escalating economic crisis. Conservative Prime Minister Geir Haarde announced the resignation of his cabinet, after talks with his Social Democratic coalition partners failed. He said he could not accept the Social Democrats' demand to lead the country. Iceland's financial system collapsed in October under the weight of debt, leading to a currency crisis, rising unemployment and daily protests. The economy is forecast to shrink by almost 10% this year. The coalition between Mr Haarde's Independence Party and Foreign Minister Ingibjorg Gisladottir's Social Democratic Alliance had been under strain in recent months. Mr Haarde told reporters on Monday: "We couldn't accept the Social Democratic demand that they would lead the government." The Independence Party currently controls 25 of the country's 63 parliamentary seats, to the Social Democrats' 18. Meltdown The announcement comes three days after the prime minister called an early general election for 9 May, adding that he would not stand for health reasons. The coalition government, in place since 2007, had been due to remain in place until 2011. ICELAND'S WOES October 2008 - Government takes control of three largest banks 20 November - IMF approves $2.1bn (£1.4bn) loan for Iceland 26 November - Annual inflation rate hits record 17.1% 20 January - Economy forecast to shrink by 9.6% in 2009 23 January - PM Geir Haarde calls snap election for 9 May 26 January - Government resigns following breakdown of coalition Reality bites in Iceland Timeline: Iceland's crisis Iceland bloggers react to crisis Activists fight Iceland woes Ms Gisladottir said a more powerful leadership was needed. "The government's actions in the last weeks and months were not swift enough," she said. Her party is now expected to look for new partners to form a government until the election. President Olafur Ragnar Grimsson said he would not give any party a mandate to form a new government until Tuesday at the earliest. In recent months the Social Democrats had urged Mr Haarde to fire the central bank governor and move towards closer ties with Europe. But last month European Union Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn said the island might apply for membership as soon as this year. The extent of Iceland's trouble became evident as conditions tightened in global credit markets last year. It emerged that the country's banks, which had amassed debt during years of rapid expansion, owed about six times the country's economic output. Money from around the world had also poured into Iceland because interest rates there exceeded 10%. Icelandic Crisis We have the opportunity to build a new truly democratic society Stefan Thorgrimsson, Reykjavik Mr Haarde's government responded to the financial collapse by nationalising leading banks. It also negotiated about $10bn in loans with the International Monetary Fund and donor countries. Iceland's Prime Minister Geir Haarde said on Monday his coalition government had fallen apart under the pressures of the financial crisis and he would hand in his resignation to the president. Foreign Minister Ingibjorg Gisladottir, the Social Democrat leader who had been considered a potential replacement for Haarde, announced she would not seek to be prime minister. Pressure was high with demonstrations against the government and the central bank becoming regular fixtures in the capital Reykjavik since the currency plunged and the financial system collapsed. Here are some facts about Iceland and its economy: THE ECONOMY: -- Iceland's Finance Ministry said last week that it saw real GDP falling 9.6 percent in 2009 and remaining largely unchanged in 2010 compared with its October forecast of down 1.6 percent in 2009 and growth of 1.1 percent next year. -- It also saw inflation for 2009 at 13.1 percent, compared to its October forecast of 5.7 percent. For 2010, it saw inflation coming down to 2.7 percent to put it in line with the central bank's target. -- The government said it expected the current account deficit, currently an estimated 22 percent of GDP, to reverse to a 6.1 percent surplus this year and to 5.6 percent in 2010. -- Prime Minister Haarde had warned of "national bankruptcy" and said at the end of last year that the financial crisis which ravaged the banking system and the crown currency underscored the pitfalls of managing a currency in a small, open economy. -- The International Monetary Fund (IMF) approved a $2.1 billion loan for Iceland on November 19 as part of a package of assistance which totaled about $10 billion. -- Iceland's major banks and its currency had collapsed under the weight of billions of dollars of debt accumulated in an aggressive overseas expansion into financial services. ICELAND'S EXPANSION: -- Iceland's financial stature had swelled in recent years as its banks expanded rapidly overseas. -- Before the banking sector was deregulated in the late 1990s, the economy was based mainly on fishing, and marine products accounted for the majority of exports. REYKJAVIK Jan 26 Iceland's ruling coalition fell apart on Monday as Prime Minister Geir Haarde said he was handing in his immediate resignation and the head of one of the coalition partners said she was taking a leave of absence. Haarde, who announced on Friday his intention to step down because he is fighting cancer, had planned to continue in his role until early elections proposed for May.
No. He is with our people," he said. What were the main allegations against the government and rebels? WHAT ABOUT CIVILIANS IN THE WAR ZONE? Sri Lanka's army has pushed the rebels from their strongholds. Few would disagree now that he has the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) all but encircled. "There have been many civilians killed over the last two days. IS ANY OF THAT A RISK TO RAJAPAKSA? The rebels were also accused of abuses. See map of the region "It is malicious propaganda - our leader is still with us - our leader is giving leadership to our freedom struggle. INSURGENCY TIMELINE 1976: Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam form in the north-east 1987: India deploys peace-keepers to Tamil areas but they leave in 1990 1993: President Premadasa killed by Tiger bomb 2001: Attack on airport destroys half Sri Lankan Airlines fleet 2002: Government and rebels agree ceasefire 2005: Mahinda Rajapaksa becomes president 2006: Heavy fighting resumes 2009: Army takes main rebel bases of Kilinochchi and Mullaitivu Voices from Sri Lanka Tamil diaspora voices Mr Nadesan also said the Tigers would not lay down arms until the freedom and dignity of their people were guaranteed. DOES MILITARY SUCCESS MEAN EARLY ELECTIONS? Critics say there has been little serious attempt to do this so far. What efforts have been made to promote post-war reconciliation? Until the final months of the war, the death toll for more than 25 years of conflict was estimated to be about 70,000. It came to run what was in effect a shadow state in the north and east. Military spokesman Brig Udaya Nanayakkara told the BBC the army had no need to fire at civilian areas.
Sri Lankan troops kept the heat on the Tamil Tiger separatists on Monday, a day after seizing the last big town held by the rebels, Mullaittivu. The army's commander, Lieutenant-General Sarath Fonseka, has said the military is close to ending one of Asia's longest-running wars. Here are some scenarios of what could happen next: FONSEKA'S MARCH TO THE SEA: This month alone, soldiers have run the Tigers out of their self-proclaimed capital Kilinochchi, the Jaffna Peninsula and now the port of Mullaittivu, a major LTTE operations base. When hostilities were reignited in August 2006, the rebels held 15,000 square km (5,792 sq miles). Now, Fonseka says they have only 300 square km (186 square miles) of jungle and a diminishing stretch of the northeastern coast. Much as U.S. civil war Major-General William Tecumseh Sherman made the rebel Confederate army surrender by forcing them to all but jump in the sea at Savannah, Georgia, Fonseka is doing the same -- unless his troops seize the coast and surround the LTTE. Since the Tigers wear vials of cyanide around their necks in case of capture, surrender seems unlikely. Many analysts say the rebels are down to about 2,000 capable fighters and have little future as a conventional force. The military is now much better equipped and trained than in the past, has President Mahinda Rajapaksa's full backing and experienced, confident leadership in the form of his brother, Defense Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa, and Fonseka. Aid agencies estimate there are about 230,000 Tamil refugees in the shrinking war zone. A government official who was in Mullaittivu said at least 100 were killed in artillery exchanges last week. Rights groups and the government accuse the Tigers of forcibly conscripting people as fighters or laborers and of keeping them trapped in the war zone. The army last week set up a safe zone and urged people to go there; they say the rebels responded by placing artillery and heavy weapons inside it to foil civilian movement. Despite protests from Tamil politicians in India, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has made it clear he has no plans to stop Rajapaksa's war against a group his country lists as a terrorist organization. He and Rajapaksa have agreed that the grievances of the Tamil people must be dealt with politically, a view shared and urged by much of the West. Rajapaksa plans to call elections to meet that end but critics say more will be needed. Signs of early polls abound: the election budget this year has been quadrupled, polls are due in two provinces in February and the main opposition United National Party (UNP) has assumed a campaign stance. Allies say there are plenty of factors that will influence Rajapaksa's decision on timing. He is aware that the UNP's main criticism is the state of the $32 billion economy. As predicted, both the Colombo Stock Exchange and the sliding rupee currency got a boost from Kilinochchi's capture. Both swiftly went back to moving on their own fundamentals as they have throughout the quarter-century war. Sri Lanka is suffering from costly short-term foreign debt, low foreign exchange reserves and a high deficit. Key exports like tea and clothing have been hit by the global slowdown and the war is expected to cost nearly $2 billion this year. That could be complicated by three violent attacks on the media this month, which have angered many donor countries -- who have yet to apply the only real leverage they have: money. Velupillai Prabhakaran "is with our people", the rebels say The top leader of the Tamil Tigers has not left Sri Lanka and is still leading the "freedom struggle", the rebels' political leader has said. B Nadesan told the BBC by telephone that reports Velupillai Prabhakaran had fled were "malicious propaganda". INSURGENCY TIMELINE 1976: Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam form in the north-east 1987: India deploys peace-keepers to Tamil areas but they leave in 1990 1993: President Premadasa killed by Tiger bomb 2001: Attack on airport destroys half Sri Lankan Airlines fleet 2002: Government and rebels agree ceasefire 2005: Mahinda Rajapaksa becomes president 2006: Heavy fighting resumes 2009: Army takes main rebel bases of Kilinochchi and Mullaitivu Voices from Sri Lanka Tamil diaspora voices Mr Nadesan also said the Tigers would not lay down arms until the freedom and dignity of their people were guaranteed.
Credibility. In schools, for example, there's a very strong mobilisation." WHAT IS AT STAKE FOR THE UNIONS? WHAT WILL BE THE IMPACT OF THE STRIKE? "Transnet and rail workers' union GDBA call for warning strikes on Thursday," the Transnet and GDBA unions said in a joint news release. - The government must repeal legislation that has relaxed rules on the 35-hour working week. After a first 18 months in power when no amount of protest could deter Sarkozy from pushing through his reform plans, he has recently shelved an unpopular shake-up of the high school system after street protests. Even helicopter pilots and staff from the company that operates the French stock exchange are taking part. Here are some of them: - Any state aid to companies must be conditional on them supporting jobs and salaries. The strike will unite private and public sector workers from schools, hospitals national TV and radio to postal services, bank clerks and supermarket employees. The strike action kicked off yesterday with stoppages by university lecturers and researchers over higher education reform. A Deutsche Bahn spokesman said there had been progress in the negotiations and blamed the unions for the strike. (Reporting by Brian Rohan and Angelika Gruber; Editing by Diane Craft) - The European Union must be at the forefront of efforts to curb financial speculation, get rid of tax havens and increase transparency on financial markets. Sarkozy will today make a speech on measures for the unemployed in an attempt to defuse tension. Oliver Besancenot, leader of the Communist Revolutionary League, is then hoping to benefit from the mood by launching his anti-capitalist party.
PARIS Jan 27 France's eight labour unions have called on public and private workers to go on strike on Thursday to demand that the government and company managers do more to protect jobs and salaries during the economic crisis. Both the unions and the government expect massive turnout, with an opinion poll published by the newspaper Le Journal du Dimanche saying 69 percent of French people backed it. The unions have been seething since President Nicolas Sarkozy said last July that France had changed so rapidly under his stewardship that "these days, when there is a strike, nobody notices". After a first 18 months in power when no amount of protest could deter Sarkozy from pushing through his reform plans, he has recently shelved an unpopular shake-up of the high school system after street protests. It could potentially hobble France, with strikes expected to hit schools, hospitals, law courts, public transport, flights, postal services, France Telecom FTE.PA, energy providers EDF (EDF.PA) and GDF Suez GSZ.PA, shipyards, public television and radio stations. The eight unions issued a joint document listing demands on both the government and company managers. Here are some of them: - Any state aid to companies must be conditional on them supporting jobs and salaries. - Companies that reduce working hours or ask staff to take leave as ways of coping with a slowdown in activity must negotiate such arrangements with the workers. - The government must immediately drop plans to cut 30,000 public sector jobs by not replacing some retiring employees. - State stimulus measures must be directed at consumers, not just firms. - The government must repeal legislation that has relaxed rules on the 35-hour working week. - The government must withdraw its bill proposing to make it easier for shops to open on Sunday. - The European Union must be at the forefront of efforts to curb financial speculation, get rid of tax havens and increase transparency on financial markets. Nicolas Sarkozy this week faces the first mass-protests over his handling of the financial crisis as unions prepare to paralyse France in a general strike uniting train-drivers, air traffic controllers, journalists, bank staff and even ski-lift operators. "Black Thursday" is the first general strike since the French president's election in 2007. All the leading unions have joined forces to protest that the government's stimulus plans should focus less on companies and more on workers' job-protection and purchasing power. The strike will unite private and public sector workers from schools, hospitals national TV and radio to postal services, bank clerks and supermarket employees. High school pupils, university lecturers, lawyers and magistrates will also protest a raft of Sarkozy's reforms and planned job cuts. "It's very rare for our bank workers to join in this kind of strike action," said Lionel Manchin, of the SNIACAM independent union at the bank Credit Agricole. The bosses have been well protected with their salaries, it's now time to protect the workers." Earlier this month a radical union led a strike that shut down Paris's second biggest railway station, leaving hundreds of thousands of commuters stranded. In the past two weeks, Sarkozy has criss-crossed the country giving more than 17 new year speeches, but protesters have been kept in check by riot police. Describing the general mood of discontent, the MP Philippe Cochet, from Sarkozy's ruling UMP party, told Le Monde, "I feel a violence being born. Bernard Thibault, leader of the powerful, communist-leaning CGT union, said the protests could be bigger than those of 2006 which saw 3 million take to the streets against a new youth employment contract, the CPE. At the weekend, a coalition of psychiatrists, health workers, judges, teachers and researchers will meet to discuss their joint appeal in protest at a range of the president's reforms. The strike action kicked off yesterday with stoppages by university lecturers and researchers over higher education reform. High school pupils also hope Thursday's strike will boost their demonstrations against school reform. Zaki Marouane, 19, secretary general of the Lycee pupils' union, FIDL, said: "We're taking to the streets again and our banners will read: "We refuse to be the children of the financial crisis!"
Updike's first novel, The Poorhouse Fair, was published in 1959, to mixed, but generally favourable, reviews. "I like middles. Rabbit, Run marked the debut of his most enduring, if not endearing, character, Harold "Rabbit" Angstrom. Updike brought the same precision to his occasional writing (he was a regular reviewer for the New Yorker for half a century) as he did to his novels – and the same witty delight in social mores. The following year, though, saw the publication of the book which established him as one of the greatest novelists of his age. Updike was clear about the focus of his work: "My subject is the American Protestant small town middle class." By his first wife, John Updike had two sons and two daughters. Later he joined the staff of the New Yorker magazine, to which he contributed numerous poems, essays and short stories. In about 50 books over half a century, he chronicled sex, divorce and other aspects of life in post-war America. Works such as Couples and the Rabbit series chronicled the obsessions, passions and anxieties of three generations. Please turn on JavaScript. E-mail this to a friend Printable version Updike also wrote The Witches of Eastwick in 1984, which was made into a film starring Jack Nicholson, Cher, Michelle Pfeiffer and Susan Sarandon. The death was announced by publisher Alfred A Knopf. The son of a schoolmaster, Updike was born in Pennsylvania in 1932 and, after attending Harvard, spent a year as an art student in Oxford in the UK.
Renowned US novelist John Updike has died at the age of 76, his publisher has announced. He had been suffering from lung cancer. Updike won many top literary prizes, including Pulitzers for two volumes of his famous Rabbit series. In about 50 books over half a century, he chronicled sex, divorce and other aspects of life in post-war America. He died in a hospice near his home in Beverly Farms, Massachussetts, his publisher said. The son of a schoolmaster, Updike was born in Pennsylvania in 1932 and, after attending Harvard, spent a year as an art student in Oxford in the UK. Later he joined the staff of the New Yorker magazine, to which he contributed numerous poems, essays and short stories. Updike's first novel, The Poorhouse Fair, was published in 1959. The following year, though, saw the publication of the book which established him as one of the greatest novelists of his age, Rabbit, Run. In the following decades he would write sequels, including Rabbit Redux, Rabbit is Rich and Rabbit at Rest, charting the course of a man's life - his job, marriage, affairs, minor triumphs and death. The death was announced by publisher Alfred A Knopf. "He was one of our greatest writers and he will be sorely missed," Knopf publicity director Nicholas Latimer said. In an interview, Updike explained why most of his novels were about the lives of ordinary Americans. "The writer must face the fact that ordinary lives are what most people live most of the time, and that the novel as a narration of the fantastic and the adventurous is really an escapist plot; that aesthetically the ordinary, the banal, is what you must deal with." In September 2001, Updike was visiting relatives in New York when he found himself witnessing the attack on the World Trade Centre. It's like the bottom fell out of your own existence, somehow." Updike also wrote The Witches of Eastwick in 1984, which was made into a film starring Jack Nicholson, Cher, Michelle Pfeiffer and Susan Sarandon. John Updike: Magisterial chronicler of The American Century John Updike's novels, magisterial dissections of the soul of post-World War II middle America, placed him at the very pinnacle of his profession. Whether writing novels, short stories, essays or poems, John Updike's work always seemed to find the pulse of modern America. Often controversial, he remained at the cutting edge of literature into his 70s and, with his most celebrated character, Harold "Rabbit" Angstrom, he found an authentic 20th-Century everyman. The son of a schoolmaster, John Updike was born in Pennsylvania in March 1932 and, after attending Harvard, spent a year in the UK, as a student at the Ruskin School of Drawing and Fine Art at Oxford. Updike's first novel, The Poorhouse Fair, was published in 1959, to mixed, but generally favourable, reviews. The following year, though, saw the publication of the book which established him as one of the greatest novelists of his age. Rabbit, Run marked the debut of his most enduring, if not endearing, character, Harold "Rabbit" Angstrom. Updike's Rabbit novels spanned a generation In this and its sequels, Rabbit Redux, Rabbit is Rich and Rabbit at Rest - published at ten-yearly intervals - Updike charts the course of one man's life: his job, marriage, affairs, minor triumphs and death. Even so, with all his petty failings and unrequited hopes, their main character presents not a mere cipher but a rounded, fully realised, portrait of a human being. Updike was clear about the focus of his work: "My subject is the American Protestant small town middle class." Couples, has been called "the best-written dirty book since the Decameron" - but this does less than justice to either Updike or Boccaccio. Updike's themes, though American, were universal The theme of the book is indeed adultery, as practised by ten middle-class couples in a small New England town Though the author does not hesitate to give detailed descriptions of sexual intercourse, he does so with a lucidity and reverence that is completely removed from pornography. Though often berated by critics for his seeming obsession with golf and sex, it is his mastery of the English language, its nuances, vagueries and sheer beauty, which brought John Updike millions of admirers. John Updike, who died on January 27 aged 76, was one of America's greatest and most prolific literary icons, acclaimed for his precise, intimate style of writing; his unflinching approach to sex, however, made him one of the more controversial. He tackled themes as diverse as the existence of God and African despotism and even wrote a prequel to Hamlet, exploring Gertrude's relationship with her second husband, Claudius. In addition to more than 30 novels and collections of stories, Updike published nine volumes of poetry and assorted memoirs and children's stories. Updike became famous – and infamous – with his fourth novel, Couples, a sexually-explicit tale of New England suburbia in which jaded thirtysomethings stave off marital boredom by drinking, "frugging", coupling and uncoupling in an account which captured the mood of souring Sixties optimism. In his two series of novels – the "Bech" and the "Rabbit" books – he created two engagingly flawed heroes, versions of himself which somehow seemed to symbolise the American everyman: Bech, a hairy, self-scrutinising American-Jewish writer, and Harry "Rabbit" Angstrom, a former basketball champion turned second-hand car dealer trapped in a tedious marriage from which he seeks refuge in extra-marital affairs. Updike's critics took him to task for what they perceived as his cold-heartedness: "His work seems motivated by covetousness, exhibitionism and a stony heart" wrote John Cheever in a letter published posthumously. Misogyny was a recurrent charge: "There is only one reason for women to exist in Updike's world," protested one feminist writer – "to be f---ed, or at least f---able.
---------------------------------------------------------------- -- [For a related SCENARIOS analysis, click on [ID:nCOL384131] and for a Q+A on trapped civilians, click on [ID:nCOL332297] ---------------------------------------------------------------- - India's foreign minister, after a brief trip to meet Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa, pledged New Delhi's aid in post-war reconstruction and made no mention of a truce demanded by Indian Tamil politicians in the ruling coalition. It said on Wednesday it had again asked for permission. The government says that figure is too high. HOW MANY HAVE BEEN KILLED OR WOUNDED? Sri Lankan troops have cornered the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in an area of 300 square km (115 sq miles), where the United Nations and International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) say 250,000 civilians are trapped in the fighting. The LTTE says the military is firing into the safety zone indiscriminately. Sri Lanka has pledged it will not launch attacks in the safe zones in its offensive against the Tamil Tigers. Mr Mukherjee met President Rajapaksa during his visit to Colombo on Tuesday. "We will be working together on a reconstruction plan for these areas which will involve infrastructure and other support." The pro-rebel web site www.TamilNet.com on Monday accused the military of killing as many as 300 people and wounding hundreds more with shelling in a no-fire zone the army set up a week ago.
(For related story, click on [nCOL285917] By C. Bryson Hull COLOMBO, Jan 28 (Reuters) -- Hundreds of thousands of Sri Lankans are trapped in a war zone that is now roughly 300 square km (115 sq miles) and the scene of heavy fighting between the Tamil Tiger rebels and a Sri Lankan army smelling victory. Here are questions and answers about their situation. The United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross say that around 250,000 people, nearly all Tamils, are trapped in the fighting. The Tigers have not given a tally but on Tuesday, the pro-rebel web site www.TamilNet.com said 300,000 people now face hunger. HOW MANY HAVE BEEN KILLED OR WOUNDED? The ICRC, the only aid agency with a permanent presence in the war zone, say hundreds have been killed and injured, but has not given an exact figure. The government tacitly acknowledged casualties on Wednesday, but says it has no official number and says figures reported so far are inflated. TamilNet says more than 300 have been killed and 1,000 wounded. Human Rights Watch and the Sri Lankan government say the Tigers have forced people to stay at gunpoint, and are using them to fight, build defences or act as a human shield. The Tigers, who for years have had a policy of making every family hand one person over to fight, deny that. They say the people are staying of their own free will and fear government persecution at army-guarded refugee camps. A few thousand people have navigated the jungles, filled with booby traps and mines, to reach army-controlled areas. The Sri Lankan army says it has set up a 32-square-km, no-fire zone in the middle of the battle area, and dropped leaflets urging people to go there. The LTTE says the military is firing into the safety zone indiscriminately. The Tigers have not answered the military's accusation that they moved their heavy weapons near populated areas and hospitals. Diplomats and aid agencies are applying heavy pressure on both sides. The government last year ordered most aid agencies out of the war zone but has facilitated aid convoys with U.N. and ICRC help. The United Nations on Wednesday said the military stopped firing to allow a medical convoy to leave, but the Tigers then refused to let it go. Last week, the Tigers stopped U.N. local staff and their families from leaving on a convoy, which the U.N. protested as a violation of international humanitarian law. (Repeats to fix format, no change to text) (Adds new U.N. attempt to move wounded) By C. Bryson Hull COLOMBO, Jan 28 (Reuters) -- The Tamil Tigers blocked a convoy carrying hundreds of wounded people from leaving the site of heavy fighting in Sri Lanka's north, the United Nations said on Wednesday. Sri Lankan troops have cornered the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in an area of 300 square km (115 sq miles), where the United Nations and International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) say 250,000 civilians are trapped in the fighting. That has many forecasting a swift end to a 25-year separatist conflict that is one of Asia's longest-running wars. ---------------------------------------------------------------- -- [For a related SCENARIOS analysis, click on [ID:nCOL384131] and for a Q+A on trapped civilians, click on [ID:nCOL332297] ---------------------------------------------------------------- - India's foreign minister, after a brief trip to meet Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa, pledged New Delhi's aid in post-war reconstruction and made no mention of a truce demanded by Indian Tamil politicians in the ruling coalition. The United Nations, the ICRC, the United States, the European Union and others have demanded that the Sri Lankan army and the LTTE keep civilians safe. The combatants are increasingly trading blame over deaths and injuries the ICRC on Tuesday said number in the hundreds. [ID:nLR669251] The United Nations said it would try again to move hundreds of seriously wounded out of the war zone and into a government hospital, after its attempt on Tuesday was blocked when the Tigers denied travel permission and the military resumed firing. "There was a brief window where there was no firing from the military, but then the LTTE said it was not safe to proceed," United Nations spokesman Gordon Weiss had said earlier. ICRC spokeswoman Sarasi Wijeratne said that the convoy had not been given full security assurances, but declined to say more. ICRC is the only aid group with a full-time presence in the war zone and is the neutral liaison between both sides. INDIA PLEDGES AID Sri Lanka's military on Wednesday accused the LTTE of blocking the convoy, and said casualties were lower than had been reported because some wounded were rebels. The pro-rebel web site www.TamilNet.com on Monday accused the military of killing as many as 300 people and wounding hundreds more with shelling in a no-fire zone the army set up a week ago. The military has denied the accusation, and says the Tigers moved artillery there and had fired inside the safety zone. Human rights watchdogs and the government accuse the LTTE -- designated a terrorist group by India, the United States and the European Union -- of keeping civilians in its territory to use them as fighters, battlefield labourers or human shields. He also said the military victories offered a chance to resume normalcy in northern Sri Lanka after 25 years of war. There was also progress on state-run Indian power generating company (NTPC.BO)'s plans to build a 500 megawatt power plant in the eastern port of Trincomalee, he said, without giving details.
They both deny the charges. Mr Sheridan, 44, the former leader of the Scottish Socialist Party, and his wife, a British Airways hostess, became the subject of a perjury investigation after his court victory over the News of the World in 2006. The couple's lawyer, Aamer Anwar, said: "Both Mr and Mrs Sheridan maintain their innocence and are determined to fight this." It said the indictment contained one charge of perjury and one charge of attempted subornation of perjury - or persuading another to commit perjury - against Mr Sheridan. The couple have denied the allegations of perjury Former Solidarity MSP and Celebrity Big Brother contestant Tommy Sheridan and his wife Gail are to stand trial on perjury charges. Both MSPs, and the remaining four SSP MSPs, lost their seats at the 2007 Holyrood election. The Crown Office confirmed that an indictment had been served. "There will be no further statements or interviews and we would ask the media to respect the Sheridan family's privacy." The investigation was launched after a judge said conflicting evidence in the defamation trial may have meant some people were perjuring themselves. He was awarded damages of £200,000 after the paper published lurid sex and drugs allegations against him. E-mail this to a friend Printable version "A preliminary hearing is fixed for 26 February 2009 at the High Court in Edinburgh and a trial will then be fixed for later on in the year. The couple, both aged 44, were charged with perjury in December 2007 following an investigation by Lothian and Borders Police. He also appeared in this year's version of reality game show, Celebrity Big Brother, where he was fifth person to be evicted.
The couple have denied the allegations of perjury Former Solidarity MSP and Celebrity Big Brother contestant Tommy Sheridan and his wife Gail are to stand trial on perjury charges. The charges relate to evidence given during Mr Sheridan's defamation victory against the News of the World in 2006. The newspaper had published sex and drugs claims against Mr Sheridan. The couple, both aged 44, were charged with perjury in December 2007 following an investigation by Lothian and Borders Police. The investigation was launched after a judge said conflicting evidence in the defamation trial may have meant some people were perjuring themselves. During a news conference on Tuesday, the couple's solicitor, Aamer Anwar, read a statement confirming that they would stand trial. Mr Sheridan was evicted from Celebrity Big Brother on 21 January He said: "I can confirm that an indictment was served today for charges of perjury against Thomas and Gail Sheridan. "A preliminary hearing is fixed for 26 February 2009 at the High Court in Edinburgh and a trial will then be fixed for later on in the year. "There will be no further statements or interviews and we would ask the media to respect the Sheridan family's privacy." It said the indictment contained one charge of perjury and one charge of attempted subornation of perjury - or persuading another to commit perjury - against Mr Sheridan. Party split He was elected to the Scottish Parliament in 1999 as a member for Glasgow and re-elected in 2003 - along with five other SSP MSPs. He also appeared in this year's version of reality game show, Celebrity Big Brother, where he was fifth person to be evicted. The News of the World launched an appeal against the decision which was put on hold when the police confirmed they were investigating perjury allegations. Mr Sheridan, who appeared in this month in Channel 4's Celebrity Big Brother, was charged with perjury in late 2007. He and his wife deny any wrongdoing and a source close to the couple said they would tender pleas of not guilty and would fight the charges "vigorously". Aamer Anwar, the couple's solicitor, said: "I can confirm that an indictment was served today for charges of perjury against Thomas and Gail Sheridan. "There will be no further statements or interviews and we would ask the media to respect the Sheridan family's privacy." A spokesman for the Crown Office said the indictment contained one charge of perjury and one charge of attempted subornation of perjury - persuading someone else to commit perjury - against Mr Sheridan, and a charge of perjury against Gail Sheridan. The couple, both 44, are accused of perjury during Sheridan's highly charged defamation action against the Sunday tabloid in 2006.
Please re-enter. More on Iran | Obama "Change means giving up support for the rootless, uncivilized, fabricated, murdering... Zionists and let the Palestinian nation decide its own destiny," he said. The BBC's Jon Leyne in Tehran describes it as one of Mr Ahmadinejad's strongest tirades against the US. 'Dark background' But the Iranian leader also criticized the U.S. and demanded an apology. Direct talks? Iran's president called for the U.S. to apologize for past misdeeds Wednesday but also said the country would welcome a real and fundamental shift in foreign policy from the new American administration. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Mr. Ahmadinejad also spoke of American efforts to thwart Iran’s nuclear ambitions and questioned the deployment of the United States military around the world. “Who has asked them to come and interfere in the affairs of nations?” he asked, according to Reuters. "Those who say they want to make change, this is the change they should make: they should apologize to the Iranian nation and try to make up for their dark background and the crimes they have committed against the Iranian nation," Ahmadinejad said. Washington and its Western allies accuse Iran of seeking to build nuclear weapons. It was not immediately clear whether Mr. Ahmadinejad’s speech was Tehran’s definitive response to the Obama administration’s willingness to open a dialogue. The U.S. broke off diplomatic relations with Iran in 1979 after hardline students stormed the U.S. Embassy in Tehran. Speaking in his first formal television interview as president, Obama told Al-Arabiya news channel that Iran must "unclench its fist". Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton also said Tuesday that Iran had a “clear opportunity” to engage with the international community.
Iran's president called for the U.S. to apologize for past misdeeds Wednesday but also said the country would welcome a real and fundamental shift in foreign policy from the new American administration. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's comments came after President Barack Obama indicated a new willingness to reach out to Muslims and the importance of engaging with Iran, a country the Bush administration often singled out as the most dangerous in the region. Without mentioning Obama by name, Ahmadinejad repeatedly referred to those who want to bring "change," a word used often in Obama's election campaign, and seemed to indicate Iran would be looking to see whether there would be substantive differences in U.S. policy under Obama. "We will wait patiently, listen to their words carefully, scrutinize their actions under a magnifier and if change happens truly and fundamentally, we will welcome that," Ahmadinejad said, speaking to a crowd of thousands in the western city of Kermanshah. 'Dark background' But the Iranian leader also criticized the U.S. and demanded an apology. "Those who say they want to make change, this is the change they should make: they should apologize to the Iranian nation and try to make up for their dark background and the crimes they have committed against the Iranian nation," Ahmadinejad said. He listed a range of "crimes" such as trying to block what Tehran says is a peaceful nuclear power generation program, hindering Iran's development since the 1979 revolution and other actions by several administrations for more than 60 years. He also called on Washington to withdraw its troops from around the world and stop supporting Israel. In his speech, Ahmadinejad said: "Who has asked them (the United States) to come and interfere in the affairs of nations? "Change means giving up support for the rootless, uncivilized, fabricated, murdering... Zionists and let the Palestinian nation decide its own destiny," he said. "Change means putting an end to U.S. military presence in (different spots of) the world." Speaking in his first formal television interview as president, Obama told Al-Arabiya news channel that Iran must "unclench its fist". The new administration has said Obama would break from his predecessor by pursuing direct talks with Tehran but has also warned Iran to expect more pressure if it did not meet the U.N. Security Council demand to halt its disputed nuclear work. Washington and its Western allies accuse Iran of seeking to build nuclear weapons. The U.S. also accuses Iran of sponsoring "terrorists" and undermining efforts to make peace in the Middle East between Israel and Arabs. Echoing Obama's remarks, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton signaled the administration's readiness to talk to Iran , saying Tuesday that Tehran had a "clear opportunity" to show the world it is willing to engage. She told reporters that the U.S. administration is undertaking a wide-ranging and comprehensive survey of U.S. foreign policy options toward Iran. The U.S. broke off diplomatic relations with Iran in 1979 after hardline students stormed the U.S. Embassy in Tehran. Mr Ahmadinejad's remarks were the first since Mr Obama took office Iran's president has responded to an overture by the new US president by demanding an apology for past US "crimes" committed against Iran. The US "stood against the Iranian people in the past 60 years", Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said during an address in the western region of Khermenshah. "Those who speak of change must apologise to the Iranian people and try to repair their past crimes," he said. The US president has offered to extend a hand if Iran "unclenched its fist". Mr Ahmadinejad will, as expected, stand for re-election in June, close aide Aliakbar Javanfekr told Reuters news agency on Wednesday. Strong tirade America's crimes against Iran, the Iranian leader said in his televised speech, included support for the Iranian coup of 1953 and backing for Saddam Hussein in the Iran-Iraq war of the 1980s. God willing, he [George W Bush] has gone to hell Mahmoud Ahmadinejad Ahmadinejad on the attack Timeline: US-Iran ties Stakes high for Obama on Iran The Iranian president welcomed the possibility of US change, but said it should be "fundamental and effective" rather than just a change of tactics. The remarks are the first Iranian comment on the US since Mr Obama took office eight days ago. The BBC's Jon Leyne in Tehran describes it as one of Mr Ahmadinejad's strongest tirades against the US. Our correspondent says we may see twists and turns out of Iran as its leaders work out whether Mr Obama is offering real change and what they may offer in return. While he was playing to the crowd, adds our correspondent, he could also be staking out his position ahead of Iran's presidential election in June. He called on Mr Obama to withdraw US troops from their bases around the world and for America to "stop interfering in other people's affairs". Referring to Mr Obama's predecessor, George W Bush, he said he trusted that he had "gone to hell". Relations between Washington and Tehran reached new lows in recent years over attempts by the US and its allies in the United Nations to curtail Iran's nuclear programme over fears it is trying to build nuclear weapons. The US broke off diplomatic ties with Iran in 1979, after students stormed the US embassy in Tehran after the Islamist revolution overthrew the US-backed Shah. Advertisement Continue reading the main story The catalog of crimes, Mr. Ahmadinejad said, stretched back decades, beginning with American support for the 1953 coup that ousted the democratically elected government of Mohammed Mossadegh and installed Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi, who ruled until he was ousted in the 1979 Islamic Revolution. American military commanders said at the time that the passenger plane had been mistaken for an F-14 fighter jet, and they defended the warship’s actions.
“That, unfortunately, is the reality.” "The A.U. All About Zimbabwe • Robert Mugabe • Morgan Tsvangirai HARARE, Zimbabwe (CNN) -- Zimbabwe's main opposition party said Friday it will join a unity government next month if President Robert Mugabe's government meets its demands. Advertisement Continue reading the main story But none see any easy resolution of Zimbabwe’s political agony. Mr. Tsvangirai first agreed to form a joint government in September, but then refused after Mr. Mugabe claimed control of all the ministries that control the repressive state security forces, including the police. "The very people who are responsible for going around abducting them and torturing are exactly the same people upon whom success of this project depends." The regional heads of state, as part of the Southern African Development Community, had set February 11 as the date by which Tsvangirai should be sworn in as prime minister. British and American diplomats said they would be awaiting evidence that democracy, human rights and the rule of law were again respected in Zimbabwe — and they doubted Mr. Mugabe would agree to such changes, which would almost inevitably threaten his hold on power. The United Nations has said more than half the population is in need of food aid. In the months since Mugabe and Tsvangirai signed the deal, a cholera epidemic has killed more than 3,100 people and inflation has rendered the Zimbabwean dollar so worthless that the finance minister on Thursday approved the use of foreign currency -- something that had been happening for months. The international community viewed the runoff as a sham. The country also is facing its worst humanitarian crisis, with acute shortages of essentials such as fuel, food, electricity and public health delivery system.
Mr. Tsvangirai first agreed to form a joint government in September, but then refused after Mr. Mugabe claimed control of all the ministries that control the repressive state security forces, including the police. Advertisement Continue reading the main story But at the insistence of the Southern African Development Community, the 15-nation regional bloc overseeing the negotiations, the current deal calls for shared oversight of the police — a compromise Mr. Tsvangirai had initially rejected. Acknowledging the ambivalence of many of his supporters — and perhaps his own, as well — Mr. Tsvangirai said in a statement that the fight for democracy “is neither easy nor straightforward, and often we have had to change the fronts on which we wage the struggle.” Political analysts said he would have risked the scorn of South Africa, the dominant regional powerhouse, and other neighboring nations, had he pulled out of the deal that they had, with increasing impatience, been pressing him to accept. Advertisement Continue reading the main story But their decision to push for a power-sharing arrangement, even though their own monitors concluded that the presidential runoff was neither free nor fair, has stirred deep unease beyond Zimbabwe’s borders. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Botswana’s president, Seretse Khama Ian Khama, said in a rare interview that allowing leaders to keep power through negotiated deals after fraud-ridden elections, as in Kenya last year and now in Zimbabwe, set a terrible precedent. Advertisement Continue reading the main story “These power-sharing agreements are not the way to go on the continent,” said Mr. Khama, whose government is the only one in the region now openly criticizing Mr. Mugabe’s party for employing intimidation, violence and killings against its opponents. “You can’t have a situation where a ruling party, when it senses it may lose an election, can then manipulate the outcome so they can stay on in power.” The hunger for change in Zimbabwe was manifest on Friday in the throng of thousands that gathered outside Harvest House, the headquarters of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change, in Zimbabwe’s capital, Harare, as word spread that the party was deciding whether to join or stay out of a government. When Mr. Tsvangirai came out and stood on the bed of a pickup truck with a bullhorn in hand, the crowd fell silent waiting for word of his decision. A wave of cheers rolled over him when he said he would be prime minister, his spokesman, Joseph Mungwari, said. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Mr. Mungwari said the party was confident that it would soon get legislation adopted to place all the state security services, not just the police, under the supervision of all parties, including a small, breakaway faction of the opposition. Advertisement Continue reading the main story He also predicted that by Feb. 11, when Mr. Tsvangirai is scheduled to be sworn in as prime minister, the authorities would release the dozens of abducted opposition and human rights activists now languishing in filthy, overcrowded, cholera-ridden prisons. But when asked whether Mr. Tsvangirai would refuse to join the government if the imprisoned activists were not freed and the legislation was not passed, he declined to comment. Diplomats and opposition officials who have spoken recently with Mr. Tsvangirai said he felt a sense of urgency about going into the government because of the extreme human suffering in Zimbabwe. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Mr. Khama described Zimbabwe as a country that has “literally become like one big refugee camp, full of people who are living lives of misery.” A cholera epidemic is spreading from cities to rural areas where the most basic health services are lacking. More than 60,000 people have gotten the disease since August, and more than 3,100 have died. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Beyond that, the country’s economic crisis has worsened so suddenly and sharply that the number of people needing food aid in the next two months has risen to 7 million from 5 million of the country’s 12 million people, the United Nations World Food Program reported Thursday. In order to reach more of the needy, the agency is halving monthly rations, which are already insufficient, to 11 pounds of corn per person, hoping the hungry can scavenge enough in wild fruits and other foods to survive until the next harvest. Advertisement Continue reading the main story “People will certainly be more malnourished and vulnerable to disease than if they were getting a full ration,” said a spokesman, Richard Lee. Advertisement Continue reading the main story The United States and Europe have prevented famines in Zimbabwe for years with infusions of food aid, but their willingness to lift sanctions against Mr. Mugabe and senior members of his government and to donate substantial sums for the reconstruction of the country will not come automatically with the formation of a coalition government. British and American diplomats said they would be awaiting evidence that democracy, human rights and the rule of law were again respected in Zimbabwe — and they doubted Mr. Mugabe would agree to such changes, which would almost inevitably threaten his hold on power. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Some analysts, diplomats and civic leaders worry that Mr. Tsvangirai has thrown Mr. Mugabe a political lifeline just as the governing party’s ability to sustain its patronage machine was crumbling and the international outrage against his rule was increasing. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Some doubt the coalition between such unlikely partners can last, especially considering Mr. Mugabe’s insistence that “Zimbabwe is mine,” as he recently declared. “The government will be hobbled by a fight for turf.” Others, like Brian Raftopoulos, research director for Solidarity Peace Trust, a nongovernmental organization, contended that joining the government was the opposition’s best option, in part because its long-term survival as a party depends on its relations with regional powers such as South Africa. HARARE, Zimbabwe (CNN) -- Zimbabwe's main opposition party said Friday it will join a unity government next month if President Robert Mugabe's government meets its demands. "Cognizant of the poverty and suffering of the people of Zimbabwe ... the party has resolved to reinstate its commitment to the inclusive government," Tsvangirai said after the meeting Friday. He said the MDC will write a letter to regional heads of state stating the party's position on the "equitable and fair distribution of ministerial portfolios" and requesting a resolution before February 11. The MDC issued several demands, including that all "abductees" -- opposition supporters, democracy activists and others arrested in recent months -- are released unconditionally before February 11, Tsvangirai said. The regional heads of state, as part of the Southern African Development Community, had set February 11 as the date by which Tsvangirai should be sworn in as prime minister. It has been 10 months since Zimbabwe held a presidential election that saw Tsvangirai challenging Mugabe's 28-year grip on power. Tsvangirai won the most votes in the March 29 ballot but not enough to avoid a runoff, according to the government's official count. Many observers see a coalition government as a panacea to halt the meltdown of Zimbabwe's economy. JOHANNESBURG, Jan. 30 -- Zimbabwe's main opposition party announced Friday that it would enter a unity government with autocratic President Robert Mugabe, bending to pressure to end a nearly five-month impasse that had paralyzed the government as a humanitarian and economic crisis grew more dire by the day.
This is now. To the top of it, at least. So what does Michael Steele's election mean? This is a new moment for our party. "My expectation is that they're going to come to me with a plan, a strategy," he said of the states. We can take that scarlet badge off.” Advertisement Continue reading the main story Mr. Steele was one of two African-Americans among five candidates seeking the chairmanship. The man he defeated in the sixth and final head to head ballot - the South Carolina Party Chairman, Katon Dawson - had himself come under fire for his membership, until recently, of a whites-only country club. All About Republican National Committee • Mike Duncan • Michael S. Steele “We have an image problem,” he said. And we’re going to say to friend and foe alike: ‘We want you to be a part of us. WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Members of the Republican National Committee elected their first African-American party chief Friday, choosing former Maryland Lt. Gov. Michael Steele to chair the organization after six tumultuous rounds of voting. He does so not by setting policy, but by setting the political tone. The party’s decision to step outside Washington also signaled the extent to which Republicans were looking to break with the recently departed president, George W. Bush. "And to those of you who will obstruct, get ready to get knocked over." A quick glance around the hall at last year's party convention in St Paul told its own story. Party members were sent a mocked-up edition of the USA Today newspaper, suggesting that Democrats would be rejoicing if he won.
Michael Steele to chair the organization after six tumultuous rounds of voting. Michael Steele was chosen Friday as the first African-American leader of the Republican Party. The often contentious race for the chairmanship came down to a choice on the final ballot between Steele and Katon Dawson, the South Carolina GOP chairman who secured strong support from party insiders after former RNC leader Mike Duncan dropped out of the race earlier in the day. Steele emerged as the winner on the sixth ballot, winning 91 votes to Dawson's 77. "We're going to say to friend and foe alike, we want you to be a part of us," Steele told party members in his victory speech. Watch Steele's remarks to the RNC » For the duration of his campaign, Steele fought suspicions that he was too moderate to lead the party because of his blue state roots and his former membership in the Republican Leadership Council, a group that sought to curb the influence of social conservatives in the party. "I'm proud to say I'm a conservative, have been, always will be," Steele told CNN this month. "So this notion that I'm a moderate is slightly overblown and, quite frankly, a lie." Steele was similarly hampered by the perception that he was too much of an outsider to run the 168-member committee, but he was able to demonstrate momentum in the final days of the campaign by rolling out a cluster of endorsements. He also boasted the help of some of the country's top political consultants: At a closed-door question-and-answer session with members late Thursday, Steele told the crowd he had spent more than $200,000 on the race, more than any other contender. He has since become a fixture on cable talk shows, experience that boosted his reputation as the most able communicator in the field of candidates. During the Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minnesota, last summer, Steele made a splash by coining the phrase "Drill, baby, drill," which quickly morphed into a rallying cry for the GOP base at campaign rallies around the country. After Friday's final vote, Steele assembled a news conference and said the GOP needs to fix its "image problem" by focusing on "issues that touch the fabric of people's lives." "We have been misdefined as a party that doesn't care, a party that's insensitive, a party that is unconcerned about minorities, a party that is unconcerned about the lives and the expectations and dreams of average Americans," Steele said. Steele promised that the party will be run as a bottom-up organization and that the RNC will be "moved into the grass-roots." But he offered few specifics on his plans to re-structure the party, saying only that he hopes to get fresh ideas from state parties. Steele's victory capped off a tumultuous day that saw six arduous rounds of voting and an acknowledgment of defeat from Duncan, who stepped aside after the third ballot, having bled support throughout the voting process. "Obviously, the winds of change are blowing here at the RNC," Duncan told party members, who gave him a standing ovation. On the fourth ballot of the day, with many members no longer having to consider their loyalty to Duncan, Dawson rocketed into the lead with 62 votes, putting him ahead of Steele's 60. But Dawson's short burst of momentum was blunted minutes later when former Ohio Secretary of State Ken Blackwell quit the race and surprised the audience by throwing his support behind Duncan. By James Coomarasamy BBC News, Washington The new face of the Republican party Change has come to the Republican Party. For the first time in the Republicans' history (and for only the second time in the history of America's two major parties) an African American has been elected party chairman. Michael Steele - who won on the sixth ballot at an election in Washington's Capitol Hilton hotel - will now head the effort to rebuild morale, raise funds and develop a strategy to win back majorities in the House and Senate and to retake the White House. He is an interesting choice - and not simply because he has broken a racial barrier, at a time when the Democrats have, as their public face, a popular, mixed-race president. Throughout his campaign for chairman, Michael Steele has had to battle charges that he was too weak and centrist for a party that's moved to the right in recent years. Even in the hall, on the day of the ballot, you could find fliers with a drawing of a toilet roll, the name Michael Steele - and the message that being soft is sometimes good, but not for the Republican Party. The man he defeated in the sixth and final head to head ballot - the South Carolina Party Chairman, Katon Dawson - had himself come under fire for his membership, until recently, of a whites-only country club. The Republican chairman does not usually have the same profile as members of congress, but - when the party is out of power, as it is now - he can, depending on his personality, become the central figure in the party machine. A quick glance around the hall at last year's party convention in St Paul told its own story. Keeping their party chairman, too - as seemed likely at one point - would have surely sent a message, however justified, that they were lacking in new ideas. Changing the party's image - and its electoral fortunes - will now, in large part, be his responsibility.
"That that's not the right thing to do and it's not defensible," he replied. He said Brown had been "very clear" what he meant when he promised British jobs for British workers. Yesterday, the business secretary, Lord Mandelson, promised the government would "make sure that both domestic UK law and European rules are being applied properly and fairly. "It was so unbelievably ridiculous and silly for the prime minister to say that in the first place," Mr Hague told the BBC. Officials from government departments, unions, employers and the mediation service Acas have been in discussions after a series of wildcat strikes across the country on Friday. "These various judgments have distorted the original intention and we need to bring in fresh directives to make it absolutely clear that people cannot be undercut in this way." No one is saying that different countries cannot bid for different contracts. Scottish Power's Longannet power station, Fife 3. Gordon Brown condemned wildcat strikes as indefensible amid frantic efforts to prevent the row over the use of foreign labour escalating into mass industrial action. Bookmark with: Delicious Digg reddit Facebook StumbleUpon What are these? ENERGY WORKERS' PROTESTS 1. Health Secretary Alan Johnson - a former trade union leader - insisted that wildcat strikes were "unhelpful". The protests were prompted by a decision to bring in hundreds of Italian and Portuguese contractors to work on a new £200m plant at the Lindsey oil refinery, in North Lincolnshire. Unions claim Britons were not given any opportunity to apply for the posts. "If workers are being brought across here on worse terms and conditions to actually get jobs in front of British workers on the basis of dumbing down the terms and conditions, that would be wrong and I understand the anger about that," Johnson told the BBC's Andrew Marr Show.
Wildcat strikes are "not defensible", Gordon Brown has told those angry at the employment of foreign workers. Hundreds of employees staged walkouts across the UK over the use of foreign staff at a Lincolnshire refinery. The PM told the BBC's Politics Show he understood workers' fears, but walkouts were "not the right thing to do". The Tories said they did not back the strikes either but said Mr Brown's 2007 "British jobs for British workers" pledge had been exposed as "fiction". Unofficial "sympathy strikes" spread across the country after workers walked out at the Lindsey Oil Refinery when owner Total gave a £200m contract to Italian firm IREM. You'll find that no government in history is doing more to try and find ways that we can help people who are unemployed back in to work as quickly as possible Gordon Brown PM says 'no clear map' for crisis Mandelson warns on protectionism The government has called in independent mediator Acas to look into claims that British workers are being illegally excluded from engineering and construction projects, while unions have urged Mr Brown to meet heads of industry in the sectors as soon as possible. 'Undercut' Speaking from the World Economic Forum in Switzerland, Mr Brown said instead of spontaneous strike action, "what we've got to do over time, as I've always said, is that where there are jobs in this country, we need people with the skills, developed in this country". Tackled about his 2007 Labour conference pledge to create "British jobs for British workers" - a slogan used by the striking refinery workers - Mr Brown said: "Well, we are part of a single European market but I have always understood the worries that people have. WATCH THE FULL INTERVIEW On BBC One: The Politics Show, 1200, Sunday 1 February Or watch it for up to seven days on the BBC iPlayer "They look round and say, well, why can't we do these jobs, jobs ourselves, these are jobs that we can do. "When, when I talked about British jobs, I was taking about giving people in Britain the skills, so that they have the ability to get jobs which were at present going to people from abroad." Mr Brown added: "You'll find that no government in history is doing more to try and find ways that we can help people who are unemployed back in to work as quickly as possible." Health Secretary Alan Johnson said EU laws guaranteeing employment rights had been "undermined" by two recent judgements in the European Court of Justice and the government would push for action at a European level if it was proved British workers were being "undercut" by cheap labour from other parts of the EU. Carrie100, London "If workers are being brought across here on worse terms and conditions to actually get jobs in front of British workers, on the basis of dumbing down the terms and conditions, that would be wrong and I can understand the anger about that," he told BBC One's Andrew Marr show. "These various judgments have distorted the original intention and we need to bring in fresh directives to make it absolutely clear that people cannot be undercut in this way." But he also defended comments by Business Secretary Lord Mandelson, who warned against protectionism and said British workers were free to take jobs in Europe, saying it was "great" if other countries wanted to employ "skilled British craftsmen and women". 'Ridiculous' Shadow foreign secretary William Hague, for the Conservatives, said the strikers were asking "legitimate questions...and we have to recognise people are very worried about unemployment now" but he added: "Strikes are never the way forward." He said no "mainstream" party would promise "British jobs for British workers" as there was free movement of labour in the EU, which the Tories "strongly supported". "It was so unbelievably ridiculous and silly for the prime minister to say that in the first place," Mr Hague told the BBC. Scottish & Southern's Fiddler's Ferry power station, Cheshire 12. AES Kilroot power station, County Antrim 13. But he said people worried about their jobs could "certainly look to the Conservative Party to do more to promote employment and combat unemployment than is being done in this country at the moment". "It's certainly unofficial, it can't be sanctioned by the union, it hasn't been organised by the union, but whether you call it indefensible or not I think a lot of people will find it understandable in the circumstances." Labour MP Frank Field, co-chairman of a cross-party group on immigration, said: "This form of contract clearly cannot go on - where contracts are awarded and there's free movement of companies but those companies then restrict who can apply for those jobs. Nigel Farage, leader of the UK Independence Party, which campaigns for the UK's exit from the EU, said it was "misleading" to suggest Acas could resolve the issue: "It doesn't matter how many meetings are held, how much or how loud anyone shouts, there's nothing anyone in this country can do." The Prime Minister said he recognised people were "worried" about jobs being taken by workers from other countries, but stressed that the UK was part of a "single European market". He also sought to explain his pledge of "British jobs for British workers", insisting he had only meant people would be given the skills to compete against other nationalities. He went on: "When I talked about British jobs, I was taking about giving people in Britain the skills, so that they have the ability to get jobs which were at present going to people from abroad and actually encouraging people to take up the courses and the education and learning that is necessary for British workers to be far more skilled for the future."
"It can kill, and it has, unfortunately," he said. More than 400,000 customers were without power. All About Winter Weather • Kentucky (AP) Advertisement Continue reading the main story State officials distributed generators before and soon after the storm, but the Federal Emergency Management Agency was shipping in an additional 50 to disperse to places most in need. Watch how people are helping one another » Louisville Mayor Jerry Abramson said four people had died in his city. ... Randolph's home -- which escaped serious damage -- is among those without power. Beshear planned to visit areas in the western part of the state, the hardest hit region, where National Guard troops were also focusing their efforts. (AP) OHIO Man sentenced for punishing children XENIA - An Ohio man has been sentenced to 16 years in prison for disciplining his children with a dog shock collar. We didn't know what to do. Melting ice and snowcan make it more difficult for utility trucks to reach certain areas. Postal Service! “We wear jackets in the house,” said Sandra Rodriguez as she sought food at a Red Cross shelter in Louisville. (AP) West Virginia Pilot in fatal crash reported fuel low © Copyright 2009 Globe Newspaper Company. Please try again later. David Liskany of Jamestown had pleaded guilty to charges of felonious assault and attempted felonious assault. View all New York Times newsletters. My wife and I, once we heard the first branches falling, we didn't go back to sleep the whole night. One resident across the street from a post office put small American flags on top of a huge mound of snow that had been plowed into a parking space and left a note: “Thanks, U.S.
LOUISVILLE, Kentucky (CNN) -- National Guard troops were going door to door Sunday in Kentucky, checking on families in the worst-hit areas of what Gov. Steve Beshear called "the biggest natural disaster that this state has ever experienced in modern history." John Randolph moves fallen branches at his home in the Louisville, Kentucky, area Sunday. more photos » The devastating ice storm has been blamed for at least seven deaths in Kentucky, Beshear said. In total, 21 deaths have been reported in the state since the storm hit on Tuesday, but authorities could not immediately confirm whether all were directly storm-related. The "unprecedented" call-up of the National Guard includes 4,600 troops in various roles. Of 120 counties in the state, 92 had declared emergencies, the governor's office said. More than 400,000 customers were without power. See images of the ice storm's aftermath » Temperatures were higher Sunday -- in the 40s -- which meant some relief, but also new problems. And the National Weather Service warned of another potential problem: winds that could knock down loose trees. "Although not particularly strong, winds between 10 and 15 mph can be expected later this morning and through the early evening over areas affected by the recent ice storm last week," the NWS said. "Just the power and the ... crunch and the crash and ... just the overall power of the branches falling was actually pretty frightening" when the ice storm was setting in, he said. iReport.com: Share photos of icy, snowy weather in your town He added, "The baby slept through the night and didn't wake up once. Randolph's home -- which escaped serious damage -- is among those without power. Beshear planned to visit areas in the western part of the state, the hardest hit region, where National Guard troops were also focusing their efforts. "The troops have been instructed to attach green tape to the homes in which residents have sufficient food, power, water or communications. Red tape will be used to indicate homes where shortfalls exist," according to a Kentucky Air National Guard news release. "Houses marked with red tape will be reported to local emergency operations centers and will be placed on a list to be resurveyed for on-going support based on county capabilities." Arthur Byrn, mayor of Mayfield -- one of the cities hit hard by the storm -- told CNN Radio that authorities were conducting a "door-to-door welfare check of the entire Graves County area, which is 38,000 people." He said it could take "as much as two months" for the county to have 100 percent of its power back. "It's quite disconcerting to go out at 7 o'clock at night and not see a light anywhere other than [a headlight] coming down the street," Byrn said. He added, "Devastation is sometimes an overused word, but I would say that's what we had." Jamie Gunnels, who was staying in a Louisville shelter with her 18-month-old son, said it was "entirely too cold" to stay in her house without power. Two elderly people and their special-needs adult child died because of an "improperly vented" generator, and another person died after using a charcoal grill as a heater for the house. Kentucky MAYFIELD - Governor Steve Beshear called up his entire Army National Guard yesterday, tripling his troops with his state still reeling from a deadly ice storm that knocked out power from the Midwest to the East Coast. (AP) MICHIGAN US seeks long term for radical arsonist DETROIT - Federal prosecutors are seeking a 20-year prison sentence for an Ohio woman who set fire to a Michigan State University building in 1999, one of 13 acts of radical environmental resistance that she has admitted to committing. (AP) OHIO Man sentenced for punishing children XENIA - An Ohio man has been sentenced to 16 years in prison for disciplining his children with a dog shock collar. David Liskany of Jamestown had pleaded guilty to charges of felonious assault and attempted felonious assault. Greene County Common Pleas Judge J. Timothy Campbell said Liskany punished the children in 2006 and 2007 by putting them in cold showers, holding them underwater, and using the shock collar, commonly used to train dogs. KENOVA - Federal officials said yesterday that a small plane struggled to stay on course in snowy weather and its pilot reported being low on fuel before it crashed in West Virginia, killing all six on board. The twin-engine Piper PA-34's pilot issued a mayday call on the radio Friday afternoon reporting it was low on fuel shortly before witnesses said it struck a power line and crashed in a wooded area near the Ohio and Kentucky state lines. Although the storm left more than 1.2 million people without power as it stretched from Oklahoma to Pennsylvania last Saturday, Kentucky was hit hard Tuesday night and into Wednesday, causing the largest power failure in state history. “But this scared me more, just sitting in the dark and cold.” State officials said they were most worried about restoring electricity to water treatment plants and pump stations, where power failures had cut off access to water. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Federal emergency officials were also unloading truckloads of ready-to-eat meals and bottled water to a staging area in Fort Campbell, said Mary Hudak, an agency spokeswoman for the Southeast region.
There is no service on the Gatwick Express. In London, the entire bus network was suspended, with severe delays on many underground lines. A spokesman said there had been too many minor accidents on the roads overnight "to put a number on". But the snow extended across much of the country with four inches of snow common. Train services in the South East were also badly affected with many cancellations and reduced services. The Highways Agency advised people not to travel unless their journey was essential. Heathrow Airport has had to shut one of its two runways and says it will take about two hours to reopen. Thousands of passengers were stranded after 23 flights at Gatwick were cancelled and 18 diverted because of the weather. Transport websites and mobile networks all reported increased traffic Some of Britain's technology was pushed to its limits this morning, as heavy snow put the brakes on the Monday morning commute. On the roads, motorists were being warned of dangerous driving conditions. A spokesperson for TfL said its site was now working properly. Bookmark with: Delicious Digg reddit Facebook StumbleUpon What are these? The Met Office has issued an extreme weather warning for England, Wales and parts of eastern Scotland. Please turn on JavaScript. E-mail this to a friend Printable version Enquiries on the AA and RAC website were also well above average. The London-bound M20 in Kent was temporarily closed between junction nine at the Ashford turn-off and junction eight at the Leeds Castle turn-off. Some mobile users were also reporting that text messages were taking an abnormally long time to arrive. On the roads thousands of gritters were out in force but there was gridlock on major routes including the M25.
Advertisement Heavy snow has fallen across large parts of England disrupting travel and closing schools as forecasters warned of the most severe snow for six years. South-east England was hardest hit, with London buses pulled from service and airport runways closing. The snow also resulted in jack-knifed lorries blocking the M1 and the M25. The Met Office has issued an extreme weather warning for England, Wales and parts of eastern Scotland. MeteoGroup, the Press Association's weather division, said up to 10cm of snow had already fallen in some parts of Greater London, with 13cm reported near Stansted and 6cm at Heathrow Airport. A spokeswoman said: "The South West has escaped the worst of the snow, but we could see another 10cm in Greater London over the next 24 hours, and even more than that in Yorkshire and the Pennines." 'Dangerous driving' Air travel has been badly affected. London City airport is closed, and a runway at Southampton airport has also shut. Heathrow Airport has had to shut one of its two runways and says it will take about two hours to reopen. BAA has warned passengers travelling to and from Heathrow and Stansted airports to expect "significant delays and cancellations". Some 23 flights had to be cancelled and 18 diverted to other airports after Gatwick closed its runway for two hours on Sunday evening. IMPACT OF THE SNOWFALL London buses withdrawn Gatwick Airport temporarily closed Passengers stranded at Gatwick Train services cancelled Jack-knifed lorries obstruct M1 and M25 Passengers due to fly out during the day are being urged to double-check their flights are not affected before they begin their journeys. On the roads, motorists were being warned of dangerous driving conditions. The M25 is closed clockwise between Reigate and Leatherhead, junctions 8 and 9 and there are reports of several vehicles becoming stuck in the snow. The London-bound M20 in Kent was temporarily closed between junction nine at the Ashford turn-off and junction eight at the Leeds Castle turn-off. And there was more bad news for people trying to use public transport. All London buses have been withdrawn from service due "to adverse weather and dangerous driving conditions" A BBC reporter said he saw many people left confused and distressed after waiting for long periods for buses, only to see them drive past without being in service. The Highways Agency said people should only take essential journeys There are also problems on the London Underground and rail network. South West trains is running a reduced service on most routes and passengers are advised not to travel unless their journey is essential. 'Flirting with hypothermia' The Highways Agency said there have been too many minor accidents on the roads "to put a number on". The agency recommended people should only make essential journeys. One motorist, driving in the Midlands, told the BBC conditions were much clearer there, but highway officers told him they had responded to 1,735 incidents over a 24-hour period in the East Midlands alone. The Highways Agency said the organisation was well prepared to deal with snowfall over roads after criticism over its reaction to severe weather in 2003. It added that the number of traffic officer patrols had been increased, there were extra staff to control rooms across the country and gritters had been working through the night. The AA has warned motorists to ensure they keep warm clothes in their vehicles if they were planning to go out, or else risk "flirting with hypothermia". Major airports were closed, motorways slowed to a standstill and some of the busiest train services in Britain were cancelled after Arctic blizzards brought the most widespread snow for 18 years. Conditions are expected to get worse with a band of snow expected to move up from Europe during the day bringing further chaos. The capital faced near shutdown as the entire fleet of London buses was suspended and parts of the Underground were knocked out by the dangerous conditions. Despite a fleet of snow ploughs working to clear tracks, rail services in and out of the South East of England were cancelled or severely disrupted. Met Office forecaster Chris Almond said that more heavy snow would move up from the South East later in the day. The agency said around 500 gritters were working through the night to clear roads in time for the morning rush hour. "We have 600 patrols out on the motorways to help drivers caught in the snow, plus another 500 gritters working through the night. The AA has warned motorists to ensure they keep warm clothes in the car after dealing with unprepared drivers "flirting with hypothermia" at breakdowns during the last big freeze. First Great Western Services from Wales and the South West to London are stopping at Reading, Berks; services to Gatwick at stopping at Redhill, Surrey, and services on Britain's busiest rail operator South West trains were down to one every two hours. Transport websites and mobile networks all reported increased traffic Some of Britain's technology was pushed to its limits this morning, as heavy snow put the brakes on the Monday morning commute.
That commitment, which was repeated in 2008, has not been honoured." It's not just about foreign workers. "I recognise people are concerned about their jobs," he said. The GMB has circulated Labour MPs complaining that two power stations and an oil refinery have foreign contractors working on site who are refusing to employ British workers. A Sellafield spokesman said the action would not affect safety. Energy plants around the UK are bracing themselves for another outbreak of wildcat strikes this morning in protest at the employment of foreign workers on construction sites. The engineering section of Unite has traditionally been closer to Gordon Brown than almost any other union. Labour MPs backed Mr Johnson in calling for a change in EU law. One minute, there is a meeting. "The fight started here at Lindsey: the fight against discrimination, the fight against victimisation and the fight to put bread on your table for your children. Around 150 contract workers at Aberthaw power station, in south Wales, also walked out. Mr Kenny compared him with Norman Tebbit, the right-wing Tory who was Employment Secretary in the 1980s who suggested that the unemployed should get on their bikes and look for work. We don't condone illegal action but the concerns they have expressed are justified." The strikes began last week as a local protest against the use of Italian and Portuguese labour at the Lindsey oil refinery in Lincolnshire and spread rapidly across the north of England to Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. We need jobs to be advertised with transparency so that everybody gets a fair crack of the whip at getting them."
The wave of wildcat strike action that has swept across the UK escalated today as hundreds more workers walked out in the protest against foreign labour. Contract workers from the Sellafield nuclear site in Cumbria, the Heysham nuclear power station in Lancashire and a site at Staythorpe, in Nottinghamshire, joined the unofficial action over the hiring of Italian and Portuguese workers on a Lincolnshire power station project. Workers from the Longannet power station in Scotland joined those at the Grangemouth oil refinery, who voted to continue their strike, while 200 employees at Fiddlers Ferry power station in Widnes, Cheshire, also walked out this morning. In west Wales, up to 500 contractors at the South Hook LNG gas terminal in Milford Haven downed tools for a second day. Around 150 contract workers at Aberthaw power station, in south Wales, also walked out. Outside the Lindsey oil refinery in Killingholme, Lincolnshire, where the protests began, more than 1,000 demonstrators gathered for a mass meeting, voting unanimously to allow union officials to start talks with management. "Over the last week, your heroic actions here have inspired thousands in our county, hundreds of thousands in our country, and millions across the globe," Kenny Ward, from the Unite union, told the crowd. "The fight started here at Lindsey: the fight against discrimination, the fight against victimisation and the fight to put bread on your table for your children. If the prime minister will not defend the working man, if parliament will not defend the working man, then the union will defend the working man." He said "people in Europe" needed to take note, and judges who interpreted the law "to the advantage of the employer" needed to have "a rethink". Gordon Brown said the unofficial strikes sweeping the country were "counter-productive". Speaking at a joint press conference after talks with the Chinese prime minister, Wen Jiabao, Brown said his priority was to promote the jobs of British workers in the face of the current recession. The prime minister insisted the government was doing everything it could to ensure fair treatment for UK workers. The business secretary, Lord Mandelson, denied that UK firms and workers faced discrimination, and called for the unofficial strikes to stop. He said he understood the concerns of British workers but stressed that Total, which runs the Lindsey plant, had rebutted claims that UK workers had been excluded from contracts. In a statement to the House of Lords this afternoon, Mandelson said it was important to "respect and guarantee" the principle of free movement, which was an "intrinsic part" of membership of the European Union. "On the Lindsey site, the great majority of the workers are actually British, so clearly no policy of discrimination or exclusion of British nationals is being operated at the refinery," he said. Paul Kenny, general secretary of the GMB union, said Mandelson was "in denial about the nature of the problem" and the Labour party had been aware of the issue for five years. "The Labour party recognised this in 2004 and made a manifesto commitment to apply Article 3(8) properly into UK law. That commitment, which was repeated in 2008, has not been honoured." About 600 mechanical contractors met at the Sellafield site's Yottenfews car park at 7.30am to agree a 24-hour walkout in support of the Lindsey action. We need jobs to be advertised with transparency so that everybody gets a fair crack of the whip at getting them." Total said talks would be held today with the conciliation service Acas, senior union representatives and Jacobs, the main contractor at Lindsey. We have been a major local employer for 40 years and the majority of our 500 permanent staff are local," the company said. A small group of protesters gathered about 100 yards from the Forest Pines hotel, near Scunthorpe, where the talks were understood to be taking place. A Sellafield Ltd spokesman said there were very few foreign workers employed at the site, and 90% of contractors were from west Cumbria. Mandelson told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that claims that British workers had been excluded from the disputed contract, or that foreign workers were being paid less than the going rate, were unfounded. "The idea that people think the reaction to these concerns is to start threatening to close down power generation at the time of a cold snap is obviously something we all disapprove of." A spokesman for the Energy Department said: "We're not aware of any current or potential impact of the unofficial strikes on gas, electricity or fuel supplies." Workers are angry at the use of foreign labour About 1,300 contract workers at the Sellafield nuclear site in Cumbria have walked out in a protest at the employment of foreign workers. The action followed a meeting of mechanical contractors in one of the plant's car parks early on Monday. One of the strikers, GMB convener Willie Doggert, said: "All we want is a level playing field, it's not just about foreign workers, we need jobs to be advertised with transparency so that everybody gets a far crack of the whip at getting them.
The premier, on a three-day UK visit, described the incident as "despicable". The shoe landed several meters from Wen Jiabao. As Mr Wen arrived at the university, he was met by both pro-China supporters and people demonstrating against China's human rights record and Chinese rule in Tibet. Police said the man would appear before magistrates in Cambridge on 10 February accused of committing a public order offence. The protest was similar to an event in December when US President George W Bush was forced to duck to avoid shoes thrown at him by an Iraqi journalist in Baghdad. The statement did not describe what the protester did. The shoe was thrown at Mr Wen and he was called a "dictator" as he gave a speech on the global economy on Monday. (Reporting by Chris Buckley and Yu Le; Editing by Nick Macfie and Sanjeev Miglani) "The second one was a pig-head." A student who witnessed the incident told CNN that the man had stood up and shouted, "Why are you prostituting yourself? The British side said that they are very sorry that the incident should have happened and the person will be dealt with according to law. Facts have shown that the despicable behavior of the perpetrator is extremely unpopular and can in no way stem the tide of the growing friendly relations and cooperation between China and Britain." On Sunday, several hundred Tibetan activists had demonstrated outside the Chinese Embassy Sunday to protest his visit to London. The official Xinhua news agency quoted Wen as saying that his trip to Europe was "fully successful." Mr Wen was giving his speech having earlier signed a series of trade agreements with UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown.
The Chinese prime minister was giving a speech about the global economy A 27-year-old man has been charged after a shoe was thrown at Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao during a visit to Cambridge University. Police said the man would appear before magistrates in Cambridge on 10 February accused of committing a public order offence. The shoe was thrown at Mr Wen and he was called a "dictator" as he gave a speech on the global economy on Monday. The premier, on a three-day UK visit, described the incident as "despicable". Mr Wen was giving his speech having earlier signed a series of trade agreements with UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown. Witnesses said the shoe landed about a metre away from Mr Wen. The protest was similar to an event in December when US President George W Bush was forced to duck to avoid shoes thrown at him by an Iraqi journalist in Baghdad. As Mr Wen arrived at the university, he was met by both pro-China supporters and people demonstrating against China's human rights record and Chinese rule in Tibet. On Sunday, five people were arrested during a Free Tibet demonstration in London after trying to approach Mr Wen as he arrived at the Chinese Embassy. LONDON, England (CNN) -- A human rights protester was in police custody Monday after throwing a shoe at Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao during a speech at Cambridge University. The shoe landed several meters from the premier and the man was quickly apprehended by security and handed over to police for questioning on suspicion of committing a public order offence, according to witnesses. A student who witnessed the incident told CNN that the man had stood up and shouted, "Why are you prostituting yourself? Cameras filming the speech remained fixed on Wen during the incident, but video images later showed an unidentified student being escorted out of the building by a university proctor. The student was then handed over to police, a university spokesman, who would not disclose his name due to 'university regulations,' told CNN. The auditorium was full, with nearly 500 people present, of whom just one misbehaved," a the spokesman said. The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said of the incident: "The Chinese side has expressed its strong feelings against the occurrence of the incident. The British side said that they are very sorry that the incident should have happened and the person will be dealt with according to law. Facts have shown that the despicable behavior of the perpetrator is extremely unpopular and can in no way stem the tide of the growing friendly relations and cooperation between China and Britain." The incident occurred while Wen, on a three day visit to the UK to strengthen economic ties, was speaking about China's role amid the global economic recession. China has long been criticized by the international community for its human rights record in Tibet, where many Tibetans are pushing for greater autonomy and religious freedom. BEIJING China denounced a protester at Cambridge University who threw a shoe at visiting Premier Wen Jiabao, but nevertheless hailed Wen's visit as a success and avoided widespread reporting of the incident. The protester threw the shoe and called Wen a dictator while the Chinese leader spoke at the British university on Monday, near the end of a week-long visit to Europe. "The Chinese side has expressed its strong displeasure over this incident," Jiang said in a statement on the Foreign Ministry's website (www.fmprc.gov.cn) on Tuesday. "The facts demonstrate that the despicable conduct of this troublemaker will win no sympathy, and will not hold back the tide of friendly cooperation between China and Britain." Beijing has promoted Wen's visit to Europe as a friendly "tour of confidence," building cooperation after tensions between the two sides over Tibet. The People's Daily noted that Wen's speech at Cambridge won "sustained applause" and did not mention the shoe. The Xinhua website also showed a picture of young people at Cambridge holding up a Chinese sign, "I love Bao-Bao" -- a nickname for Wen. "The protest proved that China's power had been recognized by the British," said one comment on Sina.com, a popular Chinese-language website.
All are Democrats. Senator John Kerry, Democrat of Massachusetts, who sits on the Finance Committee, said he believed Mr. Daschle should not have withdrawn his name. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Senate Republicans signaled their intention to step up scrutiny of all appointees. President Barack Obama is interviewed by CNN's Anderson Cooper on Tuesday. It was the rockiest day yet for the new White House. "We have to act. The District of Columbia filed a $946.69 tax lien on her home in 2005 for failure to pay the tax. Read excerpts from the interview "I take responsibility for it and we're going to make sure we fix it so it doesn't happen again," he said. He also stepped down from his position as White House health czar, a job with a West Wing office. In the case of Ms. Killefer, administration officials said she had failed to pay more than a year’s worth of unemployment taxes on household help. "And I don't want to send a message to the American people that there are two sets of standards -- one for powerful people and one for ordinary folks who are working every day and paying their taxes." Kathleen Sebelius of Kansas, a former state insurance commissioner; former Gov. “They both decided and recognized that their nominations would distract from the important goals and the critical agenda that the president put forward,” Robert Gibbs, the White House press secretary, said Tuesday. Please re-enter. He delivered almost precisely the same mea culpa to each of the anchors as they cycled through the Oval Office.
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- President Barack Obama on Tuesday admitted he made a mistake in handling the nomination of Tom Daschle as his Health and Human Services secretary, saying Daschle's tax problems sent a message that the politically powerful are treated differently than average people. President Barack Obama is interviewed by CNN's Anderson Cooper on Tuesday. Daschle, the former Democratic leader in the U.S. Senate, withdrew earlier Tuesday as news that he failed to pay some taxes in the past continued to stir opposition on Capitol Hill. "I think I screwed up," Obama said in an interview with CNN's Anderson Cooper. "And, I take responsibility for it and we're going to make sure we fix it so it doesn't happen again." Daschle had apologized Monday for what he said were honest mistakes, calling them an embarrassment. The series of errors included improperly reporting $15,000 in charitable donations, failing to list $80,000 in lobbying income due to what Daschle said was a paperwork error and not reporting a car and driver loaned to him by a friend and business associate as income. Watch the president say he made a mistake » Daschle recently filed amended tax returns, and paid more than $140,000 in back taxes and interest for 2005-2007. Tonight, 10 ET on CNN see full schedule » Those tax issues, as well as questions over whether work he did after his stint in the senate amounted to lobbying, gave critics ammunition to question Obama's call for a culture change in Washington. "And I don't want to send a message to the American people that there are two sets of standards -- one for powerful people and one for ordinary folks who are working every day and paying their taxes." Read the full transcript Obama defended Daschle's original appointment, saying "nobody was better equipped to deal both with the substance and policy of health care." Watch more of the Obama interview: "I'll be judged on the economy" » "He understands it as well as anybody, but also the politics, which is going to be required to actually get it done," Obama said. Watch more discussion on economy » Earlier, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs insisted Daschle had decided to withdraw on his own, not as a result of any prodding from the administration. In a written statement, Daschle acknowledged the political problem he had created for the administration. Read excerpts from the interview "I take responsibility for it and we're going to make sure we fix it so it doesn't happen again," he said. Two hours before Mr. Daschle withdrew, Mr. Obama’s nominee to be the chief White House performance officer, Nancy Killefer, pulled her name from consideration because of unpaid payroll taxes for a household employee. Advertisement Continue reading the main story The developments distracted attention from Mr. Obama’s effort to push his economic stimulus plan through the Senate and complicated the initiative that Mr. Daschle was to have led, his plan for overhauling the health care system. The nominees’ tax problems also gave Republicans a new argument against Mr. Obama and his party as the economic debate proceeds: that Democrats are cavalier about taxing other people because they do not abide by the tax laws themselves. “And so I’m frustrated with myself, with our team,” he told NBC, “but ultimately my job is to get this thing back on track because what we need to focus on is a deteriorating economy and getting people back to work.” Photo He added, “I’m here on television saying I screwed up and that’s part of the era of responsibility.” Advertisement Continue reading the main story Mr. Daschle delivered the news in a call on Tuesday morning to Mr. Obama, who was in his study, just off the Oval Office. He also stepped down from his position as White House health czar, a job with a West Wing office. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Mr. Daschle said Monday that his failure to pay $128,000 in taxes for the use of a friend’s chauffeur and car service was “completely inadvertent.” Declining an interview request on Tuesday afternoon, Mr. Daschle said in a brief statement distributed by the White House that he would not have been able to lead an overhaul of the nation’s health care system “with the full faith of the Congress and the American people.” “I am not that leader,” Mr. Daschle said, “and will not be a distraction.” The withdrawals by the two advisers represent the highest-level political casualties of the young administration and raised fresh questions about the vetting procedures for officials already selected and scores of positions that remain open. Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner was confirmed last week after apologizing and weathering weeks of criticism for late payment of $34,000 in income taxes. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Both Mr. Daschle and Ms. Killefer pulled out on their own accord, officials said, after their tax returns were scrutinized by the Senate Finance Committee. On the campaign trail, Mr. Obama often expressed frustration to aides about the practice of cutting loose advisers at the first sign of political trouble. “They both decided and recognized that their nominations would distract from the important goals and the critical agenda that the president put forward,” Robert Gibbs, the White House press secretary, said Tuesday. Photo Asked repeatedly whether the White House had quietly urged Mr. Daschle to step aside to quell the controversy, Mr. Gibbs said, “He did not get a signal.” Advertisement Continue reading the main story Among the people mentioned as possible candidates for the job of health secretary are Gov. 2 Democrat in the Senate, said Mr. Daschle, the former Senate majority leader, had done “the honorable thing to spare his family, the president and his colleagues in the Senate from a tough political battle that would lie ahead.” Advertisement Continue reading the main story Mr. Durbin added, “I think he would have prevailed in the end, but it would have taken a while, and there would have been some suffering.” Advertisement Continue reading the main story The day had been scripted by advisers to turn the page on the tax controversy and refocus on the economy. In a rare move, television anchors for five broadcast and cable networks had been invited to interview Mr. Obama about the urgency of passing the economic recovery plan, a decision that magnified the troubles at the White House by giving them increased prominence on the evening news. Advertisement Continue reading the main story “I believe that when the smoke clears and the frenzy has ended, no one will believe that this unwitting mistake should have erased 30 years of selfless public service and remarkable legislative skill and expertise on health care,” Mr. Kerry said. In the case of Ms. Killefer, administration officials said she had failed to pay more than a year’s worth of unemployment taxes on household help. The District of Columbia filed a $946.69 tax lien on her home in 2005 for failure to pay the tax.
These numbers, too, are unverifiable. "But there's been no study on terrorists. We do our best." Not for the Saudi Ministry of the Interior. (CBC) Is al-Shihri proof that rehab doesn't work? It says it is setting up a Saudi-like program now. The other former detainee said their detention by U.S. forces only hardened them. A U.S. counterterrorism official in Washington confirmed the men had been Guantanamo detainees. The government in Yemen is trying to find a way to deal with them. (See pictures of the Care Rehabilitation Center.) Other reports say that many ex-Guantanamo inmates have returned to the battlefield. A model graduate Like al-Shihri, Juma al-Dossary also spent six years in Guantanamo Bay and is one participant I did meet during my visit. Dr. Alyami encouraged them to "Get that negative energy out on the paper!" The Pentagon says it will not change its policy on repatriating Gitmo detainees to Saudi Arabia. The two men who went through the Saudi rehabilitation program and resurfaced in Yemen were seen in video clips posted on the Internet last week. But what is missing at this point is the risk assessment. Boucek has just returned from Yemen where he asked the authorities to show him its plans. "But it is not just our own decision to let them go or to stay. The therapist is philosophical about al-Shihri's reported new leadership role in al-Qaeda. To date, he says, only 10 per cent of graduates have been sent back to prison. The Americans are even using a version of the Saudi approach with certain insurgents held inside Iraq.
Al-Qaeda's Yemen branch reportedly has a new deputy chief, a Saudi named Saeed al-Shihri. When I was in Saudi Arabia in 2007 to report on the Kingdom's much publicized rehabilitation program, which aims to turn jihadi fighters into peaceful citizens, al-Shihri was one of the enrollees. Saeed al-Shihiri, from an undated video posted on a militant-leaning website on Jan. 23, 2009. (SITE Intelligence Group/Associated Press) After spending six years in U.S. custody at the Guantanamo Bay detention camp, he was sent to his homeland and entered the Saudi rehab in November 2007. According to an internet news release by Yemen militants, corroborated by the New York Times quoting an unnamed U.S. intelligence official, al-Shihri has become a top member of Yemen's al-Qaeda affiliate. Several media outlets have claimed that al-Shihri was involved in an attack on the U.S. embassy in Yemen in September 2008, though that is difficult to prove. Other reports say that many ex-Guantanamo inmates have returned to the battlefield. But they serve to underscore the dilemma facing U.S. President Barack Obama as he seeks to shut down the controversial detention centre. It is clearly going to be a problem as well for the Muslim and Western nations, including Canada, who are being asked to consider taking back their own detained citizens and somehow deal with them. 'Soft approach' Former Saudi militants and Guantanamo detainees in a rehab classroom at the Saudi "soft-approach" centre near Riyadh. (CBC) The Saudis themselves refer to their program to rehabilitate former jihadists as the "soft approach" and boast 225 graduates since its inception in the summer of 2007. Those in charge employ art therapy as well as religious and psychological counselling to try to alter the radical outlook of the participants. To qualify, ex-jihadists need to show a willingness to change and must not have Saudi blood on their hands. Listening to art therapist Awad Alyami's description of al-Shihri's behaviour in rehab, it is difficult to understand how he ever made the grade. "He (al-Shihri) was not really interested in doing anything with any of us," the U.S.-trained Dr. Alyami recalled during a telephone interview from Riyadh. "He even accused me of being psychologically ill to come and treat him. He's got big problems, big psychological problems." Now, from his new home in Yemen, al-Shihri is using the internet, "threatening everybody. He's threatening the centre and I know my turn is coming" Dr. Alyami says. "Many students have learned how to see things in a positive way and created balance in their lives through art." The problem with rehab Art therapist Dr. Awad Alyami shows British Prime Minister Gordon Brown how the rehab program works. (CBC) Is al-Shihri proof that rehab doesn't work? It considers rehab so successful that it plans to build three permanent centres in Riyadh, Jeddah and Dammam to meet the growing need to counter Islamic extremism. The current site, on the outskirts of Riyadh, is located in a former family holiday resort. "We never said that our program can guarantee that the graduate will be rehabilitated 100 per cent," says Abdulrahman al-Hadlaq, adviser to the minister of the interior. To date, he says, only 10 per cent of graduates have been sent back to prison. In the case of al-Shihri, al-Hadlaq says, "even his wife said she did not notice anything." During my visits to the Saudi centre, I met a failed suicide bomber, a militant who went to Baghdad to join the insurgency to, in his words, "kill Americans" and others who merely thought about becoming jihadists. Still, "there's a growing recognition that this is not a problem you can jail your way out of or shoot your way out of," says Christopher Boucek, a Middle East specialist with the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington who has been studying the Saudi approach for the past few years. "There's value in rehabilitation," Boucek says. "There's a whole process about letting pedophiles and murderers and rapists out of jail but how do you decide to let a former terrorist out? "We've come to a point where rehabilitation is good but where are the tools to make this decision? That's the gaping hole." "I said I wanted to see it, where it's going to be and how it's going to work and they couldn't do it. Although al-Shihri was in rehab during my visit, I did not meet the man Dr. Alyami describes as "not the ideal student."
. I was young, I was stupid, I was naive. Rodriguez is in the prime of his career and considered by some to be the best player in baseball today. "I'm not saying anything." He said he took the banned substances from 2001 to 2003 and has not taken any since. Bonds and Clemens allegedly lied about their use, though other players caught using steroids have taken the opposite tack. His failed test came in 2003, the first year baseball tested for drugs. While it was a common sentiment during Bonds's tainted chase of Hank Aaron's record in 2007 that Rodriguez's eventual succession would once again restore legitimacy to the record, there were persistent whispers throughout baseball that Rodriguez himself had used steroids. The union released a statement yesterday denying the charge. But in April 2004, federal agents seized all of the positive urine samples from the 2003 testing as part of their investigation into the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative. Rodriguez told Gammons that he felt an "enormous amount of pressure" when he arrived as a member of the Texas Rangers in 2001 after signing the largest contract in Major League Baseball history. And I wanted to prove to everyone that I was worth being one of the greatest players of all time. Jason Giambi apologized in 2005 and Andy Pettitte did so last spring. And for that I couldn’t feel more regret and feel more sorry, because I have so much respect for this game and the people that follow us. As a Yankee, he has averaged 41.6 home runs a season, with a high of 54 in 2007.
New York Yankees slugger Alex Rodriguez admitted to ESPN's Peter Gammons today in an exclusive interview that he took performance-enhancing drugs from 2001 to 2003. Rodriguez told Gammons that he felt an "enormous amount of pressure" when he arrived as a member of the Texas Rangers in 2001 after signing the largest contract in Major League Baseball history. Play "Back then, [baseball] was a different culture. "I'm guilty of being negligent and naive and not asking the right questions." He said he took the banned substances from 2001 to 2003 and has not taken any since. Rodriguez was voted the American League's Most Valuable Player in 2003, when he belted 47 home runs and led the league in slugging. "I just feel that I'm sorry for that time, I'm sorry for fans, I'm sorry for family in Texas," Rodriguez said today. Rodriguez reportedly tested positive for the banned substances Primobolan and testosterone in 2003 while still with the Texas Rangers, a year before Major League Baseball implemented a program to suspend players who were found using performance-enhancing drugs, according to a report from Sports Illustrated. His sample, along with 103 other players who tested positive, could legally have been destroyed by the players union, but for reasons still unknown, the samples were kept and later seized by federal investigators. A-Rod Denied Steroid Use in 2007 Since Sports Illustrated broke the news this weekend that Rodriguez, 33, had tested positive for Primobolan and testosterone, he, along with the players union and Major League Baseball, had remained silent before speaking with Gammons today. Soon after George Mitchell released a report on steroid use in baseball in 2007, which found that at least one player on every professional team in the major leagues had used performance-enhancing drugs, Rodriguez told CBS's Katie Couric in December 2007 that he had never used steroids. And I felt that if I did my work as I've done since I was, you know, a rookie back in Seattle, I didn't have a problem competing at any level. At spring training last year, Rodriguez again denied using steroids at a news conference, but in light of the recent allegations, his comment carries an extra layer of intrigue. "Last year, I got tested nine to 10 times," he said last year. "We have a very, very strict policy, and I think the game is making tremendous strides." If Rodriguez had been tested that many times, he may have been subjected to additional tests, which would happen, for instance, if a player tests positive for a banned stimulant for the first time. Baseball, America's once sacrosanct pastime, has been sullied by a series of steroids allegations and two of its biggest names in recent years. Bonds and Clemens allegedly lied about their use, though other players caught using steroids have taken the opposite tack. Rodriguez is in the prime of his career and considered by some to be the best player in baseball today. The slugger is seventh on the career list with 553 homers. Bonds, mired in a steroids controversy of his own, is the career leader with 762 home runs. In recent months Rodriguez has also made headlines for his off-the-field behavior, divorcing his wife to date pop superstar Madonna and being labeled "A-Fraud" for his perceived arrogance, by his former Yankees manager Joe Torre. Alex Rodriguez acknowledged Monday that he used performance-enhancing drugs while playing for the Texas Rangers from 2001 to 2003, a confession that casts doubt on the achievements of the player widely considered to be the best in baseball. The admission also makes Rodriguez, who joined the Yankees in 2004 and has 553 career home runs, the most prominent baseball player to admit that he has knowingly used illegal substances. Three other equally famous players Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens and Mark McGwire are widely suspected of having used performance enhancers, and have become infamous for their denials. I did take a banned substance, and for that I am very sorry and deeply regretful.” Rodriguez maintained that he did not know precisely what substances he took and stressed that he has not used performance enhancers since joining the Yankees. His failed test came in 2003, the first year baseball tested for drugs. Bonds has been indicted on perjury charges stemming from his testimony before the Balco grand jury in 2003; Clemens is now under investigation for perjury in connection with his testimony before Congress last February.
It was swirling all over the place. For three hours, we dodged the wind," Mr Barber said. "It's the largest natural disaster in our state's history and Australia's history." Some people died in their cars trying to escape the fires. More than 700 homes have been destroyed. The number of deaths from bushfires that have already claimed 170 lives in the Australian state of Victoria is likely to rise, officials have warned. Full story Country Fire Authority (CFA) state duty officer Mark Glover said the toll could still climb further. Police believe some of the fires were started deliberately - actions which Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said amounted to "mass murder". Survivors have recounted how they fled walls of flames. Bookmark with: Delicious Digg reddit Facebook StumbleUpon What are these? Nick Bryant reports. Full story Thousands seek help at bushfire relief centers in Australia CANBERRA, Feb. 8 (Xinhua) -- Thousands of people fleeing Victoria's bushfires have sought help at various relief centers in the state in Australia since Saturday morning. Kinglake resident Thomas Legrary described finding a neighbour with up to 50% burns on his body. The death toll surpasses that from the 1983 Ash Wednesday bushfires, in which 75 people died in Victoria and South Australia, and the Black Friday bushfires of 1939, which killed 71. "We've come through bad times before and we'll come through this one," he told ABC TV. Search for friends Many residents of fire-ravaged towns are now involved in a desperate search for friends and relatives missing since the flames tore through the tiny communities.
Australian officials have warned that the death toll from wildfires that have already killed 170 people in the state of Victoria is likely to rise further. Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said the numbers were "numbing" and warned the nation to prepare for more bad news. Police believe some of the fires were started deliberately - actions which Mr Rudd said amounted to "mass murder". Media requires JavaScript to play. The number of deaths from bushfires that have already claimed 170 lives in the Australian state of Victoria is likely to rise, officials have warned. Police believe some of the fires were started deliberately - actions which Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said amounted to "mass murder". Survivors have recounted how they fled walls of flames. Some people died in their cars trying to escape the fires. Police have sealed off a number of sites, including the devastated small town of Maryville, as possible crime scenes. Victoria State Premier John Brumby said: "We have had whole communities just completely wiped out, completely obliterated, by what people would describe as literally a fireball that just came over the hills and devoured everything before them. "It's the largest natural disaster in our state's history and Australia's history." Scorching temperatures, drought, tinder-dry bush and constantly-changing wind directions on Saturday helped fan the blazes, affecting an area of some 3,000 sq km (1,200 sq miles). Temperatures dropped and conditions improved on Monday to help the tens of thousands of firefighters, backed by soldiers, bring the fires under control. But there were around 30 fires still burning in Victoria with several communities at risk, officials said. AUSTRALIAN BUSHFIRES 16 February 1983: 75 dead, 2,300 homes destroyed in "Ash Wednesday" bushfires in Victoria and South Australia 8 January 1969: At least 22 dead, 230 homes lost in rural Victoria 7 February 1967: 62 dead, 1,300 homes destroyed in fires in Hobart, Tasmania 13 January 1939: 71 dead, 700 homes destroyed in "Black Friday" fires in Victoria February - March 1922: 60 die in Gippsland, eastern Victoria Eyewitnesses describe their ordeal Australian media: Wildfire horror Two other states - New South Wales and South Australia - have also been hit by blazes, but the fires there are said to be largely contained or burning away from residential areas. The BBC's Nick Bryant, at a relief centre in the hamlet of Whittlesea near the devastated town of Kinglake, said people thought they had hours when in fact they only had minutes to escape the fast advancing flames. Some described escaping down roads lined with burning trees, while their cars caught fire in the furnace-like heat. One man said he siphoned off the water from his vehicle's radiator to try to save the life of a neighbour who had been set alight. Kinglake resident Thomas Legrary described finding a neighbour with up to 50% burns on his body. Elsewhere in Kinglake, Jack Barber and his wife fled just ahead of the flames but found their escape route blocked by fallen power lines and trees. NICK BRYANT'S AUSTRALIA One man said he hardly had time to react let alone move, so fast were the advancing walls of flames. Read Nick's thoughts in full They took shelter at a school, but that also caught fire. They then ran to an exposed cricket ground ringed by trees where they found five other people. "All around us were 100ft (30m) flames ringing the oval and we ran where the wind wasn't. We've been treating firemen with burns, and sadly getting lots of dead on arrivals," Karen Farthing, a nurse at a Victoria hospital, told the BBC News website. A former Melbourne newsreader, Brian Naylor, and his wife were among those killed on Saturday when the flames took hold in the Kinglake district. Search for friends Many residents of fire-ravaged towns are now involved in a desperate search for friends and relatives missing since the flames tore through the tiny communities. The bodies of people have already been found trapped in the burnt-out wreckage of cars and homes, and investigators fear more will be found when a full search of the charred settlements can be carried out. HOW BUSHFIRES SPREAD 1 Fires start in hot dry windy weather 2 Embers blown ahead of fire front 3 Spot fires start where embers land Creating the perfect firestorm Prime Minister Rudd announced an aid package of A$10m ($7m, £4.5m). An emotional Mr Rudd described as "numbing" the numbers of dead, and warned: "I fear they will rise further." Asked about suspicions that arsonists were responsible for at least some of the fires, he said: "There are no words to describe it other than mass murder." Australia's federal parliament was suspended to mark what Deputy Prime Minister Julia Gillard described "as one of the darkest days in Australia's history". See eyewitness reports and add your experiences He admitted that the advice to residents - to evacuate early or stay and defend their homes - had on this occasion not worked. Australia's head of state, Queen Elizabeth II, has spoken of her "shock and sadness" at the number of deaths, and has praised the extraordinary work of the emergency crews at the scene. Bush fires are common in Australia, but the current blazes have eclipsed the death toll from what had been the previous worst fire in 1983, when 75 people died on a day that became known as Ash Wednesday. History of fatal bushfires in Australia CANBERRA, Feb. 9 (Xinhua) -- The death toll from the Victorian bushfires in south Australia has reached 108 by Monday morning and authorities said the number of fire victims was likely to rise even further. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo) Photo Gallery>>> At least 750 homes have been destroyed and more than 330,000 hectare burnt out, while authorities said some fires could take weeks to contain.
"Yes, she has left us," her father, Beppino Englaro, told ANSA. Doctors at the clinic in the northern city of Udine stopped feeding her on Friday, in line with a ruling by Italy's top court that she could be allowed to die. Eluana Englaro was left in a vegetative state after a car crash in 1992. The bill — supported by Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, his centre-right government and the Vatican — was expected to win quick approval. ((Englaro family/Associated Press)) The Italian woman at the centre of a high-profile euthanasia debate has died, media agencies reported Monday. Terri's family appealed, leading to a seven-year legal battle. Berlusconi issued an emergency decree of Friday ordering doctors to resume feeding Englaro but the decree was rejected by President Giorgio Napolitano who said it was unconstitutional because it overruled the country's most senior judges. After eight years, her husband Michael Schiavo petitioned the Florida courts to have her life support removed. The center-right prime minister is pushing through parliament, where he has a large majority, a law that would ban suspending food to patients who can no longer feed themselves. The case has split the mainly Catholic country and led to a constitutional crisis between Berlusconi and the head of state. Experts say that within four to five days her condition may have deteriorated to an irreversible extent, though it might be two weeks or more before her heart stops. Rodriguez eventually found a physician willing to assist in her death in 1994. In need of 24-hour care, he applied to the Dignitas suicide clinic and travelled with his parents to Switzerland last September.
Eluana Englaro, seen in this undated photo, fell into a vegetative state following a car accident in 1992. Eluana Englaro, who had been in a vegetative state for 17 years, died in a clinic in the northeastern city of Udine, the ANSA and Apcom news agencies said. "But I don't want to say anything, I just want to be alone." Englaro's case has pitted right-to-die activists against the anti-euthanasia movement. Late last year, her father won an intense 10-year legal battle to allow her feeding tubes to be removed, saying that was her wish. The court accepted that before the accident, Englaro had expressed a preference for dying over being kept alive artificially. In line with the high court ruling, medical workers on Friday began gradually suspending food and water for Englaro. The bill — supported by Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, his centre-right government and the Vatican — was expected to win quick approval. Berlusconi's government had passed an emergency decree Friday to prevent Englaro from having her tube disconnected, but the move led to a rare institutional crisis as the country's president, Giorgio Napolitano, rejected it on the grounds it defied court rulings. ROME Inspectors on Monday visited an Italian clinic that has stopped feeding a comatose woman to check whether it is qualified to allow her to die in line with a court ruling. The government had raised objections to the use of the facility as a place for 38-year-old Eluana Englaro, in a vegetative state since a car crash in 1992, to end her life. Doctors at the clinic in the northern city of Udine stopped feeding her on Friday, in line with a ruling by Italy's top court that she could be allowed to die. Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's government, backed by the Vatican, has been trying to block the implementation of the ruling, arguing that not feeding the patient amounts to euthanasia, which is illegal in Italy. Health Minister Maurizio Sacconi, who wants her kept alive, said an inspection at the weekend had reported "irregularities." He said the clinic did not meet the requirements of the court ruling which called for Englaro to be allowed to die in a hospice, rather than a clinic. Regional authorities sent their own inspectors on Monday to establish if Sacconi's objections warranted halting the suspension of food to the woman. The clinic's deputy director, Luciano Cattivello, told reporters it fulfilled all legal requirements. Berlusconi issued an emergency decree of Friday ordering doctors to resume feeding Englaro but the decree was rejected by President Giorgio Napolitano who said it was unconstitutional because it overruled the country's most senior judges. The center-right prime minister is pushing through parliament, where he has a large majority, a law that would ban suspending food to patients who can no longer feed themselves. Englaro's doctor, Carlo Alberto Defanti, said that besides the irreversible damage to her brain, her physical condition was good and it could take two weeks from the suspension of food before her heart stopped. The Italian government has been plunged into a constitutional crisis over the fate of a 38-year-old woman who has been in a coma for the past 17 years. After a decade-long court battle, doctors reduced her nutrition on Friday in preparation for removing her feeding tubes, which her father claims would be in accordance with her wishes. But in an extraordinary turn of events, the country's prime minister, Silvio Berlusconi, after consultation with the Vatican, has issued an emergency decree stating that food and water cannot be suspended for any patient depending upon them, reversing the earlier court ruling. Justifying his campaign to save Englaro's life, the prime minister added that, physically at least, she was "in the condition to have babies", a remark described by La Stampa newspaper as "shocking". Giorgio Napolitano, Italy's president, has refused to sign the decree, but if it is ratified by the Italian parliament doctors may be obliged to resume the feeding of Eluana early this week. But, in a moving interview with the Observer, Eluana's father Beppino said last week that the doctors were carrying out his daughter's wishes by allowing her to die. Yesterday Pope Benedict indirectly referred to Englaro in a message delivered to mark the World Day of the Sick, stating that society had a duty to defend "the absolute and supreme dignity of every human being" even when "weak and shrouded in the mystery of suffering". But even some of Berlusconi's political allies, including the president of the lower house of parliament, Gianfranco Fini, have stated that the supreme court ruling should be obeyed and Englaro should be allowed to die. Opposition leader Walter Veltroni, of the centre-left Democratic party, said the government should leave the Englaro family in peace and warned that Berlusconi's intervention "could cause a very dangerous constitutional crisis". On Friday morning in the La Quiete clinic in Udine, northern Italy, they began reducing the amount of food in Eluana Englaro's feeding tube, according to a precise medical protocol that will see nutrition gradually replaced with sedative and anti-convulsant medication. The process means the Englaro family and their doctors are now in a race against time as they try to end Eluana's life before the Berlusconi government and its backers in the Vatican halt the process. Beppino, 67, was last night in the family home in Lecco, 30 miles north of Milan, caring for his wife and Eluana's mother, Saturna, who is gravely ill with cancer. After a long, agonising fight to allow his daughter to die, he described the government's last-ditch attempts as "a grotesque attack on my family". Prior to issuing the decree, Berlusconi was involved in frantic telephone exchanges with the Vatican head of state, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, who implored the prime minister to prevent Eluana's death. The anaesthetist caring for her, Professor Antonio de Monte, said: "Eluana died 17 years ago."
By tradition, it has been the leader of the biggest party in parliament. Israel's Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni holds her ballot for the parliamentary election at a polling station in Tel Aviv February 10, 2009. He held talks with both Netanyahu and Livni on Wednesday. In Gaza, Palestinians said they were sure it would make no difference to their lives whoever won. (Additional reporting by Dan Williams and Allyn Fisher-Ilan in Jerusalem) But the results showed parties to the right of Kadima have 65 seats compared to 55 for Kadima and the left. The party with most votes usually is called to form the government. "Rain is a blessing," he said. TEL AVIV -- Former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu narrowly lost Tuesday's parliamentary vote to Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni. Lieberman and religious parties in a coalition would be likely to set virtually impossible conditions for a peace deal. But polls indicated Labour could slump to the its worst showing. The two rivals met individually with Avigdor... Likud party leader Netanyahu has been cooler on ceding occupied territory to Palestinians. And in the West Bank there was no sign of any strong hope that the right result would quickly revive the peace process. Barak also toured voting booths, reminding Israelis that Labour was the only genuine left-wing party in the race. But the security of the state following the January war with Hamas in Gaza and the future threat from militant Islamists was a paramount issue. He has emerged as potential kingmaker. One TV channel cited a poll showing 30 percent of voters were still undecided on the eve of the ballot.
Avigdor Lieberman, leader of Israel's Yisrael Beiteinu party, casts his ballot for the parliamentary election in the West Bank settlement town of Nokdim, near Bethlehem February 10, 2009. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun Israel's Prime Minister Ehud Olmert casts his ballot for the parliamentary election at a polling station in Jerusalem February 10, 2009. REUTERS/Ammar Awad Israel's Foreign Minister and Kadima party leader Tzipi Livni is covered in confetti after casting her ballot at a polling station in Tel Aviv February 10, 2009. REUTERS/Gil Cohen Magen An ultra-Orthodox Jew reads a notice before casting his ballot for the parliamentary election at a polling station in Jerusalem February 10, 2009. REUTERS/Yannis Behrakis An Israeli Likud party supporter reacts upon exit poll results at the party headquarters in Tel Aviv February 10, 2009. REUTERS/Baz Ratner Israel's Likud party leader Benjamin Netanyahu leaves after a meeting at the Knesset, the Israeli parliament, in Jerusalem February 11, 2009. REUTERS/Ammar Awad A bodyguard (L) stands next to Israel's Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni as she delivers a speech at Kadima party headquarters in Tel Aviv, February 11, 2009. REUTERS/Baz Ratner Avigdor Lieberman, leader of Israel's Yisrael Beiteinu party, listens to a phone during a visit to the southern town of Ashkelon February 10, 2009. REUTERS/Amir Cohen Israel's Likud party leader Benjamin Netanyahu listens to Gideon Sa'ar, a member of the Knesset, during a party meeting at the Israeli parliament in Jerusalem February 11, 2009. REUTERS/Baz Ratner An Israeli election official holds up a ballot for the Labour party while tallying votes at the Knesset, Israel's parliament, in Jerusalem February 12, 2009. REUTERS/Baz Ratner An Israeli election official holds a ballot for the Kadima party while tallying votes at the Knesset, Israel's parliament, in Jerusalem February 12, 2009. REUTERS/Baz Ratner Israel's Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni waves to supporters upon her arrival at party headquarters in Tel Aviv, February 11, 2009. REUTERS/Damir Sagolj JERUSALEM Final results of Israel's parliamentary election confirmed on Thursday that the centrist party of Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni won the contest by a single seat over right-winger Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud. The end count did nothing to change the confusing political picture that emerged on Tuesday night, or resolve a potentially paralyzing dispute between the two main parties over who should rightfully head the next government. Former premier Netanyahu was unlikely to drop the claim he has made since Tuesday's vote that he, not Livni, should be given the first chance to form a coalition government, because parliament has a broad right-wing majority that would back him. More than 150,000 ballots from military bases, prisons and Israeli diplomatic missions still had to be counted after the bulk of civilian votes in Tuesday's national poll delivered Livni's slim majority over Netanyahu's Likud. In the end, the Israel Elections Committee confirmed that Livni's Kadima party took 28 seats in the 120-seat Knesset, while Likud secured 27 seats, dashing Netanyahu's hopes that the final count could swing the result his way. But the lineup of smaller parties was also largely unchanged, and here the numbers were in his favor. Avigdor Lieberman's far-right Yisrael Beiteinu (Our Home is Israel) won 15 seats and the ultra-Orthodox Shas party has 11 seats, while left-wing Labour took just 13. Attention is now on President Shimon Peres, who has nearly two weeks to decide which parliamentarian to ask to form a government. But the results showed parties to the right of Kadima have 65 seats compared to 55 for Kadima and the left. BREAK WITH TRADITION Lieberman surged to third place in the ballot, past the once dominant Labour party, with a call for Israeli Arabs to undergo loyalty tests. "I know exactly what I am going to tell the president," he said on Israel Radio, without elaborating. Netanyahu held coalition talks on Thursday with the right-wing National Union, which won four seats, and Israeli media said it seemed Peres would have no choice but to pick the Likud leader if the various rightists all backed him. But it would be the first time in Israel's 60-year history that the winner of an election had been passed over. Peres would then have a week to make his nomination, and the candidate he chooses, 42 days to attempt to form a government. Netanyahu had been cruising ahead in opinion polls until Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's government launched a military offensive against Hamas Islamists in the Gaza Strip to stop them firing rockets at towns in southern Israel. The 22-day January war, which cost 1,300 Palestinian lives versus 13 Israelis killed, had massive Israeli public support. After a January 18 ceasefire, the election campaign resumed as Israel pursued Egyptian-brokered talks with Hamas on a durable Gaza truce. Netanyahu is cooler on the key trade-offs for an accord -- ceding occupied land and curbing Jewish settlement. TEL AVIV -- Former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu narrowly lost Tuesday's parliamentary vote to Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni. Once a clear frontrunner in opinion polls, former prime minister Netanyahu, who staked out his ground as a hawk, has lost ground to Livni The far-right party of Avigdor Lieberman has also prospered in a campaign overshadowed by the war in Gaza, in which 1,300 Palestinians were killed and 13 Israelis lost their lives. One TV channel cited a poll showing 30 percent of voters were still undecided on the eve of the ballot.
“I do believe, genuinely, that I can be even more effective for this presidency in the Senate,” Mr. Gregg said. But he said he had found there were "irresolvable conflicts" on issues including Mr Obama's economic stimulus package and the country's census. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Mr. Gregg would have been the third Republican in the cabinet. White House officials said they did not have any leading contenders for commerce secretary. On Thursday the president made his latest pitch for the bill as he toured a Caterpillar plant in East Peoria, Illinois. Please turn on JavaScript. Mr Gregg made the decision because of policy differences with the Obama administration, he said in a statement. His nomination was announced last week and he was expected to become the second Republican in the Obama cabinet. View all New York Times newsletters. Many Republicans, however, had voiced serious concerns about the potential politicization of the department given that move. Rahm Emanuel, the White House chief of staff who had been a strong proponent of Mr. Gregg’s nomination, sought to play down his decision to withdraw. He added that in the days since he was nominated he realized that to be "part of a team but not 100 percent with the team" was an untenable position. “He has been a person who has reached out and aggressively reached out, across the aisle,” the senator said. "It became clear to me to me that it would be very difficult day in and day out to serve in this Cabinet," Gregg said in a press conference late Thursday.
New Hampshire Republican Sen. Judd Gregg has withdrawn his name from consideration as President Obama's commerce secretary, a major blow to an administration seeking to put a series of Cabinet problems behind it. "It became clear to me to me that it would be very difficult day in and day out to serve in this Cabinet," Gregg said in a press conference late Thursday. He added that in the days since he was nominated he realized that to be "part of a team but not 100 percent with the team" was an untenable position. In his written statement, Gregg cited recent developments regarding the economic stimulus package and the decision to have the next census director report directly to senior White House officials as evidence that he and President Obama were too different ideologically for the pairing to work. "This was simply a bridge too far for me," Gregg said of his decision. Gregg said he would "probably not" run for re-election in 2010. Gregg abstained from the Senate vote on the stimulus package, which passed the chamber 61 to 37. He had not previously offered any public comment on the White House's plan to have the Census director report to White House officials. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) praised Gregg's decision as "principled" and added: "It's great to have him back." Judd Gregg was Mr Obama's second nominee for commerce secretary Republican US Senator Judd Gregg is withdrawing as President Barack Obama's nominee for commerce secretary. His nomination was announced last week and he was expected to become the second Republican in the Obama cabinet. The White House said Mr Gregg had earlier pledged to "embrace" the president's agenda, and expressed regret at his "change of heart". The BBC's Jonathan Beale reports from Washington that this is another blow for President Obama's efforts to shape his cabinet and to reach out to Republicans. Mr Gregg's decision will also raise more questions about the vetting process used to pick his new cabinet, he adds. The president had originally picked New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson for the commerce post, but he withdrew over an investigation into a state contract given to his campaign donors. Tom Daschle, who was to become the new secretary of health, and Nancy Killefer, Mr Obama's choice to oversee budget and spending reform, both pulled out last week over questions about their payment of taxes. 'Irresolvable conflicts' Mr Gregg said in a statement that he had been honoured by his selection and that he admired President Obama's "willingness to reach across the aisle". But he said he had found there were "irresolvable conflicts" on issues including Mr Obama's economic stimulus package and the country's census. "Prior to accepting this post, we had discussed these and other potential differences, but unfortunately we did not adequately focus on these concerns," the statement said. Shortly after Mr Gregg announced his decision to withdraw, the White House issued a statement saying the Republican senator had offered his name for the commerce secretary post. "He was very clear throughout the interviewing process that despite past disagreements about policies, he would support, embrace, and move forward with the president's agenda," the statement said. It said it then became clear that Mr Gregg "was not going to be supporting some of President Obama's key economic priorities". 'Time to act' The $789bn (£547bn) US stimulus package has been widely criticised by Republicans, who say it will lead to wasteful government spending. Explaining his decision to reporters on Thursday, Mr Gregg said he had always been a "fairly strong" fiscal conservative, and that "it just became clear to me that it would be very difficult day-in and day-out to serve in this cabinet". But members of both houses of Congress said they had reached a deal on the package this week after the two houses had passed differing versions of the bill. On Thursday the president made his latest pitch for the bill as he toured a Caterpillar plant in East Peoria, Illinois. He said Caterpillar, which has announced more than 20,000 layoffs, would be able to rehire some employees after the stimulus plan is passed, the Associated Press reported. “And I immensely respect that, and I immensely respect him.” Advertisement Continue reading the main story The roster of fallen cabinet nominees also includes Tom Daschle, who stepped aside last week as the nominee for health and human services secretary because of questions about unpaid taxes, and Gov.
Continental Connection Flight 3407, operated by Colgan Air, was traveling to Buffalo from Newark, New Jersey. Bombardier said it was the first fatal crash involving a Dash 8 Q400 aircraft. The plane was cleared for approach. REUTERS/Gary Wiepert Firefighters are seen at the site of the wreckage of a Continental Express flight, which crashed near Buffalo, New York February 13, 2009. "You could feel the ground shake." One aviation safety expert David Learmount said that there were no safety concerns with the model. There were 44 passengers, four crew members and an off-duty pilot on board. Watch video from CNN affiliate WGRZ » Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) permanently grounded its fleet of Dash 8s after three crash landings during a two-month period in 2007 that were blamed on the aircraft's landing gear. TWO ESCAPE DESTROYED HOME Two people escaped the destroyed house and neighboring homes went unscathed. Speculation immediately focused on the icy conditions. Colgan’s planes can use smaller airports than those served by Continental’s jet fleet. The first officer had no sign of stress in her voice initially. REUTERS/Peter Jones Board Member of the National Transportation Safety Board Steve Chealander (R) and Emergency Services Commissioner for the Town of Clarence David Bissonette take part in a media briefing in Clarence, New York, February 13, 2009. Light snow was falling as the aircraft approached the airport, CNN said. Commercial aircraft are equipped with de-icing systems but safety experts say even a small buildup of ice on the wings can affect aerodynamics. Daly said that for most of the time turboprops were as safe as similar-sized, 50-seater jets, but in icy conditions turboprops were at a disadvantage.
REUTERS/Peter Jones Board Member of the National Transportation Safety Board Steve Chealander (R) and Emergency Services Commissioner for the Town of Clarence David Bissonette take part in a media briefing in Clarence, New York, February 13, 2009. REUTERS/Peter Jones Firefighters are seen at the crash site of Continental Connection Flight 3407 operated by Colgan Air, which crashed in Clarence, near Buffalo, New York February 13, 2009. REUTERS/Gary Wiepert Firefighters walk to the crash site of Continental Connection flight 3407 operated by Colgan Air, which crashed in Clarence, near Buffalo, New York February 13, 2009. REUTERS/Gary Wiepert Firefighters are seen at the site of the wreckage of a plane, a Continental Connection flight operated by Colgan Air, which crashed near Buffalo, New York February 13, 2009. REUTERS/Gary Wiepert Firefighters are seen at the site of the wreckage of a plane, a Continental Connection flight operated by Colgan Air, which crashed near Buffalo, New York February 13, 2009. REUTERS/Gary Wiepert A Continental employee talks to people at the counter in Buffalo International Airport, early February 13, 2009. REUTERS/Gary Wiepert A Continental employee talks to a police officer at the counter at the Buffalo International Airport, early February 13, 2009. REUTERS/Gary Wiepert A view of the wreckage of a Continental Express flight, which crashed near Buffalo, New York February 13, 2009. REUTERS/Gary Wiepert Firefighters are seen at the site of the wreckage of a plane, a Continental Connection flight operated by Colgan Air, which crashed near Buffalo, New York February 13, 2009. REUTERS/Gary Wiepert A member of the Erie County Sheriff's office drives past the medical examiner's trailer in Clarence, New York February 13, 2009. REUTERS/Peter Jones Firefighters are seen at the site of the wreckage of a plane, a Continental Connection flight operated by Colgan Air, which crashed in Clarence, near Buffalo, New York February 13, 2009. REUTERS/Gary Wiepert Firefighters are seen at the site of the wreckage of a Continental Express flight, which crashed near Buffalo, New York February 13, 2009. REUTERS/Gary Wiepert Firefighters walk to the crash site of Continental Connection Flight 3407 which crashed near Buffalo, New York February 13, 2009. REUTERS/Bob Mussell BUFFALO, New York A commuter plane suddenly nosedived and slammed into a home in snowy western New York state late on Thursday, killing all 49 people aboard and one on the ground as it burst into a giant ball of flames. The crew reported snow and mist and commented on ice buildup on the windshield and front edge of the wings shortly before the crash, investigators said after listening to the cockpit voice recorder. The crash followed an extended period of safety in the U.S. airline industry and was the first deadly accident since August 2006, when a similar number of people were killed when a Comair jet crashed on takeoff in Kentucky. The 74-seat plane -- a Dash 8 Q400 turboprop made by Canada's Bombardier Inc -- went down at about 10:20 p.m. EST (0320 GMT on Friday) about 6 miles before the runway at the Buffalo airport, authorities said. This was the third fatal crash since 2003 for Pinnacle and its Colgan unit, according to safety records. As the plane descended with its landing gear down, it suddenly and violently rotated its nose up and down and its wings see-sawed, investigators said after reviewing flight data and cockpit voice recorders recovered from the wreckage. "Shortly after that the crew attempted to raise the gear and flaps, just before the end of the recording," said Steve Chealander of the National Transportation Safety Board. Only the tail section of the plane appeared intact, sticking out of a crater as firefighters worked to put out a blaze fed by jet fuel and a natural gas leak. TWO ESCAPE DESTROYED HOME Two people escaped the destroyed house and neighboring homes went unscathed. "It's hard to make sense of it today but God hasn't left us. Two of three people that were in the home that the plane landed on miraculously escaped. A couple people missed the flight and saved their lives," New York Governor David Paterson told a news conference. There were 44 passengers, four crew members and an off-duty pilot on board. Among the victims was Beverly Eckert, the widow of a September 11 victim and an advocate for survivors. Another victim was Alison Des Forges, one of the world's leading experts on the 1994 Rwanda genocide. "I could hear what sounded like a high-pitched sound -- a tube with air rushing through it," Keith Burtis told CNN. Commercial aircraft are equipped with de-icing systems but safety experts say even a small buildup of ice on the wings can affect aerodynamics. Thursday's disaster came less than a month after the successful crash landing of a US Airways jetliner on the Hudson River in New York City. All 155 people on board survived after the plane hit birds, taking out both engines, and pilot Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger brought it down safely on the river. Aviation experts said the aircraft did not report trouble before it suddenly dropped from radar screen. The Telegraph has obtained a tape of communications between air traffic control and the flight crew in which the plane suddenly stopped responded to the tower. There was no hint of stress or problems betrayed in the vice of the female first officer when the plane was cleared for landing two minutes before the crash. A voice in the cockpit of the plane, which was operated under a Continental Airlines flight number, is heard informing authorities that her aircraft was turning on approach to landing, and repeated instructions when told to maintain an altitude of 2300 feet. The air traffic controllers then tried to contact the pilots of the jet for 12 minutes before apparently realising that the plane - Colgan 3407 - had gone down.
Mr Sokaluk was moved from Morwell, where he was questioned by police, to a cell in Melbourne for his own safety. The authorities have said there is no other explanation for the fire, which is feared to have killed 100 people. SP AusNet SPN.AX said an action was launched on Monday in the Supreme Court of the eastern state of Victoria from groups which alleged that faulty power lines owned by SP AusNet may have sparked Australia's deadliest bushfires. The charge of arson causing death carries a 25 year maximum penalty and the charge of lighting a bush fire carries a maximum of 15 years. The blaze in Churchill was one of several that prosecutors allege was started deliberately. A suppression order on his name was lifted during the hearing, but the judge ruled no identifying photographs could be released. A CFA spokeswoman said: "We believe this person may have been a volunteer about 20 years ago". The Australian government has announced there will be a national day of mourning on Sunday to honour the victims of the Victorian bush fires. Should bushfire policy change? He was also charged with possessing child pornography, which carries a possible five-year term. Firefighters in the south-eastern state are still battling nine blazes. She said that even though her client was in protective custody there was a risk from vigilante attacks on him and his family, and asked that his name remain suppressed. The arson charge relates to 11 of the 21 deaths. (Reporting by Fayen Wong; Editing by Anshuman Daga) Police then have the painstaking task of cross-referencing the DNA with the long lists of missing persons.
(Recasts, adds details) PERTH Feb 16 Australian energy firm SP AusNet, controlled by Singapore Power, said it was facing a class-action lawsuit relating to the country's deadliest bushfires which killed 181 people and destroyed thousands of homes. SP AusNet SPN.AX said an action was launched on Monday in the Supreme Court of the eastern state of Victoria from groups which alleged that faulty power lines owned by SP AusNet may have sparked Australia's deadliest bushfires. "We believe the claim is premature and inappropriate ... SP AusNet will vigorously defend the claim," SP AusNet's spokeswoman Louisa Graham said in an e-mailed statement. The company said its bushfire mitigation and vegetation management programmes comply with state regulations and were audited annually by state agencies. Shares in SP AusNet closed 3.7 percent lower at A$1.045 on Monday, after earlier falling as much as 13.4 percent to a one-month low of A$0.94. The broader market index declined 1.2 percent. SP AusNet supplies power to areas in Victoria state where fires killed at least 181 people just over a week ago, destroyed more than 1,800 homes and left 7,000 people homeless. Members of the Victorian police force's Disaster Victim Identification team have spent days searching through the rubble and ash of fire-ravaged towns for anything that can identify those caught in the blazes. Stephen Fontana, assistant police commissioner, said the job of identifying victims was a difficult and slow task but "had to be done properly". "We've actually got a team looking at unaccounted for persons and that's checking... data that we have in terms of residents that lived in those areas, bearing in mind there may have been visitors to those areas," he said. Christine Nixon, the police commissioner, warned that more bodies would be found as police gained access to several properties previously too unsafe to access. "When we start to move to cleaning many of these sites up we still may well find some parts of individuals, it's very difficult to deal with," she said. The announcement of the new toll came after it emerged that a man who was charged with lighting a bush fire that killed at least 21 people worked as a volunteer fire fighter. Brendan Sokaluk, 39, joined the Churchill brigade of the Country Fire Authority in the late 1980s, before volunteers had to undergo a police check, according to reports. It is believed he left the brigade in the 1990s and attempted to rejoin twice, but was rejected. On Friday, he was charged with arson causing death in relation to the deadly Gippsland fire, which devastated 39,000 hectares in the Latrobe valley, east of Melbourne, and remains out of control. He was also charged with deliberately lighting a bush fire and possessing child pornography. A CFA spokeswoman said: "We believe this person may have been a volunteer about 20 years ago". A suppression order on his name was lifted during the hearing, but the judge ruled no identifying photographs could be released. Public anger over the worst bush fires in Australia's history remains high. As the van carrying him pulled out of the town, enraged locals pounded on the doors and yelled abuse. The charge of arson causing death carries a 25 year maximum penalty and the charge of lighting a bush fire carries a maximum of 15 years. Kevin Rudd, the prime minister, last week said anyone guilty to lighting one of the Black Saturday bush fires had committed "mass murder". The Churchill fire killed 12 people in the town of Calignee, four in Hazelwood and Koornalla and one in Jeeralang. Police are also investigating whether the fire that razed the town of Marysville, to Melbourne's north, was also deliberately lit. The authorities have said there is no other explanation for the fire, which is feared to have killed 100 people. Defence lawyer Helen Spowart argued her client was at risk even in custody A court has lifted a ban on identifying an arson suspect in Australia's deadly bushfires, despite fears of possible retribution attacks by angry residents. At least 189 people are now known to have died in the dozens of bushfires that swept Victoria earlier this month. Police have warned that the death toll could rise further as officers continue to search through the debris of razed houses for victims. The Melbourne court was packed with journalists and onlookers, but the defendant chose to remain in police protective custody rather than attend.
Strategic bomber submarines are, by design, very quiet. French Le Triomphant nuclear submarine: Crew: 111, including 15 officers Length: 138 meters Weight: 14,335 tons when submerged Speed: 25 knots (about 46.25 km per hour) when submerged Missiles: 16 Aerospatiale nuclear missiles. The impact damaged its sonar dome and it had to return to France for repairs. What happened? The UK's Ministry of Defence says there were no radioactive leaks. The French Navy intially claimed the submarine had been in a collision "apparently with a container". Britain and France say two of their nuclear-armed submarines, HMS Vanguard and Le Triomphant, collided while submerged in the Atlantic earlier this month. Witnesses said the hull was scarred with dents and scrapes. Both vessels were badly damaged in the crash which occurred on Feb. 3 or 4, but the incident caused no injuries nor damage to the vessels' weapons, the Daily Telegraph and The Sun newspapers reported. Analysts say the British MoD has a policy of not giving out any more information than it has to. They are designed to be as undetectable as possible because they do not want to be found. The boat will spend up to four months in dry-dock undergoing repair. It is not clear whether this collision took place while one or both of the submarines was on a tactical mission. We can confirm that the capability remained unaffected and there has been no compromise to nuclear safety." A great deal of technical effort has gone into making submarines quiet by reduction of machinery noise. Several serious accidents have befallen the UK's submarine fleet.
Defence chiefs are facing an inquiry into the safety of the United Kingdom's nuclear deterrent after British and French submarines, each laden with missiles powerful enough for 1,248 Hiroshima bombings, collided while submerged in the mid-Atlantic. HMS Vanguard, the lead boat of Britain's fleet of four V-class submarines armed with Trident nuclear missiles, limped back into its home port of Faslane in Scotland on Saturday showing significant damage. The weather was rough in the middle of the night of 3 and 4 February when the British submarine, which was carrying 135 crew, struck Le Triomphant, the flagship of the French nuclear strike force, destroying the French vessel's fibreglass sonar dome, which juts out from the bow and, among other tasks, is supposed to detect other submarines. In London, the Ministry of Defence tried to maintain its policy of total secrecy about the movements of Briain's nuclear fleet, but it was forced to confirm the embarrassing collision between strategic allies after the French Navy posted details of the accident on its website. Both countries insisted that neither the missile-launching capacity nor the nuclear safety of the submarines, carrying 265 crew and 32 intercontinental ballistic missiles, were affected. We can confirm that the capability remained unaffected and there has been no compromise to nuclear safety." Defence sources said the accident was the result of the "infinitesimal" coincidence that both submarines were operating at the same depth and location in the Atlantic. Such a claim is undermined because Nato allies routinely share information at a top-secret level about the deployment of submarines to ensure they do not occupy the same area of ocean, an arrangement in which the French, whose nuclear deterrent remains independent, are understood to participate. But nuclear-armed submarines often gravitate towards the same "nesting grounds" – deep, quiet sectors of ocean – to allow them to fulfil their mission by sailing continuously with minimal noise and remaining within range of potential targets. For many years, Britain and France have maintained their nuclear deterrent by ensuring they have at least one of their missile-carrying submarines at sea 365 days a year with the ability to launch within seconds' notice. Vanguard and Triomphant, which was at the end of a 70-day tour, each carry 16 intercontinental missiles, armed with between six and eight warheads in each. Politicians said the incident raised serious questions about the precautions to protect the V-class nuclear vessels, which, at nearly 16,000 tonnes and 150m long, are among the largest submarines ever built. The boat will spend up to four months in dry-dock undergoing repair. The French Navy intially claimed the submarine had been in a collision "apparently with a container". Angus Robertson, the leader of the SNP in Westminster, said: "The MoD needs to explain how it is possible for a submarine carrying weapons of mass destruction to collide with another submarine carrying weapons of mass destruction in the middle of the world's second-largest ocean." Nick Harvey, the Liberal Democrat defence spokesman, said: "While the British nuclear fleet has a good safety record, if there were ever to be a bang it would be a mighty big one. Naval experts, who underlined that the two nuclear submarines were built with hulls designed to withstand huge pressures, expressed surprise that the sonar arrays of both had failed to detect either vessel. That it does not seem to have been able to pick out a submarine nearly the length of two football pitches and the height of a three-storey building could be explained by the development of stealth technology, making the submarines less visible to other vessels. Stephen Saunders, the editor of Jane's Fighting Ships, said: "The modus operandi of most submarines, particularly ballistic-missile submarines, is to operate stealthily and to proceed undetected. And much effort has gone into improving the capability of sonars to detect other submarines; detection was clearly made too late or not at all in this case." Anti-nuclear campaigners said the two vessels had been moments from a potentially catastrophic accident which could have resulted in the widespread release of radioactive material. Kate Hudson, chairwoman of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, said: "This is a nuclear nightmare of the highest order. It is the most severe incident involving a nuclear submarine since the sinking of the Kursk in 2000 and the first time since the Cold War that two nuclear-armed subs are known to have collided. Several serious accidents have befallen the UK's submarine fleet. Last week, an inquest heard how two sailors on the Trafalgar's sister vessel, HMS Tireless, died in an explosion caused by a faulty oxygen generator. Crewmates battled for 40 minutes to reach the two men after the force of the blast closed and buckled hatch doors. LONDON, Feb. 17 (Xinhua) -- Two nuclear-armed submarines, Britain's HMS Vanguard and France's Le Triomphant, collided in the Atlantic ocean earlier this month, officials confirmed on Monday. Here are a few facts about the two vessels: British HMS Vanguard nuclear submarine: Crew: 135, including 14 officers Length: 150 meters Weight: 15,980 tons when submerged Speed: 25 knots (about 46.25 km per hour)when submerged Missiles: 16 Lockheed Trident 2 D5 missiles Launched in 1992 and set on first sea cruise in 1993, Vanguard is one of four British submarines that carries the Trident nuclear missile, the country's nuclear deterrent system. French Le Triomphant nuclear submarine: Crew: 111, including 15 officers Length: 138 meters Weight: 14,335 tons when submerged Speed: 25 knots (about 46.25 km per hour) when submerged Missiles: 16 Aerospatiale nuclear missiles. Both vessels were badly damaged in the crash which occurred on Feb. 3 or 4, but the incident caused no injuries nor damage to the vessels' weapons, the Daily Telegraph and The Sun newspapers reported. Both submarines were badly damaged and had to return to port for repairs: HMS Vanguard with what are described as visible dents and scrapes, Le Triomphant with a damaged sonar dome. Factfile: How submarines use sonar Modern submarines do not use active sonar which involves sending out signals, only passive sonar, which listens for signals with extremely sensitive microphones. This "deconfliction" is used by Nato as a waterspace management organisation - a sort of marine-traffic control - which enables national submarine operators to separate their submarine operations, says Stephen Saunders, a retired Navy commodore who now edits Jane's Fighting Ships. However, while "deconfliction" would not be used when a submarine is undertaking a tactical exercise, Cmdr Saunders said it should have been possible to arrange for the vessels to be in different parts of the ocean without jeopardising operational security.
"In 10 years we have had 15 elections, 15, and this has been the most unequal, the most abusive campaign of all. That's why Mr Chavez is very popular. It is misleading to think that the referendum was just about the indefinite re-election of the president. With 94% of votes counted, 54% backed an end to term limits, a National Electoral Council official said. Bookmark with: Delicious Digg reddit Facebook StumbleUpon What are these? I expected the majority of the Venezuelan people would understand the consequences of permitting a single person to stay in office indefinitely. Nearly 17 million Venezuelans were registered to vote in the referendum. But we have a government with a strong will to resolve them. The indefinite re-election includes all elected officials. E-mail this to a friend Printable version I am very satisfied with the outcome. We have many problems ahead. He has shown to be a very clever politician and the opposition leaders have underestimated him. More than two third of the electorate participated in this referendum and the result speaks for itself. Victory this time round was by a wider margin than many analysts and opinion polls had predicted. CNE president Tibisay Lucena announced the results at a press conference, based on 99.75 percent of the tallies. Those who didn't vote for the proposed amendment will also benefit from the all social programmes, care for the elderly and the poor, programmes to keep children off the streets, to help the addicts and alcoholics seen on the streets of our cities. "In 2012 there will be presidential elections, and unless God decides otherwise, unless the people decide otherwise, this soldier is already a candidate."
CARACAS, Feb. 17 (Xinhua) -- Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez won Sunday's referendum on a constitutional amendment for unlimited re-election with about 6.3 million votes, the Electoral National Council (CNE) said on Tuesday. CNE president Tibisay Lucena announced the results at a press conference, based on 99.75 percent of the tallies. The total number of votes was 11,724,224 with 30.08 percent abstention. Nearly 17 million Venezuelans were registered to vote in the referendum. Lucena said there were still some votes to be counted, including those of Venezuelans abroad. Chavez won the referendum in 19 of the 23 states, repeating the electoral triumph of the regional elections for governors and mayors held on Nov. 23, 2008. The full and final results of the referendum will be delivered on Wednesday to the National Assembly. Venezuelans on Sunday voted by 54.8% to 45.1% to change the constitution to end term limits and allow elected officials, including President Hugo Chavez, to run for re-election indefinitely. Mr Chavez has said he needs another 10 years to secure what he calls Venezuela's socialist revolution. Here, four Venezuelans discuss whether the outcome of the referendum is good for their country. In any case, it is up to the people to vote for a candidate or send him back home at the end of a term. So Chavez, or whoever becomes a president in the next elections, will have to make the improving of people's lives a priority. The president, governors, mayors and various local and state officials have to work hard in order to be re-elected. I expected the majority of the Venezuelan people would understand the consequences of permitting a single person to stay in office indefinitely. The outcome showed that the president's support is decreasing, while the opposition got for the first time more than five million votes. A quick look at history suggests that no individual should be allowed to stay in power for long periods of time. We need to learn from our mistakes and work harder than we've ever had to achieve democracy where freedom, equality and human rights prevail. This should be our goal, and not Chavez's Patria, Socialismo o Muerte (Country, Socialism or Death). JESUS GUTIERREZ, 38, TEACHER, CARACAS What the outcome of this referendum reflects is that people are deeply divided in almost two halves, even though the government supporters got an evident majority. I think it's a good idea to lift the limits on terms in office for elected officials. This is nothing new though - this would happen anyway because government and council funds are often spent on politicians' personal ambitions. Everybody, including the rich, take advantage of the government's achievements: the lowest gasoline price in the world, various social programmes, cheap food in government - supported markets and free education from junior school up to university. Like most Venezuelans, I fear a return of a government that would make our country dependent on foreign interests. The majority of the population thinks that the government cares about the needs of the society, so why not lift the limit on terms in office? Those who didn't vote for the proposed amendment will also benefit from the all social programmes, care for the elderly and the poor, programmes to keep children off the streets, to help the addicts and alcoholics seen on the streets of our cities. "In 2012 there will be presidential elections, and unless God decides otherwise, unless the people decide otherwise, this soldier is already a candidate." Crowds of the president's supporters filled in the streets, letting off fireworks, waving red flags and honking car horns. This has been the most unequal, the most abusive campaign of all Leopoldo Lopez Opposition leader Tough times ahead for Chavez "This victory saved the revolution," said Gonzalo Mosqueda, a 60-year-old shopkeeper, sipping rum from a plastic cup outside the palace. "Without it everything would be at risk - all the social programs, and everything he [Chavez] has done for the poor," he told AP. More than 11 million voters out of almost 17 million who were eligible took part in Sunday's referendum, said the head of the electoral body, Tibisay Lucena.
Livni, as foreign minister, has been a key player in negotiations. "Lieberman is a very focused individual and he's a very loyal individual. We have a very complete agenda." Netanyahu halted the peace process when he was prime minister by allowing settlement building [AFP] Netanyahu halted the peace process when he was prime minister by allowing settlement building [AFP] Livni has in the past said that Israel must withdraw from Palestinian areas to continue as a Jewish state. "I definitely do think it has inflamed tensions between Israeli Arabs and Israeli Jews. Political negotiations The Kadima leader has called for a power-sharing deal with Likud, but no agreement has been reached. "I would say the important thing right now is to have a broad-based coalition," Ayalon says. The burly 50-year-old former nightclub bouncer from Moldova and his party got more seats in the Knesset than the once-dominant Israeli Labor Party. Nearly 290,000 Israelis currently live in West Bank settlements. Meanwhile, ultra-Orthodox Jewish parties detest Lieberman's promotion of civil marriages — which are not recognized by the rabbis — and his support for the sale of pork products. He and his ultranationalist Israel Beiteinu party finished in a strong third place in last week's parliamentary elections. Expansion could also create friction with the US, as Mitchell, the US Middle East envoy, has long called on Israel to halt construction in settlements. Barak says many Jewish Israelis were outraged by images of Israeli Arab citizens protesting in favor of Hamas and Hezbollah during Israel's wars with those militant groups. "You're either for his idea of loyalty for citizenship, or you're against it."
Far-Right Israeli Politician Holds Key To Power Deal Enlarge this image toggle caption Gali Tibbon/AFP/Getty Images Gali Tibbon/AFP/Getty Images Related NPR Stories Israeli Ultra-Nationalist Expected To Gain In Election Avigdor Lieberman is Israel's new political kingmaker. He and his ultranationalist Israel Beiteinu party finished in a strong third place in last week's parliamentary elections. Now, he is being courted as a coalition partner by both of the leading political parties. But Lieberman also has plenty of detractors, including Israel's Arab citizens and ultra-Orthodox Jews. Leaders of the centrist Kadima party, which came in first, and the conservative Likud party, which finished a close second, are both aggressively wooing Lieberman. The burly 50-year-old former nightclub bouncer from Moldova and his party got more seats in the Knesset than the once-dominant Israeli Labor Party. Kadima and Likud are now offering top Cabinet positions — and more, says Danny Ayalon, a former Israeli ambassador to the United States and a newly elected member of parliament on Lieberman's ticket. "I would say the important thing right now is to have a broad-based coalition," Ayalon says. Inflaming Tensions Between Israel's Arabs And Jews But to be part of a broad-based government, Lieberman and his party have to overcome political obstacles and hostility from many corners. Many Israeli Arab politicians and Jewish liberals in Israel call Lieberman a dangerous racist for advocating a citizenship law that would require loyalty oaths to the state. "He made everyone choose," says Israeli pollster Mitchell Barak. "You're either for his idea of loyalty for citizenship, or you're against it." Barak says many Jewish Israelis were outraged by images of Israeli Arab citizens protesting in favor of Hamas and Hezbollah during Israel's wars with those militant groups. He says Lieberman capitalized on that anger and attracted votes and, in turn, further strained relations between Arabs and Jews here. "It got his supporters riled up, and it was able to attract support from other places," says Barak. Meanwhile, ultra-Orthodox Jewish parties detest Lieberman's promotion of civil marriages — which are not recognized by the rabbis — and his support for the sale of pork products. The spiritual leader of the ultra-Orthodox Shas Party said during the campaign that anyone who votes for Lieberman lends support to Satan and risks punishment "more than he can bear." Supporters: Lieberman A Straight-Talking Maverick Ayalon, the Israel Beiteinu lawmaker, says attacks on Lieberman are efforts to delegitimize a growing, popular movement and its straight-talking maverick leader. Lieberman has built the party, Ayalon says, in the face of prejudice from Israeli religious and political elites who sometimes look down on immigrants such as Lieberman. "Maybe if he had a clean-shaven face and, you know, would get rid of his beard and have a sabra accent and not a heavy Russian accent, I believe he could have been prime minister by now," Ayalon says. Lieberman's controversial agenda includes swapping Israeli-Arab villages for Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank, loyalty legislation, civil marriages, and reforming Israel's splintered parliamentary political system. Ties To Netanyahu Lieberman arrived in Israel from the former Soviet Union in 1978 when he was 20 years old. He joined Likud and eventually became party leader Benjamin Netanyahu's chief of staff — and followed "Bibi," as he is known, into the prime minister's office in 1996. But differences emerged, and Lieberman's at times in-your-face style alienated some in Netanyahu's office. In 1999, he broke with Netanyahu and created Israel Beiteinu (our homeland), a party that pollster and former Likud speechwriter Barak says Lieberman built up by placing a huge emphasis on trust and loyalty. A lot of people he hires are very loyal to him, and he shows loyalty in return, and that's very important," Barak says. While Lieberman has ties to Kadima's leader, Tzipi Livni — he helped Livni get her first big job in government — most observers in Israel think Lieberman will choose to form a coalition with Likud. He and Likud's Netanyahu are old allies, but sources say there is lingering mistrust. Last week, Lieberman told supporters, "I'm not in Bibi's pocket." Netanyahu halted the peace process when he was prime minister by allowing settlement building [AFP] Netanyahu halted the peace process when he was prime minister by allowing settlement building [AFP] Livni has in the past said that Israel must withdraw from Palestinian areas to continue as a Jewish state. Her fresh comments are in contrast to the position of Benjamin Netanyahu, the leader of the right-wing Likud party and Livni's main rival to become next prime minister. "If we don't continue with the plan, we will not be able to count on the support of the international community against Iran, Hezbollah [a Lebanese political party and armed group] or Hamas [which has de facto control of the Gaza Strip]," she said. Netanyahu has said that peace talks should look to improve Palestinian daily life before discussions on core issues can begin. Livni's comments came on the same day that the Israeli military took control of a large area of the West Bank, potentially leading to the construction of a settlement of 2,500 homes. 'Sticking point' Al Jazeera's Nour Odeh, reporting from Ramallah, West Bank, said the "confiscation [of the land], which by international law is deemed illegal, has been greeted with condemnation among Palestinian circles". "We've seen statements from these leaderships describing this measure as condemnable, calling on the international community to take a firm stance," she said. Already we've heard from the Palestinian president's office that there will be no negotiations until all settlement activities in the occupied West Bank including east Jerusalem stops."
"It was in a bit of a state," said Trevor. The Kelham Island Tavern has been Camra's Sheffield Pub of the Year for the last four years. To subcribe CLICK HERE MORE: Local News Local Sport Arts Guide Community News Listings Guide Restaurant Guide Letters But the disaster failed to dampen the enthusiasm of customers and staff – and the reward comes today with the national award from the Campaign for Real Ale, the first Sheffield pub to receive the accolade. What do you think? But the floods in June 2007 wrecked the floor and cellar, forcing it to close for six weeks. They just wanted to keep on drinking, but we did have to get them out eventually and some of them did get wet. Trevor Wraith bought the semi-derelict pub in 2001 and reopened it in 2002. "Everyone has worked hard since then, though, and it's amazing to think we're now named as the best pub in Britain." "I don't think a lot of people know that the cluster of real ale pubs in the area attracts hordes of people from across the country. lRunners-up were The Crown in Stockport, The Tom Cobley Tavern in Spreyton, Devon, and The Royal Oak in Rusper, West Sussex. Where we have made money we have reinvested it. We have built an extension on the back and kept it well appointed inside. The creation of a small garden courtyard brought horticultural awards to add to the real ale tributes. "It started with water running down the street but you could see it was going to get much worse."
A ONCE semi-derelict "backstreet boozer" in Sheffield is being named today as the national Pub Of The Year. Real ale enthusiasts have chosen the Kelham Island Tavern as the best pub in the country, completing a remarkable turnaround in its fortunes. It only reopened seven years ago after Trevor Wraith and Lewis Gonda transformed the ramshackle building in Russell Street on an industrial fringe of the city centre – and it had to close for six weeks when it was deluged in the floods of summer 2007. But the disaster failed to dampen the enthusiasm of customers and staff – and the reward comes today with the national award from the Campaign for Real Ale, the first Sheffield pub to receive the accolade. Trevor, licensee and owner, said it usually seemed to go to "thatched country pubs in the south with a big fancy food menu", not "a small back street boozer" between factories. The award was also good for Sheffield, he said, enhancing the national reputation of Kelham Island for its real ale circuit. "I don't think a lot of people know that the cluster of real ale pubs in the area attracts hordes of people from across the country. This will definitely put Sheffield's real ale scene on the map." National judges called anonymously to check the quality of its real ale, customer service, dcor, clientele mix and value for money. Julian Hough, Camra's pubs director and one of the final judges, said: "It truly is a pub for everyone and its attention to detail is fantastic. To have won so many awards in such a short space of time, even enduring a disastrous flood in 2007, is a true testament to the dedication and commitment of its staff." Trevor said: "It's something we never expected. Pub manager Lewis said: "We are so proud to have won. This award is due to the excellent brewers we deal with, our faithful and supportive pub regulars and our invaluable staff members." The presentation is being made at lunchtime today but regulars can look forward to their own celebration. Trevor Wraith bought the pub eight years ago A pub which was badly hit by devastating floods in 2007 has been named as the Campaign for Real Ale's pub of the year. Mr Wraith went on: "Everyone has worked hard since then, though, and it's amazing to think we're now named as the best pub in Britain." CAMRA has now given it its top annual award describing the pub as a "true gem" with ten permanent hand pumps and a "sub-tropical beer garden" in the heart of industrial Sheffield. Trevor Wraith, the licensee who bought it as a semi-derelict pub eight years ago, said: "That day when the water came in was just incredible.
Forty-two people were injured in the bombings, the newspaper reported. Two Tamil Tiger aircraft launched an attack on Colombo last night sending a message of defiance to the Sri Lankan government which believes it is close to defeating the rebels, who are holed-up in the north-east of the country. Witnesses said the air attack started at around 9.30pm as two jets appeared over the city's port area. They have lost significant tranches of territory to the army and most analysts agree it is only a matter of time before they lose what little land they still hold. For much of their existence over the last 30 years or so, the rebels have specialised in surprise attacks - many of them suicide bombings. While all the signs so far suggest that Friday's raid has not significantly caused any damage to the military, its value in propaganda terms is huge. The Sri Lankan Defense Department said one of the rebel aircraft was destroyed and the body of a pilot found. The Financial Times reported that two light aircraft of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam bombed the main tax office, the central bank and air force headquarters. The rebels are renowned for their technical skills The latest attack is also a reflection of the rebels' innovative technical skills. The group has been at war with the Sri Lankan government since 1983. "It confirms what many of us already knew - the rebels may be experiencing reverses on the battle field but they are not simply just going to disappear." The Red Cross yesterday pledged to ferry more wounded and sick civilians out of the conflict zone, amid fears of a mounting humanitarian disaster.
Two Tamil Tiger aircraft launched an attack on Colombo last night sending a message of defiance to the Sri Lankan government which believes it is close to defeating the rebels, who are holed-up in the north-east of the country. At least two people were confirmed dead last night and a further 50 injured after the Sri Lankan military shot down the light aircraft, one of which crashed into a tax office building. Rebel fighters are boxed into a 34-square mile pocket of dense forest, convincing the Sri Lankan government that an end is in sight to the decades-long civil war. Witnesses said the air attack started at around 9.30pm as two jets appeared over the city's port area. The light aircraft were met with a barrage of tracer bullets, anti-aircraft fire and flares fired from army defence positions within the city, preventing the pilots from dropping bombs. An air force spokesman, wing commander Janaka Nanayakkara, said one of the felled jets nose-dived into the tax office, shattering the front of the building. As the emergency was downgraded late last night, questions emerged over the army response amid claims dozens of bystanders were hit in a crossfire between anti-aircraft guns. The attack, the tenth of its kind in two years, heaps embarrassment on the Sri Lankan government which claimed it had destroyed the rebels' runways a fortnight ago as part of its punishing military campaign to end the 25-year conflict. The Red Cross yesterday pledged to ferry more wounded and sick civilians out of the conflict zone, amid fears of a mounting humanitarian disaster. An estimated 250,000 people are trapped between government forces and rebel fighters without access to food, medicine and shelter. By Alastair Lawson BBC News The rebels have carried out surprise attacks on many previous occasions The attack by Sri Lanka's Tamil Tiger rebels on the capital shows that while their conventional capacity has been drastically reduced, their ability to launch surprise attacks is undiminished. Even as the attack in Colombo was taking place, the government was portraying it as a desperate last throw of the dice by the rebels before their extermination. Yet the fact that the rebels were able to launch such an attack in the first place is a huge embarrassment to the authorities, who over the last few weeks have claimed to have destroyed at least seven rebel airfields as the army advances in the north-east. Propaganda value Pro-government pundits had said that the loss of so much territory made it impossible for the rebels to use their more sophisticated weapons and that the army would now be concentrating on a "mopping up" operation. The rebels are renowned for their technical skills The latest attack is also a reflection of the rebels' innovative technical skills. The Tamil diaspora has in recent weeks been increasingly vocal in its condemnation of the war - almost at the same time as Friday's raid, about 14,000 people in Geneva rallied demanding independence for Tamil areas of Sri Lanka. The army now has the advantage in manpower and weaponry "It is very significant that the rebels have carried out such an audacious attack when the government say that they are all but finished," says the BBC's Sinhala Editor, Priyath Liyanage. "It confirms what many of us already knew - the rebels may be experiencing reverses on the battle field but they are not simply just going to disappear." Prime ministers and presidents have been killed, high-security army headquarters infiltrated, passenger planes at the international airport destroyed and the country's central bank blown up.
Since January, the government has named a new president, prime minister and, on Saturday, a Cabinet. Last month, more than a dozen civilians were killed during a car bomb attack in Mogadishu that targeted AU troops. The soldiers are in Somalia to support its fragile transitional government. "They died in a roadside bomb attack," an Oxfam spokeswoman said. He said two suicide bombers -- one in a vehicle and another wearing an explosives-packed vest -- infiltrated the AU base at the former Somali National University. Advertisement Continue reading the main story While some Islamist groups have recently pledged to support the new administration led by President Sheik Sharif Sheik Ahmed, a moderate Islamist, the hard-line Shabab has vowed to fight on and wants foreign peacekeepers to leave. On Saturday, a clerics group in Somalia urged insurgents to halt their attacks against African Union soldiers and allow peace to return to the capital, Mogadishu. Violence in Afghanistan is at its worst since Afghan arme Please re-enter. Sign Up Receive occasional updates and special offers for The New York Times's products and services. Witnesses said they had seen a car speeding toward the gate and then heard a blast and saw plumes of smoke. An error has occurred. The attack comes as the AU and United Nations are struggling to boost the number of peacekeepers in Somalia from the current level of about 3,500 Burundian and Ugandan soldiers. Somalia has been plagued by conflict for the past 18 years, and Islamist insurgents have been fighting a weak central government for more than two years. The Shabab’s spokesman, Sheik Muktar Robow Mansoor, said that a suicide bomber wearing a jacket with explosives had detonated his charge near the peacekeepers’ compound and that another in a car had set off his device at the gate.
Suicide bomber kills 11 soldiers in Somalia Two bombers, one in a car, target African Union troops in the attack. He said two suicide bombers -- one in a vehicle and another wearing an explosives-packed vest -- infiltrated the AU base at the former Somali National University. "Go home, otherwise you will meet our hell," Shabab leader Muktar Robow warned AU troops while speaking by telephone to reporters after the attack. Insurgents from the Shabab militia, which claims links to Al Qaeda, took responsibility and vowed to continue assaults against AU soldiers who have been helping shore up Somalia's shaky transitional government. NAIROBI, KENYA — A suicide car bomb attack against African Union peacekeepers in Somalia on Sunday killed 11 Burundian soldiers and wounded 15, the deadliest attack against AU troops since their deployment two years ago. Hundreds of displaced people are living around the campus, and one witness said he saw two civilians among the dead. "I saw a four-wheel-drive car driving at a high speed and then heard a massive explosion," said Kalid Ali Nur, a civilian. AU and United Nations officials condemned the attack as an attempt by insurgents to detract attention from efforts to form a new unity government. Since January, the government has named a new president, prime minister and, on Saturday, a Cabinet. "They are trying to destabilize the situation and take away attention from the good news," said Susannah Price, a spokeswoman for the U.N.'s special representative to Somalia. The attack comes as the AU and United Nations are struggling to boost the number of peacekeepers in Somalia from the current level of about 3,500 Burundian and Ugandan soldiers. AU troops have been subject to increased attacks since Ethiopian soldiers withdrew from the country in January. Newly appointed Somali President Sheik Sharif Sheik Ahmed, a former leader of the Islamist alliance that once included Shabab, has been calling upon his former partners to join the government, which was expanded in January to incorporate a major Islamist faction. On Saturday, a clerics group in Somalia urged insurgents to halt their attacks against African Union soldiers and allow peace to return to the capital, Mogadishu. Last month, more than a dozen civilians were killed during a car bomb attack in Mogadishu that targeted AU troops. In that case, many of the casualties were reportedly killed by AU troops during a shootout that followed the explosion. Oxfam charity workers killed in Afghanistan (Adds roadside bomb, quote) LONDON, Aug 31 Three aid workers with British humanitarian group Oxfam have been killed by a roadside bomb in northern Afghanistan, the charity said on Tuesday. It said in a statement two Afghan staff members and a community volunteer were killed in the remote mountainous region of Badakhshan. "They died in a roadside bomb attack," an Oxfam spokeswoman said. Somalia has been plagued by conflict for the past 18 years, and Islamist insurgents have been fighting a weak central government for more than two years. More than 16,000 civilians have been killed since the start of 2007 and one million uprooted from their homes. Somalia’s new internal security minister, Omar Hashi Aden, said the government wanted the 3,500 peacekeepers to stay and would “respond very quickly to this cruel attack.” The attack occurred on Sunday morning, when a loud explosion shook the African Union compound. The Shabab’s spokesman, Sheik Muktar Robow Mansoor, said that a suicide bomber wearing a jacket with explosives had detonated his charge near the peacekeepers’ compound and that another in a car had set off his device at the gate.
An Ethiopian withdrawal in January placated some Somalis, but al Shabaab has now turned its fire on the AU force, AMISOM, and the new government. "We have received 50 civilians who were wounded in today's fighting and the hospital was already overwhelmed," he said. MOGADISHU, Somalia — At least 15 people were killed and more than 60 were wounded in Somalia’s capital on Tuesday, in multisided fighting between pro-government forces, African Union peacekeepers and Islamist insurgents, witnesses said. U.N. diplomats say the administration of U.S. President Barack Obama is more skeptical about the idea of sending U.N. peacekeepers into a situation where there is no peace to keep. Residents described the fighting as the deadliest since the Ethiopian troops withdrew from the city. (Additional reporting by Ibrahim Mohamed in Mogadishu, Mohamed Ahmed in Baidoa, Mohamed Ahmed in Dolow and Louis Charbonneau at the United Nations; Writing by Andrew Cawthorne and Daniel Wallis; Editing by Katie Nguyen) Both sides then opened up with mortars and machine guns, and several stray mortar rounds slammed into nearby homes. The latest attack came a day after Somali President Sharif Sheikh Hassan finally relocated to Mogadishu from neighboring Djibouti, where he had worked on putting together his government away from the violence strafing his country. "Al Shabaab fighters are now patrolling the town and the other group fled," local elder Hussein Abdi Isak told Reuters by phone from Hudur. "The sound of the heavy weaponry was terrifying," said Ali Hassan, who saw a heavy shell hit a pharmacy, killing four people and injuring 20 others. But it was opposed by several council members, including Britain and France.
(Adds U.N. Security Council statement, aid appeal, details) By Abdi Sheikh and Abdi Guled MOGADISHU, Feb 25 Islamist rebels battled African Union (AU) peacekeepers and Somali police for a second day on Wednesday, taking the death toll in the worst fighting for weeks to 81, witnesses and a rights group said. The local Elman Peace and Human Rights group said 48 civilians had been killed and 90 wounded since early Tuesday. Witnesses said at least 15 Islamist fighters and six policemen were also killed in exchanges of gunfire and mortar bombs that have rocked the coastal capital for two days. The latest violence flared just days after new President Sheikh Sharif Ahmed returned to the coastal city to form an inclusive unity government, the 15th attempt in 18 years to bring peace to the failed Horn of Africa state. In New York, the U.N. Security Council issued a unanimous statement to "condemn in the strongest terms the attacks on the African Union mission in Somalia" and urged all Somalis "to reject violence and extremism." Hardline al Shabaab Islamist gunmen, who have been battling his administration and a 3,500-strong AU peace mission based in the capital, also seized the southcentral town of Hudur from pro-government militias after a short battle Wednesday. "Al Shabaab fighters are now patrolling the town and the other group fled," local elder Hussein Abdi Isak told Reuters by phone from Hudur. He said at least 18 combatants had died. More than 16,000 civilians have been killed in the two-year-old insurgency, one million people have been driven from their homes, more than a third of the population depend on aid, and large parts of Mogadishu lie empty and destroyed. Al Shabaab gained support as one of many insurgent groups waging war against Ethiopian troops propping up the country's previous government. Regional diplomats hope the inclusion of moderate Islamists in the new administration may marginalise hardliners like the group, which is on Washington's list of terrorist organizations and is known to have foreign fighters in its ranks. Some say it could overrun the government, while others say it has only a few thousand fighters and has used the media and high profile strikes to project a more powerful image, despite waning support among traditionally moderate Somali Muslims. The United Nations said in a statement that Somalia's Gedo and Central regions were facing a "crisis of severe malnutrition, exacerbated by lack of funding and a shortage of water." MOGADISHU, Somalia — At least 15 people were killed and more than 60 were wounded in Somalia’s capital on Tuesday, in multisided fighting between pro-government forces, African Union peacekeepers and Islamist insurgents, witnesses said. The fighting, the heaviest of its kind since Ethiopian troops withdrew from Somalia last month, started around 10 a.m., when armed insurgents attacked government bases. Witnesses described a scene of panic and pools of blood when a mortar shell struck a crowded area that civilians were using as a haven in the southern part of the city. “I was really shocked.” A woman and her baby were killed and six other people were wounded after a mortar shell landed in another neighborhood to the city’s north, witnesses said. (CNN) -- Heavy clashes between Islamic insurgents and forces from the transitional government of Somalia Tuesday left at least 15 people dead and 60 others wounded, according to eyewitnesses, medics and residents. "We have received 50 civilians who were wounded in today's fighting and the hospital was already overwhelmed," he said. Her neighbor and the neighbor's baby were killed in the crossfire of Tuesday's fighting. "The sound of the heavy weaponry was terrifying," said Ali Hassan, who saw a heavy shell hit a pharmacy, killing four people and injuring 20 others.
All the passengers, however, had been removed from the plane as of about 5 p.m., officials said. "Their pilots are well thought of." Nine people died and 86 were injured when the Turkish Airlines Boeing 737-800 crashed short of the runway. Three of those killed are crew members. Schiphol airport has six runways and one major passenger terminal. The plane's tail hit the ground... Watch iReport on crash wreckage » Witnesses said they saw the nose of the plane pitch up suddenly before the crash, Crouch said. Dutch officials say most of the passengers on board were Turkish. Bookmark with: Delicious Digg reddit Facebook StumbleUpon What are these? A bank manager who was a passenger on the plane told NTV that there were no emergency announcements. It broke into three pieces on impact. The last fatal incident at the Amsterdam airport happened in April 1994 when a KLM aircraft crashed shortly after takeoff as it tried to return to Schiphol. "You would be optimistic that they would be quite survivable in an accident." Dutch officials have taken the flight data and voice recorders to Paris, where French authorities are providing technical assistance. Emergency services spokeswoman Ineke van der Zande told an earlier news conference that six people were in a critical condition and 25 were severely wounded. Kieran Daly, of Air Transport Intelligence said the impact had been severe but it could have been survivable because of the lack of fire. The A9 motorway remains closed. E-mail this to a friend Printable version White sheets Television footage from the scene showed rescue workers laying out white sheets on what appeared to be bodies.
Advertisement A Turkish Airlines plane has crashed on landing at Amsterdam's Schiphol international airport, killing nine people and injuring 84, six critically. The plane, carrying 127 passengers and seven crew, crashed short of the runway near the A9 highway. It broke into three pieces, but did not catch fire. Dutch officials say most of the passengers on board were Turkish. It remains unclear why the plane, en route from Istanbul, crashed. The Boeing 737-800 aircraft came down at 1031 local time (0931 GMT), several hundred yards (metres) short of the runway. At a news conference in Amsterdam, officials confirmed that all the bodies had been removed from the plane. SCHIPHOL ACCIDENTS 27 October 2005: A fire at the airport's detention centre killed 11 people and injured 15 4 April 1994: Three people were killed and 13 seriously injured when a KLM flight carrying 24 people crashed on landing 4 October 1992: An El Al Boeing 747 cargo plane crashed into an apartment block after takeoff, killing 43 people In pictures: Schiphol plane crash Turkish plane crash: witnesses Investigators have found the flight data recorders from the plane. Emergency services spokeswoman Ineke van der Zande told an earlier news conference that six people were in a critical condition and 25 were severely wounded. Another 24 passengers had suffered light injuries, she said, with the injuries of another 31 still to be determined. She said 84 people altogether had been taken using 60 ambulances to 11 hospitals in the surrounding area. Michel Bezuijen, mayor of the Haarlemmermeer municipality under which Schiphol airport falls, said the passenger list was being studied to establish the nationalities and identities of those on board. "As far as I know there are no more passengers in the plane," he said. The priority... is providing help and care." Earlier, Candan Karlitekin, head of Turkish Airlines' board of directors, told reporters in Turkey the plane had been properly maintained. "We have checked the plane's documents and there is no problem concerning maintenance," he is quoted as saying by AP. "The fact that the plane landed on a soft surface and that there was no fire helped keep the number of fatalities low," he said. One passenger aboard the plane, Kerem Uzel, told Turkish news channel NTV that the plane's landing had been announced when they were at an altitude of 600m (2,000ft). "We suddenly descended a great distance as if the plane fell into turbulence. The plane's tail hit the ground... White sheets Television footage from the scene showed rescue workers laying out white sheets on what appeared to be bodies. How the Schiphol crash happened Making plane crashes less deadly Relatives of passengers who were waiting at the airport have been taken to a sports hall at a nearby village. Airport spokeswoman Mirjam Snoerwang said Turkish Airlines had organised a special flight to Schiphol, due to arrive at 1710 GMT, for family members of those on the plane which crashed. Tomas Friedhoff, a student who was cycling past the scene, told BBC News he had seen the plane appearing to glide through the air, having lost all propulsion, before hitting the ground. "The plane was nose up and the tail section was at a 45-degree angle. "And seconds after the crash people started exiting through the tail section... "I saw dozens of people making it out very quickly, and as I was about to dial 911 the first sirens were noticeable, and within five minutes there were 10 or 15 ambulances." Telecom worker Nikolai van der Smagt, who was driving past the airport moments after the crash, told BBC News he saw the plane lying in three pieces in a field just 60m from the A9 motorway. He said: "The first people were just getting off the plane and they looked confused. The last crash involving a Turkish Airlines plane was in 2003, when at least 65 people died in an accident in eastern Turkey. (CNN) -- A Turkish passenger jet crashed as it tried to land at Amsterdam's main airport Wednesday, killing at least nine people and injuring more than 55, Dutch airport authorities have said. The flight data and voice recorders have been recovered, he said, but investigators still need to determine what, if anything, the pilots said in the moments before the crash.
It is accounted for in Obama's budget. He says, first of all, that he inherited a $1tn deficit from former President Bush, and that the current needs are urgent. The tax increase would go into effect in 2011. The provision is estimated to raise $10 billion over 10 years. But she expects GDP growth of 3.2%, 4.0% and 4.6% over the next three years. About 46 million Americans have no health insurance. Assume middle class are protected from Alternative Minimum Tax: Every year lawmakers pass a "patch" to protect the middle class from having to pay the Alternative Minimum Tax. The Commonwealth Fund, Families USA and the independent Institute of Medicine have all reported that streamlining Medicare can save money. Healthcare for all Going through the numbers, the new president's stated priorities of education, healthcare and the environment garner spending increases through many different departments and programmes. All estimates in the budget request are based on a set of economic assumptions made by Christina Romer, who heads the White House Council of Economic Advisers. It also seeks to make permanent the expansion of the child tax credit and the newly enlarged college credit now called the American Opportunity Tax Credit. Limits on how much high-income filers can claim in exemptions and deductions would be reinstated. It would be paid for in two ways. Medicaid serves low-income people. The Obama outline touches on the full scope of the federal government's spending and revenue collection efforts. (Reporting by Maggie Fox; Editing by Peter Cooney) Instead of reducing their tax liability by their top income tax rate, they wouldn't be allowed to reduce their bill by any more than 28%, which is below the top two tax rates.
By Karen Nye Business reporter, BBC News, New York President Barack Obama's first budget demonstrates a clear change in direction from the previous administration. President Obama will give more details of his budget in April As promised on the campaign trail, and despite the recession, he wants to increase spending on education, healthcare and the environment and pay for much of that by shifting the tax burden to wealthy Americans. Critics on the right say he is engaging in class warfare, but he says it is just a fairer approach, following eight years when the playing field was tilted towards those with the most resources. By letting the tax cuts sponsored by President George W. Bush expire, billions of dollars in revenues will suddenly be available. At the other end of the scale, the new budget gives more tax breaks to lower and middle income Americans. Healthcare for all Going through the numbers, the new president's stated priorities of education, healthcare and the environment garner spending increases through many different departments and programmes. Education dollars are directed primarily towards two areas: early childhood education, which many educators believe is crucial to later success, and university education, which more and more jobs require. New government spending on healthcare includes more than $600bn (£419bn) set aside over 10 years for unspecified purposes, but aimed at eventually providing healthcare for all Americans, a goal not shared by everyone. Traditionally proponents of the free market, Americans have been conditioned to distrust anything that smacks of "socialism", but as millions of people join the list of uninsured each year, and employer-provided healthcare becomes more costly and covers less, people in the middle agree that the current, mostly private, healthcare system is not working well. The stimulus package started the healthcare ball rolling with billions allocated to computerise medical records in an effort to avoid repeating expensive tests. The new budget also includes $1bn for preventive care, something rarely covered by private American health insurance. Green policies The 2010 budget grants the Environmental Protection Agency a 34% funding increase, including almost $4bn for clean water projects, such as restoring the Great Lakes that border Canada. Other funding increases for labour and housing provide money to train young people in "green" jobs, including how to make houses more energy-efficient. Government agencies are expected to save money on energy use, and oil, gas and mining companies will lose various tax breaks. President Obama is unapologetic about the size of his $3.6tn budget, and the associated deficit, expected to reach $1.75tn next year, equivalent to more than 12% of gross domestic product. He says, first of all, that he inherited a $1tn deficit from former President Bush, and that the current needs are urgent. He has already warned that this scale of spending cannot continue, and plans to reduce the deficit to $533bn in four years, by 2013. That sounds hard to do, but President Obama is counting on a windfall from letting the 43rd president's tax cuts expire. The 44th president says that didn't work, and discredits trickle-down economics, also used by President Ronald Reagan during the 1980s. One of the White House's top economic advisers says that at least those tax reversals will not take effect until 2011, when the economy is expected to be in recovery. New era Another thing that could save billions would be a quick troop drawdown in Iraq, which is another campaign promise. The budget for the Pentagon increases by a modest 4% for the fiscal year 2010, to more than $500bn, which includes funding for operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. Along with a new set of numbers, the president has declared a new era, when budgets will be honest, but he too has attracted the usual criticism of presidential budgets: counting on increased revenues through economic growth, often derisively called a rosy scenario. But some budget experts say that while the economic growth projections are optimistic, they assume a jump-start effect from the stimulus package that was passed a few weeks ago, and don't differ too much from private economists and the Congressional Budget Office. That brings us to another bottom line: the president initiates the budget process by putting forward his wish list, but the Constitution gives Congress control of the purse strings. Democrats control the House of Representatives and the Senate in numbers, but those majorities are slim, and some conservative Democrats could join their Republican colleagues in protesting against "big government spending". It pulls heavily from reports by the Commonwealth Fund, Institute of Medicine and others that show extending health insurance coverage to more people will save money by preventing illness or catching diseases early, before they become expensive. Studies show the reduction of errors caused by poor communication and scribbled prescription mistakes can save billions of dollars and tens of thousands of lives every year, and Obama is gambling those savings will help the federal Medicare and Medicaid health insurance programs. The budget also includes a controversial $1.1 billion measure for the federal government to get into the business of comparing medical treatments head to head. Government-supported studies have shown that older diabetes drugs such as sulfonylureas and cheap diuretics for heart failure work as well as, if not better, for many patients than new and pricey brand-name drugs. UNNECESSARY TESTS Studies have also shown that so long as doctors are paid to treat illness and not prevent it, they will tend to order unnecessary diagnostic tests and scans and prescribe unneeded medicine and surgeries. "We seem to have as much as $700 billion a year in healthcare tests and services that are not necessary ... and just add to costs ... without making anyone healthier," White House budget director Peter Orszag told reporters. How fighting cancer can save costs may be less obvious, but Obama would allocate $6 billion for cancer research at the National Institutes of Health. The U.S. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality estimates the average hospital cost for a lung cancer patient in 2006 was $14,200 or about $1,900 a day. The total cost for all U.S. lung cancer patients was $2.1 billion in 2007 -- much of it paid for by Medicare and Medicaid. The budget says that using more competitive bids for the Medicare Advantage plan that allows outside insurers to supplement patients' coverage will alone save more than $175 billion over 10 years. NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- President Obama on Thursday pulled back the curtain on his first detailed vision of the federal budget, revealing an ambitious plan to reform health care and shift tax burdens while vowing to slash the deficit over the long run. Obama has said repeatedly that his first fiscal plan would have a two-pronged mission: to reduce the $1 trillion-plus deficit he inherited to $533 billion by 2013 and make big investments in the future.
During the trial, which began in July 2006, both sides called more than 100 witnesses. Serbian ex-President Milan Milutinovic has been acquitted on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity in Kosovo by a UN war crimes tribunal. Former Yugoslav army chief of staff and defence minister Dragoljub Ojdanic and ex-Yugoslav army general Vladimir Lazarevic were found guilty of deportation and forcible transfer and sentenced to 15 years. In the late 1990s, Milosevic's forces were attempting to suppress the ethnic Albanian majority's independence campaign in Kosovo. Mr Milutinovic was Serbia's representative at the "Rambouillet" peace talks which broke down on Mar 18 1999. It was only after he lost his immunity as president that he surrendered. FROM THE BBC WORLD SERVICE Please turn on JavaScript. Five other top Serbian officials were found guilty on some or all of the charges relating to the conflict. UN TRIBUNAL SENTENCES Nikola Sainovic - 22 years Nebojsa Pavkovic - 22 years Sreten Lukic - 22 years Vladimir Lazarevic - 15 years Dragoljub Ojdanic - 15 years Summary of judgment [137KB] Judge Iain Bonomy pointed the finger at then-Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic, saying: "In practice, it was Milosevic, sometimes termed the 'Supreme Commander', who exercised actual command authority over the [Serb army] during the Nato campaign." His release from custody was ordered. Vlajko Stojiljkovic, a senior police official close to Milosevic, was indicted but committed suicide in Belgrade in 2002. Five Serbian officials were, however, yesterday given a total of 96 years for their part in the expulsion exercise at International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY).
Serbian ex-President Milan Milutinovic has been acquitted on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity in Kosovo by a UN war crimes tribunal. Five former top Serbian officials were found guilty on some or all the charges relating to the 1990s conflict. Their sentences range from 15 to 22 years. It was the court's first ruling on alleged crimes committed by Serbian forces in the breakaway region. Mr Milutinovic was seen largely as a figurehead president during that time. The court found that the 66-year-old, who led Serbia from December 1997 to December 2002, had no direct control over the Yugoslav army. His release from custody was ordered. UN TRIBUNAL SENTENCES Nikola Sainovic - 22 years Nebojsa Pavkovic - 22 years Sreten Lukic - 22 years Vladimir Lazarevic - 15 years Dragoljub Ojdanic - 15 years Summary of judgment [137KB] Judge Iain Bonomy pointed the finger at then-Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic, saying: "In practice, it was Milosevic, sometimes termed the 'Supreme Commander', who exercised actual command authority over the [Serb army] during the Nato campaign." In the late 1990s, Milosevic's forces were attempting to suppress the ethnic Albanian majority's independence campaign in Kosovo. The region, under UN control after Nato drove out Serb forces in 1999, unilaterally declared independence from Serbia a year ago. Mr Milutinovic and his fellow defendants at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) - all of whom had been allies of Milosevic - had denied all the charges against them. More from BBC World Service His five co-accused were convicted for what the judges described as a "broad campaign of violence directed against the Kosovo Albanian civilian population". Ex-Yugoslav deputy prime minister Nikola Sainovic, ex-Yugoslav army general Nebojsa Pavkovic and former Serbian police public security service chief Sreten Lukic were found guilty on all counts and were each sentenced to 22 years in jail. Former Yugoslav army chief of staff and defence minister Dragoljub Ojdanic and ex-Yugoslav army general Vladimir Lazarevic were found guilty of deportation and forcible transfer and sentenced to 15 years. The verdict is a confirmation that this process has been political Ivica Dacic, Serbian interior minister Kosovo trial clears Serbia leader No hero's welcome for Milutinovic All five will be given credit for time already served in the tribunal's custody. Reacting to news of the five men's convictions, Kosovo's President, Fatmir Sejdiu, told the AFP news agency he had "full trust" in the UN tribunal. But Serbian Interior Minister Ivica Dacic, head of the Socialist Party founded by Milosevic, rejected the outcome, saying: "The verdict is a confirmation that this process has been political." Prosecution spokeswoman Olga Kavran told the Associated Press news agency that prosecutors welcomed the judgment, saying it proved Serbian forces had engaged in a brutal campaign to drive Albanians out of Kosovo. Lost immunity At the time of the conflict in Kosovo, real power lay in the hands of Mr Milutinovic's mentor, Milosevic, says the BBC's Helen Fawkes in Belgrade. Profiles: Kosovo trial accused Acquitting Mr Milutinovic, the judge said he was not among Milosevic's closest associates and was not a key player in the ruling political party. Milosevic died in tribunal custody in 2006, before a verdict was delivered in his own trial, giving this trial much greater significance, our correspondent says. During the trial, which began in July 2006, both sides called more than 100 witnesses. Prosecution witnesses testified that Serb forces shelled towns and villages, murdered civilians and raped women. The responsibility has to fall on someone and when thousands are killed, leadership has to be held accountable Flamur, Kosovan in Canada Readers' reactions In total, the ICTY has indicted nine of the most senior Serb and Yugoslav officials for crimes alleged to have been carried out in Kosovo. Vlajko Stojiljkovic, a senior police official close to Milosevic, was indicted but committed suicide in Belgrade in 2002. Vlastimir Djordevic, the former chief of Serbia's Public Security Department and a fugitive until his arrest in June 2007, went on trial on 27 January. Tthe prosecution said the Serbian orchestrators sought the "modification of the ethnic balance in Kosovo in order to ensure continued Serbian control." Milan Milutinovic, 66, who gave himself up to the court after his term finished in 2002, was found not to have had the "de jure" nor "de facto" power to prevent the war crimes and crimes against humanity from happening. Instead the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia found that Yugoslavia's president Slobodan Milosevic, "exercised actual command" over the Yugoslav Army.
He said the situation had now calmed down. "We don't know if the Polish forces entered a mosque or not, but the protesters are claiming that," Mr Zaman said. A Nato spokesman said there were no indications its troops were in the area on Thursday when the incident was said to have occurred. Afghanistan's southern provinces continue to be Taleban strongholds. The protests in the village of Dhi Khodaidad turned violent There have been angry protests in the Afghan province of Ghazni at what locals say was a raid on a mosque by international forces. A number of people were hurt when police clashed with protesters. Some reports say shots were fired in the mosque and also that a Koran in the building was damaged. Investigation launched One of the protesters told the Associated Press that he was in the mosque when troops entered and opened fire, although no-one was injured. Nato and the US have both been criticised by the Afghan government over a series of raids in which civilians were killed. (Writing by Sayed Salahuddin; Editing by David Fox) More than 74,000 foreign troops operate under NATO and U.S. military's command in Afghanistan, fighting the al Qaeda-backed Taliban. Civilian deaths Robert Rochowicz, a spokesman for Poland's defence ministry, said he had "no information at all about any kind of incident concerning Polish troops in Afghanistan". At least two bullets hit the door of the mosque, said Kazim Allayar, deputy provincial governor, during a visit to the site of the alleged incident. Ghazni police chief Mohammad Zaman said that the protest turned violent as the crowd threw rocks at police who responded with gunfire.
GHAZNI, Afghanistan Feb 27 Six people were hurt when Afghan police opened fire on demonstrators who claimed U.S. troops had desecrated a Koran during a raid on a mosque. The incident took place in Deh Khodaidad village in Ghazni, southwest of the capital, Kabul. Police said a government team had been sent to investigate claims that foreign troops had raided the mosque, rounded up worshippers and tore apart copies of the Koran on Thursday night. Afghan police said any injuries had been caused by "saboteurs" in the crowd. More than 74,000 foreign troops operate under NATO and U.S. military's command in Afghanistan, fighting the al Qaeda-backed Taliban. Investigation launched One of the protesters told the Associated Press that he was in the mosque when troops entered and opened fire, although no-one was injured. At least two bullets hit the door of the mosque, said Kazim Allayar, deputy provincial governor, during a visit to the site of the alleged incident. Lieutenant Commander Chris Hall said, a Nato spokesman, said they were no reports of international troops being in the area where Thursday's incident allegedly occurred. Civilian deaths Robert Rochowicz, a spokesman for Poland's defence ministry, said he had "no information at all about any kind of incident concerning Polish troops in Afghanistan". International forces have been battling fighters loyal to the Taliban, which has been resurgent in Afghanistan's southern provinces in recent months. Ghazni police chief Mohammad Zaman said that the protest turned violent as the crowd threw rocks at police who responded with gunfire.
"By any measure, this has already been a long war," Obama said. There are 142,000 U.S. troops in Iraq. The president's troop withdrawal plan is meeting with mixed reviews in Congress. The administration officials would not say how many of the troops leaving Iraq would be redeployed to Afghanistan. U.S. military officials said even those residual forces could find themselves in combat. The decision will be announced at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina on Friday, according to one senior administration official. The military is trying to determine what equipment might be returned to the United States; transferred to the Iraqi or Jordanian government; sent to Afghanistan; or simply discarded. WASHINGTON (CNN) -- President Obama is expected to approve a proposal to withdraw most combat troops from Iraq within 19 months, Pentagon officials told CNN Wednesday. Congressional Democrats who fought the Bush administration for two years to bring home U.S. forces home expressed disappointment, with Senate leader Harry Reid saying 50,000 troops was "higher than I had anticipated" and Representative Lynn Woolsey calling it "unacceptable." He also praised Obama's willingness to leave behind a significant residual force and reassess the situation if conditions change in the future. All About Barack Obama • Iraq War • Military and Defense Policy Defense Secretary Robert Gates said he would favor a modest U.S. military presence in Iraq even after the end of 2011 to assist Iraqi security forces if requested by Baghdad. "We are finally on a path to success," McCain said. A White House spokesman said the president has made no final decisions about Iraq policy. PURSUING DIPLOMACY Obama said Washington would pursue a regional diplomatic strategy, help resettle millions of Iraqis displaced by violence, and try to help Iraq's leaders resolve divisive political issues.
A U.S. soldier inspects the interior of a damaged bus after a bomb attack in Baghdad's Sadr city February 15, 2009. REUTERS/Mohammed Ameen A resident stands near U.S. soldiers during the opening of a fish wholesale market by the U.S. military forces in Baghdad's Haifa Street February 18, 2009. REUTERS/Mohammed Ameen CAMP LEJEUNE, North Carolina President Barack Obama said on Friday he would end U.S. combat operations in Iraq in 18 months but leave up to 50,000 troops there to provide stability, a decision that riled Democrats who favored a larger withdrawal. "We are leaving Iraq to its people, and we have begun the work of ending this war," Obama said in an address to Marines almost six years after U.S.-led forces toppled Saddam Hussein in a vain hunt for weapons of mass destruction. Congressional Democrats who fought the Bush administration for two years to bring home U.S. forces home expressed disappointment, with Senate leader Harry Reid saying 50,000 troops was "higher than I had anticipated" and Representative Lynn Woolsey calling it "unacceptable." "Such a large number can only be viewed by the Iraqi public as an enduring occupation force," Woolsey said. "So long as the U.S. is viewed as an occupier, the Iraqis will be unable to achieve the necessary unification, reconciliation, and further democratization efforts that will be required for them to bring long-term stability to the country." It has been a huge drain on the Treasury, cost the lives of 4,250 U.S. soldiers and damaged the U.S. standing in the world. Winding down the Iraq war will allow Obama to boost troop numbers in Afghanistan, which he has declared the central front in the U.S. fight against terrorism. He hopes it will also help him slash a ballooning $1.3 trillion budget deficit. "I have chosen a timeline that will remove our combat brigades over the next 18 months. Let me say this as plainly as I can: by August 31, 2010, our combat mission in Iraq will end," Obama said to scattered applause from an audience of about 2,000 Marines at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina. The United States now has 142,000 troops overall in Iraq. Obama said 35,000 to 50,000 troops would stay to train and equip the Iraqi forces, protect civilian reconstruction projects and conduct limited counterterrorism operations. He stressed he intended to remove all U.S. troops by the end of 2011, in line with a deal signed with Iraq last year, and he underlined to the Iraqi people that the United States "pursues no claim on your territory or your resources." Defense Secretary Robert Gates said he would favor a modest U.S. military presence in Iraq even after the end of 2011 to assist Iraqi security forces if requested by Baghdad. "My own view would be that we should be prepared to have some very modest-sized presence for training and helping them with their new equipment and providing perhaps intelligence support," he told reporters. PURSUING DIPLOMACY Obama said Washington would pursue a regional diplomatic strategy, help resettle millions of Iraqis displaced by violence, and try to help Iraq's leaders resolve divisive political issues. "The United States will pursue principled and sustained engagement with all of the nations in the region, and that will include Iran and Syria," he said. Washington has accused Iran and Syria of meddling in Iraq's internal affairs, a charge they deny. Obama said the U.S. troop drawdown sent a "clear signal that Iraq's future is now its own responsibility." "We cannot sustain indefinitely a commitment that has put a strain on our military, and will cost the American people nearly a trillion dollars," he said. For many Americans, the Iraq war has been overshadowed by a deep recession that has left many struggling to make ends meet and millions jobless. Obama's decision to leave a sizable force to bolster stability was welcomed by congressional Republicans, notably former presidential candidate Senator John McCain, while some Democrats were concerned too many troops would remain in Iraq. "Overall it is a reasonable plan and one that can work and I support it," said McCain, who had argued Obama was naive on national security and criticized his 16-month withdrawal plan. In an effort to stem rising violence in Afghanistan, Obama ordered 17,000 more troops, including Marines from Camp Lejeune, to Afghanistan last week. They would be withdrawn gradually until all U.S. forces are out of Iraq by December 31, 2011 -- the deadline set under an agreement the Bush administration signed with the Iraqi government last year. Watch Obama announce drawdown » Obama's trip to Camp Lejeune, a Marine Corps base, was his first trip to a military base since being sworn in. Administration officials, who briefed reporters on the plan, said the remaining troops would take on advisory roles in training and equipping Iraqi forces, supporting civilian operations in Iraq and conducting targeted counterterrorism missions, which would include some combat. The U.S. "cannot police Iraq's streets indefinitely until they are completely safe," the president said. "We sent our troops to Iraq to do away with Saddam Hussein's regime and you got the job done," he said, referring to the troops. The U.S. military had also "exceeded every expectation" suppressing the insurgency in the years that followed. "The capacity of Iraq's security forces has improved, and Iraq's leaders have made strides toward political accommodation" through steps such as January's provincial elections. "Iraq is not yet secure and there will be difficult days ahead," he said, but the Iraqi people now have a "hard-earned opportunity ... for a better life." Watch ex-general analyze strategy » He said that he acted with "careful consideration of events on the ground, with respect for the security agreements between the United States and Iraq, and with a critical recognition that the long-term solution in Iraq must be political, not military." When asked whether troops might be sent back if Iraq becomes unstable after the pullout, a senior aide said the president has always said he wanted some flexibility on the issue. Sen. John McCain, R-Arizona, however, said in a speech on the Senate floor that he believes Obama's decision is "reasonable" and that he is "cautiously optimistic that the plan that is laid out by the president can lead to success." McCain, the ranking Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee, said that a "failing situation in Iraq has been arrested and reversed" due to the "dramatic success of the surge strategy."
Taken to hospital, but not seriously wounded. "The Pakistan government guaranteed the Sri Lankan cricket team that they would provide them security." Laskhar-e-Taiba, the group blamed for the Mumbai attack, comes from Pakistan's Punjab province, of which Lahore is the capital. Pakistani officials said about 12 gunmen were involved and grenades and rocket launchers have been recovered. * Paul Farbrace (assistant coach) - shrapnel wound to his arm, minor. More from BBC World Service None of the attackers was killed or apprehended at the scene. Media requires JavaScript to play. Sri Lanka's cricketers were invited to Pakistan after India pulled out over security concerns. Bookmark with: Delicious Digg reddit Facebook StumbleUpon What are these? Thilan Samaraweera and Tharanga Paranavithana, two of the injured players, were carried on stretchers to a second helicopter, which also evacuated Mahela Jayawardene, the Sri Lankan team's captain, and Kurrupu. The attackers struck while the Sri Lankan team was en route to Lahore's Gaddafi stadium [Reuters] The attackers struck while the Sri Lankan team was en route to Lahore's Gaddafi stadium [Reuters] TV footage showed armed men with backpacks firing at the convoy as they retreated from the scene, several damaged vehicles and a lone, unexploded grenade lying on the ground. The Sri Lankan wicketkeeper Kumar Sangakkara told Australia's ABC radio that he and his team mates probably owed their lives to their bus driver. They were not common people. The Mumbai attacks were blamed on Pakistan-based Islamic militants. It was unclear who was behind Tuesday's assault, and no one has yet claimed responsibility.
Advertisement Gunmen have attacked a bus carrying the Sri Lankan cricket team on its way to play in the Pakistani city of Lahore. At least six policemen escorting the team bus were killed, along with a driver. Seven cricketers and an assistant coach were injured. Pakistani officials said about 12 gunmen were involved and grenades and rocket launchers have been recovered. Officials said the incident bore similarities to deadly attacks in Mumbai in India last November. INJURED PLAYERS Thilan Samaraweera (hospital) Tharanga Paranavitana (hospital) Mahela Jayawardene Kumar Sangakkara Ajantha Mendis Suranga Lakmal Chaminda Vaas Assistant coach Paul Farbrace Profiles of players In pictures: Cricketers attacked Bus driver's dramatic escape Pakistani cricket was already suffering from serious security concerns. Pakistan invited Sri Lanka to tour only after India's cricket team pulled out of a scheduled cricket tour on security grounds, following the Mumbai attacks. And International Cricket Council president David Morgan told the BBC it would be "very difficult for international cricket to be hosted in Pakistan for quite some time to come". Evacuation Reports suggest 10 to 12 gunmen ambushed the team coach and its accompanying police detail on the Liberty Square roundabout in the heart of Lahore, as the convoy was on the way to the Gaddafi stadium for a Test match. The BBC's Barbara Plett, in Islamabad, says accounts suggest the attack was sophisticated in nature, with one group of gunmen firing a rocket-propelled grenade in order to create a diversion, while others then approached, firing guns on the convoy. She says the gunmen - two of whom were shown in TV pictures carrying backpacks - seemed to be well-trained. MAJOR ATTACKS Sept 08: 54 die in an attack on the Marriott hotel in Islamabad June 08: Six killed in car bomb attack near Danish embassy in Islamabad Dec 07: Former PM Benazir Bhutto assassinated along with 20 others at a Rawalpindi rally March 06: Suicide car bombing kills US diplomat in Karachi June 02: 12 killed in car bomb attack outside US consulate in Karachi May 02: 11 French engineers and three Pakistanis killed in an attack on Karachi Sheraton hotel Lahore Test scrapped after attack Sri Lanka's assistant coach Paul Farbrace, who is British, told the BBC: "There was a lot of shouting and people hitting the floor and when I got to the floor I realised that the blood that I could see was coming from me - luckily superficial wounds." The Sri Lankan wicketkeeper Kumar Sangakkara told Australia's ABC radio that he and his team mates probably owed their lives to their bus driver. "We had an amazing driver who just kept driving the bus straight through all of that to the ground and that's probably what saved us." Officials in Lahore said two members of the Sri Lankan team, Thilan Samaraweera and Tharanga Paranavitana, were sent to hospital. 'Security failure' The Pakistani politician Imran Khan, a former captain of the country's cricket team, said the Sri Lankan visitors had been given inadequate protection. "This was one of the worst security failures in Pakistan," he said. "The Pakistan government guaranteed the Sri Lankan cricket team that they would provide them security." Grenades and rocket launchers were found there, police said, and a manhunt is under way. Our correspondent says security forces will be investigating any connections to al-Qaeda and Taleban militants as well as Kashmiri jihadi groups. A Pakistani air force helicopter has now airlifted uninjured members of the Sri Lankan team out of the Gaddafi Stadium. Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse condemned the "cowardly terrorist attack" and ordered the players' evacuation back to Sri Lanka. Thilan Samaraweera (L) and Tharanga Paranavitana went to hospital Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari also strongly condemned the attack, and ordered an immediate investigation "so that the perpetrators are identified and their motives exposed", said a statement from his office. Meanwhile, a spokesperson for India's foreign ministry offered sympathy and urged Pakistan to take "prompt, meaningful and decisive steps to dismantle the terrorist infrastructure once and for all". The sport's world governing body, the International Cricket Council, last month decided not to hold the 2009 Champions Trophy in Pakistan due to safety worries. The attackers struck while the Sri Lankan team was en route to Lahore's Gaddafi stadium [Reuters] The attackers struck while the Sri Lankan team was en route to Lahore's Gaddafi stadium [Reuters] TV footage showed armed men with backpacks firing at the convoy as they retreated from the scene, several damaged vehicles and a lone, unexploded grenade lying on the ground. Pakistani air force helicopters later took the Sri Lankan cricket team - including two players on stretchers - from the Gaddafi Stadium to an air base. Haji Habibur Rehman, Lahore's chief of police, said there were about 12 attackers, who "appeared to be well-trained terrorists". Security experts defused two car bombs near the scene and recovered a stash of weapons including grenades, 3kg of explosives, a pistol and a detonating cable after the deadly ambush, the AFP news agency reported. Daniyal Hassan, a journalist with Dawn newspaper who was at the scene, said the attack occurred "very close to the local police station". Mumbai 'pattern' The Sri Lankan government condemned the assault as "cowardly" and said it was immediately dispatching the country's foreign minster to Pakistan. Five police officers escorting the Sri Lankan team were killed [Reuters] "We note with dismay and regret the events of this morning in Lahore and we condemn this attack without reservation,'' Haroon Lorgat, the board's chief executive, said in a statement. The Punjabi governor, meanwhile, likened the shooting to a strike in the Indian city of Mumbai last year in which 179 people were killed when armed men began opening fire indiscriminately at luxury hotels and the main railway station.
We are staring into the abyss. "As long as there is British involvement in Ireland, these attacks will continue," the group said. There were unconfirmed reports that another PSNI officer was badly injured in last night's shooting. He said: "Two police vehicles arrived in the area. Those responsible for this murderous act will not be allowed to drag our province back to the past. He told the BBC: "We have a chief constable who has warned us and warned us and warned us about the danger of dissident IRA. John O'Dowd , Sinn Fein assembly member for the Craigavon area: "This is an attack on the peace process. "I am sickened at the attempts by terrorists to destabilise Northern Ireland. "This murder must be roundly condemned by all right-thinking people. Mr Carroll 48, was shot in the head at as he waited in his car providing backup for colleagues dealing with a call-out in the Lismore Manor estate. Sir Hugh sent his sympathies to the murdered policeman's family and said he was very proud of each and every one of his officers. This officer was serving his community at the time of the incident. I would appeal to everyone in Craigavon to ensure they don't succeed. The attack prompted the province's First Minister, Peter Robinson, and Deputy First Minister, Martin McGuinness, to postpone a planned visit to the United States to meet President Barack Obama. Some 300 members of the RUC (now PSNI) died during the troubles (1969-1998), along with six members of the English police and nine Irish Garda.
Peter Robinson , the First Minister: "I am sickened at the attempts by terrorists to destabilise Northern Ireland ... Those responsible for this murderous act will not be allowed to drag our province back to the past." John O'Dowd , Sinn Fein assembly member for the Craigavon area: "This is an attack on the peace process. It is wrong and it is counter productive and I would extend my condolences to the dead man's family at this time," he said. "This is a time for strong political leadership and cool heads. It is a time for all political parties and the two governments to recommit to the principles which have underpinned the peace process and delivered the stability of recent years." David Simpson , DUP MP for Upper Bann: "What we have seen over the last 36 hours is a deliberate and sustained effort by terrorist murderers to try and drag Northern Ireland back to the worst days of Ulster's past," he said. "I utterly and completely condemn the criminals responsible for this latest outrage and I hope that the vermin responsible for it are brought to justice immediately. "Events such as the murders at Massereene and this latest terrorist atrocity show us all the need for a swift, co-ordinated and ruthless security and government response." Alderman Sidney Anderson, the mayor of Craigavon: "There is total revulsion about what has taken place in Craigavon tonight. "Our young people know nothing of the Troubles and we don't want to bring Craigavon back to the bad old days. Lord Maginnis, UUP peer: "We had made progress and we allowed it to be undermined. I blame the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, who should have reacted to the warning from the Chief Constable [that the police faced a recruiting crisis and shortfall of 400 detectives]. Ian Paisley, Jr, member of the NI Policing Board and DUP Assembly member: "Our thoughts are with the officer's family ... this was a brutal, callous, unacceptable and completely unnecessary murder". Sir Desmond Rea, the Chairman of the NI Policing Board: "It's a step back into a past that the vast majority of people in Northern Ireland hoped they had left behind." Patrick Mercer MP, chairman of the Commons subcommittee on counter terrorism: "This is not unexpected. "The chief constable last week said the threat had risen and the fact that he asked for the help of special troops was a tactic that proves his fears. "The terrorists want to damage the peace process – that is undoubted – but they are a small minority." David Ford, Alliance Leader: "I simply cannot comprehend the sheer evil of those involved in this attack. Danny Kennedy, the deputy leader of the UUP: "These terrorists seem totally incapable of understanding that they are flying in the face of the overwhelming will of the people in Northern Ireland, Great Britain and the Republic of Ireland, who want peace and political stability ... We will not allow ourselves to be dragged back to a darker, bloodier world." David McKittrick, a journalist and expert on Northern Ireland's recent history, said that the province was "slipping towards a security crisis." "Now we have had an attack in a place where there has been more violence, so security forces will have to ask where can they send their people where they will be safe," he said. A police officer was shot dead in Northern Ireland last night as dissident republicans intensified their terror campaign aimed at destabilising power sharing in the province. Later, around 12.20am this morning, there were reports that a black car had been raked with gunfire on the outskirts of Craigavon. The murdered PSNI officer, believed to have been an experienced officer who had been in the force for more than 20 years, was part of a patrol that had been called out to the Drumbeg estate after reports of suspicious activity in the area. At a press conference early today, the PNSI chief constable Sir Hugh Orde said: "Today a police officer with his colleagues responding to a call for help from a vulnerable person in the community was gunned down." Asked if the Massereene barracks murders in Antrim were linked to last night's killing, Sir Hugh said: "I think you are giving (the attackers) credit they ill deserve. Sir Hugh sent his sympathies to the murdered policeman's family and said he was very proud of each and every one of his officers. This killing is the first of a PSNI officer since the police force was transformed by reforms under Chris Patten, the former Tory party chairman, in 2001. Last night's murder has compounded the sense of shock and concern following the weekend double murder by the Real IRA of two young British soldiers who died in a hail of gunfire outside the Massereene army barracks in Antrim town. Sinn Féin's local assembly member John O'Dowd called on the entire community to back the PSNI investigation into the policeman's murder. The SDLP assembly member for the area, Dolores Kelly, said: "I was in the area immediately after the shooting and I regret to say I am hearing reports that the officer has died.
"Something had to snap," said Hysmith, 35, who lives in Samson, and worked with McLendon in 2001. All About Alabama Geneva's population is about 4,400. Advertisement Police are investigating why a gunman killed 10 people in a series of shootings in the southern US state of Alabama before killing himself. He then placed his mother on a couch and set the house on fire McLendon also shot four dogs at the house, officials said. The FBI has sent an agent to assist the local sheriff's office. The list included the nearby sausage plant he quit days before the spree and the metal factory where he shot himself, authorities said. Watch Sheriff Ward describe what happened » "I can't describe what happened, why it happened," Ward told CNN affiliate WTVY. Geneva County Sheriff Greg Ward said one of his deputies lost his wife and toddler in the shooting at the first house. Video: Woman rescues infant during rampage And the people who might be able to explain — his mother, his grandmother, his uncle and two cousins — were among the victims. ... Law enforcement officers found him dead," Jarrett said. From Samson, the gunman drove 19km (12 miles) east to Geneva. The district attorney said the mother had recently been laid off from the plant. “It’s obvious to me he had planned doing this kind of thing and had for some time.” The killings devastated rural communities in two counties near the Florida border. Deputy Myers's other daughter was injured in the incident and was set to undergo treatment in a local hospital for a wound to the leg caused by a bullet or shrapnel.
(CNN) -- At least 10 people were killed Tuesday in a shooting spree that spanned two small southern Alabama towns, state officials confirmed. The gunman, who turned the gun on himself, and the wife and child of a sheriff's deputy were among those killed. The shooting started in a neighborhood in Samson, a town of about 3,000 about 15 miles north of the Florida border, just after 4 p.m. (5 p.m. ET) and ended 12 miles away at a manufacturing plant in Geneva, said Alabama state Sen. Harri Anne Smith, who represents Geneva County. "He was shooting at just ordinary people going about their business," Smith told CNN, saying she had been briefed by state and local law enforcement. The gunman, whose identity was not disclosed, shot himself at the Reliable Metal Products plant, state public safety spokesman Kevin Cook told CNN. Authorities are also investigating an arson at a residence in neighboring Coffee County, where a body was found. Investigators are trying to determine whether the gunman, who Cook said was armed with a semi-automatic weapon, knew any of the victims. Steve Jarrett told reporters that the gunman killed six adults and one child in three residences in Samson, before heading down state Highway 52, firing at least seven bullets into a state trooper car. Geneva County Sheriff Greg Ward said one of his deputies lost his wife and toddler in the shooting at the first house. Watch Sheriff Ward describe what happened » "I can't describe what happened, why it happened," Ward told CNN affiliate WTVY. "It's just a sad day for Geneva County." The gunman then killed another person at Samson Pipe and Supply and then another at a service station -- both on Highway 52, Jarrett said. Watch CNN's Anderson Cooper talk about the investigation » A witness told CNN Radio she saw a woman's body at the Big-Little Store service station off the highway as people gathered at the crime scene. The gunman ended up at the Reliable Metal Products plant in Geneva, where police rammed his vehicle, forcing him to get out. Watch a timeline of the shootings » "Then the subject entered the business. ... Law enforcement officers found him dead," Jarrett said. "There are believed to be additional people shot and wounded during these episodes," he said. Watch the aftermath of the shooting spree » Sheriff's officials says the gunman was a former employee of Reliable Metal, CNN affiliate WEAR-TV reported. The FBI bureau in Mobile, Alabama, sent an agent to assist the Geneva County sheriff's office and local police, a spokeswoman for the FBI said. Col. Christopher Murphy, head of the Alabama Department of Public Safety, called the southern Alabama shooting spree "the worst that DPS has a memory of." Another mass killing occurred in southern Alabama in 2002, when Westley Devon Harris gunned down six members of his 16-year-old girlfriend's family at their farm in Luverne. Harris was convicted and sentenced to the death penalty in 2005. Advertisement Police are investigating why a gunman killed 10 people in a series of shootings in the southern US state of Alabama before killing himself. The gunman burned down his own house, before firing on homes, shops and vehicles in the towns of Samson and Geneva near the Florida border. Several of the victims are believed to have been members of the gunman's extended family. The wife and daughter of a local police officer were also killed. He then placed his mother on a couch and set the house on fire McLendon also shot four dogs at the house, officials said. Shock The suspect then headed to a house in Samson where he shot and killed three relatives as well as the wife and daughter of Josh Myers, a local sheriff's deputy. Deputy Myers's other daughter was injured in the incident and was set to undergo treatment in a local hospital for a wound to the leg caused by a bullet or shrapnel. After leaving his relatives' home, the gunman moved to a neighbouring home, where he shot dead a 74-year-old woman - also a relative, according to officials. Police are being assisted in their investigation by the FBI The gunman then drove around Samson, killing two people at a Samson convenience store, and another man driving a pick-up truck. "He just cruised his automobile through Samson and was spraying the people with semi-automatic weapons [fire] at random," Reverend Mike Shirah, of Geneva's Maple Baptist Church, told the BBC. "I've lived here 44 years and never, never dreamed of this happening," Mr King told AP. From Samson, the gunman drove 19km (12 miles) east to Geneva. RECENT US SHOOTINGS Dec 2008: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus kills nine people and himself on Christmas Eve in LA Sept 2008: Six people die in a series of shootings in the north-west of Washington state June 2008: A worker at a plastics plant in Kentucky kills five people and wounds one other before killing himself Feb 2008: Five people die and 18 are wounded after a man opens fire at Northern Illinois University Dec 2007: A gunman kills eight people and wounds five at a shopping mall in Omaha, Nebraska, before killing himself Apr 2007: 32 people and the gunman die at the Virginia Tech campus In pictures: Alabama shootings In quotes: Alabama shooting 'Community in sorrow' Geneva police chief Frankie Lindsay says he was saved by his bullet-proof vest when the man shot at his patrol with an automatic weapon. One of the officers involved in the shootout was Deputy Myers, who at the time was unaware that his wife and daughter had already been killed by the gunman.
And suddenly, I've heard them shooting, too." "What can I say? Police said the suspect was killed during a shoot-out with officers in the town of Wendlingen, about 40km (25 miles) away from the school. The gunman died after a shoot-out at a car salesroom 1230: Kretschmer exchanges fire with plain-clothed officers. (Xinhua/AFP Photo) Photo Gallery>>> In early reports, the German mass circulation newspaper Bild reported on its website that the attacker killed himself at a park house of a shopping center at about 12:35 local time. Among the dead were nine pupils, eight of them girls, and three teachers at the Albertville secondary school in the town of Winnenden, north of Stuttgart. Germany has seen several school shootings in past years. At once we hear "pam pam pam" and I look at the door and there stands a man with a gun in his hand and he just shoots everywhere. Two officers are injured in the shoot-out. Most of them had shots in their head - it must have all happened in seconds." 0930 (0830 GMT), 11 March: The 17-year-old, named locally as Tim Kretschmer, walks into his former school Albertville-Realschule [1] in Winnenden. Officials earlier said a 10th pupil had died raising the death toll to 16, but this was later revised down to nine pupils. Police say a gunman dressed in a black combat uniform opened fire at a high school in southern Germany on Wednesday, killing at least 10 people and injuring others before fleeing the scene. Media requires JavaScript to play.
The teenage gunman who went on a shooting rampage in a school in southern Germany killed 15 people before dying in a shoot-out with police. 0930 (0830 GMT), 11 March: The 17-year-old, named locally as Tim Kretschmer, walks into his former school Albertville-Realschule [1] in Winnenden. I look at the door and there stands a man with a gun in his hand and he just shoots everywhere Celina Dressed in black, he starts shooting, killing nine students, eight of them female, and three teachers. Police say he aimed at his victims' heads, which suggests it was not just indiscriminate shooting. "I heard two shots and then screaming," said a student named only as Betty, 15. "At first I thought it was a joke, but then someone called "Run, run" and I saw students jumping out of the windows and took off running." At once we hear "pam pam pam" and I look at the door and there stands a man with a gun in his hand and he just shoots everywhere. "I threw myself on the floor and took my friends with me, and then I went to a corner and put a table in front of me, and he came again a second time and shot again, and we were in panic and in shock." The German Bild daily newspaper reports that the gunman enters the class a third time, asking: "Aren't you all dead?" 0933: Police receive an emergency call from a terrified pupil at the school amid scenes of panic. Minutes later, the first police officers enter the school building. They can still hear shots being fired and confront the gunman on the first floor, drawing fire themselves. 0940: Other officers arrive at the school to find the victims' bodies in two classrooms. Police say the gunman may have planned on killing more Regional police director Ralf Michelfelder said: "Children were sitting at their tables, with pencils still in their hands, their heads fallen over on the table. Most of them had shots in their head - it must have all happened in seconds." Bystander Hans Ulrich Stuiber described the scenes of anguish outside the school as parents waited for news. "Some were struck dumb, others were crying and a few had fainted," he told AFP. Police mobilise hundreds of officers, including dog and helicopter teams to try to locate the gunman. 1000: Police commandos storm Kretschmer parents' home in Leutenbach [2], 12km (7.5 miles) from the school. 1204: Kretschmer hijacks a car in Winnenden [3], forcing the driver to head south. Police say he gets stuck in traffic, but makes the driver turn around and head towards Wendlingen, 40km [25 miles] away. The car driver swerves off the road to avoid a police checkpoint and manages to escape and alert the police. The gunman continues on foot towards an industrial estate in Wendlingen [4]. The gunman died after a shoot-out at a car salesroom 1230: Kretschmer exchanges fire with plain-clothed officers. As he tries to escape through the car park he is hit in the leg, falls down but manages to get up and reload his gun [5]. Witness Vjeran Kuran was working nearby: "By accident I took a look out of the window and then I have seen a lot of police cars. Kretschmer is found dead a short time later - police say witnesses saw him shoot himself Bookmark with: Delicious Digg reddit Facebook StumbleUpon What are these? Among the dead were nine pupils, eight of them girls, and three teachers at the Albertville secondary school in the town of Winnenden, north of Stuttgart. The gunman, a 17-year-old former pupil named as Tim Kretschmer, entered the school at about 0930 (0830 GMT) in black combat gear and began shooting. TIM KRETSCHMER Left Albertville school last year after passing exams Officials said he was an ordinary pupil who had received good reports from school German media reported he had begun an apprenticeship Lived in the village of Leutenbach A keen table-tennis player, who aspired to become professional Attack raises gun law questions Officers say he shot himself dead after being wounded by the police. "It is unimaginable that in just seconds, pupils and teachers were killed - it is an appalling crime," she told reporters. Officials earlier said a 10th pupil had died raising the death toll to 16, but this was later revised down to nine pupils. Baden-Wuerttemberg Interior Minister Heribert Rech said eight of the nine pupils who were killed were girls but he refused to speculate as to whether females in particular were targeted. Police said the suspect was killed during a shoot-out with officers in the town of Wendlingen, about 40km (25 miles) away from the school. He had fled there in a car he had hijacked after the school shooting - killing a passer-by as he made his escape, police said. One woman said her daughter had been in the school at the time of the shooting, and she was now at home "trembling and crying".
This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. The helicopter was heading to the Hibernia offshore oil platform when it went down off Newfoundland. The center said one body had also been recovered. Aircraft carrying 18 people was heading to oil platform in strong winds when it plunged into water A helicopter carrying 18 people ditched in the Atlantic ocean off the Canadian coast today. Use the "Report Abuse" button to make a difference. The S-92 Sikorsky helicopter went down 55 miles south-east of the provincial capital of St. John's, where it had picked up oil platform workers. A search and rescue operation was under way, said Gerry Grychowski, a spokeswoman for the Rescue Coordination Centre in Halifax. Don't attack other readers personally, and keep your language decent. "Mechanical problems were reported, but we don't know the nature," Transportation Safety Board of Canada spokeswoman Julie Leroux said. The first call for help was placed to air traffic control just before 8am (1pm GMT). ET accident, but rescuers were holding out hope since those aboard were believed to be wearing survival suits, which serve as life preservers and retain body warmth in frigid waters. There were no signs of more survivors hours after the 8 a.m. Guidelines: You share in the USA TODAY community, so please keep your comments smart and civil. Two rescue helicopters and a coast guard vessel were dispatched, and a Hercules military aircraft and a merchant ship quickly arrived at the scene. Officials said the others were missing about 30 miles out to sea. The crew of a Provincial Airlines aircraft flying over the area reported seeing the craft floating upside down a few minutes after the crash.
Aircraft carrying 18 people was heading to oil platform in strong winds when it plunged into water A helicopter carrying 18 people ditched in the Atlantic ocean off the Canadian coast today. The helicopter was heading to the Hibernia offshore oil platform when it went down off Newfoundland. At least one other person was spotted in the water, as well as a life-raft, but there is no sign of the helicopter, said Jeri Grychowski of the rescue co-ordination centre in Halifax. The S-92 Sikorsky helicopter went down 55 miles south-east of the provincial capital of St. John's, where it had picked up oil platform workers. The first call for help was placed to air traffic control just before 8am (1pm GMT). "Mechanical problems were reported, but we don't know the nature," Julie Leroux, a spokeswoman for the Transportation Safety Board of Canada, said. A Hercules aircraft and four Cormorant rescue helicopters were on their way to the site, and a coastguard ship and a supply ship were about an hour away. Grychowski said winds were fairly strong in the area, the water temperature was just above freezing and there were waves two to three metres high. "We don't have any further information on the raft itself," he told the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. One survivor has been plucked from the icy waters, said public broadcaster CBC, but seventeen are still missing. Two people and a raft had been spotted in the ocean waters some 47 nautical miles (54 miles) southeast of Saint Johns, Newfoundland, soon after the crash at 9.18am local time (1248 GMT), she said. The helicopter was ferrying workers to the Hibernia offshore oil platform when it plunged into the ocean, amid strong winds, she said. Two rescue helicopters and a coast guard vessel were dispatched, and a Hercules military aircraft and a merchant ship quickly arrived at the scene. Enlarge By Keith Gosse, AP A survivor is removed from a Cougar Helicopter on the helicopter tarmac at the Health Sciences Center in St. John's, New Foundland, Canada on Thursday. The survivor was among 18 people aboard a Cougar helicopter offshore shuttle taking workers to Husky's Hibernia offshore oil platform when it ditched in the Atlantic Ocean after reporting mechanical problems. ST. JOHN'S, Newfoundland (AP) Canadian rescuers searched freezing waters for 16 missing people Thursday after a helicopter heading to Atlantic oil fields reported mechanical problems and ditched in the sea off Newfoundland. Of the 18 people aboard, one man was rescued and one body was recovered. ET accident, but rescuers were holding out hope since those aboard were believed to be wearing survival suits, which serve as life preservers and retain body warmth in frigid waters. WEATHER CONDITIONS: Latest observation from St. John's, Newfoundland "We'll continue to search until there is absolutely no chance that any survivors may be located," said Maj. Denis McGuire of Halifax's Rescue Coordination Center. The survival window is about 24 hours with the survival suits and water-activated locator beacons, said McGuire. Water temperatures right at freezing and the ocean was buffeted by strong winds and waves up to nine feet, officials said. Two life rafts were spotted in the water amid debris from the helicopter that was spread over a six-mile area, but rescuers later confirmed they were empty. All 18 aboard were rescued from the chilly waters after the aircraft landed upright a few hundred yards from the oil platform and was kept afloat by inflatable bags that deploy when the craft lands on water. The Canadian S-92 Sikorsky helicopter, described as no more than four years old, had the same safety features when it went down 55 miles southeast of St. John's, the provincial capital, said Rick Burt of Cougar Helicopters, the operator of the aircraft. Newfoundland's waters were the scene of tragedy in February 1982 when 84 people perished as the Ocean Ranger oil rig tipped over and sank.
. "There are things, quite frankly, that we have to reverse, policy changes that we have to make." In a court filing in Washington, the department said it is developing a new standard for the government's authority to hold detainees at the Guantanamo Bay detention facility in Cuba. The category of "enemy combatant" had been an important aspect of the Bush administration's legal construct for dealing with terrorism suspects. And the government document says that individuals who support al Qaeda or the Taliban are detainable only if the support was "substantial." All About Guantanamo Bay • September 11 Attacks • U.S. Department of Justice Attorney General Eric Holder is overseeing the administration's review of what to do with each of the Guantanamo prisoners. The filing also revealed that the Obama administration sees the president's detention power as global and not limited to a battlefield in Afghanistan, as some human rights groups have advocated. "The president also has the authority to detain persons who were part of, or substantially supported Taliban or al-Qaida forces or associated forces that are engaged in hostilities against the United States or its coalition partners, including any person who has committed a belligerent act, or has directly supported hostilities, in aid of such enemy armed forces." Bush officials also said they were not legally subject to the Geneva Conventions on prisoner treatment -- a view the Supreme Court rejected. REUTERS/Randall Mikkelsen WASHINGTON The Obama administration stopped calling Guantanamo inmates "enemy combatants" on Friday and incorporated international law as its basis for holding the prisoners while it works to close the facility. The Justice Department did not say how many of the approximately 240 detainees now at Guantanamo may fall within the new definition.
The Obama administration yesterday jettisoned the Bush-era term "enemy combatant" but maintained a broad right to detain those who provide "substantial" assistance to al-Qaeda and its associates around the globe. The disclosure came in a court filing by the Justice Department in response to orders by federal judges, who sought clarity on the government's legal justification for holding about 241 detainees at the military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Though dropping the term "enemy combatant" was a symbolic break from the Bush administration, the practical effects of yesterday's action will not be known for months. Bush administration officials had long argued they had a broad constitutional power to detain almost any terrorism suspect for an indefinite period. For those at Guantanamo, the government had said it needed to prove only that the detainees were supporting the Taliban, al-Qaeda or associated forces to justify their confinements. The Justice Department said yesterday that it would seek to hold only terrorism suspects who "substantially supported" those groups and not those who "provide unwitting or insignificant support" to al-Qaeda and the Taliban. "The particular facts and circumstances justifying detention will vary from case to case," Justice Department attorneys wrote. The filing also revealed that the Obama administration sees the president's detention power as global and not limited to a battlefield in Afghanistan, as some human rights groups have advocated. "Individuals who provide substantial support to al-Qaida forces in other parts of the world may properly be deemed part of al-Qaida itself," the court papers said. "Such activities may also constitute the type of substantial support that . In a statement, Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. said, "[I]t is essential that we operate in a manner that strengthens our national security, is consistent with our values and is governed by law." "The change we've made today meets each of those standards and will make our nation stronger," he added. Legal scholars and those representing detainees said that dropping the term "enemy combatant" was important but that the rest of the legal arguments may not change much about the nation's detention policy. Robert M. Chesney, an expert on national security law at Wake Forest University, said the changes would affect detainees "at the margins." A guard tower is pictured at the Camp Delta detention center for terrorism suspects at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, July 23, 2008. REUTERS/Randall Mikkelsen WASHINGTON The Obama administration stopped calling Guantanamo inmates "enemy combatants" on Friday and incorporated international law as its basis for holding the prisoners while it works to close the facility. The U.S. Justice Department filed court papers outlining a further legal and linguistic shift from the anti-terrorism policies of Republican President George W. Bush, which drew worldwide condemnation as violations of human rights and international law. "As we work toward developing a new policy to govern detainees, it is essential that we operate in a manner that strengthens our national security, is consistent with our values, and is governed by law," U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder said in a statement. Some human rights advocates said the shift by the new Democratic president did not go far enough in dealing with hundreds of suspected Islamist militants held, most for years without trial, at a U.S. naval base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. "The government may have eliminated the term enemy combatant but it is still claiming the authority to detain people far beyond the traditional norms of humanitarian law," said attorney Devon Chaffee of the group Human Rights First. The term "enemy combatant" was adopted by Bush after the September 11 attacks in 2001 to refer to prisoners held under military orders he issued to launch the war on terrorism. RETURN TO GENEVA CONVENTIONS The filing on Friday, in the cases of some 200 Guantanamo inmates seeking a court review of their detention, explains the standards of President Barack Obama's administration for holding terrorism suspects without court review. It said those at Guantanamo will no longer be held on the exclusive basis of the president's authority as commander in chief. Bush, who sought to expand presidential powers during his eight years in office, had asserted his war powers were enough legal reason for holding prisoners. In addition, it said only those who provided "substantial" support to al Qaeda, the Taliban or similar groups -- or who were "part" of those groups -- would be considered candidates for detention. It cited Obama's project to review the entire detention policy, as part of a plan to close the Guantanamo prison, and said further refinements of the standards were possible. The Obama administration has said some of the Guantanamo detainees, now numbering about 240, will be freed while others will be put on trial. Major human rights groups said the policies will still allow the United States to detain prisoners seized far from a battlefield and that key definitions were left out, such as what constitutes "substantial" support for a militant group. WASHINGTON (CNN) -- In a dramatic break with the Bush administration, the Justice Department on Friday announced it is doing away with the designation of "enemy combatant," which allowed the United States to hold suspected terrorists at length without criminal charges. In a court filing in Washington, the department said it is developing a new standard for the government's authority to hold detainees at the Guantanamo Bay detention facility in Cuba. The category of "enemy combatant" had been an important aspect of the Bush administration's legal construct for dealing with terrorism suspects. Watch CNN's Jeanne Meserve explain the reversal » In the document, the Obama administration provides a more limited definition of who may be held at Guantanamo Bay: "The president has the authority to detain persons that the president determines planned, authorized, committed, or aided the terrorist attacks that occurred on September 11, 2001, and persons who harbored those responsible for those attacks," the document says.
The cause of the fire was not yet known. Some of the bodies were badly charred, one rescuer said, adding that the death toll may go up. Three of the guards were found dead in the lifts and three others were lying on the floors. Bangladesh shopping mall fire kills at least 7 Posted A fire has engulfed the top floors of Bangladesh's largest shopping mall, killing at least seven people and injuring dozens, police said, raising questions about the efficiency of safety procedures. "We will look at these issues quickly after the current disaster has been tackled," the minister told reporters outside the Basundhara complex. Among the dead was a security guard who died at a hospital hours after the blaze broke out on the 18th floor. Army helicopters rescued people from the roof of the building as members of the Rapid Action Battalion elite force and the army helped stop the blaze. Television pictures showed the blaze spreading through five or six upper floors. At least 30 injured were treated at hospitals, doctors and witnesses said. A rescue helicopter flies over the burning Bashundhara City shopping mall in Dhaka, in Bangladesh, on Friday. The inferno has raised questions about the efficiency of fire fighters and whether the high-rise buildings followed required safety measures, said Tanzim Ahmed Sohel Taj, state minister for home affairs. A Basundhara official said the exact death toll and the extent of damage would not be known until the debris was cleared. Thick smoke rose over the building and flames could be seen on the upper floors, a witness said. Firefighters, police and other security forces took almost 10 hours to put out the blaze at the 21-storey Basundhara City Complex in Dhaka, but found no-one trapped inside.
(Updates death toll) By Ruma Paul and Anis Ahmed DHAKA, March 13 A fire engulfed the top floors of Bangladesh's largest shopping mall on Friday, killing at least seven people and injuring dozens, police said, raising questions about the efficiency of safety procedures. Fire fighters, police and other security forces took almost 10 hours to put out the blaze at the 21-storey Basundhara City Complex in Dhaka but found no one trapped inside. Thick smoke rose over the building and flames could be seen on the upper floors, a witness said. Army helicopters rescued people from the roof of the building as members of the Rapid Action Battalion elite force and the army helped stop the blaze. "The fire broke out on the top floor and soon engulfed the other floors," a fire brigade official said. The inferno has raised questions about the efficiency of fire fighters and whether the high-rise buildings followed required safety measures, said Tanzim Ahmed Sohel Taj, state minister for home affairs. "We will look at these issues quickly after the current disaster has been tackled," the minister told reporters outside the Basundhara complex. All the dead were Basundhara employees, one from its fire fighting unit and six were security guards, police told reporters. "The firefighter died in a hospital where he was admitted with serious burn injuries," a police officer said. Three of the guards were found dead in the lifts and three others were lying on the floors. Some of the bodies were badly charred, one rescuer said, adding that the death toll may go up. ((Pavel Rahman/Associated Press)) At least four people are dead and 50 others injured after fire raced through the upper levels of Bangladesh's largest shopping mall on Friday. Witnesses said huge flames shot into the air amid billowing smoke as hundreds of panicked people, many of them carrying shopping bags, fled the 22-storey Bashundhara City mall in the capital, Dhaka. Among the dead was a security guard who died at a hospital hours after the blaze broke out on the 18th floor. Doctors at Shamarita Hospital said a security guard died from burns and another 17 people were being treated there for smoke inhalation. The floor where the fire began houses the offices of the mall's owner, the Bashundhara company, which would normally be closed Friday, part of the weekend in Bangladesh. Bangladesh shopping mall fire kills at least 7 Posted A fire has engulfed the top floors of Bangladesh's largest shopping mall, killing at least seven people and injuring dozens, police said, raising questions about the efficiency of safety procedures. "The firefighter died in a hospital where he was admitted with serious burn injuries," a police officer said.
"So now it's over to us, to the rich countries." Lynas said: "The Maldives is in the front line of climate change. It is perhaps the most vulnerable country in the world. He said he hoped his plan would serve as a blueprint for other nations. The pioneering new president of the Indian Ocean nation announces plans for his country - under grave threat from climate change - to go carbon-neutral in a decade The president of the Maldives, Mohamed Nasheed, will today unveil a plan to make his country carbon-neutral within a decade. The cost for the package of low-carbon measures is estimated to be about $110m a year for 10 years. The Maldives imports diesel and fuel oil to power its 200 inhabited islands. The country would be rendered almost entirely uninhabitable by a rise in sea levels of one metre. One-third of the Maldives' economy depends on tourism The Maldives will become carbon-neutral within a decade by switching completely to renewable energy sources like wind and solar power, its leader has said. If nothing is done to cut global carbon emissions, the country will sink beneath rising seas this century. "We don't want to pretend that this plan is going to be easy to implement. Its people could declare themselves climate change refugees and ask for sanctuary elsewhere. The scheme should pay for itself quite quickly, because the Maldives will no longer need to import oil products for electricity generation, transport and other functions. FROM THE BBC WORLD SERVICE Please turn on JavaScript. The Age of Stupid stars British actor Pete Postlethwaite as an old man living in a devastated future Earth, watching archive film of the planet and asking why more was not done to combat climate change.
One-third of the Maldives' economy depends on tourism The Maldives will become carbon-neutral within a decade by switching completely to renewable energy sources like wind and solar power, its leader has said. President Mohamed Nasheed told the BBC the Maldives understood better than most what would happen if the world failed to tackle climate change. His tiny country is one of the lowest-lying on Earth and so is extremely vulnerable to rises in sea level. He said he hoped his plan would serve as a blueprint for other nations. We start almost from scratch... and it is quite pointless for us to go to yesterday's technologies President Mohamed Nasheed Heightened fears for lowering lands Country profile: The Maldives Mr Nasheed was due to announce the plan formally after the screening of a new film on climate change, The Age of Stupid, on Sunday. The Maldives is made up of a chain of nearly 1,200 islands, most of them uninhabited, which lie off the Indian sub-continent. None of the coral islands measures more than 1.8 metres (six feet) above sea level, making the country vulnerable to a rise in sea levels associated with global warming. 'Starting from scratch' "We understand more than perhaps anyone what would happen to us if we didn't do anything about it or if the rest of the world doesn't find the imagination to confront this problem," Mr Nasheed told Newshour, speaking by telephone from the capital, Male. More from BBC World Service "So basically, we don't want to sit around and blame others, but we want to do whatever we can, and hopefully, if we can become carbon-neutral, and when we come up with the plan, we hope that these plans also will serve as a blueprint for other nations to follow. It is estimated that the Maldives, which has high levels of poverty, will need to spend about $110m a year to make the transition to renewable energy sources. Asked how it could afford this, the president said the country was already spending similar sums on existing energy sources, and he expected to recover the extra cost within the decade. "We start almost from scratch, we are having to go for new investments in almost all areas and it is quite pointless for us to go to yesterday's technologies," he said. The Age of Stupid stars British actor Pete Postlethwaite as an old man living in a devastated future Earth, watching archive film of the planet and asking why more was not done to combat climate change. The film's producer, Franny Armstrong, told the BBC the Maldives had set a good example to the developed world. "I think the challenge has now been laid down by the Maldives, a very poor undeveloped country," she said. "So now it's over to us, to the rich countries." An international climate change conference is due to be held in Copenhagen in December to debate initiatives for when the Kyoto Protocol expires in 2012. UN chief Ban Ki-moon recently urged the world to strike a "conclusive carbon emissions reduction" deal at the conference. MALE The Maldives will shift entirely to renewable energy over the next decade to become the first carbon-neutral nation and fight climate change that threatens the low-lying archipelago's existence, the president said on Sunday. President Mohamed Nasheed said the Indian Ocean islands would swap fossil fuels for wind and solar power, and buy and destroy EU carbon credits to offset emissions from tourists flying to visit its luxury vacation resorts. "We know cutting greenhouse gas emissions is possible and the Maldives is willing to play its part." The $1.1 billion plan would require 155 wind turbines supplying 1.5 megawatts each and a half a square kilometer of solar panels to meet the needs of the islands' 385,000 people. The state-owned electricity monopoly will be privatized, and investors and donors invited to take part in the plan. The program envisions installing battery backup in case wind and solar sources are inadequate, and a power plant to be run off coconut husks in the capital, Male. The Maldives' economy, based almost entirely on fishing and tourism, is worth about $800 million a year, so it will need outside help. Nasheed last year unseated Asia's longest-serving ruler, 30-year incumbent President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, in the islands' first multiparty presidential election. Nasheed drew global attention shortly after his election when he said the Maldives would start looking to buy land in other countries to resettle people once the seas rose, but later acknowledged the plan was not feasible financially. The new plan could pay for itself in 10 years because of the savings on oil imports, said Mark Lynas, an environmentalist and author of three books on climate change who worked with the Maldivian government on the plan. "It's going to cost a lot of money but it will also save a lot of money from not having to import oil," he said. In 2007, a U.N. climate change panel predicted an increase in sea levels of 58cm, which would submerge many of the Maldives' 1,192 islands by 2100. The pioneering new president of the Indian Ocean nation announces plans for his country - under grave threat from climate change - to go carbon-neutral in a decade The president of the Maldives, Mohamed Nasheed, will today unveil a plan to make his country carbon-neutral within a decade. The announcement comes only days after scientists issued stark new warnings that rising seas caused by climate change could engulf the Maldives and other low-lying nations this century. The president will formally announce the scheme - and make a plea for other countries to follow the Maldives' lead - this evening, following the world premiere of The Age of Stupid, a major new climate change film in which a man living alone in the devastated world of 2055 looks at old footage from 2008 and asks why people didn't stop climate change when they had the chance. The pair worked on a package of measures that could virtually eliminate fossil fuel use on the Maldive archipelago by 2020. The plan includes a new renewable electricity generation and transmission infrastructure with 155 large wind turbines, half a square kilometre of rooftop solar panels, and a biomass plant burning coconut husks.
For now, we have no more orders." "We are there for the Malagasy people. Mr Rajoelina had earlier called for security forces to arrest Mr Ravalomanana, who has offered a referendum on whether he should stay. Q&A: Madagascar in crisis Madagascar's 'young pretender' What next for Madagascar? Col Ndriarijaona said the army was virtually all behind the opposition. "The president appeals to the people of Iavoloha (on the outskirts of Antananarivo) to organise themselves to thwart all movements of mutinous troops towards the palace in order to protect the president and the palace," said a statement read on President Marc Ravalomanana's private radio station. Gunfire and explosions rang out as tanks and dozens of soldiers burst into the palace grounds. You can't have a vacuum of power." The fierce power struggle on the Indian Ocean island has triggered a military mutiny, looting and violent protests that have left at least 100 people dead since January. Mr Rajoelina declared himself president of a transitional government over the weekend and promised new presidential elections within two years. Our correspondent says Mr Rajoelina has wrapped himself in the cloak of democracy, but he wants to replace an elected head of state without going to a ballot. The African Union has appealed to the rivals to negotiate amid warnings from diplomats that aid to the impoverished country is in jeopardy. The BBC's Jonah Fisher in Antananarivo says round after round of gunfire - believed to be soldiers celebrating - lit up the night sky but the capital is now quiet, except for the howling of stray dogs. An unnamed colonel inside the captured building told Reuters: "The palace is occupied.
The president, who was sheltering in another palace about 6 miles away, has resisted growing pressure to resign over the crisis in the Indian Ocean island in which at least 135 people have been killed. Gunfire and explosions rang out as tanks and dozens of soldiers burst into the palace grounds. Mr Rajoelina had earlier called for security forces to arrest Mr Ravalomanana, who has offered a referendum on whether he should stay. The president has been accused of misspending public funds and undermining democracy. Mr Rajoelina declared himself president of a transitional government over the weekend and promised new presidential elections within two years. Tensions have been rising on the island since late January, when the government blocked an opposition radio station's signal. Opposition supporters set fire to a building in the government broadcasting complex as well as an oil depot, a shopping mall and a private TV station linked to Mr Ravalomanana. Days later, soldiers opened fire on anti-government protesters, killing at least 25. The incident cost the president much of the support of the armed forces, which blamed him for the order to fire at demonstrators. Last week, the president's army chief of staff yielded power to the leader of the group of mutinous soldiers. Although Mr Ravalomanana has lost most of his power base at home, he still enjoys international legitimacy as the nation's elected president. Explosions and gunfire erupted as tanks smashed the palace gates. The central bank was also reportedly taken. Earlier opposition leader Andry Rajoelina called for the arrest of the president and won public backing from the armed forces' self-declared head. The African Union has condemned the "attempted coup d'etat" and called on Madagascar to respect its constitution. Dozens of soldiers broke into the presidential building Mr Rajoelina told the BBC he wanted a transitional government that would organise elections in the next 18 to 24 months "at the very latest". "It's not a military coup," he said. The fierce power struggle on the Indian Ocean island has triggered a military mutiny, looting and violent protests that have left at least 100 people dead since January. Gunfire lights sky Col Andre Ndriarijaona, who last week said he had replaced the military chief of staff, told AFP news agency that soldiers had seized the presidency "to hasten Ravalomanana's departure". An unnamed colonel inside the captured building told Reuters: "The palace is occupied. CRISIS TIMELINE Dec 2006: Marc Ravalomanana (r) re-elected as president 31 Jan 2009: Opposition's Andry Rajoelina (l) says he is in charge 3 Feb: Rajoelina sacked as mayor of Antananarivo; protests intensify 8 Feb: Security forces fire on opposition rally leaving 28 dead 11 March: Dissident troops oust army chief 15 March: Ravalomanana proposes to hold referendum 16 March: Army storms presidential office In pictures: Storming a palace Malagasy views on standoff Crisis isolates president Mr Ravalomanana was hunkered down about 15km (nine miles) from the city centre at the Iavoloha palace, where hundreds of his supporters were camped out. "We are against any bloodletting, so we won't go there until we obtain guarantees on the presidential guard's intentions," said Col Ndriarijaona. The BBC's Jonah Fisher in Antananarivo says round after round of gunfire - believed to be soldiers celebrating - lit up the night sky but the capital is now quiet, except for the howling of stray dogs. 'Thirsty for change' But the opposition leader rejected Mr Ravalomanana's plebiscite plan and called for the security forces to arrest him. Mr Rajoelina said: "The people are thirsty for change and that's why we won't have a referendum and will put our transitional government in place." ANTANANARIVO, March 13 Madagascar's president called on residents in the capital to repel dissident troops on Friday, raising the stakes in a power struggle that has killed 135 people. "The president appeals to the people of Iavoloha (on the outskirts of Antananarivo) to organise themselves to thwart all movements of mutinous troops towards the palace in order to protect the president and the palace," said a statement read on President Marc Ravalomanana's private radio station.
Well, the executives had contracts, we’re told. Nov. 25: AIG says Liddy's salary will be $1 for the coming year and rules out 2008 bonuses for AIG's seven top executives. "The American people have had it. Rightfully so." A company official said Liddy is expected to issue a letter today to AIG employees asking them to return the bonus payments they received. Isn't this a pretty spectacular one? The Obama administration paid out $30 billion to AIG a few weeks ago. The firm would risk a lawsuit not to pay up. Reps. Steve Israel (N.Y.) and Tim Ryan (Ohio) introduced the Bailout Bonus Tax Bracket Act to create a 100 percent tax on bonuses over $100,000 that are distributed to employees of financial firms receiving federal bailout money. New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo says 73 employees got bonuses of at least $1 million at AIG, which has received $170 billion in taxpayer bailout funds. Oct. 3: AIG announces plan to sell assets to repay its loan from the U.S. government. Before leaving for California, Obama defended Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner. Democratic lawmakers raced to put their proposals on the table. Those employees would be snapped up -- there's a boom market right now for derivatives traders! You share in the USA TODAY community, so please keep your comments smart and civil. Sept. 18: AIG names Edward Liddy, former Allstate chairman, as chairman and chief executive. The House might vote today on legislation that would tax away 90% of extra pay at bailed-out companies. They want this Congress to get back to fiscal discipline and restraint and the belief that the freedom to succeed includes the freedom to fail."
Senior White House officials said last night that President Obama did not learn that bonuses worth $165 million were to be paid to executives of American International Group until Thursday, one day before they were issued and two days after his Treasury secretary was informed that the payments were going forward. Obama aides defended Timothy F. Geithner's handling of the situation yesterday, with White House press secretary Robert Gibbs saying the president has "complete confidence" in the Treasury chief. In a letter to congressional leaders last night, Geithner said that in addition to pressing the company on compensation issues, the Treasury Department will deduct an amount equal to the total bonuses paid from a pledged $30 billion commitment to the troubled insurance company. As Geithner and other Obama aides continued to scramble to pull back the bonuses and calm the public furor they sparked, Congress was preparing its own remedies. In what they acknowledged would be an extraordinary move, leading Democrats proposed using the tax code to punish executives at the firm, in which the federal government controls an 80 percent stake, unless those payouts are surrendered voluntarily. A proposal from Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) and the panel's ranking Republican, Charles E. Grassley (Iowa), would levy an excise tax on AIG and the executives who received the payments, adding up to more than 90 percent of the total of the bonuses. That tax would also apply to future bonuses awarded, either by AIG or by other firms receiving federal aid. Similar proposals taking shape in the House would target as much as 100 percent of the bonus money, which was distributed Friday to 73 AIG employees in sums ranging from $1 million to $6.4 million, according to New York Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo, who provided details of the payments -- although not the identities of specific recipients -- in a letter to House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank (D-Mass.). The bonus scandal has inflamed lawmakers in both parties and could have broad repercussions, and lawmakers warned that it could serve as the death knell for further aid to the ailing sector. Obama's budget calls for allocating an additional $750 billion to bail out troubled firms, and his administration had hoped to quietly "wind down" operations at AIG without an excess of intervention from Congress, but both of those ambitions could be in doubt after the explosion of attention drawn by the bonuses. Although the bonuses were permitted under the terms of the 2008 bailout bill, the payments have triggered alarm, particularly among Republicans, about oversight of the way the money is spent. With the prominent exception of Grassley, GOP leaders were noncommittal yesterday about embracing the tax approach and declined to offer their own proposals for recouping the $165 million. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said the House will consider its own AIG tax bill, along with measures authorizing Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. to recover excessive compensation payments made by companies that received federal financial assistance and to block further bonuses at such companies. Pelosi predicted "tough questioning" today when AIG's chairman and chief executive, Edward M. Liddy, appears before Frank's committee. A company official said Liddy is expected to issue a letter today to AIG employees asking them to return the bonus payments they received. Reps. Steve Israel (N.Y.) and Tim Ryan (Ohio) introduced the Bailout Bonus Tax Bracket Act to create a 100 percent tax on bonuses over $100,000 that are distributed to employees of financial firms receiving federal bailout money. Enlarge Liddy: USA TODAY; Cuomo: AP AIG chief Edward Liddy, left, faces grilling by a House panel on Wednesday. New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, right, is investigating whether AIG's bonuses violate state law. AIG BONUSES BY THE NUMBERS AIG BONUSES BY THE NUMBERS Top recipient received more than $6.4 million Top seven bonus recipients each received more than $4 million Top 10 bonus recipients received a combined $42 million 22 individuals received bonuses of $2 million or more, and combined, they received more than $72 million 73 individuals received bonuses of $1 million or more 11 individuals who received $1 million or more are no longer working at AIG, including one who received $4.6 million Source: New York Office of Attorney General EFFORTS TO RESCUE AIG EFFORTS TO RESCUE AIG Sept. 16, 2008: American International Group, the world's largest insurer, avoids bankruptcy after an $85 billion federal bailout that gives the U.S. government a 79.9% stake in the company. Oct. 3: AIG announces plan to sell assets to repay its loan from the U.S. government. Moody's Investors Service cuts AIG's debt ratings, citing the company's plans to sell assets, limiting the insurer's ability to do business. Oct. 10: AIG says it had borrowed $70.3 billion from the government as of Oct. 8. AIG draws fire after reports it had spent $223,000 on hotel rooms and spa services days after it got the federal loan. Nov. 6: AIG says the total owed under its $85 billion line of credit from the U.S. government is down to $61.3 billion. AIG companies also had borrowed $19.9 billion under a separate $38 billion securities lending agreement, making the total amount the government had made available to AIG about $123 billion. Nov. 25: AIG says Liddy's salary will be $1 for the coming year and rules out 2008 bonuses for AIG's seven top executives. Dec. 2: AIG and the government agree to clear the insurer of its obligations on about $53.5 billion in bad mortgage debt. Dec. 22: German reinsurer Munich Re says it will buy AIG's HSB Group for $742 million. Jan. 26, 2009: AIG says it is working with Bank of America and Merrill Lynch to sell a fund management business that operates 15 funds with more than $12.4 billion in assets. March 2: The Treasury and the Fed announce a third new aid plan for AIG, putting $30 billion more at its disposal. Reuters Fury over $165 million in bonuses paid to executives at AIG mounted Wednesday as Congress grilled the firm's CEO and President Obama vowed to do "everything we can" to get the money back. New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo says 73 employees got bonuses of at least $1 million at AIG, which has received $170 billion in taxpayer bailout funds. TARP fund Liddy said the bonuses were paid to retain employees needed to help dismantle the insurance giant's financial products division.
Madagascar's president, Marc Ravalomanana, handed over power to the military, which passed it on to Rajoelina, the ex-president's bitter rival. "We are there for the Malagasy people. But it was not immediately clear who would be running the country as the opposition, led by Andry Rajoelina, has already said it has put in place a transitional government and taken over major ministries. Army refused to arrest president On Monday, he called on the army to arrest the president, but soldiers refused. "I would say 99% of the forces are behind him." The opposition leader moved in to the presidential offices today and several cabinet ministers resigned. ADDIS ABABA The African Union warned on Tuesday it would take firm measures against Madagascar if the situation in the Indian Ocean island deteriorated and called for the constitution to be respected. Over the weekend, Rajoelina had declared himself president of a transitional government and promised new elections within two years. (Reporting by Tsegaye Tadesse; Editing by David Clarke) Ravalomanana had proposed a referendum on his rule after public outrage over a massacre of 28 civilian protesters when the army was ordered to open fire on an anti-government demonstration in February. In a radio broadcast from the capital, Antananarivo, vice-admiral Hyppolite Rarison Ramaroson placed opposition leader Andry Rajoelina in charge of the country. Ravalomanana has signed a document confirming his resignation, according to a statement issued by his office. He initially vowed to fight to the end and discussed military support with the United Nations and African states. If the military takes over, it will be a coup d'etat," he said after an emergency meeting of the AU Peace and Security Council.
ADDIS ABABA The African Union warned on Tuesday it would take firm measures against Madagascar if the situation in the Indian Ocean island deteriorated and called for the constitution to be respected. "We remind (you of) our commitment to the respect of the constitutional order, especially in the succession of the president," Bruno Zidouemba, Burkina Faso's envoy to Ethiopia and the African Union, told reporters. "The AU council will be firm in the measures to be taken if the situation becomes worse than it is today. If the military takes over, it will be a coup d'etat," he said after an emergency meeting of the AU Peace and Security Council. "The council heard the succession of the presidency is being discussed in Madagascar, but we do not know the outcome." Madagascar's president, Marc Ravalomanana, handed over power to the military, which passed it on to Rajoelina, the ex-president's bitter rival. ((Jerome Delay/Associated Press)) Just hours after Madagascar's president handed over power to military leaders on Tuesday, they ceded control to his political rival. In a radio broadcast from the capital, Antananarivo, vice-admiral Hyppolite Rarison Ramaroson placed opposition leader Andry Rajoelina in charge of the country. Ramaroson said he and two other top generals rejected a move by the president to transfer his power to a military directorate. African Union weighs in Even before the military's decision, the Africa Union said it was opposed to Rajoelina being in charge. Any assumption of power by non-constitutional means would be considered a coup d'etat, the union's senior diplomat, Jean Ping, told Reuters on Tuesday. Earlier on Tuesday, also in a radio address, President Marc Ravalomanana told his country he had decided to step down "after deep reflection." Elections promised within two years An aide to Ravalomanana had said a military directorate composed of veteran, high-ranking military leaders, not yet named, would organize a national conference responsible for holding elections within two years. Over the weekend, Rajoelina had declared himself president of a transitional government and promised new elections within two years. Tensions have been rising since late January, when the government blocked an opposition radio station's signal. Rajoelina supporters set fire to a building in the government broadcasting complex as well as an oil depot, a shopping mall and a private TV station linked to Ravalomanana, killing scores of people. Days later, soldiers opened fire on anti-government protesters, killing at least 25. Leader confirms his resignation and hands over power to the military, after troops seized offices Marc Ravalomanana has resigned as Madagascar's president and handed over power to the military a day after soldiers stormed his offices in the capital. Ravalomanana, who won power seven years ago, was holed up at the presidential palace, about eight miles outside the capital, when troops seized his offices. Ndiarijaona said the military was almost completely behind Rajoelina, who at the weekend declared he had taken power and ordered Ravalomanana's arrest following weeks of political confrontation that has left more than 100 people dead. The African Union commission chairman, Jean Ping, today called on the army not to hand over to the opposition, saying this would be "unconstitutional", but instead to retain power. The ousted president earlier also described demands for him to relinquish power as unconstitutional and accused Rajoelina's movement of using "fear and repression to survive". "The people are thirsty for change and that's why we won't have a referendum and will put our transitional government in place," said Rajoelina.
I am angry. "You know, it's my responsibility, I was in a position where I didn't know about these sooner, I take full responsibility for that," Geithner said. In New York, Cuomo said he had details in hand on who received the bonuses at AIG. The House proposal's hefty tax provision would apply to executives with incomes over $250,000 who work for companies that get at least $5 billion in federal aid. President Barack Obama has also reiterated his anger at the bonus payments. REUTERS/Jim Young Protestors gather out in front of an American International Group (AIG) office during a rally calling on Congress to take action on employee free choice, health care, and banking reform in Washington, March 19, 2009. Some Republicans have called for US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner to step down. The measure now moves to the Senate, which is considering a bill to tax retention bonuses paid to executives of companies that received federal bailout money. "The whole idea that they should be rewarded millions of dollars is repugnant to everything that decent people believe in," said Charlie Rangel, the Democratic chairman of the Ways and Means Committee. Members of the house voted 328-93 in favour of the legislation. All About Nancy Pelosi • Wall Street • Edward Liddy • American International Group Inc. • Financial Rescue Plans He said that the government would deduct the bonuses from government funds due to be paid to the insurer. Bank of America is also expected to hand over the names of the 200 highest bonus earners in 2008 at Merrill Lynch, which it took over last year.
Demonstrators hold signs outside a Bank of America branch in Portsmouth, New Hampshire March 19, 2009, one of many protests planned outside banks across the United States. REUTERS/Brian Snyder A protestor takes part in a rally in front of an American International Group (AIG) office calling on Congress to take action on employee free choice, health care, and banking reform in Washington, March 19, 2009. REUTERS/Jim Young Protestors gather out in front of an American International Group (AIG) office during a rally calling on Congress to take action on employee free choice, health care, and banking reform in Washington, March 19, 2009. REUTERS/Jim Young A protestor takes part in a rally in front of an American International Group (AIG) office calling on Congress to take action on employee free choice, health care, and banking reform in Washington, March 19, 2009. REUTERS/Jim Young Jane Hoffman demonstrates outside a Bank of America branch in Portsmouth, New Hampshire March 19, 2009, one of many protests planned outside banks across the United States. REUTERS/Brian Snyder Protestors gather out in front of an American International Group (AIG) office during a rally calling on Congress to take action on employee free choice, health care, and banking reform in Washington, March 19, 2009. In the face of public outrage at the fact that AIG paid $165 million in bonuses after receiving $180 billion in government aid, the House voted 328-93 to approve a 90 percent tax on bonuses for certain executives at companies that are getting taxpayer-financed help. The number two Republican in the Senate, Jon Kyl of Arizona, blocked an initial bid to approve a Senate version of the legislation that would put a 70 percent excise tax on bonuses for employees at companies that have received at least $100 million in bailout aid. 'BUBBLE AND BUST' President Barack Obama urged lawmakers to press on with measures that he can sign into law, calling AIG bonuses a symptom of "a bubble and bust economy that valued reckless speculation over responsibility and hard work." Senator Christopher Dodd, chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, had been scrambling to explain how a tough provision to restrict bonuses got watered down in a recently passed stimulus bill. In response to questions, Geithner said Treasury staff had expressed concern that provisions originally in the bill that would have prevented bonus payments might not survive a legal challenge. The U.S. Treasury chief, who has come under criticism for not doing more to stop the AIG bonuses, repeated he only learned "the full scale and scope of these specific bonus problems" on March 10 and conceded he was partly at fault. "You know, it's my responsibility, I was in a position where I didn't know about these sooner, I take full responsibility for that," Geithner said. It is still not widely known who at AIG received the bonus payments, which were supposed to be aimed at keeping highly skilled employees on the job at the troubled insurer. But he said his office -- aware of threats made against AIG employees -- would conduct a risk assessment before releasing any names. The House proposal's hefty tax provision would apply to executives with incomes over $250,000 who work for companies that get at least $5 billion in federal aid. "The whole idea that they should be rewarded millions of dollars is repugnant to everything that decent people believe in," said Representative Charlie Rangel, the Democratic chairman of the tax-writing Ways and Means Committee. In a measure of the widespread outrage over bonuses, small crowds of protesters marched in cities across the United States to denounce the idea that AIG employees who helped push the insurer to the brink of collapse should be rewarded for it. He also said Bank of America Corp was expected to hand over the names of the 200 top bonus earners at Merrill Lynch & Co from last year, another potential embarrassment for the bailout process. Goldman Sachs Group Inc plans to respond publicly to what it described as misperceptions about its trading relationship with AIG after it was paid $12.9 billion by AIG from bailout funds. US lawmakers in the House of Representatives have voted in favour of a bill to levy a 90% tax on big bonuses from firms bailed out by taxpayers. The move follows outrage over the decision by AIG to award its employees $165m (£113m) in bonuses after taking $170bn in aid from the government. The whole idea that they should be rewarded millions of dollars is repugnant Charlie Rangel, Ways and Means Committee Probe into AIG bonuses launched Send us your comments The bill targets companies that received $5bn in taxpayer aid, and would levy a 90% tax on bonuses paid to employees with incomes above $250,000. The BBC's James Coomarasamy in Washington says the bill was opposed by some Republicans, who argued that the legislation diverted attention from the administration's handling of the affair. "The whole idea that they should be rewarded millions of dollars is repugnant to everything that decent people believe in," said Charlie Rangel, the Democratic chairman of the Ways and Means Committee. Edward Liddy, the boss of AIG, on Wednesday called the bonuses paid to executives "distasteful" and said he had asked some recipients to return at least half of what they had been paid. Mr Barofsky said he would "act aggressively to recover the taxpayer's money" if there was any evidence that something wrong was done to approve the bonuses. In a separate move, AIG gave details of bonus recipients in investigation by New York's top legal officer, who is trying to determine whether banks broke securities laws.
The attorneys general of Arizona, Delaware, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Michigan, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, New Jersey, New Mexico, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, Washington and West Virginia also launched investigations. An AIG spokesman says Blumenthal's claims are "incorrect." The documents show that bonuses of at least $1 million were paid to 73 people, and five received more than $4 million. This company would have ceased to exist but for the bailout with our taxpayer money," he said. Blumenthal told CNN the payments he has totaled are not dated, and he isn't sure whether the amount includes both the March and December payments. Reports from the US say that AIG executives are now living in fear of a violent public backlash. All About American International Group Inc. • Richard Blumenthal AIG officials are citing a Connecticut law to justify their payment of the bonuses. A total of $450 million is expected to be paid to employees of the Financial Products unit. "So there are various grounds on which the contracts could be made unenforceable." A Treasury Department official told CNN earlier that the Obama administration pushed for the language. The giant insurance company has been widely criticized for granting bonuses after receiving federal bailout funds exceeding $180 billion. Even AIG boss Edward Liddy - who underwent questioning by a congressional committee on the issue - has described them as "distasteful". Dodd initially denied he had anything to do with adding the provision. But revelations about the size of bonus payments made by the organisation since the bail-out was agreed have sparked a furious reaction among US lawmakers and the general public.
The US bailed out AIG, in effect judging it too large to fail US insurance giant AIG paid out a total of $218m (£150m) in bonuses after accepting bail-out cash, according to a senior US official. Documents obtained by Connecticut's attorney general showed AIG's payout was $53m, or 32%, more than was previously estimated. Papers obtained by subpoena showed 73 people got more than $1m each while five received more than $4m. The US rescued AIG with bail-out funds totalling $170bn since September 2008. But revelations about the size of bonus payments made by the organisation since the bail-out was agreed have sparked a furious reaction among US lawmakers and the general public. 'Distasteful' For much of the week the total amount AIG paid out in bonuses was reported at $165m. But documents obtained by Richard Blumenthal, attorney general of Connecticut, now appear to raise that figure by some 32%. AIG: QUICK FACTS Founded in 1919 30 million US policy holders Operates in 130 countries Provides insurance to 100,000 companies and other entities US lawmakers vote for bonus tax AIG chief asks for bonuses back Connecticut was among 19 states demanding that AIG reveal details of bonuses paid to executives, in an effort to begin recovering the funds. But Mr Blumenthal said on Saturday that large bonuses were "showered like confetti" on AIG employees. He said the newly-revealed number would "further fuel the justified anger and revulsion that people feel", and he planned to ask AIG bosses to explain the discrepancies in bonus figures, AP reported. "Unless the number can be explained, it will undercut any lingering rationale the company may have for these unjustified payments," Mr Blumenthal said. Earlier this week US President Barack Obama described the bonus payments as an "outrage", before state legal figures and congressmen also weighed in. Even AIG boss Edward Liddy - who underwent questioning by a congressional committee on the issue - has described them as "distasteful". Reports from the US say that AIG executives are now living in fear of a violent public backlash. Protest bus Many are reported to have received death threats and have been advised to take extra security precautions even in areas around their homes. A group of about 40 protesters have hired a coach to tour executives' homes in Connecticut - home to AIG's main offices. The bonus money may not seem like a great deal to AIG or its top executives, the letter said, "but for Connecticut families struggling to make ends meet, for those of us who are losing our homes, losing our healthcare, losing our jobs, or our life savings, that much money could do tremendous good". A protester holds up a sign behind AIG CEO Edward Liddy during his testimony before the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Capital Markets, Insurance, and Government Sponsored Enterprises as they hold a hearing on ''American International Group's Impact on the Global... REUTERS/Jason Reed CHICAGO Documents turned over to the Connecticut attorney general show that American International Group Inc paid out over $218 million in bonuses, more than the previously disclosed $165 million, published reports said on Saturday. The reports said the documents were turned over to Attorney General Richard Blumenthal's office late on Friday in response to a subpoena. The documents show that bonuses of at least $1 million were paid to 73 people, and five received more than $4 million. The giant insurance company has been widely criticized for granting bonuses after receiving federal bailout funds exceeding $180 billion. (CNN) -- AIG understated the amount of money it paid out to top executives after receiving federal bailout money, the attorney general of Connecticut says -- but AIG denies the accusations. AIG's Connecticut-based Financial Products unit paid $218 million in bonuses, not the $165 million that the company acknowledged this month, Attorney General Richard Blumenthal told CNN Saturday. However, CNN has previously reported that AIG paid $55 million in bonuses in December. A total of $450 million is expected to be paid to employees of the Financial Products unit. "The payments he appears to be referring to were made months ago, have been widely reported on and were specifically disclosed to the Treasury," spokesman Mark Herr said, adding that the $165 million in "retention payments" to executives of the Financial Products unit were made in March. Blumenthal is among 20 state attorneys general who announced investigations Friday into the $165 million bonuses paid out by insurance giant AIG last week. Connecticut's top lawyer said he discovered discrepancies after issuing subpoenas to CEO Edward Liddy and 11 other executives for "original or copies of documents regarding the AIG Financial Products Corporation retention bonus plan and any related contracts or agreements." The law says employees can sue in civil court for payments withheld that are due them and recoup double the amount of money.
There were no survivors. The pilot was flying from Oroville, California, when he diverted to Butte, the FAA said. The plane crashed about 500 feet from the airport while attempting to land and caught on fire. "We think that it was probably a ski trip for the kids." At least 17 people have died in a plane crash in Montana in the United States, according to reports. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said children were among the victims. The pilot cancelled his flight plan at some point and headed for Butte, according to the spokesman. A local reporter at the crash site told the BBC the area was sealed off, and officials were not letting anyone near it. He said the plane was a Pilatus PC-12 Swiss-made turboprop aircraft. Bozeman and Butte are towns of about 30,000 each in the mountainous western half of the state. There were no known fatalities on the ground. He said witnesses saw the plane flying at about 300 feet and take a 90-degree nose-dive before crashing in a cemetery just short of the airport. National Transportation Safety Board Acting Chairman Mark Rosenker said his team is looking into the experience of the pilot and whether the 11-seat plane was overweight. Please turn on JavaScript. E-mail this to a friend Printable version Bookmark with: Delicious Digg reddit Facebook StumbleUpon What are these? The Pilatus PC-12 turboprop plane was carrying three fewer passengers than originally reported on Sunday and if infants were being carried on laps, the entire group could have fit on board. 'Nosedive' Reports suggest the pilot had filed a flight plan showing a destination of Bozeman, a ski destination about 85 miles (136km) southeast of Butte.
The plane crashed close to the town airport A plane has crashed in the northern US state of Montana, killing at least 16 people on board, officials say. The light aircraft went down in a cemetery as it approached the airport in the town of Butte. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said children were among the victims. The pilot was flying from Oroville, California, when he diverted to Butte, the FAA said. He tried to land but crashed 500ft (150m) from the airport. At a news conference, FAA officials said the plane crashed in a cemetery close to the airport in cloudy weather conditions, John Emeigh, a reporter for The Montana Standard newspaper, told the BBC. 'Nosedive' Reports suggest the pilot had filed a flight plan showing a destination of Bozeman, a ski destination about 85 miles (136km) southeast of Butte. But the pilot cancelled his flight plan at some point and diverted for Butte, FAA spokesman Mike Fergus said. "We think that it was probably a ski trip for the kids," Mr Fergus told the Associated Press news agency. A local reporter at the crash site told the BBC the area was sealed off, and officials were not letting anyone near it. "I did speak to one eyewitness who said he saw the plane approaching from the west and nosedive into the Holy Cross cemetery just short of the airport here in Butte," said Pat Ryan, also from The Montana Standard. "I was on the scene speaking to eyewitnesses who basically described the plane coming in trying to make it to the runway and obviously not getting there." He said witnesses told him there had then been an explosion and the plane had caught fire. Les Dorr, another FAA spokesman, told the BBC that the plane crashed at approximately 1527 local time (2127 GMT). Flames and billowing smoke rise after a single-engine private passenger plane crashed into a cemetery, on approach to an airport in Butte, Montana, killing 17 people, March 22, 2009. The plane crash that killed all seven children and seven adults on board began with a sudden nose dive just short of the airport in Butte, a federal official said on Monday. The single-engine plane had no "black box" flight data recorder and the investigation could take months. The Pilatus PC-12 turboprop plane was carrying three fewer passengers than originally reported on Sunday and if infants were being carried on laps, the entire group could have fit on board. The single pilot requested twice to divert to Butte from Bozeman, without giving a reason, and both times the Salt Lake City flight controller approved the change, Rosenker told a news conference. He said witnesses saw the plane flying at about 300 feet and take a 90-degree nose-dive before crashing in a cemetery just short of the airport. At least 17 people have died in a plane crash in Montana in the United States, according to reports. A spokesman said the small plane, a single engine turboprop Pilatus PC-12, departed from Orville, California, and that the pilot had filed a flight plan showing a final destination of Bozeman.
There were no injuries. ET), damaging the front of the ship, but not seriously, according to Masami Suekado. All About Somalia Lines said. TOKYO, March 23 A Japanese ship operated by Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (9104.T) was shot at by two pirate ships off Somalia, but none of the 18 Filipino crew were injured, the company said on Monday. A french navy helicopter watches over a cargo vessel in the Gulf of Aden earlier this year. In 2008, pirates attacked nearly 100 vessels and hijacked as many as 40 off Somalia, according to the International Maritime Bureau. "After zigzagging across the sea for about 40 minutes very fast, the ship tore itself away from the boats," she added. Pirating off Somalia has increase over the past four or five years as fishermen from Somalia realize that pirating is more lucrative. Lines about 4 p.m. Somali time (9 a.m. In response, a number of countries have deployed ships from their navies to the region, including the United States, China and Japan. Despite the damage, the ship could operate and is currently sailing towards a safer area. (Reporting by Yoko Nishikawa; Editing by Jerry Norton) Lines in the waters 900 km east off Somalia, local media reported on Monday, citing the transport ministry. The incident, which occured on Sunday, came after the Japanese government earlier this month ordered two naval vessels to join international patrols aimed at curbing pirate attacks off Somalia. The ship, carrying cargoes of cars en route to Mombasa, a seaport in Southeastern Kenya, got clear of the pirates some 40 minutes later.
TOKYO, March 23 (Xinhua) -- Pirates on Sunday fired on a cargo ship operated by Japan's Mitsui O.S.K. Lines in the waters 900 km east off Somalia, local media reported on Monday, citing the transport ministry. None of the 18 crew members aboard, all Philippine nationals, were wounded when pirates in two boats fired on the ship at around10:00 p.m. Tokyo time (1300 GMT), hitting the windows and ceiling of the steering room. The ship, carrying cargoes of cars en route to Mombasa, a seaport in Southeastern Kenya, got clear of the pirates some 40 minutes later. Lines (9104.T) was shot at by two pirate ships off Somalia, but none of the 18 Filipino crew were injured, the company said on Monday. The incident, which occured on Sunday, came after the Japanese government earlier this month ordered two naval vessels to join international patrols aimed at curbing pirate attacks off Somalia. [ID:nT327928] "Some windows were broken, and there was some damage to the outside of the ship, but no one was injured," a spokeswoman for Mitsui O.S.K. "After zigzagging across the sea for about 40 minutes very fast, the ship tore itself away from the boats," she added. The company said in a statement that the ship was a Cayman Islands-flagged cargo ship transporting used cars from the United Arab Emirates to Kenya.
But the water was turbulent, fast, and in seconds it was already high. REUTERS/Beawiharta Rescuers search for flood victims on the outskirts of Jakarta March 27, 2009. "Many people are still trapped and the rescue is ongoing." One resident said the dam broke after the morning call to prayer. All About Indonesia REUTERS/Dadang Tri Members of a rescue team carry a survivor found at the site of a flooded housing complex on the outskirts of Jakarta, March 27, 2009. Rustam Pakaya, a health ministry official, said 52 bodies had been recovered, while hundreds of houses were under 2 meters (7 feet) of floodwater. One man told local media it had been "like being in a tsunami". Indonesia's President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono sent his condolences to the families of the victims and officials said he was planning to travel to the scene of the disaster later in the day. An official said the Situ Gintung lake behind the dam became overloaded after hours of heavy rain. Survivors told stories of dead relatives and harrowing brushes with death as they struggled to escape rising waters. Vice President Jusuf Kalla went to the area earlier on Friday and promised the government would repair the dam immediately and provide help with rebuilding homes. "My house in a dreadful mess. In 2007, floods in the capital left more than 50 people dead. The agency put the death toll at 52 with 17 missing. Sirens The decades-old dam had been holding back a lake of about two million cubic metres of water. Television footage showed rescue workers wading through deep water and bodies being pulled from the mud.
Advertisement A dam has burst south-west of the Indonesian capital Jakarta, killing at least 58 people. Witnesses said a "horrifying" flash flood of water up to 4m (13ft) deep engulfed hundreds of homes in Cirendeu in the Tangerang district. Officials say they expect the death toll to rise, and 150 body bags have been sent to the scene. An official said the Situ Gintung lake behind the dam became overloaded after hours of heavy rain. "The dam was an old dam, 16m (52ft) deep," said Ratu Atut Chosiyah, governor of Banten province, where the lake is located. "Last night, because of heavy rain, the dam could not hold back the water so it broke," she added. Thick mud is hampering rescue teams, but the waters have now begun to recede. 'Still sleeping' The incident happened at about 0200 local time (1900 GMT) in what is a popular tourist area. A surge of water laden with debris slammed into the suburb of small, poorly built houses, sweeping away cars and toppling telephone lines. In pictures: Dam burst Dam burst felt 'like tsunami hit' "People were still sleeping and couldn't do anything," local official Danang Susanto told the AFP news agency. "Many people are still trapped and the rescue is ongoing." Television footage showed rescue workers wading through deep water and bodies being pulled from the mud. Indonesia's President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono sent his condolences to the families of the victims and officials said he was planning to travel to the scene of the disaster later in the day. "We will provide emergency help to the victims. Sirens The decades-old dam had been holding back a lake of about two million cubic metres of water. One resident said the dam broke after the morning call to prayer. SITU GINTUNG DAM Earthen dam, made of compacted earth Built in the early 1900s under Dutch colonial rule Surrounds man-made lake on south-west edge of Jakarta Thought to have released two million cubic metres (70 million cubic ft) of water "I took all my family out of the house and I saw my neighbour with his pregnant wife drifting away. Another resident, Seto Mulyadi, said he heard a siren from the dam before water crashed into his house, breaking through all the windows and doors and leaving water 2.5m (8ft) deep. "A flash flood came suddenly and was horrifying," he was quoted as saying by the Associated Press news agency. One man told local media it had been "like being in a tsunami". People were screaming 'the water's coming in, the water's coming in,' and our dog was barking," a local resident told Detikcom news website. "I could hear our door being pounded on and I wondered who could it be, but it was the water." South Jakarta Police chief Makmur Simbolon told AP that it was not yet known what had caused the failure of the 10m (32ft) dam, which was apparently earthen. The BBC's Katherine Demopoulos in Jakarta says the city is prone to floods and has an ageing, poorly maintained drainage system which struggles to cope with heavy rainfall. JAKARTA, Indonesia (CNN) -- Heavy rains smashed through a dam near Indonesia's capital Friday, unleashing a torrent of water that plowed into hundreds of homes and killed at least 52 people in what some survivors described as a suburban "tsunami." Sleeping residents were taken by surprise by the powerful flash flood as it crashed through Jakarta's crowded Cirendeu suburb, in the early hours of the morning. Watch scenes of the flood devastation » Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, currently on the campaign trail ahead of elections later this year, said he had ordered senior ministers to visit the scene of the disaster. "On behalf of the government, I express my condolences to the families of the dead victims and may their souls be accepted by God almighty," he said, according to the official Antara news agency. Don't Miss iReport.com: Send your photos, videos The rain obliterated a 255-meter-long section of the dam at around 4 am local time, releasing a wall of water from the 20-hectare lake that some survivors said reminded them of the tsunami that hit Indonesia in 2004. They later found out that the sounds came from the water rushing out from the dam's lake," Antara said. In 2007, 38 people were killed and 430,000 forced from their homes when storm waters three meters deep in some places swamped 75 percent of the capital, which is home to about 9 million people.
It's too late for that." The Shiite Personal Status Law contains provisions on marriage, divorce, inheritance, rights of movement and bankruptcy. "It is totally against women's rights. A spokesman for President Hamid Karzai would not comment. Opponents of the legislation governing the personal lives of Afghanistan's Shia minority have said it is "worse than during the Taliban". Because of the election I am not sure we can change it now. The bill passed both houses of the Afghan parliament, but was so contentious that the United Nations and women's rights campaigners have so far been unable to see a copy of the approved bill. The final document has not been published, but the law is believed to contain articles that rule women cannot leave the house without their husbands' permission, that they can only seek work, education or visit the doctor with their husbands' permission, and that they cannot refuse their husband sex. Shinkai Zahine Karokhail, a female MP, said the law had been rushed through with little debate. But the constitution and various international treaties signed by Afghanistan guarantee equal rights for women. The most controversial parts of the law deal explicitly with sexual relations. She told the Guardian newspaper: "They wanted to pass it almost like a secret negotiation, "There were lots of things that we wanted to change, but they didn't want to discuss it because Karzai wants to please the Shia before the election." Most of the Hazara people are unhappy with Mr Karzai." A briefing document prepared by the United Nations Development Fund for Women also warns that the law grants custody of children to fathers and grandfathers only.
Afghanistan's President, Hamid Karzai, has signed a law which "legalises" rape, women's groups and the United Nations warn. Critics claim the president helped rush the bill through parliament in a bid to appease Islamic fundamentalists ahead of elections in August. In a massive blow for women's rights, the new Shia Family Law negates the need for sexual consent between married couples, tacitly approves child marriage and restricts a woman's right to leave the home, according to UN papers seen by The Independent. "It is one of the worst bills passed by the parliament this century," fumed Shinkai Karokhail, a woman MP who campaigned against the legislation. "It is totally against women's rights. This law makes women more vulnerable." The law regulates personal matters like marriage, divorce, inheritance and sexual relations among Afghanistan's minority Shia community. "It's about votes," Ms Karokhail added. The provisions are reminiscent of the hardline Taliban regime, which banned women from leaving their homes without a male relative. But in a sign of Afghanistan's faltering steps towards gender equality, politicians who opposed it have been threatened. "There are moderate views among the Shia, but unfortunately our MPs, the people who draft the laws, rely on extremists," Ms Karokhail said. The bill lay dormant for more than a year, but in February it was rushed through parliament as President Karzai sought allies in a constitutional row over the upcoming election. Details of the law emerged after Mr Karzai was endorsed by Afghanistan's Supreme Court to stay in power until elections scheduled in August. Some MPs claimed President Karzai was under pressure from Iran, which maintains a close relationship with Afghanistan's Shias. The most controversial parts of the law deal explicitly with sexual relations. Article 132 requires women to obey their husband's sexual demands and stipulates that a man can expect to have sex with his wife at least "once every four nights" when travelling, unless they are ill. The law also gives men preferential inheritance rights, easier access to divorce, and priority in court. A report by the United Nations Development Fund for Women, Unifem, warned: "Article 132 legalises the rape of a wife by her husband". Most of Afghanistan's Shias are ethnic Hazaras, descended from Genghis Khan's Mongol army which swept through the entire region around 700 years ago. They are Afghanistan's third largest ethnic group, and potential kingmakers, because their leaders will likely back a mainstream candidate. Even the law's sponsors admit Mr Karzai rushed it through to win their votes. Ustad Mohammad Akbari, a prominent Shia political leader, said: "It's electioneering. A British Embassy spokesman said diplomats had raised concerns "at a senior level". Hamid Karzai has been accused of trying to win votes in Afghanistan's presidential election by backing a law the UN says legalises rape within marriage and bans wives from stepping outside their homes without their husbands' permission. The Afghan president signed the law earlier this month, despite condemnation by human rights activists and some MPs that it flouts the constitution's equal rights provisions. The final document has not been published, but the law is believed to contain articles that rule women cannot leave the house without their husbands' permission, that they can only seek work, education or visit the doctor with their husbands' permission, and that they cannot refuse their husband sex. The Afghan constitution allows for Shias, who are thought to represent about 10% of the population, to have a separate family law based on traditional Shia jurisprudence. But the constitution and various international treaties signed by Afghanistan guarantee equal rights for women. Although the ministry of justice confirmed the bill was signed by Karzai at some point this month, there is confusion about the full contents of the final law, which human rights activists have struggled to obtain a copy of. The justice ministry said the law would not be published until various "technical problems" had been ironed out. A western diplomat said the law represented a "big tick in the box" for the powerful council of Shia clerics. "Men and women have equal rights under Islam but there are differences in the way men and women are created. Akbari said the law gave a woman the right to refuse sexual intercourse with her husband if she was unwell or had another reasonable "excuse". Soraya Sobhrang, the head of women's affairs at the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission, said western silence had been "disastrous for women's rights in Afghanistan". Some female politicians have taken a more pragmatic stance, saying their fight in parliament's lower house succeeded in improving the law, including raising the original proposed marriage age of girls from nine to 16 and removing completely provisions for temporary marriages. "It's not really 100% perfect, but compared to the earlier drafts it's a huge improvement," said Shukria Barakzai, an MP.
But hurry. Sometimes, of course, the pranks backfire. April Fools! sigh." -- A viral prank video fooled millions called the "Hotelicopter"--the world's first luxury hotel on a helicopter. Boring day otherwise ... (Thanks, Eamon1916!) Among them, a quote from a souvenir stand operator who worried the panda deception would affect sales of her "stuffed panda toys, panda T-shirts, panda pens and notepads, remote-controlled pandas on wheels, caps with panda ears on top, panda fans, panda flashlights, panda mugs, panda eyeglass cases, panda face masks, panda slippers, panda wallet and panda purses." The news isn't always black and white. All About BMW AG • Twitter Inc. • Media She announced on her site that she will be the band's new lead vocalist. [April Fools!] China's Gift to Taiwan: Fake Pandas! But the story contained enough outrageous lines to clue in readers. A Lebanese newspaper ran a caricature last year of two opposition leaders hugging in light of April Fools' Day. The offers end Wednesday. "I've always said the monologue of the extreme right is over, and a new dialogue has begun," said Wallis. Association of Swiss Mountain Cleaners The Swiss Tourism Board announced it was seeking volunteers to join the Association of Mountain Cleaners. Nicky Loh / Reuters Pandas Tuan Tuan and Yuan Yuan walk around inside their enclosure at the Taipei City Zoo. If you were one of the many who fell for the prank, hold your disappointment. A complete withdrawal from America's premier racing series is expected to save more than $250 million between GM and Chrysler, a substantial amount considering the drastic measures being implemented elsewhere."
The annual assaults can be either subtle or brazen. And, really, people should see them coming. But in a media world addicted to drama and the bizarre, credulity will always take a hit. From the Middle East, where peace threatened to break out, to Switzerland, where the national obsession with neatness created jobs for mountain cleaners, the world once again fell prey to an array of hoaxers, fibbers and tellers of tall tales all excused by a strange yearly tradition of mysterious origin. Here are a few of the bogus news items that have appeared on our radar: Syria's President Visits Israel DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) Fresh on the heels of a regional summit in Doha, where President Bashar al-Assad reaffirmed his support for resistance against Israel while expressing reservations about the Arab Peace Initiative, the Syrian president dropped a bombshell by embarking on an epoch-making visit to Tel Aviv Wednesday morning. "We knew that they were close to a deal, but the Israelis didn't tell us how close."... Official sources say that earlier that same morning, [Israeli Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu] had himself embarked upon an epoch-making visit to Syria, touching down in Damascus International Airport only six minutes after President al-Assad arrived in Tel Aviv...." [April Fools!] (Read about the top 10 April Fools' pranks in history.) Taipei Times "Taiwan-China relations were dealt a severe setback yesterday when it was found that Taipei Zoo's "pandas" are not what they seem. Zookeepers discovered at feeding time yesterday that the two pandas are in fact Wenzhou brown forest bears that had been dyed to create the panda's distinctive black-and-white appearance. The Taipei Zoo's head of ursidae ex-procynidae care, Connie Liu... said she became suspicious when the pandas Tuan Tuan and Yuan Yuan began to spend almost all of their waking hours having sex. Pandas are notorious for their low libidos...." [April Fools!] GM and Chrysler Ordered Out of NASCAR Caranddriver.com "In a move sure to spark outrage, the White House announced today that GM and Chrysler must cease participation in NASCAR at the end of the 2009 season if they hope to receive any additional financial aid from the government. Companies around the globe Honda and Audi, to name two have drawn down racing operations, and NASCAR itself has already felt the pinch in the form of reduced team spending. A complete withdrawal from America's premier racing series is expected to save more than $250 million between GM and Chrysler, a substantial amount considering the drastic measures being implemented elsewhere." Rush Limbaugh to Speak at Left-Leaning Anti-Poverty Conference Sojourners In an inspiring display of bipartisan bridge-building, talk radio personality Rush Limbaugh has accepted Jim Wallis' invitation to deliver a keynote address at Sojourners' Mobilization to End Poverty conference in April. "I've always said the monologue of the extreme right is over, and a new dialogue has begun," said Wallis. Limbaugh, longtime champion of conservative media, announced his acceptance of the invitation on his daily radio show. Interrupted occasionally by call-ins of incredulous listeners, Limbaugh detailed months of off-the-record conversations with Wallis during which the two forged a deep friendship despite political, theological, philosophical, ideological, ecological, anthropological, eschatological, and soteriological differences." It claimed, 'The Association of Mountain Cleaners... makes sure that our holiday guests can always enjoy perfect mountains. Using brooms, brushes, water and muscle power, they clean the rocks of any bird droppings." Visitors to myswitzerland.com were invited to take a Mountain cleaner aptitude test and submit their name for a chance to win a week's holiday in Switzerland. Guardian Goes All-Twitter Guardian.co.uk "Consolidating its position at the cutting edge of new media technology, the Guardian today announces that it will become the first newspaper in the world to be published exclusively via Twitter, the sensationally popular social networking service that has transformed online communication.... The move, described as 'epochal' by media commentators, will see all Guardian content tailored to fit the format of Twitter's brief text messages, known as 'tweets,' which are limited to 140 characters each.... [April Fools!] One long accepted explanation had to do with the transition between the Julian and Gregorian calendars, when folks who continued to celebrate the old new year (which fell in late March or early April) were called April Fools. Various other festivals have been cited as inspirations, including the east Asian festival of the burning of the scholars on the new moon of the fourth lunar month (the equivalent of April 1 in the western calendar). The holiday began to evolve (or devolve) 2,200 years ago after Qin Shihuangdi, the unifier of China, infamously set fire to books and gazettes that he disagreed with; today it is celebrated by "sacrificing" jokey messages to the gods, setting slips of paper aflame like incense in hopes that the amused divinities will rain down good fortune. "A complete withdrawal from America's premier racing series is expected to save more than $250 million between GM and Chrysler, a substantial amount considering the drastic measures being implemented elsewhere." "Experts say any story can be told in 140 characters," read the story, headlined, "Twitter switch for Guardian, after 188 years of ink." -- Google, which has a long history of April Fools trickery, has a link on its home page today that reads, "Introducing CADIE: a singular upgrade to your online life" that stands for Cognitive Autoheuristic Distributed-Intelligence Entity. It links here, to an announcement of the "world's first 'artificial intelligence' tasked-array system." WATCH: GMail also announced its "autopilot" function as part of the CADIE initiative. "In order to provide the most expansive coverage possible, the convergence program has implanted tiny base stations into thousands of pigeons," the site says.
He will need them. The IMF is already bailing out Pakistan, Iceland, Latvia, Hungary, Ukraine, Belarus, Serbia, Bosnia and Romania. ・"The current system is not ideal," Medvedev said. Russia suggests that an international conference be held after the London summit to discuss the patterns of the new global finance architecture and adopt international conventions on a new global financial regulatory framework. There is now a world currency in waiting. BERLIN, March 31 (Xinhua) -- Russian President Dmitry Medvedev called here on Tuesday for creating an new international currency system ahead of the G20 summit in London. "I think we did OK," he said. Full story He said the current reserve system was inadequate, with high risks that countries responsible for the issuance of the reserve currencies may take unilateral actions that could hurt other economies. How this is enforced will determine whether Mayfair's hedge-fund industry – 80pc of all European funds are there – will continue to flourish. Merkel chimed with the idea by saying that Germany and Russia share some common ground in their approaches to tackling the financial crisis. Its fighting fund for crises is to be tripled overnight to $750bn. The key phrase is "new rules aimed at avoiding excessive leverage and forcing banks to put more money aside during good times." ・"We cannot develop in the next 10 years if we do not create a new new systems," he added. (Xinhua/Luo Huanhuan) Photo Gallery>>> "The current system is not ideal," he said. This is more or less what the authorities agreed after the Depression.
A single clause in Point 19 of the communiqué issued by the G20 leaders amounts to revolution in the global financial order. "We have agreed to support a general SDR allocation which will inject $250bn (£170bn) into the world economy and increase global liquidity," it said. SDRs are Special Drawing Rights, a synthetic paper currency issued by the International Monetary Fund that has lain dormant for half a century. In effect, the G20 leaders have activated the IMF's power to create money and begin global "quantitative easing". In doing so, they are putting a de facto world currency into play. It is outside the control of any sovereign body. It has been a good summit for the IMF. Its fighting fund for crises is to be tripled overnight to $750bn. Dominique Strauss-Kahn , the managing director, said in February that the world was "already in Depression" and risked a slide into social disorder and military conflict unless political leaders resorted to massive stimulus. The spending plan was fudged. While Gordon Brown talked of $5 trillion in global stimulus by 2010, this is mostly made up of packages already under way. This week Mexico became the first G20 state to ask for help. It has secured a precautionary credit line of $47bn. Gordon Brown said it took 15 years for the world to grasp the nettle after Great Crash in 1929. "This time I think people will agree that it has been different," he said. "Just Roosevelt and Churchill sitting in a room with a brandy, that's an easy negotiation, but that's not the world we live in." There will be $250bn in trade finance to kick-start shipping after lenders cut back on Letters of Credit after September's heart attack in the banking system. Global trade volumes fell at annual rate of 41pc from November to January, according to Holland's CPB institute – the steepest peacetime fall on record. Euphoria swept emerging markets yesterday as the first reports of the IMF boost circulated. Investors now know that countries like Mexico can arrange a credit facility able to cope with major shocks – and do so on supportive terms, rather than the hair-shirt deflation policies of the old IMF. The Russians had hoped their idea to develop SDRs as a full reserve currency to challenge the dollar would make its way on to the agenda, but at least they got a foot in the door. In time, SDRs are likely evolve into a parking place for the foreign holdings of central banks, led by the People's Bank of China. Beijing's moves this week to offer $95bn in yuan currency swaps to developing economies show how fast China aims to break dollar dependence. French President Nicolas Sarkozy said the summit had achieved more than he ever thought possible, and praised Gordon Brown for pursuing the collective interest as host rather than defending "Anglo-Saxon" interests. This has a double-edged ring, for it suggests that Mr Brown may have traded pockets of the British financial industry to satisfy Franco-German demands. Hedge funds deemed "systemically important" will come under draconian restraints. How this is enforced will determine whether Mayfair's hedge-fund industry – 80pc of all European funds are there – will continue to flourish. It seems that hedge funds have been designated for ritual sacrifice, even though they played no more than a cameo role in the genesis of this crisis. It was not they who took on extreme debt leverage: it was the banks – up to 30 times in the US and nearer 60 times for some in Europe that used off-books "conduits" to increase their bets. The market process itself is sorting this out in any case – brutally – forcing banks to wind down their leverage. But to the extent that this G20 accord makes it impossible for the "shadow banking" to resurrect itself in the next inevitable cycle of risk appetite, it may prevent another disaster of this kind. The key phrase is "new rules aimed at avoiding excessive leverage and forcing banks to put more money aside during good times." ・"We cannot develop in the next 10 years if we do not create a new new systems," he added. "We should think about creating a new currency system," Medvedev said at a joint press conference after he held talks with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin. "We cannot develop in the next 10 years if we do not create a new infrastructure including new (currency) systems," he added.
They were my men. Pakistan is critical of drone use because, it says, civilians are often killed, fuelling support for militants. "It shows he's under tremendous pressure." But a Taleban spokesman said all the dead were civilians. Pakistani analysts were skeptical. He vowed more attacks in Pakistan, Afghanistan and the United States. Most missile strikes by drones have targeted foreign fighters in the Waziristan region over the past couple of years. Many al Qaeda and Taliban militants fled to northwestern Pakistani border regions such as North Waziristan after U.S.-led forces ousted the Taliban in Afghanistan in late 2001. A suspected US missile strike in north-west Pakistan, the second drone attack in four days, has killed 13 people. Retaliation threatened Local administration officials say the missiles destroyed part of a house owned by a school teacher in a village near the region's main town of Miranshah. Hours later, Pakistani Taliban militant leader Baitullah Mehsud claimed responsibility for a shooting at a U.S. immigration center in New York in which a gunman killed 13 people, saying it was revenge for U.S. drone attacks in Pakistan. (Additional reporting by Kamran Haider and Haji Mujtaba; Writing by Robert Birsel, Editing by Dean Yates) From the remote ethnic Pashtun tribal lands that have never been governed by any Pakistani government, the militants have orchestrated the Afghan war and plotted violence beyond. His explosives went off, killing three passersby, witnesses and a hospital official said. E-mail this to a friend Printable version Bookmark with: Delicious Digg reddit Facebook StumbleUpon What are these? Last month, the United States announced a $5 million reward for information leaded to Mehsud's location or arrest.
A suspected US missile strike in north-west Pakistan, the second drone attack in four days, has killed 13 people. Local officials in North Waziristan, near the Afghan border, said the dead included women and children as well as militants - some of them foreigners. But a Taleban spokesman denied this, saying all those killed were civilians. The US military does not routinely confirm drone attacks, but US forces in Afghanistan are believed to be the only ones in the region with the capability. Pakistan is critical of drone use because, it says, civilians are often killed, fuelling support for militants. Retaliation threatened Local administration officials say the missiles destroyed part of a house owned by a school teacher in a village near the region's main town of Miranshah. A number of foreign militants were among those killed in the strike at 0300 local (2200 Friday), security officials said. Dozens of suspected drone strikes have killed hundreds in recent months The spokesman said the Taleban held Pakistan responsible for the strike, adding that it should be ready for retaliation. The latest incident comes only three days after a missile fired by a suspected US drone killed at least 14 people in Pakistan's Orakzai tribal area, near the Afghan border. Correspondents say that more than 35 suspected drone strikes have killed more than 340 people since August 2008, shortly before the election of President Asif Ali Zardari. Most missile strikes by drones have targeted foreign fighters in the Waziristan region over the past couple of years. The drone attacks are said to be part of a new US strategy to eliminate the Taleban and al-Qaeda leadership who are reportedly operating from Pakistan's tribal region next to the border with Afghanistan, says the BBC's Shoaib Hasan in Islamabad. PESHAWAR, Pakistan A pilotless U.S. drone aircraft fired a missile in northwest Pakistan on Saturday, killing 13 people including some foreign militants, security officials and residents said. Hours later, Pakistani Taliban militant leader Baitullah Mehsud claimed responsibility for a shooting at a U.S. immigration center in New York in which a gunman killed 13 people, saying it was revenge for U.S. drone attacks in Pakistan. U.S. officials were not immediately available for comment about Mehsud's claim, but Pakistani security analysts dismissed it as a publicity stunt. The New York Times quoted representative Maurice Hinchey, whose district includes the town of Binghamton in New York state where the shooting took place, as saying indications were the gunman was an immigrant from Vietnam. With the Afghan insurgency intensifying, the United States began launching more drone strikes against al Qaeda and Taliban militants on the Pakistani side of the border last year. Since then, about 35 U.S. strikes have killed about 350 people, including mid-level al Qaeda members, according to reports from Pakistani officials, residents and militants. The attack Saturday was in the North Waziristan region, a stronghold of al Qaeda and Taliban militants on the Afghan border, about 35 km (20 miles) west of the region's main town of Miranshah at about 3 a.m. (5 p.m. EST on Friday). "The missile hit a house where some guests were staying," one intelligence agency official said, referring to foreign militants. "We have information that 13 people were killed including some guests." Officials say about one in six of the strikes over the past year caused civilian deaths without killing any militants, and that fuels anti-U.S. sentiment, complicating the military's struggle to subdue violence. Taliban leader Mehsud said Tuesday his group had carried out an assault on a police training center in the Pakistani city of Lahore in retaliation for U.S. drone attacks. There has been growing anger in Pakistan against US aerial attacks [EPA] A local official said the compound that was hit belonged to Tariq Khan, who was described as a "facilitator of the Taliban". 'Safe haven' With violence intensifying in Afghanistan, the US has launched more drone attacks on the Pakistani side of the border to destroy what it describes as "safe havens" for anti-government fighters.
"We have had a launch. A square is seen in Pyongyang, capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), on April 5, 2009. Japan said it had not tried to intercept the rocket. Earlier on Sunday, an unidentified South Korean official told Yonhap news agency that the rocket did appear to be carrying a satellite. But the United States said that it was a "Taepodong-1" missile test-launch. Full story TOKYO, April 5 (Xinhua) -- Japanese government says no interceptor was launched against Pyongyang's rocket, which appears to be flying over the Pacific. The UN Security Council has approved a Japanese request for an emergency session. North Korea first tested a Taepodong-2 in July 2006. State media said a satellite had been put into orbit and was transmitting data and revolutionary songs. Analysts also say that the response to Pyongyang’s decision to ignore pleas not to launch the missile would also be a test of China’s willingness to support international nuclear non-proliferation efforts. US within range? (Xinhua/Zhang Binyang) Photo Gallery>>> However, as a positive sign, Obama said the six-party talks will continue providing the forum for achieving denuclearization and reducing tensions in the Korean Peninsula. Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Takeo Kawamura said his country is yet to confirm whether the rocket carried a ballistic missile or a communications satellite. China and Russia both called on all sides to act with restraint, while the UK urged North Korea to immediately halt all missile-related activity. The three-stage rocket blasted off just before midday local time, within a pre-announced launch window. I don't know the type of missile," U.S. State Department spokesman Fred Lash told reporters on a conference call.
North Korea's neighbours have strongly condemned the rocket launch North Korea has defied international warnings and gone ahead with a controversial rocket launch. State media said a satellite had been put into orbit and was transmitting data and revolutionary songs. The US, Japan and South Korea suspect the launch was a cover for a long-range missile test. The US president told Pyongyang to "refrain from further provocative actions". "This provocation underscores the need for action - not just this afternoon at the UN Security Council, but in our determination to prevent the spread of these weapons." Japan called the move "extremely regrettable", while South Korea said it constituted a clear breach of a United Nations resolution. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said North Korea's actions were not conducive to regional stability, as did the European Union. China and Russia both called on all sides to act with restraint, while the UK urged North Korea to immediately halt all missile-related activity. Washington, Tokyo and Seoul regard the launch as a clear violation of Security Council resolution 1718 adopted in October 2006, which bans North Korea from carrying out ballistic missile activity. No intercept North Korea announced several weeks ago that it planned to send what it called an "experimental communications satellite" into space from the Musudan-ri launch site in the north-east. It flew over Japan towards the Pacific, with two booster stages dropping into the ocean to the east and west of Japan, Tokyo said. It had indicated it would do so if the rocket threatened its territory. North Korea says the launch is part of what it calls peaceful space development. "Our scientists and engineers have succeeded in sending satellite 'Kwangmyongsong-2' into orbit by way of carrier rocket 'Unha-2'," state news agency KCNA reported. It added that it was transmitting data and the "Song of General Kim Il-sung" and "Song of General Kim Jong-il" - references to the late founder of North Korea and his son, the current leader. In a previous satellite launch attempt in 1998, North Korea said it was sending up a device that would orbit the world transmitting revolutionary melodies. It claimed this was also successful but the launch is believed to have been a failure as no trace of the satellite was ever found. Earlier on Sunday, an unidentified South Korean official told Yonhap news agency that the rocket did appear to be carrying a satellite. If confirmed, North Korea will see this as a major propaganda victory, says the BBC's John Sudworth in Seoul. But of more concern to Pyongyang's neighbours is the potential military use of the launch vehicle, our correspondent says. They believe the real aim of the launch was to test long-range missile technology; specifically the Taepodong-2. They believe it could put parts of the US within the communist nation's military reach. The launch of the missile at 02.30 GMT (11.30am local time) from a coastal site in the country’s northeast presents US President Barack Obama with his first major foreign policy test since he took office in January, analysts say. It came after weeks of escalating tensions in which North Korean has threatened to pull out permanently from the stalled Six-Party nuclear disarmament talks if any country attempted to interfere with its missile test. Four hours after launch North Korea declared the test a success, claiming a satellite reached orbit within nine minutes and has started to transmit revoloutionary songs down to earth. A state media report described the launch as a "proud achievement made out of our battle to upgrade our country's space scientific technology." However despite having international opprobrium heaped upon it, analysts said the launch will be seen as a major propaganda coup for Kim Jong-il’s regime which draws its strength at home from defying international opinion. Analysts added that the US and other nations would have to tread a fine line between ‘punishing’ the North for its irresponsible actions and driving it further into international isolation and a possible resumption of uranium enrichment for its nuclear weapons programme. China remained quiet after the launch, although the official Xinhua news agency quoted its South Korean counterpart Yonhap as saying that North Korea's rocket carried a satellite, which would counter suspicions the launch was actually a disguised missile test. Initial reports said that the first booster rocket of the three-stage Taepodong-2 missile had dropped into the Sea of Japan 170 miles of the north Japanese coast. A united diplomatic response to the test is also made more difficult by legal disputes over whether a 2006 UN resolution banning the North from ballistic missile testing would cover a satellite test.
Myers, 30, of Hopewell, Virginia, was killed in Afghanistan on Saturday by an improvised explosive device, the Pentagon said. Casket Ban Policy Hotly Debated Since the casket ban was implemented by President George H.W. For example, media can photograph returning war dead at the Delaware military base only if the families of the fallen troops agree. Phillip Myers arrived at Dover Air Force Base. When he announced the reversal in February, Gates said decisions about such coverage "should be made by those most directly affected." The entire transfer was very methodical and very dignified. Other Democrats have accused Bush of censorship. The arrival of remains of Staff Sgt. Critics said the ban tried to hide the human cost of the two wars, in which nearly 5,000 US soldiers have died. Play The transfer of the flag-draped casket was carried out with great dignity, for the seven family members present. Mr Gates ordered the review of the ban at President Barack Obama's request. The ban was imposed in 1991 during the first Gulf War with some exceptions, including the return of Navy seamen killed during the attack on the USS Cole in the Yemeni port of Aden in October 2000 that killed 17. The Pentagon says that at least 4,262 U.S. service members have died in Iraq since the U.S.-led invasion in March 2003, while another 673 have been killed in Afghanistan since U.S. forces went there to oust the Taliban in late 2001 following the Sept. 11 attacks. The saluting arms were then slowly lowered. The change was welcomed by government transparency advocates, but despite the condition upholding the wishes of soldiers' families, some advocates for the relatives of the war dead did not support the new policy.
For the first time since the Obama administration reversed an 18-year-old ban on news coverage of returning fallen soldiers, the military allowed media to cover the arrival tonight of an airman killed in Afghanistan. Phillip A. Myers, a 30-year-old supporting Operation Enduring Freedom, at Dover Air Force Base at 11 p.m. today marked the first time that the transfer of any of the nearly 5,000 U.S. troops who have died in Iraq and Afghanistan was open to the media. Play The transfer of the flag-draped casket was carried out with great dignity, for the seven family members present. One of the men present dabbed his eyes with a tissue. After a prayer was said by a chaplain, Maj. Klabens Noel, a carry team of eight airmen and women wearing battle dress uniforms with white gloves moved Myers' flag-draped casket from an Atlas Air 747 cargo jet to a waiting panel truck. In the cool night, under a light breeze, the only noise was the hum of the jet's auxiliary power unit, until the quiet was pierced by the engine of the lift lowering the casket from the jet to the tarmac. The eight airmen and women carried the casket to a white panel truck, placed it inside, as the doors were slowly closed, the call went out for present arms. About 40 members of the media were present, and throughout the transfer there were no flashes, no talking, though cameras clicked as casket went by. In February, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates lifted the ban on media coverage of returning war dead, ending what some have called an era of censorship enforced by President George W. Bush. Under the new policy, Myers' family was given the option of whether to admit the media and they chose to let news media cover the dignified transfer. Myers, from Hopewell, Va., died April 4 of wounds suffered from an improvised explosive device, the Air Force said in a statement. Since the 2003 invasion of Iraq, more than 4,200 flag-draped war dead have arrived at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware. Vice President Joe Biden has said the coffins are being "snuck back into the country" and called the policy shameful. The change was welcomed by government transparency advocates, but despite the condition upholding the wishes of soldiers' families, some advocates for the relatives of the war dead did not support the new policy. Tom Carper and Ted Kaufman and Republican Rep. Mike Castle, said in a joint statement that they backed the new policy, but emphasized that the needs of the familes must remain a top concern. "We urge all of those involved to be respectful of the wishes of the families of these brave men and women," the statement read. DOVER, Delaware, April 5 The media was permitted on Sunday to cover the arrival of a U.S. soldier's coffin at the Pentagon's main mortuary in Delaware late for the first time in 18 years. The ban was imposed in 1991 during the first Gulf War with some exceptions, including the return of Navy seamen killed during the attack on the USS Cole in the Yemeni port of Aden in October 2000 that killed 17. The Pentagon says that at least 4,262 U.S. service members have died in Iraq since the U.S.-led invasion in March 2003, while another 673 have been killed in Afghanistan since U.S. forces went there to oust the Taliban in late 2001 following the Sept. 11 attacks. President George H Bush imposed the ban during the first Gulf war in 1991 The US defence department has lifted a ban on news organisations showing pictures of the coffins of soldiers killed in Iraq and Afghanistan.
By then, however, a few had already dared to do so. "We can be relatively unworried," he said. Rescuers are continuing into the night their search for victims trapped in the rubble from Monday's earthquake. (Xinhua/Wu Wei) Photo Gallery>>> [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] More than 10,000 buildings have been destroyed - mostly in L'Aquila. Two of the missing were brought out alive from the residence early on Tuesday. The operation was decided on after rescue workers fixed the location of the four students inside the shattered building. More than 200 people were killed and more than 1,000 injured. The 5.5-magnitude tremor brought down masonry from already damaged buildings and was felt as far away as Rome. Earlier in the day, Berlusconi said the danger is not over yet. Backgrounder: Chronology of major earthquakes since 2008 ・A strong aftershock was felt in Italy's Abruzzo region on Tuesday. The government has already activated the natural calamities' fund to face housing reconstruction and survivors' needs. Hope remains that more people will be found alive, as Italian media reported that a woman had been found 42 hours after the quake. While death toll rose to more than 200. Silvio Berlusconi, the Italian prime minister, told a press conference in L'Aquila that the search for the living would go on for another 48 hours. Please turn on JavaScript. A rescuer holds a painting retrieved from the damaged Santa Maria Church in the old city of L'Aquila, Italy, on April 7, 2009.
Rescuers continued searching for survivors though the night after a powerful aftershock brought two apartment blocks crashing down in the stricken city of L'Aquila, killing one person and causing panic among rescue workers and survivors of Monday's deadly earthquake. Chunks of masonry fell from other damaged buildings, including parts of the basilica, and the tremor - measured by the US Geological Survey at magnitude 5.6 - was felt as far away as Rome. Within minutes the city resounded again to the scream of sirens as police and rescue workers rushed to the scene. Meanwhile, rescue workers were preparing to carry out what one called a "surgical operation" on a collapsed building in the centre of L'Aquila in the hope of saving the lives of four missing students as the overall death toll reached at least 235. Sergio Basti, the Rome fire brigade engineer leading the attempt, said his team aimed to demolish the residence where the students were trapped "bit by bit from the top, like scraping toppings from a pizza". The students' residence has been a focus of the rescue operation since early on Monday, shortly after the earthquake that devastated the city and several of the surrounding towns and villages. The operation was decided on after rescue workers fixed the location of the four students inside the shattered building. But Basti warned: "We do not know whether they are dead or alive." He said relatives of the four young people who were sleeping in the residence when the earthquake struck had been briefed on what was going to happen. The relatives had spent much of the day waiting anxiously, and sometimes tearfully, outside the building among reporters, police and firefighters. Yesterday morning, a third student was found dead. It was the prelude to a day in which the death toll in and around L'Aquila surged higher and the balance shifted perceptibly away from the hope of finding more survivors and towards a more exigent calculation of the risks facing the rescuers. Silvio Berlusconi, the Italian prime minister, told a press conference in L'Aquila that the search for the living would go on for another 48 hours. Next to the Piazzale Paoli park where a block of flats had collapsed outwards under the force of the shockwaves, an earth mover was vigorously gouging through the rubble in a way that suggested the rescuers no longer feared disturbing survivors. The "surgical operation" at the students' residence was decided on after the fourth aftershock since midnight threatened to bring it crashing down. A rescue worker was attached to a crane and lifted above the four-storey building to make an inspection. Afterwards, a member of the team said the residence had been further weakened by the aftershocks and was being kept up by just one of its concrete pillars. A few hundred metres from the students' residence, on the other side of a severely cracked bridge, four Spanish rescue workers were taking a break after working through the night. Berlusconi said: "Other tremors are possible and the message to the population is not to go back home." Donatella di Sibio, a 33-year-old shop worker, could not bring herself to leave her parrot behind. It's dangerous," she agreed as the parrot sat contentedly on its perch in a cage at her feet. Di Sibio had even brought out some parrot food, along with a handful of specially treasured possessions that her mother had stuffed in a plastic bag. "I've lived there all my life," said Di Sibio, looking at the 18th century building in which she and her parents shared a flat. Hope remains that more people will be found alive, as Italian media reported that a woman had been found 42 hours after the quake. Two 98-year-olds survived quake Quake buildings 'below standard' In pictures: Race against time The woman, named Eleonora, was said to be conscious throughout the operation to rescue her from the debris of a building close to the historic centre of the city of L'Aquila. It is not known whether they are alive or dead A 23-year-old student was pulled alive with the help of specialist cavers from the rubble of a four-storey building in L'Aquila more than 22 hours after the quake struck L'Aquila and the surrounding area were without water Serious risks Latest from Dominic Hughes in Fossa, a village near L'Aquila Successes are becoming rarer.
“Believe me, there is nothing at all enjoyable about it,” she said. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Mr. Moscovici said the protests were never intended to turn in that direction. Romania has rejected the accusation as a "provocation". Some of those protesting on Tuesday bore the Romanian flag Moldova's president has accused neighbouring Romania of stoking the protests that erupted into violence in the capital Chisinau on Tuesday. Summoned on Twitter There was no sign of a repeat of the violence on Wednesday, though some people gathered to demand the release of the 193 people reportedly arrested on Tuesday. View all New York Times newsletters. It’s not really the Communists versus the opposition. FROM THE BBC WORLD SERVICE Please turn on JavaScript. Bookmark with: Delicious Digg reddit Facebook StumbleUpon What are these? Thousands of young protesters thronged Chisinau, fighting police and ransacking parliament, in protest at the results of Sunday's election. The collapse of the Soviet Union brought benefits to much of Eastern Europe, but in Moldova it ushered in economic decline and instability. Moscow’s embassy released a statement saying that “a group of militants” appeared in an otherwise peaceful crowd on Tuesday, urging them to attack government buildings. The people do not want to live like this and want to live free and without fear." Photo The protests have exposed a split in Moldova, the first post-Soviet state to vote Communists back into power. Moldovan President Vladimir Voronin, a Communist, was quoted by Russian agency Interfax saying: "We know that certain political forces in Romania are behind this unrest. You must select a newsletter to subscribe to.
Some of those protesting on Tuesday bore the Romanian flag Moldova's president has accused neighbouring Romania of stoking the protests that erupted into violence in the capital Chisinau on Tuesday. Romania has rejected the accusation as a "provocation". Thousands of young protesters thronged Chisinau, fighting police and ransacking parliament, in protest at the results of Sunday's election. Official results gave the ruling Communists about 50% of the vote in the Romanian-speaking ex-Soviet republic. International observers said the vote appeared to have been fair, though one told the BBC she had her doubts. Some of my colleagues went in and later said they smashed everything and put the president's chair and portrait on fire Alina Martiniuc Resident of Chisinau Eyewitness: Moldova protests What is behind unrest? The Romanian flags fixed on the government buildings in Chisinau attest to this." He ordered that Romania's ambassador be expelled, recalled the Moldovan envoy from Bucharest, and said Romanians would in future need visas to cross into Moldova. Earlier the president described the violence as "a coup d'etat". Some of the protesters on Tuesday had carried Romanian flags and called for the unification of Moldova with Romania, its bigger neighbour. Russia's foreign ministry said there was a plot aimed at undermining "the sovereignty of Moldova". But Romania's foreign ministry said: "This accusation is a provocation aimed at the Romanian state." It is "unacceptable that the Communists in power in Chisinau shift the blame for internal problems in Moldova onto Romania and the Romanian people", the statement added. Summoned on Twitter There was no sign of a repeat of the violence on Wednesday, though some people gathered to demand the release of the 193 people reportedly arrested on Tuesday. In pictures: Moldova protests Vlad Filat, leader of the Liberal Democratic Party, called the demonstrations "a spontaneous action by protesting young people". He said the opposition had tried to prevent excesses, like the attacks on parliament, but said: "We are not scared of arrests or intimidation. Word of the demonstrations was spread by text message, via the internet, and on social networking tools. "We sent messages on Twitter but didn't expect 15,000 people to join in. At the most we expected 1,000," Oleg Brega, of the activist group Hyde Park told the Associated Press news agency. 'Manipulation' suspected Chisinau Mayor Dorin Chirtoaca, a member of the Liberal Party, said: "The elections were fraudulent, there was multiple voting." More from BBC World Service The opposition have called for ballots to be recounted or the vote to be reheld - a request rejected so far by the government. But a British member of the OSCE's observation team questioned that conclusion. Baroness Emma Nicholson said she found it "difficult to endorse the very warm press statement" from the head of the OSCE. "The problem was that it was an OSCE report, and in the OSCE are, of course, the Russians, and their view was quite different, quite substantially different, for example from my own," she told BBC News. She said she and other observers had a "very, very strong feeling" that there had been some manipulation, "but we couldn't find any proof". Moldova, sandwiched between Romania and Ukraine, is the poorest country in Europe, where the average wage is just under $250 (£168) a month. The people speak Romanian and the country shares many cultural links with Romania. There remains an unresolved conflict with the breakaway region of Trans-Dniester, which has run its own affairs, with Moscow's support, since the end of hostilities in a brief war in 1992. Bookmark with: Delicious Digg reddit Facebook StumbleUpon What are these? After hundreds of firsthand accounts flooded onto the Internet via Twitter, Internet service in Chisinau, the capital, was abruptly cut off. Advertisement Continue reading the main story There was no sign that the authorities would cede to any of the protesters’ demands, and President Vladimir Voronin denounced the organizers as “fascists intoxicated with hatred.” But Mihai Fusu, 48, a theater director who spent much of the day on the edges of the crowd, said he believed that a reservoir of political energy had found its way into public life. Photo The immediate cause of the protests were parliamentary elections held on Sunday, in which Communists won 50 percent of the vote, enough to allow them to select a new president and amend the Constitution. Though the Communists were expected to win, their showing was stronger than expected, and opposition leaders accused the government of vote-rigging. Advertisement Continue reading the main story The global financial crisis has eliminated overseas jobs, sending many of the young people back to Chisinau, their horizons suddenly narrowed, said Carroll Patterson, who is finishing his doctoral dissertation on economic changes in Moldova.
Capt. A fourth pirate, who was on a navy ship at the time, surrendered. He said he has spoken with Phillips and said the captain is "feeling quite good." Gortney said the Alabama had reported being harassed by pirates the day before the pirates' successful attack on Wednesday. The head of Maersk praised the captain's behaviour. Richard Phillips is shown aboard the USS Boxer shortly after his rescue Sunday. "(U.S. forces have) become our No. Two other pirates popped their heads up out of the lifeboat, giving snipers three clear targets from the Bainbridge, one official said. All About Pirates • Mombasa • Somalia The Buccaneer has 16 crew members on board, 10 of them Italians. He has spoken to his wife and family back in the US and is said to be looking forward to celebrating Easter when he gets home. A senior defense official told CNN that each pirate was shot in the head. Video: Obama to ship commander: ‘Well done’ Earlier Monday, six mortar shells were fired toward the airport in the Somali capital of Mogadishu as a plane carrying a U.S. congressman took off, an airport employee at the control tower said. He said he was resolved to deal with the threat of piracy in the region. Those threats raised fears for the safety of some 230 foreign sailors still held hostage in more than a dozen ships anchored off the coast of lawless Somalia. This could escalate violence in this part of the world, no question about it Vice Adm Gortney How Captain Phillips was rescued "He had a weapon aimed at him - that would be my interpretation of imminent danger," said Admiral Gortney.
In a daring high-seas rescue, U.S. Navy SEAL snipers killed three Somali pirates and freed the American sea captain who had offered himself as a hostage to save his crew. The operation was a victory for the world's most powerful military but angry pirates vowed Monday to retaliate. Those threats raised fears for the safety of some 230 foreign sailors still held hostage in more than a dozen ships anchored off the coast of lawless Somalia. "From now on, if we capture foreign ships and their respective countries try to attack us, we will kill them (the hostages)," Jamac Habeb, a 30-year-old pirate, told the Associated Press from one of Somalia's piracy hubs, Eyl. Richard Phillips' rescue caused his crew in Kenya to break into wild cheers and brought tears to the eyes of those in Phillips' hometown of Underhill, Vt., half a world away from the Indian Ocean drama. A statement from Phillips' wife Andrea was read at a news conference in Vermont on Monday. She said she is proud of her husband and thanks everyone for giving her "the strength to be strong for Richard." In Washington, President Barack Obama on Monday said Phillips' "safety has been our principal concern." In a sharp warning to pirates off Somalia, Obama added: "I want to be very clear that we are resolved to halt the rise of piracy in that region and to achieve that goal, we're going to have to continue to work with our partners to prevent future attacks." "We have to continue to be prepared to confront them when they arise, and we have to ensure that those who commit acts of piracy are held accountable for their crimes," the president said. Video: Obama to ship commander: ‘Well done’ Earlier Monday, six mortar shells were fired toward the airport in the Somali capital of Mogadishu as a plane carrying a U.S. congressman took off, an airport employee at the control tower said. New Jersey Democrat Donald Payne had met with Somalia’s president and prime minister for a one-day visit to discuss piracy and security issues. The airport staffer said Payne’s plane took off safely and none of the mortar shells landed in the airport. Meantime, Pentagon sources told NBC News that the current plan is to reunite Phillips with his 19-man crew from the Maersk Alabama in the Kenyan city of Mombassa. Phillips is still on the U.S. Navy ship Boxer, and it's not clear exactly when he will be take to the Kenyan port city. Pentagon officials say there's no concern over Phillips security despite pirates threats to seek retribution. From Mombasa, it's believed Phillips and his crew will fly back to the United States aboard a plane chartered by Maersk Line Lmtd., which owns the Alabama. The stunning resolution to a five-day standoff came Sunday in a daring nighttime assault in choppy seas after pirates had agreed to let the USS Bainbridge tow their powerless lifeboat out of rough water. Vice Adm. Bill Gortney said Phillips, 53, was tied up and in "imminent danger" of being killed because a pirate on the lifeboat held an AK-47 assault rifle to the back of his head. In an interview with NBC's TODAY show, Gortney said it took only three shots to kill the three pirates. Interviewed Monday from Bahrain, Gortney said the take-down happened shortly after the hostage-takers were observed by sailors aboard the USS Bainbridge "with their heads and shoulders exposed." He said the firing by the snipers was ordered by the captain of the Bainbridge after the pirates "exposed themselves" to attack. Video: Inside the rescue U.S. Defense officials said snipers got the go-ahead to fire after one pirate held an AK-47 close to Phillips’ back. Two other pirates popped their heads up out of the lifeboat, giving snipers three clear targets from the Bainbridge, one official said. Military officials Monday described the snipers' operation as remarkable — firing at a small lifeboat 25 yards away at night and from the stern of a ship on rolling waters. The SEALS arrived on the scene by parachuting from their aircraft into the sea, and were picked up by the Bainbridge, a senior U.S. official said. A fourth pirate surrendered after boarding the Bainbridge earlier in the day and could face life in a U.S. prison. He had been seeking medical attention for a wound to his hand and was negotiating with U.S. officials on conditions for Phillips' release, military officials said. Escalation on the high seas Yet Sunday's blow to their lucrative activities is unlikely to stop pirates from threatening one of the world's busiest shipping lanes, simply because of the size of the vast area stretching from the Gulf of Aden and the coast of Somalia. MANAMA, Bahrain (CNN) -- U.S. Navy snipers fatally shot three pirates holding an American cargo-ship captain hostage after seeing that one of the pirates "had an AK-47 leveled at the captain's back," a military official said Sunday. "While working through the negotiations process tonight, the on-scene commander from the Bainbridge made the decision that the captain's life was in immediate danger, and the three pirates were killed," Gortney said. "The pirate who surrendered earlier today is being treated humanely; his counterparts who continued to fight paid with their lives." Watch how U.S. forces believed Phillips was in danger » The on-scene commander gave the shooters approval to open fire after seeing that "one of the pirates had an AK-47 leveled at the captain's back," Gortney said.
Both attacks took place in the Ayacucho region, 340 miles from the capital, Lima. Prime Minister Yehude Simon condemned the ambushes as "desperate responses by the Shining Path in the face of advances by the armed forces". A surge in rebel violence last year prompted an army offensive in Apurimac Ene. A captain and 11 soldiers died in that attack which left two other soldiers wounded and one is still missing. "I have no doubt that in the next years this zone will be free of leftover terrorists." Antero Flores Araoz said the rebels had used dynamite and grenades to attack one military patrol on Thursday. Its fighters are considered expert in guerrilla warfare from years of resistance in some of Peru's remotest and wildest country and are well-armed from the profits of the cocaine trade. It is one of the deadliest operations by the once-formidable guerrillas in the past decade. Alberto Fujimori, the president during the time of the government crackdown on the group, was sentenced to 25 years in prison this week for his role in crimes committed by an army death squad during his 1990-2000 rule. Bookmark with: Delicious Digg reddit Facebook StumbleUpon What are these? E-mail this to a friend Printable version In the first ambush, one soldier was killed and at least three were wounded. But the group is believed to be a fraction of its former size and is split between two cocaine-producing zones of Peru, some 500km (310 miles) apart. 'Desperate response' Some members of the group are still active and have lately grown bolder in their attacks in the country's main coca farming regions.
The army has been pursuing rebels in the Ayacucho region Peru's Shining Path rebels have killed 13 soldiers in two ambushes in the south-east of the country, the country's defence minister says. Antero Flores Araoz said the rebels had used dynamite and grenades to attack one military patrol on Thursday. A captain and 11 soldiers died in that attack which left two other soldiers wounded and one is still missing. Mr Flores said the incidents had taken place on Thursday, but news had been delayed by poor communications with the region. Prime Minister Yehude Simon condemned the ambushes as "desperate responses by the Shining Path in the face of advances by the armed forces". "I have no doubt that in the next years this zone will be free of leftover terrorists," he added. Last year, the Shining Path sprang back from relative obscurity to launch a series of deadly attacks, killing some 25 soldiers and police officers in ambushes and gun battles. But the group is believed to be a fraction of its former size and is split between two cocaine-producing zones of Peru, some 500km (310 miles) apart. It is made up of a few hundred guerrillas who did not lay down their arms when the group's leader, Abimael Guzman, declared the armed revolution at an end after his capture in 1992. Its fighters are considered expert in guerrilla warfare from years of resistance in some of Peru's remotest and wildest country and are well-armed from the profits of the cocaine trade. The defence minister, Antero Flores Araoz, said the rebels attacked a military patrol with grenades and dynamite killing a captain and 11 soldiers in one of the most deadliest attacks by the guerrillas in the past decade. The prime minister, Yehude Simon, sought to write off the attack as the death throes of a rebel movement that once numbered 10,00. "I have no doubt that in the next years this zone will be free of leftover terrorists." However, since the Peruvian army launched 'Operation Excellence' last year to root out some 300 rebels from their stronghold around the valleys of the rivers Apurimac and Ene, some 340 miles south-east of Lima, they have been constantly ambushed and harassed by an enemy they have been unable to get to grips with. The surge in rebel violence prompted an army offensive last year [EPA] The surge in rebel violence prompted an army offensive last year [EPA] The attackers were suspected members of the Shining Path group, which led a nearly two-decade rebellion until its leadership was captured in the early 1990s. Yehude Simon, the prime minister, described Thursday's ambushes as "desperate responses by the Shining Path in the face of advances by the armed forces" in the Apurimac Ene valley northwest of Ayacucho. Alberto Fujimori, the president during the time of the government crackdown on the group, was sentenced to 25 years in prison this week for his role in crimes committed by an army death squad during his 1990-2000 rule.
"They are just troublemakers. But there they were, most of them young, many in jeans, defying a threatening crowd. It's against the people of Afghanistan." "This law treats women as if we were sheep." "They said we were unbelievers. Most of the men were part of a counter-demonstration. You are not a Shiite woman!" We want our rights." In a Shia neighbourhood a few miles away police opened fire to disperse a mob that began ransacking a school. Afghan President Hamid Karzai has remanded the law to the justice department for review and put enforcement on hold. The legislation restricts a woman's right to leave her home and demands she submit to her husband's sexual desires. The make-up clause would protect relationships he added. yesterday to protest a law that lets husbands demand sex from their wives. A line of female police officers locked hands to keep the groups apart. Conservative factions have dismissed protests as Christian political meddling designed to undermine Islam. Both sides are girding for battle over the legislation, which has sparked an international uproar since being quietly signed into law last month. one man shouted to a young woman in a head scarf. A group of 300 Afghan women were stoned and subjected to verbal abuse from conservative opponents when they protested against the law outside Ayatollah Mohseni's Kabul mosque on Wednesday. It also regulates when a wife may leave her home without a male escort. With files from the New York Times Mr Obama called the law "abhorrent". These people are the same as the Taliban. I tried to talk to them but they wouldn't listen.
Women marching against new legislation which effectively legalises rape met violent opposition from an opposing mob in Kabul yesterday. Dozens of riot police, backed by more than 50 elite counter-terrorism officers, struggled to keep the groups apart as hordes of men charged at the protesters, who had taken to the streets near Afghanistan's parliament. At one point the women , who were marching to parliament to deliver a petition, were pelted with stones. Men chanted "long live Islam" and spat at the women who had assembled outside a mosque built by Ayatollah Mohseni, the Shia cleric who helped draft the law. At a separate demonstration, police fired into the air to disperse a mob surrounding a school accused of organising the protests. The legislation restricts a woman's right to leave her home and demands she submit to her husband's sexual desires. Sima Ghani, one of the women's organisers, said: "This law is against Islam and it's against women. Most of those protesting against the law were young Shia women who took to the streets despite the threat of violence. Earlier this week, one of Afghanistan's leading women's rights activists was murdered at her home. The UN has warned that a number of women have already received death threats for speaking out against the Shia Family Law, which President Hamid Karzai signed last month. Hundreds of them charged at riot police while a cordon of female police officers held hands in a ring around the women, to try to protect them. "But these men are claiming those rights in the name of culture. The men called the women "un-Islamic dogs" in a series of abusive chants. Others screamed "death to America". In reply, the women cried: "Afghanistan is a country of lionesses. Sayed Sajat, a 22-year-old student who was part of the counter-protest, said: "We must trust Allah, instead of listening to the Western countries and the European countries who come here to meddle and interfere." In a Shia neighbourhood a few miles away police opened fire to disperse a mob that began ransacking a school. Aziz Royesh, the headmaster at the Marefat School, said local mullahs had accused him of helping to organise the women's protest. "Around 40 or 50 people came here and surrounded the school," he said. Dozens of riot police were stationed in the neighbourhood last night, amid fears that violence might flare a second time. "The police opened fire and people stoned the school," said one of the local mullahs, Asadullah Yousefi. Politicians on both sides claim President Karzai signed the law to win support from hardline Shia clerics, but he has since ordered a Supreme Court review following widespread international protests led by US President Barack Obama. It stipulates that a man can expect to have sex with his wife at least once every four nights, it negates the need for sexual consent within marriage, and it gives husbands the right to demand their wives wear make-up. As women marched past the mosque, waving banners demanding equality, a similar number of men poured out of the seminary on to the street waving their fists and running at riot police. "These women are not Muslims," screamed a man who said he was a mullah. Sabrina Saqeb, an MP and one of the protest's organisers, said the demonstration was evidence of a groundswell of support for women's rights. "Afghan women have raised their voices and they proved this isn't what the international community is imposing on Afghanistan, these are the demands of Afghan women," she said. A clause stating that a wife must submit to her husband's advances, unless ill, has been interpreted as sanctioning rape. A group of 300 Afghan women were stoned and subjected to verbal abuse from conservative opponents when they protested against the law outside Ayatollah Mohseni's Kabul mosque on Wednesday. "When men venture outside, they see lots of other women with makeup, but he comes home and finds his own wife with a dirty face," Mohseni said.
He said a local police chief was among the injured. The Pakistani Taleban, which is based in the nearby tribal areas, claimed responsibility for the attack. The 20 dead people include two civilians and 18 security officials. Pakistani Pime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani has condemned the attack as a "cowardly act of terrorism" and promised to use an "iron hand" against militants. Police say the bomber rammed his pick-up into a convoy at the checkpoint near the town of Hangu. Militants based in Pakistan's north-west have launched attacks with increasing frequency in recent months. Senior police official Farid Khan told Reuters the death toll could rise still further because at least seven of the injured were in a critical condition. 'Retaliation' The attack happened at 1610 local time (1010 GMT) at Doaba. Western nations are pressing Pakistan to take greater action against pro-Taliban forces and al-Qaeda elements in the tribal areas bordering Afghanistan. Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani strongly condemned the suicide blast. The National Assembly, lower house of the parliament, was informed in a session on Friday that a total of 1,395 people were killed in terrorist incidents from January 2008 to March 2009 in the country. About eight vehicles were destroyed in the attack and a nearby building housing troops and police was badly damaged. The official Associated Press of Pakistan quoted Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) in Hangu as saying that a suicide bomber rammed his explosive-laden vehicle into a convoy passing by a police check post in Doaba area some 40 km off Hangu District in North West Frontier Province. The checkpoint is near the Orakzai tribal region in Pakistan, which has emerged in recent months as stronghold for pro-Taliban fighters who have stepped up their battle against the government.
At least 18 security personnel and two civilians died in the blast, Khan said. About eight vehicles were destroyed in the attack and a nearby building housing troops and police was badly damaged. The attack was condemned as a "cowardly act of terrorism" in a statement from the office of Yousuf Raza Gilani, the prime minister, which added that the government would use an "iron hand" against opposition fighters. The checkpoint is near the Orakzai tribal region in Pakistan, which has emerged in recent months as stronghold for pro-Taliban fighters who have stepped up their battle against the government. ISLAMABAD, April 18 (Xinhua) -- A suicide bomb attack occurred in northwestern Pakistan on Saturday, killing at least 20 people and injuring 15 others. The official Associated Press of Pakistan quoted Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) in Hangu as saying that a suicide bomber rammed his explosive-laden vehicle into a convoy passing by a police check post in Doaba area some 40 km off Hangu District in North West Frontier Province. The 20 dead people include two civilians and 18 security officials. The National Assembly, lower house of the parliament, was informed in a session on Friday that a total of 1,395 people were killed in terrorist incidents from January 2008 to March 2009 in the country. Most of the dead were members of the Pakistani security forces A suicide bomber driving a pick-up truck has killed 27 people in an attack at a police checkpoint in north-western Pakistan, police say. Senior police official Farid Khan told Reuters the death toll could rise still further because at least seven of the injured were in a critical condition.
Stephen Hawking in Pasadena, California, in March. Cambridge University said the 67-year-old is "comfortable" and will stay overnight at Addenbrookes Hospital in Cambridge. He has worked at Cambridge's Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics for more than 30 years and since 1979 has been the University's Lucasian Professor of Mathematics. The scientist has three children and one grandchild. We all hope he will be amongst us again soon." Prof Hawking developed symptoms of motor neurone disease while studying in the 1960s and is one of the world's longest-surviving sufferers. A university spokesman said the 67-year-old physicist, who is best known for his book A Brief History of Time, was taken to Addenbrooke's by ambulance. He added: "I have been lucky, that my condition has progressed more slowly than is often the case. He became a CBE in 1982 and a Companion of Honour in 1989. "He is undergoing tests. He speaks with the help of a voice synthesiser. He also said if he had the choice of meeting Newton or Marilyn Monroe, his choice would be Marilyn. He uses a speech synthesizer with an American accent. LONDON, England (CNN) -- Scientist and author Stephen Hawking is "very ill" and has been hospitalized, according to Cambridge University, where he is a professor. He studied at St Albans School before reading physics at University College Oxford then moving to Cambridge to carry out research in cosmology. He was flown back to the UK on Saturday and was admitted to Addenbrooke's on Monday after being seen by a doctor. On his Web site, Hawking has written about living with ALS.
Professor Stephen Hawking, one of the world's most famous scientists, is "very ill" in hospital, Cambridge University said today. Professor Hawking, who works at the university, was undergoing tests at Addenbrooke's Hospital, Cambridge. A university spokesman said the 67-year-old physicist, who is best known for his book A Brief History of Time, was taken to Addenbrooke's by ambulance. He developed symptoms of the disease while studying in the 1960s and is one of the world's longest surviving sufferers. He has worked at Cambridge's Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics for more than 30 years and since 1979 has been the University's Lucasian Professor of Mathematics. Professor Hawking was awarded a CBE in 1982, became a Companion of Honour in 1989 and is a Fellow of the Royal Society. He lives in Cambridge and has three children and one grandchild. One of Professor Hawking's last public appearances was last September when he unveiled a £1 million clock erected at Corpus Christi College, Cambridge. "Professor Hawking is very ill and has today been taken by ambulance to Addenbrooke's Hospital, Cambridge," said the University spokesman. "He is undergoing tests. Professor Peter Haynes, Head of the University's Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics, added: "Professor Hawking is a remarkable colleague. Prof Hawking has cancelled an appearance in the US Leading scientist Stephen Hawking's condition has "improved" after being admitted to hospital with chest problems, Cambridge University says. His employers said Professor Hawking was undergoing tests on Monday at Addenbrooke's Hospital, Cambridge. A university spokesman said the 67-year-old, who has motor neurone disease, was now "comfortable". The world-famous physicist, who uses a wheelchair and speaks with the aid of a voice synthesiser, had flown to the US at the end of February to the California Institute of Technology where he is a visiting scholar. He was flown back to the UK on Saturday and was admitted to Addenbrooke's on Monday after being seen by a doctor. Disease conditions Prof Peter Haynes, head of the University's Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics, where Prof Hawking works, said: "Professor Hawking is a remarkable colleague. Prof Hawking developed symptoms of motor neurone disease while studying in the 1960s and is one of the world's longest-surviving sufferers. The scientist has three children and one grandchild. Last year, it was announced he would be stepping down as the university's Lucasian Professor of Mathematics at the end of this academic year. However, Prof Hawking said he intended to continue working as Emeritus Lucasian Professor of Mathematics. LONDON, England (CNN) -- Scientist and author Stephen Hawking is "very ill" and has been hospitalized, according to Cambridge University, where he is a professor. Cambridge University said the 67-year-old is "comfortable" and will stay overnight at Addenbrookes Hospital in Cambridge. Hawking, one of the world's most famous physicists, is also a cosmologist, astronomer, and mathematician. Wheelchair-bound Hawking is perhaps most famous for "A Brief History of Time," which explored the origins of the universe in layman's terms. Hawking has Lou Gehrig's Disease (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, or ALS), which is usually fatal after three years. Hawking has survived for more than 40 years since his diagnosis. The disease has left him paralyzed -- he is able to move only a few fingers on one hand. In 2004, police completed an investigation into accusations by Hawking's daughter that his second wife was abusing him. Hawking was born in Oxford, England, on what turned out to be an auspicious date: January 8, 1942 -- the 300th anniversary of the death of astronomer and physicist Galileo Galilei. Professor Peter Haynes, head of the university's department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics, said: "Professor Hawking is a remarkable colleague, we all hope he will be amongst us again soon."
That is credible. From this year for over-50s, from next year for others. • Inflation target remains at 2%. • Pension tax relief restricted for those on incomes over £150,000 from April 2011. It is the growth forecasts that allow him to get the budget deficit and debt down." Critics say that the chancellor is being over-optimistic in his anticipation that the economy would grow by 3.5% in 2011 and continue to grow at 3%-plus in the next two years. Housing • Stamp duty holiday on homes under £175,000 extended until end of 2009. It will be gradually tapered to the same 20% rate received by most people. Savings • Annual ISA limit to be increased from £7,200 to £10,200, half of which can be invested in cash. • £100 extra for child trust fund vouchers for new babies with disabilities, extra £200 for those with severe disabilities. Nick Parsons, head of strategy at NAB Capital said: "These numbers are astonishing for growth. • Support for companies' cash flow, with a top-up trade credit insurance scheme to match private sector trade credit insurance provision. • Most energy-efficient new power stations using combined heat and power (CHP) technology to be exempt from climate change levy. • Last year's increase in winter fuel allowance to be extended for another year – worth £250 for over-60s and £400 for over-80s. • State redundancy pay to rise from £350 to £380 a week. Average repayments of £4,000 expected for each year. However, the higher limits will only be available to those aged 50 and above from October 6 this year and will not be extended to all savers until April 6 next year.
Critics say that the chancellor is being over-optimistic in his anticipation that the economy would grow by 3.5% in 2011 and continue to grow at 3%-plus in the next two years. City economists poured scorn on Treasury forecasts that Britain will rapidly bounce back from its weakest one-year performance since 1945 to record a sustained period of rapid growth from 2011. Despite being forced to downgrade his growth expectations for this year to show a 3.5% drop in gross domestic product, Alistair Darling said he expected the UK to start expanding again by the end of the year and record a 1.25% expansion next year. But the chancellor was accused of being over-optimistic in his anticipation that a mini-investment boom and the boost to exports from a weaker pound would lead to growth of 3.5% in 2011 and continue to grow at 3%-plus in the next two years. Darling told MPs that the 1.6% contraction in the economy in the final three months of 2008 would be repeated in the first quarter of 2009. GDP is expected to decline at an annual rate of 4% in the first half of this year but the chancellor said the recession had done little long-term damage to the economy, which would eventually return to a trend rate of growth of 2.75%. Nick Parsons, head of strategy at NAB Capital said: "These numbers are astonishing for growth. They are totally unrealistic, both because lower levels of consumption by both businesses and individuals will reduce the trend rate of growth and because it is highly unlikely that the economy could grow above trend for so long. It is the growth forecasts that allow him to get the budget deficit and debt down." Gerard Lyons, chief economist at Standard Chartered Bank, said: "The chancellor believes the recession will end by year end. But then he believes recovery will be rapid, and after contracting 3.5% in 2009 we will see growth of 1.25% in 2010 and 3.5% in 2011. Howard Archer, chief UK economist at Global Insight, said: "We believe that these forecasts are mildly optimistic in the near term and much more optimistic in the long term." • British economy forecast to shrink in 2009 by 3.5%. Growth forecast for 2010: 1.25%; and 2011 onwards: 3.5% a year. • Inflation (CPI) expected to reach 1% by end of 2009. RPI will fall to -3.5% by end of year. • No income tax increases this year. • Income tax rate on those earning more than £150,000 to increase from 45% to 50% from April next year, a year earlier than planned. • Pension tax relief restricted for those on incomes over £150,000 from April 2011. It will be gradually tapered to the same 20% rate received by most people. • Fuel duty to rise by 2% from September and 1% above indexation every April for next four years. • Tobacco duty to rise by 2% from 6pm today. • Alcohol duties to rise by 2% from midnight. Economics • Public sector net borrowing of £175bn in 2009, some 12.4% of GDP; £173bn next year, then £140bn, £118bn and £97bn each following year. • UK net debt, including the cost of stabilising the banking system, at 59% this year, 68% next year, and rising to 79% by 2013-14. Welfare • The child element of the Child Tax Credit to increase by £20 from April next year. • £100 extra for child trust fund vouchers for new babies with disabilities, extra £200 for those with severe disabilities. • Grandparent care for young relatives to count towards basic state pension. • Last year's increase in winter fuel allowance to be extended for another year – worth £250 for over-60s and £400 for over-80s. • £80m extension to HomeBuy Direct – the government shared equity mortgage scheme, which has already received interest from over 32,000 people since September. From this year for over-50s, from next year for others. Business and employment • Loss-making companies can reclaim tax paid on profits made in past three years. • Extension of scheme allowing businesses to defer tax bills. • Support for companies' cash flow, with a top-up trade credit insurance scheme to match private sector trade credit insurance provision. • From January 2010 everyone aged under 25 who has been unemployed for a year to get an offer of a job or a training place.
"It is a suicide bomber. His arrest, which could not be confirmed, and even his death have been reported before. Advertisement Scores of people have been killed in two suicide bombings in Iraq. Iraqi police said at least five children were among the dead. A joint security agreement requires all US troops to be out of Iraq by the end of 2011. Iraqi state television said al-Baghdadi was arrested in eastern Baghdad. The suicide bomber appeared to have targeted a group of Iranian pilgrims in a restaurant. Violence has fallen sharply in the last year but insurgents continue to carry out attacks across Iraq. Some of them suffered burns." Security experts have speculated in the past that Baghdadi was a character invented by some extremist groups rather than a real person. Women and children are crying from pain beside me in the hospital Issam Salim Baghdad resident In pictures: Baghdad aftermath Diyala governor Abdulnasir al-Muntasirbillah described the scenes at the hospital in Baquba as "catastrophic". A further 68 people were wounded in the blast. Officials in Baghdad said the suicide bomber there infiltrated the crowd of displaced families as they received supplies from police in a square near the city centre. The people had been made homeless by the sectarian conflict which erupted following the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq. The Islamic State of Iraq is an umbrella group of militant Sunni factions which is said to be dominated by Baghdadi's al-Qaeda in Iraq, which is affiliated to "core" al-Qaeda in Pakistan. Soon afterwards as many as 47 people - almost all of them Shia prilgrims from Iran - were killed in the volatile Diyala province.
The two attacks killed nearly 100 people and left dozens more wounded [EPA] The blast in central Baghdad took place as a group of policemen were distributing relief supplies to Iraqis who had been driven from their homes during the sectarian bloodshed that followed the 2003 US-led invasion. Iraqi police said at least five children were among the dead. Obviously that has the fingerprints of al-Qaeda," Major-General Qassim Moussawi, a Baghdad security spokesman, said. A medic at the nearby Ibn al-Nafis hospital said that five children and a woman were confirmed dead at the hospital. Pilgrims targeted Christopher Hill, right, takes up his new posting amid increasing violence in Iraq [Reuters] The second attack occurred near Muqdadiya, 80km from Baghdad, in the northeastern province of Diyala. The suicide bomber appeared to have targeted a group of Iranian pilgrims in a restaurant. Most of the 64 dead are believed to be Iranians visiting Shia Muslim religious sites in Iraq, police said. The attacks were the latest in a series of bombings that have raised fears of a surge in violence as the US military plans for a full withdrawal by the end of 2011. Security has improved measurably in Iraq over the past two years, but attacks targeting the police are still common in some parts of the country, including the capital. Iraqi state television said al-Baghdadi was arrested in eastern Baghdad. The group is one of a handful of Sunni Arab groups blamed for suicide bombings and other attacks in the northern city of Mosul and other parts of Iraq. At least 48 people, mostly Iranian pilgrims, died when a suicide bomber blew up a restaurant in Baquba, in the north-east, officials say. In Baghdad, a suicide bomber killed at least 28 people - detonating a belt of explosives as police distributed aid to a crowd of homeless families. Violence has fallen sharply in the last year but insurgents continue to carry out attacks across Iraq. The deaths in Baquba, Diyala province, happened when a suicide bomber struck a roadside restaurant packed with Iranian pilgrims, military officials said. About 63 people were also injured, and the restaurant demolished. Women and children are crying from pain beside me in the hospital Issam Salim Baghdad resident In pictures: Baghdad aftermath Diyala governor Abdulnasir al-Muntasirbillah described the scenes at the hospital in Baquba as "catastrophic". It is a dirty, cowardly terrorist act," he was quoted by Reuters as saying. The BBC's Jim Muir in Baghdad says if the Baquba casualty figures are confirmed, this will be the deadliest such attack this year. Officials in Baghdad said the suicide bomber there infiltrated the crowd of displaced families as they received supplies from police in a square near the city centre. At least five children were among the dead and more than 50 people were wounded, police say. Issam Salim, 35, told Associated Press news agency: "I turned around as I fell to the ground and saw a big fire break out with black smoke. "Women and children are crying from pain beside me in the hospital. 'Arrest' investigated Meanwhile, Iraqi media quoted security officials saying they had arrested Abu Omar al-Baghdadi, the purported leader of the Sunni Arab group the Islamic State in Iraq. However, defence ministry spokesman Maj Gen Mohammed al Askari told the BBC "we're not sure" when asked about the arrest. On Wednesday, the US Department of Defence's top Middle East adviser said insurgent attacks would probably increase as US forces started to leave, but added that there was no plan to delay troop departures. A joint security agreement requires all US troops to be out of Iraq by the end of 2011. A bomber struck in central Baghdad, killing at least 31 people including several children as police distributed relief supplies to families driven from their homes during the height of the sectarian violence. Soon afterwards as many as 47 people - almost all of them Shia prilgrims from Iran - were killed in the volatile Diyala province. The arrest of Baghdadi could be a significant blow to Sunni insurgents struggling to regroup after being driven out of their former strongholds during the US-led "surge" policy. The Islamic State of Iraq is an umbrella group of militant Sunni factions which is said to be dominated by Baghdadi's al-Qaeda in Iraq, which is affiliated to "core" al-Qaeda in Pakistan.
The C.D.C. But there is no reason to avoid Mexico, CDC and the WHO said. The last flu pandemic was in 1968 when "Hong Kong" flu killed about a million people globally. The virus is an influenza A virus, carrying the designation H1N1. The U.S. government said it was closely following the new cases. REUTERS/Henry Romero A marker board spells out the number of confirmed cases of swine flu in the United States and Mexico at the Dallas County Medical Operations center set up specifically in response to the swine flu outbreak in Dallas, Texas April 24, 2009. Global health officials were not ready to declare a pandemic -- a global epidemic of a new and deadly disease such as flu. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Mexico City closed museums and other cultural venues, and advised people not to attend movies or public events. The outbreak jolted residents of the Mexican capital, one of the world's biggest cities with around 20 million residents. Once it has spread beyond a limited geographical area it would be difficult to control. The outbreak was also causing alarm among Mexicans, many of whom rushed to buy masks or get checkups. Photo “We are worried,” said Dr. Richard Besser, the acting head of the C.D.C. REUTERS/CDC/Handout This colorized image from a transmission electron micrograph (TEM) depicts the A H1N1 'swine flu' virus from a previous outbreak in 1976, in an image released by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC), April 24, 2009. Experts fear that or another strain could cause a pandemic that could kill millions. Authorities said they had enough antiviral medicine to treat about 1,000 suspected cases reported so far.
Scores of public buildings were closed in Mexico City in a bid to contain the illness [AFP] Scores of public buildings were closed in Mexico City in a bid to contain the illness [AFP] Initial reports from the WHO said that up to 60 people had died in Mexico from the disease, and Cordova said 40 deaths were being "analysed" for the disease. US officials said the White House was closely following the outbreak in the United States and Barack Obama, the president, has been informed. The officials said the virus in the United States was a never-before-seen mixture of viruses typical among pigs, birds and humans. Armando Ahued, Mexico City's health minister, said a massive vaccination campaign was being launched against the illness. Al Jazeera's Franc Contreras in Mexico City said the authorities had advised people not to go outside unless necessary and that many residents had bought surgical masks in attempt to avoid the disease. Pandemic fears The WHO, which has identified swine influenza as a potential source of a human flu pandemic, said it had activated its global epidemic operations centre, which oversees acute public health events in response to the crisis. The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control said the A/H1N1 influenza identified in at least two of the recent cases by US counterparts could develop into a pandemic-type virus. Human outbreaks of H1N1 swine influenza virus were recorded in the US in 1976 and 1988, when two deaths were recorded, and also in 1986, while in 1988 a pregnant woman died after contact with sick pigs, the WHO said. In recent years the global focus for a possible pandemic has shifted to the H5N1 bird flu virus, which has spread from poultry to humans and killed 257 of the 421 people infected by the virus since 2003. The H1N1 influenza virus in a microscopic image courtesy of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. REUTERS/CDC/Handout This colorized image from a transmission electron micrograph (TEM) depicts the A H1N1 'swine flu' virus from a previous outbreak in 1976, in an image released by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC), April 24, 2009. Bates/Centers for Disease Control/Handout This negative-stained transmission electron micrograph (TEM) image depicts the ultrastructural details of a number of influenza virus particles, or “virions” in a 2001 image released by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) on April 24, 2009. REUTERS/Centers for Disease Control/Handout Dr. Terrence Tumpey, a U.S. Centers for Disease Control microbiologist for the National Center for Infectious Diseases, examines specimens of the 1918 pandemic influenza virus, a virus that he reconstructed to identify and research the characteristics that made it so harmful in this 2005 handout photo acquired from the CDC on April 24, 2009. REUTERS/James Gathany/CDC/Handout People wear masks as they walk outside the general hospital in Mexico City April 24, 2009. REUTERS/Henry Romero A marker board spells out the number of confirmed cases of swine flu in the United States and Mexico at the Dallas County Medical Operations center set up specifically in response to the swine flu outbreak in Dallas, Texas April 24, 2009. REUTERS/Jessica Rinaldi Dr. John Carlo, Dallas County Health Authority and Medical Director, monitors influenza surveillance at the Dallas County Medical Operations center set up specifically in response to the swine flu outbreak in Dallas, Texas April 24, 2009. REUTERS/Jessica Rinaldi Department of Emergency Operations Applications team members (L-R) Kenneth Fields, Appollo Hy, Mickey Williams and Robert Bohn are seen in the Centers for Disease Control Emergency Operations Center as they monitor the swine flu outbreak from the CDC headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia April 24, 2009. REUTERS/Tami Chappell Nurse Natividad Alonso (C) gives instructions to people about flu in a Health Center in Mexico City April 24, 2009. REUTERS/Henry Romero People wear masks as they stand with their bags inside a bus station in Mexico City April 24, 2009. REUTERS/Jorge Dan Lopez MEXICO CITY A strain of flu never seen before has killed up to 60 people in Mexico and also appeared in the United States, where eight people were infected but recovered, health officials said on Friday. Mexico's government said at least 20 people have died of the flu and it may also be responsible for 40 other deaths. Authorities said they had enough antiviral medicine to treat about 1,000 suspected cases reported so far. The World Health Organization said tests showed the virus from 12 of the Mexican patients was the same genetically as a new strain of swine flu, designated H1N1, seen in eight people in California and Texas. "Our concern has grown as of yesterday," Dr. Richard Besser, acting director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention told reporters in a telephone briefing. Global health officials were not ready to declare a pandemic -- a global epidemic of a new and deadly disease such as flu. "So far there has not been any change in the pandemic threat level," Besser said. But the human-to-human spread of the new virus raised fears of a major outbreak. Mexico's government suspended classes for millions of children in Mexico City, where scared residents rushed out to buy face masks and kept their kids at home. "We're frightened because they say it's not exactly flu, it's another kind of virus and we're not vaccinated," said Angeles Rivera, 34, a government worker who fetched her son from a public kindergarten that was closing. Close analysis showed the disease is a mixture of swine, human and avian viruses, according to the CDC. Humans can occasionally catch swine flu from pigs but rarely have they been known to pass it on to other people. Mexico reported 1,004 suspected cases of the new virus, including four possible cases in Mexicali on the border with California. Most of the dead were aged between 25 and 45, a health official said. It was a worrying sign as seasonal flu can be more deadly among the very young and the very old but a hallmark of pandemics is that they affect healthy young adults. Health Minister Jose Angel Cordova said Mexico has enough antiviral drugs to combat the outbreak for the moment. "In the last 20 hours, fewer serious cases of this disease and fewer deaths have been reported," he told reporters. The WHO said the virus appears to be susceptible to Roche AG's flu drug Tamiflu, also known as oseltamivir, but not to older flu drugs such as amantadine. NO CONTAINMENT Canada has not reported any cases of the flu and is not issuing a travel warning for Mexico, but the country's chief public health officer David Butler-Jones said the outbreak was "very concerning" and Canada was paying close attention. Worldwide, seasonal flu kills between 250,000 and 500,000 people in an average year, but the flu season for North America should have been winding down. In California, where six people have been infected with the flu, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger said authorities were monitoring patients with flu-like symptoms and communicating with Mexican health officials. The CDC said it will issue daily updates here Surveillance for and scrutiny of influenza has been stepped up since 2003, when H5N1 bird flu reappeared in Asia.
Symptoms of swine flu include fever, lethargy, lack of appetite, coughing, runny nose, sore throat, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea, the CDC said. But he added, "It's still pretty miserable." Canada confirmed six cases of mild illnesses on Sunday, and the United States reported 20. All About Mexico • Influenza • Centers for Disease Control and Prevention View all New York Times newsletters. The U.S. government declared a public health emergency -- a step Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said "sounds more severe than really it is." Advertisement Continue reading the main story Even in 1918, according to the C.D.C., the virus infected at least 500 million of the world’s 1.5 billion people to kill 50 million. Macias said five more deaths in Mexico City had been reported to federal authorities by local authorities in the city. There is an H1N1 human strain in this year’s shot, and all H1N1 flus are descendants of the 1918 pandemic strain. Also, the WHO wants to know if it's easily spread from one person to a second who then spreads it again - something U.S. officials suspect and are investigating. Dr. Fukuda of the W.H.O. Andrus said airlines are following their own procedures to watch for ill passengers and crews have standard procedures for dealing with ill passengers. said his agency would decide Tuesday whether to raise the pandemic alert level to 4. The outbreak "is of great concern to the White House," said White House spokesman Robert Gibbs, but, he added, "It's certainly not a time to panic." They likened their efforts to planning for a hurricane that may never come.
Without that knowledge — which is unlikely to emerge soon because only two laboratories, in Atlanta and Winnipeg, Canada, can confirm a case — his agency’s panel of experts was unwilling to raise the global pandemic alert level, even though it officially saw the outbreak as a public health emergency and opened its emergency response center. Advertisement Continue reading the main story As a news conference in Washington, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano called the emergency declaration “standard operating procedure,” and said she would rather call it a “declaration of emergency preparedness.” “It’s like declaring one for a hurricane,” she said. The hurricane may not actually hit.” American investigators said they expected more cases here, but noted that virtually all so far had been mild and urged Americans not to panic. Advertisement Continue reading the main story The speed and the scope of the world’s response showed the value of preparations made because of the avian flu and SARS scares, public health experts said. Photo The emergency declaration in the United States lets the government free more money for antiviral drugs and give some previously unapproved tests and drugs to children. One-quarter of the national stockpile of 50 million courses of antiflu drugs will be released. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Border patrols and airport security officers are to begin asking travelers if they have had the flu or a fever; those who appear ill will be stopped, taken aside and given masks while they arrange for medical care. “This is moving fast and we expect to see more cases,” Dr. Richard Besser, acting director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said at the news conference with Ms. Napolitano. “But we view this as a marathon.” He advised Americans to wash their hands frequently, to cover coughs and sneezes and to stay home if they felt ill; but he stopped short of advice now given in Mexico to wear masks and not kiss or touch anyone. He praised decisions to close individual schools in New York and Texas but did not call for more widespread closings. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Besides the eight New York cases, officials said they had confirmed seven in California, two in Kansas, two in Texas and one in Ohio. The virus looked identical to the one in Mexico believed to have killed 103 people — including 22 people whose deaths were confirmed to be from swine flu — and sickened about 1,600. As of Sunday night, there were no swine flu deaths in the United States, and one hospitalization. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Other governments tried to contain the infection amid reports of potential new cases including in New Zealand and Spain. Such a move would prompt more travel bans, and the agency has been reluctant historically to take actions that hurt member nations. Canadian health officials said the victims had only mild symptoms and had either recently traveled to Mexico or been in contact with someone who had. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Other governments issued advisories urging citizens not to visit Mexico. Russia and other countries banned pork imports from Mexico, though people cannot get the flu from eating pork. confirmed that eight students at St. Francis Preparatory School in Fresh Meadows, Queens, had been infected with the new swine flu. At a news conference on Sunday, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg said that all those cases had been mild and that city hospitals had not seen a surge in severe lung infections. Hong Kong, shaped by lasting scars as an epicenter of the SARS outbreak, announced very tough measures. Officials there urged travelers to avoid Mexico and ordered the immediate detention of anyone arriving with a fever higher than 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit after traveling through any city with a confirmed case, which would include New York. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Everyone stopped will be sent to a hospital for a flu test and held until it is negative. “We may just be looking at the tip of the iceberg, which would give you a skewed initial estimate of the case fatality rate,” he said, meaning that there might have been tens of thousands of mild infections around the 1,300 cases of serious disease and 80 or more deaths. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Even in 1918, according to the C.D.C., the virus infected at least 500 million of the world’s 1.5 billion people to kill 50 million. can test stored blood serum containing flu shot antibodies against the new virus. (CNN) -- The United States stepped up preparations for a possible swine flu epidemic, and Canada confirmed its first cases on Sunday as researchers worked to determine how contagious the virus could be. more photos » Keiji Fukuda, the assistant director-general of the World Health Organization, called the outbreak "serious" on Sunday.
That is why they have voted for us," she said. The conservatives have been blamed for the failure of Iceland's banking system. The Social Democratic Alliance and the Left Green Movement formed a coalition caretaker government in February, under Ms Sigurdardottir. "The people are calling for a change of ethics. The conservative Independence party had held a parliamentary majority for some 70 years. The Social Democrats won 30.5% of the vote, or 20 parliamentary seats, while the Left-Green Movement won 21.5%, or 14 seats. Prime Minister Johanna Sigurdardottir says her priority will be to start negotiations with the European Union. Professor Olafur Hardarson of the University of Iceland said the elections were also historic for other reasons - it resulted on both the highest number of first time MPs - 27 in total - and the highest number of women in parliament since voting began in Iceland in 1874. EU debate The economic crisis led to widespread public anger The two coalition parties will now have to reach an agreement on how to move forward with a European Union application. The results showed strong backing for the pro-European Social Democratic Alliance. The government has sought a $10bn (£6.8bn) International Monetary Fund-led bailout, but the country's currency, the krona, has plummeted. "The nation is settling the score with the neoliberalism, with the Independence party, who have been in power for much too long," Sigurdardottir told supporters late Saturday. Its new leader Bjarni Benediktsson said it was clear that his party had lost the trust of voters. A leftwing coalition won Iceland's general election, according to final results released today.
A leftwing coalition won Iceland's general election, according to final results released today. The results were an overwhelming rejection of the pro-business Independence party that many blamed for the collapse of the country's banking system. Results showed that the leftwing coalition made up of the Social Democratic Alliance and the Left Green Movement won 34 out of 63 parliamentary seats. All five constituencies completed the count with 97.9% of the votes tallied. The Social Democrats won 30.5% of the vote, or 20 parliamentary seats, while the Left-Green Movement won 21.5%, or 14 seats. Both parties have long said they will form a coalition government. The two parties formed part of a caretaker government that took office in February after public protests about Iceland's economic collapse toppled the previous conservative administration. The leftwing coalition is led by interim prime minister Johanna Sigurdardottir. Voter turnout was just over 85%, slightly higher than in the 2007 elections. The conservative Independence party had held a parliamentary majority for some 70 years. Although it won 23.7% of the vote, many blamed its leaders for the country's economic troubles. The global financial crisis washed up hard on the shores of the volcanic island of 320,000 people. After racking up massive debts during years of laissez-faire economic regulation and rapid expansion, Iceland's three main banks collapsed within the space of a week in October. The government has sought a $10bn (£6.8bn) International Monetary Fund-led bailout, but the country's currency, the krona, has plummeted. Unemployment and inflation have spiralled and the IMF has predicted that the economy will shrink by about 10% in 2009, which would be Iceland's biggest slump since it won full independence from Denmark in 1944. "The nation is settling the score with the neoliberalism, with the Independence party, who have been in power for much too long," Sigurdardottir told supporters late Saturday. Although most parties have offered various short-term strategies to tackle Iceland's financial woes, such as encouraging more investment and streamlining government operations, one of the biggest issues in the election has been whether Iceland should join the European Union. The Social Democrats, the Progressive party and the Citizen's Movement want Iceland to apply for EU membership, which would eventually allow the country to adopt the euro. Although the Social Democrats say they will honour the coalition with the Left Green Movement, traditionally their coalition partner has been opposed to closer ties with the European Union and wanted a referendum before applying for EU membership. The win gives the Social Democrats more power to push through a pro-EU agenda and puts more pressure on the Left Green Movement to conform. The Progressive party won 14% of the vote, or nine seats, while the Citizens' Movement won 7.2%, or four seats. "interIt [the results] gives the Social Democrats a strong position and puts pressure on the Left Green Movement," said political analyst Egill Helgason. Ms Sigurdardottir said Icelanders had called for a "change of ethics" Iceland's interim centre-left government has won a resounding victory in early parliamentary elections. The coalition secured 34 seats in the 63-member parliament - an increase of seven MPs from the previous election. Iceland's centre-right government resigned in January amid mass street protests following the country's economic collapse. We lost this time but we will win again later Bjarni Benediktsson Independence Party leader Ms Sigurdardottir said the results of Saturday's poll were "historic". "This is the first time that leftist parties will hold a majority," she said She told supporters the nation was "settling the score with the neoliberalism" and with the conservative Independence Party who "have been in power for much too long". The Independence party, which secured 16 seats, conceded defeat after its worst election results in decades. Professor Olafur Hardarson of the University of Iceland said the elections were also historic for other reasons - it resulted on both the highest number of first time MPs - 27 in total - and the highest number of women in parliament since voting began in Iceland in 1874. Pro-EU Ms Sigurdardottir said it was her priority to start negotiations with the Union to see what deal the country could reach - which would then be put to the nation in a referendum. Unemployment, virtually nonexistent during the last 20 years in Iceland, is at nearly 10 percent, while the country's krona has dropped nearly 50 percent against the dollar and the Euro, said Olafur Hardarson, a dean at the University of Iceland.
-AFP Topics: road, death, accidents, disasters-and-accidents, china She said the hospital had been told to expect more patients. At least nine hospitals were receiving patients from the crash. A total of 36 people had been on board, including 34 French tourists, one Canadian tour guide and an American driver, California Highway Patrol spokesman Brian Wiest said. It was not immediately clear who had chartered the bus that crashed in Soledad. Two more passengers died at hospitals. CHP spokeswoman Fran Clader in Sacramento could not comment on Orion Pacific's safety record pending the accident investigation. Officials from the consulate reached the scene of the crash late Tuesday. The French consulate in San Francisco confirmed it had been told travellers from France were on board, but it didn't have any more details. The passenger that fell to the railroad tracks and two others died at the scene, said Maia Carroll, a spokeswoman for the Monterey County Office of Emergency Services. Authorities haven't released the names of the deceased or injured people. The highway was temporarily shut down in both directions; northbound lanes reopened a couple hours later, and it was unclear when southbound lanes would reopen. The company has been operating since 1985, according to its Web site. Shortly after the crash, Adrienne Laurent, a spokeswoman for the Salinas Valley Memorial Hospital, said the facility had received three patients — all in critical condition — from the accident. "It's certainly one of worst I've seen in a long time." A bus carrying French tourists overturned on an overpass in central California Tuesday, killing at least five and injuring dozens.
A tour bus carrying French travellers crashed on a highway overpass in the central California city of Soledad on Tuesday, killing at least five people and injuring dozens, police said. The afternoon crash occurred on Highway 101, California Highway Patrol said. A total of 36 people had been on board, including 34 French tourists, one Canadian tour guide and an American driver, California Highway Patrol spokesman Brian Wiest said. The crash ejected four passengers from the vehicle, sending one over the side of the road and onto railroad tracks about 20 metres below, Wiest said. Maia Carroll, a spokeswoman for the Monterey County Office of Emergency Services, said there were at least five confirmed deaths — three at the scene, including the passenger who fell to the railroad tracks, and two who later died at hospitals. At least nine hospitals were receiving patients from the crash. Shortly after the crash, Adrienne Laurent, a spokeswoman for the Salinas Valley Memorial Hospital, said the facility had received three patients — all in critical condition — from the accident. She said the hospital had been told to expect more patients. "At this time, it appears to just be a solo-vehicle incident, meaning just the tour bus itself was involved," Wiest said. A bus carrying French tourists overturned on an overpass in central California Tuesday, killing at least five and injuring dozens. Investigators were trying to determine the cause of the crash that shut down U.S. 101 for hours, but said the tour bus appeared to be the only vehicle involved. The maroon Orion Pacific bus lay on its side after crashing into the guard rail on the two-lane southbound overpass in Soledad, about 100 miles southeast of San Francisco. The crash ejected four passengers from the vehicle, sending one over the side of the road and onto railroad tracks 60 to 70 feet below, said California Highway Patrol spokesman Brian Wiest. "It's certainly one of worst I've seen in a long time." Four of those injured were under the age of 18, including a 13-year-old girl who was one of seven patients airlifted to hospitals in Fresno and the San Francisco Bay Area. At least 20 dead in China tourist bus crash Posted The death toll in a crash between a tourist bus and a truck in south-western China has risen to 20 with two more people succumbing to their injuries, state press reported on Sunday.
At 69, Souter is nowhere near the oldest member of the court. And it is my hope we can swear in our new Supreme Court justice in time for him or her to be seated by the first Monday in October when the court's new term begins," Obama said. Souter was a Republican appointed by President George H.W. Replacing Justice Souter with a liberal would not change the basic makeup of the court, where he and three other justices hold down the left wing against a conservative caucus of four justices. One official said the decision might be announced as early as Friday. White House officials contacted Thursday night declined to comment. John Sununu, who had become the first President Bush's chief of staff. He could also name a younger justice who could serve for decades. For 12 years before that, he had been a state judge in New Hampshire. Among the people whose names have been floated in recent months are Elena Kagan, whom Mr. Obama named as his solicitor general, and two federal appeals court judges, Sonia Sotomayor and Diane Pamela Wood. The nominee was little known even in Washington legal circles when the president introduced him to the country. During his confirmation hearing, Judge Souter said that he had no agenda on abortion and that he had not made a decision on how he would vote if the issue of Roe v. Wade was put before him. "I will seek somebody with a sharp and independent mind and a record of excellence and integrity. Supreme Court Justice Souter To Retire Enlarge this image toggle caption Paul J. Richards/AFP/Getty Images Paul J. Richards/AFP/Getty Images Enlarge this image toggle caption Supreme Court Justice David Souter is planning to retire at the end of the current court term.
REUTERS/Jason Reed WASHINGTON U.S. Supreme Court Justice David Souter announced on Friday he will resign, and President Barack Obama said he wanted someone with a sharp, independent mind for his first appointment to the nation's highest court. Souter, 69, who has been on the court since 1990, said in a brief letter to the White House that he intended to retire when the justices go on their summer recess at the end of next month. Minutes later, Obama made a surprise appearance in the White House briefing room after speaking to Souter and said: "I am incredibly grateful for his dedicated service. Souter's retirement plans, which leaked out late on Thursday, sparked a frenzy of speculation about Obama's search for a replacement, although the transition is unlikely to change the nine-member court's ideological balance. Souter usually sides with the court's three other liberal justices. "I will seek somebody with a sharp and independent mind and a record of excellence and integrity. With a rare vacancy on the court looming, advocacy groups were already positioning for a possible confirmation battle before the U.S. Senate, which has to give its approval to Obama's nominee. And it is my hope we can swear in our new Supreme Court justice in time for him or her to be seated by the first Monday in October when the court's new term begins," Obama said. STRONG PRESSURE TO NAME A WOMAN Obama will likely face heavy pressure to name another woman or the first Hispanic. Possible candidates include Solicitor General Elena Kagan, Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm and appeals court judges Sonia Sotomayor and Diane Wood. Souter belongs to the court's liberal wing and Obama would be expected to name someone with a similar philosophy. Appointed for life, Supreme Court justices decide such divisive issues as abortion rights and the death penalty. Republican President George W. Bush named two justices in his eight years in office -- conservative Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Samuel Alito. He has supported abortion rights and campaign-finance restrictions aimed at political corruption and has voted in favor of the legal rights of the prisoners held at the U.S. military base at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba. Picking a Supreme Court nominee would be another major task for Obama, who is already dealing with two wars, a major recession and efforts in Congress to provide health insurance to all Americans and curb global warming. An administration official said Obama and his aides have been preparing for a Supreme Court vacancy since the early days of the transition after the November election. In December, during meetings in Chicago and Washington, Obama personally suggested names of individuals whom he would give serious consideration for any opening, the official said. As part of the preparation process and before the news broke, there was a senior White House staff meeting on Thursday to discuss how to support a Supreme Court nominee selection process in the event of a vacancy, the official said. WASHINGTON — Justice David H. Souter plans to retire at the end of the term in June, giving President Obama his first appointment to the Supreme Court , four people informed about the decision said Thursday night. Justice Souter, who was appointed in 1990 by a Republican president, the first George Bush, but became one of the most reliable members of the court’s liberal wing, has grown increasingly sour on Washington and intends to return to his home state, New Hampshire, according to the people briefed on his plans. The departure will open the first seat for a Democratic president to fill in 15 years and could prove a test of Mr. Obama’s plans for reshaping the nation’s judiciary. Confirmation battles for the Supreme Court in recent years have proved to be intensely partisan and divisive moments in Washington, but Mr. Obama has more leeway than his predecessors because his party holds such a strong majority in the Senate. Replacing Justice Souter with a liberal would not change the basic makeup of the court, where he and three other justices hold down the left wing against a conservative caucus of four justices. But Mr. Obama and his team have been thinking for a long time about whom he might put on the court. Among the people whose names have been floated in recent months are Elena Kagan, whom Mr. Obama named as his solicitor general, and two federal appeals court judges, Sonia Sotomayor and Diane Pamela Wood. While Democrats will be happy to have a chance to put another liberal on the court, a confirmation battle could prove to be one more challenge for a president already engaged on multiple fronts to pass health care, energy and other legislation. During a campaign debate last fall, Mr. Obama said the selection of a new justice would be “one of the most consequential decisions of the next president.” He said he would look for judges who had a strong judicial record and “who hopefully have a sense of what real-world folks are going through.” On the always explosive issue of abortion, he said he would “not provide a litmus test,” but added, “I am somebody who believes that Roe versus Wade was rightly decided.” Justice Souter was confirmed as the 105th justice on Oct. 2, 1990. Justice Souter, joined by two other Republican-appointed justices, Sandra Day O’Connor and Anthony M. Kennedy, who had earlier both expressed strong doubts about Roe, collaborated to produce a highly unusual joint opinion that reaffirmed the constitutional right to abortion.
"This is encouraging," he said. Mexico reports 15 confirmed deaths from the virus and a total of 358 cases. Have you been affected by swine flu? Britain reported two new cases resulting from human-to-human transmission of the new virus, and Germany reported one, in a nurse caring for an H1N1 patient. Are you in the hotel in Hong Kong? H1N1: At a glance Deaths: Sixteen confirmed in Mexico out of 159 suspected. Denmark and South Korea also reported their first cases. Mexican Health Secretary Jose Angel Cordova said Friday that the confirmed death toll from the H1N1 flu outbreak in his country was 16 and that the total number of cases nationwide had risen to 397. The WHO has set its pandemic alert level at five - but says it has no immediate plans to move to the highest level of six. Your comments may be published on any BBC media worldwide. "That's because those cases are then vetted by the WHO so that the WHO can in its own time independently confirm." Meanwhile, the UK joined Canada, Spain, Germany and the US in reporting person-to-person transmission of the virus. "Firstly, ordinary seasonal flu kills between 200,000 and 500,000 people throughout the world every year, and in the United States 36,000 people. E-mail this to a friend Printable version Harvard Medical School in Boston suspended classes until at least Wednesday after nine students in the dental school were identified as probable cases. Dr. Anne Schuchat of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said a preliminary study indicated that in U.S. households with an infected victim, about a quarter of other household members also contracted the virus -- a relatively modest proportion.
Media requires JavaScript to play. Advertisement About 300 people at a Hong Kong hotel have been placed under quarantine after a guest there became China's first confirmed swine flu case. The 25-year-old man, who is now in hospital after testing positive for the virus, had travelled from Mexico via Shanghai, Hong Kong's leader said. Local TV footage showed police wearing masks guarding the hotel exits. Meanwhile, the UK joined Canada, Spain, Germany and the US in reporting person-to-person transmission of the virus. On Friday, French Health Minister Roselyne Bachelot said two people were infected with swine flu, France's first confirmed cases. The announcements take to 16 the number of countries where swine flu has been confirmed. Mexico, where the outbreak began, has shut down parts of its economy for five days in a bid to curb the virus's progress. Late on Friday, Health Secretary Jose Angel Cordova announced the confirmed death toll from the virus had risen by one, to 16. "The mortality rate isn't as great as could be expected," said Mr Cordova. "The majority of the deaths are women." Mexican officials say the spread of swine flu - suspected in more than 380 deaths - is slowing. International experts are more cautious - but one, Nancy Cox, chief of America's Center for Disease Control's influenza division, said the new virus lacked the traits that made the 1918 pandemic so deadly. "We do not see the markers for virulence that were seen in the 1918 virus," she said. 'No panic' In cases outside Mexico the effects of the virus do not appear to be severe, although one death of a Mexican child has been confirmed in the US. The WHO has set its pandemic alert level at five - but says it has no immediate plans to move to the highest level of six. In Hong Kong, the authorities have raised the alert level to emergency but urged residents to carry on life as normal. CONFIRMED CASES Mexico: 176 suspected deaths - 16 confirmed US: One death, at least 141 confirmed cases New Zealand: 4 confirmed, 12 probable cases Canada: 35 confirmed cases UK: 11 confirmed cases Spain: 13 confirmed cases Germany: 4 confirmed cases France: 2 confirmed cases Israel, Costa Rica: 2 confirmed cases each The Netherlands, Switzerland, Austria, Denmark, Hong Kong, South Korea: 1 confirmed case each Countries with confirmed cases of secondary transmission US Canada Spain Germany UK Mapping the outbreak Mexico: First swine flu cases Border town not slowing down Price hikes in Mexico amid flu panic "I assure you the Hong Kong government will try its best to conquer the virus," Chief Executive Donald Tsang said. The Mexican man is said to be in a stable condition in Hong Kong's Princess Margaret Hospital, after seeking treatment on Thursday night after becoming unwell. The Metropark Hotel in Wanchai district where he briefly stayed will be sealed off for seven days, health officials said, and the antiviral drug Tamiflu given to about 200 guests and 100 staff there. Medical staff wearing protective clothing were seen carrying boxes of equipment into the building. Efforts are also under way to trace people who travelled on the same flights as the Mexican, and taxi drivers with whom he came into contact. BBC China Editor Shirong Chen says confirmation that the man has tested positive for the virus has set alarm bells ringing beyond Hong Kong. Chinese Health Minister Chen Zhu said the virus was very likely to enter mainland China and urged the country to prepare for an outbreak, as millions start travelling over the May Day long weekend. In South Korea, a 51-year-old woman who had recently returned from Mexico was confirmed as the country's first case, Yonhap news agency reported. Two other people are being tested for the virus, the agency said. Schools closed Meanwhile, the authorities in Mexico hope a nationwide shut-down ordered from Friday, covering two public holidays and a weekend, will help curb the spread of the virus. SYMPTOMS - WHAT TO DO Swine flu symptoms are similar to those produced by ordinary seasonal flu - fever, cough, sore throat, body aches, chills and fatigue If you have flu symptoms and recently visited affected areas of Mexico, you should seek medical advice If you suspect you are infected, you should stay at home and take advice by telephone initially, in order to minimise the risk of infection Q&A: What is swine flu? Mexican economy squeezed by flu In pictures: Flu concern grows The quest for a swine flu vaccine Some factories will stop production and schools are already closed. The number of confirmed cases of swine flu infection in Mexico now stands at more than 300, officials say. Mexican Health Secretary Jose Angel Cordova said on Friday that three more deaths from swine flu had been confirmed, bringing the toll to 15. In other developments: • The US announces that it will buy 13 million new courses of antiviral treatment and send 400,000 of them to Mexico • A flight from Germany to Washington DC is diverted to Boston after a female passenger complains of flu-like symptoms • An aide to US Energy Secretary Stephen Chu who helped arrange President Barack Obama's recent trip to Mexico is being tested for swine flu, although the aide is said not to have been in contact with the president • The head of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says it is fine for people without flu symptoms to fly and use the subway, a day after Vice-President Joe Biden said he would advise his own family members against using public transport • Denmark reports its first confirmed case of swine flu • German authorities confirm that a nurse who treated a patient with swine flu also contracted the disease, in the first person-to-person transmission in the country • Test results confirm the UK's first person-to-person transmission of swine flu, in a friend of a couple from Scotland who were first in the country to be diagnosed with the virus Several countries have restricted travel to Mexico and many tour operators have cancelled holidays. The WHO, meanwhile, says it will now call the virus influenza A (H1N1) rather than swine flu - which it says is misleading as pork meat is safe and the virus is being transmitted from human to human. You can send us your experiences using the form below: A selection of your comments may be published, displaying your name and location unless you state otherwise in the box below. The revelations came on the same day that France's health minister reported the country's first two confirmed cases of the virus and Denmark confirmed that one person had been infected. "And that leads to the question of whether number six on the pandemic scale is called by the WHO [the World Health Organisation].
In Berlin, demonstrators clashed with police. "It's a group of 300 people at the Athens Polytechnic," a police official said. Turkish police use water cannon as protesters march in Istanbul Clashes have broken out in a number of countries as unions used traditional May Day marches to protest against the handling of the global economic crisis. Security forces fired tear gas and water cannon at hundreds of rioters and more than a hundred were arrested with dozens more hurt. Major demonstrations were also planned in Spain, Italy and Cuba. Bottles and stones were thrown at police, passing cars and trams, and rubbish bins were set alight. There has been growing concern among European governments about a groundswell of social unrest and violent street protests that have spread amid the economic downturn. Unemployment is rising for the first time since 2004 in Greece as the economy grinds to a halt and may even contract in 2009 for the first time in 15 years, according to the IMF. Greek police battled to quell rioters in Athens after banks were attacked. "Workers are reiterating their demand that the government should find a way to stop mass lay-offs of workers and it should provide decent jobs, not short-lived jobs, not jobs for three months," said Leody de Guzman, of the Union of Filipino Workers. More than 4,000 police officers were deployed in central Athens to prevent violence. This year's traditional Labour Day in France comes against a backdrop of mounting social tension, reports the BBC's Paris correspondent Emma Jane Kirby. There were no injuries or arrests. More than 10,000 people gathered in the centre of Madrid in a demonstration organised by the country's two largest trade unions.
Police in Berlin arrested 57 people while around 50 officers were hurt as young demonstrators threw bottles and rocks and set fire to cars and rubbish bins. There were also clashes in Hamburg, where anti-capitalist protesters attacked a bank. In Turkey, masked protesters threw stones and petrol bombs at police, smashing banks and supermarket windows in its biggest city, Istanbul. Security forces fired tear gas and water cannon at hundreds of rioters and more than a hundred were arrested with dozens more hurt. There were also scattered skirmishes with police in the capital, Ankara, where 150,000 people marched. The government had declared May Day, traditionally marked by rallies by labour unions, a public holiday this year under pressure from unions. In Greece, officers fired flash grenades to disperse rioters in Athens after attacks on banks and traffic cameras. Transport strikes disrupted bus, train and ferry services as well as flights by Greek carrier Olympic Airlines. Twenty people were injured and five arrested after police clashed with demonstrators at a traditional labour day rally in Linz in northern Austria. The incident came after police intercepted some 50 hooded protesters among a procession of up to 700 people at a Communist Party rally. In France, unions joined forces for the first time since the Second World War, but turnout was not as high as a protest day in March in which up to three million attended 300 rallies against President Nicolas Sarkozy's economic recovery plan. Some politicians have warned of the threat of "revolution", following radical action such as "boss-napping" factory executives and an ongoing strike that has crippled dozens of French universities. More than 10,000 people gathered in the centre of Madrid in a demonstration organised by the country's two largest trade unions. In Italy, union leaders shifted rallies from major cities to the earthquake-stricken town of L'Aquila as a sign of solidarity with thousands who lost their jobs after last month's deadly quake. In St Petersburg, birthplace of the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution, police arrested about 120 members far right militants armed with knives and knuckle dusters, police said. Cuba's ailing former leader, Fidel Castro, chose May Day – a key event in the Communist calendar – to attack Barack Obama, the US President, saying the United States only wanted Cuba to return "to the fold, like slaves." Bulgaria, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Greece and Iceland all faced social unrest and rioting earlier this year as unemployment soared and countries were forced to impose severe cuts to government spending. Turkish police use water cannon as protesters march in Istanbul Clashes have broken out in a number of countries as unions used traditional May Day marches to protest against the handling of the global economic crisis. In the Turkish city of Istanbul, riot police fired tear gas and water cannon as protesters threw petrol bombs and attacked banks and shops. Police made dozens of arrests in the German capital, Berlin, where protesters set fire to cars. "Workers are reiterating their demand that the government should find a way to stop mass lay-offs of workers and it should provide decent jobs, not short-lived jobs, not jobs for three months," said Leody de Guzman, of the Union of Filipino Workers. Economic woes fuel French anger In pictures: May Day protests Across the country, tens of thousands of protesters took to the streets in cities such as Marseille, Bordeaux and Grenoble, ahead of a major demonstration in Paris. There is a growing perception that little has been done to protect the ordinary person's job and wages, while executives from banks bailed out by the government have enjoyed generous pay-offs and bonuses, she says. The country's eight main unions have urged people to come out and protest in their third such day of action this year. Violence erupted in Istanbul as hundreds of left-wing and trade union groups tried to pass through police checkpoints into the city's main Taksim square. The protesters had been refused permission to hold rallies in the square but, as in previous years, they chose to ignore the ban, reports the BBC's David O'Byrne in Istanbul. The marchers took to the back streets after they were met with police water cannon, and hurled stones and other missiles at police who responded by firing tear gas. Rubbish bins were set alight during clashes in Berlin A large number of people are believed to have been arrested and there is considerable damage to shops and vehicles, but no serious injuries, our correspondent reports. "It's a group of 300 people at the Athens Polytechnic," a police official said. "We won't pay for their crisis," read banners at the central rally held earlier today by the country's main trade union GSEE, which represents about 2 million employees.
Please re-enter. “Certainly the next few weeks will be very important in this effort to roll back, if you will, this existential threat, a true threat to Pakistan’s very existence,” he said. The US military says its only uses white phosphorous within legal bounds The US military says it has evidence that insurgents in Afghanistan have illegally used white phosphorus ammunition to attack its forces. "It's a law of war that we adhere to but the insurgents blatantly violate." Advertisement Continue reading the main story In his pretaped interview, Mr. Karzai said: “Our villages are not where the terrorists are. But it causes severe chemical burns on flesh and cannot legally be used as a weapon against people. He also said he had named a brigadier general to study the use of airstrikes in Afghanistan. The Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission said on Sunday it was investigating whether white phosphorus was used in Farah either by the US or the Taleban. "It is quite apparent that the large bulk of casualties were called in after the initial fighting had subsided and both the troops and the Taliban had withdrawn. That led to a serious rift with the United States that took years to heal. Shortly after evening prayers the air strikes were called in, and they continued for a couple of hours whilst the villagers were frantically calling the local governor to get him to call off the air strikes." One of the women who came here told us that 22 members of her family were totally burned. View all New York Times newsletters. A senior doctor, Dr Mohammad Aref Jalali, suggested the chemical might have been used in recent clashes in Farah province between US-led forces and Taleban militants.
The US military says its only uses white phosphorous within legal bounds The US military says it has evidence that insurgents in Afghanistan have illegally used white phosphorus ammunition to attack its forces. A military spokesman, Col Greg Julian, said at least 44 incidents of Taleban militants using or storing the weapons had been documented. White phosphorus is allowed in battle to illuminate targets. But it causes severe chemical burns on flesh and cannot legally be used as a weapon against people. A senior doctor, Dr Mohammad Aref Jalali, suggested the chemical might have been used in recent clashes in Farah province between US-led forces and Taleban militants. The US has strongly denied using white phosphorous in Farah province and the spokesman accused the insurgents of blatantly violating the laws of war. 'Unusual' burns "The insurgents possess and use white phosphorus as a weapon against people," said Col Julian. "It's a law of war that we adhere to but the insurgents blatantly violate." Dr Jalali, head of the burns unit at the Herat Regional Hospital, said they had treated a number of people injured in the clashes in Farah who had what he called unusual burns. The burns appeared to have been caused by a chemical used in a bomb: "The presence of phosphorus is not confirmed, but I see it as probability. The Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission said on Sunday it was investigating whether white phosphorus was used in Farah either by the US or the Taleban. Afghanistan's leading human rights organisation is investigating claims that white phosphorus was used during a deadly battle between US forces and the Taliban last week in which scores of civilians may have died. Nader Nadery, a senior officer at the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission, said the organisation was concerned that the chemical, which can cause severe burns, might have been used in the firefight in Bala Baluk, a district in the western province of Farah. Dr Mohammad Aref Jalali, the head of an internationally funded burns hospital in Herat, said villagers taken to hospital after the incident had "highly unusual burns" on their hands and feet that he had not seen before. "We cannot be 100% sure what type of chemical it was and we do not have the equipment here to find out. One of the women who came here told us that 22 members of her family were totally burned. She said a bomb distributed white power that caught fire and then set people's clothes alight." US forces in Afghanistan denied they had used the chemical, and have also said claims that up to 147 civilians were killed were grossly exaggerated. As with previous such tragedies, both sides have made wildly different claims, with the Taliban seeking to exploit popular fury and US officials attempting to limit the damage and blame the Taliban for allegedly using civilians as human shields.But members of the human rights department at the UN mission in Afghanistan have been appalled by witness testimony from people in the village, according to one official in Kabul who talked anonymously to the Guardian. He said bombs were dropped after militants had quit the battlefield, which appeared to be backed up by the US air force's own daily report, which is published online. "It is quite apparent that the large bulk of casualties were called in after the initial fighting had subsided and both the troops and the Taliban had withdrawn. Shortly after evening prayers the air strikes were called in, and they continued for a couple of hours whilst the villagers were frantically calling the local governor to get him to call off the air strikes." He said that women and children hid inside their homes while their men went on to the roofs with guns. US forces say these men were militants, but the UN official said they were simply villagers and "it is totally normal for them to have guns". Also contested is an incident immediately after the battle when people from the village took piles of corpses to the governor's compound in the provincial capital. The UN official said their willingness to ignore the Islamic custom of organising burial within 24 hours of death showed the level of anger. A statement by US forces said insurgents forced tribal elders to parade the corpses through neighbouring villages to "incite outrage". It said that a joint US-Afghan investigation team confirmed that "a number of civilians were killed in the course of the fighting but is unable to determine with certainty which of those causalities were Taliban fighters and which were non-combatants". Last week Afghanistan's president, Hamid Karzai, called for all air strikes in villages to be stopped, a view privately backed by many in the UN. Yesterday Barack Obama's national security adviser, Gen James Jones, ruled out such a change in policy, saying "we can't fight with one hand tied behind our back". Advertisement Continue reading the main story Last week, Mr. Karzai and the Pakistani president, Asif Ali Zardari, held a three-way meeting with Mr. Obama at the White House while the Pakistani military launched an intense offensive against surging Taliban extremists in the northwest part of that country. The Taliban’s push toward Islamabad, he told “Fox News Sunday,” “seems to have galvanized all of Pakistan, not just the president and prime minister.” Advertisement Continue reading the main story General Petraeus said he was also heartened that Pakistan had shifted some forces from the east, where they face India, to the northwest, as United States officials had urged.
"We are very happy." Her lawyer, Abdolsama Khorramshahi, told reporters in Tehran that Ms Saberi's father, Reza Saberi, confirmed the news of her release. U.S. journalist in Iran freed from prison Authorities release Roxana Saberi on a suspended sentence. Several Iranian journalists remain jailed today. Authorities said she confessed to passing on intelligence to the United States. She was sentenced to eight years in prison. Later charged with working illegally as a journalist 8 April: Accused of spying 18 April: Sentenced to eight years in jail 20 April: Goes on hunger strike for two weeks 10 May: Appeal heard 11 May: Freed from jail Profile: Roxana Saberi Saberi free but thaw no nearer The AFP news agency quoted her as saying: "I'm OK. She was soon charged with espionage. 'Fair and open' That appeal hearing lasted five hours - far longer than the original hour-long trial. Monday's reversal came a day after Iran's court of appeals heard her case. Her lawyers say she is free to leave the country immediately. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said she was "heartened" by the decision but said the US continued to "take issue" with the charges. "We know this has been a trying time for her family and friends and he looks forward to welcoming her home to the United States. The BBC's Tehran correspondent says the charge against her was reduced on appeal to one carrying a lesser sentence. Please turn on JavaScript. We want to continue to stress that she was wrongly accused but we welcome this humanitarian gesture."
Media requires JavaScript to play. Advertisement The US-Iranian journalist jailed in Iran, Roxana Saberi, has been freed from prison after having her sentence for spying reduced. Lawyers for Ms Saberi, 31, whose imprisoning sparked a global outcry, said she left Tehran's Evin jail hours after her eight-year term was cut. She will be able to leave the country but has been banned from working as a journalist in Iran for five years. The White House welcomed the release as a "humanitarian gesture". The BBC's Tehran correspondent says the charge against her was reduced on appeal to one carrying a lesser sentence. "He was relieved to see that Roxana Saberi has been released," White House spokesman Robert Gibbs told reporters. "We know this has been a trying time for her family and friends and he looks forward to welcoming her home to the United States. We want to continue to stress that she was wrongly accused but we welcome this humanitarian gesture." During her time in jail the Obama administration described the allegations against Ms Saberi as "baseless". US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said she was "heartened" by the decision but said the US continued to "take issue" with the charges. 'Very happy' There was also concern from within Iran: her partner, film director Bahman Ghobadi - whose work has won prizes in Cannes and Berlin - said Ms Saberi was a victim of Iran's "political games". Her lawyer, Abdolsama Khorramshahi, told reporters in Tehran that Ms Saberi's father, Reza Saberi, confirmed the news of her release. Later charged with working illegally as a journalist 8 April: Accused of spying 18 April: Sentenced to eight years in jail 20 April: Goes on hunger strike for two weeks 10 May: Appeal heard 11 May: Freed from jail Profile: Roxana Saberi Saberi free but thaw no nearer The AFP news agency quoted her as saying: "I'm OK. I don't want to make any comments but I am OK." Speaking after escorting his daughter to an undisclosed location in the city, Mr Saberi said she was doing well. He implied that they would make a swift return to the US, where he moved from Iran during the 1970s. "We will go back as soon as possible," he told Reuters news agency. Ms Saberi recently ended a two-week hunger strike and was said to have looked thin and tired during her court appearance on Sunday. 'Fair and open' That appeal hearing lasted five hours - far longer than the original hour-long trial. Details of the evidence against Ms Saberi have not been made public Some accounts of the hearing said Ms Saberi - looking a little bewildered - had visibly lost weight from the two-week hunger strike. As well as a reduced jail sentence, the charge against Ms Saberi was changed from one of passing secret information to a lesser count of having access to classified information, he adds. We urge they be given the same opportunity for judicial review Committee to Protect Journalists The spying charge was introduced soon afterwards, and she was tried and sentenced behind closed doors by the Revolutionary Court in Tehran. The Committee to Protect Journalists, a New York-based rights group, said it was "thrilled" as Ms Saberi's release, but urged consideration for Ms Saberi's fellow journalists in Iran. We urge they be given the same opportunity for judicial review that was afforded to Roxana Saberi," said Joel Simon, the group's executive director. But the court slashed Saberi's sentence from eight years in prison to a suspended two-year term and ordered her released. BEIRUT AND TEHRAN — A copy of a classified Iranian government report about the U.S. war in Iraq in the possession of journalist Roxana Saberi was a key piece of evidence that led to her conviction on espionage charges, one of the Iranian American journalist's lawyers disclosed Monday. Analysts say Saberi's case carries implications for the Obama administration as it seeks to improve relations with Tehran and resolve long-standing grievances over Iran's nuclear program and support for militant anti-Israeli organizations. Saberi's arrest demonstrated the unpredictability of Iran's fragmented, multilayered political and security system, where dissidents, politicians and journalists are sometimes arrested for transgressing undefined ideological and national security rules, such as by having contact with the West. Calls by some senior Iranian officials to review the case suggest that at least some of them were well aware of the harm Saberi's continued imprisonment was doing to the country's image and opted to do away with the distraction rather than satisfy hard-liners.
In that case, I will vote for him. "I vote for Bingu. Being a landlocked country, the Malawi Lake is the country's most prominent physical feature. It has chosen its leader John Tembo as candidate to run the May 19, 2009 presidential elections. BLANTYRE, May 19 (Xinhua) -- The Malawians went to polls early on Tuesday to elect a new president and a new parliament. "The issues are very simple," he said. Leading presidential candidates are incumbent President Bingu wa Mutharika of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party and John Tembo, head of a coalition of the Malawi Congress Party and United Democratic Front party. This will be sub-Saharan Africa's second poll in a busy election year for the region. What the government think is just foreign investment. Bingu, however, admitted that he had not adequately created job opportunities for the jobless young people in the country during his first five-year term. MCP was originally known as the Nyasaland African Congress. Polling stations opened at 6:00 a.m. and will close at 18:00 p.m. local time. "They should let Muluzi to participate. How will I be able to feed my family, and how will this leadership look after me?" "My business falls greatly since the supermarket opened. We don't have the proliferation of cable TV and satellite TV. While launching DPP campaign bid in the North region late last month, President Bingu pledged that besides creating job opportunities, his next administration would set up a fund to enable young people to take part in various entrepreneurship activities. In an earlier speech, Nyondo clearly stated the reasons he runs for the presidency.
Malawians head to the polls Tuesday for parliamentary and presidential elections in the southern African nation's fourth democratic vote since independence. This will be sub-Saharan Africa's second poll in a busy election year for the region. So far, the 2009 calendar includes ballots in the Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Angola, Botswana and Mozambique. Last year's contests in Kenya and Zimbabwe were marred by... LILONGWE, Malawi, May 19 (UPI) -- Malawians went to the polls to choose their lawmakers and president Tuesday, guided by bread-and-butter issues, an African policy analyst said. "(Politics) is the main game in town. Only 6 percent of our population has access to electricity," Rafiq Hajat, executive director of the Institute for Policy Interaction, told Voice of America. Lofty ideology isn't a large part of Tuesday's voting, Hajat said. "It's all about how is my future going to be secured, how will I get my fertilizer? Leading presidential candidates are incumbent President Bingu wa Mutharika of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party and John Tembo, head of a coalition of the Malawi Congress Party and United Democratic Front party. BLANTYRE, May 19 (Xinhua) -- The Malawians went to polls early on Tuesday to elect a new president and a new parliament. Polling stations opened at 6:00 a.m. and will close at 18:00 p.m. local time. Nearly 6 million registered voters will cast their ballots at about 3,900 polling stations across the country. Candidates from major political parties are vie with each for the country's top job, with incumbent President Bingu Wa Mutharika from the ruling seeking re-election, the joined forces of two opposition parties aiming to wrestle power away from the ruling and an independent candidate vowing to single-handedly defeat Bingu. He will head our country forthward, " 32 year-old taxi driver Katarwu Lanstu told Xinhua after voting, The man waited from 05:00 a.m. at polling station in north Blantyre. Lukara Kuede, a waiter in Blantyre's Chinese hotel, also voted for Bingu as he agrees on Bingu' policies to attract foreign investment to change people's lives. Voters who oppose Bingu held banners outside polling station to show their anger. They accused Bingu of giving national resources to foreigners for exploiting which did harm to local interests. Because he was supported by Muluzi," said a shop woman Eloow Alice in Blantyre, whose reason to oppose Bingu is that a foreign-invest supermarket near her shop has greatly impacted her business. "My business falls greatly since the supermarket opened. They totally ignore our local business man," said Alice. The May 19, 2009 elections is Malawi's fourth multi-party polls since 1994 when the country adopted political pluralism, ending a 30-year autocratic rule by former leader Hastings Kamuzu Banda. Bingu garnered 36 percent of the vote in the presidential election on May 20, 2004 and emerged as a winner. As an economist who had worked at the United Nations and as head of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa, he soon started fighting corruption and reforming the country's economy after taking office. Bingu, on Oct. 7, 2006, announced his intention to seek re- election in the May 19, 2009 presidential election as the candidate from the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) which was created by himself in 2005. Bingu, however, admitted that he had not adequately created job opportunities for the jobless young people in the country during his first five-year term. While launching DPP campaign bid in the North region late last month, President Bingu pledged that besides creating job opportunities, his next administration would set up a fund to enable young people to take part in various entrepreneurship activities. "I should admit that we have not been able to meet the needs of the jobless people. The youth are complete education every year, but they are unable to get employed either in the private or public sectors," the president said. Though successfully spreading his popularity across the nation through a series of economic reforms, Mutharika's chances of winning a second term are overshadowed by an opposition coalition between the Malawi Congress Party (MCP) and the United Democratic Front (UDF). In a bid to wrestle power away from the ruling, UDF) and MCP forged an alliance to compete in the presidential election after Bakili Muluzi, former president of Malawi from 1994 to 2004 and chairman of UDF, was disqualified as a presidential candidate by the Malawi electoral commission for the May 19, 2009 elections. Early this year, the Malawi electoral commission ruled to bar the former president from participating in the May 19, 2009 presidential election and future elections on the ground that he had served presidency for the constitutional two five-year terms. It later changed its name to MCP under the leadership of Hastings Kamuzu Banda, the party's first president and also the country's first president. Independent presidential candidate James Nyondo, who has called himself as the "young blood" in Malawi politics, also poses a threat to Bingu's bid to seek re-election.
"Yes, indeed, our national facilities fixed the fact of a nuclear test in North Korea. PYONGYANG, May 25 (Xinhua) -- The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) said on Monday it has successfully conducted "one more" underground nuclear test earlier in the day. The ministry said in a statement that the nuclear problem on Korean peninsula can only be solved through six-party talks. Rocket condemnation The North says it remains under military threat from its historic rival, South Korea, and South Korea's allies, primarily the US - citing such examples as the annual US-South Korean military exercises undertaken in South Korea. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo) Photo Gallery>>> The test came after the United Nations Security Council adopted a presidential statement in late April, condemning the April 5 rocket launch by the DPRK and demanding the country "not conduct any further launch." The power of the nuclear explosion is being specified," the Itar-Tass news agency reported citing a defense ministry source. And Japan will take decisive measures, the top government spokesman added. Bookmark with: Delicious Digg reddit Facebook StumbleUpon What are these? South Korea's nuclear envoy Wi Sung-lac (R) speaks during an emergency meeting at the foreign ministry main office in Seoul May 25, 2009. US President Barack Obama described the North Korean action as a threat to international peace. The state says it was more powerful than the previous one in October 2006. However, people heading for Kaesong for business purposes will still be allowed to cross the border as the Kaesong Joint Complex is still open amid the current political tension, the spokesperson added.
SEOUL, May 25 (Xinhua) -- South Korea will prevent its civilians from visiting the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, excluding the Kaesong Joint Complex, for safety reasons, starting from Tuesday, the nation's unification ministry said Monday. Unification ministry spokesperson Chun Hae-sung said, "Visits to the North (DPRK) will be banned for the time being due to safety concerns as the country has conducted a nuclear test." South Koreans will be prevented from traveling to the areas near Pyongyang, the DPRK's capital city, and the Mount Kumgang, starting from Tuesday, the spokesperson said. However, people heading for Kaesong for business purposes will still be allowed to cross the border as the Kaesong Joint Complex is still open amid the current political tension, the spokesperson added. Although necessity items will continue being permitted to flow into the country as humanitarian supports are to be maintained, other non-priority facility objects will not be allowed to go into the DPRK, according to the spokesperson. The businesses to engage in inter-Korean trades are accordingly expected to be hurt by the ministry's ban, local media reported. The move came as South Korea's presidential office reported it has detected an "artificial earthquake" in the DPRK, later confirmed by the DPRK as its second nuclear test. The DPRK has recently threatened to conduct another nuclear test after the U.N. Security Council announced in a statement condemning the April 5 rocket launch. ・DPRK said Monday it has successfully conducted "one more" underground nuclear test. ・DPRK: test was "part of the measures to bolster up its nuclear deterrent for self-defence..." ・The statement did not give any details about the test, including its location. PYONGYANG, May 25 (Xinhua) -- The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) said on Monday it has successfully conducted "one more" underground nuclear test earlier in the day. South Korea's nuclear envoy Wi Sung-lac (R) speaks during an emergency meeting at the foreign ministry main office in Seoul May 25, 2009. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo) Photo Gallery>>> In a statement released by the official news agency KCNA, the DPRK government said the test was "part of the measures to bolster up its nuclear deterrent for self-defence in every way as requested by its scientists and technicians." "The current nuclear test was safely conducted on a new higher level in terms of its explosive power and technology of its control and the results of the test helped satisfactorily settle the scientific and technological problems arising in further increasing the power of nuclear weapons and steadily developing nuclear technology," the statement said. South Korea's nuclear envoy Wi Sung-lac (top R) speaks during an emergency meeting at the foreign ministry main office in Seoul May 25, 2009. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo) Photo Gallery>>> The test came after the United Nations Security Council adopted a presidential statement in late April, condemning the April 5 rocket launch by the DPRK and demanding the country "not conduct any further launch." Pyongyang subsequently announced it was quitting the six-party talks on nuclear disarmament and would restart nuclear facilities in protest of the UN statement. A Democartic People's Republic of Korea missile launch facility at Musudan-Ri is seen in this April 5, 2009 GeoEye-1 satellite file photo taken from 423 miles in space as the GeoEye-1 commercial Earth-imaging satellite moved from north to south over the Korean peninsula at a speed of 4 miles per second. Backgrounder: Nuclear issue on Korean Peninsula Backgrounder: DPRK's two nuclear tests Yonhap: DPRK test fires two more short-range missiles SEOUL, May 25 (Xinhua) -- Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) test fired two additional missiles off its east coast on Monday amid heightened tension over its second nuclear test, South Korea's Yonhap News Agency quoted an anonymous source report. The launch came after the country fired a short-range missile off its east coast base around noon, the source said. Full story S Korea to disallow civilians to visit DPRK for safety reasons SEOUL, May 25 (Xinhua) -- South Korea will prevent its civilians from visiting the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, excluding the Kaesong Joint Complex, for safety reasons, starting from Tuesday, the nation's unification ministry said Monday. Unification ministry spokesperson Chun Hae-sung said, "Visits to the North (DPRK) will be banned for the time being due to safety concerns as the country has conducted a nuclear test." Full story Chinese gov't "resolutely opposes" DPRK's nuclear test BEIJING, May 25 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese government is resolutely opposed to the nuclear test by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), Chinese Foreign Ministry said here in a statement Monday. According to a report by the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), the DPRK announced it successfully conducted one more underground nuclear test on May 25. Full story U.S. consulting with allies on DPRK's fresh nuclear test WASHINGTON, May 24 (Xinhua) -- The United States is consulting with allies on DPRK's fresh nuclear test, an anonymous State Department official told reporters late Sunday. Full story Russia confirms DPRK nuclear test: reports MOSCOW, May 25 (Xinhua) -- The Russian Defense Ministry confirmed Monday that the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) conducted an underground nuclear test earlier in the day, Russian news agencies reported. The power of the nuclear explosion is being specified," the Itar-Tass news agency reported citing a defense ministry source. Full story FM: Russia urges DPRK to demonstrate responsibility MOSCOW, May 25 (Xinhua) -- Russia urges the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) to demonstrate responsibility, the Interfax news agency quoted Russian Foreign Ministry as saying on Monday. Full story Japan sets up special task force following DPRK's nuclear test TOKYO, May 25 (Xinhua) -- The Japanese government has set up a special task force at the emergency management center of Prime Minister Taro Aso's office after Pyongyang reportedly conducted a nuclear test Monday. Chief Cabinet Secretary Takeo Kawamura said that the DPRK's nuclear test is not to be tolerated. Full story Japan to monitor radioactivity in the air following DPRK's nuclear test TOKYO, May 25 (Xinhua) -- Vice Defense Minister Kohei Masuda said Japan will take samples from the air over Japan to determine if any radioactive material has been emitted into the air following Pyongyang's nuclear test on Monday. Full story British PM condemns DPRK's nuclear test LONDON, May 25 (Xinhua) -- British Prime Minister Gordon Brown condemned "in the strongest terms" a new nuclear test conducted by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) on Monday. Full story Germany condemns DPRK's nuclear test BERLIN, May 25 (Xinhua) -- The German government on Monday condemned the latest nuclear test by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), saying it was a provocation. Full story S Korean financial market tumbles over DPRK nuclear test news SEOUL, May 25 (Xinhua) -- The South Korean financial market plunged late Monday morning as local media reported the news of Democratic People's Republic of Korea's apparent nuclear test, South Korea's Yonhap News Agency reported. Earlier in the day South Korea's presidential office said it has been reported of an "artificial earthquake" in the DPRK, seemingly caused by a nuclear test. Full story India voices deep concern over DPRK nuclear test NEW DELHI, May 25 (Xinhua) -- India Monday voiced deep concern over the Democratic People's Republic of Korea's underground nuclear test, saying New Delhi is against "nuclear proliferation". Full story CTBTO chairman expresses concern over DPRK's nuclear test VIENNA, May 25 (Xinhua) -- Peter Shannon, chairman of the Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO) for 2009, expressed serious concern over the nuclear test conducted by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) on Monday. North Korea insists it has a right to nuclear weapons North Korea says it has staged a "successful" underground nuclear test, prompting international condemnation. 'Safeguarding sovereignty' An official communique read out on North Korean state radio said another round of underground nuclear testing had been "successfully conducted... as part of measures to enhance the Republic's self-defensive nuclear deterrent in all directions".
Continued below. At one point, he sought, and was granted a meeting with M Sarkozy, before he became President. This included an "electrometer" to measure the state of their "spiritual condition". Seven leading French Scientology members are also in the dock. The church's French branch has said the case could threaten freedom of religion in the country. Seven leading members of the movement in France are also on trial. - INDEPENDENT Two of the original plaintiffs have withdrawn their actions. It is known for its Hollywood celebrity followers including actors Tom Cruise and John Travolta. Scientology was founded in 1952 by a former science fiction writer, L Ron Hubbard. The church has faced court a number of times in France, with members convicted of fraud in Lyon in 1997 and Marseilles two years later. The group's Paris headquarters and bookshop are defendants in the case. The prosecution service, or parquet, denies any connection between this political lobbying and its decision to recommend an acquittal. It is also accused of dispensing drugs illegally to its members. In 2002, a court fined it for violating privacy laws and said it could be dissolved if involved in similar cases. This was the conclusion drawn by the report submitted by the investigating magistrate, Jean-Christophe Hullin, three years ago. Its approach would, the cult argues, lead to a world without crime and war. In a trial that has revived a debate about religious freedom in secular France, the defence is expected to argue the court should not intervene in religious affairs. 'Psychological holds exerted' Daniele Gounord, the group's spokeswoman in France, rejected the accusations and said Scientologists were facing persecution.
By John Lichfield The Scientology movement went on trial in Paris yesterday for "organised fraud" in a case which could lead to the cult's organising bodies being outlawed in France. The French state prosecution service has failed to back the trial but denies that its decision was influenced by the lobbying of French politicians, including Nicolas Sarkozy before he became President, by leading Scientologists, including the actor Tom Cruise. After an 11-year inquiry, following complaints from four French former Scientologists, an independent, investigating magistrate decided that the prosecution should go ahead. Two female plaintiffs allege that, between 1997 and 1999, the French movement persuaded them to pay the equivalent of €20,000 each on drugs, vitamins, counselling, saunas and equipment to improve their mental and physical health. This included an "electrometer" to measure the state of their "spiritual condition". The movement is accused of pretending to "identify and resolve alleged psychological difficulties" and "promoting the personal flowering" of its adepts with the "sole aim of seizing their resources" and "establishing psychological control over them". Although individual Scientologists, including the cult's founder, L Ron Hubbard, have previously been convicted in France, this is the first time that the movement itself has been accused in a French court of systematic criminal activity. Seven leading members of the movement in France are also on trial. Scientology, officially accepted as a religion in the United States, is on trial for "escroquerie en bande organisee" - or organised financial fraud. It is also accused of dispensing drugs illegally to its members. Two of the original plaintiffs have withdrawn their actions. If convicted after a two or three-week trial, the main French organisations of the movement could be ordered to close down. Related Content Hong Kong: The 268 steps to enlightenment Herald daily quiz: April 18 Watch NZH Local Focus: Ditching Daniel's dreads The cult's French spokeswoman, Daniele Gounord, protested yesterday that Scientology was the victim of a "heresy trial" and "mendacious accusations". Maitre Olivier Morice, lawyer for the two remaining plaintiffs, said the court would have an opportunity "once and for all" to examine the evidence that the leaders of the Church of Scientology are driven by financial gain. He said that Scientology was "first and foremost a commercial organisation" motivated by "an absolute obsession with profit". The French state prosecution service rejected Judge Hullin's conclusions and decided in 2006 that Scientology should not be sent for trial. Whatever outsiders might think, the prosecution service decided, Scientology was motivated by "religious conviction" and not "personal gain". The actor and Scientologist Tom Cruise had led a lobbying campaign to block the legal action, which is the latest of five against the movement in France since the 1970s. The prosecution service, or parquet, denies any connection between this political lobbying and its decision to recommend an acquittal. Judge Hullin decided to send the case for trial despite the parquet's decision. Under French law, the investigating magistrate can, in effect, overrule the state prosecution service but the chances of a successful prosecution are inevitably dimmed. The defendants, including the Church of Scientology itself, are formally accused of cheating the defendants "by systematic use of personality tests of no scientific value ... with the sole aim of selling services and products". Scientology was founded in 1952 by a former science fiction writer, L Ron Hubbard. Although the complete teachings of Scientology are available only to senior adepts, the core of its beliefs is that all humans are immortal beings who have strayed from their true nature. The movement "audits" the souls of members and would-be members and - in return for fees or donations - prescribes "purification" courses, including vitamins, drugs and lengthy saunas. The plaintiffs' lawyers argue that Scientology resorts to harassment and pressure to recruit victims who show signs of vulnerability. The church's French branch has said the case could threaten freedom of religion in the country. "This is a trial for heresy," she said, adding that the church was being "hounded" in French courts because it advocates new ideas. The Paris Scientology Celebrity Centre and six of its members are also on trial, accused of preying on vulnerable followers "with the goal of seizing their fortune by exerting a psychological hold". Some members also face charges of illegally supplying pharmaceutical products, after complainants said they were given remedies to improve their mental state. If found guilty, they could be fined 5 million euros ($7 million) and ordered to halt their activities in France. In the following months, she paid more than 21,000 euros for books, "purification packs" of vitamins, sauna sessions and an "e-meter" to measure her spiritual progress, she said.
. Ms Sotomayor, 54, who has now to be approved by a Senate vote, would be the first Hispanic to take the position. President Obama will nominate federal appeals court judge Sonia Sotomayor for the Supreme Court this morning. He said she would bring a "depth of experience and a breadth of perspective" to the role. The National Review's Jonah Goldberg also has a take on the president's political calculations. Sotomayor is based in New York City. The nomination of Sotormayor to replace retiring Justice David Souter is already drawing fire from conservative groups. That was something White House officials stressed yesterday: that she has worked as a prosecutor and corporate litigator, and has spent more time on the federal bench than any of the current justices when they were appointed. One advantage for Obama in picking the most left-leaning Hispanic possible/confirmable is that it actually allows the Democrats to - once again - cast Republicans as anti-Hispanic. She is a graduate of Princeton University and Yale Law School. She has been nominated to serve as a judge by both Republican and Democrat presidents. Bronx background Mr Obama had stressed the need to appoint a justice who had life experience as well as legal capabilities. Bush. There is currently only one woman on the nine-member high court, Ruth Bader Ginsburg. It's the kind of story that makes you feel good about America and that still resonates as quintessentially American even though social mobility in the United States isn't quite what we like to think. He also interviewed Judge Diane P. Wood of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit; Solicitor General Elena Kagan; and Homeland Security Secretary and former Arizona governor Janet Napolitano.
Advertisement US President Barack Obama has nominated Sonia Sotomayor to serve on the country's Supreme Court. Ms Sotomayor, 54, who has now to be approved by a Senate vote, would be the first Hispanic to take the position. She would replace Justice David Souter, who announced his retirement from the top US court earlier this month. Mr Obama said he had chosen Ms Sotomayor after an "exhaustive" process, and paid tribute to her as an "inspiring woman". 'No rubber stamp' In an emotional acceptance speech, Ms Sotomayor said her heart was "bursting with gratitude". "I am an ordinary person blessed with extraordinary opportunities and experiences - today is one of those experiences," she said. RISE OF SONIA SOTOMAYOR 1954 Born in South Bronx to Puerto Rican parents Father died when she was aged nine and her mother raised her 1979 Graduates from Yale and serves as an Assistant District Attorney in New York County 1984 Moves into private practice specialising in intellectual property 1991 George Bush Snr chooses her as a district judge 1997 Bill Clinton nominates her to the circuit court Profile: Sonia Sotomayor Readers react to nomination If approved by the Senate, Ms Sotomayor would join Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg as the second woman on the current Supreme Court. The BBC's Richard Lister, in Washington, says it appears likely she will be confirmed by the Senate - but only after some tough questioning during the confirmation process. Conservative activists have already challenged comments she made a few years ago that a judge should not dismiss their own gender or ethnicity in deciding cases, our correspondent says. Mitch McConnell, leader of the Republicans in the chamber, said his colleagues would treat Ms Sotomayor fairly, but stressed that the Senate should not be a "rubber stamp". White House officials told the Associated Press that Ms Sotomayor would bring more judicial experience to the Supreme Court than any other justice confirmed in the past 70 years. Bronx background Mr Obama had stressed the need to appoint a justice who had life experience as well as legal capabilities. Ms Sotomayor was raised on a housing estate in the Bronx - in one of New York City's most deprived areas. The Supreme Court is the highest court in the US, and has the authority to strike down any state or federal law it deems unconstitutional. Each of the nine Supreme Court justices is nominated to the post for life. If appointed, Ms Sotomayor is expected to be on the liberal wing - leaving the political balance unchanged as Mr Souter is also a liberal. US MEDIA REACTION TO THE SOTOMAYOR NOMINATION Latino groups have been grumbling somewhat about their representation (or lack thereof) in the Obama administration, as well as the fact that immigration reform doesn't appear to be on the White House's front-burner. But this pick buys Obama A LOT of time with Hispanics - a demographic he won last year, 67%-31% - on immigration and other issues. Is it a coincidence that Obama this week heads out West to Nevada and California, two states with large Latino populations? One advantage for Obama in picking the most left-leaning Hispanic possible/confirmable is that it actually allows the Democrats to - once again - cast Republicans as anti-Hispanic. The National Review's Jonah Goldberg also has a take on the president's political calculations. For someone who has all the usual qualifications to be a Supreme Court Justice, she also has an unusual life story... It's the kind of story that makes you feel good about America and that still resonates as quintessentially American even though social mobility in the United States isn't quite what we like to think. Since she is certain to be confirmed, there are plenty of smart conservatives who will, by midday Tuesday, have done the political cost-benefit analysis: at a time when Republicans are trying to demonstrate that their party can reach beyond rich white men, what mileage is there in doing anything but celebrating such a historic choice? Time's Mark Halperin thinks the Republicans are unlikely to risk much visible opposition to Ms Sotomayor. I am... not favorably impressed with her notorious statement that "a wise Latina woman with the richness of her experiences would more often than not reach a better conclusion than a white male who hasn't lived that life." Not only is it objectionable in and of itself, it also suggests that Sotomayor is a committed believer in the identity politics school of left-wing thought. Worse, it implies that she believes that it is legitimate for judges to base decisions in part based on their ethnic or racial origins. But he held fast to the notion, noxious to conservatives and challenging to some Democrats, that some of the answers to the most complicated legal questions come from life's experiences as well as the lawbooks. It seems far different from Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr.'s insistence at his confirmation that the role of a judge is to be like an umpire, calling balls and strikes. is a necessary ingredient in the kind of justice we need on the Supreme Court," Obama told the nation and an East Room filled with supporters and family, including Sotomayor's tearful mother Celine, who moved to New York from Puerto Rico in the 1940s. Sotomayor, 54, who would become the court's first Latina and only the third woman to serve among what would be 111 justices in the court's history, picked up the theme. "This wealth of experiences, personal and professional, have helped me appreciate the variety of perspectives that present themselves in every case that I hear," said Sotomayor, who has served as a district judge and is currently on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit in New York. 3 Others Interviewed Obama chose Sotomayor, who has drawn the most fire from conservative legal activists because of her outspoken statements on role, gender and ethnicity, after interviewing her Thursday and thinking about it over the holiday weekend. Obama was more familiar with the latter three: Wood is well-known in Chicago's liberal legal establishment, where she enjoys celebrity status, and the president had placed both Napolitano and Kagan in his administration. A senior White House official said the face-to-face meeting was a "key moment" and that Obama emerged to tell aides that he was especially impressed with the breadth of Sotomayor's experience.
Part of a Shia mosque, Amir al-Mohini, was destroyed in Zahedan, a mainly Sunni Muslim city. A spokesman for the Sistan-Baluchestan province's judiciary said the three people "confessed to illegally bringing explosives into Iran and giving them to the main person behind the bombing." TEHRAN Iran executed in public on Saturday three men convicted of involvement in a bomb attack on a mosque that killed 25 people, the official IRNA news agency reported. "They were convicted as 'mohareb' (one who wages war against God), 'corrupt on the earth' and acting against national security," he said. Iran mosque bombing kills 15 worshippers Posted A bomb blast at a Shiite mosque in the southeastern Iranian city of Zahedan on Thursday killed 15 worshippers and wounded 50, the provincial governor general told state television. The explosion also comes just weeks ahead of Iran's June 12 presidential election. The province has a large ethnic Baluch minority. Iran has in the past accused the United States of supporting Sunni rebels operating on its border with Pakistan. In April of last year, the bombing of a packed mosque in the southern city of Shiraz during evening prayers left 14 people dead. Washington denied the allegation. The government has warned that foreign powers are trying to sabotage the process, the BBC's Jon Leyne in Tehran says. A Sunni militant group had claimed responsibility, with Abdel Raouf Rigi, described as a spokesman for the Jundallah group, telling Saudi-owned TV channel Al-Arabiya that a suicide bomber had targeted a secret meeting of Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards inside the mosque. (Reporting by Hashem Kalantari; writing by Zahra Hosseinian; editing by Tim Pearce)
TEHRAN Iran executed in public on Saturday three men convicted of involvement in a bomb attack on a mosque that killed 25 people, the official IRNA news agency reported. The bombing in a crowded Shi'ite mosque on Thursday evening wounded more than 120 people in the southeastern city of Zahedan, two weeks before a presidential election in the Islamic Republic. "Three people convicted of being involved in the recent terrorist bombing in Zahedan were hanged in public on Saturday morning," IRNA said, adding that the executions took place near the mosque where the bombing took place. A Sunni opposition group named Jundollah (God's Soldiers), which Iran says is part of the Islamist al Qaeda network and backed by the United States, said it was behind the bombing, Saudi-owned Al Arabiya television said on Friday. Ebrahim Hamidi, a local judiciary official, said the men were convicted after going through the normal judiciary process, adding that they were also involved in past "terrorist activities." "The bombing happened with the explosives these three convicted criminals brought to the country," Hamidi said. "They were convicted as 'mohareb' (one who wages war against God), 'corrupt on the earth' and acting against national security," he said. It was not possible to verify the claim of Jundollah, which says it fights for the rights of Iran's minority Sunnis. Thursday's bombing was deadliest such incident in Iran since its 1980-88 war with Iraq. A blast in a mosque in the southern city of Shiraz killed 14 people in April last year but the country has otherwise been relatively peaceful. Iran has in the past accused the United States of supporting Sunni rebels operating on its border with Pakistan. Tehran repeated the claim on Friday, saying the "terrorists were equipped by America." Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei condemned the bombing, saying "no one can doubt that the hands of ... some interfering powers and their spying services are bloodied by the blood of the innocent." Sistan-Baluchestan province, home to Iran's mostly Sunni ethnic Baluchis, is the scene of frequent clashes between security forces and heavily armed drug smugglers and bandits. The bomb detonated during evening prayers in the mosque Three men convicted of bombing an Iranian mosque two days ago have been publicly executed, state media says. The bombing killed at least 19 people during evening prayers in the south-east city of Zahedan on Thursday. The three men, who were hanged on Saturday morning near the mosque, were already in custody before the attack. One Iranian official had earlier accused the US of hiring mercenaries to carry out the bombing - a claim dismissed by Washington. The men were arrested before Thursday's bombing in connection with other attacks, including a 2007 attack on Iran's Revolutionary Guard in which 11 people died. A spokesman for the Sistan-Baluchestan province's judiciary said the three people "confessed to illegally bringing explosives into Iran and giving them to the main person behind the bombing." Spokesman Hojatoeslam Ebrahim Hamidi added: "They were convicted of being 'mohareb' (enemies of God) and 'corrupt on the earth' and acting against national security," Irna reported. A Sunni militant group had claimed responsibility, with Abdel Raouf Rigi, described as a spokesman for the Jundallah group, telling Saudi-owned TV channel Al-Arabiya that a suicide bomber had targeted a secret meeting of Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards inside the mosque. A day after the bombing, the President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's Zahedan campaign office was attacked by gunmen. Iran mosque bombing kills 15 worshippers Posted A bomb blast at a Shiite mosque in the southeastern Iranian city of Zahedan on Thursday killed 15 worshippers and wounded 50, the provincial governor general told state television. "The bomb exploded at the time of evening prayer and killed a number of worshippers," Ali Mohammad Azad, the governor general of the province bordering Pakistan and Afghanistan told state television.
Among the other passengers were 26 Germans, nine Chinese, nine Italians, six Swiss, five Britons, five Lebanese, four Hungarians, three Irish, three Norwegians and three Slovaks. France's president said the chances of finding survivors were "very small". It made its last radio contact with Brazilian air traffic controllers at 0133 GMT (2233 Brazilian time) when it was 565km (360m) off Brazil's north-eastern coast, Brazil's air force said. The plane, Flight AF 447, was scheduled to arrive at Charles de Gaulle airport at 11:10 a.m. local time. It may have been damaged by lightning. No Airbus A330-200 passenger flight ever had a fatal crash, according to the Aviation Safety Network. It was well over the ocean when it was lost, making Brazilian and French search planes' task more difficult. “A completely unexpected situation occurred on board the aircraft,” Mr. Gourgeon told France’s LCI television. Whether its location was captured by satellite or other planes’ radar is not known yet. The Associated Press reported that it also suffered a loss of cabin pressure. The two airports involved have been caring for relatives and friends of those aboard the missing plane An Air France plane carrying 228 people from Brazil to France has vanished over the Atlantic after flying into turbulence, airline officials say. Even a double engine failure at cruising altitude would normally give the crew around half an hour's gliding time. Please try again later. View all New York Times newsletters. The firmest clue to its fate comes from the data message sent via a satellite network at 0214 GMT reporting electrical and pressurisation problems.
PARIS, June 1 An Air France passenger jet that went missing during a flight from Brazil to France with 228 on board would have run out of fuel by now, a senior French minister said on Monday. "By now it would be beyond its kerosene reserves so unfortunately we must now envisage the most tragic scenario," said Jean-Louis Borloo, the second most senior figure in the cabinet. Borloo told France Info radio that the plane had disappeared from military as well as civilian radar screens. Photo The disappearance of an Air France jet en route from Rio de Janeiro to Paris on Sunday evening left seasoned crash investigators with a mystery to plumb and very little data to work with. The Airbus A330-200, carrying 228 passengers and crew members, is believed to have vanished in a towering thunderstorm with no word from its pilots that they were in crisis. The plane had beamed out several signals that its electrical systems had malfunctioned and, according to one report, that it had lost cabin pressure. The signals were sent not as distress calls, however, but as automated reports to Air France’s maintenance system, and were not read for hours, until air traffic controllers realized that the plane’s crew had not radioed in on schedule. As a search for wreckage began over a vast swath of ocean between Brazil and the African coast, experts struggled to offer plausible theories as to how a well-maintained modern jetliner, built to withstand electrical and physical buffeting far greater than nature usually offers, could have gone down so silently and mysteriously. Whatever of the plane’s final minutes was recorded in its black box may never be known, because it is presumably at the bottom of the Atlantic. As is common with trans-ocean flights, it was too far out over the sea to be tracked on land-based radar from Brazil or Senegal. Whether its location was captured by satellite or other planes’ radar is not known yet. The plane, Flight AF 447, was scheduled to arrive at Charles de Gaulle airport at 11:10 a.m. local time. A black-robed priest was making his way past hordes of police officers and journalists to comfort relatives of those on the flight. “Air France is extremely distraught, and the whole team of Air France is suffering,” Pierre-Henri Gourgeon, the chief executive of Air France-KLM, told reporters in Paris. “We would like to say to the relatives of the victims that we are totally with them and will make every effort to help them.” Photo President Nicolas Sarkozy of France said: “It’s a tragic accident. The chances of finding survivors are tiny.” There were people of 32 nationalities aboard, including 58 Brazilians, 61 French and 2 Americans, Air France said in a statement based on information from Brazilian authorities. The flight took off from Rio de Janeiro at 7:30 p.m. local time (6:30 p.m. Eastern time), and its last verbal communication with air traffic control was three hours later, at 10:33, according to a statement from Brazil’s civil aviation agency. At that time, the flight was at 35,000 feet and traveling at 520 miles per hour. Brazilian officials said the plane disappeared over the Atlantic somewhere between a point 186 miles northeast of their coastal city Natal and the Cape Verde islands off Africa. The area is known as the intertropical convergence zone, where the tropics of the Northern and Southern Hemispheres mix, sometimes creating violent and unpredictable thunderstorms that can rise to 55,000 feet, higher than commercial jetliners can go. Experts were at a loss to explain fatal damage from lightning or a tropical storm, both of which jetliners face routinely, despite efforts to avoid them — as much out of concern for passengers’ nerves as for the planes’ safety. Brigitte Barrand, an Air France spokeswoman, said the highly experienced pilot had clocked 11,000 flying hours, including 1,100 hours on Airbus 330 jets. Photo “Lightning alone is not enough to explain the loss of this plane,” Julien Gourguechon, a longtime Air France pilot, said. By some estimates, jetliners are typically hit by lightning at least once a year. But the strike normally travels across the plane’s aluminum skin and out the tail or a wingtip. A loss of cabin pressure could suggest a break in the fuselage, but planes are built to withstand buffeting from a storm’s updrafts and downdrafts. It could also be a consequence of an electrical failure, if the plane’s air compressors stop working. Large hailstones created by some thunderstorms have been known to break windshields or turbine blades, though pilots would be likely to rapidly report something like that. If the inertia sensor told a computer that a plane was stalling, forcing it to drop the nose and dive to pick up airspeed, and there was simultaneously a severe downdraft in the storm turbulence, “that would be hard to recover from,” Mr. Weber said. The two airports involved have been caring for relatives and friends of those aboard the missing plane An Air France plane carrying 228 people from Brazil to France has vanished over the Atlantic after flying into turbulence, airline officials say.
"I will not waver. I will get on with the job," he said. And some Labour backbenchers joined Mr Purnell in openly urging Mr Brown to step aside. "It's now appropriate for the party to look for a new leader. Geoff Hoon, the Transport Secretary, John Hutton, the Defence Secretary and James Purnell, the Work and Pensions Secretary announced their resignations in the hours leading up to the reshuffle, forcing the Prime Minister to react hastily. Two more cabinet ministers - Geoff Hoon and John Hutton - have stepped down but neither backed a challenge to the PM. He added: "If I didn't think I was the right person to lead these challenges I would not be standing here. "What we see today is a Government that is so weak it's hard to believe. Lord Mandelson told Sky News that he was 100 per cent sure that Gordon Brown would be in charge of the Labour party at the next election and denied there was a Blairite plot. Media requires JavaScript to play. In other moves, Alan Johnson becomes home secretary and Andy Burnham succeeds him at health. I now believe your continued leadership makes a Conservative victory more not less likely. Below is a summary of the reshuffle: * Alistair Darling retains his job as Chancellor after Mr Brown backed away from plans to replace him * Mr Johnson becomes Home Secretary * David Miliband will keep his job as Foreign Secretary after criticising opponents of the Prime Minister * Lord Mandelson has his brief as Business Secretary expanded to cover skills and science * Bob Ainsworth replaces John Hutton who resigned unexpectedly this morning * Yvette Cooper, Department of Work and Pensions; Ed Balls, Children's Secretary; John Denham, Communities Secretary; Andy Burnham, Culture Secretary; Peter Hain, Welsh Secretary; Douglas Alexander, International Development Secretary; Hilary Benn, environment secretary; Lord Adonis, Transport Secretary * Sir Alan Sugar will become Enterprise Tsar * Margaret Beckett, housing minister is leaving the government
Gordon Brown has unveiled a reshuffled cabinet and vowed to "fight on" with his "resilient" team to rescue the economy and clean up politics. He admitted Labour had suffered "a painful defeat" in Thursday's polls but added: "I will not waver. Two more cabinet ministers - Geoff Hoon and John Hutton - have stepped down but neither backed a challenge to the PM. CABINET RESHUFFLE NEW JOBS: Alan Johnson - Home secretary Andy Burnham - Health Yvette Cooper - Work and pensions Bob Ainsworth - Defence John Denham - Communities Liam Byrne - Chief Secretary to the Treasury Ben Bradshaw - Culture Lord Adonis - Transport Peter Hain - Welsh Office Glenys Kinnock - Europe (non-Cabinet post) Sir Alan Sugar - Enterprise tsar (non-Cabinet post) QUITTING: John Hutton James Purnell Jacqui Smith Hazel Blears Geoff Hoon Paul Murphy Caroline Flint(Minister of State) Tony McNulty(Minister of State) Margaret Beckett(Minister of State) LIVE: Brown fights for his future Tories and Lib Dems in poll wins In full: Brown's new cabinet Speaking at a Downing Street media conference, Mr Brown said the current political crisis, fuelled by the Westminster expenses scandal "is a test of everyone's nerve - mine, the government's, the country's". "I have faith in doing my duty... Mr Brown defended Chancellor Alistair Darling as a "very good personal friend" and said the idea that the pair were split over the economy was "ridiculous". Three new ministerial councils - the Democratic Renewal Council, the Domestic Policy Council and an enhanced National Economic Council - would report weekly to the cabinet, said Mr Brown. Mandelson's role But speculation about his future continued as Labour MP Ian Gibson said he was standing down to force a by-election in Norwich North - and said he thinks Mr Brown's days "are close to being numbered". BBC Political Editor Nick Robinson said if ministers had followed James Purnell in calling for Mr Brown to quit "we would today have had a new prime minister". Several of the women attending Cabinet - myself included - have been treated by you as little more than female window dressing Caroline Flint, former Europe minister Flint's 'window dressing' attack But the PM had still been forced to carry out an "emergency reshuffle based on his own personal survival", which had left him "not that much stronger". In other moves, Alan Johnson becomes home secretary and Andy Burnham succeeds him at health. Caroline Flint has quit as Europe minister, with Glenys Kinnock, wife of former Labour leader Neil Kinnock, who recently stood down as an MEP as her successor - she will be appointed to the House of Lords to be able to take the job. Ms Flint is understood to have quit after Mr Brown failed to promote her to a full cabinet job. In her resignation letter she launches a stinging attack on Mr Brown for allegedly treating women ministers "like female window dressing" and running a "two tier cabinet". She said Mr Brown had "strained every sinew" of her loyalty to the government. Labour's deputy leader, and minister for women and equality, Harriet Harman: "I can understand the frustration of any woman in politics, but I don't accept that Gordon doesn't take women in politics seriously - not at all." In what Nick Robinson said amounted to a deputy prime minister's role, he has also been given the titles of First Secretary of State and Lord President of the Council. Mr Hoon has agreed to be the prime minister's European policy adviser ahead of the climate change talks in Copenhagen at the end of the year. Margaret Beckett and Tony McNulty are amongst those leaving the cabinet, the latter quitting his job as employment minister in an effort to clear his name over allegations about his expenses claims which are being investigated by the standards watchdog. Election losses John Hutton earlier quit as defence secretary and James Purnell quit on Thursday as work and pensions secretary - but no ministers have so far backed Mr Purnell's call for Mr Brown to "stand aside". Nick Robinson's blog Mr Hutton backed the prime minister and said he thought fellow Blairite Mr Purnell had made "the wrong decision" in calling for him to quit. Alan Johnson, touted by some backbenchers as a possible leadership challenger, said he backed Mr Brown "to the hilt" to continue as prime minister. He added that he was "really pleased" to be going to the Home Office, describing the job - regarded as something of a poisoned chalice - as an "invigorating challenge". HAVE YOUR SAY The ineptness of New Labour over the past 11 years has finally caught up with them Jonathan, Slough But although no cabinet ministers have backed Mr Purnell, several backbench Labour MPs have continued to call for him to stand down. Dr Gibson - stripped of the right to stand for Labour at the next election because of his expenses - said he would stand down now to trigger what is likely to be a potentially difficult by-election for Labour. According to the BBC's projected share of the national vote at a general election, based on the English local election results in so far, the Conservatives would poll 38%, the Lib Dems 28% and Labour would be third on 23%. Conservative leader David Cameron said it showed his party was on course to win the next general election, adding that Labour had "lost the right to govern". Mr Clegg said Mr Brown's future as PM was "irrelevant" because the Labour government was "finished". A 10 spokesman insisted Mr Brown had complied with the rules at all times, a fact backed up by the Commons authorities, but he had agreed to repay about £180 "for the avoidance of doubt". With the Labour Government facing its worst crisis to date, it emerged that: * Alistair Darling will retain his job as Chancellor after Mr Brown backed away from plans to replace him * Alan Johnson, viewed as one of Mr Brown's main rivals, will become Home Secretary * David Miliband will keep his job as Foreign Secretary after criticising opponents of the Prime Minister * Lord Mandelson will have his brief as Business Secretary expanded to cover skills and science * Yvette Cooper will take over at the Department of Work and Pensions * James Purnell has insisted he has no regrets after his dramatic resignation last night * Labour could be heading for their worst results in a generation, according to early counts from local elections Mr Hutton became the fourth Cabinet minister to quit this week, announcing his decision barely 12 hours after Mr Purnell quit as Work and Pensions Secretary. David Miliband managed a similar feat after sending a clear message to his party's dissenters: "Today is a day for working, not resigning and that's what I'm going to do," he said.
Almost everywhere, it would seem, but here, where it happened. But this day is not like every other day. Advertisement Chinese police have ringed Tiananmen Square, to prevent people marking the 20th anniversary of the massacre. China expressed its "strong dissatisfaction" with her comments. But Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Qin Gang said Mrs Clinton had made "groundless accusations". Advertisement Continue reading the main story When a large crowd showed up in 2004, it was after public pressure had forced the government to retreat from plans to impose stringent internal security legislation sought by Beijing. Hong Kong is the only Chinese territory where Tiananmen commemorations are permitted. Many wear matching outfits and carry matching umbrellas. I'm sad and angry," he told the BBC's Cindy Sui in Taiwan. Mr. Zhao’s posthumous revelations about discord at the top of the Communist Party on how to respond to the student protests — he opposed the crackdown — have revived discussion of the events 20 years ago and Chinese-language copies of the book from Hong Kong are said to have been smuggled to the mainland. Hardly anybody wears white. They look like ordinary tour buses, but the people piling out are clearly not ordinary tourists. Please turn on JavaScript. That had been the largest vigil since 1991, when 100,000 attended. After weeks of protests, troops moved in on the night of 3-4 June 1989. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton urged Beijing to examine the "darker events of its past". Dissidents around China have been put under house arrest to prevent any attempt to enter the square. A few old men are flying kites.
No ordinary day at Tiananmen Square On the 20th anniversary of the deadly crackdown on protesters, security personnel outnumber tourists. Metal detectors under white tents dot the square, and guides advise visitors to behave. It is June 4, the 20th anniversary of the brutal crackdown by the army that left hundreds, perhaps thousands, of pro-democracy demonstrators dead. Just like every other day, people snap pictures of themselves in front of the "Gate of Heavenly Peace" (Tiananmen, in Mandarin), where Mao proclaimed the founding of the nation in 1949. Just like every other day, they line up at the mausoleum where his body lies preserved under glass and pose next to the 10-story obelisk Monument to the People's Heroes. As the sun peeks out over the high-rises of the nearby financial district, the guards in military regalia goose-step to the flagpole for the daily ritual in front of the iconic portrait of Mao Tse-tung. The billowing red flag climbs slowly to an accompaniment of the national anthem pumped out of loudspeakers around the square. The sky is still murky with night when the hard-core convene at Tiananmen Square. Only the most patriotic Chinese and the most dedicated tourists have yanked themselves out of bed to watch the Chinese flag rising over Beijing at sunrise. On this day, there are commemorative ceremonies all around the world -- in Washington, London, Hong Kong, Los Angeles. Dissidents around China have been put under house arrest to prevent any attempt to enter the square. Foreign news media have been barred for the day. The entire 100 acres are fenced off with police barricades. White tents like the ones used for the happier occasion of last summer's Olympic Games are outfitted with metal detectors. The authorities look not just for weapons, but also papers and scarves that might be unfurled into a banner. Some visitors are asked to show their passports; those who have Chinese "J" visas (the letter indicating the holder is a journalist) are turned away. 5:20 a.m. About 200 are left, mostly people from Chinese tour groups, wearing matching hats. A few old men are flying kites. Buses are lined up in neat rows at the south end of the square. They're all male. They carry umbrellas to shield themselves from the sun -- a habit common for Chinese women, unusual for men. About a dozen paunchy middle-aged men wear red polo shirts and have little black wires dangling from their ears. A group of younger men wears pink T-shirts. Another group wears purple. In the last few days, before the government blocked Twitter, Hotmail and a dozen other websites, the word was spreading that people should come to the square in white, the traditional Chinese color of mourning. 2 p.m. As the temperature rises, so do the umbrellas. The plainclothes policemen wield their matching umbrellas like shields. There must be seven or eight security personnel for every visitor at the square. A construction supervisor says he was told by the police that 200,000 would be deployed for the day around Tiananmen. "They're really afraid that the students might do something again," says the man, who of course does not give his name. In fact, he is chattier about the unspeakable than most people at Tiananmen Square. A middle-aged woman selling umbrellas lowers her voice to a whisper when asked about the large number of police. Yvonne Chow, a middle-age social worker, said that she had come to the vigil every year for two decades and was heartened to see the turnout on Thursday night. Advertisement Continue reading the main story “I am very happy that people have not forgotten the massacre in Tiananmen on June 4,” she said. “I am very sad because it destroyed our hopes for democracy.” Brian Cha, a 35-year-old interior designer, said that while the 20th anniversary was an important one, he also came because he was angered by recent comments by Donald Tsang, Hong Kong’s chief executive, who suggested that critics of the crackdown should also take into account China’s many successes since 1989. Carrie Ho, a 35-year-old marketer, said that she came to the annual vigil for only the second time partly because of the Hong Kong government’s decision to bar some activists from entering the territory in recent weeks. Advertisement Continue reading the main story In 2004, organizers estimated the crowd at 82,000, though the police then gave a lower estimate of 48,000.
Massachusetts, Connecticut, Maine, Vermont and Iowa already allow same-sex marriage. Last month, the New Hampshire House rejected a similar bill. John Lynch promptly signed the legislation, making the state the sixth to let gay couples wed. The committee last week recommended changes further emphasizing the rights of religious groups not to participate. Many states have passed laws banning it. Senate Republicans said the amendment did little to change a bill they oppose. PROTECTING RELIGIOUS BELIEFS New Hampshire's bill says religious organizations, associations or societies will have "exclusive control" over their religious "doctrines, teachings and beliefs". The law also recognizes out-of-state gay marriages and civil unions, which are legal in just a handful of U.S. states including New Hampshire. Momentum Gay marriage is a controversial issue in the US. Then Mr. Lynch, a centrist Democrat, said he would veto the bill unless the legislature added language also exempting religious groups and their employees from having to participate in such ceremonies. As originally cast, the legislation exempted members of the clergy from having to perform same-sex weddings. (Editing by Jason Szep and Mohammad Zargham) Republican state Senator Sheila Roberge said Democrats should support Republican calls for a referendum so voters can decide the issue. Under legislative rules, the committee’s decision needed to be unanimous. In stark contrast, gay-marriage laws are expanding swiftly on the East Coast, especially in New England where Massachusetts became the first state to allow gay people to marry five years ago. Mr. Lynch, who previously supported civil unions but not marriage for same-sex couples, said in a statement that he had heard “compelling arguments that a separate system is not an equal system.” “Today,” he said, “we are standing up for the liberties of same-sex couples by making clear that they will receive the same rights, responsibilities and respect under New Hampshire law.” The law will take effect on Jan. 1.
BOSTON The New Hampshire legislature approved revisions to a same-sex marriage bill on Wednesday, and Gov. John Lynch promptly signed the legislation, making the state the sixth to let gay couples wed. The bill had been through several permutations to satisfy Mr. Lynch and certain legislators that it would not force religious organizations that oppose same-sex marriage to participate in ceremonies celebrating it. Some groups had feared they could be sued for refusing to allow same-sex weddings on their property. Mr. Lynch, who previously supported civil unions but not marriage for same-sex couples, said in a statement that he had heard “compelling arguments that a separate system is not an equal system.” “Today,” he said, “we are standing up for the liberties of same-sex couples by making clear that they will receive the same rights, responsibilities and respect under New Hampshire law.” The law will take effect on Jan. 1. As originally cast, the legislation exempted members of the clergy from having to perform same-sex weddings. Then Mr. Lynch, a centrist Democrat, said he would veto the bill unless the legislature added language also exempting religious groups and their employees from having to participate in such ceremonies. Mr. Lynch also ordered that the bill protect members of religious groups from having to provide same-sex couples with religious counseling, housing designated for married people and other services relating to “the promotion of marriage.” But the House rejected that language last month by a two-vote margin, and legislative leaders appointed a committee to negotiate a compromise. They include a preamble to the bill that states, “Each religious organization, association, or society has exclusive control over its own religious doctrine, policy, teachings and beliefs regarding who may marry within their faith.” Republicans have called the committee’s work tainted because the Senate president, Sylvia B. Larsen, a Democrat, replaced one of its Republican members when that legislator would not sign off on last week’s compromise. As more states have legalized same-sex marriage, opponents have increasingly lobbied for “conscience protections,” language that exempts religious organizations from having to participate. But many of the bill’s opponents believe the language adopted by New Hampshire and several other states does not go far enough because it protects only religious groups and their employees. But groups that advocate for gay rights, some of whom poured money into the state in recent months, said the law was yet another step toward mainstream America accepting same-sex marriage. “As people get to know the loving and committed couples at the heart of marriage equality,” said Neil G. Giuliano, president of the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, “our culture is moving to equality.” Kevin Smith, director of the Cornerstone Policy Research, a group opposing the bill, said lawmakers “rammed this legislation through” in a way that “reeks of backroom deals and a subversion of the legislative process.” MANCHESTER, New Hampshire New Hampshire on Wednesday became the sixth U.S. state to authorize gay marriage, deepening a New England niche for same-sex weddings and the spending that comes with them. New Hampshire's Democratic-controlled House of Representatives endorsed gay marriage in a 198-176 vote, hours after the state Senate approved the legislation 14-10 along party lines, making the state the fourth this year to back gay marriage in the United States. "Today, we are standing up for the liberties of same-sex couples by making clear that they will receive the same rights, responsibilities, and respect, under New Hampshire law," Lynch said in a statement. The law also recognizes out-of-state gay marriages and civil unions, which are legal in just a handful of U.S. states including New Hampshire. But Senate and House members met last week to approve new language giving clergy and religious institutions opposed to gay marriage greater protections, including the legal right to decline to marry same-sex couples. Opponents, mostly religious conservatives, see gay marriage as a threat to the "traditional family" that is ordained by God and the foundation of civilization. PROTECTING RELIGIOUS BELIEFS New Hampshire's bill says religious organizations, associations or societies will have "exclusive control" over their religious "doctrines, teachings and beliefs". Organizations affiliated with religious groups that operate for charitable or educational purposes can deny marriage services to gay individuals, it adds. "The (changes) strike the appropriate balance between two important values we believe New Hampshire residents support: equal rights for all and the rights to religious freedom," said state Senator Deborah Reynolds, a Democrat. Last week, California's supreme court backed a ban on gay marriage by upholding a voter-approved proposition defining marriage as between a man and a woman. In stark contrast, gay-marriage laws are expanding swiftly on the East Coast, especially in New England where Massachusetts became the first state to allow gay people to marry five years ago. Gay and lesbian weddings have boosted the Massachusetts economy by about $111 million, according to a study by the Williams Institute of the University of California. With the vote in New Hampshire, five out of six New England states now have passed legislation authorizing gay marriage, making Rhode Island with its large Roman Catholic population the region's only hold-out. A number of other US states are considering laws to allow gay marriage The governor of New Hampshire has signed legislation making the US state the sixth to allow same-sex marriage.
Another protester, aged 15, was wounded by the Israeli forces, the medics said. The barrier has generated frequent protests by Palestinians Israeli troops have shot dead a Palestinian man during a protest over the barrier Israel is building through the West Bank, Palestinian sources say. Nilin is the scene of weekly protests against the continuing construction of an Israeli barrier that has cut through the village. The Israeli army said troops opened fire when protesters threw stones at them, but declined to say whether live ammunition was used. Israel says the projected 723km of steel and concrete walls, fences and barbed wire is needed for security. The Palestinians view it as a land grab that undermines their right to a state. The International Court of Justice issued a non-binding resolution in 2004 calling for parts of the barrier inside the West Bank to be torn down and for further construction in the occupied territory to cease. Ruling ignored About 200 people, including Israeli and foreign activists as well as Palestinians, took part in the demonstration. Medics said Aqel Srour, 35, was hit in the chest by a live bullet and another protester was wounded when soldiers fired at protesters in Nilin, a village near the city of Ramallah. Activists protesting against Israel's construction of the West Bank barrier have clashed with soldiers nearly every Friday outside Nilin and nearby Bilin for more than two years. The Israeli army is also replacing the main access road to the village with a tunnel, to be controlled by the military. Srour died minutes later, Mohammed Shahwan, a doctor on the ambulance called to the scene, told Reuters.
Activists protesting against the separation barrier have clashed with soldiers in Nilin since 2007 [AFP] Witnesses said Israeli troops fired tear gas, rubber bullets and possibly live rounds at rock-throwing demonstrators in the village. Another protester, aged 15, was wounded by the Israeli forces, the medics said. Ruling ignored About 200 people, including Israeli and foreign activists as well as Palestinians, took part in the demonstration. Activists protesting against Israel's construction of the West Bank barrier have clashed with soldiers nearly every Friday outside Nilin and nearby Bilin for more than two years. Israel says the projected 723km of steel and concrete walls, fences and barbed wire is needed for security. To date Israel has built 57 per cent of the projected barrier, most of it inside the occupied West Bank. RAMALLAH, West Bank, June 5 Israeli troops shot dead a Palestinian man on Friday in a confrontation with stone-throwing protesters in the occupied West Bank, Palestinian hospital officials said. Medics said Aqel Srour, 35, was hit in the chest by a live bullet and another protester was wounded when soldiers fired at protesters in Nilin, a village near the city of Ramallah. An Israeli military spokesman said troops had opened fire when protesters threw stones at them in the village, but would not confirm whether the troops had used live ammunition.
Topics: swine-influenza, health, diseases-and-disorders, australia, vic First posted Victoria has the most confirmed cases at 752. In addition, the source said the country's eighth case of the A/H1N1 flu is a 20-year-old woman, whose flu symptoms had started from May 30 while she was in the United States. "What is unusual today is not that there has been a death from influenza. The Victoria state alone had a total of 752, according to the state's health department, with the next closest state being New South Wales with 74 as of Thursday afternoon. It tells Singapore residents returning from Victoria to monitor their health for any signs of the virus. All of the four infected patients in the country have recently returned from the United States. "The fact is we have been testing in a more vigorous way and so it would appear the number of cases are higher." Health authorities say all the centre's children and staff have also been quarantined since yesterday. The woman arrived in Thailand on Monday and was admitted to hospital on Tuesday. The cases were reported at a time when the flu appeared to be running out of steam in Japan. The newspaper said the U.S. total for confirmed swine flu cases sat at 11,054 as of Wednesday. Several other schools around the country have been closed to fight the spread of the virus. The Health Ministry said the contact tracing is ongoing for the latest case. The ACT has four cases, Western Australia two and the NT has three. The patient is an 18-year-old Singaporean man. In Tokyo, a 25-year-old male student who returned from the United States on Tuesday tested positive for the flu.
Swine flu tally nears 900 Updated Health Minister Nicola Roxon has confirmed there are now 878 confirmed cases of swine flu in Australia, as Singapore advises its residents not to travel to the worst-hit state, Victoria. Ms Roxon says swine flu will continue to be a problem through this winter and the next despite what she calls marathon efforts to deal with it. "And I would have thought we're not at the halfway point, given that we still don't have an extensive spread in Australia," she said. "We are only part way, but closer, to having a vaccine and we are still prepared to put all our efforts into containing the disease as much as possible." Ms Roxon says doctors and hospitals around the country will begin randomly sampling flu patients to monitor the spread of human swine flu. "It gives us the tools to monitor how much of the flu in the coming weeks is seasonal flu, how much is actually this H1N1 strain, and we will simply have to keep monitoring that over the coming months," she said. "This is a time to be cautious, where the combination of the flus might turn it into something much less virulent or something more virulent." Several states have told children who have been to Victoria to stay at home for a week. A childcare centre at Narrandera in southern New South Wales has today closed its doors after a child tested positive to swine flu. Health authorities say all the centre's children and staff have also been quarantined since yesterday. Several other schools around the country have been closed to fight the spread of the virus. Singapore's health warning advises residents to defer non-essential travel to Victoria. The warning, posted on the Government's website, lists Melbourne and the state of Victoria as being affected by the H1N1 flu. It tells Singapore residents returning from Victoria to monitor their health for any signs of the virus. "The fact is we have been testing in a more vigorous way and so it would appear the number of cases are higher." MILWAUKEE, June 5 (UPI) -- State and local health officials in Wisconsin say the state has confirmed its first death as a result of swine flu. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel said Friday that while specific details regarding the H1N1 influenza fatality were not released, officials confirmed the victim was a Milwaukee resident who also had a medical condition that intensified their illness. "We express our condolences for the affected family here," Wisconsin health officer Seth Foldy said of the recent fatality. "What is unusual today is not that there has been a death from influenza. Over 37,000 people die in the United States each year of seasonal influenza, and the rates of death and illness from this novel H1N1 strain does not appear to be radically different," said Foldy. "What is unusual this year is that influenza continues to be widely circulating in Wisconsin and many, many other states this late in the year." Wisconsin currently tops all U.S. states with 2,071 confirmed cases of swine flu. The newspaper said the U.S. total for confirmed swine flu cases sat at 11,054 as of Wednesday. Hong Kong, June 4 (Xinhua) -- The flu A/H1N1 infection cases keep rising in the Asia-Pacific region as the flu-stricken countries and regions, including Japan, Australia, the Philippines and Thailand, all reported fresh confirmed cases on Thursday. With five more cases confirmed in Shizuoka, Tokyo and Chiba, Japan's tally of confirmed cases of the new strain of flu virus infection reached 410 in Japan on Thursday, the health authorities said. In Shizuoka, local authorities confirmed that two men, in their 20s, have been infected with the new flu virus. With the resumption of classes at Kobe Gakuin University High School Wednesday, all schools, which were closed amid the flu fears, reopened in western Japan's Kobe. Thailand's Public Health Ministry confirmed on Thursday the country's first human-to-human case of A/H1N1 flu infection. His mother, 49, developed the flu symptoms as she and her husband returned from the U.S. on May 25. His parents have already recovered from the disease, the health authority said, without revealing any details about the latest patient's condition. In addition, the source said the country's eighth case of the A/H1N1 flu is a 20-year-old woman, whose flu symptoms had started from May 30 while she was in the United States. The Philippine health authorities said seven more patients were tested positive for influenza A/H1N1 on Thursday, bringing the total number of the country's confirmed cases to 29. "With further characterization of the virus in our local cases, if we see that A/H1N1 poses no severe threat and is self-limited in most cases, we may be seeing a shift in our control strategy to outpatient and home management of patients showing only mild symptoms," he said. The neighboring New Zealand also reported another flu infection case, which took the country's total confirmed number to 11.
I ran out. Ali Khan, a hotel waiter, said he had been working when the attack happened. It was the seventh bombing in Peshawar in a month. "I saw the red light from there blowing and then I heard a huge sound." Advertisement Continue reading the main story “I thought the roof was falling on me,” he said. A devastating suicide bomb attack on the Islamabad Marriott hotel last September killed at least 53 people and injured more than 266. Name: Email address: Town and Country: Phone number (optional): Comments: The BBC may edit your comments and cannot guarantee that all emails will be published. Are you in the area? 'Shouting and running' Eyewitnesses told the BBC News website the blast could be seen up to 5km (3 miles) away. When I visited recently, there was a whole series of security checks. Often used by foreigners but also by Pakistani officials and businessmen, it is known for good Western as well as local food and 5-star service. A series of bombs have hit cities, including Peshawar, since a government crackdown on Taliban militants. Two foreign citizens - both UN workers - were killed and several were injured. First of vehicles, as they drove in, past heavy concrete barriers. Please turn on JavaScript. Gunmen stormed the outer security barrier at the Pearl Continental Hotel before blowing up a vehicle containing, police say, 500kg of explosives. Sign Up Receive occasional updates and special offers for The New York Times's products and services. This is a fight for Pakistan.” It exploded close enough to the building to reduce a large portion of it to rubble.
ISLAMABAD: As the UN mourned the death of two of its staffers, including the Unicef's Pakistan head, in the Peshawar hotel blast, the military tightened the net around the Taliban with fresh attacks that killed 70 militants.Investigators searched the hotel for evidence on Wednesday, as the toll from the bombing mounted to 18. Dozens of foreign aid workers were at the hotel when the bombers struck. It was the seventh bombing in Peshawar in a month. CCTV footage broadcast on television channels showed a car driving through a security post, followed by an explosive-led truck. Three attackers shot their way into the hotel and detonated about 500kg of explosives.The scene at the hotel mirrored a bombing last year at Islamabad's Marriott Hotel that killed over 50. Sadruddin Hashwani, who owns both hotels, vowed to rebuild the hotel and said the government was to blamed for the attack, for it did not provide enough security to the hotel. The UN identified its slain staffers as Serbian national Aleksandar Vorkapic and and Perseveranda So of Philippines. Advertisement A suicide bomb attack on a luxury hotel in the north-west Pakistani city of Peshawar, has killed 15 people and injured at least 60. Gunmen stormed the outer security barrier at the Pearl Continental Hotel before blowing up a vehicle containing, police say, 500kg of explosives. Two foreign citizens - both UN workers - were killed and several were injured. A series of bombs have hit cities, including Peshawar, since a government crackdown on Taliban militants. But suicide bombers and gunmen are hard to stop. Many of those who can afford to move have taken their families to Islamabad or beyond - abandoning a city now becoming consumed by fear and violence. Pakistani Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani swiftly condemned the attack but the blast hardly comes as a surprise, says the BBC's Chris Morris, in Islamabad. While there was no immediate claim of responsibility for Tuesday night's attack on what is the most prominent hotel in Peshawar, our correspondent says most people will assume it to be the work of the Taliban. A symbol of Peshawar's contact with the rest of the world, a place where government officials and foreign dignitaries are accustomed to staying, has been attacked, he adds. The attack killed a Serbian UN refugee agency worker and a Unicef worker from the Philippines. At least a dozen UN employees were staying at the hotel at the time of the explosion. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon spoke of "a heinous terrorist attack which no cause can justify". 'Shouting and running' Eyewitnesses told the BBC News website the blast could be seen up to 5km (3 miles) away. The blast left a large crater and parts of the hotel were destroyed. I saw the red light from there blowing and then I heard a huge sound Musa Khan BBC News website reader in Peshawar Peshawar blast: Your stories In pictures: Peshawar blast Three men riding in a truck approached the main gate of the hotel and opened fire at security guards before driving inside, police official Liaqat Ali told AP, quoting witness accounts. "They drove the vehicle inside the hotel gates and blew it up on reaching close to the hotel building," he added. Ali Khan, a hotel waiter, said he had been working when the attack happened. Musa Khan, a BBC News website reader in Peshawar, said he was far away when the blast happened but could tell it was "huge". Another Peshawar reader, Imran, said window panes 5km away had been shattered while a third, Samee Uddin, reported gunshots and then a "huge cloud of smoke [which] could be seen from more than 3km away". Taliban leaders have promised to launch revenge attacks on major Pakistani cities and claimed a bombing in Lahore last month which left at least 28 people dead. A devastating suicide bomb attack on the Islamabad Marriott hotel last September killed at least 53 people and injured more than 266.
. "Truthfully, it scares me, because I never imagined someone like that living right next to me," said another neighbor, Joshua Shyman, 16, who said he is Jewish. Holocaust Memorial Museum. The guard called for help, and the gun was taken from von Brunn. The security guard who was killed was named as Stephen Tyrone Johns Israel's embassy in Washington also condemned the attack. The shooting was reminiscent of one in 1998 in which a man stormed into the U.S. Capitol and killed two police officers. Then Cohen heard shots. Name: Email address: Town and Country: Phone number (optional): Comments: The BBC may edit your comments and cannot guarantee that all emails will be published. American media reports say the man is a white supremacist who has served time in prison for violent offences. Are you in the area? Thirty million people have visited the museum, located on the National Mall, since it opened in 1993. On Wednesday evening, President Obama issued a statement saying, in part, “This outrageous act reminds us that we must remain vigilant against anti-Semitism and prejudice in all its forms.” Advertisement Continue reading the main story Mr. von Brunn has also claimed to have been victimized by a court system run by Jews and blacks. Before Wednesday, he was best known to law enforcement officials for having walked into the Washington headquarters of the Federal Reserve System on Dec. 7, 1981, with a bag slung over the shoulder of his trench coat. On a rambling, racist and bitterly anti-Semitic Web site, a man who identifies himself as James W. von Brunn says he is a former World War II PT boat captain who was decorated for his conduct in battle and was an advertising executive and film producer in New York.
At 12:40 p.m. yesterday a man stepped through the doors of the U.S. He took two paces, lowered his rifle at a security guard and, before anyone could react, opened fire in a popular national landmark. The guard, who did not have time to draw his gun, fell bleeding and fatally wounded to the polished floor. Other guards fired back, cutting down the assailant. As described by bystanders and authorities, the attack inside the famed Holocaust museum turned the crowded building and Washington's nearby tourist-thronged Mall into a scene of fear and chaos, with black-clad SWAT teams, hovering helicopters and racing emergency vehicles. Stunned witnesses described a fusillade of gunfire -- five shots or more -- the blood-streaked floor and the screams of frightened visitors inside the museum and on the street. "It's like a scene from a movie," said Edward Bhopa, 54. "A horror movie," added his son Andy, 28. The suspect, identified by law enforcement sources as James W. von Brunn, 88, of Annapolis, was said to be a longtime, "hard-core" supremacist whose Internet writings contain extensive, poisonous ravings against Jews and African Americans. The slain guard, Stephen T. Johns, 39, of Temple Hills, worked for the Wackenhut security company and had been employed at the museum for six years, the museum said. Officials at George Washington University Hospital, where von Brunn, Johns and an unidentified victim with less serious injuries were taken, said Johns suffered a gunshot wound to the chest and died there. Von Brunn was shot in the face, and the bullet exited his neck, according to a high-ranking police source. Police recovered a notebook in the suspect's possession that apparently contained a list of District locations, including Washington National Cathedral. Police bomb squads were sent to at least 10 sites. "There are no words to express our grief and shock over today's events," the museum said in a statement. "Our thoughts and prayers go out to Officer Johns's family." The museum plans to close today and fly its flags at half-staff in his memory. The museum, which has about 400 employees and 300 volunteers, gets about 2 million visitors a year. Several people caught glimpses of the attack. "We heard a really loud bang, and we saw a guy with a silver length of a gun walking through" the door, said Shannon Clark, a tourist from Iowa who was walking on the mezzanine at the time of the shooting. Former defense secretary William Cohen was standing in the exit area when he saw a car that had stopped just outside the driveway. "I noticed an older man, but I didn't pay that much attention," he said. "I've been around a lot of gunfire over the years, and it was real clear that's what it was," he said. "I saw a security guard pull out his gun," she said. Visitor Liliane Willens was heading into a basement auditorium to listen to a Holocaust survivor talk about her wartime experiences when she heard a noise that sounded like a roof falling in. After about an hour and a half, the audience was directed to a cafeteria, and police let the group out one by one after taking contact information, Willens said. The shooting was reminiscent of one in 1998 in which a man stormed into the U.S. Capitol and killed two police officers. He also appears to be the author of a recent Internet posting suggesting that President Obama's background is being hidden from the public. His online book, "Kill the Best Gentiles," contains hundreds of pages of conspiracy theories that include Holocaust denial, the ancient hoax of the "Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion" and wild webs of fantasy about Jewish plotting against white people. "This is a longtime white supremacist and anti-Semite approaching the end of his life who may have decided to go out shooting," said Mark Potok, director of the Southern Poverty Law Center, a nonprofit group in Alabama that tracks right-wing extremists. On a rambling, racist and bitterly anti-Semitic Web site, a man who identifies himself as James W. von Brunn says he is a former World War II PT boat captain who was decorated for his conduct in battle and was an advertising executive and film producer in New York. He says he is a member of Mensa, "the high-IQ society," and acknowledges being convicted in D.C. Superior Court for a 1981 attempted attack on a government building. He was "convicted by a Negro jury, Jew/Negro attorneys, and sentenced to prison for eleven years by a Jew judge. Von Brunn refers on his Web site to "Marxist/Liberal/Jews bankers" and provides this information in a long, aggrieved biographical entry: "Over my years of adversity, it became clear to me that a JEW strategy had emerged: 'Kill the Best Gentiles!' In 1968, Von Brunn was sentenced to six months in jail for punching a Dorchester County, Md., sheriff during a fight at the county jail. He told police, according to charging files, that his actions were "politically motivated" and that he intended to take Paul A. Volcker, then chairman of the Federal Reserve Board, and other members hostage so that he could be allowed to voice his opinions through the news media.
This was a selection, not an election. These are not problems," Ahmadinejad said. It's just nonsense ... All About Mahmoud Ahmadinejad • Iran • Mir Hossein Moussavi • Ayatollah Ali Khamenei "At this point one has to wonder about vote fraud. "In a soccer match, people may become excited and there may be confrontation between the people and the police force. Protests continue Sunday for a second day in Tehran over the results of the presidential election. That will complicate (U.S. President Barack) Obama's engagement. CNN witnessed some confrontations in the streets. Another opposition candidate said he has asked Iran's Guardian Council -- a body of top clerics and judges that supervises elections -- to investigate. Watch as Amanpour questions Ahmadinejad » There were conflicting reports on whether Moussavi had been placed under house arrest. Moussavi received 33.75 percent. Already under normal circumstances, you wouldn't have the new president take power until August. Moussavi, a former prime minister regarded as a reformist, is credited with successfully navigating the Iranian economy during a bloody eight-year war with Iraq in the 1980s. The one hope might be that if a new Ahmadinejad government is viewed as illegitimate by many Iranians, that government might be anxious to avoid further economic distress. Watch angry protesters take to streets » With handkerchiefs and surgical masks shielding them from tear gas, Moussavi's supporters clashed openly with police in a rare challenge to the regime. It will cause the Obama administration to lose very precious time. Here are some analysts' views on the outcome of Friday's vote: KARIM SADJAPOUR, ANALYST AT CARNEGIE ENDOWMENT FOR INTERNATIONAL PEACE: "I don't think anyone anticipated this level of fraudulence.
TEHRAN, Iran (CNN) -- Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad declined Sunday to guarantee the safety of his defeated rival Mir Hossein Moussavi in response to a question from CNN Chief International Correspondent Christiane Amanpour. President Ahmadinejad said he could not guarantee the safety of his rival, Mir Hossein Moussavi, pictured. more photos » "There is rule of law in this country and all the people are equal before the law," Ahmadinejad said when Amanpour asked if he would guarantee Moussavi's safety. She also asked why opposition leaders had been arrested. "In a soccer match, people may become excited and there may be confrontation between the people and the police force. People who violate traffic regulations will be fined by the police no matter who he is. When Amanpour asked a second time if Ahmadinejad would guarantee Moussavi's safety, he said he had already answered the question. Watch as Amanpour questions Ahmadinejad » There were conflicting reports on whether Moussavi had been placed under house arrest. Others said he was at home, conducting meetings but was free to come and go. Guards were stationed outside his house, but it was not immediately clear whether they worked for him or the government. Analysts had expected Moussavi, a former prime minister who is regarded as a reformist, to defeat Ahmadinejad. Watch as Ahmadinejad is declared the winner » Moussavi is credited for successfully navigating the Iranian economy during a bloody eight-year war with Iraq in the 1980s. When the ballots were counted, the government declared Ahmadinejad the winner -- with 62.63 percent of the vote. Moussavi disputed the results, blaming "untrustworthy monitors." "The results announced for the 10th presidential elections are astonishing," he said in a statement. "People who stood in long lines and knew well who they voted for were utterly surprised by the magicians working at the television and radio broadcasting." See protests around the world and in Iran » Angered by the returns, Moussavi's supporters took to the streets Saturday. With handkerchiefs and surgical masks shielding them from the pungency of tear gas, they clashed openly with police in a rare challenge to the regime. Watch angry protesters take to streets » CNN's Christiane Amanpour, Samson Desta, Shirzad Bozorgmehr in Tehran and Saeed Ahmed in Atlanta contributed to this report. TEHRAN, Iran (CNN) -- Iran's supreme leader gave his blessing to the outcome of the country's presidential election Sunday despite widespread allegations of fraud, calling the results "a divine miracle," the official Islamic Republic News Agency reported. more photos » Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said the record voter turnout in Friday's election showed Iranians value "resistance against oppressors," the agency reported. "Pointing to enemies' massive propaganda campaign to discourage people from taking part in the elections, Ayatollah Khamenei also said there was really a divine miracle behind this elections, given its results that was 10 million higher than any of the previous ones in the 30-year history of elections in Iran," IRNA reported. Official results showed President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was re-elected with more than 62 percent of the vote. But the hardline incumbent's leading opponent, former Prime Minister Mir Hossein Moussavi, has disputed the results, and his supporters have fought in the streets with police and Ahmadinejad's supporters since the vote. In a letter published on Moussavi's Web site, the candidate said he has asked the election authority -- Iran's Guardian Council -- to nullify Friday's results. There were conflicting reports on whether Moussavi had been placed under house arrest, but in a statement Iranian police said that the candidate was not under arrest. Another opposition candidate said he has asked Iran's Guardian Council -- a body of top clerics and judges that supervises elections -- to investigate. Former parliament speaker Mehdi Karrubi, who finished in third place with a single-digit percentage of the vote in the official results, asked supporters "to find solutions through legal and civic institutions," according to his political movement's newspaper. Hundreds of regular and riot police were on the streets as civil unrest continued for the second straight day. Sunday's clashes began between police and protesters as Ahmadinejad held a victory rally while opposition supporters claimed ballot fraud. Riot police fired tear gas and brandished batons to disperse about 100 stone-throwing protesters on Val Asr Street in central Tehran before thousands of flag-waving Ahmadinejad supporters jammed the area to hear his victory speech. Watch Ahmadinejad call Iran "the most stable country in the world" » Ahmadinejad insisted the nation was united and stood together against unnamed foreign enemies. "There was this cat-and-mouse game between the rioters and the police," said Samson Desta, a CNN producer who was hit by a police baton. On Saturday, thousands of demonstrators, shouting "Death to the dictatorship," and "We want freedom," burned police motorcycles, tossed rocks through store windows and set trash cans on fire. Watch angry protesters take to streets » With handkerchiefs and surgical masks shielding them from tear gas, Moussavi's supporters clashed openly with police in a rare challenge to the regime.
There had been 71 such diagnoses, the government said. That is cases with no identifiable link with other confirmed cases." "It does not point to the virus getting nastier. Ms Fleming had health problems before contracting the flu virus The family of the first person in Europe to die after being diagnosed with swine flu has suffered a double tragedy with the death of her baby. Two more people have been admitted to hospital, bringing the total number to 11. Pandemic The UK has enough anti-viral drugs for 50% of the population and planned to raise that figure to 80%, Mr Burnham added. Bookmark with: Delicious Digg reddit Facebook StumbleUpon What are these? E-mail this to a friend Printable version She added: "She was a really nice lady, really kind, a quiet woman, just a family person really." Patients with swine flu who were admitted to intensive care were likely to be given oxygen and help to breath. However, GPs in the NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde area are now, in certain circumstances, diagnosing patients on the basis of clinical symptoms alone - without laboratory confirmation. He was two weeks old when he died. "I don't think anyone can read anything into it other than it's what one might expect." Prof Pennington said the majority of swine flu deaths recorded in the US involved patients already suffering from significant health problems. Health Secretary Andy Burnham told the Commons that the government did not believe that it could prevent a widespread outbreak "indefinitely". HPA figures showed there were 58 new cases in the West Midlands.
Ms Fleming had health problems before contracting the flu virus The family of the first person in Europe to die after being diagnosed with swine flu has suffered a double tragedy with the death of her baby. Her son Jack, who was born 11 weeks early, died on Monday in a special care baby unit at the same hospital. The baby was not infected with the Influenza A (H1N1) virus. He was two weeks old when he died. Ms Fleming had been suffering from underlying health problems since the birth of her son. He said: "My beautiful son was born on the first of June 2009, 11 weeks early. "He suffered from a number of complications and despite his brave fight he passed away earlier this evening at the Special Care Baby Unit at the Royal Alexandra Hospital in Paisley." She was a really nice lady, really kind, a quiet woman, just a family person really Family friend Ms Fleming lived with her two other children - one aged 18 and one of primary school age - and her long-term partner in the family home in Thornliebank, just south of Glasgow. William Docherty, who knew Ms Fleming, told BBC Scotland he believed she had been admitted to hospital following a stroke. A female friend of the family said: "I think they are taking it really badly. She added: "She was a really nice lady, really kind, a quiet woman, just a family person really." Scotland Health Secretary Nicola Sturgeon said: "The death of baby Jack, especially coming so soon after the death of his mother, is a tragedy and I extend my deepest condolences to their family and friends for this unimaginably painful loss." The Scottish Government said Scotland had no new laboratory confirmed cases of swine flu. However, GPs in the NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde area are now, in certain circumstances, diagnosing patients on the basis of clinical symptoms alone - without laboratory confirmation. Scotland therefore currently has 498 confirmed cases, plus 71 which have been clinically diagnosed. Earlier, Ms Sturgeon said that while Ms Fleming's death was tragic the public should take some reassurance from the fact that most cases of the virus were "relatively mild". She said: "It is important to stress that in any flu outbreak, unfortunately, we will see a small number of deaths and that doesn't change the fact that for the vast majority of people contracting this virus the symptoms are relatively mild." Professor Hugh Pennington, a bacteriologist at Aberdeen University, said underlying health problems were likely to have been a "significant factor" in the death of a woman at the Royal Alexandra Hospital in Paisley "It's very sad but with the number of cases we have seen it is really something which was always going to happen sooner or later. "This is a flu virus, it is in no way different from an ordinary winter flu virus, so if there are enough cases some people will have to be admitted to hospital and some will die. He said the presence of underlying health problems was likely to be a "significant factor", adding: "It makes it more likely that they will get the serious form of the virus in the first place. "If your lungs are already only working at half capacity when the virus kicks in and takes half of what is left, you will be left teetering on the edge. Prof Pennington said it was very difficult to measure death rates from flu, but one death out of more than a thousand cases was "quite unremarkable" and compared favourably to ordinary seasonal flu. He said anti virals could help make flu easier to manage but they were 'not a magic bullet' and worked best if administered very early on in the infection. Patients already experiencing health problems would be more difficult to diagnose with the H1N1 virus and were therefore more likely to experience a delay before receiving treatment. "Anti virals damp down the virus but they are not curative, and once symptoms have developed they don't work nearly as well," he said. Prof Pennington said the majority of swine flu deaths recorded in the US involved patients already suffering from significant health problems. On Friday Health Secretary Andy Burnham encouraged people not to panic after the World Health Organisation announced the world is now in the grip of a flu pandemic, the first in more than 40 years. Mr Burnham said most of those catching the virus were making a full and fast recovery - though a small minority of cases have been more serious. At present, the UK has enough of the anti-viral Tamiflu to cover half of the population but orders are in place for 50 million doses - enough to cover 80 per cent. As far back as April 30 the Government's Chief Medical Officer Professor Sir Liam Donaldson warned there were likely to be deaths from the swine flu, just as there are with seasonal flu. Swine flu has been making pigs ill since it was first identified in the US in 1930 but the virus has undergone a genetic change enabling it to passed easily between humans. Anti-viral drugs are being issued to those affected by swine flu The number of confirmed swine flu cases in the UK has reached 1,004, health authorities have confirmed.
Europe too is a target. In early June, Edwin Dyer, a British man, was killed by suspected al-Qaeda fighters who had been holding him hostage in neighbouring Mali. Al-Qaida in the Maghreb operates largely in eastern Algeria, where Wednesday's murderous ambush took place. Six cells linked to the Algerian network have been rolled up in France in recent years, successors of cells set up there in the 1990s. In recent weeks there has been a rise in violence across the country. He played a key role in forging the alliance with the global al-Qaida network and has been behind the kidnapping of several groups of Westerners in his Sahara domain since 2003. Algeria’s government has been fighting Islamist militants, allied with Al Qaeda, who have regularly attacked government forces. The group has a hard core of an estimated 500 to 800 fighters, a fraction of the tens of thousands active during the war between Islamists and the military-backed regime in Algiers, in which an estimated 200,000 people perished. The dominant al-Qaida figure in the region is Mokhtar Belmokhtar, a veteran jihadist who has eluded capture for almost two decades. The attack was the deadliest by insurgents in nearly a year. It envisions this as the western end of an Islamic caliphate stretching across the Middle East and North Africa to replicate Islam's glory days in 8th and 9th centuries. It swore allegiance to Osama bin Laden's global network in September 2006. Gunmen ambushed and killed 18 Algerian paramilitary police officers and a civilian, the government said Thursday. These reportedly brought him millions of dollars in ransom payments as well as the release of key Algerian jihadists held by the regional powers.
The ambush was not immediately confirmed by the Algerian authorities but a vast security operation has been launched in the region. Rise in violence The government of Algeria, a major oil and gas producer, has struggled for nearly two decades to combat fighters who now operate under al-Qaeda's banner. In late May fighters killed five paramilitary gendarmes and a week later shot dead nine soldiers. In early June, Edwin Dyer, a British man, was killed by suspected al-Qaeda fighters who had been holding him hostage in neighbouring Mali. Violence began in Algeria in 1992 when a military-backed government scrapped elections that a radical Islamic party was poised to win. About 150,000 people have died in the ensuing violence. ALGIERS, Algeria, June 18 (UPI) -- The killing of some 20 Algerian paramilitary policemen in a desert ambush Wednesday by Islamist extremists linked to al-Qaida was a show of force by the jihadists who appear determined to expand their operations across the region and open a new terror front. It was formerly known as the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat, one of the most vicious Islamist groups to emerge from Algeria's civil war throughout the 1990s. It swore allegiance to Osama bin Laden's global network in September 2006. The group has a hard core of an estimated 500 to 800 fighters, a fraction of the tens of thousands active during the war between Islamists and the military-backed regime in Algiers, in which an estimated 200,000 people perished. But its alliance with Osama bin Laden has meant it has acquired seasoned fighters from other al-Qaida affiliates, many of them veterans of the insurgencies in Iraq, Afghanistan and more recently Pakistan. Wednesday's attack serves as an illustration of the Algerian group's growing expertise in guerrilla warfare that are straight out of the jihadist manual developed in Iraq, with considerable influence from Hezbollah's 27-year-old war in Lebanon against Israel. Arab and Western intelligence sources are convinced that al-Qaida in the Maghreb is seeking an operational alliance with other jihadist groups in Morocco, Tunisia and Libya. It envisions this as the western end of an Islamic caliphate stretching across the Middle East and North Africa to replicate Islam's glory days in 8th and 9th centuries. Six cells linked to the Algerian network have been rolled up in France in recent years, successors of cells set up there in the 1990s. In another ominous milestone, the group declared in early June that it had executed a British hostage, Edwin Dyer, 60, who was kidnapped Jan. 22 with three other Europeans after attending the Anderamboukane festival of nomadic culture in Mali. The jihadists had demanded the British release Abu Qatada, a Jordanian cleric described as bin Laden's right-hand man in Europe. The Washington-based Jamestown Foundation, which monitors global terrorism, recently identified him as "a gravitational force in the North African arena and at times a key node in al-Qaida's international network." The ambush occurred Wednesday, when gunmen used roadside bombs and guns to attack a convoy of the paramilitary police on a highway about 110 miles from the capital, Algiers, the newspaper Echorouk reported.
The ship, the Kang Nam, is a North Korean-flagged ship, according to two senior U.S. officials, and is currently in the Pacific. All About North Korea • United Nations "We expect compliance." South Korea's coastguard would not comment on where the vessel might be and what it might be carrying. The US is "in a good position" to protect its territory from a potential North Korean missile strike, US Defence Secretary Robert Gates has said. The U.S. Treasury Department warned banks on Thursday that North Korea may increasingly try to use cash transactions to evade U.N. sanctions aimed at cutting off financing to its nuclear program. The rocket flew about 3,000 km (1,860 miles), well short of the 7,000 km needed to take it to Hawaii. Mullen told reporters at a news conference that neither the United States nor any other navy would board a ship without permission. REUTERS/South Korean Navy/Handout SEOUL North and South Korean envoys failed on Friday to resolve a dispute over Pyongyang's demands for salary and rent increases at a joint factory park in the communist state that is one of its few sources of hard cash. The North also wants lease payments of $500 million over 50 years, an increase of more than 30 fold from the current deal. The Kang Nam is known for having carried "proliferation materials," a senior U.S. official says. On 25 May, North Korea conducted an underground nuclear test and has subsequently test-fired a number of short-range missiles. Officials will meet again on July 2 for more talks. Please turn on JavaScript. The rocket launch would be in defiance of U.N. resolutions but could be part of efforts to consolidate leader Kim Jong-il's power in preparation for succession in Asia's only communist dynasty, South Korean officials say.
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The U.S. military is tracking a North Korean ship believed to be carrying illicit weapons or technology, a senior U.S. official said Thursday. The Kang Nam is known for having carried "proliferation materials," a senior U.S. official says. The ship, the Kang Nam, is a North Korean-flagged ship, according to two senior U.S. officials, and is currently in the Pacific. While the United States does not know what specifically is on the ship, the Kang Nam is a "repeat offender," known for having carried "proliferation materials," one senior defense official said. Without speaking to any details of the Kang Nam report, Adm. Michael Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said Thursday that the United States would not forcibly board a North Korean ship but, in accordance with the recent United Nations resolution, would request permission to search the ship or press any port the ship docks in to inspect it for illegal materials. Mullen told reporters at a news conference that neither the United States nor any other navy would board a ship without permission. "The United Nations Security Council resolution does not include an option for opposed-boarding or noncompliant boarding with respect to that," he said. North Korea has warned that any effort to stop one of its ships would be considered an act of war. "To further isolate itself, to further noncomply with international guidance and regulations in the long run puts them in a more difficult position," Mullen said. The US is "in a good position" to protect its territory from a potential North Korean missile strike, US Defence Secretary Robert Gates has said. His comments came in response to a report that North Korea was considering launching a missile towards Hawaii. "We do have some concerns if they were to launch a missile to the West, in the direction of Hawaii," Mr Gates said. The US has approved the deployment of missiles and radar to "provide support" in the event of an attack, he added. Bank warning North Korea's nuclear ambitions have long been the focus of international concern. After a period in which the country appeared to be willing to suspend its programme, North Korea has recently begun to increase its sabre-rattling, says the BBC's Jonathan Beale in Washington. On 25 May, North Korea conducted an underground nuclear test and has subsequently test-fired a number of short-range missiles. North Korea has stepped up its missile programme in recent weeks Our correspondent says the Pentagon is also tracking the movement of a North Korean ship to ensure that it does not break UN sanctions. The UN Security Council passed tough new sanctions in response to North Korea's nuclear tests, and Russian and China - the country's traditional allies - on Thursday called for North Korea to return to the negotiating table. South Korean navy vessels conduct a drill against possible attacks by North Korea in the East Sea off Donghae, east of Seoul, June 17, 2009. REUTERS/South Korean Navy/Handout SEOUL North and South Korean envoys failed on Friday to resolve a dispute over Pyongyang's demands for salary and rent increases at a joint factory park in the communist state that is one of its few sources of hard cash. The talks came a day after American officials said the U.S. Navy was tracking a North Korean ship under new U.N. sanctions that bar Pyongyang from trading in weapons, including missile parts and nuclear material. Destitute North Korea may be looking to launch a long-range missile toward Hawaii in the coming weeks, news reports also said, which could further stoke tensions after its May 25 nuclear test that put it closer to having a working atomic bomb. The rocket launch would be in defiance of U.N. resolutions but could be part of efforts to consolidate leader Kim Jong-il's power in preparation for succession in Asia's only communist dynasty, South Korean officials say. Previous rounds of talks between North and South Korean officials over the Kaesong Industrial Complex have hit snags over money and Pyongyang's refusal to meet Seoul's demands to release a South Korean worker held at the park for supposedly insulting the North's communist system. North Korea has demanded wages of $300 a month per person for the about 40,000 North Koreans employed in Kaesong, up from around $70 now. North Korea in May said it was cancelling all wage, rent and tax agreements at Kaesong in what analysts said was likely a bid to squeeze more money out of the more than 100 South Korean firms that use the cheap labor and land there. MISSILES AND SHIPS The U.S. monitoring of the North Korean vessel, which left a North Korean port on Wednesday, is the first under the U.N. sanctions adopted last week after Pyongyang conducted a nuclear test and warned it could fire another intercontinental ballistic missile. They are unable to shake this thought off their minds because exporting arms is a very profitable business compared to other goods," said Cho Myung-chul, an expert on the North's economy at the South's Korea Institute for International Economic Policy. North Korea in April fired what it said was a rocket to put a satellite in orbit, but regional powers said the launch was actually a disguised test of the long-range Taepodong-2 missile, designed to fly as far as U.S. territory.
"We do not yet have confirmation of who they are. The mother of one of the guards, who is from South Wales, said: "We are anxious about the situation, yes. Mr Miliband called for the immediate safe release of the remaining hostages. Today's terrible news underlines the gravity of the crimes associated with it." He continued: “Our immediate thoughts are clearly with the families of the five Britons taken hostage in Baghdad in May 2007. The foreign secretary added that he was grateful for the Iraqi government's efforts to secure the release of the hostages. "As would be the case with any development of this kind, they will fear the worst for their loved ones. Forensic tests will determine whether remains are those of British captives in Iraq The remains of two bodies feared to be those of British hostages held in Iraq have been passed to Britain by the Iraqi authorities, the foreign secretary, David Miliband, said today. There had been speculation earlier this year a deal to free the men was close. “Hostage-taking is never justified in any cause. We are certainly not giving up hope that Peter and our four security people are still alive." "I also confirm that we are working intensively towards that goal, but I also have to say the threat to them remains very high indeed." On 6 June a key Shia militant linked to the kidnappers was released by the US military. Forensic examinations are under way to establish their identities and the causes of death as soon as possible. The blackout originally came came on the instruction of the hostage-takers who said they did not want publicity.
The hostages include a man named as Jason (left) and IT worker Peter Moore Two bodies feared to be those of British hostages held in Iraq have been handed over, Foreign Secretary David Miliband has said. Mr Miliband said forensic tests were being carried out on the remains to see if they were of two of the five Britons who were captured in Iraq in May 2007. The mother of one, who cannot be named for security reasons, said she was "anxious" but "hoping for the best". There had been speculation earlier this year a deal to free the men was close. 'Distressing development' IT consultant Peter Moore, from Lincoln, and four security guards were captured by armed militants at the Ministry of Finance in Baghdad in 2007. Security experts understood there had been positive diplomatic moves behind the scenes to free them, including the release of a prisoner whose freedom was being demanded by the hostage-takers. "We have never speculated on the outcome of this case although we have been working intensively on it, so the overriding feeling today is one of deep sadness and fear." He said forensic examinations are under way to establish the identities of the bodies and how they died. "Our immediate thoughts are clearly with the families of the five Britons taken hostage in Baghdad in May 2007," he said. "As would be the case with any development of this kind, they will fear the worst for their loved ones. Prime Minister Gordon Brown said he was "saddened and dismayed" by the news. "We have heard nothing new from the Foreign Office, but we are hoping for the best." Joe Gavaghan, a spokesman for the security company GardaWorld which employed the four guards, said families were not giving up hope. He said: "The announcement is very concerning. BBC security correspondent Frank Gardner Almost everyone involved in trying to resolve this, Britain's longest-running hostage crisis for a generation, is in shock. In March the kidnappers had released a video of one hostage, Peter Moore, in which he appeared in good health and good spirits. On 6 June a key Shia militant linked to the kidnappers was released by the US military. He said he believed those involved in trying to gain the release of the two people whose remains had been handed over had "failed". "I think British people understand why no British government makes concessions in return for hostage-taking," he added. "Today's terrible news underlines the gravity of the crimes associated with it," Mr Miliband said. He also praised the help the Iraqi authorities had given in attempts to free the Britons. "I urge those working for peace and progress in Iraq to redouble their efforts to secure the release of all the hostages held there." Little is known about the identities of the men because of a media blackout during a large period of their captivity. The militants have released videos of the captives, including one - broadcast on Dubai-based TV station Al-Arabiya - warning that a hostage would be killed unless British troops withdrew from Iraq. The names of the four security guards are understood to be Jason, Alan, Jason and Alec. Foreign Office sources on Saturday night said, however, that the condition of the bodies appeared to suggest that the hostages had died several months ago. He added: “I also confirm that we are working intensively towards that goal but I also have to say the threat to them remains very high indeed.” Computer expert Peter Moore and his four private security guards, whose names have never officially been released, were kidnapped at the Iraqi Finance Ministry in Baghdad in May 2007 by heavily armed men in police uniforms. The men, who were sized in an audacious raid involving up to 40 insurgents, were taken to Sadr City, a notorious Shia slum in eastern Baghdad where they were paraded by their captors. "We have never speculated on the outcome of this case although we have been working intensively on it, so the overriding feeling today is one of deep sadness and fear.” Iraq became infamous as a hunting ground for foreigners at the height of the insurgency, led by Sunni Islamist al-Qaeda, after the 2003 invasion.
As they fled from police, about 10 people fell into a canal, she said. "That's why we all went today." All About Iran • Protests and Demonstrations • Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps TEHRAN, Iran (CNN) -- Protesters in Tehran told CNN of violent confrontations between police and those who sought to demonstrate Saturday against last week's disputed presidential election. * Mousavi says Islamic Republic should be purged of lies * Authorities call for calm * Mousavi says "ready for Martyrdom" * Suicide bomber at Khomeini shrine EDITORS' NOTE: Reuters and other foreign media are subject to Iranian restrictions on their ability to report, film or take pictures in Tehran. He said protesters tore down a picture of Khamenei on one street and shouted "Death to Khamenei." Press TV said police also used water canon against demonstrators at Tehran's Enghelab square. She said she saw two helicopters hover above the group, and then police broke up the group with tear gas. "LISTEN TO THE LEADER" State television said rioters smashed windows of banks and burned buses. Mousavi, focus of the biggest protests since the Islamic Revolution ousted the U.S.-backed Shah in 1979, said June 12 elections that delivered an overwhelming victory to hardline anti-Western President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad were fraudulent and must be annulled. Riot police had deployed in force, firing teargas, using batons and water cannon to disperse groups of several hundred Iranians who had gathered across the city. Helicopters criss-crossed the city and ambulance sirens wailed into the night after streets emptied of protesters who had defied Friday's stern warning from Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei against further demonstrations.
TEHRAN, Iran (CNN) -- Protesters in Tehran told CNN of violent confrontations between police and those who sought to demonstrate Saturday against last week's disputed presidential election. A demonstrator exults Saturday as flames consume a bus on a street in Tehran. more photos » One woman, Shahnaz, said that riot police pushed her and about 300 people back with batons and water hoses as they were trying to reach Tehran's Revolution Square late Saturday afternoon. She is only being identified by her first name out of concern for her safety. Another witness, an iReporter whom CNN is only identifying as Parvin, said he saw an old man who had been shot in the head. Watch violent clashes in Iran » CNN cannot confirm the veracity of these and other reports because of restrictions the Iranian government has placed on international media. Shahnaz said after she and the group of 300 others tried a second time to go to Revolution Square, they were blocked by a row of police with their shields up along Keshavarz Boulevard, near where it enters Vali Asr Square in central Tehran. She said she saw two helicopters hover above the group, and then police broke up the group with tear gas. She coughed often as she spoke to CNN and said her face had been "burning." People ran from police then, she said, and those in the front of the group were hit "badly with batons." As they fled from police, about 10 people fell into a canal, she said. See images of the violence » "We wanted to keep the flame going," she said. "If we don't have our rights back, I will leave Iran. "The word of [Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali] Khamenei had no meaning for us anymore," she said. Khamenei also declared last week's election a "definitive victory" for President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, and he rejected allegations of vote-rigging. "We chanted against Khamenei, something that we feared to do [in] the days before," iReporter Parvin wrote to CNN. He said protesters tore down a picture of Khamenei on one street and shouted "Death to Khamenei." Watch as chants and gunshots are heard » He too said he saw a helicopter above protesters, and also tanks on the streets. The guards forced several men and women to sit on the sidewalk, he said, and threatened to kill them. He also said he saw troops spray red paint on protesters to identify them later. TEHRAN Two people were killed in a suicide bombing on Saturday at the shrine of Iran's revolutionary leader, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, state television said. Iran's English-language Press TV said eight people were also wounded in the bombing, which was likely to inflame anger among Iranians who revere the founder of the Islamic Republic. Press TV later said the attacker also died, without saying whether it had counted the bomber in the two dead. Elsewhere in Tehran, Iranian riot police used teargas to disperse demonstrators protesting against a disputed presidential election, a witness told Reuters. Press TV said police also used water canon against demonstrators at Tehran's Enghelab square. * Mousavi says Islamic Republic should be purged of lies * Authorities call for calm * Mousavi says "ready for Martyrdom" * Suicide bomber at Khomeini shrine EDITORS' NOTE: Reuters and other foreign media are subject to Iranian restrictions on their ability to report, film or take pictures in Tehran. By Parisa Hafezi TEHRAN, June 21 Opposition leader Mirhossein Mousavi said the Islamic Republic must be purged of what he called lies and dishonesty, sending out a direct challenge to conservative rulers after a day of unrest across Tehran. Helicopters criss-crossed the city and ambulance sirens wailed into the night after streets emptied of protesters who had defied Friday's stern warning from Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei against further demonstrations. Riot police had deployed in force, firing teargas, using batons and water cannon to disperse groups of several hundred Iranians who had gathered across the city. Mousavi, who claims victory in the poll, told supporters he was "ready for martyrdom", according to an ally. He said if authorities refused to allow peaceful protests they would face the "consequences" -- an apparent rejoinder to Khamenei's warning that opposition leaders would be held responsible for any bloodshed resulting from protests. "The people expect from their officials honesty and decency as many of our problems are because of lies...The Islamic revolution should be the way it was and the way it should be," Mousavi said. "LISTEN TO THE LEADER" State television said rioters smashed windows of banks and burned buses. A suicide bomber blew himself up at the mausoleum of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, police and state media said -- an attack likely to stir passions in a country where the father of the Islamic revolution is deeply revered. United States President Barack Obama, in the forefront of diplomatic efforts to halt an Iranian nuclear programme the West fears could yield atomic weapons, urged Tehran to "stop all violent and unjust actions against its own people".
"I am the clean-break candidate," he said. Tory John Bercow won the race to become Speaker of the House of Commons tonight. In the final round he got 322 votes to fellow Tory Sir George Young's 271. Mr Bercow is understood to have won most of his support from Labour MPs, who see him as the candidate most likely to be an irritation to Conservative leader David Cameron. One backbench Labour MP spoiled his ballot paper in the first round of voting rather than vote for any of the candidates on offer. Today in Politics: Read Andrew Grice's blog Prime Minister Gordon Brown said the election of a new Speaker was an "important step" in the "process of change". The Speaker has the responsibility to immediately cast aside all his or her previous political views. Formally declared Speaker after Royal approval, he replaces Michael Martin, who quit after nine years, amid the furore over MPs' expenses. We urge you to reinvent the role of Speaker as a catalyst for radical change Nick Clegg Liberal Democrats "Undoubtedly the road ahead will not be easy. "I want just to say this about the responsibility of the office. There were also reports of collusion between some factions of the two main parties to promote Beckett in a bid to oust Bercow from the contest. Please turn on JavaScript. He is facing a strong challenge from North West Hampshire MP Sir George Young, who used his speech to announce a series of ideas for reform which he believed would "reconnect" the Commons with the public. The Treasury announced that he had been appointed Steward and Bailiff of the Manor of Northstead - a procedural device which allows MPs to resign between elections.
Media requires JavaScript to play. Advertisement The Conservative MP John Bercow has been appointed as Commons Speaker after a six-hour election process. The Buckingham MP beat nine other candidates, including Labour's Margaret Beckett and Tory veteran Ann Widdecombe, to be named 157th Speaker. In the final round he got 322 votes to fellow Tory Sir George Young's 271. Formally declared Speaker after Royal approval, he replaces Michael Martin, who quit after nine years, amid the furore over MPs' expenses. After the result was announced, Mr Bercow was dragged to the chair, a tradition for the new Speaker, congratulated his nine rivals and told MPs it was the "greatest honour" of his political life. I continue to believe the vast majority of members of this House are upright, decent, honourable people John Bercow Profile: John Bercow How runners and riders fared Bercow speech in full Analysis: Bercow's battles ahead He said MPs felt "very sore and very vulnerable" in the wake of the expenses scandal but added "large sections of the public also feel angry and disappointed". "We do have to reform but I just want to say that I continue to believe that the vast majority of members of this House are upright, decent, honourable people who have come into politics, not to feather their nests, but because they have heeded the call of public service," he said. However BBC political editor Nick Robinson said many Conservatives were unhappy about the result as Mr Bercow was disliked by many on his own side. Political views A former right winger who has moved towards the centre ground, Mr Bercow angered many in his own party when he agreed to act as an adviser to Gordon Brown on support for children with learning difficulties. There were some laughs as Mr Bercow pledged "permanently to cast aside" his "previous political views". Mr Brown remarked, to laughter: "It is said that you have now cast aside all your past political views - some of us thought you had done that some time ago." He congratulated the new Speaker and said his election meant the House of Commons had taken an important step in the "process of change". We urge you to reinvent the role of Speaker as a catalyst for radical change Nick Clegg Liberal Democrats "Undoubtedly the road ahead will not be easy. Mr Cameron told him: "We share a collective responsibility for what went wrong, we share a collective responsibility for putting it right. "Your success will enable all of us to succeed in this, and on that note I wish you well." He also noted that Mr Bercow was the first person of the Jewish faith to hold the office and said it was a milestone which should be marked. By-election And Mr Clegg, who had publicly called for Mr Martin to step down, warned him that "change does not come easily to this place, where old habits die hard". He added: "So you must be different from every Speaker that has ever come before you. No longer just another pillar of the establishment - we urge you to reinvent the role of Speaker as a catalyst for radical change." Martin Salter, the Labour MP who ran Mr Bercow's campaign, said he would be the "clean break candidate" who could reform the "arcane" procedures of the Commons while protecting the rights of backbenchers. He said: "The Speaker can either be a road block to reform or an agent of reform and change and there's no doubt about it that John Bercow will be that agent of change." The new Speaker formally took up the role in an "approbation" ceremony - the process of Royal approval in the Lords chamber. His predecessor Michael Martin became the first Speaker to be forced from office in modern times following widespread public anger at the number of MPs who were seen to take advantage of the Commons' expenses rules. His replacement will inherit the role of adjudicating MPs' debates, representing Parliament to outside bodies, as well as overseeing the administration of the House of Commons. The Treasury announced that he had been appointed Steward and Bailiff of the Manor of Northstead - a procedural device which allows MPs to resign between elections. Sir George Young beaten in third roundAnn Widdecombe was knocked out in second John Bercow was tonight elected as the new Speaker of the House of Commons as he beat nine rivals to replace Michael Martin as the most senior commoner in the land. The MP for Buckingham said the accolade was the "greatest privilege of his professional life". He told the Commons: "I thank you from the bottom of my heart for the confidence you have placed in me. Referring to the MPs' expenses scandal that led top the downfall of his predecessor, Bercow said many MP still felt "very sore and vulnerable" about the debacle but he added that sections of the public also felt very angry. "The majority of this house are decent upright people who have come to this house because they want to improve the lot of their fellow citizens of this country," he said. Bercow said his thoughts were with his wife and three children and his mother who had been "keenly interested in the proceedings". The prime minister's comments were followed by similar words of praise from David Cameron, the Tory leader, and Nick Clegg, the leader of the Liberal Democrats.
There was no slowing down of the train, just a jerk. "They just bum-rushed it." People were badly injured, she said. One of the dead was the female operator of one of the trains, Metro officials said. It's the first fatal crash for the Metro train system since 1982. Washington fire chief Dennis Rubin said approximately 200 firefighters were at the scene of the accident. On Tuesday morning, Mr Fenty said two of the patients with critical injuries remained in hospital. Fellow passenger Theroza Doshi told the Reuters news agency: "It just happened. Another person -- I don't know who -- flew off their seat. "Ones that could speak were calling back as we called out to them." She said she hit her head, but managed to get out and go to where the collision occurred a few cars up, where one subway car lay atop another. This meant they were likely to have had fewer people on them, AP quoted Debbie Hersman of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). Wickett said she stayed at the scene and tried to help. Riders described chaos. See location of crash » The crash happened just before 5 p.m. on an above-ground track on the Red Line in the District of Columbia near the border with Takoma Park, Maryland. There was smoke and dust everywhere." After the impact, many passengers had to jump from the side of the train to the ground. Please turn on JavaScript. One train was stationary when the crash happened, according to Metro General Manager John Catoe. I thought it was like the train bombings in London.
Six dead in D.C. Metro rail crash The rush-hour collision on the busy Red Line injured dozens of people. Those killed include the operator of one train. It's the first fatal crash for the Metro train system since 1982. The crash around 5 p.m. EDT took place on the system's Red Line, Metro's busiest, which runs below ground for much of its length but is at ground level at the accident site, near the Maryland border. A Metro official said the dead included the operator of the trailing train, identified as Jeanice McMillan of Springfield, Va D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty said six were confirmed dead. Fire Chief Dennis Rubin said rescue workers treated 76 people at the scene and sent some of them to local hospitals, six with critical injuries. A search for further victims continued into the night. Cars of both trains were ripped open and smashed together in the worst accident in Metrorail's 33-year history. District of Columbia fire spokesman Alan Etter said crews had to cut some people out of what he described as a "mass casualty event." Rescuers propped steel ladders up to the upper train cars to help survivors scramble to safety. Seats from the smashed cars spilled out onto the track. WASHINGTON — A Metro commuter train smashed into the rear of another at the height of the capital's Monday evening rush hour, killing at least six people and injuring scores as the front end of the trailing train jackknifed into the air and fell atop the first. Metro General Manager John B. Catoe Jr. said the first train was stopped, waiting for another to clear the station ahead, when the second train plowed into it from behind. In the train that was struck, passengers said the train had stopped three times in the moments before the crash. After the impact, many passengers had to jump from the side of the train to the ground. Tom Baker, 47, a District resident, was in the first car of the train that rear-ended the stopped train. "You could hear all this crashing and glass breaking," Baker told the Washington Post. He said he couldn't gauge how fast the train was moving but said it was traveling at moderate speed. "When the dust settled, the entire front of the train was gone" and riders could see down to the train below them. Jervis Bryant, a Prince George's County teacher, told the Baltimore Sun that he heard the collision from a house 2 1/2 blocks away and got to the scene within five minutes. "We saw the folks banging on the windows trying to get out," he said, referring to the second train. Passenger Jodie Wickett, a nurse, told CNN she was seated on one train, sending text messages on her phone, when she felt the impact. She said she sent a message to someone that it felt as if the train had hit a bump. I flew out of the seat and hit my head." "The people that were hurt, the ones that could speak, were calling back as we called out to them," she said. Investigators will probably focus on a failure of Metro's computerized signal system, designed to prevent trains from coming close enough to collide, as well as operator error, according to former Metro officials. WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A rush-hour collision Monday between two Metro trains north of downtown Washington, D.C., killed at least six people and injured scores, Mayor Adrian Fenty said. "One car was almost squeezed completely together." See location of crash » The crash happened just before 5 p.m. on an above-ground track on the Red Line in the District of Columbia near the border with Takoma Park, Maryland. Watch woman say she, fellow passengers "went flying" » Video footage of the scene showed two cars of one train lying atop the cars of the other train. Watch injured passengers limp from the scene » "Metro officials do not know the cause of the collision and are not likely to know the cause for several days as the investigation unfolds," a Metro statement said. See pictures of crash site » President Obama issued a statement saying he and his wife Michelle were "saddened by the terrible accident," and thanking the first responders to the scene "who arrived immediately to save lives."
"He was a king," she said. It's his talent that will really be remembered. iReport: Share your memories of Michael Jackson Anouk Lorie contributed to this report All About Michael Jackson People were saying it over and over." Glastonbury festival goers are in shock as news filters through that the King of Pop has passed away Glastonbury festival is in shock as news filters through to the site about the death of Michael Jackson. "When you experience music and dance, it's easier. — Olivia Barker I bought tickets for my girlfriend as a surprise ... she doesn't even know." NEW YORK Starting about 6 p.m., a crowd began gathering under the blinking white lights of the Apollo Theater marquee on 125th Street in New York's Harlem neighborhood. It's sad he died before he had a chance to redeem himself. But this? It was the kind of impromptu memorial Shaneve Tripp was in search of when she left her nearby apartment. Sadly, this time the rumours are true. The next batch goes on sale next month. Teenage Australian singer Gabriella Cilmi was the first artist at the festival to pay tribute to Jackson, Friday, singing a few bars of song "Billie Jean" during her set. Any news from the outside world is always hard to process when isolated on a festival site. — Jerry Shriver * * * * In Greenwich Village's Washington Square Park, a mecca for musicians, a tribute to Jackson broke out among a quartet of men (two guitarists, a clarinetist and an exuberant clapper), belting hits from I Want You Back to Don't Stop Till You Get Enough to The Way You Make Me Feel.
(CNN) -- Stars at the legendary Glastonbury, one of the world's largest music festivals, have begun to pay tribute to Michael Jackson, who died Thursday. Glastonbury at Worthy Farm in Somerset is the world's largest music festival. more photos » Singer Pharell Williams of U.S. group N.E.R.D acknowledged the music icon's legacy as his band played on the English festival's main stage, the Pyramid Stage. "The music was so incredible and what he and Quincy Jones did was change music and the way people looked at music," Williams was quoted as saying on the BBC's Glastonbury Web site. Teenage Australian singer Gabriella Cilmi was the first artist at the festival to pay tribute to Jackson, Friday, singing a few bars of song "Billie Jean" during her set. Organizer Emily Eavis wrote on her Twitter site: "So sad to hear the news about MJ. "A truly great artist." Other artists are expected to honor the singer, who died of a cardiac arrest at the age of 50, throughout the 3-day festival weekend in southwestern England. Festival-goers woke to an unexpectedly somber first day of Glastonbury, Friday, as the news of Jackson's death began to sink in. See images of reactions to the star's death from around the world » Rumors of the singer's death had circulated the isolated 900-acre site the previous evening, but many fans had dismissed them as the hearsay and misinformation that thrives each year in the site which has no TV or Internet-access. Confusion quickly turned to shock for many, as Jackson's music played in festival bars and news of his demise spread by cell phone. "It's totally weird," Sally Anne Aldous, 29, told CNN on Thursday night. "People are just getting text messages saying 'Michael Jackson is dead. With a laid-back focus on mainly alternative music, the Glastonbury festival -- expected to attract as many as 137,000 music-lovers -- is not a venue where people would normally expect to hear Jackson's music. Watch more reaction from Glastonbury » But few here deny the singer's influence. An impromptu memorial was held by mourning fans late Thursday at the "Stone Circle," a neolithic monument in the festival's grounds. Other headline acts such as Bruce Springsteen, Lady GaGa and Lily Allen, performing at the festival, are expected to pay tribute to Jackson. Glastonbury festival goers are in shock as news filters through that the King of Pop has passed away Glastonbury festival is in shock as news filters through to the site about the death of Michael Jackson. Across Worthy Farm, people are asking each other if it's really true, calling friends and family to pick up on the latest news and frantically texting away on their mobile phones. A number of the people we spoke to this evening were not only Jackson fans, but had tickets for his upcoming concerts. Eddy, 26 from Lincoln: "I'm devastated, he was my childhood idol. I bought tickets for my girlfriend as a surprise ... she doesn't even know." "I heard a rumour ... is it true?" asked Elly, who had heard the rumour echo across the green fields. NEW YORK Starting about 6 p.m., a crowd began gathering under the blinking white lights of the Apollo Theater marquee on 125th Street in New York's Harlem neighborhood. The marquee read: "In Memory of Michael Jackson, A True Apollo Legend, 1958-2009" By 9 p.m., it had grown to more than 200 people, most of them dancing and singing along to a boom box that played Jackson hits such as I'll Be There, Billie Jean and Off the Wall. T-shirts bearing vintage photos of the star were selling for $20. MORE TRIBUTES: Readers remember the pop icon A LIFETIME OF HITS: Michael Jackson dominated the charts Jackson had performed at the theater numerous times, beginning when he was 9 years old as a member of the Jackson 5 and as late as 2002 for a Democratic fundraiser, according to Apollo historian Billy Mitchell. "The first time I saw him he was 9 years old, and he was way better than any kid I had ever seen at that young age," Mitchell said. Fan Louise Butler of New York was returning home on a train from Washington, D.C., when she heard the news of Jackson's death and immediately arranged for a car to take her to the Apollo. — Jerry Shriver * * * * In Greenwich Village's Washington Square Park, a mecca for musicians, a tribute to Jackson broke out among a quartet of men (two guitarists, a clarinetist and an exuberant clapper), belting hits from I Want You Back to Don't Stop Till You Get Enough to The Way You Make Me Feel.
It's slaughter. A Yemeni aviation official said there were also nationals from Canada, Comoros, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Morocco, the Palestinian territories, the Philippines and Yemen on the plane. An Air France Airbus A330-200 crashed into the Atlantic Ocean killing 228 people on board on June 1. It's slaughter," one relative in Paris told French TV. FAULTS DETECTED Name Your E-mail address Town & Country Phone number (optional): Comments The BBC may edit your comments and not all emails will be published. "They put us aboard wrecks, they put us aboard coffins. It is the second Airbus to plunge into the sea this month. Most of the passengers had travelled to Sanaa from Paris or Marseille on a different aircraft. Click here to return Have you been affected by the crash? The airline Yemenia is 51% owned by the Yemeni government and 49% by the Saudi government. As well as the rescued child, three bodies and some wreckage of the plane have been recovered. The EU already has its own list. An airport source told AFP news agency that 66 of the passengers were French, although many are thought to have dual French-Comoran citizenship. A French minister said faults were found on the plane during a check in 2007. Second tragedy Reports say the plane was due in the Comoros capital Moroni at about 0230 (2230GMT on Monday). Do you have any information about it you would like to share? Media requires JavaScript to play. Send your pictures to yourpics@bbc.co.uk, text them to +44 7725 100 100 or you can upload here.
By Ahmed Ali Amir MORONI (Reuters) - An Airbus A310-300 from Yemen with 153 people on board, including 66 French nationals, crashed into the sea off the Indian Ocean archipelago of Comoros as it approached in bad weather early on Tuesday, officials said. A 14-year-old girl was found alive in the sea, Comoros Communications Minister Abdourahim Said Bakar said. Earlier reports had said the rescued child was five. The Paris airports authority said 66 French nationals were aboard the plane, which was flying the final leg of a trip from Paris and Marseille to Comoros via Yemen. A Yemeni aviation official said there were also nationals from Canada, Comoros, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Morocco, the Palestinian territories, the Philippines and Yemen on the plane. An Air France Airbus A330-200 crashed into the Atlantic Ocean killing 228 people on board on June 1. A preliminary report on that crash is due on Thursday. The Paris-Marseille-Yemen leg of the Yemenia flight was flown by an Airbus A330. In Sanaa, those passengers who were flying on to the Comoros changed onto a second Yemenia plane, the A310 that crashed. The plane has been found to have had a number of faults A Yemeni airliner with more than 150 people on board has crashed in the Indian Ocean near the Comoros islands. Some bodies have been found and a child rescued alive, officials from the carrier, Yemenia, said. The Airbus 310 flight IY626 was flying from the Yemeni capital Sanaa, but many passengers on the plane began their journey in France. A French minister said faults were found on the plane during a check in 2007. "The A310 in question was inspected in 2007 by the DGAC [French transport authorities] and they noticed a certain number of faults. Since then the plane had not returned to France," Transport Minister Dominique Bussereau was quoted as telling French TV. RECENT AIR CRASHES 1 June: An Air France Airbus plane travelling from Rio de Janeiro to Paris disappears in the Atlantic with 228 people on board 20 May: An Indonesian army C-130 Hercules transport plane crashes into a village on eastern Java, killing at least 97 people 12 February: A plane crashes into a house in Buffalo, New York, killing all 49 people on board and one person on the ground Timeline of air disasters "The company was not on the black list but was subject to stricter checks on our part, and was due to be interviewed shortly by the European Union's safety committee." An EU official told Reuters news agency there were concerns about the airline's "incomplete reporting procedure and incomplete follow-up" following the 2007 tests but that its record was now improving. Yemeni Transport Minister Khaled Ibrahim al-Wazeer told Reutersthat the plane had undergone a thorough inspection and conformed to international standards. See a map of the plane's route Following the crash, the EU Transport Commissioner Antonio Tajani said he would propose setting up a worldwide blacklist of airlines deemed to be unsafe. Second tragedy Reports say the plane was due in the Comoros capital Moroni at about 0230 (2230GMT on Monday). The flight on to Moroni, on the island of Njazidja (Grande Comore), was also thought to have made a stop in Djibouti. There were more than 150 people on board, including three babies and 11 crew. An airport source told AFP news agency that 66 of the passengers were French, although many are thought to have dual French-Comoran citizenship. This is the second air tragedy this month involving large numbers of French citizens. On 1 June an Air France Airbus 330 travelling from Rio de Janeiro to Paris plunged into the Atlantic, killing all 228 people on board. 'Aborted landing' Gen Bruno de Bourdoncle de Saint-Salvy, French naval commander in the Indian Ocean, said the plane came down about 15 km (eight nautical miles) north of the Comoran coast. As well as the rescued child, three bodies and some wreckage of the plane have been recovered. French military are assisting with the search operation "The weather conditions were rough; strong wind and high seas," Yemenia official Mohammad al-Sumairi told Reuters news agency. A resident near the airport told the BBC about 100 people were trying to get into the airport to find out more information, but without much success. Relatives also gathered at Paris Roissy Charles de Gaulle airport and Marseille Marignane airport to wait for news, some expressing anger at the state of the airline's planes. In 1996, a hijacked Ethiopian airliner came down in the same area - most of the 175 passengers and crew were killed. A Comoran police official said the aircraft was believed to have come down in the sea, but that the country has no sea rescue capabilities.
Supporters of Honduras' President Manuel Zelaya stage a rally in Tegucigalpa, capital of Honduras, July 1, 2009. Ortez said "international commitments signed with Honduras are being respected." REUTERS/Edgard Garrido Police (blue helmets) and soldiers are seen inside the presidential residency in Tegucigalpa June 29, 2009. ・Honduras' post-coup government will not negotiate with OAS and allow Zelaya to return. Full story REUTERS/Jamie Fine Ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya addresses a meeting of the United Nations General Assembly at the U.N. headquarters in New York June 30, 2009. The Organization of American States gave Honduras until the weekend to act or face suspension from the group. Troops guarded government buildings during pro- and anti-Zelaya protests Mr Micheletti again denied that Mr Zelaya's removal amounted to a coup. The resolution also asked all the countries not to recognize the military regime that took power by force. World leaders from President Barack Obama to Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez have told the new rulers of the Central American country to restore Zelaya, a leftist who was toppled by the army on Sunday and sent into exile after a dispute over presidential term limits. Enrique Ortez, interim foreign minister, said Zelaya would be arrested if he came home, and said the interim authorities were sure that Zelaya had been removed in a legal process. REUTERS/Oswaldo Rivas Supporters of Honduras' President Manuel Zelaya block a street to prevent military vehicles from passing near the presidential residency in Tegucigalpa June 28, 2009. ・OAS gave Honduras an ultimate 72 hours to reinstall Zelaya on Tuesday. The World Bank and Inter-American Development Bank have cut new loans and some European countries have recalled their ambassadors.
・OAS gave Honduras an ultimate 72 hours to reinstall Zelaya on Tuesday. ・Zelaya will delay return after OAS gave Honduras an ultimatum to restore him to power. TEGUCIGALPA, July 1 (Xinhua) -- Honduras' post-coup government will not negotiate with the OAS and allow ousted President Manuel Zelaya to return to office, the interim government said Wednesday. Honduras' President Zelaya said he will postpone his return to Honduras 72 hours to the weekend, instead of Thursday, as originally planned. (Xinhua/David De La Paz) Photo Gallery>>> "Anyone who has violated the law cannot be reinstated," the newly-appointed foreign minister Enrique Ortez Colindrez told the media. "Honduras' sovereignty cannot be negotiated with the Organization of American States (OAS), nor with anyone," said the minister, who was named by the acting president Roberto Micheletti immediately after the coup. Ortez said "international commitments signed with Honduras are being respected." On Tuesday, the OAS gave Honduras an ultimate 72 hours to reinstall Zelaya or face expulsion from the bloc. see the story Honduras' neighboring countries have closed their borders with it, and the Central American Integration System barred Honduras from receiving disbursements or new loans from its bank, the Central American Bank for Economic Integration. The president was driven out of Honduras on Sunday after hooded and heavily armed soldiers seized him from bed at the presidential palace and forced him into exile in Costa Rica. A new government was appointed hours later by a legislative session that began with the reading of a letter, allegedly by Zelaya, saying Zelaya had resigned on health grounds. A large number of international organizations, including the United Nations and the OAS, have denounced the coup. Interim Honduran president accuses Venezuela of intervening affairs TEGUCIGALPA, July 1 (Xinhua) -- Interim Honduran President Roberto Micheletti Wednesday accused Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez of intervening Honduras' affairs. "The intervention of the government of Hugo Chavez is clear and definite in the situation that Honduras is experiencing," Micheletti said. Full story Honduras president postpones return home after OAS ultimatum The ousted President of Honduras Manuel Zelaya speaks during a press conference at the UN headquarters in New York, the United States, June 30, 2009. Manuel Zelaya expressed his gratitude toward the international community and tearfully described the last moments in his home country before being thrown onto a plane and whisked away. (Xinhua/Gu Xinrong) Photo Gallery>>> WASHINGTON, July 1 (Xinhua) -- Ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya said here on Wednesday that he would postpone his plan to return home after the Organization of American States (OAS) gave the country an ultimatum to restore him to power. Full story Coup-deposed Honduran president vows to return despite arrest warrant TEGUCIGALPA, June 30 (Xinhua) -- The deposed Honduran President Manuel Zelaya on Tuesday vowed to return to the country despite an arrest threat that could put him in jail for 20 years. Zelaya has won wide international supports, and he will make a high-profile comeback flanked by the president of the UN General Assembly, the secretary-general of the Organization of American States (OAS) and presidents of Argentina and Ecuador on a flight to Honduras on Thursday. Full story General Assembly condemns military coup in Honduras UNITED NATIONS, June 30 (Xinhua) -- The UN General Assembly on Tuesday adopted a resolution to condemn the military coup in Honduras and demand the immediate restoration of the government of ousted President Manuel Zelaya. The resolution also asked all the countries not to recognize the military regime that took power by force. Mr Zelaya has postponed his return home until the deadline expires The newly installed government in Honduras has rejected international calls to restore ousted President Manuel Zelaya to power. The Organization of American States gave Honduras until the weekend to act or face suspension from the group. Mr Zelaya has delayed his planned return home on Thursday. An overnight curfew has been toughened to allow people to be held for 24 hours without charge, as protests both for and against Mr Zelaya continue. The army ousted Mr Zelaya on Sunday over his plans for constitutional reform, which his critics said were aimed at prolonging his presidency. Roberto Micheletti, the Speaker of Congress who was sworn in as interim president, said of the OAS deadline: "We can't negotiate anything. "We can't reach an agreement because there are orders to capture the ex-President Zelaya here for crimes he committed when he was an official." Troops guarded government buildings during pro- and anti-Zelaya protests Mr Micheletti again denied that Mr Zelaya's removal amounted to a coup. "The full Congress took a decision and decided to replace him, that's why it's called 'constitutional succession' and they chose me to replace Zelaya," he said. The president's expulsion has been widely condemned by leaders ranging from US President Barack Obama to Mr Zelaya's regional allies, including Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. Mr Zelaya, in Panama for the inauguration of President Ricardo Martinelli, said: "I'm going to respect those 72 hours that the OAS asked for." The US has suspended military co-operation with Honduras and says it will decide next week whether to cut aid. Mr Zelaya's decision to postpone his return was described as "wise" by a senior Obama administration official quoted by Reuters news agency. The head of the OAS, Jose Miguel Insulza, condemned what he described as "an old-fashioned coup" in Honduras, after an emergency meeting of the regional grouping on Tuesday. REUTERS/Oswaldo Rivas Supporters of Honduras' President Manuel Zelaya ride on a motorcycle past burning tires near the presidential residency in Tegucigalpa June 28, 2009. Honduran police fired tear gas at pro-government protesters in the center of the capital on Sunday after troops detained leftist President Manuel Zelaya, Honduran radio said. Honduran police fired tear gas at pro-government protesters in the center of the capital on Sunday after troops detained leftist President Manuel Zelaya, Honduran radio said.
We have never had a kidnapping before. Sharon Commins is an aid worker in Sudan's Darfur region An Irish aid worker has been kidnapped by an armed gang in Kutum in the Darfur region of Sudan. "They died in a roadside bomb attack," an Oxfam spokeswoman said. The UN says fighting in Sudan's western Darfur region has killed up to 300,000 people [File: REUTERS] The UN says fighting in Sudan's western Darfur region has killed up to 300,000 people [File: REUTERS] "We don't know who took them. Violence in Afghanistan is at its worst since Afghan arme They were freed a few days later. Sharon Commins, 32, and a Ugandan woman in her 40s were working for the charity Goal when they were taken captive. The incident marks the third kidnapping of foreign aid workers in Darfur since March, when armed men seized four members of the Doctors Without Borders medical aid group. There are so many splinter groups in the area you'd only be guessing," O'Shea told the Reuters news agency. "The local police force are in charge of trying to track them down. Clashes between ethnic minority fighters and the Arab-dominated government and its allies in the western Sudanese region of Darfur has been ongoing since 2003. We are just hoping and praying that we can get them back." The Irish Department of Foreign Affairs said the embassy in Cairo was urgently investigating the situation. In April, a French national and a Canadian aid worker were seized in southern Darfur and released three weeks later. It said in a statement two Afghan staff members and a community volunteer were killed in the remote mountainous region of Badakhshan.
The UN says fighting in Sudan's western Darfur region has killed up to 300,000 people [File: REUTERS] The UN says fighting in Sudan's western Darfur region has killed up to 300,000 people [File: REUTERS] "We don't know who took them. There are so many splinter groups in the area you'd only be guessing," O'Shea told the Reuters news agency. "The local police force are in charge of trying to track them down. The incident marks the third kidnapping of foreign aid workers in Darfur since March, when armed men seized four members of the Doctors Without Borders medical aid group. The UN says the fighting has killed up to 300,000 people and displaced an estimated 2.7 million, but Khartoum disputes the figures, saying that only 10,000 people have died in the conflict. Oxfam charity workers killed in Afghanistan (Adds roadside bomb, quote) LONDON, Aug 31 Three aid workers with British humanitarian group Oxfam have been killed by a roadside bomb in northern Afghanistan, the charity said on Tuesday. "They died in a roadside bomb attack," an Oxfam spokeswoman said. Sharon Commins is an aid worker in Sudan's Darfur region An Irish aid worker has been kidnapped by an armed gang in Kutum in the Darfur region of Sudan.
"That's important because caffeine is a safe drug for most people. MIAMI, July 6 (UPI) -- Memory impairment was reversed in aged mice, bred to develop symptoms of Alzheimer's disease, after they were given caffeine, U.S. researchers said. "However much more research is needed to determine whether drinking coffee has the same impact in people. A possible treatment for dementia? It easily enters the brain, and it appears to directly affect the disease process." Humans receiving an equivalent dose for their body weight would be consuming 500 milligrams of caffeine a day, equivalent to five cups of ordinary coffee. The results are particularly exciting in that a reversal of pre-existing memory impairment is more difficult to achieve Dr Gary Arendash University of South Florida The 55 mice used in the University of South Florida study had been bred to develop symptoms of Alzheimer's disease. "They provide evidence that caffeine could be a viable 'treatment' for established Alzheimer's disease and not simply a protective strategy. Those drinking plain water continued to do poorly on the tests. In addition, the brains of the mice given caffeine showed nearly a 50% reduction in levels of the beta amyloid protein, which forms destructive clumps in the brains of dementia patients. Previous research has also suggested a protective effect from caffeine. Bookmark with: Delicious Digg reddit Facebook StumbleUpon What are these? When the mice were tested again after two months, those who were given the caffeine performed much better on tests measuring their memory and thinking skills and performed as well as mice of the same age without dementia. "It is too early to say whether drinking coffee or taking caffeine supplements will help people with Alzheimer's.
MIAMI, July 6 (UPI) -- Memory impairment was reversed in aged mice, bred to develop symptoms of Alzheimer's disease, after they were given caffeine, U.S. researchers said. Researchers at the University of South Florida said back-to-back studies show caffeine significantly decreased abnormal levels of the protein linked to Alzheimer's disease -- both in the brains and in the blood of mice exhibiting symptoms of the disease. Both studies build upon previous research by the University of South Florida that showed caffeine in early adulthood prevented the onset of memory problems in mice bred to develop Alzheimer's symptoms in old age. "The new findings provide evidence that caffeine could be a viable 'treatment' for established Alzheimer's disease, and not simply a protective strategy," lead author Gary Arendash said in a statement. "That's important because caffeine is a safe drug for most people, it easily enters the brain, and it appears to directly affect the disease process." cups of regular coffee a day -- 500 milligrams of caffeine. In the study, half of the 55 mice genetically altered to develop memory problems mimicking Alzheimer's disease were given caffeine, and half were given water. A key aspect of Alzheimer's is sticky clumps of an abnormal protein in the brain called beta amyloid plaques. Mice with a rodent equivalent of the disease showed a 50 per cent reduction in levels of amyloid protein in their brains after the scientists added caffeine to their drinking water. At the end of the two-month study, the caffeine-drinking mice performed far better on tests of memory and thinking than mice given only water. Humans receiving an equivalent dose for their body weight would be consuming 500 milligrams of caffeine a day, equivalent to five cups of ordinary coffee. The same amount of caffeine can be obtained by drinking two cups of strong coffee, 14 cups of tea, or 20 cola drinks. Dr Arendash, who led the study at the Florida Alzheimer's Disease Research Centre (ADRC) in Tampa, said: "The new findings provide evidence that caffeine could be a viable 'treatment' for established Alzheimer's disease, and not simply a protective strategy. "That's important because caffeine is a safe drug for most people. Alzheimer's is the most common form of dementia, which affects around 700,000 people in the UK. Rebecca Wood, chief executive of the Alzheimer's Research Trust, said: "It is too early to say whether drinking coffee or taking caffeine supplements will help people with Alzheimer's. "With no cure yet, research into treatments that could help people with Alzheimer's is vital." Neil Hunt, chief executive of the Alzheimer's Society, said: "Much more research is needed to determine whether drinking coffee has the same impact in people." Drinking five cups of coffee a day could reverse memory problems seen in Alzheimer's disease, US scientists say. But British experts said the Journal of Alzheimer's disease study did not mean that dementia patients should start using caffeine supplements. The results are particularly exciting in that a reversal of pre-existing memory impairment is more difficult to achieve Dr Gary Arendash University of South Florida The 55 mice used in the University of South Florida study had been bred to develop symptoms of Alzheimer's disease. First the researchers used behavioural tests to confirm the mice were exhibiting signs of memory impairment when they were aged 18 to 19 months, the equivalent to humans being about 70. The researchers say this is the same as is found in two cups of "specialty" coffees such as lattes or cappuccinos from coffee shops, 14 cups of tea, or 20 soft drinks. When the mice were tested again after two months, those who were given the caffeine performed much better on tests measuring their memory and thinking skills and performed as well as mice of the same age without dementia. In addition, the brains of the mice given caffeine showed nearly a 50% reduction in levels of the beta amyloid protein, which forms destructive clumps in the brains of dementia patients. Earlier research by the same team had shown younger mice, who had also been bred to develop Alzheimer's but who were given caffeine in their early adulthood, were protected against the onset of memory problems. 'Safe drug' Dr Gary Arendash, who led the latest study, told the BBC: "The results are particularly exciting in that a reversal of pre-existing memory impairment is more difficult to achieve. "That's important because caffeine is a safe drug for most people, it easily enters the brain, and it appears to directly affect the disease process." Rebecca Wood, chief executive of the Alzheimer's Research Trust, said: "In this study on mice with symptoms of Alzheimer's, researchers found that caffeine boosted their memory.
. Earlier, it had... "This protest will continue." “We came up against a deep mischief during this election,” he said. But top commanders of Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps were less conciliatory. Advertisement Continue reading the main story The government has dismissed such charges, insisting that Mr. Ahmadinejad won about 65 percent of the 40 million votes cast. View all New York Times newsletters. "The legitimacy of this government is questionable because people don't trust it," Mousavi said. within the framework of the law." "Today, no one is impartial," Gen. Yadollah Javani said at a conference, according to the official Islamic Republic News Agency. "There are two currents: those who defend and support the revolution and the establishment, and those who are trying to topple it." On Sunday, General Jafari acknowledged that the Revolutionary Guards had taken a lead role in stopping the protests and civil unrest. In his speech on Monday, Ayatollah Khamenei was not always clear, offering at one point what sounded like a threat to his opponents, but also a word of caution to those seeking to demonize the political leaders of the opposition, like Mr. Moussavi, the main reform presidential candidate. “But the people and the elite and all factions should be careful not to mistake friend and enemy and do to friends what they should do to enemies.” Advertisement Continue reading the main story The efforts at trying to unite Iran against a foreign enemy — and through the continued use of force and fear — occurred against a backdrop of rising tensions between Tehran and the European Union.
Some members of Iran's powerful clerical class are stepping up their antigovernment protests over Iran's election in defiance of the country's supreme leader, bringing potential aid to opposition figures as the regime is increasingly labeling them foreign-sponsored traitors. An influential group of religious scholars seen as politically neutral during the presidential election called the country's highest election arbiter, the Guardian Council, biased, and said the June 12 election was "invalid." The powerful Revolutionary Guards Corps, a parallel force to the military with its own army, navy, air force and intelligence service, continued a repressive line. “Today, no one is impartial,” said Gen. Yadollah Javani, the political director of the Revolutionary Guards, in comments made Sunday as reported by IRNA, the official news agency. “There are two currents: those who defend and support the revolution and the establishment, and those who are trying to topple it.” Advertisement Continue reading the main story General Javani said the elite corps had taken measures before the election to resist the “counterrevolution,” according to the state-run Press TV. “A mischief that gave birth to the new divisions. Advertisement Continue reading the main story The Revolutionary Guards have an ideological mandate to protect the revolution Mr. Ahmadinejad served in the corps, and his election in 2005 was a transition of power from a clerical elite to a military elite. After the Guardian Council validated his re-election on June 29 — despite continuing accusations of fraud — many political analysts and protesters complained that the whole election process amounted to a military coup. Advertisement Continue reading the main story The government has dismissed such charges, insisting that Mr. Ahmadinejad won about 65 percent of the 40 million votes cast. The conservative speaker of Parliament, Ali Larijani, said after the election that most people did not believe the results. Advertisement Continue reading the main story It seemed unlikely, though, that the new push from the top would be any more successful at smothering the embers of opposition. On Saturday, an influential group of clerics in the holy city of Qum joined a growing list of religious leaders who had rejected the new government. On Monday, the government announced that businesses would be closed for two days because of a dust storm blowing in from the Persian Gulf states. But the days off coincide with quiet calls for a national work strike, said people in Tehran, the capital. And no matter how hard it tries, the police force has failed to stop protesters from shouting, “God is great!” and “Death to the dictator!” from their rooftops at night. Advertisement Continue reading the main story “The few deceived followers are giving off wrong signals, and the enemy is making a mistake based on these signals,” Ayatollah Khamenei said. “But the people and the elite and all factions should be careful not to mistake friend and enemy and do to friends what they should do to enemies.” Advertisement Continue reading the main story The efforts at trying to unite Iran against a foreign enemy — and through the continued use of force and fear — occurred against a backdrop of rising tensions between Tehran and the European Union. One remains held on charges of fomenting unrest; Iranian officials said he would stand trial. TEHRAN, July 6 -- Opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi, appearing in public for the first time in nearly three weeks, vowed Monday that protests against the disputed reelection of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad "will not end" and predicted that the new government would encounter problems because it lacks legitimacy. But the former presidential candidate, who maintains he was denied victory in the June 12 election by massive vote-rigging on behalf of Ahmadinejad, stopped short of calling for new street demonstrations, which the government has declared illegal and largely crushed in a massive crackdown. Instead, Mousavi indicated that the opposition would adopt new tactics, pursuing protest "within the framework of the law." Mousavi made the remarks at a religious gathering as Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, issued a new warning to Western nations that he said have "openly intervened" in Iran's internal affairs by criticizing the crackdown. "Beware," he said, addressing "the leaders of arrogant countries, the nosy meddlers in the affairs of the Islamic Republic," news agencies reported. Even though Iranians have differences among themselves, he said, they will "unite as one firm fist" against external enemies. At the same time, however, Khamenei appeared to draw a line against denunciations of Mousavi, who has faced calls for his arrest from hard-line Ahmadinejad allies because of his refusal to accept the officially proclaimed election results. In a speech broadcast on state radio, Khamenei stressed the importance of unity, saying that "friends should not be treated like enemies for the sake of a mistake." But top commanders of Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps were less conciliatory. Mousavi spoke Monday to about 200 guests at an art gallery of the Iranian Academy of the Arts, which he heads, on the occasion of a holiday commemorating Imam Ali, the most important saint in Shiite Islam, Iran's dominant religion. According to the pro-Mousavi Web site Parsine, he also said: "When a government doesn't take shape within the framework of the law, it has no legitimacy in the eyes of the people."
The G8 - Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, UK and the US - are joined at the summit by leaders or representatives from the G5 group of emerging economies - Brazil, China, India, Mexico and South Africa. A statement approved by the leaders of the "G8+5+1" group in L'Aquila called for an "an ambitious and balanced conclusion for the Doha Development Round in 2010." US President Barack Obama said the countries had made important strides in dealing with climate change. G8 nations are to cut carbon emissions by 80% by 2050. Mr Brown said the G8 deal paved the way for a global agreement at the UN conference in Copenhagen in December. They also condemned North Korea's recent nuclear test and missile launches. Bookmark with: Delicious Digg reddit Facebook StumbleUpon What are these? African leaders will join the summit on Friday to push for a new initiative to fund farming in the developing world and tackle global hunger. Please turn on JavaScript. On Wednesday, the G8 agreed its own members would work towards 80% cuts by the same date. BBC environment analyst Roger Harrabin says the declaration is a significant step, with all big countries rich and poor agreeing there is a scientific limit on the amount we should warm the climate. Egypt is a special invitee. Berlusconi, right, praised the step in reducing the emission of greehouse gases by 2050 [EPA] Berlusconi, right, praised the step in reducing the emission of greehouse gases by 2050 [EPA] Silvio Berlusconi, the Italian prime minister, said there was a "common will" to see that this would be prevented through a "significant reduction" in the emission of greenhouse gases by 2050.
Berlusconi, right, praised the step in reducing the emission of greehouse gases by 2050 [EPA] Berlusconi, right, praised the step in reducing the emission of greehouse gases by 2050 [EPA] Silvio Berlusconi, the Italian prime minister, said there was a "common will" to see that this would be prevented through a "significant reduction" in the emission of greenhouse gases by 2050. Ban said in a statement that the deal should be backed by medium-term measures to prevent the catastrophic impact of climate change. "The commitments expressed today at the G8 and Major Economies Forum (MEF) leaders' meeting, while welcome, are not sufficient," Ban said in a statement. "The countries represented at L'Aquila are responsible for more than 80 per cent of global emissions, and that is why they bear special responsibility for finding a solution to the political impasse," he said. "If they fail to act this year, they will have squandered a unique historical opportunity that may not come again." Scientists have repeatedly warned that if the world's average temperature rises by more than 2C when compared to their pre-industrial levels, it will cause catastrophic changes to global weather patterns, triggering widespread storms, flooding, droughts and famines. Doha round The world's most powerful trading nations also called on Thursday for an immediate restart of the stalled Doha round of World Trade Organisation talks with a view to reaching a deal in 2010. "We are setting a deadline of 2010 for concluding the Doha round [on world trade]," Gordon Brown, the British prime minister, said on the sidelines of the G8 meeting extended to the world's biggest emerging nations. Brown praised the US and India over the agreement to put aside the differences which sank a deal last year. "For us to get this agreement ... is a reflection of the policy that the US administration is taking and the willingness of countries like India to come to an agreement," he said. The Group of Five includes India, Mexico, Brazil, South Africa and China [AFP] At the summit of G8 leaders with the Group of Five (G5) major rising economies and Egypt, leaders announced that trade ministers would meet before a G20 summit in Pittsburgh, US, in September to re-start negotiations. The Doha talks, which are meant to stimulate development by liberalising trading rules, started in 2001 but reached a deadlock in July 2008 when the US and India failed to agree over "special safeguard mechanisms" limiting agricultural trade. "Almost everything had been agreed [last year] but we couldn't get agreement on the special safeguards mechanism," Brown said. A statement approved by the leaders of the "G8+5+1" group in L'Aquila called for an "an ambitious and balanced conclusion for the Doha Development Round in 2010." He had been set to attend, but flew home to confront ethnic riots in Xinjiang. Pledges The leaders are now believed to have committed $15bn over three years to support agricultural investment in poorer countries and reduce food insecurity. According to the United Nations, the number of malnourished people now exceeds one billion. In a draft statement the G8 summit kept its commitment to ensuring adequate emergency food assistance, but its focus on agricultural investments reflected a new emphasis on longer-term strategies to fight hunger. The leaders said their approach would target increased agriculture productivity, stimulus to harvest interventions, emphasis on private sector growth, women and smallholders, preservation of natural resources, job expansion, training and increased trade flows. The $15bn over three years announced compares with $13.4bn which the G8 says it has disbursed between January 2008 and July 2009 for global food security. Developed and developing nations have agreed that global temperatures should not rise more than 2C above 1900 levels, a G8 summit declaration says. That is the level above which, the UN says, the Earth's climate system would become dangerously unstable. US President Barack Obama said the countries had made important strides in dealing with climate change. But the G8 failed to persuade developing countries to accept targets of cutting emissions by 50% by 2050. On Wednesday, the G8 agreed its own members would work towards 80% cuts by the same date. He said that while the G8's Wednesday agreement was welcome, its leaders also needed to establish a strong and ambitious mid-term target for emissions cuts. See how global temperatures have risen The second day of the summit, in the Italian city of L'Aquila, opened its discussions to take in the so-called G5 nations - Brazil, China, India, Mexico and South Africa. In other developments: The world's biggest economies have agreed to work to reach a global trade deal by 2010 Leaders of major developed and developing nations have agreed not to resort to competitive currency devaluations In a joint statement, President Obama and UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown said the detention of British embassy staff by the Iranian authorities was unacceptable Significant step The latest declaration was issued by the Major Economies Forum, of 16 developed and developing nations - the G8, G5, Australia, South Korea and Indonesia - plus the European Union. The group accounts for about 80% of the world's total greenhouse gas emissions. "We recognise the scientific view that the increase in global average temperature above pre-industrial levels ought not to exceed 2C," it said. The leaders also issued a statement reaffirming that they were "deeply concerned" by Iran's nuclear programme and condemning North Korea's recent nuclear test and missile launches.
2009. In Italy, meanwhile, G8 foreign ministers said they respected the sovereignty of Iran, but deplored the post-electoral violence. REUTERS/IRIB via Reuters TV Worshipers shout in support of Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad under a picture of Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, after Friday prayers in Tehran June 19. "We have had no fraud in any presidential election and this one was the cleanest election we have had," Abbasali Kadkhodai told Irna news agency. REUTERS/Twitter Defeated Iranian presidential candidate Mirhossein Mousavi (C waving) speaks to supporters at a rally in Tehran June 18, 2009. 'Condemn it' Mr Obama made his comments at a news conference in Washington after talks with German Chancellor Angela Merkel. "I think you're ... witnessing something extraordinary ... And a member of Iran's top clerical body urged the judiciary to deal ruthlessly with the leaders of the protests. In Iran itself, a spokesman for the powerful Guardian Council - which is due to give its final ruling on the election on Sunday - said there had been no election fraud. The demonstrations in favour of presidential challenger Mir-Hossein Musavi were declared to be a threat to the Islamic Republic. The two men have history. He also attacked what he called interference by foreign powers who had questioned the result of the election. If they proceed in defiance of Khamenei's explicit warning, they risk a severe response from security forces, which have so far not tried to prevent Iran's most widespread street rallies since the 1979 Islamic revolution. An ally of Mousavi said he was not calling on people to take to the streets again.
Mr Mousavi had become the protesters' representative, Barack Obama said US President Barack Obama has praised the opposition candidate in Iran's disputed presidential election. Mr Obama said Mir Hossein Mousavi had captured the imagination of groups in Iran that were interested in opening up to the world. He spoke of the bravery of protesters in the face of "outrageous" violence. Mr Obama's comments came hours after foreign ministers from the G8 nations issued a statement "deploring" the post-election violence in Iran. In Iran itself, a spokesman for the powerful Guardian Council - which is due to give its final ruling on the election on Sunday - said there had been no election fraud. And a member of Iran's top clerical body urged the judiciary to deal ruthlessly with the leaders of the protests. Some 17 people are thought to have died in street protests in the past two weeks, and Tehran has imposed severe restrictions on journalists and the internet. Rights group Amnesty International called on Iranian leaders to release more than two dozen journalists arrested since the polls. IRAN UNREST 12 June Presidential election saw incumbent Mahmoud Ahmadinejad re-elected with 63% of vote Main challenger Mir Hossein Mousavi called for result to be annulled for electoral fraud Street protests saw at least 17 people killed and foreign media restricted Q&A: Election aftermath How Iran is ruled Who's who in Iran Iran: Send your questions Mr Mousavi had become the representative of protesters on the streets who, he said, had displayed "extraordinary courage". "The violence perpetrated against them is outrageous," Mr Obama said. "In spite of the government's efforts to keep the world from bearing witness to that violence, we see it and we condemn it." In Italy, meanwhile, G8 foreign ministers said they respected the sovereignty of Iran, but deplored the post-electoral violence. "We express our solidarity with those who have suffered repression while peacefully demonstrating and urge Iran to respect fundamental human rights," their statement said. "The crisis should be settled soon through democratic dialogue and peaceful means." And the G8's comments were not as strong as France and Italy had wanted, after Russia warned against isolating Iran. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said engagement with Iran was "the key word". He stressed the need to focus on "the main task - to move toward resolving the issues of the Iranian nuclear programme". The question though is whether the fracture in the ruling elite that this crisis has caused will heal. Eerie calm masks Iran tensions Before the G8 issued its statement, a spokesman for Iran's top election body, the Guardian Council, said the vote had been fair. "We have had no fraud in any presidential election and this one was the cleanest election we have had," Abbasali Kadkhodai told Irna news agency. Meanwhile, a senior hard-line cleric said in his Friday sermon that the leaders of the protests should be dealt with "severely and ruthlessly". "I want the judiciary to... punish leading rioters firmly and without showing any mercy to teach everyone a lesson," Ahmad Khatami told worshippers at Tehran university in comments broadcast nationwide. Iran’s Supreme Leader found himself defending 30 years of theocracy in the midst of a secular crisis at today’s Friday prayers. In an extraordinary performance, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei inflamed the divisions that have rent Iran’s streets since last weekend’s election. The corrugated shed that serves as the vast gathering hall of Tehran University is as stark as the messages it echoes to whenever the Islamic regime is under pressure. The elections may have encompassed mistakes, he conceded, but a gap of 11 million votes - in favour of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the Holocaust denying president - was infallible. As president and prime minister the men, both members of Persia’s Azeri ethnic minority, fought a long power-struggle that Mr Mousavi eventually lost in the late 1980s. But it was a lengthy discourse on former president Hashemi Rafsanjani that sealed the faultlines of a battle for supremacy that is likely to dictate Iran's future. He said there were foreign spies instigating riots and "burning the possessions of the people."
There is no indication of that. So, you know, in terms of wanting to target foreigners, this is where you would do it. Marriott hotels in Jakarta on Friday. "That seems to be the epicenter of the bomb." Djalal said the attacks were coordinated. Police sealed off the area around both hotel blasts, one in the Ritz-Carlton Hotel and the other at the J.W. GEOFF THOMPSON: That is right. All About Indonesia • Jakarta • Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono The force of the blast blew out the windows on the Ritz-Carlton's second floor. The Marriott was the site of a terrorist attack in August 2003 that killed 12 people. The ground floors where I'm standing (inaudible)... broken glass. Not far from the Australian embassy. Is that what you've heard? "I found inside the body of what appears to be a suicide bomber, it looked like someone who had been a suicide bomber or someone who had been very, very close to the explosion. There are all media crews walking away from it and I can't see any smoke anymore. PETER CAVE: Geoff, there was only this morning on AM a report that this bombing or a bombing in Indonesia may have been about to happen. It could be a splinter group of Jemaah Islamiah. The television executive said he had lived at the Ritz for a year before moving to his nearby apartment and had been impressed by the facility's security. Another victim was Indonesian and the sixth remained unidentified. He is on the roadway which runs between the two hotels. "I looked out my window and I saw a huge cloud of brownish smoke go up," he told CNN in a telephone interview.
JAKARTA, Indonesia (CNN) -- Indonesian authorities believe two suicide bombers checked into the JW Marriott Hotel in Jakarta and carried out coordinated bombings Friday morning, killing themselves and at least six victims and wounding more than 50 others. more photos » It is unclear what group is behind the attacks on the Marriott and the adjacent Ritz-Carlton hotel, Indonesia's National Police Chief Gen. Bambang Hendarso said at a news conference. He warned that the death toll could rise. Four of the six victims in Jakarta's hotel bombings were foreigners, the Indonesian Healthy Ministry said Saturday. Eight American nationals were among the wounded, according to the U.S. State Department. Investigators are also analyzing closed-circuit television footage from the Marriott that shows a man, sporting a baseball cap and pulling a wheeled suitcase, heading toward the JW Marriott Hotel's lobby-level restaurant seconds before the deadly blast. Five victims and one suicide bomber were killed at the Marriott, according to police spokesman Inspector General Nanan Soekarna. Minutes later, another suicide bomber struck the adjacent Ritz-Carlton, killing one person and the bomber. Indonesian national police confirmed that the man seen in the CCTV video, distributed by Indonesian television, is being investigated in connection with the blast. "We are suspecting the man in the footage because the time frame matches with the time of the bombing," national police spokesman Nanan Soekarma said. "It is obviously premature to confirm it right now as we will have to wait for the lab results and the investigation to conclude." Indonesian authorities have detained several witnesses and others for questioning, and have sent forensic evidence from the scene for testing, a spokesman for Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said. "This terrorist action is thought to be the work of a terrorist group, even though it is not certain whether this is the terrorism which we are familiar with up until now," the recently reelected president said. See images of the aftermath » The bombings at the two luxury hotels -- which are connected by an underground tunnel -- happened shortly before 8 a.m. (9 p.m. Thursday ET), first at the Marriott and then 10 minutes later at the Ritz-Carlton, police officials said. Both blasts struck the hotels' restaurants and several prominent international business leaders were among the casualties. Watch footage of the scene of the blasts » An unexploded bomb was found on the Marriott Hotel's 18th floor where several suspects believed to be linked to the bombings were staying, Hendarso said. Indonesian investigators believe the bombers checked into the Marriott on Wednesday and were scheduled to check out on Friday, he added. Orlob said there had been no indication of any "immediate threat in Jakarta." Watch Orlob describe security measures » Security has been extremely high at the Marriott hotel in Jakarta since it was struck by a car bombing in August 2003 that killed 12 people. Suspicion immediately fell on Jemaah Islamiyah (JI), the Islamist terrorist network with ties to Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda terrorist network that was tied to the 2003 Marriott attack and the 2002 Bali nightclub bombings that killed more than 200 people, mostly foreign tourists. Hendarso said the type of explosives found were similar to those found in a recent raid on a home in West Java that was linked to Noordin Top, a suspected leader of a small JI splinter group that espouses the use of large-scale terror attacks to push for the establishment of Islamic states in the region. So far, there has been no claim of responsibility for the latest attack. Al Jazeera English reported that it was in touch with a JI member who denied any involvement in Friday's hotel bombings. Watch analysts discuss potential suspects » The fatalities include New Zealand national Timothy David McKay, 60, according to Indonesia's state-run Antara New Agency. McKay -- the CEO of Holcim Indonesia, a cement company -- was at the hotel for a breakfast meeting with fellow prominent business leaders, the Jakarta Post reported. Indonesian media also reported that two directors of Freeport Indonesia, the largest copper and gold mining company in Indonesia, were wounded in the attacks on the two hotels. The second blast at the Ritz-Carlton apparently struck the hotel restaurant on the second floor, according to witnesses. The force of the blast blew out the windows on the Ritz-Carlton's second floor. "The shocking part was entering the lobby, where the glass at the front of the hotel was all blown out and blood was spattered across the floor, but most people were leaving calmly," hotel guest Don Hammer said. "I grabbed my iPhone to go downstairs ... and then the second bomb went off at the Ritz-Carlton, so I then ran around to the Ritz-Carlton and I was able to find that there had been a massive bomb that went off in this ... restaurant area and the explosion had blown out both sides of the hotel." Woolstencroft said he saw a body that "looked like someone who had been a suicide bomber or someone who had been very, very close to the explosion." The chief technology officer for a television station said he had lived at the Ritz for a year before moving to his nearby apartment, and had been impressed by the facility's security. "I just don't know how someone could get in there with a bomb, given the level of security and screening that people have to go through," he said, citing armed guards at checkpoints and thorough searches of people, bags and vehicles. Some reports say the facade of the Ritz Carlton has been blown off in the attack and local police say there have been a number of deaths and many people are trapped and some are injured.
The crew ejected safely, and was being treated, Kolken said. All About Afghanistan War • U.S. Air Force The dead in Tuesday's crash in Helmand were all civilians. A statement from Nato's International Security Assistance Force said: "A civilian contracted helicopter crashed during take-off from Kandahar airfield. There were at least two earlier crashes this month. In a news release, the military said the incident occurred at 3:15 a.m. Kabul time and also noted that there was no "hostile fire." CNN's Ivan Watson contributed to this report. Suspected enemy fire 6 Jul 2009: One UK and two Canadian soldiers die in crash in Zabul province. 'Not shot down' Russia's Interfax agency quoted a spokesman for Russia's Federal Air Transportation Agency (Fata) as saying the aircraft was a Russian-built Mi-8 transport helicopter. The Afghan official said the plane crashed in Ghazni, some 160 kilometers west of the town of Ghazni, between the communities of Qaracha and Bahari. On Saturday, a U.S. fighter jet crashed in eastern Afghanistan, killing its crew of two. There was no indication of the cause of the accident but insurgent action has been ruled out." Six Ukrainian crew members of the Mi-26 helicopter died, along with an Afghan girl on the ground. The company's helicopters are currently carrying out operations in the interests of the UN in Afghanistan and a number of other countries including Congo, Sudan and Pakistan. Watch report on UK deaths in Afghanistan » At least five people were killed when a helicopter went down in southern Afghanistan's Helmand province Tuesday, a local government official said.
KABUL, Afghanistan (CNN) -- A fighter jet crashed in southern Afghanistan on Monday, in the fourth wreck in three days, authorities said. A French Air Force Mirage 2000 sits under a shelter on the tarmac at an airbase in Kandahar on January 1, 2009. Authorities were looking into why the plane went down during takeoff from Kandahar airfield Monday morning, but the role of insurgents had been ruled out, said Lt. Col. Paul Kolken, the spokesman at the airfield. The crew ejected safely, and was being treated, Kolken said. Five hours after the crash, the wreckage of the plane was still on fire. Military officials did not identify the type of jet that crashed, nor did they release the nationality of the crew. Weather conditions were fair at the time of the incident, Kolken said. On Saturday, a U.S. fighter jet crashed in eastern Afghanistan, killing its crew of two. In addition, a civilian helicopter went down on takeoff from Kandahar airfield on Sunday, killing 16 people, NATO said. Watch details of the helicopter crash » And a military helicopter made a hard landing elsewhere on Sunday, apparently injuring at least some of those on board, NATO said. None of the aircraft were shot down, said the International Security Assistance Force -- NATO's mission in Afghanistan. It did not announce the cause of any of the crashes. There were at least two earlier crashes this month. Watch report on UK deaths in Afghanistan » At least five people were killed when a helicopter went down in southern Afghanistan's Helmand province Tuesday, a local government official said. And on July 6, two Canadian air crew members and a British soldier were killed when a helicopter crashed during takeoff in Zabul province, the Canadian and British defense ministries said. Russian media say the aircraft was an Mi-8 similar to this A civilian helicopter has crashed in southern Afghanistan, killing at least 16 civilians and injuring five, Nato officials have confirmed. The helicopter crashed at Kandahar airfield apparently as it was trying to take off, though Nato has ruled out the involvement of insurgents. 'Not shot down' Russia's Interfax agency quoted a spokesman for Russia's Federal Air Transportation Agency (Fata) as saying the aircraft was a Russian-built Mi-8 transport helicopter. A statement from Nato's International Security Assistance Force said: "A civilian contracted helicopter crashed during take-off from Kandahar airfield. Kandahar airfield is Nato's largest air base in southern Afghanistan but the BBC's Martin Patience in Kabul says a lot of civilian aircraft fly in and out so there is no surprise this was a civilian crash. A Nato spokeswoman, Lt Cmdr Sam Truelove, told the AFP news agency it had been confirmed that all the dead were civilians and no military personnel were involved. Suspected enemy fire 6 Jul 2009: One UK and two Canadian soldiers die in crash in Zabul province. Enemy fire not suspected 15 Jan 2009: Afghan general and 12 other soldiers die in crash in Herat province. KABUL, Afghanistan (CNN) -- Two airmen on a U.S. Air Force F-15 Eagle died when the plane crashed in eastern Afghanistan early Saturday, the U.S. military said. In a news release, the military said the incident occurred at 3:15 a.m. Kabul time and also noted that there was no "hostile fire." A spokesman for the governor of Afghanistan's central Ghazni province, who goes by the single name Jihangir, confirmed that a U.S. plane crashed in Ghazni's Nawur district before dawn. "The crash site was sealed off by coalition forces," Jihangir told CNN by telephone, "Afghan police were not allowed to have access to this area."
he said. "Why go to the most difficult place, the surface of the moon, to do that?" THE OVAL: President Obama speaks about 'Apollo 11 crew 40 YEARS LATER: What's the next step? Armstrong and Aldrin did the walk, while Collins circled in a space capsule above. Posted by: aneidlinger | July 21, 2009 4:49 PM Posted by: zvelf | July 21, 2009 10:13 AM Posted by: divtune | July 20, 2009 9:52 PM Posted by: adalie | July 20, 2009 7:51 PM Posted by: simpleton1 | July 20, 2009 4:48 PM The comments to this entry are closed. "And I remember waving American flags and my grandfather telling me that the Apollo mission was an example of how Americans can do anything they put their minds to." "We'd go out and we'd pretend like they could see us as we were waving at folks coming home," he said. Don't attack other readers personally, and keep your language decent. Bush "announced that we were going back to the moon and then to Mars. Honoring the astronauts at the White House revived a somewhat dormant presidential tradition. Duke spent three days on the moon in 1972, and Cernan later that year became the last man to leave footprints in the lunar dust. Use the "Report Abuse" button to make a difference. Logsdon noted that in 1989, the 20th anniversary on the first moonwalk, President George H.W. (Alex Brandon/Associated Press) By Cheryl W. Thompson Forty years to the day after their historic moon landing, Apollo 11 astronauts Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins and Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin met with President Obama in the Oval Office this afternoon.
Enlarge By Bill Ingalls, NASA via Getty Images President Obama welcomes Apollo 11 astronauts, from left, Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin, Michael Collins and Neil Armstrong to the Oval Office on Monday. Forty years ago, Aldrin and Armstrong landed on the moon while Collins orbited overhead. INTERACTIVE GRAPHIC INTERACTIVE GRAPHIC Gallery Trace this history of the Apollo program through video, photos and more. WASHINGTON Hailing the Apollo 11 astronauts as "three genuine American heroes," President Obama said Monday that exploration spurs ingenuity and inspires students in math and science. In a White House ceremony commemorating the day 40 years ago when Neil Armstrong and Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin took man's first steps on the moon, Obama compared their accomplishment to his goal of the United States having the highest college graduation rates in the world by 2020. The president said he wanted to use the anniversary of the Apollo moon landing to show that "math and science are cool again." "The touchstone for excellence in exploration and discovery is always going to be represented by the men of Apollo 11," Obama said. He said their work sparked "innovation, the drive, the entrepreneurship, the creativity back here on Earth." THE OVAL: President Obama speaks about 'Apollo 11 crew 40 YEARS LATER: What's the next step? DRIVE ON: Moon rover of the future could be a lunar pickup Obama recalled watching Apollo astronauts return to Hawaii after splashing down in the Pacific Ocean. He said he'd sit on his grandfather's shoulders and "we'd pretend like they could see us as we were waving at folks coming home." Obama praised Armstrong, Aldrin and command module pilot Michael Collins for their "calm under pressure, the grace with which these three gentlemen operated." The president didn't talk about any future space missions. Aldrin and Collins used the anniversary to make a pitch for a mission to Mars, although others support NASA's plan to return to the moon. Duke spent three days on the moon in 1972, and Cernan later that year became the last man to leave footprints in the lunar dust. "America to Mars is what ought to be, not America back to the moon," Aldrin insisted. He scoffed at Cernan and Duke's proposal to practice for a Mars shot by setting up a lunar base where humans would live and conduct research. "Why go to the most difficult place, the surface of the moon, to do that?" "Why not do those at the space station?" At the direction of President George W. Bush, NASA began working to send crews to the moon around 2020. Use the "Report Abuse" button to make a difference. Use the "Report Abuse" button to make a difference. Washington Life On Moon-Landing Anniversary, Obama Meets with - and Praises - Apollo 11 Crew President Obama poses with Apollo 11 astronauts Buzz Aldrin, Michael Collins, and Neil Armstrong in the Oval Office on the 40th anniversary of the Apollo 11 lunar landing. (Alex Brandon/Associated Press) By Cheryl W. Thompson Forty years to the day after their historic moon landing, Apollo 11 astronauts Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins and Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin met with President Obama in the Oval Office this afternoon. Obama praised the trio for their "heroism, calm under pressure" and "grace." "I think that all of us recall the moment in which mankind finally was untethered from this planet and was able to explore the stars; the moment in which we had one of our own step on the moon and leave that imprint that is there to this day," the president said. Armstrong described the moon as "pretty, like the desert in the Southwestern United States." "The country continues to draw inspiration from what you've done," Obama said after meeting with the Apollo 11 crew. The president recalled that as a boy living in Hawaii, he would perch on his grandfather's shoulders and watch the space capsules land in the Pacific Ocean. "And I remember waving American flags and my grandfather telling me that the Apollo mission was an example of how Americans can do anything they put their minds to." Obama said the men "inspired an entire generation of scientists and engineers," and added that he was confident NASA would continue to be "inspirational." "I think it's fair to say that the touchstone for excellence in exploration and discovery is always going to be represented by the men of Apollo 11," he said. Like most Americans, President Obama paraded down memory lane today, recalling where he was when the astronauts of Apollo 11 walked on the moon -- though in his case he got to do it with the space men themselves. "The country continues to draw inspiration from what you've done," Obama told the crew of Apollo 11: Neil Armstrong, Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin and Michael Collins. "We'd go out and we'd pretend like they could see us as we were waving at folks coming home," the president said, standing beside the astronauts.
When this was not forthcoming, the closure was announced. "It's appalling," one worker said. Vestas erected a fence around the site in response to the protest. Workers claimed it was being put up to stop food or drink being sent in. Police said two men were detained close to the Vestas Wind Systems plant, on the Isle of Wight. We have made clear to the Government that we need a market. I've been getting about two hours a night. Earlier this week, one of the workers occupying the factory, who gave his name as Michael, said it was "crazy" for the energy and climate change secretary, Ed Miliband, to be making "statement after statement" about green energy but standing by as the factory closed down. Three people were arrested yesterday. Are ministers really now saying they'd rather buy those turbines from abroad than make them here in the UK?" "This protest is a last-ditch attempt to save our jobs, we want the government to come down here and help us." "Last week Labour promised Britain would install thousands of wind turbines in the coming years. Hampshire Police said a 28-year-old man from Southampton had been arrested on suspicion of assaulting a police officer and a 49-year-old man from Portsmouth was arrested on suspicion of a breach of the peace. "Just little things like that keep the atmosphere good." "We are convinced this is against the Human Rights Act because we are being denied humanitarian aid. Bookmark with: Delicious Digg reddit Facebook StumbleUpon What are these? 'Not much sleep' Please turn on JavaScript.
by Michael Stoddard BBC South The workers have only been getting a few hours sleep a night The 25 or so workers continuing a sit-in protest at the Vestas wind turbine site on the Isle of Wight say morale is high, but what is it really like on the inside? One of the workers, who did not want to be named, said: "There are a few stinky bodies and it is hard being away from your family and kids but we've managed to stay in touch on our mobiles which has been great. "One guy has even called us up after seeing the publicity and asked for our mobile numbers and topped our phones up with £10, it's great to see such support." They are protesting at Danish company Vestas Windsystems plan to make 625 workers redundant at the end of this month, despite rising profits. 'Face sack' "One of the guys found a pair of latex cycling shorts in the office, so we all had a good laugh when he put them on and ran around. He jokingly added: "It's all guys here so good to be away from the women for a while." The workers say morale is still high inside the factory The protester said the experience is probably similar to being on the television show Big Brother. "We are pretty cut off from the outside world and food has been running low, there's no television and we've been mostly listening to the radio. "But we've all seen the survival shows and know we can go a while without food as long as we have the basics. "There's a water machine in the office and a coffee and tea vending machine. "There's a toilet so there's no problem with that and a few guys brought some spare socks and clothes." Vestas has now erected a fence at the entrance to the site to stop people throwing food up to a balcony for workers, but the firm has agreed to deliver food supplies. The workers have also claimed the firm has told them they have been sacked and will lose redundancy pay. The men locked themselves in a first-floor office of about 40ft by 40ft on Monday evening and have been staying up at night in shifts to guard the doors. "But we've been turning office chairs upside down and using the head rests as pillows even though they are not the most comfortable. "This protest is a last-ditch attempt to save our jobs, we want the government to come down here and help us." The group have vowed to continue their sit-in for "as long as it takes". A fence was put up on Wednesday but Vestas is supplying food "So far only the middle managers have spoken to us, not the big bosses," he said. Vestas has not commented on the protest and only told the BBC a consultation on the site's future is on-going. The firm has previously said the factory was being closed due to reduced demand for wind turbines in northern Europe. Two men detained outside Vestas plant on Isle of Wight as owners erect fence around site in response to demonstration against its closure Police made more arrests overnight outside a wind turbine factory where climate change activists are staging a protest in support of workers occupying the site. Around 25 workers are staging a sit-in as part of a campaign to save the factory from closure, with the loss of hundreds of jobs, next week. The plant's Danish owners erected a fence around the site yesterday in response to a growing protest by environmental and climate change demonstrators. Workers said the fence was being built to stop food or drink being sent in, leading to claims that the company's move was illegal. Earlier this week, one of the workers occupying the factory, who gave his name as Michael, said it was "crazy" for the energy and climate change secretary, Ed Miliband, to be making "statement after statement" about green energy but standing by as the factory closed down. Police said access to food and water inside the factory was a matter for the Vestas management and the demonstrators, adding that officers were not stopping food supplies from entering the site. "Local officers on duty at the site acknowledge and understand the strength of feeling regarding the closure of this wind turbine blade factory, and its impact on the community, staff and their families." He added that Hampshire police had served a notice, under section 14 of the Public Order Act 1986, on Wednesday afternoon to ensure any ongoing demonstrations outside the plant could take place lawfully, safely and peacefully. Only last week, ministers proclaimed a green employment future for the UK involving 400,000 jobs in environmental industries such as renewable energy – yet this week they are declining to intervene over the forthcoming closure of the Vestas Wind Systems plant on the Isle of Wight, with nearly 600 redundancies. Workers at the Newport factory, which makes wind turbine blades, were last night staging their third night of occupation of the plant in an attempt to prevent the closure which is scheduled for 31 July. Vestas, a Danish company which is the world's biggest wind energy group, announced in April it was pulling out of the UK, citing the difficulties of getting wind farms built in Britain in the face of local "Nimby" opposition campaigns and the slowness of the planning system.
"As we have said from the outset, this is a peaceful demonstration." Vestas had named individuals in its court summons and should have served papers to each of them. Danish owners of wind turbine company unable to force workers out of Isle of Wight factory Workers occupying a wind turbine factory on the Isle of Wight vowed to continue their protest for another week today after a legal attempt to evict them quickly failed. He said: "We are not going to resist but we are going to be in here as long as we can." The Campaign against Climate Change and the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT) organised a rally outside the Department of Energy and Climate Change in central London on Tuesday evening. It directs people towards the Save Vestas blog, which records the news that a judge in Newport refused to grant Vestas a possession order for the occupied factory, and adjourned the case to 4 August. Vestas said it could not get in to the property without force because it was secured from the inside. Eleven employees have been sacked. 'No other choice' Vestas has blamed its decision to close the factory on a lack of demand for wind turbines in the UK market, despite the firm's profits rising. Three of those are now thought to have left. A hearing should have also taken place on Thursday, but the rules require three clear days after papers are served before the next court hearing. Sit-in protester Ian Terry told the BBC that they intended to leave the offices "peacefully" if they were forced out. He said the police presence at the site was evidence of the risk of disorder.
When the Big Green Gathering, a festival for environmentally minded individuals to share ideas about tackling climate change while practising a little reiki, was cancelled at the weekend, those with tickets were left with nowhere to go. Now a new festival seems to have sprung up to fill the breach. The internet is alive with messages about "Vestival", with activists urging people due to attend the four-day gathering to head instead to the Isle of Wight to support workers protesting against facing the closure of the Vestas wind turbine factory. The BGG was cancelled on Sunday after Mendip district council and Somerset police sought a high court injunction to stop it going ahead. Marina Pepper, an eco-campaigner and Liberal Democrat councillor, tweeted her encouragement to would-be demonstrators today, saying: "Vestival is go. If you can get to Newport by 9.30am Wednesday, all the better (Vestas workers up in court to be evicted). The tone of some tweets verged on celebratory, with climatecamp tweeting: "Then get ye down to Vestival this weekend. Problem as solution, hell yeah!" The Life, London and Leninism blog described the gathering as the Vestival of Resistance, writing: "By all accounts the struggle has now taken over 'The Island' – thanks in large part to the RMT union's commitment to throw its weight behind the occupation." A Facebook group, Save Vestas Isle of Wight From Closure, has gathered more than 450 members. It directs people towards the Save Vestas blog, which records the news that a judge in Newport refused to grant Vestas a possession order for the occupied factory, and adjourned the case to 4 August. Danish owners of wind turbine company unable to force workers out of Isle of Wight factory Workers occupying a wind turbine factory on the Isle of Wight vowed to continue their protest for another week today after a legal attempt to evict them quickly failed. For the past nine days, about 20 workers have occupied the Vestas Wind Systems plant near Newport, which is due to close tomorrow. The company sought a possession order at Newport county court today in an attempt to remove the workers from the factory, where 625 staff are set to lose their jobs. But, adjourning the hearing until Tuesday, the judge, Graham White, said papers had not been properly served on individuals occupying the property. Papers were served last Thursday to Mark Smith, the one worker that the factory's Danish owners know for certain is occupying the factory. In the court papers, Vestas named 13 individuals and "persons unknown" it believed had occupied the office space in the building. However, Adam Rosenthal, representing Vestas, conceded the company could not be sure who else had barricaded themselves inside the property. Urging the judge to use his discretion to fast-track the possession order, Rosenthal said "emotions are running high" at the factory and there was a real risk of disturbance. He said the police presence at the site was evidence of the risk of disorder. Judge White dismissed that argument, saying: "I see no evidence of any threat of violence to property or person by reason of the individuals who are occupying the property remaining there." The judge added he was "distinctly uncomfortable" with the way the company was seeking to bring proceedings, which he described as an attempt to "get around the rules". "I am not satisfied that any named person other than Mark Smith has been personally served," he said. "It's given us another week to spread the word and given our legal team time to strengthen the case." Although, he conceded that another six nights in the factory was "not a pleasant thought". Outside the court, about 200 protesters – an alliance of local workers and environmental activists from the mainland – also celebrated. "We have just heard that the case has been adjourned to 4 August," Steve Stotesbury, a 29-year-old blade maker, announced to the crowd. It goes to show the fight is not over." The union said today that its general secretary, Bob Crow, was meeting the energy secretary, Ed Miliband, to discuss the situation. "No one should underestimate the significance of the court throwing out Vestas' repossession application today," said Crow. However, the dispute is proving embarrassing for the energy secretary, who a fortnight ago pledged to install 10,000 wind turbines by 2020. The government has also promised to create thousands of "green jobs" of the kind that are being lost with the closure of the Vestas factory. About 25 workers have been occupying the Newport offices since 20 July after the firm announced plans to close the factory, with the loss of 625 jobs. Workers inside the factory say they will stay for "as long as it takes" Turbine workers talk of sit-in life However the firm only served them to one of the protesters inside who said he would pass them on, the court heard.
"This is not the first time that this happens," Santos said. Colombia authorities said on Monday they had seized anti-tank weapons purchased in Europe by Venezuela in the hands of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC. Colombian troops are pressing their offensive against the rebels Sweden has asked Venezuela to explain how Swedish-made weapons ended up in the hands of Colombia's Farc rebels. Venezuelan Foreign Minister Nicolas Maduro talks on the phone with President Hugo Chavez in Caracas Monday. Swedish officials said the anti-tank rocket launchers had been sold to Venezuela in the 1980s. "We absolutely deny that our government or our institutions are providing assistance to criminal and terrorist organizations," El Aissami told reporters. (editing by Robert Woodward) "In several operations in which we have recovered weapons we have found powerful ammunition (and) powerful equipment, including anti-tank weapons which a European country sold to Venezuela and which turned up in the hands of the Farc," he told Colombia's Caracol radio. Jens Eriksson, a senior official at the Swedish Trade Ministry, said his government was working with Colombia "to find out how this happened". Correspondents say he was referring to reports that Washington and Bogota are close to an agreement that would increase US military operations in Colombia. Bookmark with: Delicious Digg reddit Facebook StumbleUpon What are these? The department froze any assets the three men may have under U.S. jurisdiction and prohibited Americans from conducting business with them. E-mail this to a friend Printable version No licenses have been issued for arms exports to Colombia while no shipments of weapons to Venezuela under a 2006 licence has been carried out in recent years, Eriksson said.
STOCKHOLM, July 28 The Swedish government said on Tuesday it had asked Venezuela for information on how Swedish-made weapons exported to the South American country had found their way to rebels in neighbouring Colombia. Colombia authorities said on Monday they had seized anti-tank weapons purchased in Europe by Venezuela in the hands of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC. [ID:nN27540288] "It is correct that they have found these weapons to be Swedish-made," said Jens Eriksson, a top political adviser at the Foreign Ministry to Trade Minister Ewa Bjorling. "We are working together with Colombian authorities to investigate the matter further and we have contacted Venezuelan authorities to clear up how these arms ended up in Colombia." Venezuelan Interior Minister Tareck El Aissami denied on Monday the weapons found in the hands of FARC, which has been fighting for a socialist revolution since the 1960s and is labelled a terrorist organisation by the United States, had come from Venezuela. Eriksson said "a smaller quantity" of arms, mainly ammunition, had also been found in rebel hands. A Swedish Foreign Ministry official said the anti-tank weapons had been exported to Venezuela in the 1980s but that some shipments of ammunition for the weapons systems had occurred at a later date. No licenses have been issued for arms exports to Colombia while no shipments of weapons to Venezuela under a 2006 licence has been carried out in recent years, Eriksson said. (CNN) -- Shoulder-launched anti-tank weapons purchased by Venezuela have ended up in the hands of guerrillas, Colombian Vice President Francisco Santos said. In an interview with Caracol Radio Monday, Santos addressed local reports of anti-tank weapons manufactured in Sweden being seized from members of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, and traced to Venezuela. "In several operations in which we have recovered weapons from the FARC, we have found powerful munitions and powerful equipment, including anti-tank weapons, from a European country that sold them to Venezuela and that turned up in the hands of the FARC." The weapons have been identified as AT4 shoulder-fired rockets manufactured by Saab Bofors Dynamics in Sweden, according to Jane's Defence Weekly. Jan-Erik Lovgren, the Swedish official who oversees weapon exports, told Radio Sweden on Monday that his country stopped selling weapons to Venezuela in 2006. "To me it seems that this is a new attack against our government based on lies," Venezuelan Minister of the Interior and Justice Tareck El Aissami said at a news conference Monday. "It's laughable, it sounds like a cheap film made by the American government." Previous instances of Venezuela's government being accused of aiding the FARC include one last year, when the U.S. Treasury Department accused two senior Venezuelan intelligence officials and one former official of assisting the guerrillas with drug trafficking. The department froze any assets the three men may have under U.S. jurisdiction and prohibited Americans from conducting business with them. Colombian troops are pressing their offensive against the rebels Sweden has asked Venezuela to explain how Swedish-made weapons ended up in the hands of Colombia's Farc rebels. "In several operations in which we have recovered weapons we have found powerful ammunition (and) powerful equipment, including anti-tank weapons which a European country sold to Venezuela and which turned up in the hands of the Farc," he told Colombia's Caracol radio.
It had no chance. "These vessels, they are grossly overloaded," she said. Some of the survivors said the boat had been rammed by a patrol boat from the Turks and Caicos, then towed out to sea. The US Coast Guard has been leading the search for survivors among the reefs. Advertisement Fifteen people are dead and nearly 70 are missing after a boat carrying up to 200 Haitian migrants capsized off the Caribbean islands of Turks and Caicos. They were repatriated to Haiti on Monday. At least 15 drowned. Hiding from the police The Haitians had been at sea for three days when they spotted a police vessel and tried to hide, accidentally steering the boat onto a reef, survivor Alces Julien told The Associated Press. Most were ferried to land by Turks and Caicos authorities in small boats. Rescuers found survivors stranded on two reefs roughly two miles from West Caicos Island, said Lt. Cmdr. Emergency services managed to rescue 113 people and some of the injured were taken to hospital after the incident, thought to have happened on Sunday. Haitian migrants often leave their impoverished Caribbean country in dangerously crowded boats, hoping to escape poverty and find work in the Bahamas or Florida. Earlier, he said 122 migrants -- 22 women and the rest men -- had been rescued. "They were traveling in waters that are quite dangerous if you don't know the area quite well," he said. "Unfortunately many people lose their lives trying to reach the United States illegally, anywhere of 100 or more per year," he said, adding that the heavy loss of life was mostly due to overcrowding of vessels.
MIAMI At least 15 Haitian migrants drowned and more than 65 were missing after their wooden sail boat hit a reef and sank off the Turks and Caicos islands, local police and the U.S. Coast Guard said on Tuesday. More than 120 people were rescued following the shipwreck late on Sunday, and Coast Guard cutters and aircraft were assisting Turks and Caicos authorities in the search for more survivors. Police in the British territory said 15 bodies had been recovered in waters off West Caicos, a sparsely inhabited island popular with divers and boaters. "Our search is continuing, by sea and air," Petty Officer Nick Ameen said in Miami. "As time progresses, the possibility for survival diminishes," he added. Turks and Caicos police spokesman Sergeant Calvin Chase said there were conflicting reports about how many people had been on board the wooden sloop, which he said was carrying illegal migrants from Haiti trying to reach the United States. "The boat ran aground on a reef, Molasses Reef, off West Caicos," Chase told Reuters by phone. "We have a total of 15 dead bodies now," he added. Earlier, he said 122 migrants -- 22 women and the rest men -- had been rescued. "They are illegal immigrants," Chase said, adding the repatriation of the survivors back to Haiti had already begun. ESCAPING POVERTY Coast Guard vessels and helicopters, the Turks and Caicos Police Marine Patrol and private boats had all helped pluck the survivors from the reefs and waters on Monday. Haitian migrants often leave their impoverished Caribbean country in dangerously crowded boats, hoping to escape poverty and find work in the Bahamas or Florida. The Turks and Caicos islands are a British territory in the Atlantic Ocean, between the southern Bahamas and the north coast of Haiti. The Coast Guard said some of the most gravely injured survivors were taken by helicopter to the Turks and Caicos capital of Providenciales for medical treatment. Last week, the Coast Guard intercepted 124 Haitian migrants from what they called a "grossly overloaded" 60-foot (18-meter) boat about 150 miles southwest of the shipwreck site. The handmade wooden sailboat, weighed down with about 200 Haitians fleeing poverty, tried to maneuver through the treacherous coral reefs when it was struck by heavy swells. "The waves broke the boat apart," said Samuel Been, minister of public safety for the Turks and Caicos Islands. Tossed into the water, some managed to swim two miles to shore, while others clung to wreckage or the razor-sharp reef. Rescuers searched by sea and air Tuesday for nearly 70 more believed missing after the overloaded sailboat ran aground and splintered near the Turks and Caicos Islands. The boat was carrying an estimated 200 men, women and teenagers when it struck the reef near West Caicos, part of an archipelago that has proven to be deadly for Haitians trying to escape their homeland in rickety vessels. Such perilous journeys have long been common throughout the world, but the number of migrants risking their lives to cross borders has declined amid increased enforcement in the United States and Europe and due to a global recession that has eliminated many unskilled jobs. Still, people continue to take the chance, including the Haitians who crowded into a sailboat last week in northern Haiti. 15 die, more than 100 rescued Fifteen people died and more than 100 were rescued after the boat failed to navigate a narrow pass between two reefs, according to the Coast Guard and Been, who spoke with 10 of the survivors. Coast Guard boats, airplanes and a helicopter joined local authorities and volunteers in searching a 1,600-square-mile area, U.S. Coast Guard Petty Officer 1st Class Jennifer Johnson. Any survivors in the water would be struggling with 23 mph winds and 6-foot seas. "However, as time goes by, it becomes less and less likely because of exposure and fatigue." Turks and Caicos is a magnet for divers who come to explore its clear, shallow waters and reefs — conditions that also make it treacherous for boaters unfamiliar with the jagged outcroppings of coral that lie menacingly just below the surface in some places. Hiding from the police The Haitians had been at sea for three days when they spotted a police vessel and tried to hide, accidentally steering the boat onto a reef, survivor Alces Julien told The Associated Press. "We saw police boats and we tried to hide until they passed," he said at a hospital where survivors were treated for dehydration. "We hit a reef and the boat broke up." But Deputy Police Commissioner Hubert Hughes said officers were not pursuing the migrant vessel — which did not have a motor — and were involved only as rescuers. Rescuers found survivors stranded on two reefs roughly two miles from West Caicos Island, said Lt. Cmdr. Turks and Caicos authorities reported the capsizing Monday to the Coast Guard, which patrols the region for drug traffickers and illegal migrants and often helps in search and rescue efforts. Vessels 'grossly overloaded' Survivors told authorities the boat set out from northern Haiti with about 160 passengers, then stopped at an unknown location and picked up 40 others before sinking near the Turks and Caicos, an island chain between Haiti and the Bahamas, Johnson said. Nearly 60 survivors were surrounded by private security guards at the two-story gymnasium, a beige, concrete structure near the island's small airport.
Until then, it's Schumi-time. "For loyalty reasons to the team, I cannot ignore that unfortunate situation" with Massa, he said. First Schumacher must prove his fitness. The race was added to the schedule only last year -- a race won by Massa -- and Schumacher has yet to race on that track. Formula One was rocked by two developments Wednesday when seven-time champion Michael Schumacher said he would come out of retirement to drive again for Ferrari, and BMW announced it would leave the international racing series at season's end. Subject to passing a medical, the 40-year-old German will return at the European grand prix in Valencia on 23 August. The question is: why? But as the competitor that I am, I also very much look forward to facing this challenge." "This afternoon I met with team principal Stefano Domenicali and Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo and together we decided that I will prepare myself to take the place of Felipe. The Brazilian left intensive care and walked around his bed on Wednesday for the first time since his crash. Former world champion Lauda believes Schumacher will thrive on his return. Schumacher retired after the 2006 season, having won five of his titles with Ferrari, which he continued to serve as a consultant and occasional test driver. His spokeswoman Sabine Kehm warned on Tuesday that those injuries could affect his ability to drive an F1 car which places huge pressures on the neck because of the varying G-forces. "The most important thing first: thank God, all news concerning Felipe is positive, and I wish him all the best again.
Formula One was rocked by two developments Wednesday when seven-time champion Michael Schumacher said he would come out of retirement to drive again for Ferrari, and BMW announced it would leave the international racing series at season's end. Ferrari and Schumacher, 40, confirmed speculation that he would temporarily replace driver Felipe Massa, who was seriously injured during qualifying for last weekend's Hungarian Grand Prix. Schumacher retired after the 2006 season, having won five of his titles with Ferrari, which he continued to serve as a consultant and occasional test driver. "For loyalty reasons to the team, I cannot ignore that unfortunate situation" with Massa, he said. "I also very much look forward to facing this challenge," the German driver said. The race was added to the schedule only last year -- a race won by Massa -- and Schumacher has yet to race on that track. Provided the 40-year-old seven-time world champion can prove his fitness - and the German is a man who prides himself on his conditioning - he will line up against reigning world champion Lewis Hamilton for the very first time at the European Grand Prix in Valencia on Aug 23. The announcement, which will have Ferrari's hardcore tifosi drooling, came just 24 hours after the German driver's manager, Willi Weber, said he was "200 per cent sure" his client would not race in Valencia. "Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro intends to entrust Michael Schumacher with Felipe Massa's car until the Brazilian driver is able to race again," Ferrari announced on its website. "Michael Schumacher has shown his willingness and in the next few days he will undergo a specific programme of preparation at the end of which it will be possible to confirm his participation in the championship starting with the European Grand Prix." Schumacher, who most certainly does not need the money, said as recently as three weeks ago that he had no intention of making a comeback in a sport he bestrode like a colossus for 15 seasons. And as Weber pointed out, the most successful F1 driver of all time, a man with 91 grand prix wins to his name, is not one to settle for second best. "In this case, it would not be perfection; it would be a gamble - and that's not Michael's style." Although he said his decision was inspired by a sense of duty to a team for whom he still acts as an advisor following Massa's horrific crash during qualifying for the Hungarian Grand Prix last weekend, he admitted that he was also motivated by the challenge of competing against a new generation of drivers in a new machine. "It is true that the Formula One chapter has long been closed for me but for team loyalty reasons I can't ignore this unfortunate situation," Schumacher said of his close friend Massa, who is expected to miss the rest of the season despite his rapid recovery from a life-threatening skull fracture. "This afternoon I met with team principal Stefano Domenicali and Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo and together we decided that I will prepare myself to take the place of Felipe. The subtext was clear; with Ferrari beginning to look as if they are capable of challenging for race wins for the first time this year, Schumacher clearly believes he can add to his incredible tally of victories. And with McLaren's Hamilton having notched his first victory of 2009 in Budapest last weekend, the mouth-watering prospect of their first-ever showdown awaits in Valencia, a race which produced a distinct lack of fireworks on its debut last year. How ironic would it be if he cost his old technical director Ross Brawn, now spearheading Brawn GP's march to glory, the constructors' championship? Since retiring in 2006 he has occasionally taken part in motorcycle events and in February he suffered neck and back injuries in a bike accident. Ferrari confirmed today that the seven-times world champion, who retired in 2006, will make a sensational return to the sport as a stand-in for the injured Felipe Massa. It is expected that Schumacher, who will not be able to drive the Ferrari before the first free practice session at the Spanish track due to the ban on testing during the racing season, will partner Kimi Raikkonen in the seven remaining races this season.
It was strange, in a sense. "You're Bobby." Robson's humour was not always unintentional. "Sir Bobby was a wonderful man, a real gentleman," said the England manager. The world, not just the football world, will miss him." Thousands of tributes have been left at St James' Park On Monday, books of condolence were opened at customer service centres around Newcastle. Few who encountered Robson in a 50-year career that took him from a Durham pit to the peak of the world game were untouched by his warmth and integrity. To fight cancer so many times really showed the strength of the man." George Burley, one of the stars of the Ipswich team which Robson established as title contenders in the early Eighties and who won the 1978 FA Cup and 1981 Uefa Cup, described him as a father figure. I'm a bit of a dreamer, and I know Sir Bobby did not have it all his own way when he came here in his first few years, and he fought hard to develop the club. People can also sign a book at the Town Hall, in Durham, while another at Fulham's Craven Cottage ground has been open over the weekend. He passed on those lessons to his players, who remembered him with great affection. And the boy educated at a secondary modern became one of very few English managers able to master the challenge of coaching big foreign clubs – including Barcelona, with whom he won three trophies in a single season. Over the weekend, fans at matches paid tribute to the County Durham-born footballing legend, who died on Friday after a long battle with the disease.
Media requires JavaScript to play. Donations have been pouring in to a fund set up by Sir Bobby Robson to fight cancer. Over the weekend, fans at matches paid tribute to the County Durham-born footballing legend, who died on Friday after a long battle with the disease. The tributes included a shrine at Newcastle's St James' Park, which Sir Bobby's family visited on Sunday. A page on the Just Giving website has been flooded with donations and had reached £1.6m on Monday morning. The Sir Bobby Robson Foundation was set up by the former England manager in March 2008 to raise money to fund clinical trials of new drugs and treatments to beat cancer. Books of condolence Professor Ruth Plummer, from the foundation, said: "There have been pages of donations even from early Friday morning looking at the website. Thousands of tributes have been left at St James' Park On Monday, books of condolence were opened at customer service centres around Newcastle. People can also sign a book at the Town Hall, in Durham, while another at Fulham's Craven Cottage ground has been open over the weekend. Newcastle United said tens of thousands of people had visited St James' Park since Friday, leaving flowers, scarves, banners and shirts. The Sir John Hall Stand at the ground will be open from 0900 to 1700 BST each day this week for people to continue to pay their tributes. Minute's applause There were also tributes at Ipswich's Portman Road ground, where he had a successful 13-year spell as manager. Sir Bobby was remembered before pre-season matches over the weekend, including a minute's applause at Newcastle's match at Dundee United and Ipswich's game with Real Valladolid on Friday night. Sir Bobby was England manager from 1982 to 1990, when he led the team to the World Cup semi-finals. Much the same claim could be made of English football and Bobby Robson, the miner's son who embodied so many of the better qualities identified with the game in an age before vast sums of money came along to distort and realign its priorities. There can be little argument with the proposition that Sir Bobby, as he became in 2002, loved football as much as any man who ever lived. Ten years ago, he was 66 and had already twice fought off the depredations of cancer when he took his last significant job as a manager. It was with Newcastle United, the club that had commanded his boyhood affections, and he was properly affronted when, after five mostly happy and successful years, he was sacked by directors lacking an iota of his understanding of or feeling for the game. In the Netherlands, Portugal and Spain he is remembered as a man capable of taking on clubs enduring difficult times and restoring their fortunes. In England his name will always be associated with two events in particular: winning the FA Cup in 1978 with Ipswich Town, a much-loved backwoods club whose upper-crust owners let him get on with organising the football while they restocked the boardroom cocktail cabinet, and losing a World Cup semi-final with England a dozen years later, beaten by Germany in a penalty shootout destined to enter folklore. He was sacked several times, at virtually every stage of his career - from his first job, aged 34, and from his last, at 71. He held strong opinions and was unafraid to take the hard decisions that are an inevitable part of the football manager's lot but his enthusiasm, fundamental kindness and decency, underlying humility and indomitable good humour marked him out as a product of those generations that grew up in the shadow of war and poverty. He belonged with the likes of Alf Ramsey, Bill Nicholson, Jackie Milburn, Joe Mercer, Ron Greenwood and Dave Sexton, even though eventually found himself up against younger men who grew up in a very different world. He was a football man whose talent was elevated not just by his hard-earned understanding of the game but by his instinctive feeling for its human dimensions. No one who came into contact with him could fail to have been affected by his readiness to talk all day and all night about football with an undiminished curiosity, and his eye for a player enabled him to bring young apprentices to maturity as well as to work with some of football's greatest names. During 13 seasons at Ipswich, he signed only 14 players from other clubs but two of those were Arnold Muhren and Frans Thijssen, the Dutchmen whose artistry helped to begin the process of internationalisation that ultimately led to the phenomenal global success of the Premier League. And the boy educated at a secondary modern became one of very few English managers able to master the challenge of coaching big foreign clubs – including Barcelona, with whom he won three trophies in a single season. "I'm Bryan," the skipper replied. Bobby Charlton quotes him as saying of the full back George Cohen, whose passing was not the best, that "George probably hit more photographers than Frank Sinatra". It was not his record of wins, draws and losses but the recognition of his inherent generosity of spirit that wrapped him in public sympathy when it became clear that his long struggle against cancer was coming to a sad end. His continued presence at St James' Park, pale and gaunt, his whitened hair now gone and his bald head covered by a rakish wide-brimmed hat, was a statement of enduring love and loyalty to a game that somehow remained, despite misadventures, worth the candle. Robson's death, aged 76 after a long battle with the disease, drew tributes from Prince William and the Prime Minister, saw flags lowered to half-mast at St James' Park, Portman Road and Wembley, and touched people from his native North East to Barcelona. The Football Association will mark his passing with a minute's silence at the Community Shield next weekend, in which Manchester United and Chelsea will wear black armbands, as will Football League clubs and the England team when they meet Holland on Aug 12.
They will no more have any inspiration. His sect, Boko Haram, is against Western education. Akunyili also described Yusuf's death as "positive" for Nigeria. They handed him over to the police. Have you been affected by the violence? The BBC has seen the dead body of Mohammed Yusuf. Human Rights Watch staff said there should be an immediate investigation into the case. Mr Yusuf's Islamic sect is blamed for days of violent clashes with security forces across northern Nigeria, which killed hundreds of people. His group - known as Boko Haram or Taliban - wants to overthrow the Nigerian government and impose a strict version of Islamic law. She told the BBC: "What is important is that he [Yusuf] has been taken out of the way, to stop him using people to cause mayhem." A few hours later, journalists were shown his bullet-ridden body. 'Trying to escape' Troops had stormed Boko Haram's stronghold in the north-eastern city of Maiduguri on Wednesday night, killing many of the militants and forcing others to flee. Send us your comments. It is thought more than 300 people have died in the violence - some estimates say 600, although there has been no official confirmation. I saw a video and after that I rushed to the police headquarters and I saw the corpse. The Red Cross said about 3,500 people had fled the fighting and were being housed in its camp. One policeman told AFP news agency Mr Yusuf had "pleaded for mercy and forgiveness before he was shot." Dora Akunyili, Nigeria's information minister, insisted that the government "does not condone extrajudicial killings" and steps would be taken to find out "exactly what happened".
The BBC has obtained a photograph which shows that Yusuf Mohamed, the leader of the Boko Haram sect in Nigeria, was alive when captured by the army. They handed him over to the police. The police said he had been fatally wounded while trying to evade capture. Mr Yusuf's Islamic sect is blamed for days of violent clashes with security forces across northern Nigeria, which killed hundreds of people. Nigeria's declaration of victory over Taliban-style militants was overshadowed last night by demands for an inquiry into the "extrajudicial killing" of the sect's leader. The bullet-riddled body of Mohammed Yusuf, head of the Islamist sect Boko Haram, was shown to journalists hours after police announced his capture at the end of a four-day manhunt. Emmanuel Ojukwu, a national police spokesman, said: "This group operates under a charismatic leader. The leader who they thought was invincible and immortal has now been proved otherwise." But the triumphalism was punctured by conflicting accounts of how Yusuf died. Colonel Ben Ahanotu, commander of the military operation against Boko Haram, who claims he personally captured Yusuf, said that he had been unarmed and gave himself up willingly. "All I know is that in the attack, I was able to pick him up from his hideout and hand him over to police," he told the BBC. The regional police assistant inspector-general, Moses Anegbode, had earlier told Nigerian television that Yusuf had been "killed by security forces in a shoot-out while trying to escape". A policeman reportedly said that Yusuf "pleaded for mercy and forgiveness before he was shot". Eric Guttschuss, of Human Rights Watch, said: "The extrajudicial killing of Mr Yusuf in police custody is a shocking example of the brazen contempt by the Nigerian police for the rule of law." Another Human Rights Watch researcher, Corinne Dufka, added: "The Nigerian authorities must act immediately to investigate and hold to account all those responsible for this unlawful killing and any others associated with the recent violence in northern Nigeria." Dora Akunyili, Nigeria's information minister, insisted that the government "does not condone extrajudicial killings" and steps would be taken to find out "exactly what happened". Akunyili also described Yusuf's death as "positive" for Nigeria. She told the BBC: "What is important is that he [Yusuf] has been taken out of the way, to stop him using people to cause mayhem." Analysts said it was not clear whether Yusuf's death would end the violence or inspire revenge attacks by the sect, which seeks the imposition of strict sharia law. It is thought that more than 300 people have died in this week's violence. The Red Cross said about 3,500 people had fled the fighting and were being housed in its camp. WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT In pictures A Nigerian government minister has expressed relief at the death of an Islamic sect leader, Mohammed Yusuf. Yusuf's body was shown to journalists on Thursday just hours after police said they had captured him. Human rights campaigners alleged he had been executed, but police said on Friday that he died in a shoot-out following days of bloody fighting. Information Minister Dora Akunyili told the BBC that the government "does not condone extra-judicial killings". The militant group led by Yusuf has been blamed for days of violent unrest in which hundreds of people died in clashes between his followers and security forces. We heard some gunshots from somewhere, then we were told that the man had been "executed" at the police headquarters, at about 1900. 'Shocking' Information Minister Dora Akunyili told the BBC's Network Africa that she was concerned about the death and that the government would find out "exactly what happened". However Mohammed Yusuf's demise was "positive" for Nigeria, she added. "The extrajudicial killing of Mr Yusuf in police custody is a shocking example of the brazen contempt by the Nigerian police for the rule of law," said Eric Guttschuss, of the New York-based rights group. Another Human Rights Watch researcher, Corinne Dufka, told AP news agency: "The Nigerian authorities must act immediately to investigate and hold to account all those responsible for this unlawful killing and any others associated with the recent violence in northern Nigeria." 'Trying to escape' Troops had stormed Boko Haram's stronghold in the north-eastern city of Maiduguri on Wednesday night, killing many of the militants and forcing others to flee. No surprise at Nigeria killing In pictures: Clashes aftermath Nigeria's 'Taliban' enigma Islamist death: Your reaction Mr Yusuf was arrested the following day after reportedly being found hiding in a goat pen at his parents-in-law's house. Later, a BBC reporter in the city was among journalists shown two films - one apparently showing Mr Yusuf making a confession, the other showing what appeared to be his body, riddled with bullets. "Mohammed Yusuf was killed by security forces in a shoot-out while trying to escape," the regional police assistant inspector-general, Moses Anegbode, told Nigerian television.
"We do not starve people," he said. And workers are still occupying the Vestas wind turbine blade factory on the Isle of Wight in a bid to stop it being closed. Industrial action is also planned on a number of other lines over the coming weeks. The Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT) announced earlier it had lodged a formal complaint to police in Newport over the actions of security guards working for Vestas after it received advice from a human rights lawyer. Holidaymakers face disruption with a two day strike among some UK Border Agency staff due to start on Wednesday (Aug 5), in a dispute over plans to merge the duties of immigration and customs staff. Your comments may be published on any BBC media worldwide. We will fight with every tool available to get food into the workers on the inside Bob Crow RMT general secretary Responding to the rally in a statement, the protesters said: "It is great to see you all out there despite the awful weather. A possible new age of militancy. A judge at Newport County Court told lawyers for the company that papers had not been properly served on the men and adjourned the hearing until Tuesday. "This could be a taste of things to come. A series of regional strikes have already been held, with more planned over the summer, but sources at the union said a national vote is now almost certain to be called in the coming weeks. One union warned British workers have become increasingly militant and angry with pay the cost of a recession "they did not create".
Mass walkouts could be commonplace in a new "age of militancy" as pay deals are curbed, according to Policy Exchange. The stark message came as fears grew of a summer of discontent with a series of strikes already planned or likely, including a possible national postal strike. Holidaymakers and railway passengers could all be hit while the row over foreign workers is set to deepen with plans to ballot workers at power stations and oil refineries following the recent unofficial action. One union warned British workers have become increasingly militant and angry with pay the cost of a recession "they did not create". Neil O'Brien, director of Policy Exchange, said: "There is a slight increase in militancy at the moment but that is nothing compared to what is going to happen once the brakes are slammed on public spending. "When we suddenly go from a very very rapid increase in pay to huge pressure on public spending, it is possible that we could have something develop like the 1970s." During the 1970s the number of strikes averaged between 2,000 and 3,000 every year, peaking in 1979 when almost 30 million working days were lost due to industrial action. "I think what is happening is people are being expected to pay a heavy price for a recession that they did not create," he said. "That's why we are getting this rise in militancy. A summer of discontent is an overused phrase but the RMT is not surprised people are angry enough and saying 'we have had enough of this and better do something about this'." As the recession deepens there is growing unrest among workers and the country is already bracing itself for a number of walkouts over the coming weeks. Postal services face being crippled with the Communication Workers Union (CWU) almost certain to call a national ballot on whether to strike over jobs, pay and services. A series of regional strikes have already been held, with more planned over the summer, but sources at the union said a national vote is now almost certain to be called in the coming weeks. Holidaymakers face disruption with a two day strike among some UK Border Agency staff due to start on Wednesday (Aug 5), in a dispute over plans to merge the duties of immigration and customs staff. Hundreds of thousands of rail passengers also face delays with planned stoppages by members of the Rail, Maritime and Maritime union and train drivers' union ASLEF. Three further 48-hour stoppages have been called over the next three weeks as a result of a dispute with the train operator, National Express East Anglia. On Arriva Cross Country members of RMT are refusing to collect litter, meaning that passengers will have to travel on rubbish-strewn trains. Passengers on Northern Rail also face disruption on Aug 6 as a result of a joint strike by both RMT and ASLEF. In addition passengers on London Midland could also face disruption with station staff, who are members of ASLEF, also balloting on industrial action. The GMB is also to ballot for official strike action among members involved in power stations and oil refinery sites. It follows a series of unofficial strikes this year in a row over the hiring of migrant workers over British staff. And workers are still occupying the Vestas wind turbine blade factory on the Isle of Wight in a bid to stop it being closed. Vestas has blamed the closure on a drop in demand A union has complained to police over claims that workers occupying a wind turbine factory on the Isle of Wight are having their human rights breached. Protesters have been staging a sit-in at the Vestas turbine blade factory in Newport over plans to axe 625 jobs. Union bosses accused the firm of trying to "starve" the workers out by restricting access to food and drink. We will fight with every tool available to get food into the workers on the inside Bob Crow RMT general secretary Responding to the rally in a statement, the protesters said: "It is great to see you all out there despite the awful weather. "You guys being here today just proves the support continues to grow and grow." The Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT) announced earlier it had lodged a formal complaint to police in Newport over the actions of security guards working for Vestas after it received advice from a human rights lawyer. The lawyer, Louise Christian, said: "There is a positive obligation under the Human Rights Act on the State and its agents, i.e the police, to prevent private individuals from depriving others of their liberty. "It therefore appears to me that the local police have a positive obligation to prevent the security agents employed by Vestas stopping people coming in to deliver food to those in occupation." RMT general secretary Bob Crow said: "It's disgusting that Vestas are trying to starve the workers out. Removal bid "We will fight with every tool available to get food into the workers on the inside whose only crime is to fight for their livelihoods and the future of green energy." The protesters say 25 of them have been inside the factory but only 11 workers, who the firm has identified, have been sacked. The Danish firm's bid to have the workers removed failed on Wednesday when a judge ruled removal papers had not been served in accordance with legal rules. Police on the Isle of Wight will be asked to ensure food reaches men occupying the Vestas wind turbine factory tomorrow, after lawyers advised that the company could be breaking the law by preventing supplies from getting through. Union officials will meet with police tomorrow to lodge an official complaint after Louise Christian, the human rights lawyer, advised that in preventing food from getting through, Vestas and its security firm were committing a criminal offence under the Protection from Harrassment Act (1997).
"We feel that we have won a moral victory." Martin Shaw, 44, who spent the night at the Cowes protest, said: "We are still up here and will stay for as long as the workers stay in Newport. They are supporting six protesters who are continuing a sit-in protest at the Vestas factory in Newport. E-mail this to a friend Printable version One of the workers told the BBC: "It was all a bit bewildering to get out but a big relief. The group had barricaded themselves inside the wind turbine blade factory in Newport on the Isle of Wight in protest at Vestas' plans to close the site and other operations with the loss of 625 jobs. Bookmark with: Delicious Digg reddit Facebook StumbleUpon What are these? The Danish firm won a possession order on Tuesday but the Newport workers are refusing to go until bailiffs arrive. It had been a very public campaign and ended in a very public way - just as the workers would have wanted. The worker added: "We are going to keep it all going in the hope something may happen in the future." We remain patiently optimistic, hoping for a peaceful solution in the interests of all parties Vestas spokesman But six workers remain inside. The Rail and Maritime (RMT) union said that at times up to 25 people were involved in the sit-in inside the factory. "I hugged my daughter who shed a few tears and saw my family. One man jumped from a balcony and was taken to hospital as a precaution and two abseiled from a wall. Vestas has blamed the closure on a drop in demand "We have been told to come down on safety grounds but apart from everything being at an angle, due to the slope of the roof, everything has been fine."
by Michael Stoddard BBC South The workers ended the protest in dramatic fashion There were cheers, tears and defiance as the final six Vestas workers ended their 19-day sit-in protest. One worker leapt from a balcony, landing in a bush. Two others abseiled from the factory while hundreds of supporters aimed chants of "shame" at the factory owners. "It is all a bit bewildering but it's a wonderful feeling to get out and a major relief," one of the workers told BBC News. "We all feel like we have scored a moral victory and believe it has been more than worthwhile. "I can't wait to have a cold beer, long wash and a chicken vindaloo curry." VESTAS SIT-IN ENDS By the BBC's Steve Humphrey on the Isle of Wight After 19 days of a tense stand off, it all ended in less than an hour in a frantic and dramatic fashion. As the men abseiled, jumped and walked out of the Vestas factory there were lots of emotional family reunions. It had been a very public campaign and ended in a very public way - just as the workers would have wanted. The group had barricaded themselves inside the wind turbine blade factory in Newport on the Isle of Wight in protest at Vestas' plans to close the site and other operations with the loss of 625 jobs. They defied requests to leave from management, a court order and only left when bailiffs arrived to evict them. It is thought up to 12 workers had occupied the factory during the protest with little food and limited washing and sleeping facilities. The worker who did not wish to be named, added: "It has been hard, but the support we have seen grow around the country has been amazing. "But it was great to have a hug from my daughter, who shed a few tears, and see my mum and dad. 'Prospects bleak' "I'm not sure if I became institutionalised but it was sad to leave the factory, it had become our home. "I didn't know a lot of the guys when we went in but we have become great friends." New friendships have blossomed during the sit-in The men had demanded their jobs were saved and called on the government to nationalise the factory. Those demands look to have fallen on deaf ears, with the Danish wind turbine firm sacking the workers and taking away their redundancy packages. "It was a disappointment when we knew the redundancy had gone but it made us more determined to stay as long as we can. "I'll have to get down the Jobcentre next week and the prospects look bleak. "I'm 42 years old and have worked for 25 years, I've always had a job. "It's going to be tough getting something new, especially with work tight on the Isle of Wight, but all of us are determined not to be a burden on the taxpayer." Protesters were only able to get a few hours sleep each night The protest has been the longest sit-in ever seen on the Isle of Wight and has made headlines around the world. The workers have vowed the campaign will not stop with their eviction and plan to organise rallies and marches in the coming weeks. The worker added: "We are going to keep it all going in the hope something may happen in the future." Vestas has blamed the plans to lay off the 625 workers on a drop in demand. Peter Kruse, Vestas spokesman, said: "We have always understood the frustrations of the workers but have been surprised at the length of this action." Advertisement Workers who staged a sit-in protest at a wind turbine blade factory on the Isle of Wight have left the building. Workers had occupied an office inside the plant since 20 July in protest at plans to axe 625 jobs, which the firm said was due to a fall in demand. Bailiffs were told they could use "reasonable force" to remove the remaining six workers after a court order was issued on Thursday. It was all a bit bewildering to get out but a big relief Protester Crowds of supporters lined the site cheering on the men before they were were spoken to by police. A rooftop demonstration at a second Vestas site in East Cowes, by climate change protesters, is set to continue for "as long" as the workers want it to, a spokesman said. Lack of orders The Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union, which has supported the protesters during the sit-in, accused its owners of "kicking the legs" from under a rescue package that could have saved it from closure.
It is currently over China, where around one million people have been evacuated from their homes. Typhoon Morakot has killed at least 14 people in Taiwan and 22 in the Philippines. Rescuers said at least 180 residents in the village of about 600 survived the mudslides and 76 had been moved to safety Monday afternoon, Taipei Times reported. But that still left the fate of the others unknown. Those tolls do not include the residents of Shiao Lin, whose fate has been unclear since Sunday's mudslide. Authorities were trying to determine how many were still trapped in the huge pile of mud and rock. The storm dumped as much as 80 inches (2 meters) of rain on the island before moving on to China. Similar landslides had been reported in other parts of the country that have been hit by record rainfall in the past three days. Direct economic losses have already reached about $1.3 billion, Xinhua said. On Tuesday, authorities said at least 41 people were confirmed dead and 60 were missing after Morakot swept Taiwan. Taiwanese officials say around 100 people were rescued after part of a mountain slumped and submerged the village in the south of the country One survivor said as many as 600 people were still buried under the mud. In China, a massive landslide Monday night brought down up to seven apartment buildings in eastern Pengxi Township in Taishun County in Zhejiang Province, burying an unknown number of residents, the state-run Xinhua news agency reported, quoting local authorities. The storm destroyed more than 6,000 houses and caused flooding of more than 387,000 hectares of cropland, authorities said.
TAIPEI, Taiwan -- TV stations say Taiwan's military has rescued about 130 people whose village has been consumed by a typhoon-spawned mudslide, but there is no word on the fate of hundreds of others buried by the disaster in the island's south. The mudslide touched off by Typhoon Morakot inundated the remote mountain village of Shiao Lin on Sunday, leaving at least 400 people unaccounted for. The storm dumped as much as 80 inches (2 meters) of rain on the island before moving on to China. On Tuesday, authorities said at least 41 people were confirmed dead and 60 were missing after Morakot swept Taiwan. Those tolls do not include the residents of Shiao Lin, whose fate has been unclear since Sunday's mudslide. BEIJING, Aug. 10 (UPI) -- Mudslides struck China and Taiwan, raising the toll of dead and missing, as the two countries battled rains and floods from Typhoon Morakot, officials said. In Taiwan, where floods and rains have already killed at least 23 people and left 56 missing since the typhoon struck Friday, a massive land and mudslide Monday smashed into the village of Xiaolin in Taiwan's Kaohsiung County. Rescuers said at least 180 residents in the village of about 600 survived the mudslides and 76 had been moved to safety Monday afternoon, Taipei Times reported. Taiwanese military and other rescuers were trying to reach or find hundreds of people stranded or reported missing in the mountainous areas of southern Taiwan, where fallen bridges and raging rivers were hampering their efforts, Taipei Times reported. In China, a massive landslide Monday night brought down up to seven apartment buildings in eastern Pengxi Township in Taishun County in Zhejiang Province, burying an unknown number of residents, the state-run Xinhua news agency reported, quoting local authorities. Taiwanese officials say around 100 people were rescued after part of a mountain slumped and submerged the village in the south of the country One survivor said as many as 600 people were still buried under the mud.
Please re-enter. Officials from Sweden, which had jurisdiction over the waters where the search took place, said Swedish authorities were not involved, the Malta Maritime Authority said. See the ship's route Hijackers may have been coercing the ship's crew when they made radio contact with coastguards at Dover on 28 July, the MCA fears. The Maritime and Coastguard Agency said the situation was "bizarre". Coastguards fear the Maltese-flagged Arctic Sea, carrying up to 15 Russian crew, was hijacked in the Baltic sea. Commercial dispute? Advertisement Continue reading the main story It is not clear who the men were. The Portuguese military would not confirm one of its planes had flown over the vessel. It would seem that these acts, such as they have been reported, have nothing in common with 'traditional' acts of piracy or armed robbery at sea. Click here to return Bookmark with: Delicious Digg reddit Facebook StumbleUpon What are these? A source linked to the Cape Verde coastguard told AFP the Arctic Sea was outside its territorial waters. World leaders have become increasingly concerned about pirates operating off the coast of Somalia. UK authorities had the last known contact with it as it entered the Strait of Dover. E-mail this to a friend Printable version "Just because the ship doesn't appear to have anything on it of value doesn't mean that someone can't place something there that could be very valuable, and also very dangerous." It could well be that a crew member had a gun put to his head Mark Clark Maritime and Coastguard Agency Russian navy joins hunt for ship The intruders apparently left the vessel - which was carrying about £1m worth of sawn timber from Finland to Algeria - 12 hours later on an inflatable boat after damaging the Arctic Sea's communications equipment.
Media requires JavaScript to play. Advertisement Mystery still surrounds a missing Russian-manned cargo ship, with a sighting off Africa's Cape Verde islands still to be confirmed. The Arctic Sea, with 15 Russian crew members on board, was last sighted in the Bay of Biscay on 30 July. Cape Verde officials say they think the ship is 400 nautical miles (740km) off one of the islands. But Moscow's envoy to Cape Verde said he had not been informed of any confirmed sighting. Click here for a map charting sightings of the Arctic Sea There has been huge speculation over the reason for its disappearance, ranging from pirates to a mafia dispute to a commercial quarrel. AFP news agency quoted Finnish police as saying a ransom demand had been made of the ship's Finnish owners, Solchart Management. A source linked to the Cape Verde coastguard told AFP the Arctic Sea was outside its territorial waters. The coastguard was informing maritime officials about the ship's movements, the source said, adding: "When the ship enters our jurisdiction, we will decide in consultation with our partners what actions to take." Some reports have put the ship 400 nautical miles north of the Cape Verdean island of Sao Vicente. French intelligence said it had found a ship matching the Arctic Sea's description in the area. Radar contact with the Arctic Sea was lost after it left the English Channel However, the Russian ambassador to Cape Verde, Alexander Karpushin, said he had not been officially informed of the sighting and told Russia's RAI agency the sighting was "not true". Tom Wilkerson, chief executive officer of the US Naval Institute, told the BBC the disappearance raised a number of concerns. "What we're looking at is a ship that's over 4,000 tonnes, with no transponder working, that now all of the world's searching capability has not been able to find. "Just because the ship doesn't appear to have anything on it of value doesn't mean that someone can't place something there that could be very valuable, and also very dangerous." Last known contact Carrying timber reportedly worth $1.8m (£1.1m), the Arctic Sea sailed from Finland and had been scheduled to dock in the Algerian port of Bejaia on 4 August. It would seem that these acts, such as they have been reported, have nothing in common with 'traditional' acts of piracy or armed robbery at sea. Martin Selmayr EU Commission Speculation rife over missing ship The crew reported being boarded by up to 10 armed men as the ship sailed through the Baltic Sea on 24 July, but the intruders were reported to have left the vessel on an inflatable boat after 12 hours. There are also reports of the ship being attacked a second time off the Portuguese coast. However the ship's operators said they had no knowledge of the incident and Portugal said the ship was never in its territorial waters. The last known contact with the crew was when the Arctic Sea reported to British maritime authorities as it passed through the Dover Strait. On Friday, the European Union Commission spokesman Martin Selmayr said: "From information currently available it would seem that these acts, such as they have been reported, have nothing in common with 'traditional' acts of piracy or armed robbery at sea." Amid fears of a possible hijacking, Russia’s president, Dmitri A. Medvedev, ordered his defense minister to personally take charge of the search, the Kremlin Web site said Wednesday. A ministry source also told the Interfax news agency that the Russian Navy had employed its satellite-based tracking systems. “It would not go down without a trace, but in the shipping industry anything is possible.” While the vessel’s fate remained a mystery, marine shipping experts tended to discount the idea that piracy was involved, noting that the ship was relatively small and carrying a low-value cargo of wood. They said it could have been hijacked by an organized criminal gang, perhaps in pursuit of drugs or some other illicit materials stashed on board, or to test the security environment in preparation for future attacks. Flying a Maltese flag, it was traversing Swedish waters on July 24 when it was overtaken by a small boat and boarded by 8 to 12 men carrying firearms, the Malta Maritime Authority said in a statement. The intruders were “allegedly masked and wearing uniforms” with “police” written on them, the statement said, and harshly interrogated the crew, saying they were checking the ship for illegal drugs. “The members of the crew were allegedly assaulted, tied, gagged and blindfolded and some of them were seriously injured,” the statement said. Officials from Sweden, which had jurisdiction over the waters where the search took place, said Swedish authorities were not involved, the Malta Maritime Authority said. “A lot of vessels go through the strait every day, and this one made a routine report and it didn’t seem anything was wrong.” Mr. Matveyev said his company tracked the ship until July 31, when the ship radioed that it was off the coast of Portugal.
"The last thing that we wanted was to have this confrontation," he said. The Vestas plant was the only one in the country making components for wind turbines. On Friday workers ended a 19-day sit-in protest at the Danish firm's Newport factory on the island. The Danish company ceased blade production at its sites in Southampton and on the Isle of Wight. Employees at both factories were informed of the decision today. Members of Climate Rush protested outside Lord Mandelson's home But members of the support group that climbed the Venture Quays building in Cowes, say they are "digging in" with their protest. He said that the UK government was failing to put its plans for more renewable energy into practice. Turbine maker says closures will balance demand, as boss criticises UK's commitment to wind and hints at redundancy reinstatement for protesters Vestas has confirmed the closure of two sites on the Isle of Wight and Southampton with the loss of 425 jobs. "We will go back and see what it is that we can do going forward and also for all the people affected because we only had one wish and that was to try to do this in the best possible way. Bookmark with: Delicious Digg reddit Facebook StumbleUpon What are these? "In the UK there is a clear division between what the government would like to see happening and what certain local politicians want to see happening, or rather not want to see happening … there is not necessarily the same ambition levels." The firm said it had mitigated job losses, with 40 employees found new roles and 57 continuing work at the factory for a further period to assist in its closure.
Vestas, the wind-turbine maker, closed two factories on the South Coast yesterday with the loss of 425 jobs. The Danish company ceased blade production at its sites in Southampton and on the Isle of Wight. Workers had occupied the Isle of Wight plant for 18 days in protest at the closures until last week. Vestas Wind Systems had obtained a court order after six workers barricaded themselves into the plant for more than two weeks in a bid to delay its closure. Members of the Climate Rush campaign group, left, also chained themselves to Business Secretary Lord Mandelson's home in London, in an "act of solidarity". Originally it was believed there would be 625 job cuts but Vestas said yesterday that it had made 425 staff redundant. The firm said it had mitigated job losses, with 40 employees found new roles and 57 continuing work at the factory for a further period to assist in its closure. Turbine maker says closures will balance demand, as boss criticises UK's commitment to wind and hints at redundancy reinstatement for protesters Vestas has confirmed the closure of two sites on the Isle of Wight and Southampton with the loss of 425 jobs. The closures follow a sit-in protest by 11 employees which began on July 20 and ended on August 7 after the company obtained a repossession order and sent in bailiffs to remove the protesters. The protest was hugely embarrassing for the government at a time when it is promoting wind energy and green jobs. The Vestas plant was the only one in the country making components for wind turbines. The company said that 40 employees had been found new roles within the Vestas research and development facility on the Isle of Wight. A further 57 employees will continue to work at the factory to assist with its closure. "The decision to close the factory was very difficult, and we fully recognise the impact this will have on employees, their families and on the Isle of Wight," said Ole Borup Jakobsen, president of Vestas Blades. "Nonetheless, this commercial decision was absolutely necessary to secure Vestas' competiveness and create a regional balance between production and the demand for wind turbines." Despite confirmation of the factory's closure, the company's chief executive confirmed that staff redundancy benefits, which were withdrawn from the protesting workers, were under review. Speaking exclusively to the Guardian, Ditlev Engel said that the company is planning to look again at the decision to strip the workers of their redundancy package because of their involvement in the protest. Asked whether this meant that Vestas would reconsider its decision to remove the redundancy package from the men who occupied the plant, Engel said: "I am not ruling anything out." Vestas has previously said that UK planning laws are a major barrier to wind energy development and that they were one of the reasons for the company's decision to pull out. "In the UK there is a clear division between what the government would like to see happening and what certain local politicians want to see happening, or rather not want to see happening … there is not necessarily the same ambition levels." Vestas first announced plans to shut manufacturing at the Isle of Wight factory in April saying it could produce blades more cheaply in America. Seven people are now on top of the Venture Quays building in Cowes Demonstrators are continuing a rooftop protest on the Isle of Wight over the planned closure of a wind turbine blade factory, with the loss of 625 jobs. The campaigners have gathered outside the Business Secretary's two-storey property in Regent's Park, London, in an "act of solidarity" for the Vestas workers who are set to lose their jobs. 'Local support' Ellie Robson, 21, a history undergraduate at Cambridge University, said: "Less than two weeks after announcing the government's plans for a low-carbon Britain, Vestas shut down because there's no demand for wind turbines in this country." The 19-day occupation of the Newport wind turbine blade factory ended on Friday when bailiffs were sent in. Members of Climate Rush protested outside Lord Mandelson's home But members of the support group that climbed the Venture Quays building in Cowes, say they are "digging in" with their protest. A spokesman said: "As the landlord we are responsible for people's safety on-site and have spoken to members of the group to recommend they come down for their own safety.
Critics say the evidence against Megrahi was, at best, circumstantial, and, at worst, flimsy. Nowhere." The Libyan was convicted by a Scottish court sitting in the Netherlands. The letter states: "We believe he (Al Megrahi) should remain in Scotland to complete his sentence in prison." The Crown Office insists the conviction is safe and that no decision on his release has yet been taken by the Scottish Justice Secretary. Iran did not accept the US's claim that the incident was a mistake. He is expected to be freed next week on compassionate grounds, but relatives of the victims had expected his appeal to continue, even after his death. Dr Swire believes that this was probably when the bomb was planted, not much earlier on a flight from Malta. He is planning the action under human rights legislation just three days after it was disclosed that the only man convicted of the Lockerbie bombing is likely to be released later this month. He had previously claimed that he would not return to Libya until he cleared his name, and politicians expressed concern that he may have been put under pressure as part of a deal to return home. Mr McBride insisted that Mr MacAskill should have recalled Parliament to discuss the matter. Megrahi, 57, who is suffering from terminal prostate cancer, is currently serving a life sentence for the bombing of Pan Am flight 103 in 1988 which killed 189 U.S. citizens and 270 people in total. They are convinced of his guilt and believe he should die in jail in Scotland, where he has served only eight years of a minimum sentence of 27 years.
(CNN) -- A Scottish court has formally allowed Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al Megrahi to abandon his second appeal against his conviction over the 1988 Lockerbie bombing, in which 270 people were killed when an airliner was blown out of the sky. Convicted bomber Abdelbeset Ali Mohmed al Megrahi, pictured in 1992, has terminal cancer. Last week, al Megrahi lodged a "minute of abandonment" with the Scottish Court Service, which is a legal move to drop an appeal. The Scottish Court of Appeal in Edinburgh confirmed Tuesday it had accepted the request. Analysts say the move may be part of a deal al Megrahi is seeking with Scottish authorities to be released on compassionate grounds. A compassionate release could allow al Megrahi, who has maintained his innocence, to return to his native Libya. Megrahi, 57, who is suffering from terminal prostate cancer, is currently serving a life sentence for the bombing of Pan Am flight 103 in 1988 which killed 189 U.S. citizens and 270 people in total. On Monday, seven U.S. senators wrote to the Scottish government urging that al Megrahi be kept in prison indefinitely. The letter states: "We believe he (Al Megrahi) should remain in Scotland to complete his sentence in prison." "Recognizing the gravity of this heinous crime, the international community demanded that the government of Libya turn the perpetrators over for prosecution and accept responsibility for the crime." In their letter the senators also remind Scotland's Justice Secretary, Kenny MacAskill -- who is considering an application to release the Libyan national on compassionate grounds -- that "until the tragic events of September 11, 2001, no terrorist act had killed more American civilians." The letter continues: "Our international agreement called for his sentence to be served in Scotland and we believe strongly there should be no deviation from this sentence." The senators' letter follows opposition to Megrahi's release from victims' families in the U.S. and U.S. Secretary of State Hilary Clinton last week. Dr Swire, whose daughter Flora, 24, died in the attack, is preparing to sue the Scottish prosecution service because he is convinced it deliberately blocked attempts to bring his daughter's "real" killers to court. He is planning the action under human rights legislation just three days after it was disclosed that the only man convicted of the Lockerbie bombing is likely to be released later this month. Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al Megrahi, 57, who has terminal prostate cancer and is expected to be freed on compassionate grounds, has always protested his innocence. His supporters claim that international politics prevented the truth from being uncovered during the investigation into the mid-air explosion which caused the deaths of 259 people on board Pan Am Flight 103 and a further 11 on the ground. Dr Swire has told of his determination to bring his daughter's killers to justice in a letter sent to Kenny MacAskill, the Scottish Justice Secretary, in which he is critical of the Crown Office, which is responsible for criminal prosecutions in Scotland. In the letter, he highlights the fact that evidence from a Heathrow security guard was suppressed for more than 12 years and did not figure at Megrahi's trial in 2000 and 2001. The guard revealed that Pan Am's baggage area at Heathrow was broken into 17 hours before Flight 103 took off from the airport for New York. In his letter, sent on Aug 10, Dr Swire says that he is now "reluctantly" looking at two projects: - "To take action against the Crown Office under Human Rights legislation, since I now believe that the Crown Office has deliberately obstructed my rights to know who killed my daughter and why she was not protected, and continues to do so," and - "To seek annulment of the findings of the Lockerbie Fatal Accident Inquiry [of 1990] on grounds of withholding of evidence about Heathrow, and then to seek a new FAI or legitimate equivalent in its place." Critics of Megrahi's conviction have long believed that the Libyan was the victim of a US-led conspiracy to "frame" the country and its ruler, Col Muammar Gaddafi, for the bombing on Dec 21, 1988, when the plane exploded over the Scottish town of Lockerbie less than 40 minutes after take-off. Dr Swire suspects Iran was seeking revenge for the shooting-down of Iran Air Flight 655, with the loss of 290 lives, by the USS Vincennes in July 1988 – just five months before Lockerbie. Iran did not accept the US's claim that the incident was a mistake. Dr Swire believes the families of the victims have been "pawns in a political scenario that had nothing to do with truth". The grieving father also suspects that Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, now the anti-Western president of Iran but then reportedly an ambitious figure in Iran's Republican Guard, may have been involved in Lockerbie. Another suspect is Abu Talb, a Palestinian later arrested and jailed in Sweden for terrorist bombings: he had circled the date of December 21 1988 in a calendar found at his flat. Other relatives, particularly those in the US seeking "closure" over the tragedy, still think the right man was convicted and want Megrahi to die in jail. Professor Robert Black QC, the architect of the original trial and a leading academic lawyer, also believes that Megrahi was convicted on "very, very weak circumstantial" evidence. In 2003, Ahmed Own, Libya's ambassador to the United Nations, submitted a letter to the Security Council in which Libya accepted "responsibility for the actions of its officials" regarding the bombing. Yet the following year, Sukri Ghanem, the Libyan Prime Minister, insisted the compensation payment was the "price of peace" with the West and was simply designed to remove sanctions Lawyers for Megrahi had launched a second appeal over his conviction – the first was unsuccessful – but it was revealed on Friday that the convicted killer has now applied to abandon this action. Lawyers for the 57-year-old, who is dying of prostate cancer, said he had taken the unexpected decision after his condition took a "significant turn for the worse".
Faster, higher, stronger. He's having fun." – After winning the 200m Olympic gold in Beijing. And Bolt said he is closing in on his aim of becoming a sprinter the world will never forget. "I don't think about records. They say: "Usain likes to clown around... (Editing by Ken Ferris) That record stood for more than 12 years. Johnson ran 19.32sec to win at the 1996 Olympics. "Maybe next time I should just run the 200m or the 100m alone. Ryan Brathwaite of Barbados won the 110 hurdles in a blanket finish with the first three divided by one hundredth of a second. At the world championships in Berlin, he won the world 100m gold medal last Sunday in 9.58 seconds, knocking 0.11sec – a whopping margin – from the 9.69sec record he set in China. Some try. I've never seen anything like this in my life and we might never see anything like it again." Earlier in the week Bolt had said he did not think a 200m record was on after missing a month of training earlier this year following a car crash in Jamaica. The 22-year-old finished well clear of the field, with silver medallist Alonso Edward finishing in 19.81. Came down to the track." "Unbelievable -- a ridiculous race. So I tried really hard and now I'm really tired. His father urged him at secondary school age to choose athletics and he never looked back. Wallace Spearmon of the United States took bronze. Three of his five immediate predecessors as Olympic 100m champion later failed drugs tests, while five Jamaican team-mates recently tested positive for a stimulant, methylxanthine.
Welcome to the life of Usain Bolt, aka Lightning Bolt, the fastest man who ever lived, and not your conventional athletics hero. Faster, higher, stronger. At last year's Olympic Games in Beijing, the Jamaican, who turned 23 yesterday, became a global star by winning the 100m (at a canter), the 200m (with apparent ease), and a third gold medal in the 4 x 100m relay, all in world record times. Nobody had performed that treble feat before and, in doing it, Bolt not only became Jamaica's most famous global export since Bob Marley, but also the flag-bearer for a revival of athletics as a credible, crowd-pulling sport. This week he has raised his game again, from the merely staggering to the frankly awesome, to confirm himself as the supreme sprinter of this or any other age. At the world championships in Berlin, he won the world 100m gold medal last Sunday in 9.58 seconds, knocking 0.11sec – a whopping margin – from the 9.69sec record he set in China. Then on Thursday evening he followed that by winning the 200m gold in 19.19sec, again knocking 0.11sec from the 19.30sec record he set in China. "I can definitely say I didn't expect that," he said immediately afterwards. "I was tired but thought, 'What the heck, let's try'." Some try. Some say 9.4 seconds or lower for 100m is inevitable, while 19 seconds for the 200m may not be beyond him. To put this in context, the 200m world record before the Beijing Games was held by Michael Johnson, an American widely regarded as an all-time great, with four Olympic gold medals and eight world championship gold medals in his career. Johnson ran 19.32sec to win at the 1996 Olympics. That record stood for more than 12 years. Johnson, now a BBC pundit, was clearly impressed by Bolt's 19.19sec on Thursday evening, saying: "Unbelievable. I've never seen anything like this in my life and we might never see anything like it again." For now, instead, he remains on course to be the sprint king of London at the 2012 Games. His next record, though, could come as early as this evening, when he and three Jamaican team-mates will try to add the world relay crown to the 4 x 100m Olympic title they won in Beijing. Yet, for all Bolt's jaw-dropping achievements, he remains remarkably grounded, quirkily so. A typical pre-race meal consists of Chicken McNuggets and yams. On the day, last summer, that he won the Olympic 100m title, he was asked what he'd eaten for breakfast. He'd slept until midday, he said, then called his masseur, but only so he could ask him to fetch more nuggets. Bolt likes the fast life off the track too, driving his sports car in bare feet, often too quickly. They were removed by minor surgery and he was well enough by 17 May to win a 150m street race in Manchester in 14.35seconds, the fastest time ever recorded. This year's crash was not his first; he also wrecked a car in 2005 in an accident in which he suffered cuts to his face. Bolt freely admits that the incident happened during a period in his development when he partied too much and focused too little on his sport. That lack of application, combined with a string of injuries in his formative competitive years, helped to delay his breakthrough from prodigy to bona fide world-class runner. Thus, it took five years to progress from being a 15-year-old junior world 200m champion in 2002 to winning his first significant senior individual prize, a silver medal in the 200m at the 2007 world championships in Osaka. From there, he launched himself to Olympic glory a year later, and new heights this week. If his senior medal successes have come in a rush, in more ways than one, they did not spring from nowhere. Bolt racked up numerous national, regional and world marks as a junior and was unlucky at key times in suffering setbacks. At the 2004 Olympics, aged 18, a leg injury prevented him going beyond the first round in the 200m. At the 2005 world championships, he reached the final but pulled a muscle at the 150m mark and finished a distant eighth of eight. When he did start clocking world records and the medals started to arrive in batches, so did the inevitable questions over doping. It is a line he has always maintained, and he has never been tainted with a positive drugs finding, unlike many others in his sport. Three of his five immediate predecessors as Olympic 100m champion later failed drugs tests, while five Jamaican team-mates recently tested positive for a stimulant, methylxanthine.
Lockerbie, Scotland. "It is horrible. They said they gave no such assurances to the US government and that's just not true," he said. Bomber release: What now? Megrahi served the first part of his sentence in this Scottish prison. "Mr al-Megrahi did not show his victims any comfort or compassion. Tripoli, capital of Libya. His second appeal got under way this year but shortly afterwards applications were made for both his transfer to a Libyan jail and release on compassionate grounds. People here say no. Does the decision bring everything to a close? From there he would travel to Zurich. Megrahi, 57, was convicted of killing 270 people in the 1988 bombing of Pan Am flight. "The remaining days of my life are being lived under the shadow of the wrongness of my conviction. HMP Greenock. They were not allowed to return to the bosom of their families to see out their lives, let alone their dying days. Scottish Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill announced his release on compassionate grounds in a press conference. London's Heathrow Airport. He told a media conference on Thursday that he had rejected the application for a prisoner transfer. "I have been faced with an appalling choice: to risk dying in prison in the hope that my name is cleared posthumously or to return home still carrying the weight of the guilty verdict, which will never now be lifted. Abdel Basset al-Megrahi was convicted in 2001 for the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103[AP] Abdel Basset al-Megrahi was convicted in 2001 for the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103[AP] Barack Obama, the US president, described the release as a "mistake" and said that al-Megrahi should be placed under house arrest on his return.
Abdel Basset al-Megrahi was convicted in 2001 for the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103[AP] Abdel Basset al-Megrahi was convicted in 2001 for the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103[AP] Barack Obama, the US president, described the release as a "mistake" and said that al-Megrahi should be placed under house arrest on his return. Al-Megrahi 'relieved' Al-Megrahi returned to Libya after boarding a plane at Prestwick airport in Glasgow, Scotland. In a statement following his release, al-Megrahi said: "I am obviously very relieved to be leaving my prison cell at last and returning to Libya, my homeland. "The remaining days of my life are being lived under the shadow of the wrongness of my conviction. "I have been faced with an appalling choice: to risk dying in prison in the hope that my name is cleared posthumously or to return home still carrying the weight of the guilty verdict, which will never now be lifted. "The choice which I made is a matter of sorrow, disappointment and anger, which I fear I will never overcome." 'Going to die' Amr El-Kahky, Al Jazeera's correspondent in Tripoli, the Liban capital, said Libyans were "triumphant" at his return. "Al-Megrahi's mother said she has her home door open, because she won't believe that he is free unless she sees him for herself," he said local press had reported. MacAskill ruled out allowing al-Megrahi to live in Scotland due to security concerns. "Al-Megrahi now faces a sentence imposed by a higher power," MacAskill said. "It is one that no court in any jurisdiction could revoke or overrule. MacAskill said the decision was made because Scottish law required that "justice be served, but mercy be shown". US anger The US said it "deeply regrets" the decision made by the Scottish executive, in a statement made by the White House. Al-Megrahi has been serving his sentence in Greenock prison in Scotland [GALLO/GETTY] "As we have expressed repeatedly to officials of the government of the United Kingdom and to Scottish authorities, we continue to believe that Megrahi should serve out his sentence in Scotland," it said. Nick Spicer, Al Jazeera's correspondent in Washington DC, said the US government had been writing to British leaders to try to influence the decision. "But Scottish justice is sovereign, and it is recognised that the US cannot change the outcome of the decision by the Scottish justice minister," he said. Libyan dilemma Speaking to Al Jazeera, Omar Turbi, an expert in US-Libyan relations, said: "I think it [the release] really represents a dilemma for the Libyans. "Will they move forward in their history and time, thinking 'OK, we want the world to think that we took revenge over America's bombing of Tripoli in 1986, or shall we really take this stigma out of the world's view of us and clear it once and for all'. Appeal dropped The Libyan government had appealed to the court to consider a prisoner transfer or release on compassionate grounds for al-Megrahi. MacAskill rejected the application for a prisoner transfer, stating the US government believed there was an agreement to keep anyone convicted over the Lockerbie bombing imprisoned in Scotland. Frank Duggan, the president of US Victims of Pan Am 103, told Al Jazeera he was "disappointed" that Britain's government did not make discussions over the terms of al-Megrahi's imprisonment clear. "Mr MacAskill said the British government said it had no obligation to honour its agreement that the prisoner would serve his term in Scotland. They said they gave no such assurances to the US government and that's just not true," he said. "It is clear that the agreement was made that he would spend his entire term, the rest of his life, in Scotland." Al-Megrahi's release comes days after he dropped his second appeal against his conviction, a condition necessary for the applications to be considered. Libya responsibility Al-Megrahi, who has repeatedly protested his innocence, lost an appeal in 2002 and last year failed to secure his release on the grounds he was dying. The attack, which occured on December 21 1988, killed all 259 people on board and 11 on the ground when it crashed into the town of Lockerbie. Four years after al-Megrahi's conviction in 2001, Libya accepted responsibility for the bombing and agreed to pay about $2.7bn in compensation to the families of those killed. The decision to release Megrahi, who has terminal prostate cancer, was made by the Scottish Government. US president Barack Obama said the decision was "a mistake" and some US victims' families reacted angrily. Grounds for compassionate release 'No prospect of recovery' A police convoy left Greenock Prison, where Megrahi was serving his sentence, just an hour after the announcement of his release was made. The government said it had consulted widely before Scottish Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill made his decision on applications for Megrahi's compassionate release or his transfer to a Libyan jail. However, after taking medical advice it was expected that three months was a "reasonable estimate" of the time Megrahi had left to live.
"This is not an election, this is a comedy," Mr Bashardost said, calling on authorities to stop the election. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson An Afghan man casts his ballot in a polling station during the presidential elections in Kabul August 20, 2009. But they came out to vote. That's great, that's great." Kandahar people are used to war." There were only sporadic attacks in the country as millions of Afghans went to the polls to choose a president in the midst of an intensifying U.S.-led fight against a resurgent Taliban. U.N. and U.S. officials described voter turnout as robust in the north but weaker in the violent south of Afghanistan. Official results are not expected for two weeks. REUTERS/Adrees Latif Afghan President Hamid Karzai holds up his inked stained finger after voting in the presidential election in Kabul August 20, 2009. Violence in the morning tapered off as the day went on. REUTERS/Omar Sobhani Women wait in line to vote in the Afghan election in Mazar e Sharif in northern Afghanistan August 20, 2009. "Overall, the security situation has been better than we feared. (Updates with Obama comments) WASHINGTON, Aug 20 U.S. President Barack Obama said on Thursday the Afghanistan election appeared to have been a success, despite what he said were the efforts of Taliban militants to disrupt it. If Karzai fails to win more than 50 percent of the vote he will face a run-off in October, most likely against Abdullah. "Lots of people have defied threats of violence and terror to express their thoughts about the next government for the people of Afghanistan," White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said.
Advertisement Afghan President Hamid Karzai and his Western allies have pronounced the country's election a success, after voting passed off largely peacefully. Mr Karzai hailed Afghans for braving Taliban "bombs and intimidations". There were some attacks by insurgents, but the UN says the vast majority of polling stations were able to function. "The Afghan people dared rockets, bombs and intimidations," he told reporters as polls closed following a one-hour extension. Mr Karzai praised the citizens who turned out to vote "We'll see what the turnout was. That's great." In Washington, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said: "Lots of people have defied threats of violence and terror to express their thoughts about the next government for the people of Afghanistan." Mr Karzai said that based on reports by the interior ministry, 73 attacks had taken place in 15 provinces. Among the violent incidents reported: Taliban militants stormed a town in Baghlan, northern Afghanistan, preventing polling stations from opening, police tell AFP news agency. At least eight died in ensuing clashes with police Taliban militants set fire to a bus on the Kandahar-Kabul highway in Ghazni, after offloading passengers and the driver, reportedly as punishment for violating a Taliban ban on using the road Rockets hitting houses in Khost and Kandahar provinces killed two women and several children More than 20 rockets landed in the capital of Lashkar Gah, the capital of Helmand province, a Taliban stronghold In northern Baghlan province, a district police chief was killed when Taliban militants attacked a police post Some 300,000 Afghan and Nato troops were on patrol to prevent attacks during the presidential and local polls. Patchy turnout Kai Eide, the head of the UN mission in Kabul said that overall, the security situation had been "better than we feared" and had "allowed people to take part in the elections". ANALYSIS John Simpson, BBC News, Kabul The judgement that is starting to emerge in the presidential palace here in the headquarters of the international force and in the British and American embassies seems likely to be one of relief. But we do know that the blood-curdling threats of the Taliban have not amounted to very much, any more than they did at the last presidential election in 2004. Yet, as we saw five years ago, just because the Taliban have lost a certain amount of face, it will not take them long to bounce back. Nato Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen hailed the vote as "a testimony to the determination of the Afghan people to build democracy". UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, for his part, issued a statement congratulating "the women and men of Afghanistan on today's presidential and provincial council elections". Speaking on state TV, the director of Afghanistan's Independent Election Commission, Azizullah Loudin, claimed turnout had been "high". Apart from the earlier gun battle in Kabul, the city was mainly reported to be quiet, with a brisk turnout in some polling stations while there was little activity in others. In the southern city of Kandahar - the historical stronghold of the Taliban - a voting official told AP news agency that turnout appeared to be 40% lower than during the 2004 election. AFGHAN POLLS 17 million eligible voters Polls opened at 0700 (0230 GMT) and close at 1600 As well as presidential polls, voters choosing between 3,000 candidates for 420 seats in provincial councils Official preliminary results not expected for two weeks but may be earlier indications 300,000 troops on patrol (including 100,000 foreign troops) 250,000 observers and journalists First polls organised by Afghans themselves, but with international support In pictures: Afghan polls Election security map However in Lashkar Gah, the capital of the neighbouring Helmand province, many voters appeared to have taken part despite the bomb attacks. The BBC's Martin Patience points out that three-quarters of Afghans live in the country's 30,000 rural villages - so it is turnout in the countryside which is key. "We want the next president to stop the killing of innocent people and to find jobs for the people, and bring peace," she said. But other would-be voters said they feared for their safety, while yet others said they had little faith in Afghan democracy. There were widespread concerns about corruption in the run-up to the poll, with reports of voting cards being openly sold and of candidates offering large bribes. 'Day of hope' Opinion polls put support for Hamid Karzai, one of 30 candidates, at about 45%, with his former Foreign Minister, Abdullah Abdullah, in second place with 25%. Mr Abdullah called it a "day of change, a day of hope" - but Mr Bashardost said he had washed off the supposedly indelible ink used to identify people who have voted. "This is not an election, this is a comedy," Mr Bashardost said, calling on authorities to stop the election. If the winning candidate fails to gain more than 50% of the vote on Thursday, there will be a second-round run-off in October. The White House said Afghans had turned out to vote in large numbers despite threats of violence, and U.S. policy in the 8-year-old war would not change in the aftermath of Afghanistan's presidential election. "We had what appears to be a successful election in Afghanistan, despite the Taliban's efforts to disrupt it," Obama told a radio talk show host in a live broadcast from the White House.
It's just a shame we missed so much time but it can be regained." But McLaren, for whom world champion Hamilton won the last grand prix in Hungary, may be heartened that their recent progress appears to be continuing with their strong showing in the first session, as Heikki Kovalainen and Hamilton came second and third respectively. "I think we'll still be good tomorrow so I'm still positive. Saturday practice starts at 1000 BST before qualifying at 1300 BST. The team have been uncompetitive in the last three races because they could not get their tyres up to the correct operating temperatures in the cooler conditions - and Brawn said the team had investigated the problem but had so far not come up with a way of solving it. Renault and Ferrari new-boys Romain Grosjean and Luca Badoer ran relatively cautiously around the Valencia street circuit. Pressure : Not Available Humidity : Not Available Please turn on JavaScript. The Spa-Francorchamps circuit is in the Ardennes mountains and the race is often run in cool weather. But the two-time world champion set his time late in the day after being given a replacement nose section for his car following a collision earlier with Heidfeld's BMW Sauber, the German failing to see home favourite Alonso as he approached to pass him at the final corner. Practice timesheets are essentially irrelevant - teams are largely testing cars and running different programmes for each of their two drivers in order to collect data they can analyse afterwards. McLaren impressed in the morning, though world champion Lewis Hamilton span out early on in the afternoon. E-mail this to a friend Printable version Webber and Vettel - second and third-placed in the driver's championship - have closed the gap on leader Button in recent weeks, but the Englishman still leads by 18.5 points.
EUROPEAN GRAND PRIX Venue: Valencia Dates: 21-23 August 2009 Coverage: Live coverage of Friday's practice sessions, Saturday qualifying and Sunday's race - which starts at 1300 BST - across BBC TV, radio and online platforms. Find full listings here By Chris Whyatt Renault's Fernando Alonso set the fastest lap in Friday practice for the European Grand Prix while stuttering championship leaders Brawn went well. Brawn's Jenson Button was second in hot conditions while team-mate Rubens Barrichello topped the first session. McLaren impressed in the morning, though world champion Lewis Hamilton span out early on in the afternoon. "I had a bit of a half spin in the high speed corner and damaged the wing," said the 24-year-old. "I didn't even really feel it but I did touch the wall and grazed the front but it could have been a lot worse. It's just a shame we missed so much time but it can be regained Lewis Hamilton "We made some changes this weekend and tried something new on my car and we don't have lots of wings available but if we go back to the old set-up then we have spares so it won't be a problem. Practice timesheets are essentially irrelevant - teams are largely testing cars and running different programmes for each of their two drivers in order to collect data they can analyse afterwards. But McLaren, for whom world champion Hamilton won the last grand prix in Hungary, may be heartened that their recent progress appears to be continuing with their strong showing in the first session, as Heikki Kovalainen and Hamilton came second and third respectively. Friday practice at the Valencia street circuit marked the first grand prix action after a month-long summer break and many teams have brought modified cars into the 11th instalment of the 17-race season. Early on, the track was both dirty and slippery - but the street circuit gained grip in the afternoon with Alonso's time not far off Massa's 2008 qualifying pole lap of 1:38.989. Alonso had been in danger of missing Sunday's race after his Renault team were handed a one-race ban in Hungary last month, but the team had that overturned at an appeal hearing in Paris last Monday. But the two-time world champion set his time late in the day after being given a replacement nose section for his car following a collision earlier with Heidfeld's BMW Sauber, the German failing to see home favourite Alonso as he approached to pass him at the final corner. Championship-chasing Red Bull drivers Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber came in fifth and eighth respectively in the first session, with Vettel reporting "good balance" through all corners back to his garage, before tailing off in the second. Brawn driver Button, who has stressed the importance of "resolving" his car's issues this weekend, reported understeer first and then oversteer on his modified car during the 90-minute morning session. Team boss Ross Brawn said that although the cars had a reasonable aero upgrade, the cars' improved pace was solely down to the hotter ambient temperatures in Valencia. The team have been uncompetitive in the last three races because they could not get their tyres up to the correct operating temperatures in the cooler conditions - and Brawn said the team had investigated the problem but had so far not come up with a way of solving it. "Our strength is our ability to use the tyres in hot weather. He said the team had some "ideas" that they planned to try for the Belgian Grand Prix in a week's time. Webber and Vettel - second and third-placed in the driver's championship - have closed the gap on leader Button in recent weeks, but the Englishman still leads by 18.5 points. Badoer, 38, is only driving for Ferrari because German legend Michael Schumacher was not considered fit enough to replace the injured Felipe Massa - a neck problem denying the seven-time world champion a sensational return to the sport. But at least it's not another 'identikit circuit' like most of the newer ones... corzellian His Italian stand-in duly finished with the slowest time in the first session before finishing third-last in the second as he got to grips with the Formula 1 spotlight, though he completed 62 laps over the course of the day - more than a grand prix race distance. EUROPEAN GRAND PRIX Venue: Valencia Dates: 21-23 August 2009 Coverage: Live coverage of Friday's practice sessions, Saturday qualifying and Sunday's race - which starts at 1300 BST - across BBC TV, radio and online platforms. Find full listings here By Chris Whyatt Renault's Fernando Alonso set the fastest lap in Friday practice for the European Grand Prix while stuttering championship leaders Brawn went well. It's just a shame we missed so much time but it can be regained Lewis Hamilton "We made some changes this weekend and tried something new on my car and we don't have lots of wings available but if we go back to the old set-up then we have spares so it won't be a problem. Practice timesheets are essentially irrelevant - teams are largely testing cars and running different programmes for each of their two drivers in order to collect data they can analyse afterwards. Friday practice at the Valencia street circuit marked the first grand prix action after a month-long summer break and many teams have brought modified cars into the 11th instalment of the 17-race season. Early on, the track was both dirty and slippery - but the street circuit gained grip in the afternoon with Alonso's time not far off Massa's 2008 qualifying pole lap of 1:38.989. But the two-time world champion set his time late in the day after being given a replacement nose section for his car following a collision earlier with Heidfeld's BMW Sauber, the German failing to see home favourite Alonso as he approached to pass him at the final corner. Brawn driver Button, who has stressed the importance of "resolving" his car's issues this weekend, reported understeer first and then oversteer on his modified car during the 90-minute morning session. Team boss Ross Brawn said that although the cars had a reasonable aero upgrade, the cars' improved pace was solely down to the hotter ambient temperatures in Valencia. The team have been uncompetitive in the last three races because they could not get their tyres up to the correct operating temperatures in the cooler conditions - and Brawn said the team had investigated the problem but had so far not come up with a way of solving it.
No, there was not," Straw told the BBC. The Scottish government has revealed that Nelson Mandela had expressed his support for Megrahi's release. "I have not been able to secure an explicit exclusion. All About Pan American Airways • Lockerbie • Libya British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and Justice Minister Jack Straw have forcefully denied the claim that he was freed as part of a deal over oil. MacAskill had jurisdiction over al Megrahi because the bomber was serving his sentence in Scotland. "The negotiations over a prisoner transfer agreement were part of a wider agreement for the normalisation of relations with Libya as part of bringing them into the international community," the justice secretary said. Straw wrote to his Scottish counterpart in September 2007 to say London would seek to exclude al Megrahi from any deal for Libyans convicted in the United Kingdom to serve their sentences in Libya. Scotland still defending release of Lockerbie bomber Lingering suspicions that the decision was prompted by Libyan oil interests more than humanitarian concerns over the bomber's terminal cancer are again rebutted by government officials. -- henry.chu@latimes.com "However, such an exclusion went beyond the standard form of PTA treaties, and in the event an agreement for a PTA in the standard form – including the rights of veto of any application – was agreed." All 259 people on the plane died, as did 11 people on the ground below. Libya approved a huge oil exploration contract with BP four days later. The Scottish and British governments released more than 100 pages of previously secret government letters Tuesday. But they seem unlikely to put an end to the controversy over the release of the man convicted of killing 270 people in the bombing nearly 21 years ago.
LONDON, England (CNN) -- Libya warned the United Kingdom that if the Lockerbie bomber died in prison in Scotland, it would have "catastrophic effects for the relationship between Libya and the U.K.," documents declassified Tuesday show. The statement was made by Abdulati Alobidi, the Libyan minister for Europe, to a British Foreign Office minister in February and was repeated to Scottish officials the following month, newly declassified Scottish government notes from the meetings say. Alobidi had earlier told Scottish officials it would be "a major problem should Mr. al Megrahi die in prison, and would be viewed as a form of death sentence." The Scottish and British governments released more than 100 pages of previously secret government letters Tuesday. Watch more about the documents » They are trying to squelch newspaper claims that the British government wanted al Megrahi to be eligible for release as a part of a deal allowing BP to drill for oil in Libya. But they seem unlikely to put an end to the controversy over the release of the man convicted of killing 270 people in the bombing nearly 21 years ago. Al Megrahi was released from prison last month because he has terminal cancer, and received a hero's welcome in Libya. U.S. President Barack Obama reacted strongly to al Megrahi's welcome, calling it "highly objectionable." But Scotland's leaders had long feared that the warming of relations between Libya and Britain would force Scotland to hand over al Megrahi, the documents indicate. "No deal has been done to secure the transfer of Mr. al Megrahi to Libya," Straw's predecessor, Lord Charles Falconer, wrote back to him on June 22, 2007. "We have made clear (to Libya) on diplomatic channels that, for any reason, any Prisoner Transfer Agreement with Libya could not cover Mr. al Megrahi," Falconer said, adding that under the terms of relations between London and Edinburgh, any steps regarding al Megrahi's future "will ultimately be for Scottish ministers to take." Straw wrote to his Scottish counterpart in September 2007 to say London would seek to exclude al Megrahi from any deal for Libyans convicted in the United Kingdom to serve their sentences in Libya. "My officials will make clear to the Libyan authorities that without this addition it will not be possible to conclude a prisoner transfer agreement," he wrote to Scottish Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill. Libya approved a huge oil exploration contract with BP four days later. Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond then asked him what those "national interests" were, the letters indicate. "Having sponsored terrorist attacks in the past, it (Libya) is now an important partner in the fight against terrorism," Straw replied, also citing the fight against illegal immigration. When al Megrahi was ultimately released last month -- on MacAskill's orders -- it was because he had terminal cancer, not as part of a prisoner transfer agreement. All 259 people on the plane died, as did 11 people on the ground below. Scotland still defending release of Lockerbie bomber Lingering suspicions that the decision was prompted by Libyan oil interests more than humanitarian concerns over the bomber's terminal cancer are again rebutted by government officials. Megrahi, 57, is in the advanced stages of terminal prostate cancer and was set free Aug. 20 from a Scottish prison on "compassionate grounds" to spend the remainder of his life with his family in his homeland. British interests in Libya's large oil and gas reserves were irrelevant to the decision to release Abdel Basset Ali Megrahi, a suspected Libyan spy found guilty in 2001, said Nicola Sturgeon, Scotland's deputy first minister. LONDON — Amid continued allegations of political deal-making, Scottish officials said Monday that the early release of the only man convicted in the 1988 bombing of a Pan Am jet over Scotland was motivated solely by humanitarian and judicial concerns, not commercial ones. Libyan officials also rejected suggestions that a contract won by British oil company BP in 2007 to explore for oil in their country influenced the decision to release Megrahi. "We have our laws and tender process, and BP is a very good actor in the oil field and we are satisfied with what they are doing." The release of someone convicted of mass slaughter, followed by footage of his being greeted by crowds of well-wishers upon returning to Libya, has whipped up a storm of protest in the U.S., home to the majority of the passengers on Pan Am Flight 103, and in Britain. The bombing, the deadliest terrorist attack on or over British soil, killed all 259 people on board and 11 on the ground in Lockerbie, Scotland. He was found guilty and sentenced to life imprisonment after a trial that critics say was based on tainted evidence. "That was in the United Kingdom's interests, and the reason for that is that we had uncovered a huge nuclear-weapons program of the Libyans, which they'd been conducting wholly in secret." Leaked letters from justice secretary to Scottish counterpart Kenny MacAskill increase controversy over release of man convicted of Lockerbie bombing The justice secretary, Jack Straw, told his Scottish counterpart two years ago that it was in the UK's "overwhelming interests" not to exclude Abdelbaset al-Megrahi from a prisoner transfer agreement with Libya, it emerged today. Although Megrahi was freed because he is suffering from terminal prostate cancer and not under the prisoner transfer agreement (PTA), the UK government has been accused of encouraging his release in order to facilitate trade with Libya.
Gates will review all of the remarks, add his, then brief President Obama. Need More Troops in Afghanistan?") "We'll see the general's assessment when it gets here. Senior U.S. military officials said Mullen will share the report with the other service chiefs. Advertisement Continue reading the main story An expanded American footprint would also increase Mr. Obama’s entanglement with an Afghan government widely viewed as corrupt and illegitimate. He called for a change of strategy Monday. The statement came as Gen. Stanley McChrystal submitted a long-awaited report on the state of the U.S.-led war in Afghanistan. The key southern city of Kandahar long the capital of Taliban might appears increasingly under the sway of the insurgency. He knows the number of additional troops he may request needs to be as small as possible. Questioned Monday about why things seem to be getting worse in Afghanistan six months after the president announced his new strategy for that country, White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said the country has been neglected for years. U.S., British and other international forces under the NATO umbrella in Afghanistan bolstered their presence this year to improve security for the recent presidential and provincial elections. A candidate must win more than 50 percent of the vote to avoid a run-off. Riedel warned that if the presidential election isn't seen as legitimate, it could lead to the collapse of the central Afghan government. "The situation in Afghanistan is serious, but success is achievable and demands a revised implementation strategy, commitment and resolve, and increased unity of effort," McChrystal said in the statement. He later shipped out to Afghanistan, where he was killed in action in July.
He already faces growing discontent among his liberal base, not only over the war but also over national security policy, health care, gay rights and other issues. Advertisement Continue reading the main story An expanded American footprint would also increase Mr. Obama’s entanglement with an Afghan government widely viewed as corrupt and illegitimate. Multiplying allegations of fraud in the Aug. 20 presidential election have left Washington with little hope for a credible partner in the war once the results are final. The latest tally, with nearly half of the polling stations counted, showed President Hamid Karzai leading with 45.9 percent against 33.3 percent for his main opponent, Abdullah Abdullah, Reuters reported. But the White House left open the possibility that Mr. Obama would send more troops. “There’s broad agreement that for many years, our effort in Afghanistan has been under-resourced politically, militarily and economically,” Robert Gibbs, the White House press secretary, said Monday. He went on to use the words “under-resourced” and “under-resource” six more times during his daily briefing. Advertisement Continue reading the main story The report comes after a sharp escalation of violence in Afghanistan, where more American troops died in August than in any month since the beginning of the war. Advertisement Continue reading the main story The military announced Monday that two American soldiers died in separate attacks involving homemade bombs, bringing the total killed last month to 51, according to the Web site icasualties.org. The number of such attacks has nearly quadrupled since 2007, according to the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Advertisement Continue reading the main story “The situation in Afghanistan is serious, but success is achievable and demands a revised implementation strategy, commitment and resolve, and increased unity of effort,” General McChrystal said in a statement after sending his report to Gen. David H. Petraeus, the commander of all Middle East forces. A military official said General Petraeus immediately endorsed its findings and forwarded it on Monday to Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates, who will review it before sending it to the White House. Photo The report coincides with an effort by the Obama administration to develop a series of benchmarks, or metrics, to measure progress in Afghanistan, much as was done in Iraq. Congress has insisted on evidence of improvement to justify the additional troops, financial investment and civilian reconstruction teams already committed by Mr. Obama. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Mr. Gates said Monday that despite the “gloom and doom” that has characterized recent discussion, Afghanistan today is a “mixed picture.” Advertisement Continue reading the main story He said he would consider any troop requests in the coming weeks, but told Bloomberg News that he was concerned about “the implications of significant additional forces in terms of the foreign footprint in Afghanistan, whether the Afghans will see this as us becoming more of an occupier or their partner, and how do you differentiate those.” Please verify you're not a robot by clicking the box. Sign Up Receive occasional updates and special offers for The New York Times's products and services. Shortly after taking office Mr. Obama ordered 17,000 more combat troops and 4,000 more trainers to Afghanistan, and once they all arrive the American force there will number 68,000. As the NATO commander, General McChrystal also has 40,000 additional foreign forces available to him, but some of their home governments have placed restrictions on how they can be used. General McChrystal wants a large expansion of Afghan security forces and an acceleration of their training, according to American commanders. The Afghan government currently has about 134,000 police officers and 82,000 soldiers, although many of them are poorly equipped and have little logistical support. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Under the strategy described by General McChrystal and other commanders in recent weeks, the overriding goal of American and NATO forces would not be so much to kill Taliban insurgents as to make ordinary Afghans feel secure, and thus isolate the insurgents. Advertisement Continue reading the main story With polls showing falling support for the Afghan war, critics in Congress have grown increasingly vocal in calling for withdrawal. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Some Afghanistan specialists said Mr. Obama might have to swallow his own doubts and defy his base. “The downside of a policy of disengagement and what would happen for now would be more severe both for the president and for the country.” Mr. Obama has said that deciding to send the additional troops was the hardest decision he has made during his young presidency. Nicholas Xiarhos, who was born in Hyannis, Mass., in February when he visited Camp Lejeune, N.C., to announce his plan to withdraw combat forces from Iraq. He told a story then of two Marines who stood in the path of a suicide bomber’s truck and stopped it from entering a Marine outpost in Ramadi, Iraq, losing their own lives but saving dozens of their colleagues. Julie Jacobson / AP U.S. soldiers search civilians who approached on a motorcycle in the village of Dahaneh in Helmand province, Afghanistan Monday marks the end of August, a month with both good and bad news out of Afghanistan and the approach of a key turning point. Civilian casualties caused by Western attacks have fallen dramatically under a new edict from General Stanley McChrystal barring air strikes that risk innocent deaths (19 killed since July 1, down from 151 in the same period of 2008). That's designed to show the Afghan people that the U.S. military is a force for good in their country. But at the same time, U.S. troop deaths reached 45 in August, making it the deadliest month for American military personnel since the war began 94 months ago. That's due to U.S. forces challenging the Taliban more directly, and the Taliban's stepped-up use of roadside bombs to kill as many Western troops as possible. He's expected to request them sometime before the war's eighth birthday on Oct. 7. But President Obama who has declared the Afghan conflict his top national-security priority isn't expected to refuse his handpicked commander's initial request for reinforcements, probably 10,000 to 20,000 more troops.
The place was just in flames", he said. Mr Kyne's aunt said of his parents: "They are so proud of him. A man was arrested near the scene of the fire. One of them, apprentice jockey Ian Brennan, 20, had jumped to safety from the third floor of the building. Jockeys at Haydock and Stratford also wore black armbands. Two more victims were taken to hospital in York to be treated for burns and smoke inhalation. "It's sad for racing and especially sad for the families of Jamie Kyne and Jan Wilson and my condolences go to them. On Saturday Thirsk and Kempton racecourses observed a period of silence as a mark of respect to the victims. The fire broke out at around 2am, in a three-storey block in Norton, near the racing centre of Malton in North Yorkshire. “She was just at the start of her career and was only in her first year of riding as an apprentice,” he said. A man jumped out of a window on the top floor and he landed at my feet.” Kyne had been booked to ride at Haydock during the afternoon, while Wilson had been due at Thirsk to ride a horse trained by her mother. People were jumping out of windows. He was very good - one of the best young riders about Adrian McGuinness, racehorse trainer He has since been released from York District Hospital. “He moved here last year and was doing well and slowly making a name for himself. Supt Tarn said that there was substantial structural damage to the block of flats and that fire crews had to make the property safe before they could recover the bodies.
The two jockeys died as the fire spread through the flats in Buckrose Court in Norton, near Malton, in the early hours of Saturday. Neighbours said they believed Miss Wilson was the girlfriend of another jockey, Ian Brennan, who jumped out of a window at the three-storey block to escape. Alan Foster, a businessman in his 30s who owns the building, said he let the flat to Mr Kyne and Mr Brennan, who had recently moved to Malton from Dublin. Mr Foster said he thought the fire had started in a hallway. Mr Kyne, from Ireland, was a promising apprentice jockey who had ridden 29 winners this season. Currently third in the apprentice jockey championship, he rode for the Irish trainer John Quinn, who runs a racing yard in Malton. Miss Wilson, from Forfar, Scotland, was riding in her first season of professional racing for the trainer David Barron and had been due to ride her mother’s horse, Imperial Sword, at Thirsk on Saturday. “She was just at the start of her career and was only in her first year of riding as an apprentice,” he said. She was very good, very capable and had tremendous potential. Everyone in the yard is just devastated.” Her parents, Margaret and Drew Wilson, were too upset to speak as they travelled from Forfar to North Yorkshire. Mr Kyne was also due to have ridden on Saturday at Haydock, where jockeys wore black armbands and a 20-second silence was observed before the first race. Thirsk and Kempton racecourses also staged moments of silence, and flags at York racecourse flew at half mast, while jockeys at Stratford donned black armbands. “He moved here last year and was doing well and slowly making a name for himself. Tragically, we will never know how far he could have gone.” Superintendent Steve Tarn, of North Yorkshire Police, said that a local man was arrested shortly after the fire was reported at 2.15am on Saturday. He said: “A man has been arrested on suspicion of arson with intent. We are going to interview him to establish his involvement or not.” He said that two men had been taken to York District Hospital suffering from minor burns and the effects of smoke inhalation. One of the men, thought to be Mr Brennan, was discharged yesterday afternoon. Supt Tarn said that there was substantial structural damage to the block of flats and that fire crews had to make the property safe before they could recover the bodies. A spokesman for North Yorkshire fire service said that the fire was in the stairwell and top floor of the block, known as The Tannery. Around 20 other residents were evacuated from the block. Martin Brown, 45, who lives in the block, said he was woken by the sound of the fire alarm. “As I ran out, somebody kicked the front door open and flames came out. The fire happened during a party in the building One of the two apprentice jockeys who died after an arson attack at a block of flats has been named by his family as 18-year-old Jamie Kyne. A man has been arrested over the fire which occurred during a party at Buckrose Court in Norton, near Malton in North Yorkshire. Mr Kyne's aunt said: "The family are devastated and Jamie was a star." The mother of jockey Jan Wilson, 19, said she was waiting for confirmation her daughter was the other victim. North Yorkshire police said they were not in a position to confirm the identities of the victims. One wrote: "I am so proud of you for following your dream, you did it, you did become a jockey. One of them, apprentice jockey Ian Brennan, 20, had jumped to safety from the third floor of the building. The injuries of the other man are not thought to be life-threatening, police said. Mr Kyne's aunt said of his parents: "They are so proud of him. Blue flame Horse trainer Adrian McGuinness, from Lusk, County Dublin, said: "He was very good, one of the best young riders about and probably one of the top apprentices in England at the moment."
Police said it could have had a "devastating outcome". In January, a 300lb bomb was defused in Castlewellan, County Down. The people who planted this device are not acting for the people of South Armagh, in fact, they are putting the people of South Armagh at huge risk of death. The 600lb bomb was made safe by an Army bomb disposal team near Forkhill. The device had a command wire running from where it was planted in Northern Ireland to a firing point across the border in the Republic. Dissident republicans are believed to be responsible for planting the bomb. "Their actions were reckless and dangerous in the extreme Their target may have been the police, but they did not care who they killed or injured. The alert in the area began last Tuesday following a telephoned warning to a newspaper. "Everybody accepts the dangerous nature of policing this type of threat by the PSNI, however, serious questions must be asked about the response time in dealing with the device and evacuating people from their nearby homes. How is this furthering the struggle for Irish freedom?" About 100lbs of explosives were found in a field near the Donagh to Rosslea Road. The remnants have now been taken away for forensic examination. Please turn on JavaScript. "It seems the PSNI may have known about this bomb days before they moved people and if that's the case then it's certainly cause for much concern." He said: "I would question the motives of those who are putting the local community in such danger. A major security operation was launched following the bomb find Police have said a large bomb left close to the Irish border in south Armagh was intended to kill officers.
British army bomb disposal experts have defused a large explosive device found planted close to the border in south Armagh today. The 600lb device was found on a roadside near the village of Forkhill and had a command wire leading to a firing point on the other side of the border. Dissident republicans are believed to be responsible for planting the bomb. Irish soldiers and Gardai mounted a security operation on the southern side of the border while the device was being made safe today. The remnants have now been taken away for forensic examination. A major security operation was launched following the bomb find Police have said a large bomb left close to the Irish border in south Armagh was intended to kill officers. The 600lb bomb was made safe by an Army bomb disposal team near Forkhill. The device had a command wire running from where it was planted in Northern Ireland to a firing point across the border in the Republic. It is suspected that dissident republicans left the bomb. Police said it could have had a "devastating outcome". "The actions of terrorist criminals in planting this device in the Forkhill area put local people and police officers at significant risk," Chief Inspector Sam Cordner said. 'Reckless' "Their actions were reckless and dangerous in the extreme. Their target may have been the police, but they did not care who they killed or injured. "It is only through the hard work and professionalism of police officers and their military colleagues that the area has been made safe." The BBC's Ireland Correspondent Mark Simpson said the discovery of the bomb was the most serious incident involving dissident republicans since the killing of two British soldiers and a police officer in March. He said the most "worrying aspect for police" was the size of the bomb and that "even by Northern Ireland's grim standards, 600lb is a big device". "It shows what the dissidents are capable of producing," he added. "But at the same time the fact that the attack failed shows they lack the 'expertise' the IRA used to have during the troubles. "What is more, even in hardline republican areas like south Armagh they lack significant public support. " He said the question now was what forensic evidence had been left on the bomb. He said: "I would question the motives of those who are putting the local community in such danger. Dangerous "I challenge those who have planted this bomb in the community to come forward and explain why they have done so? SDLP MLA Dominic Bradley condemned those who planted the bomb and also questioned the police response. "Everybody accepts the dangerous nature of policing this type of threat by the PSNI, however, serious questions must be asked about the response time in dealing with the device and evacuating people from their nearby homes. "It seems the PSNI may have known about this bomb days before they moved people and if that's the case then it's certainly cause for much concern." "The bomb was found 50 yards from Marian Hollywood's home." Ulster Unionist deputy leader Danny Kennedy said the attempted attack was "deeply alarming". "It is likely to assume that members of the PSNI were the target of this bomb; however had it detonated it could have killed any passer by," he said. "This shows how reckless these republicans were in their targets and highlights their total disregard for human life." DUP assembly member William Irwin said it was imperative people in the area helped police catch those responsible. "There is still the very real threat of terrorism here in Northern Ireland and this has been proven once again by the murderous thugs who left this massive bomb near the border," he said. It is thought the bomb was planted by dissident republicans who were trying to target the Ballykinler army base. The Irish army and police mounted a security operation in the Irish Republic while an army bomb disposal expert made the device safe. Sam Cordner, Newry and Mourne police commander Chief Inspector, said: "There could have been a devastating outcome to this incident. "It is only through the hard work and professionalism of police officers and their military colleagues that the area has been made safe."
Nine people were feared missing, he said. Are you in Turkey? Heavy overnight rain flooded western neighborhoods in Istanbul city. "My friend got stuck in the truck after the water rose all at once. The flooding was caused by two days of torrential rainfall - the worst in 80 years. The dead had to be retrieved by boats." Have you been affected by the floods? more photos » Twenty-six people were killed in Istanbul province and five in neighboring Tekirdag province, according to Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Media requires JavaScript to play. Cars were swept away and some drivers were trapped inside their vehicles. Name Your E-mail address Town & Country Phone number (optional): Comments The BBC may edit your comments and not all emails will be published. TV pictures showed roads near Istanbul's main airport submerged by deep water. We rescued him with a winch," resident Kamil Coskun told Reuters in Ikitelli. Among the fatalities in Istanbul were seven female textile workers who were trapped in their minivan, CNN sister network CNN Turk reported. The rain stopped Tuesday evening but resumed early Wednesday. Bookmark with: Delicious Digg reddit Facebook StumbleUpon What are these? Residents were advised not to wander from their homes. Earth movers began lifting the debris at the scene on Thursday, where trailers had been tipped on their side and left in heaps like litter washed up on shore. Advertisement The death toll following huge floods that swept through Istanbul and north-western Turkey has risen to at least 31 people, with others still missing. That part of the city is known to suffer from poor drainage.
Media requires JavaScript to play. Advertisement At least 23 people have been killed and a number of others are missing after flash floods in north-west Turkey. The flooding struck districts in and around Turkey's largest city of Istanbul, swamping houses and roads. Cars were swept away and some drivers were trapped inside their vehicles. TV pictures showed roads near Istanbul's main airport submerged by deep water. The flooding was caused by two days of torrential rainfall - the worst in 80 years. 'Disaster' As waters rose, police and military helicopters rescued people from rooftops in Istanbul and its suburbs. The vehicle stopped working after filling with water. We rescued him with a winch Kamil Coskun, Istanbul resident In pictures: Istanbul floods The worst flooding was in low-lying areas in the western (European) part of the city straddling the Bosphorus Strait, which divides Europe from Asia. Istanbul's Deputy Governor Hikmet Cakmak described the scene in the Ikitelli district as a "disaster", Turkish media report. "My friend got stuck in the truck after the water rose all at once. The vehicle stopped working after filling with water. Roads, homes and farming land were submerged in nearby towns and at least two bridges collapsed. It has been reported in Turkey that one area received 24cm (10in) of rain in just two hours. More rain is forecast for north-western Turkey in the coming days. BBC correspondent David O'Byrne, in Istanbul, said he was kept awake for two hours during the night by "thunder and lightning and very heavy rain". But he said that the centre has not really been affected by flooding. ISTANBUL, Turkey (CNN) -- At least 31 people were dead after two days of torrential rains triggered flash floods in northwestern Turkey, sweeping cars into the sea and sending gushing water into homes and businesses, authorities said Wednesday. A Turkish woman awaits rescuers on her balcony following heavy morning rain in Istanbul. more photos » Twenty-six people were killed in Istanbul province and five in neighboring Tekirdag province, according to Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Among the fatalities in Istanbul were seven female textile workers who were trapped in their minivan, CNN sister network CNN Turk reported. Witnesses in the city of Istanbul said the flash floods hit at 7:30 a.m. Wednesday, washing through an industrial zone situated in a low-lying valley. Dozens of cargo trucks flipped or were ripped to pieces, the wreckage attracting crowds who watched the chaotic scene from nearby hilltops. See photos of the devastation » At a news conference in Istanbul's Disaster Management Center, in front of walls of TVs showing live video feeds from Turkey's largest city, Erdogan expressed condolences to families that lost loved ones during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. Watch more about the deadly flooding » He said emergency workers rescued an estimated 1,300 people from the flash floods and pledged billions of Turkish lira for disaster relief in Istanbul and Tekirdag provinces. He also chided developers who built commercial and residential structures in riverbeds that are vulnerable to flooding. "Our ancestors had a saying: 'The river's revenge will be heavy,' " Erdogan said. In the wake of this week's disaster, the prime minister called for relocating all such settlements from riverbeds and moving them to safer ground. "We never had such rain in all the time I have been here," said Zafer Ercan, deputy mayor of the town of Silivri, an hour west of Istanbul city. Authorities have begun the clear-up, while teams are still searching for the missing, after what the prime minister called the "disaster of the century". The rain - described as the heaviest in 80 years - has abated, but more is expected in the coming days. Thirteen truck drivers were reported to have been killed as a sudden tide of water and mud swept through the lorry park where they were sleeping. "We heard a crashing sound and then saw the waters coming down carrying cars and debris," Nuri Bitken, a 42-year-old night guard at a the lorry park, told the Reuters news agency. The water is so high that when you look at them from the balcony they seem like boats swimming on the water Erdi Anil Karaca, Istanbul resident Turkish readers comment on floods "We tried to wake up those who were still asleep in the trucks but some didn't make it.
As he did, Farrell said he saw Munadi. "That's all I know. Journalist!" The New York Times... The British voices told him to come over. All About Afghanistan • The Taliban • Gordon Brown Crossfire during the raid also killed a woman and a child, said Abdel Wahid Omar Khil, governor of Kunduz district, in Kunduz province, where the rescue took place. He has covered both the Afghan and Iraq conflicts for the paper. He was so close, he was just two feet in front of me when he dropped. David Rohde, a local reporter and a driver were kidnapped November 10 outside Kabul. The NATO commander in the area called in the strike Friday as Afghans tried to siphon fuel from two tankers hijacked by the Taliban a day earlier. Farrell said he did not know if the shots came from militants or the rescuing forces. The military thought there were no civilians near the trucks at the time of the attack, the ISAF's Capt. "A woman of the house was killed and another injured in the shooting. A British commando died in the operation, the country's Ministry of Defense said without offering further details. "There were bullets all around us. British commandos freed a New York Times reporter early Wednesday from Taliban captives who kidnapped him over the weekend in northern Afghanistan, but one of the commandos and a Times' translator were killed in the rescue, officials said.Reporter Stephen Farrell was taken hostage along with his translator in the northern province of Kunduz on Saturday. He did not move. He left the company a few years later to work for a local radio station.He left Afghanistan last year to study for a master's degree in Germany.
British special forces in Afghanistan rescued a New York Times reporter who was kidnapped Saturday by the Taliban, but the deaths of his interpreter and a British commando in the predawn raid Wednesday raised questions about the operation. Gunmen had seized journalist Stephen Farrell, who is a dual British-Irish citizen, and Afghan interpreter Sultan Munadi in a village in Kunduz province that was the scene of bombings last week by North Atlantic Treaty Organization forces that killed dozens of people. British commandos freed a New York Times reporter early Wednesday from Taliban captives who kidnapped him over the weekend in northern Afghanistan, but one of the commandos and a Times' translator were killed in the rescue, officials said.Reporter Stephen Farrell was taken hostage along with his translator in the northern province of Kunduz on Saturday. German commanders had ordered U.S. jets to drop bombs on two hijacked fuel tankers, causing a number of civilian casualties, and reporters traveled to the area to cover the story.One British service member died during the raid, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said, while the Times reported that Farrell's Afghan translator, Sultan Munadi, 34, also was killed. Brown said "we send his family our condolences." Farrell was unhurt.Gunfire rang out from multiple sides during the rescue, and a Taliban commander who was in the house was killed, along with the owner of the house and a woman, said Mohammad Sami Yowar, a spokesman for the Kunduz governor.Munadi was killed in the midst of the firefight, he said. A British defense official said he couldn't rule out the possibility he was killed by British gunfire.Afghan officials over the weekend said about 70 people died when U.S. jets dropped two bombs on the tankers, igniting them in a massive explosion. There were reports that villagers who had come to collect fuel from the tankers were among the dead, and Farrell wanted to interview villagers.The Times reported that while Farrell and Munadi were talking to Afghans near the site of the bombing, an old man approached them and warned them to leave. Soon after, gunshots rang out and people shouted that the Taliban were approaching.Police had warned reporters who traveled to the capital of Kunduz to cover the tanker strike that the village in question was controlled by the Taliban, and it would be dangerous to go there.The Times kept the kidnappings quiet out of concern for the men's safety, and other media outlets, including The Associated Press, did not report the abductions following a request from the Times.quoted Farrell saying he had been "extracted" by a commando raid carried out by "a lot of soldiers" in a firefight.Mohammad Sami Yowar, a spokesman for the Kunduz governor, said British Special Forces dropped down from helicopters early Wednesday onto the house where the two were being kept, and a gun battle ensued.A Taliban commander who was in the house was killed, along with the owner of the house and a woman who was inside, Yowar said. He said Sultan was killed in the midst of the firefight.Contradicting Yowar's claim, a Taliban commander from Kunduz province toldWednesday morning in a phone call that no militants were killed in the firefight. He said the battle took place at a civilian house being used by the Taliban, but that all militants fled the scene safely.The militant, who spoke on the condition that he not be named, claimed one Afghan civilian was killed and another injured in the firefight. "A woman of the house was killed and another injured in the shooting. The Taliban left the house without losing any fighters," he said, adding, "we are sorry for the death of the Afghan in the shootout. "The militant commander's claims could not be independently verified, but Taliban claims are often exaggerated.Farrell, a dual Irish-British citizen, told the Times that he saw Munadi step forward shouting "Journalist! "That's all I know. He was so close, he was just two feet in front of me when he dropped. "Munadi, in his early 30s, was employed by The New York Times starting in 2002, according to his colleagues. He left the company a few years later to work for a local radio station.He left Afghanistan last year to study for a master's degree in Germany. He came back to Kabul last month for a holiday and to see his family, and agreed to accompany Farrell to Kunduz on a freelance basis. He told the paper that he was not hurt in the rescue operation.New York Times executive editor Bill Keller said he had understood from the military that they did not intend to conduct a raid unless the situation turned "particularly menacing, and they had actionable intelligence and a high probability of success. "Keller said he doesn't know what triggered the decision to carry out the raid, but that Farrell told him the situation had turned "menacing." Keller said it was possible the militants may have planned to move the hostages and said he would not second guess the military's decision to take action.The British prime minister said the operation was carried out after "extensive planning and consideration" and that those involved knew the high risks they faced. They are truly the finest among us, and all of us in Britain pay tribute to them, and to the families and communities who sustain them in their awesome responsibilities," Brown said.Farrell was the second Times journalist to be kidnapped in Afghanistan in a year.In June, Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter David Rohde and his Afghan colleague Tahir Ludin KABUL, Afghanistan (CNN) -- A New York Times reporter who was kidnapped last week was freed Wednesday in a pre-dawn military raid in Afghanistan that left a British commando, an Afghan journalist and several others dead. Armed gunmen kidnapped the journalists Saturday while they were covering a NATO airstrike on Taliban forces the day before that killed at least 90 people in the northern Kunduz province. Tonight, 10 ET see full schedule » "We feared that media attention would raise the temperature and increase the risk to the captives," the paper quoted Executive Editor Bill Keller as saying Wednesday. Farrell called the newspaper's foreign editor before dawn and said he was "extracted" in a commando raid after a fierce firefight, according to a report on the Times Web site.
Officials did not say what, if anything, they found. Le. The police in New Haven said on Monday that they had identified the body found on Sunday in the wall of that building, on Amistad Street near Yale Medical School, as Ms. Le’s. The money took her to the University of Rochester as an undergraduate. Investigators watched hours of video from dozens of cameras around the lab building and saw someone matching her description a young woman in a bright green T-shirt and a brown skirt go in. "Just seven months before Le went missing, the graduate student wrote a magazine article about how to stay safe on the streets around the Ivy League school. Ms. A statement issued by the office of Connecticut’s chief medical examiner said her death was classified a homicide. “She knows to lock her door and be careful,” he said. On Monday, Officer Joe Avery, the police spokesman, confirmed that clothes had been found in the ceiling but would not say whether the police knew whose they were. “New Haven is a city. He said it took three levels of security to get into the basement of the lab building, including two swipes of a security card. But the yellow tape did not prevent people from placing bouquets and candles at the metal fence leading to the lab building, a few blocks from Yale’s storied Gothic campus and close to Yale-New Haven Hospital. And the case raised fresh questions about safety there. More than 100 federal, state, city and university law enforcement officers had been searching for Le since Tuesday night, when her roommate reported her missing.
(Facebook Photo) The 24-year-old bride-to-be, who had been missing since Tuesday, apparently met a violent death in a secure Yale University building accessible only to students and staff, police said Sunday on what was supposed to be her wedding day.Authorities have said little about the investigation.They hadn't positively identified the body found hidden in a wall Sunday, but they were assuming it was Annie Le's and treating her disappearance as a homicide.State police found the body in a building in Yale's medical complex, about a mile from the main campus. It was in an area that houses utility cables that run between floors.The university planned a candlelight vigil at 8 p.m. Monday at the Ivy League university. The Yale Daily News says an e-mail to the Yale community invites participants to "bring a candle and join us in solidarity. "Just seven months before Le went missing, the graduate student wrote a magazine article about how to stay safe on the streets around the Ivy League school. Annie Le was so focused on academics that, even though she was the valedictorian of her high school class and her classmates voted her “most likely to be the next Einstein,” she filled out 102 applications for scholarships. “My tongue is sore from licking envelopes, my wrist hurts from typing and stapling, and the post office clerk knows me on a first name basis,” she wrote in a one-page primer she left in the files of the school in El Dorado, Calif., “but other than that, there is nothing I can complain about; It was not difficult at all!” Her work paid off, literally: She received $160,000 in scholarship offers, said Tony DeVille, who became principal three years ago, three years after she graduated. She went on to Yale, where, as a 24-year-old graduate student, she was studying pharmacology and planning her wedding to another serious-minded student from her days in Rochester. But Ms. Le’s promising life ended in the basement of an ultramodern science building that has what other graduate students at Yale described as tight security. The police in New Haven said on Monday that they had identified the body found on Sunday in the wall of that building, on Amistad Street near Yale Medical School, as Ms. Le’s. A statement issued by the office of Connecticut’s chief medical examiner said her death was classified a homicide. A spokesman for the New Haven police said her killing “doesn’t appear to be a random act,” but would not say why it was not. Further reassurance from the authorities was scant: the spokesman said no arrests had been made, and the medical examiner’s office withheld the cause of death “to facilitate the investigation.” On Monday night, hundreds of people attended a candlelight vigil at Yale for Ms. Le, and the university promised additional security at the lab building, which was closed on Monday while investigators swarmed in, looking for possible clues. But the yellow tape did not prevent people from placing bouquets and candles at the metal fence leading to the lab building, a few blocks from Yale’s storied Gothic campus and close to Yale-New Haven Hospital. Le, who watched experiments with laboratory mice at the lab building, had herself weighed in on the subject of campus safety less than eight months ago, when she wrote an article for a student magazine on how to avoid becoming “yet another statistic.” Yale students interviewed on Monday echoed what she had written that living in New Haven requires a certain urban awareness. It has city problems.” But Leslie Tung of Kalamazoo, Mich., whose daughter is a freshman, said it would be “terrifically misguided to be walking around consumed by fear.” “I don’t think you can worry about living in a college setting,” he said, “or else you stop living.” He said he was not worried about his daughter. Ms. Le’s absence was first noticed last Tuesday, after her purse with her identification, her cellphone and some money was found in her office, in another Yale building a few blocks from the lab building. Investigators watched hours of video from dozens of cameras around the lab building and saw someone matching her description a young woman in a bright green T-shirt and a brown skirt go in. The body was discovered about 5 p.m. Sunday in a recess for utility pipes and cables behind a wall. The search recalled a troubling case from December 1998 that has never been closed: the stabbing death of Suzanne Jovin, a Yale senior whose body was found in a neighborhood not far from the campus. On Saturday, the police were said to have found bloody clothes above ceiling tiles in the lab building, though other reports said the clothes were not the same ones Ms. On Monday, Officer Joe Avery, the police spokesman, confirmed that clothes had been found in the ceiling but would not say whether the police knew whose they were. She said the building was closed for the day “so that the police can continue their investigation.” She said that people with “essential research responsibilities” were being let in, but they had to be accompanied by a police officer. Ms. Le’s friends remembered her as someone who could juggle a joke with serious scientific research, someone who loved bargains and thought nothing of hunting down $2 shirts at Old Navy stores because the $5 ones were too expensive. Dennis Jones, a graduate student in immunology, said he often saw her at lunchtime, walking along the block between her office and the lab building where she was apparently killed. NEW HAVEN, Conn., Sept. 14 (UPI) -- Investigators looking into the slaying of a Yale University graduate student said Monday they were focused on a suspect who failed a lie detector test. Police sources said they believe the suspect knew Annie Le, 24, whose body was found Sunday -- the day she was to have been married -- behind a wall in a laboratory building near the Yale Medical School. The medical examiner positively identified the body and ruled the cause of death to be homicide, but did not specify the manner of death. New Haven Officer Joe Avery told reporters Le's death "doesn't appear to be a random act," The New York Times reported.
Above all, he's a bloke. I will miss him." With Floyd, food on television went Technicolor. "He was very excited about it. He was the first chef to reform TV completely. Oliver said: "Keith was not just one of the best, he was the best television chef. He didn't live in the sanitised world of perfect studio cookery; he was out and about, he loved his drink and he loved engaging with other people. An incredible man who lived life to the full and an inspiration to me and to so many others." He was a natural cook. He has cooked real dishes in real time in real places. Antony Worrall Thompson "He made cooking approachable and fun. He spoke in a way that everybody could understand. I worked with him a lot and I was a good friend of his. He kind of spawned us all. A little piece of Britain died yesterday which will never be replaced. He used to come to the restaurant regularly and knew Padstow well because his first wife came from Port Isaac. Marco Pierre White "He had this great ability at the stove, great confidence. He has style. It's very sad news. He shot to fame in the 1980s in ground-breaking cookery shows, presented with huge enthusiasm and wine glass in hand. Years later, it was running another establishment near the BBC studios in the city that Floyd was discovered by television producer David Pritchard. No-one made TV food programmes quite like him. The result – Floyd on TV – was not a hit.
When it first appeared on a regional strand of the BBC in 1985, Keith Floyd's 10-minute cooking slot attracted 10,000 viewers' calls asking for recipes and greater exposure for the genial chef, mainly from female viewers. Over the next 15 years Floyd produced 19 series for the BBC and Channel 5 from every corner of the globe, and wrote more than 20 cookbooks to accompany his programmes. Long after he had effectively retired from British television screens the BBC continued to syndicate his shows to foreign audiences with whom they proved enduringly popular. Combining raffish charm and contagious enthusiasm on screen, Floyd's programmes dispensed with the static formality that had defined the television cookery of his forerunners, such as Fanny Cradock. Instead he was likely to be found braced over a camping stove on the heaving deck of a North Sea trawler, rhapsodising over a sea bass. So too was his penchant for ad libbing jocular instructions to his film crew. A generation of viewers became familiar with Clive and various other long-suffering cameramen, who were forever being ordered to get in close for a look at a fish gill or the marbling on a steak. Most popular with his viewers was Floyd's habit of never cooking without a glass of some local vintage to hand. This he owed to his long-standing BBC producer David Pritchard, who advised him to fill in the boring bits with "a quick slurp". A committed drinker, Floyd slurped more than any television chef before or since. With craggy good looks, slightly askew bow tie and upper-class tones gravelled by a prodigious smoking habit, Floyd had something of the roguish charm of a 1950s chancer about him. This was not an altogether misleading image – as his four wives, most several decades his junior, might attest. Keith Floyd was born on December 28 1943 and grew up in Somerset, the son of a meter repairman for the electricity board. It was, he recorded, a very happy rural childhood during which he learned his mother's great love of cookery. By diligent saving, his parents managed to pay for him to attend the local public school – Wellington School, though it had no connection with its more famous Berkshire namesake. Floyd was both popular and a good rugby player, but a lack of money forced him to leave at 16. Thereafter he worked first as a clerk, then as a cub reporter for the Bristol Evening Post alongside Tom Stoppard, whose leather jacket, dark glasses and impenetrable jokes he found rather intimidating. A local cinema showing of the Michael Caine epic Zulu, he said, then convinced him that his future lay in the armed forces – though the story may have blurred in the retelling as he was already in uniform by the time the film was released. He turned down the 11th Hussars to take a commission in the less snooty 3rd Royal Tank Regiment, but found the stirring cinematic vision of Rorke's Drift bore little resemblance to his dreary Cold War billet in Germany. To alleviate the boredom he played rugby for the Royal Tank rugby team (whose approach was summed up in the regimental motto: Fear Naught) and took over the running of the officers' mess. In 1971 he left the Army and, taking as his templates George Perry-Smith, chef patron of the Hole in the Wall restaurant in Bath, and Kenneth Bell's restaurant at Thornbury Castle in Gloucestershire, set up his first restaurant, in Bristol. The eponymous Floyd's Bistro proved popular, and his empire expanded to three restaurants. However, in what was to prove a perennial feature of his career, popularity stubbornly failed to translate into profitability. Faced with a looming financial crisis, he sold up, divorced his first wife, and bought a yacht called Flirty. For the next five years he pursued a peripatetic existence in France and Spain, indulging a passion for the local cuisine that he had learned from Elizabeth David's French Provincial Cooking. As he ran out of money he sold pieces of the yacht until, without a compass or an outboard motor, he settled in Provence and opened a restaurant in Isle-sur-la-Sorgue near Avignon, where he also played for the local rugby club. It was here, with the bailiffs already circling the struggling venture, that he had his fateful meeting with David Pritchard, a "large, balding, red moon faced" producer at BBC Plymouth with whom Floyd developed the style of cookery programme that made him a celebrity at 42. He frequently berated the press for their interest in him, but found it impossible to resist the temptation to tell all, particularly about his romantic assignations, when offered the opportunity. When he met and proposed to his 26-year-old third wife after meeting her in his pub, the gory details were relayed in full to readers of the News of the World. On a third, a cooking escapade in a hot-air balloon nearly ended in disaster when butane gas was used for cooling a bottle of champagne rather than propelling the aircraft. He railed constantly against his image as a heavy drinker, and particularly at one critic's suggestion that he was the "Ollie Reed of TV chefs", claiming that he had been properly drunk on television only once.
It is a balanced bill. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, and Bob Bennett, R-Utah, who have opposed Democratic proposals so far, after an earlier talk with with Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-West Virginia, a critic of the Baucus proposal, the administration officials said. The plan would require all Americans to have health insurance, but lacks a government-run public health insurance option favored by most Democrats and President Obama. It would be a 35% excise tax on insurers for plans that cost more than $8,000 a year for individual coverage and $21,000 for family coverage. It can pass the Senate." None of the Republicans in the Finance Committee negotiations -- Sens. Authors: All About Max Baucus • Health Care Policy • Health Care Costs "This is a good bill. It would leave 25 million people uninsured in 2019 — a third of whom are illegal immigrants — compared with 17 million in the House bill. - CNN's Dana Bash and CNNMoney's Jennifer Liberto contributed to this report. A person eligible for the affordability credit would pay his portion of the premium to the insurer and the federal government would pay the rest. The Congressional Budget Office estimated the bill would cost $774 billion over 10 years and cover 94 percent of Americans. The plan would create health insurance exchanges to make it easier for small groups and individuals to buy insurance. "New taxes on health care coverage will have the opposite effect by making coverage less affordable for families and employers across the country." (Read full text of the Baucus proposal.). worked for months to find common ground with Republicans on health care reform — but when he released his long-anticipated proposal Wednesday, the real problem quickly came into focus.
Breaking down the Baucus bill Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) worked for months to find common ground with Republicans on health care reform — but when he released his long-anticipated proposal Wednesday, the real problem quickly came into focus. He set the stage for a titanic struggle within his own party. Story Continued Below Reaction from congressional Democratic leaders was lukewarm to worse, progressives were downright hostile and Republicans were scornful of what they described as brazen government grab. But Baucus may have provided lawmakers with the only viable blueprint for winning support across Congress, because he sought to find elements that pleased all sides. “There are honest and principled differences on all of us working for reform, and this package may not represent all of our first choices,” Baucus said. “But at the end of the day, we all share a common purpose: that is to make the lives of Americans better tomorrow than they are today and to get health care reform done, which means the time for action is now.” The next challenge for Baucus and the Senate leadership is to get the bill out of the Finance Committee — but after that, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) will need to merge the Finance bill with one approved in July by the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee. Even Reid, who has generally supported Baucus’s efforts, sounded less than pleased, saying he needs to be convinced the bill is right for Nevada on a proposed Medicaid expansion. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) dug in on the element dear to her liberal caucus — the public insurance option — and whacked the Baucus bill for shunning it. Baucus has made the challenge clear for Democrats, who now must choose between competing visions of health reform: an employer mandate versus fees on employers, a public insurance option versus nonprofit insurance cooperatives, and taxes on millionaires versus industry and people with expensive health care plans. The proposal capped months of closed-door discussions that, in the end, produced no immediate Republican support — and critical comments from negotiators Chuck Grassley of Iowa and Mike Enzi of Wyoming, both of whom complained about “artificial deadlines” from the White House and Democratic leaders to push through a bill, as Grassley said. Baucus put the cost of his bill at $856 billion. It would require nearly all Americans to carry insurance and employers to help cover the costs of providing government subsidies, while prohibiting insurance companies from dropping or denying coverage for people with pre-existing conditions. The Congressional Budget Office estimated the bill would cost $774 billion over 10 years and cover 94 percent of Americans. It would leave 25 million people uninsured in 2019 — a third of whom are illegal immigrants — compared with 17 million in the House bill. The analysis came in $82 billion lower than Baucus had thought it would, suggesting there could be room for senators to make adjustments. However, any expenses added to the bill must be offset with new revenue, making the task politically difficult. Another looming battle between Baucus and fellow Democrats is over how to pay for the bill — especially since the Finance bill came in at least $100 billion cheaper than the House bill. The House would pay for health reform in part by taxing high earners, families who make at least $1 million, but Baucus proposed an excise tax on insurers for their top-of-the-line plans. NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- The health reform debate is still far from the finish line, but Wednesday brought an important milestone: A key senator's highly-anticipated proposal echoing many of the reforms that President Obama is calling for. "My bill is very, very similar to the framework that the president was talking about when he gave his message the other day. The proposal's price tag, according to the Senate Finance Committee, is $856 billion over 10 years. It would be paid for through cuts and savings from government health programs and through new taxes and fees on health industry players. (Read full text of the Baucus proposal.). Requirement to buy insurance: With some exceptions for very low-income individuals and those with religious objections, the Baucus proposal would require that individuals buy health insurance every year. The penalty for not buying insurance would be a fine running as high as $3,800 a year for a family that makes more than 300% of the federal poverty level. Here's some context for those fines: A survey from the Kaiser Family Foundation released Tuesday found that the average cost of premiums for employer-sponsored insurance topped $13,000 for family coverage, of which the worker paid $3,515. The average cost for an individual policy was $4,824, of which the worker paid $779. State-based insurance exchanges: The Baucus proposal like other Democratic plans would create insurance exchanges -- or supermarkets -- where individuals could comparison shop for policies. Insurers participating in the exchange would offer four levels of coverage -- bronze, silver, gold and platinum. All plans must provide a basic level of benefits, including coverage of preventive and primary care, maternity and newborn care, dental and vision care, and prescription drugs, among other areas. And insurers selling plans directly to individuals -- whether on the exchange or not -- would not be allowed to deny anyone coverage based on a pre-existing condition or rescind a policy when premiums have been paid in full. Health affordability tax credits: For Americans making between 100% and 400% of the federal poverty level, the Baucus proposal would subsidize premium costs for insurance purchased on state-based exchanges. In addition, the proposal would subsidize out-of-pocket health costs for co-payments and deductibles for Americans making between 100% and 200% of poverty. Standardization of Medicaid eligibility: The Baucus proposal will make Medicaid benefits available to anyone whose household income is at or below 133% of the federal poverty level. Taxes and fees on insurers: The Baucus proposal would pay for reform in part by imposing $349 billion worth of taxes and fees on insurers and other health industry players, such as pharmaceutical and medical equipment manufacturers.
Brown, a member of the Church of Scotland, has made three visits to the Vatican, and formally extended his invitation in February, when he met the pope with his wife, Sarah, and his children. The last papal visit was in May 1982 Pope Benedict XVI is to visit Britain in 2010, the BBC has learned. A spokesman for the prime minister said he was "delighted" and "it would be a moving and momentous occasion for the whole country". It will be the first papal visit to Britain since 1982, when Pope John Paul II's six-day tour drew huge crowds. There are an estimated 4.2 million Catholics in England and Wales. The pope is expected to mark the beatification of John Henry Newman, the most celebrated Anglican convert to Catholicism. He said: "I'm sure I speak on behalf of Anglicans throughout Britain, in assuring him that he would be received with great warmth and joy." It means David Cameron, the Conservative leader, could be part of the formal party meeting the Pope. Chris Burke, Lincoln I now know when I'll be taking my holidays next year! The relationship has evoked historical misgivings and conflict over many years. It will bring a renewal to the already growing Catholic faith in the UK. In London he held a Mass at Wembley Stadium. The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, said he had long hoped for such a visit. Mr Brown specifically asked the Pope to visit “all parts of the UK” when he invited the pontiff. But a spokesman for the National Secular Society said it would organise "a coalition of groups to make clear to the pope that whatever celebrations the government lays on for him, he is not welcomed here by everyone".
The last papal visit was in May 1982 Pope Benedict XVI is to visit Britain in 2010, the BBC has learned. It will be the first papal visit to Britain since 1982, when Pope John Paul II's six-day tour drew huge crowds. The news of Pope Benedict's visit comes after Gordon Brown extended a formal invitation to the Pope during a private audience in February. A spokesman for the prime minister said he was "delighted" and "it would be a moving and momentous occasion for the whole country". Details of his visit have yet to emerge but the trip is set to be the first official state visit by a pontiff - John Paul II's visit in May 1982 was on a pastoral basis and did not follow an official invitation by the UK government. 'Warmly received' A spokesman for Prime Minister Gordon Brown said: "The PM is obviously delighted at the prospect of a visit from Pope Benedict XVI to Britain. "It would be a moving and momentous occasion for the whole country and he would undoubtedly receive the warmest of welcomes." Conservative leader David Cameron said he was "delighted" to hear of the possible visit. He said: "Such a visit - the first in over a quarter of a century - would be greatly welcomed not only by Roman Catholics but by the country as a whole." I'm sure I speak on behalf of Anglicans throughout Britain, in assuring him that he would be received with great warmth and joy Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams The Roman Catholic Church in England and Wales also sent the Pope a formal invitation in 2007. He said: "I'm sure I speak on behalf of Anglicans throughout Britain, in assuring him that he would be received with great warmth and joy." Our correspondent said the prime minister's invitation in February had been "warmly received" by the Vatican and was linked to the beatification of Cardinal Newman - England's most celebrated convert to Roman Catholicism. Earlier this year, Pope Benedict approved as a miracle the cure of a US Roman Catholic deacon from a crippling spinal disease, bringing Cardinal Newman, who died in 1890, one step closer to sainthood. He said there was a possibility that the Pope might visit Northern Ireland - unlike Pope John II who, on his visit to the Irish Republic in 1982, prayed for an end to sectarian violence in the North. Pope Benedict's visit would only be the second by a head of the Catholic Church since Henry VIII declared himself head of the church in England more than 500 years ago. The National Secular Society said it was planning demonstrations against the visit in protest at what it called Pope Benedict's "intransigence and fundamentalism". A spokesman for the society said it would "make clear to the Pope that whatever celebrations the government lays on for him, he is not welcomed here by everyone". I'm not sure if I'll go and see him, but whilst, as your article points out, Gordon Brown is "staunchly Protestant", it is 500 years since The Reformation, so hopefully a little religious tolerance has crept into the country since then! Sinead, St Albans It is wonderful news, the atmosphere during John Paul II's visit in 1982 was amazing, everyone prayerful and united. Benedict XVI to make the first papal visit to UK since John Paul II's six-day tour in 1982 The following correction was printed in the Guardian's Corrections and clarifications column, Saturday 26 September 2009 Great throwaway scoops of our time: "Brown … formally extended his invitation in February, when he met the pope with his wife, Sarah, and his children". The pope is to visit Britain next year, the first papal visit to the UK in 30 years, after accepting an invitation from Gordon Brown. But last night the Tory leader said: "Such a visit – the first in over a quarter of a century – would be greatly welcomed not only by Roman Catholics but by the country as a whole." A spokesman for the prime minister said: "It would be a moving and momentous occasion for the whole country and he would undoubtedly receive the warmest of welcomes." "I'm sure I speak on behalf of Anglicans throughout Britain, in assuring him that he would be received with great warmth and joy." But a spokesman for the National Secular Society said it would organise "a coalition of groups to make clear to the pope that whatever celebrations the government lays on for him, he is not welcomed here by everyone". But the visit could raise issues about Labour's relations with the church, which have sometimes hit trouble owing to controversies such as the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act, which allowed the use of hybrid embryos for use in medical research.
"For me it was about nostalgia," he said. Then, Karpov was world champion and Kasparov was the challenger. (24.Rxf5 f6!) The games were played at rapid time controls. The game they started on 10 September 1984 was the first of 144 over the next six years. 1 if he was still playing, there is no doubt that he would still be among the world’s top players. 22...gxf6 23.Qxh6 f5 24.Qg5+! Position after 22.Nf6+! The match is being held to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the first world championship match between the two players. A gaggle of Russian journalists were a reminder of the chess giants' status at home. Last night history looked set to repeat itself. "We couldn't play in Moscow because that would have been publicity for Kasparov, and they don't want that," he told Valencia's Levante newspaper. 21.Nxf4 Nf5 22.Nb5 (22.Ne6 Nxe6 23.dxe6 Qxd2 wins) 22...Nxb5 23.axb5 Nd4 24.Ne6 0-1 After 24.Ne6 Nxe6 25.dxe6 Qxd2 26.Rxd2 Rxd2 27.Bxb7 Rfd8 28.e7 Re2 29.Bd8 and 24.Ne6 Nxe6 25.dxe6 Qxd2 26.Rxd2 Rxd2 27.Bxb7 28.Re1 White fights on. Karpov plays a quiet line against Kasparov’s Gruenfeld Defence but his d5 pawn can be dangerous hence Kasparov’s 12…Nc4 and 13…Nd6. Pieces flew as they got off to a frantic start. The contest is being staged 25 years after the first of five epic WCC matches between the pair started in Moscow. He resigned, though he still had good chances to fight for a draw. This shouldn’t really happen when the time control includes a 3 second increment. In their 1984 encounter the chisel-faced Karpov lost eight kilos.
The match is being held to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the first world championship match between the two players. Then, Karpov was world champion and Kasparov was the challenger. That match was famously suspended after five months and 48 games. Kasparov went on win the title in 1985 and then defended it against Karpov in matches in 1986, 1987 and 1990. For several years now, they have been willing to capitalize on their rivalry by playing exhibitions and short matches. In 2002, they played a four-game rapid match (time control of 25 minutes per player per game, with time added to each player’s clock after each move) in Times Square in New York City. At the time, Kasparov was still competing regularly and was still ranked No. 1 in the world, but he lost, 2.5 to 1.5. Kasparov retired in 2005 and Karpov still competes, but Kasparov is 12 years younger and that is a considerable advantage. 1 if he was still playing, there is no doubt that he would still be among the world’s top players. It seemed before the current match began that Kasparov would probably have a big edge and the first two games confirmed that. The games were played at rapid time controls. Both sides had reasonable chances until, on his last move, Karpov blundered and lost an exchange (rook for bishop). He resigned, though he still had good chances to fight for a draw. In Game 2, the opening was the exchange variation of the Queen’s Gambit. Karpov adopted a passive set-up, which gave White a small, but steady advantage. In a critical position, and under pressure, Karpov missed a tactic and Kasparov launched a sacrificial attack against Karpov’s king. Games 3 and 4, which are also at rapid time controls, are Wednesday. Kasparov leads 2-0 with ten to play after winning two Rapid chess games played at 25 minutes plus an increment of 3 seconds per move. The contest is being staged 25 years after the first of five epic WCC matches between the pair started in Moscow. The first game ended bizarrely as Karpov lost on time in a position where he stood worse but can fight for a draw. This shouldn’t really happen when the time control includes a 3 second increment. Karpov plays a quiet line against Kasparov’s Gruenfeld Defence but his d5 pawn can be dangerous hence Kasparov’s 12…Nc4 and 13…Nd6. With the pawn blockaded Kasparov sets about separating it from the white rook and queen and his pawn sacrifice 20…f4 not only opens lines on the kingside but also prepares Nd6-f5-d4 Game 1 25’ + 3” Gruenfeld Defence g3 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.g3 Bg7 4.Bg2 d5 5.cxd5 Nxd5 6.e4 Nb6 7.Ne2 (7.Nf3 Bg4 increases the pressure on d4. Now Bg4 is met by pawn f2-f3) 7...c5 8.d5 (8.dxc5 Qxd1+ 9.Kxd1 Na4 regains the pawn with advantage. White's king is misplaced and the Bg7 very strong) 8...0–0 9.0–0 e6 10.Nbc3 Na6 11.h3 exd5 12.exd5 Nc4 13.b3 Nd6 14.Bf4 b6 15.Qd2 Bb7 16.Rad1 Nc7 17.g4 (Preventing Nf5 but 17.Bh6 weakens Black's king and frees f4 for a knight then if 17...Qd7 18.Bxg7 Kxg7 19.Nf4 Nf5 20.b4! cxb4 21.Ne4 is good for White and 19...Rae8 20.Nh5+ gxh5 21.Qg5+ is a draw) 17...Qd7 18.a4 f5! (It looks risky to weaken e6 but Kasparov has a typically dynamic idea) 19.g5 Rad8 20.Bg3 f4! Karpov wastes so much time exchanging bishops he is ill prepared for the opening of the position after 14.e4 and 18.d5 G Kasparov – A Karpov Game 2 25’ + 3” 1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Be7 4.cxd5 exd5 5.Bf4 c6 6.Qc2 (Preventing Bf5) 6...Bd6 (6...g6 7.e3 Bf5 8.Qd2 Nd7 9.f3 Karpov-Kasparov KK3 1986 ended in a draw and in Kasparov - Short Olympiad 1988 White won) ) 7.Bxd6 Qxd6 8.e3 Ne7 9.Bd3 Nd7 10.Nge2 h6 (10...Nf6 looks more natural) 11.0–0 0–0 12.a3 a5 13.Rad1 b6 14.e4 dxe4 15.Nxe4 Qb8 (15...Qc7 16.Bb5 Bb7 17.d5!) "I didn't know whether my instincts would work," Kasparov admitted later, after scoring two early victories in a historic rematch between the veteran grand masters in Spain. Nerves had seen both Russians complain about playing conditions before yesterday's much-awaited rematch. "They moaned about the lighting; but they're playing in the lecture theatre, not the main hall, so there is not a lot we can do," said one organiser at the Palau de les Arts, the opera house in the city of Valencia. With up to 10 million internet chess fans looking on, the old gladiators went into battle. Both players, rumoured to being paid up to €100,000, were probably relieved that, unlike the epic, draining contests which made them famous, the two "semi-rapid" games last night would last just an hour each. Even so, Kasparov was soon burying his face deep into his hands as he pondered his moves, while Karpov's eyes darted around the board.
"He was autistic. "His other nanny, Jeff Kathrein, and an employee, a woman from Old Bahama Bay, was doing CPR on him. Getty Images / Getty Images Celebrity Sightings of Reese Witherspoon Actress Reese Witherspoon is seen on Aug. 7 in Los Angeles. John Travolta has admitted for the first time his son Jett had autism. "It came from a place of privacy," he said. The actor himself brought the extortion case against them. Travolta, who has never previously talked about his son's death in public, told the court: "I was sleeping in the condo with my wife. Getty Images / Getty Images Celebrity Sightings of Selena Gomez A boy gives the wax figure of Selena Gomez a kiss at the unveiling of the new new, never-before-seen Selena Gomez wax figure at Madame Tussauds New York on Aug. 7 in New York. "I ran downstairs with my wife to help my son," Travolta said.Travolta is the star witness at the trial of two people -- paramedic Tarino Lightbourne and former Bahamas senator Pleasant Bridgewater -- who are accused of trying to extort $25 million from the movie star. Some have claimed that the Travoltas' longtime devotion to the Church of Scientology — which separates psychiatric conditions from medical conditions — has prevented them from being open about Jett’s autism. Travolta said Jett was autistic and suffered seizures every five to 10 days which would last up to a minute and he would typically sleep for 12 hours after each one. Getty Images / Getty Images Celebrity Sightings of Damon Wayans Jr., Jake Johnson Actors Damon Wayans Jr. and Jake Johnson arrive at the premiere of "Let's Be Cops" at the Cinerama Dome on Aug. 7 in Los Angeles.
share tweet email During court proceedings in the Bahamas on Sept. 22, John Travolta said that his 16-year-old son Jett, who died after a having a seizure in January, suffered from autism. “My son was autistic and he suffered from seizure disorder every five to 10 days,” Travolta told the court. This appeared to be the first time the actor has publicly recognized Jett’s autism — previously he’d said only that his son suffered from Kawasaki disease, a blood disorder. The fact that Travolta and wife Kelly Preston have not previously recognized their son’s autism has drawn criticism from many. Some have claimed that the Travoltas' longtime devotion to the Church of Scientology — which separates psychiatric conditions from medical conditions — has prevented them from being open about Jett’s autism. A source close to the Travolta family said that Jett’s autism “was more on the profound end of the autistic spectrum. The family didn’t talk about it.” "The Church of Scientology has no position on autism," said Tommy Davis, a spokesperson from Scientology International. “As with any medical condition, the Church believes that these matters are best diagnosed and treated by a medical doctor. Scientologists can and do then also seek spiritual assistance." Travolta’s testimony was part of an extortion trial that alleges that paramedic Tarrino Lightbourne and his attorney, Pleasant Bridgewater, a Bahamian senator, conspired to extort $25 million from Travolta in return for not publicizing a document that would indicate Travolta didn’t want Jett transported to a hospital. In the end, Jett was transported to the hospital, so the document seems moot — which is why some wonder why Travolta and Preston are going through the process of litigating. "Celebrities are constantly being extorted, but you rarely see things get to the point where they go to court over it,” said one source. “There’s talk they’re in court because the church (of Scientology) advises they do that.” Another recent celebrity extortion case centers around another Scientologist: Tom Cruise. In July 2007, the FBI arrested Marc Lewis Gittleman and David Hans Schmidt for trying to extort Cruise for $1.3 million in exchange for stolen wedding photos of the actor. In January 2008, Gittleman pled guilty to interstate transportation of stolen property and was sentenced to two years probation and fined $3,000. Schmidt pled guilty to transmitting threatening communications with the intent to extort, but hanged himself in September 2007. Sources familiar with the FBI’s case said that other Scientologists were pictured in the stolen photos, and that was part of the drive to prosecute. Keeping tabs: Heigl’s baby Slideshow Photos Neil P. Mockford / GC Images Celebrity Sightings Jake Johnson and Damon Wayans Jr. on the "Let's Be Cops," red carpet, Selena Gomez is immortalized in wax and more. Getty Images / Getty Images Celebrity Sightings of Elisabeth Moss, Mark Duplass Actors Elisabeth Moss and Mark Duplass arrive at the premiere of RADIUS-TWC's "The One I Love" at the Vista Theatre on Aug. 7 in Los Angeles. Getty Images / Getty Images Celebrity Sightings of Nick Kroll Actor Nick Kroll arrives at the premiere of RADIUS-TWC's "The One I Love" at the Vista Theatre on Aug. 7 in Los Angeles. Getty Images / Getty Images Celebrity Sightings of Damon Wayans Jr., Jake Johnson Actors Damon Wayans Jr. and Jake Johnson arrive at the premiere of "Let's Be Cops" at the Cinerama Dome on Aug. 7 in Los Angeles. Getty Images / Getty Images Celebrity Sightings of James D'Arcy James D'Arcy arrives at the premiere of "Let's Be Cops" at the Cinerama Dome on Aug. 7 in Los Angeles. Reuters / Reuters Celebrity Sightings of Julianne Hough Actress Julianne Hough arrives at the premiere of "Let's Be Cops" at the Cinerama Dome on Aug. 7 in Los Angeles. Getty Images / Getty Images Celebrity Sightings of Hannah Simone Actress Hannah Simone arrives at the premiere of "Let's Be Cops" at the Cinerama Dome on Aug. 7 in Los Angeles. Getty Images / Getty Images Celebrity Sightings of Nina Dobrev Actress Nina Dobrev arrives at the premiere of "Let's Be Cops" at the Cinerama Dome on Aug. 7 in Los Angeles. Getty Images / Getty Images Celebrity Sightings of James Wirt, Julia Stiles Actors James Wirt and Julia Stiles stand on stage during the opening night curtain call for "Phoenix" at the Cherry Lane Theatre on Aug. 7 in New York. Getty Images / Getty Images Celebrity Sightings of AnnaSophia Robb Actress AnnaSophia Robb attends the opening night performance of "Phoenix" at the Cherry Lane Theatre on Aug. 7 in New York. Getty Images / Getty Images Celebrity Sightings of Selena Gomez A boy gives the wax figure of Selena Gomez a kiss at the unveiling of the new new, never-before-seen Selena Gomez wax figure at Madame Tussauds New York on Aug. 7 in New York. AP / AP Celebrity Sightings of 'Expendables 3' The stars of "Expendables 3," from left, Kellan Lutz, Jason Statham, Sylvester Stallone, Antonio Banderas and Wesley Snipes attend "Expendables 3" at Cinema UGC Normandie on Aug. 7 in Paris. Getty Images / Getty Images Celebrity Sightings of Robert Pattinson Actor Robert Pattinson speaks during the Meet The Filmmakers event for "The Rover" at Apple Store, Regent Street on Aug. 7 in London. Getty Images / Getty Images Celebrity Sightings of Nicole Kidman, Jason Bateman Actors Nicole Kidman and Jason Bateman are spotted filming Bateman's "The Family Fang" in Westchester, New York, on Aug. 7. Getty Images / Getty Images Celebrity Sightings of Akon Grammy-nominated artist Akon, who is the founder of Akon Lighting Africa Project, discusses at the US-Africa Leaders Summit "Africa: New Parnership Models for Growth" news conference, held in Washington, DC, on Aug. 7, the progress that African heads of state have made. Travolta made the admission about his son in the Bahamas as he testified against two men accused of trying to blackmail him with private information about his son's rescue effort.Jett died in January from a seizure.correspondent Kelly Cobiella said Travolta testified in a Nassau courtroom that Jett suffered a seizure every five to ten days -- each lasting from 45 seconds to minutes.Mike Fleeman, West coast editor of People magazine, said, "It was a jaw-dropping revelation. "In interviews following Jett's death, experts explained why many members keep their sickness hidden. "It's really a big deal, so how the Travoltas dealt with this--a chronic illness in the family, I'm not sure how they would have been able to explain it," Hines said.The revelation in court breaks a long silence by Travolta.
"It's not a secret site. If it was, why would we have informed the IAEA about it a year ahead of time," Ahmadinejad said. All About Iran • International Atomic Energy Agency Iran has been subjected to four rounds of United Nations Security Council sanctions in relation to its nuclear programme. RESOLUTION 1929 Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad says President Obama's accusations are "baseless." French intelligence officials were also aware of the facility for several months at least, a U.S. diplomatic source said. iReport.com: Dissidents discuss Iran enrichment plants Iran had acknowledged only a uranium enrichment plant in Natanz, which nuclear inspectors visited recently. Watch world leaders react to Iran » Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad did not mention the Qom plant during his visit to New York this week for the U.N. General Assembly sessions. "They (the United States, Britain and France) will regret this announcement." The treaty allows for the use of nuclear technology for peaceful energy purposes, as long as countries can demonstrate that their programmes are not being used for the development of nuclear weapons. The October 1 meeting will take place in Geneva, Switzerland. The official added that there are suspicions about other possible hidden or undeclared nuclear-related facilities. The sanctions were passed after being watered down during negotiations with Russia and China. RESOLUTION 1747 Financial and trade Further restrictions imposed in March 2008 encouraged scrutiny of the dealings of Iranian banks. The facility is thought to be capable of housing 3,000 centrifuges, which is not enough to produce nuclear fuel to power a reactor but is sufficient to manufacture bomb-making material, according to a U.S. diplomatic source who read the letter.
In spite of this, it has continued its uranium enrichment operations and there is growing pressure for sanctions to be tightened further. The following are the UN resolutions relating to Iran's nuclear programme. DEMAND TO END ENRICHMENT - RESOLUTION 1696 In March 2006, the issue was discussed at the UN Security Council, which called for a report by the IAEA to establish Iran's compliance with the terms of the nuclear non-proliferation treaty (NPT). The treaty allows for the use of nuclear technology for peaceful energy purposes, as long as countries can demonstrate that their programmes are not being used for the development of nuclear weapons. In July 2006, the Security Council said it was "seriously concerned" that the IAEA was unable to provide assurances about Iran's undeclared nuclear material. It demanded that Iran "suspend all enrichment-related and reprocessing activities, including research and development", giving it one month to do so. It claimed that while subscribers to the NPT were being punished, those who had not signed up to the agreement were being rewarded by generous nuclear cooperation agreements. RESOLUTION 1696 FIRST ROUND OF SANCTIONS - RESOLUTION 1737 The deadline for Iranian compliance with the Security Council's demands passed without being heeded. This called on states to block Iran's import and export of "sensitive nuclear material and equipment" and to freeze the financial assets of those involved in Iran's nuclear activities. The Council decided that all countries should prevent the supply or sale of equipment and technology that would aid Iran's nuclear programme in any way. RESOLUTION 1737 SECOND AND THIRD ROUNDS OF SANCTIONS - RESOLUTIONS 1747 AND 1803 Arms With Iran's nuclear programme ongoing, in March 2007 the Security Council voted to toughen sanctions. It banned all of Iran's arms exports. It also froze the assets and restricted the travel of people it deemed involved in the nuclear programme. It also called upon countries to inspect cargo planes and ships entering or leaving Iran if there were "reasonable grounds" to believe they were goods prohibited by previous resolutions. RESOLUTION 1803 FOURTH ROUND OF SANCTIONS - RESOLUTION 1929 In June 2010, the Council approved fresh sanctions against Tehran. The measures prohibit Iran from buying heavy weapons such as attack helicopters and missiles. They also toughen rules on financial transactions with Iranian banks and increase the number of Iranian individuals and companies that are targeted with asset freezes and travel bans. There is also a new framework of cargo inspections to detect and stop Iran's acquisition of illicit materials. WASHINGTON (CNN) -- President Obama's accusations that Iran's nuclear program runs afoul of international agreements are "baseless," the Islamic republic's president told CNN's Larry King on Friday. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad says President Obama's accusations are "baseless." "We did not expect Mr. Obama within less than 48 hours, to basically violate the commitment that he spoke of at the United Nations," said President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. The Iranian leader was referring to Obama's Wednesday speech to the U.N. General Assembly, where Obama called for international unity in attacking the world's challenges. Asked if he was expressing disappointment in the U.S. president, Ahmadinejad responded, "We simply didn't expect him to say something that was ... was baseless." Earlier Friday evening Obama said "Iran is on notice" regarding its nuclear efforts, and that the international community is united in its opposition to Tehran's nuclear program. "They are going to have to make a choice: Are they willing to go down the path to greater prosperity and security for Iran, giving up the acquisition of nuclear weapons ... or will they continue down a path that is going to lead to confrontation," he said at a news conference at the G-20 meeting in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Obama's comments came hours after Iran acknowledged the existence of a second uranium enrichment facility and ahead of next week's planned meeting between Iran and the five permanent United Nations Security Council members, plus Germany. "Even countries who a year ago or six months ago might have been reluctant to even discuss things like sanctions," are starting to become concerned, Obama said. The U.S. president said the conclusions about Iran's nuclear ambitions came as a result of the work of three intelligence agencies -- those of Britain, France and the United States. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Iran's nuclear program, what he thinks of President Obama's accusation that he's breaking rules, and his controversial re-election. Tonight, 9 ET see full schedule » The United States has known about the unfinished site since the Bush administration, according to senior U.S. officials who declined to be identified because of the sensitive nature of the negotiations. It wasn't until Monday that Iran wrote a letter to the International Atomic Energy Agency, revealing the existence of the underground facility on a military base near the Shia Muslim holy city of Qom. The facility is thought to be capable of housing 3,000 centrifuges, which is not enough to produce nuclear fuel to power a reactor but is sufficient to manufacture bomb-making material, according to a U.S. diplomatic source who read the letter. Once Iran alerted the IAEA, Obama began sharing U.S. intelligence on the nuclear site with allies, particularly with Russia and China in an effort to get those countries on board with new sanctions against Iran, the officials said. The International Atomic Energy Agency confirmed Friday that Iran admitted the existence of the "new pilot fuel enrichment plant," prompting Obama, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and French President Nicolas Sarkozy to respond at the G-20 economic summit. "Iran's decision to build yet another nuclear facility without notifying the IAEA represents a direct challenge to the basic compact at the center of the nonproliferation regime," Obama said, with Brown and Sarkozy standing at his side. Watch Ahmadinejad hit back at Obama » Iran's revelation of a new nuclear site could actually "strengthen their hand" as Tehran heads into next week's talks, according to Paul Ingram, an analyst who studies Iran and nuclear nonproliferation.
Some of my friends fell over, it was so strong. "But it's just such a vast area to be working in with such bad infrastructure," he said. Hospitals in Padang have been severely damaged in this disaster. Have you been affected by the earthquake? The 7.6-magnitude quake struck close to the city of Padang, the capital of West Sumatra province. People are being treated in makeshift tents. "I haven't seen many rescue workers active at all. Health ministry teams and Indonesian soldiers have arrived in the city to aid the search for survivors. Australia is among the countries that have offered to send emergency assistance to Indonesia if needed. UN appeal? Dozens of homes and office buildings have collapsed. MAJOR INDONESIAN QUAKES 26 Dec 2004: Asian tsunami kills 170,000 in Indonesia alone 28 March 2005: About 1,300 killed after a magnitude 8.7 quake hits the coast of Sumatra 27 May 2006: Quake hits ancient city of Yogyakarta, killing 5,000 17 July 2006: A tsunami after a 7.7 magnitude quake in West Java province kills 550 people 30 Sept 2009: 7.6 magnitude quake near Sumatran city of Padang, thousands feared dead 1 Oct 2009: Second of two quakes near Padang, magnitude 6.8 - no damage or casualties reported Animated guide: Earthquakes Padang's race against time UK charities in Pacific appeal Food, medicine and body bags have begun to arrive. One mother, Andriana, told AFP news agency she had been at the school since the first quake occurred, hoping for news of her 14-year-old daughter. About 290 people were badly injured while 2,090 were slightly injured.
Rescue and relief teams have been ordered to 'flood' Padang with aid [AFP] Rescue and relief teams have been ordered to 'flood' Padang with aid [AFP] Indonesia's health ministry has said it fears thousands of people may have died. Rescue operations Rick Cameron, the director of Island Aid, a disaster relief organisation in Indonesia, said he had been taken by surprise by the second tremor. He told Al Jazeera: "We all jumped up, ran to a grassy area outside the house. "It was extremely disorienting and shakes every perspective of what you think the world is." It was unclear how many injuries the second earthquake had caused, but Raphael Abreu, a geophysicist with the US Geological Survey, told Al Jazeera that it had been "definitely capable of creating, by itself, significant damage to structures and property". Step Vaessen, Al Jazeera's correspondent reporting from Padang, said: "So far, the worst incident I've seen is 160 people buried at one location. "It's sporadic damage, but the damage is serious. High-rise buildings, many of which have collapsed totally or partially - so lots of people trapped ... but it is still hard to say how many have died. "I haven't seen many rescue workers active at all. I don't think there's enough equipment at the moment in Padang to conduct these operations." The UN said the death told had risen to 1,100 - up from 770 given by the disaster ministry. About 290 people were badly injured while 2,090 were slightly injured. Padang 'overwhelmed' Fauzi Bahar, Padang's mayor, appealed for help on Indonesian radio saying the city was "overwhelmed". We call on people to come to Padang to evacuate bodies and help the injured," he said. Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, Indonesia's president, instructed officials to "flood" Padang with aid and medical relief, while his government announced $10m in emergency aid. He has been to Padang to oversee the relief effort and "gave a little message, asking people to pray for a miracle to help the city", said Al Jazeera's Veronica Pedrosa. Vaessen reported that medical teams and military aircraft had been arriving with field hospitals, tents, medicine and food rations as officials ramped up the rescue and relief operation. Massive damage At daybreak on Thursday, many Padang residents used their bare hands to dig through the rubble searching for survivors. Survivors were seen being pulled out and hospitals struggled to treat the many injured. Officials in Padang said about 500 houses had caved in and witnesses said many buildings had collapsed after the first earthquake. Priyadi Kardono, a spokesman for Indonesia's disaster management agency, said the effects "could be as big as the Yogyakarta quake", referring to a 2006 disaster that killed or injured more than 5,000 people and damaged or destroyed 150,000 homes. The tremor was felt in the Indonesian capital Jakarta, 940km away, and sent frightened office workers streaming out of buildings in Singapore as well as Malaysia's capital, Kuala Lumpur. 'Ring of Fire' Padang, the capital of Indonesia's West Sumatra province, sits on one of the world's most active fault lines along the so-called Ring of Fire, the same one that cracked off Aceh, at the northern tip of Sumatra, in 2004 to trigger the Indian Ocean tsunami. Shopping malls, hospitals and hotels in Padang were among the structures toppled [Reuters] That disaster killed more than 220,000 people in Indonesia, Thailand, Sri Lanka and India among other countries. Padang was badly hit by an 8.4 magnitude quake in September 2007, when dozens of people died and several large buildings collapsed. Scientists had been warning of a major earthquake in the area for a long time, but the Indonesian government has said it did not have funds for disaster-preparation measures, our correspondent said. Geologists warn the low-lying city and surrounding area could be vulnerable to more seismic activity. "There are three big volcanoes in west Sumatra - Merapi, Talang and Tandikat," Surono, the head of the Geological Disaster Mitigation and Volcanology Centre in Indonesia, said. "We fear that this quake might cause volcanic eruptions there." Advertisement At least 1,100 people have died in the earthquake that struck the Indonesian island of Sumatra on Wednesday, the UN humanitarian chief has said. John Holmes said many hundreds more had been injured, and both figures were set to rise further. The earthquake brought down hospitals, schools and shopping malls, cut power lines and triggered landslides. There are still many parts of the city that rescue workers haven't been able to reach which is raising fears the number of dead will almost certainly rise. "I ask rescue workers to continue working in teams with clear goals to keep looking for survivors...," he said. Meanwhile US President Barack Obama, who spent part of his childhood in Indonesia, said he was "deeply moved" by the suffering caused by the quake. UN Under-Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs John Holmes told reporters: "The latest figures we have suggest the death toll has risen already to 1,100. An assessment team is to arrive in Padang on Friday, and UN officials will decide whether to launch an emergency appeal or take money from the organisation's Central Emergency Relief Fund, Mr Holmes added.
Only she knows." Vanessa George, Angela Allen, from Nottingham, and Colin Blanchard, from Rochdale, all 39, had never met in person before they appeared in court. She has admitted five counts of sexual assault and distributing indecent images of children. A former business partner said: "It's purely money he's into. If I were a parent I would want to know whether my child was abused or not. Devon and Cornwall Police had been tipped off by Greater Manchester Police that she had been supplying indecent images taken at the nursery to her co-defendant, Colin Blanchard. Here are profiles of the three people. She pleaded not guilty to one charge of sexual assault which was ordered by the judge to lie on file. The trio met on the social networking website Facebook A Plymouth nursery worker and two other people she met online have admitted a series of child sex abuse charges. Blanchard was arrested on 6 June after one of his colleagues found obscene pictures on a work computer. E-mail this to a friend Printable version Mr Marks said his daughter had a troubled childhood - he and his daughter's mother rowed constantly and he was eventually kicked out of the family home when his daughter was seven years old. He wouldn't care who he'd hurt, or who he'd rip off." Blanchard had also sent images showing him abusing a young child. The public gallery was packed with about 30 parents who wept as the guilty pleas were entered. Police admit they may never firmly identify any of the victims. Please turn on JavaScript. No-one else is believed to have been involved.
The trio met on the social networking website Facebook A Plymouth nursery worker and two other people she met online have admitted a series of child sex abuse charges. Vanessa George, Angela Allen, from Nottingham, and Colin Blanchard, from Rochdale, all 39, had never met in person before they appeared in court. Abuse was recorded on mobile phones and images exchanged via e-mail and text. Police, who described the abuse as "horrific", are continuing to try to identify victims at George's nursery. Children's Secretary Ed Balls said it was a "deeply distressing and disturbing case" and he expected the serious case review to be completed as soon as possible. "It is vital we find out how an adult could abuse their position of trust in such an evil way and do everything we can to prevent this kind of abuse happening in the future," he said. 'Devilish form' George, Allen and Blanchard met on social networking website Facebook, although it is unclear when. Detective Superintendent Adrian Pearson, of Nottinghamshire Police, said the trio had been guilty of child abuse in its most "horrific and devilish form". "Those three individuals have shared quite willingly and freely images, texts, fantasies of the most serious level you could imagine," he said. "These three individuals each acted in a way which ordinary people will find hard to understand," she said. "They showed total disregard for the lives of their victims, their own families and those they worked with, all of whom have been left devastated by these crimes." Wept in court The public gallery at Bristol Crown Court was packed on Thursday with about 30 parents who wept as the guilty pleas were entered. Allen wept as she pleaded guilty while Blanchard showed no reaction and George hung her head in the dock. She's caused massive trauma to a great number of victims Det Supt Michele Slevin Chilling bond between abusers 'I can't believe how evil she is' Spotlight on abusers The abuse began in September last year and the three were arrested in June following a police investigation involving officers from the forces in Devon and Cornwall, Nottinghamshire and Greater Manchester. The trio pleaded guilty to 37 out of 38 counts. George, who had worked at Little Ted's nursery in the Efford area of Plymouth for three years, admitted 13 charges, including sexual abuse of children and making and distributing indecent images of children. She pleaded not guilty to one charge of sexual assault which was ordered by the judge to lie on file. Her arrest sparked massive public outrage and angry scenes during earlier court appearances. 'Decent' thing Allen, of Nottingham, admitted five counts of sexual assault and distributing indecent images of children. IT worker Blanchard, of Smallbridge, near Rochdale, admitted 19 counts of sexual assault and distributing indecent images of children. They exchanged thousands of e-mail and text messages containing images of child abuse, the court heard. Blanchard was arrested on 6 June after one of his colleagues found obscene pictures on a work computer. He said the "decent" thing for George to do would be to co-operate with police in identifying all the abuse victims in the photographs. Speaking to George's lawyer, the judge said: "Your client must know it seems to me who she has abused and who she has not. 'Gross nature' Det Supt Michele Slevin, from Devon and Cornwall Police, said experts had been unable to identify any of the children filmed by George. She said George had been interviewed five times and had not given any name, but identifying the children remained their "priority". "It's clear she's caused massive trauma to a great number of victims, not just the children involved but the families and community within Plymouth," she said. It is not known when the three first met but Detective Inspector Tony Creely, of Greater Manchester Police's sexual crime unit, said they "were as bad as each other". "They would discuss sexual matters of a crude and gross nature and the abuse of children in the texts and e-mails. By Sarah White and Dan Bell BBC News A nursery worker and two others have pleaded guilty to a catalogue of child sex abuse. Vanessa George, who worked at a nursery in Plymouth, admitted sexual abuse of children and then sharing pictures of her crimes with Colin Blanchard and Angela Allen, who she met on Facebook. Blanchard and Allen also pleaded guilty to multiple sexual assaults on children and to taking and sharing pictures of the attacks. VANESSA GEORGE George had passed a Criminal Records Bureau check By the time police came to arrest Vanessa George for child abuse, she had been employed at the nursery at the centre of the case for three years, and had worked in childcare for 10 years before that. The 39-year-old from Plymouth has now pleaded guilty to 13 charges including sexual abuse of children and making and distributing indecent images of children. There's been no explanation so we don't understand why she would start to do this, what her motivation was Police spokeswoman Nursery worker admits sex abuse Police said that in the nine months leading up to her arrest, she had developed an interest in sexual chat with men online, and that is how she met Blanchard, who introduced their other co-defendant, Angela Allen.
The economy, by most accounts, has begun to grow again. Advertisement Continue reading the main story But temporary help services lost 1,700 jobs in September. "One job lost is one job too many," Biden said. Employers cut another 263,000 jobs in September and the unemployment rate rose to a 26-year high of 9.8%, raising worries that the persistently weak labor market could undermine a nascent economic recovery from the worst U.S. recession since the Great Depression. The official figures from the US department of labour were far worse than economists had forecast. Even the government's payroll declined, falling by 53,000, in spite of public works funded by the Obama administration's $787bn (£500bn) stimulus package. But average weekly earnings have expanded by only 0.7 percent, less than the increase in the cost of living, because employers have slashed working hours. The number of people who have been jobless for more than six months increased in September by 450,000, reaching 5.4 million. View all New York Times newsletters. “We’re still losing jobs at a very rapid pace. “Today’s employment report is a marching order for Congress to pass unemployment benefit extensions to all states, quickly.” The first signs of improvement are likely to be seen among temporary workers, say experts, as companies now hunkering down in the face of uncertain prospects take tentative steps to expand. Please re-enter. After a layoff seven years ago, he has earned about $70,000 a year as a technology consultant working on contract. “Companies are extremely cautious,” said Roy G. Krause, chief executive of Spherion, a recruiting and staffing company based in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. All of which translates into continued apprehension in many households.
Employers cut another 263,000 jobs in September and the unemployment rate rose to a 26-year high of 9.8%, raising worries that the persistently weak labor market could undermine a nascent economic recovery from the worst U.S. recession since the Great Depression. The economy, by most accounts, has begun to grow again. But Friday's Labor Department report underscored the risk that without jobs, consumers won't have income to spend and... The endurance of hard times seems likely to increase pressure on the Obama administration and Congress to consider another dose of spending aimed at stimulating the economy, even as the government grapples with deficits projected by some economists to exceed $10 trillion over the next decade. Photo Despite a $787 billion stimulus package adopted early this year and aimed in part at shoring up state and local coffers, government jobs slipped by 53,000 in September. “That’s the budget crunch hitting,” said Dean Baker, co-director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research in Washington. “We’re still losing jobs at a very rapid pace. We’re still looking at an economy with a lot of weakness.” Advertisement Continue reading the main story For millions of unemployed people, the latest data merely confirms something they have come to understand intimately, through the discouraging process of seeking work. Advertisement Continue reading the main story “There’s nothing out there,” said Jerry Lamirande, a technology systems engineer in Amarillo, Tex., who has been without a job since April 2008. Advertisement Continue reading the main story During the technology boom of the late 1990s, Mr. Lamirande, 62, worked for I.B.M., where he drew a salary of about $130,000. After a layoff seven years ago, he has earned about $70,000 a year as a technology consultant working on contract. Since the spring, he and his wife have lived on her modest salary as a public school teacher and on hardship withdrawals from his retirement account. He has searched nationwide for his next contract, willing to relocate. “The problem is, there aren’t many opportunities.” Photo The latest jobs report lent credence to that contention. The unemployment rate continued to inch toward double digits, a level last seen in June 1983. The so-called underemployment rate (which includes people whose hours have been cut, and those working part-time for lack of full-time positions, along with the jobless) reached 17 percent, the highest level since the government began tracking it in 1994. Advertisement Continue reading the main story More jobs were lost last month, at 263,000, than were lost in August, as the Labor Department revised the August decline to 201,000 jobs from the 216,000 it initially reported. Health care remained a rare bright spot, adding 19,000 jobs in September, but construction jobs slipped by 64,000, manufacturing declined by 51,000 and retail lost 39,000 jobs. Please verify you're not a robot by clicking the box. Sign Up Receive occasional updates and special offers for The New York Times's products and services. Most economists assume the economy expanded at an annual pace of about three percent from July through September. As some companies begin to rebuild stocks, the impact could wash through the economy for a few more months, adding jobs and moderating the overall decline. Photo As many Americans transition from living on home equity loans to sustaining themselves on paychecks, weekly pay continues to effectively shrink: Over the last year, average hourly earnings for rank-and-file workers — some 80 percent of the labor force — have increased by 2.5 percent. But average weekly earnings have expanded by only 0.7 percent, less than the increase in the cost of living, because employers have slashed working hours. “Today’s employment report is a marching order for Congress to pass unemployment benefit extensions to all states, quickly.” The first signs of improvement are likely to be seen among temporary workers, say experts, as companies now hunkering down in the face of uncertain prospects take tentative steps to expand. “It’s terrifying,” said Stephanie Wheeler, 56, of Elizabeth, N.J., who has drained her savings to $800 in the year since she lost her job at a data-processing company, rendering her ability to pay the rent on her apartment uncertain. American employers cut 263,000 jobs last month, pushing the unemployment rate up to a 26-year high of 9.8%, in a sign of ongoing gloom in the labour market that stoked fears of a slow recovery from the worst financial downturn since the Great Depression of the 1930s. Together with a drop in factory orders and a slump in sales for Detroit's car manufacturers, they sent stockmarkets lower and sparked renewed talk of the possibility of a "double dip" recession. The number of job losses accelerated sharply from a revised tally of 201,000 during August, and the rate of unemployment ticked up from 9.7% to 9.8%. Wall Street stocks opened sharply lower but, after its biggest fall for two months yesterday, the Dow Jones industrial average was down only 20 points to 9488 by late morning.
"The E.U. Some of the yes voters, however, were convinced that it was the right thing to do. He said that after today's referendum "there will never be another referendum in Europe". Analysts note that the treaty would not drastically change European politics. "This isn't a vote against Europe. Do people want to see that happening here? I think many like me who have switched sides and voted yes this time just feel we don't really have a choice. And for the Tories the Czech president may prove an uncertain ally. Ireland has always been proud of its independence. I'm Irish first and European second. Because in about eight months the British will hold an election. "I've no job and neither has my wife. He will not answer while the Czechs are still deciding, but that may not be for much longer. nations would largely remain autonomous on the vast majority of issues. We are going to need the economic backing and security of Europe. Every time I turn on the television some politician tells me that only the EU can save this country now. They had hired out their motor showroom to double as Dublin's South East Polling Station for 1,600 euros because the usual venue was under renovation. "The whole Celtic Tiger image is dead," said Mr Callaghan, a former store manager, as he stood among a disgruntled group of voters. What will he do if all 27 countries have ratified the treaty? "It is a good day for Ireland, and a good day for Europe."
"I'm here because I have a vote and, basically, I've been told what to do with it," he said gloomily as he stood outside one of Dublin's polling stations in O'Connell Street on Saturday afternoon. "Look at the state we are in now," he said. "A year ago I had a job, life was rosy. Today? "I've no job and neither has my wife. Every time I turn on the television some politician tells me that only the EU can save this country now. I don't want to do it, I feel disloyal, but today I am voting yes. It isn't how I voted 16 months ago, but I've been left feeling I have no choice." Bowed and more bloodied than most by the recession, and with its government's finances reeling under 20 million euros of debt, Mr Callaghan, like most of the Irish, did on Friday as he was told by Europe and reversed his earlier rejection of the controversial Treaty by voting yes. With more than half a million unemployed and the country now deep in recession, the majority of Ireland's electorate clearly felt they now had no choice but to switch allegiance and, reluctantly, come out in support of the European Union – presumably in the hope that it can help its failing fortunes. "The whole Celtic Tiger image is dead," said Mr Callaghan, a former store manager, as he stood among a disgruntled group of voters. "When times were good we had the confidence to say no to Europe," he said. "We've learnt a lot in the past 16 months. "It was like being sent back to the drawing board and told: 'Think again.' I think many like me who have switched sides and voted yes this time just feel we don't really have a choice. Among those who voted no it was those whose affluent lifestyles have been bludgeoned by the economic downturn, and the traditionalists – keen to preserve Ireland's neutrality and strict anti-abortion stance – who clung onto their right to reject Europe. Veronica Meehan, who lost her job six months ago and the day before polling had queued outside the city's Marks & Spencer's store along with 699 other hopefuls vying for a part-time Christmas job, said she resented voting yes but felt she had no other choice. "When I voted no the first time I had a car and a comfortable home. "There were unemployed bankers in fancy suits, former estate agents, all sorts desperate for a chance to make an extra bit of money queuing alongside me," she said. Outside the city centre, in the well-heeled cobbled streets of Ballsbridge the O'Flaherty family were all in favour of the ballot. They had hired out their motor showroom to double as Dublin's South East Polling Station for 1,600 euros because the usual venue was under renovation. "Anything that gets people in is a good thing," he sighed. "Among the first through the doors were Mike Lawler, a retired consultant, and his wife Angela who were both voting no. "I don't want to see the multinationals getting the upper hand. People don't realise what a yes vote will do for the minimum wage, which could go as low as two euros an hour. It was all built on European money, and we still need it" Mr Healy conceded that the no campaigners had mounted a slick campaign. Libertas, the coalition group run by English born multimillionaire Declan Ganley, which was credited with winning last year's no vote, had a much harder time this year, however, convincing the electorate.
Everybody has a nickname. Anton Du Beke has apologised to Laila, who has accepted his apology." A BBC spokesman said: "The BBC does not condone offensive language in the workplace. The BBC said Forsyth's views were not those of the corporation. He was speaking to actress Laila Rouass, his dance partner on the show, during rehearsals. For all other inquiries please call the main Guardian switchboard on 020 3353 2000. Total complaints up by almost 200 after Strictly Come Dancing host says nation should get a 'sense of humour' about race row Complaints about Strictly Come Dancing star Anton Du Beke's racist remarks have shot up after the show's host, Bruce Forsyth, intervened in the row. To be absolutely clear, the use of racially offensive language is never either funny or acceptable. At one time the Americans used to call us 'limeys' which doesn't sound very nice, but we used to laugh about it. "But when you're like that you can slip up every now and again. However, there is a major difference between this and racist comments which are malicious in intent and whilst I accept that we live in a world of extraordinary political correctness, we should keep things in perspective." • To contact the MediaGuardian news desk email editor@mediatheguardian.com or phone 020 3353 3857. The corporation has not yet explained why Carol Thatcher was fired and Du Beke has not been dismissed. You go back 25, 30, 40 years and there has always been a bit of humour about the whole thing. But after Forsyth told the TalkSport radio station that the nation should get a "sense of humour" about the incident yesterday, viewers rang in again to complain.
Total complaints up by almost 200 after Strictly Come Dancing host says nation should get a 'sense of humour' about race row Complaints about Strictly Come Dancing star Anton Du Beke's racist remarks have shot up after the show's host, Bruce Forsyth, intervened in the row. The BBC said it had received 686 complaints as of this morning, up almost 200 on yesterday's total of 487. The complaints against the show – sparked by Du Beke calling his dancing partner Laila Rouass a "Paki" in rehearsals – had been tailing off. But after Forsyth told the TalkSport radio station that the nation should get a "sense of humour" about the incident yesterday, viewers rang in again to complain. The BBC said they had also been registering their support for Du Beke, with a total of 63 saying the row had been blown out of proportion, more than double the 30 who had called by yesterday. The controversy began at the weekend when it emerged that Du Beke had told Rouass she "looked like a Paki" after turning up to a rehearsal with a spray tan. Rouass accepted Du Beke's subsequent apology, and the BBC hoped the row would die down, despite accusations of double-standards over its treatment of Carol Thatcher in a similar incident earlier in the year. In his unscheduled radio appearance yesterday, Forsyth said: "We used to have a sense of humour about this. And Anton is such a sweet guy, it's such a terrible shame." Forsyth added that he was sure there was "nothing vindictive" about Du Beke's remarks and said his apology should be accepted. "To be absolutely clear, the use of racially offensive language is never either funny or acceptable. However, there is a major difference between this and racist comments which are malicious in intent and whilst I accept that we live in a world of extraordinary political correctness, we should keep things in perspective." The BBC said Forsyth's views were not those of the corporation. Bruce Forsyth has stressed he does not "excuse or condone" racism after an interview in which he said the Strictly race row was being taken too seriously. Forsyth told Talksport radio people should have a "sense of humour" over Anton Du Beke's use of the term "Paki". But in a statement on Thursday, Forsyth said: "To be absolutely clear, the use of racially offensive language is never either funny or acceptable." He was speaking to actress Laila Rouass, his dance partner on the show, during rehearsals. He has since apologised - and said he was speaking "in jest". Speaking on Wednesday, Forsyth told Talksport that, in the past, the "slip up" would have been treated in a more light-hearted way. "Damn shame" "Americans used to call us 'limeys' which doesn't sound very nice, but we used to laugh about it. He said that should be the end of it: "I'm sure there was nothing vindictive about what he said...the page should be closed on it." Anton Du Beke has apologised to dance partner Laila Rouass He also said he was concerned for the dancing couple: "It's a damn shame and I feel for him and Laila, she's a lovely girl." And he defended Du Beke personally "He's a lovely, sensitive guy. The Victoria Derbyshire show on BBC Radio 5 live said they had received a record 600 calls regarding Forsyth's comments. Forsyth then issued a clarification, in which he said: "I have been asked by a number of journalists to clarify what I meant and am therefore issuing this statement via the BBC, though I must emphasise that these are my personal views and not necessarily those of the BBC. BBC yet to explain why Anton du Beke has not been sacked for a similar offence to Carol Thatcher's earlier this year The BBC has received 63 complaints after it emerged Strictly Come Dancing star Anton Du Beke called his dance partner Laila Rouass a "Paki". Du Beke reportedly said Rouass, who is mixed race, "looked like a Paki" after she turned up to a rehearsal with a spray tan.
For now, however, the question of reconciliation remains contentious at the very least. Turkey closed its border with Armenia after Armenia attacked Azerbaijan over the territory. People said no to protocol." People marched to the memorial of the Armenian genocide. Clinton, who declared herself "very pleased" that the protocols had been signed, said that both countries had concerns that had delayed the signing ceremony. Armenians accuse Ottoman Turks of committing genocide, killing more than a million Armenians beginning in 1915. The agreement will open their common border within two months after it is ratified by each country's parliament. The US also stands to gain. The issue of the disputed enclave of the Armenian-majority enclave of Nagorny-Karabakh also complicates the situation. Nationalist opposition The accord is the culmination of more than a year of Swiss-mediated talks. Turkey admits that many Armenians were killed but says the deaths were part of the widespread fighting that took place in World War I. All About Armenia • Turkey • U.S. Department of State The BBC's Kim Ghattas in Zurich says the Armenians had apparently raised objections to remarks due to be read out by the Turkish delegation. And Ankara's role as a broker and stabilising influence would be boosted in a volatile region. Bookmark with: Delicious Digg reddit Facebook StumbleUpon What are these? No further details were immediately available. The deal was signed by the two foreign ministers after last-minute problems delayed the ceremony in Switzerland. Al Jazeera is not responsible for the content of external websites. A roadmap for normalising relations between Turkey and Armenia was agreed in April. But of course if Turkey didn't have a relationship with Armenia, it couldn't build pipelines through the area.
The two countries signed the protocols under the watchful eyes of big powers Turkey and Armenia have signed a historic accord normalising relations after a century of hostility. The deal was signed by the two foreign ministers after last-minute problems delayed the ceremony in Switzerland. Under the agreement, Turkey and Armenia are to establish diplomatic ties and reopen their shared border. The accord has been met by protests in Armenia, where many people say it does not fully address the 1915 killing of hundreds of thousands of Armenians. Objections Armenia wants Turkey to recognise the killings as an act of genocide, but successive Turkish governments have refused to do so. The agreement calls for a joint commission, also including international experts, to examine the "historical dimension" of the two countries' relations. ANALYSIS Kim Ghattas, BBC News, Zurich Turkey and Armenia both have an interest in turning the page - the economy of landlocked Armenia would benefit from access to Turkey. And Ankara's role as a broker and stabilising influence would be boosted in a volatile region. Ties with Turkey, a key American ally, have come under strain repeatedly because of the million and a half Armenian Americans who have lobbied for a draft resolution in the US Congress to name the World War I killings as genocide. Clinton put to the test Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu and his Armenian counterpart, Edward Nalbandian, signed the protocols in Switzerland after a delay of more than three hours. After the signing neither side issued a statement, and our correspondent says this seems to have been the compromise arranged by US officials. The administration of President Barack Obama had been pressing the parties to reach agreement. The ceremony was attended by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, as well as Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and the EU's High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy, Javier Solana. How Turks, Armenians see new ties Q&A: Armenian genocide dispute Mrs Clinton later said the US would build on the "milestone" that had been achieved, but admitted "concerns on both sides" had delayed the signing. A senior state department official told Associated Press that Mr Obama had called Mrs Clinton "to congratulate her and the team" on their role in the signing. On Friday thousands of people protested against the deal in the Armenian capital, Yerevan. "The international recognition of the Armenian genocide will be hindered by this signature, or ratification," said Vahan Hovanissyan, a member of parliament for the nationalist Dashnaktsutyun party. One protester told the BBC he was not opposed to the opening of the border, but was "against the setting up of a commission that will allow Turkey to further postpone declaring the killings as genocide". Hundreds of thousands of Armenians died in 1915, when they were deported en masse from eastern Anatolia by the Ottoman Empire. They were killed by troops or died from starvation and disease. HAVE YOUR SAY It is in the best interest of both countries that they forget about the past and start a new era in their relationship Abdul Malik Niazi, Kabul Armenians have campaigned for the killings to be recognised internationally as genocide - and more than 20 countries have done so. Turkey admits that many Armenians were killed but says the deaths were part of the widespread fighting that took place in World War I. A roadmap for normalising relations between Turkey and Armenia was agreed in April. Correspondents say most people in Armenia feel their landlocked country has been too isolated since the Turkish border closed and are ready for it to reopen. Bookmark with: Delicious Digg reddit Facebook StumbleUpon What are these? ZURICH, Switzerland (CNN) -- Turkey and Armenia signed an agreement Saturday night establishing diplomatic relations after nearly a century of animosity. The agreement will open their common border within two months after it is ratified by each country's parliament. Turkish-Armenian relations are often overshadowed by the dispute over the massacre of ethnic Armenians in the final days of the Ottoman Empire, more than 90 years ago. Armenians accuse Ottoman Turks of committing genocide, killing more than a million Armenians beginning in 1915. A complicating issue is the "frozen conflict" in neighboring Nagorno-Karabakh, an ethnically Armenian enclave in Azerbaijan. Watch report on the signing from CNN's Ivan Watson » During the U.S. presidential campaign, then-candidate Barack Obama called for passage of the Armenian genocide resolution. Speaking in London later, Clinton promised the US would do everything it could to build on the "milestone" that the two countries had achieved by signing the protocols. Armenia's foreign ministry said that the delay had been provoked by "unacceptable formulations" in a speech to be given by Turkey's top diplomat, but gave no details of what those formulations might be. Clinton, who declared herself "very pleased" that the protocols had been signed, said that both countries had concerns that had delayed the signing ceremony. That endorsement will have to come as nationalists on both sides protest the accord, particularly an Armenian diaspora which is demanding that Turkey acknowledge the killings of 1.5 million Armenians during World War I as genocide. Many Turks see the fighting as a civil war caused by the collapse of the Ottoman Empire during which an unverifiable number of Turks also died - although both sides agree that more Armenians than Turks were killed.
"What a dreadful shock. Gately, 33, was in Majorca with his partner, Andrew, the Web site said. A statement on Boyzone's official website confirmed the Irish singer's death. He was a great man." It said: "Stephen tragically died yesterday whilst on holiday with his partner Andrew in Mallorca. ''I only heard after The X Factor and we will rally around each other this week. The Irish band had six UK number one hits in the 1990s and reformed in 2007. 1 singles in the United Kingdom, and four No. Walsh earlier told the News of the World newspaper: "We're all absolutely devastated. I was only with him on Monday at an awards ceremony. E-mail this to a friend Printable version We don't know much about what's happened yet. Still busy - lots going on. Its greatest hits album -- "Back Again ... No Matter What" -- was released last year. Focussing on finishing my book next so may be quiet here." Spanish police said there were no signs of suspicious circumstances, but the cause of death is not yet known. The group, which separated in 2000 to pursue solo projects, reunited in 2008. He lit up our lives and those of the many friends he had all over the world. "The rest of the boyz will be flying out today." Louis Walsh's spokeswoman confirmed that the manager would not go ahead with his X Factor appearance. "Stephen was a beautiful person in both body and spirit. Police said they were called to a house near Port d'Andratx on the western tip of the island on Saturday afternoon.
Please turn on JavaScript. Advertisement Boyzone singer Stephen Gately has died suddenly at the age of 33 while on holiday in Majorca. Spanish police said there were no signs of suspicious circumstances, but the cause of death is not yet known. Gately was on holiday with his long-term partner Andy Cowles. His bandmates said they were "completely devastated" and are now travelling to Majorca. Boyzone manager Louis Walsh has pulled out of Sunday's edition of ITV1's X Factor in the wake of Gately's death. Focussing on finishing my book next so may be quiet here Gately's last Twitter post, 6 October In pictures: Stephen Gately Tributes paid to singer Gately The four remaining members of Boyzone described Gately as "our friend and brother". "We have shared such wonderful times together over the years and were all looking forward to sharing many more," a statement said. "Stephen was a beautiful person in both body and spirit. Our love and sympathy go out to Andrew and Stephen's family. We love you and will miss you forever." The Irish band had six UK number one hits in the 1990s and reformed in 2007. Police said they were called to a house near Port d'Andratx on the western tip of the island on Saturday afternoon. "At the moment it is not known how he died," the police spokesman said. "There are no signs of suspicious circumstances." Louis Walsh's spokeswoman confirmed that the manager would not go ahead with his X Factor appearance. Boyzone (with Gately on far left) reunited in 2007 His spokeswoman said: "He thanks you all for the messages of support at this sad time." Walsh earlier told the News of the World newspaper: "We're all absolutely devastated. "I'm in complete shock. We don't know much about what's happened yet. He was a great man." Bertie Ahern, former Irish Taoiseach, described Gately as a personal friend and his death as a "huge, huge tragedy" for Irish music and culture. He had the best voice out of the band Caroline, Bedfordshire "We send our love and condolences to his partner Andy and to all his friends everywhere." Fellow Irish boy band Westlife described Gately as a "friendly, positive spirit and a passionate performer... "Our thoughts are with Andy and the rest of his family, his friends, his legions of fans and of course his bandmates... who will be devastated at the loss of a truly beautiful person." Writing on the micro-blogging website Twitter, broadcaster Stephen Fry said: "Just heard the very sad news about dear Stephen Gately. Music journalist Paul Gambaccini said: "It's sad on a personal level and a professional level." Gately and Cowles tied the knot in 2006 Boyzone sold more singles than Take That in the 1990s, he said, and had 16 Top 5 singles. A year before Boyzone split, Gately revealed that he was gay and had a boyfriend. He later held a private civil partnership ceremony in London in 2006. After Boyzone, Gately continued his career as a solo artist, but was dropped by Polydor in 2001 after three top 20 singles. His last message on Twitter, posted on 6 October, said: "Still busy - lots going on. The pop star and actor was holidaying on the Spanish island when he died yesterday, the group's official website confirmed. The cause of his death is unclear but a close friend said he died after a night out. A statement on Boyzone's official website confirmed the Irish singer's death. It said: "Stephen tragically died yesterday whilst on holiday with his partner Andrew in Mallorca.
But no airplanes were diverted, she said. But when the balloon landed, the boy was not in the balloon, deepening the mystery. Mr. Heene is married to Mayumi Heene. "That's why I went in the attic." Larimer county sheriff Jim Alderden told reporters that apparently Falcon Heene had "been there the whole time". Officials said later that there were no grounds for criminal charges against the family, and that the family would not be charged for the cost of the search. He has been flying for more than two hours. “It was hysteria,” he added. Earlier on Thursday morning, his father, Richard Heene, had yelled at him for having crawled into the balloon in the backyard a few times. stopped departures from Denver International Airport for about three minutes. He believes it came from the bottom of the aircraft. ABC ABC The authorities continued to search the neighborhood for Falcon Heene, and this was not the first time he made national news. Advertisement A six-year-old boy thought to have been carried away by a helium balloon in Colorado was in fact hiding in a box in an attic at home, an official has said. According to Mr. Nilsson, the parents called the police about 30 minutes after they realized that the balloon had launched, possibly with their son inside the 3-foot by 3-foot compartment. Media requires JavaScript to play. 'A Low-Altitude Vehicle for People to ... It appeared there might have been a bit of collusion among the Heene brothers. The boy had stepped into the silver balloon shaped like a flying saucer at his family’s home near Fort Collins, Colo. around 11 a.m. local time.
The tale of the experimental helium air balloon sailing above the Colorado plains for two hours on Thursday afternoon captivated the nation, and it had as many twists and turns as the strange flight. So what does a 6-year-old boy hiding in an attic for several hours do to occupy his time as his parents, the police and throngs of investigators are frantically searching for him? Appearing on “Larry King Live” on Thursday night with his parents and brothers, Falcon Heene gave some indication. “First I was playing in the attic,” he said, “then I stopped and went to bed in the attic.” When asked why he went up there in the first place, he responded, “The reason why I went up there, my dad yelled at me, he didn’t want me to play in the flying saucer.” Falcon’s father, Richard Heene, said his son has a habit of slinking away whenever he is scolded. “He cowers down, and like if we go to the store and he wants to buy some candy or something, I have to tell him no and he’s always behind and the boys are always saying ‘Come on, Falcon, hurry up.’ ” Police officers and county investigators scoured Falcon Heene’s home twice during the nerve-wracking, air and ground search for him Thursday afternoon. So how did a 6-year-old boy manage to elude so many people for over three hours? On Thursday evening, Sheriff Jim Alderden of Larimer County explained that Falcon had been crawling in and out of a small battery compartment — about one and a half feet by four feet wide — on his father’s balloon contraption throughout the morning. At some point, the boy scurried into the family’s garage out of fear his father would scold him. When the balloon eventually came loose and floated away, Falcon was nowhere to be found, and his family assumed he was in the battery compartment. “Apparently what happened is that he climbed up on some boxes and grabbed hold of the rafters and pulled himself up into the rafters.” There, he kept quiet for hours and remained out of the reach of the investigators searching just feet away. “Apparently after the media crowd left the front of the house he came down of his own volition and just walked into the house,” said Investigator Bob Heffernan of the Larimer County sheriff’s department. Mr. Heffernan, who was in the house at the time, was on the phone discussing the question of whether the balloon could attain the altitude it had reached carrying Falcon’s weight and whether it was possible he had not been in the balloon when it took off when he suddenly heard commotion in the next room. He was just so happy.” Now that Falcon Heene has been located and reunited with his family, the first question for the Larimer County sheriff at a news conference on Thursday evening was precisely how much the search and rescue mission cost, and who was going to foot the bill. But he rattled off a list of agencies that had been involved besides his sheriff’s department, among them the Fort Collins police department, the National Guard, the Colorado State Patrol, the United States Forest Service, and at least two neighboring counties. Sheriff Alderden said despite the mammoth effort involved, there would be no financial or criminal ramifications for the family. If the family has a hunter’s license or a fisher’s license, he added, then the authorities could recover some of the costs “through an emergency type fund that they give grants out of.” As for the question of criminal charges, Sheriff Alderden said this was simply a case of a boy hiding because he was afraid of being scolded, and that everyone involved was just relieved that he was found. “I was under the strong belief that the boy had fallen out of this craft by the time it had landed,” he said. “I was expecting the worst scenario and to have one come out so positive like this, it’s overwhelming.” When Falcon Heene, who on Thursday afternoon had federal and local authorities, search dogs, mounted police, helicopter crews, neighbors and a wide-eyed television audience on an anxious, at times, terrifying chase through the air and on the ground, crawled out of a cardboard box from the attic in his family’s garage, his mother screamed. Bradford, at 10 the oldest of the three brothers, was the one who told the family that Falcon has crawled into the helium balloon and had taken off. Brown, a spokeswoman for the Federal Aviation Administration said the balloon was in controlled airspace – airspace that a pilot needs permission to enter – for about 40 minutes, and the F.A.A.
Turkish Grand Prix, Istanbul, June 7 Vettel dominated qualifying, edging Button into second on the grid, with Barrichello third. Standings: 1 Button 72pts; 2 Barrichello 54; 3 Webber 51.5; 4 Vettel 47. How did Brawn do it? At the end of it, with the safety car out, the Australian was tucked in behind Barrichello and ahead of Nico Rosberg's Williams and Robert Kubica's BMW-Sauber. I think when everyone saw the car drive for the first time in Barcelona they were very surprised." Raikkonen took third on another wretched day for Red Bull, with Vettel only eighth and Webber spinning out on the opening lap. The final place on the podium went to the McLaren of Lewis Hamilton, his drive from 17th place on the grid doing great credit to a man relinquishing his title but already making plans to mount a challenge to its new holder next year. Standings: 1 Button (Brawn GP) 10pts; 2 Rubens Barrichello (Brawn GP) 8; 3 Jarno Trulli (Toyota) 6; 4 Timo Glock (Toyota) 5. Well, despite its late arrival on the scene the BGP001 was still one of the most expensive cars ever built. "But in the end, we got the deal done and we were able to go racing. No driver with a victory to their name has taken so long to claim a maiden triumph. Ferrari returned to form with Kimi Raikkonen third and Felipe Massa fourth. On Sunday night, the same Brackley-based team were celebrating not only Jenson Button 's world drivers' title but the constructors' crown as well, a phenomenal achievement given the fact that Ross Br a wn did not effect his management buy-out until March and the team lost 350 of their staff over the winter.
A first lap containing spins, shunts and a pit-lane fireball – more incidents, in fact, than most entire races – set the scene for today's Brazilian grand prix, an absorbing contest in which the celebrations were shared by Mark Webber, winning for the second time this season in his Red Bull-Renault, and Jenson Button, whose fifth place brought him and the Brawn-Mercedes team the double of the 2009 world drivers' and constructors' championships. Given the testing circumstances, Button's drive was the equal of the very best of the six victories he collected in the first half of the see-sawing season. After a catastrophic qualifying session he took his fate into his own hands and drove with controlled aggression. When the slightest mistake would have meant disaster, he executed a series of overtaking manoeuvres with measured authority. A podium finish would secure the title for Button but a poor tyre choice on Saturday reduced him to 14th place on the grid and gave hope to his team-mate Rubens Barrichello, starting from pole position in front of his home crowd. Sebastian Vettel, the championship outsider, needed both a victory and a bad day for both Brawn drivers, but was another Saturday casualty and started one place behind Button. Adrian Sutil's Force India, starting from third on the grid, was overtaken by Kimi Raikkonen's Ferrari as the cars plunged through the dramatic downhill esses and then tangled with Jarno Trulli's Toyota at high speed, putting both cars out. The Italian veteran, believing he had been edged off the track, confronted the young German with a series of gestures suggesting that they might be meeting again to sort it out away from the public gaze. The stewards ruled that it had been a racing incident but fined Trulli $10,000 for refusing to leave the track and for the manner of his confrontion with Sutil. Kovalainen dived into the pits for new tyres and left just ahead of Raikkonen, who had lost his front wing while trying to pass Webber. The McLaren driver, however, restarted with the fuel hose still attached (for which the team were fined $50,000), covering his fellow Finn's Ferrari in a film of petrol which ignited in a spectacular blaze that momentarily blinded Raikkonen but was quickly extinguished by the airflow as he accelerated away. "An interesting first lap, as usual here," Webber said, with dry understatement. At the end of it, with the safety car out, the Australian was tucked in behind Barrichello and ahead of Nico Rosberg's Williams and Robert Kubica's BMW-Sauber. Profiting from the misfortunes of others and from his own success in staying out of other people's accidents, Button was already up to ninth position and preparing to go about the business of improving his prospects. Cool and decisive moves in the esses took him past Romain Grosjean's Renault and Kazuki Nakajima's Williams on successive laps but Kamui Kobayashi, a grand prix debutant replacing Timo Glock at the wheel of the second Toyota, proved a more troublesome obstacle. For 18 laps Button sat behind the Japanese driver, observing his opponent's questionable racing etiquette before picking his moment to pass. "That guy is crazy," he said later. The other Japanese driver's attempt to overtake his compatriot ended in an expensive shower of carbon fibre, his Williams smashing itself against the barriers while the Toyota continued on its erratic way, eventually finishing 10th. Now up to sixth place, Button was able to follow his strategy in relative peace, his position improved – and his title sealed – when Barrichello, having slipped to third behind Webber and Kubica during the first stops, suffered a puncture with eight laps to go. A third pit stop relegated the Brazilian to eighth place, continuing his run of appalling luck at his home circuit. Like Vettel, who finished an excellent fourth after a fighting drive, he saw his championship chances disappear. The final place on the podium went to the McLaren of Lewis Hamilton, his drive from 17th place on the grid doing great credit to a man relinquishing his title but already making plans to mount a challenge to its new holder next year. On Sunday night, the same Brackley-based team were celebrating not only Jenson Button 's world drivers' title but the constructors' crown as well, a phenomenal achievement given the fact that Ross Br a wn did not effect his management buy-out until March and the team lost 350 of their staff over the winter. Button, who took a voluntary 50 per cent pay cut to stay at the team, paid tribute earlier this week to the actors and extras in what he labelled "a Hollywood movie". "It wasn't just whether they could compete in F1, it was whether they had a job that could pay for their kids' school and what have you," Button said. Reigning world champion Lewis Hamilton was about three seconds a lap slower in his McLaren, which had been testing for weeks. When Brawn arrived at Honda from Ferrari in December 2007 he realised that the 2008 car was already too far gone and instead concentrated his energies on the 2009 model. By the time it hit the track it was the product of well over a year's careful planning and countless millions of Honda dollars. It also had a shiny new Mercedes-Benz beneath its white and fluorescent yellow chassis, which was estimated to be giving it around 60 brake horse power more than its old Honda engine. Malaysian Grand Prix, Sepang, April 5 Horrendous monsoon conditions forced the abandonment of the race after 31 of the 56 scheduled laps, with half points being awarded.
It ruled that the comment was both "humiliating" and "offensive". Rob Woodhouse, Miss Adlington's agent, welcomed the Trust's ruling and condemned the programme. Boyle is leaving the show after seven series as a panellist. Mock The Week has been screened since 2005 Satirical gameshow Mock The Week breached guidelines over comments aired about swimmer Rebecca Adlington, the BBC Trust has ruled. He said: "I am surprised this sort of thing is allowed to be said in a public environment, to be honest." Final ruling The trust's Editorial Standards Committee also concluded that double gold medallist Adlington had not courted publicity or celebrity status, making the personal remarks unjustified. Dara O'Briain will continue to host the show which pitches two teams of comics against each other. The second remark was unnecessary "sexual innuendo". "The door is always open for him to come back," the spokesman added. The show, broadcast in August 2008 in the wake of the Beijing Olympics, prompted 75 complaints from viewers. Did you see her boyfriend? The producer did concede that "the ribbing might have gone a tad too far", but no further action was taken. He was really attractive. He was like a male model. Another complaint against Mock The Week, relating to a comment made about the Queen, was not upheld as a breach of editorial standards by the trust. The BBC proposed a ban on scenes of intimidation, humiliation or derogatory remarks earlier this month in response to last years “Sachsgate" scandal, in which Jonathan Ross and Russell Brand taunted Andrew Sachs, the actor, in prank phone calls.
Mock The Week has been screened since 2005 Satirical gameshow Mock The Week breached guidelines over comments aired about swimmer Rebecca Adlington, the BBC Trust has ruled. Panellist Frankie Boyle's remarks about the Olympic champion were "humiliating" and "risked offending the audience". The show, broadcast in August 2008 in the wake of the Beijing Olympics, prompted 75 complaints from viewers. Its producer apologised in December, saying "the ribbing may have gone a tad too far on this occasion". Final ruling The trust's Editorial Standards Committee also concluded that double gold medallist Adlington had not courted publicity or celebrity status, making the personal remarks unjustified. They added that the makers of Mock The Week, who allowed sexual innuendo and comments about Adlington's appearance to be included, failed to have an editorial reason for including them. The committee's decision is a final ruling on a complaints process that has been in progress since last year. The BBC recently announced that Boyle was stepping down from the show after seven series to concentrate on other commitments. The Scottish comedian, known for his dour, cutting humour, was called "a brilliant member of the team" by a spokesman for the programme. Meanwhile, BBC Three's Most Annoying People of 2008 show was found by the Editorial Standards Committee to have made "crude and offensive" jokes about the lesbian relationship between actress Lindsay Lohan and DJ Sam Ronson. Remarks made by radio host Spoony and porn actor Ron Jeremy were deemed to be "crude and offensive" and appeared to "reinforce stereotypical views", it ruled. Boyle has been a panellist since the show began in June 2005 Comedian Frankie Boyle has quit as a panellist on satirical show Mock The Week "due to other television commitments", the BBC has announced. A spokesman for the BBC Two programme, which has been commissioned for a further two series, said Boyle had been "a brilliant member of the team". Dara O'Briain will continue to host the show which pitches two teams of comics against each other. In its first ruling since announcing a crackdown on cruel and humliating comedy, the BBC Trust said there was no justification for making such a remark about Miss Adlington's appearance. The BBC proposed a ban on scenes of intimidation, humiliation or derogatory remarks earlier this month in response to last years “Sachsgate" scandal, in which Jonathan Ross and Russell Brand taunted Andrew Sachs, the actor, in prank phone calls. However, industry veterans fear that the guidelines stray too far into political correctness and could kill off famous scenes from Fawlty Towers, in which Sachs played the waiter Manuel, and other television classics. The remark which has now fallen foul of the trust was made by Frankie Boyle, a regular on BBC Two’s Mock The Week, and broadcast in August 2008, soon after Adlington won two gold medals in Beijing. Boyle said: "When she arrived back on the flight she met her boyfriend. When one viewer persisted with his complaint, he received a letter from the programme's producer which said: "The programme team's treatment of Rebecca Adlington was no different to any other athlete or sporting star. Upholding the complaint, Richard Tait, chairman of the Trust's Editorial Standards Committee, said: "The comments about Rebecca Adlington were humiliating, and this was exacerbated by the fact that she had not sought celebrity status or courted media attention.
There are no masks. Tymoshenko, herself a front-runner, said the emergency would affect campaign rallies. There is no medicine at all?" KIEV Oct 30 Ukraine confirmed its first death from H1N1 swine flu on Friday and officials said that a quarantine could be introduced to halt the spread of the virus. "There is nothing in the pharmacies. "We are considering (imposing) a quarantine not only in the west but also across the country, because the virus is spreading very fast," Health Minister Vasyl Knyazevych told reporters. People are queuing and waiting for supplies to come but nobody knows if they will come or not." Children are sick. The biggest rise was in the Americas where 4,175 deaths have been reported, up 636 from the week before. Cases 'unreported' The latest WHO figures showed there had been 440,000 confirmed cases of the H1N1 virus worldwide. President Viktor Yushchenko, a bitter rival of Tymoshenko's, himself called off a public meeting in Kiev where he had been due to roll out his election program. It said that while more data on children between six months and 10 years was needed "the priority should be to give them at least one dose of vaccine now, and to cover as many of them as possible". She said Ukraine was in touch with international football authorities to discuss whether the measures would have any effect on two international fixtures scheduled for November. SCHOOL HOLIDAY "All educational institutions without exception ... will be put on a three-week holiday period," Tymoshenko said. Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko announced the measures, saying the virus had reached epidemic levels in three parts of western Ukraine, where there has been an outbreak of respiratory illness since mid-October.
The Americas have seen the sharpest rise in swine flu deaths The number of swine flu deaths reported worldwide has jumped by more than 700 in a week, latest World Health Organization figures reveal. More than 5,700 swine flu deaths were reported by 25 October, compared to nearly 5,000 the week before. The biggest rise was in the Americas where 4,175 deaths have been reported, up 636 from the week before. Meanwhile, Ukraine has shut all schools and banned public meetings for three weeks after its first swine flu death. Mrs Tymoshenko said there would also be restrictions on what she called non-urgent travel between different parts of Ukraine. Cases 'unreported' The latest WHO figures showed there had been 440,000 confirmed cases of the H1N1 virus worldwide. But the organisation said that as many countries have stopped counting individual cases, the actual number is likely to be significantly higher. The BBC's Imogen Foulkes says the WHO has warned for months that as winter sets in, the northern hemisphere can expect swine flu cases to rise. The virus emerged in Mexico in April and was declared a global flu pandemic on 11 June. "In the temperate zone of the northern hemisphere, influenza transmission continues to intensify, marking an unusually early start to winter influenza season in some countries," said the WHO's latest update. Statistics showed fatal cases in Europe climbed to at least 281, while those in Asia-Pacific rose to 1,070. In a separate statement, the WHO said that experts meeting this week had concluded that a single dose of swine flu vaccine was sufficient to immunise adults and children over 10. The Strategic Advisory Group of Experts (Sage) said that countries that had made vaccinating children a priority could administer them a single dose to ensure that as many as possible are immunised quickly. It said that while more data on children between six months and 10 years was needed "the priority should be to give them at least one dose of vaccine now, and to cover as many of them as possible". KIEV Oct 30 Ukraine confirmed its first death from H1N1 swine flu on Friday and officials said that a quarantine could be introduced to halt the spread of the virus. An outbreak of flu and pneumonia has killed 30 people in western Ukraine since mid-October, but officials have until now insisted this was not the H1N1 strain. "So far, not all the dead were tested (for H1N1)," a health ministry spokeswoman said. "We are considering a quarantine not only in the west, but also across the country because the virus is spreading very fast," Health Minister Vasyl Knyazevych told a news conference, without giving details. Ukraine on Friday closed schools, banned all public events and imposed restrictions on people's movements around the country for a three-week period after confirming its first death from H1N1 swine flu. REUTERS/Gleb Garanich KIEV Ukraine closed schools and banned public meetings including election rallies and restricted travel on Friday for a three-week period after confirming its first death from H1N1 flu. Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko announced the measures, saying the virus had reached epidemic levels in three parts of western Ukraine, where there has been an outbreak of respiratory illness since mid-October. He told journalists that 11 people had died of H1N1, also called swine flu, contradicting a Health Ministry report of only one death. The government allotted 500 million hryvnias ($63 million) for medical supplies to fight the virus, agencies said. Yushchenko said Ukraine, already suffering the effects of a severe economic downturn, would turn to international institutions and foreign partners for help if the situation developed beyond Ukraine's capacity to handle it. "Apart from this, we will cancel all mass meetings ... for three weeks," she told an emergency government session.
"It was the right decision, and I did it in the best interests of this country," Abdullah said. President Hamid Karzai's rival in the second round of the Afghan presidential election has announced in Kabul that he is withdrawing from the poll. What next for Afghanistan? Much of the pressure has been coming from foreign diplomats - the same diplomats in many cases who insisted on a second round to try to restore some legitimacy to the process because of the widespread fraud first time round. Despite calls by some of his supporters for the vote to go ahead, his campaign has now said it will respect any decision by the commission and other legal institutions. Dr Abdullah was adjudged in the end to have won about 31% of valid votes cast. "Everything will depend on the voter turnout," he told Al Jazeera. Then will come the decisions on a new Afghan government. Please turn on JavaScript. "I've been speaking to Afghans and they're all telling me the same thing: They believe that an election with only one candidate would be simply farcical," he reported. The international community is known to be very reluctant for the run-off to take place. "His [Abdullah's] withdrawal should not alter the process... He continued in the role in the government that was formed by President Karzai after the fall of the Taliban in 2001, leaving it five years later. In a BBC interview, Dr Abdullah said he decided to pull out as "I felt that it might not help the democratic process, it might not restore the faith of the people in (the) democratic process.
"It was the right decision, and I did it in the best interests of this country," Abdullah said. I will not enter into the constitutional implications of this decision. "But I'll be pursuing the agenda for change and reform in any capacity that I'll be. Perhaps, after a sigh of relief, I will enter into this role with my followers, with my supporters, with the movement that has supported me for the past five months." Shortly after Abdullah's announcement, the campaign team of Hamid Karzai, the Afghan president, said the election would still go ahead. "His [Abdullah's] withdrawal should not alter the process... The process should go on and the people of Afghanistan should be given the chance to vote," Wahid Omar, a Karzai spokesman, told Al Jazeera. Illegitimate government In Sunday's statements, Abdullah said a "transparent election is not possible" and that the Afghan government has been illegitimate since May. The supreme court, appointed by Karzai, extended his mandate after the election was put off from last spring until August. Earlier, Karzai had rejected a series of demands laid down by Abdullah, who previously served as foreign minister in his cabinet. Following widespread fraud in the August first round, Abdullah had demanded that Karzai sack Azizullah Ludin, the head of the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC). He also demanded the suspension of four ministers who campaigned for Karzai. Abdullah's camp had set a deadline of Saturday for Karzai to bow to his demands. James Bays, Al Jazeera's correspondent in Kabul, said many Afghans had told him that an election with only one candidate would be "farcical". "I've been speaking to Afghans and they're all telling me the same thing: They believe that an election with only one candidate would be simply farcical," he reported. [But] many Afghans are asking what sort of democracy results in a second-round election with only one candidate." "Everything will depend on the voter turnout," he told Al Jazeera. "If the turnout is high, as in the first round, Karzai will be declared winner and he'll have legitimacy in the eyes of the Afghans and in the international community. "But if the turnout is very low - below 25 per cent - Karzai will be declared legally as president, but will not enjoy strong legitimacy within the Afghan population or indeed the international community." The first round of Afghanistan's elections on August 20 was so badly affected by ballot-box stuffing and distorted tallies that more than one million votes were thrown out. The fraud pushed Karzai below the required 50 per cent margin needed to win, forcing the country into a second round to be held on November 7. The withdrawal by Afghan President Hamid Karzai's chief rival from a runoff election shouldn't complicate President Barack Obama's decision on whether to send more troops to that country, senior White House aides said. Abdullah Abdullah on Sunday said he would not participate in Afghanistan's Nov. 7 runoff, after failing to reach an agreement with Mr. Karzai on how to redress problems with fraud that had marred the presidential... President Hamid Karzai's rival in the second round of the Afghan presidential election has announced in Kabul that he is withdrawing from the poll. Abdullah Abdullah told the BBC he had made the decision "in the best interests of the country". Mr Karzai had rejected Dr Abdullah's demand that election officials who presided over the first round should be dismissed. ANALYSIS BBC's Andrew North, in Kabul It is almost certain the second round vote planned for 7 November won't happen. Instead, pressure is mounting on the Afghan election commission to call it off and for the Supreme Court to issue a ruling declaring President Karzai the winner. Despite calls by some of his supporters for the vote to go ahead, his campaign has now said it will respect any decision by the commission and other legal institutions. Much of the pressure has been coming from foreign diplomats - the same diplomats in many cases who insisted on a second round to try to restore some legitimacy to the process because of the widespread fraud first time round. He added that the decision that a run-off should be held had, in itself, "helped restore the faith of the people in the process" after concerns over the conduct of the first round of voting. He added that he had told Mr Karzai it was now imperative that he formed an "inclusive administration" that could tackle corruption and build up popular local government. An investigation by the UN-backed Electoral Complaints Commission (ECC) led to Mr Karzai's share of the vote dropping to 49.67% - below the crucial 50% plus one vote threshold needed to avoid a second round.
Now the second round has been cancelled, largely because of international pressure. The US responded by saying Mr Karzai was Afghanistan's "legitimate leader". Brown said he had spoken to Karzai after he was confirmed as president following the cancellation of a run-off ballot. Dr Abdullah, who had demanded the removal of key poll officials, said the vote would not have been fair. Afghan officials today declared Hamid Karzai the winner of the country's disputed presidential poll after cancelling a planned runoff election. The first round had been marred by fraud. However, the IEC's chief electoral officer said he was concerned about security risks and the legitimacy of the next government if Karzai was the only candidate. Dr Abdullah - a Tajik-Pashtun former eye surgeon and ex-foreign minister - was adjudged in the end to have won nearly a third of valid votes cast. Britain has around 9,000 troops in Afghanistan and has said it is prepared to send another 500 providing Kabul agreed to provide additional Afghan troops to be trained and fight alongside British forces. "They discussed the importance of the president moving quickly to set out a unifying programme for the future of Afghanistan," the spokesman said. 'Historic' election However, Mr Brown on Monday said he welcomed the commission's decision. All reports suggested it was simply a question of finding the legal means to bring the process to an end. The UN secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, who is on a surprise visit to Kabul, congratulated Karzai, but said the president should move fast to form a new administration. (Editing by Sonya Hepinstall) Bookmark with: Delicious Digg reddit Facebook StumbleUpon What are these?
President Karzai met UN chief Ban Ki-moon earlier in the day Hamid Karzai has been declared president of Afghanistan, after election officials scrapped a planned second round of voting. The announcement comes a day after Mr Karzai's sole challenger, Abdullah Abdullah, pulled out of the race. Dr Abdullah, who had demanded the removal of key poll officials, said the vote would not have been fair. The first round had been marred by fraud. The US responded by saying Mr Karzai was Afghanistan's "legitimate leader". ANALYSIS Andrew North, BBC News, Kabul The announcement that the run-off vote was being cancelled had been widely expected. All reports suggested it was simply a question of finding the legal means to bring the process to an end. The point of holding a second round was to try to restore some legitimacy to the process after there was so much fraud - almost a third of votes for President Karzai were invalidated because of massive ballot stuffing. Now the second round has been cancelled, largely because of international pressure. On Monday a spokesman for the Independent Election Commission (IEC), Azizullah Lodin, declared that President Karzai, "the only candidate for the second round", had been "elected president of Afghanistan". He said the second round on 7 November was being scrapped to save money, for security reasons and to prevent further setbacks that could damage Afghanistan politically and economically. The Taliban, which carried out attacks across the country during the first round, had vowed to disrupt the polls again next Saturday. President Karzai - who was first elected Afghan president in 2004 - had been the favourite to win another five-year term in the run-off. One of the reasons for holding a deciding vote had been to try to restore some legitimacy to the process, after the discredited first round on 20 August. 'Historic' election However, Mr Brown on Monday said he welcomed the commission's decision. A spokesman said the PM had "spoken to President Karzai to congratulate him on his re-election" and the two men had "discussed the importance of the president moving quickly to set out a unifying programme for the future of Afghanistan". The US administration, through its embassy in Kabul, also hailed the commission's move, which it said conformed to "its mandate under Afghan law". The statement added: "We congratulate President Karzai on his victory in this historic election and look forward to working with him." Earlier on Monday, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon visited Kabul and said Afghanistan's troubled election had been among "the most difficult the United Nations has ever supported". The BBC's Lyse Doucet in Kabul says there had been intense discussion in recent days as to whether scrapping the second round would be constitutionally legal. Some observers are saying Mr Karzai's legitimacy is also in question, and ask whether his government can be effective, adds our correspondent. Hundreds of thousands of votes were discounted from August's first round, including almost a third of ballots cast for Mr Karzai. The incumbent's share of the vote was cut to just under the crucial 50% plus one ballot threshold needed for outright victory, following an investigation by the UN-backed Electoral Complaints Commission. Dr Abdullah - a Tajik-Pashtun former eye surgeon and ex-foreign minister - was adjudged in the end to have won nearly a third of valid votes cast. Afghan officials today declared Hamid Karzai the winner of the country's disputed presidential poll after cancelling a planned runoff election. The announcement came after Karzai's main challenger, Abdullah Abdullah, dropped out of the race on the grounds that the vote would not be free or fair. "The Independent Election Commission [IEC] declares the esteemed Hamid Karzai as the president … because he was the winner of the first round and the only candidate in the second round," the commission's chairman, Azizullah Ludin, told reporters. "The constitution of Afghanistan does not require any sort of turnout parameters for the second round," he said, adding that not holding a second round would save money. A legitimate Afghan leader is seen as essential to western war aims, and the lack of a credible result has prevented the US president, Barack Obama, from being able to make a decision on whether to send up to 40,000 more troops to Afghanistan. "They discussed the importance of the president moving quickly to set out a unifying programme for the future of Afghanistan," the spokesman said. "Afghanistan now faces significant challenges and the new president must move swiftly to form a government that is able to command the support of both the Afghan people and the international community," he said in statement. Abdullah announced his decision to sit out the 7 November vote yesterday after almost all his demands for changes to the IEC and the suspension of government ministers – which he said would have reduced the risk of major fraud in the next round of voting – were rejected. Abdullah's announcement threw the election into disarray, with some analysts describing the situation as "a shocking failure" of efforts by the west and other international communities to build a democracy in Afghanistan. Both Karzai's campaign and the commission initially said Saturday's runoff should go ahead because there was no other legal method for choosing the president. However, the IEC's chief electoral officer said he was concerned about security risks and the legitimacy of the next government if Karzai was the only candidate. Either he went ahead and won a mandate based on a second round which was likely to attract even fewer participants than the first vote in August, or he could be appointed as leader without the 50% of votes the constitution says are required. They said there was enough ambiguity in Afghanistan's constitution to allow the country's supreme court to rule a second round unnecessary and that Karzai should be elected on the basis that he received the highest number of votes in the first. The US secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, said Abdullah's decision to withdraw from the election would not affect the vote's legitimacy. But Nadjib Yussufi, a senior Abdullah campaign member, said that if Karzai had any "political wisdom" he would back the establishment of an interim government and reform of the IEC, allowing Abdullah to participate in elections in the spring.
They will not be forgotten," Wakefield said. The British Military Police have launched an investigation. Advertisement Five British soldiers have been shot dead in Helmand Province, in an attack the UK military blamed on a "rogue" Afghan policeman. The deaths take the number of UK troops killed in Afghanistan since 2001 to 229. Advertisement Continue reading the main story That message was reaffirmed by the British defense minister, Bob Ainsworth. The local chief of the Afghan National Police (ANP) and the Afghan national director of security have also begun investigating at the scene. What is the road? Please turn on JavaScript. I know that the whole country too will mourn their loss. And in the name of what?” Mr. Kouchner asked. Map: Where the attack happened It appears he could have been involved in a dispute with his commander, but tribal sources have pointed to a link with the Taliban, our correspondent said. There was a similar incident involving the deaths of two US personnel in 2008. Lt. Col. David Wakefield, a spokesman for Task Force Helmand, expressed his "deepest sadness" at the deaths. In Helmand especially, the police are proving less reliable - as well as more corrupt - than the Afghan Army. An Afghan official in Helmand said local people believed that the gunman was sympathetic to the Taliban insurgents who have been fighting an increasingly bold campaign against Afghan and NATO forces. View all New York Times newsletters. “If Afghanistan is not secure, then Pakistan is not secure, and if Pakistan is not secure then Britain is not secure,” Mr. Ainsworth said.
Advertisement Five British soldiers have been shot dead in Helmand Province, in an attack the UK military blamed on a "rogue" Afghan policeman. The soldiers, three from the Grenadier Guards and two from the Royal Military Police, had been mentoring and living with the Afghan police in a compound. The officer opened fire, injuring eight others, before fleeing the compound. Gordon Brown told MPs the Taliban said they had carried out the attack and may have infiltrated Afghan police. Speaking in the Commons, the prime minister said evidence was being gathered and security would be stepped up after the shooting. But he added that training of Afghan police remained an "essential element" of the strategy in Afghanistan and would not be stopped as it was "what the Taliban fears most". Manhunt A total of 92 UK service personnel have now been killed this year, the highest annual figure since the Falklands War in 1982. Six British servicemen and two Afghan National Police officers were injured in the attack, in the Nad Ali district. An investigation is under way and the soldiers' next of kin have been informed of the deaths. A UK military spokesman said: "One individual Afghan National Policeman, possibly in conjunction with another, went rogue. "His motives and whereabouts are unknown at this time. Every effort is now being put into hunting down those responsible for this attack." BBC Kabul correspondent Ian Pannell said sources had indicated the attacker was a police officer called Gulbuddin who had fled the scene after the shooting. Map: Where the attack happened It appears he could have been involved in a dispute with his commander, but tribal sources have pointed to a link with the Taliban, our correspondent said. ANALYSIS Caroline Wyatt, BBC defence correspondent Training the Afghan police as well as the Afghan army is key to Nato's plans in Afghanistan, so they can ultimately take over security across the country, allowing British and American forces and their allies to gradually leave. However, recruiting and training the police and ensuring their loyalty to the Afghan government has long been extremely difficult. In Helmand especially, the police are proving less reliable - as well as more corrupt - than the Afghan Army. The Afghan police are relatively badly paid - earning rather less than a Taliban fighter - and are said to earn extra cash from taking bribes from ordinary Afghans at official or often unofficial checkpoints. Latest Afghan deaths: Reaction Read your comments Lt Col Wakefield, spokesman for Task Force Helmand, said the men who were killed had been mentoring a number of Afghan police officers. He said they had worked and lived in the compound at a national police checkpoint for the past two weeks. The attack did not come as a result of any breakdown or fight between British and Afghan forces, he stressed. Col Wakefield said: "It is with the deepest sadness I must inform you that five British soldiers were shot and killed yesterday in Nad Ali district. Prime Minister Gordon Brown said the latest deaths were a "terrible loss". He said: "My thoughts, condolences and sympathies go to their families, loved ones and colleagues. "It is my highest priority to ensure our heroic troops have the best possible support and equipment - and the right strategy, backed by our international partners, and by a new Afghan government ready to play its part in confronting the challenges Afghanistan faces. Worst incident Tory leader David Cameron said: "I pay tribute, as will the whole country, to their professionalism and their courage, and send my condolences to their families and their friends." "We will not let this event deter our resolve to build a partnership with the Afghan National Security Forces to provide for Afghanistan's future." And it wouldn't at all surprise me now if there aren't a lot of soldiers, British soldiers in Afghanistan, with their fingers very firmly on the trigger when they're around Afghan police and military." This is the worst single incident in Helmand since 10 July, when five soldiers from 2 Rifles were killed by bombs near the town of Sangin. An Afghan official in Helmand said local people believed that the gunman was sympathetic to the Taliban insurgents who have been fighting an increasingly bold campaign against Afghan and NATO forces. Advertisement Continue reading the main story An important part of the counterinsurgency strategy embraced by the United States is to train more Afghan troops and police officers to protect people, in hopes of reducing the tensions created by foreign forces and allowing them eventually to leave. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Col. Wayne Shanks, a public affairs officer for the NATO force, acknowledged that the plan entailed risks, but he called the attack on Tuesday a “very isolated incident” and said the training was already making a positive difference.
You can do one or the other. There was "very strong feeling" among the council's members over Prof Nutt's sacking, Dr King said. A second adviser to the government has resigned in protest at Home Secretary Alan Johnson's sacking of his chief drugs adviser, Prof David Nutt. HAVE YOUR SAY Scientific advisers should advise; ministers should then make decisions based on that advice... "Amongst the scientists, I think a number will resign. Bookmark with: Delicious Digg reddit Facebook StumbleUpon What are these? You can't do both." Media requires JavaScript to play. E-mail this to a friend Printable version He also said it had been upgraded from class C to class B - against the council's advice - for political reasons. E-mails printed by The Sun appeared to suggest Lord Drayson was concerned about Mr Johnson's decision. He was previously head of the Drugs Intelligence Unit in the Forensic Science Service. Prof Nutt was sacked after saying cannabis is less harmful than alcohol or nicotine. Marion Walker's departure from the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) followed the earlier resignation of Dr Les King. We have to send out a message to young people that it is simply not acceptable." Please turn on JavaScript. If governments appoint expert advice they shouldn't dismiss it so lightly Lord Robert Winston Send us your comments He warned that the government would be ignored if it gave advice to the public that did not take account of scientists' opinions and said Prof Nutt had made a "very reasonable" point about the relative dangers of illegal and legal drugs.
A second adviser to the government has resigned in protest at Home Secretary Alan Johnson's sacking of his chief drugs adviser, Prof David Nutt. Marion Walker's departure from the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) followed the earlier resignation of Dr Les King. Dr King said he would like to see the ACMD become an independent body, free from the government's influence. Mr Johnson said Prof Nutt was sacked for "crossing a line" into politics. On Sunday, Prof Nutt revealed Ms Walker, ACMD member from the Royal Pharmaceutical Society, had stepped down. However, she could not be reached for comment. I'm not going to say just how many I think might resign but there is an extremely angry feeling among most council members Dr Les King Ms Walker is clinical director of Berkshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust's substance misuse service. Prof Nutt said her departure "means we have no-one now looking at that vast group of people who prescribe drugs and advise people about drugs, drug harms from the over-the-counter and prescription side". The BBC understands that several other members of the ACMD, who are unpaid for their work on the council, are considering their positions, in response to Prof Nutt's dismissal. Prof Nutt was sacked after calling cannabis less harmful than alcohol and tobacco, and saying it was upgraded to Class B for political reasons. 'Angry feeling' The reclassification had been "on the whim of the prime minister", he claimed. HAVE YOUR SAY Scientific advisers should advise; ministers should then make decisions based on that advice... This sorry lot can't even get that right Steve, Fordingbridge, UK There was "very strong feeling" among the council's members over Prof Nutt's sacking, Dr King said. "I'm not going to say just how many I think might resign but there is an extremely angry feeling among most council members. "Amongst the scientists, I think a number will resign. It doesn't need the whole council to resign for the thing to stop working." He also said the ACMD should become independent "just as the National Institute for Clinical Excellence is separate from government and is free to make decisions, free of political interference, just as... the Bank of England is free to make decisions on interest rates. "That's what we need I think, because the classification of drugs is about drug harm. DEPARTING ADVISERS Prof David Nutt - chairman of the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs Dr Les King - part-time advisor to the Department of Health, senior chemist on ACMD Marion Walker - clinical director of Berkshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust's substance misuse service, Royal Pharmaceutical Society's representative on ACMD Send us your comments Prof Nutt has told the BBC that the council's position is "untenable". He said: "I think the position of scientists on the council's untenable, because I cannot see how Alan Johnson, given what he's just said, which clearly indicates he doesn't understand how scientists think, how scientists on council could continue to work with him." Confirming Dr King's resignation, the Home Office said in a statement: "We're not going to give a running commentary on the speculation around further resignations. Speaking to Sky News on Sunday, Mr Johnson said he thought his ex-chief drugs adviser was "wrong" on cannabis - but sacked him for "crossing a line" into politics. Mr Johnson said that Prof Nutt had "crossed the line between offering advice and then campaigning against the government on political decisions". But Labour peer Lord Robert Winston told BBC Radio 4's The World This Weekend he was "very surprised and disappointed" by Mr Johnson's actions. He warned that the government would be ignored if it gave advice to the public that did not take account of scientists' opinions and said Prof Nutt had made a "very reasonable" point about the relative dangers of illegal and legal drugs. Dr Evan Harris MP, Liberal Democrat science spokesman, said: "I fear there will be many more resignations unless the government acts to restore confidence among its independent scientific advisers, upon which it relies for advice on matters from nuclear safety to childhood vaccination." Lord Drayson is responsible for science policy across government A minister has said the removal of the government's chief drugs adviser in a row over cannabis was a "big mistake". In a leaked e-mail published by The Sun, science minister Lord Drayson said he had been "pretty appalled" by the decision to sack Professor David Nutt. Home Secretary Alan Johnson said Prof Nutt "crossed the line" in his role by campaigning against government policy. And Gordon Brown defended his removal, saying the government could not afford to send "mixed messages" on drug use. He also said it had been upgraded from class C to class B - against the council's advice - for political reasons. Prof Nutt has attacked the decision to remove him, saying it gave the impression ministers could treat advisers they disagreed with like "serfs". Two other panel members have quit in protest at Prof Nutt's exit, saying it threatens to compromise the body's independence, while other members have sought a meeting with Mr Johnson to discuss the body's future.
I thought Toyota would continue. And, historically, the car company was born out of the race team, not the other way around. Button told BBC Sport: "It's sad. Toyota's withdrawal leaves the sport with no Japanese team after Honda left F1 at the start of the 2009 season. I made the decision myself." That is why the competing teams have been asked to cut costs and the entry of independent teams has been encouraged. But the three left in - Mercedes, Ferrari and Renault - all seem to be secure for the foreseeable future. It is not, however, another nail in the coffin of Formula One. They become the third manufacturer to quit the sport in the last 11 months after BMW announced it was leaving in July. "We hope very much that Toyota will return to the world's most technologically-advanced racing competition in the not too distant future." Honda were replaced by Brawn, who went on to win this year's drivers' championship with Jenson Button and the constructors' championship. And further indication of its commitment came in the signing last month of the highly rated Polish driver Robert Kubica. Please turn on JavaScript. Trulli is tipped to join Lotus while Glock is expected to move to Renault later this week but Kobayashi's future is less clear. "Toyota's announcement demonstrates the importance of the original cost-reduction measures set out by the FIA. In July Toyota pulled out of hosting the Japanese Grand Prix at its home Fuji Speedway circuit from next year. "Toyota signed a new Concorde Agreement in the summer committing them to F1 until 2012 and so it could be possible for the team to continue in another form if the rest of the grid allow it."
The loss of another giant company from the F1 grid may help smaller, independent teams to survive and thrive in the long run Toyota's decision to quit Formula One is a sign of a 32-year low in car sales in Japan and huge losses for the world's largest motor manufacturer. If anything, the loss of another manufacturer on the heels of Honda and BMW hints at a slow return towards the smaller independent team such as Williams and Brawn with racing as its core business. When Honda quit in December 2008, Toyota were expected to follow sooner rather than later. But the racing team's signature on a new Concorde agreement – the latest document governing Formula One until the end of 2012 – indicated a serious commitment despite Toyota not having won a race since the Japanese firm's move from international rallying to Formula One in 2002. Estimates of Toyota's F1 budget vary but an annual figure of £300m would be close to an expensive mark for a team who have recorded just 13 podium finishes and, at best, fourth in the 2005 championship after 139 races. It is a sign of the huge losses at home that the Toyota Motor Corporation is willing to deal with the redundancy associated with more than 700 people at the team's headquarters in Cologne as well as facing compensation costs for breaking its commitment to stay in F1. Toyota, like Honda, struggled to make the F1 operation work thanks to a failure to understand that racing teams think on their feet rather than rely on cumbersome corporate decision-making by a committee thousands of miles away. Honda were bought out by the team management and BMW have been taken over by the mysterious Qadbak Holdings. Toyota's more complex and sprawling operation is less likely to be saved in the same way. The only good news is that Toyota's withdrawal leaves a space on the entry list for BMW to return in their new guise. Even though Toyota's F1 budget is minuscule in the firm's overall scheme of finance, motor manufacturers cannot afford to be seen to be spending money on a sport that may be considered frivolous when vast losses and redundancies are occurring within the core business. Renault are next in the firing line and Toyota's decision will underline F1's need to accelerate existing plans to cut expenditure even further. Kamui Kobayashi was set to land a full-time drive for Toyota after impressing Toyota has confirmed that it is pulling out of Formula 1 racing after posting its worst financial loss. The world's largest car manufacturer will concentrate on its core business. Toyota president Akio Toyoda said the Japanese team had no option but to pull out citing "the current severe economic realities" affecting the world. The team failed to win any of the 139 races it entered after making its F1 debut in 2002 but was fifth in the 2009 constructors' championship. Toyota's withdrawal leaves the sport with no Japanese team after Honda left F1 at the start of the 2009 season. They become the third manufacturer to quit the sport in the last 11 months after BMW announced it was leaving in July. Honda were replaced by Brawn, who went on to win this year's drivers' championship with Jenson Button and the constructors' championship. Button told BBC Sport: "It's sad. "They've obviously got their reasons, as Honda did, but it's a pity for F1 and for Toyota. In May the company revealed its worst set of figures for the last financial year - a 436.9bn yen (£2.9bn) loss in the year to 31 March, 2009 and is expecting further losses when it posts its results to September 2009 on Thursday. "It was a tough decision because we are betraying the expectations of fans," Toyoda, a racing enthusiast and grandson of Toyota's founder, added. He also ruled out supplying engines to other teams, saying: "In terms of Formula 1, we will make a complete withdrawal." Williams announced last month that it would be replacing its Toyota engine with a Cosworth for next season. We hope very much that Toyota will return to the world's most technologically-advanced racing competition in the not too distant future The Formula One Teams Association F1 governing body the FIA issued a statement in which they revealed their concern at the withdrawals of Toyota and tyre firm Bridgestone. "Toyota's decision comes just weeks after its F1 team signed the new Concorde Agreement until 2012," the statement read. "Urgent clarification is now being sought from the Toyota F1 team as to its legal position in relation to the championship. "The FIA has repeatedly warned that motor sport cannot outpace the world economic crisis. "The FIA will now work to ensure that Toyota's departure is managed in the best interests of the championship and will continue to encourage the F1 teams to undertake the necessary cost-cutting measures for the good of the sport." Former team owner and BBC pundit Eddie Jordan told BBC Sport: "I'm really disappointed that Toyota have decided to pull out. "Toyota signed a new Concorde Agreement in the summer committing them to F1 until 2012 and so it could be possible for the team to continue in another form if the rest of the grid allow it." The Formula One Teams Association issued a statement praising Toyota's "significant contribution to the success of Formula One for the past eight seasons. "We hope very much that Toyota will return to the world's most technologically-advanced racing competition in the not too distant future." Cologne-based Toyota F1's demise could pave the way for Sauber to return, after Swiss-based Qadbak Investments stepped in in September following BMW's withdrawal from the BMW Sauber team. Toyota's season promised much after long-term driver Jarno Trulli finished third in the opening race of the season in Australia and followed that with another third in Bahrain, after starting race four from pole position. But neither driver would reach the podium again until race 14 when Glock finished second behind Britain's Lewis Hamilton in Singapore, equalling the team's best finish to a race.
"And I asked him why, what was going on. "It's just been crazy," she said. Soldiers at Fort Hood are among those deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan, and some will have returned from there. It is horrifying that they should come under fire at an Army base on American soil." iReport.com: Are you there? It is not clear what motivated the attacker, named as 39-year-old military psychiatrist Major Nidal Malik Hasan. Some other bases across the US also stepped up security in the wake of the shootings. He expressed his condolences for the shooting victims. He then killed himself. Lt Gen Cone said one of the dead was a policeman and others were soldiers. A soldier who asked not to be identified told CNN that an e-mail went out to all base personnel instructing them not to speak to the media. 'Racial harassment' The gunman is now said to be wounded after being shot four times, but is in a stable condition in custody. It is located near Killeen, Texas. Fort Hood was locked down after the attack, which occurred on the same day as a graduation ceremony was due to go ahead at the facility. At the time, two soldiers stationed there had committed suicide in 2009 -- a rate well below those of other posts. Previously, he worked at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. The base has a centre that deals with combat stress. Please turn on JavaScript. Home to about 40,000 US troops, the base lies between Austin and Waco, about 60 miles (100 km) from each city.
Fort Hood, the largest base in the US, was put under lockdown in the wake of the shootings [AFP] Fort Hood, the largest base in the US, was put under lockdown in the wake of the shootings [AFP] The dead gunman had been named as Major Malik Nadal Hasan, a 39-year-old army psychiatrist. Al Jazeera's Josh Rushing, reporting from Fort Hood, said there was no indication of motive for the unprecedented attack, which he said had left an atmosphere of "shock and fear" at the base. Recent US mass shootings April 3, 2009: Jiverly Wong, a Vietnamese immigrant, opens fire at an immigrant community centre in Binghamton, New York, killing 11 immigrants and two workers. Wong killed himself at the scene March 10, 2009: Michael McLendon, 28, killed 10 people, including his Mother and four other family members in Alabama before himself committing suicide. February 14, 2008: Former student Steven Kazmierczak, 27, kills five students and wound 18 more in shooting at Northern Illinois University in DeKalb. December 5, 2007: Robert A. Hawkins, 19, opens fire in a shopping mall in Omaha, Nebraska killing eight people before taking his own life. April 16, 2007: Cho Seung-Hui, 23, kills 32 students and staff at Virginia Tech before killing himself in the deadliest mass shooting in modern US history. According to military officials, Hasan had been about to deploy overseas, although it was unclear if he was destined for Iraq or Afghanistan or when he was scheduled to leave. Fort Hood was locked down after the attack, which occurred on the same day as a graduation ceremony was due to go ahead at the facility. Some other bases across the US also stepped up security in the wake of the shootings. Christopher Hogue, chief of media at Fort Hood, told reporters: "The only one we know who was shooting was killed and he had two handguns." The alleged shooter was included in the total of 12 killed. Barack Obama, the US president, called the attack a "horrific outburst of violence". "It is horrifying that they should come under fire at an army base on American soil," he said in Washington. Patty Culhane, Al Jazeera's correspondent in Washington, said that the attack had come in spite of rigorous security protocols at the base. "At every US military base since September 11, they do something that is called '100 per cent ID check' - that means that when you pull up to the gate, there are armed soldiers and also contractors there, and you have to have a special sticker in your car," she said. If you do not have that, you have to pull over to the side, and your care is usually swept for explosives, and you need an escort. "Family members [of service personnel] do have ID, so they are allowed to go on to the base." Fort Hood is home to about 50,000 troops, although Kay Bailey Hutchison, a Texas senator, said there were about 35,000 troops at the base at the time. "Our dedicated military personnel have sacrificed so much in service to our country, and it sickens me that the men and women of Fort Hood have been subjected to this senseless, random violence," she said. A US Army major has opened fire on fellow soldiers at the Fort Hood military base in Texas, killing 13 people and injuring 30, officials say. Base commander Lt Gen Bob Cone said that the gunman had not been killed, as earlier stated, but was in custody. It is not clear what motivated the attacker, named as 39-year-old military psychiatrist Major Nidal Malik Hasan. MAJOR NIDAL MALIK HASAN US-born Muslim raised in Virginia Joined the army and trained to be a psychiatrist Treated soldiers returning from combat zones Described as a devout Muslim who attended prayers regularly Said to have been unhappy about imminent overseas deployment Profile: Major Nidal Malik Hasan President Barack Obama described it as "a horrific outburst of violence". Speaking at a press conference in Washington, he said: "It is difficult enough when we lose these brave men and women abroad, but it is horrifying that they should come under fire at an army base on US soil." He extended his condolences to the families of the victims, adding: "We will make sure that we get answers to every single question about this horrible incident." Eleven victims were initially reported dead, but two of the injured later died, bringing the death toll to 13. 'Racial harassment' The gunman is now said to be wounded after being shot four times, but is in a stable condition in custody. "His death is not imminent," said Lt Gen Cone. An official said authorities initially thought one of the victims was the shooter, causing a delay in identifying Maj Hasan as the suspect, AP reported. "He hired a military attorney to try to have the issue resolved, pay back the government, to get out of the military. He also said that Nidal Malik Hasan had been battling racial harassment because of his "Middle Eastern ethnicity". SHOOTINGS AT FORT HOOD US MILITARY BASE Shooting starts 1330 local time (1930 GMT) at Soldier Readiness Processing Center near Howze Theater where graduation ceremony is due to take place Thirteen people are killed and 30 injured Soldiers close off Howze Theater to protect about 600 people inside Gunman Major Nidal Malik Hasan is shot and detained Built in 1942, Fort Hood is the largest US base in the world, home to about 40,000 personnel and includes two museums and a lake. It has been a focus for anti-war protesters Reaction: US base shootings In pictures: Fort Hood shootings Witness' account The shooting had begun at about 1330 (1930 GMT) on Thursday at a personnel and medical centre at Fort Hood, where soldiers who are preparing to deploy go for last-minute medical check-ups, Lt Gen Cone said. He said the gunman had two weapons, one semi-automatic, which "might explain the rate of fire". Asked whether the shootings were a terrorist act, Lt Gen Cone said: "I couldn't rule that out but I'm telling you that right now, the evidence does not suggest that." A serviceman stationed at Fort Hood, who asked to remain anonymous, told the BBC: "I heard the emergency announcement over the speakers outside and saw people rushing to get indoors."
A human being should be treated as a human being, regardless of his or her religion, race or nationality," he said. Most of the report's criticism was directed towards Israel's conduct during the Gaza offensive [AFP] Most of the report's criticism was directed towards Israel's conduct during the Gaza offensive [AFP] Most of the report's criticism was directed towards Israel's conduct during the Gaza offensive [AFP] The report calls on both Israel and the Palestinians to investigate within three months accusations of human-rights violations during the 22-day conflict in December and January. Goldstone's 575-page report blamed both the Israelis and the Palestinian group Hamas for war crimes, but was more critical of Israeli troops for "targeting and terrorising civilians". The non-binding resolution passed on Thursday by the General Assembly asks Ban Ki-moon, the UN secretary-general, to pass the report to the UN Security Council. Hamas 'shocked' Various Palestinian groups and human rights bodies have reacted strongly to the PA decision to back a delay in the vote. It also said the 18 votes against the resolution, including the US, and the 44 abstentions, including many European countries, were the "moral majority". Bookmark with: Delicious Digg reddit Facebook StumbleUpon What are these? However, diplomats have said that the five permanent members of the 15-member Security Council have signalled that they are opposed to council involvement - meaning that it is unlikely that the 15-nation body would take action. But condemnation of the PA move has got louder and a Hamas legislator went to the extent of saying it amounted to "betrayal".
Most of the report's criticism was directed towards Israel's conduct during the Gaza offensive [AFP] Most of the report's criticism was directed towards Israel's conduct during the Gaza offensive [AFP] Most of the report's criticism was directed towards Israel's conduct during the Gaza offensive [AFP] The report calls on both Israel and the Palestinians to investigate within three months accusations of human-rights violations during the 22-day conflict in December and January. Most of the criticism in the Goldstone report was directed towards Israel's conduct during the offensive, in which human rights organisations say about 1,400 Palestinians - many of them women and children - were killed. Thirteen Israelis, including three civilians, were killed over the course of the war. The report concluded that Israel used disproportionate force in the war, deliberately targeting Gaza civilians, using them as human shields, and destroying civilian infrastructure. A human being should be treated as a human being, regardless of his or her religion, race or nationality," he said. Apart from Israel and the US, a number of European countries including Italy, the Netherlands, Poland and the Czech Republic, voted against the resolution. The Netherlands' representative said, however, he supported elements in the text, which sought to pursue inquiries into violations of human rights and international law. Most developing countries voted in favour of endorsing the report. Jorge Valero, Venezuela's ambassador to the UN, endorsing the report, said Israel should be brought to justice for crimes against Palestinians, and those responsible for the "operation of terror". Nassir Abdulaziz al-Nasser, Qatar's ambassador to the UN, said the Goldstone report pointed to crimes committed by the Israel that amounted to war crimes and crimes against humanity, including murder, torture and serious physical and psychological harm to civilians. 'Disproportionate and systematic' Earlier, speaking ahead of the final UN vote, Mansour said the Goldstone report had concluded that the Israeli military onslaught "was planned in all of its phases as a deliberately disproportionate and systematic attack aimed at punishing, humiliating and terrorising the Palestinian civilian population". But Daniel Carmon, Israel's deputy ambassador to the UN, told the assembly that the resolution "endorses and legitimises a deeply flawed, one-sided and prejudiced report of the discredited Human Rights Council and its politicised work that bends both fact and law". Alejandro Wolff, the US deputy ambasssador to the UN, also accused the the resolution of being flawed, saying that it failed to name Hamas, the Palestinian group that has de facto control of Gaza. However, diplomats have said that the five permanent members of the 15-member Security Council have signalled that they are opposed to council involvement - meaning that it is unlikely that the 15-nation body would take action. Israel was heavily criticised in Richard Goldstone's report into the 22-day war [File: EPA] Israel was heavily criticised in Richard Goldstone's report into the 22-day war [File: EPA] Gaza crimes More than 1,400 Palestinians, at least one-third of them women and children, were killed in the December-January conflict, when Israel attacked Gaza to ostensibly end Palestinian rockets from being intermittently fired into its territory. Ten Israeli soldiers and three Israeli civilians were killed during the 22-day conflict. Goldstone's 575-page report blamed both the Israelis and the Palestinian group Hamas for war crimes, but was more critical of Israeli troops for "targeting and terrorising civilians". Of its 31 chapters, only one related to alleged war crimes by Palestinian fighters. While Hamas has already promised investigations, Israel has been loath to undertake any such exercise, fuelling accusations that Tel Aviv is indifferent to "excesses committed by its troops". Hamas 'shocked' Various Palestinian groups and human rights bodies have reacted strongly to the PA decision to back a delay in the vote. "Is it reasonable for Israel to commit all these crimes against Gaza, all this destruction, all this devastation, all this killing of civilians, all these institutions, mosques, and universities it has demolished, these war crimes which Israel has committed and the white phosphorus? "We wanted this process to be carried through to label the Israeli actions as criminal and the Israelis as war criminals" Sameh Habeeb, Palestine Telegraph founder and editor "... after this a Palestinian voice emerges and asks for delaying looking into the results reached by the fact-finding committee, despite the few reservations we have on it, but a Palestinian voice comes to ask the world to postpone discussing it? It said the move underlined "the Palestinian Authority's defeatism, lack of will and inability to shoulder responsibility towards the suffering of our people". Nimr Hamad, an aide to Abbas, said: "The report wasn't withdrawn ... But condemnation of the PA move has got louder and a Hamas legislator went to the extent of saying it amounted to "betrayal". "This ... represents a betrayal of the Palestinian cause and confirms the extent of the collaboration between Abbas and his aides with the Zionist enemy, against the Palestinian people," Mushir al-Masri said. Mustafa Barghouti, a member of the Palestinian Legislative Council, said that the move "was totally unacceptable, unjustified..." "There is no justification for postponing the approval of that report and all human rights organisation, most political organisations in Palestine are against that decision. Sameh Habeeb, founder and editor of the Palestine Telegraph online newspaper, told Al Jazeera that an opportunity had been missed to raise awareness about "Israeli crimes". "We appreciate the decision to defer consideration of the Goldstone report,"Esther Brimmer, the US assistant-secretary of state for international organisation affairs, said. An Israeli foreign ministry statement called the UN endorsement "completely detached from realities on the ground". Human shields The resolution's wording asks Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to report on its implementation to the General Assembly within three months, "with a view to considering further action, if necessary, by the relevant United Nations organs and bodies", and to send the report to the Security Council. The Goldstone report accuses Israel of deliberately targeting civilians UN seeks close Gaza scrutiny Key extracts from UN statement Full UN report on Gaza war The Goldstone report concluded that Israel had "committed actions amounting to war crimes, possibly crimes against humanity" by using disproportionate force, deliberately targeting civilians, using Palestinians as human shields and destroying civilian infrastructure during its Gaza offensive. It also found there was evidence that Palestinian militant groups - including Hamas, which controls Gaza - had committed war crimes, and possibly crimes against humanity, in their repeated rocket and mortars attacks on southern Israel.
Fifth, China will further enhance cooperation with Africa in agriculture. ・"The Chinese people cherish sincere friendship towards the African people," said the premier. Wen announced the measures while addressing the opening ceremony of the Fourth Ministerial Conference of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) in the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh. "Our economic and trade cooperation has vast potentials and bright prospects. China would build 50 schools and train 1,500 school principals and teachers for African countries. He said that the both sides were in the critical stage of development. (Xinhua/Li Tao) Photo Gallery>>> The eight new measures, succeeding the eight measures put forward by Chinese President Hu Jintao at the landmark Beijing Summit of the FOCAC in 2006, are aimed at pushing forward China-Africa cooperation in the next three years. China would increase the number of its agricultural technology demonstration centers in Africa to 20, send 50 agricultural technology teams to Africa and train 2,000 agricultural technology personnel for Africa, in order to help boost the continent's food security. China will also provide more interest-free, or concessional and commercial loans to African countries and guide Chinese enterprises to shoulder more social responsibilities. Several heads of state and government are attending the meeting, including the Presidents of Sudan and Zimbabwe. China would phase in zero-tariff treatment to 95 percent of the products from the least developed African countries having diplomatic relations with China, starting with 60 percent of the products within 2010. Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao speaks during the 3rd Conference of Chinese, African Entrepreneurs in the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh on Nov. 7, 2009.
China has cultivated strong economic ties with Africa China has pledged to give Africa $10bn (£6bn) in concessional loans over the next three years, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao has said at a summit in Egypt. The Chinese leader is attending a two-day forum on China-Africa cooperation in Sharm el-Sheikh, attended by officials from 50 nations. "We will help Africa build up financing capacity," Mr Wen told the summit. Several heads of state and government are attending the meeting, including the Presidents of Sudan and Zimbabwe. Egypt's President Hosni Mubarak inaugurated the forum, the fourth of its kind, and spoke of "peace, security and growth," and of "boosting cooperation between China and Africa." Mr Wen also said China is planning to create environmental programmes for Africa, including 100 clean energy projects. Advertisement The West has previously accused China of plundering Africa's natural resources - to fuel its booming economy - and of overlooking the human rights records of some governments they do business with. In the run up to the summit, China's state owned Global Times newspaper wrote "The West is envious of China and Africa drawing closer," and quoted one Chinese Africa expert as saying "Europeans view Africa as their own backyard." China pledged $5bn (£3bn) of assistance at the last cooperation summit in Beijing in 2006, and signed agreements to relieve or cancel the debt of more than 30 African countries. SHARM EL-SHEIKH, Egypt, Nov. 8 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao vowed to further China-Africa economic and trade cooperation during the 3rd Conference of Chinese and African Entrepreneurs held on Saturday afternoon in the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh. He said past practices had proved that the traditional friendship between China and Africa was "unbreakable," and their economic and trade cooperation was based on equality and mutual benefit. He said that the both sides were in the critical stage of development. Common interests are expanding and mutual needs are increasing between the two sides, he added. "Our economic and trade cooperation has vast potentials and bright prospects. We should actively increase and broaden our economic and trade ties and raise them to a higher level in accordance with the principles of equality and mutual benefit, emphasis on practical results, diversity in form and seeking common development," he said. First, the two sides should make efforts to further enlarge scales of bilateral trade. For the Chinese side, he said the country was ready to provide greater market access to African products, and gradually extend zero-tariff treatment to the vast majority of products from the least developed African countries. Meanwhile, the Chinese government will continue to encourage Chinese companies to import African products and strengthen bilateral cooperation in finance, telecommunication and tourism among other sectors. Secondly, the two sides should enhance investment cooperation. "China will continue to encourage capable and reputable Chinese companies to invest and start businesses in Africa." The premier said China would actively promote the construction of China-Africa economic and trade cooperation zone and strengthen cooperation in energy exploration. China will also provide more interest-free, or concessional and commercial loans to African countries and guide Chinese enterprises to shoulder more social responsibilities. At the same time, it will pay greater attention to the optimization of the assistance projects structure, the welfare of the African people and the technology transfer to the African countries. Egyptian Prime Minister Ahmed Nazef, also attending the conference, said China served as Africa's important cooperative partner. African countries appreciate China's long-term support and help, and are willing to deepen their friendship and cooperation with China. In the circumstances of combating the global economic crisis, the cooperation between enterprises of both sides is especially important, which not only injected new energy into their respective economic development but also laid a more solid foundation for the long-term development of China-Africa relations, he said. The 3rd Conference of Chinese and African Entrepreneurs is part of a series of meetings held prior to the fourth ministerial meeting of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC), which runs from Nov. 8 to 9. (Xinhua/Li Tao) Photo Gallery>>> SHARM EL-SHEIKH, Egypt, Nov. 7 (Xinhua) -- The 3rd Conference of Chinese and African Entrepreneurs was held on Saturday afternoon in the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh. ・Premier Wen announced eight new measures to enhance co-op with Africa in the next 3 years. SHARM EL-SHEIKH, Egypt, Nov. 8 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao on Sunday announced eight new measures the Chinese government will take to strengthen China-Africa cooperation in the next three years. "The Chinese people cherish sincere friendship towards the African people, and China's support to Africa's development is concrete and real," said the premier. "Whatever change may take place in the world ... our policy of supporting Africa's economic and social development will not change," Wen said. China has decided to build 100 clean energy projects for Africa covering solar power, bio-gas and small hydro-power. China would increase the number of its agricultural technology demonstration centers in Africa to 20, send 50 agricultural technology teams to Africa and train 2,000 agricultural technology personnel for Africa, in order to help boost the continent's food security.
The boat had to counterattack, it said. The North Korean vessel then fired back. South Korea issued a statement after the skirmish saying it had suffered no casualties. Seoul's military has also demanded an apology for the incident. The North has never accepted the border, and there were deadly naval clashes in 1999 and 2002 . Another defense official told the news agency that South Korea was not ruling out "the possibility that the clash may have been accidental." The reclusive Communist state pulled out of nuclear talks in April to protest the United Nations' condemnation over its nuclear test and missile launches. Officials in Seoul say the South Korean vessel opened fire when the Northern ship crossed a disputed sea border. The two Koreas accused each other of violating territorial waters, provoking the fierce two-minute skirmish. It was the first border fighting in seven years between the countries, which technically remain at war after fighting in the 1950-3 Korean War ended in a truce rather than a permanent peace treaty. Nine incursions had been reported this year through September, according to Yonhap. It claims a maritime borderline far below the Northern Limit Line. In the fighting in 2002, one South Korean patrol boat was sunk and six South Korean sailors were killed. The clash underlined the instability in the region just days before President Obama begins a weeklong visit to Asia. Bookmark with: Delicious Digg reddit Facebook StumbleUpon What are these? Washington has indicated that it would start bilateral talks with the North to persuade it to return to six-nation talks about ending its nuclear weapons program. Since 2001, North Korean vessels have crossed the NLL 65 times, though most of these incidents do not turn violent.
SEOUL, South Korea North and South Korean naval vessels exchanged fire in disputed waters off the western coast of the Korean Peninsula on Tuesday, leaving one North Korean vessel engulfed in flames, South Korean officials said. One North Korean sailor was killed and three others injured, according to MBC, a South Korean television station. The South Korean defense minister, Kim Tae-young, told Parliament that he could not confirm the report. The two Koreas accused each other of violating territorial waters, provoking the fierce two-minute skirmish. It was the first border fighting in seven years between the countries, which technically remain at war after fighting in the 1950-3 Korean War ended in a truce rather than a permanent peace treaty. The clash underlined the instability in the region just days before President Obama begins a weeklong visit to Asia. North Korea’s nuclear weapons program will be a leading topic not only when Mr. Obama meets with the South Korean president, Lee Myung-bak, in Seoul next week but also during bilateral talks that American officials say they will begin soon with the North. Ahead of those talks, North Korea may have intended for the clash to highlight its longstanding argument that the war between the Koreas from 1950-53 never officially ended and that the United States must negotiate a peace treaty if it wants North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons program, according to analysts in Seoul. “Our high-speed patrol boat repelled the North Korean patrol boat,” read the statement, which was issued by the South Korean Office of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. “We are fully prepared for further provocations from the North Korean military.” Speaking in Parliament, Prime Minister Chung Un-chan said the North Korean boat limped back to its waters “enveloped in flames.” Hours later, North Korea demanded an apology from the South for a “grave armed provocation.” According to South Korean officials, fighting erupted when a 215-ton North Korean vessel ventured across the so-called Northern Limit Line, a sea border drawn by the United Nations at the end of the war. Those moves were seen variously as an attempt to grab American attention or as a bargaining ploy to win food aid from the South. Two 130-ton South Korean navy boats issued five warning broadcasts, then fired warning shots when they were ignored, officials said. “It was then that the North Korean patrol boat attacked our high-speed patrol boat,” said Lee Ki-shik, a South Korean military spokesman. The North Korean vessel then fired 50 rounds at a South Korean patrol boat about two miles away, causing light damage, Mr. Lee said. The two South Korean vessels responded with 200 shots, officials said. North Korea said its patrol boat was returning to its base after checking for an “unidentified intruder” in its territorial waters when South Korean vessels gave chase and opened fire from behind. “The fleet of South Korean navy ships quickly took flight,” the North Korean military said in a statement carried by the North’s state-run news agency, K.C.N.A. The fighting took place near Daecheong, an island about 18 miles off the North Korean coast that is held by South Korea. The disputed waters remain the most volatile section of the Korean border, with North Korea regularly sending military vessels into waters claimed by South Korea and warning that a skirmish there could lead to a full-blown war. This year alone, North Korean naval vessels have violated South Korean-held waters more than 20 times but had previously retreated when South Korea broadcast warnings. Prime Minister Chung called the clash “accidental.” But the fact that the North Korean boat ignored the warnings this time and opened fire first indicated that the skirmish was intended to dramatize military tensions ahead of Mr. Obama’s visit, said Yoo Ho-yeol, a North Korea expert at Korea University in Seoul. “This is a low-intensity military maneuver to show that Korea remains a conflict zone and that the United States needs to talk to the North for a peace treaty,” Mr. Yoo said. “The best place to do that is the western sea.” Another possibility, he said, is that the hard-line North Korean military might also have decided to stage a limited clash to express its discomfort with Pyongyang’s recent conciliatory gestures toward Washington and Seoul. Officials in Seoul say the South Korean vessel opened fire when the Northern ship crossed a disputed sea border. Northern limit In the North's version of events, a patrol boat was on a mission to confirm "an unidentified object" on the North's side of the border, and while it was sailing back, South Korean ships chased it and opened fire in a "grave armed provocation". The North Korean vessel "lost no time to deal a prompt retaliatory blow at the provokers", KCNA said. In October, North Korea's navy accused South Korea of sending warships across their maritime border to stir tensions, and warned that further incursions could spark retaliations. The communist state's navy said that on one day alone, ships had crossed the boundary 10 times. PREVIOUS CLASHES 1996: A North Korean submarine runs aground in South Korean waters 1998: South Korea captures a North Korean mini-submarine in its waters 1999: At least 17 North Korean sailors believed killed in naval fire fight 2002: Four South Korean sailors and an estimated 30 North Koreans killed in a naval battle Both Koreas are part of the Six Party Talks process designed to end North Korea's nuclear weapons programme.
I reassured them that was not the case." Following the meeting, Dr Campbell, Dr John Marsden, and pharmaceutical consultant Ian Ragan resigned. "I understand why the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs was concerned about this, said Mr Johnson. Prof Nutt criticised the reclassification of cannabis Three more government advisers have resigned after the home secretary's sacking of his chief drugs adviser Prof David Nutt, the BBC has learned. Members of the council had met Alan Johnson seeking reassurance that their independence would not be compromised. Bookmark with: Delicious Digg reddit Facebook StumbleUpon What are these? But he stood by his decision to dismiss Professor Nutt. Dr Campbell is a synthetic organic chemist who received a CBE for services to science. The drug was upgraded from Class C to B last year even though the Council opposed the move. The Home Office confirmed the ACMD had to have 20 members to remain quorate, and that six positions had to be filled for the advisory group to function. E-mail this to a friend Printable version At my meeting we talked constructively about the future, about what we can do to reassure the science community that their decisions are important to us and they are given due weight." FROM THE TODAY PROGRAMME Please turn on JavaScript. Free from influence Clinical director Marion Walker and Dr Les King were the first to resign following the row. Mr Johnson said Prof Nutt had "crossed the line between offering advice and then campaigning against the government on political decisions". 'Big problem' He said the remaining 25 members still had outstanding concerns and Mr Johnson was presented with "a big problem".
Alan Johnson failed in an attempt to defuse the damaging row between the Government and Britain's top scientists after three more of his drugs advisers resigned last night. The Home Secretary suffered a setback when another three members of the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs resigned despite his efforts to reassure them in more than an hour of peace talks that the Government would respect the independence of its expert advisers. The growing rift between ministers and the scientific community was sparked by Mr Johnson's decision to sack the body's chairman, Professor David Nutt, for allegedly campaigning against the Government's decision to upgrade cannabis to a Class B drug. Another two members of the 31-strong council, Marion Walker and Dr Les King, resigned in protest and they were joined by three more members last night, leaving the group without experts in key areas of expertise. Chemist Dr Simon Campbell, psychologist Dr John Marsden and scientific consultant Ian Ragan quit after arguing unsuccessfully for Professor Nutt to be reinstated. Allies of Mr Johnson said they were saddened by the resignations but insisted the Council was still viable and that most of its members wanted to carry on their vital work. It is believed the Council was divided after yesterday's tense session with Mr Johnson. Some members wanted to accept his safeguards over their future work but others remained unhappy, accusing the Government of prejudging the review of cannabis ordered by Gordon Brown when he became Prime Minister. The drug was upgraded from Class C to B last year even though the Council opposed the move. The Home Secretary promised his drug advisers yesterday that their views will be given "due weight" in future and acknowledged the need to improve relations with the Council. "Its major concern was because they felt Professor Nutt was being dismissed for his views. He added: "There is a duty I think to accept that politicians make the final decision. At my meeting we talked constructively about the future, about what we can do to reassure the science community that their decisions are important to us and they are given due weight." Evan Harris, the Liberal Democrats' science spokesman, said: "The latest resignations represent a deepening in the crisis of confidence of scientists in the Government – in particular in the Home Secretary. That they come after Alan Johnson met the ACMD demonstrates that he just doesn't get it when it comes to the importance of respecting the academic freedom and integrity of independent, unpaid science advisers." Mr Johnson said a joint code between government and scientists, proposed by the Royal Society, was being considered by Mr Brown and the Government's chief scientific adviser. In a joint statement released by the Home Office, the meeting was described as "very constructive". It said: "The Home Secretary emphasised the value he placed on ACMD's advice, the important contribution the ACMD had made to government drugs policy in the past and how he expected it to continue do so in the future." Dr Campbell has received a CBE for services to science Political expediency "rules the roost" over scientific advice, one of the three latest government drug advisers to resign has told BBC News. He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "When we made our recommendation on cannabis we saw no reason to change the classification and yet the government has already decided to move from Class C to Class B." "That can only be because the government saw it as a votes-catching exercise." "The misuse of drugs is incredibly important, which is why as unpaid volunteers, we're prepared to put our time in and hopefully the government will take notice," he said. Explaining why he had resigned, he said: "I do not accept the reasons given for Professor Nutt's dismissal, that was a clash of personalities. Such an abrupt dismissal was a humiliation for such a respected scientist." "I sent a formal letter to the home secretary late last night, but I'm dismayed my resignation was on the BBC news as soon as I got home." BBC home affairs editor Mark Easton said their absence meant the council was "stymied" and was effectively now unable to operate under its current constitution. He added the remaining 25 members still had outstanding concerns and Mr Johnson had been presented with "a big problem". Prof Nutt criticised the reclassification of cannabis Three more government advisers have resigned after the home secretary's sacking of his chief drugs adviser Prof David Nutt, the BBC has learned. BBC home affairs editor Mark Easton said the absence of certain experts on the council meant it was "stymied" and effectively was now unable to operate under its current constitution. ACMD'S REQUIRED POSTS Medicine (other than veterinary medicine) Dentistry Veterinary medicine Pharmacy Pharmaceutical industry Chemistry (other than pharmaceutical chemistry) Mark Easton: Johnson miscalculated The Home Office confirmed that the ACMD had to have 20 members to remain quorate, and that six positions had to be filled for the advisory group to function. Earlier the home secretary said he stood by the decision to remove Prof Nutt but wanted to improve relations with the council, saying he would give "due weight" to their views in the future.
No I don't. No I'm not," said Catherine Ashton. "Am I an ego on legs? The European Union has chosen its first full-time president - Belgian Prime Minister Herman Van Rompuy. Mr Barroso said Mr Van Rompuy's appointment was "a tribute to Belgium", noting Belgium's key role as host of the EU's main institutions. "Europe is bigger than the United States, its richer than the United States, it gives more to the developing world than the United States by far. "I would consider it [the UK] one of the winners of these negotiations as they have got perhaps the most important position with the foreign minister." What do you think of the European Council appointments - have the best people been chosen? "I was the first woman British commissioner, the first woman trade commissioner, so I am also proud to be the first woman High Representative," she said. Your comments may be published on any BBC media worldwide. Earlier, the UK government had said it was no longer pushing for former PM Tony Blair to get the presidency post. It will ensure that Britain remains at the heart of Europe." Going into the meeting the leaders had various candidates to choose from. "Every country should emerge victorious from negotiations," he told a news conference after his appointment. "I think there were many names on the shortlist that fitted the job description a bit better and I am afraid that this is one more case in which horse-trading has prevailed. Their selection indicates a preference for a low-key start to these new jobs.
Mr Van Rompuy was widely tipped, but Baroness Ashton was not EU leaders have chosen the Belgian Prime Minister, Herman van Rompuy, to be the first permanent European Council President. The other top job created by the Lisbon Treaty - foreign affairs supremo - has gone to the EU Trade Commissioner, Baroness Catherine Ashton from the UK. Both are seen as consensual politicians with limited foreign policy experience. Both had unanimous backing from the 27 EU leaders at the summit in Brussels, UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown said. Earlier, the UK government had said it was no longer pushing for former PM Tony Blair to get the presidency post. Media requires JavaScript to play. "Every country should emerge victorious from negotiations," he told a news conference after his appointment. "Even if unity remains our strength, our diversity remains our wealth," he said, stressing the individuality of EU member states. Baroness Ashton, 53, said she felt "deeply privileged" to get the foreign affairs post. "I was the first woman British commissioner, the first woman trade commissioner, so I am also proud to be the first woman High Representative," she said. "I think there was a strong push to have at least one woman in a senior position," she told the BBC later, adding that she hoped Europe would become "an economic superpower". US President Barack Obama said the appointments would "strengthen the EU and enable it to be an even stronger partner to the United States". "The United States has no stronger partner than Europe in advancing security and prosperity around the world," the White House said in a statement. UK shifts stance Earlier, a UK government spokesman revealed the dramatic twist in the British position. ANALYSIS Jonny Dymond, BBC News, Brussels Against all expectations this deal was done in a matter of hours, the pre-summit deadlock broken by British Prime Minister Gordon Brown. His decision to abandon Tony Blair's bid for the new post of President of the European Council meant the field was left clear for the Belgian prime minister, Herman van Rompuy. It also meant that he could bag for a Briton the second job of the night - one arguably more important and probably higher-profile - that of High Representative, something close to a foreign minister for Europe. In quotes: Van Rompuy's vision Reaction to Rompuy appointment Send us your comments The UK persuaded the other six leaders in the socialist group to back Baroness Ashton, having dropped Tony Blair. EU leaders met in Brussels especially to select their first full-time president and the High Representative for Foreign Affairs - new posts created by the Lisbon Treaty, which will come into force on 1 December. The idea under Lisbon is to give the EU more coherence and continuity in key policy areas. Up until now the presidency has been held by member states in turn, on a six-month rotation. Drive for consensus Mr Brown praised Mr Van Rompuy as "a consensus builder" who had "brought a period of political stability to his country after months of uncertainty". Turning to Baroness Ashton's appointment, he said "it gives Britain a powerful voice within the Council and the [EU] Commission. He is camera-shy, a man who some refer to as the "grey mouse" BBC Europe editor Gavin Hewitt Read Gavin's thoughts in full "It will ensure that Britain's voice is very loud and clear. It will ensure that Britain remains at the heart of Europe." Baroness Ashton "is the first woman to hold such a high position in the EU," he added. Commenting on the choice, European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said: "It's so important that Britain remains at the heart of the European project." The foreign policy chief will have a seat as vice-president of the European Commission, as well as a budget worth billions of euros and a new diplomatic service of up to 5,000 people. THE PRESIDENT'S ROLE Chosen by 27 member states by qualified majority vote Two-and-a-half-year term Can be re-elected once Chairs EU summits Drives forward the work of EU Council of Ministers Facilitates cohesion and consensus Represents the EU on the world stage Profiles of new appointees They were reported to be striving for a balance in the two posts, with one filled by a candidate from one of the bigger EU states, the other from a smaller country. Mr Barroso said Mr Van Rompuy's appointment was "a tribute to Belgium", noting Belgium's key role as host of the EU's main institutions. Britain dropped its bid to to get Tony Blair, the former UK prime minister, appointed to the presidency earlier in the day after it became clear that centre-right countries, who dominate the EU, were determined that the role should go to someone from their group. "When it became clear that because of the various political considerations and varying views among the rest of the members, then the prime minister made the forceful step of proposing Catherine Ashton for the high representative's position," a spokesman for Gordon Brown, the British prime minister, said. Presidential role Thursday's debate over the appointments had focused over what role the president of the European Council should play, with many arguing that the role should go to a technocrat who can build unity and consensus. The Lisbon Treaty which created the new post was vague on its powers and obligations, saying simply that the president should "drive forward" the EU's work.
While Democrats won the vote to begin debate, passage of the bill is not certain. But Republican Senate leader Mitch McConnell said he would continue to oppose the motion. A White House spokesman said President Obama was "gratified that the Senate has acted to begin consideration of health insurance reform legislation". The legislation - designed to secure coverage for millions of uninsured Americans - could lead to the biggest changes in US healthcare in decades, if approved. The House of Representatives narrowly passed its own version of the reforms earlier this month. All but one of 40 Republican senators voted against. That gave the Democrats the 60 votes they needed to move the measure forward. Mr Reid's bill differs to the House bill in that he calls for an increase of a half percentage point in Medicare payroll tax for people with an income of over $200,000 (£119,779) per annum - rising to $250,000 (£149,724) for couples. During the day Saturday, two moderate Democrats announced they would support the move during a rare Saturday session. Bookmark with: Delicious Digg reddit Facebook StumbleUpon What are these? Analysts say the plan also would reduce U.S. deficits by nearly $130 billion in the same period. Large companies would be required by law to provide coverage to staff. Some moderate Democrats have signaled strong opposition to components of the bill, including a government-run option to compete with private insurers. Sen Nelson said on Friday he would back the procedural vote, but Senators Lincoln and Landrieu declared themselves available only hours before it was due to take place. The legislation aims to extend health care coverage to millions of uninsured people, prevent insurance companies from denying benefits, and limit the growth of spending on medical care.
The U.S. Senate, by a vote of 60 to 39, has decided to begin debate on legislation crafted by majority Democrats to reform the country's health care system. The measure, opposed by Republican senators, was voted on late Saturday. The legislation aims to extend health care coverage to millions of uninsured people, prevent insurance companies from denying benefits, and limit the growth of spending on medical care. In the rare Saturday Senate session, opposition Republicans criticized the bill, saying it would drive up the cost of insurance and add to the nation's deficit. In a statement, Gibbs said the president looks forward to a thorough and productive debate. While Democrats won the vote to begin debate, passage of the bill is not certain. Some moderate Democrats have signaled strong opposition to components of the bill, including a government-run option to compete with private insurers. However, the Senate version does allow states to opt out of the public option. The Congressional Budget Office said the Senate bill unveiled Wednesday would cost $849 billion over the next decade. Analysts say the plan also would reduce U.S. deficits by nearly $130 billion in the same period. If the bill passes, it would have to be merged with one passed earlier this month by the House of Representatives. The House narrowly approved its bill on a sharply divided vote of 220 to 215. "Although I don't agree with everything in this bill, I have concluded that I believe that it is more important that we begin this debate to improve our nation's healthcare system for all Americans ...," Lincoln said. "It is a vote to move forward to continue the good and essential and important and imperative work that is underway," she said. Republican opposition Earlier this month, the House of Representatives, the country's lower house of congress, narrowly approved the $1.1 trillion measure after hours of debate. But senate Democrats need all their 60 senators to back the bill if it is to pass the 100-seat body, where it is facing Republican opposition. Once the senate takes up the bill, the debate could last at least three weeks, after which, if passed, legislators would reconcile the bill with the House of Representatives version and vote to send it to Barack Obama, the US president.Republicans have been united in their opposition to the bill and have said that, if it was passed, it would open the door for an expensive government takeover of healthcare.The bill stipulates that all Americans have to obtain health insurance and creates a government-backed insurance plan, popularly known as a "public option".It would bar insurers from excluding people for so called pre-existing conditions and for charging more based on medical history.Most employers would have to offer coverage to their workers - though some small businesses would be exempt and the government would offer subsidies.The US is the only industrialised democracy that does not ensure that all of its citizens have healthcare coverage.However, Washington spends vastly more on healthcare - both per person and as a share of national income as measured by gross domestic product - than other industrialised democracies. The US Senate has narrowly voted to hold a full debate on a landmark bill designed to overhaul the country's healthcare. Two Democratic senators whose support had been in doubt earlier said they would back the package, a key election pledge of President Barack Obama. The legislation - designed to secure coverage for millions of uninsured Americans - could lead to the biggest changes in US healthcare in decades, if approved. Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid says his $849bn (£508bn) bill would extend coverage to another 31 million people, or 94% of eligible citizens. The legislation, which was outlined in a 2,074-page document, is said by Democratic aides to reduce deficits by $127bn (£76bn) over a decade and by as much as $650bn (£389bn) in the 10 years after that. NEXT STEPS 30 Nov - Senators return from Thanksgiving recess to debate and propose amendments to the bill At least three weeks later - Senators vote on final bill If passed, conference committee set up to reconcile Senate and House bills Both chambers vote on final version If passed, President Obama signs bill into law Q&A: US healthcare reform The US health system 'headache' US healthcare: Who wants what? A White House spokesman said President Obama was "gratified that the Senate has acted to begin consideration of health insurance reform legislation". "Tonight's historic vote brings us one step closer to ending insurance company abuses, reining in spiralling health care costs, providing stability and security to those with health insurance, and extending quality health coverage to those who lack it," said Robert Gibbs. Speaking after the vote, Mr Reid said he was looking forward to the coming debate and to "finally bringing quality health care to the American people". Efforts to get the vote passed had focused on three centrist Democrats - Ben Nelson of Nebraska, Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas and Mary Landrieu of Louisiana - who expressed doubts about the bill. 'Deep reservations' After confirming her support, Sen Lincoln said that it was important to start debating the issue and that Saturday's vote would "mark the beginning of consideration of this bill by the US Senate, not the end". The bill will face stiff opposition inside and outside Congress Under the Senate bill, most Americans would have to have health insurance, while private insurers would be banned from refusing to provide insurance because applicants had pre-existing medical conditions. Mr Reid's bill differs to the House bill in that he calls for an increase of a half percentage point in Medicare payroll tax for people with an income of over $200,000 (£119,779) per annum - rising to $250,000 (£149,724) for couples.
Dr. Jones, writing in an e-mail message, declined to be interviewed. But he added that he thought the revelations might backfire against climate skeptics. "We are aware that information from a server used for research information in one area of the university has been made available on public websites," the spokesman stated. Dr. Trenberth said Friday that he was appalled at the release of the e-mail messages. Some of the correspondence portrays the scientists as feeling under siege by the skeptics’ camp and worried that any stray comment or data glitch could be turned against them. The evidence pointing to a growing human contribution to global warming is so widely accepted that the hacked material is unlikely to erode the overall argument. Mr Cluley added that universities were vulnerable to attacks by hackers because so many people required access to IT systems. E-mails reportedly from the University of East Anglia's Climatic Research Unit (CRU), including personal exchanges, appeared on the internet on Thursday. Through the last century, tree rings and thermometers show a consistent rise in temperature until 1960, when some tree rings, for unknown reasons, no longer show that rise, while the thermometers continue to do so until the present. However, the documents will undoubtedly raise questions about the quality of research on some specific questions and the actions of some scientists. “Science doesn’t work because we’re all nice,” said Gavin A. Schmidt, a climatologist at NASA whose e-mail exchanges with colleagues over a variety of climate studies were in the cache. The first posts that revealed details from the files appeared Thursday at The Air Vent, a Web site devoted to skeptics’ arguments.
The scientific community is buzzing over thousands of emails and documents -- posted on the Internet last week after being hacked from a prominent climate-change research center -- that some say raise ethical questions about a group of scientists who contend humans are responsible for global warming. The correspondence between dozens of climate-change researchers, including many in the U.S., illustrates bitter feelings among those who... Hundreds of private e-mail messages and documents hacked from a computer server at a British university are causing a stir among global warming skeptics, who say they show that climate scientists conspired to overstate the case for a human influence on climate change. The e-mail messages, attributed to prominent American and British climate researchers, include discussions of scientific data and whether it should be released, exchanges about how best to combat the arguments of skeptics, and casual comments in some cases derisive about specific people known for their skeptical views. Drafts of scientific papers and a photo collage that portrays climate skeptics on an ice floe were also among the hacked data, some of which dates back 13 years. In one e-mail exchange, a scientist writes of using a statistical “trick” in a chart illustrating a recent sharp warming trend. In another, a scientist refers to climate skeptics as “idiots.” Some skeptics asserted Friday that the correspondence revealed an effort to withhold scientific information. “This is not a smoking gun; this is a mushroom cloud,” said Patrick J. Michaels, a climatologist who has long faulted evidence pointing to human-driven warming and is criticized in the documents. Some of the correspondence portrays the scientists as feeling under siege by the skeptics’ camp and worried that any stray comment or data glitch could be turned against them. The evidence pointing to a growing human contribution to global warming is so widely accepted that the hacked material is unlikely to erode the overall argument. However, the documents will undoubtedly raise questions about the quality of research on some specific questions and the actions of some scientists. In several e-mail exchanges, Kevin Trenberth, a climatologist at the National Center for Atmospheric Research, and other scientists discuss gaps in understanding of recent variations in temperature. Skeptic Web sites pointed out one line in particular: “The fact is that we can’t account for the lack of warming at the moment and it is a travesty that we can’t,” Dr. Trenberth wrote. The cache of e-mail messages also includes references to journalists, including this reporter, and queries from journalists related to articles they were reporting. Officials at the University of East Anglia confirmed in a statement on Friday that files had been stolen from a university server and that the police had been brought in to investigate the breach. But several scientists and others contacted by The New York Times confirmed that they were the authors or recipients of specific e-mail messages included in the file. The revelations are bound to inflame the public debate as hundreds of negotiators prepare to negotiate an international climate accord at meetings in Copenhagen next month, and at least one scientist speculated that the timing was not coincidental. But he added that he thought the revelations might backfire against climate skeptics. He said that he thought that the messages showed “the integrity of scientists.” Still, some of the comments might lend themselves to being interpreted as sinister. In a 1999 e-mail exchange about charts showing climate patterns over the last two millenniums, Phil Jones, a longtime climate researcher at the East Anglia Climate Research Unit, said he had used a “trick” employed by another scientist, Michael Mann, to “hide the decline” in temperatures. He said the choice of words by his colleague was poor but noted that scientists often used the word “trick” to refer to a good way to solve a problem, “and not something secret.” At issue were sets of data, both employed in two studies. One data set showed long-term temperature effects on tree rings; the other, thermometer readings for the past 100 years. Through the last century, tree rings and thermometers show a consistent rise in temperature until 1960, when some tree rings, for unknown reasons, no longer show that rise, while the thermometers continue to do so until the present. Dr. Mann explained that the reliability of the tree-ring data was called into question, so they were no longer used to track temperature fluctuations. In addition, other independent but indirect measurements of temperature fluctuations in the studies broadly agreed with the thermometer data showing rising temperatures. Stephen McIntyre, a blogger who on his Web site, climateaudit.org, has for years been challenging data used to chart climate patterns, and who came in for heated criticism in some e-mail messages, called the revelations “quite breathtaking.” But several scientists whose names appear in the e-mail messages said they merely revealed that scientists were human, and did nothing to undercut the body of research on global warming. At first, said Dr. Michaels, the climatologist who has faulted some of the science of the global warming consensus, his instinct was to ignore the correspondence as “just the way scientists talk.” But on Friday, he said that after reading more deeply, he felt that some exchanges reflected an effort to block the release of data for independent review. Experts warn that universities' e-mail systems are vulnerable to attacks The e-mail system of one of the world's leading climate research units has been breached by hackers. Researchers at CRU, one of the world's leading research bodies on natural and human-induced climate change, played a key role in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's (IPCC) Fourth Assessment Report, which is considered to be the most authoritative report of its kind. 'Inside information' Graham Cluley, a computer security expert, suggested that December's key climate summit in Copenhagen, which has made headlines around the world, could have increased the university's profile as a possible target among hackers.
"Now most Palestinians, if not all, feel let down." Israel's prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, proposed a 10-month freeze on new West Bank settlement construction. On the issue of Jerusalem, he said there will be no change to Israel's existing policy. He called it an important step toward peace. Palestinians say the settlements deny them the possibility of a viable state by cutting off Palestinian areas from each other. Palestinians have criticized the plan in part because it does not include a halt to building in East Jerusalem. On Wednesday, Washington praised Mr. Netanyahu's announcement. "A lot of people really believed his statements and his promises that the Obama administration would be balanced and that it would really seek a firm start to a political process that would lead to Palestinian statehood within two years. The move angered some of his domestic allies. The Israeli leader said his plan will allow for what his government calls "natural growth," which includes completing settlement construction that is already underway. "It is impossible to freeze us. Mr. Abbas urged President Barack Obama and leaders of other nations that support Israel to press the Jewish state to end its construction of settlements on occupied lands. Several members of Netanyahu's cabinet belonging to Shas – a conservative, ultra-Orthodox party – boycotted Wednesday's crucial cabinet meetings in a sign of their disagreement. "What has changed to make something that was not acceptable a week or 10 days ago [acceptable] now?" "We have been told by our friends that once Israel takes the first meaningful steps towards peace, the Arab world and the Palestinians will follow,'' Netanyahu said after winning the security cabinet's approval.
Al Jazeera's Jacky Rowland, reporting from Jerusalem, said that the suspension would only apply to "new residential permits and new residential starts". This freeze does not apply to public buildings such as schools or police stations or whatever, and it also means any existing building permits that have been granted they will go ahead," she said. "Any construction which has already begun, any construction sites where the cement mixers are already whirring and the cranes are at work they will continue." Palestinian rejection A spokesman for Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian president, earlier dismissed the Israeli plan after details of it were outlined in a statement from Netanyahu's office. "Any return to negotiations must be on the basis of a complete settlement freeze, and in Jerusalem foremost," Nabil Abu Rdainah said. Referring to Jerusalem in Wednesday's news conference, Netanyahu said: "My position it is well known, I do not impose any restriction on building in Jerusalem." The West Bank-based Palestinian Authority, led by Abbas, has refused to return to peace talks with the Israelis until Netanyahu orders a complete freeze to all settlement building work in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. Before Netanyahu's news conference, Ehud Barak, the Israeli defence minister, told the security cabinet that the proposal was an attempt to "keep open a window to the resumption of the negotiation process" with the Palestinians. "Israel is strong and determined, but time is not necessarily on our side, and it is important to move towards two states for two people, through agreement. Washington has been pressing Israel to freeze settlement construction in order to allow the talks, which have been on hold since Israel launched its 22-day offensive in the Gaza Strip last year, to resume. Mixed US reaction George Mitchell, the US special envoy to the Middle East, called the 10-month suspension "significant". "It falls short of a full settlement freeze, but it is more than any Israeli government has done before," he said. "It falls short of a full settlement freeze, but it is more than any Israeli government has done before" George Mitchell, US special Middle East envoy "As President Obama has said many times, we believe that a two-state solution to the conflict is the best way to realise the shared goal of Israelis and Palestinians to live in peace and security. "That's why we have urged the Palestinians to expand and improve their security efforts. And it's why we've urged Israel to stop settlement activity." The Palestinians and the US had previously dismissed an Israeli proposal that would have seen a halt to new settlement construction, but allow what Israel calls "natural growth" to provide for settlers as their population rose. Al Jazeera's Nour Odeh, reporting from the West Bank town of Ramallah, said that Washington's apparent softening on the issue in recent weeks had "deeply disappointed the Palestinian public and the Palestinian president". "A lot of people really believed his statements and his promises that the Obama administration would be balanced and that it would really seek a firm start to a political process that would lead to Palestinian statehood within two years. Israel's prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, proposed a 10-month freeze on new West Bank settlement construction. In an attempt to jump-start Middle East peace talks, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called Wednesday for a c. Israel's security cabinet, one of the gatekeeping bodies on major policy decisions, approved the freeze with an 11-1 vote. "We have been told by our friends that once Israel takes the first meaningful steps towards peace, the Arab world and the Palestinians will follow,'' Netanyahu said after winning the security cabinet's approval. "Well, the government of Israel has taken a very big step towards peace today, and I hope the Palestinian and the Arab world will work with us to forge a new beginning for our children and theirs." Netanyahu indicated that such an announcement would be forthcoming following his last meeting with US President Barack Obama, who has been trying to push Israel towards a settlement freeze almost since taking office. Several members of Netanyahu's cabinet belonging to Shas – a conservative, ultra-Orthodox party – boycotted Wednesday's crucial cabinet meetings in a sign of their disagreement. "I think it's a complete crumbling of Netanyahu's position and is contrary to all of his electoral promises," Danny Dayan, chairman of the main settler lobby, told the Monitor. Netanyahu's office said that the freeze does not include natural growth – characterized mainly as the product of young people who grew up in the settlements wanting to build homes for families of their own. Even before the official announcement, the Palestinians rejected Israel's move because it does not include East Jerusalem, which the Palestinians claim as the capital of their future state.
"This is our fight together," he said. Advertisement US President Barack Obama has ordered 30,000 more US troops to Afghanistan but warned America would begin to withdraw its military forces by 2011. Advertisement Continue reading the main story “Let me be clear: none of this will be easy,” Mr. Obama said. Wiping out the Taliban is not a war aim. The Afghan government said it supported the new US strategy. Calling on America's allies to boost their troop commitment, Mr Obama said: "What's at stake is the security of our allies, and the common security of the world." A presidential speech at West Point — the oldest of the service academies — carries a certain weight. activities in Pakistan. And because the Afghanistan war was seen as going so well, he says, the Bush administration already had begun to shift its attention to the next war — with Iraq. Nato Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen urged members to do more. The plan calls for more strikes against militants by drone aircraft, sending additional spies to Pakistan and securing a White House commitment to bulk up the C.I.A.’s budget for operations inside the country. Mr. Obama congratulated Mr. Karzai on setting up a corruption task force, but also pressed him on the need to make sure that officials appointed by the government are untainted by corruption. This is a very rapid timetable - accelerated, the president called it - and there will be many in the US military who wonder if it is optimistic, given the difficulties of finding competent leaders for the Afghan army and police. Please try again later.
Advertisement US President Barack Obama has ordered 30,000 more US troops to Afghanistan but warned America would begin to withdraw its military forces by 2011. Soldiers will be deployed as quickly as possible, bringing US troop strength in the country to more than 100,000. World security was at stake, Mr Obama said, calling for more allied troops. The mission in Afghanistan, he added, was to defeat al-Qaeda, reverse the Taliban's momentum and deny them the ability to overthrow the government. Just as we have done in Iraq, we will execute this transition responsibly Barack Obama Full text of speech Nato pledges 5,000 Afghan troops US media on the troop surge Afghan concern over pullout date Mr Obama reached his deployment decision after more than three months of deliberations and 10 top-level meetings with advisers. Gen Stanley McChrystal, the US commander in Afghanistan, welcomed the speech, saying he had been given "a clear military mission" and the necessary resources. He told reporters on Wednesday that 5,000 extra troops would be sent in 2010, and "probably" a few thousand in addition. Foreign Minister Rangin Dadfar Spanta said that with international help Afghanistan's armed forces would be able to start taking responsibility for security in 18 months. MARDELL'S AMERICA There was plenty designed to reassure those who were worried about what is, after all, a massive escalation Read Mark Mardell's thoughts in full However the BBC's Ian Pannell in Kabul says there is concern that putting a date on a US withdrawal sends the wrong signal and risks giving encouragement to the Taliban. In his speech, Mr Obama: celebrated the US as a nation "founded in resistance to oppression" and talked about its long record of sacrifice in "advancing frontiers of human liberty" promised an "effective partnership" with Pakistan, and warned that the US could not "tolerate a safe haven for terrorists " repeatedly cited the poor economy and stated that the estimated cost - $30bn for the US military this year - was a factor in his deliberations Taliban threat The speech was delivered at the West Point military academy in New York. ANALYSIS Adam Brookes, BBC News, Washington There seems to be an acknowledgement that a level of insurgent activity will continue - even in the best case scenario. And given the Taliban's ability to make use of parts of Pakistan as a safe haven, nor could it be. The July 2011 date requires that, by then, elements of the Afghan armed forces are in sufficiently good shape to begin taking on sole responsibility for security. The first areas of the country handed over would be those that are quietest and least vulnerable to Taliban influence. This is a very rapid timetable - accelerated, the president called it - and there will be many in the US military who wonder if it is optimistic, given the difficulties of finding competent leaders for the Afghan army and police. Shoring up support Stressing that the US was in Afghanistan because of the 9/11 attacks on America by al-Qaeda militants, Mr Obama said their Taliban allies had "begun to take control over swathes of Afghanistan" while committing "devastating acts of terrorism" against Pakistan. US forces, he said, lacked "the full support they need to effectively train and partner with Afghan security forces and better secure the population". "I have determined that it is in our vital national interest to send an additional 30,000 US troops to Afghanistan," he told the cadets. "After 18 months, our troops will begin to come home." Rising violence - more than 900 US soldiers have died in Afghanistan - and August's discredited elections have fanned mounting domestic opposition to the eight-year-old war. Mr Obama said he was aware of the gravity of his decision to send the extra troops but he urged Americans not to see the conflict as a new Vietnam war. America was backed by a "broad coalition of 43 nations", he said, and was not facing a "broad-based popular insurgency". "Most importantly, unlike Vietnam, the American people were viciously attacked from Afghanistan, and remain a target for those same extremists who are plotting along its border," the US leader added. TROOPS FIGHTING THE TALIBAN US: More than 100,000 by July 2010 Other foreign (mainly Nato): Some 32,000 currently, with a British offer of 500 more Afghan National Army: 94,000 Afghan National Police: 81,000 Map: Foreign forces in Afghanistan Speech reactions US surge 'to aid UK' The US would take the Iraq experience as its model for withdrawal, he added. Pledging to continue to advise and assist Afghanistan's security forces, he warned: "It will be clear to the Afghan government - and, more importantly, to the Afghan people - that they will ultimately be responsible for their own country. Calling on America's allies to boost their troop commitment, Mr Obama said: "What's at stake is the security of our allies, and the common security of the world." From my perspective as a Nam Vet 67/68, it appears to be Deja Vu "GI Joe" BBC News website reader, US Send us your comments In pictures: Obama speech Welcoming the US pledge, UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown said: "I call on all our allies to unite behind President Obama's strategy. "Britain will continue to play its full part in persuading other countries to offer troops to the Afghanistan campaign," Mr Brown said, a day after London confirmed it was sending 500 more troops, taking the UK's total deployment to 10,000. French President Nicolas Sarkozy offered full support to Mr Obama's strategy and called it "courageous" but France earlier ruled out deploying more combat soldiers, though it might send military trainers. Seven and a half years ago, his predecessor used the academy to present an optimistic view of progress in Afghanistan and to introduce a new approach to warfare and confronting national security threats in general: the "war on terror." "Our war on terror is only begun, but in Afghanistan it was begun well," he said. "At that point in time," Mearsheimer says, "[the Bush administration] felt that it had won a stunning victory in Afghanistan, and it had, in effect, found the magic formula for winning wars against countries in the Middle East, and therefore it was 'on to Iraq,' where they believed we would win another stunning victory." During his speech at West Point in 2002, Bush also introduced what would later be known as "the Bush doctrine": the assertion that the U.S. can launch preemptive war against a country, such as Iraq, that is perceived to be threatening the U.S., even if that threat is not believed to be immediate.
Two other people died. Capt Camara's deputy, Sekouba Konate, is temporarily in charge of the country. The coalition says it will not take part in any transitional authority that includes members of Guinea's military. We want him to (come in) himself so we can (hold) discussions. Captain Camara was hurriedly flown to Morocco last Friday for medical treatment after he was allegedly shot by the head of the presidential body guard. He denied Diakite will be harmed for shooting and wounding the leader of the junta. ECOWAS says Guinea's military is responsible for the country's "worsening security situation" where "indiscipline and infighting within the fractured army" are holding back efforts to "establish the rule of law." The government is offering a reward for information leading to his capture. Toumba's photograph is being broadcast on national television. Earlier, a West African regional grouping called for an immediate return to civilian rule in Guinea. We don’t want blood anymore in this country and that is the reason why we are going slowly on Toumba Diakite,” Kone said. Local human rights groups say dozens of women were raped and at least 157 people were killed on September 28. “The president is doing very well and we expecting that he will come back maybe on Wednesday… he is in the Royal Hospital of Rabat and I think that everything is well there. Morocco says Guinea's military ruler has undergone successful surgery for gunshot wounds sustained on Thursday in an apparent assassination attempt. Meanwhile, there were reports of gunfire in the capital late on Sunday. Lt Diakite, commonly known as Toumba, is not only suspected of trying to kill Capt Dadis Camara but attempting a coup d'etat.
Morocco says Guinea's military ruler has undergone successful surgery for gunshot wounds sustained on Thursday in an apparent assassination attempt. Guinea's military government is offering a reward for the capture of the former head of the presidential guard whose men are accused of carrying out the attack. The inspector of Morocco's Royal Armed Forces' health services says Guinea's military ruler Captain Moussa Dadis Camara has had successful surgery for head trauma. In a statement issued by Morocco's official press agency, Dr. Ali Abrouq said Captain Camara's condition is "not worrying." Captain Camara flew to Morocco on Friday after being shot the day before by men loyal to his former aide-de-camp, Lieutenant Aboubacar Sidiki Diakite, who is also known as Toumba. Toumba escaped the attack and is still at large with a group of the presidential guard. Toumba's photograph is being broadcast on national television. Thursday's shooting followed an argument between Toumba and Captain Camara about who should take responsibility for the killing of opposition demonstrators two months ago. Witnesses say Toumba gave the order for the presidential guard to open fire on people protesting Captain Camara's expected presidential candidacy. Local human rights groups say dozens of women were raped and at least 157 people were killed on September 28. His shooting, and the upheaval that has followed, casts doubt on whether elections rescheduled for January will be held. The Economic Community of West African States, or ECOWAS, says Guinea's military government should immediately put in place a new transitional authority leading to credible elections in early 2010 that does not include members of the military council or its prime minister. ECOWAS says Guinea's military is responsible for the country's "worsening security situation" where "indiscipline and infighting within the fractured army" are holding back efforts to "establish the rule of law." The coalition says it will not take part in any transitional authority that includes members of Guinea's military. Captain Camara was hurriedly flown to Morocco last Friday for medical treatment after he was allegedly shot by the head of the presidential body guard. Guinea's vice-president and defense minister, General Sekouba Konate, became the country's interim leader shortly after returning from Lebanon on Saturday. He denied Diakite will be harmed for shooting and wounding the leader of the junta. Capt Camara seized power in a coup a year ago Guinea's military leader is in a "favourable" condition after surgery following an attempted assassination, doctors treating him in Morocco say. CAPT MOUSSA DADIS CAMARA Born 1964 in far south-east Seized power in December 2008 as a little-known army captain Promised democracy but then showed signs of holding onto power Increasingly erratic behaviour and public humiliation of officials Has pledged to tackle drugs traffickers Initially blamed "uncontrollable" military elements for September 28 killings Guinea's erratic military ruler The call by the Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas) confirms the position taken soon after soldiers opened fire on an opposition demonstration on 28 September, killing an estimated 157 people. That has not materialised and the military government in power for nearly a year appears to be holding firm despite the clear divisions demonstrated by Thursday's confrontation, the BBC's West Africa correspondent Caspar Leighton reports. The AP news agency reports that shots were heard near the barracks of the presidential guard hours after state TV broadcast an appeal for information on Lt Diakite's whereabouts. The AFP news agency says it has spoken to Lt Diakite, who says he is in a "safe place" in Guinea with "a fair number of men.
If we ever do." Climate Change Secretariat, told Reuters in Copenhagen. Brown said: "We've got to make countries recognise that they have to be as ambitious as they say they want to be. Until now, the government has argued it would be too expensive to cut government emissions by 10% within a year, and some departments that have already reduced their footprint would struggle to cut deeper. REUTERS/Pawel Kopczynski Members of the Swedish delegation arrive for the opening of the United Nations Climate Change Conference 2009 in Copenhagen December 7, 2009. "At the deal's heart must be a settlement between the rich world and the developing world," the editorial says. Developing nations including small island states, which are most vulnerable to rising sea levels, demanded more action. UN climate convention head Yvo de Boer said the time had come to deliver cuts in greenhouse gas emissions. World leaders who have pledged to attend include US President Barack Obama, UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown, French President Nicolas Sarkozy and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. A number of African nations also back the lower target. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ruled that greenhouse gases endanger human health, allowing it to regulate planet-warming gases without legislation from the Senate, where a bill to cut U.S. emissions by 2020 is stalled. So far, the EU has said it will cut by 30% only if an ambitious global deal is reached. The prime minister's call for Europe to increase its "level of ambition" came as the expert committee charged with setting Britain's carbon targets published a report suggesting that higher flight taxes will be necessary to choke off demand for air travel.
Prime minister tells the Guardian he hopes the EU will agree to a cut in emissions of 30% by 2020 Gordon Brown is pushing European leaders to commit to deeper cuts in carbon emissions in an attempt to seal a global deal, he revealed as representatives of 192 countries began negotiations at the climate change summit in Copenhagen. The prime minister told the Guardian he hoped the EU would agree to cut its output of greenhouse gases by 30% on 1990 levels by 2020 – a cut 10 percentage points deeper than Europe is currently offering. So far, the EU has said it will cut by 30% only if an ambitious global deal is reached. Brown said: "We've got to make countries recognise that they have to be as ambitious as they say they want to be. It's not enough to say 'I may do this, I might do this, possibly I'll do this'. Any move to increase Europe's emissions reduction target would be fiercely resisted by eastern European countries as well as Italy and Austria, who have opposed deeper cuts. An increase in the European pledge would mean the UK would have to achieve a cut of 42% by 2020, compared with the current British target of 34%. Because the UK is already racing to build renewable energy as fast as it can, the additional cuts would probably require measures such as road charging, increased fuel taxes and tougher emissions standards for cars. On the opening day of the Copenhagen summit Saudi Arabia's chief climate negotiator, Mohammed al-Sabban, told delegates that the scandal over hacked emails from University of East Anglia researchers had undermined confidence in the science of climate change and would "affect the nature of what can be trusted in the negotiations". But after lambasting climate deniers as "flat-earth sceptics" and "anti-change Luddites", Brown would say only that he "fundamentally disagrees" with Sabban, who last week said he believed there was no link between human behaviour and warming. "I somehow think that when we get agreement the Saudis will not refuse to be part of it," Brown said. The prime minister's call for Europe to increase its "level of ambition" came as the expert committee charged with setting Britain's carbon targets published a report suggesting that higher flight taxes will be necessary to choke off demand for air travel. The report said Britain could afford to see air travel increasing by up to 140m journeys a year by 2050 without breaching its carbon targets, allowing for the building of runways at Heathrow, Stansted and Edinburgh airports. But it warned that development at other regional airports such as Gatwick, Birmingham and Newcastle would have to be curbed if growth in aviation was to be kept to 60% rather than the 200% by which it would expand if allowed to go unchecked. Brown stopped short of suggesting that the EU should increase its offer irrespective of the outcome in Copenhagen, but said an increase in the European target would be "a signal that the world has come round to agree an ambitious deal". Campaigners and experts including the economist Lord Stern have argued in recent weeks that the EU must increase its offer to unlock a deal because the US president, Barack Obama, constrained by the need to secure domestic legislation, cannot. Lord Stern told the Guardian last night: "The EU can show real leadership and help to bring an agreement in Copenhagen a step closer by committing now to its higher ambition." He said if all countries confirmed their highest conditional offers, the target for annual emissions of 44bn tonnes by 2020 – which gives a reasonable chance of meeting the goal of limiting global temperature rise to 2C – would be bridged with further commitments of just a few more billion tonnes. Bryony Worthington, carbon expert and founder of the campaign group Sandbag.org.uk, said: "The prime minister's support for a move to the EU's higher target is very encouraging. With targets on the table from all major countries, the EU can kickstart a leadership race and do much to unlock political tensions in Copenhagen. A Polish diplomat at the UN summit in the Danish capital said any unilateral move would not be strategic, as it would give away a significant EU concession without anything in return. The Polish economy is highly dependent on coal and its government has strongly resisted increases in the EU's targets. The prime minister also said he hoped Labour would be able to match a Tory commitment to cut government emissions by 10% within a year as a contribution to the 10:10 campaign, which is asking individuals, businesses and other organisations to cut their carbon footprint for next year. Brown said: "We are trying to achieve 10% … throughout Whitehall the message has gone out: 'You've got to save energy, we've got to be more energy-efficient'." Until now, the government has argued it would be too expensive to cut government emissions by 10% within a year, and some departments that have already reduced their footprint would struggle to cut deeper. In October, Labour killed a Lib Dem/Tory-backed bill that called for the government to make the 10% cut. The mayor of London, Boris Johnson, has meanwhile signed up City Hall to the 10:10 campaign, as part of his goal to make the capital "the greenest city on Earth". REUTERS/Bob Strong Members of environmental activist group Act!onaid, dressed as 'climate debt agents', hold up a banner outside the congress centre, before the opening of the United Nations Climate Change Conference 2009 in Copenhagen December 7, 2009. REUTERS/Bob Strong WASHINGTON/COPENHAGEN Washington took a step on Monday toward curbing U.S. greenhouse gas emissions, aiding the first day of the biggest climate talks in history where 190 nations are seeking a deal to curb global warming. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ruled that greenhouse gases endanger human health, allowing it to regulate planet-warming gases without legislation from the Senate, where a bill to cut U.S. emissions by 2020 is stalled. The ruling was welcomed at the opening day of December 7-18 talks in Copenhagen, where a record 15,000 participants are trying to work out the first new U.N. pact in 12 years to combat rising seas, desertification, floods and cyclones. DEAL "WITHIN REACH" Earlier, the Copenhagen talks opened with a stark U.N. warning about risks of climate change and a prediction by Denmark's Prime Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen that a deal to combat climate change is "within our reach." Many nations say that the United States is the key to a deal in Copenhagen, seeking to break deadlock between rich and poor nations about sharing out the burden of curbs on greenhouse gas emissions. Rajendra Pachauri, the head of the U.N.'s panel of climate scientists, said action was needed to avoid cyclones, heatwaves, floods, and possible loss of the Greenland ice sheet, which could mean a sea level rise of 7 meters over centuries.
Send it to us. According to some calculations, those figures, when combined with projected population growth in the developing world, mean that per-capita emissions in developing countries will remain below those in the west, "locking in" inequality. Global warming: A future glimpse "There is a UN legal process which is the official negotiating text; there is no need for any other texts. What would you ask them if you were at the summit? CLIMATE CHANGE GLOSSARY Glossary in full Oxfam's Antonio Hill said industrialised nations had to offer bigger cuts than are currently on the table. The BASIC draft sees emission reductions from developed countries coming under the Kyoto Protocol, whereas the Danish draft envisages all measures coming under a single new agreement. Richard.Black-INTERNET@bbc.co.uk Do you have a question for world leaders at Copenhagen? It specifies a 50% emissions cut globally (from 1990 levels) by 2050. Your comments may be published on any BBC media worldwide. Other blocs are expected to release their own texts in the next few days. Yvo de Boer, executive secretary of the UN climate convention, also said the document had no formal weight within the negotiations. The small island states are expected to demand a legally binding outcome from Copenhagen, which many insiders say is impossible. But the Danish proposal had remained under wraps until The Guardian newspaper published it on its website during the second afternoon of the conference. E-mail this to a friend Printable version "The UK is continuing to strive for the most ambitious deal possible, as the prime minister has made clear again today." Terms & Conditions Bookmark with: Delicious Digg reddit Facebook StumbleUpon What are these?
By Richard Black Environment correspondent, BBC News website, Copenhagen The leaked text has overshadowed the first day's upbeat speeches Earth Watch - Richard Black's blog Documents leaked at the UN climate summit reveal divisions between industrialised and developing countries over the shape of a possible new deal. Campaigners say a draft text proposed by the Danish host government would disadvantage poorer nations. It also sees everything coming under a single new deal, whereas an alternative text from developing countries wants an extension to the Kyoto Protocol. Other blocs are expected to release their own texts in the next few days. Chairmen of working groups will then have to turn the various documents into a political document that 100-odd world leaders, plus delegates representing all other nations, could sign at the end of the conference. The Danish document, plus the alternative text submitted by the BASIC group (Brazil, South Africa, India and China) were discussed by a small group of key countries in Copenhagen last week. More ambition The documents show that at the broadest level, developed and developing worlds are split on several points: the level of cuts from developed countries the establishment of a target date by which global emissions should peak and begin to fall most fundamentally, the shape of any future deal. The BASIC draft sees emission reductions from developed countries coming under the Kyoto Protocol, whereas the Danish draft envisages all measures coming under a single new agreement. Although this might appear a technical point, developing countries have so far remained adamant on the retention of the protocol because of the measures it contains on financial assistance and technology transfer, and because it is the only legally binding treaty in existence that makes countries reduce emissions. The only formal texts in the UN process are the ones tabled by the Chairs of this Copenhagen conference at the behest of the parties Yvo de Boer, UNFCCC executive secretary Copenhagen: Your questions The Danish text sets out a vision of greenhouse gas emissions peaking globally by 2020, then declining. It specifies a 50% emissions cut globally (from 1990 levels) by 2050. According to some calculations, those figures, when combined with projected population growth in the developing world, mean that per-capita emissions in developing countries will remain below those in the west, "locking in" inequality. CLIMATE CHANGE GLOSSARY Glossary in full Oxfam's Antonio Hill said industrialised nations had to offer bigger cuts than are currently on the table. "The targets need to rise in ambition and in line with what the science says," he told BBC News. "We think that at least 40% (from 1990 levels by 2020) is needed; and even that is not enough to produce equity." However, Mr Hill suggested that measures on transferring finance from industrialised to developing countries - to help them curb their emissions and help them protect against the impacts of climate change - were "quite good". Global warming: A future glimpse "There is a UN legal process which is the official negotiating text; there is no need for any other texts. "To be working on a rival text is a kick in the teeth to the UN process that has been negotiated for so long." Yvo de Boer, executive secretary of the UN climate convention, also said the document had no formal weight within the negotiations. "This was an informal paper ahead of the conference given to a number of people for the purposes of consultations," he said. "The only formal texts in the UN process are the ones tabled by the Chairs of this Copenhagen conference at the behest of the parties." "At this stage in the negotiation there's inevitably all sorts of texts doing the rounds and more will no doubt appear over the next 10 days," said a spokesman for the Department for Energy and Climate Change (DECC). "The UK is continuing to strive for the most ambitious deal possible, as the prime minister has made clear again today." Gordon Brown declared earlier that he would favour the EU moving from its current 20% target to 30%, which governments have agreed to do if there is a global deal here. Over the next few days, small island states, least developed countries, the African bloc and the overall G77/China grouping are expected to present their own texts. The small island states are expected to demand a legally binding outcome from Copenhagen, which many insiders say is impossible. Developing countries react furiously to leaked draft agreement that would hand more power to rich nations, sideline the UN's negotiating role and abandon the Kyoto protocol The UN Copenhagen climate talks are in disarray today after developing countries reacted furiously to leaked documents that show world leaders will next week be asked to sign an agreement that hands more power to rich countries and sidelines the UN's role in all future climate change negotiations. The document is also being interpreted by developing countries as setting unequal limits on per capita carbon emissions for developed and developing countries in 2050; meaning that people in rich countries would be permitted to emit nearly twice as much under the proposals. The so-called Danish text, a secret draft agreement worked on by a group of individuals known as "the circle of commitment" – but understood to include the UK, US and Denmark – has only been shown to a handful of countries since it was finalised this week. The agreement, leaked to the Guardian, is a departure from the Kyoto protocol's principle that rich nations, which have emitted the bulk of the CO2, should take on firm and binding commitments to reduce greenhouse gases, while poorer nations were not compelled to act. The draft hands effective control of climate change finance to the World Bank; would abandon the Kyoto protocol – the only legally binding treaty that the world has on emissions reductions; and would make any money to help poor countries adapt to climate change dependent on them taking a range of actions. In particular, it is understood to: • Force developing countries to agree to specific emission cuts and measures that were not part of the original UN agreement; • Divide poor countries further by creating a new category of developing countries called "the most vulnerable"; • Weaken the UN's role in handling climate finance; • Not allow poor countries to emit more than 1.44 tonnes of carbon per person by 2050, while allowing rich countries to emit 2.67 tonnes. It allows too many loopholes and does not suggest anything like the 40% cuts that science is saying is needed." Hill continued: "It proposes a green fund to be run by a board but the big risk is that it will run by the World Bank and the Global Environment Facility [a partnership of 10 agencies including the World Bank and the UN Environment Programme] and not the UN.
WHO, WHAT, WHY? "It is really prestigious. It's not - it's part-time lecturing." The Oxford Professorship of Poetry is the second-best poetry job in England. THE ANSWER Three lectures a year One reading every other year Beyond that, the job is open to interpretation Oxford poet 'sorry' over vote row Until the 1950s the role was held by academics rather than poets - the outgoing professor, Professor Christopher Ricks, is regarded as a scholar rather than a published poet. The post has been vacant ever since. Palmer said the election was a flawed concept. When Padel was elected in May, fewer than 500 people actually voted. First the veteran poet Derek Walcott, the initial favourite, withdrew from the running after an alleged smear campaign against him. He said: "It's excellent news that the university has made an announcement on the post at last. Ambitious professors can bring as much as they want to the role, he says. But some believe the voting changes could make the election even more of a bun fight. "Would the medical school or mathematical institute be happy for their professors to be chosen by anybody?" The professor is elected for a term of five years and cannot stand again. On Tuesday, Oxford announced it was rewriting the rules to allow graduates to vote online as well as in person and over a longer period of time. The professors who helped raise the post's profile included WH Auden and the Irish poet Seamus Heaney. Mr Paulin - a noted poet himself - hasn't applied for the role.
Oxford University tonight announced changes to the centuries-old tradition of voting for its professor of poetry post, instead introducing processes that bring it something closer to the 21st century. The vote, every five years, has been called a "kamikaze convention", and this year descended into embarrassing farce when Ruth Padel felt compelled to resign after nine days in the job. For some, the arcane voting rules are the problem. Any member of Oxford's convocation, which includes all 300,000 or so Oxford graduates, can vote as long as they turn up in person on a given day. When Padel was elected in May, fewer than 500 people actually voted. Under the new proposal, everybody eligible will be able to vote online, or in person, over a longer period. Oxford hopes to avoid a repeat of this year's election which saw Padel quit after she was implicated in a smear campaign against her main rival, Derek Walcott. Walcott, a Nobel laureate, pulled out of the election when details of a sexual harassment claim made against him by a student at Harvard in 1982 became a dominant theme of the campaign. Oxford now hopes to fill the post, vacant since Sir Christopher Ricks finished his five-year term last year, by autumn 2010. But some believe the voting changes could make the election even more of a bun fight. Judith Palmer, director of the Poetry Society, said: "It just feels like they are not addressing the bigger problems. The contest is notoriously bruising, and there have been many excellent poets who would not dream of putting themselves forward because they don't want to take part in the showbiz aspect of it all. These changes will probably increase the number of good candidates ruling themselves out." Palmer said the election was a flawed concept. "Would the medical school or mathematical institute be happy for their professors to be chosen by anybody?" The changes are still subject to approval by the university's parliament, the congregation. Seamus Perry, deputy chair of the English faculty board, said: "It is good news that the election will be so much more accessible to the large community of graduates of the university that have the chance to vote for Oxford's professor of poetry." In theory, the changes could give a better chance to more populist candidates as, in the past, the people who have voted are the ones who either live in Oxford or who have a deep, serious interest in who gets the job. So it could mean someone such as broadcaster Clive James would have a better chance of winning an election, although he has written that he would "rather throw himself off a cliff". But James, shortlisted along with Padel in this year's Costa book awards poetry category, has also written: "I do indeed find the Oxford poetry professorship just about the most attractive cup of its kind in existence." So far there are only a few declared candidates, one of whom is the Guardian's Stephen Moss, who has written poetry since he was 14. He said: "It's excellent news that the university has made an announcement on the post at last. "I can't say that electronic voting especially appeals to me: a modernist fad. I would much prefer the Victorian system of having to stand on a podium and declare your preference, depending largely on who had supplied you with the greatest quantity of beer." It’s less prestigious than the laureateship but pays a little better: roughly $11,000 a year, compared to a butt of sack, which is the laureate’s traditional reward. Any graduate of Oxford used to be entitled to vote as long as he or she showed up on the appointed day, and over the years this system led to a certain amount of electioneering. Ruth Padel, the most recent Oxford professor and the first woman to hold the position, had to step down in May, after just nine days on the job, when it was revealed that she had been involved in a smear campaign against her main rival, the Nobel Prize-winning poet Derek Walcott. On Tuesday, Oxford announced it was rewriting the rules to allow graduates to vote online as well as in person and over a longer period of time. Already some are complaining that in the old system at least a voter had to care enough to physically transport himself to Oxford, and that the new rules make casting a ballot entirely too easy. In an article in The Guardian, Judith Palmer, the director of the Poetry Society, a national organization that lobbies for the advancement of poetry, questioned whether the job should be elective in the first place. Ruth Padel stood down after allegations of a smear campaign Now Ruth Padel, who took the role after winning a vote among staff and students, has stepped down after admitting a part in the alleged campaign. As job descriptions go, the outline for the professorship is pretty thin - three lectures a year and one reading every other year. But in career opportunity terms it is a role suited to a "self starter" - someone who can make of the job what they wish. It was conceived by Henry Birkhead, a Berkshire landowner who believed "the reading of the ancient poets gave keenness and polish to the minds of young men". THE ANSWER Three lectures a year One reading every other year Beyond that, the job is open to interpretation Oxford poet 'sorry' over vote row Until the 1950s the role was held by academics rather than poets - the outgoing professor, Professor Christopher Ricks, is regarded as a scholar rather than a published poet. The professorial post may have an air of dreaming spires Oxford, removed from the "real world", but the selection of the poetry professor is grass-roots democratic.
He did that then, he can also do it now. The president's popularity has been hurt by allegations of corruption. Earlier this week, Yudhoyono said the planned protests were aimed at discrediting his government. In Jakarta, protesters chanted: "Down with corruptors" and other slogans. Thousands of police were deployed to guard the presidential palace before the rally [AFP] Thousands of police were deployed to guard the presidential palace before the rally [AFP] Hundreds of anti-riot police were stationed outside the palace of Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, the president, before the rallies went ahead. Both were blamed for key roles in the bailout. In addition to the Century Bank scandal, police charged anti-graft officials from the Corruption Eradication Commission with bribery and blackmail. But in a nationally televised speech on Tuesday he praised the anti-corruption movement. In the South Sulawesi capital of Makassar, where protests are typically more violent, hundreds of demonstrators called for the resignation of Indonesian Vice President and former Central Bank Governor Boediono and Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Sri Mulyani. Jakarta University student Adi Prasetyo says Indonesia should follow China's example of executing some corrupt officials. He calls for everyone to celebrate and join the rallies in an orderly and peaceful manner. Critics allege that the police acted to discredit and intimidate the anti-corruption organization. Prosecutors later dropped all charges. The $710 million government bailout occurred in November 2008. He needs to take a more firm step." Thousands more demonstrated in other cities and towns across the country. There was no immediate report of injuries or arrests among the 2,000 protesters. After watching his speech last night, I became an optimist.
Though activists predicted that hundreds of thousands would march Wednesday against corruption in the Indonesian capital of Jakarta, only a few thousand turned up. Most were students protesting the latest corruption scandal in the country. It involves allegations that a $600 million government bailout was given to Century Bank on condition that some of the money be used to fund the president's re-election campaign. The legislature is investigating the bailout and the possible roles played by Vice President Boediono and Finance Minister Sri Mulyani in orchestrating a deal. The government denies the charges. Many of the demonstrators, like Ridwan Laodabone with a Muslim student organization, already consider the vice president and finance minister guilty. He says he wants the president to fire those two officials. Jakarta University student Adi Prasetyo says Indonesia should follow China's example of executing some corrupt officials. He says those involved in corruption should be shot to death. Thousands more demonstrated in other cities and towns across the country. Most rallies were without incident but in Makassar in South Sulawesi, students armed with rocks and wooden planks clashed with anti-riot police. The news media report that police fired tear gas to break up the crowd after protesters tried to storm the provincial governor's office. There was no immediate report of injuries or arrests among the 2,000 protesters. The president's popularity has been hurt by allegations of corruption. In addition to the Century Bank scandal, police charged anti-graft officials from the Corruption Eradication Commission with bribery and blackmail. Prosecutors later dropped all charges. Critics allege that the police acted to discredit and intimidate the anti-corruption organization. Jakarta, Indonesia (CNN) -- Thousands of protesters gathered in several cities in Indonesia on Wednesday to push the government to deal with rampant allegations of corruption. Organizers planned the protests for International Anti-Corruption Day, which the United Nations had declared to raise awareness about efforts to combat graft. The protests come amid a growing public dissatisfaction over investigations into a bailout of Indonesia's Century Bank. The controversy began when critics accused President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and some of his political allies of benefiting from the bailout money. The $710 million government bailout occurred in November 2008. In Jakarta, protesters chanted: "Down with corruptors" and other slogans. "We know that corruption is the source of stupidity, poverty and social imbalance," protester Fadjroel Rachman said. Reacting to Yudhoyono's speech, student Zulkairnan who attended the protests told CNN, "We are here to push the government to solve the Century Bank case. Atin, another student protester said: "I'm sure [the president] can handle corruption. Thousands of police were deployed to guard the presidential palace before the rally [AFP] Thousands of police were deployed to guard the presidential palace before the rally [AFP] Hundreds of anti-riot police were stationed outside the palace of Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, the president, before the rallies went ahead. Yudhoyono faces questions over the last year's 6.76 trillion rupiah ($715m) government bailout of a bank, which critics have alleged was full of irregularities. Indonesian politicians last week launched an inquiry into allegations that the bailout benefited Yudhoyono's re-election campaign - a claim he denied. The government's commitment to end corruption was also hurt when investigators concluded that senior police tried to frame anti-graft officials from the Corruption Eradication Commission on made-up charges of bribery and blackmail.
on the ground. I think, in the end, that's what will make real, positive change." "It was unprovoked. Thousands of people march as part of a global protest to demand that governments agree a new climate deal Tens of thousands of people took to the streets of Copenhagen today as part of a global protest to demand governments across the world agree a binding new global deal to tackle climate change. A police spokesman said just four or five out of 968 arrested would be charged and appear in court. So 4 percent is a far cry from the 40 percent that is needed from developed countries as an aggregate." Environment ministers started arriving in the city today for informal talks before world leaders join the summit late next week. China has made voluntary commitments to rein in its carbon emissions but doesn't want to be bound by international law to do so. Christensen added: "They will be very bad politicians if they do not hear us by now." In Australia, organizers said about 50,000 protesters marched in Sydney and other cities calling for stronger action. Please turn on JavaScript. Documents prepared by the conference's leaders call on developed nations to cut greenhouse gas emissions by between 25% and 45% of 1990 levels by 2020. Danish police estimate that some 30,000 people joined the march while organisers put the number at 100,000. Among the protesters in Coppenhagen were the actor Helen Baxendale, model Helena Christensen and former Irish president and UN high commissioner for human rights Mary Robinson. According to reports, police moved in when masked youths threw bricks and smashed windows in the centre of the city.
Thousands of people march as part of a global protest to demand that governments agree a new climate deal Tens of thousands of people took to the streets of Copenhagen today as part of a global protest to demand governments across the world agree a binding new global deal to tackle climate change. The march and rally in the Danish capital, the world's largest ever protest about global warming, comes at the halfway point of the United Nations' climate summit in the city. "Let's dance, sing and be happy, because power is in your hands," Nnimmo Bassey, director of Friends of the Earth International told the crowd, as he kicked off the first part of the march, the Flood, from Halmtorvet. Official police estimates put the number of protesters at 25,000, but organisers said as many as 100,000 had joined the march from central Copenhagen, waving banners that read "Nature doesn't compromise" and "Climate Justice Now". Although most of the march has been peaceful, a small group threw bricks at police early on. So far there have been 21 arrests, and police are currrently kettling about 200-300 marchers in Amagerbrogade. Police spokesman Rasmus Bernt Skovsgaard said: "There was some cobblestone-throwing and at the same time people were putting on masks. We decided to go for preventive detentions to give the peaceful demonstration the possibility to move on." To mark the Global Day of Action on climate change, campaigners were also staging events around the world, including a four-minute "flashdance" with lights outside the Houses of Parliament, with volunteers across London collecting messages from citizens to deliver to MPs. Phil Thornhill, from the Campaign against Climate Change in the UK, said on behalf of the Global Climate Campaign: "Every year of inaction sees us slide closer to the point where a tragedy of unprecedented scale becomes irreversible. "As politicians fail to find the collective will to overcome inertia, international rivalries, and the all-pervasive power of vested interests, ordinary people all around the world will be demanding decisive action now, not later when the fate of billions could be already have been sealed and the catastrophe will have become unstoppable." Among the protesters in Coppenhagen were the actor Helen Baxendale, model Helena Christensen and former Irish president and UN high commissioner for human rights Mary Robinson. Baxendale said thousands of people from all over the world were trying to encourage their leaders to take "firm and fair action" on climate change. She told Sky News it was "inspiring", adding: "It's fantastic to join with so many other people from all over the world. "I think it's also important that people come and make their voices heard as well. I think, in the end, that's what will make real, positive change." Environment ministers started arriving in the city today for informal talks before world leaders join the summit late next week. Initial reaction to the negotiating text submitted yesterday underscored the split between the US-led wealthy countries and developing countries still struggling to catch up with the modern world. The tightly focused document was meant to lay out the main themes for environment ministers to wrestle with as they prepare for a summit of around 110 heads of state and government at the end of next week. Wealthy countries, including the US, Japan and Norway, as well as the European Union, criticised a draft agreement for not making stronger demands on developing countries underscoring the difficulties in reaching a deal. But European delegates also criticised the US, insisting it could make greater commitments to push the talks forward. China has made voluntary commitments to rein in its carbon emissions but doesn't want to be bound by international law to do so. Its position is that the US and other rich countries have a historical responsibility to cut emissions and any climate deal in Copenhagen should take into account a country's level of development. Advertisement Police in Copenhagen in Denmark say nearly 1,000 protesters were detained after a huge climate change rally. The move came after youths threw bricks and smashed windows as more than 30,000 demonstrators marched to demand action at the UN climate change summit. A police spokesman said "almost all" of those arrested have now been released with just a few facing charges. Documents prepared by the conference's leaders call on developed nations to cut greenhouse gas emissions by between 25% and 45% of 1990 levels by 2020. AT THE SCENE Matt McGrath, BBC News, Copenhagen The colourful parade, with some people dressed in polar bear suits, departed Parliament Square amid tight security. Denmark's parliament recently passed controversial laws giving police powers of pre-emptive arrest of anyone they believe is likely to break the law. Your photos from the rally EU leaders are offering developing countries a three-year deal that would pay them 7.2bn euros (£6.5bn; $10.6bn) to help cope with climate change. Danish police estimate that some 30,000 people joined the march while organisers put the number at 100,000. In pictures: Climate protests "The police rounded up protesters in a pre-planned manoeuvre," he told the BBC. A police spokesman said just four or five out of 968 arrested would be charged and appear in court. Activists are arguing for an ambitious, legally binding agreement on emissions cuts to be signed by world leaders at the summit's conclusion at the end of next week.
The cargo was taken to a military base while the plane, which is registered in Georgia, remains at Don Muang. "We have asked the Sri Lanka embassy in Bangkok to obtain details from the Thai authorities," the ministry said. Those restrictions aim to choke off the North's weapons trade, one of the impoverished state's few sources of income. Thailand will charge detained crew members with crimes related to trafficking the 35-ton arms shipment in violation of sanctions slapped on North Korea for its missile and nuclear tests. South Korean officials were paying close attention to the incident, reports Yonhap News Agency. Police are scheduled to escort them to the Criminal Court on Monday to seek further detention for interrogation. Crew face charges over weapons haul: Thai PM BANGKOK, Dec. 13 (Xinhua) -- Five crew members of a plane impounded in Bangkok on Saturday will be charged, Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said Sunday. Insisting that he had no knowledge about the war material aboard the aircraft, Petukhou told investigators that he and his four companions were hired to transport goods and that he would only "provide other information in court." Thai government officials acted after working with several intelligence agencies for several weeks, the spokesman said. Last year, two arm dealers were arrested in Thailand. CNN's Dan Rivers and journalist Iqbal Athas contributed to this report. He has repeatedly said he has not broken any laws and the allegations against him are lies A Thai court rejected a U.S. extradition request for Bout in August. A month prior, a North Korean boat appeared to be headed for Burma (Myanmar) high-tailed it home after being trailed by the US Navy.
Thailand will charge detained crew members with crimes related to trafficking the 35-ton arms shipment in violation of sanctions slapped on North Korea for its missile and nuclear tests. Thai authorities have intercepted a cache of grenades, rocket launchers, and other heavy arms from North Korea after the plane carrying them was forced to land in Bangkok for fuel. Acting on a tip from the United States and in line with United Nations sanctions, Thailand is now trying to piece together where the weapons were headed. The five crew members, four with Kazakh passports and one from Belarus, have all been arrested but remained tight-lipped. Thailand will charge them with crimes related to trafficking the 35-ton arms shipment in violation of sanctions slapped on North Korea for its missile and nuclear tests in spring, reports Reuters. Those restrictions aim to choke off the North's weapons trade, one of the impoverished state's few sources of income. The plane's flight schedule indicates it was originally bound for Colombo, Sri Lanka, reports The Bangkok Post. Sri Lanka's Daily Mirror says authorities there denied that, adding: "Some believe the crew of the detained aircraft may have indicated they were heading for Sri Lanka in order to conceal their actual destination." This is the first time a North Korean plane has been caught in the UN dragnet since its spring resolution imposing sanctions. A month prior, a North Korean boat appeared to be headed for Burma (Myanmar) high-tailed it home after being trailed by the US Navy. The Thai foreign ministry has announced it will report the arms seizure the the UN in 45 days, as required under the resolution, reports The Nation in Bangkok. "If the Thai government's announcement is true that North Korean weapons were on board, measures should be taken against the apparent violation of UN resolutions," it quoted an anonymous official at Seoul's Foreign Ministry as saying. The incident follows US special envoy Stephen Bosworth's visit to the North last week, which aimed to draw Pyongyang back to six-party nuclear negotiations. The Christian Science Monitor reports Bosworth appeared to have "gotten nowhere" in that trip, but hopes remain high for a breakthrough. The Seoul-based Daily NK on Sunday quoted South Korean analysts as saying the latest weapons incident would have only a minor effect on future bilateral talks. BANGKOK, Dec. 14 (Xinhua) -- The pilot of a military transport aircraft impounded at Bangkok's Don Mueang airport after Thai authorities seized a huge arms cache it carried told police investigators Sunday that the shipment was bound for Ukraine, the Thai News Agency reported. Belarussian Mikhail Petukhou told Crime Suppression Division police during a six-hour interrogation that the plane left Ukraine to pick up the goods in an Asian nation. Insisting that he had no knowledge about the war material aboard the aircraft, Petukhou told investigators that he and his four companions were hired to transport goods and that he would only "provide other information in court." Crew face charges over weapons haul: Thai PM BANGKOK, Dec. 13 (Xinhua) -- Five crew members of a plane impounded in Bangkok on Saturday will be charged, Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said Sunday. Full story Thai police reject bail for 5 foreigners detained in arms shipment case BANGKOK, Dec. 13 (Xinhua) -- Thai police denied bail for five foreigners detained Saturday after the authorities confiscated a large amount of military armaments aboard their plane, according to the Thai News Agency on Sunday. The pilot told Thai authorities the aircraft was headed to Sri Lanka, but its final destination was unknown, according to Panitan Wattanayagorn, a spokesman for the Thai prime minister. The men's arrest came after a series of events that involved law enforcement agencies from at least five countries, including two undercover agents from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.
. Republicans, meanwhile, are incredulous. Sen. Ben Nelson of Nebraska announced his support of the Senate healthcare reform bill Saturday. Nelson said he is now ready to vote for cloture, which would advance the bill. That gives Democrats the 60 votes they need to stop a Republican filibuster. The House bill bars any insurance plan from covering abortion if it accepts anyone using federal premium subsidies. The legislation would extend health benefits to more than 30 million uninsured Americans and impose new regulations on the health insurance industry. Senator Reid of Nevada has been working for months to win over one holdout Democratic senator after another, repeatedly altering the bill to satisfy different demands. "They are virtually thumbing their nose at the American people, who are virtually screaming at us, 'Don't pass this bill,' " he added. Insurers would have to keep the money separate and pay for abortions only using the dedicated funds. “Were rushing pell-mell to a Christmas break . “Change is never easy,’’ he said. The breakthrough occurred after hours of meetings yesterday between Nelson and Senate majority leader Harry Reid. Democrats say they have been trying to reform the nation's health care system for close to 70 years, ever since President Franklin Delano Roosevelt was in office. Aides said the deal was worth under $100 million for Nebraska over the next decade - not much in the context of an $900 billion bill. “But change is what’s necessary in America today.’’ Nelson warned he would oppose the bill if those concessions are eliminated during negotiations with the House, which passed its own measure last month.
The spotlight was on moderate Democratic Senator Ben Nelson of Nebraska, who had been the last holdout as Senate Democrats raced against the clock and against determined Republican opposition to pass their health care bill by their self-imposed deadline of December 25th, Christmas. Nelson said he is now ready to vote for cloture, which would advance the bill. "Change is never easy, but change is what is necessary in American today and and that is why I intend to vote for cloture, I intend to vote for cloture and for health care reform," he said. Nelson said he decided to support the bill after winning new concessions from Democratic Senate Majority leader Harry Reid to limit the availability of abortions in insurance sold under the new legislation. The legislation would extend health benefits to more than 30 million uninsured Americans and impose new regulations on the health insurance industry. Senator Reid of Nevada has been working for months to win over one holdout Democratic senator after another, repeatedly altering the bill to satisfy different demands. "The broken system cannot continue and it will not continue. When President Obama signs this bill into law, we will officially end the era in which insurance companies win only when patients lose," he said. Nelson's support should pave the way for Senate Democrats to win the first of a series of crucial procedural votes scheduled to begin at one o'clock in the morning (0600 GMT) Monday and set to conclude - if everything goes smoothly for them - with final passage on Christmas Eve. Republicans have been using a number of parliamentary procedures to delay action on the bill, including forcing a reading on the Senate floor Saturday of Reid's 338-pages of last minute amendments. "And Democrats are forcing a vote on it, as I indicated, over the weekend, counting on the fact that the American people are preoccupied with Christmas and not paying much attention to what they are doing," he said. Republicans are unified in their opposition, saying the bill is too expensive and will not solve the problems with the current health care system. "The history that is being made here, make no mistake about it, the history that is being made here, is the ignoring of the will of the American people," he said. Democrats say they have been trying to reform the nation's health care system for close to 70 years, ever since President Franklin Delano Roosevelt was in office. "All we are trying to do is to guarantee that if you are a fellow citizen of ours, and you are struck with illness or a loved one is, that you will never again have that fear, that you will end up losing your home, your job, your retirement and your life savings because you have been afflicted with an illness through no fault of your own." But the bill would still need to be reconciled with a health-care reform bill passed last month by the House of Representatives before the president could sign it into law next year. With pressure from anti-abortion voters not to support the health reform bill, Nelson announced his support for the bill on Saturday under the condition that no federal funds be used to pay for abortions. In a Saturday morning press conference, he said he thought the Senate bill would be a landmark piece of legislation to compare with the creation of Social Security or the passage of the Civil Rights Act last century. Obama sets the tone In his weekly radio address Saturday, President Obama pitched the Senate’s bill as a patient’s bill of rights where Americans “can find on any page patient protections that dwarf any passed by Congress in at least a decade.” Senate Democrats say the plan, which is built on the 10-year, $848 billion plan introduced earlier this month, will cover 31 million uninsured Americans by requiring citizens to get health coverage. Conservatives have backed tort reform and measures that would allow Americans to buy health insurance across state lines as ways to expand coverage and rein in costs – ideas that have been non-starters among the Democratic majority. "This massive piece of legislation that seeks to restructure one-sixth of our economy is being written behind closed doors without input from anyone in an effort to jam it past not only the Senate but the American people before Christmas," said Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell. If Republicans insist on taking all the debate time allowed under the parliamentary rules, the Senate will complete voting on health care in a series of four votes beginning at 1 a.m. Monday and ending at around 7 p.m. on Christmas Eve. The agreement also lets states opt to bar insurers from offering plans that cover abortion in their new insurance marketplaces, or “exchanges,’’ and provides assistance to pregnant women experiencing financial hardship.
His grandson, Nasser Montazeri, said he had died in his sleep. Are you in Iran? State news agency Irna did not use the ayatollah title in its early reports of Grand Ayatollah Montazeri's death and referred to him as the "clerical figure of rioters". The moderate Parlemannews website said that thousands of people were travelling from all over the country to be at the funeral. Advertisement Crowds of mourners are gathering in the Iranian city of Qom following the death of leading reformist cleric Grand Ayatollah Hoseyn Ali Montazeri at 87. Your comments may be published on any BBC media worldwide. DEFIANT CLERIC Born into provincial family in 1922 and educated at a seminary Arrested and tortured for leading protests against Iran monarchy Designated successor to Islamic Republic's founder, Khomeini Fell out with Khomeini in 1989 over Iran's human rights record House arrest in 1997 for criticising current Supreme Leader Issues a fatwa against President Ahmadinejad after 2009's election Obituary: Ayatollah Montazeri Analysis: Government's challenge He said Iran's clerical leadership was a dictatorship and issued a fatwa condemning the government after the election. 'No mayor player' But Seyed Mohammad Marandi, a political analyst at the University of Tehran, told Al Jazeera in August that Montazeri has been "saying the same thing for around 25 years". "He was the most heavy weight among them [the reformists]. By yesterday evening more security forces had been put on alert out of fear the funeral could become yet another focus for opposition rallies. It is scheduled to start at 0900 local time (0530 GMT) and it is reported that no foreign media will be allowed to attend.
Students chanting pro-reform slogans filled university campuses following the death of the Grand Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri from a heart attack at the age of 87. His grandson, Nasser Montazeri, said he had died in his sleep. Ayatollah Montazeri was originally a follower of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the leader of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary, and was seen in the 1980s as his natural successor. But he came to oppose the dictatorial nature of the regime, particularly its mass executions of members of an opposition movement in the years before Ayatollah Khomeini's death, and ended up one of its fiercest critics. He spent five years in the late 1990s under house arrest, and even after his release he continued to oppose what he termed the regime's repression. Nevertheless, he remained in Qom, the holy city seen as the regime's birthplace, and supporters were converging on the city from all over the country to attend his funeral, due to take place today/Monday. "My grandfather died in his sleep last night," said Nasser Montazeri. "People and friends are coming to express their condolences but there are no special security measures around our house." Tagheer, the website of the reformist defeated election candidate Mehdi Karroubi said: "The social network of the reform movement has called on its supporters to gather in Mohseni Square (in Tehran) to mourn. By yesterday evening more security forces had been put on alert out of fear the funeral could become yet another focus for opposition rallies. Tagheer said there were reports of riot squads being seen in various parts of Qom. Videos were already being posted by midafternoon on YouTube of impromptu gatherings at universities of students who chanted slogans in his memory. Some pro-reform websites say thousands of people are travelling to the city ahead of Monday's funeral. Other unverified reports say opposition supporters are also gathering in some squares in Tehran, fuelling government concern of increased political tension. Iran faced serious unrest after its disputed presidential election in June. Grand Ayatollah Montazeri, one of Shia Islam's most respected figures and a leading critic of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, himself said in August that the turmoil following the election "could lead to the fall of the regime". DEFIANT CLERIC Born into provincial family in 1922 and educated at a seminary Arrested and tortured for leading protests against Iran monarchy Designated successor to Islamic Republic's founder, Khomeini Fell out with Khomeini in 1989 over Iran's human rights record House arrest in 1997 for criticising current Supreme Leader Issues a fatwa against President Ahmadinejad after 2009's election Obituary: Ayatollah Montazeri Analysis: Government's challenge He said Iran's clerical leadership was a dictatorship and issued a fatwa condemning the government after the election. The BBC's Jon Leyne says his death comes at a crucial time in a standoff between the government and opposition, and the leaders will fear a big turnout for Monday's funeral. It is scheduled to start at 0900 local time (0530 GMT) and it is reported that no foreign media will be allowed to attend. Reporting in Iran by foreign organisations has been restricted since the post-election protests. One reformist website, Jaras, has quoted opposition leaders Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi as calling for Monday to be a "day of national mourning" and urging people to attend the funeral. Large crowds have already gathered outside the grand ayatollah's home in Qom, 125km south (90 miles) of Tehran, following his death on Saturday evening. He will be laid to rest at the shrine of Hazrate Masoumeh, one of the most revered female saints in Shia Islam, his office told AFP news agency. Another moderate website, Tagheer, which backs Mehdi Karroubi, said it had reports of people gathering in the Mohseni and other squares in Tehran to mourn. Tagheer also said there were reports of heavy riot police presence in Qom. However, Grand Ayatollah Montazeri's grandson, Naser Montazeri, told Reuters news agency: "People and friends are coming to express their condolences but there are no special security measures around our house." State news agency Irna did not use the ayatollah title in its early reports of Grand Ayatollah Montazeri's death and referred to him as the "clerical figure of rioters". Vocal critic Hoseyn Ali Montazeri was a moving spirit in the 1979 revolution which created Iran's Islamic state. He repeatedly accused the country's rulers of imposing dictatorship in the name of Islam and said the liberation that was supposed to have followed the 1979 revolution never happened. Hoseyn Ali Montazeri was designated to succeed Khomeini, but the pair fell out over Iran's human rights record a few months before Khomeini died of cancer in 1989. MONTAZERI BBC INTERVIEWS Exchanged e-mails detailing views on reform in Oct 2009 Interviewed at his home in Qom in June 2008 Click below to read details E-mail exchanges Visiting Iran's ayatollahs This led to the closure of Grand Ayatollah Montazeri's religious school and an attack on his office in Qom. After his detention, state-run media began referring to him as a "simple-minded" cleric, references to him in schoolbooks were erased and streets named after him were renamed, but he remained defiant. Despite his old age and failing health, Grand Ayatollah Montazeri backed the opposition's claims that the 2009 election result, which gave President Ahmadinejad a landslide victory, had been widely rigged. Iran's authorities denied the rigging allegations and said the post-election protests were a foreign-backed plot to bring down the leadership.
He was very shaken. One of the passengers, Ann Ellis, 60, from Illogan, said: "All I can remember is a big bang and we just went over. It was horrific." The first police car to arrive at the scene also crashed Two women have died and another 47 people have been injured in a coach crash on a country road in Cornwall. Truro's Park and Ride service was closed because of ice but has now re-opened. "Some key roads have not been gritted at all. The accident came as the poor Christmas weather continued for another day, with temperatures plunging as low as 14F (-10C) in southern England and prompting widespread icy road warnings and more travel disruption as 10 million motorists prepare to travel for Christmas. Please turn on JavaScript. I attended the hospital to speak to the driver and a number of passengers, all of whom said that the coach was unable to stop once it had come into contact with the black ice, then turned over onto its side and ended up in a ditch. I could hear this commotion going on. Local resident Derek Smith raised the alert with the rescue services. The AA said it dealt with an estimated 18,000 breakdowns by the end of Tuesday - compared with around 8,500 on a normal Tuesday. The vehicle, which was carrying 48 passengers and a driver back from a trip to see the Christmas lights at the fishing village of Mousehole, left the road and hit a tree before ending up on its side near Penzance in Cornwall. In Scotland, a Ryanair flight from Dublin skidded off the runway after landing at Prestwick airport while parts of the A9 trunk road are closed because of heavy snow.
The first police car to arrive at the scene also crashed Two women have died and another 47 people have been injured in a coach crash on a country road in Cornwall. The coach rolled on to its side after skidding on sheet ice on an ungritted road in Townshend, near Hayle. The passengers were returning from a trip to see Christmas lights 14 miles away in Mousehole when the crash happened at 2215 GMT on Tuesday. The first police car at the scene also skidded and crashed into the coach, owned by local firm Williams Travel. The two officers inside the vehicle were not injured. Our thoughts are with the families and friends of those passengers who sadly died, and also all the other passengers who were on the coach Garry Williams, Williams Travel Passengers say crash was 'horrific' Coach driver 'avoided bigger tragedy' Supt Tim Swarbrick said: "It's a tragedy at this time of the year and our thoughts are with the families of all those involved." He said: "The effective response from emergency services, combined with the local community's willingness to help, resulted in the delivery of high quality care to a large number of patients in very challenging circumstances." The injured bus passengers were taken to Treliske Hospital in Truro after the crash. 'Difficult to breathe' A police spokesman said one of the women killed was pronounced dead at the scene. The other is believed to have died after being taken to hospital. Police said the women were from the west Cornwall area and their families have been informed. The operations manager at Camborne-based Williams Travel, Garry Williams, said: "I attended Treliske Hospital to speak to the driver and a number of passengers, all of which said that the coach was unable to stop once it had come into contact with the black ice, and then turned over onto its side and ended up in a ditch. "All were amazed that this road was not gritted, which is a regular road used by those who go to see the Christmas lights. "Our thoughts are with the families and friends of those passengers who sadly died, and also all the other passengers who were on the coach." The regional engineer with Cornwall County Highways, Peter Tatlow, said: "It's one of the more minor roads so therefore it wouldn't have been treated as a matter of course." Of the 47 people hurt, four are described as seriously injured and the rest are "walking wounded". At 1400 GMT Police confirmed three people were still in hospital. The crashed police car has been removed and diggers are attempting to clear the ground around the bus. The coach left the road as it went down a hill, hit a tree and ploughed through a hedge before coming to a stop on its side, Devon and Cornwall Police said. Insp Matt Shaw said: "It seems from initial investigations that the coach has slipped on ice. The road is covered in a sheet of ice, it's treacherous, it's difficult to even walk down there." The operation involved the police, firefighters, coastguards and Cornwall's specialist search and rescue team. During the morning, up to 20 police officers remained at the scene, about seven miles north-east of Penzance, and crash scene investigators were at work. Helicopters from RNAS Culdrose near Helston and RMB Chivenor were sent to help take casualties to hospital in Truro because the roads were too treacherous, police said. It took four hours to move all the injured passengers to hospital. Part of the A30 was closed at Bodmin after black ice caused a collision between a heavy goods vehicle and two cars. "Our clinics are operating as normal but it would be helpful if patients could telephone in the event they are unable to attend." Cornwall council defends decision to grit only a fifth of roads after vehicle overturns injuring 47 people, five seriously A coach driver whose vehicle overturned in icy conditions, killing two women and injuring 47 people, did "fantastically" well to avoid a bigger tragedy, crash witnesses said tonight. The vehicle, which was carrying 48 passengers back from a trip to see a Christmas lights attraction, left the road and ended up on its side near Penzance, Devon and Cornwall police said. The first police car on the scene also lost control and crashed into the coach while passengers were still inside, onlookers said. Jane Moore, who helped walking wounded passengers, said the bus driver managed to steer the vehicle between two trees as it slid on "sheet" ice. Cornwall county council was forced to defend its decision not to treat the steep hill where the accident happened, describing it as a "minor unclassified road". It emerged yesterday that only one fifth of the county's roads had been gritted before the crash. Police confirmed that a police car on its way to help skidded on the icy hill at Godolphin bridge, near Penzance, and collided with the coach.
But it does not. Senator Jim Bunning, Republican of Kentucky, did not vote. The insurance lobbying group America's Health Insurance Plans warned in a statement Thursday that the Senate bill would result in higher premiums and fewer coverage options. This fight is long from over," he said. This fight is not over.” Advertisement Continue reading the main story After struggling for years to expand health insurance in modest, incremental ways, Democrats decided this year that they could not let another opportunity slip away. Ahead are difficult negotiations with the House of Representatives to craft a final bill President Obama would sign into law. Throughout the nearly year-long debate, Republicans have counted as allies many of the same industry forces that helped to defeat health-care reform in the past. "This fight is not over. View all New York Times newsletters. Speaking to reporters, Reid and others hailed the vote as a victory and a major step toward providing millions more Americans with access to health care. Once the House and Senate merge their bills, he added, "this will be the most important piece of social legislation since the Social Security Act passed in the 1930s and the most important reform of our health-care system since Medicare passed in the 1960s." The budget office estimates that the bill would provide coverage to 31 million uninsured people, but still leave 23 million uninsured in 2019. Please try again later. But Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) pledged that the battle will continue when Congress returns in January. “The public is on our side. Jeff Sessions is a Republican from Alabama: "This legislation may have a great vision, it may have a great idea about trying to make the system work better.
H.R. 3590 as amended, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is passed," Vice President Joe Biden announced. The vice president presided over the Senate at the time of the vote. At an estimated $87 billion, the measure would expand health insurance coverage to about 30 million more Americans currently without it, create new private insurance marketplaces, or exchanges, to expand choice. And, like the slightly more expensive measure passed by the House of Representatives, it would end a practice by private insurance companies of denying coverage to individuals with existing health problems. Both the Senate and House measures would require nearly all Americans to purchase some form of insurance, while lower-income Americans would receive help from federal government subsidies. In remarks before the vote, Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid said opponents had done everything they could to prevent the vote from taking place. Speaking to reporters, Reid and others hailed the vote as a victory and a major step toward providing millions more Americans with access to health care. "This is a victory because we have affirmed that the ability to live a healthy life in our great country is a right and not merely a privilege for the select few," Reid said. Reid and others paid tribute to to Senator Edward Kennedy, who died this past August after spending decades of his career in the Senate pursuing health care reform. In the final hours of debate on the Senate bill, Republicans asserted it would be ineffective and add sharply to the U.S. budget deficit. Jeff Sessions is a Republican from Alabama: "This legislation may have a great vision, it may have a great idea about trying to make the system work better. These are huge costs [and] its not financially sound," Sessions said. These talks, which will formally get under way early in the new year, will take place amid anger among many liberal House Democrats the Senate bill failed to contain a government-run insurance option. Members of the House Progressive Caucus have vowed to fight to keep this public option in any final legislation that emerges, along with other provisions they say are needed to protect lower and middle-income Americans and hold insurance companies accountable. In a statement, the Democratic chairmen of three key House committees said while there are clear differences between House and Senate bills, both will bring fundamental health care coverage to millions who are currently uninsured. Obama administration officials have been quoted as saying they anticipate negotiations on a final bill would not be complete until after the president's State of the Union Address in January, and could slip even later into the new year. Senate Democrats approved landmark legislation just after sunrise Christmas Eve that would transform the nation's health-care system by requiring people without insurance to obtain coverage and protecting those who have it from the most unpopular private insurance practices. Vice President Biden presided over the 60 to 39 party-line vote, described as a historic milestone by senators on both sides of the aisle. Despite the early hour, Democrats sat alert at their desks, exhausted but exuberant, savoring a victory that had eluded so many of their predecessors. "This is probably the most important vote that every sitting member of the Senate will cast in their tenure here," said Sen. Christopher J. Dodd (D-Conn.), one of the authors of the bill. President Obama delayed a family holiday trip to Hawaii until after the 7 a.m. vote was gaveled to a close. "Seven presidents have tried to pass comprehensive health insurance reform, seven presidents have failed" since Theodore Roosevelt proposed universal coverage in 1912, Obama noted in brief remarks before he left the White House. "We are now finally poised to deliver on the promise of real, meaningful health insurance reform," Obama said. Once the House and Senate merge their bills, he added, "this will be the most important piece of social legislation since the Social Security Act passed in the 1930s and the most important reform of our health-care system since Medicare passed in the 1960s." The Senate bill passed without a single GOP vote, after a 25-day floor debate marked by biting partisan rhetoric. As Democrats overcame divisions and closed ranks, accepting concessions to push the bill through, Republicans became fierce in opposition. Even Sen. Olympia J. Snowe (R-Maine) -- a moderate courted over many months by Obama -- responded "No," frowning when the Senate clerk called her name. Republicans made one concession: They allowed the final vote to be moved up from evening to early morning, so senators and staff could travel home to spend Christmas with their families. But Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) pledged that the battle will continue when Congress returns in January. "My colleagues and I will work to stop this bill from becoming law." The bills' scope is vast, but Democrats are counting on consumer-friendly provisions -- including some that would take effect right away -- as selling points to a skeptical public. In the Senate bill, sick uninsured people with preexisting medical conditions could immediately obtain private coverage through state-based high-risk insurance pools, and insurers could no longer deny coverage to children under age 18 with preexisting conditions. Small businesses with fewer than 25 employees would become eligible for tax credits to purchase insurance for their workers. The insurance lobbying group America's Health Insurance Plans warned in a statement Thursday that the Senate bill would result in higher premiums and fewer coverage options. Advertisement Continue reading the main story The bill would require most Americans to have health insurance, would add 15 million people to the Medicaid rolls and would subsidize private coverage for low- and middle-income people, at a cost to the government of $871 billion over 10 years, according to the Congressional Budget Office. The budget office estimates that the bill would provide coverage to 31 million uninsured people, but still leave 23 million uninsured in 2019.
Last month, however, the T.S.A. Federal officials said the man wanted to bring the plane down. Gibbs appeared on ABC television's "This Week," NBC's "Meet the Press" and CBS' "Face the Nation." A second Department of Homeland Security official said that the Transportation Security Administration used layers of security measures at the nation’s airports and that it would be tightening them as a result of the incident in Detroit. Napolitano said Abdulmutallab was properly screened before getting on the flight to Detroit from Amsterdam. “This could have been devastating,” Mr. King said. An apparent malfunction in a device designed to detonate the high explosive PETN may have been all that saved the 278 passengers and the crew aboard Northwest Flight 253 on Christmas Day. The suspect later told the US authorities he had had explosive powder taped to his leg and used a syringe of chemicals to mix with the powder that was to cause explosion, the ABC television network reports. At least one passenger was taken to the University of Michigan Medical Center in Ann Arbor. In August 2006, British authorities uncovered a plot to blow up planes bound for the United States using explosives that would be mixed with liquids on board. The White House spokesman Bill Burton said the president was monitoring the situation. Despite being in the database of people with suspected terrorist ties, Abdulmutallab, who comes from a prominent and wealthy Nigerian family, had a multiple-entry U.S. visa. Anahad OConnor reported from New York, and Eric Schmitt from Washington. Abdulmutallab was carrying PETN, also known as pentaerythritol, the same material convicted shoe bomber Richard Reid used when he tried to destroy a trans-Atlantic flight in 2001 with explosives hidden in his shoes.
The plane was carrying 278 passengers An incident on an airliner arriving in the US city of Detroit from Amsterdam in the Netherlands was a failed bomb attack, senior US officials say. Sources say a man burnt his leg trying to ignite explosives on the jet, which had 278 passengers and 11 crew aboard, but nobody else was seriously hurt. In custody, the Nigerian suspect said he had been acting on behalf of al-Qaeda, a police source said. President Barack Obama has ordered increased security for air travel. The White House spokesman Bill Burton said the president was monitoring the situation. Northwest Airlines Flight 253 had been about 20 minutes away from landing at Detroit Metropolitan Airport on Friday afternoon when the incident occurred. Reports quote officials as saying the suspect seems to have tried to ignite some kind of incendiary device. Melinda Dennis, a passenger, said the man had been severely burned on one leg, and a fire extinguisher and water were used to put out the fire. AIRLINE TERROR PLOTS 1995: Al-Qaeda plots to blow up US airliners over the Pacific in "Operation Bojinka" 2001: Briton Richard Reid tries to blow up a Paris-Miami flight with 197 people on board using explosives hidden in his shoes 2006: Police in Britain foil a series of attacks on transatlantic flights using liquid bombs disguised as soft drinks Another passenger, Syed Jafri, said he had been seated three rows behind the suspect and had seen a glow and noticed a smoke smell. As the suspect was being tackled, he was reportedly shouting and a passenger said she had heard the word "Afghanistan". 'Taped to his leg' Another unnamed passenger heard a "little pop", then saw "a bit of a smoke and then some flames". A robot could be seen examining the plane with an official nearby After "yelling and screaming", the passenger added, "they took him out and it was really quick". The suspect later told the US authorities he had had explosive powder taped to his leg and used a syringe of chemicals to mix with the powder that was to cause explosion, the ABC television network reports. A US intelligence official quoted by AP said an explosive device had been used consisting of a "mix of powder and liquid". The New York Republican named the detainee as Abdul Mudallad, 23, a Nigerian national whose name, he said, was in a database indicating "a significant terrorist connection" although it did not appear on a "no-fly" list. Mr King also said investigators were looking into whether the incident was part of a larger plot and a "worldwide alert" had been raised. The Department of Homeland Security said "additional screening measures" had been put into effect since the incident. Susan Elliott, a spokeswoman for Delta, Northwest's parent company, said the airline was co-operating with the investigation. The U.S. system for checking suspicious travelers and airport security came under new scrutiny Sunday after an alleged terrorist bent on destroying a jetliner was thwarted only by a malfunctioning detonator and some quick-thinking passengers. An apparent malfunction in a device designed to detonate the high explosive PETN may have been all that saved the 278 passengers and the crew aboard Northwest Flight 253 on Christmas Day. Abdulmutallab was hospitalized with burns from the attack and was read an indictment filed Saturday in federal court in Detroit charging him with attempting to destroy or wreck an aircraft and placing a destructive device in a plane. He was released from the hospital Sunday to the custody of federal marshals, who would not reveal where he was being held. Adding to the airborne jitters, a second Nigerian man was detained Sunday from the same Northwest flight to Detroit after he locked himself in the plane's bathroom. Officials reported that he was belligerent but genuinely sick, and that, in an abundance of caution, the plane was taken to a remote location for screening before passengers were let off. In November, Abdulmutallab had been placed in a database of more than 500,000 names of people suspected of terrorist ties. 'Sacrificing himself' Officials said he came to the attention of U.S. intelligence last month when his father, a prominent Nigerian banker, reported to the American Embassy in Nigeria about his son's increasingly extremist views. CNBC's Erin Burnett reported in Abuja, Nigeria, that family members had told her that Abdulmutallab's father had told embassy officials in a letter that his son had spoken of "sacrificing himself." Abdulmutallab was carrying PETN, also known as pentaerythritol, the same material convicted shoe bomber Richard Reid used when he tried to destroy a trans-Atlantic flight in 2001 with explosives hidden in his shoes. Despite being in the database of people with suspected terrorist ties, Abdulmutallab, who comes from a prominent and wealthy Nigerian family, had a multiple-entry U.S. visa. Reviewing detection systems The administration is also investigating aviation detection systems to see how the alleged attacker managed to get on board the Northwest flight in Amsterdam with explosive materials, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said. However, Gibbs says federal authorities took precautionary steps "to assume and plan for the very worst."
"We always hope that there will be survivors." Earlier in the week, a passenger ferry collided with a fishing boat near Limbones island in the north of the country, leaving at least three people dead. Relatives at Batangas awaited news of survivors as search and rescue operations continued [Reuters] Relatives at Batangas awaited news of survivors as search and rescue operations continued [Reuters] "Hopefully their [search] flights will not be fruitless and they may find a few more of the missing," he told a local radio station. Sea accidents are common in the archipelago of more than 7,100 islands because of tropical storms and poor safety regulations. "Many jumped into the water without life jackets" Senator Richard Gordon, Philippine Red Cross "There were dozens of people on the water crying for help and calling out the names of their family members and relatives. It follows another ferry disaster in the Philippines on Christmas Eve. The vessel was carrying 88 passengers and crew when it went down near Batangas City. I don't know what happened to my mother and elder sister. Coastguard spokesman Commander Armando Balilo told local media that 46 people had been rescued from the waters. The cause of the collision is not clear as there were no reports of poor weather conditions. In the latest tragedy, survivors said the roll-on ferry listed and sank after taking in water from the bow ramp. It had been on an extended fishing trip in the Turtle islands in the southern Philippines and was returning to the Navotas port in northern Manila. The world's worst maritime disaster in peacetime occurred in the Philippines in December 1987.
Distraught relatives waited for news in Batangas City At least three people have died and 22 remain missing after a ferry sank in waters south of the Philippines capital, Manila, the coast guard says. The vessel was carrying 88 passengers and crew when it went down near Batangas City. Ships in the area rescued more than 60 people. Up to 24 people are still missing after that vessel and a fishing boat collided in darkness in Manila Bay. In the latest tragedy, survivors said the roll-on ferry listed and sank after taking in water from the bow ramp. There were dozens of people on the water crying for help and calling out the names of their family members Eric Musngi Survivor Philippine vessels collide at sea Three passing ships helped rescue teams pick up survivors from the MV Baleno-9 vessel, and the search was continuing on Sunday. "There were dozens of people on the water crying for help and calling out the names of their family members," passenger Eric Musngi told a radio interview, reports Reuters news agency. "I don't know what happened to my mother and elder sister." Sea accidents are common in the archipelago of more than 7,100 islands because of tropical storms and poor safety regulations. Last year, more than 800 people died after a ferry overturned during a typhoon in the central Philippines. Relatives at Batangas awaited news of survivors as search and rescue operations continued [Reuters] Relatives at Batangas awaited news of survivors as search and rescue operations continued [Reuters] "Hopefully their [search] flights will not be fruitless and they may find a few more of the missing," he told a local radio station. Balilo said passengers were equipped with a sufficient number of life vests and emergency rafts. Sudden sinking Eric Musngi, a passenger, told local radio that the sinking had happened "very fast". "I was sleeping on a bench but soon found myself clinging on a floater [life ring]," he said after a rescue ship took him to Batangas. "Many jumped into the water without life jackets" Senator Richard Gordon, Philippine Red Cross "There were dozens of people on the water crying for help and calling out the names of their family members and relatives. "Senator Richard Gordon, the head of the Philippine National Red Cross, told reporters that survivors had suggested that there had been little time to warn passengers before the ferry went down. "Based on my interviews with the rescued crew and passengers, the ship even failed to send out distress signals and to inform all those onboard about the ship's conditions," he said. Ferries form the backbone of mass transport in the archipelago nation of 92 million people, and sea accidents are common due to tropical storms, badly maintained boats and weak enforcement of safety regulations. There were 46 survivors but many were feared trapped as they slept Four people have died and another 23 are missing after a ferry collided with a fishing boat in the Philippines.
Security officers, in a private area, review the images, which are not stored. The airlines said the new T.S.A. Advertisement Continue reading the main story “I understand people have issue with privacy,” Mr. Hawley said Sunday. They also recounted how an hour before landing an announcement had been made that no one could get up for the remainder of the flight. U.S. authorities have charged a Nigerian man with trying to blow up a plane on its descent into the city of Detroit on Friday. Amsterdam’s airport has 15 of these machines — more than just about any airport in the world — but an official there said Sunday that they were prohibited from using them on passengers bound for the United States, for a reason she did not explain. The suspect's family members in Nigeria said they were shocked. Please try again later. Legislation is pending in the House that would prohibit the use of this equipment for routine passenger screening. View all New York Times newsletters. Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab was asked if he understood the charges against him, and he answered in English that he did. At the same time, a jittery air travel system coped with a new scare. American officials were tracking his travels to Yemen, and Scotland Yard investigators were checking on his connections in London, where he studied from 2005 to 2008 at University College London and was president of the Islamic Society. "We're just fortunate nothing happened. The government has spent the last several years cutting the size of the watch list, after repeated criticism that too many people were being questioned at border crossings or checkpoints.
At the same time, a jittery air travel system coped with a new scare. On the same flight that Mr. Abdulmutallab took on Friday — Northwest 253 from Amsterdam to Detroit — an ailing Nigerian man who spent a long time in the restroom inadvertently set off a security alert. It turned out to be a false alarm. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Officials in several countries, meanwhile, worked to retrace Mr. Abdulmutallab’s path and to look for security holes. In Nigeria, officials said he arrived in Lagos on Christmas Eve, just hours before departing for Amsterdam. American officials were tracking his travels to Yemen, and Scotland Yard investigators were checking on his connections in London, where he studied from 2005 to 2008 at University College London and was president of the Islamic Society. Obama administration officials scrambled to portray the episode, in which passengers and flight attendants subdued Mr. Abdulmutallab and doused the fire he had started, as a test that the air safety system passed. “The system has worked really very, very smoothly over the course of the past several days,” Janet Napolitano, the Homeland Security secretary said, in an interview on “This Week” on ABC. Robert Gibbs, the White House spokesman, used nearly the same language on “Face the Nation” on CBS, saying that “in many ways, this system has worked.” Advertisement Continue reading the main story But counterterrorism experts and members of Congress were hardly willing to praise what they said was a security system that had proved to be not nimble enough to respond to the ever-creative techniques devised by would-be terrorists. Photo Congressional leaders said the tip from Mr. Abdulmutallab’s father, Alhaji Umaru Mutallab, should have resulted in closer scrutiny of the suspect before he boarded the plane in Amsterdam. Senator Susan Collins, Republican of Maine, the ranking minority member of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, said that his visa should have been revoked, or that he at least should have been given a physical pat-down or a full-body scan. Advertisement Continue reading the main story “This individual should not have been missed,” Ms. Collins said in an interview on Sunday. “Clearly, there should have been a red flag next to his name.” The episode has renewed a debate that has quietly continued since the 2001 attacks over the proper balance between security and privacy. The government has spent the last several years cutting the size of the watch list, after repeated criticism that too many people were being questioned at border crossings or checkpoints. “You are second-guessed one day and criticized on another,” said one Transportation Security Administration official, who asked not to be named because he was not authorized to discuss the matter. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Privacy advocates, for example, have tried to stop or at least slow the introduction of advanced checkpoint screening devices that use so-called millimeter waves to create an image of a passenger’s body, so officers can see under clothing to determine if a weapon or explosive has been hidden. Security officers, in a private area, review the images, which are not stored. Legislation is pending in the House that would prohibit the use of this equipment for routine passenger screening. Advertisement Continue reading the main story To date, only 40 of these machines have been installed at 19 airports across the United States — meaning only a tiny fraction of passengers pass through them. Amsterdam’s airport has 15 of these machines — more than just about any airport in the world — but an official there said Sunday that they were prohibited from using them on passengers bound for the United States, for a reason she did not explain. Sign Up Receive occasional updates and special offers for The New York Times's products and services. Michael Chertoff, former secretary of homeland security, and Kip Hawley, who ran the Transportation Security Administration until January, said the new body-scanning machines were a critical tool that should quickly be installed in more airports nationwide. For now, American aviation officials have mandated that airports across the world do physical pat-downs of passengers on flights headed to the United States, a practice that in the past has also raised privacy objections. “But that is a tradeoff, and what happened on the plane just highlights what the stakes are.” Photo So far, an additional 150 full-body imaging machines have been ordered, but nationwide there are approximately 2,200 checkpoint screening lanes. Advertisement Continue reading the main story One subject of the administration’s security review will be the Terrorist Identities Datamart Environment, or Tide, the extensive collection of data on more than 500,000 people into which the warning from Mr. Abdulmutallab’s father’s was entered. A law enforcement official said it was not unusual that a one-time comment from a relative would not place a person on the far smaller no-fly list, which has only 4,000 names, or the so-called selectee list of 14,000 names of people who are subjected to more thorough searches at checkpoints. Advertisement Continue reading the main story The point of the Tide database, the official said, is to make sure even the most minor suspicious details are recorded so that they can be connected to new data in the future. “The point is to marry up data from different sources over time that may indicate an individual might be a terrorist.” The debate over watch lists and screening will be shaped in part by the still-emerging details about Mr. Abdulmutallab, his radicalization, his alleged training in Yemen and the bombing attempt. On Sunday, officials were still examining his claim that he received help from a bomb expert in Yemen associated with Al Qaeda. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Mr. Abdulmutallab was moved on Sunday from a University of Michigan hospital and transferred to a federal prison in Milan, Mich. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Mr. Mutallab, the suspect’s father, was scheduled to make a public statement on Monday after talking to Nigerian security officials in Abuja. The passenger, whose name was not made public, “was removed from the flight and interviewed” by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Advertisement Continue reading the main story “Indications at this time are that the individual’s behavior is due to legitimate illness,” Ms. Kuban said, “and no other suspicious behavior or materials have been found.” The incident came amid security measures that were begun by the Transportation Security Administration in response to Friday’s terrorism attempt. issued an update on its Web site Sunday that said passengers would be subject to greater security, but its information was not as detailed as the memorandums sent by the agency to airlines this weekend. Advertisement Continue reading the main story International travelers were also told that they could not leave their seats for the last hour of a flight, during which time they also could not use a pillow or blanket. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Airlines were ordered to turn off in-flight entertainment systems with maps showing a plane’s location, and pilots and flight crews were told not to make comments about cities or landmarks below the flight path.
Tolkien. His name, and reputation, were suddenly hot. "This is old hat," Cameron says. It's a tall order. It wouldn't be the first time. But the director also commissioned an entire language for the Na'vi. This film is not like that." 'Hi, How Are You?' "People have been watching to see what the so-called king of the world was going to do after Titanic. You could say I've been thinking about this movie since I was 8." And "he wanted it to sound good — he wanted it to be pleasant, he wanted it to be appealing to the audience." Developed by linguist Marc Okrand for the Star Trek films (beginning with Star Trek III ) and subsequent TV series, the guttural Klingon was based around many of the most uncommon grammar structures and consonant sounds of real-world languages, to make it sound all the more alien. Avatar is nothing if not testimony to Cameron's geekiness. Guidelines: You share in the USA TODAY community, so please keep your comments smart and civil. But sometimes he had to invent new worlds on the spot. Spielberg stayed in movies. Frommer has said he came up with enough vocabulary to allow him to translate certain lines from the script quickly. You can't compete with that kind of lore, but what we can do is give the illusion that there's that kind of depth and detail." ... Maybe obsessive is closer to the point. He just knows everyone else's job better than any of us. Guy Dixon Report Typo/Error
In the run-up to the release of his sci-fi blockbuster Avatar , James Cameron has been proclaiming the richness of the Na'vi language spoken by the film's jungle-planet aliens. As the director has said, he wanted to "out-Klingon Klingon." The Klingon language (or tlhIngan Hol as diehard Trekkies know it) not only raised the bar for Hollywood alien-speak, with its full grammar rules and relatively wide vocabulary. Developed by linguist Marc Okrand for the Star Trek films (beginning with Star Trek III ) and subsequent TV series, the guttural Klingon was based around many of the most uncommon grammar structures and consonant sounds of real-world languages, to make it sound all the more alien. The late UCLA linguist Victoria Fromkin is often credited for being one of the first to devise a full dialect for alien characters, with her language for the primates in the original Land of the Lost television series. Film and literature, though, brim with invented languages, from Nadsat in Anthony Burgess's novel A Clockwork Orange to the Middle Earth languages of J.R.R. Tolkien. Clips with Avatar 's Na'vi language, developed by California professor Paul Frommer, seem to have the burr and open vowels of a kind of Latin-American Spanish patois, albeit by way of Africa. Frommer has said he came up with enough vocabulary to allow him to translate certain lines from the script quickly. Given the language's swinging gait, you can't help hearing hints of real-world tongues, and maybe that's the point - to give the phony language the ring of believability. Giving Voice To 'Avatar' Aliens Enlarge this image toggle caption Twentieth Century Fox Twentieth Century Fox Avatar, James Cameron's first movie since Titanic, opens Dec. 18, and for it, he's created a new world known as Pandora — and a race of tall blue aliens, too. The expensive visual effects, many of them using technology developed by Cameron specifically for Avatar, have gotten a lot of attention in recent weeks. Paul Frommer, a professor at the University of Southern California, is the linguist who built it for him — and he says the bar Cameron set was pretty high. "He wanted a complete language, with a totally consistent sound system, morphology, syntax," Frommer says. Enlarge this image toggle caption John Brinkley John Brinkley Frommer spent years working on the Na'vi language, eventually teaching it to all of the principal actors who have to speak it, and making recordings for them to listen to on their iPods. Later, he worked on the set during shooting, coaching actors on pronunciation between takes, and even writing the occasional extra line when Cameron decided a scene needed tweaking. And though he invented the language, says Frommer, that last part wasn't always a snap. "Sometimes I could come up with it right away, and sometimes I'd have to say, 'Give me five minutes, OK?' " He recalls one memorable example: "Jim Cameron and Sam Worthington came up to me and said, 'We've decided that the character Jake is going to be recounting an incident he had where he was bitten in his big blue butt — so how do you say 'big blue butt?' " A Language Of His Own, And No One To Speak It With The actors in Avatar worked hard to learn the dialogue on the page, but none of them actually mastered the Na'vi language, with all its internally consistent rules of grammar and syntax. (Or Words To That Effect) Frommer coaches Renee Montagne through a simple greeting: 'Hello, Renee, I See You' "At this point, I'm pretty much the only one who knows the grammar," Frommer admits. See It, Believe It You know your alien language has taken off when a German guy translates rap songs into it: Eminem's 'Without Me' (In Klingon) In fact, Frommer says, he's been "pleased to see that there's some interest" from fans who've expressed curiosity about how and where to learn the language, even before the film's release. "Klingon is an incredible language," Frommer says, pointing to the dense and complicated tongue invented by linguist Marc Okrand for the Star Trek movies. "It's really taken on a life of its own," Frommer says admiringly, with fans participating in everything from Klingon karaoke to full-on, dead-serious Klingon opera. "There's a translation of Hamlet into Klingon," says Frommer. Avatar, director While shooting a tricky scene of his outer space opus, director James Cameron needed something to make his actors react as if they were getting pummeled by debris. Same with wadded paper, pencils, food cartons: Nothing gave his actors that urgent, terrified look he wanted. Then he whipped the daylights out of his stars as cameras rolled. TRAILER: Get a glimpse at 'Avatar' "He was loving it," says Zoe Saldana, the actress on the receiving end of Cameron's zeal. That became the highest-grossing film ever, taking in $1.8 billion worldwide and winning a record-tying 11 Oscars, including best picture. It's expensive (by some estimates, the priciest film ever made at $500 million, including marketing), a technological marvel (he designed every plant, animal, weapon and spaceship in the 3-D movie) and long (2½ hours). "It's not really a review movie," Cameron says, not sounding too concerned.
He said crew members were from Bulgaria, Georgia, India, the Philippines, Poland, Romania, Russia, Turkey and Ukraine. ・A Singaporean-flagged container ship was released by Somali pirates. An estimated 25,000 ships annually cruise the Gulf of Aden, off Somalia's northern coast. NAIROBI, Dec. 29 (Xinhua) -- A Singaporean-flagged container ship was released by Somali pirates while a UK-flagged chemical tanker was hijacked, a regional maritime official confirmed on Tuesday. 'No contact' The St James Park issued a distress call on Monday night saying it had been attacked by pirates, said the International Maritime Bureau. The Panama-flagged bulk vessel was sailing from the United States to India with a cargo of fertilizer when it was seized. Full story Somali pirates release Spanish ship with 36 crew The Spanish tuna fishing boat Alakrana sails near a Spanish warship in the Indian ocean after it was freed from Somali pirates November 17, 2009. "It is expected to arrive there later this evening," Mr Mwangura told AFP news agency. Navios Apollon, which belongs to Navios Maritime Partners, has a Greek captain and an 18-member crew of foreign seamen. Pirate attacks have been common off the Somali coast and international navies have been deployed to counter them. Ransoms started out in the tens of thousands of dollars and have since climbed into the millions. The waters around Somalia are among the most dangerous in the world. Andrew Mwangura of the Kenya-based East Africa Seafarers' Association said the chemical tanker and its 26 crew had been sailing to Thailand from Spain with a chemical used to make plastics when it sent a distress signal from the Gulf of Aden.
The St James Park issued a distress call on Monday night saying it had been attacked by pirates Somali pirates have captured two ships with 45 crew off the East African coast, officials say. A UK-flagged chemical tanker, the St James Park, was reportedly captured in the Gulf of Aden on Monday while on its way to Thailand from Spain. Its 26 crew hail from Russia, Ukraine, Bulgaria, Romania, Poland, Georgia, India, Turkey and the Philippines. The Navios Apollon, a Panamanian-flagged Greek cargo ship with 19 crew, was hijacked north of the Seychelles. The 50,000-tonne carrier - which had been sailing from the US state of Florida to India - was boarded on Monday by 10 men in speedboats, according to the Greek coastguard. 'No contact' The St James Park issued a distress call on Monday night saying it had been attacked by pirates, said the International Maritime Bureau. The tanker, which was carrying a cargo of chemicals used to make plastics, had changed course and was now heading towards the northern coast of Somalia, said Andrew Mwangura of the Seafarers Assistance Programme. "It is expected to arrive there later this evening," Mr Mwangura told AFP news agency. The ship's owner-operators told the BBC they were working for "the early and safe release of our crew members on board". A spokesman for Zodiac Maritime Agencies said the company had had no contact with the St James Park or the pirates but was in contact with the European naval force in the area. Correspondents say the upsurge in piracy in the region is a consequence of the failure to find a solution to Somalia's continuing political disarray. The St James Park, a UK-flagged chemical tanker is seen on the River Thames at Northfleet in Essex, southern England in this combination handout photograph dated October 4, 2009, made available in London and released to Reuters December 29, 2009. REUTERS/Derek Lilley/Handout MOGADISHU Somali pirates seized a chemical tanker and a cargo vessel on Monday, underlining the continued risk to shipping in some of the world's busiest maritime trade routes. Somalia has been mired in chaos with no effective central government since 1991 and pirate gangs operating from coastal havens have flourished over the past few years. They have made tens of millions of dollars from seizing ships for ransom in the Gulf of Aden, linking Europe to Asia, and are also hunting far into the Indian Ocean to evade foreign navies sent to protect commercial shipping. On Monday, pirates seized the British-flagged chemical tanker St James Park in the Gulf of Aden and the Panama-registered cargo ship Navios Apollon, taking the number of vessels they hold to more than 10, maritime officials said. On the same day, pirates released the Singaporean-flagged container ship Kota Wajar, saying they received a $4 million ransom for the vessel seized in October far out in the Indian Ocean near the Seychelles archipelago. ATTACKS ON THE RISE Somalia's Western-backed government has promised to battle piracy but it controls little more than a few blocks of the capital Mogadishu, and the hefty ransoms are attracting more investors in piracy from within the country and abroad. Analysts say there is scant hope of stamping out piracy unless some order can be brought to Somalia, an unlikely prospect as rebel groups control much of the country and the pirates are well entrenched in their fiefdoms. Foreign navies have been deployed around the Gulf of Aden and have operated convoys as well as setting up and monitoring a transit corridor for ships to pass through vulnerable points. In the year to October 20, there were 324 attacks worldwide with Somali pirates accounting for 174 -- up from 194 incidents in the same period of 2008. The raids carried out by heavily armed men in high-speed skiffs have pushed up shipping insurance premiums and forced some vessels to switch routes to try to evade the sea gangs. Andrew Mwangura of the Kenya-based East Africa Seafarers' Association said the chemical tanker and its 26 crew had been sailing to Thailand from Spain with a chemical used to make plastics when it sent a distress signal from the Gulf of Aden. According to Ecoterra International, a group that monitors shipping off Somalia, at least 10 foreign vessels and 228 seafarers were being held close to the country before the two latest seizures. NAIROBI, Dec. 29 (Xinhua) -- A Singaporean-flagged container ship was released by Somali pirates while a UK-flagged chemical tanker was hijacked, a regional maritime official confirmed on Tuesday. Full story Pole aboard tanker hijacked by Somali pirates WARSAW, Dec. 29 (Xinhua) -- A Polish chief engineer is aboard a British-flagged chemical tanker hijacked by Somali pirates on Monday, Foreign Ministry deputy press spokesman Grzegorz Jopkiewicz said on Tuesday.
But Glitnir has not followed suit. Most of the money was in Landsbanki, which granted the councils priority status, meaning they should get almost all of their money back from it. One in four local authorities had invested in Icelandic banks by the end of 2008. COUNCILS IN GLITNIR Kent County Council: £14.5m Nottingham City Council: £11m London Borough of Barnet: 12.4m Gloucestershire: £8.9m Hertfordshire: £7m Source: DCLG Iceland's financial institutions collapsed in late 2008. "We made those deposits in good faith, we expect to be paid back in good faith." An original agreement - negotiated with the British and Dutch governments - was approved in August. More than 320,000 savers lost out when the bank collapsed in 2008. A poll taken in August suggests that 70% of Icelanders were against the Icesave deal. The bill was passed by 33 votes to 30. It says creditors must be treated equally. The Icelandic government had threatened to resign if the measure was rejected. Fraud probe On Wednesday, the Serious Fraud Office launched an investigation into suspected UK fraud at the failed Icelandic bank, Kaupthing. He admitted that the amounts were only significant for a small number of councils. Baugur took on significant debt after a spending spree of British high street chains House of Fraser, Oasis and Karen Millen and though the Hamleys logo continued to feature on the Williams cars, Glitnir took over payments. E-mail this to a friend Printable version The finance director of the Local Government Association, Stephen Jones, is flying out to Iceland to attend the creditors' meeting and appeal against the decision.
Icesave collapsed last October Iceland's parliament has approved plans to repay 3.8bn euros (£3.4bn) to savers in the UK and the Netherlands. The money will go to the British and Dutch governments, who partially compensated savers when the Icesave online bank failed. More than 320,000 savers lost out when the bank collapsed in 2008. A bill on the measure, narrowly approved against strong opposition, was seen as crucial to Iceland's bid to join the EU and rebuild its economy. The bill was passed by 33 votes to 30. "Approving the bill is the better option and will avoid even more economic damage," Finance Minister Steingrimur Sigfusson said during the debate. But the bill's opponents argue ordinary Icelanders should not have to pay and say the compensation amounts to some 12,000 euros for each citizen on the island nation of 320,000. A poll taken in August suggests that 70% of Icelanders were against the Icesave deal. An original agreement - negotiated with the British and Dutch governments - was approved in August. But subsequent amendments negotiated by the prime minister were rejected in both countries, forcing a fresh vote. Under the new deal the money - which represents 40% of the country's gross domestic product - will be repaid gradually, staggered until 2024. The claim follows a guarantee made by the bank in 2008 to fulfil sponsor Hamleys' obligation, after the toy shop's Icelandic owner, retail group Baugur failed to pay up. Baugur took on significant debt after a spending spree of British high street chains House of Fraser, Oasis and Karen Millen and though the Hamleys logo continued to feature on the Williams cars, Glitnir took over payments. After the Icelandic banking sector collapsed last year, Glitnir bank was taken over by the Icelandic government and Williams has not received sponsorship payments since. Concerns have been raised about the relationship between the Baugur group and Glitnir following speculation that certain Icelandic banks were lending their shareholders large interest-free loans. The Baugur tycoon Jon Asgeir Johannesson also controls an investment company which owned a third of Glitnir bank. Local authorities had £200m on deposit with Glitnir British council leaders are attending a creditors' meeting in Iceland to fight for more of their money back from one of the country's ruined banks, Glitnir. The local authorities had almost £900m ($1.5bn) of deposits in the country when a trio of its banks closed. Equal status theoretically means the authorities will receive less than 30% of the £200m they had on deposit with Glitnir. We made those deposits in good faith, we expect to be paid back in good faith Richard Kemp, deputy chairman, LGA 'Every penny back' Richard Kemp, the LGA's deputy chairman, told the BBC: "We have strong legal advice supported by the Landsbanki administrators that we have preference and we'll be pushing that case today." But the chairman of the winding-up board of Glitnir Bank, Steinunn Gudbjartsdottir, said: "It is a general principle of insolvency law that creditors should enjoy equal treatment.
Down with Karzai." Khost, in eastern Afghanistan, is one of the centres of the Taliban insurgency. No U.S. or NATO military personnel are hurt. The eight dead were CIA officers, the former official said. In 2008, 407 Afghan civilians were killed or injured in military actions. The attack took place at Forward Operating Base Chapman in Khowst province, an area near the border with Pakistan that is a hotbed of insurgent activity. "Death to Obama. Most foreigners working there are soldiers or contractors working in reconstruction and intelligence operations. "They were all career CIA officials." That tone is an acknowledgement that civilian casualties is probably the single most sensitive issue in Afghanistan. But today's attack was directed at a non-military camp and appears to be the deadliest against American civilians since the start of the war. The bomber was thought to have detonated the bomb in or near a gym. They were accompanying troops on a counternarcotics mission. But that progress did not stop hundreds of people from protesting the Kunar raid. The Congressional source could not confirm how many of the dead were CIA staff and how many were contractors, but said the facility was a CIA base. Afghanistan suicide bombing kills 8 CIA officers The Taliban takes responsibility for the explosion at a U.S. base in Khowst province where the agency has a major presence. In Kabul, young men carried a sign that said "Obama! Three civilian Drug Enforcement Administration agents were killed in a helicopter crash in October in western Afghanistan. It has helped sour relations between Karzai and the United States, and U.S. officials admit high profile civilian casualty incidents have pushed some Afghans -- often family members of victims – toward the Taliban.
Afghanistan suicide bombing kills 8 CIA officers The Taliban takes responsibility for the explosion at a U.S. base in Khowst province where the agency has a major presence. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack in a message posted early today on its Pashto-language website. The statement, attributed to spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid, said the attacker was a member of the Afghan army who entered the base clad in his military uniform. A U.S. official who spoke on condition of anonymity said the CIA had a major presence at the base, in part because of its strategic location. The attack took place at Forward Operating Base Chapman in Khowst province, an area near the border with Pakistan that is a hotbed of insurgent activity. An undisclosed number of civilians were wounded, the officials said. No military personnel with the U.S. or North Atlantic Treaty Organization forces were killed or injured, they said. Reporting from Kabul, Afghanistan, and Rochester, N.Y. -- A bomber slipped into a U.S. base in eastern Afghanistan on Wednesday and detonated a suicide vest, killing eight CIA officers in one of the deadliest days in the agency's history, current and former U.S. officials said. The casualties highlight the CIA's increasingly important role in Afghanistan, and come as the United States is embarking on a major buildup of its civilian workforce that parallels an increase in troop strength. President Obama announced early this month that he planned to send 30,000 more troops in an effort to break the momentum Taliban fighters have gained in many parts of the country. The deployment will bring the total U.S. military force there to nearly 100,000. A former U.S. intelligence official knowledgeable about the bombing said it killed more CIA personnel than any attack since the bombing of the U.S. Embassy in Beirut in 1983. Before Wednesday's attack, four CIA operatives had been killed in Afghanistan, the former official said. The eight dead were CIA officers, the former official said. The U.S. official said the bomber detonated his explosives vest in an area that was used as a fitness center. "It's a forward operating base in a dicey area, but to get a suicide bomber inside the wires -- it's hard to understand how that could happen," the former official said. Officials said this fall that the agency was deploying spies, analysts and paramilitary operatives in a buildup that would make its station there among the largest in CIA history. Though the CIA station is based at the U.S. Embassy in Kabul, the bulk of its workforce is scattered among secret bases and military outposts dotting the country. Three civilian Drug Enforcement Administration agents were killed in a helicopter crash in October in western Afghanistan. Khowst province has been a prime target of militants operating in eastern Afghanistan and just across the border in the tribal areas of Pakistan. Another source said the base was used by “other agencies”, suggesting that intelligence personnel were involved. Breaching a secure base that carries out potentially sensitive operations made it a particularly bold attack. A spokesman for the Nato coalition force in Kabul said that no US or Nato troops had been killed in the explosion, which took place in the afternoon. The last known CIA fatality in Afghanistan was Johnny “Mike” Spann, a paramilitary office killed during a jail riot at Qala-i-Jangi in 2001. At least eight Americans were killed and six others injured when a suicide bomber penetrated the heart of a heavily fortified complex in eastern Afghanistan, according to multiple U.S. officials in both Afghanistan and Washington, and and a Congressional source told ABC News they were all connected to the CIA. The Congressional source could not confirm how many of the dead were CIA staff and how many were contractors, but said the facility was a CIA base. It was the worst day for the CIA in terms of loss of life since the war in Afghanistan began eight years ago. The suicide bomber blew himself up in either the gym or the dining facility on Camp Chapman near the Pakistani borderin Khost province, according to one U.S. official in Kabul. The same official says all those killed were civilians, and a separate official in Washington said the base is not used by State Department employees -- suggesting the victims may be intelligence officials. Play The attack appears to have been the result of an extraordinary lapse in security, one of the few times that any militant has managed to elude guards and attack inside a U.S. facility. But today's attack was directed at a non-military camp and appears to be the deadliest against American civilians since the start of the war. The attack comes on the same day the U.S. military defended itself after hundreds of Afghans protested a weekend raid that Afghan government officials say killed 10 Afghan civilians. But an Afghan commission led by an advisor to President Hamid Karzai concluded the troops "descended from a plane... took 10 people from three homes, eight of them school students in grades six, nine and ten, one of them a guest, the rest from the same family, and shot them dead."
Similarly, the finance minister, Hazrat Omar Zakhilwal, who is viewed as independent, was endorsed for a second term. Afghanistan's parliament dealt a blow to President Hamid Karzai Saturday, rejecting most of his nominees for a new Cabinet. To retain the office, Khan needed to win 117 votes. The incumbent ministers of Defense and Finance also were approved. Advertisement Continue reading the main story “It’s very essential to bring or to make a balance between the power of the president and the power of the Parliament,” Mr. Rangbar said. He pledged to work with foreign troops to ensure security and reconstruction in the province. Photo Of those confirmed, four were Pashtuns, one Tajik, one Uzbek and one Sadat. The voting was by secret ballot. Parliamentary speaker Mohammad Yunus Qanoni says Atmar will keep his post by 147 votes of confidence. Among those rejected was Ismail Khan, a former warlord accused of ruling western Herat province like a tyrant. Please try again later. Shukria Barakzai, a member of Parliament from Kabul, said she observed opposition to nominees who represented political parties. “The voice of the people had been widely ignored before, but today Parliament members showed with full confidence they are speaking for their constituents.” The task could prove difficult without a fully functioning government, however. The only woman to be nominated was turned down, as were a Turkmen and three Hazara candidates. It took parliament hours to count the yellow paper ballots cast secretly by more than 200 lawmakers. In a secret voting held for the approval of 24 ministerial nominees, Khan failed to bag enough votes to remain in office.
Afghanistan's parliament dealt a blow to President Hamid Karzai Saturday, rejecting most of his nominees for a new Cabinet. It took parliament hours to count the yellow paper ballots cast secretly by more than 200 lawmakers. But after each of the nominees was deemed either "accepted" or "rejected," the verdict was clear. Parliament gave a vote of no confidence to 17 of the 24 Cabinet nominees picked by President Hamid Karzai. Among those rejected was Ismail Khan, a former warlord accused of ruling western Herat province like a tyrant. Mr. Karzai had hoped the power-broker would serve a second term as energy minister. The Cabinet's only female member also lost her job as Women's Affairs minister by just two votes. Forming the Cabinet is Mr. Karzai's first test of governance after he secured a second term in office in elections marred by rampant fraud last August. The Afghan leader has pledged his new government will not be as corrupt as the last. But many of his nominees served in the previous Cabinet, which critics say was full of ineffective political cronies. Despite the concerns, Cabinet experience appears to have helped incumbent Interior Minister Mohammad Hanif Atmar. The three are key players in Afghanistan's war and reconstruction. Fawzia Kufi, a member of parliament from Kabul, says those ministers were appointed with the confidence of the people. She says the ministers are facing Afghanistan's biggest challenge - security - and that they should refocus their efforts to establish new security measures across the country. On the trip, President Karzai condemned foreign air strikes that kill innocent civilians in the war against the Taliban and al-Qaida. He pledged to work with foreign troops to ensure security and reconstruction in the province. Mr. Karzai must submit new Cabinet nominees for parliament's approval before the work can officially begin. However, ethnic politics were also in play, raising questions about whether lawmakers were primarily interested in being partisan defenders of their own ethnic constituencies, though many denied that that was a factor. Advertisement Continue reading the main story “The members of the Parliament cast their vote based on merit, not based on tribal or ideology or factional interests,” said Kabir Rangbar, an independent member from Kabul. “This is a reaction against Karzai’s choices.” The effects of the move were difficult to predict, since it is possible that Mr. Karzai will try to make recess appointments once Parliament leaves for its winter break. “The significance of the rejection has to do with politics and Karzai’s failure to build a cabinet that spoke to a wide enough spectrum of people, and also with the weakening of his political machine,” said Alex Thier, the director of the Pakistan-Afghanistan program at the United States Institute of Peace, a Washington-based research group. In all, seven ministers who were nominated for second terms were voted down, including the ministers of public health, telecommunications and counternarcotics. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Five of the most prominent and successful ministers during Mr. Karzai’s first term, the defense, interior, finance, education and agriculture ministers, were endorsed for second terms. They were also the ministers, with one exception, who had strong American backing, according to people close to the process. Advertisement Continue reading the main story A spokeswoman for the American Embassy issued a noncommittal statement supporting Parliament’s right to vet candidates, but did not make detailed comments on specific candidates. It was the moderates and the technocrats who got the vote of confidence.” Fatima Aziz, a Tajik who represents the northern province of Kunduz, differed from her colleagues in saying that she thought ethnicity had played a part in the votes. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Of the 246 Parliament members, 232 were present, which meant that each minister had to get at least 117 votes to win approval. KABUL, Jan. 2 (Xinhua) -- Afghanistan's parliament on Saturday rejected the nominee for the Ministry of Water and Power, Mohammad Ismael Khan, who is former warlord and the incumbent minister.
That's why, he said, "we have to get to this problem in Yemen now." The embassy also reminded US citizens in Yemen to be aware of security. One of those attacks targeted four al Qaeda operatives believed to have been planning an imminent attack in Yemen against the United States or Saudi Arabian embassies, or both, a senior U.S. military official told CNN on Sunday. The closures come after the two nations pledged to boost counter-terrorism support to the Yemeni government. A spokeswoman said a decision would be made later Sunday on whether it would reopen on Monday. YEMEN FACTS Population: 23.6 million (UN, 2009) Capital: Sanaa Language: Arabic Major religion: Islam Oil exports: $1.5bn/24.5m barrels (Jan-Oct 2009) Income per capita: US $950 (World Bank, 2008) Profile: Al-Qaeda in Yemen Profile: Anwar al-Awlaki Attack stokes Yemen terror fears Country profile: Yemen Send us your comments In an internet statement, the group also said it was behind an attempt to bomb a transatlantic airliner on Christmas Day. On Saturday, President Barack Obama said the organisation appeared to have trained 23-year-old Nigerian accused Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, who is being held in a US prison. John Brennan was speaking after the US and UK announced their embassies in Sanaa had temporarily closed. Analysts say the US has also provided intelligence to Yemeni forces, which carried out raids last month that reportedly left dozens of militants dead. In a Sunday interview on the BBC's "The Andrew Marr Show," British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said besides increased security measures, "We've got to also get back to the source of this, which is Yemen, Somalia, Pakistan, and we've got to recognize that we've got a group of young people who have been radicalized as a result of teaching by extremist clerics, and we've got to recognize that we're fighting a battle for hearts and minds here as much as everything else."
The closures come after the two nations pledged to boost counter-terrorism support to the Yemeni government. The U.S. embassy's website said the threats come from al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, the group linked to the failed Christmas Day airplane bombing attempt in the United States. The Nigerian suspect in the case told U.S. authorities he received training from al-Qaida affiliates in Yemen. The closures come a day after U.S. General David Petraeus visited the capital, Sana'a, to discuss security issues with President Ali Abdullah Saleh. The influential general, who oversees the U.S. wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, recently announced that Washington would more than double its security aid to the impoverished nation. Britain has also announced plans to join with the United States in funding a counter-terrorism police unit in Yemen, as well as plans to hold an international conference on Yemeni security later this month. Editor Hakim Almasmari, of the Yemen Post newspaper, thinks the conference might be advantageous if it results in more development projects for rural Yemen. "Al-Qaida right now is not very strong," Almasmari said. "Its followers are not more than 400 in all. However, if the U.S. does attack Yemen, al-Qaida will get stronger and stronger because people who lose their families in the airstrikes will join al-Qaida not because they want to but because they want revenge against the Americans and the Yemeni government for the attacks." The situation has gained new urgency as the government in Sana'a finds itself overwhelmed not only by the growing terrorist threat, but also two separate rebellions, one of which has become something of a proxy war, at least in rhetoric, between Iran and Saudi Arabia. U.S. military experts have warned that vast reaches of the impoverished nation, with its booming population and dwindling resources, could spin permanently out of the government's control. Muslim extremists in Somalia, the role-model for failed states, said Friday they would send fighters to Yemen. The U.S. embassy has faced attacks from the local al-Qaida group before, with an assault outside its gates in 2008 that left 19 people - civilians and militants - dead. It is not clear when the US embassy in Sanaa will reopen The US has indications that al-Qaeda is planning an attack in the Yemeni capital Sanaa, President Barack Obama's top counter-terrorism adviser has said. The US has accused a Yemen-based offshoot of al-Qaeda of being behind the alleged Christmas Day bomb attempt on a US jet flying to Detroit. Mr Brennan, the US deputy national security adviser for homeland security and counterterrorism, told ABC the group had "several hundred members" in Yemen and was posing an increasing threat there. Speaking separately to CNN, he said there were indications that a radical US cleric of Yemeni origin had links both to the Christmas Day bomber and the man accused of the Fort Hood shooting massacre. Links to cleric Last week an organisation called al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula urged Muslims to help in "killing every crusader who works at their embassies or other places". YEMEN FACTS Population: 23.6 million (UN, 2009) Capital: Sanaa Language: Arabic Major religion: Islam Oil exports: $1.5bn/24.5m barrels (Jan-Oct 2009) Income per capita: US $950 (World Bank, 2008) Profile: Al-Qaeda in Yemen Profile: Anwar al-Awlaki Attack stokes Yemen terror fears Country profile: Yemen Send us your comments In an internet statement, the group also said it was behind an attempt to bomb a transatlantic airliner on Christmas Day. Mr Brennan said there were "indications" that Mr Abdulmutallab had had direct contact with radical cleric Anwar al-Awlaki, who has been on the run in Yemen since December 2007. It was clear, he said, that Mr Awlaki had also been in touch with Nidal Malik Hasan, the US army major charged with killing 13 people at Fort Hood last year. In a statement on its website, the US embassy said it would be closed on Sunday "in response to ongoing threats by al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula to attack American interests in Yemen". Hours earlier, UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown told the BBC: "This is a new type of threat and it is from a new source which is obviously Yemen, but there are many other potential sources Somalia, as well as Afghanistan and Pakistan." The US mission in Sanaa was the target of an attack in September 2008, which was blamed on al-Qaeda, and in which 19 people died, including a young American woman. The visit came a day after the general announced that the US would more than double counter-terrorism aid to Yemen this year. Yemeni security forces have been fighting militants The US provided $67m (£41m) in training and support to Yemen last year; only Pakistan receives more, with about $112m, according to AP news agency. "These measures are part of operations to hunt down elements of al-Qaeda... and tighten the noose around extremists," a Yemeni official told AFP news agency. But the prospects of re-asserting central government authority over the lawless areas where al-Qaeda is based look, in the opinion of some analysts, remote - even with beefed-up American support. "There are indications that al Qaeda is planning to carry out an attack against a target inside of Sanaa, possibly our embassy," John Brennan, the assistant to the president for homeland security and counterterrorism, said on CNN's "State of the Union" on Sunday. "And what we do is to take every measure possible to ensure the safety of our diplomats and citizens abroad, so the decision was made to close the embassy."
The other 10 countries of interest are Afghanistan, Algeria, Iraq, Lebanon, Libya, Nigeria, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Somalia and Yemen, the government official said. Last night US authorities announced new security screening procedures for passengers from countries listed as "state sponsors of terrorism". The directive was issued to domestic and international air carriers. This advice was used by the Department for Transport to explain why the UK's own scanners lay unused at Heathrow. TSA will continuously review these measures with our global aviation partners to ensure the highest levels of security." Authors: The directive also increases the use of enhanced screening technologies and mandates threat-based and random screening for passengers on U.S. bound international flights." Experts have cast doubt on whether the scanners are able to detect the type of explosive that 23-year-old Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab is accused of using in an attempt to blow up a plane over Detroit on Christmas Day. But Brown told BBC1's Andrew Marr show that the government would do everything in its power to tighten security. Yesterday, a BAA spokesman backed profiling. “These are sustainable measures that are a significant enhancement of our security posture. The countries on the State Department list are Cuba, Iran, Sudan and Syria. The source pointed to the decision by Amsterdam's Schiphol airport to install the 17 scanners it bought two years ago but was unable to activate after receiving EU advice that there were privacy and human rights implications. Authorities have said he tried to detonate explosives hidden in his underwear as the flight made its final approach to Detroit. CNN's Mike Ahlers contributed to this report.
Full-body scanners are to be introduced at Britain's airports after Gordon Brown gave the go-ahead for the technology in a move which pre-empted his own urgent review of airline security. Despite questions over the effectiveness of the devices, the prime minister said yesterday that passengers would see their "gradual" introduction, along with hand luggage checks for traces of explosives. Even those travelling through UK airports in transit would have to go through the heightened security screening. BAA, which runs six UK airports, said it would install the £100,000 machines "as soon as is practical" at Heathrow. Experts have cast doubt on whether the scanners are able to detect the type of explosive that 23-year-old Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab is accused of using in an attempt to blow up a plane over Detroit on Christmas Day. But Brown told BBC1's Andrew Marr show that the government would do everything in its power to tighten security. His backing of scanner technology came before Lord Adonis, the transport secretary, reports to parliament this week on the findings of an urgent review of airport security prompted by the failed attack. Four scanners have lain unused at Heathrow airport after EU advice that there were privacy and human rights implications, awaiting approval for use from the European commission, but a government source told the Guardian that these would now be deployed "with or without" the international co-operation that ministers said was needed after the recent bomb bid. The source pointed to the decision by Amsterdam's Schiphol airport to install the 17 scanners it bought two years ago but was unable to activate after receiving EU advice that there were privacy and human rights implications. This advice was used by the Department for Transport to explain why the UK's own scanners lay unused at Heathrow. Ben Wallace, a Conservative MP who before entering parliament was involved in a British defence firm's project to test the scanner's effect, said at the weekend that the kind of low-density materials used in the Christmas Day plot would not have been detected. The machines could detect shrapnel, heavy wax and metal, but not plastics, chemicals or liquids, he claimed. Alongside the purchase of more scanners, a government source has told the Guardian that passenger profiling is "in the mix" of the security review's recommendations. Last night US authorities announced new security screening procedures for passengers from countries listed as "state sponsors of terrorism". Along with passengers flying from or through those countries, travellers from Nigeria, Yemen and Pakistan will be patted down and have their carry-on luggage searched under new procedures, according to the US transport department. "It is our view that a combination of technology, intelligence and passenger profiling will help build a more robust defence against the unpredictable and changing nature of the terrorist threat to aviation," the spokesman said. "Has no one noticed the terrorists' ability to capitalise on discrimination, or the recruits from a range of different backgrounds? Whether on the street or at the terminal, suspicious behaviour is a sensible basis for search by policing professionals; race or religion is not," she said. It was reported last night that a Virgin Atlantic flight from Kingston, Jamaica, to London was delayed after a DVD with "Islamic content" was found on board. John McFarlane, security chief at the Norman Manley international airport in Kingston, said all passengers on last Thursday's flight were taken off the plane and re-screened after the DVD was discovered by crew. McFarlane did not say what the disc's contents were, only that it made the flight crew "uncomfortable." Brown's swift response to the possibility that terrorists are using different types of explosive came as he admitted that Downing Street may have oversold its response to tackling the threat posed by Yemen, where the alleged bomber is thought to have been trained by an al-Qaida offshoot. Brown said on Friday that a conference planned for 28 January to address the issue of Afghanistan would now also address the "failing state" of Yemen. At the weekend Downing Street went on to say that the prime minister and Barack Obama had agreed in a personal telephone conversation that Britain and the US would jointly fund a counter-terrorism police unit in Yemen. Brown then admitted there had been no direct contact between the two leaders on the issue, and that the US and UK counter-terrorism initiatives had been going on "for some time". U.S. tightens international air security All travelers flying into the U.S. from foreign countries will receive tightened random screening, and 100 percent of passengers from 14 terrorism-prone countries will be patted down and have their carry-ons searched, the Obama administration notified airlines on Sunday. The more stringent Transportation Security Administration rules, to take effect at midnight, follow the attempted Christmas Day bombing of a U.S. airliner headed into Detroit from Amsterdam. All passengers from countries on the State Department’s “State Sponsors of Terrorism” list — plus all passengers from other "countries of interest" such as Nigeria, Pakistan and Yemen — will receive “full body pat-down and physical inspection of property,” the official said. Kristin Lee of the TSA, which is part of the Department of Homeland Security, announced: "Today the Transportation Security Administration issued new security directives to all United States and international air carriers with inbound flights to the U.S. effective January 4, 2010. “This is a significant step forward.” Lee said in her statement: “Because effective aviation security must begin beyond our borders, and as a result of extraordinary cooperation from our global aviation partners, TSA is mandating that every individual flying into the U.S. from anywhere in the world traveling from or through nations that are State sponsors of terrorism or countries of interest will be required to go through enhanced screening. Washington (CNN) -- The Transportation Security Administration announced Sunday that it will begin enhanced screening procedures Monday on any U.S.-bound air passenger traveling through "state sponsors of terrorism or other countries of interest" such as Pakistan, Yemen and Nigeria. A senior government official, not authorized to speak on the record, provided CNN with the full list of 14 countries that fall under the TSA's "countries of interest" label -- which will automatically trigger the enhanced screening.
The C.I.A. His specific mission, according to officials, was to find and meet Ayman al Zawahiri, al-Qaida’s No. Advertisement Continue reading the main story The C.I.A. Al-Balawi was arrested by Jordanian intelligence more than a year ago. The bombing last Wednesday at the CIA base in Afghanistan's Khost province killed seven CIA employees and a Jordanian officer. Current and former American intelligence officials said the C.I.A. "We have a close partnership with the Jordanians on counterterrorism matters," a U.S. official told The Washington Post. Both the Afghan and Pakistani Taliban have claimed responsibility for the attack. NBC News says Bin Zaid was an intelligence agent and a first cousin of Jordan's King Abdullah. The television network reported that Mr. Balawi was taken to Afghanistan to help track down Mr. Zawahri. The reports say current and former Western intelligence officials identified the suicide bomber as Humam Khalil Abu-Mulal al-Balawi, a 36-year-old al-Qaida sympathizer from Zarqa, Jordan. had recruited to work with them, who then offered the militants his services as a double agent. officers on the base used the information to plan strikes against Qaeda and Taliban leaders, along with top operatives of the Haqqani network. "The agency is determined to continue pursuing aggressive counterterrorism operations. Video: Double agent Six other people were wounded in what was one of the worst attacks in CIA history. It could also jeopardize relations between the C.I.A. Please try again later. and the Jordanian spy service, which officials said had vouched for the would-be informant. drone aircraft. He had moderated the main al-Qaida chat forum before his arrest and was known online as Abu Dujanah al-Khurasani.
U.S. media say a suicide bomber who attacked a CIA base in eastern Afghanistan last week was a Jordanian working as an al-Qaida double agent. The reports say current and former Western intelligence officials identified the suicide bomber as Humam Khalil Abu-Mulal al-Balawi, a 36-year-old al-Qaida sympathizer from Zarqa, Jordan. U.S. network NBC says Jordanian authorities arrested al-Balawi more than a year ago and later recruited him to infiltrate al-Qaida, believing he had been successfully reformed. The bombing last Wednesday at the CIA base in Afghanistan's Khost province killed seven CIA employees and a Jordanian officer. The U.S. military's intelligence chief in Afghanistan has criticized the work of U.S. spy agencies operating there, saying they are "ignorant" and out of touch with the Afghan people. General Michael Flynn says U.S. intelligence efforts have focussed too much on gathering information about insurgent groups in Afghanistan. The bodies of the seven CIA employees killed in the Khost attack arrived Monday at a U.S. Air Force base in the East Coast state of Delaware. A small, private ceremony was held at the base, attended by friends and family and CIA Director Leon Panetta. The bombing was the second-deadliest attack in the U.S. intelligence agency's history. In a statement, CIA spokesman George Little described the fallen employees as "patriots who courageously served their nation." Jordan's state news agency identified the Jordanian officer killed in the bombing as Sharif Ali bin Zaid. It says he was killed while "performing the sacred duty of Jordanian forces in Afghanistan." NBC News says Bin Zaid was an intelligence agent and a first cousin of Jordan's King Abdullah. The suicide bombing on a CIA base in Afghanistan last week was carried out by a Jordanian doctor who was an al-Qaida double-agent, Western intelligence officials told NBC News. Initial reports said that the attack, which killed seven CIA officers, was carried out by a member of the Afghan National Army. According to Western intelligence officials, the perpetrator was Humam Khalil Abu-Mulal al-Balawi, 36, an al-Qaida sympathizer from Zarqa, which is also the hometown of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the Jordanian militant Islamist believed responsible for several devastating attacks in Iraq. Al-Balawi was arrested by Jordanian intelligence more than a year ago. “Abu Dujanah was an active member of jihadi forums,” said Evan Kohlmann, who tracks jihadi Web sites for NBC News. “He was actually an administrator on the now-defunct Al-Hesbah forum, previously al-Qaida's main chat forum.” The Jordanians believed that al-Balawi had been successfully reformed and brought over to the American and Jordanian side. “When you ponder the verses and hadiths that speak about jihad and its graciousness, and then you let your imagination run wild to fly with what Allah has prepared for martyrs, your life become cheap for its purpose, and the extravagant houses and expensive cars and all the decoration of life become very distasteful in your eyes,” he told the interviewer. "Having suffered serious losses from terrorist attacks on their own soil, they are keenly aware of the significant threat posed by extremists." Jordan's official news agency, Petra, said bin Zeid was killed "on Wednesday evening as a martyr while performing the sacred duty of the Jordanian forces in Afghanistan" and provided no further details about his death. Sources close to the family told Al-Jazeera's Web site that Jordanian Intelligence arrested the perpetrator's younger brother and ordered his father not to set up a condolence tent for his son so that it would not turn into a gathering place for jihadist sympathizers. Key base for CIA According to Western officials, bin Zeid, along with the seven CIA officers, were killed when al-Balawi, the formerly trusted informant turned double-agent, detonated his suicide belt at Camp Chapman. Qari Hussain, a top militant commander with the Pakistani Taliban who is believed to be a suicide bombing mastermind, said last week that militants had been searching for a way to damage the CIA's ability to launch missile strikes on the Pakistani side of the border.
Yamaguchi passed out. I was looking up at them, and suddenly it was like a flash of magnesium, a great flash in the sky, and I was blown over." About 140,000 people were killed in Hiroshima and 70,000 in Nagasaki. "I never thought Japan should start a war," he once said. In his later years, Mr Yamaguchi gave talks about his experiences as an atomic bomb survivor and emphasised his hope nuclear weapons would be abolished. Last year the Japanese government formally recognised him as the only "nijuuhibaku" or double A-bomb survivor. He suffered serious burns and spent a night there before returning to his home city of Nagasaki just before it was bombed on 9 August. His son was also killed by cancer, aged 59, and he is survived by his daughter. The visit partially made up for what Mr Yamaguchi had waited in vain for all his life: a meeting with a sitting US president. The Mainichi newspaper reported that last month Mr Yamaguchi was visited in hospital by James Cameron, the director of Titanic and Avatar, who is apparently considering making a film about the bombings. As I was walking along I heard the sound of a plane, just one. I looked up into the sky and saw the B-29, and it dropped two parachutes. The first thing I did was to check that I still had my legs and whether I could move them. "It can tell the younger generation the horrifying history of the atomic bombings even after I die." His bandages, however, were in tatters; the hospital was in ruins; and for a week he lay in the shelter at his home suffering from a high fever.
Mr Yamaguchi had the bad luck to be in Hiroshima and then Nagasaki The only person officially recognised as having survived both atomic bombings in Japan at the end of World War II has died from stomach cancer, aged 93. Tsutomu Yamaguchi was in Hiroshima on a business trip on 6 August 1945 when a US plane dropped the first atomic bomb. He suffered serious burns and spent a night there before returning to his home city of Nagasaki just before it was bombed on 9 August. He said he hoped his experience held a lesson of peace for future generations. It was already recorded that Mr Yamaguchi had survived the Nagasaki bomb, but in March last year officials recognised he had been in Hiroshima as well. 'Precious storyteller' A handful or Japanese people are known to have lived through both attacks, but Mr Yamaguchi is the only one formally recognised by the Japanese government to have done so. More than 200,000 people were killed in the two atomic bombings Certification as a hibakusha or radiation survivor qualifies Japanese citizens for government compensation, including medical check-ups, and funeral costs. On learning of his official recognition last year, Mr Yamaguchi said: "My double radiation exposure is now an official government record. "It can tell the younger generation the horrifying history of the atomic bombings even after I die." In his later years, Mr Yamaguchi gave talks about his experiences as an atomic bomb survivor and emphasised his hope nuclear weapons would be abolished. Survivors fell sick with radiation-related illnesses, including cancers, for years after the bombings. The Mainichi newspaper reported that last month Mr Yamaguchi was visited in hospital by James Cameron, the director of Titanic and Avatar, who is apparently considering making a film about the bombings. Commenting on Mr Yamaguchi's death, the mayor of Nagasaki said on the city's website that "a precious storyteller has been lost". Bookmark with: Delicious Digg reddit Facebook StumbleUpon What are these? Reporters never knew whether to call Tsutomu Yamaguchi the luckiest or unluckiest man alive. In 1945, the Nagasaki native was exposed to both nuclear blasts that incinerated his home city and Hiroshima. Last year the Japanese government formally recognised him as the only "nijuuhibaku" or double A-bomb survivor. Lying in hospital in December, just days from dying of the cancer that finally claimed him this week, he received a distinguished visitor from overseas: Hollywood director James Cameron. His 3D blockbuster Avatar may be searing a hole through global box office records, but Mr Cameron is already reported to be focused on his next project: an "uncompromising" movie about nuclear weapons. Aged 93, the great survivor told Mr Cameron it was his "destiny" to make the movie. The visit partially made up for what Mr Yamaguchi had waited in vain for all his life: a meeting with a sitting US president. His sister Toshiko said that President Barack Obama's declaration in November that he wanted to visit Hiroshima or Nagasaki was what had helped him cling to life. "He was elated when President Obama pledged (in a speech in Prague last year) to abolish nuclear weapons," she said. "I devote the rest of my life to insisting that our world should abandon nuclear arms." Mr Yamaguchi was a young engineer on a business trip to Hiroshima on August 6, 1945, when a B-29 US bomber dropped its payload – the "Little Boy", which would kill or injure 160,000 people by the end of the day. Three kilometres from Ground Zero, the blast temporarily blinded him, damaged his hearing and inflicted horrific burns over much of the top half of his body. Three days later, he was back in his home city of Nagasaki, 190 miles away, explaining his injuries to his boss, when the same white light filled the room. "I thought the mushroom cloud had followed me from Hiroshima," he said later. The "Fat Man" bomb killed about 70,000 people and created a city where, in the famous words of its mayor, "not even the sound of insects could be heard". His wife died in 2008 of kidney and liver cancer. The film shows him weeping as he describes watching bloated corpses floating in the city's rivers and encountering the walking dead of Hiroshima, whose melting flesh hung from them like "giant gloves". When the Japanese government belatedly recognised his "double victim" status, he said that his record "can tell the younger generation the horrifying history of the atomic bombings even after I die." Mr Cameron read Mr Yamaguchi's history before deciding to meet him, along with author Charles Pellegrino, whose book The Last Train from Hiroshima: The Survivors Look Back is released this month. Yamaguchi, who lived in Nagasaki, happened to be in Hiroshima on business on August 6 1945, when the American B-29 Enola Gay dropped "Little Boy" on the city.
"When I saw him on the plane, he was very blank. It's a big event." Authorities say Abdulmutallab boarded Northwest Airlines flight 253 in Amsterdam with a bomb concealed in his underpants. The seven-page indictment charges AbdulMutallab with attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction; attempted murder within the special aircraft jurisdiction of the United States; willful attempt to destroy and wreck an aircraft within the special aircraft jurisdiction of the United States; willfully placing a destructive device in, upon and in proximity to an aircraft within the special aircraft jurisdiction of the United States; and two counts of possession of a firearm/destructive in furtherance of a crime of violence. The court hearing came a day after President Obama released a report on the incident that said officials had "sufficient information" to have foiled the failed attack that but a variety of errors kept investigators from uncovering the plot. Also among more than a dozen new measures were improved screening technology at US airports, the recruitment of hundreds more air marshals and a review of the issuing of US visas. He faces life imprisonment if found guilty. A Detroit judge took the action after Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab declined to enter a plea during his first court appearance. Information on security risks would be distributed more widely and analysis of that information would be improved. He was subdued and restrained by the passengers and flight crew. He announced that he was ordering an immediate strengthening of the terrorist watch list. (CNN) -- Umar Farouk AbdulMutallab, the man charged with trying to blow up a Northwest Airlines plane on December 25, pleaded not guilty Friday to six federal charges.
Mr Abdulmutallab's court appearance lasted less than five minutes A "not guilty" plea has been entered on behalf of the Nigerian man accused of attempting to detonate a bomb on a Detroit-bound plane on Christmas Day. A Detroit judge took the action after Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab declined to enter a plea during his first court appearance. Mr Abdulmutallab, 23, is charged with the attempted murder of 290 people and five other counts. The incident has led to dozens of new security measures being introduced. He confirmed his name and its spelling, as well as his age in a soft voice, prompting the judge to ask him to speak up. The man who faces six charges, including attempting to blow up a plane and kill the 289 other passengers and crew on 253 to Detroit on Christmas Day, hobbled in perhaps because of the injuries sustained or the leg irons he was wearing. A short young man, he sat in a chair and for several moments listened and nodded to his lawyers. His shoulders were hunched. Abdulmutallab impassive in court Asked if he had had time to read the indictment, he answered "yes". Asked if he had taken any drugs in the previous 24 hours, he said he had taken some pain killers. Mr Abdulmutallab was treated for burns after his arrest at Detroit airport after he allegedly tried to detonate a device concealed in his underwear on Northwest Flight 253 from Amsterdam to Detroit. He faces life imprisonment if found guilty. Political fallout The attempted attack prompted widespread criticism of US intelligence services for failing to prevent the plot. THE CHARGES Attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction Attempted murder within the special aircraft jurisdiction of the US Wilful attempt to destroy and wreck an aircraft Wilfully placing a destructive device in or near an aircraft which was likely to endanger the safety of the aircraft Two counts of possession of a firearm, ie the bomb, in furtherance of violent crime On Thursday, President Barack Obama announced new terrorist watch list guidelines and other security upgrades. While criticising "systemic" failings, he said: "The buck stops with me." The US had failed to "connect and understand" intelligence received prior to the failed attack on the airliner, he added, delivering a televised statement from the White House on Thursday. He announced that he was ordering an immediate strengthening of the terrorist watch list. Also among more than a dozen new measures were improved screening technology at US airports, the recruitment of hundreds more air marshals and a review of the issuing of US visas. Announcing the conclusions of an urgent White House review, Mr Obama said the US government had "had the information scattered throughout the system to potentially uncover this plot and disrupt the attack". Mr Abdulmutallab's name was on a US database of about 550,000 suspected terrorists but not on a list that would have subjected him to additional security screening or kept him from boarding the flight from Amsterdam to Detroit. (CNN) -- Umar Farouk AbdulMutallab, the man charged with trying to blow up a Northwest Airlines plane on December 25, pleaded not guilty Friday to six federal charges. His lawyer, chief federal defender Miriam L. Siefer, entered a plea of not guilty on his behalf. At least three dogs were inside the courtroom, and security guards were stationed at the doors. The court hearing came a day after President Obama released a report on the incident that said officials had "sufficient information" to have foiled the failed attack that but a variety of errors kept investigators from uncovering the plot. AbdulMutallab faces a federal indictment issued Wednesday, including an attempt to murder the other 289 people aboard. The seven-page indictment charges AbdulMutallab with attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction; attempted murder within the special aircraft jurisdiction of the United States; willful attempt to destroy and wreck an aircraft within the special aircraft jurisdiction of the United States; willfully placing a destructive device in, upon and in proximity to an aircraft within the special aircraft jurisdiction of the United States; and two counts of possession of a firearm/destructive in furtherance of a crime of violence. Read the indictment (PDF) If convicted, the 23-year-old Nigerian national faces a sentence of life in prison. Wearing a white T-shirt, too-long khaki pants that were rolled up several times at the ankles and blue sneakers, AbdulMutallab national walked slowly into the federal courtroom, ankles shackled and in apparent pain after having suffered second- and third-degree burns in the flight. Among Friday's courthouse audience was Hebbe Aref, who witnessed the event from six rows ahead as a passenger on the same flight. Asked why she had attended the courtroom appearance, the hijab-wearing lawyer said, "I've been to proceedings before, and I just wanted to see one that affected me personally and affected the country. The indictment said AbdulMutallab boarded Northwest Airlines Flight 253 in Amsterdam, Netherlands, on December 25, carrying a bomb concealed in his clothing and designed to be detonated "at a time of his choosing." The indictment said that, just before the jet landed at Detroit Metropolitan Airport in Michigan, "AbdulMutallab detonated the bomb, causing a fire on board flight 253." The device failed to fully detonate, instead setting off a fire at the man's seat. The alleged Christmas Day bomber Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab pleaded not guilty to criminal charges in federal court today, opening a case that has earned Barack Obama criticism from conservatives who say the suspected terrorist should be treated as an enemy combatant. One protested the Obama administration's decision to try Abdulmutallab in civilian court, with a sign reading "no US rights for terrorists".
More supplies came through." The initial supplies will go to councils in East Yorkshire, Pembrokeshire, Gloucestershire, Bradford, Sheffield and Fife. A spokesman said: "The market responded to the alert. Gas supplies Gordon Brown has pledged the UK's gas supplies will not run out during the current cold snap, and that road salt will get to "where it is most needed". The Met Office has downgraded its severe weather warnings and now has advisories for snow and ice. FORECAST FROM BBC WEATHER The enhanced content on this page requires Javascript and Flash Player 9 Map Key Land Land Cloud Cloud Lakes, Rivers & Sea Fog Light Heavy Frost Light Heavy Pressure Fronts Cold Cold Warm Warm Occluded Occluded Rain Light Heavy Extreme Snow Light Heavy Temperature tab only Temperature (°C) How is the winter freeze affecting you? Temperatures on Sunday should be around freezing. FROZEN BRITAIN Frozen Britain seen from above Special report: Frozen Britain The Highways Agency has stopped treating motorway hard shoulders in England and salt ordered from abroad is not due to arrive until 21 January. The Red Cross has said it is having one of its busiest periods in 30 years as volunteers help the emergency services and provide assistance to people in need. The National Grid has issued two alerts to warn of a potential shortfall in supply, although both have since been lifted. On Saturday, police confirmed a 90-year-old woman had frozen to death in her garden near Barnsley and a woman, 42, died after being found near shops in Newcastle. Brown said the government was working with suppliers to make sure stocks of salt to grit roads and pavements were available where most needed.
Supply for gas in the UK has reached record levels over the last week Gordon Brown has pledged the UK's gas supplies will not run out during the current cold snap, and that road salt will get to "where it is most needed". The PM acknowledged the "worrying and frustrating" situation but said agencies were working together to keep the public "safe and warm". Meanwhile, National Grid also has issued its third 'balancing alert' in a week, aimed at adjusting gas supplies. Police have confirmed two more weather-related deaths, taking the total to 26. The cold weather is set to continue for the next few days at least, with more snow forecast overnight in some parts of the UK. Please turn on JavaScript. National Grid had already issued and lifted two "balancing alerts" warning of a potential shortfall in supplies. These alerts help the market to consider increasing gas supplies, and encourage electricity providers to use alternative fuels such as coal. A spokeswoman said the third alert, which is due to end at 0600GMT on Sunday, was not due to the weather conditions but problems in the Norwegian gas fields. She said a shortfall of 35 million cubic metres (mcm) was predicted, out of the 441 mcm needed. The spokeswoman said the market had already responded and supplies had come in from other sources. Earlier Mr Brown said the distributor had confirmed it expected to meet demand. "Supplies are not running out," Mr Brown said in his podcast issued from Downing Street. The prime minister added: "We've got plenty of gas in our own back yard - the North Sea - and we also have access to the large reserves in Norway and Netherlands via pipelines." Charities have called for cold weather fuel payments to pensioners to be increased to prevent the death rate soaring. The Red Cross has said it is having one of its busiest periods in 30 years as volunteers help the emergency services and provide assistance to people in need. On Saturday, police confirmed a 90-year-old woman had frozen to death in her garden near Barnsley and a woman, 42, died after being found near shops in Newcastle. Kent Police have said the army is on stand-by should the weather get worse and advised people to stay at home unless it was necessary to go out. BBC forecasters say freezing conditions will continue until at least Wednesday, and probably longer. The forecast has led to fears there will not be enough salt to grit the roads, with local authorities agreeing to cut its use by 25% in a bid to preserve dwindling supplies. AA spokesman Paul Watters told the BBC councils had reduced stocks by 250,000 tonnes during the past 10 years. But the LGA stressed motorists were still be able to travel on major roads. The prime minister said: "We are making sure stocks of salt to grit roads and pavements get to where they're most needed." The prime minister also acknowledged businesses were suffering but added the government was "working closely" with the emergency services, and other relevant agencies to keep Britons "safe and warm". Salt ordered from abroad is not due to arrive until 21 January. But the agency's David Grunwell said the motorway and trunk road network was "running remarkably well" and that it had sufficient stocks for the conditions. However, Conservatives say the decision to ration salt was "an admission of utter failure" and plans should have been made earlier. Chemical firm Ineos said it had diverted 12,000 tonnes of white salt for use on Britain's roads after it was approached by several councils. The salt had been earmarked for food and chlorine production in Germany. The amount represents about one fifth of the UK's daily use, before rationing was introduced. BBC weather forecaster Alex Deakin said up to 10cm (4in) could fall in the South East on Saturday night, in particular south and east of London. Urgent salt supplies sent out as weather warnings ease A further 50 trucks are to leave Ineos on Monday Thousands of tonnes of emergency gritting salt are being sent to hard-pressed councils around the UK as the freezing weather continues. "12,000 tonnes of road salt will not solve the problem but it should make a difference in the places most severely affected."
"Well, if it is, I apologize for it. Both Obama and Reid are Democrats. ... We're moving on." It's not an intent to be a racial slur. Lott stepped down as Senate majority leader over the comments. There is a big double standard here," Steele said on NBC. And I don't think he should step down," Democratic Senator Jack Reed told "Fox News Sunday." Washington (CNN) -- The chairman of the Republican Party and a leading GOP senator called on Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to give up his post Sunday, following the publication of remarks he made about President Obama's race in 2008. Obama issued a statement accepting the apology. He apologized. Kaine shot back against those arguments. "I have known Sen. Reid for many years and he has consistently been supportive of advancing the interests of the African-American community as he has for all Nevadans and all Americans." Democrats also rejected the calls for Reid's dismissal. 'A POOR CHOICE OF WORDS' Reid on Saturday apologized for "using such a poor choice of words." "As far as I am concerned, the book is closed." Steele was asked by NBC whether he believes the situation is similar to one involving former Sen. Trent Lott, who lost his post as Senate majority leader in 2002 after saying that the nation would have been better off if one-time segregationist candidate Strom Thurmond had been elected president. "I accepted Harry's apology without question because I've known him for years, I've seen the passionate leadership he's shown on issues of social justice and I know what's in his heart."
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) listens to remarks after the U.S. Senate approved President Barack Obama's healthcare overhaul on Capitol Hill in Washington, in this December 24, 2009 file photo. REUTERS/Jim Young WASHINGTON The Republican Party chief called on Senator Harry Reid on Sunday to step down as Senate majority leader over racial comments about President Barack Obama, while Democrats tried to put the issue behind them. Reid, a key figure in pushing Obama's agenda through Congress, apologized to the president on Saturday over remarks published in a new book calling Obama a "light-skinned" black man "with no Negro dialect unless he wanted to have one." Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele said Reid should step aside as Senate majority leader, saying if a Republican made the same remarks Democrats would be "screaming for his head." "Oh yeah, there's a big double standard here," Steele, who is black, said on the NBC program "Meet the Press." "There is this standard where the Democrats feel that they can say these things and they can apologize when it ... comes from the mouths of their own. But if it comes from anyone else, it's racism," Steele added on "Fox News Sunday." Steele said Reid used "anachronistic language," adding, "It harkens back to the 1950s and 60s, and it confirms to me a mind-set that's out of step with where America is today." Steele was asked about his use in a recent television appearance of the words "honest injun," seen as disparaging toward American Indians. Asked if his own words were a racial slur, Steele said, "Well, if it is, I apologize for it. I wasn't intending to say a racial slur at all." Reid's comments, made in private conversations, were quoted in a newly published book about the 2008 U.S. presidential campaign, "Game Change," by Time magazine reporter Mark Halperin and New York magazine writer John Heileman. Reid, 70, has been a close partner of the White House on key Obama initiatives, and succeeded in helping to round up the 60 votes needed to win Senate passage on December 24 of a healthcare reform bill, Obama's top legislative priority. It is unclear whether this controversy will undermine Reid's influence in the Senate. Democratic Party chairman Tim Kaine said "the comments were unfortunate and they were insensitive," but he said there is no reason for Reid to step down as majority leader. "I think the case is closed because President Obama has spoken directly with the leader (Reid) and accepted his apology. I think he is mortified by the statement he's made. And I don't think he should step down," Democratic Senator Jack Reed told "Fox News Sunday." Republicans compared Reid's remarks to those made in 2002 by Republican Trent Lott, praising former segregationist presidential candidate and long-time senator Strom Thurmond. Lott stepped down as Senate majority leader over the comments. "If he (Lott) should resign, then Harry Reid should," Republican Senator Jon Kyl told "Fox News Sunday." Washington (CNN) -- The chairman of the Republican Party and a leading GOP senator called on Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to give up his post Sunday, following the publication of remarks he made about President Obama's race in 2008. A new book quotes Reid, D-Nevada, as saying privately in 2008 that Obama could be successful as a black candidate in part because of his "light-skinned" appearance and speaking patterns "with no Negro dialect, unless he wanted to have one." The remarks were "embarrassing and racially insensitive," said Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, head of the GOP's Senate campaign arm, in a statement to CNN. GOP Chairman Michael Steele, on NBC's "Meet the Press," said: "Racism and racist conversations have no place today in America." Steele also was on the defensive for a remark he made last week that members of both parties have called a racial slur. In an interview with Fox News, Steele used the phrase "honest injun." The Congressional Black Caucus has accepted Reid's apology and is dismissing calls for him to step down as majority leader. Rep. Barbara Lee, chairwoman of the caucus, issued the following statement: "I have had an opportunity to speak with Senator Reid and he apologized for his unfortunate remarks concerning the president, and he understands the gravity of such remarks. Douglas Wilder of Virginia, who 20 years ago became the nation's first elected African-American governor, also rejected calls for Reid's ouster. "I think that what Reid was giving was a personal opinion, which wasn't affecting the laws or the operation of the dispensation of justice in our country," Wilder told CNN's "State of the Union." But he said he believes the incident "illustrates the need for more open discussion about race." Reid's controversial quote is in the book "Game Change," due in stores Monday. The authors write that "Reid was convinced, in fact, that Obama's race would help him more than hurt him in a bid for the Democratic nomination."
British press reports said the journalist, Rupert Hamer, 39, was the first British reporter killed covering the conflict in Afghanistan, now in its ninth year. Photographer Philip Coburn was seriously wounded by the makeshift bomb, as were four other Marines. Three Afghan aid workers employed by a German relief agency also were killed by a roadside bomb, in Uruzgan province, also in southern Afghanistan. U.S. troops were accused of beating two prisoners to death at Bagram in 2002. The Sunday Mirror said the two journalists left on New Year's Eve to embed with Marines and cover the American troop "surge" into Afghanistan. Prime Minister Gordon Brown has released a statement expressing sympathy for his family, friends and colleagues. The U.S. military did not immediately identify the Marine who was killed while riding in the same vehicle. Britain's Defense Ministry says Rupert Hamer, the defense correspondent for the Sunday Mirror newspaper, was killed while accompanying Marines on patrol in Helmand province Saturday. Human rights groups have criticized the United States for detaining inmates for lengthy periods of time without charge. The first was on Dec. 30, when the Canadian journalist Michelle Lang was killed along with four Canadian soldiers in Kandahar Province when their vehicle hit a roadside bomb. Mr. Hamer was only the second Western journalist killed while embedded with American or allied troops in Afghanistan since 2001. “Afghanistan is becoming a more dangerous place as the war ramps up and the U.S. comes in and begins an increase in troop numbers,” said Bob Dietz, Asia program coordinator for the Committee to Protect Journalists. Officials retracted earlier reports that an Afghan soldier was among those killed.
British officials say a roadside bomb in southern Afghanistan has killed a veteran British war correspondent and a U.S. Marine. Britain's Defense Ministry says Rupert Hamer, the defense correspondent for the Sunday Mirror newspaper, was killed while accompanying Marines on patrol in Helmand province Saturday. Photographer Philip Coburn was seriously wounded by the makeshift bomb, as were four other Marines. Officials retracted earlier reports that an Afghan soldier was among those killed. Hamer is the second journalist killed in Afghanistan in as many weeks. Canadian journalist Michelle Lang was killed December 30, also by a roadside bomb. Meanwhile, U.S. and Afghan authorities have signed a deal that is expected to transfer responsibility for the U.S.-run detention facility at Bagram Air Base by the end of the year. Afghanistan's Defense Ministry announced Saturday that Afghan troops will soon begin training to take over the investigation, detention and trials of inmates. The site, near Kabul, has been used to hold detainees since the U.S.-led offensive in Afghanistan began in 2001. U.S. troops were accused of beating two prisoners to death at Bagram in 2002. Human rights groups have criticized the United States for detaining inmates for lengthy periods of time without charge. KABUL, Afghanistan A British journalist embedded with an American unit in Helmand Province was killed along with a Marine when their vehicle struck a roadside bomb, the British Defense Ministry reported Sunday. It was the second time in two weeks that a Western journalist had been killed on an embedded assignment, underscoring the increased risk on the roads as military operations intensify in Afghanistan. The journalist killed was Rupert Hamer, 39, the military correspondent for The Sunday Mirror newspaper, who was accompanying a United States Marines patrol northwest of the town of Nawa on Saturday. The dead Marine was not identified pending notification of next of kin, and United States officials would release no details about the episode. The British government reported that four other United States Marines were seriously wounded by the bomb, and that a photographer in the vehicle, Philip Coburn, 43, was seriously wounded but was in stable condition at a military hospital in the area. Mr. Hamer was only the second Western journalist killed while embedded with American or allied troops in Afghanistan since 2001. The first was on Dec. 30, when the Canadian journalist Michelle Lang was killed along with four Canadian soldiers in Kandahar Province when their vehicle hit a roadside bomb. So have military casualties: The International Security and Assistance Force, as the American-led alliance is called, lost 520 soldiers, mostly from roadside bombs, last year far more than the 295 who died in Afghanistan in 2008, according to icasualties.org, an independent Web site that tracks military deaths in Afghanistan and Iraq. General McChrystal pointedly said that the days were over when Afghanistan was “a cyclical kinetic campaign based on a set ‘fighting season.’ ” Rather, he said, “It is a continuous, yearlong effort.” “The more coalition forces are seen and known by the local population, the more their threat will be reduced,” General McChrystal wrote, criticizing the NATO coalition for in the past being “preoccupied with force protection.” The intensified military campaign has also meant that more journalists have come here to cover it, often finding out firsthand the heightened risks that troops have been facing. He said that unlike most countries, where journalists who were killed were local people, “What we’re seeing is a large number of non-Afghan journalists dying.” In all, 18 journalists have been killed since the American-led invasion of Afghanistan in 2001 12 of them foreigners. In Tarinkot, the capital of Uruzgan Province, three Afghan aid workers employed by a German relief agency, GTZ, were killed when the pickup truck that they were in struck a landmine on Sunday, said the provincial police chief, Juma Gul Himat. KABUL -- A British journalist with the Sunday Mirror and a U.S. Marine were killed Sunday when their vehicle hit a roadside bomb in volatile southern Afghanistan, British officials and the reporter's newspaper said. The Sunday Mirror said the two journalists left on New Year's Eve to embed with Marines and cover the American troop "surge" into Afghanistan.
Gunmen kidnapped Camatte, 61, from a Mali hotel in November. The al-Qaeda group says it seized Frenchman Pierre Camatte in Mali A branch of the al-Qaeda network is demanding the release of four of its members in exchange for a Frenchman it says it kidnapped in Mali last month. The militants were believed to be behind the murder of British hostage Edwin Dyer in June. Warning to visitors A Malian official has said the demand amounts to "blackmail". Four days later, three Spanish aid workers were snatched from an aid convoy in neighbouring Mauritania. The UK recently warned its nationals not to visit northern Mali because of the threat of attack by the north African branch of al-Qaeda. In June this year an American teacher was killed in Mauritania, with al-Qaeda later claiming it had killed him for spreading Christianity in the Islamic state. There has been no sighting of the four Europeans since the kidnappings. Spain's Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos said his government was investigating the authenticity of the claim. It joined forces with al-Qaida in 2004 and has spread its reach across North and West Africa, CNN reported. "Let France and Mali be forewarned that we give 20 days to fulfill our just demand or the two governments shall be fully responsible for the life of the French hostage," the group said in a statement on an Islamic Web site. A spokesman for al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb made the claim in an audio recording to the al-Jazeera TV station. A source close to the negotiators told the AFP news agency that the group was also demanding a ransom to free Mr Camatte.
BAMAKO, Mali, Jan. 11 (UPI) -- The North African wing of al-Qaida says it will kill a French hostage unless Mali releases four of its members within 20 days, authorities say. Gunmen kidnapped Camatte, 61, from a Mali hotel in November. "Let France and Mali be forewarned that we give 20 days to fulfill our just demand or the two governments shall be fully responsible for the life of the French hostage," the group said in a statement on an Islamic Web site. AQIM executed a British citizen in June after the British government refused to release Abu Qatada, believed to be Osama bin Laden's top deputy in Europe, CNN said. It joined forces with al-Qaida in 2004 and has spread its reach across North and West Africa, CNN reported. The al-Qaeda group says it seized Frenchman Pierre Camatte in Mali A branch of the al-Qaeda network is demanding the release of four of its members in exchange for a Frenchman it says it kidnapped in Mali last month. Four days later, three Spanish aid workers were snatched from an aid convoy in neighbouring Mauritania. The statement, issued on Sunday by the north African branch of al-Qaeda, sets an ultimatum of 20 days for the exchange, after which, it says, the French and Malian governments "will be fully responsible for the French hostage's life". Warning to visitors A Malian official has said the demand amounts to "blackmail". The UK recently warned its nationals not to visit northern Mali because of the threat of attack by the north African branch of al-Qaeda. The al-Qaeda group says it seized Frenchman Pierre Camatte in Mali An offshoot of the al-Qaeda network has reportedly said its members kidnapped three Spanish aid workers in Mauritania and a Frenchman in Mali last month. Demands In the audio recording, al-Qaeda spokesman Saleh Abu Mohammad said his organisation had "managed to kidnap four Europeans in two distinct operations".
SOS. There are people running, crying, screaming. "I just held on and bounced across the wall," he said. A massive 7.0-magnitude earthquake has struck the Caribbean nation of Haiti. The nation's need for aid will range from water and food to medical and building supplies. Please help us." Name Your E-mail address Town & Country Phone number (optional): Comments The BBC may edit your comments and not all emails will be published. Haiti's worst quake in two centuries hit south of the capital Port-au-Prince on Tuesday, wrecking the presidential palace, UN HQ and other buildings. The Brazilian army said four of its peacekeepers were killed and a large number were missing. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told reporters that Washington is offering "our full assistance" to Haiti. The streets are narrow and there is lot of traffic and everyone is trying to reach family and friends. Media requires JavaScript to play. I think hundreds of casualties would be a serious understatement." Experts in disaster response are due to arrive in the country later Wednesday to coordinate international relief efforts, it said. The Red Cross says up to three million people have been affected. U.S. intervention under Clinton restored Aristide to power in 1994 after a 1991 coup, and a U.S. jet hustled him out of the country again in 2004 following a rapidly spreading uprising against his government. The World Bank said its local offices were destroyed but most of the staff were accounted for, Reuters reported. There are aftershocks every 15 to 20 minutes. Singer Wyclef Jean, nephew of ambassador Joseph, stressed the need for help for what is considered among the poorest nations in the Western Hemisphere.
Media requires JavaScript to play. A massive 7.0-magnitude earthquake has struck the Caribbean nation of Haiti. The extent of the devastation is still unclear but there are fears thousands of people may have died. Haiti's worst quake in two centuries hit south of the capital Port-au-Prince on Tuesday, wrecking the presidential palace, UN HQ and other buildings. A "large number" of UN personnel were reported missing by the organisation. Many people have spent the night outside amid fears of more aftershocks. The Red Cross says up to three million people have been affected. Describing the earthquake as a "catastrophe", Haiti's envoy to the US said the cost of the damage could run into billions. A number of nations, including the US, UK and Venezuela, are gearing up to send aid. The quake, which struck about 15km (10 miles) south-west of Port-au-Prince, was quickly followed by two strong aftershocks of 5.9 and 5.5 magnitude. The tremor hit at 1653 (2153 GMT) on Tuesday, the US Geological Survey said. Phone lines to the country failed shortly afterwards. There is still no official word on casualties and the extent of the devastation is only now becoming clearer with dawn breaking. China has already indicated in reports in state media that eight of its peacekeepers are buried and feared dead, with another 10 unaccounted for. I think hundreds of casualties would be a serious understatement Rachmani Domersant, operations manager, Food for the Poor In pictures: Haitian earthquake Worst of places for a quake UK fire crews aid rescue Haiti: LIVE NEWS The AFP news agency quoted the Jordanian army as saying three of its peacekeepers had been killed and 21 wounded. The Brazilian army said four of its peacekeepers were killed and a large number were missing. A French official told AFP about 200 people were missing in the collapsed Hotel Montana, which is popular with tourists. Rachmani Domersant, an operations manager with the Food for the Poor charity, told Reuters that overnight the capital was in total darkness. "You have thousands of people sitting in the streets with nowhere to go. I think hundreds of casualties would be a serious understatement." Earlier, bodies white with dust could be seen piled on the back of a pick-up truck as vehicles tried to ferry the injured to hospital. Haiti is the poorest country in the western hemisphere and has suffered a number of recent disasters, including four hurricanes and storms in 2008 that killed hundreds. 'Thoughts and prayers' In a statement issued in New York, the UN said that its local HQ in Haiti had "sustained serious damage along with other UN installations" and "a large number" of personnel were missing. EYEWITNESS Carel Pedre, TV and radio presenter, Port-au-Prince I saw a lot of people crying for help, a lot of buildings collapsed, a lot of car damage, a lot of people without help, people bleeding. I saw a movie theatre, a supermarket, a cybercafe, an apartment building which collapsed. Now it's dark outside, there is no electricity, all the phone networks are down, so there's no way that people can get in touch with their family and friends. The first shock was really strong, people were falling in the streets and buildings collapsed. I didn't see any emergency services, the people at the neighbourhood were trying to help each other. Eyewitness: 'Blood all over them' UN peacekeeping chief Alain Le Roy said it was unclear how many people were in the building. Raymond Joseph, Haiti's ambassador to the US, said the presidential palace, the tax office, the ministry of commerce and the foreign ministry had all been damaged, but the airport was intact. He and Haiti's ambassador to Mexico, Robert Manuel, both said that President Rene Preval and his wife had survived the quake. US President Barack Obama said his "thoughts and prayers" were with the people of Haiti and that he expected "an aggressive, coordinated [aid] effort by the US government". HAITI COUNTRY PROFILE Half of Caribbean island of Hispaniola History of violence, instability and dictatorship Population of 10 million people Most live on less than $2 a day Democratic rule restored in 2006 Economy in ruins and unemployment is chronic UN peacekeepers deployed - foreign aid seen as vital Massive deforestation has left just 2% forest Storms and hurricanes in 2008 left almost 800 dead Country profile: Haiti World's Haiti aid effort The Red Cross is dispatching a relief team from Geneva and the UN's World Food Programme is flying in two planes with emergency food aid. The Inter-American Development Bank said it was immediately approving a $200,000 grant for emergency aid. Pope Benedict XVI has called for a generous response to the "tragic situation" in Haiti.
The company, however, has repeatedly said that it would monitor restrictions in China. "There's only one eventuality here. Google called the attacks highly sophisticated. The risks are to our values." Such concerns pushed investors toward Chinese search engine Baidu Inc, which leads Google in China's search market with more than 60 percent share. Advertisement Continue reading the main story People familiar with the investigation into the attacks said they were aimed at source code repositories at high-tech companies. While Google’s business in China is now small, analysts say that the country could soon become one of the most lucrative Internet and mobile markets, and a withdrawal would significantly reduce Google’s long-term growth. We think it is generating $200 million in annual revenue from China. But this kind of attack they (Google) cannot afford to have as a global player. View all New York Times newsletters. In recent months, the government has also blocked YouTube, Google’s video-sharing service. and a major frustration for users." Google’s announcement Tuesday drew praise from free speech and human rights advocates, many of whom had criticized the company in the past over its decision to enter the Chinese market despite censorship requirements. The company said it would try to negotiate a new arrangement to provide uncensored results on its search site, google.cn. However, like other large foreign corporations -- particularly media concerns -- the search titan faces tighter scrutiny from Beijing censors. In its public statement Google pointed to a United States government report prepared by the United States-China Economic and Security Review Commission in October and an investigation by Canadian researchers that revealed a vast electronic spying operation last March.
Those attacks, which Google said took place last week, were directed at some 34 companies or entities, most of them in Silicon Valley, California, according to people with knowledge of Google’s investigation into the matter. The attackers may have succeeded in penetrating elaborate computer security systems and obtaining crucial corporate data and software source codes, though Google said it did not itself suffer losses of that kind. Advertisement Continue reading the main story While the scope of the hacking and the motivations and identities of the hackers remained uncertain, Google’s response amounted to an unambiguous repudiation of its own five-year courtship of the vast China market, which most major multinational companies consider crucial to their growth prospects. It is also likely to enrage the Chinese authorities, who deny that they censor the Internet and are accustomed to having major foreign companies adapt their practices to Chinese norms. The company said it would try to negotiate a new arrangement to provide uncensored results on its search site, google.cn. Google said it would otherwise cease to run google.cn and would consider shutting its offices in China, where it employs some 700 people, many of them highly compensated software engineers, and has an estimated $300 million in annual revenue. But despite a costly investment, the company has a much smaller share of the search market here than it does in other major markets, commanding only about one in three searches by Chinese. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Google executives have privately fretted for years that the company’s decision to censor the search results on google.cn, to filter out topics banned by Chinese censors, was out of sync with the company’s official motto, “Don’t be evil.” Advertisement Continue reading the main story “We have decided we are no longer willing to continue censoring our results on google.cn, and so over the next few weeks we will be discussing with the Chinese government the basis on which we could operate an unfiltered search engine within the law, if at all,” David Drummond, senior vice president for corporate development and the chief legal officer, said in a statement. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Wenqi Gao, a spokesman for the Chinese Consulate in New York, said he did not see any problems with google.cn. “I want to reaffirm that China is committed to protecting the legitimate rights and interests of foreign companies in our country,” he said in a phone interview. In recent months, the government has also blocked YouTube, Google’s video-sharing service. While Google’s business in China is now small, analysts say that the country could soon become one of the most lucrative Internet and mobile markets, and a withdrawal would significantly reduce Google’s long-term growth. Advertisement Continue reading the main story “The consequences of not playing the China market could be very big for any company, but particularly for an Internet company that makes its money from advertising,” said David B. Yoffie, a Harvard Business School professor. At the time of its arrival, the company said that it believed that the benefits of its presence in China outweighed the downside of being forced to censor some search results here, as it would provide more information and openness to Chinese citizens. Sign Up Receive occasional updates and special offers for The New York Times's products and services. Google’s announcement Tuesday drew praise from free speech and human rights advocates, many of whom had criticized the company in the past over its decision to enter the Chinese market despite censorship requirements. Rebecca MacKinnon, a fellow at the Open Society Institute and an expert on the Chinese Internet, said that Google had endured repeated harassment in recent months and that by having operations in China it potentially risked the security of its users in China. “The company has clearly put its foot down and said enough is enough.” In the past year, Google has been increasingly constricted by the Chinese government. In June, after briefly blocking access nationwide to its main search engine and other services like Gmail, the government forced the company to disable a function that lets the search engine suggest terms. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Some company executives suggested then that the campaign was a concerted effort to stain Google’s image. In the past, such electronic intrusions have either exploited the practice of “phishing,” to persuade unsuspecting users to allow their computers to be compromised, or exploited vulnerabilities in software programs permitting the attacks to gain control of systems remotely. Advertisement Continue reading the main story The Canadian researchers discovered that digital documents had been stolen via the Internet from hundreds of government and private organizations around the world from computer systems based in China. REUTERS/Jason Lee NEW YORK/SAN FRANCISCO Google Inc's threat to withdraw from China over censorship and cyber attacks has suddenly jeopardized any plans it has for the world's biggest Internet market, stunning investors and analysts. Google's announcement that it may quit China -- a possibility that analysts said appeared realistic and increasingly likely -- carries with it broader implications for other U.S. technology and media companies that have placed big bets on business in the country. In the case of Google, China accounts for only a fraction of its current business, roughly $300 million to $600 million in annual revenue, or less than 5 percent of its total, analysts estimate. "The obvious concern is that China's growth has been solid and its market potential is enormous." Such concerns pushed investors toward Chinese search engine Baidu Inc, which leads Google in China's search market with more than 60 percent share. Shares of Baidu jumped 12 percent to $432 in early trading, while Google shares slipped 2 percent to $579. "If Google were to exit China, we believe this represents a significant lost growth opportunity in the long term," UBS analyst Brian Pitz said in a research note. "China is the world's largest Internet market with roughly 298 million users, with only 22 percent of the population penetrated." He said that checks by the firm suggested that Google.cn has already removed censoring filters for several keywords, increasing the possibility that the site "will be shut down soon, at least for a period time." In a statement, Yahoo said it stood aligned with Google in that attacks to infiltrate company networks in order to obtain user information are "deeply disturbing" and that violations of user privacy are something that must be opposed.
Schools have collapsed. A number of nations, including the US, UK and Venezuela, are gearing up to send aid. Mr Preval said the UN mission chief in Haiti was among the dead, but the UN cannot confirm this. Describing the scene in the capital as "unimaginable", he said: "Parliament has collapsed. The Red Cross says up to three million people have been affected. The head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said it would co-ordinate with other international agencies to offer help as swiftly as possible. It said its offices in Port-au-Prince had been destroyed but that most staff were accounted for. Vincent says shelter and food are also critical needs. Thousands of buildings from shanties to the... Haitians tried digging through rubble with their bare hands to rescue people trapped after the biggest earthquake to hit the impoverished Caribbean nation in two centuries. Haitian President Rene Preval has said thousands of people are feared dead following a huge quake which has devastated the country's capital. Media requires JavaScript to play. The Inter-American Development Bank said it was immediately approving a $200,000 grant for emergency aid. The authorities here say 11 soldiers have died and there have been several injuries, and there are fears this number could rise. There were some reports of looting overnight. The Director of the WFP office in Geneva, Charles Vincent, says the first priority is to save lives. The World Bank also said it was sending a team to assess the damage and plan recovery. It was like a very strong wind was blowing and I nearly lost control of the car.
The United Nations is gearing up for a huge operation to help hundreds of thousands of victims of the powerful earthquake that struck Haiti on Tuesday. U.N. and international agencies are sending disaster experts and essential relief supplies to the stricken Caribbean Island. The earthquake hit a number of areas including the Haitian capital, Port-au-Prince, where some four million people live. The World Food Program, which has a large staff on the ground, says the level of destruction indicates many of these people have been affected and will require help. The Director of the WFP office in Geneva, Charles Vincent, says the first priority is to save lives. "To rescue people that are buried, that are trapped, etc.…followed very rapidly by a big problem of water, sanitation, epidemic-problems of diseases that might be bred in that kind of situation," Vincent said. Vincent says shelter and food are also critical needs. He says WFP has extensive stocks of food in the country and will distribute supplies to the victims as soon as possible. He says WFP is also airlifting energy biscuits for 30,000 people. The Red Cross says up to three million people have been affected. Describing the earthquake as a "catastrophe", Haiti's envoy to the U.S. said the cost of the damage could run into billions. The Inter-American Development Bank said it will immediately approve a $200,000 grant for emergency asssistance to Haiti which is aimed at providing food, water, medicine and shelter for earthquake victims. PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti—Cries from victims entombed beneath concrete debris pierced the air of seemingly every street in this crowded capital Wednesday, where shocked residents carried the injured and the dead a day after the nation was hit by a quake that some estimate has killed more than 100,000 people. Haitians tried digging through rubble with their bare hands to rescue people trapped after the biggest earthquake to hit the impoverished Caribbean nation in two centuries. Haitian President Rene Preval has said thousands of people are feared dead following a huge quake which has devastated the country's capital. Mr Preval said the UN mission chief in Haiti was among the dead, but the UN cannot confirm this. It said 14 other UN staff had died and 56 were injured. The 7.0-magnitude quake, Haiti's worst in two centuries, struck on Tuesday. Prime Minister Jean-Max Bellerive told US network CNN he believed more than 100,000 people had died. The Red Cross says up to three million people are affected. The capital's Catholic archbishop, Monsignor Joseph Serge Miot, is also among those killed. In his first interview since the earthquake, President Preval told the Miami Herald newspaper in the US he feared thousands of his people had died. Describing the scene in the capital as "unimaginable", he said: "Parliament has collapsed. Hospitals have collapsed Haitian President Rene Preval Haiti: LIVE NEWS In pictures: Haitian earthquake Worst of places for a quake Haiti: How to help "There are a lot of schools that have a lot of dead people in them." Mr Preval later said that Hedi Annabi, the Tunisian head of the UN stabilisation mission in Haiti (Minustah), had died after the UN HQ building was destroyed. The main prison in Port-au-Prince has also collapsed, with a UN humanitarian spokeswoman saying there had been reports of escaped inmates. Speaking in Washington, US President Barack Obama vowed "unwavering support" for Haiti after what he called a "cruel and incomprehensible" disaster. He said he had ordered "a swift, co-ordinated and aggressive effort to save lives" and that the first US rescue teams would arrive later on Wednesday. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced that she was cutting short a trip to the Pacific in order to return to Washington because of the earthquake. Rajiv Shah, of the US Agency for International Development (USAID), said US teams were on their way to Haiti with specialised rescue equipment and that some efforts were already under way on the ground. UN officials said at least 14 people had died when the UN's five-storey headquarters and two smaller buildings in Port-au-Prince collapsed. Ten Brazilians, three Jordanians and one Haitian had been confirmed killed, a senior UN official said, adding that the number was likely to rise. Stressing a major international relief effort would be needed, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon said the UN would immediately release $10m (£6.15m) from its emergency response fund. He said aerial reconnaissance showed Port-au-Prince had been "devastated" by the quake, although other areas were largely unaffected. I clung on to the babies and shielded them as best I could Susan Westwood Nurse, Port-au-Prince orphanage Haiti Earthquake: Your stories UK fire crews aid rescue A spokesman for medical charity Medecins sans Frontieres (MSF) said it was able only to offer basic care to the "massive influx" of survivors seeking help because all its buildings had been destroyed.
"More American search and rescue teams are coming, more food, more water, doctors, nurses, paramedics, more of the people, equipment and capabilities that can make the difference between life and death," Mr. Obama said. President Obama says the first waves of U.S. rescue and relief workers are at work in Haiti. Eight Chinese serving with the United Nations peacekeeping mission there are still buried under the rubble. But he is seeking to reassure the Haitian people that an enormous humanitarian effort is on the way. Taiwan and Haiti have formal diplomatic relations and Taipei is also sending rescuers to help with quake relief efforts. The president pledged $100 million for the earthquake-stricken Caribbean country. “A day felt like a year,” he said. The struggle to survive intensified Thursday, in dramas that played out around this city that has already suffered more than most, from centuries of poverty, violence and natural disaster. China has sent a 60-member search-and-rescue team to Haiti and the Chinese Red Cross is donating one-million dollars in emergency aid. "In this, your hour of greatest need, America stands with you, the world stands with you." “You can’t do anything about the dead bodies, but inside many of these buildings people may still be alive. More than a half-dozen U.S. military ships also are expected in the area. Ronald Jedna, covered in white dust atop a damaged building, had just been freed, after spending a day caught in a crevice of his apartment building with heavy beams pressing in tight against his chest. U.S. citizens in Haiti can call the embassy's Consular Task Force: 509-2229-8942, 509-2229-8089, 509-2229-8322, or 509- 2229-8672.
President Barack Obama says one of the largest relief efforts in recent U.S. history is moving toward Haiti. The president pledged $100 million for the earthquake-stricken Caribbean country. President Obama says the first waves of U.S. rescue and relief workers are at work in Haiti. "Search and rescue teams are actively working to save lives," Mr. Obama said. "Our military has secured the airport, and prepared it to receive the heavy equipment and resources that are on the way, and to receive them around the clock, 24 hours a day. An airlift has been set up to deliver high-priority items like water and medicine." The president acknowledges it may take days to move the full U.S. relief effort into Haiti, because roads, airports, ports and communications were damaged in the quake. But he is seeking to reassure the Haitian people that an enormous humanitarian effort is on the way. "More American search and rescue teams are coming, more food, more water, doctors, nurses, paramedics, more of the people, equipment and capabilities that can make the difference between life and death," Mr. Obama said. Mr. Obama is also committing the U.S. government to an immediate investment of $100 million for earthquake relief in Haiti. "This will mean more of the life-saving equipment, food, water and medicine that will be needed," Mr. Obama said. "This investment will grow over the coming year, as we embark on the long-term recovery from this unimaginable tragedy." Americans trying to reach missing relatives in Haiti can call the State Department at 1-888-407-4747 or 202-647-5225. U.S. citizens in Haiti can call the embassy's Consular Task Force: 509-2229-8942, 509-2229-8089, 509-2229-8322, or 509- 2229-8672. U.S. soldiers from a military base in North Carolina are preparing for the arrival of a larger force. Most of all, the president is assuring Haiti's people they are in America's thoughts. When asked about whether there have been any diplomatic difficulties, she said Beijing is concerned about Chinese citizens overseas, no matter where they are, and will, in her words, "spare no effort" to protect their safety. Jiang says, in recent days, China has gotten information about the current situation through "various channels." She says China has contacted the Haitian government and is coordinating with "relevant authorities" to provide assistance with rescue work. PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti The distance between life and death narrowed in this flattened city on Thursday, with survival two days after the huge earthquake struck depending increasingly on the luck of being freed from under rubble, on treating the thousands of wounded and on speeding the halting flow of emergency food and water. With reports of looting and scuffles over water and food, President Obama promised $100 million in aid, as the first wave of a projected 5,000 American troops began arriving to provide security and the infrastructure for the expected flood of aid from around the world. “In this, your hour of greatest need, America stands with you.” Help was only beginning to arrive Thursday as the United States military took over the wrecked air traffic control system to land cargo planes with food and water, though the airport was clogged and chaotic with little or no fuel for planes to return.
We said, 'Uh-oh.' "We need food. "People looked desperate, people looked hungry, people looked lost." It's getting ugly out there. US President Barack Obama said some US rescuers were already on the ground in Haiti and more were on their way. Aid groups say it is a race against time to find trapped survivors. Source: Al Jazeera and agencies Thousands dead Rescue workers were able to free a few people who had been trapped under the rubble for days as others dealt with the hundreds of bodies that were lying in the streets of the city. The UN World Food Programme reported today that its warehouses in the Haitian capital had been looted since the devastating quake. Insecurity AT THE SCENE Nick Davis, Port-au-Prince People are doing what they can to survive here in Port-au-Prince. Hundreds of US paratroopers arrived overnight to back up the relief effort. Meanwhile the port is too damaged to use and roads are blocked by debris. People are fed up with getting no help," he told the Reuters news agency. Before the earthquake struck we were already assisting one million people here, we are considering it will be at least double that after this earthquake." There is little sign of aid supplies beyond the airport, and correspondents cite increasing anger among survivors. We need pure water." "Unfortunately, they're slowly getting more angry and impatient," said David Wimhurst, spokesman for the Brazilian-commanded UN peacekeeping mission. Please turn on JavaScript. Some from broken pipes from collapsed buildings, that still have a supply. Casella said the WFP was preparing shipments of enough ready-to-eat meals to feed two million Haitians for a month.
The Haitian Red Cross says the earthquake killed between 45,000 and 50,000 [AFP/UN/Mintusah] Aid agencies are struggling to reach the up to three million of people affected by an earthquake that has devastated Haiti, levelling buildings and burying thousands of people in the rubble. At least 300,000 people were estimated to be homeless in Port-au-Prince on Friday, more than 48 hours after one in 10 homes in the capital collapsed, the United Nations said. Many more people were believed to be sleeping on the streets fearing aftershocks will cause more buildings to fall. 'Logistical challenge' Rescue and aid efforts have been been hampered by blocked roads, severed communications lines and the difficulties faced by relief agencies that have lost personnel and seen their office destroyed. The capital's port was too badly damaged to handle cargo and supply planes arrived at the airport faster than ground crews could unload them, prompting aviation authorities to restrict non-military flights for fear jets would run out of fuel while waiting to land. Alejandro Lopez-Chicheri, senior spokesman for the World Food Programme for Latin America, Central America and the Caribbean, said that Haiti was "completely on the ground". "The roads, many of them are still to be opened, and on the ones that are open there are still people concentrated on the sides of the roads," he told Al Jazeera from Port-au-Prince. Before the earthquake struck we were already assisting one million people here, we are considering it will be at least double that after this earthquake." Growing frustration There was growing frustration among the thousands of people living out on the streets of Port-au-Prince who had received little or no help. "A lot of people have simply grown tired of waiting for those emergency workers to get to them," Al Jazeera's Sebastian Walker said. In video Al Jazeera's Mike Kirsch reports on Haiti quake survivors who have been left homeless "Thousands of people are streaming out of the city towards the provinces to try to find supplies of food and water, supplies that are running out in the city." "I fear, we are all aware that the situation is getting more tense as the poorest people who need so much, are waiting for deliveries. Shaul Schwarz, a photographer for Time magazine, said he saw at least two roadblocks, formed with the bodies of earthquake victims and rocks, built by Haitians desperate for food and water. Thousands dead Rescue workers were able to free a few people who had been trapped under the rubble for days as others dealt with the hundreds of bodies that were lying in the streets of the city. The Haitian Red Cross said it believed 45,000 to 50,000 people had died in the quake, while Rene Preval, Haiti's president, said 7,000 dead had already been buried in a mass grave.Jamieson Davies, international programmes director for the Caritas relief organisation, said that the situation was "extremely difficult" as aid workers were suffering the same hardships as the Port-au-Prince residents. "Even the aid workers themselves are sleeping in cars or in tents on the streets," she told Al Jazeera from Sydney, Australia. "But luckily they have direct access to stocks of relief that were already placed around the country. "Right now our staff are delivering first aid to survivors, as well as blankets, tents, things that they need to spend the night safely on the streets." "We are hoping that people will come forward and give and we are particularly urging meals ready-to-eat and the high-energy biscuits, 80 to 90 tonnes of which has already been flown in from El Salvador," Caroline Hurford, a London-based spokesperson for the agency, told Al Jazeera. "This is what people really need when they have lost their houses, they have lost their ability to prepare food, and they are desperately hungry." UNFP said that food shops across Port-au-Prince had been "cleared out" since the quake and desperate survivors stole some of the stockpile of food aid from its warehouse. Bottlenecks and infrastructure damage have been holding up aid efforts in Haiti, where Tuesday's earthquake has left as many as 45,000-50,000 dead. I saw six men carrying a roughly carved casket, singing as they walked toward the cemetery. The UN's World Food Programme (WFP) says that in total two million people will need food aid, but that it has so far managed to feed just 4,000. Port-au-Prince's small airport is filled to capacity and US air traffic controllers have taken charge of air traffic control to help manage the influx of planes. They want us to provide them with help, which is, of course, what we want to do David Wimhurst UN spokesman Tech tools offer Haiti lifeline How survivors are found Haiti desperate for help Survivors' stories LIVE: Haiti earthquake David Wimhurst, a spokesman for the Brazilian-led UN peacekeeping mission in Haiti, said: "Unfortunately, they're slowly getting more angry and impatient."
It could rise further. The official said all those killed in the attack were militants. Saturday, Pakistani Taliban militants issued a new audio recording they said proved their leader, Hakimullah Mehsud, survived a suspected U.S. missile strike last week. US drone attacks are being stepped up along the Afghan-Pakistan border A missile attack by a US drone aircraft has killed at least 15 people in north-west Pakistan, officials say. Sunday's attack took place in the Shaktoi area of Pakistan's restive South Waziristan region. The United States has increased attacks using drones since a suicide bomber killed seven U.S. intelligence agents in eastern Afghanistan in late December. Some information for this report was provided by AFP and Reuters. Most of the casualties were foreign fighters, he added. "Now the death toll is 15. People are still busy removing rubble," a senior security official told Reuters. Barack Obama, the US president, has put Pakistan at the centre of his policy to target the Taliban and al-Qaeda, seeing lawless tribal areas of western Pakistan as a safe haven for such fighters. Another report said the house was being used by Uzbek militants fighting with the Taliban. The use of the pilotless aircraft has been criticised by Pakistani officials for causing civilian casualties, as well as for breaching the country's sovereignty. Conflicting reports have emerged over the past few days of Mehsud's death. About 40 opposition fighters are said to have been killed by drone strikes since last Thursday, as Washington steps up its campaign to counter the Taliban and al-Qaeda in Pakistan. Four missiles hit the house of a local tribesman in Shaktoi, South Waziristan, near the Afghan border, an official told the BBC.
US drone attacks are being stepped up along the Afghan-Pakistan border A missile attack by a US drone aircraft has killed at least 15 people in north-west Pakistan, officials say. Four missiles hit the house of a local tribesman in Shaktoi, South Waziristan, near the Afghan border, an official told the BBC. The official said all those killed in the attack were militants. Last week an attack in the same area reportedly targeted Pakistani Taliban leader Hakimullah Mehsud, but the Taliban say he survived. "Now the death toll is 15. Another report said the house was being used by Uzbek militants fighting with the Taliban. Hakimullah Mehsud has led the Pakistani Taliban since former leader Baitullah Mehsud was killed in a drone attack last summer. The US has stepped up drone attacks in north-west Pakistan since a suicide bomber killed seven CIA agents across the border in Afghanistan last month. Pakistani officials say a suspected U.S. drone missile strike has killed at least 20 militants. Pakistani intelligence sources had said Mehsud was wounded in the missile strike that killed at least 12 suspected militants Thursday.
"In the Orange Revolution, I voted to make this a different, better country," she said. Current President Viktor Yushchenko has been eliminated from the vote. The candidates have been bitter foes since Ukraine's last presidential election. Tymoshenko may have the edge in the second round. Yanukovich soon chimed in with similar appeals to voters. A runoff will be held because no candidate received more than 50% of the vote. Five years ago Viktor Yanukovych was the villain, tainted by allegations of vote-rigging and open support from Moscow. Ukraine presidential vote headed to runoff Exit polls show former Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovich narrowly beating Yulia Tymoshenko but with not enough votes for an outright victory. Among them was retired pediatrician Alla Olyenik, 55, who cast a ballot for Tymoshenko in a central Kiev school. "Ukraine once again will demonstrate that it is a European democratic country, that it is a free nation, free people and free election," he said. The Orange Revolution led Ukrainians to expect sweeping changes - integration with Europe and an end to corruption, our correspondent says. The politicians who had marched boldly through the frigid streets calling for a reinvented Ukraine were now in office -- and promptly lost themselves in Byzantine power plays, internecine wars and flashy shows of dubiously acquired wealth. Tymoshenko has vowed to repair ties with Russia, and the Kremlin has signaled that it can work with her. "I still believe it's possible that things will change. Multiple teams of international observers were positioned across the country and were scheduled to report their findings Monday. In the eastern city of Donetsk, one polling station encouraged voters with vodka and sausage.
The Orange Revolution did not bring the benefits many Ukrainians hoped for Ukraine's presidential election is set for a second round run-off after partial results showed no candidate would win more than 50% of the vote. With half the votes counted, former Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych led current PM Yulia Tymoshenko by 37% to 24%. The two were on opposing sides of the Orange Revolution in 2004-5, but both now favour closer ties with Russia. ANALYSIS Gabriel Gatehouse, BBC News, Kiev Unless the exit polls are very wide of the mark, Viktor Yanukovych will face the Prime Minister, Yulia Tymoshenko, in a second round run-off on 7 February. Five years ago Viktor Yanukovych was the villain, tainted by allegations of vote-rigging and open support from Moscow. Now, both candidates say they favour closer ties with Russia - after five years of increasingly tense relations under President Yushchenko - and the Kremlin seems happy with either. A total of 18 candidates took part in the election. The BBC's Gabriel Gatehouse, in Kiev, says there is much disillusionment among voters over the failure to tackle corruption and links with the EU. It was Mr Yanukovych's victory in the 2004 election that was annulled by the Orange Revolution and brought Mr Yushchenko and Ms Tymoshenko to power. In the capital Kiev, voters walked to polling stations through light snow. In the eastern city of Donetsk, one polling station encouraged voters with vodka and sausage. President Yushchenko cast his ballot at a polling station in central Kiev with his wife, Kateryna, and their five children. "Ukraine once again will demonstrate that it is a European democratic country, that it is a free nation, free people and free election," he said. Warnings of unrest The leading candidates have accused each other of trying to rig the election, and there have been warnings of unrest after the vote. President Yushchenko has been blamed for a lack of reforms in Ukraine In an effort to boost confidence in the election, foreign observers have spread out across Ukraine to monitor voting. Jens-Hagen Eschenbacher, of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe, said about 600 OSCE election monitors are in place, as well as thousands of other foreign observers. The Orange Revolution led Ukrainians to expect sweeping changes - integration with Europe and an end to corruption, our correspondent says. KIEV -- The politician backed by the Kremlin and accused of election fraud in Ukraine's Orange Revolution five years ago scored a first-round win Sunday in presidential voting, but he appeared to fall well short of the majority he needed to assume the office. Viktor Yanukovich, leader of the opposition Party of Regions, which has long enjoyed Moscow's support, won 31 to 36 percent of the vote, according to exit polls. That set up a runoff in three weeks against Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, who finished second with 25 to 27 percent, a much stronger showing than expected. The candidates have been bitter foes since Ukraine's last presidential election. Speaking to reporters as official results were still being tallied, Tymoshenko seized on the findings of the nation's most independent exit poll, which showed her trailing Yanukovich by four percentage points. She predicted that the nation's splintered "democratic forces" would rally around her in the runoff. But Yanukovich cast the results as a repudiation of the Orange government, which has struggled for five years with infighting and has not delivered much-needed political and economic reforms. "The mistake of the Orange team is that they thought that between elections, people would forget the promises made and never kept, but this isn't the case," he said. "Today marks the end of Orange power," he added, referring to the failed reelection bid of President Viktor Yushchenko, the Orange Revolution hero whose face was scarred in a poisoning blamed on Russian secret services. Yushchenko appeared to finish fifth with 6 percent of the vote, behind millionaire banker Sergei Tigipko and former parliament chief Arseniy Yatsenyuk. But the charge did not resonate in this country of 46 million, which has been battered by the global financial crisis and was forced to accept a tough bailout package from the International Monetary Fund. Tymoshenko, a sharp-tongued former natural-gas tycoon known for wearing her braided hair like a crown, had warned of fraud before the vote, but the Central Election Commission said it had not received reports of serious irregularities. Despite widespread frustration with the political paralysis that Ukraine has endured, more than 66 percent of eligible voters braved frigid weather to go to the polls, authorities said. A survey from the widely respected National Exit Poll consortium gave Yanukovich 31.5% of the vote to Tymoshenko's 27.2%, topping a field of 18 candidates.
Kirk, a Democrat, will remain in place until Brown is sworn in. Brown’s election foiled efforts by Massachusetts Democrats to keep the US Senate seat in the party. “He was both surprised and frustrated,” Mr. Gibbs said. Coakley conceded defeat to Brown in a phone call shortly before the race was called. On Capitol Hill, the fate of the health care legislation was highly uncertain as Democratic leaders quickly gathered to plot strategy in the wake of the Republican victory. Brown’s campaign courted voters with folksy ads from his kitchen and his GMC pickup. “I’m ready to go to Washington without delay,’’ Brown said last night, with the crowd chanting “Seat him now! Coakley’s loss is particularly dispiriting for the many women who were energized about the prospect of the state’s first woman senator. “I know I have a lot to learn in the Senate, but I know who I am, and I know who I serve. House members indicated they would not quickly pass the bill the Senate approved last month. Ms. Coakley’s defeat, in a state that Mr. Obama won in 2008 with 62 percent of the vote, led to a round of finger-pointing among Democrats. Coakley addressed her supporters just before 10 p.m. Tuesday, offering "an incredibly sincere thank-you for everything that you did." President Obama and congressional Democrats have been focused [on] repairing the damage to our economy.” Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), who chairs the Senate Democrats’ campaign committee, released a more subdued statement saying: “I have no interest in sugar coating what happened in Massachusetts. Even as he eschewed the Republican label at times, he reinvigorated the GOP base and has provided national Republicans with a template for the 2010 midterm elections.
Toward the end of her speech, her voice cracked as she quoted Kennedy, saying, “The work begins anew, the hope rises again, and the dream lives on.’’ “I am heartbroken at the result,’’ Coakley told disappointed supporters at the Sheraton Boston. “But I know that we will get up together tomorrow and continue this fight, even with this result tonight.’’ Coakley fared best in liberal suburbs immediately west of Boston, the Berkshires, and in cities such as Lawrence, Springfield, and New Bedford, though not by the large margins required to win statewide. Brown’s strength came from the North and South shores, as well as the suburbs in the Interstate 495 belt, including Holliston, Ashland, and Marlborough, where successful Republicans have historically fared well. He ran up big margins in Plymouth and surrounding communities, as well as in Worcester County. I’m Scott Brown. And I drive a truck.’’ And while Brown paid homage to Kennedy, saying “his name would always command respect,’’ he spoke against the health care bill as the crowd chanted “Forty-one! Forty-one!’’ In a race that became the focus of national attention, Brown’s win was widely seen as a vote against the president’s agenda from one of the most reliably Democratic states. In a particularly ironic twist, Brown may well be the 41st vote to prevent the Democratic-led health care plan from moving forward, though Edward M. Kennedy, who held the seat for 47 years, called health care “the cause of my life.’’ “Scott Brown is the next United States senator!’’ Brown’s daughter Ayla shouted from the stage at the Park Plaza Hotel as the euphoric crowd began waving American flags. Coakley called Brown to concede a little more than an hour after polls closed, and the Brown campaign party erupted into jubilant cheers soon after. The stunning, come-from-behind victory caps a dramatic surge in recent days as Brown, a state lawmaker from Wrentham once thought to have little chance of beating a popular attorney general, roared ahead of Coakley to become the first Republican senator elected from Massachusetts since 1972. Republican Scott P. Brown pulled off one of the biggest upsets in Massachusetts political history last night, defeating Democrat Martha Coakley to become the state’s next US senator and potentially derailing President Obama’s hopes for a health care overhaul. President Obama called both candidates last night, congratulating Brown on a well-run campaign’’ and telling Coakley “we can’t win them all.’’ Coakley, after cruising to an easy victory in the primary, began the general election race with seemingly every edge, from name recognition and fund-raising ability to a lopsided advantage in voter registration and the backing of the state’s Democratic establishment. She had been plotting a race for US Senate for more than five years. But Brown marched ahead in the two weeks after the holidays, channeling populist anger at Democratic policies in Washington and capitalizing on Coakley’s relatively low-key campaigning. He benefited from an influx of out-of-state activists and excitement among Massachusetts conservatives, who saw a rare chance to send a Republican to higher office. Coakley’s loss is particularly dispiriting for the many women who were energized about the prospect of the state’s first woman senator. Brown will seek to be sworn in as soon as possible, setting up an instant battle with Senate Democrats over when to seat him. Secretary of State William F. Galvin said he will send a letter with the unofficial results today to the secretary of the Senate, who has the authority to decide when to swear in the winner. (Galvin cannot officially certify the results for 10 days, until overseas absentee ballots are counted.) More than 2.2 million people cast ballots, which matched the turnout in the 2006 governor’s race. They changed the law again several months ago, allowing Governor Deval Patrick to temporarily appoint Paul G. Kirk to the seat. Over the past two weeks, the contest between Coakley and Brown took on national implications, drawing outside groups who deluged voters with a flurry of television ads, automated phone calls, mailers, and e-mails, many of them negative. On the campaign trail, he frequently wore a barn jacket over his coat and tie. He often seemed taken aback by his newfound popularity after weeks of stumping at sparsely attended events in bars, diners, and train stations. Even as he eschewed the Republican label at times, he reinvigorated the GOP base and has provided national Republicans with a template for the 2010 midterm elections. Brown tapped into voter anger over both state tax increases and corruption on Beacon Hill, casting Coakley as an insider beholden to the Democratic establishment. And while Brown was embraced by right-wing groups, including activists opposed to gay marriage and abortion, he sought to portray himself as a moderate voice. Brown supporters said they were put off by Coakley’s style and dismayed by the health care debate on Capitol Hill. “She basically took the election for granted, and her ads were misleading.’’ After Kennedy’s death in August, Coakley was the first to announce her candidacy and was the front-runner from the start. Following her 19-point primary victory last month, she seemed to have found the formula for success that had eluded previous women, including gubernatorial bids by former lieutenant governor Kerry Healey and former treasurer Shannon O’Brien. But as Coakley stayed off the airwaves and shied away from meet-and-greet politicking, Brown gained notice by running television ads comparing himself to President Kennedy and defining himself as the champion of independent-minded voters. BOSTON Scott Brown, a little-known Republican state senator, rode an old pickup truck and a growing sense of unease among independent voters to an extraordinary upset Tuesday night when he was elected to fill the Senate seat that was long held by Edward M. Kennedy in the overwhelmingly Democratic state of Massachusetts. “Tonight the independent voice of Massachusetts has spoken,” Mr. Brown told his cheering supporters in a victory speech, standing in front of a backdrop that said “The People’s Seat.” The election left Democrats in Congress scrambling to salvage a bill overhauling the nation’s health care system, which the late Mr. Kennedy had called “the cause of my life.” Mr. Brown has vowed to oppose the bill, and once he takes office the Democrats will no longer control the 60 votes in the Senate needed to overcome filibusters. Beyond the bill, the election of a man supported by the Tea Party movement also represented an unexpected reproach by many voters to President Obama after his first year in office, and struck fear into the hearts of Democratic lawmakers, who are already worried about their prospects in the midterm elections later this year.
She was releasing him, she told the court. I knew what I was doing was against the law." She said: "She was mad and so upset. Inglis, who is now 57, quickly began researching her son's condition on the internet. I know Tom would not want to live. The definition of murder is to take someone's life with malice in your heart. Thomas had been injured in a fight outside a pub one Friday night but it was when he came out of the ambulance that he suffered the serious head injuries. She couldn't be consoled. She had managed to get 10 packets of heroin for £200. Instead she was called back to hospital to be told he had been resuscitated. But 10 members of the jury were not convinced, and by a majority verdict she was found guilty of murdering him when he lay in bed in a care home in November 2008. And during the trial a picture emerged of a mother who believed she knew what was best for her brain-damaged son. How can it be legal to withhold food and water, which means a slow and painful death, yet illegal to end all suffering in a quick, calm and loving way? She said her family had no idea what she intended to do. Ms Robinson told the BBC her close friend of 15 years had been screaming and crying so much the police had had to intervene. "We can all understand the emotion and the unhappiness that you were experiencing. "What this case and a number of others have exposed is a need for a complete rethink of existing laws in regard to people that have been, and will be, in the same position as Tom.
Frances Inglis, 57, was given a life sentence for killing her 22-year-old son Tom after he sustained severe head injuries when he fell out of a moving ambulance. Tom's brother, Alex, speaking outside court, praised his mother for her "loving and courageous act" and called for a review of the law for people who kill as an "act of mercy". He said: "How can it be legal to withhold food and water, which means a slow and painful death, yet illegal to end all suffering in a quick, calm and loving way? "What this case and a number of others have exposed is a need for a complete rethink of existing laws in regard to people that have been, and will be, in the same position as Tom." He added that his whole family, and Tom's former girlfriend, supported his mother's actions "one hundred per cent" and called the law "cruel and illogical". He said: "All of those who loved and were close to Tom have never seen this as murder. Inglis, who will serve at least nine years of her life sentence less the 423 days she has spent in custody, said she killed her son to end his "living hell" and that she had "no choice". The court heard how the mother gave her son a heroin overdose two months after he fell out of the moving ambulance in which he was being treated following a pub fight. Nurses resuscitated him and she was charged with attempted murder, but bailed on the condition she did not contact her son. A year later, she entered his nursing home posing as his aunt, and barricaded herself in his room using an oxygen cylinder, a wheelchair and superglue to seal the door shut. She then administered another heroin overdose into both thighs and one arm, which this time proved lethal. When staff broke down the door half an hour later, she urged them not to try to resuscitate him. Judge Brian Barker, the Common Serjeant of London, told the jury that they "could not have had a more difficult case", but asked them to put emotion aside and told them no one had the "unfettered right" to take the law into their own hands. Inglis, of Dagenham, east London, was found guilty of murder and attempted murder. There were cries of "shame on you" and weeping from the public gallery at the Old Bailey as the jury returned their 10-2 majority verdicts after more than six hours of deliberations. You knew you were breaking society's conventions, you knew you were breaking the law, and you knew the consequences." The court heard that the family is bringing a High Court legal action against the ambulance service over the initial accident. The mother of a severely disabled 22-year-old man was today convicted of murder despite her claim that she had injected him with a lethal shot of heroin to bring his suffering to an end. Frances Inglis, 57, insisted throughout the two-week trial that she was innocent because she had killed her son with love in her heart, and not malice. She was given a life sentence and told she must spend a minimum of nine years in jail. Tom Inglis was left severely braindamaged after a road accident in July 2007, and his mother believed he was locked into a "living hell" with no hope of recovery. But 10 members of the jury were not convinced, and by a majority verdict she was found guilty of murdering him when he lay in bed in a care home in November 2008. As the foreman read the verdict, members of Inglis's family were escorted out of the public gallery after shouting "shame on you". You knew you were breaking society's conventions, you knew you were breaking the law, and you knew the consequences." Giving evidence, Inglis, a softly spoken mother of three from Dagenham, east London, had maintained that as far as she was concerned, Tom's life ended on 7 July 2007 when he fell out of a moving ambulance. So when she injected him with a lethal dose of heroin 16 months later as he lay in a care home, mute and in need of 24-hour care, she didn't feel she was murdering him. He had not uttered a word since the accident, nor communicated in any way beyond squeezing his mother's hand, but Inglis felt certain he was in constant pain and would have no wish to continue living like that. For Inglis, who had no previous convictions and had worked with adults and children with learning disabilities, the final straw came around six months after her son's accident, when she was told that the only way for her son to be allowed to die legally would be to apply to the high court to withhold his food and water. After researching her son's condition on the internet, Inglis decided to end his misery in the most painless way she could: a drug overdose. Not knowing any drug dealers, she started hanging around places she knew drugs were sold – outside a local station, outside the jobcentre and needle exchanges – until she managed to buy the two grams her internet research told her would be enough to kill. That's why I thought heroin – a painless, peaceful death." Asked during the trial whether she was guilty of the charge on the indictment, she said: "I don't see it as killing or murder.
“We lost the house,” she said, crying. The first struck the Ishtar Sheraton at 3:28 p.m.; followed three minutes later by one at the Babylon Hotel; and then, at 3:37 p.m., by one at the Hamra Hotel. The last major attack on Baghdad occurred on December 8 when a series of car bombs killed more than 100 people. "Who is doing this to us?" Another colleague was wounded by broken glass. 37 killed in attacks on Baghdad hotels In coordinated strikes, suicide bombers and gunmen hit three hotels in the Iraqi capital, including one favored by Western news groups. The bomb left a crater about 12 feet wide and 6 feet deep about 50 feet from the Hamra Hotel. Video from the hotel's security camera shows the van hurtling through concrete barriers toward the building, as the hotel's security chief, Abu Ahmed, runs toward it, trying to make it stop. Some of the casualties were police. The blast took place across from a park frequented by families and picnickers. Houses collapsed near the Hamra, and civil defense officials searched for survivors. Rescue workers sifted through the rubble of the two nearby homes, bringing out bodies wrapped in blankets. Death tolls from major attacks have become a political football in the run-up to the March 7 vote. The blasts shook the city and shattered windows miles away. On October 25 and August 19, a total of around 250 people were killed in suicide assaults on government buildings. Mr. Maliki has blamed Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia and the Baathists for the previous attacks, though American military officials have consistently maintained that Al Qaeda acted alone.
The Ishtar Sheraton hotel is seen behind a wave of dust after a bomb attack in central Baghdad January 25, 2010. REUTERS /Mohammed Ameen Damaged vehicles are seen at the site of a bomb attack in central Baghdad January 25, 2010. REUTERS/Saad Shalash BAGHDAD Three large car bombs rocked well-known Baghdad hotels on Monday, killing at least 36 people and ending a 1-1/2-month lull in coordinated assaults on the Iraqi capital as the country heads into a March election. Police said at least 71 people were wounded in the separate suicide car bombings, which went off within minutes of one another. Some of the casualties were police. Health Ministry data showed a lower figure for the death toll. The first blast occurred near an entrance of the Ishtar Sheraton hotel, a Baghdad landmark on the eastern side of the Tigris River. The shock wave blew open doors, shattered windows and sent thick dust swirling into the Reuters offices nearby. A giant mushroom cloud of debris rose from the blast site as ambulances and fire trucks rushed to the scene. Helicopters buzzed overhead and soldiers blocked off entry. The blast took place across from a park frequented by families and picnickers. The building has not been a regular hotel for years and largely houses company offices and some media organizations, but some adventurous international tour groups began using it last year. Zina Tareq, an Iraqi journalist who was in her office at the time of the blast, said she dived under a desk with the five-year-old daughter of a colleague. Police said another blast went off just outside the al-Hamra hotel, which has been a hub for many Western journalists since the 2003 U.S. invasion. One Western reporter said the hotel had sustained heavy damage. The Washington Post said three of its Iraqi employees were wounded. Houses collapsed near the Hamra, and civil defense officials searched for survivors. A final bomb appeared to have blown up near the Babylon hotel, which is used by Iraqi travelers and sometimes for government meetings. The area around the hotel has been hit several times in the past year by mortar or rocket fire aimed at the U.S. embassy, located across the river in the heavily guarded Green Zone. Baghdad security spokesman Major General Qassim al-Moussawi put the death toll at seven killed with 51 wounded, citing Health Ministry data. Death tolls from major attacks have become a political football in the run-up to the March 7 vote. The last major attack on Baghdad occurred on December 8 when a series of car bombs killed more than 100 people. On October 25 and August 19, a total of around 250 people were killed in suicide assaults on government buildings. The March ballot is a critical moment for the country as it emerges from the sectarian slaughter unleashed by the 2003 invasion and begins to sign multibillion-deals with global oil firms that could set the stage for future prosperity. 37 killed in attacks on Baghdad hotels In coordinated strikes, suicide bombers and gunmen hit three hotels in the Iraqi capital, including one favored by Western news groups. Officials have been predicting that extremists would strike at high-profile targets in the run-up to March 7 elections, and they expect them to strike again as the polling nears. Though the latest bombings caused fewer casualties than those in December, October and August, in which hundreds died, they sent the same deadly message: that Prime Minister Nouri Maliki's government is unable to fully secure key locations in Baghdad despite major security gains in recent years. The midafternoon attacks -- which authorities quickly blamed on Al Qaeda associates and loyalists of the Baath Party that ruled Iraq under Saddam Hussein -- echoed three large-scale suicide bombings last year in which assailants' coordinated strikes sowed panic and chaos in the capital. Reporting from Baghdad — Suicide bombers struck almost simultaneously at three landmark Baghdad hotels Monday, killing 37 people, nearly half of them after a shootout between security guards and militants outside the residence of several major Western news organizations. "We were expecting that the terrorist groups will continue their terrorist work on the eve of the elections, and they will continue until the day of elections," said Abbas Bayati, a lawmaker with the ruling Shiite coalition. By attacking hotels, including the Hamra, which is favored by Westerners, the bombers again called into question the capability of Iraq's security forces, whose leaders had boasted only a week ago that they had thwarted a plot to carry out high-profile bombings in the city. The Hamra, home to several foreign news bureaus including the Times', was hit moments later, after a shootout between Iraqi security guards and a couple of gunmen who were seeking to help the bomber enter the closely guarded compound. Witnesses said at least one assailant, dressed in a business suit, got out of a white minivan and opened fire on the guards in an apparent bid to lure them away from the barriers protecting the hotel. The guards fired back, but also took cover, and then one gunman calmly raised the metal barrier blocking access to the compound, allowing the minivan to race through. Video from the hotel's security camera shows the van hurtling through concrete barriers toward the building, as the hotel's security chief, Abu Ahmed, runs toward it, trying to make it stop. The guards again opened fire on the van and this time, Abu Ahmed said, they hit the driver, who detonated the bomb about 50 feet from the hotel entrance. BAGHDAD In a coordinated attack as devastating as it was ruthlessly efficient, three bombs unleashed minutes apart on Monday wrecked landmark Baghdad hotels catering to foreigners, wilting a tattered sense of security and underscoring the uncertainty of the political landscape weeks before parliamentary elections.
China says 21 people have been convicted over the 2008 scandal, including milk producers, traders and executives of the Sanlu milk company. Products made by three different firms were found to contain melamine and have now been removed from supermarkets in Guizhou province, officials say. Six children died and some 300,000 became ill from tainted milk in 2008. Mr Wang said the government's regulation of milk products was too weak and that companies should be required to test every batch they used. If ingested in sufficient quantities, melamine can cause kidney failure and kidney stones. Its high nitrogen content allows protein levels to appear higher when it is added to milk or animal feed. China executed two people in November for their role in a huge melamine-tainted milk scandal that killed at least six children and sullied the made-in-China brand. Guizhou health authorities were unavailable for comment. An official involved in the 2008 investigation told China Daily the powder may been part of that recalled batch which was still circulating on the market. (Reporting by Ralph Jennings; Editing by Ben Blanchard) SHANGHAI—Chinese state-run media said the industrial chemical melamine was found again in milk products early last year, the latest report to suggest the government's crackdown on potentially dangerous practices in the dairy industry after a major 2008 food-safety scandal didn't fully solve the problem. Milk products made by three companies, Shandong Zibo Lusaier Dairy Co., Liaoning Tieling Wuzhou Food Co. and Laoting Kaida Refrigeration Plant, were found to have included excessive melamine and removed from store shelves... "There were still some leftovers in the dealers' hands that nobody cared about," said Wang Dingmian, former chairman of the Guangdong Provincial Dairy Association.
BEIJING Authorities in southwestern China have ordered three batches of milk products off shelves because they contain a chemical that killed at least six children in 2008, causing global concern over the made-in-China brand. The health department in Guizhou province stopped the sales of dairy products made by three Chinese companies, the state-run China Daily newspaper said. The products were found to contain melamine, which can cause kidney stones and is meant for making plastics, fertilizers and even concrete. Its high nitrogen content allows protein levels to appear higher when it is added to milk or animal feed. China executed two people in November for their role in a huge melamine-tainted milk scandal that killed at least six children and sullied the made-in-China brand. Nearly 300,000 children fell ill in that scandal in 2008 after drinking milk intentionally laced with melamine, sold mainly in that case by the now bankrupt Sanlu Group. SHANGHAI—Chinese state-run media said the industrial chemical melamine was found again in milk products early last year, the latest report to suggest the government's crackdown on potentially dangerous practices in the dairy industry after a major 2008 food-safety scandal didn't fully solve the problem. Melamine-tainted milk products have been found on sale in China, more than a year after thousands of children became ill in a huge safety scandal.
"It is a business, the business of security. But the device is still being used at checkpoints all over Baghdad. "We conducted several tests on them, and found them successful," the general said. He recommended that Iraq should not buy the devices. Some Iraqi officials have defended the device sold by ATSC, and Turaihi said his initial investigation found it could detect some bombs. Britain has banned exports of the ADE-651 and the director of the company selling them was arrested and bailed. BAGHDAD Iraq's interior ministry was told two years ago not to buy an explosives detector that Britain says does not work, and the purchase of the sensors was tainted by suspected fraud, a senior official said on Sunday. The British Department for Business, Innovation and Skills said tests had found the sensors did not qualify as bomb detection technology. The BBC said it had given one of the devices to a laboratory and found it contained the same components as anti-theft tags used in stores. Maliki set up another committee to investigate following critical newspaper stories late last year, he said. Iraqi lawmakers have demanded that security forces stop using the detectors and that the government try to get its money back. He did not elaborate on the corruption allegations. Jawad al-Bolani said on Friday: "There are a lot of companies working on the development of these sort of instruments and Iraq is now considered a market area for companies producing such devices. Suspected al Qaeda insurgents have conducted three major assaults on the Iraqi capital since August in which at least 300 people died. 'Absolutely immoral' Newsnight obtained a set of cards for the ADE-651 and took them to Cambridge University's Computer Laboratory where Dr Markus Kuhn dissected a card supposed to detect TNT.
The ADE-651 is still in use at checkpoints in Baghdad Some Iraqi officials are insisting that a controversial bomb detection device works, despite a BBC inquiry in which experts said the item was useless. Interior Minister Jawad al-Bolani, whose department bought $85m of the devices, said the ADE-651 had detected 16,000 bombs, including 700 car bombs. "The thing is, the instrument is being operated by a user," he said. "Not all those who use the instrument are fully trained, the user needs to be alert and adept at using it." There are allegations that failure of the ADE-651 may have been a factor allowing suicide truck bombs to pass through checkpoints on three occasions last year, leading to hundreds of deaths. Iraqi investigations Jim McCormick, director of Somerset-based ATSC, which sold the device, says it uses special electronic cards slotted into it to detect explosives. We conducted several tests on them, and found them successful General Jihad al-Jabiri Interior ministry But a BBC Newsnight investigation reported that a computer laboratory said the card it examined contained only a tag used by shops to prevent theft. Several investigations into the use of the device are under way in Iraq. 'Rival companies' But the interior ministry is still standing by the device. Jawad al-Bolani said on Friday: "There are a lot of companies working on the development of these sort of instruments and Iraq is now considered a market area for companies producing such devices. And there are other rival companies trying to belittle the efficiency of these instruments the government is buying." General Jihad al-Jabiri, head of the ministry's counter-explosives department, told BBC Arabic TV that the ministry had sent 14 officers to Beirut for training by the company that produces these devices. "We conducted several tests on them, and found them successful," the general said. "In addition, we have a series of achievements officially documented by the Baghdad operations centre, from all the provinces, which establish that these devices detected thousands of bombs, booby-trapped houses and car bombs, and we've noticed a reduction of bombing activities to less than 10 per cent of what it was." However, the ministry's inspectorate told the BBC's Jim Muir, in Baghdad, that it was carrying out its own investigation into suspicions that corruption was involved in the deal to import the devices. 'Absolutely immoral' Newsnight obtained a set of cards for the ADE-651 and took them to Cambridge University's Computer Laboratory where Dr Markus Kuhn dissected a card supposed to detect TNT. Jim McCormick was arrested on suspicion of fraud, and later bailed It contained nothing but the type of anti-theft tag used to prevent stealing in high street stores. Dr Kuhn said it was "impossible" that it could detect anything at all and that the card had "absolutely nothing to do with the detection of TNT". Sidney Alford, a leading explosives expert who advises all branches of the military, told the BBC programme the sale of the ADE-651 was "absolutely immoral". "It could result in people being killed in the dozens, if not hundreds," he said. Meanwhile, the Associated Press news agency reported that in June 2009, the US military distributed a study using laboratory testing and X-ray analysis that found the ADE-651 ineffective. "The examination resulted in a determination that there was no possible means by which the ADE-651 could detect explosives and therefore was determined to be totally ineffective and fraudulent," Major Joe Scrocca, a US military spokesman in Baghdad, told AP in an e-mail. "The reason the director of the company was arrested was not because the device doesn't work, but because he refused to divulge the secret of how it works to the British authorities, and the Americans before them," the general was quoted as saying. BAGHDAD Iraq's interior ministry was told two years ago not to buy an explosives detector that Britain says does not work, and the purchase of the sensors was tainted by suspected fraud, a senior official said on Sunday. Aqeel al-Turaihi, the inspector general of Iraq's Interior Ministry, said he investigated the explosives sensors sold by British firm ATSC two years ago and found them "inoperative" and costly. "There was corruption associated with this contract and we referred to this and submitted our report to the Minister of the Interior," Turaihi told Reuters. "We said that the company which you made a contract with is not well-regarded internationally in the field of explosives detectors, and the price is very high and not commensurate with the abilities of this device," Turaihi added. It was not clear why more was not done after the inspector general's report to prevent more purchases of the device or to take them out of circulation. Some Iraqi officials have defended the device sold by ATSC, and Turaihi said his initial investigation found it could detect some bombs. British police have also arrested the owner of the company that markets the gadget on suspicion of fraud, British officials said. Suspected al Qaeda insurgents have conducted three major assaults on the Iraqi capital since August in which at least 300 people died. The attackers managed to get cars, trucks and buses laden with explosives through the multiple checkpoints that choke Baghdad's main arteries. Iraqi lawmakers have demanded that security forces stop using the detectors and that the government try to get its money back. By Muhanad Mohammed BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraqi lawmakers demanded on Saturday that security forces stop using a device used widely for detecting explosives which the British government says does not work. Three major suicide bombings have killed at least 300 people in Baghdad since mid-August, and Iraqis have questioned how the attackers got trucks, buses and cars packed with explosives through the Iraqi capital's numerous checkpoints. Iraq has spent millions of dollars on the sensors used by soldiers and police at checkpoints to detect explosives in cars, and one Iraqi official said they were effective devices which had been tested before use.
There were no casualties. "We saw a slow start, but voting is very peaceful," Sithadthan said. The frontrunners by far are President Rajapaksa and Gen Fonseka. Some of the voters said this was a crucial election and that the country had to move on after the war. Nonetheless, many displaced people did vote. There were fears of violence on polling day. I was keen to have a say in who should be our next president Kandaswamy Wellarayanam, Voter near Vavuniya In pictures: Sri Lanka votes Profile: Mahinda Rajapaksa Profile: Gen Sarath Fonseka The two men were closely associated with the defeat of the Tamil Tigers last May but fell out soon after. The president's side accuses the general of courting separatists. In an unexpected twist, it later turned out that Gen Fonseka had not been able to vote because his name was not on the register. Polling was reported to be busy in many areas, with people in the suburbs of the capital Colombo lining up half an hour before polls opened at 7am (01:30 GMT), according to witnesses. Here the fight between the two candidates has been especially bitter, our correspondent says. "We walked to vote because we felt it was important after the war," he told the AFP news agency. A private election monitoring group, the People's Action for Free and Fair Elections, confirmed that voting began peacefully despite pre-dawn bomb blasts in the northern peninsula of Jaffna. Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama said the government was seeking a ruling from the courts. Sinhalese, Christians, Muslims and Tamils all came out to vote - reflecting the ethnic diversity of this island nation.
There was controversy after Gen Fonseka was unable to vote Votes are being counted in Sri Lanka's first presidential election since Tamil Tiger rebels were defeated after more than 25 years of civil war. Election day passed largely peacefully despite several minor bomb blasts. President Mahinda Rajapaksa faces a close contest against his bitter rival, former army chief Gen Sarath Fonseka. Both men say they expect to win. The former allies fell out after the war ended last year. Turnout was over 70%. In the hours after the polls closed, soldiers established a heavy presence outside the hotel in central Colombo where Gen Fonseka is staying. The BBC's Charles Haviland, in the capital, says that about 50 armed troops are stationed outside the Cinnamon Lakeside hotel, searching every vehicle that enters. Gen Fonseka says he fears the troops plan to arrest him if he wins the election. A military spokesman has denied these claims. BBC correspondents say with the ethnic Sinhalese vote split between the two men, Tamil and Muslim minorities could play a decisive part in the outcome. Under Sri Lanka's electoral rules, if no candidate wins 50% of ballots cast in the first count, then voters' second - or even third - preferences are tallied to determine the winner. 'Better tomorrow' After a violent and acrimonious campaign, many had feared the worst on election day. AT THE SCENE Ethirajan Anbarasan, BBC News, Colombo Gun-wielding policemen were posted outside most polling stations while soldiers patrolled the streets. There were fears of violence on polling day. Sinhalese, Christians, Muslims and Tamils all came out to vote - reflecting the ethnic diversity of this island nation. Some of the voters said this was a crucial election and that the country had to move on after the war. Joy William, a poll monitor, said except for some stray incidents polling had been peaceful and brisk. Soon Sri Lankan political leaders will know whether the voters have chosen continuity or change. Nearly 68,000 police were deployed to protect polling stations. "Today's victory will be remarkable... We are getting ready to enjoy a better tomorrow," he told the news agency Reuters after voting in his rural constituency on the south coast. In an unexpected twist, it later turned out that Gen Fonseka had not been able to vote because his name was not on the register. State television put out a barrage of propaganda saying he had no right to be president, our correspondent says. "The government is trying to use this to mislead the public at the last minute," the general said. I was keen to have a say in who should be our next president Kandaswamy Wellarayanam, Voter near Vavuniya In pictures: Sri Lanka votes Profile: Mahinda Rajapaksa Profile: Gen Sarath Fonseka The two men were closely associated with the defeat of the Tamil Tigers last May but fell out soon after. The president's side accuses the general of courting separatists. "We walked to vote because we felt it was important after the war," one man from a camp near Vavuniya told AFP news agency. People lined up in areas of Colombo half an hour before polls opened on Tuesday [AFP] "We must be ready to face the challenges of reaching new heights after this vote," the 64-year-old, who called the election only four years into his six-year term to seize on the government's victory over the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) last year, said.
Not now. "After more than a year, take ownership of the problems you have," he said. Congressional leaders have had mixed reactions to President Barack Obama's first State of the Union speech. "People are out of work. But he got more applause from the Democratic side of the aisle than the Republican side when he called for Congress to pass a jobs creation bill and get it to his desk as quickly as possible. McDonnell is one of several Republicans who recently won elections in states the Democrats swept in 2008. He also said Americans want affordable health care, but do not want the government to run it. I think that really is what we need to be focused on. "And after last week, it is clear that campaign fever has come even earlier than usual. His most powerful words came at the end as he demanded that Democrats stand firm in defense of their policies despite a recent defeat in a Senate election in Massachusetts. "But I wake up every day knowing that they are nothing compared to the setbacks that families all across this country have faced this year. Let's meet our responsibility to the people who sent us here." Disparaging "the same tired battles that have dominated Washington for decades," he demanded new cooperation from Congress -- on health-care reform, the budget and deficit reduction. Democratic Senator Mary Landrieu told VOA she did not think it was a partisan political speech at all. Mr. Obama called for a number of initiatives to address the problem and urged the Senate to join the House of Representatives in passing a second jobs bill.
U.S. President Barack Obama is urging Americans to overcome a deficit of trust in government and work together to solve a damaged economy and other problems. The economy was high on the president's list of priorities in his annual State of the Union address Wednesday night. Mr. Obama acknowledged that many Americans are frustrated and angry, doubting whether he can deliver the change he promised in his 2008 campaign. Let us seize this moment-to start anew, to carry the dream forward, and to strengthen our union once more," he said. In his hour-long speech before both houses of Congress, the president several times confronted the public anger that has caused his approval ratings to slide. "We have to recognize that we face more than a deficit of dollars right now. We face a deficit of trust-deep and corrosive doubts about how Washington works that have been growing for years," he said. Much of Americans' frustration concerns the nation's stubborn 10-percent unemployment rate. Mr. Obama called for a number of initiatives to address the problem and urged the Senate to join the House of Representatives in passing a second jobs bill. "People are out of work. And, I want a jobs bill on my desk without delay," he said. Among the president's economic goals are doubling U.S. exports in five years and freezing most domestic government spending for three years, starting in 2011. Mr. Obama also urged Democratic lawmakers not to abandon the effort to reform the U.S. health care system, one of his administration's main priorities. Let us find a way to come together and finish the job for the American people," he said. On foreign policy, President Obama again pledged to remove all U.S. combat troops from Iraq by the end of August. "But make no mistake: this war is ending, and all of our troops are coming home," Mr. Obama said. He also said he is confident the United States will succeed in the war in Afghanistan and that diplomatic efforts are helping isolate Iran and North Korea for their pursuit of nuclear weapons. The Republican Party's response to the president's speech came from the governor of the state of Virginia, Bob McDonnell. "What government should not do is pile on more taxation, regulation and litigation that kill jobs and hurt the middle class," McDonnell said. He also said Americans want affordable health care, but do not want the government to run it. McDonnell is one of several Republicans who recently won elections in states the Democrats swept in 2008. Congressional leaders have had mixed reactions to President Barack Obama's first State of the Union speech. A number of Democratic lawmakers said the president's speech was hopeful and upbeat, while some Republicans accused the president of looking backwards and blaming his predecessor for the country's problems. President Obama's first State of the Union address came at a time when his Democratic Party is still reeling from a stinging defeat last week for a U.S. Senate seat in the heavily Democratic state, Massachusetts. Losing that seat in the Senate has hurt their chances of passing sweeping health care reform and unleashed a wave of anxiety ahead of congressional elections this November. The president referred directly to last week's political setback, acknowledging that voters have a right to be angry. But he told his fellow Democrats that they still have large majorities in both houses of Congress, and that they need to govern, instead of "running for the hills [retreating]." "What frustrates the American people is a Washington where every day is election day," he said. "We cannot wage a perpetual campaign where the only goal is to see who can get the most embarrassing headlines about the other side. Republican Senator Bob Corker told VOA that the president's tone was cordial, but that the speech lacked specifics on ways to reach out to work with Republicans. Kyl said the president was still blaming former President George Bush for the country's problems, even though he did not mention him by name. "You campaigned for president to solve these problems, so stop complaining about the mess that you inherited." Democrats, on the other hand, praised the president for being hopeful and for focusing on jobs - the top issue for most voters. "At least 15 times mentioned small business, "main street", helping middle class families, jobs. President Obama delivered an urgent plea for unity on Wednesday night during his first State of the Union address, seeking to recapture the energy that propelled him into office and to reverse his party's trajectory after a series of recent setbacks. A year after entering the White House with a broad mandate, Obama reframed his agenda around a single, central mission: continuing the nation's delicate economic recovery. He focused on jobs, casting himself as the advocate of average citizens, and acknowledged that his administration had "some political setbacks this year, and some of them were deserved."
This, of course, was a recipe for trouble." In December, a documentary narrated by Zinn and based on A People's History aired on the History Channel. Weeks before his death Zinn wrote in "The Nation" magazine of his disappointment with President Barack Obama. The American historian, playwright and author of the bestseller A People's History of the United States, which presents a leftist view of US history, has died American historian, playwright and social activist Howard Zinn died yesterday, aged 87. He was a professor emeritus in the political science department at Boston University and taught there from 1964 to 1988. (Reporting by Ros Krasny; Editing by Daniel Trotta and David Storey) Family members said Zinn, who for decades was a fixture in the U.S. civil rights and anti-war movements and lived in Auburndale, Massachusetts, died of a heart attack on Wednesday while traveling in California. Zinn earned a bachelor's degree from New York University in 1951 and later a master's and a doctorate in history from Columbia University in New York. "Once we decided, at the start, that our side was the good side and the other side was evil ... we did not have to think any more. During World War Two he enlisted in the U.S. Army and flew in planes that bombed targets in Germany, Czechoslovakia and Hungary. More than one million copies have been sold. Told from the perspective of America's women, Native Americans and workers, the book provides a revisionist view of American history from the arrival of Christopher Columbus – who Zinn charges with genocide – to president Bill Clinton's first term.
BOSTON Historian and activist Howard Zinn, whose 1980 book "A People's History of the United States" was a rallying cry for the American left in a conservative era, has died aged 87. Family members said Zinn, who for decades was a fixture in the U.S. civil rights and anti-war movements and lived in Auburndale, Massachusetts, died of a heart attack on Wednesday while traveling in California. He was a professor emeritus in the political science department at Boston University and taught there from 1964 to 1988. Rivers and Zinn were among a group of faculty members who in 1979 defended the right of the school's clerical workers to strike and were threatened with dismissal after refusing to cross a picket line. "A People's History of the United States" chronicled the nation's development through voices of women, minorities and the working class, telling the U.S. story as series of episodes where the state and big business colluded to crush socialism. American leftists celebrated the work at a time when conservatism as embodied by U.S. President Ronald Reagan was ascendant. During World War Two he enlisted in the U.S. Army and flew in planes that bombed targets in Germany, Czechoslovakia and Hungary. He wrote in the magazine "The Progressive" in 2006 that his military service had informed his anti-war views. Zinn earned a bachelor's degree from New York University in 1951 and later a master's and a doctorate in history from Columbia University in New York. Weeks before his death Zinn wrote in "The Nation" magazine of his disappointment with President Barack Obama. "I think people are dazzled by Obama's rhetoric, and that people ought to begin to understand that Obama is going to be a mediocre president -- which means, in our time, a dangerous president -- unless there is some national movement to push him in a better direction." The Nation: Goodbye Howard Zinn Enlarge this image toggle caption Bryan Bedder/Getty Images Bryan Bedder/Getty Images Howard Zinn, the Boston University historian and political activist who was an early opponent of US involvement in Vietnam and the author of the seminal A People's History of the United States, died yesterday at the age of 87 of a heart attack in Santa Monica, California. He was in a swimming pool doing laps and was spotted immediately by lifeguards but died instantly. Zinn's brand of history put common citizens at the center of the story and inspired generations of young activists and academics to remember that change is possible. I would try to be fair to other points of view, but I wanted more than 'objectivity'; I wanted students to leave my classes not just better informed, but more prepared to relinquish the safety of silence, more prepared to speak up, to act against injustice wherever they saw it. The American historian, playwright and author of the bestseller A People's History of the United States, which presents a leftist view of US history, has died American historian, playwright and social activist Howard Zinn died yesterday, aged 87. The author of the million-plus bestseller A People's History of the United States, which gave a leftist view of American history, died of a heart attack in Santa Monica, California, his daughter Myla Kabat-Zinn told the Associated Press today. Told from the perspective of America's women, Native Americans and workers, the book provides a revisionist view of American history from the arrival of Christopher Columbus – who Zinn charges with genocide – to president Bill Clinton's first term. "But the easy acceptance of atrocities as a deplorable but necessary price to pay for progress (Hiroshima and Vietnam, to save western civilization; Kronstadt and Hungary, to save socialism; nuclear proliferation, to save us all) – that is still with us. One reason these atrocities are still with us is that we have learned to bury them in a mass of other facts, as radioactive wastes are buried in containers in the earth." The Zinn Education Project, which promotes the teaching of A People's History in schools throughout America, said it was "deeply saddened" to learn of Zinn's death.
Mohammad-Reza Ali-Zamani, 37, and Arash Rahmanipour, 20, were hanged before dawn as members of an outlawed monarchist group, the Kingdom Assembly, Iranian news reports said. "This government will not survive because it is not born out of the people's vote." Human rights groups have become alarmed by the number of executions in Iran. There are few signs that the opposition is backing down. The two were among 11 people sentenced to death on similar charges in the wake of post-election protests. RECENT UNREST IN IRAN 19 Dec: Influential dissident cleric Grand Ayatollah Hoseyn Ali Montazeri dies aged 87 21 Dec: Tens of thousands attend his funeral in Qom; reports of clashes between opposition supporters and security forces 22 Dec: Further confrontations reported in Qom 23 Dec: More clashes reported in city of Isfahan as memorial is held 24 Dec: Iran reportedly bans further memorial services for Montazeri except in his birthplace and Qom 26 Dec: Clashes reported in central and northern Tehran 27 Dec: At least eight dead following anti-government protests in Tehran; 300 reported arrested In 2008, the Iranian authorities blamed the Kingdom Assembly of Iran for an explosion at mosque in the south-western city of Shiraz which killed 12 people and wounded more than 200. The June 12 presidential election plunged Iran into its deepest internal crisis since the 1979 Islamic revolution and exposed widening political divisions. Nasrin Sotoudeh, a lawyer for Mr Rahmanipour, also denied he had played any role in the unrest and dismissed his "show trial" in July. "The sentences for the other nine of the accused in recent months' riots are at the appeal stage... upon confirmation, measures will be undertaken to implement the sentences," Isna added.
Nasrin Sotoudeh, a lawyer for Rahmanipour, denied he had played any role in the unrest The executions were the first carried out for election-related incidents. 'Show trial' Iranian authorities arrested around 4,000 protesters including journalists and reformist politicians in a massive crackdown in the weeks after the disputed election. The two were among 11 people sentenced to death on similar charges in the wake of post-election protests. But Nasrin Sotoudeh, Rahmanipour's lawyer, denied that her client had any role in the post-election disruption. "He was arrested in Farvardin [the Iranian month covering March-April] before the [presidential] election and charged with co-operation with the [monarchist] Kingdom Assembly," Sotoudeh told AFP. She also said she was prevented from representing Rahmanipour at his "show trial" in July and that many of the charges were brought against him when he was a minor. "He confessed because of threats against his family," she said, adding that she was shocked at the news of the executions since she and her client's family had still been waiting for word from the appeals court. Crackdown Baqer Moin, an Iranian author and journalist, said the execution was a "political decision", likely intended to "set an example and to frighten some of the people who may shout a slogans that are not of the liking of the authorities". "We don't really know which group they belong to, one of them is a monarchist and the other one is the Mujahideen group, obviously the Mujahideen group is not very popular but little is known about the monarchist group," he told Al Jazeera. "Their lawyers have said that these people were arrested much before the elections, I suppose that they have been used as an example specifically as we are approaching the anniversary of the revolution." He said: "It is an attempt to make sure that the radicals within the opposition movements are not going to take the lead in the anniversary of the revolution." The June 12 presidential election plunged Iran into its deepest internal crisis since the 1979 Islamic revolution and exposed widening political divisions. The reformist opposition says the election was rigged to secure the re-election of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the president. Denying fraud, Tehran portrayed the protests as a foreign-backed bid to undermine Iran's Islamic system of government. Iran executes 2 alleged government opponents The two were alleged to be members of the opposition group Kingdom Assembly and reportedly involved in a deadly mosque bombing in 2008 that killed 13 people. Human rights groups have become alarmed by the number of executions in Iran. President Obama, in his State of the Union address Wednesday night, said the United States supports "the human rights of the women marching through the streets of Iran." The government has stepped up legal pressure on the opposition movement with another round of confrontations possible Feb. 11, the 31st anniversary of the founding of the Islamic Republic. Mohammad-Reza Ali-Zamani, 37, and Arash Rahmanipour, 20, were hanged before dawn as members of an outlawed monarchist group, the Kingdom Assembly, Iranian news reports said. Iran executions: The deck headline on an earlier version of this article said the two opposition figures were alleged members of Mujahedin Khalq. Reporting from Beirut — Iran executed two alleged government opponents Thursday, sentenced nine others to death as "enemies of God" and warned of more public trials of opposition supporters in an apparent attempt to intimidate a widespread protest movement challenging the nation's hard-line establishment. Arash Rahmanipour, one of the two executed, is seen in court last year. "We see it as a low point in the Islamic Republic's unjust and ruthless crackdown on peaceful dissent," White House Deputy Press Secretary Bill Burton said. "Murdering political prisoners who are exercising their universal rights will not bring the respect and legitimacy the Islamic Republic seeks. It will only serve to further isolate Iran's government in the world and from its people." "The dust has settled and the seditionists have been unmasked," police chief Gen. Esmail Ahmadi-Moghaddam said Thursday, according to the official Islamic Republic News Agency. Despite a violent crackdown and ongoing threats, the wife of opposition figure Mir-Hossein Mousavi said this week that she and her husband were prepared to die to continue their fight. Reformist politician and former presidential candidate Mehdi Karroubi on Tuesday reiterated his allegation that Ahmadinejad's reelection was fraudulent. "The protesters and I continue to question the legitimacy of this way of coming to power and I still believe that the people's right in determining their fate was trampled upon," he said, according to his news website Sahamnews.com. "This government will not survive because it is not born out of the people's vote." The website of Iran's state-owned Press TV said Ali-Zamani and Rahmanipour were involved in the deadly April 2008 bombing of a mosque in the southern Iranian city of Shiraz that killed 13 people and injured 200. Tehran prosecutor Abbas Jafar-Dolatabadi told state television that the two had tried to procure explosives and planned to assassinate officials with the aim of overthrowing the government. The nine others sentenced to death on charges of being mohareb, or enemies of God, are accused of taking part in recent protests -- including those Dec. 27 during the Shiite Muslim religious holiday Ashura, when demonstrators and security forces clashed in several Iranian cities. The Iranian Students News Agency reported that the nine are accused of plotting to overthrow the Islamic Republic and of being members of the Kingdom Assembly or the Mujahedin Khalq Organization, an outlawed Iranian militant group listed by the United States as a terrorist group. Thousands of opposition supporters were detained at post-election protests Iran has executed two men arrested during the period of widespread unrest that erupted after June's disputed presidential election, reports say. He confessed because of threats against his family Nasrin Sotoudeh Lawyer for Arash Rahmanipour Q&A: Iran protests Last month, eight people were killed in clashes at demonstrations on Ashura, one of the holiest days in the Shia Muslim calendar. "Following the riots and anti-revolutionary measures in recent months, particularly on the day of Ashura, a Tehran Islamic Revolutionary Court branch considered the cases of a number of accused and handed down death sentences against 11 of those," Isna said, quoting a statement from the Tehran prosecutor's office. "The sentences against two of these people... were carried out today at dawn and the accused were hanged," the semi-official agency said, adding the sentences had been confirmed by an appeal court.
It's my view now," he said. "It's a decision. Mr Blair did not take up the opportunity. "The action he took in 2003 with president Bush had a devastating impact on the people of Iraq, and Iraq as a country. "If there was any possibility that he could develop weapons of mass destruction we should stop him. Legality of war The inquiry pressed Blair on evidence given earlier this week by two former legal advisers to the foreign office, who said there was no lawful basis for war. 'Bigger threat' Giving the inspectors more time would have made little difference, he added. He also rejected claims he manipulated intelligence to justify the invasion. He also stressed the British and American attitude towards the threat posed by Saddam Hussein "changed dramatically" after the terror attacks on 11 September 2001, saying: "I never regarded 11 September as an attack on America, I regarded it as an attack on us." Al Jazeera is not responsible for the content of external websites. "A million people died as a result of this military adventure and the Iraqi people are still suffering daily. 'Safer place' Family members of service personnel killed in Iraq - and members of the public who got their seats after a public ballot - had been sitting behind Mr Blair in the public gallery as he was questioned about the build-up and aftermath of the Iraq war. "A lot of ground wasn't covered, and in my mind it wasn't covered in enough detail, particularly the dodgy dossier in September 2002. He said he had not had any discussions with Lord Goldsmith in the week before he gave his statement but he believed the attorney general had come to his view because weapons inspectors had "indicated that Saddam Hussein had not taken a final opportunity to comply" with UN demands.
Tony Blair has said the Iraq war made the world a safer place and he has "no regrets" about removing Saddam Hussein. In a robust defence of his decision to back war, Mr Blair said Saddam was a "monster and I believe he threatened not just the region but the world." The former prime minister was barracked by a member of the public as he made his closing statement at the end of a six-hour grilling at the Iraq inquiry. 'Safer place' Family members of service personnel killed in Iraq - and members of the public who got their seats after a public ballot - had been sitting behind Mr Blair in the public gallery as he was questioned about the build-up and aftermath of the Iraq war. KEY POINTS 9/11 changed attitude to Iraq and meant tougher line was needed Denied "covert" deal at Crawford summit with President Bush in April 2002 over invasion Stood by "beyond doubt" claim over Iraq's chemical weapons Basis for war was Iraqi breach of UN disarmament agreements not regime change Should have corrected media reporting of 45-minute WMD claim Second UN resolution preferable but not legally necessary US offered "way out" option if UK could not provide troops Key issues: Blair's response Analysis: Questions remain Send us your comments When Mr Blair left he was booed by some members of the public and two women shouted at him "you are a liar" and "you are a murderer". Committee chairman Sir John Chilcot asked Mr Blair at the end of the session if he had any regrets about the war, but Mr Blair said that although he was "sorry" it had been "divisive" he believed it had been right to remove Saddam. "It was better to deal with this threat, to remove him from office and I do genuinely believe the world is a safer place as a result." He told the inquiry if Saddam had not been removed "today we would have a situation where Iraq was competing with Iran" both in terms of nuclear capability and "in respect of support of terrorist groups". "The decision I took - and frankly would take again - was if there was any possibility that he could develop weapons of mass destruction we should stop him." 'Covert deal' Sometimes it is important not to ask the "March 2003 question" but the "2010 question", said Mr Blair, arguing that if Saddam had been left in power the UK and its allies would have "lost our nerve" to act. Anti-war protesters were out in force near the Chilcot inquiry building He also stressed the importance of taking a "tough line" with Iran, accusing the country of colluding with al-Qeada to destabilise Iraq in the aftermath of the invasion, rejecting claims the UK had taken a "cavalier" attitude to post-war planning. Earlier witnesses to the inquiry have suggested he told Mr Bush at their April 2002 meeting at the ranch in Crawford, Texas, that the UK would join the Americans in a war with Iraq. But Mr Blair denied striking a "covert" deal with the US President, saying he had been "open" about what he had told Mr Bush in private that "we are going to be with you in confronting and dealing with this threat". Pressed on what he thought Mr Bush took from the meeting, he went further, saying: "I think what he took from that was exactly what he should have taken, which was if it came to military action because there was no way of dealing with this diplomatically, we would be with him." But he also confirmed that a year later, on the eve of war, the Americans had offered Britain a "way out" of military action, which he had turned down. As Sir John Chilcot concluded the session, the chairman appeared to try to elicit a response from Mr Blair that might go some way to ease the anguish and anger felt by the families. One of the sisters of Margaret Hassan, the British aid worker who was kidnapped and killed in Iraq, said the only consolation to be drawn from this marathon session was that Mr Blair had been forced to appear before the Iraq Inquiry. "I took the view very strongly then - and do now - that it was right for us to be with America, since we believed in this too." On the issue of whether or not military action would be legal, Mr Blair said Mr Bush decided the UN Security Council's support "wasn't necessary". But he told the inquiry he would not have backed military action if Attorney General Lord Goldsmith had said it "could not be justified legally". Asked why Lord Goldsmith, after initially saying he thought it would be illegal, in line with all government lawyers at the time, made a statement saying it would be legal a week before the invasion began, Mr Blair said the attorney general "had to come to a conclusion". He said he had not had any discussions with Lord Goldsmith in the week before he gave his statement but he believed the attorney general had come to his view because weapons inspectors had "indicated that Saddam Hussein had not taken a final opportunity to comply" with UN demands. Mr Blair was also quizzed about the controversial claim in a September 2002 dossier that Iraq could deploy weapons of mass destruction (WMD) at 45 minutes' notice. Mr Blair said it "assumed a vastly greater significance" afterwards than it did at the time. He said it "would have been better if (newspaper) headlines about the '45-minute claim' had been corrected" in light of the significance it later took on. 'Beyond doubt' Looking back, he would have made it clearer the claim referred to battlefield munitions, not missiles, and would have preferred to publish the intelligence assessments by themselves as they were "absolutely strong enough". But Mr Blair insisted that, on the basis of the intelligence available at the time, he stood by his claim at the time that it was "beyond doubt" Iraq was continuing to develop its weapons capability. However he acknowledged "things obviously look quite different" now given the failure to discover any weapons after the invasion. I never regarded 11 September as an attack on America, I regarded it as an attack on us Tony Blair, former prime minister Q&A: Iraq inquiry explained The view from Baghdad "This isn't about a lie or a conspiracy or a deceit or a deception," he told the panel. And the decision I had to take was, given Saddam's history, given his use of chemical weapons, given the over one million people whose deaths he had caused, given 10 years of breaking UN resolutions, could we take the risk of this man reconstituting his weapons programmes or is that a risk that it would be irresponsible to take?" Mr Blair also denied he would have supported the invasion of Iraq even if he had thought Saddam Hussein did not possess weapons of mass destruction, as he appeared to suggest last year in a BBC interview with Fern Brittan. Chillingly, the ex-prime minister showed no regret for his dubious decisions which led us into the worst foreign policy disaster in modern times Angus Robertson, SNP He said his position had not changed, despite what reports of the interview had suggested. Mr Blair was at pains to point out that he believed weapons of mass destruction and regime change could not be treated as separate issues but were "conjoined". He also stressed the British and American attitude towards the threat posed by Saddam Hussein "changed dramatically" after the terror attacks on 11 September 2001, saying: "I never regarded 11 September as an attack on America, I regarded it as an attack on us." Inquiry chairman Sir John Chilcot began the six hour question session by stressing that Mr Blair was not "on trial" but said he could be recalled to give further evidence if necessary. "Because that makes it all the more difficult for Britain ever to be taken to war again, simply on the personal whim of the prime minister," he added. SNP Westminster Leader Angus Robertson said: "No matter how skilfully he ducked and dived today, Tony Blair's legacy will forever be that of the illegal, immoral Iraq war.
He rejoined the Fed, as chairman, in 2006, and Mr. Obama renominated him last year. That congressional anger at the Fed -- and at Bernanke himself -- will color Bernanke's second term. “Their independence from political pressures has been tarnished,” Mr. Axilrod said. Many lawmakers view the central bank as too close to Wall Street interests. This is a low point in the Fed’s recent history, that’s for sure.” The vote also made clear Congress’s insistence on transparency from a historically secretive institution that has made extraordinary interventions in the market since 2008. WASHINGTON The Senate gave Ben S. Bernanke a second four-year term as the head of the Federal Reserve on Thursday after critics excoriated the central bank’s conduct in the years leading up to the financial crisis. This leaves him in a weakened state." And looming over it all was the role of Mr. Bernanke’s predecessor, Alan Greenspan, whose once-sterling reputation has been diminished as his decisions to keep interest rates low after the 2001 recession have been brought into question. "How does he go back to ask senators who stuck their neck out for him to stick with him again? That may make it harder for him to defend the Fed as Congress prepares to intensify its... The effects could be felt first in the debate over how to reform financial regulations. Even with that storm behind him, Mr. Bernanke faces formidable political and economic challenges made tougher by the bruising confirmation fight. “He basically allowed the Fed to become the lender of the nation,” said Senator Judd Gregg, Republican of New Hampshire. The central bank has been under intense fire for its decision to bail out the insurer American International Group and for refusing to disclose which banks and other firms have tapped various emergency lending programs.
WASHINGTON The Senate gave Ben S. Bernanke a second four-year term as the head of the Federal Reserve on Thursday after critics excoriated the central bank’s conduct in the years leading up to the financial crisis. The 70-to-30 vote was the weakest endorsement ever extended to a chairman in the Fed’s 96-year history. The confirmation was a victory for President Obama, who had called Mr. Bernanke an architect of the recovery, but also signaled the extent to which the Fed, once little known to the public, has become the object of outrage over high unemployment and bank bailouts. In several hours of debate, senators said that the Fed had abetted, then ignored, the housing and credit bubbles and allowed banks to keep dangerously low capital reserves and to make reckless lending decisions that ruined consumers. Some even blamed Mr. Bernanke for the falling dollar and questioned his commitment to free enterprise. They reiterated that the Fed had made mistakes but said that Mr. Bernanke had helped save the economy from a far worse recession. After a week in which top White House officials and Mr. Bernanke met with Democratic leaders in the Senate to secure support, the Senate first voted 77 to 23 to end debate, with more than the 60 votes needed to overcome the threat of a filibuster. On a second vote, to confirm, the 30 dissents came from 18 Republicans, 11 Democrats and one independent, Bernard Sanders of Vermont. “As the nation continues to face the consequences of the worst recession in a generation, Ben Bernanke has provided wisdom and steady leadership in the midst of the financial and economic crisis,” he said. While an arm-twisting campaign by the administration limited the opposition, the outcry against the Fed will most likely continue rippling through economic policy generally, and Mr. Bernanke’s leadership of the Fed in particular. The Obama administration has proposed consolidating risk regulation under the Fed, while some in Congress want to strip away its oversight authority. “The institutional prestige of the Fed, even apart from this vote, had taken a hit, and it started back around the disaster of September 2008,” said Stephen H. Axilrod, who worked at the Fed for 34 years and wrote a history of its monetary policies. This is a low point in the Fed’s recent history, that’s for sure.” The vote also made clear Congress’s insistence on transparency from a historically secretive institution that has made extraordinary interventions in the market since 2008. “The Fed is going to have to work hard, for a long period, to regain the public confidence of the sort it enjoyed during the halcyon days when everything was going so swimmingly,” said Barry Eichengreen, professor of economics and political science at the University of California, Berkeley. Another Alabaman, Richard C. Shelby, the top Republican on the banking committee, which approved the nomination last month by a 16-to-7 vote, laid out a bill of particulars, saying Mr. Bernanke’s handling of the financial crisis did not make up for his failings before that time. “Considerable economic devastation occurred as a result of Chairman Bernanke’s loose monetary policy and weak regulatory oversight,” Mr. Shelby said. And looming over it all was the role of Mr. Bernanke’s predecessor, Alan Greenspan, whose once-sterling reputation has been diminished as his decisions to keep interest rates low after the 2001 recession have been brought into question. Mr. Bernanke, 56, was a member of the Fed’s board for part of that period, from 2002 to 2005, when President George W. Bush named him to lead his Council of Economic Advisers. “I knew that he would continue the legacy of Alan Greenspan, and I was right,” said Senator Jim Bunning, Republican of Kentucky, who was the lone vote against Mr. Bernanke in 2005. Mr. Bunning cited a half-dozen statements from 2007 to 2009 in which Mr. Bernanke expressed optimism about the housing market, bank capital ratios, the capitalization of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and the unemployment rate. Saying that Mr. Bernanke had been repeatedly wrong, he declared, “We shouldn’t be paying the Fed chairman to learn on the job.” Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, Democrat of Rhode Island, echoed that, saying Mr. Bernanke had shown “a troubling pattern of false confidence.” Senator Jeff Merkley, Democrat of Oregon, went further, saying the Fed had “helped set the fire that destroyed our economy.” While less passionate, supporters of Mr. Bernanke said he had acted deftly and decisively, at least since the collapse of Lehman Brothers in September 2008. The way he did it was extraordinary in its creativity, and the results were that the country’s financial system did not collapse.” The last time any nominee for chairman faced such opposition was 1983, when the Senate confirmed Paul A. Volcker to a second term on an 84-to-16 vote. But while Mr. Volcker sharply raised interest rates to tame runaway inflation actions that were initially unpopular but were later praised Mr. Bernanke faces a different challenge. And while analysts expect rates to start rising later this year, the scale and timing of that rise will be a challenge. So, too, will be the unwinding of the Fed’s emergency lending programs and its purchase of $1.25 trillion in mortgage-backed securities. The Senate on Thursday confirmed Ben S. Bernanke for a second term as Federal Reserve chairman, but he scraped by with the narrowest margin in the history of the position and his weakened political standing could weigh on the central bank's ability to maneuver for years to come. The Senate voted 70 to 30 to give Bernanke four more years as the nation's most powerful economic policymaker, after a sometimes-heated debate in which members of both parties -- including some who eventually voted in his favor -- assailed the Fed's actions under his leadership. While Bernanke won a majority of both Democrats and Republicans, he received more "no" votes than any Fed chairman before, topping Paul A. Volcker, who was confirmed 84 to 16 in 1983. That congressional anger at the Fed -- and at Bernanke himself -- will color Bernanke's second term. And after his relatively close call on confirmation, Bernanke may not have the political clout to fend off attacks on the central bank, said people who study the Fed. He views a separate congressional effort to initiate audits of the Fed's monetary policy to be a dangerous threat to the central bank's independence. And the pressures on Bernanke could mount further when, at some point in his new term, the Fed will inevitably raise interest rates -- never a popular action.
The group has also threatened African neighbors, including Ethiopia, Djibouti, Kenya, Eritrea, Ghana, Sudan and Uganda. A spokesman for the militants said they "inflicted heavy losses on AMISOM and government forces." By Mohamed Ahmed and Ibrahim Mohamed MOGADISHU (Reuters) - At least 12 people were killed in fighting on Friday between Islamist insurgents and African Union peacekeepers in Somalia's capital and the government again called for more foreign troops to help battle the rebels. Two peacekeepers were killed on Monday in a rebel mortar attack on an AU clinic. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Western powers have spent millions of dollars on weapons and training for the Somali defense forces, but rampant defections and military victories by Shabab rebels and their allies — who control some two-thirds of the country — have sharply limited the Somali government’s power, and displaced hundreds of thousands of Somali civilians. The fighting comes almost a year since Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed was sworn in as the nation's new president. Rebels from the al Shabaab group, which Washington says is al Qaeda's proxy in the failed Horn of Africa state, said they attacked government bases and AMISOM peacekeeping troops overnight and were then hit by shellfire themselves. Please re-enter. Al-Shabaab is considered a terrorist organization by the United States, which blames it for shootings and suicide bombings inside Somalia. "When we pulled back, AMISOM began intentionally shelling residential areas. View all New York Times newsletters. It is threatening stability in the whole of the east Africa region and the Horn of Africa," Sudanese Foreign Minister Deng Alor told Reuters in Addis Ababa.
The militants began their attack about 2 a.m. Friday. Residents, jolted awake by mortar blasts, cowered in their homes or fled for sturdier concrete structures as explosions and gunshots echoed through the north and south ends of Mogadishu for hours. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Residents described it as the most serious fighting in months. “I thought I was dreaming when I heard the sound of the artillery,” said Asha Abdulle, a mother of four. Militants from the rebel group Shabab and an allied group, Hizbul Islam, claimed responsibility in a statement, saying that they had assaulted “the strongholds of the enemies of Allah.” Please verify you're not a robot by clicking the box. Please re-enter. Sign Up Receive occasional updates and special offers for The New York Times's products and services. View all New York Times newsletters. The Shabab, some branches of which have ties to Al Qaeda, have seized control of much of southern Somalia and have carried out suicide bombings and frontal attacks against Somali officials and peacekeeping troops as they seek to unseat the country’s fragile government. A police spokesman, Col. Abdullahi Barisse, said that government forces had pushed back the rebels. He declined to say whether any government troops had been hurt or killed. Advertisement Continue reading the main story The United States and other Western countries are trying to support the moderate Islamic government of the president, Sheik Sharif Sheik Ahmed, fearful that Somalia could become the next haven for Al Qaeda and other terrorist groups. But Mr. Ahmed’s year-old government controls only a few city blocks in an impoverished nation plagued by drought, famine and years of fighting between warlords and rival Islamic factions. In addition to attacks on government forces, militants have launched mortar assaults on the country’s main airport and bombed a college graduation ceremony, and fighters lurk just a few hundred yards outside the walls of the presidential palace. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Western powers have spent millions of dollars on weapons and training for the Somali defense forces, but rampant defections and military victories by Shabab rebels and their allies — who control some two-thirds of the country — have sharply limited the Somali government’s power, and displaced hundreds of thousands of Somali civilians. (CNN) -- A militant Islamist group associated with al Qaeda attacked areas controlled by government troops and peacekeepers in Somalia early Friday, leaving 12 dead and scores injured, witnesses said. Of the 12 killed, two were Al-Shabaab members, according to Sheik Ali Mohamud Raghe, the militants' spokesman. At least 30 people were wounded and the number is expected to go up, medical officials said. The attack involved heavy artillery and automatic weapons. It started at 2 a.m. local time in the capital, Mogadishu, and targeted areas controlled by the African Union Mission for Somalia and government troops, according to Maj. Brigye Bahuko, an AMISOM spokesman. A spokesman for the militants said they "inflicted heavy losses on AMISOM and government forces." But Somali government officials downplayed the offensive, calling it "small and careless." Areas attacked include Mogadishu's strategic "Kilometer Four," a square connecting the airport and the port. The square has been hit several times, but this attack is considered among the most severe. The fighting comes almost a year since Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed was sworn in as the nation's new president. By Mohamed Ahmed and Ibrahim Mohamed MOGADISHU (Reuters) - At least 12 people were killed in fighting on Friday between Islamist insurgents and African Union peacekeepers in Somalia's capital and the government again called for more foreign troops to help battle the rebels. Rebels from the al Shabaab group, which Washington says is al Qaeda's proxy in the failed Horn of Africa state, said they attacked government bases and AMISOM peacekeeping troops overnight and were then hit by shellfire themselves. Violence in Somalia has killed 19,000 civilians since the start of 2007 and uprooted a further 1.5 million people, a contributing cause of one of the world's worst humanitarian emergencies. It is exactly a year since President Sheikh Sharif Ahmed was elected by parliament and once again showed that the beleaguered Somali administration effectively depends on 5,000 African peacekeepers to survive. MILITANTS' HAVEN Somalia has had no effective central government for nearly two decades, leading to the rise of warlords, armed militias and pirates terrorising shipping off its coast. At least 25 people were wounded in the latest clashes, an officer with the ambulance service told Reuters, mostly in the city's Hodan Wardhigley and Howl Wadag districts.
"Experience has shown it is better to keep the children in the place, and with the people, they know," she said. The group from Idaho-based charity New Life Children's Refuge told the BBC they wanted to take quake orphans to an orphanage in the Dominican Republic. When does adoption become child trafficking? But what is the right thing to do? Many Haitian children became orphans after the earthquake Haitian police have arrested 10 US nationals on suspicion of trying to illegally take 33 children abroad. 'Abduction' The Americans are being held at a police station next to the airport in Haiti's capital Port-au-Prince. And in a weak country where that illicit trade has exploded in recent years, the authorities are taking this quite seriously. Apparently, the New Life members had no government-issued paperwork of any kind as they attempted to take the children across the border. Western aid groups in the area began to fear for their safety as mistrust of foreigners began to swirl. Back in Idaho at the Central Valley Baptist Church where five of the 10 arrested workers attend services, the Rev. Déjà vu The whole episode in Haiti is reminiscent of another orphan debacle in the African nation of Chad that the Monitor reported on in 2007. "We trying to make sure that all these children still have parents or families within the area and that hasn't been ascertained yet. The earthquake destroyed a number of Haitian orphanages and crippled relevant government agencies. "This is an abduction, not an adoption," Haitian Social Affairs Minister Yves Christallin was quoted as saying by the AFP news agency. He added that the children involved were aged two months to 12 years.
This weekend's arrest of 10 members of an Idaho-based Baptist charity for trying to take 33 Haitian children across the border with the Dominican Republic without proper paperwork has become an international incident. When does adoption become child trafficking? That question seems to be the last thing that Haiti's notoriously ill-equipped, underfunded, and understaffed government needs to be tackling in the wake of the Jan. 12 earthquake that leveled the capital, Port-au-Prince. But Saturday's arrest of 10 members of an Idaho-based Baptist charity for trying to take 33 Haitian children across the border with the Dominican Republic without proper paperwork has become an international incident. And it now threatens to be a serious distraction from the daunting task of providing food, shelter, and security for the more than 1 million left homeless by the quake. The members of the New Life Children's Refuge said that they were only trying to provide a better life for the children and denied that the group had done anything wrong. But the problem with following their highest sense of right without proper permission from the authorities is that it may technically be child trafficking. And in a weak country where that illicit trade has exploded in recent years, the authorities are taking this quite seriously. Prime Minister Max Bellerive denounced the group’s “illegal trafficking of children.” "This is an abduction, not an adoption," said Social Affairs Minister Yves Christallin, explaining that children need authorization from the ministry to leave the country. Apparently, the New Life members had no government-issued paperwork of any kind as they attempted to take the children across the border. "When asked about the children's documents, they had no documents," Haitian Culture and Communications Minister Marie Laurence Jocelyn Lassegue said. "You can't just go and take a child out of a country – no matter what country you are in," said Kent Page, a spokesman for UNICEF in Haiti. Group leader Laura Silsby said they paid no money for the children and that the group had documents from the Dominican government but did not seek paperwork from Haitian authorities. As the Monitor reported last week, the increased US demand for adopting Haitian children in the wake of the earthquake is "churning up the advocates of streamlined adoption procedures for Haiti against those who say too-hasty adoption can hurt the children and birthparents that in some cases still exist." “It’s tempting to want to airlift children out of Haiti, getting them out of harm’s way immediately,” says Michelle Brané, director of [t he New York-based Women’s Refugee Commission's] detention and asylum program. “But it’s important to remember that in the current chaos, thousands of people, including parents and children, are still searching for their families. Removing children from countries too quickly after an emergency,” she adds, can “jeopardize family reunification efforts … and increase the risk that children will fall into the hands of traffickers and other ill-intentioned individuals. The purpose of New Life's "Haitian Orphan Rescue Mission" was to "rescue Haitian orphans abandoned on the streets, makeshift hospitals or from collapsed orphanages in Port-au-Prince and surrounding areas, and bring them to New Life Children's Refuge in Cabarete, Dominican Republic." Some of the older ones said their parents are alive, and some gave an address and phone numbers," said Patricia Vargas, the regional director of the Austria-based orphan charity SOS Children, which is now looking after the 33 children at its orphanage on the outskirts of Port-au-Prince. Back then, 16 Europeans from a France-based group called Zoe's Ark were charged with trying to smuggle 103 children out of eastern Chad in what the charity workers said was an attempt to save orphans affected by the conflict across the border in Sudan's Darfur region. The group tried to circumvent Chadian authorities and fly the children out of the country on a chartered plane. But after it emerged that many of the children were not orphans or from Darfur, locals in Abéché, Chad, began protesting angrily outside the group's local offices. A few months later, six French members of Zoe's Ark were convicted of attempting to kidnap the 103 children and sentenced to eight years of hard labor and ordered to pay restitution amounting to close to $9 million. Said Mr. Henry: "We are praying that the motive and intent will be clearly understood in the courts down there." When asked if she thought it was naive to cross the border without adoption papers at a time when Haitians are so concerned about child trafficking, Silsby said: "By no means are we any part of that. The US embassy in Port-au-Prince said that ten US citizens were being held in Haiti for "alleged violations of Haitian laws related to immigration". "The Haitian government was quite right to halt these people at the border if they felt they didn't have the right paperwork." Haitian officials have voiced fears that child traffickers will take advantage of the chaos after Haiti's 7.0 magnitude January 12 earthquake to leave the country with children in illegal adoption schemes.
. Had they voted with us, the bill would have passed," Reid said. "We . Republicans blast Obama on budget The bipartisan feelings between President Barack Obama and House Republicans barely survived the weekend. Republicans also attacked Mr Obama's proposed tax increases and said the large projected deficits showed he had failed to get government spending under control. So his $3.8tn budget includes more money for education and scientific research and more for defence programmes. House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) says President Barack Obama's fiscal 2011 budget 'spends too much, taxes too much and borrows too much.' Authors: "Our economy and our future cannot afford partisan games like that." Nearly half the 53 reductions the White House seeks are items that it also proposed last year, to no avail. Republican Senator Richard Shelby condemned the move. He scrapped plans to send astronauts back to the Moon and will seek to save $250bn by capping a range of domestic spending programmes for three years. “According to the administration’s budget, the interest on the federal debt is expected to be nearly 6 trillion dollars over the next decade. The same motivation is behind the 8 percent increase for the National Science Foundation and the creation of a new infrastructure investment fund, seeded with an initial $4 billion. Some Republicans [who] sponsored the legislation creating the deficit reduction commission voted against their own bill. It would halt production of the C-17 cargo plane, end NASA's program for a return to the moon and reduce payments to wealthy farmers. Still, after Obama’s widely praised question and answer session with Republicans, the GOP leaders tried to find something nice to say.
US President Barack Obama has announced a $3.8tn (£2.4tn) budget plan for 2011, which includes increased spending for job creation, but cuts in other areas. He also forecast the US deficit would rise to a record $1.56tn this year. He scrapped plans to send astronauts back to the Moon and will seek to save $250bn by capping a range of domestic spending programmes for three years. Congress must approve the budget for the financial year starting on 1 October for it to take effect. Mr Obama blamed the huge deficit on the decisions of President George W Bush, previous Congresses and his administration's moves to prevent an economic collapse. ANALYSIS Kevin Connolly, BBC News, Washington Barack Obama, buffeted by recent election defeats for his Democratic Party, has a keen political sense of the image he wants to portray on the economy - that of a president forced by circumstance into enlarging America's already huge budget deficit in the short-term while promising in the medium-term to reduce it. So his $3.8tn budget includes more money for education and scientific research and more for defence programmes. But it also looks forward to eliminating waste and freezing many other domestic programmes. His critics will accuse him of old-fashioned taxing and spending. His electoral future may well depend on his ability to bring the deficit under control. He said that in normal circumstances he would have worked to cut the deficit immediately, but expensive steps were need to help the economy. Mr Obama urged lawmakers to follow his lead on reducing "waste in programmes I care about" and avoid "grandstanding". He added: "We cannot continue to spend as if deficits do not matter." The budget includes about $100bn of tax incentives designed to lower double-digit unemployment, including inducements for companies to hire workers. This will be partially offset by higher taxes on wealthy Americans earning more than $250,000 a year. The budget also includes more money for education, scientific research and defence programmes. 'Quagmire' of debt But Mr Obama also plans an overall three-year freeze on the portion of government spending that excludes commitments on welfare benefits, healthcare for the elderly, defence and homeland security. The president's proposed Nasa budget begins the death march for the future of US human space flight Republican Senator Richard Shelby Obama kills Moon landing plan And he cancelled the Constellation programme launched by his predecessor that envisaged putting astronauts on the Moon's surface by 2020. In his federal budget request, Mr Obama described the project as "over budget, behind schedule, and lacking in innovation", adding that it was draining resources from other Nasa activities. Under Mr Obama's budget plans, Nasa would get funding to encourage private companies to build, launch and operate their own spacecraft, which could be used to carry astronauts to the International Space Station. "The president's proposed Nasa budget begins the death march for the future of US human space flight," he said. Republicans also attacked Mr Obama's proposed tax increases and said the large projected deficits showed he had failed to get government spending under control. Senator Judd Gregg, the top Republican on the Senate Budget Committee, said the US was sinking into a "quagmire" of debt and that Mr Obama's stimulus plan had failed to create jobs. "These circumstances call for a bold, game-changing budget that will turn things around, put in place a plan to restrain spending, reduce the debt and tackle the big entitlement programmes that are growing out of control," he said. "Instead, the president has sent us more of the same." President Obama, who set out on the campaign trail three years ago to "transform a nation," is increasingly doing all he can simply to keep his long-term vision in view amid the more urgent pressures bearing down on him. The $3.8 trillion budget he proposed on Monday points to a tension he has been grappling with since taking office: how to balance the immediate needs for stimulus and deficit reduction against his agenda for sustained, broad-based growth. The budget envisions an additional $266 billion to jolt the economy and extend relief to states and unemployed workers. But tucked alongside these efforts, both pitched to the current political moment, is the president's attempt to keep alive his initial domestic agenda in education, renewable energy and other areas -- initiatives Obama thinks will be necessary to produce true long-term growth after the economy claws back from recession. Last year's budget proposal also made big statements in these areas, along with the third major domestic priority of health-care reform. The same motivation is behind the 8 percent increase for the National Science Foundation and the creation of a new infrastructure investment fund, seeded with an initial $4 billion. "Just as it would be a terrible mistake to borrow against our children's future to pay our way today, it would be equally wrong to neglect their future by failing to invest in areas that will determine our economic success in this new century." It would halt production of the C-17 cargo plane, end NASA's program for a return to the moon and reduce payments to wealthy farmers. Reductions in small bites But belying the heated rhetoric on both sides of the political spectrum last week about the "freeze," the majority of reductions would come in small bites -- preventing low-income workers from receiving the earned-income tax credit in advance, cutting back the Army Corps of Engineers' duties, eliminating duplicative programs, such as an $18 million brownfields initiative.
And the F.A.A. Had it known of all of them, Colgan said later, it would not have hired him. At the hearing, safety board investigators blamed the two pilots for the crash. The plane then stalled and crashed. "It was as if the flight was just a means for the captain to conduct a conversation with this young first officer." Code-sharing allows major carriers to partner with smaller airlines, known within the industry as regional air carriers. Advertisement Continue reading the main story But the F.A.A. Last year the agency withdrew the proposal; it plans to submit a new one this year. is still trying to decide how pilot qualifications and training standards should be improved. He said that only one airline, a small carrier in Alaska, lacked such a program — but toward the end of Mr. Babbitt’s one-hour briefing with reporters, an aide with a BlackBerry interrupted to say that that last carrier had also implemented such a program. The plane, which crashed on Feb. 12, 2009, was a twin-engine turboprop operated by Colgan Air and was flying as Continental Connection Flight 3407. Renslow had spent the previous night in an airport crew room, in violation of company policy. The NTSB concluded that Renslow’s inappropriate response to a "stick shaker" warning signal was the crash's probable cause. Investigators found that the plane -- a Bombardier Dash 8 Q400 -- had no mechanical problems. The investigation has raised questions not only about industry practices but also about the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), and whether it is moving fast and aggressively enough on safety concerns.
Mistakes by pilots, not bad weather, caused the crash of a turboprop plane near Buffalo last year that killed 50 people, the National Transportation Safety Board said Tuesday in its final hearing on the crash. Among the errors: The plane's captain repeatedly yanked back on the control wheel when he should have pushed forward; the first officer miscalculated air speed and both were so distracted by a personal conversation that they were caught off guard in the minutes before the accident. Deborah Hersman, chairman of the safety board, said the investigation revealed a "picture of complacency and confusion that resulted in catastrophe." The safety board, the principal investigator of air accidents, adopted 46 recommendations related to the crash, in which a Colgan Air turboprop flying as Continental Connection Flight 3407 crashed during its approach to Buffalo Niagara International Airport. The Feb. 12 crash killed all 49 people on board and one man in a house, making it the deadliest U.S. transportation accident in seven years. At the hearing, agency investigators portrayed the accident as almost completely avoidable. Investigators found that the plane -- a Bombardier Dash 8 Q400 -- had no mechanical problems. Agency investigators also ruled out weather conditions, finding that the amount of ice accumulation on the plane did not alter its flight performance. Additionally, the board announced that it planned to hold a public symposium on code-sharing agreements between airlines. Code-sharing allows major carriers to partner with smaller airlines, known within the industry as regional air carriers. The carriers typically operate small jet aircraft and turboprops. Major carriers say that under the code-sharing system, they are able to maintain profitable service to small cities. Hersman said the board would examine government oversight and financial aspects of such relationships. Half of all scheduled flights in the United States are operated by regional airlines, which have a poor safety record when compared with major carriers. In a series of congressional hearings during the past year, lawmakers have accused aviation regulators of lax government oversight of such arrangements. At the hearing, safety board investigators blamed the two pilots for the crash. In an early mistake, Rebecca Shaw, the first officer, entered incorrect settings for landing speeds, investigators said. The settings caused the plane's automated anti-stall system to kick in when the plane slowed, even though the plane was not stalling. The flight's captain, Marvin Renslow, reacted as if he were startled and confused, investigators said. Renslow pulled back on the yoke -- the opposite action that was called for, causing the plane to lose lift and fall from the sky, investigators said. "It was continuous and one-sided, with the captain doing most of the talking," said Robert Sumwalt, an NTSB board member. "It was as if the flight was just a means for the captain to conduct a conversation with this young first officer." He said the excessive talk squandered time and attention that should have been used to oversee the plane's operations. Last year's Colgan Air crash in Buffalo, N.Y., was due to pilot errors and poor training, officials said Tuesday. Federal investigators Tuesday blamed pilot errors and poor training as key factors in the crash of a Colgan Air flight a year ago, which drew national attention to safety challenges facing small regional carriers. The crash, which happened when the plane was near landing in Buffalo, N.Y., killed 49 people on board and one person in a house on the ground. With the plane at risk of stalling on the night of Feb. 12, 2009, the pilot responded to a low-speed warning indicator by pulling the nose of the plane up – the opposite of what he should have done. The pilot continued to pull the plane up overriding automated controls designed to correct the error. Often larger airlines have "code-share" agreements to sell seats on the regional carriers (the Colgan flight was also marketed under the Continental Connections name). "We are looking for one level of safety," with standards that apply to large and small carriers alike, said Robert Sumwalt, an NTSB board member at the hearing. The captain of the Colgan flight, Marvin Renslow, had a spotty track record in certifications and proficiency checks going back almost two decades. The NTSB concluded that Renslow’s inappropriate response to a "stick shaker" warning signal was the crash's probable cause. Contributing factors included his failure to monitor other warning signals of the plane's slowing speed, and violation of "sterile cockpit" rules against casual conversation at low altitudes. The board also said Colgan had failed to spell out adequate procedures for crews to monitor air speed when icing is a risk. The FAA has yet to update fatigue policies, even though the issue has been on annual NTSB "most wanted" lists of safety concerns for two decades. The families of the dead are hoping that Congress will resolve some of the problems by writing new laws regulating how many hours a pilot can work and what the minimum qualifications should be for first officers on commuter airlines. Photo But aviation legislation has been deadlocked for months over unrelated disputes, including how airlines and other aviation entities should share the cost of air traffic control.
Three of the Pakistani victims were schoolgirls, and the fourth was a local soldier. Police official Naeem Khan said Thursday that Pakistani police are questioning the suspects to determine who orchestrated the attack in Lower Dir district. Pakistani officials say they have arrested 35 people in connection with the suicide car bombing Tuesday that killed three American military trainers and four Pakistanis in northwest Pakistan. A district police officer told VOA that militants detonated the bomb just as the soldier's convoy passed a school in the former Taliban stronghold. U.S. officials say the Americans were traveling with Pakistani paramilitary forces to the opening ceremony of a girls' school that recently was renovated with U.S. assistance. "We have also found some limbs which we suspect are of the bomber. The three U.S. soldiers were part of a small unit that trains Pakistani Frontier Corps responsible for security in northwestern areas near the Afghan border seen as part of a global militant hub. More than 60 others were wounded in the blast. A spokesman for the Pakistani Taliban has claimed responsibility. Troops are using helicopter gunships and artillery to force the militants from their stronghold in Damadola. “They are all locals,” said the duty officer at the police station in the town of Balambat, where the bombing occurred, in the Lower Dir District. Some information for this report was provided by AP. The police made 30 arrests, and 5 more were made by members of the paramilitary Frontier Corps, according to a senior official in the North-West Frontier Province. Meanwhile, Pakistan's army says its forces are continuing an offensive against militants in the Bajaur tribal region and have killed 12 fighters in the last day.
PESHAWAR, Pakistan — Pakistani officials said Thursday that they have arrested 35 suspects as part of their investigation into a bombing that killed three American soldiers and four Pakistanis on Wednesday in northwest Pakistan. “They are all locals,” said the duty officer at the police station in the town of Balambat, where the bombing occurred, in the Lower Dir District. The police made 30 arrests, and 5 more were made by members of the paramilitary Frontier Corps, according to a senior official in the North-West Frontier Province. “We are questioning them in an effort to trace those who orchestrated the suicide attack,” a police official, Naeem Khan, told The Associated Press. ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Pakistani police have arrested 30 suspects in connection with a bombing that killed three American soldiers, three children and a Pakistani paramilitary soldier outside a girls' school, an officer said. Naeem Khan, duty officer in the police station in the town of Timergara in the northwest where the attack took place, said police suspect the Wednesday bombing was a suicide attack. "We have recovered the engine of the car we suspect was used in the bombing," Khan told Reuters. Pakistan's Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack and threatened more attacks on Americans. Forty-five people were wounded in the blast near the Swat Valley, where the government mounted a crackdown nearly a year ago it said had largely cleared out Taliban militants. Pakistan's Taliban have bombed markets, schools and military and police facilities despite major government security offensives that have destroyed some of their bases and U.S. drone aircraft strikes that have killed their leaders. The three U.S. soldiers were part of a small unit that trains Pakistani Frontier Corps responsible for security in northwestern areas near the Afghan border seen as part of a global militant hub. They were on their way to attend the opening of a girls' school that had recently been renovated with U.S. humanitarian assistance when the bomb exploded, leaving a crater a few feet away from the school. Pakistani officials say they have arrested 35 people in connection with the suicide car bombing Tuesday that killed three American military trainers and four Pakistanis in northwest Pakistan. A district police officer told VOA that militants detonated the bomb just as the soldier's convoy passed a school in the former Taliban stronghold.
Where we go, we will stay. "We are in this together. Villagers said they warned Taliban fighters to leave the area or be killed. (Related: Why Marjah, why now?) We are fully partnered with the Afghan government for this operation, and we have the resources we need to be successful." HELMAND PROVINCE, Afghanistan –NATO troops in Afghanistan launched their biggest offensive of the war early Saturday, attacking what they call the last Taliban stronghold in a war-scarred southern province. "There have been no battle casualties as yet from any of the combined forces. There has been not much sign of insurgents or, indeed, the local population - they seem to have fled in advance. Nato says Marjah is home to the biggest community under insurgent control in the south and 400 to 1,000 militants. The town of Marjah is surrounded by a deadly ring of roadside bombs, military officials say. About 3,000 U.S. Marines are involved in the fight. "We are going to take this place and take it very hard." AT THE SCENE Ian Pannell BBC News Nad Ali There are the best part of 100 British troops here together with the Afghan National Army. Please turn on JavaScript. More than 4,000 US marines, 1,500 Afghan soldiers and 300 US soldiers moved in by helicopter under cover of night. 'Tipping point' A senior Nato official told the BBC that Afghanistan's President, Hamid Karzai, had approved the start of the offensive on Thursday. The allies had been unusually vocal in describing their plans for the assault. Gen. Larry Nicholson, 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade-Afghanistan commanding general.
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) -- Afghan officials say Islamic State militants have attacked the Taliban in the northern Jawzjan province, igniting heavy clashes in which dozens of fighters were killed. Mohammad Reza Ghafori, a spokesman for the provincial governor, said Wednesday that the fighting, which began the day before, has killed 76 Taliban fighters and 15 from the IS affiliate. He says the IS militants seized two districts from the Taliban. The Taliban and IS are both fighting to overthrow Afghanistan's U.S.-backed government and impose a harsh version of Islamic rule, but they are bitterly split over leadership and tactics. The IS affiliate is largely made up of disgruntled former Taliban fighters. Abdul Hafiz Khashyee, a police official, says the fighting took place in a remote area and there were no reports of civilian casualties. HELMAND PROVINCE, Afghanistan –NATO troops in Afghanistan launched their biggest offensive of the war early Saturday, attacking what they call the last Taliban stronghold in a war-scarred southern province. Military officials said the offensive—dubbed Operation Moshtarak— got under way at 2 a.m. (4:30 p.m. By about 8 a.m. (10 p.m. The offensive turned a main bazaar near the city center into a ghost town after residents were warned to leave the area. NATO forces said they are following a directive not to shoot at civilians, some of whom are still on the streets. "Insurgents who do not accept the government's offer to reintegrate and join the political process will be met with overwhelming force," the International Security Assistance Force Joint Command said in a statement. "However, the strongest of measures will be taken to protect the civilian population." Some of about 15,000 troops from the United States, United Kingdom, Canada and Afghanistan attacked Taliban targets in and around Marjah, a city of 80,000 to 100,000 where the Taliban has set up a shadow government, coalition military authorities said. "Marjah is the last enemy sanctuary in the Marine area of operations," said Brig. "This operation is designed to reconnect the people of Marjah with the legitimate government of Afghanistan. The Afghan government described the offensive - carried out in central Helmand with the Afghan National Army, Afghan National Police, ISAF Regional Command (South), and the Helmand Provincial Reconstruction Team - as "clearing" operations. Moshtarak, a Dari word for "together," symbolizes the fact that combined forces are serving alongside one another. It expected foreign Taliban fighters to battle to the death but is prepared for local Taliban members in Marjah to try to escape. In the past few days, forces from Afghanistan, Britain and other nations have conducted air and ground operations to prepare for the assault and dropped leaflets in and around Marjah warning residents not to allow the Taliban to enter their homes. (Related: Why the military publicized operations) “I think there’s a certain strength in the Pashtunwali culture just from laying it out there in saying, ‘Hey, we are coming. The goal is to force the Taliban from Marjah so that people there can live free of Taliban influence and drug traffickers in a province with a major source of the world’s opium. “It’s about the security of the population, not fighting down insurgent numbers,” British Gen. Gordon Messenger has said. The advance notice given to residents will help avert civilian casualties, a problem that has hurt the military’s credibility among Afghans. The town of Marjah is surrounded by a deadly ring of roadside bombs, military officials say. Such bombs have caused about 80 percent of the deaths in past fighting in Helmand province, military officials said. Massive armored vehicles, called assault breacher vehicles, were to lead the charge into Marjah, coalition authorities said before the offensive. Even with their help, though, military officials have increased staff at the hospital at Camp Bastion, in the capital of Helmand province, in anticipation that roadside bombs would cause casualties. Many residents fled ahead of Operation Moshtarak - meaning "together" in Dari.
Then hopefully, they will negotiate because they are in terrible trouble," he said. Senior US officials said Mullah Baradar was "providing intelligence". U.S. officials say American and Pakistani intelligence forces together captured the Afghan Taliban's top military commander several days ago in Pakistan. The New York Times first reported news of the arrest late Monday. The capture comes amid a major Nato-led offensive against the Taliban in southern Afghanistan. The ability of the Taliban’s top leaders to operate relatively freely inside Pakistan has for years been a source of friction between the ISI and the C.I.A. Media reports quote U.S. officials as saying a secret joint operation between the United States and Pakistan captured the Taliban leader in Karachi. operatives had accompanied the Pakistanis. It may also be an attempt by Pakistan to influence any future talks. While the raid on Madarassa Khuddamul Quran - near the Nooriabad Industrial Estate some 45km (28 miles) from Karachi - was led by the ISI, it is not clear at the moment whether US officials were involved. The government has yet to confirm the arrest; the Taliban have denied it. Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar is the Afghan Taliban's most influential member after the group's spiritual leader, Mullah Muhammad Omar. The newspaper said it had learned of the operation on Thursday, but delayed reporting it after a request by White House officials. He is safe and free and he is in Afghanistan.” The participation of Pakistan’s spy service could suggest a new level of cooperation from Pakistan’s leaders, who have been ambivalent about American efforts to crush the Taliban. In its first week in office, the Obama administration banned harsh interrogations like waterboarding by Americans, but the Pakistanis have long been known to subject prisoners to brutal questioning.
U.S. officials say American and Pakistani intelligence forces together captured the Afghan Taliban's top military commander several days ago in Pakistan. Officials say the commander, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, is the most significant Taliban figure detained since the war in Afghanistan started eight years ago. The New York Times first reported news of the arrest late Monday. Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar is the Afghan Taliban's most influential member after the group's spiritual leader, Mullah Muhammad Omar. Media reports quote U.S. officials as saying a secret joint operation between the United States and Pakistan captured the Taliban leader in Karachi. Officials say Baradar is in Pakistani custody, with American and Pakistani authorities taking part in interrogations. Taliban representatives denied Baradar had been arrested, but they did not provide any evidence to support their claim. Speaking in Islamabad, Pakistani Interior Minister Rehman Malik would not confirm the report of Baradar's arrest. But he said that since the U.S.-led coalition invaded the Taliban stronghold of Marjah in southern Afghanistan several days ago, Pakistan has arrested suspected militants who have fled across the border. "There are a number of arrests of people who were running away from Afghanistan and coming to Pakistan. The day we get any information [of] who are they, we will tell the people of Pakistan," said Malik. But he stressed that Pakistan is a sovereign nation and does not allow foreign forces to take part in anti-militancy raids within its borders. The director of the Islamabad-based Institute of Regional Studies, Jamshed Ayaz, tells VOA news of Baradar's arrest coupled with an increase in pressure from the U.S.-led coalition in Afghanistan could put the Afghan government in a stronger position to bring the Taliban to reconciliation talks. "It is a time when you have a fight, you are on top, then you give a call for negotiations. Analysts say if Baradar has been arrested, any information gleaned from his interrogation could lead to the arrest of other key Taliban commanders believed to be hiding in Pakistan's border areas with Afghanistan, including the Afghan Taliban leader Mullah Muhammad Omar. A man described as the top Afghan Taliban military commander and named as Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar has been captured in Pakistan, US officials say. He was seized in a morning raid on a madrassa near Karachi by Pakistan's ISI intelligence service on 8 February, a security source told the BBC. The government has yet to confirm the arrest; the Taliban have denied it. The capture comes amid a major Nato-led offensive against the Taliban in southern Afghanistan. While the raid on Madarassa Khuddamul Quran - near the Nooriabad Industrial Estate some 45km (28 miles) from Karachi - was led by the ISI, it is not clear at the moment whether US officials were involved. Correspondents say Mullah Baradar is reported to be in charge of all long-term strategic military planning for the Taliban in southern Afghanistan and, if confirmed, his arrest will have a very big effect on the Taliban's ability to conduct the insurgency there. ANALYSIS Orla Guerin, BBC News, Islamabad A senior Pakistani military official says this was a joint US-Pakistani operation that was based on shared intelligence. This suggests Pakistan is getting tough with Afghan Taliban leaders sheltering here - something that has long been a demand of the White House. The arrest may also be linked to attempts to get the Taliban into talks with the Afghan government and coalition forces. There's some speculation here that his detention could be a bid to open channels of communication. Senior US officials said Mullah Baradar was "providing intelligence". "This operation was an enormous success," one official told ABC News. But a Taliban spokesman denied the reports, saying Mullah Baradar was still in Afghanistan actively organising the group's military and political activities. They want to spread this rumour just to divert the attention of people from their defeats in Marjah and confuse the public," Zabihullah Mujahid told Reuters news agency, referring to the US-led Nato offensive in the Marjah area of Helmand province. Guerrilla tactics Little is known about Mullah Baradar, but in terms of influence he is said to rank second only to the Taliban's spiritual leader, Mullar Muhammad Omar, who has been hiding from Western agencies since the 9/11 terror attacks in 2001. MULLAH BARADAR Second-in-charge behind Taliban founder Mullah Omar In charge of Taliban's military operations and financial affairs Born in Dehrawood district, Uruzgan province, in 1968 Former deputy defence minister for the Taliban regime Source: Interpol, news agencies Profile: Mullah Baradar Is the arrest a breakthrough? NY Times explains news delay Senior intelligence officials voiced hope he would provide the location of Mullah Omar. The BBC's North America editor Mark Mardell, in Washington, says Mullah Baradar is a "big fish" who runs the Taliban's day-to-day operations, both military and financial. Mullah Baradar was quoted last year as telling his troops not to confront US soldiers with their superior firepower, but to adopt guerrilla tactics. He is said to be responsible for the Taliban tactic of planting "flowers" - improvised explosive devices (IEDs) - along roadsides. The New York Times, citing officials, said the Karachi raid was conducted by Pakistan's Directorate for Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and CIA operatives. Mullah Baradar was reported to have engaged in an e-mail exchange with Newsweek magazine in July 2009, in which he vowed to "inflict maximum losses" on US forces in Afghanistan.
“He was a good man, a hardworking man,” she said. The plane crashed about two blocks from Finn’s home in East Palo Alto. Air Unique was registered with Tesla engineer Doug Bourn. REUTERS/Robert Galbraith Firefighters look at the wreckage of a small plane that crashed, killing three people, in an East Palo Alto, California neighborhood February 17, 2010. Tesla confirmed all had worked at the car company. “I’m sure he would have tried to make sure his plane would avoid hitting people on the ground. Widespread power cuts have been reported in the wake of the crash. Finn loved to mentor young engineers, including Schaaf’s son at San Jose State University, and ecology was a major concern for him, Schaaf wrote. A Cessna 310 struck an electrical tower after taking off on Wednesday morning, crashed into a residential neighborhood and killed all three people on board, according to local police. Doug was a very skilled pilot — a very safe pilot. The plane took off from Palo Alto Airport bound for Hawthorne Municipal Airport in southern California. Additional reporting by Kevin Krolicki in Detroit; Editing by Philip Barbara and Robert MacMillan) The wing hit a house, causing a fire. Flying was one of his great joys and he wanted to share that joy with his friends.” Silicon Valley venture capitalist Vish Mishra’s son, Rohit, e-mailed his father from Singapore on Wednesday night to say he had known Bourn’s two passengers. Tesla is withholding the employees' names while it works with authorities to notify their families, Chief Executive Elon Musk said. The area was experiencing poor visibility at the time of the accident, with thick fog grounding a number of Southwest Airlines flights.
The wreckage of a small plane that crashed, killing three people, is shown in an East Palo Alto, California neighborhood February 17, 2010. REUTERS/Robert Galbraith Firefighters look at the wreckage of a small plane that crashed, killing three people, in an East Palo Alto, California neighborhood February 17, 2010. REUTERS/Robert Galbraith A firefighter looks over the wreckage of a small plane that crashed, killing three people, in an East Palo Alto, California neighborhood February 17, 2010. REUTERS/Robert Galbraith Investigators look at the wreckage of a small plane that crashed in an East Palo Alto, California neighborhood February 17, 2010. REUTERS/Robert Galbraith Firefighters use a tarp to cover the wreckage of a small plane that crashed, killing three people, in an East Palo Alto, California neighborhood, February 17, 2010. REUTERS/Robert Galbraith SAN FRANCISCO A small airplane crashed and killed three Tesla Motors employees in northern California on Wednesday, the electric car maker's chief executive said. A Cessna 310 struck an electrical tower after taking off on Wednesday morning, crashed into a residential neighborhood and killed all three people on board, according to local police. Tesla confirmed all had worked at the car company. Tesla is withholding the employees' names while it works with authorities to notify their families, Chief Executive Elon Musk said. Tesla, a six-year-old start-up, is one of the best-known companies in the emerging electric car industry, which is growing as more people seek "clean energy" alternatives in their daily lives. Hollywood stars drive its stylish sports cars, and investors are eager to cash in on its Silicon Valley cachet. Tesla filed for an initial public offering of up to $100 million last month. The company was co-founded by and is currently run by Musk, an entrepreneur who made his fortune as co-founder of online payments service provider PayPal. Musk frequently travels in a private jet on Tesla business. It lost power before striking the tower, breaking off a wing, East Palo Alto Police Department Captain John Chalmers said. The wing hit a house, causing a fire. The rest of the aircraft struck parked vehicles, Chalmers said. There were no reports of injuries on the ground, Chalmers said. A small aircraft has crashed in the US state of California shortly after take-off, hitting two houses. All three people on board the twin-engine plane died in the crash in Palo Alto, a spokesman for the Federal Aviation Administration told US media. He said the Cessna 310 had "crashed under unknown circumstances", but eyewitnesses said it hit a power line. There are no reported casualties on the ground, even though two of the houses hit caught fire. According to the San Francisco Chronicle, the plane was owned by Doug Bourn, a senior electrical engineer for the electric-car company Tesla Motors. Bad weather It is not known whether Mr Bourn was on the plane when the accident happened. A resident told local news station KTVU that she saw the plane hit a power line before it exploded and crashed into the two homes. The woman said that one of the homes operates as a day-care centre, but that there were no children in it at the time of the crash, which happened just before 0800 local time (1600 GMT). The area was experiencing poor visibility at the time of the accident, with thick fog grounding a number of Southwest Airlines flights. Widespread power cuts have been reported in the wake of the crash. Friends and colleagues of three Tesla Motors employees who died Wednesday during a plane crash in East Palo Alto are remembering the trio today as men who used technology to make the world a better place. The Mercury News has learned through sources close to the company that the deceased are: Doug Bourn, 56, of Santa Clara, a senior electrical engineer; Andrew Ingram, 31, of Palo Alto, an electrical engineer; and Brian M. Finn, 42, of East Palo Alto; a senior manager of interactive electronics. The National Transportation Safety Board should have some results in five days as to what caused the Cessna to clip a PG&E power line and crash on Beech Street in East Palo Alto, said aviation accident inspector Joshua Cawthra. The noises from the plane’s engine were detected on the system, and could help explain why the plane crashed moments after taking off in heavy fog for a trip to Southern California. Cawthra did state today, however, that Bourn made “zero distress calls” from the air, and had said his last words to radio control from the ground. Federal Aviation Administration records show Bourn had his license since 1974, and had never been involved in any prior accidents or cited for any violations. He was not a reckless person.” Added Ellen Humphrey of Sacramento, who was married to Bourn for three years after having met him at a company called Zilog: “When we would go flying, I remember him taking great measures to inspect the aircraft, to figure out and file his flight plan, to make sure everything was properly planned out, logged, and communicated. They recounted times when Bourn — a Stanford University graduate who had worked at IDEO a Palo Alto-based design consultant firm — happily tinkered with neighbors to fix their computers, volunteered with students at a robotics club at Castilleja Middle School in Palo Alto or bought first-rate equipment at Tesla when he volunteered for the company’s emergency response team.
R.L. In the lengthy, rambling message, the writer rails against the government and, particularly, the IRS. "It is an isolated incident," the mayor said. Stack set fire to his family home Thursday morning, then headed to a small airport nearby. "'That's our house!' Enlarge By Jay Janner, AP Smoke billows from a seven-story building after a small private plane crashed into the building Thursday in Austin. Stack was presumed to have died in the crash, federal law enforcement officials said. The identities of the two dead people have not been confirmed, the Austin Fire Department said in a statement. California tax records seem to parallel the letter. Their condition wasn't immediately known. The pilot evidently did not file a flight plan, the FAAsaid. He knew a lot of stuff about a lot of different things. At an afternoon news conference, Austin police Chief Art Acevedo said the crash "appears to be an intentional act." Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano disputed the conclusion. See text of the note (PDF) The building into which the airplane crashed is a federal IRS center with 199 employees. Well, Mr. Big Brother IRS man, let's try something different; take my pound of flesh and sleep well." The Web site was taken offline Thursday afternoon by the hosting company at the request of the FBI. A short time later, the plane crashed into the office building about 30 miles away. Guidelines: You share in the USA TODAY community, so please keep your comments smart and civil. The regulations, which are being revised, targeted 15,000 business jets that the TSA said could cause significant damage if terrorists were to pack one with explosives and fly it into a building.
(CNN) -- The remains of two people have been found in an Austin, Texas, building where a man crashed a small plane, authorities said. The identities of the two dead people have not been confirmed, the Austin Fire Department said in a statement. Two other people who were injured in the incident were taken to a hospital, and 11 others were treated for minor injuries, Austin Police Chief Art Acevedo said. Authorities said Andrew Joseph Stack III, 53, an Austin resident with an apparent grudge against the Internal Revenue Service, set his house on fire Thursday and then crashed a Piper Cherokee PA-28 into the building, which houses an IRS office with nearly 200 employees, federal officials said. "This appears to be an intentional act by a sole individual," Acevedo said at a news conference. A fire created by the crash had been put out, save for some small areas, officials said. Fire crews were expected to continue to work through the night. Pilot: 'I have just had enough' Clues about what led to Thursday incident were few, but attention was directed at a message on a Web site registered to Stack appears to be a suicide note. "The simple truth is that it is complicated and has been coming for a long time." See text of the note (PDF) The building into which the airplane crashed is a federal IRS center with 199 employees. "I saw it written once that the definition of insanity is repeating the same process over and over and expecting the outcome to suddenly be different," the online message says. Well, Mr. Big Brother IRS man, let's try something different; take my pound of flesh and sleep well." An IRS spokesman said the agency is prohibited by federal law from releasing or talking about any interactions or transactions they have had with Stack. The transferred patient suffered burns on 20 to 25 percent of his body, mostly on his back, she said. Austin Mayor Lee Leffingwell tried to calm any concerns residents could have about the crash and the huge fire, which he said was mostly contained. "There is evidence that the gas tank was just about full. See iReport photos and videos from the scene "I just saw smoke and flames," said CNN iReporter Mike Ernest. Firefighters used two ladder trucks and other equipment to hose down the blaze at the Echelon office building, which police said is in the 9400 block of Research Boulevard. Two F-16 fighter jets were sent from Houston as a precaution, but federal authorities said preliminary information did not indicate any terrorist connection. "We do not yet know the cause of the plane crash," the Department of Homeland Security said in a release. We continue to gather more information, and are aware there is additional information about the pilot's history." The man, identified by federal law enforcement officials as Joseph Stack, 53, was a software engineer who had a long-running grudge with the Internal Revenue Service, whom he referred to in the screed as "thugs and plunderers." AFD will have ongoing operations at the site throughout the night, putting out hot spots and watching for any fire flare-ups.” At least two people were seriously injured and a third person — a federal employee who worked in the building — was unaccounted for, fire officials said. At an afternoon news conference, Austin police Chief Art Acevedo said the crash "appears to be an intentional act."
Well, here I am," said Brown , who received a hero's welcome. "But I'm not going to do it." Former Vice President Dick Cheney rallied conservative activists today during a brief yet surprise appearance at the Conservative Political Action Conference. And I think Barack Obama is a one-term president." "2010 is not just a choice between Republicans and Democrats. Mitt Romney. "This year's CPAC may matter more than most. Rubio has become widely known as the "tea party senator" after a Time magazine cover questioned whether Washington would see the first representation from the tea party, a grassroots organization against big government and spending. But he did not mention his own record enacting universal health care legislation in Massachusetts. "A welcome like that is almost enough to make me want to run for office," Cheney said. And I don't just mean differently than the way Democrats are running it now. But the one name missing from the program is Sarah Palin. "There is no better time for the conservative movement to remind elected officials of the key values and principles that have made America great." For more on the conservative conference, including speeches by Florida Senate candidate Marc Rubio and former House majority leader Dick Armey, go here. The draw for many is how to capitalize on the growing discontent against the administration and Congress. Gov. "I'd rather have 30 Marco Rubios in the Senate than 60 Arlen Specters," he added, referring to the senator from Pennsylvania who switched from the GOP to the Democratic caucus last year.
Former Vice President Dick Cheney rallied conservative activists today during a brief yet surprise appearance at the Conservative Political Action Conference. "I think 2010 will be a phenomenal year for the conservative cause and I think Barack Obama is a one-term president," Cheney said to a standing ovation. He walked out to applause, chants of "Cheney" and a standing ovation as he appeared after daughter Liz Cheney's speech. "But I'm not going to do it." The newly minted senator from Massachusetts, Scott Brown, also made a surprise appearance to introduce former Massachusetts Gov. Play "One Democrat said, 'There was no way in hell a Republican was going to get elected to the seat once held by Ted Kennedy .' Well, here I am," said Brown , who received a hero's welcome. "We collectively absolutely have changed the course of politics in America." Romney, who is the frontrunner for the GOP 2012 nomination in the eyes of many Republicans, made a line-by-line attack against Obama and his agenda. Play "President Obama's self-proclaimed B+ will go down in history as the biggest exaggeration since Al Gore's invention of the Internet," Romney said, referring to the president's assessment of his first year in office. "This president will not deserve the credit he will undoubtedly claim. He has prolonged the recession, expanded the pain of unemployment, and added to the burden of debt we will leave future generations. Assailing the president's health care overhaul push, Romney said, "Obamacare is bad care for America." But he did not mention his own record enacting universal health care legislation in Massachusetts. "President Obama, [House Speaker] Nancy Pelosi, [Majority Leader] Harry Reid and their team have failed the American people, and that is why their majority will be out the door," added Romney, whose conference appearance will be followed by a two-month-long book tour where he will attempt to build his case against Obama. The former governor had high praises for former president George W. Bush, who has been relatively quiet since stepping out of office, unlike Cheney, who has emerged as a leading critic of the Obama administration. Romney today argued that history will judge Bush kinder than he is portrayed now. "When it comes to pinning blame, pin the tail on the donkeys [Democrats]," Romney said. Conservative activists from around the country convened today in Washington, D.C., in a fiery convention driven by American discontent over the economy and distrust of lawmakers. CPAC, which is held annually, has always drawn conservative bigwigs and is the biggest gathering of its kind, but this year, it boasts record numbers, with 10,000 expected to attend the three-day event. The mood this year is especially buoyed by recent Democratic resignations, Brown's surprise victory in Massachusetts and tea party populism. At the same time, the conservative movement is trying to find its own voice, as represented by the wide array of speakers -- those who are calling for a return to grassroots momentum to seasoned politicians and Congressional hopefuls looking to tap into voter discontent. The 39-year old son of Cuban immigrants is locked in a tight battle for the GOP nomination for the U.S. Senate seat in Florida. Rubio, as expected, delivered a speech charged with anti-Obama administration rhetoric as he kicked off the convention. The former Florida state House speaker panned Obama on all fronts, from health care to energy legislation to national security. "From the tea parties to the election in Massachusetts, we are witnessing the greatest single pushback in American history," Rubio declared. 2010 is a referendum on the very identity of our nation," he added as he portrayed Obama's policies, without mentioning by him name, of that like a socialist country like the one his parents fled. Rubio has become widely known as the "tea party senator" after a Time magazine cover questioned whether Washington would see the first representation from the tea party, a grassroots organization against big government and spending. The 37th annual CPAC convention is charting new waters, hoping to capture the sentiment of the tea party while also shining the spotlight on its regular speakers. DeMint today took a jab not just at Democrats but at his own party members as well and those who do not "take their constitutional oath seriously." "I'd rather have 30 Republicans in the Senate who believe in the principles rather than 60 who don't believe in anything," DeMint told attendees. "I'd rather have 30 Marco Rubios in the Senate than 60 Arlen Specters," he added, referring to the senator from Pennsylvania who switched from the GOP to the Democratic caucus last year. There's a "Reaganpalooza" at a Capitol Hill bar and CPAC is featuring an "XPAC" for "x-treme politically active conservatives." "This year's CPAC may matter more than most. "There is no better time for the conservative movement to remind elected officials of the key values and principles that have made America great." House Minority leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, talked about the changing landscape and how today's GOP leaders can govern differently than previous Democrats and Republicans. On Wednesday, more than 80 conservative leaders signed "The Mount Vernon statement," a "defining statement of conservative beliefs, values and principles penned by a broad coalition of conservative leaders representing a wide spectrum of the movement including fiscal, social, cultural and national security conservatives."
Rep. Alan Grayson, D-Florida, is in Niger, he said, and was also safe at the embassy. "There was evidently an attempt at assassination of President Tandja." (CNN) -- Niger's constitution has been suspended, a Niger military official announced Thursday night on the nation's three television channels. Advertisement Continue reading the main story “We’ve been in a crisis situation,” said Mr. Bazoum, the opposition official. The area near the presidential palace is where the business of government takes place and at least four military barracks are based there. AT THE SCENE Idy Baraou BBC News, Niamey The exchange of gunfire has been between soldiers but it is confusing and one cannot tell one side from another. No curfew had been ordered and people were in the streets at 11 p.m., around the time of the announcement, he said. “There was heavy machine gun fire. Tensions have been growing in the country since last August, when Mr Tandja changed the constitution to allow him to stay in power beyond his legal term limit. Crowley told reporters. Earlier, smoke could be seen from the roof of the office where President Mamadou Tandja was holding his cabinet meeting. The move provoked a political crisis and threw Niger into isolation - regional grouping Ecowas (Economic Community Of West African States) suspending its membership. Please turn on JavaScript. Poverty, deception A spokesman for the coup leaders said the country was now being led by a group called the Supreme Council for the Restoration of Democracy (CSRD). View all New York Times newsletters. Reports say government ministers are also being held.
(CNN) -- Niger's constitution has been suspended, a Niger military official announced Thursday night on the nation's three television channels. The order, read by Col. Goukoye Abdul Karimou, was attributed to the Superior Council for the Restoration of Democracy, which also suspended all institutions and called on the nation for calm and on the international community for support, said Ousman Tudou, a journalist for Radio Afini. No curfew had been ordered and people were in the streets at 11 p.m., around the time of the announcement, he said. Dana Palade, a spokeswoman for the nongovernmental organization World Vision, told CNN from the capital city of Niamey that the official made the announcement on Doumial Tele Sahel and RTT. "The sounds were quite frightening, but the streets are calm. The people are calm," she said, adding the atmosphere was "not what you'd expect in a capital city where you have a coup d'état." Earlier Thursday, the Niger Embassy in London, England, reported an "ongoing attempted coup d'etat" was taking place in Niger. "Details remain sparse, but sporadic gunshots have continued to be heard in and around the presidential palace for some time," said a statement from the embassy. "Reports reaching us suggest that both the president and the cabinet ministers who were with him at the time are safe and well." Other media reports, however, said Tandja was missing. The French Embassy also reported hearing intermittent gunfire about 1 km (0.6 miles) from the palace. Resident and activist Laoual Sayabou told CNN the military surrounded the palace, where a ministerial meeting was taking place, about 1 p.m. The military entered the meeting and shots were fired, he said, citing sources in the presidential guard. "There was evidently an attempt at assassination of President Tandja." The U.S. Embassy was monitoring the situation, he said, and embassy staff were safe. Tandja, who has been in office since December 1999, has recently been trying to force through a bid for a third term. The United States has expressed concern about that, he said, and "that may well have been ... an act on his behalf that precipitated the act today." While the United States does not condone violence, "clearly we think this underscores that Niger needs to move ahead with the elections and the formation of a new government." Although Niger is one of the poorest countries in Africa, it has about 8 percent of the world's uranium, and has had some lucrative uranium contracts, particularly with China, CNN's Christian Purefoy said. Advertisement A coup has taken place in Niger and the president has been captured after a gun battle in the capital, Niamey. In a televised announcement, a spokesman for the plotters said Niger's constitution had been suspended and all state institutions dissolved. The junta imposed a curfew and closed the country's borders. President Mamadou Tandja, in power for more than a decade in the uranium-rich nation, is believed to be in captivity at a military barracks. Reports say government ministers are also being held. Tensions have been growing in the country since last August, when Mr Tandja changed the constitution to allow him to stay in power beyond his legal term limit. The move provoked a political crisis and threw Niger into isolation - regional grouping Ecowas (Economic Community Of West African States) suspending its membership. He called on the people of Niger to "remain calm and stay united around the ideals postulated by the CSRD... [to] make Niger an example of democracy and good governance". The area near the presidential palace is where the business of government takes place and at least four military barracks are based there. "We call on national and international opinions to support us in our patriotic action to save Niger and its population from poverty, deception and corruption," he added. He says there is not an obvious military presence on the streets, but heavy artillery has been deployed around the presidential palace. The African Union has condemned the takeover saying coups were contrary to the AU's vision of a continent free of unconstitutional changes of government. But one opposition leader, Mahamadou Karijo, welcomed the coup and praised the soldiers as "honest patriots". "They behave like they say - they are not interested in political leadership, they will fight to save the Nigerien people from any kind of tyranny," he told the BBC's Network Africa. Profile: Mamadou Tandja The government and opposition have been holding on-off talks since December - mediated by the regional body Ecowas - to try to resolve the country's political crisis. Under his tenure, the French energy firm Areva has begun work on the world's second-biggest uranium mine - ploughing an estimated $1.5bn into the project. China National Petroleum Corporation signed a $5bn deal in 2008 to pump oil within three years.
Some residents had to be evacuated. REUTERS/Duarte Sa Destroyed vehicles and debris are seen on a road along the outskirts of Funchal, Madeira after heavy flooding, February 20, 2010. She said the infrastructure had been "decimated" by the water. Are you visiting the island? Media requires JavaScript to play. Have you been affected by the floods and mudslides? Some bridges and roads have been washed away and cars were swept away. Name Your E-mail address Town & Country Phone number (optional): Comments The BBC may edit your comments and not all emails will be published. Regional government leader Alberto Joao Jardim said the authorities were making temporary shelters available for hundreds of people left homeless. In pictures: Flood aftermath Briton dies in Madeira floods Your pictures The weather improved on Sunday following Saturday's rains, making it easier for rescue workers. National response Portuguese Prime Minister Jose Socrates said he was "absolutely saddened and shocked with the images, with the consequences of this calamity", Reuters reported. Three remote areas in the south of the island have been cut off. It is not yet clear whether tourists are among the casualties. MADEIRA FACTS Autonomous region of Portugal with population of around 250,000 Lies just over 480km (300 miles) from West African coast The European continent is more than 900km away The Spanish government has offered its help with the rescue effort. Terms & Conditions Bookmark with: Delicious Digg reddit Facebook StumbleUpon What are these? Please turn on JavaScript. E-mail this to a friend Printable version Power and telephone services were disrupted in some places. Sixty-eight others were reported to have been taken to hospital for treatment on the Atlantic island, which is popular with foreign tourists.
Media requires JavaScript to play. Advertisement Rescue workers are searching mud-filled streets and houses on the Portuguese island of Madeira after flash floods left at least 42 people dead. More than 120 others were injured and an unknown number are missing, raising fears that the death toll could rise. Heavy rains brought tonnes of mud and stones down the slopes of the island, flooding the streets of the regional capital, Funchal, and other towns. Water, power and telecommunications were cut in some areas. In pictures: Flood aftermath Briton dies in Madeira floods Your pictures The weather improved on Sunday following Saturday's rains, making it easier for rescue workers. But regional social services spokesman Francisco Ramos said there were "great difficulties" in communications and that the death toll "will likely increase, given the circumstances of this flood". Officials fear more bodies may be found there. Prime Minister Jose Socrates, who is on the island, said he was "profoundly shocked" by the severity of the floods, and promised that his government would help Madeira recover as quickly as possible. The military has sent specialist rescue and medical teams to the island. MADEIRA FACTS Autonomous region of Portugal with population of around 250,000 Lies just over 480km (300 miles) from West African coast The European continent is more than 900km away The Spanish government has offered its help with the rescue effort. The Foreign Office in London said a British national had died in the floods, and that a small number of Britons were in hospital on Madeira. The world's most famous Madeiran, Real Madrid football star Cristiano Ronaldo, said he was "shocked and dismayed" by the floods. "I want to express my willingness to, as far as I can, help agencies and authorities to overcome the effects of this devastation." The BBC Weather Centre says the severe weather was due to a low pressure system, and that while Madeira can expect further rain with heavy downpours on Sunday, there is no danger of a repeat of the flash floods. A selection of your comments may be published, displaying your name and location unless you state otherwise in the box below. Name Your E-mail address Town & Country Phone number (optional): Comments The BBC may edit your comments and not all emails will be published. Your comments may be published on any BBC media worldwide. Terms & Conditions Bookmark with: Delicious Digg reddit Facebook StumbleUpon What are these? Advertisement At least 32 people have been killed in floods and mudslides after torrential rains hit the Portuguese island of Madeira, local authorities say. Sixty-eight others were reported to have been taken to hospital for treatment on the Atlantic island, which is popular with foreign tourists. The local civil protection service was "overwhelmed" by calls for help, a duty officer told Reuters news agency. According to Portuguese media, the storms were the deadliest on Madeira since October 1993, when eight people died. 'Ghost town' The main city, Funchal, and other towns and villages on the south coast are thought to have been worst affected after strong winds and heavy rain early on Saturday caused flooding and landslides. Television pictures showed muddy torrents coursing down narrow channels and spilling over the sides, roads awash with water and streets littered with debris. In pictures: Flood aftermath Your pictures The island's airport was closed and Funchal mayor Miguel Albuquerque advised people to stay at home. Trees have been brought down and rocks carried away by the floodwaters, blocking roads and hampering emergency services. "The drains just cannot cope with the water that's coming down from the mountains - they are just overfilled with sludge." Local media say the authorities' main concern now is for residents of Nuns valley - an isolated mountainous region that rescue workers have been unable to reach. MADEIRA FACTS Autonomous region of Portugal with population of around 250,000 Lies just over 480km (300 miles) from West African coast The European continent is more than 900km away He is expected to go to Madeira shortly to inspect the worst-affected areas and co-ordinate aid. "The problem requires a response on the national level," Interior Minister Rui Pereira was quoted as saying.
Please re-enter. But Labour, the second-largest coalition party, has opposed the move. Mr Balkenende's centre-right Christian Democrats wanted to agree to Nato's request to extend the Dutch presence in Afghanistan. The prime minister said there was no common ground between the parties. But a new government may prove difficult to establish. There is no good path to allow this cabinet to go further.” Labor demanded that Dutch troops leave Oruzgan as scheduled. "Where there is no trust, it is difficult to work together. 2010 commitment Just under 2,000 Dutch service personnel have been serving in the southern Afghan province of Uruzgan since 2006, with 21 killed. Mr. Balkenende said his Christian Democratic Alliance would continue in office together with the small Christian Union, and would “make available” Labor’s seats in the cabinet. The move is expected to trigger early general elections in the country. The Dutch government extended the military mission by two years back in 2007. "They help our security forces a great deal in security matters here," said Mr Hamdam told the BBC. It was announced after a 16-hour cabinet meeting which ran into the early hours of Saturday morning. He offered his government's resignation to Queen Beatrix in a telephone call. The launch in 2001 of Nato's International Security Assistance Force (Isaf) for Afghanistan was the organisation's first and largest ground operation outside Europe. Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said six months ago when he began his job that his priority was the war in Afghanistan. The commitment is now due to end in August 2010. Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende's office said in a statement that the Labor Party had withdrawn from the government following days of talks over whether the troops should be brought home.
Dutch forces have been in Uruzgan since 2006 The Dutch government has collapsed over disagreements within the governing coalition on extending troop deployments in Afghanistan. After marathon talks, Christian Democratic Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende announced that the Labour Party was quitting the government. He offered his government's resignation to Queen Beatrix in a telephone call. The premier had been considering a Nato request for Dutch forces to stay in Afghanistan beyond August 2010. Asadullah Hamdam, the governor of the Afghan province of Uruzgan, where the Dutch mission is based, told the BBC that peace and reconstruction efforts would suffer a setback if the Dutch troops left. "They help our security forces a great deal in security matters here," said Mr Hamdam told the BBC. "In many districts they work together with the Afghan National Army, and they help in developmental projects. "They are constructing bridges, schools, roads and assisting in many other educational projects." Nato officials have issued a message of reassurance about the alliance's operations in Afghanistan, amid uncertainty about the future of the Dutch military contribution. Alliance spokesman James Appathurai said whatever happened, the Afghan people should know that Nato would "continue to provide support to them as long as necessary". 2010 commitment Just under 2,000 Dutch service personnel have been serving in the southern Afghan province of Uruzgan since 2006, with 21 killed. Where there is no trust, it is difficult to work together Jan Peter Balkenende The troops should have returned home in 2008, but they stayed on because no other Nato nation offered replacements. The Dutch parliament voted in October 2009 that it must definitely stop by then, although the government has yet to endorse that vote. Mr Balkenende's centre-right Christian Democrats wanted to agree to Nato's request to extend the Dutch presence in Afghanistan. The finance minister and leader of the Labour Party, Wouter Bos, demanded an immediate ruling from Mr Balkenende. Nato priority Mr Balkenende said he would offer the cabinet's resignation to the Dutch Queen Beatrix later on Saturday following the collapse of the government. ANALYSIS By Geraldine Coughlan BBC News, The Hague The Defence Ministry says the future of the Dutch mission in Afghanistan depends on the new government. Opinion polls suggest that a handful of parties may be needed to form a coalition. They also suggest the right-wing opposition Freedom Party, which has called for an end to the Afghan mission, could be the big winner in the general election. The prime minister said there was no common ground between the parties. The launch in 2001 of Nato's International Security Assistance Force (Isaf) for Afghanistan was the organisation's first and largest ground operation outside Europe. Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said six months ago when he began his job that his priority was the war in Afghanistan. As of October 2009, Isaf had more than 71,000 personnel from 42 different countries including the US, Canada, European countries, Australia, Jordan and New Zealand. The US provides the bulk of foreign forces in Afghanistan, and President Barack Obama has announced an extra 30,000 American troops for Afghanistan. The Pentagon has said the next 18 months could prove crucial for the international mission in Afghanistan, after more than eight years of efforts to stabilise the country. Suicide attacks on Afghan civilians and roadside bomb strikes on international troops are common, with the Taliban strongly resurgent in many areas of the country. AMSTERDAM (AP) — Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende said early Saturday that the second-largest party in his coalition was quitting the government over irreconcilable differences on whether to extend the Netherlands’ military mission in Afghanistan. The coalition, elected to a four-year term, marks its third year in office on Monday. Advertisement Continue reading the main story The political outcome also left uncertainty over the fate of the 1,600 Dutch soldiers in the southern Afghan province of Oruzgan, where they were deployed in 2006 for a two-year tour that was extended until August.
We will see that in other areas," he said. "They will be tough. Gen Petraeus said the US public should expect further losses in Afghanistan The current offensive around the southern Afghan town of Marjah is the initial operation of a long campaign, the head of US Central Command says. "[The Taliban] are formidable. The Obama administration's Afghanistan strategy got a vote of confidence Sunday from retired General Colin Powell, who served as President Bush's secretary of state during his first term in office. They don’t go away. Nato commanders have said it may take another month to fully secure Marjah. They were tough in Iraq. I do not use words like optimistic or pessimist. They are a bit disjointed at this point in time. Advertisement Continue reading the main story On the subject of Iran’s nuclear ambitions, General Petraeus offered an endorsement of the White House’s tactics. But we are going after them across the spectrum," he told NBC's Meet The Press programme. "The reality is that it is hard, but we are there for a very important reason." Bookmark with: Delicious Digg reddit Facebook StumbleUpon What are these? The Afghan national army is improved but clearly not up to U.S. standards yet. I’m merely saying that we have responsibilities — the American people and our commander in chief and so forth expect us to think those through and to be prepared for the what-ifs.” Please re-enter. View all New York Times newsletters. Afghan police have already been deployed in areas recaptured from the Taliban, as part of a plan to put the area under the control of the local authorities.
The U.S. general who oversees the war in Afghanistan says the fight for the southern town of Marjah is just the first operation in a long campaign. Petraeus says the battle of Marjah is just the beginning. During an appearance on NBC's Meet the Press, Petraeus said the enemy is formidable. He did not predict how long the operation in Marjah - a traditional Taliban stronghold - would continue. He said only that the fighting is tough. "When we go on the offensive, when we take away sanctuaries and safe havens from the Taliban and the other extremist elements that we and our Afghan and coalition partners are fighting in that country, they are going to fight back. The general spoke from Tampa, Florida, where he heads the U.S. Central Command, which is responsible for military operations in both Afghanistan and Iraq. He noted the difficulties encountered in Iraq when former President George W. Bush sent in additional troops in what was called a "surge." "They will be tough. The Obama administration's Afghanistan strategy got a vote of confidence Sunday from retired General Colin Powell, who served as President Bush's secretary of state during his first term in office. He said it is a good, comprehensive plan. But at the same time, he acknowledged he has concerns about whether or not the Afghan government can follow-up once the NATO operation pushes the Taliban out. "I hope their capability will increase. The Afghan national army is improved but clearly not up to U.S. standards yet. And the police force - they have a lot to prove, they do not yet have the confidence of the people," he said. Powell was interviewed on the CBS television program Face the Nation. The general also reiterated his strong opposition to using torture to gain information from important captives like Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, the Taliban’s top military commander, who was seized recently in Pakistan. Advertisement Continue reading the main story “Whenever we have, perhaps, taken expedient measures, they have turned around and bitten us in the backside,” he said. Whenever Americans have used methods that violate the Geneva Conventions or the standards of the International Committee of the Red Cross, he said: “We end up paying a price for it ultimately. Abu Ghraib and other situations like that are non-biodegradable. The enemy continues to beat you with them like a stick.” Interrogation methods approved by the Army Field Manual, he said, work well to gain significant information. General Petraeus responded cautiously to questions about the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy, refusing to say he unequivocally supported its repeal. He said he had fought alongside openly gay individuals and had not seen any problems. Please verify you're not a robot by clicking the box. Invalid email address. Sign Up Receive occasional updates and special offers for The New York Times's products and services. View all New York Times newsletters. “I served, in fact, in combat with individuals who were gay and who were lesbian in combat situations and, frankly, you know, over time you said, ‘Hey, how’s this guy’s shooting?’ Or, ‘How is her analysis?’ or what have you.” Advertisement Continue reading the main story In his assessment of the campaign against Al Qaeda in the 20 Middle Eastern and Central Asian countries under the purview of the Central Command, he said, “Over the course of the last year or so, Al Qaeda has been diminished in that area.” With the exception of Yemen, the countries of the Arabian Peninsula, Iraq and Pakistan “have continued to make gains.” Advertisement Continue reading the main story “But, having said that, Al Qaeda is a flexible, adaptable — it may be barbaric, it may believe in extremist ideology, as it does, but this is a thinking, adaptive enemy, and we must maintain pressure on it everywhere,” he said. Advertisement Continue reading the main story On the subject of Iran’s nuclear ambitions, General Petraeus offered an endorsement of the White House’s tactics. In keeping with established policy, however, he refused to rule out the possibility of a military strike if Iran continued to defy the United Nations. “It is the job of combatant commanders to consider the what-ifs, to be prepared for contingency plans,” he said. Gen Petraeus said the US public should expect further losses in Afghanistan The current offensive around the southern Afghan town of Marjah is the initial operation of a long campaign, the head of US Central Command says. Gen David Petraeus told NBC that the offensive was part of a revised strategy for combating insurgents that would probably last "12 to 18 months". Afghan police have already been deployed in areas recaptured from the Taliban, as part of a plan to put the area under the control of the local authorities. So far, 12 Nato personnel have been killed in the offensive, which involves 15,000 Nato and Afghan troops and is the biggest operation against insurgents in Afghanistan since the 2001 US-led invasion.
The S.E.C. In a statement, Toyota responded to the report of the document. "Safety is everybody's responsibility. Toyota: Saved $100 million dodging recall Internal Toyota documents provided to the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee show the carmaker saved $100 million by negotiating an 'equipment' recall' rather than a vehicle recall. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Toyota had no immediate comment. "Our first priority is the safety of our customers and to conclude otherwise on the basis of one internal presentation is wrong," the company said. Mr. Inaba is among the officials set to testify at the hearings this week. View all New York Times newsletters. On Monday, Toyota confirmed that it faced two more investigations related to the unintended acceleration and braking that had led to the recall of millions of its cars. Akio Toyoda is to appear before a congressional committee this week Toyota has received subpoenas asking it to produce documents relating to problems that led to the recall of millions of its vehicles. It will add the feature on 2005 to 2010 model Tacomas, 2009 to 2010 Venzas and the 2008 to 2010 model Sequoia. The letter was released a day after the disclosure that Toyota had estimated that it saved $100 million by negotiating with regulators for a limited recall of 2007 Toyota Camry and Lexus ES models for sudden acceleration, the same problem that has since prompted it to recall millions of cars. The documents said that the U.S. Department of Transportation and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration were "not industry friendly" under Obama. The subpoenas were served earlier this month by a federal grand jury in New York and by the financial watchdog the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Toyota: Saved $100 million dodging recall Internal Toyota documents provided to the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee show the carmaker saved $100 million by negotiating an 'equipment' recall' rather than a vehicle recall. NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- In an internal presentation, Toyota staffers boasted of the company saving $100 million by negotiating a limited recall for Toyota Camry and Lexus ES cars over a problem that could cause unintended acceleration. In an internal Toyota (TM) document used as part of a company presentation on its government relations, dated July 6, 2009, the phrase "Negotiated 'equipment' recall on Camry/ES re: [sudden acceleration], saved $100 million+ with no defect found" is among a bullet-pointed list of "wins." An "equipment" recall is a more limited type of recall, often to repair an accessory or non-essential part of the vehicle. The presentation was given to Yoshi Inaba, Toyota's top North American executive. The reference was apparently to a September 2007 recall to secure floor mats that could trap the cars' gas pedals. In August 2009, the month following the presentation in which the executive boasted of saving $100 million over a full recall, a family of four was killed in a Lexus with its gas pedal stuck under a floor mat. In November 2009, Toyota had full recall to reconfigure the gas pedals of numerous Toyota models to prevent such incidents. Among other "wins" listed were "Avoided investigation on Tacoma rust" and helping win delays in various new federal safety regulations. Toyota documents, presented in the form of a corporate slide show, also presented an unfavorable view of the Obama administration. The documents said that the U.S. Department of Transportation and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration were "not industry friendly" under Obama. The Toyota documents also said that NHTSA's "new, more aggressive management includes more attorneys," but "less understanding of engineering issues." Also, the documents said that equipment manufacturers face "a more challenging regulatory and enforcement environment." "Safety is everybody's responsibility. It's not just the federal government's job to catch safety defects," said Olivia Alair, a spokeswoman for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. "It's the responsibility of automakers to come forward when there is a problem. And that's why Secretary LaHood has been saying we're going to hold Toyota's feet to the fire and make sure they do what's necessary to make their cars safe for the driving public." A copy of Inaba's presentation was provided to the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, which is set to grill Toyota president Akio Toyoda on Wednesday. "If anything but the safety of America's drivers influenced the decision-making process, the entire purpose of National Highway Traffic Safety Administration will be undermined," said Kurt Bardella, a spokesman for Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., a member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. "Our first priority is the safety of our customers and to conclude otherwise on the basis of one internal presentation is wrong," the company said. "Our values have always been to put the customer first and ensure the highest levels of safety and quality." "Our recently announced top-to-bottom quality review of all company operations, along with new quality initiatives and a renewed commitment to transparency are all designed to reaffirm these values," Toyota added. lacks the expertise needed to evaluate defects in vehicle electronic controls, and its response to complaints of sudden unintended acceleration in Toyota vehicles appears to have been seriously deficient,” the letter to Mr. LaHood said. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Since last fall, Toyota has recalled more than eight million vehicles worldwide — more than six million in the United States alone — in two actions related to complaints about accelerator pedals that can stick, making it hard to stop the vehicles. Mr. Lentz, who is scheduled to appear before the energy committee on Tuesday, has vigorously defended Toyota, attributing the problem to a faulty part. He expressed certainty that the repairs dealers had begun were the correct solution, and maintained that the computers in the cars were not to blame. Advertisement Continue reading the main story “In recent months, we have not lived up to the high standards our customers and the public have come to expect from Toyota. Simply put, it has taken us too long to come to grips with a rare but serious set of safety issues.” Advertisement Continue reading the main story He went on, “The problem also has been compounded by poor communications both within our company and with regulators and consumers.” Advertisement Continue reading the main story This month, Toyota released a study of vehicles it had commissioned from Exponent, a research company, that said electronics were not to blame. Photo But in the letter to Mr. Lentz, Mr. Waxman and Mr. Stupak said Toyota had dismissed the idea and had not investigated it properly. Further, it said the six vehicles involved in Exponent’s study, none of which were shown to have problems with their electronic systems, made up too small a sample from which to draw a conclusion. “Our preliminary assessment is that Toyota resisted the possibility that electronic defects could cause safety concerns, relied on a flawed engineering report and made misleading public statements concerning the adequacy of recent recalls to address the risk of sudden unintended acceleration,” the representatives said. The letter was released a day after the disclosure that Toyota had estimated that it saved $100 million by negotiating with regulators for a limited recall of 2007 Toyota Camry and Lexus ES models for sudden acceleration, the same problem that has since prompted it to recall millions of cars. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Toyota said Monday night that it was expanding the number of vehicles that will receive a brake override system, meant to reduce engine power when the accelerator pedal and brake pedal are pressed simultaneously.
The women would be able to represent women in marriage, divorce, custody and other family cases. All judges in the kingdom are male religious clerics. Judicial reforms At the moment, female lawyers in the kingdom can only work behind the scenes in government and court offices, where they do not come into contact with men. The new legislation will also allow Saudi women to complete certain procedures without the presence of a witness. Justice Minister Mohammed al-Eissa said the law was part of King Abdullah's plan to develop the legal system. But a number of steps have been taken to ease restrictions - for instance women are now allowed to stay in hotels unaccompanied. Last year, a senior cleric was removed after criticising a new mixed-sex science and technology university. Women in Saudi Arabia are nearly totally segregated from men in public life. Opportunities for education and employment are also dependent on male guardianship. As part of ongoing judicial reforms, the Saudi government is developing a network of specialised courts, including "personal status" or family courts, where the women lawyers would be allowed to practice. The cleric, Sheikh Saad al-Shethry, had described the mixing of sexes in any university as evil and a great sin. All are veiled to a greater or lesser degree in public, they are not allowed to drive, and women under 45 must receive permission from a male when they travel. Mohammed al-Issa said his department was drafting new rules to permit female lawyers to argue family cases, which could be passed soon, Saudi newspapers reported. "In accordance with the new law, women will be able to complete their preliminary procedures with notaries by just presenting their IDs," said Ministry of Justice official Osama al-Mirdas, according to Arab News.
Judicial reforms At the moment, female lawyers in the kingdom can only work behind the scenes in government and court offices, where they do not come into contact with men. As part of ongoing judicial reforms, the Saudi government is developing a network of specialised courts, including "personal status" or family courts, where the women lawyers would be allowed to practice. Women have often protested about their treatment Saudi Arabia is planning to bring in a new law to allow women lawyers to argue cases in court for the first time. Justice Minister Mohammed al-Eissa said the law was part of King Abdullah's plan to develop the legal system. The law - to be issued "in the coming days" - would allow women to appear in court on family-related cases, including divorce and child custody. "In accordance with the new law, women will be able to complete their preliminary procedures with notaries by just presenting their IDs," said Ministry of Justice official Osama al-Mirdas, according to Arab News. All are veiled to a greater or lesser degree in public, they are not allowed to drive, and women under 45 must receive permission from a male when they travel. But a number of steps have been taken to ease restrictions - for instance women are now allowed to stay in hotels unaccompanied. Female lawyers in the kingdom, where strict Islamic doctrine and Sharia law have enforced separation of genders, can currently work only inside the women's sections of law and government offices, where they do not come into contact with men.
So there was a stampede. "People took to narrow alleys, there was jostling, and the tragedy occurred," he said. Sources from this holy town told Xinhua on Friday that the incident originated from an old lady who collapsed in one of the town's streets at the fall of darkness the previous day. Local police earlier had said 15 died and 41 were injured. Thousands of pilgrims come to Timbuktu for the prophet's birthday and an official said the accident might have been caused by obstacles resulting from renovation work on the 14th-century mosque made largely from mud. In Bamako, everybody is trying to get information about their family members. She collapsed not far from a public place where a crowd had gathered to listen to the Maouloud sermon, a religious activity to celebrate the birth of Prophet Mohamed. BAMAKO, Feb. 26 (Xinhua) -- A stampede has left 24 people dead including children and at least 20 others injured, some seriously, in Timbuktoo in northwest Mali. "We cannot rule out the fact that the number of those injured will increase because some of them are still hiding in their homes instead of coming to the hospital," local officials said. "The people then started running towards all directions certainly thinking that it was a rebel attack. "There were 26 killed and 40 wounded," Interior Ministry spokesman Oumar Sangare told Reuters by phone. It remains synonymous in Europe with the idea of an exotic faraway land, but the town's historic buildings require constant renovation. What happened is a real drama. Timbuktu was famous for being an intellectual and religious centre during the 15th and 16th centuries, helping to spread Islam throughout Africa.
Thousands of pilgrims come to Timbuktu for the prophet's birthday and an official said the accident might have been caused by obstacles resulting from renovation work on the 14th-century mosque made largely from mud. "The mosque is being renovated, financed by the Aga Khan, and the work is carried out by South African specialists," an official at Timbuktu town hall told AFP, asking not to be named. "Because of these renovations, the passage on the north side of the mosque is closed off. On that side, to get through, the faithful found an improvised alleyway. "But the alley couldn't take the number of people using it. Somebody shouted 'someone has died' and panic took over." Two other officials said rescue services had "very quickly" helped the "many injured". He gives us life, he takes it away," said the mosque's imam, who gave his name as Asseyuti. It remains synonymous in Europe with the idea of an exotic faraway land, but the town's historic buildings require constant renovation. BAMAKO, Feb. 26 (Xinhua) -- A stampede has left 24 people dead including children and at least 20 others injured, some seriously, in Timbuktoo in northwest Mali. Sources from this holy town told Xinhua on Friday that the incident originated from an old lady who collapsed in one of the town's streets at the fall of darkness the previous day. A hospital source said the toll rose to 24 from 15 confirmed dead earlier in the day, adding some of the injured were in critical condition and needed to be urgently evacuated to the capital Bamako. "The injured people have been arriving this morning," another hospital source told Xinhua, but did not wish to be named as they were waiting for official communication from the regional authorities. By Tiemoko Diallo BAMAKO (Reuters) - Twenty-six people were crushed to death in a stampede near a mosque in Mali's desert city of Timbuktu, a government spokesman said on Friday. Imam Abdramane ben Essayouti said the stampede occurred as crowds heading to pray at the Djingareyber mosque -- one of the most recognisable buildings in Timbuktu -- encountered roads barricaded by construction work.
"Everybody is under a warning because the wave, we know, is on its way. REUTERS/Victor Ruiz Caballero People gather on the street after an earthquake in Santiago February 27, 2010. A powerful 8.8-magnitude earthquake that shook Chile on Saturday killed at least 64 people, the interior minister said. It was not yet clear how big the tsunami was. It could have been worse." DAMAGE TO CAPITAL, MAJOR MINES Chile's capital of Santiago, about 200 miles north of the epicenter, was also badly hit. The earthquake struck at around 3.34am local time (6.43GMT). The center has issued a Pacific-wide tsunami warning that included Hawaii and stretched across the ocean from South America to the Pacific Rim. Concepcion is likely to be the most severely affected city and there were radio reports of collapsed churches and other damage. The impact of the quake was felt as far as 1,000 miles away in Argentina. Unusually big waves battered Ecuador's Galapagos Islands, where residents were moved to higher ground as a precaution. The earthquake that devastated Haiti's capital Port-au-Prince on January 12 was rated at magnitude 7.0, while the one that struck Indonesia on Boxing Day 2004 measured magnitude 9.2. REUTERS/Jose Luis Saavedra Cars lie overturned after the highway they were travelling on was destroyed in an earthquake in Santiago February 27, 2010. Buses were to patrol beaches and take people to parks in a voluntary process expected to last five hours. REUTERS/Hugh Gentry Boats leave Kewalo harbour during a tsunami warning for the Hawaiian Islands in Honolulu, Hawaii, February 27, 2010. Wave heights in Hilo Bay reached 31 feet.
REUTERS/Chile Presidency/Handout Workers lift pieces of a footbridge after it collapsed during an earthquake on the Panamerican Highway north of Santiago, February 27, 2010. REUTERS/Ivan Alvarado Workers work on a footbridge after it collapsed during an earthquake on the Panamerican Highway north of Santiago, February 27, 2010. REUTERS/Ivan Alvarado A man makes a purchase from the window of a shop that was damaged by an earthquake in Valparaiso February 27, 2010. REUTERS/Eliseo Fernandez People gather with their belongings on a street after a major earthquake struck in downtown Valparaiso February 27, 2010. REUTERS/Eliseo Fernadez A municipal worker clears rubble from a street in downtown Santiago after an earthquake February 27, 2010. A powerful 8.8-magnitude earthquake that shook Chile on Saturday killed at least 64 people, the interior minister said. REUTERS/Victor Ruiz Caballero People gather on a street of downtown Santiago after an earthquake February 27, 2010. A powerful 8.8-magnitude earthquake that shook Chile on Saturday killed at least 64 people, the interior minister said. REUTERS/Victor Ruiz Caballero A man steps over debris on a street after an earthquake struck in downtown Valparaiso February 27, 2010. A powerful 8.8-magnitude earthquake that shook Chile on Saturday killed at least 64 people, the interior minister said. REUTERS/Victor Ruiz Caballero A boy stands next to a building destroyed in an earthquake in Concepcion some 100 km (62 miles) south of the epicenter, February 27, 2010. REUTERS/Jose Luis Saavedra Rescue workers search for victims and survivors after an apartment complex collapsed during an earthquake in Concepcion some 100 km (62 miles) south of the epicenter, February 27, 2010. REUTERS/Jose Luis Saavedra Chile's President Michelle Bachelet (C) sits as Interior Minister Edmundo Perez Yoma looks at her during a meeting at the National Emergency Bureau Ministry of the Interior in Santiago de Chile February 27, 2010. A powerful 8.8-magnitude earthquake that shook Chile on Saturday killed at least 64 people, the interior minister said. REUTERS/Victor Ruiz Caballero A man prepares to move his belongings in his home destroyed in an earthquake in Valparaiso February 27, 2010. REUTERS/Eliseo Fernandez Rescue workers search for victims and survivors after an apartment complex collapsed during an earthquake in Concepcion some 100 km (62 miles) south of the epicenter, February 27, 2010. REUTERS/Jose Luis Saavedra Cars lie overturned after the highway they were travelling on was destroyed in an earthquake in Santiago February 27, 2010. REUTERS/Marco Fredes People observe a highway and cars destroyed by an earthquake in Concepcion some 100 km (62 miles) south of the epicenter, February 27, 2010. REUTERS/Jose Luis Saavedra Women cry next to a destroyed building in Talca, some 300 km (186 miles) south of Santiago, February 27, 2010. REUTERS/Victor Ruiz Caballero CONCEPCION, Chile One of the world's most powerful earthquakes in a century battered Chile on Saturday, killing at least 214 people, knocking down buildings and triggering a tsunami that threatened Pacific coastlines as far away as Hawaii and Russia. Buildings caught fire, bridges collapsed and debris blocked streets across swathes of central Chile, but the initial death toll was relatively low from a quake packing many times more power than the one that devastated Haiti last month. A 15-storey building collapsed in Concepcion, the closest major city to the epicenter, and overturned cars lay scattered below a fallen overpass in the capital Santiago. Telephone and power lines went down, making it difficult to assess the full extent of the damage and loss of life. The government said at least 214 people were killed in the 8.8-magnitude quake, which struck at 3:34 a.m. (1:34 a.m. EST), sending people rushing from their beds and onto the streets in fear, hugging each other and crying. One emergency official said the number of deaths was unlikely to increase dramatically, and a U.S. Geological Survey researcher attributed the low toll to Chile's solid building standards. 1 copper producer and one of Latin America's most developed and stable countries. "This will be a major blow to the country's infrastructure; there has been major damage to roads, airports, which are now suspended, ports and also in housing," Chilean President-elect Sebastian Pinera said. The quake halted operations at two oil refineries and two major copper mines and the government said an estimated half a million homes were severely damaged. President Michelle Bachelet said a huge wave hit the Juan Fernandez islands, an archipelago where Scottish sailor Alexander Selkirk was marooned in the 18th century, inspiring the novel Robinson Crusoe. "There was a series of waves that got bigger and bigger, which gave people time to save themselves," pilot Fernando Avaria told TVN television by telephone from the main island. The U.S. Navy said it was pulling six ships out of Hawaii's Pearl Harbor ahead of the tsunami, which was expected to hit the island at heights of up to 8 feet. The January 12 quake that devastated Haiti's capital Port-au-Prince and killed well over 200,000 people was measured as magnitude 7.0. "I thought I'd blown a tire ... but then I saw the highway moving like it was a piece of paper and I realized it was something much worse," said one man who was forced to abandon his car on a wrecked highway overpass. Codelco, the world's largest copper producer, suspended operations at its El Teniente and Andina mines, but reported no major damage and said it expected the mines to be up and running in the "coming hours."
The center also canceled warnings for Chile, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Antarctica, Panama, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Pitcairn, Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala, French Polynesia, Mexico, the Cook Islands, Kiribati, Kermadec Island, Niue, New Zealand, Tonga, American Samoa, Jarvis Island, Wallis-Futuna, Tokelau, Fiji, Australia, Palmyra Island, Pojnston Island, Marshall Island, Midway Island, Wake Island, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, Howland-Baker, New Caledonia, Solomon Island, Nauru, Kosrae, Papua New Guinea, Pohnpei, Chuuk, Marcus Island, Indonesia, North Marianas, Guam, Yap, Belau, Philippines and Taiwan. A tsunami spawned by Chile's 1960 earthquake killed 140 people in Japan. "There was no assessment of any damage in any county, which is quite remarkable," said Gov. NZ issues tsunami alert after Chile quake Updated New Zealand has issued a tsunami alert after a huge 8.8 magnitude quake hit off the coast of Chile, sparking a Pacific-wide warning that huge waves may be on the move. Rail service was halted in coastal areas and residents were urged to evacuate low-lying areas of the island nation. "Current assessment is for a non-destructive tsunami for New Zealand with wave heights at the shore of between 0.2 and one metre (three feet). The only airport that was shut, the Hilo airport on Hawaii, reopened late in the afternoon. A Level-2 alert means people are advised to stay away from the shoreline; residents near coastal areas facing the Pacific Ocean are advised to go farther inland. The first waves hit Gambier Archipelago at 10:50 a.m EST and Tahiti at 12:50 p.m. EST but Tahiti's seismological center said the waves were only 36 centimeters high.
NZ issues tsunami alert after Chile quake Updated New Zealand has issued a tsunami alert after a huge 8.8 magnitude quake hit off the coast of Chile, sparking a Pacific-wide warning that huge waves may be on the move. But the waves, which would not reach New Zealand until about 15 hours after the Chilean earthquake struck, were not expected to pack destructive force, the government said. "The magnitude of the Chile quake has been confirmed as 8.8. A local tsunami has been confirmed with the highest recorded wave measuring 2.2 meters (7.21 feet)," New Zealand's Ministry of Civil Defence and Emergency Management said. "Current assessment is for a non-destructive tsunami for New Zealand with wave heights at the shore of between 0.2 and one metre (three feet). "The first wave may arrive later and may not be the largest. Waves may continue for several hours," it said, warning New Zealanders to stay off beaches and out of the sea. The warning in New Zealand and a similar one in Australia came after the Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre in Hawaii earlier warned of a Pacific-wide tsunami threat following the huge temblor off Chile. "Sea-level readings confirm that a tsunami has been generated which could cause widespread damage," the centre said. Some 186 people died in Samoa, neighbouring American Samoa and Tonga in September last year after an 8.0 quake spawned a deadly tsunami that battered coastal villages in the island nation. PARIS The first small waves of a tsunami caused by an earthquake in Chile reached French Polynesia on Saturday, authorities said. Residents were asked to move away from the shores and seek high ground while schools were shut down and most roads closed. The first waves hit Gambier Archipelago at 10:50 a.m EST and Tahiti at 12:50 p.m. EST but Tahiti's seismological center said the waves were only 36 centimeters high. The tsunami is expected to hit Bora Bora at 1:15 p.m. EST, the French Polynesia High Commissioner said in a statement. French Polynesia President Gaston Tong Sang sought to reassure residents saying the territory was used to cyclones and hurricanes. "We will be vigilant, leaving nature to do its work," he told France Info radio. Tokyo, Japan (CNN) -- Tens of thousands of residents began evacuating Sunday morning from coastal Japan in anticipation of a possible tsunami following Chile's 8.8-magnitude earthquake. The northern part of the main island was looking at the possibility of a tsunami at least 9 feet high, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency. Sunday's alert was Japan's first major tsunami warning in more than 15 years, the agency reported. A tsunami spawned by Chile's 1960 earthquake killed 140 people in Japan. On Saturday, tsunami warnings from Chile's temblor initially covered the entire Pacific region, but they were canceled less than 18 hours later except for Russia, Japan and the Philippines. Meanwhile, an official with the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said the island chain of Hawaii "dodged a bullet" after smaller-than-expected waves were reported. Earlier, Hawaiian residents had scrambled to stock up on water, gas and food as sirens pierced the early morning quiet across the islands ahead of the tsunami. A large wave on the island of Juan Fernandez -- 400 miles (643 km) off Chile's coast -- killed three people, Provincial Governor Ivan De La Maza said.
One of them, a 69-year-old man, was a hiker in a group of about 20, police said, but the others were evacuated to safety. Are you affected by the storm? Hardest hit was France, where at least 45 people were killed, French Prime Minister Francois Fillon announced. There have also been reports of high winds in the Swiss Alps. Worst affected have been the Vendee and Charente-Maritime regions on the western coast. "All services are mobilized to reach that goal as soon as possible." French national power company EDF said half a million customers were still without power at nightfall on Sunday, AFP news agency reported. Forty-five of the victims died in France, where many drowned or were hit by parts of buildings or falling trees. The weather system has swept north-eastwards into Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands. Media requires JavaScript to play. Read the terms and conditions Name Your E-mail address Town & Country Phone number (optional): Comments The BBC may edit your comments and not all emails will be published. He added that flood prevention defences would be strengthened. Earlier on Sunday two Spanish men died when a tree crushed their car near Burgos. Air France said 100 of its flights had been cancelled from Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris. In France, Xynthia put five of the country's 95 departments on red alert - only the second such warning since a new emergency system was introduced in 2001. Residents took to their roofs in the Vendee region and police helicopters were in action attempting to locate and rescue them. Huge waves and strong gusts battered many coastal towns, flooding inland areas and destroying buildings.
Paris, France (CNN) -- A winter storm named "Xynthia" battered the western coast of Europe Sunday, its high winds downing trees and power lines and leaving as many as 55 people dead, authorities said. Hardest hit was France, where at least 45 people were killed, French Prime Minister Francois Fillon announced. The extra-tropical cyclone whipped the country's coastal regions and moved inland, bringing sometimes heavy flooding with it. Are you affected by the storm? "It's a national catastrophe," Fillon said in a brief news conference following an emergency meeting on the situation. "Many people drowned, surprised by the rapid rise of the water. "Now the priority is to bring all the people left homeless and still threatened by the rising waters to safety," the prime minister explained. "All services are mobilized to reach that goal as soon as possible." French President Nicolas Sarkozy will visit the department of Charente-Maritime Monday, Fillon said. Charente-Maritime and Vendee, on the French coast west of Paris, had severe flooding when the strong winds whipped up the water at high tide. "The water was up to the gutters," said one woman, who spent the night on the roof with her children. Residents of the village of Aytre, in Charente-Maritime, saw a wave of water measuring 1 meter high (about 1 yard) come into the center of town. At least 1 million households were without power Sunday afternoon, Bernard Lassus of Electricite de France said in an interview on BFM-TV. French Interior Minister Brice Hortefeux told BFM-TV that 350 soldiers and 3,250 firefighters have been mobilized. About 10 helicopters are being used to airlift people, he said, and draining operations were underway. The high winds -- at times spiking to 200 km/h (124 mph) -- reached inland as far as Paris, where as many as 100 flights were canceled at the Paris-Charles de Gaulle International Airport, BFM reported. In Spain, three people were killed in the first band of the storm, Spanish Interior Minister Alfredo Perez Rubalcaba said Sunday. Two children died in a car accident and another person was killed in northwestern Spain, the minister said in a news conference on CNN sister station CNN+. At least 17 provinces were on high alert due to the strong winds, CNN+ reported, and some flights and train services were canceled. A 10-year-old child was killed by a falling tree in the high winds in Portugal, Patricia Gaspar, National Operations Assistant with the Portuguese National Authority for Civil Protection, confirmed to CNN. Four people were killed in Germany as a result of the storm, officials said -- all four when they or their cars were struck by falling trees. One of them, a 69-year-old man, was a hiker in a group of about 20, police said, but the others were evacuated to safety. A man was also killed by a falling tree in Belgium, Peter Mertens, a spokesman for Belgium's Interior Ministry, confirmed to CNN. The storm also reached England, where one woman was reported dead when the vehicle she was driving became submerged and washed down a swollen creek in the northeastern part of the country. In pictures: Storm batters Europe 'The worst storm I've encountered' Huge waves and strong gusts battered many coastal towns, spreading floods inland and destroying buildings. The storm system, named Xynthia, has put five of the 95 French departments on red alert - only the second such warning since a new emergency system was introduced in 2001. According to the AFP news agency, the French national power company EDF said half a million customers were still without power at nightfall on Sunday, and Mr Fillon said it would take several days to restore power everywhere.
Apple has countersued. In October, Nokia sued Apple, claiming the iPhone infringed on 10 of its patents, and Apple countersued. Google said in a statement: “We are not a party to this lawsuit. The complaints seek not only monetary damages against HTC but to bar it from importing and selling in the United States any of its phones based on Google’s Android operating system. Apple’s actions took the form of a lawsuit filed in federal district court in Delaware and a complaint with the U.S. International Trade Commission. "It's probably simpler for them to go after the company making the infringing goods, which is HTC. "HTC values patent rights and their enforcement but is also committed to defending its own technology innovations," spokesman Keith Nowak said. In a statement, Apple portrayed the suit as a means to defend its intellectual property — not its market position. “Apple is island-hopping, attacking first the Asian companies. “We think competition is healthy, but competitors should create their own original technology, not steal ours,” said Apple CEO Steve Jobs. It may be easier to push around than Samsung (which also makes Android smartphones). Since last fall, Google has been gradually adding multitouch capabilities to phones running Android through software updates. Apple that month bought mobile advertising firm Quattro, less than two months after Google bought rival firm AdMob. One question here is whether Apple can intimidate operators to back away from new HTC products by flashing the possibility of litigation trouble." However, we stand behind our Android operating system and the partners who have helped us to develop it."
SAN FRANCISCO — Apple has relied on slick applications, and even slicker advertisements, to promote the iPhone and maintain its advantage over rivals like Google in the battle to rule the next generation of smartphones. But the fight may come down to something more provincial: who has the best lawyers. On Tuesday, Apple sued HTC, the Taiwanese company that is the largest maker of smartphones running Google’s Android operating system, including the Nexus One, designed and sold by Google. In the lawsuit, filed with the office of the United States International Trade Commission and the United States District Court in Delaware, Apple said that HTC phones running Android violated 20 of its patents, including those relating to the iPhone’s ability to recognize the touch of multiple fingers on its screen at once. Since last fall, Google has been gradually adding multitouch capabilities to phones running Android through software updates. Though the lawsuit singles out HTC, many patent lawyers and analysts say they believe Apple’s target is Google and the Android operating system, which the company gives away to cellphone manufacturers. “We can sit by and watch competitors steal our patented inventions, or we can do something about it. We’ve decided to do something about it,” said Steven P. Jobs, Apple’s chief executive, in a statement. “We think competition is healthy, but competitors should create their own original technology, not steal ours.” Apple and Google, once close allies, are now fighting for control of the market for smartphones, seen as the most important computing platform of the next decade. The battle has become emotional since last year, when HTC, Motorola and other phone makers began selling Android-based phones that offered a credible alternative to the iPhone. In that time, the two companies have competed to acquire several start-ups, and Eric E. Schmidt, Google’s chief executive, left Apple’s board. The lawsuit “is the opening shot in a war,” said Kevin Rivette, a patent lawyer and former vice president for intellectual property strategy at I.B.M. “Apple is island-hopping, attacking first the Asian companies. They want to break the Android tsunami.” In a statement, HTC said that it “values patent rights and their enforcement but is also committed to defending its own technology innovations.” The company said it had not yet had an opportunity to review Apple’s claims. HTC said Wednesday in Taipai that it did not believe the lawsuit posed a short-term material impact to its business or that it would affect its forecast for the first quarter of this year. However, we stand behind our Android operating system and the partners who have helped us to develop it.” The iPhone, introduced in 2007, was the first cellphone that largely did away with physical controls, turning the entire device into a finger-activated screen. Apple had to invent new visual cues and software tricks so users could operate such a device, and the result was a product that wowed customers and seemed unique in the marketplace. Other companies have sought to duplicate the technology, and similar touch-screen phones are available from Samsung, the BlackBerry maker Research In Motion and Google’s various partners, including HTC. In the high-tech world, with start-ups and individual inventors claiming innovations, patents can be easily invalidated by courts, and many companies have tried to avoid expensive and time-consuming legal battles. Broadcom and Qualcomm, two mobile component makers, sued each other for years over rights to wireless technology before settling last year. In October, Nokia sued Apple, claiming the iPhone infringed on 10 of its patents, and Apple countersued. Now Apple, with its patent portfolio relating to multitouch controls and other ways these complex phones operate, apparently believes it has the legal leverage to slow down Google and the spread of Android. Aside from multitouch, Apple says HTC also violated patents relating to how iPhone users can wake up their phones by swiping a finger over the image of a lock, and how users scroll through a list or document by dragging a finger down the screen. As with all patent cases, a decision or settlement could hinge on whether lawyers for HTC — and perhaps Google, if they decide to help — can find “prior art” that demonstrates Apple’s innovations were not all that novel. Palm sold touch-based mobile phones for years before the introduction of the iPhone, and is believed to have a large portfolio of patents. Synaptics, based in Santa Clara, Calif., is also a major owner of intellectual property related to touch screens. These companies, and others, may now become valuable acquisition targets as the big players look to improve their position in the coming legal battles and the inevitable countersuits. “Now, it’s fair to say the Apple technology works better than prior generations of technology, so there may well be inventions there.” Greg Aharonian, who runs the Internet Patent News Service, a site devoted to intellectual property news, said he believed that at least some of Apple’s patents would be found to be invalid. REUTERS/Christian Hartmann SAN FRANCISCO Apple Inc sued Taiwan's HTC Corp, which makes touchscreen smartphones using Google software, accusing it of infringing 20 hardware and software patents related to the iPhone. Even though the suit did not name Google Inc as a defendant, Apple's move was viewed by many analysts as proxy for an attack on the Internet company, whose Nexus One smartphone is manufactured by HTC. The complaint filed with the ITC cited Google's Nexus One, which was launched in January, and other HTC phones such as the Hero, Dream and myTouch -- which run on Google's Android mobile operating system -- as infringing products. "HTC values patent rights and their enforcement but is also committed to defending its own technology innovations," spokesman Keith Nowak said. Apple's move comes amid fierce competition in the smartphone market, as new players angle for a piece of the fast-growing segment. "HTC is an optimal target for Apple -- it's a relatively small vendor with a weak brand. One question here is whether Apple can intimidate operators to back away from new HTC products by flashing the possibility of litigation trouble." SMARTPHONE WARS Apple said HTC "knowingly induce(s) users of accused HTC Android products" to infringe on a number of Apple's patents, some dating back to the mid-1990s. The iPhone held a 14.4 percent smartphone market share in 2009, according to research group Gartner.
It was very controlled, and I don't think safety was compromised, nor should anyone be disciplined for this," said Pascoe, who is also a pilot. "JFK is highly supervised. The boy was apparently with his father - a certified air traffic controller. ... US officials are investigating how a child was apparently allowed to direct planes at New York's JFK airport - one of the country's busiest. 'Not indicative' incident The Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement: "Pending the outcome of our investigation, the employees involved in this incident are not controlling air traffic. The girl spoke to pilots of a JetBlue flight and an American Airlines flight. A recording from the following day, when the daughter was reportedly in the tower, was also posted on the Web site. "This behaviour is not acceptable and does not demonstrate the kind of professionalism expected from all FAA employees." The adult is later heard saying with a laugh: "That's what you get, guys, when the kids are out of school." The National Air Traffic Controllers Association said the incident was "not indicative of the highest professional standards that controllers set for themselves and exceed each and every day in the advancement of aviation safely". "Nobody in the aviation community felt like this was anything more than a noble thing, that a father would take his kid to work," he told CNN. Washington (CNN) -- An air traffic controller and his supervisor are under investigation because the controller allegedly brought his two small children into the control tower and allowed them to speak with pilots on an air traffic control frequency.
In the recording a child , who sounds seven or eight years old, can be heard saying to a pilot: "Jet Blue 171, cleared for takeoff". A man is then heard telling the plane: "Here's what you get, guys, when the kids are out of school." If the pilot was annoyed, he didn't let on. On the tape he chuckled and said, "Wish I could bring my kid to work." The same pilot later told the child he did an "awesome job". During the Feb 17 recording, captured by the website liveatc.com, the child also spoke to an Air Mexico flight, and signed off "Adios amigos". The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) investigation turned up a second incident on Feb 17, involving a younger girl. Both were believed to be the children of the tower controller. The girl spoke to pilots of a JetBlue flight and an American Airlines flight. "This behaviour is not acceptable and does not demonstrate the kind of professionalism expected from all FAA employees," it said in a statement. Kennedy handles more than 1,000 flights a day and 48 million passengers a year. Dave Pascoe, the owner of liveatc.com, which accumulates air traffic communications largely for the benefit of pilots, said the reaction was overblown. "Nobody in the aviation community felt like this was anything more than a noble thing, that a father would take his kid to work," he told CNN. "And when you listen to any of the recordings, the situation in the tower is very controlled. I don't think safety was compromised, nor should anyone be disciplined for this," said Mr Pascoe, who is also a pilot. Other experts said the controllers neglected their basic duty to avoid distractions to themselves or the cockpits. The National Air Traffic Controllers Association, the union representing controllers, said: "We do not condone this type of behaviour in any way. Last August nine people died when a small plane and a helicopter collided over the Hudson River in New York while a controller at Teterboro airport in New Jersey was on the phone to his girlfriend, although officials said the actions probably had no impact on the accident. Washington (CNN) -- An air traffic controller and his supervisor are under investigation because the controller allegedly brought his two small children into the control tower and allowed them to speak with pilots on an air traffic control frequency. The incidents occurred on succeeding days last month at New York's John F. Kennedy Airport, the Federal Aviation Administration said Wednesday. Both the controller and the supervisor have been placed on paid administrative leave. "This lapse in judgment not only violated FAA's own policies but common sense standards for professional conduct. "We have an incredible team of professionals who safely control our nation's skies every single day. This kind of behavior does not reflect the true caliber of our work force." Babbitt's statement concerned an incident that took place on February 16 involving the controller's young son, who is heard in a recording -- posted on liveatc.net -- clearing a Jet Blue flight for takeoff and later speaking to an apparent Air Mexico flight. Later, an FAA official who asked not to be identified because of the ongoing investigation said the controller brought his daughter into the same tower the following day, and the child was allowed to talk with pilots of two planes. A source familiar with the investigation said the supervisor "should be making sure that things like this don't happen." A separate source familiar with the investigation said the two children are twins. The controller and supervisor involved are both veteran employees, the official said. But Dave Pascoe owner of the Web site where recordings of the air traffic communications are posted, told CNN he believes the attention the incident has drawn is "ridiculous" and it has been "blown out of proportion." In one recording, a child can be heard saying, "JetBlue 171, cleared for takeoff." A man is then heard telling the plane, "Here's what you get, guys, when the kids are out of school." The pilot chuckles and says, "Wish I could bring my kid to work." The same pilot later tells the child, "Awesome job." A recording from the following day, when the daughter was reportedly in the tower, was also posted on the Web site. Pascoe said most people "in the aviation community felt like this was [not] anything more than a noble thing, that a father would take his kid to work. ... A father was taking a child to work and let the kid clear planes for takeoff, and now the world thinks it's an unsafe place."
My wife, Gill, had come with me. "The aid workers were fooled," he says. Money that was being channelled through the rebel side went to the party and to buy guns. But Mr Gebremedhin's version of events is supported by the TPLF's former commander, Aregawi Berhe. The Soviet Union had poured $4bn into Ethiopia, and provided Soviet officers to direct Ethiopia battles against the rebels. ETHIOPIA FAMINE Roughly one million Ethiopians died from results of famine Disaster exacerbated by civil war At the time, the Ethiopian government was fighting rebellions in the northern provinces of Eritrea and Tigray. Bookmark with: Delicious Digg reddit Facebook StumbleUpon What are these? Worthy objectives For years the rains had failed and by 1984 millions were starving. Editor's note (November 17, 2010): Following a complaint from the Band Aid Trust the BBC has investigated these statements and concluded that there was no evidence for them, and they should not have been broadcast. But perhaps they would not have saved so many lives if they had. I thought about just how isolated I had been - entirely dependent on the rebels who had taken me in. Food was brought in. "I remember Meles Zenawi suggesting that 50 per cent of that money should go to TPLF [Tigray People's Liberation Front] activities, 45 per cent should go to MLLT [Marxist-Leninist League of Tigray] organising and 5 per cent to support the victims." Its report concluded: "Some funds that insurgent organisations are raising for relief operations, as a result of increased world publicity, are almost certainly being diverted for military purposes."
On the trail of Ethiopia aid and guns Images of the famine in Ethiopia moved millions of people around the world to reach in to their pockets and donate to international aid efforts. But as Martin Plaut has been discovering, there is a disturbing allegation few would choose to confront. Roughly one million Ethiopians died from results of famine It was the early 1980s. The famine, which would soon devastate much of northern Ethiopia, was already evident. I had gone on the long, difficult journey through Sudan and into Eritrea with rebels who had been fighting the government for more than 20 years. As a nurse she was fascinated by the way the rebels were treating their injured, carrying out difficult operations in makeshift wards dug into the mountains. But now it was time for me to go up to the frontline and for her to go home. It was late at night, and I remember wondering to myself what I would say to her mother if anything went wrong as Gill got into one of the aid lorries rumbling their way back to Sudan. Sitting in a bunker, I had no idea where we were in this vast, arid landscape. I was entirely reliant on the rebels who had brought us in. Worthy objectives For years the rains had failed and by 1984 millions were starving. But, kickstarted by Michael Buerk's reports for the BBC, people responded as never before. Millions of dollars were raised. Many died, but the worst was averted. Then a year ago, I began hearing a different take. I was contacted by Ethiopians who said we had all missed the real story of how money given with such worthy objectives had ended up being used to buy weapons. Gun money Aregawi Berhe is the former army commander of the rebel movement that operated in the Ethiopian province of Tigray. Then he told me his version of what took place all those years ago - how the lightly-armed rebels he led took on the mighty Ethiopian army which had all the latest Soviet weaponry. He told me that as the money began flowing in to feed the starving, a bitter debate had taken place inside the rebel movement. Money that was being channelled through the rebel side went to the party and to buy guns He also explained how the aid money was diverted not just to buy weapons his troops needed, but also to build a hardline, Stalinist party - the Marxist Leninist League of Tigray. Money that was being channelled through the rebel side went to the party and to buy guns. In 1985, Aregawi told me, just 5% of $100m (£65m) they received went to the starving. It was an extraordinary tale, but perhaps Aregawi and his associates were just embittered men, trying to blacken the names of their former comrades? After all, Meles Zenawi went on to become Ethiopia's prime minister and served with distinction on the Commission for Africa set up by former British prime minister Tony Blair. The civil war in Ethiopia caused food shortages and exacerbated the famine Secret CIA reports So over the next months I spoke to people from Alaska to Australia, from Scandinavia to Palestine. Even former Ethiopian government officials, who had been on the government side of the conflict said they believed it was true. Was it significant that so many people refused to speak about these events, including civil servants, academics and politicians like Meles Zenawi? It became clear that 25 years on, this was still a subject too sensitive to be discussed openly. He is an aid consultant, who had carried nearly $500,000 (£331,000) in local currency into Tigray to buy surplus grain to feed the starving. I pointed out that he had been entirely reliant on the rebels to take him in, and that their Marxist-Leninist ideology ran counter to every notion of an independent aid operation. Max Peberdy (R) with a merchant who now says he was in fact a rebel I also explained that he had been unable to monitor the distribution of aid in the Ethiopian highlands that were the scenes of the most intense fighting. Second weekly edition on Thursdays, 1100 (some weeks only) World Service: See programme schedules Download the podcast Listen on iPlayer Story by story at the programme website Bookmark with: Delicious Digg reddit Facebook StumbleUpon What are these? Geldof rejects claims Live Aid was duped Updated Irish rock star Bob Geldof has rejected claims from an ex Ethiopian rebel commander, who says most of the money raised at Live Aid was used to buy weapons for rebel militants.
He was very calm, no distress. Hill said. "No one else was injured." It wasn't Bedell's first blowout with his brother. At a news conference Friday morning, Keevill, the Pentagon police chief, said Pentagon and Metro cameras of the area show the gunman in the time leading up to the shooting. The wounds to the two officers did not appear serious. The man in the video is the same man shown in a photograph of the shooter released Friday by the FBI. The family told authorities that he had a "history of mental illness." About 26,000 people work there, according to the Defense Department. In the missing person report filed in January, Bedell's father said he worked in the San Jose area but that he did not know where. John Patrick Bedell, 36, died at the hospital Thursday night after Pentagon police returned fire. A third officer apparently also shot at the suspect. In an Internet posting, JPatrickBedell referred to being arrested in 2006 on marijuana charges. "They'd just been told that those exits had been closed as well and that the building was locked down." Through podcasts and a Wikipedia page, a man identified online as JPatrickBedell cast the government as a criminal force destroying personal liberties. John Patrick Bedell repeatedly tangled with police in recent months, while his relationship with his parents -- whom he lived with in a gated community in Northern California -- grew increasingly contentious. A DARPA spokesperson would not confirm whether the proposal was received, saying the agency could legally comment only on proposals it funded.
The gunman who charged into one of the Pentagon's main entrances and opened fire has died from gunshot wounds to the head and authorities are looking into his recent rants against the government as a potential motive. John Patrick Bedell, 36, died at the hospital Thursday night after Pentagon police returned fire. Police told ABC News that the two police officers wounded in the shooting have been released from the hospital after suffering minor injuries. They are now on administrative leave pending the investigation of the incident, police said. Play The attack seems to be another suicide mission aimed at the government. While police have said they are not certain of a motive, they are investigating Internet postings in which Bedell wrote and recorded audio expressing his anger toward the government. "The moral values of individuals and communities are increasingly attacked by a political system where deceit is routine and accepted and the only standard is power," he said in the online video. Authorities say Bedell's had brushes with the law in the past and his Internet musing mentioned charges for marijuana possession as a reference to the government's intervention in his life. The shooting came just weeks after Joe Stack flew his plane into the IRS office in Austin, Texas, after leaving a lengthy manifesto in which he told the IRS to "take my pound of flesh and sleep well." Bedell opened fire at 6:40 p.m. Thursday after officers asked him for an access pass, police said. "It came at the time of night when thousands of Pentagon employees were trying to leave the building at one of the Pentagon's main entrances," ABC News correspondent Martha Raddatz told "Good Morning America's" George Stephanopoulos. As a building-wide announcement notified workers that the Metro had been locked down, employees began trying to make their way to various exits only to find each one blocked. "I headed towards one of those exits as the building operations center is located nearby. "They'd just been told that those exits had been closed as well and that the building was locked down." The officers that were shot, he said, were manning an open-air checkpoint where people with badges can walk in without having to go through security. He was carrying two 9 mm semi-automatic guns and many magazines of ammunition, according to police. Police also confirmed today that a second individual taken into custody was only briefly detained and was released after authorities determined that he had nothing to do with the incident. In response to a question, police said there was no need to change the police training procedures because the Fort Hood shooting last year "put us on notice this could even happen at a military reservation." He said police had the appropriate training and procedure in place and doesn't foresee a change "in how we do business." Initially, hundreds of employees at the Pentagon were ordered to go into "Code Red" -- the entire building locked down, with no one allowed to enter or leave. Service to the station resumed around 8 p.m. Thursday, according to a statement by Metro officials, though parts of the facility will remain closed as it is "a very complicated crime scene" with a lot of bullets, according to police. This is not the first case of a fatal Pentagon shooting, Keevill said, adding that in the late 1980's a person with mental issues came on the reservation and shot a Naval officer, but "that was many years ago before 9/11." The Pentagon Metro station stop is a couple of hundred feet from the famous five-sided building, which was hit by a passenger jet during the 9/11 terror attacks. People leaving the station who wish to enter the Pentagon must show ID to Pentagon police in order to get close to the building. Arlington, Virginia (CNN) -- The man who authorities say shot and wounded two police officers outside the Pentagon Thursday before he was fatally shot had a history of mental health problems and a penchant for spouting anti-government conspiracy theories. "There's a history of mental health problems with him that the family's been dealing with for a number of years," San Benito County, California, Sheriff Curtis Hill said Friday. That man's birth date matches the one authorities gave for the Pentagon shooter. Two months ago, Bedell's parents filed a missing person report about him, although he returned and the report was canceled two weeks later, Hill said. Bedell's mother had also come across "some information -- either from an e-mail received from a company, or an online posting on a bank account or something -- where on the 10th of January he had made a $600 purchase at a shooting range in the Sacramento area in California," Hill said. Bedell "was very well dressed in a suit" and showed "no distress in his appearance" as he approached a screening area to enter Pentagon grounds about 6:40 p.m. Thursday evening, Pentagon Police Chief Richard S. Keevill said. On the social networking Web site LinkedIn, a profile page for a J. Patrick Bedell in the San Francisco Bay Area -- where Bedell's family lives -- described him as an "MSEE student," short for Master of Science in Electrical Engineering.
We are so concerned about her. He said Annette Buckland, 45, from Blackwood, who works in the shop, brought the baby inside, took him out of the bag and lay him on a chiller while a customer phoned 999. "It was shocking. Police say they are "extremely concerned" about the mother's health. "We would also appeal to anyone who may have been in the vicinity of the Spar store... who may have seen something to contact us immediately." I just thought it was clothes underneath and didn't want to root through them Gursewak Singh, shop owner, on finding the bag He added: "In the evening I went out to it and opened it, only saw a towel on top and didn't look thoroughly. We need these people to come forward." Officers took the baby to the Royal Gwent Hospital A newborn boy has died after being abandoned at the back of a shop in Cwmcarn, Gwent Police have announced. Caerphilly superintendent John Burley also appealed for witnesses after the discovery at 1815 GMT on Thursday. Someone must know who the mother is as, until recently, this lady would have been heavily pregnant Supt Jon Burley, Gwent Police The photographs of items include: • A bath size towel bought from Dunelm. He was not breathing or making any sound and the operator gave instructions for CPR (cardio-pulmonary resuscitation). E-mail this to a friend Printable version Please turn on JavaScript. ''This is a tragic incident which will sadden the local community and our priority at the moment is finding the mother of the baby.
Photos of clothes to try to trace dead baby's mother Detectives trying to trace the mother of an abandoned newborn baby who died have released photographs of his clothing and towels used to wrap him. Gwent Police are appealing for help to trace the mother of the boy, who was found behind a Spar store in Cwmcarn, in Caerphilly county, on Thursday. The baby was no more than 24 hours old, but a post-mortem examination has been inconclusive. Police say they are "extremely concerned" about the mother's health. "Perhaps if you have recently bought a present for an expectant mother and recognise the items please get in touch," said Supt Jon Burley. Someone must know who the mother is as, until recently, this lady would have been heavily pregnant Supt Jon Burley, Gwent Police The photographs of items include: • A bath size towel bought from Dunelm. The towel is white with a gingerbread man and heart design on it • A blue and white striped long sleeve top, with buttons at the neck, aged 3-6 months from Next (this is part of a three-piece set) • An orange beach towel manufactured by Arencibia, an outlet based on Gran Canaria • A George orange vest top, size 14 Mr Burley said: "The orange towel could have been brought back from a holiday and, if anyone knows a woman or girl who owns an orange vest top and wears a size 14, we would appeal for them to get in touch." "Someone must know who the mother is as, until recently, this lady would have been heavily pregnant. The baby was discovered in a lane by the son of the owner of the shop, Gursewak Singh, about 10 miles (16km) from Newport. Mr Singh said he [Mr Singh] had seen a Next carrier bag near the back of his shop on Thursday, but thought it was gym kit belonging to a patron of the nearby boxing club. He said: "We asked friends and colleagues what the bag was doing there, but it didn't belong to anyone. "A boy who works with us said it was just a towel in there and he didn't open it. I just thought it was clothes underneath and didn't want to root through them Gursewak Singh, shop owner, on finding the bag He added: "In the evening I went out to it and opened it, only saw a towel on top and didn't look thoroughly. "At about six o'clock there was a power cut and my 14-year-old son went out and picked up the bag and opened it and saw a little head in there. "He called his uncle and said: 'It's not clothes, come and look'. He said Annette Buckland, 45, from Blackwood, who works in the shop, brought the baby inside, took him out of the bag and lay him on a chiller while a customer phoned 999. Mr Singh said it was raining and the baby, who looked like he had not been cleaned up since the birth, was blue. "I'm worried what sort of condition the person who left the bag is in. Officers took the baby to the Royal Gwent Hospital A newborn boy has died after being abandoned at the back of a shop in Cwmcarn, Gwent Police have announced. The baby, found wrapped in a towel at the rear of the village's Spar store, was taken to the Royal Gwent Hospital, Newport but pronounced dead on arrival. Police are "extremely concerned" about the mother's health and urged her to come forward for medical assistance.
ACORN has denied the allegations. "ACORN has faced a series of well-orchestrated, relentless, well-funded right wing attacks," the group said in a statement announcing the moves. The community organizing group Acorn announced Monday that it would close all its remaining state affiliates and field offices by April 1. A separate embezzlement scandal also damaged the group's credibility. Acorn employees were shown in the videos advising two young conservative activists — posing as a pimp and a prostitute — how to conceal their criminal activities. Newly formed, unaffiliated organizations have taken up some of the same work -- such as providing housing assistance to the poor -- with many of the same people and the same private funding sources, the source said. In reaction to the videos, the Census Bureau ended its partnership with the organization for this year’s census, the Internal Revenue Service dropped the group from its Voluntary Income Tax Assistance program, and Congress voted to cut off all grants to the organization. And on March 10, U.S. District Judge Nina Gershon declared unconstitutional the law blacklisting ACORN and allied organizations from receiving federal funds, according to ACORN. (Reporting by Andrew Stern; Editing by Peter Cooney) The video led to the employees being fired. In 2008, Republican groups seized on allegations of voter registration fraud by the group in Florida and several other states, claiming its workers were trying to push the election in Barack Obama's favor. It can't be taken seriously." Our effective work empowering African-American and low-income voters made us a target. The announcement came a day after the board of the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now met and approved the steps required "to responsibly manage the process of bringing its operations to a close over the coming months," an ACORN statement read.
The community organizing group Acorn announced Monday that it would close all its remaining state affiliates and field offices by April 1. The organization is “developing a plan to resolve all outstanding debts, obligations and other issues,” said a statement released by the group. Acorn has been battered by criticism from the right and has lost federal money and private donations since a video sting was publicized last fall. Acorn employees were shown in the videos advising two young conservative activists — posing as a pimp and a prostitute — how to conceal their criminal activities. In reaction to the videos, the Census Bureau ended its partnership with the organization for this year’s census, the Internal Revenue Service dropped the group from its Voluntary Income Tax Assistance program, and Congress voted to cut off all grants to the organization. (CNN) -- The community organizing group ACORN announced Monday it is closing its operations amid falling revenues. The announcement came a day after the board of the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now met and approved the steps required "to responsibly manage the process of bringing its operations to a close over the coming months," an ACORN statement read. The group's remaining state affiliates and field offices will close by April 1, and a plan will be developed to pay its debts, the statement said. "ACORN's members have a great deal to be proud of -- from promoting homeownership to helping rebuild New Orleans, from raising wages to winning safer streets, from training community leaders to promoting voter participation -- ACORN members have worked hard to create stronger communities, a more inclusive democracy and a more just nation," it said. The 40-year-old liberal group was crippled by scandal six months ago when a pair of conservative activists posing as a pimp and a prostitute secretly videotaped two ACORN employees appearing to give them advice about setting up a prostitution ring and evading the IRS. "For ACORN as a national organization, our vindication on the facts doesn't necessarily pay the bills. I know that ACORN's dedicated community members will continue to speak out for justice and organize in their communities." ACORN's announcement was welcomed by Matthew Vadum, senior editor of the Capital Research Center, a conservative think tank based in Washington. "I won't be shedding any tears," said Vadum, who said he has been studying the organization for years and written extensively on the organization. "ACORN is a thoroughly corrupt organization that abuses taxpayer dollars and breaks the law at every opportunity. He added in a telephone interview, "For ACORN to claim that it's a victim of McCarthyism, as I've seen CEO Bertha Lewis do repeatedly, doesn't even pass the laugh test. In 2008, Republican groups seized on allegations of voter registration fraud by the group in Florida and several other states, claiming its workers were trying to push the election in Barack Obama's favor. Founded in 1970, ACORN called itself "the nation's largest grassroots community organization of low- and moderate-income people."
thanks. >>> now for the coverage of “But, as I’ve said, violence and threats are unacceptable. "That's not the American way," Boehner said. Authors: House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer wants Republicans to speak out against violence aimed at Democratic colleagues. A Republican aide also pointed out that over the years Republican members of Congress received their fair share of death threats during volatile times. pete williams on the case for us in our washington newsroom. (Posted by Michael Winter) The FBI and local police are investigating threats directed at House Democrats following passage of the health care bill, Majority Leader Steny Hoyer told reporters earlier today. We need to take that anger and channel it into positive change. Our democracy is about differing and debate, and animated debate and passionate debate — but it is not about violence," he added. Nothing quite does that like a good face-to-face chat. while some house members say they are worried about the safety of their spouses back home, others don't feel threatened. Authorities in western New York are investigating bricks thrown through the windows of the Niagara Falls district office of House Rules Committee Chairwoman Louise Slaughter. “I would hope that we would join together jointly and make it very clear that none of us condone this kind of activity,” Hoyer told reporters. The Maryland Democrat said more than 10 House Democrats have reported incidents of threats or other forms of harassment about their support of the highly divisive health insurance overhaul vote. In Virginia, the FBI and local law enforcement are looking into who cut a propane line to a gas grill at the Charlottesville home of the brother of Rep. Tom Perriello.
>>> we have more tonight on the threats that have come in against some members of congress since this bill passed. police and the fbi are looking into the e-mails, phone calls and vandalism that have been reported by democrats and republicans , some serious business. our justice correspondent pete williams following it all day from our washington newsroom. >> reporter: brian, it's getting hard to separate the policing from the politics. while members of congress argue about what's behind these threats, the fbi is working to find out how many of them are actually serious. in new york city today, hazmat crews responded to the office of democratic congressman anthony weiner who received an envelope containing suspicious white powder. republicans condemned the incidents and threats and rejected any claim their actions or rhetoric were in any way to blame. >> threats and violence should not be part of a political debate . there are ways for people to channel their anger, and they should do it in a constructive way. >> reporter: in fact, republicans said they had threatening calls, too, like this one to congresswoman jean schmidt of ohio. >> reporter: republican eric cantor of virginia said someone shot at the building where he held his campaigning office. >> reporter: at the u.s. capitol police were told to be extra vigilant, but law enforcement officials say the number of serious death threats is quite saw, and something a few of the windows might have been broken response to an apple blogger who encouraged such conduct last friday, "if you wish to send a message pelosi and her party cannot fail to hear, break their windows." while some house members say they are worried about the safety of their spouses back home, others don't feel threatened. >> reporter: the fbi is working these cases aggressively, hoping to discourage copycats and get caught up with the partisan warfare. The FBI and local police are investigating threats directed at House Democrats following passage of the health care bill, Majority Leader Steny Hoyer told reporters earlier today. Hoyer said that he did not know the exact number but estimated "more than 10" Democrats had received some kind of threat or harassment. He added that some posters depict a lawmaker's face in the crosshairs of a target. "The incidents of threats whether in person or through telephones or through other communication devices have given great concern to members, for the safety of themselves and their families," Hoyer said at a briefing. "It is about making sure that everybody in America feels free to express their opinion ... without subjecting themselves, their family or others to behavior, and frankly criminal behavior, in some respects, that undermines our democracy." House Republican leader John Boehner of Ohio said in a statement that while many Americans are angry over passage of the health care bill, "violence and threats are unacceptable." "That's not the American way," Boehner said. "We need to take that anger and channel it into positive change." Authorities in western New York are investigating bricks thrown through the windows of the Niagara Falls district office of House Rules Committee Chairwoman Louise Slaughter. "The man doing it said it was because it will prevent civil war," she said today. In Virginia, the FBI and local law enforcement are looking into who cut a propane line to a gas grill at the Charlottesville home of the brother of Rep. Tom Perriello. Lynchburg "Tea Party" member Mike Troxel claimed responsibility for posting the address, which he thought was the congressman's. He urged voters to drop by for "a good face-to-face chat" to "express their thanks" for his vote for the overhaul. "Just in case any of his friends and neighbors want to drop by and say hi and express their thanks regarding his vote for health care," he wrote. "I personally believe it's so important for representatives to remain fully grounded and to remember exactly what it is their constituents are saying and how they are telling them to vote. Hoyer: Members are at risk House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer is warning that some of his Democratic colleagues are being threatened with violence when they go back to their districts — and he wants Republicans to stand up and condemn the threats. Story Continued Below The Federal Bureau of Investigation, Capitol Police and sergeant at arms briefed Democrats behind closed doors today about the incidents of violence — the most high profile of which have been toward Democratic Reps. Thomas Perriello of Virginia, Steve Driehaus of Ohio and Louise Slaughter of New York.
Police, Camera, Action! It was beaten by EastEnders. ITV said today that the series was being axed to reflect the changing tastes of viewers, but pledged to continue investing in "high-quality drama". The show's storylines were tweaked to take account of the new post-watershed slot. At one stage The Bill was being screened three times a week. Audiences have slipped from around seven million viewers five years ago to under four million in recent months. "But television is television, isn't it? The show - set in the fictional Sun Hill - was given a major revamp last year to win back viewers but audiences have fallen steadily in recent years. Whilst The Bill will come to an end in 2010, we will continue to invest more in drama programming than any other commercial broadcaster in the UK and viewers can look forward to a wide range of high quality drama on ITV1." Peter Fincham, ITV director of television, said: ''The Bill has been a fixture on our screens for more than 25 years and has been the home of some of the UK's best serial drama storylines, and a great showcase for terrific scriptwriting and fine acting talent. "I actually remember thinking the first time I went out in uniform, is it going to be two minutes or ten minutes before the first fight, and fairly often nothing very much happened at all. The move, which will see the show end this year, was said to be a creative decision rather than simply to save costs. Future new commissions include a serial in development from novelist Anthony Horowitz, who created the Alex Rider books and also wrote both Collision and Foyle's War.
Long-running show The Bill to be axed by ITV in autumn after revamp and switch to new 9pm slot fail to revive ratings The Bill, one of the UK's longest-running TV dramas, is to be dropped by ITV in the autumn after 27 years, MediaGuardian.co.uk can reveal. ITV has taken the decision to axe the police drama after last year's revamp and switch to a new 9pm slot failed to halt a long-term ratings decline. The Bill was moved last year from being aired twice a week at 8pm on ITV1 to a single slot on Thursdays at 9pm. The show's storylines were tweaked to take account of the new post-watershed slot. However, ratings for the show have failed to pick up. In 2002 the show averaged more that 7 million viewers, while more recently audiences been about 3.5 million. Talkback Thames, the independent producer which makes the show, said that it would now enter a consultation process with staff that work on The Bill and was expecting a "significant number of redundancies". The broadcaster said that the decision to drop the series was made as part of a creative rethink of its drama schedule, which has seen the development of popular short run shows such as Collision and Above Suspicion, and not on cost-cutting grounds. ITV intends to use the multimillion-pound saving from axing The Bill to create shorter run drama series for the 9pm slot with projects in the works including a new medical series with writer Peter Bowker and a new series from Collision and Foyle's War writer Anthony Horowitz. "The Bill has been a fixture on our screens for more than 25 years and has been the home of some of the UK's best serial drama storylines, and a great showcase for terrific scriptwriting and fine acting talent," said Peter Fincham, the ITV director of television, channels and online. Whilst The Bill will come to an end in 2010, we will continue to invest more in drama programming than any other commercial broadcaster in the UK and viewers can look forward to a wide range of high quality drama on ITV1." In the current economic climate the chances of The Bill being picked up by another broadcaster seems slim, with one source describing the costly show as "a victim of circumstance". After a quarter of a century on ITV, a rival broadcaster would also find it difficult to "own" the show. "We are devastated that after 26 successful years on ITV, The Bill will be coming to an end," said Lorraine Heggessey, chief executive of Talkback Thames. It is a credit to everyone who has worked on The Bill that the series will be signing out on a creative and editorial high with both critical and industry-wide acclaim and a loyal fan base who have supported the show throughout." The Bill grew out of a single drama called Woodentop, broadcast on ITV in 1983, which followed a day in the life of young PC Jim Carver, played by Mark Wingett, who stayed with the show until 2005, with his character rising to become a detective sergeant. Named after writer Geoff McQueen's first idea of a title "Old Bill", The Bill first aired in 1984 and went on to become one of British TV's longest-running dramas. The show is based around the fictional Sun Hill police station in east London, with filming taking place at various locations across the capital's southern suburbs, as well as on the main set in Merton. • If you are writing a comment for publication, please mark clearly "for publication". Long-running police drama The Bill is to be axed by ITV after more than a quarter of a century, it was announced today. The show - set in the fictional Sun Hill - was given a major revamp last year to win back viewers but audiences have fallen steadily in recent years. ITV said today that the series was being axed to reflect the changing tastes of viewers, but pledged to continue investing in "high-quality drama". The move, which will see the show end this year, was said to be a creative decision rather than simply to save costs. Audiences have slipped from around seven million viewers five years ago to under four million in recent months. Peter Fincham, ITV director of television, said: "The Bill has been a fixture on our screens for more than 25 years and has been the home of some of the UK's best serial drama storylines, and a great showcase for terrific scriptwriting and fine acting talent. "Thanks to a superb production team, it's been one of the great institutions of television drama. "Whilst The Bill will come to an end in 2010, we will continue to invest more in drama programming than any other commercial broadcaster in the UK and viewers can look forward to a wide range of high-quality drama on ITV1." Last year ITV bosses refocused the show to create a one-hour episode screened after the 9pm watershed. ITV1 has been concentrating on shorter run dramas such as this year's Collision which drew more than seven million viewers when it was screened over five nights. MP David Davies, who has worked as a Special Constable with the British Transport Police, said today he felt The Bill reflected police work more accurately than shows such as Police, Camera, Action! "My experience, which isn't as extensive as a regular serving police officer, is that you go days without anything happening and then suddenly it all happens at once, but is over in five minutes, and television never seems to convey that very well.
Lee, a special correspondent, reported from Seoul. The South Korean vessel alleged that the North Korean vessel had crossed the disputed sea border - a charge North Korea denied. There was no sign of the North's military in the area where the ship sank, Yonhap said citing officials. "Marines on deck were desperately shouting: 'Save me!"' The military earlier said 58 sailors were rescued from near Baengnyeong island by several navy and coastguard vessels. The Cheonan began sinking at about 2130 local time (1230 GMT) on Friday. Past engagements or provocations occurred within a one-mile radius of the Northern Limit Line. Six naval ships, two coast guard vessels and rescue helicopters raced to the area. E-mail this to a friend Printable version There were initial reports that another South Korean ship had fired shots toward an unidentified vessel, but officials later speculated the target had been a flock of birds. North Korea did not immediately comment on the explosion. Lee convened an emergency meeting of security officials, and the military activated an emergency task force. Bookmark with: Delicious Digg reddit Facebook StumbleUpon What are these? International talks aimed at ending the communist nation's nuclear ambitions have been stalled for months. The AP news agency quotes an unnamed coast guard official as saying that humans could only survive in the Yellow Sea at this time of year for about two hours. "I was trapped in the cabin for five minutes before my colleagues broke the window in and let me out. Deadly naval clashes happened in 1999 and in 2002 and the latest in November 2009 when a fire-fight left a North Korean patrol boat in flames and one person dead.
The ship was carrying about 100 personnel About 40 sailors are missing after a South Korean navy ship sank near the border with North Korea, Yonhap news agency said citing military officials. The patrol vessel, with 104 people aboard, sank after an unexplained explosion tore through its hull. Several sailors also died, officials are quoted saying as divers prepared to return to the scene after daybreak. South Korean officials played down earlier reports that it may have been the result of an attack by North Korea. There was no sign of the North's military in the area where the ship sank, Yonhap said citing officials. The military earlier said 58 sailors were rescued from near Baengnyeong island by several navy and coastguard vessels. South Korean President Lee Myung-bak, who had convened an emergency meeting of security officials, had ordered the military to focus on rescuing the sailors, Yonhap news agency reported. The police force was put on heightened alert in the capital, Seoul. The Cheonan, a 1,200-tonne corvette, began sinking about 2130 local time (1230 GMT) on Friday, after an explosion, the South Korean Navy said. A South Korean presidential spokeswoman said it was premature to say what caused the Cheonan to sink. Strained ties There were reports that another South Korean ship had fired shots toward an unidentified ship in the North following the alleged torpedo attack. One report, quoting the joint chiefs of staff, said the target turned out to be a flock of birds. PREVIOUS CLASHES 2009: One North Korean sailor killed in a naval battle 2002: Four South Korean sailors and an estimated 30 North Koreans killed in a naval battle 1999: At least 17 North Korean sailors believed killed in naval fire fight 1998: South Korea captures a North Korean mini-submarine in its waters 1996: A North Korean submarine runs aground in South Korean waters The apparent clash comes at a time of tension between the two Koreas. International talks aimed at ending the communist nation's nuclear ambitions have been stalled for months. The disputed sea boundary itself has seen numerous incidents, most recently in January and February. In January, North Korea fired artillery into the sea near the disputed maritime border, as part of a "military drill". South Korea returned fire, but no injuries were reported. The following month, North Korea declared four areas near the sea border to be naval firing zones, according to the South Korean military, and deployed multiple rocket launchers close to the frontier. Deadly naval clashes happened in 1999 and in 2002 and the latest in November 2009 when a fire-fight left a North Korean patrol boat in flames and one person dead. The South Korean vessel alleged that the North Korean vessel had crossed the disputed sea border - a charge North Korea denied. South Korea recognises the Northern Limit Line, drawn unilaterally by the US-led United Nations Command to demarcate the sea border at the end of the 1950-53 Korean War. TOKYO -- A South Korean naval ship sank early Saturday after an explosion tore a hole in its bottom near a disputed sea border with North Korea. Rescuers pulled 58 crew members, including the captain, from the ship before it sank, but more than 40 others are missing. The Seoul government did not blame North Korea for the incident, which occurred in an area of the Yellow Sea where three North-South naval skirmishes have occurred in the past decade. A spokeswoman for President Lee Myung-bak said the government is withholding judgment about the cause of the explosion, pending further investigation. "Finding the truth [behind the incident] is important, but saving our soldiers is more important," Lee said, according to the Yonhap news agency. The ship, a 1,200-ton frigate built in 1989, was on a routine patrol mission with 104 crew members on board. South Korean naval ships fired shots in the direction of North Korea toward unidentified objects that appeared on radar, according to the president's office, which added that the objects may have been a flock of birds. But earlier Friday, its military had threatened possible strikes, including a nuclear attack, over reports that the United States and South Korea were making contingency plans for possible instability in the North. In those incidents, North Korea's aging naval ships have taken a pounding from South Korea's far more modern and better-armed vessels. Advertisement South Korea's navy is continuing its search for 46 sailors missing after Friday's explosion sank their ship, but hopes are fading of finding survivors.
REUTERS/K. They were well-equipped," he said of the attackers. We carried out the attack on their consulate in Peshawar. The U.S. Embassy said Monday's attacks reflected the militants' desperation. In 2006, a US diplomat was killed by a suicide car bomber near the US consulate in Karachi, days before a visit to Pakistan by then US President George W Bush. "More blasts took place. The Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility for both attacks. Security forces cordon off the site of a bomb attack near the U.S. consulate in Peshawar April 5, 2010. These people are brain-washed for political and personal gains. Hundreds of the participants had gathered for a rally to change the name of the province to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. "I saw attackers in two vehicles. Pakistani police officer Ghulam Hussain told AFP news agency: "One of the suicide bombers blew himself up close to the gate. Peshawar is about 75 miles (120 kilometers) from Islamabad, the country's capital. Taliban spokesman Azam Tariq said his group had carried out the raid. The party, which heads a coalition government in the province, wants the area's name to reflect its majority Pashtun population. Please turn on JavaScript. Militants have attacked ANP gatherings before. Another reason could be to try to ease military pressure on militants in Orakzai tribal district, where the Pakistani security forces launched a major operation last week. The consulates should be moved outside the city because they have blocked the main entrance to the city, forcing people to have to take the long route. The long-awaited constitutional amendments, which will also transfer President Asif Ali Zardari's sweeping powers to the prime minister, are due to be taken up in the National Assembly on Tuesday.
Islamabad, Pakistan (CNN) -- A terrorist attack near the U.S. Consulate in Peshawar, Pakistan, killed two consulate security guards and at least six others Monday, authorities said. The two consulate employees who died were Pakistani, the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad said, and "a number of others were seriously wounded." At least eight people were killed in all, a government official said. The coordinated attack involved a vehicle suicide bomb and attackers who tried to enter the consulate by using grenades and weapons fire, the U.S. Embassy said in a statement. The blasts in the capital of the North West Frontier Province came hours after a suicide attack killed at least 30 people and wounded 50 others in another part of the province. The Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility for both attacks. In a phone call to CNN, Azam Tariq, spokesman for Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan, said the group was behind the attacks in Peshawar and Dir. The U.S. Embassy, in its statement, said the two attacks reflect "the terrorists' desperation as they are rejected by people throughout Pakistan." Peshawar is about 75 miles (120 kilometers) from Islamabad, the country's capital. Bashir Ahmad Bilour, a senior provincial minister, told reporters at the scene that several militants came in two vehicles. The first vehicle exploded near a security checkpoint, and gunmen in the second car opened fire. The dead included two Pakistani security personnel working for the U.S. Consulate, one policeman, two civilians and three unidentified bodies, said Karim Khan, a senior police official in Peshawar. The three explosions went off within a span of 15 minutes in the area of Saddar and Hayatabad Avenue, near the American consulate and the Peshawar headquarters of Pakistan's intelligence agency, which was the target of a deadly car bomb attack in November. The North West Frontier Province is rife with Islamic extremists and has been the site of recent clashes between Pakistani security forces and militants. Monday's earlier suicide attack took place at a rally for the province's ruling Awami National Party in Timargarah in the lower Dir district, said lawmaker Mehmood Zeb Khan. The bomber walked into the government building where the meeting was going on and blew himself up, said provincial spokesman Mian Iftikhar Hussain. The party, which heads a coalition government in the province, wants the area's name to reflect its majority Pashtun population. A bill to amend the constitution in support of the name change was expected to be introduced in parliament on Monday. Advertisement At least seven people have died after militants attacked the US consulate in the north-western Pakistani city of Peshawar. A gun battle between police and the attackers followed. Pakistan's main Taliban faction said it had carried out the raid. The raid came hours after 43 people died in a suicide attack about 80 km (50 miles) north-east of Peshawar. 'Great concern' Investigators suspect it was co-ordinated with the Peshawar attack, in which police told the BBC four militants and three security personnel died. Americans are our enemies - we plan more attacks Azam Tariq Taliban spokesman In pictures: Peshawar attacks 'Suicide bomb' at Pakistan rally Who are the Taliban? There were no reported US casualties and it is not clear if the US consulate building suffered any damage. The militants struck close to Shama Square, a major crossroads at the northern end of Peshawar's cantonment area, near the US consulate. There are also some army barracks and offices of the army's military intelligence close by. Vehicles ablaze An Associated Press reporter at the scene said two of the explosions were just 20m from the consulate, which is in a heavily fortified area. Pakistani police officer Ghulam Hussain told AFP news agency: "One of the suicide bombers blew himself up close to the gate. These have been co-ordinated assaults, with several gunmen moving in alongside suicide bombers to force their way into a facility - this time the "prized" US consulate. Another reason could be to try to ease military pressure on militants in Orakzai tribal district, where the Pakistani security forces launched a major operation last week. America's presence in Afghanistan and US drone strikes on militant targets in Pakistan's tribal areas make the US a top target for the Taliban.
It, too, is fired upon. Advertisement WikiLeaks has posted a video on its website which it claims shows the killing of civilians by the US military in Baghdad in 2007. The transmissions says of one of the individuals: "He's got an RPG [rocket-propelled grenade]. Looks like a kid." A spokeswoman for the news agency said they were not sure if the individuals in the footage included those two Reuters journalists. Please turn on JavaScript. The WikiLeaks site campaigns for freedom of information and posts leaked documents online. Advertisement The US military is reviewing a video of a controversial helicopter attack on a group of people in Iraq in 2007, officials say. It is accompanied by a recording of the pilots' radio transmissions and those of US troops on the ground. He criticises Wikileaks for selectively highlighting aspects of the footage and ignoring other aspects showing armed men: Between 3:13 and 3:30 it is quite clear to me, as both a former infantry sergeant and a photographer, that the two men central to the gun-camera's frame are carrying photographic equipment. Media requires JavaScript to play. So far there has been no official Pentagon response. An earlier probe into the case cleared the helicopter crew of any war crimes. A few minutes later a van drives to the scene, and its occupants appear to start picking up a wounded person. "I would welcome a thorough new investigation. When the site posted a secret list of websites blacklisted by the German government, including several child pornography sites, the student who ran the German WikiLeaks site was arrested for disseminating kiddie porn.
Please turn on JavaScript. Advertisement The US military is reviewing a video of a controversial helicopter attack on a group of people in Iraq in 2007, officials say. The review comes after footage of the attack was published online by the website WikiLeaks, gaining 4.1 million YouTube viewings. There are, however, no plans to reopen an investigation into the case, a US Central Command spokesman says. An earlier probe into the case cleared the helicopter crew of any war crimes. "Military attorneys are looking at it," a US official, who spoke under condition of anonymity, was quoted as saying by AFP news agency. Reuters photographer Namir Noor-Eldeen, 22, and his driver and assistant Saeed Chmagh, 40, were both killed in the attack when their cameras were mistaken for weapons, US officials say. "Wikileaks has had more scoops in three years than the Washington Post has had in 30," tweets the internet guru Clay Shirky, and he has a point. The latest and perhaps the most famous (or infamous) is the graphic video Wikileaks unveiled this week of a US Army attack in Iraq in 2007 that left 12 people dead, including two employees of Reuters. The US magazine Mother Jones has an profile of the secret-busting site: WikiLeaks' commitment to what might be called extreme transparency also means that it won't turn away documents that have questionable news value or are just plain dishy. It's posted Sarah Palin's hacked emails and Wesley Snipes' tax returns, as well as fraternity initiation manuals and a trove of secret Scientology manuals. "We never censor," [founder Julian] Assange declares. In 2008, after WikiLeaks posted documents alleging money laundering at the Swiss bank Julius Baer, the firm unsuccessfully tried to shut down its California servers. When the site posted a secret list of websites blacklisted by the German government, including several child pornography sites, the student who ran the German WikiLeaks site was arrested for disseminating kiddie porn. The blogosphere has had a lot to say about the Collateral Murder video, with some ex-military bloggers being highly critical, including former US soldier Anthony Martinez, who claims to have logged thousands of hours watching similar live video feeds during his tours in Iraq. He criticises Wikileaks for selectively highlighting aspects of the footage and ignoring other aspects showing armed men: Between 3:13 and 3:30 it is quite clear to me, as both a former infantry sergeant and a photographer, that the two men central to the gun-camera's frame are carrying photographic equipment. At 3:39, the men central to the frame are armed, the one on the far left with some AK variant, and the one in the center with an RPG. The RPG is crystal clear even in the downsized, very low-resolution, video between 3:40 and 3:45 when the man carrying it turns counter-clockwise and then back to the direction of the Apache. Regardless, for many viewers the most shocking part is the chatter between the helicopter pilots. A Black Hawk pilot-turned-blogger, who uses the handle Starbuck, is harshly critical of the pilot's reactions during the action, for firing on those attending to the wounded, and for this: Advertisement WikiLeaks has posted a video on its website which it claims shows the killing of civilians by the US military in Baghdad in 2007. The website's organisers say they were given the footage, which they say comes from cameras on US Apache helicopters. WikiLeaks posted the 39-minute long video on its website The video shows a street in Baghdad and a group of about eight people, whom the helicopter pilots identify as armed insurgents. The transmissions says of one of the individuals: "He's got an RPG [rocket-propelled grenade]. After a voice on the transmission urges the pilot to "light 'em all up", the individuals on the street are shot by the gunship's cannon. WikiLeaks has published a statement from Reuters news editor-in-chief David Schlesinger saying that the video was "graphic evidence of the dangers involved in war journalism and the tragedies that can result". WikiLeaks said the video demonstrated that civilians had died in the incident, and that the US military's rules of engagement were flawed. The website's organisers complained recently of coming under surveillance by the US government, and of harassment by other governments, ostensibly for their role in posting leaked documents on sensitive subjects.
That's it. Young, old, rich, poor, black, white, gay, straight. Mr Brown said: "We will say to the British people: 'Our cause is your cause'," before adding: "Let's go to it." (See 2.03pm). This wasn't one of them. • Gordon Brown announced the election. The Sun has the Tories on 41%, Labour on 31% and the Lib Dems on 18%. Hague says he wants to get a majority and the choice is between Cameron and Brown. Just told Sopel on BBC that from today he would have to pay more tax! Whatever the result, a post-war record number of MPs are standing down at the election - 144 - so there will be a lot of new MPs in the next Parliament. And now is not the time to put it at risk. Nick Clegg is heading for Watford. And, to Alexander, Paxman asked: why voters should believe Labour on constitutional reform when the party promised a referendum on electoral reform 13 years ago? 11.09am: We've just had the first gaffe of the campaign. Crick also has some more news on the items that are going to be dropped from the government's legislative programme. Now is the time for all those people who want real change and real fairness in Britain to choose something different and turn to the Liberal Democrats. Last day to apply to register to vote. I'm back. As expected, they will be on on ITV on Thursday April 15, on Sky on Thursday April 22 and on the BBC on Thurday April 29.
Political leaders have headed off on the campaign trail after Prime Minister Gordon Brown announced the UK general election would be held on 6 May. He said he would seek a "clear" mandate to continue the "road to recovery", as Labour bids for a fourth term. David Cameron, whose Conservative Party has been ahead in the polls, said they offered "hope" and a "fresh start". Nick Clegg, leader of the UK's third biggest party the Liberal Democrats, said only they offered "real change". Shortly after announcing the date at Downing Street, Mr Brown boarded a train and headed to Kent to meet voters at a supermarket in Rochester. Mr Cameron headed to a hospital in Edgbaston, Birmingham, before addressing a rally in Leeds while Mr Clegg met young people in Watford. All three are leading their parties into a general election for the first time. Announcing the widely-predicted 6 May election date after meeting the Queen, Mr Brown said he wanted a "clear and straightforward mandate" to continue the work of economic recovery. He said he would be travelling the country telling voters: "Britain is on the road to recovery and nothing we do should put that recovery at risk." CORRESPONDENT VIEW Ben Wright BBC political correspondent So today we have Labour pitching itself to voters as the party of experience - stewards of an economic recovery that's still fragile, and protector of public services. Mr Cameron knows that it's not enough to show that his party's changed, and today promised real economic and political reform. Nick Clegg is calling for the c-word too - but change to a new way of doing politics that cracks open the two-party dominance. So is this a classic choice of change versus more of the same? The opinion polls provide no answer and many voters remain undecided or fed up with politics after the expenses scandal. Election day at-a-glance Reactions from the web He added: "We will not allow 13 years of investment and reform in our public services, to build up the future of these great services, to be put at risk." Mr Brown also said he would produce a plan to make politics more transparent and accountable. Stressing his "ordinary middle-class background", he said Labour would "fight for fairness at all times". Mr Brown said: "We will say to the British people: 'Our cause is your cause'," before adding: "Let's go to it." But Mr Cameron said he offered a "modern Conservative alternative" and his party offered "hope, optimism and change" and a "fresh start". "It's the most important general election for a generation. You don't have to put up with another five years of Gordon Brown." He criticised 13 years of Labour's "big government" and said it was time for the Tories' "big society" instead. He pledged to work for the "great ignored", who he described as "honest hard-working people" who "do the right thing". "Let's get off this road to ruin and instead get on the path to prosperity and progress," he said. Addressing party supporters later in Leeds, he attacked Labour's economic record and said the public should "never forget" that Gordon Brown presided over the longest recession in more than 60 years. Lib Dem leader Mr Clegg said the election campaign would not be a "two-horse race" between the two biggest parties, and people were "crying out for something different". He said it would be a choice "between more of the same from the old parties... or real change, something different from the Liberal Democrats". Hung Parliament The election campaign will be the first to feature live television debates between the three main party leaders in the UK. Few could doubt Gordon Brown's determination to win the general election but many question his ability to do so The BBC's Iain Watson Brown's hurdles to clear Cameron's challenge Clegg's battle ahead The three main parties - along with a host of other smaller parties - will be fighting for 650 seats, four more than currently exist because of constituency boundary changes. SNP leader Alex Salmond, the first minister of Scotland, hopes his party will win 20 seats at Westminster. He told the BBC the other parties had "blown the gaffe" by outlining plans for deep cuts. "In these circumstances the need for Scotland to have national champions in the SNP is greater than ever before," he said. Plaid Cymru's leader Ieuan Wyn Jones added: "We want to secure the best deal for Welsh communities in this election. DUP leader Peter Robinson told the BBC the election would be a "defining moment" for Northern Ireland: "It's an opportunity for people to decide whether they want to move forward, whether they want to continue the progress, I think that will be the main issue, though the hung parliament issue will loom large." Nick Robinson BBC political editor Read Nick's thoughts in full Scots parties hit election trail Parties ready for election fight NI's parties gear up for election After 13 years in power, Labour enters the election with a notional majority of 48 seats, meaning that a loss of 24 seats would see them lose their overall majority. MPs will have until close of business on Thursday to get remaining legislation, that the parties can agree on, through Parliament - a process known as the "wash-up".
was a mine that had violations,” he added, referring to Upper Big Branch. REUTERS/Chris Keane West Virginia Governor Joe Manchin speaks about the West Virginia mining disaster at a news conference in Montcoal, West Virginia on April 6, 2010. Massey Energy is among the US's most profitable coal producers. "It had to be an horrific explosion to cause that kind of damage," he said. The miners endured more than a week underground. Mine and Safety Health Administration. Manchin confirmed that 25 miners were killed in Monday's accident, two others were hospitalized and four were missing. In the last year, federal inspectors have fined the company more than $382,000 (£251,000) for violations involving ventilation and equipment at the plant which is run by a subsidiary, Performance Coal Co. Three other deaths have occurred at the mine in the last 12 years. However, rescue teams who made it to one of two shelters found it empty and gas levels prevented them reaching the second. But miners and other workers in the mine took issue with Mr. Blankenship’s reassurances. It is still unclear what caused Monday’s blast, which is under investigation. State mining director Ron Wooten said rescuers had not given up hope and would try to reach the missing miners. “There seems like there was something awfully wrong to make such a huge explosion.” Gov. REUTERS/WVVA-TV/Handout Family members and first responders await outside the scene of a mining accident at the Upper Big Branch Mine in Montcoal, West Virginia, April 5, 2010. That year, Massey also paid a $20 million fine — the largest of its kind levied by the Environmental Protection Agency — for clean water violations.
MONTCOAL, W.Va. — Rescue workers began the precarious task Tuesday of removing explosive methane gas from the coal mine where at least 25 miners died the day before. The mine owner’s dismal safety record, along with several recent evacuations of the mine, left federal officials and miners suggesting that Monday’s explosion might have been preventable. In the past two months, miners had been evacuated three times from the Upper Big Branch because of dangerously high methane levels, according to two miners who asked for anonymity for fear of losing their jobs. Representative Nick J. Rahall II, a Democrat whose district includes the mine, said he had received similar reports from miners about recent evacuations at the mine, which as recently as last month was fined at least three times for ventilation problems, according to federal records. In 2008, one of its subsidiaries paid what federal prosecutors called the largest settlement in the history of the coal industry after pleading guilty to safety violations that contributed to the deaths of two miners in a fire in one of its mines. That year, Massey also paid a $20 million fine — the largest of its kind levied by the Environmental Protection Agency — for clean water violations. It is still unclear what caused Monday’s blast, which is under investigation. But the disaster has raised new questions about Massey’s attention to safety under the leadership of its pugnacious chief executive, Don L. Blankenship, and about why stricter federal laws, put into effect after a mining disaster in 2006, failed to prevent another tragedy. Kevin Stricklin, an administrator with the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration, said the magnitude of the explosion — the worst mining accident in 25 years, which also left four people missing, including a woman working as a mining operator — showed that “something went very wrong here.” “All explosions are preventable,” Mr. Stricklin said. Joe Manchin III of West Virginia and members of Congress said state and federal officials would begin investigating the explosion. “I think the fact that M.S.H.A., the state and our fire bosses and the best engineers that you can find were all in and around this mine, and all believed it to be safe in the circumstances it was in, speaks for itself as far as any suspicion that the mine was improperly operated,” Mr. Blankenship said. It says 2009 was the 17th year out of 20 that the company had scored above the industry average in safety. “No one will say this who works at that mine, but everyone knows that it has been dangerous for years,” said Andrew Tyler, 22, an electrician who worked on the wiring for the coal conveyer belt as a subcontractor at the mine two years ago. Twenty-five miners were killed and at least four were still unaccounted for today after an explosion in a mine in West Virginia – the worst US mining disaster for more than 25 years. The search for survivors of the explosion more than 300m (1,000 ft) underground at a remote plant with a history of safety problems was suspended because rising methane gas levels posed a high risk of another blast. Bore holes were being drilled to allow toxic gas to escape. Officials hoped some of the miners had survived the initial blast at Massey Energy's Upper Big Branch mine at Montcoal yesterday afternoon and reached airtight chambers stocked with food, water and enough oxygen for four days. However, rescue teams who made it to one of two shelters found it empty and gas levels prevented them reaching the second. But Kevin Stricklin, an administrator for the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration, said the situation was "dire" even though rescuers trying to reach the trapped miners had found that some workers had taken emergency oxygen supplies from a cache in the mine. The cause of the blast is unknown but safety officials said the mine had previous violations for not properly ventilating methane gas. She said family members were angry because they learned of Willingham's death after reading it on a list Massey posted, instead of being contacted by the company. In the last year, federal inspectors have fined the company more than $382,000 (£251,000) for violations involving ventilation and equipment at the plant which is run by a subsidiary, Performance Coal Co. Three other deaths have occurred at the mine in the last 12 years. The accident is the worst since 27 miners were killed at Emery Mining Corporation's mine in Orangeville, Utah, in 1984. The US accident happened as authorities in China battled to find 33 missing miners in a flooded mine at Xiangning, where 115 workers trapped for more than a week have been rescued and five bodies have been found. REUTERS/WVVA-TV/Handout An ambulance leaves a secondary entrance to the Massey's Performance Coal at the scene of an accident where 12 coal miners were killed, at the Upper Big Branch Mine in Montcoal, West Virginia April 6, 2010. REUTERS/Chris Keane A West Virginia State Police officer stands at the entrance to the Massey's Performance Coal at the scene of an accident where 12 coal miners were killed, at the Upper Big Branch Mine in Montcoal, West Virginia April 6, 2010. REUTERS/Chris Keane A West Virginia State Police officer directs traffic at the entrance to the Massey's Performance Coal at the scene of an accident where 12 coal miners were killed, at the Upper Big Branch Mine in Montcoal, West Virginia April 6, 2010. REUTERS/Chris Keane A West Virginia State Police officer directs traffic at the entrance to the Massey's Performance Coal at the scene of an accident where 12 coal miners were killed, at the Upper Big Branch Mine in Montcoal, West Virginia April 6, 2010. REUTERS/Chris Keane A worker clears orange cones near a secondary entrance to the Massey's Performance Coal at the scene of an accident where 12 coal miners were killed, at the Upper Big Branch Mine in Montcoal, West Virginia April 6, 2010. REUTERS/Chris Keane A West Virginia State Police officer directs traffic at a secondary entrance to the Massey's Performance Coal at the scene of an accident where 12 coal miners were killed, at the Upper Big Branch Mine in Montcoal, West Virginia April 6, 2010.
"I am on the coast now. Topics: earthquake, disasters-and-accidents, sumatra, indonesia, thailand First posted The Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre said there was no danger of a significant tsunami and said it was cancelling a tsunami watch issued just after the quake. There were no reports of damage there. Witnesses had reported power blackouts and panic on Simeulue island, but Aceh's governor says there are no reports of casualties or damage in the province. The whole city also felt the same thing." More than 600,000 people live on Nias and the surrounding islands. Residents in Sibolga said the shaking lasted more than a minute and utility poles in the area were knocked down. For the time being we only receive information from Medan. The quake struck the Simeulue region around 205 kilometres from the city of Sibolga shortly before 5:15am (local time) today at a depth of about 46 kilometres. Indonesia's Meteorological and Geophysics Agency lifted it about two hours later, as did the warning center. Hundreds were killed and the quakes and following tsunamis changed the coastline of Nias. Ring of fire The US Geological Survey originally measured the quake at 7.6 before upgrading it to 7.8 and then downgrading it to 7.7. "The quake was felt quite strong, maybe about three to four minutes," said Dadik, the head of Simeulue police who goes by only one name. Indonesia was among the hardest hit nations. Report Typo/Error Share your story Residents in coastal towns fled inland to higher ground just after the quake, according to a local radio station. Major quake hits Sumatra Updated Indonesian authorities say they have no reports of casualties following a major 7.7-magnitude earthquake off the west coast of Sumatra.
A magnitude 7.7 earthquake shook Indonesia's northwest island of Sumatra early Wednesday, prompting a brief tsunami warning and sending panicked residents rushing for higher ground. There were scattered reports of injuries, but only minor damage in most areas. The quake struck at 5:15 a.m. local time and was centred 205 kilometres northwest of the coastal town of Sibolga in Sumatra at a depth of 31 kilometres, the U.S. Geological Survey said. Indonesia's Meteorology and Geophysics Agency and the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Honolulu issued tsunami warnings following the quake, but lifted them two hours later. A hospital on Simeulue island off the coast of Sumatra admitted 17 people for treatment of injuries sustained in the quake, including four in critical condition, said Capt. Ajas Siagian, a deputy police chief for the area. Abdul Karim, a government spokesman in Simeulue, said dozens of houses collapsed or were damaged in Teupah Selatan village. He said no larger buildings were reported damaged, but electricity had been knocked out on the island. "We are still collecting reports of damages and injuries ... but the situation has returned to normal and people are going back home," he said. Local network Metro TV reported that a dormitory for nurses partly collapsed in Aceh province's Singkil district and one woman suffered minor injuries in the rush to get out of the building. It said fires sparked by the quake had burned at least 14 houses in Medan, the capital city of North Sumatra province. Electricity was cut in Medan, Banda Aceh, the provincial capital of Aceh, and other areas. Paulus Prihandojo, another seismologist with the meteorology agency, said along with the quake's relative depth, the epicentre was too far away from the major population centres of Medan and Banda Aceh to cause major damage. He said areas closer to the epicentre were more sparsely populated and many of the buildings in that area were made of wood, which fares better in earthquakes than brick and cement. At least five strong aftershocks measuring up to 5.2 were recorded, the meteorology agency said. People in several cities along the southeastern coast of Sumatra as well as Sinabang on Simeulue island and Gunung Sitoli on nearby Nias island poured into the streets and rushed to higher ground after the quake. "Rumours about a tsunami panicked villagers living near the beach," said Eddy Effendi, a resident on Nias island. "They ran away on motorbikes and cars or by climbing the hills. The quake was felt as far away as the outskirts of Malaysia's Kuala Lumpur, about 515 kilometres away. A 2004 tsunami triggered by a magnitude-9.2 earthquake in the same part of Indonesia killed 230,000 people in a dozen countries on the Indian Ocean basin. Major quake hits Sumatra Updated Indonesian authorities say they have no reports of casualties following a major 7.7-magnitude earthquake off the west coast of Sumatra. The quake struck the Simeulue region around 205 kilometres from the city of Sibolga shortly before 5:15am (local time) today at a depth of about 46 kilometres. Witnesses had reported power blackouts and panic on Simeulue island, but Aceh's governor says there are no reports of casualties or damage in the province. Some people had gone to take refuge on higher ground but now they have returned to their homes," governor Irwandi Yusuf told Metro TV. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre said there was no danger of a significant tsunami and said it was cancelling a tsunami watch issued just after the quake. Earlier, tsunami waves up to 14 centimetres were recorded at Teluk Dalam on Nias Island, south west of Sibolga. Across the Andaman Sea, Thailand cancelled a tsunami alert which had been issued after the earthquake hit. Indonesia's quake agency says there have been at least three aftershocks off Aceh. Witnesses speak Residents of Banda Aceh said they felt the earth shaking powerfully for about a minute and many fled their homes or piled onto motorcycles to head inland in fear of a destructive tsunami. "I saw a lot of people who live close to the sea using motorcycles to drive inland." Jeffry, who manages a hotel in the northern Sumatran city of Medan, says the quake was felt twice and each time it lasted for about four minutes. He says many people working at the hotel in Medan have relatives in neighbouring Aceh, where he says there are reports of power outages. In December 2004 a magnitude 9.15 quake off the coast of Sumatra's Aceh province triggered an Indian Ocean tsunami that killed about 226,000 people in Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India, Thailand and nine other countries.
Increasingly, it does not. TIBBLES: What's an airline ticket? The airlines are, at least for now. And sheepish Spirit ain't. Delta Air Lines led the flock with $550 million in collected baggage fees (when combined with now-merged Northwest Airlines), followed by American Airlines ($346 million) and US Airways ($309 million). TIBBLES: Now they're after your carry-on luggage. It just didn't sit right with those jet-setters on "Today" today. So if you don't want to check a bag, don't need a confirmed seat assignment and pay with cash, your seat costs less. Many passengers think that unbundling, as it's practiced now, is wrong. Spirit Airlines has announced it will charge to put bags in the overhead bins. MATT LAUER reporting: Forty-five bucks. TIBBLES: I paid enough to, you know, get a -- get on the flight and go there. "If a carrier tried to charge for something that is essential to a passenger's air transportation — for example, to check in or to have any seat or to use the jetway — we would argue that the carrier was violating our full-fare advertising rule or was otherwise involved in a prohibited unfair practice." His Travel Troubleshooter column runs weekly at seattletimes.com/travel and occasionally in print. Unidentified Woman #1: I hope it dies an ugly death. Most airlines have added such fees in the last two years to help make up for declining demand. TIBBLES: Kevin! The next year, most major airlines began charging passengers for the first checked bag, lifting the take to nearly $2 billion in the first nine months of 2009.
BRIAN WILLIAMS, anchor: Last night here we told you about the latest airline effort to squeeze every dollar out of flying passengers. Spirit Airlines has announced it will charge to put bags in the overhead bins. You know how people generally feel these days about airlines and air travel ? Can you guess what they thought of this idea? Our report tonight from NBC 's Kevin Tibbles . KEVIN TIBBLES reporting: Just when you thought all the pleasure had been nickel-and-dimed out of flying, it's Ben Stiller in " Meet the Parents " all over again. It just didn't sit right with those jet-setters on "Today" today. MATT LAUER reporting: Forty-five bucks. AL ROKER reporting: There you go. LAUER: Yup, discount carrier Spirit Air will now charge $45 to stow your carry-on overhead, 30 if you pay up before showing up at the gate. TIBBLES: There's two ends of the business, there's Nordstroms and there's Walmart . They're both successful retailers, but you can't say they're in the same business, in the same way we're not in the same business as a full-service airline. Mr. BEN BALDANZA (Spirit Airlines President and CEO): To many travelers, it's an affront. TIBBLES: I paid enough to, you know, get a -- get on the flight and go there. Unidentified Woman #1: I hope it dies an ugly death. Unidentified Man: Spirit says its cut its fares to the bone, so bring less, pay less. Rival JetBlue is already poking fun with its mock sherpa shirt. A small part of this does make sense . It just might stop people from trying to squeeze everything, including the kitchen sink , into the overhead compartment. TIBBLES: I think it's ridiculous, especially for families traveling with children. Unidentified Woman #2: Spirit won't charge for diaper bags or strollers. Europe 's Ryanair is planning to charge $1.40 to use the toilet. Of course, in England that's a pound to use the loo. So to save money , you might consider visiting grandma without any luggage at all. TIBBLES: And they've got to remember grandma always has a washing machine , right? Spirit Airlines Inc., the low-cost carrier based in Miramar, Fla., announced Tuesday that it would charge passengers as much as $45 for each piece of carry-on luggage. The move is a departure from other airlines that have added or increased fees to check luggage into the cargo bay. Most airlines have added such fees in the last two years to help make up for declining demand. "The real question is will other airlines follow, and will this actually be good for air travel?" The airline introduced the new fee while announcing new lower fares and bag fees for its $9 Fare Club members. Originally published Wednesday, April 7, 2010 at 9:41 AM Comments (0) E-mail article Print Share Airlines are "unbundling" charges that used to be included in the ticket price, with separate fees for everything from seat reservations to checked luggage and now, at Spirit Airlines, a $45 fee for carry-on luggage. Airline executives seem to think that a ticket is a seat on a plane, and that's all. Lately, the industry has been busy unbundling services that traditionally came with a seat, such as baggage checking, seat reservations and even the ability to pay by credit card. (And Florida-based Spirit Airlines recently announced it will charge up to $45 for a carry-on bag, although items that fit under the seat will remain free.) The benefits to an airline are clear: A carrier can quote a low base fare and then add extras, dramatically boosting its profits. During the first nine months of 2007, domestic airlines collected $340 million in baggage surcharges. The next year, most major airlines began charging passengers for the first checked bag, lifting the take to nearly $2 billion in the first nine months of 2009. Delta Air Lines led the flock with $550 million in collected baggage fees (when combined with now-merged Northwest Airlines), followed by American Airlines ($346 million) and US Airways ($309 million).
"But the MPC were never going to act, anyway. The government's target for inflation is 2%. The Bank also decided not to pump any more money into the UK economy under its policy of quantitative easing (QE). Most economists expected the rates freeze after Britain continued to struggle out of recession. The current super‑easy stance of policy is therefore still appropriate." "With the recovery unfolding gradually there seems little need for additional QE, and it remains too early to start tightening," said Philip Shaw at Investec. The looming general election may also play a part in a decision to keep things as they are. The minutes of the last meeting of the Bank's MPC showed that some members had raised concerns over possible inflationary pressures, given the weakness of the pound and with economic growth picking up pace. MPC keeps interest rates at historic low despite manufacturing recovery that has allayed fears of double-dip recession The Bank of England's monetary policy committee (MPC) kept interest rates at 0.5% today despite a strong recovery in manufacturing during February that allayed fears of a double-dip recession. Halifax figures for March showed a 1.1% rise in prices, but most economists expect prices to stagnate in 2010 or decline. There are very sound economic grounds for keeping policy on hold and remaining in 'wait and see' mode. Also on Wednesday, the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) said its latest survey suggested that the UK economy had grown during the first quarter of this year, but it warned that the recovery was weak and there remained risks of setbacks in the future.
MPC keeps interest rates at historic low despite manufacturing recovery that has allayed fears of double-dip recession The Bank of England's monetary policy committee (MPC) kept interest rates at 0.5% today despite a strong recovery in manufacturing during February that allayed fears of a double-dip recession. The committee of nine economists and Bank of England staff also maintained the programme of quantitative easing (QE), or printing money, at £200bn. Most economists expected the rates freeze after Britain continued to struggle out of recession. While figures from the services sector showed a slight upward trend over the past few months and the UK moved out of recession faster than originally thought in the fourth quarter of 2009, economists believe there could still be bumps on the road to recovery. The looming general election may also play a part in a decision to keep things as they are. A decline in the value of the pound has failed to lift exports significantly. The German economy has stagnated and other trading partners have found their economies stuck in the doldrums, leaving UK exporters with few options when they search for growth. Meanwhile, the fall in February's rate of inflation to 3%, from 3.5% in January, and depressed house prices after a year of modest rises, have soothed concerns about pressure on the Bank for rate hikes. Halifax figures for March showed a 1.1% rise in prices, but most economists expect prices to stagnate in 2010 or decline. The minutes of the Bank's last meeting in March showed "different inferences" over inflation risks as some members worried that growing momentum behind recovery and a weak pound could keep it above the 2% target for longer. Others on the MPC were concerned that the "substantial and sustained" slack in the economy caused by a record recession could drag inflation below target. Phil Shaw, chief economist at Investec Securities, said that interest rates were likely to remain low for some time: "With the recovery unfolding gradually, there seems little need for additional QE, and it remains too early to start tightening. "The 6 May general election essentially precluded the Bank of England from changing interest rates or QE, given the bank's need to be seen to be politically neutral and independent," he said. "For a start, the MPC will be keen to see if there are any significant changes to fiscal policy following the general election." The nine members of the MPC have suspended comment on the economy now the election has been officially called. Despite the Bank's own forecast that growth will accelerate next year, Mr King has warned that the economy faces a long road to recovery. The decision to freeze rates had been widely expected UK interest rates have been kept on hold at the record low of 0.5%, after the Bank of England's latest meeting. The current super-easy stance of policy is... still appropriate Philip Shaw, Investec See how UK interest rates have changed over the past 300 years Following the decision to keep interest rates on hold, the BCC repeated its warning that the recovery remained "fragile".
It will not happen. But this treaty is a great step forward, it is very important, and it puts U.S. and Russian arms control back on a firm footing, and, again, sets us up for deeper cuts," he said. He said for the first time that preventing nuclear proliferation and nuclear terrorism is at the top of the U.S. nuclear agenda. During private talks before the signing ceremony, Mr Obama and Mr Medvedev also discussed Iran's nuclear programme. Mr Medvedev indicated that Russia would support further sanctions on Tehran saying that they were "sometimes necessary" but that they must be "smart" and "capable of prompting the right behaviour. The agreement also slashes by more than half the number of missiles, submarines and bombers that carry the weapons. The pact replaces the 1991 Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, which was signed by U.S. President George H.W. FROM BBC WORLD SERVICE Please turn on JavaScript. Both countries are estimated to have well over 2,000 warheads now. http://www.america.gov/st/peacesec-english/2010/March/20100326112820dmslahrellek0.2403528.html The White House has said it hopes and expects the US Senate to ratify the New Start treaty this year. The treaty commits the former Cold War enemies to each reduce the number of deployed strategic warheads to 1,550 - 30% lower than the previous ceiling. It marks an important improvement in US-Russia relations and it gives President Obama in particular an important boost ahead of next month's review conference for the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). Media requires JavaScript to play. However, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has said Moscow reserves the right to drop out of the pact if it believes U.S. missile defense plans for Europe threaten its security.
U.S. President Barack Obama and Russian President Dmitri Medvedev have signed a treaty to reduce their countries' nuclear stockpiles by 25 to 30 percent over seven years. In the Spanish Hall, an ornate chamber within the Czech capital's presidential castle, the two countries, which own more than 90 percent of the world's nuclear weapons, agreed to downsize their arsenals. Presidents Obama and Medvedev sat in front of U.S. and Russian flags and signed their countries' first major nuclear arms reduction accord in almost two decades. Mr. Obama said the treaty is a big step forward for world security. "Today is an important milestone for nuclear security and nonproliferation and for U.S.-Russia relations," he said. Mr. Medvedev said because of this treaty, the entire world community has won. The Russian leader said the year-long negotiations were tough, but hard work on both sides brought success. "That enabled us to do something that just a couple of months ago looked like 'mission impossible.' The new ten-year pact requires the U.S. and Russia to cut their inventory of nuclear warheads to about 1,500 each in the next seven years. The agreement also slashes by more than half the number of missiles, submarines and bombers that carry the weapons. Mr. Obama says, in addition, that the treaty paves the way for future arms reduction talks with Russia, mainly on short-range nuclear weapons. "This treaty will set the stage for further cuts, and going forward, we hope to pursue further discussions with Russia on reducing both our strategic and tactical weapons, including non-deployed weapons," he said. Tom Collina, research director at the Arms Control Association, says the new treaty is significant in reducing the threat from U.S. and Russian nuclear weapons, but more significant because it could lead to further cuts. "We think we can even go to deeper reductions, and we hope they sign a new treaty after this one relatively soon. But this treaty is a great step forward, it is very important, and it puts U.S. and Russian arms control back on a firm footing, and, again, sets us up for deeper cuts," he said. The pact replaces the 1991 Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, which was signed by U.S. President George H.W. The signing of the "New START" treaty is one of several arms control developments taking place in several weeks. He said for the first time that preventing nuclear proliferation and nuclear terrorism is at the top of the U.S. nuclear agenda. The threat of destruction by Russian warheads is now considered a secondary menace. Under Mr. Obama's nuclear posture review, the U.S. pledges not to use nuclear weapons on non-nuclear countries that abide by their nonproliferation obligations. Frank Gaffney, a former arms control adviser to President Ronald Reagan, says the president's nuclear posture review is based on a false and dangerous premise. "The idea that he can, by reducing America's nuclear arsenal, contribute to the universal abandonment of nuclear weaponry. In their hour-and-a-half meeting before the ceremony, President Obama urged Mr. Medvedev to support new U.N. sanctions against Iran for its refusal to stop enriching uranium. The Russian leader said the issue is not whether to impose sanctions, but what kind of sanctions. "Smart sanctions should be able to motivate certain parties to behave properly, and I am confident that our teams that will be engaged in consultations will continue discussing this issue," he said. The nuclear treaty is almost certain to be approved in the Russian Duma. However, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has said Moscow reserves the right to drop out of the pact if it believes U.S. missile defense plans for Europe threaten its security. However, even as the agreement was sealed, Russia gave warning that an expansion of America's planned missile shield would derail the deal, which is the result of months of tense discussions. Speaking in Prague after signing the treaty, Mr Obama said it was an "important milestone" in relations between the two countries, which "will move us further beyond the Cold War." While Mr Medvedev said: "The entire world community has won." The treaty will see both sides reduce their nuclear warheads to 1,550 within seven years. But Mr Medvedev said that the new treaty was only "viable" as long as Russia's ballistic missile technology did not fall too far behind American efforts to create a missile shield that would shelter the US and its allies from long range attack. A statement from the Kremlin said: "The treaty... can only function and be capable of life in conditions where there is no qualitative and quantitative expansion of a possible US missile defence system." "This will include regular exchanges of information about our threat assessments, as well as the completion of a joint assessment of emerging ballistic missiles," he said. The two leaders also used the occasion of the signing ceremony in the ornate Spanish Hall of Prague's Presidential Palace to warn Iran over sanctions if it continues pursuit of a suspected atomic weapons programme. It also marks step towards Mr Obama's ambitious goal of total nuclear disarmament and sets the stage for a global conference on nuclear security that Mr Obama is hosting in Washington next week, where Iran will be an important topic. "If the United States and Russia were to show up with no agreement and between the two of them controlling 95 per cent of the weapons, it's pretty easy for the non-nuclear states to say, 'well you're not doing your part, why should we?" Under its terms Russia's long range nuclear bombers count as one device even though the planes have the capacity to carry up to 12 bombs.
He was to meet his Polish counterpart, Mr Tusk, in Smolensk. "The plane caught fire after the crash. A June 5, 2009 file photo shows Poland's President Lech Kaczynski (L) and Poland's National Bank President Slawomir Skrzypek at an economic conference in Warsaw. Russian officials said 97 people were killed in the crash, including eight crew. Advertisement Continue reading the main story The repercussions on Poland’s coming presidential elections were far from clear. He says Prime Minister Tusk was reportedly in tears when he was told. Among them, the Polish government said, were Mr. Kaczynski; his wife, Maria; Ryszard Kaczorowski, who led a government in exile during the Communist era; the deputy speaker of Poland’s Parliament, Jerzy Szmajdzinski; the head of the president’s chancellery, Wladyslaw Stasiak; the head of the National Security Bureau, Aleksander Szczyglo; the deputy minister of foreign affairs, Andrzej Kremer; the chief of the general staff of the Polish Army, Franciszek Gagor; the president of Poland’s national bank, Slawomir Skrzypek; and the commissioner for civil rights protection, Janusz Kochanowski. Polish state news agency PAP also reported that there were no survivors. Two flashes of fire next to each other." The Polish delegation was flying in from Warsaw to mark the 70th anniversary of the Katyn massacre of thousands of Poles by Soviet forces during WWII. Central bank governor Slawomir Skrzypek and several senior government officials were also among those on board the Tupolev Tu-154 plane, which came down as it neared Smolensk airport in western Russia. Bookmark with: Delicious Digg reddit Facebook StumbleUpon What are these?
President Lech Kaczynski and scores of other senior Polish figures have been killed in a plane crash in Russia. Polish and Russian officials said no-one survived after the plane apparently hit trees as it approached Smolensk airport in thick fog. Russian media reports said the pilots ignored advice from air traffic control to divert to another airport. Poland's army chief, central bank governor, MPs and leading historians were among more than 80 passengers. Prime Minister Donald Tusk said the crash was the most tragic event of the country's post-World War II history. The Polish delegation was flying in from Warsaw to mark the 70th anniversary of the Katyn massacre of thousands of Poles by Soviet forces during WWII. Obituary: Lech Kaczynski In pictures: Plane crash Your reaction The BBC's Adam Easton, in Warsaw, says the crash is a catastrophe for the Polish people. After an emergency meeting of ministers, Mr Tusk, who runs the day-to-day business of government, said a week of national mourning had been declared with two minutes of silence on Sunday at midday. Mr Tusk added: "The Polish state must function and will function". Thousands have gathered outside the presidential palace in Warsaw A government spokesman said that according to the constitution there would be an early presidential election, and the speaker of the lower house of parliament, Bronislaw Komorowski, would be acting president. In Warsaw, people gathered outside the presidential palace to lay flowers and light candles. "I'm all broken up... it cannot be expressed in words," Ewa Robaczewska told Reuters news agency. The Russian emergencies ministry told Itar-Tass news agency the plane crashed at 1056 Moscow time (0656 GMT) as it was coming in to land. Adam Easton, BBC News, Warsaw Thousands of people have gathered outside the presidential palace to pay their respects. People are just stunned, visibly moved and in tears, whether they agreed with the president's political views or not. The largest church bell in Poland, at Krakow Cathedral, has been rung. "According to preliminary reports, it got caught up in the tops of trees, fell to the ground and broke up into pieces," he said. "I saw through the fog, the aeroplane flying very low with the left wing pointing to the ground," he said. Russian media carried claims that the plane's crew were at fault for the crash. "Flight controllers... suggested that the plane be forwarded to Minsk but as far as we know the crew took an independent decision to land the plane in Smolensk," Smolensk regional government spokesman Andrei Yevseyenkov told Russian TV. Russian officials said 97 people were killed in the crash, including eight crew. Polish officials said that 89 people had been scheduled to fly in the delegation to the Katyn commemoration, but one person missed the flight. Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin visited the crash site, after saying he would personally oversee the investigation into the crash. "Everything must be done to establish the reasons for this tragedy in the shortest possible time," he said. Russian officials said all the bodies had been recovered from the scene and were being taken to Moscow for identification. Russia's Emergency Minister Sergei Shoigu said both of the plane's flight information recorders had been found and were being examined. Controversial figure The president was flying in a Tupolev 154, a Soviet-designed plane that was more than 20 years old. SENIOR FIGURES KILLED National leader: President Lech Kaczynski and wife Maria Other politicians: Wladyslaw Stasiak chief of the president's chancellery; Aleksander Szczyglo chief of the National Security Office; Slawomir Skrzypek National Bank of Poland chairman; Jerzy Szmajdzinski deputy speaker of the lower house; Andrzej Kremer Foreign Ministry's undersecretary of state; Stanislaw Komorowski deputy minister of national defence; Przemyslaw Gosiewski Law and Justice party deputy chair; Military chief: Franciszek Gagor chief of the General Staff Cultural figures: Andrzej Przewoznik head of Poland's Council for the Protection of Struggle and Martyrdom Sites; Tomasz Merta chief historical conservator Source: TVP1, Warsaw Senior Polish figures killed in crash World reaction to crash Focus on ageing plane Our correspondent says there had been calls for Polish leaders to upgrade their planes. Mr Kaczynski himself had suffered scares while using the plane in late 2008, when problems with the aircraft's steering mechanism delayed his departure from Mongolia. "Any flight brings with it a certain risk, but a very serious risk attaches to the responsibilities of a president, because it is necessary to fly constantly," he was quoted as saying at the time. But the head of Russia's Aviakor aviation maintenance company told Russian TV the plane was airworthy, after his plant fully overhauled it in December. Mr Kaczynski's twin brother, Jaroslaw, a former prime minister and now head of the main opposition party, was said to be "devastated", an aide told AFP news agency.
All have now been allowed to return. "My hope is that many people will be persuaded by their families and their communities that this is no longer the time for this, it's gone, the war is over," he said. New era for policing and justice What happens after powers transfer? The blast follows a series of attacks by dissidents in Northern Ireland. The bomb went off as the surrounding area was being evacuated. Police blamed the bombing at the MI5 office on IRA dissidents [Reuters] Police blamed the bombing at the MI5 office on IRA dissidents [Reuters] There were no reports of serious injuries and no one had claimed responsibility for the attack, a police spokeswoman said. The abandoned vehicle was spotted outside the base shortly before midnight and the area was being evacuated when the device exploded. The driver was held hostage by three men for about two hours before being told to drive his taxi to the barracks. On Monday, Stormont assembly members voted to make David Ford, the leader of the cross-community Alliance Party the justice minister. Your comments may be published on any BBC media worldwide. Local politicians said about 50 local residents had been evacuated to a community hall after the authorities received telephone warnings of the bomb. "The completion of devolution... is the final end to decades of strife. The blast came as the Belfast administration resumed policing powers [EPA file] The violence largely ended with the signing of the 1998 Good Friday peace accords, which paved the way for the current power-sharing administration between the Protestant DUP and the Catholic Sinn Fein parties.
The bomb was placed in a taxi which was hijacked in north Belfast The Real IRA has admitted it was behind a car bomb which exploded outside the army base which houses MI5's Northern Ireland headquarters. The blast came on the day that David Ford was elected as NI's Justice Minister, the first local politician to hold the job in 38 years. The bomb went off as the surrounding area was being evacuated. An elderly man walking near the barracks at the time was treated for minor injuries. The bomb was placed in a taxi, which had been hijacked in the Ligoniel area of north Belfast, about seven miles from Holywood, at about 2150 BST. The driver was held hostage by three men for about two hours before being told to drive his taxi to the barracks. The vehicle was abandoned at the base just before midnight prompting police and security staff to evacuate the area. The bomb exploded about 20 minutes later as the evacuation was still taking place. There were two explosions - first the bomb and then the petrol tank, destroying the car and damaging other property. Mr Ford, the new justice minister, said the bombing was a cynical attempt to intimidate politicians ahead of Monday's vote. "Those who carried out last night's attack will not be allowed to succeed in sowing dissension, distrust and disharmony," he said. Chief Constable Matt Baggott said the people responsible for such attacks would have to be locked up and put through the criminal justice system. "My hope is that many people will be persuaded by their families and their communities that this is no longer the time for this, it's gone, the war is over," he said. 'Significant explosion' Chief Superintendent Nigel Grimshaw said the police had not received a telephoned warning about the attack. He said the taxi used was destroyed in the "significant explosion". The senior officer visited the scene on Sunday night. "I saw young children in the arms of mothers and fathers, where we had moved people into a local community centre - that's the type of people who were affected by this totally callous act. "There is no question in my mind that it was designed to kill or seriously injure and that's exactly what would have happened, were it not for the actions of my officers, military colleagues and indeed the community themselves who co-operated fully with us." Up to 60 people were moved from their homes and spent the night in a community centre. The attack appears to have been timed to coincide with the transfer of policing and justice powers from London to Belfast. Northern Ireland Secretary Shaun Woodward said this "democratic transition stands in stark contrast to the activity of a criminal few who will not accept the will of the majority of people of Northern Ireland". "They have no support anywhere," he added. And making it explode shortly after midnight, less than an hour after policing and justice powers were transferred from London to Belfast, was a key part of the potentially lethal plan. On a day when a new political era is starting at Stormont, dissident republicans wanted to highlight one of the weaknesses of the peace process - the threat of further violence. That will be food for thought for Stormont's new justice minister. Disagreement on the timing of the devolution of the justice powers had threatened to collapse Northern Ireland's power-sharing administration. As well as taking over responsibility for the police, the new ministry will oversee bodies like the Northern Ireland Prison Service, the prosecution service, the Probation Board and the forensic science service. Police blamed the bombing at the MI5 office on IRA dissidents [Reuters] Police blamed the bombing at the MI5 office on IRA dissidents [Reuters] There were no reports of serious injuries and no one had claimed responsibility for the attack, a police spokeswoman said. Local politicians said about 50 local residents had been evacuated to a community hall after the authorities received telephone warnings of the bomb. A Protestant politician, Basil McCrea, said one man was hospitalised suffering from suspected shock after he was "blown off his feet" by the shockwave. Politicians agreed the attack appeared timed to undermine Britain's transfer of policing and justice powers to a new justice department in Northern Ireland's power-sharing administration. The blast came as the Belfast administration resumed policing powers [EPA file] The violence largely ended with the signing of the 1998 Good Friday peace accords, which paved the way for the current power-sharing administration between the Protestant DUP and the Catholic Sinn Fein parties. When legislators approved the power transfer deal last month, Gordon Brown, the British prime minister, hailed it as the "final end" to decades of conflict.
It was met by Kaczynska's only child, Marta, and by Jaroslaw Kaczynski, her brother-in-law, the twin of the late president. The first couple are to be buried on Sunday, a day after a memorial service for the victims in the Polish capital. They were among 96 people killed when their plane crashed in heavy fog last Saturday near the Russian city of Smolensk. Maria Kaczynska's coffin, draped with Poland's white-and-red flag, was then driven through the streets of Warsaw to the presidential palace. US President Barack Obama has said he will attend the funeral on Sunday. "But then the traffic controllers had doubts [about the weather]." Kaczynska's body was flown home from Russia today, and parliament held a special observance in memory of the president and MPs killed in the plane crash. Weather warning A guard of honour stood to attention in the rain at Warsaw airport as the body of the first lady arrived on a military plane. Poland is in the middle of seven days of mourning over the tragedy. Meanwhile, Acting President Bronislaw Komorowski said he would announce on Wednesday the date of the country's presidential election, expected in May or June, reports Reuters news agency. Russian officials say the pilots of the Soviet-built Tu-154 airliner had ignored weather warnings and repeatedly tried to land. Some of the bodies are so badly disfigured that DNA evidence will be needed. He was 90-year-old Polish president-in-exile from World War II until the collapse of communism 50 years later. Thousands of Warsaw residents lined the route. A special session of both chambers of parliament was held on Tuesday to pay tribute to those who died in the disaster.
Poland's president and first lady lie in state Please turn on JavaScript. The bodies of Polish President Lech Kaczynski and First Lady Maria Kaczynska are now lying in state in the capital, Warsaw. Maria Kaczynska's body arrived earlier from Moscow amid emotional scenes after Saturday's plane crash in Russia that killed the couple and 94 others. Parliament has held a special session to honour those killed in the disaster. The first couple are to be buried on Sunday, a day after a memorial service for the victims in the Polish capital. US President Barack Obama has said he will attend the funeral on Sunday. Weather warning A guard of honour stood to attention in the rain at Warsaw airport as the body of the first lady arrived on a military plane. After a brief religious ceremony, mourners took turns to kneel at Maria Kaczynska's casket and pay their respects as it stood on the tarmac. AT THE SCENE Adam Easton, BBC News, Warsaw Warsaw's neo-classical white presidential palace has become the focal point of national mourning in Poland. Crowds have gathered outside the building every day since Saturday's crash to light candles and lay flowers. There's so many that street cleaners have to remove large swathes of them every morning leaving streaks of dried candle wax across the pavement flags. Poles are getting on with their daily working lives now, but the people of Warsaw are still taking time in their busy days to make their way in their thousands to the palace to pay their respects. The streets around the palace are thronged with families with pushchairs, senior citizens and teachers leading schoolchildren in single file. Some, like 26-year-old teacher Karolina Czurak, made a special 320-mile round-trip from her home in Bialystok, in north-east Poland, just to spend a few minutes outside the palace. Russia-Poland thaw grows They included the late first couple's only child, daughter Marta, and Jaroslaw Kaczynski, identical twin of the late president. Maria Kaczynska's coffin, draped with Poland's white-and-red flag, was then driven through the streets of Warsaw to the presidential palace. Thousands of Poles lined the 10km (6 mile) route to the city centre, covering the hearse with flowers, then took turns to file past the coffins. The first couple will be laid to rest on Sunday at Wawel Castle in the southern city of Krakow, according to Poland's PAP news agency. A special session of both chambers of parliament was held on Tuesday to pay tribute to those who died in the disaster. An investigation is ongoing into the crash; the plane clipped tree-tops as it tried to land in fog at a former air base north of Smolensk city on Saturday morning. Russian officials say the pilots of the Soviet-built Tu-154 airliner had ignored weather warnings and repeatedly tried to land. The president and his party of senior Polish military and political officials had been due to attend a memorial for the Polish victims of a World War II massacre by Soviet secret police at Katyn, near Smolensk. Relatives are in the Russian capital helping forensic scientists identify the bodies. Poll date President Kaczynski's body was identified on Saturday in Smolensk by brother Jaroslaw, who is a former prime minister. In pictures: First couple mourned President Dmitry Medvedev and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin have devoted much time to dealing with the aftermath of the crash. The Russian president is expected to be among leaders attending Sunday's state funeral for Mr Kaczynski, who was an outspoken nationalist known for his distrust of Russia. Meanwhile, Acting President Bronislaw Komorowski said he would announce on Wednesday the date of the country's presidential election, expected in May or June, reports Reuters news agency. Opinion polls before the crash indicated Mr Komorowski, the official candidate of Prime Minister Donald Tusk's governing Civic Platform Party, would have comfortably beat Lech Kaczynski, who had become increasingly unpopular. Bodies of Poland's first couple, who were among 96 killed in plane crash on Saturday, are lying in state at presidential palace Poland's president and first lady will be buried on Sunday in a state funeral in Krakow's Wawel cathedral, the historic resting place of the country's kings and former leaders, officials said. Lech Kaczynski and his wife, Maria Kaczynska, were among 96 people killed on Saturday in a plane crash in western Russia, thought to have been caused by human error. Stanislaw Kracik, governor of Krakow province, said the couple's funeral would be at 2pm (1200 GMT) in the 1,000-year-old cathedral, the main burial site of Polish monarchs since the 14th century. The last Polish leader killed in office, General Wladyslaw Sikorski, the exiled second world war leader who died in a mysterious plane crash off Gibraltar in 1943, is also buried there. Kaczynska's body was flown home from Russia today, and parliament held a special observance in memory of the president and MPs killed in the plane crash. Kaczynska's body, in a wooden casket draped with Poland's white and red flag, arrived in a military plane shortly after 10.30am at Warsaw's Okecie airport. "I'm here because it's such a tragedy for Poland," said Maja Jelenicka, 63.
"In a flash, the houses went down. Special Report: 7.1-Magnitude Earthquake hits China's Qinghai Backgrounder: Quake-hit Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of Yushu in Qinghai Province YUSHU, Qinghai, April 14 (Xinhua) -- About 300 people have died and 8,000 others were injured after a 7.1-magnitude earthquake hit northwest China's Qinghai Province early on Wednesday, a local official said. Are you in the area? Your comments may be published on any BBC media worldwide. One official told journalists more than 85% of buildings in Jiegu town near the epicentre had collapsed. "Many students are buried under the debris due to building collapse at a vocational school. The biggest problem now is that we lack tents, we lack medical equipment, medicine and medical workers." The quake struck the Yushu County in Yushu prefecture at 7:49 a.m. with a depth of about 33 km. Soldiers have been sent to the area to help with the rescue. After the Sichuan quake, five million people were left homeless, and officials estimated rebuilding work would take at least three years. Grainy pictures on Chinese television showed rescuers pulling at the rubble of one collapsed structure. E-mail this to a friend Printable version The government later punished people who had compiled lists of the victims and had suggested shoddy school-building was partly to blame for the high death toll. Terms & Conditions Bookmark with: Delicious Digg reddit Facebook StumbleUpon What are these? The remote high-altitude region is prone to earthquakes, but officials from the US Geological Survey said this was the strongest quake within 100km of the area since 1976. Please turn on JavaScript.
Special Report: 7.1-Magnitude Earthquake hits China's Qinghai Backgrounder: Quake-hit Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of Yushu in Qinghai Province YUSHU, Qinghai, April 14 (Xinhua) -- About 300 people have died and 8,000 others were injured after a 7.1-magnitude earthquake hit northwest China's Qinghai Province early on Wednesday, a local official said. Many others are still buried under the debris of collapsed houses near the epicenter, said Huang Limin, deputy secretary-general of the government of the Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of Yushu. About 700 soldiers are now struggling to clear away the rubble and rescue the buried people, a spokesman with the Qinghai Provincial Emergency Office said. More than 5,000 additional rescuers, including soldiers and medical workers have been dispatched to the quake-hit region, according to a news conference held by the Qinghai provincial government. Advertisement At least 300 people have died and thousands are feared hurt after a magnitude-6.9 earthquake struck China's Qinghai province, officials say. The powerful tremor hit remote Yushu county, 500km (310 miles) south-west of provincial capital Xining, at 0749 (2349 GMT), at a shallow depth of 10km. Officials ordered rescue crews and supplies to Yushu, but the area is hundreds of miles from an airport. RECENT DEADLY QUAKES Feb 2010: Magnitude 8.8 quake in central Chile kills at least 450 Jan 2010: About 230,000 die in magnitude 7.0 tremor in Haiti April 2009: Quake measuring 6.3 in L'Aquila, Italy, kills 300 people May 2008: 87,000 die in 7.8 scale tremor in Sichuan province, China Oct 2005: Quake measuring 7.6 hits north Pakistan, killing 73,000 History of deadly earthquakes "Soldiers have been dispatched to save the people buried in the collapsed houses," local official Huang Limin was quoted as saying by China's state news agency Xinhua. One official told journalists more than 85% of buildings in Jiegu town near the epicentre had collapsed. "The streets in Jiegu are thronged with panic - injured people, with many bleeding in the head," Zhuo Huaxia told Xinhua. "Many students are buried under the debris due to building collapse at a vocational school. "I can see injured people everywhere. The biggest problem now is that we lack tents, we lack medical equipment, medicine and medical workers." Many of the buildings in Yushu, a county with a largely Tibetan population of about 80,000, were thought to be made from wood. In 2008, a huge quake struck neighbouring Sichuan province which left 87,000 people dead or missing. Quake-prone region Karsum Nyima, from Yushu county's TV station, told China's state-run CCTV that school students had been assembled in outside playgrounds, although school buildings had not collapsed. ANALYSIS Michael Bristow, BBC News, Beijing The earthquake struck just before 0800 local time - when many people were still at home. Some media reports say most buildings in the town near the epicentre fell down. "The homes are built with thick walls and are strong, but if they collapsed they could hurt many people inside," he said. Residents of Yushu fled their homes after the quake The region, which is home to ethnic Mongolians and Tibetan farmers and herdsmen, is dotted with coal, tin, lead and copper mines. The government later punished people who had compiled lists of the victims and had suggested shoddy school-building was partly to blame for the high death toll. YUSHU, Qinghai, April 14 (Xinhua) -- At least five people died and many others were buried under the debris after a 7.1-magnitude earthquake hit northwest China's Qinghai Province early on Wednesday, a local official and an army officer said. "Our soldiers have pulled 10 people from the collapsed houses, but four of them had died," said Wu Yong, commander of the Yushu Military Area Command of the Chinese People's Liberation Army. "The death toll may rise further as lots of houses collapsed," he said.
Most of the buildings have collapsed. There are shortages of tents, as well as medical workers, equipment and supplies. Did you witness the Qinghai quake? "Some of the people have broken legs or arms but all they can get now is an injection," he said. But they say the region's high altitude hampers rescue and aid workers. Thousands of students among the dead were killed when their schools collapsed. China now says 760 people died and 11,477 were injured when the tremor hit Yushu county early on Wednesday, while 243 remain missing. President Hu has called for an all-out emergency effort and some 5,000 rescuers, including 700 soldiers, have been sent to the area, which is on the Tibetan plateau. Some of the scenes are a reminiscent of those seen after the May 2008 earthquake that claimed more than 70,000 lives in neighboring Sichuan Province. Zou Ming is the Ministry of Civil Affairs' disaster relief head. Survivors shivered through Wednesday night in the open as temperatures fell below freezing. Aftershocks The rescue teams are facing a number of logistical challenges. In the other, one or two families of refugees are heading away from the quake zone. State media reports say 66 pupils and 10 teachers have been killed and dozens of grieving parents are waiting for news near ruined schools. Bookmark with: Delicious Digg reddit Facebook StumbleUpon What are these? Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao is to visit the area late Thursday. Photographs of the victims are emerging and they show many school children among the dead. Local officials said nearly nine out of 10 buildings had been destroyed in Jiegu.
Rescuers were using shovels and their bare hands and working in freezing temperatures. Hu Jintao, the Chinese president, called for an all-out effort to save as many people as possible, with more than 5,000 rescuers including soldiers sent to the disaster zone and the government saying it would provide more than $29m in aid. Logistical hurdles While China's military is well-practiced in responding to disasters, the remote location is posing logistical difficulties. From our correspondent Al Jazeera's Melissa Chan, reporting from Yushu town on Thursday, said it is a very long drive through a mountainous region, with landslides partially blocking the road, to reach the quake zone. "One of the challenges is going to be the altitude … getting to this area can be quite tough and it is taxing on people who are not used to the high elevation," she said. The airport in provincial capital Xining, the nearest big city 860km away, was filled with Chinese troops, firefighters and rescue teams leading dozens of sniffer dogs early on Thursday. They were whisked on to waiting buses for the difficult drive to the quake zone, but that journey takes 12 hours under the best of conditions. Crews set up emergency generators to restore operations at Yushu's airport, and by late afternoon on Wednesday the first of six flights had landed carrying rescue workers and equipment. The small Yushu airport also has no refuelling supplies, so relief flights were carrying extra jet fuel, reducing their capacity for hauling emergency supplies, state media reported. A lot of people are seriously injured," said Pu Wu, a director of the Jinba Project, which provides healthcare training for Tibetan communities. In the cold Still, the rescue effort appeared to be very well-organised, our correspondent said, with many of the convoys already in town bearing signs saying that they had also been at the Sichuan quake in 2008. Rescuers working with limited equipment have pulled hundreds alive from the rubble [Reuters] In Yushu, many buildings had collapsed and people were just standing around in a daze, our correspondent said. Survivors said a lot of rescue work had taken place in the first 24 hours, with people moving from one pile of rubble to another, looking for those trapped or buried alive, our correspondent said. Many survivors had spent the night outdoors as temperatures dropped below freezing, wrapping themselves in thick blankets and lying on thin pads on the ground with cardboard boxes serving as makeshift pillows. Others slept in quake-damaged cars, covering exposed areas with sheets of plastic, state-run television footage showed. Schools hit Quakes are commonplace in the region, but usually cause little loss of life due to the spread of population. Officials said 15,000 houses collapsed and 100,000 people need to be relocated [Reuters] But Wednesday's quake flattened earth-and-wood houses and felled sturdier concrete buildings across Yushu and sent survivors, many bleeding from their wounds, flooding into the streets of Jiegu. State television showed block after devastated block of toppled mud and wood homes. Local officials said nearly nine out of 10 buildings had been destroyed in Jiegu. Several schools collapsed, with the state news agency saying at least 56 students had died. Worst hit was the Yushu Vocational School, where 22 mostly female students were killed, Xinhua cited a local education official as saying. The destruction of schools is an eerie echo of the massive magnitude-7.9 quake that hit neighbouring Sichuan province two years ago, leaving around 80,000 people dead or missing. Thousands of students among the dead were killed when their schools collapsed. Poor design, shoddy construction and the lax enforcement of building codes were found to be rampant in that disaster. Emergency teams have been pouring into western China's Qinghai province, a day after a deadly earthquake devastated the mountainous region. China now says 760 people died and 11,477 were injured when the tremor hit Yushu county early on Wednesday, while 243 remain missing. Mr Hu called the earthquake a "huge calamity" and confirmed he was returning from a summit in Brazil. "Freezing weather, high altitude and thin air have all made rescue efforts difficult," Hou Shike, deputy head of China International Search and Rescue, told official news agency Xinhua. AT THE SCENE Chris Hogg, BBC News, Qinghai province In one direction on the road to Yushu county, long convoys of heavy-lifting equipment, military vehicles, relief supplies, soldiers and police are heading to the worst-affected area. It's bitterly cold here - they try to shelter from the wind, huddling among their small possessions. Some of the people have broken legs or arms but all they can get now is an injection, they were crying in pain Ren Yu Eyewitness in Jiegu Qinghai quake : 'No time to react' In pictures: Western China quake Qinghai quake: Media reaction Revelations of shoddy construction and lax building regulation infuriated grieving parents in the aftermath of that disaster.
He said: "There are no ashes, no airplanes, no nothing." Have you been affected by the volcanic ash cloud? The air traffic control service (Nats) has stopped flights entering and leaving UK airspace until 0700 BST on Friday. We normally see one every minute but now it's just quiet. Are you in Iceland? Restrictions on flights from Scottish airports are likely to be lifted from 1900 BST and also in Northern Ireland. Although the cloud is too high to pose a health risk, people with breathing problems have been advised to take extra care if it falls to ground level. "I heard about the ash stopping the planes while I was on the Underground and I wasn't sure what would be happening. BACK {current} of {total} NEXT Bookmark with: Delicious Digg reddit Facebook StumbleUpon What are these? The eruptions from the Eyjafjallajoekull volcano continue to pump out ash clouds sporadically, which means the disruption is set to continue. E-mail this to a friend Printable version Your comments may be published on any BBC media worldwide. The cloud has spread across the UK to Europe. Stranded passengers have flooded other modes of travel. Those who were unable to fly today – and anyone in the same position tomorrow – should be offered either a refund or the option of rebooking on a new flight by their airline. The Eyjafjallajoekull eruption was the second in Iceland in less than a month. He has lived with his family in Myrtle Avenue for 24 years and much like retired Mr Davies, said he was more-or-less immune to the daily noise Heathrow produced.
Media requires JavaScript to play. Advertisement Flights across much of the UK have been grounded for a second day as volcanic ash from Iceland drifts across Europe, posing a potential threat to aircraft. Air traffic control body Nats said airspace restrictions would be lifted in most of Scotland and Northern Ireland from 1900 BST on Friday. European controllers said some 17,000 flights had been cancelled on Friday. The partial lifting of Scottish restrictions on Friday will also cover Shetland and the Orkneys, and will also mean some North Atlantic traffic will be able to operate, Nats said. A tiny number of services are being permitted elsewhere on Friday as the ash clears, mainly in and out of Northern Ireland, western Scotland and south-west England. The disruption is major and unprecedented in Europe [but] unavoidable given the nature of the current problem Brian Flynn Eurocontrol Live: Volcanic cloud over Europe Volcanic ash reaches ground level Two planes were able to fly in and one left Manchester by lunchtime on Friday. Over the next 24 to 36 hours, prevailing winds will shift slightly to drive the central part of the ash plume further to the north toward Scandinavia, according to BBC weather forecaster Matt Taylor. "However, later this weekend, they will return to a northwesterly direction and are more likely to bring the risk of ash back to the UK." Although the winds can be predicted, the crucial factor is how much ash the still-erupting volcano is pumping into the atmosphere. Hundreds of thousands of people have been stranded in the UK or abroad, many unable to return home as a result of the flight cancellations. She said: "We are a party of 10 people including four children, one diabetic, one with ADHD and Aspergers, and a blind lady. "We've had to pay £1,400 for a coach and ferry to take us back home, and that's not until 9pm." The Norfolkline ferry service between Dover and Dunkirk said it had limited capacity for passengers both on foot and in cars on some crossings. Experts say the tiny particles of rock, glass and sand contained in the ash cloud could jam aircraft engines, as has happened in previous incidents of planes flying into plumes of volcanic ash. The Health Protection Agency has stressed the ash does not pose a significant risk to public health, and Health Protection Scotland says only a low concentration of particles is expected to reach the ground. It advises that some people with respiratory problems may experience short-term effects, but there should be no serious harm. Nats initially restricted all UK airspace at 1200 BST on Thursday, but allowed some flights into Belfast, Prestwick and Glasgow airports as gaps in the cloud became apparent. Travel alternatives It said that a limited number of flights between Northern Ireland and the western isles of Scotland to and from Glasgow and Prestwick would continue until 1900 on Friday, as would North Atlantic traffic to and from Glasgow, Prestwick and Belfast. "We are carrying more than 38,000 people today and all our trains are full," a spokeswoman for the company said. "We are telling potential customers without bookings not to come to St Pancras because they will not be able to travel." Rail and ferry services are reporting rises in their passenger numbers, with ferry operators Stena and Fastnet saying there were significant increases in customers on services departing from Wales. Extent of Iceland volcano ash cloud The volcanic eruption in Iceland on Wednesday night sent plumes of ash thousands of feet into the air. The spread of the ash cloud at 20-30,000ft raised concerns for air safety, forcing at least 12 countries to restrict or halt flights in their airspace. The eruptions from the Eyjafjallajoekull volcano continue to pump out ash clouds sporadically, which means the disruption is set to continue. Although the cloud is too high to pose a health risk, people with breathing problems have been advised to take extra care if it falls to ground level. BACK {current} of {total} NEXT European air traffic control organisation Eurocontrol said some 60% of flights have been grounded and more than half of trans-Atlantic flights cancelled. Spokesman Brian Flynn added: "Given the fact that this volcanic ash cloud has been quite stable and moving very slowly since it started 48 hours ago, it is reasonable to assume that there will be significant disruption of European air traffic tomorrow." Eurocontrol also say the volcanic ash cloud is extending in some places from the ground up as far as 35,000 feet The airspace of the Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, the Czech Republic and Lithuania is restricted as completely as in the UK Northern parts of Germany, France and Poland are also fully restricted Ryanair cancels all flights to and from northern Europe until 1300 BST on Monday. He also said the volcanic ash cloud is expected to cause "significant disruption" to air services for at least the next 48 hours. ELSEWHERE ON THE WEB Eruption site webcam Map of Icelandic Volcanoes: Global Volcanism Program Expert Analysis: Nordic Volcanological Center The duchess was due to sign a condolence book for the late president but the disruption caused by the ash cloud meant she was unable to travel down from Scotland. Mr Flynn told the BBC a lack of wind meant the ash cloud was "progressing very slowly eastwards" and remained "very dense". Ash from the cloud was first detected at ground level on Scotland's Northern Isles on Thursday evening, and early reports from the Shetland islands said that the sky had a light yellow hue on Friday morning. Volcanologist Thor Thordarsson said if the volcano maintained its current phase of activity, then the eruption could be over in "a few hours or even a few days" meaning the atmosphere would clear shortly afterwards. But he added: "If the eruption has a phase change and starts to produce lava... then we might be in for a much longer haul, an eruption that might last for months or even years, with a quiet period in between intermittent explosions."
And, I want to stop for Thailand, for our King. "The government is now confronting a very difficult situation. The commission's recommendation will now be considered by the country's attorney general's office. But the anti-government rallies have led to a growing movement to support Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva. Mr. Abhisit said the move was necessary because the protesters had been infiltrated by what he called terrorists who were threatening national security. Thai people don't kill Thai people. Government officials say they will investigate just how three leaders of the anti-government protests managed to escape when police tried to surround their hotel Friday. The Red Shirts are supporters of former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted in a bloodless military coup in 2006. They try to catch our leader, stop our asking for democracy," he said. If the 64-year-old party is dissolved, its senior leaders -- including Abhisit -- will be banned from politics for five years. But the government says it will only call elections once the political situation has cooled. His televised proclamation of the raid and arrest attempt — even as it was going awry — was an acute embarrassment. An investigation is under way into the failed operation. Are you there? UDD supporters have held protests in Bangkok for more than a month. The chief of the Center for the Resolution of Emergency Situations will be Army Chief General Anupong Paochinda instead of Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaungsuban, he said. Officials earlier Friday said the government is preparing to arrest people linked to clashes with security forces last Saturday that left 24 soldiers and protesters dead.
The Thai government's new offensive against anti-government protesters got off to a bad start when efforts to arrest their leaders failed. An investigation is under way into the failed operation. Government officials say they will investigate just how three leaders of the anti-government protests managed to escape when police tried to surround their hotel Friday. Protest supporter Sanyiam Puy-Thong, who was outside the hotel, says he heard explosions or gunfire inside the building. "Government have the order, would like to catch our leader. That is, the government say our leader be the terrorists, then they try to catch. They try to catch our leader, stop our asking for democracy," he said. Officials earlier Friday said the government is preparing to arrest people linked to clashes with security forces last Saturday that left 24 soldiers and protesters dead. The government says armed men infiltrated protester ranks and fired on troops trying to disperse a rally. UDD supporters have held protests in Bangkok for more than a month. Most UDD supporters back former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted in a coup in 2006 and remains overseas to avoid a jail sentence for corruption. Mr. Thaksin has strong support among the rural and urban poor, as well among some sections of the army and police. On Friday several thousand pro-government supporters rallied outside an army base where Mr. Abhisit has had to work for security reasons. "Red shirt...I want to stop and I want everybody, I think everybody love our Thailand and love our King. Sunai Pasuk, the representative for Human Rights Watch in Thailand, says fears remain that there will be more clashes. "The government is now confronting a very difficult situation. On the side of the protester[s] they are so determined to defy the government at all costs. But the police are not doing the job they are supposed to do. Thailand is facing its most severe political crisis in almost 20 years. Some parties in the governing coalition want to set a clear time frame for elections to ease tensions. But the government says it will only call elections once the political situation has cooled. Bangkok, Thailand (CNN) -- Thailand's prime minister handed security operations entirely to the country's military Friday after three anti-government protest leaders' bold escape from a hotel surrounded by security forces. "The important problem now is the terrorism," Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said, referring to what authorities say is a terrorist group mixing among protesters. He spoke in a televised broadcast after three days of silence amid the tumult in his country. The prime minister also acknowledged that "police forces were trying to capture some of the Red Shirt leaders, but it was not successful." Earlier, while Thai security authorities surrounded a Bangkok hotel, three men were lowered from a third-floor window and fled in a waiting truck -- even as security forces searched the hotel. Police said two officers were left with them to carry out negotiations, a development officials with the protesters confirmed. As government forces surround the hotel, the deputy prime minister announced that "regular" demonstrators had been infiltrated by "terrorists" with clear intention to do harm. At least 23 people were killed in deadly police-protester clashes over the weekend, the Bangkok Emergency Medical Service said. Share your story, images An estimated 1,000 demonstrators had gathered outside the SC Park Hotel, but dispersed shortly after the leaders escaped. In addition, Red Shirts leader Weng Tojirakarn said the group wants the prime minister to leave the country. The Red Shirts are supporters of former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted in a bloodless military coup in 2006. On Monday, Thailand's election commission -- an independent government body that oversees races and can disqualify candidates -- recommended the dissolution of Abhisit's party. The commission accused the Democrat Party of accepting an $8 million campaign donation from a private company and for mishandling funds the commission allocated to it. If the 64-year-old party is dissolved, its senior leaders -- including Abhisit -- will be banned from politics for five years.
Yes. On Friday, Britain, Austria, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Belgium, Poland and the Netherlands shut down all or most of their airspace. Or is it ash?" She tweets: "In Cologne. There's no pleasing some people." Millions of air travellers are stranded as thousands of flights are being cancelled for a third day. 1640 As the travel chaos spreads across Europe, the BBC has a new gallery of images . Scientists in Iceland said they hoped to fly above the volcano to assess how much ice has melted, now that winds have cleared visibility. The UK extended its ban on commercial flights until at least 0700 local time (0600 GMT) on Sunday. So if anything, it may just take us back to square one." Have spent the past two days hoping that this would all blow over - no pun intended. The longer the airports are closed the longer the backlog of passengers builds up. So how did they get on? Welcome to our live coverage of the volcanic ash cloud over northern Europe. The disruption also forced the cancellation of the inaugural Iraqi Airways flight from Baghdad to London. The airport at Delhi is overflowing so he is stuck in Kathmandu indefinitely. Manager Rafa Benitez says he could still play for the club in crucial games next week but at the moment he is unable to return to Spain to see a specialist about his knee. There is a roadblock and you can't go any further unless you live beyond that town. Too full to move! "We were going to leave on Saturday, but have been told not to bother checking back with the airline till Thursday at the earliest.
Virtually all of Europe's major airports remain closed as a huge plume of volcanic ash drifts south and east across the continent from Iceland. Millions of air travellers are stranded as thousands of flights are being cancelled for a third day. The disruption from the spread of ash would continue into Sunday, European aviation agency Eurocontrol said. Airlines are losing some £130m ($200m) a day in an unprecedented shutdown of commercial air travel. "Forecasts suggest that the cloud of volcanic ash will persist and that the impact will continue for at least the next 24 hours," a statement from Eurocontrol said at around 0830 GMT. Many countries and airlines have grounded fleets as the ash - a mixture of glass, sand and rock particles, drifting from 5,000ft (1,500m) - can seriously damage aircraft engines. Some 18,000 of the 28,000 daily flights in the affected zone were cancelled on Friday, twice as many as the day before. The UK extended its ban on commercial flights until at least 0700 local time (0600 GMT) on Sunday. The disruption has now affected millions of travellers since Wednesday when the Eyjafjallajoekull volcano began erupting for the second time in a month. Scientists in Iceland said they hoped to fly above the volcano to assess how much ice has melted, now that winds have cleared visibility. A plume of ash 8.5km (5.3 miles) high was visible on Saturday. A "significant quantity" of ash was contained in the column, said Dr David Rothery, of the UK Open University's earth sciences department, based on live images from webcams in Iceland. "The column is pulsing in height, as fresh explosions occur in the active crater. One can see curtains of ash fallout below the plume from time to time," he said. According to Mr Rothery, the fine ash at the top of the column is likely to be drawn into the high altitude winds, adding to the ash cloud heading southwards across the continent. Long way home Europe's busiest airports, including Heathrow in London, Frankfurt and Charles de Gaulle in Paris, have been affected by the closures. I've only got enough medication for my epilepsy to last me until tomorrow, so my seizures are likely to start again unless I get access to that George Craib, Amsterdam Volcano ash: Your stories Unable to catch flights, commuters across northern Europe have sought other means of transport, packing out trains, buses and ferries. The Eurostar cross-channel rail service said it had never seen so many passengers on one day and the trains were fully booked until Monday. The large no-fly zone also means that some world leaders might have difficulty attending the funeral of the Polish president on Sunday. Iceland volcano in maps Volcanic ash: Your travel stories How long will ash last? British health officials said any effects of the ash on people with existing respiratory conditions were "likely to be short term". A global association of air traffic control companies added that the ash was likely to disrupt European air space for "several days", the AFP news agency reported. Europe's air-traffic control centre predicted 17,000 flights would be cancelled on Friday, and warned travellers they may face further disruption again on Saturday. Some 12 European nations have closed their air space or grounded flights with the plume of black smoke threatening plane engines and pilot visibility. Earlier, experts cautioned the fallout from the volcano in southeast Iceland could take several days to clear, and aviation authorities have refused to say when the skies would clear again. The chaos has also threatened to inflict heavy financial losses on airlines and businesses, and there are growing fears about the transportation of food supplies and essential goods, should the ash delay flights for longer. Poland has said it may postpone Sunday's funeral of Lech Kaczynski, the Polish president, who was killed in an air crashalong with 95 others last week, with the volcanic ash threatening to prevent some world leaders from attending. Your media Send in your stories, pictures or video to yourmedia@aljazeera.net However Kaczynski's family have urged that the state funeral go ahead as planned in the southern city of Krakow. Volcanic eruptions are a much-feared peril in civil aviation, disgorging fine ash that can damage jet engines, clog fuel systems and drastically reduce visibility. Tim Friend, Al Jazeera's correspondent at London Heathrow, said passengers were becoming increasingly frustrated at the airport, where restrictions were in place at least until midnight on Friday. "That should alleviate the problem in the southern half of the United Kingdom for example, but it will push the ash cloud further towards southern parts of Scandinavia, at least through the course of Saturday," he said.
ET Saturday), according to USGS. No casualties have been reported following a 6.3 earthquake which struck the east coast of Papua New Guinea. The quake struck at 9:15 a.m. Sunday (7:15 p.m. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre in Hawaii did not issue a tsunami alert. The US Geological Survey said the quake occurred at about 9:15am (11.15am NZT) local time in the Pacific island nation and that the epicentre was 29km east of the city of Lae. There were no immediate report of injuries, damages or deaths. - NZ HERALD STAFF The quake had a depth of 66.2 kilometers (41.1 miles), USGS said. However, villagers reported cracks in buildings and a damaged water tank in the Hidden Valley gold and silver mine area, according to AFP. The island Papua New Guinea shares with Papua is historically prey to volcanic activity, earthquakes and tidal waves. Officials at the National Disaster Centre in Lae told Reuters the quake had been felt in the city but there were no reports of buildings collapsing. SYDNEY, April 18 (Xinhua) -- A 6.3-magnitude quake hit off Papua New Guinea on Sunday morning, but there has been no tsunami warning or casualties. The quake's epicenter was 30 kilometers (20 miles) east of Lae, Papua New Guinea, and 300 km (185 miles) north of the capital, Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea. According to the United States Geological Survey, the quake struck at 9.15 a.m. local time, with its epicentre located 28 kilometers east of the town of Lae, and at a depth of 66 kilometres. There was no immediate alert from the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center based in Hawaii.
There were no immediate report of injuries, damages or deaths. The quake's epicenter was 30 kilometers (20 miles) east of Lae, Papua New Guinea, and 300 km (185 miles) north of the capital, Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea. SYDNEY, April 18 (Xinhua) -- A 6.3-magnitude quake hit off Papua New Guinea on Sunday morning, but there has been no tsunami warning or casualties. According to the United States Geological Survey, the quake struck at 9.15 a.m. local time, with its epicentre located 28 kilometers east of the town of Lae, and at a depth of 66 kilometres.
This swath includes Austria, Belgium, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, most of France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, northern Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia, Slovakia, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine and the United Kingdom. ET) Monday. -- Swedish air space is closed until further notice. It said a few domestic flights will operate in Norway. "Probably there will be half of the European Union territory influenced by this ash cloud. -- Lufthansa has extended its flight cancellations until 8 p.m. Sunday German time (2 p.m. Officials there have suggested its airports could be used as an entry platform into Europe. Air travel in Southern Europe - including Spain, southern Italy, Greece and Turkey - remains open. U.S. airspace was closed for three days and European airlines canceled all trans-Atlantic flights. Southern Iceland's Eyjafjallajoekull volcano began erupting for the second time in a month on Wednesday. Speaking ahead of the EU talks, Transport Commissioner Siim Kallas said: "We cannot just wait until this ash cloud dissipates." -- The British government says it is looking at whether to call in the Royal Navy to help people stranded by the current travel crisis. "It is clear that safety is our first and utmost priority, so we cannot compromise with safety. Weather experts say wind patterns mean the cloud is not likely to move far until later in the week. While several airlines carried out test flights and reported planes showing no obvious damage after flying through the ash, a scientific test flight over Britain concluded that the situation could still be dangerous.
EU transport ministers are to hold emergency talks by video conference on easing the air travel crisis caused by a volcanic ash cloud in Europe's skies. More than 6.8 million passengers have been affected so far, as the crisis enters its fifth day. Airports and airlines are questioning the need for curbs said to be costing airlines $200m (£130m) a day. "We must move away from this blanket closure and find ways to flexibly open air space, step by step," IATA head Giovanni Bisignani told a news briefing in Paris. MAJOR EU AIRPORTS 0800 19/04 Heathrow - closed Frankfurt - closed after reopening on a limited basis for several hours on Sunday Paris Charles de Gaulle - closed Schipol, Amsterdam - closed Rome - limited service Madrid - limited service The enormous shroud of fine mineral dust particles now stretches from the Arctic Circle in the north to the French Mediterranean coast in the south, and from Spain into Russia. Sixty-three thousand flights have been cancelled in the four days since the clampdown began. And the prospect of a return to normal air travel remains far from clear. Speaking ahead of the EU talks, Transport Commissioner Siim Kallas said: "We cannot just wait until this ash cloud dissipates." The Spanish Minister for Europe, Diego Lopez Garrido, had said on Sunday that up to half of the flights across Europe could operate on Monday. He was speaking after talks with Eurocontrol, which co-ordinates air traffic control in 38 nations. But Brian Flynn, deputy head of operations for Eurocontrol, told the BBC that while half of the European landmass could be clear of ash cloud, that did not mean half of the flights could go ahead. The flight bans came amid fears that the ash - a mixture of glass, sand and rock particles - can seriously damage aircraft engines. The international airports council, ACI, said a total of 313 airports had been paralysed by the restrictions and the global backlog was affecting more than 6.8 million travellers. In another development, hundreds of thousands of Kenyans working in agriculture, the country's largest export sector, face economic uncertainty because of the flight bans. Refrigerated stores at Nairobi airport and on farms are now completely full, and a huge amount of fresh flowers and vegetables destined for the European market is in danger of perishing, the BBC's East Africa correspondent, Will Ross, reports. Data assessment The EU transport ministers' video conference, hosted by Spain, is set to consider a proposal that passengers from countries like Britain, who are stranded in the US or Asia, would fly into Spain and then continue their journey by train, boat or coach. Many other airlines across Europe are less fortunate, which is why ministers are telling me that a Europe-wide financial support scheme for the airline industry - funded by taxpayers - is a very live issue. As for the impact on the wider economy, supermarkets say that supplies of imported flowers and exotic fruit and vegetables are beginning to run low. And businesses dependant on air freight are hurting. But the crisis would probably have to endure for many more days yet for the cost to be big enough to upset Europe's economic recovery. Peston: Airlines to ask for help Dutch Transport Minister Camiel Eurlings was "advocating for a different approach to the problem", the Dutch transport inspectorate said. This would entail "drawing a distinction between areas with low concentrations and those with high concentrations" of ash when making decisions on air safety. The UK Transport Secretary, Lord Adonis, said information from various test flights on Sunday, assessing the impact of the dust on jet engines, would be considered during the conference. Siim Kallas said European authorities were working to find a solution that did not compromise safety. Southern Iceland's Eyjafjallajoekull volcano began erupting for the second time in a month on Wednesday. Iceland's Meteorological Office said tremors from the volcano had grown more intense but the column of ash rising from it had eased to around 5km (3.1 miles). Ash still 'very worrying' Britain has extended a ban on most flights in its airspace until at least 1900 local time on Monday (1800 GMT). While several airlines carried out test flights and reported planes showing no obvious damage after flying through the ash, a scientific test flight over Britain concluded that the situation could still be dangerous. Christine Blanchard Volcano ash: Your stories Dr Guy Gratton, who was part of the scientific team, said: "It's still quite a complex mixture of clear air and very worrying but invisible volcanic ash at all sorts of heights." Weather experts say wind patterns mean the cloud is not likely to move far until later in the week. The European Union presidency says that air traffic over Europe could return to about 50 percent of its normal level on Monday, if weather forecasts confirm that skies over the continent are clearing of volcanic ash. European transportation ministers from countries affected by the ash a volcano in Iceland began spewing into the sky last week will meet on Monday by video conference in an effort to reopen closed airspace. The volcanic ash has brought chaos to the region - canceling most trans-Atlantic and European flights and leaving thousands of airline passengers stranded for days, as well as disrupting commerce. Affairs Diego Lopez Garrido says the ash cloud over Europe is moving to the northeast, which could clear half of the air space over the continent.
Wayne Rooney, the footballer, who was married in a Catholic Church, is considered to be a negative influence, as are Madonna, the singer, and Richard Dawkins, the prominent atheist professor. The Foreign Office has apologised for a "foolish" document suggesting the Pope could launch "Benedict" condoms during his visit to the UK this year. Senior civil servants who saw the memo were furious over its content and swiftly conducted an investigation into how such ideas came to be aired and why they were recorded in a memo and circulated at senior levels. Vatican says sex abuse lawsuit lacks merit The Vatican had little reaction. “It’s outlandish and outrageous to assume that any of the ideas are in any way suitable for the Pope.” Bishop McMahon said Catholics would be concerned that the document reflects the existence within Whitehall of officials prejudiced against people of faith, and predicted that it would cause embarrassment for the Government. The memo also suggested the pontiff could be invited to open an abortion clinic and bless a gay marriage. The document was leaked to the Sunday Telegraph newspaper. Further suggestions on the “ideal visit” list are that the Pope should reverse the Church’s “policy on women bishops/ordain woman” and that the Vatican should “sponsor a network of Aids clinics”. The Government document suggests that he should take a “harder line on child abuse — announce sacking of dodgy bishops”; “announce whistle-blowing system for child abuse cases”, and “launch helpline for abused children”. CNN's Hada Messia and Bharati Naik contributed to this report. A committee of civil servants, called the Government’s Papal Visit Team, was established to ensure that the trip goes smoothly.
The Foreign Office has apologised for a "foolish" document suggesting the Pope could launch "Benedict" condoms during his visit to the UK this year. The memo also suggested the pontiff could be invited to open an abortion clinic and bless a gay marriage. The Foreign Office stressed the paper, which resulted from a "brainstorm" on the visit, did not reflect its views. The trip by Pope Benedict XVI could not have come at a more difficult time for a Catholic Church embroiled in a wide-reaching child abuse scandal and a simmering, theological row with the Church of England. The need for the British Government to handle the pontiff’s stay with the greatest sensitivity could not have been more obvious. A committee of civil servants, called the Government’s Papal Visit Team, was established to ensure that the trip goes smoothly. Yet last night that decision had backfired spectacularly, with the emergence of an official document circulated around Whitehall — and leaked to The Sunday Telegraph — which mocked the Pope and ridiculed the teachings of the Catholic Church. The Foreign Office was forced to make the most fulsome of apologies, while a senior civil servant has been transferred to other duties. Among the proposals put forward by members of the Papal Visit Team during a “brainstorming” session and included in the document, headed “The ideal visit would see ...”, were plans for the Pope to open an abortion ward and bless a gay marriage. They also thought he might, while here in September, launch a range of “Benedict” condoms and that he should drop the Church’s opposition to homosexual couples being able to adopt. Many of the ideas on the list ridicule the Catholic Church’s teachings, including its opposition to abortion, homosexual behaviour and contraception – and appear to be provocative rather than a serious attempt to plan the Pope’s itinerary. The document was then sent out with a note from a Foreign Office civil servant admitting that some of the plans were “far-fetched”. Senior civil servants who saw the memo were furious over its content and swiftly conducted an investigation into how such ideas came to be aired and why they were recorded in a memo and circulated at senior levels. In an emailed memo dated March 5, headed “Policy planning ahead of the Pope’s visit”, he invited senior colleagues to attend an “inter-faith meeting” the following week to discuss themes for the visit. Attached to the memo were three “background documents”, including the “ideal visit” list, which he said would form the basis of discussions. He added in the memo: “Please protect; these should not be shared externally. The 'ideal visit’ paper in particular was the product of a brainstorm which took into account even the most far-fetched of ideas.” Recipients included Nicola Ware, a senior Foreign Office official, as well as officials at 10 Downing Street, the Department for International Development, and the Northern Ireland Office. The exercise appears to have been intended to ensure a high impact for the papal visit and to identify areas such as development and climate change on which the Government and the Vatican could co-operate, but the list of ideas has caused offence. “It’s outlandish and outrageous to assume that any of the ideas are in any way suitable for the Pope.” Bishop McMahon said Catholics would be concerned that the document reflects the existence within Whitehall of officials prejudiced against people of faith, and predicted that it would cause embarrassment for the Government. The Prime Minister said in last week’s party leaders’ debate that he was looking forward to the papal visit, but ministers have clashed repeatedly with the Catholic Church over legislation. There is understood to be increasing unease at the Vatican over the level of hostility that the Pope is likely to face in Britain, with protests and even threats of arrest from secularists. The disclosure of the secret proposals is bound to deepen concerns and cause dismay among the country’s four million Catholics. Further suggestions on the “ideal visit” list are that the Pope should reverse the Church’s “policy on women bishops/ordain woman” and that the Vatican should “sponsor a network of Aids clinics”. More bizarre recommendations include persuading the Pope to “spend night in council flat in Bradford” and “do forward rolls with children to promote healthy living”. The Catholic Church has been engulfed in a crisis over child sex abuse committed by its priests and the Pope has been criticised for failing to act firmly enough. The Government document suggests that he should take a “harder line on child abuse — announce sacking of dodgy bishops”; “announce whistle-blowing system for child abuse cases”, and “launch helpline for abused children”. Another of the three background documents, titled “Papal Visit Stakeholders”, lists figures and groups that the officials consider significant to the tour, and ranks them in order of how “influential” and “positive” each one is perceived to be. (CNN) -- The British government has apologized to Pope Benedict XVI for a Foreign Office memo suggesting that he could launch Benedict-brand condoms or bless a gay marriage when he visits the United Kingdom later this year. The memo also includes suggestions that the pope ordain a female priest or launch an abortion clinic -- both of which are forbidden by Roman Catholic doctrine. It contains a number of references to the child abuse scandal sweeping the Catholic Church, such as proposals for the pope to launch a child-abuse hotline and to announce he's "sacking dodgy bishops." "It was somebody trying to be funny in an offensive sort of way," he said, adding it was "not important" and that "Catholics are used to forgiveness." About 50 demonstrators called for the pope to resign over allegations he "protected" child abusers. Benedict said Sunday he wanted to "thank above all thank and encourage all of those who are dedicated to the prevention" of violence against and exploitation of children.
Gov. Biloxi, Mississippi, Mayor A.J. How is the oil spill affecting you? BP said Thursday it has set up a "Vessel of Opportunity" program for vessel owners "to offer their services to assist with response efforts." The slick from the wreck of the rig has begun to reach the Louisiana shore and on Friday the state's National Guard was mobilised. The US administration has banned oil drilling in new areas of the US coast while the cause of the oil spill off Louisiana is investigated. They also met with government and BP officials to discuss cleanup efforts. The ultimate plan -- drilling a different well to access the first and close it with concrete -- could take three months. CNNMoney: Spill may threaten offshore drilling plans Salazar has ordered inspections of all deep-water operations in the Gulf of Mexico. The delay meant that the Homeland Security Department waited until late this week to formally request a more robust response from the Department of Defense, with Ms. Napolitano acknowledging even as late as Thursday afternoon that she did not know if the Defense Department even had equipment that might be helpful. “It doesn’t appear that federalizing it would bring in any more resources,” he said. The actions came only after the estimate of the size of the spill was increased fivefold to 5,000 barrels a day. Eleven workers are missing and presumed dead. Officials initially seemed to underestimate the threat of a leak, just as BP did last year when it told the government such an event was highly unlikely. Florida Governor Charlie Crist declared a state of emergency on Friday. As fears rose -- particularly in the commercial fishing industry, a critical economic engine for the region -- President Obama promised steps to prevent a similar disaster in the future.
NEW ORLEANS — Officials in the Obama administration began for the first time Friday to publicly chastise BP America for its handling of the spreading oil gusher in the Gulf of Mexico, calling the oil company’s current resources inadequate to stop what is unfolding into an environmental catastrophe. As oil edged toward the Louisiana coast, fears continued to grow that the leak from the seabed oil well could spiral out of control. One official at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, in a widely distributed warning on Friday, said the oil flow could grow from the current estimate of 5,000 barrels a day to “an order of magnitude higher than that.” The increased level of concern was reflected in the sharp new criticism by federal officials of BP for not stopping the leak and cleaning up the spill before it reached land, something the company’s officials had said was possible earlier in the week. “It is clear that after several unsuccessful attempts to secure the source of the leak, it is time for BP to supplement their current mobilization as the slick of oil moves toward shore,” Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said pointedly, as the government announced steps to supplement its response with people and equipment from the Defense Department. Geoffrey S. Morrell, deputy assistant secretary of defense, said in a statement that the government would hold BP accountable for the cost of the department’s deployment, which as of Friday night included the Louisiana National Guard to help clean up coastal areas once the oil comes ashore. BP officials said they did everything possible, and a review of the response suggests it may be too simplistic to place all the blame on the oil company. The federal government also had opportunities to move more quickly, but did not do so while it waited for a resolution to the spreading spill from BP, which was leasing the drilling rig that exploded in flames on April 20 and sank two days later. The Department of Homeland Security waited until Thursday to declare that the incident was “a spill of national significance,” and then set up a second command center in Mobile. The actions came only after the estimate of the size of the spill was increased fivefold to 5,000 barrels a day. The delay meant that the Homeland Security Department waited until late this week to formally request a more robust response from the Department of Defense, with Ms. Napolitano acknowledging even as late as Thursday afternoon that she did not know if the Defense Department even had equipment that might be helpful. By Friday afternoon, she said, the Defense Department had agreed to send two large military transport planes to spray chemicals that can disperse the oil while it is still in the Gulf. Officials initially seemed to underestimate the threat of a leak, just as BP did last year when it told the government such an event was highly unlikely. Rear Adm. Mary E. Landry, the chief Coast Guard official in charge of the response, said on April 22, after the rig sank, that the oil that was on the surface appeared to be merely residual oil from the fire, though she said it was unclear what was going on underwater. The day after, officials said that it appeared the well’s blowout preventer had kicked in and that there did not seem to be any oil leaking from the well, though they cautioned it was not a guarantee. BP officials, even after the oil leak was confirmed by using remote-controlled robots, expressed confidence that the leak was slow enough, and steps taken out in the Gulf of Mexico aggressive enough, that the oil would never reach the coast. (The NOAA document on a potentially far larger leak, first obtained by The Press-Register in Mobile, Ala., was described by an agency spokesman as simply a possibility raised by a staff member, not an official prediction.) Some oil industry critics questioned whether the federal government is too reliant on oil companies to manage the response to major spills, leaving the government unable to evaluate if the response is robust enough. A law passed a year after the 1989 Exxon Valdez disaster makes "each responsible party for a vessel or a facility from which oil is discharged" liable for cleaning up a spill. If the government determines that the responsible party is not up to the job, it can federalize the spill, running the cleanup operations without the private company but billing it for the cost. Officials from BP and the federal government have repeatedly said they had prepared for the worst, even though a plan filed last year with the government said it was highly unlikely that a spill or leak would ever result from the Deep Horizon rig. “We’ve basically thrown everything we have at it.” Mr. Suttles said BP’s efforts did not change after it was disclosed Wednesday night that the leak was estimated at 5,000 barrels a day, five times larger than initial estimates had suggested. He said BP, which is spending roughly $6 million a day and will likely spend far more when oil reaches land, had already been mobilizing for a far larger spill. “Unfortunately, since the event began we haven’t had that much good weather.” The first weekend after the sinking of the rig, choppy seas brought the cleanup to a near halt, and made more complicated tactics like controlled burns impossible. Within a matter of hours of the report of the explosion, the Coast Guard had dispatched three cutters, four helicopters and a plane to the scene, helping to save 90 workers, including three critically injured ones who were sent by helicopter for emergency care. “We have never tried so many different methods for a large spill on the surface as we have during this, and I have been doing oil spill response for 30 years,” Admiral Allen said. Venice, Louisiana (CNN) -- The federal government is heightening the pressure on BP, pushing the oil company to do more to stop well leaks gushing thousands of barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico and to beef up its response to the potential environmental impact on the coast. "We'll continue to urge BP to leverage additional assets," U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano told reporters on Friday as the massive oil slick approached the Louisiana coast. BP, which owns the ruptured well, said officials expect oil to reach land sometime Friday, with Venice and Port Fourchon the first places likely to be affected. Doug Suttles, chief operating officer of BP, said the company has had only three priorities since the April 20 rig explosion that led to the oil spill: stop the flow of oil, minimize its impact and keep the public informed. "We've so far mounted the largest response effort ever done in the world," Suttles said at the same news conference. A stopgap plan -- putting a chamber over the well area and sending the oil to a ship -- is unproven at that depth and could take four weeks before it's ready. Meanwhile, efforts to contain the spill and stop the leak are costing the well's owners about $6 million per day, BP said. "I urge all involved to allow BP to focus all of its efforts on building a dome and drilling a relief well at the source of the spill so that federal and state officials can focus their efforts on protecting and cleaning up the coast."
It was not immediately known what, if anything, was inside it. He confirmed the vehicle was smoking and also said he saw "a flash" from the back of the SUV. Police had evacuated an area stretching from about 42nd Street up to 47th Street and including Seventh Avenue and Broadway. The firefighter said the bomb squad remained at the scene as of 9 p.m., including a firefighter in a bomb suit. Mr. Bloomberg was joined by Gov. Times Square on a Saturday night is one of the busiest and most populated locations in the city, and has long been seen as a likely target for some kind of attack. New York Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said officers are heading to a town in Pennsylvania to talk to a man who believes he may have recorded a bombing suspect on his video camera. Inside, they discovered three canisters of propane like those used for barbecue grills, two five-gallon cans of gasoline, consumer-grade fireworks — the apparent source of the “pops” — and two clocks with batteries, the mayor said. Other emergency personnel on the scene called the incident a "car fire." The White House said President Obama had been briefed on the episode and had pledged federal assistance in the investigation. Although the device had apparently started to detonate, there was no explosion, and early on Sunday the authorities were still seeking a suspect and motive. Moments later, a T-shirt vendor on the sidewalk saw smoke coming out of vents near the back seat of the S.U.V., which was now parked awkwardly at the curb with its engine running and its hazard lights on.
A crude car bomb of propane, gasoline and fireworks was discovered in a smoking Nissan Pathfinder in the heart of Times Square on Saturday evening, prompting the evacuation of thousands of tourists and theatergoers on a warm and busy night. Although the device had apparently started to detonate, there was no explosion, and early on Sunday the authorities were still seeking a suspect and motive. “We are very lucky,” Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg said at a 2:15 a.m. press conference. “We avoided what could have been a very deadly event.” A large swath of Midtown — from 43rd Street to 48th Street, and from Sixth to Eighth Avenues — was closed for much of the evening after the Pathfinder was discovered just off Broadway on 45th Street. David A. Paterson, Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly and other officials at the early morning press conference to give a chronology of the vehicle’s discovery, its disarming, and the investigation that has been launched. The mayor and police commissioner had returned early from the annual White House correspondents’ dinner in Washington. At 6:28 p.m., Mr. Kelly said, a video surveillance camera recorded what was believed to be the dark green Nissan S.U.V. Moments later, a T-shirt vendor on the sidewalk saw smoke coming out of vents near the back seat of the S.U.V., which was now parked awkwardly at the curb with its engine running and its hazard lights on. The vendor called to a mounted police officer, the mayor said, who smelled gunpowder when he approached the S.U.V. The police began evacuating Times Square, starting with businesses along Seventh Avenue, including a Foot Locker store and a McDonald’s. Police officers from the emergency service unit and firefighters flooded the area and were troubled by the hazard lights and running engine, and by the fact that the S.U.V. The police also learned that the Pathfinder had the wrong license plates on it. Members of the Police Department’s bomb squad donned protective gear, broke the Pathfinder’s back windows and sent in a “robotic device” to “observe” it, said Deputy Commissioner Paul J. Browne, the police department’s chief spokesman. Inside, they discovered three canisters of propane like those used for barbecue grills, two five-gallon cans of gasoline, consumer-grade fireworks — the apparent source of the “pops” — and two clocks with batteries, the mayor said. He said the device “looked amateurish.” Mr. Browne said: “It appeared it was in the process of detonating, but it malfunctioned.” Bomb squad officers also discovered a two-by-two-by-four-foot metal box — described as a “gun locker” — in the S.U.V. Mr. Kelly said police were scouring the area for any additional videotapes but noted that the S.U.V.’s windows were tinted, which could further hamper any efforts to identify those inside. Some of the surveillance cameras nearby were located in closed businesses, and the mayor made clear it would take time to review all available tapes. Kevin B. Barry, a former supervisor in the New York Police Department bomb squad, said that if the device had functioned, “it would be more of an incendiary event” than an explosion. The license plates on the Nissan were registered to another vehicle — a Ford pickup truck that was taken to a junkyard near Bridgeport, Conn., within the last two weeks, according to a law enforcement official. Police evacuated New York's Times Square Saturday night after a dark-colored sports utility vehicle was found to be smoking and a small "flash" was observed by firefighters on the scene. Officers at the scene said the evacuation order stemmed from an "emergency investigation" and dozens of officers blocked access to the busy central Manhattan square, which is popular with tourists and theater-goers.. New York Police Department spokesman Paul Browne said a vehicle had been left in Times Square, with smoke seen coming from it. A bomb squad responded and a small fire was extinguished, he said. "We're just trying to determine if it was anything other than a car fire," said Browne. The firefighter said a "mini-explosion" occurred between 6 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. "The SUV was smoking. Other emergency personnel on the scene called the incident a "car fire." The firefighter said the bomb squad remained at the scene as of 9 p.m., including a firefighter in a bomb suit. Reuters reporters on the scene said they heard an explosion from the area of the SUV around 9:15 p.m. Two fire trucks were also at the scene, prepared to douse the vehicle with water if needed, the firefighter said. A failed car bomb smoked, popped and shut down Times Square, causing panic, evacuations and confusion Saturday on one of the tourist spot's busiest nights.
Mr. Tilton, too, gets what he wanted. Advertisement Continue reading the main story United shareholders would own 55 percent of the combined company, with Continental shareholders owning the rest. Many analysts said United’s talks with US Airways were intended all along to lure Continental to the table. View all New York Times newsletters. It now has $4.5 billion in cash. The airline also needs to secure regulatory approval. Three weeks later, they had a deal. For consumers, the merger could eventually result in higher prices. The new board will be equally split between the two companies, and include two employee representatives. That reduces the number of seats in the industry and allows airlines to increase fares. Please re-enter. It is a culture Mr. Smisek knows well. But it reported narrower losses than analysts expected last week and is expected to turn a profit this year. One potential snag could be opposition from employees. Delta has a market share of 20 percent. You must select a newsletter to subscribe to. The fundamentals are different this time. “He quickly judged that the train was leaving the station,” said Mr. Baggaley. Those negotiations caught Continental executives by surprise, according to people with knowledge of the matter. United’s improved finances have allowed for a major turnaround in its fortunes. Invalid email address. United now could use that leverage with the Obama administration, whose ties to Chicago run deep. Sign Up Receive occasional updates and special offers for The New York Times's products and services. Please verify you're not a robot by clicking the box. Analysts expect a lengthy and complex review, but Mr. Smisek said he did not anticipate problems since the companies had few overlapping domestic routes and did not compete internationally.
The $3 billion merger of UAL Corp. and Continental Airlines Inc. is expected to incur $1.2 billion in one-time transaction costs over three years, assuming the deal passes muster with antitrust regulators, the companies said Monday. The resulting company, United Continental Holdings Inc., would be the world's largest airline by traffic, with an equity value of $8.3 billion at current share prices on a fully diluted basis. First, United’s fortunes have begun to turn around after deep cost and capacity cuts. And as the economy starts to improve, airlines are eager to position themselves for a rebound in air travel, particularly from lucrative business travelers. Advertisement Continue reading the main story So when Mr. Smisek saw reports that United was in talks to merge with US Airways in early April, he said he took just two days to make up his mind. He will be the combined airline’s chief executive, and take over the chairman role in two years from Mr. Tilton. “I recognized that United was the best partner for Continental, and I didn’t want to marry the ugly girl; I wanted to marry the pretty one,” Mr. Smisek said. Advertisement Continue reading the main story The combination of United and Continental creates a coast-to-coast giant, with 10 national hubs, including a leading presence in New York, Chicago and Los Angeles. It also merges United’s strong routes to Asia with Continental’s extended network in Latin America and Europe. The airline would replace Delta as the world’s top carrier. Since Gordon M. Bethune revived Continental’s fortunes in the mid-1990s, the company has thrived on a culture emphasizing customer service and peaceful employee relations. It is a culture Mr. Smisek knows well. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Both Mr. Smisek and Mr. Tilton took pains to say that the merger would have “minimal” effects on their front-line employees, with reductions in staff mainly from “retirements, attrition and voluntary programs.” But they said they expected that positions at the Chicago and Houston offices of the two airlines would be cut. Photo Both men insisted that the deal was a “merger of equals,” even though United’s shareholders would end up with 55 percent of the combined company, and Continental’s with 45 percent. The new board will be equally split between the two companies, and include two employee representatives. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Philip Baggaley, an airline analyst with Standard & Poor’s, said that Mr. Smisek did not want to let United run away with US Airways. “And he was more willing to move aggressively than his predecessors.” Please verify you're not a robot by clicking the box. Unlike the Delta-Northwest transaction, where the airlines agreed to a new seniority list for pilots before the merger, there was not enough time to work out a similar list for United and Continental pilots, given the speed of the talks. Advertisement Continue reading the main story “We came together very, very quickly, I think perhaps in an unprecedented abbreviated period of time,” Mr. Tilton said in the joint interview with Mr. Smisek on Monday. “Frankly, we were already familiar with each other.” Unions representing Continental and United pilots said Monday that they expected a “fair and equitable” seniority integration of the two groups, and threatened to oppose the transaction if a new collective bargaining agreement was not reached. Advertisement Continue reading the main story “While there is potential for this transaction to create a truly great airline, there are also risks involved,” the unions said in a joint statement. The airline also needs to secure regulatory approval. Analysts expect a lengthy and complex review, but Mr. Smisek said he did not anticipate problems since the companies had few overlapping domestic routes and did not compete internationally. Through the Star Alliance, United and Continental already cooperate on foreign routes and have antitrust immunity on trans-Atlantic flights. Since taking the top position at United Airlines in 2002 after more than three decades in the oil business, Mr. Tilton has been ridiculed by many of his peers, scorned by employees, including flight attendants wearing orange bracelets proclaiming “Glenn Must Go,” and was described as “clueless” by Mr. Bethune in 2002, who at the time was also lobbying against United’s bid for a federal bailout. But Mr. Tilton is now close to the goal he set when joining United: return the company to profitability and merge it with another airline. But it reported narrower losses than analysts expected last week and is expected to turn a profit this year. Advertisement Continue reading the main story “The industry and the pundits totally underestimated Glenn,” said Mo Garfinkle, a veteran airline consultant who is close to Mr. Tilton and United. Though the new company does not intend to raise fares, according to the people briefed on the matter, one of the rationales for airline mergers is to cut capacity. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Even with the steep cuts made in the last two years, airlines are still losing money, with too many seats chasing too few passengers.
I just hope we get there." Airspace above Edinburgh airport, which closed at 1300 BST, reopened at 1900 BST. Flights to and from airports in the Western Isles were also grounded. She said: "We booked the trip a year ago. However other passengers in Glasgow saw their holidays cancelled. Are you affected by the current disruption? Irish Ferries said it had space on services between Ireland and the UK as well as Ireland and France. NI and Republic flights resume after new ash threat Please turn on JavaScript. "The situation is very dynamic, so passengers expecting to travel from the impacted airports should contact their airlines to check their flight is operating." Air passengers face further disruption after the Civil Aviation Authority tonight said that airspace over Scotland and Northern Ireland will be closed from 7am tomorrow due to a new cloud of volcanic ash drifting south from the Eyjafjallajokull volcano in Iceland. E-mail this to a friend Printable version First Minister Alex Salmond has criticised the CAA over its advice about flights. He said the committee would continue to monitor the situation closely, with a further meeting scheduled for Thursday. The steps include speeding up current plans to integrate Europe's airspace, creating a "single European regulator for a single European sky". The decision to lift the restrictions followed safety tests that showed the engines could cope in areas of low-density ash. The fresh disruption on Tuesday came as European Union transport ministers met in Brussels to agree measures they say will help prevent further disruption to air travel as a result of volcanic ash. Bookmark with: Delicious Digg reddit Facebook StumbleUpon What are these?
Passengers at Glasgow Airport wait for buses to take them to other airports Most airports in Scotland have grounded flights again because of the risks from a rise in volcanic ash levels. Airspace above Edinburgh airport, which closed at 1300 BST, reopened at 1900 BST. Inverness airport reopened at 1300 BST. No-flight restrictions were also introduced between 0700 BST and 1900 BST at Stornoway, Benbecula, Tiree, Islay and Barra in the Hebrides. All flights were cancelled from Glasgow airport Love is not in the air due to ash Ash cancels cup finalist's trip Ash watch for isles ballot count Cloud advice 'confused' says boss Passengers have been advised to check with airports before travelling. However other passengers in Glasgow saw their holidays cancelled. Mabel McGeachie, 62, from East Kilbride, should have been travelling to Malaga with 10 friends and relatives for her daughter's hen night. But their flight was cancelled with the next available on Sunday, the day they were meant to return from their trip. She said: "We are feeling disappointed as we were looking forward to it and I don't think we'll be able to rearrange it." Sarah Wright, 22, a nurse from Edinburgh, was supposed to be travelling from Glasgow to Vancouver in Canada to go on a six-week trip with a friend. She said: "We booked the trip a year ago. Myra Grainger, 67, was flying to New York to get back to work but her flight with Continental was cancelled. Passengers have been advised to check with airports before travelling She was told there was room on a flight from London later and was trying to arrange to get there by train or plane. Meanwhile, Ross County FC were forced to abandon their trip to a training camp in Spain ahead of the Scottish Cup final against Dundee United on 15 May. The squad of 20 players and coaching staff were due to travel from Glasgow airport to Marbella on an easyJet flight but it was cancelled. They were only an hour into their journey south from their base at Dingwall, Ross-shire, when they heard of the cancellation and returned home. The Scottish government has reactivated the emergency response committee which was established in the wake of the flight chaos caused by the Eyjafjallajokull ash cloud last month, which left thousands of Scots stranded abroad. Speaking following a meeting of the committee, Transport Minister Stewart Stevenson said current forecasts indicated normal air services should resume on Thursday. But he added: "This volcano is unpredictable and the threat of further volcanic ash cover in the coming weeks remains." He said the committee would continue to monitor the situation closely, with a further meeting scheduled for Thursday. The organisation had warned on Tuesday night that all airspace in Scotland would be closed but by Wednesday it said some airports could open. Mr Salmond said the CAA had apologised for giving "unclear information" which had caused some airlines to cancel flights unnecessarily. He said he would be emphasising to the CAA the importance of giving exact and precise information in future during what he called a "very serious situation". Air passengers face further disruption after the Civil Aviation Authority tonight said that airspace over Scotland and Northern Ireland will be closed from 7am tomorrow due to a new cloud of volcanic ash drifting south from the Eyjafjallajokull volcano in Iceland. The CAA said there were concerns that the ash cloud would continue to move south, potentially affecting airports in the north-west of England and north Wales. A CAA spokesman said: "The UK Met Office has informed the CAA that ash over UK airspace has increased in density … meaning the Met Office forecasts of 'no fly zone' locations have been extended further south. "The forecasts also show that it is likely that the ash cloud will continue to move south, potentially affecting airports in the north-west of England and North Wales. "The situation is very dynamic, so passengers expecting to travel from the impacted airports should contact their airlines to check their flight is operating." The Irish aviation watchdog warned of a "summer of uncertainty", with sporadic disruption from the volcano's activity, despite the introduction of a more nuanced safety code that will allow flights through ash-contaminated air. But parts of the latest volcanic cloud were considered "too dense" under guidelines drawn up after consultations with engine manufacturers. Ireland and Northern Ireland reopened airspace this afternoon after a six-hour shutdown saw hundreds of services cancelled and added stress to David Cameron's dash to an Ulster Unionist party rally in County Down. In continental Europe flights were not hit by the latest plume, except for those bound for Ireland, because of the new flight rules that let planes fly through low-density clouds of ash. The meeting backed a proposal to unify European airspace by splitting it into nine blocks by 2012, but some ministers opposed awarding state aid to airlines to compensate the industry's £1.5bn loss. Andrew Adonis, the transport secretary, said: "The meeting agreed measures to strengthen co-ordination between European aviation safety regulators, in the face of the continuing threat from the volcanic ash. A 24-hour general strike in Greece, called for tomorrow, to protest against the government's recent austerity measures forced easyJet and British Airways to cancel all flights.
He was 58. "Our collective goal is to deliver for our children a Nigeria better, stronger, more peaceful, more secure and more prosperous than we met it," Yar'Adua said. Jonathan's choice of vice president will be key. Analysts say he made the most progress in tackling unrest in the oil-rich Niger Delta. Mr Yar'Adua returned to Nigeria later in February, but Mr Jonathan remained as acting president. Nigerian President Umaru Yar'Adua has died at his presidential villa following a long illness. Vice-President Goodluck Jonathan has been sworn in as head of state in a ceremony in the capital Abuja. Please turn on JavaScript. Yar'Adua had not been seen in public since November, when he went to Saudi Arabia for treatment of an inflammation of tissue around his heart. Mr Yar'Adua, 58, came to power in 2007 promising many reforms. Obama tribute US President Barack Obama led tributes from world leaders. He declared Thursday a holiday as part of the seven days of mourning. The next four-year term is due to go to Yar'Adua's predominantly Muslim north. Reports said Mr Yar'Adua died between 2100 (2000 GMT) and 2200 (2100 GMT) on Wednesday in Abuja. But in his last months, it was clear he was too ill to take decisions himself. One of Yar'Adua's biggest successes was offering amnesty to militants in the troubled oil-rich Niger Delta region, a move that brought fragile peace to the area after years of conflict. The president, a soft-spoken and unassuming figure who did not bask in the media spotlight like past leaders of the West African nation, pledged to fight to improve the country of 150 million people despite the accusations.
Nigerian President Umaru Yar'Adua has died at his presidential villa following a long illness. The government announced seven days of national mourning and said the president would be buried on Thursday. Vice-President Goodluck Jonathan has been sworn in as head of state in a ceremony in the capital Abuja. Mr Yar'Adua, 58, came to power in 2007 promising many reforms. Analysts say he made the most progress in tackling unrest in the oil-rich Niger Delta. ANALYSIS Martin Plaut, BBC World Service Africa editor The uncertainty at the heart of Nigeria has been tremendously destabilising. There has been considerable unrest in the central state of Jos recently with clashes between Muslims and Christians, and people put this down partly at least to the fact that there was not a firm hand at the centre of power. Goodluck Jonathan is already exercising control. Obituary: President Umaru Yar'Adua The announcer said: "The president and commander-in-chief of the armed forces, Umaru Musa Yar'Adua, died a few hours ago at the presidential villa. "Security aides notified the national security adviser, General Anou Bissou, who immediately called the acting president. The late president has been ill for some time." Government spokesman Olusegun Adeniyi said President Yar'Adua died with his wife, Turai, at his side. Shortly after Mr Yar'Adua's death was announced, people began arriving at the presidential villa in the capital Abuja to pay their condolences. Mr Yar'Adua will be buried in a Muslim ceremony later on Thursday in his home state of Katsina, in the north of the country. A spokesman for Mr Jonathan said the acting president had received the news with "shock and sadness". "Nigeria has lost the jewel on its crown and even the heavens mourn with our nation tonight," Mr Jonathan said in a statement. Reports said Mr Yar'Adua died between 2100 (2000 GMT) and 2200 (2100 GMT) on Wednesday in Abuja. Obama tribute US President Barack Obama led tributes from world leaders. Mr Obama praised "President Yar'Adua's profound personal decency and integrity, his deep commitment to public service, and his passionate belief in the vast potential and bright future of Nigeria's 150 million people". UMARU YAR'ADUA Born in northern Katsina state in 1951 University chemistry professor before entering politics Married, with nine children Elected president in 2007 promising reforms Fell ill repeatedly while in office Profile: Goodluck Jonathan Yar'Adua dead: Your comments In November, Mr Yar'Adua went to a hospital in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, for several months, during which time he was not heard from, apart from a BBC interview. He told the BBC by telephone in January that he was recovering and hoped with "tremendous progress" to resume his duties. A presidential spokesman said at the time that he was being treated for acute pericarditis, an inflammation of the lining around the heart. His long absence and the lack of detailed information about his health led to a political limbo in Nigeria that was only filled when Mr Jonathan was named acting president. There had been tension between the two men's supporters and in March Mr Jonathan dissolved the cabinet and later put his own team in place. According to Nigeria's constitution, Mr Jonathan is to choose a deputy with whom he will serve out the remainder of the presidential term until elections, due next year. Quiet man Mr Yar'Adua's election in 2007 marked the first transfer of power from one civilian president to another since Nigeria's independence in 1960. He came to power promising a long list of reforms, including tackling corruption and reforming the inadequate power sector and the flawed electoral system. He made progress in banking reforms, but analysts say he made the most progress of his tenure in tackling unrest in the oil-rich Niger Delta, by offering an amnesty to rebels. The BBC's Caroline Duffield, in Jos, central Nigeria, says President Yar'Adua will be fondly remembered as a quiet and softly-spoken man whose integrity was respected. His family and closest political advisers had faced severe criticism and were accused of using him to hold on to power, says our correspondent. State television said on Thursday that acting President Goodluck Jonathan had been informed of Yar'Adua's death and the government would make a statement shortly. Yar'Adua had been absent from the political scene in Africa's most populous nation since November, when he left for medical treatment for a heart condition in Saudi Arabia. MIXED LEGACY Sworn in pledging respect for the rule of law, Yar'Adua was initially seen by many Nigerians as a breath of fresh air after eight years of former president Olusegun Obasanjo, an overbearing ex-military ruler with a penchant for disregarding court orders and legal detail. Yar'Adua earned the nickname "Baba Go-Slow," a reference to the local term for Nigeria's crippling traffic jams, for what critics said was slow progress on everything from economic reforms to restoring the shambolic energy sector. Militant attacks rumbled on during the early part of his tenure, but his offer of amnesty last year led thousands of gunmen to lay down their weapons and brought more than six months of relative peace in the region.
But he said it might be possible "to have stronger, more stable, more collaborative government than that". But he added "should the discussions between Mr Cameron and Mr Clegg come to nothing... BBC political editor Nick Robinson said it could include Lib Dems in cabinet. Labour leader Gordon Brown has already stressed his party's "common ground" with the third biggest party. He said one option was to offer them reassurances about certain policy areas - then try to govern as a minority Conservative government. The Conservatives received 36.1% of votes (up 3.8%), Labour 29.1% (down 6.2%) and the Lib Dems 23% (up 1%). Past practice under Britain's unwritten constitution sees the sitting prime minister in a hung parliament having the right to make the first attempt at forming a ruling coalition. The Conservative leader said talks would begin with other parties. Please turn on JavaScript. With results from all 649 constituencies contested on 6 May now declared, the Tories have 306 seats - or 307 including the previously Tory held Thirsk and Malton where the election was postponed after the death of a candidate. 'Common ground' "I want to make a big, open and comprehensive offer to the Liberal Democrats. He also said he did not expect a swift conclusion to the uncertainty surrounding the election result - saying the voters had given their verdict and it was now "our responsibility now to make it work for the national good". It leaves the party just short of the 326 needed for an outright majority. However, Lib Dem energy spokesman Simon Hughes said he doubted whether Mr Cameron could deliver enough electoral reform to satisfy his potential partners.
Nick Clegg, Lib Dem leader, said the Conservatives have 'the first right to seek to govern' [AFP] Nick Clegg, Lib Dem leader, said the Conservatives have 'the first right to seek to govern' [AFP] Al Jazeera's Alan Fisher, reporting from Downing Street, said there had been an air of expectancy that Brown may step down, with the Liberal Democrats previously making it clear they were not willing to work with the prime mnister. But he said "clearly Brown isn't ready to pack the bags yet and leave Downing Street". Lost mandate Uncertainty over who will be the next prime minister is high, after Thursday's vote resulted in a tight race with no clear majority. special report So far the Conservatives are in the lead with 301 seats, 25 short of the 326 needed to make a parliamentary majority. Labour are trailing them on 255. Earlier, Nick Clegg, leader of the Liberal Democrats, appeared to back the opposition Conservatives right to attempt to form a government. "I think it's now for the Conservative party to prove that it is capable of seeking to govern in the national interest," he said on Friday morning. David Cameron, the leader of the Conservatives, has said that the Labour party had "lost its mandate" to rule. "I believe it is already clear that the Labour government has lost its mandate to govern our country," Cameron said. Ruth Fox, the director of the government and parliament programme at the Hansard Society, said that she expected to see the uncertainty resolved soon. "Given Nick Clegg's statement today we might get something earlier than that." While there was no clear winner, the election did throw up some interesting results, including the first ever seat for the Green party, represented by Caroline Lucas in Brighton Pavillion. Voters turned away Voters in some British districts reported that they were turned away from polling stations after large queues formed shortly before polls closed at 21:00 GMT. Britain's electoral commission said on Friday that challenges to some national election results were likely as a result and that they had launched an investigation. Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg has said he will act in the national interest [Reuters] Problems with people being unable to vote were reported in areas including Milton Keynes in southern England, in Sheffield, the city where Nick Clegg, the Liberal Democrat leader holds a seat and Newcastle in northern England. Police were called in London to one demonstration where 50 people refused to leave a polling centre after officials told them they were too late to vote. Speaking to Al Jazeera, Daniel Hamilton from Comres, a polling organisation, said: "It's very concerning and I think there's a growing sense of anger among all political parties across the country that there is a feeling that some people, notably in some key marginal seats, appear to have been almost disenfranchised. "I think whatever happens, whoever forms the government, there will be an urgent inquiry called by the leaders of all the three main political parties. The failure of the election to produce a clear result is likely to keep financial markets under pressure due to concerns about uncertainty over who will form the next government. David Cameron has reached out to the Liberal Democrats in an effort to form a government - after the UK general election resulted in a hung parliament. The Tory leader, whose party won most seats but was short of a majority, said he wanted to make a "big open and comprehensive offer" to the Lib Dems. Labour leader Gordon Brown has already stressed his party's "common ground" with the third biggest party. Further talks are due on Friday evening, during a meeting involving the Conservatives' George Osborne, William Hague, Oliver Letwin and Mr Cameron's chief of staff, Ed Lewellyn. With results from all 649 constituencies contested on 6 May now declared, the Tories have 306 seats - or 307 including the previously Tory held Thirsk and Malton where the election was postponed after the death of a candidate. The Conservatives received 36.1% of votes (up 3.8%), Labour 29.1% (down 6.2%) and the Lib Dems 23% (up 1%). Past practice under Britain's unwritten constitution sees the sitting prime minister in a hung parliament having the right to make the first attempt at forming a ruling coalition. But Mr Cameron said Mr Brown had "lost his mandate to govern" after the Conservatives won the most votes and the most seats. But Mr Brown said he was making his statement "as prime minister with a constitutional duty to seek to resolve the situation for the good of the country". He said one option was to offer them reassurances about certain policy areas - then try to govern as a minority Conservative government. I want us to work together in tackling our country's big and urgent problems - the debt crisis, our deep social problems and our broken political system," he said. While there were policy disagreements between the Tories and Lib Dems - including on the European Union and defence - there were also "many areas of common ground". The Conservatives agreed with the Lib Dem on ideas such as a "pupil premium" in schools, a low-carbon economy, tax reform and shared opposition to Labour's ID cards scheme. But he did not pledge a referendum on changing the voting system - a key concern of the Lib Dems - instead offering an "all party committee of inquiry on political and electoral reform". However former Conservative prime minister Sir John Major told the BBC offering the Lib Dems cabinet seats was "a price, in the national interest, that I personally would be prepared to bear" for the formation of a stable government able to manage the economic crisis.
"It was not slowing down," he said. Most passengers assemble at the front as the ferry arrives. In 2003, 11 people were killed when it crashed into a pier on Staten Island. Some minor injuries have been reported, the New York Fire Department told CNN. The Department of Transportation described the damage to the vessel and terminal and slip as minor and said the Barberi would be taken out of service. He was sentenced to 18 months in prison. That accident occurred when the pilot, suffering from extreme fatigue and on painkillers, passed out at the wheel and the boat hit the terminal in St. George at full speed. The city ferry director was also found guilty of failing to enforce a rule of two drivers for docking and charged with negligent manslaughter. They did not release the captain's name. The crash might have been worse if it had happened during rush hour rather than on a sleepy Saturday morning. He’s walking very quickly and he’s yelling ‘brake, brake, brake!’ I look out the window and I notice the dock is suddenly at the side. Two police officers providing ferry security were among the injured, officials said, but no crew members were hurt. Bookmark with: Delicious Digg reddit Facebook StumbleUpon What are these? That accident was blamed on the failure of a transformer, which regulates power to the main propulsion engine. Alex Gonzalez, 36, said he saw a woman and a child thrown about 10 feet (3m) from the impact. Passenger Jason Watler, 30, of St. George, said he became alarmed when the ferry approached the shore faster than usual and ran toward the back of the boat.
[Updated 11:37 a.m.] See full story on CNN.com [Updated 11:02 a.m.] At least 60 people were injured when a ferry crashed into the Staten Island Ferry terminal Saturday morning in New York, authorities said. Most of the injuries were said to be minor [Updated 10:03 a.m.] A ferry boat crashed into the Staten Island Ferry terminal Saturday morning, the New York Police Department said. Some minor injuries have been reported, the New York Fire Department told CNN. The fire department said no major injuries have been reported and the cause of the crash was under investigation. A Staten Island ferry with a history of accidents malfunctioned as it approached its terminal Saturday and smashed into a pier with a jolt that tossed passengers to the deck and hurt as many as 37 people. The accident happened at around 9:20 a.m. as the Andrew J. Barberi arrived at the St. George Ferry Terminal on Staten Island, carrying 252 passengers and 18 crew. The accident appeared to be the result of a mechanical failure, New York City Department of Transportation Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan said. Passenger Jason Watler, 30, of St. George, said he became alarmed when the ferry approached the shore faster than usual and ran toward the back of the boat. "He was going too fast." Then, he heard a "a real big boom." Mike Cane, a writer who lives on Staten Island, was also on the ferry. He told msnbc.com that he escaped injury and rushed to help others. He described the scene as "a mess." “I opened the window to look out and the front of the ferry was driven straight into the concrete of the terminal," Cane said. "There was no damage to the ferry, other than to the front. Thank God we went straight in (to the dock) because if we had gone in sideways, there would have been a lot more injuries. Within 10 to 15 minutes, firemen and police arrived and they set up ramps so they could get on the ferry and attend to the injured, and then they let us off.” Mechanical failure blamed The ferry's throttle failed to engage as it prepared to dock, she said, meaning the crew was unable to use the engines to apply reverse thrust and slow down. The ferry was moving at about 5 knots, or 5.8 miles (10 kilometers) per hour, when it hit. Coast Guard officials said the ferry suffered serious damage to its ramps and gouges in the decks above the waterline. Video: Coast Guard: 'Ferry lost propulsion' The Fire Department said 17 passengers were initially taken by ambulance to hospitals, but that none had life-threatening injuries. Two police officers providing ferry security were among the injured, officials said, but no crew members were hurt. The National Transportation Safety Board said it had dispatched a team to investigate the ferry accident. The Andrew Barberi was also involved in a 2003 wreck that killed 11 people. That accident occurred when the pilot, suffering from extreme fatigue and on painkillers, passed out at the wheel and the boat hit the terminal in St. George at full speed. The pilot pleaded guilty to negligent manslaughter and lying to investigators. He was sentenced to 18 months in prison. The city ferry director was sentenced to a year in prison after pleading guilty to negligent manslaughter and admitting he failed to implement or enforce a rule requiring two pilots during docking. On July 1, 2009, a different ferry lost power and slammed into a pier at the St. George terminal, causing more than a dozen minor injuries among passengers. That accident was blamed on the failure of a transformer, which regulates power to the main propulsion engine. According to city officials, the ferry captain had 15 years experience, but was newly assigned to the Barberi. On its maiden voyage, it suffered a temporary loss of engine power and drifted into some mud near Governor's Island. In Saturday's accident, Sadik-Khan said, the crew discovered the mechanical problem in time to alert passengers to brace for a hard landing and move back, although it is unclear how many heard or understood the warning.
Please re-enter. “We are aiming for more than $100 billion of trade in future, which is very inspiring.” His comments, in Russian, were translated by Turkish television. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Turkey has been a supporter of Iran’s right to develop nuclear energy but strongly opposes nuclear weapons in the region and has been critical of Israel on the matter. “Our trading capacity will not only improve but will exceed past records,” Mr. Medvedev said. The two countries want to double bilateral trade in five years President Dmitry Medvedev has agreed a deal under which Russia will build Turkey's first nuclear power plant. View all New York Times newsletters. It was one of several agreements struck by Mr Medvedev during a visit to Ankara, the Turkish capital. Turkey is aiming to reduce its dependence on foreign energy supplies, but at the same time be a hub through which oil and gas producers can ship their supplies to Europe. Other agreements signed after the first session of high-level meetings led by Mr. Medvedev and Mr. Erdogan called for cooperation in combating drug trafficking and in transportation and education, as well as a lifting of visa requirements for visits shorter than a month. You must select a newsletter to subscribe to. Russian tourism to Turkey grows every year, with nearly five and a half million tourists from the Commonwealth of Independent States in 2009, according to Tourism Ministry figures, while Russia is a popular destination for Turkish businessmen. Russia will have a controlling stake in the plant, which is likely to cost $20bn (£13.5bn) and is to be built on Turkey's Mediterranean coast.
The two countries want to double bilateral trade in five years President Dmitry Medvedev has agreed a deal under which Russia will build Turkey's first nuclear power plant. Russia will have a controlling stake in the plant, which is likely to cost $20bn (£13.5bn) and is to be built on Turkey's Mediterranean coast. It was one of several agreements struck by Mr Medvedev during a visit to Ankara, the Turkish capital. Both countries said they wished to improve trade links, lift visa conditions and boost energy projects. "We share a determination to increase the trade volume from a current $38bn to $100bn in five years," Turkish President Abdullah Gul said after hosting talks with Mr Medvedev. Turkey is aiming to reduce its dependence on foreign energy supplies, but at the same time be a hub through which oil and gas producers can ship their supplies to Europe. ISTANBUL—Russia and Turkey signed several energy and trade agreements Wednesday, tying the knot in a relationship between historic rivals that has quietly grown into what Russia's President Dmitry Medvedev described as "a full-scale strategic partnership." Met by a 21-gun salute and honor guard on his first visit to Turkey, Mr. Medvedev oversaw the signing of deals to ensure visa-free travel, build Turkey's first... “Our shores are under severe danger during the passage of the oil tankers through the straits,” he said. “Once we realize the Samsun-Ceyhan pipeline, we would have the opportunity to reach out to the world from Ceyhan.” Advertisement Continue reading the main story For his part, Mr. Medvedev highlighted the expected increases in the $30 billion in trade between Turkey and Russia. “We are aiming for more than $100 billion of trade in future, which is very inspiring.” His comments, in Russian, were translated by Turkish television. But most of that number comes from Turkish imports of Russian oil and gas, and some Turkish energy experts cautioned that the increase would do more good for Russia than for Turkey. The deal for the nuclear plant, scheduled to be built over seven years in the Mediterranean city of Mersin, raised further concerns among some Turks of relying too much on Russia. Advertisement Continue reading the main story “If we add dependency on nuclear energy on top of the current energy trading from Russia, it’s inevitable that we get concerned,” Necdet Pamir, an energy expert, told the news channel NTV. Other agreements signed after the first session of high-level meetings led by Mr. Medvedev and Mr. Erdogan called for cooperation in combating drug trafficking and in transportation and education, as well as a lifting of visa requirements for visits shorter than a month. In addition to the agreements, the leaders pledged greater diplomatic efforts toward a resolution of the dispute over Iran’s nuclear program and called for stability in the Caucasus, acknowledging the delicate nature of the conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia over the Nagorno-Karabakh region, which both Turkey and Russia are closely monitoring.
Circuit. "She's changed her mind since then, apparently," he said. Ms. Kagan defended her experience during confirmation hearings as solicitor general last year. It also would mean that every member of the court had studied law at Harvard or Yale. I don't think they could. On Monday, Obama nominated Kagan to replace retiring Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens. But Mr. Obama ultimately opted to save Judge Garland for when he faces a more hostile Senate and needs a nominee with more Republican support. Advertisement Continue reading the main story “My view is that her experience is very thin,” Mr. But this nomination does raise the question. Well respected on both sides of the aisle, he had a number of conservatives publicly calling him the best they could hope for from a Democratic president. She has been a trailblazer along the way, not only as the first woman to run Harvard Law School but also as the first woman to serve as solicitor general. The bar has to go up as you go up the courts." Activists on the right have attacked her for briefly barring military recruiters from a campus facility because the ban on openly gay men and lesbians serving in the military violated the school’s anti-discrimination policy. "I say it. She then huddled with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky; Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vermont; and Sen. Jeff Sessions of Alabama, the committee's top Republican. Other Republicans have also expressed concern about the issue. Please try again later. That lack of time on the bench may both help and hurt her confirmation prospects, allowing critics to question whether she is truly qualified while denying them a lengthy judicial paper trail filled with ammunition for attacks.
Washington (CNN) -- Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan on Wednesday kicked off what has become a ritual for modern high court nominees: making the rounds of key senators' offices on Capitol Hill while saying little to a boisterous press corps in tow. Kagan, who won confirmation as solicitor general a little more than a year ago, started her day meeting with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nevada. She then huddled with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky; Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vermont; and Sen. Jeff Sessions of Alabama, the committee's top Republican. She also met with Sen. Richard Durbin of Illinois, the Senate's No. Democrats offered overwhelming praise for the 50-year-old nominee, saying she would be a fair, independent member of the high court and a worthy replacement for retiring Justice John Paul Stevens. Republicans questioned, among other things, Kagan's lack of experience on the federal bench and whether she would be willing to oppose President Obama's agenda when necessary. "There's nothing more exciting than the [confirmation process] we're about to undertake," Reid told Kagan. "The great country that we're in is ruled by law, and that's what you're going to make sure continues." Reid later issued a statement that said his meeting left him confident that Kagan "is the right choice to replace Justice Stevens on the Supreme Court. She has a strong belief that the Supreme Court should be a forum where the rule of law wins out and where people from every walk of life can receive a fair hearing." McConnell said on the Senate floor that it's his "hope that the Obama administration doesn't think the ideal Supreme Court nominee is someone who would rubber-stamp its policies. And it's a question that needs to be answered." "Americans want to know that Ms. Kagan will be independent, that she won't prejudge cases based on her personal opinions, [and] that she'll treat everyone equally, as the judicial oath requires." Kagan's "never had to develop a judicial habit of saying 'no' to an administration. Welcoming Kagan to his office shortly thereafter, McConnell said he wanted to assure the public "that we intend to go through a thorough process." There will not be a "rush to judgment," he promised. "She does come out of a tradition of activist judges, as she clerked for two well-respected activist judges," he said. One GOP lawmaker has already declared that he will oppose her nomination, just as he did 15 months ago when she was nominated for solicitor general. Sen. James Inhofe, R-Oklahoma, estimated that more than half of senators already have made up their minds about Kagan, even if they haven't said so publicly. ""We went through the confirmation process 15 months ago, and nothing has changed since that time," he said. Inhofe said the main sticking point for him was Kagan's decision, while dean of Harvard Law School, to block military recruiters from the law school's campus in protest of the Pentagon's policies preventing gays and lesbians from serving openly in the military. Inhofe also pointed to Kagan's lack of judicial background, noting that it has been 38 years since a justice with no experience on the bench has been confirmed. He said that issue is not a "deal killer" for him, although he said that a nominee with prior judicial experience is preferable. Asked whether Kagan's stance on campus military recruitment is rooted in opposition to the "don't ask, don't tell" policy, and not an indictment on campus recruitment per se, Inhofe said he fails to see a connection. "My concern was, if you're recruiting, you ought to be able to recruit on campuses." He accused Kagan of flip-flopping on "don't ask, don't tell," pointing out that she was an aide to former President Bill Clinton and at one time supported the policy. "She's changed her mind since then, apparently," he said. "If I believe someone is not qualified for a lower position, like a district level, how could that person be qualified for the United States Supreme Court? If confirmed, Kagan, 50, would become the 112th Supreme Court justice, the third woman on the current nine-member bench and the fourth woman in the court's history.
“It was horrible,” he said. Mr. Baisalov said the government had full control. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Demonstrators had shoved their way into buildings not only in Jalal-Abad, but also in Osh and Batken. Jalalabad's new governor was seized by the crowd. They chanted "Bakiyev - our president" and hung a banner reading "Bakiyev, the legal president of Kyrgyzstan" on the administrative building. The loyalty of those forces in the south has been in question. The committee said the former president’s supporters would soon head north to “confront the interim government” in the capital, Bishkek. Please try again later. The three cities are the regional capitals of southern Kyrgyzstan. During that takeover, 86 people died when police officers and soldiers guarding government buildings fired at protesters, some of them also armed. By Friday afternoon, Mr. Zheenbekov was back in his office, the Kabar news agency in Kyrgyzstan reported. View all New York Times newsletters. After the buildings were stormed on Thursday, a committee that said it represented Mr. Bakiyev’s supporters issued a statement in which it claimed to have wide support in the south and called for his return to power. The president was overthrown last month in an uprising that left at least 85 people dead. Embassy recalls This is the biggest challenge so far for the provisional government, reports BBC Central Asia correspondent Rayhan Demytrie. You must select a newsletter to subscribe to. Invalid email address. Please verify you're not a robot by clicking the box. The Kyrgyz Health Ministry said hospitals in Jalal-Abad admitted 37 people wounded in the fighting.
“The former president again spilled the blood of Kyrgyz citizens,” Ms. Otunbayeva said in a statement carried by local news media. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Government officials said Thursday that they would not use police force, but instead would encourage supporters to swarm into the buildings held by armed followers of Mr. Bakiyev. The result was a strange tableau of violence as the pro-government groups — some peaceful and some armed with sticks, rocks and rifles — stormed the government buildings while uniformed police officers and special forces largely stayed on the sidelines, witnesses said. Kyrgyzstan, in Central Asia, is the home of a base used to supply the United States-led war in Afghanistan. The violence is emblematic of the challenges facing the small group of people who proclaimed themselves the interim government. They are unelected and have no formal legitimacy, and it remains unclear whom the police and the army are siding with, particularly in the south. Advertisement Continue reading the main story The danger of violent uprising is heightened because the population is bristling with guns. Legal gun ownership in Kyrgyzstan is restricted to hunting firearms, but many households in rural areas keep Kalashnikov rifles owing to a history of ethnic fighting in the region. Also, an Interior Ministry arsenal was looted during the April 7 uprising, scattering hundreds of small arms. Advertisement Continue reading the main story The worst violence on Friday unfolded in Jalal-Abad, near the former president’s home village. The first shots there were fired as a group of pro-government protesters walked toward the administration building, Asylbek Tekebayev, a supporter of the interim government, said in a telephone interview. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Mr. Tekebayev said the two sides shot at each other across the city’s central square in front of the administration building, at a distance of about 150 yards. Sign Up Receive occasional updates and special offers for The New York Times's products and services. “The bullets were hitting people in the back, in the side, they were falling and tripping, and everybody started to run.” By late afternoon, the crowd, which Mr. Tekebayev said included at least half a dozen men with rifles, regrouped. The opposing groups also exchanged fire over control of a university building where the pro-Bakiyev group had positioned snipers, according to news agencies, which reported three wounded in that shootout. The Kyrgyz Health Ministry said hospitals in Jalal-Abad admitted 37 people wounded in the fighting. The ministry said one man had died from gunshot wounds and five were in grave condition. Advertisement Continue reading the main story A political party leader in the south who is loyal to the interim government, Batyrbek Abdrazakov, said that by the evening pro-government groups had full control of the government building, the Interfax news agency reported. “We continue to encourage all parties to refrain from violence and express hope that Kyrgyzstan can move forward on a productive and democratic path,” the statement said. After the buildings were stormed on Thursday, a committee that said it represented Mr. Bakiyev’s supporters issued a statement in which it claimed to have wide support in the south and called for his return to power. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Demonstrators had shoved their way into buildings not only in Jalal-Abad, but also in Osh and Batken. In Batken, the protesters eventually left the building, under unclear circumstances. After taking over the government building in Osh on Thursday, demonstrators escorted the former governor, Mamasadyk Bakirov, back into his office, which had been occupied by the appointee of the interim government, Sooronbai Zheenbekov. To try to re-establish control over the south, the defense minister, Ismail Isakov, was sent to Osh and granted new powers as a governor general for the three southern districts, according to Edil Baisalov, the interim government’s chief of staff. Advertisement Continue reading the main story After protesters seized government buildings, including the president’s office, last month in Bishkek Mr. Bakiyev fled to the south before going into exile. During that takeover, 86 people died when police officers and soldiers guarding government buildings fired at protesters, some of them also armed. Advertisement Supporters of Kyrgyzstan's ousted president have stormed regional government buildings in the south of the ex-Soviet republic. Hundreds of Kurmanbek Bakiyev's supporters took over buildings in Osh and Jalalabad, but the new government said it had regained control in Batken. The president was overthrown last month in an uprising that left at least 85 people dead. The provisional government has launched several criminal proceedings against the former president, who is now in Belarus with his family. Last week there were reports that leaflets had been distributed in southern Kyrgyzstan calling for the formation of a "southern Kyrgyz democratic republic". They scuffled briefly with supporters of the new government before smashing their way through the glass doors and entering the building, but the police did not intervene. Reports from Jalalabad - Mr Bakiyev's home city - said around 100 of the ousted president's supporters had broken into and occupied local government buildings there.
ROBERT, La. What are oil dispersants? It is on the seabed but is being kept away from the well for now, BP said. "As one of the responsible parties for this event, BP is accountable to the American public for the full clean-up of this spill and all the economic loss caused by the spill and related events." The underwater gusher began after an April 20 explosion aboard the Deepwater Horizon. Suttles said the device was hoisted back to the surface Friday for readjustments and the company expects to have it working by Saturday night. At 4ft (1.2m) in diameter and 5ft (1.5m) in height, it is much smaller than the first, 40ft dome. The figure is contained in legislation sent to Congress, which would also increase a tax on oil companies to provide funds for clear-up work. US federal wildlife officials are treating the deaths of six dolphins on the Gulf Coast as oil-related, even though other factors may be to blame. In a letter sent Friday to Tony Hayward, BP’s chief executive officer, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar and Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano cited statements by BP officials that the company would pay all legitimate claims and that the company considered the $75 million cap “irrelevant.” “Based on these statements, we understand that BP will not in any way seek to rely on the potential $75 million statutory cap to refuse to provide compensation to any individuals or others harmed by the oil spill, even if more than $75 million is required to provide full compensation to all claimants, and BP will not seek reimbursement from the American taxpayers, the United States government or the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund for any amount,” the two cabinet members wrote in their letter, which was made public on Saturday.
— As BP’s experimental efforts to reduce the flow of oil spewing from disabled well in the Gulf of Mexico met another obstacle, the Obama administration sought assurances from BP that it would not attempt to limit its liability to the $75 million prescribed by law. In a letter sent Friday to Tony Hayward, BP’s chief executive officer, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar and Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano cited statements by BP officials that the company would pay all legitimate claims and that the company considered the $75 million cap “irrelevant.” “Based on these statements, we understand that BP will not in any way seek to rely on the potential $75 million statutory cap to refuse to provide compensation to any individuals or others harmed by the oil spill, even if more than $75 million is required to provide full compensation to all claimants, and BP will not seek reimbursement from the American taxpayers, the United States government or the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund for any amount,” the two cabinet members wrote in their letter, which was made public on Saturday. BP says the new dome should be working by the end of the week A new steel dome has been placed beside the damaged oil well that has been polluting the Gulf of Mexico since last month's drilling rig disaster, BP says. Dubbed the "top hat", it is smaller than a first container dome which had to be set aside after becoming blocked by crystallised gas hydrates. The cost of tackling the spill is being put at $118m (£80m), much of which the Obama administration expects BP to pay. The figure is contained in legislation sent to Congress, which would also increase a tax on oil companies to provide funds for clear-up work. The bill would also raise the liability cap on how much oil companies must pay for economic damage caused by a spill at one of their wells. Eleven people died when an explosion - thought to have occurred after a surge of methane gas from deep within the well - destroyed the Deepwater Horizon rig on 20 April. Dead dolphins At least 4m gallons (15m litres) of oil have leaked into the Gulf from the damaged well to date, the Associated Press news agency reports. US federal wildlife officials are treating the deaths of six dolphins on the Gulf Coast as oil-related, even though other factors may be to blame. Samples from the carcasses found in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama since 2 May have been sent for testing. A National Marine Fisheries Service official said none of them had obvious signs of oil and it was common for dead dolphins to wash up at this time of year, when they are in shallow waters to calve. The dome is meant to funnel some of the escaping oil to a waiting tanker on the surface. It is unclear what killed six dolphins on the Gulf Coast this month "The 'top hat' was lowered to the seabed floor last night and is presently... in the immediate area of the leak and the plan is to have that positioned over the leak and functioning by the end of the week," BP's Bryan Ferguson told AFP news agency. Containment chambers like this have been used to tackle well and pipeline leaks in the past but not at such a depth - 5,000ft (1,525m). BP chief operating officer Doug Suttles said engineers also hoped to link a second pipe to the end of the pipe supposed to pump oil from the sea floor before the explosion. National Guard soldiers have been dropping sandbags from helicopters into a channel near Grand Isle, Louisiana, in a desperate bid to keep the slick out of wetlands. The area's ecosystem is home to pelicans, gulls and sea creatures vital to the local fishing economy. 'Hours before blast' Unemployment assistance, help for fishermen and money for food stamps are all foreseen in the legislation submitted to Congress on Wednesday. US House of Representatives investigators say they have uncovered significant problems with one of the well's crucial safety devices, its blowout preventer (BOP), which may have contributed to the explosion. The BOP, built by Cameron International, had a leak in its hydraulic system and lacked the power to cut through joints to seal the drill pipe, Representative Henry Waxman told a hearing on the spill. The hearing was also told that the BOP had been modified, which made it difficult to operate after the accident, and its emergency back-up controls may have failed because the explosion that destroyed the rig also disabled communications preventing workers from sending signals underwater. How the oil has spread Approximate oil locations 22 April - 15 May Bookmark with: Delicious Digg reddit Facebook StumbleUpon What are these? New Orleans, Louisiana (CNN) -- A mechanical problem prevented BP from inserting a tube into a ruptured pipe that would help siphon off oil leaking into the Gulf of Mexico, BP official Doug Suttles said Saturday. Meanwhile, Suttles said the application of underwater dispersants -- a tactic approved for use Friday -- "appears" to be working. The Coast Guard and the Environmental Protection Agency said Friday that the decision to use subsea dispersants is an "important step" at reducing potential damage from the spill, because dispersant can be more effective underwater than on the ocean's surface. "The BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill may prove to be one of the most devastating environmental disasters this nation has ever faced," said the letter, which was dated Friday.
"There are a number of casualties, civilians killed and wounded," he said. Did you witness the attack? The attack in Kabul on Tuesday left at least 47 people wounded in addition to the 18 fatalities The attack in Kabul on Tuesday left at least 47 people wounded in addition to the 18 fatalities The attack in Kabul on Tuesday left at least 47 people wounded in addition to the 18 fatalities [AFP] The attack in Kabul on Tuesday left at least 47 people wounded in addition to the 18 fatalities [AFP] The suicide bomber is reported to have been driving a car laden with explosives. From January to end-May 2009, 119 Nato soldiers died in Afghanistan. Most of the victims were Afghan civilians caught in the blast when the bomber targeted a Nato-led convoy. Name Your E-mail address Town & Country Phone number (optional): Comments The BBC may edit your comments and not all emails will be published. An increasingly resurgent Taliban has announced a spring offensive in May against government officials and foreign diplomats and troops. I also saw one of my colleagues full of blood in the back of a police car, also being taken to hospital. A spokesman for the Nato-led international peacekeeping force Isaf confirmed that six of its soldiers had been killed. They say they have arrested several men planning suicide attacks but it is impossible to stop and search every car, so these attacks seem certain to continue, he says. Earlier this year Nato and Afghan forces launched a major offensive against militants entrenched in neighbouring Helmand province and security forces are still engaged in operations around Helmand.
Advertisement A suicide car bomber has killed 18 people - including five US soldiers - and injured 52 more in the deadliest attack this year on foreign troops in the Afghan capital. Most of the victims were Afghan civilians caught in the blast when the bomber targeted a Nato-led convoy. The bomber struck during rush hour close to the parliament. Taliban militants said they had carried out the attack, using a van packed with 750kg (1,650lb) of explosives. ANALYSIS Nick Childs, BBC defence and security correspondent Nato is making no bones about the fact that it's trying to wrest the military initiative in Afghanistan back from the insurgents. So, in the battle for perceptions and hearts and minds, this will be a serious blow, with the high loss of life both of Nato troops and local civilians. It also highlights the fact that, despite increased efforts, it is impossible completely to eliminate such attacks. And such so-called "spectaculars", especially in the capital, remain a potent weapon for the insurgents, even as the Nato-led forces prepare to continue their own new strategy centred around retaking control in the south. Despite tight security, the suicide bomber managed to drive into the city in a car laden with explosives. The convoy was attacked on the Darulaman road, one of the main roads in the city. A spokesman for the Nato-led international peacekeeping force Isaf confirmed that six of its soldiers had been killed. Apart from the five US soldiers, one Canadian is believed to have been killed. Nato chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen "strongly" condemned the attack, but said the alliance remained "committed to its mission to protect the Afghan people and to strengthen Afghanistan's ability to resist terrorism". Five military vehicles were damaged and more than a dozen civilian vehicles, including a bus, were also caught in the blast. The BBC's Mark Dummett in Kabul says that, as is often the case in such attacks, Afghan civilians seem to have borne the brunt of the explosion. He described the scene as "totally chaotic". RECENT KABUL ATTACKS 26 Feb 2010: Explosions and gunfire in an area popular with foreigners leave 17 dead 18 Jan 2010: Taliban attack government targets and shopping centres, killing 12 15 Dec 2009: Six killed in suicide attack near hotel in Wazir Akbar Khan district 24 Oct 2009: Six UN staff and three Afghans killed in attack on UN guesthouse 8 Oct 2009: Suicide bomber attacks Indian embassy, killing at least 17 17 Sept 2009: Six Italian soldiers and 10 Afghans die in military convoy blast 18 Aug 2009: Suicide blast kills 10 in attack on Western military convoy In pictures: Aftermath in Kabul He told the BBC: "I witnessed the bomb this morning at around 0815 [0345 GMT]. "Among the dead there were lots of women and girls - I heard later that they were students going to university. I also saw one of my colleagues full of blood in the back of a police car, also being taken to hospital. "This situation really made me cry for the bloodshed and the innocent people who were killed and injured." Afghan police have set up extra checkpoints throughout the city this year following a series of attacks by gunmen and bombers on government offices and hotels, our correspondent says. They say they have arrested several men planning suicide attacks but it is impossible to stop and search every car, so these attacks seem certain to continue, he says. Major offensive Afghan President Hamid Karzai described the attack as "heartbreaking". "We are condemning the attack in the strongest terms. I hope Afghanistan will soon get out of this suffering, God willing," he said at a news conference broadcast on national television. Afghan officials are also preparing for a jirga (English: grand council) of tribal leaders, during which ways to promote peace in Afghanistan will be discussed. Earlier this year Nato and Afghan forces launched a major offensive against militants entrenched in neighbouring Helmand province and security forces are still engaged in operations around Helmand. KABUL, Afghanistan—At least 18 people, including six coalition-force members, were killed and almost 50 were wounded when a suicide car bomber targeted a U.S. military convoy outside an Afghan military-recruitment center in Kabul Tuesday morning, police officials said. A spokesman from the North Atlantic Treaty Organization said six "international service members were killed and several wounded" in the attack. The attack in Kabul on Tuesday left at least 47 people wounded in addition to the 18 fatalities The attack in Kabul on Tuesday left at least 47 people wounded in addition to the 18 fatalities The attack in Kabul on Tuesday left at least 47 people wounded in addition to the 18 fatalities [AFP] The attack in Kabul on Tuesday left at least 47 people wounded in addition to the 18 fatalities [AFP] The suicide bomber is reported to have been driving a car laden with explosives. "We're still confirming how many Isaf casualties have been caused." Bashary said at least 12 civilians were killed and 47 others wounded, most of whom had been travelling in a bus that passed when the suicide bomber blew up a car packed with explosives. Afghan television broadcast footage of the bomb site, where US soldiers and Afghan police were seen inspecting a minivan. Tuesday's bombing was the first major attack in Kabul since February 26 when Taliban suicide bombers targeted guesthouses, killing 16 people including Westerners and Indians in one the deadliest attacks on foreigners.
Those responsible for the theft, he went on, had clearly been very organised. "That's irrefutable. The five missing paintings are Dove with Green Peas by Pablo Picasso (painted in 1911), Pastoral by Henri Matisse (1906), Olive Tree near l'Estaque by Georges Braque (1906), Woman with Fan by Amedeo Modigliani (1919) and Still Life with Candlestick by Fernand Leger (1922). Police and investigators have sealed off the museum. "It feels intrusive when any great artwork is stolen," she said. The biggest art theft until now was a raid on the Isabella Steward Gardner Museum in Boston in 1990 in which 13 works of art worth $500 million were taken. ANALYSIS: WHAT THE PICTURES TELL US. The work, on loan from the Musée d'Orsay in Paris for the exhibition, had been stolen overnight. There were three security guards in the building at the time, but each has told detectives that they saw nothing. Mr Girard put the value of the stolen paintings at just under 100m euros (£86m; $123m). Broken padlock Museum officials discovered the theft early on Thursday, when they found a smashed window and a broken padlock which had been cut to gain access to the five paintings. That is the year Paul Cezanne died, and it was his later paintings that inspired Braque to develop one of modern art's most famous movements. You've got to say that this thief has good taste – he knew what he was taking." During World War I, he chose to renounce abstraction and instead focus on painting common objects in bold colours.
Five paintings by Picasso, Matisse and other great artists have been stolen from the Museum of Modern Art in Paris, French officials say. The paintings are estimated to be worth just under 100m euros (£86m; $123m). They were taken overnight on Wednesday and reported missing early on Thursday, officials say. The museum, across the River Seine from the Eiffel Tower, has been cordoned off by investigators. Image caption One of the stolen paintings was Picasso's Dove with Peas (Photo: Bridgeman Art Library) In pictures: Stolen masterpieces Security camera footage reportedly shows someone entering the museum through a window during the night. "This is a serious crime to the heritage of humanity," Christophe Girard, deputy culture secretary at the Paris Town Hall, told a news conference. The theft was committed by "one or more individuals who were obviously organised", Mr Girard said. He added that investigators were looking into how the museum's security system and several guards were outsmarted by the thief or thieves. Mr Girard put the value of the stolen paintings at just under 100m euros (£86m; $123m). They had earlier been estimated to be worth some 500m euros (£431m; $618m). The five missing paintings are Dove with Green Peas by Pablo Picasso (painted in 1911), Pastoral by Henri Matisse (1906), Olive Tree near l'Estaque by Georges Braque (1906), Woman with Fan by Amedeo Modigliani (1919) and Still Life with Candlestick by Fernand Leger (1922). Broken padlock Museum officials discovered the theft early on Thursday, when they found a smashed window and a broken padlock which had been cut to gain access to the five paintings. The Van Gogh and Monet paintings were recovered August 2004: Two paintings by Edvard Munch, The Scream and Madonna, are stolen from the Munch Museum in Oslo. Recovered two years later April 1991: Twenty paintings are stolen from the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam. Found shortly afterwards in abandoned car nearby March 1990: Works by Vermeer, Rembrandt and Manet are stolen from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston. Though there is often speculation that works have been "stolen to order" for dishonest collectors, experts in the field say that in reality this is very unusual. Investigators think that international criminal gangs use art works effectively as a form of currency. For criminals dealing in drugs or weapons, a rolled-up painting is a way of carrying very large amounts of "currency", even if it is one tenth of the value at auction, the BBC's arts correspondent adds. The Museum of Modern Art of the City of Paris, located in the east wing of the Palais de Tokyo building, is separate from the bigger and better-known national collection of modern art at the Pompidou Centre. If you wanted to start a museum of modern art these five paintings would be high on your list of acquisitions. Between them they tell the story of modern art's emergence, says the BBC arts editor Will Gompertz. PASTORAL BY HENRI MATISSE (1906) Image caption Pastoral painted by Henri Matisse in 1906 Henri Matisse's Pastoral has the hallmarks of the Impressionists - painted outside or "en plein air", with loose brushstrokes and an everyday, realistic subject. OLIVE TREE NEAR L'ESTAQUE - GEORGES BRAQUE (1906) Image caption Olive Tree near l'Estaque painted by Georges Braque in 1906 Georges Braque was inspired by the work of Matisse and developed his own Fauvist style which can be seen in the painting Olive Tree Near L'Estaque. What is of particular interest about this work is the date Braque painted it - 1906. That is the year Paul Cezanne died, and it was his later paintings that inspired Braque to develop one of modern art's most famous movements. DOVE WITH GREEN PEAS - PABLO PICASSO (1911) Image caption Dove with Green Peas painted by Pablo Picasso in 1911 Picasso's Dove with Peas makes sense as the next painting to have, as it is a classic example of Cubism in its pomp. Modigliani's portrait of his friend shows him using restrained colours out of respect for her and using "S" shapes to accentuate her graceful pose. A lone thief broke into a Paris museum last night and stole five paintings possibly worth hundreds of millions of euros, including masterpieces by Pablo Picasso and Henri Matisse, French police said today. The total value of the paintings was initially put at €500m (£430m) by the Paris prosecutor's office, but Christophe Girard, the deputy culture secretary at Paris City Hall later said it was "just under €100m". The pictures are: Le Pigeon aux Petits Pois (Pigeon with Peas) an ochre and brown Cubist oil painting by Picasso; La Pastorale (Pastoral), an oil painting of nudes on a hillside by Matisse; L'Olivier Près de l'Estaque (Olive Tree near Estaque) by Braque; La Femme a l'Eventail (Woman with a Fan) by Modigliani; and Nature Morte aux Chandeliers (Still Life with Chandeliers) by Léger. Today, visitors climbing the steps to the ornate bronze doors of the museum were informed by written notices that for "technical reasons" they would have to come back another time, while the world's media swarmed around the five police officers on guard outside. Graphic: map - museum of modern art in Paris Photograph: Graphic Girard, who is deputy to the mayor of Paris, Bertrand Delanoë, said the theft was a "serious crime [against artistic] heritage" that had revealed failings in the museum's security system. "There are three [security] people in the museum at all times but those three people saw nothing," he said, adding that all five paintings belonged to the museum's permanent collection and were in good condition.
Theoretically, yes. "These are very much real cells." What will the scientists do with these synthetic bacteria? Dr Venter likened the advance to making new software for the cell. This bacterial cell, the researchers say, is the first life form to be entirely controlled by synthetic DNA. Could they use this same technique to make more complex synthetic organisms - like plants or animals? Some also suggest that the potential benefits of the technology have been over-stated. He said: "In 2003, when we made the first synthetic virus, it underwent an extensive ethical review that went all the way up to the level of the White House. 'New industrial revolution' Dr Venter and his colleagues hope eventually to design and build new bacteria that will perform useful functions. WATTS WHAT... "We need new standards of safety evaluation for this kind of radical research and protections from military or terrorist misuse and abuse. "We think these are important issues and we urge continued discussion that we want to take part in." But there's an exponential increase in the potential benefit to society," he told BBC's Newsnight. Therefore, for the time being, this approach is unlikely to supplant existing methods for genetic engineering". Professor Julian Savulescu, from the Oxford Uehiro Centre for Practical Ethics at the University of Oxford, said the potential of this science was "in the far future, but real and significant". The team was led by Dr Craig Venter of the J Craig Venter Institute (JCVI) in Maryland and California. But they show that making a living cell with a synthetic chromosome is possible.
Heralding a potential new era in biology, scientists for the first time have created a synthetic cell, completely controlled by man-made genetic instructions, researchers at the private J. Craig Venter Institute announced Thursday. "We call it the first synthetic cell," said genomics pioneer Craig Venter, who oversaw the project. "These are very much real cells." Created at a cost of $40 million, this... Image caption The synthetic cell looks identical to the 'wild type' Scientists in the US have succeeded in developing the first living cell to be controlled entirely by synthetic DNA. The researchers constructed a bacterium's "genetic software" and transplanted it into a host cell. The resulting microbe then looked and behaved like the species "dictated" by the synthetic DNA. The advance, published in Science, has been hailed as a scientific landmark, but critics say there are dangers posed by synthetic organisms. But the researchers hope eventually to design bacterial cells that will produce medicines and fuels and even absorb greenhouse gases. He and his colleagues had previously made a synthetic bacterial genome, and transplanted the genome of one bacterium into another. Now, the scientists have put both methods together, to create what they call a "synthetic cell", although only its genome is truly synthetic. They sequenced its genetic code and then used "synthesis machines" to chemically construct a copy. Dr Venter told BBC News: "We've now been able to take our synthetic chromosome and transplant it into a recipient cell - a different organism. "As soon as this new software goes into the cell, the cell reads [it] and converts into the species specified in that genetic code." The new bacteria replicated over a billion times, producing copies that contained and were controlled by the constructed, synthetic DNA. "This is the first time any synthetic DNA has been in complete control of a cell," said Dr Venter. 'New industrial revolution' Dr Venter and his colleagues hope eventually to design and build new bacteria that will perform useful functions. "I think they're going to potentially create a new industrial revolution," he said. "If we can really get cells to do the production that we want, they could help wean us off oil and reverse some of the damage to the environment by capturing carbon dioxide." Even some scientists worry we lack the means to weigh up the risks such novel organisms might represent, once set loose Susan Watts, BBC Newsnight Read Susan Watts's thoughts Analysis from around the world Send us your comments Dr Venter and his colleagues are already collaborating with pharmaceutical and fuel companies to design and develop chromosomes for bacteria that would produce useful fuels and new vaccines. But critics say that the potential benefits of synthetic organisms have been overstated. Dr Helen Wallace from Genewatch UK, an organisation that monitors developments in genetic technologies, told BBC News that synthetic bacteria could be dangerous. "By releasing them into areas of pollution, [with the aim of cleaning it up], you're actually releasing a new kind of pollution. The risks are unparalleled, we need safety evaluation for this kind of radical research and protections from military or terrorist misuse Julian Savulescu, Oxford University ethics professor Profile: Craig Venter Q&A: The meaning of synthetic life Ethics concern over synthetic cell Dr Wallace accused Dr Venter of playing down the potential drawbacks. "He isn't God," she said, "he's actually being very human; trying to get money invested in his technology and avoid regulation that would restrict its use." But Dr Venter said that he was "driving the discussions" about the regulations governing this relatively new scientific field and about the ethical implications of the work. He said: "In 2003, when we made the first synthetic virus, it underwent an extensive ethical review that went all the way up to the level of the White House. "And there have been extensive reviews including from the National Academy of Sciences, which has done a comprehensive report on this new field. "We think these are important issues and we urge continued discussion that we want to take part in." Ethical discussions Dr Gos Micklem, a geneticist from the University of Cambridge, said that the advance was "undoubtedly a landmark" study. But, he said, "there is already a wealth of simple, cheap, powerful and mature techniques for genetically engineering a range of organisms. "The flu vaccine you'll get next year could be developed by these processes," he added. The researchers also employed "nature's tools" to build their new chromosome (the package of DNA that contains all of the genetic material the cell needs to live and function).
"He only wears, jeans and casuals. Advertisement Continue reading the main story The network appears to have included Mr. Khan and a close friend, Ahmed Raza Khan, who, like Mr. Khan, was arrested in Islamabad on May 10, Mr. Khan’s father, Rana Ashraf Khan, said. American authorities have linked the failed New York attack to the Pakistani Taliban. The embassy named the company as the Hanif Rajput Catering Service and warned US citizens and firms in Pakistan not to use it. "He was believed to have phoned Shahzad to tell him to return home after the Times Square incident," said the official. "They (the U.S. embassy) were our client from the very first day (of our business), since 1991. They follow a visit to Pakistan by two senior US security officials. Photo The spokesman for the Pakistani Army denied earlier this week that an officer had been detained in the Times Square case. Ashraf, the company's vice-president, left Pakistan for the United States in 1997 to study and graduated with a computer sciences degree from the University of Houston in 2000, according to his father. The agencies did not say when the men were arrested. “I am shocked,” he said of the accusation that his son was connected to the Times Square bombing, saying that his son had organized 900 catering events in the last six months, some for as many as 2,000 guests. He also loves PlayStation." Unnamed Pakistani officials told news agencies that Salman Ashraf, the co-owner of the firm, was one of four or five men arrested.
Image caption Times Square was evacuated on 1 May while the bomb was defused Pakistan has arrested several suspects in connection with the failed bombing in New York City, officials say. One of the arrested is the co-owner of a prominent catering firm used by the US embassy in Islamabad, Pakistani officials told news agencies. They follow a visit to Pakistan by two senior US security officials. The main suspect, Pakistan-born US citizen Faisal Shahzad, was arrested two days after the failed attempt. Mr Shahzad has not yet entered a plea on the five charges he faces. According to court documents he has admitted trying to detonate the Times Square car bomb, having learnt how to make it in a training camp in Pakistan's tribal region along the border with Afghanistan. Image caption Shahzad was arrested trying to leave the US on a commerical flight Police pulled him off a flight preparing to leave New York's JFK airport about 53 hours after he left a car with a bomb in it in Times Square. The news of the arrests in Islamabad came after the US embassy posted a notice on its website that the catering firm co-owned by one of the arrested men and his father may have links to "terrorist groups". The embassy named the company as the Hanif Rajput Catering Service and warned US citizens and firms in Pakistan not to use it. Unnamed Pakistani officials told news agencies that Salman Ashraf, the co-owner of the firm, was one of four or five men arrested. The agencies did not say when the men were arrested. American authorities have linked the failed New York attack to the Pakistani Taliban. Earlier this week, a US delegation to Islamabad including President Barack Obama's National Security Adviser, Gen James Jones, and the director of the CIA, Leon Panetta, praised Pakistan for its co-operation with the investigation into the attempted Times Square bombing. REUTERS/Faisal Mahmood A man walks past Hanif Rajput catering service owned by Mohammad Ashraf Khan and his son Salman Ashraf in Islamabad, May 22, 2010. REUTERS/Faisal Mahmood ISLAMABAD A Pakistani detained over the failed car bombing in New York's Times Square had no ties with the main suspect but may have met him during the course of business, the arrested man's father said on Saturday. The attempted bombing on May 1 has deepened international fears about Pakistan, a U.S. ally in the campaign against militancy but also a breeding ground for Islamist violence. Pakistan has detained at least six people suspected of ties with the abortive bombing attempt, including Salman Ashraf, who worked for a catering company servicing embassies, according to a security official. "The nature of our job is such that one can meet anyone, anywhere," said Khan, but the company had no ties to terrorism. U.S. authorities say Shahzad, a Pakistani-American, has admitted to the would-be Times Square bomb attack and has been cooperating with investigators since his arrest on May 3. The United States has said Pakistan Taliban militants allied with al Qaeda were behind the attempted New York attack. The U.S. embassy in Pakistan issued a warning to U.S. government personnel and American citizens on Friday about the catering company, saying it may have terrorist links. He said clients of the company, located on the first floor of an ordinary office building in a commercial area of Islamabad, also included Pakistani military officials. Ashraf, the company's vice-president, left Pakistan for the United States in 1997 to study and graduated with a computer sciences degree from the University of Houston in 2000, according to his father. Norwegian mobile operator Telenor said one of its staff at its Pakistani unit had been detained by Pakistani authorities over the bomb plot. "Faisal (Shahzad) lived in Ashraf's Islamabad house for some time," said a Pakistani security official. "We are investigating whether Ashraf has provided any financial support to Faisal because Ashraf and his father are rich people and they run a very big catering business." Advertisement Continue reading the main story The arrest of the army major, which was first reported by The Los Angeles Times, raised questions of whether the Pakistani Army harbored some officers and soldiers sympathetic to the cause of the Pakistani Taliban, the militant group that Mr. Shahzad has told American investigators trained him for his bombing attempt.
Of the passengers, 32 were women, 105 were men, 19 were children and four were infants, he said. ANALYSIS Air India Express is a budget airline and a subsidiary of the national carrier Air India. Mangalore's airport was "technically certified" by the country's civil aviation regulator. The plane was no more than three years old. The Boeing 737 overshot the hilltop runway as it tried to land and burst into flames in a valley beyond. This is the first crash in its relatively short history. Nearly 160 people are feared dead after an airliner crashed while landing near the southern Indian city of Mangalore. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Many safety consultants blame the government for weak policies and spotty enforcement. Indian officials said there were eight survivors among 160 passengers and six crew on board the Air India Express flight from Dubai. One of the runways was extended in 2006 to accommodate larger planes like the Boeing 737. TV pictures showed rescue workers and local villagers scrambling on steep hillsides to search the smoking wreckage. View all New York Times newsletters. India's civil aviation minister Praful Patel said an investigation was underway but reasons for the crash would not be known until the flight data and voice data recorders have been recovered. Only the tail of the aircraft was left intact. AFP news agency said Mr Glusica also had British citizenship. Ummerfarook Mohammed said the cabin quickly filled with smoke after the jet skidded off the runway and hit a boundary wall. The last major crash happened in the city of Patna in July 2000, killing at least 50 people. Patel said weather conditions were good -- calm winds, no rain and good visibility of 6 kilometers -- and both the pilot and co-pilot were experienced and had landed many times before at the Mangalore airport.
Nearly 160 people are feared dead after an airliner crashed while landing near the southern Indian city of Mangalore. Indian officials said there were eight survivors among 160 passengers and six crew on board the Air India Express flight from Dubai. The Boeing 737 overshot the hilltop runway as it tried to land and burst into flames in a valley beyond. Indian Aviation Minister Praful Patel said he felt "morally responsible" for the crash, AFP news agency reports. Survivors said they thought they heard what sounded like a tyre bursting just before the crash. Speaking to Indian TV from his hospital bed, survivor Umer Farooq said he heard a loud thud as the plane touched down. "Then the plane veered off toward some trees on the side and then the cabin filled with smoke. Mr Farooq was being treated for burns to his arms, legs, and face. Difficult access All the passengers on the flight were Indian nationals, with many returning from jobs in the Gulf to visit their families, says the BBC's Sanjoy Majumder in Delhi. There were up to 20 children on board, our correspondent adds. Mangalore airport lies on top of a hill with steep drops at the end of each of its two runways. This is the first crash in its relatively short history. The plane was no more than three years old. Air India Express mainly caters to the southern Indian states of Kerala and Karnataka, where this plane crashed, with flights to and from the Gulf, where a large number of Indian nationals work. India has a relatively good air safety record but in the past decade there has been a rapid growth in the aviation industry. A number of new airlines have been launched, which has led to a shortage of some experienced crew. The airline said the plane had overshot the runway as it came into land at about 0600 (0030 GMT) and crashed into a wooded valley. TV pictures showed rescue workers and local villagers scrambling on steep hillsides to search the smoking wreckage. A Mangalore police official told the BBC that smoke from the crash site had made it difficult for rescue workers to gain access to the plane. "As far as the information available with us is concerned, eight persons were rescued and shifted to local hospitals in Mangalore for treatment," Air India official Anup Shrivasta told reporters. Mr Patel said one person was unharmed, four had minor injuries and three were being treated for major injuries. One passenger, described as a seven-year-old boy, died on the way to hospital. Warnings A light, pre-monsoon rain was reported to be falling at the time but the head of the Indian airport authority, VP Agarwal, said visibility was not a problem. He said the pilot had given no distress call to the control tower. He was said to have 10,000 hours of flying time, including experience of Mangalore's airport. The civil aviation minister said an investigation had been ordered into the crash, and that the flight data and voice "black box" recorders had not been found. After visiting the scene of the crash, Mr Patel observed that Mangalore airport had a short runway and a limited area after that to accommodate planes that overshot the landing strip. Mr Patel added that one of the plane's wings had hit a navigational aid near the end of the runway called a localiser and broke off before the rest of the plane plunged into the valley. A former adviser to the Civil Aviation Ministry said he had given warnings in the past about the airport and said it should not be used by bigger aircraft such as the Boeing 737. "The problems are there, that if you overshoot, if your brakes fail or if you can't stop the aircraft for any reason, then it will fall and roll over the cliff into the valley with disastrous consequences, and that is what happened today here," said Air Marshal Denzil Keelor. 'I just jumped' One of the survivors, KP Manikutty, said the landing had at first appeared to be smooth and then the plane had crashed with no warning. India's air safety record has been good in the past decade, despite a rapid increase in the number of private airlines and air travel in the country. Photo Air India, in particular, has been in the news for a number of embarrassing incidents, including a midair scuffle between pilots and flight attendants during which the plane was reportedly unmanned for a few minutes. At the site of Saturday’s crash, television footage showed rescue teams struggling through smoking and flaming wreckage of the Boeing 737, and survivors being wheeled on gurneys into a local hospital.
We are not a global policeman. Beckham, 35, will meet troops and Afghan children, although his participation in kickabout games for the photographers will be limited, because of his injury. "We are not in Afghanistan for the sake of the education policy in a broken 13th-century country. The visit came as Foreign Secretary William Hague and Defence Secretary Liam Fox met military leaders in Kabul. We are there so the people of Britain and our global interests are not threatened." Beckham said: "To see the morale of the troops is really incredible. He added: "I've been wanting to come for years, but with my playing schedule I've never had the time. He will be the most famous British sportsman to visit the front line in Helmand. "We are taking stock as a new government, we want to see how things are working, we want to hear the military advice, we want to talk to the Afghan government themselves, we want to discuss the detail with the United States." "That's about providing basic education and healthcare facilities, but it's also about ensuring there are opportunities for promoting livelihoods so that people have jobs. His comments were a contrast to those of Mitchell, who told journalists on the flight to Kabul that development was "absolutely crucial". The UK force level in Afghanistan is currently 9,500, but with special forces totals some 10,000. The footballer made his name at Manchester United before going on to play for Real Madrid, Los Angeles Galaxy and AC Milan. Just yesterday one of the troops was killed, and you feel it and you see the flags at half-mast and you feel the tension there.
Advertisement Footballer David Beckham has spoken of his awe for British troops while making a visit to Afghanistan. The 35-year-old former England captain set out for Helmand - where about 8,000 British troops are based - on Friday. He told BFBS British Forces News: "These guys are the bravest people that I've ever met and it really is, it truly is, an honour to be here." The visit came as Foreign Secretary William Hague and Defence Secretary Liam Fox met military leaders in Kabul. Beckham said: "To see the morale of the troops is really incredible. It first kind of hit me on the way over when we were on the military plane flying in to Afghanistan. I've been wanting to come for years David Beckham In pictures: Beckham visit "It's scary, it really is scary, you feel it. Just yesterday one of the troops was killed, and you feel it and you see the flags at half-mast and you feel the tension there. "These guys are the bravest people that I've ever met and it really is, it truly is, an honour to be here." He added: "I've been wanting to come for years, but with my playing schedule I've never had the time. 'Amazing' "But obviously being injured now it's given me the chance to do things I've always wanted to do and never been able to. Asked if he would have considered a military career had he not become a footballer, Beckham said: "Without a doubt... I've represented my country many times on the field, but what these guys do representing our country is really amazing." Beckham posed for pictures, signed autographs, took part in a question and answer session with troops and visited Camp Bastion's hospital. He also got a lesson in weapon handling and joined senior officers cooling off in a paddling pool as temperatures in the camp reaching 45C (113F). Defence secretary on trip to Afghanistan with cabinet colleagues says Britain is not a 'global policeman' The defence secretary, Liam Fox, wants to speed up the withdrawal of British troops from Afghanistan, saying that Britian is not a "global policeman". His comments came as he joined the foreign secretary, William Hague, and the international development secretary, Andrew Mitchell, on a trip to Afghanistan to meet political and military leaders in the capital, Kabul. While Hague indicated that the new coalition government was not planning a strategic break with existing UK policy on Afghanistan, Fox said expectations of Britain's role in the country needed to change. He also risked angering the president, Hamid Karzai, by describing Afghanistan as a "broken 13th-century country". "That's about providing basic education and healthcare facilities, but it's also about ensuring there are opportunities for promoting livelihoods so that people have jobs. Hague told reporters on the flight that "the question is how to support the efforts of the Afghan government and our Nato partners, not whether to support them".
Eight people survived, authorities said. MANGALORE, India, May 23 (UPI) -- Investigators say they found the flight recorder in wreckage of the Air India Express plane that skidded off a runway and crashed in a valley in Mangalore. "The black box has been recovered from the crash site. Fifty four bodies are yet to be identified. However, Indian Secretary of Civil Aviation Madhavan Nambiar said earlier Saturday it is too early to speculate on the cause of the Air India plane crash in the southern city of Mangalore. Boeing experts also are to help decipher data from the flight recorder. It is vital in finding information about key details like the last moments of the flight and whether there was any error from the pilot's side. The airport is described as a "tabletop," set on a hill with steep cliffs near the runway. The box will be brought to the accident lab of the Director General of Civil Aviation in the national capital where it will be opened and to find out what exactly went wrong," the sources said. Backgrounder: Major deadly air crashes in recent years Rescuers work at the scene of the air crash in Mangalore, southern Indian state of Karnataka, May 22, 2010. Full story NDTV said investigators believe the pilot overshot the normal touchdown point by more than 2,000 feet. One of the wings of the plane then hit a cliff near the runway and ran into a ball of fire, before plunging into a nearby gorge, killing 158 people out of 166 onboard, said the sources. "A total of 104 bodies have been identified and handed over to relatives.
Forensic officials inspect the wreckage of a crashed Air India Express passenger plane in Mangalore May 23, 2010. An Air India Express airliner crashed and burst into flames outside Mangalore airport in Karnataka on Saturday, killing 158 people, many thought to be Indian migrant workers returning home from Dubai. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo) NEW DELHI, May 23 (Xinhua) -- Indian investigators have recovered the black box of the ill-fated Air India Express plane from its charred debris, more than 30 hours after it crashed while landing at Mangalore airport in the southern state of Karnataka, sources said. "The black box has been recovered from the crash site. It is vital in finding information about key details like the last moments of the flight and whether there was any error from the pilot's side. The box will be brought to the accident lab of the Director General of Civil Aviation in the national capital where it will be opened and to find out what exactly went wrong," the sources said. Experts from the plane's manufacturer Boeing are also going to help in deciphering the flight data recorder, the sources said. Related: Authorities identify bodies of 104 victims of plane crash in S India NEW DELHI, May 23 (Xinhua) -- Indian authorities Sunday claimed to have identified the bodies of 104 victims of the Air India Express plane crash after rescue teams worked through the night at the smoldering scene of the accident site at Mangalore airport in the southern state of Karnataka. "A total of 104 bodies have been identified and handed over to relatives. Aviation investigators are searching for it," state police chief Ajai Kumar Singh told the media at the crash site. MANGALORE, India, May 23 (UPI) -- Investigators say they found the flight recorder in wreckage of the Air India Express plane that skidded off a runway and crashed in a valley in Mangalore. They hope the black box provides key clues in recordings of the last moments of the flight before the crash that killed 159 people, NDTV reported. The black box from the Boeing 737-800 will go to the accident lab of the director general of civil aviation in New Delhi, where investigators will open it as they search for possible causes of the crash. The Indian network said interviews showed the pilot then tried to brake suddenly, the tires burst and the plane hit an antenna at the edge of the runway, where it split before crashing into the valley and catching fire. At least 160 people were killed when a state-run Air India Express aircraft, with 168 people on board, overshot a runway during landing and crashed near Mangalore airport in the southern Indian state of Karnataka early Saturday morning. (Xinhua) NEW DELHI, May 22 (Xinhua) -- Speculation is on the rise that the pilot of the doomed Air India passenger plane which crashed in the southern Indian city Mangalore Saturday could have made a mis- calculation of the runway, as one of the plane wheels failed to touch the runway, said civil aviation sources. The official refused to speculate on any possible cause of the crash, saying that the airfield and runway have seen 32,000 landings of plane since its opening in 2006, and the plane's Serbian pilit had more than 12,000 flight hours.
he said. Topics: oil-and-gas, business-economics-and-finance, industry, accidents, maritime, disasters-and-accidents, environment, pollution, water-pollution, united-states First posted "It's not a 10, it's not that certain. They can see the oil now and know there is more coming. "BP has made a commitment to doing everything we can to lessen the impact of this tragic incident on the people and environment of the Gulf Coast," BP Chief Executive Officer Tony Hayward said. The oil company has delayed an attempt at plugging the leaking well with heavy mud and cement until later in the week. Even those who once supported offshore drilling are beginning to rethink. If it did, the U.S. would suddenly find itself beholden to oil imports - some of which would come from environmentally and politically questionable sources - in a way few would likely support. Mr Salazar now says it is the lesser of two evils. "We could actually see multiple birds oiled, some to the point where they couldn't fly. More than a month after the Deepwater Horizon rig exploded and triggered the deepwater oil spill, BP faces mounting anger among both politicians and residents of the Gulf states, who are gaining a clearer picture of the effects of the underwater spill as oil washes on shore. Yet analysts say that the Gulf of Mexico, which produces 30 per cent of the U.S. oil supply and 20 per cent of its natural gas, is simply too important for the country to shut off the taps. "We're not going to do it until we're completely sure it's right."
BP uncertain mud plug will stop leak Updated Frustration is mounting in Washington over BP's failure to seal the leaking oil well in the Gulf of Mexico, but senior Obama administration officials say there is no viable alternative. The oil company has delayed an attempt at plugging the leaking well with heavy mud and cement until later in the week. And after more than a month of leaking oil, the people of America's Gulf Coast have had enough of missed deadlines and excuses. Louisiana's Republican governor Bobby Jindal has described what he saw touring some of the worst affected islands and wetlands. "We saw islands covered in oil where our brown pelicans nest," he said. "We could actually see multiple birds oiled, some to the point where they couldn't fly. A few days ago we took a boat out to Pass a Loutre and we saw thick black-and-brown coloured oil covering much of the perimeter of the marsh out there. "Our biologists tell us that marsh may begin dying in as soon as five to seven days." The government has declared a "fishery disaster" in the seafood-producing states of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama, making them eligible for federal funds. Reputation on the line BP chief Tony Hayward acknowledges the company's reputation is on the line. With BP failing to shut off the damaged well, Mr Jindal is demanding an emergency permit from US federal authorities to use dredges to build barrier islands to try and hold back the pollution. But homeland security secretary Janet Napolitano says Washington is worried that such a drastic move could have other, unintended, consequences. The administration's language toward BP is getting increasingly hostile as the company's inability to do anything about the leak becomes more apparent. Federal politicians have been lining up to take shots at the oil company. Interior secretary Ken Salazar was also blunt, saying: "The fact of the matter is that this is a BP mess." Last week regulators ordered BP to use a less toxic dispersant, but the oil company is still using Corexit, which is banned in the UK. "The choice of using dispersants at this point is that it is better to use the dispersants than have the oil make landfall." Making matters worse, the amount of leaking oil being caught by the insertion tube placed in the worst of the leaks is actually dropping. BP's chief operating officer, Doug Suttles, was on all the major US networks this morning. "The problem we're having with the riser insertion tool is that there's quite a bit of gas coming out with the oil in this well," he said. BP has delayed its latest attempt to seal off the well - its "top kill" option using heavy mud and cement - until mid-week. "People have asked me, on a scale of 1 to 10, what would I say?" HOUSTON, May 24 (UPI) -- British oil producer BP said Monday it would commit up to $500 million to study the impact of the Deepwater Horizon catastrophe in the Gulf of Mexico. BP said on its Web site the money would be spent on research into the oil spill's impact on the gulf's marine and shoreline environment over the next 10 years. BP said the research will include determining where the crude oil, the dispersed oil and the dispersants are being carried by underwater currents, and their impact on the ecology. The oil company said it also wants to determine how accidental releases of oil compare to natural seepage of oil from the seabed, whether the dispersant of oil helps or hinders its biodegradation, what effect tropical storms have on the oil slick and what can be done to improve technology. The company said its efforts to stop the gushing of crude oil from a mile below the gulf surface continued along with work to control the widening oil plume that's reached the Gulf Coast shoreline. It said the next option it will try to plug the leak is a so-called top kill operation in which heavy drilling fluids are injected into the well, followed by sealing with concrete. U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., has a counter on his official Web site that estimated 35.2 million gallons of oil had leaked from the well since the April 20 explosion that sank the oil rig, killing 11 workers. The U.S. government is raising the pressure on BP PLC efforts to seal an out-of-control well off the Gulf of Mexico, dispatching a team of high-ranking officials to the region and berating the company's failure to contain the damage. More than a month after the Deepwater Horizon rig exploded and triggered the deepwater oil spill, BP faces mounting anger among both politicians and residents of the Gulf states, who are gaining a clearer picture of the effects of the underwater spill as oil washes on shore. "I am angry and I am frustrated that BP has been unable to stop this well from leaking and to stop the pollution from spreading," Mr. Salazar said to reporters in Houston.
He stressed that his administration, and not oil company BP, was in charge. Advertisement Continue reading the main story The impact of the new moratorium on offshore drilling remains uncertain. The company's "top kill" effort has "stabilised the wellhead", Coast Guard commander Admiral Thad Allen said. BP has slowed the flow of oil and gas from a ruptured well into the Gulf of Mexico, a US official told local media. The leak was caused by an explosion on the Deepwater Horizon rig on 20 April, which also killed 11 workers. “It has to be part of an overall energy strategy,” Mr. Obama said. Up to now, BP had estimated the leak at 5,000 barrels (210,000 gallons) per day, while cautioning that figure was unreliable. If the new estimates are confirmed, it would mean the leak has far eclipsed the previous worst oil spill in US history - the 1989 Exxon Valdez disaster. Making matters worse, US officials warned the coming hurricane season could be one of the worst on record. Please try again later. Elizabeth Birnbaum and the MMS have come under fire from lawmakers over lax oversight of drilling operations. TOP KILL PROCEDURE Drilling mud pumped from surface Goes into blowout preventer If pressure and density sufficient, oil and gas flow stops Well then filled with cement What is a 'top kill'? The oil leak has already soiled more than 110km (70 miles) of Louisiana's coastline, threatening fragile marshlands and putting the Louisiana fishing industry at risk. Mr. Obama’s action halted planned exploratory wells in the Arctic due to be drilled this summer and planned lease sales off the coast of Virginia and in the Gulf of Mexico.
BP has slowed the flow of oil and gas from a ruptured well into the Gulf of Mexico, a US official told local media. The company's "top kill" effort has "stabilised the wellhead", Coast Guard commander Admiral Thad Allen said. But he cautioned it was too early to declare success. This is the first step in BP's plan to seal the well for good. Meanwhile, a panel of US scientists said the oil leak was much worse than previously estimated, making it the nation's worst spill. US Geological Survey Director Marcia McNutt saidBP 'slows leaking Gulf oil well' government teams estimated the flow ranges from 12,000 barrels (504,000 gallons or 1.9 million litres) to 25,000 barrels per day. Up to now, BP had estimated the leak at 5,000 barrels (210,000 gallons) per day, while cautioning that figure was unreliable. If the new estimates are confirmed, it would mean the leak has far eclipsed the previous worst oil spill in US history - the 1989 Exxon Valdez disaster. Official resigns Later on Thursday, President Barack Obama is expected to extend a moratorium on deep-water offshore drilling for six months, the White House has said. The move comes as his administration faces criticism of its handling of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. Hours before Mr Obama was due to speak, US officials announced the resignation of the head of the Minerals Management Service (MMS), the US agency which oversees drilling operations. Elizabeth "Liz" Birnbaum, who had run the MMS since July 2009, has endured criticism in the weeks since the oil spill over alleged lax oversight of drilling and what President Obama has called an overly cozy relationship with industry. Eleven workers were killed in the explosion on the Deepwater Horizon rig on 20 April. Millions of gallons of oil have poured into the sea since then. 'Low pressure' Adm Allen told US media the "top kill" procedure, which began on Wednesday, has pumped enough drilling fluid to block some of the oil and gas escaping from the well. Earlier, he had indicated that all the leaking oil and gas had been stopped, telling National Public Radio that BP engineers had "been able to force mud down and not allow any hydrocarbons to come up." It was the first positive official assessment of BP's latest attempt to plug the well, after previous efforts failed. TOP KILL PROCEDURE Drilling mud pumped from surface Goes into blowout preventer If pressure and density sufficient, oil and gas flow stops Well then filled with cement What is a 'top kill'? BP shares were up more than 5% in London trading following the announcement. BP has not yet commented in detail on the situation, saying merely that its "subsea efforts [were] advancing on several fronts". The top kill attempt, which began on Wednesday, involves pumping heavy drilling fluids into the top of the well to try to halt the oil flow. The oil leak has already soiled more than 110km (70 miles) of Louisiana's coastline, threatening fragile marshlands and putting the Louisiana fishing industry at risk. US officials warn the coming hurricane season could make things worse. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) forecasts 14 to 23 named storms, with 8 to 14 developing into hurricanes, making it one of the most active on record. President Obama, who planned to visit the gulf on Friday, ordered a suspension of virtually all current and new offshore oil drilling activity pending a comprehensive safety review, acknowledging that oversight until now had been seriously deficient. “This has been our highest priority.” But he also blamed BP, which owns the stricken well, and the Bush administration, which he said had fostered a “cozy and sometimes corrupt” relationship between oil companies and regulators at the Minerals Management Service. Advertisement Continue reading the main story The chief of that agency for the past 11 months, S. Elizabeth Birnbaum, resigned on Thursday, less than a week after her boss, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, announced a broad restructuring of the office. Advertisement Continue reading the main story “I’m hopeful that the reforms that the secretary and the administration are undertaking will resolve the flaws in the current system that I inherited,” she said in a statement. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Mr. Obama plans on Friday to inspect the efforts in Louisiana to stop the leak and clean up after it, his second trip to the region since the explosion of the Deepwater Horizon rig on April 20. He will also visit with people affected by the spreading slick that has washed ashore over scores of miles of beaches and wetlands. Even as Mr. Obama acknowledged that his efforts to improve regulation of offshore drilling had fallen short, he said that oil and gas from beneath the gulf, now about 30 percent of total domestic production, would be a part of the nation’s energy supply for years to come. And to the extent that we’re using oil, it makes sense for us to develop our oil and natural gas resources here in the United States and not simply rely on imports.” Advertisement Continue reading the main story In the top kill maneuver, a 30,000-horsepower engine aboard a ship injected heavy drill liquids through two narrow flow lines into the stack of pipes and other equipment above the well to push the escaping oil and gas back down below the sea floor. Advertisement Continue reading the main story As hour after hour passed after the top kill began early Wednesday afternoon, technicians along with millions of television and Internet viewers watched live video images showing that the dark oil escaping into the gulf waters was giving way to a mud-colored plume. That seemed to be an indication that the heavy liquids known as “drilling mud” were filling the chambers of the blowout preventer, replacing the escaping oil. And Robert Dudley, BP’s managing director, said on the “Today” program on NBC that the top kill “was moving the way we want it to.” Advertisement Continue reading the main story It was not until late afternoon that BP acknowledged that the operation was not succeeding and that pumping had halted at 11 p.m. Wednesday. We have not stopped the flow.” Advertisement Continue reading the main story Engineers had feared the top kill was risky because the high-pressure mud could have punctured another gaping hole in the pipes, or dislodged debris clogging the blowout preventer and pipes and intensified the flow.
This area is very dangerous, very dangerous." This includes West Bengal state, the scene of the train crash. "People are crying. Officials say they suspect sabotage by Maoist rebels caused the derailment. Authorities said 13 cars of the Gyaneshwari Express traveling to Mumbai from Howrah derailed. The government calls the rebels India's most serious internal security threat. The explosion follows a number of Maoist attack attacks in recent weeks, including an ambush which killed 76 Indian paramilitary police in Chhattisgarh and an attack on a bus which left 35 dead. Television pictures showed the mangled carriages as rescue workers fought to cut survivors from the wreckage. Many of the casualties were reportedly caused by the collision with the freight train. The Sardiha area where the derailment occurred is a stronghold of the guerrillas. Singh says metal plates used to secure tracks were removed. Angry passengers complained of the slow response, with some claiming that luggage and valuables were stolen by onlookers in the confusion. "The driver heard a loud noise which indicates there could be a blast. A railway worker reportedly examined the section of track at 11 p.m., a little more than two hours earlier, and reported no problem. The crash occurred as Maoist rebels called for five days of protests or a "Black Week" starting Friday in five eastern and central states where they are dominant. One reporter described a scene of chaos and panic. Helicopters were used to evacuate the injured. Their popularity has grown in the last few years among peasants and tribesman as government-backed mining companies have moved into their districts and seized their land.
Maoist guerillas are believed to be behind the blast in their West Bengal stronghold. If confirmed it would mark a major escalation of their insurgency in the state and a shift from military to civilian targets. Indian prime minister Manmohan Singh has described the Maoist rebellion as the country's greatest internal security challenge - they are a powerful force in one-third of India's 600-plus districts. The explosion follows a number of Maoist attack attacks in recent weeks, including an ambush which killed 76 Indian paramilitary police in Chhattisgarh and an attack on a bus which left 35 dead. This time the attackers struck at 1:30am as the Mumbai-Calcutta Gyaneshwari Express passed through Jhargram in West Midnapore, West Bengal, just over 80 miles from its destination. The driver heard an explosion which derailed 13 of the train's coaches and hurled five of them into the path of an on-coming freight train. India's railways minister Mamata Bannerjee said the incident was "definitely sabotage" and that a bomb attack had derailed the train. "From whatever I have been told the apprehension is the Maoists were involved," she said. Police investigating the attack said they were also exploring whether the removal of the track's "fish plates" by saboteurs had caused the derailment and collision. "The driver heard a loud noise which indicates there could be a blast. A detail investigation will reveal more, but definitely there was lot of tinkering done to the tracks," Vivek Sahay, a senior railway official, said. Television pictures showed the mangled carriages as rescue workers fought to cut survivors from the wreckage. "I can see body parts hanging out of the compartments and under the wheels. The Maoists insurgents are known in India as "Naxalites" – they began their campaign in Naxalbari, in northern West Bengal in support of peasants demanding land reform in 1967. They have since grown in strength in India's poorest and most rural states. Their popularity has grown in the last few years among peasants and tribesman as government-backed mining companies have moved into their districts and seized their land. They have threatened to launch a new terror campaign in Orissa to halt plans by Britain's wealthiest man, Lakshmi Mittal to open steel plants in state Their recent attacks have been in response to an operation by government forces to flush them out from their jungle strongholds. India train crash leaves 65 dead in West Bengal state Authorities suspect rebel sabotage after the passenger train derails in a Maoist stronghold and is hit by a freight train. India's aging railroads experience their highest volume of travelers in May, with more than 20 million passengers each day on the 69,300-mile system. There was initial confusion on the exact cause of the disaster, with some officials and the engineer on the passenger train blaming an explosion, some uninjured passengers saying they heard no blast, and police saying metal parts used to hold sections of track together were missing and apparently removed in an act of sabotage. The area of West Bengal state where the disaster occurred, near the city of Sardiha and about 90 miles southwest of Kolkata, formerly Calcutta, is a known Maoist stronghold that has seen several recent attacks. Reporting from New Delhi — — Sabotage by Maoist rebels was suspected after an Indian passenger train derailed early Friday, sending railroad cars crashing onto an adjoining track. An oncoming freight train slammed into many of those cars, killing at least 65 people and injuring 200. The disaster occurred about 1:30 a.m., when most passengers were sleeping, and it took more than an hour for police and medical crews to reach the site. Even then, rescue operations were hampered by the lack of roads, the blocked tracks and concern that the Maoists might have set an ambush or booby trap to kill rescue crews rushing to the scene. E. Mitra, a doctor at nearby Kharagpur Railway Hospital, said 30 bodies had been taken there, but "a lot of dead bodies are strewn under the derailed carriages." Samar Ghosh, home secretary of West Bengal state, said that 65 bodies had been found. As dawn broke, air force helicopters scrambled to assist as video footage showed crowds of onlookers standing on the roof of derailed carriages, watching soldiers cutting holes in a rail car roof with a gas-powered circular saw. Video showed the freight train engine fused at a right angle to one of the rear passenger cars. Vivek Sahai, a Railways Ministry official, said Maoists had declared a "black week" starting midnight Thursday, a period of strikes and stepped-up activities against the government, so transportation workers were on alert. "There was a massive jerk, and we thought the Maoists had stopped the train to hijack it," an unidentified witness told a local TV station. Mamata Banerjee, India's railways minister and a politician from West Bengal, rushed to the scene to announce compensation of $11,000 and a job in her ministry for the families of those killed and $2,200 for anyone injured. In eastern India at least 115 people were killed and hundreds injured when a high speed train derailed and collided with another train.
They were there to attack. They were clubbed, they were beaten, stabbed. 1211: The Vatican says it feels "deep sadness" at the Israeli raid. There's now a state of alert across Israel. The organizers of the flotilla said the troops opened fire first. The boats were carrying 10,000 tons of humanitarian aid and supplies to Gaza. The Turkish prime minister is expected to attend. According to the commandos, the activists threw one of the soldiers from the upper deck to the lower after they boarded. We succeeded doing this peacefully with five of the six ships. 1058: Turkey's foreign ministry calls for an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council over Israel's military operation. "On board the ship we found weapons prepared in advance and used against our forces. An Israeli government minister expressed regret for any loss of life. 1721: US President Barack Obama told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on the phone of his regret over the people killed in the raid, the White House says. It took place around 60km out to sea in international waters. The latest statement contradicts earlier reports. She tells the BBC: "I think for the first time Israel has to be held accountable; morally accountable, legally accountable, politically accountable and judicially accountable. The IDF said it had confiscated two pistols from the boat. One of the vessels currently being escorted by the Israelis towards the port of Ashdod is sailing under a Greek flag. I expressed my deepest concern about the tragedy that has happened. The other option was for the commandos to use more force, and then there would be criticism for excessive force.
Image caption Israeli commandos intercepted a flotilla of six ships destined for Gaza Live coverage of events, after Israeli commandos storm a convoy of boats carrying aid to Gaza, showing latest developments with breaking news and comment from BBC correspondents. 1800: With the UN Security Council preparing to meet in New York, we close our live coverage page. The BBC's Barbara Plett at the UN reports that the Turkish foreign minister, not the Turkish prime minister, will attend the meeting. 1721: US President Barack Obama told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on the phone of his regret over the people killed in the raid, the White House says. "The president expressed deep regret at the loss of life in today's incident, and concern for the wounded, many of whom are being treated in Israeli hospitals. The president also expressed the importance of learning all the facts and circumstances around this morning's tragic events as soon as possible." He added he understood the Israeli prime minister's decision to return immediately to Israel to deal with the events, and said they agreed to reschedule their meeting at the first opportunity. 1712: In his first public comments on the incident, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Israel "regrets" the loss of life in the raid: "We told the flotilla of ships and said, you can take all your cargo, put it in our port of Ashdod and we'll just ferret out, if there are any war materials and the rest will go through. We succeeded doing this peacefully with five of the six ships. The sixth ship, the largest, which had hundreds of people on it, not only did not co-operate in this effort, peacefully, they deliberately attacked the first soldiers that came on the ship. They were clubbed, they were beaten, stabbed. There was even a report of gunfire and our soldiers had to defend themselves, defend their lives or they would have been killed." 1658: Nato ambassadors are to hold emergency talks on Tuesday at Turkey's request to discuss the raid, spokesman James Appathurai is quoted as saying by the AFP news agency. 1657: The BBC's Jon Donnison in Gaza City says: At a Hamas-organised rally at the port in Gaza City, there seems to be genuine anger from the politicians, and among ordinary people a feeling of relief and surprise at the attention the story is getting. But after a day of drama for those ordinary Gazans, the blockade goes on; and whoever is blamed, and some here blame Hamas as well as Israel, that means continued hardship, shortages and difficulties rebuilding their lives after years of conflict. 1625: Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan accuses Israel of "state terrorism" over the raid. "This action, totally contrary to the principles of international law, is inhumane state terrorism. 1623: Hamas's high representative in Beirut, Osama Hamdan, tells the BBC there is international pressure on Israel over the raid. "We hope that this may change the political climate, it may convince Israel that the people all over the world are trying to break down the siege. The Israelis are talking about weapons on those ships - I believe they are lying." 1610: The BBC's Natalia Antelava in Beirut, Lebanon, says: Events in Gaze provoked angry reactions from people and politicians across the Arab world. Lebanon, which currently holds the presidency of the UN Security Council, is calling on an emergency session to discuss what happened. Lebanon's prime minister says these accusations are nonsense, but Hezbollah itself claims to have military capability to hit targets deep inside the Israeli territory. 1553: German Chancellor Angela Merkel says she has urged Israel and Turkey to ensure there was no escalation of violence in the Middle East following the raid. She tells the BBC: "I think for the first time Israel has to be held accountable; morally accountable, legally accountable, politically accountable and judicially accountable. "I think the Security Council... has to take serious decisions, has to lift the cover of impunity - particularly that which is provided by the US... "They have to take serious resolutions pertaining to lifting the blockade and ending the occupation." "There is a simple military explanation: when these people take a weapon from one of the Israeli soldiers and start shooting, then the Israeli soldiers have the right to defend themselves." 1400: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressed his "full backing" for Israeli army forces, according to an Israeli military statement. Now the visit will be dominated by redoubled international criticism of Israel's blockade of Gaza and the perception that Israeli troops tend to shoot first and ask questions later.
The soldier, who has not been named, is now being considered for a medal. Israel said that the Irish-owned aid ship was warned not to approach Gaza. Activists on board rejected Israeli and US appeals to bring the ship to the Israeli port but insisted they would not resist if Israeli soldiers tried to take over their vessel. "And we will also be ready for the Rachel Corrie," he added. "We are an initiative to break Israel's blockade of 1.5 million people in Gaza. The ship was carrying 15 activists including a northern Irish Nobel Peace laureate. Reports from Israel have stated that one commando killed six of the nine dead activists in Monday's botched boarding. The military said its forces boarded the 1,200-ton Rachel Corrie cargo ship from the sea, not helicopters. Irish Foreign Minister Micheal Martin told parliament he had spoken with Halliday Tuesday afternoon. Passengers gathered There are five Irish and six Malaysian pro-Palestinian activists, plus several crew, on the boat. The takeover stood in marked contrast to a violent confrontation at sea earlier this week when Israeli commandos blocked a Turkish aid vessel trying to break the blockade. Army spokeswoman Lt Col. Avital Leibovich said Saturday's takeover took only a few minutes and that the vessel was being taken to Israel's Ashdod port. But it has stood by the blockade, which it says is needed to prevent the Islamic militant group Hamas from getting weapons. Activists on the ship say troops shot at them without provocation. The Cyprus-based Free Gaza Movement is a coalition of pro-Palestinian groups and human rights organisations. (Reporting by Dan Williams in JERUSALEM, Marie-Louise Gumuchian in DUBLIN, and Michele Kambas in NICOSIA; editing by Peter Graff)
Image caption The Rachel Corrie was taken to Ashdod under military escort An aid ship intercepted by the Israeli military while trying to break the blockade of Gaza has arrived in the Israeli port of Ashdod. Israel says its soldiers boarded the Irish-owned Rachel Corrie from the sea and did not meet any resistance. The incident comes five days after nine people were killed in clashes when troops boarded a Turkish aid ship, prompting international criticism. Turkish officials have released details of autopsies carried out on the nine dead activists, saying a total of 30 bullets had been found in their bodies. One of the activists was shot four times in the head, the officials said. The BBC's Jonathan Head in Istanbul says some of the details seem to contradict the Israeli assertion that their commandos used minimum lethal force. 'Extremists' claim The crew and activists from the Rachel Corrie are being questioned at Ben Gurion airport while Israeli officials try to organise their deportation. Israel said it would transfer the aid to the Gaza Strip by land after checking the cargo for banned items. "We saw today the difference between a ship of peace activists, with whom we don't agree but respect their right to a different opinion from ours, and between a ship of hate organised by violent Turkish terror extremists," Mr Netanyahu's office quoted him as saying. Mary Hughes Thompson, a co-founder of the Free Gaza Movement which organised the shipment, told the BBC she was "outraged" by the latest Israeli action. "They [the Israelis] once again went into international water and violently boarded a boat and forced people against their will to go to Israel, when all we wanted was to be left to go to Gaza, which is our goal," she said. Passengers gathered There are five Irish and six Malaysian pro-Palestinian activists, plus several crew, on the boat. The Rachel Corrie is named after a US college student who was crushed to death by an Israeli army bulldozer as she protested over house demolitions in Gaza in 2003. The 1,200 tonne cargo ship was boarded about 16 nautical miles (30km) off the Israeli coast. MV RACHEL CORRIE Irish-owned, 1,200-tonne cargo ship Named after US student killed by Israeli army bulldozer as she protested over Gaza house demolitions in 2003 On board: Five Irish and six Malaysian activists, plus crew Carrying aid, including wheelchairs, paper, medical supplies and cement Profile: Free Gaza Movement Your say: Was interception right? Hague 'glad' of peaceful boarding Israeli military spokeswoman Lt Col Avital Leibovich said the takeover took minutes, and the ship's captain had gathered the passengers in one area of the vessel. The Rachel Corrie is carrying hundreds of tonnes of aid, including wheelchairs, medical supplies and cement. Israel came under fierce criticism after its troops shot dead nine people during a violent confrontation with those on board the Turkish Mavi Marmara in the early hours of Monday Israel says its commandos were attacked with weapons, including knives, and opened fire in self-defence. Activists on the ship say troops shot at them without provocation. Israel says its policies towards Gaza will not change while Hamas remains in power and while rockets continue to be fired from Gaza into Israel. There were also clashes in Tel Aviv between government supporters and protesters angry at the flotilla attack. The military said its forces boarded the 1,200-ton Rachel Corrie cargo ship from the sea, not helicopters. The takeover stood in marked contrast to a violent confrontation at sea earlier this week when Israeli commandos blocked a Turkish aid vessel trying to break the blockade. At the time, Israeli commandos abseiled onto the deck from helicopters and a clash with passengers left nine pro-Palestinian activists dead. Army spokeswoman Lt Col. Avital Leibovich said Saturday's takeover took only a few minutes and that the vessel was being taken to Israel's Ashdod port. The Rachel Corrie, which is carrying a small group of activists including a Nobel laureate, was trying to deliver aid as well as breach a three-year-old blockade that has plunged the territory's 1.5 million residents deeper into poverty. It urged the boat to divert to Israel's nearby Ashdod port, where cargo would be unloaded and transferred to Gaza if it passed a security inspection, but the ship rejected the invitation, the military said. Reports from Israel have stated that one commando killed six of the nine dead activists in Monday's botched boarding. His commanders reportedly believe that his actions saved the lives of his injured comrades during fighting on the ship's deck. DUBLIN/JERUSALEM Activists vowed on Tuesday to try to break the Israeli blockade of Gaza with another ship, and an Israeli officer pledged to halt it, setting the stage for a fresh confrontation after Monday's deadly clash. "The government has formally requested the Israeli government to allow the Irish-owned ship ... to be allowed to complete its journey unimpeded and discharge its humanitarian cargo in Gaza," Cowen told parliament in Dublin. "We as a unit are studying, and we will carry out professional investigations to reach conclusions," the lieutenant said, referring to Monday's confrontation in which his unit shot nine activists aboard a Turkish ferry.
They have four children, all adults. "We ask for respect for our privacy and that of our family, and we do not intend to comment further." AP Updated 6:48 p.m. Eastern Time Al Gore and his wife Tipper Gore are planning to separate after 40 years of marriage. In an e-mail sent to friends obtained by CBS News, the couple said they had made "a mutual and mutually supportive decision that we have made together following a process of long and careful consideration." The pair famously engaged in a passionate kiss at the 2000 Democratic convention (see left.) Former U.S. Al Gore, 62, a Democrat, who was Bill Clinton's vice president for eight years, narrowly lost the presidency to Republican George W. Bush in 2000 and won a Nobel Peace Prize and an Academy Award in 2007 for his work against global climate change. Gore spokeswoman Kalee Kreider confirmed the contents of the e-mail. The Gores have been married for 40 years. Family friend Sally Quinn toldthat Gore winning the popular vote for president but losing the electoral vote may have done the marriage irreparable harm. She was active in the 1980s in trying to get record companies to put warning labels on their records about profane lyrics. The news is being greeted with shock in Washington, D.C. Few political couples seemed as close as the Gores back during his vice presidential years, 1993 to 2001. AP Politico reports that the couple grew up in the Washington area and met at a high-school graduation dance; they celebrated their 40th anniversary just two weeks ago. They were reported in May they had purchased an $8.8 million ocean-view villa in Montecito, California.
Former U.S. Vice-president Al Gore and his wife Tipper kiss after he spoke at the Democratic National Convention in Boston, Massachusetts in this July 26, 2004 photograph. REUTERS/Rick Wilking/Files Former U.S. Vice President Al Gore (L) and his wife Tipper leave after holding a news conference in Palo Alto, California after winning the Nobel Peace Prize in this October 12, 2007 file photo. REUTERS/Kimberly White/Files WASHINGTON Former Vice President Al Gore and his wife, Tipper, a couple who stuck together throughout his long career in politics, announced on Tuesday they had decided to separate after 40 years of marriage. The Gores, in an e-mail message to friends confirmed by spokeswoman Kalee Kreider, said the decision was made "after a great deal of thought and discussion." "This is very much a mutual and mutually supportive decision that we have made together following a process of long and careful consideration," they said. Al Gore, 62, a Democrat, who was Bill Clinton's vice president for eight years, narrowly lost the presidency to Republican George W. Bush in 2000 and won a Nobel Peace Prize and an Academy Award in 2007 for his work against global climate change. He has maintained a heavy travel schedule in pushing the theme of climate protection. Tipper Gore, 61, is an avid photographer whose photos are linked on www.algore.com. She was active in the 1980s in trying to get record companies to put warning labels on their records about profane lyrics. The Gores left the impression of a couple deeply in love during the Democratic National Convention in 2000, when they exchanged a long, passionate kiss on stage that became famous. They were reported in May they had purchased an $8.8 million ocean-view villa in Montecito, California. "Total shock" was how some in the broad Clinton-Gore community were describing the reaction to the news. Married in 1970, Al and Tipper were together during Al Gore's complete career in politics, which spanned terms in the U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate, representing Tennessee, and on to the vice presidency. Another sad sign today of the toll that public life can take on families: Former vice president Al Gore and wife Tipper have announced they are separating. "This is very much a mutual and mutually supportive decision that we have made together following a process of long and careful consideration," the couple said in an e-mail to family and friends. The news is being greeted with shock in Washington, D.C. Few political couples seemed as close as the Gores back during his vice presidential years, 1993 to 2001. AP Updated 6:48 p.m. Eastern Time Al Gore and his wife Tipper Gore are planning to separate after 40 years of marriage. In an e-mail sent to friends obtained by CBS News, the couple said they had made "a mutual and mutually supportive decision that we have made together following a process of long and careful consideration." Family friend Sally Quinn toldthat Gore winning the popular vote for president but losing the electoral vote may have done the marriage irreparable harm. Photos: Al Gore, Green Media Star Tipper Gore, a professional photographer, has advocated for mental health issues; she is also known for co-founding the Parents Music Resource Center in the 1980s, an organization that successfully pushed for "Parental Advisory" labels on music with explicit content.
No. But, I mean, I cannot do more than that. Advertisement Continue reading the main story She has more history to overcome. Stosur will meet Schiavone -- herself playing in her first Slam final -- after Dementieva withdrew from their game with injury. He then held serve to take the set. Dementieva said: "It was difficult to even walk. (CNN) -- Sweden's Robin Soderling ended world number one Roger Federer's defense of his French Open crown after a rain-affected four-set victory at Roland Garros. I got it after my second match and aggravated it today. But I couldn't go on any longer than I did." After that I think I started to play better. 1 Serena Williams and No. Please try again later. Schiavone had just taken the opening set on a tie break before the Russian pulled out. It left four semifinalists from four countries with something in common: None had won a Grand Slam event. Hit powerful strokes deep into the corners and keep the opponent moving side to side or backward. In succession, she beat three past or present No. 7 Samantha Stosur of Australia needed only an hour to fully deconstruct fourth-seeded Jelena Jankovic of Serbia, 6-1, 6-2. View all New York Times newsletters. It has felt as if the court were tipped slightly downhill for Stosur, as long volleys slowly shift toward the other end of the court. 2 Venus Williams and Henin lost in the fourth round, and No. “It was good,” she said. Dementieva won the first two points, but Schiavone took the next five on the way to winning the set.
(CNN) -- Sweden's Robin Soderling ended world number one Roger Federer's defense of his French Open crown after a rain-affected four-set victory at Roland Garros. Soderling had never beaten Federer in their 12 previous meetings but battled back from a set down to record a 3-6 6-3 7-5 6-4 triumph in just under three hours. Federer's defeat ended his incredible run of reaching 23 Grand Slam semifinals in a row, and he could lose his world number one status by the end of the tournament if Rafael Nadal regains the French Open title. Fifth seed Soderling looked to be heading for another defeat as Federer took the opening set in just over half an hour after breaking in the eighth game. But Soderling rallied superbly in the second to win the first three games and close out the set. The third went with serve until 5-5 when the players were forced off due to rain but when they returned Soderling broke Federer thanks to a fierce forehand winner. He then held serve to take the set. Federer grabbed an early break in the fourth set but Soderling hit back to level at 2-2, before breaking again in the eighth game. After the game Soderling told reporters: "First set he [Federer] played well, and I didn't serve too well, and he had some chances in the second set and I saved a couple of really important points. "I think when I won the second set, which was a very big thing, I felt I could relax. After that I think I started to play better. This is a big win but it's not the final and I don't want to celebrate too much, I want to focus on the next game." Soderling will play Czech Tomas Berdych in the semifinals after the 15th seed thumped Mikhail Youzhny, from Russia, 6-3 6-1 6-2. (CNN) -- Samantha Stosur will play Francesca Schiavone for the French Open title after both came through their semifinals. Seventh seed Stosur, from Australia, breezed past former world number one Jelena Jankovic in straight sets -- 6-1 6-2 -- in just one hour. Italian Schiavone won the opening set against Elena Dementieva before the Russian retired with an injury. Neither Stosur nor Schiavone have ever won a Grand Slam but one will break their duck at Roland Garros on Saturday. Stosur, brimming with confidence after defeating Justine Henin and Serena Williams in Paris, quickly took control of her tie with Serbian Jankovic. Jankovic attempted to battle back in the second, taking a 2-0 lead but she squandered four break points at 2-1 and Stosur drew level. That was the last chance Jankovic was offered as Stosur powered through the final four games to seal her first ever final appearance at a major championship. Stosur told reporters: "I can't believe I am here - it wasn't easy to get here. This is the first Grand Slam final for both me and Francesca (Schiavone) so we'll both try to enjoy it and both try to play our best tennis." Stosur will meet Schiavone -- herself playing in her first Slam final -- after Dementieva withdrew from their game with injury. Schiavone had just taken the opening set on a tie break before the Russian pulled out. After the match Schiavone told reporters: "I'm very happy, I'm starting to feel like this is really history. It was a sharp pain, a bit too much, I couldn't really move on court. Slowly, Schiavone understood: She was headed to the final after a 7-6 (3) first-set victory, the beneficiary of Dementieva’s sudden decision to retire with what she called a torn calf muscle. “But I am not upset.” Schiavone knelt and kissed the crushed-brick surface of Roland Garros’s main court. Advertisement Continue reading the main story That leaves a Saturday final that no one might have predicted at the outset, but that will find interested audiences from Stosur’s home on Australia’s Gold Coast to the streets of Schiavone’s home in Milan.
HP consistently streamlines its various divisions, especially after major acquisitions, Bachman said. It said the shake-up would make it annual gross savings of about $1bn and net savings "after reinvestment in a range between $500m and $700m". The 9,000 job cuts mark the second phase of the EDS integration. In HP's latest fiscal quarter, revenue from the enterprise services division grew 2.5% over last year, whereas sales from personal computers was up 21.3%. HP to cut workforce by 3,000 NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Hewlett-Packard plans to eliminate 3,000 jobs over the next few years as it ramps up its use of automated data centers for business customers, the company announced Tuesday. Hewlett-Packard Co. said it plans to shed about 9,000 workers from its technology-services division while investing $1 billion to modernize the unit, as it moves to jumpstart growth in an industry that's lagged the economic recovery. The firm said it would record a $1bn financial cost charge in the course of its 2013 financial year. And it said the commercial data centres would help its corporate clients run their businesses faster and more efficiently. "As a result of productivity gains and automation, HP expects to eliminate roughly 9,000 positions over a multi-year period to reinvest for further growth and to increase shareholder value," it said. H-P's restructuring comes two weeks after the Palo Alto, Calif., company said quarterly revenue in its services division—which runs computer systems for large companies and governments—rose 2% from a... HP added that it would replace about 6,000 of the jobs that were lost, adding that the changes to the workforce would be made over time and would vary by country.
Image caption Hewlett-Packard cut 6,700 jobs last year to make savings Hewlett-Packard (HP) says it plans to spend $1bn (£686m) and shed 9,000 jobs over three years as it creates fully-automated commercial data centres. HP, the world's largest technology company by sales, says the job cuts will be the result of productivity gains and automation. HP said the resulting "next-generation services" would benefit clients. The firm said it would record a $1bn financial cost charge in the course of its 2013 financial year. "As a result of productivity gains and automation, HP expects to eliminate roughly 9,000 positions over a multi-year period to reinvest for further growth and to increase shareholder value," it said. It said the shake-up would make it annual gross savings of about $1bn and net savings "after reinvestment in a range between $500m and $700m". The latest job losses come after 6,700 posts were shed last year to make savings. HP to cut workforce by 3,000 NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Hewlett-Packard plans to eliminate 3,000 jobs over the next few years as it ramps up its use of automated data centers for business customers, the company announced Tuesday. The world's largest computer company said it will invest $1 billion in building up its automated data centers to service business customers. HP will cut about 9,000 jobs in its enterprise services division as a result, but over the same time period, the company expects to add about 6,000 employees to its sales and delivery teams. HP (HPQ, Fortune 500) will take a charge of about $1 billion to reflect the investment, and expects it to pay off in annual savings of about the same. After reinvesting some of that money, HP expects these moves to boost annual pre-tax earnings by between $500 million and $700 million by fiscal year 2013. Plus, cuts to the enterprise services division make sense as tech companies consistently report "less than stellar revenue growth" in services compared with other businesses like hardware sales, he said. The EDS integration is ahead of schedule and the company has since realized the savings it expected from those job cuts, Cathie Lesjak, HP's executive vice president and chief financial officer, said in a call with investors Tuesday. Hewlett-Packard Co. said it plans to shed about 9,000 workers from its technology-services division while investing $1 billion to modernize the unit, as it moves to jumpstart growth in an industry that's lagged the economic recovery.
For Turks, it is not just that civilians died. Israel has said it will not be allowed to dock in Gaza. More than 30 Greek activists, three French activists and one US national were flown to Athens. In a fiery speech at Istanbul airport, Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc accused Israel of "piracy" and "barbarism and oppression". Funerals have been held in Turkey for the nine activists killed when Israeli forces stormed their Gaza-bound aid flotilla. The dead include a 19-year-old Turkish citizen with an American passport - hit by four bullets in the head and one in the chest - and a national taekwondo athlete, Turkish media say. The US, Israel's most important ally, has already made it clear it will accept an Israeli-led inquiry, the BBC's Andrew North reports from Jerusalem. READ MORE: Israel 'had no choice' over raid The UN Human Rights Council (HRC) voted earlier to set up an investigation. "This incident has left an irreparable and deep scar" on relations, he told reporters in Ankara. They include 34 people who hold British passports. One of the bodies was due to be buried in Istanbul while the other eight were being taken to their home towns, AFP news agency reported. More than 100 relatives and supporters cheered and shouted pro-Palestinian slogans at the airport. New ship Talk in Gaza is now turning to the next ship on its way across the Mediterranean to try to break the blockade, the BBC's Jon Donnison reports from the territory. It was literally bristling with ships, helicopters and gunfire. Speaking to reporters Mr Netanyahu insisted that soliders were acting in self-defence.
Funerals have been held in Turkey for the nine activists killed when Israeli forces stormed their Gaza-bound aid flotilla. Coffins swathed in Turkish and Palestinian flags were taken to the Fatih Mosque in Istanbul as thousands gathered to mourn the dead, eight of whom were Turks and one a US national of Turkish origin. Cigdem Topcuoglu (L), the widow of activist Cetin Topcuoglu, reacts as she accepts condolences from a mourner next to the coffin of her husband, a national taekwando athlete. Injured activists also paid their respects after being deported from Israel and flown to a military airport in Turkey. Earlier, hundreds of other activists returned home after being expelled by Israel. Hundreds of Turkish nationals were flown to Istanbul, where they received an enthusiastic welcome from crowds of hundreds of supporters shouting anti-Israeli slogans. More than 30 Greek activists, three French activists and one US national were flown to Athens. Turkey has held funerals for nine activists killed in Israel's raid on a Gaza aid flotilla amid emotional scenes. The bodies were flown from Israel to Istanbul, along with more than 450 activists, to a heroes' welcome. Israel has said there is no need for an international inquiry into the incident, insisting its own will meet the "highest international standards". The UN Human Rights Council (HRC) voted earlier to set up an investigation. US President Barack Obama has described the situation as "tragic". But in an interview on CNN, he also says Israel does have "legitimate security concerns" in Gaza. I find it hard to accept the soldier's claim that they first boarded with paint ball guns Ron Golan, BBC News website reader, Tel Aviv Gaza aid flotilla: Israeli reaction Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said his troops had no choice but to stop the ships. He argued the flotilla had been aiming not to deliver humanitarian aid to Gazans, but to break Israel's blockade. It was Israel's duty to prevent rockets and other weapons being smuggled into Gaza to Hamas by Iran and others, he said. Turkey, which has had relatively warm ties with Israel in recent history, recalled its ambassador after the incident on Monday. 'Barbarism and oppression' Its President, Abdullah Gul, said relations between the two countries would "never be the same". The mood of the crowd echoed remarks made by the Turkish president, who said that an irreparable and deep scar had been left in Turkey's relations with Israel. Israel's version that its men opened fire in self-defence is utterly rejected here. At the end of the ceremony the dead were taken away to be buried close to their homes. The raid is seen as an attack on their country's honour and sovereignty and, like the Gaza war and the Iraq invasion, it is detaching some Turks at least from old friends in the West and pushing them closer to the Muslim Middle East. "This incident has left an irreparable and deep scar" on relations, he told reporters in Ankara. In a fiery speech at Istanbul airport, Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc accused Israel of "piracy" and "barbarism and oppression". The funerals took place in a strongly Islamist part of the city and emotions were running high, reported the BBC's Bethany Bell. One of the bodies was due to be buried in Istanbul while the other eight were being taken to their home towns, AFP news agency reported. Turkish post-mortem examinations found all nine of the dead had been shot, some at close range. The dead include a 19-year-old Turkish citizen with an American passport - hit by four bullets in the head and one in the chest - and a national taekwondo athlete, Turkish media say. Mr Arinc said his government saluted the Turkish Islamic charity, the Foundation for Human Rights and Freedoms and Humanitarian Relief (IHH), which played a leading role in organising the convoy - a charity Israel has accused of supporting terrorism. IHH leader Bulent Yildrim said upon his arrival back in Istanbul that he believed the death toll could be higher than nine, as his organisation had a longer list of missing people. British activist Sarah Colbourne told the BBC: "I couldn't even count the amount of ships that were in the water. "On the ship I was on, they found one weapon: my razor. "We have excellent jurists... one of whom will be willing to take it on himself, and if they want to include an international member of some sort in their committee that's alright too," he told Israel radio. Image caption The MV Rachel Corrie is expected in the blockade area within days The Rachel Corrie - carrying 15 people including Nobel Peace laureate Mairead Corrigan Maguire - had been due to be part of the original flotilla but was delayed because of technical problems.
Fire fighters work at the scene after a devastating fire in Dhaka, capital of Bangladesh, early June 4, 2010. He said “many bodies” had been recovered. The television station ATN Bangla reported Friday that at least 104 people had died, and that more than 100 people were injured. "Burning chemicals from stores within or beside the living quarters spewed on the streets like lava from a volcano. There was hardly any safe place to step out," added one survivor. (Xinhua/Cheng Zhang) The firefighters rushed to the spot soon and brought the fire under control after three hours of relentless efforts. Some had been turned into chemical factories despite a law banning their presence in residential areas. This is the second deadly disaster to strike the capital in 72 hours after a five-story building collapsed on Tuesday night, killing 25 people. The blaze, which broke out about 10.30 p.m., was the worst to sweep through the Bangladeshi capital in almost four decades. Television channels put the death toll at up to 150, including a dozen people who died in hospital. By Anis Ahmed DHAKA (Reuters) - At least 114 people were killed in a fire that razed a crowded, centuries-old Dhaka neighborhood overnight as rescue workers scrambled on Friday to pull bodies, many charred beyond recognition, from smoldering debris. "It seemed like hell broke loose," said a wailing woman, looking for her daughter and son in what remained of the area, home to several multi-storey blocks and tin-roofed dwellings. "We'll pay 20,000 taka (285.71 U.S. dollars) as compenstation to the family of each victim," he said adding the government has already formed a probe committee which will give a report within seven days.
Fire fighters work at the scene after a devastating fire in Dhaka, capital of Bangladesh, early June 4, 2010. (Xinhua/Cheng Zhang) The firefighters rushed to the spot soon and brought the fire under control after three hours of relentless efforts. "We'll pay 20,000 taka (285.71 U.S. dollars) as compenstation to the family of each victim," he said adding the government has already formed a probe committee which will give a report within seven days. This is the second deadly disaster to strike the capital in 72 hours after a five-story building collapsed on Tuesday night, killing 25 people. A devastating fire raced through several apartment complexes in the capital, Dhaka, on Thursday night, killing more than 100 people and injuring dozens, officials and local media reported. A fire official, Nazrul Islam, said the blaze started when an electric transformer exploded, igniting a three-story apartment building in the Najirabazar area of old Dhaka. By Anis Ahmed DHAKA (Reuters) - At least 114 people were killed in a fire that razed a crowded, centuries-old Dhaka neighborhood overnight as rescue workers scrambled on Friday to pull bodies, many charred beyond recognition, from smoldering debris. "The confirmed death toll from the fire is now 114 and may rise," Muhibul Haque, district commissioner of Dhaka, told Reuters.
Be transparent. Other bidders for the asset included Novartis NOVN.VX, Eli Lilly (LLY.N), Boehringer Ingelheim, and Agenix (AGX.AX), the source said. "There is no doubt that this was a pandemic. A spokeswoman from Pfizer's Singapore office confirmed the divestment of its China swine vaccine business to Harbin Pharmaceutical but gave no details on the value of the deal or further comments. Image caption Governments around the world stockpiled antiviral drugs Key scientists behind World Health Organization advice on stockpiling of pandemic flu drugs had financial ties with companies which stood to profit, an investigation has found. "Numerous safeguards are in place to manage possible conflicts of interest or their perception." "We know that some experts that come to our committees have contact with industry. The British Medical Journal says the scientists had openly declared these interests in other publications yet WHO made no mention of the links. And there is surely no logic in refusing to name the members of the emergency committee which advised the WHO about the pandemic. At the same time, the Geneva-based arm of the United Nations relied on advice from experts with ties to drug makers in developing the guidelines it used to encourage countries to stockpile millions of doses of antiviral medication, according to the second report. Conflict of interest The BMJ, in a joint investigation with The Bureau of Investigative Journalism, found that three scientists involved in putting together the 2004 guidance had previously been paid by Roche or GSK for lecturing and consultancy work as well as being involved in research for the companies. (US$1=HK$7.8) (Reporting by Donny Kwok; Editing by Chris Lewis)
European criticism of the World Health Organization's handling of the H1N1 pandemic intensified Friday with the release of two reports that accused the agency of exaggerating the threat posed by the virus and failing to disclose possible influence by the pharmaceutical industry on its recommendations for how countries should respond. The WHO's response caused widespread, unnecessary fear and prompted countries to waste millions of dollars, according to one report. At the same time, the Geneva-based arm of the United Nations relied on advice from experts with ties to drug makers in developing the guidelines it used to encourage countries to stockpile millions of doses of antiviral medication, according to the second report. A spokesman for the WHO and several independent experts strongly disputed the reports, saying they misrepresented the seriousness of the pandemic and the agency's response, which was carefully formulated and necessary, given the potential threat. "The idea that we declared a pandemic when there wasn't a pandemic is both historically inaccurate and downright irresponsible," WHO spokesman Gregory Hartl said in a telephone interview. The first report, released in Paris, came from the Social, Health and Family Affairs Committee of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, which launched an investigation in response to allegations that the WHO's reaction to the swine flu pandemic was influenced by drug companies that make antiviral drugs and vaccines. The second report, a joint investigation by the BMJ, a prominent British medical journal, and the London-based Bureau of Investigative Journalism, criticized the WHO's 2004 guidelines, which were developed based in part on the advice of three experts who received consulting fees from the two leading manufacturers of antiviral drugs used against the virus, Roche and GlaxoSmithKline. "We know that some experts that come to our committees have contact with industry. "We feel that the guidelines produced were certainly not subject to undue influence." Image caption Governments around the world stockpiled antiviral drugs Key scientists behind World Health Organization advice on stockpiling of pandemic flu drugs had financial ties with companies which stood to profit, an investigation has found. The British Medical Journal says the scientists had openly declared these interests in other publications yet WHO made no mention of the links. It comes as a report from the Council of Europe criticised the lack of transparency around the handling of the swine flu pandemic. A spokesman for WHO said the drug industry did not influence its decisions on swine flu. Guidelines recommending governments stockpile antiviral drugs were issued by WHO in 2004. A year after the swine flu pandemic was declared, stocks are left unused in warehouses and governments are attempting to unpick contracts. Conflict of interest The BMJ, in a joint investigation with The Bureau of Investigative Journalism, found that three scientists involved in putting together the 2004 guidance had previously been paid by Roche or GSK for lecturing and consultancy work as well as being involved in research for the companies. It is common practice for academic experts to work closely with the pharmaceutical industry, such as getting funding for drug trials, or to be paid for attending meetings. Although the scientists involved had freely declared the links in other places and said WHO asked for conflicts of interest forms prior to expert meetings, the ties were not publically declared by WHO. In addition, membership of the "emergency committee" which advised WHO's director general Margaret Chan on declaring an influenza pandemic has been kept secret. It means the names of the 16 committee members are known only to people within WHO, and as such their possible conflicts of interest with drug companies are unknown. * Pfizer confirms sale of swine vaccine business * Price tag seen at $50 mln - source * Divestment a first under China anti-monopoly law (Add details and comments) By Donny Kwok HONG KONG, May 31 Pfizer Inc (PFE.N), the world's biggest drugmaker, is selling its swine vaccine business in China to Harbin Pharmaceutical Group (600664.SS) for $50 million, a source with direct knowledge of the deal said on Monday. A spokeswoman from Pfizer's Singapore office confirmed the divestment of its China swine vaccine business to Harbin Pharmaceutical but gave no details on the value of the deal or further comments. The disposal was required by the Anti-Trust Bureau of China's Ministry of Commerce as a condition for approval of Pfizer's $68 billion merger with Wyeth, which closed last October, said the source, speaking on condition of anonymity because the deal had not been officially announced. The deal marked the first time China had ordered a foreign company to divest a locally-based business as a condition for approval of a merger with another foreign company, as part of a review under the country's anti-monopoly law that took effect in August 2008, the source said.
. Thomas, 89, was the longest-serving reporter in the White House. "We had a mutual understanding about her not coming," he said. Helen Thomas agrees to bow out as commencement speaker at Walt Whitman High By Martin Weil Washington Post Staff Writer Monday, June 7, 2010; B04 Veteran journalist Helen Thomas, who recently made controversial comments about Israel and Palestine, agreed Sunday not to appear as commencement speaker at Walt Whitman High School in Bethesda. "Remember these people are occupied and it's their land, not Germany and not Poland. She has spent most of her career working for United Press International wire service, but had been working as a columnist for Hearst newspapers since 2000. May that day come soon." (Editing by John O'Callaghan) The White House Correspondents Association called her remarks "indefensible" and, before the announcement of her retirement, scheduled a meeting on whether an opinion columnist should have a front-row seat in the West Wing briefing room. "Graduation celebrations are not the venue for divisiveness," Goodwin said in an e-mail to Whitman parents. REUTERS/Jim Young/Files Hearst White House columnist Helen Thomas poses a question to U.S. President Barack Obama during his first news conference as president in the East Room of the White House in Washington in this February 9, 2009 file photo. "Her decision came after her controversial comments about Israel and the Palestinians were captured on videotape and widely disseminated on the Internet." In an interview on 27 May, she said that Israelis should get "the hell out of Palestine" and suggested they went to Germany, Poland or the US.
The seat of veteran White House reporter Helen Thomas is seen in the White House briefing room in Washington June 7, 2010. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque Photographers get pictures of the seat of veteran White House reporter Helen Thomas in the White House briefing room in Washington June 7, 2010. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque President Barack Obama puts his arm around Hearst White House columnist Helen Thomas after presenting her with cupcakes in honor of her birthday in the James Brady Briefing Room at the White House in Washington, in this August 4, 2009 file photo. REUTERS/Jim Young/Files Hearst White House columnist Helen Thomas poses a question to U.S. President Barack Obama during his first news conference as president in the East Room of the White House in Washington in this February 9, 2009 file photo. REUTERS/Jim Bourg White House correspondent Helen Thomas (2nd L) takes notes as former President Lyndon B. Johnson faces reporters during a news conference in the White House Oval Office, in this handout photograph taken on April 25, 1968 and obtained on June 7, 2010. REUTERS/LBJ Library Photo by Frank Wolfe/Handout WASHINGTON Veteran White House journalist Helen Thomas, who has covered every president since John F. Kennedy, abruptly retired on Monday amid a storm of criticism over her controversial remarks about Israel. The departure of Thomas, 89, as a Hearst Newspapers columnist was announced after she was captured on video saying Israelis should "get the hell out of Palestine" and suggesting they go "home" to Germany, Poland or the United States. Thomas, long considered the dean of the White House press corps, apologized for her statements, recorded in an impromptu interview dated May 27 and posted on the website www.rabbilive.com. The controversy prompted Thomas to be dropped by her public speaking agency and also led to the cancellation of her plans to deliver a high school commencement address in suburban Washington. "Helen Thomas announced Monday that she is retiring, effective immediately," Hearst News Service reported. "Her decision came after her controversial comments about Israel and the Palestinians were captured on videotape and widely disseminated on the Internet." The Hearst statement came shortly after White House press secretary Robert Gibbs called her remarks "offensive and reprehensible." Thomas was absent from Monday's White House briefing, where she has a reserved seat in the center of the front row. The White House Correspondents Association called her remarks "indefensible" and, before the announcement of her retirement, scheduled a meeting on whether an opinion columnist should have a front-row seat in the West Wing briefing room. "Many in our profession who have known Helen for years were saddened by the comments, which were especially unfortunate in light of her role as a trail blazer on the White House beat," the association's board said in a statement. Thomas had issued a statement over the weekend saying: "I deeply regret my comments I made last week regarding the Israelis and the Palestinians. Thomas became a columnist for the Hearst newspaper chain in recent years after working for decades as a White House correspondent for United Press International. Helen Thomas agrees to bow out as commencement speaker at Walt Whitman High By Martin Weil Washington Post Staff Writer Monday, June 7, 2010; B04 Veteran journalist Helen Thomas, who recently made controversial comments about Israel and Palestine, agreed Sunday not to appear as commencement speaker at Walt Whitman High School in Bethesda. (Photos of Helen Thomas throughout her career) Alan Goodwin, principal of Whitman, where objections to the appearance had been raised, said he reached a niece of Thomas's earlier in the day. "Graduation celebrations are not the venue for divisiveness," Goodwin said in an e-mail to Whitman parents. Thomas, 89, who has covered the White House for decades, provoked criticism by her response in an impromptu video interview that was posted online. In an interview, Whitman parent Raisa Slepoy said, "I don't know why anybody would ask a person like that to speak at a commencement ceremony . especially where there's a pretty large Jewish population." The remarks have "already stirred up the community quite a bit," Slepoy said, bringing up "bad feelings." Reportedly, a campaign against Thomas's appearance, which had been scheduled for weeks, was waged on Facebook. Goodwin said he had received e-mails from Whitman parents and students, some merely calling attention to the statements, others suggesting that perhaps he should reconsider the invitation. Goodwin said he and Thomas's niece talked about having her meet with students next year in a different forum. In an interview on 27 May, she said that Israelis should get "the hell out of Palestine" and suggested they went to Germany, Poland or the US. White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said her comments were "offensive and reprehensible".
It was done very carefully," he said. "Let's face it. To the legions of critics who have questioned why they allowed their 16-year-old daughter to sail solo around the world, Laurence and Marianne Sunderland offered no apologies Friday. Abby is a fine sailor," he added. Her parents had lost contact with teenage adventurer Abby Sunderland Thursday as her yacht Wild Eyes was pounded by huge waves in the remote southern Indian Ocean, but an Australian plane flew over her Friday and made contact with the girl, Australian authorities said. The family livelihood is centered on boats. The weather conditions are abating. The search for Sunderland involved Australia, U.S. and French rescue authorities sending ships and a commercial airliner to an area about 2,000 miles southeast of Madagascar and 2,000 miles southwest of Australia. "How many teenagers are killed in car accidents? (Additional reporting by Dan Whitcomb in Los Angeles; Editing by Will Dunham) Abby had said she had wanted to attempt the challenge since she was 13, her father told a Times videographer before her departure. Experts see a mix of factors at work, including the culture's ambivalence about teenagers. "This wasn't an easy decision to make. She then encountered autopilot problems, forcing her to stop at Cape Town for repairs. "The boat is upright but the rigging is all down, which means she was probably rolled by a rogue wave. "Age is not a criteria. I could have winds up to 60 knots, so I’m getting things all tied down and ready for some big winds.” Blog post from June 7: “I am ticking off the miles slowly but surely.
Sailor's parents unswayed by critics The Sutherlands say Abby's skills, not age, are key. Experts see a mix of factors at work, including the culture's ambivalence about teenagers. An article in Saturday's Section A about the parents of teen sailor Abby Sunderland and their response to critics of her attempt to sail around the world referred to the family, in a subheadline, as the Sutherlands. "Age is not a criteria. Abby is a fine sailor," he added. "I've never advocated this for 16-year-olds. I've advocated this for experienced sailors." "If people are looking at age, they're looking at the wrong thing here," Laurence Sunderland told reporters Friday outside the family's home in Thousand Oaks as a rescue ship headed to where Abby Sunderland had been spotted the night before, adrift in her damaged boat in the southern Indian Ocean. To the legions of critics who have questioned why they allowed their 16-year-old daughter to sail solo around the world, Laurence and Marianne Sunderland offered no apologies Friday. In an era when social scientists worry about "helicopter parents" hovering over their offspring, shielding them from dangers real and invented, the saga of the globe-circling, teenage solo sailor presents a dramatic counterpoint. Abby set sail from Marina del Rey on Jan. 23 and was roughly halfway through her attempted round-the-world solo sail when her 40-foot boat, Wild Eyes, apparently lost a mast in rough seas. Her family lost contact with her early Thursday morning, and many feared the worst until she was located by an Australian spotter jet late Thursday night. The rescue vessel was expected to reach her position, about 2,000 miles southwest of Australia, late Friday night. From the moment that the teenage skipper was reported missing, debate over her parents' decision to permit the risky adventure has boiled on blogs and among child-rearing experts. Some have suggested that the couple engaged in child endangerment. The heated debates reflect the ambivalent attitude that many people have about teenagers, said David Halle, a professor of sociology at UCLA . "The culture is conflicted," he said. "The culture has constructed this elaborate extended childhood that holds it is a difficult world, and on the other hand, there is this other point of view which is that young people can do amazing things, and every so often it bursts out." "Let's face it. Life is dangerous," he said on "Good Morning America." "How many teenagers are killed in car accidents? Abby had said she had wanted to attempt the challenge since she was 13, her father told a Times videographer before her departure. He and his wife agreed only after Abby proved herself with intensive training. "This wasn't an easy decision to make. Some who have observed the family see a mix of factors at work. The family livelihood is centered on boats. The children's lives have revolved, at least partly, around sailing. "It kind of just happens," she said in the video interview. A solo circumnavigation that would be unimaginable for most families is "kind of a fit for our family," she said. A 16-year-old Californian girl attempting to sail solo around the world is safe and well, her parents said, after a massive search and rescue was launched in the Indian Ocean after she triggered... REUTERS/Australian Maritime Safety Authority/Handout CANBERRA A 16-year-old California girl trying to sail solo around the world is safe and well after a massive search and rescue was launched in the Indian Ocean when she triggered distress signals, her parents and Australian authorities said Friday. Her parents had lost contact with teenage adventurer Abby Sunderland Thursday as her yacht Wild Eyes was pounded by huge waves in the remote southern Indian Ocean, but an Australian plane flew over her Friday and made contact with the girl, Australian authorities said. "She is going to hang in there until the vessel can get to her in about 24 hours," Kinley told a news conference. She seems to be in good spirits, but that is all we really know for sure," Marianne Sunderland, the girl's mother, told U.S. cable television network CNN. We're confident that when the fishing vessel arrives alongside that she'll have about 10 to 15 knots of wind and there will be a successful rescue," Laurence Sunderland added.
Likewise, Ms. "That's Sharron Angle." Pro-life women were more likely to be full-time homemakers. He has been raiding Social Security. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's campaign is out with a new ad criticizing his Republican opponent in the Nevada Senate race, Sharron Angle, for advocating a phase-out of Social Security and Medicare. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Sarah Palin is about to get some company. (Watch at left.) Neither Ms. Fiorina nor Ms. Haley would have been likely to get Ms. Palin’s endorsement — valuable in a Republican primary — without firmly opposing abortion. Tea Party groups spent good money and time getting the "tea party" candidate's numbers down to low single digits. These women will make it easier for pro-lifers to discuss the issue in the terms we want to discuss it: as a plea for justice for a vulnerable group. According to the Washington Post, American Crossroads says the ad will run for a week at a cost of $120,000. None of these candidates is a single-issue pro-lifer. [H]e has to figure out in his canny way how to win with 43 percent. Please re-enter. That'll disperse the vote. Political journalists called 1992 “the year of the woman” because so many female candidates won Senate seats that year — including Barbara Boxer, who was elevated from the House. The spot also touches on Angle's reported onetime support for "championing a program there that was developed by Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard" that uses saunas and massages in prisons. "They came here in good faith paying into a system and Harry Reid has put an IOU in for 24 years.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's campaign is out with a new ad criticizing his Republican opponent in the Nevada Senate race, Sharron Angle, for advocating a phase-out of Social Security and Medicare. In it, a narrator says that Social Security means "independence" and "a secure income" - and that Angle "shockingly" wants to wipe the program out. "She'd cut benefits for everyone coming into the system," the narrator says. "That's Sharron Angle." The spot also touches on Angle's reported onetime support for "championing a program there that was developed by Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard" that uses saunas and massages in prisons. As Jon Ralston notes (via Politico's Ben Smith), Angle was on Fox News this morning, where she called the notion that she wants to get rid of Social Security "nonsense" despite her calls for it to be phased out. (She also claimed Reid "waterboarded" the economy.) "I have always said we need to make the lockbox a lockbox, put the money in there for our senior citizens," she said. "They came here in good faith paying into a system and Harry Reid has put an IOU in for 24 years. What we need to do is personalize Social Security so the government can no longer raid it." Angle has previously called Social Security "a broken system without much to recommend it." Reid is relatively unpopular in Nevada, with an approval rating hovering around just 40 percent; his electoral strategy is predicated in large part on convincing Nevada voters that while they may not love him, they don't really have a better option. By virtue of her controversial positions, Angle is believed to be the sort of candidate against whom Reid could successfully executive such a strategy and achieve an unlikely reelection victory. The Republican group "American Crossroads" released an ad yesterday attacking Reid for suggesting the economic stimulus package is "paying off" despite continuing high unemployment and foreclosures. It's part of a Republican push to cast Reid as a Washington dealmaker unconcerned with his constituents; the spot closes with a shot of him with President Obama and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. "Harry Reid's work is paying off all right - paying off for his friends in Washington," a narrator says. According to the Washington Post, American Crossroads says the ad will run for a week at a cost of $120,000. Running against Sharron Angle on Social Security and Scientology Sen. Harry Reid's (R-Nev.) first negative ad against Sharron Angle, whose underdog campaign won the right to challenge him last week, takes the tack that we'd expected, hitting the Republican over comments made this year about "phasing out" Social Security and supporting a Scientology-backed prisoner rehabilitation program. Worth noting: George Will's weekend comments on how Reid could win re-election. [H]e has to figure out in his canny way how to win with 43 percent. Here's how you do it: You spend a lot of money to take down your most -- what you think is your strongest opponent. So in that sense, he may have brought down to 43 percent the winning total and his -- his threshold of victory. Besides Reid and Angle, there are three independents, an American Independent Party candidate, and a so-called Tea Party candidate on the ballot, as well as a "none of the above" option. Tea Party groups spent good money and time getting the "tea party" candidate's numbers down to low single digits. Pro-life women have not even found representation among Republican first ladies, all of whom in the post-Roe era have been pro-choice. One reason that Sarah Palin’s nomination for vice president in 2008 was so immediately polarizing is that she instantly became the most prominent pro-life woman American politics has ever produced. Two pro-life women won Republican nominations for the Senate this week. A third pro-life woman, Susana Martinez, became the party’s nominee for governor of New Mexico, and a fourth, Nikki Haley, a South Carolina state legislator, is expected to be a gubernatorial nominee in her state. The first generation of women to become active in politics strongly identified as feminist and considered abortion rights central to their feminism.
The bomb has now been made safe. "They had no consideration at all on the impact of the village," he said. A van left outside Aughnacloy police station on Thursday night contained a 300lb bomb, police have confirmed. Hundreds of people are still out of their homes following the alert in County Tyrone. I have no doubt that if this device had detonated it would have caused complete devastation and lives would certainly have been lost. Dissident republicans have been responsible for a number of car bomb attacks on police stations in Northern Ireland this year. They completely ignored the fact that there could easily have been passers-by or nearby residents caught up and killed or seriously injured in an explosion. A large area around Aughnacloy PSNI station remains closed as army experts examine the white van which was abandoned at Dungannon Road on Thursday at 2210 BST. "An hour sounds like a long time but when you have to evacuate 350 people it's a very short period of time and we were still evacuating people when the hour was up." The alert was raised in a telephone warning to a Belfast newspaper office. This is an outrage and should be condemned in the strongest possible terms by every right thinking person." A suspected getaway car - a blue Toyota Avensis - was found burned out across the border in Co Monaghan in the wake of the botched attack. Aughnacloy PSNI Superintendent Brian Kee said those responsible had shown blatant disregard for life. "The intention of the people responsible for planting this bomb in the middle of the village of Aughnacloy is to murder police officers with no regard for the people who live in this community.
Hundreds of people evacuated in Aughnacloy, County Tyrone, after 300lb bomb left in van outside local police station A 300lb bomb was left in a van outside a border police station in Northern Ireland last night, police confirmed today. Hundreds of people living near the police station in Aughnacloy, County Tyrone, were evacuated. Dissident republicans using a recognised codeword phoned a Belfast newsroom last night warning that a bomb had been placed in the van. Army bomb experts have been examining the white vehicle overnight. A police spokesman said about 350 residents including children spent the night in three community halls during the security alert. The main street in Aughnacloy is only partially open and the A5 road linking Derry to the Republic is accessible, although the Aughnacloy to Dungannon road is closed. Dissidents have been responsible for several bomb attacks on police stations and other buildings across Northern Ireland in recent months. Local Democratic Unionist councillor Sammy Brush said: "There is nothing getting in, or out, of the vicinity of the police station. There's a white Ford Transit van parked in front of the police station. Had it gone off, it would have caused serious destruction and death." Aughnacloy PSNI Superintendent Brian Kee said those responsible had shown blatant disregard for life. "A viable device inside a white Transit van was abandoned outside Aughnacloy police station last night. Police were made aware of a telephone warning at 10.10pm and were told that the device would detonate within the hour. "Officers immediately responded and began evacuating 350 nearby residents from their homes. "Army technical officers were tasked to the scene and a controlled explosion was carried out on the device this morning and the device made safe. "We can confirm that this was a viable device containing an estimated 300lbs of explosives. I have no doubt that if this device had detonated it would have caused complete devastation and lives would certainly have been lost. "The intention of the people responsible for planting this bomb in the middle of the village of Aughnacloy is to murder police officers with no regard for the people who live in this community. They completely ignored the fact that there could easily have been passers-by or nearby residents caught up and killed or seriously injured in an explosion. The viable device left in Aughnacloy, Co Tyrone, last night failed to detonate and has been made safe by Army bomb disposal officers. The violent renegades opposed to the peace process have launched a series of similar attacks on police and court buildings this year. Around 350 people were evacuated from their homes and had to spend the night at a nearby church and community halls during the alert. The white Ford Transit van - registration R124 FHJ - was left at the police station at around 10.10pm and a coded telephone warning to a Belfast newspaper claimed it would explode in an hour. Police Service of Northern Ireland Superintendent Brian Kee said his officers were still carrying out the evacuation when the 60- minute deadline elapsed but fortunately the bomb failed to go off. "If it had detonated it would have caused widespread devastation in the village and it's very likely that lives would have been lost," he said. "An hour sounds like a long time but when you have to evacuate 350 people it's a very short period of time and we were still evacuating people when the hour was up." A suspected getaway car - a blue Toyota Avensis - was found burned out across the border in Co Monaghan in the wake of the botched attack. Mr Kee condemned those responsible as "terrorist criminals". A van left outside Aughnacloy police station on Thursday night contained a 300lb bomb, police have confirmed. "The intention of the people responsible for planting this bomb in the middle of the village of Aughnacloy is to murder police officers with no regard for the people who live in this community," the superintendent said. A large area around Aughnacloy PSNI station remains closed as army experts examine the white van which was abandoned at Dungannon Road on Thursday at 2210 BST. Dissident republicans have been responsible for a number of car bomb attacks on police stations in Northern Ireland this year. DUP councillor Sammy Brush said only an hour's warning was given and it was difficult, in that time frame, to get elderly people and young children out of bed and out of their homes.
This has now been corrected. Victoria, 32, met Westling, 36, when she was recovering from bulimia, and he was helping restore her to full health. It is Sweden's first royal wedding since 1976. King Carl XVI Gustaf, balked at the idea of her marrying a commoner, (even though he did so himself 34 years ago) – a fitness trainer at that – and years of family rows followed before the couple got their way. Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden married her former personal trainer, Daniel Westling, in a lavish ceremony at Stockholm cathedral. The idea of a bride being given away was "a fairly new occurrence in the Church of Sweden". Victoria was escorted down the aisle by her father. The couple, who met in 2002, later rode through the capital in a horse-drawn carriage as tens of thousands of people lined the streets. Sweden's monarchy has no political power, but the king or queen represents the nation and greets foreign dignitaries. The newlyweds were transported to the Royal Palace, for an evening banquet with guests from around the world. Westling underwent years of training for his new job, which is akin to that of Prince Philip's role. She is first in line to succeed him. • This article was amended on 21 June 2010. The drama did not end with the engagement, Westling needed a transplant last year for a congenital kidney disorder. The nation has been assured it will not affect his ability to have children and that the illness is not hereditary. Archbishop Anders Wejryd said the princess's decision broke a 200-year tradition of "expressing equality between the spouses".
Sweden has celebrated a royal wedding between Crown Princess Victoria and her former fitness trainer. Victoria, 32, tied the knot with 36-year-old commoner Daniel Westling. More than 1,200 guests, including royals from around the world, attended the lavish ceremony in Stockholm Cathedral. The couple, who met in 2002, later rode through the capital in a horse-drawn carriage as tens of thousands of people lined the streets. After exchanging vows, the couple took to the same royal barge that Victoria's parents, King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia, used on their wedding day exactly 34 years ago. The newlyweds were transported to the Royal Palace, for an evening banquet with guests from around the world. It is Sweden's first royal wedding since 1976. As Crown Princess Victoria's husband, gym owner Mr Westling has assumed the title of Prince Daniel, Duke of Vastergotland. Sweden's monarchy has no political power, but the king or queen represents the nation and greets foreign dignitaries. Princess Victoria and Daniel Westling have overcome family rows, bulimia and a kidney disorder to tie the knot after eight years It was an eight-year saga involving family rows, a life-threatening illness and a dispute about wedding etiquette. The plot of one of Europe's most high-profile royal relationships will reach its denouement tomorrow when Sweden's Crown Princess Victoria marries fitness trainer Daniel Westling. Five hundred million television viewers across Europe are expected to watch the 20m Krona (£1.7m) spectacle in Stockholm's specially renovated cathedral. The wedding comes after a lengthy struggle by Princess Victoria to persuade the royal family to recognise her relationship with a commoner. Victoria, 32, met Westling, 36, when she was recovering from bulimia, and he was helping restore her to full health. King Carl XVI Gustaf, balked at the idea of her marrying a commoner, (even though he did so himself 34 years ago) – a fitness trainer at that – and years of family rows followed before the couple got their way. Westling underwent years of training for his new job, which is akin to that of Prince Philip's role. Millions were spent on his royal makeover, which included lopping off his dark curls in favour of a slick-backed look, replacing his "common-looking'' glasses with designer spectacles, and training him in etiquette and multilingual small talk. The drama did not end with the engagement, Westling needed a transplant last year for a congenital kidney disorder. The year-long preparations for the wedding itself have been overshadowed by arguments about everything from the cost, to the legitimacy of a monarchy in such an apparently enlightened and liberal land, as well as Victoria's controversial request for her father to walk her down the aisle. Archbishop Anders Wejryd said the princess's decision broke a 200-year tradition of "expressing equality between the spouses". Rows aside, even non-royal watchers have taken an interest in the celebration, which it has been rumoured, will see Abba re-convene for the first time in almost three decades to perform for the royal couple — and play Dancing Queen. Tens of thousands of people lined the streets of the capital to mark Sweden's first royal wedding since 1976.
I have no apology for it," he said. Mr. Byrd wrote four books. Advertisement Continue reading the main story In 1967 he was elected secretary of the Senate Democratic Conference, the No. West Virginia Gov. "If it's the Lord's will, the people will send me there. During his later years As U.S. soldiers fought an increasingly controversial war in Iraq, the senator was an outspoken critic of the conflict. He backed civil rights legislation consistently only after becoming a party leader in the Senate. Kennedy won the primary. While he set two endurance records in Congress, he was only proud of one in the end. The Appropriations Committee is a water hole." He did not complete a college degree until 1963, when he earned a law degree from American University in Washington after taking night classes -- the only time a member of Congress has earned a law degree while holding office. Citizens Against Government Waste, a nonpartisan watchdog group, regularly crowned him the “king of pork,” citing projects like the Robert C. Byrd Highway, two Robert C. Byrd federal buildings, the Robert C. Byrd Freeway, the Robert C. Byrd Center for Hospitality and Tourism, the Robert C. Byrd Drive and the Robert C. Byrd Hardwood Technologies Center. He was twice elected Senate Majority Leader and twice elected Senate President pro tempore, the third in line of succession for the presidency after the Vice President and the Speaker of the House. Why? This is the greatest building in the world. Mr. Byrd’s political life could be traced to his early involvement with the Klan, an association that almost thwarted his career and clouded it intermittently for years afterward.
Washington (CNN) -- West Virginia Sen. Robert Byrd, the self-educated son of a coal miner who became the longest-serving member of Congress, died early Monday at age 92, the senator's office said. Byrd, a nine-term Democrat, was known as a master of the chamber's often-arcane rules and as the self-proclaimed "champion of the Constitution," a jealous guardian of congressional power. His speeches were laced with references to poetry and the Greek and Roman classics, often punctuated by the brandishing of his pocket copy of the national charter. He was also known as the "King of Pork," using top positions on the Senate Appropriations Committee to steer federal spending to his home state -- one of the nation's poorest. "Pork, to the critic, is service to the people who enjoy some of the good things in life, and I've been happy to bring to West Virginia the projects to which they refer. I have no apology for it," he said. "When I am dead and am opened they will find West Virginia written on my heart." He was an outspoken opponent of the war in Iraq, calling his 2002 vote against a "blind and improvident" authorization of military action the proudest moment of his career. Joe Manchin -- a Democrat -- has the power to appoint a replacement for Byrd, whose current term is set to expire in 2013. When Byrd entered Congress in January 1953, a postage stamp cost 3 cents and American kids were clamoring for a new toy called Mr. Harry Truman was president, Winston Churchill was Britain's prime minister, and Josef Stalin was still the Soviet Union's leader. In November 2009, two days before his 92nd birthday, Byrd passed Arizona Democrat Carl Hayden's record to become the longest-serving member of Congress. His health problems mounted in his later years, putting him in the hospital four times between February 2008 and September 2009. "I have been privileged to be a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee for 50 years and to have chaired the committee for 10 years, during a time of enormous change in our great country, both culturally and politically," he wrote in a statement announcing his intention. For my part, I believe that it is time for a new day at the top of the Senate Appropriations Committee." His mother died when he was a year old, and he was adopted and renamed by his aunt and uncle, Titus and Vlurma Byrd. He started his political career by running for the state House of Delegates in 1946, while working as a butcher and welder. He won a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives six years later, was elected to his first Senate term in 1958, and won his ninth in 2006, three weeks shy of his 89th birthday. "If it's the Lord's will, the people will send me there. As the senior senator of the majority party, Byrd served as the Senate's president pro tempore -- third in line of presidential succession, behind the vice president and speaker of the House. The other was for his 1964 filibuster against the Civil Rights Act, when he spoke for 14 hours and 13 minutes in an effort to derail the law. He opposed civil rights when he first ran for office, a stance he came to regret later in life. He blamed "that Southern atmosphere in which I grew up, with all of its prejudices and its feelings," for his opposition to equal rights, which included joining the Ku Klux Klan in the 1940s. He called the move "the greatest mistake of my life," an "albatross" that would always shadow his career. "It's a lesson to the young people of today, that once a major mistake has been made in one's life," he said, "it will always be there, and it will be in my obituary." Byrd was married to his childhood sweetheart, the former Erma James, for nearly 69 years before her death in 2006. "I have met queens and the wives of shahs and great women from all over the world, (but) to me now, this was the greatest woman I ever met in this world," he said. He did not complete a college degree until 1963, when he earned a law degree from American University in Washington after taking night classes -- the only time a member of Congress has earned a law degree while holding office. He rose through the Senate's Democratic ranks in the 1960s, and became the chamber's majority leader in 1977. He kept the party leadership when Republicans won back the Senate in 1980, serving as minority leader for six years, then spent two more years as majority leader after the 1986 elections. In 1989, he became chairman of the powerful Senate Appropriations Committee -- one of the most influential posts in Congress, with extensive control over the federal government's purse strings. He spent the rest of his career as the panel's chairman or ranking Democrat, steering an estimated $3 billion in federal projects to West Virginia since 1991, according to the watchdog group Citizens Against Government Waste. Byrd said he was looking out for the interests of his Appalachian constituents, nearly 20 percent of whom live below the federal poverty line. "My memory is as good as it ever was, and it's stock full of recollections about the poor people of West Virginia, how they were laughed at," he told CNN in 2006. But in the same interview, Byrd said it was his October 2002 vote against the resolution that gave President George Bush the authority to launch the invasion of Iraq "of which I am most proud." He was one of 23 senators to oppose the authorization, warning that Congress was abdicating its constitutional power to declare war by giving the president what amounted to a blank check. Four months later, with an American-led army poised to move across the frontier and U.N. weapons inspectors reporting no sign of Iraq's suspected weapons programs, Byrd returned to the Senate floor to condemn a "hauntingly silent" chamber. Four years after casting that vote, he called the invasion "the blunder of the age."
So keep it up." Generally, spies were allegedly tasked with becoming "Americanised" to be able to do this, with some pursuing university degrees, holding jobs, and joining relevant professional associations, court documents said. Ten alleged members of a Russian spy-ring have been charged in the US with acting as foreign agents. The FBI agent assured Chapman she was well regarded in Russia. Five of the suspects appeared in a New York courtroom on Monday. The Department of Justice has made clear that none of the information at stake was classified. She was assured that no one was. Conspiracy to commit money laundering has a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. Relations between Washington and Moscow have warmed in recent months. (CNN) -- A suspected Russian spy is missing after being arrested in Cyprus and released on bail, a police spokesman told CNN Wednesday. An intercepted message from the SVR to two of the alleged spies outlined their mission. "You were sent to USA for long-term service trip. Secret meetings 'Haven't we met in California?' The SVR also urged its agents to collect information on the US positions on arms talks, Iran's nuclear programme and Afghanistan in advance of Barack Obama's visit to Russia last year. Asked where he would then go if the signal came to come in from the cold, Semenko said there was only one place: the Russian consulate in New York. They were told to befriend US officials and send information using various methods to Russian government handlers. The group allegedly got close to a scientist involved in designing bunker-busting bombs and a top former intelligence official.
Ten alleged members of a Russian spy-ring have been charged in the US with acting as foreign agents. The suspects are accused of posing as ordinary citizens, some living together as couples for years. They were charged with conspiracy to act as unlawful agents of a foreign government, a crime which carries up to five years in prison. A Russian foreign ministry spokesman said the allegations were contradictory. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov later said Moscow expected Washington to provide an explanation over the the spying row, Russia's Interfax news agency reports. Nine of the alleged spies also face a charge of conspiracy to launder money, which carries a 20-year prison sentence. 'Deep cover' Analysis So what were the alleged spies up to? Most of what the alleged spies were after seems almost anodyne. Russian spy stories may be a throwback to the Cold War and sound alarming but they probably don't surprise anyone in Washington, especially not in the government. US officials who travel to Moscow routinely turn off their BlackBerries and leave them on the plane to make sure data on their phones remains out of reach of any tech-savvy Russian intelligence agents. Cold War meets 'burger summit' Alleged intercepted messages in court documents suggest they were asked to find information on topics including nuclear weapons, US arms control positions, Iran, White House rumours, CIA leadership turnover, and political parties. The US Department of Justice says eight of the suspects allegedly carried out "long-term, 'deep-cover' assignments" on US soil, working in civilian jobs so as not to arouse suspicion. They were allegedly trained by the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) to infiltrate policy-making circles and collect information, according to court papers filed in the US court for the southern district of New York. They were told to befriend US officials and send information using various methods to Russian government handlers. US officials said the spy-ring was discovered in a "multi-year investigation" by FBI agents who posed as Russian handlers and gleaned information from two of the suspects. 'Invisible ink' Investigators say some of the agents had been using false identities since the early 1990s, using codes and engaging in advanced computer operations, including posting apparently innocent pictures on the internet which contained hidden text. The FBI also reported observing older techniques, such as messages sent by invisible ink, money being buried next to a beer-bottle marker and "brush pasts" in parks, where agents swap identical bags as they pass each other. "You were sent to USA for long-term service trip," says one purported message to two of the suspects that was intercepted by US intelligence. "Your education, bank accounts, car, house etc - all these serve one goal: fulfil your main mission, ie to search and develop ties in policymaking circles in US and send intels." Generally, spies were allegedly tasked with becoming "Americanised" to be able to do this, with some pursuing university degrees, holding jobs, and joining relevant professional associations, court documents said. The group allegedly got close to a scientist involved in designing bunker-busting bombs and a top former intelligence official. Court appearances Five of the suspects briefly appeared in a Manhattan federal court on Monday, where a judge ordered them to remain in prison until a preliminary hearing set for 27 July. These included a couple known as "Richard Murphy" and "Cynthia Murphy", who were arrested in Montclair, New Jersey; Vicky Pelaez and a man known as "Juan Lazaro," who were arrested in Yonkers, New York state; and Anna Chapman, who was arrested in Manhattan, New York City. Another three - Mikhail Semenko and a couple known as "Michael Zottoli" and "Patricia Mills" - appeared in a federal court in Alexandria, Virginia, after being arrested in Arlington, Virginia. The final two people - a couple known as "Donald Howard Heathfield" and "Tracey Lee Ann Foley" - were arrested in Boston, Massachusetts, and appeared in a federal court in the city. A suspect known as "Christopher R Metsos" remains at large. The FBI has arrested 10 alleged Russian spies and broken up a "long term, deep cover" network of agents that spent years adopting American identities and gathering an array of intelligence, from information about nuclear weapons to the gold market and personnel changes at the CIA. The FBI alleges that the accused spies were able to get close to a scientist working with "bunker-buster" nuclear bombs and a New York financier with powerful political ties. But the intercepts do not suggest they were successful at uncovering valuable information and some of the exchanges with Moscow appear almost laughable in their simplicity, including advice to one agent to "build up little by little relations" with the financier. The FBI said that the deep cover agents were called "Illegals" by Moscow. Your education, your bank accounts, car, house, etc – all these serve one goal: fulfill your main mission, ie to search and develop ties in policymaking circles in US and send intels (intelligence reports) to C (Centre)," an intercepted message said according to the indictment. The FBI described the "Illegals" as being paired in Russia "so that they can live together and work together in a host country, under the guise of a married couple. The justice department said one other alleged spy, who is accused of delivering payments to members of the ring, is still being sought. According to the indictments, members of the spy ring reported back to Moscow in 2004 that they were able to get close to an American whom the Russian agents described as involved in "strategic planning related to nuclear weapon development" and "had conversations with him about research programs on small yield high penetration nuclear warheads recently authorised by US Congress (nuclear 'bunker-buster' warheads)". The SVR also urged its agents to collect information on the US positions on arms talks, Iran's nuclear programme and Afghanistan in advance of Barack Obama's visit to Russia last year. The FBI said it also observed a car with diplomatic plates registered to the Russian government park outside a Washington DC restaurant where another alleged spy who went by the name Mikhail Semenko, who is still being sought by the authorities, used a computer to establish a connection with a wireless signal from the car. Other information was passed by posting pictures on the internet that had text buried in them as well as long established techniques such as drops and "brush pasts" in local parks.
All rights reserved. 2 leader, Ayman al-Zawahri, has called for attacks on Norway, among other countries. Norwegian and U.S. officials said it was unclear whether the men ever perfected the recipe for the bomb and said investigators had contained the plot. Authorities believe the suspects were planning attacks with portable but powerful bombs like the ones at the heart of last year's thwarted suicide attack in the New York City subway. "It was not the decisive factor." The Police Security Service said it decided to make the arrests on Thursday because the international press had learned about parts of the case and wanted to publish the information. Three people have been arrested in Norway on suspicion of preparing terrorist attacks. On Wednesday, prosecutors revealed the existence of a related plot in Manchester, England. Even though it was not clear if Norway was a target, al-Qaeda's No. Another is an Iraqi-Kurdish national who holds a permanent residence permit while the third is a Uzbek who came to Norway at the beginning of the 2000s and now holds a permanent residence permit. You share in the USA TODAY community, so please keep your comments smart and civil. OSLO, July 8 (Xinhua) -- Three suspected al-Qaeda members were arrested Thursday in what Norwegian authorities said was a plot linked to cases in the United States and Great Britain. The AP agreed not to report on the investigation until arrests were made. One man, Najibullah Zazi, has already pleaded guilty. "The charges reveal that the plot... was directed by senior al-Qaeda leadership in Pakistan," the US Department of Justice said in a statement.
OSLO (AP) Three suspected al-Qaeda members were arrested Thursday for what Norwegian and U.S. officials said was a terrorist plot linked to similar plans to bomb New York's subway and blow up a shopping mall in England. Officials believe the men were planning attacks with portable but powerful bombs like the ones at the heart of last year's failed suicide attack in the New York City subway, an attack U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder has called one of the most serious plots since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. On Wednesday, U.S. prosecutors revealed the existence of a related plot in Manchester, England. The plots underscore al-Qaeda's interest in smaller-level attacks that don't require the intricate planning and coordination of Sept. 11, in which airplanes were hijacked and flown into the World Trade Center towers in New York City and the Pentagon in Arlington, Va. And they follow a trend in which the terrorist group has used operatives inside potential target countries, rather than trying to sneak people across increasingly secure borders. The three men, whose names were not released, had been under surveillance for more than a year. Two were arrested in Norway. A third was captured in Germany, where he was vacationing, the Frankfurt general prosecutor's office said. Officials would not say what country or site was the target of the latest terror threat, or even whether they believed the men had selected a target. Those arrested in Norway included a 39-year-old Norwegian of Uighur origin who has lived in the country since 1999 and a 31-year-old citizen of Uzbekistan who had a permanent Norwegian residency permit, said Janne Kristiansen, head of Norway's Police Security Service. The man arrested in Germany is a 37-year-old Iraqi with a Norwegian residency permit, Kristiansen said. Kristiansen did not say exactly where the arrests took place but said all three men "had connections to Oslo." Norwegian and U.S. officials believe the Norway plan was organized by Salah al-Somali, al-Qaeda's former chief of external operations who is in charge of plotting attacks worldwide. al-Qaeda usually keeps its plots compartmentalized, and officials do not believe the suspects in Norway knew about the other plots. Al-Somali, who was killed in a CIA drone airstrike last year, has been identified in U.S. court documents as one of the masterminds of the New York subway plot. Two men have pleaded guilty in that case, admitting they planned to detonate explosives during rush hour. A third man awaits trial. Officials said the men were attempting to make peroxide bombs, the powerful homemade explosives that prosecutors say were attempted in both New York and England. Norwegian and U.S. officials said it was unclear whether the men ever perfected the recipe for the bomb and said investigators had contained the plot. "According to our evaluation, the public has never been at risk," Kristiansen said. Authorities told the AP that reporting on the case could jeopardize public safety and allow dangerous suspects to go free. "AP's knowledge of the case was only one of several factors that was taken into consideration when deciding on the timing of the arrests," Police Security Service spokesman Trond Hugubakken said. Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg urged Norwegians not to judge large groups of people because of the arrests. "These are separate individuals that are responsible for criminal acts," Stoltenberg said. "It is always bad to judge a whole group of people from what individuals are doing and that is independently of what group these people belong to." 2 leader, Ayman al-Zawahri, has called for attacks on Norway, among other countries. Magnus Norell, a terrorism expert at the Swedish Defense Research Agency, said Norway's 500 troops in Afghanistan could be a factor, as could the 2006 controversy sparked by a Danish newspaper's publication of 12 cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammad. Norell said the controversy has extended to neighboring Norway and Sweden after newspapers there republished the cartoons and later published similar cartoons. British police and security officials have never provided details of the alleged target of the purported English plot, but said it was likely focused on a major shopping center in northern England. Media speculation centered on Manchester's Arndale shopping center. A judge said last year the gang was plotting a "mass casualty" attack in northern England. Use the "Report Abuse" button to make a difference. Use the "Report Abuse" button to make a difference. Unnamed Norwegian and US officials told the Associated Press that the men were members of al-Qaeda and had been under surveillance for a year. They said it was not clear whether the men had selected a target, but they were attempting to make peroxide bombs. "The Norwegian Police Security Service (PST) has today, July 8, 2010, arrested three people suspected of preparing acts of terror," the PST said in a statement on its website. "The charges reveal that the plot... was directed by senior al-Qaeda leadership in Pakistan," the US Department of Justice said in a statement.
We did. Nasr, a 20-year CNN veteran based in Atlanta, departed from the channel after "a conversation" with Parisa Khosravi, a CNN senior vice president. That's not the case at all. Sayyed Fadlallah. This does not mean I respected him for what else he did or said. When the Lebanese Civil War ended in 1990 with Syria taking full control of Lebanon, Hezbollah was and remains the only armed militia in Lebanon. The channel was reported by the New York Times to have been alerted to the tweet by some supporters of Israel. Rather, he was referred to as the scholar - the expert on Islam - but nothing more. “CNN regrets any offense her Twitter message caused. Ms. Nasr apparently deleted the post at some point. Here's what I should have conveyed more fully: I used the words "respect" and "sad" because to me as a Middle Eastern woman, Fadlallah took a contrarian and pioneering stand among Shia clerics on woman's rights. He called for the abolition of the tribal system of ‘honor killing.’ He called the practice primitive and nonproductive. Revered across borders yet designated a terrorist. The above tweet by Octavia Nasr referred to the Grand Ayatollah Mohammed Hussein Fadlallah, an early mentor of the militant group Hezbollah who died in Beirut on Sunday. It did not meet CNN’s editorial standards. He warned Muslim men that abuse of women was against Islam. And it was during his time as spiritual leader that so many Westerners were kidnapped and held hostage in Lebanon. Far from it. He regularly praised the terror attacks that killed Israeli citizens.
CNN International has fired one of its senior editors after she published a Twitter message lamenting the death of a Lebanese Shi'ite cleric. The above tweet by Octavia Nasr referred to the Grand Ayatollah Mohammed Hussein Fadlallah, an early mentor of the militant group Hezbollah who died in Beirut on Sunday. Nasr, a 20-year CNN veteran based in Atlanta, departed from the channel after "a conversation" with Parisa Khosravi, a CNN senior vice president. Fadlallah was also the spiritual leader of Hezbollah when it was formed after Israel invaded Lebanon in 1982, though he later distanced himself from its ties with Iran. A CNN spokesman said: "CNN regrets any offence her Twitter message caused. It did not meet CNN's editorial standards." Nasr is quoted in a BBC report as calling her tweet "an error of judgment". She said she had been referring to Fadlallah's "pioneering" views on women's rights. She said in a blog posting: "Reaction to my tweet was immediate, overwhelming and provides a good lesson on why 140 characters should not be used to comment on controversial or sensitive issues, especially those dealing with the Middle East." Sources: New York Times/BBC/IFEX CNN on Wednesday removed its senior editor for Middle Eastern affairs, Octavia Nasr, from her job after she published a Twitter message saying that she respected the Shiite cleric the Grand Ayatollah Mohammed Hussein Fadlallah, who died on Sunday. Ms. Nasr left her CNN office in Atlanta on Wednesday. Parisa Khosravi, the senior vice president for CNN International Newsgathering, said in an internal memorandum that she “had a conversation” with Ms. Nasr on Wednesday morning and that “we have decided that she will be leaving the company.” Ms. Nasr, a 20-year veteran of CNN, wrote on Twitter after the cleric died on Sunday, “Sad to hear of the passing of Sayyed Mohammed Hussein Fadlallah … One of Hezbollah’s giants I respect a lot.” Ayatollah Fadlallah routinely denounced Israel and the United States, and supported suicide bombings against Israeli civilians. Ayatollah Fadlallah’s writings and preachings inspired the Dawa Party of Iraq and a generation of militants, including the founders of Hezbollah, The New York Times reported on Sunday. A Web site called Honest Reporting that says it is “dedicated to defending Israel against prejudice in the media” asked, “Is Nasr a Hezbollah sympathizer? This is disturbing enough given that the group is designated a terrorist organization by the U.S. and is committed to the destruction of Israel. “And which of Fadlallah’s individual views does Nasr admire?” CNN officials became aware of Ms. Nasr’s message on Monday, and a spokesman said Tuesday that it was an “error of judgment” on her part. In a follow-up blog post on Tuesday evening, Ms. Nasr said she was sorry about the message “because it conveyed that I supported Fadlallah’s life’s work. That’s not the case at all.” She said she used the words “respect” and “sad” because “to me, as a Middle Eastern woman, Fadlallah took a contrarian and pioneering stand among Shia clerics on woman’s rights. He called for the abolition of the tribal system of ‘honor killing.’ He called the practice primitive and nonproductive. He warned Muslim men that abuse of women was against Islam.” She continued, “This does not mean I respected him for what else he did or said. Ms. Khosravi wrote in the memorandum, “At this point, we believe that her credibility in her position as senior editor for Middle Eastern affairs has been compromised going forward.” Her exit was first reported by the Web site Mediaite. Despite her senior editor title, Ms. Nasr did not run CNN’s Middle East coverage, a network spokesman said. My tweet was short: "Sad to hear of the passing of Sayyed Mohammad Hussein Fadlallah.. One of Hezbollah's giants I respect a lot. #Lebanon" Reaction to my tweet was immediate, overwhelming and a provides a good lesson on why 140 characters should not be used to comment on controversial or sensitive issues, especially those dealing with the Middle East. It was an error of judgment for me to write such a simplistic comment and I'm sorry because it conveyed that I supported Fadlallah's life's work. Here's what I should have conveyed more fully: I used the words "respect" and "sad" because to me as a Middle Eastern woman, Fadlallah took a contrarian and pioneering stand among Shia clerics on woman's rights. He called for the abolition of the tribal system of "honor killing." He warned Muslim men that abuse of women was against Islam. The interview went 45 minutes, during which I asked him about Hezbollah's agenda for an Islamic state in Lebanon. He also joked at the end of the interview that the solution for Lebanon's civil war was to send "all political leaders without exception on a ship away from Lebanon with no option to return." But it was his commitment to Hezbollah's original mission - resisting Israel's occupation of Lebanon - that made him popular and respected among many Lebanese, not just people of his own sect. In 1983, as Fadlallah found his voice as a spiritual leader, Islamic Jihad - soon to morph into Hezbollah - bombed the U.S. Marine barracks in Beirut, killing 299 American and French peacekeepers. Under Syria's influence however, Hezbollah - declared a terrorist group by the United States and the European Union started becoming even more militant, with designs beyond Lebanon's borders to serve agendas for Syria and Iran.
"What we were hoping for was a concrete, this-is-it fix for the phone," Gikas said. The antenna problem has plagued the iPhone 4 since the first days of its release. But he said Mr. Jobs “did what he needed to do. "And I don't think Apple fully admitted to it. Advertisement Continue reading the main story But he quickly went on the offensive, saying every smartphone suffers from similar problems. But it's still not enough for his group to recommend the phone to consumers. The free offer is available through Sept. 30, and a full refund will be issued to those who already bought the $29 case. Though its impact on calling has perhaps been overdramatized, it is a demonstrable issue: Hold your hand too tightly around the bottom of the phone, and in many cases you will lose reception, and perhaps drop a call. He would not provide absolute numbers of dropped calls, but he said that he believed the increase was because fewer iPhone 4 customers were using a case, or bumper. “It is not like Apple has had its head in the sand,” he said. Please try again later. "The human hand -- the body -- attenuates signal on all phones," he said. Not really, says Consumer Reports, the influential product watchdog. View all New York Times newsletters. They acknowledged it and they threw an interim solution at it. What’s more, he said that return rates at AT&T, the exclusive carrier of the iPhone in the United States, were 1.7 percent, or less than a third the return rates of the iPhone 3GS.
Those who have already bought the cases will be reimbursed, and customers who are still not satisfied can return the phones for a full refund. The cases will remain free at least until Sept. 30, when Apple will consider whether it can offer a different solution. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Some marketing experts said Mr. Jobs had been effective at deflecting a potentially damaging crisis and predicted Apple would suffer little damage from the antenna ruckus. “It is inexcusable that this problem was not found out in advance,” said Peter Sealey, a former chief marketing officer of the Coca-Cola Company, who teaches at the School of Management at Claremont Graduate University. He said Apple was not perfect and apologized to customers affected by the antenna problem. “We are human and we make mistakes sometimes,” he said. Advertisement Continue reading the main story But he quickly went on the offensive, saying every smartphone suffers from similar problems. To bolster his case, he showed videos of smartphones, including a BlackBerry, an Android-powered phone and a Windows Mobile device, that dropped signals when they were held in certain places. Advertisement Continue reading the main story When a reporter said he could not replicate the signal drop on his BlackBerry, Mr. Jobs said the problem was only evident in places where the signal is weak. Photo Most of all, Mr. Jobs said time and again that the iPhone 4 was the best phone Apple had shipped, and that most reviewers believed it to be the best smartphone on the market. Advertisement Continue reading the main story First, only one in about 200 buyers had called Apple to complain about antenna issues, a historically low number, he said. What’s more, he said that return rates at AT&T, the exclusive carrier of the iPhone in the United States, were 1.7 percent, or less than a third the return rates of the iPhone 3GS. Mr. Jobs conceded that the iPhone 4 suffered from a slight increase in dropped calls over the iPhone 3GS, but said that the increase was less than one additional drop for every 100 calls. He would not provide absolute numbers of dropped calls, but he said that he believed the increase was because fewer iPhone 4 customers were using a case, or bumper. “And there is no ‘Antennagate.’ There is a challenge to the entire industry to improve antenna performance so that there are no weak spots.” Advertisement Continue reading the main story Mr. Jobs also rejected criticism that Apple had been slow to respond to complaints about the antenna, saying engineers had been working around the clock to diagnose the problem. “It has been 22 days.” Advertisement Continue reading the main story Mr. Jobs revealed that Apple had sold more than three million of the black iPhone 4s and said the white model would start shipping at the end of the month. On July 30, Apple will start selling the iPhone 4 in 17 more countries, including Australia, Austria, Italy, Ireland and Switzerland. Some Apple rivals took issue with the contention that all smartphones suffer from antenna problems. Karen Lachtanski, a spokeswoman for Nokia, said in an e-mail message that antenna performance can be affected by a tight grip, but added: “That’s why Nokia designs our phones to ensure acceptable performance in all real-life cases, for example when the phone is held in either hand.” Advertisement Continue reading the main story Sanjay K. Jha, Motorola’s co-chief executive, said in a statement that his company had avoided putting antennas on the outside of its phones “because consumers don’t like being told how to hold the phone.” Mr. Jha said it was “disingenuous to suggest that all phones perform equally,” adding that in the company’s tests, Motorola’s new Droid X had performed better than the iPhone 4 when held in the hand. For its part, Consumer Reports, which shone a spotlight on the iPhone 4 problems by saying Monday that it could not recommend the device, called Apple’s response a “good first step.” Paul Reynolds, the magazine’s electronics editor, said it would continue to withhold its “recommended” rating. (CNN) -- Does a free case fix all the iPhone 4's problems? Apple CEO Steve Jobs on Friday announced that his company will give iPhone 4 owners free cases to address reception problems caused by the phone's external antenna, which is a metal band around the edge of the phone. Consumer Reports made headlines earlier this week for suggesting that iPhone 4 owners would get better phone reception if they put duct tape over the bottom left corner of the phone, where there was a "design flaw" in the antenna. Gikas said such a solution makes it difficult to review the phone, because everyone has a different case, and it's unclear if the solution is permanent; there's a chance the phone could still be recalled after September 30, or that a new version could be issued, he said. "When we test a product we try to assume this product is just like all the others that came in boxes just like it," he said, "and we can't do that anymore [with the iPhone 4] because, with the case, this phone is different." "The human hand -- the body -- attenuates signal on all phones," he said. "But we haven't seen it happen to the degree that it's happened with the iPhone 4." Today, as expected, Steve Jobs announced that Apple would offer free rubber "bumpers" to anyone who bought an iPhone 4 in order to fix the problem caused by the antenna's design flaw. However, Jobs did not promise a hardware fix which would alleviate the problem without marring the phone's aesthetic.
He replied, "Yes, I could have been a golfer." Higgins began playing snooker at the age of 11. In those days, the world championship lasted for a year. "When he's good, he's charming," he said. His skill and speed around the table earned him one of sport's most enduring nicknames: the Hurricane. It was the last title he ever won. He developed throat cancer in 1997 but continued to play smaller events in the Republic of Ireland and in Northern Ireland. In 1982, he became world champion again by defeating Ray Reardon in the final. Three years later, though, he and Lynn were divorced. His first World Snooker Championship came in 1972, at his first attempt. It was at the 1986 UK championship that he headbutted a referee and was fined £12,000 and banned from five tournaments. "He was an inspiration to my generation to take the game up. Disciplinary action was pending from this when, after losing in the first round of the 1990 World Championship at the Crucible, he punched the WPBSA's duty press officer on his way to the obligatory press conference. Alex suffers from great highs and great lows. He spent many years in remission, and in May he attended a charity event through which friends and former players hoped to raise money to pay for his further treatment. Yesterday his body was discovered at his flat in a sheltered housing complex in Donegall Road, in Belfast city centre. They were much more noisy and you had to play the crowd as well. He also threatened to have Dennis Taylor shot, and was banned for the rest of the next season.
Alex Higgins, the legendary two-times world snooker champion known as much for his wild lifestyle as his flamboyant play on the green baize, died yesterday aged 61. His skill and speed around the table earned him one of sport's most enduring nicknames: the Hurricane. A world champion by the age of 22, he played a major role in snooker's booming popularity in the 1970s and 1980s, when players were household names. Higgins became one of the fans' favourite players. His second world title win, in 1982 when he beat the Welshman Ray Reardon in an 18-15 final, is one of the sport's best-remembered matches. Belfast-born Higgins regularly courted controversy. Another time, he headbutted an official, resulting in a fine and a five-tournament ban. It is estimated that he earned, and mostly spent, £3m over 20 years. Steve Davis, who played a number of classic matches against Higgins in the 1980s, considered him to be "the one true genius snooker has produced". He said last night: "To people in the game he was a constant source of argument, he was a rebel. "He was an inspiration to my generation to take the game up. I do not think his contribution to snooker can be underestimated. He was quite a fierce competitor, he lived and breathed the game, very much a fighter on the table." He added: "It was a love/hate relationship with Alex Higgins. The snooker promoter Barry Hearn said: "I have known [Higgins] for nearly 40 years. He was the major reason for snooker's popularity in the early days. We will miss him – he was the original people's champion." Higgins was a heavy smoker and drinker and, 10 years ago, was diagnosed with throat cancer. He spent many years in remission, and in May he attended a charity event through which friends and former players hoped to raise money to pay for his further treatment. He had stopped answering his mobile phone, and his flat had to be broken into, sources said. Sean Boru, who ghosted Higgins's autobiography, said: "Everybody who knew Alex knew that this was an inevitability, but it's still a shock when it happens." Higgins began playing snooker at the age of 11. Three years later, he left for England to become a jockey, but quickly put on weight and returned home. His speed around the table and a flamboyant technique, which featured body swerves and an unusual cueing movement, earned him his Hurricane nickname. Higgins's volatile temper frequently cost him in terms of his career. He would have ranked number one in the world in the 1982-83 season, but was docked points following disciplinary action. It was at the 1986 UK championship that he headbutted a referee and was fined £12,000 and banned from five tournaments. Alex "Hurricane" Higgins was snooker's anti-hero, seeking neither acceptance nor respectability. Higgins died yesterday, aged 61, after a long battle with throat cancer. When he won the first of his two world titles in 1972, the venue for the final, a now demolished British Legion function room in a Birmingham suburb, symbolised snooker's status as a down-at-heel folk sport. His 16-15 semi-final win over Jimmy White provided the most often reprised item from the BBC's snooker footage. His compulsive urge to live on life's dangerous edge, stronger than any mere desire to win, was like an addiction to the thrill of gambling. Crying with emotion, he beckoned his wife, Lynn, and 18-month-old daughter, Lauren, to join him in a surreal but spontaneous winner's tableau that has remained one of snooker's most iconic images.
When he arrived, he said, he saw body parts everywhere. The plane's wreckage was never found. "We are in shock." There is no word on the cause of the crash. Hashim Raza Garvaizi, a captain for Pakistan International Airlines, told GEO television that another flight had been diverted from the Islamabad airport because of rain and fog just 30 minutes before the Airblue flight crashed. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Mr. Abbasi said he did not hear or see any other explosion before the aircraft hit the mountain. The Pakistani government declared that Thursday would be a national day of mourning. "I wondered why the plane wasn't flying higher as it was flying towards the hill. The company and civil aviation officials say there was nothing in conversations between the pilot and the Islamabad control tower that suggests anything was wrong. The exact cause of the disaster wasn't known, but the Airbus passenger jet went down in poor weather. An airplane crash outside Pakistan 's capital Wednesday has killed all 152 people on board, officials said, including two Americans. The plane, a domestic flight from Karachi operated by the private company Airblue, came down in hills just north of the city as it was about to land. She said Rosie Ahmed was in her late 50s. Please try again later. Smoke rose from the scene as helicopters hovered. Image copyright bbc It is the deadliest air disaster in Pakistan's history. The pilot responded, “We can see it,” according to Express TV. Rescue workers and citizen volunteers were hampered by the rain, mud and rugged terrain.
An airplane crash outside Pakistan 's capital Wednesday has killed all 152 people on board, officials said, including two Americans. The exact cause of the disaster wasn't known, but the Airbus passenger jet went down in poor weather. Enlarge By Aamir Qureshi, AFP/Getty Images Fire and smoke rise from the wreckage of a passenger plane in the Margalla Hills on the outskirts of Islamabad on Wednesday. ISLAMABAD (AP) A passenger jet that officials suspect veered off course in monsoon rains and thick clouds crashed into hills overlooking Pakistan 's capital, killing all 152 people on board and scattering body parts and twisted metal far and wide. The Airblue jet's crash Wednesday was the deadliest ever in Pakistan, and just the latest tragedy to jolt a country that has suffered numerous deaths in recent years due to al-Qaeda and Taliban attacks. At least two U.S. citizens were on the plane, which carried mostly Pakistanis. The plane left the southern city of Karachi at 7:45 a.m. for a two-hour flight to Islamabad and was trying to land when it lost contact with the control tower, said Pervez George, a civil aviation official. Airblue is a private airline based in Karachi, Pakistan's largest city. The aircraft, an Airbus A321, crashed some nine miles from the airport, scorching a wide stretch of the Margalla Hills, including a section behind Faisal Mosque, one of Islamabad's most prominent landmarks. Smoke rose from the scene as helicopters hovered. The exact cause of the crash was not immediately clear, and rescue workers were seeking the "black box" flight data recorder amid the wreckage. The crash was so severe it would have been nearly impossible for any of the 146 passengers and six crewmembers to survive, rescue officials said. "There is nothing left, just piles and bundles of flesh. As the government declared Thursday would be a day of mourning and condolences poured in from the U.S., Britain and other nations, hundreds of people showed up at Islamabad's largest hospital and the airport seeking information on loved ones. They swarmed ambulances reaching the hospital, but their hopes fell as rescue workers unloaded bags filled with body parts. A large cluster of people also surrounded a passenger list posted near the Airblue counter at the airport. "We don't know who survived, who died, who is injured," said Zulfikar Ghazi, who lost four relatives. Mirza Ahmed Baig rushed to the hills after hearing that the plane carrying his brother had crashed. "I'm not satisfied at all on the steps the government is taking," Baig said. As of Wednesday night, when rescue work was suspended till the morning, 115 bodies had been recovered, federal Information Minister Qamar Zaman Kaira said. U.S. Embassy spokesman Richard Snelsire confirmed that at least two American citizens were on board, but he declined to provide any further information on their identities or links to Pakistan. "The plane had lost balance, and then we saw it going down," Saqlain Altaf, who was on a family outing in the hills when the crash occurred, told Pakistan's ARY news channel. The Pakistan Airline Pilot Association said the plane may have strayed off course, possibly because of the poor weather. Several officials noted the plane seemed to be an unusual distance from the airport, which was some nine miles (15 kilometers) away. The only previous recorded accident for Airblue, a carrier that began flying in 2004, was a tail-strike in May 2008 at Quetta airport by one of the airline's Airbus 321 jets. In 2007, the European Union temporarily banned flights in its airspace of most of the aircraft operated by Pakistan's national carrier, Pakistan International Airlines, because of concerns over the age of the aircraft and poor maintenance. The last major plane crash in Pakistan was in July 2006 when a Fokker F-27 twin-engine aircraft operated by PIA slammed into a wheat field on the outskirts of the central Pakistani city of Multan, killing all 45 people on board. The plane's wreckage was never found. The Airbus 320 family of medium-range jets, which includes the A321 model that crashed Wednesday, is one of the most popular in the world, with about 4,300 jets delivered since deliveries began in 1988. The deadliest was a 2007 crash at landing in Sao Paolo by Brazil's TAM airline, in which all 187 people on board perished, along with 12 others on the ground.
"But that should change. Opponents, however, consider it animal cruelty. The Barcelona bullring is the only functioning one in Catalonia. That would be consistent." Image caption Bullfighting has declined in popularity in Catalonia but fights are still held in Barcelona The parliament of Catalonia has voted to ban bullfighting - the first region of mainland Spain to do so. Deputies voted by 68 to 55 in favour of a people's petition calling on the bullfight to be banished from a region that once played host to some of the world's greatest fights. They also fear the vote could be the first of many in the country. "This is dictatorship," the Catalan bullfighter Serafín Marín said. The fighting bulls are specially bred and traditionally a corrida involves six bulls and three matadors, each of whom tackles two bulls. It is a show that creates art: where you get feelings and a fight between a bull and person, where the person or the bull can lose their life." Animal rights campaigners were upset that identity politics had been brought to play. "But it is a barbarous tradition." The last matador in Catalan history will sink his sword into the last half-tonne fighting bull at the end of next year, with the ban starting in 2012. (Enough!). The number of bullfights across Spain has dropped by a third in recent years, mostly because of the budget constraints of local governments, which often fund the spectacles. The regional government, like that of Valencia, has declared the bull-fight to be a part of its "protected cultural patrimony".
Image caption Bullfighting has declined in popularity in Catalonia but fights are still held in Barcelona The parliament of Catalonia has voted to ban bullfighting - the first region of mainland Spain to do so. The vote took place as the result of a petition brought to parliament, signed by 180,000 people who say the practice is barbaric and outdated. Bullfight supporters insist that the corrida, as it is known, is an important tradition to preserve. They also fear the vote could be the first of many in the country. The ban takes effect in January 2012. In Wednesday's vote, 68 backed a ban, 55 voted against and nine abstained. Barcelona's main bullring is one of the oldest in Spain, but support for the bullfight has waned. The Barcelona bullring is the only functioning one in Catalonia. The vote was brought to the agenda by activists who argue it is cruel and unacceptable and say most spectators in Catalonia these days are tourists. The campaign was led by the animal rights lobby group Prou! Supporters says the corrida is an art form that it is vital to preserve. Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption The BBC's Sarah Rainsford: "The emotions were very high in the debate" Catalan nationalism The vote was close as the two main parties in parliament took the unusual step of allowing members to cast their ballots according to their conscience. But while the official debate is over animal rights, many believe this process is an attempt by nationalist-minded Catalans to mark their difference from the rest of Spain by rejecting one of its best known traditions. Pro-bullfighting groups fear that a ban could spark a wave of similar campaigns across the country. Deep-rooted tradition A bullfight typically lasts about 20 minutes, and the bull is stabbed numerous times before the fatal blow delivered with a sword thrust between its shoulder blades. The fighting bulls are specially bred and traditionally a corrida involves six bulls and three matadors, each of whom tackles two bulls. In Portugal and the south of France the bull is not killed in the ring. Its orange sands have witnessed delight and death. Generations of matadors strutted their way across Barcelona's Monumental bullring, drawing roars of approval from the crowds as they tormented the hulking bulls with their scarlet capes before killing them with a sword-thrust between the shoulder blades. But now bullfighting is to be banned from Barcelona and the rest of the north-eastern region of Catalonia after the local parliament today dealt a blow to Spain's most emblematic pastime and unleashed a political battle over what some see as a threatened cultural treasure. Deputies voted by 68 to 55 in favour of a people's petition calling on the bullfight to be banished from a region that once played host to some of the world's greatest fights. The last matador in Catalan history will sink his sword into the last half-tonne fighting bull at the end of next year, with the ban starting in 2012. "It is the worst attack on culture since our transition to democracy," said the Catalan poet Pere Gimferrer. While some mourned the loss of a cultural jewel, the vote was hailed by animal rights campaigners worldwide. "It sickens me to know that people are still paying money to see an animal suffering in such a horrific way," Gervais said before the vote. About 13,500 fighting bulls die in Spain every year – many in bullfights funded by local authorities who are estimated to pay out up to €550m (£457m) in subsidies. Bullfight fans claimed many Catalan nationalist deputies had voted out of spite, because the fighting bull is an emblem of Spain – where it is known as the "national fiesta" – rather than of Catalonia. The local El Periódico newspaper reported that several nationalist deputies had decided to back the ban only after Spain's constitutional court struck down parts of the region's 2006 autonomy charter earlier this month. At least 430,000 people, or 6% of all Catalans, protested on 10 July in Barcelona against the court's decision ,which declared Catalonia was not legally a nation. Just as Britain's foxhunting ban mixed animal rights with class politics, so the bullfight ban brought together animal welfare and Catalan identity politics, local commentators agreed. "Some of our people will back the ban on the basis that if they are going to sink our charter, we will sink their bulls," a regional deputy from the Convergence and Union nationalist coalition told El Periódico. In recent years the matador José Tomás – beloved of many Spanish leftwing intellectuals and artists – had brought fresh life to the Monumental bullring but in general the bullfight has been in decline in Catalonia for decades. Bullfight campaigners said the ban would cost €300m in lost revenues, and argue that the fight was an art form, rather than a cruel bloodsport.
However, the Iranian president accused the octopus of spreading "western propaganda and superstition." Paul recently became an international celebrity after correctly predicting the outcome of all German World Cup matches. Mr. Ahmadinejad also said those who believe in a psychic octopus cannot be leaders of nations like Iran "that aspire to human perfection." Paul lives at the Oberhausen Sea Life Center in Germany. Paul was mentioned by Mr Ahmadinejad on various occasions during a speech in Tehran at the weekend. The Iranian leader called Paul a symbol of decadence and decay in the Western world. Al-Qaeda in turn is understood to be linked to the twin bombings in Uganda that killed 74 innocent people while they watched the World Cup final on TV." The eight-legged sea creature picked the outcome of this year's World Cup matches in South Africa by choosing to eat from a box of mussels labeled with the flag of the winning team. The latest threat to Paul comes just weeks after some Argentineans threatened to kill Paul and put him in a paella. He is understood to be undergoing counseling and to be developing a fear of humans. "Octopus morality must be very different from Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's perspective on things, but for us Octopi the killing of innocent people constitutes a much more serous moral offence than jokingly predicting the outcome of football games." A visibly shaken Paul spoke out earlier today saying: "As an octopus, I can claim some objectivity in my view human affairs." He also said that he had never before seen such a lack of a sense of humor in a human being, despite the fact that he lives in Germany.
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has criticized Paul the octopus, who gained fame by correctly predicting the outcome of eight World Cup matches. The Iranian leader called Paul a symbol of decadence and decay in the Western world. Mr. Ahmadinejad also said those who believe in a psychic octopus cannot be leaders of nations like Iran "that aspire to human perfection." Iran's state-run media said the president discussed the octopus during a speech to a youth festival in Tehran on Friday. The eight-legged sea creature picked the outcome of this year's World Cup matches in South Africa by choosing to eat from a box of mussels labeled with the flag of the winning team. He claims that the octopus is a symbol of decadence and decay among "his enemies". However, the Iranian president accused the octopus of spreading "western propaganda and superstition." In a startling and unprovoked attack on Paul the Psychic Octopus, the Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad called the octopus a symbol of Western decadence and accused him of spreading "western propaganda and superstition." The Iranian President said: "Those who believe in this type of thing cannot be the leaders of the global nations that aspire, like Iran, to human perfection, basing themselves in the love of all sacred values." A visibly shaken Paul spoke out earlier today saying: "As an octopus, I can claim some objectivity in my view human affairs." Al-Qaeda in turn is understood to be linked to the twin bombings in Uganda that killed 74 innocent people while they watched the World Cup final on TV." "Octopus morality must be very different from Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's perspective on things, but for us Octopi the killing of innocent people constitutes a much more serous moral offence than jokingly predicting the outcome of football games."
Dominique Cottrez, a nursing aide, and her husband were arrested Wednesday, after the bodies were discovered. French woman said to confess to killing 8 babies Dominique Cottrez tells police she didn't want any more children. In Courjault's case, the so-called "frozen baby affair," she infamously told a court, "I was conscious of being pregnant, but not of being pregnant with babies." It is the worst of several cases of infanticide in recent years. The French nursing assistant has admitted suffocating eight of her newborn babies and stashing their tiny bodies in plastic bags in a quiet village. Cottrez was charged with the murder of victims younger than 15, which can bring a life sentence. The eight newborns were found dead on Wednesday when new owners of the house discovered a bag containing human remains. Her husband says he was unaware of her pregnancies. Prosecutors say Dominique Cottrez did not want any more children and did not want to visit a doctor for contraception. There are no reliable statistics on the number of infanticides in France, but Navarro estimates that 10 to 20 women suffer from such pregnancy denial here every year. (Xinhua/AFP Photo) Dominique Cortez, the mother murderer, admitted that she stifled voluntarily eight of her infants and hid their corpses in her ex-house in the northern village of Villers-au-Tertre, local prosecutors said. Sometimes a woman has " a hard time giving meaning to what just came out of her. Her husband was apparently unaware his wife had given birth eight times and killed the children. Such suspended belief can lead to the killing of a child, or death through passive neglect.
French prosecutors have charged a woman in her 40s with murder, saying she confessed to killing her eight newborn babies and burying their remains. Prosecutors say Dominique Cottrez did not want any more children and did not want to visit a doctor for contraception. Her husband was apparently unaware his wife had given birth eight times and killed the children. The new owners of Cottrez's parents' house found two of the corpses buried in the ground in plastic bags. This led police to Cottrez's current house, where they found six more bodies hidden in the garage. A picture taken from the Facebook page allegedly shows Dominique Cottrez, who was charged with the "deliberate homicides of minors under the age of 15". The French nursing assistant has admitted suffocating eight of her newborn babies and stashing their tiny bodies in plastic bags in a quiet village. (Xinhua/AFP Photo) Dominique Cortez, the mother murderer, admitted that she stifled voluntarily eight of her infants and hid their corpses in her ex-house in the northern village of Villers-au-Tertre, local prosecutors said. The mother confessed that she did not want to have babies anymore and refused to see a doctor to get contraception, the prosecutors told local reporters, calling it "a non-standard case given the large number of newborns." The eight newborns were found dead on Wednesday when new owners of the house discovered a bag containing human remains. The 45-year-old mother of two girls, arrested on charges of deliberating offense against children under 15, is facing a sentence of life imprisonment. French woman said to confess to killing 8 babies Dominique Cottrez tells police she didn't want any more children. Cottrez was charged with the murder of victims younger than 15, which can bring a life sentence. Though the case is unusual in its high death toll, the details are all too familiar in a nation where in recent years infants' bodies have been found, some in freezers and some burned. Reporting from Paris — A 45-year-old woman has admitted suffocating eight babies immediately after giving birth to them, authorities said, in the latest, and worst, case of infanticide to rock France in recent years Her husband, Pierre-Marie Cottrez said he knew nothing about the pregnancies and was freed. "The sky has fallen on his head," the prosecutor said of the woman's husband, who works as a carpenter in the village, home to about 700 people. Historically, "infanticide has been a way for women to handle their misery," which can be related to poverty, fear of a husband's reaction or preferences for male children in some cultures, said Dr. Felix Navarro, who heads an association in Toulouse that studies and promotes awareness about "pregnancy denial." In Courjault's case, the so-called "frozen baby affair," she infamously told a court, "I was conscious of being pregnant, but not of being pregnant with babies."
Mr Gore separated from his wife, Tipper, in June. Stone." Rees concludes, "This case is not appropriate for criminal prosecution. Official says masseuse and her attorneys were uncooperative, and witnesses could not remember anything unusual Former vice president Al Gore has been cleared of allegations that he groped and assaulted a masseuse in a Portland hotel room in 2006. Mr Gore does not dispute that he had a massage from Molly Hagerty, 54, but denies any assault took place. He respects and appreciates the thorough and professional work of the Portland authorities and is pleased that this matter has now been resolved." According to the report, the woman said Gore booked the appointment using the pseudonym "Mr. The decision comes a month after police reopened the investigation. Play Gore's spokeswoman, Kalee Kreider, issued a statement: "Mr. Gore unequivocally and emphatically denied this accusation when he first learned of its existence three years ago. Senior deputy district attorney Don Rees cited "contradictory evidence, conflicting witness statements, credibility issues, lack of forensic evidence and denials by Mr Gore". Having reopened the case, prosecutors reportedly chose not to pursue it because Ms Hagerty had refused a polygraph test and appeared to have been paid by the magazine. Gore "flipped me flat on my back and threw his whole body face down over atop me pinning me down and outweighing me by quite a bit," injuring her back and legs, she claimed. Rees noted that Hagerty sold her story to the National Enquirer, failed a polygraph test, thanked the hotel management two days after the alleged incident for sending business her way and "has not provided as repeatedly requested medical records she claims are related to the case."
Image caption Mr Gore denies any assault took place during a massage by Molly Hagerty Former US Vice-President Al Gore will not face charges over allegations he groped and assaulted a masseuse in his hotel room in Portland, Oregon, in 2006, law enforcement officials say. The authorities say there is "a lack of credible evidence" and the claims do not warrant a criminal prosecution. The decision comes a month after police reopened the investigation. The case, which was closed previously because of a lack of evidence, was reopened in June after Ms Haggerty told the National Enquirer magazine that Mr Gore had tried to assault her. Having reopened the case, prosecutors reportedly chose not to pursue it because Ms Hagerty had refused a polygraph test and appeared to have been paid by the magazine. Official says masseuse and her attorneys were uncooperative, and witnesses could not remember anything unusual Former vice president Al Gore has been cleared of allegations that he groped and assaulted a masseuse in a Portland hotel room in 2006. Rees also said the masseuse and her attorneys were uncooperative, witnesses could not remember anything unusual, and that the masseuse failed a polygraph examination and would not say whether she was paid by a tabloid newspaper for her story. "He respects and appreciates the thorough and professional work of the Portland authorities and is pleased that this matter has now been resolved." Former Vice President Al Gore did not commit acts of sexual harassment "appropriate for criminal prosecution," according to office of the district attorney of Portland, Oregon, which has been investigating allegations that Gore made unwanted advances to a masseuse at a Portland hotel in 2006. Rees noted that Hagerty sold her story to the National Enquirer, failed a polygraph test, thanked the hotel management two days after the alleged incident for sending business her way and "has not provided as repeatedly requested medical records she claims are related to the case." According to a 73-page "Confidential Special Report" made public by authorities on June 23, Hagerty, the "licensed massage therapist" who was not named at the time, said she was summoned to a suite at the upscale Lucia Hotel at the request of a guest, where "during the course of this massage session Al Gore did sexually assault me in his room." In a detailed statement given to police more than two years after the alleged incident, the woman described her surprise at arriving for the massage appointment to find Gore drinking beer and opening his arms in a hug, saying, "Call Me Al." But she said Gore later turned "angry and threatening" when she resisted his efforts to force her hand to his inner thigh and lower abdominal area during the massage and then attempted to rip her clothes as she struggled against him, she told police.
I really do. Chelsea Clinton, 30, is a Methodist Christian while Marc Mezvinsky, 32, is Jewish. and "We love you!". "It's a very happy time for my family," she said. Rhinebeck, New York (CNN) -- Former first daughter Chelsea Clinton and longtime beau Marc Mezvinsky were wed Saturday "in a beautiful ceremony at Astor Courts," a 50-acre estate in Rhinebeck, New York, according to her parents. The couple were friends as teenagers in Washington and both attended Stanford University. She said she couldn't believe that the girl who was a 10-year-old bridesmaid at her own wedding was now getting married. "Knowing my friend Bill ... Former US president Bill Clinton and his wife, Hillary, the current secretary of state, emerged late on Friday night to greet the crowds as they arrived for a party. The reporters' hunt for celebrities yielded another result when acting couple Ted Danson and Mary Steenburgen were spotted walking hand-in-hand through the village. "On behalf of the newlyweds, we want to give special thanks to the people of Rhinebeck for welcoming us and to everyone for their well-wishes on this special day." The confirmation by the Clintons put to rest a slew of speculation on where and when the nuptials would take place. Clinton completed her master's degree in public health earlier this year at the Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University. A no-fly zone was in place above the Hudson valley and nearby roads were closed as guests arrived in limousines. Mezvinsky, a 32-year-old investment banker, is the son of former U.S. Reps. Marjorie Margolies-Mezvinsky of Pennsylvania and Ed Mezvinsky of Iowa.
Image caption The media glare was nothing new for Chelsea Clinton The daughter of former US President Bill Clinton and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has married her long-term boyfriend at a lavish ceremony. Chelsea Clinton and investment banker Marc Mezvinsky were married at the Astor Courts estate in New York state. Her parents said they felt "great pride and overwhelming emotion" at seeing their daughter married. A no-fly zone was in place above the Hudson valley and nearby roads were closed as guests arrived in limousines. The television star, Oprah Winfrey, film director Steven Spielberg, Hollywood actor Tom Hanks and singer Barbra Streisand are reportedly among the 500 guests. In a statement released to confirm that the wedding had taken place on Saturday evening, Bill and Hillary Clinton said: "We could not have asked for a more perfect day to celebrate the beginning of their life together, and we are so happy to welcome Marc into our family. "On behalf of the newlyweds, we want to give special thanks to the people of Rhinebeck for welcoming us and to everyone for their well-wishes on this special day." Earlier, actors Ted Danson and his wife Mary Steenburgen told reporters in the town of Rhinebeck, where many of those invited are staying, that they were both excited about attending the ceremony. "I knew her since she was a baby so this is a big moment," Steenburgen said. "She's a lovely, lovely girl." The wedding was expected to cost between $2m (£1.3m) and $3m (£1.9m), experts told the Associated Press. Shopkeepers, innkeepers, retailers and caterers in Rhinebeck have been sworn to secrecy about the event and inconvenienced local residents have been offered complimentary bottles of wine. 'We love it here' On Friday evening, hundreds of people gathered in Rhinebeck cheered when Bill and Hillary Clinton arrived at the Beekman Arms Hotel. Image caption The couple have known each other since they were teenagers Earlier in the day, Mr Clinton, looking fit and relaxed, had lunch in one of the town's restaurants. He took time afterwards to shake hands with kitchen staff and customers before emerging to an enthusiastic crowd of hundreds of people who shouted "Congratulations!" Rhinebeck, New York (CNN) -- Former first daughter Chelsea Clinton and longtime beau Marc Mezvinsky were wed Saturday "in a beautiful ceremony at Astor Courts," a 50-acre estate in Rhinebeck, New York, according to her parents. "We could not have asked for a more perfect day to celebrate the beginning of their life together, and we are so happy to welcome Marc into our family," former President Bill Clinton and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said in a statement. "On behalf of the newlyweds, we want to give special thanks to the people of Rhinebeck for welcoming us and to everyone for their well-wishes on this special day." "Today, we watched with great pride and overwhelming emotion as Chelsea and Marc wed in a beautiful ceremony at Astor Courts, surrounded by family and their close friends," the statement said. The interfaith ceremony -- Clinton is Methodist and Mezvinsky is Jewish -- was led by Rabbi James Ponet and the Rev. The bride -- as predicted -- wore a dress designed by Vera Wang, the family said. Clinton had been spotted by Women's Wear Daily outside the designer's showroom in New York earlier this week, and Wang was spotted in Rhinebeck on Saturday. Well-heeled wedding guests wearing floor-length gowns and tuxedos were seen boarding shuttles to take them to what one event planner billed as "the wedding of the century." "You could make a case that this is the most significant thing to happen in Rhinebeck since Washington's army drove the British out of Rhinebeck back in the 1700s," said Jim Langon, editor of the Hudson Valley News newspaper, who was the first to report that the wedding would take place there. Also attending were former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright -- who was spotted lunching in town before the wedding Saturday, presidential adviser Vernon Jordan and numerous young couples presumed to be friends of the bride and groom. Actors Ted Danson and Mary Steenburgen -- longtime married friends of the Clinton family -- told CNN that despite the public spectacle of the wedding, "it's been a very personal experience for them." But on the inside of it I can tell you that it's been very much like everybody's wedding -- full of tenderness and memories and laughter." Some wedding planners had speculated that the cost of the celebration could run to seven or even eight figures, but a longtime Clinton family friend said the cost would be less than $1 million. Earlier in July, Hillary Clinton told Polish media that she was enjoying taking part in her daughter's wedding planning.
One, who did not wish to be named, said: "It's very, very sad. Police had dealings with Mrs Riggi and the children at that time.” Grampian Police launched a search for the family after they disappeared from their home in Aberdeenshire on July 4. I don't want to know." I went outside and I saw her on the balcony. Police are waiting to speak to the mother of three young children who were found dead in an Edinburgh townhouse yesterday following reports of an explosion. Neighbours had reported hearing screaming and seeing a woman plunge from the balcony. I went into the house and there was a smell of gas. Fire crews raced inside to tackle a small fire and discovered the children’s bodies. Jones said when the mother and children were traced to the address last month, "they were safe and well at that time. Floral tributes had been left at the scene. TIMELINE - MISSING FAMILY July 4 - Theresa Riggi and her three children reported missing from Westhill, Aberdeen - Theresa Riggi and her three children reported missing from Westhill, Aberdeen July 16 - Grampian Police issue missing persons appeal - Grampian Police issue missing persons appeal July 21 - Police trace family following sightings in Kilmarnock and Lothian and Borders Tragic children at centre of custody battle Lady Clark agreed to grant a warrant allowing Messengers at Arms to search for Mrs Riggi. "We would like to do that to get a true background to the events of yesterday and find out exactly what happened within the house." A post-mortem examination is expected to be carried out on the youngsters today.
Image caption The dead children have been named as Luca, Austin and Cecilia Riggi Police in Edinburgh are continuing the forensic examination of a flat in which three children were discovered dead. Eight-year-old twins Luca and Austin Riggi and their sister Cecilia, five, were found after a reported gas explosion and fire at the Slateford Road property. Their mother Theresa was hurt when she fell from the townhouse-style building. Police are treating the deaths as suspicious and plan to speak to Mrs Riggi, 46, when she is well enough. It is understood the three youngsters did not die as a result of Wednesday afternoon's suspected explosion and small blaze. Post-mortem examinations are due to be carried out on the children, who were at the centre of a custody battle between their US-born parents, Mrs Riggi and her husband Pasquale. Police have said the results of the post-mortems would help them determine whether to launch a murder inquiry. Det Supt Allan Jones said it was too early to determine the children's cause of death. He explained that Mrs Riggi and her children had been traced to the Edinburgh address after they were reported missing from the family home in Skene, Aberdeenshire, at the beginning of July. Mr Jones added: "The family had been in the city for a few weeks and we are keen to speak to anyone who knew them during that time. "We are not in a position to speak to the woman yet and we will take advice from her doctors as to when that can happen. "We would like to do that to get a true background to the events of yesterday and find out exactly what happened within the house." Image caption Mrs Riggi had been reported missing from her Aberdeenshire home last month The children's father has been interviewed by police in Aberdeen, but is said not to be a suspect. Mr Jones said: "He's heartbroken but he's very composed. We're conscious of the trauma he's gone through." David Jack, counsel for Mr Riggi, told the court: "I think there is a real emergency in this matter," and asked for an order to safeguard the children's interests. TIMELINE - MISSING FAMILY July 4 - Theresa Riggi and her three children reported missing from Westhill, Aberdeen - Theresa Riggi and her three children reported missing from Westhill, Aberdeen July 16 - Grampian Police issue missing persons appeal - Grampian Police issue missing persons appeal July 21 - Police trace family following sightings in Kilmarnock and Lothian and Borders Tragic children at centre of custody battle Lady Clark agreed to grant a warrant allowing Messengers at Arms to search for Mrs Riggi. She also said that social workers should then supervise the children, applying to a local sheriff for child protection orders if they thought necessary. The children were being home schooled before their deaths, but an Aberdeenshire Council spokeswoman told BBC Scotland on Thursday: "The arrangement to have home schooling was set up without the knowledge or involvement of Aberdeenshire Council". The emergency services were called to what was first thought to have been a gas explosion in Slateford Road shortly before 1500 BST on Wednesday. 'Big bang' The local gas supply was isolated as a precaution, and Scotland Gas Networks engineers were sent to the scene. It was later confirmed that there was not a fault with the gas supply to the flat. Several foreign students living in the terraced block said they believed the injured woman lived in the property with her three children, and that they were newcomers to the building. Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Det Supt Allan Jones says it is too early to give an exact cause of death Omar Barifah, 20, a student, told BBC Scotland he had heard a noise "like a shooting gun". He added: "It felt like a big bang - it was absolutely frightening and I had to take my little brother, and his friend who was sleeping and woke up because of the noise, and we ran out of the house. A spokesman for Lothian and Borders Fire and Rescue said: "Two fire appliances and a turntable ladder attended at the address, a three-storey modern townhouse. Two firefighters wearing breathing apparatus extinguished a small fire on the first floor of the building." The spokesman said there was "no significant structural damage to the building" and confirmed that the fire was extinguished very quickly. Police are waiting to speak to the mother of three young children who were found dead in an Edinburgh townhouse yesterday following reports of an explosion. Twins Augustino and Gianluca Riggi, eight, and Cecilia Riggi, five, who had been the subject of a missing persons inquiry last month after disappearing from their home in Aberdeen with their mother, were found dead in Slateford Road yesterday afternoon. Officers have refused to confirm that the children were at the centre of a custody dispute. After Riggi and the children disappeared last month, there were reported sightings of them in Kilmarnock, Ayrshire, and the Lothian and Borders area before they were traced to a property in Edinburgh on 21 July. The children's father, who has been named as Pasquale Riggi, was told of their deaths at his home in Aberdeen last night. He was said today to be helping police piece together the last movements of his family. Detective Superintendent Alan Jones, of Lothian and Borders police, said: "First and foremost our thoughts are with the children's family, and we are doing what we can to support them at this tragic time." Jones said when the mother and children were traced to the address last month, "they were safe and well at that time. He said police were liaising with doctors to determine when they might be able to speak to the children's mother.
We have to reach out to all areas, to all isolated pockets of people, which, obviously, is the main challenge." "That is why we have to be fast. The charity said medical centres were also a priority. But with fresh flood warnings and more rain forecast - and thousands struggling with shortages of food, clean water, shelter and medicine - UK aid agencies say the situation on the ground is desperate. The UN says Pakistan's worst flooding in nearly a century has now affected more than four million people and left at least 1,600 dead. Many people have lost everything: their homes, livestock and crops. Victims have bitterly accused the authorities of failing to come to their rescue and provide sufficient relief. Charities have been quick to send supplies and emergency response teams. While floods in the north-west began to recede, the vast body of water has been moving down the country into new parts of Punjab and menacing Sindh province. Everyone there told us they'd had no federal help - there was much anger against the government. All wells have been contaminated and water-borne diseases are spreading, officials say. Chief of the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Assistance in Pakistan, Manuel Bessler, said the floods have washed roads away and destroyed bridges, leaving many areas accessible only by helicopter. Patrick Fuller, from the British Red Cross, has been based in Islamabad for the past few days and visited many of the hardest-hit provinces. A single truck arrived at the camp carrying bottled water and biscuits - a private donation from a local politician. The region is midway through monsoon season and more rain is forecast.
Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption "People say they are not getting help from the army or the government" The worst flooding in Pakistan's history has now affected more than four million people and left at least 1,600 dead, says the UN. While floods in the north-west began to recede, the vast body of water has been moving down the country into new parts of Punjab and menacing Sindh province. All wells have been contaminated and water-borne diseases are spreading, officials say. The number of affected districts in Punjab has reached seven, while 350,000 people have been moved from neighbouring Sindh province, most of which is on high alert, the United Nations said. Manuel Bessler, who heads the UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs in Pakistan, told a news conference in Geneva: "What we are facing now is a major catastrophe." He added: "We are only in the middle of the monsoon season, there is more rain expected. With crops, homes, roads and bridges washed away, the human exodus continued on Thursday as yet more torrential rain fell. Treetops visible In Punjab, known as Pakistan's "breadbasket" for its rich agriculture, more than 1,300 villages have been affected and at least 25,000 homes destroyed, said disaster relief officials in the province. At the scene We witnessed chaotic and frenzied scenes at a camp for about 1,000 displaced people in this north-western town. A single truck arrived at the camp carrying bottled water and biscuits - a private donation from a local politician. From old ladies to children, the people clambered over the truck grabbing what they could in the blazing heat. At a small medical facility in the camp, we met the parents of twin boys - Abdullah and Bilal - less than one week old. Their father used a boat to rescue their mother from the remains of their flooded home - two hours after she gave birth. Everyone there told us they'd had no federal help - there was much anger against the government. People told us food and water comes in every day from local donors but they don't know when or how much there'll be - and there's never enough. In Pakistani-controlled Kashmir, at least 20 people died when a bus plunged into a rain-swollen river. At a refugee camp in Charsadda, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (formerly North West Frontier) province, Tahir Shah, a doctor, said most patients coming to him were suffering from stomach problems, chest infections and skin problems, caused mainly by dirty flood water. "The flood water is increasing at different points and we are expecting more rain in the next 24 hours," Hazrat Mir, chief meteorologist for Punjab, told news agency AFP. President scorned UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has sent a special envoy, Jean-Maurice Ripert, to Pakistan to help mobilise international support and aid flood victims. Image caption Victims have bitterly accused the authorities of failing to come to their aid The army has used boats and helicopters to evacuate stranded villagers to higher ground. Particular scorn has been poured on President Asif Ali Zardari because he pressed ahead with a visit to Europe. Mr Zardari is due to launch his son's political career on Saturday in the British city of Birmingham. And, that is the main explanation also why we see the frustration and anger, which is absolutely understandable by the fact that a population who feel abandoned and is not taken care of, " Bessler said. "We have a lot of polluted water, we have heat, we have civilians exposed to these elements, which is the ideal environment for the spread of waterborne diseases," Bessler said. Image caption The disaster has already claimed the lives of 1,600 people and affected over four million As the Disasters Emergency Committee launches an emergency appeal to raise funds for victims of the devastating floods in Pakistan, British charities are scrambling to get aid to the worst affected regions. The UN says Pakistan's worst flooding in nearly a century has now affected more than four million people and left at least 1,600 dead. But with fresh flood warnings and more rain forecast - and thousands struggling with shortages of food, clean water, shelter and medicine - UK aid agencies say the situation on the ground is desperate. He said the worst areas were "totally dependent" on outside help, and the International Red Cross was working with local partners to get a whole package of aid, such as tents, blankets, stoves and cooking pots, to about 35,000 families. "In the most remote areas - where roads are cut off - donkeys are making eight-hour hikes to reach people.
One Democrat, Ben Nelson of Nebraska, voted no. Kagan will be sworn in on Saturday, a Supreme Court spokeswoman said. All other Republican senators opposed her nomination. She becomes the first justice in nearly 40 years who had never been a judge. Franken was presiding over the Senate as McConnell spoke. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Because of her role as solicitor general in the Obama administration, Ms. Kagan has already identified 11 cases on the docket for the next term in which she would disqualify herself because she had worked on them for the White House. She's replacing retired justice John Paul Stevens, leader of the liberal wing. Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., said Kagan will be a "great antidote" to a court that he described as being dominated by "judicial activism of the right." View all New York Times newsletters. The two appointments underscore an effort by Obama to move the court to the left after Republican President George W. Bush nominated a pair of conservative judges to the bench. Enlarge By Jack Gruber, USA TODAY Elena Kagan prepares to testify on the second day of hearings before the Senate Judiciary Committee in Washington on June 29. Democrats dismissed that argument, with Senator Christopher J. Dodd of Connecticut noting that more than one-third of the 111 Americans who have served on the court were not previously judges, including former Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist, whose tenure was highly regarded by many Republicans. Kagan, 50, was the first woman to serve as U.S. solicitor general and the first female dean of Harvard Law School. Please try again later.
WASHINGTON Chief Justice John Roberts will swear in Elena Kagan as the nation's 112th Supreme Court justice on Saturday, making women one-third of the nation's highest court for the first time in history. Supreme Court spokeswoman Kathy Arberg said Roberts telephoned Kagan to offer "warm congratulations" Thursday, shortly after the Senate confirmed her. The 63-37 vote was a victory for President Obama, who has doubled the number of women ever named to the Supreme Court with his first two nominees. "I am confident that Elena Kagan will make an outstanding Supreme Court justice," Obama said in Chicago, where he was traveling. "And I am proud, also, of the history we're making with her appointment." When the court reconvenes on the first Monday in October, Kagan will join Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Sonia Sotomayor as the first trio of women serving together as justices. DESPITE PARTISAN SWATS: Kagan's path to bench clear Five Republican senators broke ranks with their party to support Kagan's nomination: Richard Lugar of Indiana; Judd Gregg of New Hampshire; Lindsey Graham of South Carolina; and Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe, both of Maine. Critics accused Kagan of being short on courtroom experience and holding liberal views on abortion and gun control. In Kagan, the president has appointed "someone who shares his progressive, elitist vision and is willing to advance it from the bench," warned Sen. Jeff Sessions of Alabama, who is the Judiciary Committee's top Republican. Although some Republican senators, such as Scott Brown of Massachusetts, cited that as a reason to oppose her, Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., hailed Kagan's different perspective on "the impact of the law on human beings." FULL COVERAGE: Latest from Supreme Court SUPREME COURT: Upcoming cases As solicitor general since last year, Kagan has served as the Obama administration's chief advocate before the Supreme Court, a position that could affect her ability to rule on some cases as a justice. She told Sessions in a letter that she will recuse herself from 11 cases on the court calendar that she helped argue or for which she helped write briefs. Under questioning from Republican senators, however, Kagan would not commit to recusing from a potential legal challenge to the administration's health care plan. Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., said Kagan will be a "great antidote" to a court that he described as being dominated by "judicial activism of the right." However, Kagan is not expected to change the court's ideological balance, which tilts 5-4 in favor of conservatives. She's replacing retired justice John Paul Stevens, leader of the liberal wing. A Senate GOP aide said Franken made theatrical gestures and whispered under his breath as the Kentucky senator spoke. McConnell went up to the former comedian afterward and said, "This isn't Saturday Night Live, Al." Franken later delivered a handwritten apology and issued a statement that said McConnell was "entitled to give his speech with the presiding officer just listening respectfully." Ms. Kagan, the former dean of the Harvard Law School, a legal adviser in the Clinton administration and solicitor general in the Obama White House, becomes the fourth woman to serve on the court. She will join two other women currently serving, including Justice Sonia Sotomayor, who was confirmed almost exactly a year ago, and Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. She will be the only justice on the court not to have served previously as a judge. Advertisement Continue reading the main story At age 50, the New York native could have a long tenure, but her confirmation is not seen as immediately altering the current closely divided ideological makeup of the court, which is often split 5 to 4 on major decisions. “Her qualifications, intelligence, temperament and judgment will make her a worthy successor to Justice John Paul Stevens,” said Senator Patrick J. Leahy, Democrat of Vermont and chairman of the Judiciary Committee. Photo The court she is joining has grown more assertive in placing a conservative stamp on decisions under Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr., and is likely to confront an array of divisive issues in coming years, like same-sex marriage, immigration and the federal government’s role in health care. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Among the cases she is expected to sit in on when the new term starts in October are two major First Amendment clashes: one involving California’s attempts to limit the sale of violent video games to minors, the other on the free speech rights of protesters at military funerals. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Because of her role as solicitor general in the Obama administration, Ms. Kagan has already identified 11 cases on the docket for the next term in which she would disqualify herself because she had worked on them for the White House. One concerns the privacy rights of scientists and engineers at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory who object to federal background checks. Advertisement Continue reading the main story In the final vote, 5 Republicans joined 56 Democrats and 2 independents in supporting the nomination; 36 Republicans and one Democrat, Senator Ben Nelson of Nebraska, opposed her. Most Senate Republicans challenged Ms. Kagan’s nomination until the end, asserting that she lacked sufficient experience and had unfairly stigmatized the military by supporting a bar on recruiters at Harvard Law over the military’s policy against allowing gay men and lesbians to serve openly. “Nothing in Elena Kagan’s record suggests that her politics will stop there.” Photo Republicans said the need to interpret the Constitution strictly was, in their view, reaffirmed by this week’s federal court ruling against California’s voter-imposed ban on same-sex marriage, a case considered likely to eventually reach the Supreme Court. “When it opens this fall, three women — a full third of the bench — will preside together for the first time,” Senator Harry Reid, the Nevada Democrat and majority leader, said.
I think they are all bad." "It includes recommendations on security, verification, transparency, conventional weapons and the legal framework for nuclear disarmament," he said before laying the wreath in Nagasaki. This is Ban's first visit to Hiroshima. Japan marks 65 years since Hiroshima bombing with US ambassador to Japan John Roos in attendance The US ambassador to Japan, John Roos, today became the first US representative to attend an annual ceremony to honour the victims of the bombing of Hiroshima. August 6 marks the 65th anniversary of the atomic bomb dropped by the United States at the end of World War II on Hiroshima. An estimated 140,000 people were killed instantly or died from the effects of radiation in the months that followed. We see new engagement in the U.N. Security Council. We didn't slaughter the Japanese. He also noted progress made at a nuclear summit in Washington earlier this year. Another was dropped a few days later on Nagasaki. (CNN) -- U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon used an appearance at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial ceremony in Japan to advocate for his five-point plan for worldwide nuclear disarmament and nonproliferation. "We will build upon [that] in Korea in 2012. A single bell tolled as the city's people fell silent at 8:15am, the exact time "Little Boy" detonated. Conservatives in the US have criticised the decision to send Roos, saying it would be misinterpreted as an act of contrition. Representatives from 75 nations - including the United States, which dropped the bomb - were among thousands who gathered to remember the moment that changed the world.
Video A ceremony has been held to mark 65 years since the atomic bombing of the Japanese city of Hiroshima. A ceremony has been held to mark 65 years since the atomic bombing of the Japanese city of Hiroshima. Representatives from 75 nations - including the United States, which dropped the bomb - were among thousands who gathered to remember the moment that changed the world. A bell was rung at the precise moment the nuclear bomb 'Little Boy' was dropped by a US plane - just after 0800 on August 6, 1945. Around 140,000 people died, some instantly, others later from the effects of the radiation. (CNN) -- U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon used an appearance at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial ceremony in Japan to advocate for his five-point plan for worldwide nuclear disarmament and nonproliferation. August 6 marks the 65th anniversary of the atomic bomb dropped by the United States at the end of World War II on Hiroshima. The bombs devastated both cities and killed more than 200,000 people. "Together, we are on a journey from ground zero to global zero -- a world free of weapons of mass destruction," Ban said. For as long as nuclear weapons exist, we will live under a nuclear shadow." Ban called for his plan for nuclear nonproliferation and disarmament to be acted upon. "It includes recommendations on security, verification, transparency, conventional weapons and the legal framework for nuclear disarmament," he said before laying the wreath in Nagasaki. Ban cited the new Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) between the United States and Russia, which would replace the 1991 START that expired last year. He also noted progress made at a nuclear summit in Washington earlier this year. "We will push for negotiations towards nuclear disarmament. Ban further advocated for "disarmament education" in schools, calling for the translation of survivor testimony in all the world's major languages. "We must teach an elemental truth: that status and prestige belong not to those who possess nuclear weapons, but to those who reject them," he said. "Let us realize our dream of a world free of nuclear weapons so that our children and all succeeding generations can live in freedom, security and peace." "All those lives lost, families destroyed, so much sadness. United States Ambassador John Roos also attended, marking the first time the United States has sent an envoy to the Hiroshima memorial ceremony. Japan marks 65 years since Hiroshima bombing with US ambassador to Japan John Roos in attendance The US ambassador to Japan, John Roos, today became the first US representative to attend an annual ceremony to honour the victims of the bombing of Hiroshima. Roos's presence at an event to mark 65 years since a US bomb left Hiroshima in ruins has raised hopes that president Barack Obama will visit the city when he attends a meeting of Apec leaders in Japan in November. The mayor of Hiroshima, Tadatoshi Akiba, welcomed Washington's decision to send Roos, after it had previously turned down invitations to mark the moment a B-29 bomber dropped an atomic bomb on the city on the morning of 6 August 1945. "We need to communicate to every corner of the globe the intense yearning of the survivors for the abolition of nuclear weapons," Akiba said. An estimated 140,000 people were killed instantly or died from the effects of radiation in the months that followed. A further 80,000 people died after the US dropped an atomic bomb on Nagasaki three days later. The US has since justified the bombings as an alternative to a potentially prolonged and costly land invasion, saying the devastation wrought on the cities forced Japan's surrender days later, on 15 August. Some of the 55,000 people attending today's ceremony made symbolic offerings of water to the victims, as many had complained of thirst as they lay dying, while schoolchildren read out messages of peace. A single bell tolled as the city's people fell silent at 8:15am, the exact time "Little Boy" detonated. Envoys from France and Britain – both nuclear powers – and the UN secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, also attended for the first time. "For the sake of future generations, we must continue to work together to realise a world without nuclear weapons," he said. The son of a member of the Enola Gay crew said the ambassador's visit to Hiroshima amounted to an "unspoken apology". Gene Tibbets, whose deceased father, Brig Gen Paul Tibbets, piloted the bomber, told Fox News: "It's making the Japanese look like they're the poor people, like they didn't do anything. "I'm not sure if I would welcome president Obama here," Katsuki Fujii, a college student, told Associated Press.
I.B.M. Mr. Papermaster, 49 years old, had... Apple released the iPhone 4 in June and it was an instant hit with consumers. The company later said it found a software problem with the signal meter that indicates cellphone reception. The news was first reported by the New York Times. Dowling declined to provide a reason for the departure of the former IBM senior executive. Apple first recommended that users hold the phone in a way that avoided contact with the lower left section of the device. Papermaster was not at the press conference on July 16. By insulating the antenna from human touch, the bumpers solve the reception problems. Please re-enter. Apple spokesman Steve Dowling confirmed Papermaster's exit and said Bob Mansfield is assuming his responsibilities. Mr. Jobs said other smartphones suffered from similar problems, an assertion that was challenged by several of Apple’s competitors. sued Mr. Papermaster in federal court in an attempt to prevent him from joining Apple, saying that he had signed a noncompete agreement. SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Mark Papermaster, the Apple executive in charge of iPhone engineering, has left the company weeks after the "Antennagate" controversy over complaints of poor reception on the company's latest smartphone. You must select a newsletter to subscribe to. Invalid email address. Please verify you're not a robot by clicking the box. A federal court initially barred Papermaster from working for Apple, but the lawsuit was eventually resolved and he began work for Apple in April of 2009. The issue snowballed into a publicity crisis and Apple was forced to call a press conference to tackle the matter.
The Apple Inc. executive in charge of the iPhone has left the company following a string of stumbles with the device, and what people familiar with the situation said was a falling out with Chief Executive Steve Jobs. Mark Papermaster, Apple's senior vice president for mobile devices, has left the Cupertino, Calif., company, an Apple spokesman said Saturday, declining to provide further details. Mr. Papermaster, 49 years old, had... SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Mark Papermaster, the Apple executive in charge of iPhone engineering, has left the company weeks after the "Antennagate" controversy over complaints of poor reception on the company's latest smartphone. Apple spokesman Steve Dowling confirmed Papermaster's exit and said Bob Mansfield is assuming his responsibilities. Dowling declined to provide a reason for the departure of the former IBM senior executive. The news was first reported by the New York Times. Apple released the iPhone 4 in June and it was an instant hit with consumers. But reports spread about bad reception when the device was held a certain way, and analysts warned that the company's reputation for quality was under threat. The issue snowballed into a publicity crisis and Apple was forced to call a press conference to tackle the matter. Apple CEO Steve Jobs maintained there was nothing wrong with the iPhone 4, and that the reception problem was one shared by other smartphones. Papermaster was not at the press conference on July 16. "Mr. Mansfield already manages groups that create many of the key technologies for the iPhone and iPod touch, including the A4 chip, Retina display and touch screens," Dowling said. IBM sued Papermaster after his departure, saying he agreed to avoid working for any competitor for a year. A federal court initially barred Papermaster from working for Apple, but the lawsuit was eventually resolved and he began work for Apple in April of 2009. sued Mr. Papermaster in federal court in an attempt to prevent him from joining Apple, saying that he had signed a noncompete agreement. The parties settled the case after Mr. Papermaster testified in court that he had not revealed any trade secrets. Advertisement Continue reading the main story When Steven P. Jobs, the chief of Apple, introduced the iPhone 4, he hailed the design of its antenna, which is built into a steel band that encases the phone. But almost immediately after the phone went on sale, consumers began to complain that when they touched a spot on the lower left section of the device, reception would decrease sharply, in some cases resulting in dropped calls. Apple first recommended that users hold the phone in a way that avoided contact with the lower left section of the device. The company later said it found a software problem with the signal meter that indicates cellphone reception.
But, BSNL's telephone exchange, in all liklihood, has to be rebuilt. "The focus is on rescue operations. She was found under the furniture that saved her from being smothered.Sources said the situation could have been worse but for the rumbling of the slithering mass of mud -- akin to cold lava -- and screams of people warning people in the defence settlements dotting the plains. Choglamsar village was the worst affected. The army has been called in to help in the rescue work. Ms Lankar said "the cloud burst" had hit Leh town and several villages. Nearly 200 people were injured after heavy rains late on Thursday led to flash floods. Jawans of Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), Army and General Reserve Engineer Force (GREF) ploughed through the silt and boulders with earth movers, cranes and other machines, tourists were seen giving a helping hand.The death toll has climbed to 145 while over 500 were still to be accounted for after the cloudburst and flash floods, official sources said.Both the ITBP and the Army have set up various camps to look after hundreds of injured. The road to Manali runs right through the middle of this patch of land, which at many places appears like a desert.But this openness is deceptive. "The major problem is due to the communication breakdown. First, material for relief and reconstruction has to be moved in quickly. He said water began flowing from he neighbouring mountains into the town before midnight. Doctors say many of the injured were swept away by the deluge for considerable distances before being rescued.The bodies of two French nationals identified as Augariwelus and Hellot were retrieved from under the debris, the sources said.Meanwhile, Army on Sunday said 33 soldiers were washed away in flash floods in Shyok river of Ladakh region near Siachen on Friday.The Army has sought the help of Pakistani authorities to trace the personnel who were on duty on the Line of Control as they fear that they might have been swept away towards Pakistan-occupied Kashmir in the deluge.A group of about 45 National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) personnel have also joined the rescue efforts in Leh.
CHOGLUMSAR (Leh): Rescue workers struggled through piles of mud and slush looking for over 500 people missing in the Friday's devastating cloudburst that flattened villages and snapped power and communication links even as the death toll in the tragedy on Sunday mounted to 145.The once picturesque landscape has turned into a disaster zone, with tossed up vehicles lying scattered and mounds of silt and slush burying houses made of mud called 'gomfa' and shops.Walking on the layers of unstable mud in one of the worst-hit Choglusmar village, you could find the high tension wires hanging right next to you.Rescuers waded through knee-deep mud to extricate trapped people. Jawans of Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), Army and General Reserve Engineer Force (GREF) ploughed through the silt and boulders with earth movers, cranes and other machines, tourists were seen giving a helping hand.The death toll has climbed to 145 while over 500 were still to be accounted for after the cloudburst and flash floods, official sources said.Both the ITBP and the Army have set up various camps to look after hundreds of injured. The ITBP had also set up community kitchens along the roads which are feeding the homeless.The biggest roadblock that rescue workers are facing is communication breakdown as the BSNL office was severely damaged in the deluge. "The major problem is due to the communication breakdown. If communication is restored it will help in co-ordination of rescue operations in a better way," Pashi Tsetan, deputy director with the development wing of the local administration, said.The district hospital building had been inundated by the swirling waters forcing the administration to move to an under-construction building.Hundreds of people with bandages crowd the building. Doctors say many of the injured were swept away by the deluge for considerable distances before being rescued.The bodies of two French nationals identified as Augariwelus and Hellot were retrieved from under the debris, the sources said.Meanwhile, Army on Sunday said 33 soldiers were washed away in flash floods in Shyok river of Ladakh region near Siachen on Friday.The Army has sought the help of Pakistani authorities to trace the personnel who were on duty on the Line of Control as they fear that they might have been swept away towards Pakistan-occupied Kashmir in the deluge.A group of about 45 National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) personnel have also joined the rescue efforts in Leh. The effort of all agencies is to rescue the maximum number of people," said ITBP DIG P K Dhasmana who is leading hundreds of rescuers.As many as 1,314 passengers, mostly Indian and foreign tourists, were airlifted from Leh and brought to Delhi, aviation ministry sources said.JET airways and Air India operated four flights each and Kingfisher three to carry medical and other relief material, doctrors and para medics to help affected people in Leh, they said.Three IL-76 and four AN-32 aircraft carrying relief material reached Leh on Sunday morning. "We have recovered 145 bodies so far while the number of missing is around 500," an official said, adding the toll may go up.ITBP is helping plug the breaches to make NH-1A between Srinagar-Kargil and Kargil-Leh functionalFaced with an acute shortage of clean drinking water, the ITBP has dispatched tankers containing drinking water to the affected areas, Deepak Pandey spokesperson for the border guarding force said.The force has also established a medical camp in Saboo village, which is located above Chuglumsar village, Pandey said.Bodies of eleven persons were on Sunday flown in an IAF plane to Udhampur in Jammu region from where they were sent to Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab and Rajasthan, police said. NEW DELHI: Amid the mounting death and debris of Choglamsar village -- located 5 km from Leh and a bustling settlement of Ladakhis and Tibetan refugees -- that has borne the major burnt in the massive mudslide sparked by Friday's cloudburst, comes stories of miraculous escapes bordering on divine intervention.According to sources in Leh that ToI was able to contact through defence sources, the wife of an Indo-Tibet Border Police officer was found alive after being swept away by the slithering mass of mud. Another officer's child was saved by a sofa in their quarters. She was found under the furniture that saved her from being smothered.Sources said the situation could have been worse but for the rumbling of the slithering mass of mud -- akin to cold lava -- and screams of people warning people in the defence settlements dotting the plains. Many in the defence establishment managed to escape nature's wrath since the slithering mass of mud did not gush like a stream of water, and the preceding rumbling gave some precious time to the people in the lower reaches to beat an hasty retreat.Sources expected the Leh-Manali road to be opened in a couple of days as heavy earth-moving equipment, called JCB bythe defence establishment, have been pressed into service. "Once the slush and big boulders are cleared, trucks can start moving even if the surface is strewn with small rocks or streams," a source said. Indeed, fjording streams of snow-melt is a norm rather than exception for truckers in this part of the world.The urgency to get the road opened -- one of the two lifelines for Ladakh -- is understandable. Second, this is the time when food, fuel and military supplies for the entire year have to be moved in before the passes get inaccessible due to heavy snow. Any loss of time due to slides can prove to be costly.Unconfirmed reports said the airport could be operational by Saturday, at least for military planes or choppers. Its transmitter has been damaged badly as it was on a slope outside Leh.Restoration of power supply, too, will take time as the Stakna hydel plant is believed to have been choked by silt. While Leh could still get some power in the evening from the diesel generating station, the fate of a similar plant at Choglamsar remains uncertain.Villagers living in the upper reaches were not so lucky as they bore the full impact of the sliding pile of mud and rocks, living as they were in mudhouses built cheek-by-jowl.There is a patch of land -- 500 m long and 300 m wide -- near this village, about 15 minutes' drive on the road to Manali that has completely been overrun by mud that appears like mortar. Image caption The main town of Leh is among the worst affected areas At least 48 people have died in flash floods in the Ladakh region of Indian-administered Kashmir, officials say. Ms Lankar said "the cloud burst" had hit Leh town and several villages.
"Yes, they are real diamonds. She told the court that Mr. Taylor had promised Campbell the diamonds over dinner. Farrow's and White's testimonies contradict Campbell's statements given last week. What Campbell said Campbell said she had been given a "few dirty pebbles" in the middle of the night. Prosecutors say Mr Taylor traded with rebels in Sierra Leone, giving them weapons in return for diamonds. American Actress Mia Farrow has testified at the war crimes trial of former Liberian President Charles Taylor. She told the court at The Hague that in 1997 supermodel Naomi Campbell claimed to have been given a large diamond by Mr. Taylor after a dinner party hosted by Nelson Mandela. A spotlight they hope will remain even after the celebrities have left. Conflicting testimony Although the three witnesses have varying accounts of the events 13 years ago, police in South Africa say the stones given to Campbell are diamonds. 'Surprise gift' Ms White said Ms Campbell was "very excited" about the diamonds. Campbell's former agent Carole White also testified Monday. The prosecution says that Mr. Taylor - then president of Liberia -- controlled rebel forces in Sierra Leone who raped, murdered, and mutilated thousands of civilians. "We cannot tell whether they are 'blood diamonds' or not. And she stopped short of saying she had known they were from Mr. Taylor. Diamonds are central to the case. Human rights activists say it has helped to shine a spotlight on the violent consequences of the trade in illicit diamonds. Campbell had given the stones to then head of the Nelson Mandela Children's Fund Jeremy Ratcliffe, who recently handed them over to police.
American Actress Mia Farrow testified Monday at the war crimes trial of former Liberian President Charles Taylor. She told the court at The Hague that supermodel Naomi Campbell claimed in1997 to have been given a large diamond by Mr. Taylor after a dinner party hosted by Nelson Mandela. However, Farrow's testimony contradicts Campbell's own evidence given last week. The court questioned actress Mia Farrow about the events surrounding a dinner party hosted by Nelson Mandela in 1997. The morning after the party, she said, fellow guest Naomi Campbell told her that Charles Taylor had sent her a diamond in the night. "She (Naomi Campbell) said that in the night she had been awakened, some men were knocking at the door, and they had been sent by Charles Taylor, and they had given her a huge diamond," Mia Farrow said. Campbell's former agent Carole White also testified Monday. She told the court that Mr. Taylor had promised Campbell the diamonds over dinner. Mr. Taylor is on trial for his alleged role in Sierra Leone's decade long civil war. Diamonds are central to the case Prosecutors say Mr. Taylor traded diamonds mined in Sierra Leone for weapons, which he smuggled into the country. They say the gift given to Campbell links him to these so-called "blood diamonds". Although the three witnesses have varying accounts of the events 13 years ago, police in South Africa say the stones given to Campbell that night are, in fact, diamonds. Campbell had given the stones to then head of the Nelson Mandela Children's Fund Jeremy Ratcliffe, who recently handed them over to police. That will be part of the investigation because you still need people to say 'yes I know these diamonds, these are diamonds which were given to me.'" The appearance at The Hague of international celebrities has turned the world's attention to Mr. Taylor's trial. Human rights activists say it has helped to shine a spotlight on the violent consequences of the trade in illicit diamonds. She told the court at The Hague that in 1997 supermodel Naomi Campbell claimed to have been given a large diamond by Mr. Taylor after a dinner party hosted by Nelson Mandela. Farrow's and White's testimonies contradict Campbell's statements given last week. What Farrow told the court Actress Mia Farrow was questioned by the court about the events surrounding a dinner party hosted by Nelson Mandela in 1997. Farrow said during breakfast the following morning, fellow guest Naomi Campbell told her that Charles Taylor had sent her a diamond during the night. "She [Naomi Campbell] said that in the night she had been awakened, some men were knocking at the door, and they had been sent by Charles Taylor, and they had given her a huge diamond." What White told the court Campbell's former agent Carole White also testified Monday. The prosecution says that Mr. Taylor - then president of Liberia -- controlled rebel forces in Sierra Leone who raped, murdered, and mutilated thousands of civilians. Prosecutors say the gift that Mr. Taylor allegedly gave to Campbell links him to so-called "blood diamonds". Conflicting testimony Although the three witnesses have varying accounts of the events 13 years ago, police in South Africa say the stones given to Campbell are diamonds. Celebrity central The appearance at The Hague of international celebrities has turned the world's attention to Mr. Taylor's trial. Campaigners say it has helped to shine a spotlight on the violent consequences of the trade in illicit diamonds - a spotlight they hope will remain even after the celebrities have left. Charles Taylor has been charged by the Special Tribunal for Sierra Leone with 11 war crimes charges, including murder, rape, sexual enslavement and recruiting child soldiers. Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Carole White's testimony took most of the afternoon Ex-Liberian President Charles Taylor gave Naomi Campbell diamonds after a 1997 dinner in South Africa, the supermodel's former agent Carole White has told Mr Taylor's war-crimes trial. Mr Taylor told the supermodel during dinner that he would send some men to give her diamonds, Ms White told the hearing.
I don't. O'Keefe's son, Kevin, also survived, the company said in a statement, but details of their condition were not disclosed. "Everybody has a Ted Stevens story." For he built Alaska. News of the latest crash reverberated across the state and country. Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Paul Takemoto said the plane was registered to GCI Communications Corp., based in Anchorage. "His entire life was dedicated to public service from his days as a pilot in World War II to his four decades of service in the United States Senate. Nick Begich was the father of one of Alaska's current U.S. senators, Mark Begich. Bad weather initially hampered efforts by Alaska National Guard rescuers to reach the scene early on Tuesday. Among them was Sean O'Keefe, North American chief of European aerospace giant and Airbus maker EADS, and a former NASA Administrator who was a former aide and longtime friend of Stevens. The wreckage was spotted late on Monday, and a private team hiked to the site to render medical aid to survivors. Injured were William "Willy" Phillips Jr., 13, son of Bill Phillips Sr.; Sean O'Keefe, 54; his son, Kevin O'Keefe; and lobbyist Jim Morhard, Alexandria, Virginia. President Barack Obama offered his condolences to the victims of the crash and their families. Now that light is gone but the warmth and radiance of his life and his work will shine forever in the last frontier. When the nine people onboard had not arrived at a camp on time, the search began. He was convicted on October 27, 2008.
(CBS) A plane carrying former Sen. Ted Stevens and ex-NASA chief Sean O'Keefe crashed into a remote mountainside in Alaska, killing the longtime senator and at least four others, authorities said Tuesday.O'Keefe and his teenage son Kevin O'Keefe survived the crash with broken bones and other injuries, former NASA spokesman Glenn Malone said. The O'Keefes spent Monday night on the mountain with several volunteers who discovered the wreckage and tended to the injured until rescuers arrived Tuesday morning.With its rugged terrain and foggy weather, Alaska accounts for 22 percent of all small plane crashes nationwide, according to National Transportation and Safety Board data from 2004, the latest year available,reports from Los Angeles.reports that the flag flying above the U.S. Capitol was lowered Tuesday evening to half-staff.Stevens and O'Keefe are longtime fishing buddies who had been planning a trip near where the float plane crashed.By Wednesday evening, officials said in a statement they had identified all nine passengers on the plane and notified the victims' next of kin.The other passengers who died with Stevens were Theron "Terry" Smith, 62 and the plane's pilot of Eagle River, Alaska; William "Bill" Phillips Sr.; Dana Tindall, 48 of Anchorage, Alaska; and Corey Tindall, 16 of Anchorage, Alaska.The four survivors are William "Willy" Phillips Jr., 13; Sean O'Keefe, 54; Kevin O'Keefe; and Jim Morhard of Alexandria, Va. They were taken to an Anchorage hospital with varying degrees of injuries, officials said.During a Tuesday evening press conference in Anchorage, NTSB Chairman Deborah Hersman told reporters that Smith, the pilot, had recorded about 29,000 hours of flight time when he last had a physical in December 2009. Hersman also said the plane he was flying was manufactured in 1957 but had undergone a mechanical overhaul in 2005.The crash was a stunning event in a state whereduring his 40 years in the Senate, earning a reputation as a tireless advocate for projects that brought millions of federal dollars to the state. "We have lost a tremendous husband and father and grandfather," the Stevens family said in a statement. "He loved Alaska with all his heart. He was a guiding light through Statehood and the development of the 49th State. Now that light is gone but the warmth and radiance of his life and his work will shine forever in the last frontier. His legacy is the 49th star on the American flag. ""Last night, Alaska lost a hero and I lost a dear friend," Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski said in a statement. "His entire life was dedicated to public service from his days as a pilot in World War II to his four decades of service in the United States Senate. "The plane crashed into a brush- and rock-covered mountainside sometime Monday night, authorities said. Volunteer pilots were dispatched to the area around 7 p.m. local time after the plane was found to be overdue at its destination, and they came upon the wreckage about a half hour later.The weather soon took a turn for the worse, with heavy fog, clouds and rain blanketing the area and making it impossible for rescuers to arrive until after daybreak Tuesday. O'Keefe, his son, and two others were flown to the hospital.The bodies of Stevens and the other four victims were transported to Anchorage, Hersman told reporters.NTSB spokesman Ted Lopatkiewicz said the agency is sending a team to the crash site outside Dillingham, located in Bristol Bay about 325 miles southwest of Anchorage. The aircraft is a 1957 DeHavilland DHC-3T registered to Anchorage-based GCI.The cause of the crash was not immediately known, but the flights at Dillingham are often perilous through the mountains, even in good weather.Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Mike Fergus said the plane took off at 2 p.m. Monday from a GCI corporate site on Lake Nerka, heading to the Agulowak Lodge on Lake Aleknagik.The lodge is made of logs and sits on a lake, and photos show a stately main lodge room with a large imposing stone fireplace, a leather sofa and a mounted caribou head on the wall.Fergus said the plane was flying by visual flight rules, and was not required to file a flight plan.Stevens was appointed to the Senate in 1968 and served longer than any other Republican in history. He was revered as a relentless advocate for Alaska's economic interests.at Anchorage International Airport that killed his wife, Ann, and several others. He remarried several years after the crash - he and his second wife, Catherine, have a daughter, Lily.The airport in Anchorage is now named after Stevens. "A decorated World War II veteran, Sen. Ted Stevens devoted his career to serving the people of Alaska and fighting for our men and women in uniform," President Obama said in a statement. "Michelle and I extend our condolences to the entire Stevens family and to the families of those who perished alongside Sen. Stevens in this terrible accident. ""Ted served our country with great distinction," President George W. Bush said in a statement. "We send our heartfelt condolences to the families of those who were lost, and we are praying for the health and well-being of the survivors. "Over the years, Stevens directed billions of dollars to Alaska.But one of his projects - infamously known as the "Bridge to Nowhere" - became a symbol of pork-barrel spending in Congress and a target of taxpayer groups who challenged an appropriation for hundreds of millions of dollars for bridge construction in Ketchikan.Stevens' standing in Alaska was toppled by corruption allegations and a federal trial in 2008. He was convicted of all seven counts - andto Democrat Mark Begich in the election the following week.But five months after the election, Attorney General Eric Holder sought to dismiss the indictment against Stevens and not proceed with a new trial because ofPlane crashes in Alaska are somewhat common because of the treacherous weather and mountainous terrain. Many parts of the state are not accessible by roads, forcing people to travel by air to reach their destinations.Begich's father, Nick Begich, who was Alaska's only congressman in 1972, was killed when his plane disappeared over Alaska with then-House Majority Leader Hale Boggs of Louisiana.The Stevens crash is the latest in a long line of aviation accidents to claim political figures over the years in the U.S., including Pennsylvania Sen. John Heinz in 1991, South Dakota Gov. He was deputy director of the Office of Management and Budget when President George W. Bush asked him in late 2001 to head NASA and help bring soaring space station costs under control.But budget-cutting became secondary when the shuttle Columbia broke apart during re-entry on Feb. 1 2003.O'Keefe was at the Kennedy Space Center runway that morning, waiting for Columbia to return to Earth, reports. In an interview for the book "Comm Check: The Final Flight of Shuttle Columbia," O'Keefe recalled the scene at the landing strip when Columbia's crew failed to answer repeated calls from Houston.William Readdy, a former shuttle commander and NASA's associate administrator for spaceflight, "got this really ashen look on his face and he said that this is too long between communications, this is not right," O'Keefe recalled. '"O'Keefe's most controversial action at NASA was when he decided to cancel one last repair mission by astronauts to the Hubble Space Telescope. He is now the CEO of defense contractor EADS North America and oversees the bid for the hotly contested Air Force refueling jet contract.The contract competition, which pits EADS against rival plane maker Boeing Co., is for a piece of what could eventually be $100 billion worth of work replacing the military's fleet of aging tankers. REUTERS/Hyungwon Kang ANCHORAGE, Alaska Former Senator Ted Stevens, who for several years played a leading role in controlling the nation's purse strings, died with four other people in a small plane crash in his home state of Alaska, officials said on Tuesday. Four people survived Monday night's crash near Bristol Bay in southwest Alaska. He had been convicted days before the election on charges of failing to report over $250,000 in home renovations and other gifts from an oil executive. The Federal Aviation Administration said no flight plan was filed for the plane, common in Alaska because its vast size and geography make many towns there reachable only by air.
The murder, he said, was "a matter for the police". A spokesman for the prison service said there had been no change to the kind of prisoner held at Grendon or the vetting process. Prisoners must be committed to staying drug-free while in therapy. A fellow 28-year-old inmate was arrested on suspicion of assisting an offender and later bailed. He called on the government to investigate whether budget cuts had had any role in Coello's murder. Found by staff Grendon Prison houses up to 235 inmates in Category B secure conditions with the six wings operating as therapeutic communities. Prisoner Robert Coello, from Berkshire, who was serving life for raping a child died on Sunday after he was discovered in his cell at Grendon Prison. Coello was jailed in 2006 after admitting four rapes and 12 other sexual offences. He was told he must serve a minimum of seven years. "It has had an excellent record of dealing with some of the most difficult prisoners in very difficult circumstances. If the balance of prisoners was upset by the admission of unsuitable inmates, Moses said, then Grendon would struggle to continue its good work. The jail, which was opened in 1962 as an experimental psychiatric prison to treat prisoners with antisocial personality disorders, houses a population which includes murderers and sex offenders. A Ministry of Justice spokesman said: “There has been no change to the type of prisoner held there in recent months, and no change to the vetting process.” He was taken to Stoke Mandeville hospital but later died. A post-mortem examination is expected take place later. Last year, Dame Anne Owers, the then chief inspector of prisons, praised Grendon as a “fundamentally safe place” which dealt with some of the most disturbed inmates.
The Prison Officers' Association has called for an investigation into the murder of an inmate at Grendon prison, claiming that government cuts are jeopardising the Buckinghamshire jail's ability to treat some of the penal system's most difficult prisoners. It emerged today that Robert Coello, a 44-year-old former bus driver who was serving a sentence for sexually assaulting a minor, died on Sunday night after being attacked in his cell by a fellow inmate. A prisoner was arrested on suspicion of murder. It is thought to be the first murder in Grendon's 48-year history. The jail, which was opened in 1962 as an experimental psychiatric prison to treat prisoners with antisocial personality disorders, houses a population which includes murderers and sex offenders. The prison is run as a "therapeutic community" which aims "to help prisoners develop more positive relationships, to change how they relate to others and to reduce their risk of reoffending". Colin Moses, chairman of the Prison Officers' Association, said budget cuts may have affected the vetting system that ensures only those prisoners best suited to Grendon are allowed in. "Grendon has been a very well run prison," he said. If the balance of prisoners was upset by the admission of unsuitable inmates, Moses said, then Grendon would struggle to continue its good work. He called on the government to investigate whether budget cuts had had any role in Coello's murder. "We want to know what effect these massive budget cuts will have so we do not have a similar tragedy again." A spokesman for the prison service said there had been no change to the kind of prisoner held at Grendon or the vetting process. "HMP Grendon holds prisoners in category B secure conditions and accepts serving category B and C male prisoners over the age of 21," he said. "They must be serving sentences that will allow a stay of at least 24 months at the prison. The murder, he said, was "a matter for the police". Thames Valley police confirmed that a 25-year-old inmate at Grendon had been arrested on Sunday night on suspicion of murder, and had been bailed and returned to prison. Grendon houses up to 235 prisoners on six wings that operate as "autonomous therapeutic communities". "The therapeutic programme is based on therapeutic community principles, where a dedicated multi-disciplinary team of staff work together with prisoners, in an atmosphere where attitudes and expressions, which would not normally be tolerated in prison, are accepted and used to give feedback to prisoners," reads a statement on the prison's website. Robert Coello, 44, who was serving life for four rapes and other offences, was reportedly found in a pool of blood after suffering severe head injuries.
The eggs that are believed to be tainted were sold under the following brand names: Lucerne, Mountain Dairy, Sunshine, Hillandale, Trafficanda, Albertson, Farm Fresh, Shoreland, James Farms, Glenview, Mountain Dairy, Ralph's, Boomsma's, Lund, Dutch Farms, Kemps and Pacific Coast. Braden said that almost 2,000 cases of salmonella linked with the eggs were reported between May and July. They defecate in the feed." For a list of recalled egg brands or for more information on the egg recall, visit the Egg Safety Center: http://www.eggsafety.org. Government officials say that the number of people sickened by an outbreak of salmonella poisoning from eggs is likely to rise because officials fear that many of the contaminated eggs are still in peoples' refigerators. McCarry said that "one area we are closely looking at and examining" is whether rodents had gotten into the chicken houses. The producer has a history of health violations. Local, state and federal epidemiologists tracing back each of these cases — from the fork to the farm — saw one name pop up: Wright County Egg of Galt, Iowa. Rodents in food packaging and distribution facilities are the most common source of salmonella contamination. Play Dr. Christopher Braden with the Centers for Disease Control said that illnesses occurring after mid-July may not be reported yet. At least 20 other people who ate there also grew ill with salmonella enteritidis. Symptoms of salmonella-related illness could begin as many as three days after eating the eggs, and include fever, cramps and diarrhea, according to Besser. Woman Files Suit Over Outbreak at Wisconsin Restaurant Already, one lawsuit has been filed in connection with an outbreak at a Kenosha, Wis. restaurant.
Government officials say that the number of people sickened by an outbreak of salmonella poisoning from eggs is likely to rise because officials fear that many of the contaminated eggs are still in peoples' refigerators. The salmonella outbreak has triggered a massive recall of eggs and sickened about 2,000 people, and many more cases are expected to be reported. "With the fact that contaminated eggs could still be in consumers' refrigerators, this outbreak could really be one of the largest linked to eggs that we've seen in 20 years," Caroline Smith DeWall of the Center for Science in the Public Interest said. Play The number of recalled eggs by an Iowa Farm has skyrocketed to 380 million eggs, up from 228 million eggs on Wednesday. "There are preventative measures that woulld have been in place that could have prevented this if they had been in place more fully," said Sherri McGarry of the FDA's Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition. The eggs that are believed to be tainted were sold under the following brand names: Lucerne, Mountain Dairy, Sunshine, Hillandale, Trafficanda, Albertson, Farm Fresh, Shoreland, James Farms, Glenview, Mountain Dairy, Ralph's, Boomsma's, Lund, Dutch Farms, Kemps and Pacific Coast. You can tell if you have a recalled package of eggs by looking at the Julian dates and plant code stamped on the end of the egg carton or on the case label. The Julian dates range from 136 to 229 with plant numbers 1026, 1413, 1942 and 1946. You can find more information about the recall at the FDA's web site. Consumers who believe they may have recalled eggs should return them to the store for a full refund, said the company. Play Hundreds of people have become sick from eating tainted eggs and one lawsuit has already been filed against the egg supplier, the Wright County Egg Farm in Galt, Iowa. Wright County Egg announced a voluntary recall of 228 million eggs after they were linked to cases of salmonella poisoning around the country. Nearly 300 cases of illness in California, Minnesota and Colorado have been linked to the dangerous strain of salmonella, and health officials are now looking for links between the people infected by salmonella poisoning. "We're seeing a large increase in the number of cases of a particular type of salmonella," said Dr. Chris Braden, a medical epidemiologist at the CDC. "It's pretty much blanketed the nation as far as we know." During June and July, about 200 cases of the salmonella strain were reported weekly, four times the normal levels. ABC News senior health and medical editor Dr. Richard Besser said today that while the eggs could have been contaminated at the factory, they could also have gotten the bacteria from the chickens themselves. Investigators are examining whether rodents were pooping in the chicken feed, possibly spreading the salmonella to the eggs. Besser recommended cooking eggs not included in the recall thoroughly, while authorities investigate the contamination, and eating them immediately aftwerward. And in the meantime, it's producing eggs that look clean and fine," Braden said. The federal government says its investigation into the source of the outbreak is ongoing, and while eggs are a prime suspect in many cases, other foods could also be involved. A customer says she contracted Salmonella enteritidis there, and she's filed suit against both Wright County Egg and the restaurant, Baker Street Restaurant and Pub in Kenosha. "Exactly how the salmonella came into the restaurant and whether there were cross-contamination issues in the restaurant or failing to cook within the restaurant, all of that is going to have to be worked out," said Bill Marler, the woman's Seattle-based attorney. Salmonella contamination was among the leading causes of foodborne disease outbreaks in 2007, with poultry, beef and leafy greens among the most common foods involved, according to the CDC. Soon after, more than 350 miles to the south, diners at seven restaurants in Los Angeles, Orange and San Diego counties headed into their doctor's offices with bad bouts of diarrhea.
She said the suspect, an ethnic Uyghur, also injured himself and was caught on the scene, adding that police are investigating his motive. "So it is unclear at the moment what the intentions were." "The explosion took place around 10:30 a.m. on the outskirts of Aksu city in southern Xinjiang," said Hou Hanmin, deputy director of Xinjiang's information department. The rioting left 197 people dead and more than 1,700 injured, most of them Han, according to the government. Many Uighurs are unhappy with what they consider repressive rule from Beijing and unwanted immigration into the region by ethnic Han Chinese. Beijing, China (CNN) -- Police in western China detained a man suspected of driving an explosive-laden tricycle into a crowd on Thursday, killing seven people and injuring 13, a government official told CNN. "But what the officials made very clear is that was intentional and that this was not an accident. Hundreds of people were arrested following the riots and about two dozen were sentenced to death. The government has since increased its crackdown on so-called "separatist terrorists" and announced last July the breakup of a bomb-making ring in southern Xinjiang. Authorities have blamed independence-seeking Uyghur groups for the worst ethnic violence in recent Chinese history. Hou Hanmin, a spokeswoman for the government of Xinjiang, said the “name and age of the male suspect are unknown yet.” Aksu is on China’s fabled Silk Road, about 404 miles from Urumqi, the region’s capital, and about 40 miles from China’s border with Kyrgyzstan. Most of those wounded were ethnic minorities. Intentions unclear Melissa Chan, Al Jazeera's correspondent in the regional capital, Urumqi, said: "It could well have been that this small vehicle was carrying some flammable liquid and that it could have been an accident.
SHANGHAI — An explosion killed 7 people and wounded 14 others on Thursday in China’s restive far western region of Xinjiang, the site of deadly ethnic riots last year. The blast took place about 10:30 a.m. when an electric three-wheeled vehicle exploded on a bridge on the outskirts of Aksu, a city in northwestern Xinjiang, according to China’s state-run news agency, Xinhua. Most of those wounded were ethnic minorities. Hou Hanmin, a spokeswoman for the government of Xinjiang, said the “name and age of the male suspect are unknown yet.” Aksu is on China’s fabled Silk Road, about 404 miles from Urumqi, the region’s capital, and about 40 miles from China’s border with Kyrgyzstan. Xinjiang has been tense since the summer of 2009, when rioting broke out between the region’s ethnic Uighurs, who are native to the area, and Han Chinese, who have grown in numbers because of government resettlement programs. The rioting left 197 people dead and more than 1,700 injured, most of them Han, according to the government. "Police say it was an intentional act because the suspect was carrying explosive devices,'' Hou Hanmin, a spokeswoman for the Xinjiang government, said. Authorities said that the assailant was injured in the explosion and captured immediately, though they did not say whether the suspect was a man or a woman. Intentions unclear Melissa Chan, Al Jazeera's correspondent in the regional capital, Urumqi, said: "It could well have been that this small vehicle was carrying some flammable liquid and that it could have been an accident. "But what the officials made very clear is that was intentional and that this was not an accident. "The other thing that we are getting is that all of the dead and injured are ethnic minorities. Hundreds of people were arrested following the riots and about two dozen were sentenced to death. 'Systematic oppression' Dilxat Raxit, a spokesman for the overseas World Uyghur Congress, accused the Chinese government of "systematic oppression" of his community since unrest last summer. In June of this year, police arrested ten people who were allegedly behind a series of attacks in the region. Beijing, China (CNN) -- Police in western China detained a man suspected of driving an explosive-laden tricycle into a crowd on Thursday, killing seven people and injuring 13, a government official told CNN. "The explosion took place around 10:30 a.m. on the outskirts of Aksu city in southern Xinjiang," said Hou Hanmin, deputy director of Xinjiang's information department. The government has since increased its crackdown on so-called "separatist terrorists" and announced last July the breakup of a bomb-making ring in southern Xinjiang.
Please re-enter. Two years ago, the F.A.A. American has 30 days to respond to the FAA charges. The fine was later reduced to $7.5 million. "We will challenge any proposed civil penalty. Advertisement Continue reading the main story The MD-80 is American’s workhorse, but the airline has been replacing it with more fuel-efficient planes. The incident snarled thousands of flights in 2008. "There can be no compromises when it comes to safety," Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said. The fine reflects a more aggressive stance by the F.A.A., which has been criticized for being lax on some maintenance issues, particularly surrounding American Airlines and a separate case involving Southwest Airlines. It was one of the largest maintenance-related disruptions in air travel history. The Federal Aviation Administration on Thursday notified American that it must pay more than twice as much as any previous fine levied by the agency. Don't attack other readers personally, and keep your language decent. View all New York Times newsletters. The directive was considered a critical safety matter because the wiring is near the jet's fuel tanks and sparking could lead to a catastrophic explosion. Use the "Report Abuse" button to make a difference. Guidelines: You share in the USA TODAY community, so please keep your comments smart and civil. In a memo circulated to its employees, the company said it had taken significant steps to ensure that its MD-80s met the precise technical specifications required by federal regulators. Lunsford said that Southwest Airlines (LUV, Fortune 500) had previously been the recipient of the biggest FAA fine -- of $10.2 million -- which it was able to negotiate down to $7.5 million.
The fine reflects a more aggressive stance by the F.A.A., which has been criticized for being lax on some maintenance issues, particularly surrounding American Airlines and a separate case involving Southwest Airlines. The transportation secretary, Ray LaHood, said in a statement, “We expect operators to perform inspections and conduct regular and required maintenance.” Advertisement Continue reading the main story The F.A.A. said American failed to follow an agency order, called an Airworthiness Directive, dating from 2006, that required airlines to inspect how some wires were bundled on the wheel wells of their McDonnell Douglas MD-80 planes. The agency said that chafing on the wires might spark a fire or cause an explosion because of the wires’ proximity to hydraulic fluids or the fuel tanks. said it detected violations at American on 10 MD-80s during inspections at the airline’s hub in Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport and its maintenance center in Tulsa, Okla. Please verify you're not a robot by clicking the box. You must select a newsletter to subscribe to. Sign Up Receive occasional updates and special offers for The New York Times's products and services. An error has occurred. American was forced to ground its entire MD-80 fleet of about 300 planes over a four-day period in April 2008, canceling more than 3,000 flights and stranding thousands of passengers, to perform the required maintenance. Advertisement Continue reading the main story The MD-80 is American’s workhorse, but the airline has been replacing it with more fuel-efficient planes. signaled in its statement that it had been working for the last year and a half with American to review the airline’s maintenance practices, saying it was committed “to help improve the airline’s maintenance culture.” Advertisement Continue reading the main story While other airlines have been outsourcing their maintenance operations abroad, American still does its own maintenance. In a memo circulated to its employees, the company said it had taken significant steps to ensure that its MD-80s met the precise technical specifications required by federal regulators. proposed a $10.2 million penalty against Southwest Airlines for conducting about 1,400 flights before inspecting some of its Boeing 737 planes for cracks. The fine was later reduced to $7.5 million. The previous highest fine was set at $9.5 million in 1987 against Eastern Airlines. But the company paid only about $1 million before going out of business. Enlarge By Rick Gershon, Getty Images Federal officials have hit American Airlines with a record penalty of $24.2 million over maintenance lapses that caused thousands of canceled flights in 2008. WASHINGTON American Airlines vows to challenge a record $24.2 million penalty for safety violations and insists that it did not endanger passengers during a 2008 dispute with safety inspectors that led to massive flight disruptions. The airline made 14,278 flights on 286 MD-80 jets without making required upgrades to wiring, the agency charged. "There can be no compromises when it comes to safety," Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said. The penalty grew out of a dispute between the agency and the airline over whether it had complied with a directive to upgrade MD-80 wiring in the landing gear compartment. The directive was considered a critical safety matter because the wiring is near the jet's fuel tanks and sparking could lead to a catastrophic explosion. During four days in April 2008, American — then the world's largest carrier — canceled 3,100 flights, resulting in the stranding or rerouting of more than 250,000 passengers. The case created tension between the FAA and American because inspectors continued finding evidence that work hadn't been completed even after the airline insisted that planes were in compliance. MORE ON AMERICAN AIRLINES: Mechanics reject labor contract American has continued to insist that its planes were safe and that the FAA overreacted to criticism that it was not being tough enough on airlines. "These events happened more than two years ago, and we believe this action is unwarranted," the airline said in a statement Thursday. The largest fine an airline has agreed to pay the FAA was $9.5 million, against Eastern Air Lines. Use the "Report Abuse" button to make a difference. Use the "Report Abuse" button to make a difference. FAA hits American Airlines with biggest fine ever NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Federal aviation regulators slapped American Airlines on Thursday with the largest fine in history, charging that the carrier made thousands of unsafe flights. The Federal Aviation Administration said it has "proposed" a $24.2 million civil penalty for American Airlines' failure to properly inspect wire bundles in the wheel wells of its MD-80 aircraft. The airline, owned by AMR Corp., (AMR, Fortune 500) did not follow the guidelines in the so-called 2006 Airworthiness Directive, which was intended to prevent wires from shorting, which could cause a loss of power and possibly a fire, the FAA said. The airline's stock price is down 1.7%. The FAA inspections resulted in the grounding of about 1,000 American Airlines flights in early April, 2008, after the FAA found that the airline did not properly inspect two of its airplanes. As part of that inspection, the FAA determined that the airline operated 286 of its MD-80s on a total of 14,278 flights "while the aircraft were not in compliance with federal regulations."
Now, though, the hard work begins. "The main problem facing the miners and their families is the uncertainty." Would the sonda – borehole – find the men? Last week the world rejoiced at the miraculous contact made with 33 trapped Chilean miners who were found alive 700m underground. Before it was not very common for people in my family to say 'I love you' or 'I miss you'. Engineers at the mine in Chile's Atacama desert are awaiting for drilling parts from Germany to begin the initial digging of what is expected to be the main rescue shaft. When they found the miners [alive] the whole country celebrated like it was their own family," said Lobos. Family members received the first of what are intended to be daily phone calls in a cabin set up alongside one of the three boreholes now connecting the miners with the surface. Meanwhile, a nation watches and does what it can to help. Now I call my mum every night, I tell her how much I love her and send kisses. At every new development of the mining saga, Chileans are pulling together in a sense of national unity that has catapulted Piñera to high rankings in opinion polls and levitated Lawrence Golborne, the formerly anonymous mining minister, to such fame that he is now jokingly referred to as "Lawrence of Atacama". With Nasa urging the use of entertainment, the Chilean government is planning to deliver movies and videos of football matches to the miners, who will also be given a home theatre system. "He is aware that the rescue is not going to happen today, that it will take some time.
33 men entombed in collapsed San Jose mine are given just 30 seconds each to speak to their wives, children and parents The 33 Chilean miners trapped deep underground have spoken for the first time to family members waiting for them on the surface. The brief phone conversations late yesterday brought a measure of reassurance to families who have grown increasingly worried about the ability of the men to survive the estimated three months of the rescue operation. Engineers at the mine in Chile's Atacama desert are awaiting for drilling parts from Germany to begin the initial digging of what is expected to be the main rescue shaft. "The families have had the chance to communicate by telephone with them, so of course there have been moments of great emotion," said Ximena Matas, the governor of the Atacama region. She said the families "listened with great interest and they both felt and realised that the men are well. Family members received the first of what are intended to be daily phone calls in a cabin set up alongside one of the three boreholes now connecting the miners with the surface. Portions of the conversations were made public, including the promise by miner Esteban Rojas that he would marry his girlfriend of 25 years upon his rescue from the collapsed tunnel. As the phone connection is still precarious, family members were given just 20-30 seconds to say hello and send a short message to their loved one. "I could hear him fine," said Jessica Cortes, who spoke to her husband Victor Zamora. He asked us to stay calm as everything is going to be OK. "He sounded relaxed and since it was so short I didn't manage to ask anything. After losing his job in Chile's 8.8-magnitude earthquake in February which destroyed his workplace in Talcahuano, near the epicentre, Zamora began work hundreds of miles north, at the San Jose Mine. "He's a vehicle mechanic and doesn't even enter the mine," Cortes said. "He went in that day because a vehicle had broken down [deep] inside the mine ... At first they told us he had been crushed [to death]." The phone conversations follow a new video of the miners showing the men in apparently good spirits, although many broke into tears as they sent messages of love for their families. "I'm sending my greetings to Angelica. Tomorrow, the miners will enter Day 26, passing the mark set by three Chinese miners who last year spent 25 days drinking contaminated water and chewing coal to survive in a flooded mine in Guizhou province, China. The miners in Chile are expected to be trapped for at least another 8-16 weeks, making their ordeal by far the longest known enforced stay in an underground mine. But skin problems, poor ventilation and constant humidity continue to take their toll on the health of the trapped men. Yesterday, Chile's mining minister, Laurence Golborne, repeated earlier estimates that it would take three to four months to rescue the men, rejecting reports quoting engineers who said it could be done in much less time. Golborne said relief workers were studying 10 separate rescue options, but that "nothing has yet been found that will be quicker". The people of Chile offer overwhelming support to the families of the 33 men amid concern the miners' spirits are flagging It was a week of celebrations that could not last. Last week the world rejoiced at the miraculous contact made with 33 trapped Chilean miners who were found alive 700m underground. A video of the bearded and nearly naked men showed that, despite three weeks underground, the group is unified, organised and motivated to contend with the bizarre conditions of their daily existence. Not shown on the screen, however, were telltale signs that at least five of the men are succumbing to the stress of their new reality. I would say depression is the correct word," said Chilean health minister Jaime Mañalich as he referred to the five miners. Mañalich also admitted yesterday that doctors had detected "severe dermatological problems" among the men. Authorities may have released only part of a 45-minute video the miners made last week because the men show skin problems on the rest of the tape. "Following the euphoria of being discovered, the normal psychological reaction would be for the men to collapse in a combination of fatigue and stress," explained Dr Rodrigo Figueroa, head of the trauma, stress and disaster unit at the Catholic university in Santiago, Chile. The hi-tech rig expected to drill 700m down to the trapped men was scheduled to begin operations today and take a full 90 days to reach them. With experts ranging from Nasa doctors to submarine commanders, a team of 300 specialists co-ordinated by the Chilean government has spent the past week scrambling to design a programme of medicine, entertainment and exercise aimed at keeping the 33 men alive and stable for the duration of the rescue operation. A video conference facility is near completion in which the family members can enter a room above ground and have daily video chats with their loved ones deep beneath the rock. Bringing artificial light to the darkened tunnels is also a priority for health officials, as controlled lighting is also considered a key factor in maintaining the men's sanity by providing a semblance of day and night.
"We are speaking with him now," police said. [Updated at 4:44 p.m.] Follow CNN's continuing coverage of the hostage situation at the Discovery Channel headquarters here. All three hostages are safe and out of the building. But police also had a camera on Lee, and when he drew a handgun, they moved in. Montgomery County police spokesman Dan Friz told WJLA that the man was carrying what appeared to be an "explosive device." No one has been reported injured. Silver Spring Police Chief. Manger "wouldn't talk" about what the gunman wants. He said there have been unconfirmed reports of a shot fired, but there have been no reports of injuries. It's your responsibility because you reach so many minds!!!" NBC News correspondent Pete Williams said a law enforcement official confirmed the name of the suspect: James Jay Lee. A daycare housed on the first floor of the building was also evacuated. He added that some people may remain in the building. Rorae said there was an announcement telling employees what to do and where to go. In an anti-corporate protest two years ago, Lee was arrested while throwing cash outside Discovery's offices. He said in court he had been moved to save the planet partly by former Vice President Al Gore's documentary "An Inconvenient Truth. Local Gannett station WUSA reports that the gunman is believed to be holding at least one hostage. Fire marshals with explosives experience were assisting. "I was shaking...I was like what do we do what do we do? "We're going on the assumption that they could be explosive devices," Manger told reporters earlier.
[Updated at 5:03 p.m.] Police officers shot the suspect at about 4:50 p.m., Montgomery County Police Chief J. Thomas Manger told reporters. "The suspect is in custody," he said. Manger said he had no information about the suspect's condition. A number of devices in backpacks have to be rendered safe, he added. [Updated at 4:44 p.m.] Follow CNN's continuing coverage of the hostage situation at the Discovery Channel headquarters here. [Updated at 4:14 p.m.] Montgomery County Police spokesman Paul Starks told reporters there remained no reports of injuries, but he could not confirm whether everyone had been evacuated from the building, nor would he say how many hostages were being held. "We're just continuing to talk to the man and we're hoping to bring about a safe and successful resolution," Montgomery County Police spokesman Paul Starks told reporters. "It's my understanding that Montgomery County police officers are speaking with him," he said, adding that he believed the conversation was being held by phone. "That has been continuing with him for well over an hour, closing in on two hours now." Send photos, video WJLA: Discovery headquarters evacuated [Updated at 4:04 p.m.] Aaron Morrissey, the editor in chief of the web publication DCist, said he came across James Lee's anti-Discovery Channel manifesto in 2008, when Lee was planning to hold a protest against the channel. Lee has been identified by law enforcement sources as the man holding hostages at the Discovery Channel headquarters in Silver Spring, Maryland. A month or so later, Lee was arrested near the building on littering and disorderly conduct charges, Morrissey said. The littering stemmed from Lee's throwing money in to the air, he said. [Updated at 3:41 p.m.] A man with the same name and age as the suspect in a hostage situation at the Discovery Channel headquarters in Silver Spring, Maryland, was found guilty in 2008 of disorderly conduct, according to court documents. James Lee, 43, was acquitted of littering in the same case, according to Montgomery County, Maryland, Circuit Court records, according to Eric Nee, a senior assistant state's attorney. [Updated at 3:31 p.m.] Montgomery County, Maryland, Police Chief J. Thomas Mangersaid the gunman at the Discovery Channel's headquarters is holding hostage more than one person. [Updated at 3:17 p.m.] The man suspected of taking at least one hostage at the Discovery Channel's headquarters entered the building's main entrance "wearing what appeared to be metallic canister devices on his front and back," a police spokesman said Wednesday. "He also pulled a handgun out and was waving a handgun." Chief J. Thomas Manger said police haven't confirmed whether any shots were fired inside the building. Manger said Lee has remained in first floor area of the Discovery building, where 1,900 employees work. "We believe that most of them are out," Manger said. "There are a small number of hostages with him." [Updated at 3:10 p.m.] James Lee, the man suspected of taking a hostage at the Discovery Channel headquarters, is an environmental protester who has been publishing criticisms of the network, according to a senior law enforcement official close to the investigation. An angry manifesto posted on a website called SaveThePlanetProtest.com repeatedly refers to humans as "filth" and demands that the Discovery Channel "stop encouraging the birth of any more parasitic human infants." "Humans are the most destructive, filthy, pollutive creatures around and are wrecking what's left of the planet with their false morals and breeding culture," it continues. Lee also blasts immigration, farming, weapons of mass destruction, automotive pollution, "and the whole blasted human economy." He demands that the Discovery Channel broadcast daily prime-time shows devoted to "solutions to save the planet," perhaps in a game-show format, insisting "Make it interesting so people watch and apply solutions!!!!" Many of Lee's comments are directed at "the media," saying "You can reach enough people. "The world needs TV shows that DEVELOP solutions to the problems that humans are causing, not stupify the people into destroying the world. [Updated at 2:51 p.m.] The man believed to be holding at least one hostage at the Discovery Channel headquarters in Silver Spring, Maryland, has been identified as James Lee, a law enforcement source tells CNN. Police described the man's grudge the following way: "His beef is with Discovery."
When Capt. "They just said there was an explosion, there was a fire," Shaw said. The platform can store 4,200 gallons of oil. The Coast Guard said Mariner Energy reported the oil sheen. (Reporting by Erwin Seba) The platform is in about 340 feet of water and about 100 miles south of Louisiana's Vermilion Bay. Light smoke could be seen drifting across the deep blue waters of the gulf. All of them were released by early Thursday evening. They did not mention what might have caused the blast. Crew members were being flown to a hospital in Houma. Jindal met with some of the survivors. Environmental groups and some lawmakers said the incident showed the dangers of offshore drilling, and urged the Obama administration to extend a temporary ban on deepwater drilling to shallow water, where this platform was located. Cheri Ben-Iesau said crews were unable to find any spill. Its location is considered shallow water, much less than the approximately 5,000 feet where BP's well spewed oil and gas for three months after the April rig explosion that killed 11 workers. Jindal said operator Mariner Energy's ME.N senior officials told Louisiana officials the flow of oil from the sea floor had been stopped. They were found huddled together in life jackets. HOUSTON, Sept 2 (Reuters) - Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal said on Thursday afternoon that production from a burning oil platform in the Gulf of Mexico has been shut. Photos from the scene showed at least five ships floating near the platform. There are about 3,400 platforms operating in the Gulf, according to the American Petroleum Institute.
HOUSTON, Sept 2 (Reuters) - Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal said on Thursday afternoon that production from a burning oil platform in the Gulf of Mexico has been shut. Jindal said operator Mariner Energy's ME.N senior officials told Louisiana officials the flow of oil from the sea floor had been stopped. HOUSTON, Sept 2 The U.S. Coast Guard said a 1-nautical-mile-by-100-foot (1.85-km-by-30.5-meter) oil sheen had been reported at the site of a Mariner Energy ME.N platform in the Gulf of Mexico that was on fire Thursday after a morning explosion. The fire on board the platform located 90 miles (145 km) south of the Louisiana coast was contained as of 12 noon CDT (1700 GMT) but had not been put out, the Coast Guard said. An oil platform exploded and burned off the Louisiana coast Thursday, the second such disaster n the Gulf of Mexico in less than five months. The Coast Guard initially reported that an oil sheen a mile long and 100 feet wide had begun to spread from the site of the blast, about 200 miles west of the source of BP's massive spill. Mariner Energy's Patrick Cassidy said he considered the incident a fire, not an explosion. "The platform is still intact and it was just a small portion of the platform that appears to be burned," he said. Mariner officials said there were seven active production wells on the platform, and they were shut down shortly before the fire broke out. Bobby Jindal said the company told him the fire began in 100 barrels of light oil condensate. The Coast Guard said Mariner Energy reported the oil sheen. In a public statement, the company said an initial flyover did not show any oil. Photos from the scene showed at least five ships floating near the platform. The platform is in about 340 feet of water and about 100 miles south of Louisiana's Vermilion Bay. Its location is considered shallow water, much less than the approximately 5,000 feet where BP's well spewed oil and gas for three months after the April rig explosion that killed 11 workers. Responding to any oil spill in shallow water would be much easier than in deep water, where crews depend on remote-operated vehicles to access equipment on the sea floor. A Homeland Security update obtained by The Associated Press said the platform was producing 58,800 gallons of oil and 900,000 cubic feet of gas per day. White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said the administration has "response assets ready for deployment should we receive reports of pollution in the water." All 13 of the platform's crew members were rescued from the water. The captain of the boat that rescued the platform crew said his vessel was 25 miles away when it received a distress call Thursday morning from the platform. Dan Shaw arrived at the scene of the blast, the workers were holding hands in the water, where they had been for two hours. Environmental groups and some lawmakers said the incident showed the dangers of offshore drilling, and urged the Obama administration to extend a temporary ban on deepwater drilling to shallow water, where this platform was located. "How many accidents are needed and how much environmental and economic damage must we suffer before we act to contain and control the source of the danger: offshore drilling?" Mike Gravitz, oceans advocate for Environment America, said President Barack Obama "should need no further wake-up call to permanently ban new drilling."
Continued below. Tourists Patrick Byrne, 26, from County Wexford, Ireland, Glenn Bourke, 18, from Coburg, Victoria, Australia, Annita Kirsten, 23, from Germany, and Brad Coker, 24, from Farnborough, England, were also killed. "I told him that New Zealand was amazing and he should do it." Mr Adams said no one would o have answers on the crash cause for a while. - NZ Herald The fatal plane crash has hit New Zealand's skydiving community hard. British man among victims after aircraft crashes on takeoff from Fox Glacier airport in South Island Nine people, including a British man, have died in a aircraft crash in New Zealand. Company director Rod Miller is understood to be among the dead, along with pilot Chami Senadhira. The last time he saw them was late last week. The detective said they all knew one another and wanted to skydive together so the let the others go ahead. It crashed and exploded in a paddock next to the runway. Someone laid out the drinks on the pool table alongside the RIP message . [The plane] was engulfed in flames immediately." Late yesterday afternoon, investigators from the Transport Accident Investigation Commission and the Civil Aviation Authority were at the disaster scene as the bodies were removed. "He was a great guy, a very good dad and a very good friend. The biggest air disasters in this country have been: * 1942 - Liberator bomber crashes near Whenuapai, 14 dead. The teenager was on his first overseas trip, and had already been bungy jumping and whitewater rafting.
By Andrew Koubaridis On a pool table at a Fox Glacier pub, a variety of drinks were arranged alongside the words "RIP Boys", as locals remembered their friends killed in Saturday's fiery plane crash. A few hundred metres away, the bodies of pilot Chaminda "Chami" Senadhira, 33, skydive masters Rod Miller, 55, Adam Bennett, 47, Michael Suter, 32, and Christopher McDonald, 62, lay in the wreckage of the Skydive New Zealand plane that crashed in a ball of flames at the edge of the Fox Glacier airstrip just after it took off at 1.15pm. Michael Strachan, 31, told the Herald the dead crew were all "fun-loving, really nice people". He saw them nearly every day when the team from Skydive NZ came into the cafe where he worked. The last time he saw them was late last week. "A takeaway pizza, fettuccine, and bits and pieces. Rod [Miller] is a vegetarian, so his pizzas are made the way he likes it." Related Content Few rules on skydiving planes Fox Glacier crash probe begins Watch NZH Local Focus: Ditching Daniel's dreads On Saturday night, the crash victims' favourite drinks were laid out on a pool table close to the site of the tragedy as the community came together to mourn, Mr Strachan said. "The whole town's at a standstill, everything's just stopped." Mr Strachan said some of the cafe staff were unable to come to work because they were too upset. The teenager was on his first overseas trip, and had already been bungy jumping and whitewater rafting. He was on the aircraft to make what would have been his first parachute jump. "I've always told the kids they've got to follow their dreams. One of Glenn's sisters, Kelly, said she had encouraged him to make the trip. Back at Fox Glacier, Mr Strachan said he was at home when he saw the plane fall from the sky. "We heard someone scream from next door that the skydiving plane had gone down." Detective Sergeant Jackie Adams of Greymouth said the victims were so badly burned that members of the police disaster victim identification team were called in to assist. The same team went to Thailand to identify victims of the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami. Apparently there was an explosion and the plane did catch alight." Mr Adams was last night trying to track down a group of tourists who were to have been on the doomed flight, but had allowed the other visitors to board in front of them. "They should be going to buy a Lotto ticket now." Late yesterday afternoon, investigators from the Transport Accident Investigation Commission and the Civil Aviation Authority were at the disaster scene as the bodies were removed. Commission investigator Ian McClelland said they might be limited in what they found at the site because of the extent of the destruction. By Joseph Barratt, Kathryn Powley, Joanne Carroll Nine people were killed in a fiery explosion at Fox Glacier yesterday when their plane crashed just 50m from the back door of the chief fire officer's home. The deaths of five local men and four overseas tourists makes it one of New Zealand's deadliest plane crashes. Skydive New Zealand owned the plane, and was taking up the tourists for the adventure of a lifetime over the glacier, regarded as one of New Zealand's most beautiful natural attractions. Late last night his American girlfriend Lauren Hospenthal posted a message to her Facebook friends that read: "Thank you everybody for the warm thoughts, my heart is broken." Related Content Nine dead in Fox Glacier plane crash New Zealand's worst air disasters Your Views: Readers' letters He saw the plane heading towards him.
Eta, and then the Basque left, have continued in the struggle. The Basque interior minister called the statement "insufficient". "It's still insufficient because they talk about ceasefire, democratic process, but there's nothing about laying down arms and permanence. Eta announces that it took the decision several months ago not to carry out armed actions. That the Basque country can now take the road of independence. Political change is possible. Perez Rubalcaba says the militant group declared the truce because it is so weak it cannot stage attacks. Controversial peace talks in 2006 collapsed after an Eta bomb killed two people at Madrid airport. One way may be the continuation of new scenarios in the fight for Basque freedom. He said the ETA wants to impose its will, either through violence or dialogue "and the state is going to tell it time and time again 'no, no and no."' Nationalist politicians in the Basque country welcomed the announcement and called on the Spanish government and the international community to respond positively. Eta confirms its commitment to finding a democratic solution to the conflict. To conclude: We call on all Basque citizens to continue in the struggle, each in their own field, with whatever degree of commitment they have, so that we can all cast down the wall of denial and make irreversible moves forward on the road to freedom. Nearly 240 of its members have been arrested since 2008. Under pressure It is unclear whether Eta is declaring a permanent or temporary ceasefire. "I think that it's a big step and a positive step," Njaki Soto told the BBC.
The Spanish government on Monday rejected a new ceasefire announcement by the separatist group ETA and ruled out negotiations on an independent Basque homeland, saying the militants have been decimated by arrests and are desperate to regroup and rearm. Basque rebels ETA have decided to no longer carry out armed attacks, newspaper Gara said on its website on Sunday. ((Vincent West/Reuters)) Interior Minister Alfredo Perez Rubalcaba said the ETA cannot be trusted after shattering a 2006 truce with a deadly car bombing. He said its statement Sunday by three hooded militants speaking in a video falls short of what Basque society and other Spaniards demand: that ETA renounce violence for good. "The word truce, as the idea of a limited peace to open a process of dialogue, is dead," Perez Rubalcaba, adding that Spain will be as tough as ever against ETA. "The Interior Ministry will keep its anti-terrorism policy intact, absolutely intact. ETA has killed more than 825 people as it fought for an independent homeland in parts of northern Spain and southwestern France since the late 1960s. Its last deadly attack in Spain was in July 2009, when it killed two policemen with a car bomb. Nearly 240 of its members have been arrested since 2008. Perez Rubalcaba says the militant group declared the truce because it is so weak it cannot stage attacks. Besides silence on whether the ETA will surrender its weapons, it did not say if the truce was open-ended and permanent, like the one declared in 2006 and which led to talks with the government, or whether it would halt other activities like extorting money from business leaders or recruiting members. Nor was there any mention of whether the ceasefire could be monitored by international observers as called for Friday by two Basque parties that back independence: ETA's outlawed political wing Batasuna and a more moderate pro-independence party called Eusko Alkartasuna. Since late last year, divisions have widened between ETA and the political parties that support it. Jailed ETA veterans have also been distancing themselves from the group, and French police have cracked down, denying militants a neighbouring haven. Friday's statement marked the first time the political groups had put down in writing that they wanted ETA to work toward independence through peaceful means, rather than with violence. Perez Rubalcaba said Monday that ETA's breaking the 2006 ceasefire — with a massive car bombing at Madrid airport that left two people dead — cost the group credibility even among political supporters who seek Basque independence. The minister said ETA's new tactic is to seek new negotiations and, if in a few months or a year the government still refuses, ETA will say it has no choice but to revert to bombs or bullets. He said the ETA wants to impose its will, either through violence or dialogue "and the state is going to tell it time and time again 'no, no and no."' Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption It is not clear whether the ceasefire is permanent or temporary Armed Basque separatist group Eta says it will not carry out "armed actions" in its campaign for independence. In a video obtained exclusively by the BBC, the group said it took the decision several months ago "to put in motion a democratic process". The Basque interior minister called the statement "insufficient". Eta's violent campaign has led to more than 820 deaths over the past 40 years. This latest announcement comes after the arrests of numerous Eta leaders and during an unprecedented period of debate within the Basque nationalist community over the future direction of policy, says the BBC's Clive Myrie in San Sebastian. After so many years of conflict, the government may find it difficult to dismiss Eta's call for a truce, out of hand. Eta 'ceasefire' all too familiar The figure in the middle reads out a prepared statement defending Eta's campaign of violence, but towards the end she says the group now wants to achieve its aims by peaceful, democratic means. It adds that Eta "took the decision several months ago not to carry out offensive armed actions". The statement ends: "We call on all Basque citizens to continue in the struggle, each in their own field, with whatever degree of commitment they have, so that we can all cast down the wall of denial and make irreversible moves forward on the road to freedom." The pro-Eta party Batasuna, which has been banned since 2003 on the grounds that it is Eta's political wing, is one of two Basque nationalist parties to have called on Eta to declare "an internationally verifiable ceasefire" days earlier. But he called Eta's declaration "ambiguous" and "absolutely insufficient", because it did not "take into account what the vast majority of Basque society demands and requires from Eta, which is that it definitively abandon terrorist activity".
His father, Ian, 77, suffered a stroke and heart complications while on holiday, Downing Street said. Mr Cameron's biographer James Hanning told the BBC family was "hugely important" to the prime minister: "They are a very strong family but they have been through it." After talking to doctors at the hospital, the PM decided to fly to be with his father and mother Mary. David Cameron said he almost gave up politics after his six-year-old son Ivan died last year. Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg has insisted it is for the police to decide how to proceed over the News of the World phone hacking row. Mr Cameron missed his first Commons question session since the summer recess to travel to France to be with his father, who is seriously ill after suffering a stroke. Despite his disability he forged a successful career as a stockbroker and is a former director of estate agent John D Wood. “They showed me how a big society could work every day I was growing up. I think they both have a really seminal influence in the man he is now and in his politics actually." Both legs have now been amputated and he has lost the sight in one eye. He told ITV in March his father was a "huge hero figure for me" who had a great sense of optimism. The debate is expected to take place at about 12.15 pm on Thursday 9 September. During the election Mr Cameron appeared with his parents at an event near their Oxfordshire home. He added: "Mr Coulson has made it quite clear that he had no knowledge and he refutes all the allegations."
Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption David Cameron describes his relationship with his father in March 2010 - Trevor McDonald Meets David Cameron, ITV1 Prime Minister David Cameron's father Ian has died after suffering a stroke and heart complications while on holiday in France. Mr Cameron missed the weekly prime minister's questions to fly to be with his father in hospital. Downing Street said his father died shortly after the PM arrived at the hospital in the South of France. He told ITV in March his father was a "huge hero figure for me" who had a great sense of optimism. It is understood the prime minister will remain in France overnight. Mr Cameron was told on Wednesday morning his father was seriously ill after suffering a stroke and heart complications. After talking to doctors at the hospital, the PM decided to fly to be with his father and mother Mary. Close bond Downing Street said French President Nicolas Sarkozy had arranged a helicopter to take Mr Cameron to the hospital so he could see his father. Correspondent's view To David Cameron his father was a hero, a man who never complained about his disability and a key inspiration behind the 'Big Society' theme that characterised the Conservative election campaign. In a newspaper interview he reflected: "I've never really heard him whinge about anything." After the election Ian Cameron said he always thought David had the capability to be prime minister, but added unlike his son, he was not a politician. David Cameron said his father and mother - who worked as a magistrate - "wore their public service so lightly". David Cameron said he almost gave up politics after his six-year-old son Ivan died last year. Nick Robinson: Painful times Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg, who stood in for Mr Cameron at the first PMQs after the summer recess, sent his thoughts and condolences to Mr Cameron's family and said he was glad the PM was "able to be at his father's side at the end". Chancellor George Osborne told the BBC: "It's a very difficult day for David Cameron and his family. "I know David was very, very close to his father, and his father hasn't been well over recent years, but he's always been a really strong presence I know in David's life, and I'm sure he'll be missed by David and missed by all of us who knew him." BBC political correspondent Laura Kuenssberg said Mr Cameron had often spoken of the close bond between him and his parents, who lived in Peasemore, Berkshire. The prime minister said before the general election that his father was a "glass half-full" person with a "sense of optimism". He told ITV 1's Trevor McDonald: "My father is a huge hero figure for me, because he's an amazingly brave man.... "To have a disability in the 1930s and 1940s, a different age, was really tough, but he never let it affect him in any way. " Giles Andreae, a friend of Mr Cameron's, told the BBC: "David adored his father and his mother. Mr Cameron's wife Samantha gave birth to their fourth child, Florence, last month. The couple's first child Ivan, who was born profoundly disabled and needed round the clock care, died in February 2009. Mr Cameron's biographer James Hanning told the BBC family was "hugely important" to the prime minister: "They are a very strong family but they have been through it." Labour leadership contender David Miliband said he was "very sorry" to hear the news: "My thoughts are with David and his family." The Conservative leader will miss the first Prime Minister's Question Time session following the summer recess, with Nick Clegg filling in. “After talking to doctors at the hospital, the Prime Minister has decided to fly to be with his father and mother Mary.” Mr Cameron had earlier taken telephone call from his mother informing him of the news of his father’s stroke. Mr Clegg, standing in for David Cameron at prime minister's questions on 8 September 2010, was asked whether he was "entirely satisfied" that No 10's director of communications Andy Coulson was unaware of attempts to access mobile phone voicemails illegally by staff at the newspaper during his tenure as editor. Shadow justice secretary Jack Straw said the prime minister had made "exactly the right decision". But he challenged the deputy PM: "Do you expect us to believe that the only person who knew nothing about phone hacking at the News of the World was the editor, the very man who the prime minister has brought into the heart of this government?" Mr Clegg replied: "What I expect and hope you believe is that it is now for the police to investigate whether these new charges and allegations have anything to them."
Booked: Burgmeier, Wieser, Martin Stocklasa, Frick, Rechsteiner, Polverino, D'Elia. Scotland fans booed during the Liechtenstein national anthem The Scottish Football Association has hit out at the "disgraceful" booing of the Liechtenstein national anthem. McFadden's cross found the head of Lee McCulloch, but the Rangers midfielder's effort flew over from 12 yards. "Last night, those who chose to boo our opponents' anthem only served to tarnish that reputation. Goals: Miller 63, McManus 90. A draw at home to a side ranked 141st in the world - 100 places behind the Scots and beaten 4-0 at home by Spain on Friday - and Craig Levein's side could, arguably, have waved goodbye to their Euro 2012 qualification hopes after just two games. Scotland: McGregor, Hutton, Weir, McManus, Wallace (Robson 54), Brown, Darren Fletcher, McCulloch, McFadden (Morrison 46), Miller, Boyd (Naismith 66). SFA acting chief executive George Peat said he was "embarrassed" by the booing at Hampden on Tuesday. The goalkeeper used his hand to more conventional good effect moments later to divert a Fletcher drive over the crossbar. How six minutes of stoppage time can change fortunes. The Middlesbrough winger immediately had claims for a penalty turned down as he rose to head inside the penalty box and was clattered by the palm of Jehle. Media requires JavaScript to play. Both Boyd and Liechtenstein captain Frick were unfairly penalised for offside when through on goal before the Scotland striker headed wide from close range under pressure from his marker. But, following their opening 0-0 draw in Lithuania, who went on to surprise Czech Republic on Tuesday, Scotland now top Group I.
Scotland fans booed during the Liechtenstein national anthem The Scottish Football Association has hit out at the "disgraceful" booing of the Liechtenstein national anthem. A section of Scotland fans jeered the anthem - which has the same tune as God Save The Queen - before their side's 2-1 victory in the Euro 2012 qualifier. SFA acting chief executive George Peat said he was "embarrassed" by the booing at Hampden on Tuesday. "I apologise unreservedly to our visitors for the crass reaction to their anthem," said Peat. Peat said those who chose to boo the anthem ran the risk of damaging the reputation of the Tartan Army. MY SPORT: DEBATE "The Scotland fans have worked hard to earn their reputation throughout the world as fun-loving and respectful followers of football," he added. "Last night, those who chose to boo our opponents' anthem only served to tarnish that reputation." "It must not be forgotten that all nations must abide by Fifa's Fair Play policy and last night's behaviour does nothing to help Scotland's image," he added. Scotland's victory, coupled with Lithuania's 1-0 win away to the Czech Republic, sees the Scots top Group I with four points from their opening two games. The Liechtenstein anthem, which has the same tune as God Save The Queen, was met with audible derision by some members of the Scotland support ahead of last night's match at Hampden Park, which Craig Levein's men won 2-1 courtesy of Stephen McManus' 97th-minute header. Peat said: "I was embarrassed and extremely disappointed by the disgraceful behaviour of some of our supporters during the Liechtenstein national anthem at Hampden Park last night. "The Scotland fans have worked hard to earn their reputation throughout the world as fun-loving and respectful followers of football. "Last night, those who chose to boo our opponents' anthem only served to tarnish that reputation. "I apologise unreservedly to our visitors for the crass reaction to their anthem, just as I did in private last night to the Liechtenstein delegation. McManus headed the winner with the last move of the match By Clive Lindsay Stephen McManus's last-gasp winner against Liechtenstein saved Scotland from one of the most embarrassing results in their football history. Mario Frick's sublime curling finish from 16 yards had stunned Hampden. It took the Scots 57 minutes to force a save, with Darren Fletcher's long-ranger being parried over the crossbar. But Kenny Miller powered a drive in off the underside of the bar six minutes later and McManus headed in from 10 yards from Barry Robson's corner. A draw at home to a side ranked 141st in the world - 100 places behind the Scots and beaten 4-0 at home by Spain on Friday - and Craig Levein's side could, arguably, have waved goodbye to their Euro 2012 qualification hopes after just two games. Frick gave Liechtenstein the lead just after the break Levein had warned that Liechtenstein could not be underestimated, but the addition of both Kris Boyd - making his first start in three years - and James McFadden ensured an attacking formation from which the coach was expecting goals. The Scotland fans interviewed before kick-off were certainly predicting a record-breaking score to celebrate captain Fletcher entering the record books by winning his 50th cap. However, those thoughts were quickly dispelled as it took 14 minutes before Scotland seriously threatened goalkeeper Peter Jehle - and that came from a set piece. McFadden's cross found the head of Lee McCulloch, but the Rangers midfielder's effort flew over from 12 yards. The Middlesbrough winger immediately had claims for a penalty turned down as he rose to head inside the penalty box and was clattered by the palm of Jehle. Scotland were becoming desperate, but they were level after 63 minutes when a Robson cross was headed into the path of Miller and the Rangers striker drove the ball home from 15 yards off the inside of the crossbar. It looked like Levein's first competitive home fixture as coach would end in another blow to Scotland's football reputation until McManus rose above the defence to send Hampden into a torrent of joy tinged with relief.
"Our message is very clear," he said. That's what we're doing now. Then Jones' son, Luke Jones, came outside and told reporters that Paul was speaking only for himself. ... VOICES: How do you feel about the NYC Islamic center? In Afghanistan, thousands protested the church's plan to burn the Muslim holy book. "If it wasn't for the media, it wouldn't go anywhere. Read more The planned action has drawn sharp criticism from Muslims around the world and from U.S. officials. "I asked the pastor not to burn the Qurans, and I ask the imam not to build the mosque at Ground Zero. But a nation that allows the symbolic burning of its own flag cannot stop the burning of a book, says Stephen Gillers, a New York University law professor. Jones on Thursday called off his Sept. 11 plan to burn copies of the Quran. Gainesville city police and the Alachua County sheriff's office both will bill Dove World for additional police services on Saturday. We are not murdering people." "God is leading us right up to the moment. Put your thoughts on video and share them with CNN iReport. The two then started to walk away. Protesters also burned an American flag at a mosque after Friday prayers. Later Tuesday, Jones had a response to the statement from Petraeus. You share in the USA TODAY community, so please keep your comments smart and civil. Although many Americans, including Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, expressed frustration that a small fringe group could command such attention, ignoring Jones was not an option.
Donald Trump is offering to buy out the major investor in the New York City mosque site near the World Trade Center site. Enlarge By Paul J. Richards, AFP/Getty Images Imam Muhammad Musri, right, from the Islamic Society of Central Florida, said Thursday at a news conference in Gainesville, Fla., that Pastor Terry Jones, left, will cancel the planned burning of the Quran. @FAITH_REASON ON TWITTER @FAITH_REASON ON TWITTER GAINESVILLE, Fla. A Florida pastor who has threatened to burn Qurans on the anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks issued new demands Friday. Paul, gave New York Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf two hours Friday afternoon to answer questions about whether he plans to relocate the mosque and cultural center planned near Ground Zero. Jones said at a hastily called press conference: "This challenge goes to the imam in New York. We would like to make an announcement to give a challenge to the imam in New York." We want to clear that confusion to find out if he has agreed to move the mosque from Ground Zero." VOICES: How do you feel about the NYC Islamic center? AFGHANS: 11 injured in anti-Quran-burning protests POLL: Do you link Quran burning, Ground Zero mosque? 9/11: Share your story, see photos, videos The men said they were giving the New York imam two hours, from about 1:20 p.m. to about 3:20 p.m, to call, and gave out two phone numbers. They did not address what they might do if he does not call or declines to move the planned mosque. Around 3:30 p.m. Friday, Jones and Paul told news media camped in a field about 100 yards from the church that they had not heard from the imam in New York. "The last two days I have been in much prayer with Pastor Terry Jones," Paul said. "I asked the pastor not to burn the Qurans, and I ask the imam not to build the mosque at Ground Zero. At reporters' urging, Paul came back to elaborate. "I have confirmed 100% that he will not burn the Quran tomorrow," Paul said. "I can't speak for the future." The Florida pastor said the men have prayed together for two days, and this is the path they feel they should follow. Jones, the leader of a tiny Florida church, has said he called off his event under pressure from the White House and wouldn't follow through with burning the Muslim holy book if he was able to meet with Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, who is leading an effort to build the Islamic center and mosque near Ground Zero. Rauf said in a statement Friday that he has no plans at this time to meet with Jones, although he is open to seeing anyone "seriously committed to pursuing peace." Also Friday, a group of Gainesville clergymen brought 8,000 signatures on petitions urging Jones not to burn the Quran. "We have 8,048 signatures from 97 countries around the world asking Terry Jones to continue to keep his decision not to burn the Quran," said Rev. "The FBI's been here four times," Luke Jones said. "They told us the threats are very severe and we need to take them very seriously." In Afghanistan, thousands protested the church's plan to burn the Muslim holy book. Thursday afternoon, Jones said he was swayed by a call from Defense Secretary Robert Gates and the promise of a face-to- face meeting with the Muslim leader behind a planned Islamic cultural center, including a mosque, near the World Trade Center site in New York. Use the "Report Abuse" button to make a difference. New York City, Aug. 24: Michael Enright, 21, an aspiring filmmaker who recently returned from a filming trip to Afghanistan , was indicted on assault and hate crimes charges after a Muslim cab driver, Ahmed Sharif, told police Enright stabbed him repeatedly after asking whether Sharif is Muslim. Fort Hood , Texas, Nov. 5, 2009: Army psychiatrist Maj. Nidal Hassan, whom investigators say had communicated with al-Qaeda-linked Yemeni-American Muslim cleric Anwar al-Awlaki , is charged with 13 counts of murder and 32 counts of attempted murder after a shooting rampage on the Texas Army post at Fort Hood. By Oren Dorell, USA TODAY Contributing: The Associated Press JOIN THE CONVERSATION JOIN THE CONVERSATION Track the latest news about President Obama's administration with The Oval READ THE LATEST POSTS READ THE LATEST POSTS Read all posts GAINESVILLE, Fla. The Constitution won't let you yell "fire" in a crowded theater if there isn't one.
More to come on this. Shares in BP, which rose this morning, have risen again, he writes. 12.03pm: The report has been published on BP's website. BP also takes blame away from itself over the "design" of the well. • The report also points the finger at Transocean, which operated the Deepwater Horizon oil rig. Halliburton said it had carried out its work to BP specifications. The leak was only allowed to occur when the blow-out preventer – the last line of defence against an out of control well – failed to activate after the explosion above the surface. So, it was the cement wot done it? That would be BP's peers who haven't had a giant oil spill disaster. It says the company "made a series of cost-saving decisions that increased risk" during the design and construction of the well. Damian Carrington has been reading the findings. I know of no one that has seen it here. It was US contractor Halliburton which cemented of the Macondo well. There were similar sentiments in the Gulf. That's where it probably caught fire and destroyed the rig 8 - Key point - the blowout preventer, the ultimate failsafe failed. • The Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board. Much more to follow. Later this afternoon the share price had fallen slightly but was still up 1.7%, at 413.7p. Has the White House had an advance look at this? It points to multiple failures by its contractors in maintenance, equipment and planning. "The team [investigating the explosion] did not identify any single action or inaction that caused this accident.
BP rolled out the results Wednesday of a four-month internal investigation into the causes of the April 20 blowout of its Macondo oil well in the Gulf of Mexico, spreading blame among its contractors and giving a glimpse of the defenses it might deploy in public and in court. The much-anticipated report asserted that a "complex and interlinked series" of failures - of equipment, engineering and judgment - led to the surge of oil and gas that exploded on the deck of the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig, killing 11 people, sinking the rig and triggering the worst oil spill in U.S. history. The report was written by a team of 50 internal and external experts led by the company's head of safety and operations, Mark Bly, and the rollout Wednesday morning at a hotel in downtown Washington was labeled a "technical briefing." But the document inevitably carries a heavy public relations element as well as legal and financial implications for BP. It arrives as the Justice Department is weighing whether to bring charges of criminal negligence against BP that could sharply increase the cost of the spill for the London-based oil giant and provide fodder for private lawsuits. The company is haggling with the Obama administration over what pieces of collateral to offer while it is financing the $20 billion escrow fund that will be used to pay claims. And BP's main partner in the well, Anadarko Petroleum, has declared that it won't pay its share of the cleanup costs and claims because it views BP's well design and actions as reckless. The BP report makes the case for "shared responsibility," saying that "no single factor" caused the blowout. The investigation found fault with the recipe Halliburton used in its cement, with the flaps on a Weatherford International barrier device known as a float collar, and with the condition of hydraulic lines and batteries that might have sapped power from the blowout preventer made by Cameron International and operated by Transocean, making it impossible to clamp and cut through steel piping. "Transocean was solely responsible for operation of the drilling rig and for operations safety," the report says in an appendix. "It was required to maintain well control equipment and use all reasonable means to control and prevent fire and blowouts." The report also said Transocean and BP rig leaders jointly "reached the incorrect view" on well tests in the crucial hours before the explosion. BP's design not faulted Yet the report absolves BP's widely criticized well design. It says the path that oil and gas followed as they escaped from the well meant that the well's casing and design - matters that could otherwise implicate BP - were not factors in the disaster. The report not only offers new details and analysis of what went wrong, it also represents a bold declaration that BP is not going to assume more than what it considers its share of the blame for the accident. The report did not say how far up the BP corporate ladder the well problems went, and no employee was named or punished. In a news release, BP chief executive Tony Hayward, who has barely spoken publicly since his disastrous congressional testimony in June, did not offer anything resembling a mea culpa. We are to blame – but so are Transocean and Halliburton, concludes oil firm's report on Deepwater Horizon rig explosion BP admitted today its managers on the Deepwater Horizon missed key warning signs in the hours before the explosion aboard the oil rig, but an internal investigation put much of the blame on other companies involved in the well. A 234-page report described eight main causes for the blast, which killed 11 men and created an environmental disaster. Mark Bly, the oil company's head of safety and the leader of the investigation, admitted that BP onsite managers could have prevented the catastrophe had they picked up warning signs of a breach of the cement seal at the bottom of the well, as well as unusual pressure test readings, only moments before the explosion. The oil company was accused of trying to reduce the chances of being charged with gross negligence, which would expose it to possible criminal proceedings and billions of dollars in damage. Transocean said: "This is a self-serving report that attempts to conceal the critical factor that set the stage for the Macondo incident: BP's fatally flawed well design." Ed Markey, the Massachusetts Democrat who has been investigating the spill in Congress, said the report was more about protecting BP's interests than getting to the cause of the disaster. "This report is more concerned with calming BP shareholders than taking responsibility for its actions." Alfred Sunseri, whose family-owned oyster company faces ruin after the spill, said: "When BP shows me a report of how exactly they will deal with those people most impacted by this tragedy – ie those in the fisheries-related businesses – I'll believe they are not just using their talents in public relations to dispel their liability." Bly acknowledged the report fails to address the key charges raised in Congress and elsewhere against the oil company: that it allowed a culture of recklessness to flourish, and that it was so anxious to finish work on a project that was 43 days over time and $20m (£13m) over budget that it omitted standard industry safeguards. The report does recognise there were gaping lapses in oversight on the Deepwater Horizon, going on to make 25 recommendations for tighter scrutiny by well owners – such as BP –of rig operations. But Bly rejected the idea that cost-cutting had dictated BP's decisions on the rig, saying: "What we see instead is, where there were errors made they were based on poor decision-making process or using wrong information." It says Halliburton's choice of foam cement for the area around the well casing failed to produce a strong enough seal. But Bly said the disaster may have been prevented had work crews – BP's as well as Transocean's – spotted the crucial warning signs in a series of anomalous pressure test readings in the run-up to the explosion. BP released its report into the oil spill which followed the Deepwater Horizon explosion in the Gulf of Mexico 11.50am: BP's report into the explosion on the Deepwater Horizon oil rig, and subsequent oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico is published at noon today.
Workers lost control of a machine in the operation, which hit another pipeline, IRNA reported, citing Gharibi Gharibi said it took three hours to put out the fire, which covered an area of 300 meters, or a little less than a third of a mile. Iran is the world's fourth-largest oil producer and also sits on the world's second largest natural gas reserves and the country's economy is heavily dependent on oil and gas revenues. TEHRAN (Reuters) - Up to 10 Iranian workers died on Saturday in hospital after being badly burnt in an explosion in a gas pipeline, the semi-official Fars news agency reported. The pipeline brought gas to Mashhad from the nearby Sarakhs refinery. Ali-Reza Gharibi, the managing director of Iran's Gas Engineering and Development Company, said provincial medical officials told him that relief workers and medical teams are working to determine the cause of the incident and the fatalities, according to the official Islamic Republic News Agency. It took firefighters three hours to bring the blaze under control. Iran's state television said 50 people also were injured. Source: Agencies He expects the damaged pipeline to be repaired within the next 48 hours, according to IRNA. The pipeline transporting gas from the Khangiran refinery in Sarakhs to the city of Mashhad in Iran's northeastern province of Khorasan-e Razavi exploded on Friday when it was accidentally struck by an excavating machine, state media reported. He said workers who suffered burns were rushed to medical facilities by helicopter, and several of the deaths occured in hospital. Gharibi told IRNA that contractors were connecting a 48-inch (121 centimeter) Turkmenistan gas transfer pipeline to the country's national gas network when the explosion occurred.
TEHRAN (Reuters) - Up to 10 Iranian workers died on Saturday in hospital after being badly burnt in an explosion in a gas pipeline, the semi-official Fars news agency reported. The pipeline transporting gas from the Khangiran refinery in Sarakhs to the city of Mashhad in Iran's northeastern province of Khorasan-e Razavi exploded on Friday when it was accidentally struck by an excavating machine, state media reported. "About nine to 10 people were killed in the Sarakhs pipeline blast," Alireza Gharibi, director of Iran Gas Engineering and Development Company, told the semi-official Fars news agency. Iran's state television said 50 people also were injured. The explosion set off a fire covering 2 sq km (.77 sq mile) but it was brought under control, the official IRNA news agency reported. Iranian Deputy Oil Minister Javad Oji told Fars that gas transfer through the damaged Sarakhs-Mashhad pipeline will be resumed within the next 24-to-36 hours. Iran is the world's fourth-largest oil producer and also sits on the world's second largest natural gas reserves and the country's economy is heavily dependent on oil and gas revenues. Accidental rupture leaves 10 workers dead and 20 injured, as firefighters bring blaze under control after three hours. The fire caused by the accident raged for three hours before firefighters brought the blaze under control A gas pipeline explosion has killed 10 people and injured more than 20 in the city of Mashhad, northeastern Iran. Gharibi told IRNA that contractors were connecting a 48-inch (121 centimeter) Turkmenistan gas transfer pipeline to the country's national gas network when the explosion occurred.
The doctor, who was wounded in the abdomen, was expected to survive. A spokesman for Johns Hopkins hospital in Baltimore earlier said the gunman had been caught, but Guglielmi says that's not the case. "When you hear gunshots you run." He shot the doctor, then retreated to his mother's room, Bealefeld told reporters. Baltimore police said they were setting up a tactical operation to deal with a gunman who is holed up on the eighth floor. There were conflicting reports about whether the shooting suspect was still at-large. He then holed up in the room in a standoff of more than two hours that led the authorities to lock down a small section of the building while allowing the rest of the sprawling medical complex to remain open. Mr. Pardus pulled a semiautomatic gun from his waistband and shot the doctor once, the commissioner said. CNN's Rachel Streitfeld contributed to this report. He was identified by colleagues as Dr. David B. Cohen, an orthopedic surgeon. The hospital said in a statement that the doctor is a faculty physician but it could not release more information because of privacy policies. The gunman, Paul W. Pardus, 50, had been listening to the surgeon around midday when he “became emotionally distraught and reacted ... and was overwhelmed by the news of his mother’s condition,” Commissioner Frederick H. Bealefeld III of the Baltimore police said. Authorities evacuated part of the hospital after the shooting, and Bealefeld said the facility's security plan "worked as designed" to protect patients, staff and visitors. "So to put a magnetometer at 80 doors, and the required armed force that would need to be staffing the magnetometers, is not realistic."
A man who became distraught as he was being briefed on his mother’s condition by a surgeon at Johns Hopkins Hospital here pulled a gun and shot the doctor on Thursday, then killed his mother and himself in her room at the medical center, the police said. The doctor, who was wounded in the abdomen, was expected to survive. The gunman, Paul W. Pardus, 50, had been listening to the surgeon around midday when he “became emotionally distraught and reacted ... and was overwhelmed by the news of his mother’s condition,” Commissioner Frederick H. Bealefeld III of the Baltimore police said. Mr. Pardus pulled a semiautomatic gun from his waistband and shot the doctor once, the commissioner said. He then holed up in the room in a standoff of more than two hours that led the authorities to lock down a small section of the building while allowing the rest of the sprawling medical complex to remain open. BALTIMORE (CBS/AP) Baltimore police say a lone gunman shot a doctor on the eighth floor of a Johns Hopkins Hospital building in Baltimore, was believed to have barricaded himself in a relative's hospital room. Parts of the Nelson Building, the main tower at Johns Hopkins, was put on lockdown around 11:15 a.m. Thursday, and other sections of the East Baltimore hospital campus were evacuated, after reports of shots being fired, according to The Baltimore Sun. A nurse who worked on the floor where the injured doctor was shot told the paper that the gunman was unhappy about the way his mother was being treated and had threatened to jump out of a window when the shooting occurred. Baltimore police said they were setting up a tactical operation to deal with a gunman who is holed up on the eighth floor. The doctor was rushed to surgery and is expected to survive, police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said. The hospital said in a statement that the doctor is a faculty physician but it could not release more information because of privacy policies. A spokesman for Johns Hopkins hospital in Baltimore earlier said the gunman had been caught, but Guglielmi says that's not the case. "He's in the best place in the world - at Johns Hopkins hospital." Baltimore, Maryland (CNN) -- A man distraught about his mother's health shot and wounded a doctor at Baltimore's prestigious Johns Hopkins Hospital on Thursday before killing his mother and taking his own life, police said. The gunman was getting an update on his mother's medical condition "when he became emotionally distraught" and pulled a pistol out of his waistband, Baltimore Police Commissioner Frederick Bealefeld said. He shot the doctor, then retreated to his mother's room, Bealefeld told reporters. Police moved in and closed off the floor after the shooting, which occurred shortly after 11 a.m. About 1:30 p.m., after nearly two and a half hours with no contact with the gunman, officers used a robot to peer into the room and when it was determined there was no movement, police entered to find the suspect and his mother dead, Bealefeld said. No officers reported hearing gunshots, but both mother and son had single gunshot wounds to their heads, he said. Hospital officials said they could not disclose any details about what illness afflicted the gunman's mother, citing federal privacy laws. Authorities evacuated part of the hospital after the shooting, and Bealefeld said the facility's security plan "worked as designed" to protect patients, staff and visitors. The hospital "asked employees, visitors, patients and caregivers to stay in rooms or offices until further notice" restricted access to the main hospital building after the shooting, it said in a statement.
at home. Users can then "check in" to the location, making themselves visible to their friends, to everyone on Facebook, or to no-one at all. Facebook Places, the location-sharing service launched in the US last month is now available in the UK Facebook Places, the location-sharing service launched in the US last month, is now available in the UK. It's a great way to meet new interesting people, but we also know some people wouldn't like to use the feature – they just want to share with friends or friends of friends – so we took care to turn it on for only some people. On the privacy settings in place, Sharon said: "We wanted to prepare a robust set of privacy controls. He added that the firm has made Places' API - the software that allows other programs to interface with it - available, so that Places will be able to integrate with existing location-aware services such as Foursquare. People using the tool can see if their friends are near them at any time based on whether they have chosen to check-into their current location. Eccles predicted a large financial reward for the company who managed to crack location-based social networking. They basically had access to the walls and could read that the families were away on vacation. The location information can then appear on a user's wall and newsfeed; however, the default setting is that only Facebook friends can see the check-in. A European launch is imminent, but such a move in Germany would add to growing concerns over technology and the infringement of privacy in the country.
The service, which allows users to check-in at restaurants, bars and shops, was launched in the US last month. Many UK users will be able to access the service today and it will roll-out to everyone in the UK over the next couple of days. Martin McNulty, general manager of Forward 3D, a search marketing specialist, said: “Facebook Places is likely to experience a slow rate of adoption among UK audiences on its launch as people try to uncover its practical value. However, as early technology adopters begin experimenting with the technology and showing others how it can be used, its growth rate is sure to rapidly increase. "Although many of the older generation are likely to be sceptical at first about the safety aspects of announcing your location to the digital world, younger and more experimental users, will be keen to get to grips with this new tool and are less likely to let fear stand in their way.” Stuart Eccles, managing partner of Made by Many, a digital consultancy, agreed saying: “Initially Facebook Places is likely to only gain a small proportion of users but then a small proportion of Facebook users is still a lot of people. However, when it starts working with large chains and local businesses to run promotions for regular customers, we’ll start to see it enter the mainstream. “Facebook’s move into the location arena was its next logical step as the big technology companies start competing to uncover the next level of profitable metadata on consumers. Similar to the website land grab of the late 90s, gathering data on people’s interests, locations and lifestyle is the next battleground for the business world,” he explained. Michael Sharon, the product manager of Facebook places, said: “Our products are modelled on how people are already using the site… We realised people were already posting where they were and who they were with every day.” Talking at a UK press conference this morning, he said that the company had three distinct goals for Places. One, that it the tool makes it easy for people to share their location and who they are with. Two, people can use Places to find friends who are located nearby and three, the tool helps people discover new places around them. A user then needs to select ‘Places’, tap the ‘Check-In’ button, and then a list of nearby places will come up on the screen. He said: “Places is the latest development in Facebook’s ongoing quest to socialise all objects - both digital and real – and to dominate the new social search market and contextual advertising arena. There will be a big monetary reward for the company who gets location based promotions and advertising right and the rise of internet-enabled mobiles also mean that social becomes an 'on the move experience’, freeing consumers from their computer.” Facebook has 500 million members worldwide and since the launch of Places in the US, it has also added the service for users in Japan. The service will be rolled out to the rest of Europe "as soon as possible" according to Sharon. It allows people to "check in" wherever they are and see who among their friends and other Facebook users is - or has been - at the same location. Analysis In my mind there is still one big unanswered question to be settled - just how many people are eager and willing to tell the world where they are? What I don't buy is the idea that millions will look at Facebook, spot that Joe is in a cafe just yards away and Tracy is in a pub across the road and then arrange to meet up. Perhaps I am too old to get this, but it strikes me that Places is aimed at quite a small section of the social network's users. "We started seeing that in status updates people were saying things like 'going to the gym' or 'hanging out with Joe and Sue'," Mr Sharon said at the UK launch. The service allows people to access "Place pages" wherever they are, indicating local points of interest and listing people who are "Here Now" and friends who have visited the place. Image caption Places allows users to "tag" friends with them, prompting privacy concerns Mr Sharon stressed that there were also a number of security features in place for minors; for example, only a minor user's friends will be able to see check-ins. Josh Feldberg, a digital consultant attending the UK launch, told BBC News that the sheer size of Facebook's user base would make it more successful than other location-aware services such as Gowalla and Foursquare. "It makes my location check-ins more useful; Foursquare's a bit of fun but only a couple of times has it led to actual offline meetups; with Facebook, the people on there are more my close friends and family." Some UK users of the Facebook iPhone application found they could check-in using the then-unreleased Places earlier this month, but the Cupertino-based company denied it had been testing services this side of the Atlantic. Data protection authorities in Hamburg are locked in talks with Google over its Street View mapping service, the California-based company looking to upload images of 20 cities in the country by the end of this year. Although the service is operated on an opt-out basis unlike most of the features on Facebook Places, Google has said it will not publish images of properties where a member of the public has made such a request as it looks to placate a particularly hostile reaction in the country.
The rhyme, then, said Williams, "could have been written to discredit Milton, who had set himself up as a self-righteous puritan. I am pretty certain it is not." Dr Batt found the poem while sorting through the Harding Collection - the world's largest collection of popular poetic anthologies and songbooks, owned by Oxford's Bodleian Library. / So fares it with a tender Maid / When first upon her Back she's laid / But like dry Wood th' experienced Dame / Cracks and rejoices in the Flame." Paradise Lost it most definitely is not. AN EXTEMPORE UPON A FAGGOT Have you not in a Chimney seen A Faggot which is moist and green How coyly it receives the Heat And at both ends do's weep and sweat? John Milton (1608-1674) "The poem is so out of tune with the rest of his work, that if the attribution is correct, it would prompt a major revision of our ideas about Milton. Image caption Milton was known for his political and religious poems A bawdy poem attributed to Paradise Lost author John Milton has been discovered by academics at Oxford University. It is likely that Milton's name was used as an attribution to bring scandal upon the poet, perhaps by a jealous contemporary." But she added: "I don't know that we will ever know who really wrote it – it was a long time ago." By 1708, when this volume was published, his poetic reputation was gradually on the rise, with Paradise Lost starting to become represented as the great English, Christian epic, a worthy rival to its pagan models, Virgil and Homer.
Image caption Milton was known for his political and religious poems A bawdy poem attributed to Paradise Lost author John Milton has been discovered by academics at Oxford University. The innuendo-filled poem, entitled An Extempore Upon A Faggot, was found in a collection of poetic anthologies. However experts are unsure of its authenticity as the hand-written ditty is in a style unlike Milton's own. It is thought the poem may have been attributed to Milton by a jealous rival to bring scandal upon him. Dr Jennifer Batt, who discovered the poem, said: "To see the name of John Milton, the great religious and political polemicist, attached to such a bawdy epigram, is extremely surprising to say the least." So fares it with a tender Maid When first upon her Back she's laid But like dry Wood th' experienced Dame Cracks and rejoices in the Flame "The poem is so out of tune with the rest of his work, that if the attribution is correct, it would prompt a major revision of our ideas about Milton. "It is likely that Milton's name was used as an attribution to bring scandal upon the poet, perhaps by a jealous contemporary," she added. Dr Batt found the poem while sorting through the Harding Collection - the world's largest collection of popular poetic anthologies and songbooks, owned by Oxford's Bodleian Library. The work, a coarse innuendo-laden ditty titled "An Extempore Upon A Faggot", was found in the university's Harding Collection, the world's largest collection of popular poetic anthologies and songbooks. The handwritten poem appears to have been signed by Milton but is written in a style utterly unlike his own, and does not tally with his status as an epic poet, polemicist and scholarly man of letters. His poems tended to centre on religious allusions, the political nature of the times – he served as a civil servant under Oliver Cromwell's government – and the biblical downfall of man, most notably in his epic poem Paradise Lost. But the new work, which was discovered by Dr Jennifer Batt, a lecturer in English literature at the university, employs a childishly simple and earthy rhythm of rhyming couplets. "To see the name of John Milton, the great religious and political polemicist, attached to such a bawdy epigram, is extremely surprising to say the least," Dr Batt said. "The poem is so out of tune with the rest of his work, that if the attribution is correct, it would prompt a major revision of our ideas about Milton. It is likely that Milton's name was used as an attribution to bring scandal upon the poet, perhaps by a jealous contemporary." Dr Abigail Williams, who is leading a group compiling the Digital Miscellanies Index, intended to allow online access to the world's largest collection of popular poetic anthologies, argued that the "style" of the poem suggested that Milton might be the author. It had been read before, but nobody had noticed that Milton's name had been scrawled at the bottom. The Harding Collection is named after Walter Harding, an impoverished British rag-time musician who amassed a huge collection of printed poems and song books from the 18th and 19th centuries while he was living in Chicago, as they reminded him of his English upbringing. After he died, the books were found crammed inside his apartment. If the poem is declared to be a work of Milton's, he would join a long list of literary figures whose work has been discovered posthumously. Last year an unfinished murder mystery by Graham Greene was serialised by the Los Angeles Times, although critics panned it as a "far cry" from his later works. A new version of Mary Shelley's horror story Frankenstein was also published last year, 158 years after her death. The coarse, and frankly misogynistic verse likens a young woman to a faggot, a bunch of damp sticks, which, when cast upon the fire, produces moisture "at both ends", like (according to the poem) a weeping virgin when sexually aroused. According to Dr Abigail Williams, who is leading a project at Oxford to digitise the major collection of 18th-century poetic "miscellanies" in which Batt found the "Milton" rhyme, "You could become very rich and famous – well, famous, anyway – if you could prove the rhyme was really by Milton. At the time of the rhyme's publication, she said, "Milton was much more famous for his politics and having sanctioned regicide than he was as a poet". Milton died in 1674, having been a passionate advocate of the parliamentarian cause during the English civil war and serving in Oliver Cromwell's government as secretary of foreign tongues – producing correspondence in Latin to nations overseas but also writing pro-republican propaganda, including Eikonoklastes, a defence of Charles I's execution. Works such as Paradise Lost, which he dictated, blind, between 1658 and 1664, and which famously tells "Of Man's First disobedience, and the Fruit / Of that Forbidden Tree, whose mortal taste / Brought Death into the World", were slow to achieve prominence. Immediately after the crude "Milton" rhyme comes an intensely serious work translated from Virgil's poem, The Georgics.
But police said no explosives were found on the man. After being questioned, he was set free. Plane bound for Karachi from Canada was diverted to Stockholm after tip that passenger planned bomb attack Swedish police evacuated a Pakistan International Airlines plane that was diverted to Stockholm because of a bomb alert today, and detained a passenger on suspicion of preparing to sabotage the aircraft, officials said. The Canadian authority alerted the pilot and he landed in Arlanda airport. "That will probably be tomorrow. We are going to question him now." The Boeing 777 with 273 people on board was diverted to Sweden while en route from Toronto to Karachi. He didn't resist when the Swat team took him into custody. A prosecutor was to decide whether to formally arrest him. Police detained the suspect, described as a Canadian citizen of Pakistani origin, as he was evacuated from the aircraft on Saturday along with other passengers in the Swedish capital. "She called through a payphone, so the Canadian authority don't really know who the woman is. Police detain one person after tip that Pakistan-bound aircraft travelling from Canada could have explosives aboard. Source: Agencies Stockholm district police spokesman Ulf Lindgren said the man would get help with the practical details of how to reach his planned destination. Police officials said the man was not on any international no-fly lists and had cleared a security check in Canada. He said a bomb squad was searching the aircraft, which was parked on a ramp at the end of a runway. Both the airline and airport officials have said the plane would resume its journey as soon as possible.
Police detain one person after tip that Pakistan-bound aircraft travelling from Canada could have explosives aboard. The plane landed at Arlanda airport and was parked isolated from other aircraft and buildings [AFP] Swedish police have detained one person on suspicion of preparing aircraft sabotage after a Pakistan International Airlines plane was diverted to Stockholm due to a bomb alert. Police detained the suspect, described as a Canadian citizen of Pakistani origin, as he was evacuated from the aircraft on Saturday along with other passengers in the Swedish capital. The Pakistan-bound plane was travelling from Toronto, Canada, with 273 passengers when its pilot made an emergency landing in Sweden following a tip that a passenger was carrying explosives. But police said no explosives were found on the man. "We're searching the plane with bomb technicians to see if there is something we can find but so far we haven't found anything, neither on the plane nor on the man," Stefan Radman, the police chief of operations, said. Alert from Canada Janne Hedlund, an official with the Stockholm police, said the plane was diverted after a woman called Canadian police, saying a man on board had explosives with him. "The aircraft started in Toronto at 05:15 local time and when the aircraft was in Swedish territory, a woman called the Canadian police and said that this man could probably have a bomb on board the aircraft," he said. "She called through a payphone, so the Canadian authority don't really know who the woman is. "The aircraft is evacuated and the suspect is under control by the police authorities in Arlanda. Police officials said the man was not on any international no-fly lists and had cleared a security check in Canada. Both the airline and airport officials have said the plane would resume its journey as soon as possible. By Patrick Lannin and Johannes Hellstrom STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - A Pakistan International Airlines plane was diverted to Sweden on Saturday after a bomb threat, but no explosives were found on board or in possession of a Canadian man detained by police and later set free. A Canadian man of Pakistani origin, in his '30s but whose identity was not made public, was detained after the plane landed as the passengers were evacuated. "The suspicions against the man were not sufficiently strong for an arrest order and he is therefore free to leave Sweden," the prosecutor's office said in a statement. Plane bound for Karachi from Canada was diverted to Stockholm after tip that passenger planned bomb attack Swedish police evacuated a Pakistan International Airlines plane that was diverted to Stockholm because of a bomb alert today, and detained a passenger on suspicion of preparing to sabotage the aircraft, officials said. The Boeing 777 was travelling from Toronto to Karachi when the pilot asked to land at Stockholm's Arlanda airport, after Canadian authorities received a tip that a passenger was carrying explosives. Stephan Radman, who led the police operation, said no explosives were found on the man, who was being questioned by investigators at a police station. The tip was "called in by a woman in Canada", Radman said, adding that Swedish police took the threat seriously.
So, it's a win for AirTran customers. It became clear that "we could do more with Southwest resources" than AirTran could do on its own. Their combined share of scheduled seats this month: Route Share Baltimore Boston 80% Baltimore Fort Lauderdale 100% Baltimore Indianapolis 100% Baltimore Jacksonville 100% Baltimore Orlando 100% Baltimore Milwaukee 100% Baltimore New Orleans 100% Baltimore Tampa 100% Baltimore Fort Myers, Fla. 100% Chicago Midway Fort Myers, Fla. 100% Indianapolis Tampa 100% Las Vegas Milwaukee 79% Orlando Buffalo 72% Orlando Columbus, Ohio 100% Orlando Indianapolis 100% Orlando Chicago Midway 100% Orlando Milwaukee 73% Orlando Philadelphia 44% Orlando Pittsburgh 100% Source: USA TODAY analysis of September airline schedule; data provided by OAG--Official Airline Guide Guidelines: You share in the USA TODAY community, so please keep your comments smart and civil. Both airlines have hubs in Atlanta, Georgia. Hobica isn't as optimistic about the deal. (CNN) -- Fares and fees. With the recently approved United-Continental merger and the combination of Delta and Northwest, the number of legacy air carriers has dropped to four. The $3.4 billion Southwest-AirTran deal would give Southwest access to the Caribbean and more of the eastern US. After that, Kelly said, it should take no more than 24 months for the two carriers' operations to be fully merged. Consumers may find lower prices in Southwest's new markets. That figure represents a 15 percent increase from the same quarter last year. "If you want to fly on a low-cost carrier, your options in terms of places you can reach on that carrier will have increased even though the number of low-cost carriers will have decreased by one," Kasper says.
They're what air travelers watch, and Southwest Airlines' plan to acquire fellow low-fare airline AirTran has consumers and industry watchers buzzing about how the planned merger will affect the price of travel. AirTran will be absorbed by Southwest and adopt Southwest's policies, according to details of the $1.4 billion deal announced Monday. "We have open seating, we have no plans to change that. We don't charge for bags, we have no plans to change that. We have single-class service, we have no plans to change that," said Gary Kelly, Southwest's chairman of the board, president and CEO. "It's good news for AirTran passengers ... in general because Southwest has better service than AirTran and lower fees," said George Hobica, founder of Airfarewatchdog.com. Consumer advocate and HLN money expert Clark Howard sees the acquisition as a positive development for air travelers nationwide. "It's so good for the flying public. This is an opportunity for a discounter to have the kind of heft and national reach of the full-fare airlines," Howard said. While it's unlikely the acquisition will lead to higher fares nationwide, he expects other airlines, such as American Airlines and USAirways, to join in the wave of airline mergers that started several years ago. More consolidation is likely to mean modestly higher fares, he said. They're doing that now, they'll drive, they'll take the bus, they'll take Amtrak or they'll stay home," he said. With the recently approved United-Continental merger and the combination of Delta and Northwest, the number of legacy air carriers has dropped to four. In markets where Southwest and AirTran compete head to head, such as Baltimore, Orlando and Milwaukee, prices are likely to go up if they combine. Consumers may find lower prices in Southwest's new markets. "New markets always mean cheaper prices, for a while, until everybody fights it out," said FareCompare CEO Rick Seaney. "And a competitor leaving a market typically means higher prices." Delta Air Lines, a key AirTran competitor, is likely to see the biggest impact in the near term, Hobica said. "Delta has to decide now whether they're going to eliminate fees on competing routes from and through Atlanta," Hobica said. Delta led American carriers in fees for the second quarter of 2010, collecting $681.6 million, a 67 percent increase over the same quarter in 2009. Overall during the second quarter, airlines collected $2.1 billion in ancillary fees, which include charges for checked bags, ticket changes, pet transportation and other fees, according to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics. That figure represents a 15 percent increase from the same quarter last year. While the proposed deal's effects remain to be seen, some air fare analysts are pleased with the news. "I think America is going to very happy that now they can fly coast-to-coast between 100 U.S. cities and make the legacy airlines be more competitive with the style of Southwest and their low fees," said BestFares.com CEO Tom Parsons. TOP 5 CARRIERS TOP 5 CARRIERS The number of seats on scheduled domestic flights this month is down 9.5% compared to Sept. 2007. The top five carriers based on share of domestic seats Sept. 2007 vs. 2010: Sept. 2007 Sept. 2010 Southwest 17% Delta 22% American 14% Southwest/Airtran 22% Delta 14% United/Continental 18% US Airways 12% American 13% United 11% US Airways 12% Source: USA TODAY analysis of airline schedule data from OAG - Official Airline Guide FEWER FLIGHTS FEWER FLIGHTS Some U.S. airports haven't regained all the service they lost in 2008 when airlines reduced domestic flying due to high oil prices. Large U.S. airports that have seen big reductions in scheduled seats on domestic flights: Sept. 2010 vs. Sept. 2007: Airport Percentage change Cincinnati -50% Oakland -39% Ontario, Calif. -39% San Jose -29% Kansas City -24% Sacramento -22% St. Louis -21% Cleveland -20% Las Vegas -19% Tampa -19% San Diego -18% Raleigh/Durham -17% Santa Ana (John Wayne) -17% Chicago Midway -17% Pittsburgh -16% Albuquerque -15% Orlando -15% New York Kennedy -14% Phoenix -13% Newark -13% Portland, Ore. -11% Indianapolis -11% Memphis -11% Chicago O'Hare -11% Houston (Bush) -10% Nashville -10% Source: USA TODAY analysis of airline schedule data from OAG -- Official Airline Guide Southwest Airlines said Monday that it will buy smaller rival AirTran for $1.4 billion, creating the most expansive network of any low-cost carrier in the U.S. and giving the feisty airline a chance to grab business travelers in the nation's busiest markets. If the merger is approved by regulators, Southwest, which already carries more domestic fliers than any other U.S. airline, will for the first time go head to head with Delta on its home turf at Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson International, the busiest passenger airport in the world. WHERE THEY FLY: Airports served by Southwest, AirTran COMPETITION:Merger would be bad news for rivals READ: The airlines' press release AIRFARES: How will they be affected? Southwest is about five times larger than AirTran — with $11 billion in 2009 revenue to AirTran's $2.3 billion and 3,200 daily departures to AirTran's 686. Southwest and AirTran said the combined airline would fly more than 100 million passengers a year out of more than 100 airports in the U.S., Caribbean and Mexico. "Southwest is making a conscious effort to be the first truly national low-cost carrier, to have a domestic route network that is as comprehensive as the legacy network carriers," says Daniel Kasper, head of the transportation practice for economic and financial consulting firm LECG. A merger will open up more choices to budget-conscious leisure travelers as well as business fliers, experts say, and could take the so-called Southwest effect that compels other carriers to match the carrier's low fares to every corner of the country.
. No further information," it says. No similar Iraqi or Iranian reports have been made available. As of 15 March the vehicle was in a village west of Baghdad, according to an intelligence report. But American military officials said after the attack that Mr. Dulaimi was the tactical commander of the operation and that his fingerprints were found on the getaway car. "The vehicles came from Syria or Iran. And that is an Iraq that will never again threaten Iran.” Politics and Militias According to the reports, Iran’s role has been political as well as military. They said attacks using the powerful new type of roadside bomb against US forces had doubled during 2006. Each shipment had six crates with six rockets in each one. The war logs make few references to the devices. Read the Document » A Shiite militant from the Jaish al-Mahdi militia, also known as the Mahdi Army, was planning to carry out a mortar attack on the Green Zone in Baghdad, using rockets and mortar shells shipped by the Quds Force, according to a report on Dec. 1, 2006. On 20 January the logs include a graphic report of a raid as it is under way, complete with multiple acronyms, slang and exact timing: "3/B/1-2 reports they have bingo and are entering target building 1 to search 1337: 3/B/1-2 is entering a second target building 1405: 3/B/1-2 reports they have lost bingo 1440: 3/B/1-2 reports they have touchdown on rabbit 1455: 3/B/1-2 reports they have keys to the TGT's [target's] vehicle and 1 x UE [unidentified enemy] who is possible jackpot 1530: 3/B/1-2 is complete on site and is RTB ATT [returning to base after the targeting] with 1 x LN [local national's] vehicle and 1 x detainee."
On Dec. 22, 2006, American military officials in Baghdad issued a secret warning: The Shiite militia commander who had orchestrated the kidnapping of officials from Iraq’s Ministry of Higher Education was now hatching plans to take American soldiers hostage. What made the warning especially worrying were intelligence reports saying that the Iraqi militant, Azhar al-Dulaimi, had been trained by the Middle East’s masters of the dark arts of paramilitary operations: the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps in Iran and Hezbollah, its Lebanese ally. “Dulaymi reportedly obtained his training from Hizballah operatives near Qum, Iran, who were under the supervision of Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Quds Force (IRGC-QF) officers in July 2006,” the report noted, using alternative spellings of the principals involved. Read the Document » Five months later, Mr. Dulaimi was tracked down and killed in an American raid in the sprawling Shiite enclave of Sadr City in Baghdad — but not before four American soldiers had been abducted from an Iraqi headquarters in Karbala and executed in an operation that American military officials say literally bore Mr. Dulaimi’s fingerprints. Scores of documents made public by WikiLeaks, which has disclosed classified information about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, provide a ground-level look — at least as seen by American units in the field and the United States’ military intelligence — at the shadow war between the United States and Iraqi militias backed by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards. During the administration of President George W. Bush, critics charged that the White House had exaggerated Iran’s role to deflect criticism of its handling of the war and build support for a tough policy toward Iran, including the possibility of military action. But the field reports disclosed by WikiLeaks, which were never intended to be made public, underscore the seriousness with which Iran’s role has been seen by the American military. The political struggle between the United States and Iran to influence events in Iraq still continues as Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki has sought to assemble a coalition — that would include the anti-American cleric Moktada al-Sadr — that will allow him to remain in power. But much of the American’s military concern has revolved around Iran’s role in arming and assisting Shiite militias. Citing the testimony of detainees, a captured militant’s diary and numerous uncovered weapons caches, among other intelligence, the field reports recount Iran’s role in providing Iraqi militia fighters with rockets, magnetic bombs that can be attached to the underside of cars, “explosively formed penetrators,” or E.F.P.’s, which are the most lethal type of roadside bomb in Iraq, and other weapons. Those include powerful .50-caliber rifles and the Misagh-1, an Iranian replica of a portable Chinese surface-to-air missile, which, according to the reports, was fired at American helicopters and downed one in east Baghdad in July 2007. Iraqi militants went to Iran to be trained as snipers and in the use of explosives, the field reports assert, and Iran’s Quds Force collaborated with Iraqi extremists to encourage the assassination of Iraqi officials. The reports make it clear that the lethal contest between Iranian-backed militias and American forces continued after President Obama sought to open a diplomatic dialogue with Iran’s leaders and reaffirmed the agreement between the United States and Iraq to withdraw American troops from Iraq by the end of 2011. A Revolutionary Force Established by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini after the 1979 Iranian revolution, the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps has expanded its influence at home under President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, a former member of the corps, and it plays an important role in Iran’s economy, politics and internal security. While the American government has long believed that the Quds Force has been providing lethal assistance and training to Shiite militants in Iraq, the field reports provide new details about Iran’s support for Iraqi militias and the American military’s operations to counter them. Nor do the American reports include the more comprehensive assessments that are typically prepared by American intelligence agencies after incidents in the field. As seen by current and former American officials, the Quds Force has two main objectives: to weaken and shape Iraq’s nascent government and to diminish the United States’ role and influence in Iraq. For people like General Soleimani, “who went through all eight years of the Iran-Iraq war, this is certainly about poking a stick at us, but it is also about achieving strategic advantage in Iraq,” Ryan C. Crocker, the American ambassador in Iraq from 2007 until early 2009, said in an interview. “I think the Iranians understand that they are not going to dominate Iraq,” Mr. Crocker added, “ but I think they are going to do their level best to weaken it — to have a weak central government that is constantly off balance, that is going to have to be beseeching Iran to stop doing bad things without having the capability to compel them to stop doing bad things. A Nov. 27, 2005, report, issued before Iraq’s December 2005 parliamentary elections, cautioned that Iranian-backed militia members in the Iraqi government were gaining power and giving Iran influence over Iraqi politics. The reports also recount an array of border incidents, including a Sept. 7, 2006, episode in which an Iranian soldier who aimed a rocket-propelled grenade launcher at an American platoon trying to leave the border area was shot and killed by an American soldier with a .50-caliber machine gun. The members of the American platoon, who had gone to the border area with Iraqi troops to look for “infiltration routes” used to smuggle bombs and other weapons into Iraq, were concerned that Iranian border forces were trying to surround and detain them. After this incident, the platoon returned to its base in Iraq under fire from the Iranians even when the American soldiers were “well inside Iraqi territory,” a report noted. “The desired effect of these attacks is not to simply kill the Ministry of Industry Officials,” the report noted, but also “to show the world, and especially the Arab world, that the Baghdad Security Plan has failed to bring stability,” referring to the troop increase that Gen. David H. Petraeus was overseeing to reduce violence in Iraq. Read the Document » News reports in early 2007 indicated that a consultant to the ministry and his daughter were shot and killed on the way to his office. The March report does not mention the attack, but it asserts that one gunman was carrying out a systematic assassination campaign, which included killing three bodyguards and plotting to attack ministry officials while wearing a stolen Iraqi Army uniform. A Nov. 22, 2005, report recounted an effort by the Iraqi border police to stop the smuggling of weapons from Iran, which “recovered a quantity of bomb-making equipment, including explosively formed projectiles,” which are capable of blasting a metal projectile through the door of an armored Humvee. Read the Document » A Shiite militant from the Jaish al-Mahdi militia, also known as the Mahdi Army, was planning to carry out a mortar attack on the Green Zone in Baghdad, using rockets and mortar shells shipped by the Quds Force, according to a report on Dec. 1, 2006. On Nov. 28, the report noted, the Mahdi Army commander, Ali al-Sa’idi, “met Iranian officials reported to be IRGC officers at the border to pick up three shipments of rockets.” A Dec. 27, 2008, report noted one instance when American soldiers from the 82nd Airborne Division captured several suspected members of the Jaish al-Mahdi militia and seized a weapons cache, which also included several diaries, including one that explained “why detainee joined JAM and how they traffic materials from Iran.” Read the Document » The attacks continued during Mr. Obama’s first year in office, with no indication in the reports that the new administration’s policies led the Quds Force to end its support for Iraqi militants. attack that wounded 10 American soldiers noted that the militants used tactics “being employed by trained violent extremist members that have returned from Iran.” The purpose of the attack, the report speculated, was to increase American casualties so militants could claim that they had “fought the occupiers and forced them to withdraw.” An intelligence analysis of a Dec. 31, 2009, attack on the Green Zone using 107-millimeter rockets concluded that it was carried out by the Baghdad branch of Kataib Hezbollah, a militant Shiite group that American intelligence has long believed is supported by Iran. According to the December report, a technical expert from Kataib Hezbollah met before the attack with a “weapons facilitator” who “reportedly traveled to Iran, possibility to facilitate the attacks on 31 Dec.” Read the Document » That same month, American Special Operations forces and a specially trained Iraqi police unit mounted a raid that snared an Iraqi militant near Basra who had been trained in Iran. A Dec. 19, 2009, report stated that the detainee was involved in smuggling “sticky bombs”— explosives that are attached magnetically to the underside of vehicles — into Iraq and was “suspected of collecting information on CF [coalition forces] and passing them to Iranian intelligence agents.” Read the Document » A Bold Operation One of the most striking episodes detailed in the trove of documents made public by WikiLeaks describes a plot to kidnap American soldiers from their Humvees. But American military officials said after the attack that Mr. Dulaimi was the tactical commander of the operation and that his fingerprints were found on the getaway car.
Regardless, there was no threat to the United States, he said. "It's clearly an airplane contrail," Pike said Tuesday afternoon. The North American Aerospace Defense Command and the U.S. Northern Command did not report any foreign missile launches off the California coast, Lapan added. ... "The FAA ran radar replays of a large area west of Los Angeles based on media reports of the possible missile launch at approximately 5 p.m. (PT) on Monday. "Why the government is so badly organized that they can't get somebody out there to explain it and make this story go away. The tip of the contrail is moving far too slowly to be a rocket. A CBS News helicopter captured what looked like the vapour trail of a missile rising from the water about 35 miles (56 km) offshore. We're doing everything we can to try to figure out if anybody has any knowledge of what this event may have been." The Pentagon does not consider the incident a threat. One expert says he has an answer for a video that appears to show anoff the Southern California coast - there was no missile.John Pike of the security analyst group globalsecurity.org said the video shot by a news helicopter owned by KCBS is an optical illusion.Pike said the video is of an airplane heading toward the camera and the contrail is illuminated by the setting sun. He told CNN on Wednesday the object leaving the trail was travelling at a constant velocity and deviating in its direction, while rockets accelerate as they leave the ground and move in a straight line. Some physicists said the trail was left by an aeroplane, and that on a clear day the vapour created an illusion making it appear to rise vertically.
Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption The vapour trail was seen not far off the coast of Los Angeles Pentagon officials say they cannot explain reports of a missile launch off the coast of California on Monday. A CBS News helicopter captured what looked like the vapour trail of a missile rising from the water about 35 miles (56 km) offshore. Some physicists said the trail was left by an aeroplane, and that on a clear day the vapour created an illusion making it appear to rise vertically. "Right now all indications are that it was not [defence department] involvement in this launch" Pentagon spokesman Col David Lapan said. Under normal circumstances, the launch of a US missile would require several different authorisations and notifications, but none are evident. It is unclear if the suspected missile was launched from land or sea. Physicist Michio Kaku of the City University of New York said a frame-by-frame analysis of the video revealed the trail was created by an aeroplane. He told CNN on Wednesday the object leaving the trail was travelling at a constant velocity and deviating in its direction, while rockets accelerate as they leave the ground and move in a straight line. One expert says he has an answer for a video that appears to show anoff the Southern California coast - there was no missile.John Pike of the security analyst group globalsecurity.org said the video shot by a news helicopter owned by KCBS is an optical illusion.Pike said the video is of an airplane heading toward the camera and the contrail is illuminated by the setting sun. He said the object can't be a rocket because it appeared to alter its course.Pentagon officials were stumped by the event, saying no one within the Department of Defense has been able to explain the contrail or where it came from.The FAA told CBS News that they ran radar replays of a large area west of Los Angeles based on media reports of the location of a possible missile launch, but they did not reveal any fast moving unidentified targets in that area. Launches are conducted from vessels and platforms on an ocean range west of Point Mugu.The North American Aerospace Defense Command, or NORAD, issued a statement jointly with the U.S. Northern Command, or NORTHCOM, saying that the contrail was not the result of a foreign military launching a missile. Los Angeles, California (CNN) -- The Pentagon is unable to explain images of what witnesses took to be a high-altitude rocket launched off the coast of Southern California at sunset Monday, officials said. "It's clearly an airplane contrail," Pike said Tuesday afternoon. "I mean, it's insane that with all the money we are spending, all these technically competent people, that they can't get somebody out there to explain what is incredibly obvious." An "illusion" effect made the contrail appear as if it's rising straight up, but it's actually level, the official said. The event is similar to another sighting around New Year's Eve in which observers believed they witnessed a missile, he said. Tuesday morning, the Pentagon and the North American Aerospace Defense Command were investigating video shot by a news helicopter operated by CNN affiliate KCBS/KCAL showing an ascending orange-colored contrail high into the atmosphere, officials said. "The FAA ran radar replays of a large area west of Los Angeles based on media reports of the possible missile launch at approximately 5 p.m. (PT) on Monday.
No increase. "I am personally delighted for her, for her family," Genser said. Ms Suu Kyi was placed under house arrest the following year. Political pedigree Aung San Suu Kyi is the daughter of Myanmar's independence hero, General Aung San. About 2,000 of her supporters gathered at NLD headquarters in anticipation of her release. The win came five years to the day since she was released from 15 years of house arrest. A quarter of seats in the two new chambers of parliament will be reserved for the military. "She is the symbol of the hope for the people of Burma. The NLD - which won the last election in 1990 but was never allowed to take power - was ordered to dissolve after refusing to take part. But by early evening a party leader told people to go home because it seemed unlikely she would be freed on Friday. The government has refused to allow CNN and other international news organizations into the country to cover the election and its aftermath. The regime passed a law that made her ineligible for Sunday's elections because of that conviction. The Burma Campaign UK, which promotes human rights in Myanmar, accused the ruling junta of rigging the November 7 election. Some wore T-shirts saying: "We stand with you." Her son Kim Aris was allowed to visit her for the first time in a decade. Image copyright AP Image caption Ms Suu Kyi (centre) was a toddler when her father was assassinated In 1960 she went to India with her mother Daw Khin Kyi, who had been appointed Myanmar's ambassador in Delhi.
Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Aung San Suu Kyi has been detained for 15 of the past 21 years Reports from Burma say military authorities have signed an order authorising the release of pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi. But hopes she would be freed on Friday were dashed: there has been no official confirmation of a release order. A leader of her NLD party told 2,000 supporters gathered at its headquarters to go home and return on Saturday. Ms Suu Kyi has been detained for 15 of the past 21 years, and her house arrest term expires on Saturday. There has been increased police activity outside her house in Rangoon, Burma's largest city, but no formal statement from military officials. The 65-year-old was originally due to be released last year, but a case involving an American who swam across Inya Lake to her home, claiming he was on a mission to save her, prompted the latest 18-month detention. 'Significant impact' The BBC is banned from reporting in Burma but correspondent Alastair Leithead is monitoring developments from the capital of neighbouring Thailand, Bangkok. At the scene All day rumours have circulated that Aung Sang Suu Kyi could soon be free, and all day the crowds outside the offices of the NLD have grown. The building is constantly watched by government intelligence agents, yet still they came, defiantly wearing white T-shirts emblazoned with the face of their icon. News spread that the papers for Aung Sang Suu Kyi's release had been signed, though no one could actually confirm that, the anticipation grew. The crowd moved off along the road towards the lakeside house that has been the pro-democracy leader's prison for so long. Then the word came that the release would not after all be today, but perhaps tomorrow, and still no official statement from the military government. He says a number of sources inside Burma have told the BBC that documents authorising Ms Suu Kyi's release have been signed. Some wore T-shirts saying: "We stand with you." "Young and old, NLD members and non-members are gathering here with excitement to welcome her. At one point, we got the news that she was released and we all shouted with joy," Yazar, an NLD youth leader, told the BBC's Burmese service. A man waiting outside the gate to Ms Suu Kyi's home said little had changed. "People are waiting in groups here and there, maybe more than 100 in total - many of them are journalists," he told the BBC. The gate is closed as before, that's it." Image caption Witnesses said there had been no increased security outside Ms Suu Kyi's home in Rangoon Ms Suu Kyi's lawyer said: "There is no law to hold her for another day. Nyan Win said she would meet with the NLD's central committee, members of the media and the public once she was freed. The British ambassador to Burma, Andrew Heyn, has told the BBC that the UK and EU are pressing hard for Ms Suu Kyi's unconditional release, and that her freedom would have a "significant impact". Boycott Aung San Suu Kyi Born 1945, daughter of Burma's independence hero, General Aung San assassinated in 1947 1960: Leaves Burma and is later educated at Oxford University 1988: Returns to care for sick mother and is caught up in revolt against then-dictator Ne Win 1989: Put under house arrest as Burma junta declares martial law 1990: NLD wins election; military disregards result 1991: Wins Nobel Peace Prize 1995: Released from house arrest, but movements restricted 2000: Near continuous period of house arrest begins Sept 2007: First public appearance since 2003, greeting protesting Buddhist monks November 2010: NLD boycotts first election in 20 years and is disbanded Profile: Aung San Suu Kyi Life in pictures: Aung San Suu Kyi The increasing speculation that the ruling generals may sanction Aung San Suu Kyi's release follows the country's first elections in 20 years on Sunday. On Thursday, state media announced that partial results showed that the biggest military-backed party, the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), had secured a majority in both houses of parliament. The junta has said the election marks the transition from military rule to a civilian democracy, but the opposition, many Western governments and human rights groups have said the election was neither free nor fair. The NLD - which won the last election in 1990 but was never allowed to take power - was ordered to dissolve after refusing to take part. Any constitutional change will require a majority of more than 75% - meaning that the military will retain a casting vote. Image copyright Reuters Image caption Aung San Suu Kyi has been frustrated by the pace of reforms in Myanmar Aung San Suu Kyi led the National League for Democracy (NLD) to a majority win in Myanmar's first openly contested election in 25 years in November 2015. In 1991, "The Lady" as she's known, was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize and the committee chairman called her "an outstanding example of the power of the powerless". However, after her release and subsequent political career, Ms Suu Kyi has come in for criticism by some rights groups for what they say has been a failure to speak up for Myanmar's minority groups during a time of ethnic violence in parts of the country. Image copyright AP Image caption Ms Suu Kyi (centre) was a toddler when her father was assassinated In 1960 she went to India with her mother Daw Khin Kyi, who had been appointed Myanmar's ambassador in Delhi. When she arrived back in Rangoon (Yangon) in 1988 - to look after her critically ill mother - Myanmar was in the midst of major political upheaval. "I could not as my father's daughter remain indifferent to all that was going on," she said in a speech in Rangoon on 26 August 1988, and was propelled into leading the revolt against the then-dictator, General Ne Win.
"It's a joke, in a way," he said. Allawi and most members of his bloc then walked out. The national council was a critical element to the power-sharing agreement. Parliament also elected Osama al-Nujaifi, a Sunni Arab from the Iraqiya bloc, to be the parliament speaker. "We don't want to be puppets for a government that does not respect the will of the people, that does not respect power sharing. Al-Maliki is Shia. If a power-sharing agreement is not reached in which Iraq's Sunnis feel fairly represented, sectarian violence could re-erupt in Iraq, a country where politics and violence tend to go hand in hand. Talabani then chose Maliki for a second term as prime minister and asked him to form a cabinet. The political vacuum that followed has stoked fears that political instability would fester. Thursday's session then adjourned until Saturday. President Barack Obama and other U.S. officials praised the power-sharing agreement. "We said, 'Wait a minute here we agreed that there are points that we agreed that are going to be announced and voted on.' The deal created a powerful new office that was expected to be headed by Allawi, his rival. The incumbent al-Maliki, whose State of Law coalition is Shiite, has backing in Iran and from many Iraqi Shiites, including the influential Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. Those politicians have been accused of ties to Saddam Hussein's outlawed Baathist movement. Under the proposed deal, the three major governmental positions were to have been filled by three members of the country's largest ethnic groups -- the Shiites, the Kurds and the Sunni Arabs.
Baghdad, Iraq (CNN) -- After eight months of bickering and political paralysis, Iraqi leaders were thought to have finally reached a power-sharing agreement Thursday for a new government, but that deal appeared to fall apart late in the day as members of the Sunni-backed Iraqiya List walked out of the parliamentary session. Jalal Talabani, sworn in late Thursday for a second term as president, delegated Shiite Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki to form a government within 30 days, as mandated by the constitution. Quarreling that has typified Iraq's gridlock re-emerged during the parliamentary session, from which most members of the Sunni-backed Iraqiya bloc walked out saying that the other political blocs were not adhering to their promise to vote on the tentative power-sharing agreement, which had been reached late Wednesday. The Iraqiya List had wanted parliament to vote on that agreement before voting for a president in order to ensure guarantees that had been promised to the Sunnis were in fact delivered. In the past, politicians have made promises to Sunnis that have not materialized, resulting in a widespread lack of trust. Politicians had cobbled out a compromise Wednesday that would have left Maliki in power and created a powerful new office that was expected to be headed by his rival, former Prime Minister Ayad Allawi, lawmakers said Thursday. Under the proposed deal, the three major governmental positions were to have been filled by three members of the country's largest ethnic groups -- the Shiites, the Kurds and the Sunni Arabs. But Sunnis did not consider Nujaifi to be adequate representation, and many members of the Iraqiya bloc walked out when parliament didn't accept its demand for a vote on the actual power-sharing agreement. Shiite lawmakers said the vote couldn't be taken because it was not on the agenda, but Allawi disputed this. Even al-Nujaifi walked out, saying he had reservations over continuing the session marked by distrust. Iraq's government had been in a stalemate since the March 7 parliamentary elections, in which al-Maliki won 89 seats but lost to Allawi's bloc, which won 91 seats. The political vacuum that followed has stoked fears that political instability would fester. In Washington, a senior administration official who did not want to be identified called the agreement "a big step for Iraq." "We've worked very hard in recent months with the Iraqis to achieve one basic result, and that's a government that's inclusive, that reflects the results of the elections, that includes all the major blocs representing Iraq's ethnic and sectarian groups, and that does not exclude or marginalize anyone," the official said. "And that's exactly what the Iraqis seem to have agreed to do." Another senior administration official who asked not to be identified told reporters, "This really is an Iraqi victory because this was an Iraqi decision that was made by Iraqis in Iraq." The first senior administration official said U.S. President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden had spoken "to virtually all of the major Iraqi leaders" in recent days. In the calls, Obama "reiterated our strong desire to see an inclusive government in Iraq, and welcomed the steps that have been taken toward reaching that goal," said Ben Rhodes, deputy National Security Council adviser for strategic communications. "He also stressed the need for Dr. Allawi, other members of Iraqiya, and representatives from all of the winning blocs to hold leadership positions in the new national partnership government." The move comes as the United States has been drawing down its seven-year military presence to a noncombat force. Overall levels of violence have decreased since 2006 and 2007, but the country has endured eruptions of attacks lately that resemble the Sunni-Shiite sectarian violence during the height of the war. The choice of a Sadrist as a deputy parliament speaker reflects the movement's clout, and al-Maliki's alliance with Sadrists has stoked concern among U.S. officials because of anti-Americanism in the group. His bloc, regarded as secular and cross-sectarian, has won a great deal of support from Sunni Arabs and he has consistently opposed al-Maliki for another term as prime minister. Earlier this week, Iraq's top political leaders met in the Kurdish north to break the more than eight-month deadlock, a development sponsored by Kurdistan Regional Government. There had been fears that Allawi's bloc would boycott any government led by al-Maliki, but the creation of an entity called The National Council for the Strategic Policies appeared to have helped ease the way for compromise. The body was created in an effort to reduce the power of the prime minister, Othman said, and the committee was to be headed by Allawi. Iraqiya was demanding that legislators pass a law within 30 days forming the national council and forming a committee to review the files of people illegally detained, a great concern for Sunni Arabs who have accused Iraq's Shiite-dominated government of persecuting them. If a power-sharing agreement is not reached in which Iraq's Sunnis feel fairly represented, sectarian violence could re-erupt in Iraq, a country where politics and violence tend to go hand in hand. Baghdad, Iraq (CNN) -- Former Iraqi Prime Minister Ayad Allawi offered Friday a grim prediction for the future of Iraq's government a day after leading his Iraqiya bloc's walkout from parliament in a dramatic display of unhappiness with a power-sharing agreement that had been forged earlier in the week. Thursday's walkout upset a carefully prepared plan for power sharing, one that Allawi said represented "a big blow for democracy." "We agreed to sacrifice our constitutional and democratic rights and to accept the formation of a government for the sake of the Iraqi people," he said. The first two were "that the parliament should vote on setting this council, the National Council for Strategic Policies," and "to start a new chapter on reconciliation to give assurances to the Iraqi people that this is happening and that we are looking to the future and not the past."
""We don't have it. Paul, 60, and Rachel Chandler, 56, from Kent, were seized from their yacht off the Seychelles in October 2009. Kidnapping is never justified." They said the only thing that mattered was freedom. The couple pleaded to newly-elected Prime Minister David Cameron to make clear the government's intentions in regard to their release. Earlier on Saturday, pirates hijacked a Chinese ship carrying 29 sailors in the Arabian Sea and told the ship's owner that they were sailing the vessel to Somalia. Foreign Secretary William Hague reiterated the long-standing British policy of not paying ransoms. Mr Chandler told the BBC: "We're fine, we're rather skinny and bony but we're fine." The number was improvement on the same period last year due to extra patrols by navy vessels, the IMB said, while noting the increasing use of rocket propelled grenades by pirates off the Somali coast. Otherwise we'd been told we'd be released in 10 days almost every 10 days for the past nine months. It observed the terms of the order obtained by the Chandlers' family which was intended to stop news organisations covering their release until they were safely out of Somalia. The decision not to intervene was unquestionably the right one in the circumstances." On release they were taken to Adado, then Mogadishu, and have now arrived in Kenya. We miss everything. A payment of about $430,000 (£267,000) was made in June, but did not result in the release of the Chandlers, he added. Paul Chandler's first contact as a hostage came a week later down a crackly phone line with Britain's ITV News.
(CNN) -- It has been just over one year since retired couple Paul and Rachel Chandler were snatched from their yacht by pirates while sailing from the Seychelles towards Tanzania. They were experienced sailors and had been at sea for the best part of three years, as documented in blogs sent from their 38-foot yacht, the Lynn Rival. "Afloat at last," they declared the following May, noting that "As ever, all our pre-launching tasks have taken longer than expected. The main task was a much needed engine overhaul. After 27 years it needed a good de-rust and re-paint." An online map on the blog charts the couple's progress through the Gulf of Aden in 2008, including a stop to visit Asmara, the capital of Eritrea where they noted: "We drank cappucinos and ate seafood pasta and pizza with real prosciutto, though the salami left something to be desired and the local wine is very rough." Their trip continued across the Arabian Sea and down the coast of India, south to the Maldives then onto the Seychelles where Paul, a former civil engineer and his wife of almost 30 years, Rachel, spent Easter. The last full entry in their diary was written on October 21, 2009 as they prepared to leave the Seychelles for Tanzania. It ended: "We probably won't have satellite phone coverage until we're fairly close to the African coast, so we may be out of touch for some time." Two days later, they were kidnapped by armed gunmen who demanded a ransom of $7 million which the British government refused to pay in line with long-standing policy. Paul Chandler's first contact as a hostage came a week later down a crackly phone line with Britain's ITV News. "Men with guns came aboard," he said, "then we were forced to sail ... toward Somalia." Chandler said he and his wife were taken off the yacht and were held on a container ship called the Kota Wajah. It later emerged that their kidnapping was witnessed by sailors aboard the Royal Navy refueling vessel, the RFA Wave Knight, who did not intervene for fear of putting lives at risk. First Sea Lord Admiral Sir Mark Stanhope launched a robust defense of their actions one month later, telling an audience at Chatham House in London: "Had there been the opportunity to intervene while being at all sure of guaranteeing Rachel and Paul Chandlers' safety, they would have done so. The decision not to intervene was unquestionably the right one in the circumstances." Over several months, the Chandlers appeared on camera to plead British authorities to work for their release. "Our kidnappers are losing patience," the couple appealed down the lens last November, as gunman lurked in the background. During on the interview, which aired on Channel 4 news in May, Rachel Chandler said they'd been "caged up like animals." "They don't care whose lives they ruin. The couple pleaded to newly-elected Prime Minister David Cameron to make clear the government's intentions in regard to their release. "If the government is not prepared to help, then they must say so, because the gangsters' expectations and hopes have been raised at the thought of a new government and there might be a different approach," Paul Chandler said. The British Foreign Office responded with a statement saying consular officials were in close contact with the Chandlers, while also urging the kidnappers to let them go. "The UK government's policy of not making or facilitating substantive concessions to hostage-takers, including the payment of ransoms, is long-standing and clear. The waters around the Horn of Africa, especially off the coast of lawless Somalia, have become a hub for piracy, making the busy shipping routes among the most dangerous in the world. One hundred pirate attacks were recorded off the coast of Somalia in the first half of 2010, according to the International Maritime Bureau. The number was improvement on the same period last year due to extra patrols by navy vessels, the IMB said, while noting the increasing use of rocket propelled grenades by pirates off the Somali coast. "Somali pirates are dangerous and are prepared to fire their automatic weapons and RPG at vessels in order to stop them," according to the IMB website. Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Rachel and Paul Chandler speak to the BBC's Andrew Harding in Mogadishu A retired British couple have been released by Somali pirates after being held captive for more than a year. Asked if he had felt their lives had been in danger during captivity, he said: "That's something we'll talk about later, but we were not really directly endangered by the gang, after the initial seizure." The husband and wife both stressed that the conditions of their captivity were not important, with Mr Chandler saying: "You can see from our state that we suffered no serious physical harm." Mrs Chandler later explained that the beating had happened when they resisted their captors' attempt to separate them - an event she said was "very traumatic".
The building, constructed in the 1990s, was nearly covered by scaffolding. The fire was mostly extinguished at 6:30 p.m. after local authorities dispatched 25 fire units and more than 100 fire engines to the scene. (Xinhua) More than 70 people injured in the inferno are being hospitalized. Full story Investigation team set up for Shanghai high-rise fire SHANGHAI, Nov. 16 (Xinhua) -- An investigation team under the State Council, or China's Cabinet, for Monday's fatal fire in downtown Shanghai residential building was set up early Tuesday morning, as announced by China's police chief. The building houses 150 families, the news agency said. "I saw people taken out and put on stretchers." Jing'an District government has arranged food and accommodations for fire-affected residents evacuated to nearby hotels. Photo According to Xinhua, the fire was started by unlicensed welders and four people have been detained. “Firefighters were trying to get closer and use their hoses to cool a path on the scaffolding so that they could climb down and escape.” Many people remained unaccounted for. The 28-story building was under renovation when it went up in flames. Helicopters were sent to rescue people trapped on the roof. The state-run Web site Eastday.com cited a construction worker as saying that crews were installing energy-saving insulation when the fire occurred, The Associated Press reported, and a witness told Xinhua that he saw construction materials burning before the fire. CNN's Steven Jiang contributed to this report. Photo SHANGHAI — Chinese authorities detained four people after determining that unlicensed welders may have been responsible for a fire that engulfed a high-rise apartment building undergoing renovations, killing at least 53 people and injuring at least 90 others in one of the deadliest fires here in years, according to Xinhua, the official news agency.
Beijing, China (CNN) -- Four suspects have been detained in a China high-rise fire that killed 53 people, state media said Tuesday. Monday's fire has hospitalized at least 70 other people, including 17 who were seriously injured, officials said. A preliminary investigation indicated that unqualified welders caused the fire, the Xinhua news agency said. Witnesses said a scaffolding caught fire, and flames then spread to the building. "The fire became so big because the scaffolding contained a great amount of flammable materials," Zhu Zhixiang, a Shanghai firefighting official told state broadcaster CCTV. "Heavy wind at the time was another factor." Firefighters rescued more than 100 residents from the burning building. The building houses 150 families, the news agency said. "I can smell the smoke and police have pushed onlookers farther away," said Peijin Chen, a freelance photographer who lives across the street from the building. "I saw people taken out and put on stretchers." Firefighters use illuminating facility to search for survivors on the residential building in the downtown area of Shanghai, east China, Nov. 16, 2010. The death toll of a big fire that engulfed a high-rise building in downtown Shanghai had risen to 53 by 9:20 a.m. Tuesday, local authorities said. (Xinhua) More than 70 people injured in the inferno are being hospitalized. The 28-story building at the intersection of Jiaozhou Road and Yuyao Road in Jing'an District, a densely-populated area in Shanghai, was being renovated when it caught fire at about 2:15 p.m. Monday. The fire was mostly extinguished at 6:30 p.m. after local authorities dispatched 25 fire units and more than 100 fire engines to the scene. The cause of the fire remained unknown, but a witness said he saw construction materials burning before the fire climbed up the scaffolding and quickly spread. Related: China's police chief calls for thorough investigation on cause of Shanghai high-rise fire SHANGHAI, Nov. 16 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Public Security Minister Meng Jianzhu early Tuesday morning called for a thorough investigation into the cause of Monday's fatal fire in a downtown Shanghai residential building. Full story Investigation team set up for Shanghai high-rise fire SHANGHAI, Nov. 16 (Xinhua) -- An investigation team under the State Council, or China's Cabinet, for Monday's fatal fire in downtown Shanghai residential building was set up early Tuesday morning, as announced by China's police chief. Photo SHANGHAI — Chinese authorities detained four people after determining that unlicensed welders may have been responsible for a fire that engulfed a high-rise apartment building undergoing renovations, killing at least 53 people and injuring at least 90 others in one of the deadliest fires here in years, according to Xinhua, the official news agency. Video posted on the Internet and some online accounts suggested that some residents were trapped on the roof of the building and that a few may have jumped to their deaths. The fire raged for more than four hours and more than 60 fire engines responded, Xinhua reported, but fire hoses could not reach the upper half of the 28-story building. The state-run Web site Eastday.com cited a construction worker as saying that crews were installing energy-saving insulation when the fire occurred, The Associated Press reported, and a witness told Xinhua that he saw construction materials burning before the fire.
But there are people here who are not in education, taking advantage," he said. "It's a disgrace. School pupils walked out of lessons to join university and college students on local protest marches across the UK. Earlier a police van was attacked and barricades thrown as protesters tried to break through police lines. Woollard was arrested in Southampton five days after the protests in central London. Universities Minister David Willetts said students had not seemed to have understood the proposals on fees - and that they would not have to pay the higher fees up-front. ''I don't think there'll be any of that today. Police said 17 people were injured, including two officers as protesters were contained on Whitehall. In Manchester around 3,000 protesters gathered outside the town hall, disrupting city centre traffic. Woollard admitted one charge of violent disorder, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison under the Public Order Act. A much larger student march in London two weeks ago ended in an attack on the Conservatives' headquarters building - with the disturbances leading to 68 arrests. Police clashed with demonstrators in Warwick and Sheffield while protests were also held in dozens of other cities including Birmingham and Newcastle. "I'm not 100% against violence because direct action can work... Many of the events and walkouts have been organised using social networking websites. Broken windows were reported on two routes, although no injuries were sustained. A spokeswoman for TfL said: "We're still trying to assess the full extent of the damage from today's demonstrations. As the protest moved on during the day we had to put in place rolling diversions to keep buses away from it."
Around 10,000 students took part in marches and gatherings across the country to protest against the Coalition plan to raise tuition fees to £9,000. Demonstrators smashed the windows of a police van in Whitehall and scrawled slogans across its doors and a number of bottles sticks and eggs were thrown at a cordon of officers. The Metropolitan Police confirmed that three protestors have been arrested in London for violent disorder and theft, while a further two arrests were made during scuffles with the police in Cambridge. One policeman's arm was broken in a confrontation while another was knocked unconscious. London Ambulance Service confirmed that eight people had been injured during the demonstrations in the capital. The demonstration followed a day of action two weeks ago that saw 60 arrested and dozens injured when a riot broke out at the Conservative Party headquarters. Police are keen to avoid a repeat of the chaos that ensued on November 10 when they were caught out by the splintering of the march, organised by the National Union of Students (NUS) and the University and College Union (UCU), that preceded the riot. In Trafalgar Square, central London, several thousand gathered on the steps outside the National Gallery and at the base of Nelson's Column for a rally, watched closely by police officers. They chanted slogans including ''Tory scum'' and ''No ifs, no buts, no education cuts'' and carried placards reading ''RIP my degree'', ''Nick Clegg, shame on you'' and ''David Thatcher, education snatcher''. Griffin Dillyoung, 20, from Camden, north London, said: ''I hope the message gets across this time. ''I wanted to be here because if someone can't afford to go to university, it's a complete waste of their talent, and that's not a good thing.'' Ralph Pritchard, 15, from Emmanuel School, Clapham, south west London, said he was chased by his headmaster as he left the premises today to stop him attending. He said: "I'm here because the Coalition are cutting too early and too deep, especially in education. "I'm not 100% against violence because direct action can work... Emily said: "How can you cut education when there's so much unemployment?" Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Across the country thousands of students have been protesting Police have dispersed the final student demonstrators in central London after a day of protests against higher tuition fees and university cuts. Police said 17 people were injured, including two officers as protesters were contained on Whitehall. There have also been occupations in at least 12 universities, including Oxford University's Bodleian Library. School pupils walked out of lessons to join university and college students on local protest marches across the UK. As darkness fell, fires were started, graffiti sprayed and windows broken in Whitehall by demonstrators who were being contained by police. Hundreds of remaining protesters were gradually released by police throughout the evening. Earlier a police van was attacked and barricades thrown as protesters tried to break through police lines. Buses attacked There were 32 arrests - mainly for public order offences and criminal damage, according to the Metropolitan Police. But there are people here who are not in education, taking advantage Sam Lathwood, Protester Among the 17 people injured, the two officers and 11 members of the public were treated in hospital for minor injuries. Transport for London (TfL) also reported that protesters had thrown missiles at buses in central London, smashing windows and causing many routes to be diverted away from the Whitehall and Trafalgar Square area. A spokeswoman for TfL said: "We're still trying to assess the full extent of the damage from today's demonstrations. "We know that bus shelters and ticket machines along Whitehall have been severely damaged and we're checking to see what other damage has been caused. The prime minister's spokesman said: "People have a right to engage in lawful and peaceful protest, but there is no place for violence or intimidation." Occupations Protesters in London had intended to demonstrate outside the Liberal Democrat headquarters - with students accusing the party's leaders of planning to break their signed pledge that they would vote against higher tuition fees. Speaking on BBC Radio 2, Mr Clegg said: "I hate in politics, as in life, to make promises that you then find you can't keep. We made a promise we can't deliver - we didn't win the election outright and there are compromises in coalition." Image caption Pupils from a London school protected a police van that had been attacked - they told vandals to withdraw Students staged occupations at universities including Royal Holloway College, Plymouth, Warwick, Birmingham, London South Bank, University College London, Leeds, Essex, Cardiff, Sheffield and UWE Bristol. In Birmingham, students called on the university authorities to reject what they call a "socially regressive plan that will limit access to education". Students staging an occupation at University College London said they were protesting against "savage cuts to higher education and government attempts to force society to pay for a crisis it didn't cause". Universities Minister David Willetts said students had not seemed to have understood the proposals on fees - and that they would not have to pay the higher fees up-front. "Young people will be provided with the funds they need to meet whatever charges universities levy," said Mr Willetts. A much larger student march in London two weeks ago ended in an attack on the Conservatives' headquarters building - with the disturbances leading to 68 arrests.
"South Korea is our ally. The six-party talks include both Koreas, the United States, Russia, Japan and China. "It's hard; it's another setback," he said. A U.S. official with knowledge of U.S. strategy on North Korea says it may be time to adjust U.S. military policy in the region. The incident -- in which two South Korean marines died -- is "the first direct artillery attack on South Korean territory since the Korean War ended in an armistice" in 1953, Yonhap reported. Later Tuesday, the White House released a statement saying that Obama called Lee to express his support. Speaking to ABC News, the president would not speculate when asked about military options. The Supreme Command of Korean People's Army (KPA) of the DPRK issued a statement on Tuesday, warning the south side that the DPRK will take merciless military counter-actions against it without any hesitation if South Korea dared to intrude into the waters of the DPRK. The White House said the two presidents agreed to hold combined military exercises and enhanced training in the days ahead to continue the close security co-operation between the two countries. Island residents escaped to 20 shelters on the island and sporadic shelling ended after about an hour, according to the military. He was in Beijing to discuss nuclear matters with Chinese diplomats. U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates called South Korean Defense Minister Kim Tae-young Tuesday morning. Escalation of skirmishes South Korea returned fire and dispatched fighter jets in response, and said there could be considerable North Korean casualties as troops unleashed intense retaliatory fire. "And we strongly affirm our commitment to defend South Korea as part of that alliance."
PYONGYANG, Nov. 24 (Xinhua) -- The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) Wednesday denounced artillery fire by South Korea as a deterioration of the north-south relations, the official news agency KCNA reported. The Central Committee of the Red Cross Society of the DPRK issued a statement on Wednesday, accusing South Korea of "derailing the process for improving the inter-Korean relations, scuttling the inter-Korean Red Cross talks and driving the situation to the brink of war by pursuing its policy of confrontation with the DPRK." Besides, the Red Cross of South Korea should be responsible for having "scuttled such humanitarian undertakings as the normalization of the reunion of separated families and relatives," as it is "a waiting maid" of the South Korean authorities, declaring the indefinite postponement of the talks. South Korea's anti-reunification acts are intolerable, as it vitiated the atmosphere for improving the inter-Korean relations and drove the situation to the "brink of war," the statement said. The "traitors will never be able to escape severer punishment by the nation," the statement said. According to the KCNA, South Korea fired toward the waters of the DPRK with dozens of shells around Yonphyong Islet in the west coast at 1:00 p.m. local time on Tuesday. The DPRK's army immediately fired back against South Korea's military provocation with determined military measures, said the report. The Supreme Command of Korean People's Army (KPA) of the DPRK issued a statement on Tuesday, warning the south side that the DPRK will take merciless military counter-actions against it without any hesitation if South Korea dared to intrude into the waters of the DPRK. According to South Korean media, Yonphyong Islet suffered artillery fire from the DPRK on Tuesday, and several South Korean soldiers and civilians were reportedly killed. It is reported that a military exercise named "Hoguk" was being held by South Korea in the nearby waters from Nov. 22 to Nov. 30. Seoul, South Korea (CNN) -- Hours after North Korea's deadly artillery attacks Tuesday, South Korea's president said "enormous retaliation" is needed to stop Pyongyang's incitement, but international diplomats urgently appealed for restraint. "The provocation this time can be regarded as an invasion of South Korean territory," President Lee Myung-bak said at the headquarters of the Joint Chiefs of Staff here, according to South Korea's Yonhap news agency. The incident -- in which two South Korean marines died -- is "the first direct artillery attack on South Korean territory since the Korean War ended in an armistice" in 1953, Yonhap reported. Read more CNN coverage on North Korea In addition to the slain marines, 15 South Korean soldiers and three civilians were wounded when North Korea fired about 100 rounds of artillery at Yeonpyeong Island in the Yellow Sea, South Korean authorities said. Hundreds of island residents boarded boats and fled to safety, as the attack also set houses and forests on fire. South Korea's military responded with more than 80 rounds of artillery and deployed fighter jets, defense officials said. In March, a South Korean warship, the Cheonan, was sunk in the area with the loss of 46 lives in a suspected North Korean torpedo attack. A U.S. defense official said more than 50 U.S. Navy vessels are in the area, including a carrier strike group led by the USS George Washington. In response to a question on whether he would consider sending U.S. warships to the region or putting troops on alert, Obama said: "I'm not going to speculate on military actions at this point. "The two presidents agreed to hold combined military exercises and enhanced training in the days ahead to continue the close security cooperation between our two countries, and to underscore the strength of our alliance and commitment to peace and security in the region," the statement said. South Korea's Lee said "indiscriminate attacks on civilians are a grave matter." He said that, since "North Korea maintains an offensive posture," South Korea's military forces -- the army, air force and navy -- "should unite and retaliate against [the North's] provocation with multiple-fold firepower." After the incident, Yonhap said the Seoul government "banned its nationals from entering the communist state, indefinitely postponed scheduled Red Cross talks and began looking at ways to push the United Nations to condemn Pyongyang." North Korea said the incident stemmed from South Korean maritime military exercises, code named Hoguk, and called the exercises "war maneuvers for a war of aggression." The "South Korean puppet group" engaged in "reckless military provocation" by firing "dozens of shells" inside its territorial waters "despite the repeated warnings of the DPRK" or Democratic People's Republic of Korea, the North's military said in a statement. "The revolutionary armed forces of the DPRK standing guard over the inviolable territorial waters of the country took such a decisive military step as reacting to the military provocation of the puppet group with a prompt powerful physical strike," the statement said. "It is a traditional mode of counter-action of the army of the DPRK to counter the firing of the provocateurs with merciless strikes," said the statement, which warned that it "will unhesitatingly continue taking merciless military counter-actions against it" if the border is crossed. A senior U.S. defense official said South Korea had informed North Korea prior to the training mission, and that "there's no reason North Korea should have been surprised by this firing of artillery." "We call on all members of the international community to condemn the DPRK's acts and to make clear that they expect the DPRK to cease all provocations and implement its denuclearization commitments," Bosworth told reporters in Beijing on Wednesday. The enrichment facility contains 2,000 centrifuges and appears to be designed for nuclear power production, "not to boost North Korea's military capability," Hecker said. The United States "strongly" condemned North Korea's action, and a U.S. Defense Department official told CNN that the "hope is that this is just one isolated incident, not an escalation into a different military posture" by the North. "Secretary Gates told Minister Kim the United States strongly condemns the attack by North Korea, views it as a violation of the armistice agreement and assured him that we are committed to South Korea's defense," said Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell in a statement. U.S. Rep. John Boehner, the House Republican leader who's in line to become the next speaker, said he joined Obama in condemning North Korea's "hostile action."
However, Boeing has hit back by stretching its 747, with its 747-8. Not all A380 aircraft use Rolls-Royce engines. ""It's great that we can reintroduce the aircraft. Modifications have been made to the Rolls-Royce engine used on 20 A380s by three airlines - Qantas, Lufthansa and Singapore Airlines. "Passengers actually ask to fly on it," he says. There have been a number of high-profile problems since the planes went into operation. The plane experienced a midair explosion shortly after taking off, in what was considered to be the most serious safety incident yet for the superjumbo. Air France and Lufthansa also fly the Airbus A380, but its largest customer is Emirates, which has ordered 120 superjumbos. The pilots of the 4 November flight made a successful emergency landing in Singapore. No panic The concern is that the engine failure is a sign of one or more major problems. After all, "the RR Trent 900 along with all other versions of Trent has a very good record in service", Mr Wheeldon observes. There are currently orders for more than 250 A380s from airlines around the world. Technical problems led to production slowing down, causing lengthy delivery delays and cost over-runs so large that some industry observers question whether the programme will ever make a profit for its European manufacturer. If we weren't, we wouldn't be restarting the operations today," he said. Engine replacement Qantas grounded its six A380s and began a global safety review after the scare, and has now resumed only two flights. It is the world's largest passenger airliner, a double-decker which can carry up to 800 people - though Qantas A380s are set up to carry about 450.
Image caption The engine explosion on one of the A380s sparked a global safety review A Qantas A380 passenger jet has taken off in its first flight since one of the planes suffered an engine explosion earlier this month, officials said. The A380 is travelling from Sydney to Singapore, and then London, three weeks after the Australian airline grounded its flights following the incident. Qantas says the aircraft have undergone extensive work and are safe to fly. The pilots of the 4 November flight made a successful emergency landing in Singapore. The plane experienced a midair explosion shortly after taking off, in what was considered to be the most serious safety incident yet for the superjumbo. Qantas CEO Alan Joyce, who was among the 478 passengers on Saturday's flight, told reporters that the planes were now safe to fly. ""It's great that we can reintroduce the aircraft. "We are 100 percent comfortable with it. If we weren't, we wouldn't be restarting the operations today," he said. Engine replacement Qantas grounded its six A380s and began a global safety review after the scare, and has now resumed only two flights. "The decision to restore A380 services follows an intensive Trent 900 engine inspection programme carried out in close consultation with Rolls-Royce and Airbus," a statement said this week. Modifications have been made to the Rolls-Royce engine used on 20 A380s by three airlines - Qantas, Lufthansa and Singapore Airlines. Qantas has replaced at least 14 engines. It is the world's largest passenger airliner, a double-decker which can carry up to 800 people - though Qantas A380s are set up to carry about 450. Image caption The cause of the engine failure that led to the emergency landing is not yet known Engine trouble it may be, and investigators are on the case, but the focus is nevertheless also on the aircraft. The grounding by Qantas of six A380 aircraft is just the latest in a string of problems to beset the largest passenger plane in the world. It is "certainly the most serious incident that the A380 has experienced since it entered operations", according to Tom Ballantyne, who writes for Orient Aviation Magazine. Ever since its launch at a grand ceremony at the Airbus headquarters in Toulouse almost six years ago, the Airbus A380 programme has struggled to overcome a series of complications. Technical problems led to production slowing down, causing lengthy delivery delays and cost over-runs so large that some industry observers question whether the programme will ever make a profit for its European manufacturer. And there have been operational problems, including an engine failure in September 2009 on a Singapore Airlines flight from Paris, and two tyres bursting on landing in Sydney in March this year. Popular plane But much of this is history and there are signs the tide is turning for the A380, according to industry analysts. Given several recent unconnected problems, including the Boeing 787 engine test failure in August, I think Rolls-Royce will be under great pressure to get to the bottom of this very quickly Howard Wheeldon, BGC Brokers Factfile: Airbus A380 After a slow start, with just 39 A380s currently in service, this year has given the A380 a lift. During the first nine months of 2010, Airbus has landed 32 new orders, bringing the total order book to 234, aerospace analysts Ascend Worldwide observe in a research note, making it a "reasonable year to date" for Airbus. "[Airlines] describe it as a passenger magnet." "I don't actually think that this incident will reflect on the reputation of the aircraft," he says. Engine investigation Qantas' reputation is not on the line either, Mr Wheeldon reasons, pointing to the airline's safety record as a key reason why it has grounded all its A380s until it knows why one of its engines started shooting flames and debris soon after take-off from Singapore. "Qantas has a 100% clear safety record as far as fatalities are concerned and it wants to keep it that way," he says. At this stage, much of the focus will be on Rolls-Royce, the UK aircraft engine maker that supplied the RR Trent 900 engines to Qantas' A380 planes. Image caption The A380 uses engines from either Rolls-Royce or from the Engine Alliance "This issue, an engine failure, has been one that we haven't seen before," says Alan Joyce, chief executive of Qantas. "So we are obviously taking it very seriously, because it is a significant engine failure" Mr Wheeldon believes the engine maker should also be taking the matter seriously. "Given several recent unconnected problems, including the Boeing 787 engine test failure in August, I think Rolls-Royce will be under great pressure to get to the bottom of this very quickly," he says. The company's investigators will be looking for faults such as a "specific fuel or pump related problem or turbine failure", he reasons. External causes It is not a given, however, that the Rolls-Royce engine failure was caused by faults linked to its design or construction. There is still the chance that it was caused by faults external to the engine, such as "debris from, say, a bird strike, or something else perhaps that might just have made its way through to the rear of the engine", he reasons. Shares in both Rolls-Royce and EADS, the aerospace giant that owns Airbus, fell sharply following the emergency landing, though Mr Howard believes investors may have overreacted. The world's largest passenger aircraft, the Airbus A380, made its debut commercial flight in October 2007 with Singapore Airlines from Singapore to Sydney. The A380 superjumbo project was first conceived in the early 1990s as an eventual successor to the Boeing 747, which has now been the world's mainstay long-haul aircraft for more than 30 years. The project, designed to challenge Boeing's hold on the long-haul flight market, is valued at about $24bn (£15bn) and each plane has an average list price of $347m (£215m).
It could, and should, be a force for progress, he said. "Believe me, I have more." Hitchens was on stage in Toronto to take on Tony Blair and debate whether or not religion is a force for good in the world. It was not about religious faith. People weren't necessarily opposed to Mr Blair's argument, but they found Mr Hitchens the more persuasive speaker. The only area that the two agreed upon was the one area where most of the crowd in liberal Toronto would have judged both of them guilty: the Iraq war. The former British prime minister also insisted that his decision to support the US invasion of Iraq was based on policy and not on his faith. An audience of 2,700 sat in rapt attention, frequently applauding both men. Christopher Hitchens has continued his outspoken attacks on religion in interviews as he is treated for cancer of the oesophagus. In Canada, only 36% agreed with the positive view of religion whereas 64% saw it as a negative force - figures almost exactly the reverse of those in the US. He compared the Almighty to "a kind of divine North Korea" with arbitrary rules and a hatred of freedom and rationality. Global poll Prior to the debate, the organisers had commisioned a 23-country poll on religion by Ipsos. he asked to another round of laughter from the crowd. Not surprisingly Blair – who often appeared slightly shell-shocked in the face of Hitchens's barbs – was having none of that. And perhaps the lion is wounded. Mr Blair, 57, who became a practising Christian while studying at Oxford University, said: "It is undoubtedly true that people commit horrific acts of evil in the name of religion.
Christopher Hitchens walked on stage with the evidence of his cancer plain for the world to see. His dark suit jacket hung off a much-reduced frame and his head – now devoid of hair due to chemotherapy – shone under the arc lights. But if Hitchens, who knows that his cancer of the oesophagus will probably be fatal, is preparing to meet his maker, it was not apparent. Not that anyone would expect anything else from one of the world's most prominent atheists. Hitchens was on stage in Toronto to take on Tony Blair and debate whether or not religion is a force for good in the world. Blair, perhaps the world's most famous convert to Roman Catholicism, was on the side of God. Hitchens, author of the uncompromisingly titled book God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything, was not. He compared the Almighty to "a kind of divine North Korea" with arbitrary rules and a hatred of freedom and rationality. Religion, he said, was a bargain based on ignorance and fear of death. Not surprisingly Blair – who often appeared slightly shell-shocked in the face of Hitchens's barbs – was having none of that. He listed a long list of charities and mercy missions from Africa to Asia to the Toronto suburbs in a bit of demographic positioning that bore all the Blairite hallmarks of a Third Way. "The proposition that religion is unadulterated poison is unsustainable," he said before adding: "Science and religion are not incompatible and destined to fight each other." The intellectual face-off had been heavily promoted and the citizens of Toronto had responded by snapping up all 2,700 tickets. A spill-over venue was arranged for those who could not pack inside the space-age venue of the Roy Thompson Hall. Peter Munk, whose Aurea Foundation organised the debate, could not resist gloating about its success. "I hear rumours, I hope they're false, that people paid stupid, crazy prices for tickets," he said as he introduced the protagonists. Munk portrayed the coming attraction as a sort of philosophical cage match with metaphysical blood likely to be shed at any moment. That was a touch of hyperbole, but the spectacle was more than worth the cost of admission. Hitchens's frail physical appearance did not extend to his voice or his mind; both as sharp as cut glass. A pre-debate poll revealed that 57% of the audience already agreed with Hitchens's position, and 22% with Blair's. But even so, the journalist's was a masterful and funny performance that often left Blair wrong-footed. He started by reading a quote from the recently beatified Cardinal John Henry Newman, upon whom Blair had heaped praise in an article on the front page of the Vatican's newspaper. "The Catholic Church holds it better for the sun and moon to drop from heaven, for the earth to fail, and for all the many millions on it to die from starvation in extremist agony… than that one soul… should commit one single venial sin, should tell one wilful untruth, or should steal one poor farthing without excuse," Hitchens quoted, throwing Blair's own beliefs directly back in his face. "It is a distillation of precisely what is twisted and immoral of the faith mentality," Hitchens explained as Blair sat a few feet away. If it had been a boxing match Hitchens would have been described as landing blow after blow, many of them decidedly low – especially those about circumcision or women's rights. He described the aid work done by religious missions as "conscience money" to make up for the harm they have done. After all, why bother treating HIV-infected people in Africa while working against the use of condoms? When one member of the audience asked each debater what was most powerful about his opponent's argument, Hitchens simply gestured for Blair to go first, in a move that brought loud laughter from the crowd. Blair repeatedly returned to his defence that religious men and women did good deeds in their millions all around the world every day. Blair outlined the work that religious groups in Northern Ireland put in on bridging the "religious divide" in order to work for peace. "The 20th century was scarred by visions that had precisely that imagining at its heart. The only area that the two agreed upon was the one area where most of the crowd in liberal Toronto would have judged both of them guilty: the Iraq war. Perhaps it was just his way of tweaking the nose of a reaper he does not believe in, but Hitchens hinted at a belief – or a yearning, or an understanding: what he called a "numinous" or "transcendent" element of human experience. He ended with another rousing condemnation of religious doctrine and urged the audience to avoid becoming part of a religious flock because they might end up being "sheep".
"I will just be me," one person said. While 30 percent of those surveyed over all predicted that repeal would have some negative effects, 40 percent to 60 percent of the Marine Corps and those in various combat specialties said it would be negative. "We have a gay guy. Gates recommended the Senate support legislation to end the existing policy. “We are both convinced that our military can do this, even during this time of war,” Mr. Johnson and General Ham wrote. Advertisement Continue reading the main story The service chiefs have all expressed reluctance in the recent past about repeal, and it is unclear how they will present themselves on Friday. Findings: Two-thirds don't care if ban is lifted Overall, the survey found that some two-thirds of troops do not care if the ban is lifted. The study provided ammunition to congressional Democrats struggling to overturn the law. The Pentagon report on “don’t ask, don’t tell” also found that 69 percent of those surveyed believed they had already worked with a gay man or woman. There was material for those opposed to change. Opposition was strongest among combat troops (40%) and Marines (46%). 92% percent of troops who have served with someone they believed to be gay thought that unit cohesion was either very good, good, or neither good nor poor. The Pentagon, acknowledging pressure to allow gay people to serve openly, carried out the survey to establish whether serving soldiers and families were concerned about the change and whether it might impact on morale. Reform is supported by Barack Obama, the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, Admiral Mike Mullen, and the Democratic leader in the Senate, Harry Reid.
Campaigners for gay people to be allowed to serve openly in the US military received a huge boost today when a Pentagon survey of service members found morale would not suffer from reform. The Pentagon report, published today, anticipated only isolated incidents of opposition. The defence secretary, Robert Gates, at a press conference, said the survey was not a poll on the issue but to determine the impact of changing the law. He said the survey showed reform "would not be the wrenching, traumatic change many had feared" but he identified a major stumbling block, namely the higher levels of opposition among combat units, in particular the Marines, and said this was a matter for concern among military chiefs at a time when fighting two wars. "It can be done and should be done," he said, warning that it needed to be done with care, to avoid disruption to those "at the tip of the spear". The fate of the proposed legislation hangs in the balance, with reformers not yet having the necessary 60 votes to pass through the 100-member Senate before Christmas. Campaigners hope the Pentagon report, which they hailed as historic and positive, would help persuade undecided senators, mainly Republicans but also a couple of Democrats. Reform is supported by Barack Obama, the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, Admiral Mike Mullen, and the Democratic leader in the Senate, Harry Reid. But the Republican senator, John McCain, one of the leaders of opposition, said there was a need for more scrutiny before making such a change while in the middle of two wars. The existing policy, Don't Ask, Don't Tell, was introduced in 1993 in the Clinton administration as a compromise. Gay soldiers can serve as long as they do not announce their sexuality, while comrades and officers are forbidden to ask their sexual orientation. The Pentagon, acknowledging pressure to allow gay people to serve openly, carried out the survey to establish whether serving soldiers and families were concerned about the change and whether it might impact on morale. The report found 70% of troops believed repealing the law would have mixed, positive or no effect, while 30% predicted negative effects. Among those who had served with a gay comrade, support for reform was higher. 92% percent of troops who have served with someone they believed to be gay thought that unit cohesion was either very good, good, or neither good nor poor. Combat units reported similar responses, with 89% of army combat units and 84% of Marine combat units saying they had good or neutral experiences fighting alongside gay and lesbian soldiers. Aubredy Sarvis, executive director of one of the main campaign groups, the Servicemembers Legal Defence Network, described the report as historic and would help in trying to win over senators. "We need 60 votes … I think it is possible, still doable, to get to 60," he said. He acknowledged it would be more difficult if the "don't ask, don't tell" legislation is not repealed in the present Congressional session, which is expected to end around Christmas. "It is critical that repeal advocates urge their senators to act in December to pass legislation repealing Don't Ask, Don't Tell before Congress goes home for the year," Sarvis said. If not, Mr. Gates predicted fights in the courts and the possibility that the repeal would be “imposed immediately by judicial fiat.” Advertisement Continue reading the main story In a survey of 115,000 active-duty and reserve service members, the report found distinct differences among the branches of the military, particularly in the Marine Corps, whose leaders have been the most publicly opposed to allowing gay and bisexual men and women to serve openly. While 30 percent of those surveyed over all predicted that repeal would have some negative effects, 40 percent to 60 percent of the Marine Corps and those in various combat specialties said it would be negative. Mr. Johnson and General Ham, who briefed reporters on the report, did not offer a specific explanation for why Marines were more opposed to repeal, although General Ham said that among Marine Corps respondents, a lower percentage had served alongside someone they believed to be gay or lesbian. This summer, when the Marine commandant at the time, Gen. James T. Conway, was asked for an explanation about Marine resistance to repeal, he responded that it was difficult to answer, but “we recruit a certain type of young American, a pretty macho guy or gal.” In his remarks to reporters on Tuesday, Mr. Gates acknowledged the higher levels of “discomfort” about repealing the law among those in the combat branches of the military. He said that those findings remained a concern to him as well as to the chiefs of the service branches, but that the concerns were not insurmountable as long as any repeal was carried out carefully and with what he said was “sufficient time and preparation to get the job done right.” Advertisement Continue reading the main story Mr. Gates refused to offer a timetable for how long that might be, and neither Mr. Johnson nor General Ham would say whether the process could take months or years. As the bill before the Senate now stands, any repeal would not be carried out until President Obama, Mr. Gates and Adm. Mike Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, certified that the military was ready to end the ban. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Mr. Gates said much of the preparation would involve educating and training service members and their leaders. “Today’s report confirms that a strong majority of our military men and women and their families — more than two-thirds — are prepared to serve alongside Americans who are openly gay and lesbian,” he said in a statement. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Democrats in the Senate also applauded the study, but Senator John McCain, the Arizona Republican who has vowed to block the repeal of “don’t ask, don’t tell,” was largely silent, at least by early evening. “Senator McCain and his staff are currently in the process of carefully reviewing the Pentagon’s report regarding the repeal of the ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ law,” Brooke Buchanan, a spokeswoman, said in a statement. Mr. McCain has said in the past that he would consider authorizing a repeal of the law once the Pentagon review was complete, but he has also cited the concerns of the service chiefs for his resistance to ending the ban. Advertisement Continue reading the main story The House passed its version of a repeal of the law this past summer, but prospects for passage in the Senate remain uncertain, with time running out this year. The Pentagon report on “don’t ask, don’t tell” also found that 69 percent of those surveyed believed they had already worked with a gay man or woman. Of those, 92 percent reported that the unit’s ability to work together was very good, good or “neither good nor poor.” Advertisement Continue reading the main story In the most strongly worded section of the report, the authors concluded that while their mandate was to assess the impact of repealing the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy — and not to determine whether it should be repealed — they had done just that. “We do not underestimate the challenges in implementing a change in the law, but neither should we underestimate the ability of our extraordinarily dedicated service men and women to adapt to such change and continue to provide our nation with the military capability to accomplish any mission.” The study recommended no housing or living changes as a result of any repeal, and the authors also quashed any suggestion that there should be separate bathroom facilities. A Pentagon study on gays in the military has determined that overturning the law known as "don't ask, don't tell" might cause some disruption at first but would not create any widespread or long-lasting problems.
He was, in the parlance of his old party, our maximum journalist. He said Hitchens had been a "wonderful mentor in a way". Vanity Fair magazine, which announced his death, said there would "never be another like Christopher". A great voice falls silent. Salman Rushdie believed that he was one of the two funniest men he had met (the other being Bruce Chatwin). Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Tony Blair on Christopher Hitchens: "He was a complete one-off" Former Labour Prime Minister Tony Blair publicly debated religion with Hitchens at the Munk Debate in Toronto in November 2010. Hitchens could be a loyal friend. He supported the Iraq War and backed George W Bush for re-election in 2004. Meanwhile he maintained an intense rivalry with his younger brother Peter, who followed him into journalism but found his place on the opposite side of the political spectrum, working first for the Daily Express and then the Mail on Sunday. Image caption Vanity Fair's editor said those who read him felt they knew him British-born author, literary critic and journalist Christopher Hitchens has died at the age of 62. We met a handful of times in London and New York. "I sometimes wish I were suffering in a good cause, or risking my life for the good of others, instead of just being a gravely endangered patient." Hitchens was born in Portsmouth in 1949 and graduated from Oxford in 1970. The author and prominent atheist Richard Dawkins described him as the "finest orator of our time" and a "valiant fighter against all tyrants including God".
A contrarian in life, the writer Christopher Hitchens united the world in death, with friends, colleagues and even debating opponents joining to celebrate his fearless intellect, ready wit and diamantine prose after he died from cancer at the age of 62. Salman Rushdie took to Twitter to mourn the passing of a "beloved friend", writing "A great voice falls silent. Richard Dawkins said he was "one of the greatest orators of all time", and called him "a polymath, a wit ... and a valiant fighter against all tyrants including imaginary supernatural ones." The former prime minister Tony Blair, who Hitchens bested in a debate over religion at the end of last year, said he was "fearless in the pursuit of truth" and praised his "passion, commitment and brilliance". Writing in for the Mail online his brother Peter, acknowledged a "complex relationship" which included a public falling out in 2001, but went on to praise his "courage". "My brother possessed this virtue to the very end, and if I often disagreed with the purposes for which he used it, I never doubted the quality or ceased to admire it," he said. The reactions to Hitchens's diagnosis of oesophageal cancer in June 2010 from his intellectual opponents – which ranged from undisguised glee to offers of prayers – testified to his stature as one of the leading voices of secularism since the publication in 2007 of his anti-religious polemic God is Not Great. The reaction from the author himself, who after a lifetime of "burning the candle of both ends" described his illness as "something so predictable and banal that it bores even me", testified to the sharpness of his wit and the clarity of his thinking under fire, as he dissected the discourse of "struggle" that surrounds cancer, paid tribute to the medical staff who looked after him and resolved to "resist bodily as best I can, even if only passively, and to seek the most advanced advice". Born in 1949, Hitchens was sent to boarding school at the age of eight, his mother deciding: "If there is going to be an upper class in this country, then Christopher is going to be in it." This resolution pursued him to his time at Oxford, where he confessed to leading a "double life" as both an "ally of the working class" and as a guest at cocktail parties where he could meet "near-legendary members of the establishment's firmament on nearly equal terms". After he graduated in 1970 with a third-class degree, the doors of Fleet Street opened wide for Hitchens, who followed his friend James Fenton into a job at the New Statesman. A resolution to spend time at least once a year in "a country less fortunate than [his] own" spurred him to witness the stirrings of revolution in Portugal and Poland, as well as counter-revolution in Argentina. His mother's death in Athens, killing herself in a suicide pact with her lover, saw him reporting on the overthrow of the Greek junta in 1973. A report for the New Statesman from Beirut brought rare praise from his father, a former navy officer who telephoned to say the piece was "very good", and that he "thought it rather brave … to go there". This validation was all the sweeter for a son who believed he'd always disappointed his father "by not being good at cricket or rugger". New York offered an escape from the contradictions of the British class system that Hitchens grabbed with both hands, when the offer of a job on the left-leaning weekly magazine the Nation came in 1981. Meanwhile he maintained an intense rivalry with his younger brother Peter, who followed him into journalism but found his place on the opposite side of the political spectrum, working first for the Daily Express and then the Mail on Sunday. One of the many issues that divided the brothers was the 2003 Iraq war, with Peter arguing that the war was "against Britain's interests", while Christopher supported a war that he suggested would stop Saddam Hussein using the country as "his own personal torture chamber". His advocacy for the Iraq war was only the latest of Hitchens's positions that many on the left found uncomfortable, and led to a chill in his relations with Gore Vidal, who had once nominated him a "successor, an inheritor, a dauphin or delphino". But Hitchens's opposition to what he called "fascism with an Islamic face" began long before 9/11, with the fatwa on his friend Salman Rushdie, imposed by the Ayatollah Khomeini, whom Hitchens accused of "using religion to mount a contract killing", after the publication of The Satanic Verses. Religion, or at least a fierce aversion to it, fuelled Hitchens's ascent towards celebrity, particularly in his adopted homeland, after the publication of God is Not Great in 2007. In it he argued that religion is "violent, irrational, intolerant, allied to racism and tribalism and bigotry, invested in ignorance and hostile to free inquiry", notching up sales of more than 500,000 copies. Hitchens gave short shrift to the "insulting" suggestion that cancer might persuade him to change his position where reason had not, arguing that to ditch principles "held for a lifetime, in the hope of gaining favour at the last minute" would be a "hucksterish choice", and urging those who had taken it upon themselves to pray for him not to "trouble deaf heaven with your bootless cries". Writing in his 2010 memoir, Hitch-22, Hitchens said that he hoped and believed his "advancing age has not quite shamed my youth", disavowing the "'simple' ordinary propositions" of his younger days in favour of the maxim that "it is an absolute certainty that there are no certainties". "One reason, then, that I would not relive my life," he continued, "is that one cannot be born knowing such things, but must find them out, even when they then seem bloody obvious, for oneself." Image caption Vanity Fair's editor said those who read him felt they knew him British-born author, literary critic and journalist Christopher Hitchens has died at the age of 62. He died from pneumonia, a complication of the oesophageal cancer he had, at a Texas hospital. Vanity Fair magazine, which announced his death, said there would "never be another like Christopher". Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption "Prospect of death makes me sober, objective" He was diagnosed with cancer in June 2010, and documented his declining health in his Vanity Fair column. Speaking on the BBC's Newsnight programme, in November that year, he reflected on a life that he knew would be cut short: "It does concentrate the mind, of course, to realise that your life is more rationed than you thought it was." Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Tony Blair on Christopher Hitchens: "He was a complete one-off" Former Labour Prime Minister Tony Blair publicly debated religion with Hitchens at the Munk Debate in Toronto in November 2010.
So here we go. To me, that is a very good outcome, because organizations can either be efficient, open and honest, or they can be closed, conspiratorial and inefficient. " (See TIME's video "WikiLeaks Founder on History's Top Leaks.") RS: You mention the public. What is your reaction to that? George Bush said the disclosures would make it hard for the US to keep the trust of foreign leaders. JULIAN ASSANGE: You're welcome. It's one thing to tap into [audio lost]. The comments from Clinton and the White House came on a day in which world leaders digested the disclosures. It shouldn't really be that people are thinking about, Should something be secret? Assange faces five counts that appear related to two incidents, according to the request Ny filed with the court. The media has been the only way they've learned substantial information about the investigation, Stephens said. JA: Thousands of them. In fact, I think the State Department is going to have a hard time of it trying to spin this. A French foreign ministry spokesman called WikiLeaks "irresponsible" and said it could harm international relations. But looking at what we can, I can see that there is a tremendous rearrangement of viewings about many different countries. And it is our responsibility to bring matters to the public. We get that on nearly every post that we do. He faces one count of rape and one count of sexual molestation related to an instance around August 17 in Enkoping, just outside Stockholm. It goes back at least 50 years, and in extremely different forms hundreds of years before that, so that sort of reactionary sentiment is equally expected.
(CNN) -- Interpol, at the request of a Swedish court looking into alleged sex crimes from earlier this year, has put WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange on its most-wanted listed. The Stockholm Criminal Court two weeks ago issued an international arrest warrant for Assange on probable cause, saying he is suspected of rape, sexual molestation and illegal use of force in August incidents. Sweden asked Interpol, the international police organization, to post a "Red Notice" after a judge approved a motion to bring him into custody. The "Red Notice" is not an international arrest warrant. It is an advisory and request, issued to 188 member countries "to assist the national police forces in identifying or locating those persons with a view to their arrest and extradition," according to Interpol. The Swedish court ordered Assange, 39, formally arrested in his absence, which requires Swedish authorities anywhere in the world to detain Assange if they come across him. Sweden's director of prosecutions, Marianne Ny, had requested the arrest-in-absence. "The background is that he has to be heard in this investigation and we haven't been able to get a hold of him to question him," Ny said at the time. Assange faces five counts that appear related to two incidents, according to the request Ny filed with the court. He faces one count of rape and one count of sexual molestation related to an instance around August 17 in Enkoping, just outside Stockholm. He then faces two counts of sexual molestation between August 13 and 18 in Stockholm, and one count of illegal use of force between August 13 and 14, also in the capital. Assange could be sentenced to at least two years in prison if convicted, according to the document. Swedish Migration Board official Gunilla Wikstrom said his application failed to fulfill all the requirements but declined to give details. On Monday, Ecuador invited Assange to come to Quito to discuss documents leaked on the site relating to Ecuador and other Latin American countries, according to a statement from the country's foreign ministry. The ministry also offered to process a request for residency "in accordance with the country's current laws." In a November news release, Assange's British lawyer said the sex-crime charges stem from consensual sexual relationships his client had with two women. "Only after the women became aware of each other's relationships with Mr. Assange did they make their allegations against him," lawyer Mark Stephens said in the statement. Stephens also said neither he nor Assange "have ever received a single written word, at any time, in any form, from Swedish authorities on the Swedish investigation against our client." He called it "a clear contravention to Article 6 of the European Convention, which states that every accused must be informed promptly, in a language which he understands and in detail, of the nature and cause of the accusation against him." Swedish prosecutors announced over the summer they were investigating Assange in two separate cases of rape and molestation. Assange has maintained he is innocent, telling the Arabic-language television network Al-Jazeera the accusations were a "smear campaign." Valentin Flauraud / Reuters Julian Assange, founder of WikiLeaks This is the transcript of TIME managing editor Richard Stengel's interview with WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange via Skype on Nov. 30, 2010. RS: So sorry about the technical difficulties, but I'm sure it's something you're used to. (See TIME's video "WikiLeaks Founder on History's Top Leaks.") He believes that the result of this publication, which makes the sentiments of many privately held beliefs public, are promising a pretty good [indecipherable] will lead to some kind of increase in the peace process in the Middle East and particularly in relation to Iran.
We know that businesses that are more diverse, have more women in them, do better. "I'm hoping that it's an upgrading, in that it's being brought into the heart of government. It is in their own interest." The Government said it would monitor the number of companies releasing pay information each year, to assess whether the voluntary approach had been a success. Ms Featherstone called the progress "painfully slow". This marks a rise from 12.2 per cent last year and 12 per cent the year before. This will be part of a new strategy under which the government department dedicated to equalities will lose its independence and be brought into the Home Office. Just two years ago, the Liberal Democrat MP backed mandatory measures, saying: "A voluntary audit system for private industry is hardly worth the paper it's printed on. The government's decision not to bring into force section 78 is a huge disappointment and means this injustice will continue for a long time to come. The latest Female FTSE 100 report showed disappointing results yesterday, as the number of women in the boardroom hardly improved. There were also currently 45,000 women bringing claims against their employers over equal pay. We need to know when the government actually plans to step in if progress isn't made." "We expect them to do it voluntarily because it's the right thing to do and a good thing to do and it will improve business. It has to work integrally." Ceri Goddard, chief executive of the Fawcett Society, which campaigns for equality between the sexes, said: "The persistent gap in pay between men and women is one of the starkest examples of inequality in the UK today.
The Government has scrapped plans to force big businesses to disclose the difference in pay for men and women they employ, on the day it emerged that little progress had been made in bringing women into the boardroom. The equalities minister, Lynne Featherstone, said yesterday she had ditched plans drawn up by the previous government and due to come into force in 2013, calling it a "blueprint for change". Employers will now be asked to publish gender pay data on a voluntary basis only. A spokesman for the Home Office said the Government would work closely with business to make sure the approach was successful. This marks a stark U-turn from Ms Featherstone, who said in opposition that a voluntary audit system "is hardly worth the paper it's printed on". The Government said it would monitor the number of companies releasing pay information each year, to assess whether the voluntary approach had been a success. Speaking at the launch of the 2010 Female FTSE 100 report, drawn up by the Cranfield School of Management, Ms Featherstone said: "We want to move away from the arrogant notion that government knows best, to one where government empowers individuals, businesses and communities to make change happen." She criticised Labour's plans as bringing in red tape, adding that it "wasn't just a futile approach, it was a damaging one". She said: "Bucketloads of regulations were being dumped on businesses already struggling to keep their heads above water in the recession." Ceri Goddard, the chief executive of the Fawcett Society, which campaigns for equal pay, pointed out that women in the UK were paid, on average, one sixth less than men. There were also currently 45,000 women bringing claims against their employers over equal pay. The Government has today consigned another generation of women to lower pay". Katja Hall, the CBI's director of employment policy, said the body would work with ministers "to develop a system that works for employers and delivers results". Miles Templeman, the director general of the Institute of Directors, also welcomed the plan, saying: "While there may be some instances of illegal discrimination still taking place, we believe this is very uncommon." Ms Featherstone said the Home Office would lead by example, pledging that by the end of this Parliament at least half of new hires to the boards of public bodies would be women. The latest Female FTSE 100 report showed disappointing results yesterday, as the number of women in the boardroom hardly improved. Of 1,076 directors on the boards of the largest listed companies in the UK, just 135, or 12.5 per cent, were women. This marks a rise from 12.2 per cent last year and 12 per cent the year before. The report hailed Burberry, where three of eight board members are women. The Government has appointed Lord Davies to work with FTSE 100 companies to improve the representation of women on their boards, Ms Featherstone pointed out. Outlook Lynne Featherstone, the equalities minister, picked a curious venue to announce the Government is reversing plans for compulsory audits of what companies pay their male and female staff. The announcement came in a speech at Cranfield University's School of Management, as part of an event to promote its latest research into the progress of women in the boardroom. The venue was odd because Cranfield's research shows exactly what happens when organisations are left to tackle inequality by themselves. Those who worry about the remarkably low number of women in the boardrooms of Britain's biggest businesses will no doubt be pleased to hear there has been an improvement over the past year: women now account for 12.5 per cent of FTSE 100 directors, up from 12.2 per cent. Ms Featherstone explained that the Government had decided to reverse its predecessor's plans to require companies to publish gender pay audits because it wants "to move away from the arrogant notion that government knows best". But if the equalities minister is suggesting the Government doesn't know best when it comes to requiring companies to do everything possible to ensure women are paid as well as men, she's in the wrong job. The latest combined code requires companies to offer an explanation if women represent fewer than 20 per cent of their directors and there are plans to increase that threshold. Plans to force businesses to disclose the pay gap between male and female employees in Britain have been abandoned by the coalition government, in a reversal of a Liberal Democrat manifesto pledge. In an interview with the Guardian to unveil the strategy, equalities minister Lynne Featherstone explained her own change of heart on the issue by saying: "Right at this moment of financial peril to the nation is perhaps not the moment to introduce mandatory pay audits." Just two years ago, the Liberal Democrat MP backed mandatory measures, saying: "A voluntary audit system for private industry is hardly worth the paper it's printed on. Asked whether the U-turn compared with the government's controversial decision to abandon the Lib Dems' manifesto pledge on tuition fees, she said: "You can go back to everything pre-election and say, Liberal Democrats said this and Liberal Democrats said that. However, campaigners warn that in the 40 years since the introduction of the Equal Pay Act, voluntary measures have failed and women are still paid 16% less than men on average.
This will end. In England, from 2012, universities can charge up to £6,750 per year fees for part-time courses. What about part-time students? You may be able to - for a fee. Asked whether Lib Dem ministers would be expected not to vote against the policy, a No 10 spokesman said "we would expect them to abide by the coalition agreement". But the government says the lowest-earning 25% of graduates will pay less in total than they currently do. What about loans in the rest of the UK? The proposals have led to mass protests in London and other university cities. This will rise annually with inflation. Students borrow and repay their loans under the system for the nation in which they are resident when they apply - so a Scottish student studying in England would borrow up to £9,000 fees under the Scottish system, and have to begin repayments at the £15,795 threshold. The deputy prime minister and Lib Dem party leader Nick Clegg has been speaking to all his MPs to try and forge an agreed position on what the party will do when the issue comes before Parliament. It was developed as the government's response to a review of higher education funding by former BP chief Lord Browne. You can see lists of tuition fees by university on the BBC News website (England and Wales) and collated by OFFA (England only). How much? But partial grants will only be available to students from households with incomes of £42,000, instead of the current cut-off point of £50,000. Will universities get more money? What is the long-term cost? As far as yesterday's demonstration is concerned, it is marvellous and gives a lead to others to follow David Winnick, Labour MP Commons leader Sir George Young told MPs on Thursday that the vote would happen before Parliament's Christmas recess begins on 21 December but did not say precisely when.
Image caption Lib Dem ministers have said the party will approach the vote in a disciplined manner MPs are to vote on controversial plans to raise tuition fees in England on 9 December, ministers have confirmed. The vote will be a critical test for the coalition, which has faced mass protests over its plan to nearly double fees to £6,000 and allow charges of up to £9,000 for some courses. The Lib Dems have come under heavy pressure after pledging before the election to oppose any fee rise. Ministers insist the proposals are fairer than the current system. But student leaders say the proposals - which followed the independent Browne review of student finance - will deter people from poorer backgrounds from applying to university. The National Union of Students have said they will hold a "day of action" on Wednesday 8 December, on the eve of the Commons vote. The deputy prime minister and Lib Dem party leader Nick Clegg has been speaking to all his MPs to try and forge an agreed position on what the party will do when the issue comes before Parliament. Voting intentions The Lib Dems' coalition agreement with the Conservatives allows their MPs to abstain in votes on tuition fees, reflecting the party's longstanding opposition to the charges - currently capped at £3,290. However, a number of Lib Dem MPs - including party president Tim Farron and former leader Sir Menzies Campbell - have indicated they intend to vote against. Business Secretary Vince Cable, who drew up the reform package, has said his "strong inclination" is to vote for the proposals. However he has hinted he might abstain if that is what his party agrees - a position described as "outrageous" by Labour. Student leaders have accused the Lib Dems of betraying their pre-election pledge not to raise fees and the party has been the focus of anger at protests across the country in recent weeks. But Mr Clegg and Mr Cable have defended the proposals - which will see no upfront payments and graduates starting to repay the cost of their degrees when they earn £21,000. The BBC's Political Correspondent Carole Walker said Thursday's vote would be limited to whether to approve the £9,000 fee ceiling for 2012-3 and other matters would be considered in the new year - when ministers are expected to publish a white paper on the future of universities. The Conservatives largely support the rise in fees, which they argue is needed to ensure British universities remain competitive. However Labour has accused the government of curtailing public funding for most degree courses and passing the financial burden onto students. Leader Ed Miliband's plan for an alternative graduate tax - where graduates would pay a percentage of their income towards the cost of their university education - has yet to win the backing of key figures such as shadow chancellor Alan Johnson. Q&A: Tuition fees From September 2012, universities in England are raising tuition fees to up to £9,000 per year, amid major budget cuts to institutions' teaching budgets. It was developed as the government's response to a review of higher education funding by former BP chief Lord Browne. Universities in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland will also be able to raise their fees from 2012, but their home students will not be affected. The government is allowing universities in England to charge up to £9,000 per year for undergraduate courses, raising the cap from its 2011/12 level of £3,375. Universities wanting to charge more than £6,000 have to undertake measures, such as offering bursaries, summer schools and outreach programmes, to encourage students from poorer backgrounds to apply. Students - use this tool to find out how much your loan could cost you to repay How will students pay the fees? The government will lend students the money for fees, which will be paid back when they graduate and begin working. The threshold at which graduates have to start paying their loans back will rise from £15,000 to £21,000. Each month graduates will pay back 9% of their income above that threshold. The subsidised interest rate at which the repayments are made - currently 1.5% - will be raised. Under a "progressive tapering" system, the interest rate will rise from just inflation (RPI) for incomes of £21,000, to 3% plus inflation for incomes above £41,000. Interest of inflation plus 3% will be charged while the student is studying. While loan amounts have been increased, the threshold for those receiving the most generous ones (£5,500 for students living away from home but outside London) has been lowered from £50,000 to about £42,000. But, according analysis by the Institute for Fiscal Studies, most others will pay more - the highest earners almost double what they currently pay. The IFS says that, assuming fees of £7,500, for about half of graduates, the plan is essentially a 9% graduate tax for 30 years, because they will not finish paying off the debt by the 30-year cut-off point. A range of resources from BIS, including a "ready reckoner" spreadsheet, are available explaining the system.
"We will defend the sovereignty of our country," Goude, also Gbagbo's youth minister, said. He says that violates an accord with Ivory Coast. Bonnardeaux says U.N. peacekeepers will continue to try to protect civilians as well as the Golf hotel in Abidjan where Mr. Ouattara has set up his headquarters. "We ask them (the United Nations) to leave our country. The spokesman also says the statement read on Ivorian state television is troubling because it comes after a U.N. patrol of peacekeepers from Bangladesh was attacked early Saturday. A U.N. Security Council diplomat told Reuters: "We're studying the request. Former rebels supporting Ouattara also briefly exchanged fire with government soldiers. The turmoil in the world's top grower of cocoa raised cocoa futures to four-month highs in recent weeks, though futures prices have since eased, with second-month cocoa in New York settling down nearly 2 percent on Friday. She urged more international help. Gbagbo came to power in 2000 after a disputed election against coup leader Robert Guei, and two years later survived a rebellion that split the country into a rebel-held north and his government-controlled south. Young Patriots are planning to gather near the Abidjan airport on Sunday. (Reporting by Louis Charbonneau; editing by Philip Barbara) The U.N mission includes some 10,000 soldiers and police, and is supported by the French LICORNE force. On Thursday, at least 20 people were killed in clashes between pro-Ouattara marchers and security forces. INTERNATIONAL PRESSURE U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, who has recognized Ouattara as the winner of the election, has warned of the potential for a resumption of civil war and called on all sides to avoid triggering further violence.
UNITED NATIONS Dec 18 (Reuters) - U.N. peacekeepers will remain in Ivory Coast and fulfill their mandate despite calls by incumbent President Laurent Gbagbo for all blue helmets to leave the country, the U.N. chief said on Saturday. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is determined that "UNOCI (U.N. mission in Ivory Coast) will fulfill its mandate and will continue to monitor and document any human rights violations, incitement to hatred and violence, or attacks on U.N. peacekeepers," spokesman Farhan Haq said in a statement. ABIDJAN The government of Ivory Coast's incumbent leader Laurent Gbagbo on Saturday told the United Nations and French peacekeeping missions to leave, escalating a dispute over last month's elections. Both the United Nations and the former colonial power, France, have urged Gbagbo to concede defeat in a November 28 poll, which was meant to heal the wounds of the West African state's 2002-03 civil war but has instead reopened them. Spokeswoman Jacqueline Oble read a statement on state television saying the government wanted the UNOCI and LICORNE missions forces to leave Ivory Coast, "and is opposed to any renewal of their mandate." The country has been in turmoil since Gbagbo claimed victory in the election with backing from the pro-Gbagbo Constitutional Council, the nation's highest legal body, rejecting as fraudulent results showing that he had lost by nearly 8 percentage points to Alassane Ouattara. The United Nations and almost all world leaders have recognized Ouattara's win and demanded that Gbagbo step down. The U.N mission includes some 10,000 soldiers and police, and is supported by the French LICORNE force. Hundreds of peacekeepers have been deployed to defend Ouattara's makeshift headquarters in Abidjan's lagoon-side Golf Hotel. On Thursday, at least 20 people were killed in clashes between pro-Ouattara marchers and security forces. Former rebels supporting Ouattara also briefly exchanged fire with government soldiers. INTERNATIONAL PRESSURE U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, who has recognized Ouattara as the winner of the election, has warned of the potential for a resumption of civil war and called on all sides to avoid triggering further violence. The leader of Gbagbo's feared Young Patriots militia group, Ble Goude, told Reuters they may march on the U.N. guarded hotel where Ouattara is staying to force him out. And at a rally of several thousand in the poor neighborhood of Yopougon, he called on his militia to "liberate" Ivory Coast. "We will defend the sovereignty of our country," Goude, also Gbagbo's youth minister, said. A top U.S. State Department official told Reuters on Friday that Gbagbo had also been offered a "soft landing" in exile in an African country if he steps down. Gbagbo came to power in 2000 after a disputed election against coup leader Robert Guei, and two years later survived a rebellion that split the country into a rebel-held north and his government-controlled south. The turmoil in the world's top grower of cocoa raised cocoa futures to four-month highs in recent weeks, though futures prices have since eased, with second-month cocoa in New York settling down nearly 2 percent on Friday. Ivorian state television issued a statement earlier Saturday accusing peacekeepers of siding with rebels and Mr. Gbagbo's presidential rival Alassane Ouattara. U.N spokesman Michel Bonnardeaux says the world body, the African Union, the West African regional grouping ECOWAS, the former colonial power France, the United States and many other countries recognize Mr. Ouattara as the winner of last month's presidential election. The spokesman also says the statement read on Ivorian state television is troubling because it comes after a U.N. patrol of peacekeepers from Bangladesh was attacked early Saturday. Dozens of people were killed Thursday when forces loyal to Mr. Gbagbo stopped civilians and former rebels who control the north of the country from seizing the state television in Abidjan, the main commercial city in the south. He warned that if the international community wants Ivory Coast to "disappear", he says it will disappear.
This has been corrected. After the drill, the South Korean president, Lee Myung-bak, ordered troops to remain on alert, highlighting concerns that the North could be biding its time. Pyongyang labelled the latest exercise "reckless military provocation" but said it would not retaliate. Two civilians and two marines were killed on Yeonpyeong island last month when North Korea responded to a similar drill with a military barrage. CNN reported that northern officials told Mr Richardson they would allow UN nuclear inspectors back into the country, but there has been no official comment. The US has backed the South's right to carry out the exercises, and a small contingent of American personnel was helping with the drills. North Korea: Timeline 2010 26 March: South Korean warship, Cheonan, sinks, killing 46 sailors 20 May: Panel says a North Korean torpedo sank the ship; Pyongyang denies involvement 29 September: North holds rare party congress seen as part of father-to-son succession move 29 October: Troops from North and South Korea exchange fire across the land border 23 November: North shells island of Yeonpyeong, killing at least four South Koreans In pictures: Day of tension Brief history of the Korean War Profile: Bill Richardson South Korean military spokesman Lee Bung-woo confirmed that no fire had come from the North's side. Russia also renewed its calls for both sides to show restraint. But state media quoted the army as saying it was "not worth reacting". UN Security Council talks on North Korea ended without a deal at the weekend, reportedly after China refused to agree to a statement critical of its ally.
Image caption The threat of a North Korean response has caused anxiety in the South North Korea says it will not retaliate despite "reckless provocations" from the South, which held live-fire drills on the flashpoint island of Yeonpyeong. But state media quoted the army as saying it was "not worth reacting". Meanwhile US politician Bill Richardson, on a visit to the North, says it has agreed to allow UN inspectors back into the country. The New Mexico governor, who is in Pyongyang in an unofficial capacity, said he had been told during meetings that members of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) would be allowed renewed access to a uranium enrichment facility. Inspectors, who had been monitoring the Yongbyon nuclear plant, were expelled from the country in April 2009. UN Security Council talks on North Korea ended without a deal at the weekend, reportedly after China refused to agree to a statement critical of its ally. The South's government has been under huge domestic pressure to take a tough stance towards Pyongyang, in the wake of the 23 November shelling of Yeonpyeong, which killed four people. Witnesses said the ground shook from the force of the artillery barrages during 90 minutes of firing. South Koreans feared a military response from the North, but state news agency KCNA reported that the military was not planning any retaliation. "The revolutionary armed forces of the DPRK [North Korea] did not feel any need to retaliate against every despicable military provocation," KCNA quoted the the army's Supreme Command as saying. "The world should properly know who is the true champion of peace and who is the real provocateur of a war." North Korea: Timeline 2010 26 March: South Korean warship, Cheonan, sinks, killing 46 sailors 20 May: Panel says a North Korean torpedo sank the ship; Pyongyang denies involvement 29 September: North holds rare party congress seen as part of father-to-son succession move 29 October: Troops from North and South Korea exchange fire across the land border 23 November: North shells island of Yeonpyeong, killing at least four South Koreans In pictures: Day of tension Brief history of the Korean War Profile: Bill Richardson South Korean military spokesman Lee Bung-woo confirmed that no fire had come from the North's side. "During the exercise, the North Korean military strengthened vigilance and maintained preparedness, but did not make any additional provocations," he said, according to South Korean news agency Yonhap. "Our military will continue to keep firm military preparedness to defend the north-western islands and safeguard our sovereignty." The US has backed the South's right to carry out the exercises, and a small contingent of American personnel was helping with the drills. But the North claims that any ammunition fired inevitably lands in its territorial waters. 'Progress' The North's retaliation last month was the first time it had shelled civilian areas since the 1950-53 Korean War. Yeonpyeong is close to the two countries' sea border, the Northern Limit Line, which was drawn up at the end of the war, but is disputed by the North. Mr Richardson told CNN that he had held "very tough" talks with Maj Gen Pak Rim-su, who leads North Korean forces along the border with the South. The BBC's Jane O'Brien in Washington says the US is walking a diplomatic tightrope, as there are 28,000 American troops stationed in the South, and they would almost certainly be drawn in if hostilities erupt The island is normally home to some 1,300 residents along with hundreds of marines, but most civilians have fled to the mainland, leaving only about 100 remaining, Yonhap said. Image caption The threat of a North Korean response has caused anxiety in the South South Korea has held military exercises using live artillery fire on Yeonpyeong island, weeks after the North shelled the island following a similar drill. Pyongyang labelled the latest exercise "reckless military provocation" but said it would not retaliate. Earlier, the US envoy to the UN, Susan Rice, said the drills were "fully consistent with South Korea's legal right to self defence". The South's government has been under huge domestic pressure to take a tough stance towards Pyongyang, in the wake of the 23 November shelling by the North. Diplomatic tightrope Yeonpyeong residents were told to move into air-raid shelters early on Monday - part of regular procedure during military exercises in the area. North Korea: Timeline 2010 26 March: South Korean warship, Cheonan, sinks, killing 46 sailors 20 May: Panel says a North Korean torpedo sank the ship; Pyongyang denies involvement 29 September: North holds rare party congress seen as part of father-to-son succession move 29 October: Troops from North and South Korea exchange fire across the land border 23 November: North shells island of Yeonpyeong, killing at least four South Koreans Koreans angry and worried Korean War relic Brief history of the Korean War South Korea's defence ministry said the drills began at 1430 (0530 GMT), after being delayed by thick fog, and ended 90 minutes later. But the North claimed any ammunition fired would inevitably land in its territorial waters, and warned of an "unpredictable self-defensive blow". Pyongyang fails to react to military drill, suggesting diplomatic calls for restraint have paid off The South Korean military today fired shells into disputed waters in the Yellow Sea in a live-fire drill that risked inflaming tensions with North Korea that have led to two deadly clashes this year. Prior to the action, South Korea scrambled F15-K fighter jets, put Aegis warships on alert and evacuated residents of the nearby Yeonpyeong island into air raid shelters amid North Korean warnings of "catastrophe" if the exercise went ahead. However, North Korea's military said today it "was not worth reacting" to the military drill, suggesting last-minute diplomatic calls for restraint had paid off. "We felt it was not worth reacting one by one to military provocations," the North's state news agency, KCNA, quoted the North Korean People's Army supreme command as saying. Two civilians and two marines were killed on Yeonpyeong island last month when North Korea responded to a similar drill with a military barrage. China, North Korea's key ally, said it was "unambiguously opposed" to any acts that could worsen tensions.
He then had a conversation with Mr Cameron. News Corporation, Mr Murdoch's firm, said it was "shocked and dismayed" by Mr Cable's comments. Mr Cable said in a statement tonight: "I fully accept the decision of the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister. Are you interested in a career in the media? The Daily Telegraph can also disclose that a second Liberal Democrat minister also privately boasted to the undercover reporters about Mr Cable's role in the BSkyB takeover. I deeply regret the comments I made and apologise for the embarrassment that I have caused the government." In an emergency statement issued last night, Downing Street said that a large part of Mr Cable's responsibilities would now be transferred to Jeremy Hunt, the Culture Secretary. And they are legal powers that I have got. I can't politicise it but from the people that know what is happening this is a big, big thing. They were leaked to BBC Business Editor Robert Peston by a source who was upset at the newspaper's decision not to publish them. "This includes full responsibility for Ofcom's activities in these areas. His whole empire is now under attack. "In addition, all responsibility for competition and policy issues relating to media, broadcasting, digital and telecoms sectors will be transferred immediately to the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport. "I have declared war on Mr Murdoch and I think we're going to win". Nick Robinson said some Tory MPs would be questioning whether Mr Cable - who is seen as a key figure in holding the coalition together - would have been "out on his ear" if he had been a member of their party.
Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Cable: "I have declared war on Mr Murdoch" Business Secretary Vince Cable will stay in cabinet despite "declaring war" on Rupert Murdoch, says Downing Street. But he will be stripped of his powers to rule on Mr Murdoch's bid to take control of BSkyB, which will be handed to Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt. Downing Street said David Cameron believed Mr Cable's comments about Mr Murdoch were "totally unacceptable and inappropriate". BBC Political Editor Nick Robinson said Downing Street's statement was a "humiliating slap in the face" for Mr Cable and although he had kept his job he was still in a "very awkward" position, with questions over his judgement after telling "complete strangers" highly sensitive political information. Nick Robinson said some Tory MPs would be questioning whether Mr Cable - who is seen as a key figure in holding the coalition together - would have been "out on his ear" if he had been a member of their party. In a statement, a Downing Street spokesman said: "Following comments made by Vince Cable to the Daily Telegraph, the prime minister has decided that he will play no further part in the decision over News Corporation's proposed takeover of BSkyB. "In addition, all responsibility for competition and policy issues relating to media, broadcasting, digital and telecoms sectors will be transferred immediately to the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport. "This includes full responsibility for Ofcom's activities in these areas. "The prime minister is clear that Mr Cable's comments were totally unacceptable and inappropriate." 'Picking fights' Mr Cable said in a statement: "I fully accept the decision of the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister. I deeply regret the comments I made and apologise for the embarrassment that I have caused the government." News Corporation, which already owns 39% of BSkyB but wants to buy up the remaining 61% for £7.8bn, said Mr Cable's unguarded remarks raised "serious questions about fairness and due process". As business secretary, Mr Cable was to have the final say over whether the takeover should be allowed to go ahead amid concerns about press freedom and consumer choice. Analysis Vince Cable's remarks shed new light on the campaign to block News Corporation's full takeover of BSkyB. On the day the bid was announced in June, most commentators thought it would go ahead without much difficulty, subject to agreement on price. BSkyB was already seen by government and regulators as part of the Murdoch empire, even though News Corp held only 39 per cent of the shares. When he merged it with British Satellite Broadcasting in 1990 he still had a controlling stake and he was BSkyB's chairman for many years, followed by his son James. Only in September did a campaign begin in the press and parliament arguing that the Murdoch empire would have even more power if it owned all the BSkyB shares. His statement that "I have declared war on Mr Murdoch and I think we are going to win" suggests he might have done. But Labour claimed his impartiality was fatally undermined by comments made to undercover Daily Telegraph reporters posing as his constituents. Labour leader Ed Miliband replied yes when asked if he would have sacked Mr Cable had he been in Mr Cameron's position. "Having apparently breached the ministerial code and having said what he said, he shouldn't be remaining in office and I fear that David Cameron has made this decision not because it's good for the country, but because he is worried about the impact on his coalition of Vince Cable going. The comments were not included in a transcript of Mr Cable's conversation with the undercover reporters published earlier on Tuesday by the newspaper. They were leaked to BBC Business Editor Robert Peston by a source who was upset at the newspaper's decision not to publish them. According to the leaked transcript, Mr Cable said: "I am picking my fights, some of which you may have seen, some of which you may haven't seen. "And I don't know if you have been following what has been happening with the Murdoch press, where I have declared war on Mr Murdoch and I think we are going to win." 'Nuclear option' He also speaks of the importance of not politicizing the BSkyB decision "because it is a legal decision". But adds: "I have blocked it using the powers that I have got and they are legal powers that I have got. Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Ed Miliband: ''Vince Cable should have gone'' Mr Cable had earlier revealed deep misgivings about a number of coalition policies in his secretly taped remarks - including bank bonuses, immigration, and the speed at which the coalition was trying to push through changes in the health service, local government and other areas. He also claimed he could "bring the government down" if he resigned and this was the "nuclear option" he was keeping in reserve as a last resort. In October, the Telegraph's chief executive, Murdoch MacLennan, signed a letter - along with senior executives of the BBC, Channel 4, the Daily Mail and Trinity Mirror - asking Mr Cable to consider blocking the takeover. "The disclosure of Mr Cable's private views on Mr Murdoch and the proposed takeover of BSkyB makes it extremely difficult for him to fulfil his role as the ultimate arbiter of whether the deal should proceed under the 2002 Enterprise Act.
I miss the people, the mission, the comraderie. "This is the right thing to do for our military, and I believe it is the right thing to do period." Mr Obama said the law meant that tens of thousands of Americans would no longer be asked to live a lie. The report also concluded that encounters with gay service members are common. He said, "We are not a nation that says 'don't ask, don't tell.' Obama, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Adm. Mike Mullen and Defense Secretary Gates all had called for a repeal of the policy. Guidelines So many activists were expected at the signing ceremony that the White House booked a larger room for the event. I'm going back to reach my 20 years of service and retire." "Our people sacrifice a lot for their country, including their lives. The signing does not immediately implement the repeal but instead begins the process of ending the ban on gays serving openly in the military. The president said the new law would be good for the armed forces. He plans to re-enlist. "The law that I'm about to sign will strengthen national security and uphold ideals that fighting men and women risk their lives to defend," he said. The law will not actually change until the Pentagon certifies to Congress that the military has met several conditions, including education and training programs for the troops. "No longer will our country be denied the service of thousands of patriotic Americans who were forced to leave the military, regardless of their skills, no matter their bravery or their zeal, no matter their years of exemplary performance because they happen to be gay."
President Obama signed into law a repeal of the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy Wednesday, fulfilling a campaign promise and marking a historic step forward for gay rights. The law "will strengthen our national security and uphold the ideals our fighting men and women defend," Obama told a cheering crowd of gay and lesbian service members and their supporters in Washington. "No longer will thousands of men and women in uniform be asked to live a lie or look over their shoulder while serving the country they love." "Our people sacrifice a lot for their country, including their lives. "This is the right thing to do for our military, and I believe it is the right thing to do period." The law ends the legal underpinnings for the ban on openly gay troops, but it does not immediately overturn the policy itself. Officials say the 17-year-old ban will remain throughout the military until the president, Defense secretary and Congress certify that the military is prepared to put in place a repeal. "I have spoken to every one of the service chiefs, and they are all committed to implementing this change swiftly and efficiently. While some advocates have bristled at the timing, many could not deny the enormity of the moment and said it would be a defining element of Obama's legacy. "Clearly, this is President Obama's Lyndon Johnson moment in history," said Aubrey Sarvis, Army veteran and executive director for Servicemembers Legal Defense Network. "A measure of dignity has been restored to thousands of service members on active duty, and to over a million gay veterans who served in silence." The move is expected to eventually end ongoing investigations and open the door to thousands of discharged service members to return to the military and resume their careers. "I'm just incredibly proud of our country and of this military that so many service members will be able to serve with dignity and integrity," said Air Force Lt. Col. Victor Feherenbach, 41, the highest-ranking officer investigated under the policy. "It's actually taken a day or two to sink in, because it seemed so unbelievable at the time." While it's unclear how vigorously the ban will be enforced during the interim, Feherenbach said there are already signs officials are aggressively pursuing the change. "I just received an e-mail from my commander, and I understand that the Air Force Chief of Staff has sent out a note that said we're going to do this, we're going to follow the law, we're going to be professionals as we always have and we're going to respect each other," he said. In the weeks ahead the Pentagon is expected to revise policies and regulations to reflect the repeal, and train leaders on how to enforce the rules. More than 2 million service members across the military are also expected to be briefed on what is expected of them and what is not. "The implementation plan lays out an ambitious agenda of things that need to be done," said Defense Secretary Robert Gates last week. Among the expected changes is non-discrimination against a military applicant who may volunteer that he or she is gay, opening the door to the return of thousands of service members whose careers were cut short after they were outed on the job. I can't wait to get back in there and finish my career," said Mike Almy, an Air Force Major and 13-year veteran who was discharged four years ago after investigators learned he was gay through personal e-mails. Thousands of Gays Expected to Re-Enlist Nobody knows for sure how many of the estimated 14,000 gays and lesbians discharged because of their sexual orientation will want to re-enlist or still meet the requirements for active duty, including age and fitness levels. But some advocates estimate up to a quarter of those discharged under "don't ask, don't tell" could return to the force. "We expect that all who are otherwise qualified will be allowed to rejoin and at least pick up their careers where they left off," said Aaron Tax, legal director for the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, who said many gay veterans were interested in continuing to work toward 20 years of service to earn valuable military retirement benefits. Jason Knight, discharged after five years as a Navy Hebrew linguist, said he plans to re-enlist as soon as he can because there is such high demand for interpreters and intelligence analysts. "Linguists have the highest security clearance and are essential in deciphering foreign intelligence," he said. "And anecdotally at least, they are the biggest field hit by 'don't ask, don't tell' next to pilots and medics... An estimated 800 mission-critical troops, including at least 59 Arabic and nine Farsi linguists, have been fired for being openly gay between 2003 and 2008, according to estimates provided by the Pentagon to SLDN. Fifty to 55 percent of those surveyed said the repeal wouldn't have any effect, 15 to 20 percent said it would have a positive effect and 30 percent said the effect would be negative. The report also concluded that encounters with gay service members are common. The most recent ABC News/Washington Post poll found 77 percent of Americans support allowing gays and lesbians to serve openly in the U.S. military, the largest show of support in the history of the policy. President Obama signed the landmark repeal of the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy Wednesday morning, handing a major victory to advocates of gay rights and fulfilling a campaign promise to do away with a practice that he has called discriminatory. Casting the repeal in terms of past civil rights struggles, Obama said he was proud to sign a law that "will strengthen our national security and uphold the ideals that our fighting men and women risk their lives to defend." In remarks before signing the repeal, he added: "No longer will our country be denied the service of thousands of patriotic Americans who are forced to leave the military - regardless of their skills, no matter their bravery or their zeal, no matter their years of exemplary performance - because they happen to be gay. But he pledged that all the service chiefs are "committed to implementing this change swiftly and efficiently," and he vowed, "We are not going to be dragging our feet to get this done."
"They have recently arrived in Mumbai. "Since yesterday, we are checking all the possible hideouts, small lodges and guesthouses, railway stations. "The police [are] on high alert all over the city. India blames LeT for the 2008 attacks in Mumbai which killed 166 people. At a news conference Thursday, Mumbai police said four suspects had sneaked into the city four days earlier to carry out terrorist attacks. The men are planning to attack Mumbai over the Christmas and New Year period and police have released a sketch of one of them. India accused Pakistan's Lashkar-i-Taiba of engineering the assault. We are not in a position to reveal their nationalities now but they are LeT members." Roads were closed on Friday in and around the luxury Taj Mahal Palace hotel - the focus of the deadly siege two years ago - and armed police were patrolling at high-profile sites, including consulates. The Indian government wrote to Pakistani authorities Thursday seeking permission to question seven suspects in the case who have been jailed in Pakistan. A US counterterrorism official, speaking on condition of anonymity, acknowledged the possibility LeT might attempt to strike over the holidays. The lone surviving gunman, Mohammed Ajmal Amir Kasab, was sentenced to death in May. "It is going to be a violent attack which will cause disruptions," said Himanshu Roy, joint commissioner of Mumbai Police. This is the second time a terrorism alert has been issued in three months in Mumbai. Authorities released a hazy sketch of a bearded man called Walid Jinnah. Mumbai was the site of a deadly three-day siege in November 2008 when gunmen attacked two five-star hotels, a train station, a cafe and a Jewish prayer center, killing more than 160 people.
Image caption Mumbai police have released a picture of one of the suspects and named him as Walid Jinnah Police are scouring Mumbai for four Pakistani alleged militants believed to have entered the city to carry out an attack, a top police official said. There was credible information that at least four members of the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) militant group were in the city, said the police commissioner. Police have released a sketch of one of the suspects, set up checkpoints and placed extra officers on patrol. India blames LeT for the 2008 attacks in Mumbai which killed 166 people. Roads were closed on Friday in and around the luxury Taj Mahal Palace hotel - the focus of the deadly siege two years ago - and armed police were patrolling at high-profile sites, including consulates. Joint police commissioner Himanshu Roy told a news conference on Thursday evening: "The four men are planning violent attacks that are going to cause destruction." Indian police issued a similar warning in September about a possible attack by two Islamist militants in the city, which is India's financial capital, but nothing happened and no arrests were made. NEW DELHI - A day after issuing a terror alert for the holiday week, police in India's commercial capital of Mumbai launched a manhunt Friday for four terrorist suspects thought to have sneaked into the city. We cannot take any of these intelligence inputs lightly in the holiday season," said Nisar Tamboli, deputy commissioner of police in the Mumbai crime department. Mumbai was the site of a deadly three-day siege in November 2008 when gunmen attacked two five-star hotels, a train station, a cafe and a Jewish prayer center, killing more than 160 people. At a news conference Thursday, Mumbai police said four suspects had sneaked into the city four days earlier to carry out terrorist attacks. Holding up his image, senior police officer Himanshu Roy said the four men were members of the Pakistan-based militant group Lashkar-i-Taiba and were between 20 and 30 years old. In September, police released two pictures of suspects days before a popular Hindu festival during which tens of thousands of people dance and sing in the streets. Indian police arrested the lone surviving gunman, who is now on trial in Mumbai. Earlier this year, a lower court sentenced the gunman to death, and he has appealed. Two bombings have been carried out in India this year - one in the western city of Pune in February that killed 17 people and another this month in the Hindu holy city of Varanasi that killed a child. The men are planning to attack Mumbai over the Christmas and New Year period and police have released a sketch of one of them. "There's no question LeT remains interested in pulling off another large-scale attack in India, and we are alert to the possibility that LeT might again try a holiday attack," the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. A second attack on Mumbai could damage India's economy and an attack originating from Pakistan could force a swift Indian response, which would destabilise regional security. On November 26, 2008, 10 heavily armed gunmen stormed downtown Mumbai, opening fire in the city's main train station and a bar popular with tourists. Tensions have remained high in Mumbai since the attacks, with increased security at the city's hotels, train stations, sea port and airports.
"Corruption persists, some cases even involving huge sums of money," the report said. Legal Framework for Combating Corruption and Building a Clean Government IV. BEIJING, Dec. 29 (Xinhua) -- The Information Office of the State Council, China's cabinet, published a white paper on China's efforts to combat corruption and build a clean government Wednesday. The party also says it will curb excessive spending on official parties and seminars. Critics say that corruption is ingrained in the system and new regulations will not solve the problem. Five police were injured and six local people were detained as local people protested over the circumstances of the death of Mr Qian who had only recently been released following his third attempt to petition for the money he and his villagers were allegedly still owed. China has launched several anti-corruption campaigns in recent years. This week another case demonstrated the depth of public suspicion in China towards officials after internet users refused to believe police when a village chief who had complained about official corruption was killed in a hit-and-run accident. In July 2010, the top justice official in the city of Chongqing, Wen Qiang, was executed after being convicted of accepting bribes, rape and shielding criminal gangs. The report carried by the official state news agency Xinhua says that between 2003 and 2009, prosecutors investigated more than 240,000 cases, including embezzlement and bribery. Handling Cases of Corruption in Accordance with Law and Discipline VII. One of the biggest involved a powerful party boss in Shanghai, Chen Liangyu, who was jailed for 18 years in 2008 for his role in a pension fund scandal.
Image caption There was public anger over the activities of Wen Qiang, executed after he was convicted of rape and taking bribes China says its corruption problem is "still very serious" and has set out new measures to tackle it. In a new report on the fight against corruption, the authorities say more than 200,000 cases have been investigated since 2003. They say their efforts to date have "yielded notable results" but resolve to make them more effective. Critics say that corruption is ingrained in the system and new regulations will not solve the problem. The report carried by the official state news agency Xinhua says that between 2003 and 2009, prosecutors investigated more than 240,000 cases, including embezzlement and bribery. It highlights new rules requiring members of the governing Communist party to report incomes and investments. The party also says it will curb excessive spending on official parties and seminars. The document praises the role of the news media and the internet in exposing corrupt practices, declaring that "sunshine is the best antiseptic". 'Huge sums' The report acknowledges that tackling corruption will be a massive task. "Since the relevant mechanisms and systems are still incomplete, corruption persists, with some cases even involving huge sums of money," it says. "The situation in combating corruption is still very serious, and the tasks are still abundant." One of the biggest involved a powerful party boss in Shanghai, Chen Liangyu, who was jailed for 18 years in 2008 for his role in a pension fund scandal. In July 2010, the top justice official in the city of Chongqing, Wen Qiang, was executed after being convicted of accepting bribes, rape and shielding criminal gangs. Facing mounting public discontent over corruption and inequality, China 's State Council, or Cabinet, launched its first ever white paper yesterday to "Combat Corruption and Build a Clean Government". The paper is the latest in a long-running series of attempts to address corruption by China's ruling party which refuses to submit itself to external checks and balances, but continues to promise ever-greater amounts of self-regulation. Announcing the new campaign, the Party produced statistics showing that more than 240,000 corruption cases had been investigated between 2003 and 2009 involving bribes totalling more than £1.6bn. However the white paper's authors admitted that corruption remained. The Party's high-profile campaigns against corruption this year exposed the links between organised crime groups and officials in the southwestern megalopolis of Chongqing, leading to the execution of the city's former top judicial official on charges of bribery, rape and extortion. In another case a senior official was given 12 years in jail after his secret diaries detailing a litany of sexual conquests and bribe-taking were published online, causing a furore. This week another case demonstrated the depth of public suspicion in China towards officials after internet users refused to believe police when a village chief who had complained about official corruption was killed in a hit-and-run accident. The village head, 53-year-old Qian Yunhui from Zhejiang province, had complained since 2005 that his village had not received more than £6m it was owed after the local government requisitioned 360 acres of land for a power station project.
The motive, according to the Justice Department, was revenge. Sterling is charged with leaking information about that classified program and the human asset. The source familiar with the case confirmed that the reporter in the indictment was Risen. The book revealed details about the CIA's covert spy war with Iran. The Times never published Risen’s story. Former CIA officer Jeffrey Sterling was arrested today on charges that he leaked national defense information to the media and revealed the identity of a "human asset." It said he discussed the information with the reporter in early 2003 and later in connection with a book published in January 2006. That prompted U.S. government officials to meet with Risen and representatives of the Times about the “national security implications” of publishing such information. Sterling, a lawyer who worked at the CIA from 1993 to 2002, was arrested in St. Louis near where he lives. Sterling has been in a dispute with the CIA since 2000, focused on alleged racial discrimination and the agency's refusal to allow him to publish his memoirs. From 1998 through mid-2000, he was assigned to a classified clandestine program that conducted intelligence activities about the weapons capabilities of certain countries, the Justice Department said in announcing the indictment against Sterling. He will be held at least until a detention hearing on Jan. 10 at 2 p.m. The New York Times declined to comment on the indictment of Sterling or about Risen's involvement. The idea was that the Russian scientist, who was covertly working for the CIA, would feed the flawed designs to the Iranians. The arrest of Sterling caps a controversial, years-long leak investigation that became a high priority item for two administrations and led to two separate grand jury subpoenas of Risen, one of the Times’ top reporters on national security and intelligence issues, in an effort to get him to identify his sources.
REUTERS/Jason Reed WASHINGTON A former CIA officer was arrested on Thursday on charges of illegally disclosing national defense information about Iran to a New York Times reporter who wrote a book. The U.S. Justice Department said Jeffrey Sterling, 43, was charged with six counts of unauthorized disclosure of national defense information and one count of unlawfully keeping national defense information, mail fraud, unauthorized conveyance of government property and obstructing justice. The arrest marked the latest case brought by the Obama administration charging current or former U.S. officials with leaking classified information to the news media. It also has been investigating the founder of WikiLeaks, Julian Assange, for leaking hundreds of classified U.S. diplomatic cables that have embarrassed the White House. Sterling, a lawyer who worked at the CIA from 1993 to 2002, was arrested in St. Louis near where he lives. From 1998 through mid-2000, he was assigned to a classified clandestine program that conducted intelligence activities about the weapons capabilities of certain countries, the Justice Department said in announcing the indictment against Sterling. In the same time period, Sterling also was an operations officer who handled a human asset associated with that program, according to the indictment. CIA ACTIVITIES The indictment alleged that Sterling, retaliating for the CIA's refusal to settle on favorable terms his discrimination claims, disclosed information about the program. But the dates and other details in the indictment make clear it involved New York Times reporter James Risen, whose 2006 book "State of War" revealed details of the CIA's intelligence activities involving Iran. Each charge carries a maximum penalty of 10 or 20 years in prison. In other cases, Stephen Kim, a foreign policy analyst who worked at the U.S. State Department, was charged in August with leaking a top-secret intelligence report to a news reporter last year. Also last year, a former high-ranking official at the National Security Agency was charged with illegally possessing classified information that he allegedly gave to a reporter at the Baltimore Sun newspaper. Former CIA officer Jeffrey Sterling was arrested today on charges that he leaked national defense information to the media and revealed the identity of a "human asset." Sterling, 43, worked for the CIA from May 1993 to January 2002, and for two years was assigned to "a classified clandestine operational program designed to conduct intelligence activities related to the weapons capabilities of certain countries," according to the indictment. During that time, he also was handling a "human asset" associated with that program. Sterling is charged with leaking information about that classified program and the human asset. The Associated Press reported that from the dates and other details, it is clear that case centers on leaks to Risen for his 2006 book, "State of War." The book revealed details about the CIA's covert spy war with Iran. Sterling's defense attorney Edward B. MacMahon Jr. said in a statement to ABC News, "He has always maintained his innocence throughout the course of this entire investigation. Sterling has been in a dispute with the CIA since 2000, focused on alleged racial discrimination and the agency's refusal to allow him to publish his memoirs. According to the indictment, on Feb. 12, 2003, the CIA rejected Sterling's third offer to settle his discrimination lawsuit, which was ultimately dismissed by the court. The indictment alleges that beginning a few weeks later, Sterling started providing the reporter with classified information. Specifically, the indictment charges Sterling with six counts of unauthorized disclosure of national defense information, and one count each of unlawful retention of national defense information, mail fraud, unauthorized conveyance of government property and obstruction of justice. Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer said, "The indictment unsealed today alleges that Jeffrey Sterling violated his oath to protect classified information and then obstructed an investigation into his actions. Through his alleged actions, Sterling placed at risk our national security and the life of an individual working on a classified mission." Asked about the arrest, Preston Golson, a CIA spokesman, said, "The CIA deplores the unauthorized disclosure of classified information." A message on Risen's phone extension at the Times' Washington bureau indicated that his voice mailbox was full. Jeffrey Alexander Sterling, who served in the CIA between 1993 and 2002, was arrested by the FBI in St. Louis Thursday and charged in a 10-count indictment with disclosing national defense information and obstruction of justice. The arrest of Sterling caps a controversial, years-long leak investigation that became a high priority item for two administrations and led to two separate grand jury subpoenas of Risen, one of the Times’ top reporters on national security and intelligence issues, in an effort to get him to identify his sources. Ed MacMahon, a lawyer for Sterling, said: “He maintains his innocence.” The case involves the disclosure in Risen’s 2006 book, “State of War,” of a CIA program called “Operation Merlin.” Risen described it as a botched attempt under the Clinton administration to sabotage Iran’s nuclear program by giving flawed blueprints for key components to a Russian nuclear scientist who had defected.
It was not over. "This morning, in an unspeakable tragedy, a number of Americans were shot in Tucson, Arizona, at a constituent meeting with Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords. "She's tireless." The official said the suspect was tackled after the shooting and was in custody. [Updated at 2:43 p.m. ET] Chief Judge John Roll was among 6 people killed at an Arizona constituent meeting outside a Tucson grocery store Saturday. Previous Next Jewel Samad/AFP/Getty Images Hide caption President Obama speaks at the memorial service. Law enforcement sources told NPR the suspect was 22-year-old Jared Lee Loughner. REUTERS/Eric Thayer A medical helicopter evacuates victims from a 'Congress on Your Corner' event in Tucson, Arizona, where U.S. Representative Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ) among others were shot and seriously wounded, in this still image taken from video released on January 8. Pima County Sheriff Clarence Dupnik described him as "unhinged." No! In light of the shootings, all legislation on the House schedule for the coming week has been postponed, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor announced in a statement. The official did not have details at this time as to when and where the gun was purchased. OPTIMISTIC ABOUT RECOVERY Doctors said Giffords was in a critical condition but they were optimistic about her recovery. 2011. YouTube December 15, 2010: If I define terrorist then a terrorist is a person who employs terror or terrorism, especially as a political weapon. Six people have died, including a 9-year-old girl, and 12 were injured, including U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, authorities said. "I don't think members of the media and the public realize that public officials receive threats all the time and have their offices vandalized."
[Updated at 10:30 p.m. ET] A man who helped subdue the gunman in Saturday's Arizona shooting spree said the man was trying to reload when he was tackled to the ground. "He was ready for war. "He was going to keep shooting. He had just ran out of bullets." The gun, which another bystander had wrestled from the gunman, was empty and cocked open, and the shooter had another magazine at the ready, Zamudio said. Zamudio pinned him to the ground until police showed up. The suspect, 22-year-old Jared Lee Loughner, is in custody of the Pima County Sheriff's Office, and authorities are obtaining search warrants for a residence and his vehicle. Authorities also are seeking a person of interest but his suspected connection to the incident is unclear. Loughner is accused of shooting 18 people, including U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, a third-term Democrat who had organized the "Congress on Your Corner" meet and greet. She is in critical condition after undergoing surgery for a single gunshot wound to the head, but doctors said they are optimistic over her prospects for recovery. Watch a timeline of events Eleven others were wounded in the shooting and six are dead, among them U.S. District Court Judge John Rolls, a friend of Giffords' who had stopped by the event to say hello after attending Mass, Pima County Sheriff Clarence Dupnik said. Also killed was Giffords staffer Gabe Zimmerman, director of community outreach who had coordinated the event to introduce Giffords to her constituents. A 9-year-old girl also was killed. The shooting sent shock waves through Washington, where Giffords was regarded as gracious and kind, a moderate Democrat known for her dedication to her constituents and willingness to work across party lines. In light of the shootings, all legislation on the House schedule for the coming week has been postponed, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor announced in a statement. In the Twitterverse, theories abounded as to the gunman's motivation. Meanwhile, while speaking to the press , the sheriff lamented "the vitriolic rhetoric" in American political discourse, suggesting it played a role in the shooting. "This has not become the nice United States of America that most of us grew up in and I think its time we do the soul-searching," he said. "The anger, the hatred the bigotry that goes on in this country is getting to be outrageous and unfortunately, Arizona has become the capital. ET] A House vote scheduled for Monday on whether to repeal health care legislation has been postponed after Saturday's shooting. All legislation on the House schedule for the coming week has been postponed in a decision by leaders of both political parties in the House so "we can take whatever actions may be necessary in light of today's tragedy," House Majority Leader Eric Cantor said in a statement. ET] Some who knew Giffords and others who just wanted an outlet for emotions in the wake of the shooting rampage gathered on Capitol Hill Saturday night to honor the victims. More than 50 marchers braved subfreezing temperatures and gusty winds to march to the Capitol and up the west steps to hold the vigil. ET] A law enforcement source familiar with the investigation says the Glock model 19 used in the shootings was purchased legally. The official did not have details at this time as to when and where the gun was purchased. The official said it is likely the extended magazine used in the shooting was purchased separately and at a different time. The official said such a magazine does not automatically come with a weapons purchase and that it would be extremely rare for them to be sold together in one purchase. The official said the suspect had purchased another gun a few years ago but this person did not know the details about what happened to that weapon and if the alleged shooter still owned it. Law enforcement is actively searching for a "person of interest" who is a white male in his 50s believed to have assisted the suspect in a shooting, Dupnik said. The suspect has had previous contact with law enforcement "regarding threats" to kill, Dupnik said, and described him as having a "troubled past." CNN has confirmed that the suspect's name is Jared Lee Loughner, 22, whose apparent online footprint professes an distrust of government and a fondness for books such as "Mein Kampf," "The Communist Manifesto," "Peter Pan" and "The Republic." "There's reason to believe this individual has a mental issue and I think that people who are unbalanced are especially susceptible to vitriol," he said. "Vitriol" in public debate was a recurring theme in Dupnik's remarks as he blasted the media for "the vitriolic rhetoric" heard on television and radio. Here's a sampling of some of the messages that CNN found on Loughner's pages: MySpace December 26, 2010: I'm not going to change the mistakes, you don't know – funny!
"Unfortunately, it is not. "Yes," he said. Those are federal charges. She was in critical condition at Tucson's University Medical Center. Arizona court hearing Mr Loughner walked into the courtroom wearing handcuffs and in a prison uniform, with a cut on the right side of his head. It was unclear when funerals will be held for the other victims, including one of Giffords' aides. The judge asked if he understood that he could get life in prison — or the death penalty — for killing federal Judge John Roll, in the shooting rampage. A total of 19 people were shot outside the supermarket in Tucson. The president is also expected to attend a memorial service the day before the first funerals on Thursday, beginning with that of nine-year-old Christina Taylor Green. Half of our country is angry and they don't even know what they're angry about. Mr Loughner was charged with five crimes - the attempted assassination of a member of Congress, the first degree murder of two federal employees and the attempted murder of two federal employees. Obama called for yesterday's moment of silence and then observed it standing in front of the White House with his head bowed alongside his wife, Michelle. The courtroom was under heavy protection on Monday by about a dozen US marshals. A U.S. marshal stood guard nearby. Doctors at the hospital where Ms Giffords is being treated have said they are optimistic about her recovery. "That swelling can sometimes take three days or five days to maximize. "As I look out the window, I see a very beautiful planet that seems very inviting and peaceful.
Image caption Jared Loughner faces several charges over the attack on Saturday A man charged with trying to assassinate a US congresswoman in a shooting that left six people dead and more than a dozen wounded has appeared in federal court in Phoenix, Arizona. Jared Loughner, 22, faces several charges over the attack on Saturday. Representative Gabrielle Giffords, who was shot in the head, remains in a critical condition but doctors say the swelling in her brain has stabilised. President Barack Obama, who led the US in a silent tribute from the South Lawn of the White House on Monday morning, said a priority for the nation was "making sure we are joining together, pulling together as a country". The president will travel to Arizona on Wednesday to attend a memorial service for the victims of the Arizona shooting, administration officials said. Arizona court hearing Mr Loughner walked into the courtroom wearing handcuffs and in a prison uniform, with a cut on the right side of his head. Mr Loughner, who did not enter a plea, confirmed his identity and had an attorney appointed to defend him. When asked, he said he understood that he could get life in prison or the death penalty for allegedly killing federal Judge John Roll on Saturday in Tucson, Arizona. He was wearing olive-green-grey prison clothes and his head had been recently shaved. He spoke very little, mostly to confirm his identity, his signature on a financial affidavit, his understanding of his constitutional rights. Bail was denied on the grounds that he posed a danger to the community, and he will stay in custody until the next hearing on 24 January. The lawyer assigned to him, Judy Clarke, previously defended Oklahoma City bombing conspirator Timothy McVeigh. The federal judge ordered Mr Loughner held without bail and scheduled a preliminary court appearance for 24 January. The courtroom was under heavy protection on Monday by about a dozen US marshals. Mr Loughner was charged with five crimes - the attempted assassination of a member of Congress, the first degree murder of two federal employees and the attempted murder of two federal employees. It is unclear whether the US justice department will seek the death penalty against Mr Loughner. Mr Loughner registered as an independent voter in Arizona in the autumn of 2006 and voted in US elections in 2006 and 2008, according to the Washington Post newspaper, although some other reports suggested he had registered as a Republican. Ms Giffords had been holding an open-invitation meeting with constituents outside a supermarket in Tucson on Saturday when a man holding a gun approached and opened fire. Ms Giffords, 40, was shot from close range by the gunman, who then began shooting into the crowd. Christina Taylor Green, the young girl killed in the shooting, was born on 9/11 and featured in a book - Faces of Hope, Babies Born on 9/11 - about some of the children born on that day. A total of 19 people were shot outside the supermarket in Tucson. Day of mourning Flags across the US were flown at half mast on Monday, and Mr Obama said the nation was "grieving and shocked". The president praised the "extraordinary courage" of the people at the scene who wrestled the gunman to the ground, saying they had shown "the best of America". Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Bill Badger: 'I held Arizona gunman by throat' Lawmakers paid tribute to Ms Giffords and other victims of the mass shooting on the steps of the Capitol building. Meanwhile, Democratic Senator Frank Lautenberg, a gun control advocate from the state of New Jersey, announced plans on Monday to introduce legislation that would ban high-capacity ammunition clips, like the one used in Saturday's attack. The 22-year-old loner accused of trying to assassinate a U.S. congresswoman and killing six others, appeared in court and looked on impassively as a judge told him he could face the death penalty for the shooting rampage that shocked the nation. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords lay about a 100 miles (160 kilometers) away in an intensive care unit, gravely wounded after being shot through the head but able to give a thumbs-up sign that doctors found as a reason to hope. Thirteen other people were wounded in the bursts of gunfire at the Democratic congresswoman's outdoor meeting with constituents Saturday outside a Tucson, Arizona, supermarket. The shootings, which claimed the lives of six people, including a federal judge, a congressional aide and a nine-year-old girl, have prompted outrage throughout the U.S. and sparked a debate over gun control measures and whether toxic political rhetoric fueled the incident. Jared Loughner, his head shaved, a cut on his right temple and in handcuffs, stared vacantly at the packed courtroom before sitting down to listen to whispered instructions from his newly appointed attorney, Judy Clarke. A veteran of death cases, the San Diego attorney succeeded in negotiating a guilty plea and a life sentence for the "Unabomber," Theodore Kaczynski. The judge asked if he understood that he could get life in prison — or the death penalty — for killing federal Judge John Roll, in the shooting rampage.
This has been corrected. Following acts of violence, it has been decided to introduce a state of emergency in the country to protect Tunisian citizens," state television said. The impact of Tunisia's unrest is all the greater because Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali – known to his long-suffering subjects as "Ben A Vie" ("president for life") – had been seen as one of the most effective of Arab autocrats. "The president has given orders to Prime Minister Mohamed Ghannouchi to create a new government. Hosni Mubarak, 82, who like Ben Ali keeps Islamists firmly out of power and tolerates only weak secular opposition, is seeking another presidential term next year- when he will mark three decades in power. A curfew which covered only Tunis has been spread to the whole of the country and extended from its earlier period of 9:00pm to 5:30am (2000 to 0430 GMT). "The U.S. Department of State alerts U.S. citizens to the intensifying political and social unrest in Tunisia and recommends deferring non-essential travel to Tunisia at this time," the State Department said in a travel alert. The obvious contrast is with Egypt, the most populous of Arab countries. Protests over rising food and fuel prices triggered emergency economic measures from Jordan to Libya and Morocco this week as dramatic scenes of street clashes in the small north African country fuelled official nervousness about a domino effect that could shake other authoritarian states short on jobs, hopes and freedoms. "Inshallah, freedom will be ours from the [Atlantic] ocean till the [Arabian] Gulf." Another message read: "To my Tunisian brothers and sisters: keep it up, all Arab peoples are watching you with admiration and envy."
Echoes of Tunisia's unprecedented mass unrest are reverberating across the Arab world – which is watching in fascination as one of the most repressive regimes in the regions makes far-reaching concessions to people power. Protests over rising food and fuel prices triggered emergency economic measures from Jordan to Libya and Morocco this week as dramatic scenes of street clashes in the small north African country fuelled official nervousness about a domino effect that could shake other authoritarian states short on jobs, hopes and freedoms. "Every Arab leader is watching Tunisia in fear," tweeted one Egyptian commentator. "Every Arab citizen is watching Tunisia in hope and solidarity." The impact of Tunisia's unrest is all the greater because Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali – known to his long-suffering subjects as "Ben A Vie" ("president for life") – had been seen as one of the most effective of Arab autocrats. Hosni Mubarak, 82, who like Ben Ali keeps Islamists firmly out of power and tolerates only weak secular opposition, is seeking another presidential term next year- when he will mark three decades in power. If Ben Ali, 74, is on his way out, that will be a democratic advance and a ringing wake-up call for a region where a trend towards republican dynasties – in Syria, Libya and Egypt – sits alongside the hereditary monarchies and emirates of the Gulf and Morocco. Arab excitement has been maintained by al-Jazeera, the freest and feistiest TV channel in the region, which has broadcast riveting pictures of Tunisian crowds facing down well-equipped security forces. Twitter, Facebook and blogs have circumvented state censorship to provoke excited debate about the impact of the resonantly-named "Jasmine Revolt" or "youth intifada"– with its homage to Palestinian resistance to Israel. Another message read: "To my Tunisian brothers and sisters: keep it up, all Arab peoples are watching you with admiration and envy." Jerky mobile-phone images of blood spreading from the fatal gunshot wound of one Tunisian demonstrator provided Arabs with their own equivalent of Neda Agha-Soltan, the young Iranian woman killed in Tehran during protests after the disputed 2009 presidential elections. Arab pundits often point bitterly to the contrast between the sympathy of western countries for the Iranian Greens and their normally firm backing for the Arab dictatorships. The Wikileaks revelations about the scathing private views of the US ambassador in Tunis were widely read across the region – and, some argue, even helped prepare the ground for the current unrest. Algeria, which saw days of rioting and half a dozen dead earlier this month, is protected by its greater wealth – its energy a steadier earner than its smaller neighbour's tourism – though both are almost twice as rich as Syria, Morocco and Egypt. All face the Arab scourge of having the highest unemployment rate worldwide – an average of 14.5% in 2007/2008, compared with an international average of 5.7% – and endemic corruption, cronyism and a lack of transparency and democracy. Armoured vehicles are surrounding the airport," an official source said when asked about rumours that members of President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali's circle were about to flee the country. "The police and the army are authorised to fire on any suspect person who has not obeyed orders or fled without the possibility of being stopped." The new crackdown was decreed after thousands marched in Tunis calling for authoritarian President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali to step down after 23 years in power, before being dispersed by volleys of tear gas. "This state of emergency means that any gathering of more than three people is forbidden, that arms will be used by security forces in cases where a suspect does not stop when asked to do so by the police and thirdly, a curfew (is imposed) from 5:00 this evening until 7:00 in the morning for an indefinite period."
3, Nissan, are forecasting. Toyota said in a filing to Japan's transport ministry that no accidents had been reported because of the defects. A loose valve in some of the affected cars’ high-pressure fuel pumps could also cause fuel to leak. Lexus remained the top luxury brand in the U.S. market last year, with sales of about 230,000 units. The move is part of a recall of nearly 1.7 million vehicles globally. Toyota shares closed down 1.9 percent at 3,400 yen, underperforming a 0.6 percent fall in the benchmark Nikkei average. The models affected by the fuel pump issue include the Noah minivan and other models sold in Japan as well as 141,000 Avensis units sold overseas. Toyota's Hashimoto declined to say how much the latest recalls would cost the Japanese carmaker. "If [the car] continues to be used, the crack may be widened and there may be risks of fuel leakage," it said in a statement. But even Toyota’s own executives admit the rapid growth may have come at the expense of the company’s once-stellar reputation for quality. ($1 = 82.22 YEN) (Additional reporting Noriyuki Hirata, Tim Kelly, Antoni Slodkowski and Bernie Woodall; Editing by Lincoln Feast and Matthew Lewis) From 2000 to 2008, its global unit sales grew by more than 50 percent, helping Toyota overtake General Motors as the world’s largest automaker. Image caption The Japanese transport ministry said slight cracks could appear in fuel pipes Car manufacturer Toyota is recalling nearly 19,000 cars in the UK over concerns about possible problems with fuel systems. The U.S. recalls regarding Lexus will take an estimated two hours for inspection and tightening of the fuel pressure sensor but three hours if a gasket needs to be replaced, Toyota said.
Image caption The Japanese transport ministry said slight cracks could appear in fuel pipes Car manufacturer Toyota is recalling nearly 19,000 cars in the UK over concerns about possible problems with fuel systems. Hundreds of Toyota Avensis and Lexus IS 250 models could be at risk of fuel leaks and will need to be modified by mechanics, the company said. The move is part of a recall of nearly 1.7 million vehicles globally. In a statement, the company said: "As a result of customer feedback in other markets worldwide, Toyota GB today announced it would recall a number of its Toyota Avensis and Lexus IS 250 models in the UK to carry out modifications to their fuel systems. "It is working with the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency (Vosa) to contact registered owners and keepers by letter to advise them of the procedure for taking their vehicle to an authorised Toyota or Lexus repairer for the necessary work to be done." About 15,500 British owners of Toyota Avensis 2.0-litre and 2.4-litre petrol engine models, produced between July 2000 and September 2008, are eligible for the free repair, which could take up to four-and-a-half hours. Approximately 3,100 UK-registered Lexus IS 250 petrol engine vehicles, produced between August 2007 and February 2009, are also affected. Jon Williams, managing director of Toyota GB PLC, said: "We are committed to putting the customer first and have a total focus on the quality of all our products. Japan's transport ministry said slight cracks could appear in fuel pipes which may cause leakages if untreated. "If [the car] continues to be used, the crack may be widened and there may be risks of fuel leakage," it said in a statement. TOKYO — Toyota will fix about 1.7 million vehicles globally in two separate recalls over defective fuel lines and high-pressure fuel pumps, the Japanese automaker said Wednesday, drawing renewed attention to the quality of the company’s products. The decision to call back the vehicles follows promises by Toyota to be swifter in addressing problems in its products after it was criticized as being slow to react to previous defects. But the recalls, which span cars manufactured over the last decade, also raise the question of how widespread Toyota’s quality control problems had become in a period of breakneck growth for the company. From 2000 to 2008, its global unit sales grew by more than 50 percent, helping Toyota overtake General Motors as the world’s largest automaker. The recall over faulty fuel lines affects about 1.2 million units of the RAV4, Noah, Voxy and other models in Japan and about 140,000 units of the Avensis model in Europe, manufactured from 2000 to 2008, said Shiori Hashimoto, a spokeswoman for Toyota in Tokyo. REUTERS/Stefan Wermuth TOKYO Toyota Motor Corp said it would recall more than 1.7 million vehicles worldwide, bringing its total for recalls to nearly 16 million since late 2009 and dealing a blow to its efforts to restore its reputation for quality. The recalls are for various issues, the biggest of which is to fix potentially faulty fuel pumps and connecting pipes in 1.34 million vehicles, Toyota said. Although the situation is different from last year, when Toyota attracted intense scrutiny from U.S. safety regulators over unintended acceleration problems that were blamed for dozens of fatalities, the latest recall may make it harder for Toyota to convince investors it has put its quality problems behind it. Shares of Toyota, the world's top automaker, extended early declines and closed down nearly 2 percent on the Tokyo Stock Exchange after the announcement. Toyota's U.S. shares were down 1.5 percent at $82.60 in morning trading in New York, compared with a rise of 0.6 percent in the S&P 500 index. "Toyota faces harsh competition from Honda Motor Co, which is in a much better situation in the U.S. market -- this is reflected in its stock price which now stands at multi-year highs," said Mitsushige Akino, chief fund manager at Ichiyoshi Investment Management. The models affected by the fuel pump issue include the Noah minivan and other models sold in Japan as well as 141,000 Avensis units sold overseas. Toyota said it was also recalling around 335,000 Lexus units sold overseas, including about 245,000 sold in the U.S. market, due to trouble with a fuel pressure sensor connected to an engine fuel delivery pipe. For the financial year to March, Toyota expects operating profit of 380 billion yen ($4.6 billion), lower than both Honda and Japan's No.
They shouted, "Down, down with Mubarak" and, "The people want the regime to fall". She also said the protesters should not use violence. But he added that the shutdown in Egypt was “unprecedented in scope and scale.” Advertisement Continue reading the main story Like other groups that track Internet traffic, Professor Deibert’s organization found that Internet access in Egypt dropped off sharply around 12:30 a.m. Friday in Cairo, or about 5:30 p.m. Thursday New York time. The BBC's Wyre Davies reported from Cairo that there was no sign of the police or military as the building was enveloped in flames. Reports say Egyptian opposition figure Mohamed ElBaradei has been placed under house arrest. “The government has made a big mistake taking away the option at people’s fingertips,” he said. Also targeted was the headquarters of the ruling NDP party - a major symbol of President Mubarak's rule regime. That would not be possible in countries with more complex networks. Riot squads gave way to armoured personnel carriers as the crowds ignored a curfew imposed at dusk. That brings the death toll to at least 26 since the protests began on Tuesday. Inspired by Tunisia The unrest follows an uprising in Tunisia two weeks ago, in which President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali was toppled after 23 years in power. Please try again later. “It’s almost become de rigueur during events like this — elections or political demonstrations — to tamper with the Internet,” Professor Deibert said. There seems little doubt the US administration is playing catch-up, and is in a very awkward position Mardell's America: Obama's caution on Egypt is winning no friends US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has appealed to Egypt to do "everything" to restrain the security forces, urging the government to reverse its block on mobile phone and internet communications.
Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Protesters have defied the curfew and begun setting vehicles and buildings alight Egypt has extended its curfew to all cities as anti-government demonstrators in Cairo besiege key buildings, including the foreign ministry and the state broadcaster. The headquarters of the governing NDP party has been set ablaze. President Hosni Mubarak, facing the biggest challenge to his authority of his 31 years in power, has ordered the army onto the streets of Cairo. BBC security correspondent Frank Gardner said: "Every minute that goes by without the president making that address to the nation makes him look weaker and will convince people he is losing his grip." At least 18 protesters - 13 in Suez and five in Cairo - were killed in the violence on Friday, medical sources said. That brings the death toll to at least 26 since the protests began on Tuesday. An unconfirmed report from the Reuters news agency said as many as 1,030 people may have been injured on Friday. Military helicopters Across the country, tens of thousands of protesters turned out after Friday prayers and clashed with police. Analysis Up until now, President Mubarak has enjoyed the support of the armed forces. He was, after all, a career air force officer suddenly catapulted to the presidency when Anwar Sadat was assassinated in 1981. But if these protests continue and intensify, there are bound to be senior voices within the military tempted to urge him to stand down. Egypt's army: The deciding factor The curfew is now in effect, but live television pictures from Cairo continue to show large crowds on the streets. Correspondents in Cairo say military helicopters are circling overhead. Some of those breaking the curfew targeted the state broadcasting building, which is guarded by the armed forces. Also targeted was the headquarters of the ruling NDP party - a major symbol of President Mubarak's rule regime. The BBC's Wyre Davies reported from Cairo that there was no sign of the police or military as the building was enveloped in flames. Demonstrators have been cheering for the army, while the latter is not getting into confrontations with the people, correspondents say. Internet and phone services - both mobile and landline - have been severely disrupted, although protesters are using proxies to work around the restrictions. Mobile operator Vodafone Egypt said in a statement that it was obliged by law to suspend services at the request of the authorities. Reports say Egyptian opposition figure Mohamed ElBaradei has been placed under house arrest. Earlier, he was soaked by water cannon and surrounded by police as he joined protesters on the streets of Cairo. In Sinai, BBC Arabic said its sources reported that Bedouins were besieging a police station and armed men had taken control of the road leading to Rafah, in the Palestinian territory of Gaza. There seems little doubt the US administration is playing catch-up, and is in a very awkward position Mardell's America: Obama's caution on Egypt is winning no friends US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has appealed to Egypt to do "everything" to restrain the security forces, urging the government to reverse its block on mobile phone and internet communications. However, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said Washington would review its aid to Egypt based on events in the coming days. Meanwhile, the US is advising its citizens to avoid non-essential travel to Egypt, and several airlines - including Egyptian and BA - have cancelled or rescheduled flights. Inspired by Tunisia The unrest follows an uprising in Tunisia two weeks ago, in which President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali was toppled after 23 years in power. Egypt has many of the same social and political problems that brought about the unrest in Tunisia - rising food prices, high unemployment and anger at official corruption. After Friday prayers, tens of thousands of people joined protests in Cairo and other cities to demand the end of Mr Mubarak's 30-year rule. They shouted, "Down, down with Mubarak" and, "The people want the regime to fall". At several locations, riot police responded by firing rubber bullets and tear gas, and by using water cannon. "They took my camera away and when they arrested me, they started beating me with steel bars, the ones used here for slaughtering animals," he said. The BBC condemned the assault, saying it was a deliberate attack by police against which the BBC would forcefully protest. "It is vital that all journalists, whether from the BBC or elsewhere, are allowed to do their job of bringing accurate, impartial eye witness reports to audiences around the world without fear," said BBC Global News Director Peter Horrocks. Hillary Clinton, the US Secretary of State, led calls for the authorities to show restraint, saying that the protests "underscore that there are deep grievances within Egyptian society, and the Egyptian government needs to understand that violence will not make these grievances go away." "We are deeply concerned about the use of violence by Egyptian police and security forces against protesters," Mrs Clinton told reporters. Mohamed ElBaradei, the former head of the International Atomic Energy Agency whose calls for reforms has made him a figurehead for opposition to Mr Mubarak, came under fire from tear gas after praying in public outside a mosque near his home in Giza, the suburb near the Pyramids.
. The result, for now, is deadlock. "That is for the people of Egypt to determine." 11.48am: There's some confusion about Mubarak's new cabinet. The protests continue. (12.04pm). • Protesters have called for a million people to take to the streets of Cairo tomorrow, al-Jazeera reports. Has the government spoken to ElBaradei within the last week? The armed forces will not resort to use of force against our great people," the army statement said. This is state security trying to get info on us. It says: With street protests threatening the Egyptian regime, the officials say that Israel allowed the Egyptian army to move two battalions about 800 soldiers into Sinai on Sunday. 7.20pm GMT: You can watch a live stream of the White House press briefing here. Demonstrators remain on Tahrir Square, their numbers fluctuating over the course of the day. The Suez governor has also fled, according to the trade unionist I spoke with. Later, Gibbs is asked whether the US could work with the Muslim Brotherhood in power? At some point there will have to be movement on the political front – and that is not going to happen instantly. World oil prices on Monday topped $100 a barrel amid fears of the ongoing unrest. One of those listed is saying it's a fake. Far more soldiers and tanks in the streets today. US President Barack Obama and his Secretary of State Hillary Clinton have talked about the need for an "orderly transition" to a democratic future for Egypt. .... General Mahmoud Wagdy replaces the long-time Minister of Interior Habib el-Adly.
0156: Many were expecting the image of a dead Osama Bin Laden to be released - in much the same way as the pictures of Uday and Qusay Hussein in 2003 - to prove his death. But, says the BBC's Jonny Dymond in Washington, there has been almost no triumphalism from the Obama administration over the al-Qaeda leader's demise. Great pains were taken to detail the respect with which his corpse was treated. That could all have been undone with the release of photographs, and many doubters in any case would have found reason not to believe in their authenticity, he adds. Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption The BBC's Lyse Doucet describes the protests in Tahrir Square Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak has announced a new cabinet amid pressure from protesters, who have gathered in Cairo again in their tens of thousands. Interior Minister Habib al-Adly, widely despised by protesters, and the finance minister have been replaced. However, correspondents say it is likely demonstrators will only settle for Mr Mubarak's removal from office. The army has vowed it will not use force against the protesters, who have called a massive march on Tuesday. The army said in a statement carried on Egyptian media: "To the great people of Egypt, your armed forces, acknowledging the legitimate rights of the people... have not and will not use force against the Egyptian people." The BBC's Jon Leyne in Cairo says this is a devastating blow to Mr Mubarak because to regain control of the streets he would need the use, or at least the threat of the use, of the army. 'Bluffing' Mr Mubarak, who has been in power for 30 years, has ordered new Prime Minister Ahmed Shafiq to push through democratic reforms and create new jobs. But there are few major changes in the new cabinet line-up, with Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit and Defence Minister Gen Mohamed Hussein Tantawi - who also becomes deputy PM - both keeping their posts. At The Scene On the seventh day of the crisis which will help define Egypt's future, the extraordinary is beginning to feel ordinary. Egypt remains trapped in the pre-internet age to which government censorship has dragged it back. Troops are on the street and military checkpoints have been playing a more assertive role in controlling traffic crossing the bridges over the Nile. The soldiers see themselves as a force for stability and while some of their armoured vehicles are daubed with graffiti that reads "Down with Mubarak", it's also true that the very act of preserving order helps the old regime to maintain its grip on power. The opposition is declaring a general strike and talks of bringing a million people on to the streets on Tuesday but it's far from clear that they have the coherent structure to keep sustained pressure focused on the Mubarak administration. Mr Adly has been replaced by Mahmud Wagdi, an army general, while Samir Mohammad Radwan replaces Youssef Boutros-Ghali as finance minister. Mr Radwan said he had a "national mission at a very critical time". The line-up confirms a purging of those behind Egypt's economic liberalisation and growth over the past few years, analysts say, and a move towards a more military cabinet. Moody's Investor Services has downgraded Egypt's bond rating and changed its outlook from stable to negative, following a similar move by Fitch Ratings last week. World oil prices on Monday topped $100 a barrel amid fears of the ongoing unrest. One protester, Rifat Ressat, told Agence France-Presse news agency: "We want a complete change of government, with a civilian authority." Another demonstrator told the BBC: "This is not a new government. 'Shift work' The BBC's Jim Muir in Cairo says the military, who cordoned off Tahrir Square with tanks, were relaxed and were letting people come and go. There were no riot police, and our correspondent says the government is being quite clever in keeping the unpopular police force out of contact with the protesters. Image caption The cabinet reshuffle did not appear to appease Cairo protesters Shortly after the curfew started again at 1500 local time (1300 GMT), the BBC's Lyse Doucet in Cairo said: "There is a steady stream of people going to Tahrir Square, even families with children. Leaflets were being distributed to the crowds calling on the army to take the people's side and resist orders to move against them. Amid the protesters' call for a general strike, banks, schools, many businesses and the stock market were closed for a second day, with queues forming outside food stores. The "protest of the millions" march is set to go ahead on Tuesday in Cairo, with reports that Alexandria will also have a mass march.
I have fought for it. "Obviously, if any of the violence is instigated by the government, it should stop immediately," spokesman Robert Gibbs said. It was not clear what Mr. Bush told Mr. Mubarak. I am now careful to conclude my work for Egypt by presenting Egypt to the next government in a constitutional way which will protect Egypt. Still, administration officials were grappling with their public message versus their private message. The homeland is undergoing critical events and difficult tests which have started with honest young people and citizens. By the time Mr. Wisner met with the Egyptian leader on Tuesday, the diplomat knew what message he would deliver. Obama made no mention of Mubarak's agreement earlier in the day not to stand for re-election. "And in dialog with all political forces, we have discussed all the issues that have been raised regarding our democratic and political reforms and constitutional changes which they will require in order to fulfill these legitimate demands and the restoration of stability and security. WASHINGTON — Last Sunday at 2 p.m., a blue-and-white Air Force jet left Andrews Air Force Base bound for Cairo. I have lived in this country. "I will speak very clearly during the forthcoming few months until the end of my term until sufficient procedures and measures are taken to preserve and to guarantee a peaceful transition to power. The White House Wednesday condemned the violence against protesters in Egypt as "outrageous and deplorable" and suggested that it may have been orchestrated by President Hosni Mubarak's government. "I am also a man of the army, and it is not in my nature to give up responsibility.
The White House Wednesday condemned the violence against protesters in Egypt as "outrageous and deplorable" and suggested that it may have been orchestrated by President Hosni Mubarak's government. "Obviously, if any of the violence is instigated by the government, it should stop immediately," spokesman Robert Gibbs said. He reiterated Obama's public call Tuesday evening, communicated directly to Mubarak in a telephone call, that "the time for a transition has come, and that time is now." As events moved quickly in Egypt, where the massive protests that were peaceful Tuesday turned violent as dark fell on Wednesday, the administration struggled to stay abreast. U.S. military leaders with contacts in Egypt's officer corps worked the telephones to find out why the army had not forcefully intervened when apparent pro-Mubarak activists moved against those still occupying Tahrir Square in central Cairo, and to urge them to quell the clashes. As an high-level interagency group convened for crisis consultations at the White House, officials were examining the complicated web of U.S. aid programs in Egypt to determine where leverage might best be used. While Obama on Tuesday predicted "difficult days ahead" in Egypt, the White House seemed taken aback by the swift turn of events on the ground Wednesday. "We're planning for those events." "Obviously...a considerable amount of staff time has been spent on this," he said. "Some of the president's time, obviously, has been dedicated to watching, taking note of and responding to the events...what we're watching is history being made." The special administration envoy sent to Cairo over the weekend, retired diplomat Frank G. Wisner, was asked to stay in Egypt and continue conversations with Mubarak and other officials. The U.S. military has also begun tallying what a senior official called its "assets and capabilities" in the region in case a more robust evacuation of American diplomats and citizens in Egypt became necessary. On Monday, the State Department began operating charter flights for voluntary departures and on Tuesday it ordered all diplomatic families and non-essential personnel to leave the country. But some sources close to the situation in Jordan worried that newly appointed officials there were unlikely to take firm steps toward increased political freedom. In brief public remarks at the White House Tuesday evening, Obama was clearly frustrated by Mubarak's announced intention to retain his hold on power until elections later this year. He said he had told Mubarak in a telephone conversation that a transition to representative government "must begin now." Obama made no mention of Mubarak's agreement earlier in the day not to stand for re-election. Instead, he said he had told the Egyptian president that this was a "moment of transformation" in Egypt and that "the status quo is not sustainable." Obama's message appeared carefully calibrated to avoid publicly calling for Mubarak to stand down, while making clear he should stand aside. Administration officials say they are seeking a transitional government, with or without Mubarak as its titular head, formed by representative reform leaders and backed by the Egyptian army that will address legitimate grievances, restore stability and plan for a free election. On board was Frank G. Wisner, an adroit ex-diplomat whom President Obama had asked hours before to undertake a supremely delicate mission: nudging President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt out of power. What exactly Mr. Wisner would say was still in flux as he flew to Egypt, administration officials said Tuesday; he talked with senior officials in Washington several times during the nearly 14-hour flight. And Mr. Mubarak had already lost the backing of his other crucial pillar of support: the Egyptian military, which declared it would not open fire on the demonstrators who were demanding his ouster. The story of how Mr. Mubarak, an Arab autocrat who only last month was the mainstay of America’s policy in a turbulent region, suddenly found himself pushed toward the exit is first and foremost a tale of the Arab street. The first sign of the military’s deteriorating support came Saturday when rank-and-file troops ordered to buttress the retreating police instead began to cheer on the protesters. A short time later, Mr. Mubarak’s closest aide, Omar Suleiman, the chief of Egyptian intelligence and the newly named vice president, invited opposition groups to negotiate over constitutional reforms. But days of watching the protests mushroom on the streets of Egyptian cities convinced administration officials — some facing their first national security crisis in these roles — that Mr. Mubarak probably would not weather the political storm. Cairo, Egypt (CNN) -- This is the text of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak's address to his country Tuesday evening: "In the name of God the most merciful the most gracious, my fellow citizens I speak to you in a difficult time testing Egypt and its people and which could almost push it toward the unknown. "These demonstrations moved from a civilized expression of practicing freedom of speech to sad confrontations which were organized by political groups who wanted to throw fire on the oil and to threaten the stability and provoke and create looting and destruction and fires and to block roads and attack national possessions and public and private possessions, and attacks on some diplomatic missions in Egypt.
"What a mess," he said. This is a life-threatening storm." In most storms, you get the snow first and the wind picks up as the snow is winding down," Hillaker said. Thousands of flights were canceled Tuesday. the National Weather Service warned. Ice coated Missouri and portions of Illinois, Indiana and Ohio. High winds caused massive waist-high snowdrifts to shut down much of the city Wednesday morning. Dave Bursten of the Indiana State Police urged people to stay home. Blizzard warnings were in effect in nine states, from Oklahoma to Ohio. Iowa also activated some guard members. Double-digit snowfall totals were expected. "If you don't have to travel, don't do it. The National Weather Service forecasts and advisories through Wednesday night read like the Abominable Snow Monster's Christmas list: Up to 14 inches of snow in South Bend, Indiana, with winds up to 30 mph; Up 13 inches of snow and a low of 12 below zero in Ottumwa, Iowa; as much as 13 inches of new snow in Berlin, New Hampshire, by Wednesday night; hard freeze warnings in Houston and Galveston, Texas. The department said some arterial roads and all secondary routes in parts of eastern Oklahoma were nearly impassable. The airport reopened after a two-hour closure with one runway in operation, airport officials told CNN. All of Interstate 70 in Missouri was closed between St. Louis and Kansas City. He was eager to get to work because power was out at his South Side Chicago home. All of western Maryland was under a freezing rain advisory.
Midwest buckles under major winter storm CHICAGO Residents across the country began digging out of snow and ice Wednesday after a record-setting storm crippled cities and forecasters warned there was more bad weather on the way. Snow continued to fall in Chicago on Wednesday after the city recorded 20.2 inches making it the third-largest snowfall on record. The area struggled to recover from a crippling blizzard that shut down roads and train service and left hundreds of motorists stranded. At an early morning briefing, city officials urged residents to stay home as plows try to clear roads of giant drifts from winds that gusted overnight to 70 mph. The city shut down Lake Shore Drive for the first time in years as an untold number of motorists were stranded overnight after multiple car accidents on the iconic roadway. The National Weather Service said snow will fall before the storm moves away and winds of 20 to 30 mph will continue through much of the day. A storm brewing in the south at the end of the week will move up the East Coast bring rain and snow across the Northeast. Across the country, the storm system was blamed for at least 10 deaths, including that of a homeless man burned on New York's Long Island as he tried to light cans of cooking fuel, and an Oklahoma City woman who was being pulled behind a truck on a sled that hit a guard rail. In Chicago, airlines canceled more than 2,200 flights at O'Hare International Airport, and 400 flights at Midway International Airport. Public schools closed for the first time in 12 years and almost 80,000 ComEd customers in northern Illinois were without power. Security guard Ed Ransom, 36, stopped for coffee after a long bus ride to work Wednesday morning. He was eager to get to work because power was out at his South Side Chicago home. The monstrous storm billed as the worst in decades barreled across the country from Texas to Maine, bringing a huge swath of the country to a halt, depositing dangerous amounts of ice and snow before hitting the winter-weary Northeast. The National Weather Service said Wednesday the storm is over the Northeast where winter storm warnings are still in effect for New England, especially northwestern New Jersey and southern Connecticut. Cold air is pouring in behind the storm causing near-hurricane wind gusts of up to 70 mph in Chicago, where blizzard warnings are high and snowdrifts are reaching more than 10 feet high. Missouri received as much snow as 1 1/2 feet, more than a foot dropped on northern Indiana, and Oklahoma has up to a foot. High winds caused massive waist-high snowdrifts to shut down much of the city Wednesday morning. Restaurant worker Marcus Ortelee woke up to drifts more than 4 feet high in front of his house. "This is the third time I've been out shoveling since 10 p.m. last night," he said. "I've been in worse because I used to live in Alaska, but we just don't get volumes of snow here like this." In Iowa, residents dug out from snow that totaled more than 18 inches in some eastern Iowa communities. The official highest snowfall statewide was reported in Lowden in Cedar County, at 18.5 inches. "What made this storm especially bad was that the highest winds and the snow were coming together. In most storms, you get the snow first and the wind picks up as the snow is winding down," Hillaker said. Forecasters Wednesday warned that ice accumulations could knock down some tree limbs and power lines and affect transit service, even as plow drivers struggled to keep up with the snow on many roads. Thousands of airline flights were canceled across the country as the storm covered a distance of more than 2,300 miles. As of 11:30 a.m. Wednesday, 5,449 flights had been canceled in the U.S., 17% of all flights that were scheduled for Wednesday, according to the tracking firm FlightAware. Gingham's Homestyle Restaurant in St. Charles, Mo., is open 24 hours, even on holidays, but owner Craig Uttendorf closed the doors Tuesday afternoon. "It's been sleeting pretty good," he said, "and we've got a blizzard warning. "There's only so much man can do to control Mother Nature, and ultimately Mother Nature will always win," First Sgt. Road crews tried to keep up with heavy snow and ice while drivers confronted snowfall rates of 2-3 inches per hour in some areas. Jorma Duran of the Missouri Department of Transportation said it takes 100 to 200 pounds of salt to cover one lane for one mile during an average winter storm — and more in an ice storm. The blizzard halted production of Wednesday's Tulsa World, the first time in more than a century that the newspaper has not published. At the Blind Tiger restaurant in Topeka, general manager Mike Bowman said he plans to remain open even though a coating of ice slowed business "almost to a screeching stop" before it began to snow.
We are very honoured, very humbled." Tinie Tempah took two prizes at this year's awards - British breakthrough act and best single for Pass Out - while Take That won best British group. Rihanna, who also performed, landed the best international female artist trophy, while Cee Lo Green picked up the international male award. The Who's Roger Daltrey presented the best album award to Mumford and Sons. On BBC One, Holby City drew an average audience of 5.6m. "Thank you so much for this honour. Image caption Rihanna was named best international female at the ceremony Ellie Goulding and Mark Ronson presented Jessie J with the Critics' Choice prize. Speaking backstage, the star said: "Pop stands for popular. The Brit awards suffered its lowest ratings for five years after an average of only 4.8 million viewers tuned in to watch the ceremony. ITV1's coverage was overtaken by the final episode of Big Fat Gypsy Weddings, seen by an average of 6.5m on Channel 4. The former boy band had also been up for best British album, along with Plan B, Tempah and The xx. "It's good to see the British music industry still has enough money for a good booze-up", he said before before handing the prize over. The Essex-born singer, currently number one in the singles chart with Price Tag, is the fourth consecutive female to take home the gong. On stage Mark Owen paid tribute to Williams. Last year's Brits drew an average of 5.8m viewers. All performances from the show - which took place at London's O2 arena for the first time - have been made available for fans to buy on the iTunes website.
The Brit awards suffered its lowest ratings for five years after an average of only 4.8 million viewers tuned in to watch the ceremony. ITV1's coverage was overtaken by the final episode of Big Fat Gypsy Weddings, seen by an average of 6.5m on Channel 4. Last year's Brits drew an average of 5.8m viewers. Tinie Tempah took two prizes at this year's awards - British breakthrough act and best single for Pass Out - while Take That won best British group. From the section Image caption Mumford and Sons won the coveted best British album prize with Sigh No More British Male Solo Artist Mark Ronson Paul Weller Plan B Robert Plant Tinie Tempah British Female Solo Artist Cheryl Cole Ellie Goulding Laura Marling Paloma Faith Rumer British Breakthrough Act Ellie Goulding Mumford and Sons Rumer Warner Tinie Tempah The XX British Group Biffy Clyro Gorillaz Mumford and Sons Take That The XX British Single Alexandra Burke featuring Pitbull - All Night Long Cheryl Cole - Parachute Florence and the Machine - You've Got the Love Matt Cardle - When We Collide Olly Murs - Please Don't Let Me Go Plan B - She Said Scouting for Girls - This Ain't A Love Song Taio Cruz - Dynamite Tinie Tempah - Pass Out The Wanted - All Time Low British Album of the Year Mumford and Sons - Sigh No More Plan B - The Defamation of Strickland Banks Take That - Progress Tinie Tempah - Disc-Overy The XX - XX International Male Solo Artist Bruce Springsteen Cee Lo Green David Guetta Eminem Kanye West International Female Solo Artist Alicia Keys Katy Perry Kylie Minogue Rihanna Robyn International Breakthrough Act Bruno Mars Glee Cast Justin Bieber The National The Temper Trap International Group Arcade Fire Black Eyed Peas Kings of Leon The Script Vampire Weekend International Album Arcade Fire - The Suburbs Cee Lo Green - The Lady Killer Eminem - Recovery Katy Perry - Teenage Dream Kings of Leon - Come Around Sundown British Producer Ethan Johns John Leckie Markus Dravs Mike Pela Stuart Price Footage courtesy The Brit Awards, ITV1 The Brit awards suffered its lowest ratings for five years after an average of 4.8m tuned in to watch the ceremony. ITV1's coverage was beaten by the final episode of Big Fat Gypsy Weddings, seen by an average of 6.5m on Channel 4. Last year's Brits drew an average of 5.8m viewers. Tinie Tempah took two prizes at this year's awards - British breakthrough act and best single for Pass Out - while Take That won best British group. The best British album gong went to Mumford and Sons for Sigh No More, while Plan B and Laura Marling were named best British male and female. Image caption Jessie J is the fourth consecutive female to win the Critics' Choice award The Canadian band also took home the award for best international group. Tempah - real name Patrick Okogwu - had been the most nominated artist of the night with four nods. Picking up his first award, the star said: "I want to big up God and my family for sticking by me when times are hard." Rihanna, who also performed, landed the best international female artist trophy, while Cee Lo Green picked up the international male award. The rapper and singer, who received his prize from Formula 1 driver Lewis Hamilton, told the audience that his heart was racing. Elsewhere Justin Bieber - the 16-year-old pop sensation who rose to fame on YouTube - took home the gong for best international breakthrough act. It's good to see the British music industry still has enough money for a good booze-up The Who's Roger Daltrey All five members of the band took to the stage, accompanied by dancers dressed as riot police. "It's good to see the British music industry still has enough money for a good booze-up", he said before before handing the prize over. All performances from the show - which took place at London's O2 arena for the first time - have been made available for fans to buy on the iTunes website.
Others, however, distrust the Brotherhood's ultimate intentions. "There are lots of unknowns now with Egypt," said the official. Mr Mubarak stepped down last week after more than two weeks of protests. The military council on Monday urged Egyptians to return to work. "The Muslim Brotherhood group believes in the freedom of the formation of political parties. The strikes eased on Tuesday, mainly because an Islamic holiday meant state offices and businesses were closed. Source: Al Jazeera and agencies It has said it does not plan to run a candidate for president when elections are held to replace Hosni Mubarak, who resigned on Friday. Military rulers pick head of committee entrusted with suggesting changes to the country's constitution. The amendments added during his rule strengthened the establishment's grip on power. Although officially illegal, the Muslim Brotherhood is regarded as one of the most organized groups in Egypt. Still, smaller protests by hundreds continued in at least seven provinces outside Cairo, including by government workers and police over pay. But the U.S. chief intelligence officer raised a stir when he referred to the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood as a "largely secular" organization in response to a question from Myrick at the hearing. The Higher Military Council had earlier vowed to rewrite the constitution within 10 days and put it to a referendum within two months. He has not been seen in public since stepping down. The paper quoted a former security official linked to the military high command. An EU diplomat said Egypt had made a similar request to the European Union. "Life is returning to some normality.
Cairo, Egypt (CNN) -- Egypt's banned Muslim Brotherhood will apply to become a political party, it announced Tuesday. The Brotherhood "envisions the establishment of a democratic, civil state that draws on universal measures of freedom and justice, with central Islamic values serving all Egyptians regardless of colour, creed, political trend or religion," it said in the statement. It has said it does not plan to run a candidate for president when elections are held to replace Hosni Mubarak, who resigned on Friday. Although officially illegal, the Muslim Brotherhood is regarded as one of the most organized groups in Egypt. Experts estimate the group has the support of anywhere from 10% to 30% of the population. It has said it does not plan to run a candidate for president when elections are held to replace Hosni Mubarak, who resigned on Friday. The group has sparked great controversy in the United States, where some see it as a non-violent, Islamic social welfare organization supportive of a democratic process while others call it a radical extremist group hellbent on creating a theocracy in Egypt. President Barack Obama recently downplayed the prospect of the Muslim Brotherhood playing a major role in Egypt, saying it is just one faction in Egypt that doesn't have majority support. "There are a whole bunch of secular folks in Egypt, there are a whole bunch of educators and civil society in Egypt that want to come to the fore as well," the president said in an interview with Fox News. "And it's important for us not to say that our only two options are either the Muslim Brotherhood or a suppressed Egyptian people." Others, however, distrust the Brotherhood's ultimate intentions. "They are a powerful force at present, but my fear is that Islamist groups outside Egypt, seeing the opportunity in the current chaos, will flood them with support if they back an extremist view," said CNN national security contributor Frances Fragos Townsend, who was President George W. Bush's counterterrorism advisor. And former CIA Director Mike Hayden said the Muslim Brotherhood, as the best organized opposition group in Egypt, could "enjoy a disproportionate power in shaping the new government. Still, a current U.S. official characterized the Muslim Brotherhood as being "not as extreme as al Qaeda is." "It's an organization that supports a civil state which is based in large part on Islamic law," said the official. "But they do tend to eschew violence and work within the political process." "You really can't make a call on anything, whether Mubarak is going or staying or how the Muslim Brotherhood figures into the political process. Although it allegedly engaged in assassination and other violence against the British and supported the coup that brought Gamal Abdel Nasser to power in 1952, the Brotherhood has been illegal since 1954, when it was convicted of attempting to assassinated Nasser, charges the group denied. The Brotherhood subsequently renounced violence, is engaged in providing social services to the populace, opposes the peace treaty with Israel and supports democratic elections. Ed Husain, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, said the Muslim Brotherhood "ought to be a welcomed force within Egyptian politics" if it accepts full rights for women and for religious minorities. "I'm very concerned that they're using the peaceful protests in Egypt for a power grab and that we in the government doesn't seem -- we don't seem to grasp that threat in the way it concerns me," she said at a congressional hearing last week. "The Brotherhood isn't a danger just because they're terrorists, but because they push an extremist ideology that causes others to commit acts of terrorism."' The 83-year-old organization has never been placed on the U.S. State Department's list of terrorist organizations and officially renounced violence in the 1970s. "The term 'Muslim Brotherhood' is an umbrella term for a variety of movements, in the case of Egypt, a very heterogeneous group, largely secular, which has eschewed violence and has decried Al Qaeda as a perversion of Islam," said James Clapper, the director of national intelligence. "In Egypt the Muslim Brotherhood makes efforts to work through a political system that has been, under Mubarak's rule, one that is largely secular in its orientation -- (Clapper) is well aware that the Muslim Brotherhood is not a secular organization." Image caption The military is trying to quell strikes and protests still being held around the country Egypt's ruling military council has announced that work on reforming the country's constitution is to be completed in 10 days. It earlier suspended the current constitution, which was amended during ousted President Hosni Mubarak's tenure to strengthen his grip on power. The higher military council - which assumed power after Mr Mubarak stepped down - said on Tuesday that the amended constitution would be put to a popular referendum. Strikes ease The BBC's Jon Leyne in Cairo says it looks as if the military council is fulfilling its pledge to hand the country back to civilian rule as quickly as possible. The Saudi-owned daily newspaper Asharq al-Awsat said on Tuesday that the former president's health was "declining drastically" and he was refusing to travel abroad for treatment.
The stateless Arabs, longtime residents of Kuwait known as bedoun from the Arabic "bedoun jinsiyya" (without nationality), were demanding citizenship, free education, free healthcare and jobs, benefits available to Kuwaiti nationals. Al-Hashash said the demonstration was eventually dispersed and that several protesters were arrested and questioned by the security forces. The protest in Jahra, northwest of Kuwait City, on Friday was the first in the Gulf Arab state since a wave of unrest began sweeping across the Middle East in December. The crowd -- initially 300 people before quickly growing -- was attacked with water cannons. Several MPs warned the government against using force against the protesters and blamed it for failing to resolve the problem. The country is believed to have roughly 100,000 residents who are not citizens. Many of them have no right to a driver's licence, cannot get birth certificates for their babies or death certificates for the dead. At least 1,000 Arabs demonstrate to demand citizenship in Gulf country, leading to dozens of arrests. The Interior Ministry said protesters threw stones after being told their demonstration was illegal and several officers were injured, the state news agency KUNA said. Kuwait launched a crackdown on them in 2000, depriving them of their essential rights in a bid to force them to reveal what the authorities say are their true identities. Source: Agencies Journalist Saad Al-Enzi contributed to this report They are also banned from getting their marriage contracts attested. Security forces dispersed the demonstration, using smoke bombs and water cannon after protesters refused warnings to leave. Most of the stateless claim to be Kuwaitis whose forefathers, who lived as Bedouins in the desert, failed to apply for citizenship when the state first introduced its nationality law in 1959.
* Dozens arrested in first protest in Kuwait * Police break up march, officers reported hurt (Adds ministry statements, officers hurt) KUWAIT, Feb 18 (Reuters) - More than 1,000 stateless Arabs demonstrated in Kuwait on Friday demanding citizenship, and dozens were arrested by police, witnesses said. The protest in Jahra, northwest of Kuwait City, was the first in the oil-producing Gulf Arab state since a wave of unrest began sweeping across the Middle East in December. Security forces dispersed the demonstration, using smoke bombs and water cannon after protesters refused warnings to leave. The Interior Ministry said protesters threw stones after being told their demonstration was illegal and several officers were injured, the state news agency KUNA said. The stateless Arabs, longtime residents of Kuwait known as bedoun from the Arabic "bedoun jinsiyya" (without nationality), were demanding citizenship, free education, free healthcare and jobs, benefits available to Kuwaiti nationals. Many of Kuwait's stateless are descendants of desert nomads denied citizenship under strict nationality laws in the small Gulf state, whose citizens are entitled to generous welfare benefits. At least 1,000 Arabs demonstrate to demand citizenship in Gulf country, leading to dozens of arrests. A wave of political unrest has swept across Africa and the Middle East since December [GALLO/GETTY] At least 1,000 stateless Arabs have demonstrated in Kuwait demanding citizenship, leading to dozens of them being arrested by police, witnesses have said. Ambulances rushed an unspecified number of wounded protesters and security forces away from the scene, with a witness telling the AFP news agency that at least five people were hurt, one of them seriously. Security forces dispersed the demonstration, using smoke bombs and water cannon after protesters refused warnings to leave. Several MPs warned the government against using force against the protesters and blamed it for failing to resolve the problem. 'Legitimate protest' "We call for dealing peacefully with the bidoons (stateless people) demonstration and warn against the use of force or arresting the protesters," Jamaan al-Harabsh, a Kuwaiti MP, said in a statement. "The protest of bidoons is legitimate and the government is responsible for this because it has failed to resolve the problem," independent MP Daifallah Buramia said. Stateless Arabs, estimated at more than 100,000, claim they have the right to Kuwaiti citizenship, but the government says that ancestors of many of them came from neighbouring countries and they are not entitled to nationality. Many of them have no right to a driver's licence, cannot get birth certificates for their babies or death certificates for the dead. Due to stringent government restrictions, a majority of them are living in dire economic conditions in oil-rich Kuwait, where the average monthly salary of native citizens is more than $3,500.
he asked. There had been no consideration of the allegations against him, Assange said. "What does the US have to do with a Swedish extradition process?" At a two-day hearing this month his legal team argued that Assange would not receive a fair trial in Sweden. At Belmarsh Magistrates' Court in south London, District Judge Howard Riddle said the extradition would not breach Mr Assange's human rights. It comes as the result of a European arrest warrant system amok." The WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is to be extradited to Sweden to face allegations of rape and sexual assault. Mr. Assange immediately said he would appeal the decision. He has consistently denied the allegations, made by two women in August last year. They insist this case is politically motivated. But delivering his ruling on Thursday, the judge said: "The defence refer to the alleged denigration of the defendant by the Swedish prime minister. Mr Assange has been released on bail on the same terms he was granted in December. If found guilty of the rape charge he could face up to four years in prison. Clare Montgomery QC, for the Swedish authorities, told the hearing that evidence from a trial would be heard in private but the arguments would be made in public. Though its infrastructure was essentially disabled by the defections, WikiLeaks has continued to post classified United States diplomatic cables from the cache it had already obtained. Assange had clearly attempted to avoid the Swedish justice system before he left the country, Riddle said. But a former colleague said in an interview that he thought Mr. Assange’s concerns were more immediate.
Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Mr Assange says he will appeal against the ruling Wikileaks founder Julian Assange should be extradited to Sweden to face sexual assault allegations, a judge has ruled. At Belmarsh Magistrates' Court in south London, District Judge Howard Riddle said the extradition would not breach Mr Assange's human rights. Mr Assange said the ruling, which he will challenge, was due to a "European Arrest Warrant system run amok". The 39-year-old denies three allegations of sexual assault and one of rape last August in Stockholm. He believes the claims are politically motivated because of Wikileaks' publication of sensitive material - including leaked US diplomatic cables - from governments and high-profile organisations that has made headlines worldwide. Mr Assange has been released on bail on the same terms he was granted in December. Bail was granted then after he had spent nine days in Wandsworth prison in London following his arrest under a European Arrest Warrant on 7 December. Following the extradition ruling on Thursday, Mr Assange said: "What we saw today at Belmarsh was a rubber-stamping process. It's likely to be tough - the judge commented that the defence team had already "left no stone unturned". Some of those that did made themselves noticed by wearing orange jumpsuits and bearded Guy Fawkes masks as seen in the film V for Vendetta. They insist this case is politically motivated. Daniel Gianstefani, 16, from Australia, said: "The authorities want him to be sent away to stop him embarrassing them because they are afraid of the truth." The judge said he was confident Julian Assange was wanted in Sweden purely over sex assault allegations. His most critical comment toward the authorities was directed at Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt, whom he accused of "improper intervention". "There was no consideration during this entire process as to the merits of the allegations made against me, no consideration or examination of even the complaints made in Sweden." He added: "We have always known that in all likelihood we would have to appeal." 'Public enemy number one' Judge Riddle dismissed the argument that Mr Assange would not receive a fair trial in Sweden that had been made by his lawyers during the two-and-a-half-day hearing earlier this month. They had argued that criticism by Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt had made Mr Assange "public enemy number one" in Sweden. But delivering his ruling on Thursday, the judge said: "The defence refer to the alleged denigration of the defendant by the Swedish prime minister. Mr Assange's lawyer, Geoffrey Robertson QC, had also argued that rape trials in Sweden were regularly "tried in secret behind closed doors in a flagrant denial of justice". Clare Montgomery QC, for the Swedish authorities, told the hearing that evidence from a trial would be heard in private but the arguments would be made in public. Death penalty Dismissing further arguments made by Mr Assange's lawyers, the judge found: The allegations against Mr Assange were extradition offences The prosecutor who issued the European Arrest Warrant for Mr Assange had been suitably qualified The warrant was issued for the purpose of prosecution and not simply for questioning During the hearing two weeks ago, Mr Robertson said his client could ultimately be extradited to the US on separate charges relating to Wikileaks - and could face the death penalty there. In response, Ms Montgomery said Sweden provided "protection against that sort of threat and violation" taking place. The European Court of Human Rights would intervene if Mr Assange was to face the prospect of "inhuman or degrading treatment or an unfair trial" in the US, she said. Speaking outside Belmarsh magistrates court in south-east London after the judgment, Assange attacked the European arrest warrant system. He dismissed the decision to extradite him as a "rubber-stamping process". "Why is it that I am subject, a non-profit free speech activist, to a $360,000 (£223,000) bail? Why is it that I am kept under electronic house arrest when I have not even been charged in any country, when I have never been a fugitive?" Assange's legal team had contended that the Swedish prosecutor Marianne Ny did not have the authority to issue a European arrest warrant. Ny's credibility had been questioned by the defence team but Riddle said those doubts amounted to "very little". But Riddle said the alleged offences against Miss A of sexual assault and molestation met the criteria for extradition, and an allegation made by Miss B if proven "would amount to rape" in this country.
i will open my arsenal, he told them. "Most of these people have known nothing else but Gaddafi. Al Jazeera's correspondent in Libya reported on Friday that army commanders in the east who had renounced Gaddafi's leadership had told her that military commanders in the country's west were beginning to turn against him. We are worried about rumours and lies," he said. >>> good evening. Heavy gunfire As demonstrations began in Tripoli following the midday prayer, security forces loyal to Gaddafi reportedly began firing on them. Libyan leader speaks to supporters in the capital's Green Square, saying he will arm people against protesters. gadhafi spoke again today, another strange speech. "I am in the middle of the people.. we will fight … we will defeat them if they want … we will defeat any foreign aggression. plan b is to live and die in libya . Violence flared up even before the Friday sermons were over, according to a source in Tripoli. "Friday prayer in Benghazi have seen thousands and thousands on the streets. they say many died, but it's impossible to confirm how many. They disabled air force fighter jets at the base so that they could not be used against protesters. The government of Chad has moved to counter allegations that Chadian mercenaries were being recruited to go to Libya. Oil terminal Soldiers helped anti-Gaddafi protesters take the oil terminal in the town of Berga, according to Reuters. what's happening tonight in libya is being called a deadly end game. Clashes were also reported in the city of Misurata, located 200km east of Tripoli, where witnesses said a pro-Gaddafi army brigade attacked the city's airport with mortars and rocket-propelled grenades.
ISTANBUL—President Nicolas Sarkozy of France said Friday that Libyan leader Col. Moammar Gadhafi should step down and that those responsible for the killings in Libya, as well as people who now continue to cooperate with the regime, should face investigation and prosecution at the International Criminal Court. "Our stance is clear, Mr. Gadhafi must go," Mr. Sarkozy said at a joint press conference with his Turkish counterpart, President Abdullah Gul, during a visit to Ankara. "We think this needs to be... what's happening tonight in libya is being called a deadly end game. gadhafi spoke again today, another strange speech. he threatened to turn his nation into a red flame. he promised to release the weapons in his arsenal to the rebels fighting for him. they got out safely today on a charter flight and a ferry boat . and for the first time we have someone inside tripoli in libya tonight, so we begin with the reporting of nbc's bill neely . >> reporter: in the heart of his capital, a dictator defiant. moammar gadhafi , ever the showman, determined to rally what's left of his support. it's the first time he's dared take to the streets since the rebellion against him began. here he was in green square , where his men had killed protesters, threatening more violence. you'll have all the guns you need. the time has come, libya will become a red flame. they are words that spell more trouble. the video is shaky, the crackdown is not. across tripoli , there were many reports of police or men in plainclothes confronting demonstrators. they say many died, but it's impossible to confirm how many. the clashes began as hundreds of thousands left friday prayers in mosques across tripoli . gadhafi 's men were determined not to allow this, and they struck with brutal force. it's a regime that looks confident, at least judging by the wink of gadhafi jr. this is saif, the colonel's son and once his heir apparent. plan c is to live and die in libya . >> reporter: the gadhafis appear determined not to back down. Libyan leader speaks to supporters in the capital's Green Square, saying he will arm people against protesters. Muammar Gaddafi, the Libyan leader, has appeared in Tripoli's Green Square, to address a crowd of his supporters in the capital. The speech, which also referred to Libya's war of independence with Italy, appeared to be aimed at rallying what remains of his support base, with specific reference to the country's youth. "We can defeat any aggression if necessary and arm the people," Gaddafi said, in footage that was aired on Libyan state television on Friday. "I am in the middle of the people.. we will fight … we will defeat them if they want … we will defeat any foreign aggression. But even his children have admitted that the east of the country is no longer under the regime's control." "The security forces fired indiscriminately on the demonstrators," said a resident of one of the capital's eastern suburbs.
"Station and Houston, Discovery has capture confirmed," an astronaut radioed. It was Discovery's 13th and final docking with the International Space Station. To get it there, Barratt and Stott will hand it off to the shuttle's robot arm, operated by Boe and Drew. Commander Steve Lindsey performed the maneuver at 2:14 p.m. EST, while the two spacecraft were orbiting 220 miles above western Australia. A mission status briefing is planned for 4:30 p.m. NASA tapped Stephen Bowen to replace Kopra. (Editing by Tom Brown and Eric Beech) The crew will go to bed shortly before 11 p.m. But technical delays launching Discovery on its final voyage bumped back Endeavour's mission -- which Mark Kelly is commanding -- to April. 2 on the front end of the station's Harmony module. REUTERS/NASA TV The Space Shuttle Discovery is seen docked with the International Space Station with the earth in the background in this image from NASA TV February 26, 2011. The foam shedding occurred well after the first two minutes and 15 seconds of flight when the dense lower atmosphere can cause debris to hit with a high relative velocity.Engineers do not believe the foam lost Thursday caused any significant damage, but the photos shot during final approach Saturday will be carefully scrutinized to make sure, and to look for anything else that might need attention. The pallet, known as external logistics carrier No. 4, is loaded with a spare set of radiator panels for the station's ammonia cooling system. ORBITAL PHOTO SHOOT Discovery's launch delay also cost the crew its lead spacewalker, Tim Kopra, who was sidelined last month after a bicycle crash.
HOUSTON, Feb. 26 (UPI) -- The U.S. space shuttle Discovery successfully docked with the International Space Station Saturday, NASA said. Commander Steve Lindsey performed the maneuver at 2:14 p.m. EST, while the two spacecraft were orbiting 220 miles above western Australia. It was Discovery's 13th and final hookup with the space station. The hatches were set to open about 4:18 p.m., NASA said, and Discovery's crew of Lindsey, pilot Eric Boe, and mission specialists Alvin Drew, Steve Bowen, Mike Barratt and Nicole Stott will join space station commander Scott Kelly, and crew members Oleg Skripochka, Alexander Kaleri, Dmitry Kondratyev, Paolo Nespoli and Cady Coleman. The rendezvous finishes the roundup of all the spacecraft that fly to the station, with Russia's Soyuz and Progress, Japan's HTV and Europe's ATV already docked there, Florida Today reported. Fittingly, the astronauts got "Woody's Roundup" by Riders in the Sky, a Western song from the movie "Toy Story," for their 6:53 a.m. wake-up call. ET The shuttle Discovery glided to a picture-perfect docking with the International Space Station Saturday - the veteran spaceplane's 13th and final linkup with the orbiting outpost. With commander Steven Lindsey manually flying Discovery from the aft flight deck, the shuttle's payload bay docking system engaged its counterpart on the front end of the station's Harmony module at 2:14 p.m. EST (GMT-5), reports CBS News space consultant William Harwood. The historic linkup marked the first time in the station's 12-year history that spacecraft from the United States, Russia, the European Space Agency and Japan were docked at the outpost at the same time. Final launch of Space Shuttle Discovery CBS News' Space Place (Harwood blog) NASA's Space Shuttle Mission Home Page Later in the mission, if all goes well and mission managers concur, three station crew members will undock in a Russian Soyuz spacecraft to photograph the lab complex and all the visiting vehicles from afar, capturing a unique moment that, with the shuttle's looming retirement, will never be repeated. But first, the combined crews have to accomplish the primary objectives of Discovery's mission, including attachment of a final U.S. module, loaded with critical supplies and equipment, and an external storage platform carrying a spare set of radiator panels. A few minutes after 1 p.m., Lindsey and pilot Eric Boe brought Discovery to a halt about 600 feet directly below the space station. At that point, Lindsey conducted a computer-assisted 360-degree back-flip maneuver, exposing the shuttle's belly and critical heat-shield tiles to the crew aboard the station. Expedition 26 flight engineers Catherine "Cady" Coleman and Paolo Nespoli filmed the maneuver, using 400 mm and 800 mm telephoto lenses respectively, to capture high-resolution photographs of Discovery's heat shield tiles. The images will be downlinked to analysts in mission control at the Johnson Space Center for detailed evaluation. During Discovery's launching Thursday, several pieces of foam insulation fell away from the ship's external tank, including some that appeared to contact the shuttle's heat shield. The foam shedding occurred well after the first two minutes and 15 seconds of flight when the dense lower atmosphere can cause debris to hit with a high relative velocity.Engineers do not believe the foam lost Thursday caused any significant damage, but the photos shot during final approach Saturday will be carefully scrutinized to make sure, and to look for anything else that might need attention. If all goes well, hatches between Discovery and the station will be opened shortly after 3:30 p.m. and Expedition 26 commander Scott Kelly, Alexander Kaleri, Oleg Skripochka, Dmitry Kondratyev, Catherine Coleman and Paolo Nespoli will welcome Lindsey and his shuttle crewmates - pilot Eric Boe, Al Drew, Stephen Bowen, Michael Barratt and Nicole Stott - into the space station. Barratt and Stott, operating the station's robot arm, plan to pull a cargo pallet out of Discovery's cargo bay just before 5 p.m. 4, is loaded with a spare set of radiator panels for the station's ammonia cooling system. ELC-4 will be mounted on the underside of the station's right-side solar power truss. When the move is complete, the shuttle arm will hand ELC-4 back to the station arm and the pallet will be mounted on the solar power truss for future use as needed. The bottom of the Space Shuttle Discovery is pictured with the earth in the background as it performs the rendezvous pitch manoeuvre for inspection of the orbiter's thermal tiles from cameras aboard the International Space Station in this still image taken from NASA TV, February 26, 2011. Before pulling into the shuttle's parking spot at 2:14 p.m. EST, commander Steven Lindsey back-flipped the ship so the station crew, headed by NASA astronaut Scott Kelly, could photograph Discovery's heat shield. The U.S. space agency expects no issues with Discovery, the oldest surviving shuttle, despite evidence that four large pieces of foam popped off the ship's disposable fuel tank about halfway through Thursday's 8-1/2-minute ride to orbit.
he said on Twitter. A former transport minister, Essam Sharaf, has been asked to form a new government, the statement adds. Protesters saw Mr Shafiq as too closely associated to Mr Mubarak's rule, observers say. "Why should we leave?" Egyptian prime minister resigns; demonstrations for reform still planned Ahmed Shafik, who was appointed prime minister before President Hosni Mubarak's ouster, was criticized for seeming aloof to demands for change. As a result his resignation, announced by the Armed Forces Supreme Council on its website, has been broadly welcomed by opposition groups. The military said he would be asked to form a new caretaker Cabinet as the country makes the transition to civilian control. He has visited protesters in Cairo's Tahrir Square and became one of their most popular candidates to replace Shafik. The army is calling for parliamentary and presidential elections within months, but ElBaradei and other opposition leaders want elections delayed for a year to give fledgling political parties a chance to mature. Protesters continued to call for the removal of ministers with ties to the old regime. Shafiq was named to the post shortly after the outbreak of massive anti-government protests in late January. On Monday, Egypt issued a travel ban on ousted President Mubarak and his family. The whole world has been saluting the Egyptian revolution, but the true goals of our rebellion have not been met." Mass rallies to press for additional reforms are still planned for Friday. "Power to the people!" It is also likely to appease many Egyptians who stream weekly into Tahrir Square to protest what they regard as a lack of momentum toward political reform and the lifting of 30 years of emergency law.
Image caption Mr Shafiq was appointed days before President Mubarak was forced out of office Egypt's Prime Minister Ahmed Shafiq has resigned, the country's ruling military council has announced in a statement. A former transport minister, Essam Sharaf, has been asked to form a new government, the statement adds. Mr Shafiq was appointed days before President Hosni Mubarak was forced out of office following days of anti-government protests. Protesters saw Mr Shafiq as too closely associated to Mr Mubarak's rule, observers say. "The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces decided to accept the resignation of Prime Minister Ahmed Shafiq and appointed Essam Sharaf to form the new government," the army said in a statement on its Facebook page. Mr Shafiq was appointed by Mr Mubarak just days before he stepped down on 11 February after several weeks of popular protests against his rule. It had been one of the protesters' key demands that Mr Shafiq and other top ministers appointed at the end of the Mubarak rule step down. Analysis President Mubarak may have gone, but the protests in Cairo have been continuing as people have been demanding the "old guard" of politicians step down. As a result his resignation, announced by the Armed Forces Supreme Council on its website, has been broadly welcomed by opposition groups. The appointment of Essam Sharaf as the new prime minister is designed to placate them. He's a former transport minister who opposed Mr Mubarak's government after stepping down from the cabinet, and supported the revolution. The response from those demanding more change has been mixed, with some saying all politicians who served under Mr Mubarak should go while others think the new administration should be allowed to get on with the job of constitutional reform and elections. Mr Sharaf's appointment is significant as he spoke out in support of the revolution and took part in the street protests, says the BBC's Alastair Leithead in Cairo. It is a major step towards appeasing the demonstrators who have continued to camp out in Tahrir Square, as Mr Sharaf was a vocal opponent of the Mubarak government since his resignation as a minister five years ago, our correspondent adds. Travel ban The military council, which has been running the country since Mr Mubarak stepped down, has previously ordered the government to run the country's affairs for six months "or until the end of parliamentary and presidential elections" and is also examining constitutional reforms. On Monday, Egypt issued a travel ban on ousted President Mubarak and his family. Mr Mubarak is believed to be living in his villa in Sharm el-Sheikh, but in poor health, and has not been seen or heard of publicly since stepping down. Egyptian prime minister resigns; demonstrations for reform still planned Ahmed Shafik, who was appointed prime minister before President Hosni Mubarak's ouster, was criticized for seeming aloof to demands for change. Protesters said large gatherings were still planned for Friday to press their demands for political and economic change in Egypt, but one of the largest groups, the Coalition for the Jan. 25 Revolution Youth, said protests would turn celebratory. The country's new leadership will be allowed time to release political prisoners and bring charges against members of Mubarak's administration, protesters said. Wael Ghonim, the Google executive who became a prominent protest figure, celebrated Shafik's resignation. The resignation of Ahmed Shafik, a former air force general and one of the most potent holdover symbols of the Mubarak regime, was announced on the ruling military council's website. He had been criticized for his condescending manner toward young protesters, a lack of vision and for recognizing too late the passion for change that drove the revolution. Reporting from Cairo — The beleaguered prime minister appointed by ousted President Hosni Mubarak resigned Thursday as Egypt's revolutionary movement prepared for mass demonstrations against him. "We still demand a specific time frame to achieve the rest of the revolution's basic demands," the coalition said in a statement. Protesters said other key demands include rescinding the country's emergency law, which gives the government the ability to arrest people without charge. Shafik was replaced by Essam Sharaf, a former transportation minister who criticized Mubarak's administration after leaving in 2006 amid a series of deadly train accidents blamed on government negligence. The new prime minister is viewed as one of the few officials with significant government experience but untainted by ties to the ousted regime. The military said he would be asked to form a new caretaker Cabinet as the country makes the transition to civilian control. The outgoing prime minister often seemed aloof to the passion for change that led to Mubarak's resignation Feb. 11 and the arrests of top officials, including Interior Minister Habib Adli and Housing Minister Ahmed Maghrabi, on corruption and other charges. Political analyst Nabil Abdel Fattah said Shafik's close relationship with Mubarak gave rise to concern that he would make only superficial changes and negotiate the continuation of the former regime's policies and practices. "Shafik's presence represented a clear threat to the Jan. 25 revolution," Fattah said. The resignation is an indication that the military is attempting, at least publicly, to weaken the influence of Mubarak's inner circle as it works with opposition figures to form a transitional government.
He was killed by mistake. The forces conducted an operation, he was at his home, he came out and was shot." Afghan President Hamid Karzai's brother said Thursday that NATO-led forces mistakenly killed a cousin of Afghan President Hamid Karzai during operations in southern Afghanistan. Nato says it is investigating the incident. A UN report on civilian deaths said that the Taliban were responsible for 75% of all deaths. Yar Muhammad Khan was at his home in Dand district near Kandahar city when he was shot dead in an overnight raid. A record number of civilians were killed in Afghanistan last year. "It was a mistake. He recently refused initially to accept an apology from Gen David Petraeus after a coalition helicopter mistakenly killed nine boys in an airstrike as they collected firewood in Kunar province. He is reported to have left the house at night carrying a weapon. Mr Khan is thought to be a farmer between 60 and 65 years old. According to reports at the time, Waheed used his dying breath to claim Hashmat was behind the killing. Yar Mohammad later complained that his son's death had never been adequately investigated. Meanwhile a senior Afghan official said Kabul would take control of security in up to four provinces and three major cities this July in the first stage of a handover which will allow Nato troops to leave the country. On Thursday, he urged the United Nations to put pressure on NATO to exercise greater care in protecting civilians while pursuing insurgents. They say civilians will continue to be caught in the middle, with even higher casualties expected in the year ahead.
Haji Yar Mohammad Karzai was killed during a night raid in the early hours of Thursday, south of the city of Kandahar. The presidential palace said Mr Karzai was "extremely sad" at the news and once again called on Nato forces "to avoid killing civilians". Afghan officials said troops had raided a compound in Karz village of Dand district which is the home of the Karzai clan. During the raid at around 2am, Yar Mohammad, a cousin of the president's late father, had apparently tried to leave his home and had been mistakenly shot. Ahmad Wali Karzai, the president's brother and Kandahar's main powerbroker, said: "It was a mistake. The forces conducted an operation, he was at his home, he came out and was shot." A Nato press statement had said the raid targeted a Taliban leader who smuggled weapons and bombs to insurgents in Kandahar. It said an "armed individual", believed to be the target's father, had been shot when he emerged from a neighbouring building inside the compound carrying an AK-47. When reports it was Yar Mohammad later emerged, the coalition said it was "aware of conflicting reports about the identities of those involved" and had begun an investigation. Civilian deaths cause deep resentment of foreign forces among Afghans and are a constant source of tension between Mr Karzai and Nato. He recently refused initially to accept an apology from Gen David Petraeus after a coalition helicopter mistakenly killed nine boys in an airstrike as they collected firewood in Kunar province. Yar Mohammad, who was aged around 60, was the principal player in a vendetta which has split the Karzai family for 30 years. He allegedly killed the father of Hashmat Karzai, a first cousin of the president, in Quetta in a row over a failed arranged marriage. Two years ago Yar Mohammad's son, Waheed, was shot dead by unknown assassins who burst into his home and murdered him in front of his younger sister. According to reports at the time, Waheed used his dying breath to claim Hashmat was behind the killing. Yar Mohammad later complained that his son's death had never been adequately investigated. Meanwhile a senior Afghan official said Kabul would take control of security in up to four provinces and three major cities this July in the first stage of a handover which will allow Nato troops to leave the country. Hamid Karzai is expected to announce the first areas to be handed over in a speech to mark Afghan new year on March 21. Image caption Mr Khan lived in the Karz area of Dand in Kandahar A relative of Afghan President Hamid Karzai has been mistakenly killed by Nato troops in southern Afghanistan, officials say. Yar Muhammad Khan was at his home in Dand district near Kandahar city when he was shot dead in an overnight raid. He was not a target," Ahmad Wali Karzai, the brother of President Karzai and head of Kandahar's provincial council, told the BBC. It comes just days after President Karzai lashed out at US-led forces over the recent accidental killing of nine boys in eastern Kunar province. 'Extremely sad' The man killed on Thursday does not appear to have been a close relative of Hamid Karzai. He has been described by various sources as a cousin of President Karzai and a cousin of his father's. However, President Karzai's spokesman said that the president knew the man and that they came from the same village. "He was extremely sad, just as he's sad over any incident that takes the life of any innocent Afghan civilian," Waheed Omer said. 2010: A BLOODY AFGHAN YEAR 2,777 civilians killed - 75% by the Taliban 83% rise in abductions 105% increase in targeted killings 588% and 248% rise in civilian killings in Helmand and Kandahar provinces 26% decline in the number of civilian deaths caused by coalition and Afghan forces 21% rise in the number of child casualties 6% rise in the number of women casualties Source: United Nations Nato apology for civilian deaths The president "once again calls on Nato forces to avoid killing civilians," he is quoted by the AFP news agency as saying. More than 2,700 civilians were killed in 2010 - up 15% on the year before. Our correspondent says that public anger over the deaths of the nine boys in Kunar shows that the deaths of Afghans by foreign hands provokes greater outrage than killings by the Taliban. Afghan President Hamid Karzai's brother said Thursday that NATO-led forces mistakenly killed a cousin of Afghan President Hamid Karzai during operations in southern Afghanistan. Provincial council chief Ahmad Wali Karzai said Yar Mohammad Khan was killed at his home in the Dand district of Kandahar province late Wednesday as coalition forces pursued insurgents in the area. Meanwhile, in northern Afghanistan, German troops accidentally killed a woman during a gun battle Wednesday in the Chardara district of Kunduz province, police said.
According to Linedoll, trade-ins are big if you have the original iPad, too. Apple said the new tablet will ship on March 11. "It's a good question. So is this where we are going - tablets? IPad 2: Thinner, faster, and with a Steve Jobs surprise Apple CEO Steve Jobs introduced the iPad 2 (left), which is 33% thinner than the original. And then made a movie," she added. Apple did not give a timeline for when the Verizon iPhone would get its update -- if at all. One thing is for sure competition is dying at the reveal of this device. The front- and rear-facing cameras record video, take pictures and offer video chats. The new iPad will be offered at the same price points as the original: starting at $499 for Wi-Fi-only and $629 for 3G. You have two different colors and nine different data combos. It will be available in both black and white versions. Other countries are also expected to retain their original pricing models. Interface issues In numbers: tablet computers 15 million - number of iPads sold since 2010 (source: Apple) - number of iPads sold since 2010 75% - Apple's share of the tablet market in December 2010 (source: Strategy Analytics) - Apple's share of the tablet market in December 2010 64 million - predicted global sales of tablet computers in 2011 (source: Gartner) - predicted global sales of tablet computers in 2011 82 - Number of new tablets launched at the 2011 Consumer Electronics Show (source: CCS Insight) Along with the updated hardware, Apple unveiled several new applications for the iPad 2, including the video editing package iMovie and music making programme, Garage Band.
The buzz is already building as the much anticipated iPad 2 hits shelves tomorrow. Apple sold 15 million iPad gadgets in just nine short months and many anticipate big numbers with version 2.0. "Early Show" technology expert Katie Linendoll is one of the very first to get a sneak peek at one of the iPad 2s. She showed "Early Show" co-anchor Erica Hill the cool, innovative features that are sure to put a smile on consumers' faces. But what exactly are the changes to the iPad 2 -- and why all the hype? According to Linendoll, the iPad 2 is essentially a better product, but it still costs the same -- they range from $499 to $829. And the biggest difference - the camera! The front- and rear-facing cameras record video, take pictures and offer video chats. "And as you can see, along with the camera, the iPad2 also has HDMI capability, which is what allows us to get the pictures and video off the iPad and onto your TV, computer, whatever. So really, the sky is the limit with how much you can do with this little device," she explained. Linedoll also showed how to punch up the iMovie app on her iPad and a home video shows up. "I took this with me to Disney World over the weekend and could take pics and video, but also dropped (the) weight of the laptop. So is this where we are going - tablets? With that said I think we are slowly seeing the death of the desktop PC. And after Apple sold 15 million of the original in nine short months - every electronic company is trying to get a piece of the action," Linedoll explained. "As a matter of fact there are over 100 tablets on the market and Apple has an estimated 80 percent - 90 percent market share. One thing is for sure competition is dying at the reveal of this device. To be in the hunt for tablet success you have to hit Apple price point and interface - it's a tough act to follow." "It's a good question. Last time - with the iPad 1 - it was only available originally at 238 Apple stores on day one - so the lines were around the corner. There are more retail options this time around as the iPad will be available at Wal-Mart, Target, Sam's Club, Best Buy, Verizon and AT&T and of course the Apple store starting at 5 p.m." Linedoll said. One major electronic trade-in site Gazelle.com has already hit record numbers in trade-ins and expect 10,000 plus trades by Friday. Gazelle recommends you lock in your trade in price, as price offers drop after the new product's launch date. Apple has launched the second generation of its iPad tablet computer at an event in San Francisco. The company said the machine featured a faster processor, improved graphics, and front and rear cameras. Apple leads the industry in sales of tablet devices, but is beginning to face competition from rivals such as HP and Samsung. Mr Jobs was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2004. Declining share The arrival on stage of Apple's founder, who is away on sick leave, was the biggest surprise of a launch which mostly matched up to the rumours that have been around for some weeks. dot.Rory: iPad 2 and the return of Steve Up until September 2010, Apple iPads accounted for 95% of tablet computer sales, according to research firm Strategy Analytics. The loss of share was down to the arrival of scores of new tablet devices, mainly based on Google's open-source Android system. Other platforms have also begun to appear, including Microsoft's Windows 7 and HP's WebOS. "However, devices based on Google's platforms will only overtake those based on Apple's platform by 2015, when we forecast 36% and 35% market shares respectively," he added. Faster processor Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Apple boss Steve Jobs and senior vice president of iPhone software Scott Forstall unveil iPad 2. The new device features the company's latest dual core A5 processor, which, it is claimed, delivers twice the processing power of the original iPad.
The highest measurement, 8.1 feet, was at Crescent City, California. A leak occurred in an atomic power plant in northeast Japan, a spokesman for Japan's nuclear agency said Saturday. REUTERS/KYODO People watch the aftermath of tsunami waves after an earthquake at the Kessennuma port, Miyagi Prefecture, March 11, 2011. Prime Minister Naoto Kan said the "enormously powerful" earthquake had caused "tremendous damage over a wide area." Cars, ships and buildings were swept away by a wall of water after the 8.9-magnitude tremor, which struck about 400km (250 miles) north-east of Tokyo. And Kyodo News said fires could be seen in extensive areas of Kesennuma in Miyagi. Japanese public broadcaster NHK reported Saturday that the death toll is more than 900, with about 700 others reported missing. The quake also disrupted rail service and affected air travel. The devastation is further to the north, along the Pacific coast. A 10m wave struck Sendai, deluging farmland and sweeping cars across the airport's runway. "My wife was the calm one. Friday's quake is the strongest earthquake in recorded history to hit Japan, according to U.S. Geologic Survey records. The unfolding natural disaster prompted offers of search and rescue help from 45 countries. Officials said a leak was still possible because pressure would have to be released. All ports were shut. Thousands of people living near the Fukushima nuclear power plant have been ordered to evacuate. The aftershocks gave us no reprieve. Many subways in Tokyo later resumed operation but trains did not run. About four million homes in and around Tokyo suffered power cuts.
Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption The quake hit at 1446 local time (0546 GMT) and this is how the disaster unfolded Japan's most powerful earthquake since records began has struck the north-east coast, triggering a massive tsunami. Cars, ships and buildings were swept away by a wall of water after the 8.9-magnitude tremor, which struck about 400km (250 miles) north-east of Tokyo. A state of emergency has been declared at a nuclear power plant, where pressure has exceeded normal levels. Officials say 350 people are dead and about 500 missing, but it is feared the final death toll will be much higher. In one ward alone in Sendai, a port city in Miyagi prefecture, 200 to 300 bodies were found. The quake was the fifth-largest in the world since 1900 and nearly 8,000 times stronger than the one which devastated Christchurch, New Zealand, last month, said scientists. Thousands of people living near the Fukushima nuclear power plant have been ordered to evacuate. But thousands, perhaps millions, chose to walk home. There a tsunami triggered by the quake reached 10km (six miles) inland in places carrying houses, buildings, boats and cars with it. In the city of Sendai the police found up to 300 bodies in a single ward. Japan's ground self-defence forces have been deployed, and the government has asked the US military based in the country for help. The scale of destruction from the biggest quake ever recorded in Japan will become clear only at first light. Japanese nuclear officials said pressure inside a boiling water reactor at the plant was running much higher than normal after the cooling system failed. Officials said they might need to deliberately release some radioactive steam to relieve pressure, but that there would be no health risk. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had earlier said the US Air Force had flown emergency coolant to the site. The UN's nuclear agency said four nuclear power plants had shut down safely. The tsunami rolled across the Pacific at 800km/h (500mph) - as fast as a jetliner - before hitting Hawaii and the US West Coast, but there were no reports of major damage from those regions. The biggest waves of more than 6-7ft (about 2m) were recorded near California's Crescent City, said the Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre. A tsunami warning extended across the Pacific to North and South America, where many other coastal regions were evacuated, but the alert was later lifted in most parts, including the Philippines, Australia and China. Strong waves hit Japan's Miyagi and Fukushima prefectures, damaging dozens of coastal communities. A 10m wave struck Sendai, deluging farmland and sweeping cars across the airport's runway. Japan's NHK television showed a massive surge of debris-filled water reaching far inland, consuming houses, cars and ships. In other developments: Four trains are missing along the coast, says Japan Railways; and a ship carrying 100 people was swept away Fire has engulfed swathes of the coast in Miyagi prefecture's Kesennuma city, one-third of which is reportedly under water A major explosion hit a petrochemical plant in Sendai; further south a huge blaze swept an oil refinery in Ichihara city, Chiba prefecture Some 1,800 homes are reported to have been destroyed in the city of Minamisoma, Fukushima prefecture A dam burst in north-eastern Fukushima prefecture, sweeping away homes, Kyodo news agency reports At least 20 people were injured in Tokyo when the roof of a hall collapsed on to a graduation ceremony In a televised address, Prime Minister Naoto Kan extended his sympathy to the victims of the disaster. "This is the kind of earthquake that hits once every 100 years," said restaurant worker Akira Tanaka. Tokyo (CNN) -- The morning after Japan was struck by the most powerful earthquake to hit the island nation in recorded history and the tsunami it unleashed -- and even as the earth continued to twitch with aftershocks -- the disaster's massive impact was only beginning to be revealed. The 8.9-magnitude temblor, which was centered near the east coast of Japan, killed hundreds of people, caused the formation of 30-foot walls of water that swept across rice fields, engulfed entire towns, dragged houses onto highways, and tossed cars and boats like toys. "The earth shook with such ferocity," said Andy Clark, who said he had gotten used to earthquakes during his 20 years in Japan but never experienced what he felt Friday at the airport outside Tokyo. Prime Minister Naoto Kan said the "enormously powerful" earthquake had caused "tremendous damage over a wide area." In Tokyo, rail service was suspended overnight, elevated highways were shut early Saturday and surface streets remained jammed as commuters -- thousands of whom had spent the night in shelters -- tried to get to their homes in outlying areas.
His comments are protected by parliamentary privilege. Sir Fred, nicknamed Fred "the shred" for his management style, presided over the near collapse of the Royal Bank of Scotland, which had to be bailed out by the taxpayer. He said: "In a secret hearing Fred Goodwin has obtained a super-injunction preventing him being identified as a banker. Leader of the House Sir George Young said a debate in Westminster Hall soon would cover freedom of speech. Super-injunctions - under which even reporting the existence of the injunction is banned - are increasingly being used by powerful corporations and wealthy individuals to stop the media from publishing information. Following a public outcry he later agreed to reduce his payout by £200,000 a year. The existence of the super-injunction was revealed today by John Hemming, a back-bench Liberal Democrat MP who tabled a question in Parliament about the gagging order. "Will the government have a debate or a statement on freedom of speech and whether there's one rule for the rich like Fred Goodwin and one rule for the poor?" The terms of the super-injunction covering Mr Goodwin are likely to be so strict that The Independent would be unable to report why a gagging order was taken out by the former RBS chief executive and what information he is trying to protect. However he cautioned MPs about discussing legal proceedings and court responsibilities. He left with a pension of £700,000 a year and a lump sum of nearly nearly £3 million. “The first question we need to ask is whether we are creating privacy laws by the back door without statutory underpinning or public support,” he said.
The existence of the draconian injunction - so strict it prevents Sir Fred being identified as a banker - was disclosed by John Hemming, a back-bench Liberal Democrat MP, in a question during a business debate at the House on Thursday morning. He said: "In a secret hearing Fred Goodwin has obtained a super-injunction preventing him being identified as a banker. "Will the government have a debate or a statement on freedom of speech and whether there's one rule for the rich like Fred Goodwin and one rule for the poor?" Leader of the House Sir George Young said a forthcoming Westminster Hall debate would explore freedom of speech, adding: "I will raise with the appropriate minister the issue he has just raised." The terms of the injunction are so strict that the Daily Telegraph cannot reveal the nature of the information that Sir Fred Goodwin is attempting to protect. Sir Fred, nicknamed Fred "the shred" for his management style, presided over the near collapse of the Royal Bank of Scotland, which had to be bailed out by the taxpayer. He left with a pension of £700,000 a year and a lump sum of nearly nearly £3 million. Following a public outcry he later agreed to reduce his payout by £200,000 a year. Super-injunctions - under which even reporting the existence of the injunction is banned - are increasingly being used by powerful corporations and wealthy individuals to stop the media from publishing information. Last month a sportsman known to have cheated on his partner with two women won an appeal to remain anonymous. The judge said his identity had to be protected because the fact he had conducted a previous affair would make it easier for people to work out the nature of the allegations. Three days later Mr Justice Eady granted anonymity to a married TV personality identified only by the random initials OPQ. The judge asked the media to leave the court, saying that "to proceed in public would defeat the object of the application". Normally the media is forbidden from even reporting that a super-injunction exists but Parliamentary privilege allows MPs to speak on the floor of the House of Commons without risk of prosecution. During a business debate at the House yesterday morning, Mr Hemming stood up and stated: “In a secret hearing this week Fred Goodwin has obtained a super-injunction preventing him being identified as a banker. Will the government have a debate or a statement on freedom of speech and whether there's one rule for the rich like Fred Goodwin and one rule for the poor?” The Leader of the House Sir George Young replied that a forthcoming debate would explore freedom of speech in the UK adding: "I will raise with the appropriate minister the issue he has just raised." Reference to Sir Fred's occupation will have been excluded from the court documents in the public domain to prevent the public and media guessing the identity of Mr Goodwin and undermining the Court's decision, rather than because any specific complaint was made of the term banker. Speaking to The Independent, Mr Hemming called on the government to look into whether super-injunctions were enabling the rich to create new privacy laws without proper parliamentary oversight. A judicial committee, which was set up last year to investigate the use of super-injunctions and other methods of gagging the press, is due to report back soon.
1 and No. ABC/wires Topics: earthquake, disasters-and-accidents, emergency-incidents, tidal-wave, japan First posted "And with reactor No. Mr Edano said radiation levels around the plant had fallen after the explosion. 3 reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi's nuclear facility in northeast Japan. All I could do was sit in my truck." An estimated 200,000 people have been evacuated from the area, the International Atomic Energy Agency says. Pressure had been mounting inside the reactors as steam built up inside, because water meant to cool the fuel rods was boiling. "We do believe that there is a possibility that meltdown has occurred. The Daiichi plant is located about 160 miles (260 kilometers) north of Tokyo. The Japanese government was preparing to distribute iodine tablets to residents, the IAEA said. Four workers - two from operator Tokyo Electric Power Co and two others from another firm - were injured in the explosion. Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano told reporters that officials still do not know if there have been meltdowns in the No. A huge rescue and relief operation is under way in the region after the earthquake and subsequent tsunami, which are thought to have killed more than 1,000 people. The news sparked fears of a the risk of a further explosion or leak of radioactive material. But Bannai added that he didn't believe a disaster was looming. Thousands more have been evacuated from near a second plant, Fukushima No 2, which also suffered damage to its cooling system following Friday's quake. If the effort to cool the nuclear fuel inside the reactor fails completely -- a scenario experts who have spoken to CNN say is unlikely -- the resulting release of radiation could cause enormous damage to the plant or release radiation into the atmosphere or water.
Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Damian Grammaticas reports on the destruction wrought by the tsunami in Sendai A powerful explosion has hit a nuclear power station in north-eastern Japan which was badly damaged in Friday's devastating earthquake and tsunami. A building housing a reactor was destroyed, but authorities said the reactor itself was intact. The government sought to play down fears of a meltdown at the Fukushima 1 plant. But officials later announced the cooling system of a second reactor at the plant had failed. A huge rescue and relief operation is under way in the region after the earthquake and subsequent tsunami, which are thought to have killed more than 1,000 people. Tokyo Electric Power said four of its workers had been injured in Saturday's blast at Fukushima, 250km (155 miles) north of Tokyo, but that their injuries were not life-threatening. An evacuation zone around the damaged nuclear plant has been extended to 20km (12.4 miles) from 10km, and a state of emergency declared. An estimated 200,000 people have been evacuated from the area, the International Atomic Energy Agency says. Analysis The term "meltdown" raises associations with two nuclear accidents in living memory: Three Mile Island in the US in 1979, and Chernobyl in Ukraine in 1986. In both, excess heat in the reactor caused fuel to melt - and in the first, wider melting of the core. It appears that the reactor was shut down well before any melting occurred, which should reduce considerably the risk of radioactive materials entering the environment. However, the detection of caesium isotopes outside the power station buildings could imply that the core has been exposed to the air. Although Japan has a long and largely successful nuclear power programme, officials have been less than honest about some incidents in the past, meaning that official reassurances are unlikely to convince everyone this time round. Japan's nuclear picture unclear The government has urged residents to remain calm and is preparing to distribute iodine to anyone affected. Tests showed at least three patients evacuated from a hospital near the plant had been exposed to radiation, public broadcaster NHK quoted local government officials as saying. They were among a group of people waiting outside the hospital for rescue helicopters when the explosion hit the plant. Government spokesman Yukio Edano said the force of the explosion had destroyed the concrete roof and walls of a building around the plant's number one reactor, but a steel container encasing the reactor had not been ruptured. Mr Edano said radiation levels around the plant had fallen after the explosion. He added that sea water was being pumped into the site to lower temperatures. Before the explosion, Japan's nuclear agency had said that radioactive caesium and iodine had been detected near the number one reactor. The agency said this could indicate that containers of uranium fuel inside the reactor may have begun melting. Air and steam, with some level of radioactivity, was earlier released from several of the reactors at both plants in an effort to relieve the huge amount of pressure building up inside. Scenes of devastation The tsunami that followed the 8.9-magnitude earthquake wreaked havoc along a huge stretch of on Japan's north-east coast, sweeping far inland and devastating a number of towns and villages. The BBC's Damian Grammaticas in the coastal city of Sendai, in Miyagi prefecture, says the scenes of devastation there are astonishing - giant shipping containers have been swept inland and smashed against buildings, and fires are still burning close to the harbour. Image caption The scale of the devastation is immense Police said between 200 and 300 bodies were found in just one ward of the city. NHK reports that in the port of Minamisanriku, Miyagi, the authorities say that about 7,500 people were evacuated to 25 shelters after Friday's quake but they have been unable to contact the town's other 10,000 inhabitants. "The tsunami was unbelievably fast," said Koichi Takairin, a 34-year-old truck driver who was inside his four-ton rig when the wave hit Sendai. Explosion at quake-hit nuclear plant Updated An explosion has blown the roof off an unstable reactor north of Tokyo, raising fears of a disastrous meltdown at a nuclear plant damaged in the massive earthquake that hit Japan on Friday. An explosion at the stricken 40-year-old Fukushima No 1 nuclear power plant was heard about 3:30pm (local time) following a series of large tremors. The UN nuclear watchdog says it is aware of the explosion at the No 1 plant and is urgently seeking information from the country's authorities. According to the Fukushima prefectural government, the hourly radiation from the plant reached 1,015 microsievert - an amount equivalent to that allowable for ordinary people in one year. Thousands more have been evacuated from near a second plant, Fukushima No 2, which also suffered damage to its cooling system following Friday's quake.
Now, they’re becoming visible again. Source: Al Jazeera "This is an extension of the campaign against al-Jazeera, and al-Jazeera Arabic particularly, because everyone here watches al-Jazeera Arabic. Cameraman Ali Hassan Al Jaber was returning to eastern city of Benghazi from filing report when he was shot and killed. He said that the killing came after "an unprecedented campaign" against the network by Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi. " All indications are that Qaddafi wants to drive most of the foreign press from the country. The international press has been on the scene since the first days of protest in Libya, but today's killing of an Al Jazeera cameraman may indicate a new target for Qaddafi's fighters. Al-Jazeera/AFP/Getty Jaber, a Qatari national, was rushed to hospital but died from his injuries. "He was one of those people who lived and eventually died in the pursuit of truth. Sources at al-Jazeera told the Guardian that Gaddafi loyalists followed the journalists from the protest scene and sprayed their vehicle with bullets. The station said in its statement: "Al-Jazeera reiterates that the assault cannot dent its resolve to continue its mission, professionally enlightening the public of the unfolding events in Libya and elsewhere. He was the director of CNBC Arabiya TV bureau in Qatar. Foreign reporters at some of the city’s hotels have had their rooms searched and there’s a firm belief among Libyans here that the massive explosion at the city’s largest munitions dump last week was an act of sabotage. Al-Jazeera stresses it will relentlessly prosecute and bring to justice all perpetrators and their accomplices." Another al-Jazeera journalist was wounded. It said the group had been returning from a nearby town after reporting on an opposition protest.
Cameraman Ali Hassan Al Jaber was returning to eastern city of Benghazi from filing report when he was shot and killed. 'Here and now, Libyan and Qatari blood is mixed for the sake of freedom. Our condolences go to the Qatari people and the Al Jazeera channel' read a banner held in Benghazi An Al Jazeera cameraman has been killed in what appears to have been an ambush near the rebel-held city of Benghazi in eastern Libya. Ali Hassan Al Jaber was returning to Benghazi from a nearby town after filing a report from an opposition protest when unknown fighters opened fire on a car he and his colleagues were travelling in. Two people including Al Jaber were shot. Al Jaber was rushed to hospital, but did not survive. Al Jazeera's Tony Birtley, reporting from Benghazi, said Al Jaber was hit by three shots and was wounded through the heart. "This is an extension of the campaign against Al Jazeera, and Al Jazeera Arabic particularly - because everyone here watch Al Jazeera Arabic. 'Cowardly crime' Wadah Khanfar, the director-general of Al Jazeera, said the network "will not remain silent" and will pursue those behind the ambush through legal channels. He said that the killing came after "an unprecedented campaign" against the network by Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi. " /> Wadah Khanfar said Al Jazeera will not remain silent in the wake of Al Jaber's killing "Al Jazeera condemns the cowardly crime, which comes as part of the Libyan regime's malicious campaign targeting Al Jazeera and its staff," the network said in a statement. "Al Jazeera reiterates the assault cannot dent its resolve to continue its mission, professionally enlightening the public of the unfolding events in Libya and elsewhere. "Al Jazeera stresses it will relentlessly prosecute and bring to justice all perpetrators and their accomplices." Al Jaber, a Qatari national, was born in 1955 and received his bachelor and master's degrees in cinematography from the Academy of Arts in Cairo. He was the director of CNBC Arabiya TV bureau in Qatar. He also served as a supervisor in the National Olympic Committee between 2002 and 2005 and held the office of Head of Filming Section in Qatar Television for more than 20 years. During his tenure, he produced a number of documentaries including one on Qatar and another on Kuwait entitled "Plight and Tribulation". His death marks the first report of a journalist killed in the current conflict in Libya. Al Jazeera cameraman Ali Hassan al Jaber, a Qatari national, was killed Saturday in an ambush about 15 miles outside of Benghazi when gunmen presumed to be Qaddafi loyalists sprayed his vehicle with gunfire. The international press has been on the scene since the first days of protest in Libya, but today's killing of an Al Jazeera cameraman may indicate a new target for Qaddafi's fighters. The murder of an Al Jazeera cameraman outside of the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi on Saturday is sending a chill throughout the foreign press corps in this city, the de facto capital of the uprising against Col. Muammar Qaddafi. Reporters here – who were just days ago welcomed with open arms by opponents of Mr. Qaddafi's 41-year rule – are now being threatened by Qaddafi loyalists emboldened by their forces' rapid approach on Benghazi. Ali Hassan al Jaber, a Qatari national, was killed in an ambush about 15 miles outside of Benghazi when gunmen presumed to be Qaddafi loyalists sprayed his vehicle with gunfire. The other three Al Jazeera employees in the car escaped with only minor injuries. Many foreign reporters in Benghazi are now preparing to move out of the city, frightened by Mr. Qaddafi’s advance, his repeated threats to treat journalists like “terrorists,” and the murder of Mr. Jaber. Inside and around the city, supporters of Qaddafi have become bolder as his forces have advanced east. Benghazi was larded with secret police and Qaddafi supporters in patronage posts before the uprising, and many remained here when the city fell. Foreign reporters at some of the city’s hotels have had their rooms searched and there’s a firm belief among Libyans here that the massive explosion at the city’s largest munitions dump last week was an act of sabotage. Last night, even as thousands of citizens gathered outside the Benghazi courthouse to mourn and hail the murdered Jaber, waving both Qatari and "Free Libya" flags, one foreign reporter returning to his hotel was approached by two men riding on a motorbike. It was a small incident, but something that would have been unthinkable even a week ago, when foreign reporters couldn’t even pay for their own cups of coffee or cellphone cards as Libyans here insisted foreign coverage of the uprising was crucial to their success. He’s already declared foreign reporters working in the east of the country to be working for “Al Qaeda.” Press he invited to Tripoli, and who his son, Saif Islam, promised could report freely, have been increasingly harassed. A BBC crew were subjected to a mock execution by Qaddafi’s troops last week before being released, and on Friday a crew from CNN were detained and threatened. A reporter for a regional TV network in Benghazi, with long experience covering Libya, says he was called by a senior member of the Qaddafi regime on Saturday and told: “If our people catch you in Benghazi, they won’t care where you’re from. Arabic station says cameraman was shot dead in ambush near Benghazi after reporting on Libya protests An al-Jazeera cameraman who died in eastern Libya was hunted down and ambushed by forces loyal to the Libyan leader, Muammar Gaddafi, according to sources at the broadcaster. Ali Hassan al-Jaber was among a team from the network's Arabic station attacked as they returned to the rebel-held city of Benghazi on Saturday. In an official statement, al-Jazeera said the group were ambushed, and it condemned "the cowardly crime, which comes as part of the Libyan regime's malicious campaign targeting al-Jazeera and its staff". Speaking at the annual al-Jazeera media forum at the network's base in Doha in the Gulf state of Qatar, its director general, Wadah Khanfar, paid tribute to Jaber, a "martyred" journalist. Earlier, Khanfar attacked the "unprecedented" campaign waged by Gaddafi against the station.
"This is just propaganda," he said. Ajdabiya is the only sizeable town between Brega and Benghazi. They said Col Gaddafi's forces had carried out air strikes, as well as shelling Brega. Some rebels told Reuters on Sunday night that the government offensive had been halted by fighting amongst government troops. Libyan rebel forces have been losing ground for days, including the key oil port of Ras Lanuf on Saturday. 'Important step' International diplomatic pressure is growing for a no-fly zone over Libya. The result is a city living in fear. A battle for Benghazi would be far bloodier than anything seen so far, he adds. In other regional developments: In Bahrain, riot police fired tear gas and rubber bullets at anti-government protesters blocking the main road into the capital Manama's business district, and encircled the protesters' main camp in Pearl Square, witnesses said In Yemen, at least 100 people were injured in clashes between Yemeni police, firing live bullets and tear gas, and anti-government protesters at a demonstration in the capital, witnesses said. “Gaddafi will only get this country when he kills us all.” Col Hussein also denied reports that an assault by the elite Khamis Brigade on the rebel-held town of Misurata east of Tripoli had been delayed because of a mutiny among troops who refused to fire on fellow Libyans . For now though, the fighters and their leaders insist they will not give up. On Sunday, France said it would step up its efforts, in conjunction with the EU, the Arab League, the UN Security Council and the rebel Libyan National Council. And the sound of anti-aircraft guns being tested echoes through the streets.
Image caption Rebels have continued to lose ground to the superior firepower of Col Gaddafi's forces Libyan forces supporting Col Muammar Gaddafi have advanced on rebel-held strongholds, reportedly recapturing the eastern town of Brega. Dozens of rebel fighters pulled out of the area amid heavy shelling. Libyan rebel forces have been losing ground for days, including the key oil port of Ras Lanuf on Saturday. Meanwhile, the French government said it would speed up its efforts to persuade the international community to impose a no-fly zone over Libya. Human Rights Watch said Libyan authorities had carried out a wave of "arbitrary arrests and forced disappearances" in the capital, Tripoli. In other regional developments: In Bahrain, riot police fired tear gas and rubber bullets at anti-government protesters blocking the main road into the capital Manama's business district, and encircled the protesters' main camp in Pearl Square, witnesses said In Yemen, at least 100 people were injured in clashes between Yemeni police, firing live bullets and tear gas, and anti-government protesters at a demonstration in the capital, witnesses said. It follows the deaths of at least six people in similar clashes in the city on Saturday. The US said it was "deeply concerned" by the attacks on protesters In Saudi Arabia, up to 200 people reportedly gathered outside the interior ministry to demand the release of imprisoned relatives In Oman, there were signs of concessions. Sultan Qaboos said he would hand over some lawmaking powers to a legislative council In Morocco, there were clashes in Casablanca when security forces tried to storm the headquarters of a left-wing party where protesters were sheltering. Police later sealed off the city's main square Benghazi defiant Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption The BBC's Wyre Davies reports from Bin Jawad, a town regained by pro-government forces In Libya, rebels left on trucks equipped with anti-aircraft guns, retreating from Brega along the coastal road towards Ajdabiya - the gateway to the main rebel-held cities of Benghazi and Tobruk. They said Col Gaddafi's forces had carried out air strikes, as well as shelling Brega. The army is "marching to cleanse the country" of insurgents, military spokesman Col Milad Hussein told a news conference in Tripoli. The other day we were in Ras Lanuf, then Brega, the day after tomorrow they will be in Benghazi Nabil Tijouri, Rebel fighter "Our raids are forcing the terrorists to flee. We have liberated Zawiya, Ujayla, Ras Lanuf and Brega, and the army is advancing to liberate the rest of the regions." Rebels told the BBC they were heading towards Ajdabiya, 150km (93 miles) south of Benghazi, while Col Gaddafi's forces were about 60km away. "There's no uprising any more," Nabil Tijouri, a rebel who had been involved in the fighting, told the Reuters news agency. "The other day we were in Ras Lanuf, then Brega, the day after tomorrow they will be in Benghazi." In Libya's second city, however, the mood remains defiant, says the BBC's Pascale Harter, with many wounded fighters returning but other residents heading for the front line. The BBC's Jon Leyne in Benghazi says the big question now is whether Col Gaddafi has the forces and the back-up to try and recapture the rest of the country. Meanwhile, reports from the last major rebel-controlled city in western Libya, Misrata, said it was surrounded by Col Gaddafi's troops. Some rebels told Reuters on Sunday night that the government offensive had been halted by fighting amongst government troops. But a government spokesman dismissed the reports as "rubbish", and said its forces were instead negotiating a surrender with tribal elders. Human Rights Watch, reporting on the situation in Tripoli, said security forces had "arrested scores of anti-government protesters, suspected government critics, and those alleged to have provided information to international media and human rights organisations". "Given Libya's record of torture and political killings, we worry deeply about the fate of those taken away," said Sarah Leah Whitson, the group's Middle East and North Africa director. 'Important step' International diplomatic pressure is growing for a no-fly zone over Libya. The policy would be aimed at preventing Col Gaddafi's forces using warplanes to attack rebel positions, although no clear position has emerged on exactly how this would be achieved. It also said Libya would be discussed at a meeting of the Group of Eight (G8) foreign ministers beginning in Paris on Monday. Witnesses said a ragtag army of rebel fighters withdrew in disarray from Brega under heavy aerial bombardment. The past week has seen a string of rebel towns recaptured by government forces equipped with tanks and supported by warplanes. The loss of Brega is a major setback for the opposition, who last week held a swath of eastern Libya but now fear a rapid assault on Benghazi, Libya ’ s second city, and the prospect of a long, drawn-out guerrilla war. “The other day we were in Ras Lanuf, then Brega, the day after tomorrow they will be in Benghazi.” Retreating fighters, mostly young volunteers, leapt into pickups mounted with anti-aircraft guns before racing along the coastal road towards Ajdabiya, a little more than 50 miles away, the gateway to the main rebel cities of Benghazi and Tobruk. The flat empty terrain has left the rebels desperately exposed to the Libyan regime’s superior firepower as they try to defend a series of checkpoints on a straight desert road. In an interview with The Daily Telegraph, Mustafa Abdel Jalil, the head of the provisional rebel government in Benghazi, said military units had been kept back from the front line to defend the city. Residents are buying weapons to defend their homes and families, sending the black-market price of an AK-47 rifle spiralling from a couple of hundred dollars to as much as $2000.
He is in therapy. Image caption Nate Dogg went to school with Snoop Dogg in Long Beach, California US hip-hop star Nate Dogg, who worked with Snoop Dogg, Warren G and Eminem, has died at the age of 41. U put the g n g funk u put the 1 n 213 n u put yo stamp on evrybdy u ever didit wit." "One of my best friends n a brother to me since 1986 when I was a sophomore at poly high where we met. The cause of his death is unclear but the Californian rapper had been recovering from two strokes he suffered in recent years. Ludacris tweeted: "There is a certain void in hip-hop's heart that can never be filled. Born Nathanial Dwayne Hale, his most recognised work was with the likes of Warren G and Dr Dre on tracks like 'Regulator' and 'The Next Episode'. Lawyer Mark Geragos told the Associated Press news agency that the singer died as a result of complications from two strokes he suffered in recent years. I love u buddy luv. Snoop Dogg paid tribute to a "true legend of hip-hop and R&B". Hale was left paralysed on one side of his body following a massive stroke in December 2007 and was struck by a second stroke in September 2008. With Warren G, he had a huge hit with Regulate, which reached No 5 in the UK charts in 1994. "all doggs go to heaven yo homie n baby brotha bigg snoopdogg!!" Glad we got to make history together." As the news was confirmed, tributes started to roll in on Twitter with long-time collaborator Snoop Dogg saying: "We lost a true legend n hip hop n rnb.
Friend of Snoop Dogg who featured on hit record Regulate was recovering from two strokes he had suffered in recent years Hip-hop star Nathaniel Dwayne Hale, known by his stage name Nate Dogg, has died aged 41. The cause of his death is unclear but the Californian rapper had been recovering from two strokes he suffered in recent years. Hale began singing as a child in baptist churches under the care of his father, who was a pastor. At the age of 16 he dropped out of high school in Long Beach, California, and joined the US marine corps, where he served for three years. In 1991, he formed a rap trio with Snoop Dogg and Warren G, and first found fame as a guest on Dr Dre's classic album The Chronic. With Warren G, he had a huge hit with Regulate, which reached No 5 in the UK charts in 1994. "We lost a true legend n hip hop n rnb" Snoop Dogg tweeted. U will always b wit me 4ever n a day u put the g n g funk u put the 1 n 213 n u put yo stamp on evrybdy u ever didit wit." "I miss u cuzz I am so sad but so happy I got to grow up wit u and I will c u again n heaven cuz u know d slogan." "all doggs go to heaven yo homie n baby brotha bigg snoopdogg!!" Singer Erykah Badu also tweeted: "Nate Dogg ... freshness period. Nate released three solo albums, 1998's G-Funk Classics, Vol 1 & 2, 2001's Music And Me, and a self-titled LP in 2004. Image caption Nate Dogg went to school with Snoop Dogg in Long Beach, California US hip-hop star Nate Dogg, who worked with Snoop Dogg, Warren G and Eminem, has died at the age of 41. Lawyer Mark Geragos told the Associated Press news agency that the singer died as a result of complications from two strokes he suffered in recent years. Nate Dogg, real name Nathaniel Hale, went to school with Snoop and sang on Warren G's hit Regulate as well as tracks by Dr Dre, 50 Cent and Ludacris. Ludacris tweeted: "There is a certain void in hip-hop's heart that can never be filled. As the news was confirmed, tributes started to roll in on Twitter with long-time collaborator Snoop Dogg saying: "We lost a true legend n hip hop n rnb.
He was 76. His wife, Sheilah, sustained minor injuries. Mr. Stanley took his first dose of LSD in 1964. Millionaire." But it inspired a Dead song, "Alice D. Just to show you,” Townshend told Rolling Stone. He died at the scene. He was an accomplished sound engineer who worked for the psychedelic rock band the Grateful Dead and inspired the band’s dancing bear logo. He served two years in federal prison. “The thing about Owsley is that when he gave you something, he would take it too. He reputedly made more than a million doses of the drug, much of which fueled Kesey's notorious Acid Tests — rollicking parties featuring all manner of psychedelic substances, strobe lights and music. He once said that he considered preserving the live concerts one of his most important accomplishments. Mr. Stanley, an American by birth, adopted Australia as his home country in the early 1980s when he became convinced that the Northern Hemisphere was destined for a new ice age. Not everyone was a fan of the system. “What I did was a community service, the way I look at it.” “I wound up doing time for something I should have been rewarded for,’’ he told the San Francisco Chronicle in a rare media interview in 2007. He also helped design the Dead’s widely reproduced skull-and-lightning logo. People loved it. In 1963, he moved to Berkeley to resume his college education. James Avery Actor James Avery, best known for playing Uncle Phil on the 1990s sitcom “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air,” died in Los Angeles on Dec. 31.
Actor James Avery, best known for playing Uncle Phil on the 1990s sitcom “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air,” died in Los Angeles on Dec. 31. James Avery Actor James Avery, best known for playing Uncle Phil on the 1990s sitcom “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air,” died in Los Angeles on Dec. 31. Jason Merritt/Getty Images A look at those who have died this year. A look at those who have died this year. Self-taught chemist Owsley “Bear” Stanley, a legend of the 1960s psychedelic underground who produced the LSD that fueled Ken Kesey’s “acid tests” and the Grateful Dead’s acid rock, died March 13 after a car accident in Queensland, Australia, where he had lived since the 1980s. Mr. Stanley, the grandson of a Kentucky governor, grew up in the Washington area before he found his calling in Berkeley,Calif., as an early patron of the Dead and one of the first people to produce mass quantities of acid. “I just wanted to know the dose and purity of what I took into my own body,” he told Rolling Stone magazine in 2007. “Almost before I realized what was happening, the whole affair had gotten completely out of hand. I was riding a magic stallion. I was not responsible for his wings, but they did carry me to all kinds of places.” Working at first from a makeshift bathroom laboratory in Berkeley, Mr. Stanley produced at least 1 million doses of LSD between 1965 and 1967. A stubborn, fast-talking perfectionist, he discarded any batch suspected of impurities and soon gained a reputation for producing reliably pure and powerful LSD. His customers were rock stars, Haight-Ashbury hippies and an ever-widening circle of people who wanted to be part of the hallucinogenic era. “Without him, there simply wouldn’t have been enough acid for the psychedelic scene of the Bay Area in the Sixties to have ignited,” the Grateful Dead’s biographer, Dennis McNally, wrote in 2002. “Owsley” became a brand name for Mr. Stanley’s drugs and then, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, a synonym for any high-quality acid. He provided the drug to Kesey’s Merry Pranksters for the experiments recounted in Tom Wolfe’s 1968 book, “The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test,” and to the Beatles and Steely Dan, who sang about Mr. Stanley in “Kid Charlemagne.” Guitarist Jimi Hendrix sampled Mr. Stanley’s product, as did the Rolling Stones’ Brian Jones and Pete Townshend of The Who. “The thing about Owsley is that when he gave you something, he would take it too. “He must have had the most extraordinary liver.” When he wasn’t making the multicolored acid tabs known on the street as “White Lightning,” “Blue Dots” and “Monterey Purple,” Mr. Stanley was working with and for the Grateful Dead. An early and enthusiastic fan, he provided band members with all the acid they could drop, paid their rent before they were famous and served as their sound engineer. As finicky about audio as he was about acid, he worked for years to develop the Dead’s “wall of sound,” a 40-foot-tall bank of more than 600 speakers whose output could be controlled by the musicians on stage. He plugged in a tape recorder at nearly every one of the Dead’s early sound checks, rehearsals and performances, creating a historical record of the live shows that helped turn the band into a cultural phenomenon. His grandfather and namesake was Kentucky’s governor from 1915 to 1919 and also served in both houses of Congress. The younger Stanley, nicknamed “Bear” for his prematurely hairy chest, had a difficult relationship with his father, a lawyer for the federal government who struggled with alcohol addiction through most of his life, and with his mother, who died when he was a teenager. Mr. Stanley was kicked out of Charlotte Hall Military Academy in St. Mary’s County after sneaking booze onto campus. He committed himself voluntarily to St. Elizabeths Hospital in Washington — “I was just a neurotic kid,” he told Rolling Stone — and then briefly attended and dropped out of both Washington-Lee High School in Arlington and the University of Virginia. He walked outside, “and the cars were kissing the parking meters,” he told Rolling Stone. Determined to make his own acid, he holed up in Berkeley’s library for three weeks and emerged with all he needed to know. LSD became illegal in 1966, and police busted Mr. Stanley’s operation the following year. The San Francisco Chronicle’s headline about the arrest of the “LSD Millionaire” inspired the Dead, whose music he first heard at one of Kesey’s acid test happenings, to write the song “Alice D. Millionaire.” Mr. Stanley always had been a controlling personality — when he rented a house for the Grateful Dead in 1965, he refused to allow “poisonous” vegetables inside, and everyone subsisted on meat for months. He worked as a jewelry-maker, and his belt buckles and other pieces sold for as much as $20,000. In 1970, Mr. Stanley was arrested a second time on drug charges. Among a legion of youthful seekers, his name was synonymous with the ultimate high as a copious producer of what Rolling Stone once called "the best LSD in the world … the genuine Owsley." He reputedly made more than a million doses of the drug, much of which fueled Kesey's notorious Acid Tests — rollicking parties featuring all manner of psychedelic substances, strobe lights and music. The music that rocked Kesey's events was made by the Grateful Dead, the iconic rock band of the era that also bears Stanley's imprint. His chief effect on the band stemmed not merely from supplying its musicians with top-grade LSD but from his technical genius: As the Dead's early sound engineer, Stanley, nicknamed "Bear," developed a radical system he called the "wall of sound," essentially a massive public address system that reduced distortion and enabled the musicians to mix from the stage and monitor their playing. "Owsley was truly important in setting the example of someone who would go to almost any length, beyond what anyone would think reasonable, to pursue the goal of perfection … sonic perfection, the finest planet Earth ever saw," Grateful Dead publicist Dennis McNally said Monday.
Include name, phone number, city and state for verification. Kelly, Kaleri and Skripochka spent 157 days on the International Space Station and 159 days in space. It's been rescheduled for "no earlier than March 29". From the International Space Station to the snowy stretches of central Kazakhstan, NASA astronaut Scott Kelly and two Russian cosmonauts have safely returned to earth. Up on the ISS, Dmitry Kondratyev is now in command of Expedition 27. The Soyuz capsule landed on its side in knee-deep snow. Stiff winds were gusting up to and beyond 30 knots — conditions that gave flight surgeons enough pause to cancel the traditional raising of an inflatable medical tent. Krikalev now is the director of the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City outside Moscow, where the Expedition 26 crew is headed. For publication consideration in the newspaper, send comments to letters@usatoday.com . Kelly’s return comes just weeks before identical twin brother and fellow astronaut Mark–spouse of gravely injured congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords–is due to lead the final planned flight of Space Shuttle Endeavour in mid-April. Skripochka was on his first space mission. NASA 'naut Catherine Coleman and the ESA's Paolo Nespoli are the other two crew members aloft awaiting the arrival of cosmonauts Andrei Borisenko and Alexander Samokutyayev, plus astronaut Ronald Garan. All three crewmembers were extracted in about 30 minutes. To view our corrections, go to corrections.usatoday.com ® NASA spokesman Rob Navias, who is at the landing site, said it is "too cold, too windy, too arctic" to do anything else. More on TIME.com: NASA App Takes Your iPad To Infinity and Beyond NASA Tracks Shooting Stars to Give You More Chances at Wishes 10 Alien Types We Wish Were Real
Space station crew lands in Arctic conditions American astronaut Scott Kelly and his Russian space station crewmates landed safely in brutally arctic conditions Wednesday on the wind-and-snow swept steppes of Kazakhstan, prompting a hurry-up recovery. Stiff winds were gusting up to and beyond 30 knots — conditions that gave flight surgeons enough pause to cancel the traditional raising of an inflatable medical tent. The returning space travelers instead were whisked off in helicopters to the north-central city of Kustanai, Kazakhstan, before heading back to Star City outside Moscow. NASA spokesman Rob Navias, who is at the landing site, said it is "too cold, too windy, too arctic" to do anything else. However, the conditions are relatively normal for this time of year in Kazakhstan, and Russian recovery forces "are old hands" at dealing with rough winter conditions, Navias said. The Soyuz capsule landed on its side in knee-deep snow. The return of Kelly — twin brother of shuttle Endeavour commander Mark Kelly and brother-in-law to recovering Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz. — Alexander Kaleri and Oleg Skripochka ends the 26th expedition to the International Space Station, which has been staffed around the clock since the first crew opened the outpost in November 2000. Kaleri, who now has tallied 770 days in orbit during five separate flights — now is the second most-experienced space traveler of all time. Only Sergei Krikalev, who chalked up 803 days in space during multiple missions, has spent more time traveling in space. Krikalev now is the director of the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City outside Moscow, where the Expedition 26 crew is headed. Kelly, Kaleri and Skripochka spent 157 days on the International Space Station and 159 days in space. For publication consideration in the newspaper, send comments to For more information about reprints & permissions , visit our FAQ's. Include name, phone number, city and state for verification. From the International Space Station to the snowy stretches of central Kazakhstan, NASA astronaut Scott Kelly and two Russian cosmonauts have safely returned to earth. In an AP shot of the landing, the tiny Soyuz rests on a wintry steppe about 30 miles from northern Kazakh city Arkalyk, parachute still deployed in a rising cone, the chute’s top a bullseye pattern of concentric red circles–surely one for the picture books. Also one for U.S. safety wonks, who’ve watched the mission closely as NASA prepares to wind up its shuttle program, and responsibility for travel to the ISS shifts to Russia. Kelly’s return comes just weeks before identical twin brother and fellow astronaut Mark–spouse of gravely injured congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords–is due to lead the final planned flight of Space Shuttle Endeavour in mid-April. Scott Kelly arrived on the ISS on October 9, 2010 and served as a flight engineer, taking over command of the station on November 25, 2010. Alexander Kaleri, Scott Kelly and Oleg Skripochka returned safely from the International Space Station this morning when their Soyuz TMA-01M capsule touched down on the "frigid" Kazakhstan steppe at 07:54 GMT. The trio launched from Baikonur Cosmodrome on 8 October, and clocked up 159 days in space, 157 of them aboard the ISS, as members of the Expedition 25 and 26 crews. NASA notes that its own Scott Kelly has now "logged more than 180 days in space", while cosmonaut Kaleri "has more than 770". NASA 'naut Catherine Coleman and the ESA's Paolo Nespoli are the other two crew members aloft awaiting the arrival of cosmonauts Andrei Borisenko and Alexander Samokutyayev, plus astronaut Ronald Garan. The launch of the TMA-21 due to carry the three to the orbiting outpost was postponed earlier this week due to "technical problems".
Subscribers to the print edition will have full, free access to the website, NYTimes.com. The Times' new pay model allows casual readers to access the New York Times, unlike some other pay strategies such as News Corp's experiment with the Times of London. It will charge $15 per month, or 4 weeks, for unlimited access to NYTimes.com and a smartphone application; $20 per month for online access and an Apple Inc iPad app; and $35 per month for online, smartphone and an iPad app. The newspaper will roll out the paywall first to its readers in Canada, to "fine-tune the customer experience" before the global launch. In addition users who access New York Times articles from searches, blogs and social media will be able to read those individual articles even if they have reached their monthly reading limit. An introductory offer will be unveiled on 28 March. "Today marks a significant transition for The New York Times as we introduce digital subscriptions," Publisher Arthur Sulzberger Jr. said in a letter to readers. Sales fell 3 percent in the fourth quarter to $661 million and profit declined by more than a third to $67 million. "The way we think we can do that is taking this metered approach charging the folks who are drinking deeply." Website and tablet apps like iPad will be $20 every four weeks. The change will primarily affect those who are heavy consumers of the content on our Web site and on mobile applications." The NYT first floated plans to develop a metered-access payment system over a year ago but has been cautious in developing a system that will not drive away its huge amount of online readers.
Struggling with its business model as readers migrate to online news, the New York Times said Thursday it will begin charging for access to its website and apps as of March 28. "Today marks a significant transition for The New York Times as we introduce digital subscriptions," Publisher Arthur Sulzberger Jr. said in a letter to readers. "It's an important step that we hope you will see as an investment in The Times, one that will strengthen our ability to provide high-quality journalism to readers around the world and on any platform. The change will primarily affect those who are heavy consumers of the content on our Web site and on mobile applications." The newspaper will roll out the paywall first to its readers in Canada, to "fine-tune the customer experience" before the global launch. On March 28, the following pricing begins in the U.S: On NYTimes.com, readers can view 20 articles every four weeks for free, including slide shows, videos and other features. After 20 articles, the charge is $15 evvery four weeks for full access to the site and smartphone apps. Website and tablet apps like iPad will be $20 every four weeks. Readers who come to Times through links from search, blogs and social media like Facebook and Twitter can access those articles, even if they have reached their monthly reading limit, the newspaper said. For some search engines, users will have a daily limit of free links to Times articles. The home page at NYTimes.com and section fronts will be free to browse for all users, the same system the Wall Street Journal, the largest pay site, currently uses. The Times tried a pay model for its columnists six years ago but dropped the charges so it could build traffic to its website. Lazard Capital Markets rates the shares a "sell," saying the company has increasingly been a laggard in the shift to digital. Sales fell 3 percent in the fourth quarter to $661 million and profit declined by more than a third to $67 million. "The advertising marketplace was volatile during the quarter," New York Times Chief Executive Janet Robinson said in a statement in early March. "The progress we made on the print advertising front in October and November was not sustained in December." Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. recently launched a daily newspaper for the iPad that costs 99 cents a week for access. NEW YORK The New York Times will start charging for full access to its articles on phones, tablet computers and the Internet, in a bold plan that risks alienating readers of its popular news website. Readers who do not subscribe to New York Times Co's namesake newspaper will be able to read 20 articles per month on the website for free, but will have to pay to read more, the company said on Thursday. The newspaper launched the pay model in Canada on Thursday and plans to roll it out in the United States and globally on March 28. The pay model is a big test for large-circulation general interest newspapers, which have struggled to retain readers and advertisers as more and more people get their news from the Internet. The Times' strategy is similar to that of Pearson Plc's Financial Times, which has had some success charging high-end business readers for online access. The Wall Street Journal, once a newspaper targeted to financial professionals, also is on the forefront of charging for online news, even as it has broadened out to become more of a general newspaper under News Corp's Rupert Murdoch. The British paper bars anyone who does not pay from reading its website, which has resulted in a 90 percent plunge in visitors. "We need to make sure that part of our business continues to grow," said Martin Nisenholtz, senior vice president of digital operations at the company. "The way we think we can do that is taking this metered approach charging the folks who are drinking deeply." This is the second attempt by the New York Times, one of the world's most prestigious papers, to charge for digital news in hopes of diversifying its revenue stream. It will charge $15 per month, or 4 weeks, for unlimited access to NYTimes.com and a smartphone application; $20 per month for online access and an Apple Inc iPad app; and $35 per month for online, smartphone and an iPad app. The New York Times said it would begin using Apple's new subscription service in its app store by June 30. UBS analyst John Janedis maintained a "sell" rating on the stock but said in a note to investors that the pay model could be a long term "game changer". The newspaper attempted to make readers pay in 2005, charging non-print subscribers for online access to columnists such as Frank Rich and Maureen Dowd, but dropped the plan in two years. Of the three dozen newspapers that have moved to some sort of online pay model, only 1 percent of readers have opted to pay, according to a recent study by the Pew Research Center's Project for Excellence in Journalism. The paper has settled on allowing users access to 20 articles for free each month – including slideshows and videos – before users will be asked to become digital subscribers. There will be three charging options for four weeks' access, with the cheapest at $15 for the NYT website and its smartphone app; $20 for the website and the tablet app; and $35 for all devices. "Our decision to begin charging for digital access will result in another source of revenue, strengthening our ability to continue to invest in the journalism and digital innovation on which our readers have come to depend."
"If the world is crazy, we will be crazy too," he said. A security council source said the resolution would impose a no-fly zone over Libya but that was no longer enough. The UN resolution is so broad it allows military action against all threats to civilians - so could even involve bombing Col Gaddafi's forces on the ground if deemed necessary. Rebels in Benghazi celebrated in the streets after the no-fly vote was announced. Earlier the Libyan defence ministry warned that "any military operation against Libya will expose all air and maritime traffic in the Mediterranean to danger." Source: Al Jazeera and agencies They expect a big attack on the city. It is not thought that the US would be involved in the first strikes. A doctor told the AFP news agency that fighting was still going on in and around the town, which also guards the road to Tobruk and the Egyptian border in the rebel-held east. Ten members voted in favour, with five abstaining, including China, Russia and Germany. However the UN resolution rules out sending foreign ground troops. "Strikes will take place rapidly," French government spokesman Francois Baroin said on Friday morning. But no votes were recorded against the resolution, which was co-sponsored by France, Britain, Lebanon and the United States. Massive waves of people will be crawling out to rescue the people of Benghazi, who are calling out for help, asking us to rescue them. Ministers were holding talks late into the night in Downing Street to discuss the next steps. Several Arab countries have promised to join the operation.
Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption The BBC's Ian Pannell in Benghazi: "Very jubilant scenes within seconds of that UN resolution" The UN Security Council has backed a no-fly zone over Libya and "all necessary measures" to protect civilians short of an occupation. It was not immediately clear what form intervention would take and when it would begin, though France signalled that action could start soon. The resolution appears to give legal weight to attacks against Col Muammar Gaddafi's ground forces. Col Gaddafi's forces have recently retaken several towns seized by rebels. Rebel forces reacted with joy to the UN resolution in their Benghazi stronghold, but a government spokesman condemned UN "aggression". The UN resolution is so broad it allows military action against all threats to civilians - so could even involve bombing Col Gaddafi's forces on the ground if deemed necessary. Britain could contribute Tornado GR4 ground attack aircraft as well as reconnaissance and early-warning aircraft and tankers for air-to-air refuelling. The resolution means they could also attack Libyan helicopter gunships as well as Libya's fixed-wing aircraft, most of which are Soviet-era fighters as well as some more modern French Mirage F1s. "Strikes will take place rapidly," French government spokesman Francois Baroin said on Friday morning. But he added: "You will understand that there's no question of talking as early as this morning about when, how, which targets or in which form." BBC diplomatic correspondent Jonathan Marcus says signals from Paris suggest that air operations could be imminent, but this may be an attempt to keep Col Gaddafi guessing. US officials said an attempt to ground Col Gaddafi's air force could begin on Sunday or Monday. Russia and China - which often oppose the use of force against a sovereign country as they believe it sets a dangerous precedent - abstained rather than using their power of veto as permanent members. 'Killing must stop' French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe, introducing the resolution, said: "In Libya, for a number of weeks the people's will has been shot down... by Colonel Gaddafi who is attacking his own people. "We cannot let these warmongers do this, we cannot abandon civilians." Mr Obama's reticence, deliberately or not, has helped make the UN relevant again Read Mark's thoughts in full Commentators divided over UN vote He added: "We should not arrive too late." The US ambassador to the UN, Susan Rice, said: "This resolution should send a strong message to Colonel Gaddafi and his regime that the violence must stop, the killing must stop and the people of Libya must be protected and have the opportunity to express themselves freely." Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle said his government sees "considerable dangers and risks" in military action against Col Gaddafi. Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu said Beijing had "serious reservations" about the resolution but did not veto it "in view of the concerns and stance of the Arab countries and African Union and the special circumstances that currently apply in Libya". 'No mercy' In rebel-held Benghazi, locals cheered, fired guns in the air and let off fireworks to celebrate the imminent no-fly zone. UN resolution Imposes "ban on all flights in Libyan airspace" except for aid planes Authorises member states to "take all necessary measures" to "protect civilians and civilian populated areas under threat of attack" Excludes occupation force Toughens arms embargo by calling on all member states to "inspect in their territory vessels and aircraft bound to or from Libya" Widens asset freeze to include Libyan Investment Authority, Central Bank of Libya and Libyan National Oil Company among others In quotes: UN Libya vote reaction But Libya's Deputy Foreign Minister Khaled Kaaim said the vote amounted to "a call for Libyans to kill each other", AFP news agency reported. "This resolution shows an aggressive attitude on the part of the international community, which threatens the unity of Libya and its stability," he was quoted as saying. Shortly before the UN vote on Thursday, anti-aircraft fire and explosions were heard in Benghazi, where forces loyal to Col Gaddafi reportedly launched their first air attacks, targeting the airport at Benina. 'Amnesty offer' The Libyan military earlier warned that civilian and military activities in the Mediterranean would become "the target of a Libyan counter-attack" following any foreign operation. Libyan state TV had claimed the city was almost entirely under government control, but rebels and residents denied this Pro-Gaddafi forces attacked the rebel-held town of Ajdabiya, a key objective before launching a ground assault on Benghazi, but rebels deployed tanks, artillery and a helicopter to repel the assault Official Libyan news agency Jana reported that government forces would cease military operations from midnight on Sunday to give rebels the opportunity to hand over their weapons and "benefit from the decision on general amnesty" Following the toppling of the long-time leaders of neighbouring Tunisia and Egypt earlier this year, Libyan protesters started to demand that Col Gaddafi step down after more than 40 years of autocratic rule. UN votes in favour of 'all necessary measures short of an occupation force' as Tripoli regime warns of counterattack British and French military aircraft are preparing to protect the Libyan rebel stronghold of Benghazi after the UN security council voted in favour of a no-fly zone and air strikes against Muammar Gaddafi's forces. With Gaddafi's troops closing in on Benghazi, the French prime minister, François Fillon, said "time is of the essence" and that France would support military action within hours of the vote. Gaddafi called the vote "flagrant colonisation" and warned of dire consequences. In a statement broadcast on Libyan television, the defence ministry said: "Any foreign military act against Libya will expose all air and maritime traffic in the Mediterranean Sea to danger and civilian and military [facilities] will become targets of Libya's counterattack."
Many more were injured. "Such an act, perpetrated against civilians, could constitute a crime against humanity," it says. International sanctions have been imposed on Mr Gbagbo's allies in a bid to force him from power. The UN says that 410 people have been killed since the November election. But thousands of others are out of their homes within Ivory Coast. Two shells landed in a market in the Abobo area, residents said. The New Forces rebels have mainly stayed on their side of the ceasefire line but they have seized some ground in the west. There are also reports that pro-Ouattara militiamen have attacked a police station elsewhere in Abidjan. Mr Ouattara is widely recognised as the winner of last year's elections. Fighting here has led some 75,000 to flee into neighbouring Liberia. A statement from Amnesty International provided more details about the violence Thursday. Another eyewitness told the group's researcher that the attacks came just after prayers. Ivory Coast used to enjoy the highest living standards in West Africa and the world's biggest cocoa producer was seen as a haven of stability in the troubled region. The United Nations refugee agency reported heavy shelling in the Abobo neighborhood of Abidjan was responsible for the deaths. Allies of disputed President Laurent Gbagbo have denied UN claims they fired the shells. Pro-Ouattara forces control the north of the country and many fear that a civil war could resume. The African Union has given Mr Gbagbo until 24 March to organise a handover of power but he shows no signs of stepping down. Her baby was wounded. "She was hit by a shell and died in the hospital a few hours afterwards.
Image caption More people have been leaving Abobo after the shelling The shelling of an Abidjan market by Ivory Coast security forces which killed at least 25 people may be a crime against humanity, the UN says. Allies of disputed President Laurent Gbagbo have denied UN claims they fired the shells. Mr Gbagbo refuses to step down although Mr Ouattara is widely recognised as the winner of last year's poll. A statement from the UN mission in Ivory Coast says that about 100 people were killed or maimed by at least six 81mm mortar shells. "Such an act, perpetrated against civilians, could constitute a crime against humanity," it says. But Ahoua Don Mello, a spokesman for Mr Gbagbo's government, told the AFP news agency the accusations against the security forces were part of a "conspiracy" between the UN, Mr Ouattara's supporters and former colonial power France to oust Mr Gbagbo. Mr Mello later read out a statement on national TV, saying Mr Gbagbo was open to talks as part of an African Union peace plan. He also accused regional powerhouse Nigeria of transporting 500 mercenaries to pro-Ouattara forces based in the northern town of Bouake. 'Strong signal' Pro-Gbagbo forces have been accused of firing at peaceful demonstrators on several occasions recently. Ivory Coast: Battle for power 410 killed since disputed election 450,000 forced from their homes 9,000 UN peacekeepers to monitor 2003 ceasefire Election intended to reunite country World's largest cocoa producer Previously seen as haven of peace and prosperity in West Africa Alassane Ouattara recognised as president-elect International sanctions imposed to force Laurent Gbagbo to go Some 370,000 people have fled recent clashes in Ivory Coast's main city, Abidjan - many from the Abobo district and more were leaving their homes on Friday. France wants the sanctions tightened, reports the Reuters news agency. "Given what is happening and the rising number of violent acts it is important we send a strong signal to reinforce the sanctions regime in place," a foreign ministry official said. The UN says more than 400 people have been killed since the November election. Ivory Coast used to enjoy the highest living standards in West Africa and the world's biggest cocoa producer was seen as a haven of stability in the troubled region. (CNN) -- At least 25 people were killed in what the United Nations called Friday a shocking escalation of violence in Ivory Coast, wracked by an electoral crisis that many fear is sliding toward another civil war. Doctors Without Borders treated 66 people with gunshot wounds and injuries caused by shell explosions in the wake of the attacks, according to a news release from the medical aid group. France, Ivory Coast's former colonial ruler, condemned Thursday's "deliberate massacre of civilians" and called on the U.N. Security Council to adopt sanctions against self-declared President Laurent Gbagbo and his circle, said Foreign Ministry spokesman Bernard Valero. The international community has widely recognized Gbagbo's challenger, Alassane Ouattara, as the winner of a November election and the legitimate leader of the west African nation. U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon condemned the shelling and urged the U.N. Security Council to take "further measures" against those found responsible for the violence. He said the U.N. would "continue to take the necessary steps to protect the civilian population." Mortar shells fell on a market, the rights group said, describing it as one of the most serious incidents in the city since the current crisis erupted. "This afternoon, before one o'clock prayers, women were selling their goods in the market ... in Abobo," an eyewitness told an Amnesty International researcher. At least 10 people, mainly women, were killed and others wounded." "A woman ... came in with her baby," according to the news release. Another 16 month-year-old baby was killed by the same shell." "We are shocked at the escalating violence in (Ivory Coast), particularly in Abidjan, where this week was by far the most violent since the post-election crisis began," the agency spokesman said at a briefing Friday. A UNHCR monitor reported that 30 shops were burned Thursday and empty bullet shell casings littered the streets. Human Rights Watch has blamed the violence on Gbagbo's security forces and said their actions give "every indication of amounting to crimes against humanity." Image caption Violence since the elections has left 410 people dead Shells have been fired at a district of Abidjan opposed to disputed Ivory Coast President Laurent Gbagbo, with reports of at least 25 dead. A UN spokesman said a team that went to Abobo "could see that the armed forces of President Laurent Gbagbo fired at least six missiles on the market and surrounds". He said the UN expressed its "indignation in the face of such atrocities against innocent civilians" and vowed that the "perpetrators will not go unpunished". "We heard artillery fire - we ran to where the shells had landed, at Abobo roundabout - there's a small market opposite the town hall," he said.
However, she decided against it. That's the point of it." "I have Bieber fever - I am in love with Justin Bieber. American schoolgirl singer Rebecca Black has said that negative online comments about her music made her cry. The video for Friday has has been trending continuously on Twitter and is notching up views at a rapid rate. I want to meet her. People are so upset about the song, but I think it's hysterical. Would [he] do a duet with me? The single is also climbing the iTunes charts in the US and the UK and has entered the UK indie singles chart at number 10. At times, it feels like I’m being cyber-bullied." The track is about a teenager getting ready for the weekend but the lyrics have been widely ridiculed. See Neil McCormick's blog on Rebecca Black here Watch Rebecca Black's video here Four YouTube spoofs Friday parody 1 Friday parody 2 (Speeded up version) Friday parody 3 Friday parody 4 (Migraine) Buy Justin Bieber Tickets from Telegraph Tickets Black told The Daily Beast: “I decided not to give the haters the satisfaction that they got me so bad I gave up… Those hurtful comments really shocked me. Anyone who can create this much controversy within a week, I want to meet. The teenager was sent by her parents to the Ark Music Factory, a Hollywood-based firm that offers parents the opportunity to turn their children into stars. And Sunday comes after…wards. I hope you cut and die." She may also have a surprise fan with X Factor music supremo Simon Cowell telling People magazine in America that he loves the teen singer.
Black has shot to fame in the last seven days after her song, Friday , spread virally across Facebook , YouTube and Twitter . The teenager was sent by her parents to the Ark Music Factory, a Hollywood-based firm that offers parents the opportunity to turn their children into stars. The company wrote the song for Black, which has since been heavily insulted by millions of people around the world across sites such as Twitter and Facebook. Time.com, the online edition of Time magazine, called the song which talks about life from a teenage girl’s point of view, “ a train wreck ” and “a whole new level of bad”. Since the song was released on March 14, Black has become a trending topic on Twitter and had her music video watched on YouTube more than 29 million times, at the time of writing. She shot past fellow teen sensation Justin Bieber in the iTunes singles download chart at the weekend, reaching a high of 19 in the US version of the chart. Her parents are understood to have paid $2,000 to the studios to cover the cost of writing the song and producing the video. Ark Music chief, Clarence Jey, gave Black the option to remove her music video from YouTube, as the comments across social media sites like Twitter, grew increasingly more hateful. Black's song Friday is at number 25 - four places above Justin Bieber 's track Never Say Never . By noon today (21st March) her video had attracted 29 million views. There have been a spate of comments mocking the banal lyrics such as: 'We so excited/We gonna have a ball today/Tomorrow is Saturday/And Sunday comes afterwards .' Her record label, Los Angeles-based Ark Music Factory, even offered to pull the video from the site but Black refused to give her "haters" the satisfaction. The 13-year-old's mother paid $2,000 to the LA based Ark - a production company for aspiring teen singers - to get the song and video made. The video was shot in her father's home, and friends and family were the extras. Presented with two songs to potentially record, she chose Friday - but she did not write the mocked lyrics. Music supremo Simon Cowell said: 'I love her [and] the fact that she's gotten so much publicity. See Neil McCormick's blog on Rebecca Black here Watch Rebecca Black's video here Four YouTube spoofs Friday parody 1 Friday parody 2 (Speeded up version) Friday parody 3 Friday parody 4 (Migraine) Buy Justin Bieber Tickets from Telegraph Tickets The 13-year-old's Friday video is currently a major internet hit with 29 million views so far on YouTube. But the track has been heavily criticised online - with some newspapers and commentators dubbing it "the worst song of all time." Trending continuously Rebecca said the worst post was someone who'd written "I hope you cut yourself and I hope you get an eating disorder so you look pretty. Others have criticised the use of autotune on Black's voice - that's a popular modern production technique which digitally alters singer's voices. Friday was made by producers at Ark Music Factory, a record label in Los Angeles that tries "to discover future #1 artists."
I am here. The aviators, who suffered minor injuries when they landed, were both out of Libya and in U.S. hands, Locklear said. It has not." "They will not terrorize us. A former Gadhafi aide told CNN Tuesday that the Libyan strongman would not go down easily. They also expressed their gratitude to coalition members for the United Nations-authorized coalition attack on Libyan air defense targets meant to protect civilians. There has been intense debate among the allies over NATO's role going forward. One was quickly picked up by a US military helicopter. Gadhafi vowed Tuesday to emerge victorious in his battle with international forces seeking to impose a no-fly zone in his country and to halt his forces from attacking civilians. But fighting raged in Misrata, a city under siege two hours east of Tripoli. So far, Qatar is the only Arab state to offer fighter jets to help enforce a no-fly zone, and there were signs that other Arab states were wavering in their support. "Last Friday, regime troops were on the outskirts of Benghazi... “I would expect that over the next several days you will have clarity and a meeting of the minds of all those who are participating in the process,” Mr. Obama said in a news conference in El Salvador, where he was nearing the end of a Latin American trip that has been eclipsed by the military strikes on forces loyal to Colonel Qaddafi. Criticism and questions persist about the Libyan campaign, with no clear answer on who will take over command of the military operation and what the endgame or exit strategy will be.
The two crew members on the F-15E fighter jet both ejected, suffering minor injuries. One was quickly picked up by a US military helicopter. The other is said to be "safe" after being rescued by Libyan rebels. The crashed plane was discovered by a Telegraph journalist reporting in and around Benghazi, the rebel-held city. It is thought the F-15E fighter jet came to ground after suffering a mechanical failure. The US military confirmed that one of its jets had crash landed but said that it had not been shot down. Vince Crawley, a spokesman for the US military's Africa Command, said that one crewman had been recovered and one was "in process of recovery". Crawley said the crash occurred "overnight." He declined to give the location of the incident and also would not say how the rescued crewman was picked up. This is the first coalition aircraft to have crash landed during the Libyan conflict following the third night of air strikes. Later, Ministry of Defence spokesman Major General John Lorimer said that the allied operations had stopped Col Gaddafi's assault on Benghazi in its tracks. He said that RAF Tornados yesterday flew a reconnaissance sortie to look out for signs of Col Gaddafi's ground troops threatening Libyan civilians, before joining Typhoons at Gioia del Colle on completion of their flight. The Typhoon patrol of the no-fly zone yesterday was the first time the RAF has used the plane in enemy airspace, he added. Maj Gen Lorimer told a briefing in London: "A formation of Tornado GR4 aircraft flew south from RAF Marham. Unlike their previous sorties on Saturday and Sunday, which were focused on Libyan military command and control facilities and air defence infrastructure, their mission yesterday was an armed reconnaissance sortie to protect directly the local population from attacks by Colonel Gaddafi's ground forces. "With their state-of-the-art lightning targeting pods and a variety of precision-guided munitions, the Tornados are very well equipped to identify any emerging threats on the ground and to deliver a dynamic and effective response. "On completion of their mission, the Tornados joined the Typhoon forward base at Gioia del Colle." Assessing the overall impact of the coalition operation, he added: "At this time, it would not be wise to disclose to Colonel Gaddafi precisely how well we believe we have performed in degrading his command and control network and his integrated air defence system. "But on a broader level, we have the best possible indication that this operation is having a very real effect - namely, the protection of Benghazi from Colonel Gaddafi's forces. Colonel Gaddafi vowed that his men would be going house to house, room to room, to burn out the opposition. "The military intervention to enforce UNSCR (Security Council Resolution) 1973 has stopped that attack in its tracks. "That is not to say that all threat to innocent life in and around Benghazi and other cities has been wholly removed. WASHINGTON — President Obama worked on Tuesday to bridge differences among allies about how to manage the military campaign in Libya , as airstrikes continued to rock Tripoli. On a day when two United States airmen bailed out over Libya and were rescued after the crash of their fighter jet, Mr. Obama and the leaders of Britain and France stepped up efforts to work out an accord on who would be in charge of military operations once the initial onslaught on Libya’s air defense systems was complete. Mr. Obama reiterated that the United States would step back from the leading role within days, but he also said it was confronting the complexities of running the military campaign with a multilateral force cobbled together quickly and without a clear understanding among its members about their roles. The president expressed confidence that the coalition would resolve disagreements over the role of NATO, which had flared in recent days over France’s insistence that the alliance not play a leading role in the operation. NATO now seems likely to provide “command and control” functions, but with a separate authority running the operation, which includes Arab and other non-NATO countries. “I would expect that over the next several days you will have clarity and a meeting of the minds of all those who are participating in the process,” Mr. Obama said in a news conference in El Salvador, where he was nearing the end of a Latin American trip that has been eclipsed by the military strikes on forces loyal to Colonel Qaddafi. So far, Qatar is the only Arab state to offer fighter jets to help enforce a no-fly zone, and there were signs that other Arab states were wavering in their support. The tension and confusion laid bare the unwieldiness of the coalition — which American officials conceded had been put together on the fly — even four days into the operation, after the coalition had fired 162 Tomahawk missiles and the United States lost its first plane, an F-15E Strike Eagle, which crashed near Benghazi after mechanical troubles. So it’s not surprising to me that it would take a few days to get it all sorted out.” At least three bomb blasts were heard in Tripoli Tuesday evening as flares from Libyan antiaircraft guns arced across the sky. “They now control all the way to the town center, and they have put snipers on the rooftops along the way,” said the rebel spokesman, Mohamed, using only his first name to protect his family. Tripoli, Libya (CNN) -- As Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi crowed, "I do not scare," the United States Tuesday got back two crew members whose F-15E fighter jet malfunctioned and said it will be able to hand over command of the coalition that has hammered loyalist military positions over four days. "We will not give up," he said to a crowd of supporters, many of them waving green flags in a speech broadcast on state television.
Apple needs to be told, loud and clear, that this is unacceptable." "No objectionable content? The app is the work of the Exodus International ministry. In November, Apple pulled another controversial application after just 7,000 people signed an online petition at Change.org. Application for iPhone and iPad that claims to give users 'freedom from homosexuality' under fire from gay rights activists Apple is under fire from gay rights activists after it approved an iPhone and iPad app targeting "homosexual strugglers". But this isn't the first "anti-gay" app to cause a flap in Apple's iTunes store. "They endorse the use of so-called 'reparative therapy' to 'change' the sexual orientation of their clients, despite the fact that this form of 'therapy' has been rejected by every major professional medical organization including the American Psychological Association, the American Medical Association, and the American Counseling Association. Since the online protests started, he said, his group has not had any response from Apple. The petition launched last week and has already attracted some 17,000 signatures: however, as word of the app spreads, the rate at which individuals are signing up appears to be snowballing. The application, called Manhattan Declaration, was a "call of Christian Conscience" that advocated "the sanctity of life, the dignity of marriage as the union of one man and one woman, and religious liberty," according to its website. Apple's approval of the anti-gay Exodus International app represents a double standard for the LGBT community with potentially devastating consequences for our youth." Both have significant spending power, and we suspect this is an issue it would rather just went away.
Apple is today accused of anti-gay discrimination, following the release of an iPhone app that aims to help people find “freedom from homosexuality”. A petition has been launched by Truth Wins Out, which describes itself as a non-profit organisation that fights anti-gay religious extremism on the change.org website, asking Steve Jobs to intervene to remove the app. In a letter which those supporting their petition sign up to receive, they write: "Apple has long been a friend of the LGBT community, opposing California's Proposition 8, removing the anti-gay Manhattan Declaration iPhone app, and earning a 100% score from the Human Rights Campaign's Corporate Equality Index. "I am shocked that this same company has given the green light to an app from a notoriously anti-gay organization like Exodus International that uses scare tactics, misinformation, stereotypes and distortions of LGBT life to recruit clients, endorses the use of so-called 'reparative therapy' to 'change' the sexual orientation of their clients." According to TWO, "reparative therapy" has been roundly condemned by every major professional medical organisation. The petition launched last week and has already attracted some 17,000 signatures: however, as word of the app spreads, the rate at which individuals are signing up appears to be snowballing. Exodus International claims to be "the world’s largest ministry to individuals and families impacted by homosexuality". On its site, Exodus states that it "upholds heterosexuality as God’s creative intent for humanity, and subsequently views homosexual expression as outside of God’s will". Their new smartphone app was released last week and is "now available through iTunes". According to Exodus, this app has received a 4+ rating from Apple and "applications in this category contain no objectionable material". They conclude: "This application is designed to be a useful resource for men, women, parents, students, and ministry leaders." Describing the app as "unacceptable", and requesting its immediate removal, they warn Apple: "Your company would never allow a racist or anti-Semitic app to be sold in the iTunes store, and for good reason. Apple's approval of the anti-gay Exodus International app represents a double standard for the LGBT community with potentially devastating consequences for our youth." However, when faced with a similar issue last November, after an app was created around the Manhattan Declaration which is hostile to gay marriage, Apple came down on the side of gay rights and removed the app. Application for iPhone and iPad that claims to give users 'freedom from homosexuality' under fire from gay rights activists Apple is under fire from gay rights activists after it approved an iPhone and iPad app targeting "homosexual strugglers". More than 80,000 people have signed a petition against the so-called "gay cure" app, which Apple deemed to have "no objectionable content". Exodus International, the pro-Christian group behind the app, promotes the "ex-gay" movement, encouraging people to change their sexuality. The app gives users "freedom from homosexuality through the power of Jesus", according to the group. Ben Summerskill, chief executive of gay rights group Stonewall, said: "At Stonewall, we've all been on this app since 8am and we can assure your readers it's having absolutely no effect. "Apple might consider thinking about their customer base and the penchant many lesbian and gay people have for ethical consumerism when endorsing an offensive app like this." A new petition letter addressed to Steve Jobs, the Apple chief executive, posted on the Change.org site last week said: "Apple doesn't allow racist or anti-Semitic apps in its app store, yet it gives the green light to an app targeting vulnerable LGBT youth with the message that their sexual orientation is a 'sin that will make your heart sick' and a 'counterfeit'. A so-called "anti-gay" application in Apple's App Store is stirring debate online, but despite a petition signed by more than 100,000 people, Apple has given no indication that it will be removed. Released in mid-February by the Orlando, Fla.-based Christian group Exodus International, the free app provides video, podcasts, blog posts and other content that reflect the group's mission as a "refuge for people looking for help in their journey out of homosexuality." "Exodus is a Christian ministry that supports those wanting to reconcile their faith with their sexual behavior," the group says on its site, adding that it believes that changing homosexuality is possible because thousands of people in its network can attest to it. On its homepage, Exodus emphasizes that its "4+" rating from Apple means that the app contains "no objectionable content." The petition, which has been signed by nearly 130,000 people, maintains that the app is Exodus' latest attempt to target youth, which is says is particularly "dangerous" given the recent LGBT youth suicides across the country. Previous 'Anti-Gay' App Pulled by Apple Buchanan said that given that the "pro-gay" Metropolitan Community Church of New York has a place in Apple's online store (with a podcast app), Exodus should be allowed to distribute its application there as well.
"The question is why," Brig. He said nobody in his bus was hurt. Jerusalem last experienced a suicide bombing in 2004. A woman died of wounds from the explosion, Israel Radio reported. Israeli police blamed Palestinian militants, calling the blast a "terrorist" attack. But the attacks were halted in recent years. "Right now there is no one in Gaza to stop this, so it's up to us to try to stop it," he said. U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates also paid a visit to Israel on Thursday. A 59-year-old woman was killed and at least 30 people were wounded in the incident, three of them seriously. An eyewitness in the area at the time of the explosion told Haaretz that she heard a loud blast close to the central bus station and second later sirens began to wail and security forces rushed to the scene. A Hamas building and a Hamas training camp were hit, he reported. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu postponed his scheduled trip to Moscow in the wake of the Jerusalem bombing. The entrance to the city has been closed. The blast could be heard throughout Jerusalem and blew out the windows of two crowded buses. Emergency numbers: Hadassah Hospital hotline: 1255122 Sha'arei Zedek Hospital 1255125 Jerusalem municipality: 02 5314600 An owner of a kiosk near the scene of the bombing called the police moments before the blast to report a suspicious object near the bus station, and during the phone conversation the bomb exploded. The explosive device was apparently hidden in a bag next to a telephone pole. Officials in the hospital said that until the late evening hours no family or friends came to look for the woman, and noted that several documents that she possessed indicated that she was a foreign citizen.
A bomb exploded Wednesday at a crowded bus stop outside the International Convention Center in Jerusalem, just opposite the central bus station. A 59-year-old woman was killed and at least 30 people were wounded in the incident, three of them seriously. Israel rescue workers and paramedics work at site of explosion at a bus stop in Jerusalem, Wednesday, March 23, 2011. AP The blast could be heard throughout Jerusalem and blew out the windows of bus No. The explosive device was apparently hidden in a bag next to a telephone pole. An owner of a kiosk near the scene of the bombing called the police moments before the blast to report a suspicious object near the bus station, and during the phone conversation the bomb exploded. An eyewitness in the area at the time of the explosion told Haaretz that she heard a loud blast close to the central bus station and second later sirens began to wail and security forces rushed to the scene. Meir Hagid, one of the bus drivers, said he heard a loud explosion as he drove by the site, located near the main entrance to Jerusalem and its central bus station. "I heard the explosion in the bus stop," he said. View Terror attack in Jerusalem, March 23, 2011 in a larger map Public Security Minister Yitzhak Aharonovich told Channel 2 that the bomb was about one to two kilograms (four pounds) and was planted in a small bag on the sidewalk. The entrance to the city has been closed. A Channel 2 reporter said that the Palestinian Red Crescent contacted the emergency services to offer assistance in evacuating the wounded. The 59-year-old woman who was killed in the explosion was believed to be a foreign citizen, and her name was not cleared for publication since her family has yet to be notified. The woman was seriously wounded as a result of the bombing, and rescue services transferred her to the emergency room in the Hadassah Ein Karem Hospital. Doctors fought for her life for about an hour and ultimately were forced to declare her dead. Officials in the hospital said that until the late evening hours no family or friends came to look for the woman, and noted that several documents that she possessed indicated that she was a foreign citizen. The bombing occurred just hours after Gaza militants fired two Grad-type Katyusha rocket at the southern city of Be'er Sheva and a barrage of mortar shells on the western Negev. Jerusalem has been hit by a number of terror attacks over the last few years, two of them involving tractor drivers that ploughed down a central street. In the first incident in July 2008, a bulldozer driver hit a bus, pedestrian and cars before he was neutralized by a soldier and civilian who mounted his vehicle and overtook him and then shot and killed him. Twenty-four people were injured in the attack, one of which moderately to critically wounded. The terrorist hit five cars before he was shot by a civilian and an IDF military border guard officer that were at the scene of the attack. Three months later, 19 people were injured - two of them critically and four moderately -when an East Jerusalem resident veered off the street onto the sidewalk near the Old City of Jerusalem and crashed into pedestrians. An officer among the group open fire and killed the terrorist. The capital suffered dozens of suicide bombings that targeted buses and restaurants during the second Palestinian uprising last decade. A bomb exploded at a crowded bus stop Wednesday in central Jerusalem, killing one woman and wounding 38 in what appeared to be the first militant attack in the city in several years. The blast could be heard throughout Jerusalem and blew out the windows of two crowded buses. No one claimed responsibility for the bombing, which coincided with an upsurge of violence on the Gaza border that has led to fears of a new war between Israel and the Islamist group Hamas, which governs the Gaza Strip. Israeli police blamed Palestinian militants, calling the blast a "terrorist" attack. Yitzhak Aharonovich, Israel's minister of public security, said militants planted a 2-pound device in a bag on the sidewalk. Israeli paramedics and emergency services rush to the scene of a massive bus explosion outside Jerusalem's central bus station on Wednesday.
They are so wrong. Tessa, 47, a social care worker, told me the protest wasn't a scratch on the demos of the 80s – she's disappointed there's no replacement to the 'Maggie, Maggie, Maggie, Out, Out, Out' chant. 2.08pm: Sky says police are being attacked by protesters. Labour is calling the demonstration the "march of the mainstream". Hundreds of people Inside fortnum and Mason. He said the public sector cuts were too deep and were destroying communities across Britain. • More than a dozen shops have been occupied on Oxford Street by protest group UKuncut. I'm hoping there is enough people here to make them realise when you're in the position you're in - in the coalition government - you need to think again. We've not seen any violence. • Around 500,000 people joined the TUC anti-cuts march through central London. Organisers are suggesting there could be as many as 400,000 here today. Hours after a peaceful march to Hyde Park, there were clashes between police and protesters in Trafalgar Square. Really good atmosphere. Forty riot officers are joining a further 40 who are currently outside Topshop. Paul Lewis has posted photos on Twitpic of protesters entering the store through the first floor windows. It is much much bigger than any of us were expecting. One update is that there are no kettles so far. The glass doors to Santander on Piccadilly have just been smashed in. But we know too there is a different way. There have been a small number of arrests made for various public order offences, criminal damage and violent disorder.
Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Watch: The BBC's Sophie Long spoke to some people taking part in the march More than 250,000 people have attended a march and rally in central London against public spending cuts. Labour leader Ed Miliband addressed crowds in Hyde Park and the main march organised by the Trades Union Congress passed off peacefully. But small groups attacked shops and banks with a stand-off in Piccadilly. There have been 214 arrests and 66 people injured, including 13 police. Ministers say the cuts are necessary to get the public finances in order. In the largest public protest since the Iraq war rally in 2003, marchers from across the UK set off from Victoria Embankment to Hyde Park, where TUC general secretary Brendan Barber was first in a line of speakers. "We are here to send a message to the government that we are strong and united," he said. "We will fight the savage cuts and we will not let them destroy peoples' services, jobs and lives." At the scene in Oxford St A very small group of protesters, maybe three to four hundred people, stopped outside Topshop. The police are being careful to communicate with people on the ground using social media, knowing many are young. Protesters are very worried they will get caught within police cordons - so there is a bit of a game of cat and mouse. We walk miles with these protesters as they try to keep out of police cordons. The march began at 1200 GMT and it took more than four hours for the protesters to file past the Houses of Parliament on their way to the park. BBC political reporter Brian Wheeler, in central London, said there were lots of families and older people, and the atmosphere was good-natured but the anger was real. "The noise in Whitehall was deafening as thousands of protesters banged drums, blew whistles and shouted anti-cut slogans, slowly making their way towards Trafalgar Square. "There are hundreds of trade union banners, but we have also spoken to public sector workers who have come to make their voices heard." Image caption Organisers estimated at least 250,000 people attended He said: "Personally, I think it's wrong the way we are hitting the poor. "I'm not so much worried about myself but the customers I deal with are vulnerable and I'm worried about them and I'm worried about the kids of this country." Demonstrator Christine Nugent, a university research fellow, said: "The size and scale of it, and the range of people here, is great." The veteran of anti-Margaret Thatcher demonstrations in the 1980s said protesters came from all walks of life, adding: "There are a lot of trade unionists here, but it's not just the usual suspects." There have been separate incidents involving a number of protesters, some with their faces covered by scarves, away from the main march: A sit-in organised by the campaign group UK Uncut took place at Fortnum & Mason department store in Piccadilly. The group has previously mounted protests against tax avoidance measures by big businesses A bonfire was lit by protesters at Oxford Circus, where earlier police said light bulbs containing ammonia were thrown at officers Topshop on Oxford Street had its windows smashed and was doused with paint Missiles were thrown at the Ritz Hotel, Piccadilly Bank branches including the Royal Bank of Scotland were attacked with paint and had windows broken, while branches of HSBC and Santander were broken into. "Unfortunately we have had a group of approximately 500 criminals committing some disorder including throwing paint at Topshop in Oxford Street and at the police, and scaring the public who are trying to shop." Policing minister Nick Herbert said the government was "committed to supporting peaceful protest" and blamed the violence on "a small minority of individuals". Image caption A stand-off between police and splinter groups took place in Piccadilly Mr Miliband condemned the violence, saying: "There is no excuse for it. Civil rights group Liberty said the march had been "infiltrated by violent elements" who attacked buildings before "melting into the demonstration once more". Outlining his economic plan to the BBC, he said: "Our alternative is to concentrate on economic growth through tax fairness so, for example, if the government was brave enough, it would tackle the tax avoidance that robs the British taxpayer of a minimum of £25bn a year." Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Cabinet Office Minister Francis Maude on cuts Matthew Sinclair, director of the Taxpayers' Alliance which lobbies for lower taxes and greater government efficiency, said: "It's understandable that people feel upset... "But in the end it's not valid and what politicians should be doing is not encouraging this rally but saying look, you've got to be more realistic about the options facing this country." The TUC said the activities of a few hundred people should not detract from the main message of the official protest, which it said was attended by "between 250,000 and 500,000 people". "No government - coalition, Labour or other - would change its fundamental economic policy simply in response to a demonstration of that kind." In addition, 66 people were reported to have been injured, including at least 31 police officers, 11 of whom required hospital treatment.
"We've had more than our share," he said. But he promised that the United States would help the rebels in this struggle. Read the full transcript from the Diane Sawyer's interview with President Obama The question of how best to support the opposition dominated an international conference about Libya on Tuesday in London. “We ask for political support more than arms,” Mr. Shammam said, “but if we have both, that would be good.” So far, the rebels have obtained arms from defecting Qaddafi loyalists, as well as from abandoned ammunitions depots. Are they 20 percent? One official said the United States might simply let others supply the weapons. "They're going to have to think through what their next steps are. Obama strongly defended the U.S. military action in Libya in an address to the nation Monday night as a necessary humanitarian intervention, acknowledging that while America's security was not threatened, U.S. "interests and values" were at stake. Diplomats: We didn't discuss arming rebels French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe also took a different view to Clinton's of Security Council Resolution 1973, saying France was prepared to discuss arming the rebels, but that actually doing it would require a new, expanded UN mandate. “We don’t know as much as we would like to know and as much as we expect we will know,” she said at a news conference. This could mean sending trainers. WASHINGTON — The Obama administration is engaged in a fierce debate over whether to supply weapons to the rebels in Libya, senior officials said on Tuesday, with some fearful that providing arms would deepen American involvement in a civil war and that some fighters may have links to Al Qaeda .
AP LONDON - Libya's rebels have been badly beaten back over the past two days by a far better-armed force backing Col. Muammar Qaddafi. They have lost the momentum gained over the weekend under cover of fierce NATO bombing against Qaddafi's military hardware. Now, President Obama is being forced to grapple with a decision on whether to provide the rag-tag rebels with U.S. weaponry -- a decision which could quickly divide the cautious international military coalition operating over and around Libya, and could even backfire in more dramatic fashion further down the road. NATO's top commander conceded Tuesday that there were "flickers" of al Qaeda and Hezbollah amongst the rebels fighting on the ground. The fighters' long-term interests in seeing democracy rise in the north African nation remain questionable. President Obama told CBS News in an interview aired Tuesday night that the few rebel leaders American officials have met were "fully vetted, so we have a clear sense of who they are, and so far they're saying the right things, and most of them are professionals, lawyers, doctors, people who appear to be credible." Obama on U.S. strategy in Libya Obama: Qaddafi's "days are numbered" Complete coverage: Anger in the Arab World With historical perspective, one might ask how "vetted" and "credible" the rebels in Afghanistan appeared to the U.S. government which armed them against the occupying Soviet forces in the 1980s. Mr. Obama acknowledged in the interview with CBS News' Erica Hill that, just because some of Libya's rebel leaders seem legitimate, "that doesn't mean that all the people, among all the people who opposed Qaddafi, there might not be elements that are unfriendly to the United States and our interests. That's why I think it's important for us not to jump in with both feet." Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, meanwhile, told reporters in London at an international strategy session on Libya that America's "interpretation" of the most recent United Nation's mandate on the Libya conflict was that it made arming the rebels legal. AP "It is our interpretation that (UN Security Council Resolution) 1973 amended or overrode the absolute prohibition of arms to Libya," she said. In the U.S. view, an outside nation might now legally arm the rebels, if the decision was made to do so. Other nations and partners in the military coalition have been far more guarded about the prospect of handing weapons to Qaddafi's opponents. NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said Tuesday that the current UN mandate, "requests the enforcement of an arms embargo... We are there to protect people, not to arm people." Diplomats: We didn't discuss arming rebels French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe also took a different view to Clinton's of Security Council Resolution 1973, saying France was prepared to discuss arming the rebels, but that actually doing it would require a new, expanded UN mandate. "I remind you that this is not what is envisaged by Resolution 1973," said Juppe, according to the BBC. British Foreign Minister William Hague took a slightly less cautious line, suggesting a "very limited" supply of weapons to some anti-Qaddafi forces may be permissible under the auspices of Resolution 1973, but that Britain was not currently planning to provide weapons "in any form". The bottom line, if one is discernable at this stage, is that the door has been left open by the U.S. and at least one of its key allies -- and others, seemingly, with the caveat of a hypothetical new UN resolution -- to arming Libya's rebels. Mahmoud Shammam, a rebel spokesman, tells The New York Times they would have beaten Qaddafi's forces already if they were better armed. What appears certain is that without some form of further material assistance, be it a resumption of heavy air strikes against Qaddafi's forces or a supply of weapons, the rebels seem unlikely to advance and more likely to be beaten back further. The Obama administration has already picked sides in this civil war, the question is whether Mr. Obama will pick up the nation's other foot and stick it into the hornet's nest. President Obama believes that Libyan strongman Moammar Gadhafi's inner circle is realizing that the "noose is tightening, that their days are numbered." "I think what we're seeing is that the circle around Gadhafi understands that the noose is tightening, that their days are probably numbered, and they are going to have to think through what their next steps are," the president said. "He's got to pull his troops out of places like Mistrata?he's got to stand down with respect to his troops." Obama's speech Monday night has advanced a debate over what circumstances the president may take similar actions in other countries with repressive regimes. "We'll examine how we can make a difference, not just through military tools, but also through diplomatic and political tools, understanding that there's significant costs and risks involved in that, and understanding that our military is already very overstretched," he told Sawyer. "We had a brutal dictator who had shown himself willing to kill thousands of people in the past-- and to show no mercy." Obama strongly defended the U.S. military action in Libya in an address to the nation Monday night as a necessary humanitarian intervention, acknowledging that while America's security was not threatened, U.S. "interests and values" were at stake. "I'm assuming that in future years, things level out a little bit.
Eddie Stobart is now in his 80s. Ann Preston, chair of haulage company, Preston's of Potto, paid tribute to what she described as a "very, very kind man". Mr Stobart sold the firm to his brother William and business partner Andrew Tinkler in 2004. The fan club has more than 25,000 members. The Stobart Group said: "It is with great sadness and regret that Stobart Group shares the news that Edward Stobart has passed away. He died on Thursday morning at University hospital, Coventry, after suffering from heart problems. But haulage operations continue, with the distinctive trucks operating throughout Europe. He took the business started by his father Eddie and built it into the best known haulage company in the UK. Our thoughts are with Edward's wife Mandy, his children and family at this difficult time." (Reporting by Steve Addison; Editing by Keith Weir) Once named after female singers, the trucks and their smartly dressed drivers are an integral feature of the British trunk road network, the subject of a million counting and I-Spy games on long car journeys. He first became involved in the company towards the end of the 1960s, and oversaw its growth from a regional supplier in Cumbria to a giant of the haulage industry, with a cult following. LONDON, March 31 Edward Stobart, who turned the family trucking company into one of Britain's best-known brands as his distinctive green and white lorries thundered along the country's motorways, has died at the age of 56. From beginnings in agriculture and then as a road haulage company, the company has expanded into rail and air transport, as well as logistics management and warehousing.
Image caption Edward Stobart (r) sold the firm to his brother in 2004 Haulage magnate Edward Stobart, who built up the Eddie Stobart lorry empire and ran it for more than 30 years, has died at the age of 56. He suffered what were described as "heart problems" on Wednesday and died on Thursday in hospital in Coventry. He took the business started by his father Eddie and built it into the best known haulage company in the UK. Mr Stobart sold the firm to his brother William and business partner Andrew Tinkler in 2004. In the 1970s Eddie Stobart took the company from a local firm delivering fertiliser into a road transport and warehousing company. Drivers wore collars and ties, which was unusual at the time, and were also instructed to wave back and honk their horn when signalled by a passer-by. By the 1990s the distinctive trucks, with each cabin bearing a woman's name, were a common sight on motorways across the UK and Europe. 'Massive loss' The firm even set up its own fan club, which now has more than 25,000 members. During the Kosovo crisis Eddie Stobart trucks delivered supplies to British forces based in neighbouring Macedonia. When the company was sold in 2004 Eddie Stobart moved to the Midlands and took over a firm which built lorry trailers but that failed in 2009. Ann Preston, chair of haulage company, Preston's of Potto, paid tribute to what she described as a "very, very kind man". "He's a massive loss, he's definitely the most iconic figure that has ever been in this industry." The Stobart Group said in a statement: "Our thoughts are with Edward's wife Mandy, his children and family at this difficult time." The Stobart Members' Club said in a statement: "The club's members will certainly have fond memories of the man who started the phenomenon off, created the iconic Eddie Stobart brand and made it cool to spot lorries. LONDON, March 31 Edward Stobart, who turned the family trucking company into one of Britain's best-known brands as his distinctive green and white lorries thundered along the country's motorways, has died at the age of 56. The company said in a statement: "It is with great sadness and regret that Stobart Group shares the news that Edward Stobart, son of Eddie Stobart, passed away at 8.10 a.m. this morning at University Hospital Coventry, after heart problems yesterday." Although not involved with today's Stobart Group, Edward was managing director of Eddie Stobart Ltd for over 30 years, a business started by his father Eddie. Once named after female singers, the trucks and their smartly dressed drivers are an integral feature of the British trunk road network, the subject of a million counting and I-Spy games on long car journeys. Such is the cult status of the firm that it has its own fan club and dedicated army of "Stobart spotters" who keep tabs on the fleet of nearly 2,000 trucks. Haulage supremo, who built up the Eddie Stobart empire, has died in hospital after suffering from heart problems Haulage magnate Edward Stobart, who ran the Eddie Stobart lorry empire for more than three decades, has died at the age of 56. The individually named trucks attracted an "Eddie spotting" fanbase, which subsequently led to an official fan club and a merchandising operation selling Stobart-branded goods.
"We are not responsible for their actions," Jones said, when asked about the attack. He added that U.N. security in Afghanistan would be reviewed. Four local residents were also killed. Demonstrators started throwing stones at the UN compound then attempted to climb its walls and attacked guards. An Afghan police spokesman said two of the U.N. dead were beheaded. At least 20 UN staff members were killed in northern Afghanistan when a protest over a Quran burning overseen by pastor Terry Jones turned into a violent mob. Demonstrators called for US forces to leave Afghanistan. Le Roy said no one was beheaded, although one victim's throat was cut. He told a news conference that many in the crowd of protesters had been carrying guns. The UN’s chief of mission in the city was injured but survived the attack. Afghanistan saw several protests when Mr. Jones previously planned to burn the Koran on the anniversary of 9/11 last year. There were no reports of violence or injury. A smaller demonstration with about 100 protestors also took place in front of the US Embassy in Kabul. U.S. President Barack Obama, Afghan counterpart Hamid Karzai and NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen joined condemnation of the attack. The confirmed dead were three international U.N. staff and four international Gurkha guards. Friday's attack may cause the UN to reconsider the extent of its presence here. Five employees were killed and nine others wounded. Jones decided to go through with the burning on March 20 after serving as judge in a “trial” of the Muslim holy book. They said later that figure had included people who turned out to be Afghan demonstrators.
At least 20 UN staff members were killed in northern Afghanistan when a protest over a Quran burning overseen by pastor Terry Jones turned into a violent mob. An Afghan mob apparently angry over a Quran burning in Florida set upon a United Nations compound Friday, killing as many as 20 employees and setting fire to several compound buildings. The attack, which may be the deadliest assault on the UN in Afghanistan, grew out of a protest in response to news that US pastor Terry Jones oversaw a Quran burning on March 20. Mr. Jones drew worldwide criticism last year for threatening to burn Qurans on the anniversary of 9/11. The UN is still assessing the scope of damage and determining the exact death toll at its offices in Mazir-e-Sharif, a typically quiet city in northern Afghanistan. While the outburst of civilian violence aimed at the UN is rare, this attack seems to show that anger over the foreign presence in Afghanistan is coming to the surface. “In general you can easily rally people around issues such as insulting the Koran and insulting the prophet," says Martine van Bijlert, codirector of the Afghanistan Analysts Network. "But other than that I think there is also an increasing tension and annoyance with the international presence and so a demonstration like that does get mixed up with more general suspicions about the intentions of the internationals.” Today's violence came after two or three hours of protests over the Florida Quran burning, which was broadcast online. Demonstrators started throwing stones at the UN compound then attempted to climb its walls and attacked guards. In addition to as many as 20 UN workers being killed, at least four protestors died. The UN’s chief of mission in the city was injured but survived the attack. The controversial pastor of Dove World Outreach Center in Gainesville, Fla., decided not to go through with it at the time, largely due to a phone call from top Afghanistan commander US Gen. David Petraeus, who warned that the defamation of the Quran would likely cost the lives of US service men and women Afghanistan. Jones decided to go through with the burning on March 20 after serving as judge in a “trial” of the Muslim holy book. He found it “guilty” of “training and promoting terrorist activities ... death, rape, torture of people worldwide” and crimes against women and minorities. Friday's attack may cause the UN to reconsider the extent of its presence here. After the 2009 attack against UN guesthouses in Kabul, the UN pulled 200 workers from Afghanistan and withdrew an additional 400 from field postings to safer urban locations. Less than two weeks ago, Afghan President Hamid Karzai announced that Mazir-e-Sharif would be among the first seven areas to be transitioned to the control of Afghan security forces. “If anything what this attack demonstrates is that it will be a long time before transition is possible,” says Candace Rondeaux, the International Crisis Group’s senior analyst for Afghanistan. “If you can’t deal with a public demonstration and control it then how can you deal with a sophisticated insurgency that’s armed to the teeth?” Afghans chant anti-American slogans as smoke rises from a United Nations compound, during a demonstration to condemn the burning of a copy of the Muslim holy book by a U.S. pastor, in Mazar-i- Sharif April 1, 2011. REUTERS/Stringer MAZAR-I-SHARIF, Afghanistan Afghans protesting the burning of a Koran by an obscure U.S. pastor over-ran a U.N. compound on Friday and killed at least seven international staff in the deadliest-ever attack on the United Nations in Afghanistan. Thousands of demonstrators flooded into the streets after Friday prayers and headed for the U.N. mission in usually peaceful Mazar-i-Sharif, a city considered safe enough to be in the vanguard of a crucial security transition. The governor of Balkh province said insurgents had used the march as cover to attack the compound, in a battle that raged for hours and raised serious questions about plans to make the city a pilot for security transfer to national forces. In New York, U.N. peacekeeping chief Alain Le Roy told reporters after briefing members of the Security Council who convened an emergency session to discuss the attack, that some of the protesters seemed to be more than demonstrators. "Maybe they wanted to find an international target and the U.N. was the one in Mazar-i-Sharif," Le Roy said, adding that an investigation of the incident was in progress. The attackers overwhelmed security guards, burned parts of the compound and climbed up blast walls to topple a guard tower. Five protesters were also killed and about 20 wounded, some after trying to take weapons off U.N. security guards. The two largest recent attacks on U.N. compounds in other countries are a 2007 bomb in Algiers that killed 17 U.N. staff, and a 2003 attack on the Baghdad hotel that was the U.N. headquarters there, which killed at least 22 people. Christian preacher Terry Jones, who after international condemnation canceled a plan last year to burn copies of the Koran, supervised the burning of the book in front of about 50 people at a church in Florida on March 20, according to his website. "COWARDLY" ATTACK The Afghan police and army, whom the United Nations rely on for its first line of defense, were apparently unable to control the crowd.
This has been corrected. Among those killed were passengers from France, Britain, Brazil, Italy, Ireland and China. The original standfirst said Flight AF477 went down on its way to Rio. "We do not know where the recorders might be." French officials announced Monday that the bulk of the wreckage was found with bodies still aboard. Advertisement Continue reading the main story So far, the main source of information about what happened to the flight is messages sent automatically from the plane that indicated a malfunction of the plane’s airspeed sensors. That search area was defined by accident investigators using computer models of the currents and wind direction in the days after the crash. The discovery of the Airbus A330-200 that was Air France Flight 447 followed three unsuccessful searches. At least part of it – a pair of wheels resting on the seabed nearly 4,000 metres from the surface, two engines and a large part of the fuselage – was still intact. Officials said specialists from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Massachusetts would continue to gather more detailed images of the wreck over the coming days. The recovery operation will cost an estimated €5m (£4.4m) and will be financed by the French state, but is expected to cause controversy and arguments between relatives of the victims. For the families of those who died in the tragedy on 1 June 2009, the discovery of the wreckage marked the first breakthrough in nearly two years and brought a mixture of hope and despair. Preliminary investigations have suggested the plane's speed sensors may have been faulty. Previous searches yielded more than 600 pieces of floating debris and the remains of no more than 50 bodies — 45 passengers and five crew members, including the plane’s captain.
Paris (CNN) -- A leader of a group for families of those lost in the crash of an Air France jet said Tuesday that despite the discovery of their remains on the floor of the Atlantic Ocean, he wants the bodies of his loved ones left where they are. "For me, personally I would like to leave the bodies of my children, my two children, on the seabed," said Robert Soulas, vice president of a support group for the families of the 228 people on the flight from Rio de Janeiro to Paris that crashed in stormy weather on June 1, 2009. French officials announced Monday that the bulk of the wreckage was found with bodies still aboard. Only 50 bodies and scattered debris had been recovered on the surface after the crash. The human remains will be brought to the surface and identified, French Ecology and Transportation Minister Nathalie Kosciusko-Morizet said. Q&A: Will the Air Fance mystery ever be solved? Soulas said his children "died there, so I think it will be much more difficult for us to reopen a new trauma, to reopen a hardship and to plan for a grave and so on, and I think it will be a new trauma for us. So I would prefer to leave the bodies under the water." Submarines searching for the wreck spotted two engines, the fuselage and landing gear over the weekend. But the flight data recorders have not been recovered, leaving investigators as puzzled as ever about why the crash happened. "It's still a jigsaw puzzle," said Alain Bouillard, who will be in charge of the recovery operation. "We do not know where the recorders might be." Bouillard would not comment on the condition of the bodies, calling it "inappropriate" to discuss. The debris is dispersed over "quite a compact area" of about 600 meters by 200 meters (1,960 feet by about 650 feet), he said. What investigators hope to find out All the wreckage will be brought to the surface and sent to France for study, said Jean-Paul Troadec, head of the French air accident investigation agency, the Bureau d'Enquêtes et d'Analyses, or BEA. Three companies bidding to raise the wreck have until Thursday afternoon to submit proposals, he said. The operation should take three weeks to a month, and will be paid for by the French government at an estimated cost of 5 million euros ($7.1 million), he said. Authorities are not revealing the exact location of the wreck to protect the site, officials said. The head of Air France said the discovery was "good news indeed since it gives hope that information on the causes of the accident, so far unresolved, will be found." CEO Pierre-Henri Gourgeon added his thanks to the French authorities "who employed hitherto unheard of means to pursue searches." For the latest effort, "a different calculation based on currents of the sea and what might have happened" was used, said Troadec, the BEA chief, said. The BEA said Sunday that a team led by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution had discovered the wreckage during an underwater search operation conducted within the previous 24 hours. TIME: Underwater photos of the debris Studies of the debris and bodies found after the crash led the BEA to conclude the plane hit the water belly first, essentially intact. Automated messages sent from the plane in the minutes before the crash showed there were problems measuring air speed, investigators have said, though they said that alone was not enough to cause the disaster. The area where the plane went down is far out in the Atlantic -- two to four days for ships to reach from the nearest ports in Brazil or Senegal in West Africa. Robot submarines reveal wreckage with bodies of passengers who died when Flight AF477 went down on its way from Rio to Paris The images from the ocean bed were a cause for celebration for the team of investigators on board the Alucia, off the northern coast of Brazil. As the Remus robot submarines swept the submerged wreckage, there, clearly visible, were the bodies of some of the 228 passengers who perished when flight AF447 plunged into the sea, several still strapped into their seats. "There are bodies still in the part [of the plane] that has been found," she told French radio. "I'm not an expert, but it appears the whole thing didn't explode … there is a part of the cabin, and in that part of the cabin there are bodies" – bodies, she added, "that could be possibly identified". She said France would begin an operation to bring the wreckage and human remains to the surface within the next few weeks as the search to find the plane's flight recorders, the black boxes that may solve the mystery of the crash, continues. Among several children to die on the flight was the 11-year-old British schoolboy Alexander Bjoroy, who was travelling back to the UK with a chaperone after spending the half term break with his parents in Brazil. In the days after the crash about 50 bodies and parts of the plane – notably the tailfin – were pulled from the sea by the Brazilian navy. Three previous search missions had already cost €21.6m and failed to find anything, but with Air France and Airbus, the plane's operator and manufacturer, facing manslaughter charges, there was a legal and financial impetus to continue the search. Three robot submarines, similar to those used to find the remains of the Titanic in 1985, found traces of the plane on Sunday as they scoured the seabed at a depth of 3,800 and 4,000 metres. Scanning a circle with a circumference of around 75km from where the plane is thought to have crashed, the robots sent pictures back of wreckage on the seabed a few hundred metres west of the last known position of the plane.
This is hopeless. We have had enough," said Peta Singh, an 18-year-old student from Noida, a satellite town of Delhi, who had travelled to the centre of the capital with friends to demonstrate. Hazare and his supporters reject the government's draft of the bill because it does not empower the proposed bodies to prosecute corruption suspects. “It does not strengthen the anti-corruption fight in India. "This is a corrupt government, full of corrupt ministers in a corrupt country. It allows a government ombudsman to recommend cases for investigation but does not give the ombudsman any police-like power. Very weak versions of (the) Lokpal bill were presented in parliament eight times in (the) last 42 years. “I have written so many letters to the prime minister asking for time to meet and discuss. The telecoms scandal was just one of a series to hit the Congress-led coalition in the last year. Tell me a single meeting when you called us and we did not come. Several politicians, military officials, and bureaucrats have also been the subjects of a separate inquiry for allegedly taking apartments meant for war widows. Hunger strikes – which invoke the memory of those undertaken by Mahatma Gandhi – are popular political tactics in India and are frequent features of public life. No reply,” Hazare told reporters. Indians fed up with recent corruption scandals have launched a nationwide protest demanding that they be allowed to participate in drafting a tough, national anti-graft law. Anti-corruption campaigner says he will continue to 'fast until death' as campaign inspires millions to stage their own protests A 73-year-old Indian anti-corruption campaigner has refused to end his "fast until death" despite government concessions on his demands for a powerful new body to stamp out graft in the country.
Anti-corruption campaigner says he will continue to 'fast until death' as campaign inspires millions to stage their own protests A 73-year-old Indian anti-corruption campaigner has refused to end his "fast until death" despite government concessions on his demands for a powerful new body to stamp out graft in the country. Anna Hazare ended his third day of hunger strike on Thursday saying he had lost weight and "felt a little weak" but could continue without food for at least another week. Hunger strikes – which invoke the memory of those undertaken by Mahatma Gandhi – are popular political tactics in India and are frequent features of public life. However, this most recent campaign against corruption has mobilised millions of Indians. Hazare's Facebook page has more than 80,000 friends and supporters mobbed the Jantar Mantar observatory, the site of his hunger strike, in central Delhi on Thursday. Tens of thousands also joined the protests, ranging from hunger strikes to candlelit vigils in cities around the country including Mumbai, Lucknow and Jaipur. A number of Bollywood stars have also come out in support of Hazare, a former soldier and veteran social activist. Corruption in India is endemic and ranges from the small fees that need to be paid to avoid fines for trumped up traffic offences to an alleged £24bn fraud in the telecoms sector, which saw a former government minister jailed last month. "This is a corrupt government, full of corrupt ministers in a corrupt country. We have had enough," said Peta Singh, an 18-year-old student from Noida, a satellite town of Delhi, who had travelled to the centre of the capital with friends to demonstrate. The telecoms scandal was just one of a series to hit the Congress-led coalition in the last year. The protesters want speedy adoption of a law to create a powerful anti-corruption ombudsman which would be able to ensure rapid investigation and prosecution of offenders. Current authorities – described as either politicised or toothless by protesters – would be placed under the ombudsman's control. It suggests the ombudsman, known as the Lokpal, be a recommending authority without prosecuting powers. The wealthy and powerful in India usually escape any charges against them or succeed in drawing out the legal process for many years, sometimes decades. A bill to set up a powerful anti-graft mechanism has been repeatedly introduced into parliament but has never passed. A science graduate who had given up his government post in protest against "the system", he said Hazare and his followers would achieve their aims. All of India is united against corruption – except the corrupt people of course," he said. Another demonstrator, PN Jha, said he had personal experience of "scams" while working in the oil and gas sector. In the global list of perceptions of corruption compiled by Transparency International, India is ranked the 87th least corrupt along with Albania, Jamaica and Liberia. Brahma Chellaney, a respected Indian international affairs analyst and author, has called corruption an "existential threat" to India. (CNN) -- Support swelled for an anti-corruption crusader in India, as his indefinite hunger strike seeking tough new graft laws entered its third day Thursday. Hunger-striker Anna Hazare wrote a stiff letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, after his office insisted in a statement that talks failed because activists demanded their version of a citizen ombudsman bill be accepted in totality. Hazare's campaign comes in the wake of a series of high-profile alleged scandals that have rocked Singh's administration and investor confidence in Asia's third largest economy. Hazare and his supporters reject the government's draft of the bill because it does not empower the proposed bodies to prosecute corruption suspects. Andimuthu Raja, a former telecommunication minister, is accused of being involved in a scheme involving the underselling of cell phone licenses at the height of India's lucrative telecom boom. According to a government audit, the treasury lost as much as $31 billion from the 2008 sale of the second-generation wireless spectrum.
He was, simply, a good bloke". He was very proud to be an officer in the Royal Navy Submarine Service. Image caption Lt Cdr Ian Molyneux's wife Gillian said he would live on in their children A man has been charged with murder and three counts of attempted murder following a shooting on board nuclear submarine HMS Astute. 'Tragic' incident She added: "Everything he did was for us. He is due to appear at Winchester Crown Court on Wednesday. A second man, Lt Cdr Christopher Hodge, was also shot and remains in hospital. Able Seaman Ryan Samuel Donovan, 22, of Dartford, Kent, is due to appear before magistrates in Southampton on Monday. I know he was missing home and hadn't been allowed back up. It was named and launched by the Duchess of Cornwall in June 2007 before being welcomed into the Royal Navy in August last year. She said: “Ian was utterly devoted to his family. The 97m (318ft)-long craft is the UK's newest nuclear-powered attack submarine and is based at the Faslane Naval Base on the River Clyde. They should spot someone who is unhappy or who is having problems at home.” Mr Hawkins, the chief prosecutor for Hampshire Crown Prosecution Service, said: "Because the defendant is a serviceman he also falls under the jurisdiction of the Armed Forces. The submarine has been berthed at the Eastern Docks since Wednesday on a five-day official visit. Hampshire Police charged him with the murder of Lieutenant Commander Ian Molyneux, 36 and the attempted murder of Petty Officer Christopher Brown, 36. Tributes were also paid by First Sea Lord Admiral Sir Mark Stanhope and Capt Phil Buckley, captain of the Faslane Flotilla, to which HMS Astute belongs.
Image caption Lt Cdr Ian Molyneux was shot dead A sailor charged with murder and three counts of attempted murder after a shooting on board a nuclear submarine has appeared in court. A second man, Lt Cdr Christopher Hodge, was also shot and remains in hospital. Able Seaman Ryan Samuel Donovan, 22, appeared at the city's magistrates' court and was remanded in custody. The Royal Navy serviceman, has also been charged with the attempted murders of Petty Officer Christopher Brown, 36, Chief Petty Officer David McCoy, 37, and Lt Cdr Hodge, 45. The charges follow an incident last Friday in which shots were fired from an SA80 rifle as local dignitaries, including the city council's mayor, chief executive and leader, were being given a tour of HMS Astute. 'Utterly devoted' Nick Hawkins, prosecuting, said that the case could have been handled internally by the armed forces but it had been agreed that the case would be held in the civilian courts. Mr Hawkins, the chief prosecutor for Hampshire Crown Prosecution Service, said: "Because the defendant is a serviceman he also falls under the jurisdiction of the Armed Forces. "The Armed Forces do have jurisdiction but during the course of the weekend I had discussions with the director of service prosecutions and we are in agreement this case is to be properly tried in the civilian courts." Image caption The submarine has been berthed at the Eastern Docks since Wednesday Lt Cdr Molyneux's widow, Gillian, described the father of four as "utterly devoted to his family". HMS Astute left Southampton at 1610 BST to return to its base at Faslane, Scotland. The 97m (318ft)-long craft is the UK's newest nuclear-powered attack submarine and is based at the Faslane Naval Base on the River Clyde. Able Seaman Ryan Samuel Donovan, 22, is due before Southampton magistrates on Monday, accused of one count of murder and three counts of attempted murder. Hampshire Police charged him with the murder of Lieutenant Commander Ian Molyneux, 36 and the attempted murder of Petty Officer Christopher Brown, 36. He was further charged with the attempted murder of Chief Petty Officer David McCoy, 37 and the attempted murder of Lieutenant Commander Christopher Hodge, 45. On Sunday night the submariner’s grandfather criticised the Royal Navy for failing to allow him shore leave to visit his family. Donovan was arrested on Friday after Lt Cmdr Molyneux was fatally shot in the chest as the nuclear submarine was docked at Southampton, Hants. Fellow officer Lt Cmdr Hodge was also seriously wounded in the incident, which was witnessed by visiting dignitaries. The female relative, who asked not to be named, said Donovan’s relationships with certain other crew members had deteriorated in recent weeks. Questions have been raised about why he was allowed to remain on the sub at all and I would have to echo that.” The sailor's grandfather, Cornelius Donovan, 72, from Plumstead, south east London, added: “I just can't believe it, the whole family is in shock. I am angry that he hadn't been allowed home if that's what he wanted.” He added: “I was so proud of him when he joined up but he never wanted any fuss made of him. But questions have been raised over his suitability to serve after it emerged that in 2009 he changed his name by deed poll to Reggie Moondogg and was attempting to launch a career as a rap musician. In a joint statement issued with Crown Prosecution Service last night, officials said the sailor, from Dartford, Kent, remained in custody. Nick Hawkins, Chief Crown Prosecutor of CPS Wessex, said in a statement: “I have been working closely with Hampshire Constabulary and now have authorised them to charge Ryan Samuel Donovan with Ian Molyneux’s murder and with the attempted murder of Christopher Brown, David McCoy, and Christopher Hodge. “Having reviewed the evidence, I am satisfied that there is sufficient to charge him, and that it is in the public interest to do so." Lt Cmdr Molyneux, from Wigan, Lancashire, was married with four children aged between six and 14. He explained: “Submariners are not special people, they are ordinary people but they live in such close conditions, 70 or 80 days at sea in the case of nuclear submarines. He explained: “The Navy operates the divisional system where 20 to 40 ratings will have a senior non-commissioned officer and a commissioned officer who look after their welfare. Image caption Lt Cdr Ian Molyneux's wife Gillian said he would live on in their children A man has been charged with murder and three counts of attempted murder following a shooting on board nuclear submarine HMS Astute. Nick Hawkins, chief Crown prosecutor for the Crown Prosecution Service in Wessex, said: "Having reviewed the evidence, I am satisfied that there is sufficient to charge [Mr Donovan] and that it is in the public interest to do so." On Saturday, Lt Cdr Molyneux's widow, Gillian, paid an emotional tribute to her husband, describing the father of four as "utterly devoted to his family".
There was no other damage. "At Chernobyl, the reactor itself exploded," he said. Nishiyama stressed that the radiation from the Fukushima nuclear plant was 10% of the amount at Chernobyl. It was not clear when that level had been reached. Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Hidehiko Nishiyama, spokesman for Japan's Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency: 'This doesn't mean people's safety is in danger' Japanese authorities have raised the severity rating of their nuclear crisis to the highest level, seven. Officials issued a tsunami warning after the quakes but later lifted it. The government has advised residents in the zone to stay indoors. Radioactivity is measured in bequerels (Bq); a million million of these is a terabequerel (TBq). The quakes also triggered a landslide that buried three homes in Iwaki city. The crisis has made many Japanese distrustful of nuclear power. Technicians have been pumping less radioactive water into the ocean since last week to make room in a temporary storage facility for the more dangerous water. On Monday, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano said the government would expand a 12-mile evacuation area near the nuclear plant, adding to the ranks of the thousands who have already been told to leave their homes. The U.S. Geological Survey initially reported the magnitude of the aftershock at 7.1, the same strength as one that hit on Thursday. The cooling systems at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant were damaged in last month's disaster and workers have been struggling to prevent several reactors from overheating. Rescuers continued their efforts Tuesday. By contrast, sieverts measure the likely medical impact of the radiation to which an individual is exposed.
Japanese nuclear regulatory officials Tuesday raised the severity rating at the earthquake- and tsunami-damaged Fukushima Daiichi power plant to the highest level by international standards, equaling the 1986 Chernobyl meltdown in the former Soviet Union. The country's Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency announced that because of the amount of radioactive material released from the plant after the magnitude 9 earthquake a month ago, the rating would be changed to level 7, a "major accident" on the International Atomic Energy Agency's scale, up from a level 5, an "accident with wider consequences." Photos: Covering the Japan earthquake aftermath In a nationally televised news conference, the agency's spokesman, Hidehiko Nishiyama, said the decision was based on the amount of radioactive iodine and cesium spewed from the power plant in Fukushima, north of Tokyo. Nishiyama stressed that the radiation from the Fukushima nuclear plant was 10% of the amount at Chernobyl. He also said that unlike at Chernobyl, there had been no deaths linked to the accident at Fukushima. "At Chernobyl, the reactor itself exploded," he said. "At Fukushima some radioactivity has leaked from the reactor, but the reactor itself continues to keep most of the radioactive material inside. Before the rating was elevated, the disaster had been rated at the same level as the 1979 Three Mile Island accident near Middletown, Pa. But Minoru Ogoda of Japan's Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency said the change in the severity rating came because "the impact of radiation leaks has been widespread from the air, vegetables, tap water and the ocean," the Associated Press reported. Measuring severity on the international scale involves factors including the amount of radiation released, how wide an area it reaches and how long any problems may last. Officials said the rating reflects the severity of the problem at the outset, when radiation levels were highest. Experts, nevertheless, say it will take years to recover from the damage incurred at the Fukushima plant. More than 27,000 people were left dead or missing as the disaster last month, centered in the northeast, destroyed fishing towns and caused severe damage to homes, businesses and almost everything else along more than 200 miles of coastline. The government has estimated economic losses of as much as $300 billion, not including costs such as the cleanup of the Fukushima plant, which is operated by Tokyo Electric Power Co. The announcement by nuclear agency officials came the day after three powerful aftershocks struck already jittery northeastern Japan within the span of 10 minutes, as the government announced new plans to expand the evacuation area near the stricken nuclear plant due to high radiation levels. Japan is trying to rebuild after the March 11 quake triggered a deadly tsunami that also left tens of thousands homeless. The tsunami has caused several fires and explosions at the Fukushima Daiichi plant, which has leaked dangerous isotopes into the air, soil and water. The first of Monday's temblors, which trapped some victims in collapsed homes and vehicles, hit at 5:16 p.m. near the coast in Fukushima prefecture, registering a magnitude 7.1 at a depth of 6 miles underground, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency. A magnitude 6 quake hit a minute later in the same area, followed by another temblor, measuring magnitude 5.6, nine minutes after that. In neighboring Ibaraki prefecture, one man died after falling and hitting his head during the shaking, according to the local Ryugasaki fire department. The quakes also triggered a landslide that buried three homes in Iwaki city. The quakes temporarily knocked out the power to the Fukushima plant and led to a 50-minute stoppage in the water-spraying operations to cool four of the plant's six reactors. Highways were closed, bullet train services to the region were halted briefly, and as many 220,000 homes in Fukushima prefecture were without power. Tokyo Electric Power Co. said a fire broke out on the plant's premises Tuesday morning at a building where batteries are stored. Within minutes, firefighters put out the blaze, and there appeared to be no impact on workers' efforts to cool four of the reactors, the company said in a statement. On Monday, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano said the government would expand a 12-mile evacuation area near the nuclear plant, adding to the ranks of the thousands who have already been told to leave their homes. Unlike the government's previous evacuation orders, the new one is based on data that show higher than normal radiation levels extending to towns and villages that lie beyond the 12- to 18-mile zone around the plant. It was unclear how many residents would be affected by the new order, which the government plans to carry out over the next month. Edano noted that the risk of a massive radiation leak from the Fukushima plant was "considerably lower." Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Hidehiko Nishiyama, spokesman for Japan's Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency: 'This doesn't mean people's safety is in danger' Japanese authorities have raised the severity rating of their nuclear crisis to the highest level, seven. Rather, Japan's Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency (Nisa) has re-analysed data from the incident and decided that collectively the releases of radioactivity mean it slots into a level seven categorisation.
A French diplomatic source denied, however, that French forces had penetrated Gbagbo's residence. Besieged Ivorian leader Laurent Gbagbo has been detained in the main city Abidjan and delivered to the headquarters of his elected successor. PARIS, April 11 (Reuters) - Forces loyal to Ivory Coast's Alassane Ouattara have taken Laurent Gbagbo to the Golf Hotel in Abidjan, after he was detained in his residence, a Ouattara spokesman in France told Reuters. 0156: Many were expecting the image of a dead Osama Bin Laden to be released - in much the same way as the pictures of Uday and Qusay Hussein in 2003 - to prove his death. France said pro-Ouattara troops had detained him, but an aide to Mr Gbagbo said it was French special forces. Great pains were taken to detail the respect with which his corpse was treated. That could all have been undone with the release of photographs, and many doubters in any case would have found reason not to believe in their authenticity, he adds. But, says the BBC's Jonny Dymond in Washington, there has been almost no triumphalism from the Obama administration over the al-Qaeda leader's demise. Separately, a French defence ministry official confirmed to Reuters that Gbagbo had been detained in his residence. He reportedly surrendered to Alassane Ouattara's forces after French tanks advanced on his residence. "He's been taken to the Golf Hotel," Herve Cohx, a political adviser and spokesman, told Reuters. He said he was arrested by Ouattara's forces, backed by U.N. peacekeepers and French forces. Newly released pictures show Mr Gbagbo at Abidjan's Golf Hotel, where Mr Ouattara has his offices, as the BBC's Mark Doyle explains.
0156: Many were expecting the image of a dead Osama Bin Laden to be released - in much the same way as the pictures of Uday and Qusay Hussein in 2003 - to prove his death. But, says the BBC's Jonny Dymond in Washington, there has been almost no triumphalism from the Obama administration over the al-Qaeda leader's demise. Great pains were taken to detail the respect with which his corpse was treated. That could all have been undone with the release of photographs, and many doubters in any case would have found reason not to believe in their authenticity, he adds. PARIS, April 11 (Reuters) - Forces loyal to Ivory Coast's Alassane Ouattara have taken Laurent Gbagbo to the Golf Hotel in Abidjan, after he was detained in his residence, a Ouattara spokesman in France told Reuters.
Dylan's next tour stop will be Hong Kong, followed by Singapore. The move was criticised by Human Rights Watch in the US, which said "Dylan should be ashamed of himself". The American folk singer and songwriter gave a special concert Sunday in Ho Chi Minh City. About half of Vietnam's 87 million people are under 30, with no memory of the years of war with the US. He played in Shanghai on Friday after his debut China gig in Beijing on Wednesday. (Source:cntv.cn) Around half of the 8,000 seats at RMIT University were sold, to a mix of Vietnamese and foreigners, Associated Press reported. "[Dylan] has a historic chance to communicate a message of freedom and hope, but instead he is allowing censors to choose his playlist." Vietnam's communist government does not often welcome major western acts, and maintains stringent controls over what music they perform. Local musicians opened the show with a performance of 15 of Son's compositions. But though promoter Rod Quinton said no restrictions had been imposed, the songs Dylan chose were hardly controversial. Dylan, 69, jammed on stage playing guitar, harmonica and keyboard and singing hits including A Hard Rain's a-Gonna Fall and Highway 61 Revisited. Bob Dylan's two gigs had to be approved by the national ministry of culture and officials said the singer would have to abide by an agreed playlist. Correspondents say many in youthful Vietnam have never heard of the man who wrote Blowin' in the Wind and The Times They Are A Changing. "We listened to anything that spoke of peace.
BEIJING, April 13 (Xinhuanet) -- After nearly five decades of singing about a war that continues to haunt a generation of Americans, legendary performer Bob Dylan finally got his chance to see Vietnam at peace. The American folk singer and songwriter gave a special concert Sunday in Ho Chi Minh City. 69-year old Dylan, jammed on stage in a black jacket, purple shirt and white hat in the warm evening air, singing favorites such as "A Hard Rain's a-Gonna Fall" and "Highway 61 Revisited." Dylan's music during that tumultuous era helped define a generation, touching thousands of young people who took to the streets demanding that Washington stop the war in Vietnam. The concert's promoter has said that about half of the 8-thousand seats at Ho Chi Minh City's RMIT University were sold to a mix of young and old fans. Bob Dylan played his first ever concert in Vietnam on Sunday, following two unprovocative gigs in China. Four decades after his songs became anthems for America's anti-Vietnam war movement, the folk legend appeared at a half-empty venue in Ho Chi Minh City. Although thousands of locals and ex-pats bought tickets for the concert, around half the tickets went unsold, according to the Associated Press. The singer is not well known among Vietnamese youth, the BBC reports, and half of the country's 87 million people are under 30. But though promoter Rod Quinton said no restrictions had been imposed, the songs Dylan chose were hardly controversial. Despite a handful of 60s classics, such as All Along the Watchtower and Highway 61 Revisited, there was no sign of Blowin' in the Wind or The Times They Are a-Changin', and Dylan's setlist leaned heavily on recent tunes. To the consternation of human rights groups, Dylan has refused to address political issues since arriving in Asia. While Dylan made international headlines at Sunday's gig, a "significant part of the concert" was dedicated to Vietnamese songwriter Trinh Cong Son, according to the president of RMIT University. Local musicians opened the show with a performance of 15 of Son's compositions. "As part of this year's 10th anniversary commemoration of the death of Trinh Cong Son, we felt it would be a very good way to introduce more foreigners and more of the younger generation of Vietnamese to one of Vietnam's great modern literary and musical figures," Merilyn Liddell explained. Image caption The US rocker has inspired those seeking political change Legendary folk singer Bob Dylan, whose songs became anthems of the 1960s anti-Vietnam war movement, has played his first concert in the Communist country. Dylan, 69, jammed on stage playing guitar, harmonica and keyboard and singing hits including A Hard Rain's a-Gonna Fall and Highway 61 Revisited. During the time of the Vietnam conflict, many of Dylan's protest songs defined the mood of a generation, with young Americans marching for peace followed by similar protests in the UK and other western countries. About half of Vietnam's 87 million people are under 30, with no memory of the years of war with the US. "Bob Dylan's music opened up a path where music was used as a weapon to oppose the war in Vietnam and fight injustice and racism," Tran Long An, 67, vice-president of the Vietnam Composers' Association told AP. Dylan's song list had to be approved in advance by the government, although the concert's promoter Rod Quinton said no restrictions had been imposed. Chinese censors The concert forms part of the musician's Asia-Pacific tour, marking 50 years since his first major performance. Brad Adams, executive director of the organisation's Asia division also said: "He has a historic chance to communicate a message of freedom and hope, but instead he is allowing censors to choose his playlist."
Mubarak's sons, Gamal and Alaa, have also been summoned in the embezzlement investigation, the prosecutor said in a statement on Sunday. Move comes after the former Egyptian president said he would defend himself against "unjust campaign". Former Egyptian president questioned despite apparent heart problems and his two sons taken to prison near Cairo Egypt's former president Hosni Mubarak has been detained and his two sons are being held in prison as officials investigate allegations of corruption and abuse. The family's assets have been frozen. A post on the prosecutor general's Facebook page on Wednesday said: "The prosecutor general orders the detention of former President Hosni Mubarak and his sons Gamal and Alaa for 15 days pending investigation after the prosecutor general presented them with the current state of its ongoing investigations." He was arrested with his businessman brother Alaa in Sharm el-Sheikh on Tuesday night, and both brothers have been transferred to Tora prison. Mr Mubarak stood down in February after a popular uprising against his rule. His close associates were billionaires and held top positions in the ruling party and the government. The pre-recorded message was Mubarak's first public pronouncement since leaving office on February 11 [Reuters] Egypt's public prosecutor has summoned Hosni Mubarak, the former Egyptian president, and his sons as part of investigations into the killing of protesters and the alleged embezzlement of public funds. About 800 people are estimated to have been killed during the protests in Egypt as police opened fire and cracked down on the crowds. It is not even clear how rich they are - estimates range from $1bn (£0.6bn) all the way up to $70bn.
Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Protesters gathering outside the hospital in Sharm el-Sheikh have demanded Mr Mubarak be tried Egypt's prosecutor general has ordered the detention of former President Hosni Mubarak, ahead of an investigation into corruption and abuse allegations. He is said to be in an "unstable condition" in hospital with heart problems. His sons Alaa and Gamal have also been detained amid allegations of corruption and violence, police say. Mr Mubarak stood down in February after a popular uprising against his rule. Suspicion Since then, tens of thousands of protesters have staged weekly Friday protests in Cairo's Tahrir Square. They want the ousted president to be put on trial for the deaths of protesters and alleged abuse of power during his 30-year rule. Official records show that 360 people were killed during the protests, but rights groups put the figure at about 800 dead and hundreds more wounded. Analysis It is hard to separate facts from myths in the debate about the Mubarak family's wealth and how it was obtained. It is not even clear how rich they are - estimates range from $1bn (£0.6bn) all the way up to $70bn. US intelligence puts the figure at the lower end of spectrum, at not more than $5bn. In the last 30 years, large tracts of empty, sometimes desert, land around major cities has been converted into valuable real estate. It is claimed the Mubarak family were given kickbacks in return for using their influence so that property developers acquired what become vast sites for free or almost free of charge. There are similar claims about land used for building hotels and resorts in the Sinai and along the Red Sea. Other allegations centre on claims that the two Mubarak sons, Gamal and Alaa, pressured Egyptian firms into giving them shares without paying the market price. The Revolution Youth Coalition, an umbrella group of organisations involved in the protests that led to Mr Mubarak's downfall, said it welcomed the steps to bring Mr Mubarak and his family to justice. The coalition called off mass protest planned for Friday in Cairo, saying one of its long-standing demands had been met. The detention of Mr Mubarak is an exceptional turn of events for a leader in the Arab world, says the BBC's Yolande Knell in the Egyptian capital. But the general public is suspicious at the timing of Mr Mubarak's heart problems and worried that ill-health, combined with old age, could prevent him from being tried, our correspondent says. A post on the prosecutor general's Facebook page on Wednesday said: "The prosecutor general orders the detention of former President Hosni Mubarak and his sons Gamal and Alaa for 15 days pending investigation after the prosecutor general presented them with the current state of its ongoing investigations." Reports at first indicated he was well enough to undergo questioning, but later his health was said to be "unstable", according to medical sources in the Sharm el-Sheikh hospital where he was admitted on Tuesday. Late on Tuesday, a crowd of about 2,000 people had gathered outside the hospital, demanding that the sons be arrested. Sons pelted As a police van with drawn curtains took away the two brothers for questioning, the crowd pelted it with water bottles, stones and their flip-flops, the AP news agency reported. Speculation that the younger son, Gamal, was being groomed to take over from his father helped to galvanise Egypt's protest movement. Former Egyptian president questioned despite apparent heart problems and his two sons taken to prison near Cairo Egypt's former president Hosni Mubarak has been detained and his two sons are being held in prison as officials investigate allegations of corruption and abuse. A statement from the prosecutor general's office announcing Mubarak's detention said the ongoing investigation would examine allegations of corruption, the squandering of public funds and the abuse of authority for personal gain. "The prosecutor general orders the detention of former president Hosni Mubarak and his sons Gamal and Alaa for 15 days pending investigation after the prosecutor general presented them with the current state of its ongoing investigations," it said. Egypt's interim government issued subpoenas to Mubarak and his sons over the weekend, compelling them to testify in court over claims they illicitly acquired wealth and abused their power during the former president's reign. Gamal Mubarak, his younger son, was a top official in the ruling party and was widely seen as being groomed to succeed his father before 18 days of popular protests brought down the regime on 11 February. Last week an Arabic document was made public detailing evidence the prosecutor-general has handed to western nations to assist them with tracking down and freezing Mubarak's assets – which the Washington Post recently estimated were worth up to $700bn (£430bn). About 800 people are estimated to have been killed during the protests in Egypt as police opened fire and cracked down on the crowds. Move comes after the former Egyptian president said he would defend himself against "unjust campaign". The pre-recorded message was Mubarak's first public pronouncement since leaving office on February 11 [Reuters] Egypt's public prosecutor has summoned Hosni Mubarak, the former Egyptian president, and his sons as part of investigations into the killing of protesters and the alleged embezzlement of public funds. What the prosecutor general has said is that he 'requests and requires' the deposed president and his two sons to answer questions relating to financial irregularities and also to the role that they played in the military crackdown that led to a number of deaths of protesters during Egypt's revolution."
In reactor No. 2, that figure is 30%, and in No. "If there's water enough, there's no problem," he said. NHK quoted plant officials as saying radiation levels in the ocean near the plant have dropped dramatically since a leak was plugged last week but are still high. Tokyo (CNN) -- The owners of the crippled Fukushima Daiichi power plant must start paying up to 1 million yen ($12,000) per household to residents displaced or forced indoors by the nuclear accident there, Japan's government ordered Friday. Search crews meanwhile have moved within 10 kilometers of the stricken plant for the first time in their search for the bodies of victims of the March 11 earthquake and tsunami that knocked out cooling systems at the facility. Thirteen people died, and some 3,000 homes were damaged or destroyed in the city. About 70% of the fuel rods in the No. Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko visited Thursday with survivors in the worst-hit areas for the first time. Those living another 10 kilometers out were told to remain indoors as the plant belched radioactive particles into the environment from three damaged reactors. Some information for this report was provided by AP. It was the fourth temblor since Monday with a magnitude of 6 or greater and the 14th with a magnitude greater than 5. Tokyo Electric offered a token payment to residents of 10 municipalities around the plant in early April. The agency says it has identified more than 100 evacuation sites that failed to stand up to the tidal wave. Population near U.S. nuclear plants Japan acknowledged this week that overall leaked radioactivity already has catapulted the crisis into the highest severity on an international scale, on a par with Chernobyl, though still involving only a tenth of the radioactivity emitted in that 1986 disaster.
Tokyo (CNN) -- The owners of the crippled Fukushima Daiichi power plant must start paying up to 1 million yen ($12,000) per household to residents displaced or forced indoors by the nuclear accident there, Japan's government ordered Friday. The Tokyo Electric Power Company will start handing out checks "as smoothly and as early as possible," hopefully by April 28, its president, Masataka Shimizu, told reporters. Sole residents will receive 750,000 yen and multi-person households will get 1 million, Shimizu said, with the company's interim cost estimated at about $600 million. A government committee ordered the payments as an advance on the compensation that Tokyo Electric will owe nearby residents and businesses for the month-old crisis at Fukushima Daiichi, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano said Friday. Edano said the government hopes to have payments in residents' hands by Japan's "Golden Week," a string of national holidays that begins April 29. Tokyo Electric offered a token payment to residents of 10 municipalities around the plant in early April. But officials in one of those towns, Namie, rejected the offer, saying it amounted to about $12 for each of its roughly 20,000 residents. Tokyo Electric has no timetable for resolving the accident, and the yet-unknown cost of compensation has called the survival of Japan's largest utility into question. The Japanese government has agreed to support the company to keep power flowing to its 25 million customers without big rate increases, Deputy Finance Minister Fumihiko Igarashi told CNN, but he said a government takeover of the utility was unlikely. The utility reported 2010 profits of more than 1.4 trillion yen ($17 billion). About 78,000 people living within 20 kilometers (12.4 miles) of the plant were ordered out of their homes in the days after the March 11 accident, which now is ranked at the top of the international scale for nuclear disasters. Those living another 10 kilometers out were told to remain indoors as the plant belched radioactive particles into the environment from three damaged reactors. Monday, Japanese authorities told residents of five municipalities in that outer belt and beyond to evacuate within a month, due to lower levels of radioactive contamination that are likely to pose a long-term health hazard. Other towns have been put on notice that evacuations may be required soon, bringing the total number of people directly affected so far to about 146,000, according to Japanese government estimates. But in Washington, the U.S. State Department on Friday lifted a departure recommendation for families of U.S. diplomats in Japan. While it still advises Americans to stay more than 50 kilometers from the plant, the latest notice calls the situation "dramatically different" than in mid-March. "Today, while the situation remains serious, and there is still a possibility of unanticipated developments, cooling efforts are ongoing and successful, power, water supply, and back-up services have been partially or fully restored, and planning has begun to control radioactive contamination and mitigate future dangers," the travel alert states. Plant workers have been battling to cool the cores of reactors 1-3 at Fukushima Daiichi, about 240 kilometers (150 miles) north of Tokyo, for a month. The plant was swamped by the tsunami that followed March 11's historic earthquake, knocking out normal coolant systems. All three cores are believed to have been damaged by overheating in the aftermath of the tsunami, but a Friday report by the Atomic Energy Society of Japan painted a fresh picture of the extent of the damage. The zirconium alloy sheaths that surround the fuel rods in the reactor core are believed to have ruptured in all three units, sending molten uranium fuel pellets tumbling to the bottom of the reactors. The pellets are since believed to have cooled and solidified at the reactor bases or in the framework of the fuel assembly, according to the report. Its deputy director, Takashi Sawada, called the new account the clearest picture to date of conditions inside the damaged reactors. In addition, the pools that house used but still-energetic spent fuel assemblies are an ongoing concern, Sawada said. "But if some of the fuel is damaged, fission products will come out from those pools." At the plant on Friday, efforts continued to drain highly radioactive water from the basements and service tunnels of the reactor units' turbine plants -- a necessary first step to restoring normal cooling systems. Japanese authorities drew the ire of fishermen and some of their country's neighbors by authorizing the dumping of thousands of tons of less-contaminated water into the Pacific Ocean last week. The 10,000-plus ton discharge was billed as an emergency measure aimed at making room for the more dangerous fluid, some of which is believed to be leaking from the No. More than 9,000 tons of that came from a waste treatment facility at the plant, which could hold up to 30,000 tons now that it's empty, Tokyo Electric officials said. Crews have been laying fresh pipes to the treatment center and hope to start transferring water from unit 2 on Sunday, the company said. The operators of Japan's Fukushima nuclear plant say they are moving equipment to higher ground after a series of strong aftershocks that have hampered efforts to repair the crippled facility. Search crews meanwhile have moved within 10 kilometers of the stricken plant for the first time in their search for the bodies of victims of the March 11 earthquake and tsunami that knocked out cooling systems at the facility. Officials with the Tokyo Electric Power Company said they are reinforcing connections to the national electrical grid to make sure they have power to pump water into the plant's reactors and cooling ponds. At the Fukushima plant, workers at the plant are also seeking a way to remove spent fuel rods from a storage pond at the plant's number four reactor, where elevated radiation levels have been detected in the water. Technicians managed to pump more than 250 tons of highly radioactive water out of a tunnel next to another of the plant's reactors on Wednesday, an essential step before they can resume work on repairing the unit's vital cooling systems.
The group said it had interviewed 19 people who had been detained in Daraa, Damascus, Douma, al-Tal, Homs, and Baniyas. "This is one of the demands of the protesters to release all the prisoners. We will give it to you'." REUTERS/Handout A tank is seen in the Syrian port city of Banias April 10, 2011. Rights groups say at least 200 people have been killed since the protests started. Source: Al Jazeera and agencies Bashar al-Assad, Syria's president, has formed a new cabinet two weeks after sacking the country's government amid unprecendented protests against his rule. Human rights campaigners said they did not have information about any deaths but security forces had attacked protesters. "According to the delegation that met with the president, he told them that [the emergency law] will be lifted. People went out after Friday prayers ... in thousands. Assad has also unveiled a new cabinet, in a move to placate those calling for political changes. ? REUTERS/Amateur Video via Reuters TV Protesters gather in a square in the southern city of Deraa April 8, 2011 in this still image taken from video. Syrian state television reported what it said were relatively small, peaceful demonstrations in several cities. The biggest gatherings -- and the most bloody -- have taken place after Friday prayers, often in defiance of concessions announced by authorities the day before. Now they're together for freedom." Scores of people were also wounded in the unrest and hundreds reportedly arrested in Baniyas and the nearby village of Baida. If they manage to calm the situation in Daraa, the government believes it will be able to contain the situation throughout Syria."
Witnesses say security forces fired tear gas at protesters marching towards central Damascus from the suburb of Douma. Syrian security forces have dispersed thousands of protesters marching towards central Damascus from the suburb of Douma, witnesses say. Haitham al-Maleh, an activist and lawyer, told Al Jazeera on Friday that protesters were close to Abasyeen Square when the intelligence services brought several buses carrying men with "pistols and sticks" who attacked protesters. Other sources said security forces used tear gas to disperse the crowds. "I counted 15 mukhabarat [secret police] busloads. Elsewhere in the capital, violence reportedly erupted when dozens of armed men in plainclothes surrounded about 250 protesters rallying in front of the Salam mosque in Barzeh district. Al Jazeera's Rula Amin said security forces were not visible in the city, and that the protesters were being allowed to hold their demonstration. "It's a completely different scene from last Friday when more than 26 people were killed during protests and clashes with the security forces and protesters here. "It comes one day after a delegation from Daraa met with President Bashar al-Assad in an attempt by the government to calm the situation ... People say the president promised them very specific reforms that will be announced very soon, maybe as early as next week." In the coastal city of Baniyas about 1,500 people chanted "freedom" after Friday prayers, despite the deployment of the army to contain protests, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. Some of the protesters are calling for reform and an end to corruption, while others are calling for a complete regime change. Haytham Manna, a Syrian and co-founder of the Arab Commission for Human Rights, said it is natural that protesters have different demands "It's very difficult to have one voice after 48 years under emergency law", he told Al Jazeera from Paris. Meanwhile, Hillary Clinton, the US secretary of state, urged Syria to halt its deadly crackdown on protesters and respond to the democratic hopes of its people. "We call on the Syrian authorities once again to refrain from any further violence against their own people," she told reporters in Berlin after a NATO meeting. "The Syrian government has not addressed the legitimate demands of the Syrian people. It is time for the Syrian government to stop repressing their citizens and start responding to their aspirations." Rights groups say at least 120 people have been killed since protests began last month. Emergency law 'to be lifted' One of the key demands of the protesters has been the lifting of emergency law in the country, which has been in place since 1963. Al Jazeera's Amin reported that the delegation from Daraa which met Assad was satisfied with his promises that the law would be lifted in the coming weeks. "According to the delegation that met with the president, he told them that [the emergency law] will be lifted. They are tired and have had enough of the security forces having a free hand in arresting people, putting them in prison without trial for years." The group is calling on the government to begin an independent investigation into the arrest and alleged abuse of hundreds of protesters. "What we've found is a very disturbing and scary pattern of ill-treatment and torture of people who were arrested at the protests," Nadim Houry, HRW's senior Syria researcher, told Al Jazeera. "During their detention, all of them except two, had been beaten or tortured, some with a cattle prod or electrical shocks, and many heard screams at night of others being beaten up." REUTERS/Handout Thousands of people attend a mass funeral for pro-democracy protesters in the Syrian city of Deraa in this still image taken from an amateur video posted to a social media site on April 9, 2011. REUTERS/Amateur video footage via Reuters TV AMMAN Protests against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad swept into the capital Damascus on Friday for the first time since a growing wave of pro-democracy unrest began to put pressure on his 11-year rule. Shouting "God, Syria, Freedom," protesters repeated the same demand for democratic reform and freedoms across many cities.
Writs have been issued against the Sun, Daily Mirror, Daily Star, Daily Express, Daily Mail and the Glasgow-based Daily Record. Mr Jefferies is "seeking vindication of his reputation for the terrible treatment he received" at the hands of the press, his lawyer Louis Charalambous said. Six newspapers are being sued for libel and invasion of privacy by Christopher Jefferies, the man arrested in December last year by police investigating the murder of Joanna Yeates in Bristol. Murat was paid £600,000 in damages by four newspaper groups in July 2008. He was released without charge. It was Charalambous, of Simons Muirhead & Burton, who represented Robert Murat, the man libelled following the disappearance of Madeleine McCann. A statement on behalf of his legal team reads: "Mr Jefferies will not be making any statement about these claims until their conclusion, which he hopes will be in the very near future." He later also settled out of court with BSkyB, for an undisclosed sum. None of the papers contacted by the BBC has so far commented on the action. Another man has been charged with the murder and is awaiting trial. Her body was found on a grass verge about three miles away on Longwood Lane in Failand on Christmas Day. Further claims are expected to be launched against local newspapers over the next few weeks. Miss Yeates vanished after returning to her basement flat in Bristol's Clifton area on 17 December. At the time that Jefferies was under arrest I wrote about the press coverage, arguing that it amounted to a character assassination. He is due in court on 4 May for a preliminary hearing.
The landlord arrested on suspicion of murdering the Bristol woman Joanna Yeates has launched legal action against a number of newspapers. Chris Jefferies, a former public school teacher, 66, was questioned for several days over the murder of his neighbour in Bristol before being released from police bail without charge last month. He has started libel and privacy claims against The Sun, the Daily Mirror, the Daily Mail, the Daily Express, the Daily Star and the Daily Record over articles published in December and January, his lawyers said. Further claims are expected to be launched against local newspapers over the next few weeks. A statement on behalf of his legal team reads: "Mr Jefferies will not be making any statement about these claims until their conclusion, which he hopes will be in the very near future." Mr Jefferies is represented by Louis Charalambous, of Simons Muirhead and Burton, who won £600,000 libel damages for Robert Murat after he was falsely accused of involvement in the disappearance of Madeleine McCann. Six newspapers are being sued for libel and invasion of privacy by Christopher Jefferies, the man arrested in December last year by police investigating the murder of Joanna Yeates in Bristol. His lawyer, Louis Charalambous, said in a press release issued this afternoon: "Mr Jefferies will be seeking vindication of his reputation for the terrible treatment he received." Jefferies, who was Yeates's landlord, was released by the police after questioning and eliminated from their inquiries. Another man who also lived in an apartment at the same address, Vincent Tabak, was subsequently charged with the murder. The attorney general, Dominic Grieve, also issued a warning to editors that their coverage might amount to a contempt of court. Image caption Mr Jefferies received "terrible treatment" from the press, his lawyers say The landlord of murdered landscape architect Jo Yeates has launched libel and privacy claims against a string of newspapers, his lawyer has said. In 2008, Mr Charalambous represented British expatriate Robert Murat, who received a record settlement in 2008 of £600,000 and an apology over "seriously defamatory" allegations in nearly 100 newspaper articles concerning the disappearance of Madeleine McCann.
Now for that to happen, what Apple needs is location data. Google did not comment on the Journal report. Online poker players to get refunds: The Justice Department said that online poker players will be able to receive refunds from the major poker sites it shut down last week, the Associated Press reported. Analysis from security analyst Samy Kamkar found that an Android phone transmitted a unique phone identifier back to Google along with location data. But why are they doing it? AT&T, T-Mobile file with FCC: AT&T and T-Mobile made a case for their proposed merger by talking up the competition after filing paperwork with the Federal Communications Commission on Thursday. Apple filed a suit against Samsung on Monday, alleging that the Korean manufacturer’s Galaxy line of devices copy the Apple iPhone and iPad. The Journal also revisited documents Apple sent to Congress last year, which said the company collects location information for location-based services. (More: How to Encrypt Your iPhone’s Location Data) Turns out the answer is simpler than you think, and it doesn’t involve a conspiracy theory, the government or David Duchovny. Groupon hires Google VP to be COO: Groupon has hired away Margo Georgiadis, formerly Google’s VP of Global Sales, to be its new COO. According to the letter, the data is stored in what we can only assume is “consolidated.db,” randomly assigned an identification number every 24 hours, and sent off every 12 hours to Apple. It turns out Apple ditched the location databases it was previously using from Google and SkyHook Wireless, and is in fact using their own.
LEADING THE DAY: Google’s Android platform and Apple’s iOS are both sending location data back to the companies, the Wall Street Journal reported Thursday. Analysis from security analyst Samy Kamkar found that an Android phone transmitted a unique phone identifier back to Google along with location data. The Journal also revisited documents Apple sent to Congress last year, which said the company collects location information for location-based services. Apple is facing concerns from lawmakers and consumers over an unencrypted filed that collects time-stamped location data. It does not appear that this information is transmitted off of user devices, but the unprotected file could pose security problems in the wrong hands. AT&T, T-Mobile file with FCC: AT&T and T-Mobile made a case for their proposed merger by talking up the competition after filing paperwork with the Federal Communications Commission on Thursday. Joan Marsh, an AT&T vice president focusing on federal regulatory affairs, said that the mobile market is competitive and that AT&T and T-Mobile both face serious spectrum issues that the merger could address. Smaller cellular companies and consumer advocates released statements Thursday in the wake of the filing, voicing antitrust concerns. Samsung fires back: Answering Apple’s lawsuit, Samsung filed three of its own Friday morning in Germany, Korea and Japan. According to Reuters, the suits involve 10 Samsung patents involving wireless data communication and data transmission. Apple filed a suit against Samsung on Monday, alleging that the Korean manufacturer’s Galaxy line of devices copy the Apple iPhone and iPad. Online poker players to get refunds: The Justice Department said that online poker players will be able to receive refunds from the major poker sites it shut down last week, the Associated Press reported. The government seized three major poker sites — Poker Stars, Full Tilt Poker and Absolute Poker — last Friday and charged their executives with bank fraud and illegal gambling. According to the letter, the data is stored in what we can only assume is “consolidated.db,” randomly assigned an identification number every 24 hours, and sent off every 12 hours to Apple. Citing research from security analyst Samy Kamkar, using an HTC Android phone, the report says the device grabbed location info and sent data to Google multiple times an hour. It also "transmitted the name, location and signal strength of any nearby Wi-Fi networks, as well as a unique phone identifier," the report reads.
The accident, jointly blamed on BP, Halliburton and Transocean, affected the lives of millions of people in the states of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida. In a statement the Swiss-based company dismissed BP's lawsuit as "desperate" and "unconscionable". Image caption Deepwater Horizon owner Transocean was drilling an oil well for BP when the explosion occurred A lax safety culture and poorly working kit aboard the Deepwater Horizon oil rig contributed to last year's explosion, the US Coast Guard says. I don't see any hope at all. Halliburton said it would "vigorously defend" the allegations, which were lodged on the deadline for parties involved in the spill to file claims against each other. The oil firm is seeking damages to help fund the compensation and clean up costs. Many questions also remain about the environmental damage. The families were expected to circle the site of the disaster several times in a helicopter. In the weeks that followed, more than 200 million gallons (780 million litres) of oil flowed in the Gulf of Mexico from the well - making it the worst US oil spill in recent history. He added: "We continue to hold BP and other responsible parties fully accountable for the damage they've done." Crew 'complacent' The Coast Guard report said evidence indicated the explosion occurred when electrical equipment ignited a cloud of flammable gas that had flowed up from the well. BP has sued the maker of a blowout preventer that it alleges supplied a faulty part, leading to the spill. Mr Jindal has urged federal regulators to speed up the permit process and allow deepwater drilling rigs to go back to work.
Image caption Deepwater Horizon owner Transocean was drilling an oil well for BP when the explosion occurred A lax safety culture and poorly working kit aboard the Deepwater Horizon oil rig contributed to last year's explosion, the US Coast Guard says. In a report on the incident, which killed 11 and caused a massive spill, the agency criticised the practices and training of rig owner Transocean. It said equipment was poorly maintained and alarms and automatic shutdown systems did not work properly. In a 288-page report released just over a year after the accident, the Coast Guard found actions by Transocean and the oil rig crew hindered their ability to prevent or contain the disaster. "Deepwater Horizon and its owner, Transocean, had serious safety management system failures and a poor safety culture," the report said. "Collectively, this record raises serious questions whether Transocean's safety culture was a factor that contributed to the disaster." 'Lax oversight' Transocean spokesman Brian Kennedy told the Associated Press that the Coast Guard had inspected the Deepwater Horizon seven months before the blowout and deemed it in compliance with safety standards. "We strongly disagree with - and documentary evidence in the Coast Guard's possession refutes - key findings in this report," he said in a statement. Overnight on 20 April 2010, Transocean's Deepwater Horizon burst into flames while drilling a well for BP. In the months that followed, more than 200 million gallons (780 million litres) of oil flowed in the Gulf of Mexico from the well, soiling hundreds of miles of coastline in the worst US oil spill in history. The Coast Guard also cited lax oversight by the Republic of the Marshall Islands, the nation in the Pacific where Transocean had registered the rig. It said national regulators had effectively "abdicated" their inspection responsibilities by contracting them out to third parties. Crew 'complacent' The Coast Guard report said evidence indicated the explosion occurred when electrical equipment ignited a cloud of flammable gas that had flowed up from the well. It said electrical equipment may have been incapable of preventing ignition, and cited a 2010 inspection audit that found some equipment on board was in "bad condition" and was "seriously corroded". Among other contributing shortcomings, the report found: Gas detectors on the oil rig were not set up to shut down the flow from the well automatically in an emergency, nor to shut down the air flow into the rig's engine room Audible alarms on some gas detectors had been turned off to avoid disturbing the crew with false alarms The rig's fire-fighting system depended on electricity to power water pumps and was rendered useless when the explosions caused a loss of power Rig crew had become complacent following routine fire drills from which drilling crew were sometimes excused The crew had not held training drills on how to respond to a well blowout requiring rig evacuation On Wednesday, the first anniversary of the explosion, BP sued Transocean for $40bn (£24.37bn) in damages in an attempt to defray the oil firm's tens of billions of dollars in liabilities associated with clean-up and compensation. BP also sued the maker of the rig's blowout preventer, alleging the device failed to stop the huge oil spill that followed the explosion. BP has accused its partners in the ill-fated Deepwater Horizon venture of a litany of failings as the oil group seeks $40bn (£24bn) in damages for their role in the disaster. Having taken a multibillion-dollar hit as well as a reputational hammering for the world's biggest accidental offshore oil spill, the UK group began the process of reclaiming its financial losses and reapportioning blame this week. The UK group filed a lawsuit in New Orleans against Transocean, which owned and operated the rig that exploded in the Gulf of Mexico on 20 April last year, killing 11 people and causing an ecological catastrophe, as 4.9m barrels of oil gushed from the ruptured well before it was sealed in September. It is also seeking compensation from Halliburton, the oil services group whose cement slurry was supposed to seal the Macondo well but failed to prevent a fatal gas leak. In hard-hitting language, the Transocean lawsuit alleges that the company "materially breached its contractual duties in its actions and inactions leading to the loss of well control, the explosion and the loss of life and injuries onboard the Deepwater Horizon, as well as the resulting oil spill". Echoing the findings of a US presidential commission that investigated the disaster, BP accuses Transocean of missing clear signs that gas was rising up the drill pipe – ultimately flowing to the rig and triggering an explosion. In the Halliburton lawsuit, BP alleges that the US group failed to warn the oil company about testing problems with the cement. The lawsuit claims: "Halliburton's improper conduct, errors and omissions, including fraud and concealment, caused and/or contributed to the Deepwater Horizon incident." It also accuses Halliburton employees of missing signs that gas was escaping from the well, while stating that the company had persistently refused to co-operate with investigations into the incident. Of the three lawsuits, only the Transocean filing cites a specific compensation figure of "at least $40bn". In a statement the Swiss-based company dismissed BP's lawsuit as "desperate" and "unconscionable". Halliburton said it would "vigorously defend" the allegations, which were lodged on the deadline for parties involved in the spill to file claims against each other. As relatives of the deceased oil workers flew over the site of the explosion, President Obama used the first anniversary of the spill to maintain the pressure on BP and other companies implicated in the disaster, warning that "the job isn't done". He added: "We continue to hold BP and other responsible parties fully accountable for the damage they've done." Image caption The Deepwater Horizon oil rig explosion, which claimed 11 lives, occurred exactly one year ago Families of the 11 men who died in the Deepwater Horizon oil rig explosion have flown over the Gulf of Mexico, where the disaster happened a year ago. I don't see any hope at all Audrey Neal, Gulf fisherwoman BP spill: Gulf struggles to recover Courtney Kemp, whose husband Roy Wyatt Kemp was killed on the Deepwater Horizon rig, wrote on her Facebook page on Tuesday that she could not "believe tomorrow has been one year because it seems like everything just happened". 'Healing process' A fund set up by the oil company BP to compensate those affected by the environmental damage has paid out almost $4bn (£2.4bn), but some of those affected say arrangements have been slow and unfair.
And before I knew it, it was here." "They all survived," she said. Up to 1 million people in Alabama were left without power. REUTERS/Marvin Gentry The aftermath of overnight tornadoes show destroyed neighborhoods in Pratt City, a suburb of Birmingham, Alabama, April 28, 2011. Sugart's home was undamaged in the tornado. In Tuscaloosa, a city of more than 83,000 that saw some of the worst damage, residents began to sift through what little remained of their homes. I just couldn't sit by and do nothing. Arkansas, Mississippi, Tennessee and Virginia also declared states of emergency. One was dead and two were badly injured. Parts of the house had caved in. 'SOUNDED LIKE CHAIN-SAW' Some of the worst devastation occurred in Tuscaloosa, where at least 37 people were killed, including some students. Obama said he would visit Alabama on Friday to see the damage and meet the governor. The clusters of powerful tornadoes -- more than 160 reported in total -- combined with storms to cut a swath of destruction heading west to east over several days. "We just did the best we could to get them out and get them stabilized and get them to help," he said. Aronowitz was at the Zeta Beta Tau fraternity house when the storm hit. "I've never seen so many snapped trees in all my live. You could hear the debris hitting things. Her apartment building was not damaged. There were still unconfirmed reports late on Thursday of "entire towns flattened" in northern parts of the state, Fugate said.
Residents inspect the aftermath of overnight tornadoes that left this part of Pratt City, a suburb of Birmingham, Alabama, in ruins April 28, 2011. REUTERS/Marvin Gentry The aftermath of overnight tornadoes show destroyed neighborhoods in Pratt City, a suburb of Birmingham, Alabama, April 28, 2011. REUTERS/Marvin Gentry Residents inspect the aftermath of overnight tornadoes that left this part of Pratt City, a suburb of Birmingham, Alabama, in ruins April 28, 2011. REUTERS/Marvin Gentry A damaged tree is pictured in the aftermath of overnight tornadoes that left ruined neighborhoods in Pratt City, a suburb of Birmingham, Alabama, April 28, 2011. REUTERS/Marvin Gentry A resident is pictured in the aftermath of tornadoes that destroyed homes in Pratt City, a suburb of Birmingham, Alabama, April 28, 2011. REUTERS/Marvin Gentry The aftermath is seen of overnight tornadoes that left ruined neighborhoods in Pratt City, a suburb of Birmingham, Alabama, April 28, 2011. REUTERS/Marvin Gentry Debris from overnight tornadoes that left ruined neighborhoods litter the streets in Pratt City, a suburb of Birmingham, Alabama, April 28, 2011. REUTERS/Marvin Gentry Residents inspect the aftermath of overnight tornadoes that left this part of Pratt City, a suburb of Birmingham, Alabama, in ruins April 28, 2011. REUTERS/Marvin Gentry A resident is pictured in the aftermath of overnight tornadoes in Pratt City, a suburb of Birmingham, Alabama, April 28, 2011. REUTERS/Marvin Gentry A mattress is pictured atop a tree in the aftermath of overnight tornadoes that left this part of Pratt City, a suburb of Birmingham, Alabama, in ruins April 28, 2011. REUTERS/Marvin Gentry The aftermath of overnight tornadoes show destroyed neighborhoods in Pratt City, a suburb of Birmingham, Alabama, April 28, 2011. REUTERS/Marvin Gentry The aftermath of overnight tornadoes show destroyed homes and vehicles in Pratt City, a suburb of Birmingham, Alabama, April 28, 2011. REUTERS/Marvin Gentry An aerial view of tornado damage shows entire block of homes in ruins in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, April 28, 2011. REUTERS/Marvin Gentry An aerial view of tornado damage shows several blocks of homes in ruins in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, April 28, 2011. REUTERS/Marvin Gentry An aerial view of tornado damage shows entire block of homes in ruins in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, April 28, 2011. REUTERS/Marvin Gentry Tornadoes are pictured moving through Mississippi, in this still image taken from video on April 27, 2011 and released on April 28. REUTERS/Image Courtesy of TornadoVideos.net/Discovery/Handout A tornado is pictured moving through Scooba, Mississippi, in this still image taken from video on April 27, 2011 and released on April 28. REUTERS/Image Courtesy of TornadoVideos.net/Discovery/Handout Jan Sullivan finds a license plate in her daughter's destroyed house in the aftermath of deadly tornados in Tuscaloosa, Alabama April 28, 2011. REUTERS/Lee Celano Ashla Sullivan (L) removes a couch from her destroyed house in the aftermath of deadly tornados in Tuscaloosa, Alabama April 28, 2011. REUTERS/Lee Celano William Carter walks by the area where his neighbor who has yet to be found house was, in Pratt City, Alabama, April 28, 2011. REUTERS/Tami Chappell A woman looks over devastation in the aftermath of deadly tornados in Tuscaloosa, Alabama April 28, 2011. REUTERS/Lee Celano TUSCALOOSA, Alabama Tornadoes and violent storms tore through seven Southern states, killing at least 306 people and causing billions of dollars of damage in one of the deadliest swarm of twisters in U.S. history. President Barack Obama described the loss of life as "heartbreaking" and called the damage to homes and businesses "nothing short of catastrophic." He promised strong federal support for rebuilding and plans to view the damage on Friday. Over several days this week, the powerful tornadoes -- more than 160 reported in total -- combined with storms to cut a swath of destruction heading west to east. It was the worst U.S. natural disaster since Hurricane Katrina in 2005, which killed up to 1,800 people. In some areas, whole neighborhoods were flattened, cars flipped over and trees and power lines felled, leaving tangled wreckage. While rescue officials searched for survivors, some who sheltered in bathtubs, closets and basements told of miraculous escapes. I got in a closet, put a pillow over my face and held on for dear life because it started sucking me up," said Angela Smith of Tuscaloosa, Alabama, one of the worst-hit cities. In Birmingham, Alabama, which was also hard hit, Police Chief A.C. Roper said rescue workers sifted through rubble "hand to hand" on Thursday to pull people from destroyed homes. "We even rescued two babies, one that was trapped in a crib when the house fell down on top of the baby," Roper said in an interview on PBS NewsHour. Given the apparent destruction, insurance experts were wary of estimating damage costs, but believed they would run into the billions of dollars, with the worst impact concentrated in Tuscaloosa and Birmingham. "In terms of the ground-up damage and quite possibly the insured damage, this event will be of historic proportions," Jose Miranda, an executive with the catastrophe risk modeling firm EQECAT, told Reuters. 'ONE OF THRE WORST' "I think this is going to rank up as one of the worst tornado outbreaks in U.S. history," said Federal Emergency Management Agency director Craig Fugate. Fugate spoke in an interview with CNN from Alabama, where his agency said the tornadoes killed at least 204 people. There were still unconfirmed reports late on Thursday of "entire towns flattened" in northern parts of the state, Fugate said. In preliminary estimates, other states' officials reported 33 killed in Mississippi, 34 in Tennessee, 11 in Arkansas, 14 in Georgia, eight in Virginia and two in Louisiana. "I want every American who has been affected by this disaster to know that the federal government will do everything we can to help you recover, and we will stand with you as you rebuild," Obama said at the White House. Miranda said estimated costs would be "in the same ballpark" as an Oklahoma City tornado outbreak in 1999 that caused $1.58 billion of damage and a 2003 tornado outbreak in Kansas, Missouri, Arkansas and Oklahoma that caused $4.5 billion of damage. The Browns Ferry nuclear power plant in Alabama was expected to be shut for days, possibly weeks, as workers repaired damaged transmission lines. But the backup systems worked as intended to prevent a partial meltdown like the nuclear disaster in Japan. The rampaging tornadoes and violent storms destroyed 200 chicken houses that held up to 4 million chickens in Alabama, the No. 'SOUNDED LIKE CHAIN-SAW' Some of the worst devastation occurred in Tuscaloosa, a town of about 95,000 in the west-central part of Alabama, where at least 37 people were killed, including some students.
It is the first suicide attack since 2003, when suicide bombers killed 45 people, including themselves, in Casablanca. "I heard a massive blast. A massive bomb ripped through the Argana cafe in the city's main square - a major tourist attraction - and authorities said most of the dead and wounded were foreign tourists. Local investors are selling." 16 killed in Morocco cafe blast Updated At least 16 people have been killed and another 20 injured in a cafe bombing in the Moroccan city of Marrakech. The government announced in January that it had arrested 27 suspected terrorists with links to AQIM in the southern region of the country. There were unconfirmed reports that one of the dead was a British tourist. Among the injured were two Dutch nationals, two Swiss, two Russians and two people from Tunisia. The Casablanca attack in 2003 was the work of a local Islamic militant group and did not have ties to Al Qaeda, according to an analyst quoted by Reuters. In contrast to its North African neighbors, King Mohammed VI ceded to some of the protesters' demands for political reform quickly, bringing protests earlier this year to a quick end. The Elysée confirmed that many of the dead and injured were French. Government spokesman Khalid Naciri was quoted by the Associated Press as saying that Moroccan security regularly halts terrorist plots and discovers terrorist cells. "You can't find a more emblematic target than Jamaa-el-Fnaa square," a restaurant owner told the Guardian. France has condemned the attack as cruel and cowardly and without justification. Morocco has been relatively stable the last couple months.
Thursday's bombing in a popular Morocco tourist spot killed at least 16, and could give Moroccan leaders reason to halt reform efforts instigated by prodemocracy protests. A police officer stands outside a cordon off building after an explosion ripped through a cafe popular among foreign tourists in the Moroccan city of Marrakech, Morocco, Thursday, April, 28, killing and wounding people in what the government called a suspected criminal act. • A daily summary of global reports on security issues. The death toll has risen to 16 in a Thursday bomb attack at a popular tourist spot in Marrakesh, Morocco. While no one has claimed responsibility for the attack, security experts told Reuters that it bore similarities to previous attacks by Islamic militants. At least 10 of those killed in the Argana cafe overlooking the city's Djemma el-Fna Square were foreigners, according to the BBC. It is the first suicide attack since 2003, when suicide bombers killed 45 people, including themselves, in Casablanca. The square is a UNESCO World Heritage site and one of the top visitor spots in a country that relies heavily on tourism revenue – according to Reuters, it is the country's second largest industry, after agriculture. "You can't find a more emblematic target than Jamaa-el-Fnaa square," a restaurant owner told the Guardian. "With this attack and amid the worrying unrest in the region, tourism will hit the doldrums." A chief concern of the Moroccan government is that AQIM will eventually expand beyond Algeria and the Sahara desert and establish a base in Morocco, which it has so far failed to do, Reuters reports. Government spokesman Khalid Naciri was quoted by the Associated Press as saying that Moroccan security regularly halts terrorist plots and discovers terrorist cells. Moroccan authorities have rounded up thousands of purported terror suspects in recent years and while they "regularly discover terrorist cells ... nothing led us to foresee an act of this magnitude," Mr. Naciri said. "Morocco has an international image of welcome, hospitality and tourism," he said "An act of this magnitude will leave its mark." The government announced in January that it had arrested 27 suspected terrorists with links to AQIM in the southern region of the country. But a video appeared on YouTube last week featuring men claiming to be Moroccan members of AQIM and threatening to "attack Moroccan interests," the Guardian reported. "Would-be attackers in Morocco are usually youths from deprived urban areas who have low terrorist capabilities and no connections with established groups," said Anna Murison of Exclusive Analysis. U.S.-based corporate intelligence firm Stratfor said an attack on a soft target popular with tourists, as in the Marrakesh blast, "fits AQIM's target set." The bomb attack in Morocco highlights a key worry of both Western countries and Middle Eastern leaders attempting to tamp down terrorism in their countries: that the unrest and distraction caused by the region's prodemocracy movements is providing an opening for terrorist groups. In contrast to its North African neighbors, King Mohammed VI ceded to some of the protesters' demands for political reform quickly, bringing protests earlier this year to a quick end. However, the king does still retain final say on most government matters and the country's most prominent Islamist party is banned from the political process, the Wall Street Journal reports. Now there are concerns that the government could halt its reform efforts, which it would justify with the need for increased security in light of the Thursday attack – an excuse that many other Middle East autocrats have fallen back on. Earlier this week, thousands of Moroccans demonstrated, calling for further political reforms before the new constitution (a concession made by the king earlier this year) is presented in June, according to CNN. One Briton reportedly among 11 tourists killed after suspected suicide bomb blows apart cafe in Marrakech A suspected suicide attack blew apart a well-known tourist cafe in the Moroccan city of Marrakech on Thursday killing at least 15 people, including 11 tourists, and injuring at least 20 more. If the bombing is the work of Islamists, it will be their first major attack in Morocco since 2003, when a spate of suicide bombings in the commercial capital, Casablanca, killed more than 45 people. At around 11.50am the blast ripped through the second story of a cafe overlooking Marrakech's Jamaa-el-Fnaa square, the most popular tourist spot in the old imperial city at the foot of the Atlas mountains. A photographer described "shredded bodies" being pulled from the cafe. There were gruesome injuries at the city's main hospital, where at least 20 wounded were being treated. One witness who escaped unharmed told Agence France Presse that a man had entered the cafe and ordered an orange juice before blowing himself up minutes later. "Some witnesses said they had seen a man carrying a bag entering the cafe before the blast occurred." Other local officials said indications were of a suicide attack and traces of nails were found in one of the bodies at the hospital. Marrakech is Morocco's top city-break destination and the blast came during French school holidays and at the start of the UK's extended bank holiday. "You can't find a more emblematic target than Jamaa-el-Fnaa square," said one restaurant owner in the city. In January, the Moroccan interior ministry said 27 suspected terrorists recently arrested in the south of the country had links to al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb, a regional offshoot of the group.
Today, in France, we think of them and their families." "Our fight against terrorism does not end with bin Laden's death. The official said it is too early to determine how his death will affect the war against terror. I congratulate the United States on the success of the operation. But when the president heard the compound would be reduced to rubble, he changed his mind because it would mean there would be no evidence to present to the world that the head founder and leader of al Qaeda was indeed dead. ... This operation was conducted by the U.S. forces in accordance with declared U.S. policy that Osama bin Laden will be eliminated in a direct action by the U.S. forces, wherever found in the world," the ministry said. Plus, all 22 people in the compound including women and children and likely many neighbors would also be killed. The ministry said the killing highlights the resolve of Pakistan and the international community to combat terrorism. Obama administration officials said it was important to handle the body in accordance with Islamic practices so not to inflame the Muslim world. "For his victims, justice has been done. We remember the thousands of innocent lives lost to terrorist atrocities in so many of our nations, in Afghanistan, and around the world." As the evidence piled up -- verbal ID, face recognition analysis and DNA matches -- the White House debate continued. The first encouraging word came at the beginning of the raid when the SEALS recognized the man who had eluded a U.S. manhunt for a decade. Security was stepped up at the site of the 9/11 attack and in New York subways.
(CNN) -- World reaction poured in early Monday after President Barack Obama's announcement that terror leader Osama bin Laden was killed in Pakistan. The United States put its diplomatic facilities around the world on high alert and issued a global travel warning for Americans. Afghan President Hamid Karzai Karzai said he hopes the world believes that his country is "not the place of terrorism" after the announcement that the al Qaeda leader was killed in neighboring Pakistan. "If the international troops/forces are true allies of the Afghans -- they should come out and say that the killing of Afghans, children and elders which took place over the many years on a daily basis was not a good idea," Karzai said on RTA TV. Afghan opposition leader Abdullah Abdullah, Hope and Change Bin Laden's killing proves that Pakistan is a "haven" for terror groups, according to Abdullah. "Killing of Osama bin Laden is pleasant news for Afghans, and now it's proven that al Qaeda and other terrorist organizations are not based in Afghanistan and Pakistan is a haven for them," he said. "Our fight against terrorism does not end with bin Laden's death. "We will continue our support for the counterterrorism efforts of the United States and our partners, and we will continue our efforts in Afghanistan to ensure that the country never again becomes a safe haven for terrorism." British Prime Minister David Cameron "Osama bin Laden was responsible for the worst terrorist atrocities the world has seen -- for 9/11 and for so many attacks, which have cost thousands of lives," he said. "This is a time to remember all those murdered by Osama bin Laden, and all those who lost loved ones," he said. "It is also a time too to thank all those who work round the clock to keep us safe from terrorism." Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Jiang Yu China believes "the death of Osama bin Laden is a milestone and a positive development for the international anti-terrorism efforts," Jiang said. "China believes that it is necessary to seek both a temporary solution and a permanent cure in fighting terrorism and to make great efforts to eliminate the soil on which terrorism relies to breed." European Commission President Barroso and European Council President Van Rompuy "Osama bin Laden was a criminal responsible for heinous terrorist attacks that cost the lives of thousands of innocent people," Barroso and Rompuy said in a joint statement. "His death makes the world a safer place and shows that such crimes do not remain unpunished." French President Nicolas Sarkozy Sarkozy said bin Laden's death was a result of a "remarkable U.S. commando" operation. "Osama Bin Laden was a promoter of the ideology of hatred and was the chief of a terrorist organization responsible for the deaths of thousands of victims, especially in Muslim countries," he said. German Chancellor Angela Merkel "With the commando action against Osama bin Laden and his killing, the U.S. military has achieved a decisive strike against al Qaeda," she said. "At his command and in his name, terror was enforced into many countries against men women and children, Christians as well as Muslims. Osama bin Laden suggested that he was operating in the name of Islam, but in reality he makes a mockery of the fundamental values of his own and every other religion." The IRNA website reports Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast reacted to news on bin Laden's killing by U.S. troops by saying, "The Islamic Republic of Iran believes that foreign countries now have no excuse for military buildup in the region to fight terrorism." Ismail Haniyeh, prime minister for the Hamas government in Gaza The prime minister condemned the killing, describing bin Laden as a Muslim "mujahid" or holy warrior. India's external affairs minister M. Krishnas India applauded the killing as a "historic development and victorious milestone in the global war" against terror. "Over the years, thousands of innocent lives of men, women and children have been tragically lost at the hands of terrorist groups," the minister said. "The world must not let down its united effort to overcome terrorism and eliminate the safe havens and sanctuaries that have been provided to terrorists in our own neighborhood." "This man was a mega murderer, he killed thousands and thousands of people, people who were totally innocent, and would continue to kill, his purpose in life was to kill anybody who doesn't belong to him." Italian foreign Minister Franco Frattini The foreign minister said "this is a great victory for the United States and for the entire international community" in the fight against terror. "Kenya was the first country to be attacked by al Qaeda and Osama bin Laden's death comes as a relief to many of the victims of the bombings in East Africa," the spokesman said. He has been, for two consecutive decades, a black mark in this history, and voluntarily poisoned the minds of thousands of youth with the culture of terrorism and killing and sabotage and destruction, and has placed Islam, which is a religion of justice and forgiveness and dialogue and good deeds, in a hostile position towards other civilizations, religions and cultures."
And further, because he believes, as he said so clearly, this is not who we are." Special Report: The killing of Osama bin Laden CBS News national security correspondent David Martin has been told the photographs are "very gruesome" and won't be for the "squeamish." They might alert the targets,” Panetta says. (See photos of Obama monitoring the bin Laden mission.) The US has acknowledged that Bin Laden was unarmed when shot dead in Monday's raid by US special forces in Pakistan. The White House had said it was debating whether to release the photographs. Waiting for more intelligence also remained a possibility. The president told Kroft he saw the photos following the raid on the compound and knew that bin Laden had been killed. But one of Panetta’s predecessors says this can work to U.S. advantage. No Democrats have said they have seen the images. White House press secretary Jay Carney said Wednesday that Mr. Obama made the decision today. "Certainly there is no doubt among al Qaeda members that he is dead. But the CIA ruled out participating with its nominal South Asian ally early on because “it was decided that any effort to work with the Pakistanis could jeopardize the mission. So we don't think that a photograph in and of itself is going to make any difference." How Obama is handling the politics of bin Laden’s death. "Show photo as warning to others seeking America's destruction. Two Republican senators -- Saxby Chambliss, R-GA, Vice Chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee and the Armed Services Committee, and Sen. Kelly Ayotte, R-NH, a member of the Armed Services Committee - told CBS News Wednesday they had seen post-mortem photographs of bin Laden.
Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption US Attorney General Eric Holder: "His killing was appropriate" The US attorney general has said al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden was a lawful military target whose killing was "an act of national self-defence". Eric Holder told a Senate committee that Bin Laden had made no attempt to surrender. The US has acknowledged that Bin Laden was unarmed when shot dead in Monday's raid by US special forces in Pakistan. Meanwhile, the White House has decided not to release photos of the dead Bin Laden. Two couriers and one woman also died in Monday's assault, while one of Bin Laden's wives was injured. "If he had surrendered, attempted to surrender, I think we should obviously have accepted that, but there was no indication that he wanted to do that and therefore his killing was appropriate," Mr Holder told the Senate Judiciary Committee. Critics have raised concerns about the legality of the operation. Sightseers Washington has revised its account after initially saying Bin Laden was shot while taking part in a firefight as US Navy Seals stormed the compound. Mardell's America There is the suspicion that the US never wanted to take Bin Laden alive Read Mark thoughts in full More details have emerged of the information held on 10 computers, 10 mobile phones and 100 USB sticks, yielded by the US raid on the compound where Bin Laden was hiding. Two telephone numbers and 500 Euros ($745; £450) were found stitched into Bin Laden's clothing in case he needed to make a quick getaway, says the BBC's Mark Mardell in Washington. President Barack Obama, who watched the raid from the White House on monitors, saw his approval rating jump 11 points to 57% in a New York Times/CBS News poll on Wednesday. He plans to visit the World Trade Center site in New York on Thursday to remember victims of the 11 September attacks, of which Bin Laden was said to have been the mastermind. The Pakistani military has confirmed that it is holding survivors of the US special forces operation. Some of the survivors were being treated for bullet wounds that were serious but not life-threatening, he added. The BBC's Aleem Maqbool says the compound where the raid unfolded has now become a sightseers' attraction. There is an ice-cream vendor outside and children selling what they claim is wreckage from a US helicopter, which the Americans said they blew up after it apparently malfunctioned during the operation. Updated 6:19 p.m. Eastern Time In an interview with Steve Kroft for this Sunday's "60 Minutes" conducted today, President Obama said he won't release post-mortem images of Osama bin Laden taken to prove his death. "It is important to make sure that very graphic photos of somebody who was shot in the head are not floating around as an incitement to additional violence or as a propaganda tool," said the president. "The fact of the matter is, this is somebody who was deserving of the justice that he received." The president said he had discussed the issue with his intelligence team, including Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and that they agree with the decision. White House press secretary Jay Carney said Wednesday that Mr. Obama made the decision today. CBS In explaining his choice not to release the photo, Mr. Obama said that "we don't need to spike the football." He said that "given the graphic nature of these photos it would create a national security risk." The president told Kroft he saw the photos following the raid on the compound and knew that bin Laden had been killed. When Kroft noted that there are people in Pakistan and elsewhere who believe bin Laden is still alive, the president said "we we monitoring worldwide reaction." TRANSCRIPT: Obama discusses decision not to release images on "60 Minutes" Asked about the decision Wednesday, White House Press Secretary Carney said "there are obviously arguments to be made on either side." "The fact of the matter is, as the president described, these are graphic photographs of someone who was shot in the face -- the head, rather," he said. He said it applied to "all visual evidence" of bin Laden's death, including video of his burial at sea. Bin Laden news gives Obama 11-point approval bump Bush declines Obama invitation to ground zero Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-SC, called the decision a "mistake." CBS News "The whole purpose of sending our soldiers into the compound, rather than an aerial bombardment, was to obtain indisputable proof of bin Laden's death," he said. "Show photo as warning to others seeking America's destruction. Palin to Obama: Stop pussyfooting, release photo Osama bin Laden had cash, phone numbers sewn in clothes White House changes story: Bin Laden unarmed Cables: U.S. near bin Laden in '08, didn't know it Republican House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Rogers said earlier in the day that the Obama administration should not release the gruesome post- mortem images, saying it could complicate the job for American troops overseas. "Conspiracy theorists around the world will just claim the photos are doctored anyway, and there is a real risk that releasing the photos will only serve to inflame public opinion in the Middle East." "Imagine how the American people would react if Al Qaeda killed one of our troops or military leaders, and put photos of the body on the Internet," Rogers continued.
"He was far from a figurehead, he was an active player," the official said. The US is attempting to exploit the death of Bin Laden to undermine the organisation. Five videos seized during Monday's raid have been released. The statement also opens the way for al-Qaeda to name a successor. The militant was shot dead on Monday when US commandos stormed his compound in the Pakistani town of Abbottabad. They were also critical of Pakistan's government for allowing the commando operation to happen, although officials deny they were told. Three other clips appear to be rehearsals for the video message, says the BBC's Jonny Dymond in Washington. The documents may prove more fruitful in leading the US to other senior al-Qaida figures, including Ayman al-Zawahiri, al-Qaida's deputy leader. The information reportedly comes from the initial analysis of files seized after he was killed. The statement said his blood would not be "wasted" and al-Qaeda would continue to attack the US and its allies. The statement came as US intelligence officials said Bin Laden had remained in close touch with the rest of the al-Qaida network from his safe house and had continued to plot potential terrorist attacks, including one against the US railway system. "We will remain, God willing, a curse chasing the Americans and their agents, following them outside and inside their countries. Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption The BBC's Aleem Maqbool takes in the scene at a protest in Abbottabad Al-Qaeda has confirmed the death of its leader, Osama Bin Laden, according to a statement attributed to the group and posted on jihadist internet forums.
Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption BBC Security Correspondent Frank Gardner on the significance of the new material The Pentagon has released home videos of Osama Bin Laden, seized at the secret Pakistani compound where he was shot dead by US commandos. At a news briefing in Washington, intelligence officials said Bin Laden had been actively leading al-Qaeda from the compound in Abbottabad. Five videos seized during Monday's raid have been released. Rehearsals In the first video, Bin Laden is shown wearing a white skullcap and shirt and a golden robe. Analysis Of the five clips released by the Pentagon, and said by them to have been seized from Bin Laden's compound in Abbottabad, only one is truly remarkable. It appears to show an aged and frail Bin Laden squatting on the floor of a very basic room with jerry-rigged electrical wiring, watching television. Yet a senior but unnamed US intelligence official has told journalists in Washington they now believe the compound raided by US Navy Seals last Monday was an al-Qaeda command and control centre. If they're right then the idea of Bin Laden being too busy evading capture to get involved in operations all this time will turn out to be badly wrong. But Noman Benotman, who knew Bin Laden personally up til 2000, tells me this is wrong, that Bin Laden was a spiritual leader but in no way a military commander. Pentagon officials have removed audio from the film, citing security concerns, but said it was a message to the United States. Three other clips appear to be rehearsals for the video message, says the BBC's Jonny Dymond in Washington. It is the first such film to emerge since al-Qaeda released a video address from Bin Laden in 2007, says our correspondent. In another of the videos, Bin Laden is shown watching a programme about himself on Arabic language television. In one scene, he watches a programme showing an image of himself superimposed on a picture of the World Trade Center in flames after it was hit by hijacked planes. 'No kidney problems' But the clips' release is part of an ongoing effort by the US administration to convince doubters that Osama Bin Laden was killed in last Monday's raid, says our correspondent. Image caption In one video, Bin Laden is seen watching an item about himself on television The US raid yielded the "single largest collection of senior terrorist materials ever," a senior US defence official said on Saturday. Officials are examining computers, DVDs, hard drives and documents seized from the Abbottabad home where Bin Laden may have hidden for up to six years. A senior intelligence official told reporters at the Pentagon that Bin Laden had remained a key player in al-Qaeda, overseeing strategy and operations from his Abbottabad home. "He was far from a figurehead, he was an active player," the official said. Meanwhile, Bin Laden's Yemeni wife has said that he had recovered from his widely publicised kidney problems, Pakistani officials who are questioning her told the BBC. Twenty-nine-year-old Amal Ahmed Abdulfattah - who was shot in the leg during the US Navy Seals raid - said her husband had been "in perfect health", according to a senior Pakistani official. The official also denied Pakistani media reports that Bin Laden's Yemeni wife had told them the al-Qaeda chief lived in a village near Abbottabad, before moving to the compound where he died. Three men and a woman were killed alongside Bin Laden, including one of his sons, in the American operation, say US officials. Pakistani officials have said that three of Bin Laden's wives and 13 children were removed from the house. Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption The BBC's Aleem Maqbool takes in the scene at a protest in Abbottabad Al-Qaeda has confirmed the death of its leader, Osama Bin Laden, according to a statement attributed to the group and posted on jihadist internet forums. The statement said his blood would not be "wasted" and al-Qaeda would continue to attack the US and its allies. Bin Laden's death would be a "curse" for the US and urged an uprising in Pakistan, the statement added. The militant was shot dead on Monday when US commandos stormed his compound in the Pakistani town of Abbottabad. The BBC's Syed Shoaib Hasan said thousands marched through central Karachi in the biggest such rally there in years. 'Revolt' The statement published on jihadist web forums, signed by "the general leadership" of al-Qaeda, said an audiotape would be released of Bin Laden speaking a week before his death. "[His blood] will remain, with permission from Allah, the Almighty, a curse that chases the Americans and their agents, and goes after them inside and outside their countries," it warned. Analysis The release of a statement from "the general leadership" of al-Qaeda may do something to undermine the conspiracy theories circulating in some quarters that Osama Bin Laden is not dead. Although US forces buried Bin Laden's body at sea, the statement warned the US that "multiple gates of evil" would be opened on them if they failed to hand over the corpse to his family. It acknowledged the US was responsible for his death, and also noted that he had been killed by "treacherous infidel bullets".
The No campaign won, overwhelmingly. "Now what do we have? Deputy Prime Minister and Lib Dem leader, Nick Clegg, cast his vote in Sheffield. Two parties trying to sue each other in their own interest." Alex Salmond's party will form a majority government- humbling Labour in one of its traditional heartlands and paving the way for a referendum on Scottish independence. As a result, the leaders of the opposition Labour Party have been campaigning for a Yes vote - not on democratic principle, but in order to humiliate Mr. Cameron. The public are also being asked if they want to keep the first-past-the-post system for Westminster elections or switch to the alternative vote. Elections for the Scottish Parliament, the Welsh Assembly and the Northern Ireland Assembly are being held, as are polls in 279 English councils. But he said while there was no serious talk about challenging Mr Clegg's leadership, Mr Clegg was expected to put up more of a fight against his Conservative colleagues so there would be more difficult months ahead for the coalition. The Conservatives made gains, but Plaid Cymru and the Lib Dems suffered losses. More than 90 people cast invalid votes in Stockport after the wrong ballot papers were delivered to polling stations. A poll conducted by the Guardian Wednesday found a 68 per cent No vote against 32 per cent for Yes, and even a quarter of Liberal Democrats planning on voting No. Voters across the UK are going to the polls in a series of national and local elections as well as a referendum to decide the way MPs are elected. A debate that was often about the complexity of electoral systems ended in the simplest of results.
Image caption It was clear early on that the No campaign were heading for victory The UK has voted overwhelmingly to reject changing the way MPs are elected - dealing a bitter blow to Nick Clegg on top of heavy Lib Dem poll losses. Officials say 19.1m people voted in the second UK-wide referendum in history - a higher than expected turnout of 41%. The final result put the Yes vote at 32.1% and the No vote at 67.9%. It comes as the Lib Dems suffered a rout in English local elections - and the SNP scored an historic victory in the Scottish Parliament poll. Alex Salmond's party will form a majority government- humbling Labour in one of its traditional heartlands and paving the way for a referendum on Scottish independence. 'Clear result' Labour made significant gains in town halls in the north of England and in the Welsh assembly elections,it fell just short of an absolute majority. Labour also held Leicester South in a Parliamentary by-election with an increased majority, although the Lib Dems hung on to second place. Those who favoured the Yes campaign will argue they were defeated by the Prime Minister's campaigning power, a largely hostile press and a tough opposing campaign. Those who backed a No vote will say they won the argument for the merits of the status quo, and persuaded people the alternative vote was complex and unnecessary. Read Ross's thoughts in full The Conservatives managed to make significant gains too - with their Lib Dem coalition partners apparently bearing the brunt of public anger over spending cuts at English local elections. And there was a double blow for Lib Dem leader and deputy prime minister Nick Clegg - who saw his dream of ditching Britain's first-past-the-post electoral system comprehensively dashed. Mr Clegg said: "I wish I could say this was a photo finish but it isn't, the result is very clear. I'm a passionate supporter of political reform but when the answer is as clear as this, you have got to accept it." "This is a bitter blow for all those people, like me, who believe in the need for political reform." 'Resounding answer' Labour leader Ed Miliband - who also backed AV, while many of his own party did not - said he was "disappointed" but the people had "spoken clearly and it's a verdict I accept". But David Cameron, whose Conservative Party campaigned to keep first-past-the-post, said the referendum had delivered a "resounding answer that settles the question" over electoral change and people now wanted the government to get on with governing in the national interest. The director of the No campaign, Matthew Elliott, said he had been "astonished" at the scale of the No victory: "I personally believe that this result will settle the debate over changing our electoral system for the next generation." Mr Clegg told the BBC the Lib Dems were facing "the brunt of the blame" for coalition spending cuts, adding that, for some voters, they were bringing out "memories of things under Thatcher". BBC political editor Nick Robinson said the order had gone out from Conservative HQ that Tories, who campaigned against their Lib Dem coalition partners over AV, should not be seen gloating. But he said while there was no serious talk about challenging Mr Clegg's leadership, Mr Clegg was expected to put up more of a fight against his Conservative colleagues so there would be more difficult months ahead for the coalition. The Lib Dems have lost almost half their councillors whose seats were up for grabs but the Conservatives, who already controlled more councils than all the other parties put together, have increased their number of councillors and gained control of two councils. Conservatives took him aside and warned him to calm down, but later Mr. Cameron distanced himself from the most extreme No ads, telling reporters that his party supports the campaign but is not responsible for the more "robust" ads. For two parties whose leaders have otherwise been desperately eager to appear joined at the hip amid mounting tensions over tuition fees, budget cuts and immigration, the referendum was the issue that everyone suspected might rip them apart. On Wednesday, Labour Leader Ed Miliband gleefully mocked the way in which a seemingly irrelevant matter of voting structures has turned the two men against each other: "Two parties working together in the public interest - that's what we were told," he said in the House of Commons. The Liberal Democrats made a new voting system central to their 2010 campaign - a matter of long-standing principle but also practicality, as their party attracted a third of the vote but won fewer than a tenth of the seats in that election. The proposed voting system, similar to Ireland's, would be roughly similar to the British and Canadian systems except that instead of marking an X beside a candidate, voters would rank each of their riding's candidates by preference, with a "1" for their favourite, a "2" for their second and so on. If no candidate's "1" votes add up to more than 50 per cent, the "2" votes are added, and so on until a candidate has a majority.
The plane was found northeast of La Paz, the capital, in an overgrown area with steep cliffs, Brockmann said. The four U.N. workers belonged to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. The Bolivian air force said the Cessna, missing since Thursday, had been flying over the main coca-growing area in Los Yungas when it hit a tree. Four united Nations anti-narcotics staff and two Bolivian military pilots died when their aeroplane crashed in the west of the country. Bolivia has seen an increase in the cultivation of coca, from which cocaine is derived. UN officials said the plane had been carrying out coca-monitoring duties when it came down in the heavily wooded area. "The place is completely inaccessible in a very tall forest," he said. Bolivian Air Force General Tito Gandarillas told reporters it went down after a direct impact against a tree 50m (164ft) high. The aircraft was found on Saturday in a remote region of Inquisivi, about 75 miles from the capital, La Paz. He said the bodies would take some time to be recovered. It was the last week of what had been months of such overflights. They were identified as Ivan Alfaro, Patricia Delgado, Cinthia Moreno and Stephan Campos. The cause of the crash has not been determined. The closest village to the site of the wreckage is La Merced, though it was not easily accessible, he said. The plane had left El Alto International Airport in La Paz at 10:30 a.m. Thursday and was expected back at 2:30 p.m. The four UN staff worked for the Office on Drugs and Crime, monitoring the production of coca – the key ingredient of cocaine.
Four united Nations anti-narcotics staff and two Bolivian military pilots died when their aeroplane crashed in the west of the country. The Bolivian air force said the Cessna, missing since Thursday, had been flying over the main coca-growing area in Los Yungas when it hit a tree. The four UN staff worked for the Office on Drugs and Crime, monitoring the production of coca – the key ingredient of cocaine. The aircraft was found on Saturday in a remote region of Inquisivi, about 75 miles from the capital, La Paz. (CNN) -- A Bolivian Air Force plane missing since Thursday crashed in a remote, mountainous area, killing two pilots and four United Nations workers, a U.N. official said Saturday. A day earlier, a local mayor claimed to have found the plane and its passengers safe and sound, but the Air Force on Saturday found the wreckage, confirming that that was not the case. "The plane was completely destroyed and burned," Robert Brockmann, spokesman for the U.N. field office in Bolivia, told CNN. The plane was found northeast of La Paz, the capital, in an overgrown area with steep cliffs, Brockmann said. Image caption The plane went down in the Yungas region, north-east of the capital, La Paz Four UN anti-narcotics staff and two Bolivian military pilots died when their plane crashed in western Bolivia, officials in the country have said.
Taylor said Strauss-Kahn was "tired, but he's fine". Strauss-Kahn does not have diplomatic immunity as head of the IMF. A spokesman for New York's Port Authority said they detained Mr Strauss-Kahn at JFK airport at the request of the New York Police Department (NYPD). He was charged with assaulting a 32-year-old maid at the Sofitel hotel in Manhattan. The charges threaten to create a leadership vacuum at the IMF, overseer of the global economy, and throw open next year's French presidential election, ending the hopes of the French Socialist who was favourite to beat Nicolas Sarkozy. Strauss-Kahn had been flying to Europe to discuss the worsening European debt crisis. The woman escaped from the room and was later treated in hospital for minor injuries. "She pulled away from him and he dragged her down a hallway into the bathroom where he engaged in a criminal sexual act, according to her account to detectives. A senior Greek government official said the arrest would not change the IMF's policy in Greece but could cause delays in the short term. Unlawful imprisonment carries a three to five-year sentence. Strauss-Kahn's allies said he was a well-known seducer but the allegations of attempted rape seemed far-fetched and unlikely. After a night in police custody in Harlem, he was expected to appear before a county judge. It's terrible for France's image." He had been scheduled to meet the German chancellor, Angela Merkel, on Sunday and European financial ministers on Monday and Tuesday. Strauss-Kahn is alleged to have left his hotel in a hurry after sexually assaulting the maid, forgetting his mobile phone and other items.
Dominique Strauss-Kahn, who denies the charges, remanded in custody in New York over fears he might flee the US A New York judge has ordered the head of the International Monetary Fund, Dominique Strauss-Kahn, to be remanded in custody after prosecutors expressed fears that he might flee to France to escape charges of sexually assaulting a hotel maid. The judge, Melissa Jackson, refused a request for bail, agreeing that Strauss-Kahn, who was pulled off a Paris-bound plane on Saturday and charged with a criminal sexual act, attempted rape and unlawful imprisonment, represented a flight risk. His defence lawyers said Strauss-Kahn denied the charges, and one of them, Ben Brafman, said it was "quite likely he will be exonerated". Earlier they said Strauss-Kahn had agreed to undergo scientific and forensic tests and intends to "vigorously" defend himself. The prosecution on Monday compared Strauss-Kahn to Roman Polanski, the film director who fled the US in 1978 after pleading guilty to unlawful sexual intercourse with an underage girl. The defence offered $1m (£618,000) bail and said the IMF chief was prepared to reside with his daughter in Manhattan and wear an electronic bracelet. Strauss-Kahn appeared tired, impassive and dishevelled at the hearing, having waited for the court to deal with a string of more mundane cases involving three men accused of minor drugs offences. The charges threaten to create a leadership vacuum at the IMF, overseer of the global economy, and throw wide open next year's French presidential election, ending the hopes of the French Socialist who was favourite to beat Nicolas Sarkozy. The euro fell to a seven-week low against the dollar on Monday after the charges, raising uncertainty over the status of aid to Greece. Strauss-Kahn was led off an Air France flight on Sunday as he headed for Europe for crunch talks with the German chancellor, Angela Merkel, and European finance ministers over the debt crisis. The maid identified Strauss-Kahn at a police lineup at the special victims unit in Harlem, New York, where the 62-year-old was being held. William Taylor, another of Strauss-Kahn's lawyers, said: "Our client willingly consented to scientific and forensic examinations at the request of the government." Strauss-Kahn is alleged to have left his hotel in a hurry after sexually assaulting the maid, forgetting his mobile phone and other items. The 32-year-old hotel worker told police she entered Strauss-Kahn's room to clean it at around 1pm on Saturday. He allegedly emerged from the bathroom naked, ran after her and dragged her into a bedroom where he began sexually assaulting her on the bed. According to the police account of the "brutal" attack, he locked the door to the suite, then dragged the maid down a hallway into a bathroom where he assaulted her again. The allegation is a major embarrassment to the IMF, which has authorised billions of dollars in aid to troubled countries and played a major role in the eurozone debt crisis. The arrest will cast a cloud over the IMF's role in addressing the rescues, and is likely to have an impact on stock markets as traders react to yet more uncertainty in Europe. The IMF-led bailout has become increasingly unpopular with other IMF members amid growing doubts about the Greek government's ability and resolve to meet the commitments of the international aid package. The more uncertainty exists in terms of major institutions, the higher the cost for a country like Greece," Louka Katseli, the minister of labour and social security, told the Guardian. The board had been due to meet on Sunday in what it described as a "informal" meeting but issued a statement saying the briefing had been postponed "pending further developments in New York". The case threatens to throw the spotlight on Strauss-Kahn's reputation in France for targeting women, something alluded to but hushed up in the press. On Sunday night Anne Mansouret, a Socialist councillor, alleged on French state TV that her daughter, the novelist Tristane Banon, had been the victim of an attempted sex attack by Strauss-Kahn in 2002 but had not gone to police. She claimed his "preying" on women was a kind of "violence". Charges of sexual assault and attempted rape threaten to create a leadership vacuum at the overseer of the global economy Talks on resolving the European debt crisis have been plunged into disarray after the head of the International Monetary Fund, Dominique Strauss-Kahn, was arrested and charged with sexually assaulting and attempting to rape a maid in a New York hotel. The charges threaten to create a leadership vacuum at the IMF, overseer of the global economy, and throw open next year's French presidential election, ending the hopes of the French Socialist who was favourite to beat Nicolas Sarkozy. The arrest will cast a cloud over the IMF's role in addressing the rescues and is likely to have an impact on stock markets as traders react to yet more uncertainty in Europe. The IMF-led bailout has become increasingly unpopular with other IMF members amid growing doubts about the Greek government's ability and resolve to meet the commitments of the international aid package. On Sunday night Anne Mansouret, a Socialist councillor, alleged on French state TV that her daughter, the novelist Tristane Banon, had been the victim of an attempted sex attack by Strauss-Kahn in 2002 but had not gone to police.
Ms. boss.” While at the helm of the I.M.F., Mr. Strauss-Kahn, an economist and politician, had used the European debt crisis to seize, somewhat audaciously, a new and prominent role for the world body. Mr Shapiro said his client was "scared and incredulous". In the press release issued by the IMF it was indicated that the fund will communicate in the near future on the Executive Board's process of selecting a new Managing Director. “The I.M.F. Image caption Dominique Strauss-Kahn was denied bail at a hearing on Monday International Monetary Fund chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn has resigned following allegations he sexually assaulted a hotel maid in New York. "I think at this time first of my wife - whom I love more than anything - of my children, of my family, of my friends. In issuing his resignation, Mr. Strauss-Kahn said, “I want to say that I deny with the greatest possible firmness all of the allegations that have been made against me.” French news organizations quickly announced Mr. Strauss-Kahn’s resignation and underscored that he was leaving to focus on proving his innocence. said in its statement Wednesday night that John Lipsky would remain as acting managing director. The process may not be tension-free, given the tussle between Europe and emerging market countries over a successor. He was sitting quietly in his seat when police entered the plane as though he didn't have a care in the world, police souces said. She said that France needed to learn a lesson from his arrest, and ensure that “rich and poor are treated with an equal footing.” Please try again later. Traditionally, the US names the head of the World Bank, while the top job at the IMF goes to a European.
Image caption Dominique Strauss-Kahn was denied bail at a hearing on Monday International Monetary Fund chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn has resigned following allegations he sexually assaulted a hotel maid in New York. In a statement, Mr Strauss-Kahn - who is being held in Rikers Island prison - said he wanted to "devote all my strength... to proving my innocence." Mr Strauss-Kahn will make a fresh application for bail later on Thursday. Whether his successor comes from the developed or developing world will be a topic of hot debate, analysts say. In the statement, Mr Strauss-Kahn said it was with "infinite sadness" that he tendered his resignation. "I think at this time first of my wife - whom I love more than anything - of my children, of my family, of my friends. He said he denied "with the greatest possible firmness" all of the allegations against him, but said he wanted to protect the IMF. The IMF said it would release information "in the near future" about appointing a successor. The organisation's deputy, John Lipsky, has been in interim control of the IMF since Mr Strauss-Kahn's arrest on Saturday. IMF: THE CONTENDERS Image caption A wide range of possible successors could be in the running Mohamed El-Erian, Egypt Stanley Fischer, Israel Gordon Brown, UK Kemal Dervis, Turkey Peer Steinbrueck, Germany Montek Singh Ahluwalia, India Christine Lagarde, France Agustin Carstens, Mexico Trevor Manuel, South Africa Axel Weber, Germany Fight for IMF top job goes global Dominique Moisi, a special adviser at the French Institute for International Relations, said it was sad that "a brilliant career" had ended in "such an indignant way". The pressure had been growing on Mr Strauss-Kahn both at home and abroad, says the BBC's Christian Fraser in Paris. US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner had led calls for him to stand down, followed by the head of the governing right-wing UMP party in France, Jean-Francois Cope, who said he couldn't see how Mr Strauss-Kahn could carry on. Analysts say Mr Strauss-Kahn's resignation heralds a battle between established and emerging economies over who will get the top job. A Chinese government spokeswoman said the selection process should be based on "merit, transparency and fairness" - adding "we believe that emerging and developing countries should have representation at senior levels", Reuters reported. Bail hearing Mr Strauss-Kahn faces a number of charges in connection with the alleged sexual assault of a 32-year-old maid in New York's Sofitel hotel on 14 May. They are: committing a criminal sexual act, attempted rape, sexual abuse, unlawful imprisonment and forcible touching. Police have removed a piece of carpet from the Sofitel hotel, in search of evidence to support the maid's allegation she was forced into an act of oral sex. Mr Strauss-Kahn's lawyer, Benjamin Brafman, said on Monday that the defence believes the forensic evidence "will not be consistent with a forcible encounter". On Monday a judge in New York denied Mr Strauss-Kahn bail - despite the offer of a $1m (£618,000) guarantee - saying there was a risk the IMF chief would flee the country. A copy of his bail application, published on the website of the New York Times, shows Mr Strauss-Kahn's lawyers are offering new conditions for bail in an effort to convince the judge that he will not try to flee while he prepares his defence. Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Lawyer Jeffrey Shapiro: "She had no idea who this man was when she went into the room" They include Mr Strauss-Kahn being confined 24 hours a day to a Manhattan address, subject to electronic surveillance. The application also highlights Mr Strauss-Kahn's wife's ties to the US in an attempt to counter suggestions he could be a flight risk, saying she was partly schooled there and is currently working on a book about American political life, and pointing out the pair own a $4m home in Washington DC. Since being remanded in custody, Mr Strauss-Kahn been placed on suicide watch at Rikers Island, a notorious prison. Jeffrey Shapiro, lawyer for Mr Strauss-Kahn's accuser, says his client feared for herself and her daughter when she discovered Mr Strauss-Kahn's identity after the incident. He said she had only become aware of Mr Strauss-Kahn's identity "a day later when a friend called her to tell her, 'do you have any idea who this man is who did this to you?'". "When she found out this encounter was with a man of great power and wealth she feared not only for herself but more importantly for her daughter." The woman, from the West African nation of Guinea, had now been reunited with her 15-year-old daughter in a "safe place", he added. Dominique Strauss-Kahn has resigned from his position as chief of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) following his arrest on Saturday on suspicion of the attempted rape of a maid in a Manhattan hotel. In the press release issued by the IMF it was indicated that the fund will communicate in the near future on the Executive Board's process of selecting a new Managing Director. Strauss-Kahn, a man considered a likely French presidential candidate, was taken into custody at a New York airport Saturday after the hotel maid told police he tried to sexually assault her. Police say at 1 p.m., a hotel housekeeper entered room 2806 at Sofitel in Manhattan -- a luxury $3,000-per-night, multi-room suite -- when Strauss-Kahn allegedly walked out of his bathroom naked and forced himself on the 32-year-old woman. He was sitting quietly in his seat when police entered the plane as though he didn't have a care in the world, police souces said. The alleged victim was examined at St. Luke's hospital, where she was also questioned by New York Police Department detectives on Saturday night after the alleged attack.
. Significant damage was reported, along with sightings of a tornado, in Agawam, Charlton, Monson, Oxford, Palmer, West Springfield, Wilbraham, and Sturbridge, said Sergeant Michael Popovics, another State Police spokesman. train coming in,’’ she said. “The house across the street had all its expensive stuff stolen. He could not say how many tornadoes spawned from the storm last night, but he said the weather service had received at least six reports of tornado sightings throughout Western Massachusetts. They said the National Guard would help by clearing trees and doing wellness checks at damaged homes. I saw the wind. Officials at the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency said yesterday that by 8 p.m. 20 communities had reported tornado touchdowns. The other two tornadoes were much briefer: one touched down around 6:30 in Wilbraham for eight minutes and covered 3.6 miles; the other, an offshoot, hit North Brimfield at 6:54 and ran 1.3 miles before lifting off three minutes later. In the South End, police prowled the streets questioning anyone carrying any sort of metal after reports of people looting copper. When the tornado came by, “it sounded like a . © Copyright 2011 Globe Newspaper Company. Stephanie Tonelli’s William Street home was remarkably untouched save for the damage to her back door from someone trying to break in. They’re staying with dozens of others in a makeshift shelter at Springfield Central High School. “I thought it was going to take the whole building right up above us,’’ she said. She said the supermarket on Main Street was “wiped out’’ and several cars had been flipped over by the strong winds.
Taking to the air for the first time yesterday, National Weather Service meteorologists confirmed that three separate tornadoes struck Massachusetts on Wednesday afternoon, a main twister that accounted for nearly all the damage, and two smaller ones that touched down for only a few minutes each. The first and most powerful tornado struck at 4:17 p.m. in Westfield, and over the next 70 minutes reached a wind speed of 160 miles per hour and plowed a path of destruction 39 miles long and a half-mile at its widest before lifting off in Charlton at 5:27. “This storm will be noted not only for its intensity,’’ the weather service said in a new analysis released late last night, “but also for the length of the continuous damage path.’’ The weather service categorized the main twister as a category EF-3 tornado — a severe storm that packs winds of more than 135 miles per hour and is seldom seen in New England. The other two tornadoes were much briefer: one touched down around 6:30 in Wilbraham for eight minutes and covered 3.6 miles; the other, an offshoot, hit North Brimfield at 6:54 and ran 1.3 miles before lifting off three minutes later. While less intense than the primary storm, the two later twisters still reached top wind speeds of 90 miles per hour, the meteorologists added, ranking them as category EF-1 tornadoes. However, they largely struck wooded areas with most of the damage fallen or uprooted trees. Weather service officials said they decided to conduct an aerial survey yesterday after being unable to document the tornadoes’ trail through woods and determine the end points. “We decided with such a long track, we really wanted to make sure we could get the end points and get a better idea as to the width and just how continuous the tornado was,’’ National Weather Service meteorologist Robert Thompson said by phone earlier Friday after stepping off a Civil Air Patrol plane. Using broken clocks from damaged homes, meteorologists confirmed that the first tornado touched down near Shaker Road in Westfield at 4:17 p.m., Thompson said. The Massachusetts twister pales in comparison with the monster storm that devastated Joplin, Mo., on May 22, leaving more than 130 dead. That tornado along with the three others that tore through Alabama and Mississippi on April 27 was considered a devastating EF-5 that delivered winds of more than 200 miles per hour, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Silk slammed shut the doors to his auto repair shop on Dale Street and herded a dozen neighbors and one police officer into a 10-by-6-foot parts room in the back corner of his concrete garage. Yesterday, to protect himself and his property, Silk had a baseball bat and a billy club. In the South End neighborhood here, where two tornadoes an hour apart carved a path of incredible destruction, many survivors say they returned to their storm-damaged homes to find their valuables had been stolen. Many thefts, residents of this neighborhood just off Main Street in downtown say, occurred just after the first tornado struck when they were evacuated to an emergency shelter because of a gas leak coming from a house that had been tossed from its foundation. “It’s sad that a storm like this comes and you have to worry about your stuff being stolen,’’ Tim Isham said as he worked on patching up the roof to his home on Winthrop Street, which is leaning off its foundation. “We should be sticking together, not looting against each other.’’ Isham, a married father of four, said that he returned home from the shelter as soon as he heard about looting — before the second tornado had touched down — and found when he got there that someone had already kicked in his neighbor’s door and stolen her XBox video game system. Across the street from Isham, Delores Mayhew said she caught someone yesterday morning trying to break into her neighbor’s house; the person fled when she called out to them, she said. On nearby William Street, Yolanda Rivera was helping her friends clear out a house that was ravaged by the tornado; its roof was covered by another that had blown from down the street. “They stole two air conditioners, some tools, some money,’’ Rivera said as she helped her friends salvage whatever they could from the interior. “The house across the street had all its expensive stuff stolen. There’s like no words for it.’’ Police said they had made three arrests but played down reports of widespread looting, saying that a number of complaints they had investigated turned out to be false alarms. “ He emphasized that police had stepped up patrols and that National Guard troops were on the lookout. In the South End, police prowled the streets questioning anyone carrying any sort of metal after reports of people looting copper. Later in the day, police shot a man and a woman in the neighborhood after a high-speed chase. Police said the man and woman were being sought in connection with an assault, not because they were suspected of looting. But two members of the Massachusetts National Guard told the Globe that the episode began when they saw the man trying to steal copper from an auto repair shop. And as South End residents boarded up windows and tried to put lives and homes back in order yesterday, many were concerned about looting that might yet come. “I’m worried that because my house isn’t damaged, people are going to be thinking, ‘All her TVs must be intact,’ ’’ she said as she stood guard on her front porch. “I’ve got faith that I’m going to find my things right here when we come back,’’ Hernandez said as she dropped some food in for her daughter’s pet fish and frog, and gathered up the family hamster to take to the shelter. “Can I take my teddy bear?’’ Stephanie said as she emerged from her bedroom carrying a stuffed elephant.
It was a wonderful technique. Geoffrey Hayes, who also starred in the show, said: "He really brought Zippy and George to life through his voice." He wrote Naughty Rainbow for a competition. My Papa! Skelton's wife Hilary told Mediatheguardian.com: "Roy had a great sense of humour. He reprised the role of Zippy in 2008 for the BBC One series Ashes to Ashes. His first love had been theatre but he brought theatre to Rainbow." Obey!” He also provided voices for the Cybermen and the Krotons. The actor joined Rainbow in the early 1970s and remained with the show until it ended in 1992. "The most wonderful thing was if Zippy and George were having an argument between themselves, it sounded like he'd double-tracked it as they seemed to be talking over each other. • To get the latest media news to your desktop or mobile, follow MediaGuardian on Twitter and Facebook Skelton also voiced the Daleks in Doctor Who from 1967 to 1988, as well as the Cybermen and the Krotons. Skelton was "fabulous at improvising if something went wrong," he added. After repertory work in Bristol, he appeared in several plays in the West End (including Oh! It was a wonderful technique and I don't know how he did it. For all other inquiries please call the main Guardian switchboard on 020 3353 2000. An opportunity to voice the grumpy Mr Growser character in the BBC’s rod puppet version of Toytown led to his career providing voice characterisations. He was a lovely man, everyone who worked with him said that."
Created by Pamela Lonsdale for pre-school children and presented for most of its run by Geoffrey Hayes, Rainbow centred around the antics of Zippy, a loud-mouthed creature of indeterminate species with a rugby ball for a head and a zip for a mouth; George, a shy, pink and slightly camp hippopotamus; and Bungle, a nosy brown bear (played by John Leeson, then Stanley Bates). The episodes usually involved some kind of squabble between the puppet characters and Geoffrey Hayes’s attempts to calm them down. Skelton joined the ITV show in the 1970s, performing Zippy and George for 22 years until it came to an end in 1992; he also wrote many of the scripts. He claimed to have based the voice of the domineering Zippy on a cross between Margaret Thatcher and Ian Paisley and remembered many hilarious moments — “like when Bungle had a terrible wind problem and tried to blame everyone else”. Hayes recalled Skelton as being particularly good when Zippy and George were having an argument: “It sounded like he’d double-tracked it as they seemed to be talking over each other. ” Although Skelton’s voices were familiar to millions, as his real identity remained hidden behind layers of cardboard, foam and fur, he never became a celebrity. “I can walk down the street and no one knows who I am,” he told an interviewer. “People don’t say, 'There’s Zippy’, or ask me to say, 'Exterminate!’ I sometimes wish they did.” Born in Oldham on July 20 1931, Roy Skelton joined the National Association of Boys’ Clubs Travelling Theatre straight from school and worked at the Oldham Coliseum before training at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School. After repertory work in Bristol, he appeared in several plays in the West End (including Oh! He went on to appear in repertory theatre all over the country before landing parts in Music for You and Quick Before They Catch Us, on the BBC. An opportunity to voice the grumpy Mr Growser character in the BBC’s rod puppet version of Toytown led to his career providing voice characterisations. Beginning with The Evil of the Daleks, he was a Dalek between 1967 and 1988, uttering such classic lines as “You will be exterminated!” and “That is an order! Voice actor found fame on Rainbow as well as Doctor Who Roy Skelton, the voice of the Daleks and George and Zippy from Rainbow, has died aged 79. He brought Doctor Who's arch-enemies to life between 1967 and 1988, and also provided voices for the Cybermen. But viewers will probably know him best as the voices of Zippy and George, the orange and pink puppets from ITV's long running children's show Rainbow. Geoffrey Hayes, who fronted Rainbow, told BBC News that Skelton was "fabulous at improvising if something went wrong". "The most wonderful thing was if Zippy and George were having an argument between themselves, it sounded like he'd double-tracked it as they seemed to be talking over each other. Rainbow was axed in 1992, but Skelton reprised Zippy's voice in the BBC1 retro-drama Ashes to Ashes in 2008, and again in a special puppet edition of Weakest Link. Skelton's agent Carole Deaner told MediaGuardian.co.uk: "He was an unassuming and brilliant man ... Skelton's wife Hilary told Mediatheguardian.com: "Roy had a great sense of humour. She said that the Brighton-based actor and musician was not the first voice of Zippy: "Originally he was played by Peter Hawkins, a great friend of Roy's who he worked with on Doctor Who. She said Skelton had requested a "green funeral", to be buried in a cardboard coffin which he wanted people to write on. Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption A clip from the ITV television show Rainbow featuring Zippy and his friend George Actor and singer Roy Skelton, best known for voicing puppets George and Zippy in the popular children's programme Rainbow, has died aged 79.
Here he is. But, hello. So that's the end of Weiner and his weiner. Out here?" "I did not reciprocate," Lee said Wednesday. My first reaction is: really? She said she would have an additional statement after Weiner's own press conference later Thursday. Since news broke this morning that Rep. Anthony Weiner plans to resign, there has been no sign of the congressman at his office. This isn't a resignation speech, this is a comeback speech. Local newspaper the New York Times speaks to a "top Democratic official" for more details on the latest developments: The top Democratic official said Mr Weiner called Representative Nancy Pelosi of California and Representative Steve Israel of New York last night while they were at the White House picnic to inform them he had decided to resign on Thursday. Good point – could he not have just put out a statement and achieved the same thing? TV crews have been camped out here for the past several weeks since the Twitter scandal broke. is one comment. Today, he made the right judgment in resigning. Yes. Pelosi says she'll answer questions after Weiner makes his statement. Now there's some bits about how awesome it was to be elected by the people of the 9th congressional district. Weiner himself said that his wife, Huma Abedin, had supported him. Democrats walking by had little to say about the matter, other than that it will help them get back to their message of jobs, the economy and protecting Medicare. Weiner was far more vulnerable to party pressure – and he had an election in 2012.
The outgoing N.Y. Democrat resigned nearly three weeks after the revelation that he had been sending a number of women lewd pictures of himself on the Internet. Weiner apologized to Abedin during his resignation speech, and expressed the hope that "my wife and I can continue to heal from the damage I have caused." Abedin, who was seen entering the couple's home in Queens before the press conference, married Weiner last year in a ceremony officiated by Former President Bill Clinton. Video: Weiner resigns amidst applause, jokes Pictures: Anthony Weiner The scandal had become a distraction for House Democrats, who had raised pressure on Weiner to resign in recent days after he admitted June 6 to exchanging lewd photos and messages with women he met online. Abedin, who is to known to avoid the spotlight, also was not present during Weiner's press conference last week. Weiner late Wednesday told House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi of his plan to step down Thursday, two Democratic aides told CBS News. Many speculated that Weiner held off on making a decision until Abedin, an aide to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, returned from an overseas trip. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi appeared Thursday at what she noted was her regularly scheduled weekly press availability -- the topic was jobs -- and said if there were questions on Weiner: "I won't be answering any." She said she would have an additional statement after Weiner's own press conference later Thursday. Photos: Rep. Weiner sexting scandal When a reporter nonetheless posed a question to the caucus leader about Weiner, she said Democrats "will not be deterred from our quest for jobs." "I wish that the order for information on our jobs initiative would be as strong as this other subject," she said. After three weeks of trying to hang on to his job, Anthony Weiner will today announce that he is stepping down as a Democratic congressman – ending a scandal that began with an errant Twitter message sent by Weiner on 27 May. After first denying responsibility and blaming hackers, Weiner was found to have had bizarre relationships with at least six women via Twitter, Facebook, email and text message, exchanging provocative photographs. At a teary press conference 10 days ago Weiner finally confessed to his behaviour but insisted he would not resign. But under pressure from senior Democrats, Weiner asked for a two-week leave of absence from the House of Representatives in order to seek undisclosed treatment. The final nail may have come on Tuesday morning, when President Obama weighed in during an interview on breakfast television, in which Obama said: "If it was me, I would resign." As today's events unfold we'll be following developments and reaction right here. (You can catch up with our previous live blog of Weiner's press conference on 6 June here.) According to local New York television reports, Weiner plans to give a live statement at his congressional office in Brooklyn at 2pm ET – 7pm BST. But according to multiple reports he has told "friends" that he will resign. All eyes are on the Democratic House minority leader Nancy Pelosi, holding a press conference right now on some trivial issue like jobs or something. But as Pelosi steps up to the mike she says: "If you're here to ask a question about Anthony Weiner, I won't be answering any." There's an old joke about the shortest measurable unit of time is the gap between a Los Angeles traffic light turning green and the car behind you honking. But here's a record breaker – the light-speed at which cable news channels cut away from a press conference after Nancy Pelosi refuses to answer questions about Anthony Weiner. Top plausible conspiracy theory of the day is the thought that New York City was due to lose a congressional seat due to population changes, and so that Weiner's seat was in danger of being redistricted into oblivion. The news comes as Democratic leaders prepared to hold a meeting on Thursday to discuss whether to strip the 46-year-old congressman of his committee assignments, a blow that would severely damage his effectiveness. Another reason for Weiner to go today may have been the prospect of further fallout from one of Weiner's sexting targets: a sometime porn star named Ginger Lee, who gave a press conference yesterday: Lee, from La Vergne, Tennessee, said the pair exchanged about 100 emails between March and June, but said she never received photos from Weiner and never sent him any. Lee said as Weiner's Twitter scandal was unfolding, the married lawmaker gave her a statement to put out, which read: "I haven't met Rep Weiner.
"For us now, we will be worried if we leave our homes. China's disaster alert has been raised to the highest level, four. The government has described flooding in some areas as the worst since 1955 and has mobilised troops to evacuate some 555,000 people. Rain follows drought In central Hubei province, downpours earlier this week triggered a landslide that left six people missing and blocked the Pingdu River, forcing 2,000 residents to flee. Local media said two dykes in the village areas of Zhuji in Zhejiang province were breached on Thursday, flooding two towns and 21 villages. The official China Daily said more than 555,000 people had been evacuated in seven provinces and a municipality after rains in recently drought-stricken areas caused floods and mudslides in the Yangtze River basin. More heavy rain is expected in the coming days, with little let-up until Sunday. The China News Service reported on Thursday that in Jiangxi province in the east, troops helped 122,400 residents move from vulnerable, low-lying areas. At least 105 people have been swept to their deaths or killed in landslides and another 65 are missing after rivers burst their banks. Jie is staying put in her flooded home with her daughter and elder sister. "Some did not even get any relief items. Additional reporting by Cecily Huang Monitoring stations on 40 rivers have recorded water levels above the safety limit, including Asia's biggest waterway – the Yangtze – which is simultaneously suffering a flood downstream and a drought closer to its source. It is hard to help these people inside there," he added. Analysts say crop shortages in China could affect prices around the world.
Young boys row on tyre tubes along a flooded street in Leping, Jiangxi province June 16, 2011. Torrential rains are still ravaging central and southern China, nearly two weeks after leaving at least 105 people dead and 65 missing, the state news agency Xinhua reported on Wednesday. REUTERS/Stringer A woman stands on the roof of her house as she looks at the flooded village of Moshan Cun, Zhejiang province June 17, 2011. REUTERS/Carlos Barria ZHUJI, China China has mobilized troops to help with flood relief and raised its disaster alert to the highest level after days of downpours forced the evacuation of more than half a million people in central and southern provinces. The official China Daily said more than 555,000 people had been evacuated in seven provinces and a municipality after rains in recently drought-stricken areas caused floods and mudslides in the Yangtze River basin. Central authorities have raised the disaster alert to the highest level 4, and the government is describing the floods in some areas, such as eastern Zhejiang province's Qianting River area, as the worst since 1955. Local media said two dykes in the village areas of Zhuji in Zhejiang province were breached on Thursday, flooding two towns and 21 villages. Yesterday, the water level was receding slowly so we came back to clean up our house," said 49-year-old Jie Jingping. Jie is staying put in her flooded home with her daughter and elder sister. The first floor of her village home is completely inundated and she has moved all their belongings to the second and third floors. She said the local government has been distributing a box of instant noodles and a carton of bottled water to every family as flood aid. Other villagers said life was tough for some residents who were still trapped deep inside the village by the flood waters as aid distribution has been slow. State media said that as of Thursday evening, floods caused by the most recent four days of rain had resulted in 19 deaths and left seven missing in Anhui, Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Hubei, Hunan, Sichuan and Guizhou provinces and Chongqing municipality. The official death toll caused by floods and mudslides since June 3 has not been updated since Wednesday when state media said at least 105 people had been killed and 65 were missing. Forecasters warned on Thursday (June 16) that in the coming days rain could bring fresh danger, including in the southwest. The China News Service reported on Thursday that in Jiangxi province in the east, troops helped 122,400 residents move from vulnerable, low-lying areas. State media have not given a total number of troops mobilized for the relief effort. In central Hubei province, downpours two days ago triggered a landslide that left six people missing and blocked the Pingdu River, forcing 2,000 residents to flee in case a wall of water burst through the mud and debris. Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption China has raised the disaster alert to the highest level, as flooding spreads across central and southern provinces Days of torrential rain have forced the evacuation of hundreds of thousands of people in central and southern China. Rain follows drought In central Hubei province, downpours earlier this week triggered a landslide that left six people missing and blocked the Pingdu River, forcing 2,000 residents to flee. Water levels on 40 rivers, including the Yangtze, above safety limits as authorities warn of dykes and dams under pressure China has evacuated more than 500,000 people from deadly floods that are devastating areas in the south of the country following the worst drought in 50 years. Monitoring stations on 40 rivers have recorded water levels above the safety limit, including Asia's biggest waterway – the Yangtze – which is simultaneously suffering a flood downstream and a drought closer to its source.
She was 88. Bonner followed Sakharov into exile in Gorky, in western Russia, in 1980. "She stood side by side with her husband in the fight for political freedom, democracy and human rights in the former Soviet Union, and all over the world. Bonner's ashes are be interred at a Moscow cemetery next to her late husband's remains, said her daughter, Tatiana Yankelevich. She later became a fierce critic of the then Russian President Vladimir Putin. In 1972 she married the nuclear scientist and fellow human rights activist Andrei Sakharov, who won the Nobel Peace Prize three years later. Ms. Bonner and her group were inundated by “the constant flood of people coming to our door, all sorts of people with all sorts of problems,” she once told The Washington Post. Sakharov died in 1989. She might have stayed in the United States — where her mother and two children had settled a decade before — but she gave up the freedoms of the West to go back to her husband and their tightly controlled life together. "Sovereignty of the individual, sovereignty of the family and home, sovereignty of every ethnic group and every state." She was arrested for anti-Soviet agitation in 1984 and exiled to Gorki, but she was allowed to travel to the US a year later. Bonner was born in 1923 in Turkmenistan into a family of prominent Communist Party officials, according to a biography posted on Harvard University's website. Following his work on the atomic bomb, Sakharov began publishing writings critical of Soviet politics. "Until the [Communist] party truly gives up all its wealth to the people who really earned it, everything, down to the last... rouble, Stalinism will still triumph Yelena Bonner It did not give the cause of death.
(CNN) -- Elena Bonner, the wife of late Soviet dissident Andrei Sakharov who gained worldwide acclaim after smuggling her husband's writings out of exile, died Saturday in Boston, her daughter said in a statement. Bonner's ashes are be interred at a Moscow cemetery next to her late husband's remains, said her daughter, Tatiana Yankelevich. Bonner's life revolved around the political struggles that characterized the Soviet Union in the 20th century. She joined forces with Sakharov in the early 1970's. Bonner was born in 1923 in Turkmenistan into a family of prominent Communist Party officials, according to a biography posted on Harvard University's website. Her father was killed in Stalin's purges during the "Great Terror" of the late 1930s, and her mother was interned in a gulag for 10 years. Bonner was twice wounded during World War II while serving as a nurse for the Soviet military. She married Sakharov, known for his work on the development of the atomic bomb for the Soviet Union, in 1972, according to the Andrei Sakharov Foundation website. Following his work on the atomic bomb, Sakharov began publishing writings critical of Soviet politics. Bonner followed Sakharov into exile in Gorky, in western Russia, in 1980. She was permitted to take trips to Moscow, which enabled her to smuggle Sakharov's critical writings on the Soviet Union out of exile. Bonner was convicted of "anti-Soviet agitation" in 1984 for smuggling Sakharov's writings and lost her travel privileges to Moscow. Mikhail Gorbachev ended Bonner and Sakharov's exile in 1986 by inviting them to return to Moscow, according to the Andrei Sakharov Foundation. Bonner, a founding member of the Moscow Helsinki Group in 1976, received the Rafto Prize in 1991 for her promotion of human rights in the former Soviet Union and contemporary Russia, according to the foundation. She moved to the United States to be with her daughter after Sakharov's death in 1989. She published at least four books on her life as a dissident, according to the Harvard website. "It is with great sadness that I heard" of Bonner's passing, European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said in a statement, describing her as a human rights activist and author. "She stood side by side with her husband in the fight for political freedom, democracy and human rights in the former Soviet Union, and all over the world. I want to pay tribute to the courage she showed in standing up for fundamental freedoms and human dignity that people worldwide demand." Yelena G. Bonner, a Russian human rights activist who, with her late husband, Nobel Peace Prize laureate Andrei D. Sakharov, was one of the Soviet Union’s most outspoken political dissidents, died June 18 in Boston. She had been hospitalized since February, had heart surgery in March and since then had had several bouts with infection, said her daughter, Tatiana Yankelevich. Ms. Bonner was a prominent activist even before she met Sakharov, the father of the Soviet hydrogen bomb, at the trial of a fellow dissident in 1970. Headstrong and sharp-tongued with a no-nonsense voice deepened by years of chain-smoking acrid Russian cigarettes, Ms. Bonner helped lead a group that monitored violations of the 1975 Helsinki Accords, in which the Soviet government had promised to respect human rights and uphold fundamental freedoms. “There are so many phone calls — they would keep not just one wife busy, but a whole institute of wives.” Dissident Yelena Bonner, the widow of Nobel Peace Prize winner Andrei Sakharov, speaks during the awards ceremony of the 2008 Sakharov Prize at the European Parliament in the northeastern French city of Strasbourg. (DOMINIQUE FAGET/AFP/GETTY IMAGES) The work drew threats and harassment and landed many activists in jail — or, if they were lucky, in exile. In 1984, she too was exiled to Gorky after being convicted of slandering the Soviet state. “Whenever the authorities did not like something, it was our car that suffered,” Ms. Bonner wrote in “Alone Together,” her 1986 memoir of their shared exile. Sakharov, in an effort to persuade authorities to allow an ailing Ms. Bonner to travel overseas for medical care, mounted a series of hunger strikes totaling about 200 days and endured Orwellian force-feedings that left him depleted and ill. Ms. Bonner was eventually granted a temporary visa to the United States, where she had coronary bypass surgery in the mid-1980s. She might have stayed in the United States — where her mother and two children had settled a decade before — but she gave up the freedoms of the West to go back to her husband and their tightly controlled life together. She met actor Jason Robards, who played her husband in the 1984 TV movie “Sakharov.” “And at the same time, in the back of my mind,” she told Robards, according to his 1989 account in The Post, “I am packing my bags to return to the Soviet Union in less than a month. She was a teenager when Stalin’s secret police arrested and shot her stepfather, an Armenian Bolshevik revolutionary. Her mother, the daughter of a Jewish family born into Siberian exile, spent 17 years in a slave labor camp as “the wife of an enemy of the people.” Ms. Bonner lived with relatives and became a nurse during World War II. She was badly wounded during the siege of Leningrad and almost lost her eyesight when a German plane strafed a medical train on which she was tending wounded soldiers. When authorities did not allow Sakharov to leave the Soviet Union to accept the Nobel Prize in 1975, Ms. Bonner — who was in Italy for eye surgery — traveled to Oslo in his stead.
Still, he said those risks were manageable. In a statement it said Mr Obama's announcement was "symbolic". At least 68,000 US troops will remain in Afghanistan. The Taliban said the insurgency would continue until all foreign forces left. The initial withdrawal is expected to happen in two phases, with 5,000 troops coming home this summer and another 5,000 by the end of the year. That is the responsibility of the Afghan government." The group rejected any suggestion of U.S. military gains. Commentators: Is this victory? Our mission will change from combat to support. They told the president that the recent security gains were fragile and reversible, and had urged him to keep troop numbers high until 2013. Obama claimed al-Qaida was under more pressure than at any time since the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. Outgoing Defence Secretary Robert Gates and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton reluctantly accepted the reductions, the officials added. There have also been changes on the ground, notably the killing in May of al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden by US forces in Pakistan. David Cameron is expected to make announcements on substantial UK troop withdrawals at the beginning of July. A Nato conference on Afghanistan will be held in Chicago next year. That would have given them another full "fighting season" - in addition to the one now under way - to attack Taliban strongholds and their leaders. The withdrawal, which comes against a backdrop of rising US public weariness with the longest war in American history, could form part of Obama's pitch in the 2012 White House election campaign. We will not police its streets or patrol its mountains indefinitely.
Barack Obama has begun the long retreat from Afghanistan in a televised statement to the US, declaring success against al-Qaida and the Taliban and the withdrawal of about a third of US forces next year. Obama said 33,000 US troops would be withdrawn by the summer of 2012 or by September at the latest. The first 5,000 would return next month and another 5,000 by the end of the year. The president said that when he ordered the 33,000 extra troops to Afghanistan in 2009 they had a clear mission: to refocus on al-Qaida; reverse the Taliban's momentum; and train Afghan security forces to defend their own country. "Tonight, I can tell you that we are fulfilling that commitment," he said, adding: "We are meeting our goals." He was careful to avoid repeating George Bush's ill-fated prediction on Iraq in 2003 of "mission accomplished". He settled instead for: "We have put al-Qaida on a path to defeat." Obama claimed al-Qaida was under more pressure than at any time since the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington. Half of their leadership has been killed, along with its leader Osama bin Laden. He addressed criticism that the US should not be spending billions on wars overseas while the country is struggling economically at home and promised to shift from foreign to domestic issues. "America, it is time to focus on nation building here at home," he said. But US and other Nato military chiefs fear that the president is taking a gamble with the scale of early drawdown, ignoring the advice of US and Nato commanders who warned that withdrawal of anything more than a few thousand in the coming months could endanger substantial gains made over the winter in the battle against the Taliban. But 10,000 this year would create logistical problems and interfere with the summer "fighting season", they warned. The decision is a setback for the US commander in Afghanistan, General David Petraeus, who urged only a minimal withdrawal, as did defence secretary Robert Gates, who retires next week. Petraeus, who is to return to Washington as head of the CIA, refused to endorse Obama's decision, according to administration officials quoted by the New York Times. If there are military setbacks over the coming year, Obama will be open to accusations that he was overly hasty and that he put politics ahead of security. Military commanders wanted the number of combat troops held at near to maximum to confront Taliban forces mounting summer offensives this year and next. All US combat troops are scheduled to leave by the end of 2014 but a core of trainers and other troops will remain beyond that date. The withdrawal, which comes against a backdrop of rising US public weariness with the longest war in American history, could form part of Obama's pitch in the 2012 White House election campaign. It is likely to represent the biggest troop withdrawal since British forces left Iraq but precise numbers have yet to be reached. In their phone call, Cameron and Obama agreed that good progress was being made by the Afghan army in strengthening security and would be able to manage more of the country on their own. Downing Street said last night: "The prime minister fully agreed with the president's assessment, noting the good progress being made on security transition. The prime minister and president agreed that in due course the progress on transition would make it possible to sustain pressure on the insurgency while allowing a progressive reduction in [troop] levels. "The prime minister reaffirmed that UK forces will no longer be in a combat role in Afghanistan by 2015 and that decisions on the scale and timing of reductions over the intervening period would be based on conditions on the ground." One White House official said that there had been no terrorist threat emanating from Afghanistan for the last seven or eight years and the main threat had been from Pakistan. The US assessment may turn out to be over-optimistic, given the Taliban's ability in the past to mount surprise attacks, the corruption in the Afghanistan government, the shakiness of Afghan army and police forces, and the double-games played by the Pakistan intelligence services. The prime minister's spokesman was adamant yesterday that Cameron's assertion that UK combat operations would end in Afghanistan in 2015 was a deadline that would not be breached. Arbuthnot said unless there was greater clarity about what UK troops would remain and the degree "of nuance and flexibility, then Britain runs the risk of destabilising local people who won't be sure whether the coalition is going to desert them". Obama's speech came as William Hague, the foreign secretary, held talks today with the Afghan president Hamid Karzai in Kabul and visited UK troops in Helmand. Speaking in the capital, Hague said the UK's involvement in Afghanistan would continue for "many years" after the withdrawal of combat troops. Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption President Obama: "America, it is time to focus on nation-building at home" President Barack Obama has announced the withdrawal of 10,000 US troops from Afghanistan this year and another 23,000 by the end of September 2012. We will not police its streets or patrol its mountains indefinitely President Obama As it happened: Speech reaction All US combat troops are scheduled to leave by 2013, provided that Afghan forces are ready to take over security. That would have given them another full "fighting season" - in addition to the one now under way - to attack Taliban strongholds and their leaders. Correspondents say the enormous cost of the deployment - currently more than $2bn a week - has attracted criticism from Congressional leaders, while the public are weary of a war that seems to have no end and has left at least 1,500 personnel dead and 12,000 wounded.
Pauline Nyiramasuhuko, 65, is the first woman to be convicted of genocide by an international court. "She is sentenced to life imprisonment." They were both found guilty of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity. Some 800,000 ethnic Tutsis and moderate Hutus were killed during the 1994 massacres. He also raped women. The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) found Pauline Nyiramasuhuko and her son, Arsene Shalom Ntahobali, who was also jailed for life, guilty of atrocities committed in Rwanda's southern Butare region during the 1994 massacre. Last month, former army chief Augustin Bizimungu and three other former military officers were convicted after a nine-year trial. Image caption Pauline Nyiramasuhuko forced people to undress before they were loaded onto trucks A former Rwandan women's minister has been sentenced to life in prison for her role in the genocide and the rape of Tutsi women and girls. "They also ordered rapes. The judgments come 10 years after trials at the tribunal began in June, 2001, and 16 years after some of the accused were arrested following the 100-day genocide, in which at least 500,000 ethnic Tutsis and moderate Hutus were slaughtered. The evidence... paints a clear picture of unfathomable depravity and sadism," he said. She had denied all the charges. BBC East Africa correspondent Will Ross says Nyiramasuhuko showed no emotion as she was sentenced. A genocide charge against the former Bosnian Serb leader Biljana Plavsic in 2000 was dropped as part of a plea bargain that saw her convicted by the Yugoslav war crimes tribunal of persecution. The Rwandan government, led by Paul Kagame who ended the genocide, has long complained about the slow pace of justice at the tribunal, based in Arusha, Tanzania.
Mother and son given life terms for their part in assault, rape and killings in southern region of Butare A former Rwandan minister became the first woman to be convicted of genocide when she and her son were given life sentences for war crimes in the 1994 genocide. The UN international criminal tribunal for Rwanda found that Pauline Nyiramasuhuko, who was minister for family and women's affairs, and her son, Arsene Ntahobali, a former militia leader, helped to abduct hundreds of ethnic Tutsis who were assaulted, raped and killed in the southern region of Butare. They were both found guilty of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity. Hanna Brollowski, an international law researcher at the TMC Asser Institute in The Hague, said Nyiramasuhuko was the first woman to be convicted of genocide. Between April and June 1994 Nyiramasuhuko and Ntahobali, backed by the extremist Hutu militia known as the Interahamwe, abducted hundreds of ethnic Tutsis in Butare. "Many were physically assaulted, raped and taken away to various places in Butare, where they were killed. During the course of these repeated attacks on vulnerable civilians, both Nyiramasuhuko and Ntahobali ordered killings," said Judge William Sekule. A former mayor, Elie Ndayambaje, was also jailed for life on Friday and three other defendants were given sentences of between 25 and 35 years. The judgments come 10 years after trials at the tribunal began in June, 2001, and 16 years after some of the accused were arrested following the 100-day genocide, in which at least 500,000 ethnic Tutsis and moderate Hutus were slaughtered. The proceedings lasted more than 700 days and the court heard from nearly 180 witnesses. A genocide charge against the former Bosnian Serb leader Biljana Plavsic in 2000 was dropped as part of a plea bargain that saw her convicted by the Yugoslav war crimes tribunal of persecution. Image caption Pauline Nyiramasuhuko forced people to undress before they were loaded onto trucks A former Rwandan women's minister has been sentenced to life in prison for her role in the genocide and the rape of Tutsi women and girls. She was found guilty, along with her son and four other former officials, after a 10-year trial. Nyiramasuhuko, who was family affairs and women's development minister, was accused of ordering and assisting in the massacres in her home district of Butare in southern Rwanda. The prosecution at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) accused her of taking part in the government decision to create militias throughout the country. 'Depravity and sadism' "The chamber convicts Pauline Nyiramasuhuko of conspiracy to commit genocide, crimes against humanity, extermination, rape, persecution and... violence to life and outrages upon personal dignity," read the ruling by the trial's three judges. During the genocide she ordered women and girls to be raped and forced people onto trucks - they were driven away to be killed. Rwanda's genocide Image caption Hundreds of thousands of people died in the genocide 800,000 people killed in 100 days Hutu extremists massacred ethnic Tutsi minority and political opponents Roadblocks set up where people were identified by their ID papers and slaughtered with machetes Ended when Tutsi rebels led by Paul Kagame seized power in Kigali in June 1994 Many Hutus fled into DR Congo, sparking years of unrest in the region Profile: Pauline Nyiramasuhuko How the genocide happened Presiding Judge William Sekule said scores of ethnic Tutsis were killed after taking refuge in a local government office. "Hoping to find safety and security, they instead found themselves subject to abductions, rapes, and murder. Our correspondent says that although she was the only woman on trial for genocide before the ICTR, many other women have been convicted of genocide in Rwandan courts. * Mother and son sentenced to life * Guilty of rape as a crime against humanity (Adds new court quotes, background) By Fumbuka Ng'wanakilala DAR ES SALAAM, June 24 (Reuters) - The U.N. war crimes tribunal for Rwanda sentenced former minister Pauline Nyiramasuhuko to life in prison on Friday, the first time a woman has been found guilty of genocide by an international court. "The chamber convicts Pauline Nyiramasuhuko of conspiracy to commit genocide, crimes against humanity, extermination, rape, persecution and ... and violence to life and outrages upon personal dignity," read the ruling by the trial's three judges.
They comprise his driver, accountant, assistant and a designer. He said there was "no strategic conflict" between the UK and China and that "our common interests outweigh our differences". Cameron welcomed Wen's comments about the need for China to rebalance its own economy. It is not about either discussing trade or human rights. Mr Ai was released last Wednesday but the whereabouts of his associates had been unclear. Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao: "We will welcome more British products into the Chinese market" China's Premier Wen Jiabao has pledged to take measures to increase trade between Britain and China. "China is not only pursuing economic development but also political structural reform and improvement in democracy and the rule of law." "I think these show our confidence in the economies of the European countries and the eurozone." Speaking to the BBC's business editor, Robert Peston, he also said he would like to see more enterprises based on the China-owned model used by the MG car plant at Longbridge. The leaders faced the media at a press conference in central London during Wen's three-day visit to the UK. China has foreign reserves of about $3tn and is believed to be diversifying some of its holdings from US dollars into euros and other currencies. We have a dialogue that covers all these issues, and nothing is off limits in the discussions that we have. We reached agreement on the Chinese government buying a certain amount of government debts of bonds on the Hungarian side... that is China lending a helping hand to Hungary at a time when that country is in difficulty.
Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao: "We will welcome more British products into the Chinese market" China's Premier Wen Jiabao has pledged to take measures to increase trade between Britain and China. Mr Wen, who is on a three-day visit, said he wanted to welcome more UK products into China. Speaking to the BBC's business editor, Robert Peston, he also said he would like to see more enterprises based on the China-owned model used by the MG car plant at Longbridge. China's leading automaker the Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation became the owner of MG Rover's Longbridge plant after a merger in late 2007 with its smaller rival, Nanjing Automobile Group. Mr Wen visited the plant, once the site of Britain's mass-car manufacturing where a launch ceremony for the company's new sports sedan the MG6 Magnette took place. If words matter, then his declaration that it is a priority to boost consumption by the Chinese, relative to their massive saving and investment, will help to bring balance to the global economy Peston: Wen backs UK and euro Mr Wen also told the BBC it was a priority to boost consumption by the Chinese, as well as reducing its foreign trade surplus and reliance on exports. He described China as Europe's friend in its time of acute need. "When some European countries were hit by the sovereign debt crisis, China has actually increased the purchase of government bonds of some European countries and we have not cut back on our euro holdings. "I think these show our confidence in the economies of the European countries and the eurozone." He added: "Before I came to the UK I visited Hungary. We reached agreement on the Chinese government buying a certain amount of government debts of bonds on the Hungarian side... that is China lending a helping hand to Hungary at a time when that country is in difficulty. "We have done this for Hungary and we will do the same thing for other European countries." China has foreign reserves of about $3tn and is believed to be diversifying some of its holdings from US dollars into euros and other currencies. 'Flagship projects' Image caption The BBC's business editor, Robert Peston, interviewing the Chinese premier, Wen Jiabao Up to £1bn worth of business deals are expected to be announced during Mr Wen's three-day UK tour. Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt said China offered "huge opportunities" adding that it was important to have a full dialogue with China. Mr Hunt, who earlier accompanied the life-long Shakespeare admirer Mr Wen to Stratford-Upon-Avon, said: "We want to have a broad-based relationship with China which encompasses political, economic and social dialogue. "It's obviously an incredibly important economic power and a massive investor in the UK. "But what this visit is about is saying that it's not just about jobs, it's also about a broader cultural relationship which is the best possible way to make sure we understand each other and avoid the kind of misunderstanding that so can bedevil relationships, as has happened in the past." With China having overtaken Japan as the world's second largest economy, many European companies are looking for investment, while Chinese acquisitions in Europe have also been increasing. Chinese ambassador Liu Xiaoming said last week China was looking for "flagship projects" and had "the knowledge, expertise and experience" to assist with HS2. Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Jeremy Hunt: "We want to have a broad-based relationship with China" On Monday, Mr Wen will attend the annual UK-China Strategic Summit and meet his British counterpart, David Cameron. Human rights While economic, commercial and political ties are the focus of the visit, Britain remains concerned about China's human rights record and the issue is expected to be raised in talks, says the BBC's Adam Mynott. Last week dissident artist Ai Weiwei was released from custody in China, heading off protests which might have greeted Mr Wen's visit to Britain. Image caption Ai Weiwei was freed last Wednesday, but the fate of colleagues detained with him was unclear Four people detained with Ai Weiwei - the artist and activist held by Chinese authorities for nearly three months - are also now free, sources close to Mr Ai have told the BBC. Mr Ai has been freed, but he is barred from discussing his case publicly, barred from leaving Beijing without permission and reportedly barred from using micro-blogging service Twitter - which he previously used prolifically. Chinese authorities say he has confessed to tax evasion offences, but lawyers point out that no formal charges have been brought. Prime minister, speaking at press conference with Wen Jiabao, says two countries 'should show each other respect' David Cameron has insisted human rights issues are not "off limits" with China after holding talks with the Chinese premier, Wen Jiabao. As the two leaders announced a package of trade deals worth £1.4bn, the prime minister said he would always raise difficult questions about political freedom and the justice system, as well as seeking closer economic ties. In a possible sign of irritation at being asked questions about human rights by British reporters, Wen said China believed states should not address one another about the issue "in a lecturing way". "I am confident that tomorrow's China will enjoy not only economic prosperity but improved democracy and legal systems," he said. Cameron said trade with China represented a "huge opportunity" for the UK, and the countries were "on target" to meet their aim of expanding bilateral trade to $100bn (£62.7bn) by 2015. He added that, as an open economy, Britain was "the natural home for Chinese investment into Europe", making clear that this could include major national infrastructure projects such as the planned high-speed rail link between London and the north of England.
So does the opposition. "I call on you to vote for survival, growth, justice, and a future for the citizens of this country," Papandreou told legislators. Police from all over Greece have been summoned to the capital. They have had a year of austerity and now the Greek people are being asked to endure a second of cuts and tax increases. Emergency services said nine protesters were injured. In the meantime much of the economy - with the exception of tourism and some exports - is unravelling. Strike started out peacefully The tone started out as a peaceful strike across all divisions of the country's massive public sector. "The government has declared war and to this war we will answer back with war." Greece: Crucial dates June 29: Greek parliament to vote on a new austerity package July 3: Eurozone deadline. Over the next two days MPs are to debate and vote on these austerity measures. Tens of thousands of angry protesters turned Athens into a violent riot scene. For this year an extra 6.5bn euros (£5.8bn) in cuts needs to be found. Other banks may follow. Hardly a day has passed without strikes. On paper the prime minister should win. Hundreds of flights were cancelled or rescheduled as air traffic controllers walked off the job for four hours in the morning. The latest measures must pass in two parliamentary votes Wednesday and Thursday if Greece is to receive bailout funds from the EU and the IMF that will keep it from becoming the first euro zone nation to default on its debts. Polls suggest that between 70% and 80% oppose the austerity plan.
Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Jon Sopel: "In one corner of Syntagma Square we have seen more violence erupting" Police have fired tear gas in running battles with stone-throwing youths in Athens, where a 48-hour general strike is being held against a parliamentary vote on tough austerity measures. Thousands of protesters gathered outside parliament in the capital where public transport ground to a halt. If the package is not approved, Greece could run out of money within weeks. Without a new plan in place, the EU and International Monetary Fund say they will withhold 12bn euros of loans which Greece needs to repay debts due in mid-July. The newly named IMF chief, Christine Lagarde, has urged Greek politicians to unite to avoid a debt default. "If I have a message this evening about Greece, it is a call to the Greek opposition... to join in national unity with the party which is currently in power," she told France's TF1 television station. "The country's destiny is at stake." 'Declared war' As thousands of peaceful demonstrators observed a night-time protest outside the Greek parliament on Syntagma Square, sporadic clashes continued nearby between black-hooded, rock-hurling youths and police firing tear gas. Earlier, more than 5,000 police officers were deployed in the city centre to monitor what started off as a peaceful rally, but rapidly deteriorated into running skirmishes on the fringes of the main demonstration. Hundreds of protesters - their faces covered by scarves or gas-masks - started throwing stones, debris and bottles in the square at police who retaliated with tear gas and stun grenades. Two communications vans with mobile telecoms transmitters were daubed with graffiti condemning the media and banks before being set alight by protesters who had apparently mistaken them for satellite TV trucks. As many as 20 police officers and four demonstrators were injured in the scuffles, police said, while a number of demonstrators were treated for breathing difficulties. Some 18 people were detained by police, Reuters reported. There were also skirmishes as trade unionists tried to persuade anarchists to leave the square, saying their violent protests were only harming the aims of the demonstrations, says the BBC's Jon Sopel in Athens. Greece's general strike has halted most public services, banks are closed and hospitals are operating on skeleton staff. Airports are shutting for hours at a time, with air traffic controllers walking out between 0800 and 1200 (0500-0900 GMT) and 1800 and 2200 (1500-1900 GMT). The capital's underground system was the only form of public transport working "to allow Athenians to join the planned protests in the capital", metro drivers said. Impervious to clouds of tear gas and flying chunks of marble, smashed by sledgehammer-wielding youths from the walls of a fountain, the priest went face to face with riot police, telling them to leave the square. Although 5,000 police were supposedly deployed in Athens to protect the city centre, they surrendered Syntagma Square to the anarchists, moving back to form defensive lines around the parliament. "The situation that the workers are undergoing is tragic and we are near poverty levels," said Spyros Linardopoulos, a protester with the PAME union at the blockade. "The government has declared war and to this war we will answer back with war." The unions are angry that the government's austerity programme will impose taxes on those earning the minimum wage, following months of other cuts which have seen unemployment rise to more than 16%. Polls suggest that between 70% and 80% of Greek people oppose the austerity plan. "They will have extreme consequences for workers and for everyone on all social levels." EU will sign off latest bail-out payment to Greece - 12bn euros - if austerity package has passed July 15: Default deadline: Without the 12bn euros it needs to make debt repayments, Greece will default Greece: The moment of truth Can the eurozone carry on? European officials will also start to finalise the details of a second bail-out - worth an estimated 120bn euros - designed to help Greece pay its debts until the end of 2014. "The coming hours will be decisive, crucial for the Greek people, but also for the eurozone and the stability of the world economy," Mr Van Rompuy told the European parliament. A Greek government defeat would send ripples of anxiety right across the eurozone, with Greece facing the prospect next month of becoming the first member state to default on its debts, says the BBC's Chris Morris in Athens. We are handling our country's history right now and nobody can play with that Evangelos Venizelos, Greek Finance Minister Strikes: Your viewsPolitics of Greek crisis Mr Papandreou has warned that failure to secure the new loans would mean that national coffers could be empty within days.
It is not about money. One anarchist, Khan, 18, says: "This is not democracy. PCS union have said more than 200,000 civil servants have gone on strike. Thanks for following today's live updates. • Number of schools around the country closed or partially closed. It is a race to the bottom - you are cutting public sector pensions." And No 10 workers striking? Whitehall has been reopened by the police. The action by the National Union of Teachers (NUT), the Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL) and the University and College Union (UCU) affected England and Wales. Unions and the Government at odds over the precise figures of people on strike. Public sector staff strikes: day 1 as it happened 11:08 It is building up in central London. It is not known if they had to cross a picket line to get into the school. I am also disappointed that there has been disruption to the lives of so many parents across the country. He says: “Less than half of PCS’s own members have decided to take part in today’s strike.” On school closures: Downing Street says 29 per cent of schools they don’t know about; 26 per cent are closed; 22 per cent partially open and 23 per cent are open. Serwotka said the protest should jolt Francis Maude, the minister for the Cabinet Office spearheading the pension reform talks on behalf of government. Delays at Heathrow as Border Agency staff join the strike. @Brightonuncut tweets: 15:51 @HeardinLondon tweets this picture of a kettle just off Trafalgar Square: 15:45 Back of the class.
Image caption More than 12,000 schools in England and Wales were affected by the strikes Thousands of UK schools closed on a day of strikes by public sector workers over pension changes. But the government said action by civil servants had had "minimal" impact with fewer than 100,000 on strike at midday. The Public and Commercial Services union said it was the best supported strike it had ever held, with 200,000 civil servants striking. Jobcentres, border controls and passport offices were also affected by the industrial action. Thousands of schools were closed across England and Wales on Thursday as teachers from three unions walked out. The government says the proposed pension changes are "fair to taxpayers" and other unions are continuing with negotiations. It condemned the strike, as did the opposition, although Labour leader Ed Miliband accused ministers of mishandling negotiations with the unions. A Downing Street spokeswoman said: "Our border controls are in place and Jobcentres and pension offices are open for business. "Indicative figures from every government department show that as of 12 noon today, over 75% of civil servants were not on strike. Just fewer than 100,000 civil servants were on strike - around one-fifth of the workforce. "This shows that less than half of PCS members decided to take strike action today." But the apparent success of a one day strike is often determined as much by spin, as by the numbers who take to the streets. The unions see today as a show of strength - the government want to suggest it was really a sign of weakness. The unions, on the other hand have been arguing that while perhaps only a handful of courts closed, some cases had to be postponed - and while a small number of job centres shut, far more weren't able to provide a full service to their customers. There seems little doubt, though, that the disruption to parents and school children alike was extensive - with a majority of schools in England closed, or partially closed. Today was only the opening salvo in a longer running battle - one which will take place largely behind closed doors, in detailed negotiations, rather than on the streets. Many of the unions who will sit round the table with government ministers next week weren't on strike today. Mark Serwotka, leader of the Public and Commercial Services union, said up to four million workers could strike in the autumn if the bitter row is not resolved. He also said 85% of his members had been on strike, MPs had refused to cross picket lines and staff in Downing Street had taken action. "The government has been rumbled, and ministers are either badly briefed - or they are lying," he said. NUT General Secretary, Christine Blower, said on BBC's Question time: "Much of this has already been imposed on teachers without negotiation, and when we say there are talks going on it's perfectly true that the government is talking but it isn't actually listening. Department for Education data suggests that 11,114 of the 21,500 state schools in England were hit by the walkouts - the department based its calculations on data from 80% of schools. Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Thousands took to the streets in Glasgow, Cardiff and London It said in total, 5,679 schools were shut, and another 4,999 were partially closed. Kevin Courtney, the union's deputy general secretary, said the union realised the action was "very disruptive for parents," and said that "we do regret that". 'Reckless' government Mark Serwotka, general secretary of the PCS, said his members were left with no choice but to take action as the government was not prepared to "compromise on any of the central issues of the strike". Cabinet Office Minister Francis Maude said: "What today has shown is that the vast majority of hard-working public sector employees do not support today's premature strike... "Reform of public sector pensions is inevitable, but we will ensure that public sector pensions will still be among the very best, with a guaranteed pension which very few private sector staff now enjoy. Some striking workers spoke of their "anger" at Mr Miliband's refusal to back their walkout. PCS leader says unions will keep up protests until reform plans are dropped as doctors back ballot on industrial action Thursday's 24-hour walkout by teachers, lecturers and civil servants over plans to overhaul public sector pensions should serve as a "wake-up call" for the government, said the leader of the Public and Commercial Services union. Mark Serwotka warned that the unions were determined to keep protesting until ministers change those plans as he claimed the strike was the "best we have seen for 10 years". He hailed the turnout as proof of the anger felt towards the government by public sector workers, but Downing Street insisted disruption to the public had been "minimal". The action by four unions came on the day that doctors overwhelmingly backed a ballot on industrial action over NHS pensions reform plans. The London rally heard union officials and teachers criticise the government, while Labour leader Ed Miliband was branded "a disgrace" for failing to support the action. Approximately 80% of the civil service workforce was not on strike, and fewer PCS members have gone on strike today than in either 2004 and 2007."
This was wrong. Most NoW advertisers, including Sainsbury's, Asda, Dixons, Boots, Specsavers, Ford, Halifax, Co-op and Npower had already pulled their campaigns. This Sunday will be the last issue of the News of the World." "They cleared out all the bad people. Murdoch told staff some of them would be leaving the company and said that was a matter of regret. The Guardian also says that a former senior journalist at the paper will also be arrested in the next few days. There have been repeated calls for Rebekah Brooks - the former editor, now News International's chief executive - to resign. Cameron said he did not think it would be possible to investigate the original police inquiry until the new one had concluded. A revolt by advertisers gathered pace in the past 24 hours as Prime Minister David Cameron announced public inquiries into phone hacking and criticism of the paper's activities mounted from politicians and the general public. Labour MP Tom Watson, who has been highlighting the phone-hacking scandal at the paper for two years, said: "Rupert Murdoch did not close the News of the World. "The question now is whether this will make the government's dilemma about the takeover of BSkyB easier or harder." But on reflection, the decision may not have been as difficult as it first appears. How long will it be before the Sun is published on Sundays? More details were also emerging about alleged payments by News of the World journalists to Metropolitan police officers. • To get the latest media news to your desktop or mobile, follow MediaGuardian on Twitter and Facebook
Sunday edition of Murdoch's tabloid to be last in the aftermath of political and commercial fallout from phone-hacking scandal News International announced on Thursday that it is closing the News of the World after this Sunday's edition, with no end in sight to the political and commercial fallout from the phone-hacking scandal after 72 hours of mounting crisis. Sunday's edition of the paper will be the last, News International chairman James Murdoch told News of the World staff on Thursday afternoon. Murdoch told employees at the 167-year-old title: "The News of the World is in the business of holding others to account. But it failed to when it came to itself". Murdoch said in a statement: "Wrongdoers turned a good newsroom bad and this was not fully understood or adequately pursued." Murdoch also conceded the company had "made statements to parliament without being in full possession of the facts. He said "the News of the World and News International wrongly maintained that these issues were confined to one reporter" and that the company had passed information to the police which would demonstrate this. "Those who acted wrongly will have to face the consequences," he said. Murdoch also said in his statement to staff that he had authorised out-of-court payments to victims of hacking: "I now know that I did not have a complete picture when I did so." He added: "That was wrong and is a matter of serious regret." It is the first national newspaper to close since Rupert Murdoch shut News International mid-market tabloid Today in 1995. The News of the World was Rupert Murdoch's first UK newspaper acquisition in 1968 and its profits helped him build his publishing and broadcasting empire in this country and the US. The title remains the UK's biggest-selling Sunday paper, with a circulation of 2.66m in May this year. In 1962, when the Audit Bureau of Circulations began publishing regular newspaper sales figures, the News of the World was selling 6.66m. The News of the World has been NI's most profitable title for many years. There are already industry rumours that the News of the World's stablemate the Sun could be turned into a seven-day operation. News International has already announced plans to move to seven-day working across its four titles – the Sun, News of the World, the Times and Sunday Times – and the internet domain name thesunonsunday.co.uk was registered two days ago, although the purchaser's identity is unclear. There will be no adverts in Sunday's edition and any money already received will be donated to good causes. The closure of the paper is a dramatic move designed to assuage public anger at shocking revelations about the behaviour of its journalists, but it is unlikely that NI's printing presses will be left idle on a Sunday. Labour MP Tom Watson, who has been highlighting the phone-hacking scandal at the paper for two years, said: "Rupert Murdoch did not close the News of the World. The News of the World, which has averaged about £660,000 in advertising income each weekend so far this year according to industry estimates, was already facing a widespread advertiser boycott on Sunday. A revolt by advertisers gathered pace in the past 24 hours as Prime Minister David Cameron announced public inquiries into phone hacking and criticism of the paper's activities mounted from politicians and the general public. There were also the first signs of a possible boycott by readers, with one independent convenience chain admitting on Thursday that it would not be stocking the title in its five stores across Essex and Cambridgeshire. Earlier this week it was alleged that Glenn Mulcaire, the private detective formerly employed by the paper, may have hacked into the phones of Wells and Chapman's parents. The number of alleged phone-hacking incidents perpetrated by the paper in years gone by had also continued to grow, with the latest involving families of members of the armed forces killed in Iraq and Afghanistan. The decision to close the paper is understood to have come following a meeting on Thursday between executives including Murdoch, who is also the deputy chief operating officer of NI-owner News Corp and oversees the UK business, Brooks, and the publisher's commercial managing director, Paul Hayes. Rival publishers were said by media buying agency sources to be descending on advertisers like "ambulance chasers" looking to snap up potentially millions in ad revenue from the "toxic" News of the World, with companies responsible for more than £8m in annual spend pulling campaigns in the past 24 hours. A number of media buying agency executives said they had been inundated with calls from rival publishers querying what the advertisers they represent might be looking to do with their budget. "It is like ambulance chasing, calls are coming from rivals [newspapers], smaller publishers, radio and outdoor – you name it," said one senior industry source. Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption James Murdoch: "These allegations are shocking and hugely regrettable" This Sunday's edition of the News of the World will be its last, News International chairman James Murdoch has said, after days of increasingly damaging allegations against the paper. The 168-year-old tabloid is accused of hacking into the mobile phones of crime victims, celebrities and politicians. Mr Murdoch said no advertisements would run in this weekend's paper - instead any advertising space would be donated to charities and good causes, and proceeds from sales would also go to good causes.
Only the ice age brown bears carried the maternal genetic hallmark of polar bears. Prof Daniel Bradley, of Trinity College Dublin (TCD) and Dr Ceiridwen Edwards, formerly of TCD and now at Oxford University, collaborated with Prof Beth Shapiro, of Pennsylvania State University, in the study. However, the same DNA fingerprint is absent from other species of brown bear alive today. The scientists extracted mitochondrial DNA from the teeth and bones of 17 bears found at eight cave sites across Ireland. Polar bears may have touch o' the Irish in them, a survey of their genetics over the last 120,000 years finds. "Today's warming climate is again bringing modern polar bears into contact with brown bears in places like Canada and Alaska." Their work provides evidence of the two species mating opportunistically during the past 100,000 years or more. It had been previously thought that polar bears descended from a recent hybridization with bears living off the coast of Alaska. The research is published in the journal Current Biology. The first pieces were discovered in 1995 by cavers exploring a network of caves. However, analysis of mitochondrial DNA - which is passed from mother to child - has shown the extinct Irish brown bears are the ancestors of all today's polar bears, the scientists said. As the arctic warms and sea ice doesn't last as long, they're less able to find prey to feed on. Scottish site What are believed to be the only polar bear remains to have been found in Britain were in caves in Inchnadamph in Sutherland. Older pre-ice-age brown bears, dating to between 43,000 and 38,000 years ago, had a different genetic signature matching that of modern bears from eastern Europe.
Polar bears may have touch o' the Irish in them, a survey of their genetics over the last 120,000 years finds. Specifically, today's white polar bears show a genetic imprint that strongly suggests they may descend in part from an extinct species of Irish brown bear, and not bear populations in Alaska as was previously believed. Polar bears (Ursus maritimus) depend on sea ice to hunt and breed. As the arctic warms and sea ice doesn't last as long, they're less able to find prey to feed on. Naturalists in Canada have sighted polar/brown bear hybrids as polar bears move into areas where brown bears now live. But researchers writing in this week's edition of the journal Current Biology show that this isn't the first time that has happened. The researchers looked at patterns in mitochondrial DNA sequences, passed from mother to child, to trace the bears' evolutionary history. They also extracted and sequenced mitochondrial genomes from bear fossils from polar bears' present and past geographic ranges. These showed that hybridization between polar bears and brown bears may have happened many times throughout the Late Pleistocene - most likely during times when the climate changed and bear populations moved and overlapped. "This suggests that interspecific hybridization not only may be more common than previously considered but may be a mechanism by which species deal with marginal habitats during periods of environmental deterioration," they conclude in their paper. It had been previously thought that polar bears descended from a recent hybridization with bears living off the coast of Alaska. But the study found instead that they likely come from hybridization with an extinct population of brown bears that lived in the vicinity of modern-day Britain and Ireland either just before or during the last ice age. Just because they can and have interbred doesn't mean polar bears don't deserve protection, Beth Shapiro of Pennsylvania State University said in a release. Modern polar bears are partly descended from extinct brown bears that lived in Ireland during the last ice age, scientists have discovered It's a long way from the Arctic to Tipperary, but scientists have discovered polar bears can trace their family tree to Ireland. Modern polar bears share a distinct DNA sequence, passed down the female line, with their now extinct brown ancestors. However, the same DNA fingerprint is absent from other species of brown bear alive today. It is thought the link arose from interbreeding between prehistoric polar bears and female brown bears when their paths crossed as the Irish climate cooled. Dr Ceiridwen Edwards, from Oxford University, a member of the international team that carried out the study, said: "Hybridisation between ancient Irish brown bears and polar bears has led to the complete replacement of the original polar bear mitochondria. This maternal lineage is now present in all modern polar bears." Polar bears, the world's largest carnivores, are expert swimmers which prey on seals, while forest-living brown bears climb and have a varied omnivorous diet. The scientists extracted mitochondrial DNA from the teeth and bones of 17 bears found at eight cave sites across Ireland. Ten Irish brown bears from the ice age period between 10,000 and 38,000 years ago had the maternal DNA that is now seen in every polar bear. Older pre-ice-age brown bears, dating to between 43,000 and 38,000 years ago, had a different genetic signature matching that of modern bears from eastern Europe. Remains of the last ancient brown bears in Ireland, from 3,000 to 5,000 years ago, had yet another genetic fingerprint seen in modern western European bears. Warmer periods may bring the species together as melting glacial ice and rising sea levels force polar bears to retreat inland. "Today's warming climate is again bringing modern polar bears into contact with brown bears in places like Canada and Alaska." Image caption Bones found in Ireland include those of juvenile brown bears The maternal ancestors of modern polar bears were from Ireland, according to a DNA study of ancient brown bear bones. Scientists in the UK, Ireland and the US analysed the teeth and skeletons of 17 brown bears that were found at eight cave sites across Ireland. Previously, it was believed that today's polar bears were most closely related to brown bears living on islands off the coast of Alaska. However, analysis of mitochondrial DNA - which is passed from mother to child - has shown the extinct Irish brown bears are the ancestors of all today's polar bears, the scientists said. It's amazing to think that Irish brown bears are the ancestors of the modern maternal polar bear lineage Dr Ceiridwen Edwards, Oxford University Hybridisation has been recorded recently in the wild where grizzly bears have encroached on polar bear territories. However, just before or during the last Ice Age the two species came together and polar bears mated with female Irish brown bears, the scientists said. Bear fact file Caves in County Leitrim were named Poll na mBear following the discoveries made by cavers in 1997 According to the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums (WAZA) there were 200 polar bears registered in zoos worldwide in 2008 Figures from the same year estimated that there might be 20,000 to 25,000 polar bears in the wild An adult bear's skull with the teeth still in place and the bones of young bears were among the finds made. She found that the older bears in Ireland - from between 43,000 and 38,000 years ago and before the last Ice Age arrived - had the same genetic signature as brown bears living today in eastern Europe.
When you bleed, we bleed. The will of the people of the south has to be respected. South Sudan's Salva Kiir was sworn in as president. We feel this is our independence day too, our real independence day," one man said. "We have been denied our rights. Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Will Ross describes the scene as the South Sudanese flag is raised in Juba Tens of thousands of South Sudanese have watched the raising of the new country's flag at an independence ceremony in the capital, Juba. Southern Sudan voted in a January referendum to break away from the north as part of a north-south peace deal that ended the decades-long civil war in 2005. South Sudan Facts and figures: Population: 7.5-9.7 million 7.5-9.7 million Size: 619,745 sq km (239,285 sq miles), larger than Spain and Portugal combined 619,745 sq km (239,285 sq miles), larger than Spain and Portugal combined Major languages: English, Arabic (both official), Juba Arabic, Dinka English, Arabic (both official), Juba Arabic, Dinka Religion: Traditional and a Christian minority Traditional and a Christian minority Main export: Oil Challenges ahead: One of world's least developed countries: Worst maternal mortality rate; most children below 13 not in school; 84% of women are illiterate Worst maternal mortality rate; most children below 13 not in school; 84% of women are illiterate Relations with Sudan: Dividing debts and oil; border disputes; citizenship Dividing debts and oil; border disputes; citizenship Security: At least seven active rebel groups South Sudan profile Viewpoint: Mother Africa's latest child Q&A: South Sudan independence However, scores of men gathered near the Blue Nile holding giant Sudanese flags and shouting: "Allahu Akbar [God is great].
A day after the jubilation of South Sudan's independence proclamation, the U.S. ambassador to the U.N. warned Sunday of a "real risk" that the north-south peace process could unravel unless outstanding issues such as oil and border demarcations are quickly resolved. Celebrations rang out Saturday in the South Sudan capital of Juba, the first day of independence after decades of civil war between Sudan's north and south. Some 2 million people died in the most recent war, from 1983-2005. On Sunday, the capital appeared hungover from its massive celebration, though small groups of people still sang and danced on street corners. The new country's national anthem played from speakers and cell phones. The joy of independence day temporarily overshadowed the ongoing hostilities between the northern army and southern-allied forces in the northern state of South Kordofan and other violence along the north-south border. The south and north have yet to agree on a demarcated border, and the issue of oil remains contentious. The south has most of the oil but it must move it through the north's pipes. The American delegation was led by Susan Rice, who told The Associated Press in a phone interview on Sunday that the U.S. government remains "focused on the urgency of resolving" the outstanding north-south issues. "We feel that until they are resolved, there's a real risk of the process to date beginning to unravel," she said. Rice said that the U.S. government would remain "very actively involved" in supporting negotiations between Khartoum and Juba. U.S. officials say they hope the talks will restart in the next week through a process led by an African Union panel. "As wonderful a day as yesterday (Saturday) was ... we are mindful that even as those presidents pledge a commitment to peaceful and cooperative relations, that these issues are such that in the absence of resolution there is a risk of things beginning to disintegrate," she added. Sudan President Omar al-Bashir, who is wanted for war crimes for his role in the conflict in Sudan's western region of Darfur, attended Saturday's ceremony and appealed for the two nations to work to "overcome the bitterness of the past." Rice dismissed the possibility of U.S. military intervention in South Kordofan, where northern aerial bombardments have driven tens of thousands of black Africans from the Nuba ethnic group into caves for protection from the raids. She noted that the U.S. has not been involved militarily in Sudan and she doesn't foresee that changing in the near future. She said that given the great urgency of the ongoing crisis, the U.S. is working hard to continue to "engage diplomatically to try to broker (a) cessation" of hostilities. Southern Sudan voted in a January referendum to break away from the north as part of a north-south peace deal that ended the decades-long civil war in 2005. South Sudan is expected to become the 193rd country recognized by the United Nations next week and the 54th U.N. member state in Africa. South Sudan formally declares independence Posted South Sudan has hoisted its national flag after declaring independence and becoming the world's newest sovereign state to wild applause, tears and song. "We shall never, never surrender," the crowd chanted, as people whistled and wiped tears from their eyes. "I should cry for the recognition of this flag among the flags of the world," shouted one tearful man. The South Sudanese parliament speaker read out the formal declaration of independence for the Republic of South Sudan, the final step in a 2005 deal that followed decades of war between the north and south. "We, the democratically elected representatives of the people, hereby declare Southern Sudan to be an independent and sovereign state," speaker James Wani Igga said, splitting Africa's largest country in two. The declaration of independence affirmed the new state's democratic and multi-ethnic and multi-confessional character, and its commitment to friendly relations with all countries "including the Republic of Sudan", Mr Igga said. The parliament speaker said as a "strategic priority," South Sudan would seek admission to the United Nations, the African Union, the east African bloc IGAD and other international bodies. "I ... do hereby swear by Almighty God that as the president of the Republic of South Sudan I shall be faithful and bear true allegiance to the Republic of South Sudan," Mr Kiir said, reading out an oath on a podium before tens of thousands of southerners. Mr Kiir offered an amnesty to armed groups fighting his government, and promised to bring peace to troubled border areas. Guest of honour Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir was guest of honour at the ceremony, and watched a parade by thousands of members of the former rebel army that he failed to defeat in 16 years command of the northern forces. "We congratulate our brothers in the south for the establishment of their new state," said Bashir, addressing thousands of southerners who cheered after he spoke. "Despite our belief that Sudan's unity would have been better ... the gains achieved over the last years from the shared conviction of the feasibility of peace ... must be protected." South Sudan's independence came exactly six months after southerners voted almost unanimously to split with their former civil war enemies in the north. Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Will Ross describes the scene as the South Sudanese flag is raised in Juba Tens of thousands of South Sudanese have watched the raising of the new country's flag at an independence ceremony in the capital, Juba.
"More importantly to the staff who, in my mind, are brilliant, professional people and I really feel for them." A News International spokeswoman said: "This assertion is rubbish. In a letter to MPs released on Saturday, Mrs Brooks denied all knowledge of alleged hacking of Milly's phone or any other case while she was editor. Mr Miliband said the claims were not true, Mr Baldwin had denied it and it did not bear comparison with Mr Coulson's situation. Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption The final front page for the News of The World Labour is calling for an immediate start to the judicial phone-hacking inquiry so evidence will not be lost as the News of the World closes. A source present at the talks told the BBC she had informed staff they would eventually understand why the Sunday tabloid had to close. Inquiries On Friday, David Cameron revealed details of two new inquiries relating to the scandal. Police have identified 4,000 possible targets. 'Total' Murdoch support Rupert Murdoch is expected to arrive in London this weekend to take charge of dealing with the phone-hacking crisis that has engulfed his News International group. Campaigners, including actor Hugh Grant, have claimed the closure of the paper was a cynical move designed to protect the BSkyB takeover. They have also requested a meeting with the prime minister which, our correspondent said, is likely to be arranged. Despite orders allegedly given from the top of News International to ensure to "ensure there were no libels or any hidden mocking messages of the chief executive", staff appear to have found a way of mocking Mrs Brooks one last time.
Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Ed Miliband: ''This bid cannot be completed...until after this criminal investigation'' Rupert Murdoch has arrived in the UK in the midst of the phone-hacking crisis, as he faces growing pressure to scrap his company's takeover bid for BSkyB. Labour leader Ed Miliband urged him to abandon the bid and also to sack News International (NI) chief Rebekah Brooks, an ex-News of the World editor. The BBC understands News International found e-mails in 2007 that appeared to show police were paid for information. News International said it was "co-operating fully with the police". The evidence of alleged criminal behaviour was not handed to the Metropolitan Police for investigation until 20 June, 2011, BBC business editor Robert Peston reported. He said the e-mails appear to show Andy Coulson, editor of the News of the World from 2003-2007, authorising payments to the police for help with stories. And they also appear to show that phone hacking went wider than the activities of a single rogue reporter, which News of the World claimed at the time. Image caption Rupert Murdoch arrives at Wapping to take charge of the crisis News International says James Murdoch, Rupert's son, had no knowledge of the e-mails that Harbottle & Lewis were asked to review. Rupert Murdoch flew into the country on Sunday morning and immediately went to News International's head office in east London for talks with key executives. Mrs Brooks has visited the 80-year-old newspaper tycoon's London home for talks. The last edition of the News of the World was published on Sunday, with a full-page apology for hacking mobile phones of hundreds of people, including murdered teenager Milly Dowler. On Thursday, James Murdoch announced the paper would be closing down in the wake of the latest revelations and in its final editorial the paper said: "Quite simply, we lost our way". Meanwhile, Mr Miliband said he would force a Commons vote to delay News Corporation's proposed takeover of the whole of BSkyB, until the investigation into the NoW was completed. When this outrage has been atoned, we hope history will eventually judge us on all our years News of the World Mr Miliband denied he had "declared war on Rupert Murdoch" but also called on him to abandon the BSkyB bid. Campaigners, including actor Hugh Grant, have claimed the closure of the paper was a cynical move designed to protect the BSkyB takeover. Mr Miliband said the takeover should be referred to the Competition Commission rather than "relying on assurances from News International". 'Disgusting revelations' "He has got to understand that when the public have seen the disgusting revelations that we have seen this week, the idea that this organisation, which engaged in these terrible practices, should be allowed to take over BSkyB, to get that 100% stake, without the criminal investigation having been completed and on the basis of assurances from that self-same organisation - frankly that just won't wash with the public," he told BBC1's Andrew Marr programme. Image caption The print run was doubled for the final edition with many extra readers expected to buy it as a souvenir The Labour leader also denied there were similarities between former NoW editor Andy Coulson, who went on to work for the Conservatives, and his own director of strategy Tom Baldwin, a former journalist at the Times. Mr Coulson resigned as the prime minister's spokesman in January, saying ongoing hacking claims were distracting him from his job. Earlier Andrew Marr asked Mr Miliband about allegations made by Michael Ashcroft, a former deputy Conservative chairman and major donor, that Mr Baldwin had recruited a private investigator to hack into payments made into a Conservative Party bank account by Lord Ashcroft. Mr Miliband said the claims were not true, Mr Baldwin had denied it and it did not bear comparison with Mr Coulson's situation. Meanwhile, Scotland Yard Assistant Commissioner John Yates has expressed "extreme regret" for not reopening the phone hacking investigation two years ago. Mr Yates said he did not re-examine the 11,000 pages of material recovered from Mulcaire's home but spent eight hours considering the matter, and consulted the Crown Prosecution Service, but decided there was no likelihood of further convictions. He admitted the Metropolitan Police's reputation had been tarnished by the scandal, but said he had no intention of resigning. Image caption Around 200 people will lose their jobs with the closure of the NoW During a short speech to more than 200 staff outside the paper's offices late on Saturday night editor, Colin Myler held up the 8,674th and final edition, saying: "This is not where we want to be and not where we deserve to be." The NoW doubled Sunday's print run to five million, with money from the sales being donated to four charities. The family of Milly Dowler, whose phone was allegedly hacked after her abduction in 2002, are set to meet all three main political party leaders this week. Milly's relatives will meet Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg on Monday to discuss the independent inquiries related to the phone hacking scandal before meeting Mr Miliband and Mr Cameron later in the week. Despite orders allegedly given from the top of News International to ensure to "ensure there were no libels or any hidden mocking messages of the chief executive", staff appear to have found a way of mocking Mrs Brooks one last time. Among the clues in the paper's Quickie puzzle were: "Brook", "stink", "catastrope" and "digital protection". The clues for the Cryptic Crossword seemed to cut even closer to the bone, with examples including: "criminal enterprise", "mix in prison", "string of recordings" and "will fear new security measure". The clue for 24 Across - which reads "Woman stares wildly at calamity" - is thought to be a reference to a photograph of Mrs Brooks staring furiously from the window of a car as she left News International's Wapping headquarters following the announcement the News of the World was to be shut down. The answer to the clue is not one she would appreciate: "disaster". Other answers included: "stench", "racket" and "tart". A source at the News of the World told the Daily Mail that Mrs Brooks had ordered two loyal Sun journalists to comb the papers looking for tricks. "She brought in two very senior Sun journalists to go though every line on every page with a fine tooth comb to ensure there were no libels or any hidden mocking messages of the chief executive. In a secret recording made during her speech, Mrs Brooks can be heard saying: "This is not exactly the best time in my life but I'm determined to get vindication for this paper and for people like you." There are then cheers as an unidentified male staff member angrily replies: "You're making the whole of News International toxic. News International has said a Guardian report that millions of e-mails may have been deleted was "rubbish". Staff have been preparing the Sunday tabloid's last edition, which has the headline: "Thank You & Goodbye."
"If they signal any comfort with inflation, and inflation is as high as it is now, they could create an environment in which people would panic, and they can have a real problem on their hands," said Tim Condon, head of Asia research at ING in Singapore. China's inflation has largely been driven by rising food costs, which rose 14.4 percent in the year through June. The central bank has raised interest rates five times and bank reserve requirements nine times since last October as the inflation threat has grown. (AP Photo/Orlin Wagner, file) NEW YORK (AP) — The latest readings on Chinese inflation and renewed worries about European debt are pushing oil lower. China would maintain a "prudent policy" to bring prices back under control while trying to avoid causing big swings in economic growth, Zhou said. Benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude fell $1.44 to $94.75 per barrel Monday morning on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Wen said in March that inflation could threaten social stability in the world's second-biggest economy. SHANGHAI — In the latest sign that China is still struggling to tame inflation, the government said Saturday that the consumer price index rose by 6.4 percent in June, the highest rate in three years. The dollar shot up against other currencies in morning trading, and that also weighed on oil futures. GROWING DOWNSIDE RISKS? June's headline inflation was slightly above the 6.3 percent forecast in a Reuters poll and revived expectations of more interest rate rises in the next few months. Premier Wen Jiabao said tackling inflation was the government's top policy priority while central bank governor Zhou Xiaochuan said the authority needed to make maintaining price stability "more prominent and important".
FILE - In this June 30, 2011 file photo, a sculpture of fuel nozzles stand next to gas prices at a convenience store in Lawrence, Kan. The latest readings on Chinese inflation and renewed worries about European debt are pushing oil lower Monday, July 11, 2011. (AP Photo/Orlin Wagner, file) NEW YORK (AP) — The latest readings on Chinese inflation and renewed worries about European debt are pushing oil lower. Benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude fell $1.44 to $94.75 per barrel Monday morning on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude, which is used to price many international oil varieties, dropped $2.41 to $115.92 per barrel on the ICE Futures exchange in London. Oil started falling early in electronic trading after a weekend announcement that inflation in China hit a three-year high in June. China has been raising interest rates in an attempt to control inflation and cool off its economy, but on Saturday the government said consumer prices continued to rise, jumping 6.4 percent last month. Rising consumer prices will heap even more pressure on the country's burgeoning economy, and that could affect energy demand. Oil has been rising all year on the expectation that China would drive world oil demand. Uncertainty about the country's debt problems raised concerns that the economic crisis could spread to Italy and Spain. "You combine the debt crisis in Europe with those (Greece) austerity measures, and you get less spending and therefore less demand" for oil, analyst Andrew Lipow said. The dollar shot up against other currencies in morning trading, and that also weighed on oil futures. Oil is traded in dollars and tends to fall as the dollar strengthens and makes crude barrels more expensive for investors holding foreign money. In other Nymex trading for August contracts, heating oil fell 4 cents to $3.0588 per gallon and gasoline futures gave up 4 cents at $3.0506 per gallon. Natural gas added 7 cents at $4.272 per 1,000 cubic feet. * Premier Wen says no let-up in anti-inflation campaign * China monetary tightening to continue-central banker * PBOC will try to avoid big ups and downs in economy-governor * Economists expect further hikes in interest rates in H2 (Recats, adds comments) By Kevin Yao and Yan Jiang SHANGHAI/BEIJING, July 11 China's premier and the country's central bank governor vowed on Monday to prevent stubbornly high inflation from upending the economy, reinforcing expectations for more increases in interest rates and bank reserve requirements. Premier Wen Jiabao said tackling inflation was the government's top policy priority while central bank governor Zhou Xiaochuan said the authority needed to make maintaining price stability "more prominent and important". The comments mark a fresh attempt to show the inflation fight is far from over and the government is determined to bring prices back under control, analysts said. Wen declared curbing price pressures as the top priority in China's version of a "State of the Union" address in March, when inflation was 1 percentage point lower than June's level. "We must treat stabilising overall price levels as the top priority of our macro-economic controls and keep the direction of macro-economic adjustments unchanged," Wen said in remarks reported on Monday by the central government's Internet portal. (www.gov.cn) He said the government would try to stabilise prices of pork, a staple meat for Chinese and the most closely watched item in controlling inflation, by boosting the supply of hogs. "The most prominent problem in macro-economic operations is the relatively big inflationary pressure and still strong inflationary expectations," Zhou wrote in the latest edition of China Finance magazine, published by the People's Bank of China. China's inflation has largely been driven by rising food costs, which rose 14.4 percent in the year through June. June's headline inflation was slightly above the 6.3 percent forecast in a Reuters poll and revived expectations of more interest rate rises in the next few months. China's import growth fell to its slowest pace in 20 months in June while export growth eased, signs that tighter monetary conditions and sluggishness in global demand were dragging on the economy. MARKET-ORIENTED TOOLS Many analysts expect the central bank to lean more on interest rates to fight inflation in coming months, partly because they see limited room for higher bank reserve ratios, which for big banks stand at a record 21.5 percent. Although analysts were expecting inflation to peak for the year in June, the figures are troubling, particularly because food prices rose 14.4 percent from a year ago, up from 11.7 percent in May, suggesting that Beijing may have a difficult time reining in rising prices.
Not much, it seems. It's all about their livestock and animals." "They are only now responding when they see people are dying. Mr Odinga said Kenya would not take responsibility for the logistics of opening the Ifo II camp. For the first time in two years, the United Nations has airlifted aid to a part of Somalia controlled by the militant group al-Shabab. I met one camel herdsman, Ahmed Mohammed, who told me: "We have come through a severe drought and I have lost more than half of my camels. A further 1.75 million are at risk of crisis. Normally, famine is declared when malnutrition rates reach 15%. The UNHCR had been urging Kenya to open the camp for the past two years but the government stopped work on it earlier this year, citing security concerns as one of the reasons. Our reporter says there is clearly a desperate need for more food distribution in Somalia. Somalia's Prime Minister Abdiweli Mohamed Ali told the BBC a refugee camp has opened in the capital, Mogadishu. This is despite the fact that it has been accused of murdering aid workers and had even banned many agencies from operating. Please turn on JavaScript. The international community is always very later in acting. Last week, al-Shabab said it welcomed the return of humanitarian groups into the areas it controls. In the Sool Plateau area, 150 have now starved to death and in the area known as Bender-Bayla, another 150 have died. The rich herders, those with more than 400 head, are becoming poor; the poor herders are becoming utterly destitute and dependent on camps for internally displaced people (IDP).
Image caption Ifo II has room for up to 80,000 people Kenya has agreed to open a new refugee camp near its border with Somalia, as thousands of people flee the region's worst drought in 60 years. Prime Minister Raila Odinga said the Ifo II camp, which can fit up to 80,000 people, would open within 10 days. Announcing the move, Mr Odinga said: "Although we consider our own security, we can't turn away the refugees." Mr Odinga had earlier visited the nearby Dadaab refugee camp, where he said the situation was unacceptable. Aid workers say conditions at the camp - which is made up of three settlements - are desperate. About 370,000 people are crammed into an area set up for 90,000 people, they say. Government 'victim not accused' But the prime minister rejected criticism that Kenya should have opened Ifo II earlier. He said Kenya had lived with the refugee crisis for 20 years and had been asking the international community for help all that time. The international community is always very later in acting. So the Kenyan government is a victim, not the accused." "It's up to the UNHCR [United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees] to work on the modalities and how they can move into Ifo II," Mr Odinga said. The UNHCR had been urging Kenya to open the camp for the past two years but the government stopped work on it earlier this year, citing security concerns as one of the reasons. UNHCR chief Antonio Guterres on Monday held talks with Kenya's Internal Security Minister George Saitoti to appeal to him to open the camp. The BBC's Kevin Mwachiro says the announcement the camp will open could not come at a better time. He says more than 1,300 refugees are crossing into Kenya from war-torn Somalia every day. 'Security threat' On Wednesday, Kenya's Assistant Internal Security Minister Orwah Ojodeh told the BBC a new camp would not be a solution to the hunger crisis. Instead, food relief should be provided inside Somalia as hunger, not insecurity, was the reason most refugees were heading for Kenya, he said. But Immigration Minister Otieno Kajwang said he was embarrassed that the government was refusing open the Ifo II camp. This was despite the fact that the UN had given Kenya tens of thousands of dollars for the camp, he said. Mr Kajwang blamed the failure to open the camp on security chiefs and officials in President Mwai Kibaki's office. "The problem is that our provincial administration [officials based in Mr Kibaki's office] and our security officers look at the huge influx as a threat to national security," he said. Mark Bowden, the UN humanitarian affairs co-ordinator for Somalia, told the BBC that Somalia was not yet facing a famine, but was "close" to one. "The next few months are critical," he said. However, the WFP says it will not be able to return to areas controlled by the militant Islamist group al-Shabab unless it receives security guarantees. Last week al-Shabab said it was lifting its ban on foreign aid agencies, provided they did not show a "hidden agenda". Our reporter says there is clearly a desperate need for more food distribution in Somalia. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is reporting a dramatic rise in malnutrition rates even in the part of Somalia normally considered to be the breadbasket of the country, our reporter says. Somalia's Prime Minister Abdiweli Mohamed Ali told the BBC a refugee camp has opened in the capital, Mogadishu. The government had set aside money to help drought victims, but it had "meagre" resources. "We are appealing to the international community to take the matter seriously and to act quickly to save as many lives as we can," he told the BBC's Focus on Africa programme. Some 10 million people are said to be affected by the Horn of Africa's worst drought in 60 years. A spokeswoman for the U.N. Children's Fund has told VOA hat the agency flew five metric tons of aid into the town of Baidoa on Wednesday. The aid is meant for severely malnourished Somali children suffering the effects of a devastating drought in the Horn of Africa. By Andrew Hosken Today programme Desperate government officials in drought-stricken areas of Somalia are telling people to survive by eating leaves, as the drought situation worsens, hardy camels die and the announcement of a state of famine draws closer.
This time it has. Ms Brooks, 43, who had been with News International for 22 years, bowed to the international pressure piling up on the company. The family solicitor said Mr Murdoch was "humbled and very shaken" and offered a "full and sincere apology". Rebekah We can't gloat on this position but it's right, it's what should have happened." Therefore I have given Rupert and James Murdoch my resignation. As chief executive of the company, I feel a deep sense of responsibility for the people we have hurt and I want to reiterate how sorry I am for what we now know to have taken place. However my desire to remain on the bridge has made me a focal point of the debate. These tactics used by tabloid newspapers in the UK were done not only by News of the World but by other tabloid newspapers also. I would like to thank them both for their support. Her departure follows days of increasing pressure to step down as the phone hacking scandal grew. Her statement went on: "I have believed that the right and responsible action has been to lead us through the heat of the crisis. This is now detracting attention from all our honest endeavours to fix the problems of the past. "Tom is a highly respected and accomplished media executive who has served as CEO of Sky Italia since its launch in 2003," he added. I now need to concentrate on correcting the distortions and rebutting the allegations about my record as a journalist, an editor and executive. This despite calls for her to go from the leaders of all the main political parties, including the prime minister, David Cameron, and the family of murdered schoolgirl Milly Dowler, whose mobile phone was allegedly hacked by a private investigator working for the News of the World.
News International chief stops short of full apology, saying she no longer wants to be 'focal point of the debate' Rebekah Brooks, the News International chief executive, has resigned after 11 days of mounting political pressure over the phone-hacking scandal. Brooks announced her decision to News International staff in Wapping just before 10am on Friday, saying her resignation had been accepted by Rupert and James Murdoch. She said she no longer wanted to be a "focal point of the debate" surrounding the company's future and reputation. "As chief executive of the company, I feel a deep sense of responsibility for the people we have hurt and I want to reiterate how sorry I am for what we now know to have taken place," Brooks said in a statement. "I have believed that the right and responsible action has been to lead us through the heat of the crisis. However my desire to remain on the bridge has made me a focal point of the debate. Brooks praised Rupert and James Murdoch and said she leaves "with the happiest memories and an abundance of friends". It is not yet clear exactly why Brooks's resignation after 22 years at the company was accepted by the Murdochs, who had so far steadfastly stood by her during the crisis. This despite calls for her to go from the leaders of all the main political parties, including the prime minister, David Cameron, and the family of murdered schoolgirl Milly Dowler, whose mobile phone was allegedly hacked by a private investigator working for the News of the World. However, the last straw may have been Thursday night's Newsnight interview with News International parent company News Corporation's second largest shareholder, Saudi prince Al-Waleed bin Talal Alsaud, in which he said that if there was evidence of Brooks's "explicit" involvement in the alleged illegal activity, "for sure she has to go, you bet she has to go". "The reputation of the company we love so much, as well as the press freedoms we value so highly, are all at risk," she added. "My resignation makes it possible for me to have the freedom and the time to give my full co-operation to all the current and future inquiries, the police investigations and the CMS appearance. James Murdoch, who has management responsibility for News International as News Corp's deputy chief operating officer, said in a memo to Wapping staff that Brooks had been "one of the outstanding editors of her generation" who could be "proud of many accomplishments as an executive". Murdoch welcomed the appointment of Mockridge as Brooks's successor, saying he was "in London today and will start right away". "Tom is a highly respected and accomplished media executive who has served as CEO of Sky Italia since its launch in 2003," he added. "Tom, who has also been in charge of our European television business, started his career as a newspaper journalist in New Zealand and he has held a range of top roles in the newspaper industry." Murdoch also confirmed that News International would run full-page ads in the national press at the weekend apologising for the phone-hacking scandal, as reported by the Guardian on Thursday. We are also sending letters to our commercial partners with an update on the actions we are taking," he said. It is not only receiving appropriate scrutiny, but is also responding to unfair attacks by setting the record straight." Alsaud, known as the "Arab Warren Buffet" and the nephew of the Saudi king, also told Newsnight: "If the indications are that her involvement in this matter is explicit ... for sure she has to go, you bet she has to go. I will not tolerate to deal with a company that has a lady or a man that has any sliver of doubts on her or his integrity. Clearly some politicians in the UK and US right now would like to set the record clear and take revenge on Mr Murdoch's conglomerate that wasn't really on their side some time ago." Pressure has intensified on 43-year-old Brooks to stand down since the hacking scandal re-erupted following the Guardian's disclosure on 4 July that private investigator Glenn Mulcaire, working for the News of the World, allegedly hacked into Dowler's mobile phone between her disappearance and the discovery of her body in 2002. The public revulsion over the revelation and subsequent allegations that the families of British soldiers killed in Afghanistan and Iraq and the victims of the 7/7 terrorist attacks may have been targeted led to the decision last week by News Corporation to close the News of the World. She told News International staff that it was "inconceivable" that she knew about the hacking of Dowler's phone. Brooks also faced down the anger of News of the World staff in two separate meetings with them last week amid claims that their paper and their jobs were being sacrificed to save her. Until Friday morning's announcement, this support even appeared to withstand cross-party calls for her to step down. Cameron's official spokesman said today her resignation was "the right decision". The Labour leader, Ed Miliband, had described Brooks's ongoing employment at News International as an "insult" to the Dowler family. He wrote today on Twitter: "It is right that Rebekah Brooks has finally taken responsibility and resigned" and called on Rupert Murdoch to apologise to the Dowlers.
This has been accepted." Wallis, a former News of the World deputy editor, was arrested on July 14. -- Coulson resigns as Cameron's communications chief. January 2011 - British police open a new investigation into allegations of phone hacking at the tabloid. Assistant Commissioner Yates has been informed of this decision. His son James Murdoch also says he will appear. He said his conscience was clear and had "deep regret" over his resignation. Mr Johnson said it was right for both Sir Paul and Mr Yates to stand down. Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption John Yates on his resignation: 'My conscience is clear' Met Police Assistant Commissioner John Yates has quit after growing pressure amid the phone-hacking scandal. Wade tells a parliamentary committee her paper paid police for information. The complaints spark a police inquiry. She marries for a second time, becoming Rebekah Brooks. Hoare continued to speak to journalists with the Times and Guardian about the phone hacking until last week. July 13 - News Corp withdraws its bid for BSkyB. The referrals come from the Metropolitan Police Authority (MPA). The Star is not connected to News Corp. July 10 - Rupert Murdoch arrives in London. -- Coulson is arrested on suspicion of conspiring to intercept communications and suspicion of corruption. News International later says this is not company practice. Royal court officials complain about voicemail messages being intercepted. Goodman is jailed for four months, Mulcaire for six months. The prime minister is cutting short his trip to prepare for a statement to the Commons on Wednesday. They are released on bail.
A former reporter at the News of the World who was the first named journalist to allege a high-ranking editor was aware of phone hacking by staffers has been found dead, the Guardian reported Monday. Sean Hoare reportedly worked on the Sun and the News of the World with Andy Coulson before he was dismissed in 2005 for problems related to drinking and drugs. He was found dead Monday morning at his Watford home, according to the Guardian's report. Coulson, who most recently served as Prime Minister David Cameron's media chief, succeeded Rebekah Brooks as editor of the News of the World in 2003. Coulson resigned from his government post in January and was arrested earlier this month in the scandal. "The death is currently being treated as unexplained, but not thought to be suspicious," according to a police statement. "Police investigations into this incident are ongoing." The New York Times first reported Hoare's allegations in an article published Sept. 1, 2010. He told the newspaper that Coulson knew of the phone hacking and actively encouraged his staff to intercept the phone calls of celebrities. Coulson is one of 10 people arrested so far in the growing scandal that is putting increasing pressure on Cameron amid his own close ties to Rupert Murdoch's media empire. The Conservative leader on Monday cut short a trade mission to Africa and called an emergency session of Parliament for Wednesday so he can address lawmakers on the scandal. Cameron has said he thought at the time he hired Coulson, who quit because of the phone-hacking scandal, that the journalist deserved a second chance.Speaking at a news conference in South Africa, Cameron said the police investigation "must go wherever the evidence leads." Hoare, once a close friend of Coulson's, told The New York Times the two men first worked together at the Sun, where, Hoare said, he played taped recordings of hacked messages for Coulson, the Guardian report. Hoare continued to speak to journalists with the Times and Guardian about the phone hacking until last week. Here are the main events in the phone-hacking scandal leading to News Corp's Chairman Rupert Murdoch withdrawing his bid for British broadcaster BSkyB and closing the 168-year-old News of the World tabloid. 2000 - Rebekah Wade is appointed editor of Britain's best-selling Sunday tabloid, News of the World. Aged 32 and the youngest national newspaper editor in the country, she begins a campaign to name and shame suspected pedophiles, leading to some alleged offenders being terrorized by angry mobs. She also campaigns for public access to the Sex Offenders' Register, which eventually comes into law as "Sarah's Law." 2003 - Wade becomes editor of tabloid the Sun, sister paper to the News of the World and Britain's biggest selling daily. Wade tells a parliamentary committee her paper paid police for information. November 2005 - The News of the World publishes a story on a knee injury suffered by Prince William. January 2007 - News of the World royal affairs editor Clive Goodman and private investigator Glenn Mulcaire admit conspiring to intercept communications, Mulcaire also pleads guilty to five other charges of intercepting voicemail messages. -- News of the World editor Coulson resigns, saying he took "ultimate responsibility" but knew nothing of the offences in advance. May 2007 - Coulson becomes Conservative Party director of communications under party leader David Cameron. July 2009 - The Guardian newspaper says News of the World reporters, with the knowledge of senior staff, illegally accessed messages from the mobile phones of celebrities and politicians while Coulson was editor from 2003 to 2007. February 2010 - The House of Commons Culture, Media and Sports Committee says in a report that it is "inconceivable" managers did not know about the practice, and says it was more widespread than the paper had admitted. September 2010 - Legislators ask parliament's standards watchdog to begin a new investigation into the hacking allegations at News of the World and its former editor Coulson. January 2011 - British police open a new investigation into allegations of phone hacking at the tabloid. July 4 - A lawyer for the family of schoolgirl Milly Dowler, murdered in 2002, says he learned from police that her voicemail messages had been hacked, possibly by a News of the World investigator, while police were searching for her. Police later say they have also contacted the parents of two 10-year-old girls killed in the town of Soham in 2002. July 6 - PM Cameron says he is "revolted" by the allegations. -- UK's Daily Telegraph says News of the World hacked the phones of families of soldiers killed in Iraq and Afghanistan.
{* /registrationForm *} "Also, we are trying to get the railway line to be operational again." The ministry of railways said in a statement that the first four cars of the moving train and the last two of the stalled train derailed. The incident is the first derailment on China's high-speed rail network since the country launched bullet trains with a maximum speed of 155mph in 2007. Xinhua news agency said the unconscious child was found in a carriage by rescuers yesterday Sunday evening. Check your email for your verification email, or enter your email address in the form below to resend the email. Rescue mission Rescuers worked all night and into the morning pulling people - alive and dead - out of the trains. It was then hit from behind by the second train in Wenzhou city. TThree railway officials were fired after the crash and are subject to investigation, Xinhua quoted the ministry as saying. A flicker of good news broke earlier on Sunday when a four-year-old girl was pulled alive from the train wreck almost 21 hours after the accident had occurred. One carriage from the first train fell about 20 to 30 metres from an elevated section of track. Source: Al Jazeera and agencies Please confirm the information below before signing in. With your existing account from... {* loginWidget *} Your account has been deactivated. Pictures posted on the internet showed one badly damaged car lying on its side by the bridge and the second car leaning against the bridge after landing on its end. The speed was cut from the originally planned 217mph after questions were raised about safety.
A child was rescued 21 hours after a crash involving two high-speed trains in eastern China killed at least 35 people and injured more than 200 others, according to reports yesterday. Xinhua news agency said the unconscious child was found in a carriage by rescuers yesterday Sunday evening. "When we found him, he could still move his hands," Xinhua quoted an unnamed firefighter as saying. China Central Television initially reported that the child was a boy, but later said it was a four-year-old girl. The child was taken to hospital but no other details were provided. The accident occurred when a bullet train travelling south from the Zhejiang provincial capital, Hangzhou, on Saturday evening lost power after a lightning strike and stalled. The first four cars of the moving train fell about 30 metres from a viaduct to the ground below. The second train was travelling from Beijing and both trains were destined for Fuzhou in eastern Fujian province. An official surnamed Wang said it was unclear how long the first train had stopped on the track before being struck. State broadcaster CCTV said there were more than 900 passengers on the stalled train and more than 500 passengers on the train that hit it. TThree railway officials were fired after the crash and are subject to investigation, Xinhua quoted the ministry as saying. The incident is the first derailment on China's high-speed rail network since the country launched bullet trains with a maximum speed of 155mph in 2007. China plans to eexpand its bullet train network to link f far-flung regions, as well as highlight its rising wealth and technological prowess. Last month, China launched to great fanfare the Beijing-Shanghai high-speed line, where trains travel at a maximum speed of 186mph. Government fires three top railway officials, as rescue efforts continue in bid to find victims of high-speed crash. Excavators have worked through the night in a bid to find survivors from the high-speed train crash [Reuters] Three of China's senior railway officials have been sacked following a high-speed train crash that left 35 people dead, state media said. The Chinese government relieved the head of the Shanghai railway bureau, his deputy and the bureau's Communist Party chief of their responsibilities on Sunday, a day after the deadly crash, in which a high-speed train smashed into a stalled train and derailed. The three will "also be subject to investigation", China's railways ministry said in a statement on its website. "As leaders ... they should take ultimate responsibility for the main cause of the accident," railways ministry spokesman Wang Yongping told reporters. The accident, which occurred on Saturday in eastern China, has raised questions about the safety of the country's fast-growing rail network. "There's been a lot of talk in the country, a lot of suspicion in China about the bullet trains and in many ways this actually really confirms a lot of people's suspicions about the safety and the technology and whether China is really ready to adopt this technology," Al Jazeera's Melissa Chan, reporting from the site of the accident in Wenzhou, said. The first train was travelling from the Zhejiang provincial capital of Hangzhou; it struck the other train - which had been stalled after being struck by lightning - in Wenzhou city. Pictures posted on the internet showed one badly damaged car lying on its side by the bridge and the second car leaning against the bridge after landing on its end. Vice Premier Zhang Dejiang, visiting the scene, "pledged that the investigators will find out the cause of the accident and those responsible will be seriously punished according to the law", the official Xinhua news agency reported. Rescue mission Rescuers worked all night and into the morning pulling people - alive and dead - out of the trains. While the exact number of passengers is unknown, almost 200 people have been hospitalised - 12 in critical condition. A flicker of good news broke earlier on Sunday when a four-year-old girl was pulled alive from the train wreck almost 21 hours after the accident had occurred. First generation trains The trains involved are "D" trains, the first generation bullet train with an average speed of about 150km per hour but not as fast as the new Beijing-Shanghai line. Xinhua said the train hit by lightning was "D3115", and that the ministry of railways confirmed that it was hit from behind by train "D301". Official plans call for China's bullet train network to expand to 13,000km of track this year and 16,000km by 2020.
I will," Bachmann said in a statement. "Is this the deal I would have preferred?" Under the plan, announced by Barack Obama late on Sunday, the US debt ceiling will be raised by about $2.4tn, in two stages. It's still likely to be a tough sell. The Senate will likely vote first as party leaders in the House try to corral the necessary votes. The US government deficit will be cut by a similar amount over 10 years, and a special bipartisan committee will also be set up to agree spending cuts. "I know this agreement won't make every Republican happy. Markets volatile, and AAA rating under threat Many economists believe that America could soon lose its triple-A credit rating, despite a deal being agreed. Democrats and Republicans in Washington have been deadlocked over finding a way to cut spending and raise the debt limit as the Tuesday deadline approached. The Democratic leader in the House, Nancy Pelosi, has already warned that some congressional members in her party may be unwilling to support the deal. Mr. Obama asked during his remarks. The agreement now awaits approval by Congress, which could happen as early as Monday. Throughout this process the President has failed to lead and failed to provide a plan. And the American people demanded compromise this week." "I want to announce that the leaders of both parties in both chambers have reached an agreement that will reduce the deficit and avoid default, a default that would have had a devastating effect on our economy," Mr Obama said. The Japanese Nikkei was up more than 2% at one stage, closing up 1.34% at 9,965 having broken through the 10,000 barrier earlier.
America has moved away from the brink of a catastrophic default after a deal was reached overnight to raise its debt ceiling. Stock markets around the world briefly rallied on Monday, in relief that the world's largest economy would probably avoid running out of cash this week. But the agreement, which includes around $2.5tn (£1.5tn) of spending cuts over the next decade, has been criticised on both sides of the political divide, and will probably not save America's triple-A credit rating. There is also concern that the deal could still fail to be approved by Congress, which is due to vote on the package on Monday night. Some liberals are angry that the plan, which has been hailed as a triumph for the Tea Party movement, relies on spending reductions rather than tax rises to reduce the US budget deficit. The Democratic leader in the House, Nancy Pelosi, has already warned that some congressional members in her party may be unwilling to support the deal. Under the plan, announced by Barack Obama late on Sunday, the US debt ceiling will be raised by about $2.4tn, in two stages. "This process has been messy and taken too long," said Obama, who also admitted that the weeks of frustratingly slow negotiations in Washington had not delivered the deal he wanted. "This compromise does make a serious downpayment on the deficit reduction we need, and gives each party a strong incentive to get a balanced plan done before the end of the year," Obama said. The Democratic leader in the Senate, Harry Reid, and his Republican counterpart, Mitch McConnell, both indicated they were optimistic that Congress will approve the deal. McConnell, who will meet with Republican senators on Monday, said: "We can assure the American people ... that the United States of America will not for the first time in our history default on its obligations." However, a fact sheet issued by the White House showed that spending would be capped by $900bn over the next 10 years. A bipartisan committee will then be established to agree a further $1.5tn of deficit-reduction measures, which could include tax rises. If this committee cannot agree a deal, then an "enforcement mechanism" will trigger around $1.3tn of spending reductions beginning in 2013. "The deal itself, given the available information, is a disaster, and not just for President Obama and his party. It will damage an already depressed economy; it will probably make America's long-term deficit problem worse, not better; and most important, by demonstrating that raw extortion works and carries no political cost, it will take America a long way down the road to banana republic status." Standard & Poor's, the rating agency, recently said that a credible fiscal plan would need to include $4tn of deficit-reduction measures. "Avoiding the worst case scenario of a default on US Treasury obligations will not prevent a downgrade of the triple-A sovereign rating," said Kevin Daly, emerging market debt portfolio manager at Aberdeen Asset Management. "So it's time for us all to figure out just what it means when the US gets downgraded." Stuart Gulliver, chief executive of HSBC, said the progress made over the US debt ceiling was "very welcome", but also warned that America could have its credit rating cut. The Dow Jones index gained 100 points, but then swiftly fell to a 100-point loss after the publication of weak US manufacturing data for July. In London, the FTSE 100 had rallied by almost 1.5%, jumping 83 points to 5898, as traders welcomed the news that the US would probably not run out of cash. Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Barack Obama: "There is still a lot of work to do" President Barack Obama says Republican and Democratic leaders have struck a deal to raise the US debt limit. Under the proposal, which is set for debate and votes in Congress on Monday, the US debt ceiling would rise by up to $2.4tn from the current $14.3tn. The US government deficit will be cut by a similar amount over 10 years, and a special bipartisan committee will also be set up to agree spending cuts. Speaking on Sunday night, the US president said it was not the deal he would have preferred, but noted that the compromise plan would make a "serious downpayment" on the US deficit. America's credit rating may still be downgraded, but it now looks more likely that the world's most powerful economy will be spared the humiliation of not being able to pay its bills on Tuesday. "We welcome the US debt deal and hopefully this will stabilise markets," Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano said. 'Not the greatest deal' Republican House leader John Boehner said he hoped to hold Congressional votes on the plan "as soon as possible". The proposed deal calls for: •At least $2.4tn deficit reduction over 10 years •New Congressional committee to recommend a deficit-reduction proposal by November Image caption The focus now shifts back to Congress with votes expected on Monday •A two-stage increase in the debt ceiling.
He was very, very intelligent, very smart. "The police are here to take charge and are doing their job," he said. There was looting in Birmingham city centre, Wolverhampton and West Bromwich on Tuesday night. Three men were taken to hospital where they subsequently died from their injuries. West Midlands Ambulance Service confirmed that the victims had been in collision with a car and that crews of paramedics found around 80 people at the scene of the incident when then arrived. The community is in shock. Witnesses said the men were protecting property in the Winson Green area when it happened at about 01:00 BST. “You can't explain losing a son. Police have arrested a 32-year-old man who is being questioned on suspicion of murder following the deaths. Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Tariq Jahan: "My instinct was to help the three people who had been injured. In Birmingham, some shops were attacked and a car was set alight in Moor Street. “The incident occurred just after 1am in Dudley Road. The 19 people have been charged for various offences including burglary, theft and violent disorder. “They weren't standing outside a mosque, a temple, a synagogue or a church - they were standing outside shops where everybody goes. Officers have appealed for witnesses or anyone with information to come forward. Several more roads in West Bromwich were also shut and two cars were set on fire. Locals said the victims, who were aged between 20 and 31, were part of a group who had gathered to protect local shops used by all sections of the community.
Image caption Haroon Jahan, Shahzad Ali and Abdul Musavir were protecting property, residents say Three men have been run over and killed as they protected property in a second night of violence in Birmingham. The men aged 31, 30 and 21 were hit by a car in Winson Green. They were taken to City Hospital where about 200 people from the Asian community gathered. Witnesses said the men were in a group protecting their community after riot police were called into the city. Police have arrested a 32-year-old man who is being questioned on suspicion of murder following the deaths. Haroon Jahan, 21, Shahzad Ali, 30, and Abdul Musavir, 31, were taken to hospital but died from their injuries. West Midlands Police Chief Constable Chris Sims said the incident happened when a group of males had been gathered close to a petrol station in Dudley Road. "At some point, and in circumstances that as yet I can't fully explain, a vehicle has been driven into that group of males, which tragically has led to three of those men losing their lives," he said. 'Covered in blood' Referring to the arrest he said: "He has been arrested for murder because the information that we have at the moment would support the idea the car was deliberately driven." Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Tariq Jahan: "My instinct was to help the three people who had been injured. Prime Minister David Cameron called it a "truly dreadful incident" and offered his condolences to the men's families. "My instinct was to help the three people, I did not know who they were but they had been injured. "So I started CPR on my own son, my face was covered in blood, my hands were covered in blood. He said his son, who was a mechanic, had been trying to protect the community as incidents were taking place elsewhere in the area. "I've got no words to describe why he was taken and why this has happened and what's happening to the whole of England. "It makes no sense why people are behaving in this way and taking the lives of three innocent people." Witnesses to the incident said the three victims - two of them brothers - were part of a group protecting shops from looting. Mohammed Shakiel, 34, a carpenter, said the men "lost their lives for other people". 'Car came flying' "They weren't standing outside a mosque, a temple, a synagogue or a church - they were standing outside shops where everybody goes. "They were protecting the community as a whole." Image caption The road in Winson Green has been closed off to collect evidence West Midlands Police said: "Three men have died following a road collision in the Winson Green area of Birmingham which detectives are treating as murder. "Three men were taken to hospital where two later died from their injuries. "West Midlands Police have launched a murder inquiry, arrested one man in connection with the incident and recovered a vehicle nearby which will be examined by forensics experts." "At these difficult times, people across all our communities must trust the police to protect them," he said. 'Mix of voices' Residents called for police to protect them and Ms Mahmood said it was important people did not take matters into their own hands. Speaking after the meeting, she said the families of the young men were "absolutely devastated". "We must not allow anyone to panic - we should give the community some space to grieve." She also said the police should be given space to carry out their inquiries and appealed for calm. "The police are here to take charge and are doing their job," he said. "I would appeal to all to please remain calm - we must cease the violence and please do not turn this into something that it is not. Image caption About 200 people from Birmingham's Asian community gathered outside City Hospital "This is an accident, by the sounds of it - we certainly haven't got any more information more than that but we must remain calm and wait for the investigation to be concluded."
First, Gov. Who Is Rick Perry? Texas Gov. Perry also serves as the president of the Republican Governor's Association. Most recently, he created confusion when he said he supports gay marriage laws though he opposes gay marriage. In his book "Fed Up!" He’s been deriding Perry’s comments at campaign stops. Perry supported Al Gore's presidential bid in 1988 and even spearheaded his election efforts in the state of Texas. Authors: “Sometimes you’re better off being lucky than good,” one Santorum adviser told POLITICO. Rick Perry is appearing before a conservative bloggers’ convention in South Carolina, then he immediately flies to New Hampshire for an event in a GOP activist’s home. The next day he comes to Iowa, completing the trifecta of earliest-nominating states. You need both Christian conservatives and a significant appeal to the business community.” Still, someone who has been at the top of Texas politics as long as Perry has – 10-and-a-half years – will have a thing or two to answer for when he hits the national stage. Ditto party activists. Perry spearheaded efforts for the Response, a day of prayer and fasting in Houston this past weekend, which drew 30,000 people. That’s the measure of Republican voters with a strong favorable opinion of him minus those with a strongly unfavorable opinion. “Perry saying what he did opened the window of opportunity. And the fact that he’s going to go out there and maybe announce ... means two things: It means he sees the opening and it means he’s got the money.” Senator Hutchison challenged Perry for the governorship last year in the GOP primary, and lost by more than 20 points.
Texas Gov. His appeal to Christian conservatives and the business community position him as a strong, if late, challenger. Rick Perry gives a closing address at The Response, a day of public prayer and fasting at Houston's Reliant Stadium that drew roughly 30,000 people, on Aug. 6. Perry attended the daylong prayer rally despite criticism that the event inappropriately mixes religion and politics. The Texas governor has already made clear, via leaks from aides to the media, that he will effectively announce his intention to run for president Saturday. Rick Perry is appearing before a conservative bloggers’ convention in South Carolina, then he immediately flies to New Hampshire for an event in a GOP activist’s home. The next day he comes to Iowa, completing the trifecta of earliest-nominating states. But there’s more to running for president than throwing your (10-gallon) hat in the ring. Governor Perry has made serious headway on those fronts, and the response has been positive, Republican insiders say. And even if he’s a bit behind the already-declared candidates in fund-raising and in setting up field operations in the early states, they expect Perry will catch up. “It sounds like [Perry’s advisers] have done a lot of ground work, such that they can turn a switch on,” says Chip Felkel, a Republican strategist based in Greenville, S.C. "I don’t think they’d make the announcement if they hadn’t.” Furthermore, he says, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney is an unusually weak front-runner for a party that usually goes into an election cycle with a fair idea of who will win the nomination. And many GOP primary voters remain undecided or willing to change horses. “I think Perry will appeal to those people.” Part of Perry’s strength is that he combines long executive experience with a strong job-creation record as governor of a big state – something none of the declared candidates have. The charismatic Perry also appeals to tea party activists and to religious conservatives, who could watch his open expressions of faith at his big Houston prayer rally last weekend and feel at home. Even if moderates were left uneasy by the Houston event, the party’s energy is in its conservative wing. Perry risks insulting Iowa Republicans by deflecting attention away from Saturday’s straw poll in Ames – the first big test of much of the Republican field, which is being rendered less relevant by Perry’s decision not to enter the race in time to compete there. “The one thing about Perry is, he’s someone who does his homework before he enters a race,” says Mr. O’Connell, chairman of Civic Forum PAC. And the fact that he’s going to go out there and maybe announce ... means two things: It means he sees the opening and it means he’s got the money.” Senator Hutchison challenged Perry for the governorship last year in the GOP primary, and lost by more than 20 points. Still, someone who has been at the top of Texas politics as long as Perry has – 10-and-a-half years – will have a thing or two to answer for when he hits the national stage. There’s his suggestion two years ago that he was open to the idea of Texas seceding from the union. Just recently, he said he supports the right of states to allow gay marriage, then expressed support for a constitutional amendment to ban it. He’s also stepping into a fully engaged race, with the media glare shining bright and little chance to stumble without making headlines. That’s the measure of Republican voters with a strong favorable opinion of him minus those with a strongly unfavorable opinion. The figure is calculated based only on GOP voters who know who he is – and for now, his name ID is in the 55 percent range. In South Carolina, whose early 2012 primary will come right after Iowa and New Hampshire, political scientist Jim Guth doesn’t see much Perry organization yet, but if he does run, he’ll have a ready-made audience. Rick Perry is set to make his presidential intentions known this weekend, shaking up the Republican field with a sweeping tour through the all important early-state trifecta in two days: South Carolina, New Hampshire and Iowa. He'll then give a speech in which he likely plans to make it clear that he's pursuing a presidential bid at the RedState Gathering, a conference for conservative bloggers. Perry, 61, has reached out to Republican operatives, officials and donors across the country in the past few weeks as he entered the final decision phase for a presidential bid. The governor claims that Texas accounts for nearly half of all jobs created in the past decade, a boost Americans would like to see nationwide. While unemployment in Texas remains high at 8.2 percent, his state has accounted for 37 percent of all new U.S. jobs since the recession. About 32,000 new jobs were created in the Lone Star state in the month of June alone, adding to the total 220,000 jobs Texas has created in the past year, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
We haven't got the heart for that over here," he said. But some police described Mr Bratton's appointment as a "slap in the face". What they did is they locked people up. Osborne said throwing money at the issue was not the answer and the government would press on with deep cuts to the numbers of police, who have been criticised by Cameron for their handling of the riots. "The Americans didn't cure the social problems in New York. They needed a local crime tax to pay for that. "You can't arrest your way out of the problem," he told U.S. broadcaster ABC on Saturday. Labour leader Ed Miliband has called on the prime minister to reconsider cuts to police budgets in the light of recent riots in England. "There are communities that have just been left behind by the rest of the country. Analysis Bill Bratton is not a complete outsider to British policing. He said he would share his experience of combining tough tactics with community outreach to reduce US gang violence in a bid to prevent recurrences of the violence in the UK. Former Scotland Yard Commander John O'Connor was also sceptical. In London, flooding the streets has only been possible as a temporary measure. * Osborne says UK needs to tackle deep-seated problems * Cameron to get advice from U.S. gang expert * Britons unhappy with PM's response to riots (Adds victim's father quote, screens showing suspects at soccer matches) By Avril Ormsby LONDON, Aug 13 Britain needs to tackle deep-seated social problems following riots and looting in English cities this week, the centre-right government said on Saturday, and a U.S. street crime expert it has brought in said arrests alone would not solve the problem.
Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Bill Bratton: "My assignment is to focus on the American experience dealing with gangs" Communities cannot "arrest their way out" of gang crime, the prime minister's new crime adviser, US "supercop" Bill Bratton, has warned. The former New York police chief meets David Cameron next month to discuss violence in English cities and says the issue is for society as a whole. But some police described Mr Bratton's appointment as a "slap in the face". "There is anger, there is disappointment, a degree of incredulity as well," Mr Hanson told ITV News in excerpts to be aired on Saturday. "The police leadership has also stepped forward in support of their officers and the service and now to be given this slap in the face by the prime minister and told that he wants to bring in Bill Bratton to cure all policing ills." Image caption Bill Bratton (left) is credited for cutting crime after the 1992 LA riots Extra police numbers will be maintained on city streets through the weekend. But the Chancellor, George Osborne, dismissed calls to reverse cuts to police budgets. He welcomed the advice from Mr Bratton, saying that he would help tackle the "deep-seated social problems" behind the riots. Mr Bratton, who is also credited with restoring law and order in Los Angeles after the riots there in 1992, told US broadcaster ABC: "You can't arrest your way out of the problem. "Arrest is certainly appropriate for the most violent, the incorrigible, but so much of it can be addressed in other ways and it's not just a police issue, it is in fact a societal issue." His initial success in New York relied on big increases in resources - recruiting 5,000 new better trained officers. They needed a local crime tax to pay for that. In Los Angeles he worked on smaller budgets, specifically tackling gangs, using Big Society ideas of local areas taking responsibility for fighting crime in their neighbourhoods. He's talked of using escalating force - rubber bullets, water cannon, tasers - something David Cameron has also been talking about. It's a bit of a slap in the face for some of Britain's top police. Accepting that the necessary changes would not be easy, he added: "Part of what the government is going to do is to take a look at what worked and what didn't work during the course of the last week." He said he would share his experience of combining tough tactics with community outreach to reduce US gang violence in a bid to prevent recurrences of the violence in the UK. 'Different culture' Downing Street said Mr Bratton would not be a long-term, paid consultant and would not be formally appointed to any UK police force. The gang culture's different," he said. "The Americans didn't cure the social problems in New York. * Osborne says UK needs to tackle deep-seated problems * Cameron to get advice from U.S. gang expert * Britons unhappy with PM's response to riots (Adds victim's father quote, screens showing suspects at soccer matches) By Avril Ormsby LONDON, Aug 13 Britain needs to tackle deep-seated social problems following riots and looting in English cities this week, the centre-right government said on Saturday, and a U.S. street crime expert it has brought in said arrests alone would not solve the problem. Osborne said throwing money at the issue was not the answer and the government would press on with deep cuts to the numbers of police, who have been criticised by Cameron for their handling of the riots. The Conservative mayor of London, Boris Johnson, has said the riots, which broke out a week ago after a demonstration against the police shooting of a suspect, weakened the case for those cuts. Cameron has said political and economic grievances had little to do with days of looting and violence which followed in which five people were killed, calling it "criminality pure and simple" and saying gang violence lay at its heart. "Arrest is certainly appropriate for the most violent, the incorrigible, but so much of it can be addressed in other ways and it's not just a police issue, it is in fact a societal issue." British police flooded the streets again to ensure weekend drinking does not reignite the rioting that shocked Britons and sullied the country's image a year before it hosts the Olympic Games. THANKS Tariq Jahan, whose 21-year-old son was one of three men who died in an apparent hit-and-run incident in Birmingham on Wednesday, told reporters he was "humbled" by the letters of support from people around the world. Most offenders are unemployed young men, though they have included a millionaire's daughter, a charity worker, a journalism student and a soldier. The scale and ferocity of the rioting, not only in inner-city areas but also in some middle-class suburbs, has generated a debate with starkly different views, with many people saying the police should have been tougher. The former leader of one of London's most feared street gangs said the riots were not the brainchild of gang leaders but, in many cases, the result of a build-up of frustration among young people growing up on grim housing estates with little hope. "The fire's there, secured in a room, locked away and then someone's opened the door and it's spread through the house," Elijah Kerr, who transformed his gang into an organisation helping young people, told Reuters in an interview.
But then, mysteriously, a few days later, the modified cells are gone. The National Cancer Institute has more on leukemia. Three's better than one, but it's not 100." Two of the patients went into complete remission. For the study - published in the "New England Journal of Medicine" and "Science Translational Medicine" - scientists took blood from three patients with very advanced cases of chronic lymphocytic leukemia and genetically altered it in a lab. And there may be more good news about this form of gene therapy as early as next week. How is he now? Carl June and other researchers at the University of Pennsylvania took blood from the three patients and isolated a kind of immune cell in the blood called a T-cell. Although he wrote that he didn't feel that way when he was first diagnosed 15 years ago at age 50. "I'm healthy and still in remission," the man said. Treatment for leukemia is difficult because bone marrow transplants are the best bet for survival. Most of the side effects resolved themselves within a matter of weeks. That means if the leukemia cells should reappear, the modified T-cells will be there to destroy them — all this without any chemotherapy. “Only with the more widespread clinical use,” wrote the editorialists, Dr. Walter Urba and Dr. Dan L. Longo, “will we learn whether the results reported… reflect an authentic advance toward a clinically applicable and effective therapy or yet another promising lead that runs into a barrier that cannot be easily overcome.” They want the therapeutic gene to stick around. "We were surprised it worked as well as it did."
AP (CBS/AP) A new leukemia treatment has experts buzzing over a possible cure that may one day change cancer treatment forever. According to experts, the treatment is a gene therapy that turns a patient's own blood cells into assassins that tracks down and destroys cancer cells. They've only tested it in three patients so far, but the results were noteworthy. Two patients appear cancer-free a year after treatment, and the third patient still has some cancer but is improved. "It worked great," said study author Dr. Carl June, professor of pathology and laboratory medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. Currently, the only hope for a cure is bone marrow or stem cell transplants, which don't always work and can be fatal. Scientists have been trying for years to find ways to boost the immune system's cancer-fighting ability. Earlier attempts at genetically modifying T-cells, our "bloodstream soldiers," have had limited success -the modified cells didn't reproduce well and quickly vanished. June and his colleagues used a new technique to deliver the new genes into the T-cells with a signal that tells the cells to kill and multiply. That resulted in armies of "serial killer" cells that targeted and destroyed cancer cells, even new cancer cells as they emerged. T-cells typically attack viruses that way, but June says this is the first time it's been done against cancer. For the study - published in the "New England Journal of Medicine" and "Science Translational Medicine" - scientists took blood from three patients with very advanced cases of chronic lymphocytic leukemia and genetically altered it in a lab. Then the scientists returned the blood cells to the patients in three infusions. He and the other two patients were hit with this condition that occurs when a lot of cancer cells die at the same time - a sign that the gene therapy is working. "But after that, it's over - they're well." The main complication from the therapy seems to be that it also destroys some other infection-fighting blood cells, requiring additional monthly treatments for the patients. Scientists now want to test the gene therapy technique in leukemia-related cancers, as well as pancreatic and ovarian cancer, June said. Other institutions are looking at prostate and brain cancer. "This is a form of what I would call ultimate personal therapy," June told CBS News' Dr. Jon LaPook. Dr. Walter J. Urba, director of cancer research at the Providence Cancer Center in Portland, Ore., called the findings "pretty remarkable" but was cautiously optimistic because of the study's size. "It's still just three patients," said Urba, one of the authors of an accompanying editorial in the New England Journal. The man who did not want to be identified, himself a scientist, said he's "very lucky." Although he wrote that he didn't feel that way when he was first diagnosed 15 years ago at age 50. "I'm healthy and still in remission," the man said. More than 44,000 Americans are diagnosed with leukemia each year while nearly 22,000 succumb to the disease. A step toward a new possible treatment for leukemia, one that uses patients’ own immune cells to target and destroy cancer is getting a lot of media attention. A year after the therapy, two of the patients had complete remission of leukemia and one had a partial response to the therapy (meaning the patient still has cancer, but a less severe case). Published Wednesday in both the New England Journal of Medicine and Science Translational Medicine, researchers reported that they had been able to engineer the patients’ own white blood cells into “serial killers” to destroy the cancer cells. The research team from the University of Pennsylvania's Abramson Cancer Center and Perelman School of Medicine extracted white blood cells from the patients and genetically reprogrammed them to attack tumor cells. They programmed the T cells, which are a blood cell type that protects the body from infection, to bind to a protein that is expressed in chronic lymphocytic leukemia tumor cells. "Within three weeks, the tumors had been blown away, in a way that was much more violent than we ever expected," said Dr. Carl June, senior author of the study, in a university press release. One of the trial participants wrote in a first-person essay, "I'm healthy and still in remission.
"Wang Lihong cared for me in the past, so I should come today," Ms Liu said, "She is a good person, very warm-hearted. The activist was detained in March. You can't take him! Despite a heavy police presence, dozens of people turned up at the 56-year-old's hearing to show their support. One of those outside the Beijing courthouse for the trial was Zhao Lianhai, who campaigns for families whose children were poisoned by tainted milk powder. Short trials like this are not unusual in China. Officially Mrs Wang's charges relate to allegations that she participated in a similar, but larger, demonstration outside a court in the southern city of Fuzhou in April 2010 where three fellow bloggers were on trial for 'slandering' Chinese government officials. Mr Han said he expected a verdict in the next few weeks, but he was not hopeful of an acquittal. The maximum sentence for this crime is five years. Scores of activists, lawyers and campaigners have been targeted by the authorities over recent months. He added that the fact that Wang Lihong was not arrested until February this year – almost 12 months after the disturbance in Fuzhou – was a clear sign that the case was politically motivated. 'Cut short' Wang Lihong pleaded not guilty in a trial that lasted just a few hours. Han said the trial was not fair because the judge interrupted both him and Wang as they tried to present her defense and because they were assigned a courtroom too small to accommodate observers. These came after political upheaval in the Middle East and North Africa. A second lawyer was allowed to speak without interruption, he said.
BEIJING - A Chinese activist known for pushing legal issues and backing a jailed Nobel peace laureate went on trial yesterday on a vaguely worded charge, reinforcing Beijing’s sweeping crackdown on dissent. Wang Lihong, 56, pleaded not guilty to the charge of “creating a disturbance’’ stemming from her participation in a demonstration outside a court in Fuzhou city in southern China in April 2010. The gathering was in support of three bloggers accused of slander after they tried to help an illiterate woman pressure authorities to reinvestigate her daughter’s death. One of Wang’s lawyers, Han Yicun, said the trial lasted 2 1/2 hours and that a verdict was expected later this month. If convicted, she faces up to five years in jail. Han said the trial was not fair because the judge interrupted both him and Wang as they tried to present her defense and because they were assigned a courtroom too small to accommodate observers. A second lawyer was allowed to speak without interruption, he said. Wang was detained by Beijing police in late March. Wang Lihong, a 55-year-old woman doctor who is one of a surging number of bloggers using the internet to draw attention to the lack of basic civil rights in China, pleaded not guilty to a catch-all charge of "creating a disturbance" which carries a maximum penalty of five years in jail. A group of at least 40 friends, supporters and fellow-activists gathered outside the court in west Beijing to chant slogans – 'Wang Lihong come home!' – watched over by large numbers of police, many carrying video cameras. Officially Mrs Wang's charges relate to allegations that she participated in a similar, but larger, demonstration outside a court in the southern city of Fuzhou in April 2010 where three fellow bloggers were on trial for 'slandering' Chinese government officials. Unofficially, say activists, Mrs Wang is one of dozens of activists that the Chinese government has moved to silence following the so-called Jasmine revolutions earlier this year, with dozens of lawyers, bloggers, activists and artists, including Ai Weiwei, detained. Mr Ai, who was released after 80 days in custody last June, was among those calling attention to Mrs Wang's case, despite the risk that he might himself be returned to custody from breach bail conditions. "If you don't speak out for Wang Lihong, you are not just a person who will not stand up for fairness and justice, you do not have self-respect," Ai wrote this week in post on his Twitter account. Foreign and Chinese journalists and an eight-man delegation of foreign diplomats were all barred from entering the courtroom to listen to proceedings which Mrs Wang's lawyers said afterwards had lasted for more than two hours. Mrs Wang, who was vocal in support of Liu Xiabo, the 2010 Nobel peace laureate who was jailed for 11-years for writing the Charter 08 pro-democracy petition, tried to address the court but was swiftly overruled by the judge. "At the beginning, she said this is the 100th anniversary of 1911 Revolution [that overthrew the Qing Dynasty], as a citizen, we have the responsibility to concern about the society," a source who was inside the court told *The Telegraph*, "But the judge stopped her and asked her to talk only about this case." After the hearing, Mrs Wang's lawyer, Han Yicun, said the trial had been "unfair", with the evidence handed to prosecutors in a package, making it impossible for the defence to dispute the evidence item-by-item. "I was interrupted many times, the judge did not allow me to talk, no matter how I tried to explain," the lawyer said, "We hope she will be acquitted, but the chances seem next to zero." He added that the fact that Wang Lihong was not arrested until February this year – almost 12 months after the disturbance in Fuzhou – was a clear sign that the case was politically motivated. Among the crowd outside the court was Zhao Lianhai, a former government food safety official who became an activist after his son was sickened during the toxic milk scandal of 2008 that left 300,000 children ill when the industrial chemical melamine was found added to baby milk formula. Mr Zhao, who campaigned for information and compensation for milk scandal victims, was briefly jailed last year on similar 'disturbance charges' and then released on 'medical parole' after his case caused uproar among a sympathetic public, forcing the government to compromise. "I left home at about 4:00am, when everybody was asleep. I crept out without making any noise," said Mr Zhao, who remains under close surveillance, "Wang Lihong is a good citizen. We don't want to fall into the situation of Libya or Syria, but if they [the authorities] continue cracking down, some people may become irrational and go to extreme." As he was speaking, two men in plain-clothes with slick-backed hair moved in on Mr Zhao who was immediately surrounded by a defensive ring of supporters, linking arms. "This is the status quo of China today," Mr Zhao said after the men had retreated, "That guy [pointing] is guobao [secret police], he often stays under the building where I live. Other bystanders included ordinary people who had no direct connection to Wang Lihong, but had followed her online and were practicing what they said was "onlooker" or "bystander" activism: making their support for Wang Lihong known simply by their presence. Liu Wei, a lawyer who was deprived of her licence to practice last year because she had defended members of the Falun Gong, a quasi-Buddhist religious group that Beijing has banned, labelling it an "evil cult", said she felt obliged to risk attending. Image caption Wang Lihong (L) faces up to five years in jail if she is found guilty A Chinese activist has gone on trial in Beijing in what appears to be part of a continuing crack down on dissent. Despite a heavy police presence, dozens of people turned up at the 56-year-old's hearing to show their support. One of those outside the Beijing courthouse for the trial was Zhao Lianhai, who campaigns for families whose children were poisoned by tainted milk powder.
did. If they want to pass polygamy, fine, sterilization, fine. “I am very happy for Rick Santorum. Bachmann wins Iowa straw poll as Perry looms Former Minnesota Gov. He also got less than half the votes Rep. Ron Paul (R-Tex.) Tim Pawlenty announced today his departure from the presidential race. Also, Rep, Thad McCotter's campaign paid $18,000 for a campaign space here in Ames. And as a write-in Rick Perry beat Mitt Romney, who was on the ballot, which can't have pleased Romney's supporters. He predicted that Iowans would warm to Perry as the true conservative "who can win.... Bachmann planned to appear on the five major network Sunday morning talk shows as part of a blitz to capitalize on the win—and perhaps a tactic to thwart Perry’s momentum. As an aside, I wonder what all those people are thinking who in 2008 said, “If only John McCain chose Pawlenty as VP!” His record was solid; his persona and retail politicial skills were insufficient. He is a good friend and a principled leader.” There are other social conservatives who may feel the same way, and now not worry that a donation or volunteer effort would be “wasted” on Santorum. Still, in spite of Bachmann’s victory, the poll came on the day that Texas Gov. He threw punch after punch at Bachmann, none landed. He’s in deep trouble. He now has new life. --James Oliphant It becomes an issue of pragmatism." As a result, the Texan's supporters gathered via word of mouth and Facebook at the tent headquarters of Strong America Now, an organization founded in part by Dallas entrepreneur Mike George.
Tim Pawlenty announced today his departure from the presidential race. In the Ames Straw Poll, Pawlenty went all in. He spent a fortune (maybe a million dollars). He received 2,293 votes, less than half the votes Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) did. He also got less than half the votes Rep. Ron Paul (R-Tex.) He threw punch after punch at Bachmann, none landed. As an aside, I wonder what all those people are thinking who in 2008 said, “If only John McCain chose Pawlenty as VP!” His record was solid; his persona and retail politicial skills were insufficient. His campaign, as those caught in a death spiral often are, became increasingly dysfunctional. His departure leaves Mitt Romney with no real challenger for moderate and centrist Republicans. Rick Santorum only raised $582,348 in the second quarter. As of late July, records obtained by Right Turn indicate he spent $19,000 on media buys in Iowa. Penny Nance, head of Concerned Women for America, wasn’t surprised by Bachmann’s Ames win, but she had praise for Santorum. He is a good friend and a principled leader.” There are other social conservatives who may feel the same way, and now not worry that a donation or volunteer effort would be “wasted” on Santorum. Santorum remains the longest of long shots to win Iowa (let alone the nomination), but a race without Pawlenty and with a well-funded Santorum would change the complexion of the campaign. He’s every bit as conservative as she and also has been a lawmaker. He, therefore, has more credibility in challenging her on her “no” votes (on the budget, on the debt-ceiling, etc.). In his confrontation with Rep. Ron Paul (R- Tex. ), Santorum also showed his flair in knocking down 10th Amendment-philes. Santorum said on Thursday night: “We have Ron Paul saying, what the states, whatever they want to do on the 10th Amendment is fine. If they want to pass polygamy, fine, sterilization, fine. No, our country is based on moral laws.” (Well aside from “moral laws,” there are Constitutional rights on which the states cannot infringe and there are plenty of areas in which the federal government does exercise authority.) Rick Perry a run for his money, should Perry intend to press his 10th Amendment arguments. Santorum is also extremely tough on foreign policy issues, and with the benefit of Senate experience, has some detailed knowledge at his finger tips. That, too, can pose a challenge to the other candidates less well-versed and less tough on national security. Pawlenty’s departure and Santorum’s ascension won’t be good news for the rest of the field. Tim Pawlenty finished third with 2,293, a showing that keeps him in the game for next year’s Iowa caucuses, but had to come off as slightly disappointing. The Minnesota congresswoman narrowly outpaced Libertarian Rep. Ron Paul, who had 4,671 votes, and whose red-T-shirt-wearing supporters flooded the campus of Iowa State University and packed the arena when Paul spoke. She received 4,823 votes out of the almost 17,000 votes cast. The turnout was a significant leap over four years ago but didn't approach the record of more than 23,000 votes cast back in 1999. The hope in his camp was that his organization muscle in Iowa would propel him to the top, but he was no match for the charismatic Bachmann, whose political star continues its dizzying ascent. Where Pawlenty relied on traditional, on-the-ground campaigning, Bachmann rode a wave of media-fueled enthusiasm that, right now, shows no sign of abating. Still, in spite of Bachmann’s victory, the poll came on the day that Texas Gov. Rick Perry declared that he, too, will mount a presidential run, setting up a showdown in Iowa over the social and fiscal conservatives that dominate the caucuses here. Bachmann planned to appear on the five major network Sunday morning talk shows as part of a blitz to capitalize on the win—and perhaps a tactic to thwart Perry’s momentum. Both candidates will speak at a dinner in Waterloo, Iowa, on Sunday evening. Winning the straw poll doesn’t guarantee victory in the caucuses, however; Mitt Romney won the poll in 2007 and then lost to Mike Huckabee when it counted five months later. And Perry’s candidacy unsettles the race further, making the outcome next year here hazier than ever. Perry's backers sought space at the straw poll but ran into objections from other candidates. As a result, the Texan's supporters gathered via word of mouth and Facebook at the tent headquarters of Strong America Now, an organization founded in part by Dallas entrepreneur Mike George. One of those wearing one of the dozens of purple "Rick Perry for America" T-shirts was Craig Schoenfeld, a Des Moines attorney who had previously worked in other campaigns, most recently leading Newt Gingrich's Iowa operation.
He was 70. For example, he said, a commission report on Baluchistan reveals 143 cases of disappearances, including journalists, as of May 2011. The ... Paul McCartney expands ‘One on One’ tour with new US dates 28-Apr-17 Paul McCartney expanded his long-running "One on One" tour with several new US dates. The U.N. Human Rights office that monitors such events says it is gravely concerned that extra-judicial killings, abductions and disappearances are not abating in Pakistan. Baluch separatist organisations have barred journalists from covering their activities. Films of the flamboyant, versatile actor we’ll always remember 28-Apr-17 'Achanak' — remember Akshay Kumar's recent film 'Rustom' based on the KM Nanavati scandal for which he won the National Film ... Islamic romance novels set hearts excited in Bangladesh 27-Apr-17 Kasem bin Abubakar was told nobody would buy his chaste romance novels about devout young Muslims finding love within the strict moral confines of ... He was abducted five days ago in north Waziristan in the federally administered tribal areas near the border with Afghanistan. The same report lists 140 missing persons - journalists among them - found dead in Baluchistan between July 2010 and May 2011. Vinod Khanna dies aged 70; the matinee idol had been battling cancer 28-Apr-17 Veteran actor and politician Vinod Khanna passed away on April 27, in Mumbai. The spokesman for the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, Rupert Colville, said in the past eight days alone, the U.N. Human Rights Office has received reports of the killing of one journalist in Baluchistan and the disappearance of another journalist in North Waziristan. Sources: Central Asia Online/India Today Shakir wrote for the Online News Network and was a correspondent for Baluch television station Sabzbaat.
Vinod Khanna dies aged 70; the matinee idol had been battling cancer 28-Apr-17 Veteran actor and politician Vinod Khanna passed away on April 27, in Mumbai. The hospital where Khanna had been undergoing treat ... Elton John cancels eight shows after infection, intensive care visit 28-Apr-17 A "harmful and unusual bacterial infection" has forced Elton John to cancel his upcoming April and May run of "The Million Dollar Piano" gigs at th ... Beyonce announces ‘Formation Scholars’ scholarship programme 28-Apr-17 Beyoncé celebrated the one-year anniversary of her album 'Lemonade' with the announcement of her "Formation Scholars" programme. The ... Paul McCartney expands ‘One on One’ tour with new US dates 28-Apr-17 Paul McCartney expanded his long-running "One on One" tour with several new US dates. Films of the flamboyant, versatile actor we’ll always remember 28-Apr-17 'Achanak' — remember Akshay Kumar's recent film 'Rustom' based on the KM Nanavati scandal for which he won the National Film ... Islamic romance novels set hearts excited in Bangladesh 27-Apr-17 Kasem bin Abubakar was told nobody would buy his chaste romance novels about devout young Muslims finding love within the strict moral confines of ... The office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights says it has received numerous reports of abductions, disappearances and extrajudicial killings in Pakistan for years, and those disturbing incidents are on the increase. The spokesman for the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, Rupert Colville, said in the past eight days alone, the U.N. Human Rights Office has received reports of the killing of one journalist in Baluchistan and the disappearance of another journalist in North Waziristan. He says that various journalist groups cite Pakistan as one of the most dangerous places, if not the most dangerous place, for journalists. "At least 16 were killed in 2010 and according to the Committee to Protect Journalists, nine journalists have been killed in Pakistan so far in 2011. "In Baluchistan alone, there were disturbing reports that 25 people - this is a mix of journalists, writers, students and human rights defenders - have been extra-judicially killed within the first four months of 2011.” Notorious cases, such as al-Qaida's kidnapping and brutal murder of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl, in 2002 are rare. The same report lists 140 missing persons - journalists among them - found dead in Baluchistan between July 2010 and May 2011. International human rights monitors are calling for an immediate stop to such violations, and urging Pakistan's government to take immediate steps to independently investigate these cases.
"I loved everything about him, and he will be missed." The Red Arrows will not be performing." Image caption Flt Lt Egging flew on the right hand outside of the Diamond Nine formation An RAF Red Arrows pilot died when his plane crashed following a display at the Bournemouth Air Festival in Dorset. Red Arrows Hawk T1 Aircraft Two-seater, single-engined advanced training aircraft Length: 38ft 11in (11.8m) Wingspan: 30ft 10in (9.5m) Thrust: 5,200lbs Max altitude: 48,000 ft (14,630 m) Max speed: 638 mph (1,025 km/h) in level flight and 915 mph (1,472 km/h) in a dive The Red Arrows are based at RAF Scampton in Lincolnshire Manufacturer: Hawker Siddeley/BAE Systems (United Kingdom) Used by the Red Arrows since 1979 Shaun Spencer-Perkins, who witnessed the crash from Throop Mill, said: "I heard a rushing sound and I saw a plane about 15m above the ground racing across the fields. Amateur footage filmed of a Red Arrows display at Bournemouth Air Show apparently shows one of the planes flying at a lower height than the rest of the team before going down under the horizon. There was nothing bad about Jon. Eyewitnesses described seeing the plane plunge to the ground in a field near the River Stour at Throop village. Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Gp Capt Simon Blake from the RAF Central Flying School spoke of his ''great regret and sorrow" A Ministry of Defence spokesman it was investigating the incident. Both cockpit seats are fitted with Martin-Baker Mark 10B rocket boosted ejection seats. A statement on the Bournemouth Airport website said the airport was closed "for a short time but is now back to normal operations".
Image caption Flt Lt Egging flew on the right hand outside of the Diamond Nine formation An RAF Red Arrows pilot died when his plane crashed following a display at the Bournemouth Air Festival in Dorset. Flt Lt Jon Egging, 33, from Rutland, was killed when his Hawk T1 aircraft - Red 4 - crashed about 1km south east of Bournemouth Airport at 13:50 BST. Eyewitnesses described seeing the plane plunge to the ground in a field near the River Stour at Throop village. It was one of nine Red Arrows aircraft that had earlier taken part in a display over the seafront. In a statement Flt Lt Egging's wife, Dr Emma Egging, described her husband as "an exemplary pilot" and said watching him during the display was the "proudest" she had ever been. "Jon was everything to those that knew him, and he was the best friend and husband I could ever have wished for," she said. "I loved everything about him, and he will be missed." Flt Lt Egging was inspired by his airline pilot father who used to take him 'down route', allowing him into the cockpit for take off and landing. Speaking to his local newspaper, The Leamington Observer, in May, the 33-year-old said being part of the world-famous team was "an absolute privilege". "You are so focussed and working so hard to concentrate you just don't get a chance to feel scared," he added. Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Ch Insp Steve White of Dorset Police: ''Sadly the pilot... was pronounced dead at the scene'' Gp Capt Simon Blake, the commandant of the RAF's Central Flying School, said Flt Lt Egging, known as 'Eggman', had joined the team as Red 4 in the autumn of 2010 and flew on the right hand outside of the famous Diamond Nine formation. He said this was "an accolade in itself - being the most demanding position allocated to a first-year pilot". "A true team player, his good nature and constant smile will be sorely missed by all." 'Cracking sound' Air Vice Marshal Mark Green, Air Officer Commanding 22 (Training) Group, also paid tribute to the pilot saying: "Jon's professionalism, competence and ever-present smile made him stand out from the crowd." Red Arrows Hawk T1 Aircraft Two-seater, single-engined advanced training aircraft Length: 38ft 11in (11.8m) Wingspan: 30ft 10in (9.5m) Thrust: 5,200lbs Max altitude: 48,000 ft (14,630 m) Max speed: 638 mph (1,025 km/h) in level flight and 915 mph (1,472 km/h) in a dive The Red Arrows are based at RAF Scampton in Lincolnshire Manufacturer: Hawker Siddeley/BAE Systems (United Kingdom) Used by the Red Arrows since 1979 Shaun Spencer-Perkins, who witnessed the crash from Throop Mill, said: "I heard a rushing sound and I saw a plane about 15m above the ground racing across the fields. "It impacted and bounced across the field - made it across the river." Another eyewitness, Nicholas Gore, 22, from Throop, was walking with a friend near the river when he saw all nine Red Arrows go over. "They then disappeared behind trees and I heard a crack, not an explosion, just a crack and we got further down and I saw the plane with its red tail in the air and its nose in the river." Image caption The plane plunged into a field near the River Stour "The RAF has clearly lost an exceptional pilot and his family a man who was loved and cherished." Bournemouth Borough Council leader Peter Charon said he had arranged for the authority to open two books of condolence on Sunday for people to express their sympathy after the crash. In a statement, the borough council asked anyone wishing to leave floral tributes to place them on the grass banks around the Town Hall. A statement on the Bournemouth Airport website said the airport was closed "for a short time but is now back to normal operations". Mark Smith, head of Bournemouth Tourism, said: "It is the wishes of the RAF to continue with their other flying displays at the Air Festival tomorrow, and the pilots have expressed their wishes to continue. He said the Red Arrows display prior to the crash had been "truly magnificent and magical". The crash site remains cordoned off by police and only people living inside the zone are being allowed access. Video Amateur footage filmed of a Red Arrows display at Bournemouth Air Show apparently shows one of the planes flying at a lower height than the rest of the team before going down under the horizon. Amateur footage filmed of a Red Arrows display at Bournemouth Air Show apparently shows one of the planes flying at a lower height than the rest of the team before going down under the horizon. Other accidents over the years have seen the pilots escape serious injury after either landing or ejecting from their jets, most recently in March last year, when two Hawk aircraft collided mid-air during practice in Crete. The Red Arrow’s precision flying has always involved a strong element of calculated risk, something that has won the admiration of the crowds who have flocked to more than 4,000 displays in 53 countries around the world.
I am in Tripoli. "If you want peace, we are ready," he said. He said Gadhafi's forces were fleeing after Friday's victory and the rebels are in control of the city. Rebel forces are advancing towards the capital. The Gaddafi government has called for talks to end the conflict. Image caption Hundreds of rebel fighters are marching towards Tripoli Rebels fighting their way towards the Libyan capital have captured an important military base just 22km (16 miles) west of Tripoli. And he added that Nato would have blood on its hands if this did not happen. On Saturday, the rebels announced they had been forced back in the east by government artillery in the oil port of Brega. But new gunfire and protests were reported in Tripoli on Sunday, following fierce clashes in several districts overnight. They seized weapons from the base, identified as a barracks of the elite Khamis Brigade, commanded by a son of Col Muammar Gaddafi. But the uprising may have started from within. But Friday's onslaught by regime forces also signaled that an opposition push toward Tripoli could be arduous and bloody. Jalloud helped Gadhafi stage the 1969 coup that propelled him to power and transformed Libya from a monarchy to a republic. "I call on all Libyans to join this fight. The massive fire at one point pinned down some two dozen rebel fighters behind a building about 200 yards (meters) from Zawiya's central square, a symbolic prize in the battle for control of the city of some 200,000 people. A UK Foreign Office spokesman responded to Mr Ibrahim in a statement, saying: "Our overriding priority has always been to protect Libyan civilians and to enable them to choose their own future.
Libyan rebel trucks with anti-aircraft guns along with other trucks drive to Azizia on the road between Bir Ghanem and Azizia, in this still image taken from video on August 21, 2011. REUTERS/via Reuters TV AL-MAYA, Libya Muammar Gaddafi urged Libyans to take up arms and crush an uprising in Tripoli as rebel troops closed on the capital for a final onslaught on his stronghold. "I am afraid if we don't act, they will burn Tripoli," he said in an audio address broadcast on state television. "There will be no more water, food, electricity or freedom." Thousands of rebel fighters 25 km (15 miles) west of Tripoli were moving towards the capital on Sunday evening. As they advanced, they took control of a barracks belonging to the Khamis brigade, an elite security unit commanded by one of Gaddafi's sons, Khamis. In a coordinated revolt that rebel cells had been secretly preparing for months, shooting started on Saturday night across Tripoli, moments after Muslim clerics, using the loudspeakers on mosque minarets, called people on to the streets. Gaddafi, in his second audio broadcast in 24 hours, dismissed the rebels as rats. "I am giving the order to open the weapons stockpiles," Gaddafi said. "Go out, I am with you until the end. The fighting inside Tripoli, combined with rebel advances to the outskirts of the city, appeared to signal the decisive phase in a six month conflict that has become the bloodiest of the "Arab Spring" uprisings and embroiled NATO powers. "Gaddafi's chances for a safe exit are diminishing by the hour," said Ashour Shamis, a Libyan opposition activist and editor based in Britain. But Gaddafi's fall, after four decades in power, is far from certain. His security forces did not buckle, and the city is much bigger than anything the mostly amateur anti-Gaddafi fighters, with their scavenged weapons and mismatched uniforms, have ever tackled. If the Libyan leader is forced from power, there are question marks over whether the opposition can restore stability in this oil exporting country. Rebels said after a night of heavy fighting, they controlled a handful of city neighbourhoods. "The rebels may have risen too early in Tripoli and the result could be a lot of messy fighting," said Oliver Miles, a former British ambassador to Libya. "The regime may not have collapsed in the city to quite the extent they think it has." But the rebel advance towards the city was rapid, and there was no sign of fierce resistance from Gaddafi's security forces. In the past 48 hours, the rebels west of Tripoli have advanced about 25 km, halving the distance between them and the capital. Government forces put up a brief fight at the village of Al-Maya, leaving behind a burned-out tank, and some cars that had been torched. "I am very happy," said one resident. The anti-Gaddafi fighters paused long enough to daub some graffiti on walls in the village. One read "We are here and we are fighting Gaddafi," another, "God is great." In Benghazi, the eastern Libyan city where the anti-Gaddafi revolt started and where the rebels have their main stronghold, a senior official said everything was going according to plan. "Our revolutionaries are controlling several neighbourhoods and others are coming in from outside the city to join their brothers at this time," Abdel Hafiz Ghoga, vice-chairman of the rebel National Transition Council, told Reuters. A spokesman for Gaddafi, in a briefing for foreign reporters, underlined the message of defiance. The armed units defending Tripoli from the rebels "wholeheartedly believe that if this city is captured the blood will run everywhere so they may as well fight to the end," said the spokesman, Moussa Ibrahim. "We hold Mr Obama, Mr Cameron and Mr Sarkozy morally responsible for every single unnecessary death that takes place in this country," he said, referring to the leaders of the United States, Britain and France. SNIPERS ON ROOFTOPS A diplomatic source in Paris, where the government has closely backed the rebels, said underground rebel cells in the capital had been following detailed plans drawn up months ago and had been waiting for a signal to act. That signal was "iftar" -- the moment when Muslims observing the holy months of Ramadan break their daily fast. A rebel activist in the city said pro-Gaddafi forces had put snipers on the rooftops of buildings around Bab al-Aziziyah, Gaddafi's compound, and on the top of a nearby water tower. "Gaddafi's forces are getting reinforcements to comb the capital," said the activist, who spoke by telephone to a Reuters reporter outside Libya.
I did. "Well, Easterners, don't believe it. Update 3:36 p.m. ET: The Associated Press reports that the Pentagon is being evacuated. It's unknown if the president felt the quake. People thought the whole building was coming down.'' She said there have been no reports of injuries in Virginia. People flood the streets outside The Washington Post, moments after an earthquake hit Washington. No damage has been reported at the plant, but two nuclear reactors have been shut down. Did you feel it? So, now the news says it was felt in Philadelphia! The National Cathedral in Washington is damaged, CNN has confirmed. A magnitude-5.8 quake centered in Virginia rocked the East Coast, with tremors felt as far south as North Carolina, as far north as Buffalo and Boston, and as far west as Detroit. By Douglas Stanglin USA TODAY Update at 3:36 p.m. You could actually feel the floor shaking slightly as well. Cell phone service has been disrupted in New York City, CNN learned within minutes of the quake. Aftershocks are a concern, U.S. Geological Survey seismologist Lucy Jones told CNN. The quake was four miles deep, according to the USGS. I did not think much of it until other in the office started noticing it as well. The authority said buses on all major routes suffered delays in the late afternoon because many traffic signals were out and traffic was clogged. ET and lasted for about 30 to 45 seconds. The earthquake’s epicenter is located near the North Anna nuclear power plant. I was sitting at my desk in Columbus, Ind., when I began swaying slightly back and forth in my chair.
The quake was four miles deep, according to the USGS. Send CNN an iReport. To get complete coverage and all the latest updates, click on CNN's main story here. CNN Open Story combines iReports with reports from CNNers across the globe on a map and timeline. ET: Terminal A at Washington Reagan National Airport has been evacuated because of an odor of gas, airport spokeswoman Courtney Mickalonis said. Initial sweeps of the building showed no major damage from the earthquake. Light structural damage has been reported in Culpepper and Orange counties in Virginia, said Laura Southard of the state Emergency Operations Center. She said there have been no reports of injuries in Virginia. Update 3:28 p.m. ET: The White House and adjacent buildings evacuated as a precaution following the earthquake have been given the all-clear, the U.S. Secret Service said. The FBI and Justice Department have also reopened evacuated buildings. ET: East Coast residents should be prepared to feel aftershocks from Tuesday's earthquake, a U.S. Geological Survey official said. ET: The North Anna nuclear power plant, located 20 miles from the epicenter, is shut down and in a safe condition, a company official and the Louisa County public information office report. There has been no release of nuclear material, Louisa County spokeswoman Amanda Reidelbach said. ET: All national monuments and parks in Washington are "stable but closed" following Tuesday's earthquake, a United States Park Police spokesman Sgt. A couple of minor injuries and some minor structural damage have been reported in Washington, following Tuesday's earthquake, according to Schlosser. Part of the central tower of the National Cathedral, the highest point in Washington, was damaged, according to spokesman Richard Weinberg. "It looks like three of the pinnacles have broken off the central tower," Weinberg told CNN. ET: Amtrak is reporting service disruptions between Washington and Baltimore because of the earthquake, the company reported on Twitter. "People should be expecting (them), especially over the next hour or two," she said. It's unknown if the president felt the quake. "When the building began shaking rather violently, hundreds of people began streaming out," she said, because many people thought that the building was under attack. Cell phone service has been disrupted in New York City, CNN learned within minutes of the quake. ET: A "considerable amount" of water from a water pipe has flooded two corridors of the Pentagon, according to an announcement in the building. People who work in those areas are being asked to stay in their offices while workers try to repair the damage. And Dominion Generation, which operates the North Anna nuclear power station in central Virginia a few miles from the epicenter of the earthquake, is trying to reach operational staff at the plant, according to a company spokesman. Shortly after the quake struck, traders in the New York Stock Exchange also felt the quake and shouted to each other, "Keep trading!" CNN's business correspondent Alison Kosik reported from the floor at 2:20 p.m. E.T. In Philadelphia, HunterPence3 tweeted, "Wow Earthquake just shook the entire locker room!" In Cleveland, "tribeinsider" wrote "I'm no expert but i think we just had an earthquake here." Pete Krech, who works at a business in Fredericksburg, Virginia, likened the sensation to being on a jolting amusement ride. "I was receiving a supply truck," said Krech, store manager at Mattress Warehouse of Fredericksburg, south of Washington. I'd never felt that before, so I thought maybe I was experiencing vertigo for a moment, and it lasted maybe 30 seconds ... We're feeling this really far away!" (David Nakamura/The Washington Post) People reported feeling the ground move as far north as Portland, Maine, and as far south as Anderson, S.C. A Columbus, Ohio, government worker reported the building shook there, as well.
"All journalists are out." The journalists included staff from the BBC, Sky, CNN, Reuters and other networks. He has not been seen at the hotel today. Finally he said he could see the rebels. The one place I can’t go is to the Rixos. "It's a desperate situation," the BBC's Matthew Price told Radio 4's Today programme. The area around the hotel saw heavy fighting, according to the rebels. But the atmosphere at the hotel began to change as government officials became more jumpy from the airstrikes, many of which hit Gaddafi’s compound. Chance said that a group of Arabic-speaking journalists had a "heart to heart" with two of the Gaddafi loyalist guards who were then disarmed. Then I noticed the translators we have been working with for months now had also left. We could finally get out freedom!!!" “We dined in flak jackets — helmets by our side.” Meanwhile, reporters who were with rebel forces rode into the city, meeting almost no opposition. Bottled water is running low. Three dozen correspondents holed up in Rixos hotel in Libya as battles rage for control of Tripoli About three dozen foreign journalists based at the five-star Rixos hotel in Tripoli have been trapped by heavy fighting in the surrounding streets as rebels advance on the capital. “No route to the port, no boats there to take us out anyway,” he wrote. The Associated Press reported that the driver was placed on the floor of the car park by one guard while the others were menaced at gunpoint and later taken inside the hotel.
Three dozen correspondents holed up in Rixos hotel in Libya as battles rage for control of Tripoli About three dozen foreign journalists based at the five-star Rixos hotel in Tripoli have been trapped by heavy fighting in the surrounding streets as rebels advance on the capital. "No one has left the hotel today," said Missy Ryan, a correspondent for Reuters. The hotel is close to the Gaddafi regime's sprawling Bab al-Aziziya compound, which is likely to see the last stand of loyalist fighters in the coming days and reportedly the scene of heavy fighting. Gunfire and explosions were heard from the direction of the compound by journalists at the hotel. The Associated Press reported that trucks loaded with anti-aircraft machine guns were outside the Rixos and loyalist snipers were posted behind trees in the area. "The mood [among the journalists] is fine," said Ryan. "But it was pretty stressful for a while yesterday when there was a lot of fighting around the hotel. The media corps held a meeting to consider their options as fighting erupted in the capital. For months, many have feared they could be held by the regime as human shields if rebels reached the capital. The only exit route from Tripoli by land, the road to the Tunisian border, has been cut off by rebel fighters for more than a week. The hotel entrance was still being guarded by Gaddafi forces and volunteers, she said, but the officials based at the Rixos had left over the past 24 hours. Moussa Ibrahim, the regime's British-educated official spokesman, gave a press conference on Sunday, in which he appealed for a ceasefire and said Nato was destroying Libya – a mantra he has repeated almost daily for six months. "First there were the children and the wives of Col Muammar Gaddafi's officials packing and leaving the five-star Rixos hotel," he wrote. "Now the relatives of senior officials were going, heading presumably somewhere safer. Then I noticed the translators we have been working with for months now had also left. So too the state television staff who have worked out of here since their headquarters were bombed by Nato." Journalists have been kept under virtual house arrest by the Gaddafi regime over the past six months, only permitted to leave the hotel in the company of official minders and translators. Many regime figures lived in expansive suites, sometimes with their families, at the hotel. Others frequented the restaurant and coffee shop in the evenings, dispensing pro-Gaddafi propaganda to captive journalists. The family regularly dined from the restaurant buffet alongside reporters and television crews. Regime officials organised frequent nocturnal visits to the site of Nato bombings, waking journalists via a public announcement system embedded in every room. Armed guards at the entrance to the hotel compound were ordered to stop journalists slipping out unaccompanied but were not always successful. For months, the Rixos Al Nasr Hotel in downtown Tripoli has been a kind of luxurious detention center for journalists covering the Libyan uprising. On Sunday and Monday, the $500-a-night hotel became a terrifying prison. With power out and rebels pouring into the city, about three dozen journalists remained inside the hotel, trapped by armed men loyal to Libyan leader Moammar Gaddafi. The journalists lit candles, donned body armor and waited, unable to venture out to report on the story they were there to cover: the fight for the Libyan capital. “We raided the hotel larder and got tons of cheese!” Chance and others described bullets whizzing past their windows, explosions from rocket and mortar fire and the chatter of machine guns. “#Rixos getting hit by stray bullets,” Chance tweeted about 1:30 p.m. Monday, or 7:30 p.m. in Libya. As night fell, reporters collected in the interior of the hotel to avoid stray bullets crashing through the glass facade. If I did, I’d be a prisoner, too.” Price and the others worried that the hotel — which was also home to government officials and only a mile from Gaddafi’s sprawling compound — might become a prime target for the rebels, though many of those officials fled with their families before the fighting in Tripoli began.
Unfortunately, that day has come. Jobs has been elected Chairman of the Board. I hereby resign as CEO of Apple. Tim Cook, the chief operating officer, will take over the position. And I look forward to watching and contributing to its success in a new role,” Mr. Jobs said in the letter. I believe Apple’s brightest and most innovative days are ahead of it. I have made some of the best friends of my life at Apple, and I thank you all for the many years of being able to work alongside you. The Wall Street Journal published a letter from Steve Jobs announcing his resignation: PRESS RELEASE: Letter from Steve Jobs August 24, 2011–To the Apple Board of Directors and the Apple Community: I have always said if there ever came a day when I could no longer meet my duties and expectations as Apple’s CEO, I would be the first to let you know. In short order he was again at the helm and set out to modernize the company’s computers. Last month Apple briefly became the most valuable company in the world in terms of market capitalization. Apple has reinvented the mobile phone with its revolutionary iPhone and App Store, and has recently introduced iPad 2 which is defining the future of mobile media and computing devices. Charles Golvin, an analyst specializing in mobile technology at Forrester Research, said in an e-mail message that the impact of Mr. Jobs’s departure might not be felt for one and a half to two years, “given that the next wave of products is far along in development and his continued presence as chairman.” He added: “I think the key question is whether the Apple team will continue to work as effectively as a collaborative without the single person to rely on for the final decision.” Mr. Cook has been Apple’s acting chief executive since Mr. Jobs went on medical leave.
Steve Jobs, the ailing tech visionary who founded Apple Inc., said he was unable to continue as chief executive of the technology giant and handed the reins to Chief Operating Officer Tim Cook. Apple said Mr. Jobs submitted his resignation to the board of directors on Wednesday and "strongly recommended" that the board name Mr. Cook as his successor. Mr. Jobs, 56 years old, has been elected chairman of the board and Mr.... Justin Sullivan/Getty Images Apple said on Wednesday that Steven P. Jobs, its co-founder and leading product visionary, would step down from the chief executive role. Tim Cook, the chief operating officer, will take over the position. In a letter sent to Apple’s board of directors and “the Apple community,” Mr. Jobs said he would like to remain as chairman of the board. “Unfortunately, that day has come.” Mr. Jobs, 56, had surgery for pancreatic cancer in 2004 and had a liver transplant in early 2009. His health has gone through considerable ups and downs in recent years, according to a person briefed on his condition. Although he has officially been on medical leave since January, Mr. Jobs has appeared in public to announce new Apple products. In June he was on stage in San Francisco to talk about iCloud, Apple’s latest foray into cloud-based computing. Apple is expected to unveil a new model of its hugely successful iPhone this fall. Apple’s stock dropped in after-hours trading, falling nearly 5 percent. Michael Gartenberg, research director at Gartner, said in an e-mail message that although this marks the end of an era for Apple, Mr. Jobs should still be able to shape Apple’s products in the chairman role. Besides, he said, “it’s important to remember that there’s more to Apple than any one person, even Steve Jobs.” Mr. Jobs founded Apple in 1976 with Steve Wozniak, and built the company’s reputation with the Apple II and Macintosh computers. He left Apple in 1985 after a conflict with John Sculley, then the chief executive. The following year, with a small group of Apple employees, he founded NeXt Computer, which ultimately focused on the corporate computing market, without notable success. In 1986, he bought the computer graphics division of Lucasfilm and re-established it as the independent animation studio Pixar. A decade later he sold the NeXt operating system to Apple and returned to the company. Last month Apple briefly became the most valuable company in the world in terms of market capitalization. Charles Golvin, an analyst specializing in mobile technology at Forrester Research, said in an e-mail message that the impact of Mr. Jobs’s departure might not be felt for one and a half to two years, “given that the next wave of products is far along in development and his continued presence as chairman.” He added: “I think the key question is whether the Apple team will continue to work as effectively as a collaborative without the single person to rely on for the final decision.” Mr. Cook has been Apple’s acting chief executive since Mr. Jobs went on medical leave. "I have made some of the best friends of my life at Apple, and I thank you all for the many years of being able to work alongside you," Jobs wrote in his resignation letter. Below is Apple's official press release on the announcement (via Business Wire): Apple’s Board of Directors today announced that Steve Jobs has resigned as Chief Executive Officer, and the Board has named Tim Cook, previously Apple’s Chief Operating Officer, as the company’s new CEO. “Steve’s extraordinary vision and leadership saved Apple and guided it to its position as the world’s most innovative and valuable technology company,” said Art Levinson, Chairman of Genentech, on behalf of Apple's Board. “Tim’s 13 years of service to Apple have been marked by outstanding performance, and he has demonstrated remarkable talent and sound judgment in everything he does.” Jobs submitted his resignation to the Board today and strongly recommended that the Board implement its succession plan and name Tim Cook as CEO. Apple has reinvented the mobile phone with its revolutionary iPhone and App Store, and has recently introduced iPad 2 which is defining the future of mobile media and computing devices.
"This is a very hard blow for our country," he said. A plane of the Chilean Air Force with 21 people onboard crashed on Sept. 3, 2011 into the ocean close to the Juan Fernandez islands off Chile's Pacific coast. Camiroaga is one of the passengers onboard. A TV crew was on board, including popular presenter Felipe Camiroaga. As well as co-hosting Buenos Dias a Todos, Mr Camiroaga, 44, fronted the late-night talk show Animal Nocturno (Nocturnal Animal). The Defence Minister, Andres Allamand, said everyone would have died instantly when the crash happened. Felipe Humberto Camiroaga Image caption Popular presenter Felipe Camiroaga was one of the passengers 1966: Born in Santiago 1988: Began TV career as producer on Extra Jovenes, a teen-focused programme on Chilevision, before moving in front of the camera 1992: Hired by TVN to co-host breakfast programme Buenos Dias a Todos. They had been due to film a piece on reconstruction projects after the magnitude-8.8 earthquake and tsunami which hit Chile and devastated the islands in February 2010. He was referring to the unpredictable weather and geographical conditions which might hamper search and rescue efforts. Another person on board was the businessman and philanthropist Felipe Cubillos - Mr Allamand's brother-in-law - who had also been working on post-earthquake reconstruction with the group Desafio Levantemos Chile. Chilean President Sebastian Pinera said that his thoughts were with the families of those on board the plane, which had taken off from the capital Santiago at 14:00 (17:00 GMT) on Friday and lost contact with air traffic control some four hours later. Chileans gathered at Chilean national TV headquarters, with dozens of people lighting candles and praying outside the gates.
Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Chileans are holding a vigil for those lost in the crash All 21 people on board an aircraft that crashed in the Pacific Ocean on Friday must have died instantly, Chile's defence minister has said. So far only four bodies have been recovered from the area where the air force plane crashed. Those on board included one of Chile's leading TV personalities, Felipe Camiroaga, and the defence minister's own brother-in-law, Felipe Cubillos. The plane was lost after trying to land in poor weather. The Casa-212 turboprop plane twice tried to land at the airport on the Juan Fernandez islands in windy conditions on Friday afternoon. None of the bodies found were immediately identified. The remains of Allende, who died during the 1973 coup, were exhumed in May in a bid to determine whether he had killed himself or was murdered. Earthquake assignment Felipe Humberto Camiroaga Image caption Popular presenter Felipe Camiroaga was one of the passengers 1966: Born in Santiago 1988: Began TV career as producer on Extra Jovenes, a teen-focused programme on Chilevision, before moving in front of the camera 1992: Hired by TVN to co-host breakfast programme Buenos Dias a Todos. Also started acting in soap operas 2006: Began hosting his own late-night talk programme, Animal Nocturno 2009: Co-presents the Vina del Mar International Song Festival In pictures: Chile Pacific plane crash Chile air crash: Your reaction Mr Camiroaga had been flying to the islands with a five-strong crew from Chile's national TV programme Buenos Dias a Todos - Good Morning Everyone. "Based on observations and the search we carried out with the Air Force commander, we have reached the conclusion that the impact was such that it should have resulted in the instantaneous death of all of those who were aboard the aircraft," he told a news conference. Chilean President Sebastian Pinera said that his thoughts were with the families of those on board the plane, which had taken off from the capital Santiago at 14:00 (17:00 GMT) on Friday and lost contact with air traffic control some four hours later. "I empathise with the anguish and uncertainty the relatives the 21 passengers aboard the plane, which is presumed to have gone down, are living through at this moment," Mr Pinera said. The Juan Fernandez islands lie around 420 miles (670 km) off Chile's coast, and are thought to have inspired the setting for Daniel Defoe's classic shipwreck novel Robinson Crusoe. Image caption People lit candles outside TVN television station after it reported that five of its staff were on board Twenty-one people are feared dead after a Chilean air force plane crashed in the Pacific Ocean on its way to the remote Juan Fernandez islands. Chilean Defence Minister Andres Allamand said the Casa-212 plane had twice tried to land at the islands' airport before going missing. He had been flying to the islands with a five-strong crew from Chile's national TV programme Buenos Dias a Todos - Good Morning Everyone - to film a piece on reconstruction projects after a magnitude-8.8 earthquake and tsunami devastated the islands in February 2010. The air force earlier said that as the plane was "getting closer to the island, radio communication with the airplane was lost", prompting a search effort by the navy and air force. Also started acting in soap operas 2006: Began hosting his own late-night talk programme, Animal Nocturno 2009: Co-presents the Vina del Mar International Song Festival In pictures: Chile Pacific plane crash "We assume that there was an accident and that there are no survivors," he said, adding that clothing, passengers' suitcases and some sandals had been found in waters about one kilometre (0.6 mile) from the islands' landing strip. Chilean President Sebastian Pinera said that his thoughts were with the families of those on board the plane, which had taken off from the capital Santiago at 14.00 (17.00 GMT) on Friday and lost contact with air traffic control some four hours later. One of those on board was the businessman Felipe Cubillos - Defence Minister Allamand's brother in law - who had also been working on post-earthquake reconstruction with the group Desafio Levantemos Chile. Between 18 and 21 passengers were traveling aboard the CASA 212 military aircraft, including a crew from the TV channel TVN which wanted to cover the archipelago's rebuilding efforts after the massive earthquake that hit Chile in February 2010, TVN reported.
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla,. There are lots of ideas out there to clean up space. The amount of debris orbiting the Earth has reached "a tipping point" for collisions, which would in turn generate more of the debris that threatens astronauts and satellites, according to a U.S. study released on Thursday. Who's going to pay? Two years later, two satellites - one defunct and one active - crashed in orbit, creating even more debris. Which are the objects we have to target and how many do we remove? NASA needs a new strategic plan for mitigating the hazards posed by spent rocket bodies, discarded satellites and thousands of other pieces of junk flying around the planet at speeds of 17,500 miles per hour, the National Research Council said in the study. Image copyright NASA Man and nature are also conspiring in unexpected ways to make the situation worse. These constellations, in the case of the second-generation Iridium network, can number more than 60 spacecraft. Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Dr Robert Massey, Royal Astronomical Society: "It is a serious issue" These approaches are quite complex, however, and therefore expensive. It was estimated to have increased the known existing orbital debris population at that time by more than 15%. (Editing by Jane Sutton and Todd Eastham) The satellite industry launched an average of 76 satellites per year over the past 10 years. There are 22,000 pieces of debris large enough to track from the ground, but smaller objects could still cause serious damage. The report makes no recommendations about how to clean up the field of debris.
Image copyright SPL Image caption Fortunately, there have been very few collisions in orbit so far The US National Research Council's report on space debris is not the first of its kind. A wide range of space agencies and intergovernmental organisations has taken a bite out of this issue down the years. The opinion expressed is always the same: the problem is inescapable and it's getting worse. It's also true the tone of concern is being ratcheted up. There is now a wild jungle of debris overhead - everything from old rocket stages that continue to loop around the Earth decades after they were launched, to the flecks of paint that have lifted off once shiny space vehicles and floated off into the distance. It is the legacy of more than half a century of space activity. Moving around unseen are an estimated 500,000 particles ranging in size between 1-10cm across, and perhaps tens of millions of other particles smaller than 1cm. All of this stuff is travelling at several kilometres per second - sufficient velocity for even the smallest fragment to become a damaging projectile if it strikes an operational space mission. Gravity ensures that everything that goes up will eventually come back down, but the bath is currently being filled faster than the plug hole and the overflow pipe can empty it. The extra CO2 pumped into the atmosphere down the years has cooled some of its highest reaches - the thermosphere. This, combined with low levels of solar activity, have shrunk the atmosphere, limiting the amount of drag on orbital objects that ordinarily helps to pull debris from the sky. Image copyright Other Image caption The German space agency's DEOS spacecraft could capture rogue satellites Leaving aside the growth in debris from collisions for a moment, the number of satellites being sent into space is also increasing rapidly. The satellite industry launched an average of 76 satellites per year over the past 10 years. The most recent Euroconsult analysis suggested some 1,145 satellites would be built for launch between 2011 and 2020. A good part of this will be the deployment of communications constellations - broadband relays and sat phone systems. These constellations, in the case of the second-generation Iridium network, can number more than 60 spacecraft. These include ensuring there is enough propellant at the end of a satellite's life so that it can be pushed into a graveyard orbit and the venting of fuel tanks on spent rocket stages so that they cannot explode (a major source of the debris now up there). The goal is to make sure all low-orbiting material is removed within 25 years of launch. I say "by and large" because there has been some crass behaviour in the recent past. What the Chinese were thinking when they deliberately destroyed one of their polar orbiting satellites in 2007 with a missile is anyone's guess. The destruction created more than 3,000 trackable objects and an estimated 150,000 debris particles larger than 1cm. Taken together, the two events essentially negated all the mitigation gains that had been made over the previous 20 years to reduce junk production from spent rocket explosions. It has been calculated that just taking away a few key spent rocket stages or broken satellites would substantially reduce the potential for collision and cap the growth in space debris over coming decades. Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Dr Robert Massey, Royal Astronomical Society: "It is a serious issue" These approaches are quite complex, however, and therefore expensive. "There are a number of technologies being talked about to address the debris issue - both from past space activity and from future missions," says Dr Hugh Lewis, a lecturer in aerospace engineering at Southampton University, UK. Image caption Artist's impression of debris in low Earth orbit Scientists in the US have warned Nasa that the amount of so-called space junk orbiting Earth is at tipping point.
But Mr. Mr. Sencion, a Carson City resident, was also transported to a hospital, where he later died. He said their conditions were unknown. But he shot every one of the Guard members inside. "It's mind-boggling and hard to comprehend." Victims lay both inside and outside the restaurant in the wake of the shooting. Three of the four people killed were National Guardsmen in uniform, with several other Guards injured. The owner of a nearby diner told the Reno-Journal Gazette that the man had left after several minutes and continued firing in the nearby shopping centre. Advertisement Continue reading the main story “I wish I had shot at him, but he was going in the IHOP,” Mr. Swagler said. Two of the service members -- a man and a woman -- died, police said. Investigators are still trying to determine what motive there might have been for the shooting rampage, the sheriff said. It was a much different scene Tuesday. Carson City has less of the glitz — and grime — associated with Las Vegas or Reno, which is 25 miles to the north. Six others were wounded in the attack at the International House of Pancakes chain at 09:00 (16:00 GMT). "But when he came at me, when somebody is pointing an automatic weapon at you - you can't believe the firepower, the kind of rounds coming out of that weapon," said Ralph Swagler, who owns Locals BBQ & Grill. Please re-enter. View all New York Times newsletters. "I saw people running into the casino and I saw people panicked so I panicked," he said.
Mr. Sencion’s family has indicated that he had a history of mental illness, according to the Carson City Sheriff’s Department. However, Mr. Secion did not have any prior criminal history, nor did he have any known affiliation with the military or with anyone inside the restaurant. Advertisement Continue reading the main story The sheriff’s department said Mr. Sencion entered the IHOP and began firing just before 9 a.m., eventually moving his rampage outside to the restaurant’s parking lot, where he shot himself. Victims lay both inside and outside the restaurant in the wake of the shooting. Two Guardsmen and one civilian were pronounced dead at the scene, while six others were transported to nearby hospitals. A third member of the National Guard died after surgery. Mr. Sencion, a Carson City resident, was also transported to a hospital, where he later died. Mr. Sencion filed for bankruptcy in 2009, when he was living in nearby Stateline, a rough-around-the-edges casino town on the California border. Photo Ralph Swagler, the owner of a nearby barbecue restaurant, told The A.P. that he saw the gunman pull up outside the restaurant, where he first shot a man on a motorcycle and then headed inside. Advertisement Continue reading the main story “I wish I had shot at him, but he was going in the IHOP,” Mr. Swagler said. “But when he came at me — when somebody is pointing an automatic weapon at you, you can’t believe the firepower, the kind of rounds coming out of that weapon.” Advertisement Continue reading the main story The shootings shocked a city just emerging from a long holiday weekend, when many locals and tourists flocked to nearby Lake Tahoe. Carson City has less of the glitz — and grime — associated with Las Vegas or Reno, which is 25 miles to the north. It has steadily grown over the years, but it is still sleepier than Reno, which was hit hard by the recession’s impact on construction and casino spending. Please verify you're not a robot by clicking the box. Please re-enter. You must select a newsletter to subscribe to. Sign Up Receive occasional updates and special offers for The New York Times's products and services. Thank you for subscribing. Please try again later. Paramedics and law enforcement and fire officials responded within minutes, blocking off the city’s main drag while they secured the area and sent victims to the hospital by ground ambulance and helicopter. Advertisement Continue reading the main story The State Capitol and Supreme Court buildings were briefly locked down as the authorities feared more violence. Fran Hunter, who works at a nearby pet store, watched the aftermath of the shooting from a casino parking lot across the street, where people had gathered to observe the commotion. She said others who gathered in the parking lot said the gunman had sprayed bullets into other nearby businesses, breaking windows, before shooting a man on a motorcycle and entering the IHOP, though she did not see it herself. “Everyone and their mother’s uncle was down there. Investigators looking into the shooting rampage at a Carson City, Nev., IHOP restaurant today that left four dead, including the shooter, and eight wounded are trying to determine whether the man targeted a group of National Guard personnel in the restaurant, police said. Of the 12 people shot in the rampage, five were National Guard members who were sitting together, all in uniform, in the back of the restaurant. Two of the service members -- a man and a woman -- died, police said. Because of where the Guard members were sitting and the fact they were in uniform, investigators say it appears the shooter -- Eduardo Sencion, 33, a Carson City resident who worked in nearby Tahoe and had no criminal history -- could have targeted them, Carson City Sheriff Kenny Furlong said this evening. "Information suggests at this point in time that the National Guard members were sitting all the way into the restaurant along the southeast side and that he entered through the front doors and traveled all the way through the restaurant to the back area," Furlong said. "Obviously when five out of 11 of the victims are uniformed National Guard members, that's taking a priority interest in our agency," he said. Investigators are still trying to determine what motive there might have been for the shooting rampage, the sheriff said. "There has been some suggestion by his family members that there is some mental health issues that we are going to have to look into," he said. Sencion allegedly walked into the restaurant shortly before 9 a.m. brandishing an AK47 and started shooting, then ended it by shooting himself in the head, police said. Witnesses described a scene of horror and chaos after Sencion pulled up at the IHOP in a blue minivan just before 9 a.m. and ran into the restaurant, already firing his assault weapon. "All I heard was about a heavy eight seconds of automatic gunfire," said Nick Teply, who was at the McDonald's drive-through next door. Image caption The police and FBI descended on the restaurant on Carson City's main road A gunman wielding an AK-47 assault rifle has killed four people at a pancake restaurant in the Nevada state capital Carson City, officials say. 'Petrified' Nevertheless, police said that once he entered the restaurant he took aim and shot every National Guard member in uniform.
No, they can't," declared Pia Kjaersgaard, the party leader. She is set to become Denmark's first woman prime minister. She is expected to form a government with two other centre-left parties. Thorning-Schmidt attacked Rasmussen for taking the country deep into deficit. "Immigration policy is our lifeblood. With all votes counted, the bloc led by Social Democrat leader Helle Thorning-Schmidt had won a narrow majority in parliament. Local banks have also been struggling, with nine taken over by the state since the start of the crisis in 2008. An extra hour each week, her group argues, would help kick-start economic growth. Ms Thorning-Schmidt campaigned on a platform of tax rises and increased public spending. The new prime minister is part of an extended European political family, married to the son of Neil and Glenys Kinnock. Incumbent Lars Lokke Rasmussen has admitted defeat. The far right has succeeded in making its tough anti-immigrant position the Danish mainstream stance. The state of the economy has been the overriding issue of the campaign, with the governing coalition parties under fire for failing to spur growth. The centre-left bloc won 89 seats in Denmark's 179-seat parliament against 86 for centre-right parties and the anti-immigration People's Party (DPP). The economic crisis has turned Denmark's healthy surpluses into deficits, estimated to climb to 4.6% of GDP next year. The close general election gave victory to the social democrats, closing a decade of rightwing ascendancy during which a minority government of liberals and conservatives was kept in power by parliamentary support from the europhobic, Muslim-baiting Danish People's party. She advocates increased government spending, along with an unusual plan to make everyone work 12 minutes more per day, Reuters news agency reports.
Lars Lokke Rasmussen (L), Danish prime minister and leader of the Liberal Party, and Helle Thorning-Schmidt, leader of the Social Democratic Party, arrive at a debate in Copenhagen September 14, 2011. REUTERS/Keld Navntoft/Scanpix Denmark A voter casts his ballots in Denmark's general elections at a polling station in Fredericia, near Copenhagen September 15, 2011. REUTERS/Scanpix/Claus Fisker COPENHAGEN Denmark's centre-left "Red bloc" took power on Thursday after defeating Prime Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen's government in a tight election driven by voter anger over the state of the economy. Social Democrat Helle Thorning-Schmidt will become Denmark's next prime minister, the first woman to hold the post, after Rasmussen conceded defeat. Her platform includes increased government spending, raising taxes on the wealthy and an unusual plan to make everyone work 12 minutes more per day. An extra hour each week, her group argues, would help kick-start economic growth. The centre-right "Blue bloc" has been in power for 10 years, during which Denmark, like other countries, suffered the worst economic downturn since World War Two. "Tomorrow I will hand in the government's resignation to the Queen," Rasmussen said on TV2 News. "There is no longer a basis for remaining in government." Thorning-Schmidt's Red bloc will have a majority of up to five seats in the 179-seat parliament, its final size depending on the results from far-flung Greenland. Her Social Democratic party actually lost a seat and will only be the second largest in parliament after Rasmussen's Liberals, who gained one. But two Red coalition parties on the far left and in the centre made up the difference to put the Red bloc ahead, allowing it to claim victory and forcing Rasmussen out. The state of the economy has been the overriding issue of the campaign, with the governing coalition parties under fire for failing to spur growth. Thorning-Schmidt attacked Rasmussen for taking the country deep into deficit. Political scientist Jorgen Elklit said the hard part would now be putting together a government. "It will certainly take days, maybe weeks to form a government," he said. ECONOMIC WOE If the count holds up, Denmark would become the latest in a series of European countries to see incumbents voted out at least in part because of struggling economies. Spain's Socialist government is facing possible defeat in a November 20 general election and German Chancellor Angela Merkel has lost a series of state elections since May 2010. Denmark has been spared much of the trauma suffered by other west European countries because it remains outside the euro zone. This means it is not involved in bailing out debt-laden countries like Greece, an issue that has stirred popular anger in neighbouring Germany. But the economic crisis has turned Denmark's healthy surpluses into deficits, forecast to climb to 4.6 percent of GDP next year. Danish banks have also been struggling, with small bank Fjordbank Mors falling into the hands of administrators in June, the 9th Danish bank to be taken over by the state since the start of the crisis in 2008. Thorning-Schmidt's "12-minute" plan -- unusual enough to define her campaign -- would pay workers for the extra time. Denmark has no official work week, however, so the actual hours would be decided on a company-by-company basis. The new prime minister is part of an extended European political family, married to the son of Neil and Glenys Kinnock. Image caption Helle Thorning-Schmidt: "We did it... today we've written history" Denmark's centre-left has won the country's general election, ending nearly a decade in opposition. She is set to become Denmark's first woman prime minister. She also promised to roll back tough immigration laws proposed by a junior partner of the current coalition. The centre-left bloc won 89 seats in Denmark's 179-seat parliament against 86 for centre-right parties and the anti-immigration People's Party (DPP). "We did it... today we've written history," Ms Thorning-Schmidt told jubilant supporters. Mr Rasmussen said he had called Ms Thorning-Schmidt to congratulate her, but added: "Tonight I hand over the keys to the prime minister's office to Helle Thorning-Schmidt. Helle Thorning-Schmidt Aged 44, has led Denmark's Social Democrats since 2005 Nicknamed by some "Gucci Helle" for her taste in designer clothes Has a reputation for being tough and is credited with reuniting her party Has a political science degree from the University of Copenhagen Married to Stephen Kinnock, son of former UK Labour Party leader Neil Kinnock Profile: Helle Thorning-Schmidt The recent decision of Denmark, a Schengen state, to reimpose border controls came after pressure from the DPP, which took 22 seats on Thursday. The economic crisis has turned Denmark's healthy surpluses into deficits, estimated to climb to 4.6% of GDP next year. Far right's 10-year grip on government has ended as Danes vote in a centre-left coalition led by Helle Thorning-Schmidt The far right's 10-year grip on Denmark's government has ended as the Danes voted for their first female prime minister, handing government to a centre-left coalition. The close general election gave victory to the social democrats, closing a decade of rightwing ascendancy during which a minority government of liberals and conservatives was kept in power by parliamentary support from the europhobic, Muslim-baiting Danish People's party.
Bauer, a freelance journalist, grew up in Onamia, Minnesota, and Fattal, an environmental activist, is from suburban Philadelphia. US President Barack Obama said in a statement he was "very pleased" by their release. Washington's criticism of Iran's repression of protests is another flashpoint. Oman paid bail of a similar amount for the release of Ms Shourd last year. They were sentenced in September to eight years in prison on charges of spying. It was not clear where the two men will be reunited with their families after their release. Earlier this month, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Mr Bauer and Mr Fattal would be released in days, but officials later denied any decision had been reached. JUST WATCHED American hikers arrive in Oman Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH American hikers arrive in Oman 01:53 JUST WATCHED The story of 3 Americans detained in Iran Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH The story of 3 Americans detained in Iran 01:45 JUST WATCHED Detained hikers to be freed from Iran Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Detained hikers to be freed from Iran 02:17 The lawyer for Fattal and Bauer, Masoud Shafiee, told CNN the $1 million bail had been paid by the Omani government. Bail deal reached to release Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal, arrested along border with Iraq in 2009 and jailed in Tehran. He did not say what the source of the money was. 'Healthy and strong' "We are so happy we are free and so relieved we are free," Mr Fattal said to reporters soon after their arrival on Wednesday in the Omani capital, Muscat. Their liberation came a day before Mr Ahmadinejad was expected in New York for a meeting of the UN General Assembly.
Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption The hikers' release has been negotiated against a backdrop of tension between Washington and Tehran A pair of Americans convicted as spies and jailed in Iran for two years have been released and emotionally reunited with their loved ones. Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal, both 29, were flown to Oman after being freed on bail from Evin prison. They were sentenced in September to eight years in prison on charges of spying. They were arrested in 2009 after crossing into Iran from Iraq, where they said they were hiking. 'Healthy and strong' "We are so happy we are free and so relieved we are free," Mr Fattal said to reporters soon after their arrival on Wednesday in the Omani capital, Muscat. Analysis The release is as carefully choreographed as their colleague Sarah Shourd's a year ago. Once again Iran's president makes a magnanimous gesture shortly before appearing at the UN. The question is whether the release of the hikers is designed to defuse tensions between Washington and Tehran. The roots of the antagonism go back beyond the Islamic revolution of 1979 to the coup of 1953 which deposed Iran's prime minister. The current distrust is focused on Iran's nuclear programme - peaceful, and not aimed at building an atomic bomb, insists Tehran, amid Western scepticism. Some Iran analysts say Tehran wants better relations after years of distrust, but others see the hikers' release as a chess move by President Ahmadinejad as he tries to shore up his internal political position. Mr Bauer added: "Two years in prison is too long and we sincerely hope for the freedom of other political prisoners and other unjustly imprisoned people in America and Iran." Also waiting on the tarmac was Sarah Shourd, 32, a third US hiker who was with Mr Bauer and Mr Fattal when they were arrested. Ms Shourd became engaged to Mr Bauer while they were in prison, before she was freed last year on humanitarian grounds and returned home. Soon after he was reunited with his son, Mr Fattal's father told reporters: "They are healthy, happy and strong." Iran's judiciary reportedly set each bail at five billion rials ($500,000). Mr Bauer and Mr Fattal have always maintained they strayed into Iran accidentally while walking in the poorly marked border region. Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Speaking before news of the hikers' release, Mr Ahmadinejad said it was a humanitarian gesture The trio were arrested in July 2009 after travelling to the Kurdistan region of Iraq for a week's holiday. Ms Shourd pleaded not guilty in absentia, but did not return to stand trial, citing ill health. "The tireless advocacy of their families over these two years has won my admiration, and is now coming to an end with Josh and Shane back in their arms," he added. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton also welcomed the Iranian authorities' decision to free the men. Story highlights U.N. secretary-general appreciates Iranian action Loved ones welcome the freed American hikers in Oman President Barack Obama says he is thrilled by news of the men's release The $1 million bail is paid by the Omani government, their attorney says American hikers Josh Fattal and Shane Bauer bounded down the steps of the aircraft that took them from Iran to Oman late Wednesday, rushing into the arms of loved ones who had sought their freedom for more than two years. Their families and hiker Sarah Shourd -- who was arrested with them but freed last year on medical grounds -- hugged the young men. Bauer said: "Two years in prison is too long and we sincerely hope for the freedom of other political prisoners and other unjustly imprisoned people in America and Iran." "We have waited for nearly 26 months for this moment and the joy and relief we feel at Shane and Josh's long-awaited freedom knows no bounds. President Barack Obama also welcomed the "wonderful news," saying he was thrilled and could not feel happier for the two men's families. Fattal and Bauer were released earlier Wednesday on bail of $500,000 each and their sentences for spying convictions were commuted, Iran's judiciary said, according to government-run Press TV. Shourd is no longer wearing an engagement ring Bauer made from a thread from one of his shirts while they were in prison together because she had lost the ring while traveling round the United States working for the release of her fiance and Fattal, said Samantha Topping, a spokeswoman for the families. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon appreciates "the decision of the Iranian authorities to positively respond to international appeals on humanitarian grounds," according to a statement. The convoy had earlier left the country's notorious Evin Prison through the front gates, accompanied by a police escort, but Bauer and Fattal were not visible.
Unless, of course, the agenda had been rigged from the start." ""We disagree with Julian's assessment of the book. Assange has not sought to block the book. So the contract still stands and Canongate has decided to honour it and publish the autobiography." According to the book Mr Assange had been warned that the US government wanted to set him up. "All memoir is prostitution," the publishers say he declared after reading the first draft. He admits to sleeping with two women but says their allegations that some of the encounters were not consensual are either part of a conspiracy or motivated by his failure to return their calls. The book - a version of which has been seen by the BBC - recounts his early life growing up in Australia and how he became entranced by computers - and by hacking. But it is his account of his time in Sweden that will draw most attention. One of my mistakes was to expect them to understand this? The autobiography of Julian Assange is published today despite attempts by the WikiLeaks founder to suppress it after a bitter row with its publisher. "However, he had already signed his advance over to his lawyers to settle his legal bills and has not repaid the advance owed since. But the book is silent on the main allegation: that he had sex without a condom against his partner's will. I maybe a chauvinist pig of some sort, but I am no rapist." The manuscript was subsequently sold in more than 35 countries. He insists: "I did not rape these women, and cannot imagine anything that happened between us that would make them think so, except malice after the fact, a joint plan to entrap me, or a terrible misunderstanding that was stoked up between them.
The autobiography of Julian Assange is published today despite attempts by the WikiLeaks founder to suppress it after a bitter row with its publisher. In the manuscript, excerpts of which appear exclusively in today's Independent, Mr Assange addresses for the first time the events that forced him into a costly extradition battle over allegations that he sexually abused two women during a stay in Stockholm last summer. It appears despite his decision this year to withdraw his co-operation. After protracted efforts to secure either his consent to publication or the return of an advance worth hundreds of thousands of pounds, his publisher, Canongate, has decided to go ahead. The book offers a deeply personal insight into a man who, in less than a year, went from being an obscure former hacker to one of the world's most recognisable faces thanks to his organisation's explosive revelations. A whole chapter is devoted to explaining his side of the Swedish story. "I have kept my own counsel about the matter until now," he writes. "It will be difficult to keep anger out of this account, owing to the sheer level of malice and opportunism that has driven the case against me." According to the book Mr Assange had been warned that the US government wanted to set him up. He admits to sleeping with two women but says their allegations that some of the encounters were not consensual are either part of a conspiracy or motivated by his failure to return their calls. Elsewhere the memoir paints a vivid portrait of a driven but mercurial idealist bent on moulding the world in his own belief of absolute transparency. It begins with his peripatetic childhood in Australia with his bohemian parents, and describes how he plunged into the underworld of early hacking and later formed WikiLeaks as a whistle-blowing platform. The book also contains bitter rants against his media partners, particularly The New York Times and The Guardian. "The international situation had me in its grip, and although I had spent time with these women, I wasn't paying enough attention to them, or ringing them back," he states. Neither WikiLeaks nor Mr Assange responded to The Independent's request for comment last night. Julian Assange's publishers will publish on Thursday the "unauthorised first draft" of his autobiography without his consent, months after the WikiLeaks founder withdrew from a million-pound contract for his memoirs. In a dramatic move, Canongate has defied Assange's wishes and secretly printed thousands of copies of Julian Assange: The Unauthorised Autobiography, with the book being shipped amid strict security to booksellers in preparation for imminent release. The enormous security operation was put in place by the publishers, according to a source, to stop the author blocking publication. The manuscript was subsequently sold in more than 35 countries. Assange said at the time that he believed the book would become "one of the unifying documents of our generation". But after seeing a first draft in March, the WikiLeaks founder told his publishers that he no longer intended to write the book, believing it could give ammunition to US prosecutors seeking his extradition over possible espionage charges relating to the WikiLeaks cable release. He formally withdrew from his contract on 7 June and since then the Australian and his publisher have been locked in a bitter dispute over the contract and his £500,000 advance, which he has not returned. Assange, requiring funds for his legal fight against extradition to Sweden to face allegations of rape and sexual assault, had placed the advance in escrow, meaning that his former legal team have first claim on any assets. The Independent, which is to serialise the book, starting on Thursday, said Andrew O'Hagan, Assange's ghostwriter, had asked for his name to be removed from the book. The paper said that Canongate, faced with a financial crisis, gave Assange two months to work on the manuscript and, finally, a 12-day window to seek an injunction, which expired on Monday. Assange did not respond to requests for comment, but according to a source close to him, he was aware the publisher had plans to release the draft manuscript, and would have liked to have enjoined it, "but the manner in which this has happened has reduced his options to do so. The book is not in a form that Julian ever expected or believed should be published, and certainly he's concerned that it isn't something that he has properly read through and checked." Canongate said: "Despite sitting for more than 50 hours of taped interviews and spending many late nights at Ellingham Hall in Norfolk (where he was – and still is – living under house arrest) discussing his life and the work of WikiLeaks with the writer he had enlisted to help him, Julian became increasingly troubled by the thought of publishing an autobiography. In a preface to the book, Canongate explains its reasons for defying Assange's wishes. ""We disagree with Julian's assessment of the book. Julian always claimed the book was well written; we agree, and this also encouraged us to make the book available to readers." The volume, Canongate said, "fulfils … the promise of the original book proposal and is, like its author, passionate, provocative and opinionated.". Speaking of the two women who accused him of assault, he says: "The international situation had me in its grip, and although I had spent time with these women, I wasn't paying enough attention to them, or ringing them back, or able to step out of the zone that came down with all these threats and statements against me in America. He says that he failed to phone the second women after their night together, which "turned out to be the most expensive call I didn't make". He insists: "I did not rape these women, and cannot imagine anything that happened between us that would make them think so, except malice after the fact, a joint plan to entrap me, or a terrible misunderstanding that was stoked up between them. The book says Assange admits one of the women's claims: that they wanted him to take an STD test, which he failed to do. In the extracts, he also talks of the thrill of computer hacking, and how accessing top-secret websites quickly became addictive: "The thrill was exorbitant.
There are precedents for both. The gunman, believed to be an Afghan employee of the embassy, was killed in the incident. A U.S. official said he was "one of many who provided essential support for the maintenance of the U.S. Embassy complex in Kabul," and that he "will be sorely missed." Officials in Washington did not question that the attack occurred in a CIA office. The shooting follows a string of attacks by Afghan security forces against their NATO-led mentors carried out either by "rogue" soldiers and police or by insurgents who have infiltrated security forces. TURNED BY THE TALIBAN? Sunday's shooting came the same month that insurgents took over an unfinished high-rise near the city's heavily guarded military, political and diplomatic heart and showered rockets down on the U.S. embassy and NATO headquarters. The incident took place late Sunday inside the Ariana Hotel compound, an annex to the US embassy. Sundwall declined to comment on whether the building was a CIA facility. The killing adds to a sense of insecurity already heightened by a 20 hour-siege of the embassy district in mid-September, and the assassination a week later of the government's peace envoy, former President Burhanuddin Rabbani. Pakistan has strongly denied the allegations. Spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said when contacted by AFP Monday that he was looking into what had happened. "This is a big security concern for the Americans and it shows they can't fully trust their Afghan staff. Senior U.S. officials blamed it on the Haqqani network, who were long based in Pakistan's lawless frontier regions, although they now say they have moved back into Afghanistan.
KABUL An Afghan security guard employed by the U.S. Embassy opened fire inside a CIA office in Kabul on Sunday evening, killing an American contractor and injuring a second person, U.S. and Afghan officials said, in the second major breach of embassy security in two weeks. The killing adds to a sense of insecurity already heightened by a 20-hour siege of the diplomatic district in mid-September, and the assassination a week later of the top government peace envoy, former President Burhanuddin Rabbani. The CIA compound inside the Ariana hotel is one of the most heavily guarded in Kabul, and has been off-limits to the public -- along with the road that runs beside it -- for almost a decade. The compound lies at the heart of the capital's heavily guarded military, political and diplomatic district, a virtual "green zone" that is almost impossible for ordinary Afghans to enter. In Washington, U.S. officials said that an investigation of the shooting was continuing. "Although all possible motivations for the attack are being investigated, no further details on the motivation are available at this time," a U.S. official told Reuters on Monday. U.S. officials said that the investigation would be wide-ranging and that at the moment there was no favored theory. Among possible motivations which will be examined are whether the attacker acted entirely alone in pursuit of a personal grievance, or whether the attack was instigated or supported by militants, such as the Taliban or Pakistan-based Haqqani network. The "lone attacker" was killed. The injured U.S. citizen was taken to a military hospital, U.S. Embassy spokesman Gavin Sundwall said on Monday. The American killed in the incident has not been named nor has his precise role at the embassy been disclosed. A U.S. official said he was "one of many who provided essential support for the maintenance of the U.S. Embassy complex in Kabul," and that he "will be sorely missed." Sundwall declined comment on whether the annex housed the CIA, but Kabul Police Chief Ayub Salangi said there had been an exchange of fire at the Ariana hotel, which he described as a CIA office. He declined further comment on what happened in an area where access is restricted even for Afghan forces. The shooting follows a string of attacks by Afghan security forces against their NATO-led mentors carried out either by "rogue" soldiers and police or by insurgents who have infiltrated security forces. But a senior Taliban commander reached by phone from Pakistan claimed the attacker had secretly joined the insurgents after a group of Taliban approached him to remind him "of his moral and religious duty as an Afghan." "He used the enemy's weapons against the enemy and that's what we have been doing everywhere in Afghanistan," said the Taliban commander, who is operating in Afghanistan and asked for anonymity for security reasons. "This place is at the heart of Kabul and we wanted to tell the Americans that we can chase them anywhere," the militant commander added. Officials in Washington did not question that the attack occurred in a CIA office. The Ariana hotel is just a few blocks away from the Presidential Palace and the U.S. embassy, and has been used by ruling regimes for many years. Waheed Mujhda, of the Afghan Analytical and Advisory Center in Kabul, questioned the Taliban's claim of responsibility and said the incident characterized the level of mistrust between the United States and its Afghan allies. HISTORY OF ATTACKS The CIA suffered the second deadliest attack in its history on an Afghan base at the end of 2009, when a would-be informant blew himself up, killing seven CIA officers. The agency has acknowledged "missteps" and "shortcomings" that included failing to act on warnings about the assailant from Jordanian intelligence or take security precautions. Suicide bomber Humam Khalil Abu-Mulal al-Balawi tricked the CIA into believing he could be a useful tool in the battle against al Qaeda, and was invited inside a well-fortified U.S. compound in Khost province, near the border with Pakistan. The CIA director at the time, Leon Panetta, made security upgrades after that attack, but noted that counterterrorism operations still required working with "dangerous people in situations involving a high degree of ambiguity and risk." Sunday's shooting came the same month that insurgents took over an unfinished high-rise near the city's heavily guarded military, political and diplomatic heart and showered rockets down on the U.S. embassy and NATO headquarters. Senior U.S. officials blamed it on the Haqqani network, who were long based in Pakistan's lawless frontier regions, although they now say they have moved back into Afghanistan. Washington accused Pakistan's spy service of offering the Haqqanis support for the U.S. Embassy and NATO attacks. The attack at the Ariana Hotel compound late Sunday night also wounded another US citizen, an embassy spokesman said. It was the latest eruption of violence to hit supposedly secure sites in Kabul after last week's assassination of Afghan peace envoy Burhanuddin Rabbani and a 19-hour assault targeting the US embassy earlier this month. The CIA compound is one of the most heavily guarded in Kabul, and has been off-limits for almost a decade, since shortly after the Taliban's fall from power in 2001. It also lies at the heart of the capital's heavily-guarded military, political and diplomatic district, a virtual "green zone" that is almost impossible for ordinary Afghans to enter. It was not clear if the U.S. citizens were victims of a rogue employee who had been won over to the insurgent cause, or just the escalation of an argument in a city were tensions are high and many people carry guns. "There was a shooting incident at an annex of the US embassy in Kabul involving an Afghan employee who was killed," said US embassy spokesman Gavin Sundwall. Sundwall said the Afghan employee had carried out the shooting and that he had acted as "a lone gunman." An attack in May which killed six people at a Kabul military hospital is thought to have planned with assistance from inside the Afghan security forces. Officials from the Nato-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) say that many "insider" attacks are committed by Afghans suffering from combat stress or following personal disagreements.
IDF soldier Gilad Shalit, captured by Hamas in 2006. The Israeli government approved the deal early Wednesday after a three-hour debate. Israel and Hamas have reached a prisoner exchange deal that will secure the release of abducted Israel Defense Forces soldier Gilad Shalit, officials at Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said on Tuesday. Palestinians protest in Gaza. Mashaal called the prisoner swap a "national achievement" for the whole Palestinian people and said all 27 Palestinian women in Israeli prisons would be among those released. Two Israeli soldiers were also killed in the raid. Similarly to previous rounds of Shalit talks, the indirect talks are overseen by Egyptian intelligence, headed by intelligence chief General Murad Muwafi and his aides. Activists linked to Palestinian prisoner rights in Israel have also indicated that a recent hunger strike amid those prisoners in Israeli jails was linked to the protest move, as well as the reason Hamas prisoners did not join the strike. Netanyahu called an emergency cabinet meeting scheduled for later Tuesday in which ministers are to discuss the status of talks geared at securing Shalit's release. Shalit, a 19-year-old corporal in the Israeli army at the time of his capture who has since been promoted to staff sergeant, has since been seen and heard in audio and video messages released by Hamas. Gilad Shalit throughout the years Speaking with Haaertz, one Egyptian official said: "After 64 months of tough negotiations we were able to complete the deal. There are unconfirmed reports that Palestinian leader Marwan Barghouti, who is currently serving five life sentences in connection with the deaths of Israelis, is among the names of prisoners to be released.
Tens of thousands of Palestinians took to the streets in the northern Gaza Strip late Tuesday, celebrating the news that after years of on-and-off German and Egyptian-mediated negotiations, Israel and Hamas had reached a prisoners' exchange deal. They handed out sweets, waved the green flags of the radical Islamist Hamas movement ruling Gaza, and chanted slogans in support of the al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas' armed wing. AP Most of them were in Jabaliya, a refugee camp north of Gaza City, the hometown of many Palestinian militants jailed in Israel. In Jerusalem, the family of Gilad Shalit, the Israeli soldier held captive in Gaza for the past five years, could be seen waiting nervously and excitedly in the protest tent that has been their home for the past months, outside Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's residence. ((Ariel Shalit/Associated Press)) Israel and Hamas have signed a prisoner-exchange deal that will secure the release of an Israeli soldier held in Gaza for more than five years "in the coming days," Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday. Netanyahu told reporters late Tuesday he informed Gilad Shalit's parents, Aviva and Noam Shalit, earlier Tuesday of the deal to swap Shalit, 25, who was taken by Hamas-linked Palestinian militants in June 2006 near the border with Gaza. "There is built-in tension between the desire to return a kidnapped soldier ... and the need to preserve the security of the citizens of Israel," Netanyahu said, in comments at the opening of the cabinet meeting. One cabinet minister who voted against the deal, Uzi Landau, said it provides "incentive to kill Israelis and to carry out further abductions." The deal, signed Tuesday after talks through Egyptian and German mediators, will likely free hundreds of Palestinian prisoners currently in Israeli custody and still requires approval by the Israeli cabinet, Israeli media reported. "I do not know if the near future would have allowed us to achieve a better deal, or a deal at all, since it is very likely that this window of opportunity created in these circumstances would have finally closed, and we wouldn't have freed Gilad at all," Israeli newspaper Haaretz quoted Netanyahu as saying Tuesday. Speaking in the Syrian capital, Damascus, Hamas political leader Khaled Mashaal confirmed the deal, which he said would see 450 Palestinian prisoners released within a week, and another 550 in a second phase two months later. Mashaal called the prisoner swap a "national achievement" for the whole Palestinian people and said all 27 Palestinian women in Israeli prisons would be among those released. Israel, which requires its citizens to complete a period of mandatory military service, has traditionally placed a high value on securing the release of its soldiers, often releasing hundreds of enemy prisoners in exchange for the return of Israeli servicemen and women captured or killed in conflicts. Officials in the Prime Minister's Office said that "a brief window of opportunity has been opened that would possibly lead to Gilad Shalit's homecoming," adding: "The window appeared following fears that collapsing Mideast regimes and the rise of extremist forces would make Gilad Shalit's return impossible." Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak are meeting several ministers in the Prime Minister's Office in order to pressure them into voting for the deal, with Netanyahu aides estimating that the deal will be approved by the cabinet, Special attention is reportedly being given to Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman no to vote against the deal along with ministers from his Yisrael Beiteinu party. Activists linked to Palestinian prisoner rights in Israel have also indicated that a recent hunger strike amid those prisoners in Israeli jails was linked to the protest move, as well as the reason Hamas prisoners did not join the strike.
Presumably, under the Cain plan, disasters would be turned off. It's a lie." In "SimCity 4," the default tax rate is 9 percent for commercial taxes, 9 percent for residential taxes and 9 percent for industrial taxes. "Is it an original idea or modeled after a game?" "We encourage politicians to continue to look to innovative games like SimCity for inspiration for social and economic change," said Katsarelis. "While we at Maxis and Electronic Arts do not endorse any political candidates or their platforms, it's interesting to see GOP candidate Herman Cain propose a simplified tax system like one we designed for the video game SimCity 4." I'm not going to take it back and not going to politically say -- but unfortunately that is not totally true. It’s not exactly corporate, income and sales, but it’s close enough to be noticeable. "Our game design team thought that an easy-to-understand taxation system would allow players to focus on building their cities and have fun thwarting giant lizard attacks, rather than be buried by overly complex financial systems." Senior producer Kip Katsarelis seemed bemused. People make up stuff. The Huffington Post made the connection, and contacted Maxis for comment. Democrats obviously hate it, but even many Republicans oppose the increases it would trigger, and Cain’s rivals for the nomination have jumped on him by saying that his plan might be simple, but it wouldn’t work in practice. In a video aired Friday night on "The Rachel Maddow Show," a reporter asked Cain whether he had spent some time in the world of arcologies and flying lizards.
Rarely does the world of politics cross over into my little video game corner here, much less something as significant as the presidential race, but I woke up today with a note in my inbox that claimed candidate Herman Cain’s 9-9-9 tax plan might have had gaming inspiration. As it turns out, in Maxis’s SimCity 4, the default tax rates actually all start at 9% for commercial taxes, 9% for industrial and 9% for residential. "We encourage politicians to continue to look to innovative games like SimCity for inspiration for social and economic change," said Katsarelis. "While we at Maxis and Electronic Arts do not endorse any political candidates or their platforms, it's interesting to see GOP candidate Herman Cain propose a simplified tax system like one we designed for the video game SimCity 4." Cain cites his own economic advisors for coming up with the plan, not the video game, but one has to wonder, if it’s right for SimCity, is it right for America? My thriving virtual metropolis would at least seem to think so. But in reality, Cain’s plan would be in effect raising taxes on the poor, many of whom currently pay no income tax, raising taxes on the middle class, due to the loss of tax credits and the increased sales tax, and lowering taxes for the rich. Democrats obviously hate it, but even many Republicans oppose the increases it would trigger, and Cain’s rivals for the nomination have jumped on him by saying that his plan might be simple, but it wouldn’t work in practice. The Cain camp remains resolute however responding to the SimCity comparisons by saying “everyone likes 9-9-9.” While that might be true for some, unfortunately there aren’t any cheat codes to make the math work in real life. WASHINGTON -- On Friday, Herman Cain responded to The Huffington Post's analysis of the similarities between his "999" economic plan and the default tax rate in "SimCity 4," saying he did not get the idea from the video game. In a video aired Friday night on "The Rachel Maddow Show," a reporter asked Cain whether he had spent some time in the world of arcologies and flying lizards. "You said you had original ideas, successful people around you thinking ideas up," the reporter said while questioning Cain about the "999" plan. "Is it an original idea or modeled after a game?" "It's an original idea, and for people to say it's modeled after a game -- it's a lie," Cain said during a campaign stop in Tennessee. In "SimCity 4," the default tax rate is 9 percent for commercial taxes, 9 percent for residential taxes and 9 percent for industrial taxes. In Herman Cain's America, the corporate income tax rate would be 9 percent, the personal income tax rate would be 9 percent and the national sales tax rate would be 9 percent. "While we at Maxis and Electronic Arts do not endorse any political candidates or their platforms, it's interesting to see GOP candidate Herman Cain propose a simplified tax system like one we designed for the video game SimCity 4." "Our game design team thought that an easy-to-understand taxation system would allow players to focus on building their cities and have fun thwarting giant lizard attacks, rather than be buried by overly complex financial systems." On Friday night, Maddow quipped that Cain's denial of the "SimCity" influence was "giving up the opportunity to cultivate the aging but enthusiastic urban-planning video game market." WASHINGTON -- In Herman Cain's America, the tax code would be very, very simple: The corporate income tax rate would be 9 percent, the personal income tax rate would be 9 percent and the national sales tax rate would be 9 percent. Long before Cain was running for president and getting attention for his 999 plan, the residents of SimCity 4 -- which was released in 2003 -- were living under a system where the default tax rate was 9 percent for commercial taxes, 9 percent for industrial taxes and 9 percent for residential taxes. A screenshot from the game's default settings: There has been all sorts of speculation about where Cain came up with the idea for his catchy plan -- Unnamed economic advisers? -- but beyond a few hardcore gamers in the comments sections of blogs, few have looked to SimCity, the land where there's a "God mode." "While we at Maxis and Electronic Arts do not endorse any political candidates or their platforms, it's interesting to see GOP candidate Herman Cain propose a simplified tax system like one we designed for the video game SimCity 4." "Our game design team thought that an easy to understand taxation system would allow players to focus on building their cities and have fun thwarting giant lizard attacks, rather than be buried by overly complex financial systems." When asked about similarities between Cain's plan and SimCity's default tax rates, Cain campaign spokesman JD Gordon replied, "Well, we all like 9-9-9."
No. "If you are the Kenyan government or a Kenyan, what would you have done? Kenya doesn't know war. You must defend your country." one al-Shabaab official shouted on a radio station in southern Somalia. The UN-backed transitional government, which controls the capital Mogadishu with the support of 9,000 African Union troops, said it was not consulted before Kenyan forces crossed the border. Al-Shabab spokesman Ali Mohamud Rage told the BBC Somali service: "We will defend ourselves. East Africa's largest economy has been hit recently by the overflow from the crisis in its anarchic northern neighbour. After two decades of conflict, weapons are widely available in Somalia and the abductions could also be the work of another armed Somali group. Advertisement Continue reading the main story “There’s no precedent,” Mr. Githongo said. Previous foreign interventions in Somalia have ended in embarrassing withdrawals - the US in 1992 and Ethiopia in 2006. The Kenyan government has justified its actions, blaming the Shabab for a recent string of kidnappings of Westerners in Kenya. The abductions of the British woman Judith Tebbutt and the French woman Marie Dedieu from holiday islands on the northern coast have affected tourism, which is an important foreign-currency earner. Analysis Eyewitness reports say there is a heavy military presence of Kenyan personnel inside Somalia, including air power. Please try again later. View all New York Times newsletters. Kidnap victims Judith Tebbutt: British tourist, 56 years old, snatched by gunmen on 11 September British tourist, 56 years old, snatched by gunmen on 11 September Marie Dedieu: 66-year-old French national, taken on 1 October days after she arrived in Kenya 66-year-old French national, taken on 1 October days after she arrived in Kenya Blanca Thiebaut and Montserrat Serra: Spanish aid workers seized from the Dadaab refugee camp on 13 October Abducted from Kenya: Profiles Q&A: Al-Shabab Several Westerners have been seized in Kenya by suspected Somali militants and reportedly taken into Somalia.
Image copyright AFP Image caption Kenyan troops have been converging on the border with Somalia in recent days Kenya's foreign minister has told the BBC his country has sent troops into neighbouring Somalia to target the Islamist militant group al-Shabab. Witnesses described dozens of military vehicles pouring over the border, backed by planes and helicopters. Reports say al-Shabab, which denies carrying out the abductions, has begun preparing militias to fight back. Al-Shabab spokesman Ali Mohamud Rage told the BBC Somali service: "We will defend ourselves. Kenya doesn't know war. The tall buildings in Nairobi will be destroyed. Kidnap victims Judith Tebbutt: British tourist, 56 years old, snatched by gunmen on 11 September British tourist, 56 years old, snatched by gunmen on 11 September Marie Dedieu: 66-year-old French national, taken on 1 October days after she arrived in Kenya 66-year-old French national, taken on 1 October days after she arrived in Kenya Blanca Thiebaut and Montserrat Serra: Spanish aid workers seized from the Dadaab refugee camp on 13 October Abducted from Kenya: Profiles Q&A: Al-Shabab Several Westerners have been seized in Kenya by suspected Somali militants and reportedly taken into Somalia. Two Spanish aid workers from Medicins Sans Frontieres (MSF) were abducted from Kenya's sprawling Dadaab refugee camp on Thursday. A British woman and a French woman have been kidnapped from remote beach resorts over the past month, dealing a major blow to Kenya's tourism industry. There have been conflicting reports about possible perpetrators of the kidnappings - with some claiming al-Shabab had carried them out, and others saying pirate gangs could be the attackers. After two decades of conflict, weapons are widely available in Somalia and the abductions could also be the work of another armed Somali group. Foreigners repelled Mr Wetangula said the troops went across the border on the request of Somalia's transitional government, which controls very little territory but is backed by the international community. Analysis Eyewitness reports say there is a heavy military presence of Kenyan personnel inside Somalia, including air power. From the Somali government's point of view it will want to send out a message that it can cope with things on its own, that it does not want more foreign troops in Somalia - there are already Ugandan and Burundian propping up the government in Mogadishu - so it is a bit embarrassing to then have another country coming in to help out. From the Kenyan point of view it is trying to send out a message that it is very serious about security -the Kenyan government says it is going after al-Shabab because it thinks the group was behind the recent kidnappings. It is a message aimed at the Kenyan population to say 'look, we can still fight, we can still defend our country'. Kenya raises the stakes "What we are doing is in pursuit of a request by the government of Somalia and also our own interest as a country to fight a group that is terror-based," he said. But officials from Somalia's government denied any knowledge of the incursion, claiming that Kenya merely gave them logistical support. The BBC's East Africa correspondent Will Ross says the transitional government already relies on foreign troops from the African Union (AU), so it is embarrassing to admit that it needs yet another country to intervene. Al-Shabab controls much of southern Somalia, and for years has been locked in combat with government forces and their allies from the AU. Witnesses said tanks and up to 40 Kenyan vehicles carrying soldiers had passed through the Somali town of Dhobley, near the border, on Sunday. Previous foreign interventions in Somalia have ended in embarrassing withdrawals - the US in 1992 and Ethiopia in 2006. Correspondents say many Kenyans will fear their country could be bogged down in a long, unwinnable conflict. Kenya has declared war on a Somali Islamist group and its army yesterday crossed into southern Somalia to pursue al-Shabaab, which it blames for a series of kidnappings inside its territory. Kenyan tanks, troops, trucks and air support were seen inside its northern neighbour a day after the country's Internal Security Minister labelled al-Shabaab "the enemy" vowed to set up a "buffer zone" north of its border. There were also reports of US drone attacks on suspected militant training camps in Ras Kamboni, a coastal forest near the border with Kenya. The biggest military action in Kenya's recent history comes five years after Ethiopia invaded Somalia with US approval and air support – an action that ended in ignominious withdrawal and helped to create al-Shabaab in its current form. Kenyan forces entered an area of southern Somalia where they have previously been supporting at least two Somali militia groups fighting al-Shabaab for territory. However, Nairobi appears to have decided that its proxy war across the border was not working and has sent an occupation force instead. The move could have drastic consequences for famine relief efforts as Kenya said yesterday that no more Somali famine refugees would be allowed to cross into camps in northern Kenya. Aid workers and UN staff around the Somali town of Dhobley, which has been the staging post for efforts to feed hundreds of thousands of starving people, were expected to be evacuated today. Speaking on condition of anonymity, one senior aid official warned that the military operation "could backfire on humanitarian efforts". "Ethiopia went in four years ago and made speedy progress to Mogadishu," said Roger Middleton, a regional analyst from the Chatham House think tank. "What they faced was an intense guerrilla war that drove them out and left behind a worse situation than before." Al-Shabaab responded to Kenya's move yesterday by calling for a holy war: "Are you ready to live under Christians?" He also blamed al-Shabaab for the abductions but said that, while Kenya had the right to protect itself, it should do so within its own territory: "We will not allow any country to invade us." The abductions of the British woman Judith Tebbutt and the French woman Marie Dedieu from holiday islands on the northern coast have affected tourism, which is an important foreign-currency earner. Advertisement Continue reading the main story The Shabab are a ruthless insurgent group; they have pledged allegiance to Al Qaeda and have become masters of suicide bombs, slaughtering countless civilians in their own country and scores of pub-goers in Uganda in July 2010, apparently as a reprisal for Uganda’s involvement in Somalia. Many Kenyans are now concerned that the Shabab may try to kill Kenyans or some of the hundreds of thousands of tourists who flock to see the country’s fabled wildlife parks each year.
Sultan, the half-brother of King Abdullah, was thought to be in his 80s. The crown prince was King Abdullah's half-brother and first in line to the Saudi throne. "He was very much loved by the country." >>> overseas tonight there's pretty revolutionary news from saudi arabia . He is thought to have died at a New York hospital. But Boucek said little has changed. He was also minister of defence and aviation. widely seen as one of the most repressive places on earth for women . Sultan's death leaves his brother Nayef, a reputed conservative, as the likely successor to the king. Bandar served as ambassador from 1983 to 2005 and was friends with the family of former President George W. Bush. President Barack Obama called him a "valued friend" of the United States. Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption The BBC's Peter Biles: "Saudi Crown Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz al Saud had string of health issues dating back to 2004" Saudi Crown Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz al Saud has died, Saudi TV says. they aren't even allowed to drive. He had been ill for some time -- various reports indicated that he was battling cancer -- and was receiving treatment in New York. He has been the interior minister, in charge of the security forces, since 1975. women have been given the right to vote starting four years from now. However, the king - who is 87- has also established a succession council, made up of his brothers and nephews. The Sudairi Seven are the sons of Ibn Saud's most influential wife, Hassa bint Ahmad al-Sudairi.
Story highlights King Abdullah leaves Riyadh hospital after back surgery President Obama says the United States has lost a 'valued friend' Sultan had been ill for some time and died in a New York hospital Prince Nayef, a reputed conservative, is a likely successor The heir to the Saudi throne, Crown Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud, died in a New York hospital early Saturday, officials said, raising succession questions in the key oil-producing country at a time of regional turmoil. He had been ill for some time -- various reports indicated that he was battling cancer -- and was receiving treatment in New York. Saudi television broke into normal programming early Saturday to announce the death. It broadcast Quranic verses and footage of pilgrims in the holy city of Mecca. Sultan's body will be flown back to Saudi Arabia and a burial is scheduled for Tuesday. President Barack Obama called him a "valued friend" of the United States. "He was a strong supporter of the deep and enduring partnership between our two countries," Obama said. "On behalf of the American people, I extend my deepest condolences to King Abdullah, the royal family, and the people of Saudi Arabia. Robert Jordan, a former U.S. ambassador to Saudi Arabia, called Sultan a "staunch ally." "The steps taken to select a new Crown Prince will be scrutinized by the world and will provide insight into King Abdullah's vision for future leadership of the Kingdom." JUST WATCHED Saudi Crown Prince dies Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Saudi Crown Prince dies 02:54 Ascension to the Saudi throne does not pass from father to son. It is unclear when this group, made up of members of the royal family, will be employed to make a decision on the next crown prince. Sultan's death leaves his brother Nayef, a reputed conservative, as the likely successor to the king. Abdullah appointed Nayef in 2009 as the country's second deputy prime minister, a post held by the second in line to the throne. Nayef has been the interior minister since 1975 and as such, he oversaw the kingdom's counterterrorism efforts. "Nayef is widely seen as a hard-line conservative who at best is lukewarm to King Abdullah's reform initiatives," said a classified U.S. Embassy cable leaked by the website WikiLeaks. "However, it would be more accurate to describe him as a conservative pragmatist convinced that security and stability are imperative to preserve Al-Saud rule and ensure prosperity for Saudi citizens," the cable said. "The king is still in charge, and nothing will change until the throne passes from him to the next brother." Gregory Gause, a University of Vermont professor who has authored books on the Gulf states, said Nayef is hardly one to blaze a path for political reform, but that's not to say Saudi Arabia will feel any reverberations. "There is truth to the idea that Nayef is not someone who sees political reform as a major goal of the government," Gause said. "But I do not want to say that if he were to become king, he would act in the same way as he is now." It was the monarch's third back surgery in the past year. "Crown Prince Sultan lived his life in service of his country and also serving the Arab people and the people of Saudi Arabia," said Saleh Al-Namla, a member of Saudi Arabia's Shura Council. He took a leading role in Saudi Arabia's involvement in the 1991 Gulf War against Iraq, heading a coalition of about half a million troops from more than 30 countries. Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption The BBC's Peter Biles: "Saudi Crown Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz al Saud had string of health issues dating back to 2004" Saudi Crown Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz al Saud has died, Saudi TV says. He was in his eighties and was diagnosed with colon cancer in 2004. The royal court confirmed the death in a statement carried by SPA, the state news agency: "With deep sorrow and sadness the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz mourns the death of his brother and his Crown Prince Sultan... who died at dawn this morning Saturday outside the kingdom following an illness." US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton paid tribute to the crown prince, saying Washington's ties with Saudi Arabia were "strong and enduring". He oversaw extraordinary expenditure on modernising the armed forces - with multi-billion dollar deals making Saudi Arabia one of the world's biggest arms spenders. But BBC Middle East analyst Sebastian Usher says that, with the current generation of Saudi leaders now in their seventies or eighties, there is no clear idea yet of who will take over among Ibn Saud's legion of grandsons when they have died out.
"I congratulated him on their win. The Football Association has also written to Chelsea's manager, André Villas-Boas, asking for an explanation of his post-match comments about the referee, Chris Foy, and his assistants. "I don't think I said anything I shouldn't have," he said. Terry's side lost 1-0 and had two players sent off QPR have held talks with defender Anton Ferdinand over allegations he was racially abused by Chelsea captain John Terry in Sunday's match at Loftus Road. The FA said: "The FA has today charged Chelsea with failure to ensure their players conducted themselves in an orderly fashion. He has not accused me of any wrongful remark. It was clear it was all a misunderstanding at the time. This relates to an incident involving Chelsea players surrounding match official Chris Foy, immediately following José Bosingwa's dismissal. A couple of decisions he got right but most he got wrong. "I would never say such a thing - and I'm saddened that people would think so." "We are title contenders and we want to believe we are title contenders. And it was reflected in the result. The FA told BBC Sport on Friday that they are still studying the comments made by the Portuguese manager. Terry has categorically denied making a racist slur but the police are investigating after a public complaint. "If you go one route, you have to stick to it for the rest of the game," he said. We are pushing to play good football, to play attacking football and we are colliding with a lot of bad days from the refs.
Media playback is not supported on this device Villas-Boas critical of referee Chelsea have been fined £20,000 by the Football Association (FA) after admitting failing to control their players in last week's match at QPR. The FA are yet to rule on manager Andre Villas-Boas after asking him to explain comments made about referee Chris Foy. Villas-Boas said a "very poor" display from Foy influenced the club's 1-0 defeat. Two Chelsea players were sent off and seven yellow carded. He faces a fine or touchline ban if he is charged and found guilty. Foy awarded the home side a penalty and sent off both Jose Bosingwa and Didier Drogba before the break. The FA charge related to Chelsea players surrounding Foy immediately following Bosingwa's dismissal. Chelsea cards shown against QPR Red cards: Jose Bosingwa, Didier Drogba Yellow cards: Ashley Cole, David Luiz, John Terry, Frank Lampard, Raul Meireles, Daniel Sturridge, John Obi Mikel Immediately after the match, ex-Porto head coach Villas-Boas said: "The ref was poor - very, very poor. "I spoke to him at the end and I was very aggressive to him. I don't care if he's OK or not. "We have had three referees [this season] with a direct influence on the result and I think it's too much. "I don't think he was ever in control. "Eventually one day things will go in our favour but I think this is too much, it's not to Premier League standards and I am disappointed with his performance today. "Conspiracy theories can lead to bans and lead to you calling us cry babies, and we're not. Chelsea have been charged over the behaviour of their players during their west London derby defeat at QPR. The Football Association has also written to Chelsea's manager, André Villas-Boas, asking for an explanation of his post-match comments about the referee, Chris Foy, and his assistants. Chelsea are accused of surrounding Foy following José Bosingwa's sending-off in the first half of their 1-0 loss at Loftus Road. That decision angered Villas-Boas, who admitted he was "very aggressive" with Foy after the final whistle, later accusing the official of being "card happy" and failing to treat both sides equally. The FA said: "The FA has today charged Chelsea with failure to ensure their players conducted themselves in an orderly fashion. "Separately, the FA has written to Chelsea manager André Villas-Boas and asked for an explanation on his post-match media comments. Villas-Boas has been asked to explain his comments on match official Chris Foy and the assistant referees. On both counts, the club has until Friday 28 October to respond." "I would never question the referee's integrity. "Maybe this is what the FA don't want to hear from me – phrases like, 'The referee has influenced heavily three of our games'." Villas-Boas accepted officials were only "human" but reiterated his attack on what he claimed was inconsistency in Foy's "extremely unfair" decision-making. "With 11 players, we should have played better and there are mistakes we have to avoid and which are fair – you have to be criticised and evaluate yourselves and learn from those mistakes – but it's a very disappointing day for the referee, for Chris Foy. Terry's side lost 1-0 and had two players sent off QPR have held talks with defender Anton Ferdinand over allegations he was racially abused by Chelsea captain John Terry in Sunday's match at Loftus Road. Terry has categorically denied making a racist slur but the police are investigating after a public complaint. "We have been notified of an incident involving alleged racial abuse," said a Metropolitan Police spokesman. Videos circulated on the internet in the aftermath of the game, with some claiming the footage shows Terry, 30, insulting the QPR player using racist language. It was clear it was all a misunderstanding at the time John Terry The alleged incident happened in a bad-tempered game in which Chelsea were reduced to nine men in the first half, with Terry involved in several angry confrontations with referee Chris Foy. Terry said in a statement: "I've seen that there's a lot of comments on the internet with regards to some video footage of me during the game. "I am disappointed that people have leapt to the wrong conclusions about the context of what I was seen to be saying to Anton Ferdinand. "I would never say such a thing - and I'm saddened that people would think so."
"This is very good news for history, for culture, for heritage, for identity, for self-dignity," said Mahdi Abdul Hadi, head of Jerusalem's Palestinian Academic Society. UNESCO video on the organization's history Fifth, even if UNESCO and the Palestinians were to come to some agreement on an upgrade of status short of a status comparable to a member state (thus avoiding sanctions under 22 USC 287e), Congress would likely act to strengthen U.S. law to ensure that even in such a case, U.S. sanctions would apply. So the Palestinians have asked UNESCO for full membership, following September’s request to be admitted to the United Nations. The move jeopardizes America’s funding for the organization. If members of 112th Congress wanted to, they could pass new legislation to amend this 22 USC 287e to avoid a cut-off in funds. “I think that they believe that this is a way to advance their cause. It is not going to come out of a process at the U.N. This is why today most things having to do with the Palestinians, including the ability to provide aid to the PA and the ability of the PLO to maintain an office in DC, require the continual issuance of presidential national security waivers. The Israeli government said Monday's vote by the United Nations cultural agency to accept the Palestinians' bid as a full member would harm efforts to revive Arab-Israeli peace talks. It is Christmas Eve in Bethlehem, where millions of pilgrims and tourists visit the Church of the Nativity each year, built over the site tradition says is the birthplace of Christ. And finally, it should be emphasized that the U.S. funding for UNESCO that is at issue here includes funding from the United States' assessed contributions to the UN, as opposed to voluntary contributions to UNESCO.
The Israeli government said Monday's vote by the United Nations cultural agency to accept the Palestinians' bid as a full member would harm efforts to revive Arab-Israeli peace talks. A foreign ministry statement called UNESCO's action in Paris a "unilateral Palestinian maneuver" that further removed the possibility for a peace agreement. Palestinian leaders welcomed the vote, calling it a historic moment that returns to Palestinians some of their rights. "This is very good news for history, for culture, for heritage, for identity, for self-dignity," said Mahdi Abdul Hadi, head of Jerusalem's Palestinian Academic Society. "This is very good news for those who believe in the Palestinian cause, that it is time, overdue, to recognize the Palestinian rights." Some analysts said the vote will boost the Palestinian move for U.N. state membership launched at the General Assembly last month. However, Hebrew University professor Abraham Diskin said the vote, from a practical point of view, does not help the Palestinian cause. "What the Palestinians really have to look for is the establishment of a Palestinian state and this is not going to be implemented by the decision of an international organization -- of course not UNESCO, but (not) even the General Assembly," he said. Palestinians said they will call on UNESCO to recognize key monuments in the Palestinian territories as world heritage sites, such as the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem. Several Western governments said neither Palestinian membership in UNESCO nor proposed membership in the United Nations will help end the conflict. In addition, the U.S. government, which provides 22 percent of UNESCO's budget, will be required by a 21-year-old Congressional law to cut off funding for UNESCO. Political observers say UNESCO admission is likely to boost the popularity of the head of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas. It was dealt a blow two weeks ago by a deal between rival Hamas and the Israeli government to release more than 1,000 Palestinian prisoners in exchange for a Hamas-held Israeli soldier. UNESCO video on the organization's history In recent weeks members of Congress have written to UNESCO to let leaders of that organization know that upgrading the status of the PLO will jeopardize U.S. funding to that organization. On 10/5/11, Rep. Granger (R-TX), Chair of the Appropriations Committee's Foreign Operations subcommittee, issued a statement warning UNESCO that upgrading the PLO's status could lead to a cut-off of U.S. funding. Back in the earliest days of the peace process, when Congress was not entirely behind White House efforts related to Madrid (and subsequently Oslo), Congress passed a number of pieces of legislation intended to block normalization of Palestinian relations and activities in the international community. These included the following provision of law -- which notably does not include authority for the president to waive the requirements of the law, even in cases where vital U.S. national security interests are at stake. (a) PROHIBITION- No funds authorized to be appropriated by this Act or any other Act shall be available for the United Nations or any specialized agency thereof which accords the Palestine Liberation Organization the same standing as member states. First, if UNESCO were to upgrade the PLO's status, but not to a point that gave the PLO equal status (in terms of rights/privileges) to member states, 22 USC 287e would not apply. Second, even if UNESCO were to upgrade the PLO's status to the same as a member State, Congress is not simply the helpless victim of a law passed 21 years ago during a much different era. Third, the chances of the 112th Congress amending 22 USC 287e to avoid a crisis at the UN are low to non-existent, despite the fact that cutting off funding to UNESCO and other UN agencies would clearly be detrimental to U.S. interests. The general sense seems to be that such legislation may one day again come in handy -- like 22 USC 287e is coming in handy now -- and that in any case, members of Congress don't earn any credit by being "nice" to the Palestinians. This is why today most things having to do with the Palestinians, including the ability to provide aid to the PA and the ability of the PLO to maintain an office in DC, require the continual issuance of presidential national security waivers. Palestinian membership could trigger a cut off in U.S. contributions to UNESCO, more than $70 million per year, about 20 percent of its budget.
"They will have to decide how badly they want to damage Qantas," he said. About 1,310 international passengers may be at international airports now waiting for their flights to depart. Hundreds of passengers left stranded at Heathrow after airline cancels all flights in protracted industrial dispute with unions Hundreds of passengers have been left stranded at Heathrow airport after the Australian airline Qantas grounded its entire global fleet over a bitter industrial dispute that will cause chaos for 70,000 travellers worldwide. The ABC's Patrick Emmett arrived on a flight from London on Saturday only to be told that all further flights were cancelled. Government 'concern' The Australian minister for transport, Anthony Albanese, said the government would take action to intervene in the dispute. Mr Joyce says extra services and staff will be put on domestic and international routes this afternoon. British passengers abroad who are due to use the carrier will also face travel disruption. Grounding the fleet will cost Qantas $A20m (£13m) a day. "I'm now flying with Singapore Airlines in a few days and back at my flat in London to enjoy the rest of the weekend. Chief executive Alan Joyce called his decision "unbelievable". The airline said 13,305 passengers were booked to travel on Qantas planes from overseas airports to Australia in the next 24 hours. The tribunal - which has the power to suspend or terminate industrial action - is to reconvene later on Sunday. In total 108 aircraft will be grounded in 22 airports around the world. Staff will not be required to turn up at work and will not be paid. The airline has been hit by a series of costly strikes.
Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Qantas CEO Alan Joyce announces grounding of the airline The Australian airline Qantas is grounding all international and domestic flights with immediate effect due to an industrial dispute. A statement said all employees involved in industrial action would be locked out from Monday evening and flights grounded from 0600 GMT on Saturday. Fair Work Australia, the national industrial tribunal, adjourned a hearing on the Qantas dispute on Saturday night. The tribunal - which has the power to suspend or terminate industrial action - is to reconvene later on Sunday. Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard has warned that the dispute could have "implications" for the national economy. The airline has been hit by a series of costly strikes. Baggage handlers, engineers and pilots have been involved in the action which the company says is costing A$15m (US$16m) a week. The airline issued a statement on its Facebook page saying customers booked on Qantas flights should not go to the airport until further notice. Relations between the unions and Qantas management started deteriorating in August after the airline announced plans for restructuring and moving some operations to Asia. Analysis At the heart of the dispute are concerns about pay and job security along with cost-cutting and the subcontracting of work overseas as Qantas looks to set up new airlines in Asia and sack hundreds of staff to revive its sagging international fortunes. At Sydney international airport, feelings among marooned passengers oscillated between anger and frustration. Qantas' decision to pull its entire international and domestic fleets from the skies comes during one of Australia's busiest travel weekends, with tens thousands of people converging on the hugely popular Melbourne Cup horse race, an event that stops the nation for a few, brief minutes. Anger and dismay at Qantas move Qantas grounded: Your stories Qantas has a 65% share of the domestic Australian market, but has been making heavy losses on its international flights. The disruption to flights has also affected a meeting of Commonwealth heads of government in Perth, with reports that members from 17 delegations have been stranded in the city because of the dispute. It comes on a busy travel weekend, just days before the country's biggest horse race, the Melbourne Cup. Government 'concern' The Australian minister for transport, Anthony Albanese, said the government would take action to intervene in the dispute. For international customers Qantas will arrange accommodation, meals and transfers QantasLink, Jetstar, Jetconnect services unaffected Qantas homepage Qantas boss risks all for Asia In pictures: Qantas grounds flights "The government is making an urgent application to Fair Work Australia to terminate all industrial action at Qantas. Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce announced the grounding of the airline on Saturday: "The airline will be grounded as long as it takes to reach a conclusion on this." "I'm actually taking the bold decision, an unbelievable decision, a very hard decision, to ground this airline." Qantas dispute August 2011: Qantas announces restructuring and outsourcing plan to combat annual losses in international operation of about A$200m Unions begin series of strikes, pressing for more job security Qantas says 600 flights cancelled and 70,000 passengers affected, at cost of A$68m 29 October: Qantas grounds entire domestic and international fleet - 108 planes at 22 airports "It's unprecedented and really it has hijacked the nation. Qantas said as of 0400GMT on Saturday, there were 64 aircraft in the air - 36 domestic and 28 international - carrying more than 7,000 passengers. Worldwide travel chaos after Qantas grounding Updated Sorry, this video has expired Video: Qantas passengers stranded in Thailand (ABC News) Qantas passengers stranded overseas are still being told to book flights with other carriers despite the ruling to end the industrial dispute which grounded the airline's entire fleet over the weekend. Hotline for affected Qantas passengers: 13 13 13 Qantas updating passengers via its website, Facebook and Twitter QantasLink and Jetstar are continuing to operate flights Qantas boss Alan Joyce has apologised to passengers, saying he regrets the inconvenience and distress caused by the airline's stoush with unions. In Los Angeles passengers began arriving at the Qantas airport counter shortly after the FWA decision was handed down, hoping the earlier they arrived the more chance they would have of getting a flight. "But then obviously the magic thing was we thought 'happy days the plane's ready to go we're going home' - but it sounds like not to be." "I spoke to Qantas about it today and they said that we're best to take that flight to Bangkok because once it's lifted there could be 3,000 people waiting for a flight here at the terminal at LA," he said.
However, she says she will not resign. "The students had encircled the officers," she said Saturday. The chancellor of the University of California, Davis, who had called in the police, criticised the use of pepper spray on the protesters. In the video, an officer dispassionately pepper-sprays a line of sitting protesters who flinch and cover their faces but remain passive with their arms interlocked as onlookers shriek and scream out for the officer to stop. The Occupy Wall Street protests began in New York more than two months ago against perceived corporate greed and economic inequality. Each of those actions could have warranted more force, including baton strikes and pressure-point techniques. The university's faculty association called on Katehi to resign, saying in a letter there had been a "gross failure of leadership." Ten people were arrested at the protest. Most of the protesters have their heads down, but several were hit directly in the face. "I have worked personally very hard to make this campus a safe campus for all." Some members of a crowd gathered at the scene scream and cry out. The officers retreat minutes later with helmets on and batons drawn. Seattle's mayor apologized to the activist, and the New York Police Department official shown using pepper spray on the group of women lost 10 vacation days after an internal review. Video of the incident shows police blasting seated protesters in the face with the chemical at close range. In one instance, a woman pulls her arm back from an officer. "When you start picking up human bodies, you risk hurting them," Kelly said.
SAN FRANCISCO - Two University of California, Davis police officers involved in pepper-spraying seated protesters are being placed on administrative leave as the chancellor of the school accelerates the investigation into the incident. UC Davis Chancellor Linda Katehi on Sunday said she has been inundated with reaction over the incident, in which an officer dispassionately fires pepper spray on a line of sitting demonstrators. Video of the incident was circulated widely on YouTube, Facebook and Twitter on Saturday, in which protesters flinch and cover their faces but remain passive with their arms interlocked, as onlookers shriek and scream out for the officer to stop. The university's faculty association called on Katehi to resign, saying in a letter there had been a "gross failure of leadership." Katehi said she takes "full responsibility for the incident" but has resisted calls for her resignation, instead pledging to take actions to make sure "that this does not happen again." At a news conference Saturday, Katehi said what the video shows is, "sad and really very inappropriate." "I have worked personally very hard to make this campus a safe campus for all." Outrage over police pepper-spraying students Video: Police pepper-spray passive students However, a law enforcement official who watched the clip called the use of force "fairly standard police procedure." Katehi remained in a media room for more than two hours after the news conference Saturday, eventually walking to an SUV past a group of students nearly three blocks long who, in a coordinated effort, remained completely silent. Below is video from CBS Station KOVR of Katehi leaving the building The protest was held in support of the overall Occupy Wall Street movement and in solidarity with protesters at the University of California, Berkeley who were jabbed by police with batons on Nov. 9. Charles J. Kelly, a former Baltimore Police Department lieutenant who wrote the department's use of force guidelines, said pepper spray is a "compliance tool" that can be used on subjects who do not resist, and is preferable to simply lifting protesters. After reviewing the video, Kelly said he observed at least two cases of "active resistance" from protesters. "What I'm looking at is fairly standard police procedure," Kelly said. Images of police actions have served to galvanize support during the Occupy Wall Street movement, from the clash between protesters and police in Oakland last month that left an Iraq War veteran with serious injuries to more recent skirmishes in New York City, San Diego, Denver and Portland, Ore. Some of the most notorious instances went viral online, including the use of pepper spray on an 84-year-old activist in Seattle and a group of women in New York. Seattle's mayor apologized to the activist, and the New York Police Department official shown using pepper spray on the group of women lost 10 vacation days after an internal review. In the video of the UC Davis protest, the officer, a member of the university police force, displays a bottle before spraying its contents on the seated protesters in a sweeping motion while walking back and forth. Nine students hit by pepper spray were treated at the scene, two were taken to hospitals and later released, university officials said. UC Davis Police Chief Annette Spicuzza said the decision to use pepper spray was made at the scene. "Stomach churning video of police using pepper spray on seated anti-Wall Street protesters in Davis, Calif.," actress Mia Farrow wrote in a retweet of the video. Two University of California, Davis police officers involved in pepper spraying seated protesters are being placed on administrative leave as the chancellor of the school accelerates the investigation into the incident. Chancellor Linda Katehi said she has been inundated with reaction over the incident, in which an officer dispassionately fired pepper spray on a line of sitting demonstrators. Video of the incident was circulated widely on YouTube, Facebook and Twitter on Saturday, and the university's faculty association called on Katehi to resign, saying in a letter there had been a "gross failure of leadership". Katehi said she takes "full responsibility for the incident" but has resisted calls for her resignation, instead pledging to take actions to make sure "that this does not happen again".However, a law enforcement official who watched the clip called the use of force "fairly standard police procedure". In the video, an officer dispassionately pepper-sprays a line of sitting protesters who flinch and cover their faces but remain passive with their arms interlocked as onlookers shriek and scream out for the officer to stop. Charles J. Kelly, a former Baltimore Police Department lieutenant who wrote the department's use of force guidelines, said pepper spray is a "compliance tool" that can be used on subjects who do not resist, and is preferable to simply lifting protesters. Images of police actions have served to galvanize support during the Occupy Wall Street movement, from the clash between protesters and police in Oakland last month that left an Iraq war veteran with serious injuries to more recent skirmishes in New York City, San Diego, Denver and Portland, Oregon. Some of the most notorious instances went viral online, including the use of pepper spray on an 84-year-old activist in Seattle and a group of women in New York. Seattle's mayor apologised to the activist, and the New York Police Department official shown using pepper spray on the group of women lost 10 vacation days after an internal review. In the video of this week's UC Davis protest, the officer, a member of the university police force, displays a bottle before spraying its contents on the seated protesters in a sweeping motion while walking back and forth. Nine students hit by pepper spray were treated at the scene, two were taken to hospitals and later released, university officials said.Elsewhere in California, police arrested six Occupy San Francisco protesters early on Sunday and dismantled a tent encampment in front of the Federal Reserve Bank.
Frankly, if you do politics, you should not be thinking about your dignity," she said. Image caption Aung San Suu Kyi may be an MP by the end of the year Aung San Suu Kyi will try to win a seat in Burma's parliament in forthcoming by-elections, her party has confirmed. Former political prisoner to run in upcoming elections days after her party ends boycott of political system. Source: Agencies "Some people are worried that taking part could harm my dignity. The US announced it would sent Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to the country for the first such visit in 50 years. They held a sham election last year that was boycotted by the NLD - the only opposition group strong enough to challenge the army. The military junta eventually wrote a new constitution, which entrenched the power of the military. They won a landslide election victory in 1990 but the result was never recognised by the ruling generals. President Barack Obama outlined what he called the "flickers of progress" in recent weeks, making sure credit went in large part to his counterpart, Burmese President Thein Sein, seen as the main driving force behind recent reforms. Regional body Asean clearly thinks Burma is moving in the right direction. Its decision to award its historically recalcitrant member the rotating chair of the organisation in 2014 is both reward for steps taken thus far and encouragement to keep it up. Ms Suu Kyi and her National League for Democracy (NLD) have operated outside of the political system for years. There are 48 parliamentary seats available but no polling dates have been set for elections.
Image caption Aung San Suu Kyi may be an MP by the end of the year Aung San Suu Kyi will try to win a seat in Burma's parliament in forthcoming by-elections, her party has confirmed. Ms Suu Kyi and her National League for Democracy (NLD) have operated outside of the political system for years. They won a landslide election victory in 1990 but the result was never recognised by the ruling generals. However, in recent days the NLD and the international community have given cautious praise to reforms undertaken by the current government. The US announced it would sent Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to the country for the first such visit in 50 years. And the regional political bloc Asean confirmed Burma had reformed enough for it to hold the chair of the group in 2014. Signs of change The NLD announced on Friday that it was dropping its boycott of elections and would put up candidates for all 48 seats that have been available in a series of by-elections left vacant by reshuffles. However, on Monday, NLD official Nyan Win told reporters: "Aung San Suu Kyi intends to stand for the by-election but it's a bit early to say from which constituency she will run." Analysts speculated that Ms Suu Kyi could be an MP before the end of the year. The NLD's 1990 election victory stunned the country's authoritarian rulers, and they refused to acknowledge the result. Burma suffered a period of intense repression after that election, and Ms Suu Kyi spent much of the following 20 years in jail or under house arrest. They held a sham election last year that was boycotted by the NLD - the only opposition group strong enough to challenge the army. However, President Thein Sein - himself a member of the former ruling junta - has instituted enough reforms for observers to believe that real change may be taking place in the country. Former political prisoner to run in upcoming elections days after her party ends boycott of political system. Democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi commands considerable influence in Myanmar [Reuters] Aung San Suu Kyi, Myanmar's most prominent dissident, will run in an upcoming parliamentary election, a senior official in her party said, three days after her National League for Democracy (NLD) ended its boycott of the country's political system. - Aung San Suu Kyi "Aung San Suu Kyi intends to stand for the by-election but it's a bit early to say from which constituency she will run," Nyan Win, a senior official in her party, told Reuters news agency on Monday. It will be the first time the Nobel Peace Prize laureate has competed in an election since 1990, when her landslide electoral victory was voided by generals intent on maintaining power. Suu Kyi, the daughter of late independence hero Aung San and a staunch opponent of the military dictators who ruled Myanmar until nominally handing power to a civilian parliament in March, spent 15 of the previous 21 years in detention before her release from house arrest a year ago. There are 48 parliamentary seats available but no polling dates have been set for elections. 'Flickers of progress' Suu Kyi had previously not indicated whether she herself was interested in becoming a member of parliament, but her decision comes after Myanmar won a powerful endorsement on Friday when US President Barack Obama announced Secretary of State Hillary Clinton would visit the resource-rich country neighbouring China, citing "flickers of progress". On her two-day visit early next month she plans to meet with Suu Kyi, and has said credible elections are one condition for ending US sanctions, along with the release of more political prisoners and peace with ethnic minorities. The NLD, which has been mostly suppressed since its election landslide in 1990, boycotted elections a year ago because of strict laws that prevented many of its members from taking part. Myanmar recently amended a political party law removing a clause barring anyone convicted of a crime from joining a party or taking part in an election, paving the way for those who had served a prison term, including Suu Kyi, to contest the polls. Strong influence Suu Kyi commands considerable influence over the party and Ko Ko Hlaing, a senior advisor to President Thein Sein, said on the sidelines of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit in Bali last week that the NLD's decision to re-register was a "significant step". The presence of Suu Kyi in parliament would be another dramatic sign of openness that could give more legitimacy to the retired generals in charge of the country, who are eager to be accepted by the public at home and the international community. Under the leadership of Thein Sein, the government has started a dialogue with Suu Kyi; a move welcomed by the West, which has imposed sanctions on the country because of its poor human rights record. The government recently released more than 230 political prisoners, eased media censorship and sought guidance from international financial institutions to revive its economy. Image caption Aung San Suu Kyi's party is rejoining the political process amid signs of change If there was any lingering doubt about whether or not there is a process of change under way in Burma, this past week will surely have dispelled it. On Monday opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi marked a year since her release from house arrest by delivering an overtly political speech. She described the past 12 months as "eventful, energising and to a certain extent encouraging". Just over a year after boycotting a process it rejected as a sham designed to perpetuate military rule in civilian guise, the NLD and its iconic leader are choosing to move back inside the official system. The decision to boycott last November's elections, the first since the NLD's unconsummated landslide win of 1990, led to a faction breaking away to form their own party to contest the poll. Even the president of the United States felt he should call her - his first direct contact with the pro-democracy icon - before announcing that he was sending America's top diplomat, Hillary Clinton, to Burma in December. President Barack Obama outlined what he called the "flickers of progress" in recent weeks, making sure credit went in large part to his counterpart, Burmese President Thein Sein, seen as the main driving force behind recent reforms. REFORM IN BURMA 7 Nov 2010: First polls in 20 years in 20 years 13 Nov: Aung San Suu Kyi freed from house arrest from house arrest 30 Mar 2011: Transfer of power to new government complete to new government complete 14 Aug: Aung San Suu Kyi allowed to leave Rangoon on political visit 19 Aug: Aung San Suu Kyi meets Burmese President Thein Sein Thein Sein 6 Oct: Human rights commission established commission established 12 Oct: More than 200 political prisoners freed freed 13 Oct: New labour laws allowing unions passed allowing unions passed 17 Nov: Burma granted Asean chair in 2014 "We want to seize what could be a historic opportunity for progress, and to make it clear that if Burma continues to travel down the road of democratic reform, it can forge a new relationship with the United States of America," Mr Obama said. But there are several steps that need to be taken before that point is reached - the release of all remaining political prisoners, resolving the armed conflicts which persist in some areas, addressing the rights of Burma's ethnic minorities and ensuring the fair and independent application of the rule of law.
"Instead, he's been out doing other things, campaigning, blaming and travelling. Mr Bloomberg's scathing indictment of Mr Obama over the super-committee failure was echoed by Republican candidates. Authors: “This committee was established by an act of Congress. "A president's job is to lay out a plan and then rally the country to that plan," said Dan Pfeiffer, the White House communications director. From botched snow removal last winter to a ticket-fixing scandal in the New York Police Department, to – most infamously – Bloomberg’s showdown with Occupy Wall Street, there’s a palpable sense that things have soured on the home front. That's not how any CEO would run a business. “It’s the chief executive’s job to bring people together and to provide leadership in difficult situations. Michael Bloomberg has criticized both Democrats and Republicans for 'political cowardice.' Foreshadowing the battle lines on which the 2012 election is likely to be fought, Mr Obama brushed aside the charge that he had been missing in action during the debt debate and put the blame squarely on the shoulders of Republicans. I don’t see that happening,” Bloomberg said at a news conference. Against that backdrop, the tumult of national politics might look like a relatively welcoming place for Bloomberg to start shaping a post-mayoral role for himself. Bloomberg pivots to slamming D.C. New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg has moved in recent days to reclaim the title of the nation’s top Washington outsider, embarking on a messaging tour to blast Congress and the White House for failing to reach a bipartisan agreement on deficit reduction. It was comprised of members of Congress.
Bloomberg pivots to slamming D.C. New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg has moved in recent days to reclaim the title of the nation’s top Washington outsider, embarking on a messaging tour to blast Congress and the White House for failing to reach a bipartisan agreement on deficit reduction. In numerous TV and radio appearances, Bloomberg has criticized Democrats and Republicans for their “political cowardice.” He’s endorsed proposals for debt reduction that include ending the Bush tax cuts and implementing the Simpson-Bowles Commission’s austerity plan. Story Continued Below And in a departure from Bloomberg’s general practice of not criticizing the president – and calling on the country to unite behind him – the mayor accused President Barack Obama of failing to “provide leadership in difficult situations.” On one level, Bloomberg’s media blitz is more of the same for a politician who has long sought out influence in national politics, often on a similar set of issues. But to some, Bloomberg’s national messaging tour also looks like an escape from a third term that has not gone as hoped for. From botched snow removal last winter to a ticket-fixing scandal in the New York Police Department, to – most infamously – Bloomberg’s showdown with Occupy Wall Street, there’s a palpable sense that things have soured on the home front. Against that backdrop, the tumult of national politics might look like a relatively welcoming place for Bloomberg to start shaping a post-mayoral role for himself. “My suspicion is he hasn’t quite figured out what his next act is, but the one thing he knows he wants is to stay relevant and continue cultivating his brand as the independent, sane, grown-up voice in American politics,” said Democratic strategist Dan Gerstein, a veteran of Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman’s independent 2006 campaign. “This plays into his sweet spot: It’s the intersection of independence, adult leadership, and finance and economics.” Attacking Washington over the budget showdown, Gerstein said, is a way for Bloomberg to try and put the political quagmire of Occupy Wall Street behind him – and to reclaim a public identity other than that of an investment banker-defending media billionaire. “This episode has – not just in terms of his management of the protests, but in how he talked about the underlying issues – done real damage to his brand,” said the strategist. “Both the perception and substance is that he’s out of sync with the mood of the country in some of his comments about the nature of capitalism today and income inequality.” Bloomberg advisers dismiss the notion that the mayor is diverting attention from the Occupy Wall Street demonstrations, which the NYPD broke up last week. In a stinging rebuke of Mr Obama , who remained on the sidelines as the deal collapsed, and a rare intervention into Washington politics, Mr Bloomberg, the mayor of New York, said: "It's the chief executive's job to bring people together and to provide leadership. He accused members of Congress of "political cowardice" for helping bring about a "disaster for the country" but the former Democrat and Republican who is now an Independent reserved his strongest words for Mr Obama. "The executive branch must do more than submit a plan to a committee – and then step aside and hope the committee members take action. He added: "It's not how landmark pieces of legislation have gotten through Congress. Mr Bloomberg's words could fuel speculation about whether he could mount a third-party bid for the White House. The New York mayor has made no preliminary moves indicating he might take such a step and has repeatedly said that a "short, divorced, Jewish billionaire" would have no chance. A recent poll from NBC and The Wall Street Journal found that Mr Bloomberg would attract 13 per cent support in next November's election and that Representative Ron Paul, a Republican who is competing for his party's nomination but ran as an Libertarian in 1988, would capture 18 per cent as an Independent. If Mr Paul ran against Mr Obama and Mr Romney, the poll found, the president would be re-elected by a comfortable 12-point margin. "A president's job is to lay out a plan and then rally the country to that plan," said Dan Pfeiffer, the White House communications director. But if at the end of the day, the other party decides that adhering to rigid ideological dogmas is more important than what the American people want, that's their choice to make." The so-called super committee of 12 senior congressmen from both parties was set up in August to save $1.2 trillion (£767 billion) over 10 years, as part of the deal to raise the US debt limit. And thousands of men and women who would have gotten back to work will remain unemployed.” Bloomberg, who has been rumored as a potential third-party candidate in the upcoming presidential elections, criticized both parties for their lack of action.
Please re-enter. Advertisement Continue reading the main story “It means that, if the Brotherhood chooses, Parliament can be an Islamists affair — a debate between liberal Islamists, moderate Islamists and conservatives Islamists, and that is it,” Michael Wahid Hanna, an Egyptian-born researcher at the Century Foundation in Cairo, said this week. Analysts had predicted a strong showing for the FJP, which is by far the best-organised political party in Egypt. Nine of Egypt's 27 governorates went to the polls this week and full results will not be known until January [Reuters] Egypt's election commission has again delayed the release of results of the opening stage of the country's first polls, saying counting was still taking place. Brotherhood leaders announced Wednesday that they expected the Islamist parliamentary majority to name a prime minister to replace the civilian government now serving the military. View all New York Times newsletters. "A regime that cannot protect its citizens is a regime that has failed in performing its basic function." The FJP is nominally a part of the Democratic Alliance, but the bloc's other members are mostly small and unknown; FJP candidates comprise 70 per cent of the alliance's candidates in party list districts, and 90 per cent in individual districts. Source: Al Jazeera and agencies Analysts says preliminary results suggest Freedom and Justice party could win as many 40% of seats in new legislature Political Islamists look likely to dominate Egypt's first post-Mubarak parliament, with sweeping victories for religious parties predicted in the first round of elections. Egyptian election laws required the Salafi parties to put at least one woman on their electoral roster for each district, but they put the women last on their lists to ensure they would not be elected, and some appear with pictures of flowers in place of their faces on campaign posters.
Muslim Brotherhood expected to be dominant force after it said its party had taken at least 40 per cent of the vote. Nine of Egypt's 27 governorates went to the polls this week and full results will not be known until January [Reuters] Egypt's election commission has again delayed the release of results of the opening stage of the country's first polls, saying counting was still taking place. The results, which had already been pushed back from Wednesday evening until Thursday, will now be released on Friday, the official MENA news agency quoted chief electoral official Abdel Moez Ibrahim as saying. The delay was necessary "as the counting of votes is still going on in a number of districts because of the large number of voters who took part in these elections," said Ibrahim. The vote on Monday and Tuesday in Cairo and Alexandria and other areas was the first of three stages when voters from nine of the country's 27 governorates went to the polls to elect a new lower house of parliament. Live Box 20111120475439857 Results for the party list seats, which make up two-thirds of the People's Assembly, will not be available until January. Unofficial numbers have begun to leak out, though, mostly from sources within the parties. A source in the Freedom and Justice Party (FJP), the Muslim Brotherhood's political party, said on Wednesday that it had won roughly 40 per cent of the vote, according to its own exit polls. The best results came in Fayoum governorate, south of Cairo; the source also said the FJP polled well in Cairo, Assiut and Red Sea governorates. The party's toughest competition was in Alexandria and Kafr al-Sheikh governorates, where al-Nour, a Salafi party, reportedly performed well. The FJP is nominally a part of the Democratic Alliance, but the bloc's other members are mostly small and unknown; FJP candidates comprise 70 per cent of the alliance's candidates in party list districts, and 90 per cent in individual districts. Strong showing predicted Basil Adel, a member of the Egyptian Bloc, also predicted a strong showing for Islamists: He told Reuters that the Democratic Alliance had won between 40 and 50 per cent of the vote, and predicted a 5-to-7-per cent showing for the Nour party. Adel said his own bloc, the main liberal alliance in Egypt, secured between 20 and 30 per cent of votes counted so far in Cairo. Live Box 2011111713397233347 Diaa Rashwan, the head of the Ahram Centre for Political and Strategic Studies, told Egypt's state-run Al-Ahram newspaper that Islamist parties - including the FJP, Nour, and several other smaller parties - could collectively win 65 per cent of seats in the first round of voting. It fielded thousands of volunteers on election day to help voters at polling stations; many of them were accused of handing out flyers and doing other last-minute campaigning, which is illegal under Egyptian law. Elections for the lower house of parliament will continue in two more stages over the next five weeks, with ballots on December 14 and January 3. The preliminary results extend the rising influence of Islamists across a region where they were once outlawed and oppressed by autocrats aligned with the West. They are positioned for a major role in post-Qaddafi Libya as well. But it is the victory in Egypt — the largest and once the most influential Arab state, an American ally considered a linchpin of regional stability — that has the potential to upend the established order across the Middle East. “We abide by the rules of democracy, and accept the will of the people,” Essam el-Erian, a leader of the Brotherhood’s new party, wrote in the British newspaper The Guardian. But the real — and only — victor is Egypt.” Results will not be final until January, after two more rounds of voting. And the ultimate scope of the new Parliament’s power remains unclear because Egypt has remained under military rule since Mr. Mubarak resigned as president in February. But Parliament is expected to play a role in drafting a new Constitution with the ruling military council, although the council has given contradictory indications about how much parliamentary input it will allow. Advertisement Continue reading the main story The emergence of a strong Islamist bloc in Parliament is already quickening a showdown with the military. Brotherhood leaders announced Wednesday that they expected the Islamist parliamentary majority to name a prime minister to replace the civilian government now serving the military. In response, a senior official of the military-led government insisted that the ruling generals would retain that prerogative. The ultraconservative Salafi parties, meanwhile, will be able to use their electoral clout to make their own demands for influence on appointments in the new government. The Brotherhood has pledged to respect basic individual freedoms while using the influence of the state to nudge the culture in a more traditional direction. But the Salafis often talk openly of laws mandating a shift to Islamic banking, restricting the sale of alcohol, providing special curriculums for boys and girls in public schools, and censoring the content of the arts and entertainment. Video Their leaders have sometimes proposed that a special council of religious scholars advise Parliament or the top courts on legislation’s compliance with Islamic law. Egyptian election laws required the Salafi parties to put at least one woman on their electoral roster for each district, but they put the women last on their lists to ensure they would not be elected, and some appear with pictures of flowers in place of their faces on campaign posters. He defended his actions on a television talk show, saying he had felt like a doctor making an emergency intervention to save a patient dying of cancer. The new majority is likely to increase the difficulty of sustaining the United States’ close military and political partnership with post-Mubarak Egypt, though the military has said it plans to maintain a monopoly over many aspects of foreign affairs. Speaking on the condition of anonymity, an Israeli official acknowledged concerns: “Obviously, it is hard to see in this result good news for Israel.” Advertisement Continue reading the main story Some members of Egypt’s Coptic Christian minority — about 10 percent of the population — joked Wednesday that they would prepare to leave the country.
The defendant, of New Addington, was arrested after the footage, filmed on a Croydon to Wimbledon tram, was posted on YouTube. After the video was played to the court, the court clerk asked West how she wanted to plead. She was remanded in custody to appear by videolink for a committal hearing at Croydon Magistrates' Court. Family members also broke down and supporters in the public gallery shouted "what a disgrace" and "we love you Emma" as the decision was announced. Image caption Emma West was arrested after footage was posted on YouTube A woman accused of racially abusing fellow passengers on a busy tram watched a film of her alleged rant when she appeared in the dock. An administrative error earlier led to Ms West entering a not guilty plea. She cried as the three magistrates watched the footage, which has now been seen more than 11 million times online. Miss West will spend Christmas in prison after magistrates refused her bail application. She repeatedly wiped tears from her face during the hearing, which had a heavy police presence. The court file was later amended to show she has not yet pleaded. Emma West, 34, appeared at Croydon Magistrates' Court charged with a racially aggravated public order offence. A bail application was made by Ms West's solicitor David Ewings, but it was denied by the magistrate Ian McNeal to protect her safety. Ms West was remanded in custody until 3 January. The 34-year old, who originally pleaded not guilty, chose to be tried by a judge and jury and will re-enter a plea at Crown Court.
A woman accused of a racist rant on a tram broke down in tears as a video of the incident was played in court. Emma West, of New Addington, was charged with a racially-aggravated public order offence after a video showing a woman abusing passengers on a Croydon tram was posted online on November 27. Wearing a black cardigan and a blue top, she cried out of the sight of the packed public gallery, as the two-and-a-half minute video was played. She repeatedly wiped tears from her face during the hearing, which had a heavy police presence. Miss West will spend Christmas in prison after magistrates refused her bail application. Family members also broke down and supporters in the public gallery shouted "what a disgrace" and "we love you Emma" as the decision was announced. Chairman of the bench, Mr McNeil, told her she was being remanded in custody for her own safety after death threats were posted on YouTube and Facebook. Emma West, 34, broke down as video of the alleged incident was played to Croydon magistrates court A woman broke down in the dock as a video allegedly showing her racially abusing fellow passengers on a busy tram was played out to a courtroom. Emma West, 34, from New Addington, south London, appeared at Croydon magistrates court charged with a racially aggravated public order offence. She bowed her head and sobbed as the three magistrates watched the footage, which has now been seen more than 11 million times online. Image caption Emma West was arrested after footage was posted on YouTube A woman accused of racially abusing fellow passengers on a busy tram watched a film of her alleged rant when she appeared in the dock.
However, the villagers said Wukan, and its neighbouring town, had always been fierce. A land dispute in the Guangdong village intensified this week when a villager died in police custody. Please tell the government in Beijing to help us before they kill us all,” Return our farmland! At the scene On Thursday morning there was a fresh rally by villagers chanting slogans like "Down with corrupt officials" but also "Long live the Communist Party", showing that the protesters are placing the blame for the dispute on local officials. “We think we can last for ten to 12 days,” said Zhang Xiaoping, one stall owner. 'What's going on?' The latest unrest was sparked by the detention and death of Xue Jinbo, who was acting as a village representative. To unify and focus the village’s grief and anger, a continual loop of mourning music is played over the village’s loudspeakers. China's rural unrest 14 Dec 11: Stand-off in Wukan after a villager dies in custody Stand-off in Wukan after a villager dies in custody 21-23 Sept 11: Three days of rioting in Wukan Three days of rioting in Wukan Nov 08: Protesters attack government buildings over plans to demolish homes in Gansu Protesters attack government buildings over plans to demolish homes in Gansu Apr 08 : One person killed as police fire on protesters in Yunnan : One person killed as police fire on protesters in Yunnan March 07: Up to 20,000 rural workers clash with police in Hunan Up to 20,000 rural workers clash with police in Hunan Dec 05: Police shoot dead a number of protesters in Guangdong Police shoot dead a number of protesters in Guangdong April 05: Some 20,000 peasants drive off more than 1,000 riot police in Zhejiang Some 20,000 peasants drive off more than 1,000 riot police in Zhejiang Nov 04: Paramilitary troops put down uprising of about 100,000 farmers in Sichuan province China village protest escalates The government detained him with a group of others last week, saying he was a criminal suspect being held in relation to the September protests.
Image caption Images supplied by villagers show large rallies in Wukan China's internet censors have blocked searches relating to an ongoing protest in the village of Wukan, web users say. Users of Sina Weibo, the country's Twitter-like micro-blogging site, say searches for Wukan return no results. Instead, a message appears saying: "According to relevant law, regulations and policies, search results for Wukan cannot be displayed." A land dispute in the Guangdong village intensified this week when a villager died in police custody. Roads into the village have been closed and are being guarded by heavily armed security personnel on one side, and villagers on the other. Hundreds of protesters held a rally on Thursday morning in the centre of the village, the BBC's Martin Patience reports from Wukan. At the scene On Thursday morning there was a fresh rally by villagers chanting slogans like "Down with corrupt officials" but also "Long live the Communist Party", showing that the protesters are placing the blame for the dispute on local officials. Entering Wukan is difficult - the police have erected a cordon around the village, as have the villagers themselves. They say five men have been snatched from the village by the police in recent days, with no reason given for their detention. Villagers accuse corrupt local officials of colluding with developers and taking their land without offering compensation. However, this week the death of a village leader who had apparently been trying to negotiate with local officials sparked another outbreak of unrest. But postings on Sina Weibo from residents of the village have been quickly removed, as officials seek to control information about the unrest. Some web users are now referring to the protests as "WK", which can be short for Wukan or roughly translated as "what's going on?". The latest unrest was sparked by the detention and death of Xue Jinbo, who was acting as a village representative. China's rural unrest 14 Dec 11: Stand-off in Wukan after a villager dies in custody Stand-off in Wukan after a villager dies in custody 21-23 Sept 11: Three days of rioting in Wukan Three days of rioting in Wukan Nov 08: Protesters attack government buildings over plans to demolish homes in Gansu Protesters attack government buildings over plans to demolish homes in Gansu Apr 08 : One person killed as police fire on protesters in Yunnan : One person killed as police fire on protesters in Yunnan March 07: Up to 20,000 rural workers clash with police in Hunan Up to 20,000 rural workers clash with police in Hunan Dec 05: Police shoot dead a number of protesters in Guangdong Police shoot dead a number of protesters in Guangdong April 05: Some 20,000 peasants drive off more than 1,000 riot police in Zhejiang Some 20,000 peasants drive off more than 1,000 riot police in Zhejiang Nov 04: Paramilitary troops put down uprising of about 100,000 farmers in Sichuan province China village protest escalates The government detained him with a group of others last week, saying he was a criminal suspect being held in relation to the September protests. But on Monday the authorities announced that he had died of a "sudden illness" on the third day of his detention. The Lufeng city government, which oversees Wukan, said he had died after developing heart problems and "other causes had already been provisionally ruled out". Rumours spread that he had been beaten to death by police, but reports in state media dismissed those claims. China has thousands of rural riots and protests every year, but the Wukan unrest appears much bigger and more resilient than other outbreaks. Villagers claim that a representative of the local government offered to release the men, as well as the body of another villager who died in custody, but only if Wukan ended a protest that has driven out all of the village’s party officials and police. The government sent an uncle of one of the prisoners, 21-year-old Zhang Jiancheng, to plead for the village to accept the deal. “He came this morning and said that if we tear down our barricades, remove our banners and return to normal life, the government would not make any more arrests, would release its prisoners and release Xue Jinbo’s body,” said Yang Semao, one of the village’s representatives. However, Mr Yang said the village had turned down the offer, and vowed to fight on, despite only having enough food left for ten more days of the siege. He added that another government employee, a family friend of his mother, had called on her to warn that her son would be shot on sight and the villagers sent to labour camps. Wukan has been encircled by a police cordon since Sunday, after an attempt by 1,000 armed officers failed to retake the town. However it was the death of 43-year-old Xue Jinbo, one of the village’s 13 temporary representatives, in police custody that pushed Wukan into its current fury, and saw the last of the village’s dozen Communist party officials flee. “We want them to admit responsibility for the bloodshed when the riot police beat us in September, admit that we have a legal complaint, admit that the village representatives are a legal negotiating team, and to return all of our land to us, for us to split evenly among the villagers,” said Mr Yang. He added that while the government was publicly threatening Wukan, in private the mayor of the next door city had been bombarding him with conciliatory phone calls. “There are some police patrols to stop us leaving the bay, these have gone on for ten days,” said one fisherman, who asked to be named as “United Wukang”. The gap between the rich and poor in the village has also upset many, with at least a hundred families, including those of the former party secretary and village finance chief, living in palatial three and four storey mansions, all built on farmland.
I have nothing to do,” Mark said. At the peak of the operation there were 170,000 US troops and more than 500 bases in Iraq. More than 140,000 Iraqis worked with the United States during the nearly nine-year war and occupation., and tens of thousands have since applied for immigration visas in the United States. “All the people around me know that I was working with the Americans. The final convoy of 100 U.S. military vehicles carrying about 500 troops crossed into Kuwait Sunday morning at 7:38 a.m. local time, (0438 UTC), leaving behind only several hundred U.S. security personnel at the U.S. embassy in Baghdad. The Iraqi newspaper Sabah al-Jadid reported last month that many former interpreters were throwing away any paperwork that identifies them as such. “For nine months I am jobless, waiting for that visa. But, Saddam's fall sparked a Sunni insurgency that evolved into a brutal sectarian conflict between Iraq's Shi'ite and Sunni communities, with violence peaking in 2006. Photo Gallery: US Forces Leave Iraq Some information for this report provided by AP, AFP and Reuters. Obama opposed the war when he ran for office and vowed to end it. “They’ll call and say, ‘hi, is this John from the PRT?’” but using his real name, John said. "Part of history, you know - we're the last ones out." The American soldiers cheered as they entered Kuwait and said they look forward to reuniting with their families. Provincial reconstruction teams used to spend heavily – buying greenhouses for farmers, for example – but that money has dried up as the teams closed down.
Image copyright Getty Images Image caption The exit of US troops leaves behind a fragile democracy in Iraq The last convoy of US troops to leave Iraq has entered Kuwait, nearly nine years after the invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein. The final column of about 100 armoured vehicles carrying 500 soldiers crossed the southern Iraqi desert overnight. At the peak of the operation there were 170,000 US troops and more than 500 bases in Iraq. Nearly 4,500 US soldiers and tens of thousands of Iraqis have died since the US-led campaign began in 2003. The operation has cost Washington nearly $1 trillion (£643bn). Analysis US troops have trained up Iraqi security forces which, if they stick together, can arguably contain the internal security situation, still stubbornly jammed at a level of violence which kills on average around 350 people every month. But security has to be rooted in political stability, and that's only one of many challenges immediately facing Iraq. Even as the final US troops were heading for the border, a political crisis was erupting in Baghdad, with deputies from Ayyad Allawi's Iraqiyya block pulling out of parliament. There's also a widespread conviction that with the Americans gone, Iranian influence will spread. While most Iraqis believe it was high time for the Americans to go, many are deeply worried about the challenges that lie ahead. US forces ended combat missions in Iraq in 2010 and had already handed over much of their security role. "(It's) a good feeling... knowing this is going to be the last mission out of here," said Private First Class Martin Lamb, part of the final "tactical road march" out of Iraq. "Part of history, you know - we're the last ones out." As the last of the armoured vehicles crossed the border, a gate was closed behind them and US and Kuwaiti soldiers gathered there to shake hands and pose for pictures. The only US military presence left in Iraq now is 157 soldiers responsible for training at the US embassy, as well as a small contingent of marines protecting the diplomatic mission. The low-key US exit was in stark contact to the blaze of aerial bombardment Washington unleashed against Saddam Hussein in 2003. Tribute US President Barack Obama marked the end of the war earlier in the week, meeting Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. He announced in October that all US troops would leave Iraq by the end of 2011, a date previously agreed by former President George W Bush in 2008. Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption The US troops left Iraq for the last time, crossing into Kuwait In a recent speech at Fort Bragg in North Carolina, President Obama paid tribute to the soldiers who had served in Iraq. Washington had wanted to keep a small training and counter-terrorism presence in Iraq, but US officials were unable to strike a deal with Baghdad on legal issues including immunity for troops. Tens of thousands of Iraqis who helped US forces are worried about their departure [GALLO/GETTY] Baghdad, Iraq – It was supposed to be a simple deal: Work with the American occupation here for one year, and earn a visa to resettle in the United States. John put in 27 months as a linguist and adviser, both with the military and with a Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) attached to the US embassy in Baghdad. Thirteen months later, he is still waiting for an answer, and worries that he might be killed before he gets one: The Iraqi government has been gathering details about people who worked with the US military, and John fears that information could be leaked to armed groups; and he has received several anonymous, harassing phone calls from people who know about his work history. “They think we don’t even deserve to be Iraqi.” Huge backlogs As the last US troops depart Iraq this month, they leave behind thousands of former colleagues, like John, who thought they would have emigrated by now. (John is not his real name, of course; he asked to remain anonymous, both to protect his safety in Iraq and his visa application in the United States.) More than 140,000 Iraqis worked with the United States during the nearly nine-year war and occupation., and tens of thousands have since applied for immigration visas in the United States. A law passed in 2008 created the Special Immigrant Visas (SIV) programme, which was supposed to expedite the process: It allocated 25,000 visas over five years for Iraqis who worked with Americans and face an “ongoing threat” in their home country. But four years later, only about 7,000 of those visas have been issued, according to the State Department, with more than 30,000 applications pending a decision. The process has become especially slow this year, after the Obama administration started requiring more detailed background checks for visa applicants. Just nine people received visas under the SIV programme during the entire month of April. “We have programmes that allow some of them to travel to the US, and huge backlogs in these programmes, that’s true… a lot of it is the processing back in Washington.” Iraqis who worked with the US say those risks are escalating now that the last American troops are preparing to leave. “Anybody who was against the US troops, I feel that I am in danger from them.” The average wait for the SIV programme is now more than nine months, even for those Iraqis with clean records and good recommendations.
"Now, South Korea urgently needs to think of who in North Korea it has to deal with," he said. Little is known about Kim Jong-un. Will Kim's death aid ties with US? Kim Jong-il inherited the leadership of North Korea from his father Kim Il-sung. The statement called the son "the great successor to the revolution" and "the eminent leader of the military and the people." Ruling party members in one North Korean county were shown by state TV banging tables and crying out loud, the AFP news agency reports. Last year it emerged that North Korea had built a uranium enrichment plant that could give it the ability to drastically strengthen its nuclear capability. Pyongyang's neighbours are on alert amid fears of instability in the poor and isolated nuclear-armed nation. Unnamed government officials in Seoul were quoted as saying they did not believe the launch was linked to the announcement. Fifty South Koreans died in the two separate episodes. But while the tests — the first was a fizzle — may have given the country a measure of protection against an American invasion, which Mr. Kim and his military leaders long feared, they also deepened his isolation. Kim Jong-un is believed to be in his late 20s and his youth and relative inexperience could make him vulnerable to power struggles; some analysts have questioned the depth of the military’s support for him. They continued: "They agreed that Kim Jong-il's brother-in-law Jang Song-taek would prove a strong rival for the younger Kim and would probably be tempted to challenge him. He had reportedly been in poor health since suffering a stroke in August 2008.
SEOUL, South Korea — Kim Jong-il , the North Korean leader who realized his family’s dream of turning his starving, isolated country into a nuclear-weapons power even as it sank further into despotism, died on Saturday of a heart attack while traveling on his train, according to an announcement Monday by the country’s state-run media. Word of Kim’s death sent shock waves through North Korea’s Asia neighbors and reverberated around the world, reflecting the unpredictable outcome of an abrupt leadership change in one of the most opaque and repressive countries. North Korea is technically still at war with South Korea and the United States after nearly 60 years and has few friends besides China. South Korea immediately put its armed forces on a high state of alert, and the South Korean news agency Yonhap reported that North Korea tested an unspecified number of short-range missiles on Monday morning. The news agency said the tests were conducted before the announcement of Mr. Kim’s death. The North had kept news of the death of its leader secret for roughly two days, perhaps a sign that the leadership was struggling to position itself for what many believe could be a particularly perilous transition. A few hours after the announcement, the ruling Workers’ Party and other state institutions released a joint statement suggesting Mr. Kim’s chosen successor, his youngest son, Kim Jong-un, was in charge. The statement called the son "the great successor to the revolution" and "the eminent leader of the military and the people." It was the first time North Korea referred to the son as "leader" since his ailing father pulled him out of obscurity in September last year and made him a four-star general and vice chairman of the Central Military Commission of the Workers’ Party. The Workers’ Party said that “Under the leadership of our comrade Kim Jong-un, we have to turn sadness into strength and courage, and overcome today’s difficulties.” K.C.N.A., the official news agency, said North Korean soldiers and citizens were swearing allegiance to Kim Jong-un. Kim Jong-un is believed to be in his late 20s and his youth and relative inexperience could make him vulnerable to power struggles; some analysts have questioned the depth of the military’s support for him. Kim Jong-il’s death came after a long illness, dating to 2008, that American intelligence agencies believed involved some form of a stroke. The North has indicated he was 69 years old, but scholars have said he could have been a year older. In a statement read by a tearful television announcer that was repeated by other state-run media, North Korea said Kim Jong-il had died of a heart attack while on his train, as he was conducting an “onsite guidance tour” in an unspecified part of the country. The statement said: “We took every emergency measure we could, but the great leader passed away.” His death ended 17 years of rule over the isolated, paranoid country that his father, Kim Il-sung, founded. American and Asian officials were on alert for any signs that the country, which has almost inexplicably avoided collapse in recent decades, could begin to fracture. American and South Korean officials have expressed concern that any power struggle could lead some factions in the North to lash out — as they did in 2010, attacking a South Korean island and, according to South Korean intelligence, sinking a warship. Under Kim Jong-il’s rule, the North accomplished the single milestone that his father had dreamed about, exploding two crude nuclear devices, one in 2006 and another in 2009, just months after President Obama took office. The 2009 test killed any discussion inside the Obama White House of reaching out to the North Korean leadership, especially after Mr. Kim largely abandoned agreements he reached with the George W. Bush administration to denuclearize. Reports from North Korea said the country's 24 million people had already begun to rally round Kim Jong-un, who has been the communist state's leader-in-waiting for more than a year. At the leadership of comrade Kim Jong-un, we have to change sadness to strength and courage and overcome today's difficulties." Little is known about Kim Jong-il's third son, who is believed to be in his late twenties; reports from Pyongyang suggest his ailing father had spent the past year grooming Kim Jong-un, whom the state media are now calling "the great successor" for leadership of the world's most isolated nation by taking him on "field guidance" trips around the country. He is also reported to have travelled to China with his father in August 2010, when Kim senior - known as the "Dear Leader" - is thought to have met Chinese president Hu Jintao and appealed for diplomatic and financial support for his son's succession. But as it is, Kim senior, who suffered a stroke in 2008 and was reportedly ill with heart disease, died a year short of the centennial of the birth of his father, an event he was to mark by proclaiming his country a successful, modern state and a bona fide nuclear power. If the handover of power in North Korea, the world's only communist dynasty, proceeds as envisaged by Kim Jong-il, his son could be about to complete a rapid rise to prominence following his public debut in September last year. Then, he was awarded the rank of four-star general and made vice-chairman of the ruling Workers' party of Korea central military commission, a move analysts say was designed to place him at the centre of the country's power structure. The regime had recently been seeking tens of thousands of tonnes of aid amid reports of serious food shortages this winter; a famine in the 1990s killed an estimated 1 million of North Korea's 23 million people.
It was not just a Hindu issue. Russia recognises freedom of religion among its four main faiths, Orthodox Christianity, Islam, Buddhism and Judaism. We will not tolerate this(ban on Gita). The government should impress upon the Russian authorities through diplomatic channels." Image caption Hare Krishna adherents protest in Calcutta Indian Foreign Minister SM Krishna has described as "absurd" a complaint in Russia that the Hindu holy book Bhagvad Gita is an extremist religious text. When I congratulated Lalu ji, Mulayam Singh ji, Sharad Yadav ji, Mahtab ji along with the Congress leaders Arun Kumar ji and Pawan Bansal ji with our stalwarts like Joshi ji and hokum Dev Narayan ji, in a media briefing in Parliament yesterday media persons were surprised. And hence it was a day when India rose in one voice, as one people and one culture. All should condemn whatever the attorney in Siberia has said about Gita. India's foreign minister will address parliament on Tuesday about the government's position with regard to the Bhagavad Gita case. Curiously, the State Prosecutor had referred the scripture to Tomsk State University for an expert examination. Lawmakers demanded to know if he had raised the issue of the trial with Russian officials. All that we want to say is that we wont tolerate the insults to Lord Krishna. The uproarious scenes followed when members demande a discussion and the speaker had to adjourn the house till 2 pm with a promise to allow the discussion. He wanted to build our nation on the message of Gita. The book is central to the Hare Krishna movement and dozens of its adherents protested outside the Russian consulate in Calcutta on Monday.
Image caption Hare Krishna adherents protest in Calcutta Indian Foreign Minister SM Krishna has described as "absurd" a complaint in Russia that the Hindu holy book Bhagvad Gita is an extremist religious text. Indian MPs have expressed outrage at a court case in Russia that could see the Hindu holy book banned there. State prosecutors in Tomsk, in Siberia, recently put Bhagvad Gita say the text sows social discord and want its distribution banned. Russian embassy officials in Delhi said they had great regard for the text. But SM Krishna told parliament that the complaint was filed by "ignorant people" - the holy book had also been put on a list that includes Hitler's Mein Kampf. 'Protect Hindu rights' "The government has taken up the issue with the Russian government and Indian embassy officials are in touch with the officials of the International Society of Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON)," Mr Krishna said. Earlier on Tuesday, members from the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party expressed outrage over the move in Siberia to ban the holy book. Image caption A devotee of Lord Krishna reads the Bhagvad Gita On Monday, several MPs demanded the government protect Hindu rights. "We will not tolerate an insult to Lord Krishna," said Laloo Yadav, leader of the Rashtriya Janata Dal party. Bhartruhari Mahtab, leader of the Biju Janata Dal, said: "I want to know from the government what it is doing. The government should impress upon the Russian authorities through diplomatic channels." Russian authorities said they were saddened by the development. "It is strange that such events are unfolding in the beautiful university city in Siberia, as Tomsk is famous for its secularism and religious tolerance," Alexander M Kadakin, Russian Ambassador in India, said in a statement on Monday night. "Well, it seems that even the lovely city of Tomsk has its own neighbourhood madmen. He said: "I consider it categorically inadmissible when any holy scripture is taken to the courts. The book is central to the Hare Krishna movement and dozens of its adherents protested outside the Russian consulate in Calcutta on Monday. The court in Tomsk on Monday suspended its ruling until 28 December to seek the opinion of the Russian ombudsman and religious experts. We will take revenge of this insult and punish (the govt) too if they don't take any action. ( I am quoting them as I heard them or got uncorrected copies, hence I stand for corrections if anyone brings to my notice ). Once this happens, the dream of Gandhi ji would be realized and the people would understand the core message of Gita making a better nation. I appeal that the entire House must condemn that statement (against (Gita). The uproarious scenes followed when members demande a discussion and the speaker had to adjourn the house till 2 pm with a promise to allow the discussion. Mulayam Singh was first to rise to the occasion brilliantly and he said-Gita is a universal book accepted by the world which guides to be a better human being and work for the good of the society. Gandhi ji used to read Gita daily and most of his speeches were based on the teachings of Gita. As this case is inspired by religious bias and intolerance from a majority religious group in Russia, I would like to urge upon the Government to impress upon their Russian counterpart so that their right to practice their religion and belief is upheld. The honour of the nation and her people, the civilizational heritage of India and the cultural ethos that gave the world its best gift in the form of Gita , the ultimate message of karma, pluralism and universal values for a noble society, was at stake.
In all of the earlier ones, Obama came off second best, but not this time. McConnell said working Americans "shouldn't face the uncertainty of a New Year's Day tax hike", and urged the House to pass the bill to avoid "any disruption in the payroll tax holiday". The Senate would also vote on Friday. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst House Speaker John Boehner announces an agreement on the extension of the payroll tax holiday during a news conference at the U.S. Capitol in Washington December 22, 2011. U.S. Republicans risk backlash in 2012. He told members about Thursday's deal in a muted conference call in which they could ask no questions. Also pictured is Rep. Fred Upton (C). This is an issue where an overwhelming number of people in both parties agree. How can we not get that done? The victory for the White House will cheer a Democratic base which has watched with frustration as Obama caved in time and again to Republican pressure. Democrats were clearly enjoying the spectacle of Republicans trying to justify opposition to a tax cut. It would increase the deficit and do little to help the economy, they said. About 160m Americans will now receive their tax breaks, worth an average of $20 a week, as usual in January and February. They demanded, in return for support for a one-year extension of the tax cuts, a series of concessions on spending cuts and on a controversial pipeline. Reid said he would have agreed to this anyway. After Jan. 1, congressional negotiators would meet to decide how to extend the provisions for the rest of 2012.
President Obama is pictured alongside a payroll tax cut extension count down monitor as he speaks to the media in the briefing room of the White House, December 20, 2011. REUTERS/Jason Reed House Majority Leader Eric Cantor walks to his office after the House voting on Capitol Hill, December 20, 2011. REUTERS/Yuri Gripas House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi speaks to the media next to House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer after the House vote on the Senate version of the payroll tax cut extension on Capitol Hill, December 20, 2011. REUTERS/Yuri Gripas House Speaker John Boehner walks to his office after the House voting on Capitol Hill, December 20, 2011. REUTERS/Yuri Gripas House Speaker John Boehner (R) listens to Rep. Eric Cantor (L) during a news conference at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, December 22, 2011. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell speaks to reporters about an agreement on the payroll tax holiday on Capitol Hill, December 16, 2011. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst House Speaker John Boehner (R) is backed by fellow Republican congressmen as he takes questions during a news conference at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, December 22, 2011. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst House Speaker John Boehner announces an agreement on the extension of the payroll tax holiday during a news conference at the U.S. Capitol in Washington December 22, 2011. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst House Speaker John Boehner pauses as he announces an agreement on the extension of the payroll tax holiday during a news conference at the U.S. Capitol in Washington December 22, 2011. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst House Speaker John Boehner (C) departs after announcing an agreement on the extension of the payroll tax holiday during a news conference at the U.S. Capitol in Washington December 22, 2011. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst WASHINGTON House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner on Thursday caved in to a growing chorus of criticism from both within and outside his Republican party and agreed to a short-term deal to extend a payroll tax cut for 160 million Americans. In a major reversal that appeared to end a standoff with Democrats, Boehner told Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid he would set a vote in the House on a Senate-passed two-month extension of the payroll tax cut. The Republicans' about-face contrasts with a year of dominance in Congress, in which their staunch opposition to higher taxes and spending has yielded a string of political successes. Why not do the right thing for the American people even though it's not exactly what we want," Boehner told a news conference. The House could hold a simple "voice vote" on Friday that requires only a few members to be present and frees Republicans from having to cast politically difficult recorded votes. He told members about Thursday's deal in a muted conference call in which they could ask no questions. In a similar call last weekend, he faced an outcry from members who opposed a short-term deal, forcing him to reject the Senate bill and precipitating this week's crisis. Obama, who repeatedly used the bully pulpit of his office this week to push Boehner to do a deal, said in a statement he hoped Congress would keep working to "extend this tax cut and unemployment insurance for all of 2012 without drama or delay." Under a deal agreed to by Boehner and Reid, both parties will immediately appoint negotiators to forge the full-year deal sought originally by Obama and most recently also by House Republicans who said a two-month fix created uncertainty. The capitulation followed days of pressure on Boehner, from fellow Republicans in the Senate and conservative circles and from the White House and Democrats, who analysts said were winning the messaging war. But maybe most crucial for breaking the impasse on Thursday was the intervention of Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell, who called on the House to pass a temporary extension of the tax cut and then move to congressional negotiations on a payroll tax cut that would extend through 2012. 'RISKED LOSING SENATE' Republican leaders feared fierce backlash from voters in the 2012 elections and many Republican lawmakers were already getting an earful from constituents back home. Had the deal failed to materialize, they were looking at an effective $1,000-a-year tax increase on the average worker starting on January 1. "If they had continued to dig in on this they risked losing the Senate in 2012 and handing President Obama the election without even having a fight," said Ford O'Connell, a Republican strategist. That said, Republicans will be back at the negotiating table in the first two months of the year - in the middle of the Republican primaries for 2012. For months many Republicans were cool to extending the payroll tax cut at all, saying it was not an effective economic stimulant. But in recent weeks they have reluctantly embraced it as Democrats relentlessly hammered away at the issue and economists warned failure to extend it by December 31 could deal a major blow to a fragile economic recovery. "Just the fact that it's a 10th hour agreement, not an 11th hour agreement, that's good but it's not quite great," said Gennadiy Goldberg, interest-rate strategist, 4Cast Inc., New York. The White House and many private economists have warned that if the tax cut were allowed to lapse, it could be a setback for the already sluggish economy. As the standoff played out over the last several days, several recent polls have shown an increase in Obama's approval ratings to nearly 50 percent after his popularity over the past few months had mired in the low 40 percent range. However, there was one provision in the legislation that did not go as Obama planned - one which would force the State Department to speed up a decision on the stalled Canada-to-Texas Keystone XL oil pipeline. House GOP leaders yield on payroll tax A stopgap deal, which also spares jobless aid and Medicare rate cuts for doctors, requires both houses' full consent. In addition to keeping Social Security payroll taxes at current levels for an additional two months, the deal would maintain unemployment insurance for people who have been jobless for an extended period and would block a cut in the payments doctors receive for treating Medicare patients.
Officers would not say what connection, if any, their suspect has to Canada. The last of the blazes was set shortly before Mr. Burkhart's arrest early Monday. The man had recently made a scene at a Los Angeles Immigration Court hearing, the sources said. An official involved in that court case recognized him when police Sunday night released images of a "person of interest" seen on a surveillance tape after a car fire at the Hollywood & Highland shopping center. The fires broke out from the Westside to Hollywood and from the San Fernando Valley to Lennox. Last updated Jan. 2. At 3 a.m., a reserve sheriff's deputy spotted the minivan in West Hollywood and pulled it over near the Sunset Strip. Two other people were arrested in a different series of arsons last week. U.S. officials' tip leads to arson arrest A German national is held after police received word about the man's tirade in Immigration Court. Burkhart was charged Jan. 4 with 28 counts of arson of property and nine counts of arson of an inhabited structure at 12 locations. No one was killed. At a news conference Monday evening, Beck emphasized that the investigation was ongoing and that it could take some time to present the case to prosecutors. Below is a list of recent arsons identified by police and The Times. Officials say the fires caused at least $3 million in damage to vehicles and structures, and the city spent considerable money shifting officers into the area to capture the arsonist. L.A. detectives were also investigating reports that either Burkhart or a family member was connected to an arson case in Germany, said the senior LAPD official.
A 24-year-old German national has been arrested in connection with 52 arsons in Los Angeles over the weekend, a case that may have a link to Canada. Police picked up Harry Burkhart, a Hollywood resident, around 2:50 a.m. Monday after a sharp-eyed officer recognized the vehicle he was driving as one wanted in the case. Television news footage of the arrest showed a minivan, purportedly the vehicle in question, with British Columbia licence plates. It also showed a heavyset man with a ponytail, who resembled security-camera footage of a person walking near the car park of the Hollywood and Highland shopping centre around the time it was hit by an arsonist Saturday night. Officers would not say what connection, if any, their suspect has to Canada. Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department records listed Mr. Burkhart's date of birth as July 12, 1987 and described him as having brown hair and eyes, standing 5-feet-10-inches tall and weighing 180 pounds. He is being held without bail at the Twin Towers Correctional Facility. An appearance at Van Nuys court house is set for Wednesday at 8:30 a.m. Vancouver court documents showed a man with the same name and year of birth was charged with a traffic offence two years ago, but it was not clear if he was the same individual arrested in California. The Los Angeles Times, citing anonymous law enforcement sources, said Mr. Burkhart was locked in a battle with authorities in the U.S. over his mother's immigration case. Police said a tip from a federal officer who recognized Mr. Burkhart in the surveillance video had helped crack the case. The fires began early Friday morning, and primarily targeted vehicles in parking garages, leaving cars as burnt-out wrecks and blackening apartment buildings across Hollywood, West Hollywood and the San Fernando Valley. The last of the blazes was set shortly before Mr. Burkhart's arrest early Monday. In total, they caused an estimated $3-million in damages. Two other people were arrested in a different series of arsons last week. U.S. officials' tip leads to arson arrest A German national is held after police received word about the man's tirade in Immigration Court. For The Record Los Angeles Times Friday, January 06, 2012 Home Edition Main News Part A Page 4 News Desk 1 inches; 32 words Type of Material: Correction Arson map: A map that accompanied an article in the Jan. 3 Section A about the arrest of a suspect in a rash of arson fires mislabeled Fairfax Avenue as Melrose Avenue. At 3 a.m., a reserve sheriff's deputy spotted the minivan in West Hollywood and pulled it over near the Sunset Strip. The driver appeared to match the grainy video and inside his minivan, officials found fire starter sticks, police said. An official involved in that court case recognized him when police Sunday night released images of a "person of interest" seen on a surveillance tape after a car fire at the Hollywood & Highland shopping center. Hours before the fires began, federal officials alerted authorities that a Los Angeles man might be the suspect they were looking for, according to law enforcement sources. They erupted almost simultaneously, a sudden barrage of fires about 1:30 a.m. that signaled the fourth night of an arsonist's rampage. They weren't clear on his alleged motives but speculated he might have been furious over his mother's pending deportation. A senior LAPD official said the suspect had attended a recent immigration hearing regarding his mother's case and erupted in a tirade, spewing angry anti-American statements. Officials say the fires caused at least $3 million in damage to vehicles and structures, and the city spent considerable money shifting officers into the area to capture the arsonist.
He failed. "This is a quirky place, and a quirky process, to say the least," Perry said of Iowa. Next Tuesday's New Hampshire primary appears to be Romney's to lose. Of the 30 percent of evangelicals who cited being a true conservative as the most important candidate quality in their vote, 44 percent supported Santorum. Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Does the New Hampshire primary matter? By comparison, Michele Bachman spent 82 days, Newt Gingrich spent 63 days, and Rick Perry spent 35 days in Iowa. Bachmann had been scheduled to campaign Wednesday in South Carolina, where she was banking on influential evangelical voters, the same group that failed to rally behind her in Iowa. Regularly comprising more than half of caucus goers, they have the capability of ensuring a victory for any of the competing candidates. Especially if they are among the first in the presidential nominating contests. More than half - 52 percent - of evangelicals made their decision about who to support in the last few days, after a number of these endorsements had recently been announced. He barely visited the state. JUST WATCHED Santorum explains controversial remarks Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Santorum explains controversial remarks 04:30 JUST WATCHED Paul: Supporters don't call me cranky Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Paul: Supporters don't call me cranky 00:10 JUST WATCHED Lessons from the Iowa caucuses Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Lessons from the Iowa caucuses 05:08 JUST WATCHED Huntsman: Win in NH proves electability Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Huntsman: Win in NH proves electability 02:54 "Somebody just sent me an e-mail a few minutes ago saying his 66 additional votes over 2008 came at a cost of about $100,000 a vote," Gingrich said.
Regularly comprising more than half of caucus goers, they have the capability of ensuring a victory for any of the competing candidates. In 2008, they strongly supported Mike Huckabee over Mitt Romney 46 to 19 percent, propelling him to an unexpected victory. Tuesday night, a smaller but still sizable proportion of evangelicals - 32 percent - united behind Rick Santorum, pushing him to the forefront of the contest. Whereas Huckabee -- an ordained Southern Baptist minister -- stood out among a field of fiscal conservatives, Santorum found himself competing against several other candidates with strong social conservative credentials: Rick Perry, Newt Gingrich, and Michelle Bachman. Evangelicals wavered throughout the campaign, pushing each of them to the top of the pre-election points at one point or another. Three factors, though, eventually enabled Santorum to emerge from the pack and unite a substantial number of evangelical voters behind him: Full Iowa results Full Iowa entrance poll results Social Conservative Credentials Many commentators did not see distinctions between the candidates, but evangelical caucus goers sure did. Of the 30 percent of evangelicals who cited being a true conservative as the most important candidate quality in their vote, 44 percent supported Santorum. Perry, Gingrich, and Bachman only received 26 percent support from evangelicals combined. On the important question of abortion, 19 percent of evangelicals cited it as the most important issue in their vote. Of those that did, a whopping 60 percent backed Santorum, compared to only 12 percent for Perry, 9 percent for Gingrich, and 8 percent for Bachmann. Why the race was so close Time on the Ground Santorum spent more time campaigning in Iowa than any other candidate. According to the Des Moines Register, Santorum spent 104 total days in Iowa, making more than 300 campaign stops in all 99 counties in the state. Santorum's face time was reflected in his voters' support. Of all the candidates, a greater proportion of his voters - 40 percent - cited strong moral character as the most important candidate quality in deciding for whom to vote. Such assessments do not come from 30 second campaign commercials, but from endless exchanges with voters across the state. Full CBS News coverage: Rick Santorum Influential Endorsements Much was made of the fact that several important evangelical organizations, such as the Family Leader, the Iowa Faith and Freedom Coalition, and Iowa Right to Life, failed to endorse any of the candidates. However, a number of key evangelical leaders - Cary Gordin , the president of Peace Makers Institute and Bob Vander Plaats, the president of the Family - did throw their support behind Santorum in the closing days of the campaign, seemingly steering many evangelicals toward him. More than half - 52 percent - of evangelicals made their decision about who to support in the last few days, after a number of these endorsements had recently been announced. He received the support of 39 percent of evangelicals who decided in the last few days and 45 percent of those deciding the day of the caucus. The all important South Carolina Primary on January 21 was comprised of 60 percent of evangelicals in 2008. Voters in Missouri, where evangelicals made up 55 percent of participants four years ago, cast ballots on February 7 (though the results are non-binding). And, Super Tuesday on March 6 had at least three states where evangelicals comprised as least 45 percent of voters the last time it was held: Georgia, Virginia, and Tennessee. Mike Huckabee lost the 2008 South Carolina Republican Primary 33 percent to 30 percent, despite receiving 43 percent of the evangelical vote. Romney remains unloved - but it's his race to lose Iowa's bad track record for picking GOP winners Full GOP Primary Results Poll results discussed in this article are based on a National Election Pool entrance poll conducted by Edison Media Research. Story highlights "What a squeaker," Romney says after 8-vote Iowa win Former rival McCain touts Romney in New Hampshire Bachmann packs it in after disappointing showing in Iowa Gingrich mocks Romney's "$100,000 a vote" Iowa win A reshaped Republican presidential race shifted to New Hampshire on Wednesday as Mitt Romney won the endorsement of an old rival and Michele Bachmann dropped out after a disappointing Iowa showing. Sen. John McCain, the New Hampshire primary winner in 2000 and 2008, told supporters of Romney, that their votes "will catapult him on to victory in a very short period of time." "Mitt Romney and I and you believe that America's greatest days are still ahead of us," said the Arizona senator, who beat Romney for the 2008 GOP presidential nomination. "It just requires the kind of leadership to put us back in the position that made America the greatest and noblest experiment in the history of the world -- and the person who will do that is right here with you today." Romney edged out late-surging former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum by eight votes in Tuesday night's Iowa caucuses, with each taking 25% of the ballots cast. Santorum used fresh momentum from his virtual tie to position himself as Romney's main conservative challenger on Wednesday. He told reporters in Concord that Romney would "do fairly well here" but mocked him for spending millions of dollars to win an eight-vote victory in Iowa.
It gave no other details. The prison lies in Tamaulipas state, where the rival Gulf and Zetas drug cartels are fighting a bloody turf war. They say the prisoners were killed with knives and makeshift weapons at the prison in the city of Altamira. Many of the inmates are serving sentences on drug-related charges. Local media said the fight was between members of the rival Gulf and Zetas drug cartels but authorities would not confirm the reports. Gang rivalries frequently spread into Mexico's prison system. Another 13 prisoners were wounded in the brawl. The violence from the drug war often spreads into prisons. Police and soldiers surrounded the prison and eventually regained control, according to officials. Order was only restored once troops entered the jail to help prison officers. Authorities say the port is used to bring cocaine and precursor chemicals used to make methamphetamine into Mexico. A state official who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the investigation said several were beaten to death with clubs or stones. The fight started when a group of inmates burst into a section of the prison from which they were banned and attacked the prisoners housed there. Some information for this report was provided by AP and AFP. At least 13 others were injured. Last October, 20 inmates died during clashes at a jail in Matamoros, also in Tamaulipas. The public safety department said 22 of the inmates killed had been serving sentences for state crimes and nine for federal offences. In 2010 four inmates at the Altamira prison were killed when an armed gang stormed in during a prisoner transfer. A fight among inmates at a prison holding alleged members of drug cartels has left at least 31 people dead authorities in Mexico say.
Image caption Soldiers stepped up security around the prison in Altamira Thirty-one inmates have died in a fight between gang members in a prison in northern Mexico, officials say. They say the prisoners were killed with knives and makeshift weapons at the prison in the city of Altamira. At least 13 others were injured. Altamira is in Tamaulipas state, where the Zetas and Gulf cartels have been fighting a bloody war for control of smuggling routes into the US. Gang rivalries frequently spread into Mexico's prison system. Inmates used homemade weapons and knives in what the authorities described as a mass brawl inside the prison. Order was only restored once troops entered the jail to help prison officers. Many of Mexico's prisons are overcrowded and plagued by violence linked to drugs cartels. Last October, 20 inmates died during clashes at a jail in Matamoros, also in Tamaulipas. More than 40,000 Mexicans have died in drug-related violence since December 2006, when President Felipe Calderon began deploying troops to combat the cartels. Gulf and Zetas drug gang members clashed when one group stormed into other's section of jail, according to accounts A fight among inmates armed with makeshift knives, clubs and stones left 31 of them dead in a Mexican prison that holds many members of drug cartels, authorities said. Another 13 prisoners were wounded in the brawl in the Gulf Coast city of Altamira, Tamaulipas state's public safety department said in a statement. The fight started when a group of inmates burst into a section of the prison from which they were banned and attacked the prisoners housed there. Local media said the fight was between members of the rival Gulf and Zetas drug cartels but authorities would not confirm the reports. Tamaulipas state has been the scene of bloody turf battles between the two former allies. A state official who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the investigation said several were beaten to death with clubs or stones. The public safety department said 22 of the inmates killed had been serving sentences for state crimes and nine for federal offences. The port of Altamira in southern Tamaulipas, near the border with the state of Veracruz, is in a region that has seen a spike in drug violence in the last two months. A fight among inmates at a prison holding alleged members of drug cartels has left at least 31 people dead authorities in Mexico say.
Trafficking is just a means of transportation. He said the words "clients" or "punters" should in fact be replaced with "exploiters, or dare I say it, rapists". People are being bought and sold into slavery. Anya17, is a contemporary piece with the cast drawn from Manchester's Royal Northern College of Music and the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic contemporary music ensemble 10/10. DUBAI, United Arab Emirates, Jan. 10 (UPI) -- Gay men from Kenya are being lured to Persian Gulf countries, where they are trafficked as sex slaves for wealthy men, a magazine in Kenya reports. Det Spt Marshall said many trafficking victims were moved around Ireland and the UK and in some cases they did not know geographically where they were. What else do you call it if someone is forced to work 7 days a weeks, 18 hours a day without pay and they are locked in a house without any means to escape or communicate with the outside world? Clegg says: "Enslavement is the cruellest and most inhuman act one human being can perpetrate on another and the very fact that in the 21st century it is as prevalent today as it was 200 years ago is abhorrent. An estimated 800,000 women a year are trafficked into the European Union. Composer Adam Gorb and librettist Ben Kaye have a track record of making difficult subjects accessible to audiences. It is the first time that the trade has been portrayed in classical music. A further performance will take place at the RNCM in Manchester on Friday 9 March 2012. It aims to educate the public about the multi-million pound trade in humans that is second in economic value to the illegal drugs industry.
Image caption Police have previously carried out raids on suspected brothels in Belfast The PSNI will be visiting a number of men who they suspect have paid for sex with trafficked women, a senior officer has confirmed. Detective Superintendent Philip Marshall said there were currently five investigations into organised crime gangs forcing women into prostitution. He said fifteen men would be targeted in an attempt to deter them from using such services. "The police service is driven by trying to rescue victims," he said. Det Spt Marshall said the issue of human trafficking within Northern Ireland was one that needed much more public debate and discussion. He said the words "clients" or "punters" should in fact be replaced with "exploiters, or dare I say it, rapists". 'Literally enslaved' Det Spt Marshall said people from all social classes, backgrounds and ages were paying for sex, many of whom have families who would not know or even suspect they were using such services. He said the UK sex industry had moved in recent years from the street corner to private rental accommodation and hotels. "The reality is where you will have people literally enslaved and forced to sell their body several times a day," he said. "This is modern day slavery with people treated as a commodity which is bought and sold." Det Spt Marshall said many trafficking victims were moved around Ireland and the UK and in some cases they did not know geographically where they were. He said it was a "very humbling experience talking to victims" who had been rescued. He appealed for landlords or anyone in the hotel sector to contact police with any concerns of trafficking being carried out. DUBAI, United Arab Emirates, Jan. 10 (UPI) -- Gay men from Kenya are being lured to Persian Gulf countries, where they are trafficked as sex slaves for wealthy men, a magazine in Kenya reports. Identity, the magazine, says the men are lured by promises of high-paying jobs from college campuses -- particularly Kenyatta University -- and then transported to the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Saudi Arabia to work as sex slaves, Bikyamasr.com reported. Because of high unemployment in Kenya, the victims easily fall prey to the trap, the magazine says. One Kenyan victim told the magazine he was promised a job in Qatar but suffered sexual abuse. In some countries in the Mideast, Identify says, convicted homosexuals can face the death penalty. It is illegal to be openly gay in the UAE but the gay community has grown in recent years. Qatar has no laws against human trafficking, which makes crackdowns on the practice extremely difficult. "Qatar is a transit and destination country for men and women subjected to trafficking in persons, specifically forced labor and, to a much lesser extent, forced prostitution," the U.S. State Department said in a recent report. The first ever opera to focus entirely on sex trafficking will be premièred in the north west this spring. It aims to educate the public about the multi-million pound trade in humans that is second in economic value to the illegal drugs industry. Anya17 will tell the intertwined stories of four women and young girls who have been trafficked into the European Union. An estimated 800,000 women a year are trafficked into the European Union. Director Caroline Clegg, writing on the opera's blog, said although it is an opera, it is useful to speak the libretto as text. Clegg says: "Enslavement is the cruellest and most inhuman act one human being can perpetrate on another and the very fact that in the 21st century it is as prevalent today as it was 200 years ago is abhorrent. "People are sold to become domestic slaves in someone's house, or as part of an unpaid gang to work on building sites, in catering outlets making sandwiches for supermarkets or as drug mules or commonly as prostitutes servicing up to 30 men a day.
For 24 hours, to raise awareness, we are blacking out Wikipedia." {* /registrationForm *} "But that's not really the point. Sopa and Pipa explained The US bills are designed to block access to sites containing unauthorised copyright material. The site's founder, Jimmy Wales, told the BBC: "Proponents of Sopa have characterised the opposition as being people who want to enable piracy or defend piracy". Instead, they will see an open letter encouraging people to protest against the legislation. However, Twitter has declined to join the shutdown. Advertisers, payment processors and internet service providers would be forbidden from doing business with infringers based overseas. The user-generated news site Reddit and the blog Boing Boing are also taking part in the "blackout". Check your email for your verification email, or enter your email address in the form below to resend the email. Wikipedia, which attracts millions of hits every day, is opposed to the US Stop Online Piracy Act (Sopa) and Protect Intellectual Property Act (Pipa) being debated by Congress. A Google spokesman said: "Like many businesses, entrepreneurs and web users, we oppose these bills because there are smart, targeted ways to shut down foreign rogue websites without asking American companies to censor the internet. The anti-piracy legislation still has high-profile supporters including News Corporation's chairman, Rupert Murdoch. "So Obama has thrown in his lot with Silicon Valley paymasters who threaten all software creators with piracy. Whole entertainment industry employs 2.2 million [on] average salary $65,000. Wikipedia's aggressive move appeared to be undermined by a tweet from Dick Costolo, the chief executive of Twitter, who tweeted: "Closing a global business in reaction to single-issue national politics is foolish."
Millions of students, fact hunters and general knowledge buffs are set to receive a shock on Wednesday when the digital encyclopaedia Wikipedia shuts down for 24 hours in protest at internet piracy laws being considered by US legislators. Jimmy Wales, the founder of the world's fifth most popular website, is instituting a global "day of darkness" for the English-language version of Wikipedia, which will see its 25 million daily users blocked until 5am on Thursday. Wales is calling for a "public uprising" against the stop online piracy act (Sopa) and protect IP act, two US bills which he has called "destructive legislation" that, if passed, would "endanger free speech and set a frightening precedent of internet censorship for the world". Others joining what has been dubbed "black Wednesday" include the user-generated content recommendation website Reddit, technology news site Boing Boing, and the Cheezburger network of humorous sites. When web users visit Wikipedia on Wednesday morning they will not be able to access the 3.8m English articles it holds. Instead, they will see an open letter encouraging people to protest against the legislation. Wales issued a tongue-in-cheek warning to students to make sure to "do your homework early". "They may have to dust off their old Encyclopaedia Britannica," he said. The proposed legislation is the product of years of lobbying by the piracy-hit media, film and music industries and would make it easier for copyright holders and the US government to cut off access to websites accused of containing illegal films, music and TV programming. Opposing them are some of the most high profile of the new wave of digital companies that have grown rapidly over the past decade to challenge the traditional media, film and music industries, including Wikipedia and Google. The latter is not shutting down for the day, but will be highlighting the issue on its US home page. The issue has dragged media heavyweights into the fray, with Rupert Murdoch – whose News Corporation owns content producers including 20th Century Fox, the Hollywood studio behind blockbusters such as Avatar – taking to Twitter to attack president Barack Obama after the White House indicated that it would not support the more draconian elements of Sopa. "So Obama has thrown in his lot with Silicon Valley paymasters who threaten all software creators with piracy. Plain thievery," Murdoch wrote in a series of tweets, which also accused Google of facilitating piracy. Stephen Fry, a prolific tweeter and digital media evangelist, came out in support of Wikipedia , saying that he felt "ashamed" of the entertainment industry. "Good for Wikipedia," he tweeted his 3.7 million followers. "Ashamed to work in an industry many of whose leaders have tried to push this revolting law through." Opponents of the bills argue they are too broad and could amount to Chinese-style censorship of free speech on the internet, stifle innovation and lead to the unfair closure of numerous websites. Most of Silicon Valley has rallied to protest against the US bills, with a letter expressing concern over the legislation signed by the founders of internet heavyweights including Twitter, YouTube, eBay, Yahoo, Flickr and Craigslist. Companies including Google, Facebook, Twitter and Zynga also took out a full-page ad, entitled "We stand together to protect innovation", which ran in newspapers including the New York Times. However, none of the global big hitters have opted so far to join Wikipedia's call for a "day of darkness". A Google spokesman said: "Like many businesses, entrepreneurs and web users, we oppose these bills because there are smart, targeted ways to shut down foreign rogue websites without asking American companies to censor the internet. So tomorrow we will be joining many other tech companies to highlight this issue on our US home page." Wikipedia's aggressive move appeared to be undermined by a tweet from Dick Costolo, the chief executive of Twitter, who tweeted: "Closing a global business in reaction to single-issue national politics is foolish." However, Costolo clarified his position on Tuesday saying that his comments referred to Twitter not being willing to close down globally for a day, and that it was not a "value judgment" about Wikipedia's action. He also tweeted for people to "watch this space" about Twitter's own protest plans. Although the legislation is American, Wales said a vote held among the Wikipedia community had come down in favour of a global blackout – albeit not with an overwhelming majority: 591 voted for it and 479 were against. Wales said the case of Richard O'Dwyer, the British computing student who faces extradition to the US over running a pirate TV and film website, is proof online piracy legislation is a global issue. "The community considered the option of a US-only blackout but decided in favour of global," Wales added. The UK is looking at its own measures to tackle piracy through the Digital Economy Act, with much-delayed plans to send out warning letters to serial offenders before they face having their internet connection cut off. A coalition of the big six Hollywood studios – Fox, Warner Bros, Paramount, Disney, Universal and Columbia – won a landmark high court ruling last year to force UK internet service providers to block individual websites accused of promoting piracy. View a gallery of protest action taken by some of the web's highest profile websites Wikipedia has taken its English-language site offline as part of protests against proposed anti-piracy laws in the US. Users attempting to access the site see a black screen and a political statement: "Imagine a world without free knowledge." The user-generated news site Reddit and the blog Boing Boing are also taking part in the "blackout". The site's founder, Jimmy Wales, told the BBC: "Proponents of Sopa have characterised the opposition as being people who want to enable piracy or defend piracy". The message replacing the normal Wikipedia front page on the internet says: "For over a decade, we have spent millions of hours building the largest encyclopaedia in human history.
Perry's campaign. "Obviously, my pitch is, if conservatives come together, we beat Romney decisively," he said. Is Newt Gingrich's surge for real? What do South Carolina voters want? He began well. Conservative radio host Laura Ingraham and conservative blogger Erick Erickson of the site RedState.com both said on Wednesday that Perry should drop out. Gingrich said Wednesday that "it would be helpful" if Perry and Rick Santorum dropped out of the race before the primary. Though Perry is an experienced politician and the longest-serving governor in Texas history, though people say he is warm and personable — unless you are a condemned murderer, that is — the more people around the country saw him, the less they seemed to like him. Rick Perry ended his campaign for the Republican presidential nomination and endorsed Newt Gingrich this morning, saying he saw "no viable path forward" after his dwindling support took him from front-runner status to dead last. “The fact is,” Perry said, “there is forgiveness for those who seek God, and I believe in the power of redemption, for it is a central tenet of my own Christian faith.” Authors: Perry finished in a disappointing fifth place in the Iowa caucuses and finished sixth in the New Hampshire primary after opting to skip campaigning in the Granite state. At an ABC News debate in December, Perry alluded to Gingrich's infidelity as a reason not to trust him, saying that "if you cheat on your wife, you'll cheat on your business partner, so I think that issue of fidelity is important."
ET Rick Perry on Thursday dropped his bid for the Republican presidential nomination, throwing his support behind former House Speaker Newt Gingrich. "I have come to the conclusion that there is no viable path forward for me in the 2012 campaign," Perry said at a press conference in North Charleston, South Carolina. "I know when it's time to make a strategic retreat." Perry said the 2012 campaign has "never been about the candidates" but about defeating President Obama and replacing him "with a conservative leader who will bring about real change." He called Gingrich "a conservative visionary who can transform our country." Gingrich appears to be gaining momentum in South Carolina, and Perry's endorsement could give the former speaker a critical boost just two days ahead of the Palmetto state primary. A senior campaign aide said Gingrich's staff had begun reaching out to Perry's campaign "aggressively" in recent days. Gingrich himself had suggested on the campaign trail that it would be helpful for him if Perry were to drop out. Still, Gingrich's campaign has its hurdles. The candidate has come under scrutiny for his multiple marriages and past infidelity, and now his second wife, Marianne Gingrich, is saying the GOP presidential candidate wanted an "open marriage." In a December debate, Perry said that marital fidelity is "important"to the presidential race, adding that "he's always kind of been of the opinion that if you cheat on your wife, you'll cheat on your business partner." "The fact is, there is forgiveness for those who seek God, and I believe in the power of redemption," he continued. "I have no question Newt has the heart of a conservative reformer." In a statement Thursday, Gingrich said he was "humbled and honored" to have Perry's support, calling him "a leader for the cause of conservatism." He asked Perry's supporters to consider his record, saying, "South Carolinians have a chance this Saturday to nominate a bold Reagan conservative who will offer a dramatic contrast with President Obama this fall in the general election." At an event in Beaufort, South Carolina on Thursday, Gingrich said he spoke to Perry that morning and asked him to head up a "10th Amendment enforcement project, reaching out to every governor in the country in both parties," as well as other elected leaders. Gingrich said the project would result in a strong party platform plank on the 10th Amendment, which protects states' rights, as well as legislation on the issue. "We can then pass that legislation no later than the end of the first quarter of 2013 to return power to the citizens, to communities, and the states and get it out of Washington, D.C.," he said. Perry jumped into the presidential race last August to much fanfare, immediately surging to the top of the polls. Even though he ceded New Hampshire to focus on the more conservative state of South Carolina, polls have shown him stuck in the single digits and in last place there. Perry was also performing poorly nationally, according to the latestCBS News/ New York Times poll released Wednesday. Conservative pundits call on Perry to drop out Full CBSNews.com coverage of Rick Perry's campaign With the South Carolina primary as possibly the last opportunity to significantly slow Mitt Romney's momentum, conservatives have been anxious for Perry to drop out so the GOP could coalesce around another candidate. Conservative radio host Laura Ingraham and conservative blogger Erick Erickson of the site RedState.com both said on Wednesday that Perry should drop out. Some conservatives, including a coalition of more than 100 social conservatives, have thrown their support behind Rick Santorum, who virtually tied Romney in the Iowa caucuses. While Romney just two weeks ago held a 20-point lead in South Carolina, new polls show that Gingrich has made significant inroads there. In a new NBC/Marist poll conducted Monday and Tuesday, Gingrich earned 24 percent support to Romney's 34 percent In a statement, Romney commended Perry for running "a campaign based upon love of country and conservative principles." Rick Perry ended his campaign for the Republican presidential nomination and endorsed Newt Gingrich this morning, saying he saw "no viable path forward" after his dwindling support took him from front-runner status to dead last. At an ABC News debate in December, Perry alluded to Gingrich's infidelity as a reason not to trust him, saying that "if you cheat on your wife, you'll cheat on your business partner, so I think that issue of fidelity is important." Perry decided to drop out of the race late afternoon Wednesday while in Greenville, campaign spokesman Ray Sullivan told reporters after his speech. "It was an Alamo-like effort, which will hopefully serve him well in the coming years," said a Perry fundraiser who asked not to be identified. With two days to go until the South Carolina primary, Perry was polling among Republicans there at about 6 percent — the same percentage of people who said they had no opinion about whom they'd choose. Perry's exit also means that tonight's debate in South Carolina will have only four candidates: Romney, Gingrich, Ron Paul and Santorum. Explaining his decision to leave the race, Perry said that he knows "when it's time to make a strategic retreat," and that even though he saw his candidacy as a calling, "a calling never guarantees a particular outcome." "I've always believed the mission is greater than the man," Perry said.
She was 73. She died from complications from leukemia with her husband, Artis Mills, and her sons by her side, De Leon said. "I don't!" (Its success was not entirely bad news for Ms. James. 1 on the R&B charts in 1955. When I’m singing blues, I’m singing life. A great American singer. JUST WATCHED 2003: Etta James reflects on her career Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH 2003: Etta James reflects on her career 02:03 JUST WATCHED 2008: Etta James at 'Cadillac Records' Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH 2008: Etta James at 'Cadillac Records' 00:52 Throughout her career, James overcame a heroin addiction, opened for the Rolling Stones, won six Grammys and was voted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Her signing to Chess introduced her to a broader audience, as the record label's co-owner, Leonard Chess, believed she should do pop hits. Advertisement Continue reading the main story “The Wallflower” rose to No. "She was a true original who could sing it all -- her music defied category. She later told the New York Daily News she was joking. Want me to just be still or something like that? Etta James was born Jamesetta Hawkins in Los Angeles to a teen mother and unknown father. One of a kind. She quickly had a string of hits, including “All I Could Do Was Cry,” “Trust in Me” and “At Last,” which established her as Chess’s first major female star. Mr. Otis died on Tuesday.) People that can’t stand to listen to the blues, they’ve got to be phonies.”
Story highlights Etta James died from complications from leukemia at 73 She overcame her addiction throughout her career The award winning singer earned six Grammys James was voted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Etta James, whose assertive, earthy voice lit up such hits as "The Wallflower," "Something's Got a Hold on Me" and the wedding favorite "At Last," has died, according to her longtime friend and manager, Lupe De Leon. She was diagnosed with leukemia in 2010, and also suffered from dementia and hepatitis C. James died at a hospital in Riverside, California. This is a tremendous loss for the family, her friends and fans around the world," De Leon said. "She was a true original who could sing it all -- her music defied category. "I worked with Etta for over 30 years. She was my friend and I will miss her always." She first hit the charts as a teenager, taking "The Wallflower (Roll With Me, Henry)" -- an "answer record" to Hank Ballard's "Work With Me, Annie" -- to No. She joined Chess Records in 1960 and had a string of R&B and pop hits, many with lush string arrangements. JUST WATCHED 2003: Etta James reflects on her career Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH 2003: Etta James reflects on her career 02:03 JUST WATCHED 2008: Etta James at 'Cadillac Records' Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH 2008: Etta James at 'Cadillac Records' 00:52 Throughout her career, James overcame a heroin addiction, opened for the Rolling Stones, won six Grammys and was voted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Despite her ups and downs -- including a number of health problems -- she maintained an optimistic attitude. And I don't know what I'm sorry about," she told CNN's Denise Quan in 2002. "Etta James is unmanageable, and I'm the closest thing she's ever had to a manager," Lupe DeLeon, her manager of 30-plus years, told CNN in admiration. "If you were to look up the word singer in the dictionary, you'd see their names," Adele said in an interview. Etta James was born Jamesetta Hawkins in Los Angeles to a teen mother and unknown father. (She suspected her father was the pool player Minnesota Fats.) Her birth mother initially took little responsibility and James was raised by a series of people, notably a pair of boardinghouse owners. In 1950, her mother took her to San Francisco, where James formed a group called the Peaches. Singer Johnny Otis, best known for "Willie and the Hand Jive," discovered her and had her sing a song he wrote using Ballard's tune as a model. "The Wallflower," with responses from "Louie Louie" songwriter Richard Berry, made James an R&B star. Her signing to Chess introduced her to a broader audience, as the record label's co-owner, Leonard Chess, believed she should do pop hits. Among her recordings were "Stormy Weather," the Lena Horne classic originally from 1933; "A Sunday Kind of Love," which dates from 1946; and most notably, "At Last," a 1941 number that was originally a hit for Glenn Miller. James' version of "At Last" starts out with swooning strings and the singer enters with confident gusto, dazzlingly maintaining a mood of joy and romance. Though the song failed to make the Top 40 upon its 1961 release -- though it did hit the R&B Top 10 -- its emotional punch has long made it a favorite at weddings. James' career suffered in the mid-'60s when the British Invasion took over the pop charts and as she fought some personal demons. Her hits included the brassy "Tell Mama" and the raw "I'd Rather Go Blind," the latter later notably covered by Rod Stewart. She entered rehab in the 1970s for her drug problem but re-established herself with live performances and an album produced by noted R&B mastermind Jerry Wexler. After another stint in rehab -- this time at the Betty Ford Clinic -- she made a comeback album, "Seven Year Itch," in 1988. James mastered a range of styles -- from R&B and soul to jazz and blues -- but she was always one step behind the popular genre of the day, said Michael Coyle, a Colgate University professor who has written about jazz and R&B and reviews records for Cadence Magazine. "By the mid-'90s, she's survived so long that people start to look up to her," Coyle said. James was portrayed by pop star Beyonce in the 2008 film "Cadillac Records," about Chess. After Beyonce sang "At Last" at one of President Barack Obama's 2009 inaugural balls, James lashed out: "I can't stand Beyonce. Earlier this year, news reports revealed that the singer's estate was being contested in a legal struggle between her husband, Artis Mills, and son Donto James.
Paterno was 85. "He has been many things in his life -- a soldier, scholar, mentor, coach, friend and father," the family statement said. To be following in his footsteps at Penn State is an honor. Bill O'Brien, who was named Penn State's head football coach following Paterno's firing, said Sunday, "The Penn State Football program is one of college football's iconic programs because it was led by an icon in the coaching profession in Joe Paterno. he said at the dinner celebrating his award, according to his university biography. “He died as he lived. His death came two months after he was diagnosed with lung cancer. “I backed away and turned it over to some other people, people I thought would have a little more expertise than I did. JUST WATCHED Joe Paterno has died Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Joe Paterno has died 00:45 JUST WATCHED Fans pay tribute to Paterno Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Fans pay tribute to Paterno 01:31 JUST WATCHED Paterno mourner: He's more than a coach Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Paterno mourner: He's more than a coach 00:57 Paterno coached at Penn State as an assistant from 1950 to 1965 and became head coach in 1966. Curley went on leave and Schultz retired shortly after the grand jury report was revealed. Sandusky, who faces more than 50 counts involving sexual acts with 10 boys since 1994, has pleaded not guilty. Another 10 minutes went by before the first official refuting of the false reports, and at 9:22 p.m., Scott Paterno, another of Paterno’s sons, tweeted: “Dad is alive but in serious condition.
Story highlights Paterno's family says he "fought hard until the end" Paterno had been diagnosed with lung cancer He was known as "JoePa" by players and football fans Paterno was fired in November over allegations he failed to respond to sex abuse allegations Joe Paterno, whose tenure as the most successful coach in major college football history ended abruptly in November amid allegations that he failed to respond forcefully enough to a sex abuse scandal involving a former assistant, died Sunday, his family said. The longtime Penn State head coach was diagnosed with what his family had called a treatable form of lung cancer shortly after the university's Board of Trustees voted to fire him. He had been hospitalized in December after breaking his pelvis in a fall at his home and again in January for what his son called minor complications from his cancer treatments. "It is with great sadness that we announce that Joe Paterno passed away earlier today," the family statement said. "His loss leaves a void in our lives that will never be filled." Paterno died at 9:25 a.m. Sunday, surrounded by his family, State College's Mount Nittany Medical Center said in a statement. Paterno, who was affectionately known as "JoePa" by generations of his players and football fans alike, was widely admired in football circles for what he called his "Grand Experiment" -- his expectation that big-time college football players could succeed on the field while upholding high academic and moral standards away from the gridiron. JUST WATCHED Remembering Joe Paterno Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Remembering Joe Paterno 01:56 JUST WATCHED Joe Paterno dead Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Joe Paterno dead 02:32 JUST WATCHED Paterno's family says coach is dead Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Paterno's family says coach is dead 01:36 Under his leadership, the Nittany Lions won two national championships, went undefeated five times and finished in the top 25 national rankings 35 times, according to his official Penn State biography. At the same time, the program never fell under NCAA sanctions for major infractions while producing 13 Academic All-Americans since 2006. In 2009, according to the university, the Nittany Lions posted an 85% graduation rate. "The acclaim for Joe Paterno has stemmed largely from the contrast between the high academic and moral standards he has tried to exemplify and the shameless conduct that often embarrasses and dishonors the college sport he cherishes," author Michael O'Brien wrote in a 1999 biography of Paterno, "No Ordinary Joe." Penn State's board of trustees and President Rodney Erickson said in a statement, "We grieve for the loss of Joe Paterno, a great man who made us a greater university. His dedication to ensuring his players were successful both on the field and in life is legendary and his commitment to education is unmatched in college football. The university is "considering appropriate ways" to honor Paterno's legacy, the statement said, and its athletics department is "consulting with members of the Penn State community on the nature and timing of the gathering." Paterno was born in 1926 in Brooklyn to second-generation Italian immigrants, according to O'Brien's book. When Paterno decided to forgo a career in law and make coaching his career, his family said Sunday, his father, Angelo, had one command: "Make an impact." "As the last 61 years have shown, Joe made an incredible impact. That impact has been felt and appreciated by our family in the form of thousands of letters and well wishes along with countless acts of kindness from people whose lives he touched." JUST WATCHED Joe Paterno has died Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Joe Paterno has died 00:45 JUST WATCHED Fans pay tribute to Paterno Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Fans pay tribute to Paterno 01:31 JUST WATCHED Paterno mourner: He's more than a coach Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Paterno mourner: He's more than a coach 00:57 Paterno coached at Penn State as an assistant from 1950 to 1965 and became head coach in 1966. Paterno "died as he lived," the family statement said Sunday. "He fought hard until the end, stayed positive, thought only of others and constantly reminded everyone of how blessed his life had been. In addition to his exploits on the sidelines, Paterno had a significant impact on the university's academic programs. Paterno and his wife, Suzanne, donated more than $4 million to the university over the years for faculty endowments, scholarships and building projects, according to the university. Honored with glowing words of praise from players and presidents alike -- President Ronald Reagan said Paterno never forgot that "he is a teacher who's preparing his students not just for the season, but for life," according to a university biography -- he received the National Football Foundation and College Football Hall of Fame Distinguished American Award in 1991. In October, state authorities charged two university officials with misleading investigators and failing to report alleged sexual abuse in 2002, after a Penn State assistant told a grand jury he saw former assistant coach Jerry Sandusky performing what appeared to be anal sex on a boy in a shower at the football complex. The assistant reported it to Paterno the next day, who said he passed the report along to then-Athletic Director Tim Curley and Gary Schultz, a university vice president who oversaw campus police. Curley and Schultz, who have pleaded not guilty to charges including perjury and failing to report the alleged 2002 incident, issued statements Sunday expressing their sorrow at Paterno's death. At the time of his firing, Paterno said in a statement released by his son, Scott Paterno, that he was "distraught" over the sex abuse scandal. "I didn't know exactly how to handle it and I was afraid to do something that might jeopardize what the university procedure was," the Post quoted him as saying. Sandusky, who faces more than 50 counts involving sexual acts with 10 boys since 1994, has pleaded not guilty.
So, not a panic selloff. It's not clear what Rehn's optimism is based on. "We have a crisis of leadership," Naqvi said. The yield on Spanish three-month debt dropped to 1.285% (down from 1.735% at the last auction of this type), while it got its six-month paper away at 1.847% (down from 2.435%). Shares in London and other European stock markets fell after eurozone finance ministers rejected a debt restructuring deal for Greece. The International Monetary Fund has just slashed its forecasts for economic growth. DAVOS MAN Davos 2012 sees some changing of the guard. Ministers insisted that banks must accept a lower interest rate on the new Greek bonds than the 4% average rate demanded by bondholders. But Harper’s government is not waiting around. On the economics front: the latest UK public finances data will be released this morning, and we'll also get a healthcheck on Europe's manufacturing and services sectors. A rerouted pipeline application could still win approval next year. The financial markets continue to cope well with last night's rejection of the Greek creditors' demands. There are rumours that Portugal may need a second bailout. JOB CREATION Many business leaders meeting in Davos believe their most important contribution to fixing the crisis is creating jobs. There is no such decision."... The reason? Prime Minister Stephen Harper is launching a major trade charm offensive this week at Davos, Switzerland in a bid to woo Asian and European trade partners after a stinging rebuff from the U.S. on oil exports. Time for a round-up of today's main developments.
Shares in London and other European stock markets fell after eurozone finance ministers rejected a debt restructuring deal for Greece. Ministers insisted that banks must accept a lower interest rate on the new Greek bonds than the 4% average rate demanded by bondholders. However, Institute of International Finance boss Charles Dallara, who represents private creditors, insisted that the deal on offer was in line with the Greek rescue plan hammered out last October. Thankyou for all your great comments - our live blog coverage will resume tomorrow morning. Leaving aside what is said for show, behind closed doors expect discussions at Davos to focus on three key aspects of the eurozone crisis. First, expect banks to collectively warn Germany and France against inflicting too many losses on holders of Greek government debt. Second, expect the same banks to lobby any government that will listen to go slow on raising capital requirements and other regulations that jeopardise a return to the go-go years. Third, expect the rest of the world to tell eurozone governments that no more IMF money will be forthcoming without many strings attached. While the eurozone will dominate discussions, don't be surprised if the Americans and their European allies use Davos to further marginalise Iran. The consequences of being tough on Iran may well generate the biggest geopolitical surprise of the year. Quick markets update -- the FTSE 100 closed at 5751, down 30 points or 0.5%. Germany's Dax slipped 17.4 points to 6419.22, a 0.3% fall, while France's CAC ended the day 15.77 points lower at 3322.65, a 0.5% drop. Chris Beauchamp, market analyst at IG Index, commented that "frustration with the lack of progress on Greece finally begins to make itself felt." An update on the situation in Italy -- it now appears that Fitch has been officially added to the list of rating agencies who are being investigated by the country's police. Reuters is now reporting that the probe has been extended to cover Fitch, as well as S&P and Moody's. Fitch's suggestion this month month that it could downgrade Italy by two notches. S&P has also waded into the row, insisting that the claim that its controlling shareholders were tipped off about future ratings decisions is "groundless". Interestingly, the US was the only country whose 2012 growth forecast was not downgraded, with the IMF still predicting GDP expansion of 1.8% this year. Vindication for America's policy of favouring stimulus measures over austerity? Economist Shaun Richards has another theory.... @EdConwaySky Perhaps the IMF is trying to curry favour with its biggest shareholder........ — Shaun Richards (@notayesmansecon) January 24, 2012 The IMF's latest world economic outlook report also warns governments to adjust the "rhythm" of their austerity measures to avoid derailing economic recovery. My colleague Heather Stewart explains here that the IMF has warned that the necessary fiscal tightening should proceed at a pace that supports adequate growth in output and employment. In its latest World Economic Outlook report, officially released at 3pm, the IMF cut its world growth outlook to 3.3% from 4.0%. The IMF warned that: The euro area economy is now expected to go into a mild recession in 2012 as a result of the rise in sovereign yields, the effects of bank deleveraging on the real economy, and the impact of additional fiscal consolidation. The IMF cut its forecast for the eurozone to a 0.5% contraction in 2012, down from a previous forecast of 1.1% growth. The IMF left readers in no doubt about the severity of the situation, warning: Global growth prospects dimmed and risks sharply escalated during the fourth quarter of 2011, as the euro area crisis entered a perilous new phase. Greece's creditors have just given their first response to the Eurozone's rejection of their proposed terms for the debt restructuring. Charles Dallara appears to be sticking to his guns, insisting that the deal on offer from the Institute of International Finance (which he heads) was consistent with the Greek rescue plan hammered out last October - when all parties agreed to a 50% haircut on Athens' loans. Dallara also refused to say whether the IIR was prepared to drop its demand that Greece pays a coupon of at least 4% on new 30-year bonds that will be issued as part of the proposed restructuring. Standard & Poor's has declared that it is likely to put Greece into "selective default" once its protracted debt negotiations are concluded. Selective default is one notch above "restricted default" (the black mark reserved for when a borrower simply stops repaying their debts). He suggested that Greece might be welcomed back into the capital markets once it has the "right policies", and also argued that the eurozone could survive the Greek crisis, saying: It's not a given that Greece's default would have a domino effect in the eurozone. Another interesting details from this lunchtime's press conference in Brussels -- Olli Rehn said it would be much better if Greece agreed a final deal with its creditors in January, adding that he expects agreement "within days". Or, as Reuters bureau chief in Brussels, Luke Baker, put it: Lots of "regretting" and "lamenting" going on at #EU finance ministers' press conference. On the issue of Greece, Rehn said that all Greece's political parties needed to "broad political backing" to the terms of a second bailout, and that the EU wanted to see "convincing & firm" commitments from all sides.
"If the devaluation is orderly, the pound could fall to, say, 7 to the dollar. EGYPTIAN POUND The stakes for Egypt's economy are high. The danger of that is a disorderly one, as opposed to one that is managed by the government and the IMF," Said Hirsh of Capital Economics said. The depletion accelerated before the parliamentary election and during a series of violent political protests in November and December, with the central bank spending at least $2 billion in each of the last three months. Mubarak's security chief and co-defendant, the former interior minister Habib el-Adly, authorised the use of live ammunition on orders from Mubarak, he said. FOREIGN DONORS Egypt may also face problems convincing foreign donors to extend financing as long as its politics remain unsettled. A boy holds an Egyptian flag during a protest marking the first anniversary of Egypt's uprising at Tahrir square during in Cairo January 25, 2012. Nor will it be easy to get broad political support for an agreement that may involve Egypt making economic policy pledges to the IMF -- especially since political parties will be jockeying for position in the country's first freely elected parliament in 60 years, which held its first session on Monday. Many economists believe a currency devaluation is imminent. A prosecutor in the trial of Hosni Mubarak has demanded the death penalty for the ousted Egyptian leader on charges of complicity in the killing of protesters during last year's uprising against his rule. (Editing by Andrew Torchia) "I think two to three months is walking a very thin line. Egypt announced last week that it had formally asked the International Monetary Fund for a $3.2 billion loan, saying it wanted the money as soon as possible and hoped an agreement would be signed within weeks.
A boy holds an Egyptian flag during a protest marking the first anniversary of Egypt's uprising at Tahrir square during in Cairo January 25, 2012. REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El-Ghany Demonstrators gather at Tahrir square during a protest marking the first anniversary of Egypt's uprising in Cairo January 25, 2012. REUTERS/Suhaib Salem Men count Egyptian bank notes at a foreign exchange office in the centre of Cairo in this March 1, 2011 file photo. REUTERS/Peter Andrews/Files Analysis - Egypt faces hurdles in securing IMF aid By Patrick Werr CAIRO Egypt faces a struggle to secure a $3.2 billion (2.0 billion pounds) IMF aid package that economists say is crucial to averting a balance of payments crisis and which, even if it is obtained, could prove to be too little, too late. A year of political and economic turmoil has pushed up unemployment in Egypt, widened its budget and balance of payments deficits, and drained its foreign reserves. Many economists believe a currency devaluation is imminent. Egypt announced last week that it had formally asked the International Monetary Fund for a $3.2 billion loan, saying it wanted the money as soon as possible and hoped an agreement would be signed within weeks. The IMF, however, says any agreement will first have to attract broad political support within the country and be accompanied by financial commitments from other international donors. Thrashing out the technical details of a loan will take two to three months, it said. "I think two to three months is walking a very thin line. They can make it, they have sufficient reserves, but two to three months is pushing it," said Raza Agha, an economist with British bank RBS. It may not be easy to convince foreign donors to lend money to Egypt until they see how the government looks after a presidential election expected in June. Nor will it be easy to get broad political support for an agreement that may involve Egypt making economic policy pledges to the IMF -- especially since political parties will be jockeying for position in the country's first freely elected parliament in 60 years, which held its first session on Monday. The central bank, trying to keep the Egyptian pound stable against the dollar, has run through $9 billion of its foreign reserves since June, when the government rejected an IMF agreement similar to the one it is now seeking. The depletion accelerated before the parliamentary election and during a series of violent political protests in November and December, with the central bank spending at least $2 billion in each of the last three months. By the end of December, reserves had fallen to a dangerously low $18 billion. Analysts say the government may be forced to devalue the currency against the dollar in coming months, perhaps in a one-off decrease, but that an IMF agreement would give it enough financial firepower to engineer a limited, controlled devaluation. Since the uprising against Hosni Mubarak erupted a year ago, the currency has fallen by less than 4 percent, to 6.04 against the dollar, despite sharp contractions in tourism and foreign investment, two of Egypt's main sources of foreign exchange. "If the devaluation is orderly, the pound could fall to, say, 7 to the dollar. JPMorgan said in a research note that it believed the government would continue to defend the currency by way of higher interest rates, the sale of dollar-denominated Treasury bills, and possibly with administrative measures. The central bank has been making it harder for Egyptians to buy dollars. This month it tightened procedures for importers who want to send funds abroad, requiring more documentation to show the transactions are legitimate. FOREIGN DONORS Egypt may also face problems convincing foreign donors to extend financing as long as its politics remain unsettled. Cairo has received in-principle offers of budgetary support and other aid totalling well over $10 billion from Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and other countries, but actual aid flows have been slow to arrive. A Western diplomat said Egypt's military-backed government had last summer declined any loans from Gulf states, and only accepted a total of $1 billion in outright grants from Saudi Arabia and Qatar. Egypt's diplomatic and economic policies will not be entirely clear before a new constitution is drawn up over the next few months and the presidential election is held -- and maybe not even then. "Do you really want to shell out billions of dollars when you are not sure what the policy stance of the incoming prime minister or president will be?" The Muslim Brotherhood, which won almost half the seats in the new parliament, has said it would consider supporting an IMF deal providing there were no conditions attached and alternatives were explored first. But analysts said that in the short term, the Brotherhood might find it dangerous to endorse a deal while it worked to build political coalitions and manoeuvred for a strong position in the government that will be formed after the presidential election. Cem Akyurek, an Istanbul-based economist with Deutsche Bank, said that instead of an 18-month IMF programme worth $3.2 billion, Egypt would be wise to follow Turkey's example a decade ago and seek a bigger programme to assist its economic reforms, perhaps a deal involving three years and a much bigger amount of money. "$3.2 billion will be a fraction of what Egypt needs to generate growth in the economy." CAIRO—Egyptians took to the streets on Wednesday to mark the one-year anniversary of the uprising that ended Hosni Mubarak's 30-year dictatorship, amid deepening concern that bitter political divisions and a troubled economy have deflated Egypt's once heady revolutionary hopes. In Cairo, processions clogged the streets, wending their way from every corner of the sprawling capital toward the city's central Tahrir Square, the cradle of January's uprising.... A prosecutor in the trial of Hosni Mubarak has demanded the death penalty for the ousted Egyptian leader on charges of complicity in the killing of protesters during last year's uprising against his rule. Mustafa Khater, one of a five-member prosecution team, also asked for the death sentence for Mubarak's security chief and six top police commanders who are being tried in the same case. "Any fair judge must issue a death sentence for these defendants."
This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. In Martin's case, lawyers say neither his wife nor any other member of his family is willing to help him die. Lawyers for a stroke victim who wants help to end his "intolerable" life can continue to act on his behalf without fear of prosecution or disciplinary action after a High Court ruling today. "We can instruct doctors to advise him on his options regarding his wish to die and also take steps to identify an individual who might be willing to assist him in taking his life." Third parties In the High Court, two senior judges - Lord Justice Toulson and Mr Justice Charles - said it was a "tragic case" which raised legal and ethical issues. He says he wants to end his life, and his lawyers sought a declaration that they could seek information about his options -- including Swiss assisted-suicide clinics -- to help him prepare a legal challenge. Assisting suicide is against the law but in 2010 the Director of Public Prosecutions published guidance for use by prosecutors in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. "Martin has made clear to us that he wishes to end his life and, thanks to the judgment handed down today in the High Court, we can now proceed with preparing his legal claim. Martin wants to go to the Dignitas centre in Switzerland in order to die, but would need help from others to do so. But he is now immobile, only able to move his head and his arms, toes and throat slightly and relies on full-time carers. Image caption Martin wants assurances that his doctors and lawyers won't be prosecuted for helping him A man who was virtually paralysed by a stroke has won the first step in his legal bid to pursue his right-to-die.
Lawyers for a stroke victim who wants help to end his "intolerable" life can continue to act on his behalf without fear of prosecution or disciplinary action after a High Court ruling today. They successfully urged two judges in London to grant them a declaration which will protect them and third parties, including doctors, during preparations for a "landmark" judicial review action brought by the unnamed stroke victim. Image caption Martin wants assurances that his doctors and lawyers won't be prosecuted for helping him A man who was virtually paralysed by a stroke has won the first step in his legal bid to pursue his right-to-die. Known only as Martin, he would require professionals to help as his wife has said she will not assist him. But current guidance suggests they may be prosecuted, where loved ones would not, and Martin's case is this discriminates against him. Third parties In the High Court, two senior judges - Lord Justice Toulson and Mr Justice Charles - said it was a "tragic case" which raised legal and ethical issues. They said that, in order to prepare his case properly, his team needed to be able to talk to individuals or organisations - including Dignitas in Switzerland - which might be able to assist Martin, 47, in ending his life and to take statements from him. They permit those discussions for the "broad purpose" of "stating that the solicitors may obtain information from third parties and from appropriate experts for the purpose of placing material before the court and that third parties may co-operate in so doing with out the people involved acting in any way unlawfully". Rosa Curling, from solicitors Leigh Day & Co who are representing Martin, said: "We are grateful for the court's judgment handed down today, which confirms that we can press ahead with the preparation of our client's case without fear of criminal and/or disciplinary action being taken against us. "Martin has made clear to us that he wishes to end his life and, thanks to the judgment handed down today in the High Court, we can now proceed with preparing his legal claim. "We can instruct doctors to advise him on his options regarding his wish to die and also take steps to identify an individual who might be willing to assist him in taking his life." However, Martin's lawyers made it clear the ruling was specific to this case. But there is a fear that prosecution could be more likely if the person involved is "acting in his or her capacity as a medical doctor, nurse, other healthcare professional, a professional carer (whether for payment or not), or as a person in authority". LONDON—A paralyzed British man who wants to die won the first round in his legal battle Friday, when the High Court ruled his lawyers won't be prosecuted if they seek out experts to help him commit suicide. Two judges declared Friday that the lawyers could obtain information from experts and "identify one or more people or bodies that might be willing to assist Martin." Martin's lawyers still plan to go to court seeking clarification of guidelines laid out by the country's chief prosecutor in 2010, which listed mitigating factors, such as compassion, in cases of assisted suicide.
Romney, asked to respond, replied contemptously: "I didn't follow all that." The clamour for another candidate would begin to rise if Romney was to lose his home state Michigan to Santorum in Tuesday's primary. The Democrats, heartened by the chaotic Republican race, derisively claimed voters would have learned more from watching Downton Abbey than from the Republican debates. (Mitt) Romney supported the bailout for his Wall Street billionaire buddies, but opposed the auto bailout. But Santorum spokesman Hogan Gidley told The Fix that the ad did indeed come from the campaign. Huntsman, who had been among the contenders until dropping out in January, said: "I think we're going to have problems politically until we get some sort of third party movement or some alternative voice out there that can put forward new ideas." Reporting from Novi, Mich. — Two new polls in the showdown state of Michigan suggest that Rick Santorum failed to gain a badly needed shot of momentum in Wednesday night's Republican presidential debate. “We know that Rick’s message of balanced budget and getting people back to work resonates with Reagan Democrats,” Gidley said, arguing that Santorum’s message has long had appeal to such voters. His speech also addresses the prime issue in Michigan, the economy. The Michigan native holds a three-point edge over Santorum in one poll and a slightly more comfortable six-point advantage in the other. Romney, after a rally with Tea Party members in Michigan tonight, has a big speech planned for Detroit on Friday in which he will set out in detail his plans for the economy, expanding on a proposal he set out this week for 20% tax cuts.
Rick Santorum’s presidential campaign is actively seeking the support of Democrats in Tuesday’s Michigan primary, running a robocall that sounds oddly like one that would be run by an organized labor group. (Mitt) Romney supported the bailout for his Wall Street billionaire buddies, but opposed the auto bailout. And we’re not going to let Romney get away with it.” Then the ad closes with: “This call is supported by hard-working Democratic men and women and paid for by Rick Santorum for President.” Despite the disclaimer, the source of the ad was initially unclear when TPM first posted it, and some even thought it was a dirty trick played by Democrats seeking to get supporters to vote for Santorum over Romney. Democrats have toed the line of actively encouraging Democrats to vote against Romney. It’s also an odd message considering that Santorum also opposed the auto bailout. Santorum has tried to differentiate himself on the issue by noting that he has a blanket no-bailout policy, while Romney supported the Wall Street bailout but not the auto bailout. But Santorum spokesman Hogan Gidley told The Fix that the ad did indeed come from the campaign. “We know that Rick’s message of balanced budget and getting people back to work resonates with Reagan Democrats,” Gidley said, arguing that Santorum’s message has long had appeal to such voters. Romney’s campaign called the calls “outrageous.” “Rick Santorum has moved beyond just ‘taking one for the team;’ he is now willing to wear the other team’s jersey if he thinks it will get him more votes,” said Romney spokesman Ryan Williams. Reporting from Novi, Mich. — Two new polls in the showdown state of Michigan suggest that Rick Santorum failed to gain a badly needed shot of momentum in Wednesday night's Republican presidential debate. Santorum has stops planned in the vote-rich Detroit metro area on Friday evening and Saturday morning, and he's due to return on Monday. An overnight poll by Mitchell Research and Communications, a Republican firm in East Lansing, found that one-third of Michigan primary voters surveyed thought that Romney won the nationally televised debate, versus 13% who thought Santorum won. Another 10% named Ron Paul as the debate winner, and 9% picked Newt Gingrich (for those trailing candidates, the figures roughly reflected their overall support among GOP primary voters in the state). Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum fail to shine, prompting Republicans to speculate about new candidate joining race Senior Republican figures raised the prospect of a new candidate joining the race after a dismal televised debate on Wednesday night in which both Mitt Romney and his main rival Rick Santorum failed to shine. The clamour for another candidate would begin to rise if Romney was to lose his home state Michigan to Santorum in Tuesday's primary. Romney, after a rally with Tea Party members in Michigan tonight, has a big speech planned for Detroit on Friday in which he will set out in detail his plans for the economy, expanding on a proposal he set out this week for 20% tax cuts. During Wednesday night's debate in Mesa, which may be the last in a series stretching back to May last year, Romney and Santorum traded accusations over federal spending, contraception, the bailout of the car industry and healthcare reform. He became bogged down in a long, rambling defence of his votes for earmark spending during his time as senator, an answer that could lose him conservative support, incensed by what they see as wasteful spending on projects such as Alaska's infamous 'Bridge to Nowhere'.
"Man, were we wrong. Egypt will be stable,” he said. She's more powerful than ever." Abou el-Naga's crackdown on pro-democracy groups has promoted that view. Everyone will get what they deserve.” Advertisement Continue reading the main story Others sought to associate the rioting fans with political protests in the streets. The minister joined the Egyptian foreign service in the early 1970s -- one of the few women of her generation to do so. Bedouin tribesmen in Sinai have been involved in a series of confrontations with security forces in recent months. They included the country directors of the Washington-based National Democratic Institute (NDI) and International Republican Institute (IRI), the latter of which is led in Cairo by the son of the U.S. transportation secretary. Health Ministry officials said that some people had died of knife wounds and many of blows to the head. In a rare impromptu statement, Egypt’s top military officer, Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, vowed in a phone call to Al Ahly’s satellite channel that the military would apprehend those responsible and that the victims would be compensated. Pushing back After years of giving the Egyptian government substantial control over the way its share of U.S. aid was spent, Congress in 2004 demanded that some money earmarked for democracy-building activities be dispersed without moving through Abou el-Naga's ministry. "They think they are facing the same fate as Mubarak." The match was called off, and by the end of the night, the league had suspended its schedule. This week, 43 employees of nongovernmental organizations, including 19 Americans, were charged as part of an investigation of civil society groups.
CAIRO -- The architect of Egypt's crackdown on U.S.-funded pro-democracy organizations is a holdover from the cabinet of former president Hosni Mubarak who has tried for years to stymie the groups' activities. Faiza Abou el-Naga, the minister who coordinates international aid and long the most powerful woman in the Egyptian government, has survived a series of cabinet purges and weathered the groundswell of anger toward remnants of Mubarak's regime. But her intensifying campaign against the civil society groups offers clear proof, her critics say, that some elements of the old guard remain entrenched and are trying to block the rise of new political leadership in the country. "Mubarak is still ruling in some ways and is still blocking the emergence of a new regime in Egypt," said Abdullah al-Ashaal, a former deputy foreign minister. "Faiza Abou el-Naga is one of the tools in that." This week, 43 employees of nongovernmental organizations, including 19 Americans, were charged as part of an investigation of civil society groups. They included the country directors of the Washington-based National Democratic Institute (NDI) and International Republican Institute (IRI), the latter of which is led in Cairo by the son of the U.S. transportation secretary. Abou el-Naga, the public face of the inquiry since it was launched by her ministry last year, has defended the probe, which has jeopardized up to $1.5 billion in U.S. aid. She insists that the Egyptian government has a right to expel unlicensed foreign organizations that she says could further destabilize a country reeling from the aftershocks of a revolution. Speaking to a parliamentary committee on Tuesday, she said the government was not trying to stifle civil society, but rather to enforce policies that protect Egypt's sovereignty. Senior members of the Muslim Brotherhood, the Islamist group whose political party won the most seats in parliament, have endorsed the crackdown. ), chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, on Tuesday called the probe a "dangerous game that risks damaging both Egypt's democratic prospects and the U.S.-Egyptian bilateral relationship." In a further sign of strained relations, a delegation of Egyptian military officials cut short its trip to Washington this week, canceling meetings on Capitol Hill. U.S. officials who backed democratic reform in Mubarak's Egypt over the past decade had been hopeful that his fall would spell the end of Abou el-Naga's career and the rigid restrictions the regime placed on American aid earmarked for pro-democracy programs. U.S. trainers and funding would be sorely needed and welcome in the new Egypt, they reasoned, as nascent political parties and those that had been oppressed by the autocratic government geared up for the country's first free elections. "When the regime changed, we all thought, Faiza will be gone," said a senior U.S. official who worked in Egypt, speaking on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to be interviewed. While Abou el-Naga, 59, kept a relatively low profile during Mubarak's reign, she cultivated strong relationships with the generals who now lead the country. Others point to the decade she has spent channeling foreign aid in the country and her keen political skills as reasons for her continued influence. A long career Egypt's crackdown on nongovernmental organizations has startled U.S. lawmakers, who have threatened to cut off all aid to the country, including the roughly $1.3 billion a year in military aid and about $250 million annually in bilateral aid that is funneled through Abou el-Naga's Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation. Why, many in Washington and Cairo wonder, would the ruling generals risk losing their biggest benefactor at a time when Egypt's reserves are running dangerously low, security forces are struggling to contain unrest and the tourism industry is anemic? The minister joined the Egyptian foreign service in the early 1970s -- one of the few women of her generation to do so. She served in Egypt's delegation to the United Nations in the 1990s and was later appointed as the country's envoy to the U.N. mission in Geneva. When Mubarak picked her for the influential cabinet job in 2001, the state-owned newspaper al-Ahram called her a trailblazer who had "reached the highest echelons of her profession." "Her political strength comes from the fact that she is the one who receives foreign aid and rechannels foreign aid," said a former colleague who is supportive of her and the NGO probe. Pushing back After years of giving the Egyptian government substantial control over the way its share of U.S. aid was spent, Congress in 2004 demanded that some money earmarked for democracy-building activities be dispersed without moving through Abou el-Naga's ministry. Abou el-Naga and the country's intelligence agencies worried that the groups would empower government critics and pushed back against the change, said Egyptian activists and the U.S. official, who worked with her. It included one that had published a children's book called "Ali the Human Rights Activist." Swaying the generals Hossam Bahgat, a prominent human rights activist who is critical of Abou el-Naga and the restrictions she has enforced on NGOs, said the minister appears to have convinced the generals that the organizations have fueled protests and violence in recent months. "She's characterizing their work as violating Egyptian sovereignty and using that as a rallying cry," said the senior U.S. official. They were demanding the release of fellow tribesman who were jailed after the 2004 bomb attack at the resort of Taba that killed 31 people. Confrontations The Americans were travelling through the Wadi al-Sual area, about 40km (25 miles) from St Catherine's, when a vehicle carrying masked men armed with machine-guns forced the bus to stop, officials said.
"We are afraid. Since then, no talks between the monarchy and the opposition have taken place, Khalil said. Al Wefaq criticised the authorities for imposing "a siege" on the villages around Manama ahead of the first anniversary of Bahrain's "revolution". Some protesters hurled firebombs and rocks after the security forces fired tear gas. Police then fired teargas and stun grenades at the march. Six American members of an activist group were detained during the protests, activists and the government said. At least 40 people have been killed during a year of unprecedented political unrest in Bahrain. The U.S. Fifth Fleet is based in the island kingdom. The statement says the six activists arrived in Bahrain in the past week and obtained tourist visas at the airport. Pearl Square had served as the epicenter of weeks of anti-government protests last year, and its reoccupation would be a major boost for the movement. Egypt's military rulers have began legal action against Americans and Egyptians for activities with non-government organisations that they say was not legal or authorised. Authorities on Monday tightened entry policies into the kingdom, and now demand prior visa approval for many nations that had been allowed to obtain entry stamps upon arrival, including the U.S. and other Western countries. "To the roundabout, to the roundabout," chanted protesters, led by prominent rights activist Nabil Rajab. MANAMA, Bahrain (AP) – Bahraini security forces fanned out across the island nation in unprecedented numbers on Tuesday as Shiites marked the one-year anniversary of their uprising against the country's Sunni rulers. Another two Americans from the group were deported from Bahrain Sunday for taking part in opposition activities after they had entered the Gulf kingdom on tourist visas.
MANAMA, Bahrain (AP) – Bahraini security forces fanned out across the island nation in unprecedented numbers on Tuesday as Shiites marked the one-year anniversary of their uprising against the country's Sunni rulers. Authorities sent troop reinforcements and armored vehicles to the predominantly Shiite villages around the capital Manama to prevent people from gathering and answering the call of the main opposition movement, Al Wefaq. Six American members of an activist group were detained during the protests, activists and the government said. Authorities said they had violated the terms of their visa, and that they agreed to leave the country without further legal measures taken against them. The government meanwhile threatened to take legal action against the organizers of protests on Monday that turned violent. This could herald a new crackdown on Al Wefaq, which until last year was tolerated but which has suffered sporadic prosecutions and detentions after it took the lead in last year's protests. At least 40 people have been killed during a year of unprecedented political unrest in Bahrain. The island kingdom, the home of the U.S. 5th Fleet, is the Gulf Arab nation hardest hit by upheaval during 2011's Arab Spring protests. The kingdom's ruling dynasty has promised reforms to end the upheaval, although it refuses to make the far-reaching changes the protesters and Al Wefaq, have demanded. These include ending the monarchy's ability to select the government, set key state policies and appoint most of the parliament members. Police on Tuesday fired tear gas at protesters in an apparent attempt to pre-empt a repeat of the marches the night before, in which protesters made their largest effort in months to retake the city's central roundabout. The government statement said many protesters on Monday departed from a pre-authorized route in Manama, turning the march into a riot after police arrived. It said Al Wefaq was responsible for the violence, because it failed to "control the crowd (and) that jeopardized the safety of the people along a busy main road." Al Wefaq rejected the claim, and said that the "unfounded accusations" are part of the rulers' efforts to discredit the group. "They have used excessive force against the people throughout all this time, but people keep coming back to the streets to insist on their demand to have a role in the decisions about their country," said Abdul Jalil Khalil, a former Al Wefaq parliamentarian. Shiites account for about 70 percent of Bahrain's population of some 525,000 people, but say they have faced decades of discrimination and are blocked from top political and security posts. "After years of broken promises for change, Bahrain exploded last year," Khalil said. A so-called national dialogue began in July, but Al Wefaq delegates pulled out of the talks, saying the government was not willing to discuss political reform. U.S. State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said Tuesday the Bahraini government and the opposition "have a responsibility, both of them, to work together to ensure that the right to peaceful protest is respected by all sides." Nuland also called on the protesters to refrain from violence and urged Bahraini security forces to "use maximum restraint" during peaceful protests. Washington asked the government in Bahrain to work with the opposition and other groups "to establish a process leading to real, meaningful political reform" in the Gulf kingdom. The U.S.-based Witness Bahrain meanwhile said in a statement that six American members of the activist group were arrested during a peaceful march and held at a Manama police station. Bahrain's Information Affairs Authority said that six U.S. passport holders have been ordered deported for "applying for tourist visas under false pretenses." It said they were taken to a police station and "agreed to leave the country without further legal procedures" against them. Security forces in Bahrain fired tear gas and stun grenades at protesters trying to occupy a landmark roundabout in the nation's capital on Monday, one day ahead of the one-year anniversary of the Gulf kingdom's popular uprising. Thousands of opposition supporters marched through Manama's streets in the largest attempt in months to retake Pearl Roundabout, which served as the epicentre of weeks of pro-democracy protests last year. Live Box 201192417211145481 Thousands of riot police and other security forces have staked out positions around the square and across the Gulf island nation to prevent the opposition from staging a mass rally in or near the roundabout. "We will not back down,'' said Nader Abdulimam, who had taken refuge in a house just outside of Manama with other protesters overcome by tear gas. In an area about 10km west of central Manama, some demonstrators stood atop Bahrain's ancient burial mounds, some more than 5,000 years old, waving flags featuring the image of Pearl Roundabout's six-pronged monument. Sacked Shia employees still wait to be reinstated despite repeated promises from the government Street battles between security forces and protesters still flare up almost every day in the predominantly Shia villages around the capital. The island's King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa said last year's events were regrettable, although he downplayed the severity of the threat the protests had posed to the 200-year-old-rule of the Sunni dynasty. Village 'sieges' Shias account for about 70 per cent of Bahrain's population of some 525,000 people, but say they have faced decades of discrimination, such as being denied access to senior political and security posts. The health position is significant because Bahrain's main hospital figured prominently during the early weeks of the uprising with authorities claiming medical staff aided demonstrators.
In Homs, at least, she reported that civilians were being killed by their government. "The Syrian army is a national army," said Jabbour. He was also caught up in the attack but says he was not injured. There was no confirmation last night that Mr Conroy and Ms Bouvier had left with the Red Crescent. All of the seven people taken out of Baba Amr were understood to have been Syrian citizens. They plan to present their ultimatum at Friday's international conference on Syria in Tunisia. French President Nicolas Sarkozy has described the killing of the two journalists as "murder", according to AFP. In another report this month, Human Rights Watch found that security forces controlled by President Bashar Assad arrested, tortured and killed children as part of the crackdown. Highly sensitive negotiations were under way between the ICRC and the Damascus regime to secure the evacuation not only of the journalists but of all casualties requiring treatment. The UN and Arab League are continuing efforts to resolve the crisis, and have appointed Kofi Annan as their envoy. Marie Colvin of The Sunday Times and Remi Ochlik, a French photographer with the IP3 press agency, were killed during the same attack. In a video posted onlineby opposition activists, Ms Bouvier says she has a broken femur and needs an operation. It says these include shooting unarmed women and children, shelling civilian areas and torturing the wounded. Meanwhile, a United Nations panel has drawn up a confidential list of Syrian military officials - believed to include President Assad - who could face investigation for crimes against humanity. Syrian Official: Army Is Protecting Syrian People From Armed Groups Enlarge this image toggle caption Bulent Kilic/AFP/Getty Images Bulent Kilic/AFP/Getty Images The charge d'affaires of the Syrian Embassy in Washington says all the reports coming out of Syria are "absolutely wrong."
Syrian Official: Army Is Protecting Syrian People From Armed Groups Enlarge this image toggle caption Bulent Kilic/AFP/Getty Images Bulent Kilic/AFP/Getty Images The charge d'affaires of the Syrian Embassy in Washington says all the reports coming out of Syria are "absolutely wrong." During a 20 minute interview, Melissa pressed Jabbour. By all accounts, the Syrian army has embarked on a deadly attack on its own people. The U.N. estimates that last year alone 5,400 people were killed. And in a report by the U.N.'s Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, a panel said it had evidence that that top Syrian officials "bear responsibility for crimes against humanity and other gross human rights violations." In another report this month, Human Rights Watch found that security forces controlled by President Bashar Assad arrested, tortured and killed children as part of the crackdown. "The Syrian army is a national army," said Jabbour. "It's an army for all the Syrians and you know what the Syrian army is doing is just protecting the Syrian people from the brutality and from the criminality of the armed groups supported by regional Arab or non-Arab foreign states and nations." Jabbour also said that journalists Marie Colvin and Remi Ochlik were "absolutely not" killed "by Syrian armies." Jabbour said the picture we are getting from Syria is wrong and that Assad would step down "when the Syrian people tell Assad step aside." In the interview, he said the truth is that most Syrians support Assad and Jabbour seemed to challenge journalists to report the truth. In it, she paints a harrowing picture of an army pounding Homs mercilessly. "The scale of human tragedy in the city is immense. Note, we'll add audio of the as-aired interview with Jabbour to this post a little later on tonight. Syrian forces had sealed off the Baba Amr area, which has been under intense bombardment for 21 consecutive days. By agreement with the authorities, three ambulances from the Red Crescent were able to enter the district and remove seven wounded civilians, all of them women and children. Paul Conroy, a British photographer working for The Sunday Times, and Edith Bouvier, a French correspondent for Le Figaro, were both wounded in Baba Amr on Wednesday when the district was shelled heavily. Marie Colvin of The Sunday Times and Remi Ochlik, a French photographer with the IP3 press agency, were killed during the same attack. The surviving journalists, both of whom suffered leg injuries, have been given refuge and treatment in a makeshift clinic. Miss Bouvier said she needed an “operation” that was beyond the ability of the personnel in the rudimentary clinic. The bodies of their dead colleagues had also not been recovered. All of the seven people taken out of Baba Amr were understood to have been Syrian citizens. The journalists might have been reluctant to leave with anyone other than the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), which is separate from the Syrian Red Crescent and viewed as more impartial. A government hospital in Homs was believed to have been the first port of call for those taken out of Baba Amr by the Red Crescent. Highly sensitive negotiations were under way between the ICRC and the Damascus regime to secure the evacuation not only of the journalists but of all casualties requiring treatment. Between 20,000 and 30,000 people live in Baba Amr, where conditions are steadily worsening. The wounded are often afraid to seek treatment at government hospitals — even when these facilities can be reached — because the Syrian authorities routinely screen patients and arrest any suspected of opposing President Bashar al-Assad’s government. He added: “Those in need include the injured journalists, but are certainly not limited to them.” Yesterday’s evacuation operation was, he said, being conducted “with the agreement of the authorities”. Five children were said to be among the dead, the youngest of whom was 10 months old, executed along with their parents. There was no independent confirmation of the claims, although activists posted video footage showing the corpses of the children and four adults being wrapped in blankets. The attacks came a day after between seven and 13 members of another family were allegedly killed in a similar fashion in Kfartoun, also in Hama province.
The rest were cadets. Generally, the recruits are escorted out of the compound, but are on their own once they get to the street. 'Cars set ablaze' The attack at the Iraqi Police Academy is the deadliest attack in the capital for weeks. Police say a suicide bomber detonated his car as the recruits exited the compound's security barriers in northeastern Baghdad Sunday. Al-Qaeda said it had carried out both attacks. Twenty-six people were hurt. Hospital officials say five police officers were among the dead. Gunmen also attacked a checkpoint in Abu Khamis, north of Baquba, killing one policeman and two members of the Sahwa (Awakening) militia, according to AFP. Last week, Iraqi and U.S. officials said the Sunni Muslim extremist network al-Qaida - for whom suicide bombings are a favored tactic - remains a potent threat in Iraq. "Many cars were set ablaze," he added. Police recruits have been attacked time and time again in spectacular attacks where suicide bombers have infiltrated protection barriers and other checkpoints. The bombing breaks a short period of relative calm that accompanied an easing of a political crisis pitting Shi'ite Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki against senior members of the Sunni-backed Iraqiya bloc. Another 27 recruits and policemen were wounded. A bomber blew himself up in a car near the entrance of the Iraqi Police Academy in the east of the city. Some information for this report was provided by AP, AFP and Reuters. In October, 25 people across Baghdad were killed in a string of attacks that included two bombers slamming explosives-packed cars into police stations. "I can see body parts scattered on the ground and boots and berets covered with blood," a policeman working at the academy told Reuters.
It was the deadliest attack in Iraq since January 27, when a suicide bomber detonated an explosives-packed car outside a hospital in the Iraqi capital, killing 31 people. Police said the suicide bomber was waiting on the street outside the fortified academy near the Interior Ministry headquarters in the east of the Iraqi capital. As the crowd of recruits exited the compound's security barriers in the early afternoon and walked into the road, police said the bomber drove toward them and blew up his car. All of the dead were either police officers or recruits. All officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to release the information. Police recruits have been attacked time and time again in spectacular attacks where suicide bombers have infiltrated protection barriers and other checkpoints. Iraq's police are generally considered to be the weakest element of the country's security forces. In October, 25 people across Baghdad were killed in a string of attacks that included two bombers slamming explosives-packed cars into police stations. Sunday's attack also shows anew extremists' ability to pull off attacks despite government crackdowns and fewer resources. No group immediately claimed responsibility for the bombing, but suicide attacks are a hallmark of al-Qaida. Last week, Iraqi and U.S. officials acknowledged that al-Qaida remains a threat to the country's security. Image caption Witnesses said several cars were set ablaze by the blast At least 18 people have been killed in a suicide attack in the Iraqi capital Baghdad. Four police informants were killed by suspected al-Qaeda gunmen in the centre of Baquba, local police told AFP. "I can see body parts scattered on the ground and boots and berets covered with blood," a policeman working at the academy told Reuters. Iraqi security officials say a car bomb blast outside a police academy in Baghdad has killed at least 19 recruits and officers and wounded more than 26 in the deadliest attack for weeks in the capital. Police say a suicide bomber detonated his car as the recruits exited the compound's security barriers in northeastern Baghdad Sunday. Iraqi police recruits have been attacked repeatedly as suicide bombers have infiltrated protection barriers and other checkpoints throughout the country. Last week, Iraqi and U.S. officials said the Sunni Muslim extremist network al-Qaida - for whom suicide bombings are a favored tactic - remains a potent threat in Iraq.
In announcing her plans, Snowe, 65, emphasized that she is in good health and was prepared for the campaign ahead. Authors: The most moderate Democrat in the Senate — Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.) Only her fellow Maine Republican, Susan Collins, ranked as a more liberal Republican member. “Unfortunately, I do not realistically expect the partisanship of recent years in the Senate to change over the short term,” Snowe said in a statement. | John Shinkle/POLITICO Snowe's retirement a boon for Dems Maine Sen. Olympia Snowe’s abrupt decision Tuesday to forgo a fourth term hands Democrats an opportunity to put another GOP-held seat in play in a year when the party is predominantly on defense. So at this stage of my tenure in public service, I have concluded that I am not prepared to commit myself to an additional six years in the Senate." Republicans did get some traction in the state in 2010, including electing Republican Paul LePage as governor. "Olympia could always be counted on as a leader who sought solutions, not political advantage. There are no heavyweight Republicans in sight with Maine’s filing deadline two weeks away. michael.memoli@latimes.com twitter.com/mikememoli But she said she was swayed by the increasing polarization in Washington. The person noted that Snowe had given no indication that she was doing anything but planning to run an aggressive reelection bid; she had hired Justin Brasell, a renowned Republican operative, to manage her campaign. Newly published vote ratings from the National Journal put Snowe squarely in the ideological center of the Senate. In the 2012 cycle, there are 23 seats held by Democrats - a little less than half of which are competitive - and 10 GOP-held seats in play, roughly three of which are competitive.
Olympia Snowe, one of the Senate's few remaining moderate Republicans, announced Tuesday that she will not seek a fourth term in 2012. The 65-year-old, who had also served in the House for eight terms, said she came to the decision in part after reflecting on the increasingly rancorous climate in Washington. "I am a fighter at heart, and I am well prepared for the electoral battle," she said in a statement. "Unfortunately, I do not realistically expect the partisanship of recent years in the Senate to change over the short term. So at this stage of my tenure in public service, I have concluded that I am not prepared to commit myself to an additional six years in the Senate." Snowe becomes the 10th senator to announce plans to retire at the end of the current term, and only the third Republican. Snowe's surprising decision potentially gives the majority party a much needed opportunity to pick up a Republican seat. "Maine has a proud history of electing independent leaders, including a Republican governor in 2010, and while this will be a key battleground in the fall, I am confident it will remain in Republican hands," National Republican Senatorial Committee Chairman John Cornyn said in a statement. Newly published vote ratings from the National Journal put Snowe squarely in the ideological center of the Senate. In a separate statement, Collins said she was "devastated" by the news. "Olympia could always be counted on as a leader who sought solutions, not political advantage. She served our nation with distinction and she continues to bring honor to our state," she said. In announcing her plans, Snowe, 65, emphasized that she is in good health and was prepared for the campaign ahead. “Unfortunately, I do not realistically expect the partisanship of recent years in the Senate to change over the short term,” Snowe said in a statement. “So at this stage of my tenure in public service, I have concluded that I am not prepared to commit myself to an additional six years in the Senate, which is what a fourth term would entail.” Snowe’s retirement represents a major setback for the GOP’s efforts to regain a majority in the Senate. As a moderate Republican, she may be the party’s only hope to hold a seat in the strongly blue state. Republicans did get some traction in the state in 2010, including electing Republican Paul LePage as governor. But in a more neutral political environment, and in a federal race, Democrats will be heavy favorites to steal this seat from Republicans — their best pickup opportunity in the country, for sure. Snowe’s announcement took Republican leaders completely by surprise; she informed Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) and National Republican Senatorial Committee Chairman John Cornyn (Texas) of her decision today, according to a person familiar with the decision. The person noted that Snowe had given no indication that she was doing anything but planning to run an aggressive reelection bid; she had hired Justin Brasell, a renowned Republican operative, to manage her campaign. Among the names mentioned as possible replacements on the ballot for the GOP: 2002 gubernatorial candidates Peter Cianchette, 2010 gubernatorial candidate Steve Abbott, state Treasurer Bruce Poliquin, state Attorney General Bill Schneider, state Senate President Kevin Raye and Jock McKernan, Snowe’s husband and the state’s former governor. Read more from PostPolitics Live blog: Get the latest from Michigan and Arizona Romney won’t light ‘hair on fire’ for the right Michigan and Arizona exit polls: What to watch GAO: Overlapping programs cost billions | John Shinkle/POLITICO Snowe's retirement a boon for Dems Maine Sen. Olympia Snowe’s abrupt decision Tuesday to forgo a fourth term hands Democrats an opportunity to put another GOP-held seat in play in a year when the party is predominantly on defense. In the 2012 cycle, there are 23 seats held by Democrats - a little less than half of which are competitive - and 10 GOP-held seats in play, roughly three of which are competitive.
“Dr. It will be a winning issue for Republicans, Mr. Gingrich said, if he becomes the nominee. Newt Gingrich's campaign believes it could force a contested GOP convention. Romney is on pace to win the 1,144 delegates needed to claim the nomination in June. For much of the primary contest, Gingrich and Santorum — who won both races Tuesday — have been trying to force each other out. Authors: It’s like a bad rerun.” Mr. Obama’s solution to rising gas prices is fundamentally the opposite of Mr. Gingrich’s. The president wants to decrease dependence on fossil fuels through conservation and alternative energy sources. “Of course we don’t want the price of gasoline to go up, we want it to go down,” Dr. Chu said at a Senate hearing on Tuesday. Romney wins Hawaii GOP caucuses HONOLULU (AP) — Hawaii Republicans gave Mitt Romney a victory in their caucus Tuesday, softening the blow from his twin losses earlier in the night in Alabama and Mississippi. Mr. Gingrich promises that dramatically increasing oil drilling will produce a gusher of nearly miraculous potential: enough energy to cut prices nearly in half, end America’s political obligations to Middle East producers and yield $16 trillion to $18 trillion in royalties to pay off the national debt. Story Continued Below With 80 percent of the vote counted, Romney had 46 percent of the vote. Romney supporters at the McKinley High School caucus site in Honolulu said they thought he was the candidate most likely to be able to beat President Barack Obama in November. “I like the fact that he has a conservative base but is less hardline on the social issues.
Damon Winter/The New York Times Newt Gingrich used a campaign rally on Thursday afternoon to respond to President Obama’s charge earlier in the day that Republicans were pandering to voters by promising lower gas prices. Mr. Obama compared the presidential candidates to members of the Flat Earth Society for dismissing alternative energy sources like solar and biofuels and emphasizing only versions of “drill, baby, drill.” The president did not name anyone, but Mr. Gingrich had no doubt that it was him in the cross hairs, since he has repeatedly mocked Mr. Obama as “President Algae” for extolling biofuels. “The president maligned me, suggesting I don’t like biofuels,” Mr. Gingrich said at a rally in Illinois, which holds its primary on Tuesday and where, he noted, he drove past a station selling gas for $4.59 a gallon. I am in favor of science and technology.” But he argued that “no serious study” showed that algae could replace a significant amount of oil in the short run. He announced that his campaign would make coffee mugs and mouse pads comparing his promise of $2.50-a-gallon gas with a $10-a-gallon projected price under the president’s policies. Mr. Gingrich has made the promise of cheaper gas through aggressive drilling nearly the sole focus of his campaign lately, though he is not alone. Rick Santorum taps a piece of oil shale during stump speeches while attacking Mr. Obama for opposing the drilling technology called fracking. And last month, the speaker of the House, John A. Boehner, told Republican colleagues that the soaring price of gas was a political issue they should exploit. The White House is clearly concerned about the potential for higher gas prices to undermine the economic recovery and Mr. Obama’s re-election chances, and the president has given a series of energy speeches in recent weeks to show his concern. Energy Secretary Steven Chu backed down this week from a controversial comment he made in 2008, when he said the best way to encourage conservation would be an increase in gas prices in the United States to the levels seen in Europe. Chu’s turnaround is entirely a function of the election, and the day after the election he’ll be right back” to his earlier position, he said in Illinois. “Every time prices start to go up, especially in an election year, politicians dust off their three-point plans for $2 gas,” he said. “They head down to the gas station, they make sure a few cameras are following them and then they start acting like, ‘We’ve got a magic wand, and we will give you cheap gas forever if you just elect us,’ every time. It’s like a bad rerun.” Mr. Obama’s solution to rising gas prices is fundamentally the opposite of Mr. Gingrich’s. The president wants to decrease dependence on fossil fuels through conservation and alternative energy sources. Mr. Gingrich promises that dramatically increasing oil drilling will produce a gusher of nearly miraculous potential: enough energy to cut prices nearly in half, end America’s political obligations to Middle East producers and yield $16 trillion to $18 trillion in royalties to pay off the national debt. Newt Gingrich's campaign believes it could force a contested GOP convention. Losing big, Gingrich vows to stay in BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Newt Gingrich suffered two potentially crippling losses in Alabama and Mississippi on Tuesday night in his own backyard. “I believe after the primaries are over, that the so-called front-runner won’t get [to the nomination] and we’ll be in a whole new conversation.” ( See also: Newt Gingrich's 5 best debate zingers) But Gingrich’s challenges are likely to become almost impossibly steep as he failed to clinch wins in two more Southern states, including Alabama, which borders his former home state of Georgia that he represented for over two decades in the House. For much of the primary contest, Gingrich and Santorum — who won both races Tuesday — have been trying to force each other out. But following Tuesday night’s results, the ex-House speaker seemed to suggest that he and Santorum could operate as a team to prevent Romney from advancing. Gingrich argues that he and Santorum — whom he calls a friend — could potentially use their combined sway if the GOP nomination remains unresolved by this summer’s convention. Earlier Tuesday, Gingrich’s camp sought to reassure reporters that the ex-speaker was in the race for the long haul, sending a memo that outlined how it could prevent Romney from amassing the 1,144 delegates necessary to clinch the GOP nod. “This may not get settled until July or August heading into Tampa.” As late as Tuesday afternoon, the campaign was still pushing the math, arguing that Romney won’t have collected half the delegates needed to win the nomination by the Louisiana primary, the half-way point in the race. If a candidate was on track to hit the magic 1,144 number needed to win the GOP nod, they would need about 572 delegates after Louisiana votes, and no one in the field is going to hit that mark, Evans said. The results determined which candidate 17 of Hawaii’s 20 delegates will support at the national convention. Paul, who had been a surprisingly strong third for most of the evening, fell back to 18 percent.
But, you, you wouldn’t let them do it. (APPLAUSE) END Newt! GINGRICH: And -- and let me be straight. I just take one step at a time. It’s a chapter defining who we are as a people. The president was right the other day. Why -- why would you go to all that trouble? That’s $2.50. We built a great country from the bottom up. But you all said no. I want to thank all of you here in Ohio for overcoming enormous odds to make this a great night for us here in the Buckeye State. Rick! With your help, we’re going to go on to Tampa and win the nomination. (LAUGHTER) Algae. Strategy number one is drilling; strategy number two is drilling; strategy number three is drilling. What right does the government have to do that to the next generation? Because, of course, the answer is... We had a Contract with America. I’ve said it almost every stump speech I’ve given. Leaders believe the American people could easily achieve energy independence if the government got out of the way. I’m trying to get as good as she is at this political stuff. And that’s why we came to Steubenville. These are the kinds of things that are so important to so many people. And I have to say, Governor Deal did a tremendous job and worked very hard. That is what you're inheriting. But I thought it was a tad much, having spent my entire career building the Republican Party. It’s one thing to have lots of money; it’s another thing to lie with the money.
Newt Gingrich greeted cheering supporters in Atlanta, Ga., after picking up a primary win in his home state. Read the full text of Gingrich’s speech below (text courtesy FDCH transcripts): Your Browser DoesNot Support IFrames. (LAUGHTER) I hope the analysts in Washington and New York, who spent June and July explaining our campaign was dead... (LAUGHTER) ... will watch this tonight and learn a little bit from this crowd and from this place. (APPLAUSE) We survived the national elite’s effort to kill us in the summer because of you, because people who said, we are not going to allow the elite to decide who we are allowed to nominate. And so, with your help, thousands and thousands of people came to newt.org. And with your help, we survived the two most difficult months of a career which goes back to August of 1958. And June and July were really hard, and it was precisely because the national elite -- especially in the Republican Party -- had decided that a Gingrich presidency was so frightening that they had to kill it early. But, you, you wouldn’t let them do it. (APPLAUSE) So with your help and the power of large solutions and big ideas and clear communications in the debates, by December, according to Gallup, I was the frontrunner by 15 points, and according to Rasmussen, I was the frontrunner by 21 points, because you believed in the power of ideas, you believed that people can make a difference, that, in fact, Wall Street money can be beaten by Main Street work. (APPLAUSE) And, of course, at that point, Wall Street money decided that only a relentlessly negative $5 million campaign in Iowa would work, and they did reduce my support from 36 percent to 14 percent in three weeks of unrelenting negativity. GINGRICH: And, once again, the media said, oh, I guess this is over, finally. GINGRICH: And at the very depths of the establishment rejecting it, thousands of more people came to newt.org and signed up. And the result was, by South Carolina, we won a historic victory, carried 43 out of 46 counties. (APPLAUSE) GINGRICH: And I’m pretty sure that tonight we have a number of the South Carolinians who helped us win who are here who came over to help celebrate this great victory. And as the New York Times reported later, they held a meeting on Sunday morning after a Saturday night primary, and they said, “We have to destroy Gingrich.” One of them was even quoted in the New York Times as saying, “We have to eviscerate him,” which I thought was a fairly strong word in a Republican primary. But I thought it was a tad much, having spent my entire career building the Republican Party. And so they piled on $20 million in three weeks of negativity in Florida, and we were still standing. And, interestingly, everywhere we were, when we won, the vote went up. When Wall Street won, the vote went down, which I think’s a pretty bad sign for this fall, if we end up with a Wall Street candidate. He went to three states nobody else was in, and he won them. (LAUGHTER) And the news media, once again desperate to prove Gingrich was gone, suddenly said, ah, now we have the person who’s going to be the non-Romney. (LAUGHTER) And then it was our good friend, Rick Perry, then it was Herman Cain the second time, and now it’s Santorum. There are lots of bunny rabbits that run through. And so I said -- I said, at the very peak of, you know, the Santorum surge and all this stuff, if I can’t carry my home state, where people know me, I would have no credibility. And I knew the basic Wall Street technique, which was to come in and spend lots of -- how many of you have noticed negative ads?
In some countries, such as China, only women get the day off. International Women’s Day will show you how to help. So this is the beginning." International Women's Day: How it's celebrated around the globe Latest News Google replaced their logo with an illustration commemorating International Women's Day on Thursday. "What would you say to some of those women if you could talk to them today?" 8. (ADEM ALTAN/AFP/GETTY IMAGES) 1. Protest. Stand on a bridge. 10. Look back — and forward. "Women across the Middle East are insisting their voice be heard," said Secretary Clinton. Give flowers to women. Wear red lipstick. Hill asked. Among the 2011 recipients, is Cameroon's Henriette Ekwe Ebongo. Many of the young women that were in Tahrir Square were there because they were organizing on the Internet. We’ve come a long way since the first International Women’s Day more than 100 years ago, when women in America did not yet have the right to vote. Observed on March 8, the kaleidoscope of IWD celebrations share a common thread of celebrating progress. And as part of their celebration in Washington, there were 10 women honored for their courage in pushing forward for women's rights. Defeat sexual harassment. "Social media, the technology that now connects people, connects both men and women. Claire Melamed wrote about cupcake feminism for International Women’s Day: “Cupcakes are just so twee-ly, coyly, ‘ooh no I really shouldn’t'-ly, pink and fluffily, everything that I think feminism is not. Around the world, women’s needs are even greater.
Turkish women shout slogans during a protest on the International Women's Day in Ankara on, March 8, 2012. (ADEM ALTAN/AFP/GETTY IMAGES) 1. In countries where the day is a public holiday, workers get the day off to celebrate. In some countries, such as China, only women get the day off. 2. Flowers are a symbol of International Women’s Day, and many countries celebrate by decorating with flowers, or giving them to women as presents. In Italy, yellow mimosas are popular. Russians give a variety of flowers, including red roses. In Hanoi, Vietnam, it’s not just boyfriends and husbands giving flowers to the women in their lives, but also bosses and colleagues. 3. In the U.S., micro-lending non-profits such as Kiva are campaigning to remind women to help women around the world by investing in their futures. Kiva.org/women will connect you to women who need loans, and skincare company Dermalogica is sponsoring 4,000 $25 loans for lenders who register today. The entrance of the Colosseum and the Roman forum were free for women for International Women's Day, with actresses reading texts during a guided tour orientated on the female condition. International Women’s Day was born of activism — the holiday was founded in 1910, when a German woman named Clara Zetkinproposed that every country devote a day to the needs and political demands of women. While in many countries, the holiday has taken on the sentimental status of days like Mother’s Day and Valentine’s Day, women around the world use March 8 as an opportunity to fight for political freedom, equal pay and working rights, among other causes. A marketing agency is encouraging women across America to wear red lipstick in honor of International Women’s Day for the “Rock the Lips” campaign. Style Blog raised some questions yesterday about how effective this would be as an awareness-raiser for the cause of International Women’s Day (and about the agency’s plan to team up with a cosmetics brand) but women who want to celebrate femininity can submit photos of their pouts to the Rock the Lips Tumblr. A socialist woman activist shouts slogans during a protest against the rising cost of living and violence against women in Colombo, Sri Lanka, marking International Women's day. “Join Me on the Bridge” is a campaign for women’s equality that started with Rwandan and Congolese women, who met on a bridge joining their two countries as a demonstration that women could build bridges of peace. This year, women will march on bridges in London, Boston, San Francisco, Toronto and New York for International Women’s Day. Members of the alternative choir "Gaggle" prepare to take part in a 'Join Me On The Bridge' event on the Millennium Bridge in central London, on March 8, 2012, as they celebrate International Women's Day. In Pakistan, theatrical performances, poetry readings, songs, films and a two-month long visual art show will be a part of the celebration. A friend living in Afghanistan reports that in her village, speeches and songs were performed, and the highlight was a play put on by some teenage boys “encouraging men to be thoughtful when marrying off their daughters.” In Washington D.C., it would be a good day to patronize the National Museum of Women in the Arts, currently featuring an exhibition by French female painters. 8. Free cupcakes for women at select bars and restaurants in the U.S. and England may seem great, but not all women are too happy about this one. Claire Melamed wrote about cupcake feminism for International Women’s Day: “Cupcakes are just so twee-ly, coyly, ‘ooh no I really shouldn’t'-ly, pink and fluffily, everything that I think feminism is not. It’s feminism-lite, feminism as consumption and ‘me time’ (grr), rather than feminism as power and politics and equal pay.” Palestinian women hold posters of Hana Shalabi, a Palestinian prisoner jailed in Israel and who has been on hunger strike for 22 days to protest against the Israeli administrative detention, during a rally marking International Women's Day. The bill means that women can walk to work without having to worry about street harassment, which could range from stalking to wolf-whistling. We’ve come a long way since the first International Women’s Day more than 100 years ago, when women in America did not yet have the right to vote. But events of the last few weeks — as politics and women’s concerns about reproductive health have collided in the Virginia statehouse,on the campaign trail and among media personalities, such as Rush Limbaugh, who caused outrage with his remarks disparaging Georgetown law student Sandra Fluke — prove that there is still work to be done. From a colorful Google Doodle on Google's search page, which replaces the first 'g' with the universal symbol for female, to conferences on ending domestic violence, here is a small sampling of the many ways the day is being celebrated worldwide.
"Wonderful. Perth, Perthshire, Scotland Perth, with many believing it is just reclaiming its crown. They named the club Chelmsford City under a misapprehension that the county town was a city. Chelmsford Borough Council said it was "delighted" by today's honour. The status was removed in 1975 as part of a local government shake-up. Two other UK towns, Chelmsford in England and St Asaph in Wales, will also become cities. Armagh in Northern Ireland has been granted the honour of a lord mayor. The Queen chose to grant the accolade to the three towns as part of celebrations to mark her Diamond Jubilee this year. Notable people include the King of Ireland Brian Boru. The city has a rich history - believed to be the ancient capital of the region, it also has strong connections to Saint Patrick - who founded his Great Church on its hill in 445AD. Culture and religion have long played a central role in the area. The Provost of Perth and Kinross, Dr John Hulbert, says the decision "has been resented in Perth all that time, 37 years". Perth was one of 25 towns across the UK which applied for the civic honour in the jubilee competition. Located on the banks of the River Tay, King William the Lion gave it its Royal Burgh status in the early 12th century. "This is fantastic news for the fair city. Unlike often thought, they do not need to have a cathedral to qualify. The awards have been made by the Queen on the advice of Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg, following a competition to bid for civic honours launched in December 2010.
Three towns from three corners of the UK were celebrating today after being awarded city status to mark the Queen's Diamond Jubilee. Chelmsford in Essex, Perth in central Scotland and St Asaph in North Wales were given the honour while Armagh in Northern Ireland was granted a Lord Mayoralty. The awards have been made by the Queen on the advice of Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg, following a competition to bid for civic honours launched in December 2010. They beat 23 other towns including Reading, Middlesbrough and Blackpool, which had also entered the Civic Honours Competition, and 11 other existing cities which had applied for the additional award of a Lord Mayoralty. Mr Clegg said the decision to award a new city in England, Scotland and Wales, and a Lord Mayoralty in Northern Ireland, reflected the significance of every part of the UK in the marking of the 60th year of the Queen's reign. "Across the United Kingdom, I have been moved by the pride and passion which people have shown in putting their nominations forward," he said. "The standard of application was very high, and those who missed out should not be downhearted. "I hope the competition has given the residents of all of the places which applied a sense of civic pride, of collective ownership and of community spirit." Chelmsford Borough Council said it was "delighted" by today's honour. It said in a statement: "This is very welcome news for Chelmsford and everybody who lives and works within the city. "We are delighted that Chelmsford has been honoured in this most important of years and also that Essex has at last been recognised as the vibrant and successful county that it has become. "We recognise the strengths of the other candidates that were in the running for this honour, which makes Chelmsford's victory even more prestigious. "Obviously the other towns in the competition will be disappointed; two were in Essex and I'm sure they will try again, but on behalf of everyone in Chelmsford we would like to thank Her Majesty for this great honour in her Diamond Jubilee year." Perth & Kinross Council said the decision to restore Perth's city status and make it Scotland's seventh city, reflected the fact that it is "at the forefront of Scottish life". Dr John Hulbert, Provost of the local authority, said: "I am delighted that official city status has been restored to Perth. Everyone in the council shares my excitement at the prospect of a glorious new chapter in Perth's long history." Competitions have been used to grant it on other recent occasions such as the Queen's Golden Jubilee and the Millennium, with the local authority of an area or town needing to nominate itself to compete. Image caption Perth's city status was removed in 1975 during local government reform Perth will become Scotland's seventh city after winning a UK competition marking the Queen's Diamond Jubilee. The town based its bid on Perth's long history as a city. Perth was one of 25 towns across the UK which applied for the civic honour in the jubilee competition. Before the announcement there were 66 cities in the UK - 50 in England, five in Wales, six in Scotland and five in Northern Ireland. Dr John Hulbert, provost of Perth and Kinross Council, said: "I am delighted that official city status has been restored to Perth. Everyone in the council shares my excitement at the prospect of a glorious new chapter in Perth's long history. Perth was stripped of city status in 1975 but it never dropped the sobriquet, The Fair City, defiantly proclaiming it on road signs and shopfronts. The Provost of Perth and Kinross, Dr John Hulbert, says the decision "has been resented in Perth all that time, 37 years". It is a place with a rich and romantic history, Scotland's capital until 1437, home to monarchs, with a cathedral, a court and a nearby palace. Now locals hope the restoration of city status will bring investment and help Perth escape the shadow of Dundee. "I'm absolutely delighted." agrees her husband, who sums up the feelings of many here when he says: "I think Perth is a city, always has been a city and I think it's only right that it should be reinstated as a city." "Even although city status was summarily removed when local government was reorganised, Perth has continued to be known as the 'Fair City'. "It is great to have secured this official recognition from the Queen as part of the Diamond Jubilee celebrations - Perth is a jewel in the crown." "Perth can rightly call itself the City of Perth and it has a bright future as one of Scotland's seven cities." Golden charter Perth and Kinross Council made a 50-page submission to the UK government, detailing Perth's ambition to be a "truly dynamic international city", with messages of support from First Minister Alex Salmond and other prominent leaders in Scotland. Perth, which celebrated its 800th anniversary last year, was an "ecclesiastical city" because it had a cathedral but was legally considered a town. Perth and Kinross Council launched a claim for formal city status in 2005 after a search of its archives uncovered the "Golden Charter" of 1600 to back its claim. Chelmsford in Essex, Perth in Perthshire and St Asaph in Denbighshire have been announced as the winners of a competition to be granted "city status".
"Words, my beloved, can never do Pope Shenouda justice. Egypt's Coptic Christians have long complained of discrimination by the nation's Muslim majority. God be with us." Tens of thousands of Christians packed into the main Coptic cathedral in Cairo on Saturday evening hoping to see his body. Shenouda died on Saturday aged 88 after 40 years at the head of the Coptic Orthodox Church, one of the world's oldest Christian denominations. Many in the congregation broke down in tears, while others frantically waved goodbye as the mass came to a close. The political ascent of Islamists since the ousting of Hosni Mubarak a year ago has added to their worries. The Copts traces their faith's origins to St Mark, who is said to have brought Christianity to Egypt in the 1st century. A successor to Pope Shenouda has yet to be found and it could take months before the complex process is completed. Clerics, deacons and lay people gathered around the casket, kissing it, standing in silence or bowing in respect. Archbishop Moussa told mourners at the cathedral that Shenouda would be buried at the Bishoy Monastery. Scores of military police were deployed to maintain security outside the cathedral, with the normally congested traffic of central Cairo backed up for hours because of the crowds. He spent more than three years of exile there after he was banished in 1981 by late Egyptian President Anwar Sadat, who claimed the patriarch was fomenting sectarian strife. He was also a deeply conservative religious thinker who resisted calls by liberals for reform. Women in black wept and screamed. Shenouda's body lay in a white casket in the elaborate regalia he traditionally wore to oversee services, complete with an ornate golden crown.
Tearful and wearing black, tens of thousands of Egyptian Coptic Christians joined a funeral mass for their patriarch, Pope Shenouda III, led by senior clerics at the main cathedral in Cairo. St Mark's Cathedral was packed with local clerics, visiting clergymen and dignitaries as deacons chanted sombre hymns and bearded, black-clad priests and monks recited prayers and dispensed incense smoke from censers. Shenouda's body lay in a white casket in the elaborate regalia he traditionally wore to oversee services, complete with an ornate golden crown. Shenouda died on Saturday aged 88 after 40 years at the head of the Coptic Orthodox Church, one of the world's oldest Christian denominations. Most of Egypt's estimated 10 million Christians are Orthodox Copts. Many in the congregation broke down in tears, while others frantically waved goodbye as the mass came to a close. Tens of thousands more who could not get in followed the mass outside the cathedral, carrying crosses and portraits of Shenouda. Many wept, wiping tears off their faces as the melancholic tunes of the hymns reached them through loudspeakers. Scores of military police were deployed to maintain security outside the cathedral, on one of central Cairo's main arteries, with traffic backed up for hours because of the crowds. "I know he is now in a better place, but it is difficult now he's gone. "After God, he was our only protector," lamented another young woman in the crowd. "We will miss him, but he will always be in our hearts," said a young Christian man, Hani Suleiman. After the mass, Shenouda's body was ferried to a military airport east of Cairo, from where it was to be flown later on Tuesday to the desert St Bishoy monastery north-west of the capital, where he will buried. The monastery, which dates back to the 4th century, was a favourite of Shenouda's. Egypt's military ruler, Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi, declared a nationwide state of mourning on Tuesday. A successor to Pope Shenouda has yet to be found and it could take months before the complex process is completed. The political ascent of Islamists since the ousting of Hosni Mubarak a year ago has added to their worries. "It is because of him that we have national unity with our Muslim brothers." During his 40 years as patriarch, Shenouda strove to ensure his place among the Muslim powerbrokers, pressing demands behind the scenes while keeping Christians' anger over violence and discrimination in check. Shenouda maintained a high media profile, giving interviews, speaking on key domestic and regional developments and never showing anger at times of crisis. Christians, for example, rarely assume leadership jobs on the police force, particularly the security agencies. The Islamist-dominated parliament only has a handful of Christians, and there are never more than one or two Christians among 30-plus cabinet ministers. As Egypt grew more religiously conservative over the past 40 years, the discrimination became more manifest in everyday life, particularly when Christians came into direct contact with government departments or enrolled their children at state schools, where Islamists often dominate teaching staff. Tens of thousands of Egyptian Coptic Christians joined a funeral mass for their patriarch, Pope Shenouda III, led by senior clerics at the main cathedral in Cairo today. St. Mark's was packed with local clerics, visiting clergymen and dignitaries as deacons chanted sombre hymns and bearded, black-clad priests and monks recited prayers and dispensed incense smoke from censers. Shenouda's body lay in a white casket in the elaborate regalia he traditionally wore to oversee services, complete with an ornate golden crown. Many in the congregation broke down in tears, while others frantically waved goodbye as the mass came to a close. Clerics, deacons and lay people gathered around the casket, kissing it, standing in silence or bowing in respect. Tens of thousands more who could not get in followed the mass outside the cathedral, carrying portraits of Shenouda and crosses. Scores of military police were deployed to maintain security outside the cathedral, with the normally congested traffic of central Cairo backed up for hours because of the crowds. Shenouda died on Saturday aged 88 after spending 40 years at the helm of the Coptic Orthodox Church, one of the world's most ancient Christian denominations. After the mass, Shenouda's body was ferried to a military airport east of Cairo, from which it was to be flown to the desert St. Bishoy monastery north-west of the capital where he will buried. The monastery, which dates back to the 4th century, has been a favourite of Shenouda's. Coptic Christians left feeling vulnerable by loss of their leader of 40 years as Muslim parties gain power after Mubarak's fall Pope Shenouda III, the patriarch of the Coptic Orthodox Church, has died aged 88 after 40 years spent leading Egypt's Christian minority during a time of increasing tensions with Muslims. His death comes as the country's estimated 10 million Christians are feeling more vulnerable than ever amid the rise of Islamic movements to political power after the toppling a year ago of President Hosni Mubarak. An archbishop announced to the crowd that the funeral would be held in three days' and in the meantime Shenouda's body would be put on display in the cathedral, sitting in the Mar Morqos or St Mark throne from which the pope in his elaborate regalia traditionally oversaw services.
Fluke told TIME, "I would do this again, because these issues are that important to me." (Fluke is also on the ballot.) Other popular Yahoo News stories: • Trayvon Martin shooting: Debate over photos escalates • Russell Simmons rips Geraldo's hoodie apology to Trayvon Martin supporters • Trayvon Martin shooting: New details emerge from Twitter account, witness testimony The magazine is asking for readers to vote "yes" for nominees who belong on the top 100 list and "no" for those who don't. Among the more than 200 people included on the 2012 ballot: Rush Limbaugh, the outspoken radio talk-show host who sparked a backlash over his controversial comments about Georgetown University law student Sandra Fluke. Verizon also caved after her petition against its $2 online-payment fee gathered more than 130,000 signatures in 24 hours. WASHINGTON -- It's hard to believe that less than a year ago, Molly Katchpole was a part-time nanny. One meta media note: Mashable founder Pete Cashmore—whose site was rumored to be close to a sale earlier this month to Time-corporate sibling CNN--is on the ballot. Next Maria das Graças Silva Foster As of just after 1 p.m. on Thursday, she's gotten 566 yes votes and just 73 nos. Here's what Time says about the 23-year-old consumer advocate: Last fall when Bank of America levied a $5 debit-card fee on its customers, Molly Katchpole, then just 22-years-old, said enough was enough. Independent comedy is well-represented, with "Portlandia" stars Carrie Brownstein and Fred Armisen, "Bridesmaid" stars Kristen Wiig and Melissa McCarthy, comedian Aziz Ansari and podcaster Marc Maron among the possible hundred.
Time magazine released the ballot for its annual Time 100 issue on Thursday, asking readers to vote for "the leaders, artists, innovators, icons and heroes that they think are the most influential people in the world." Among the more than 200 people included on the 2012 ballot: Rush Limbaugh, the outspoken radio talk-show host who sparked a backlash over his controversial comments about Georgetown University law student Sandra Fluke. For music, there's a slam-dunk (Adele) on the list but a couple of highly-questionable inclusions: Lana Del Rey—the Internet-sensation-turned-major-label star who turned in a horrendous live performance on "Saturday Night Live"—and LMFAO. Independent comedy is well-represented, with "Portlandia" stars Carrie Brownstein and Fred Armisen, "Bridesmaid" stars Kristen Wiig and Melissa McCarthy, comedian Aziz Ansari and podcaster Marc Maron among the possible hundred. One meta media note: Mashable founder Pete Cashmore—whose site was rumored to be close to a sale earlier this month to Time-corporate sibling CNN--is on the ballot. As is custom, the poll winner will be included in the issue—though the full Time 100 list is chosen by editors. Other popular Yahoo News stories: • Trayvon Martin shooting: Debate over photos escalates • Russell Simmons rips Geraldo's hoodie apology to Trayvon Martin supporters • Trayvon Martin shooting: New details emerge from Twitter account, witness testimony Katchpole, the recent college graduate and District of Columbia resident credited with forcing Bank of America to back off from its planned $5 monthly debit-card fee, is now in the running to be on Time magazine's list of the world's 100 most-influential and important "leaders, artists, innovators, icons and heroes." Here's what Time says about the 23-year-old consumer advocate: Last fall when Bank of America levied a $5 debit-card fee on its customers, Molly Katchpole, then just 22-years-old, said enough was enough. Her Change.org petition against the fee got more than 300,000 signatures in a month, she cut up her B of A card on national television, and the U.S.'s largest major banks all backed down. Verizon also caved after her petition against its $2 online-payment fee gathered more than 130,000 signatures in 24 hours. The magazine is asking for readers to vote "yes" for nominees who belong on the top 100 list and "no" for those who don't. Alex Wong / Getty Images Age: 30 Occupation: Law student and political activist The third-year Georgetown University law student became embroiled in a national controversy over religious freedom and birth control when her congressional testimony in defense of President Obama's contraception insurance mandate made her the target of conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh's vicious rants.
“If maternal means thoughtful, caring, loving, and in charge, which it does in my house, then Beth is maternal,” Mr. Flaherty said. Or so the Romney campaign's argument now goes. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Ms. Myers has the advantage of experience. Nugent is best known for hit 1970s songs such as "Cat Scratch Fever" and "Motor City Madhouse." In January, senior Obama campaign strategist David Axelrod tweeted a photo of the president and Bo in a car, with the snide observation: "@davidaxelrod: How loving owners transport their dogs." The Secret Service does not anticipate any further action." Democrats have signaled they have every intention of making sure the American people - especially dog-lovers - know the tale. (Writing by Alex Dobuzinskis; Editing by Paul Simao) View all New York Times newsletters. He explained that a man took on the powers of whatever he ate: One day soon, he promised, he would bring home a piece of tiger meat for us to share." You must select a newsletter to subscribe to. Please try again later. Much has been made about Mitt Romney, in 1983, putting his family dog Seamus in a kennel on top of his roof and driving from Boston to Canada, with said canine Seamus making his displeasure known in a rather scatological way. "Like many Indonesians, Lolo followed a brand of Islam that could make room for the remnants of more ancient animist and Hindu faiths. She recently switched from coffee to tea, but still keeps a Nespresso machine, complete with a milk foamer and a large box of Splenda, on hand for staff members who might stop by in need of a fix.
Ted Nugent performs at a concert at the House of Blues at the Mandalay Bay Resort in Las Vegas, Nevada in this file image from August 11, 2007. REUTERS/Steve Marcus OKLAHOMA CITY Musician and gun-rights advocate Ted Nugent said on Thursday he had a positive meeting with U.S. Secret Service agents investigating his recent criticism of President Barack Obama, and the agency confirmed the issue had been resolved. Nugent, who told NRA supporters in St. Louis last week that he would be "dead or in jail" next year if Obama was reelected, said in a statement that he had "met with two fine, professional Secret Service agents" in Oklahoma. "Good, solid, professional meeting concluding that I have never made any threats of violence towards anyone. He was due to perform a concert in Ardmore, Oklahoma on Thursday. The Secret Service, which is tasked with protecting the U.S. president, senior officials and other figures, confirmed the meeting with Nugent. "The Secret Service interview of Ted Nugent has been completed," agency spokesman Brian Leary said. The Secret Service does not anticipate any further action." Earlier Leary said the agency respected freedom of speech, but also had a responsibility to "investigate intent." Nugent, a Michigan-born conservative who has endorsed Obama's presumed Republican challenger in the November elections, Mitt Romney, drew Secret Service attention with his blunt remarks about Obama and administration officials at the NRA event. "We need to ride into that battlefield and chop their heads off in November," Nugent said at the convention. U.S. Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz, chairwoman of the Democratic National Convention, responded earlier this week, saying "threatening violence - or whatever it is that Nugent's threatening - is clearly beyond the pale." A Romney spokeswoman said the Republican candidate believed "everyone needs to be civil," but stopped short of condemning Nugent's original remarks. Nugent is best known for hit 1970s songs such as "Cat Scratch Fever" and "Motor City Madhouse." Her attention to detail and willingness to challenge Mr. Romney, honed in a series of supporting roles throughout his political ascent, underpinned his decision to entrust Ms. Myers with the biggest responsibility of his current 11-month-old bid for the White House. Advertisement Continue reading the main story The closely watched selection of a No. 2, a delicate dance of competing interests, demographics and geographies, is always fraught. Mr. Romney must balance the need to select someone who can help him shore up his party’s conservative base, offer pizazz without overshadowing the reserved Mr. Romney, and perhaps inject some diversity into a ticket that is facing the first black president. In an interview at her Boston campaign office Tuesday, Ms. Myers sketched out a process that she described as “very comprehensive and very thorough.” Ms. Myers said she would seek advice from those who had overseen the vice presidential processes for John McCain and George W. Bush — as unorthodox as those searches might have been. Once a preliminary list of names is compiled, she said, she and Mr. Romney will look for insight from within their own orbit —close friends, donors with business expertise and other politicians. In 2008, Mr. Romney was vetted as a possible running mate by Mr. McCain’s team, a process that Ms. Myers learned from. Mr. Romney, she said, had to fill out a 70-odd-question form, which she will probably use as a model. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Though coy about what she is looking for in a vice-presidential candidate, she recalled her criteria for recruiting staff members to the Romney administration in Massachusetts: “People who want to work hard, people who are committed to family and don’t just make work their entire life, people who are committed to building a team and not themselves.” Photo Ms. Myers’s record is not without blemish. In 2008, she ran Mr. Romney’s first presidential campaign, presiding over an operation that was riven with dysfunction and warring factions, and often paralyzed by too many opinions. Advertisement Continue reading the main story “Beth was totally miscast,” said Doug Gross, Mr. Romney’s Iowa chairman in 2008. “That was not the right role for her.” He added, “She understands that, which is why in 2012 she is not a campaign manager.” Ms. Myers, a 55-year-old mother of two who is partial to Hermès scarves and who learned the art of politics alongside a young Karl Rove in 1980s Texas, met Mr. Romney in the 1990s. She said she was struck by watching Mr. Romney, then a businessman, during an awards ceremony, when one of his employees, who had shown up with no real entourage, was called to accept her award immediately after a woman who had dozens of family members cheering for her. “All of a sudden Mitt said, ‘We are going to go down there and hoot and holler and make as much noise as that entire clan did,’ ” Ms. Myers recalled. In January, senior Obama campaign strategist David Axelrod tweeted a photo of the president and Bo in a car, with the snide observation: "@davidaxelrod: How loving owners transport their dogs."
With a single click, users can share photos on Twitter, Facebook, Flickr, Foursquare, Posterous and Tumblr. Instagram is a purely mobile creation. Great news for Instagramers + Facebookers :)" another said. one Facebook user wrote. "This is damn interesting!! Microsoft delves further into patent game with $1 billion AOL deal Facebook’s deal completely overshadowed the biggest news of the morning until that point, Microsoft buying a bevy of AOL patents for the same amount of the social network merger: $1 billion. We’ll be working with Facebook to evolve Instagram and build the network,” wrote Mr. Systrom in a company blog post. Facebook has also been trying to figure out how to make money as people spend more time on smaller screens. The other big winners will be their early investors at venture capital firms. Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH What's the appeal of Instagram? Other valley companies were not so fortunate, however, as Netflix (NFLX) fell 3.5 percent, Jive Software declined 3 percent, and Electronic Arts (ERTS) declined 2.3 percent. It has 30 million users who upload more than five million photos a day, even though it was available for only Apple devices until last week, when the company released an Android app. Now celebrities like Justin Bieber and brands like Gucci post regular updates. … We think the fact that Instagram is connected to other services beyond Facebook is an important part of the experience,” Zuckerberg wrote. Those are two areas that Facebook could use some help with,” IDC analyst Michael Fauscette. "There is no guarantee that Facebook will be using the data gathered by Instagram but we wouldn't bet against it in a million years," that blog writes.
But to Facebook , it is already worth a billion dollars. Facebook announced on Monday that it would pay that much in cash and stock for Instagram, the latest big winner in an industry that seems to be more awash in money by the day. The acquisition, which is Facebook’s largest to date, could give it a stronger position on mobile devices. Instagram is essentially a social network built around photography, offering mobile apps that let people add quirky effects to their smartphone snapshots and share them with friends. It has dozens of competitors, but Instagram stands out for its fast ascension and almost cultlike following. It has 30 million users who upload more than five million photos a day, even though it was available for only Apple devices until last week, when the company released an Android app. For Instagram’s founders, two Stanford graduates in their 20s who are now worth in the tens, if not hundreds, of millions of dollars, it has been a productive couple of years. The other big winners will be their early investors at venture capital firms. “It’s the Web fairy tale that all start-ups dream of,” said Melissa Parrish, an analyst with Forrester Research , who added: “They took a simple behavior — sharing pictures with friends — and made it a utility that people want.” Facebook is getting ready for its own big payday. It is aiming for a public offering as soon as next month that could value the company around $100 billion. That means it can easily afford Instagram’s price, if only to keep a rising star out of the hands of competitors like Google . Facebook may also need Instagram to help it keep up with the constantly changing whims of the online audience. Facebook was born in the computer-and-browser era and is trying to adapt to a world that is increasingly mobile-centric. Rebecca Lieb, an analyst at the Altimeter Group, said buying Instagram would help Facebook with one of its most urgent needs: making its service more appealing on smartphones. “It’s easier to update Facebook when you’re on the go with a snapshot rather than with text,” Ms. Lieb said. Mr. Systrom was a sophomore at Stanford in 2004 when he developed a service called Photobox that let people send large photo files to each other. But Mr. Systrom decided to finish his studies and went on to found Burbn, which let people post photos and other updates. It gained early momentum because it allowed users to also post their pictures to Twitter , piquing the interest of those who saw links to the photos in their feeds. The walls were painted dark gray and Ikea lamps sat on the ground, lighting an otherwise gloomy ground-floor space that looked almost the same any time of day or night. The team sat in the middle of the room at four desks pushed together to make one large table — though none of the desks lined up quite right. This year, as staff members were added, Instagram moved to a larger office across the street. In early 2011, Mr. Zuckerberg reached out to Instagram to discuss buying the company, but Mr. Systrom chose to keep it independent and focus on expanding it, two Facebook employees who asked not to be named said last year. At the time, Instagram had less than seven million users. Soon after the news broke, many Instagram fans began voicing their displeasure on the service and on Twitter and Facebook. “In other news, I just quit using Instagram.” Some fans were concerned about the fate of Instagram, since Facebook has bought several small start-ups to grab their talent and then shut down their original offerings. Last week, Instagram closed a roughly $50 million financing round with several investors, including Sequoia Capital, an early backer of Google; Thrive Capital, the firm run by the real estate heir Joshua Kushner; and Greylock Partners, an early investor of LinkedIn . The financing round valued the photo service at about $500 million, according to one person with knowledge of the matter, who requested anonymity because the discussions were private. Instagram has talked about bringing in revenue by allowing brands to drop sponsored photos into the stream on user’s screens, or being paid by brands when users tap to buy something from them, but it has not yet announced any such plans. Story highlights Facebook buys Instagram, the mobile photo-sharing app, for $1 billion Digital pundits worry Instagram could lose its cool The photo-sharing app is popular with tech early adopters It lets users apply color filters to photos and share them on multiple networks Facebook's purchase on Monday of the photo-sharing app Instagram had the Internet asking one question: Will the Goliath of social networking make Instagram so uncool or so Facebook-y that it dies off entirely? Immediately after the reported $1 billion purchase was announced, some digi-pundits were already rushing to say just that -- with plenty offering advice on how Instagram users can delete their accounts and all of the photos they've uploaded with the app. Here are a couple tweets to that effect: JUST WATCHED 3 things you didn't know about Instagram Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH 3 things you didn't know about Instagram 02:46 JUST WATCHED What's the appeal of Instagram?
Tremors were felt as far away as Singapore, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Bangladesh and India. Australia also said there was no threat of a tsunami there. "I urge the people not to panic. Women cry on a street in Banda Aceh after a strong earthquake struck off Indonesia April 11, 2012. (For Slideshow click here) "Thankfully, the danger has passed," a scientist at the centre told Reuters. Indonesia's disaster management agency said power failed in Aceh province and people were gathering on high ground as sirens warned of the danger. The Indian Ocean tsunami of 2004 killed 170,000 people in Aceh alone and some 250,000 around the region. "I just want to stay alert because I fear there will be more quakes coming. Two more strong aftershocks hit later. On Wednesday, people near the coast in six Thai provinces were ordered to move to higher ground. There have been no immediate reports of damage or casualties. Its Sumatra island lies close to an active subduction zone, where the Indian-Australian tectonic plate presses into and under the Sunda plate. The first quake struck at 0838 GMT and an 8.2 magnitude aftershock just over two hours later, at 1043 GMT. "The warning system worked," Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said. Authorities shut down the international airport in the Thai beach resort province of Phuket. The first was at a depth of 20.5 miles (33 km). The alerts caused panic as people fled buildings and made for high ground. Along the eastern coast of Africa, Kenya and Tanzania issued their own tsunami warnings.
Women cry on a street in Banda Aceh after a strong earthquake struck off Indonesia April 11, 2012. REUTERS/Junaidi Hanafiah People riding motorbikes and cars packed the street in Banda Aceh after a strong earthquake struck Indonesia province April 11, 2012. REUTERS/Junaidi Hanafiah People gather outside the Baiturrahman mosque after an earthquake hit Banda Aceh April 11, 2012. An 8.7 magnitude earthquake struck off Indonesiaon Wednesday, sending residents around the region scurrying from buildings and raising fears of a huge tsunami as in 2004, but authorities said there were no reports suggesting a major threat. REUTERS/Stringer A woman carries her baby to a safe place in Banda Aceh after a strong earthquake struck Indonesia province April 11, 2012. REUTERS/Junaidi Hanafiah BANDA ACEH, Indonesia A powerful 8.6 magnitude earthquake and a series of strong aftershocks struck off Indonesia on Wednesday, sending people scurrying from buildings as far away as southern India, but there seemed little risk of a disastrous tsunami as in 2004. SLIDESHOW: Indonesia quakes spark tsunami fears, click here Indonesia said it was checking for damage and casualties but remarkably, no such reports had been received for several hours after the quakes, including in Aceh, the closest province and the area decimated by the disaster eight years ago. However, some areas close to the epicentre are remote so it could take some time to find out if there was any damage. Many people were frightened of further tremors. "It's dark out here but I am scared to go home," said Mila, a 41-year-old woman taking refuge in the grand mosque in the town of Banda Aceh, the provincial capital. Waves of up to one metre (3.3 feet) high were seen near islands off Aceh, but Indonesia cancelled a warning for fresh tsunamis. It said the worst-hit area was the thinly populated island of Simeulue, off Aceh's southern coast. The Hawaii-based Pacific Tsunami Warning Center also withdrew tsunami warnings for the entire Indian Ocean after keeping them in force for several hours. "Level readings now indicate that the threat has diminished or is over for most areas," the agency's bulletin said. GRAPHICS: Quake location: r.reuters.com/fyv57s Most powerful quakes since 1900: r.reuters.com/kyv57s Why quakes happen: r.reuters.com/nyv57s Thailand, Indonesia, Sri Lanka and India were all badly hit in 2004. At least 230,000 people in 13 Indian Ocean countries were killed in the Boxing Day disaster that year, including 170,000 in and around Aceh alone. Last year, an earthquake and tsunami off Japan's northeastern coast killed at least 23,000 people and triggered the world's worst nuclear crisis in 25 years after waves battered a nuclear power station. On Wednesday, people near the coast in six Thai provinces were ordered to move to higher ground. Authorities shut down the international airport in the Thai beach resort province of Phuket. The quakes were about 300 miles (500 km) southwest of Banda Aceh, on the northern tip of Indonesia's Sumatra island, the U.S. Geological survey said. Indonesia's disaster management agency said power failed in Aceh province and people were gathering on high ground as sirens warned of the danger. "The electricity is down, there are traffic jams to access higher ground. "The warning system worked," Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said. Warning sirens also rang out across the Thai island of Phuket, a tourist hotspot that was one of the worst hit areas in the 2004 tsunami. "Guests from expensive hotels overlooking Phuket's beaches were evacuated to the hills behind and local people were driving away in cars and on motorcycles. Everyone seemed quite calm, the warning had been issued well in advance," freelance journalist Apichai Thonoy told Reuters by telephone. Wednesday's quakes were felt as far away as the Thai capital, Bangkok, and in southern India, hundreds of office workers in the city of Bangalore left their buildings while the port of Chennai closed down because of tsunami fears. The quakes were in roughly in the same area as the 2004 quake, which was at a depth of 18 miles (30 km) along a fault line running under the Indian Ocean, off western Indonesia and up into the Bay of Bengal. Experts said Wednesday quakes were a "strike-slip" fault, meaning a more horizontal shift of the ground under the sea as opposed to a sudden vertical shift, and less risk of a large displacement of water triggering a tsunami. "The nature of the sideways rupture and sideways movement is not predisposed to cause a bad tsunami, so almost certainly, the crisis has been avoided," said David Rothery, an expert at the Open University in the U.K. Mahinda Amaraweera, Sri Lanka's minister for disaster management, called for calm while advising people near the coast to seek safety. Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Geophysics Prof John McCloskey explains why the earthquake impact was minimal A tsunami watch declared after two major earthquakes off the coast of Indonesia's Aceh province has now been cancelled, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center (PWTC) says. Two hours after the quakes - one with a magnitude of 8.6, the other measuring 8.3 - the centre says "the threat has diminished or is over for most areas". Pressure sensors on the ocean floor detect anomalous behaviour in the water column, and send that information to surface buoys, which then relay the data, via satellite, to onshore control centres.
After the rescue, he made a similar argument. Peruvian President Ollanta Humala greeted the miners at the mouth of the mine. "It's pretty ugly inside," one of the rescued men, Edwin Bellido, told RPP radio. He said he had given instructions for Cabeza de Negro to be sealed definitively. The ordeal stirred memories of a 2010 Chilean mine collapse in which 33 men were trapped underground for 69 days. Last year, more than 50 people died in accidents in Peru's silver, gold and copper mines. They were wearing dark glasses to protect their eyes from daylight. The miners wore sunglasses and were covered with blankets. The nine, ranging in age from 23 to 58, walked out about an hour after dawn from a reinforced tunnel that rescuers had built as they removed more than 26 feet of dirt and rock. The miners, who were trapped about 200m underground since last Thursday, had been supplied with oxygen and food through a tube. Mr Humala called for action to regulate the jobs of the "thousands of Peruvians who live off illegal mining under inferior humanitarian conditions". A cave-in over the weekend slowed rescue efforts. Neither heavy equipment nor drilling was required to extract them. The group unfurled the red and white Peruvian flag and waved at television cameras. Humala had spent the night at the mine 150 miles southeast of Lima. "This should lead us to reflect that we have to avoid these kind of risks because the results will not always be like today," he said. For days, a tube snaked down to the collapsed cavern was the only connection the miners had to the surface.
Story highlights Humala renews his call to regulate illegal mines The nine miners had been trapped since the mine collapsed Thursday The president was waiting to greet them as they emerged into the daylight In 2010, 33 miners were rescued after being trapped underground for 69 days in Chile Nine Peruvian miners emerged into the daylight Wednesday morning after six days trapped in a collapsed mine. State television showed the miners leaving the mine, each supported by two rescuers. For days, a tube snaked down to the collapsed cavern was the only connection the miners had to the surface. It provided them with oxygen, food and water, as well as communication. The group unfurled the red and white Peruvian flag and waved at television cameras. "We are happy that this high-risk operation was successful," said Claudio Saenz, a fire department official with knowledge of the rescue efforts. The miners had been stuck since Thursday in the wildcat Cabeza de Negro mine in southern Peru. Humala's government has made a push for illegal mines and miners in Peru to be formalized and regulated so that risks decrease. Mining is big business in Peru, which is a major world producer of copper, silver, gold and other minerals. The ordeal stirred memories of a 2010 Chilean mine collapse in which 33 men were trapped underground for 69 days. All those miners were rescued, pulled one by one from hundreds of meters beneath the Earth's surface with a specially designed capsule. ICA, Peru (AP) – Nine Peruvian miners were rescued Wednesday after six days trapped in an abandoned copper mine. The nine, ranging in age from 23 to 58, walked out about an hour after dawn from a reinforced tunnel that rescuers had built as they removed more than 26 feet of dirt and rock. "It's pretty ugly inside," one of the rescued men, Edwin Bellido, told RPP radio. The rescue drew some comparisons to the 69-day ordeal of 33 Chilean miners trapped more than 2,000 feet underground in 2010 near the Chilean city of Copiapo. On Sunday, officials said the rescue operation at the small copper mine had been delayed by fresh rock collapses. Rescue workers, who included police officers and firefighters, also used the tube to communicate with the miners, who are aged between 22 and 59. The Cabeza de Negro mine, in Ica, some 300km (185 miles) south of the capital, Lima, is one of Peru's many wildcat mines, where miners take high risks to extract copper and other metals.
The three dead have been identified as Dannaer Fields, 49, Bobby Clark, 54, and William Allen, 31. All the victims were black and police have said one motive might have been England's desire to avenge his father's fatal shooting by a black man two years ago. "This is a tragic and senseless crime." First-degree murder is punishable by death or life in prison in Oklahoma. The harassment counts allege the victims were targeted because of their race. After tracking down Pernell Jefferson, the men fought and Carl England was fatally shot. They were arrested at home near Tulsa after a tip-off. The shootings gripped the city's predominantly black north side with fear over the Easter weekend. Police say England and Watts, arrested early Sunday after a two-day manhunt, have confessed and appeared to have chosen five victims at random. "Filing charges is the first step to obtain justice for the victims and their families," Tulsa County attorney Doug Drummond said in a statement. The two were also charged with two counts of shooting with intent to kill. Zimmerman has claimed self-defense. Jackson planned to stay in Tulsa for a Saturday community worship service. Image caption Jake England and Alvin Watts were living in this property north of Tulsa where they were arrested Their next court date is expected on 16 April. Prosecutors have not said whether they will seek the men's execution. Defense attorney Clark Brewster said Friday that it's "a misplaced premise that he was motivated by any racial hate." A first conviction under the state's malicious harassment law — which applies in cases where a victim is specifically targeted because of race, religion, ancestry, natural origin or disability — carries up to a year in jail.
Image caption Memorials for those killed in the Good Friday shootings have appeared in Tulsa Two men accused of shooting five black people, three fatally, in the Oklahoma city of Tulsa have been charged with murder and hate crimes. Jake England, 19, and Alvin Watts, 32, were officially charged with three counts of first-degree murder as well as malicious harassment based on race. Both men have confessed to the series of shootings on 6 April, according to a police affidavit. "Filing charges is the first step to obtain justice for the victims and their families," Tulsa County attorney Doug Drummond said in a statement. Our office is committed to holding those responsible accountable for their actions." The two were also charged with two counts of shooting with intent to kill. Image caption Jake England and Alvin Watts were living in this property north of Tulsa where they were arrested Their next court date is expected on 16 April. The affidavit, quoted by the Associated Press news agency, does not make clear which man shot which victim, but suggests that Mr England admitted to shooting three people and Mr Watts confessed to shooting two. None of the victims are thought to have known each other and all of them were out walking when they were shot within a three-mile (4.8-km) radius early on 6 April. Police said earlier this week that Mr England may have had an "axe to grind" because of his father's death two years ago. Carl England was shot in the chest in April 2010 during a fight with Pernell Demond Jefferson, a black man who allegedly tried to break into the apartment of Mr England's daughter's boyfriend. Oklahoma prosecutors filed murder and hate crime charges Friday against two men arrested in an Easter weekend shooting spree that left three people dead and terrorised Tulsa's black community. Jake England, 19, and his roommate, Alvin Watts, 33, each are charged with three counts of first-degree murder, two counts of shooting with intent to kill and five counts of malicious harassment. Police say the men, who were arrested early Sunday after a two-day manhunt, appeared to have chosen their victims at random. All the victims were black and police have said one motive might have been England's desire to avenge his father's fatal shooting by a black man two years ago. England's father, Carl, was fatally shot in 2010 by a man who had threatened his daughter and tried to kick in the door of her home. The man was black, and police say England's son may have been seeking vengeance. Family and friends say Carl England's death sent his son into a downward spiral - Jake England apparently wrote a Facebook post marking the second anniversary of his father's death and lamented that "it's hard not to go off." The shootings gripped the city's predominantly black north side with fear over the Easter weekend. OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) – Two men accused of going on a shooting spree that terrorized the predominantly black north side of this Oklahoma city face murder and hate crime charges, prosecutors said Friday in an announcement praised by community leaders who had called for swift action by authorities. Jake England, 19, and his roommate, Alvin Watts, 33, each were charged with three counts of first-degree murder, two counts of shooting with intent to kill and five counts of malicious harassment, prosecutors said. The charges were announced two days after second-degree murder charges were brought in another racially charged case, the shooting death of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin in Florida. All the victims were black, and police have said one motive might have been England's desire to avenge his father's fatal shooting by a black man two years ago. A first conviction under the state's malicious harassment law — which applies in cases where a victim is specifically targeted because of race, religion, ancestry, natural origin or disability — carries up to a year in jail. Documents filed with the charges said anonymous callers to a police department hotline before the men were arrested claimed England was a racist who hated black men and that he "has mentioned he will die in a shootout with the police if he has to."
U.S. "Internationally, now they have to do a nuclear test, preferably using uranium, just in order to show that they should be taken seriously," said Andre Lankov, a North Korea expert at South Korea's Kookmin University. SOME LIES ARE TOO BIG EVEN FOR PYONGYANG Pyongyang did depart from its previous practise when it publicly admitted on state television that the Unha-3 rocket had failed to deliver its weather satellite into orbit in time for Kim Il-sung's birthday. The United Nations Security Council deplored the launch but stopped short of imposing new penalties in response. Existing U.N. resolutions bar it from any use of ballistic missile technology. "Other nations including China and Russia have had failures while building their space programs so why wouldn't we? "Scientists, technicians and experts are now looking into the cause of the failure," the state-run Korean Central News Agency said. It was the last of the top military and party posts intended to consolidate his power after the death of his father, longtime leader Kim Jong Il, four months ago. Japanese media reported Tuesday that Pyongyang has also withdrawn an invitation for International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors to visit its facilities in retaliation for the U.S. cancelation of a food aid package. The presence of so many foreign journalists and the spread of cellphones, of which there are now more than a million, made it too risky. The rocket's destruction suggests the country has yet to master the technology needed to build long-range missiles that could threaten the United States. Chon Hyun-joon, an expert on North Korea at the state-run Korea Institute for National Unification in South Korea, estimates that as much as $2 billion to $3 billion could have been raised, although other experts say the figure was lower.
China has joined other world powers in warning North Korea that they will not tolerate any more provocations after the isolated nation's failed rocket launch last week. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said late Monday in Brasilia that the U.N. Security Council members, including China, are agreed there will be "further consequences" in the event of another provocative act by North Korea. Recent satellite photographs show Pyongyang may be preparing for an underground nuclear test. China's state-controlled media are also showing signs of frustration with Pyongyang, noting that China took "a clear attitude in condemning" its longtime ally when it backed a U.N. Security Council statement criticizing the rocket launch. China's Communist Party-controlled Global Times newspaper said Tuesday that Pyongyang should not be misled into thinking it can ignore Beijing's wishes with impunity. The paper said North Korea will "pay the price if it tries to abduct China's North Korea policy." In its unanimous statement Monday, the Security Council condemned Friday's rocket launch as a "serious violation" of existing U.N. resolutions, and ordered its sanctions committee to tighten measures aimed at preventing North Korea from developing and exporting nuclear and missile technology. Pyongyang had announced the failed launch as an effort to put a weather satellite into orbit, but the United States and other countries condemned it as a covert attempt to test a ballistic missile that could later be used to fire a nuclear warhead. Existing U.N. resolutions bar it from any use of ballistic missile technology. Japanese media reported Tuesday that Pyongyang has also withdrawn an invitation for International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors to visit its facilities in retaliation for the U.S. cancelation of a food aid package. Ambassador to the U.N. Susan Rice, who heads the Security Council this month, said in New York Monday that the failed space shot had caused "grave security concerns" across much of East Asia. "The swift and unanimous adoption of this strong presidential statement shows that the international community is united in sending a clear message to North Korea that such provocations are serious and totally unacceptable. Critically, the Security Council made clear there will be consequences for any further North Korean launch or nuclear test," she said. "If North Korea chooses again to defy the international community, then the Council has expressed its determination to take action accordingly." China has long been North Korea's most reliable ally and is believed to have more influence over its behavior than any other country. Several analysts have noted that two previous failed North Korean missile launches were shortly followed by underground nuclear tests. South Korean officials last week made available satellite photos of new activity at North Korea's nuclear test site. However, Global Times quotes the dean of the Center for Korean Peninsula Studies at Tongji University in Shanghai as saying Pyongyang knows the consequences of another nuclear test would be much graver than in the past. "The rocket launch has already cost the state roughly $850 million, enough to buy 2.5 million tons of corn," Cui Zhiying told the paper. "Does it have enough money to carry out another nuclear test? SEOUL Smarting from a failed rocket launch, North Korea's leader Kim Jong-un has little choice but to stick to his father's playbook of milking an impoverished country to develop weapons and blackmail the international community for aid and recognition. Far from fearing a coup or instability after Friday's public fiasco, the third of his line to rule North Korea will lead celebrations on Sunday to mark the centenary of the birth of his grandfather, the founder of the world's only Stalinist monarchy, "Eternal President" Kim Il-sung. The state that Kim inherited in December after the death of his father Kim Jong-il boasts a 1.2 million-strong military, wants to possess a nuclear weapon and to develop the ability to hit the United States with it - the aim, critics say, of the failed rocket launch. Behind those ambitions are 23 million people, many malnourished, in an economy whose output is worth just $40 billion annually in purchasing power parity terms, according to the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency, compared with South Korea's $1.5 trillion economy. The puny size of the economy means development is not the answer, tying Kim into the "military first" policies of his late father Kim Jong-il who oversaw the development of the state's nuclear and missile ambitions. "Kim Jong-un is unlikely to be losing power over the launch, as the elite and the military need his legitimizing and mythical presence in order to pacify the North Korean population." Without real weight in the international arena, Pyongyang is forced to rely on periodic rocket launches, nuclear tests and attacks on South Korea, such as the one in 2010 when it shelled an island, to remind the world of its existence, analysts say. Intelligence satellite images showing a tunnel being dug at the site of two previous tests imply that it either wishes to remind the world of the possibility, so as to prompt a return to aid for disarmament talks, or is actually preparing for one. "Internationally, now they have to do a nuclear test, preferably using uranium, just in order to show that they should be taken seriously," said Andre Lankov, a North Korea expert at South Korea's Kookmin University. SOME LIES ARE TOO BIG EVEN FOR PYONGYANG Pyongyang did depart from its previous practise when it publicly admitted on state television that the Unha-3 rocket had failed to deliver its weather satellite into orbit in time for Kim Il-sung's birthday. In parallel with the short announcement on the rocket's failure, North Korea continued to churn out reams of propaganda aimed at bolstering the legitimacy of Kim Jong-un and his claim to power based on his bloodline. "The idea and feats Kim Il-sung performed in the 20th century have been fully carried forward and his glorious history continues uninterruptedly along with prospering Songun (military-first) Korea," state news agency KCNA reported on Friday. Chon Hyun-joon, an expert on North Korea at the state-run Korea Institute for National Unification in South Korea, estimates that as much as $2 billion to $3 billion could have been raised, although other experts say the figure was lower. "Even Kim Jong-il admitted that the first rocket launch required millions of dollars," said Kim Yeon-su, a professor at the National Defense University in Seoul.
Tymoshenko, 51, is the main opponent of president Viktor Yanukovich. Prison officials declined immediate comment. "Yulia Tymoshenko has gone on a hunger strike." Tymoshenko's lawyer Serhiy Vlasenko said prison officials kicked Tymoshenko in the stomach while taking her to the hospital by force. Her conviction last year for abuse of office over a 2009 gas deal with Russia was condemned in Western states as politically motivated. Reuters Topics: world-politics, ukraine First posted Yanukovych denies the allegations and says his government is merely fighting corruption. Tymoshenko refused to be treated at the Kharkiv clinic because she doesn't trust government-appointed doctors. She went on to serve twice as prime minister and lost the 2010 presidential vote to Mr Yanukovich in a close race. "She packed up and got dressed and then lay on her bed and said 'I am not going anywhere'," regional prosecutor Henady Tyurin was reported as saying. The day before she was taken to hospital, Tymoshenko had been due to attend a new trial for tax evasion. The state prison service moved Tymoshenko, who has complained about back pain, to a state-run hospital in the city of Kharkiv last Friday, only to return her to a prison in the same city on Sunday after she refused to be examined. She is serving seven years in prison for abuse of office, a conviction which caused dismay in the West. "The law ... allows the prison service to use physical force: (guards) lifted her, carried her to the car and took her to the hospital." Tymoshenko, 51, the country's top opposition leader is serving a seven-year prison term on charges of abusing her powers during gas negotiations with Russia.
Image copyright AFP Image caption Yulia Tymoshenko is serving a seven-year sentence in prison Yulia Tymoshenko, the former Ukrainian prime minister serving a prison sentence for abuse of office, has reportedly gone on hunger strike. Her fast began on Friday, lawyer Serhiy Vlasenko told Interfax news agency, speaking outside the walls of her prison in the eastern city of Kharkiv. She is serving seven years in prison for abuse of office, a conviction which caused dismay in the West. Mr Vlasenko was quoted by Interfax as saying Tymoshenko was protesting against "what is happening in the country and what is happening to her in prison". She had, he said, suffered bruising to her arms and stomach as a result of being moved from the prison to a hospital on Friday. 'Confined to bed' The lawyer denied his client had refused to allow doctors to examine her but he added that she had been put in hospital against her will. There was no immediate confirmation of Tymoshenko's hunger strike from the prison authorities. Her conviction last year for abuse of office over a 2009 gas deal with Russia was condemned in Western states as politically motivated. Last Friday Tymoshenko, who suffers from a severe spinal condition and needs hospital treatment, was taken to a clinic in the eastern city of Kharkiv where her prison is located, but was moved back to jail a day later after refusing treatment. Tymoshenko's lawyer Serhiy Vlasenko said prison officials kicked Tymoshenko in the stomach while taking her to the hospital by force. Tymoshenko refused to be treated at the Kharkiv clinic because she doesn't trust government-appointed doctors. When prison officials entered her jail cell, Tymoshenko "naturally got scared, began resisting, after which she received a punch in the stomach and passed out," Vlasenko said, adding that she still has a large bruise on her stomach after the incident. Prosecutors confirmed that Tymoshenko had been taken to the hospital against her will, but claimed that prison officials had acted within the law and insisted there was no evidence to support the allegations of beating. "The person got packed, dressed and then lied down on the bed and said 'I will not go anywhere'," Kharkiv regional prosecutor Henadiy Tyurin told reporters in remarks confirmed by his office. "According to the law ... the prison service has the right to use physical measures: she was picked up, carried to the car and taken to the hospital." Tymoshenko, 51, the country's top opposition leader is serving a seven-year prison term on charges of abusing her powers during gas negotiations with Russia. Ukraine ex-PM on hunger strike after 'beating' Updated Former Ukrainian prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko, in prison on abuse-of-office charges, has gone on a hunger strike after prison guards beat her up while forcibly moving the opposition leader to a hospital last week, her lawyer said on Tuesday. The state prison service moved Tymoshenko, who has complained about back pain, to a state-run hospital in the city of Kharkiv last Friday, only to return her to a prison in the same city on Sunday after she refused to be examined. On Tuesday, Tymoshenko's lawyer Serhiy Vlasenko told reporters prison guards had beaten Tymoshenko in order to force her to leave her prison cell last Friday. "The law ... allows the prison service to use physical force: (guards) lifted her, carried her to the car and took her to the hospital." Tymoshenko was sentenced to seven years in prison last October on charges of abusing her power as prime minister in brokering a 2009 gas deal with Russia. Mr Yanukovich's government says the deal ran against national interests and has saddled Ukraine with an exorbitant price for vital energy supplies.
Those included terror, murder, rape, and conscripting child soldiers, he added. Taylor has a right to appeal against the conviction. "The trial chamber finds the accused cannot be held responsible for ordering the crimes," he said. He was accused of backing rebels who killed tens of thousands of people in Sierra Leone's 1991-2002 civil war. Charles Taylor: a life in brief 1948: Born in Arthington, Liberia 1972: Enrols as a student at Bentley College, Massachusetts 1980: Returns to Liberia in time for military coup against president 1983: Flees on embezzlement charges 1989: Launches rebellion to oust dictator Samuel Doe 1991: Taylor's forces back rebellion in neighbouring Sierra Leone 1997: Elected president of Liberia 1999: Rebellion starts to remove Taylor 2002: Sierra Leone civil war ends 2003: Arrest warrant issued for Taylor, who goes into exile in Nigeria 2006: Arrested, sent to Sierra Leone then to the Netherlands 2007: War crimes trial begins 2012: Found guilty of aiding and abetting war crimes He is the first former head of state convicted by an international court since the Nuremburg military tribunal of Nazis after World War II. The judge said Taylor would be sentenced on 30 May after a hearing on 16 May. Human rights groups described the judgement as historic. • Taylor guilty of aiding and abetting Sierra Leone's RUF • Sentencing to take place on May 16 • People gather in Freetown to hear verdict • Former Liberian president dismissed charges as 'lies' • Taylor faces life in British prison cell Taylor helped rebels in Sierre Leone with the preparation and execution of crimes by helping to “design” their strategy.
Image caption Taylor, a former warlord, was elected president of Liberia in 1997 International judges have found former Liberian leader Charles Taylor guilty of aiding and abetting war crimes during the Sierra Leone civil war. Taylor, 64, has been on trial in The Hague at the UN-backed Special Court for Sierra Leone for almost five years. He was accused of backing rebels who killed tens of thousands of people in Sierra Leone's 1991-2002 civil war. Taylor was convicted on 11 counts including terror, murder and rape - but cleared of ordering the crimes. He is the first former head of state convicted by an international court since the Nuremburg military tribunal of Nazis after World War II. "This is an incredibly significant decision," Elise Keppler from the campaign group Human Rights Watch told the BBC. Another group, Amnesty International, said the verdict sent an important message to all high-ranking state officials. Analysis The indictment of Charles Taylor took war crimes jurisprudence to a new level, establishing the principle that a serving head of state was not immune from prosecution. Mr Gbagbo, who shares a prison compound in The Hague with Taylor, will undoubtedly feel less sanguine about the outcome of his trial as a result. The same is true of Jean-Pierre Bemba, former vice-president of DR Congo, also on trial at the ICC. The sight of a convicted defendant facing justice in a courtroom as a contrast to the squalid ends suffered by Saddam Hussein and Muammar Gaddafi is a relief to those who argue the case for the integrity of international war crimes law. "While today's conviction brings some measure of justice to the people of Sierra Leone, Taylor and the others sentenced by the Special Court are just the tip of the iceberg," the group's Brima Abdulai Sheriff said in a statement. The US State Department said the ruling sent "a strong message to all perpetrators of atrocities, including those in the highest positions of power, that they will be held accountable". Diamonds for weapons Chief prosecutor Brenda Hollis said it was "confirmation of what the people in Sierra Leone told us from the beginning of our investigations, and that is that Mr Taylor was one of those who bore greatest responsibility for the crimes against them". Defence lawyer Courtenay Griffiths told the BBC that the trial had not been fair, but rather "prompted by political imperatives". However he added that he had been surprised at the extent to which the judges were "prepared to reject the initial theories put forward by the prosecution" - notably the contention that Taylor was micro-managing events in Sierra Leone. Reading out the verdict in The Hague, Judge Richard Lussick said Taylor had been found guilty beyond reasonable doubt in connection with 11 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity. Those included terror, murder, rape, and conscripting child soldiers, he added. Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Judge Richard Lussick said the court was satisfied Taylor had aided war crimes Judge Lussick said that as Liberian leader, Taylor had extended "sustained and significant" support to the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) rebels in neighbouring Sierra Leone. The judge said the accused had sold diamonds and bought weapons on behalf of the RUF - and knew the rebels were committing atrocities. "The trial chamber finds the accused cannot be held responsible for ordering the crimes," he said. Taylor timeline • 1989: Launches rebellion in Liberia • 1991: RUF rebellion starts in Sierra Leone • 1997: Elected president after a 1995 peace deal • 1999: Liberia's Lurd rebels start an insurrection to oust Mr Taylor • June 2003: Arrest warrant issued; two months later he steps down and goes into exile to Nigeria • March 2006: Arrested after a failed escape bid and sent to Sierra Leone • June 2007: His trial opens - hosted in The Hague for security reasons • April 2012: Convicted of aiding and abetting the commission of war crimes He also said the prosecution had failed to prove beyond reasonable doubt that Taylor was part of a joint criminal enterprise. The BBC's Mark Doyle in the capital of Sierra Leone, Freetown, says traditional chiefs and victims of the war watching the proceedings by video link breathed a sigh of relief when the verdict was read out. I have not been able to do many things because my arms were cut off, but today I am happy." In the Liberian capital, Monrovia, newspaper publisher Tom Kamara hailed the verdict, saying "justice has been done" and it was "an end to impunity". If he loses the appeal he is expected to serve his sentence in a British prison, as the Dutch government only agreed to host the trial if any ensuing jail term was served in another country. Former president of Liberia is found to have supported rebels during reign of terror in neighbouring Sierra Leone Charles Taylor, the former president of Liberia, has been found to have "aided and abetted" war crimes by a United Nations-backed tribunal in The Hague. After four years of hearings at the special court for Sierra Leone, the disgraced one-time guerrilla leader was found to have provided sustained support for rebels during their reign of terror in the neighbouring west African state. Taylor, 64, the first African head of state to be brought before an international tribunal, had pleaded not guilty to all 11 charges. He stood at the back of the court while the judge formally found him "criminally responsible" of aiding and abetting in the commission of 11 crimes. Between 1996 and 2002, the rebel Revolutionary United Front (RUF), which Taylor supported, was found by the court to have committed crimes involving terrorising civilian populations, murder, rape, sexual slavery and enforced amputations in Sierra Leone. Judge Richard Lussick of Samoa said more than 1,000 children had the letters "RUF" carved into their backs to prevent them escaping. The court found that despite Taylor's denials, he knew from August 1997 about the campaign of terror being waged against the civilian population in Sierra Leone, including murder, rape and amputations. Human Rights Watch pointed out that he was the first former head of state to face judgment in an international court on war crimes charges since judges in Nuremberg convicted Karl Dönitz, an admiral who led Nazi Germany for a brief period following Adolf Hitler's suicide.
But they did it. So, he said, was character. Romney was bowled over by the wealth of some of his friends. “He talked politics all the time,” Friedemann said. Mitt Romney returned from a three-week spring break in 1965 to resume his studies as a high school senior at the prestigious Cranbrook School. The students gave one another chummy nicknames. Romney did get the formal backing of Bush's parents, President George H.W. Editor’s Note: An earlier version of this story reported that White “has long been bothered” by the Lauber incident. Teachers were also the butt of Romney’s brand of humor. The requirements for enrollment as a day student were generally tougher, leading day boys to consider themselves academically superior. Below, reactions to Obama's announcement from around the political world: Politicians React To Obama On Same-Sex Marriage Politicians React To Obama On Same-Sex Marriage 1 of 100 Mitt Romney "I believe marriage is a relationship between a man and a woman," Mitt Romney said. He returned days later with his shortened hair back to its natural brown. The interview actually occurred on Fox News Radio. Follow up! Larry Olson and some other boarders would check for the hall monitor they called Sneaky Pete and slip into Lauber’s room. I know there was homosexuality there, but we didn’t even have a word for it. Romney came of age during his six years at Cranbrook. But the 43rd president has been absent from the 2012 campaign and hasn't made any public comments showing his support for Romney. A year earlier, John Joseph Lauber died at a Seattle hospital.
Mitt Romney has the support of George W. Bush. "I'm for Mitt Romney," Bush told ABC News this morning as the doors of an elevator closed on him, after he gave a speech on human rights a block from his old home - the White House. Bush's endorsement isn't a surprise, given that Romney is virtually the Republican Party's nominee. But the 43rd president has been absent from the 2012 campaign and hasn't made any public comments showing his support for Romney. Romney did get the formal backing of Bush's parents, President George H.W. People who worked in the Bush administration say they doubt the former president will be campaigning for Romney this year. Even in his post-presidential life, Bush still gets a lot of the blame for the poor economy, according to polls, though he has become more popular since leaving office. Bush was speaking today at an event to promote the George W. Bush Presidential Center's campaign for human rights activists around the world. Correction: An earlier version of this article incorrectly said that it was on Fox News Channel that Romney apologized for some of his high school pranks. Mitt Romney returned from a three-week spring break in 1965 to resume his studies as a high school senior at the prestigious Cranbrook School. Back on the handsome campus, studded with Tudor brick buildings and manicured fields, he spotted something he thought did not belong at a school where the boys wore ties and carried briefcases. John Lauber, a soft-spoken new student one year behind Romney, was perpetually teased for his nonconformity and presumed homosexuality. Just look at him!” an incensed Romney told Matthew Friedemann, his close friend in the Stevens Hall dorm, according to Friedemann’s recollection. A few days later, Friedemann entered Stevens Hall off the school’s collegiate quad to find Romney marching out of his own room ahead of a prep school posse shouting about their plan to cut Lauber’s hair. As Lauber, his eyes filling with tears, screamed for help, Romney repeatedly clipped his hair with a pair of scissors. The incident was recalled similarly by five students, who gave their accounts independently of one another. Another former student who witnessed the incident asked not to be identified. The men have differing political affiliations, although they mostly lean Democratic. Seed, a registered independent, has served as a Republican county chairman in Michigan. “It happened very quickly, and to this day it troubles me,” said Buford, the school’s wrestling champion, who said he joined Romney in restraining Lauber. “What a senseless, stupid, idiotic thing to do.” “It was a hack job,” recalled Maxwell, a childhood friend of Romney who was in the dorm room when the incident occurred. “It was vicious.” “He was just easy pickin’s,” said Friedemann, then the student prefect, or student authority leader of Stevens Hall, expressing remorse about his failure to stop it. The incident transpired in a flash, and Friedemann said Romney then led his cheering schoolmates back to his bay-windowed room in Stevens Hall. Friedemann, guilt ridden, made a point of not talking about it with his friend and waited to see what form of discipline would befall Romney at the famously strict institution. (What’s your opinion: Are Romney’s high school actions relevant to his campaign?) Romney is now the presumed Republican presidential nominee. His campaign spokeswoman, Andrea Saul, said in a statement that “anyone who knows Mitt Romney knows that he doesn’t have a mean-spirited bone in his body. The stories of fifty years ago seem exaggerated and off base and Governor Romney has no memory of participating in these incidents.” Campaign officials denied a request for an interview with Romney. They also declined to comment further about his years at Cranbrook. In a subsequent interview Thursday morning with Fox News Radio, Romney said he didn’t remember the incident but apologized for pranks he helped orchestrate that he said “might have gone too far.” After the incident, Lauber seemed to disappear. He returned days later with his shortened hair back to its natural brown. He finished the year but ultimately left the school before graduation — thrown out for smoking a cigarette. Lauber paused, then responded, “It was horrible.” He went on to explain how frightened he was during the incident, and acknowledged to Seed, “It’s something I have thought about a lot since then.” Lauber died in 2004, according to his three sisters. First as a day student and later as a full-time boarder, he embraced and became emblematic of the Cranbrook way — a strict disciplinary code and academic rigor that governed the school by day and a freewheeling unofficial boys code of “Crannies” at night. He wrote the most letters to the girls at the sister school across the lake and successfully petitioned to get placed in the top classes.
RNGS. AIRCRAFT FOR EXPORT Sukhoi's chief civil test pilot, Alexander Yablontsev, and his co-pilot, Alexander Kochetkov, flew the plane, Superjet International, the Italian-led venture responsible for marketing the plane to the West, said in a statement on its website. REUTERS/Supri A relative of a passenger of the missing Sukhoi Superjet 100 aircraft prays at Halim Perdana Kusuma Airport in Jakarta May 9, 2012. Indonesia rescuers spotted on Thursday wreckage of a Russian Sukhoi aircraft that went missing with up to 50 people on board the previous day in a mountainous area south of the capital while on a demonstration flight. "We will take further action about the Sukhoi (purchase) after the investigation is completed," Zainudin said. Radio contact with the aircraft was lost at about 0800 GMT on Wednesday after it descended to 6,000 feet near Mount Salak, which rises to 7,254 feet above sea level, a rescue official said. REUTERS/sergeydolya.livejournal.com/Handout Indonesian marine soldiers hold a map to study the location of the plane crash, during a briefing at Halimun National Park near Bogor May 10, 2012. The accident took place when the plane was trying to descend from 10,000 feet high to 6,000 feet high on its way to return the air force base in East Jakarta, according to Transport Ministry spokesman Bambang Ervan. Small pieces of white debris could be seen scattered down an exposed stretch of cliff. "The airplane crashed at the edge of Salak mountain ... An investigation must be done immediately and thoroughly," President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono told a news conference. The latest data of manifest recorded 8 Russian crew and 45 passengers were on board.
Map of Indonesia locating West Java where a Russian Sukhoi plane with 46 passengers on board has gone missing during a demonstration flight on Wednesday. RNGS. A Sukhoi Superjet 100 takes part in the 48th Paris Air Show at the Le Bourget airport near Paris in this June 17, 2009 file photo. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier/Files A Sukhoi Superjet 100 airplane, which went missing during a demonstration flight near a volcano on Indonesia's Java island, takes off from an airport in the capital Jakarta May 9, 2012. REUTERS/sergeydolya.livejournal.com/Handout Relatives of a passenger of the missing Sukhoi Superjet 100 aircraft cry at Halim Perdana Kusuma Airport in Jakarta May 9, 2012. REUTERS/Stringer Relatives of a passenger of the missing Sukhoi Superjet 100 aircraft cries at Halim Perdana Kusuma Airport in Jakarta May 9, 2012. REUTERS/Supri A relative of a passenger of the missing Sukhoi Superjet 100 aircraft prays at Halim Perdana Kusuma Airport in Jakarta May 9, 2012. REUTERS/Supri Relatives of passengers of the missing Sukhoi Superjet 100 aircraft wait for information at Halim Perdana Kusuma Airport in Jakarta May 9, 2012. REUTERS/Supri Sukhoi's chief civil test pilot Alexander Yablontsev (L) and his crew sit in the cockpit of a Sukhoi Superjet during a flight at an unknown location May 8, 2012. REUTERS/sergeydolya.livejournal.com/Handout Indonesian marine soldiers hold a map to study the location of the plane crash, during a briefing at Halimun National Park near Bogor May 10, 2012. REUTERTS/Beawiharta An Indonesian marine soldier holds a map to indicate the location of the plane crash, during a briefing at Halimun National Park near Bogor May 10, 2012. Indonesia rescuers spotted on Thursday wreckage of a Russian Sukhoi aircraft that went missing with up to 50 people on board the previous day in a mountainous area south of the capital while on a demonstration flight. Indonesia rescuers spotted on Thursday wreckage of a Russian Sukhoi aircraft that went missing with up to 50 people on board the previous day in a mountainous area south of the capital while on a demonstration flight. REUTERS/Handout/ Indonesian Air Force/Super Puma Helicopter/Major Levi A view of the wreckage of the Russian Sukhoi Superjet 100 aircraft in Mount Salak, West Java province, as seen from an Indonesia Airforce Super Puma helicopter May 10, 2012. REUTERS/Indonesian Air Force/Handout MOUNT SALAK, Indonesia A rescue team found no survivors but several bodies on Thursday when it arrived at the wreckage of a Russian plane that crashed into an Indonesian mountain during an exhibition flight with 45 people on board. Russia's first all-new passenger jet since the fall of the Soviet Union, a Superjet 100 aircraft, went missing on Wednesday about 40 miles south of Jakarta. "We haven't found survivors," Gagah Prakoso, spokesman of the search and rescue team, told Indonesia's Metro TV. Radio contact with the aircraft was lost at about 0800 GMT on Wednesday after it descended to 6,000 feet near Mount Salak, which rises to 7,254 feet above sea level, a rescue official said. A search resumed at dawn on Thursday and a rescue helicopter later spotted debris on the side of the dormant Mount Salak volcano, sending multiple teams on a trek across steep and heavily forested terrain to reach the site. A picture taken from the helicopter appeared to show that the plane hit the top of an almost vertical wall of rock. Small pieces of white debris could be seen scattered down an exposed stretch of cliff. "The airplane crashed at the edge of Salak mountain ... An investigation must be done immediately and thoroughly," President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono told a news conference. AIRCRAFT FOR EXPORT Sukhoi's chief civil test pilot, Alexander Yablontsev, and his co-pilot, Alexander Kochetkov, flew the plane, Superjet International, the Italian-led venture responsible for marketing the plane to the West, said in a statement on its website. Yablontsev had accumulated 10,000 flight hours and commanded the Superjet on its maiden flight in 2008. It returned to Halim Perdanakusuma airport, east of Jakarta, after the first flight where some people got off because it was the time for Muslim prayers and then got left behind, according to Sunaryo. The crash came 45 years after a Dutch-built Fokker F-27 flew into a hill in the Philippines on a promotional sortie due to probable pilot error, said the Flight Safety Foundation. "There have been losses on demonstration flights and they are not generally the fault of the airplane. But without more information it is impossible to know the circumstances here," said Paul Hayes, safety director at aviation consultancy Ascend. It aimed to sell 42 planes to Indonesia, which is seeing a fast-expanding aviation market that aims to tap travel by a growing middle class in the world's fourth-most populous nation. We are waiting for the investigation by the authorities, whether it's human error or plane issues," said Sutito Zainudin, general manager marketing of PT Sky Aviation. The Superjet 100, with a capacity of 68-103 passengers, is already in service with Russia's Aeroflot and Armenian carrier Armavia and is half way through a 15,500-km (9,630-mile), six-nation Asian tour to try to drum up more international customers. MOSCOW, May 10 (Xinhua) -- Russian new Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev ordered to investigate the crash of a Sukhoi Superjet 100 commercial plane in Indonesia, the Russian government said Thursday. Earlier, several Russian officials and experts had left for Indonesia after the Russian-made airplane carrying at least 46 people on board went missing in West Java, Indonesia on Wednesday afternoon. A source, which works at the Jakarta airport, was quoted by the Itar-Tass news agency as saying that people on board were found dead at the crash scene. JAKARTA, May 10 (Xinhua) -- Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on Thursday demanded a full investigation on the crash of Sukhoi super jet 100 on Wednesday, according to local media reports.
Griffin, who is co-hosting the event, said he was confident it would sell out. Even before the gay marriage news, Obama has long stressed his commitment to gay rights. Stand up with the president." GALVANIZING ISSUE The gay community is already a big contributor to Obama's campaign, which is so far outpacing Romney in fundraising, with some $104.1 million still left at the end of March compared with Romney's $10.1 million, according to the Federal Election Commission. "He blew me away (Wednesday). President Obama's support for gay marriage is energizing gay and lesbian activists, whose support could help offset Wall Street's support for Mitt Romney. The Clooney fundraiser was just a taste. Hotsheet Live: Will Obama's same-sex marriage statement matter in November? On June 6, he heads back to Los Angeles for a LGBT gala, which organizers say quickly exceeded its 700-person limit after the president’s announcement. “Everybody wants to do something,” he said. But in recent months, support from Wall Street donors has swung sharply to Romney, according to the Center for Responsive Politics – a shift that could prove significant if the race tightens in the fall. That's why for the first time since 2008, I pulled out my credit card and donated to his re-election. "This is an issue that goes to the core of who people are. Gay activists are prominent players in the Obama 2012 campaign, including finance director Rufus Gifford, Democratic National Committee treasurer Andrew Tobias, and White House social secretary Jeremy Bernard. On Monday, the president is scheduled to appear at a fundraiser in New York sponsored by gay and Latino supporters.
(AP) NEW YORK - President Barack Obama has seen an uptick in fundraising since he announced his shift on gay marriage, with some Democratic rainmakers citing renewed interest from gay and lesbian donors who had been urging the president to clarify his stance on the divisive social issue. "The phone calls went on until one in the morning after the president spoke people calling saying `Where do I go, what can I do to help, what events are coming up,"' said Robert Zimmerman, a Long Island, N.Y., Obama bundler. "People I've been seeking out for campaign support for months have been calling me saying, `I'm ready to give."' Obama's campaign has declined to say how much it has collected since the announcement but some staffers have asked supporters to give money as a way of expressing their approval. Following the Obama interview with ABC News, Rufus Gifford, Obama's national finance director, said in a posting to the campaign website that "if you're proud of our president, this is a great time to make a donation to the campaign." Chad Griffin, an Obama bundler and incoming president of the gay advocacy group Human Rights Campaign, said most prominent gay donors had been supporting Obama all along despite his reluctance to champion gay marriage. Hotsheet Live: Will Obama's same-sex marriage statement matter in November? GOP: Don't let Obama shift the blame on the economy Obama woos Hollywood, takes home $15M "There was a tad bit of uncomfortableness because of his position on marriage, even though most people saw where he was headed," Griffin said. "The thing he did (Wednesday) cleared any uncomfortableness anyone had." Obama said Wednesday he supported gay marriage, marking a shift in his personal view on the issue after once opposing it and saying more recently that his views were "evolving." Even before the gay marriage news, Obama has long stressed his commitment to gay rights. The president repealed the military's 18-year-old ban on openly gay service members, called "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," and instructed the Justice Department last year to stop enforcing the Defense of Marriage Act, which denies federal recognition of same-sex marriages. Some gay rights advocates have pressed Obama to sign an executive order barring discrimination against gays and lesbians who work for companies with federal contracts. Obama was attending a New York fundraiser Monday with gay and lesbian donors hosted by singer Ricky Martin, his first fundraising event with gay supporters since his announcement. The president is scheduled to attend a major fundraiser with gay supporters in Los Angeles on June 6, with tickets priced as high as $25,000 per couple. At least one leading gay activist has said he will attend the June 6 event after pledging to withhold support for Obama if the president did not embrace gay marriage. Lance Black, an Academy Award-winning screenwriter based in Los Angeles, penned a column in the Hollywood Reporter last month saying he would not contribute to or vote for Obama and urged other gay activists to withhold support as well. President Obama's support for gay marriage is energizing gay and lesbian activists, whose support could help offset Wall Street's support for Mitt Romney. Peggy Whitson logs more space hours than any other US astronaut: A history of women and NASA President Obama’s decision to go public in support of same-sex marriage marked a historic moment for the presidency and the nation’s gay and lesbian community – and also set off a torrent of fundraising appeals that could change the fundraising math for this fall's presidential race. The event raised nearly $15 million, expected to be a record. Some 1 in 6 of the president’s top campaign “bundlers” – that is, donors who solicit contributions from others and deliver them to candidates – publicly identify themselves as gay, according to a report this week by the Washington Post. The Center for Responsive politics last fall identified “at least 12 prominent gay and lesbian rights advocates, who together had bundled at least $2.7 million for the Obama campaign.” Even before this week’s statement on gay marriage, the Obama administration claimed “historic strides” on behalf of the LGBT community. These include expanding federal civil rights legislation to include sexual orientation and gender identity, ending the 1993 “don’t ask, don’t tell” law prohibiting gays and lesbians from serving openly in the military, and directing hospitals receiving Medicare to allow visitation and medical-decision rights to LGBT patients and their partners. Still, until this week, prominent gay activists had been openly at odds with the president over gay marriage as well as over his failure to issue a promised executive order to ban discrimination by federal contractors over sexual orientation or gender identity. “Even if that figure doubles in the next nine months, it would fall short of the $1.3 million contributed in the 2010 cycle, and well below the $1.8 million raised in 2008.” But after the president’s statement on marriage, prominent gay activists predicted that the White House could expect more energized support from the gay and lesbian community and its supporters. (Unlike Romney, Obama did not face a tough primary, yet has already spent $89.8 million in his reelection bid, compared with $76.5 million in spending for Romney through March 31, the latest date for which figures are available.) “Wall Street’s preferred candidate in the 2008 race with more than $6 million in industry campaign contributions at this point in the cycle, [Obama] has received less than $2.6 million from the industry so far this time around.” Los Angeles lawyer Dana Perlman, the cochair of Obama’s LGBT finance committee, told Reuters that he is already looking for a bigger venue for next month’s LGBT fundraiser, which had been planned for 700 people. “The president’s support of full marriage equality is something to be celebrated, and frankly, rewarded,” wrote lesbian activist and Moveon.org’s campaign director Julie Rosen, in a fundraising appeal e-mailed to some 7 million members on Thursday. “The best way to encourage the president to keep showing leadership and taking strong stands it to demonstrate how much his actions mean to you.” “On a personal note, I can't tell you how deeply meaningful President Obama's statement was to me,” she added. “With my own big gay wedding only 24 days away, it's incredibly uplifting to know that President Obama supports my right to marry the love of my life. Meanwhile, the White House as well as House and Senate campaign committees immediately sent out fundraising appeals to help defend the president from a backlash from conservatives on gay marriage. The president sent out a mass e-mail to supporters explaining his decision to "affirm my personal belief that same-sex couples should be allowed to marry," and ending with a "please donate today."
Between 1995 and 1999, Lai's company, Yuanhua, oversaw the smuggling of £2.64bn worth of goods, officials said, with the loss in revenues to Chinese customs estimated at £1.36bn. "But at the same time he was one of China's greatest crooks, a man who invented ingenious new forms of bribery and corruption." Lai Changxing's conviction by a court in Xiamen - a port city once considered his personal fiefdom - came after a 12-year extradition battle that ended last year, when Canada handed over the man often described as China's most wanted fugitive on condition that he not be given the death penalty. Chinese leaders have pledged that this would not be the case. In July last year the People's Daily called it the biggest economic crime since the founding of the People's Republic in 1949. "The crimes involve massive sums and particularly serious circumstances," the court said, according to a report by the Xinhua news agency. Lai's web of influence included the deputy mayor of Xiamen, a deputy public security minister, the deputy of an anti-smuggling task force and dozens of other officials and executives who have subsequently been fired, demoted or imprisoned. About 300 have been convicted, 14 were sentenced to death and another seven were summarily executed. Communist party leaders frequently cite corruption as a major threat to stability, but the problem remains rampant despite occasional crackdowns and arrests of high-profile figures. However, other senior cadres - including one former Politburo member - who were implicated in the scandal have escaped punishment. Billionaire who fought extradition from Canada for more than a decade has been jailed for life for smuggling and bribery A billionaire entrepreneur who symbolised the wild excesses of China's economic rise in the 1990s has been jailed for life on charges of smuggling and bribery.
At its peak in the 1990s, Lai Changxing's smuggling empire transported chemicals, cooking oil, tobacco and cars. He had hundreds of police, customs officers and government officials on his payroll in the southern port city of Xiamen, which he ran like his own personal fiefdom. But the law finally caught up with Lai: he was sentenced yesterday to life in prison for smuggling and bribery in a corruption case that reached into the highest echelons of the Communist Party and involved a 12-year extradition battle with Canada. "The crimes involve massive sums and particularly serious circumstances," court officials told the Xinhua news agency. Between 1995 and 1999, Lai's company, Yuanhua, oversaw the smuggling of £2.64bn worth of goods, officials said, with the loss in revenues to Chinese customs estimated at £1.36bn. Despite some public anger that the crime boss was apparently operating with impunity, Lai cultivated the image of a Chinese Robin Hood, and was often referred to as the "Bandit King". In his heyday he built football stadiums and handed out wads of cash to the poor. But following an investigation he fled China, initially heading to Hong Kong and arriving in Canada in 1999. The extradition battle was drawn out because Lai claimed he would be tortured and executed amid fears that he might implicate senior officials. He was finally extradited to China last year after Beijing promised that he would not face execution. Among the high-profile figures caught up in the scandal were Li Jizhou, China's former vice-security minister, who was given a suspended death sentence, the deputy mayor of Xiamen, and the wife of Jia Qinglin, the Fujian province party secretary until 1996 and an ally of then-president Jiang Zemin. By some estimates, more than 500 senior officials have been implicated in Lai's activities. About 300 have been convicted, 14 were sentenced to death and another seven were summarily executed. In July last year the People's Daily called it the biggest economic crime since the founding of the People's Republic in 1949. Fighting corruption has become a priority for the Communist Party, as it is regularly cited as the issue that most angers the population, and Lai's conviction is being depicted in the state media as an example of the Party's progress in the battle. Lai Changxing, a 53-year-old farmer turned master smuggler, was sentenced by a court in Xiamen, the southern Chinese city he effectively ruled over in the boom years of the mid-1990s, described by some as a Robin Hood figure, and by others as an enemy of the state. "If Lai was executed three times over, it would not be too much," said Zhu Rongji, China's former premier, in October 2000. Mr Lai was found guilty of smuggling container ships full of luxury cars, cigarettes and petrol worth a total of nearly £3 billion into Xiamen, while bribing 64 of the city's leaders with at least £3.9 million to look the other way, according to Xinhua, the official Chinese news agency. At the time the People's Daily newspaper said the club, was where dozens of high-ranking officials "resigned themselves to degeneracy and became tools of Lai's group". His most prized possession was a bullet-proof Mercedes once owned by Jiang Zemin, China's then president. He bought and played for Xiamen's local football team, and he tried to build an 88-floor tower that would have been the country's tallest building. Lai was "a visionary who arguably did more than any other individual to open China up to trade," according to Oliver August, the author of a book on his downfall. "But at the same time he was one of China's greatest crooks, a man who invented ingenious new forms of bribery and corruption." As well as a life sentence for smuggling, the court also gave Lai another 15 years for bribery. "The sums involved are unusually large, and the details are extraordinarily serious, meriting the double sentence," the court was quoted as saying by Xinhua. However, at least 14 death sentences were given out to less important figures and roughly 1,000 people came under investigation. His web of influence spread as far as Ji Shengde, a major general of military intelligence for the People's Liberation Army, and Li Jizhou, a deputy government minister for Public Security. Xi Jinping, who is likely to become China's next president, was summoned to Beijing shortly after the Lai scandal in order to explain what had happened. Billionaire who fought extradition from Canada for more than a decade has been jailed for life for smuggling and bribery A billionaire entrepreneur who symbolised the wild excesses of China's economic rise in the 1990s has been jailed for life on charges of smuggling and bribery. Lai Changxing's conviction by a court in Xiamen - a port city once considered his personal fiefdom - came after a 12-year extradition battle that ended last year, when Canada handed over the man often described as China's most wanted fugitive on condition that he not be given the death penalty. At his peak, Lai was China's biggest private car importer and one of the leading oil traders and distributors of foreign cigarettes. In handing down the sentence, the Xiamen intermediate people's court said Lai bribed 64 officials between 1996 and 1999 in building up a business empire worth nearly £2bn. "The crimes involve massive sums and particularly serious circumstances," the court said, according to a report by the Xinhua news agency. Lai's web of influence included the deputy mayor of Xiamen, a deputy public security minister, the deputy of an anti-smuggling task force and dozens of other officials and executives who have subsequently been fired, demoted or imprisoned. When he came under scrutiny, state TV released images of his life of excess, including confiscated cars given to corrupt officials, a sack of gold rings, a conference table draped in a tiger skin rug and young women, said to be kept for officials. Such was the prominence of the case that Lai was targetted by the party's top enforcer - Liu Liying, the head of the Central Discipline Inspection Committee.
If carried out, the sentence is likely to mean that Mr. Taylor, 64, will spend the rest of his life in prison. "What I did to bring peace to Sierra Leone was done with honour. That made him responsible for “aiding and abetting” the war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by RUF fighters, the court found. Advertisement Continue reading the main story One diamond story that received a lot of attention during the trial involved the court appearance of the model Naomi Campbell. He said he had heard about atrocities — “that nobody on this planet would not have heard about the atrocities in Sierra Leone” — but that he would “never, ever” have permitted them. Former Liberian president faces 80-year jail term as special court at The Hague cannot impose capital or life sentence The former Liberian president Charles Taylor will be sentenced on Wednesday for aiding and abetting war crimes during the long-running civil war in Sierra Leone. But the judges wrote that the two women were “frank and truthful witnesses,” and contrasted them with Ms. Campbell. Taylor's abuse of his authority and influence is especially egregious given that west African leaders repeatedly entrusted him with a role to facilitate peace." The judges agreed with the prosecution that diamonds mined in Sierra Leone were used to pay for arms and ammunition for Mr. Taylor’s proxy army, and that rough diamonds were delivered to Mr. Taylor’s house in Monrovia, the Liberian capital. He added: “The lives of many more innocent civilians in Sierra Leone were lost or destroyed as a direct result of his actions.” Taylor, who wore a dark suit with a yellow tie, was told to stand as Mr Justice Lussick said: “The trial chamber unanimously sentences you to a single term of imprisonment of 50 years for all of the counts on which you have been found guilty.” The judges had considered 80 years to be excessive given that Taylor’s offence was “aiding and abetting” war crimes, not directly carrying them out, added Mr Justice Lussick.
If carried out, the sentence is likely to mean that Mr. Taylor, 64, will spend the rest of his life in prison. He looked at the floor after he was asked to stand as the sentence was read. Photo The chief prosecutor, Brenda Hollis, told a news conference that could be viewed in West Africa: “The sentence today does not replace amputated limbs; it does not bring back those who were murdered,” she said. “It does not heal the wounds of those who were raped or forced to become sexual slaves.” Mr. Taylor’s legal team said it would file an appeal. “The sentence is clearly excessive, clearly disproportionate to his circumstances, his age and his health, and does not take into account the fact that he stepped down from office voluntarily,” said Morris Anya, one of Mr. Taylor’s lawyers. Advertisement Continue reading the main story The prosecution, which had sought an even longer sentence of 80 years, said it was considering its own appeal, to raise the level of responsibility attributed to Mr. Taylor for crimes committed under his leadership. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Two rebel commanders tried earlier were handed similar prison sentences of 50 and 52 years, and a prosecutor said Mr. Taylor’s overall responsibility for the atrocities was considerably greater. He did not freely leave office, but was pushed out in 2003 as rebels marched on his capital and a delegation of African leaders urged him to prevent further bloodshed and seek exile in Nigeria. Advertisement Continue reading the main story The court must set a precise prison term; it is not allowed to impose a life sentence or the death penalty. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Outside the courthouse, Salamba Silla, who works with victims’ groups in Sierra Leone, pleaded for more help for former child soldiers, orphans, people whose limbs were hacked off and other victims of the country’s war. “Many who suffered horrendously need help to return to the provinces, they think they cannot survive there.” Photo Ibrahim Sorie, a lawmaker from Sierra Leone who had been seated in the court’s gallery, said the sentence was fair. “It restores our faith in the rule of law, and we see that impunity is ending for top people,” Mr. Sorie said. By previous agreement, Mr. Taylor will serve his sentence in a British prison, but since the appeals process is expected to last at least a year, he will remain in the relative comfort of the United Nations’ detention center at The Hague. After more than a year of deliberations, the Special Court for Sierra Leone found Mr. Taylor guilty in late April of crimes against humanity and war crimes for his part in fomenting widespread brutality that included murder, rape, the use of child soldiers, the mutilation of thousands of civilians and the mining of diamonds to pay for guns and ammunition. Prosecutors have said that Mr. Taylor was motivated in these gruesome actions not by any ideology but rather by “pure avarice” and a thirst for power. Sign Up Receive occasional updates and special offers for The New York Times's products and services. The United Nations-backed tribunal began it work in Sierra Leone, where it tried its other cases, but out of concern that hearings in West Africa would cause unrest among those who still support Mr. Taylor, his trial was moved to the Netherlands. Advertisement Continue reading the main story In Liberia, where Mr. Taylor began a civil war and amassed a record of human rights atrocities during his dictatorial rule, there has not been the political will or the resources to set up a tribunal. The mandate of the Special Court for Sierra Leone covers only crimes between 1996 and 2002, and because the tribunal is to be shut down, critics say that a number of people close to Mr. Taylor have escaped prosecution. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Witnesses who testified at the Taylor trial — which lasted more than twice as long as planned — included men whose hands had been chopped off and women who had been raped. One aide described a secret bonding ritual in Liberia during which he and others joined Mr. Taylor in eating a human heart. The judges agreed with the prosecution that diamonds mined in Sierra Leone were used to pay for arms and ammunition for Mr. Taylor’s proxy army, and that rough diamonds were delivered to Mr. Taylor’s house in Monrovia, the Liberian capital. Advertisement Continue reading the main story One diamond story that received a lot of attention during the trial involved the court appearance of the model Naomi Campbell. Prosecutors said Ms. Campbell had been sent uncut diamonds as a gift from Mr. Taylor after they attended a charity dinner hosted by Nelson Mandela when he was the president of South Africa. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Two of Ms. Campbell’s companions who recounted the episode in court — her agent, Carole White, and the actress Mia Farrow — were repeatedly called “liars” during cross-examination by the defense. They called her a “reluctant witness” who “deliberately omitted certain details out of fear.” They added that Ms. Campbell “said she came to the realization that the diamonds were sent by Taylor.” Eight other leading members of different forces and rebel groups have already been sentenced by the tribunal. He spent seven months — covering 81 days of the trial — in the witness chair, telling his life story without ever being cut off for digressions or political statements. Former Liberian president faces 80-year jail term as special court at The Hague cannot impose capital or life sentence The former Liberian president Charles Taylor will be sentenced on Wednesday for aiding and abetting war crimes during the long-running civil war in Sierra Leone. Taylor's defence lawyers have told the court that exiling him to Britain's jails – where a Serbian war crimes convict was attacked in his cell two years ago – would leave him "culturally isolated" and constitute a "punishment within a punishment". Taylor was found guilty last month of 11 counts of aiding and abetting war crimes and crimes against humanity by supporting rebels in Sierra Leone between 1996 and 2002 in return for conflict diamonds. Offences of which he was found guilty included murder, rape, sexual slavery, recruiting child soldiers, enforced amputations and pillage. In an interim sentencing hearing, the court's chief prosecutor, Brenda Hollis, a former US military prosecutor, said: "Considering the extreme magnitude and seriousness of the crimes that were committed against the people of Sierra Leone for which Taylor has been found responsible … the prosecution recommends that Charles Taylor be sentenced to a prison term of no less than 80 years. Taylor's abuse of his authority and influence is especially egregious given that west African leaders repeatedly entrusted him with a role to facilitate peace."
It's airing in Ohio, Nevada, North Carolina, Colorado, Iowa and Virginia. Barack Obama? In Pennsylvania, the split is 32 percent less likely and 10 percent more likely. ROMNEY (voice-over): I’m Mitt Romney and I approved this message. The White House and Obama's campaign argued the court was wrong to label it a tax. Voters are going to have to decide whether they like this idea," said Yepsen. And if the immigration move does, in fact, cost Obama support among some independents who were gettable for him in those states, that could pose a problem. Those who refuse the law's mandate to buy health insurance would be required to pay a fine. As with the gay marriage numbers, many who say the immigration policy makes them less likely to vote for Obama are Republicans who almost certainly weren’t going to vote for him anyway. He also attacked Hillary Clinton with vicious lies. President Obama’s decision to exempt young illegal immigrants from deportation may not be the electoral boon it’s cracked up to be. Ted Strickland at her side -- denounced the Obama team for "perpetuating falsehoods." Worst job record since the Depression. Still, though, the opposition wins the day, even in a heavily Latino state (though we should note that Florida’s Latinos — many of them Cuban-Americans — tend to be more conservative than in other states). I've asked the Romney campaign if they want to comment further on the ad and will update as necessary. A 5-4 majority of U.S. Supreme Court justices ruled the law constitutional on Thursday by saying it falls under Congress' authority to levy taxes.
* Romney raises nearly $5 million after court ruling * Adds "greater urgency" to election * White House calls mandate levy a penalty, not tax By Steve Holland WASHINGTON, June 29 Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney took his fight against President Barack Obama's newly upheld healthcare law out on the campaign trail on Friday, attempting to use it to galvanize support for his bid to oust Obama on Nov. 6. Campaign supporters of Obama sought to blunt Republican criticism that the law will amount to a new tax increase on Americans. A 5-4 majority of U.S. Supreme Court justices ruled the law constitutional on Thursday by saying it falls under Congress' authority to levy taxes. Romney, at a fundraiser in New York, said the court's decision calls for "greater urgency, I believe, in the election" and that in order to replace Obama's healthcare law "you've got to replace President Obama." His supporters have responded, pouring nearly $5 million in campaign donations in little more than 24 hours since the ruling was unveiled. Obama's campaign insisted Obama had raised more but did not disclose a number. Obama's court victory protects his landmark domestic policy achievement but also leaves him open to election-year attacks from Republicans who say the law kills jobs by putting a burden on small businesses. A ruling by the court that the centerpiece of Obama's law - the "individual mandate" which requires Americans to have health insurance - is in fact a tax, gives Republicans an extra stick with which to hit the Democratic incumbent. The White House and Obama's campaign argued the court was wrong to label it a tax. Those who refuse the law's mandate to buy health insurance would be required to pay a fine. Only about 1 percent of Americans would likely fall under this category, the administration said. "So your choice is to purchase health care reform or a penalty will be administered," White House spokesman Jay Carney told reporters aboard Air Force One. The Supreme Court ruling fell in the midst of a tense period in the presidential campaign with Obama and Romney running closely in opinion polls and trying to define each other as unfit for the White House. In a sign of the bitterness of the fight, the Romney campaign on Friday issued an ad featuring Secretary of State Hillary Clinton criticizing Obama during the 2008 campaign. Obama's primary opponent at the time, Clinton accused her fellow Democrat of lying about her record and said "shame on you Barack Obama." TAX ISSUE The Obama campaign accuses Romney of double standards by criticizing the requirement to buy health insurance even though it formed part of the healthcare plan he developed for Massachusetts when he was governor there. "That was right then, you should ask why he doesn't think it's not right now," Obama senior strategist David Axelrod told NBC's "Today" show. Romney has offered few specifics on how he would replace the Obama reforms, although he said he would work to retain popular provisions such as blocking insurance companies from forbidding coverage of patients with pre-existing medical conditions. David Yepsen, director of the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute at Southern Illinois University, said the tax issue may catch fire in the campaign. "I think that's going to be a fair argument to take to voters. Obama says he's not raising taxes, the Supreme Court says this is a tax. The Romney campaign says the law would a have far bigger impact on taxes than just penalizing people who refuse to buy insurance, but instead would raise $500 billion over 10 years. This charge is based on a March 2011 estimate from the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office, which said the legislation will increase federal revenues in various ways, mostly by increasing the Hospital Insurance payroll tax and imposing fees on certain manufacturers and insurers. Romney ad features Hillary Clinton: 'Shame on you, Barack Obama' (Updated) Mitt Romney's campaign has quietly begun airing a TV ad in six states that uses an old clip of Hillary Clinton to blast President Barack Obama. The ad pulls footage of the 2008 primary campaign, when Clinton -- at a campaign stop in Ohio, then-Gov. Ted Strickland at her side -- denounced the Obama team for "perpetuating falsehoods." Here's the script, via a source (video above): NARRATOR: Barack Obama’s attacks against Mitt Romney: they’re just not true. CLINTON (file footage): He continues to spend millions of dollars perpetuating falsehoods. The commercial doesn't explicitly say which Obama attacks it's responding to, but the Post "Fact Checker" column it cites was focused on Obama's first spot branding Romney as an outsourcer. UPDATE: In a statement, the Obama campaign stood by the substance of its attacks on Romney -- and ignored Romney's Clinton-themed jab. "Mitt Romney might not like the facts of his private sector record: that he was a ‘pioneer’ of outsourcing and reaped massive profits while bankrupting companies and laying off workers, but that is exactly what he did as a corporate buyout specialist. "In fact, he’s promised to give budget-busting tax cuts to the wealthiest Americans on the middle class’ dime and allow corporations to avoid U.S. taxes on overseas profits, which would encourage companies to move jobs abroad. President Obama’s decision to exempt young illegal immigrants from deportation may not be the electoral boon it’s cracked up to be. In both Ohio and Pennsylvania, more than twice as many respondents say the decision makes them less likely to support the president (27 percent in both) as say it makes them more likely to back him (12 percent in Pennsylvania, 11 percent in Ohio). In Florida, the split is less pronounced, with 22 percent saying the move makes them less likely to support Obama and 17 percent saying it makes them more likely to support him.
"That's self-evidently the case. The ideas, if introduced, would amount to the biggest change to the exams system for a generation. How will it increase social mobility?" Asked if Mr Gove was wrong to do what he was doing, Mr Clegg said: "Mr Gove is entirely entitled to come up with proposals and then if he wants to we can discuss them within the government. The Liberal Democrats are angry they were not told about the plans. Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Russell Hobby, National Association of Head Teachers: "A two-tier exam system doesn't sound like a good step forward." The Education Minister for Wales, Leighton Andrews, has said Wales will not return to O-level-style exams. "Children are working harder than ever but we are hearing that the system is not working for them. In Scotland, pupils take Standard Grades, Highers and Advanced Highers rather than GCSEs and A-levels. The plan is for students to begin studying what the leaked document says will be "tougher" O-level style exams in English, maths and the sciences from September 2014. They could continue to let their schools choose GCSE qualifications from the exam boards, which are private companies. Nick Clegg told BBC News neither he nor the prime minister knew of the proposal until they read it in the Daily Mail. He said rigour needed to be restored to the system if England was to keep pace with educational improvements in some other countries. It would be up to Wales and Northern Ireland to decide whether to follow suit. We want to tackle the culture of competitive dumbing down."
Image caption Nick Clegg has vowed to block Michael Gove's plan Downing Street has denied the deputy prime minister's claim David Cameron was kept in the dark about Michael Gove's plans to scrap GCSEs in England. Nick Clegg told BBC News neither he nor the prime minister knew of the proposal until they read it in the Daily Mail. But No 10 sources said the PM did know the details but said they had not been submitted for formal government discussion. Sources close to Nick Clegg said: "I doubt very much the details of the plans revealed in the Daily Mail were known much outside Michael Gove's private office." 'Leadership bid' Mr Clegg said the prime minister had not been told about his Conservative colleague Mr Gove's proposals in advance - and he suggested that the idea could not go ahead without the support of the Lib Dems. "This has not been subject to a collective discussion in government. Neither myself nor the prime minister were aware of it," he told BBC Radio 4's World at One programme. And if Michael Gove wants to turn some of his ideas into government policy he's entirely entitled to put that forward for wider discussion. "By definition in a government if you have collective agreement, and particularly in a coalition, it requires support from all sides." Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Nick Clegg: "Neither myself nor the prime minister were aware of Gove plan" Senior Lib Dem Lord Oakeshott described Mr Gove's announcement as a "political stunt" which stood no chance of becoming a reality as his party would block it. "This is Michael Gove starting his campaign for the leadership of the Conservative Party several years early," he told the BBC's Daily Politics. 'Not agreed' If Mr Gove's plan goes ahead, students would begin studying what the leaked document says will be "tougher" O-level style exams in English, maths and the sciences from September 2014. Less academic pupils would sit a different "more straightforward" exam, like the old CSE. Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Ken Clarke: 'Wait for reality on GCSE reform' The ideas, if introduced, would amount to the biggest change to the exams system for a generation. Speculation is rife at Westminster about the source of the leak, with some, including BBC This Week presenter Andrew Neil, suggesting it came from the education secretary himself. Justice Secretary Ken Clarke, speaking on BBC One's Question Time, suggested the leak could have come from within the educational department. "If the secretary of state for education leaked it I would feel very strongly about it, but I don't think he did," he said. "This has been worked up in the Department for Education, as I understand it, and when it's finished it will then go to a cabinet committee, which actually the chairman is Nick Clegg and the deputy chairman is me and it will be considered collectively." 'Elitist' He backed some parts of the proposed policy, such as stopping exam boards competing against each other and giving apprenticeships "proper status". But he added: "What will happen is it will come to a committee which he [Nick Clegg] chairs and I doubt it will come in exactly the form in the Daily Mail. Andy Burnham, for Labour, criticised Mr Gove's proposal as "elitist" and accused him of wanting to turn the clock back to the 1950s. Explaining his plan in the Commons on Thursday, Mr Gove said the current exams system needed to be improved. Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Michael Gove: ''We'd like to see every student in this country able to take world-class qualifications'' England's exam system needs further changes, Education Secretary Michael Gove has told MPs, amid reports of plans to return to O-level style exams. A senior figure told journalists: "We are very, very hostile to something that looks like it is going to return to the two-tier system of the past." Mr Gove did not confirm the plans directly with MPs but praised many of the ideas, saying action was needed because the current exam system was letting children down. The timing is certainly not good, with tens of thousands of teenagers in the final days of their GCSE and A-level exams catching headlines suggesting the government does not think their exams are tough enough. The plan is for students to begin studying what the leaked document says will be "tougher" O-level style exams in English, maths and the sciences from September 2014. Labour's education spokesman Kevin Brennan told Mr Gove such a move would take the exam system "back to the 1950s". "GCSEs may well need improving, but a two-tier exam system which divides children into winners and losers at 14 is not the answer," he said. And a senior figure said changing the secondary exams system within two years could "lead to massive upheaval". Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Shadow Schools Minister Kevin Brennan: ''Michael Gove is in danger of completely ripping up a system that actually works'' The leaked document also apparently shows plans for the national curriculum at secondary level to be scrapped altogether, so that heads would decide what pupils should study.
No charges have been filed. In his interview with the Australian Broadcasting Corp radio, Mr Assange, 40, said he did not know when the decision would be made. It's just a subsidiary of the United States. "The national government is considering its position and the president will give us his instructions tomorrow." Mr Assange fears if he is sent to Sweden it could lead to him being sent to the United States to face charges over Wikileaks and that he could face the death penalty. He will discover later today if Ecuador plans to grant him asylum. Police say he faces arrest in the UK for breaching his bail conditions. Image copyright PA Image caption Julian Assange's Wikileaks published leaked diplomatic cables Wikileaks founder Julian Assange says he has sought refuge in Ecuador's London embassy because his native Australia has abandoned him. She wrote: “BUT there is no doubt that Assange has a real fear of being extradited to the US nor that the US gov is out to get WikiLeaks.” Meanwhile Jemima Khan has called for Julian Assange to answer the sex crime allegations. "I heard (the) Ecuadorean Ambassador in Australia has been making supportive comments. Two female Wikileaks supporters alleged in 2010 that he had attacked them while he was in Stockholm to give a lecture. He is meant to remain at a bail address in Tunbridge Wells between 10pm and 8am every night while his extradition appeals continue. Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Ecuador's President Rafael Correra says they are looking seriously and responsibly at the request Mr Assange claims the sex was consensual and that the allegations are politically motivated.
Image copyright PA Image caption Julian Assange's Wikileaks published leaked diplomatic cables Wikileaks founder Julian Assange says he has sought refuge in Ecuador's London embassy because his native Australia has abandoned him. Mr Assange is seeking diplomatic asylum to prevent him being sent to Sweden to answer accusations of rape and assault, which he denies. In his first interview since entering the embassy, Mr Assange admitted there was no guarantee his bid would succeed. Ecuador's president said the country was examining the case for asylum. Mr Assange fears if he is sent to Sweden it could lead to him being sent to the United States to face charges over Wikileaks and that he could face the death penalty. His Wikileaks website published a mass of leaked diplomatic cables that embarrassed several governments and international businesses. In his interview with the Australian Broadcasting Corp radio, Mr Assange, 40, said he did not know when the decision would be made. Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Julian Assange speaks to ABC Radio National Breakfast from inside the Ecuadorean embassy "We hope that what I am doing now will simply draw attention to the underlying issues," he said. He said he had mounted his bid because his native Australia had made an "effective declaration of abandonment" by refusing to intervene in his planned extradition. His mother, Christine, told the BBC: "My government is not my government any more. Mr Assange accused the US ambassador to Australia and the country's Prime Minister Julia Gillard of using "slimy rhetoric," he dismissed Canberra's claims he had been receiving ongoing consular assistance. Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Kristinn Hrafnsson: 'Mr Assange is in good spirits and optimistic' Mr Assange, whose bail conditions include staying at a named address between 22:00 and 08:00 BST, arrived at the embassy in Knightsbridge on Tuesday. Politically-motivated Speaking to BBC Mundo, the Ecuadorean president Rafael Correa said: "Ecuador defends the right to live and we will have to check if there is danger of death [for Mr Assange]." He said that for some of the crimes Mr Assange has been accused of, he could face capital punishment if ever sent to the US. Mr Correa added: "If there has been a breach of law [by Julian Assange], he should be prosecuted. Last Thursday, seven judges at the UK's Supreme Court dismissed Mr Assange's attempt to reopen his extradition appeal as being "without merit". Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Ecuador's President Rafael Correra says they are looking seriously and responsibly at the request Mr Assange claims the sex was consensual and that the allegations are politically motivated. Swedish authorities have said the ECHR would intervene if Mr Assange was to face the prospect of "inhuman or degrading treatment or an unfair trial" in the US. As part of Mr Assange's bail conditions, securities totalling £200,000 were lodged at City of Westminster Magistrates' Court. Mr Assange has taken refuge in the Ecuador's embassy in London, where he has sought asylum in a bid to avoid extradition to Sweden where he is wanted for questioning on sexual assault charge. He said he had no indication of when Ecuador would decide on his asylum claim, and said his move was aimed at raising awareness of US moves to prosecute him over the 2010 leaks. "We could not allow that a person who has asked for asylum may have to face the death penalty, especially for political crimes," he said. "We could not accept that there may not have been due process, we could not accept that there may be political prosecution against the ideas expressed by Assange," said Correa, as he listed the reasons why Ecuador may decide to grant asylum to Assange. "This issue is about a very serious matter in the United States," he said, adding Swedish authorities said he would be detained on arrival in Sweden. Writing on Twitter last night, she said: “For the record, in response to those asking about Assange & bail money ... “I personally would like to see Assange confront the rape allegations in Sweden and the two women at the centre have a right to a response.” She also highlighted Mr Assange’s concerns that because his whistle-blowing website published thousands of sensitive US diplomatic cables and military files, he faces further extradition to America. The WikiLeaks founder has spent the past two nights holed up in the South American country’s London embassy, in an attempt to avoid extradition to Sweden for questioning over alleged sex crimes. But it is widely accepted he will still face arrest the minute he walks out of the Knightsbridge building, where police are waiting, as he has breached his bail conditions.
A few minutes later, after the news was cleared up, they started chanting, "this is not over," and "repeal it now." Obamacare was bad law yesterday, it's bad law today." “But the court does not express any opinion on the wisdom of the Affordable Care Act. Cantor: House will vote on repeal on July 11 House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) said Thursday that the Republican-led House will vote on repealing the health care law soon after the July 4 recess. “Whatever the politics, today’s decision was a victory for people all over this country whose laws will be more secure because of this law and the Supreme Court’s decision to uphold it,” he said. In that case, the federal government could be limited in what it demands from states before giving them funding. The ruling gives Obama the court’s credibility in arguing the law was not an overreach. If a state had chosen not to expand the program as the law required, it would have had to opt out of Medicaid completely -- something no state could afford to do. Kennedy — the only justice to read a statement from the bench — suggested that the other justices wanted to wipe out the entire law. The president acknowledged that the individual mandate remains a divisive issue, but he pointed out, "This idea has enjoyed support from both parties, including the current Republican nominee for president." Roberts acknowledged that political battle in writing the court’s majority opinion. He added, "It should be pretty clear by now didn't do this because it was good politics...I did it because I believed it was good for the American people."
By upholding the individual mandate -- the requirement for all Americans to acquire health insurance -- the court kept what many described as the "heart" of the law. The decision creates some certainty surrounding federal health care policy, allowing federal and state rulemakers to implement the law. The decision was 5 - 4, with Chief Justice John Roberts siding with the liberal justices and writing the majority opinion. The court ruled that the federal government does have the power to require all Americans to acquire insurance if the "fine" imposed on those who don't is considered a tax. Complete Coverage: Health Care Read the Supreme Court's full decision "I see this as a total victory for the Affordable Care Act," said Tim Jost, a consumer advocate and professor of health law at Washington and Lee University. Additionally, he said, the ruling is "a signal to the states that it's time to get going." The states have until November 16 to turn in blueprints for building their respective state health exchange systems. The court found fault with one major provision of the law, which would have expanded Medicaid coverage. Currently, Medicaid is a joint federal-state program that provides health care to certain poor Americans, such as children and the elderly. In 2014, the Affordable Care Act would have opened up Medicaid to anyone with an income under 138 percent of the federal poverty line. Several states argued the expansion of the program would have placed an undue burden on the states, and the court agreed, writing in its opinion that the provision was like a "gun to the head of the states." If a state had chosen not to expand the program as the law required, it would have had to opt out of Medicaid completely -- something no state could afford to do. The court ruled that the federal government's ability to revoke a state's Medicaid funding is limited -- thus, the states can opt into the expansion, but they don't have to. Jost, the Washington and Lee University professor, said the Medicaid ruling "could be read as imposing a significant new limitation on the power of the federal government to engage in cooperative programs with the states." It may be that the ruling only applies to Medicaid, he said, or it could apply to other joint federal-state programs like an education program or transportation funding. While several states objected to the Medicaid expansion, Jost and other experts said they'd expect essentially every state to participate in the program since the federal government is covering the vast majority of the cost (and all of the cost initially). "Frankly, I don't think any governor in his right mind would turn down hundreds of millions of dollars to help citizens in their state," Jost said. The political fight continues The high court's move hardly ends the political controversy surrounding the law; if anything, the decision to uphold most of the law is sure to renew calls for lawmakers to repeal the Affordable Care Act legislatively. In response the decision, Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney said Thursday that while the court found the law constitutional, "What they did not do is say that Obamacare is good law. Obamacare was bad law yesterday, it's bad law today." The Republican candidate added, "What the court did not do in its last day in session, I will do on my first day" if elected president. He asked voters to join him to "defeat the liberal agenda that makes government too big." President Obama today said the court's decisionthat "here in America, in the wealthiest nation on Earth, no illness or accident should lead to a family's financial ruin." He ran through the law's benefits, such as the provision barring insurers from discriminating against Americans with pre-existing conditions. Several of those provisions will go into effect years from now, after the states have set up their health care "exchanges" or state marketplaces for health insurance. "When we look back five years from now, 10 years from now... we'll be better off because we had the courage to pass this law," Mr. Obama said. The president acknowledged that the individual mandate remains a divisive issue, but he pointed out, "This idea has enjoyed support from both parties, including the current Republican nominee for president." He added, "It should be pretty clear by now didn't do this because it was good politics...I did it because I believed it was good for the American people." House Majority Leader Eric Cantor in a statement called the court's decision a "crushing blow" to patients and promised that the House would once again vote to repeal the law. "During the week of July 9th, the House will once again repeal ObamaCare, clearing the way for patient-centered reforms that lower costs and increase choice," he said. In a written statement, Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell said, "Today's decision makes one thing clear: Congress must act to repeal this misguided law. Obamacare has not only limited choices and increased health care costs for American families, it has made it harder for American businesses to hire." It's time for Republicans to stop fighting yesterday's battles." "The room was filled with complete joy and a sense of justice for those that will have access to health care in the future. " Cantor: House will vote on repeal on July 11 House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) said Thursday that the Republican-led House will vote on repealing the health care law soon after the July 4 recess. Cantor, who sets the floor schedule in the House, said in a statement that the House will vote on the repeal the week of July 9 – which Cantor said will clear the path for “patient-centered reforms that lower costs and increase choice.” (PHOTOS: 21 landmark SCOTUS rulings) “The Supreme Court’s decision to uphold ObamaCare is a crushing blow to patients throughout the country,” Cantor said. Obama wins big in ruling The Supreme Court upheld President Barack Obama’s signature health care law Thursday, handing him a monumental legal victory, enshrining the centerpiece of his agenda and ensuring that the pitched political battle over the nation’s health care laws will continue through the November election.
Yes, we are." "Are we ready? We recognise Israel's right to defend itself, and it is right for America to stand with you," said Romney. U.S. Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney waves to the media as he leaves Downing Street after his meeting with British Prime Minister David Cameron in London, July 26, 2012. However, the Israeli daily Haaretz reported that a senior US official briefed Netanyahu two weeks ago on America's contingency plans for military action in the event of sanctions and diplomacy failing. The Republican was careful to avoid criticizing Obama while abroad, but in his fundraising speech he did pledge to restore to the White House a bust of Winston Churchill that Obama sent back to the British government when he took office in 2009. Romney, who has made much of his record in helping to save the failing Salt Lake Games, predicted the London Games will be highly successful. The up-and-coming 37-year-old mayor–dubbed by some as a potential future presidential candidate–will become the first Hispanic to deliver a party’s keynote address when he takes the stage on the first night of the three-day convention. In his first foreign policy speech, delivered against the dramatic backdrop of the walls of Jerusalem's Old City, the presumptive Republican candidate insisted the US must use "any and all measures" to prevent a nuclear Iran. Although a drop from the 75% of American Jews who backed Obama in the 2008 election, the latest figures also represent sliding support for Romney compared with a Gallup poll in June, which gave 29% of the Jewish vote to the Republican and 64% to Obama.
The Democrats have picked San Antonio Mayor Julián Castro to deliver their convention’s keynote address in Charlotte, N.C., in September, a move that underscores the premium the party puts on mobilizing votes from the country’s burgeoning Hispanic population. The up-and-coming 37-year-old mayor–dubbed by some as a potential future presidential candidate–will become the first Hispanic to deliver a party’s keynote address when he takes the stage on the first night of the three-day convention. Former President Bill Clinton will give the main address the next night, competing with the first game of the NFL season. In a video clip released Wednesday to announce his speaking role, Mr. Castro reminisces about Barack Obama’s breakthrough keynote address at the 2004 Democratic convention, when the little-known legislator from Illinois wowed his party with a speech about an idealized America undivided along partisan or racial lines. Presumptive Republican candidate says US must use 'any and all measures' to prevent Tehran developing nuclear weapons Mitt Romney has made a staunch declaration of unity with Israel against the Iranian nuclear threat, pledging that the US "will not look away" in the face of an existential challenge against the Jewish state. In his first foreign policy speech, delivered against the dramatic backdrop of the walls of Jerusalem's Old City, the presumptive Republican candidate insisted the US must use "any and all measures" to prevent a nuclear Iran. We recognise Israel's right to defend itself, and it is right for America to stand with you," said Romney. Echoing Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu's comparisons between a nuclear Iran and the Holocaust, Romney said: "We have seen the horrors of history. He denounced the Iranian regime as a "radical theocracy", saying it was the "leading state sponsor of terrorism and the most destabilising nation in the world". He added: "We have a solid duty and a moral imperative to deny Iran's leaders the means to follow through on their malevolent intentions." Earlier, a senior Romney aide said the candidate would back unilateral military action by Israel against Iran's nuclear sites. "If Israel has to take action on its own, in order to stop Iran from developing that capability, the governor would respect that decision," Dan Senor, Romney's senior national security aide, told reporters. Romney's speech touched many buttons for his target audience of Jewish voters in the US. He said he was deeply moved to be in Jerusalem, "the capital of Israel", and he referred to "my friend" Netanyahu. He dwelt on the resilience, creativity and innovation of the Israeli people, and he remembered the 11 Israeli athletes murdered at the Munich Olympics 40 years ago. In veiled criticism of US president Barack Obama, Romney said: "We must not delude ourselves into thinking containment [of the Iranian threat] is an option." Diplomatic distance in public between our nations emboldens Israel's adversaries." "The Israeli-Palestinian conflict right now is … not number one," Shoval said. That meeting also focused on the Iranian nuclear issue, with Netanyahu saying: "We have to be honest that sanctions have not set back the Tehran programme one iota, and that a strong military threat coupled with sanctions are needed to have a chance to change the situation." He hoped to appeal to Jewish voters in the US ahead of November's presidential contest by sharply differentiating his position from that of Obama, who has put intense pressure on Israel's leaders to refrain from a military strike against Iran, at least until sanctions and diplomacy have been given time to produce results. However, the Israeli daily Haaretz reported that a senior US official briefed Netanyahu two weeks ago on America's contingency plans for military action in the event of sanctions and diplomacy failing. National security adviser Tom Donilon shared details of the preparations, including US weaponry and military capability for striking underground facilities, during a three-hour meeting with the Israeli prime minister, according to the report which was sourced to "a senior American official". The timing of the story suggests a desire by the administration to pre-empt Romney's presentation of himself as a more robust supporter of tough action against Iran than Obama. Donilon did not meet the prime minister for dinner, he did not meet him one-on-one, nor did he present operational plans to attack Iran." Romney's efforts to win over American Jewish voters are having limited success, according to a recent opinion poll which puts support for Obama at 68% among US Jews and 25% for the Republican candidate. Although a drop from the 75% of American Jews who backed Obama in the 2008 election, the latest figures also represent sliding support for Romney compared with a Gallup poll in June, which gave 29% of the Jewish vote to the Republican and 64% to Obama. REUTERS/Jason Reed LONDON By the end of presidential candidate Mitt Romney's first full day in London on Thursday, he had been the target of a verbal jab from the British prime minister and had been mocked by the city's mayor, who spoke before a cheering crowd. Cameron, who was forced to deploy extra troops to bolster security at the Olympics to cover a shortfall left by a private contractor, defended Britain's handling of the Games and seemed to suggest that the challenge was significantly greater than what Romney faced at Salt Lake City's much smaller Winter Games a decade ago. "We are holding an Olympic Games in one of the busiest, most active, bustling cities anywhere in the world," the Conservative prime minister said during a news conference at the Olympic Park in London. "I hear there's a guy called Mitt Romney who wants to know whether we're ready," Johnson said, in a moment that could have been scripted as a commercial for U.S. President Barack Obama, Romney's opponent in the November 6 election.
Chris Moyles is to leave the Radio 1 breakfast show at the end of September. A couple more months of us, then it's someone else's turn. Announcing the news, he said: "We're off. The 27-year-old has been presenting the show on the station since June 2009. He also presents T4 on Channel 4 on Saturday and Sundays. Thank you for listening." Grimshaw joined the BBC in 2007, presenting shows on BBC2 and for the former teen strand on Radio 1. Chris Moyles is contracted at Radio 1 until New Year 2014 after signing a new two and a half year deal last July. Longest-serving Radio 1 breakfast show DJs Chris Moyles (January 2004-present) Tony Blackburn (September 1967-June 1973) Simon Mayo (May 1988-September 1993) Mike Read (January 1981-april 1986) Noel Edmonds (June 1973-April 1978) He then took over from Sara Cox on the breakfast show in January 2004. Late evening DJ and T4 presenter to host flagship show as Greg James is passed over for the role Radio 1 late evening DJ Nick Grimshaw has been named as the surprise choice to takeover the coveted breakfast slot from Chris Moyles. Homophobia In May 2006, Moyles was accused of being homophobic after he dismissed a ringtone, saying “I don’t want that one, it’s gay.” After receiving a number of complaints, the BBC defended Moyles, arguing that "the word 'gay', in addition to being used to mean ‘homosexual' or 'carefree', was often now used to mean 'lame' or 'rubbish'." Radio 1's overall listeners went from 9.73 million in 2004 when the show started to a high of 11.82 million in 2010.
Chris Moyles is to leave the Radio 1 breakfast show at the end of September. The 38-year-old has been presenting the show since 2004 and will be replaced by one of the station's current specialist DJs, Nick Grimshaw. Announcing the news, he said: "We're off. A couple more months of us, then it's someone else's turn. Chris Moyles is contracted at Radio 1 until New Year 2014 after signing a new two and a half year deal last July. There's been pressure on the new Radio 1 controller Ben Cooper to make the station's audience younger. In June, the BBC's governing body - the Trust - found that Radio 1 still needed to attract more people under 30 years old. That followed a review in 2009 which said Radio 1 should focus on serving 15 to 29-year-olds. Ben Cooper said: "I'd like to thank Chris. Quite simply he's been the most successful breakfast show host in Radio 1 history. "He's done it for more than eight and half years and he's been fantastic." 'Dream of mine' Chris Moyles' successor Nick Grimshaw presents a night-time show on Radio 1 between 10pm and midnight on Sundays to Thursdays. Before that he was the host of weekend breakfast and has also presented TV shows on BBC Two for Radio 1's former teen programming strand Switch. Originally from Oldham, he began his career on student radio at Liverpool University. Talking about taking over as Radio 1's breakfast show host, Nick Grimshaw said: "I'm super-excited to be hosting the iconic Radio 1 Breakfast Show, it's been a dream of mine since the age of 11 and to be honest it hasn't really sunk in yet. Ben Cooper has already made changes to the schedule including switching Greg James, 26, to Radio 1's main afternoon show from 4-7pm. DJ Gemma Cairney, 27, was moved across from digital sister station BBC Radio 1xtra to present a weekend show on Radio 1. Controversies The Chris Moyles show has just over 7.10 million listeners, according to latest official radio figures (Rajar) compared to 7.52 million listeners this time last year. Radio 1's overall listeners went from 9.73 million in 2004 when the show started to a high of 11.82 million in 2010. He's now in talks with the station about fronting a new show. The discussion about his salary lasted around 25 minutes and included an appeal to the BBC's director general, Mark Thompson, to sort the situation out. He also revealed on air in 2009 that he'd taken a 20% pay cut because of cost-cutting at the BBC. Breakfast DJs The DJ became Radio 1's longest-serving breakfast presenter in September 2009, breaking the record previously set by Tony Blackburn. The self-styled "saviour of Radio 1" joined the station as early breakfast presenter in 1997 before taking over the main afternoon show in October 1998. Longest-serving Radio 1 breakfast show DJs Chris Moyles (January 2004-present) Tony Blackburn (September 1967-June 1973) Simon Mayo (May 1988-September 1993) Mike Read (January 1981-april 1986) Noel Edmonds (June 1973-April 1978) He then took over from Sara Cox on the breakfast show in January 2004. In March 2011, his 52-hour show broke the record for the longest-ever radio broadcast and raised £2.4million for Comic Relief, although that record has since been broken again. Ofcom said that "the explicit sexual content and humour had exceeded acceptable boundaries for the time of transmission.” Fast forward two years and Moyles finds himself promoted to the Breakfast Show in 2004. After inquiring into whether her breasts had been surgically enhanced, Brown let Moyles fondle both of her breasts live on air. The appointment of 27-year-old Grimshaw, who is also part of the presenting team for Channel 4's youth programming strand T4, will be a massive blow for Greg James who has been widely touted as the favourite.
The USA, by contrast, had a nightmare. Bronze? This is just the score." Britain were temporarily awarded the silver medal when Japan's gymnasts performed poorly on the pommel horse at the conclusion of the team final. Media playback is not supported on this device Olympic gymnastics: Bronze in team final is still unbelievable - GB men "John Atkinson is British gymnastics. This is not the first podium appearance for Smith. "Silver? From a junior system put in place over many years and which is now considered unrivalled in Europe. giving funding body UK Sport added reason to continue investing in the sport. "Did Uchimura actually complete his dismount at the end of his routine? Both Max Whitlock and Dan Purvis turned in high scores, before Thomas finished the job with not a trace of nerves. We didn't have the money to do it properly then. Fenner says the judges made the right decision. If you were in school and said you wanted to be a coach, they'd have laughed your head off. behind China and Japan, despite having spent 10 minutes as the silver medallists before a successful appeal restored the Japanese to second place. Few sports at the Olympics have changed so vastly in that time. The other guys were doing jobs in the day then training at night. Those are nations GB could not even look at a decade ago. Then Sam Oldham fell on the high bar, and suddenly Ukraine were back in the hunt. The three-time world champion's score was upgraded by 0.7 marks, enough to take Japan past Britain.
Media playback is not supported on this device Bronze for GB men after Japan appeal Great Britain's men won an astonishing Olympic bronze medal in the gymnastics team final - having originally taken silver before a Japanese appeal. Louis Smith, Sam Oldham, Kristian Thomas, Max Whitlock and Dan Purvis sealed GB men's first Olympic team medal since a bronze in 1912. China cruised to gold, with GB second, as the medal prospects of the United States and Germany disintegrated. Japan, initially placed in fourth, moved up to second after an appeal. They were unhappy with the pommel horse score awarded to Kohei Uchimura and were elevated above Britain, after lengthy deliberation by the officials, with Ukraine missing out on a bronze medal in the process. Media playback is not supported on this device Olympic gymnastics: Bronze in team final is still unbelievable - GB men The result is beyond the expectations of the British team, even though they qualified for the final in third place and knew they had the ability to challenge for a medal. "For all these guys, their first Olympic Games, to get a medal is unbelievable," Smith told BBC Sport. Thomas added: "It's an Olympic medal at the end of the day, it's what dreams are made of. "Silver would've been nice but I couldn't complain at all right now. We're in London, it's once in a lifetime and we've made the most of it." Uchimura, whose appeal denied Britain the silver, told reporters through an interpreter: "I feel sorry [for the British]. His appeal centred on whether he had been correctly rewarded for a partially botched dismount in his pommel horse routine. The three-time world champion's score was upgraded by 0.7 marks, enough to take Japan past Britain. Before the final, not many would talk in more than hushed tones of a bronze medal, let alone of beating Japan. So the 10 minutes spent in silver-medal position, before Japan's successful appeal, were breathtaking as a stunned and elated audience tried to take in the scale of the British men's achievement. China came into the event as defending world and Olympic champions, while Japan's gymnasts have been an improving world power for years, led by gymnastics superstar Uchimura. The importance of a medal to the sport in Britain, regardless of colour, cannot be overstated. No GB men's team has previously come close to a result of this magnitude in the modern sport. After Smith's Olympic pommel horse bronze medal in Beijing four years ago, it confirms the giant leaps forward made by British Gymnastics on the world stage. The British team began on the pommel horse, an ideal introduction for their first appearance in a men's team final in 88 years. Media playback is not supported on this device Mum 'so proud' of gymnast Whitlock After Smith delivered handsomely in his specialist event with a score of 15.966, GB suffered a dip on rings, their weakest piece. But then Thomas put in the performance of his life on vault for a score of 16.550 to keep Britain in the hunt for bronze. As the tension mounted, Oldham endured a costly fall on the high bar - a repeat of his error at last year's World Championships - only for Thomas to throw everything at his high bar routine to keep hopes alive. In a bizarre and confusing finale, the Japanese lodged their successful appeal, which was met with inevitable derision from the home crowd, though replays suggested it had merit. An extraordinary and controversial finale to the men's team final ended with Britain securing a bronze medal – their first medal since 1912. They had initially been awarded the silver, but an inquiry into Kohei Uchimura's final score on pommel horse resulted in a revision of the final scores and pushed Japan above them into second place. China retained their Olympic gold medal, maintaining an adamantine grip on the competition throughout, and there was a 10 minute wait before the final placings were decided. In the end, however, Britain's bronze, hard fought and stylishly won, will be a result that goes down in the history books. There had been a sense, even before the competition, that the British men had fulfilled their ambitions simply by reaching the final and all the gymnasts reiterated that their aim for the final was simply to enjoy it. Having qualified their men's and women's teams in first place for the only time in history, they had a veneer of invincibility and their first team title since 1984 seemed a likelihood.
It cannot be clearer," she said. "It's not the Quebec we want. Charest is taking a political risk calling a summer election campaign on the heels of an emotional and divisive student tuition protests that shook the province in the spring. Option Nationale, a new party started by former PQ MNA Jean-Martin Aussant, will also make its debut on the next provincial ballot. The passage of the bill fuelled public anger towards the government. PQ Leader Pauline Marois said she did not think this was a realistic number of jobs to create. In front of the Quebec City courthouse, Leader François Legault said a hard-line anti-corruption stance would be a priority for a CAQ government and measures to tackle it would be the focus of its first piece of legislation. Thousands of students boycotted classes Thousands of students started to boycott classes in February to protest tuition increases. Some injuries were reported and there were about a dozen arrests Wednesday night in demonstrations that took protesters through the streets for the 100th night in a row, with many banging on pots and pans — reminiscent of evening protests that spread across the city in the spring. At one point, a small crowd overturned dumpsters to block a downtown street and some people tossed projectiles including bottles and candles at riot police. "So what we did in the last few months – and it took a long time – we asked all the banks to send us copies of the cheques that have been donated." While attacking opponents on the tuition issue, the Liberals have made the economy the centrepiece of their campaign. New parties ready to challenge Along with the CAQ, nascent political party Québec Solidaire hopes to challenge the province's two main parties by delivering change.
Student demonstrators and their supporters took to the streets of Montreal with renewed vigour last night following word that Quebec's political ranks are gearing up for a late summer election campaign — the latest turn of events in the months-long protest over tuition fees and controversial legislation. Some injuries were reported and there were about a dozen arrests Wednesday night in demonstrations that took protesters through the streets for the 100th night in a row, with many banging on pots and pans — reminiscent of evening protests that spread across the city in the spring. The number of protesters Wednesday was higher than in recent weeks. 'Here's your damned red square.' —Man with blood-soaked handkerchief who was caught in street protest Some carried large red banners with anti-Jean Charest slogans, and electoral messages such as, "Our dreams are too big for your polls." Earlier in the day, Premier Charest triggered an election — set for Sept. 4 — after meeting with Quebec Lt.-Gov. Pierre Duchesne in the morning, and asking him to dissolve the national assembly following months of election rumours. The election call comes on the heels of the province's raucous student crisis over tuition increases — an issue that gripped the province over the winter and spring. Many of the hundreds of people who joined the latest street march also donned masks to mock a controversial city bylaw forbidding face coverings at public protests. Bottles, candles thrown at riot police Protesters started their march in the Villeray district, north of the Jean-Talon Market, and slowly made their way south via St-Denis Street. Police supervised the crowd and declared the protest illegal just after 9 p.m. At one point, a small crowd overturned dumpsters to block a downtown street and some people tossed projectiles including bottles and candles at riot police. A car reportedly slammed into one protester amid a crowd marching in the street. Police said they had a description of a vehicle's licence plate and model, and were investigating a possible hit-and-run. Another man, wearing a dress shirt and pants, and who did not appear to be a protester, was bleeding from his face as he held up a blood-soaked handkerchief. "Here's your damned red square," he shouted, referring to the symbol of the protest movement. There were about a dozen arrests reported by 11:30 p.m. while events were still unfolding. Thousands of students boycotted classes Thousands of students started to boycott classes in February to protest tuition increases. After months of negotiations, student leaders rejected the government's final, watered-down tuition increase offer in May. The student-fuelled protests escalated, prompting the Liberal government to pass Bill 78, a temporary law that restricts the size and location of some protests, if authorities aren't alerted ahead of time. The legislation also suspended the winter semester for college and university students, effectively allowing them to retake missed classes later this year rather than losing a term. Protesters have been subject to the rules laid out in Bill 78 since its adoption, but it's not clear whether any of its rules have been formally implemented by police. What was initially a student-led protest movement spread to include civil rights groups, families and seniors. An adjunct casserole protest movement mushroomed in May, with average people taking to the streets every night to bang on pots and pans in cities across Quebec. The protests were dwindling over the summer, just as Montreal's festival circuit kicked into high gear, before heating up Wednesday night. Quebec political leaders laid out their key platform issues on Thursday as the province's election campaign got underway. While attacking opponents on the tuition issue, the Liberals have made the economy the centrepiece of their campaign. He said Plan Nord will be key in achieving that goal — as will increasing trade with emerging economies, such as China and India. PQ makes broad education promises PQ Leader Pauline Marois campaigned in Laval, where she teamed up with former student leader Léo Bureau-Blouin, now a candidate for Laval-des-Rapides, to outline the party's stance on post-secondary education. The party also pledged to ensure tuition increases in the future don't exceed the inflation rate. Marois and Bureau-Blouin both replied to a comment made by Charest, who called the Parti Québécois a "street party" for its involvement in the student protests. –Pauline Marois "I am certainly speaking to what I know is the most important issue for Quebecers and that's jobs and the economy. "It will involve a series of measures to help us get rid of the cancer that is corruption," Legault said.
The movement is not over, they repeated. Advertisement Continue reading the main story “Look out for the seeds of authoritarian society,” Mr. Paul said. Replied Rhoades to Messina: "If Governor Romney's tax returns are the core message of your campaign, there will be ample time for President Obama to discuss them over the next 81 days." Would they try to disrupt the convention? View all New York Times newsletters. Please re-enter. In divulging the 13% figure, the Republican candidate also told reporters that the tax issue is being used to distract people. This man will not let us down. And in a credentials dispute, hard-bargaining party leaders left the Paul forces with only half the delegates from Maine that they had thought they had won — a blunt reminder of Mitt Romney’s grip on the proceedings. In his letter, Messina wrote that other candidates have released more than five years of returns. Nikki R. Haley of South Carolina raced through her speech as the evening wore on. Invalid email address. “But let me say this to every American who is thinking about who should be our next president: No one will work harder. A party that has struggled to increase its appeal to female, Hispanic and black voters featured a diverse lineup of speakers on Tuesday, including the wife of the governor of Puerto Rico, who introduced Mrs. Romney. You must select a newsletter to subscribe to. “We want to get the government out of the business it’s not supposed to be doing.” He railed against what he called the nation’s interventionist foreign policy, made his usual plea for broad individual liberties and called for the abolition of many government agencies.
“But let me say this to every American who is thinking about who should be our next president: No one will work harder. No one will care more.” Advertisement Continue reading the main story As the audience listened intently, she added: “This man will not fail. This man will lift up America.” As the crowd of Republican delegates cheered, the Romneys embraced and took a quick stroll down the stage as “My Girl” from the Temptations boomed overhead. The real audience, though, was voters in swing states watching on television who have yet to be persuaded that Mr. Romney is the man to replace Mr. Obama. While the night was filled with tributes and testimonials aimed at building up Mr. Romney, it also served as a glimpse into the rising Republicans who are the future leaders of the party should he not win in November. Chris Christie of New Jersey closed out the day with a keynote address that mentioned Mr. Romney only seven times and not until well into the speech. Photo “I know this simple truth, and I’m not afraid to say it,” Mr. Christie said in his speech, which was deeply laden with his biography and aspirations. “Our ideas are right for America, and their ideas have failed America.” Advertisement Continue reading the main story The prime-time network television coverage of the convention opened on Tuesday evening competing with images of driving rain and powerful winds in Louisiana during a week that marks the seventh anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. It remains an open question how much of Mr. Romney’s message will break through, and his campaign kept open the possibility of upending the convention schedule again if Hurricane Isaac warranted. Advertisement Continue reading the main story The mood inside the convention hall was enthusiastic in a ritual way, with delegates cheering as speakers portrayed Mr. Obama as hostile to small-business owners, tolerant of increases to the national debt and out of touch with American values. A soundtrack of Mr. Obama’s own words played again and again, trying to use his own statements on the economy against him. But the efforts to give Mr. Romney a warmer image were aimed more at persuading wavering voters, especially women, who helped provide Mr. Obama with his substantial margin of victory in 2008. While other speakers testified to Mr. Romney’s character, Mrs. Romney was vital to the effort, giving glimpses into the challenges they had faced as a couple, including her own illnesses. “What Mitt Romney and I have is a real marriage.” Advertisement Continue reading the main story While she essentially steered clear of directly mentioning politics, the rest of the program featured attacks on the president that were part of the Romney campaign’s increased emphasis on turning out conservative voters, especially white men and evangelicals, at higher rates than Senator John McCain did in 2008. After years in which Mr. Romney struggled to establish his credentials on the right of his party, conservatives now appear unified and energized, if more by the prospect of defeating Mr. Obama than by electing Mr. Romney. Please verify you're not a robot by clicking the box. Sign Up Receive occasional updates and special offers for The New York Times's products and services. A party that has struggled to increase its appeal to female, Hispanic and black voters featured a diverse lineup of speakers on Tuesday, including the wife of the governor of Puerto Rico, who introduced Mrs. Romney. And former Representative Artur Davis of Alabama, an African-American who seconded the nomination of Mr. Obama at the Democratic convention in 2008, turned up on stage to offer his support for Mr. Romney. Advertisement Continue reading the main story The program moved at an accelerated pace, a day after the convention’s first evening was canceled because of the storm. Nikki R. Haley of South Carolina raced through her speech as the evening wore on. “The hardest part of my job as governor of South Carolina,” she said, “has been this administration.” Video The roll call of the states took place five hours before the prime-time television coverage began, an effort by the campaign to avoid giving up precious network time and drawing even more attention to the still-smoldering tensions from the primaries. Advertisement Continue reading the main story John H. Sununu, a former New Hampshire governor and a dean of the Republican Party, formally placed Mr. Romney’s name into nomination and hailed him as a leader who can “fix the unfixable.” As the crowd cheered, he added: “Mitt Romney is the right man at the right time and will be a great leader for our country.” Advertisement Continue reading the main story Mr. Romney and his wife watched from their nearby hotel suite as New Jersey put him over the threshold of necessary delegates for the nomination at 5:40 p.m. The convention hall erupted in cheers, and the crowd chanted, “Mitt, Mitt, Mitt,” but it was not a unanimous response from the delegates, including some who folded their arms. When John A. Boehner, the speaker of the House, arrived on stage to read the final tally from all of the states and American territories, Mr. Romney had recorded 2,061 delegates. Representative Ron Paul of Texas, whose libertarian views have earned him a fervently loyal following, won 197 delegates as well as applause from his vocal supporters on the convention floor at the Tampa Bay Times Forum. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Representative Paul D. Ryan of Wisconsin, one of the party’s leading voices on reshaping the size and role of government, was unanimously nominated as the vice-presidential candidate. Advertisement Continue reading the main story The vote for Mr. Romney on Tuesday was simply a ratification of what Republican primary voters settled five months ago, but it reprised the hard feelings from some delegates, particularly those who traveled here to support Mr. Paul. When Mr. Paul arrived on the floor a few hours earlier, his supporters rose to their feet and loudly called on Republican officials to “let him speak.” Suddenly, a slow, orderly and largely symbolic process erupted in anger, presenting a raucous scene that even the most seasoned delegates said they had not seen in decades. The proceedings, if only for a few moments, harked to an era when contentious party conventions actually decided presidential nominees. Representative Joe Wilson of South Carolina, who gained a national following among conservatives for shouting “You lie” at Mr. Obama during his health care speech before a joint session of Congress three years ago, said his earlier reservations about Mr. Romney had been resolved as he learned more about him. And in a credentials dispute, hard-bargaining party leaders left the Paul forces with only half the delegates from Maine that they had thought they had won — a blunt reminder of Mitt Romney’s grip on the proceedings. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Over all, the Sunday rally might be seen as something of a consolation prize for a campaign that was unable to leverage its grass-roots enthusiasm into party strength. “Y’all fooled them.” Advertisement Continue reading the main story Mr. Cain, who quit the race after accusations of sexual harassment, revisited that episode, blaming his early exit on “lies and dirty politics.” Photo He said was not concerned that he did not have a speaking role at the convention. Mr. Paul’s rally, just a few miles from where the convention is to be held, was seen as an unpredictable element in an otherwise highly scripted week for the Republicans, as legions of Mr. Paul’s fans descended on Tampa, their larger intentions somewhat unclear.
Earlier on Tuesday, Raisman beat Ponor to bronze in the beam. From the section Deng Linlin won the women's beam to secure the second Olympic gymnastics gold medal of her career and China's 33rd at London 2012. Kseniia Afanaseva was bidding to become the first woman since 1988 to win Olympic gold as reigning world champion, but the Russian could only finish sixth with her score of 14.566 in the opening routine. The 26-year-old Dutchman pulled off the most difficult release combination - a Cassina to Kovacs to Kolman - in a spectacular performance to score 16.533 and claim his first Olympic title. Mustafina, 17, scored 14.900 to take third place ahead of Italy's Vanessa Ferrari, whose routine was also worth 14.900 but given a lower execution rating. Watch full replay via BBC Sport Interactive Player Available to UK users only. The 20-year-old, who finished on 15.600 points, led the event from start to finish after pre-Olympic favourite finishing last. China top the London 2012 medal table with 20 silver medals and 14 bronze medals to add to their 33 golds. Media playback is not supported on this device Raisman sweeps the floor Gold USA's Aly Raisman took gold in the Olympic women's floor to prevent Romania winning the exercise for a third successive Games. Romanian Catalina Ponor matched Raisman with 15.066 but lost out on execution. Russian teenager Aliya Mustafina won bronze at the North Greenwich Arena. Dutch gymnast Epke Zonderland competes in Sunday's men's bars finals, watch his Olympic gold medal-winning performance that stunned the crowd at the London 2012 Games. Romania's Athens 2004 gold medallist Catalina Ponor finished second with 15.200, but defending champion Sandra Raluca Izbasa came eighth.
Dutch gymnast Epke Zonderland competes in Sunday's men's bars finals, watch his Olympic gold medal-winning performance that stunned the crowd at the London 2012 Games. The 26-year-old Dutchman pulled off the most difficult release combination - a Cassina to Kovacs to Kolman - in a spectacular performance to score 16.533 and claim his first Olympic title. From the section Deng Linlin won the women's beam to secure the second Olympic gymnastics gold medal of her career and China's 33rd at London 2012. World champion Sui Lu of China won silver with 15.500 while America's Alexandra Raisman was awarded bronze. China top the London 2012 medal table with 20 silver medals and 14 bronze medals to add to their 33 golds. Media playback is not supported on this device Raisman sweeps the floor Gold USA's Aly Raisman took gold in the Olympic women's floor to prevent Romania winning the exercise for a third successive Games.
And I was very humbled. "We talked about the campaign, how it would be run," Romney said. Ryan's path to Romney's No. Authors: This story tagged under: Paul Ryan Mitt Romney Myers' home was chosen for the assignation. The House Budget Chairman status in the Republican party went from House leader to national figure during the health care debate and fight over the future of medicare. What began in April as a long list of candidates was winnowed down to a short list by May 1. Ryan expected to energize donors In Paul Ryan, Mitt Romney has picked a running mate who’s expected to drive enthusiasm among staunch conservatives to cut checks and potentially draw new donors to the presidential race. To avoid flying out of a Wisconsin airport where he could be easily recognized, he was driven to Chicago's O'Hare airport for a flight to Hartford's Bradley airport in Connecticut. "By the time we met in person I kinda knew it was going to happen. 2 was steeped in secrecy As Romney and Ryan planned a second day of joint appearances on Sunday in North Carolina, some of the layers of secrecy surrounding the most monumental decision the Republican candidate has made to date are being peeled back. The challenge was to get both Ryan and Romney together in the same room without the news media or anyone else outside the inner circle knowing about it. While Romney has outraised President Barack Obama in the past three months, there’s little question that adding Ryan will help with conservatives who may not have been giving their all. Story Continued Below ( PHOTOS: Scenes from Romney's VP announcement) “He’s got real strong ties into the Club for Growth and the National Review-type crowd, but he also has a huge following amongst the low-donor conservative base and I think that is really going to kick in the low dollar donor Internet and mail for Romney,” said Matt Keelen of the Keelen Group, who worked as a D.C.-based consultant on Ryan’s first congressional race.
NORFOLK, Va.—Mitt Romney picked Rep. Paul Ryan as his running mate, a decision that could spark enthusiasm for the Republican ticket among conservatives and all but ensures the election will turn to deep philosophical divisions between the two parties over spending, taxes and entitlements. In Mr. Ryan, 42 years old, the Romney campaign gets a conservative who has spent recent years at the center of national debates about the size and scope of the federal government. With his proposals to revamp entitlement programs for... Ryan's path to Romney's No. 2 was steeped in secrecy As Romney and Ryan planned a second day of joint appearances on Sunday in North Carolina, some of the layers of secrecy surrounding the most monumental decision the Republican candidate has made to date are being peeled back. CHARLOTTE, North Carolina (Reuters) - Paul Ryan's path to becoming Mitt Romney's Republican vice presidential running mate was steeped in secrecy, from an incognito trip to meet Romney to a furtive walk through the woods near his boyhood Wisconsin home. The head of Romney's VP search process, longtime confidante Beth Myers, broke her silence on many details in a briefing with reporters inside a hangar at Dulles International Airport near Washington. The search was so confidential that background information on a short list of candidates, including several years of tax returns and other documents, were kept in a safe in a locked room at Romney's campaign headquarters and the few people allowed in were not permitted to make copies or take anything out. After extensive deliberations over his short list, Romney settled on the 42-year-old Wisconsin congressman who has built a conservative record as a budget hawk in Washington. To avoid flying out of a Wisconsin airport where he could be easily recognized, he was driven to Chicago's O'Hare airport for a flight to Hartford's Bradley airport in Connecticut. Ryan expected to energize donors In Paul Ryan, Mitt Romney has picked a running mate who’s expected to drive enthusiasm among staunch conservatives to cut checks and potentially draw new donors to the presidential race. The House Budget Chairman status in the Republican party went from House leader to national figure during the health care debate and fight over the future of medicare. Over the past week, while the veep stakes intrigue reached new heights, Ryan’s darling status among the intellectual right was on full display.
And it was. Armstrong, left, replied, "It was one of the hardest parts." Hide Caption 14 of 22 Photos: Armstrong: First man on the moon Armstrong: First man on the moon – A commemorative button from 1969 celebrates the moon landing. Apollo 11 was Armstrong's last space mission. Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin on the lunar surface. "Neil was among the greatest of American heroes -- not just of his time, but of all time," said President Barack Obama. ... NASA already had seven astronauts, flying its Mercury space capsule. A statement from his family says he died from complications from heart surgery he had earlier this month. Left to right are Neil Armstrong, commander; Michael Collins, command module pilot; and Edwin 'Buzz' Aldrin, lunar module pilot. They took rock samples, set up two experiments, and took a phone call from President Nixon. About six and a half hours later at 10:56 p.m. They splashed down safely in the Pacific on July 24, 1969. It was also a defining moment for the world. "He served his Nation proudly, as a navy fighter pilot, test pilot, and astronaut. And part of it was he felt as if this was an accomplishment of many thousands of people. But Wolfram heard nothing about it from his superiors. He uttered the now-famous phrase: "That's one small step for (a) man, one giant leap for mankind." House Speaker John Boehner, from Ohio, said: "A true hero has returned to the Heavens to which he once flew.
US astronaut Neil Armstrong, the first man on the Moon, has died aged 82. A statement from his family says he died from complications from heart surgery he had earlier this month. He set foot on the Moon on 20 July 1969, famously describing the event as "one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind". US President Barack Obama said Armstrong was "among the greatest of American heroes - not just of his time, but of all time". Image caption Neil Armstrong, the first man to set foot on the Moon, has died aged 82. Here he is seen sitting inside the Lunar Module while it rested on the Moon's surface. Life in pictures: Neil Armstrong Your memories 'Diffident' emissary of mankind He was the commander of the Apollo 11 spacecraft. More than 500 million TV viewers around the world watched its touchdown on the lunar surface. Armstrong and fellow astronaut Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin spent nearly three hours walking on the moon, collecting samples, conducting experiments and taking photographs. "The sights were simply magnificent, beyond any visual experience that I had ever been exposed to," Armstrong once said. Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Buzz Aldrin: "The aerospace world will be saddened" 'Reluctant hero' Mr Aldrin told the BBC's Newshour programme: "It's very sad indeed that we're not able to be together as a crew on the 50th anniversary of the mission… [I will remember him] as a very capable commander." In 1971, he left the US space agency Nasa to teach aerospace engineering. Born in 1930 and raised in Ohio, Armstrong took his first flight aged six with his father and formed a lifelong passion for flying. He flew Navy fighter jets during the Korean War in the 1950s, and joined the US space programme in 1962. Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption President Obama described him as "one of the greatest American heroes of all time" Correspondents say Armstrong remained modest and never allowed himself to be caught up in the glamour of space exploration. In a statement, his family praised him as a "reluctant American hero" who had "served his nation proudly, as a navy fighter pilot, test pilot, and astronaut". He had surgery to relieve four blocked coronary arteries on 7 August. Neil Armstrong, the astronaut who became first to walk on the moon as commander of Apollo 11, has died at the age of 82, his family said today. Armstrong had heart surgery several weeks ago, and a statement from his family said he died following complications resulting from cardiovascular procedures. "Neil Armstrong was also a reluctant American hero who always believed he was just doing his job," his family said. "He served his Nation proudly, as a navy fighter pilot, test pilot, and astronaut. Read the full statement from Neil Armstrong's Family On July 20, 1969, half a billion people -- a sixth of the world's population at the time -- watched a ghostly black-and-white television image as Armstrong backed down the ladder of the lunar landing ship Eagle, planted his left foot on the moon's surface, and said, "That's one small step for (a) man, one giant leap for mankind." Twenty minutes later his crewmate, Buzz Aldrin, joined him, and the world watched as the men spent the next two hours bounding around in the moon's light gravity, taking rock samples, setting up experiments, and taking now-iconic photographs. The third member of their crew, Michael Collins, orbited overhead in the Apollo 11 command ship, Columbia. "Neil and I trained together as technical partners but were also good friends who will always be connected through our participation in the mission of Apollo 11," said Aldrin today in a statement. I know I am joined by millions of others in mourning the passing of a true American hero and the best pilot I ever knew." Collins said, "He was the best, and I will miss him terribly." President Obama issued a statement from the White House: "Neil was among the greatest of American heroes -- not just of his time, but of all time," it said. Armstrong and his crewmates "set out to show the world that the American spirit can see beyond what seems unimaginable -- that with enough drive and ingenuity, anything is possible." Photos: Neil Armstrong Through the Years NASA Administrator Charles Bolden -- himself a former space shuttle astronaut -- joined in the tributes. With the space shuttles retired, NASA does not currently have a way to launch astronauts on its own, but it is working on a new spacecraft, and, this month, landed the robotic Curiosity rover on Mars. "Besides being one of America's greatest explorers, Neil carried himself with a grace and humility that was an example to us all," said Bolden. Struggling in his first months in the White House, Kennedy addressed a joint session of Congress: "I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to the earth," he said. "No single space project in this period will be more impressive to mankind, or more important for the long-range exploration of space; and none will be so difficult or expensive to accomplish." Armstrong was a 30-year-old test pilot at the time of Kennedy's challenge, flying the X-15 rocket plane for a new government agency called NASA. NASA had a system for rotating its crews among flights -- one served as backup crew for a mission and then actually flew three flights later -- and nobody knew how many test flights would be needed before the first moon landing could be attempted.
Countries linked to the accounts about renditions include: Afghanistan, Chad , China and Hong Kong, Malaysia , Mali , Mauritania, Morocco , the Netherlands , Pakistan , Sudan , Thailand , and the UK. CIA spokeswoman Jennifer Youngblood said she couldn't comment on the report's "specific allegations" but said the CIA has been on record about "three substantiated cases in which detainees were subjected to the waterboarding technique." Human Rights Watch says that “scores” of documents it uncovered in Libya show there was a “high level of cooperation” between the Gadhafi government in Libya and the United States and Britain in sending the Libyan dissidents back to Libya. One former detainee alleged he was waterboarded and another described a similar form of water torture, contradicting claims by Bush administration officials that only three men in US custody had been waterboarded. Terror analysts say that by at least 2004, some members of the group had aligned themselves with al Qaeda, though many former members say the LIFG had nothing to do with the terror group. The inquiry was also limited in that it looked only into abuses that went beyond what the Bush administration had authorized. He told VOA that the Justice Department decided not to prosecute agents after reviewing cases of more than 100 detainees in the period following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. “The involvement of many countries in the abuse of Gaddafi’s enemies suggests that the tentacles of the US detention and interrogation program reached far beyond what was previously known,” Pitter said. Some of those who were rendered and allegedly tortured in US custody now hold key leadership and political positions in the country.
Story highlights An expert says torture claims have been part of an anti-U.S. "propaganda war" The CIA says it can't comment on the allegations in a Human Rights Watch report Human Rights Watch says it has proof of CIA abuses against Libyans Allegations challenge claims by George W. Bush's administration that only 3 people waterboarded An alleged new case of waterboarding emerged in a massive report Thursday detailing brutal CIA interrogations of Libyan detainees last decade before they were handed over to Moammar Gadhafi's regime. Mohammed al-Shoroeiya "provided detailed and credible testimony that he was waterboarded on repeated occasions during U.S. interrogations in Afghanistan," Human Rights Watch said in a 200-plus page report. The allegations directly challenge long-standing claims by President George W. Bush and his administration that only three terror suspects, none of whom were Libyan, were waterboarded during interrogations. Human rights groups consider waterboarding -- in which a prisoner is restrained and water poured over his mouth and nose to produce the sensation of drowning -- a form of torture. "While never using the phrase 'waterboarding,' he said that after his captors put a hood over his head and strapped him onto a wooden board, 'then they start with the water pouring. They start to pour water to the point where you feel like you are suffocating.' He added that 'they wouldn't stop until they got some kind of answer from me,'" the report said. Laura Pitter, a counterterrorism adviser for Human Rights Watch and the author of the report, said abuses occurred in U.S.-run facilities in Afghanistan between April 2003 and April 2005. She said waterboarding occurred in 2003 but it is not clear if it occurred afterward. The rights group's accusations come a week after the U.S. Justice Department closed a criminal investigation without charges into the deaths of two terror suspects in CIA custody. CIA spokeswoman Jennifer Youngblood said she couldn't comment on the report's "specific allegations" but said the CIA has been on record about "three substantiated cases in which detainees were subjected to the waterboarding technique." "The Department of Justice has exhaustively reviewed the treatment of more than 100 detainees in the post-9/11 period -- including allegations involving unauthorized interrogation techniques -- and it declined prosecution in every case," she said. Among those who officials have acknowledged were subjected to waterboarding was Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, described as the principal architect of the September 11 terrorist attacks. CNN is unable to independently corroborate the claims by Human Rights Watch. Joseph Wippl, a 30-year CIA operations officer and director of graduate studies at Boston University's Department of International Relations, said these kinds of "allegations" have been probed "countless times." "If further facts are established," he said, another investigation "to get at the truth" will occur. Wippl said "accusations of torture are a part of the propaganda war" against the United States. He stressed that "lengthy" congressional probes into waterboarding identified only three people who had been victims of the practice. "Either the Libyan victims are making up the story, embellishing the story, or have come up with some facts that are new," Wippl said. "There could have been renegade interrogations." The Human Rights Watch report cites repeated allegations of torture by the detainees while in the custody of the United States and other countries: being chained to a wall naked, forced into cramped positions, restrained in painful positions for long periods and undergoing repeated beatings. Al-Shoroeiya and another detainee, Khalid al-Sharif, also underwent water torture similar to waterboarding, the report said. "The scope of Bush administration abuse appears far broader than previously acknowledged and underscores the importance of opening up a full-scale inquiry into what happened," Pitter said. The report also largely relies on Human Rights Watch interviews with former detainees, many of whom claim to have been members of the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group, which was working to overthrow Gadhafi in the early 1980s. It cites accounts of 14 former detainees and what it describes as "recently uncovered CIA and UK Secret Service documents" found in the sacked offices of Libya's former intelligence chief as proof of the torture and mistreatment. "The interviews and documents establish that, following the September 11, 2001 attacks, the U.S., with aid from the United Kingdom and countries in the Middle East, Africa, and Asia arrested and held without charge a number" of LIFG members, Human Rights Watch said. They were "rendered" to Libya, mostly between 2004 and 2006, when "the United States and the United Kingdom were trying to transform" Gadhafi "from foe to ally" during their rapprochement with the dictator. Some of the detainees claimed torture at the hands of Gadhafi's jailers, while other said they were not mistreated. "All interviewees said their captors forcibly returned them to Libya at a time when Libya's record on torture made clear they would face a serious risk of abuse upon return. Terror analysts say that by at least 2004, some members of the group had aligned themselves with al Qaeda, though many former members say the LIFG had nothing to do with the terror group. Many of the detainees, according to the report, were freed during Libya's civil war and fought alongside the rebels. "Some of those who were rendered and allegedly tortured in U.S. custody now hold key leadership and political positions in the country," the report said. One of the documents -- a fax -- offers to help Libya pay for an airplane to pick up a prisoner, while a communiqué from a British intelligence officer to Koussa offers congratulations to Libya over its jailing of another former detainee handed over by the UK. "The report makes clear there's so much that we don't know about what happens in these places," Pitter said. "The one thing we're hoping the report does make clear is it's important for the United States to look back and acknowledge mistakes were made," she said. A human rights group says it has uncovered new evidence that U.S. personnel used torture, including waterboarding, while interrogating Libyan Islamists during the Bush administration. “The U.S. failed to distinguish between those Islamists who were at war with the U.S. and those who were at war with their own repressive regimes.” The CIA spokesman defended the agency's treatment of detainees during that time period, noting that the context during that time period is “worth revisiting.” Tomczyk said that by 2004, the U.S. government had convinced Gadhafi to renounce Libya's weapons of mass destruction programs and to help stop terrorists who were actively targeting Americans.
. Perhaps the only choice,” Johnson said. that he will prevent Iran from going nuclear. Who would be safe in America? Israel and the United States say the program is intended to develop a weapon, an accusation that Iran denies. Netanyahu’s address to the U.N. General Assembly was a highly public argument for a stronger U.S. threat to attack Iran if it does not back off from what the Israeli leader described as the final push toward a nuclear weapon. The participants if this year’s presidential debates are set – Republican nominee Mitt Romney will face off against President Obama in a matchup that’s been obvious for months. Netanyahu met Thursday with Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton. After the call, Romney said that he does not believe military force will have to be used to stop Iran’s uranium enrichment program. He also warned that time was running out. Green Party candidate Ralph Nader sued the commission for allegedly violating the Federal Election Campaign Act. DEBATE QUIZ: Who said it? Gallup doesn’t include Johnson or other third-party candidates in its regular questionnaires, though a separate poll conducted between Sept. 6-9 placed just 1% of voters behind his campaign. “I certainly hope we don’t have to. The Israeli demand for a U.S. red line on Iran is the latest point of conflict in a testy personal relationship between Obama and Netanyahu. According to the White House summary of Friday’s call, Netanyahu “welcomed President Obama’s commitment before the United Nations General Assembly.” The leaders spoke by phone because Obama, just six weeks from the election, declined to meet with any foreign leaders at the General Assembly this year.
President Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke Friday by telephone, ending the call with a common pledge to stop Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon but no apparent consensus on a specific timeline to do so. After the call, Romney said that he does not believe military force will have to be used to stop Iran’s uranium enrichment program. The dueling calls again edged Israel and Iran into the frame of the presidential election, and they gave both candidates an opportunity to outline their positions on an crucial security issue. According to a summary of the roughly 20-minute call released by the White House, Obama and Netanyahu “underscored that they are in full agreement on the shared goal of preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.” The statement also said the leaders, who have clashed over the now-dormant Palestinian peace process but rarely over Israeli security concerns, “agreed to continue their regular consultations on this issue going forward.” The call came a day after Netanyahu told the U.N. General Assembly that Iran’s nuclear program would produce enough enriched uranium to make a weapon by spring or summer. Using a cartoon image of a bomb to make his point, Netanyahu urged world leaders to present Iran with a “red line” that, if crossed, would result in a military strike. While delivered on a global stage, Netanyahu’s address was also aimed at Obama, who in his speech to the General Assembly on Tuesday spelled out the dangers that a nuclear-armed Iran would pose to the region and beyond. Although the president reiterated his position that the United States will do “what we must” to prevent that from happening, Obama declined to specify what steps by Iran would trigger a military operation. Iran denies that it is enriching uranium for a weapon, but Israel and the United States do not believe the claim. The Israeli government has an undeclared nuclear arsenal itself, which Iran and others this week called for it to acknowledge. According to the White House summary of Friday’s call, Netanyahu “welcomed President Obama’s commitment before the United Nations General Assembly.” The leaders spoke by phone because Obama, just six weeks from the election, declined to meet with any foreign leaders at the General Assembly this year. Netanyahu met Thursday with Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton. Romney called Netanyahu during his drive to the airport after a campaign event in Wayne, Pa. But the approach he has outlined — economic sanctions, a greater U.S. naval presence in the region and diplomatic isolation of Tehran— is largely consistent with the president’s policy. Asked Friday whether he endorsed the timeline Netanyahu spelled out at the United Nations, Romney said, “We did not go into enough, into the kind of detail, that would define precisely where that red line would be.” He described the phone call as largely personal in nature rather than a detailed policy discussion. Romney did describe Iran’s nuclear program as the “greatest national security threat that we face” and said he would explore military options “in the event they were necessary.” “I do not believe that in the final analysis we will have to use military action,” Romney told reporters traveling with him. It must be something which is known by the Iranians as a possible tool to be employed to prevent them from becoming nuclear. But I certainly hope that we can prevent any military action from having to be taken.” The White House statement appeared designed, in part, to decrease the focus on Iran and its nuclear program at a politically sensitive time for the president. “What is also clear is that Iran needs to prove to the international community that its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes.” Rucker reported from Philadelphia and Bedford, Mass. Lawsuit highlights difficulty of third-party involvement in debates The CPD has been attacked before for its stance toward lesser-known nominees, most prominently in 2000 for its decision to exclude third-party candidates from even being members of the audience at the debates. Green Party candidate Ralph Nader sued the commission for allegedly violating the Federal Election Campaign Act. In the suit, Johnson and his campaign accuse the commission, along with the Republican and Democratic national committees, of a “conspiracy” to meet in secret and create the rules for the debates, excluding third-party candidates and participating in what the lawsuit contends is a “restraint of trade” violating the Sherman Anti-Trust Act. Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson earlier this month filed a lawsuit against the Commission on Presidential Debates, claiming that the organization’s practices violate antitrust laws and alleging collusion between the commission and the country’s two dominant political parties. The participants if this year’s presidential debates are set – Republican nominee Mitt Romney will face off against President Obama in a matchup that’s been obvious for months. Johnson has been approved to appear on the ballot for 47 states and Washington, D.C., with pending efforts in Oklahoma, Michigan and Pennsylvania, giving him a pool of 495 potential electoral votes, well above the commission’s requirement of 270 for admission into the debates. The commission, drawing from five undisclosed polling sources, mandates that candidates reach at least 15% of the prospective vote nationwide in order to appear onstage. Johnson, in a recent CNN/ORC poll, is the preferred candidate of 3% of likely voters and 4% of registered voters. Gallup doesn’t include Johnson or other third-party candidates in its regular questionnaires, though a separate poll conducted between Sept. 6-9 placed just 1% of voters behind his campaign. If a debate occurs without resolution, then the harm will have been done.” And without being able to count on the debates to raise his profile, Johnson is instead relying on social media (the candidate held a second “Ask Me Anything” event on the popular site Reddit earlier Wednesday), radio advertisements and a series of tours, most recently of campuses ranging from New York University, Duke and UC Berkeley. An online petition calling for independent fact-checkers to be present at all debates providing “real-time review” of the candidates’ exchanges has quickly gathered nearly 230,000 signatures, amid a campaign that has seen increased attention paid to organizations like FactCheck.org and PolitiFact. Netanyahu’s address to the U.N. General Assembly was a highly public argument for a stronger U.S. threat to attack Iran if it does not back off from what the Israeli leader described as the final push toward a nuclear weapon. “And that is by placing a clear red line on Iran’s nuclear weapons program.” Estimates have varied widely on when Iran might have a nuclear weapon, but Netanyahu offered Israel’s most specific timetable yet when he said Tehran’s progress would be irreversible by next spring or summer.
In fact, he insisted on it. Williams said at the time. Later hits included "Born Free," "Days of Wine and Roses," "The Shadow of Your Smile," "Can't Get Used to Losing You," "Solitaire," "Music to Watch Girls By," "Can't Take My Eyes Off of You" and the theme from the 1970 movie hit "Love Story." That's my song!'" He became one of the most popular vocalists of the 1960s and died at home in Branson, where he owns the Moon River Theatre. Mr. Williams remained coy. The silky-voiced, clean-cut crooner, whose hit recording “Moon River” and years of popular Christmas TV shows brought him fans the world over died Tuesday, Sept. 25. Mr. Williams’s heyday spanned the life of his musical variety TV program, “The Andy Williams Show,” which aired on NBC from 1962 to 1967 and again from 1969 to 1971. The marriage produced three children — Noelle, Christian and Robert — before ending in divorce. He married Debbie Meyer in 1991. (Reporting by Ellen Wulfhorst and Bill Trott; Editing by Barbara Goldberg and Vicki Allen) His first No. 1 on the pop charts in 1957. Williams, who was born on December 3, 1927 in Wall Lake, Iowa, made his professional singing debut at age 8 with his three brothers as part of the Williams Brothers Quartet. He sang the American national anthem at Super Bowl VII in 1973. Williams, an avid golfer, was also well-known in the 1970s and '80s for his Christmas television specials.
Nelly Furtado, Andy Williams (C), and Roselyn Sanchez (R) announce the winner for Song of the Year at the 50th Annual Grammy Awards held in Los Angeles, California in this February 10, 2008 filephoto. Andy Williams (L) gets a hug from Wayne Osmond during a 50th anniversary show at the Orleans hotel-casino in Las Vegas, Nevada in this August 13, 2007 file photo. REUTERS/Steve Marcus/Files Andy Williams, who charmed audiences with his mellow delivery of songs like "Moon River" and "Can't Take My Eyes Off of You" in the 1950s and 60s, has died at his home in Branson, Missouri, his family said Wednesday. The blue-eyed Williams, who continued touring and drawing crowds to his Moon River Theater in the music hub of Branson into his 80s, died on Tuesday evening after a yearlong battle with bladder cancer, his family said in a statement. Williams had 18 gold record and three platinum hits and in his peak years was a regular on television with his own variety series. President Ronald Reagan called his voice "a national treasure." Williams was born on December 3, 1927, in tiny Wall Lake, Iowa, and was singing professionally with three older brothers at age 8. The Williams Brothers had steady work on radio and even sang back-up on Bing Crosby's 1944 hit "Swinging on a Star." Williams went solo after the group broke up in 1951, drew attention with his appearances on "The Tonight Show" and began recording. 1 hit, "Butterfly," came in 1957. Later hits included "Born Free," "Days of Wine and Roses," "The Shadow of Your Smile," "Can't Get Used to Losing You," "Solitaire," "Music to Watch Girls By," "Can't Take My Eyes Off of You" and the theme from the 1970 movie hit "Love Story." He came upon his signature song when asked to sing "Moon River" at the 1962 Academy Awards ceremony. Audrey Hepburn had performed the song in the movie "Breakfast at Tiffany's." "I still love it, as many times as I've done it," Williams told a British newspaper in 2007. It's not a bad song to have. We forgot to do it one night and 27 people wanted their money back." Williams' first wife was Claudine Longet, a Folies Bergere dancer he married in 1961, and they had three children before divorcing. After their split, Williams supported Longet when she was charged with fatally shooting her boyfriend, skier Spider Sabich, in 1976 in Colorado. She was convicted of negligent homicide after claiming the gun went off accidentally. FIXTURE ON CHRISTMAS SPECIALS In 1992, Williams built his own 2,000-seat dinner theater in Branson, a city of 10,000 people that had become a regional entertainment center featuring more than 30 theaters, most of which cater to country music acts. He performed there about 20 weeks a year while also putting on a Christmas tour in the United States and occasional tour of Britain. Williams was a Christmas fixture on U.S. television, dressed casually in a trademark sweater, and he recorded several Christmas albums. Let It Snow" as the sixth most frequently performed Christmas song and "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year" as No. Williams had a strong following in Britain, where his career was revived in the late 1990s when "Can't Take My Eyes Off of You" and "Music to Watch Girls By" were used in television commercials. Williams was a close friend of the powerful Kennedy political family and sang "The Battle Hymn of the Republic" at Robert F. Kennedy's funeral after the U.S. senator from New York was assassinated during the 1968 presidential campaign. Williams' love of golf was so intense that for several years he hosted a professional tournament that bore his name. Andy Williams, the silky-voiced, clean-cut crooner, whose hit recording of "Moon River" made him world famous, was a frequent performer on television and had his own variety show. May 12, 1961 Andy Williams, the silky-voiced, clean-cut crooner, whose hit recording of "Moon River" made him world famous, was a frequent performer on television and had his own variety show. AP The silky-voiced, clean-cut crooner, whose hit recording “Moon River” and years of popular Christmas TV shows brought him fans the world over, died Sept. 25. The silky-voiced, clean-cut crooner, whose hit recording “Moon River” and years of popular Christmas TV shows brought him fans the world over died Tuesday, Sept. 25. The silky-voiced, clean-cut crooner, whose hit recording “Moon River” and years of popular Christmas TV shows brought him fans the world over died Tuesday, Sept. 25. Andy Williams, whose languid crooning style and disarming presence propelled him to recording and television stardom in the 1960s, with hits including “Moon River” and the inescapable holiday jingle “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year,” died Sept. 25 at his home in Branson, Mo. He died after a year-long battle with bladder cancer, his publicist, Paul Shefrin, said. Gen. H. Norman Schwarzkopf READ: Gen. H. Norman Schwarzkopf obituary Gen. H. Norman Schwarzkopf, a four-star Army general who led allied forces to a quick, decisive victory over Saddam Hussein's Iraqi military in the 1991 Persian Gulf War, died Dec. 27 in Tampa. The Christmas specials that spun off from the show ran for decades afterward, featuring celebrity carolers as well as members of the Williams family.
Yes, Bird. "We don't belong here." Before the debate, 23 percent favored President Obama and 22 percent favored Romney, while 50 percent were still undecided. She said that if the subsidy goes, so will some PBS stations. This is a scientifically representative poll of uncommitted voters' reaction to the presidential debate. Elmo's got to watch out!" The hashtag (hash)SaveBigBird quickly sprouted up. I love Big Bird. "I'm going to stop other things. Four out of five children under age 5 watch public television, where "Sesame Street" is a long-running hit, she said. INTERACTIVE | Predict a winner: Battleground states Four television networks -- ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox News Channel -- each attracted more than 10 million viewers to their telecasts. Wednesday night's event was carried live from the University of Denver in Colorado across nearly a dozen channels. The margin of sampling error could be plus or minus 4 percentage points for results based on the entire sample. GfK's KnowledgePanel participants are initially chosen scientifically by a random selection of telephone numbers and residential addresses. Asked at a Pentagon briefing whether the Defense Department wants to see its relationship with the program continue, press secretary George Little sidestepped the question. More than 67 million people watched the first presidential debate between… (Charlie Neibergall / Associated…) A huge audience -- an estimated 67.2 million people -- watched the first presidential debate between President Obama and Mitt Romney on Wednesday, according to ratings firm Nielsen. I like PBS. NEW YORK — Big Bird has never been so hot.
More than 67 million people watched the first presidential debate between… (Charlie Neibergall / Associated…) A huge audience -- an estimated 67.2 million people -- watched the first presidential debate between President Obama and Mitt Romney on Wednesday, according to ratings firm Nielsen. The crowd levels represent a 28% increase over viewership for the first debate four years ago between then-Sen. Obama and Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.). That debate, in September 2008, garnered an audience of 52.4 million viewers. Wednesday night's event was carried live from the University of Denver in Colorado across nearly a dozen channels. Romney was credited for a strong performance during the forum, moderated by Jim Lehrer, host of "NewsHour" on PBS. INTERACTIVE | Predict a winner: Battleground states Four television networks -- ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox News Channel -- each attracted more than 10 million viewers to their telecasts. "Saturday Night Live," Jimmy Fallon, Piers Morgan, the "Today" show and "Good Morning America" all asked for appearances from the "Sesame Street" character on Thursday after he was unexpectedly thrust into the presidential campaign by Mitt Romney. Sesame Workshop says the giant yellow Muppet is declining all appearances, but there was this tweet from Big Bird on the Sesame Street account: "My bed time is usually 7:45, but I was really tired yesterday and fell asleep at 7! Did I miss anything last night?" During Wednesday's debate with President Barack Obama, Romney called for cutting federal funding to PBS, despite saying, "I love Big Bird." It renewed a long-running debate over subsidies to public broadcasting. "I'm going to stop the subsidy to PBS," the former Massachusetts governor, a Republican, said during a deficit-cutting discussion. "I'm going to stop other things. But I'm not going to ... keep on spending money on things to borrow money from China to pay for it." Obama brought up his opponent's plans for Big Bird during a campaign stop Thursday in Madison, Wis. "I just want to make sure I've got this straight: He'll get rid of regulations on Wall Street, but he's going to crack down on `Sesame Street,'" Obama said of Romney. "Thank goodness somebody's finally cracking down on Big Bird! PBS chief Paula Kerger said she "just about fell off the sofa" when the issue suddenly came up during the debate. Federal funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting totals $450 million this year, accounting for about 15 percent of the CPB's budget, she said. For some of the smaller stations in rural areas, this subsidy accounts for more than half of their yearly budget, so many can't operate without it. Four out of five children under age 5 watch public television, where "Sesame Street" is a long-running hit, she said. "Maybe it's because I'm just too close to it. Maybe it's because I talk to so many people for whom public television is a lifeline." "We don't belong here." The issue quickly became a hot topic on social media, where Twitter reported a peak of 17,000 tweets per second about Big Bird. New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof tweeted: "Hey, I figured out how Romney will balance the budget: sale of TV rights to broadcast the decapitation of Big Bird." For several years, "Sesame Street" has produced videos and other materials for the Pentagon to help children deal with parents' absences during tours of duty as well as other stresses suffered by the children of troops. "But I'm not going to get into politics here – I wouldn't want to ruffle any feathers, so to speak." Sesame Workshop, the producers who make "Sesame Street," noted that while it is not part of PBS, it depends on the stations to distribute its work. In the moments following the candidates' performances on the University of Denver stage, 46 percent of voters gave the economy-centric debate to Romney, 22 percent said they believed the president was the winner, and 32 percent called it a tie. Perhaps most promising for Romney, whose upper-class income has helped stifle his ability to relate to the "average American," the percentage of those polled who said they felt the former Massachusetts governor cares about their needs and problems spiked from 30 percent pre-debate to 63 percent post-debate.
No, really. "Grassroots!" "That's a good point," he said. Romney we would be getting with respect to foreign policy." Obama responded sarcastically. Turning to foreign policy, Powell said he saw "the president get us of one war, start to get us out of a second war and did not get us into any new wars. "The governor who was saying things at the debate on Monday night ... was saying things that were quite different from what he said earlier. I haven't seen everything that Mitt Romney is going to do. "I said they need -- these companies need to go through a managed bankruptcy. Gary Johnson, Constitution Party candidate and former Virginia congressman of both the Republican and Democratic parties Virgil Goode, and Justice Party candidate Rocky Anderson. And I believe Congress can craft legislation with presidential leadership to stop political action committees." The candidates beat up not only on the two major parties, but on mainstream policies. They're the ones that write the appropriations bills. I'm not quite sure which Gov. "You did not say that you would provide government help," Obama challenged. And I saw over the next several years, stabilization come back in the financial community, housing is now starting to pick up after four years, it's starting to pick up. Why waste your time on it?" Obama's post-election surge of troops has done remarkably little to bring the war closer to an end, calling the entire strategy into question. You mentioned the Navy, for example, and that we have fewer ships than we did in 1916.
(CBS News) Former Secretary of State Colin Powell broke with the Republican party during the 2008 election, to endorse then-candidate Barack Obama for president, calling Obama a "transformational figure." With 12 days to go before the presidential election, Powell publicly endorsed President Obama for re-election on "CBS This Morning" Thursday "I voted for him in 2008 and I plan to stick with him in 2012 and I'll be voting for he and for Vice President Joe Biden next month." Wall Street was in chaos, we had 800,000 jobs lost in that first month of the Obama administration and unemployment peaked a few months later at 10 percent. The auto industry was collapsing, the housing was start[ing] to collapse and we were in very difficult straits. And I saw over the next several years, stabilization come back in the financial community, housing is now starting to pick up after four years, it's starting to pick up. Summarizing the past four years under Obama, Powell said "Generally we've come out of the dive and we're starting to gain altitude." He acknowledged that problems remain, saying "The unemployment rate is too high, people are still hurting in housing but I see that we're starting to rise up." Turning to foreign policy, Powell said he saw "the president get us of one war, start to get us out of a second war and did not get us into any new wars. And finally I think that the actions he has taken with respect to protecting us from terrorism have been very very solid. Powell expressed his concern about Republican candidate Mitt Romney's changing positions on international affairs. "The governor who was saying things at the debate on Monday night ... was saying things that were quite different from what he said earlier. "One day he has a certain strong view about staying in Afghanistan but then on Monday night he agrees with the withdrawal, same thing in Iraq. On almost every issue that was discussed on Monday night, Governor Romney agreed with the President with some nuances. But this is quite a different set of foreign policy views than he had earlier in the campaign. Powell also said that he has given close consideration to Romney's domestic policies. "As I listen to what his proposals are especially with respect to dealing with respect to our most significant issue, the economy, it's essentially let's cut taxes and compensate for that with other things but that compensation does not cover all of the cuts intended or the new expenses associated with defense." Powell said that he did not give either candidate early notice of his endorsement, but that he has "the utmost respect for" and spoke to Gov. He added that with this endorsement, he "signed on for a long patrol with President Obama" and that he feels more comfortable with Obama's stances on climate change, immigration, and education. Powell also criticized congressional leaders for not living up to their responsibilities, mainly around resolving the approaching fiscal cliff. "The major problem faced either by Gov. "This is something that was put in place by Congress and while we're talking about the two candidates for president let's not forget that Congress bears a lot of responsibility for many of the problems that we have now. Gen. Powell last joined "CBS This Morning" in June, and at the time remained noncommittal about his support for either candidate in the race for the White House. "I think I'm a Republican of a more moderate mold," he said before adding, "That's something of a dying breed I'm sorry to say." (Image Credit: Scott Olson/Getty Images) "Did we have opening statements," former CNN and current Ora.tv host Larry King asked after candidates at Tuesday's minor-party debate in Chicago had each answered the first question. So it went onstage at the Hilton Chicago, where Tobin's group hosted a debate between four minor-party presidential candidates who have made the ballot in enough states to win the presidency: Green Party candidate Jill Stein, Libertarian Party candidate and former New Mexico Gov. Free and Equal will host a "runoff" debate in Washington, D.C., Tuesday between the two candidates who receive the most votes on the group's website, FreeandEqual.org. Free college education, term limits, marijuana legalization and an end to political action committees were among the ideas proposed at Tuesday night's debate, which was broadcast by C-SPAN, Russia TV, and Al Jazeera English. "Regardless of whether or not Romney gets elected or Obama gets elected … we're going to find ourselves with a continued, heightened police state in this country; we're going to find ourselves continuing to militarily intervene in the world, which has resulted in hundreds of millions of enemies to this country that wouldn't otherwise exist." "I want to pass an amendment that clarifies that money is not speech and corporations are not people," said the Green Parry's Stein, 62, a Massachusetts physician. Goode was the only candidate onstage not to support marijuana legalization, a major plank in Johnson's Libertarian platform, and the major plank when he began touring college campuses in advance of his run for president in early 2011.
He was 74. Appearing on hit shows, such as "JAG," "Charlie's Angels," "Fantasy Island" and "The Love Boat," Collins was best known for hosting the talk show "Hour Magazine" from 1980 to 1988. Collins was known as a TV and radio personality and was married to former Miss America Mary Anne Mobley. Harrison County Deputy Coroner Brian Switzer tells TMZ that Collins died of natural causes just before 1:00 a.m. at Biloxi Regional Medical Center. His biography on the entertainment industry's IMDb.com states he became interested in acting after he enlisted in the Army and became a radio and television host for the Armed Forces Network. He had been arrested and fined last year for leaving a Biloxi restaurant without paying his dinner tab; in 2007 and 2009 he was convicted in separate DUI cases in California. He was an actor in the television series "The Sixth Sense" and "Born Free" in the 1970s and "Iron Horse" and "The Wackiest Ship in the Army" in the 1960s. He also hosted the Miss America Pageant from 1985 to 1989. In 2011 Collins moved to Mississippi, the home state of his wife, Mary Ann Mobley, an actress and Miss America 1959. PHOTOS: Notable Deaths of 2012 | Classic TV From 1980 to 1988, Collins served as host of the TV talk show “Hour Magazine,” a gentler version of the genre that avoided some of the controversial topics tackled by Phil Donahue, Geraldo Rivera and other tabloid programs. Legendary TV actor and host, Gary Collins, passed away early this morning in Biloxi, Miss., at the age of 74.
Gary Collins, an actor who was the longtime host of the syndicated TV show “Hour Magazine” and a former master of ceremonies for the Miss America Pageant, died early Saturday in Biloxi, Miss. Collins died of natural causes soon after arriving at Biloxi Regional Medical Center, Harrison County Coroner Gary Hargrove told the Associated Press. In 2011 Collins moved to Mississippi, the home state of his wife, Mary Ann Mobley, an actress and Miss America 1959. He had been arrested and fined last year for leaving a Biloxi restaurant without paying his dinner tab; in 2007 and 2009 he was convicted in separate DUI cases in California. PHOTOS: Notable Deaths of 2012 | Classic TV From 1980 to 1988, Collins served as host of the TV talk show “Hour Magazine,” a gentler version of the genre that avoided some of the controversial topics tackled by Phil Donahue, Geraldo Rivera and other tabloid programs. Appearing on hit shows, such as "JAG," "Charlie's Angels," "Fantasy Island" and "The Love Boat," Collins was best known for hosting the talk show "Hour Magazine" from 1980 to 1988. Collins, who separated from his wife of 44 years, Mary Ann Mobley, last year, has three children -- daughter Mary with Mobley and Guy and Mimi with his previous wife, Susan Peterson.
"The more you hear about the lobbying that Charles has undertaken over decades, the more inappropriate it seems," she said. The Prince of Wales engaged in this correspondence with ministers with the expectation that it would be confidential. Grieve's decision comes after seven years of government resistance to the Guardian's request to see copies of the prince's letters to ministers over the seven-month period in 2004 and 2005. What the public has a right to know is what he is lobbying for and whether he is actually influencing policy. He added: “The letters … are in many cases particularly frank. He said it was in the national interest to ban publication of the letters “because if he forfeits his position of political neutrality as heir to the throne, he cannot easily recover it when he is king”. A court ruled last month that the correspondence should be published. The case arose from a Freedom of Information request submitted by Guardian journalist Rob Evans. Mr Grieve overturned their decision, saying there was an “exceptional case” for him to use his veto to prevent the Prince’s “most deeply held and personal beliefs” becoming public. He said that "in my view it is of very considerable practical benefit to the Prince of Wales' preparations for kingship that he should engage in correspondence and engage in dialogue with ministers about matters falling within the business of their departments." Disclosure of the correspondence could damage the Prince of Wales's ability to perform his duties when he becomes king. The prince has for some years been accused of meddling in government affairs and seeking to influence ministers to alter policy.
Image caption Prince Charles' letters were sent between September 2004 and April 2005 Attorney General Dominic Grieve has blocked the release of private letters the Prince of Wales sent to seven government departments. A court ruled last month that the correspondence should be published. But Mr Grieve said it was an exceptional case where the letters formed part of the prince's "preparations for kingship". The Republic group called the ruling an "affront to democracy" which was "all about protecting Charles and the Royal Family from scrutiny". 'Practical benefit' In his report, Mr Grieve said: "The ability of the Monarch to engage with the government of the day, whatever its political colour, and maintain political neutrality is a cornerstone of the UK's constitutional framework." The Administrative Appeals Chamber said last month that in its view, it was in the public interest "for there to be transparency as to how and when Prince Charles seeks to influence government". Analysis Prince Charles and his officials will be relieved the government has come to the aid of the future king. One day of partially submerged headlines - the announcement has been made on a particularly busy news day - is preferable to several days devoted to the prince's thinking and style of writing. The 27 letters, we now know from the attorney general, are "particularly frank" and if published would "potentially have undermined his position of political neutrality". This is enough for his critics to once again accuse the heir to the throne of meddling behind the scenes. He is, after all, the royal a former senior aide once described as a "dissident" working against "current political opinion". Those around Charles insist he mobilises, rather than meddles; he's entitled to contact ministers in private; and his way of operating will change once he ascends to the throne. The information commissioner had denied the request, but the Administrative Appeals Chamber said the commissioner had given "insufficient weight to the public interest". It ruled that 27 out of 30 items of correspondence, which it deemed to be "advocacy correspondence" should be published. But the attorney general has used his powers to veto publication in exceptional cases, saying he had reached his decision having "taken account of the views of the cabinet, former ministers and the information commissioner". He said that "in my view it is of very considerable practical benefit to the Prince of Wales' preparations for kingship that he should engage in correspondence and engage in dialogue with ministers about matters falling within the business of their departments." "Discussing matters of policy with ministers and urging views upon them falls within the ambit of 'advising' or 'warning' about the government's actions." 'Particularly frank' He said that, unlike the appeal court, he thought that the correspondence was part of Prince Charles' preparation for kingship so his attempts to influence policy could not be likened to that of any other lobbyist. He accepted the argument that publication would help increase public "understanding of the influence of the Prince of Wales on matters of public policy" and inform the "broader debate surrounding constitutional reform". ATTORNEY GENERAL'S RULING Under the "tripartite convention", the monarch has right, and duty, to "be consulted, to encourage and to warn the government" This ensures a "measure of influence" is retained for the monarch within the constitution Under the "education convention", the heir to the throne has the right to be instructed in the business of government "Advocacy correspondence" allows the Prince of Wales to understand the business of government and strengthen links with ministers, ahead of becoming monarch Without confidentiality, ministers and the prince will feel inhibited in exchanging views There is a risk that, if the prince is seen as disagreeing with government policy, it will damage his position of political neutrality "However, if they were decisive in the present case it would have to be at the expense of the strong public interest arguments against disclosure, centred upon the Prince of Wales' preparation for kingship and the importance of not undermining his future role as Sovereign." Mr Grieve said there was nothing improper in the nature or contents of the letters but that they reflected the prince's "most deeply held personal views and beliefs" and were in "many cases particularly frank". "They also contain remarks about public affairs which would in my view, if revealed, have had a material effect upon the willingness of the government to engage in correspondence with the Prince of Wales and would potentially have undermined his position of political neutrality." On its website, the Guardian said it "would be seeking to take the government to the High Court to challenge the veto on the grounds that it had acted unreasonably". It added: "The prince has for some years been accused of meddling in government affairs and seeking to influence ministers to alter policy." Graham Smith, chief executive of the Republic group, said: "It's an open secret that Prince Charles lobbies the government. Dominic Grieve moved to avert a constitutional crisis by blocking the release of 27 letters containing “particularly frank” views that could cast doubt on the Prince’s political neutrality. He said it was in the national interest to ban publication of the letters “because if he forfeits his position of political neutrality as heir to the throne, he cannot easily recover it when he is king”. Last month three judges ruled that there was an overwhelming public interest in releasing the letters, sent by the Prince to seven departments in Tony Blair’s government, to shine a light on the way the heir to the throne lobbied ministers on a weekly basis. In a 10-page summary of his reasons for overturning the judges’ decision, Mr Grieve said the Prince’s letters had been “urging a particular view on ministers” but this amounted to him “educating” himself about the work of government in preparation for becoming king, making the letters exempt from freedom of information requests. Guardian to challenge Grieve's ruling that release of 27 letters 'could damage prince's ability to perform duties as king' The government has blocked the disclosure of a set of confidential letters written by Prince Charles to ministers. Grieve said the letters contained the "particularly frank" and "most deeply held personal views and beliefs" of the prince. The veto overrides last month's ruling by the tribunal that the public had a right to know how the prince sought to change government policy. Grieve's decision comes after seven years of government resistance to the Guardian's request to see copies of the prince's letters to ministers over the seven-month period in 2004 and 2005.
Above all, George McGovern was a generous, kind, honorable man. "I was wrong." McGovern was the Democratic nominee for president in 1972. Photos: Photos: George McGovern's career Photos: Photos: George McGovern's career George McGovern's political career – Former Sen. George McGovern, 90, died on Sunday morning. His argument over Vietnam was about that particular war. He served in the U.S. Senate and House representing South Dakota before his loss for the top office. He was re-elected two years later. In the 2008 presidential campaign, McGovern switched his allegiance from Hillary Clinton to Barack Obama. He ran against incumbent Richard Nixon and won only 17 electoral votes to Nixon's 520. "I think it was my study of history that convinced me that the Democratic Party was more on the side of the average American," he said. His family announced that he was coming to the end of his life after a series of medical problems. He signed up to fight in World War II, and became a decorated bomber pilot over the battlefields of Europe. Just a great guy. From his earliest days in Mitchell to his final days in Sioux Falls, he never stopped standing up and speaking out for the causes he believed in. He helped create the Food for Peace program and spent much of his career believing the United States should be more accommodating to the former Soviet Union. "I don't know what kind of president I would have been, but Eleanor would have been a great first lady," he said after his wife's death in 2007.
Story highlights Funeral services are set for Friday in Sioux Falls, South Dakota President Obama says George McGovern fought for country, then for peace McGovern may be most remembered for losing to Richard Nixon in 1972 landslide He served South Dakota in the Senate for three terms, also served in House He was an outspoken critic of one war, but a hero in another. He was a politician who cared more about being on the right side of an issue than on the popular side. George Stanley McGovern -- a staunch liberal who served South Dakota in the U.S. Senate and House for more than two decades and who ran unsuccessfully as the Democratic Party nominee for president in 1972 -- died Sunday at the age of 90, his family said. "Our wonderful father, George McGovern, passed away peacefully at the Dougherty Hospice House in Sioux Falls, SD, surrounded by our family and life-long friends," his family said in a statement. "We are blessed to know that our father lived a long, successful and productive life advocating for the hungry, being a progressive voice for millions and fighting for peace." President Barack Obama praised McGovern as someone who showed a lifelong love of country. Photos: Photos: George McGovern's career Photos: Photos: George McGovern's career George McGovern's political career – Former Sen. George McGovern, 90, died on Sunday morning. He ran against incumbent Richard Nixon and won only 17 electoral votes to Nixon's 520. He served in the U.S. Senate and House representing South Dakota before his loss for the top office. Pictured, McGovern attends the 2011 funeral service for Sargent Shriver, his 1972 running mate. Hide Caption 1 of 8 Photos: Photos: George McGovern's career George McGovern's political career – Sen. George McGovern campaigns for the Democratic presidential nomination in August 1968. Vice President Hubert Humphrey beat McGovern for the party's nomination that year and lost in the general election to Richard Nixon. Hide Caption 2 of 8 Photos: Photos: George McGovern's career George McGovern's political career – McGovern, the Democratic presidential nominee, right, and his first running mate, Sen. Thomas Eagleton, campaign in 1972. Eagleton withdrew from the ticket after it came to light that he had received electric shock treatment for bouts of mental illness. Hide Caption 3 of 8 Photos: Photos: George McGovern's career George McGovern's political career – McGovern, left, chose Sargent Shriver as his running mate to replace Eagleton in August 1972. Hide Caption 4 of 8 Photos: Photos: George McGovern's career George McGovern's political career – McGovern speaks at an event in January 1984. Hide Caption 5 of 8 Photos: Photos: George McGovern's career George McGovern's political career – Rep. John Murtha of Pennsylvania, left, talks with McGovern while both testify before the Congressional Progressive Caucus on the McGovern-Polk Plan for U.S. Military Disengagement from Iraq in January 2007. Hide Caption 6 of 8 Photos: Photos: George McGovern's career George McGovern's political career – Murtha, left, listens to McGovern testify before the Congressional Progressive Caucus forum on U.S. military involvement in Iraq in January 2007. Hide Caption 7 of 8 Photos: Photos: George McGovern's career George McGovern's political career – McGovern attends the 40th American Film Institute Life Achievement Award ceremony honoring Shirley MacLaine in June 2012. Hide Caption 8 of 8 JUST WATCHED Remembering George McGovern Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Remembering George McGovern 01:32 JUST WATCHED 1984: McGovern's dream for America Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH 1984: McGovern's dream for America 01:04 "When the people of South Dakota sent him to Washington, this hero of war became a champion for peace," the president said in a written statement. "I think he'll be remembered, obviously, for his stance on the war in Vietnam," said Bill Richardson, the former governor of New Mexico, "but also for his contributions on agriculture, on hunger. He was a gigantic figure and a classy, good, good guy." The former president and current secretary of state said McGovern never stopped speaking out for the causes he believed in. "We must continue to draw inspiration from his example and build the world he fought for," the Clintons said in a written statement. "The world has lost a tireless advocate for human rights and dignity." McGovern's political skills came to the fore in college, where he was twice elected class president and won the state oratorical contest on the topic "My Brother's Keeper," which laid out his liberal beliefs. "Let us resolve that never again will we send the precious young blood of this country to die trying to prop up a corrupt military dictatorship abroad," he said, to applause, at the Democratic convention in Miami Beach, Florida. He called the unemployment of more than 5 million Americans "the most false and wasteful economics of all" and said his highest domestic priority would be "to ensure that every American able to work has a job to do." He called for an end to a system of economic controls "in which labor is depressed but prices and corporate profits run sky high," and he called for national health insurance and "a fair and just tax system." The pair ended up losing in a lopsided vote for incumbent Richard Nixon, with the McGovern ticket earning only 17 electoral votes -- from Massachusetts and the District of Columbia -- to Nixon's 520.
Generally speaking, the lower the pressure, the stronger the storm. "Generally people are realising it is serious," she said. Have you been affected by Hurricane Sandy? "She's a 40-year-old horse from the island. The New York Stock Exchange said its trading floor would be closed on Monday, but electronic transactions would still be possible. The storm hit near Atlantic City about 8 p.m. A number of states on the East Coast have declared an emergency. On the western side of the storm, the mountains of West Virginia expected up to 3 feet of snow and the mountains of southwestern Virginia to the Kentucky state line could see up to 2 feet. It killed more than 40 people from North Carolina to Maine and caused an estimated $10bn (£6bn) worth of damage. Falling trees were also blamed for three deaths reported in New Jersey and one in Connecticut, authorities there told CNN. Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg: "This is a serious and dangerous storm" The two presidential election contenders have modified their campaign engagements. The storm surge set records in Lower Manhattan, where flooded substations caused a widespread power outage. As many as 375,000 people have been ordered to evacuate low-lying areas, and schools will be shut. Storm lashes central Bahamas after raging through Cuba, Haiti and Jamaica, killing at least 21 people across the Caribbean Hurricane Sandy has lashed the central Bahamas with violent winds and torrential rains after raging through the Caribbean, where it caused at least 21 deaths and forced the postponement of a hearing at the Guantánamo naval base on Cuba.
(CNN) -- Though no longer a hurricane, "post-tropical" superstorm Sandy packed a hurricane-sized punch as it slammed into the Jersey Shore on Monday, killing at least 11 people from West Virginia to North Carolina and Connecticut. Sandy whipped torrents of water over the streets of Atlantic City, stretching for blocks inland and ripping up part of the vacation spot's fabled boardwalk. The storm surge set records in Lower Manhattan, where flooded substations caused a widespread power outage. It swamped beachfronts on both sides of Long Island Sound and delivered hurricane-force winds from Virginia to Cape Cod as it came ashore. Sandy's wrath also prompted the evacuation of about 200 patients at NYU Langone Medical Center. "We are having intermittent telephone access issues, and for this reason the receiving hospital will notify the families of their arrival," spokeswoman Lisa Greiner said. In addition, the basement of New York's Bellevue Hospital Center flooded, and the hospital was running off of emergency backup power. Ian Michaels of the Office of Emergency Management said the main priority is to help secure additional power and obtain additional fuel and pumps for the hospital. Superstorm Sandy's wrath "I've been down here for about 16 years, and it's shocking what I'm looking at now. It's unbelievable," said Montgomery Dahm, owner of the Tun Tavern in Atlantic City, which stayed open as Sandy neared the Jersey Shore. "I mean, there's cars that are just completely underwater in some of the places I would never believe that there would be water." Dahm's family cleared out of Atlantic City before the storm hit, but he says he stayed put to serve emergency personnel. The storm had already knocked down power lines and tree limbs while still 50 miles offshore and washed out a section of the boardwalk on the north end of town, Atlantic City Mayor Lorenzo Langford told CNN. He said there were still "too many people" who didn't heed instructions to evacuate, and he urged anyone still in town to "hunker down and try to wait this thing out." "When Mother Nature sends her wrath your way, we're at her mercy, and so all we can do is stay prayerful and do the best that we can," Langford said. And in Seaside Heights, about 30 miles north of Atlantic City, Police Chief Thomas Boyd told CNN, "The whole north side of my town is totally under water." Mass transit grinds to a halt In New York, lower Manhattan's Battery Park recorded nearly 14-foot tide, smashing a record set by 1960's Hurricane Donna by more than 3 feet. The city had already halted service on its bus and train lines, closing schools and ordering about 400,000 people out of their homes in low-lying areas of Manhattan and elsewhere. Water seeped into subway stations in Lower Manhattan and into the tunnel connecting Lower Manhattan and Brooklyn, while high winds damaged a crane perched atop a Midtown skyscraper under construction, forcing authorities to evacuate the surrounding area. New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg told reporters there was an "extraordinary" amount of water in Lower Manhattan, as well as downed trees throughout the city and widespread power outages. "We knew that this was going to be a very dangerous storm, and the storm has met our expectations," he said. "The worst of the weather has come, and city certainly is feeling the impacts." The storm was blamed for more than 2.8 million outages across the Northeast. About 350,000 of them were in the New York city area, where utility provider Con Edison reported it had also cut power to customers in parts of Brooklyn and Lower Manhattan to protect underground equipment as the storm waters rose. But as water crept into its substations, Con Ed said it had lost service to about 250,000 customers in Manhattan -- including most of the island south of 39th Street. Five things to know about Sandy At least five people had been killed in storm-related incidents in New York state, including three killed by trees falling on homes in Queens and in the town of New Salem, near Albany, city and state officials said. In West Virginia, a woman was killed in a car accident after the storm dumped 5 inches of snow on the town of Davis, said Amy Shuler Goodwin, a spokeswoman for Gov. Fourteen of the ship's crew of 16 were rescued, but the body of one deckhand was found Monday evening and the ship's captain was still missing Monday night, the Coast Guard said. Sandy's storm surges were boosted by a full moon, which already brings the highest tides of the month. The National Grid, which provides power to millions of customers, said 60 million people could be affected before it's over. "If that's the case, I'll just move into another house that's higher up." Based on pressure readings, it's likely to be the strongest storm to make landfall north of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, CNN senior meteorologist Dave Hennen said. The benchmark storm, the 1938 "Long Island Express" Hurricane, contained a low pressure reading of 946 millibars; Sandy had a minimum pressure of 943 millibars.
Participation in the review, which has already begun, is voluntary. Police said the individual fell under the strand of the investigation termed "Savile and others". The BBC has repeatedly denied such claims. Operation Yewtree is a Scotland Yard criminal inquiry into sexual abuse claims. Thompson, who was still director general in late 2011 when BBC's Newsnight shelved a report investigating the allegations against Savile, has said he did not know about the programme's investigation and had no involvement in the decision to axe the report. Police said in a statement they had arrested a man in his 60s on suspicion of sex offences. Mr Starr was released on bail between 01:00 and 01:30 GMT on Friday. On Sunday, ex-pop star Gary Glitter was arrested and bailed after being questioned as part of the inquiry. Detectives are have identified more than 300 alleged victims of abuse which have been broken down into three categories; those who were abused by Savile, those who were abused by Savile and other and those who were abused by others. Totally innocent. The comedian, singer and impressionist was the subject of one of Britain's best-known tabloid newspaper headlines - "Freddie Starr Ate My Hamster". Karin Ward claimed Starr had groped her when she had appeared on the television show Clunk Click with Jimmy Savile in the 1970s. I would never go with a girl like that ... The review has asked BBC staff for documents and was electronically searching archived documents from relevant people. I hope they question me, I want to clear my name. BBC Director General George Entwistle and his predecessor Mark Thompson, incoming Chief Executive Officer of the New York Times Co, have come under heavy criticism for their handling of suspicions about Savile.
The 69-year-old comedian and entertainer was arrested at 5.45pm on suspicion of sexual offences and taken into police custody close to his Warwickshire home. A spokesman for Scotland Yard said: “Officers working on Operation Yewtree have this evening, Thursday 1 November, arrested a man in his 60s in connection with the investigation. “The man, from Warwickshire, was arrested at approximately 17.45 hrs on suspicion of sexual offences, and has been taken into police custody locally. The individual falls under the strand of the investigation we have termed 'Savile and others'.” Starr is the second person to be arrested in connection with the Savile abuse scandal after shamed singer Gary Glitter was questioned on Sunday. Police launched a criminal investigation into the Savile abuse claims after it emerged that allegations had been made against a number of living people. Starr, who lives in Warwickshire with his 34-year-old fiancée, Sophie Lea, was implicated in the scandal after a woman alleged on an ITV documentary that he had molested her when she was a 14-year-old. Karin Ward claimed Starr had groped her when she had appeared on the television show Clunk Click with Jimmy Savile in the 1970s. Starr initially denied ever having met Mrs Ward, but later changed his story, when footage appeared of them on the programme together. Starr has vehemently denied ever sexually assaulting anyone and last week spoke of his willingness to be interviewed by police in order to clear his name. Detectives are have identified more than 300 alleged victims of abuse which have been broken down into three categories; those who were abused by Savile, those who were abused by Savile and other and those who were abused by others. Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Police carried out a search of Freddie Starr's house while he was being questioned Entertainer Freddie Starr has been arrested in the police inquiry into sex abuse claims against Jimmy Savile. Mr Starr was arrested in Warwickshire by Operation Yewtree officers on suspicion of sexual offences and bailed after a number of hours of questioning. He has denied claims he groped a girl of 14 while in a room with Savile. Meanwhile, an independent review into BBC Newsnight's dropping of a programme about the allegations against Savile will report later this month. Operation Yewtree is a Scotland Yard criminal inquiry into sexual abuse claims. The Metropolitan Police said officers arrested a man in his 60s, from Warwickshire, at 17:45 GMT in connection with the investigation. Police said the individual fell under the strand of the investigation termed "Savile and others". On Sunday, ex-pop star Gary Glitter was arrested and bailed after being questioned as part of the inquiry. Glitter, 68, whose real name is Paul Gadd, was arrested at home and questioned at a London police station before being released on bail until mid-December. Editorial decision The independent review by ex-Sky News boss Nick Pollard will seek to establish whether there were any "failings" in the decision to drop the Newsnight investigation. The Pollard Review, which will also look at the BBC's handling of material which might have been of interest to the police, will report to the BBC Executive Board. There has been speculation that the programme was dropped because the BBC was already planning to run more favourable programmes in tribute to the former BBC presenter, who died in October 2011. Jimmy Savile inquiries Operation Yewtree: Scotland Yard criminal investigation into sexual abuse claims Scotland Yard criminal investigation into sexual abuse claims BBC investigation into management failures over the dropping of Savile Newsnight report into management failures over the dropping of Savile Newsnight report BBC investigation into culture and practices during Savile's career and current policies into culture and practices during Savile's career and current policies BBC investigation into handling of past sexual harassment claims into handling of past sexual harassment claims Department of Health investigation into Savile's appointment to Broadmoor "taskforce" and his activities at Broadmoor, Stoke Mandeville Hospital and Leeds General Infirmary into Savile's appointment to Broadmoor "taskforce" and his activities at Broadmoor, Stoke Mandeville Hospital and Leeds General Infirmary Director of Public Prosecutions review into decisions not to prosecute Savile in 2009 BBC director general George Entwistle said he was launching the inquiry to shake off the "clouds of suspicion". Outlining terms of reference on Thursday, a statement on behalf of the review said: "It will establish whether there were any failings in the BBC management of the Newsnight investigation relating to allegations of sexual abuse of children by Jimmy Savile, including the broadcast of tribute programmes on the BBC. "This will encompass the BBC's handling of material derived from the investigation that could have been of interest to the police or relevant authorities and whether any inappropriate managerial pressure or consideration may have influenced the decision of the editor of Newsnight." It said the review will examine the editorial decision on the Newsnight investigation and a blog dated 2 October posted by the programme's editor which was changed by the BBC on 22 October 2012. In the original blog, Newsnight editor Peter Rippon explained the editorial reasons behind his decision to axe the report. He said it was "totally untrue" he had been ordered to do it by bosses as part of a BBC cover-up. In a correction to the blog, the BBC called it "inaccurate or incomplete in some respects". The review's statement said interviews with relevant people will be conducted with support of a barrister, and interviewees are allowed a lawyer. LONDON British police arrested comedian Freddie Starr on Thursday as part of an investigation triggered by allegations that the late BBC presenter Jimmy Savile sexually abused hundreds of children, media reported. The allegations have shaken Britain's state-funded broadcaster with hundreds of people now coming forward to report abuse dating back over several decades by Savile, a household name in Britain. Lawyers representing some of the victims have said their clients indicated an organised paedophile ring involving celebrities existed at the BBC during the height of Savile's fame in the 1970s and 1980s. On Sunday, police arrested glam rock singer and convicted sex offender Gary Glitter, born Paul Gadd, as part of the Savile investigation. Thompson, who was still director general in late 2011 when BBC's Newsnight shelved a report investigating the allegations against Savile, has said he did not know about the programme's investigation and had no involvement in the decision to axe the report. The scandal has attracted attention in the United States, where Thompson's appointment at the New York Times has been questioned by senior journalists at the newspaper, who have accused him of involvement in a cover-up to protect his former employer's reputation. Prime Minister David Cameron has said the sex abuse allegations leave the BBC and other institutions with serious questions to answer. The revelations have shocked fans of the once highly popular Savile, who died last year at the age of 84, as one of Britain's most prolific sex offenders. "I'm being persecuted by the press saying that I have been with underage girls and I haven't - never will I go with underage girls," Starr told the BBC last month.
Brrrrrr. George Romney, I'm told, liked to say, "As you campaign, so shall you govern." CASTRO: I would vote for President Obama. US Election: October 26 as it happened US Election: October 25 as it happened US Election: October 24 as it happened US Election: October 23 - as it happened Third Presidential debate: as it happened US Election: Oct 19 as it happened US Election: October 18 as it happened US presidential debate reaction: October 17 as it happened US election - presidential debate October 16: as it happened US election: October 15 at it happed US election: Vice-presidential debate - reaction US election: Vice-presidential debate US election - Oct 10 as it happened US election - Oct 9 as it happened US election - Oct 8 as it happened US election - October 5 as it happend US election - October 4 as it happened US election - presidential debate October 3 as it happened US election - October 2 as it happened US Election - October 1 as it happened US Election 2012 - September 28 as it happened US Election 2012 - September 27 as it happened US Election 2012 - September 26 as it happened US Election 2012 - September 25 as it happened US Election 2012 - Sep 24 as it happened US Election 2012 - Sep 21 as it happened US Election 2012 - September 20 as it happened US Election 2012 - September 19 as it happened US Election 2012 - September 18 as it happened US Election 2012 - September 17 - as it happened US election 2012: September 11 - as it happened Campaign trail: September 10 as it happened Democratic National Convention - September 04 as it happened Democratic National Convention - September 03 as it happened Republican National Convention - August 30 as it happened Republican National Convention - August 29 as it happened Republican National Convention: August 28 as it happened
Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption President Obama: "When disaster strikes, we see America at its best" US President Barack Obama has returned to the campaign trail and to his 2008 theme of change, with five days to go until the US election. The Democratic incumbent is campaigning in three key election states, while his Republican rival Mitt Romney held rallies in Virginia. Mr Obama told voters not to be fooled by his challenger, who has been trying to seize the mantle of change. The election is neck and neck, both nationally and in key state contests. Both candidates await the latest unemployment figures on Friday. Last month's report showed the US jobless rate falling below 8% for the first time in several years. Mr Obama held off campaigning for three days this week as he directed the federal response to the super-storm Sandy. On Thursday, Mr Obama gained the endorsement of New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who argued the president was a better choice on climate change issues given Sandy's impact. 'More bureaucracy' The cyclone has left serious flooding and massive power outages along the US East Coast. Mr Obama began his day at an airport tarmac in Wisconsin, telling a crowd that he knows "what change looks like because I've fought for it". He warned the former Massachusetts governor would reduce regulations for banks and cut taxes for the wealthiest Americans. "Governor Romney has been using all his talents as a salesman to dress up these very same policies that failed our country so badly - the very same policies we've been cleaning up after for the past four years - and he is offering them up as change," Mr Obama said. The Romney campaign has released a new ad attacking the president for proposing the creation of a secretary of business post to co-ordinate the response to the nation's economic woes. The TV ad, released on Thursday, argued that Mr Obama's solution simply amounted to more bureaucracy. "We've said all along this election is a choice between the status quo and real change - change that offers promise that the future will be better than the past," campaign spokeswoman Amanda Henneberg said in a statement. "We've seen what his [President Obama's] policies have produced - the only way to get this economy going is the kind of bold change I've described, real change from day one," he told supporters at a window company. "That'll get this economy going, create jobs, rising take-home pay. Mr Romney has also resumed attacks on Mr Obama's signature healthcare reform law. Bloomberg's endorsement Mr Obama continued to campaign stops in Nevada and Colorado, where he told a rally of some 10,000 people in Boulder that voters faced "a choice between two fundamentally different visions of America". He cited the president's policies related to climate change, especially in the wake of heavy flooding in his city from Sandy. Mayor Bloomberg also argued that Mr Romney had "reversed course" on "sensible positions on immigration, illegal guns, abortion rights and health care". In response, Mr Obama released a statement: "While we may not agree on every issue, Mayor Bloomberg and I agree on the most important issues of our time." In the wake of the storm, state election officials are ordering generators, moving voting locations and figuring out how to transport poll workers. Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Governor Mitt Romney: "Attacking me doesn't make an agenda, it doesn't get people back to work" Polls suggest the Republican is still behind in the north-eastern state, but Mr Obama's lead has shrunk there. A senior campaign aide told Reuters news agency that Ann Romney believed conditions were more favourable for her husband in Pennsylvania, as she campaigned there recently on his behalf. Mrs Romney made several stops in Ohio on Thursday, while Mr Romney's running mate, Paul Ryan, campaigned in Nevada. The BBC will be providing full online live results of the US presidential election on 6 November. After spending close to $1 billion each, the two candidates are finishing the campaign where polls show they are strongest: with Mr. Obama stressing his pledge to protect the middle class and Mr. Romney promising to fix the nation’s economy. Mr. Romney’s campaign also signaled its intention to battle Mr. Obama on more fronts, with the campaign announcing on Thursday that he will make a stop in Pennsylvania on Sunday, an indication that Republican strategists believe they might be able to win a state that has been trending Democratic. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Both sides are bracing for Friday morning’s release of the October unemployment rate, a final piece of economic evidence that could either bolster Mr. Romney’s accusations of fiscal malpractice or provide further ammunition for the president’s case that the country’s struggling economy is finally headed in the right direction and creating jobs. After avoiding attacks on Mr. Obama for 72 hours because of the storm, Mr. Romney plunged back into the fray in Roanoke, Va., mocking the president for proposing a cabinet-level post devoted to business development. “I don’t think adding a new chair in his cabinet will help add millions of jobs on Main Street,” Mr. Romney told an enthusiastic crowd Thursday morning at a family-owned factory.
Romney. "Tonight in this election, you, the American people, reminded us that while our road has been hard, while our journey has been long, we have picked ourselves up, we have fought our way back," Obama said during a victory speech in his hometown of Chicago. Advertisement Continue reading the main story For Mr. Obama, the result brings a ratification of his sweeping health care act, which Mr. Romney had vowed to repeal. With only Florida's 29 electoral votes still undecided, Mr Obama won 303 electoral votes to Mr Romney's 206. U.S. President Barack Obama says he will return to the White House "more determined and inspired than ever" after defeating Republican rival Mitt Romney and winning a second term as president. Margin: 0.5. The Romney campaign was taking its time early Wednesday to review the outcome and searching for any irregularities. Democrats won two more years of control of the Senate, and Republicans did likewise in the House. But he was unable to win in Ohio or other states needed to breach the 270 threshold. About 4 in 10 independent voters said that Mr. Bush should be held responsible. “Everybody said that if he lost it would be buyer’s remorse — that we were high on hope in 2008. 1968, Humphrey vs. Nixon, 42.4% to 43.4%. "The nation as you know is at a critical point. Video It was the first presidential election since the 2010 Supreme Court decision loosening restrictions on political spending, and the first in which both major-party candidates opted out of the campaign matching system that imposes spending limits in return for federal financing.
Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Barack Obama: "I have never been more hopeful" President Barack Obama has been re-elected to a second term, defeating Republican challenger Mitt Romney. America's first black president secured more than the 270 votes in the electoral college needed to win. In his victory speech before supporters in Chicago, Mr Obama said he would talk to Mr Romney about "where we can work together to move this country forward". Mr Obama prevailed despite lingering dissatisfaction with the economy and a hard-fought challenge by Mr Romney. The Republicans kept control of the House of Representatives, which analysts say will likely result in more of the gridlock that characterised Mr Obama's first term, with the House and the president at loggerheads on most legislation. In his address, the president challenged his opponents, asking them to work with him. With only Florida's 29 electoral votes still undecided, Mr Obama won 303 electoral votes to Mr Romney's 206. Both candidates said this was a choice of two visions - America has chosen 'One nation' speech Mr Obama congratulated Mr Romney and Republican vice-presidential candidate Paul Ryan on their hard-fought campaign. Mr Obama said he was returning to the White House "more determined, and more inspired than ever about the work there is to do, and the future that lies ahead". He pledged to work with Republican leaders in Congress to reduce the government's budget deficit, fix the tax code and reform the immigration system. In Boston, where his campaign was based, Mr Romney congratulated the president and said he and Mr Ryan had "left everything on the field" and had given their all in the campaign. US media reaction Thomas L Friedman of the New York Times writes: "No one can know for sure what complex emotional chemistry tipped this election Obama's way… it came down to a majority of Americans believing that whatever his faults, Obama was trying his hardest to fix what ails the country." Dan Balz of the Washington Post says: "Tuesday's election produced an uncertain mandate, although Obama will attempt to claim one. A Wall Street Journal opinion piece read: "[Obama] said little during the campaign about his first term and even less about his plans for a second. Instead his strategy was to portray Mitt Romney as a plutocrat… it worked with brutal efficiency - the definition of winning ugly." Doyle McManus of the Los Angeles Times writes: "If we're lucky, we will find that we elected a different Obama from the one who won four years ago - not just a grayer Obama but a wiser one too." Referring to the struggling economy, Mr Romney said now was not the time for "partisan bickering and political posturing", and that Republicans and Democrats must "put people before politics". "I so wish that I had been able to fulfil your hopes to lead the country in a different direction but the nation chose another leader and so I join with you to earnestly pray for [Mr Obama] and for this great nation," he said. The candidate who wins 270 electoral votes - by prevailing in the mostly winner-takes-all state contests - becomes president. On Tuesday, the president held the White House by assembling solid Democratic states and a number of important swing states such as Colorado, Iowa, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Minnesota, Virginia and Wisconsin. In other key ballots: Referendums in Maine, Maryland and Washington state approved same-sex marriage, while a measure in Minnesota to block gay unions failed Colorado and Washington state voted to legalise recreational use of marijuana California voters rejected a proposal to abolish the death penalty In a referendum, Puerto Ricans voted in favour of becoming the 51st US state, if Congress approves the move. But he was unable to win in Ohio or other states needed to breach the 270 threshold. Also on Tuesday's ballot were 11 state governorships, a third of the seats in the 100-member US Senate and all 435 seats in the House of Representatives. Mr Obama's victory came despite lingering high unemployment - 7.9% on election day - and tepid economic growth. But voters gave him credit for his 2009 rescue of the US car industry among other policy accomplishments, and rewarded him for ordering the commando mission that killed Osama Bin Laden in Pakistan last year. He and Mr Romney, as well as their respective allies, have spent more than $2bn (£1.25bn) - largely on adverts in swing states. U.S. President Barack Obama says he will return to the White House "more determined and inspired than ever" after defeating Republican rival Mitt Romney and winning a second term as president. But the president sealed his victory with wins in Ohio, Iowa, New Hampshire and Colorado, four of nine battleground states where the two rivals and their allies spent nearly $1 billion on duelling television commercials. "Our leaders have to reach across the aisle to do the people's work, and we citizens also have to rise to the occasion." Romney also thanked his running mate, Paul Ryan, saying that "besides my wife Ann, Paul is the best choice I've ever made." With votes counted in 88 per cent of the nation's precincts, Obama had received 55.8 million votes, or about 49.8 per cent. In Obama's hometown of Chicago, the U.S. network projections prompted roars of jubilation that CBC's Neil Macdonald said lasted for at least 10 minutes.
A 2010 poll showed that, for the first time, more Americans supported gay marriage than opposed it, and in May, President Obama endorsed same-sex marriage. Maryland and Washington had been considered toss-ups. "These are really specific states," said Frank Schubert, a California consultant who ran the traditional-marriage campaigns in the four states. With 29% of precincts reporting, just over 50% of voters opposed the amendment. Washington state's website listed that state's referendum with a lead, but complete results will not be available until at least Wednesday. But 30 states have constitutional amendments prohibiting it, and 11 more — including Minnesota — have laws banning it. But those who believe marriage should be between one man and one woman dispute that. Question 1 asks voters to allow Maine to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. Just three years ago, the state defeated a same-sex marriage bill at the ballot box. View all New York Times newsletters. “It’s making me giddy.” Advertisement Continue reading the main story It has been a constant theme of opponents of same-sex marriage that whenever it has been put before voters it has lost. But a lengthy campaign to change voters' minds persuaded some Mainers, said David Farmer, spokesman for Mainers United for Marriage. In Maine, since their loss in 2009, gay rights advocates have been cultivating public opinion in one-on-one conversations, and this year sponsored their successful repeat election. The Associated Press predicted that it would pass. And in both states, opponents collected enough signatures for a referendum on the law, putting it on hold in the meantime.
Matt McTighe, the campaign manager for Mainers United for Marriage, said, “A lot of families in Maine just became more stable and secure.” Advertisement Continue reading the main story At a victory party in Baltimore, supporters of Maryland’s referendum danced and cheered as balloons filled the air. “This is the civil rights issue of our time, and we have succeeded in Maryland.” In what appeared to be a close race in Minnesota, voters were asked to adopt a constitutional amendment limiting marriage to a man and a woman. While the state already has a law barring same-sex marriage, conservatives hoped to prevent a future Legislature or court decision from reversing it. In Washington State, supporters of a referendum authorizing same-sex marriage appeared to have an edge in pre-election polls, but final results were not expected until later this week because ballots were still being mailed in as late as Tuesday. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Laurie Carlsson, 33, stood on a freeway overpass with a sign urging drivers to honk for the referendum. Sign Up Receive occasional updates and special offers for The New York Times's products and services. “Seattleites do not use their horns — ever — but today they’re honking,” Ms. Carlsson said as a deafening roar erupted. “It’s making me giddy.” Advertisement Continue reading the main story It has been a constant theme of opponents of same-sex marriage that whenever it has been put before voters it has lost. In 30 states, voters have limited marriage to a man and a woman through constitutional amendments, and same-sex marriage has also been blocked in referendums like those in California in 2008 and Maine in 2009. Advertisement Continue reading the main story This year, the legislatures in Washington and Maryland approved same-sex marriage, but opponents gathered enough signatures to force referendums. In Maine, since their loss in 2009, gay rights advocates have been cultivating public opinion in one-on-one conversations, and this year sponsored their successful repeat election. Rights groups have denounced those messages as misleading scare tactics and say they do not seek to redefine marriage but to end discrimination. Advertisement Continue reading the main story For many weeks, reflecting their more than threefold advantage in fund-raising nationwide, advocates of same-sex marriage have unleashed advertisements of their own in which community members say that gay and lesbian friends deserve the same chance to love and marry that others enjoy. Pre-election polling in Washington State indicated that a slight majority of voters supported the referendum. “We have weathered their waves of attacks and not lost any ground,” said Zach Silk, the campaign manager of Washington United for Marriage, in an interview before the voting began. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Frank Schubert, who managed the campaigns to ban same-sex marriage in all four states, disputed the notion that Tuesday’s ballots were a major turning point. Voters OK gay marriage in Maine, Maryland Wins in Maine and Maryland are a first for same-sex marriage at the ballot box as advocates see public opinion shifting. "These are really specific states," said Frank Schubert, a California consultant who ran the traditional-marriage campaigns in the four states. "The fact that an uber-liberal state like Maine or Washington might go for same sex marriage, it doesn't mean that the country has changed." Those who believe marriage should be between one man and one woman dispute that Tuesday's election changes anything. "When the history books are written, 2012 will be remembered as the year when LGBT Americans won decisively at the ballot box," Chad Griffin, president of the Human Rights Campaign, said in a statement. "The dreams of millions of fair-minded Americans were realized as discrimination crumbled and equality prevailed." But activists said public opinion had shifted since 2008, when California passed a constitutional amendment reserving marriage for heterosexual couples. A 2010 poll showed that, for the first time, more Americans supported gay marriage than opposed it, and in May, President Obama endorsed same-sex marriage. CLEVELAND — Maine and Maryland became the first states to back same-sex marriage at the ballot box Tuesday night, buoying gay rights advocates and breaking a years-long losing streak. Maine's initiative, Question 1, had asked voters to allow officials to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. Just three years ago, the state defeated a same-sex marriage bill at the ballot box. "We've had more than 250,000 one-on-one conversations with people; we are confident that those personal connections have worked to move folks," he said earlier. "Fairness and equality under the law won tonight," said Josh Levin, campaign manager for Marylanders for Marriage Equality. "We're sure to feel the ripples of this monumental victory across the country for years to come." Washington state's website listed that state's referendum with a lead, but complete results will not be available until at least Wednesday.
Above all, congratulations to Barack. "The president is a very strategic thinker," he said. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu "I will continue to work with President Obama to preserve the strategic interests of Israel's citizens." Trade hopes "I have really enjoyed working with him over the last few years and I look forward to working with him again over the next four years. Image caption The US election has been closely watched around the world A round-up of international reaction from world leaders and key players to the re-election of Barack Obama to a second term as US president. Mr Miliband offered his own congratulations, tweeting: "Great victory based on building fairer economy and optimism about what politics can achieve." The Palestinian view? "Maintaining a healthy and steady relation between the two countries is beneficial for the two nations and peoples from both countries. South African President Jacob Zuma "We value our relations with the United States and look forward to strengthening bilateral co-operation in the years to come. British Prime Minister David Cameron "One of the first things I want to talk to Barack about is how we must do more to try and solve this crisis [in Syria]. Nor I would say are they policies which are governed by politics.'' But Conservative colleague Guy Opperman said Mr Romney's defeat showed he had failed to capture the "middle ground". Now that Mr. Obama is free of the constraints of reelection, Israelis worry that he will feel less compelled to mollify Mr. Netanyahu on disputes over the Palestinian peace process and blocking Iran’s nuclear program.
Netanyahu paid tribute to 'rock solid' ties between the US and Israel. Many Israelis are worried about how the frosty first-term relationship will affect Obama's actions during his second term. In this March 5 file photo, President Barack Obama meets with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington. Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu was quick to congratulate President Obama on his reelection by paying tribute to an US-Israel alliance that, in his words, is "rock solid," though the upbeat statement belied widespread anxiety by Israelis that the leaders’ rocky relations would continue to cloud ties. Now that Mr. Obama is free of the constraints of reelection, Israelis worry that he will feel less compelled to mollify Mr. Netanyahu on disputes over the Palestinian peace process and blocking Iran’s nuclear program. Obama has pushed Israel to renew talks with the Palestinians and has refused a request from Netanyahu to publicly set a "red line" for military action against Iran’s nuclear program. Alluding to the tension with language that seemed lifted from GOP candidate Mitt Romney's talking points, parliament member Danny Danon, a member of Netanyahu's Likud Party, expressed hope the president "resets his course relating to Israel and our region for the next four years. Rather than dictating ill-advised policies that endanger the wellbeing of America's only true ally in the Middle East, now is the time for President Obama to return to the wise and time-honored policy of 'zero daylight' between our respective nations.'' If Obama pushes more diplomatic talks with Iran while allowing it to continue to enrich uranium, sore spots with the US are likely persist like they did late into the election campaign, says one political expert. "We all know that relations between Obama and Netanyahu have been tense at times," says Ephraim Inbar, a political science professor at Bar Ilan University. "Israel will have difficulty swallowing" policies considered to be "appeasement" of Iran. The Israeli prime minister, who is gearing up for his own reelection campaign that is expected to highlight his handling of foreign affairs, was put on the defensive on Wednesday morning as his surrogates hustled to fended off renewed allegations that Mr. Netanyahu had wrongly intervened in the US campaign on behalf of Mr. Romney, and that Israel might pay a diplomatic price. "The president is a very strategic thinker," he said. Overplayed anxiety Indeed, former diplomats and political analysts suggested that some of the anxiety is overplayed, because the ties between the allies are more robust than the sometimes rocky relations between the two leaders. They pointed to a weeks-long joint missile-defense training involving thousands of soldiers as evidence of the alliance’s durability. One Netanyahu supporter expressed hope the prime minister could mend fences. Another supporter of the prime minister said he isn’t worried about Obama’s reelection because he has many pro-Israel advisers and has already come to Israel’s defense in the United Nations. "Even though there has been tension between Bibi and Obama," says Ravi Dagan, a boutique owner, "the president has been there for us." Image caption The US election has been closely watched around the world A round-up of international reaction from world leaders and key players to the re-election of Barack Obama to a second term as US president. European Council President Herman Van Rompuy and European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso "The United States is a key strategic partner of the European Union and we look forward to continuing the close co-operation established with President Obama over these last four years, to further strengthening our bilateral ties and to jointly addressing global challenges, including in the fields of security and economy," they said in a joint statement. They also "look forward to meeting President Obama at an early date in order to reconfirm our priorities and provide renewed impetus to our joint action". French President Francois Hollande Mr Hollande hailed President Obama's re-election as a "clear choice for an open, united America that is totally engaged on the international scene". His victory would "once again reinforce our partnership to facilitate the return of economic growth in our countries, to fight unemployment, and to find solutions to crises that threaten us, notably in the Middle East". German Chancellor Angela Merkel "I have deeply appreciated our many meetings and conversations about all the issues involved in developing the German-American and the transatlantic relationship, not least in overcoming the global financial and economic crisis." I've enjoyed working with him, I think he's a very successful US president and I look forward to working with him in the future." Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu "I will continue to work with President Obama to preserve the strategic interests of Israel's citizens." Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas "The president hopes that Obama continues his efforts to achieve peace in the Middle East," a statement said. Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan President Jonathan "welcomes President Obama's victory in an intensely fought presidential race as an endorsement by the good people of the United States of his leadership, progressive world view and the very good work he has done in the past four years towards ending global economic depression and fostering global peace and security", a spokesman said. Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga "Mr Obama's success is particularly resonant in Africa this morning because not only is he an African-American but the first American of immediate African descent to have not only ascended to, but succeeded in, the most powerful and challenging office in the world." "China is willing to work with the United States, focus on the future, and make more efforts to push forward China-US co-operation, to attain better development and to benefit the people of the two nations as well as the world's population at large." Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai "The president of Afghanistan hopes that with President Obama's re-election, relations between Afghanistan and the United States, based on bilateral interests, are further expanded," his spokesman Aimal Faizi said. Nato Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen "The bond between Europe and North America, based upon the shared values on which our alliance was founded over 60 years ago, remains as strong and as important to the preservation of Euro-Atlantic peace and security as ever. Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption David Cameron: "He's a great American president" Prime Minister David Cameron has sent his congratulations to Barack Obama, who has been re-elected to a second term as US president. Labour leader Ed Miliband said Mr Obama's victory was built on creating a "fairer economy".
This is the same. He will be relieved," she said. "Westminster is a jungle. The prime minister said Ms Dorries had not told him in advance of her participation in the show and he backed Chief Whip Sir George Young's decision to suspend the MP while she is away. But Cameron said he wanted Conservative MPs doing their job. "The point is... she has made a decision to go out and do this programme and this meant she could not be in Parliament and could not be representing her constituents. "A lot of people don't vote and if they can see I am a normal mother who comes from a poor background and who didn't go to a posh school, they may think they can be a politician too. The prime minister made his comments as it emerged that the Westminster watchdog is considering whether to investigate a complaint it received over her decision to take part in I'm a Celebrity … Get Me Out of Here. She claimed the prime minister would be glad to see the back of her. "Obviously Nadine and I have had a few run-ins over the years but I think the chief whip has done the right thing. But Dorries claimed in the press material for the show that her appearance was the perfect opportunity to prove that politicians were "normal". "I want Conservative MPs in the House of Commons doing things that the Conservative Party and the country supports. The former minister stayed in post for more than a month after an altercation with a police officer outside Downing Street. He said he had had to explain to Baroness Thatcher what the programme was and when it was on after mentioning to her at a reception that he believed her daughter Carol Thatcher was going to win it.
PM says suspension was 'right thing to do' as parliamentary watchdog examines complaint about MP's absence to appear on I'm A Celebrity David Cameron has defended the decision of the Conservative party to suspend Nadine Dorries for leaving Westminster to appear on a reality show, insisting it was the "right thing to do". The prime minister made his comments as it emerged that the Westminster watchdog is considering whether to investigate a complaint it received over her decision to take part in I'm a Celebrity … Get Me Out of Here. Dorries's forthcoming appearance on the jungle-based reality show, which starts on Sunday and is set to earn the MP for Mid Bedfordshire £40,000, could take her away from her constituency and parliamentary duties for up to a month. Speaking on ITV's This Morning, the prime minister, who came back from a trip to the Middle East on Wednesday afternoon, confirmed that he, like other colleagues, had not been informed that Dorries was planning to appear on I'm a Celebrity. He said the chief whip, Sir George Young, had taken the "very sensible decision" to ensure she is "no longer a Conservative MP". "The chief whip took the view – and I back this completely – that she had made the decision to go out and do this programme and that meant she couldn't be in parliament, she couldn't represent her constituents and I think people do expect MPs to be doing either one or two of those things, particularly when parliament is sitting." "Obviously Nadine and I have had a few run-ins over the years but I think the chief whip has done the right thing." The show, which will run daily, typically involves gruelling challenges, including "bushtucker trial" meals which have in the past featured bugs, crocodile penis and kangaroo testicles. The parliamentary commissioner for standards, John Lyon, will examine a complaint received about whether she may have breached the code of conduct for MPs by being absent from the Commons. A spokeswoman for the commissioner confirmed a complaint had been lodged on Wednesday. We usually respond within five working days," she said. The Conservative cabinet minister Jeremy Hunt admitted that Dorries's decision to take time out of her job to take part in the programme was causing great concern among colleagues. The health secretary told ITV1's Daybreak: "A lot of people are very worried about it. When Dorries returns to the UK, she will be summoned to meet Young to discuss whether she will have the party whip restored. Dorries remains blissfully cut off from the furore as she and other participants, who include the EastEnders actor Charlie Brooks and former world darts champion Eric Bristow, are in "lockdown" before the show, meaning they are barred from any communication with the outside world. Dr Sarah Wollaston, the Conservative MP for Totnes, has said Dorries, who is paid an annual Commons salary of £65,738, should resign her seat if she wants to be a celebrity and should hand her appearance fee to the taxpayer. But Dorries claimed in the press material for the show that her appearance was the perfect opportunity to prove that politicians were "normal". "A lot of people don't vote and if they can see I am a normal mother who comes from a poor background and who didn't go to a posh school, they may think they can be a politician too. Dorries listed the "special occasions" she would miss while in the jungle as "local elections, a byelection, whether President Obama will still be in office or not, and the Tatler ball". Image caption The MP has said politicians should try to reach out to a mass audience David Cameron has defended the decision to suspend Conservative MP Nadine Dorries while she appears on a reality TV show in Australia. The prime minister said constituents expected their MPs to represent them in Parliament and withdrawing the whip was the "right" decision. The prime minister said Ms Dorries had not told him in advance of her participation in the show and he backed Chief Whip Sir George Young's decision to suspend the MP while she is away. 'Run-ins' "The chief whip made the very sensible decision of saying 'look you should either be in Parliament or representing your constituents'," he said. Mr Cameron rejected suggestions the party's quick suspension of Ms Dorries - a persistent critic of his - was in stark contrast to its response to the row over Andrew Mitchell. The prime minister also revealed that he had had a "extraordinary conversation" with former prime minister Baroness Thatcher about I'm a Celebrity when her daughter Carol was on the programme in 2005. MP says she is a thorn in PM's side and she aims to prove politicians are 'normal', in press material for ITV show Nadine Dorries, the MP suspended by the Conservative party after flying out to Australia to take part in I'm a Celebrity … Get Me Out Of Here, has claimed David Cameron will be "relieved" she is out in the jungle rather than doing her job. The MP for Mid Bedfordshire, who is paid an annual Commons salary of £65,738, rightly predicted there would be a backlash, in comments released in an ITV press release on Wednesday confirming the show's lineup. The show was the perfect opportunity to prove that politicians are "normal", she said. "A lot of people don't vote and if they can see I am a normal mother who comes from a poor background and who didn't go to a posh school, they may think they can be a politician too.
Obviously. The dance, which has become a worldwide craze, was invented by 34-year-old Gangnam Style singer PSY, real name Park Jae-sang. "I was amazed" he told the BBC. YouTube's owner, Google, said the video had been watched seven million to 10 million times a day on average. It overtook the previous record holder - Justin Bieber's music video Baby - on 24 November. Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption British troops in Afghanistan have made their own version. And then came the parodies. Gangnam Style , the video by South Korean pop star PSY, has reached one billion views on the video streaming website YouTube. Scott Mills, the BBC Radio 1 DJ who championed the song on his show, said he was amazed by the phenomenon that the song had become. "Psy's success is a great testament to the universal appeal of catchy music – and er, great equine dance moves," Kevin Allocca, YouTube trends manager, said in a blog post. Next up were video gamers who flocked to a parody based on popular game Minecraft, again making it a viral sensation. "The thing that interests you in the video is the fact that you don't understand the lyrics. It involves crossing the wrists and imitating riding a horse. Uploaded back in July, the K-Pop anthem quickly shot to global fame; YouTube estimate that the clip has been watched on average between seven million and 10 million times daily since then. Other politicians have also attempted the quirky “horse rider” move. Footage courtesy BFBS: British Forces News "The first time I saw it was on The Ellen DeGeneres Show in America and I just thought it was a bit of fun, but I didn't expect it to be as big as it was.
Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption The BBC's Rory Cellan Jones on the Gangnam phenomenon Gangnam Style has become the first video to clock up more than one billion views on YouTube. The South Korean dance track was posted online in July, propelling pop star Psy to worldwide fame. It has inspired hundreds of parody clips, from members of the British army, Thai navy and Minecraft gamers, among others. YouTube's owner, Google, said the video had been watched seven million to 10 million times a day on average. It overtook the previous record holder - Justin Bieber's music video Baby - on 24 November. "Psy's success is a great testament to the universal appeal of catchy music - and er, great equine dance moves," wrote Kevin Allocca, YouTube trends manager, on the service's blog. Globalised Gangnam Image caption The video's YouTube hit counter added a dancing Psy animation after it hit the one billion milestone One industry watcher said the fact so many people continued to post their own versions of Gangnam Style had played a huge part in the clip's success. "I've seen a statistic which reckons the one song will have generated something like $8m [£5m] by the end of the year from money that comes directly from YouTube through advertising plus download sales, its uses in adverts and TV programmes," Chris Cooke, business editor of the CMU music news site, told the BBC. "It shows that YouTube - which is a free-to-use as a promotional platform for the music labels - can lead to substantial income. "Should every artist be trying to think of a funny video that will go viral and be mimicked? I don't know whether it's a template that can be copied, but it certainly shows how quickly an eye-catching clip can spread thanks to social networks and YouTube." Sir Martin Sorrell - chief executive of advertising giant WPP - paid tribute to the achievement by making a link between Psy and one of the west's most influential economists. "The thing that interests you in the video is the fact that you don't understand the lyrics. Footage courtesy BFBS: British Forces News "The first time I saw it was on The Ellen DeGeneres Show in America and I just thought it was a bit of fun, but I didn't expect it to be as big as it was. "Psy came into my Radio 1 show and The Guinness World Records presented him with a plaque for the most 'liked' YouTube video of all time and the amazing thing is he is just a guy, he hasn't tried to do any of this." D C Han, a South Korean hair stylist who worked in Gangnam before starting a business in London, added that he was proud to see the song become such a massive hit. Gangnam Style , the video by South Korean pop star PSY, has reached one billion views on the video streaming website YouTube. YouTube's owner, Google, said the video had been watched seven to ten million times a day on average since it was posted online on July 15, 2012. The song mocks the fashion-conscious set that live in the affluent Gangnam district of the South Korean capital Seoul, but has become most famous for the distinctive dance in the video. The internet star is estimated to have made £150,210 from the YouTube views alone, with around £5 million more coming from CD sales, downloads, and live concerts. Uploaded back in July, the K-Pop anthem quickly shot to global fame; YouTube estimate that the clip has been watched on average between seven million and 10 million times daily since then. Just a few weeks ago, Gangnam Style overtook the video sharing site's previous most watched clip – Justin Bieber's Baby – on 24 November. What with the resultant advertising revenues it's little wonder that Google boss Eric Schmidt was so happy to join a Gangnam Style line dance with the Korean pop sensation back in September. Somewhat strangely the upper echelons of British society were also quick to jump on the K-Pop parody bandwagon, "Eton Style" becoming a YouTube hit in it's own right.
He is the elected president of Egypt," said Emad Abou Salem, 40, a Mursi supporter. Members of Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood chased the protesters away from their base outside the palace's main gate and tore down their tents. The violence that had stretched from Wednesday afternoon into the early hours of Thursday had abated and the streets were calm. Witnesses in Cairo say the Egyptian army has deployed tanks outside the presidential palace, hours after three demonstrators were shot dead in the Egyptian capital during clashes between opponents and supporters of President Mohamed Morsi. "The Republican Guard began a deployment around the headquarters of the presidency ... to secure the headquarters of the presidency in its capacity as a symbol of the state and the official headquarters of government," the agency reported. A referendum on the constitution is set for December 15. More than 300 people have been injured during the two days of violence. The deployment of hundreds of riot police did not stop the fighting. Three armored troop carriers were also in the street outside the palace. Opposition protesters want Mr. Morsi to abolish his decree, which they see as a power grab. (Reporting by Reuters TV/Edmund Blair; Writing by Tom Perry; Editing by Patrick Graham) "I have decided to retire from any political work and to withdraw from any political role ... including withdrawing from any role in the presidency and the Freedom and Justice Party," Rafik Habib said in a statement on his official Facebook page. His speech, still ongoing, comes amidst ongoing unrest in the Egyptian capital. Five of the president's 17 advisors have quit since November 22.
At least seven people have been killed and more than 770 injured in clashes outside the presidential palace in Cairo. Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi expressed sorrow for ongoing violent protests outside his palace and called for dialogue in a speech on Thursday night, but offered no concessions to Egypt's increasingly polarised opposition. Seven people were killed, and more than 770 injured, during hours of clashes outside the presidential palace on Wednesday. Supporters of the president attacked a group of opposition protesters staging a peaceful sit-in outside the palace, using firebombs, clubs and guns, according to witnesses. In his speech, Morsi called the violence "regrettable," and blamed it on "infiltrators" funded by unnamed third parties. "Such painful events happened because of political differences that should be resolved through dialogue," he said. His speech, still ongoing, comes amidst ongoing unrest in the Egyptian capital. At least five tanks were deployed outside the palace on Thursday, according to the army. The state news agency said the military deployment was to "secure" the building. Nine armoured troop carriers were also reported on the street outside the palace. The violence that had stretched from Wednesday afternoon into the early hours of Thursday had abated by morning, and the streets were calm. "The Republican Guard began a deployment around the headquarters of the presidency ... to secure the headquarters of the presidency in its capacity as a symbol of the state and the official headquarters of government," the agency reported. Yet violence had picked up again by Thursday afternoon as the opposing sides began throwing stones at each other, despite the military presence. Angry mobs battled The fighting erupted late on Wednesday afternoon when thousands of Morsi's supporters descended on an area near the presidential palace where about 300 of his opponents were staging a sit-in. Members of Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood chased the protesters away from their base outside the palace's main gate and tore down their tents. After a brief lull, hundreds of Morsi opponents arrived and began throwing firebombs at the president's backers, who responded with rocks. The deployment of hundreds of riot police did not stop the fighting. The police later fired tear gas to disperse Morsi's opponents. Egypt's top Islamic body also called on the president to suspend his constitutional decree, and demanded unconditional dialogue between Morsi and his opponents. Al-Azhar said Morsi should "suspend the latest decree and stop using it," in a statement issued on Thursday. Morsi, for his part, seemed to be pressing relentlessly forward with plans for a December 15 constitutional referendum to pass the new charter. Another official resigns A prominent Christian said he had resigned from his role as an aide to President Morsi and a senior official in the Muslim Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party. "I have decided to retire from any political work and to withdraw from any political role ... including withdrawing from any role in the presidency and the Freedom and Justice Party," Rafik Habib said in a statement on his official Facebook page. Compounding Morsi's woes, four of his advisers resigned on Wednesday, joining three other members of his 17-member advisory panel who have abandoned him since the crisis began. The large scale and intensity of the fighting marked a milestone in Egypt's deepening schism, pitting the Brotherhood and ultra-conservative Islamists in one camp, against liberals, leftists and Christians in the other. Anti-Morsi protesters stormed and set ablaze the Brotherhood offices in Suez and Ismailia, east of Cairo, and there were clashes in the industrial city of Mahallah and the province of Menoufiyah in the Nile Delta north of the capital. There were rival demonstrations outside the Brotherhood's headquarters in the Cairo suburb of Moqatam and in Alexandria, security officials said senior Brotherhood official Sobhi Saleh was hospitalised after being severely beaten by Morsi's opponents. The opposition is demanding that Morsi rescind the decrees giving him nearly unrestricted powers and shelve the controversial draft constitution, which the president's Islamist allies rushed through last week in a marathon, all-night session shown live on state TV. Mohamed ElBaradei, a leading opposition reform advocate, said late on Wednesday that Morsi's rule was "no different" than Mubarak's. "In fact, it is perhaps even worse," the Nobel Peace Prize laureate told a news conference after he accused the president's supporters of a "vicious and deliberate" attack on peaceful demonstrators outside the palace. People stand near a burnt police car, which was damaged during clashes on Wednesday, outside the main road near the Egyptian presidential palace in Cairo December 6, 2012. At least three tanks are deployed outside the palace on Thursday in a street where supporters and opponents of President Mohamed Mursi had been clashing into the early hours of the morning, a Reuters witness said. Witnesses in Cairo say the Egyptian army has deployed tanks outside the presidential palace, hours after three demonstrators were shot dead in the Egyptian capital during clashes between opponents and supporters of President Mohamed Morsi. Reporting from the scene, VOA correspondent Elizabeth Arrott said the violence started Wednesday when Mr. Morsi's Islamist supporters attacked opposition demonstrators angered by the president's decree issued last month. The clashes outside the presidential palace marked the first time that political rivals in deeply divided Egypt have battled each other since last year's protests that ousted authoritarian former president Hosni Mubarak.
Lorang Konchok, a 40-year-old monk at the Kirti Monastery in Aba County, Sichuan, has goaded eight people to set themselves on fire, three of whom died, since 2009, said a police statement. According to the police, the men say they were acting on the orders of Tibet's exiled spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama. "We would welcome the Chinese government investigating whether we are instigating these immolations." More than 3,000 Tibetans and monks later gathered at the site of the self-immolation protest and recited prayers. Image caption Exiled groups deny encouraging self-immolations Chinese authorities have arrested a monk and his nephew for inciting self-immolation protests in Sichuan province, state media says. Tibetan sources say a 17-year-old girl set herself on fire Sunday to protest Chinese rule in ethnic Tibetan areas. According to police, when someone agreed to commit suicide by burning himself or herself, the two suspects would record his or her personal and family information, take pictures and promise to "pass the information on to India." They detained Lorang Konchok on Aug. 13 and Lorang Tsering on Aug. 15. Ninety-five Tibetans have now self-immolated in western China since 2009, with 28 cases reported in November alone. Exiled Tibetans said the confession was forced and denied any involvement. A recent legal ruling stipulated anyone aiding immolations would be charged with murder. Police started their investigation after a series of self-immolations took place in Aba in August. As soon as the self-immolation was done, they sent pictures, accounts of the incident and other information to their overseas contacts belonging to the "Tibet independence" organization via mobile phones.
Tibetan sources say a 17-year-old girl set herself on fire Sunday to protest Chinese rule in ethnic Tibetan areas. Witnesses say Wanchen Kyi shouted slogans in support of the Dalai Lama and a free Tibet as she was engulfed in flames. A day earlier, two young monks also died after setting themselves on fire to protest Chinese rule. Ninety-five Tibetans have now self-immolated in western China since 2009, with 28 cases reported in November alone. On Sunday, Chinese state media quoted police in Sichuan province as saying a detained Tibetan monk and his nephew had confessed they incited eight people to set themselves on fire in anti-Chinese protests. According to the police, the men say they were acting on the orders of Tibet's exiled spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama. Image caption Exiled groups deny encouraging self-immolations Chinese authorities have arrested a monk and his nephew for inciting self-immolation protests in Sichuan province, state media says. Xinhua reported that the monk confessed to encouraging and publicising the protests, under orders from exiled spiritual leader the Dalai Lama. A recent legal ruling stipulated anyone aiding immolations would be charged with murder. Dozens of Tibetans have set fire to themselves in protest against the Communist Party's rule since 2009. The Tibet Divide China says Tibet has always been part of its territory Tibet had long periods of autonomy China launched a military assault in 1950 Opposition to Chinese rule led to a bloody uprising in 1959 Tibet's spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, fled to India Dalai Lama now advocates a "middle way" with Beijing, seeking autonomy but not independence The Tibet issue: Two views Inside Tibet On Sunday, Xinhua quoted a police statement saying 40-year-old monk Lorang Konchok had encouraged eight people to set themselves on fire since 2009. The arrests follow a ruling by China's top courts, reported in a commentary in the party's Gannan Daily newspaper, that increased punishments for anyone suspected of encouraging the protests. CHENGDU, Dec. 9 (Xinhua) -- Police in southwest China's Sichuan Province have detained a monk and his nephew for their roles in inciting a series of self-immolations, local police said Sunday. After a Kirti Monastery monk named Tapey self-immolated in February 2009, Lorang Konchok was contacted by some key figures with the media liaison team -- a "Tibet independence" organization of the Dalai Lama group, and he continuously sent the latter information about incidents of self-immolation. He also promised to spread their "deeds" abroad so they and their families would be acknowledged and honored, the police statement said. According to police, when someone agreed to commit suicide by burning himself or herself, the two suspects would record his or her personal and family information, take pictures and promise to "pass the information on to India." As soon as the self-immolation was done, they sent pictures, accounts of the incident and other information to their overseas contacts belonging to the "Tibet independence" organization via mobile phones.
Gov. That year, Markey was said to have considered running for the upper chamber, but opted out. Senate." Kerry won that seat and has held it since. Little said he did not know if Brown will run. Running in a special election is a low-risk venture for House incumbents. State Senator Benjamin B. "He's passionate about the issues that Ted Kennedy and I worked on as a team for decades, whether it's health care or the environment and energy or education." Markey is the first major candidate in the race. “I refuse to allow the Tea Party-dominated Republican Party to lead us off the fiscal cliff and into recession. Ed Markey at the Democratic National Convention. Markey is the longest-serving member of the Massachusetts congressional delegation and the ninth most senior member of the U.S. House. “Congressman Capuano wishes Congressman Markey well,’’ Capuano spokeswoman Alison Mills wrote in an e-mail. On the Republican side, Sen. Scott Brown -- who lost to Democrat Elizabeth Warren in November -- is the overwhelming favorite. Deval Patrick (D) will appoint an interim senator who will serve until the winner takes office. A recent poll suggested he would be a formidable candidate. Markey’s spirited announcement statement signaled that he is prepared for a hard-swinging campaign and is ready to defend several traditional liberal positions. “There is so much at stake.’’ Two other Bay State congressmen, Michael E. Capuano of Somerville and Stephen F. Lynch of South Boston, both Democrats, have also expressed interest in seeking Kerry’s seat, but have announced no decision. Kerry, a Democrat and head of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, is expected to be easily confirmed by the Senate in coming weeks as the next secretary of state.
4 years ago (CNN) - Several Democrats, including Sen. John Kerry, offered their endorsement Friday of Rep. Ed Markey in his planned bid to seek the Senate seat Kerry is expected to vacate. "As Massachusetts' senior senator today and as a colleague of Ed Markey's for 28 years, I'm excited to learn of and support his decision to run for the United States Senate," Kerry wrote in a statement, which also noted he will likely soon hold a job which requires he remain "apolitical." Follow @politicalticker The support of Kerry, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee - the official body tasked with electing Democrats to the Senate - and the wife of the late Sen. Ted Kennedy will make it challenging for another candidate to enter the field. Kerry is expected to be confirmed by his Senate colleagues, and Markey told supporters on Thursday that he would run for Kerry's seat in the anticipated special election this spring. He is the first candidate to have announced publicly he will seek the seat, though other Democrats have indicated their interest. The state's outgoing Republican Sen. Scott Brown, who lost his bid for re-election to a full term, may also throw his hat in the ring. Markey said he was "humbled and honored" to have Kerry's support and proud to have Vicki Kennedy on his side. "It is because of Vicki's energy, passion and commitment that Massachusetts and the entire nation are healthier, safer and a place for our children to thrive," he wrote. "I look forward to working with her to promote the health and best interests of the people of Massachusetts." Some speculated whether Kennedy, whose husband had been elected to eight full terms before his death in 2009, would seek the seat. The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee's head, Sen. Michael Bennet of Colorado, described Markey as "exactly the kind of leader Massachusetts needs in the U.S. "At a time when the country needs real leadership that looks out for the middle class, Ed Markey always remembers where he came from and will continue the hard work needed to turn our economy around," Bennet wrote. Kerry described Markey as "one of the most experienced and capable legislators in the entire Congress and it would be an almost unprecedented occasion for such an accomplished legislator to join the Senate able to hit the ground running on every issue of importance to Massachusetts." "Ed's upbringing in Malden and his service as the dean of our delegation means he knows in his heart and in his head just what is important to every corner of our state," Kerry wrote. "He's passionate about the issues that Ted Kennedy and I worked on as a team for decades, whether it's health care or the environment and energy or education." That year, Markey was said to have considered running for the upper chamber, but opted out. Markey is "gutsy and tough, smart and sharp, a workhorse in Congress who has never forgotten where he came from or who sent him to Washington," Kerry wrote. - CNN's Gregory Wallace contributed to this report US Representative Edward J. Markey, dean of the state’s Washington delegation, will run in 2013 for the Senate seat expected to open with the nomination of Senator John F. Kerry to head the State Department. Markey, 66, a Malden Democrat elected to the House in 1976, is the first prominent candidate to declare a run for Kerry’s seat, which will be filled through a special election early next summer, probably in June. Advertisement The Massachusetts special election is likely to be a closely watched national race and a potential harbinger for the 2014 midterm elections. If they lose, they would still be members of Congress and be able to run for reelection as favored incumbents in 2014. Senator Scott Brown, a Republican who lost his seat to Democrat Elizabeth Warren in November, is the most likely GOP candidate in the 2013 special election. The longtime congressman sees the Senate as a better opportunity while the GOP controls the House of Representatives, according to someone close to Markey but not authorized to speak on his behalf. In the Senate, freshman senators can adopt national platforms and wield influence. Advertisement Markey’s announcement was made just three days after Edward M. Kennedy Jr., a son of the late US senator, said he would pass on the Massachusetts race and may run in the future in Connecticut, where he now lives. Governor Deval Patrick will appoint a temporary senator to fill the seat once Kerry is confirmed to his new job. Patrick has said he favors appointing a caretaker who will not seek the seat in the special election. Markey, or any of the other sitting congressmen, would have to resign his seat in the House to take the temporary Senate appointment, greatly increasing the political risk of running in the special election. Philip W. Johnston, a former chairman of the Massachusetts Democratic Party who remains a key party operative, endorsed Markey Thursday and said he hopes Democrats can “avoid an expensive, divisive primary.’’ Markey begins the race with about $3.1 million in his campaign account, a “really nice fund-raising lead’’ that may give pause to other prominent Democrats considering a run, said Stonehill College political scientist Peter Ubertaccio. Capuano had about $491,000 in campaign cash on hand in late November; Lynch had $740,000, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. “He will make a decision in the coming days.’’ Lynch, in a statement, said, “While I am giving serious thought to running for the US Senate and have received great encouragement, at this point I am still focused on my job as a congressman and am working with my colleagues in the Massachusetts delegation to find solutions to the fiscal cliff.’’ Advertisement Brown, who won his seat in a 2010 special election after Senator Edward M. Kennedy died in office, has not said whether he will run again. The poll also asked about potential vulnerabilities, such as Markey’s votes on tax increases and whether the congressman has spent too much time in Washington.
Senate." Kirk, who is up for re-election in 2016, will continue to undergo rehabilitation while in Washington, where he has new, handicapped-accessible living quarters on Capitol Hill, said spokesman Lance Trover. Boehner beat Pelosi by 220-192 in the speakership vote on the first day of a new Congress. Despite a rocky few weeks during the 'fiscal cliff' fight, Boehner won re-election as speaker of the House of Representatives on Thursday and will lead Republicans as they take on the White House over federal spending. "You know why? REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi (L) introduces Speaker of the House John Boehner after Boehner's re-election during the first day of the 113th Congress in the Capitol in Washington January 3, 2013. CORRECTION: An earlier version of this article incorrectly stated that Sen. Mazie Hirono is the successor to the late Sen. Daniel Inouye. She acknowledged that her efforts to target women were unique. Mikulski is a trailblazer for female senators: she is the longest-serving woman in Congress and this year became the first-ever female head of the powerful Appropriations Committee. She got up once, to don a lei and escort Hirono to the front to be sworn in by Biden. And we're going to not only make history, we're going to change history." Later, they filed one by one into the old Senate chamber, a small room that used to house the body until it became too big. The 53-year-old Republican from Illinois was greeted by two top Democrats: Vice President Joe Biden and Sen. Dick Durbin, the senior senator from Illinois. Asked why she thought Inouye wanted her to have the honor, Murray paused for a second before responding, “I think Danny just respected the work that women do.
Speaker of the House John Boehner bangs the gavel during the first day of the 113th Congress at the Capitol in Washington January 3, 2013. Despite a rocky few weeks during the 'fiscal cliff' fight, Boehner won re-election as speaker of the House of Representatives on Thursday and will lead Republicans as they take on the White House over federal spending. Boehner beat Democratic Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi by 220-192 in the speakership vote on the first day of a new Congress. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque Members of the 113th Congress take their oath at the Capitol in Washington January 3, 2013. Despite a rocky few weeks during the 'fiscal cliff' fight, John Boehner won re-election as speaker of the House of Representatives on Thursday and will lead Republicans as they take on the White House over federal spending. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque Speaker of the House John Boehner takes his oath during the first day of the 113th Congress at the Capitol in Washington January 3, 2013. Despite a rocky few weeks during the 'fiscal cliff' fight, Boehner won re-election as speaker of the House of Representatives on Thursday and will lead Republicans as they take on the White House over federal spending. Boehner beat Democratic Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi by 220-192 in the speakership vote on the first day of a new Congress. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque Speaker of the House John Boehner addresses the 113th Congress in the Capitol in Washington January 3, 2013. Despite a rocky few weeks during the 'fiscal cliff' fight, Boehner won re-election as speaker of the House of Representatives on Thursday and will lead Republicans as they take on the White House over federal spending. Boehner beat Democratic Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi by 220-192 in the speakership vote on the first day of a new Congress. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi (L) introduces Speaker of the House John Boehner to speak after Boehner's re-election during the first day of the 113th Congress in the Capitol in Washington January 3, 2013. Despite a rocky few weeks during the 'fiscal cliff' fight, Boehner won re-election as speaker of the House of Representatives on Thursday and will lead Republicans as they take on the White House over federal spending. Boehner beat Pelosi by 220-192 in the speakership vote on the first day of a new Congress. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi (L) introduces Speaker of the House John Boehner to speak after Boehner's re-election during the first day of the 113th Congress in the Capitol in Washington January 3, 2013. Despite a rocky few weeks during the 'fiscal cliff' fight, Boehner won re-election as speaker of the House of Representatives on Thursday and will lead Republicans as they take on the White House over federal spending. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque Speaker of the House John Boehner takes his oath during the first day of the 113th Congress at the Capitol in Washington January 3, 2013. Despite a rocky few weeks during the 'fiscal cliff' fight, Boehner won re-election as speaker of the House of Representatives on Thursday and will lead Republicans as they take on the White House over federal spending. Despite a rocky few weeks during the 'fiscal cliff' fight, Boehner won re-election as speaker of the House of Representatives on Thursday and will lead Republicans as they take on the White House over federal spending. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi hands the gavel to Speaker of the House John Boehner during the first day of the 113th Congress in the Capitol in Washington January 3, 2013. Despite a rocky few weeks during the 'fiscal cliff' fight, Boehner won re-election as speaker of the House of Representatives on Thursday and will lead Republicans as they take on the White House over federal spending. Despite a rocky few weeks during the 'fiscal cliff' fight, Boehner won re-election as speaker of the House of Representatives on Thursday and will lead Republicans as they take on the White House over federal spending. Despite a rocky few weeks during the 'fiscal cliff' fight, Boehner won re-election as speaker of the House of Representatives on Thursday and will lead Republicans as they take on the White House over federal spending. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi (L) introduces Speaker of the House John Boehner after Boehner's re-election during the first day of the 113th Congress in the Capitol in Washington January 3, 2013. Despite a rocky few weeks during the 'fiscal cliff' fight, Boehner won re-election as speaker of the House of Representatives on Thursday and will lead Republicans as they take on the White House over federal spending. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi (L) walks away after handing the gavel to Speaker of the House John Boehner during the first day of the 113th Congress in the Capitol in Washington January 3, 2013. Despite a rocky few weeks during the 'fiscal cliff' fight, Boehner won re-election as speaker of the House of Representatives on Thursday and will lead Republicans as they take on the White House over federal spending. Despite a rocky few weeks during the 'fiscal cliff' fight, Boehner won re-election as speaker of the House of Representatives on Thursday and will lead Republicans as they take on the White House over federal spending. Despite a rocky few weeks during the 'fiscal cliff' fight, Boehner won re-election as speaker of the House of Representatives on Thursday and will lead Republicans as they take on the White House over federal spending. Despite a rocky few weeks during the 'fiscal cliff' fight, Boehner won re-election as speaker of the House of Representatives on Thursday and will lead Republicans as they take on the White House over federal spending. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque WASHINGTON Despite a rocky few weeks during the "fiscal cliff" fight, John Boehner won re-election as speaker of the House of Representatives on Thursday and will again lead Republicans as they take on the White House over federal spending. Boehner defeated House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi 220-192 in a vote on the opening day of the 113th Congress and vowed to use his second term to shrink the national debt of $16 trillion to prevent it from "draining free enterprise."
during the review, he said. The fire occurred in a Japan Airlines plane from Tokyo after the passengers and crew had left the plane. The Boeing 787 Dreamliner is one of the most advanced aeroplanes ever created. Advertisement Continue reading the main story It is uncommon for the F.A.A. ordered inspections of fuel line connectors on all 787s, warning of a risk of fuel leaks and fires. It traced the problem on the United flight to a defective electric panel. On Friday, All Nippon Airways reported a crack in the window on the pilot's side of the cockpit. It is a safe and efficient airplane. Some safety experts agreed that the problems with the 787 pointed more to teething problems than structural faults. and Boeing developed new certification standards. None of the planes are out of service. The wires connected to the battery used to start the auxiliary power unit. It added that the 787 proved during testing that it could fly for more than five hours with just one of its six electrical generators. Moreover, she said, cracks of this kind are not unique to the 787 Dreamliner; cracks have appeared in other aircraft types operated by All Nippon from time to time. The review came as the National Transportation Safety Board was investigating why a battery pack caught fire in a parked 787 at Logan International Airport in Boston on Monday. But the issues are still an embarrassment for Boeing’s flagship program. Boeing has delivered 50 of the airplanes since the first commercial flight in November 2011 and has received orders for more than 800. The agency also granted Boeing the authority to self-certify some of its work.
The review came as the National Transportation Safety Board was investigating why a battery pack caught fire in a parked 787 at Logan International Airport in Boston on Monday. The fire occurred in a Japan Airlines plane from Tokyo after the passengers and crew had left the plane. Advertisement Continue reading the main story The battery, which powers the auxiliary power unit used when the plane is on the ground, sustained “severe fire damage,” according to the safety board. It took firefighters 40 minutes to extinguish the blaze, the board said. One firefighter was injured. review will not require the grounding of the 787 fleet, officials said. Boeing has delivered 50 of the airplanes since the first commercial flight in November 2011 and has received orders for more than 800. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Boeing has much riding on the 787, which makes extensive use of lightweight carbon composites and packs more electrical systems than older planes. The company’s chairman, Jim McNerney, said on Friday that it was “100 percent behind the integrity of the 787.” The 787 is the first new airplane to be certified in the United States since the Boeing 777 in 1995. to open a review of an airplane it has already certified, but the action on Friday pointed to increased concern by regulators. Electrical systems, not mechanical ones, operate hydraulic pumps, de-ice the wings, pressurize the cabin and handle other tasks. The plane also has electric brakes instead of hydraulic ones. Photo This electric architecture helps cut energy consumption and makes the aircraft more efficient to operate. But by making such extensive use of electrical systems, Boeing introduced a higher level of complexity in the production of the plane, contributing to more than three years of delays. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Still, he said, the “the focus will be on validating the work done in the certification process and ensuring certification standards set are being met in the manufacturing process.” Please verify you're not a robot by clicking the box. With the focus on the 787’s problems, every episode, however small, is drawing oversize attention, hurting Boeing’s reputation and potentially hurting the public’s confidence in the airplane. Boeing stock has fallen this week after the string of highly scrutinized events. On Friday, shares fell 2.5 percent, to close at $75.16. Earlier on Friday, All Nippon Airways of Japan reported cracks in the cockpit window of a 787 Dreamliner heading from Tokyo to Matsuyama, the third time that cracks had appeared in the windshield of one of the 17 787s operated by the airline. Advertisement Continue reading the main story The cracks were on the outermost of five layers that compose the cockpit windshield and did not endanger the aircraft, said Megumi Tezuka, a company spokeswoman. Moreover, she said, cracks of this kind are not unique to the 787 Dreamliner; cracks have appeared in other aircraft types operated by All Nippon from time to time. In a move to quell the damage to the plane’s reputation, Boeing on Wednesday defended its program and said it stood by its engineering and design choices, including the use of lithium-ion batteries like the one that apparently caught fire. Boeing pointed out that the plane has multiple layers of redundant systems and emphasized that any new plane program had snags in its first few years of production. After years of waiting for the plane because of production delays, airlines have been eager to fly an airplane that promises significant fuel savings. That same day, a United Airlines 787 flying from Houston to Newark was diverted to New Orleans after one of its six electric generators failed midflight. It added that the 787 proved during testing that it could fly for more than five hours with just one of its six electrical generators. Some safety experts agreed that the problems with the 787 pointed more to teething problems than structural faults. The plane maker has said it expects to sell 5,000 787s in the next 20 years. Advertisement Continue reading the main story In a separate matter, Japan Airlines said that an incident on Tuesday involving a fuel leak on a 787 was because one of four fuel valves connecting two tanks had been left open. Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption FAA administrator Michael Huerta: "We are confident about the safety of this aircraft" US regulators have ordered a review of the 787 Dreamliner plane after a series of incidents put a question mark over the safety of Boeing's flagship plane.
If this was not possible, she would remain in opposition. The mantra of "sharing the burden" was central to Lapid's election campaign. Observers say forming a new coalition government will not be an easy task for Mr Netanyahu. The prime minister has offered to work with the newly-formed Yesh Atid party, a secular centrist party set up by Mr Lapid last year. Jewish Home won 11 seats, as did the ultra-orthodox Shas. "The Israeli public wants me to continue leading the country", he said. Israel's religious Jews, including the powerful settler movement in the West Bank, say the territory was given to the Jews by God and cannot be surrendered. Neither Iran nor the peace process was a significant issue during the election campaign, which focused on economic and social issues. Mr Netanyahu was quoted by Likud as telling him: "We have the opportunity to do great things together." Leading right-wing activist Nadia Matar says that annexation -- a proposal that's been kicking around for some time -- is an idea whose time has come. The leader of the largest party is usually asked by the president to form a government once the election commission submits the official results, which is expected to happen next Wednesday. Former journalist whose party won second largest share of seats is courted by both Binyamin Netanyahu and Shelly Yachimovich Yair Lapid, the celebrity journalist turned politician who shook the Israeli political landscape with an unexpectedly strong showing in Tuesday's election, was last night being intensively courted by parties on both right and left who are desperate to snare him for their camp.
Former journalist whose party won second largest share of seats is courted by both Binyamin Netanyahu and Shelly Yachimovich Yair Lapid, the celebrity journalist turned politician who shook the Israeli political landscape with an unexpectedly strong showing in Tuesday's election, was last night being intensively courted by parties on both right and left who are desperate to snare him for their camp. Lapid, whose party came second, winning 19 of 120 parliamentary seats, was the target of competing appeals by Binyamin Netanyahu, who – although weakened – is expected to form another coalition government, and Shelly Yachimovich, who is likely to be leader of the opposition. Lapid's pivotal role followed a poor result for Netanyahu's rightwing alliance, which secured 31 seats, down from a previous total of 42. In a blow to the incumbent prime minister, a sizeable proportion of former supporters are believed to have switched allegiance to Lapid, who entered politics only a year ago. Netanyahu is considering complex options for the next coalition government, the inevitable outcome of Israel's electoral system of proportional representation. He telephoned Lapid shortly after exit polls accurately predicted the result of the election, telling him: "We have the opportunity to do great things together." Further conversations between the pair took place in private, but one of the main issues for negotiation was thought to be an end to the exemption for ultra-Orthodox Jews from compulsory military service. The mantra of "sharing the burden" was central to Lapid's election campaign. A statement from Netanyahu on Wednesday signalled a shift in his priorities, in order to tick the boxes of Lapid's political platform. "The Israeli public wants me to continue leading the country and it wants me to build a coalition that would create three major changes domestically: more equal distribution of the national burden [military service], affordable housing, and change in the system of government," he said. During his first term, Netanyahu focused on security issues, with the Iranian nuclear programme at the top of his list of priorities. After congratulating Lapid on his "remarkable achievement", she told reporters: "I urge him not to join a Netanyahu-led government and not take part in the middle-class calamity which will happen the day after he is sworn in. She intended to do all in her power to "take advantage of the political possibility opened yesterday to form a coalition of moderate, social, peace advocate and centrist forces without Binyamin Netanyahu as prime minister". "This will be a strong, aggressive and biting opposition and we'll do all we can to prevent Netanyahu from imposing the socially unbearable hell he's planning if he manages to form a government." Support for Lapid accelerated in the final days of the election campaign, during which opinion polls are banned. The final surveys, published last Friday, forecast around 12 seats for Lapid's Yesh Atid party while advising that almost one in five voters was undecided. As well as attracting disillusioned former Netanyahu voters, Lapid appears to have capitalised on the wave of anger felt in Israel in the past two years over the high cost of living, especially for young families. Massive "social justice" protests swept the country 18 months ago, culminating in almost half a million people taking to the streets in September 2011. There were not half a million people there as there were in the summer of 2011; rather, it was millions of people," wrote Yael Paz-Melamed in Ma'ariv. "The silent majority in Israel, the people who work, pay taxes, go to the army, serve in reserve duty, and especially those who chose to live here freely – they got off of the couch, filled the ballot boxes and took back the power they deserve." "No leader has met more often with or spent more time on the phone with President Obama than prime minister Netanyahu. One of Israel's most respected commentators, Nahum Barnea, wrote in Yedioth Ahronoth: "The lesson [of the election] must begin at the protest movement of the summer of 2011. By the time autumn arrived, the tents on the streets had been dismantled, the general sense was that the protest was dead and buried. They were waiting for the rain in order to sprout, and the rain came … The feeling of disgust with the political game rules did not die: it only increased further. It's also possible the perceived nuclear threat from Iran and the possibility of a pre-emptive Israeli strike, a central issue for Netanyahu, will be downgraded as a political-security topic in the changed political landscape. Netanyahu emerged from Tuesday's polling with the narrowest of victories for his right-wing religious bloc against an upstart centrist party formed in 2012 and led by a political newcomer, former television talk show host Yair Lapid. The centrist Yesh Atid -- "We Have a Future" in Hebrew -- won 19 seats against all predictions in its debut outing, making it the second largest party in the new Parliament. Israel's media largely portrayed the result as a pyrrhic victory for Netanyahu, who called the election seeking to consolidate his hold on power in a year he's declared will see Israel and the West confronting Iran over its alleged nuclear arms program. Leading right-wing activist Nadia Matar says that annexation -- a proposal that's been kicking around for some time -- is an idea whose time has come. "Everybody understands that the two-state solution is national suicide" for Israel, "but we can't leave a vacuum," she told the U.S. Jewish daily the Forward.
Gov. (70), Buffalo (66), Newark, (65), and Worcester, Mass. The tornado caused significant damage in Adairsville, Georgia. Tornadoes were reported in six states over the two days. "It's just destroyed. The National Weather Service also reported severe weather or damage Wednesday in Texas, Mississippi and Alabama. There were some people that had to go through both of them." Workers who were inside the building when the storm hit took cover under mattresses, the station said. One other person died in Tennessee when high winds knocked a tree into a shed. Nathan Deal declared a state of emergency for both counties. Officials reported up to 100 homes damaged in Bartow and Gordon counties. About 8,500 customers were without electricity at one point, according to Georgia Power. He told CNN Atlanta affiliate WGCL he was unscathed. Tornadoes were reported in four states killing two people including one in Adairsville as an Artic cold front clashed with warm air producing severe weather over a wide swath of the nation. Tornadoes were confirmed in Marion County, Kentucky, and Harrison County, Indiana. CLOSE Skip in Skip x Embed x Share Severe storms ripped through Tennessee overnight, and experts say several tornadoes could have struck, but the worst is over. Much calmer, but also much cooler, weather is expected for much of the eastern half of the country Thursday and Friday. In Arkansas, there were numerous reports of roof damage, downed trees and power lines, and destroyed barns. Juliet, about 20 miles east of Nashville. Contributing: The Associated Press Read or Share this story: http://usat.ly/VvqUk4
Story highlights Streets flood at college campus in western North Carolina Much of the affected region goes through huge temperature fluctuations A Georgia TV news crew sees tornado form; damage is reported in Adairsville A Tennessee man dies when a tree falls on his home, emergency managers say Powerful winds and a tornado spawned by a 1,000-mile-long storm system pounded communities in northwest Georgia on Wednesday, overturning dozens of vehicles and trapping residents. The tornado caused significant damage in Adairsville, Georgia. At least 17 people were injured in Georgia, two critically. The Adairsville death marks the first person killed by a U.S. tornado in 220 days, a record for most consecutive days without such a fatality, said CNN meteorologist Dave Hennen. The storm churned eastward, prompting severe thunderstorm and flash-flood warnings in eastern Tennessee and western portions of the Carolinas. The front has led to nearly 400 reports of severe wind and 20 of tornadoes over two days, from Texas to Pennsylvania. JUST WATCHED Tornado causes destruction in Georgia Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Tornado causes destruction in Georgia 01:45 JUST WATCHED Heavy storm damage across Southeast Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Heavy storm damage across Southeast 01:05 JUST WATCHED Storms send debris flying in Indiana Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Storms send debris flying in Indiana 01:07 JUST WATCHED Tornado forms before reporter on scene Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Tornado forms before reporter on scene 01:51 In the Adairsville storm, winds caused significant damage to a motel and a manufacturing plant, according to Craig Millsap, fire chief and interim emergency management director for Bartow County. The motel's guests are believed safe and workers at the Daiki plant have all been accounted for, he said. Daiki employees hid in a kitchen and bathroom as the tornado snatched the roof off and left much of the plant in ruins. The driver of a commercial truck that was overturned near Adairsville said the storm "grew legs and just started accelerating." The National Weather Service reported major structural damage and overturned cars in downtown Adairsville, where a news crew for CNN affiliate WSB-TV witnessed a tornado form and touch down Wednesday morning. The death came when a building collapsed, Millsap said. The storm caused major damage on and near Interstate 75, the Georgia Department of Transportation said. The weather service, citing emergency management officials, said dozens of cars had been overturned near Exit 306 at Adairsville. Officials reported up to 100 homes damaged in Bartow and Gordon counties. Georgia emergency officials reported eight injuries in Gordon County, north of Adairsville. "There have been a number of entrapments, and deputies, firemen and emergency personnel have all been working to free those people," said Robert Paris, Gordon County's chief deputy sheriff. The tornado struck a subdivision that also was hit by storms in 2011, Paris said. State officials late Wednesday afternoon said they had no reports of anyone unaccounted for, but searches of homes and businesses were continuing. Trees and power lines were down as the result of a possible tornado in Georgia's Gilmer County, the weather service said. Utilities reported about 21,000 customers without power in west and north Georgia and metropolitan Atlanta. In Tennessee, a 47-year-old man died early Wednesday when high winds toppled a tree onto a roof in Nashville, the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency said. CNN affiliate WSMV said the victim was in a building next to a home. He sent in video of people driving down U.S. 321, which was under several inches of water. CNN meteorologist Chad Myers said the massive storm system was 1,000 miles north to south, moving eastward in a belt that will eventually stretch from New York to Florida. In Nashville, the weather service listed dozens of damage reports across the region: a funnel cloud was reported early Wednesday in Jackson County, there were dozens of reports of downed trees and power lines, and law enforcement reported damage to homes and businesses. The storm came dangerously close to WSMV, the station reported: Workers had to move to a safe room when a buzzer in the newsroom alerted them of storm danger around 4 a.m. Wednesday, the station reported.
He was 25. That was hardly a surprise to Vaught, who said, "Whatever he wanted to do, he did it." Story highlights Caleb Moore's brother also suffered an accident in the X Games Caleb Moore died a week after a snowmobile crash in the X Games The crash has raised new safety concerns about the games ESPN, which operates the X Games, says it will conduct a thorough review Snowmobiler Caleb Moore died Thursday, a week after a crash that has raised new safety concerns about the X Games. My condolences and prayers go out to his family and friends." I've watched him try some crazy, crazy tricks and some of them were successful.' He was good at it – along with ATV racing – and had accumulated a garage full of trophies. "I just look at it like this: Yes, we're in a dangerous sport," fellow snowmobile rider Levi LaVallee said. He was a true Action Sports Hero." The family said in a statement they were grateful for all the prayers and support they have received from people around the world. He had been attempting a backflip with his machine, a trick he had performed many times. But he was first guy to get back on a sled and go try it again. Pearce has recovered and served as an analyst at Winter X. 'A very creative mind. But in general, the athletes accept the risks and defend their disciplines. "He will be remembered for his natural passion for life and his deep love for his family and friends, and he will always be an inspiration to everyone he touched in the action sports community.
Caleb Moore was a Texas kid drawn to the snow, rehearsing complicated tricks on a snowmobile into a foam pit back home until they became second nature and ready for the mountains. With his younger brother following along and constantly pushing him, Moore became a rising talent in action sports. The innovative freestyle snowmobile rider, who was hurt in a crash at the Winter X Games in Colorado, died Thursday morning. I've watched him try some crazy, crazy tricks and some of them were successful.' —Snowmobile rider Levi LaVallee Moore had been undergoing care at a hospital in Grand Junction since the Jan. 24 crash. Family spokeswoman Chelsea Lawson confirmed his death, the first in the 18-year history of the X Games. "He lived his life to the fullest. He was an inspiration," Lawson said. A former all-terrain vehicle racer, Moore switched over to snowmobiles as a teenager and quickly rose to the top of the sport. He won four Winter X Games medals, including a bronze last season when his younger brother, Colten, captured gold. Caleb Moore was attempting a backflip in the freestyle event in Aspen last week when the skis on his 450-pound snowmobile caught the lip of the landing area, sending him flying over the handlebars. Moore landed face first into the snow with his snowmobile rolling over him. Moore stayed down for quite some time, before walking off with help and going to a hospital to be treated for a concussion. Moore developed bleeding around his heart and was flown to a hospital in Grand Junction for surgery. The family later said that Moore, of Krum, Texas, also had a complication involving his brain. He suffered a separated pelvis in the spill. The family said in a statement they were grateful for all the prayers and support they have received from people around the world. X Games officials expressed their condolences and said Moore, a four-time X Games medallist , would be remembered "for his natural passion for life and his deep love for his family and friends." The Twitter accounts of many athletes from a wide range of sports expressed their sympathy Thursday: New York Jets quarterback Tim Tebow: "So sad to hear about the passing of snowmobiler Caleb Moore. My prayers go out to his younger brother Colten & their entire family." Freestyle skier Kaya Turski: "The spirit of Caleb Moore will be floating among us forever. Snowboarder Gretchen Bleiler: "Our world has lost another bright light. Sending my deepest condolences to the family and friends of Caleb Moore." Tampa Bay third baseman Evan Longoria, who made a visit to Winter X last weekend: "Tragic day for the family of Caleb Moore. Our deepest sympathies go out to all who he influenced and touched. I don't know what to say other than I'm praying for his family and friends. Vaught, Caleb Moore's agent for almost a decade, said he first saw Moore when he was racing an ATV in Minnesota and signed him up to star in some action sports movies. A natural talent, it only took Moore two weeks to master a difficult backflip. Moore honed his skills in Krum, a town about 5,000 people 50 miles northwest of Dallas that rarely sees snow. Instead, he worked on tricks by launching his sled into a foam pit. After a brief training run on snow ramps in Michigan, he was ready for his sport's biggest stage — the 2010 Winter X Games. In that contest, Moore captured a bronze in freestyle and finished sixth in best trick. Two years later, his biography on ESPN said, "Caleb Moore has gone from 'beginner's luck' to 'serious threat."' Vaught said Moore didn't believe his sport was too extreme, but rather "it was a lifestyle." Still, Moore's death is sure to ignite the debate over safety of the discipline. When freestyle skier Sarah Burke died in a training accident a little more than a year ago in Park City, Utah, there were questions about the halfpipe. Before that, the sport was examined when snowboarder Kevin Pearce suffered a severe brain injury in a fall in the same pipe as Burke two years earlier.
This is not." "This is, yes, about equality. How are MPs expected to vote? I am a strong believer in marriage. Other church leaders said they hoped he could bring unity at a time of uncertainty for the church. The Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill would enable same-sex couples to get married in both civil and religious ceremonies, where a religious institution had formally consented, in England and Wales. Marriage is about love and commitment, and it should no longer be denied to people just because they are gay. "There is a way forward. Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption PM David Cameron: "This is about equality but it's also about making our society stronger" Same-sex marriage is "an important step forward" and will "make our society stronger", David Cameron has said. Welby himself comes from a gently conservative but charismatic evangelical background and is known to favour the church’s official teaching that marriage can only be between a man and a woman. The legislation is expected to pass through the Commons with most on the Labour and Liberal Democrat benches supporting it. Newly elected Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby has used his first public comments as leader of the world’s 80million Anglicans to reiterate his opposition to the Government’s gay marriage plans. This figure includes two cabinet ministers - Environment Secretary Owen Paterson and Welsh Secretary David Jones - eight junior ministers, and eight whips. So I think what we can pray for him and expect of hi is that he will be able to fulfil some of those words that were given to him in the charge.”
Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption The result of the vote on gay marriage was read out to a packed House of Commons MPs have approved same-sex marriage in England and Wales in a key Commons vote, despite the opposition of almost half the Conservative MPs. The Commons voted in favour of the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill, by 400 to 175, a majority of 225, at the end of a full day's debate on the bill. This figure includes two cabinet ministers - Environment Secretary Owen Paterson and Welsh Secretary David Jones - eight junior ministers, and eight whips. Of the remaining Conservative MPs, 127 were in favour, 35 did not vote, and five registered an abstention by voting both in favour and against. We have squabbles - we're like any other family." But she described the legislation as "a major step forward for equality and justice". 'We are all equal' Deputy Prime Minister and Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg said: "I genuinely believe that we will look back on today as a landmark for equality in Britain. "Tonight's vote shows Parliament is very strongly in favour of equal marriage. "The Liberal Democrats have long fought for equal marriage. It is party policy and I am proud that the Liberal Democrats are part of the coalition government that are making it happen." MPs were given a free vote on the bill, meaning they were not ordered to vote a particular way by party whips. Their decision to back the bill at second reading signifies that they approve of it in principle. The legislation will now receive more detailed parliamentary scrutiny. 'Divided nation' Opposition leader Ed Miliband said: "This is a proud day and an important step forward in the fight for equality in Britain. "The overwhelming majority of Labour MPs supported this change to make sure marriage reflects the value we place on long-term, loving relationships whoever you love. Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Conservative MP Sir Roger Gale: ''There are a huge number of people who are very concerned indeed'' "Equal marriage builds on Labour's successes in government which include the repeal of Section 28, equalising the age of consent, the introduction of civil partnerships and changes to the rules governing adoption." But Conservative MP David Burrowes said: "We do respect the equal value of men and women, but surely that doesn't avoid us looking and celebrating difference, and marriage is a great way of celebrating the difference between a man and a woman." He said the vote result had shown that the party was in touch with the country: "The nation is divided, we have shown ourselves as a party to be divided." He added: "We have been the ones showing ourselves to have a grown-up, free-vote, conscience issue debate, and we shouldn't hide behind the fact that we're going to be divided on this issue." Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption PM David Cameron: "This is about equality but it's also about making our society stronger" Same-sex marriage is "an important step forward" and will "make our society stronger", David Cameron has said. The prime minister's intervention came shortly before MPs were due to vote on plans to legalise gay marriage in England and Wales. A number of Conservative MPs have spoken out against the plans - one calling the idea "Orwellian". The Conservative Party is expected to split three ways - more than 120 MPs could vote against the plans, reports suggest, about 50 are undecided or could abstain, the rest are expected to vote in favour The vast majority of the 57 Liberal Democrat MPs are expected to back the plans The majority of Labour MPs are also expected to vote in favour, although reportedly about 20 could vote against or abstain Gay marriage around the world Economic impact of gay marriage "I believe this is something that should be embraced by more couples. She acknowledged the concerns of religious groups about the plans but said there need not be a choice "between religious belief and fairness for same sex couples". "There is absolutely no doubt that once marriage is re-defined in this very fundamental way, a whole number of new legal questions will arise, and no one can be quite sure what the outcome will be," warned Sir Tony Baldry, a Conservative MP and the Church of England's representative in the Commons. "The government believes that this is a risk worth taking; the Church of England believes that it is not." The real reason for the anger directed at David Cameron is that many Conservatives have realised that they and their attitudes are the dragon their leader has decided to slay "Marriage is the union between a man and a woman, has been historically, remains so.
"The pope is not any man. "For this reason, and well aware of the seriousness of this act, with full freedom I declare that I renounce the ministry of Bishop of Rome, Successor of Saint Peter, entrusted to me by the cardinals on 19 April 2005, in such a way, that as from 28 February 2013, at 20:00 hours, the See of Rome, the See of Saint Peter, will be vacant and a conclave to elect the new Supreme Pontiff will have to be convoked by those whose competence it is." Lombardi said Benedict's stepping aside showed "great courage". He took the helm as one of the fiercest storms the Catholic Church has faced in decades - the scandal of child sex abuse by priests - was breaking. John Paul was 58 when he was elected in 1978. Born in 1944 in rural Quebec, he was appointed archbishop of Quebec in 2002 and made cardinal a year later. But the decision was not without controversy. Even the Vatican's official spokesman admitted he had been taken by surprise. Ratzinger served in the Hitler Youth during World War Two when membership was compulsory. Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Pope Benedict XVI announces his resignation in a surprise statement Pope Benedict XVI is to resign at the end of this month after nearly eight years as the head of the Catholic Church, saying he is too old to continue at the age of 85. For the first time in decades no papal travel plans had been announced for 2013. After a few months, he showed a milder side but he never drew the kind of adulation that had marked the 27-year papacy of his predecessor John Paul.
Cardinal Francis Arinze Converted from traditional animist beliefs at the age of nine, the Igbo Nigerian Cardinal Francis Arinze has been touted as papabile since before Pope John Paul II and was a leading candidate to be elected in 2005. He made his name during the Nigeria-Biafra war when, as archbishop of Onitsha, he organised the distribution of food and medical supplies to the poor in a region torn apart by the conflict. He was made a cardinal in 1985 and is known for his tolerance of elements of traditional worship in Catholic mass. Born in 1944 in rural Quebec, he was appointed archbishop of Quebec in 2002 and made cardinal a year later. He attracted controversy in 2010 when he addressed an anti-abortion conference in Quebec City, saying that terminating a pregnancy was a "moral crime". And west Africa correspondent Afua Hirsch adds this on Cardinal Peter Turkson: Cardinal Peter Turkson Peter Turkson, 64, was born on 11 October 1948 in Nsuta-Wassaw, a mining hub in Ghana’s western region, to a Methodist mother and a Catholic father. He studied and taught abroad in New York and Rome, before being ordained to the priesthood in 1975 and appointed archbishop of Cape Coast – the former colonial capital of Ghana and a key diocese – in 1992. As archbishop Turkson was known for his human touch, colleagues said. “We love him,” said Archbishop Gabriel Charles Palmer-Buckle, metropolitan archbishop of Ghanaian capital Accra, who was made archbishop in Ghana at the same time as Cardinal Turkson and has known him since school. “For Ghanaians he was our first cardinal, and to be made cardinal in his 50s was a big feather in our cap." Turkson’s popularity in west Africa has been boosted by his regular TV appearances, particularly a weekly broadcast on state television channel Ghana TV, Catholic Digest. He has maintained strong ties with his native country in addition to his duties in the Vatican. He sparked an outcry last year when he screened a YouTube film at an international meeting of bishops featuring alarmist predictions at the rise of Islam in Europe. The clip, Muslim Demographics, features claims such as: “In just 39 years France will be an Islamic republic.” Colleagues in Ghana voiced approval towards Cardinal Turkson’s stance on social matters, but confirmed that he would be unlikely to take the church in a radical direction on contentious issues such as abortion and contraception. In the past Turkson has not ruled out the use of condoms but advocated abstinence and fidelity, and treatment for HIV infected people above spending on and promoting the use of contraception. Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Pope Benedict XVI announces his resignation in a surprise statement Pope Benedict XVI is to resign at the end of this month after nearly eight years as the head of the Catholic Church, saying he is too old to continue at the age of 85. The unexpected development - the first papal resignation in nearly 600 years - surprised governments, Vatican-watchers and even his closest aides. Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger became Pope in 2005 after John Paul II's death. Pope Benedict XVI At 78, one of the oldest new popes in history when elected in 2005 Born in Germany in 1927, joined Hitler Youth during WWII and was conscripted as an anti-aircraft gunner but deserted As Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger spent 24 years in charge of Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith - once known as the Holy Office of the Inquisition A theological conservative, with uncompromising views on homosexuality and women priests Reached out to other faiths, visiting sites holy to Muslims and Jews Profile: Pope Benedict XVI Analysis: The reluctant Pope? The BBC's David Willey in Rome says the move has come as a shock - but adds that in theory there has never been anything stopping Pope Benedict or any of his predecessors from stepping aside. Doctor's advice A Vatican spokesman, Father Federico Lombardi, said that even Pope Benedict's closest aides did not know what he was planning to do and were left "incredulous". At the scene The Pope's elder brother Georg and his private secretary, Archbishop Georg Gaenswein, were probably the only people to know in advance about Joseph Ratzinger's long-pondered decision to step down from the papacy. The 2013 Easter vigil mass, perhaps the most important liturgy of the year, usually celebrated at midnight, had been scheduled for early evening this year, to allow the Pope to retire well before midnight. Speaking to the BBC from his home in Regensburg in Germany, Georg Ratzinger said his brother's resignation was part of a "natural process". There would be no interference in choosing a successor, Georg Ratzinger said: "Where he's needed he will make himself available, but he will not want to want to intervene in the affairs of his successor." The Pope was to retire to the papal residence at Castel Gandolfo when he leaves office, the Vatican said, before moving into a renovated monastery used by cloistered nuns for "a period of prayer and reflection". He took the helm as one of the fiercest storms the Catholic Church has faced in decades - the scandal of child sex abuse by priests - was breaking. "However, in today's world, subject to so many rapid changes and shaken by questions of deep relevance for the life of faith, in order to steer the ship of Saint Peter and proclaim the Gospel, both strength of mind and body are necessary, strength which in the last few months, has deteriorated in me to the extent that I have had to recognise my incapacity to adequately fulfil the ministry entrusted to me. A theological conservative before and during his time as Pope, he has taken traditional positions on homosexuality and women priests, while urging abstinence instead of blessing the use of contraceptives. European press roundup The Pope's shock resignation on health grounds is an "eruption of modernity" into the Vatican, according to Ezio Mauro, chief editor of Italy's La Repubblica daily. The Spanish daily El Mundo says Benedict XVI will be remembered as "God's sweeper" - the man who tried to resolve the "numerous problems of the Church that did so much harm to its image".
For any failures, I apologise to all whom I have offended. Cardinal O'Brien, the Archbishop of St Andrews and Edinburgh, apologised to "all whom I have offended" for "any failures" during his ministry. Although the announcement has only just been made public, the Scottish Catholic Media Office said Pope Benedict had accepted the cardinal's resignation on 18 February. The cardinal said in a statement: "I have valued the opportunity of serving the people of Scotland and overseas in various ways since becoming a priest. "There was a time when priests got married, and of course we know at the present time in some branches of the church - in some branches of the Catholic church - priests can get married, so that is obviously not of divine origin and it could get discussed again." Image caption Keith O'Brien became a cardinal in 2003 Cardinal Keith O'Brien had a strong voice in his role as one of the UK's most senior Roman Catholic clergymen. He added that there was also a sense of regret that Britain would have no voice in the conclave to choose Pope Benedict's successor. Looking back over my years of ministry: For any good I have been able to do, I thank God. Allegations made The allegations against Cardinal O'Brien emerged in a report in the Observer newspaper on Sunday. "I do not wish media attention in Rome to be focused on me - but rather on Pope Benedict XVI and on his successor. The Holy Father has now decided that my resignation will take effect today, 25 February 2013, and that he will appoint an apostolic administrator to govern the archdiocese in my place until my successor as archbishop is appointed.
Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption The BBC's Daniela Relph reports on the cardinal's resignation Britain's most senior Roman Catholic cleric, Cardinal Keith O'Brien, is stepping down as leader of the Scottish Catholic Church. He had been accused of inappropriate behaviour towards priests dating back to the 1980s - claims he contests. Cardinal O'Brien, the Archbishop of St Andrews and Edinburgh, apologised to "all whom I have offended" for "any failures" during his ministry. He will not take part in electing a new pope, leaving Britain unrepresented. Analysis The resignation of Britain's most senior Roman Catholic cleric in the wake of allegations of improper behaviour creates a crisis for the Church in Scotland, and represents a heavy blow to the wider Church as it battles to shore up its reputation ahead of the papal election or "conclave". The conclave is already expected to be difficult in the circumstances created by Pope Benedict's unprecedented resignation. The Vatican is also struggling to deal with reports of internal corruption and mismanagement. Cardinal O'Brien's resignation is also a personal tragedy for himself. In resigning his post at the head of the Scottish Catholic Church, Cardinal O'Brien blights the end of an illustrious career only a few weeks before he was due to retire. Cardinal O'Brien will be remembered in particular as a forthright defender - occasionally in outspoken and colourful terms - of Catholic teaching on abortion, euthanasia and homosexuality. The cardinal said in a statement: "I have valued the opportunity of serving the people of Scotland and overseas in various ways since becoming a priest. He remains a cardinal and would be entitled to join the conclave selecting the new Pope after Benedict XVI announced on 11 February that he would resign - but said he would not go. "I do not wish media attention in Rome to be focused on me - but rather on Pope Benedict XVI and on his successor," he said. Although the announcement has only just been made public, the Scottish Catholic Media Office said Pope Benedict had accepted the cardinal's resignation on 18 February. Allegations made The allegations against Cardinal O'Brien emerged in a report in the Observer newspaper on Sunday. It said three priests and one former priest, from the diocese of St Andrews and Edinburgh, complained to the Pope's representative to Britain, nuncio Antonio Mennini, in the week before 11 February. It said: Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Father Thomas Rosica, Assistant Vatican Spokesman: "His resignation was already in progress" The former priest claims Cardinal O'Brien made an inappropriate approach to him in 1980, after night prayers, when he was a seminarian at St Andrew's College, Drygrange. The complainant says he resigned as a priest when Cardinal O'Brien was first made a bishop A second statement from another complainant says he was living in a parish when he was visited by O'Brien, and inappropriate contact took place between them A third complainant alleges dealing with what he describes as "unwanted behaviour" by the cardinal in the 1980s after some late-night drinking And the fourth complainant claims the cardinal used night prayers as an excuse for inappropriate contact A Scottish Catholic Media Office spokesman said a number of bishops' appointments and resignations were being accepted in the last days of the Pope's time in office. He said Cardinal O'Brien was taking legal advice and contested the allegations against him, which were "anonymous and non specific". In Rome, the BBC's world affairs correspondent James Robbins said for a long time the Vatican had been able to "bat away" some criticism of other cardinals who may have been involved in covering up allegations of sexual abuse. Analysis Cardinal Keith O'Brien's grand residence in a smart Edinburgh suburb has been both bathed in sunlight and illuminated by flashbulbs today. The cameras have been recording the comings and goings of a number of visitors: priests, a housekeeper, and one well-wisher with a bouquet of flowers. The well-wisher, Thelma Houston, said she was a friend of Cardinal O'Brien's and described the events of the past two days as "extremely sad". He had been looking forward to his retirement in Dunbar, she said, but instead faced a "terrible drop" from "the pinnacle of his career". As the shadows grew and the sun dipped behind the tree-lined houses of the cardinal's neighbours, the auxiliary bishop of Edinburgh and St Andrews, Stephen Robson arrived. People have noted that today's statement by Cardinal O'Brien does not contain a denial of the accusations levelled against him but nonetheless there is still some support and sympathy for him within the church. He was named Bigot of the Year last year by gay rights group Stonewall Scotland, after he said gay marriage was a "grotesque subversion of a universally accepted human right". She said the complainants were "men of integrity" who had "done a difficult thing and acted according to their conscience". Scotland's First Minister Alex Salmond said: "It would be a great pity if a lifetime of positive work was lost from comment in the circumstances of his resignation. "None of us know the outcome of the investigation into the claims made against him but I have found him to be a good man for his church and country." "I am very happy that they have been taken seriously, that the nuncio - the Pope's representative in the UK - has written to the four people who have made the allegations to thank them for speaking out, and that the whole thing has been done so quickly. And that the cardinal's successor should "show a little more Christian charity towards openly gay people than the cardinal did himself". But Clifford Longley, a religious commentator and columnist for the Catholic newspaper The Tablet, said the cardinal's resignation was "the worst thing that could possibly have happened to the Church at this moment - to have another row like this when there already so many going on." He has admitted he had initially contested the "anonymous and non-specific" allegations. But he said in a statement on Sunday his sexual conduct had, at times, "fallen beneath the standards expected of me", and apologised and asked for forgiveness from those he had "offended". A year ago the cardinal put on record his view that gay marriage was a "grotesque subversion of a universally accepted human right". His stance on abortion was also articulated in the clearest of language when six years ago he said the termination rate in Scotland was equivalent to "two Dunblane massacres a day".
"This is a by-election. That's what happens in by-elections," he said. Results in full: Mike Thornton (Liberal Democrat) 13,342 (32.06%, -14.48%) Diane James (UKIP) 11,571 (27.80%, +24.20%) Maria Hutchings (Conservative) 10,559 (25.37%, -13.96%) John O'Farrell (Labour) 4,088 (9.82%, +0.22%) Danny Stupple (Independent) 768 (1.85%, +1.56%) Dr Iain Maclennan (National Health Action Party) 392 (0.94%) Ray Hall (Beer, Baccy and Crumpet Party) 235 (0.56%) Kevin Milburn (Christian Party) 163 (0.39%) Howling Laud Hope (Monster Raving Loony Party) 136 (0.33%) Jim Duggan (Peace Party) 128 (0.31%) David Bishop (Elvis Loves Pets) 72 (0.17%) Michael Walters (English Democrats) 70 (0.17%, -0.30%) Daz Procter (Trade Unionists and Socialists Against Cuts) 62 (0.15%) Colin Bex (Wessex Regionalist) 30 (0.07%) It only got four per cent of the Eastleigh vote at the last general election. Analysis What does this result mean? Ed Miliband's One Nation Labour didn't make inroads in this southern seat. "We need to build an organisation and build support in areas where we haven't traditionally had support and it is harder to do that in a three-week campaign," he added. UKIP leader Nigel Farage said its best-ever performance in a Westminster poll showed it had "connected with voters". It will strengthen Nick Clegg and it will embolden Lib Dems as the coalition dynamic evolves.
Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Nick Clegg said the by-election had been fought in "exceptionally difficult circumstances" The Liberal Democrats have won the Eastleigh by-election, with the UK Independence Party pushing the Conservatives into third place. Leader Nick Clegg said the party's candidate Mike Thornton had pulled off a "stunning victory" which had been secured "against the odds". UKIP leader Nigel Farage said its best-ever performance in a Westminster poll showed it had "connected with voters". The by-election was called after former Lib Dem cabinet minister Chris Huhne resigned as an MP following an admission he had perverted the course of justice over driving licence points. 'Superb record' But the party, which has held Eastleigh since another by-election in 1994, won despite a fall in its share of the vote of more than 14 percentage points since the 2010 general election. The top five candidates Mike Thornton (Liberal Democrat) 13,342 Diane James (UKIP) 11,571 Maria Hutchings (Conservative) 10,559 John O'Farrell (Labour) 4,088 Danny Stupple (Independent) 768 Nick Robinson: Disbelief, despair, concern UKIP candidate Diane James got 11,571 votes, on a 19.3% swing from the Lib Dems. Conservative Maria Hutchings won 10,559 votes, representing a 14 percentage points fall in her share of the vote since the general election, when she came second to Mr Huhne. Labour's John O'Farrell was fourth with 4,088 votes. Lib Dem Mr Thornton, who has been a parish and borough councillor since 2007, said: "The people of Eastleigh recognise that the Liberal Democrats have always had a superb record of delivery, we've always listened to what people want, and we always make sure that we do a good job." But their share of the vote was down double digits. A victory in all but name for UKIP: The march of UKIP continues, Eastleigh was their best-ever election performance. It's clear they are now the new "protest vote party". And don't ignore the fact they came close to winning. Nightmare for the Tories: Pushed to third in a seat that was theirs not too long ago, their UKIP-like candidate was humiliated. This will lead to renewed talk about Cameron's leadership and his conservative credentials. Why has his offer of a referendum on Europe and increasingly tougher talk on EU migration and human rights not bought dividends in Eastleigh and hurt UKIP? Long march ahead for Ed: Eastleigh showed that Labour kept its core but it didn't do any better. Ed Miliband's One Nation Labour didn't make inroads in this southern seat. And some will point to the fact the anti-government protest vote seemed to completely bypass Labour, in spite of its consistent sizable lead in national opinion polls? At a victory celebration in the constituency, Mr Clegg said the party had won in the "most exceptionally difficult circumstances" - given the manner of Huhne's departure and allegations surrounding the party's former chief executive Lord Rennard. We stood our ground... We overcame the odds with a stunning victory," he said, adding that the result proved the Lib Dems "can be a party of government and still win". 'Really connected' UKIP's Nigel Farage said the surge in support for his party was not a "freak result" but a continuation of a trend which had seen it rise in the national polls. "We have really connected with voters in this constituency," he told the BBC. Prime Minister and Conservative leader David Cameron said his party would not "change tack" on the economy, immigration or welfare in response to the poor performance. "It's disappointing for the Conservative Party but we must remain true to our principles, true to our course, and that way we can win people back." Labour leader Ed Miliband said he would have preferred to have done better but it was "tough" territory for his party as it had never come close to winning Eastleigh before, even in its 1997 landslide election year. The result, he added, showed Labour needed to "redouble its efforts" to increase its appeal to voters, in the south of England and elsewhere, who were not traditional supporters. Image caption The Labour leader denied the performance was a setback for his One Nation vision Ed Miliband has said he would have liked Labour to have done better in Eastleigh, after it finished fourth and saw only a small rise in its vote. The Labour leader said the by-election was always going to be "tough" as the party had never won the seat before. But Labour MP Austin Mitchell said the result, which saw Labour get just under 10% of the vote, was a "disaster". Mr Miliband has said there must be no "no-go areas" for his party and it must make inroads in the south of England, where it won a swathe of seats in 1997 and 2001, if it is to return to government. But this time around, the party's candidate John O'Farrell polled just over 4,000 votes, or 9.8%, a 0.2 percentage points increase on the party's tally in the 2010 election. 'Nothing to fear' We need to build an organisation and build support in areas where we haven't traditionally had support and it is harder to do that in a three-week campaign Ed Miliband Mr Miliband said the party had never come close to winning Eastleigh before, even in 1997 when it won a landslide general election victory, and the campaign was always going to be a challenge. The veteran MP, one of those in the party calling for a referendum on the UK's membership of the EU, added: "The nation is being betrayed, weakened and sold down river. Shadow minister Diane Abbott acknowledged Labour had been "squeezed" by UKIP but said she did not see the party as a real threat at the next election.
"Information is out there. Algeria's Ennahar television, which is well connected with the country's security services, had reported Abou Zeid's death on Thursday, though French, Malian and Chadian officials did not confirm it. He is said to be second-in-command of al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, which is fighting foreign forces in Mali. So he could not say whether French soldiers were involved in the operation that Deby says killed Abou Zeid. He was last seen in public in the Malian cities of Timbuktu and Gao seized by Islamist groups last year. France is trying to rally other African troops to help in the military campaign, since Mali's military is weak and poorly-equipped. Abou Zeid - believed to be in his 40s - was known as the most violent al-Qaeda commander in the region. Abou Zeid is the Algerian leader of al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM). Source: Agencies "On February 22, we lost several soldiers in the Ifoghas mountains after destroying the jihadists' base. He was believed to be holding four French nationals kidnapped two years ago at a uranium mine in Niger. I don't have to confirm it because we must reach the end of the operation." The fate of those hostages, working for French company Areva, was unclear Friday night. French government spokeswoman Najat Vallaud-Belkacem said she could neither confirm nor deny the report while an official MNLA spokesman said it had no evidence proving he was dead. He has also been linked to the execution of a British hostage in 2009. His death, which could not immediately be verified, would be a major blow to the group and to its growing influence in North Africa.
Image caption Abou Zeid (l) is said to have been one of the most violent al-Qaeda commanders in the region A senior al-Qaeda militant has been killed in northern Mali, Chadian President Idriss Deby has said. He said the country's forces killed Abdelhamid Abou Zeid during clashes in the remote region. He is said to be second-in-command of al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, which is fighting foreign forces in Mali. The Algerian national is accused of killing two Western hostages - Briton Edwin Dyer in 2009 and Frenchman Michel Germaneau the following year. BBC West Africa correspondent Thomas Fessy says that, if confirmed, his death will immediately raise questions over the state of several French hostages who are widely believed to have been in Abou Zeid's custody. A US official - speaking on condition of anonymity - said Washington found reports that Abou Zeid was killed "very credible", according to the AFP news agency. However, France reacted with caution to the reports, with government spokeswoman Najat Vallaud-Belkacem stressing that his death was so far unconfirmed. Earlier unverified reports in the French media said that the militant was killed during fighting against French army units. In January France sent some 3,500 troops to northern Mali to oust various Islamist militant groups who had seized a vast area of the Sahara desert. 'Most violent commander' After recapturing the region's main towns, French and Chadian troops have been battling Islamist fighters in the Adrar des Ifoghas mountains north of Kidal, where the militants had regrouped, in recent weeks. Algeria's Ennahar TV reported earlier this week that Abou Zeid was among 40 militants killed in the area near the Algerian border. "Chadian forces killed two jihadi leaders, including Abou Zeid," President Deby said on Friday. He was speaking after the funerals of Chadian soldiers killed in the fighting. Algerian media have reported that security operatives have taken DNA samples from two of Abou Zeid's relatives to compare with the body which is reportedly his. Abou Zeid - believed to be in his 40s - was known as the most violent al-Qaeda commander in the region. He was last seen in public in the Malian cities of Timbuktu and Gao seized by Islamist groups last year. Francoise Larribe whose husband, Daniel, was abducted while working in Niger in 2010, told French media she feared "reprisals if he really has lost his life in a military operation". GAO, Mali Sources close to Islamist militants and tribal elders in north Mali said on Friday there was no doubt one of al Qaeda's most feared commanders in Africa had been killed by French air strikes, though there was still no official confirmation. Abdelhamid Abou Zeid was among 40 militants killed four days ago in the foothills of the Adrar des Ifoghas mountains, where French forces have been locked in heavy fighting with Islamist rebels, the sources said. About 1,200 French troops and 800 Chadian soldiers are hunting down al Qaeda-linked insurgents in the border region with Algeria after a seven-week French ground-and-air operation broke Islamist domination of northern Mali. Algeria's Ennahar television, which is well connected with the country's security services, had reported Abou Zeid's death on Thursday, though French, Malian and Chadian officials did not confirm it. Citing a French source, Algeria's state news agency APS also said on Friday Abou Zeid had been killed. An Algerian former smuggler turned jihadist, Abou Zeid is regarded as one of al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb's (AQIM's) most ruthless operators and a trusted lieutenant of its leader Abdelmalek Droukdel. He imposed a violent form of sharia law, including amputations and the destruction of ancient Sufi shrines, during the Islamists' occupation of Mali's ancient desert town of Timbuktu, in acts reminiscent of the Taliban in Afghanistan. "The death of Abou Zeid has been confirmed by several of his supporters who have come back from the mountains," said Ibrahim Oumar Toure, a mechanic in the northern Malian town of Kidal who worked with Islamist rebels and remains in contact with them. Some members of the MNLA Tuareg rebel group, based in Kidal, said Islamist prisoners seized during the fighting confirmed Abou Zeid had been killed. French government spokeswoman Najat Vallaud-Belkacem said she could neither confirm nor deny the report while an official MNLA spokesman said it had no evidence proving he was dead. French radio RFI and Algerian daily newspaper El Khabar reported that DNA tests were being carried out on members of Abou Zeid's family to confirm whether a body recovered by French troops after fighting in the Adrar des Ifoghas was indeed the Islamist leader. SIGNIFICANT BLOW The death of Abou Zeid, believed to be behind the lucrative kidnapping of more than 20 Westerners over the last five years, would be a significant but far-from-fatal blow to AQIM. Mokhtar Belmokhtar, the one-eyed mastermind of the mass hostage-taking at the In Amenas gas plant in Algeria last month, and Tuareg Islamist leader Iyad ag Ghali, who was this week placed on the U.S. global terrorist list, both remain at large. In a speech on Friday, French President Francois Hollande said the operation in Mali was in its final stage and he was not obliged to confirm Abou Zeid's death. According to local sources in Kidal, MNLA Tuareg rebels, who are working with French forces, had located Abou Zeid's fighters and handed over the coordinates for French jets to strike. "They were hidden in mountain caves and were building bombs for suicide attacks when they were killed," Toure said. Abou Zeid's death will be of particular interest to the French government as he is believed to be holding at least four French citizens kidnapped from Niger in 2010. The French army, which could not confirm the death, said in a statement late on Thursday that it had carried out about sixty air strikes in the area destroying about a dozen vehicles. The president of Chad, Idriss Deby, announced on Friday that Chadian troops, who are part of a larger African force fighting in northern Mali, have killed one of al-Qaeda's leading commanders in that country. Deby's spokesman said that he announced Abdelhamid Abou Zeid's death during a ceremony on Friday for Chadian soldiers killed in fighting in Mali.
Weapons, equipment and 60 vehicles were seized, it added. The French military - which is leading the military offensive in northern Mali - has not confirmed either death. Mokhtar Belmokhtar is a former al-Qaeda leader said to have ordered January's attack on an Algerian gas plant where at least 37 hostages were killed. If there is little evidence to suggest genuine cooperation between AQIM and the senior leadership of al-Qaida, the connection between al-Qaida and Belmokhtar and his Signatories in Blood is even more tenuous. Chadian troops are fighting Islamist militants in Mali as part of an international force led by France. He is also known as "Mr Marlboro" because of his alleged role in cigarette smuggling in the region. The intervention of French military forces in Mali and the apparent reprisals in the form of the hostage crisis at the In Amenas gas processing plant in Algeria have brought the threat of al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) to international attention. It is a convenient narrative which benefits both the propaganda machine of Islamists and the calls of those in the west who support military action, yet the true picture of those who claim to act in the name of al-Qaida – both in Africa and elsewhere – is far more nuanced, and much less of a threat to Europe, than we are commonly led to believe. Although it has allegedly claimed that it supports Bin Ladin, the group, which was found to be responsible for car bombings that took place in Algiers in 2007, as well as a number of other local incidents, appears to be more concerned with overthrowing the Algerian government and the institution of an Islamic state in its place than with Bin Ladin's vision of the reestablishment of the caliphate and global jihad against the west.
Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Mokhtar Belmokhtar was described as 'uncatchable' Islamist militant Mokhtar Belmokhtar has been killed by Chadian soldiers in Mali, Chad's armed forces say. His death was announced on Chadian state television but has not been confirmed by other sources. Mokhtar Belmokhtar is a former al-Qaeda leader said to have ordered January's attack on an Algerian gas plant where at least 37 hostages were killed. Chadian troops are fighting Islamist militants in Mali as part of an international force led by France. The French president's office says a French soldier was killed in northern Mali on Saturday - the third to die since France launched its intervention in Mali on 11 January. 'Final stages' The statement carried by Chadian television on Saturday said: "Chadian forces in Mali completely destroyed the main jihadist base in the Adrar de Ifhogas mountains... killing several terrorists including leader Mokhtar Belmokhtar." Reports of the killing came a day after Chadian President Idriss Deby said the country's forces killed al-Qaeda militant Abdelhamid Abou Zeid during clashes in northern Mali. The self-proclaimed mastermind behind the recent Algerian gas plant hostage-taking, he and his jihadist followers are reputed to have extorted millions of euros over the years in ransoms from European governments, desperate to free their kidnapped citizens. Last year he fell out with other leading members of al-Qaeda's franchise in the Sahara and formed his own jihadist organisation, calling it the Signed in Blood Brigade. If his death is confirmed it will be a huge blow to his followers, although they will likely vow to avenge him and attempt to replace him as quickly as possible. Abou Zeid - whose death is still to be confirmed by DNA evidence - is said to be second-in-command of al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), which is fighting foreign forces in Mali. The French military - which is leading the military offensive in northern Mali - has not confirmed either death. BBC West Africa correspondent Thomas Fessy says the death of Mokhtar Belmokhtar has been falsely announced several times before. Although this is the most official claim to date, there are questions about how the Chadian military were able to confirm the militant's identity so quickly, our correspondent says. Islamist militants took refuge in the remote mountains in northern Mali, close to the Algerian border, after being forced out of the main towns and cities by French troops backed by jets and helicopters. Mali's army and troops from several African countries, including 2,000 from Chad, have also been involved in the fighting. Islamist rebels took control of northern Mali a year ago after a military coup in the capital Bamako, in the south. The attack on the In Amenas gas plant in Algeria - which he claims he was behind - was his group's first large-scale armed attack. He is also known as "Mr Marlboro" because of his alleged role in cigarette smuggling in the region. If the two deaths are confirmed, they won't mean the war in Mali is over, but they will leave a vacuum in the chain of command for the jihadi fighters hiding in the mountains bordering Algeria, he says. The reported killings also raise concerns about the fate of several foreign hostages believed to be in the two men's custody, our correspondent says. The lives of the 15 French hostages held in Africa, and especially those of seven captured in northern Mali who may be being used as human shields, could be seriously endangered if the jihadist leader is confirmed dead. "This is a rumour that is enormously worrying for the families and those of us who support them," Didier Beguin from the support committee for four French hostages abducted by radical Islamists in Niger in September 2010, said.. In an announcement on Chadian national television on Saturday night military spokesperson Gen. Zakaria Ngobongue said Belmokhtar was among those killed after troops "completely destroyed a terrorist base" in the north of Mali. William Hague, the Foreign Secretary, also stressed that the killing was unconfirmed, but added that if it were true "it would be a blow to terrorism and to the criminal network around this man and other people". Belmokhtar, 40 became the target of an international manhunt after he claimed responsibility for the attack at the In Amenas gas complex in eastern Algeria that led to the death of at least 37 hostages, including six Britons. An Algerian national and an ally of former al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden from his days of fighting in Afghanistan – the nexus from which many of today's global jihadists were formed- this one-eyed terrorist broke away from AQIM to form his own group, chillingly called 'Signatories in Blood'. Despite his religious extremism, the terrorist gained the nickname "Malboro Man" after it emerged that he had funded his jihad by smuggling cigarettes, as well as through financial extortion and kidnapping. The drama of the hostage crisis has shot the hitherto unknown group Signatories in Blood and its leader Mokhtar Belmokhtar, variably referred to as an Islamist with ties to Osama bin Ladin and/or a senior al-Qaida leader, to notoriety overnight and has prompted western leaders to focus on the possibility of a growing threat of Islamist terrorism on Europe's southern border. Rather than reflecting the "signature" suicide attack with mass casualties, the event fits more appropriately into the series of other hostage-takings that have taken place in Algeria in recent years but which have not been on so grand a scale and hence have not gained the same attention as events at In Amenas. Although it has allegedly claimed that it supports Bin Ladin, the group, which was found to be responsible for car bombings that took place in Algiers in 2007, as well as a number of other local incidents, appears to be more concerned with overthrowing the Algerian government and the institution of an Islamic state in its place than with Bin Ladin's vision of the reestablishment of the caliphate and global jihad against the west. While it can be argued that the above is not entirely out of touch with al-Qaida's stated aims, it is nonetheless a return to the "near enemy" – the forces of occupation and secularisation – that have preoccupied Islamists for almost a century. While the AQIM's claim to be acting in the name of "al-Qaida central" feels very much like a convenient piece of flag-waving, current al-Qaida leader Ayman al-Zawahiri declared in 2006 that America and France were the enemies, indicating a pragmatic approach by which senior al-Qaida leaders aim to flatter their local affiliates, enabling one side to continue to maintain the impression of its global reach while the other benefits from association with the infamous name. Sometimes referred to as "Marlboro man" for his cigarette-smuggling exploits, Belmokhtar has a wide-ranging and impressive criminal career which includes drug trafficking, diamond smuggling and the kidnapping of dozens of westerners, such as diplomats, aid workers and tourists, for ransoms of up to $3m each. While his actions at In Amenas supposedly link Belmokhtar to al-Qaida in the eyes of the west, he in fact made the news on various jihadist forums for falling out with AQIM for his "fractious behavior", and either resigned or was formally dismissed from its ranks in late 2012.
REUTERS/Luke MacGregor Pedestrians walk on a snow-covered street in Cambrai, northern France, March 12, 2013 as winter weather with snow and freezing temperatures returns to northern France. Southern England was hit with heavy snow overnight. The airport was closed due to heavy snowfall and hundreds of flights were cancelled on Tuesday. High-speed trains between Paris and other French regions were also restored. Brussels's two main railway stations were closed. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach BRUSSELS/PARIS/FRANKFURT An overnight snowstorm in northwestern Europe forced the closure of Frankfurt Airport, caused record traffic jams in Belgium, and left British and French drivers sleeping in their cars. Picture is taken through a window. Ministers need to find another €2.8 billion ($3.65 billion) in order to comply with a deficit goal of 2.15% of gross domestic product in 2013, Budget Minister Olivier Chastel said in a statement. Icy conditions are forecast to last at least until Thursday. Meanwhile the Eurostar high-speed train has resumed its service between London, Paris and Brussels but with delays. Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption BBC forecaster Matt Taylor explains why it is so unusually cold in north-west Europe. A man walks along the snow covered beach next to Brighton Pier in Brighton, southern England March 12, 2013. Hundreds of passengers spent the night on emergency camp beds at the airport. Around 80,000 homes in northeastern France were without electricity, according to the power network operator ERDF. On a normal Tuesday, total morning rush-hour traffic jams average 250-270 km. Large parts of northern France have been placed on ice alert, with officials describing the situation as "very complicated".
Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption The snow has led to huge traffic jams in Germany, Belgium and the UK Freezing conditions are continuing to disrupt transport in north-west Europe, although heavy snow has eased. Large parts of northern France have been placed on ice alert, with officials describing the situation as "very complicated". Frankfurt airport had to cancel more flights on Wednesday, after hundreds of passengers remained stranded overnight. Meanwhile the Eurostar high-speed train has resumed its service between London, Paris and Brussels but with delays. The cross-Channel train had been forced to suspend all travel on Tuesday after a severe snowstorm struck France, Belgium, Germany and the UK. France's SNCF rail company put up more than stranded 1,000 travellers in hotel rooms and sleeping carriages overnight, it said. "For 24 hours, 10,000 employees have been working to remove snow from the rail lines and re-establish service," SNCF said in a statement. Treacherous roads But while trains have resumed, road conditions in France remain difficult as snow has turned major motorways into ice traps, French Interior Minister Manuel Valls said. French soldiers were mobilised to help workers restore electricity to about 80,000 homes in the country's north-east, left without power after the snowstorm. Similarly, drivers in Belgium continue to face treacherous roads, and trains operate at reduced speed. On Tuesday morning, the total length of traffic jams exceeded more than 1,600km (1,000 miles) at rush hour, according to Belgian emergency road assistance company Touring. In Germany, Frankfurt airport - Europe's third-largest hub - was forced to scrap at least 80 flights on Wednesday morning, spokesman Mike Schweitzer said. Although all runways are back in operation, the airport still faces significant delays because of Tuesday's cancellations, he said. About 800 of 1,200 flights had been annulled after about 12cm (5in) of snow fell. The severe weather forced the Channel Tunnel's closure, causing a huge backlog of freight traffic as hundreds of lorries remained stuck on the M20 motorway in Kent. Although the tunnel was reopened overnight, the UK Highways Agency said freight traffic waiting for ferries from the Port of Dover would face another long wait. REUTERS/Luke MacGregor An airport security vehicle and a snowplough are seen on the snow covered tarmac at the Fraport airport in Frankfurt, March 12 2013. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach A man shovels snow off his car in a street of Cambrai, northern France, March 12, 2013 as winter weather with snow and freezing temperatures returns to northern France. REUTERS/Pascal Rossignol Heavy equipment is used to clear the tarmac from snow at the Fraport airport in Frankfurt, March 12 2013. The airport was closed due to heavy snowfalls and hundreds of flights were cancelled on thursday. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach Commuter trains and snow-covered tracks are seen at the Gare Saint Lazare train station in Paris March 12, 2013 as winter weather with snow and freezing temperatures returns to northern France. REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes View of a snow-covered chair at the Tuileries garden in Paris March 12, 2013 as winter weather with snow and freezing temperatures returns to northern France. REUTERS/Luke MacGregor A man walks past a commuter train on a snow-covered platform at the Gare Saint Lazare train station in Paris March 12, 2013 as winter weather with snow and freezing temperatures returns to northern France. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach BRUSSELS/PARIS/FRANKFURT An overnight snowstorm in northwestern Europe forced the closure of Frankfurt Airport, caused record traffic jams in Belgium, and left British and French drivers sleeping in their cars. Take-offs and landings at Europe's third-busiest airport were halted on Tuesday noon for two hours to clear snow from the runways. Airlines, including Deutsche Lufthansa, canceled about 700 flights of a daily total of 1,200 as the airport was only partially reopened in the afternoon. In France, a Tunisair plane slid off the runway on landing at Orly airport, forcing the closure of a runway at Paris's second hub while 140 passengers were evacuated. In Belgium, the breakdown assistance association Touring said the total length of tailbacks on highways and major roads at their rush-hour peak hit 1,670 km (1,038 miles), beating by far the previous record of 1,285 km set on February 3 last year. If it snows a lot at night, the salt doesn't work as there aren't enough cars to spread it around," Touring spokesman Danny Smagghe said.
This is an event." And then, to trumpet fanfare, the balcony curtains parted and the new Pope appeared above them, to bless them - but only after he had asked them to pray with him, and for him. "As you see, he's called himself Francis - Francis the man for the poor. Read or Share this story: http://usat.ly/XJmp4O The saint was said to have been summoned by God to repair a Church in ruins. The 76-year-old from Buenos Aires is the first Latin American and the first Jesuit to be pontiff. "We join with people around the world in offering our prayers for the Holy Father as he begins the sacred work of leading the Catholic Church in our modern world." Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Cardinal Bergoglio is greeted on the balcony above St Peter's Square Argentine Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio has been elected the Catholic Church's Pope, taking the name Francis. The 76-year old is the first pontiff to come from Latin America and his election follows the retirement of Pope Benedict XVI last month. Anglican leader, the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, said he looked forward to working with Pope Francis. British Anglicans first began joining the Ordinariate, as it is known, in 2011. He has spent almost his entire career in Argentina and often travels to work by bus. Monsignor Michael McPartland, the Apostolic Prefect and the most senior Catholic on the Falklands, told the BBC those remarks would cause concern. The Pope's inaugural Mass will be next Tuesday. Fran-ces-co!" In a light-hearted moment, he said his fellow cardinals had gone to the "ends of the Earth" to find a bishop of Rome.
Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Cardinal Cormac Murphy O'Connor welcomed the election of Pope Francis: "The very name, I think, is indicative of a new style" British politicians and religious leaders have welcomed the election of Jorge Bergoglio, the Archbishop of Buenos Aires, as the new Pope. David Cameron said it was a "momentous day" for Catholics around the world. Archbishop of Westminster Vincent Nichols, the head of the Catholic Church in England and Wales, said the election was a moment of "excitement". Anglican leader, the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, said he looked forward to working with Pope Francis. Cardinal Bergoglio, who will be known as Pope Francis, was elected pontiff on the fifth ballot on Wednesday in the papal conclave in Rome. The 76-year old is the first pontiff to come from Latin America and his election follows the retirement of Pope Benedict XVI last month. 'Inspired choice' Speaking to BBC Radio 4's Today programme, Archbishop Nichols said Pope Francis was clearly a pontiff with a "depth of experience and different aspects" to him. "He certainly brings some things you can see immediately are great strengths," said the archbishop. "He's from an Italian family; he's from a working-class background, yet he studied in Germany so he understands European academic life thoroughly. He's a trained chemist and therefore brings together in himself the world of science and religion, which in our eyes is so often opposed. "And all of these things together with years of pastoral service of the poor make a remarkable combination and add to that tinge of excitement that we all feel." He added the Pope would bring a "fresh agenda" to the Catholic Church at the same time as reminding its followers to "base our lives firmly on a relationship with Christ". His predecessor Cardinal Cormac Murphy O'Connor said the Church had been "very blessed". Speaking to BBC News, he predicted Pope Francis would "bring a new kind of style to the Catholic Church". "As you see, he's called himself Francis - Francis the man for the poor. And he is a man who is experienced over many years, especially in his own country but also elsewhere, something of that love for poor people." "His own simplicity of life, I think, will be a great example to people," added the cardinal. Kevin Flaherty, editor of the Catholic Times, said: "He travels by bus, visits the poor, lives simply and even cooks his own meals. "In choosing the name Francis - after St Francis of Assisi - 'Fr Jorge', as the people still call him, obviously wants to continue to live simply and humbly. "As a man of prayer, both qualities will bring a different style of leadership to the papacy, and inject a much-needed spirituality to the Catholic Church in the modern world." Archbishop Philip Tartaglia, of Glasgow, president of the Bishops' Conference of Scotland, said: "Given the pre-conclave situation, and the absence of a single dominant figure, I can only see this quick result as God's work." Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg told BBC Radio 5 Live it was "hugely important and significant for millions of Catholics around the world to have a new Pope who can provide leadership and spiritual guidance" in the years ahead. "It's especially exciting, of course, for those Catholics in Latin America given he's the first non-European Pope in a thousand years." He added: "I wish him well in doing that because it's immensely important the Catholic Church is well-led." 'Bonds of understanding' Archbishop Welby, the Anglican primate of All England, said the choice of a new pontiff was of "great significance to Christians everywhere, not least Anglicans". Image caption Archbishop Tartaglia said he could only see the speedy result as God's work "We have long since recognised and often reaffirmed that our churches hold a special place for one another. He added: "Pope Francis is well known as a compassionate pastor of real stature who has served the poor in Latin America, and whose simplicity and holiness of life is remarkable. The Archbishop of Wales, Dr Barry Morgan, said he hoped Pope Francis would "bring an ecumenical perspective to the role, a desire to work with Christians of all traditions and a goodwill to people of all faiths". More dialogue It has emerged that Pope Francis has previously spoken out against a scheme instituted by the previous Pope Benedict which allowed disaffected Anglicans to join the Catholic Church, while still retaining elements of Anglicanism. BBC religion reporter John McManus said: "It is significant because the introduction of the Ordinariate was highly controversial in British religious circles "The Church of England said they'd been given little notice of the Vatican's plans, and some commentators made accusations against the Vatican of 'poaching' worshippers." "I would hope that the holy father now would be outside politics." Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Cardinal Bergoglio is greeted on the balcony above St Peter's Square Argentine Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio has been elected the Catholic Church's Pope, taking the name Francis.
At last we, and our peers, have some respite. Overall this was a business-friendly budget on tax. The government "cannot predict" when the austerity measures will end, the business secretary has said. No one wants to see fuel prices any higher than they are and small businesses will welcome that. This will be vital to promote the UK as a place to do business and to continue to bring jobs and growth across the UK. This Chancellor's idea of aspiration is a warped one. At a time when the economy is stuttering, it needs a genuine boost. Whilst public sector schemes will be obliged to remain open, this measure is likely to speed up the closure of private sector final salary pension schemes. It would be a shame if mistakes were made in a rush to implement the changes. This is a strong package of help for housing. On the bank levy increase versus the corporation tax cut: "It sounds like the bank levy increases two years before the corporation tax cut in 2015 that it is meant to match." Having no money to spend, but still able to deliver tax cuts for people and businesses. George Osborne has insisted his economic plan is working, despite being forced to slash growth forecasts. Ahead of the Budget the government announced plans for some parents in the UK to be able to claim back up to £1,200 a year for each child - or 20% of childcare costs - from 2015. The new employment allowance for new hires is likely to be less wasteful than some past schemes, but will only have a limited impact on the labour market.
Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption George Osborne : "I am going to level with people" Chancellor George Osborne has insisted his economic medicine is working, despite being forced to slash growth forecasts for the UK in his Budget. In a package of measures aimed at "those who want to work and get on" he cut corporation tax to 20% and froze petrol duty rises. He also cut beer duty by 1p a pint and axed future above inflation rises, and unveiled measures to help housebuyers. Labour said it was a "more of the same Budget from a downgraded chancellor". Ed Miliband said Mr Osborne had broken the deal he made with the British public when the coalition came to power, that all the pain of austerity would be worth it when the "good times" returned. Exactly what he said three years ago," said the Labour leader. "In other words, after all the misery, all the harsh medicine, all the suffering by the British people, three years, no progress, deal broken." Mr Osborne admitted it was taking longer than expected but insisted "we are, slowly but surely, fixing our country's economic problems". He told MPs: "This is a Budget that doesn't duck our nation's problems. BBC Political Editor Nick Robinson said it was "a very political speech from a man in a very tight economic straitjacket". In other Budget measures: Mr Osborne said the UK would avoid a "triple dip" recession with growth in 2013 of 0.6% - half the 1.2% he predicted four months ago in his autumn statement The UK's national debt will rise to 85% of GDP and not start coming down until 2017/18 - two years later than predicted when the coalition came to power A new scheme starting next year aims to help about 75,000 people buy their own homes through shared equity, mortgage guarantees and interest free loans Corporation tax will be cut from 21% to 20%, with the small company and main rate merged A 1% public sector pay cap will be extended by an extra year to 2015/16 A petrol tax rise planned for the autumn has been scrapped The alcohol duty escalator, which saw tax go up 2% a year above inflation, is axed for beer and 1p is cut from the price of a pint of beer Figures from the Office for Budget Responsibility suggest the government's efforts to cut the deficit - the difference between money spent and earned in a year - have stalled and it will remain stuck at about £120bn for three years. And Business Secretary Vince Cable refused to predict when the "age of austerity" might end - although he thought it "unlikely" to last until 2020. Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Ed Miliband: "A more of the same Budget from a downgraded chancellor" It all meant Mr Osborne had little room for manoeuvre when it came to tax giveaways - but he found some extra cash by squeezing public spending further and other measures. This allowed him to bring forward the introduction of a £10,000 income tax threshold by a year, to 2014 - in a move that pleased the Lib Dems, who campaigned on the issue at the last election. Tory backbenchers cheered the announcement that small businesses would get a £2,000 allowance before paying employer National Insurance contributions, a move Mr Osborne described as "taking tax off jobs". But he did announce £2.5bn of spending on infrastructure paid for by a fresh public spending squeeze. Details of where the axe will fall will be announced in June when the government unveils its spending review. He also announced that the Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee had been given an updated broader remit, but keeps its 2% inflation target. Labour leader Ed Miliband mocked the chancellor's failure to make any reference to Britain's loss of its Triple A rating with credit agencies during his hour long budget speech. Having no money to spend, but still able to deliver tax cuts for people and businesses. Ahead of the Budget the government announced plans for some parents in the UK to be able to claim back up to £1,200 a year for each child - or 20% of childcare costs - from 2015. Mr Cameron said the plans, expected to cost £1.4bn, would be a "boost direct to the pockets of hard-working families" but it has been criticised in sections of the press for penalising stay-at-home parents. The Scottish National Party described Mr Osborne's statement as a "miserable Budget" which "just continues along the austerity path that is clearly failing". Plaid Cymru said the £2.5bn in infrastructure spending was just a "fraction" of what was actually needed. Green Party MP Caroline Lucas said it was "yet another Budget that treats the public with contempt, continuing to peddle the myth that our national debt and deficit increased due to excessive public spending rather than bank bailouts". UKIP leader Nigel Farage dismissed Mr Osborne's statement as a "Budget for headline writers" that failed to tackle "the serious problems in our economy". Meanwhile, members of the UK's largest civil service union, the Public and Commercial Services Union, are staging a 24-hour strike on Wednesday in a dispute over pay, pensions and working conditions. Government departments, driving test centres, museums and job centres are among workplaces hit, while meetings at the Welsh assembly have been rearranged because Labour and Plaid Cymru members will not cross a picket line.
In addition, until recently, gay marriage didn't have the support of a majority of Americans. But it's also clear which way -- and how quickly -- the polls are headed. A Washington state poll from last year, for example, tried to adjust for this so-called "social desirability" effect. Read or Share this story: http://usat.ly/108TJiy While polling regularly showed more opposition to the ban (i.e. While 71 percent of supporters felt strongly in the most recent poll, 83 percent of opponents felt strongly. It was simply right for its people. STORY: Sen. McCaskill backs same-sex marriage Warner is among a growing list of politicians to announce their position as the high court takes center stage on the controversial issue. Thank you very much,” Schultz said, to applause from the audience. The trend has continued, even as four states in November became the first in the country to have their citizens vote for gay marriage. You can sell your shares of Starbucks and buy shares in another company. The justices will hear arguments Wednesday about the federal Defense of Marriage Act, which defined marriage as between one man and one woman. Voters overturned a constitutional ban on gay marriage by six points -- though it should be noted that they didn't effectively legalize gay marriage.) The heated exchange between Schultz and Strobhar came shortly after shareholders voted for the company’s board to make political contributions. Rob Portman of Ohio — have publicly stated changes in their views to say they support marriage equality. Source: Patrick J. Egan, Ph.D. New York University The best example of the discrepancy between the polls and the actual vote may be the same gay marriage ban that comes before the Supreme Court this week -- California's Proposition 8.
There is a growing list of politicians who say they support gay marriage as the Supreme Court gets ready to hear arguments on the controversial issue. Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., joined 39 other senators urging the Supreme Court to find the federal Defense of Marriage Act unconstitutional. (Photo: Evan Eile, USA TODAY) Story Highlights Virginia Democrat joins growing list of politicians to support same-sex marriage Supreme Court takes up two high-profile gay-marriage cases this week Warner signed a legal brief urging justices to find federal law unconstitutional Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia, a Democrat up for re-election next year, publicly announced his support Monday for gay marriage in a post on Facebook. Warner's announcement comes on the eve of Supreme Court arguments on the constitutionality of California's Proposition 8, a 2008 voter referendum that banned marriage for same-sex couples. STORY: Sen. McCaskill backs same-sex marriage Warner is among a growing list of politicians to announce their position as the high court takes center stage on the controversial issue. The justices will hear arguments Wednesday about the federal Defense of Marriage Act, which defined marriage as between one man and one woman. "I support marriage equality because it is the fair and right thing to do," Warner wrote. "Like many Virginians and Americans, my views on gay marriage have evolved, and this is the inevitable extension of my efforts to promote equality and opportunity for everyone." Rob Portman of Ohio — have publicly stated changes in their views to say they support marriage equality. This month, he was one of 40 senators to sign a legal brief to the Supreme Court arguing that the federal Defense of Marriage Act is unconstitutional. A new Washington Post-ABC News poll last week showed support for gay marriage hitting an all-time high at 58 percent, with support having risen by 21 points over the last decade alone. But some social conservatives say polls like this one are wrong, and that they over-sell the actual amount of support for gay marriage. "I'm not worried about it, because the polls are skewed, " Gary Bauer, a leading social conservative and former presidential candidate, said on "Fox News Sunday." "Just this past November, four states, very liberal states, voted on this issue and my side lost all four of those votes. But my side had 45, 46 percent of the vote in all four of those liberal states." Ralph Reed, the former head of the Christian Coalition, made a similar argument on NBC's "Meet the Press." "It's clearly moved, but the idea that the American people are, you know, universally for same-sex marriage is just not backed (up)," Reed said. He added: "They have, after all, voted in 31 state referenda and initiatives for traditional marriage. So this thing tests very differently at the ballot box than it does in a poll." Polls on gay marriage ballot initiatives generally under-estimate the opposition to gay marriage by about seven percentage points, according to a 2010 study by New York University political science professor Patrick J. Egan. "The share of voters in pre‐election surveys saying they will vote to ban same‐sex marriage is typically seven percentage points lower than the actual vote on election day," Egan wrote. He also noted, however, that polls are generally accurate when it comes to the percentage of people supporting gay marriage. Polls measuring opposition to gay marriage (denoted by the white dots) very often come in below the actual opposition to gay marriage on Election Day (denoted by the gray line). Source: Patrick J. Egan, Ph.D. New York University The best example of the discrepancy between the polls and the actual vote may be the same gay marriage ban that comes before the Supreme Court this week -- California's Proposition 8. support for gay marriage) than support for it, the measure passed on Election Day 2008 by four points, 52 percent to 48 percent. In Maryland, late polling showed support for gay marriage as high as nine or 10 points (including nine in a Washington Post poll) -- and even higher in some early polls -- but it passed by four points. Voters overturned a constitutional ban on gay marriage by six points -- though it should be noted that they didn't effectively legalize gay marriage.) There are a couple theories for this discrepancy, setting aside the notion that the pollsters themselves might be biased: 1) Polls under-sell opposition to gay marriage because people don't want to come off as intolerant of gay people, so they hide their true anti-gay marriage beliefs from pollsters. A similar theory has been suggested for polls that over-sell support for black candidates -- something dubbed the "Bradley Effect." A Washington state poll from last year, for example, tried to adjust for this so-called "social desirability" effect. In addition to asking the gay marriage question, it moved undecided conservatives and religious voters into the "no" column, along with those who were uncomfortable with discussion about "sexual minorities." While the first question showed gay marriage favored by a 58-37 margin, the latter adjustments showed the margin at 52-48 -- exactly the margin by which gay marriage passed. He noted that the amount of poll error remained similar even as support for gay marriage rose over time and was also consistent between states regardless of how many gay people they had -- the idea being that more tolerant places and times would lead to more error if the "Bradley Effect" applied to gay marriage. In both cases, though, the percentage of supporters who said their view was "strong" was lower than those who opposed gay marriage.
No. It was the issue of Europe which, eventually, brought about her downfall. Who was Baroness Thatcher? No." "Being prime minister is a lonely job. What was Lady Thatcher's background? LIFE OF MARGARET THATCHER 13 October 1925 - Born Margaret Hilda Roberts in Grantham, Lincolnshire 1951 - Married businessman Denis Thatcher 1959 - Becomes MP for Finchley 1970 - Made minister for education 1975 - Elected Conservative leader 1979 - Becomes UK's first female prime minister 1982 - Falklands War 1983 - Elected prime minister for second time 1984 - Survives Grand Hotel bombing 1984-5 - Takes on unions in Miners' Strike 1987 - Wins third term in Downing Street 1990 - Resigns as prime minister 1992 - Stands down as MP and accepts peerage 2002 - Retires from public speaking 8 April 2013 - Dies after suffering a stroke At-a-glance: Margaret Thatcher World leaders and senior UK figures have been paying tribute to Lady Thatcher. She never lost a general election. The Heath government was not to last. The political philosophy she established still dominates British politics to this day. During her later years in office she became increasingly associated with Euroscepticism. In a TV interview she said she did not believe that there would be a woman prime minister in her lifetime. New monetary policies made the City of London one of the most vibrant and successful financial centres in the world. She herself had argued in cabinet against the removal of free milk. He added: "The Labour Party disagreed with much of what she did and she will always remain a controversial figure. Others to pay tribute included former chancellors Lord Howe and Lord Lawson, who resigned from her government following differences over economic policy, Europe and her leadership style.
Image caption Baroness Thatcher was the first woman to be UK prime minister, winning three elections Former Prime Minister Baroness Thatcher has died "peacefully" at the age of 87 after suffering a stroke while staying at the Ritz hotel in central London. David Cameron called her a "great Briton" and the Queen spoke of her sadness at the death. Lady Thatcher was Conservative prime minister from 1979 to 1990. She was the first woman to hold the role. The ceremony, with full military honours, will take place at London's St Paul's Cathedral. The union jack above Number 10 Downing Street has been lowered to half-mast while Parliament will be recalled from its Easter recess on Wednesday to enable MPs to pay tributes to the former prime minister. Obama tribute After cancelling planned talks in Paris with French President Francois Hollande and returning to the UK, Mr Cameron made a statement outside No 10 in which he described Lady Thatcher as "the patriot prime minister" and said she had "taken a country that was on its knees and made it stand tall again". For that she has her well-earned place in history - and the enduring respect and gratitude of the British people," he said. In an era in which politicians are all too often greeted with indifference, it is easy to forget that Britain was once led by a woman who inspired passion - both love and loathing. Lady Thatcher, who retired from public speaking in 2002, had suffered poor health for several years. She had been staying at the Ritz hotel since being discharged from hospital at the end of last year. BBC political editor Nick Robinson said Lady Thatcher - whose husband Denis died in 2003 - had been a controversial politician who inspired "passion" among her critics and supporters. She was also in power when the UK fought a war following Argentina's invasion of the Falkland Islands in 1982. Lady Thatcher survived an assassination attempt in 1984, when the IRA bombed the Brighton Grand Hotel, where she was staying for the Conservative Party's annual conference. She is also seen as one of the key movers behind the fall of communism in eastern Europe. LIFE OF MARGARET THATCHER 13 October 1925 - Born Margaret Hilda Roberts in Grantham, Lincolnshire 1951 - Married businessman Denis Thatcher 1959 - Becomes MP for Finchley 1970 - Made minister for education 1975 - Elected Conservative leader 1979 - Becomes UK's first female prime minister 1982 - Falklands War 1983 - Elected prime minister for second time 1984 - Survives Grand Hotel bombing 1984-5 - Takes on unions in Miners' Strike 1987 - Wins third term in Downing Street 1990 - Resigns as prime minister 1992 - Stands down as MP and accepts peerage 2002 - Retires from public speaking 8 April 2013 - Dies after suffering a stroke At-a-glance: Margaret Thatcher World leaders and senior UK figures have been paying tribute to Lady Thatcher. US President Barack Obama said the world had "lost one of the great champions of freedom and liberty" and that "America has lost a true friend". German Chancellor Angela Merkel said she would "never forget her part in surmounting the division of Europe and at the end of the Cold War". Ahead of his return to the UK, Mr Cameron told the BBC: "Margaret Thatcher succeeded against all the odds. "I believe she will go down as the greatest British peacetime prime minister." A Buckingham Palace spokesman said: "The Queen was sad to hear the news of the death of Baroness Thatcher. Her Majesty will be sending a private message of sympathy to the family." She gave birth to twins Mark and Carol in 1953, the year she also qualified as a barrister, and served as MP for Finchley, north London, from 1959 to 1992. Having been education secretary, she successfully challenged former prime minister Edward Heath for her party's leadership in 1975 and won general elections in 1979, 1983 and 1987. Sir John Major, who replaced Lady Thatcher as prime minister in 1990, called her a "true force of nature". He added: "Her outstanding characteristics will always be remembered by those who worked closely with her: courage and determination in politics, and humanity and generosity of spirit in private." 'Unique' Baroness Thatcher's funeral route Baroness Thatcher is to have a ceremonial funeral - a step short of a state funeral - with military honours to be held at St Paul's Cathedral in London The funeral parade will begin at Chapel of St Mary Undercroft at the Palace of Westminster A hearse will take the body to the RAF Chapel at the church of St Clement Danes on the Strand Baroness Thatcher's coffin will be transferred to a gun carriage and drawn by the Kings Troop Royal Artillery to St Paul's Cathedral The route is to be lined by all three armed forces Former Labour Prime Minister Tony Blair called her a "towering figure", while his successor Gordon Brown praised her "determination and resilience". Labour leader Ed Miliband said Lady Thatcher had been a "unique figure" who "reshaped the politics of a whole generation". Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg described Lady Thatcher as one of the "defining figures in modern British politics", adding: "She may have divided opinion during her time in politics but everyone will be united today in acknowledging the strength of her personality and the radicalism of her politics." Lord Howe said the former prime minister was a "remarkable person" and a "very good" leader. London Mayor Boris Johnson said Lady Thatcher's memory would "live long after the world has forgotten the grey suits of today's politics" while Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond described her as "a truly formidable prime minister whose policies defined a political generation". Image caption "Parties" are being held in Glasgow and in Brixton, south London, following Baroness Thatcher's death But Lady Thatcher's economic policies and political style also came in for criticism. Former Labour leader Neil Kinnock said income inequality had grown sharply during her time in office while Sinn Fein president Gerry Adams said she had "prolonged the war and caused great suffering" in Northern Ireland by the use of "draconian, militaristic policies". In a statement, The National Union of Mineworkers said Lady Thatcher had "set out to serve those whose interests were profit for the few" and this had led to the "decimation" of the coal industry. And "parties" have been taking place in Glasgow and in Brixton, south London, to mark Baroness Thatcher's death.
All rights reserved. In January, hundreds of thousands of demonstrators flooded into the capital, Paris, for an anti-gay marriage march. The bill would allow gay marriage and let same-sex couples adopt children. "So nothing is definitive and the debate continues." The vote in the upper house of Parliament — led by President Francois Hollande's Socialists — comes despite boisterous protests. Opinion polls have routinely indicated that a majority of French people support gay marriage but that fewer support adoption rights for homosexual couples. Call for referendum Opponents had said they would organise another mass protest in Paris on May 26 if the law was approved, to demand its withdrawal and a referendum. Justice Minister Christiane Taubira praised the result, saying the Senate had strengthened French society "by granting the simple recognition of full citizenship to homosexual couples". Read or Share this story: http://usat.ly/ZPsVKw Some conservative senators vowed to continue their opposition to the bill. Gay rights organisations say homosexuals are being increasingly targeted amid opposition to government plans to give gay couples in France the right to marry and adopt children. The vote on Friday, by a show of hands, puts the bill on track to become law within weeks after a second reading in the lower House, National Assembly. The rally came as an image apparently showing the victim of a homophobic attack went viral on social media. About a dozen mostly European nations already allow gay marriage. On the campaign trail last year, Hollande pledged to push through such legislation if elected. The bill was largely supported by the ruling Socialists, their allies in the Green Party and the Communists, and opposed by the main opposition UMP and other right-wing and centre-right parties.
Image caption French Family minister Dominique Bertinotti was one of those who spoke during the debate France's upper house of parliament has voted to legalise gay marriage. The bill - which was approved with only minor amendments - is now certain to become law after a final vote in the lower house, expected in May. Gay rights organisations say homosexuals are being increasingly targeted amid opposition to government plans to give gay couples in France the right to marry and adopt children. Friday's Senate vote, by a show of hands, came after senators had on Wednesday approved the first article of the bill allowing gay couples to marry and adopt, by 179 votes to 157. Justice Minister Christiane Taubira praised the result, saying the Senate had strengthened French society "by granting the simple recognition of full citizenship to homosexual couples". The bill is now set to become law after technical second readings in both houses of parliament. Image caption Activists say there has been a rapid rise in homophobic assaults in recent months On Thursday, some 5,000 people took part in a protest in Paris linking critics of the gay marriage bill to homophobia. The rally came as an image apparently showing the victim of a homophobic attack went viral on social media. Opponents of the bill have denied homophobia and denounced violence. Opinion polls suggest that around 55-60% of French people support gay marriage, but only about 50% approve of gay adoption. The anti-gay marriage lobby, backed by the Catholic Church and right-wing opposition, has already held large marches in Paris. It argues the move would undermine an essential building block of society. People demonstrate with placards and flags for equal rights for gay people in Paris April 10, 2013. (Photo: Jacques Brinon, AP) Story Highlights About a dozen mostly European nations already allow gay marriage Polls show a narrow majority of French support legalizing gay marriage French President Francois Hollande has voiced support PARIS (AP) — The French Senate voted Friday to legalize same-sex marriage in France, putting a landmark bill on track to become law by summer. The vote in the upper house of Parliament — led by President Francois Hollande's Socialists — comes despite boisterous protests. France's justice minister, one of the bill's loudest supporters, said the reform recognizes that many children are already living with same-sex parents and deserve the same protections afforded children of opposite-sex parents. "These are children that scrape their knees, eat too much candy, don't like broccoli, drive you crazy... we protect them," Christine Taubira told senators following the vote. The justice minister said the reform will "move our institutions towards ever more freedom, equality and personal respect." "The parliamentary process continues so we will keep talking with the French people who seem to change their position," said UMP party senator Jean-Pierre Raffarin. Polls have shown a narrow majority of French support legalizing gay marriage, though that support falls when questions about adoption and conception of children come into play. The bill would allow gay marriage and let same-sex couples adopt children. On the campaign trail last year, Hollande pledged to push through such legislation if elected. In mid-January, at least 340,000 people swarmed on the Eiffel Tower to protest the plan to legalize gay marriage, according to police estimates. France's upper House votes to approve landmark bill granting homosexual couples right to marry and adopt, amid protests. France's upper House, Senate, has voted to approve a landmark bill granting homosexual couples the right to marry and adopt, after a heated debate and mass protests from conservatives and religious groups. Wave of homophobic violence sweeps France Opponents accused them of seeking to rush through the law, with the head of the right-wing UMP's faction in the assembly, Christian Jacob, saying President Francois Hollande was "risking a violent confrontation with the French people" over the bill. Christiane Taubira, the justice minister, hailed the Senate vote, saying it had strengthened French society "by granting the simple recognition of full citizenship to homosexual couples". The bill came under vehement attack in a country that is officially secular but predominantly Catholic, mobilising hundreds of thousands of people in pro- and anti-gay marriage protests nationwide. Last month, police were forced to fire tear gas on people protesting against the bill, and dozens were arrested.
Obama said. But, he added, “None of the proposals really would have addressed the tragedy.’’ "Criminals do not submit to background checks." The gun lobby and its allies willfully lied about the bill. All New England senators voted yes except for Senator Kelly Ayotte, a Republican from New Hampshire. The Senate legislation also includes tighter restrictions on gun trafficking and more funding for school security. President Obama's campaign to curb gun violence dealt sharp blow after plan to expand checks for gun buyers was denied. The other amendments include an assault weapons ban and limits on high capacity magazines. “NO DEALS, NO GUN CONTROL,’’ the National Association for Gun Rights blasts on its website. Despite the bipartisan negotiations, the amendment failed when only 54 senators voted to proceed, falling six votes short. “A lot of things in Washington are window dressing, it’s a dog and pony show, it’s a parade, it’s theatrics, it’s histrionics, all to show people that something bad happened — which it did. US President Barack Obama The amendment negotiated by Democrat Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Republican Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania was seen as Obama's best hope to pass meaningful gun-control legislation after the December massacre of 20 children and six adults at an elementary school in Newtown. He called on Americans who support the expanded background checks to be as politically active and persistent as those who opposed them. Source: Agencies Some of that organizing directly targets senators who seek compromise. The Manchin-Toomey background checks amendment allowed exemptions for private sales or gifts between families and friends and prohibited the creation of a national registry of guns.
President Obama's campaign to curb gun violence dealt sharp blow after plan to expand checks for gun buyers was denied. The US Senate has rejected a bipartisan plan to expand background checks for gun buyers, dealing a sharp blow to President Barack Obama's campaign to curb gun violence after the Newtown school massacre. Despite emotional pleas from families of victims of the Newtown, Connecticut, shootings and broad public support nationwide, the plan to extend background checks to online and gun-show sales failed on a 54-46 vote on Wednesday, six votes short of the 60-vote hurdle needed to clear the Senate. Speaking from the White House on Wednesday, Obama blamed the blockage of the legislation on a "minority" in the US Senate, marking it as a "shameful day for Washington". "The gun lobby and its allies willfully lied about the bill," he said, adding that the proposal "represented moderation and common sense". The gun lobby and its allies willfully lied about the bill. US President Barack Obama The amendment negotiated by Democrat Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Republican Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania was seen as Obama's best hope to pass meaningful gun-control legislation after the December massacre of 20 children and six adults at an elementary school in Newtown. Intense negotiations Other measures backed by the president - including a proposal to ban rapid-firing "assault" weapons like the one used in Connecticut and a limit on ammunition magazines - also are expected to fail as the Senate conducts nine consecutive votes on gun-control legislation. The votes are the culmination of weeks of intense negotiations and lobbying over Obama's proposed gun restrictions, and the defeat of the background checks amendment could doom the biggest package of gun legislation Congress has considered in two decades. Opponents of the Manchin-Toomey plan and the restrictions on assault weapons said the proposals were an example of government overreach that would infringe on the constitutional right to bear arms. High public support The Democratic-led Senate also will consider several Republican-sponsored amendments backed by the National Rifle Association gun lobby that would expand gun rights, adding an element of uncertainty to the eventual content of the bill. The Senate legislation also includes tighter restrictions on gun trafficking and more funding for school security. The Manchin-Toomey background checks amendment allowed exemptions for private sales or gifts between families and friends and prohibited the creation of a national registry of guns. WASHINGTON – Compromise legislation to expand mandatory background checks for gun sales — a key element of the federal response to the elementary school massacre in Newtown, Conn. – failed Wednesday afternoon in the US Senate. The inability of President Obama and Democratic leaders to round up the required 60 votes in favor of enhanced background checks dealt a striking defeat to a major initiative of the president’s second term, falling short despite numerous pleas and trips to Washington by families of the Sandy Hook Elementary School victims, whose children were murdered five months ago by a lone gunman with a semi-automatic assault rifle. Advertisement The Senate voted Wednesday afternoon to block the first of nine amendments to Obama’s gun control bill, a compromise forged between senators Joe Manchin, a Democrat from West Virginia, and Pat Toomey, a Republican from Pennsylvania to expand background checks for gun buyers. Despite the bipartisan negotiations, the amendment failed when only 54 senators voted to proceed, falling six votes short. Erica Lafferty, 27, the daughter of Dawn Hochsprung, principal of Sandy Hook who lost her life in the shooting, said she was disappointed by the vote “but the fact that it got to the floor is good.’’ “I’m confident that it will be back, and I also know that I will be here when it does come back,’’ Lafferty said. “What they have tried to do today I think is an act that should be appreciated by those of us who many times avoid taking the tough decisions.’’ Advertisement Senator Christopher Murphy, a Connecticut Democrat in favor of gun control, spoke out against the outsized influence of the gun lobby. “The longer that I’ve spent in this place, the more I’m convinced that there are people who actually do believe that we should just go back to the days of the wild, wild west,’’ Murphy said, “that we should usher in a new era of gun control Darwinism in which the good guys have guns, the bad guns, and we just hope that the good guys shoot the bad guys.’’ Because of senate procedural rules, a 60-vote threshhold was required for each of the nine amendments to proceed. The other amendments include an assault weapons ban and limits on high capacity magazines. The gun debate has been marked by intense lobbying on both sides, big-spending influence campaigns targeting individual senators, and some vitriolic attacks, particularly by some groups opposed to firearms restrictions. Groups beyond the National Rifle Association, the traditional representative of the gun lobby, have played a major role in the debate. The National Association for Gun Rights used email alerts, online videos, and a Facebook page to convey mocking imagery that targeted individual senators. Stamped in red ink is, “Toomey Sold Out Your Gun Rights.’’ The gun rights group similarly depicted all 16 Republicans who voted last week to prevent a GOP filibuster and move forward on the gun legislation debate. The 16 also are shown with their faces on sticks, tagged by Facebook users with unfriendly names. But the looming failure of gun-control legislation illustrates how vocal minorities are exerting strong influence on congressional debates by targeting individual senators with outside pressure, channeled through Internet organizing. Organizing for Action, an offshoot of President Obama’s campaign network, ran an ad Friday on the Bangor Daily News website with this message: “Tell Senator Collins: It’s time to close background check loopholes.’’ That ad came a day after a full-page ad from the National Rifle Association that asked, “Will Obama’s gun control proposals actually work? His own experts say, ‘No.’’’ The group on Monday posted a doctored and unflattering photo of Collins with her eyes bulging as if she were a zombie. Senator Rand Paul, a Kentucky Republican, Wednesday morning criticized the president for using the Newtown, Conn., families “as props.’’ At a breakfast with reporters sponsored by the Christian Science Monitor, he said the legislation would not have prevented the Sandy Hook shootings, and he criticized the vote as being mostly for show. A visibly angry U.S. President Barack Obama lashed out at members of the U.S. Senate on Wednesday, after a minority of senators successfully blocked a bipartisan effort to ban assault weapons and expand federal background checks to more firearms buyers. He slammed critics who said it was unseemly for the victims to be lobbying for the new law, such as Kentucky Republican Senator Rand Paul, who said the president "used them as props." "Do we really think that thousands of families whose lives have been shattered by gun violence don't have a right to weigh in on this issue?"
. The UN's own cholera expert, Danielle Lantagne, has said that Haiti's outbreak is likely to have come from UN soldiers. The victims include relatives of the 8,000 people who have died and hundreds of thousands of people who have fallen sick. Concannon said that if there is no settlement, the Institute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti will take the United Nations to court in 60 days. They may be about to face a very public legal crisis as well. The UN says it is immune from compensation claims. A UN cholera expert agrees that this is "most likely" to be true. Lawyers for the victims say the UN is breaking international law. Some human waste was also dumped near a river outside the camp. When the original compensation claim was filed with the secretary-general and the claims unit for the U.N. peacekeeping mission in Haiti in 2011, Concannon said he hoped the U.N. peacekeeping force would create a lifesaving program that would provide sanitation, potable water and medical treatment. The lawyers say they will file claims for $100,000 (£64,000) for the families of those who have died and $50,000 (£32,000) for every one of the hundreds of thousands who have fallen sick. Source: Al Jazeera The outbreak has brought devastation to a population already struggling to recover from the 2010 earthquake that killed more than 300,000 people earlier that year. The Haitian strain is almost identical to types found in South Asia and differs greatly from those circulating in nearby Latin America, according to the analysis published in the New England Journal of Medicine. He and Kurzban said they are also planning a lawsuit in a European venue.
Lawyers representing Haiti cholera victims give the UN 60 days to respond before filing lawsuit against world body. A group of lawyers representing cholera victims in Haiti has threatened to take legal action against the United Nations. James Bays, Al Jazeera's diplomatic editor, reporting from the UN headquarters in New York on Wednesday said the lawyers representing the victims and their families have "presenting a very clear message". "They say they are giving the UN an ultimatum - they have 60 days in which to admit liability, to pay out compensation, or, the lawyers say, they're going to sue," Bays said. The outbreak has brought devastation to a population already struggling to recover from the 2010 earthquake that killed more than 300,000 people earlier that year. More than 8,000 people died and hundreds of thousands more were infected in the epidemic that followed and continued well into 2012. UN peacekeepers have been accused of sparking the outbreak, although the UN has refused to pay compensation to the families of victims of the cholera outbreak. The UN has repeatedly denied any responsibility for the cholera outbreak. UNITED NATIONS — A Boston-based human rights group said Wednesday it will sue the United Nations in 60 days if the world body does not agree to compensate Haitian cholera victims, apologize to the Caribbean nation for introducing the disease through its peacekeeping force, and launch a major effort to improve sanitation. Lawyers for the Institute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti said they hoped to be able to settle with the United Nations but are ready to go to court in New York if that fails. The announcement was the group's response to a U.N. letter in February saying it is legally immune and was not responsible for the cholera outbreak that has sickened nearly 500,000 people and killed over 7,750 people since the outbreak began in October 2010. The Institute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti cites independent studies suggesting that the disease was inadvertently brought to Haiti by a U.N. peacekeeping battalion from Nepal, where cholera is endemic. A local contractor failed to properly sanitize the waste of a U.N. base, and the bacteria leaked into a tributary of one of Haiti's biggest rivers, according to one study by a U.N.-appointed panel. Haiti's cholera epidemic followed a Jan. 12, 2010 earthquake that killed 316,000 people and displaced more than a million others. Brian Concannon, the institute's director, said the U.N. asserted its immunity in its recent letter. "They may have immunity, but they don't have impunity," said Ira Kurzban, another lawyer preparing the lawsuit. Concannon and Kurzban said they are operating on the legal principle that if the United Nations does not respond to appeals for justice, and leaves the plaintiffs with no legal recourse, the U.N. loses its immunity. The U.N.-installed water system pumped sewage directed into the river, and "This was the system's normal operation," said Concannon. Haiti had not had a problem with cholera since the 1800s until the 2010 outbreak, said Dr. Jean Ford Figaro, a Haitian doctor speaking for the lawsuit. One of the school's professors, Renaud Piarroux, later wrote that the study confirmed the epidemic was imported and started around the Nepalese peacekeepers' camp, then "spread explosively due to massive contamination of the water." A study of the bacteria conducted in 2010 by scientists at Pacific Biosciences of California Inc. mapped its genome, the set of genes that makes any organism unique. The Haitian strain is almost identical to types found in South Asia and differs greatly from those circulating in nearby Latin America, according to the analysis published in the New England Journal of Medicine. He told the AP that they will probably sue in New York State court initially, and anticipated that the United Nations will counter by saying the case should go to U.S. federal court. The institute is seeking a minimum of $100,000 for each bereaved family and $50,000 for each cholera survivor. When the original compensation claim was filed with the secretary-general and the claims unit for the U.N. peacekeeping mission in Haiti in 2011, Concannon said he hoped the U.N. peacekeeping force would create a lifesaving program that would provide sanitation, potable water and medical treatment. In December, Ban announced a $2.27 billion initiative to help eradicate cholera in Haiti and the Dominican Republic, which share the island of Hispaniola, and vowed to work aggressively to secure donations for the ambitious but still mostly unfunded 10-year plan. He noted that the United Nations is only putting up about 1 to 2 percent of the funds for that plan, and said it was an initiative launched just six week after the institute had filed its initial claim. Ban's spokesman, Martin Nesirky, has said that the secretary-general "again expresses his profound sympathy for the terrible suffering caused by the cholera epidemic, and calls on all partners in Haiti and the international community to work together to ensure better health and a better future for the people of Haiti." Image caption The victims include the families of the 8000 people who have died and hundreds of thousands of people who have fallen sick Victims of Haiti's cholera epidemic have given the United Nations a 60-day deadline to start talks about billions of dollars worth of compensation or face legal action. The UN is accused of negligently allowing peacekeeping soldiers to pollute Haiti's water with cholera. Analysis Every time I write about the cholera crisis in Haiti I have to pinch myself to make sure I'm not having a horrible daydream - because the apparent facts are almost unbelievable. One of the UN's own cholera experts, Danielle Lantagne, told me it was "most likely" the outbreak began in the Nepali camp.
"Frankly, I'd just as soon not use this, then." The White House said this was done at the request of the CIA and not the White House and that the emails support this, showing that a CIA analyst said there was no intelligence at that point to support the assertion of al-Qaida involvement. State Department officials had said the talking points were changed to protect an FBI investigation and sensitive intelligence. The final version was a shadow of the original, with no language about warnings provided by the CIA up until the day before the Sept. 11 attack in Benghazi that killed the U.S. ambassador to Libya, Christopher Stevens, and three other Americans. Contributing: Kevin Johnson Read or Share this story: http://usat.ly/144euQS The correspondence shows conversations members of the Obama administration had when preparing to brief the media. The White House had until now declined to make the documents public and had let congressional investigators review the documents without making copies. One of the original talking points, based on an early memo, says: "We believe, based on currently available information, that the attacks in Benghazi were spontaneously inspired by protests at the US embassy in Cairo and evolved into a direct assault against the US consulate and subsequently the annex." "If it wasn't a spontaneous mob reaction in Cairo, why are you assuming it was a spontaneous mob in Benghazi? Eric Schultz, a White House spokesman, said the documents were released to clear up what he called inaccurate descriptions of the process by members of Congress. At a hearing of the House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday, lawmakers asked Attorney General Eric Holder if the FBI's Benghazi investigation has produced any results.
The White House bowed to Republican pressure on Wednesday to release emails dealing with the aftermath of last year's killings of four Americans, including the US ambassador, in an attack on a diplomatic facility in Benghazi, Libya. The emails reveal intense negotiations between the White House, the State Department and the CIA over what the government should say about the attack in public. Republicans have for months been claiming the White House was engaged in a cover-up, downplaying the role of an al-Qaida inspired group in the attack and suggesting instead the attack was mainly the result of a demonstration by a mob against an American-produced anti-Islam film. The White House claims the 100 pages of released emails vindicates its actions and that there was no cover-up. The emails relate to talking points drawn up by the White House, the State Department and the CIA for use by the US ambassador to the United Nations, Susan Rice, and by members of Congress for use in media interviews. One of the original talking points, based on an early memo, says: "We believe, based on currently available information, that the attacks in Benghazi were spontaneously inspired by protests at the US embassy in Cairo and evolved into a direct assault against the US consulate and subsequently the annex." The memo says: "The crowd almost certainly was a mix of individuals from across many sectors of Libyan society. That being said, we do know that Islamic extremists with ties to al-Qaida participated in the attack." The series of email exchanges reveal that the vital phrase "with ties to al-Qaida" was later excised. The White House said this was done at the request of the CIA and not the White House and that the emails support this, showing that a CIA analyst said there was no intelligence at that point to support the assertion of al-Qaida involvement. In an email from the CIA three days after the attack, it noted the reference to al-Qaida, suggesting it was complicit in the deaths of the four Americans, and a CIA analyst says: "Do we know this?" The Obama administration is fighting to dampen three separate scandals – the IRS, the AP phone calls and Benghazi – and hopes the release of the emails will go some way towards placating its critics. But Republicans are almost certain to keep pushing, pressing on the memos as well as issues not dealt with by the memos, such as why ambassador Chris Stevens had gone to such a dangerous place at a sensitive time – the anniversary of 9/11. "This release is long overdue and there are relevant documents the administration has still refused to produce. --- Discover Martin Chulov & Luke Harding's ebook from Guardian Shorts, Libya: Murder in Benghazi and the Fall of Gaddafi Image caption Armed men attacked the US mission in Benghazi last year, witnesses said The White House has released 99 pages of emails related to the attack on the US diplomatic mission in the Libyan city of Benghazi on 11 September 2012. The correspondence shows conversations members of the Obama administration had when preparing to brief the media. The assault by armed men left four Americans dead, including the US ambassador to Libya, Chris Stevens. The Obama administration released the emails on Wednesday in an attempt to quell criticism of its handling of the crisis. Until now, the White House had declined to make the documents public, instead letting congressional investigators review them without making copies. 'Contradiction' The 99 pages of emails and a single page of handwritten notes include conversations among members of multiple agencies, including the CIA, state department and the FBI. Image caption The correspondence appears to show that the CIA took the lead in developing the talking points The correspondence appears to show that the CIA took the lead in developing the talking points and in omitting key information about possible extremist involvement in the attack. References to al-Qaeda and Libya-based Islamist extremists were removed from the talking points after CIA officials questioned intelligence on who was responsible for the US deaths. State department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland also expressed reservations, saying: "The line of 'knowing' there were extremists among the demonstrators will come back to us at podium". Five days after the attack, US Ambassador to the UN Susan Rice used the talking points in controversial appearances on talk shows in which she suggested the assaults sprang from a spontaneous protest over a US-made film depicting the Prophet Muhammad. On Wednesday, White House spokesman Eric Schultz said the emails "make clear that the inter-agency process... [was] focused on providing the facts as we knew them based on the best information available at the time and protecting an ongoing investigation". But a spokesman for Republican House Speaker John Boehner said the emails "contradict statements made by the White House that it and the state department only changed one word in the talking points". "The seemingly political nature of the state department's concerns raises questions about the motivations behind these changes and who at the state department was seeking them," Brendan Buck said. FILE - In this Sept. 14, 2012 file photo, Libyan military guards check one of the burnt out buildings at the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya, during a visit by Libyan President Mohammed el-Megarif to express sympathy for the death of American ambassador to Libya Chris Stevens and his colleagues in the Sept. 11, 2012 attack on the consulate. The White House has put special operations strike forces on standby and moved drones into the skies above Africa, ready to strike militant targets from Libya to Mali ó if investigators can find the al-Qaida-linked group responsible for the attack. (AP Photo/Mohammad Hannon, File) ORG XMIT: NY117 (Photo: Mohammad Hannon AP) The White House on Wednesday released 100 pages of e-mails documenting the correspondence and revisions made to the talking points about the deadly attack in Benghazi, Libya. The e-mails show that after an interagency meeting at the White House, Obama administration officials crossed out sections of the initial narrative provided by the CIA to be disseminated to the public, removing any mention of terrorism and the name of an al-Qaeda-linked group whose members the CIA said were involved. Several early versions of the CIA's talking points said that a day before the attack, radicals in Cairo had called for a demonstration in front of the U.S. Embassy in Egypt "encouraging Jihadists to break into the Embassy." The final version was a shadow of the original, with no language about warnings provided by the CIA up until the day before the Sept. 11 attack in Benghazi that killed the U.S. ambassador to Libya, Christopher Stevens, and three other Americans. The White House had until now declined to make the documents public and had let congressional investigators review the documents without making copies. "Collectively these e-mails make clear that the interagency process, including the White House's interactions, were focused on providing the facts as we knew them based on the best information available at the time and protecting an ongoing investigation," Schultz said. Rep. Elijah Cummings of Maryland, the ranking Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, said the documents "undercut the reckless accusations by Republicans that the White House scrubbed the Benghazi talking points for political reasons." The documents describe how the administration developed "talking points" to describe what the administration wanted to discuss publicly in the days after the attack. The initial CIA version of the talking points included the line: "We do know that Islamic extremists participated in the violent demonstrations," and said initial press reporting linked the attack to Ansar al-Sharia, an al-Qaeda-linked group based in Benghazi. The point "could be abused by members of Congress to beat the State Department for not paying to Agency (CIA) warnings so why do we want to feed that either?" In an email sent at 9:52 p.m. Sept. 14, however, someone at CIA wrote that the talking points process has "run into major problems."
Because you're doing the law of succession, too. "I said to a minister I know: have you thought this through? The Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill now goes before the House of Lords. Let's put aside the anger and hear it for the joy." In one of his more outspoken interventions, the former Conservative party chairman told the Big Issue magazine that the legislation could also allow him to marry his son to escape inheritance tax. The bill's third reading was backed by 366 MPs, giving it a majority of 205. They passed after ministers reached agreement with Labour's leadership. Lord Tebbit, who recently said he could understand why many people vote Ukip, said the party would attract greater financial support if they won the European parliamentary elections next year. The bill legalising same-sex marriage in England and Wales has cleared another stage on its way to becoming law. Welsh Secretary David Jones and Environment Secretary Owen Paterson voted against the government's bill at its third reading. Demonstrators against the plans held a vigil opposite the Palace of Westminster as the debate took place. And Robert Woollard, chairman of the Conservative Grass Roots organisation, suggested Mr Cameron needed to rein in some of his colleagues in No 10 who were "wet behind the ears" and "needed to get out more". "When we have a queen who is a lesbian and she marries another lady and then decides she would like to have a child and someone donates sperm and she gives birth to a child, is that child heir to the throne?" 'Growing gap' Conservative critics had tabled a proposal to allow heterosexual couples enter into civil partnerships, if gay couples were allowed to get married.
Former Tory chairman Lord Tebbit also warns that legislation could allow him to marry his son to escape inheritance tax The determination of David Cameron to press ahead with legalising gay marriage opens up the possibility of a lesbian queen giving birth to a future monarch by artificial insemination, Lord Tebbit has warned. In one of his more outspoken interventions, the former Conservative party chairman told the Big Issue magazine that the legislation could also allow him to marry his son to escape inheritance tax. Tebbit's remarks indicate that the marriage (same sex couples) bill will have a bumpy ride when it reaches the House of Lords. Tebbit, who said that ministers have "fucked up" by alienating Tory grassroots, accused Downing Street of forcing through the legislation with little thought. "The government discussed it for 20 minutes on the morning of its announcement," he told the Big Issue. "They'd done no work on it beforehand." Tebbit also said he had challenged a minister about legalising gay marriage at the same time as ending male primogeniture in the royal succession. "When we have a queen who is a lesbian and she marries another lady and then decides she would like to have a child and someone donates sperm and she gives birth to a child, is that child heir to the throne?" Tebbit joked that the change could allow parents to marry their children as a way of avoiding inheritance tax. "It's like one of my colleagues said: we've got to make these same sex marriages available to all. It would lift my worries about inheritance tax because maybe I'd be allowed to marry my son. Why shouldn't a mother marry her daughter? Lord Tebbit, who recently said he could understand why many people vote Ukip, said the party would attract greater financial support if they won the European parliamentary elections next year. He said: "If they make significant gains in the European elections, I know there's people rich enough to get involved and fund a significant campaign at a general election." Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption The bill was passed in the Commons by 366 votes to 161 The House of Commons has voted to allow gay marriage in England and Wales, despite 161 MPs opposing the government's plans. David Cameron hopes it will become law soon, with the first ceremonies taking place by next summer. The bill, if passed, will allow same-sex couples, who can currently hold civil ceremonies, to marry. Religious organisations would have to "opt in" to offering weddings, with the Church of England and Church in Wales being banned in law from doing so. Welsh Secretary David Jones and Environment Secretary Owen Paterson voted against the government's bill at its third reading. For Labour, shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper said: "Let's celebrate, not discriminate. 'Growing gap' Conservative critics had tabled a proposal to allow heterosexual couples enter into civil partnerships, if gay couples were allowed to get married. He has denied calling activists "mad, swivel-eyed loons" and Mr Cameron has sent an email to party members, insisting they still shared a "deep and lasting friendship" with him. Tory MP Brian Binley, who has led calls for an investigation into Lord Feldman's alleged comments, said there was a "growing gap" between the prime minister and the party. And Robert Woollard, chairman of the Conservative Grass Roots organisation, suggested Mr Cameron needed to rein in some of his colleagues in No 10 who were "wet behind the ears" and "needed to get out more". Women and Equalities Minister Maria Miller issued a final appeal to her party: "I accept that for some colleagues their beliefs mean that the principle of this issue is an insurmountable barrier to supporting this change but to other colleagues I say: now is the time." She told the House that the message to gay couples should be: "We won't discriminate against you on the grounds of your sexuality we respect and support and celebrate your relationship." Labour MP Diane Abbott paid tribute to the efforts of grassroots campaigners and confessed: "I did not think I would live to see the day this reached third reading." Earlier in the day the bill passed report stage without a vote after Lib Dem Julian Huppert and Green Caroline Lucas, who had tabled amendments aimed at improving the bill's treatment of transgender people, accepted government assurances on the issue.
By 5.23pm, it was all over. "I intend to resist this persecution because I am absolutely innocent," Mr Berlusconi said after the verdict. Image caption Karima El Mahroug is seen here at a disco photocall in Milan in November 2010 There have been many women in Silvio Berlusconi's life - but Karima El Mahroug may turn out to be the most fateful. and to seven years in jail for paying for sex with underage prostitute, and abusing his power. He told the court that was what he believed at the time. Also free pending appeals. The three-time Italian prime minister has been convicted of paying Ms Mahroug for sex when she was too young to be a prostitute, and of misusing his position to spring her from a police cell. Although frequenting prostitutes is not a crime in Italy, having sex with one who is under the age of 18 is an offence punishable by a prison sentence. "The judges even went beyond the prosecutors' request." If the court of cassation upholds his conviction, he will face not only a four-year jail sentence but also – more pertinently for a man whose political ambitions have never died – a five-year ban on public office. She is now a mother and reportedly married to a nightclub manager. The guilty ruling could weaken current Prime Minister Enrico Letta's coalition government, which depends on the support of Mr Berlusconi's centre-right party, People of Freedom (PdL). Accused of tax fraud over deals his firm Mediaset made to purchase TV rights to US films: Convicted in October 2012; Sentence upheld by appeals court in May in October 2012; in May Two other corruption cases involving tax evasion and bribery of a British lawyer: Expired under statute of limitations Even then he may escape prison because of lenient sentencing rules for people over the age of 70.
Image copyright AFP Image caption Both Silvio Berlusconi and Karima El Mahroug deny they had sex Italy's former PM Silvio Berlusconi has been sentenced to seven years in jail and banned from public office for having sex with an underage prostitute, and abuse of power. Both the 76-year-old media tycoon and the Moroccan woman concerned, Karima El Mahroug, deny they had sex. "I intend to resist this persecution because I am absolutely innocent," Mr Berlusconi said after the verdict. In October 2012 he was given a four-year sentence for tax fraud, which is also under appeal. 'Bunga-Bunga' parties This latest verdict ends a two-year trial which has frequently made the headlines, with its allegations of topless women and erotic party games. Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Chief judge Giulia Turri delivers the verdict Mr Berlusconi was convicted of paying for sex with Ms El Mahroug, known as "Ruby the Heart Stealer", in 2010, even though she was 17 at the time. He was also found guilty of abusing the powers of his office, by arranging to have Ms El Mahroug released from police custody when she was detained in a separate petty theft case. Ms El Mahroug was one of a group of women invited to Mr Berlusconi's private residence for so-called "bunga-bunga" party evenings. Mr Berlusconi insists the alleged sex parties were actually dinners where female guests performed "burlesque" dancing. Verdict sends shockwaves The prosecution said the women were part of a prostitution system set up for his personal sexual satisfaction. Although frequenting prostitutes is not a crime in Italy, having sex with one who is under the age of 18 is an offence punishable by a prison sentence. 'Beyond reality' The sentence imposed by the Milan court is one more year than the six-year term demanded by the prosecution. As soon as he heard the verdict, Mr Berlusconi's lawyer Niccolo Ghedini announced an appeal. "This is beyond reality," Mr Ghedini told reporters outside the court. But Mr Berlusconi will not have to spend any time in jail unless the lengthy appeals process is exhausted. Silvio Berlusconi's trials Convicted and sentenced to seven years in jail for paying for sex with underage prostitute, and abusing his power. and to seven years in jail for paying for sex with underage prostitute, and abusing his power. Convicted and sentenced to a year in jail for arranging leak of police wiretap. and to a year in jail for arranging leak of police wiretap. Accused of tax fraud over deals his firm Mediaset made to purchase TV rights to US films: Convicted in October 2012; Sentence upheld by appeals court in May in October 2012; in May Two other corruption cases involving tax evasion and bribery of a British lawyer: Expired under statute of limitations Even then he may escape prison because of lenient sentencing rules for people over the age of 70. The guilty ruling could weaken current Prime Minister Enrico Letta's coalition government, which depends on the support of Mr Berlusconi's centre-right party, People of Freedom (PdL). After more than 26 months, 50 court hearings and countless breathless column inches from journalists worldwide, it took just four minutes for the sentence that Silvio Berlusconi had feared to be delivered. At 5.19pm, before a fascist-era sculpture showing two men struck down by a towering figure, the judges swept into the courtroom and pronounced their damning verdict for Italy's longest-serving postwar prime minister. At the culmination of a trial that helped strike the final nail in the coffin of the playboy politician's international reputation, the judges found Berlusconi guilty both of paying for sex with the underage prostitute nicknamed Ruby Heartstealer and abusing his office to cover it up. They even went beyond the prosecutors' sentencing requests, ordering him to serve seven – rather than six – years in prison and face a lifetime ban on holding public office. Perhaps fittingly for a case that cast a spotlight on the murky nexus of sex and power that prosecutors argued was at the heart of his premiership – in which young women were procured, they said, "for the personal sexual satisfaction" of the billionaire septuagenarian – all three judges were female. Berlusconi, who had been predicting the verdict for weeks as the logical result of his lifelong "persecution" by leftwing prosecutors, has always denied the charges and now has the right to lodge not one but two appeals. There were some notable absentees in court on Monday: Ilda Boccassini, the formidable prosecutor who had led the case against the 76-year-old, and Karima el-Mahroug, the former nightclub dancer from Morocco whom Berlusconi was convicted of paying for sex in 2010 when she was 17, below the legal age of prostitution in Italy. Both he and she denied having "intimate relations" and claimed the thousands of euros he gave her were simply the support of a generous friend. He admitted having made a call to police, but said he did so in the belief that her detention might cause a "diplomatic incident" because he believed her to be a relative of Hosni Mubarak, then the president of Egypt. The leader of the centre-right Freedom People (PdL) party was reported to have waited for the verdict at the Villa San Martino in Arcore, scene of the by-now infamous "bunga bunga" parties where, prosecutors argued, he held raucous evenings of striptease and sex with young women he remunerated handsomely. "Yet again I intend to resist against this persecution because I am absolutely innocent and I don't want in any way to abandon my battle to make Italy a country that is truly free and just." "This is a political sentence that has nothing to do with justice," she told swarms of reporters trailing after her down the stairs of Milan's vast palazzo di giustizia. "These women have used other women for political motives. The prosecutors argued that, rather than the innocent, elegant dinner parties of Berlusconi's claims, the soirées were in fact a chance for the then prime minister to procure the sexual services of a variety of women.
He said he was "shocked" by the latest smear claim and said, if it turned out to be true, "then it will be a disgrace". The home secretary understands that these fresh allegations have only added to the suffering of the Lawrence family Home Office "The home secretary understands that these fresh allegations have only added to the suffering of the Lawrence family. An inquiry accused the police of institutional racism and found failings in how they had investigated the murder. Mr Lawrence's mother, Doreen Lawrence, said earlier that she was shocked and angry at Mr Francis's disclosure. May replied that the two inquiries would work in parallel. Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Hogan-Howe: "We are now in a different context... Image caption Stephen Lawrence was killed at a bus stop in south-east London in 1993 "I think unless we have a public inquiry that goes through the whole thing, we will never get to the bottom of it." She also warned that further revelations about the activities of undercover police were likely. A number of suspects were identified soon after the attack but it took more than 18 years to bring his killers to justice. The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) is supervising some strands of Operation Herne. Another meeting between Mrs May and Mrs Lawrence and her lawyers is planned, although a date has not yet been set. Barrister Mark Ellison QC - who successfully prosecuted Gary Dobson and David Norris for Stephen's murder in 2012 - is already examining police corruption during the original investigation into the killing. Scotland Yard has refused to confirm or deny the claims made in the Guardian newspaper by Mr Francis.
Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Doreen Lawrence: "I felt quite sick to the stomach... I thought we'd heard everything" The mother of murdered teenager Stephen Lawrence - who is calling for a public inquiry into claims of a police smear campaign - says the home secretary has told her "all options are open". The Home Office said Mrs May would "reflect" on how to "get to the heart of all outstanding questions". Labour said it now backed Mrs Lawrence's call for a public inquiry, with the full power to investigate. It comes after former police officer Peter Francis said he posed as an anti-racism campaigner after the murder and was asked to find "dirt" on the family. 'Very promising' Stephen, who was black, was 18 when he was stabbed to death by a gang of white youths in an unprovoked attack as he waited at a bus stop in south-east London in April 1993. Unless we have a public inquiry that goes through the whole thing, we will never get to the bottom of it Doreen Lawrence A number of suspects were identified but it took more than 18 years to bring his killers to justice. An inquiry accused the police of institutional racism and found failings in how they had investigated the crime. Mrs Lawrence, standing outside the Home Office after the "very promising" meeting, said that, "for the past 20 years", the family had been "talking about corruption and we have undercover officers trying to smear our family". "I want answers," she added "I want to know who was the senior officer who signed that off." Mrs Lawrence, who was accompanied in the meeting by her lawyers and Stephen's brother, Stuart, said this week's revelations had made her "feel quite sick to the stomach because I think it's the last thing I expected". Image caption Stephen Lawrence was killed at a bus stop in south-east London in 1993 "I think unless we have a public inquiry that goes through the whole thing, we will never get to the bottom of it." Mrs Lawrence said the home secretary had told her "all options are open". Her lawyer, Imran Khan, said the home secretary had "gone away to consider" the points made "and what the family hope is that she'll be agreeable to holding a public inquiry in due course". The home secretary understands that these fresh allegations have only added to the suffering of the Lawrence family Home Office "The home secretary understands that these fresh allegations have only added to the suffering of the Lawrence family. Shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper said Labour now backed a public inquiry "to get publicly to the full truth of what went wrong in the Stephen Lawrence case". "The allegations about smearing the family, covert recording of interviews with Duwayne Brooks, and corruption are sufficiently serious in a case which has been so important for confidence in policing that much more needs to be done to get quickly to the truth," she said. He revealed, while being questioned by the London Assembly's police and crime committee, that Mr Khan had written to him asking "12 or 13 questions", adding that he would "answer them as far as possible". I don't believe it is happening at the moment" 'Outrageous' document Former undercover officer Mr Francis has told the Guardian and Channel 4's Dispatches programme that, working as part of the Metropolitan Police's Special Demonstration Squad (SDS), he was pressured to find "any intelligence that could have smeared the campaign". Mrs May announced on Monday that the claims would be investigated by two existing inquiries, those of: Barrister Mark Ellison QC, who is examining police corruption during the original investigation into the killing Operation Herne, an investigation into undercover policing at the Met, led by the chief constable of Derbyshire Police, Mick Creedon, and partly overseen by the police watchdog Mr Hogan-Howe told the London Assembly committee he had asked Mr Creedon to "prioritise" the Lawrence allegations and thought the two inquiries would get to the bottom of them. He said he was "shocked" by the latest smear claim and said, if it turned out to be true, "then it will be a disgrace". "I'm confident what's set up will work so therefore I can hardly call for a public inquiry to substitute for it." Meanwhile, Greater Manchester Police (GMP) has said it is looking into claims its Special Branch sent a request in August 1998 to all divisions asking for information about "groups or individuals" expected to attend the Macpherson Inquiry into the handling of Stephen's murder. Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Home Secretary Theresa May: "The Lawrence family experienced an unspeakable tragedy" Claims that police tried to smear murder victim Stephen Lawrence's family will be investigated by two existing inquiries, Theresa May has said. The home secretary also told MPs there should be a "ruthless" purging of corruption from police ranks. 'Unspeakable tragedy' Black teenager Stephen, 18, was stabbed to death in an unprovoked attack by a gang of white youths as he waited at a bus stop in south-east London in April 1993. Former undercover officer Mr Francis told the Guardian and Channel 4's Dispatches programme that after Mr Lawrence's killing he posed as an anti-racism campaigner in a hunt for "disinformation" to use against those criticising the police. The allegation on the Guardian's website that officers at the Metropolitan Police wanted to smear Doreen and Neville Lawrence raises fresh questions about the appallingly botched original investigation. Working as part of the Met's now-disbanded Special Demonstration Squad, which specialised in gathering intelligence on political activists, he said he had come under pressure to find "any intelligence that could have smeared the campaign" - including whether any of the family were political activists, involved in demonstrations or drug dealers. Mr Francis, who used the name Peter Black while under cover, said the aim of his operation had been to ensure that the public "did not have as much sympathy for the Stephen Lawrence campaign" and to persuade "the media to start maybe tarring the campaign". She continued: "Their pain was compounded by the many years in which justice was not done, and these allegations still coming 20 years after Stephen's murder only add to their suffering." Barrister Mark Ellison QC - who successfully prosecuted Gary Dobson and David Norris for Stephen's murder in 2012 - is already examining police corruption during the original investigation into the killing. Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Neville Lawrence: "We need public inquiry led by a judge" And they would also be looked at as part of Operation Herne, which is an investigation into undercover policing at the Metropolitan Police, being led by the chief constable of Derbyshire police, Mick Creedon. "It is unthinkable that in the extremely dark days and months after my son's murder that my family were subject to such scrutiny," he said in a statement. Stephen Lawrence murder Black teenager Stephen Lawrence, 18, was stabbed to death in an unprovoked attack by a gang of white youths as he waited at a bus stop in Eltham, south-east London in April 1993.
And it is this. Hide Caption 18 of 33 Photos: Same-sex marriage in the U.S. On October 21, 2013, Cory Booker, right, officiates a wedding ceremony for Joseph Panessidi, center, and Orville Bell at the Newark, New Jersey, City Hall. "We are gay. The U.S. Supreme Court cleared the way for same-sex marriage in Utah when it declined to hear the state's appeal of a lower court ruling. "This is a huge day for California." Two same-sex couples launched a legal challenge against Proposition 8. The justices said that the Defense of Marriage Act, known as Doma, discriminated against same-sex couples. Florida began allowing same-sex marriages after a federal judge struck down the state's ban. The case is Hollingsworth v. Perry (12-144). Doma was signed into law in 1996 by former President Bill Clinton after it was approved in Congress with bipartisan support. The landmark 5-4 rulings prompted celebrations from about 1,000 gay rights advocates gathered outside the Supreme Court in Washington DC and many more nationwide. In California and the 26 other states that permit initiatives and popular referendums, the people have exercised their own inherent sovereign right to govern themselves. ... In May 2009, Maine state Sen. Dennis Damon, left, hands Gov. Massachusetts was the first state to do so. Chief Justice John Roberts wrote the Proposition 8 opinion, ruling along procedural lines in a way that said nothing about how the court would rule on the merits. Instead, it ruled on "standing" -- whether those who brought the suit to the court were entitled to do so.
Story highlights The high court opts not to consider the issues of the appeal Instead, it rules on whether those who brought the suit to the court were entitled to do so State officials had refused to defend Proposition 8 after a California court suspended it Justice Kennedy, in dissent, says the court's majority undercut the initiative process The Supreme Court has dismissed an appeal over same-sex marriage on jurisdictional grounds, ruling Wednesday private parties do not have "standing" to defend California's voter-approved ballot measure barring gay and lesbian couples from state-sanctioned wedlock. The ruling clears the way for same-sex marriages in California to resume. The 5-4 decision avoids, for now, a sweeping conclusion on whether same-sex marriage is a constitutional "equal protection" right that would apply to all states. At issue was whether the Constitution's guarantee of equal protection under the law prevents states from defining marriage to exclude same-sex couples, and whether a state can revoke same-sex marriage through referendum, as California did, once it already has been recognized. But a majority of the Supreme Court opted not to rule on those issues. Instead, it ruled on "standing" -- whether those who brought the suit to the court were entitled to do so. Photos: Same-sex marriage in the U.S. Carlos McKnight of Washington waves a flag in support of same-sex marriage outside the U.S. Supreme Court on June 26, 2015. The Supreme Court ruled 5-4 that states cannot ban same-sex marriage, handing gay rights advocates their biggest victory yet. See photos from states that approved same-sex marriage before the nationwide ruling: Hide Caption 1 of 33 Photos: Same-sex marriage in the U.S. Shante Wolfe, left, and Tori Sisson become the first same-sex couple to file their marriage license in Montgomery, Alabama, on February 9, 2015. However, seven months after the U.S. Supreme Court ruling legalizing such nuptials nationwide, Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore directed probate judges in his state to enforce the ban on same-sex marriage. Gay rights organizations swiftly denounced Moore's January 6, 2016, order. Hide Caption 2 of 33 Photos: Same-sex marriage in the U.S. Newlyweds Jeff Delmay and Todd Delmay hug during a marriage ceremony in a Miami courtroom January 5, 2015. Florida began allowing same-sex marriages after a federal judge struck down the state's ban. Hide Caption 3 of 33 Photos: Same-sex marriage in the U.S. Chad Biggs, left, and Chris Creech say their wedding vows at the Wake County Courthouse in Raleigh, North Carolina, on October 10, 2014, after a federal judge ruled that same-sex marriage can begin in the state. Hide Caption 4 of 33 Photos: Same-sex marriage in the U.S. Joshua Gunter, right, and Bryan Shields attend a Las Vegas rally to celebrate an appeals court ruling that overturned Nevada's same-sex marriage ban on October 7, 2014. Hide Caption 5 of 33 Photos: Same-sex marriage in the U.S. From left, plaintiffs Moudi Sbeity; his partner, Derek Kitchen; Kody Partridge; and Partridge's wife, Laurie Wood, celebrate after a news conference in Salt Lake City on October 6, 2014. The U.S. Supreme Court cleared the way for same-sex marriage in Utah when it declined to hear the state's appeal of a lower court ruling. Hide Caption 6 of 33 Photos: Same-sex marriage in the U.S. Abbi Huber, left, and Talia Frolkis exit the City County Building in Madison, Wisconsin, after applying for a marriage license on October 6, 2014. Rob MacPherson, right, and his husband, Steven Stolen, hug during a news conference at the American Civil Liberties Union in Indianapolis on October 6, 2014. Hide Caption 8 of 33 Photos: Same-sex marriage in the U.S. Mary Bishop, second from left, and Sharon Baldwin, right, celebrate with family and friends following their wedding ceremony on the courthouse steps in Tulsa, Oklahoma, on October 6, 2014. Hide Caption 10 of 33 Photos: Same-sex marriage in the U.S. Pastor Carol Hill from Epworth United Methodist Church speaks during a marriage-equality ceremony at the Kathy Osterman Beach in Chicago on June 1, 2014. The date marked the first day that all of Illinois' 102 counties could begin issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples. Hide Caption 11 of 33 Photos: Same-sex marriage in the U.S. William Roletter, left, and Paul Rowe get close after having their photo taken with their marriage certificate May 21, 2014, at Philadelphia City Hall. Hide Caption 12 of 33 Photos: Same-sex marriage in the U.S. Julie Engbloom, left, and Laurie Brown embrace after marrying in Portland, Oregon, on May 19, 2014. A federal judge struck down the state's voter-approved ban on same-sex marriage. Hide Caption 13 of 33 Photos: Same-sex marriage in the U.S. Jennifer Rambo, right, kisses her Kristin Seaton after their marriage ceremony in front of the Carroll County Courthouse in Eureka Springs, Arkansas, on May 10, 2014. Rambo and Seaton were the first same-sex couple to be granted a marriage license in Eureka Springs after a judge overturned Amendment 83, which banned same-sex marriage in Arkansas. Hide Caption 14 of 33 Photos: Same-sex marriage in the U.S. Same-sex couples get their marriage licenses at the Oakland County Courthouse in Pontiac, Michigan, on March 22, 2014, a day after a federal judge overturned Michigan's ban on same-sex marriage. Neil Abercrombie, left, and former state Sen. Avery Chumbley celebrate with a copy of the Honolulu Star-Advertiser after Abercrombie signed a bill legalizing same-sex marriage in the state. Hide Caption 16 of 33 Photos: Same-sex marriage in the U.S. Utah state Sen. Jim Dabakis, left, and Stephen Justesen acknowledge the crowd after being married in Salt Lake City in December 20, 2013. Plaintiffs Laurie Wood, left, and Kody Partridge, center, walk with attorney Peggy Tomsic on December 4, 2013, after a judge heard arguments challenging Utah's same-sex marriage ban. Hide Caption 18 of 33 Photos: Same-sex marriage in the U.S. On October 21, 2013, Cory Booker, right, officiates a wedding ceremony for Joseph Panessidi, center, and Orville Bell at the Newark, New Jersey, City Hall. The New Jersey Supreme Court denied the state's request to prevent same-sex marriages temporarily, clearing the way for same-sex couples to marry. Hide Caption 19 of 33 Photos: Same-sex marriage in the U.S. A couple celebrates at San Francisco City Hall upon hearing about the U.S. Supreme Court rulings on same-sex marriage on June 26, 2013. The high court cleared the way for same-sex couples in California to resume marrying after dismissing an appeal on Proposition 8 on jurisdictional grounds. The court also struck down a key part of the Defense of Marriage Act, a 1996 federal law defining marriage as between a man and a woman. Hide Caption 26 of 33 Photos: Same-sex marriage in the U.S. Phyllis Siegel, right, kisses her wife, Connie Kopelov, after exchanging vows at the Manhattan City Clerk's office on July 24, 2011, the first day New York's Marriage Equality Act went into effect. Hide Caption 27 of 33 Photos: Same-sex marriage in the U.S. On August 21, 2010, TV reporter Roby Chavez, right, shares a moment with gay rights activist Frank Kameny during Chavez and Chris Roe's wedding ceremony in the nation's capital. Hide Caption 28 of 33 Photos: Same-sex marriage in the U.S. Olin Burkhart, left, and Carl Burkhart kiss on the steps of the New Hampshire Capitol on January 1, 2010, after the state's law allowing same-sex marriage went into effect.
{* /registrationForm *} The military's ultimatum was, it said, a "last chance." Morsi still enjoys huge support. Updated at 10:04 a.m. Eastern CAIRO Protesters stormed and ransacked the Cairo headquarters of President Mohammed Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood Islamist group on Monday. At least 16 people were killed and more than 780 injured in the violence Sunday and early Monday, Health Ministry spokesman Yehya Moussa told state television. Egyptians were also bracing for another wave of unrest, as the protest movement said it was giving Morsi until Tuesday afternoon to step down, or there would be a fresh round of national civil disobedience. Check your email for your verification email, or enter your email address in the form below to resend the email. A fire broke out in the heavily fortified building. Ward said many Egyptians blame Morsi for their country's economic woes and deteriorating security situation, including a spike in murders and sexual assaults since he came to power. ET CAIRO Egypt's powerful military warned Monday that the nation's first democratically-elected leader in decades had just 48 hours to answer the demands made by thousands of anti-government protesters calling for his ouster, or it would intervene to force a political transition. The announcement was greeted by jubilation in Tahrir Square. In the statement, al-Sissi called Sunday's protests -- which drew hundreds of thousands of people onto the streets of Cairo and other major Egyptian cities -- "glorious," and said that through the demonstrations, the Egyptian people had made their message loud and clear, and they deserved a response. Please confirm the information below before signing in.
ET CAIRO Egypt's powerful military warned Monday that the nation's first democratically-elected leader in decades had just 48 hours to answer the demands made by thousands of anti-government protesters calling for his ouster, or it would intervene to force a political transition. The military's ultimatum was, it said, a "last chance." In a statement read on Egyptian state television, Defense Minister Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Sissi lamented that conservative Islamist President Mohammed Morsi and the largely younger opposition movement, which has led massive protests calling for early elections, had failed to reach an agreement during the previous week. "If the demands of the people are not met by the expiry of this deadline (by Wednesday), the Armed Forces will announce a road-map for the future, and procedures that the Armed Forces will oversee with the participation of all political and national streams, including the youths, who were and still are the real force that ignited their glorious revolution, and without the exclusion of any party," said the statement. The military's ultimatum, read by an unnamed official over a still photo of al-Sissi, came hours after anti-Morsi protesters stormed the Cairo headquarters of his Muslim Brotherhood party, ransacking and looting it. Reuters reports that a senior member of the Muslim Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party denounced the ultimatum, saying "everyone" was opposed to a statement he likened to a "military coup." In the statement, al-Sissi called Sunday's protests -- which drew hundreds of thousands of people onto the streets of Cairo and other major Egyptian cities -- "glorious," and said that through the demonstrations, the Egyptian people had made their message loud and clear, and they deserved a response. At least 16 people were killed and more than 780 injured in the violence Sunday and early Monday, Health Ministry spokesman Yehya Moussa told state television. CBS News correspondent Clarissa Ward reported that Cairo's central Tahrir Square was largely quiet Monday morning, but the demonstrations usually gather steam in the afternoon and early evening. Egyptians were also bracing for another wave of unrest, as the protest movement issued its own ultimatum on Monday, giving Morsi until Tuesday afternoon to step down, or face a fresh round of national civil disobedience. Ward said many Egyptians blame Morsi for their country's economic woes and deteriorating security situation, including a spike in murders and sexual assaults since he came to power. Since he won the nation's first democratic elections since the Arab Spring ouster of long-time dictator Hosni Mubarak, Morsi has divided the nation along similar lines to the revolution itself -- pitting a largely moderate youth from the cities, against more conservative Egyptians who back the Muslim Brotherhood and President Morsi. His backers were also on the streets in Cairo and other cities on Sunday, though in smaller numbers, and some said they were prepared fight to defend the president. Opponents accuse Morsi of running the nation in contradiction to the ideals of the Arab Spring, saying he has been too eager to place other Brotherhood leaders into positions of power and not eager enough to share the power among other political groups in the country. While the statement from al-Sissi was careful to state that the military would not take an active role in any political transition process, the threat that one would be launched if Morsi failed to heed the demands of the opposition was tantamount to military support. According to the Egyptian constitution, if a sitting president loses the confidence of the public he can be removed from power and the chief justice of the nation's high court would step in to oversee a transition administration. Ahead of the protests, the military last week warned it would intervene to stop the nation from entering a "dark tunnel." Updated at 10:04 a.m. Eastern CAIRO Protesters stormed and ransacked the Cairo headquarters of President Mohammed Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood Islamist group on Monday. An Associated Press video journalist at the scene said protesters stormed the six-story building in an eastern Cairo district, leaving the heavily fortified villa with furniture and files. The storming of the Brotherhood's headquarters followed overnight clashes between armed Morsi supporters barricaded inside the building and young protesters pelting it with firebombs and rocks. At least 16 people were killed and more than 780 injured in the violence Sunday and early Monday, Health Ministry spokesman Yehya Moussa told state television. On Sunday, supporters of the Islamist leader barricaded inside the Brotherhood office opened fire on protesters pelting the suburban villa with rocks and firebombs. Some protesters spent the night in dozens of tents pitched in the capital's central Tahrir Square and the Ittihadiya presidential palace. The anti-Morsi demonstrators are calling for widespread labor strikes to start Monday in an attempt to ratchet up the pressure on the president, but it was not immediately clear how unions would respond to the call. Sunday's protests were the largest seen in Egypt in the 2 and a half years of turmoil since the ouster of autocrat Hosni Mubarak in February 2011.
ET. Earlier, the ministry said Lee, who is in his mid-40s, had almost 10,000 flying hours. "We are ok. My friend on that flight is ok, too." Read or Share this story: http://usat.ly/12aDK8X That's welcome news for thousands of passengers flying through SFO, where all flights had been grounded following the afternoon crash landing of an Asiana Airlines Boeing 777. The same goes for customers who ended up in unexpected cities after their flights diverted away from San Francisco. The plane's crew tried to abort the descent less than two seconds before it hit a seawall on the landing approach to the airport, bounced along the tarmac and burst into flames. At impact, the flight speed was 106 knots. Sandberg and other execs at the social media giant escaped potential disaster when they switched to a United flight returning from a Korean business trip. Still, customers whose flights are canceled now must find new options to get to their destinations. Audio courtesy LiveATC.net VPC (Photo: Marcio Jose Sanchez, AP) Two runways have reopened at San Francisco International (SFO), the airport said in a tweet at 6:28 p.m. Most everyone seems fine. Sandberg, a billionaire and author of the recently released best seller Lean In, took another flight flight from Seoul to cash in air miles tickets for family members. VIRGIN AMERICA : Waiver details UNITED AIRLINES: Waiver details Most other SFO had done the same by Saturday evening. He had 43 hours of experience flying the long-range jet, the airline said on Monday. Lee Kang-kuk was the second most junior pilot of four on board the Asiana Airlines plane.
"Lean In" author and Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg speaks to a group of young women students at Sequoia High School in Redwood City, Calif., on June 7. (Photo: Martin E. Klimek, USA TODAY) Story Highlights Sandberg, a billionaire, switched flights to cash in on air miles Twitter provides early news from those aboard Facebook Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg was supposed to be aboard the Asiana Airlines flight that crash-landed at San Francisco International Airport on Saturday morning. Sandberg and other execs at the social media giant escaped potential disaster when they switched to a United flight returning from a Korean business trip. Two passengers were reported dead and 181 injured when the Boeing 777 landed short of a runway at about 11:27 a.m. PT. "I was on another flight from Korea at the exact same time,'' she said in an email to USA TODAY's Jon Swartz. "We are ok. My friend on that flight is ok, too." Sandberg, a billionaire and author of the recently released best seller Lean In, took another flight flight from Seoul to cash in air miles tickets for family members. She said the United flight landed 20 minutes before the Asiana crashed. "Thanks you to everyone who is reaching out - and sorry if we worried anyone,'' she tweeted. Samsung executive David Eun, who was on crashed flight, was among the first to tweet and send photos of the heavily damaged Boeing 777. Eun, shared information about fellow passengers and photos from the crash site, gaining thousands of new Twitter followers as he posted updates. San Francisco crash: Airliner was well below target speed before impact NTSB Chair Deborah Hersman told reporters on Monday that three seconds before impact, the plane's engine was at 50 percent power, and engine power was increasing. The Asiana airlines plane that crashed on Saturday at San Francisco airport was traveling at 103 knots seconds before it hit the seawall in the front of the runway, far below the target speed of 137 knots, according to a flight data recorder recovered by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). Earlier the South Korean airline said the pilot was still in training for the Boeing 777 when he attempted to land the aircraft under supervision. Lee Kang-kuk was the second most junior pilot of four on board the Asiana Airlines plane. The plane's crew tried to abort the descent less than two seconds before it hit a seawall on the landing approach to the airport, bounced along the tarmac and burst into flames. It was Lee's first attempt to land a 777 at San Francisco airport, although he had flown there 29 times previously on other types of aircraft, said South Korean Transport Ministry official Choi Seung-youn. Two teenage Chinese girls on their way to summer camp in the United States were killed and more than 180 people injured in the crash, the first fatal accident involving the Boeing 777 since it entered service in 1995. Asiana said Lee Kang-kuk, whose anglicized name was released for the first time on Monday and differed slightly from earlier usage, was in the pilot seat during the landing. "It's a training that is common in the global aviation industry. Hersman said information collected from the plane's cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder indicated there were no signs of problems until seven seconds before impact, when the crew tried to accelerate. A stall warning, in which the cockpit controls begin to shake, activated four seconds before impact, and the crew tried to abort the landing and initiate what is known as a "go around" maneuver 1.5 seconds before crashing, Hersman said. CLOSE Skip in Skip x Embed x Share A San Francisco International Airport air traffic control operator offers reassurance in response to Asiana Flight 214's emergency. That's welcome news for thousands of passengers flying through SFO, where all flights had been grounded following the afternoon crash landing of an Asiana Airlines Boeing 777. Against that backdrop, San Francisco airport had already warned passengers via Twitter that it is "currently experiencing a high volume of traffic" as of 6:26 p.m. FLIGHT TRACKER: Check on the status of your flight Numerous local news reports described the scene inside SFO's terminals as chaotic as fliers plotted their next moves following the crash landing.
"Just before we finished, the shooting started. We will end all negotiations with the new authorities," it said. Morsi supporters say it was a military coup. The army units that were standing in front of the Republican Guard headquarters first started shooting teargas, then live ammunition above people's heads. No one was killed. This would lead to parliamentary elections - which could be held early in 2014. The Muslim Brotherhood says its members were fired on at a sit-in for ousted President Mohammad Morsi. Protests Mr Mansour issued the decree late on Monday. By the end of Monday at least 51 protesters had died and more than 400 had been injured in one of the bloodiest incidents in Egypt's recent history. Those at the hospital claimed the massacre began after a soldier was shot by friendly fire. Initial claims that women and children were among the dead were not confirmed. The army said an "armed terrorist group" had tried to break into the compound and attacked security forces. Mohamed Saber el-Sebaei lay with a dirty bandage around his head, blood caking his eyes shut. Eight soldiers were critically wounded. 'Assassin and butcher' There were conflicting reports over what happened outside the Presidential Guard barracks in Cairo on Monday morning. The changes would then be put to a referendum - to be organised within four months. In the meantime, the focus will remain on trying to prevent another explosion of violence and to agree on an interim prime minister to form a transitional government to stabilise the country and prepare for elections. Opponents call it a continuation of the revolution that overthrew Hosni Mubarak in 2011.
Image caption Mohammad Morsi's supporters accuse the army of staging a coup Egypt's interim leader has outlined his timetable for new elections, amid continuing unrest in the country. Adly Mansour's decree envisages changes to the Islamist-drafted constitution and a referendum, which would pave way the way for elections early next year. This comes as at least 51 people were killed in the capital Cairo. The Muslim Brotherhood says its members were fired on at a sit-in for ousted President Mohammad Morsi. The army says it responded to an armed provocation. Adly Mansour's transition timeline Panel formed within 15 days to review constitution Constitutional amendments to be finalised and put to referendum in four months Parliamentary elections to be held by early 2014 Presidential elections to be called once new parliament convenes Mr Morsi, an Islamist and Egypt's first freely elected leader, was removed from office by the army last week after mass protests. His supporters accuse the military of staging a coup, but his opponents say the move is the continuation of the revolution that deposed President Hosni Mubarak in 2011. It says that a panel to amend the constitution - which was suspended last week - would be formed within 15 days. The changes would then be put to a referendum - to be organised within four months. This would lead to parliamentary elections - which could be held early in 2014. Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Spokesman for the Egyptian ministry: "There was a treacherous attack" The situation will have to improve radically if Mr Mansour's timetable for elections is not to prove hopelessly unrealistic, the BBC's Jim Muir in Cairo reports. In the meantime, the focus will remain on trying to prevent another explosion of violence and to agree on an interim prime minister to form a transitional government to stabilise the country and prepare for elections. Meanwhile, the United States has condemned the violence in Egypt, calling for "maximum restraint". A White House statement said Washington was "not aligned" with any political movement, adding that cutting military aid to Egypt was not in US interests. The Muslim Brotherhood put the number of dead at 53, and said children were among the victims. It said the army raided its sit-in at about 04:00 (02:00 GMT) as protesters were praying. Later, in an emotional news briefing, members of the Muslim Brotherhood accused military chief Gen Abdul Fattah al-Sisi of being "an assassin and a butcher". The health ministry said at least 51 people were killed and 435 people wounded. Speaking to journalists, army spokesman Col Ahmed Mohammed Ali said a group armed with live ammunition, petrol bombs and stones had attacked security forces. He said that two police and one soldier were killed in the exchange of fire. The spokesman added that one soldier had been shot through the top of the head from above, indicating that snipers were firing from high buildings. Col Ali also disputed claims that children had died, saying pictures of dead children posted on the internet were in fact images taken in Syria in March. Egyptians are braced for new violence after at least 51 supporters of the deposed president Mohamed Morsi were killed by security forces in what the Muslim Brotherhood condemned as a massacre, but the military insisted was the result of an armed attack on a Cairo barracks. Hours after the country's single bloodiest incident in over a year, interim president Adly Mansour set out a timetable for amending the constitution, and for parliamentary and presidential elections for early 2014. The Brotherhood said its people were attacked during morning prayers, but the army said an attempt had been made by "a terrorist group" to storm the heavily guarded building. Egypt's interim presidency announced a judicial investigation into the killings, but that did not appease angry crowds, who were still massing as night fell at the nearby Rabaa al-Adawiya mosque, a focal point for pro-Morsi protests. The US said it was "deeply concerned" and called on Egypt's army to "exercise maximum restraint". Sheikh Ahmed el-Tayeb, head of the al-Azhar mosque and the country's senior Muslim cleric, warned of the danger of "civil war" after the earlier shootings and said he was going into seclusion until violence ended and reconciliation began. Injured victims described how shooting began hours after hundreds of thousands of people attended rival rallies for and against Morsi. The army units that were standing in front of the Republican Guard headquarters first started shooting teargas, then live ammunition above people's heads. "People started to fall back and then an armoured vehicle came round the right-hand side escorted by a group of soldiers with their rifles shooting directly into the people. Initial claims that women and children were among the dead were not confirmed. The army said it had arrested at least 200 people with "large quantities of firearms, ammunition and Molotov cocktails". The army's narrative was contradicted by testimony from residents who said at least 100 protesters, including children, fled to a nearby tower block – implying that not all of them were involved in an attack. Heba Morayef of Human Rights Watch tweeted: "Regardless of what started [the] violence … [the] military and police have responsibility to exercise restraint and not use excessive and lethal force."
Zimmerman, 29, maintains he shot Martin, 17, in self-defense, while the state argued that Zimmerman "profiled" Martin and concluded he was a criminal. "You said he's not guilty, but why would you say he's not guilty?" Demonstrators react to the verdict outside Seminole County Court where George Zimmerman was found not guilty on second-degree murder and manslaughter charges in Sanford, Florida July 13, 2013. Civil rights activists have been pressuring the Obama administration to bring civil rights charges in federal court. REUTERS/Jason Redmond A protester (L) walks past a line of Los Angeles Police officers as they try to remove protesters from the intersection of Exposition and Crenshaw boulevards, following the George Zimmerman verdict, in Los Angeles, California July 13, 2013. The NAACP was "outraged" over the not-guilty verdict in the George Zimmerman murder trial and called on the Department of Justice to prosecute Zimmerman for shooting Trayvon Martin. REUTERS/Eric Thayer People attend a rally in reaction to a not guilty verdict for George Zimmerman in New York July 14, 2013. Martin was black. He tweeted: "Today ... Zimmerman, cleared late Saturday by a Florida jury of six women in the shooting death of the unarmed Martin, still faces public outrage, a possible civil suit and demands for a federal investigation. "I now ask every American to respect the call for calm reflection from two parents who lost their young son." The case took on racial overtones after police declined to charge Zimmerman, who is white and Hispanic. Similar rallies were held or expected to start later in other cities including Boston, San Francisco, San Diego and Sacramento.
The NAACP was "outraged" over the not-guilty verdict in the George Zimmerman murder trial and called on the Department of Justice to prosecute Zimmerman for shooting Trayvon Martin. "We are outraged and heartbroken over today's verdict," NAACP President Benjamin Jealous said in a statement. "We will pursue civil rights charges with the Department of Justice, we will continue to fight for the removal of Stand Your Ground laws in every state, and we will not rest until racial profiling in all its forms is outlawed," Jealous said. A civil rights probe had previously been opened by the Department of Justice and a spokeswoman said the department would continue to "evaluate the evidence generated during the federal investigation, as well as the evidence and testimony from the state trial." Zimmerman shot and killed Martin in Sanford on Feb. 26, 2012. Zimmerman, 29, maintains he shot Martin, 17, in self-defense, while the state argued that Zimmerman "profiled" Martin and concluded he was a criminal. The case took on racial overtones after police declined to charge Zimmerman, who is white and Hispanic. PHOTOS: People Around the World React to the George Zimmerman Verdict "We have people patrolling right now, nothing different than usual. In Miami and other south Florida cities, police created places for people to peacefully protest, monitoring social media and urging people to remain calm. Benjamin Crump, a lawyer for the Martin family, acknowledged the disappointment of Trayvon Martin's supporters, but he urged them not to resort to violence. Hundreds of demonstrators wiped away tears and expressed disbelief outside of the Seminole County Courthouse in Sanford after the jury's verdict was read Saturday night. A woman named Barbara told ABC News she had traveled from Georgia to be outside the courthouse for the verdict. "I just thought we were going to get some kind of justice," she said, calling it a "cruel system." Martin's parents were not in the courtroom when the verdict was read, however his father, Tracy Martin, tweeted after that he was "brokenhearted." "Even though I am broken hearted my faith is unshattered I WILL ALWAYS LOVE MY BABY TRAY," Martin wrote. Jesse Jackson tweeted that the "American legal system has once again failed justice," but urged his followers to "avoid violence." It is a pattern involving young black men that is too often repeating itself," Jackson wrote. Demonstrators react to the verdict outside Seminole County Court where George Zimmerman was found not guilty on second-degree murder and manslaughter charges in Sanford, Florida July 13, 2013. REUTERS/Joe Skipper Darssie Jackson (C) reacts with her children Linzey Stafford, 10, (L) and Shauntiana Stafford outside Seminole County Court where George Zimmerman was found not guilty on second-degree murder and manslaughter charges in Sanford, Florida July 13, 2013. REUTERS/Jason Redmond A woman reacts to the news that George Zimmerman was found not guilty in the 2012 shooting death of Trayvon Martin, in New York July 13, 2013. REUTERS/Eric Thayer George Zimmerman's wife, Shellie (L), celebrates with family and friends following her husband's not guilty verdict in the 2012 shooting death of Trayvon Martin at the Seminole County Criminal Justice Center in Sanford, Florida, July 13, 2013. REUTERS/Gary W. Green/Pool A protester (L) talks with Los Angeles Police officers as they try to remove protesters from the intersection of Exposition and Crenshaw boulevards, following the George Zimmerman verdict in Los Angeles, California, July 13, 2013. REUTERS/Jason Redmond George Zimmerman leaves the courtroom a free man after being found not guilty in the 2012 shooting death of Trayvon Martin at the Seminole County Criminal Justice Center in Sanford, Florida, July 13, 2013. REUTERS/Jason Redmond A protester (L) walks past a line of Los Angeles Police officers as they try to remove protesters from the intersection of Exposition and Crenshaw boulevards, following the George Zimmerman verdict, in Los Angeles, California July 13, 2013. REUTERS/Jason Redmond Worshippers at the Middle Collegiate Church hold prayer services wearing hoodies in support of slain teenager Trayvon Martin in response to the acquittal of George Zimmerman in his trial in New York, July 14, 2013. Cleared by a Florida jury, Zimmerman walked free from criminal charges in the shooting death of unarmed black teenager Trayvon Martin but still faces public outrage, a possible civil suit and demands for a federal investigation. REUTERS/Steve Nesius A mock chalk outline along with candy and a soft drink similar to that bought by Trayvon Martin before his death are pictured during a rally in reaction to a not guilty verdict for George Zimmerman in New York July 14, 2013. REUTERS/Steve Nesius SANFORD, Florida U.S. President Barack Obama called for calm on Sunday after the acquittal of George Zimmerman in the shooting death of black teenager Trayvon Martin, as hundreds of civil rights demonstrators turned out at rallies to condemn racial profiling. Civil rights activists have been pressuring the Obama administration to bring civil rights charges in federal court. At a rally in New York's Union Square, more than 200 protesters turned out Sunday, chanting "No justice, no peace." Obama, who once said, "If I had a son, he'd look like Trayvon," called for a peaceful response to a case that polarized the U.S. public from the beginning, raising issues of racial profiling and gun control.
"That's not the situation at all. What they have done is unleashed thugs who have done unspeakable things to teenagers, lured them, beaten them, humiliated them, tortured them. "I do not think it is appropriate to boycott the Olympics," Obama said on Friday, while adding that "nobody is more offended than me by some of the anti-gay and lesbian legislation". I share your deep concern about the abuse of gay people in Russia. Cameron wrote to Fry on Twitter: "Thank you for your note stephenfry. PM says campaign against new Russian anti-gay laws best served by participation at Sochi 2014 Games The prime minister has ruled out a boycott of the Sochi Winter Olympics, claiming that anti-gay prejudice will be better tackled by participation rather than absence. In the end I believe you know when a thing is wrong or right. Lord Coe, who is the chairman of the British Olympic Association, also told reporters at the world athletics championships in Moscow that there would definitely be no boycott by the British team in Sochi. "I am a profound believer that the relationships developed through international sport are often in the infancy of social change." The message comes after politicians in Russia's lower house of parliament, the Duma, passed a law imposing heavy fines for providing information about homosexuality to people under 18. "They only damage one group of people, and that is the athletes. ABC News' Kirit Radia contributed to this report. Cameron's comments follow similar remarks by President Obama. But writing on Twitter, the prime minister said he believed Britain could more effectively challenge prejudice by attending, rather than boycotting, the event.
PM says campaign against new Russian anti-gay laws best served by participation at Sochi 2014 Games The prime minister has ruled out a boycott of the Sochi Winter Olympics, claiming that anti-gay prejudice will be better tackled by participation rather than absence. In response to an intervention from broadcaster Stephen Fry calling for the games to be moved from Russia, David Cameron said he had shared the "deep concern" about the abuse of gay people in Russia. Hundreds of people protested in London on Saturday against the Russian anti-gay law that has attracted international condemnation as the World Athletics Championships kick off in Moscow. At the protest Fry said: "All homophobic regimes say this - they say they do it for the children. What they have done is unleashed thugs who have done unspeakable things to teenagers, lured them, beaten them, humiliated them, tortured them. This continues to be the case. " But writing on Twitter, the prime minister said he believed Britain could more effectively challenge prejudice by attending, rather than boycotting, the event. Fry urged the prime minister to support protests about Russia hosting the 2014 Winter Olympics over concerns about anti-gay laws passed in the country. The broadcaster, writing in an open letter on his website, compared the situation to the decision to hold the 1936 games in Nazi Germany and said President Vladimir Putin "is making scapegoats of gay people". He said: "An absolute ban on the Russian Winter Olympics of 2014 on Sochi is simply essential. "I do not think it is appropriate to boycott the Olympics," Obama said on Friday, while adding that "nobody is more offended than me by some of the anti-gay and lesbian legislation". In his open letter, Fry said Cameron was "a man for whom I have the utmost respect". He added: "As the leader of a party I have for almost all of my life opposed and instinctively disliked, you showed a determined, passionate and clearly honest commitment to LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender) rights and helped pushed gay marriage through both houses of our parliament in the teeth of vehement opposition from so many of your own side. The message comes after politicians in Russia's lower house of parliament, the Duma, passed a law imposing heavy fines for providing information about homosexuality to people under 18. Last month, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) said it would "work to ensure that the Games can take place without discrimination against athletes, officials, spectators and the media". It said: "To that end, the IOC has received assurances from the highest level of government in Russia that the legislation will not affect those attending or taking part in the Games." Sebastian Coe has rejected calls for a boycott of next year's Winter Olympics in Sochi in the wake of Russia's new anti-gay propaganda laws – calling it a "ludicrous proposition" and insisting that boycotts do not work. "I am a profound believer that the relationships developed through international sport are often in the infancy of social change." Coe's stance was echoed by David Cameron, who said he shared the "deep concern" about the treatment of gay people in Russia but that it was right that the British team should compete at the Winter Olympics. Jacques Rogge, president of the International Olympic Committee, said on Friday that it was awaiting "clarification" on a few paragraphs of the Russian anti-gay law, which impose heavy fines for providing information about homosexuality to people under 18, before commenting further. President Obama today made clear that he rejects growing calls for the U.S. to boycott the upcoming Winter Olympics in Sochi over Russia's new anti-gay law. "I want to just make very clear right now: I do not think it's appropriate to boycott the Olympics," the president told reporters at a White House news conference.
Some were taken to hospital. The INS Sindhurakshak, which is powered by diesel and electricity, is one of the 10 Kilo-class submarines bought from Russia between 1986 and 2000. This explosion comes just days after India's navy launched its first home-built aircraft carrier, hailed by officials as a "crowning glory". In February 2010, a sailor on board the submarine was killed by a fire that broke out in the battery compartment while the submarine was docked at the Vishakhapatnam naval base - it was later that year that it was sent to Russia for the refit. It is equipped with Russian Club-S cruise missile systems. Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Amateur video shown on Indian television showed a large fireball illuminating the sky The Russian-built submarine was upgraded recently at a cost of $80m (£52m). Officials said the diesel-powered vessel had been badly damaged. Many sailors managed to jump to safety after the blast. INS Sindhurakshak timeline 1997: INS Sindhurakshak procured by Indian navy, one of the 10 vessels in the Kilo-class submarines bought from Russia between 1986-2000 INS Sindhurakshak procured by Indian navy, one of the 10 vessels in the Kilo-class submarines bought from Russia between 1986-2000 February 2010: A fire that broke out in its battery compartment kills one sailor A fire that broke out in its battery compartment kills one sailor August 2010: Submarine sent for re-fit to equip it with cruise missile systems Submarine sent for re-fit to equip it with cruise missile systems June 2012: Refit completed with refurbished hull and 10 years added to its 25-year service life Refit completed with refurbished hull and 10 years added to its 25-year service life October 20102: Sea trials begin for submarine Sea trials begin for submarine 14 August 2013: Submarine hit by explosion and fire with sailors feared trapped inside Officials also told the AFP news agency that divers had been deployed when the flames were put out and that they were hunting for the men on board.
Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Locals describe hearing a sound "like a jet engine" when the blasts happened, as Yogita Limaye reports Indian Defence Minister AK Antony has described two huge explosions and a fire on an Indian submarine berthed at a Mumbai dockyard as a "shocking tragedy". Eighteen sailors on board the INS Sindhurakshak are feared dead and divers are now trying to refloat the partially submerged vessel. Mr Antony offered "heartfelt condolences" to relatives. "A board of inquiry will cover the entire spectrum of the incident, we cannot rule out sabotage at this stage but all the indicators at this point do not support that theory," navy chief Admiral DK Joshi said. "Divers have opened the first hatch of the [submerged] submarine and are in the process of going down now. A detailed examination can only be carried out after the water is pumped out and the boat has come back to the surface." Earlier, officials told the BBC they suspected the accident to be the result of an on-board error, not involving any outside agency. Correspondents say that India has steadily developed its naval capabilities in recent years, motivated by its rivalry with neighbouring China. But the country's military has encountered numerous scandals and difficulties as it has done so. On Tuesday the federal auditor suggested that the government might have paid too much for 12 helicopters from Anglo-Italian company Agusta Westland, saying procurement procedures designed to ensure value for money were not properly followed. The blast on the INS Sindhurakshak took place after midnight (18:30 Tuesday GMT) and firefighters spent four hours putting out the blaze. Image caption As the emergency services rushed to the scene, it emerged that the explosion and fire had tapped a number of crew members, who are feared dead Image caption The incident took place after midnight at the busy naval dockyard Image caption Ships are moored at the Mumbai naval dockyard where the submarine caught fire after the explosion Image caption The authorities said there was no fear of any further explosions Image caption An inquiry has been ordered into the causes of the incident One navy official told the BBC that "surviving an explosion of this huge scale" was rare. Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Amateur video shown on Indian television showed a large fireball illuminating the sky The Russian-built submarine was upgraded recently at a cost of $80m (£52m). 'Great loss' "It's a great loss to us... it's the greatest tragedy of recent times," Mr Antony told reporters in Delhi before leaving for Mumbai to visit the site of the incident. Wednesday's explosion comes just days after India's navy launched its first home-built aircraft carrier, hailed by defence officials as a "crowning glory". Last year, India bought a Russian Nerpa nuclear submarine for its navy on a 10-year lease from Russia at the cost of nearly $1bn, making it part of a small group of nations to operate nuclear-powered submarines. Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption The BBC's Yogita Limaye said a rescue operation was under way At least 18 sailors are feared to be trapped on board an Indian submarine that caught fire after an explosion in a Mumbai dockyard, officials say. Russian-built vessel "There are some people who are trapped on board, we are in the process of trying to rescue them, we suspect it to be in the range of 18," Navy spokesman PVS Satish was quoted by the Reuters news agency as saying. In February 2010, a sailor on board the submarine was killed by a fire that broke out in the battery compartment while the submarine was docked at the Vishakhapatnam naval base - it was later that year that it was sent to Russia for the refit. This explosion comes just days after India's navy launched its first home-built aircraft carrier, hailed by officials as a "crowning glory". Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption The INS Vikrant was launched amid chanting from ancient Hindu scriptures at the Kochi shipyard in the southern state of Kerala India has unveiled its first home-built aircraft carrier from a shipyard in southern Kerala state. Vice-Admiral RK Dhowan of India's navy has described the launch as the "crowning glory" of the navy's programme to produce vessels on home soil.
In Baquba, there were reports of four bombings, two of which were said to have targeted a Shia wedding. At least nine people were killed. A bomb stuck to a car killed three people and wounded four in eastern Baghdad, police and medical sources said. Observers see that the security situation in Iraq began to deteriorate on April 23 after the security forces cracked down on a Sunni Arab protest camp in Iraq's northern city of Hawijah. Two people were shot dead near their homes in eastern Mosul, 390 km (240 miles) north of Baghdad, police said. Iraqis have suffered extreme violence for years, but since the start of 2013 the intensity of attacks on civilians has dramatically increased. Separately, a civilian was killed and ten others were wounded in a roadside bomb blast near a house in the northeastern part of Baquba, a provincial police source told Xinhua. • Up to 45 people were killed and 113 wounded in separate bombings and shootings across Iraq on Sunday. Several blasts - car bombs and a roadside bomb - were reported in Baghdad, one of them inside a coffee shop. Earlier attacks included the killing of five soldiers in Qiyara town, some 290 km (180 miles) north of the Iraqi capital, when suspected militants ambushed two taxis taking soldiers from Baghdad to join their units in Mosul, military sources said. The violence has raised fears of a return to the worst of the ethnic and political bloodletting up to 2008. Related: Kerry warns of potential instability in Iraq WASHINGTON, Aug. 15 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry warned on Thursday of potential instability in Iraq due to a convergence of persistent violence at home and an ongoing conflict in neighbouring Syria.
Residents pass by a damaged vehicle a day after a bomb attack in central Baquba, 65 km (40 miles) northeast of Baghdad, August 25, 2013. REUTERS/Mohammed Adnan BAQUBA, Iraq Car bombs, roadside bombs and shootings killed at least 47 people in Iraq on Sunday, police and medical sources said, as tensions intensify between Sunni and Shi'ite Muslims across the Middle East. Sunni Muslim insurgents and the al Qaeda-affiliated Islamic State of Iraq have significantly increased their attacks this year. More than 1,000 Iraqis were killed in July, the highest monthly death toll since 2008, according to the United Nations. More than two years of civil war in neighboring Syria have aggravated deep-rooted sectarian divisions and shaken Iraq's fragile coalition of Shi'ite, Kurdish and Sunni factions. The renewed violence, eighteen months after the last U.S. troops withdrew from Iraq, has sparked fears of a return to the scale sectarian slaughter in 2006 and 2007. Iraqis have suffered extreme violence for years, but since the start of 2013 the intensity of attacks on civilians has dramatically increased. Bomb attacks have increasingly targeted cafes and other places where families gather, as well as the usual targets of military facilities and checkpoints. The biggest of Sunday's attacks took place in central Baquba, 65 km (40 miles) northeast of Baghdad when a car bomb blew up near a housing complex, killing at least 11 people and wounding 34, police said. Earlier attacks included the killing of five soldiers in Qiyara town, some 290 km (180 miles) north of the Iraqi capital, when suspected militants ambushed two taxis taking soldiers from Baghdad to join their units in Mosul, military sources said. "One of the cars escaped the ambush but the second one could not and the militants shot dead five soldiers and burned their bodies after they killed them," a senior intelligence military officer, who declined to be named, said. A medical source at the morgue in Mosul confirmed the soldiers' bodies had been burned. Police said that seven people were also killed and 30 others were injured in two separate explosions in Madaen, about 30 km (20 miles) southeast of Baghdad. Another two explosions took place in commercial areas in western and northern Baghdad, killing 12 people and wounding 45, police and medical sources said. A bomb stuck to a car killed three people and wounded four in eastern Baghdad, police and medical sources said. Earlier on Sunday, police said three people were killed and 15 wounded when a car bomb exploded in Balad, 80 km (50 miles) north of Baghdad. Two people were shot dead near their homes in eastern Mosul, 390 km (240 miles) north of Baghdad, police said. Roadside bombs also killed two members of a displaced Shi'ite family who had recently returned to their home. The attack wounded nine others in central Baquba, police said. No group immediately claimed responsibility for Sunday's attacks but Sunni Islamist militants have been regaining momentum in their insurgency against the Shi'ite-led government in recent months, emboldened by the civil war in Syria. On Friday, a suicide bomber killed 25 people and wounded more than 50 in Baghdad when he detonated his explosives inside a busy cafe near a park. Image caption The central city of Baquba was hit by at least four blasts A wave of bomb attacks across Iraq has killed at least 46 people, police and medical sources say. Violence during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, which ended in early August, left more than 670 people dead - one of the highest tolls for years. Several blasts - car bombs and a roadside bomb - were reported in Baghdad, one of them inside a coffee shop. At least four people are reported to have died in a car bomb blast in the town of Balad, north of the capital. Five soldiers died when their vehicle was fired on after being stopped at a fake checkpoint near the northern city of Mosul, according to police. In the northern province of Nineveh, gunmen using assault rifles shot dead five soldiers travelling in a minibus on a main road near the town of Shora, south of the provincial capital city of Mosul, some 400 km north of Baghdad, a provincial police source anonymously told Xinhua. Separately, a car bomb went off in the morning near the car of a judge at an intersection of the city of Balad, some 80 km north of Baghdad, killing four people and wounding 21 others, including the judge himself who was in critical condition, said a local police source. Elsewhere, two people were killed and seven wounded in a car bomb explosion near a Shiite religious school in al-Amin district in the eastern part of the capital, an Interior Ministry source told Xinhua. Separately, a civilian was killed and ten others were wounded in a roadside bomb blast near a house in the northeastern part of Baquba, a provincial police source told Xinhua. In Baghdad, up to ten people were killed and eight wounded in a bomb explosion in Shaab district in northeastern the city, an Interior Ministry source anonymously told Xinhua. Meanwhile, two people were killed and seven wounded when a car bomb ripped through Baghdad's eastern district of Zaiyouna, the police said. Observers see that the security situation in Iraq began to deteriorate on April 23 after the security forces cracked down on a Sunni Arab protest camp in Iraq's northern city of Hawijah.
Despite this, China is not capable of defending itself from an attack, which CloudFlare says could have been carried out by a single individual. Were you trying to access a .cn Internet address over the weekend? Internet users in China were met with sluggish response times early Sunday as the country's domain extension came under a "denial of service" attack. CloudFlare Chief Executive Matthew Prince said the company observed a 32% drop in traffic for the thousands of Chinese domains on the company’s network during the attack compared with the same time 24 hours earlier. Nor for that matter are an array of companies and governments that have been hit recently by such denial-of-service attacks. That makes websites unreachable or unresponsive. The attack began at 2 a.m. Sunday morning and was followed by a more intense attack at 4 a.m., according to the China Internet Network Information Center, which apologized to affected users in its statement and said it is working to improve its “service capabilities.” The attack, which was aimed at the registry that allows users to access sites with the extension “.cn,” likely shut down the registry for about two to four hours, according to CloudFlare, a company that provides Web performance and security services for more than a million websites. China has one of the most sophisticated filtering systems in the world and analysts rate highly the government’s ability to carry out cyber attacks. Follow him on Twitter @paulmozur Like China Real Time on Facebook and follow us Twitter for the latest updates. Official state media said the attack targeted websites with the .cn country domain, as well as the popular microblogging site Sina Weibo.
Internet users in China were met with sluggish response times early Sunday as the country's domain extension came under a "denial of service" attack. The attack was the largest of its kind ever in China, according to the China Internet Network Information Center, a state agency that manages the .cn country domain. The double-barreled attacks took place at around 2 a.m. Sunday, and then again at 4 a.m. The second attack was "long-lasting and large-scale," according to state media, which said that service was slowly being restored. Official state media said the attack targeted websites with the .cn country domain, as well as the popular microblogging site Sina Weibo. Denial of service attacks aren't technically "hacks," since they can be done without breaking into any systems. Typically, DoS attacks overwhelm a website's servers by flooding them with requests. To bring down bigger sites, attackers will sometimes organize large numbers of infected computers to send requests all at once. Related story: China's epic traffic nightmares Chinese authorities closely regulate content and websites available to Internet users in the country. It's unclear whether the attack is related to political events in China, which appears to be in the midst of carrying out a crackdown on Internet dissent. The government is also wrapping up the trial of former political kingpin Bo Xilai, leading some Internet users in China to note the timing of the attack. "CN domain name under attack?," one user said on Weibo. Large parts of China’s Internet went dark this past weekend as the country came under what the Beijing government is calling the “largest ever” hack attack on Chinese sites.According to The China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC) , which “operates and administers country code top level domain of .cn and Chinese domain name system,” the denial of service, or DDoS, attacks started at 2:00 a.m. local time Sunday morning. Both focused on websites with the .cn extension.In an interview with the Wall Street Journal , Matthew Prince, the chief executive of CloudFlare, a company that provides Web performance and security services for more than a million websites, said China saw a 32 percent drop in Internet traffic for domains in the company’s network during the two-hour attack.CNNIC apologized to users for the attack and promised to strengthen security in the future. The organization did not elaborate on who might have been behind the attacks.“It's just another example that China does indeed have its own enemies who attempt to disrupt its Internet operations,” said Jeffry Carr, CEO of Taia Group, a cybersecurity firm. "Denial-of-service attacks can be as simple as downloading a free tool like Anonymous's LOIC product or one can visit any number of hacker forums where DDoS services are cheaply available for hire. "Christopher Burgess, CEO of Prevendra, Inc., says the attack could have also have come from within China.“The prompt response and resolution by China's CNNIC and lack of attribution provided by the CNNIC of attack origin warrants further monitoring. It begs the question, was this a self-inflicted wound by a Chinese entity, such as one of those identified by Mandiant in their report earlier in 2013 or an attack originating by a criminal element,” he said.While China is known for efficient Internet censorship, some question the country's cyber defenses. "The attack points out the vulnerability of the entire Chinese web to cyber attack from the outside," said Matthew Aid, an independent intelligence analyst. The attack began at 2 a.m. Sunday morning and was followed by a more intense attack at 4 a.m., according to the China Internet Network Information Center, which apologized to affected users in its statement and said it is working to improve its “service capabilities.” The attack, which was aimed at the registry that allows users to access sites with the extension “.cn,” likely shut down the registry for about two to four hours, according to CloudFlare, a company that provides Web performance and security services for more than a million websites.
By any standard, it is inexcusable. "Make no mistake," Kerry said. He said the U.N. inspectors could at most confirm that chemical weapons were used, not who used them, but that it was Assad's government that has such weapons and the means of delivering them. Strong opposition from from Russia and China means it is highly unlikely the US will receive support for military action from the UN security council. Syria has denied its forces were responsible for a chemical attack in a suburb of Damascus, which is believed to have killed hundreds. REUTERS/Abo Alnour Alhaji United States Secretary of State John Kerry addresses the media on the Syrian situation in Washington August 26, 2013. "President Obama believes there must be accountability for those who would use the world's most heinous weapon against the world's most vulnerable people." Activists say at least 80 people were killed in Mouadamiya when the district was hit with poison gas. The Syrian opposition has been told to expect a strike against Syrian forces within days, according to a Reuters report of a meeting that took place on Monday. The team continued on after turning back for a replacement car. US defence officials recently said a destroyer armed with cruise missiles – one of four warships in the region – has been stationed in the eastern Mediterranean sea. Hundreds died in alleged attacks on Wednesday in five districts near Damascus. "The options that we are considering are not about regime change," said White House spokesman Jay Carney. Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said any intervention in Syria without a Security Council resolution would be a grave violation of international law.
Defence secretary says resources have been moved into place, but White House says options do not include 'regime change' The United States military has provided Barack Obama with a range of options for launching an attack on Syria and is "ready to go" with an offensive, the US defence secretary has said. There is now a growing belief in Washington that a US strike against Syria, possibly involving cruise missiles or long-range bombers, could take place in the next few days. Chuck Hagel said military officials had presented the US president with "all options for all contingencies" and put resources in place to take action against Syria over its purported use of chemical weapons. "We are prepared, we have moved assets in place to be able to fulfil and comply with whatever option the president wishes to take, if he wishes to take any of the options he's asked for," he told the BBC. The White House insisted on Tuesday that Barack Obama had still not made a decision about the use of military action, but stressed that "boots on the ground" was not an option being contemplated. "The options that we are considering are not about regime change," said White House spokesman Jay Carney. He declined to say whether the US Congress would be required to authorise any military strike, or be recalled as has happened in Britain's parliament, but insisted the White House was consulting with leaders in the House and Senate and communicating with the chairmen of relevant congressional committees. He said a US intelligence assessment of the chemical attack in a Damascus suburb would be published "this week". In a sign that Obama believes he has the legal authority, independently of Congress, to launch a strike, Carney said that allowing the chemical weapons attack to go unanswered would be a "threat to the United States". US defence officials recently said a destroyer armed with cruise missiles – one of four warships in the region – has been stationed in the eastern Mediterranean sea. Military transporters have also been spotted at Britain's Akrotiri airbase on Cyprus, less than 100 miles from the Syrian coast. Reports from the region suggest the US is gearing up for a swift military action, possibly as soon as Thursday, in a punitive show of force against President Bashar al-Assad. Syria has denied its forces were responsible for a chemical attack in a suburb of Damascus, which is believed to have killed hundreds. Jo Biden, the US vice-president, has become the most senior member of the Obama administration to blame the Syrian government for the attack. Addressing a group of veterans in Houston, he said there was "no doubt who was responsible for this heinous use of chemical weapons in Syria: the Syrian regime". He added that "those who use chemical weapons against defenceless men, women and children ... must be held accountable". "The opposition was told in clear terms that action to deter further use of chemical weapons by the Assad regime could come as early as in the next few days, and that they should still prepare for peace talks at Geneva," a source at the meeting told the news agency. The chairman of the Joints Chief of Staff of the US military, General Martin Dempsey, told Congress last month that even "limited standoff strikes" against Syria would require hundreds of aircraft, ships and submarines and could cost billions of dollars. While such action would "degrade regime capabilities" and lead to defections, Dempsey told the House Foreign Affairs committee, there was a risk of retaliatory attacks and "collateral damage impacting civilians". He also warned of "unintended consequences" of any military intervention in the complex civil war. In Britain, there were strong signs military action could be imminent, after the prime minister David Cameron announced parliament would be recalled to vote on a motion about the country's "response to chemical weapons attacks in Syria" on Thursday. The US would be expected to have laid out preliminary plans for any military attack, or at least expressed a clearer intent over the use of force, before any foreign government voted on on whether to support such action. World leaders have issued a string of bellicose statements in the last 24 hours, with Iran and Russia standing alongside the Assad regime against an emerging western alliance led by the US, UK, France and Australia. Iran's foreign ministry spokesman, Abbas Araqchi, intimated that Tehran would respond, should the west strike. US secretary of state John Kerry said on Monday that Syria had committed a "moral obscenity" and Obama was preparing a co-ordinated with response with international allies. "President Obama believes there must be accountability for those who would use the world's most heinous weapon against the world's most vulnerable people." The White House, which has long been reluctant to become militarily involved in the Syrian conflict, appears to have shifted its position over the weekend, after a top intelligence officials presented evidence of the chemical attack, arguing it could only have been administered by Syrian forces. "I think the intelligence will conclude that it wasn't the rebels who used it, and there'll probably be pretty good intelligence to show is that the Syria government was responsible," Hagel said. "I think most of our allies, most of our partners, most of the international community that we've talked to – and we have reached out and talked to many – have little doubt that the most base international humanitarian standard was violated in using chemical weapons against their own people." Hagel's comments about Syria's "violation" of an international human rights standard echoed the language used by the State Department and White House. Carney said on Tuesday the work of weapons inspectors now was Damascus was "redundant" because it has already been established that chemical weapons were used by Syria on a large scale. "Following yesterday's attack on the UN convoy, a comprehensive assessment determined that the visit should be postponed by one day in order to improve preparedness and safety for the team," the UN said in a statement. Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption The BBC's Yolande Knell: "The UN has always said the safety of its team is paramount" Unidentified snipers have opened fire on a convoy of UN experts investigating suspected chemical weapons attacks in Syria's capital, the UN has said. One car was shot at "multiple times", forcing the convoy to turn back. Syrian state media blamed opposition "terrorists" for the attack, though the claim could not be verified. Image caption The UN inspectors have been talking to doctors in Muadhamiya The experts intend to take soil, blood, urine and tissue samples for laboratory testing but they are unlikely to apportion blame for any of the attacks. On the video, which the BBC has not been able to fully authenticate, one resident is heard telling an inspector of heavy raids on the district, with "over 600 canister strikes...12 tanks, 100 soldiers". Shortly after setting out from their hotel in Damascus, the inspectors' cars came under fire "multiple times by unidentified snipers", according to a statement from the UN.
Mandla Mandela, his eldest grandson, said he was "delighted". The health care personnel providing care at his home are the very same who provided care to him in hospital." The statement also requested the former president and his family's privacy be respected. Nevertheless, his team of doctors are convinced that he will receive the same level of intensive care at his Houghton home that he received in Pretoria. Former president's condition described as 'critical and at times unstable' as he returns home to Johannesburg Nelson Mandela has been discharged from hospital but remains in a critical and at times unstable condition, South African officials said on Sunday. Despite the difficulties imposed by his various illnesses, he, as always, displays immense grace and fortitude. Mr Mandela has been admitted to hospital four times in the past year, suffering from an array of health problems. "Madiba has been treated by a large medical team from the military, academia, private sector and other public health spheres. His lung infection is thought to stem from his time working in a limestone quarry while imprisoned on Robben Island. "It is a day of celebration for us that he is finally back home with us," he said. His wife Graca Machel had been spending nearly every moment at his bedside. President Barack Obama was unable to meet Mr Mandela during a trip to Africa in June due to the anti-apartheid hero's condition. A statement from the office of current South African president Jacob Zuma confirmed the 95-year-old has returned to his Johannesburg home, where he will continue to recover. Jackson Mthembu, spokesman for the African National Congress, said: "We believe that receiving treatment at home will afford him continuous support from his family and loved ones."
Former president's condition described as 'critical and at times unstable' as he returns home to Johannesburg Nelson Mandela has been discharged from hospital but remains in a critical and at times unstable condition, South African officials said on Sunday. The 95-year-old former president spent 12 weeks at the Mediclinic Heart Hospital in Pretoria and will continue to receive intensive care at his home in the Johannesburg suburb of Houghton. Mac Maharaj, a friend of Mandela and spokesman for President Jacob Zuma, said: "Former president Nelson Mandela has this morning, 1 September 2013, been discharged from the Pretoria hospital where he has been receiving treatment. Using Mandela's clan name, he continued: "Madiba's condition remains critical and is at times unstable. Nevertheless, his team of doctors are convinced that he will receive the same level of intensive care at his Houghton home that he received in Pretoria. "His home has been reconfigured to allow him to receive intensive care there. The healthcare personnel providing care at his home are the very same who provided care to him in hospital. If there are health conditions that warrant another admission to hospital in future, this will be done." Mandela was admitted to hospital on 8 June when, it later emerged, his military ambulance suffered a breakdown and had to wait on the roadside for backup. Rumours about his condition circulated, news teams were scrambled from around the world and South Africans braced for the worst, with crowds gathering outside the hospital and some saying it was time to "let him go". An unseemly battle between Mandela family members over the final resting place of his late children – and by implication Mandela himself – was fought in court. Yet the anti-apartheid hero clung on and, against the odds, was joined by his family for a celebration of his 95th birthday on 18 July, a day marked around the world. Maharaj added: "During his stay in hospital from the 8th of June 2013, the condition of our former president vacillated between serious to critical and at times unstable. "Madiba has been treated by a large medical team from the military, academia, private sector and other public health spheres. We thank all the health professionals at the hospital for their dedication. Most media have also been notably responsible and we thank them also for the maturity and understanding that all have in general displayed." He concluded: "We now call on all to allow the former president and his family the necessary private space so that his continuing care can proceed with dignity and without unnecessary intrusion." Ambulances and Mercedes vans, along with TV crews, could be seen outside Mandela's home on Sunday, where well-wishers have gathered to pray. Nelson Mandela has been discharged from hospital and returned home Updated Anti-apartheid leader and former South African president Nelson Mandela has been discharged from hospital after nearly three months of treatment for a recurring lung infection. A statement from the office of current South African president Jacob Zuma confirmed the 95-year-old has returned to his Johannesburg home, where he will continue to recover. "Madiba's condition remains critical and is at times unstable," the presidency said, referring to Mr Mandela by his clan name. "Nevertheless, his team of doctors are convinced that he will receive the same level of intensive care at his Houghton home that he received in Pretoria." "His home has been reconfigured to allow him to receive intensive care there. The health care personnel providing care at his home are the very same who provided care to him in hospital." "Despite the difficulties imposed by his various illnesses, he, as always, displays immense grace and fortitude," the presidency said. "Madiba has been treated by a large medical team from the military, academia, private sector and other public health spheres. The statement also requested the former president and his family's privacy be respected. The announcement of Mr Mandela's release comes a day after foreign media erroneously reported he had left the hospital. Mr Mandela, who has been in and out of hospital since last year, was rushed to hospital on June 8 for a respiratory infection and has remained in critical condition for most of the time since. His lung problems date back to his 27 years in apartheid jail, where he contracted tuberculosis as a political prisoner. He remains in a critical condition, "at times unstable" and requiring "medical interventions", according to the office of Jacob Zuma, the South African president. But his family and doctors reportedly decided that "it is now time for Mandela to be moved home to see out his final days", according to a report in City Press, a South African newspaper. He was transported home on Sunday morning by ambulance after spending nearly three months in Pretoria's Mediclinic Heart hospital, around 31 miles from Johannesburg, where he was being treated for a recurring lung infection. Mr Mandela has been admitted to hospital four times in the past year, suffering from an array of health problems (AFP/GETTY) The ambulance travelled in a convoy with police, personal doctors and several backup emergency vehicles. When he was sent to hospital on June 8, his ambulance broke down en route, sparking concern about the well-being of South Africa's first black president. Jackson Mthembu, spokesman for the African National Congress, said: "We believe that receiving treatment at home will afford him continuous support from his family and loved ones." His doctors "are convinced that he will receive the same level of intensive care at his Houghton home that he received in Pretoria." The statement from the South African presidency added however that if there were health problems that warranted another admission to hospital in the future, "this will be done".
ABC/AFP Topics: nuclear-issues, nuclear-accident, environment, disasters-and-accidents, oceans-and-reefs, japan First posted "We are investigating the cause." Last month, Tepco revealed that water from the tank was leaking. On Sunday the company said it had found highly radioactive water dripping from a pipe connecting two coolant tanks at one of four radiation hotspots. Radioactive water from the Fukushima nuclear plant to be dumped into Pacific Updated The head of Japan's nuclear watchdog has flagged dumping radioactive water from the Fukushima nuclear plant into the Pacific, but says the level of contamination in the water would be well within legal limits. Instruments used previously had only been capable of measuring radiation up to 100 millisieverts, but the new instruments were able to measure up to 10,000 millisieverts. Japanese government officials estimated that leak at 300 tons of irradiated water a day. “If we do decide to discharge into ocean, we will make every effort to ensure that contaminant levels are below the accepted limits,” Tanaka said. Media reports suggest prosecutors decided to drop charges against former prime minister. Plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO) has long struggled to deal with the massive amounts of water used to cool reactors that went into meltdown after being struck by an earthquake and tsunami in March 2011. It sparked the worst nuclear crisis since Chernobyl a quarter of a century earlier. Neighbouring countries and local fishermen have expressed concern at the mooted release from the plant, where contaminated water was already believed to have escaped into sea. Corroded Filters Tepco’s unit for filtering such contaminants, known as ALPS, was taken off line due to corrosion on Aug. 8, just months after beginning operation.
Radiation near a tank holding highly contaminated water at Japan's crippled Fukushima nuclear plant has spiked 18-fold, the plant's operator said on Sunday, highlighting the struggle to bring the crisis under control after more than two years. Radiation of 1,800 millisieverts per hour — enough to kill an exposed person in four hours — was detected near the bottom of one storage tank on Saturday, Tokyo Electric Power Co , also known as Tepco, said. An Aug. 22 readings measured radiation of 100 millisieverts per hour at the same tank. Japanese law has set an annual radiation exposure safety threshold of 50 millisieverts for nuclear plant workers during normal hours. Last month, Tepco revealed that water from the tank was leaking. Japan's nuclear regulator later raised the severity of the leak from a level 1 "anomaly" to a level 3 "serious incident" on an international scale for radiation releases. The Fukushima Daiichi power plant north of Tokyo was devastated by a tsunami on March 11, 2011, that resulted in fuel-rod meltdowns at three reactors, radioactive contamination of the air, sea and food and the evacuation of 160,000 people. It sparked the worst nuclear crisis since Chernobyl a quarter of a century earlier. While there were no new leaks found at the tank, a Tepco spokesman said another leak had been detected from a pipe connecting two other tanks nearby. "We have not confirmed fresh leakage from the tank and water levels inside the tank has not changed," the Tepco spokesman said. Tepco said the radiation measured was beta rays, which would be easier to protect against than gamma rays. The Tepco spokesman also said the higher level of radiation from the latest reading was partly because investigators had used a measuring instrument capable of registering greater amounts of radiation. Instruments used previously had only been capable of measuring radiation up to 100 millisieverts, but the new instruments were able to measure up to 10,000 millisieverts. Radiation of 220 millisieverts was also recorded near an adjacent storage tank, where a reading of 70 had been registered last month. Those tanks are built of steel plates stuck together by bolts — the same structure as the tank that was found last month to have leaked 300 tonnes of highly toxic water. With no one seeming to know how to bring the crisis to an end, Tepco said last week it would invite foreign decommissioning experts to advise it on how to deal with the highly radioactive water leaking from the site. Radioactive water from the Fukushima nuclear plant to be dumped into Pacific Updated The head of Japan's nuclear watchdog has flagged dumping radioactive water from the Fukushima nuclear plant into the Pacific, but says the level of contamination in the water would be well within legal limits. Speaking to foreign reporters in Tokyo, the head of the Nuclear Regulation Authority, Shinichi Tanaka, said there may be no choice but to pump radioactive water from Fukushima into the sea. There is more than 300,000 tonnes of contaminated water being stored at the Fukushima plant, with hundreds of tonnes being added to that every day. Plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO) has long struggled to deal with the massive amounts of water used to cool reactors that went into meltdown after being struck by an earthquake and tsunami in March 2011. Media reports suggest prosecutors decided to drop charges against former prime minister. Neighbouring countries and local fishermen have expressed concern at the mooted release from the plant, where contaminated water was already believed to have escaped into sea. Mr Tanaka says he would try to gain the international community's understanding before dumping any treated water into the Pacific. The clean-up at the plant has been hit by a series of mishaps that have cast doubt on the utility's ability to contain the world's worst atomic disaster since Chernobyl in 1986. On Sunday the company said it had found highly radioactive water dripping from a pipe connecting two coolant tanks at one of four radiation hotspots. Denouncing the firm's "careless management" of contaminated water, Mr Tanaka said: "We need to give them very strict instructions." Charges against former PM dropped: reports Newspaper Sankei Shimbun reported on Monday that prosecutors had decided to drop criminal charges against former prime minister Naoto Kan, government officials and TEPCO executives over their roles in the immediate aftermath of the disaster. Meanwhile, workers began switching off one of Japan's two working reactors on Monday, with the other set for shutdown later this month and no restarts in sight. He said the reactor will be fully shut down by early Tuesday in readiness for inspections legally mandated within 13 months of the start of commercial operations. Tokyo Electric Power Co.’s plan to manage radioactive water at its wrecked Fukushima plant may include a controlled discharge into the ocean once its toxicity is brought within legal limits, Japan’s nuclear regulator said. Nuclear Regulation Authority Chairman Shunichi Tanaka said today the ocean dump could be necessary as the country’s government prepares to present its plan for handling tainted water at the site that’s increasing by 400 tons a day. Managing the water used to cool melted fuel at the Fukushima plant’s reactors has become a fundamental challenge for the utility known as Tepco, which has struggled to contain a series of leaks including the loss of about 300 tons of contaminated water it reported two weeks ago. Tepco’s challenge was further illustrated yesterday when the utility said it had found a new radioactive leak, capping its worst month since the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami caused reactors to meltdown. Of the hot spots found over the weekend, one recorded radiation of 1,800 millisieverts per hour around the bottom of a bolted-flange tank storing water used to cool melted reactor cores.
"There is no feeling at the conference of a task completed or a victory won," he said. Mr Osborne also announced that he hoped to freeze fuel duty until 2015 to help people with the cost of living. And there is nothing new in putting some people on work placements once their time on the Work Programme has finished. "It should be obvious to anyone that in the years running up to the crash this country should have been running a budget surplus. Analysis George Osborne's new rule for the next parliament is easier to understand than the current one. People would have to remain on help-to-work until they found employment - unlike the current scheme which is limited to six months. He has pledged that even when the nation's books have been balanced he will keep the lid on spending in order to put aside money for the next rainy day But Labour said Mr Osborne could not be trusted to deliver a surplus, having already had to backtrack on a pledge to eliminate the structural deficit by 2015-6. The government began what it called Mandatory Work Activity back in 2011. Tory Cabinet ministers and MPs welcomed his speech, following concerns over Mr Miliband’s resurgence in the polls since his conference speech last week. Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption George Osborne: ''No-one will get something for nothing'' The long-term unemployed will have to undertake work placements in return for their benefits, under tougher rules unveiled by Chancellor George Osborne. Plans to do that were announced in May. That’s what we mean when we say they didn’t fix the roof when the sun was shining.
Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption George Osborne: ''No-one will get something for nothing'' The long-term unemployed will have to undertake work placements in return for their benefits, under tougher rules unveiled by Chancellor George Osborne. Welfare must be "fair for those who need it and fair for those who pay for it", he told the Tory conference. Mr Osborne also announced that he hoped to freeze fuel duty until 2015 to help people with the cost of living. While the UK was on the right track, he warned people their family finances would not be "transformed overnight". The chancellor insisted the government's economic plan was working but was "far from complete" and turned his fire on Labour - accusing them of "declaring war on enterprise". In other developments at Conservative conference: Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin said he was "proud" of the planned HS2 rail link and urged critics to stop "moaning" The UK Independence Party said it was open to local deals for its candidates to stand aside in seats with Eurosceptic MPs - but the Tories reject the idea David Cameron announced the Help to Buy mortgage scheme would be launched next week, three months earlier than planned Home Secretary Theresa May and Justice Secretary Chris Grayling address the conference later on Monday In his speech Mr Osborne described Labour's policy to freeze energy prices for 20 months as "phoney" and compared Ed Miliband's political philosophy to that of Karl Marx. He has pledged that even when the nation's books have been balanced he will keep the lid on spending in order to put aside money for the next rainy day He said he was optimistic about the future, saying the "sun had started to rise above the hill" but much more needed to be done to raise living standards for this generation and the next. "The battle for turning Britain round is not even close to being over." He said he hoped to freeze fuel duty until the end of the current Parliament if savings could be found to pay for the move. The RAC welcomed the announcement but called for a more fundamental overhaul of motoring taxation. Mr Osborne also pledged to continue to keep control of spending even after the economic recovery was secured to avoid repeating the mistakes of "deluded" predecessors who believed they had abolished boom and bust. Cleaning up litter By running a budget surplus in the good times, he would "fix the roof while the sun was shining". Under the scheme, JobCentre advisers sent people on four-week placements on pain of losing their Jobseeker's allowance. George Osborne is changing the system, though, by extending the placements from four weeks to six months. "By opposing the measures Labour announced last week to freeze energy prices and expand free childcare for working parents, the Tories have shown once again that they only ever stand up for a privileged few not for hard working families," shadow minister Rachel Reeves said. Those who had not found work after two years on the existing Work Programme - where contractors are paid a fee to get people into a job - will face a new scheme called help-to-work. To still qualify for jobseeker's allowance they will have three options - work placements, such as cleaning up litter; daily visits to a job centre; or taking part in compulsory training, for example, to improve their literacy. People would have to remain on help-to-work until they found employment - unlike the current scheme which is limited to six months. "And for those with underlying problems, like drug addiction and illiteracy, there will be an intensive regime of support. A Department of Work and Pensions assessment of mandatory work activity - a similar compulsory work scheme introduced by ministers in 2011 - found it "had no impact on the likelihood of being employed". Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Unemployed people in Salford give their thoughts on working for their benefits Unions said the help-to-work plan was an admission that existing schemes had failed. And business groups said "warm words" on enterprise and wealth creation must be backed up by a "relentless focus" in the years ahead. "Breaking government addiction to debt and achieving a surplus in public finances is the most important ambition any administration can have," the Institute of Directors said. Tory aides said the party will fight the 2015 election claiming that a litre of petrol is 20p cheaper than it would have been under Labour’s proposed fuel duty escalator for above-inflation increases. Mr Osborne, however, admitted that the money to pay for the freeze was not in place, setting up discussions in the Coalition over how to find the necessary hundreds of millions of pounds. Mr Osborne and other Tory Cabinet ministers began to outline some of their commitments ahead of the next general election: • The Chancellor promised to squeeze public spending until the end of the decade then seek to run a budget surplus for the first time in almost 20 years. He said the battle to turn around the economy was “not even close to being over” and rejected Mr Miliband’s promise to freeze domestic energy bills until 2017 as a “gimmick”.
"The press has got a good deal. And, all involved in the process now consider a royal charter, to oversee this regulatory body, to be the correct way forward. He said only the press stood against the consensus in politics and the public which said: "We want Parliament's royal charter - Leveson's royal charter - and we want it now." The full Privy Council is expected to endorse the recommendation of the sub-committee. However, the board would "require" rather than "direct" in relation to apologies Arbitration: Government: A free arbitration service would be provided for victims and a fast complaints system would be established to ensure all individuals could afford to pursue action against publishers A free arbitration service would be provided for victims and a fast complaints system would be established to ensure all individuals could afford to pursue action against publishers Newspapers: An arbitration service would offer "a speedy and inexpensive alternative to the libel courts, subject to the successful conclusion of a pilot scheme". Its decision on the plan put forward by politicians and campaigners should be announced on 30 October. Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption One minute catch up: Press regulation where are we now? Senior politicians have rejected the newspaper industry's version of a royal charter setting up a press regulator, the BBC's Newsnight has reported. The government's proposals published in March have cross-party backing and the support of campaign group Hacked Off. We have an opportunity to take a final look at our charter. But sub-committee chair Danny Alexander insisted no decision had been made.
Senior politicians have rejected the newspaper industry's version of a royal charter setting up a press regulator, the BBC's Newsnight has reported. A source said a sub-committee of the Privy Council, containing Lib Dem and Tory cabinet ministers, thought the proposals were "flawed". The full Privy Council is also looking at an alternative plan backed by politicians and campaigners. Its decision on the plan put forward by politicians and campaigners should be announced on 30 October. Press regulation options are being considered in the wake of the Leveson Inquiry, which was set up in July 2011 after it emerged journalists working for the now-closed News of the World had hacked into the mobile phone of murdered Surrey schoolgirl Milly Dowler. Politicians and the press have been at odds over the details of a royal charter - a formal document used to establish and lay out the terms of a body - to underpin the regulator. The government's proposals published in March have cross-party backing and the support of campaign group Hacked Off. There are a series of key differences between the industry's plan for press regulation and that agreed by politicians and campaigners. Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Chief Secretary to the Treasury Danny Alexander: "There a still a few i's to be dotted" Rejection 'likely' Newsnight's political editor Allegra Stratton was told Privy Council members felt proposals for self-regulation put forward by newspapers did not meet the requirements of Lord Justice Leveson's report. Mr Alexander, who told the BBC the sub-committee met on Monday and the full Privy Council will meet on Wednesday to consider the press proposal, said there were a "few remaining" details to be decided - but insisted "no final decision has been made". But ministers "do look set to reject" the form of regulation put forward by newspapers, BBC political editor Nick Robinson said. New press regulator: Proposals compared Political involvement: Government: Royal Charter could be amended by Parliament, but only if there was a two-thirds majority in both houses Royal Charter could be amended by Parliament, but only if there was a two-thirds majority in both houses Newspapers: Parliament could not block or approve any future changes to regulation. Instead the regulator, trade bodies and the regulator's panel would have to agree to changes "Recognition" panel: Government: Former editors would be banned from serving on the "recognition panel", which would decide whether newspapers were being regulated properly Former editors would be banned from serving on the "recognition panel", which would decide whether newspapers were being regulated properly Newspapers: Former editors would be allowed to serve and there would be a requirement for at least one member to have newspaper industry experience Appointments process: Government: Appointments committee to consist of four members, none of whom could be a serving editor or MP Appointments committee to consist of four members, none of whom could be a serving editor or MP Newspapers: Want one of the four members to "represent the interests of relevant publishers" Corrections and apologies: Government: Regulator to have the power to demand prominent corrections and apologies from publishers and impose £1m fines. Regulator board would "direct" the nature, extent and placement of corrections Newspapers: Regulator to have the power to ensure "up-front corrections, with inaccuracies corrected fully and prominently" and to impose £1m fines for "systematic wrongdoing". However, the board would "require" rather than "direct" in relation to apologies Arbitration: Government: A free arbitration service would be provided for victims and a fast complaints system would be established to ensure all individuals could afford to pursue action against publishers A free arbitration service would be provided for victims and a fast complaints system would be established to ensure all individuals could afford to pursue action against publishers Newspapers: An arbitration service would offer "a speedy and inexpensive alternative to the libel courts, subject to the successful conclusion of a pilot scheme". However, papers are concerned a free service would lead to a surge of claims for damages The Privy Council sub-committee consists of four Tories and two Lib Dems - and both parties have been critical of the press proposals, he added. Steve Hewlett, presenter of BBC Radio 4's The Media Show, told Newsnight that newspaper publishers felt the process had been far from transparent. Image caption The Sun's Trevor Kavanagh said the news was not a shock "I think it has to be seen as a great victory for the forces of oppression of a free press - Hacked Off in particular - and the politicians who have gone along for the ride." Brian Cathcart, executive director of Hacked Off, said the press's plan had been a "delaying manoeuvre" by the big national newspapers. Mr Cathcart said there was a "rare unanimity" in Parliament on this issue, and the press was refusing to compromise "like an errant child on the naughty step with his fingers in his ears". He said only the press stood against the consensus in politics and the public which said: "We want Parliament's royal charter - Leveson's royal charter - and we want it now." Earlier, Gerry McCann said the newspaper industry's plans for press regulation were "a gentlemen's club agreement" and should be rejected by politicians. Final decision on PCC's replacement expected to be delayed until 30 October, with possible concessions to publishers The culture secretary is expected to confirm to MPs in the Commons on Tuesday that a privy council subcommittee has rejected the press's proposal for a new industry regulator. Maria Miller is due to make a Commons statement at 4.30pm on press regulation, in which she is expected to say that the privy council subcommittee of MPs chaired by Danny Alexander, the chief secretary to the Treasury, has rejected the newspaper industry's version of a royal charter to establish a watchdog to replace the Press Complaints Commission. A spokesman for Miller said overnight reports that the press proposals had been rejected were "speculation", adding that "there is a proper process to be followed". One senior executive said: "I am perfectly prepared to believe a decision in principle has been made, but they have to write a set of documents outlining their decision and giving their reasons which may take some time." A final decision on how to regulate the press industry is now expected to be delayed until 30 October when the privy council will be asked to rubber stamp the royal charter agreed by the Tories, Liberal Democrats and Labour on 18 March. It's wishful thinking that David Cameron will be ingratiating himself with media moguls by breaching the agreement that he signed on 18 March." "Establishing press regulation by royal charter could allow politicians to interfere in press regulation and threaten media freedom in the UK."
It is a disgrace. In a transcript of the meeting, taken from a recording made by Mr Mitchell, he set out his version of events. Mr Mitchell met three officers and Police Federation representatives at his constituency. He said: "Unfortunately those officers are in an extremely difficult position. After the investigation report was handed over to the chief constables of West Mercia, Warwickshire and West Midlands, it was re-written to clear the officers. The MP admitted swearing but strenuously denied using the word “plebs”. They criticise him for implying that the Downing Street officers’ accounts were not accurate. 25 September 2012 A police log of the incident is leaked to the Daily Telegraph. They are being put on trial by the IPCC in the media and have basically been found guilty and haven't got the opportunity to clear their names." But sources suggested no decision would be made before the weekend. In her letter she says didn’t believe that the evidence had changed and or supported the case to clear the officers. "But what seems to have happened in the West Midlands seems to me on the face of it that Andrew Mitchell was dealt a substantial injustice and for that I think he deserves an apology and the Prime Minister was quite right to point that out ... He told the meeting: “I give you my word I did not call an officer a ----ing pleb.” He added: “I did say under my breath, but audibly, in frustration, 'I thought you lot were supposed to ----ing help us.’” After the meeting the officers claimed the chief whip had refused to elaborate on what he had said and therefore had no option but to resign.
The Deputy Prime Minister said that the officers went into a meeting with Mr Mitchell with only “one intention in mind”, which was to bring down his political career. Mr Clegg suggested that the Police Federation representatives deliberately set out to discredit Mr Mitchell following the Plebgate incident, in which he was accused of swearing at officers in Downing Street. Speaking on LBC radio, Mr Clegg said: “These [Police Federation] representatives went into Andrew Mitchell’s office with what appears to be only one intention in mind, which was to go out and tell the world’s press he needed to resign. “The subsequent revelation that the meeting had been recorded shows that he made every attempt to describe what happened.” Mr Clegg added: “I think it’s perfectly legitimate for Andrew Mitchell to feel pretty sore about that.” Mr Mitchell was accused of calling officers in Downing Street “----ing plebs” when they refused to open the main gate to allow him to cycle through. At the meeting, held in the Midlands on Oct 12, Mr Mitchell apologised to the federation representatives but again denied using the word “plebs”. He told the meeting: “I give you my word I did not call an officer a ----ing pleb.” He added: “I did say under my breath, but audibly, in frustration, 'I thought you lot were supposed to ----ing help us.’” After the meeting the officers claimed the chief whip had refused to elaborate on what he had said and therefore had no option but to resign. David Cameron this week said that the police account of the meeting was “untrue” and that Mr Mitchell is owed an apology. An inquiry by West Mercia Police concluded that the comments of the three men - Inspector Ken MacKaill, Sergeant Stuart Hinton and Sergeant Chris Jones - could be "viewed as ambiguous or misleading", but said there was no "deliberate intention to lie" However, the IPCC found earlier this week that the "evidence indicates an issue of honesty and integrity". The scandal of the police investigation into the “Plebgate” affair has deepened after it was suggested that three chief constables secretly overruled their own investigators to clear officers of serious wrongdoing. A leaked letter reveals that the original police investigation into the three officers accused of lying about a meeting with the former Chief Whip Andrew Mitchell found that there was enough evidence to bring disciplinary charges against them. After the investigation report was handed over to the chief constables of West Mercia, Warwickshire and West Midlands, it was re-written to clear the officers. The development raises fresh questions about the ability of the police to investigate themselves and puts further pressure on the forces to re-open their investigations. Today David Cameron intervened in the row for the first time, saying it was “quite wrong” that no disciplinary action was being taken against officers, who met Mr Mitchell as representatives of the Police Federation. At Prime Minister’s questions Mr Cameron said the conduct of the officers was “not acceptable”, adding that Mr Mitchell was “owed an apology” by the Police Federation and that the incident needed to be “properly investigated”. The revelation is contained in a letter from the Independent Police Complaints Commission’s deputy chair, Deborah Glass, explaining why she publicly disagreed with the published findings of an IPCC-monitored report into the affair. In her letter she says didn’t believe that the evidence had changed and or supported the case to clear the officers. IPCC sources said that they believed the decision to change the report had come only after it was submitted to the chief constables concerned for approval. A spokesman for West Mercia police who led the investigation said it had received Ms Glass’s letter but refused to comment on it. Mr Mitchell met Inspector Ken MacKaill, Detective Sergeant Stuart Hinton and Sergeant Chris Jones, Police Federation representatives of West Mercia, Warwickshire and West Midlands, on 12 October last year to “clear the air” following his clash with police in Downing Street. A recording made by Mr Mitchell of the meeting shows that he apologised for swearing at the police officers, although he denied using the word “plebs”. But after the meeting, Mr MacKaill claimed the former Tory chief whip would not provide an account of the incident. The original altercation, in which Mr Mitchell was accused of calling officers guarding Downing Street “plebs” as he tried to cycle through the main gates last year, has been the subject of a separate Metropolitan Police investigation. The Independent understands that Mr Mitchell will have to wait until next week at the earliest to discover if any police officers will be charged in relation to that. The Crown Prosecution Service is currently assessing whether there is evidence to charge five officers who have so far been arrested over the affair. Sir Hugh Orde, president of the Association of Chief Police Officers, said the behaviour of the Police Federation officers had fallen below the standards expected, but their chief constables should be given the opportunity to explain their decision not to take further disciplinary action. He told BBC Radio 4’s Today: “It seems to me in this case there is no issue that the finding by the police service was the officers’ behaviour fell below the standard. The question is the quantum of seriousness and I think that’s why the chief constables are clearly determined to explain that.” All three chief constables are due to give evidence to the Home Affairs Select Committee about their decision next week. 13 months of bikes, lies and videotape 19 September 2012 The Conservative MP, Andrew Mitchell, who has just become the Government’s chief whip, has a row with police officers who refuse to open Downing Street’s main gate and allow him to cycle though. It claims that members of the public witnessed the altercation in which Mr Mitchell was alleged to have said: “Best you learn your fucking place... you don’t run this fucking government...You’re fucking plebs.” 12 October 2012 Three local representatives of the Police Federation meet Mr Mitchell at his Sutton Coldfield constituency office, telling reporters afterwards that Mr Mitchell refused to disclose the precise words he had used in the incident. 16 December 2012 A police constable with the diplomatic protection group is arrested on suspicion of misconduct in a public office, and suspended. The footage suggests that no one other than the officers involved were within earshot of the altercation – despite the police log suggesting that members of the public looking on were “visibly shocked”. In the ensuing months, eight people are arrested and bailed under the investigation, codenamed Operation Alice, including five police officers. Greg Clark has become the first minister to publicly call for Mr Cameron to "give him [Andrew Mitchell] his job back" after an independent report suggested police had been dishonest. He said he agreed "100 per cent" with Theresa May, the Home Secretary, who warned yesterday that an alleged conspiracy to discredit Mr Mitchell jeopardised public trust in the police.
Gov. The couples, their parents, their children, all who have waited for this moment. "Redefining marriage has far-reaching implications in our society." the speaker said. It's the Democratic governor's latest step in taking Illinois in a more liberal direction. The vote Tuesday capped a year in which prospects for gay marriage often were dim. Backers had expressed confidence that the bill would be approved by the House in mid-March. State Representative Linda Chapa LaVia told House members on the floor that she'd support the measure too. A group of Chicago area pastors vowed to line up primary challengers against some Chicago area lawmakers who voted yes. "(W)e will always believe that marriage is between one man and one woman," Trotter said in the statement. The bill first cleared the Senate on Valentine's Day with the support of 33 Democrats and a single Republican. Pat Quinn, who has said he will sign it into law. It's been an amazing ride the past several years. Madigan had come under fire from some gay rights groups who argued that he wasn't doing enough to build support in the chamber he controls, but advocates say he was critical in rounding up the final needed votes in the last several weeks. Mayor Rahm Emanuel dropped in at Sidetrack and another bar, Roscoe's, on Tuesday evening to congratulate supporters of same-sex marriage on the victory. "As a Catholic follower of Jesus and the pope, Pope Francis, I am clear that our Catholic religious doctrine has at its core love, compassion and justice for all people," said Rep. Linda Chapa LaVia, a Democrat from Aurora who voted for the bill after spending much of the summer undecided.
Under the bill, which House approved 61-54 before sending it to the Senate, gay weddings could be held in Illinois as of June Historic votes Tuesday in the Illinois Legislature positioned that state to become the largest in the heartland to legalize gay marriage, following months of arduous lobbying efforts by both sides in President Barack Obama's home state. Under the measure, which the state House approved 61-54 before sending it on to the Senate for technical changes, gay weddings could be held in Illinois starting in June. The bill heads next to Governor Pat Quinn, who has pledged to sign it but didn't immediately indicate when. Fourteen states plus Washington DC, allow same-sex marriage. The road to the Illinois vote was long with stalled attempts earlier this year, something that frustrated activists in the state where Democrats lead the House, Senate and governor's office. Chicago Democratic Representative Greg Harris, who is the sponsor of the bill, decided not to bring the bill for a vote in May because he said he simply didn't have the support. Then the US Supreme Court ruled to strike down a provision of the federal Defense of Marriage Act, something he said resonated with lawmakers. Backers also launched a furious campaign, hiring a lobbyist from the state's largest union, the former head of the Illinois Republican Party and field organizers spanning the state. "To treat all our citizens equally in the eyes of the law we must change this," Harris said on the floor. Debate lasted more than two hours, and the final roll call was met with hearty cheers and applause. Supporters' speeches echoed themes of equality and civil rights with mentions of Obama, Martin Luther King Jr and Matthew Shepard, a gay college student whose 1998 death sparked numerous hate crime bills. Polls show support for gay marriage has surged since 1996, when Gallup found that 27% of Americans backed it. Now Gallup finds the majority support giving gay and lesbian couples the right to marry. However, opponents of the legislation – which included some of the most powerful religious leaders in the state – have said marriage should remain between a man and a woman. A group of Chicago area pastors vowed to line up primary challengers against some Chicago area lawmakers who voted yes. "This issue is not just about two adults and their emotional, relational and financial commitment to another," said Representative Tom Morrison, a Palatine Republican. "Redefining marriage has far-reaching implications in our society." Three Republicans joined those voting in favor, including former House Minority Leader Tom Cross of Oswego who had not revealed how he'd vote ahead of Tuesday. The representative stepped down from his leadership position earlier this year and is seeking statewide office as treasurer. "For me, supporting marriage equality is not only the right decision, but also consistent with my belief in individual freedom, equality and limited government," Cross said in a statement. Other lawmakers also came forward for the first time Tuesday, including Democratic state Representative Jehan Gordon-Booth of Peoria, who wrote a newspaper opinion piece expressing her support as a matter of equality. The bill first cleared the Senate on Valentine's Day with the support of 33 Democrats and a single Republican. But it took the supporters months to secure enough yes votes to win the House's approval. In September, Minneapolis Mayor R T Rybak even went to Chicago to encourage gay couples to hold their nuptials in his city if they were tired of waiting for Illinois lawmakers to act. Although Illinois once appeared poised to become the first Midwestern state to approve gay marriage in the Legislature, Minnesota did it sooner and started holding its first same-sex weddings over the summer. Iowa allows gay marriages too because of a court ruling, not a legislative vote. The issue caused internal conflict among Illinois Republicans as the party works to balance efforts to appeal more to younger voters, minorities and women with the more socially conservative positions of some party members. For months, the leaders of several black mega-churches lobbied the districts of black House members with an aggressive robocall campaign against gay marriage, placing an uncomfortable spotlight on the mostly Democratic black caucus. "We will always believe that marriage is between one man and one woman," said Bishop Larry Trotter of the coalition. Lawmakers approved gay marriage Tuesday in a historic vote that saw supporters overcome cultural, racial and geographic divides and put Illinois in line with a growing number of states that have extended the right to wed to same-sex couples. After more than a year of intense lobbying by both sides, gay lawmakers made emotional pleas to colleagues to give their families equal rights even as opponents argued that doing so would unravel the foundation of society. "At the end of the day, what this bill is about is love, it's about family, it's about commitment," said sponsoring Rep. Greg Harris, clutching an American flag he said was sent by a supportive soldier stationed in Afghanistan. It's the Democratic governor's latest step in taking Illinois in a more liberal direction. Under Quinn in the past three years, Illinois has banned the death penalty, legalized medical marijuana, provided driver's licenses for undocumented immigrants and approved civil unions. Resolving the gay marriage question also allows state leaders to get a divisive issue off their plates before next year's big statewide election, even as long-standing financial issues headlined by the state's $100 billion public worker pension shortfall remain unresolved. "Michelle and I are overjoyed for all the committed couples in Illinois whose love will now be as legal as ours — and for their friends and family who have long wanted nothing more than to see their loved ones treated fairly and equally under the law," Obama said in a statement. The first week of veto session came and went without a vote last month, and with candidate filing for next year's election just weeks away, some expected no resolution until next year. Supporters said efforts to pick up votes were boosted by events that unfolded since May, the first being the U.S. Supreme Court's landmark ruling that struck down the definition of marriage as between a man and a woman for the purpose of receiving federal benefits. While hailed as a major victory, the move created a situation in which gay couples living in states that recognize same-sex marriage have more rights than their counterparts in states that haven't legalized gay marriage.
The deal with the IAEA, which already visits Iran’s 17 declared nuclear facilities, is the first since June 2007. Iran says its nuclear programme is peaceful.. The broadcaster said the deal was struck on Monday in talks with UN nuclear chief Yukiya Amano. Iran's state television says an agreement for expanded monitoring has been reached in talks with the UN nuclear chief in a deal that could boost wider negotiations over Tehran's atomic programme. It is a so-called "roadmap'' that will give UN inspectors a broader reach, including access to a heavy water reactor under construction and a key uranium mine. The pact followed three days of talks in Geneva between Iran and world powers that failed to clinch a broader accord to relieve international sanctions on Iran in exchange for Iranian restrictions on its nuclear program. (Reporting by Peter Griffiths and Andrew Osborn; Editing by Andrew Osborn) Reactor access, combined with information about its fuel, “could serve to verify that it is not being configured to make weapons-grade plutonium.” Concerns over Arak helped to undermine an accord in Geneva, where French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius sought a pause in construction during negotiations. Source: Al Jazeera and agencies Amano told a group of reporters later that there’s “much more that needs to be done,” and said today’s agreement won’t enable visits to the Parchin military facility, where the IAEA wants to investigate whether Iran has carried out explosive testing related to making nuclear weapons. He said that will be addressed in “subsequent steps.” The most important business stories of the day. “Knowing domestic sources more accurately will help the IAEA draw conclusions.” Get Bloomberg's daily newsletter.
LONDON (Reuters) - British Foreign Secretary William Hague said on Monday that there would be pressure to intensify sanctions on Iran if it could not reach a deal with world powers over its disputed nuclear program. "It's very important for the Iranian authorities to understand that the pressure will be there for greater sanctions, for an intensification of sanctions, unless an agreement is reached on these matters," Hague told parliament. UN nuclear chief makes deal in Tehran for wider monitoring of nuclear sites that could boost broader negotiations. Iran's state television says an agreement for expanded monitoring has been reached in talks with the UN nuclear chief in a deal that could boost wider negotiations over Tehran's atomic programme. The broadcaster said the deal was struck on Monday in talks with UN nuclear chief Yukiya Amano. It is a so-called "roadmap'' that will give UN inspectors a broader reach, including access to a heavy water reactor under construction and a key uranium mine. "The practical measures will be implemented in the next three months, starting from today," Aman said in a news conference in Tehran, broadcast on state television. Amano's visit comes after efforts in Geneva over the weekend stalled on ways to ease Western concerns that Iran could one day produce nuclear weapons. Clearing the obstacles could be a major step towards a deal between Iran and world powers when negotiations resume next week. French 'hopeful' The French foreign minister said on Monday he was hopeful a deal could be reached with Iran over its nuclear programme, although Tehran still had to make an effort on a few points. Some diplomats accused France of grandstanding during talks in Geneva at the weekend, something Fabius denied, saying Paris was not isolated but had an independent foreign policy. Iran and United Nations atomic inspectors signed their first accord in six years, giving the monitors broader access to nuclear facilities in the Persian Gulf country. The International Atomic Energy Agency and Iran agreed “to implement practical measures” aiding inspections, and implementation will start within three months, agency director Yukiya Amano said at a televised briefing in Tehran. Amano told a group of reporters later that there’s “much more that needs to be done,” and said today’s agreement won’t enable visits to the Parchin military facility, where the IAEA wants to investigate whether Iran has carried out explosive testing related to making nuclear weapons. The pact followed three days of talks in Geneva between Iran and world powers that failed to clinch a broader accord to relieve international sanctions on Iran in exchange for Iranian restrictions on its nuclear program. While the IAEA has visited Arak, inspectors have sought additional information on the design of the incomplete project to ensure plutonium cannot be extracted for nuclear weapons. Limited Uranium Iran has been using about 530 tons of uranium obtained from South Africa in 1982 to fuel its declared enrichment program, centered at the Natanz plant, about 210 kilometers (130 miles) south of Tehran.
That had to be done in secret," she said. "It's always shocking. The charity contacted the police. The woman told the helpline she had been held against her will in a house in London for more than 30 years. Hyland said the three women were highly traumatised and were being kept in a place of safety. "They had limited freedom, there was some controlled freedom but their lives were allegedly one of domestic servants or forced labour. Two of the women – the 30-year-old and 57-year-old – walked out of the house and met the charity workers and the police as planned. The call to the charity came through some time after the TV documentary was broadcast. It was just an ordinary house in an ordinary street." There did not appear to any sexual element to the alleged captivity, Prem added. "It was planned that they would be able to walk out of the property. "It's about vulnerability: coercion is a major part of trafficking. The rescue was planned for 25 October when arrangements were made to meet them at an agreed location. It was very difficult for them to get to the telephone. "These are deeply traumatised people and we are getting professional help to establish the events that have happened to them. Convictions followed under section 71 of the 2009 Coroners and Justice Act, which outlaws slavery and servitude. A 69-year-old Malaysian woman, a 57-year-old Irish woman and a 30-year-old British woman were all rescued from the residential address last month by detectives from the Metropolitan police human trafficking unit. "They did have rooms that they could use but they were really restricted about what they could do and could never leave the front door."
Traumatised trio rescued from 'ordinary house on ordinary street' as police say human trafficking case is worst ever found in UK Three women have walked to freedom from a south London house where they were held for 30 years in what police described as the worst case of modern-day slavery ever uncovered in Britain. Police said on Thursday the youngest woman, a 30-year-old British citizen, had had "no contact with the outside world" and was probably born in captivity, possibly within the house in Lambeth. All three women – a 69-year-old from Malaysia, a 57-year-old from Ireland and the British woman – were described as "deeply traumatised", and were being looked after by specialists. The extraordinary story of how the women were rescued from three decades of fear and enslavement within an "ordinary house in an ordinary street" in south London emerged on Thursday after the Metropolitan police's human trafficking unit arrested an unnamed man and woman, both 67, at the same property in Lambeth, at 7.30am. The pair, who are not British citizens, were bailed early on Friday morning until a date in January. The arrest was the final act in a highly sensitive, secretive investigation aimed first at rescuing the women and then getting evidence to detain the suspects. It began when the Irish woman made an audacious telephone call for help last month. She acted after seeing a television documentary and watching the founder of an organisation called the Freedom Charity being interviewed. Aneeta Prem, the founder of the organisation, said it was a news interview she carried out after a documentary that led to the call for help. "The Irish lady saw me on TV and the name of the charity was a catalyst. The charity contacted the police. Tense negotiations took place over a week during secret telephone calls that the women were able to make from the house, before – in a carefully choreographed rescue – the three women were able to walk out of the property on 25 October, where officers were waiting. They were taken into specialist care, and over days and weeks they were coaxed into talking about what had happened to them. Detective Inspector Kevin Hyland, who leads the Met's human trafficking unit, said what had been uncovered in the home was like nothing the police had ever experienced before. "In London we have investigated cases where people have been held in servitude or forced labour for up to 10 years, but 30 years is quite extraordinary and not something we have seen before," he said. He added the youngest victim had probably spent her whole life "under the control or in the company of these people". Hyland said the three women were highly traumatised and were being kept in a place of safety. "There's a lot of difficulties with the victims," he said. "These are deeply traumatised people and we are getting professional help to establish the events that have happened to them. "It's been a very difficult process to establish the facts, one that we haven't experienced before. "We've established that all three women were held in this situation for at least 30 years. "They had limited freedom, there was some controlled freedom but their lives were allegedly one of domestic servants or forced labour. They were living in a normal community, but that's not unusual for cases of servitude, trafficking or forced labour." The Met police said the initial call to the charity was made by the Irish captive on 18 October, after the women had watched a documentary about forced marriage. The woman told the helpline she had been held against her will in a house in London for more than 30 years. The charity passed the information on to the police and detectives began to investigate to establish the exact location where the women were being held. At the same time, workers from the Freedom Charity maintained contact with the women in a series of secret phone calls. Prem said her workers treated "every call as a last chance" and immediately sought to help the women. "We gained their trust over a period of telephone calls when they could telephone. Two of the women – the 30-year-old and 57-year-old – walked out of the house and met the charity workers and the police as planned. Describing the conditions the women have been living in, Prem said: "They felt they were in massive danger." Their alleged captors were the "heads of the family" and the women were "absolutely terrified" of them. Describing the moment they walked out of the house, Prem said: "They threw their arms around me and thanked me for work we have done … it was a very, very emotional time." Despite her work on so-called "honour" crimes and forced marriages, she – like the police – had never seen enslavement of this magnitude.
Thank-you. "He was one of us, one of the people." Nelson Mandela was a hero of our time." He said: "A great light has gone out in the world. Mr Mandela, who had been awarded the Nobel Prize in 1993 jointly with Mr de Klerk, was elected South Africa's first black president. Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair pays tribute "He remained above all a people's person which is highly unusual amongst global leaders or celebrities of his stature." "I had the privilege of meeting him on two occasions - once at 10 Downing Street when I was foreign secretary - and he was a man who had extraordinary personal charisma. "Many around the world were greatly influenced by his selfless struggle for human dignity, equality and freedom. Rest in peace Madiba." "his life sets a tremendous example. Mr Mandela made several visits to the UK after his release from prison - the first in April 1990 when he met politicians in the capital as deputy president of the African National Congress and attended a concert in his honour. He said he would receive a full state funeral, and flags would be flown at half-mast. Analysis The greatest father there ever was: this is how South Africans will remember the man who brought an end to apartheid and delivered the nation from the brink of civil war. Image caption Many of those gathered outside the former leader's home were reduced to tears at the news Image caption In London mourners placed flowers outside the African High Commission - among them the daughter of Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Lungi Morrison Image caption The UN Security Council in New York stood for a minute of silence He and other ANC leaders campaigned against apartheid.
People around the world have been reacting to the news that South Africa's first black president and anti-apartheid icon Nelson Mandela has died, aged 95. World leaders South African President Jacob Zuma announced Nelson Mandela's death, saying South Africa had lost "its greatest son" and calling on South Africans to conduct themselves with the "dignity and respect" that Mr Mandela personified. Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption President Obama on Mandela: "He no longer belongs to us; he belongs to the ages" "Although we knew this day was going to come, nothing can diminish our sense of a profound and enduring loss," he said. "We've lost one of the most influential, courageous and profoundly good human beings that any of us will share time with on this earth," he said. His journey from a prisoner to a president embodied the promise that human beings and countries can change for the better." Russian President Vladimir Putin said: "Mandela, having gone through the most difficult ordeals, was committed to the end of his days to the ideals of humanism and justice." Chinese President Xi Jinping said the Chinese people would always remember Mr Mandela's "outstanding contributions to the China-South Africa relationship and the course of progress of mankind". French President Francois Hollande said Mr Mandela's message would "continue to inspire fighters for freedom, and to give confidence to peoples in the defence of just causes and universal rights". Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Ban Ki-moon: "Let us continue each day to be inspired by Nelson Mandela's lifelong example" Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel said Mr Mandela's "political legacy of non-violence and the condemnation of all forms of racism" would continue to inspire. President Assad of Syria, who is currently fighting a revolt against his rule, said Nelson Mandela's life was an inspiration to freedom fighters and a lesson to tyrants. Senegalese President Macky Sall said "Nelson Mandela was undoubtedly the most influential man of the century", a "role model for Africans and also for humanity". He said Mr Mandela gave Africans "pride in being black - a dignity in being a black man". Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta praised him for living "an extraordinary life in a very ordinary way. His legacy encrypts the story of humanity now and tomorrow." Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption UK Prime Minister David Cameron: "One of the brightest lights of our world has gone out" Mr Mandela was an "inspiration to the oppressed peoples all over the world" and had made "unparalleled personal sacrifices", said Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan. Liberia's President and Nobel peace prize laureate Ellen Johnston Sirleaf told the BBC that Mr Mandela was a constant inspiration and would never be forgotten: "Nelson Mandela lives on as his life will continue to be the guiding light for those who excel, for those who have suffered for freedom and for peace." Brazil's President Dilma Rousseff said Mr Mandela would "guide all those who fight for social justice and for peace in the world". Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro compared the death of Mr Mandela to the passing of the late Venezuelan leader, Hugo Chavez: "Nine months after the departure of our commander, today another giant of the people leaves this world. Cuban leader Raul Castro said he was grateful for Mr Mandela's friendship and and steadfast support of the Cuban people. Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said: "This is as much India's loss as South Africa's. His life and work will remain a source of eternal inspiration for generations to come.'' Queen Elizabeth II, who met Mr Mandela on several occasions, said in a statement she was deeply saddened to learn of his death and remembered their meetings with great warmth. Image caption The Queen hosted a state banquet in Mr Mandela's honour in 1996 "A great light has gone out in the world," said British Prime Minister David Cameron. He added: "He was the father of his people, a man of vision, a freedom fighter who rejected violence. Mr Abbas added that "the Palestinian people will never forget his historic statement that the South African revolution will not have achieved its goals as long as the Palestinians are not free". Afghan President Hamid Karzai called him "an icon of our time, for man's dignity, equality and freedom". Iran's President Hassan Rouhani said in a statement that Mr Mandela "had a firm belief in the freedom and equality of all humans, not only in his country South Africa, but also across the world", adding his life had been a "rough and rugged road full of hardship". Other public figures Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption FW de Klerk: Mandela "was a great unifier" South African ex-President FW de Klerk, who freed Mr Mandela from prison in 1990 and shared the Nobel Peace Prize with him in 1993, said: "Tata, we shall miss you - but know that your spirit and example will always be there to guide us to the vision of a better and more just South Africa." Former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Mr Mandela's appeal had been universal: "To combine within one's self the contradictions that he lived with, a lawyer and a freedom fighter, a prisoner and a leader, a man of anger and of forgiveness, has so captured the hearts of people not only in his country, but as we are seeing with the outpouring of response to his death, people around the world." Former Irish President Mary Robinson said: "His death leaves us bereft - it is felt by all of us as a personal loss." Image caption Bill Clinton visited Mandela's former prison cell on Robben Island in 1998 "It's not just what he did but the way he did it that makes him so special," said former British Prime Minister Tony Blair. Campaigners and religious figures From the Vatican, Pope Francis paid tribute "to the steadfast commitment shown by Nelson Mandela in promoting the human dignity of all the nation's citizens and in forging a new South Africa". Image caption The Dalai Lama met Nelson Mandela in Cape Town in 2009 The exiled Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, said not it was time for people "to develop determination and enthusiasm to carry on in his spirit". US civil rights leader Jesse Jackson described Mandela as a global "force for good - with his suffering and his vision, he chose at a critical moment reconciliation over retribution." Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption The Reverend Jesse Jackson: "That sense of principle, tough mind, tender heart, was Nelson Mandela" "He was a unifier from the moment he walked out of prison," said South Africa's Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu. "Mr Mandela made us all understand that nobody should be penalised for the colour of his skin or the circumstances into which he was born," Burmese opposition leader and Nobel peace prize laureate, Aung San Suu Kyi said. "Nelson Mandela's commitment to human rights was epitomised by his unswerving resolve to stamp out racial inequality during apartheid, followed by his vital work in combating HIV/Aids in South Africa," said Amnesty International Secretary-General Salil Shetty. Another South African writer, Zakes Mda, questioned Mandela's legacy in an article for the New York Times: "It is ironic that in today's South Africa, there is an increasingly vocal segment of black South Africans who feel that Mandela sold out the liberation struggle to white interests."
Barra grew up in Waterford, a suburb of Detroit. Ms Barra joined GM as an electrical engineering student in 1980 and has worked her way up to lead GM's global product development. General Motors named Mary Barra as its first female CEO, replacing Dan Akerson, who will retire next year. Michelle Krebs, a veteran auto analyst at Edmunds.com, said the move was a major victory for women in the auto industry. On Monday, the Treasury announced it had sold its final stake in the company. She will replace Daniel Akerson, and be the first woman to run a US carmaker. “I will leave with great satisfaction in what we have accomplished, great optimism over what is ahead and great pride that we are restoring General Motors as America’s standard bearer in the global auto industry,” Akerson said in a message to employees. She's also of GM lineage: her father worked for 39 years as a dye maker for the car manufacturer in its now defunct Pontiac division. His wife has recently been diagnosed with advanced cancer. Overall, it lost around $10bn (£6bn) on its bailout of the carmaker in the aftermath of the financial crisis in 2008 and 2009. WSJ's Joe White joins MoneyBeat. Slashing paperwork "With an amazing portfolio of cars and trucks and the strongest financial performance in our recent history, this is an exciting time at today's GM," Ms Barra said in a company statement. GM's current chief executive and chairman, Mr Akerson, will leave both of his posts in mid-January. “We are well down that path, and I’m certain that our new team will keep us moving in that direction.”
• Head of product development Barra, 51, joined GM at 18 • 'I’m honored to lead the best team in the business' General Motors, America’s largest car manufacturer, has named Mary Barra its chief executive, making her the first woman to head a major auto firm. Barra’s appointment was announced Tuesday, a day after the US government sold off its last stake in the auto giant. The daughter of a GM worker, Barra joined the company at 18 and is currently its global head of product development. Michelle Krebs, a veteran auto analyst at Edmunds.com, said the move was a major victory for women in the auto industry. “My first comment to colleagues was: ‘Holy shit!’ I honestly didn’t think this would happen in my lifetime.” The company said the 51-year-old Barra had risen through a series of manufacturing, engineering, and senior staff positions in her 33 years with GM. She succeeds Dan Akerson, a corporate turnaround expert appointed by the Obama administration in 2009 to help shepherd the automaker through its bankruptcy. The US lost $10.5bn on its GM bailout, officials said, arguing that it was a smaller loss than it would have suffered had GM gone under. The company said Akerson, 65, had brought forward his succession plan several months after his wife was recently diagnosed with an advanced stage of cancer. “I will leave with great satisfaction in what we have accomplished, great optimism over what is ahead and great pride that we are restoring General Motors as America’s standard bearer in the global auto industry,” Akerson said in a message to employees. Barra earned her bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from Kettering University – formerly the General Motors Institute – in Flint, Michigan. “I’m honored to lead the best team in the business and to keep our momentum at full speed.” Krebs said: “Mary has been rumoured to be a top candidate for some time, but there were always other contenders. Too many times we have seen the auto industry become a great training ground for women executives who then move on to other industries.” “She’s rock solid. Under his guidance the company returned to the stock market in November 2010 and has recorded 15 consecutive quarters of profitability, re-invested nearly $9bn and created or retained more than 25,000 jobs at its US plants. DETROIT—General Motors Co. tapped product chief Mary Barra as its next chief executive, smashing a century-old gender barrier while choosing a longtime insider who grew up steeped in Detroit's car culture. Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Mary Barra, 51, joined the company as an engineering student US car giant General Motors (GM) has named product development chief Mary Barra to the post of chief executive. Slashing paperwork "With an amazing portfolio of cars and trucks and the strongest financial performance in our recent history, this is an exciting time at today's GM," Ms Barra said in a company statement. Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption GM will no longer be known as 'Government Motors' says specialist Jeff Bennett As head of human resources after the 2009 bailout, she was credited with slashing paperwork - including a 10 page-dress code. She's also of GM lineage: her father worked for 39 years as a dye maker for the car manufacturer in its now defunct Pontiac division.
. I can, and will, continue to cover them with the utmost professionalism. Mr. Dale reserves all of his rights, including to seek damages from Mayor Ford and ZoomerMedia. Black: Was it on city property? I’m a nonconfrontational guy,” he said. And he started taking pictures. Toronto Star reporter Daniel Dale has begun proceedings for a libel suit against Mayor Rob Ford over statements the mayor made in a Vision TV interview with Conrad Black. “I didn’t want to do this. Tricia Johnston found no evidence to support the mayor’s claim. I have little kids. I got his phone. And he had cinderblocks that he had to step on to get over the fence. A police investigation at the time by Det. Nothing could be further from the truth. I was going to make the announcement this morning. The false and defamatory statements have caused and are continuing to cause serious harm to Mr. Dale’s professional and personal reputation. “Moving forward with legal action was Daniel’s decision alone. I was on public land researching a public interest story about the mayor’s unusual application to buy public land. On a Washington, D.C. sports radio show, he falsely said: I was “looking over (his) fence taking pictures.” Never happened. Ford also ignored questions about whether he planned to apologize to Daniel Dale — the paper’s acting city hall bureau chief — for suggesting he was a pedophile. He has every right to stand up to slanderous and dishonest bullying. On Thursday I served Rob Ford with a libel notice , the first step in the process of pursuing a defamation lawsuit.
As my libel notice says , I’m asking Ford to immediately retract the false insinuation that I am a pedophile and all of his false statements about my conduct on May 2, 2012. I’m also asking Ford and Vision owner ZoomerMedia to apologize immediately “publicly, abjectly, unreservedly and completely.” No matter how much stress a legal battle might add to my personal and professional life, it is, simply, now necessary. It had become clear to me that, if I had done nothing, the mayor would make his smears some sort of political talking point. His comments to Black were no one-time slip; they seemed to be the first shots in a bewildering campaign against my good name. At a Tuesday news conference, he pointedly said he stands by “every word.” Today, he repeated many of his false claims on American radio. On Thursday I served Rob Ford with a libel notice , the first step in the process of pursuing a defamation lawsuit. I also served Vision TV, which twice broadcast Ford’s vile and defamatory remarks to Conrad Black even though their interview was filmed days before it aired. I didn’t want to complicate my happy life. I’m a non-confrontational guy, and I just wanted to write articles and go home. I didn’t want to be goaded into a legal battle that could last a long time. The mayor very much deserved to be sued, I knew, but I thought I could do more good for the city by challenging him at city hall on policy than challenging him about me in a courtroom. In fact, I so strongly did not want to do this that I had a whole announcement written about why I was going to take the high road and give Ford a pass for his defamation against me. If Ford does not do so, we’ll see if he is willing to repeat his lies under penalty of perjury. I planned to say in my announcement that I would reconsider my decision if the mayor were to repeat his lies in the future. On a Washington, D.C. sports radio show, he falsely said: I was “looking over (his) fence taking pictures.” Never happened. I was “taking pictures in the backyard,” Never happened; if it were true, police Det. Johnston went through the phone and found no pictures whatsoever from that night. I was on public land researching a public interest story about the mayor’s unusual application to buy public land. Crucially, Ford added this: “When you’ve got young kids, that freaked me right out.” This isn’t quite as egregious as the comment he made to Black, but it brought renewed attention to his malicious and defamatory insinuation to Black that I have some sort of predatory interest in young children — that I am a pedophile. With the full support of the Star, I will stay on the city hall beat while pursuing this action. No reasonable person questioned the appropriateness of me continuing to cover Ford after he insinuated I was a pedophile, or after he confronted me menacingly and called police on me for standing in a park; my reporting will be no more ethically compromised by my effort to hold him to account for this insinuation about the incident than it was by the incident or the insinuation itself. If a municipal politician had, hypothetically, clubbed me with a two-by-four, I told the police about it, and they charged him, I don’t think anyone could fairly argue that I needed to give up my job — I would simply be responding calmly and reasonably to unprompted aggression. Similarly, I don’t need to give up my job because I am responding calmly and reasonably to the mayor’s attempt to take a two-by-four to my reputation. I can easily imagine the mayor and his brother attempting to turn the tables on the Star and calling for me to take a leave of absence, as councillors and much of the media had called for the mayor to do. Star reporter Daniel Dale's lawyers visited the mayor's office Thursday afternoon to serve libel notice over comments he made in an interview with Conrad Black.
“Super, super, super, super, super, super, super sorry? I have little kids. “He’s taking photos of little kids,” Mr. Ford said of Mr. Dale. I didn't ask for an "I apologize if." Ford has been the mayor of Toronto for the past three years. “He didn’t retract the false claim that I was in his backyard. “I certainly did not intend to suggest that he is a pedophile. A number of unusual visitors also dropped in on the raucous council meeting on Tuesday. He did go on to say he did have an issue with Dale's employer, the Toronto Star. In it, there was a deadline for the mayor to retract and apologize for comments he made during a Vision TV interview with Conrad Black. Report Typo/Error The mayor’s apology – for calling some councillors “corrupt” during a Monday night chamber melee that caused the meeting to adjourn early – came at the urging of Speaker Frances Nunziata. Dale filed a notice of libel to Ford last week. — Daniel Dale (@ddale8) December 17, 2013 A difficult year The lawsuit is just the latest challenge Ford has faced during an extraordinary year at city hall. I don't want to say that word but you start thinking what this guy is all about." Dale added he also wants Ford to retract his statements that he took pictures of Ford’s children, and that he had taken pictures of Ford’s property while standing atop cinder blocks. Ford denied both the video’s existence and using crack cocaine — though his denials did nothing to quell interest in the story from media around the world.
Toronto Mayor Rob Ford has apologized to Toronto Star reporter Daniel Dale over remarks suggesting he was a pedophile and that the reporter was spying on his children. But Dale is not satisfied, and will be pursuing the libel lawsuit. “I never called Mr. Dale a pedophile, I have never used that word to describe Mr. Dale, I do not believe Mr. Dale is a pedophile nor did I intend to suggest that in my comments," Ford's apology began in council chambers on Tuesday. "To be clear, I never personally saw Mr. Dale peering over the fence or taking pictures," Ford went on, saying he wished to sincerely apologize to Dale. Dale, though, said the mayor's apology is not sufficient. "His statement today didn't come close. I'm proceeding with a defamation lawsuit," said Dale on Twitter. And, crucially, he didn't retract or specifically apologize for the categorically false, malicious, and in-itself-defamatory claim about me taking pictures of his young kids." Dale filed a notice of libel to Ford last week. In the interview, Ford said: "Daniel Dale is in my backyard taking pictures. I have little kids. He's taking pictures of little kids. I don't want to say that word but you start thinking what this guy is all about." 'Did not mean to suggest he is a pedophile' On Tuesday, he claimed the unsaid word was not pedophile. "It's unfortunate the word I did not say has been ascribed to me by the media," Ford said. "I certainly did not mean to suggest he is a pedophile." He said he trusted a report from a neighbour he has known for 15 years that there was someone "lurking" near his backyard. When he went to investigate, he found Dale near the fence of his backyard. Dale takes issue with Ford's mention of the neighbour. "I have no issue personally with Daniel Dale," said Ford, offering to apologize to Dale in person. He did go on to say he did have an issue with Dale's employer, the Toronto Star. Dale has denounced Ford's account of their encounter as "categorically false." Dale added he also wants Ford to retract his statements that he took pictures of Ford’s children, and that he had taken pictures of Ford’s property while standing atop cinder blocks. “I think the mayor is perfectly capable of improving his apology,” he said. “I was heartened that he made some sort of effort today, even though I think it was clearly unsatisfactory.” There has yet to be a reply from Vision TV, which also received notice of a libel claim. I asked for an "I apologize because I said false, damaging, and unfounded things, and here they are." — Daniel Dale (@ddale8) December 17, 2013 A difficult year The lawsuit is just the latest challenge Ford has faced during an extraordinary year at city hall. Earlier this year, the Star and the U.S.-based gossip website Gawker both reported that someone had been offering to sell a video that showed the mayor smoking crack cocaine. Ford denied both the video’s existence and using crack cocaine — though his denials did nothing to quell interest in the story from media around the world. On the last day of October, Toronto police Chief Bill Blair publicly revealed that his investigators had obtained a video file from a hard drive that was consistent with what the media had reported. Within days, Ford publicly admitted to having smoked crack cocaine. During the same month, Ford also found himself answering questions about a bizarre video that surfaced showing him ranting and swearing. In the wake of Ford's many apologies and admissions, council moved to strip the mayor of a number of powers. Toronto city council met to discuss water rates and rules with the integrity commissioner on Tuesday, but instead, all eyes were on the controversial mayor as he stood twice to apologize, danced in the chamber, argued with a councillor and received a personal visit from Santa Claus in his office. After Mayor Rob Ford’s powers were reduced last month as a result of his drug and alcohol admissions, this week’s resumption of city council was expected to mark the return to normalcy. But instead, Tuesday’s meeting experienced one disruption after another involving the sidelined mayor – prompting one councillor to describe it as “the greatest show on Earth.” Mr. Ford’s apologies on the council floor came early – first to fellow councillors for calling them “corrupt” the day before, and then a surprise apology to Toronto Star reporter Daniel Dale for implying in a televised interview with Conrad Black that he might be a pedophile.
So this is fantastic. "That is a very rare thing," she said. Many people have campaigned for years to win a pardon for Turing. "He's been dead these many years so what's the point? Chris Grayling, the Justice Secretary, said: “Dr Alan Turing was an exceptional man with a brilliant mind. His brilliance was put into practice at Bletchley Park during the second world war, where he was pivotal to breaking the Enigma code, helping to end the war and save thousands of lives. She told the BBC that she hoped all the men convicted under the anti-homosexuality law would now be pardoned. The pardon was granted under the Royal Prerogative of Mercy after a request by Justice Minister Chris Grayling. It addresses his 1952 conviction for gross indecency following which he was chemically castrated. He also contributed some more fundamental work on codebreaking that was only released to public scrutiny in April 2012. "Dr Turing deserves to be remembered and recognised for his fantastic contribution to the war effort and his legacy to science. Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Computer pioneer and codebreaker Alan Turing has been given a posthumous royal pardon, as Danny Shaw reports Computer pioneer and codebreaker Alan Turing has been given a posthumous royal pardon. Last year ministers rejected a motion which would have helped to clear the way for Mr Turing to be granted Parliamentary Pardon because Mr Turing was "properly convicted of what at the time was a criminal offence". It has recognised a very great British hero and made some amends for the cruelty and injustice with which Turing was treated.
Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Computer pioneer and codebreaker Alan Turing has been given a posthumous royal pardon, as Danny Shaw reports Computer pioneer and codebreaker Alan Turing has been given a posthumous royal pardon. It addresses his 1952 conviction for gross indecency following which he was chemically castrated. He had been arrested after having an affair with a 19-year-old Manchester man. The pardon was granted under the Royal Prerogative of Mercy after a request by Justice Minister Chris Grayling. 'Appalling' treatment "Dr Alan Turing was an exceptional man with a brilliant mind," said Mr Grayling. He said the research Turing carried out during the war at Bletchley Park undoubtedly shortened the conflict and saved thousands of lives. Turing centenary Image copyright Kings College Cambridge 2012 saw a series of events that celebrated the life and work of Alan Turing. The events were held to mark the 100th anniversary of his birth Celebrating Turing Turing's work helped accelerate Allied efforts to read German Naval messages enciphered with the Enigma machine. He also contributed some more fundamental work on codebreaking that was only released to public scrutiny in April 2012. "His later life was overshadowed by his conviction for homosexual activity, a sentence we would now consider unjust and discriminatory and which has now been repealed," said Mr Grayling. "Turing deserves to be remembered and recognised for his fantastic contribution to the war effort and his legacy to science. A pardon from the Queen is a fitting tribute to an exceptional man." Turing died in June 1954 from cyanide poisoning and an inquest decided that he had committed suicide. However, biographers, friends and other students of his life dispute the finding and suggest his death was an accident. Many people have campaigned for years to win a pardon for Turing. Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Author Barry Cooper: Turing "created blueprint for computer" Dr Sue Black, a computer scientist, was one of the key figures in the campaign. She told the BBC that she hoped all the men convicted under the anti-homosexuality law would now be pardoned. "This is one small step on the way to making some real positive change happen to all the people that were convicted," she said. "It's a disgrace that so many people were treated so disrespectfully." Some have criticised the action for not going far enough and, 59 years after Turing's death, little more than a token gesture. "I just think it's ridiculous, frankly," British home computing pioneer Sir Clive Sinclair told the BBC. "He's been dead these many years so what's the point? 'It's very wrong' Lord Sharkey, a Liberal Democrat peer who wrote a private member's bill calling for a royal pardon in July 2012, said the decision was "wonderful news". Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Turing memorial sculptor Glyn Hughes: "What about all the other thousands of gay men who were prosecuted?" "The royal pardon for Alan Turing rights a long-standing wrong and properly honours a man whose imagination and intellect made him legendary in our field," he told the BBC. Technology entrepreneur Mike Lynch added: "Society didn't understand Alan Turing or his ideas on many levels but that was a reflection on us, not on him - and it has taken us 60 years to catch up." Human rights campaigner Peter Tatchell said: "I pay tribute to the government for ensuring Alan Turing has a royal pardon at last but I do think it's very wrong that other men convicted of exactly the same offence are not even being given an apology, let alone a royal pardon. "We're talking about at least 50,000 other men who were convicted of the same offence, of so-called gross indecency, which is simply a sexual act between men with consent." Big screen Turing's life is the subject of upcoming Hollywood movie The Imitation Game, which focuses on the cracking of the Enigma code. And during the 2012 celebrations of the centenary of Turing's birth, a Welsh digital arts festival - the Abandon Normal Devices (AND) Festival - featured a laser image of Turing projected from Conwy Castle into the sky. "The problem is, of course, if there was a general pardon for men who had been prosecuted for homosexuality, many of them are still alive and they could get compensation." It received more than 34,000 signatures but its request was denied by the then justice secretary, Lord McNally, who said Turing was "properly convicted" for what was at the time a criminal offence. It won an official apology from the prime minister at the time, Gordon Brown, who said the way Turing was persecuted over his homosexuality was "appalling". Mathematician lost his job and was given experimental 'chemical castration' after being convicted for homosexual activity in 1952 Alan Turing, the second world war codebreaker who took his own life after undergoing chemical castration following a conviction for homosexual activity, has been granted a posthumous royal pardon 59 years after his death. The brilliant mathematician, who played a major role in breaking the Enigma code – which arguably shortened the war by at least two years – has been granted a pardon under the Royal Prerogative of Mercy by the Queen, following a request from the justice secretary, Chris Grayling. Turing was considered to be the father of modern computer science and was most famous for his work in helping to create the "bombe" that cracked messages enciphered with the German Enigma machines.
Topics: community-and-society, immigration, refugees, australia He won’t speak to me anymore." "It's designed to make it difficult for the media to access Nauru and to get information back to Australia. Jamal Rifi, a member of the council advising the Federal Government on asylum seekers, visited both islands at the weekend to meet with more than 60 Lebanese asylum seekers. "In Pakistan the people kill Hazara," Mr Nasiry said. First posted Return to Lebanon 'the right outcome for some' Dr Rifi says going back to Lebanon may be the right outcome for some of the asylum seekers. Nauru media visa fee hike to 'cover up harsh conditions at Australian tax-payer funded detention centre' Updated A huge hike in journalists' visa fees for Nauru is designed to cover up how Australian taxpayers' money is being spent on the "cruel" detention centre there, the Greens say. Mr Nasiry had already applied for an orphan-relative visa to bring his three brothers to Australia and had expected the application to take up to a year to be processed. Mr Morrison says anyone who arrives by boat will go to the back of the queue when applying for family reunion visas. "It is an alarming trend, and this [Nauruan] government since they've come in has slowly shown its true colours - they are not interested in true accountability; they are not interested in true transparency. According to the UNHCR, Lebanon is currently home to more than 800,000 registered Syrian refugees. A spokeswoman for Nauru's government has told the ABC the cost of a single-entry media visa is due to rise from $200 to $8,000.
Hazara refugee fears for brothers' lives after family reunion applications pushed to back of queue Updated A Hazara refugee says he fears for the lives of his young brothers in Pakistan after hearing it could be 10 years before they can join him in Australia. After his father was killed by the Taliban, Mr Nasiry came to Australia by boat in 2011 and has since been granted a permanent visa. Ten months ago his wife and mother were both killed in a market bombing by the Taliban in Quetta, Pakistan. Now, his three younger brothers - aged 13, 11 and 9 - are alone in Pakistan. "In Pakistan the people kill Hazara," Mr Nasiry said. His fears come as the Federal Government moves to make it harder for refugees who arrived by boat and are now living in Australia to be reunited with their families. Mr Morrison says anyone who arrives by boat will go to the back of the queue when applying for family reunion visas. The changes are backdated, which means they will affect people already living in Australia from as far back as 2001. Mr Nasiry had already applied for an orphan-relative visa to bring his three brothers to Australia and had expected the application to take up to a year to be processed. But his hopes of bringing his brothers to Australia have been dashed by news it could take up to 10 years for the application to be processed under the Government's changes. "The youngest brother cries all the time when I talk to him. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Tony Abbott has again defended the Government's stance on border protection, saying he is happy to cop criticism if it means stopping asylum seeker boats. On Wednesday, Labor accused the Government of running a "Stalinist" and "North Korean"-style media blackout after refusing to comment on reports Australia will buy 16 lifeboats to ferry asylum seekers back to Indonesia. Their call for an end to the secrecy follows comments from two men who say they were on board the boats that were towed back and claim to have been mistreated by the Navy. Nauru media visa fee hike to 'cover up harsh conditions at Australian tax-payer funded detention centre' Updated A huge hike in journalists' visa fees for Nauru is designed to cover up how Australian taxpayers' money is being spent on the "cruel" detention centre there, the Greens say. A spokeswoman for Nauru's government has told the ABC the cost of a single-entry media visa is due to rise from $200 to $8,000. Hundreds of asylum seekers who have arrived in Australian waters by boat are held at a detention centre on the island, and the Greens say the sudden price rise is an attempt to cover up what is happening there. "This is of course part of Tony Abbott's strategy to shut down public information about how Australian taxpayer money is being spent on the cruel and harsh detention camps on Nauru," Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young said. "It's designed to make it difficult for the media to access Nauru and to get information back to Australia. "This is just more fuel to the fire of Tony Abbott's media blackout strategy rather than anything to do with what is best for humanitarian needs of refugees." Only three or four media visas were granted last year, according to Nauru's top visa officer Ernest Stephen, who spoke to current affairs website The Global Mail. The site also reported that there was a notable increase in the issuing of media visas in the weeks after the former Labor government reintroduced offshore processing for asylum seekers in September. A damning United Nations report into conditions on Nauru, released in November, found asylum seekers lived in harsh conditions with little privacy and limited services for those suffering from trauma and the effects of torture. Lebanese asylum seekers in detention on Nauru and Manus Island consider returning home voluntarily Posted The majority of Lebanese asylum seekers being detained on Manus Island and Nauru are expected to choose to return home, according to a community leader who has visited the islands. Jamal Rifi, a member of the council advising the Federal Government on asylum seekers, visited both islands at the weekend to meet with more than 60 Lebanese asylum seekers. "At the same time they were shocked by the conditions of the detention centres and the majority of them, I can tell you, they have near death experiences crossing the ocean."
And there was worse too. But he remained, and prospered, in the Israeli government. And it is true that Sharon had fought in all of Israel's five wars. Political Career 1973 : Elected Knesset member for Likud : Elected Knesset member for Likud 1975-77 : Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin's special security adviser : Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin's special security adviser 1977-81 : Minister of Agriculture : Minister of Agriculture 1981-83 : Minister of Defence : Minister of Defence 1984-90 : Minister of Trade and Industry : Minister of Trade and Industry 1990-92 : Minister of Construction and Housing : Minister of Construction and Housing 1996-98 : Minister of National Infrastructure : Minister of National Infrastructure 1998-99 : Foreign Minister : Foreign Minister 2001-2006 : Prime Minister : Prime Minister 2005: Left Likud to found Kadima He was minister of defence when Israel invaded Lebanon in 1982. He called it "an undecided war". Image copyright AFP Ariel Sharon's life was intimately entwined with the life of the country he loved from the moment of its birth. But the West Bank barrier - built on occupied land - was unacceptable to the international community. President Shimon Peres said he had built Israel but a senior Palestinian said his path was war and aggression. Sweets were handed out in Gaza as Palestinians celebrated the news. What this would have achieved will now never be known. It led to a massacre of civilians carried out by Christian Phalangist militia in Beirut's Sabra and Shatila refugee camps. Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Jeremy Bowen looks back at Ariel Sharon's political and military career Former Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has died aged 85 after spending eight years in a coma following a stroke.
Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Jeremy Bowen looks back at Ariel Sharon's political and military career Former Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has died aged 85 after spending eight years in a coma following a stroke. He was a giant of Israel's military and political scene, but courted controversy throughout his long career. The head of the Sheba Medical Centre near Tel Aviv said Mr Sharon had died on Saturday afternoon of heart failure. At the hospital Journalists have been camped out at this hospital in central Israel since the start of the month when doctors indicated that the health of the former prime minister had deteriorated. His family - including his two sons, Gilad and Omri - has been here at his bedside and police tried to keep photographers away from them. After regular news updates in which we were told the 85-year-old was "fighting like a lion", the hospital spokesman called an unexpected briefing at lunch-time on Shabbat - the Jewish Sabbath - when much of the country is closed down. The former leader was cared for here for most of the past eight years - during which time he was considered to be in a state of minimal consciousness. His body has now been removed from the hospital. A ministerial committee is deciding on plans for him to lie in state before he is buried at his ranch in the Negev. World reaction to Sharon's death In quotes: Ariel Sharon Ariel Sharon's mark on history Life in pictures Mr Peres, who joined a unity government with Mr Sharon in 2001, said he was "an exceptional man and an exceptional commander who moved his people and loved them and the people loved him". Palestinian political figure Mustafa Barghouti said while no-one should gloat at his death, Mr Sharon had taken "a path of war and aggression" and had left "no good memories with Palestinians". President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama spoke of a leader "who dedicated his life to the State of Israel". The BBC's Middle East editor Jeremy Bowen said he had shaped the current state of the West Bank and Israel's relations with the Palestinians more than any other Israeli politician in recent years. Ariel Sharon fought in Israel's war of independence in 1948, and from that point until he slipped into a coma in 2006 it seemed there was hardly a moment of national drama in which he did not play a role, our correspondent says. Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Prof Shlomo Noy: "Today his heart weakened and he peacefully departed" Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Dennis Ross, ex-US envoy to Mid-East: 'One of Israel's giants has passed' "Over the past week he struggled with surprising strength and determination against the deterioration in his condition. One of his two sons, Gilad Sharon, said outside the hospital: "He has gone. He later visited his mother's grave. He had been in a persistent vegetative state since a stroke in 2006 and Professor Noy said he had suffered "ups and downs" throughout that period. Ariel Sharon died during the Jewish Sabbath and the BBC's Yolande Knell said a ministerial committee would meet in the coming hours to decide what steps to take. Mr Sharon's body will lie in state at Israel's parliament, the Knesset, on Sunday before a big state funeral ceremony is held there on Monday morning. A few hours later he will be buried in a private ceremony at his ranch in the Negev desert. Image copyright Getty Images Image caption After the 1973 war, Ariel Sharon (seen here with Shimon Peres) became a government defence adviser Image copyright AP Image caption As defence minister, he supervised the invasion of Lebanon in 1982 As prime minister, Mr Sharon presided over some of the most turbulent times in Israeli-Palestinian history, a Palestinian uprising that erupted in 2000 and a subsequent tough Israeli military response. Known as Arik, Mr Sharon entered politics after the 1973 war but he became defence minister in 1981 and took charge of the invasion of Lebanon the following year, in an attempt to remove Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) fighters who had carried out attacks across Israel's northern border. UK Prime Minister David Cameron said Israel had lost "one of the most significant figures" in its history while French President Francois Hollande said after a long military career Mr Sharon had "taken the choice to turn to dialogue with the Palestinians". Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Ariel Sharon's son Gilad visited his mother's grave, where his father is also expected to be buried Image copyright Reuters Image caption Ariel Sharon's death was celebrated in the Gaza Strip Ex-US President Bill Clinton and his wife Hillary, a former secretary of state, said he "gave his life to Israel" and it was an honour to "work with him, argue with him and watch him always trying to find the right path for his beloved country". Danny Ayalon, a former Israeli ambassador to the US under Ariel Sharon, said the late prime minister's decision to pull out of Gaza in 2005 had changed the political landscape and he was prepared to take creative steps towards a solution with the Palestinians. But Hamas, Gaza's Islamist militant rulers since 2007, condemned him as a tyrant and said his death marked the "disappearance of a criminal whose hands were covered with Palestinian blood". He was always a controversial figure in Israeli politics - certainly not universally loved - but in mourning his passing, Israelis are marking the loss of one of the few public figures left whose career stretched back to the earliest days of their state. Ariel Sharon's roots were in the world of Zionist pioneering zeal - he was born between the two world wars in Palestine when it was under British control - to a Jewish couple who had fled to the Holy Land from Belarus. Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Sharon was admired among Israelis for his military exploits His reputation as an uncompromising and unapologetic defender of his country's interests dates back to his military career. He was still a teenager when he fought in the war of 1948 and in his autobiography, fittingly called Warrior, he described intense fighting against soldiers from the Jordanian Arab Legion for control of a crucial police fort on the road between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. He helped set up Unit 101 - a commando detachment whose job was to conduct reprisal operations across the border in Arab territories to retaliate for attacks against Israel.
{* /registrationForm *} Such compromise, though, looks difficult elsewhere. Mehdi Jomaa, Tunisia's prime minister, has named a new caretaker cabinet to govern the country until elections. "All these political wrangling seems to be over for now," she said. The assassination of two opposition leaders by Islamist militants last year, though, pitched the small North African country into crisis with the ruling moderate Islamist party, Ennahda, under pressure to step down. Check your email for your verification email, or enter your email address in the form below to resend the email. "This constitution was the dream of Tunisians, this constitution is proof of the revival of the revolution, this constitution creates a democratic civil nation," Assembly chief Mustapha Ben Jaafar said. One of the most secular countries in the Arab World, Tunisia struggled after its 2011 revolt with divisions over the role of Islam and the rise of ultra-conservative Salafists, who secularists feared would try to roll back liberal rights. The new government will have to tackle demands from international lenders to cut public spending and curb the budget deficit without triggering protests over social welfare. Its progress stand in contrast to turmoil in Libya, Egypt and Yemen which also toppled leaders in 2011 uprisings. Source: Al Jazeera and agencies Armed groups tied to al-Qaeda operations in North Africa are also an increasing threat for a country that relies heavily on European tourism and overseas remittances for its hard-currency income. Please confirm the information below before signing in. Hakim Ben Hammouda, an economist with experience at the African Development Bank, was named finance minister and Mongi Hamdi, a former U.N. official, foreign minister.
With your existing account from... {* loginWidget *} Your account has been deactivated. You must verify your email address before signing in. Check your email for your verification email, or enter your email address in the form below to resend the email. {* #socialRegistrationForm *} {* firstName *} {* lastName *} {* emailAddress *} {* displayName *} {* phone *} {* addressCity *} {* addressCountry *} By clicking "Create Account", you confirm that you accept our terms of service and have read and understand privacy policy . Sign In {* #registrationForm *} {* firstName *} {* lastName *} {* emailAddress *} {* displayName *} {* phone *} {* addressCity *} {* addressCountry *} {* newPassword *} {* newPasswordConfirm *} By clicking "Create Account", you confirm that you accept our terms of service and have read and understand privacy policy . Tunisian President Moncef Marzouki (L) shakes hands with Tunisia's Prime Minister-designate Mehdi Jomaa after Jomaa spoke during a news conference in Tunis January 26, 2014. REUTERS/Zoubeir Souissi TUNIS Tunisia's national assembly approved the country's new constitution on Sunday in one of the last steps to establishing full democracy three years after the uprising that toppled autocrat Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali. Just before the constitution vote, Prime Minister Mehdi Jomaa appointed a caretaker cabinet as part of a deal to end a crisis between Tunisia's Islamist party and its secular opposition until new elections this year. Tunisia's new constitution and progress contrasts sharply with messy transitions in Libya, Egypt and Yemen which are still caught up in turmoil after ousting their own long-standing leaders in 2011 revolts and uprisings. After the historic vote, the red and white Tunisian flag was unfurled and assembly deputies embraced, danced and sang inside the chamber in Tunis to celebrate the charter, which has been widely praised for its inclusiveness. "This constitution was the dream of Tunisians, this constitution is proof of the revival of the revolution, this constitution creates a democratic civil nation," Assembly chief Mustapha Ben Jaafar said. While the new constitution recognizes Islam as the country's religion, it also enshrines freedom of conscience and belief, and equality between the sexes. As one of the most secular nations in the Arab world, Tunisia has struggled since the revolt, with divisions over the role of Islam and the rise of ultra-conservative Salafists, who secularists feared would try to roll back liberal rights. The assassination of two opposition leaders by Islamist militants last year, though, pitched the small North African country into crisis with the ruling moderate Islamist party, Ennahda, under pressure to step down. Opposition leaders blamed Ennahda for going easy on hardline Islamists who promoted the idea of Islamic state based on strict sharia law. After the vote, in what many saw a symbol of compromise, Mongi Rahoui, a deputy from the assassinated leaders' party, embraced Habib Louz, an Ennahda hardliner. "With this, Tunisia should be a model for the region," Ennahda chief Rached Ghannouchi said of the charter. Two years after Muammar Gaddafi was toppled, Libya's congress is deadlocked between Islamists and a nationalist party over the route for transition, a constitution is still undrafted, and former militia fighters run amok. Egypt's own elected Islamist president, Mohamed Mursi, has been deposed by the army and jailed and his Muslim Brotherhood declared a terrorist organization. Mehdi Jomaa, an engineer and former minister appointed as premier in December, on Sunday named his cabinet with key posts given to technocrats with international experience. Jomaa's new cabinet will have to tackle demands from international lenders to cut public spending and curb the budget deficit without triggering protests over social welfare.
Marriage is about love, and that has always been at the heart of this issue." But the Scottish Catholic Church and Church of Scotland oppose the move, and have said they have no plans to conduct same-sex marriages. The first gay and lesbian weddings could take place this autumn. Religious and belief bodies can "opt in" to perform same-sex marriages. MSPs voted by 105 to 18 in favour of the Marriage and Civil Partnership (Scotland) Bill. Alex Neil - Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing "This is a historic moment for equality in Scotland. I am proud that the Scottish Parliament has taken this progressive and hugely important decision in favour of equal rights in our country. Ministers said no part of the religious community would be forced to hold such ceremonies in churches. Mr Mason tabled further amendments, including one calling for recognition that "a belief in marriage as a voluntary union between one man and one woman to the exclusion of all others for life is a belief worthy of respect in a democratic society". Image copyright Reuters A change in the law that will allow same-sex couples in Scotland to marry has been approved in a "historic" vote at Holyrood. The Scottish government's marriage bill was brought forward after a government consultation, which produced a record 77,508 responses. The first in England and Wales are due to take place this March. We're delighted that MSPs have overwhelmingly demonstrated that they're committed to building a Scotland fit for the 21st century. This is a profoundly emotional moment for many people who grew up in a country where being gay was still a criminal offence until 1980.
Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption MSPs applauded after plans to allow same-sex marriages passed by 105 votes to 18 A bill which allows same-sex weddings to take place in Scotland has been passed by MSPs in the Scottish Parliament. The Scottish government said the move was the right thing to do but Scotland's two main churches were opposed to it. The first gay and lesbian weddings could take place this autumn. Religious and belief bodies can "opt in" to perform same-sex marriages. Image copyright PA Image caption Equal Marriage campaigners gathered outside the Scottish Parliament During a debate at Holyrood, MSPs rejected amendments which were said to provide "protection" for groups and individuals opposed to same-sex marriage. The SNP's John Mason tabled an amendment stating that no-one could be "compelled by any means" to solemnise gay marriage, including by a contract or a legal requirement. Analysis Gay and lesbian couples are allowed to marry in sixteen countries around the world. That includes England & Wales where the first same-sex weddings are due to take place at the end of March. In Scotland, the government says it wants ceremonies to become available "as soon as possible". The BBC understands that it will be October - at the earliest - before this happens. By the end of 2014, Northern Ireland is expected to be the only part of the UK that does not allow same-sex marriage. Critics fear the Scottish legislation could lead to those with a traditional view of marriage facing discrimination. It has yet to decide whether or not to open civil partnerships to mixed sex couples. Mr Mason said that this was similar to a measure included in the bill passed by the UK Parliament allowing same-sex marriage in England and Wales. Health Secretary Alex Neil insisted there were "robust protections for religious bodies and celebrants" in the bill and the amendment was unnecessary. Mr Mason tabled further amendments, including one calling for recognition that "a belief in marriage as a voluntary union between one man and one woman to the exclusion of all others for life is a belief worthy of respect in a democratic society". He said: "This has been the prevailing view in Scotland for centuries, and may now be considered a minority view or even old fashioned, but it is an integral tenet of faith for many Christians, Muslims and others as well as the belief of many of no faith position at all." Mr Mason added: "We have seen volunteers in the third sector removed from the board for publicly supporting traditional marriage." The first same-sex weddings in England and Wales will take place from 29 March, in the wake of legislation already passed by the Westminster parliament. In Scotland, same-sex couples currently have the option to enter into civil partnerships, but SNP ministers brought forward their Marriage and Civil Partnership Bill, saying the move was an important step for equality. MSPs were allowed a free vote, rather than along party lines. 'Not far enough' Mr Neil said passing the bill meant "a historic day in the history of the Scottish Parliament", which received the front-bench backing of Labour's Jackie Baillie and Conservative Jackson Carlaw. Gay rights organisations, including the Equality Network and Stonewall Scotland, and a range of other groups, have supported the legislation. And the campaign group Scotland for Marriage said the safeguards in the bill did not go far enough. Image copyright PA Image caption Those against the move to introduce gay marriage protested outside Holyrood Key measures in the Scottish government's bill include: Religious and belief bodies opt in to perform same-sex marriage. Civil marriage ceremonies can take place anywhere agreed by the registrar and the couple, other than religious premises. Establishing belief ceremonies, such as humanist ceremonies as a "third form of marriage", alongside religious and civil events. Authorising Church of Scotland deacons to solemnise opposite sex marriage. Possible tests for religious and belief bodies to meet when solemnising marriages or registering civil partnerships, in light of increasing concerns over sham and forced marriages. Provision making it clear that the introduction of same-sex marriage has no impact on existing rights to freedom of speech and that it is possible to oppose same-sex marriage "without being homophobic". The Church of Scotland - whose ruling General Assembly last year voted to allow actively gay men and women to become ministers - has said the institution stood against homophobia, but added that the "wide spread of opinion" on gay marriage was reflected among members of congregations across the country. Westminster's Marriage Act which became law last July, will allow religious organisations to "opt in" to offering weddings, with the Church of England and Church in Wales banned in law from doing so. The Scottish government's marriage bill was brought forward after a government consultation, which produced a record 77,508 responses. Image copyright Reuters A change in the law that will allow same-sex couples in Scotland to marry has been approved in a "historic" vote at Holyrood. The Scottish Parliament overwhelmingly voted in favour of legislation that will permit gay marriages - with the first such ceremonies now expected to take place before the end of this year.
An aerial view shows waves which break against a Spanish cargo ship carrying fertiliser, broken in two, off the beach in Anglet on the Atlantic Coast of France, February 5, 2014. Image copyright AFP Image caption The ship hit the breakwater after engine failure Image copyright AFP Image caption It ended up in two pieces, one either side of the breakwater Image copyright AFP Image caption The larger part remained stuck on the rocks "For the moment the pollution is limited," he told Reuters. All 12 crew members were winched to safety by helicopter, one at a time. The Luno had suffered engine problems before the incident, Espilondo said. Local authorities have raised a pollution warning after fuel from the ship contaminated water near the shore. (Reporting by Claude Cannellas; Writing by Brian Love; Editing by Alison Williams and Mark John) REUTERS/Regis Duvignau ANGLET, France A Spanish cargo ship broke in two on Wednesday after hitting a sea wall off the south-western coast of France in high winds and was leaking some fuel into the water, French officials said. One person suffered a nose injury. However the government said initial fears that the ship was loaded with fertilisers were unfounded. Attempts to rescue crew members on board proved to be difficult after recent storms affecting the South west coast of France had made the conditions tough. As the wreck leaked fuel oil, a maritime pollution alert was declared. "It was an empty freight ship," Transport Minister Frederic Cuvillier told BFM-TV television. The 100m vessel, named "The Luno", crashed into a breakwater on the coast of Anglet after its engine failed, causing the ship to split in two as it collided.
Twelve people have had to be rescued from a Spanish cargo ship after it collided with a breakwater off the French coast. The 100m vessel, named "The Luno", crashed into a breakwater on the coast of Anglet after its engine failed, causing the ship to split in two as it collided. The ship, believed to be carrying fertiliser, had initially been heading to a nearby port to load up cargo before the crash occurred. Attempts to rescue crew members on board proved to be difficult after recent storms affecting the South west coast of France had made the conditions tough. However, a lifeguard on board managed to help crew members to safety before being airlifted away by helicopter. It has been reported that none of the crew members were seriously hurt, although one person was treated after suffering a nose injury. An eyewitness told BBC News that he thought the rescue operation was "brave considering the state of the sea". He said: "When I arrived the vessel was anchored facing the sea wall. Local authorities have raised a pollution warning after fuel from the ship contaminated water near the shore. From the section Image copyright AP Image caption Crew members were winched to safety one by one France has raised a pollution alert after an empty Spanish cargo ship split in half on a breakwater near Bayonne on the Atlantic coast. Drifting after its engine failed, the Luno crashed into the breakwater at Anglet, snapping neatly in two, with one half either side of the rocks. All 12 crew members were winched to safety by helicopter, one at a time. As the wreck leaked fuel oil, a maritime pollution alert was declared. Image copyright AFP Image caption The ship hit the breakwater after engine failure Image copyright AFP Image caption It ended up in two pieces, one either side of the breakwater Image copyright AFP Image caption The larger part remained stuck on the rocks An aerial view shows waves which break against a Spanish cargo ship carrying fertiliser, broken in two, off the beach in Anglet on the Atlantic Coast of France, February 5, 2014. REUTERS/Regis Duvignau An aerial view shows waves which break against a Spanish cargo ship carrying fertiliser, broken in two, off the beach in Anglet on the Atlantic Coast of France, February 5, 2014. REUTERS/Regis Duvignau An aerial view shows waves which break against a Spanish cargo ship carrying fertiliser, broken in two, off the beach in Anglet on the Atlantic Coast of France, February 5, 2014. REUTERS/Regis Duvignau An aerial view shows waves breaking against a Spanish cargo ship carrying fertiliser, broken in two, off the beach in Anglet on the Atlantic Coast of France, February 5, 2014. REUTERS/Regis Duvignau An aerial view shows waves breaking against a Spanish cargo ship carrying fertiliser, broken in two, off the beach in Anglet on the Atlantic Coast of France, February 5, 2014. REUTERS/Regis Duvignau ANGLET, France A Spanish cargo ship broke in two on Wednesday after hitting a sea wall off the south-western coast of France in high winds and was leaking some fuel into the water, French officials said. Two helicopters lifted a dozen crew members to safety, said Jean Espilondo, the mayor of Anglet, a town near the French border with Spain that is close to the scene of the incident.
Rain is expected for the South. The agency warned people to stay away from coastal areas, and also issued severe flood warnings for Hampshire, the Thames Valley, Dorset, Devon and Gloucestershire. Train services in Wales have also been hit by the floods. The catalogue of closed roads due to flooding stretched across the country. Another landslip, at Oxted in Surrey was affecting trains running between East Grinstead/Uckfield in West Sussex and London's Victoria and London Bridge stations, with no trains able to operate between between Woldingham and Oxted. Wednesday: a fairly cloudy start but with more dry weather throughout the day, with some light winds and showers. "In places like Hambledon (Hants) and the North Downs we have unprecedented levels of groundwater. Male passenger of cruise ship dies after massive wave hits craft and woman killed after part of London building collapses on car Two people died in separate incidents on Friday as storms continued to batter the UK. Forecasters said Saturday’s storm could be the last of the seemingly endless cycle that have battered the country in recent weeks, and next week is expected to return to “normal winter weather”. If it rains in the Cotswolds today, that water will not arrive in Staines until Tuesday or Wednesday. div class='videoPlayer'> As half term begins this weekend, rail passengers in Kent were advised not to travel before 11am because of weather-related disruption, while trains between London and Reading remain affected by flooding at Maidenhead. The line between Exeter St Davids and Newton Abbot is not expected to reopen until March 18 at the earliest. London has followed the south-west of England and the Thames Valley – as well as other parts of Britain – in experiencing storms, with heavy winds in the capital on Friday night and in the early hours of Saturday.
Male passenger of cruise ship dies after massive wave hits craft and woman killed after part of London building collapses on car Two people died in separate incidents on Friday as storms continued to batter the UK. One woman was killed and a man was taken to hospital after the front of a building in central London collapsed on their car, police said. And, in the Channel, an 85-year-old man died after being airlifted from a cruise ship that was hit by a massive wave. Several other passengers were also injured in the incident, including a woman in her 70s. The man injured in London was said to be in a stable condition following the incident, which happened close to Holborn tube station just after 11pm on Friday. Police released a photograph of the damaged vehicle and asked people to stay away from the area in the early hours of Saturday. London has followed the south-west of England and the Thames Valley – as well as other parts of Britain – in experiencing storms, with heavy winds in the capital on Friday night and in the early hours of Saturday. Cruise & Maritime Voyages (CMV), which operates the liner, said on Friday: "CMV regrets to advise that earlier today their cruise ship, MS Marco Polo, en route to her home port of Tilbury from the Azores, was hit by a freak wave during adverse sea conditions in the south-western approaches of the Channel. "One elderly passenger has died and a further passenger has been airlifted for further shore-side medical assistance. "The vessel sailed from Tilbury on 5 January and is carrying 735 mainly British passengers and 349 crew. "Our thoughts are very much with these passengers and their families during this difficult time." With two inches of rain expected in the South West, it may be another week before the knock-on effects are felt downstream in major rivers, while overflowing groundwater levels will mean the water may not drain away until the spring. Up to 3,000 homes could flood in the Thames Valley this weekend, with 24 “danger to life” severe flood warnings in place, up from 17 the previous day. Meanwhile the Environment Agency became embroiled in a political row with David Cameron after the Prime Minister said 550 jobs that were due to be cut from the agency were safe, only for the Agency to say the redundancies might go ahead once the flooding crisis was over. Storms hit the west of England and Wales yet again yesterday, with up to 2in of rain and 80mph winds causing further flooding in Somerset and the Thames Valley. The Met Office predicted a return to the worst of the winter weather today with almost every part of the UK experiencing downpours, winds or snow, much of it falling on already-saturated ground. Forecasters said Saturday’s storm could be the last of the seemingly endless cycle that have battered the country in recent weeks, and next week is expected to return to “normal winter weather”. But Pete Fox, head of strategy at the Environment Agency, said: "The headline is this flood event is not over. If it rains in the Cotswolds today, that water will not arrive in Staines until Tuesday or Wednesday. Those high levels are going to maintain for weeks and cause flood risk for weeks to come yet, into March and beyond." He added: “On the Thames, we have been advising that the number of properties we are expecting to flood is in the high hundreds, but because the flood plain is so wide a 20mm change in water levels make the difference between high hundreds and maybe two or three thousand.” The Environment Agency has issued a fresh severe weather warning due to “strong winds, tidal surge and large waves” from Lands End to Plymouth. The agency warned people to stay away from coastal areas, and also issued severe flood warnings for Hampshire, the Thames Valley, Dorset, Devon and Gloucestershire. div class='videoPlayer'> As half term begins this weekend, rail passengers in Kent were advised not to travel before 11am because of weather-related disruption, while trains between London and Reading remain affected by flooding at Maidenhead. Some 17,000 people were still without power in North Wales, 48 hours after storms with winds of up to 108mph. Tony Glover, director of policy at the Energy Networks Association, said: “It's a terrible situation...[we've had] a substation completely crushed by falling debris. The impact it had on the electricity networks has resulted in a level of devastation I don't think has ever been seen in the area.” The storms claimed another victim on Friday when Bob Thomas, 77, died in hospital after being hit by a falling tree in his garden in Caernarfon, Gwynedd, on Wednesday. Five-day weather forecast - more sunshine, less rain Saturday: a generally improving day, but still quite windy, with gusts of up to 80mph along the South Coast. The day is likely to start with frost, with outbreaks of rain due in the evening that will make for a wet start to the working week, with slippery road conditions.
They are now investigating the crash. At least 15 people, including 13 students and two teachers, have been killed after the bus they were travelling in crashed into a truck in eastern Thailand. Police officials said the students were between the ages of 10-14. Road accidents are common in Thailand, where safety standards are poor and road rules are rarely enforced. The bus had been carrying about 60 girls from a school in north-eastern Nakhon Ratchasima city for a daytrip in the seaside town of Pattaya. Dangerous roads Thailand's roads are among the most dangerous in the world. Police Lt Col Anukarn Thammavijarn said: "The bus's brakes may have failed or the driver might have fallen asleep." Last year more than 8,600 people died in accidents on Thai roads. Local media showed pictures of a row of bodies covered by sheets laid out by the side of the wreckage of the bus, whose top deck was crushed on one side. As it drove along a downhill road in the early morning darkness it slammed into an 18-wheeler truck that was in front of it, Anukarn said, then spun around and went over the shoulder. That compares with an average of 18.5 in Southeast Asia as a whole. A recent report by the World Health Organisation said the country saw some 38.1 road deaths per 100,000 people, behind only the Dominican Republic in the Caribbean and the South Pacific island of Niue. “But we’re not ruling out the possibility that the driver might have been asleep.” Another double-decker bus carrying male students from the same school was following the girls’ bus but not involved in the accident.
Thirteen students and two teachers killed after bus crashes into truck in eastern part of the country. At least 15 people, including 13 students and two teachers, have been killed after the bus they were travelling in crashed into a truck in eastern Thailand. Police Lieutenant Colonel Anukarn Thammavijarn said the bus lost control on Friday morning on a downhill road and slammed into the truck, which was in front of it. The bus was carrying students, aged 10 to 15, from their school in northeastern Nakhon Ratchasima city to the beachside town of Pattaya. Police are searching for the bus driver who fled and are investigating if the crash was caused by a problem with the brakes. Local media showed pictures of a row of bodies covered by sheets laid out by the side of the wreckage of the bus, whose top deck was crushed on one side. A recent report by the World Health Organisation said the country saw some 38.1 road deaths per 100,000 people, behind only the Dominican Republic in the Caribbean and the South Pacific island of Niue. Last year, road accidents left 8,600 people dead in Thailand. Image copyright AP Image caption The crash happened south-east of Bangkok, as students went on a field trip A bus crash in eastern Thailand has killed at least 15 people, including 13 students, Thai authorities say. The bus was travelling to the seaside town of Pattaya, about 150km (90 miles) south-east of Bangkok, when it crashed into a truck, police said. Police Lt Col Anukarn Thammavijarn said: "The bus's brakes may have failed or the driver might have fallen asleep." In December, 29 people died after a bus travelling through the northern province of Phetchabun plunged off Khun Pha Muang bridge. Total of 15 people die as double-decker bus taking students on daytrip collides with truck and crashes off side of road A double-decker tour bus carrying students on a school trip to the beach crashed Friday into a truck in eastern Thailand, killing 15 people and injuring more than 30 others, police said. The fatalities included 13 children, between the ages of 10 and 15, and two teachers, said police Lieutenant Colonel Anukarn Thammavijarn.
The 31-year-old, of Orton Goldhay in Peterborough, murdered Lukasz Slaboszewski, 31, Kevin Lee, 48, and John Chapman, 56, in March last year. The judge said Dennehy had a "psychopathic personality" and she had provoked a "strange fascination" among the men. That case was also heard in court two at the Old Bailey. Stretch was sentenced to life in prison and will serve a minimum of 19 years. Mr Justice Spencer told her she had murdered the three men in "cold blood". You have written to me saying you feel no remorse for the murders." The only other woman serving a whole-life sentence is Rose West. Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption The brother-in-law of victim Kevin Lee described Dennehy as a "monster" 'Eager to help' Stretch received his life term for the attempted murders of Robin Bereza and John Rogers in Hereford. Dennehy appeared in the dock with her accomplices Gary Stretch and Leslie Layton, who were convicted this month of offences related to her killing spree. The judge added: "The death and destruction you are responsible for has caused untold distress for the families of those killed and of those who survived." You are a cruel, calculating, selfish and manipulative serial killer." In Hindley's case, that was David Waddington; in Rosemary West's case, it was Jack Straw. She also admitted two counts of attempted murder and preventing the lawful and decent burial of one of her victims in an act of "final humiliation". She smiled and laughed at an earlier part of the hearing at the Old Bailey.
Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Dennehy was laughing in court ahead of sentencing, as Jo Black reports "Cruel, calculating and manipulative" triple killer Joanne Dennehy has been given a whole-life prison sentence. Dennehy, described by the judge at the Old Bailey as having a "sadistic lust for blood", is only the third woman to be handed such a term. Mr Justice Spencer also described the defendant as "a pathological liar". Image copyright Elizabeth Cook/PA Image caption Joanna Dennehy (right) stood in the dock with Gary Stretch (2nd left), Leslie Layton (5th left), Robert Moore (centre) and prison officers Killers Myra Hindley and Rosemary West are the only other women to be handed a whole-life tariff. One of Dennehy's accomplices, Gary Stretch, 47, has been jailed for life and will serve a minimum of 19 years. 'Killing was moreish' Dennehy had also admitted the attempted murders of two other men in Hereford. Mr Justice Spencer told her: "The death and destruction for which you are responsible has caused untold distress to the families of the men you murdered and to the men you attacked." He added that she told a psychiatrist: "I killed to see how I would feel, to see if I was as cold as I thought I was, then it got moreish." Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Ed Thomas meets those involved in the case As she was sentenced, Dennehy, who had been laughing during the earlier part of the hearing, showed no emotion and stood in the dock with her eyes closed. Mr Justice Spencer told her she had murdered the three men in "cold blood". Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption The brother-in-law of victim Kevin Lee described Dennehy as a "monster" 'Eager to help' Stretch received his life term for the attempted murders of Robin Bereza and John Rogers in Hereford. He and Dennehy's other accomplice, Leslie Layton, 37, were convicted of a number of charges of helping her, after a trial at Cambridge Crown Court earlier this month. Layton was jailed for a total of 14 years for preventing lawful and decent burial and perverting the course of justice. Following Dennehy's sentencing, Mr Slaboszewski's family said: "Lukasz was a sensitive person and was always eager to help others. His widow Christina was in court with their children Chiara, 25, and Dino, 15, and about 20 other family members in a show of solidarity. Afterwards they said in a statement: "We feel Joanne Dennehy brainwashed Kevin, causing him to make a bad decision, and he has paid for that with his life." A woman who went on a killing spree, murdering three men in 10 days, has been sentenced to spend the rest of her life in jail. She then drove 140 miles to Hereford where she attempted to murder two other men, John Rogers and Robin Bereza. Dennehy laughed in the dock as the judge said she was "a cruel, calculating, selfish and manipulative serial killer". Spencer said she had a "sadistic lust" for blood. Dennehy appeared in the dock with her accomplices Gary Stretch and Leslie Layton, who were convicted this month of offences related to her killing spree. The judge said Dennehy had a "psychopathic personality" and she had provoked a "strange fascination" among the men. The court heard that she had told a psychiatrist she killed to see if she was as "cold as I feel" and that spilling blood became "more-ish". The judge said Dennehy had written him a letter showing no remorse for the murders but claiming some for the attempted murders, which she blamed on "drunken cruelty" and "lack of respect for human life". Dennehy, a mother of two, was described as "evil" by Robin Bereza, one of the men she attempted to murder in Hereford. Dennehy is the second person to receive a whole life term this week, indeed the second since the court of appeal cleared any doubt that ordering people to be jailed until they die is lawful. She also admitted two counts of attempted murder and preventing the lawful and decent burial of one of her victims in an act of "final humiliation".
But we should. Too often, we cannot engage it directly. "But there's definitely apprehension here. About Sochi. In Kyiv, the Ukrainian capital, Yatsenyuk said there was no reason for Russia to invade Ukraine and warned that "we are on the brink of disaster." Canada should not be there. Russian forces have already bloodlessly seized Crimea — an isolated Black Sea peninsula where Moscow has a naval base. The opening ceremonies for the 2014 Paralympic Winter Games are scheduled for Friday. British athletes took part, despite domestic political pressure to stay away. Only days removed from his fawning reception at Canada House and other Olympic venues, Vladimir Putin has put Europe on course for a continental war. On Sunday, they surrounded several small Ukrainian military outposts there and demanded the Ukrainian troops disarm. He insists he's still president. NATO is trying to figure out how much blood (if any) a country without oil is worth. We have more right to enjoy the Olympics than the IOC does to screw them up. Follow her reports on CBC News Network during the day and each night on CBC's The National. It’s also necessary. We can’t take that back. That would be a far greater badge of courage than any medal. It said: "We want the story here to be the great festival of sport that has already taken place in Sochi and will continue now that athletes are arriving for the start of the Winter Paralympics." The White House said the U.S. will suspend participation in preparatory meetings for the Group of Eight economic summit planned.
David Cameron has instructed his ministers to stay away from the Sochi Paralympics because of escalating tensions between Russia and Ukraine, while several national Paralympic associations are discussing whether their athletes should still take part. After an announcement by the foreign secretary, William Hague, that the UK was withdrawing from preparatory talks before the G8 summit in Sochi, scheduled for June, Cameron tweeted: "Because of the serious situation in Ukraine, William JHague & I believe it would be wrong for UK ministers to attend the Sochi Paralympics." Following Cameron's announcement Buckingham Palace said Prince Edward had pulled out of the Paralympics on the advice of the government after Russia's decision to take military action in Ukraine. The prince is patron of the British Paralympic Association and was due to attend the Sochi Games for three days next week. Russia, meanwhile, got in a little retaliation against the west when its main television channel announced it would no longer show the Oscar ceremony. It said in a statement: "Due to the large amount of news concerning the situation in Crimea and the Ukraine and the audience's rising interest in news programmes, Channel One considers it impossible to air the Oscars ceremony for five hours, particularly in the morning." None of the 44 countries taking part in the 11th Winter Paralympics, which open on Friday, have yet hinted at withdrawal, but a number are monitoring the situation. The Russian venue, which has just finished hosting the Olympics, is less than 300 miles from Simferopol, Crimea's administrative capital, although there are no immediate security fears for the 700 participating athletes. However, should the situation escalate significantly in the next few days some Paralympic associations could come under political pressure to reconsider. A British Paralympic Association said there had as yet been no change of plan for its 15 athletes. A spokeswoman said: "We are clearly monitoring the events in Ukraine and continue to be in close contact with the Foreign Office, who are leading on security matters." In a statement on Saturday the International Paralympic Committee said it hoped to see Russia adhere to the Olympic truce, a tradition backed by a UN resolution that asks nations to cease hostilities during the Olympics and Paralympics. It said: "We want the story here to be the great festival of sport that has already taken place in Sochi and will continue now that athletes are arriving for the start of the Winter Paralympics." Russia experienced a lesser degree of political pressure over the Sochi Olympics, mainly connected to its law against disseminating gay "propaganda" to children and wider human rights issues. Britain was represented by the relatively lowly culture secretary, Maria Miller, rather than Cameron, seen as something of a snub since London had held the previous Games. Ukraine mobilized for war on Sunday and Washington threatened to isolate Russia economically, after President Vladimir Putin declared he had the right to invade his neighbour in Moscow's biggest confrontation with the West since the Cold War. "This is not a threat: this is actually the declaration of war to my country," Ukraine's Prime Minister Arseny Yatseniuk, head of a pro-Western government that took power when Russian ally Viktor Yanukovich fled last week, said in English. Putin secured permission from his parliament on Saturday to use military force to protect Russian citizens in Ukraine and told U.S. President Barack Obama he had the right to defend Russian interests and nationals, spurning Western pleas not to intervene. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry called Russia's military incursion into Ukraine "an incredible act of aggression." 'Dangerous course of actions' Canada's Foreign Minister John Baird condemned Russia's moves and called on Putin to stop his "provocative and dangerous course of actions," urging the Russian leader to withdraw his troops in the Crimea back to their bases. "Having the international community condemn as one this totally illegal invasion of a sovereign country will help send a signal even to the most obtuse regime like the Putin regime." In Kyiv, the Ukrainian capital, Yatsenyuk said there was no reason for Russia to invade Ukraine and warned that "we are on the brink of disaster." Armed men in uniforms without insignia have moved freely about the peninsula, occupying airports, smashing equipment at an air base and besieging a Ukrainian infantry base. "Ukraine is calling up all army reservists, getting this country combat ready," CBC News correspondent Susan Ormiston said, reporting from Crimea. "The city feels like it's still functioning. Ukrainian officials announced Sunday that the head of the country's Black Sea fleet has been removed and is under investigation for treason. Unidentified troops pulled up to the Ukrainian military base at Perevalne on the Crimean Peninsula in a convoy that included at least 13 trucks and four armoured vehicles with mounted machine guns. Standoff at Ukrainian military base A dozen Ukrainian soldiers placed a tank at the base's gate, leaving the two sides in a tense standoff. Ukraine's acting president, Oleksandr Turchynov, announced late Saturday that he had ordered Ukraine's armed forces to be at full readiness because of the threat of "potential aggression." Turchynov also said he had ordered stepped-up security at nuclear power plants, airports and other strategic infrastructure. Countries pulling out of pre-G8 meetings In Brussels, NATO's secretary general said Russia had violated the UN charter with its military action in Ukraine, and he urged Moscow to "de-escalate the tensions."
That is what he always did." Crow in Brighton, East Sussex, in 2007. "Bob fought tirelessly for his beliefs and for his members. Richard, whose father was also a trade union leader, said: "It's very sad. Mr Miliband said Mr Crow had been "a major figure in the Labour movement and was loved and deeply respected by his members". The only working-class people who still have well-paid jobs in London are his members." He became assistant general secretary of the RMT in 1991, before being elected leader in 2002. I wouldn't want to walk around in a grey suit and eat a cheese sandwich every lunchtime. Figures from across the political spectrum today paid tribute to the combative leader of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union Bob Crow after he died suddenly of a massive heart attack, aged 52. Just last month thousands of Tube passengers endured delays because of strike action over planned job cuts and ticket office closures. The mayor of London, Boris Johnson, said he had been shocked to learn of the death of "a fighter and a man of character". A former member of the Communist Party of Great Britain and the Socialist Labour party his hard left rhetoric was often criticised by those on the right and the centre left. "It was about 7am that I got the call (from my sister). "He was a passionate defender of and campaigner for safe, affordable public transport and was a lifelong anti-fascist activist. A spokesman for David Cameron said he expressed his sincere condolences to Crow's family and friends.
Image copyright PA Image caption Mr Crow had been RMT leader since 2002 Rail Maritime and Transport union leader Bob Crow has died at the age of 52 of a suspected heart attack. Leading the RMT from 2002, Mr Crow became one of Britain's most high-profile union leaders. London Mayor Boris Johnson, who often clashed with him, said Mr Crow had "fought tirelessly" for his members. Labour's Ed Miliband said he had been a "passionate" campaigner. The prime minister's official spokesman said David Cameron offered his sincere condolences to Mr Crow's family and friends. And Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg said Mr Crow had been a "fighter and a force". 'Really fought' Mr Crow was elected general secretary of the RMT in 2002 following the death of former leader Jimmy Knapp. Image copyright PA Image caption Labour leader Ed Miliband said Mr Crow was "a passionate defender" of "safe, affordable public transport" Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Bob Crow often found himself at loggerheads with Conservative London Mayor Boris Johnson The union's president Peter Pinkney said Mr Crow's death "represents a huge loss to the trade union and labour movement both in this country and internationally". The BBC's political editor Nick Robinson said Mr Crow "was, some argue, the most successful union leader in terms of securing jobs and pay for his members". Analysis In life, Bob Crow embodied his team Millwall's famous song, "No-one likes us, we don't care". In death, those who once condemned him and who he regarded as his enemies - Tory cabinet ministers, the Mayor of London and, yes, the leader of the Labour Party - have lined up to praise him (though in the case of Ed Miliband not on camera) as a fighter for those he regarded as his people. Few doubt that he was not just one of the best known but also one of the most effective trade union leaders in terms of doing the job he was paid to do: protecting the job security of his members, increasing their pay and improving their conditions. Behind the public displays of aggression was a man, it is widely said, who was willing and capable of striking a deal in private. This was a man who knew what he thought, knew whose side he was on and knew who the enemy were in an era when that can be said of a shrinking number of people in public life. While he was supported by his members, Mr Crow was often criticised by some politicians and parts of the media when the union decided to take industrial action - sometimes to the consternation of London's commuters. Just last month thousands of Tube passengers endured delays because of strike action over planned job cuts and ticket office closures. Mr Johnson said: "This was a guy who really fought for his members and who stuck up for his point of view. Image copyright AFP Image caption Bob Crow was a vocal campaigner against the war in Iraq "Obviously I didn't always agree with what he had to say but... together with other union members, Bob Crow unquestionably helped to drive through huge progress on London Underground, and he leaves a massive legacy behind." Mr Johnson's predecessor Ken Livingstone said: "If you think in terms of what's a tribute to him, I can't think of any other job that working class people do that's got good wages and conditions and a pension - all the others have been eroded." Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin said Mr Crow had made "an important contribution to the debate around the future of rail services in this country". He added that Mr Crow had been a "passionate defender of and campaigner for safe, affordable public transport" and a "lifelong anti-fascist activist". "I didn't always agree with him politically but I always respected his tireless commitment to fighting for the men and women in his union." He became a local representative for the then National Union of Railwaymen at the age of 20, rising through the ranks before becoming general secretary of the RMT - which was formed by the combining of the National Union of Railwaymen and the Seamen's Union in 1990. Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Ken Livingstone and Daniel Finkelstein say Bob Crow had pride in his identity Manuel Cortes, leader of the TSSA rail union, which also took part in the strike, said: "Bob Crow was admired by his members and feared by employers, which is exactly how he liked it. His older brother Richard told Sky News he believed the union leader had suffered a heart attack early on Tuesday, and paid tribute to the "loveable little rogue". Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Boris Johnson to RMT leader Bob Crow on 4 February: "I can't negotiate with you live on a radio phone in" "He was honest, he looked after the people he was supposed to look after, and he was a great man as far as honesty and beliefs went." He added: "When people have a high office in life they fall for the big trappings of the flash cars and the big hotels and big houses. 'Gobby' In an interview broadcast on BBC Radio 4 on the day before he died, Mr Crow described himself as "talkative", but said he did not like to be "gobby". He also defended his salary, which was reported to be £145,000 but he suggested was closer to £90,000, saying he was worth it because RMT's members had received pay rises every year even during austerity, had good pensions and had good holiday allowances. TUC general secretary Frances O'Grady said he was "an outstanding trade unionist, who tirelessly fought for his members, his industry and the wider trade union movement". Dave Nellist, national chairman of the Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition, which Mr Crow had co-founded in 2010, said: "Bob Crow was an inspirational union leader who tenaciously defended his members' jobs, pay and conditions - head and shoulders above most other union leaders." Crow, the general secretary of the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union, died aged 52 early on Tuesday morning at Whipps Cross hospital in Leytonstone, east London, after reportedly suffering an aneurysm and a heart attack. Photograph: Twitter He had been the RMT's leader since 2001, growing a reputation as a militant champion of workers, with his apparently unfashionable politics seeing the union add tens of thousands of recruits after it repeatedly won pay rises for its members. Tributes were led by the city's former mayor Ken Livingstone, who said that while Crow was demonised by the rightwing press: "The only working-class people who still have well-paid jobs in London are his members. The RMT left the Labour party in 2004 after a number of disagreements over policy, although for years the union used to send its annual affiliation fee to the party, only to have the cheque returned.
I don't understand how they did it, but they did. "It's hard to believe," said Magnussen. Daniel Ricciardo disqualified from Australian Grand Prix after finishing second behind Nico Rosberg Updated Australian Red Bull driver Daniel Ricciardo has been disqualified for exceeding the maximum allowed fuel flow during his race to claim a second place finish at the Australian Formula One Grand Prix on Sunday. I'm really thankful to Mercedes for giving me such an amazing car. The Team and Renault are confident the fuel supplied to the engine is in full compliance with the regulations. He beat team-mate Jenson Button into third, with Ferrari's Fernando Alonso fourth from Williams' Valtteri Bottas. The 2008 world champion dropped to fifth by the end of the first lap and was called into the pits shortly afterwards. Red Bull immediately said it would appeal against the disqualification. Inconsistencies with the FIA fuel flow meter have been prevalent all weekend up and down the pit lane. Media playback is not supported on this device Hamilton & Vettel explain early retirements Polesitter Hamilton had a cylinder failing to fire from the very start of the race, and was down to fourth behind Rosberg and Ricciardo by the first corner. The support has been fantastic, Daniel got more support than me, but that's normal. Valtteri Bottas (left) managed to finish sixth even after he hit the wall on the exit of Turn 10 and broke a wheel The Australian was in a comfortable second place for most of the race but came under pressure from Magnussen in the final 20 laps. It has been an amazing time in Melbourne.
Daniel Ricciardo's fate may not be known for weeks, says Australian Grand Prix chief Andrew Westacott Updated Australian Grand Prix chief executive Andrew Westacott says Red Bull's appeal against Daniel Ricciardo's disqualification could take weeks to conclude. Ricciardo finished second in yesterday's race - the best result for a local driver in an Australian F1 Grand Prix. But world motorsport's governing body, the FIA (International Federation of Automobiles), later quashed the result, ruling the team breached fuel-flow rules. The regulations, which only allow a fuel flow of 100 kilograms per hour, were only introduced this year and mark a drastic reduction from last year's averages of approximately 170kg/h. On top of that, Westacott says the equipment used to disqualify Daniel Ricciardo from the race had not been functioning properly for most of the weekend. "These sensors were faulty on Friday, the FIA and Red Bull says 'It's not working, put in a new one for Saturday'," he said. "They put in a new one for Saturday, that didn't work, they went back to the one on Friday." He says Red Bull are in with a chance of winning the appeal and having Ricciardo's second place reinstated. "Red Bull knows their technical qualifications and the details associated with the fuel injectors in their engines. The team's statement informing of their intention to appeal suggested they did not trust the readings given by the FIA's instruments. "Inconsistencies with the FIA fuel flow meter have been prevalent all weekend up and down the pit lane," they said. "The team and Renault are confident the fuel supplied to the engine is in full compliance with the regulations." Team boss says Ricciardo not to blame Red Bull boss Christian Horner said Ricciardo was blameless in the whole ordeal as he vowed to continue the team's fight against the ruling. I don't believe it is the fault of the team," Horner said. I am extremely disappointed, quite surprised... hopefully through the appeal process it will be quite clear that the car has conformed at all times to the regulations. Daniel Ricciardo disqualified from Australian Grand Prix after finishing second behind Nico Rosberg Updated Australian Red Bull driver Daniel Ricciardo has been disqualified for exceeding the maximum allowed fuel flow during his race to claim a second place finish at the Australian Formula One Grand Prix on Sunday. "During the race, car number 03 has exceeded consistently the maximum allowed fuel flow of 100kg/h," technical delegate Jo Bauer said. I am referring this matter to the stewards for their consideration." Stewards deliberated for five hours before disqualifying Ricciardo late on Sunday night. The 24-year-old's fuel flow was in breach of Article 5.1.4 of the 2014 Formula One technical regulations, and FIA race director Charlie Whiting had said on Thursday there would be a zero-tolerance policy to the fuel flow issue. Sunday would have been Ricciardo's first career podium finish. Instead, McLaren's Danish rookie Kevin Magnussen was promoted to second and his McLaren team-mate Jenson Button was bumped up to third. Earlier, Nico Rosberg claimed victory in the opening race of the F1 season at Albert Park, beating Ricciardo by 24 seconds. The German Mercedes driver's win came after team-mate Lewis Hamilton retired early in the race with engine problems about the same time defending champion Sebastian Vettel of Red Bull also exited. Ultimately, Rosberg finished 24 seconds ahead of the Australian, in a formidable title warning of the capabilities of Mercedes' W05 car to the rest of the chasing pack. Daniel Ricciardo The race started in spectacular fashion as Caterham's Kamui Kobayashi - on his return to Formula One - clipped Williams' Felipe Massa on the first corner, sending both drivers sprawling into the gravel and out of the race. Pole-sitter Hamilton was forced to retire with an engine complaint in just the third lap, before Vettel pulled into the pits to retire soon after, having struggled with power problems from the first lap. Bottas's lost wheel forced the Finn down the grid and also brought out the safety car, prompting early, strategic pit-stops from the race leaders during the 12th lap. McLaren's Button pitted to take on medium tyres after 32 laps, allowing the Briton to complete the remainder of the race without stops after using both tyre compounds. Applause then emerged from the Williams garage when Bottas - having lost his tyre so early in the race - temporarily moved up to fifth place, having made use of the safety car superbly to repair the damage to his wheel. Mercedes' Nico Rosberg After he narrowed the gap between second and third to 1.1 seconds on the 49th lap, Magnussen received orders to put the pressure on Ricciardo, who looked to be struggling with eight laps to go. A beaming Ricciardo thanked the enthusiastic crowd - which erupted in applause when he lifted his second-place silverware - for the "overwhelming" support.
He was 84. Fred Phelps, founder of the infamous Westboro Baptist Church, and the “Gods Hate Fags” fundamentalist movement, has died, according to his son, Timothy Phelps. But their signature slogan was "God hates fags". And I’m bitterly angry that my family is blocking the family members who left from seeing him, and saying their good-byes.” Fred Phelps came to prominence in the UK following a Louis Theroux documentary about his family entitled The Most Hated Family in America. In 2011 the church won a major legal victory when the US Supreme Court ruled it could not be sued for monetary damages for inflicting pain on grieving families. The church's actions inspired a federal law and numerous state laws limiting picketing at funerals. He is now on the edge of death at Midland Hospice house in Topeka, Kansas. In 2009, Mr Phelps and his daughter were barred from entering the United Kingdom due to their anti-gay preaching. I feel sad for those who will lose the grandfather and father they loved. It first gained national notoriety by protesting at the funeral of gay student Matthew Shepard, whose brutal 1998 murder in Laramie, Wyoming sparked a nationwide debate about homophobia. Later, he and his small congregation - founded in 1955 and later dubbed "the most hated family in America" by the BBC's Louis Theroux - aimed their vitriol at many groups, including immigrants and Jews. Daughter Margie said he died shortly after midnight Thursday. Destroyed by the monster he made. 'Diabolical' Their signs read "Thank God for dead soldiers" and "Thank God for 9/11" and the like, and bore messages offensive to gay and lesbian people.
Image copyright AP Image caption Phelps was an ordained Baptist minister, although his church was not affiliated with any mainstream denomination The former leader of a US church that was widely known for its inflammatory anti-gay protests has died, his family has said. The Reverend Fred Phelps Sr, founder of the Westboro Baptist Church in Kansas, died on Wednesday evening at 84. The church, made up mostly of his family, rose to international notoriety with its practice of picketing funerals of fallen US troops. It claimed their deaths were punishment for America's tolerance of gay people. 'Diabolical' Their signs read "Thank God for dead soldiers" and "Thank God for 9/11" and the like, and bore messages offensive to gay and lesbian people. Mr Phelps earned a law degree from Washburn University in 1964, but was stripped of his licence to practise in Kansas in 1979. The Kansas Supreme Court said Mr Phelps made false statements in documents and "showed little regard" for professional ethics. Later, he and his small congregation - founded in 1955 and later dubbed "the most hated family in America" by the BBC's Louis Theroux - aimed their vitriol at many groups, including immigrants and Jews. But their signature slogan was "God hates fags". "That's a diabolical lie from hell without biblical warrant." In 2009, Mr Phelps and his daughter were barred from entering the United Kingdom due to their anti-gay preaching. The church's actions inspired a federal law and numerous state laws limiting picketing at funerals. In 2011 the church won a major legal victory when the US Supreme Court ruled it could not be sued for monetary damages for inflicting pain on grieving families. Fred Phelps, the founder of a small rabidly anti-gay US church that has aroused national outrage by picketing military funerals, has died aged 84. Phelps's founded Westboro Baptist Church in Kansas in 1955, which soon became a notorious sight with members waving "God Hates Fags" and "Thank God for Dead Soldiers" banners outside funerals for personnel killed in Iraq and Afghanistan. The church consists largely of the families of nine of Phelps' 13 children - the others were estranged - and a small number of other families and residents of the largely rural Midwestern US state of Kansas. It funds its travels in part by suing those who try to block the protests for violating their right to free speech. The church won a major legal victory in 2011 when the Supreme Court ruled it couldn't be sued for inflicting pain on grieving families. It first gained national notoriety by protesting at the funeral of gay student Matthew Shepard, whose brutal 1998 murder in Laramie, Wyoming sparked a nationwide debate about homophobia. His estranged son Nate, who broke with Westboro 37 years ago, said earlier this week that that the church members had voted out the family patriarch and he was on his close to death. The younger Mr Phelps said in a Facebook posting that his father suffered the same fate last August for an undisclosed reasons and that his health has since deteriorated as he "basically stopped eating and drinking". The Southern Poverty Law Centre, which tracks the activity of hate groups in the US, describes Westboro as "arguably the most obnoxious and rabid hate group in America ... [and] basically a family-based cult of personality built around its patriarch, Fred Phelps". The church first gained widespread notoriety when it picketed the funeral of Matthew Shepard, a gay student who was viciously beaten and left to die tied to a ranch fence in Wyoming in 1998. Phelps gained notoriety though protesting at the funerals of gay people and American soldiers by holding signs saying "God Hates Fags" and "Thank God for 9/11." Just last week one of his sons Nathan Phelps, who left the church almost 40 years ago and as such lost contact with the core of his family, wrote a message on Facebook saying he had received the news that his father was on his death-bed and that he was “bitterly angry” that family-members were being blocked from saying goodbye. Last year the church vowed to protest at a One Direction gig on the grounds that they were “crotch-grabbing little perverts”, and in 2009 Phelps, who was 84, and his daughter Shirley Phelps-Roper were banned from entering the UK to picket a school play.
Yes. Her colleague, Kathy Gannon, is reported to be stable. Voting began on Saturday in Afghanistan's presidential election, which will mark the first democratic transfer of power since the country was tipped into chaos by the fall of the hardline Islamist Taliban regime in 2001. REUTERS/Ahmad Masood Afghans queue to vote at a polling station in Kabul April 5, 2014. "This is my right, and no one can stop me." More than 350,000 Afghan troops were deployed, guarding against attacks on polling stations and voters. Image copyright AP and AFP Image caption Associated Press journalists Anja Niedringhaus (left) and Kathy Gannon Two journalists working for the Associated Press news agency have been shot by a police commander in eastern Afghanistan, officials say. A final security agreement with the USA is the most pressing issue. Former foreign ministers Abdullah Abdullah and Zalmay Rassoul, and former finance minister Ashraf Ghani were regarded as the favourites to succeed Karzai. In Washington, President Barack Obama congratulated the Afghan people on the elections. Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Interior ministry spokesman Sidiq Siddiqi says it may have been a case of mistaken identity The interior ministry said the officer who shot the women had commanded a police unit, which had been under 48 hours of mortar attack from insurgents across the border in Pakistan. The United States has been at odds with Karzai who has refused U.S. entreaties to sign a bilateral security agreement that would permit about 8,000 U.S. troops to remain in the country after the formal U.S. withdrawal at the end of the year. Follow John Wendle on Twitter @JohnWendle Source: Al Jazeera and agencies
Kabul, Afghanistan - Millions of Afghans have cast their ballots to pick the country's next president, with only isolated attacks on polling stations reported in the country's first democratic transfer of power in its 5,000 year history. After months of manoeuvring, jockeying, tribal meetings and campaigning, Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai, Abdullah Abdullah and Zalmai Rassoul have emerged as the frontrunners in Saturday's polls, coming from a field of eight candidates that includes everyone from former mujahedeen commanders to Western-educated technocrats. Al Jazeera's Bernard Smith, reporting from Kabul, described turnout in the polls as high, despite threats of violence and weather disturbance in some parts of the country. Voting has also been extended for at least an hour, with the possibility of another extension depending on the volume of voters, he said. Nicholas Haysom, deputy head of the UN mission in Afghanistan Four voters were wounded in an explosion at a polling station in the southeastern province of Logar. It was the most serious attack so far on election day that Taliban had vowed to derail, branding it a US-backed sham. Voting was also reportedly disrupted in seven polling stations in Khost province, where two people were reportedly injured, according to Al Jazeera's D. Parvaz, who is reporting from Kabul. Our correspondent also reported that two people, including a police chief were arrested in Wardak province, after they were caught "stuffing" five ballot boxes. Elsewhere in Zabul province, three Taliban fighters were reportedly killed after accidentally detonating their explosives. In the province of Faryab, one suicide bomber was arrested, while another explosive was detonated at a polling station in Samangan. As of Saturday afternoon, the election commission has received 200 complaints of poll fraud. And in the northern province of Baghlan, poll workers were beaten and 1,200 ballots headed to two polling stations were tossed in the river. In an interview with Al Jazeera, political analyst Haroun Mir said that Afghan citizens know that the 2014 national and local elections are critical to the country's future, which continues to be threatened by the Taliban. Even with the deployment of 352,000 troops to provide security for about 12 million voters and 20,752 polling stations, some 748 polling stations remained closed because Afghan security forces could not secure them, according to the IEC. On the eve of the vote, two Associated Press news agency journalists were shot as they reported on the preparations. Anja Niedringhaus, a 48-year-old German photographer, was killed and journalist Kathy Gannon was injured. In a move that underlined the complexities of the race, a last minute drama unfolded on Friday when a rumour swept Kabul that President Hamid Karzai, the incumbent, had switched his support from Rassoul – who as former foreign minister is seen as Karzai’s chosen successor – to Ghani. Run-off likely Though the rumour may have been a failed attempt to influence the poll, it was indicative of a fear expressed by some Western diplomats that eleventh hour power politics could influence the poll. Massive fraud during the 2009 campaign undercut Karzai’s legitimacy and allegations are already being made that deals have been cut to stuff ballot boxes. "Really everything has been delivered according to timeline both in regard to broad legislative and other provisions but also the delivery of ballot papers, sensitive and non-sensitive materials to the seven thousand-odd voting centres." With analysts predicting that a vote of over 50 percent, required for an outright win, is unlikely to be achieved by any of the leading candidates, a May 28th second round between the two who poll the highest is a real prospect. A free and fair election would give them a small success to point to after 13 years of bloodshed since US-led forces toppled the Taliban, and make the scheduled pull-out of most foreign troops this year easier. A photo of Afghan presidential candidate Abdullah Abdullah is seen on the dashboard of a car at a checkpoint in Kabul, April 4, 2014, before Saturday's presidential election. From the rugged mountains bordering Pakistan to the windswept western plains, millions of Afghans vote on Saturday in an election for the first democratic transfer of power in the country's tumultuous history. Voting began on Saturday in Afghanistan's presidential election, which will mark the first democratic transfer of power since the country was tipped into chaos by the fall of the hardline Islamist Taliban regime in 2001. Voting began on Saturday in Afghanistan's presidential election, which will mark the first democratic transfer of power since the country was tipped into chaos by the fall of the hardline Islamist Taliban regime in 2001 REUTERS/Ahmad Masood A policeman stands guard outside a polling station in Kabul as Afghans wanting to vote queue outside before it opened April 5, 2014. Voting began on Saturday in Afghanistan's presidential election, which will mark the first democratic transfer of power since the country was tipped into chaos by the fall of the hardline Islamist Taliban regime in 2001. Voting began on Saturday in Afghanistan's presidential election, which will mark the first democratic transfer of power since the country was tipped into chaos by the fall of the hardline Islamist Taliban regime in 2001. REUTERS/Omar Sobhani KABUL/KANDAHAR, Afghanistan Afghanistan's presidential election closed on Saturday amid relief that attacks by Taliban fighters were fewer than feared for a vote that will bring the first-ever democratic transfer of power in a country plagued by conflict for decades. "On behalf of the people, I thank the security forces, election commission and people who exercised democracy and ... turned another page in the glorious history of Afghanistan." "We commend the Afghan people, security forces, and elections officials on the turnout for today's vote - which is in keeping with the spirited and positive debate among candidates and their supporters in the run-up to the election," Obama said in a statement. "These elections are critical to securing Afghanistan's democratic future, as well as continued international support, and we look to the Afghan electoral bodies to carry out their duties in the coming weeks to adjudicate the results - knowing that the most critical voices on the outcome are those of Afghans themselves," Obama said. It has spent $90 billion on aid and security training since helping Afghan forces to topple a strict Islamist Taliban regime in 2001, but U.S. support for Afghanistan's fight against the Taliban has faded.
It happened with expenses. She said the adviser, Joanna Hindley, was suggesting that was inappropriate. But MP Therese Coffey said Mrs Miller's elderly parents had been "doorstepped". Wrongdoing is investigated by the standards commissioner but the standards committee makes the final judgment on any findings. An unnamed minister told the Sunday Telegraph that Miller should lose her cabinet post because her conduct was "incompatible" with her role as a cabinet minister. Ipsa has shown that independent regulation of parliamentary behaviour can work. The watchdog in charge of MPs' expenses said it was time for the House of Commons to give up the power to police itself over standards and ethics, warning: "MPs marking their own homework always ends in scandal." But Duncan Smith offered strong personal support for the culture secretary as he came close to suggesting that she has been the victim of a witch-hunt. It found that 82% of Tories thought she should go. Another said: "In light of the evidence that is before you ... to continue to regard this spurious complaint as a serious matter would give it credence it does not deserve and undermine the inquiry process in comparison to issues that really are serious matters." I am amongst a number of those who feel this goes on and on and on eating away at the credibility of parliament. But our correspondent also said plenty of Conservative MPs and others wondered if the ongoing row was the result of newspapers with a "vendetta" getting their own back for Mrs Miller's role in press regulation after the Leveson Inquiry into press conduct. This was considerably lower than the £45,000 proposed by Hudson.
Pressure on the culture secretary, Maria Miller, has been ramped up by a poll suggesting a large majority of voters think she should be dropped from the cabinet, stripped of her responsibility for press regulation and thrown out of the House of Commons over her expenses. A Survation poll for the Mail on Sunday found that almost three-quarters of voters (73%) thought her 32-second apology to the House of Commons on Thursday was inadequate, and similar numbers (75%) felt David Cameron was wrong to offer her his support. Some 78% of those questioned said she should forfeit her cabinet post as culture secretary, 66% said she should lose powers over press regulation and 68% said she should be "sacked" as an MP – something that is not currently possible, as the government has yet to introduce the power of recall promised in the 2010 coalition agreement. Meanwhile, the Sunday Telegraph quoted an unnamed "senior minister", speaking on condition of anonymity, as saying: "In my view she has clearly behaved in a way that is incompatible with what she should be doing as a cabinet minister. The decision to keep her on undermines the prime minister because he has talked about a new kind of politics." Miller's apology came after a cross-party panel of MPs overruled parliament's standards commissioner, Kathryn Hudson, who recommended after an inquiry that the culture secretary should repay £45,000 in expenses for a house she shared with her parents. The Commons standards committee instead decided she needed to hand back just £5,800 and say sorry for failing to co-operate fully with the inquiry. The watchdog in charge of MPs' expenses said it was time for the House of Commons to give up the power to police itself over standards and ethics, warning: "MPs marking their own homework always ends in scandal." Sir Ian Kennedy, chairman of the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (Ipsa), told the Sunday Times: "We have made great progress in cleaning up the problems of the past. To avoid further damage to parliament in the future, it should have the confidence to give away powers in regulating itself and see that independent regulation is the best, most transparent way forward. Kennedy said MPs should "learn a lesson" from the independent system of regulation of expenses introduced in the wake of the 2009 scandal and ensure that Hudson too is "given the freedom to carry out her work and not have her wings clipped by MPs". Letters released following Miller's apology revealed that she told Hudson it would be "irrational, perverse and unreasonable" to uphold the complaint against her and warned that she could go over her head to ask the MPs on the standards committee to intervene. In another message, she wrote: "In light of the evidence that is before you … to continue to regard this spurious complaint as a serious matter would give it credence it does not deserve and undermine the inquiry process in comparison to issues that really are serious matters." John Mann, the Labour MP whose complaint sparked the commissioner's investigation, said: "These emails show that Maria Miller bullied and threatened the independent commissioner." The Tory chairman told Channel 4 News: "I don't want to get into the semantics of which words should have been used. "I'm sure she was frustrated that it hadn't been and that's why she said she of course unreservedly apologised. It's come to a conclusion … It's happened now, she's made an apology and the prime minister has said it draws a line under it, and that's of course what it does." He also defended the culture secretary's special adviser Jo Hindley, who was caught on tape telling a reporter investigating the expenses story that she wanted to "flag up" the fact that Miller would be meeting her editor to discuss the Leveson inquiry into press ethics. Despite the claim of the then Telegraph editor, Tony Gallagher, that this amounted to a threat, Shapps insisted that Leveson had been mentioned only in the context of the doorstepping of Miller's elderly father, who was ill at the time. Cameron has twice publicly voiced his support for the culture secretary, but on Saturday omitted her from a list of several cabinet ministers whom he singled out for praise in a speech to the Conservative spring forum. The deputy prime minister, Nick Clegg, declined to come to Cameron's aid, saying: "All the issues to do with her position and indeed to do with the behaviour of her office, alleged or not, is entirely a matter for the prime minister." The first bogus tweet from the @DCMS account said: "Seriously though guys which one of us hasn't embezzled and cheated the taxpayer?? It was swiftly followed by "@Maria_MillerMP is like a modern day Robin Hood, she robs the poor to help the rich" and then "Is @Maria_MillerMP guilty? A spokeswoman from the DCMS confirmed that the account had been hacked and said they had "absolutely no idea" who was responsible. Iain Duncan Smith has offered tentative support for a proposal to end the right of MPs to regulate their own affairs, warning that the continuing focus on expenses because of the row over Maria Miller's housing claims is "eating away at the credibility of parliament". As a poll found that 82% of Tories believed that Miller should lose her job over her expenses, the work and pensions secretary said he was "very open" to a proposal by parliament's expenses watchdog to introduce independent regulation of MPs. The culture secretary was forced by the Commons standards committee to repay £5,800 in overclaimed expenses in mortgage payments related to her "second" home in Wimbledon. "And also the gay marriage stuff – there are a lot of Conservatives out there who, perhaps, were not necessarily in support of it all and so feel rather bitter about that. Duncan Smith said the prime minister would have to consider the row over Miller's expenses. John Mann, the Labour MP who lodged the original complaint about Miller, has been highly critical after the standards committee, which includes 10 MPs and three non-voting lay members, recommended that Miller should repay £5,800 in expenses.
John Paul II and his predecessor, Pope John XXIII, are due to be declared saints on Sunday. It is not the first death caused by a falling crucifix in Italy. The cross was designed by sculptor Enrico Job and was created for John Paul II's visit to nearby Brescia. Marco Gusmini was killed instantly and one other man taken to hospital, Italian media reported. It was installed in a scenic location near Cevo in 2005. Part of the 30m-high (100ft) sculpture collapsed at a ceremony ahead of the Pope's canonisation. After the accident: Brescia, la croce spezzata di Wojtyla The Jesus Christ figure attached to the cross is six meters high and weighs 600 kg, according to AFP. In 2004, the Associated Press reported that a 72-year old woman had been crushed to death by a 7ft-tall metal crucifix in the town of Sant'Onofrio in the south of the country. A group of children was reported to be in attendance at the time. A large, 20ft-high statue of Christ the Redeemer was attached to the crucifix, which was created for John Paul II’s visit to Brescia, in the northern region of Lombardy, in 1998. Just two days before the canonization of Pope John Paul II, a giant crucifix erected in his honor collapsed in Italy, crushing a young man and killing him, according to ANSA. In a bizarre coincidence, the 21-year-old man was reported to have been living in a street named after Pope John XXIII – who will also be canonised in the ceremony on Sunday, in an event that is unprecedented in the 2,000 year history of the Catholic Church.
Just two days before the canonization of Pope John Paul II, a giant crucifix erected in his honor collapsed in Italy, crushing a young man and killing him, according to ANSA. Crolla la croce dedicata a Wojtyla, muore 21enne: il momento dello schianto [VIDEO] http://t.co/0OmoHcJmnD pic.twitter.com/8t6EFI5gsY — la Repubblica (@repubblicait) April 24, 2014 A piece of the 30-meter (98-foot) high wooden crucifix fell down during an event near the village of Cevo, in northern Italy, instantly killing the 21-year-old man. The Jesus Christ figure attached to the cross is six meters high and weighs 600 kg, according to AFP. Witnesses reported that the victim was part of a visiting group of young Catholics, and another person was hospitalized for minor injuries after the cross fell. The curved crucifix was designed by sculptor Enrico Job in honor of John Paul II's visit to Brescia in northern Italy's Lombardy region in 1998. The unusual curve of the crucifix was intended to evoke the scars of WWII, according to AFP. In 2004, a 7 foot tall metal cross crushed a 72-year-old woman to death in the town of Satn'Onofrio, reports the BBC. Some 800,000 Catholic pilgrims from around the world are expected to journey to Rome in order to celebrate the double canonization of Pope John Paul II and Pope John XXIII. Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption A visitor described hearing "a loud rumble" as the structure collapsed A 21-year old man has died after being crushed by a crucifix erected in honour of Pope John Paul II in northern Italy. The crucifix commemorates the Pope's visit to the area in 1998. In 2004, the Associated Press reported that a 72-year old woman had been crushed to death by a 7ft-tall metal crucifix in the town of Sant'Onofrio in the south of the country.
"It's been fun. Instead, he sent his junior Treasury minister, 30-year-old Chloe Smith, to explain. Image caption Paxman's first job at the BBC was in radio but it is as a Newsnight presenter that he will be remembered Jeremy Paxman is quitting BBC Two's Newsnight after 25 years at the helm. Paxman said it was "time to move on" and he "should rather like to go to bed at much the same time as most people". Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption One of Paxman's most famous grillings was when he interviewed Michael Howard in 1997 Among his most famous grillings was that of Michael Howard in 1997, when he asked the Conservative politician the same question 12 times. Image caption Tony Blair in June 2001... And many felt the legendary interviewer finally met his match when he came up against Russell Brand last year. Mr Howard was asked repeatedly of Mr Lewis, "Did you threaten to overrule him?" Chancellor George Osborne was criticised for not going on the programme himself and allowing Ms Smith to take the fire. William Hague William Hague struggles to answer questions on Lord Ashcroft's tax arrangements. Conrad Black Two top-drawer debaters lock horns in this 2012 interview that starts off testy. Former home secretary Mr Howard had held a meeting with Derek Lewis, the head of Her Majesty's Prison Service about the possible dismissal of the head of Parkhurst Prison. Radio beginnings Ofcom also upheld a complaint against an episode of Newsnight which led to Tory peer Lord McAlpine being wrongly implicated in child sex abuse allegations. Opened a debate about the 'tawdriness' of the political system, and added much to the Great Beard Discussion of 2013.
Image caption Paxman's first job at the BBC was in radio but it is as a Newsnight presenter that he will be remembered Jeremy Paxman is quitting BBC Two's Newsnight after 25 years at the helm. The BBC said he made his decision last summer but "generously agreed" to stay until June to help the show through "a difficult period". That came after it chose not to run an item linking Jimmy Savile with child abuse. Paxman said it was "time to move on" and he "should rather like to go to bed at much the same time as most people". 'Cussed brilliance' "He has a unique ability to create moments of real discomfort for politicians and memorable delight for audiences," Mr Hall said. "For that cussed brilliance and much more besides, the BBC and our audiences will always be in his debt." Paxman will continue to present University Challenge, which he has fronted since 1994. Image caption Paxman interviewed hundreds of politicians on Newsnight including Denis Healey in January 1995... Image caption And David Cameron in April 2010 The BBC's head of news, James Harding, said Paxman had become the "great lion of BBC journalism" who "never failed to ask the difficult questions". Associate editor of the Daily Mirror Kevin Maguire tweeted: "Jeremy Paxman quitting Newsnight is like the ravens flying the Tower of London or the Barbary apes leaving Gibraltar." And the Daily Telegraph's Dan Hodges wrote that the "great lion sleeps tonight", adding that "the place people now go at 10.30pm to get their current affairs fix isn't the TV, but Twitter". 'Been lucky' Paxman, who previously worked on programmes including Panorama and BBC's Breakfast Time, is best known for his confrontational interview style. Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption One of Paxman's most famous grillings was when he interviewed Michael Howard in 1997 Among his most famous grillings was that of Michael Howard in 1997, when he asked the Conservative politician the same question 12 times. - to which the MP repeatedly said he "did not overrule him", but ignored the "threaten" aspect of the question. Savile scandal In a statement on Wednesday, Paxman said: "I have decided it is time to move on from Newsnight. "After 25 years, I should rather like to go to bed at much the same time as most people. "This was a decision I reached - and informed the BBC of - last July. I think I've been lucky and wish the programme well." Image caption Before presenting Newsnight, Paxman worked on programmes including BBC Breakfast Time Image caption He has also presented University Challenge since its revival in the 1990s... Image caption And this year's Britain's Great War The BBC said in a statement that despite deciding to leave last year, "with the appointment of a new editor and following a difficult period for Newsnight, Jeremy generously agreed to stay to help the new team bed down". The programme was heavily criticised for not running a report which linked Jimmy Savile to allegations of child sex abuse, shortly before an ITV documentary made the allegations public. Radio beginnings Ofcom also upheld a complaint against an episode of Newsnight which led to Tory peer Lord McAlpine being wrongly implicated in child sex abuse allegations. Newsnight broadcast allegations against an unnamed "leading Conservative politician from the Thatcher years" - Lord McAlpine was not named, but was the subject of internet speculation. Ofcom criticised programme makers for not contacting Lord McAlpine prior to the broadcast, when he would have been able to inform them he had never been to the children's home in question. In his 25 years in the Newsnight hot seat, Jeremy Paxman has earned a reputation as one of the most fearless and feared interviewers in the game. His status is such that the phrase to be "paxoed" has entered the media lexicon, meaning a journalistic "going over" to be avoided by hapless politicians. Some hardened politicians reportedly refused to appear on the programme when he was presenting while others donned their tin hats and became regular sparring partners. Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption One of Paxman's most famous grillings was when he interviewed Michael Howard in 1997 Perhaps more than any other, Michael Howard's appearance on Newsnight in 1997 has entered broadcasting and political folklore. Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Chloe Smith struggled to appear on top of her brief on Newsnight in 2012 He later played down what many immediately hailed as a moment of journalistic genius, suggesting that he could not think of anything else to ask him as the interview progressed. Like Mr Blair, William Hague is regarded as one of the most talented media performers of his generation but that did not protect him when he was put on the spot in 2009 about Tory donor Lord Ashcroft's tax status. Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Conrad Black's appearance on Newsnight was a robust encounter Some politicians have literally had their careers made or broken by their appearances on Newsnight. Junior Treasury minister and rising Conservative star Chloe Smith was dispatched to appear on the programme in 2012 to talk about a proposed delay to a rise in fuel duty. Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Russell Brand mused on God, identity and voting in his clash with Paxman Although remaining magnanimous about the encounter, Ms Smith was moved to another job in a reshuffle that year and has since left the government. Media magnate Conrad Black famously chided Jeremy Paxman as a "gullible, priggish, English fool" when questioned about his (Black's) conviction for fraud and subsequent imprisonment.
"Modi, Modi," they screamed, giving him a rock-star welcome. ???? India has won! BJP leader Balbir Punj said Mr Gandhi had waged a campaign of hate and fear against his party which had backfired. Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption The BBC's Andrew North travelled to Narendra Modi's home state of Gujarat India election The BJP has won 282 seats - more than the 272 seats needed for a parliamentary majority. Hero's welcome in Delhi Earlier he held a victory procession in the capital, Delhi. He also told supporters he would rule for all Indians. Manmohan Singh, whose Congress party was crushed in the poll, has tendered his resignation as prime minister. “They did not tell people what they had done over the last ten years because they had nothing to show. Security was very tight: police lined the route and armed special forces personnel were deployed. In previous elections exit polls have been wildly inaccurate. Today, India is a far stronger country in every respect than it was a decade ago. Analysis Narendra Modi arrived to a hero's welcome in the Indian capital for the first time after leading his party to a historic win. Meanwhile there were scenes of celebration outside the BJP’s New Delhi election headquarters where party workers set off fireworks and fed each other with ladoo sweets to mark their expected victory. Image copyright AP India's Prime Minister-elect, Narendra Modi, has been performing religious rituals in the Hindu holy city of Varanasi after his election landslide. A brass band kept pace with a company of bagpipers and supporters danced and sang.
Image copyright AP India's Prime Minister-elect, Narendra Modi, has been performing religious rituals in the Hindu holy city of Varanasi after his election landslide. Mr Modi offered prayers on the banks of the river Ganges after being greeted by jubilant supporters. Observers say the ceremony was rich in political symbolism, underlining Mr Modi's roots as a Hindu nationalist. He was elected to parliament from Varanasi as well as from another seat in his home state of Gujarat. Analysis Narendra Modi arrived to a hero's welcome in the Indian capital for the first time after leading his party to a historic win. Supporters lined the streets, showering him with flowers en route to BJP headquarters. Security was very tight: police lined the route and armed special forces personnel were deployed. A brass band kept pace with a company of bagpipers and supporters danced and sang. It took a while for Mr Modi's cavalcade to make its way there and senior BJP politicians urged the crowd to stay calm. "He's coming, he'll be here very soon," one of them told exuberant supporters, while another begged people to get down from trees they had climbed to gain a vantage point. As they spotted the cavalcade, Mr Modi's supporters at party HQ drove themselves into a frenzy, almost knocking down the security barricades in the process. Narendra Modi secured the most decisive election victory in India in three decades, campaigning on promises to revive the economy. Manmohan Singh, whose Congress party was crushed in the poll, has tendered his resignation as prime minister. Results show the BJP gained a majority in parliament and will be able to govern without coalition partners. However, many Indians still have profound concerns over Mr Modi because of claims he did little to stop communal riots in Gujarat in 2002 in which at least 1,000 people died, most of them Muslims. 'India has won' After arriving in Delhi from his home state, Mr Modi was greeted by flag-waving supporters. A brass band, drummers and bagpipers met him at the BJP headquarters, while bunting and balloons decorated the street. Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption A sense of "religious fervour" swept through crowds celebrating Mr Modi's victory, as Andrew North reports Noticeably tight security is in place, the BBC's Sanjoy Majumder in Delhi reports. The BJP has won 282 seats - more than the 272 seats needed for a parliamentary majority. Speaking at BJP headquarters, Mr Modi said: "I want to bow, I want to give my thanks... to the people of India." He said Indian media had created "consciousness among voters" and a "great festival of Indian democracy". Image caption In Varanasi, people gathered by the Ganges ahead of Narendra Modi's arrival Image copyright AFP Image caption Earlier Mr Modi was mobbed by supporters in Delhi Image copyright AP Image caption Members of a brass band waited for Prime Minister-elect Narendra Modi outside BJP headquarters in Delhi Image copyright AFP Image caption Security was tight with police and special forces personnel lining Mr Modi's route On Friday, Mr Modi wrote in a widely-shared tweet: "India has won, good days are about to come." "The age of divisive politics has ended - from today onwards the politics of uniting people will begin." Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif commended the BJP's "impressive victory" in the election. The Congress party, which has dominated Indian politics since independence, is only expected to win 44 seats. Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption The BBC's Andrew North travelled to Narendra Modi's home state of Gujarat India election • Indian officials counting more than 550 million votes cast • BJP is leading in 277 seats • Indian stocks hit record high on pro-business Modi win • PM Manmohan Singh congratulates BJP leader in phone call Narendra Modi, the controversial Hindu nationalist leader, has promised "good days are coming" in his first reaction to a historic victory by his Bharatiya Janata Party in national elections. Unofficial forecasts from India’s television news channels indicated his wider National Democratic Alliance had already won a clear majority with 315 seats, with the BJP alone winning 271 seats - one short of an absolute majority without the support of its coalition allies.
"By reinforcing both of those we can reduce the risk that comes from a housing market that has deep, deep structural problems," he said. Bank of England governor Mark Carney speaks during the bank's quarterly inflation report news conference at the Bank of England in London May 14, 2014. He added: "There are not sufficient houses built in the UK. They were also checking lending procedures to try to ensure that mortgages were only issued to people who could afford them. "We don't want to build up another big debt overhang that is going to hurt individuals and is very much going to slow the economy in the medium term. "What we can influence ... is whether the banks are strong enough. Official government figures show the country began work on 133,650 homes in the year to March, a rise of 31% on the year before. We've seen that creeping up and it's something we're watching closely." The average UK house price is around £180,000. "[There are] half as many people in Canada as in the UK, [but] twice as many houses are built in Canada every year than in UK." "The biggest risk to financial stability, and therefore to the durability of the expansion – those risks centre in the housing market and that's why we are focused on that," he said. The chancellor has asked us if we would provide advice on changing the terms of Help to Buy." The region where prices are rising fastest - at double the national average - is London and the South East.
Image copyright Reuters Image caption Bank of England chief Mark Carney says the housing market has the potential to wreck the recovery The governor of the Bank of England has given his strongest warning yet about the dangers to Britain's economy posed by the booming housing market. Mark Carney said the market represented the "biggest risk" to financial stability and the long-term recovery. He told Sky News the fundamental problem was a shortage of homes - and the Bank of England had no solution to that. In an interview on the Murnaghan show, he said the Bank was "closely watching" rising property prices and the subsequent increase in large-value mortgages, which he warned could lead to a "debt overhang" which could destabilise the economy. 'Making progress' There are not sufficient houses built in the UK Mark Carney Profile: Mark Carney Mr Carney said: "When we look at domestic risk, the biggest risk to financial stability and therefore to the durability of the expansion [of the economy]; those risks centre in the housing market." He added: "There are not sufficient houses built in the UK. To go back to Canada, there are half as many people in Canada as in the UK, twice as many houses are built every year in Canada as in the UK and we can't influence that." Official government figures show the country began work on 133,650 homes in the year to March, a rise of 31% on the year before. A former government advisory body has said the UK needs to build almost 300,000 homes a year until 2031 to meet current demand. Prime Minister David Cameron, who was also interviewed by Murnaghan, admitted the government needed to build more houses and said Mr Carney was "absolutely right". If you talk to any housing developer at the moment, or builder, they will tell you that the Help to Buy scheme... has been hugely helpful in bringing forward more development or house building." He told the BBC's Andrew Marr: "The big long-term problem is that we simply do not build enough homes in this country." But Mr Clegg also said the government should scale back its Help to Buy scheme, if the Bank concluded the housing market was overheating. Mr Carney said he was watching the housing market closely, and would tell the chancellor if he believed changes needed to be made: "We could limit amounts of certain types of mortgages that banks could undertake, we could provide advice. The chancellor has asked us if we would provide advice on changing the terms of Help to Buy." 'Over-enthusiasm' Mr Carney said the Bank had an important role behind the scenes: "What we can influence is whether the banks are strong enough. "Do they have enough capital against risks in the housing market, whether underwriting standards are tough enough so that people can get mortgages if they can afford them? "And by reinforcing both of those we can reduce the risks that come from a housing market that has deep, deep structural problems." Housing analyst Henry Pryor said the Bank was also acting to ensure people did not borrow more than they could afford: "What they are doing is bringing in these new regulations [which include a series of tougher questions about ability to repay] to make it much harder, much tougher, for those of us who need a mortgage in order to buy a house, to actually qualify for one. "And it's tricks like that, it's little wrinkles like that, that the Bank of England are going to use in order to try and dampen down over-enthusiasm in the housing market." Major lenders calculate house prices are rising at roughly 10% a year - the highest since the credit crisis of 2008. 'Reduce dividends' It's a balance that Mark Carney's got to walk and that's why he says it's such a big threat David Blanchflower, Ex-Monetary Policy Committee member The governor's warning comes amid a rising a chorus of concern. Sir Jon Cunliffe, one of the Bank of England's deputy governors, previously said it would be "dangerous to ignore the momentum that has built up in the housing market". The region where prices are rising fastest - at double the national average - is London and the South East. But Mr Carney said that situation was beyond his control - and was not a threat to the rest of the country: "There is a large cash market in London, a particularly foreign aspect to it. UK housing market has 'deep, deep structural problems', says governor, and there is little the Bank can do Britain's booming housing market represents the "biggest risk" to the economic recovery, Bank of England governor Mark Carney has warned. But he said there was little they could do about the "deep, deep structural problems" in the housing market, with demand for homes outstripping supply. Nevertheless, he said that there was evidence that large value mortgages – with loans of more than four times a borrower's salary – were on the rise again, with the risk that they could destabilise the economy. "The biggest risk to financial stability, and therefore to the durability of the expansion – those risks centre in the housing market and that's why we are focused on that," he said. We've scrapped the failed top-down planning system, built over 170,000 affordable homes, and released more surplus brownfield sites for new housing.
This coup, though, is generally seen as more severe than most. Thanks." Now citizens can be arrested for flashing the three-fingered salute from the Hunger Games movies. But the gesture is catching on, and has apparently become so widespread that Thailand's coup leaders are investigating whether to arrest people over it, the Bangkok Post newspaper reports. "Coups clearly still play a major role in Thai mainstream politics." And over the weekend, the sight of unarmed and peaceful protesters being detained for flashing three fingers — including a woman dragged into a taxi by plainclothes police in tourist-thronged central Bangkok — did little to assuage fears of what the military may have in store. Thailand's generals took charge on 22 May, saying they had to restore stability after months of protests against former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra and the government led by his sister, Yingluck Shinawatra. “[The junta] must look at [the protester’s] intention, what they want to communicate and surrounding circumstances,” he said. On Sunday, a flash protest appeared at a shopping centre in Bangkok as activists tried to skirt security forces around the city. Panem would be proud. In the movies - and the books before them, by Suzanne Collins - elites in a wealthy capital rule over impoverished masses in outer "districts." Thais have reason to be apprehensive. The second movie in the series, Hunger Games: Catching Fire, was the top film at the Thai box office last November and December. Image copyright AP Use #NewsfromElsewhere to stay up-to-date with our reports via Twitter. It seems at least one person may have been detained on Sunday for allegedly making the gesture.
As if it weren't enough that a military coup in Thailand has imposed martial law and curfews, took over the radio and television stations and has been arresting partisans of the old regime. Now citizens can be arrested for flashing the three-fingered salute from the Hunger Games movies. A spokesman for the military junta, Col. Weerachon Sukhondhapatipak, told the Associated Press "We know it comes from the movie, and let’s say it represents resistance against the authorities." An individual making the salute would likely have no problem, he said, "but if it is a political gathering of five people or more, then we will have to take some action," including arrest. Military coups have a long history Thailand - there have been 14 of them, plus some half-dozen attempted coups, since the nation abandoned absolute monarchy in 1932. "Each year, Thailand tends to experience at least one period of frenzied coup speculation," wrote Thailand scholar Nicholas Farrelly in the Australian Journal of International Affairs last year. "Coups clearly still play a major role in Thai mainstream politics." Begun on May 22, it is notable for the roundup of politicians, academics and "red shirt" supporters of former Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, ousted by the courts on May 7, and her brother, former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. Coups in Thailand have generally left visitors alone, given the importance of tourism to the Thai economy; Bangkok, the capital, was ranked the world's most visited city last year. Thai newspapers have reported that curfews were lifted yesterday in major tourist areas such as beach resorts. Still, a U.S. State Department travel alert recommends that "U.S. citizens reconsider any non-essential travel to Thailand, particularly Bangkok," and avoid large gatherings as "even demonstrations that are meant to be peaceful can turn confrontational and escalate into violence." In the movies - and the books before them, by Suzanne Collins - elites in a wealthy capital rule over impoverished masses in outer "districts." Competitors, called tributes, are chosen by lottery from each of the districts to compete in a death match, televised reality-TV-style. The second movie in the series, Hunger Games: Catching Fire, was the top film at the Thai box office last November and December. The three-fingered salute appears at pivotal moments in the movies, such as this scene from Catching Fire. Characters played by stars Jennifer Lawrence and Josh Hutcherson have won, and crowds flash the salute (around 2:50), leading to a deadly crackdown. A woman holds up a three fingered salute during a protest against the Thai military coup at Terminal 21, a popular shopping mall in Bangkok, on June 1, 2014. A woman holds up a three fingered salute during a protest against the Thai military coup at Terminal 21, a popular shopping mall in Bangkok, on June 1, 2014. The Southeast Asian nation’s ruling junta is pondering whether to officially ban the three-fingered “District 12” salute from The Hunger Games , now that is has become an emotionally charged symbol of resistance among opponents of the May 22 military coup. Already, scores of those proffering the salute during weekend street protests have been dragged off by troops, in scenes eerily reminiscent of the Suzanne Collins novels and movie franchise, which depict a dystopian future society ruled by the totalitarian Panem regime. Thai army deputy spokesman Colonel Winthai Suwaree told the Bangkok Post that the military top brass are discussing how best to respond to the barbed gesture. In May 2010, more than 90 people were killed, and 2,000 injured, during a military crackdown on protesters demanding the return of a popularly elected government removed by a putsch four years before. And over the weekend, the sight of unarmed and peaceful protesters being detained for flashing three fingers — including a woman dragged into a taxi by plainclothes police in tourist-thronged central Bangkok — did little to assuage fears of what the military may have in store. Brad Adams, director of Human Rights Watch's Asia division, calls the Hunger Games salute “a symbolic act of peaceful defiance” amid a situation that “is spiraling downwards in terms of rights abuses.” “The fact that the [junta] is closing down sections of the city to chase a handful of protesters reveals a totalitarian mind-set that discounts respect for human rights as a hindrance, and sees youthful defiance as the enemy,” he said by email. On Monday, Thailand's main press association raised concerns that undercover police were posing as journalists to infiltrate and arrest peaceful protesters. According to the junta, transgressors of martial law deemed violent, or those who resist or obstruct security officials, will face prosecution in a military court. But the gesture is catching on, and has apparently become so widespread that Thailand's coup leaders are investigating whether to arrest people over it, the Bangkok Post newspaper reports.
I don't know if he was on a hunt for them, or what," he said. A police helicopter is flying in the area. "Terrible sad news for Moncton. She said the three officers killed were from the RCMP's Codiac regional office in New Brunswick. But there was people going down there. Moncton Mayor George LeBlanc also asked city residents to stay indoors. In pictures: Canada shooting 10 show all In pictures: Canada shooting 1/10 Canada shooting Police officers take cover in Moncton as authorities searched for suspect Justin Bourque AP 2/10 Canada shooting Royal Canadian Mounted Police officer Damien Theriault and Mayor George LeBlanc pause to collect themselves before addressing the media during a late night news conference at City Hall in Moncton, New Brunswick 3/10 Canada shooting Royal Canadian Mounted Police officer officer Damien Theriault (L) and Mayor George LeBlanc hug after addressing the media during a late press conference at City Hall in Moncton, New Brunswick 4/10 Canada shooting An officer takes cover behind his car in Moncton, New Brunswick as another police car sits with its driver's side window shattered 5/10 Canada shooting Codiac RCMP officers take cover behind their vehicle in Moncton, New Brunswick 6/10 Canada shooting A car sits on a road with it's windows shot out and blood on the ground AP 7/10 Canada shooting Police officers walk around a strip mall urging merchants to shut down their stores in Moncton, New Brunswick 8/10 Canada shooting Employees of a grocery store lock down their store in Moncton, New Brunswick 9/10 Canada shooting Royal Canadian Mounted Police officers use their vehicles to create a keep a perimeter in Moncton, New Brunswick 10/10 Canada shooting An unmarked police vehicle sits on Mailhot Avenue with the window shot out in Moncton, New Brunswic Schools and government offices were closed, and the city halted its bus network.
Story highlights "Stay locked inside. Leave outdoor lights on," police tell residents late Wednesday night Police say the shooter is believed to be in a subdivision in Moncton 3 officers are killed, 2 sustained non-life-threatening injuries, police say The suspect is Justin Bourque; police release photo of armed man in fatigues Police in New Brunswick scoured overnight for a man they say fatally shot three of their officers and wounded two others in the Canadian province. "Shooter still believed to be in Pinehurst Subdivision area of Moncton. Leave outdoor lights on," the Royal Canadian Mounted Police in New Brunswick tweeted early Thursday morning. Police sent other warnings Wednesday night to those in Moncton, a city of just over 100,000 people some 90 miles (150 kilometers) northeast of St. John and 150 miles north of Halifax. Police posted to social media a photograph of a man dressed in fatigues, carrying what appeared to be a rifle. It posted a photograph of a man dressed in fatigues, carrying what appeared to be a rifle. JUST WATCHED 3 officers wounded in Canada shooting Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH 3 officers wounded in Canada shooting 01:35 "The RCMP received a call at 7:20 p.m. Atlantic Time of a man wearing camouflage clothing, carrying firearms, and walking into the woods," Staff Sgt. She said the three officers killed were from the RCMP's Codiac regional office in New Brunswick. Helicopters were flying over the neighborhood, according to Isabelle LeBlanc, spokeswoman for the City of Moncton. At least two people who suffered gunshot wounds and were taken to The Moncton Hospital, health authority spokeswoman Carolyn McCormack said. The hospital later added that a third gunshot victim had been admitted. It was not immediately clear if those were among the five police officers who have been shot, including three fatally. A man suspected of shooting dead three Royal Canadian Mounted Police officers and injuring two others in the Canadian city of Moncton was spotted three times on Thursday, but has not yet been caught, police said. Police said he was dressed in military camouflage and carrying high powered long firearms, ammunition and other items. Residents of Moncton, a city of about 69,000 people around 95 miles (150 kilometers) northeast of St. John, New Brunswick, have been warned to stay inside and lock their doors after Bourque went on a shooting rampage shortly before 19.20 local time (22:20 GMT). In pictures: Canada shooting 10 show all In pictures: Canada shooting 1/10 Canada shooting Police officers take cover in Moncton as authorities searched for suspect Justin Bourque AP 2/10 Canada shooting Royal Canadian Mounted Police officer Damien Theriault and Mayor George LeBlanc pause to collect themselves before addressing the media during a late night news conference at City Hall in Moncton, New Brunswick 3/10 Canada shooting Royal Canadian Mounted Police officer officer Damien Theriault (L) and Mayor George LeBlanc hug after addressing the media during a late press conference at City Hall in Moncton, New Brunswick 4/10 Canada shooting An officer takes cover behind his car in Moncton, New Brunswick as another police car sits with its driver's side window shattered 5/10 Canada shooting Codiac RCMP officers take cover behind their vehicle in Moncton, New Brunswick 6/10 Canada shooting A car sits on a road with it's windows shot out and blood on the ground AP 7/10 Canada shooting Police officers walk around a strip mall urging merchants to shut down their stores in Moncton, New Brunswick 8/10 Canada shooting Employees of a grocery store lock down their store in Moncton, New Brunswick 9/10 Canada shooting Royal Canadian Mounted Police officers use their vehicles to create a keep a perimeter in Moncton, New Brunswick 10/10 Canada shooting An unmarked police vehicle sits on Mailhot Avenue with the window shot out in Moncton, New Brunswic Schools and government offices were closed, and the city halted its bus network. Heavily armed RCMP officers were joined by police from across the country in combing streets and woods in search of the suspect on Thursday. "Quite honestly I don't know where he is at this time," said RCMP Commanding Officer Roger Brown. Brown said two officers underwent surgery for non-life threatening wounds in hospital Thursday and he met with the families of the officers who were shot. Dramatic footage of what appears to be the shooting has also appeared today showing residents hiding in their houses as they watch a gunfight between police and the shooter. In a macabre twist to the story a Facebook page, which appears to belong to the suspect, was active shortly before and during the city-wide manhunt. A post written 11 hours ago by Justin Bourque from Moncton featured the lyrics to the Megadeth song 'Hook in Mouth.' The account profile features a picture of two men holding rifles and standing in a wooded area and posts on the site make repeated reference to the right to bear arms and weaponery. Bizarrely the Facebook user appears to have added two new friends to his account whilst on the run from police. Meanwhile, a former colleague of the alleged gunman has described how he "wanted to go out with a bang and bring people with him". Caitlin Isaac, who according to Business Insider, worked with Bourque at Walmart said that Bourque wanted to "give people something to remember him for", and "always had a problem with authority". She claims he was fired from his job for "attitude related issues". VIDEO: Shooting captured by witness (Contains strong language) Witness Danny Leblanc, 42, said he saw the shooter in the distance on Wednesday evening, wearing a camouflage outfit and standing in the middle of the street with his gun pointed at police cars. The construction worker said he believed it was an RCMP officer until he heard a burst of automatic gunfire coming from the man's gun. A car sits on a road with it's windows shot out and blood on the ground Moncton Mayor George LeBlanc urged all residents to pay strict attention to the RCMP warnings.
Other measures will be laid before you. We are all elected, rightly or wrongly, for five years." My ministers will introduce legislation on the recall of Members of Parliament. My government will continue its programme of political reform. Mr Clegg said he had settled for a "modest" version because of "Conservative Party resistance". A serious crime Bill will be brought forward to tackle child neglect, disrupt serious organised crime and strengthen powers to seize the proceeds of crime. Legislation will be introduced to provide for a new statutory code and an adjudicator to increase fairness for public house tenants. Deputy PM Nick Clegg says he agrees with Zac Goldsmith and other critics of his government's proposals to give people limited powers to kick out MPs. A by-election would be forced if more than 10% of constituents signed a petition over an eight-week period after the Commons ruled an MP could face recall. My ministers will continue to promote the Help to Buy and Right to Buy schemes to support home ownership. It will work for a successful transition in Afghanistan, and will work towards a comprehensive nuclear agreement with Iran. The United Kingdom will lead efforts to prevent sexual violence in conflict worldwide. Equipped with hard hats, high-vis jackets and security fencing, Greenpeace activists staged a protest at David Cameron’s Oxfordshire home in response to legislation that will allow fracking firms to drill under people’s property without their permission. In England, my ministers will help more schools to become academies and support more Free Schools to open, whilst continuing investment to deliver more school places. He said he was a practical man and wanted to get something into law in line with the coalition agreement.
Deputy PM Nick Clegg says he agrees with Zac Goldsmith and other critics of his government's proposals to give people limited powers to kick out MPs. Mr Goldsmith, a Tory MP, said voters were being "duped" by the Recall Bill which proposed a Commons committee having power over the whole process. Mr Clegg said he had settled for a "modest" version because of "Conservative Party resistance". Mr Goldsmith accused Mr Clegg of "desperate backtracking". The Richmond Park MP said he wished it was true that the deputy PM was "at one" with him "but it is the opposite of the truth... Nick Clegg is the architect of the current Recall Bill". The bill was unveiled in the Queen's Speech after years of delays and wrangling between coalition ministers. The measure was promised in the coalition agreement between the Conservatives and the Lib Dems in 2010. It was seen as part of moves to restore faith in politics after the 2009 expenses scandal. Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Zac Goldsmith: "It's worse than meaningless, it's a pretence" Under the Recall of MPs Bill, constituents would be able to sack their MP if they are sentenced to up to 12 months in jail. MPs are already removed if they are jailed for more than a year. Voters could also trigger a by-election if the House of Commons resolves that an MP has engaged in "serious wrongdoing". A by-election would be forced if more than 10% of constituents signed a petition over an eight-week period after the Commons ruled an MP could face recall. The government said the move would give constituents a direct voice when MPs have behaved badly - but Mr Goldsmith said the final say would still rest with a committee of MPs, meaning it would not be true recall as it is understood in other countries, where any politician can be recalled if a certain proportion of their constituents sign a petition. Then most famous case of recall being used was in California in 2003, when more than the necessary 12% of voters signed a petition to cause a recall vote that led to Gray Davis being replaced by actor Arnold Schwarzenegger. Image copyright AP Mr Clegg was asked about the criticism of the new bill during his regular LBC phone-in. He said "Zac and I are completely at one" in wanting what he called "a radical California-style recall". But he said it had "absolutely no hope at all of being passed into law because of profound objections" from Conservative colleagues. Mr Clegg said he had had to "battle day and night to get even this modest recall measure agreed in the Queen's Speech against Conservative Party resistance". Justice Secretary Chris Grayling was asked on BBC Radio 4's Today programme whether he would be willing to have a rethink of the recall plans. Image copyright PA Image caption Chris Grayling says there are good reasons why recall powers are limited He said there would be debates in Parliament and "Zac might win people to his argument". But Mr Grayling said the bill was designed to tackle MPs who had "significantly broken the rules" or committed acts which had led them to be sent to prison. "What it is not meant to be is an opportunity for political opponents halfway through a parliament to get a petition together because they don't like their politics. He added: "A member of parliament in a government which is taking difficult and unpopular decisions should not be subject to recall for purely political reasons." The recall plans were designed to be a mechanism to allow electors to say "you're out" if you have done something "fundamentally wrong", he said. Nineteen MPs from across the political spectrum have signed a Commons motion backing Zac Goldsmith's call for tougher powers, including Tory MPs Douglas Carswell and David Davis, Labour members Kate Hoey and Frank Field and Lib Dem Julian Huppert. My Lords and Members of the House of Commons My government’s legislative programme will continue to deliver on its long-term plan to build a stronger economy and a fairer society. To strengthen the economy and provide stability and security, my ministers will continue to reduce the country’s deficit, helping to ensure that mortgage and interest rates remain low. My government will also continue to cut taxes in order to increase people’s financial security. My ministers will implement measures to increase further the personal allowance and to freeze fuel duty. Measures will be brought forward for a married couple’s allowance, which will recognise marriage in the tax system. My government’s pension reforms will also allow for innovation in the private pensions market to give greater control to employees, extend the ISA and Premium Bond schemes and abolish the savers’ ten pence tax rate.
I am ashamed of it. "They didn't just throw the kitchen sink at it - they threw the butlers' sink, they threw the crockery, all the silverware, the Aga, the butler, the home help, everything at it. Image copyright Lynne Cameron/PA Image caption UKIP leader Nigel Farage was present to hear the result Newark by-election: result in full Robert Jenrick (Con) 17,431 (45.03%, -8.82%) Roger Helmer (UKIP) 10,028 (25.91%, +22.09%) Michael Payne (Lab) 6,842 (17.68%, -4.65%) Paul Baggaley (Ind) 1,891 (4.89%) David Kirwan (Green) 1,057 (2.73%) David Watts (LD) 1,004 (2.59%, -17.41%) Nick The Flying Brick (Loony) 168 (0.43%) Andy Hayes (Ind) 117 (0.30%) David Bishop (BP Elvis) 87 (0.22%) Dick Rodgers (Stop Banks) 64 (0.17%) Lee Woods (Pat Soc) 18 (0.05%) Con majority 7,403 (19.13%) 15.46% swing Con to UKIP Electorate 73,486; Turnout 38,707 (52.67%, -18.69%) Mr Osborne said the Conservatives had got more votes than UKIP and Labour combined, saying the opposition's performance had been "disastrous". Grant Shapps, the Conservative Party chairman, said his party had turned the Ukip tide, after Nigel Farage’s party came first in last month’s European Parliament elections. This is their 44th safest seat. “In the end, the election next year is going to be between Ed Miliband or David Cameron.
Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Conservative Robert Jenrick said he fought his campaign on local issues The Conservatives have won the Newark by-election, retaining the seat with a majority of more than 7,000. Candidate Robert Jenrick polled 17,431 votes, beating UKIP's Roger Helmer, who finished second with 10,028 votes. Labour's Michael Payne came third with 6,842 votes but it was a disastrous result for the Lib Dems, who were beaten into sixth place. Chancellor George Osborne said the victory was a "strong endorsement" of the Conservatives' economic plan. The resignation of Newark's former Conservative MP Patrick Mercer, who quit over a cash-for-questions scandal, had raised expectations in UKIP - on a high from their recent European election victory - that they could cause a major upset by winning their first seat at Westminster. But the Conservatives flooded the seat with MPs and activists in the run-up to polling day - with David Cameron visiting the Nottinghamshire market town four times - in their bid to retain what was, in theory, a safe seat. In the end, Mr Cameron's party won a relatively comfortable victory, although UKIP succeeded in more than halving the party's 16,000 majority that it gained at the 2010 General Election and increasing their share of the vote by 22.1%. In finishing third, Labour polled 17.68% of the vote, down 4.65% from the general election. Analysis Image copyright Getty Images BBC Political correspondent Alex Forsyth writes: After UKIP's success in the European elections, some feared the political earthquake the party had promised. In Newark it was more of a tremor, but without doubt one that shook the ground under the feet of some of their political opponents. The party failed to get its first MP elected to Westminster, but it did leave a dent in the Conservative majority, although not as much as Mr Farage had hoped - or predicted. David Cameron will use this by-election victory to say UKIP's bubble has burst and he has stopped the "people's army" in its tracks - but it took an army of his own to do it. David Cameron said it was a "very good" result for for the Conservatives but acknowledged the Tories needed to "work between now and the next election" to win back voters from UKIP. Mr Osborne said the Conservatives had got more votes than UKIP and Labour combined, saying the opposition's performance had been "disastrous". "We have won this seat with a big majority," he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme. "This is the first time in 25 years that the Conservative have held a by-election in government. Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption PM David Cameron: "This is a very good result for the Conservative Party" "We can take some comfort from this result but we know, of course, that the job is not done. 'Personal support' In his victory speech, Mr Jenrick, a 32-year-old managing director at Christies, said: "I want to thank the prime minister for his personal support to my campaign and I want to thank the government for its commitment to re-building Britain. "I hope now that I can repay the faith and trust that the people of Newark have put in me as your new member of parliament - and in the months and years to come I can build a reputation as a strong and effective MP." UKIP leader Nigel Farage - who turned down the chance to stand as his party's candidate in Newark - conceded defeat before the result was announced but said his party had retained 85% of the support it won in European elections. Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Defeated UKIP candidate Roger Helmer: "We are encouraged by the fact that we have increased our share of the vote... by a factor of six" "I think this has been a stunning campaign that we've fought in a very short space of time. "We've been up against probably the biggest ever Conservative machine, defending about their 40th safest seat in the country. Labour MP Chris Bryant, who ran his party's campaign, said the Tories' win was no surprise: "This is the 44th safest Conservative seat in the country. "There are cabinet ministers who wouldn't be MPs if they were to lose seats like this. "They didn't just throw the kitchen sink at it - they threw the butlers' sink, they threw the crockery, all the silverware, the Aga, the butler, the home help, everything at it. "I think this really shows that the Conservatives - who haven't won a general election since 1992 - still haven't got a winning streak with them." The Lib Dems' 1,004 votes, and 2.6% share of the vote, represents one of their worst performances in a post-war English by-election. Lib Dem candidate Mr Watts said: "Well it wasn't a good result, but smaller parties often get squeezed in by-elections and that's what's happened to us here. "We knew, from talking to people today, that a lot of our voters had transferred to vote against UKIP to make sure UKIP didn't get elected and some have clearly gone to Paul's [Independent candidate Paul Baggaley] campaign on the hospital which is a very important campaign." Image copyright Lynne Cameron/PA Image caption UKIP leader Nigel Farage was present to hear the result Newark by-election: result in full Robert Jenrick (Con) 17,431 (45.03%, -8.82%) Roger Helmer (UKIP) 10,028 (25.91%, +22.09%) Michael Payne (Lab) 6,842 (17.68%, -4.65%) Paul Baggaley (Ind) 1,891 (4.89%) David Kirwan (Green) 1,057 (2.73%) David Watts (LD) 1,004 (2.59%, -17.41%) Nick The Flying Brick (Loony) 168 (0.43%) Andy Hayes (Ind) 117 (0.30%) David Bishop (BP Elvis) 87 (0.22%) Dick Rodgers (Stop Banks) 64 (0.17%) Lee Woods (Pat Soc) 18 (0.05%) Con majority 7,403 (19.13%) 15.46% swing Con to UKIP Electorate 73,486; Turnout 38,707 (52.67%, -18.69%) In all 38,700 people voted - 53 per cent of those who could have cast their ballots, down from 74 per cent in 2010.
"We do not seek a referendum to take Britain out of the EU. In a tight election, this can make the difference." The Labour leadership played down the union's vote, saying that it disproved the Tory claim that the party is run by Unite. General secretary Len McCluskey said Labour will be a "hostage to fortune" if it does not support a vote. I would not like to be Ed Miliband explaining why he is not joining other parties in offering the British people a vote on something that is clearly a growing source of public concern. UKIP will be strengthened in some key constituencies. Without such a pledge our party will stand exposed. The Tories will hypocritically charge Labour with being anti-democratic. "We made a very clear commitment: if there is any proposal in the next parliament for a transfer of powers to Brussels we will have an in/out referendum. For much of that time it has been the Tories who have had to deal with divisions in their ranks over Europe. We seek a referendum rethink in order to help get Labour into power here in Britain. McCluskey told the conference that "ducking this question is seen as part of Labour's commitment to business". David Cameron would go further and offer a referendum in 2017 regardless of the result of negotiations on the future of the EU. Shadow chancellor rejects suggestion by Unite leader that party risks losing votes by not giving people a say on Europe Shadow chancellor Ed Balls last night said he disagreed with Unite's call for a referendum promise in the Labour manifesto, accusing the head of the country's biggest trade union of supporting a Tory policy that would be bad for jobs.
Shadow chancellor rejects suggestion by Unite leader that party risks losing votes by not giving people a say on Europe Shadow chancellor Ed Balls last night said he disagreed with Unite's call for a referendum promise in the Labour manifesto, accusing the head of the country's biggest trade union of supporting a Tory policy that would be bad for jobs. The shadow chancellor dismissed a warning from Unite general secretary Len McCluskey that the party risked being "boxed in" at the 2015 general election unless it dropped its opposition to matching David Cameron's promise to allow voters a say. Delegates at the conference of Labour's biggest union affiliate approved a statement from Unite's executive urging Labour to "urgently reconsider" its approach to a referendum, and making it clear that the union would argue for a vote for Britain to stay in the EU. Asked on BBC2's Newsnight whether there was "no question that an incoming Labour government would ever offer an in/out referendum on Europe", Mr Balls replied: "That would be a silly thing for us to say." "We made a very clear commitment: if there is any proposal in the next parliament for a transfer of powers to Brussels we will have an in/out referendum. "We are not proposing a referendum now because we think to spend two or three years blighting investment and undermining our economy on the prospect of a referendum which David Cameron says he is going to have after he gets an unknown package of reforms would be bad for jobs and investment. Cameron has pledged to renegotiate the terms of Britain's membership if the Tories win a majority next year, and hold a referendum in 2017. McCluskey told the conference that "ducking this question is seen as part of Labour's commitment to business". "That is a vast hostage to fortune. "It is time that Labour's leadership took a new look at the referendum question. "Without such a pledge, our party will stand exposed, Ukip will be strengthened in some key constituencies and the Tories will hypocritically charge Labour with being anti-democratic. McCluskey said denying a referendum would suggest that Labour was part of a "political elite" that did not trust the electorate. • This article was amended on 3 July 2014 to clarify remarks made by Ed Balls, both in the text and the headline. The earlier version stated that Balls had said it "would be 'silly' for Labour to offer voters an in/out referendum on Britain's membership of the European Union". Image copyright PA Image caption Unite general secretary Len McCluskey wants to give people a say on Europe Labour's biggest union backer Unite is urging the party to match the Conservatives' pledge to offer an in-out referendum on Europe. General secretary Len McCluskey said Labour will be a "hostage to fortune" if it does not support a vote. But Unite fears this stance will be a "millstone" around Labour's neck at the next general election. Earlier this week, Unite confirmed it would continue to be Labour's biggest financial backer in the run up to the 2015 election. But at its annual conference on Wednesday, Unite delegates backed a motion urging the Labour leadership to reconsider its approach to a referendum on Britain's membership. 'Exposed' Mr McCluskey said silence on the issue would leave the field open "for UKIP and others to exploit people's real concerns in order to win votes for their right-wing agenda". Chris Leslie, shadow chief secretary to the Treasury, said backing a referendum would be a "distraction" that would "put at risk" the fragile nature of Britain's economic recovery. But Unite members were entitled to their own views, the shadow cabinet minister added. "In a tight election this can make the difference - so let's give the British people a say on the EU, and when they do, Unite will be there arguing for the benefits of internationalism and a real social Europe." Ed Miliband is facing renewed pressure to match the Conservatives' EU referendum pledge after Britain's largest trade union called on Labour to support a vote or risk finding itself boxed in at next year's general election. The Unite union, which announced earlier this week that it would help fund Labour's general election campaign, approved a motion at its conference in Liverpool calling for a referendum on Britain's EU membership. The motion, proposed by Unite's executive council, said a failure by Labour to support a referendum would leave the party with an "electoral millstone" next year. He said: "As things stand, Labour won't [call for a referendum] because ducking this question is seen as part of Labour's commitment to business.
“It was a rocket, I’m sure of it,’’ he said. The rebels claim the plane was down by the Ukrainian government. Pro-Russian separatists stand at the crash site of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17, which went down in eastern Ukraine on Thursday, killing 298 people. US authorities say they have evidence it was shot down by a missile. Questions about why commercial air traffic was continuing in the area — and about when air traffic should be stopped over similar areas of fighting in the future — could prove difficult to answer. He served in the Russian military but moved back to Ukraine in 2003, where he began to work as the head of security for a factory in Gorlovka. “Why would we do this? Pavlo Klimkin told the Guardian on Friday morning that the Ukrainian army did not have such missiles in the area, and said none had been seized by separatist fighters in recent weeks. Kurginyan said in the video that specialists from Russia had travelled to the region to fix the missile system, "as a friendly gesture to a brotherly nation". “During that period of time, there are also many other aircraft using the same route,’’ he said. Foreign minister denies missile that shot down Malaysia Airlines jet over east of country came from Ukrainian military Ukraine's foreign minister says there is no chance that the missile apparently used to shoot down a Malaysia Airlines jet over the east of the country was of Ukrainian military origin. Both Korean Air Lines and Asiana Airlines have confirmed that they have not flown planes through Ukrainian airspace since March 3. The Russian defense statement noted that units of the Ukrainian Army possessed the BUK M1 air defense missile launchers that officials said were most likely responsible for bringing the jetliner down.
Foreign minister denies missile that shot down Malaysia Airlines jet over east of country came from Ukrainian military Ukraine's foreign minister says there is no chance that the missile apparently used to shoot down a Malaysia Airlines jet over the east of the country was of Ukrainian military origin. Pavlo Klimkin told the Guardian on Friday morning that the Ukrainian army did not have such missiles in the area, and said none had been seized by separatist fighters in recent weeks. "We are absolutely sure and we checked yesterday that no missiles have been taken from the Ukrainian army," said Klimkin. MH17 crashed near the village of Grabovo on Thursday killing all of its nearly 300 passengers and crew. US authorities say they have evidence it was shot down by a missile. Separatist fighters in the region have shot down a number of Ukrainian planes and helicopters in recent days, and there is circumstantial evidence pointing to the seizure of a Buk missile system from the Ukrainian army by rebels. A video has surfaced from several days ago in which a well-known Kremlin cheerleader, Sergei Kurginyan, said after a visit to Donetsk in recent days that the rebels had seized a Buk system. Kurginyan said in the video that specialists from Russia had travelled to the region to fix the missile system, "as a friendly gesture to a brotherly nation". Additionally, a news item on Russian state television from late June announced that the rebels had taken control of a Ukrainian Buk system. "Our military forces don't use any sort of anti-air missile in the region of anti-terror operation, so there could be no even theoretical possibility of taking this kind of missile," he told the Guardian. He suggested the missile system could have been smuggled into Ukraine from Russia: "In recent weeks we have had continuous inflow of mercenaries, money, weapons and heavy weaponry across the border, including tanks and Manpads [man-portable air-defence systems]," said Klimkin. He claimed that given the border was several hundred miles long, and in places "controlled by the terrorists", it was possible that a missile system could have been brought across the border without detection. Klimkin insisted that recordings released by Ukraine's SBU security services on Thursday of separatist fighters admitting they had downed a passenger liner were "absolutely genuine". Ukraine's foreign minister said he had spoken overnight to a number of his western counterparts, including the new UK foreign secretary, Philip Hammond, who offered British assistance and support. Klimkin said a video-conference had taken place on Thursday evening between the separatists and the Ukrainian president's representative, the former president Leonid Kuchma, which included mediation from the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) and the Russian ambassador to Ukraine. Access to the location had been negotiated for the OSCE and Ukrainian officials, said Klimkin, who declined to give details of what kind of delegation would travel to the crash site and when, citing security issues. The Donetsk region contains a number of different militias whose actions are not always coordinated, and an aide to the rebel commander Igor Strelkov told Associated Press on Thursday that his boss had not yet decided whether to allow investigators access to the site. The rebels claim the plane was down by the Ukrainian government. GRABOVO, Ukraine — As rescue teams slowly converged on the grisly scene of the downing of a Malaysia Airlines jet, the Russian Defense Ministry on Friday denied any involvement in the missile strike that Ukrainian officials said ripped the Boeing 777 from the sky on Thursday, and many began questioning why the airline had chosen to fly a civilian jet over a combat zone. The crash site was still unsecured by midday Friday, raising questions about who controlled the flight data recorder, cockpit voice recorder and other onboard devices that could help determine exactly how the crash occurred. Advertisement Russian officials were adamant that they had nothing to do with the disaster, continuing to point fingers at the Ukrainian government and military. “In view of various types of speculation concerning operations of the Russian armed forces in the areas bordering Ukraine, we affirm that the anti-aircraft means of the Russian armed forces did not operate in that region on July 17,’’ the Defense Ministry said in a statement posted on its website. The statement also said its air force was not flying within Russia in the areas bordering Donetsk on Thursday. Officials in the United States confirmed late Thursday that Flight 17, with 298 people aboard, had been shot down over Grabovo, Ukraine, by what they described as a Russian-made antiaircraft missile. Fighting in eastern Ukraine between the Ukrainian military and pro-Russian separatists has been marked by the successful use of missiles against aircraft at higher and higher altitudes. The downing on Thursday of Flight 17, struck at 33,000 feet, was the first at cruising altitude for modern commercial jets, however. The Russian defense statement noted that units of the Ukrainian Army possessed the BUK M1 air defense missile launchers that officials said were most likely responsible for bringing the jetliner down. Much of the speculation surrounding the crash has focused on that system, particularly since the pro-Russian separatist forces in eastern Ukraine bragged on social media in late June that they had taken possession of a BUK system after capturing a Ukrainian military base. Advertisement The crash remained the subject of intense debate in the small Ukrainian town of Grabovo, as residents tried to come to grips with what had unfolded in the fields where they work, just yards from their homes. The other villager, Sergei, 15, who also did not want to give his last name, said he had been swimming in a nearby river when he saw what appeared to be a rocket being launched into the sky. “We started to win the war and the fascists did this to stop us.’’ When asked if the fight would continue, he said, “a little bit.’’ In Malaysia, the heavily Muslim nation in Southeast Asia, people mourned on a holy Ramadan Friday, shocked at the sudden loss of a second Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777-200. Ukrainian intelligence has pointed to a fighter named Igor Bezler, the militia leader in the eastern town of Gorlovka, as saying in an intercepted phone call that his men had “shot down a plane’’ on Thursday.
That was not our intention," Regev said. One Israeli was killed by shelling from Gaza, and an Israeli soldier was killed during the ground operation. Until then, Israel and Hamas had observed a truce since 2012. "But we are alarmed by Israel's heavy response." Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH What do Gazans want? Netanyahu told troops on Friday to remain ready for a significant expansion of the offensive. That fighting began after a temporary cease-fire ended earlier in the day. The military says it stopped 13 Hamas militants coming through a tunnel. Palestinian medical and security sources say 246 people have been killed in Gaza and more than 1,850 injured. Aqsa TV also reported that Israeli gunboats near Beit Lahiya north of Gaza strip, fired at the homes of residents. We see rockets screech toward the sky. Rocket sirens sounded in Tel Aviv during a telephone conversation Friday between President Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Video L.A. Times photographer describes scene in Gaza City Related video: Los Angeles Times photographer Carolyn Cole describes the scene in Gaza City after heavy shelling and missile attacks. The Gaza Health Ministry said seven children were killed in three hours on Thursday. The conflict began 11 days ago. "We didn't want to kill those four boys. More than 2,000 Palestinians have been injured. A separate attack killed at least eight members of an extended family in Khan Yunis, according to Palestinian accounts. Egypt is playing a large role in the talks despite its distrust of Hamas. "I also made clear that the United States and our friends and allies are deeply concerned about the risks of further escalation and the loss of more innocent life."
Families wept over bloodied corpses and medical workers rushed to keep up with the wounded Friday as Israeli forces hunted rocket launchers and tunnels that Palestinian militants use to strike Israel. Troops backed by tanks and artillery pressed deeper into the coastal enclave in a ground offensive launched Thursday after 10 days of aerial bombardments failed to halt the rocket fire raining down on Israel's cities and towns from Gaza, which has been controlled by Hamas since 2007. Israel has launched previous campaigns, including a major ground operation early in 2009. Each time, Hamas has quickly rebuilt its arsenal of rockets, which have grown more powerful and can now penetrate deep into Israeli territory. This incursion appeared more limited in scope, targeting a network of tunnels along the enclave's northern, eastern and southern frontiers that militants use to smuggle weapons and fighters into Israel. But Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told reporters he had instructed the military to prepare for the possibility of a “considerable expansion of the ground operation.” “We chose to embark on this operation after exhausting the other options and with the understanding that without the operation, we could pay a much higher price,” Netanyahu said as he headed into a meeting of his Security Cabinet. Video L.A. Times photographer describes scene in Gaza City Related video: Los Angeles Times photographer Carolyn Cole describes the scene in Gaza City after heavy shelling and missile attacks. Related video: Los Angeles Times photographer Carolyn Cole describes the scene in Gaza City after heavy shelling and missile attacks. See more videos More than 1,600 rockets have been fired at Israel since July 8, according to Israeli authorities. The country's Iron Dome antimissile system, built with U.S. assistance, has helped keep Israeli casualties to a minimum. One Israeli was killed by shelling from Gaza, and an Israeli soldier was killed during the ground operation. The cause of the military death was under investigation, but Israeli news reports said that friendly fire was suspected. Nearly 300 Palestinians have been killed, most of them civilians, by Israeli airstrikes and ground attacks, according to Gaza medical officials quoted by the Maan news agency. More than 60 of them died since the ground operation began. Among the Palestinians killed Friday were three siblings ages 13 to 15 who died when their house in Beit Lahiya was shelled. A separate attack killed at least eight members of an extended family in Khan Yunis, according to Palestinian accounts. Loud explosions resonated throughout the day, sending families living in Gaza's frontier areas fleeing toward the interior on foot and in donkey carts. A distraught man arrived at the Shifa hospital in Gaza City with two young children, their faces peppered with shrapnel wounds. In the hospital morgue, relatives grieved over the body of a woman covered with a soiled sheet. Constant bombardment has made life miserable in the impoverished enclave, knocking out already patchy power and water service and keeping families pinned down in their homes. Bodour Kwaik, a 24-year-old aid worker, lost two family members in an Israeli airstrike early in the campaign. “I couldn't go to the funeral because it was too risky.” Israeli military officials said the complex network of tunnels through the Gaza Strip remains a potent threat, linking weapons caches and rocket launch-sites with homes and mosques used by militants to strike at Israel. “A successful attack through such a tunnel … can turn everything around.” Before the ground offensive began Thursday, Israeli officials said they intercepted 13 heavily armed fighters at the mouth of a tunnel in Israel. An airstrike is believed to have killed three of them, but the rest escaped, said Lt. Col. Peter Lerner, an Israeli military spokesman. He was held for five years, until Hamas agreed to release him in exchange for more than 1,000 Palestinian prisoners . Israeli troops have uncovered 10 tunnels with 22 exit points across the Gaza Strip since launching the ground operation, trading fire with Palestinian militants who attacked with guns and rocket-propelled grenades, military officials said. At least 17 militants were killed and 21 captured since the start of the ground operation, the military said. Hamas called the decision to launch the ground operation dangerous, and threatened in a statement to “drown the occupation army in Gaza mud.” The sharp escalation in the fighting came despite growing international pressure on the two sides to suspend hostilities. Netanyahu told Obama that he holds Hamas responsible for the harm done to civilians, accusing the group of using them as human shields, according to a statement from the prime minister's office. But Hamas leaders, who have found themselves increasingly isolated since the ouster of Egypt's Islamist president, Mohamed Morsi, said their fighters wouldn't back down until key demands are met. They include easing a crippling blockade on the impoverished territory, reopening border crossings into Israel and Egypt, and releasing their members jailed in the West Bank during recent sweeps spurred by the disappearance and slaying of three Israeli teens. "Israel has legitimate security concerns, and we condemn the indiscriminate rocket fire from Gaza into Israel that ended yesterday's temporary cease-fire," Jeffrey Feltman, deputy U.N. secretary-general for political affairs, told the Security Council on Friday. The Palestinian death toll is now 285, according to a Gaza health official, with more than 30 killed since Israel launched a ground offensive late Thursday. Eitan Barak — Israel's first military fatality in the conflict and second overall — was killed by friendly fire. "No nation should accept rockets being fired into its borders," Obama told reporters at a White House briefing. "Netanyahu told Obama that Hamas was responsible for the harm done to Palestinian civilians in Gaza who are being used as human shields," according to the Jerusalem Post.
"Five people, I gather, were killed, and 15 were injured, including medical staff. The Israeli military said it was investigating the incident. The Israel Defence Forces said it had foiled attempts by Hamas fighters to infiltrate Israel through two tunnels from Gaza on Monday. The members of the Security Council called for an immediate cessation of hostilities," Rwandan U.N. REUTERS/Finbarr O'Reilly A Palestinian man inspects a house which police said was damaged in an Israeli air strike, in Gaza City July 21, 2014. Mounting international pressure for a ceasefire came amid continuing violence in Gaza. Israel's losses also mounted. It followed the bloodiest day of the conflict so far on Sunday when at least 120 Palestinians were killed in Shujai'iya, a third of them women and children. Ambassador Eugene Gasana told reporters after an emergency meeting of the 15-member council. The call of a halt to the fighting came as the US secretary of state, John Kerry, was due to fly to Cairo on Monday for meetings with senior officials from Egypt and other countries, as diplomatic efforts to end the two-week long conflict appeared to be gaining some momentum. "The members of the security council expressed serious concern about the growing number of casualties. Staff at the al-Asqa Martyrs hospital were said to be in shock that the building was hit. The United States, a close ally of Israel, agreed to the statement after the Arab Group threatened to push for a resolution. Israel says 25 of its soldiers have been killed along with two civilians. (Reporting by Michelle Nichols; Editing by Lisa Shumaker and Alan Raybould)
The Palestinian death toll in the conflict between Hamas and Israel reached 548 on Monday as officials said four were killed when a Gaza hospital was hit by Israeli fire. It followed the bloodiest day of the conflict so far on Sunday when at least 120 Palestinians were killed in Shujai'iya, a third of them women and children. Thirteen Israeli soldiers were also killed – two of them US citizens – in the heaviest loss of life for the Israeli military in years. Staff at the al-Asqa Martyrs hospital were said to be in shock that the building was hit. "People can't believe this is happening – that a medical hospital was shelled without the briefest warning. It was already full with patients," said Fikr Shalltoot, director of programmes at Medical Aid for Palestinians in Gaza city. "Five people, I gather, were killed, and 15 were injured, including medical staff. My nephew is a medical doctor there." Facebook Twitter Pinterest A Palestinian employee inspects damages at the Al-Aqsa Martyrs hospital in Deir al-Balah, in the central Gaza Strip. Israel continued its action on the Gaza City neighbourhood of Shujai'iya on Monday, where bombardment and fierce fighting on the ground the day before had left shattered streets littered with bodies. Overnight, Israeli strikes hit Gaza city, and the south and centre of the coastal enclave, home to 1.8 million people. Twenty-five members of the same family were reported killed in an air strike in the south of Gaza, and a further 10 people were killed near Khan Younis. In the West Bank, Palestinians began three days of mourning for the dead in Gaza. The Israel Defence Forces said it had foiled attempts by Hamas fighters to infiltrate Israel through two tunnels from Gaza on Monday. Meanwhile, army spokesman Peter Lerner said the IDF could not rule out the kidnapping of an Israeli soldier by Hamas, despite denials late on Sunday by the Israeli ambassador to the UN, Ron Prosor. By Monday morning, 43 access points to 16 different tunnels had been discovered by Israeli troops on the ground. Military sources said the “sophisticated network of tunnels” within Gaza and under the border to Israel was much more extensive that originally thought. The conflict is rapidly threatening to turn into a major humanitarian crisis hitting electricity and water supplies and seeing large numbers driven from their homes. The UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, has opened 60 of its schools to shelter more than 83,000 people who have fled so far. Obama's appeal came as the United Nations security council opened urgent talks on efforts to strike a ceasefire deal as Israel ramped up a major military offensive with fresh strikes on Monday in the Palestinian territory. "The members of the security council expressed serious concern about the growing number of casualties. The members of the security council called for an immediate cessation of hostilities," Rwandan UN ambassador Eugene Gasana told reporters after an emergency meeting of the 15-member council. Amid signs of mounting pressure on both sides to end the conflict, the UN secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, who is in the Middle East in an attempt to help broker a ceasefire, condemned the Israeli assault in Shuji'iya as an "atrocious action". The call of a halt to the fighting came as the US secretary of state, John Kerry, was due to fly to Cairo on Monday for meetings with senior officials from Egypt and other countries, as diplomatic efforts to end the two-week long conflict appeared to be gaining some momentum. The state department said Kerry would leave early on Monday for Egypt where he will join diplomatic efforts to resume a truce that had been agreed to in November 2012. In a statement on Sunday evening, department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said the US and its international partners were "deeply concerned about the risk of further escalation, and the loss of more innocent life". Ceasefire discussions between Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal and the Palestinian president were due to take place on Monday after being delayed by a day. UN chief Ban was also in Doha where he urged Israel to "exercise maximum restraint". "Too many innocent people are dying … [and] living in constant fear," he told a news conference in Doha. In their second call in three days, Obama "reaffirmed Israel's right to defend itself" and called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. David Cameron also spoke to Netanyahu, reiterating "the UK's strong support for Israel's right to take proportionate action to defend itself from" Gaza rockets, while expressing condolences over the Israeli deaths and concern over the "mounting civilian casualties in Gaza". Cameron agreed with Netanyahu that the way out of the "spiral of violence" was through the Egyptian ceasefire initiative, a spokesman for the British PM said. The Doctors Without Borders charity urged Israel to "stop bombing civilians trapped in the Gaza Strip", noting the majority of the injured arriving in the Al-Shifa hospital were women and children. Jordan had requested the meeting after more than 60 Palestinians and 13 Israeli soldiers were killed as Israel shelled Gaza's Shejaia neighbourhood and battled militants in the bloodiest fighting in the 13-day offensive. "The members of the Security Council called for respect of international humanitarian law including protection of civilians," Gasana said. REUTERS/Finbarr O'Reilly A Palestinian man inspects a house which police said was damaged in an Israeli air strike, in Gaza City July 21, 2014. REUTERS/Suhaib Salem A Palestinian man is pictured through a damaged house as he walks amidst the debris of a neighboring a house which police said was destroyed in an Israeli air strike, in Gaza City July 21, 2014. REUTERS/Suhaib Salem A Palestinian boy carries belongings as he walks past a house which police said was destroyed in an Israeli air strike, in Gaza City July 21, 2014.
"This siege, this unjust siege, must be lifted," he said. CNN's Atika Shubert reported from Israel near Gaza. Hamas said Monday it had killed Israeli soldiers in an ambush and that the Hamas fighters were uninjured. But the Palestinian militant group has also begun attacking Israel on the ground. The Health Ministry said 3,130 people have been wounded. The United Nations has estimated that 70% were civilians. U.S. President Barack Obama spoke Sunday with Netanyahu, the second call in three days. Israeli soldier captured? But the UN, Palestinians and Arab states have expressed alarm at the number of civilian casualties. The hospital is frequently hit by rocket attacks from Gaza. The IDF is adding troops to the incursion. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry is scheduled to go to Egypt on Monday to meet with senior officials about the crisis in Gaza. The United Nations has been investigating a cache of rockets used by militants found in a U.N. school. "It's a hell of a pinpoint operation. Hamas' cease-fire demands Hamas told CNN on Sunday that it would only agree to a cease-fire if it was guaranteed that certain demands would form the basis of negotiations. They're committed to this mission." Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Lyse Doucet in Gaza: ''Two patients were killed in their beds'' At least five people have been killed and 70 injured by an Israeli strike on a hospital in Gaza, Palestinians say. "They fire from a home and draw the fire into the home." I watched today as one missile battery shot down several incoming rockets fired by Hamas.
Gaza City (CNN) -- The death toll on both sides of the Gaza battle jumped Monday, as Palestinian officials reported scores more killed and Israel announced seven more soldiers died -- including several on Israeli soil. About 576 Palestinians have been killed, Gaza Health Ministry officials said. It's unknown how many were militants, but the United Nations has estimated that 70% are civilians. Israel has reported dozens of terrorists killed by its forces. In total, 27 Israeli soldiers have died, including three believed killed by friendly fire. Four were on Israeli soil, killed as a result of infiltration by Hamas operatives, the Israel Defense Forces said. Two of the soldiers who died over the weekend were dual Israeli-American citizens: California native Max Steinberg and Sean Carmeli, from South Padre Island, Texas, the U.S. State Department said. Israel's Iron Dome defense system helps protect its residents from missile attacks. Gaza hospital shelled The Shuhada Al-Aqsa hospital in central Gaza was hit by shelling, leaving five people dead -- one patient and four relatives, the Gaza Health Ministry said. Israeli Justice Minister Tzipi Livni told CNN that the reports of hospital shelling are being questioned, "and we will make all the facts found public." The Israel Defense Forces said an initial investigation shows that a cache of missiles was stored in the immediate vicinity of the hospital and was targeted. "Civilian casualties are a tragic inevitability of the brutal and systematic exploitation of homes, hospitals and mosques in Gaza," the IDF said. "While the IDF takes every possible measure to minimize civilian casualties, Hamas and its deliberate tactic of embedding terrorist activities within the urban environment is ultimately responsible." Israel also blames Hamas for other civilian deaths in Gaza, noting that the group has encouraged people to stay in their homes despite repeated warnings from Israel in advance of airstrikes. "Nobody is safe and nobody can flee anywhere because everywhere is targeted," said Enas Sisisalem, a mother of two who lives in the al-Remal neighborhood of Gaza City. Palestinian lawmaker Mustafa Barghouti accused the Israeli government of "acting in a criminal way." "What happened in Gaza during the past 10 days is nothing but a massacre," he told CNN's "The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer." Israeli kindergarten struck A rocket fired from Gaza struck a kindergarten, which was empty at the time, in the Israeli town of Sha'ar Hanegev, the IDF said. Israel killed more than 10 Hamas terrorists who entered the country through tunnels "to attack two different kibbutzim," or communal areas, "where farmers are trying to conduct their daily lives," government spokesman Mark Regev told CNN. "We will see Hamas come out of this substantially weakened, their arsenal of dangerous weapons diminished," Regev vowed Monday in an interview with CNN's Wolf Blitzer. In a meeting late Sunday, U.N. Security Council members expressed "serious concern about the growing number of casualties," according to the body's president, Ambassador Eugene-Richard Gasana of Rwanda. And as the bloodshed continued Monday, U.S. President Barack Obama announced that he has instructed Secretary of State John Kerry to "push for an immediate cessation of hostilities." Kerry arrived in Cairo on Monday and said the United States would provide $47 million in humanitarian assistance to Gaza. "No country, no human being, is comfortable with children being killed, with people being killed, but we're not comfortable with Israeli soldiers being killed either, or with people being rocketed in Israel," he said. After one of his deputies mentioned the latest number of Palestinian casualties, Kerry was heard to say, "It's a hell of a pinpoint operation." Obama reiterated U.S. condemnation of Hamas attacks against Israel "and reaffirmed Israel's right to defend itself," the White House said in a statement. Obama also "raised serious concern about the growing number of casualties, including increasing Palestinian civilian deaths in Gaza and the loss of Israeli soldiers." UN: 'Massive' airlift under way The United Nations is sending supplies into Gaza in what Chris Gunness, spokesman for the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees, described as a "massive humanitarian airlift." "In the coming days, more airlifts are scheduled to arrive in Amman, from where (the U.N. agency) will truck the aid into Gaza for distribution," he said on Twitter. The IDF, meanwhile, tweeted, "While Hamas continues its attacks, tons of goods are reaching Palestinians in Gaza from Israel," including 148 trucks of food and medical supplies.
K.Harvick, 565. "There was no catching (Gordon)," Busch said. Lap Leaders: K.Harvick 1; J.Gordon 2-21; J.Logano 22-31; K.Kahne 32-37; K.Larson 38-42; A.Dillon 43; D.Hamlin 44-54; K.Harvick 55-65; D.Hamlin 66-72; K.Kahne 73-98; C.Bowyer 99-101; K.Kahne 102-126; J.Gordon 127-129; M.Annett 130; K.Kahne 131-143; J.Gordon 144-160. It's a great win. Final laps of Brickyard 400 Jeff Gordon discusses his win at the Brickyard 400 on Sunday. (10) Kasey Kahne, Chevrolet, 160, 132.7, 40, $231,130. 2. Denny Hamlin finished third Sunday at Indianapolis but faces possible penalties from NASCAR on Tuesday. 4. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota. Hendrick said he had a premonition about the race. 3. 12. I remember the first one how good it felt. 5. It was Gordon's second Cup win of the season — he also won at Kansas — and the 90th victory of his career. 9. 18. 8. 17. 20. 24. 27. 29. Kyle Larson, Kevin Harvick, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Austin Dillon rounded out the top 10. Logano led the next 10 laps after he was the only driver electing not to pit during a competition caution. 6. 7. 15. 16. 42. "I finally made the restart of my life when it counted most. He gets around this place so well. james.peltz@latimes.com Twitter: @PeltzLATimes 14. 30. 31. 35. This is his home track. This year he moved his No.
Jeff Gordon celebrates in victory lane after winning the Crown Royal Presents The John Wayne Walding 400 at the Brickyard, Sunday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. (Photo: Chris Trotman, Getty Images) INDIANAPOLIS — The NASCAR star nicknamed "Four Time" is now "Five Time" at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Jeff Gordon became the first five-time NASCAR winner at Indy, snatching the lead from Hendrick Motorsports teammate Kasey Kahne on a restart with 17 laps remaining and holding on for his second Sprint Cup victory this season and the 90th of his career. A win in Sunday's 21st running of the Brickyard completed a nice bookend for the four-time series champion, who won the inaugural Cup event at Indianapolis in 1994. "I'm not very good on restarts and wasn't very good today," Gordon said. "I finally made the restart of my life when it counted most. "Once we got down into (turns) 1 and 2, I could hear (Kahne) getting loose. I've got to thank him for racing me clean. It's such a big race, such an important victory. PHOTOS: 2014 Sprint Cup race winners It was the first win at the Brickyard since 2004 for Gordon, who lived in nearby Pittsboro, Ind., while racing sprint cars as a teenager. He now is tied with retired Formula One driver Michael Schumacher, who won five times on the 2.5-mile layout. "I told him this morning, this is your day," team owner Rick Hendrick said. "He's been so good on the long runs at every track. For him to break that tie is pretty special. We're a little bit older. It's a great win. 24 Chevrolet made it 12 consecutive victories at the Brickyard for Chevy and gave Hendrick Motorsports its 225th career win in NASCAR's premier series. "It's just unbelievable. I've wanted to win this race my whole life," said crew chief Alan Gustafson. "Jeff was so good all day and he made it happen. This place is so special; this is the one, the one for me." Kahne admitted afterward he let Gordon control the restart. "Either way, he was going to pass me in 1 and 2. Looking back, I probably should have picked the top (line) on the restart. I would have loved to win the Brickyard." "There was no catching (Gordon)," Busch said. I think this was a really big day for JGR and Toyota, and I'm proud of the effort of bringing all three home in the top five." Kahne, who was seeking his first win to sew up a Chase for the Sprint Cup berth, was sixth after running out of fuel on the final lap. Harvick started on the pole but led only the first lap before yielding first to Gordon, who led the next 20 laps. Logano led the next 10 laps after he was the only driver electing not to pit during a competition caution. That triggered a plethora of strategy calls and a flurry of pit stops under green during the next 20 laps. After a brief stint in the lead by Hamlin (who had pitted out of sequence but was burned by a green-flag stop in which his fuel tank wasn't filled), Kahne led 68 of the next 71 laps before Gordon pounced on the final restart. Follow Ryan on Twitter @nateryan 16 drivers have won for Hendrick Motorsports since the team's first in 1984: Wins Drivers First win with Hendrick 92 *Jeff Gordon May 29, 1994 at Charlotte 69 *Jimmie Johnson April 28, 2002 at Fontana 12 Terry Labonte April 17, 1994 at North Wilkesboro 9 Tim Richmond June 8, 1986 at Pocono 9 Darrell Waltrip Sept. 27, 1987 at Martinsville 7 Geoff Bodine April 29, 1984 at Martinsville 6 *Dale Earnhardt Jr. June 15, 2008 at Michigan 5 Mark Martin April 18, 2009 at Phoenix 5 *Kasey Kahne May 27, 2012 at Charlotte 4 ^Kyle Busch Sept. 4, 2005 at Fontana 4 Ricky Rudd Aug. 12, 1990 at Watkins Glen 4 Ken Schrader July 31, 1988 at Talladega 1 ^Casey Mears May 27, 2007 at Charlotte 1 ^Brian Vickers Oct. 8, 2006 at Talladega 1 Jerry Nadeau Nov. 20, 2000 at Atlanta 1 Joe Nemechek May 3, 2003 at Richmond *-Active with Hendrick Motorsports; ^-Active with another Sprint Cup team; Source: Hendrick Motorsports ************* SUNDAY'S RESULTS 1.
ET. "We serve, and where we serve we are often at risk," he said. CNN, quoting the Afghan military, says the shooter was killed by Afghan soldiers. Insider attacks have been a core concern of coalition troops in Afghanistan for years. He adds that Greene is the first U.S. general to be killed in a war zone since the Vietnam War. ... The AP also has some background on the officer academy: Kirby said no. The attack occurred at the Marshal Fahim National Defense University, said the U.S.-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF). The United States will review the circumstances of Tuesday's shooting to see if any changes should be made. It is their service and sacrifice that define us as an Army." Pentagon officials went out of their way to say the shooting would not change the relationship between U.S. and Afghan forces. Constable reported from Kabul. Gen. Ghulam Saki, was wounded in the shooting along with two other senior Afghan officers. German Brigadier General: Quoting the German military, The Associated Press reports a German brigadier general was injured in the attack. "The insider threat is one that we've been focused on for quite some time. General helped lead training Army Chief of Staff Gen. Ray Odierno released a condolence statement confirming Greene's death. JUST WATCHED U.S. general killed in Afghanistan Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH U.S. general killed in Afghanistan 03:34 JUST WATCHED Deadly enemies, disguised as allies Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Deadly enemies, disguised as allies 03:06 JUST WATCHED Dan Rather: 'This is the price of war' Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Dan Rather: 'This is the price of war' 01:30 "When something like this happens, in the least it creates a crisis of confidence for Afghans and for us," said Vali Nasr, dean of the School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University.
Story highlights Afghan Ministry of Defense names assailant as academy member named Rafiullah Army chief of staff confirms death of Maj. Gen. Harold Greene Afghan soldier believed to be shooter, says Pentagon spokesman Analyst: "It creates a crisis of confidence for the Afghans and for us" It was a brazen attack, resulting in the death of the most senior U.S. officer since 9/11, and officials have named the attacker as a member of Afghan's military. Maj. Gen. Harold Greene -- a longtime officer who was leading efforts to train soldiers in Afghanistan -- was killed Tuesday at a military training facility in Kabul. An ISAF official said that the group was standing outside, and the attacker, who has been identified by the Afghan Ministry of Defense as an academy member named Rafiullah, shot from inside a nearby building at a distance of about 100 yards. The assailant had served in the academy for two and a half years, Zahir Azimi, an Afghan Ministry of Defense spokesperson, told CNN. Pentagon officials went out of their way to say the shooting would not change the relationship between U.S. and Afghan forces. "I've seen no indication that there's a degradation of trust between coalition members and their Afghan counterparts," Pentagon spokesman Rear Adm. John Kirby told reporters Tuesday. But the deadly ambush at a premier training facility for Afghan military officers raises questions about the vetting process for Afghan soldiers and also the upcoming handover of security to Afghan forces. JUST WATCHED U.S. general killed in Afghanistan Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH U.S. general killed in Afghanistan 03:34 JUST WATCHED Deadly enemies, disguised as allies Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Deadly enemies, disguised as allies 03:06 JUST WATCHED Dan Rather: 'This is the price of war' Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Dan Rather: 'This is the price of war' 01:30 "When something like this happens, in the least it creates a crisis of confidence for Afghans and for us," said Vali Nasr, dean of the School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University. So far, the Taliban has acknowledged the general's killing, but hasn't claimed responsibility for it. JUST WATCHED Remembering Maj. Gen. Harold Greene Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Remembering Maj. Gen. Harold Greene 04:40 Nasr told CNN's "The Situation Room" that the attack raises serious concerns as the United States prepares to withdraw forces from Afghanistan. "The Taliban have proven today they can infiltrate this force at will," he said. "The discipline we are seeking or that we are claiming is not there, and I think it is very difficult for the administration to say that everything is going according to plan, as if this is just an isolated incident and we can just leave." But it's still unclear whether the gunman had Taliban ties and whether he slipped through the military's screening process, said Philip Mudd, a CNN counterterrorism analyst and former CIA official. "You would think on the surface that maybe he was recruited by the Taliban. JUST WATCHED U.S. general killed in Afghan attack Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH U.S. general killed in Afghan attack 03:31 "He might have seen something in the last months or years... and sometimes there is an emotional switch that turns on after their recruitment, after their vetting, that leads them to say, 'I want to do something about this. 'Routine visit' turns deadly The attack occurred during a routine visit to the Marshal Fahim National Defense University in Kabul to look at improvements made at the school, Kirby said. In addition to the general's slaying, up to 15 coalition troops were wounded in the shooting rampage. The shooter was wearing an Afghan military uniform and is believed to be someone who had served for some time in a unit of the Afghan armed forces, Kirby said. "A person that we believe was an Afghan soldier opened fire and hit many with his weapon," he said. The Afghan Defense Ministry described the shooter as a "terrorist" and said Afghan soldiers shot him dead. General helped lead training Army Chief of Staff Gen. Ray Odierno released a condolence statement confirming Greene's death. "Our thoughts and prayers are with Maj. Gen. Harold J. Greene's family, and the families of our soldiers who were injured today in the tragic events that took place in Afghanistan," Odierno said in the statement, referring to other officers who were hurt. "God bless those wounded and killed in Afghanistan yesterday and their families." Insider attacks: 'A threat you can't completely eliminate' This isn't the first time people dressed in Afghan security forces uniforms have attacked coalition forces who have worked to thwart such violence. In 2012, so-called "green on blue" insider attacks took the lives of dozens of coalition troops, and the U.S. command in Kabul halted some joint operations with Afghan security forces, CNN has previously reported. Two attackers wearing Afghan military uniforms killed two U.S. service members in February in Afghanistan, the military publication Stars and Stripes reported In October 2013, a man in an Afghan soldier's uniform shot and killed an ISAF member in eastern Afghanistan, CNN reported According to an April 2014 Pentagon report , insider attacks against ISAF forces declined from 48 attacks in 2012 to 15 attacks in 2013. "Despite this sharp decline, these attacks may still have strategic effects on the campaign and could jeopardize the relationship between coalition and ANSF [Afghan National Security Forces] personnel," the report reads. In February, the Obama administration announced for the first time that it had begun planning for the possible withdrawal of all U.S. troops by the end of 2014 if Afghanistan did not sign a security agreement pertaining to rights of U.S. troops operating there. The number would get cut roughly in half by the end of 2015, and a year later the U.S. military presence would scale down to what officials described as a "normal" embassy security contingent. The U.S. military feels that the Afghan military "grows stronger by the week" and noted that they are already "in the lead in combat missions" throughout the country, he said. A man believed to be an Afghan soldier opened fire at an Afghan military academy in Kabul on Tuesday, killing a U.S. general and wounding up to 15 other personnel, including a German general and eight Americans, U.S. and coalition officials said.
Boko Haram, based in north-eastern Nigeria, has intensified cross-border raids into Cameroon in recent weeks. "The insurgents have sacked the town and people who are still there are locked indoors. Corpses litter the streets of Gwoza now but nobody can go out to pick them up," he said. The villagers were killed when the militants were confronted by Cameroonian soldiers, according to local media. The group is seen as the main security threat to Africa's biggest economy and leading energy producer. Image copyright AFP Image caption Boko Haram loosely translates as "Western education is forbidden" State radio said suspected Boko Haram militants - who are fighting for an Islamic state in northern Nigeria - were behind the attack. Cameroonian President Paul Biya sacked two senior army officers at the forefront of the battle against Islamist militants last week. The five-year-old insurgency has been in the international spotlight since Boko Haram fighters kidnapped more than 200 girls from a school in the village of Chibok in April. "Dead bodies littered every part... (Writing by Tim Cocks; Editing by Hugh Lawson) Abubakar said 500 refugees from the attack had spent three days in the hills around Gwoza surviving on wild fruit. "The special operation which began early in the week is meant to restore law and order to the area and apprehend all terrorists who have been operating in the locality," police spokesman Frank Mba announced on his website. On Friday the military launched strikes to push the rebels out of Gwoza, the security sources said, and the garrison town of Damboa, which the militants sacked a month ago. Footage obtained by rights group Amnesty International and released on Tuesday appeared to show Nigerian soldiers slitting the throats of Boko Haram suspects and dumping their bodies in a mass grave, mirroring how the Islamists treat their own captives and highlighting a runaway cycle of violence.
MAIDUGURI Nigeria Nigeria's military fought gun battles with Boko Haram Islamists in two key northeastern towns on Friday, after the militants killed dozens of people and drove soldiers out of Gwoza town two days ago, security sources and the military said. On Friday the military launched strikes to push the rebels out of Gwoza, the security sources said, and the garrison town of Damboa, which the militants sacked a month ago. The military has struggled to stamp out the highly mobile, combat-hardened fighters of Boko Haram, which wants to carve an Islamic state out of religiously mixed Nigeria. The group is seen as the main security threat to Africa's biggest economy and leading energy producer. "The special operation which began early in the week is meant to restore law and order to the area and apprehend all terrorists who have been operating in the locality," police spokesman Frank Mba announced on his website. "The remnants of insurgents are being cleared from the communities. Large sections of remote northeastern Borno state are under siege by the militants, who have killed more than 2,000 people this year - mostly civilians - and displaced hundreds of thousands more, rights groups say. Witnesses and two security sources said heavily armed Boko Haram fighters stormed Gwoza, which lies in a rugged hilly area seen as a Boko Haram stronghold, on Wednesday. A security source said at least 30 bodies had been counted, with many more in the bush. He put the death toll at "several dozen." "I could see the Boko Haram boys roaming the streets of Gwoza on motorbikes shouting 'Allahu Akbar' (God is Great), trying to shoot at us as we fled to the hill," Abubakar said by telephone. "Some of them were distributing food stuffs to the women and children left behind." Footage obtained by rights group Amnesty International and released on Tuesday appeared to show Nigerian soldiers slitting the throats of Boko Haram suspects and dumping their bodies in a mass grave, mirroring how the Islamists treat their own captives and highlighting a runaway cycle of violence. The five-year-old insurgency has been in the international spotlight since Boko Haram fighters kidnapped more than 200 girls from a school in the village of Chibok in April. Islamist insurgents from Boko Haram killed at least 50 people as they stormed a town in northeastern Nigeria, residents and vigilantes stationed there said, dealing the Nigerian army its latest setback. Attackers came from "all corners" into the town of Gwoza on Wednesday, sending men who had sworn to protect it running into nearby mountains, said Maina Kamusa, a local vigilante leader. Image copyright AFP Image caption Cameroon has stepped up security on its border with Nigeria in the wake of recent militant attacks Militants with suspected ties to Nigerian Islamist group Boko Haram have killed 10 people in a raid on a remote village in north Cameroon, police say. Nine bus passengers and a soldier were shot dead after coming "face-to-face" with heavily armed militants in Zigague, they add. Image copyright AFP Image caption Boko Haram loosely translates as "Western education is forbidden" State radio said suspected Boko Haram militants - who are fighting for an Islamic state in northern Nigeria - were behind the attack. The decision came just days after the deputy prime minister's wife was abducted by militants from the northern town of Kologata, along with her maid, a religious leader and the local mayor.
"You have to be very careful." Unlike Ms Johnson in her wheelbarrow, it is a farewell that Mr Bole, who is watching, can be proud of. Image copyright EPA Image caption Many in Liberia say the government's response to the crisis has been inadequate Liberia's information minister has admitted that the country's health care system has been overwhelmed by the spread of the deadly Ebola virus. She said five of the biggest hospitals in the capital Monrovia had closed for more than a week. Some 1,779 people have been infected and 961 people have died in the most severe outbreak in the 40 years since it was first identified in humans. That the burial team is even out on the streets is testament to their dedication. The Ebola outbreak - the worst ever - is centred on Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea, but has spread to other countries in recent months. The European Union said on Friday it was increasing by 8 million euros (£6.38 million) its funding to contain Ebola and governments in the affected region have taken increasingly tough measures. I need to get money to my family," he told Reuters. The U.N. agency said all states where Ebola had passed from one person to another should declare a national emergency. "At that point we thought that it was likely that it would come under control based on our experience. But not surprisingly, the residents of Tyre Shop Community were somewhat sceptical. Ebola undertakers remove the body of Cecilia Johnson, who is suspected to have died from the virus. The drug has been used in the US on two aid workers who have shown signs of improvement.
Image copyright EPA Image caption Many in Liberia say the government's response to the crisis has been inadequate Liberia's information minister has admitted that the country's health care system has been overwhelmed by the spread of the deadly Ebola virus. Lewis Brown told the BBC the system had been "overtaxed" by the outbreak, but that authorities were doing their best in the face of an unprecedented crisis. The medical charity MSF said officials underestimated the outbreak and that the health system was "falling apart". The Ebola outbreak - the worst ever - is centred on Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea, but has spread to other countries in recent months. Mr Lewis told the BBC that the outbreak was affecting Liberia's most populated areas, and that people there were "in denial". "There are religious practices and beliefs, long-held traditional values that are being challenged by the procedures... to cure or at least prevent the spread of disease," he said. He said Liberia's health care system was "not the best in the wold", but rejected accusations that it had not responded quickly enough. The crisis, Mr Lewis added, would have "overstretched and overtaxed" any health system. "The bottom line is we are at the frontline of a deadly outbreak," Mr Lewis said. Image copyright EPA Image caption The outbreak has killed almost 1,000 people Earlier, the co-ordinator for Medecins sans Frontieres (MSF) in Liberia, Lindis Hurum, told the BBC: "Our capacity is stretched beyond anything that we ever done before in regards to Ebola response." She said five of the biggest hospitals in the capital Monrovia had closed for more than a week. "Some of them have now started to re-open but there are other hospitals in other counties that are just abandoned by the staff." 'Inaccurate' information On Saturday demonstrators in Liberia blocked a highway, saying authorities had not been collecting the bodies of some victims. Meanwhile Guinea has denied earlier reports that the government had sealed borders with Liberia and Sierra Leone. State TV said the initial announcement - made by the health minister on Saturday - had been mistaken "Guinea has not closed its borders with Sierra Leone or with Liberia. It's rather that we have taken health measures at the border posts," it said. The Spanish government says a Roman Catholic priest, infected with Ebola in Liberia, will be treated with an experimental drug, Zmapp, in a hospital in Madrid. The drug has been used in the US on two aid workers who have shown signs of improvement. In Canada, test results on a patient being treated near Toronto after returning from Nigeria with flu-like symptoms have shown he does not have the virus, officials said on Sunday. In calmer times in Liberia, before the fear of Ebola became as feverish as the onset of the disease itself, Cecilia Johnson’s funeral could have been a dignified affair. But when she died of an unspecified illness on Thursday, her family in St Paul's Bridge, a slum district of the capital, Monrovia, ignored government edicts to hand her body over for cremation. Halfway through the burial, they were confronted by an angry crowd of Tyre Shop residents, demanding to know why a potentially-infected corpse was going in "their" cemetery. A scuffle ensued, and eight hours later, Ms Johnson's corpse lay parked by the roadside in a rusting, mud-spattered wheelbarrow, covered by a piece of carpet and still seeking a final resting place. Such was the scene that greeted the Liberian government's new Ebola "burial team" on Friday, as their convoy arrived, sirens blaring, to pick the corpse. Set up specifically to deal with the Ebola outbreak, which has now claimed nearly 1,000 lives across west Africa, theirs is probably the most dangerous undertakers' job in the world. Ebola undertakers remove the body of Cecilia Johnson, who is suspected to have died from the virus. Monrovia, Liberia (Will Wintercross) It is not just the threat of the deadly virus itself, which is still highly contagious in dead bodies. It is also an extremely sensitive issue with locals, for whom a visit from a team in boiler suits and masks is the modern-day equivalent of having an "X" marked on their door during the days of Europe's Black Death. "We have been attacked by mobs of people many times," said the team's leader, Mark Korvayan, who sports a scar on his shaved head from one recent battle, and whose team is now routinely escorted by the police. "The police escort helps, but this is still a dangerous job." Such is the terror inspired by its horror-movie like symptoms - victims in the latter stages can bleed from their eyes - that many are convinced it is the work of evil spirits, not a virus. Either way, families suspected of losing a loved one to it are often ostracised, as the remaining members of the Johnson family burial party are now learning the hard way. For the last few hours, a large crowd has been eyeballing them suspiciously, and a Liberian army patrol - called in to break up the earlier scuffling - has stayed on hand hand keep the peace. Like many other bereaved families that the burial team visit, he is loathe to admit that the cause of Cecilia's death could have been Ebola. His own diagnosis is that she died because of complications from a bullet wound suffered during "World War Three" the Liberian name for the bloody battle in 2003 that brought down the regime of warlord Charles Taylor. We do not want people to bury bodies in our cemetery - it is already full."
Along with the military vehicles, a checkpoint was hit. Other Kurdish officials said that half the Mosul dam was now in the hands of Peshmerga forces. They are making "good progress" but encountering "fierce resistance", according to the Kurdish authority in northern Iraq. The United States said it conducted 14 air strikes on Sunday against Islamic State fighters near the dam. The strategically important dam was seized by the militants on 7 August. The US carried out nine air strikes on Saturday. Fears of Islamic State militants - who Iraqi officials say have massacred hundreds of Yazidis - have driven thousands of people to the Kurdish region. We're looking at what's possible and doing what is necessary as quickly as possible." U.S. officials said last week the U.S. government was directly supplying weapons to Kurdish peshmerga fighters. The extremists control vast swaths of Iraq and neighboring Syria. The reports came from several men who survived the massacre in Kocho. Tensions were also high under outgoing Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki who clashed with them over budgets and oil. Image copyright AFP Image caption Kurdish forces are attempting to retake positions they held before the IS advance Kurdish forces have recaptured the eastern part of the Mosul dam in Iraq from the Islamic State (IS) jihadist group, Kurdish officials say. ARMS SUPPLIES The European Union has allowed individual EU governments to supply arms and ammunition to Iraqi Kurds, provided there is the consent from the authorities in Baghdad. The UK, Germany and other countries are currently delivering humanitarian aid for refugees in the north. Women and children in the same village were reportedly abducted.
Kurdish peshmerga troops participate in an intensive security deployment against Islamic State militants on the frontline in Khazer August 14, 2014. REUTERS/Azad Lashkari Kurdish men display weapons for sale at an arms market in Arbil, capital of the autonomous Kurdish region of northern Iraq, August 17, 2014. REUTERS/Azad Lashkari DOHUK Iraq Kurdish fighters pushed to retake Iraq's largest dam on Sunday and the United States conducted a second day of air strikes in the area in a drive to reverse gains by Islamic State insurgents who have overrun much of the country's north. Islamic State militants have seized several towns and oilfields as well as the Mosul Dam in recent weeks, possibly giving them the ability to flood cities or cut off water and electricity supplies. Asked about a Kurdish push to dislodge the Sunni fundamentalist militants on Sunday, a Kurdish official said the dam had not been retaken but "most of the surrounding area" had been seized. The United States said it conducted 14 air strikes on Sunday against Islamic State fighters near the dam. U.S. Central Command said the latest strikes destroyed three armed vehicles, a vehicle-mounted anti-aircraft and an emplacement of the Islamic State as well as one of the militants' checkpoints. The strikes followed nine U.S. air strikes on Saturday near the dam and the Kurdish capital, Arbil. The White House said on Sunday that President Barack Obama had informed Congress he authorized U.S. air strikes to help retake control of the dam. "The failure of the Mosul Dam could threaten the lives of large numbers of civilians, threaten U.S. personnel and facilities - including the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad - and prevent the Iraqi government from providing critical services to the Iraqi populace," the White House said in a statement. The U.S. air strike campaign against the Islamic State militants began earlier this month in the first direct U.S. military action in Iraq since the end of 2011, when Washington completed the withdrawal of its troops from the country. The engineer said the militants told him they were planting roadside bombs along roads leading in and out of the facility, possibly in fear of an attack by Kurdish fighters. U.S. officials said last week the U.S. government was directly supplying weapons to Kurdish peshmerga fighters. Witnesses said Kurdish forces had recaptured the mainly Christian towns of Batmaiya and Telasqaf, 30 km (18 miles) from Mosul, the closest they have come to the city since Islamic State insurgents drove government forces out in June. The insurgents have also tightened their security checkpoints in Mosul, conducting more intensive inspections of vehicles and identification cards, witnesses said. The Kurds since June have capitalised on the chaos in northern Iraq, taking over oilfields in the disputed city of Kirkuk. Iraq's new prime minister, Haider al-Abadi, a Shi'ite, faces the task of reducing Sunni-Shi'ite tensions that have revived a sectarian civil war and addressing the Kurdish independence ambitions. "An independent Kurdish state would ... create new tensions, possibly also with the states neighbouring Iraq," Steinmeier said in an interview with Germany's Bild am Sonntag newspaper published on Sunday. Proclaiming a caliphate straddling parts of Iraq and Syria, Islamic State militants have swept across northern Iraq, pushing back Kurdish regional forces and driving tens of thousands of Christians and members of the Yazidi religious minority from their homes. Steinmeier, who met the new Iraqi prime minister in Baghdad on Saturday, said the formation of a new government that all regions and religions could identify with "is perhaps the last chance for cohesion in Iraq". In a televised statement apparently referring to that action, the office of the Iraqi army command on Sunday evening said: "We warn all parties not to exploit the current security situation in the north of Iraq and violate sovereign airspace to ship arms to local parties without approval of the central government." Fears of Islamic State militants - who Iraqi officials say have massacred hundreds of Yazidis - have driven thousands of people to the Kurdish region. General reports success and ongoing fighting in offensive launched after US air strikes near critical Iraqi dam An Iraqi security official said on Sunday Kurdish forces have taken over parts of the country's largest dam, which was captured by the Islamic State (Isis) extremist group earlier this month. The US launched airstrikes against Isis fighters more than a week ago, in a bid to halt its advance across the north. Kurdish forces supported by American warplanes have mounted an offensive to retake Iraq's largest dam, a formidable hydroelectric complex critical to both power supplies and irrigation in the region, from jihadi fighters, as reports emerged of another grisly episode of mass slaughter perpetrated by the extremists in a village in northern Iraq. Senior Kurdish official Hoshyar Zebari said that jihadists "took their revenge on its inhabitants, who happened to be mostly Yazidis who did not flee their homes". Fear of an impending genocide against members of Iraq's Yazidi minority, whose faith is anathema to the Sunni Muslim extremists, was one reason Washington cited for air strikes it began on 8 August. Human rights groups and residents say Isis fighters have demanded that members of religious minorities in Iraq's Nineveh province, where Kocho is located, either convert or leave, unleashing violent reprisals on any who refused.
Since then, however, other commanders have followed suit. Many Taliban have been killed. We have enough forces to deal with it," Esaaqzai said. Afghan officials say uncertainty in Kabul over the outcome of this year's election to choose Karzai's successor has added to the vulnerability of the security forces. "Five army men and three police are wounded. Foreign troops are due to pull out of Afghanistan later this year. "They have expanded their control in the province but there aren't enough policemen to fight them." They have used the provinces - gateways to the capital - as launchpads for hit-and-run attacks and suicide bombings in Kabul. Meanwhile, provincial government spokesperson Den Mohammad Darwish told Al Jazeera that more than 100 Taliban fighters launched an attack in Narkh district this morning. He said the Taliban's morale had clearly been boosted by a government-decreed ban on using heavy artillery in residential areas to avoid civilian casualties, and in particular by the lack of lack of NATO air support on the battlefield. On Tuesday, Karzai appealed for the two candidates to end their dispute over election results and save the country from further violence and economic decline. The police chief of the militant-infested southern province of Kandahar, General Abdul Raziq, bluntly announced the new approach last month, telling reporters: "I have ordered my men to kill these terrorists once and for all, and not take any prisoners, because they will be released anyway." Rebels have this summer mounted increasingly intense assaults across several provinces, involving hundreds of fighters, as the country braces for the withdrawal of foreign combat troops after 13 years.
Some 700 Taliban rebels battle Afghan forces near Kabul as military's capacity to deal with security is tested. Hundreds of Taliban fighters are battling Afghan security forces in Logar, a key province near the capital Kabul, local officials say. Rebels have this summer mounted increasingly intense assaults across several provinces, involving hundreds of fighters, as the country braces for the withdrawal of foreign combat troops after 13 years. "There are some 700 of them and they are fighting Afghan forces for territorial control," Niaz Mohammad Amiri, the provincial governor of Logar province, told the Reuters news agency on Tuesday. The Taliban have dug in at Logar, about an hour's drive south of the capital, and nearby Wardak province to the west, in recent years. They have used the provinces - gateways to the capital - as launchpads for hit-and-run attacks and suicide bombings in Kabul. We have already taken over many security outposts and killed many Afghan forces. The main roads into the capital are all tightly controlled, but the rebels have been able to breach the checkpoints and staged dozens of attacks, killing scores of civilians and soldiers in the city of about five million this year. Abdul Hakim Esaaqzai, the police chief of Logar province, said the rebels, armed with heavy machine guns, were fighting Afghan forces from residential areas in Charkh district. Zabihullah Mujahid, a Taliban spokesman, said the rebels were battling Afghan forces from all sides to overrun the district. "The area is under siege and we have already taken over many security outposts and killed many Afghan forces," he said. Meanwhile, provincial government spokesperson Den Mohammad Darwish told Al Jazeera that more than 100 Taliban fighters launched an attack in Narkh district this morning. "The fighting has since stopped," he said. "Five army men and three police are wounded. Foreign troops are due to pull out of Afghanistan later this year. Afghanistan's security arrangements beyond 2014 are unclear, as Kabul and Washington have yet to sign a bilateral security agreement designed to keep a small force of American soldiers in Afghanistan next year and into 2016. The Afghan president, Hamid Karzai, has refused to sign the agreement, although the two men vying to replace him have vowed to implement it immediately upon taking office. On Tuesday, Karzai appealed for the two candidates to end their dispute over election results and save the country from further violence and economic decline. Afghan President Hamid Karzai marked the 95th anniversary of Afghanistan's independence Tuesday with an appeal for an end to the nation's two-month presidential election dispute. He said the nation is waiting "impatiently" for the final result. The police chief of Logar province south of Kabul General Abdul Hakeem told VOA Tuesday that Afghan security forces had repelled a "large-scale Taliban offensive" in Azra District. "Seven hundred Taliban armed with heavy and light weapons attacked us," said Abdul Hakeem. Struggling to hold the insurgents back, the riposte from commanders of the Afghan security forces has been clear: across the country, they are now telling their men to kill captured Taliban fighters instead of taking prisoners. The police chief of the militant-infested southern province of Kandahar, General Abdul Raziq, bluntly announced the new approach last month, telling reporters: "I have ordered my men to kill these terrorists once and for all, and not take any prisoners, because they will be released anyway." In the northern province of Kunduz, for example, police officials say they have no choice but to kill their adversaries because this summer's onslaught has been so intense and captured Taliban are invariably released again to fight another day. "Since they can't be tried or jailed because the judicial system is corrupt, we have no other option but to eliminate them," Kunduz police chief Mustafa Mohseni told Reuters. "FINISH THEM OFF" Earlier this year, President Hamid Karzai ordered the release of thousands held in the main prison at Bagram, including almost 100 the United States had classed as "dangerous". The move further strained relations that were already troubled by Karzai's refusal to sign a bilateral security deal allowing U.S. troops to stay in Afghanistan beyond 2014, when most foreign forces are scheduled to pull out. "These Taliban released by the president's decree will never change, they pick up weapons and fight us again," said Abdul Khaliq, administrator of Hesarak district in the eastern province of Nangarhar. "They have expanded their control in the province but there aren't enough policemen to fight them." In this year's summer offensive, the Taliban appears to have focused on gaining ground in strategic parts of the country, like border crossings or highways that facilitate the export of opium, the financial lifeblood of their insurgency. AIRPOWER CRITICAL Nevertheless, the mounting intensity of the Taliban's assaults - often involving hundreds of fighters at a time - poses an increasingly serious challenge to security forces that have long relied on NATO support from the air. Kunduz police chief Mohseni said that the pace of attacks had doubled since the fighting season started in May - around the time opium crops have been planted and paths cleared in snowy mountains - and, for the first time in years, insurgents were engaging his men in hand-to-hand combat. He said the Taliban's morale had clearly been boosted by a government-decreed ban on using heavy artillery in residential areas to avoid civilian casualties, and in particular by the lack of lack of NATO air support on the battlefield.
Speaking in Kiev, Petro Poroshenko, Ukraine’s president, praised the activists. Moscow police detained four people for “desecrating” a Stalin-era skyscraper in Moscow after a star atop its spire was painted to represent the blue-and-yellow Ukrainian flag. “The two young men and two girls say they jumped from a high building with parachutes. At least one them parachuted down on Wednesday morning, according to one Russian media outlet. Ukraine celebrates its Day of the National Flag on Saturday, a day before it marks the anniversary of its declaration of independence from the Soviet Union. During the stunt, the top of the five-pointed yellow star was daubed in blue paint. A city official said the painters had scaled the 32-storey building overnight and then used climbing equipment to reach its spire. Moscow courts this week handed down sentences of as long as three and a half years to protesters held after a demonstration in May 2012 on the eve of Putin’s inauguration. The incident came two days after Moscow issued a protest to Bulgaria over vandalism of Soviet-era monuments and war memorials there. Fierce fighting between government forces and pro-Russian militia in eastern Ukraine continued on Wednesday. At noon, local authorities reported 34 “residents” of Donetsk region were killed in the previous 24 hours. “Clearly the star was supposed to be repainted in the colours of the Ukrainian flag,” a law enforcement source told Interfax. RFE/RL reports Anyone who has visited Moscow will recognise the Seven Sister high-rises commissioned by Joseph Stalin between 1947 and 1953 that jut out across the city’s skyline. "I congratulate these Ukrainians." Some opposition activists have taken to singing the Ukrainian national anthem when they are arrested and last week, Andrei Makarevich, frontman for the popular band “Mashina Vremeni” (Time Machine) traveled to eastern Ukraine where he performed for internally displaced children in an area controlled by Ukraine’s army, a move that saw him branded as a “traitor” by Russian lawmakers and pro-establishment musicians.
Two men and two women are facing vandalism charges in Russia after they scaled a famous Stalin-era skyscraper in Moscow and painted its pinnacle in Ukrainian colours. Police arrested the four after the stunt, in which a blue and yellow Ukrainian flag was also planted on top of the spire in an apparent protest at Moscow’s support of separatists fighting government troops in eastern Ukraine. If prosecuted and found guilty they could face up to three years in prison. Images of the painted Soviet star, which is embossed with a hammer and sickle and surrounded by a wreath, spread quickly across social media on Wednesday. The ensemble sits atop a 577ft apartment block on the Kotelnicheskaya embankment of the Moscow River, which is one of seven prominent Stalin-era high-rises in the Russian capital. The Kotelnicheskaya Embankment building in Moscow (AP) "I like very much the fact that, on the eve of celebrating the Ukrainian flag, one of Moscow’s highest buildings was painted in our colours," he said, with a smile. “Clearly the star was supposed to be repainted in the colours of the Ukrainian flag,” a law enforcement source told Interfax. A city official said the painters had scaled the 32-storey building overnight and then used climbing equipment to reach its spire. Roofers have climbed Stalin high-rises - including Moscow State University on Sparrow Hills – several times in the past. Russian state-controlled television identified the four detained suspects and said they were all Russian citizens. City workers scaled the spire, removed the flag and repainted the top of the star in its usual golden yellow by lunchtime on Wednesday. The incident came two days after Moscow issued a protest to Bulgaria over vandalism of Soviet-era monuments and war memorials there. At noon, local authorities reported 34 “residents” of Donetsk region were killed in the previous 24 hours. Nine Ukrainian soldiers died and 22 were wounded in the town of Ilovaysk close to the rebel-held city of Donetsk, a military spokesman said. Moscow police detained four people for “desecrating” a Stalin-era skyscraper in Moscow after a star atop its spire was painted to represent the blue-and-yellow Ukrainian flag. Police are holding two young men and two young women on suspicion of vandalism, a duty press officer said by phone, asking not to be named because of policy. President Vladimir Putin’s approval rating has surged to record levels as he confronts the U.S. and Europe in the tensest standoff since the Cold War over a pro-Russian uprising in eastern Ukraine. State television channel Rossiya 24 reported that one of them parachuted off the spire, 176 meters high (580 feet), and broadcast a video clip recorded from a window, showing the person sailing past and landing on a playground in the courtyard below. Earlier this year, two organizers were imprisoned for four and half years, while another group of May 6 protesters were given sentences of as long as four years in prison. In the latest act of solidarity with Ukraine in Russia, daredevils apparently defied both the authorities and any fear of falling 176 metres from the 32-floor structure and made it to the top of the tower overnight, painting the Soviet star at the top of the building (and hammer and sickle in the centre) in the Ukrainian blue and yellow colours, and attaching a Ukrainian flag. Some opposition activists have taken to singing the Ukrainian national anthem when they are arrested and last week, Andrei Makarevich, frontman for the popular band “Mashina Vremeni” (Time Machine) traveled to eastern Ukraine where he performed for internally displaced children in an area controlled by Ukraine’s army, a move that saw him branded as a “traitor” by Russian lawmakers and pro-establishment musicians.
Hide Caption 19 of 76 Photos: Photos: Emotions run high in Ferguson Capt. AFP/Reuters Topics: law-crime-and-justice, police, unrest-conflict-and-war, world-politics, united-states Al Sharpton on August 12, 2014. The official said Mr Obama "has directed a review of federal programs and funding that enable state and local law enforcement to purchase military equipment". Officers responded by firing stun grenades and tear gas canisters. Police have said Brown and Wilson struggled over the officer's gun; some witnesses said Brown had his hands in the air when he was shot. Ron Johnson of the Missouri State Highway Patrol pulls his men back from aggressive protesters on August 18, 2014. The program also does not mandate training for crowd control or other uses. Hide Caption 40 of 76 Photos: Photos: Emotions run high in Ferguson Demonstrators defy a curfew early on August 17, 2014. Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Why do police have battlefield weapons? White House staff -- including members of the Domestic Policy Council, the National Security Council and the Office of Management and Budget -- will lead the review in coordination with Congress, according to the official. The St. Louis suburb has witnessed unrest, at times becoming violent, since the Aug. 9 shooting of 18-year-old Michael Brown by Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson. 'We need to demilitarize this situation,' McCaskill says of police forces. Concerns about perception have been echoed by Attorney General Eric Holder. The review will consider "whether these programs are appropriate", whether training with the equipment is sufficient, and whether there is enough federal oversight of the gear's use.
Obama orders review of police use of military hardware following Ferguson riots Posted US president Barack Obama has ordered an investigation into whether it is "appropriate" for the military to sell battle-grade hardware to local police, a senior US official says. The order follows widespread criticism of local authorities' use of military gear in Ferguson, Missouri after the fatal shooting of unarmed black teenager Michael Brown by a white police officer. Images of police wielding military-style guns and armour during clashes with protesters have shocked many American lawmakers and civil rights groups. The official said Mr Obama "has directed a review of federal programs and funding that enable state and local law enforcement to purchase military equipment". The review will consider "whether these programs are appropriate", whether training with the equipment is sufficient, and whether there is enough federal oversight of the gear's use. The investigation will be headed by "White House staff including the Domestic Policy Council, the National Security Council [and] the Office of Management and Budget", the official said. A growing number of lawmakers have voiced concern about the militarisation of US police forces through programs administered by the Pentagon, Justice Department and Department of Homeland Security. Democratic Senator Claire McCaskill of Missouri, who heads the oversight subcommittee of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, announced plans this week for a hearing in September about the programs. Key concerns include a clause in the program that requires police to use the equipment within a year, something the American Civil Liberties Union argues may give police forces an incentive to use the equipment in inappropriate situations. The program also does not mandate training for crowd control or other uses. The Pentagon has transferred more than $US4 billion ($4.2 billion) of equipment including armoured vehicles, tents, rifles and night-vision goggles to local and state agencies since 2006, of which about 36 per cent involved new equipment. US weapons makers have been eyeing what they call "adjacent" markets for years, keen to drum up fresh demand for products initially developed for the military, and recently, to offset declines in US and European military spending. Faced with a dwindling number of big-ticket military contracts, even the Pentagon's largest suppliers such as Lockheed Martin Corp and Northrop Grumman Corp are competing for increasingly smaller contracts in commercial or non-military markets, analysts and industry executives said. Meanwhile, demonstrators in Ferguson have marked two weeks since Mr Brown's death, holding quieter protests as supporters of the officer rallied separately, calling the shooting justified. Mr Brown's funeral, set to take place Monday, is likely to be a focal point for more demonstrations by angry protesters demanding that Darren Wilson, the policeman who pulled the shot the teenager at least six times, face justice. Little information has been released about the investigation into the shooting and a grand jury began hearing evidence on Wednesday in a process the county prosecutor has said could run until mid-October. Story highlights President Obama orders review of programs providing local police military equipment Decision follows criticisms of law enforcement force in Ferguson, Missouri Nation's eyes have been on Ferguson since fatal police shooting of Michael Brown As debates swirl about the "militarization of police," President Barack Obama has ordered a review of programs enabling state and local law enforcement to buy military equipment, a senior administration official said Saturday. The decision follows public criticism of the recent use of such assets -- including armored vehicles, high-tech weaponry and stun grenades -- in Ferguson, Missouri, where police have faced off with protesters ever since the fatal police shooting of Michael Brown. Acquisition of military surplus equipment by local police departments became possible through the military's Defense Logistics Agency, a law enforcement support program established in 1999. But, once in the hands of these departments, it's "up to local law enforcement to determine how and when and where and under what circumstances they use excess military equipment," Pentagon spokesman Rear Adm. John Kirby said earlier this week. JUST WATCHED Why do police have battlefield weapons? 02:39 JUST WATCHED Pentagon to examine weapons program Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Pentagon to examine weapons program 01:41 Photos: Photos: Emotions run high in Ferguson Photos: Photos: Emotions run high in Ferguson Protesters march in Ferguson, Missouri, on Thursday, August 21 2014. The St. Louis suburb saw turmoil after a white police officer, Darren Wilson, fatally shot an unarmed black teenager, Michael Brown, on August 9, 2014. Some protesters and law enforcement officers clashed in the streets, leading to injuries and arrests. Hide Caption 2 of 76 Photos: Photos: Emotions run high in Ferguson Police escort a Wilson supporter to a police vehicle, away from crowds protesting Brown's death on Wednesday, August 20, 2014. Police have said Brown and Wilson struggled over the officer's gun; some witnesses said Brown had his hands in the air when he was shot. Holder came to Missouri to talk to community leaders and review the federal civil rights investigation into Brown's shooting. Hide Caption 7 of 76 Photos: Photos: Emotions run high in Ferguson Police point out a demonstrator who has his arms raised before moving in to arrest him Tuesday, August 19, 2014. Hide Caption 8 of 76 Photos: Photos: Emotions run high in Ferguson People watch from inside a restaurant as protesters rally August 19, 2014. Hide Caption 10 of 76 Photos: Photos: Emotions run high in Ferguson Police charge into the media work area with weapons drawn as they try to control demonstrators on August 19, 2014. Hide Caption 11 of 76 Photos: Photos: Emotions run high in Ferguson A protester speaks to a police officer on August 19, 2014. Hide Caption 12 of 76 Photos: Photos: Emotions run high in Ferguson People on August 19 stand near a memorial where Brown was shot and killed, 2014.
State media confirmed the attack, and said tens of fighters had been killed. Earlier on Sunday the Syrian air force had bombed areas around the base. Raqqa province has become the stronghold of the Islamic State, which controls the provincial capital and has declared an Islamic "caliphate" in territory it holds in Syria and Iraq. The Tabqa airbase was the last remaining stronghold of Bashar al-Assad's government in Raqqa province.. State TV confirmed that government forces had "evacuated" the airbase. Source: Agencies Hundreds of soldiers and IS fighters had died in the past few days' fighting around the base, the Observatory said. REUTERS/Stringer A resident of Tabqa city touring the streets on a motorcycle waves an Islamist flag in celebration after Islamic State militants took over Tabqa air base, in nearby Raqqa city August 24, 2014. Activists have accused the Syrian army of avoiding confrontations with IS because it has weakened rival rebel groups also battling Assad. MILITARY BASES Islamic State, a radical offshoot of al Qaeda, has taken three Syrian military bases in the area in recent weeks, boosted by arms seized in Iraq. The group initially fought alongside Syrian opposition groups, but its abuses sparked a backlash from rebels who pushed it out of parts of northern Syria. Syrian state television confirmed that government troops had lost control of the base. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said at least 346 Islamic State fighters were killed and more than 170 members of government forces had died since Tuesday in the fight over Tabqa base, making it one of the deadliest confrontations between the two groups since the start of Syria's war.
Hundreds reportedly killed as Islamic State fighters and regime troops fight for control of military base in Raqqa. Islamic State fighters and Syrian regime troops have clashed in fierce battles that reportedly cost hundreds of lives over the Tabqa military air base, the last stronghold of the Syrian army in Raqqa province. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported on Sunday afternoon that fighters were in control of the base but that clashes were still taking place. Live Box 2012108933861442 Syrian state media later reported that its forces, backed by warplanes, were attacking the rebels after leaving the area and regrouping. State television said army troops were launching "precision strikes" against "terrorist groups in the area, inflicting heavy losses". The air base is one of the most significant government military facilities in the area, containing several warplane squadrons, helicopters, tanks, artillery and ammunition. Hundreds killed The Observatory said at least 346 Islamic State fighters were killed and more than 170 members of government forces had died since Tuesday in the fight over Tabqa base, making it one of the deadliest confrontations between the two groups since the start of Syria's war in 2011. Rami Abdel Rahman, director of the Britain-based Observatory, said the fighters had also seized several checkpoints, hanging up at one the head of a soldier who had been killed in the fighting and decapitated. The battle for Tabqa began earlier this month, with the Islamic State launching its first major assault against the airport on Tuesday. It is the last army stronghold in the Raqqa, after fighters captured Brigade 93 and Division 17 in the northern province, killing dozens of soldiers, many of whom were beheaded. Raqqa province has become the stronghold of the Islamic State, which controls the provincial capital and has declared an Islamic "caliphate" in territory it holds in Syria and Iraq. The group initially fought alongside Syrian opposition groups, but its abuses sparked a backlash from rebels who pushed it out of parts of northern Syria. In recent weeks, though, the group has advanced back into areas it withdrew from, including northern Aleppo province. The monitoring group said there was no official reason given for the withdrawal, but that the fighters appeared to be moving to areas under tighter Islamic State control, including Deir Ezzor province in the east. Image copyright Reuters Image caption Some residents of Tabqa and IS militants celebrated the news of the base's capture Fighters from Islamic State (IS) have taken control of a key Syrian government airbase, activists say. The Tabqa airbase was the last remaining stronghold of Bashar al-Assad's government in Raqqa province.. State TV confirmed that government forces had "evacuated" the airbase. More than 191,000 people have now been killed in the three-year-old Syrian conflict up to April, the UN says. IS, formerly known as Isis, has expanded its reach into large parts of eastern Syria and northern Iraq in recent months. Hundreds of soldiers and IS fighters had died in the past few days' fighting around the base, the Observatory said. Syrian state television confirmed that government troops had lost control of the base. "After heavy fighting by the forces defending the Tabqa airbase, our forces implemented a regrouping operation after the evacuation of the airbase," it said. BBC Middle East editor Jeremy Bowen on a year that saw Syria's violence spread to Iraq One year on from the chemical weapon attack in Damascus, the war in Syria has become part of a wider regional struggle. Syria: The story of the conflict Timeline: From Syria to Iraq In their own words: Chemical attack survivors Interactive: The rise of Islamic State Analysis: Nature of IS threat The base lies around 45km (30 miles) outside Raqqa city, the main powerbase of IS, and is believed to hold dozens of warplanes, helicopters, tanks and artillery. Analysts say the fall of the base is a significant blow for the Syrian government's ability to project air power into the north of the country. Image copyright Reuters Image caption Syrian government forces have used the base to attack targets in the north IS fighters have steadily taken over several government military bases in Raqqa province in recent weeks, including the Division 17 base just outside Raqqa town. A man holds up a knife as he rides on the back of a motorcycle touring the streets of Tabqa city with others in celebration after Islamic State militants took over Tabqa air base, in nearby Raqqa city August 24, 2014. REUTERS/Stringer A resident of Tabqa city touring the streets on a motorcycle waves an Islamist flag in celebration after Islamic State militants took over Tabqa air base, in nearby Raqqa city August 24, 2014. REUTERS/Stringer An Islamic State militant uses a loud-hailer to announce to residents of Taqba city that Tabqa air base has fallen to Islamic State militants, in nearby Raqqa city August 24, 2014. REUTERS/Stringer BEIRUT Islamic State militants stormed an air base in northeast Syria on Sunday, capturing it from government forces after days of fighting that cost more than 500 lives, a monitoring group said. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said at least 346 Islamic State fighters were killed and more than 170 members of government forces had died since Tuesday in the fight over Tabqa base, making it one of the deadliest confrontations between the two groups since the start of Syria's war. It was the Syrian army's last foothold in an area otherwise controlled by Islamic State, which has seized large areas of Syria and Iraq. IS fighters displayed the severed heads of Syrian army soldiers in the city square, the witness said, adding that Syrian warplanes were heard over Raqqa following the air base attack. Syrian state television said that after fierce battles, the military was "regrouping". Citing a military source, it said there was a "successful evacuation of the airport" and that the army was continuing strikes on "terrorist groups" in the area, which it said had suffered heavy losses. Syrian television had shown footage of army forces defending the base on Saturday who had said it was safe from Islamic State's advances.
“Libya’s challenges are political, and violence will not resolve them,” Jen Psaki, a State Department spokeswoman, said. Islamist militias blamed the air strikes on Egypt and the UAE. "Libya is now in a civil war. A senior Egyptian military source denied Egypt's involvement, as did Egypt's foreign ministry. Tripoli is half-destroyed. To see the whole country destroyed?" The UAE government declined to comment. Salabi's Qatari allies trained the Islamist February 17 militia which is now battling nationalist forces in the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi. It was only after a second round of attacks that intelligence officials began to focus on other combatants. On Tuesday, the US would not confirm the provenance of the air strikes on the record. We believe outside interference exacerbates current divisions and undermines Libya’s democratic transition. The air strikes may signal a new willingness by some Arab states to take a more direct military role in the region. And the international community is just watching. What does the world want? Three years after rebels toppled longtime dictator Muammar Gaddafi, Libya is sinking deeper into chaos as armed factions battle in various cities and two rival legislatures compete for power. Since 2011, UAE and Qatar have played pivotal and opposing roles in Libya's political scene. Members of the unit were thought to have provided the Libyan component for a Delta Force raid in Tripoli last October which captured terror suspect Anas al-Libi. Plumes of black smoke (R) is seen after war planes struck Misrata positions in Tripoli in an attack claimed by renegade general Khalifa Haftar, August 23, 2014.
Plumes of black smoke (R) is seen after war planes struck Misrata positions in Tripoli in an attack claimed by renegade general Khalifa Haftar, August 23, 2014. REUTERS/Stringer WASHINGTON The U.S. military believes the governments of Egypt and the United Arab Emirates were responsible for a recent series of airstrikes on Islamist factions within Libya, a Pentagon spokesman said on Tuesday. Rear Admiral John Kirby, speaking to reporters at the Pentagon, declined to give details of why the Obama administration believed those two countries conducted the mysterious strikes. Three years after rebels toppled longtime dictator Muammar Gaddafi, Libya is sinking deeper into chaos as armed factions battle in various cities and two rival legislatures compete for power. (Reporting By Missy Ryan; Editing by Mohammad Zargham) The United Arab Emirates and Egypt have carried out a series of air strikes in the Libyan capital of Tripoli, marking an escalation in the war among Libya’s rival militias that has driven diplomats from the country, according to US officials. The Obama administration did not know about the military intervention, although the US was aware that action by Arab states might come as the crisis worsened, said an official. The air strikes appear to be because of the growing influence and power of Islamist militias. The air strikes may signal a new willingness by some Arab states to take a more direct military role in the region. Various groups in Libya have been battling for control of Tripoli airport, and the strikes may have been a failed attempt to keep it from falling to extremist groups. The US says Qatar is arming and funding Islamist forces in Libya. After the first of the two air attacks, US intelligence believed claims of responsibility made by Khalifa Hifter, the retired Libyan general, who is battling militia fighters. It was only after a second round of attacks that intelligence officials began to focus on other combatants. US officials said that the departure of UAE jets from their bases would not have attracted notice and suggested that the aircraft were armed during a stopover in Egypt. “Libya’s challenges are political, and violence will not resolve them,” Jen Psaki, a State Department spokeswoman, said. We believe outside interference exacerbates current divisions and undermines Libya’s democratic transition. And that’s why our focus remains on urging all factions to come together to peacefully resolve the current crisis.” © The Washington Post Strikes said to be from planes flying out of Egyptian airbases signal step towards direct action in conflict by other Arab states US officials claim the United Arab Emirates and Egypt were behind several air strikes on Islamist militias in Libya last week, in what would be an escalation of a regional power-play between Islamists and opposing governments across the Middle East. UAE pilots flying out of Egyptian airbases allegedly twice targeted Islamist fighters vying for control of the Libyan capital, Tripoli, last week, US officials claimed to the New York Times and later to the AFP news agency. The air strikes failed to stop Islamist militias from capturing Tripoli later in the week and announcing a new breakaway regime, forcing Libya's elected government to flee to the eastern city of Tobruk. They suggest that a block of Middle Eastern countries led by the UAE are seeking to step up their opposition to the Islamist movements that have sought to undermine the region's old order since the start of the Arab spring in 2011. Last summer, Egypt's military ousted the Muslim Brotherhood – an Islamist group – and has since been cracking down internally on its activities, a tactic pursued for years in the UAE. If the US allegations are true, both countries now want to expand the campaign beyond their borders, seeking to curb the rise of brotherhood-affiliated militias threatening to take over Libya. The move could turn Libya into a proxy war between the country's elected government, backed by UAE and Egypt, and Islamists backed by Qatar, another Gulf state. The UAE is home to Libya's foremost nationalist politician, Mahmoud Jibril, while its rival Qatar hosts Ali Salabi, arguably Libya's most influential Islamist and a backer of the Muslim Brotherhood. From their respective exiles, Jibril and Salabi have directed an Islamist-nationalist rivalry that has been at the heart of Libya's politics since the death of Gaddafi in October 2011. Salabi's Qatari allies trained the Islamist February 17 militia which is now battling nationalist forces in the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi. "We believe outside interference exacerbates current divisions and undermines Libya's democratic transition," said Psaki. "We already issued two statements on this," said Badr Abdellatty, Egypt's foreign ministry spokesman, referring to comments made by the Egyptian government over the weekend. In one of the statements, Egypt denied that "Egyptian military aircraft [had been] carrying out air strikes in areas controlled by armed militias in the Libyan capital, Tripoli". When asked about the air strikes, a Libyan cabinet minister expressed surprise at the reports of their provenance, and said that Libya did not want direct military intervention. "The international community until now has not been serious about helping the government, the legal authority in Libya, and the Libyan people," said Amin after discussing the Libyan civil war with Egyptian officials in Cairo. But he said Libya's government is now unable to safeguard key state institutions by itself, and called for "arms and any other equipment … that could ensure the possibility of protecting our strategic sites, our oil fields, our airports" against militias "who are now stronger than the government itself, and who do now possess arms even more sophisticated than the government itself".
The team sent by his rival, Ashraf Ghani, said it pulled out after having been asked to do so by the UN. The UN said Mr Abdullah's decision to withdraw from the process was "regrettable". Afghan election workers count ballot papers for an audit of the presidential run-off in Kabul August 27, 2014. But Abdullah complained of rigging and demanded a recount in which fraudulent votes would be thrown out. Open to talks with Taliban Former anti-Soviet resistance member. The two candidates have agreed to form a government of national unity but have so far failed to reach a deal. Under a U.S.-brokered plan, all the eight million ballots from the country's June presidential runoff are being looked at for fraud. Both have committed themselves to signing a security agreement with the US which will allow foreign forces to stay in Afghanistan after 2014. Disputed preliminary results suggested they were heading for defeat. Abdullah’s side said Thursday that the process was “full of fraud,” with the former foreign minister’s chief auditor adding: “We boycotted the audit process today because it is worthless for us.” A few hours later, the United Nations asked former finance minister Ghani’s team to withdraw its observers in the interests of fairness. Image copyright Mahfouz Zubaide/BBC Image caption The audit could take weeks to complete Mr Abdullah was the frontrunner in the first round in April but did not secure an outright majority. Abdullah, is part Pashtun and part ethnic Tajik but draws his support from Tajiks and other smaller minorities, largely in the centre and north. U.S. officials stepped in again earlier on Wednesday and held emergency talks with Abdullah, according to a member of his team.
Afghan election workers count ballot papers for an audit of the presidential run-off in Kabul August 27, 2014. REUTERS/Mohammad Ismail An Afghan election worker carries a ballot box to be counted for an audit of the presidential run-off in Kabul August 27, 2014. REUTERS/Mohammad Ismail Afghan election workers count ballot papers for an audit of the presidential run-off in Kabul August 27, 2014. REUTERS/Mohammad Ismail Afghanistan's presidential candidate Ashraf Ghani (L) speaks with rival candidate Abdullah Abdullah (R) at his side during a news conference at the United Nations announcing a deal to audit all of the votes cast in the recent Afghan presidential election at the United Nations Compound in Kabul, July 12, 2014. REUTERS/Jim Bourg KABUL Afghanistan's disputed presidential election veered further off course on Wednesday after both candidates withdrew their observers from a U.N.-supervised audit of votes that was meant to resolve the crisis. The crisis over the outcome of the vote has raised the spectre of instability, turmoil and perhaps even another round of fighting in a country already battling a potent Taliban insurgency. The audit was part of a U.S.-brokered deal to defuse escalating tension between rivals Abdullah Abdullah and Ashraf Ghani, who have both claimed victory in the ballot intended to mark the country's first democratic transfer of power. "We boycotted the audit process today because it is worthless for us. Let them carry on," Fazel Ahmad Manawi, Abdullah's chief auditor, told Reuters early on Wednesday. A few hours later, the United Nations asked Ghani's team to withdraw its observers in the interests of fairness and it had agreed, according to a team member, who said the withdrawal was unfair but prudent. "Today we requested the team of Dr. Ghani to review whether they should participate actively in the process," U.N. deputy chief Nicholas Haysom told reporters on Wednesday. After a pause on Wednesday morning, the audit resumed in the afternoon, Haysom said, adding he did not expect significant further delays as the audit proceeded without the physical presence of representatives from candidates' teams. "We continue to urge the return of both candidates to full participation in the process, and we stand ready to address their concerns whether they return or not," he said. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry has twice flown to Afghanistan since a June 14 run-off vote to defuse tension and push the rivals to agree to cooperate. U.S. officials stepped in again earlier on Wednesday and held emergency talks with Abdullah, according to a member of his team. If the rival politicians needed a reminder of the militant threat, Afghan security forces were battling the Taliban for control of the northern province of Kunduz on Wednesday with heavy clashes also reported in parts of the south. The political crisis and fighting comes at a time of deep anxiety in Afghanistan as the United States, Kabul's biggest aid donor, and other NATO nations withdraw their troops after nearly 13 years of fighting Taliban insurgents. Chaos as Western forces pull out would be a huge embarrassment for those countries which have spent billions of dollars and lost about 3,500 soldiers in a bid to bring peace and stability. 'NO LEGITIMACY' Abdullah, a former foreign minister, won a first round vote in April but without a majority needed for outright victory, while preliminary figures showed Ghani, a former finance minister, won the run-off by more than a million votes. Abdullah's team believe that the more fraudulent votes are thrown out, the better his chances will be of victory but they have complained that the rules of the audit are not strict enough to weed out the invalid ballots. On Tuesday, Abdullah's team said the United Nations had until Wednesday to accept its demands to tighten the rules for identifying and discarding ballots deemed fraudulent, or else it would drop out of the electoral process. Officials and diplomats fear a breakdown between the candidates and the power-brokers who have a stake in the process could trigger conflict along ethnic lines. Former finance minister Ghani is a member of Afghanistan's biggest ethnic group, the Pashtuns, who make up of most the population in the south and east. "More than a million votes are fraudulent," Mohammad Mohaqeq a leader of the Hazara minority and one of Abdullah's vice presidential running mates, told Reuters. Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Abdullah Abdullah: "Lots of fraudulent ballot papers were included without being validated" An audit of votes from Afghanistan's disputed presidential election has restarted without observers from the camps of either candidate. The UN said Mr Abdullah's decision to withdraw from the process was "regrettable". Wary of Taliban talks Leading in Pashtun-dominated southern provinces Ahead in mainly Tajik northern areas Backed by Rashid Dostum, an Uzbek ex-warlord accused of human rights abuses Supported by wealthy Balkh governor Atta Mohammad, a bitter Dostum rival Has support of Qayyum Karzai, brother of President Karzai Also has backing of Mohamed Mohaqiq, powerful leader of ethnic Hazaras Ahmed Zia Masood, whose brother was a famous resistance hero, helped balance ticket Gul Agha Sherzai, an influential Pashtun, helped bring ethnic balance to ticket Analysis: Dawood Azami, BBC World Service Despite all the reports from Kabul of impending doom and collapse, there are still genuine reasons to be optimistic while we wait for a new president to be announced. They want devolution of power and more portfolios for the losing side and insist the position of "chief executive" - that both sides have agreed to establish by presidential decree - should have more powers. A member of Mr Ghani's team said the Abdullah camp "know they have lost the election and... are trying to make excuses". The recount formed part of a U.S.-brokered deal to head off growing tension over the results of the national ballot between rivals Abdullah Abdullah and Ashraf Ghani, who have both claimed victory in the contest intended to mark the country's first democratic transfer of power. Abdullah’s side said Thursday that the process was “full of fraud,” with the former foreign minister’s chief auditor adding: “We boycotted the audit process today because it is worthless for us.” A few hours later, the United Nations asked former finance minister Ghani’s team to withdraw its observers in the interests of fairness.
"It's about closing loopholes," said a diplomat. War in eastern Ukraine: The human cost The military gave no figures for Ukrainian losses. "They should have known that Russia cannot stand aside when people are being shot almost at point-blank range," said the Russian president, adding that he did not have in mind "the Russian state but the Russian people". In the Azov Sea port city of Mariupol to the south of Donetsk, citizens dug trenches as they prepared to defend the city from a possible rebel offensive from the east. Brussels agrees to take 'further significant steps' and impose fresh sanctions if Moscow does not back down in conflict European Union leaders have given Russia a week to reverse course in Ukraine or face a new round of sanctions as Kiev warns it is on the brink of full-scale war with Moscow. Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko arrives for a news conference at the European Council headquarters during an EU summit in Brussels August 30, 2014. Meanwhile, Ukrainian and Russian officials are holding talks with separatist rebels and international monitors in Minsk. Several hundred Ukrainian forces are bogged down near Ilovaysk, east of the region's main city of Donetsk, and have been trying to break out of encirclement by Russian-backed separatists for several days. The meeting of the so-called Contact Group includes representatives from the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe. But Nato claimed on Thursday that Russia had sent at least 1,000 troops to fight alongside the insurgents, as well as air defence systems, artillery, tanks and armoured vehicles, and had massed 20,000 troops near the border.
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko arrives for a news conference at the European Council headquarters during an EU summit in Brussels August 30, 2014. REUTERS/Laurent Dubrule A pro-Russian separatist climbs atop an armoured personnel carrier as he guards a position in the eastern Ukrainian town of Ilovaysk August 31, 2014. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov A man stands at the top of a house destroyed during the recent shelling in the eastern Ukrainian town of Ilovaysk, August 31, 2014. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov KIEV Ukraine's military said on Monday its forces were battling a Russian tank battalion for control of a vital airport in the east of the country as President Petro Poroshenko accused Moscow of "direct and open aggression" against his country. Ukrainian coastguards meanwhile searched for two seamen missing after one of their patrol boats was sunk in the Sea of Azov by artillery fire from pro-Russian separatists on the shore. Eight other seamen survived Sunday's attack and were being treated for wounds and burns, a border guard official said. Several hundred Ukrainian forces are bogged down near Ilovaysk, east of the region's main city of Donetsk, and have been trying to break out of encirclement by Russian-backed separatists for several days. Poroshenko, speaking at a military academy in Kiev, said Russia's direct involvement in the war against the separatists in eastern Ukraine had tipped the balance on the battlefield and was the main reason for recent reversals. "Direct and open aggression has been launched against Ukraine from a neighbouring state. Poroshenko said there would be changes in the military top brass because of the events of last week. Last week separatists who Kiev says were backed by a Russian armoured column took the town of Novoazovsk in the southeast and are now threatening the strategic port city of Mariupol. Despite growing concerns, Kiev's military has imposed an information clampdown on what is happening in Ilovaysk until its forces have been successfully withdrawn. But Anton Gerashchenko, an interior ministry adviser, told Ukraine TV's 112 channel: "The tragedy near Ilovaysk became possible after (Russian President Vladimir) Putin brought regular troops into Ukraine." "Our people surrendered only when they had run out of ammunition, when they no longer had anything to fire with," he said. In the past 24 hours, 69 more pro-government fighters had managed to break out and rejoin Ukrainian forces, adding to a few dozen others over the weekend. AIRPORT FIGHT Fighting continued to rage near Luhansk, the region's other main city, for control of the main civilian airport just to its south, the military said in a statement. "Ukrainian paratroopers are fighting a tank battalion of the Russian armed forces to hold the airport," it said. In the past 24 hours, the separatists had lost 80 fighters, some armoured vehicles and a missile system. Ukrainian border guards said search operations were still going on for the two missing coastguards whose patrol boat was hit by a rebel shell, in what pro-Russian rebels claimed was the first sea victory of their five-month separatist war. The boat was hit in the Sea of Azov, the area where rebels are now threatening the main port of Mariupol. We managed to save eight sailors, thanks to other cutters coming to their rescue. "After analysing the situation, we believe that this attack was from an artillery system but we don't know yet where it was fired from," he said. A top United Nations human rights official said last week that the total death toll in the five-month conflict - including civilians, Ukrainian forces and separatists - was nearly 2,600. Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption The BBC's Richard Galpin says there is a "sense of fear" in Mariupol Ukrainian forces have withdrawn from the airport of the eastern city of Luhansk after all-night clashes with pro-Russian rebels, the military says. Ukraine and the West blame Russian military support for the rebel advances, saying armoured columns have crossed the border - allegations rejected by Russia's President Vladimir Putin. He has accused European leaders of ignoring the Ukrainian army "directly targeting civilians". On Sunday, he said the issue of "statehood" for eastern Ukraine needed to be discussed to ensure the interests of local people were "definitely upheld". In other developments: Nato Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen announced a Readiness Action Plan in response to Russia's "aggressive behaviour", meaning a more visible Nato presence in Eastern Europe and to make Nato "fitter, faster and more flexible to adjust to all kinds of security challenges" President Putin urged the European Union to show "common sense" and not to engage in mutually destructive sanctions, in his first reaction to the threat of new sanctions over Ukraine German Chancellor Angela Merkel acknowledged that further sanctions against Russia could adversely affect her country's economy, but said "accepting Russia's behaviour [was] not an option" Russia's energy minister said Russia and Ukraine had agreed to hold talks on 6 September to resolve the gas crisis, adding that the EU had yet to confirm whether it would send a representative. 'No military intervention' Ukraine's security council confirmed on Monday that its troops had withdrawn from Luhansk airport "in an organised manner". Image copyright AFP Image caption Mariupol residents held an anti-Russia rally over the weekend Image copyright AP Image caption Parts of Donetsk city have been badly damaged in weeks of heavy fighting Clashes are said to still be taking place near the airport of the city of Donetsk, with separatists claiming that two Ukrainian platoons have surrendered. Ukrainian news agency UNIAN quoted a senior official as saying that as many as 680 soldiers had been captured in Donetsk region after the recent fighting. He said "about 80%" of them were captured around Ilovaysk, east of the city of Donetsk, where hundreds of Ukrainian troops have been cut off since the latest rebel advance began. Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Sergei Lavrov: "We call only for a peaceful settlement of this severe crisis" He also insisted there would be "no military intervention" from Russia in Ukraine.
Karzai has refused to sign. Although Australia is not a NATO member, its troops fought alongside the coalition in Iraq and Afghanistan, which Foreign Minister Julie Bishop has called the basis for an expanded partnership in current and future conflicts. NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said last month that a new Afghan president would attend the summit if he took office in time. (Editing by G Crosse) Rival candidates Abdullah Abdullah and Ashraf Ghani have both claimed victory in a vote intended to mark the country's first democratic transfer of power. Bishop says it is a rare honour for Australia and the Australian Defence Force. Australia on Monday unveiled fresh sanctions against Russia over what Abbott called its "bullying" of neighbouring Ukraine, where the Kremlin is accused of backing pro-Russian insurgent groups battling the government in Kiev. The Nato summit will focus on Afghanistan and involvement there beyond the end of this year when the Isaf mission expires. The summit will open with a session on Afghanistan at which U.S. President Barack Obama and other NATO leaders will be joined by officials from 27 other countries as well as representatives from the United Nations and European Union. Foreign minister Julie Bishop says Australia will accept a formal invitation to become an enhanced partner when she and defence minister David Johnston attend the Nato leaders’ summit in Wales this week. Abdullah's team has pulled its observers from the U.N.-led audit of votes from the June 14 run-off ballot, saying it was dissatisfied with the way that fraudulent votes were being handled. Membership in the Enhanced Partnership Programme is designed to give non-member states earlier access to the planning of military operations and a presence in NATO's governing bodies.
Foreign minister Julie Bishop says Australia will maintain autonomy in future Nato-led operations Australia is set to boost ties with the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (Nato), the world’s most powerful political and military grouping. Foreign minister Julie Bishop says Australia will accept a formal invitation to become an enhanced partner when she and defence minister David Johnston attend the Nato leaders’ summit in Wales this week. Australia’s relationship with Nato strengthened substantially over the past decade due to participation in Nato’s longest mission, the Isaf (International Security Assistance Force) mission in Afghanistan. “Australia has proven itself time and again to be a reliable and capable partner,” she said. Bishop says Australia will maintain autonomy in deciding the extent and character of involvement in future Nato-led operations. The Nato summit will focus on Afghanistan and involvement there beyond the end of this year when the Isaf mission expires. REUTERS/Larry Downing SYDNEY Australia is set to step up its partnership with NATO, its foreign minister said on Tuesday, as the country pursues a bigger role in global crises from Iraq and Syria to Ukraine. Prime Minister Tony Abbott, who is due to host Russian President Vladimir Putin and other world leaders at a G20 summit in November, has used a number of recent speeches to signal a more muscular approach to foreign policy. Although Australia is not a NATO member, its troops fought alongside the coalition in Iraq and Afghanistan, which Foreign Minister Julie Bishop has called the basis for an expanded partnership in current and future conflicts. "Tomorrow the defence minister and I will travel to Wales to attend the NATO summit and I can confirm that Australia will be accepting a formal invitation to become what is called an enhanced partner," Bishop told parliament. Membership in the Enhanced Partnership Programme is designed to give non-member states earlier access to the planning of military operations and a presence in NATO's governing bodies. Australia on Monday unveiled fresh sanctions against Russia over what Abbott called its "bullying" of neighbouring Ukraine, where the Kremlin is accused of backing pro-Russian insurgent groups battling the government in Kiev. Abbott has struck perhaps the toughest line of any Western leader against the rebels in Ukraine, accused by Western countries and intelligence agencies of shooting down Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 in July, killing all 298 passengers and crew, including 28 Australians. BRUSSELS Afghanistan is expected to send its defence minister to a NATO summit in Wales this week, NATO officials said on Monday, after a political crisis dashed hopes that a newly-elected president could make his debut on the international stage there. "It has become clear that the electoral process in Afghanistan is very unlikely to reach its conclusion in time for a new Afghan president or president-elect to join us in Wales," said a senior NATO official briefing reporters on condition of anonymity. Rival candidates Abdullah Abdullah and Ashraf Ghani have both claimed victory in a vote intended to mark the country's first democratic transfer of power.
The 10 nations are the US, Britain, France, Germany, Canada, Australia, Turkey, Italy, Poland and Denmark. What I have said is nothing is ruled out." "We have the ability to destroy IS. Nato member countries bordering Russia have watched Russia's involvement in Ukraine with growing concern. Kerry said there would be many ways to take the fight to Isis. It involves the same thing in Syria as we need in Iraq. Ukrainian government forces and volunteers are trying to hold on to Mariupol on the Azov Sea. Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Petro Poroshenko: "It is very important that this ceasefire lasts long and that during this ceasefire we continue political dialogue to find peace and stability" Ukraine and pro-Russian rebels in the east have signed a truce deal to end almost five months of fighting. Clearly military commitment is required. But the UK says the sanctions will probably go ahead whether or not a ceasefire is agreed at the talks in the Belarus capital, Minsk. Image copyright AFP Image caption Residents around Donetsk have been taking shelter in schools and other buildings for weeks Image copyright Reuters Image caption Petro Poroshenko welcomed the ceasefire during a news conference at the Nato summit in Wales Earlier in the day, fighting was reported around Donetsk and Mariupol, a coastal city about 110km (70 miles) to the south. He said the grouping should come up with firm plans - and greater support from regional powers - by the time the UN general assembly meets for its annual session later this month. More than 2,600 people have died since rebels stormed several eastern cities.
US secretary of state John Kerry rules out committing 'boots on the ground' at meeting of 10 nations on sidelines of Nato summit Barack Obama has called Islamic State (Isis) a "savage organisation" that must be destroyed as the US announced the formation of a "core coalition" to combat militants in Iraq, but warned it might take two or three years to squeeze the jihadis from the region. Speaking at the Nato summit in Wales, the US president said the organisation's members unanimously agreed on the need for immediate action against Isis militants because they pose a threat to members of the alliance. The US secretary of state, John Kerry, said a new 10-nation grouping would concentrate on strengthening the forces in Iraq who were fighting against Isis, but said intervention would not extend to western powers sending in troops. "We need to attack them in ways that prevent them from taking over territory, to bolster the Iraqi security forces and others in the region who are prepared to take them on, without committing troops of our own," Kerry said. "Obviously I think that's a red line for everybody here: no boots on the ground." He said the grouping should come up with firm plans - and greater support from regional powers - by the time the UN general assembly meets for its annual session later this month. Significantly, the group does not include any Arab nation and only one of Iraq's six neighbours. Obama said the international coalition needed to go beyond western countries and include Sunni majority states, in order to reject the kind of nihilism that Isis projects. Speaking at his closing press conference, David Cameron added that a military commitment was required, but that the government was not at the stage of making decisions on air strikes. A fighter jet lands on the flightdeck of the US navy aircraft carrier USS George HW Bush after flying missions over Iraq. Photograph: Hasan Jamali/AP The UK prime minister said what was needed was a combination of "intelligent politics, diplomatic pressure, long-term engagement, a comprehensive plan, as well as the potential for military or other aggressive action". Cameron said: "Solving this problem has already taken military commitment. The US has launched more than 100 air strikes on Isis positions in northern Iraq in the past month to try to check the progress of the militants, who have seized a vast swath of Syria and Iraq. On the question of whether it would be necessary to secure UN support for any deeper military action, the prime minister was evasive, saying: "The more the UN can say to back and support hopefully a new Iraqi government in its work and to condemn Islamist extremism the better." He also said he would not put a specific time frame on how long it would take to squeeze Isis, saying only that it was a generational struggle. "It is wrong to think the cause of the problem is the particular fracture in a country like Iraq or Syria. US officials cited the valuable expertise of America's allies such as British and Australian special operations, Jordanian intelligence, Turkish border control and Saudi Arabia's ability to cut off financing to radicals. The first aim will be corral as many regional countries into the coalition ahead of a meeting of the UN security council hosted by the US president, Barack Obama, in the week of 22 September in New York. The security council meeting, likely to be held during the UN general assembly and attended by Cameron, could lead to a resolution giving UN legality to any military action to drive out Isis. There will be intense diplomatic pressure placed on countries such as Russia, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Iran to back the condemnation of Isis. Russia has already backed UN resolutions trying to cut off financial support to the militants. They are an ambitious, avowed genocidal, territorial-grabbing, caliphate-desiring quasi state with an irregular army, and leaving them in some capacity intact anywhere would leave a cancer in place that will ultimately come back to haunt us." He said Friday's initiative proved "we have the ability to come together, that our capacities of defence are not frozen in an old model that we cannot respond to something like this." He added: "We very much hope that people will be as declarative as some of our friends around the table have been in order to be clear about what they're willing to commit, because we must be able to have a plan together by the time we come to (the United Nations general assembly). "Philip Hammond, the British foreign secretary, who chaired the meeting with Kerry, said: "It's going to be a long campaign; not necessarily a military one, but a campaign to turn the tide, to cut off the funding, to undermine the recruiting, to cut off the support that they're receiving from some of the countries around the world and to push [them] back. "We in Britain have made no commitment to take part in any air strikes as yet, but we'll certainly consider that possibility if we think that it is the best and most effective way to support a credible and inclusive Iraqi government." The short-term focus will remain Iraq, with sources indicating that no attack on Isis in Syria would be considered until more had been done to identify military targets, clarify legalities and build diplomatic support for a measure that risked strengthening Syria's president, Bashar al-Assad. Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption On the tense frontlines in eastern Ukraine talk of a ceasefire is just that, as Fergal Keane reports The Nato military alliance has agreed on a new "spearhead" force amid growing concern at the Ukraine crisis and the rise of Islamic State militants.
His mother, Diana, used to call him "the back up". Britain is proud of its royal tradition Prince William and Catherine's second baby will become fourth in line to the throne, behind older brother Prince George, who is 13 months old. Congratulations to the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge on their happy news." The palace said the Queen and both families were delighted with the news. It’s unlikely the royal family would want to let go of their Scottish heritage – or that Scotland would want to give up on the royal family. We found out that Prince William is very fond of whisky and we were delighted that Kate also enjoyed a few,” he says. 'Big brother' The baby announcement came after the couple's first child, Prince George, had his first birthday on 22 July. For a second time it's because Kate is suffering from an acute form of morning sickness - though this time she's being treated behind palace walls and not at a private hospital with representatives of the world's media gathered outside. Princess Margaret was spare to her sister, the current Queen. But others took a contrary view about the timing of the announcement in light of the political question looming over Scotland and suggestions that the Queen — the great-grandmother-in-waiting — is quite concerned that Scots may vote to leave the 307-year-old union. Image copyright Getty Images Image caption The duke was presented with flowers by five-year-old Beth Barton when he arrived at the university Image copyright Reuters Image caption The duke and duchess recently attended WW1 commemorations Image copyright PA Image caption They visited New Zealand and Australia with Prince George earlier this year She is scheduled to be among the guests at the opening ceremony of the Invictus Games in London on Wednesday evening along with Prince William, Prince Harry and the Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall.
Prince George has already earned the nickname "Republican slayer," so perhaps it comes as little surprise that the second child of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge is already being touted — months before birth — for his or her potential as a political symbol. Within hours of word spreading Monday that Prince William and Kate are expecting a brother or sister for 13-month-old George, the U.K. media were pondering what it could all mean for the upcoming Scottish independence vote. Prince William talks to schoolchildren during a visit in Oxford, England, on Sept. 8, the same day it was announced he and his wife, Kate, are expecting their second child. (Lefteris Pitarakis/Associated Press) "What's interesting is that on the day of the announcement, the upcoming royal baby has already assumed political significance," says Carolyn Harris, a Toronto-based royal historian and blogger. The Scottish referendum is just over a week away, and media speculation was swirling Monday "that enthusiasm about a new royal baby might help keep the United Kingdom together," Harris says. And it's rampant speculation: Even the Guardian newspaper, which has been known to give online readers the chance to opt out of royal coverage with one click, had a poll asking if word of a baby on the way "is the news the No campaign desperately needs?" Word of Kate's pregnancy came the same day the British pound traded at a 10-month low against the U.S. dollar after a poll suggested 51 per cent support for an independent Scotland in the vote on Sept. 18. The announcement of the pending birth seems to have been spurred by Kate's acute morning sickness, and the questions that would have arisen over her absence at a planned event Monday in Oxford. But others took a contrary view about the timing of the announcement in light of the political question looming over Scotland and suggestions that the Queen — the great-grandmother-in-waiting — is quite concerned that Scots may vote to leave the 307-year-old union. (Phil Noble/Reuters) If the next royal baby does carry some serious political clout, he or she will follow in the footsteps of George, who as a chubby-cheeked nine-month-old charmed adoring fans Down Under earlier this year. "When William, Kate and George toured Australia and New Zealand, Prince George became known as the 'Republican Slayer,' because support for the monarchy became so high in Australia just 15 years after there'd been a referendum about abolishing the monarchy," says Harris. "The response to Prince George during his travels in Australia and New Zealand demonstrates that even in the 21st century, a royal baby can have a great deal of political significance." And because the current political question deals with Scotland, there's an especially rich potential for a historic connection. "It certainly won't be the first time that the future of Scotland has been tied up with the life of a royal baby," notes Harris. "Mary, Queen of Scots was only six days old when she succeeded to the Scottish throne, so when we look at Scottish history, there's a whole series of royal children who are politically significant almost from birth." The heir and the spare However significant the next royal baby will be, as the younger sibling of a direct heir to the throne, he or she will assume a unique spot in the Royal Family: the "spare" in the oft-used phrase "the heir and the spare." In the Queen's current reign, the idea of "the spare" has taken on the aura of being a "fun-loving foil to the more dutiful older sibling," Harris notes. Princess Anne for a few years, and then her younger brother, Prince Andrew, played the spare to William's father, Prince Charles. And no one has personified the notion of the spare as a more carefree royal than William's younger brother, Prince Harry, who among other antics has been caught on camera frolicking naked at a Las Vegas hotel. Peter Townsend, even though by the time Peter Townsend proposed to Margaret, the Queen already had two children," says Harris. "Some of the most famous British monarchs never anticipated becoming king or queen," says Harris, quickly rattling off a list that includes Henry VIII, Elizabeth I, Charles I, Anne, George V and the current Queen's father, George VI. Whatever fate awaits the next baby in the House of Windsor, he or she could anticipate a life with more royal duties than others in a similar position have carried out. "As an adult, William and Kate's second child may face a very extensive program of royal responsibilities because we're seeing a certain streamlining of the Royal Family," says Harris. That streamlining was front and centre during the Queen's 2012 Diamond Jubilee celebrations marking 60 years on the throne. (Matt Dunham/Associated Press) "The Diamond Jubilee Thames River pageant emphasized the direct royal line," says Harris, noting the focus on the Queen and Prince Philip; William's father, Charles, and his wife, Camilla; and William, Kate and Harry, rather than the extended family of royal cousins. "Members of the Royal Family in the direct line such as both of William and Kate's children are going to find as adults they have quite a busy program of royal responsibilities." Forget tea time, beefeaters or those derelict red phone boxes – nothing makes you feel more proud to be British that the world’s most photogenic royal couple announcing that they’re expecting a second child . And with ten days until Scotland votes on whether to remain part of the - proudly royal - British union, could the excitement over the news that the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are expecting their second baby help keep England and Scotland together? The royal romance gave the small university global recognition and students would be bereft to see their mascots become foreign citizens should the Yes vote carry the day. “We go crazy for anything royal, so this baby will be another member of the St Andrews’ family as far as we’re concerned,” says Dani Goldberg, a fourth year marine biology student at the university. “St Andrews is very small and Kate and Wills are the biggest claim to fame we have.” Dani says that students get caught up in royal enthusiasm regardless of their political leanings, and excitement over the future royal baby could remind Scots of their love for the royal family and, by extension, Great Britain. This equally emotive news of a new royal baby could be a winning force.” Britain was swept by royal fever during the wedding in 2011 The couple’s Scottish links have not faded post university.
If it does, he has to explain how to go about it. Obama knows this and he's been indicating that the U.S. does not intend to shoulder this fight against ISIS alone. Kerry, on a tour of the Middle East to build military, political and financial support to defeat the militants controlling parts of Iraq and Syria, said: "We all have an interest in supporting the new government of Iraq." Iraqi and U.S. officials have said the units would be a mechanism for Sunni Muslims to defend their provinces against Islamic State. The Americans have chosen to carry out air strikes. But that doesn't mean the group isn't a threat, he explained. Obama was expected to discuss US commitments in his address to the nation. REUTERS/Brendan Smialowski/Pool U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry (L) and new Iraqi Prime Minister Haider Abadi shake hands after a meeting in Baghdad September 10, 2014. WATCH President Obama's speech at 9 p.m. "The coalition that is at the heart of our global strategy I assure you will continue to grow and deepen in the days ahead ... because the United States and the world will simply not stand by to watch as ISIL's evil spreads." Britain is among the NATO partners that have agreed to be part of an ISIS plan. If the White House stops short of wanting authorization this time, Obama will likely tell Americans how he is working with Congress and keeping them in the loop. (NBC/Associated Press) "This is not going to be an announcement about U.S. ground troops," Obama said about his Wednesday speech in an interview on Meet the Press on Sunday.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry looks over papers while flying from Jordan to Iraq September 10, 2014. REUTERS/Brendan Smialowski/Pool U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry looks out over Baghdad from a helicopter September 10, 2014. REUTERS/Brendan Smialowski/Pool U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry (L) and new Iraqi Prime Minister Haider Abadi shake hands after a meeting in Baghdad September 10, 2014. REUTERS/Brendan Smialowski/Pool U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry speaks during a news conference at the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad September 10, 2014. REUTERS/Brendan Smialowski/Pool BAGHDAD U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on Wednesday endorsed Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi's plans to mend Baghdad's relations with Sunnis and Kurds, and said Iraq was a partner in the fight against Islamic State militants. Kerry, on a tour of the Middle East to build military, political and financial support to defeat the militants controlling parts of Iraq and Syria, said: "We all have an interest in supporting the new government of Iraq." "The coalition that is at the heart of our global strategy I assure you will continue to grow and deepen in the days ahead ... because the United States and the world will simply not stand by to watch as ISIL's evil spreads." "A new and inclusive Iraqi government has to be the engine of our global strategy against ISIL. Now the Iraqi parliament has approved a new cabinet with new leaders, with representation from all Iraqi communities, it’s full steam ahead." Kerry's visit comes hours before a speech in which Obama will try to rally Americans behind another war in a region he has long sought to leave, backed by what Washington hopes will be a coalition of NATO and Gulf Arab allies committed to a campaign that could stretch beyond the end of Obama’s term in 2016. "When the world hears from President Obama this evening, he will lay out with great specificity each component of a broad strategy of how to deal with ISIL," Kerry said. Kerry told Abadi he was encouraged by his plans for "reconstituting" the military and his commitment to political reforms reaching out to all of Iraq's religious and ethnic communities. Abadi formed his government on Monday in what was billed as a break from the more abrasive style of his predecessor Nuri al-Maliki, whose policies were blamed by many Iraqis for fuelling sectarianism and pushing the country to the brink of collapse. Islamic State fighters seized large chunks of Iraq's north and west this year, welcomed by many of the Sunni Muslim minority, who blamed the government for targeting them with indiscriminate arrests and discriminatory policies. Abadi appealed to the international community to help Iraq fight Islamic State, urging them "to act immediately to stop the spread of this cancer." Abadi faces multiple crises, from the need to convince the Sunnis they should stand with Baghdad against Islamic State to persuading minority Kurds not to break away and convincing his own majority Shi'ites he can protect them from Sunni hardliners. Kerry highlighted Abadi's readiness "to move forward rapidly on the oil agreements necessary for the Kurds, (and) on the representation of Sunnis in government." In a sign of the eagerness among Iraq's political elite for a fresh start, new Parliament Speaker Selim al-Jubouri, a Sunni, told Kerry: "We are ... hopeful that we will be able to defeat terrorist organisations and establish democracy in Iraq." ENTRENCHED SECTARIAN TENSIONS Unlike his predecessor, Abadi enjoys the support of nearly all of Iraq's major political groups, and the two most influential outside powers, Iran and the United States. U.S. officials hope he will present a unified front to weaken Islamic State, which has seized a third of both Iraq and Syria. On Wednesday, cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, head of a powerful Shi'ite movement, said Iraq should not cooperate with "occupiers", a reference to the United States. Sadr's opinions hold sway over tens of thousands of militants. Three car bombs exploded on Wednesday in a Shi'ite neighbourhood in eastern Baghdad, killing nine people and wounding 29, a police officer said. While it is unclear what steps will be taken to strengthen the Iraqi army after its collapse in the face of an Islamic State onslaught in June, the senior U.S. official said tentative plans for a new National Guard unit, announced by Abadi on Monday, were intended to deprive Islamic State of safe havens by handing over security to the provinces. Abadi in parliament on Monday described the proposed National Guards units as a means to absorb the Shi'ite militia groups now taking up the slack for a badly depleted army in fighting Islamic State. Iraqi and U.S. officials have said the units would be a mechanism for Sunni Muslims to defend their provinces against Islamic State. Kerry also touted the idea during his visit, saying he expected Abadi to take up the initiative in next week's cabinet meeting. Baghdad has lost control of the main Sunni provinces and the central government has yet to convince Sunnis it can be trusted. Sectarian tensions appeared as entrenched as ever, possibly worsened by a month of U.S. air strikes on Sunni jihadists. While Kurdish and Shi'ite fighters have regained ground, Sunni Muslims who fled the violence near the northern town of Amerli are being prevented from returning home and some have had their houses pillaged and torched. Sunni Arabs are also feeling a backlash in villages where they used to live alongside Kurds, who accuse them of collaborating with Islamic State. On Wednesday, Shi'ite militia north of Baghdad forced dozens of Sunni families from their homes during an offensive, stealing possessions and burning houses, a Shi'ite policeman and government source told Reuters, asking for anonymity to allow them to report on the offensive, which they said they opposed. While the U.S. official praised weeks of U.S. air strikes as "highly precise" and "strategically effective", he acknowledged much work lay ahead. In Jordan, Kerry is expected to receive requests for extra military aid, including helicopters and border security equipment, along with part of the $500 million the Obama administration has proposed to accelerate training of moderate Syrian rebels, a Jordanian official told Reuters. Obama has been under mounting pressure to lay out a plan, particularly after he said late last month that he didn't have a strategy "yet" and that he was still figuring out exactly how to "get the job done.” The president has said that the purpose of his speech is to tell Americans about the ISIS threat and to shore up confidence that the U.S. is capable of handling it.
He ended as the peace-maker”. Dr Ian Paisley, the firebrand Irish unionist and former First Minister, has died aged 88, his family has said. But he was also someone who loved Northern Ireland and its people." He told RTE radio: "I grew to admire him. Once political opponents – I have lost a friend." John Cushnahan, a one-time leader of the centrist Alliance party, accused commentators on Friday of rewriting Paisley's history. He was a valuable character in the peace process." She said the family was heartbroken by the death of a figure who dominated Ulster Unionist politics for nearly six decades. The prime minister said Paisley's decision to enter a power-sharing government with Sinn Féin in 2007 had "required great courage and leadership, for which everyone in these islands should be grateful". My deepest sympathy to his wife Eileen and family. Martin McGuinness and Ian Paisley in Dundalk. "To have known him and stood alongside him for so many years has been one of the greatest privileges of my life." A year later he founded the Democratic Unionist Party which he led until 2008. He had been ill for some time. "I want to pay tribute to and comment on the work he did in the latter days of his political life in building agreement and leading unionism into a new accommodation with republicans and nationalists. We loved him and he adored us, and our earthly lives are forever changed." Ian Paisley entering the DUP office in Ballymena as he prepared to announce his retirement from the British Parliament in March 2010.
Unionist leader who led opposition to compromise with IRA in Northern Ireland before entering government with Sinn Féin had been ill for some time The former leader of the Democratic Unionist party (DUP) Dr Ian Paisley has died aged 88, his widow said. The firebrand preacher-turned-politician died on Friday morning, according to Eileen Paisley, a fellow member of the House of Lords. She said the family was heartbroken by the death of a figure who dominated Ulster Unionist politics for nearly six decades. In a statement released by the Paisley family at lunchtime on Friday, she said: "My beloved husband, Ian, entered his eternal rest this morning. Although ours is the grand hope of reunion, naturally as a family we are heartbroken. Paisley, or Lord Bannside as he was known in his latter years, embarked on a remarkable political journey that started with him opposing mild reforms to the unionist-dominated Northern Ireland state in the late 1950s and early 60s to sharing power with his one-time mortal enemies Sinn Féin in the 21st century. The 88-year-old founder of the fundamentalist Free Presbyterian Church moved from being Ulster's "Dr No", who rejected political compromises with nationalists during the height of the Northern Ireland Troubles to ultimately getting into government with Sinn Féin after the 2006 St Andrews Agreement. Ian Paisley entering the DUP office in Ballymena as he prepared to announce his retirement from the British Parliament in March 2010. Photograph: AFP/Getty Images His hardline brand of politics saw off a succession of modernising unionist leaders, from prime minister Terence O'Neill in the 1960s to Nobel peace prize winner David Trimble in 2005. But after fulfilling his dream in 2005 of becoming the dominant force in unionism, Paisley finally agreed to share power with Sinn Féin, the party he vowed to smash in the 1980s. One of the most surprising developments in the latter years of his career was how he forged a warm relationship with Martin McGuinness, Sinn Féin's deputy first minister of Northern Ireland and one-time IRA chief of staff. Due to the fact that the unlikely couple running Northern Ireland were pictured almost always smiling together, the pair earned the nickname "the Chuckle Brothers". McGuiness paid tribute to Paisley on Twitter: "Very sad to learn that Ian Paisley has died. My deepest sympathy to his wife Eileen & family. Once political opponents – I have lost a friend." Photograph: Paul Faith/PA In her statement, Eileen Paisley said that the funeral would be private and attended only by the immediate family. She added: "As a family we appreciate that there will be an expectation by those who admired him to express their gratitude for his life and their sorrow at his passing. "To that end we will in due course publish details of a public memorial service which, will be scheduled later in the year. Lord Bannside, who held the Westminster seat of North Antrim for decades, handed over the constituency to his son Ian Paisley Jr, who still represents the Paisley heartland in the House of Commons. Ian Paisley – the Dr No of Ulster politics who eventually said yes to sharing power with his Irish republican enemies – has died aged 88. His widow, Eileen, confirmed the political veteran, whose name was synonymous with the Troubles and sectarianism, died on Friday morning. Prime ministers and Irish premiers past and present, political allies, foes and a former IRA chief of staff paid tribute to Paisley's more recent role in securing devolution and power-sharing at Stormont. Martin McGuinness, Northern Ireland's deputy first minister and one-time head of the Provisional IRA – which once debated internally whether to assassinate Paisley – was one of the first to warmly recall their time in government. Minutes after Paisley's death was announced, he tweeted: "Very sad to learn that Ian Paisley has died. Photograph: Barbara Lindberg/Rex Features In a statement by his family, Paisley's wife said: "My beloved husband, Ian, entered his eternal rest this morning. Mrs Paisley said the funeral would be a private family occasion even though her husband had been Northern Ireland's first minister. It started with him opposing mild reforms to the unionist-dominated Northern Irish state in the late 1950s and early 60s, and led to sharing power with his one-time mortal enemies, Sinn Féin, in the 21st century. David Cameron described him as "one of the most forceful and instantly recognisable characters in British politics for nearly half a century". The prime minister said Paisley's decision to enter a power-sharing government with Sinn Féin in 2007 had "required great courage and leadership, for which everyone in these islands should be grateful". Paisley's successor as leader of the Democratic Unionists – the party Paisley founded in the early 70s – and as first minister, Peter Robinson, said: "It can truly be said of Ian that he was the founding father of the new Northern Ireland." "I was drawn towards politics by the strength of Ian's message and by his charisma." "To have known him and stood alongside him for so many years has been one of the greatest privileges of my life." Photograph: Ronald Spencer/Associated Ne/REX For other former political opponents Paisley's use of loyalist paramilitary muscle in a general strike to bring down the previous power-sharing government in 1974 resulted in more years of carnage and political deadlock. Cushnahan said the "courageous and imaginative" power-sharing experiment of 1974, set up under the Sunningdale agreement, had been destroyed by a combination of IRA violence and the Paisley-led "fascist" Ulster Workers' Council strike. "Tragically thousands more people were to lose their lives or suffer serious injury before Sinn Féin and the DUP embraced what [was] already on offer in 1974. Northern Ireland's first minister Peter Robinson has paid tribute to Ian Paisley Photograph: Charles Mcquillan/Getty Images Blair's co-partner in pushing the Irish peace process forward, the former taoiseach Bertie Ahern said: "In my younger days I found him a very difficult character but we ended up very good friends.
Mr Xi began his visit in Gujarat, the home-state of Mr Modi, on Wednesday, before heading to Delhi. Relations have also been dogged over the years by China's backing for India's neighbour Pakistan. There have been several incursions of Chinese troops across the border in these areas which have been highlighted by the Indian media. Mr Modi called for an early settlement on the disputed common border between the two countries and said the "true potential of our relations" would be realised when there was "peace in our relations and in the borders". Image copyright EPA Image caption Xi Jinping (left) and Narendra Modi are expected to boost trade and investment ties China's President Xi Jinping has begun his first official visit to India for talks expected to focus on improving trade and boosting Chinese investment. Despite the continuing tensions, trade between India and China has reached close to $70bn (£43bn) a year, although India's trade deficit has climbed to more than $40bn from $1bn in 2001-2002. Under the investment plans, China pledged to: Help bring India's ageing railway system railway system up-to-date with high-speed links and upgraded railway stations. He was greeted at Ahmedabad airport by Gujarat government officials and inspected a guard of honour. China is one of India's top trading partners but they vie for regional influence and dispute their border. The reports said Indian troops had spotted their Chinese counterparts trying to construct a temporary road into Indian territory across the Line of Actual Control (the de facto boundary) in the Ladakh region. Set up industrial parks in Gujarat and Maharashtra.
Image copyright AP Image caption The two leaders pledged to work towards peace on the disputed border India and China have signed 12 agreements in Delhi, one of which will see China investing $20bn (£12.2bn) in India's infrastructure over five years. At a news conference with Chinese President Xi Jinping, India's PM Narendra Modi said "peace on the border" was important for progress. Talks came as India accused China of fresh territorial incursions in Ladakh. China is one of India's top trading partners but they vie for regional influence and dispute their border. Under the investment plans, China pledged to: Help bring India's ageing railway system railway system up-to-date with high-speed links and upgraded railway stations. Both sides also focussed on increasing co-operation in trade, space exploration and civil nuclear energy. Mr Modi called for an early settlement on the disputed common border between the two countries and said the "true potential of our relations" would be realised when there was "peace in our relations and in the borders". Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption The BBC's Andrew North in Delhi: "Almost everything they sell in this market store is made in China" There have been reports in the Indian media of Chinese troops trying to construct a temporary road into Indian territory across the Line of Actual Control (the de facto boundary) in the disputed Ladakh region over the past week. Mr Xi said he was committed to working with India to maintain "peace and tranquillity" on the border. "China-India border issue is a problem which has troubled both sides for long... As the area is yet to be demarcated, there may be some incidents," he said. A Chinese foreign ministry spokesman said: "After timely, effective communication, the relevant situation has already been appropriately bought under control. Sanjoy Majumder, BBC News, Delhi The face-off between Chinese and Indian troops along their disputed border is being widely reported in India, with some suggesting that it could derail talks between the two countries. The border dispute is an old one, dating back to 1914 when Britain, India's former colonial power, signed an agreement with Tibet making the McMahon Line the de-facto border between the two countries. Both sides also claim each other's territory - India, the Aksai Chin region of Kashmir and China refuses to recognise Ladakh and Arunachal Pradesh as part of India. The simple fact is that there are differing perceptions on where the border lies - what India believes is Chinese troops crossing into their territory is seen by Beijing as the exact reverse: Indian troops occupying Chinese land. It is extremely unlikely that these confrontations will lead to an outright conflict or even sour ties between the two countries. Image copyright AP Image caption China has pledged to upgrade India's ageing railway tracks On Wednesday, the two sides signed several agreements, including one to set up a Chinese-backed industrial park in Gujarat. Indian and Chinese companies have also signed preliminary deals worth more than $3bn (£1.8bn) in aircraft leasing and telecoms, among other sectors. Despite the continuing tensions, trade between India and China has risen to almost $70bn (£43bn) a year, although India's trade deficit with China has climbed to more than $40bn from $1bn in 2001-2002. List of Agreements signed today between India & China in Ahmedabad pic.twitter.com/TVpia3MfBK — Syed Akbaruddin (@MEAIndia) September 17, 2014 AHMEDABAD: There were many firsts on Wednesday when Prime Minister Narendra Modi received Chinese President Xi Jinping in Ahmedabad.It was the first time an Indian PM was receiving a foreign head of the state outside Delhi. There was also a departure from the tradition of signing international agreements in the national capital.Modi made the exception because he wanted to showcase Ahmedabad's development to the visiting dignitary.And then, Xi became the first Chinese leader since Zhou Enlai to be feted at a civic reception. Relations, which nosedived after the 1962 war, improved in later years but not to extent where an Indian leader would make a public show of engagement with a neigbour of which people remain wary.Though Modi's prime ministership in only months old, his engagement with China has been deep since he was Gujarat chief minister.Also, unlike the US, China did not ostracize him over the 2002 riots.Continuing border tensions, especially the stand-off in Ladakh, could not come in the way of the public display of warmth. They visited the Gandhi Ashram on the banks of the Sabarmati and later enjoyed a walk down the beautifully decorated riverfront, a pet project of Modi when he was chief minister, where Gujarati culture and cuisine added to the bonhomie.Gujarati pride brimmed over as Xi began his three-day India visit from Ahmedabad — a city which has never hosted a head of the state — with a six-hour tour, guided by an elated Modi who was celebrating his 64th birthday.A Swiss luxury tent was the venue for a lavish vegetarian dinner for Xi and the Chinese first lady, Peng Liyuan. She skipped the visit to the ashram where her husband garlanded a portrait of Mahatma Gandhi and also took some lessons from Modi on how to spin the 'charkha' — the same spinning wheel Gandhiji used during his stay here from 1915 to 1930 when he engineered freedom from British rule.Xi Jinping and Narendra Modi outside the Hyatt hotel in AhmedabadBefore they left for New Delhi in the evening for further bilateral talks on Thursday, three significant agreements were signed between the two countries which will bolster Chinese investments in Gujarat, a state which has a recorded trade history with China dating back several centuries. Xi's visit to Ahmedabad was of course Modi's way of showcasing to the world his vibrant home-state, which he ruled for almost 13 years before he took over reins of the country four months back.Xi was flying in from maiden visits to Maldives and Sri Lanka, two countries in India's backyard with whom India maintains close strategic and economic ties. But just as Xi was landing in Ahmedabad, President Pranab Mukherjee was returning from a three-day visit to Vietnam, a key Indian partner in China's own backyard, a sign that India can play the game as well as China. Image copyright EPA Image caption Xi Jinping (left) and Narendra Modi are expected to boost trade and investment ties China's President Xi Jinping has begun his first official visit to India for talks expected to focus on improving trade and boosting Chinese investment. Despite the continuing tensions, trade between India and China has reached close to $70bn (£43bn) a year, although India's trade deficit has climbed to more than $40bn from $1bn in 2001-2002. Writing in The Hindu newspaper ahead of his visit, Mr Xi said he appreciated Mr Modi's comment that "China and India are two bodies, one spirit". "The combination of the 'world's factory' and the 'world's back office' will produce the most competitive production base and the most attractive consumer market," he wrote. Image copyright AP Image caption Mr Xi began his India visit in the western state of Gujarat Indian media reports say China is expected to pledge funds to help India's creaky railway, manufacturing and infrastructure projects during Mr Xi's visit. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe pledged to raise public and private investment and financing from Japan to $33.6bn within five years, and Delhi and Tokyo set a target to double Japan's direct investment in India in that period from some $2bn last year. The Chinese leader's visit is also being billed as a chance to reset often troubled relations between the world's two most populous countries, who disagree over the demarcation of several Himalayan border areas and fought a brief war in 1962.
Tomorrow, we will find out what it said. Voters are answering "Yes" or "No" to the referendum question: "Should Scotland be an independent country?" More on how the BBC reports polling day Relief that's it's over, relief that Scotland has decided what it has. Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Pro-independence supporters console one another in Edinburgh Image copyright AP Image caption "No" campaigners were jubilant as the scale of the result became known Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Many "Yes" supporters were visibly upset by the result Across Scotland, the "No" vote had a majority in 28 of the country's 32 local authority areas. Scotland rejected independence by 55% to 45%. Mr Cameron said the three main unionist parties at Westminster would now follow through with their pledge of more powers for the Scottish Parliament. The prime minister also spoke of the implications for the other nations of the UK. Strict rules mean the BBC - in common with other broadcasters - is not allowed to report details of campaigning until after the polls close. Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Counts and celebrations: How the night unfolded Scotland has voted to stay in the United Kingdom after voters decisively rejected independence. Votes will be cast at 5,579 polling stations until 22:00 on Thursday. Dundee was the first area to back independence. The result is expected on Friday morning. Scottish referendum results in detail The prime minister also acknowledged that the people of England, Wales and Northern Ireland must have a bigger say over their affairs. Royal relief Royal correspondent Nick Witchell at Balmoral Balmoral seems very remote and cut off but of course the Royal Family has been following this minutely.
Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Counts and celebrations: How the night unfolded Scotland has voted to stay in the United Kingdom after voters decisively rejected independence. With the results in from all 32 council areas, the "No" side won with 2,001,926 votes over 1,617,989 for "Yes". Scotland's First Minister Alex Salmond called for unity and urged the unionist parties to deliver on more powers. Prime Minister David Cameron said he was delighted the UK would remain together and that commitments on extra powers would be honoured "in full". Mr Cameron said the three main unionist parties at Westminster would now follow through with their pledge of more powers for the Scottish Parliament. He announced that Lord Smith of Kelvin, who led Glasgow's staging of the Commonwealth Games, would oversee the process to take forward the commitments, with new powers over tax, spending and welfare to be agreed by November, and draft legislation published by January. Scottish referendum results in detail The prime minister also acknowledged that the people of England, Wales and Northern Ireland must have a bigger say over their affairs. And he promised a solution to the West Lothian question - the fact that Scottish MPs can vote on English issues at Westminster, and not the other way round. "Through debate, discussion, and passionate yet peaceful deliberations, they reminded the world of Scotland's enormous contributions to the UK and the world," he said. Police Scotland said Thursday's vote "passed off smoothly" with just six arrests across the country mainly for alleged breaches of the peace and assaults. Share prices rose as Scotland voted against independence. Polling officials said they were investigating 10 cases of suspected electoral fraud at polling stations in Glasgow. Royal Bank of Scotland said it would keep its headquarters in Scotland following the "No" vote. Wales's First Minister Carwyn Jones has called for more funding for his country after Scotland voted to stay in the Union. Northern Ireland First Minister Peter Robinson said a vote on the future of Northern Ireland's border was not necessary following Scotland's 'No' vote. Shortly afterwards, Mr Salmond said he accepted the defeat and called for national unity. He told supporters: "The unionist parties made vows late in the campaign to devolve more powers to Scotland. "Scotland will expect these to be honoured in rapid course - as a reminder, we have been promised a second reading of a Scotland Bill by March 27 next year. Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption The moment the No side won an unassailable lead over the Yes camp And the first minister said: "Whatever else we can say about this referendum campaign, we have touched sections of the community who have never before been touched by politics, these sections of the community have touched us and touched the political process." In a rallying call to his supporters, Mr Salmond urged the Yes voters to reflect on how far they had come. "I don't think any of us, whenever we entered politics, would have thought such a thing to be either credible or possible," he said. He also claimed the campaign had put "a scare and a fear of enormous proportions" at the heart of the Westminster establishment. "Today of all days as we bring Scotland together, let us not dwell on the distance we have fallen short, let us dwell on the distance we have travelled and have confidence the movement is abroad in Scotland that will take this nation forward," he added. Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Alex Salmond and David Cameron react to the result Referendum reaction Image copyright EPA The margin of victory for the Better Together campaign - 55% to 45% - was greater by about 3% than that anticipated by the final opinion polls. He said: "Now the debate has been settled for a generation, or as Alex Salmond has said: 'Perhaps for a lifetime'. What the 'No' vote means at home and abroad "In Wales there are proposals to give the Welsh Government and Assembly more powers and I want Wales to be at the heart of the debate on how to make the United Kingdom work for all our nations," he said. "The question of English votes for English laws, the so-called West Lothian question, requires a decisive answer so just as Scotland will vote separately in the Scottish Parliament on their issues on tax, spending and welfare, so too England as well as Wales and Northern Ireland should be able to vote on these issues. Constitutional revolution on the way Analysis by Andrew Marr, author and BBC presenter What started as a vote on whether Scotland would leave the UK has ended with an extraordinary constitutional revolution announced outside Downing Street by the Prime Minister. Following his appointment by the prime minister, Lord Smith of Kelvin said he had begun work to oversee the process of delivering more powers for the Scottish Parliament. "This won't be a drawn out process; I have started work today and will present what I hope will be unifying recommendations on 30th November." Image copyright Reuters Image caption No supporters celebrate after their decisive victory Image copyright Reuters Image caption A man walks past a discarded "Yes" campaign paper hat on the Royal Mile ain Edinburgh Alistair Darling, who led the Better Together campaign, said the people of Scotland had "chosen unity over division and positive change rather than needless separation". Mr Darling said the result had "reaffirmed all that we have in common and the bonds that tie us together", adding: "Let them never be broken." Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Pro-independence supporters console one another in Edinburgh Image copyright AP Image caption "No" campaigners were jubilant as the scale of the result became known Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Many "Yes" supporters were visibly upset by the result Across Scotland, the "No" vote had a majority in 28 of the country's 32 local authority areas. On a turnout of 78.8%, "Yes" polled 53,620 votes to the "No" campaign's 39,880.
Juliana Liu, BBC News, Hong Kong The senior Chinese leadership has set out clear limits on who can run for the position of chief executive, Hong Kong's top leader, in 2017. Mr Wang, in Washington, said the matter was an "internal affair" for China. Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Ali Moore: Have Hong Kong protests hit the shopping industry? Image copyright AFP Image caption Protesters have been sleeping on roads around government buildings for several days Image copyright Reuters Image caption There is a heavy police presence outside the office of Chief Executive CY Leung But he said he believed Hong Kong authorities had "the capability to properly handle the current situation in accordance with the law". WSJ's Ramy Inocencio recaps night six of the city's Occupy Central movement. US counterpart John Kerry urged Hong Kong to handle the protests - seen as a challenge to Beijing - with restraint. “I believe for any country, for any society, no one would allow those illegal acts that violate public order. Hong Kong's Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying has refused to resign despite pro-democracy protestors’ demands. “All countries should respect China’s sovereignty and this is a basic principle of governing international relations,” Wang said. HONG KONG—Student protesters agreed to hold talks with the city’s No. Hong Kong affairs are China’s internal affairs,” foreign minister Wang Yi told his American counterpart John Kerry, who was standing next to him, just before they went into talks at the state department in Washington on Wednesday. Both sides hold large rallies 31 August 2014: China says it will allow direct elections in 2017 but will pre-approve candidates 22 September 2014: Student groups launch a week-long boycott of classes 28 September 2014: Occupy Central and student protests join forces and take over central Hong Kong 2017: Direct elections for chief executive due to take place 2047: Expiry of current agreements Q&A: Hong Kong's democracy controversy
Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Carrie Gracie: Protesters light up the streets in the main financial district China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi has warned against "illegal" protests in Hong Kong, amid major pro-democracy rallies in the territory. Mr Wang, in Washington, said the matter was an "internal affair" for China. US counterpart John Kerry urged Hong Kong to handle the protests - seen as a challenge to Beijing - with restraint. In Hong Kong, students angry at China's plan to vet candidates for 2017 polls have vowed to step up protests if Chief Executive CY Leung does not resign. They say they will start occupying government buildings if he does not quit by Thursday night. There is a heavy police presence outside government offices, the South China Morning Post reports. But the BBC's Juliana Liu in Hong Kong says crowds on Connaught Road in the Central district on Thursday morning were at their lowest ebb since the protest began. Organisers have attributed this to sheer exhaustion, as the demonstration stretches into its fifth day, she says. Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption The US and China expressed different views about events in Hong Kong 'High hopes' The protesters include students, supporters of pro-democracy group Occupy Central and others angered by the initial police response to rallies at the weekend, which included using tear gas. Mr Wang, the most senior Chinese official to speak openly on the matter, said: "Hong Kong affairs are China's internal affairs. All countries should respect China's sovereignty. For any country, for any society, no-one will allow those illegal acts that violate public order." Image copyright AFP Image caption Protesters have been sleeping on roads around government buildings for several days Image copyright Reuters Image caption There is a heavy police presence outside the office of Chief Executive CY Leung But he said he believed Hong Kong authorities had "the capability to properly handle the current situation in accordance with the law". Mr Kerry said the US supported universal suffrage in Hong Kong, adding he hoped local authorities would "exercise restraint and respect for the protesters' right to express their views peacefully". In China, state TV said Hong Kong's police should be supported in their attempts to "restore the social order as soon as possible". An editorial in the Chinese Communist Party's newspaper People's Daily on Thursday called the situation "chaos". It now sees the emergence of this embarrassing 'chaos', and the root cause lies with a few people who are disrespecting the law.... 'chaos' denies Hong Kong residents their prosperity, goes against their wishes, and is not what all Chinese people wish to see or what we can tolerate." Juliana Liu, BBC News, Hong Kong The senior Chinese leadership has set out clear limits on who can run for the position of chief executive, Hong Kong's top leader, in 2017. As a result, the protesters accuse Beijing of reneging on decades of vows to give Hong Kong people genuine democracy. But although there is widespread anger that Beijing may have violated the spirit of the agreements it has made, there is intense debate over whether it has violated the letter of the law. Image copyright AFP Image caption Protesters shield police from the rain in Hong Kong's so-called "umbrella revolution" Chan Kin-man of Occupy Central urged the students to be peaceful, but also called on Mr Leung to quit, saying: "We can talk to anyone in the government except him... resign for the sake of Hong Kong." In other developments: Mainland authorities have suspended bookings for tour groups to Hong Kong, the South China Morning Post reported On Wednesday, several rallies supporting the protests took place around the world, including in Taiwan, London and Macau Rights groups say some mainland-based activists have been detained 'A week or a month' Several reports, citing unidentified Hong Kong sources, suggest the authorities plan to wait, hoping the protest campaign will lose momentum. Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Ali Moore: Have Hong Kong protests hit the shopping industry? A Hong Kong government source told Reuters: "It may take a week or a month, we don't know. Unless there's some chaotic situation, we won't send in riot police... we hope this doesn't happen." Hong Kong democracy timeline 1997: UK gives Hong Kong back to China under a 1984 agreement giving it "a high degree of autonomy" for 50 years 2004: China says it must approve any changes to Hong Kong's election laws June-July 2014: Pro-democracy activists hold an unofficial referendum on political reform. Both sides hold large rallies 31 August 2014: China says it will allow direct elections in 2017 but will pre-approve candidates 22 September 2014: Student groups launch a week-long boycott of classes 28 September 2014: Occupy Central and student protests join forces and take over central Hong Kong 2017: Direct elections for chief executive due to take place 2047: Expiry of current agreements Q&A: Hong Kong's democracy controversy 2 government official, averting a potentially violent confrontation overnight as demonstrators surrounded the office of Hong Kong’s embattled chief executive. Foreign minister Wang Yi speaks out after John Kerry called on HK police to show restraint over pro-democracy movement The United States and China have clashed over the pro-democracy protests sweeping Hong Kong, with Beijing warning Washington to back off and saying it would not tolerate “illegal acts”. Hong Kong affairs are China’s internal affairs,” foreign minister Wang Yi told his American counterpart John Kerry, who was standing next to him, just before they went into talks at the state department in Washington on Wednesday. “And we have high hopes that the Hong Kong authorities will exercise restraint and respect the protestors’ right to express their views peacefully.” The Hong Kong demonstrations were triggered after the Chinese government restricted who can run as the commercial hub’s next chief executive, or leader. In Hong Kong, police equipped with riot helmets, gas masks and shields stood behind metal barricades as more than 3,000 protestors gathered outside the office of the embattled leader, Leung Chun-ying, early Thursday. Wang threw Beijing’s support behind the Hong Kong authorities, saying they had the “capability to properly handle the current situation in accordance with the law.” In an unusual move, US officials revealed that the two men, who also have weighty regional and global issues on their agenda, were to meet for a second time at the State Department later Wednesday at the request of the Chinese delegation.
Gavin Newsom, 47, and Atty. Brown coasts in California California Democratic Gov. Authors: Brown has served three terms as governor in the Golden State, winning his first gubernatorial race in 1974. Jerry Brown won reelection to a fourth term on Tuesday, handily beating Republican challenger Neel Kashkari. In that poll, Brown’s approval rating was 72 percent among Democrats, 49 percent among independents and 26 percent among Republicans. Voters snacked on juicy lamb chops and cast their ballots to the soothing tunes of an on-hand harpist at the Luxe Sunset Boulevard Hotel near Brentwood and Bel Air. “They get more blame than they deserve when things get worse.” Twitter: @finneganLAT “As time went on, he became more practical,” Spencer said. Most offenders affected by this measure already serve their sentences in county jails, and many are released early. But his success in pulling the state back from the brink of fiscal calamity is not just a result of the temporary tax hikes that he persuaded Californians to approve two years ago. His election-night party was taking place at a Costa Mesa hotel. However, anyone already serving prison time for a felony conviction on a reclassified crime may be able to petition for a new sentence -- even those incarcerated under the state's “three strikes” law. The early reminders of Democrats' strength in California contrasted with Republican gains in a national midterm election largely defined by the unpopularity of President Obama. At stake in California were eight statewide offices, 53 U.S. House seats, 20 state Senate and 80 Assembly seats, six statewide ballot measures and scores of local races. Crimes covered by the measure include drug possession and the following offenses when less than $950 is involved: shoplifting, check and credit fraud, forgery, theft and possession of stolen goods.
Forty years after vaulting onto the national stage as California’s young and quixotic new governor, Edmund G. “Jerry” Brown Jr. won a historic fourth term Tuesday as the seasoned elder who led the state’s recovery from near fiscal disaster, according to the Associated Press. The 76-year-old governor’s reelection came as two fellow Democrats won second terms: Lt. Gov. The early reminders of Democrats' strength in California contrasted with Republican gains in a national midterm election largely defined by the unpopularity of President Obama. In Sacramento on Tuesday night, Brown alluded to the Republicans' capture of the U.S. Senate as he pledged to stay the course with an agenda of fiscal restraint. "In the rest of the country, they're going in a slightly different direction," the governor, accompanied by his wife, Anne Gust Brown, told reporters on a sidewalk outside the historic Governor's Mansion. "In California, we are going to go in, I think, a very progressive but fiscally responsible direction." At stake in California were eight statewide offices, 53 U.S. House seats, 20 state Senate and 80 Assembly seats, six statewide ballot measures and scores of local races. A big uncertainty was whether the foul national climate for Democrats, combined with a relatively dull ballot in California, would deny the party a two-thirds legislative supermajority that would effectively consign Republicans to irrelevance in Sacramento. The Field Poll projected a record-low turnout of 46% of the state’s nearly 18 million voters, with key Democratic groups sitting out the election more than others: Latinos, women, young voters and residents of Los Angeles County. Voting in style: Luxury reigns at Bel Air polling place Voters snacked on juicy lamb chops and cast their ballots to the soothing tunes of an on-hand harpist at the Luxe Sunset Boulevard Hotel near Brentwood and Bel Air. Voters snacked on juicy lamb chops and cast their ballots to the soothing tunes of an on-hand harpist at the Luxe Sunset Boulevard Hotel near Brentwood and Bel Air. See more videos Sharon Pruhs, 76, the first voter in line Tuesday at a polling place in Highland Park, captured the lack of enthusiasm as she explained why she backed Brown and other incumbents. Brown attended a memorial service Tuesday morning for slain Placer County Sheriff’s Det. Michael Davis Jr., then spent the day working at the state Capitol before an election-night dinner at the mansion. His father, Democrat Edmund G. “Pat” Brown, served two terms as governor before Republican Ronald Reagan ousted him in 1966. His son avenged that loss with his gubernatorial victory -- at 36 years old -- in the Democratic surge of 1974, in the aftermath of Watergate. Brown went on to win reelection in 1978, run unsuccessfully for president three times and for U.S. Senate once before his 1998 comeback as Oakland mayor and his election as attorney general in 2006 and governor, once again, in 2010. “He’s a skilled politician.” In an era of crippling drought, prison overcrowding and substandard schools, Brown's deep grounding in California politics has helped him maneuver in Sacramento. But his success in pulling the state back from the brink of fiscal calamity is not just a result of the temporary tax hikes that he persuaded Californians to approve two years ago. It’s also the luck of timing: He took office just as the state’s recovery from its worst downturn since the Great Depression was beginning. The Associated Press called the race based on exit poll results minutes after polls closed in the state. ( Follow 2014 midterm elections results) Kashkari won his party’s nomination in June, narrowly beating out hardline state legislator Tim Donnelly, a vocal opponent of illegal immigration whom Republicans feared would drag down their entire ticket. Brown’s biggest accomplishment in his third term as governor was turning California’s deep budget deficit into a surplus by enacting spending cuts and raising taxes. Penalties for common drug and theft crimes in California will be reduced from potential felonies to misdemeanors, shortening the time some offenders spend behind bars. Crimes covered by the measure include drug possession and the following offenses when less than $950 is involved: shoplifting, check and credit fraud, forgery, theft and possession of stolen goods. However, anyone already serving prison time for a felony conviction on a reclassified crime may be able to petition for a new sentence -- even those incarcerated under the state's “three strikes” law. Any reductions in state prison spending that result from Proposition 47 will go to a fund for crime victims, the state jails commission and the California Department of Education.
That's Saturn. Photos: Rosetta: The comet chaser Philae has been found! There are some signs that the spacecraft started to rotate after lifting off again, but if so, it has stopped rotating, Ulamec said. The lander was about 1.9 miles (3 kilometers) from the surface at the time. Hide Caption 39 of 39 Astronomer Robert Massey also called the landing a tremendous achievement. The mission is spearheaded by the European Space Agency with key support from NASA. "We are extremely happy," he said. The probe was successfully deployed in November 2014, becoming the first probe to land on a comet. Scientists think the mission will give them new clues about the origins of the solar system and life on Earth. One option is try to fire the harpoons again. REUTERS/ESA/JMai/Handout via Reuters European Space Operations Centre (ESOC) Spacecraft Operations Manager (SOM) Andrea Accomazzo (L) celebrates after the successful landing of the Philae lander on comet 67P/ Churyumov-Gerasimenko in the control room at the ESA headquarters in Darmstadt in this November 12, 2014 ESA handout photo. Even two of its three legs can be seen. This image was taken on May 3, 2015 at a distance of about 84 miles (135 km) from the comet's center. See that dot? "So maybe we didn't land once -- we landed twice," he told a news conference. Its 6.5 year journey around the Sun takes it from just beyond the orbit of Jupiter at its most distant, to between the orbits of Earth and Mars at its closest. The lander was able to send back images and data for 57 hours before losing power.
It is the first time a soft landing has been achieved on a comet -- but there was a hitch. Philae lander manager Stephan Ulamec said the probe may have lifted off again and turned. "So maybe we didn't land once -- we landed twice," he told a news conference. Ulamec said scientists remain upbeat as they are still receiving data from the spacecraft and they hope to learn more Thursday. Shortly after landing was confirmed, the probe tweeted: "Touchdown! Later, it tweeted again: "I'm on the surface but my harpoons did not fire." #CometLanding — Philae Lander (@Philae2014) November 12, 2014 Led by ESA with a consortium of partners including NASA, scientists on the Rosetta comet-chasing mission hope to learn more about the composition of comets and how they interact with the solar wind -- high energy particles blasted into space by the sun. JUST WATCHED ESA elated over comet landing Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH ESA elated over comet landing 02:01 Speaking to CNN shortly after the landing, ESA lander system engineer Laurence O'Rourke said they were trying to check the orientation of the craft, to see "how we landed and where we landed." "To get the signal it had touched the surface was a major achievement -- it was quite extraordinary. Philae is already taking measurements, sniffing the comet." He also said the probe could start drilling into the surface and analyzing the material as soon as Thursday. The comet is currently 500 million kilometers (310 million miles) from Earth and pictures from the Rosetta mission to track it on its orbit around the sun have amazed scientists. NASA's chief scientist, Ellen Stofan, told CNN: "That comet is the most bizarre, wonderful thing I have ever seen. Photos: Rosetta: The comet chaser Philae has been found! – The Rosetta spacecraft's high-resolution camera took this image of the Philae lander on September 2, 2016. The discovery comes less than a month before the Rosetta mission's end. Hide Caption 1 of 39 Photos: Rosetta: The comet chaser Philae is wedged in a dark corner of Rosetta – "We are so happy to have finally imaged Philae, and to see it in such amazing detail," says Cecilia Tubiana of the OSIRIS camera team. Hide Caption 2 of 39 Photos: Rosetta: The comet chaser Philae found using images from Rosetta – The image is detailed enough that viewers can pick out features of Philae's 3-foot-wide (1 meter) body. Then on June 13, 2015, Philae came out of hibernation and "spoke" to mission managers at the European Space Agency for 85 seconds. This photo above was taken by the lander's mothership, the Rosetta orbiter, after the lander started its descent to the comet. Hide Caption 4 of 39 Photos: Rosetta: The comet chaser The Rosetta spacecraft captured this image of a jet of white debris spraying from Comet 67P/Churyumov--Gerasimenko on July 29, 2015. Mission scientists said this was the brightest jet seen to date in the mission. Hide Caption 5 of 39 Photos: Rosetta: The comet chaser This image of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko was taken by Rosetta on July 8, 2015 as the spacecraft and comet headed toward their closest approach to the sun. Hide Caption 8 of 39 Photos: Rosetta: The comet chaser This image of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko was taken by Rosetta on June 5, 2015, while the spacecraft was about 129 miles (208 kilometers) from the comet's center. Hide Caption 9 of 39 Photos: Rosetta: The comet chaser Rosetta's navigation camera took this image of the comet on June 1, 2015.
For example, the C.I.A. The Senate report concludes that it did not. “We acknowledge that the detention and interrogation program had shortcomings and that the Agency made mistakes,” the director said. ( Also on POLITICO: Full text of CIA torture report) • The CIA had little grip on basic details such as the number of detainees in the program. "That didn't happen." Administration officials would not discuss why. or other intelligence agencies could not get from other means. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Mr. Bush, former Vice President Dick Cheney and a number of former C.I.A. --Michael A. Memoli 's Counterterrorism Center. “Rather than another reason to refight old arguments, I hope that today’s report can help us leave these techniques where they belong — in the past,” Obama said in the White House statement. But Republicans are worried about the threats that the report’s release may stir up. In op-ed, Feinstein asks 'Is there ever a good time to admit our country tortured people?' Graphic details of the CIA’s brutal interrogation program came to light Tuesday when the Senate Intelligence Committee released a 499-page executive summary of its report on the agency’s practices. The CIA says the later interrogations produced important information that corroborated Ghul’s earlier statements and that was “more concrete” than what he had said earlier. As one 2003 cable put it, “Think big.” to make that case, even when the facts did not support it. detainee subjected to the C.I.A. The United States must be held to a higher standard than our enemies, yet some of our actions did not clear that bar.
A long-awaited Senate report concludes that the CIA repeatedly misled the public, Congress and the White House about the agency’s aggressive questioning of detainees — including waterboarding, confinement in small spaces and shackling in stress positions — after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, minimizing the severity of the interrogations and exaggerating the usefulness of the information produced, including its role in setting in motion the U.S. raid that killed Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden. The Senate Intelligence Committee report finds that the “Enhanced Interrogation Techniques” program escaped effective scrutiny by outsiders long after its inception in 2002, with CIA records showing that President George W. Bush was never briefed by the agency on specific techniques such as waterboarding until 2006. Story Continued Below The congressional review also says that the CIA’s actual tactics often went far beyond the terms laid out in Justice Department legal opinions, subjecting detainees to prolonged interrogation under a combination of harsh techniques and ignoring safeguards set forth in the legal memos such as ensuring that interrogators were well-trained and had high-level approvals before using the unusually aggressive tactics. President Barack Obama issued a statement that stopped short of completely endorsing the report’s conclusions, but he reiterated his opposition to the Bush-era interrogation practices. ( Also on POLITICO: Obama's long arc on torture) “The report documents a troubling program involving enhanced interrogation techniques on terrorism suspects in secret facilities outside the United States, and it reinforces my long-held view that these harsh methods were not only inconsistent with our values as a nation, they did not serve our broader counterterrorism efforts or our national security interests,” Obama said. “These techniques did significant damage to America’s standing in the world and made it harder to pursue our interests with allies and partners.” Obama was silent on the issues of whether the CIA misled outsiders about the program and about whether it produced important intelligence but he emphasized that he banned the harsh techniques soon after he took office “Rather than another reason to refight old arguments, I hope that today’s report can help us leave these techniques where they belong — in the past,” he said. Among the report’s key findings: • Interrogation sessions were far more brutal than publicly revealed and went far beyond the scope of Justice Department approvals. Alleged Al Qaeda organizer Abu Zubaydah was interrogated continuously for 17 consecutive days, being subjected to 183 waterboarding sessions and confinement in stress positions. CIA staffers were prepared to cremate him if he died. During one waterboarding session, Abu Zubaydah lost consciousness and water and air bubbles began pouring out of his mouth. The incident was never reported to senior CIA management, but discovered by the Senate in emails of CIA medical personnel. ( Also on POLITICO: Full text of CIA torture report) • The CIA had little grip on basic details such as the number of detainees in the program. According to agency records, at least 119 prisoners were involved, but CIA officials represented the number at less that 100. Vice President Dick Cheney at one point ran into diplomatic trouble because he was unaware one country was hosting a so-called black site. • While Bush has defended the program and taken responsibility for authorizing it, he was apparently told for the first time about the details of the interrogation techniques in 2006. CIA records show that at that briefing he expressed discomfort with the “image of a detainee, chained to the ceiling, clothed in a diaper, and forced to go to the bathroom on himself.” • Key Cabinet officials such as Powell and Rumsfeld were kept out of the loop about the program until September 2003. An email from CIA acting general counsel John Rizzo said White House staff insisted the reason was to avoid leaks, but Rizzo said it was “clear to us” that National Security Council officials feared Powell “would blow his stack if he were to be briefed on what’s going on.” Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) charged that the interrogation tactics amounted to “torture,” although the report itself doesn’t explicitly make that claim. ( Also on POLITICO: White House: U.S. prepared for torture report release) “The CIA’s actions a decade ago are a stain on our history and our values … Releasing this report is an important step to restore our values and show the world we are in fact a just and lawful society,” she said in a speech on the Senate floor. “This program was morally, legally and administrative misguided … The CIA program was far more brutal than people were led to believe.” Vice President Joe Biden on Tuesday, at POLITICO’s Women Rule Summit, said the report’s public release would strengthen the United States. America will be the stronger for saying, “We made a mistake, we’re exposing it.” CIA officials say the Senate review is deeply flawed, in large part because the study which formally began in 2009 relied solely on written CIA documents and did not include direct interviews with key players. The spy agency says the Senate report understates the value of intelligence received from detainees and that management problems identified in the report were rectified relatively early in the program. CIA Director John Brennan conceded missteps in the agency’s interrogation effort, but sharply disagreed with other conclusions in the report. “We acknowledge that the detention and interrogation program had shortcomings and that the Agency made mistakes,” the director said. “The most serious problems occurred early on and stemmed from the fact that the agency was unprepared and lacked the core competencies required to carry out an unprecedented, worldwide program of detaining and interrogating suspected al-Qa’ida and affiliated terrorists. “As an agency, we have learned from these mistakes.” Brennan insisted that information obtained through the program headed off deadly terrorist attacks and he rejected the idea that the CIA deliberately covered up its actions. “Our review indicates that interrogations of detainees on whom EITs were used did produce intelligence that helped thwart attack plans, capture terrorists, and save lives. “While we made mistakes, the record does not support the study’s inference that the Agency systematically and intentionally misled each of these audiences on the effectiveness of the program.” For his part, Obama was silent on the issues of whether the CIA misled outsiders about the program and about whether it produced important intelligence but he emphasized that he banned the harsh techniques soon after he took office. “We’re not going to go case-by-case in a report like this and try to affix a label for each action.” The president will not address the CIA’s claim that the tactics did produce significant useful intelligence because he has concluded the techniques were wrong and counterproductive in a broader sense regardless of their possible efficacy in specific cases, the senior official said. The Intelligence Committee voted in April to declassify the 525-page executive summary of the 6,000-page report but the publication was delayed as lawmakers and the White House debated how to handle sensitive information such as agents’ names and other identifying characteristics. The Democrats’ “problematic claims and conclusions create the false impression that the CIA was actively misleading policy makers and impeding the counterterrorism efforts of other federal government agencies during the program’s operation,” the Republicans said. “This report does not qualify as either serious or constructive.” Just after taking office in 2009, Obama signed executive orders ending the use of controversial Bush-era interrogation techniques and floated the idea of conducting a public accounting of the practices of his predecessor’s administration. The White House has said that Obama “strongly supports” making the report public, but the CIA and White House chief of staff Denis McDonough have been wrangling for months with Feinstein to limit details that Democratic senators say are crucial to understanding the narrative of the program.
But it is desolate now. Scores of people, many of them children, were killed in an attack on an army-run school in Peshawar, in north-west Pakistan. But it is not directly affiliated to the Afghan Taliban. Gunmen had walked from class to class shooting students in the Pakistani Taliban's deadliest attack to date. Image caption Images taken by a BBC team inside a classroom show the level of destruction The school Image copyright Getty Images The Army Public School - part of a network of 146 army public schools and colleges across Pakistan - is at the edge of a military cantonment in Peshawar. In that time at least 1,200 suspected militants are said to have been killed. "This is a national tragedy." No one should be in any doubt: this struggle, this war will continue. There are blood stains running right down the steps and towards the auditorium itself. I saw death so close. “I think the second message is to do with Malala [Yousafzai]. Another student, 15-year-old Shahrukh Khan, was also shot in both legs but survived by hiding under a bench. Seven soldiers were wounded. “One of my teachers was crying,” he said from hospital. There is not a belief system in the world that can justify such an act. Of all the 35 attacks in Pakistan in November, 32 were carried out by the Pakistan Taliban (TTP) or Taliban. Then I came to and realised that actually two other boys had fallen on me. All around me my friends were lying injured and dead.” Pakistan has lived with terrorist outrages for years, but the scale and cold-bloodedness of this latest attack resonated around the country.
Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption The BBC's Mishal Husain was one of the first broadcasters to go inside the school The Pakistani city of Peshawar is burying its dead after a Taliban attack at a school killed at least 132 children and nine staff. New images from the school show the brutality of the attack, with pools of blood on the ground and walls covered in pockmarks from hundreds of bullets. Gunmen had walked from class to class shooting students in the Pakistani Taliban's deadliest attack to date. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif declared three days of mourning over the massacre, which has sparked national outrage. He also announced an end to the moratorium on the death penalty for terrorism cases, which correspondents say is a move aimed at countering a view held by many Pakistanis that many terror suspects end up evading justice. World leaders have also voiced disgust at the attack, which even the Afghan Taliban have criticised. Image caption Images taken by a BBC team inside a classroom show the level of destruction Image caption An office belonging the school principal was hit by a suicide bomber Separately, Pakistan's army says it launched air strikes at militants in the Khyber and North Waziristan areas, although it is not yet clear if this was a direct response to the school attack. These are premises that should be alive at a time of day like this to the sound of hundreds of children who studied here and began school as normal on Tuesday. There are blood stains running right down the steps and towards the auditorium itself. The auditorium, where children were taking exams, was one of the places within the school grounds that the militants first targeted. As I peer in now, the chairs that the children were sitting on are upturned, the place has been turned upside down and again I can see the blood stains on the floor right around me. Afghan role Meanwhile, Pakistan's army chief General Raheel Sharif is in the Afghan capital, Kabul, on a surprise visit to discuss security co-operation aimed at tackling the Taliban insurgency. Pakistani Taliban (TTP) leader Mullah Fazlullah is believed by the Pakistani authorities to be hiding in Afghanistan and media reports in Pakistan suggest the school attack may have been co-ordinated from Afghanistan. But the TTP said the attack had been masterminded by its military chief in the Peshawar region, who it said had been in touch with the gunmen throughout the assault. A TTP spokesman told the BBC they had deliberately killed older pupils and not targeted "small children". BBC correspondents say the Taliban statement is being seen as damage limitation after the attack was universally condemned in Pakistan for its brutality. The TTP also repeated its earlier claim that only six attackers were sent, contradicting official accounts that seven gunmen were killed. The militants say the attack was revenge for the army's campaign against them, and that they chose the school as a target because their families had also suffered heavy losses. Scenes of devastation Reporters visiting the school for the first time saw pools of blood marking the floor and torn notebooks, clothing and shoes among the debris. "This is not a human act,'' military spokesman Major General Asim Bajwa said during a tour of the school, the Associated Press reports. Image copyright AP Image caption Upturned chairs and blood stains left in the wake of the attack at the school's auditorium Image copyright EPA Image caption Funerals for the victims began hours after the attack on Tuesday and continued on Wednesday Image copyright AP Image caption Many schools in Pakistan closed as a mark of respect, with those remaining open holding special prayers Seven Taliban attackers wearing bomb vests cut through a wire fence to gain entry to the school, before launching an attack on an auditorium where children were taking an exam. Gunmen then went from room to room at the military-run school, shooting pupils and teachers where they found them in a siege that lasted eight hours, survivors say. A total of 125 people were wounded at Peshawar's Army Public School, which teaches boys and girls from both military and civilian backgrounds. Image copyright AFP Image caption Some wounded students remain at the main hospital in Peshawar Image copyright AFP Image caption Soldiers are guarding the gates of the school in Peshawar after the siege Image copyright Getty Images Image caption There was anger at this candlelit vigil for the victims in Karachi, Pakistan Mohammad Hilal, a student in the 10th grade, was shot three times in his arm and legs when the gunmen stormed the school auditorium. Mr Sharif pledged to avenge a "national tragedy unleashed by savages". Malala Yousafzai, the 17-year-old who was shot by the Pakistani Taliban for championing girls' rights to education, also condemned "these atrocious and cowardly acts". Image copyright AP Image caption School pupil Mohammad Baqair lost his mother, a teacher, in the attack Pakistani embassies worldwide have lowered their flags to half-mast and opened books of condolences. Image copyright AFP Image caption Some of the injured were carried to hospital in people's arms Deadly attacks in Pakistan Image copyright AFP 16 December 2014: Taliban attack on school in Peshawar leaves at least 141 people dead, 132 of them children 22 September 2013: Militants linked to the Taliban kill at least 80 people at a church in Peshawar, in one of the worst attacks on Christians 10 January 2013: Militant bombers target the Hazara Shia Muslim minority in the city of Quetta, killing 120 at a snooker hall and on a street 28 May 2010: Gunmen attack two mosques of the minority Ahmadi Islamic sect in Lahore, killing more than 80 people 18 October 2007: Twin bomb attack at a rally for Benazir Bhutto in Karachi leaves at least 130 dead. Unclear if Taliban behind attack Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption The Taliban has a history of targeting large crowds of civilians in Pakistan In Afghanistan itself, the local Taliban described the school attack as un-Islamic and said they were sending condolences to the families of the victims. Taliban gunmen scaled the walls of the school's compound on Tuesday morning before going on a shooting spree, killing 141 children and staff, in one of the worst assaults in the country's recent history.
Of the passengers, 149 were Indonesians, three were South Korean, and there was one traveler each from Malaysia, Singapore and the United Kingdom, according to AirAsia. Saddened to hear of missing flight #QZ8501. Officials said search and rescue operations have been activated by the Indonesian authorities. The plane had been in the air for about 41 minutes when contact was lost. Indonesia AirAsia Flight QZ8501, an Airbus 320-200 with 162 people aboard, lost contact with Jakarta air traffic control at 6:17 a.m. (2317 GMT) after taking off from Surabaya airport in Indonesia bound for Singapore, officials said. "It's really disheartening," said Ganyard. Download ABC News for iPhone here or ABC News for Android here. The search operation for the plane, which is believed to have gone missing while flying over the Java sea, was halted as darkness fell and will resume in the morning at 6am local time. It hasn't been found. The flight manifest for the jet showed there were 155 passengers on board plus seven crew members, although the Indonesian transport ministry only reported six crew members. Mr Fernandes said at a press conference: "Our concern right now is for the relatives and next-of-kin. The aircraft had undergone its last scheduled maintenance on November 16, 2014. The pilots had asked to change course to avoid bad weather. It said the Singapore air force and the navy also were searching with two C-130 planes. Thunderstorms were reported in the area with clouds up to 50,000 feet. The statement did not mention a British passenger. At Juanda International Airport in Surabaya, dozens of relatives sat in a room, many of them talking on mobile phones and crying.
Searchers "currently suspect" that the AirAsia jetliner that disappeared Sunday morning over the Java Sea is on the bottom of the ocean, the head of the lead agency in the operation said today. "We currently suspect that plane is located on the ocean floor," Bambang Soelistyo, the head of Indonesia's National Search and Rescue Agency said. If the plane is found on the ocean floor, there would be a challenge in getting the plane to the surface because they do not have the "submersible" equipment, Soelistyo said. The plane's Emergency Locator Transmitter should function automatically and send warning signals, but no signal has been detected by control centers in Indonesia or in neighboring countries, Soelistyo said. Soelistyo confirmed that Indonesia's National Search and Rescue Agency is spearheading the search effort. The AirAsia jet lost contact with air traffic control over the Java Sea during a flight to Singapore Sunday morning, shortly after the pilots requested a change of flight plan because of weather. The Orion took off from Darwin Monday morning local time to join the search operations. Ships engaged in the search and rescue effort reached the area where the plane was believed to be lost around Belitung Island at approximately 6:49 a.m., a spokeswoman for the Indonesian National Search and Rescue Agency said. "Current weather conditions are not desirable," spokeswoman Annisa Noviantri said. Darkness and bad weather had forced the suspension of the search about 5:30 p.m. local time Sunday evening, said Indonesian transport officials. Flight QZ8501, an Airbus A320-200, lost contact with air traffic control in Jakarta at 6:17 a.m. Sunday local time near Belitung Island, Indonesia, after the flight left Surabaya, Indonesian Air Transport Director Djoko Murjatmodjo said during a news conference Sunday. The flight, which had at least 161 people on board, was scheduled to land in Singapore at 7:57 a.m. local time. "We are deeply shocked and saddened by this incident," said Sunu Widyatmoko, CEO of AirAsia Indonesia. In the meantime, our main priority is keeping the families of our passengers and colleagues informed on the latest developments." Widyatmoko said the airline had mobilized a support team to help families of the passengers. The flight was piloted by Captain Iriyanto, who had a total of 20,537 flying hours, according to a statement from AirAsia. More than 6,000 of Iriyanto's flying hours were on an Airbus A320. The first officer, Remi Emmanuel Plesel, had 2,275 flying hours with AirAsia Indonesia, according to the airline. ABC News consultant Col. Stephen Ganyard said weather may have played a role in whatever happened to the plane but several questions remained. "We're looking for clues and at this point there are very few clues," he said. ABC News The six-year-old aircraft was on its submitted flight plan but the pilot requested a deviation because of en-route weather before communication with the aircraft was lost, AirAsia said. Murjatmodjo said the pilot also requested to increase altitude to 38,000 feet from 32,000 feet to "avoid clouds." While ground control in Jakarta approved the pilot's request to divert the flight, the request to raise elevation hadn't been approved before losing contact with the plane, said Murjatmodjo. The plane had been in the air for about 41 minutes when contact was lost. I am touched by the massive show of support especially from my fellow airlines. — Tony Fernandes (@tonyfernandes) December 28, 2014 The jet was flying at the regular cruising altitude for most jetliners - 32,000 feet - when the signal was lost, according to flight tracking website Flightradar24. The flight manifest for the jet showed there were 155 passengers on board plus seven crew members, although the Indonesian transport ministry only reported six crew members. ABC News The Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore said it was informed about the missing plane by Jakarta ground control about half an hour after contact was lost. The Singapore air force and the navy were activated with two C-130 ready to assist Indonesia authorities in the search, according to the aviation authority. - LHL — Lee Hsien Loong (@leehsienloong) December 28, 2014 A waiting area was set up at Changi Airport in Singapore, where the plane had been scheduled to land, with facilities and support for relatives and friends of the passengers on the plane.
We are thinking of them,” Comey said. Image copyright Charlie Hebdo People had been "murdered in a cowardly manner", President Hollande told reporters at the scene. Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Video uploaded to YouTube shows the attackers fleeing after shooting a police officer Gunmen have shot dead 12 people at the Paris office of French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo in an apparent militant Islamist attack. “No country knows better than France that freedom has a price, because France gave birth to democracy itself. He echoed both Obama and Kerry during remarks Wednesday at the Fordham University International Conference on Cyber Security in New York. Eyewitnesses described seeing two black-hooded men entering the building carrying Kalashnikovs, with reports of up to 50 shots fired. It was firebombed in November 2011 a day after it carried a caricature of the Prophet Muhammad. They later abandoned the car in Rue de Meaux, northern Paris, where they hijacked a second car. Kim Willsher (@kimwillsher1) Police spokes. Facebook Twitter Pinterest President Hollande speaks to the press after arriving at the offices of Charlie Hebdo. The agency added that it will “not hesitate to adjust our security posture, as appropriate, to protect the American people.” Authors: The magazine defended the publication in the name of freedom of expression. U.S. intelligence and security agency officials are already speaking with their French counterparts about providing help in the investigation, Earnest. He said that Paris had been placed on the highest alert. Global condemnation The latest tweet on Charlie Hebdo's account was a cartoon of the Islamic State militant group leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.
Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Video uploaded to YouTube shows the attackers fleeing after shooting a police officer Gunmen have shot dead 12 people at the Paris office of French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo in an apparent militant Islamist attack. Four of the magazine's well-known cartoonists, including its editor, were among those killed, as well as two police officers. A major police operation is under way to find three gunmen who fled by car. President Francois Hollande said there was no doubt it had been a terrorist attack "of exceptional barbarity". It is believed to be the deadliest attack in France since 1961, when right-wingers who wanted to keep Algeria French bombed a train, killing 28 people. The masked attackers opened fire with assault rifles in the office and exchanged shots with police in the street outside before escaping by car. They later abandoned the car in Rue de Meaux, northern Paris, where they hijacked a second car. Death threats Witnesses said they heard the gunmen shouting "We have avenged the Prophet Muhammad" and "God is Great" in Arabic ("Allahu Akbar"). The number of attackers was initially reported to be two, but French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve later said security services were hunting three "criminals". Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Footage taken from a rooftop in Paris shows two gunmen firing shots Charlie Hebdo editor Stephane Charbonnier, 47, had received death threats in the past and was living under police protection. French media have named the three other cartoonists killed in the attack as Cabu, Tignous and Wolinski, as well as Charlie Hebdo contributor and French economist Bernard Maris. The attack took place during the magazine's daily editorial meeting. At least four people were critically wounded in the attack. The satirical weekly has courted controversy in the past with its irreverent take on news and current affairs. Global condemnation The latest tweet on Charlie Hebdo's account was a cartoon of the Islamic State militant group leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. Charlie Hebdo's website, which went offline during the attack, is showing the single image of "Je suis Charlie" ("I am Charlie) on a black banner, referring to a hashtag that is trending on Twitter in solidarity with the victims. Image copyright Charlie Hebdo People had been "murdered in a cowardly manner", President Hollande told reporters at the scene. "We are threatened because we are a country of liberty," he added, appealing for national unity. US President Barack Obama has condemned the "horrific shooting", offering to provide any assistance needed "to help bring these terrorists to justice". UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said: "It was a horrendous, unjustifiable and cold-blooded crime. UK Prime Minister David Cameron said in a tweet: "The murders in Paris are sickening. We stand with the French people in the fight against terror and defending the freedom of the press." The Arab League and Al-Azhar mosque, Egypt's top Islamic institution, have also condemned the attack. Analysis: Hugh Schofield, BBC News, Paris Charlie Hebdo is part of a venerable tradition in French journalism going back to the scandal sheets that denounced Marie-Antoinette in the run-up to the French Revolution. The paper has never sold in enormous numbers - and for 10 years from 1981, it ceased publication for lack of resources. Charlie Hebdo and its satirical role Live updates Image copyright Reuters Image caption The gunmen targeted the Charlie Hebdo office in Paris in the late morning Image copyright Reuters Image caption France has raised its security alert for Paris to the highest level 'Blood everywhere' Footage shot by an eyewitness outside the magazine's office shows two armed men dressed in black approach a wounded police officer lying on a pavement. One of the men shoots the officer in the head, before both men are seen running back towards a black vehicle and driving away. Eyewitnesses described seeing two black-hooded men entering the building carrying Kalashnikovs, with reports of up to 50 shots fired. Image copyright AP Image caption Large numbers of police and rescue services rushed to the scene Image copyright AFP Image caption The attackers switched cars after fleeing the scene Gilles Boulanger, who works in the same building as the office, told French TV channel Itele: "There were several shots heard in the building from automatic weapons firing in all directions. Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption French President Francois Hollande: "This is an act of exceptional barbarism" Wandrille Lanos, a TV reporter who works across the road, was one of the first people to enter the Charlie Hebdo office after the attack. After the attack, which occurred at about 10:30 GMT, police warned French media outlets to be on alert and pay attention to security. Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption David Chour in Paris: "Two guys entered with Kalashnikov guns" The country was already on the alert for Islamist militant attacks after several incidents just before Christmas. While the French government denied the attacks were linked, it announced plans to further raise security in public spaces, including the deployment of about 300 soldiers. Masked gunmen entered the offices of Charlie Hebdo, whose recent caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad have drawn condemnation from Muslims, in a killing spree whose victims included an editor and cartoonist, the Associated Press reported. Kerry added that a pen represents an “instrument of freedom not fear,” and emphasized the importance of free speech, “no matter what your feelings were about [the publication].” The secretary said that a free press is a core value that can be “attacked, but never eradicated.” Appearing on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” earlier on Wednesday, White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest did not rule out possible steps that will be taken abroad following the attack.
We had been talking about it for a while, about how I could do it. I don’t know,” he said. Boehner was emotional as he began his remarks to the House. Rep. Louie Gohmert (Tex.) Twelve of them voted for Webster. What was in doubt was which Republican would lead. It is the first time in eight years that Republicans have controlled both chambers of Congress. “It is not a self-serving committee. Members were called alphabetically and stood up to shout out their votes. In fact, it was the largest rebellion by a party against its incumbent speaker since the Civil War. The plotters couldn’t agree on their own candidate: They voted for one another, and for two sitting senators. Nugent said today he might be returned to the Rules panel. To override Obama’s veto, two-thirds of each chamber would have to vote in favor of the bill. It’s still the same widget. Dissension in the ranks The effort to depose Boehner was led by a group of hard-right conservatives and libertarians who did not think the speaker was doing enough to fight Obama over spending and executive power. He was installed as minority leader anyway. (AP) Republicans took full control of Congress on Tuesday, but — even on a day of happy ceremony — GOP leaders were reminded of the limits of their power, first by a veto threat from the president and then by a historic rebellion by conservatives in the House. “But it’s not really clear that I couldn’t get back on it. One of the new Congress’s top legislative priorities is a bill to authorize the construction of the Keystone XL oil pipeline.
John Boehner dished out a little payback, kicking two House Republicans off the influential Rules Committee and stopping a third from sponsoring a bill after they voted against his re-election for speaker. The returning Republican members of the rules panel were announced late Tuesday after the election for the chamber’s top post, in which 24 of Boehner’s fellow party members didn’t vote for him. Absent from the list: Florida Representatives Daniel Webster, who voted for himself for speaker, and Rich Nugent, who also voted for Webster. Boehner confirmed today that the two “weren’t put back on the committee immediately.” Speaking to reporters after House Republicans’ weekly private meeting, he said they are “going to have a family conversation, which we had this morning, about bringing our team together.” Webster and Nugent, who served on the Rules Committee in the last Congress, were on the list to be reappointed until they voted for Webster for speaker, according to a House leadership aide who asked anonymity to provide details of private discussions. “But it’s not really clear that I couldn’t get back on it. I carried a lot of water on the Rules Committee, took a lot of tough votes.” Sponsoring Bill Unlike Nugent, Webster said he wasn’t particularly interested in winning back a seat on the committee. Representative Randy Weber, a Texas Republican, said Boehner won’t let him sponsor a bill headed for House floor consideration because he voted for Representative Louie Gohmert of Texas for speaker. “Sometimes there are casualties and changes, and people make decisions,” said Rules Committee Chairman Pete Sessions, a Texas Republican. “They make decisions to do things knowing sometimes there can be consequences.” While he praised Webster and Nugent for their service on the panel, Sessions said membership on the leadership-driven committee requires loyalty to the Republican conference. Not ’Self-Serving’ “Making decisions for everybody is what the Rules Committee does,” he said. We do things for the team.” Taking Republicans off committees and denying them the spotlight of sponsoring bills are two of the few sticks Boehner, 65, of Ohio, has to keep his troops in line. He has used the committee maneuver before and may use it again when Republicans fill out the rest of the committee rosters in coming days. In 2012, Republican Representatives Justin Amash of Michigan, Tim Huelskamp of Kansas, David Schweikert of Arizona and Walter B. Jones of North Carolina were pulled off panels by the Boehner-led Republican Steering Committee in part because of their votes against the party and because they publicly criticized colleagues for their votes. At the time, Representative Lynn Westmoreland, a Georgia Republican, used an unprintable term to describe their behavior, and his spokeswoman, Leslie Shedd, said “it had to do with their inability to work with other members.” Weber said he was punished for backing Gohmert today. It was going to be a bill on regulation of clean nuclear energy.” Huelskamp, who voted for Webster for speaker, said he lost out on a subcommittee chairmanship because of the vote. A committee chairman, whom he would not identify, had promised him the gavel, he said. Boehner was re-elected with 216 votes, followed by House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, a California Democrat, who finished with 164 votes. Avoiding Retribution Some of the two dozen Republicans who voted for candidates other than Boehner are already making the case that he should avoid retribution. “One thing I respect the speaker for, and I believe it will be true with me -- we’ll find out -- is that he is not a vindictive man. And my vote was a vote of conscience,” said Representative Scott Rigell, a Virginia Republican who voted for Webster. “Something I share with my staff all the time is that I want to serve without fear and leave without regret.” Boehner told USA Today in September that he didn’t foresee having to use his power over committee assignments to punish opponents. Rep. John Boehner (R-Ohio) was reelected as House speaker, after a group of hard-right conservatives tried and failed to deny him another term. (AP) Rep. John Boehner (R-Ohio) was reelected as House speaker, after a group of hard-right conservatives tried and failed to deny him another term. (AP) Republicans took full control of Congress on Tuesday, but — even on a day of happy ceremony — GOP leaders were reminded of the limits of their power, first by a veto threat from the president and then by a historic rebellion by conservatives in the House. There, Republican control was not in doubt: After last fall’s electoral victories, the GOP has 246 of the chamber’s 435 seats, its largest majority since the 1940s. Rep. John Boehner (R-Ohio) was reelected to serve a third term as House speaker, but hard-right conservatives rallied in opposition. (AP) When a clerk called the roll, 24 Republicans voted for a candidate other than the incumbent speaker, John A. Boehner (Ohio). In the end, their rebellion was not enough to unseat Boehner: The speaker won on the first round with 216 votes, 11 more than he needed. In fact, it was the largest rebellion by a party against its incumbent speaker since the Civil War. One of the new Congress’s top legislative priorities is a bill to authorize the construction of the Keystone XL oil pipeline.
But that’s not the truth. "I will take all the steps to eliminate corruption, loopholes, and bribes completely from this country," he said, adding that he would make the police force politically neutral. Mr Rajapaksa's spokesman has said that the allegations are baseless. The deposed president endured a shock defeat to Maithripala Sirisena. Sri Lanka’s new government will investigate an alleged attempt by former president Mahinda Rajapaksa to stage a coup to try to stay in power when results showed he was losing last week’s election, a spokesman for the country’s new leader said on Sunday. People should know what happened behind the scenes,” Samaraweera told reporters. “Some say this was a very peaceful transition. Image copyright AP Image caption Hundreds of Mr Sirisena's supporters gathered in the hill town of Kandy to hear the new president make his address to the nation Image copyright AFP Image caption Mr Sirisena's top aide says that the coup attempt failed because the army and the police refused to give it their backing In an address to the nation on Sunday, the new president called for a government of national unity to carry out political and economic reforms he advocated during his election campaign. Sirisena, who was acting defense minister under Rajapaksa in the final stages of the war and only defected to the opposition in November, is unlikely to accept a U.N. war crimes probe. He ignored pressure to address rights issues and ensure media freedom even after a U.S.-backed United Nations resolution in March urged the country to prosecute war criminals. Also there won't be any phone tapping as in the past." Sri Lanka has largely been free of military interference in politics except for a coup in 1962 that failed to oust the government.
Sri Lanka's newly elected president Mithripala Sirisena waves at media as he leaves the election commission in Colombo January 9, 2015. REUTERS/Dinuka Liyanawatte COLOMBO Sri Lanka's new government promised a tolerant era of harmony and political freedom after years of mounting repression under a decade-old administration that unraveled in electoral defeat this week. In a speech on Sunday, President Maithripala Sirisena vowed to end corruption and nepotism that marred the reputation of his predecessor Mahinda Rajapaksa, who stepped down on Friday after his shock election loss.Speaking from the highland jungle city of Kandy, the seat of Sri Lanka's last Sinhalese kingdom, Sirisena asked for continued support of religious minorities who helped him win the election. "While protecting the country's main religion Buddhism, we also protect the rights and freedom of Hindu, Muslim, and Catholic people in practicing their religion and create consensus among them to build up this country," he told a large crowd. Sirisena's speech came as the country prepares to receive Pope Francis, who is expected to deliver a message of inter-faith dialogue on a trip starting on Tuesday. Rajapaksa became a hero to many for ending Sri Lanka's 26 year civil war with a crushing victory over Tamil Tiger rebels in 2009. But critics accused him of crimes at the brutal end of the war and he also oversaw censorship and persecution of minorities, political rivals and journalists. He ignored pressure to address rights issues and ensure media freedom even after a U.S.-backed United Nations resolution in March urged the country to prosecute war criminals. Sirisena, who was acting defense minister under Rajapaksa in the final stages of the war and only defected to the opposition in November, is unlikely to accept a U.N. war crimes probe. "I will take all the steps to eliminate corruption, loopholes, and bribes completely from this country," he said, adding that he would make the police force politically neutral. Sirisena has ordered the Telecommunication Regulation Commission (TRC) to lift a ban on all news websites blocked under his predecessor. Rajitha Senaratne, a lawmaker who acted as spokesman for Sirisena during the election campaign, called on exiled dissidents and journalists to come home, and said the media will be free to criticize the new government. Sri Lanka’s new government will investigate an alleged attempt by former president Mahinda Rajapaksa to stage a coup to try to stay in power when results showed he was losing last week’s election, a spokesman for the country’s new leader said on Sunday. A special investigation will be set up to probe the alleged coup soon after the new government is formed, said Mangala Samaraweera, the spokesman for president Maithripala Sirisena, who came to power after winning Thursday’s election. Until a few weeks ago, Rajapaksa was widely expected to easily win his third term in office. But Sirisena – his former friend and health minister – defected from the ruling party in November, and gathered the support of other defecting lawmakers, opposition parties and many of Sri Lanka’s ethnic minorities, making the election a fierce political battle. He said Rajapaksa convened the chiefs of the police and the army, as well as the attorney general, at midnight on Thursday and asked them to come up with a plan to stop the vote-counting. Image copyright AP Image caption Hundreds of Mr Sirisena's supporters gathered in the hill town of Kandy to hear the new president make his address to the nation Image copyright AFP Image caption Mr Sirisena's top aide says that the coup attempt failed because the army and the police refused to give it their backing In an address to the nation on Sunday, the new president called for a government of national unity to carry out political and economic reforms he advocated during his election campaign. 'Very vocal' But Mr Samaraweera told reporters on Sunday that Mr Rajapaksa had in fact attempted to persuade army and police chiefs to help him stay in power - if necessary with the use of force. "[The president] stepped down only when the army chief and the police inspector general refused to go along with him."
Terrorists, he said, "will not win." In pictures: Charlie Hebdo Demonstration, Paris 20 show all In pictures: Charlie Hebdo Demonstration, Paris 1/20 Charlie Hebdo Demonstration, Paris Demonstrators make their way along Boulevard Voltaire in a unity rally in Paris Getty 2/20 Charlie Hebdo Demonstration, Paris People marched in a rally for unity and in tribute to the victims of the recent terrorist attacks in Paris 3/20 Charlie Hebdo Demonstration, Paris People take part in a Unity rally Marche Republicaine at the Place de la Nation (Nation square) in Paris in tribute to the 17 victims of a three-day killing spree by homegrown Islamists 4/20 Charlie Hebdo Demonstration, Paris People take part in the Unity rally "Marche Republicaine" in Paris in tribute to the 17 victims of a three-day killing spree by homegrown Islamists 5/20 Charlie Hebdo Demonstration, Paris French President Francois Hollande welcomes German Chancellor Angela Merkel at the Elysee Palace before attending a Unity rally Marche Republicaine in Paris in tribute to the 17 victims of a three-day killing spree by homegrown Islamists 6/20 Charlie Hebdo Demonstration, Paris French President Francois Hollande comforts French columnist for Charlie Hebdo Dr Patrick Pelloux as they attend the solidarity march (Marche Republicaine) in the streets of Paris 7/20 Charlie Hebdo Demonstration, Paris French cartoonist Luz (L) comforts Dr Patrice Pelloux, both Members of the Charlie Hebdo satirical magazine, as they take part in a Unity rally Marche Republicaine in Paris in tribute to the 17 victims of the three-day killing spree 8/20 Charlie Hebdo Demonstration, Paris French President Francois Hollande observes a minute of silence surrounded by heads of state including (LtoR) Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Mali's President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel, European Council President Donald Tusk, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and King Abdullah of Jordan and Queen Rania Al Abdullahas they attend the solidarity march (Marche Republicaine) in the streets of Paris 9/20 Charlie Hebdo Demonstration, Paris Demonstrators make their way from 'Place de la Republique' to 'Place de la Nation' in a unity rally in Paris led by French president Francois Hollande and other world leaders following the recent terrorist attacks in Paris 10/20 Charlie Hebdo Demonstration, Paris People gather for a march against terrorism at the Place de la Republique in Paris 11/20 Charlie Hebdo Demonstration, Paris Thousands of people gather at Republique Square in Paris AP 12/20 Charlie Hebdo Demonstration, Paris People gather to take part in a unity rally Marche Republicaine in the Republique square Getty 13/20 Charlie Hebdo Demonstration, Paris People gather at Place de la Nation, following a mass unity rally following thousands of people marching from Place de la Republique on route to Place de la Nation Getty 14/20 Charlie Hebdo Demonstration, Paris Demonstrators make their way along Place de la Republique during a mass unity rally Getty 15/20 Charlie Hebdo Demonstration, Paris From left to right: Francois Hollande, Angela Merkel and Mahmoud Abbas walk during a mass unity rally Getty 16/20 Charlie Hebdo Demonstration, Paris People gather at Place de la Nation, following a mass unity rally Getty 17/20 Charlie Hebdo Demonstration, Paris After the unity rally in Paris the tributes outside the offices of Charlie Hebdo have now become a carpet of flowers Getty 18/20 Charlie Hebdo Demonstration, Paris A woman pauses for a picture during a mass unity rally Getty 19/20 Charlie Hebdo Demonstration, Paris People light candles following thousands of people marching from Place de la Republique on route to Place de la Nation Getty 20/20 Charlie Hebdo Demonstration, Paris Getty “There was no place for distinctions and stigmatisations.
(CNN) At least 3.7 million people, including world leaders, marched in anti-terrorism rallies in Paris and elsewhere in France on Sunday, French officials said, calling the massive gathering in the nation's capital the largest in France's history. The day was emotional and peaceful, a gesture of unity just days after Islamic extremists slaughtered 17 people. The day also brought together an unlikely duo at the rally: Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. A photographer captured Merkel leaning her head gently on Hollande's shoulder. At times, today's #ParisMarch feels like a family funeral, full of sadness, unity & tender moments like this pic.twitter.com/LP1iqyPfQ0 The rally began with a march through Paris streets at 3 p.m., but a massive group of people stayed into the night. One man in the crowd said the French people must not "give in to fear." Terrorists, he said, "will not win." Others carried signs that echoed the now-famous phrase that honored slain journalists at the magazine Charlie Hebdo, "Je suis Charlie." Zineb El Rhazoui, a journalist at the magazine, talked about the magazine's financial struggles and the difficulty of working under constant threats: "I am very happy for all this help, but for us, it was a heavy price to pay, and it is too much. "It took 12 deaths for us to finally be a little bit understood after we have been hated and booed by everybody." For the guards and police officers who lost their lives in last week's attacks in France, there were signs reading "We are all cops." For Muslims in France who want to convey that the ideology embraced by the Muslim gunmen does not represent the whole of the faith, signs read "We are all Muslims." For everyone, no matter their race, class or ethnic background, signs that said "We are all French" were held up with pride. In the other standoff, Amedy Coulibaly, suspected in the shooting death of a police officer, was killed by security forces Friday after he shot and killed four hostages during a siege at a kosher market. French law enforcement officers were told to remove their social media presence and carry their weapons at all times, because terror sleeper cells had been activated over the past 24 hours in the country, a French police source who attended a briefing Saturday told CNN terror analyst Samuel Laurent. Coulibaly had made several phone calls about targeting police officers in France, according to the source. A video that appears to show Coulibaly pledging allegiance to terror group ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi is being shared on Jihadist websites. Brian Hale, the spokesman for the U.S. director of national intelligence, told CNN on Sunday that the U.S. intelligence community is "aware of the video and is reviewing it to determine its authenticity." The offices of Belgian newspaper Le Soir were evacuated Sunday after members of the newsroom received an anonymous phone call of a bomb threat, the newspaper reported . And officials in the New York City Police Department responded to a threat from ISIS after someone re-released a September 2014 message that tells followers to "rise up and kill intelligence officers, police officers, soldiers, and civilians," specifically naming the United States, France, Australia and Canada as targets. NYPD employees were told to "remain alert and consider tactics at all times while on patrol," especially in light of the attacks in France last week, in an internal memo. 'We are not terrorists' As investigators worked leads, a sea of demonstrators in Paris broke into song, held hands, cheered and passionately denounced violence. A young Muslim French woman held a sign that said, "I am a Jew." She told CNN's Frederik Pleitgen that she was horrified to hear of the killings, and the killers do not live according to the Islamic principles she's been taught. He lifted his arm and gestured to many people around him who came to denounce violence: "We are all Muslim!" French officials announced "exceptional measures" to protect the throngs gathered near the Place de la Republique in central Paris, and a who's who of foreign leaders at the rally -- a test of the security forces of a nation rocked by days of terrorist violence. After the rally, Hollande arrived to huge applause and a cheering crowd at the Synagogue de la Victoire to show support for France's Jews. The targeting of the kosher grocery store shook the nation's Jewish communities. A senior State Department official told CNN that Kerry had committed a long time ago to be the lead speaker at Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's entrepreneurship and innovation summit in India. Speaking on air with CNN's Jake Tapper, who was at the rally, " Global Public Square" host Fareed Zakaria tried to put Obama and other senior leaders' absence in context. I asked earlier if US should have sent more senior leader to #ParisMarch incl @BarackObama & your answer answer was near unanimous "Oui" — Jim Sciutto (@jimsciutto) January 11, 2015 Tapper noted that security has been tenuous.
"He was an artist, a friend. He released his album The Story of Demis Roussos not long after. He was also a member of progressive rock group Aphrodite's Child. Love Vangelis." The death of Roussos, who had a No 1 UK single in 1976 with Forever and Ever, was confirmed by the Hygeia hospital in Athens, the BBC reported. Their association became one of the biggest musical events of the Seventies. He signed off with the words: "Goodbye my friend goodbye. Roussos was renowned for his off-screen role in Mike Leigh's 1977 TV play Abigail's Party, having provided the party's soundtrack. Greek singer Nana Mouskouri paid tribute on French radio RTL: "He had a superb voice, he travelled in the world ... he loved what he was doing. Nobody can deny that my name left a mark into the century’s music. Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Demis Roussos was still performing on stage in 2012 Image caption In Mike Leigh's 1977 TV play Abigail's Party, the character Beverly - played by Alison Steadman (back right), was a huge Demis Roussos fan Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Roussos was photographed surrounded by awards for the UK sales of his albums, including gold discs for Happy To Be and My Only Fascination Other solo hits include My Friend the Wind, My Reason, Someday Somewhere and Happy To Be On An Island In The Sun. He and his third wife were held at gunpoint for five days before they were released. He was raised there until his parents moved to Greece in the early 60s after losing their possessions during the Suez Crisis.
Greek singer Demis Roussos, who sold more than 60 million records throughout the world, died on January 25 2015 in an Athens hospital at the age of 68. The Egyptian-born singer, who became popular in the Sixties and Seventies, had been in the private hospital with an undisclosed illness for some time. Artemios Roussos was born in Alexandria on June 15, 1945 to a Greek father who took the family back to Greece in 1961, following the effects of the Suez Crisis in the mid-Fifties. Demis started his musical career as a cabaret musician, having learned guitar, trumpet and piano in school. Roussos went on to become a global superstar with his solo hits Forever and Ever, Mr Reason, Goodbye My Love, Goodbye, Velvet Mornings, Lovely Lady Of Arcadia and Quand je t'aime. His theatrical figure, with a flowing dark beard, intense dark eyes and long hair thinning on top, became one of the musical faces of the Seventies. He was also a member of progressive rock group Aphrodite's Child, joining up with Vangelis Papatanassiou and Loukas Sideras. Roussos was caught up in one of the major news events of the Eighties when on June 14 1985, while he was among 153 people travelling from Athens to Rome, his TWA Flight 847 was hijacked by two Shiite Muslim militiamen. Roussos and his third wife were held as prisoners and he spent his 39th birthday on the plane. He was released unharmed five days later, and at a press conference thanked his captors for giving him a birthday cake. Roussos also guested on the soundtrack to Blade Runner (1982), with a song entitled Tales Of The Future. It had been recorded at the State of the Ark Studios, a studio in London which specialised in retro and vintage recording equipment and gear. Roussos had long struggled with his weight (at one time he was 319 pounds/145 kilograms), and in latter years suffered ill-health that kept him chair-bound. One of his last public appearances was in Athens in 2013, when he received a French Legion of Honour medal for his life's work. For British music lovers, many will cherish the singer's warbling grace on Forever and Ever – and the priceless argument in the Mike Leigh TV drama Abigail's Party over who wants to listen to Demis Roussos. Demis Roussos performs at Istiqlol Palace in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, in 2012 GETTY IMAGES Demis Roussos - Forever And Ever on MUZU.TV. Former member of progressive rock group Aphrodite’s Child who was featured in TV play Abigail’s Party has died, Athens hospital says Demis Roussos, the Greek pop and rock singer who became an unlikely international star in the 70s and 80s, famed for his soaring, high-pitched voice and voluminous kaftans, has died aged 68. The death of Roussos, who had a No 1 UK single in 1976 with Forever and Ever, was confirmed by the Hygeia hospital in Athens, the BBC reported. Roussos, who also had notable solo hits with Goodbye and Quand Je T’Aime, was viewed as something of a kitsch figure during his heyday, an image cemented by Mike Leigh’s 1977 BBC TV play Abigail’s Party, in which Alison Steadman’s social-climbing party host tries to impress her guests with her fondness for the singer. The band’s final release, 666 – a double album based on the Book of Revelation – is viewed as one of rock’s first concept albums. Photograph: George Wilkes Archive/Getty Images Roussos was born Artemios Ventouris Roussos in Alexandria, Egypt, to Greek-origin parents who had also been born in Egypt. Roussos studied music and sang in the city’s Greek church until, as a teenager, his parents were forced to move to Greece, penniless, following the Suez crisis. In Athens, Roussos played guitar and sang with the group, the Idols, later meeting Vangelis, who had a major influence on his career. As part of Aphrodite’s Child, Roussos had planned to base himself in London but work permit problems meant the group ended up in Paris, and it was France where they became most successful. When the group split following the recording of 666, Roussos began a solo career, having immediate success in 1971 with the single We Shall Dance. During much of his peak era Roussos cut a sometimes improbable figure in popular music with his significant girth, which reportedly peaked near 150kg. In 1985 the singer was on a TWA flight from Cairo to the US that was hijacked by armed men seeking the release of Arab prisoners from Israeli jails. He did, however, concede surprise at his former status as a sex symbol: “Yes. Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Watch Demis Roussos singing Forever and Ever Greek singer Demis Roussos, who sold more than 60 million albums worldwide, has died aged 68, the Hygeia Hospital in Athens has confirmed to the BBC. He had been in the private hospital with an undisclosed illness for some time, and died surrounded by his family His Aphrodite's Child bandmate Vangelis paid tribute in a statement that begins: "Demis my friend. "I have just arrived in London and I've been told that you decide to take the long voyage, I'm shocked because I can't believe that this happened so soon. Image caption Roussos was as famous for his outfits as his music He added: "As for me, I keep those special memories that we share together those early days and I wish you to be happy wherever you are." Greek singer Nana Mouskouri paid tribute on French radio RTL: "He had a superb voice, he travelled in the world ... he loved what he was doing.
His wife was barefoot when she escaped, he said. Hide Caption 14 of 16 Photos: Explosion at Mexico hospital The Cuajimalpa Maternal Hospital is on the southwest outskirts of Mexico City. REUTERS/Edgard Garrido Rescue workers are seen at the site of an explosion at a maternity hospital in Mexico City, January 29, 2015. "It threw me to the ground." Dozens of people were injured by flying glass. Image copyright AFP Image caption The blast destroyed large parts of the hospital Image copyright AFP Image caption Rescuers work amid the wreckage Mr Mancera said the blast had been caused by a leak in the hose carrying gas from the truck to the hospital kitchen. Several babies were found under the rubble. Ambulances were at the scene to treat survivors. Federal police and firefighters went in. It was founded in 1993 and is part of the city's government health system. "She told me that it started to smell like gas and the ceiling started to fall on everyone," he told CNNMexico. Three people had been detained and two had been hospitalized, he added. Officials initially said seven people had been killed, but Mayor Miguel Angel Mancera later revised the figure. Paramedics hauled bloodied victims on stretchers. GIF La Explosión de la pipa de gas en Hospital Materno Infantil de Cuajimalpa vista desde Torre Latino. There are fears that people might be trapped in the debris. The blast occurred at about 7 a.m. Thursday with more than 100 people inside Cuajimalpa Maternal Hospital -- minutes after a hose burst on a truck supplying gas to the building. He heard about the explosion on the news from his home, where he'd gone to rest after the baby was born.
(CNN) A gas truck driver and two assistants were arrested Friday in connection with a deadly gas explosion that leveled part of a maternity hospital in Mexico City, killing at least three people and injuring dozens, authorities said. The blast occurred at about 7 a.m. Thursday with more than 100 people inside Cuajimalpa Maternal Hospital -- minutes after a hose burst on a truck supplying gas to the building. Rescuers rushed from the rubble with babies in their arms. Paramedics hauled bloodied victims on stretchers. The truck operator was identified as Julio César Martínez and his two assistants as Carlos Chavez and Salvador Alatorre, according to Rodolfo Rios Garza, a local attorney. The charges against them were not immediately available. Two of men in custody are hospitalized, and a third, with less serious injuries, was checked at a hospital. Ivonne Lugo Durantes told CNNMexico she spent 10 minutes trapped under rubble before rescuers reached her. The supervising nurse called her husband, Mario Angeles Sanchez, after the blast. As she described what was happening, he heard people in the background screaming for help. It was a nightmare," she said, describing how hospital workers tried to rescue babies from a nursery as flames engulfed the building. Photos: Explosion at Mexico hospital An aerial photo shows the scene after a gas explosion that rocked a maternity hospital on the outskirts of Mexico City on Thursday, January 29. Two people were killed, the city's mayor said, correcting earlier official statements with a higher death toll. Hide Caption 1 of 16 Photos: Explosion at Mexico hospital Explosion at Mexico hospital – Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto and his wife, Angelica Rivera, talk with an injured woman at ABC Hospital in Mexico City. Hide Caption 2 of 16 Photos: Explosion at Mexico hospital Rescue workers form a human chain as they clear wreckage following the explosion. Hide Caption 3 of 16 Photos: Explosion at Mexico hospital Rescue workers climb through the rubble left by the explosion. A truck was supplying gas to the hospital when apparently a hose burst and the resulting leak caused an explosion, Mexico City Mayor Miguel Angel Mancera said. Hide Caption 4 of 16 Photos: Explosion at Mexico hospital Smoke rises from the site of the explosion. Hide Caption 5 of 16 Photos: Explosion at Mexico hospital Police officers guard the area near the scene of the explosion. Hide Caption 6 of 16 Photos: Explosion at Mexico hospital Rescuers comb through the debris looking for victims. Hide Caption 7 of 16 Photos: Explosion at Mexico hospital The explosion left the building on the verge of collapse. Hide Caption 8 of 16 Photos: Explosion at Mexico hospital Police block off the area near the scene of the explosion. Hide Caption 10 of 16 Photos: Explosion at Mexico hospital Firefighters battle flames in the debris. Hide Caption 11 of 16 Photos: Explosion at Mexico hospital A firefighter who had been working on the wreckage is examined by a Red Cross paramedic. Hide Caption 12 of 16 Photos: Explosion at Mexico hospital An injured woman is treated after the blast. Hide Caption 13 of 16 Photos: Explosion at Mexico hospital Rescuers and their dogs search the wreckage. Hide Caption 14 of 16 Photos: Explosion at Mexico hospital The Cuajimalpa Maternal Hospital is on the southwest outskirts of Mexico City. It was founded in 1993 and is part of the city's government health system. Hide Caption 15 of 16 Photos: Explosion at Mexico hospital The Red Cross reported that it provided 23 ambulances and more than 40 rescuers to the efforts. Hide Caption 16 of 16 A nurse and two babies were killed by the blast, Mexico City Health Secretary Armando Ahued told CNN affiliate FOROtv. Outside the hospital, frantic family members searched for word of loved ones they feared were inside. 'She covered up the baby and ran' Jose Eduardo was relieved to learn his wife and son, who was born Wednesday, had survived the blast. He heard about the explosion on the news from his home, where he'd gone to rest after the baby was born. Información al 088. pic.twitter.com/Sn8U9Q0enP — Enrique Galindo C (@EF_Galindo) January 29, 2015 Virginia Gonzalez, who lives near the hospital, said her patio was covered with broken glass from blown-out windows. Lugo, the nurse who was inside the hospital during the explosion, told CNNMexico she is suffering from first-degree burns but feels lucky to be alive. Most of hospital has collapsed, mayor says First, calls came into firefighters reporting a gas leak at the hospital, a facility on the southwest outskirts of Mexico City that is part of the government health system. One of the city's publicly accessible webcams captured the blast, showing a plume of smoke rising from the direction of the hospital. Fue 7:09am pic.twitter.com/YnSlP1po3d — Webcams de México (@webcamsdemexico) January 29, 2015 A truck was supplying gas to the hospital when apparently a hose burst and the resulting leak caused an explosion, Mancera said.
“There was no follow through,” he said. Mr Masutha said the time and place of De Kock's release would not be made public. He confessed to more than 100 acts of murder, torture and fraud before the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which granted him amnesty for most offences. "He got the instructions from the top and they got away with it. The justice minister stressed that his decision was guided by South Africa's constitution. De Kock, 66, was sentenced in 1996 to two life terms in prison and a further 212 years for the crimes he committed. The former colonel was head of the notorious Vlakplaas police unit. Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption The BBC's Andrew Harding: "This is not about just one man" South African apartheid-era death squad commander Eugene de Kock has been granted parole after 20 years in jail. Forgiving is empowering for the forgiver and the forgiven - and for all the people around them. During the TRC hearings, he described the murders of a number of African National Congress (ANC) members, in countries including Lesotho, Swaziland, Zimbabwe and Angola, naming the police commander above him in each case. Nelson Mandela suspected a 'hidden hand' behind the black-on-black violence that disrupted the transition out of apartheid De Kock was arrested in 1994, when apartheid ended, and jailed after a trial in 1996. “I think it will actually close a chapter in our history because we've come a long way and I think his release will just once again help with the reconciliation process because there's still a lot of things that we need to do as a country,” she told the BBC.
Eugene de Kock, the man known as “Prime Evil” for leading an apartheid death squad that killed and tortured scores of people, will be released from prison, South Africa’s justice minister said on Friday. Michael Masutha said he took the decision to grant de Kock parole after consultation with the families of his victims. He said the former Vlakplaas commander was remorseful and had helped the Missing Persons Task Team to find the bodies of hit squad victims. “In the interest of reconciliation and nation building, I have placed Mr de Kock on parole,” Mr Masutha said, adding that the date and nature of his release would be kept secret. De Kock, 66, was sentenced in 1996 to two life sentences for six murders and an additional 212 years for charges ranging from attempted murder to kidnapping and fraud. His testimony to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission about the activities of his death squad shocked his fellow countrymen by its graphic nature. The decision to release de Kock was met with mixed reaction in South Africa, which is still largely divided along racial and socio-economic lines 20 years after the end of apartheid, and where his name still embodies the visceral cruelty of the old system. Jane Quin, the sister of Jacqui Quin, whose death in Lesotho in 1985 was ordered by de Kock, said it was a “complete travesty” and his debt to society was “not paid”. “He should have served his full sentence.” Madeleine Fullard, who leads the National Prosecuting Authority’s Missing Persons Task Team, said de Kock’s release meant he could help them find more bodies. “He has already assisted in the locating of two bodies but his key role has been to introduce us to other former security police who can assist with finding others,” she said. His release may help us speed up the process.” Asked if de Kock had appeared repentant when the two met at the grave of an ANC activist, she said: “He certainly feels lives were wasted for no reason. He seemed to be quite stressed.” Archbishop Desmond Tutu, who chaired the Truth and Reconciliation Committee, said he welcomed de Kock’s release. “While many may not welcome de Kock back into society with open arms, the fact that we have allowed for his return is to our collective credit, as people and as a nation.” Mr Tutu lamented the fact that no other members of the apartheid-era security forces who either lied to the TRC about their role or failed to appear altogether were jailed. “That fact is an indictment on our government.” Mr Masutha turned down a request for the release on medical grounds of another apartheid offender, Clive Derby-Lewis, who is serving a life sentence for orchestrating the 1993 murder of Chris Hani, the South African Communist Party leader, an event that nearly plunged the country into civil war. Derby-Lewis is suffering from late-stage lung cancer. Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption The BBC's Andrew Harding: "This is not about just one man" South African apartheid-era death squad commander Eugene de Kock has been granted parole after 20 years in jail. He was nicknamed "Prime Evil" for his role in the killing and maiming of activists fighting white minority rule in the 1980s and early 1990s. De Kock, 66, was sentenced in 1996 to two life terms in prison and a further 212 years for the crimes he committed. Mr Masutha said the time and place of De Kock's release would not be made public. 'Close a chapter' Sandra Mama, widow of Glenack Mama who was killed by De Kock in 1992, said she thought the minister was right in granting parole. He got the instructions from the top and they got away with it Sandra Mama, Widow of a man killed by Eugene de Kock "I think it will actually close a chapter in our history because we've come a long way and I think his release will just once again help with the reconciliation process because there's still a lot of things that we need to do as a country," she told the BBC. He appeared before the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) which was established a year after South Africa's first democratic elections in 1994. De Kock confessed to more than 100 acts of murder, torture and fraud, taking full responsibility for the activities of his undercover unit. Eugene de Kock at glance: Image copyright AFP Image caption The former police colonel appeared before the Truth and Reconciliation Commission Commander of Vlakplass police unit from 1983 Confessed to hundreds of murders at the Truth and Reconciliation Commission Nicknamed "Prime Evil" for the death-squad revelations Sentenced to 212 years and two life terms in 1996 In 2012, Marcia Khoza publicly forgave him for killing her mother ANC activist Portia Shabangu Served 20 years before getting parole Has justice been served? Eugene de Kock: Profile of an apartheid assassin He was granted amnesty for most offences but the TRC only had the power to grant amnesty to human rights violators whose crimes were linked to a political motive and who made a full confession. During the TRC hearings, he described the murders of a number of African National Congress (ANC) members, in countries including Lesotho, Swaziland, Zimbabwe and Angola, naming the police commander above him in each case. 'Mixed feelings' Whilst in prison he did a radio interview in 2007, accusing South Africa's last white ruler FW de Klerk of having hands "soaked in blood" for ordering specific killings. The justice minister also announced that he was not granting parole on medical grounds to another convict in jail for apartheid-era crimes. Mr Masutha said former MP Clive Derby-Lewis, who was involved in the assassination in 1993 of Chris Hani - the popular Communist Party politician and leader of the ANC's armed wing - had not shown any real remorse. The South African death squad leader known as “Prime Evil” for organising the murder and torture of anti-apartheid activists is to be freed from prison. Eugene de Kock, now 66, was sentenced to life in jail plus 212 years for the numerous crimes he committed in the 1980s and 1990s but has now been granted parole after two decades behind bars. Mr Masutha rejected the former police colonel’s parole request in July on the grounds that relatives of his victims had not had their say but said he has now granted it “in the interest of nation building and reconciliation”. Eugene de Kock was sentenced to two life terms and more than 200 years, after a killing spree that cost dozens of lives, at an amnesty hearing of the Truth and Reconcilliation Commision (TRC) in Pretoria, South Africa De Kock's death squad, the police’s C1 “counter-insurgency” Vlakplaas unit, targeted suspected opponents of white rule, killing and torturing dozens of anti-apartheid activists.
"What is important is that they saved the books, the books did not suffer," he said. The roof collapsed but the library's rare medieval Slavic texts appear undamaged. The blaze began late on Friday at the Institute of Scientific Information on Social Sciences in a south-western district of the capital, Moscow. A fire which started on the building’s third floor spread over 2,000 square metres and caused extensive damage to the building and possibly its collection of literary artefacts, according to a report from Russian news agency Interfax. Image copyright AFP Image caption The cause of the blaze is as yet unclear Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Library Director Yuri Pivovarov: "They saved the books" A fire has destroyed parts of one of Russia's largest public libraries, containing more than 14 million items. Over 200 firefighters worked at the scene to douse the blaze but could not prevent a section of roof collapsing before the fire was contained shortly after midnight. A law enforcement source told the RIA Novosti news agency that “a short circuit in the electrical system is currently being regarded as a primary lead” in the cause of the fire. Библиотека ИНИОН нуждается в новом здании, а рукописи — в реставрации http://t.co/vtI5z3yNW9 pic.twitter.com/CruyUTDJ5n — РИА ФАН (@riafanru) January 31, 2015 The fire began around 10pm local time on the third floor of the institute. It was founded in 1918 and holds documents from the League of Nations, UNESCO, and early parliamentary reports dating back as far as 1789. No-one was injured. But Vladimir Fortov, president of the Russian Academy of Sciences, said around 15% of the library's items were damaged, comparing it to a cultural Chernobyl, referring to the 1986 nuclear power plant accident in Ukraine.
Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Library Director Yuri Pivovarov: "They saved the books" A fire has destroyed parts of one of Russia's largest public libraries, containing more than 14 million items. The roof collapsed but the library's rare medieval Slavic texts appear undamaged. The institute's director Yuri Pivovarov said firefighters had done "everything possible" to save the texts. But Vladimir Fortov, president of the Russian Academy of Sciences, said around 15% of the library's items were damaged, comparing it to a cultural Chernobyl, referring to the 1986 nuclear power plant accident in Ukraine. Over 200 firefighters worked at the scene to douse the blaze but could not prevent a section of roof collapsing before the fire was contained shortly after midnight. More than 200 firefighters fought to contain the blaze that broke out Friday night in the library—one of Russia’s largest libraries—at the Institute of Scientific Information on Social Sciences, according to an emergency ministry statement Some 15% of the over... A library containing over 14 million books, historic texts and other important documents has gone up in flames in the Russian capital of Moscow. A fire which started on the building’s third floor spread over 2,000 square metres and caused extensive damage to the building and possibly its collection of literary artefacts, according to a report from Russian news agency Interfax. According to Kremlin-owned broadcaster Russia Today a total of 147 rescue workers and 38 fire appliances were brought to the library to fight the fire, which has been contained.
He was 30. I will miss him," she said. "Harris was so funny. #ParksandRec — Rob Lowe (@RobLowe) February 20, 2015 Harris Wittels was a brilliant writer and comedian. That he loved comedy more than anything.” It's a pleasure to have known you. The 30-year-old also wrote for The Sarah Silverman Program and created the Twitter term #humblebrag. The comedian started as a writer on Parks and Recreation but worked his way up to become a producer and then executive producer. Mr. Wittels’s death was first reported by TMZ, which said he had performed at a comedy club in Los Angeles on Wednesday night. Variety reports that she said : "Today I lost a dear, young friend in my life who was struggling with addiction. You never know what people are going through. So, I don’t really feel like telling any jokes. I just keep thinking of Superman flying backwards around the Earth. He appeared on the show from time to time as Harris, an animal control officer. Those who came to love Wittels's "Foam Corner" segment on Comedy Bang Bang - in which he would read out half-formed jokes from his phone - shared their favourites online. I wish I could do that. Silverman paid tribute calling him "brilliant beyond compare". Please verify you're not a robot by clicking the box. That his imagination was without limit. Police are investigating his death as a possible drug overdose, but the coroner's office will determine the cause. Image copyright Twitter Only hours before Wittels died he performed onstage at The Meltdown Show in Hollywood.
Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Wittels also wrote for the show Eastbound & Down Harris Wittels, a comedian, writer and executive producer of comedy show Parks and Recreation, has been found dead at his Los Angeles home. Police are investigating his death as a possible drug overdose, but the coroner's office will determine the cause. The 30-year-old also wrote for The Sarah Silverman Program and created the Twitter term #humblebrag. Silverman paid tribute calling him "brilliant beyond compare". "He was my baby. I just keep thinking of Superman flying backwards around the Earth. I'm so mad at you Harris," she tweeted. Image copyright Twitter Only hours before Wittels died he performed onstage at The Meltdown Show in Hollywood. The comedian started as a writer on Parks and Recreation but worked his way up to become a producer and then executive producer. The sitcom's final show will be broadcast in the US on 24 February. Wittels also appeared on Parks and Recreation in minor roles - in one episode he played an employee of Pawnee's Animal Control. Parks and Recreation star Amy Poehler spoke about Wittels' death at an event where she was honoured for her charity work. "Today, I lost a friend, I lost a dear, young friend in my life who was struggling with addiction. I'm sharing it with you because life and death live so close together, and we walk that fine line everyday," she told the audience. Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Sarah Silverman called Harris Wittels her baby on Twitter Fellow Parks and Recreation star Rob Lowe has also paid tribute on Twitter saying: "Goodbye Harris Wittels, you were so funny and so sweet. It's a pleasure to have known you." Mindy Kaling was also among the many comedians paying tribute. The 30-year-old, who had spoken openly about his battle with drug addiction and his time in rehab, was well known for his creation of the hashtag #humblebrag on Twitter. His #humblebrag Twitter feed had more than 250,000 followers and sparked a book - Humblebrag The Art of False Modesty - which Wittels admitted he wrote while on drugs. Harris Wittels, the writer and producer of beloved American comedy Parks and Recreation , has been found dead at home from a suspected drug overdose. Wittels was known for his stand-up comedy, writing for shows including The Sarah Silverman Program and Eastbound & Down and inventing the popular online term "humblebrag", to mock celebrities and others who boasted through self-deprecation. His death has been met with an outpouring of grief from Hollywood stars, members of the comedy world and fans. Parks and Recreation star Amy Poehler dedicated her speech at an event she attended on Thursday night to Wittels. Variety reports that she said : "Today I lost a dear, young friend in my life who was struggling with addiction. I’m kind of sad, and it’s really great to be here tonight and listen to all of you, and listen to the great work that you do and be reminded why we live in this bizarre planet called ‘Hollywood.’ It’s very strange." On Wednesday, Wittels performed at a stand-up comedy night in Los Angeles and spoken about being clean and sober: "we're all trying to avoid thinking about death, that's why we get excited about these stupid, human interactions." A photo posted by The Meltdown w/ Jonah & Kumail (@meltdown_show) on Feb 18, 2015 at 9:01pm PST Listeners who felt they knew Wittels well through his honest podcast contributions commented underneath culture website AV Club's news story and obituary: One user wrote: "Been sitting here crying since I found out an hour ago. Another posted: "My husband and I have been crying and hugging a lot, he was our age and god it just feels like you know all these podcast people, you hear so many inside jokes, and in Harris' case you hear about things like addiction struggles." "I don't mean to belittle what those who knew him are going through at all, I know how I feel is nothing compared to what they're dealing with, but it does feel like I lost a friend." "Harris has always been like the guy in the backseat making everybody in the car laugh on a road trip. I've never cried at a celebrity death, but this made me completely break down."
There were no survivors. "You know, I'm sure she's inspired many, many people," she added. Muffat said. French sport has lost three stars this morning." Yachtswoman Florence Arthaud, Olympic swimmer Camille Muffat and Olympic boxer Alexis Vastine were the show's celebrities on board at the time of the crash. "Apparently, the two helicopters collided as they were filming. Reaction: Lucy Williamson, BBC News, Paris Image copyright other Image caption The three sports stars killed are shown here on the right-hand side of this image taken as they were leaving for Argentina. She won gold during the 400m freestyle at London 2012, earned silver in the women’s 200m freestyle, and a bronze as a member of the women’s 4×200 freestyle relay. TF1 issued a statement expressing solidarity with the victims' families. Other contestants were standing on the ground blindfolded a few hundred metres away when the accident happened near Villa Castelli in La Rioja province, French media said. France meant something for her. "It's been four hours since the collision and (the wreckage) is still on fire. Dropped, which was to air on French television channel TF1, involved eight sports stars being dropped into inhospitable environments for an adventure- and survival-themed reality show. The Argentine pilots were named as Juan Carlos Castillo and Roberto Abate. Her titles included the 1990 Route du Rhum, the most prestigious race to cross the Atlantic solo. One cast member, figure skater Philippe Candeloro, was said to be "extremely shocked but unharmed". French President Francois Hollande said it was "a cause of immense sadness".
French boxer Alexis Vastine poses for a photograph as members of the French Olympic boxing team arrive via Eurostar at St Pancrus in London July 24, 2012. REUTERS/Ki Price Former winner Florence Arthaud (L) says goodbye to French skipper Philippe Monnet, who is competing in the Route du Rhum sailing race, as he leaves the lock before anchoring off Saint-Malo harbour, French Brittany, October 30, 2010. REUTERS/Charles Platiau France's Camille Muffat poses with her silver medal on the podium after placing second in the women's 200m freestyle final with an Olympic record during the London 2012 Olympic Games at the Aquatics Centre July 31, 2012. REUTERS/David Gray A giant photo is displayed to pay tribute to late French Olympic swimmer Camille Muffat in Nice, March 10, 2015. REUTERS/Jean-Pierre Amet BUENOS AIRES/PARIS France mourned on Tuesday the deaths of three sports stars who were among 10 people killed when two helicopters collided in a remote region of Argentina during the filming of a reality TV show. Investigators removed the bodies of Olympic swimmer Camille Muffat, yachtswoman Florence Arthaud and boxer Alexis Vastine from the charred wreckage of the two aircraft, but said it was still unclear what caused the accident on Monday afternoon in the rugged western province of La Rioja. Amateur footage taken from the ground showed the two helicopters flying in tandem at low altitude when one appears to deviate into the path of the other. A second video showed dozens of people rushing through the heavy undergrowth towards the helicopters' burning wreckage. The accident occurred around 5.15 p.m. local time (2015 GMT). French President Francois Hollande paid tribute to the athletes he said had "made France shine". They wanted to make new exploits known to the world, make people aware of new countries and regions," Hollande said. In Paris, an involuntary manslaughter investigation has been opened, an automatic procedure when French citizens are killed abroad, a judicial source said. As part of the TV show, other contestants were standing blindfolded on the ground a few hundred meters from the helicopters' flight path, French media reported. They ran to the crash site but could not extinguish the fire, an assistant to the contestants told French broadcaster RFI. A magistrate judge at the site said all 10 bodies had been retrieved from the helicopters' mangled ruins and were being taken to a morgue in the provincial capital. Two pilots and several members of the ALP-TV production company involved in filming the adventure show "Dropped" for private TV station TF1 were among the dead, officials said. A spokesman for Argentina's Air Accident Investigation Board said it was too early to determine if human error, mechanical failure or something else was to blame. "CHAMPIONS" "The whole of French sport is in mourning because we have lost three huge champions," Thierry Braillard, junior minister for sports, town and youth affairs, told RTL radio. "Florence Arthaud - we all knew her as the 'Fiancee of the Atlantic'," he said, referring to a nickname Arthaud earned through many daring voyages, including a 1990 record for the fastest solitary Atlantic crossing. "Dropped" involves contestants being left in the wilderness and using their skills to find their way back to civilization. The collision marked the second time in two years that a reality show produced by ALP for TF1 had been hit by tragedy. In April 2013 the doctor charged with looking after contestants in the long-running "Koh-Lanta" endurance show committed suicide after one of the competitors died following one of the tests, complaining of heart pains. "I am sad for my friends, I’m shaking, I’m horrified, I can’t find the words," tweeted Sylvain Wiltord, an ex-footballer for English Premier League club Arsenal and a fellow cast member. A group of French sports stars participating in a reality TV show were among 10 people killed Monday when their helicopters collided in mid-air while filming in northwestern Argentina. Olympic swimming gold medalist Camille Muffat, 25, Olympic boxer Alexis Vastine, 28, and champion sailor Florence Arthaud, 57, were among those killed when two helicopters filming the survival series Dropped crashed into each other in the rugged mountains of La Rioja province. Thierry Braillard, French secretary of state for sport, paid his respects early Tuesday morning: "Some had finished their careers and one was dreaming of gold in Rio.
. This was before they realised that, when taken into the body, it actually converts into morphine, and is ferociously addictive. @christophhooton Misuse of Drugs (Amendment) Bill 2015 6/14 As Heroin dependency became a torrent and overdoses began to be reported, Heroin was made illegal to obtain without a prescription from a doctor in the US in 1914. Legal loophole means ecstasy is legal in Ireland. This would be the law until 1959 when the number of diacetylmorphine addicts doubled every 16 months between 1959 and 1968. Health Minister Leo Varadkar said: "All carry health risks... and can lead to death." The company wisely released Aspirin this year, which would go on to become one of the most popular and widely used pain relief drugs in the world. — Lisa McInerney (@SwearyLady) March 10, 2015 So that's why they call it the High Court. It was also around this time that early reports of addiction began to surface. In 1924, it became completely illegal, and doctors were told they could no longer prescribe the drug. Cues from popular culture – and a social downtown caused by the economic and industrial crisis in the late 1970s – created the perfect environment for the Trainspotting generation. Russell Brand’s Give it Up Fund, run in conjunction with Comic Relief, aims to provide financial aid to help people remain free from substance abuse by setting up support groups. Kate Moss and Johnny Depp, together in 1994 13/14 Today, the largest producer of opium, needed to create Heroin is Afghanistan. 10/14 The Brain Committee recommended that only selected, specially approved doctors at specialized centres were allowed to prescribe diacetylmorphine to users in 1964.
Twitter erupted in confusion today, after a stranger-than-fiction legal case saw over 100 drugs including ecstasy, ketamine and magic mushrooms become legal in Ireland for one night only. Following a decision by the Court of Appeal to challenge the Misuse of Drugs Act 1977 and strike down legislation banning the possession of the substances, the Irish parliament is scrabbling to rush through emergency laws overnight to shut down the loophole. A man prosecuted for possessing methylethcathinone in 2012 launched the case, and denied criminal charges of supplying the substance and argued the regulations were unconstitutional. The substance also known as 4-mec or snow blow is one of around 100 brought under a blanket ban in Ireland four years ago, which forced head shops around the country out of business overnight. Drug addiction, overdoses, and a very brief history of Heroin 14 show all Drug addiction, overdoses, and a very brief history of Heroin 1/14 Heroin – the chemical name for which is diacetylmorphine – was originally synthesized by British chemist C.R.Alder Wright (pictured overleaf) in 1874, by adding two acetyl groups to the molecule morphine, which is naturally found in the opium poppy. 2/14 Bayer, the German pharmaceutical company behind Alka-Seltzer and Aspirin, bought the rights to diacetylmorphine, marketing it under the name “Heroin” in 1895 because early testers said that it made them feel “heroisch” or “heroic”. It was originally sold as an over-the-counter cough suppressant that didn’t have problematic side effects, like addiction (the irony) - while alternative treatments morphine and codeine did. This was before they realised that, when taken into the body, it actually converts into morphine, and is ferociously addictive. Thus defeating the object and defining what was to become a historically embarrassing moment for the company in later years. 4/14 By 1899 Bayer was producing a ton of Heroin and exporting the drug to 23 countries, while free samples sent to doctors and studies appeared in medical journals. It was also around this time that early reports of addiction began to surface. The company wisely released Aspirin this year, which would go on to become one of the most popular and widely used pain relief drugs in the world. 5/14 US medicines containing heroin were available over the counter from 1907, after the American Medical Association gave it its stamp of approval. 6/14 As Heroin dependency became a torrent and overdoses began to be reported, Heroin was made illegal to obtain without a prescription from a doctor in the US in 1914. 7/14 In the early 1920s, a number of addicted users in New York supported themselves by collecting and selling scrap metal retrieved from industrial dumps. In 1924, it became completely illegal, and doctors were told they could no longer prescribe the drug. Pictured left is famed actress Jeanne Eagels, who died of a Heroin overdose in 1929. Its outlawed use had pushed manufacturers underground, and the purity of the product illegal traders now used varied in quality. 9/14 In the UK, the Rolleston Committee Report in 1926, illegal Heroin dealers were prosecuted, but doctors could prescribe diacetylmorphine to users when they were withdrawing from it, if it would cause harm or severe distress to the patient to go without it. This would be the law until 1959 when the number of diacetylmorphine addicts doubled every 16 months between 1959 and 1968. 10/14 The Brain Committee recommended that only selected, specially approved doctors at specialized centres were allowed to prescribe diacetylmorphine to users in 1964. The law was further restricted in 1968, and by the 1970s, the emphasis shifted to encouraging abstinence and the use of substitute methadone. 11/14 In the 1980s, the UK experienced a surge in Heroin supply because of a sudden cheap influx from Pakistan (the main supplier had been – and is now – Afghanistan). Cues from popular culture – and a social downtown caused by the economic and industrial crisis in the late 1970s – created the perfect environment for the Trainspotting generation. 12/14 In the 1990s, Heroin use was again popularized by the rise of grunge and Britpop, while the emergence of ‘the waif’ in fashion, of which Kate Moss is often cited as the originator, would give rise to the term ‘Heroin chic’. In 1994, the Swiss began to trial a diamorphine maintenance program for users who had failed multiple withdrawal programs. Diacetylmorphine is a controlled, Class A substance in the UK, but continues to be used in palliative care for the treatment of acute pain, such as in severe physical trauma, post-surgical and chronic pain, as well as relieving sufferers of terminal illnesses. Russell Brand’s Give it Up Fund, run in conjunction with Comic Relief, aims to provide financial aid to help people remain free from substance abuse by setting up support groups. "It's integral that people entering a life of abstinence after the chaos of addiction have stability, support and a role to play in the wider community," he said. The court today agreed that the law making possession of methylethcathinone was unconstitutional, and by doing so temporarily legalised the possession of other drugs in the same category due to the way Irish law works. This is like The Purge but instead with drugs http://t.co/p2PgH7dPFt pic.twitter.com/aJqO0r5gSz — I Am THE CULTURE (@Toussaint215) March 10, 2015 This 24 hours of legal drugs feels like Ireland's answer to The Purge — S'J (@_EssJay) March 10, 2015 As if drugs are legal in Ireland for 24 hours, what is this the purge!? — Jack Hamilton Povah (@JackPovah) March 10, 2015 One user sarcastically predicted that trendy restaurants will likely be preparing to exploit the loophole. — eve wright (@evewright_) March 10, 2015 It's funny yes, but I don't think people are going to be running to a drug dealer in Ireland. — Edward Briggs (@Edzillor) March 10, 2015 It'll be interesting to see if there's an increase in drug related incidents in Ireland over the next 2 days — ℳ (@MullerBee) March 10, 2015 Would love to see a study on the economies of the drug trade in Ireland this week.
No." Later, saying how much he hated the word, Clarkson wrote in the Sun newspaper: “I’ve been told by the BBC that if I make one more offensive remark, anywhere, at any time, I will be sacked”. Top Gear will not be broadcast this Sunday. @JeremyClarkson @RichardHammond Jeremy Clarkson (@JeremyClarkson) @MrJamesMay No no no. "It was all over a catering issue. There's no one show or person that's bigger than the BBC, and that's made clear to anyone who works there." He said he was not there during the incident but confirmed it happened over dinner. The presenter was given a final warning by Cohen in May last year, after the 54-year-old appeared to use the N-word while reciting the nursery rhyme Eenie, Meenie, Minie, Moe during the filming of the BBC2 motoring programme. It is understood the two final episodes in the series will also be dropped. He just saw red and hit the assistant producer, who he blamed for not having organised the food. Clarkson refused to comment on the incident as he arrived at his London home on Tuesday night, but later made light of the incident in a Twitter exchange with his co-presenters James May and Richard Hammond. More than 130,000 people have so far signed the petition. How about 633 Squadron instead? Each episode in the two-part Christmas special filmed in Argentina attracted more than 7 million viewers last year, with a further 3 million for each episode on iPlayer. It seems I knocked your 'I'm a human' piece down the news agenda."
A tight-lipped corporation said on Tuesday it had suspended the controversial Top Gear presenter pending an investigation into his “fracas with a BBC producer” and, for the first time, it pulled the show from its schedule for the next two Sundays. Perhaps ominously for Clarkson, the statement said “no one else has been suspended”. Amid allegations that the incident involved Clarkson throwing a punch at a male producer, there was some doubt over when the last three episodes of the current series would be broadcast. The Radio Times reported that the penultimate episode of the series, due to air on 22 March, had been replaced by a documentary about the Caribbean. According to the Daily Mirror the producer involved in the alleged bust-up, said to have taken place after filming in Newcastle, was named Oisin Tymon, aged 36. Meanwhile an online petition calling for the 54-year-old’s reinstatement soared past 130,000 signatures. The Mirror reported the “fracas” was over a lack of catering, with the paper quoting a source as saying: “They came to the end of filming after a long day and Jeremy discovered that no food had been laid on.” The presenter then “snapped”, the source added. But according to the Sun newspaper, Clarkson said: “I’m having a nice cold pint and waiting for this to blow over.” After learning about the “fracas”, senior BBC bosses – understood to include the director general, Tony Hall, and head of television, Danny Cohen – made the decision to suspend the presenter. The police are not thought to be involved. Although there had been little response to the incident from Clarkson, whose manager and personal assistant refused to return calls on Tuesday evening, the presenter did reply on Twitter to his on-screen partners, Richard Hammond and James May. @MrJamesMay @JeremyClarkson Piers Morgan, who has had a number of public spats with Clarkson over several years, also weighed in to suggest he would be available to replace the presenter. It seems I knocked your "I'm a human" piece down the news agenda. The presenter was given a final warning by Cohen in May last year, after the 54-year-old appeared to use the N-word while reciting the nursery rhyme Eenie, Meenie, Minie, Moe during the filming of the BBC2 motoring programme. Later, saying how much he hated the word, Clarkson wrote in the Sun newspaper: “I’ve been told by the BBC that if I make one more offensive remark, anywhere, at any time, I will be sacked”. Facebook Twitter Pinterest Jeremy Clarkson ‘begs forgiveness’ over N-word footage Clarkson, who earned £600,000 last year, has hardly been quiet in the intervening 10 months – the Top Gear team were chased out of Argentina last October over a number plate that locals found offensive. Each episode in the two-part Christmas special filmed in Argentina attracted more than 7 million viewers last year, with a further 3 million for each episode on iPlayer. It is BBC2’s most popular show, watched by more than 5 million viewers. Along with co-presenters James May and Richard Hammond, Clarkson is credited with turning Top Gear into the most-watched TV show on BBC2, with it being broadcast to more than 100 other countries. Pulling the show is likely to have huge consequences for the BBC, given that it earns more than £150m in revenue for its commercial arm, BBC Worldwide. The show’s executive producer, Andy Wilman, described 2014 as “an annus horribilis” for the programme, and there have been signs of mounting tension throughout the year. After Hall stepped in to save Clarkson last May, Cohen, when asked about the presenter, told an audience of media executives in Edinburgh that “no one is bigger than the BBC”. Jeremy Clarkson: a history of BBC Top Gear controversies Read more Yet Clarkson, who has made an estimated £30m from the show, had built a reputation as the antithesis of the corporation man, taking apparent pride in his straight-talking ways. He branded people who kill themselves on train tracks as “selfish”, made homophobic comments about George Michael among others, and said “Mexico doesn’t have an Olympic team … because anyone who can run, jump or swim is already across the border”. Clarkson became a presenter on the show in 1988 when the old format was watched by a fraction of its current audience. Born in Doncaster to a father who was a travelling salesman plying Paddington Bear toys, Clarkson was educated at Repton school, from which he claims to have been expelled. Clarkson, 54, is reported to have hit Oisin Tymon, 36, after being told no dinner had been laid on for the presenters after they finished filming for the BBC2 show one evening last week. Speaking for the first time since this week's Top Gear was cancelled, May was asked by reporters outside his home in London whether Clarkson was innocent. He said: "No, I think he has been involved in a bit if a dust up, but I don't think it's that serious." BBC Top Gear co-presenter James May outside is house in west London today (Isabel Infantes/NationalNews & Pictures) The "fracas" happened in Hawes in the Yorkshire Dales, where the team was filming last week. • Live: updates surrounding Jeremy Clarkson's suspension The remaining three episodes of the current series have been pulled from the schedules and the BBC refuses to discuss whether it will ever return. Jeremy Clarkson has made light of the incident, saying he is waiting for the fuss to blow over When May was initially asked if Clarkson was innocent, he said: "Of being a knob? He tried to get back into his garage, where he keeps his collection of motorbikes, but said: "I have managed to lock myself out, that's embarrassing," before going through the front door. It has also emerged that the three presenters could walk away from Top Gear before the BBC's investigation into Clarkson's behaviour is concluded, as their contracts expire at the the end of this month and they have not yet signed new three-year deals that were expected to be completed within days. • Clarkson: I'm having a nice cold pint, waiting for this to blow over A source told The Sun: "Jeremy had a massive bust-up with one of the male show producers and he ended up smacking him in the face.
However, IS is also gaining ground in the country. "Dozens of people have been injured or killed. WASHINGTON The White House cannot confirm a claim by Islamic State that suicide bombers who attacked two mosques in Yemen were affiliated with the militant group, a spokesman said on Friday. Image copyright Reuters Image caption Jihadist militant groups have targeted Houthi supporters several times in recent months Image copyright Reuters Image caption Hospitals in Sanaa issued an urgent appeal for donations of blood after the bombings Image copyright EPA Image caption The al-Hashoosh mosque was badly damaged in the attack Al-Jazeera reported that the prominent Houthi cleric al-Murtada bin Zayd al-Mahatwari, the imam of the Badr mosque, was among those killed. It threatened that these attacks were "only a part of the coming flood". Hadi has since fled to Aden and maintains he is the legitimate president. Source: Al Jazeera However, Al Jazeera's Rosiland Jordan said that intelligence experts believe ISIL's claim was questionable, saying they suspect either al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) or anti-Houthi fighters were behind the attacks. Mr Saleh was forced to hand over power to Mr Hadi in 2011 after mass protests, but has remained a power-broker. Worshippers were attending noon prayers at the Badr and al-Hashoosh mosques when at least four attackers struck. We will understand the exact numbers of [the] dead and wounded soon. A second bomber then attacked amid the panicked crowds trying to escape. The Houthis, who are accused of being allies to former President Ali Abdullah Saleh, descended from their heartland in northern Saada province last year, fighting their way towards Sanaa and defeating tribal and military rivals along the way.
At least 137 people killed and 345 injured as three blasts target two mosques in central Sanaa. Suicide bombers have attacked two mosques in the Yemeni capital during the rush for Friday prayers, killing 137 people and injuring 345 others, sources told Al Jazeera. Three blasts were heard in two central mosques used by Houthi Shia Muslims, sources said. A report on the Houthi-funded Al-Masirah TV channel said the bombers attacked the Badr and al-Hashoosh mosques during midday prayers on Friday. According to witnesses, one of the suicide bombers detonated his explosives inside the Badr mosque, causing panic as dozens of worshippers rushed toward the outside gates. A second bomber then attacked amid the panicked crowds trying to escape. The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) armed group, an offshoot of al-Qaeda, claimed responsibility for the attacks on Twitter. It threatened that these attacks were "only a part of the coming flood". However, Al Jazeera's Rosiland Jordan said that intelligence experts believe ISIL's claim was questionable, saying they suspect either al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) or anti-Houthi fighters were behind the attacks. Nadwa Dawsari, a conflict analyst, said that it is "highly unlikely" that ISIL carried out the attack, and that it was politically motivated. "I really don't buy the ISIL propaganda [...] Yemen doesn't have the grounds for ISIL, at least not yet. I think these attacks were politically motivated and whoever ordered them want people to believe its ISIL to achieve political goals". RELATED: Yemen at the breaking point The Imam of the mosque and leading Houthi religious leader, Al-Murtada bin Zayd al-Muhatwari was killed in the attack, a medical source said. "Dozens of people have been injured or killed. "What we have seen today is a plot to widen the schism between the Sunnis and Zaydis," Qubaty said. UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon, condmened the attack urging all sides to "immediately cease all hostile actions and exercise maximum restraint." "All sides must abide by their stated commitments to resolve differences by peaceful means", Moon said. RELATED: The rise of the Houthis The Houthis belong to the Shia Zaydi sect, whose followers make up about 30 percent of Yemen's population. In another development, a suicide bomber blew himself up at a government compund in the Houthi stronghold of Saada province. The Houthis, who are accused of being allies to former President Ali Abdullah Saleh, descended from their heartland in northern Saada province last year, fighting their way towards Sanaa and defeating tribal and military rivals along the way. Earlier this year, they put Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, the elected president, under house arrest; disbanded parliament and appointed Mohammed Ali al-Houthi, a cousin of the group's leader Abdel-Malik al-Houthi, as the new president. Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption "In a country wracked by violence this feels like a new low", reports BBC's Paul Adams Suicide bombers have attacked two mosques in Yemen's capital, Sanaa, killing at least 126 people and wounding many others, reports say. Worshippers were attending noon prayers at the Badr and al-Hashoosh mosques when at least four attackers struck. Blood 'running like river' Witnesses said two suicide bombers attacked the Badr mosque, in the south of Sanaa. Image copyright Reuters Image caption Jihadist militant groups have targeted Houthi supporters several times in recent months Image copyright Reuters Image caption Hospitals in Sanaa issued an urgent appeal for donations of blood after the bombings Image copyright EPA Image caption The al-Hashoosh mosque was badly damaged in the attack Al-Jazeera reported that the prominent Houthi cleric al-Murtada bin Zayd al-Mahatwari, the imam of the Badr mosque, was among those killed. "The heads, legs and arms of the dead people were scattered on the floor of the mosque," Mohammed al-Ansi told Associated Press news agency, adding that "blood is running like a river". Mr Ansi said that many of those who were not killed by the explosion were seriously injured by shattered glass that fell from the mosque's windows. The rebel-run al-Masirah TV channel broadcast footage from inside the al-Hashoosh mosque showing volunteers using bloodied blankets to carry away victims. Image copyright AFP Image caption The bombers detonated their explosives among people attending Friday prayers More than 260 people were said to have been wounded. Another suicide bomber targeted a mosque in the northern city of Saada - a Houthi stronghold - reports said, but only the attacker was killed. The White House "strongly condemned" the attacks, but said it could not confirm that those behind them were affiliated with IS. Image copyright AP Image caption On Thursday, a battle for control of Aden's international airport left several people dead The bombings come a day after deadly clashes in the southern city of Aden, between forces loyal to President Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi and those supporting his predecessor, Ali Abdullah Saleh.
"To many Singaporeans, and indeed others too, Lee Kuan Yew was Singapore." World leaders have paid tribute to Mr Lee, who served as the city-state's prime minister for 31 years. REUTERS/Edgar Su A policeman looks at the state flag after lowering it to half-mast at the Parliament building in Singapore March 23, 2015. Lee Kuan Yew: Life in pictures 12 show all Lee Kuan Yew: Life in pictures 1/12 Lee Kuan Yew: Life in pictures Lee Kuan Yew, leader of 'People's Action Party' poses after winning the elections in Singapore, May 1959 AFP/Getty Images 2/12 Lee Kuan Yew: Life in pictures In a picture taken on June 3, 1959 Lee Kuan Yew is carried by supporters as he celebrates winning the elections in Singapore AFP/Getty Images 3/12 Lee Kuan Yew: Life in pictures Lee Kuan Yew attends the Commonwealth Prime Ministers Conference at Marlborough House, London, September 6th 1966 Hulton Archive/Getty Images 4/12 Lee Kuan Yew: Life in pictures Lee Kuan Yew, 5th January 1969 Hulton Archive/Getty Images 5/12 Lee Kuan Yew: Life in pictures Lee Kuan Yew during an official visit in France, April 1985 AFP/Getty Images 6/12 Lee Kuan Yew: Life in pictures Lee Kuan Yew meets U.S. President George W. Bush at the White House October 16, 2006 Getty Images 7/12 Lee Kuan Yew: Life in pictures Lee Kuan Yew meets Barack Obama at the White House, October 29, 2009 Getty Images 8/12 Lee Kuan Yew: Life in pictures Lee Kuan Yew addresses the Standard Chartered Singapore Forum on March 20, 2013 Getty Images 9/12 Lee Kuan Yew: Life in pictures Lee Kuan Yew addresses the Standard Chartered Singapore Forum on March 20, 2013 Getty Images 10/12 Lee Kuan Yew: Life in pictures Lee Kuan Yew attends the National Day Parade at the Float at Marina Bay, Singapore on August 9, 2014 Getty Images 11/12 Lee Kuan Yew: Life in pictures Tributes postered on the board outside Singapore General Hospital after Lee Kuan Yew became critically ill AFP/Getty Images 12/12 Lee Kuan Yew: Life in pictures Tributes postered on the board outside Singapore General Hospital after Lee Kuan Yew became critically ill AFP/Getty Images UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon paid tribute to Mr Lee’s achievements, saying he had turned “a developing country [into] one of the most developed in the world, transforming it into a thriving international business hub”.
Lee Kuan Yew smiles after the People's Action Party (PAP) won in Singapore's national elections in this still image taken from video in this May, 1959 file photo. REUTERS/Reuters TV/Files Lee Kuan Yew, architect of modern Singapore, and his wife Kwa Geok Choo (R) blow out candles on his birthday cake as he celebrates his 80th birthday in Singapore in this September 16, 2003 file photo. REUTERS/David Loh/Files Singapore's former Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew speaks during his book launch at the Istana in Singapore August 6, 2013. REUTERS/Edgar Su A woman reads a newspaper bearing the image of Singapore's former prime minister Lee Kuan Yew, at Raffles Place in Singapore, March 23, 2015. REUTERS/Timothy Sim A get well message, penned by Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong for his father Lee Kuan Yew, is pictured at Tanjong Pagar community club in Singapore, March 22, 2015. REUTERS/Edgar Su Security officers place a wreath in front of the Singapore Embassy, before Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Sen arrives to pay his respects to the late Singapore's first prime minister Lee Kuan Yew, in Phnom Penh March 23, 2015. REUTERS/Samrang Pring A woman pens a message of condolence in front of a portrait of Singapore's former prime minister Lee Kuan Yew as an employee stands next to a wreath, at the Singapore embassy in Seoul March 23, 2015. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji People pen their condolences on the passing of former prime minister Lee Kuan Yew, outside the Istana in Singapore, March 23, 2015. Lee, Singapore's first prime minister and architect of the tiny Southeast Asian city-state's rapid rise from British tropical outpost to global trade and financial centre, died early on Monday, aged 91, the Prime Minister's Office said. REUTERS/Edgar Su People lay flowers, as they mourn the passing of former prime minister Lee Kuan Yew, outside the Istana in Singapore, March 23, 2015. Lee, Singapore's first prime minister and architect of the tiny Southeast Asian city-state's rapid rise from British tropical outpost to global trade and financial centre, died early on Monday, aged 91, the Prime Minister's Office said. REUTERS/Edgar Su People queue up to pen their condolences as they mourn the passing of former prime minister Lee Kuan Yew outside the Istana in Singapore March 23, 2015. REUTERS/Edgar Su Special editions of newspapers bearing images of former prime minister Lee Kuan Yew are sold and distributed at the central business district in Singapore March 23, 2015. REUTERS/Edgar Su A woman in a wheelchair pays respects to the late former prime minister Lee Kuan Yew at a memorial site in Singapore March 23, 2015. REUTERS/Edgar Su The hearse carrying the body of former Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew arrives at the Istana in Singapore, March 23, 2015. REUTERS/Edgar Su A policeman looks at the state flag after lowering it to half-mast at the Parliament building in Singapore March 23, 2015. REUTERS/Timothy Sim A man bows as he pays his respects to late former prime minister Lee Kuan Yew at Tanjong Pagar community club, in the constituency which Lee represented as Member of Parliament since 1955, in Singapore March 23, 2015. REUTERS/Edgar Su SINGAPORE Lee Kuan Yew, Singapore's first prime minister, died on Monday aged 91, triggering a flood of tributes to the man who oversaw the tiny city-state's rapid rise from a British colonial backwater to a global trade and financial center. U.S. President Barack Obama described Lee, who ruled Singapore for three decades, as "a true giant of history" whose advice on governance and economic development had been sought by other world leaders down the years. In his lifetime, Lee drew praise for his market-friendly policies, but also criticism at home and abroad for his strict controls over the press, public protest and political opponents. Lee had receded from public and political life over the past few years, but was still seen as an influential figure in the government of Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, his eldest son. He inspired us, gave us courage, and brought us here," a choked Prime Minister Lee said in a live television address. The government declared a period of national mourning until his funeral on Sunday. "His biggest achievement is that from zero he's built up today's Singapore." In keeping with Lee's famously no-nonsense, pragmatic approach, business carried on as normal throughout the city, one of the world's leading wealth management centers. At the stock exchange, the message "Remembering Lee Kuan Yew, 16 September 1923 to 23 March 2015" replaced the normal stream of news and market prices displayed on a bank of video. WEALTHY NATION Lee, a British-educated lawyer, is credited with building Singapore into one of the world's wealthiest nations on a per capita basis with a strong, pervasive role for the state and little patience for dissent. Among other hardline measures, long hair for men was outlawed in the 1970s - the Bee Gees and Led Zeppelin canceled gigs due to the ban - and the sale of chewing gum remains forbidden. "Lee Kwan Yew's passing is as much a loss for the international community as it is for Singapore," China's President Xi Jinping said. Obama said in a statement that "Lee's views and insights on Asian dynamics and economic management were respected by many around the world, and no small number of this and past generations of world leaders have sought his advice on governance and development." Thousands are expected to pay their respects at the Istana, which means palace in Malay and is the site of the prime minister's official residence, where a condolence book has been set up. "Harry" Lee, a fourth-generation Singaporean, co-founded the People's Action Party (PAP), which has ruled the city since 1959 and led the newly born country when it was separated from Malaysia in 1965. Even after stepping down as leader in 1990 - signing off as the world's then longest-serving prime minister - the acerbic Lee stayed on in the cabinet until 2011 and was a member of parliament until his death. After stepping down as prime minister he remained influential as a senior minister in the cabinet of his successor, Goh Chok Tong, and later as "minister mentor" when his son became prime minister in 2004. Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Flowers, messages and other tributes have been piled up outside the hospital where Lee Kuan Yew died Singapore has begun seven days of national mourning following the death of its founding father, Lee Kuan Yew. World leaders have paid tribute to Mr Lee, who served as the city-state's prime minister for 31 years.
Anything but that. “Whether by shooting, lethal injection, hanging, asphyxiation or electrocution, the death penalty is a cruel, brutalizing and outdated punishment that is a symptom of violence, not a solution to it,” Freer added. He wanted a firing squad. But the few that have been carried out since then were all in Utah. Gary Herbert signed a law approving the controversial method's use when no lethal-injection drugs are available. (Photo: AP) SALT LAKE CITY – Utah became the only state to allow firing squads for executions Monday when Gov. Fourteen years later, the day of his execution arrived. It at once seems barbaric and — yes — gruesome. The the last prisoner put to death that way was Ronnie Lee Gardner in 2010. Then the governor said something that betrayed larger significance. One of the guns was loaded with blanks, so no one would know who fired the fatal shot. Other states have debated bringing back the electric chair. "However, when a jury makes the decision and a judge signs a death warrant, enforcing that lawful decision is the obligation of the executive branch." Just two minutes. Several people wrote to say they would not vacation in Utah if the bill is approved. The American Civil Liberties Union branch in Utah issued a statement saying the new law made the state look “backward – and backwoods”. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Convicted murderer Gary Gilmore in 1976. And who are its practitioners? Activists point out state is bucking national trend of moving away from death penalty and say it should be following suit ‘not trying to fix the unfixable’ Human rights campaigners have condemned Utah’s decision to reinstate the firing squad as a viable form of capital punishment as “backward” and “brutalizing”.
Activists point out state is bucking national trend of moving away from death penalty and say it should be following suit ‘not trying to fix the unfixable’ Human rights campaigners have condemned Utah’s decision to reinstate the firing squad as a viable form of capital punishment as “backward” and “brutalizing”. State governor Gary Herbert described the execution method as “a little bit gruesome” as he was signing a new law on Monday to allow it in cases where authorities are unable to administer a lethal injection. Utah had previously allowed death by firing squad as an unusual option that condemned prisoners could choose, but it will now use it as a compulsory fallback provision when the state has difficulty buying the drugs needed for lethal injection, because of supplier boycotts. “The Utah legislature should be expending its energies on abolishing the death penalty, not trying to fix the unfixable,” said Rob Freer, a US researcher with Amnesty International. He called the law “just the latest attempt by one of the more diehard death penalty states to keep alive a punishment it should have killed off long ago”. Freer pointed out that Utah was bucking the trend in the US where, since 2007, six states have abolished the death penalty and three more have declared a moratorium on executions. “Whether by shooting, lethal injection, hanging, asphyxiation or electrocution, the death penalty is a cruel, brutalizing and outdated punishment that is a symptom of violence, not a solution to it,” Freer added. The American Civil Liberties Union branch in Utah issued a statement saying the new law made the state look “backward – and backwoods”. “We believe all current methods of capital punishment violate the eighth amendment to the US constitution that outlaws cruel and unusual punishment, but this particular method, firing squad, seems very barbaric and something more associated with war,” said Karen McCreary, executive director of the ACLU of Utah, who testified to the state legislature against the adoption of the method. Utah’s new law allows the state to use a firing squad only if the lethal injection drugs are unavailable 30 days before an execution is scheduled to take place. “Those who voiced opposition to this bill are primarily arguing against capital punishment in general and that decision has already been made in our state,” said Marty Carpenter, spokesman for Herbert. “We regret anyone ever commits the heinous crime of aggravated murder to merit the death penalty, and we prefer to use our primary method of lethal injection when such a sentence is issued. However, when a jury makes the decision and a judge signs a death warrant, enforcing that lawful decision is the obligation of the executive branch.” The statement emphasised that lethal injection remains the primary method for carrying out executions in Utah. At a press conference last week, Herbert told reporters that he preferred the lethal injection method, but said “we need to have a fallback”. With lethal injections in short supply around the country, Utah is one of a handful of states returning to execution practices once abandoned for their gruesome nature. This year, lawmakers in Arkansas are considering a proposal to allow the firing squad, and in Oklahoma, a lawmaker there proposed a bill that would allow nitrogen case as an alternative to lethal injections. Other states have debated bringing back the electric chair. The firing squad as a form of state execution has only rarely been used in the US since the end of the civil war. The state eliminated execution by firing squad in 2004, but inmates condemned before then still have the option of choosing it. One of the guns was loaded with blanks, so no one would know who fired the fatal shot. While Utah is not currently expected to schedule another execution for several years, Herbert’s office said last week he had received hundreds of letters about the measure. A good chunk of the messages in opposition came from a campaign against the proposal by the American Civil Liberties Union, where individuals could write to the governor with a pre-written email. Gary Gilmore was executed by a Utah firing squad in 1977, having asked for that method after a moratorium on capital punishment was lifted in 1976, but a 2004 law made lethal injection the only valid form of execution. CLOSE Skip in Skip x Embed x Share As states try to cope with a shortage of lethal injection drugs, Utah became the first to officially bring back the firing squad. Video provided by Newsy Newsy This June 18, 2010, file photo shows the firing squad execution chamber at the Utah State Prison in Draper. Herbert has said he finds the firing squad "a little bit gruesome," but Utah is a capital punishment state and needs a backup execution method in case a shortage of the drugs persists. "We regret anyone ever commits the heinous crime of aggravated murder to merit the death penalty, and we prefer to use our primary method of lethal injection when such a sentence is issued," Herbert spokesman Marty Carpenter said. "However, when a jury makes the decision and a judge signs a death warrant, enforcing that lawful decision is the obligation of the executive branch." The measure's approval is the latest illustration of some states' frustration over bungled executions and difficulty obtaining the drugs. Utah is one of several states seeking new forms of capital punishment after a botched Oklahoma lethal injection last year. (Photo: AP) States have struggled to keep up their drug inventories as European manufacturers opposed to capital punishment refuse to sell the components of lethal injections to U.S. prisons. The bill's sponsor, Republican Rep. Paul Ray of Clearfield, argued that a team of trained marksmen is faster and more decent than the drawn-out deaths involved when lethal injections go awry — or even if they go as planned. Though Utah's next execution is probably a few years away, Ray said wants to settle on a backup method now so authorities are not racing to find a solution if the drug shortage drags on. Opponents of the measure say firing squads are barbaric, with the American Civil Liberties Union of Utah saying the bill makes the state "look backward and backwoods." (Photo: AP) Utah is the only state in the past 40 years to carry out such a death sentence, with three executions by firing squad since the U.S. Supreme Court reinstated the death penalty in 1976. Randy Gardner said he doesn't condone his brother's actions but believes the firing squad is barbaric.
How sweet. Their latest album, "2.0," arrived in 2013. Hide Caption 16 of 17 Here are some other boy bands to scream over. Malik said: "My life with One Direction has been more than I could ever have imagined. !!!!! That's the good side of it. Hide Caption 13 of 17 Photos: OMG, boy bands The Boys – The Boys released three albums between 1988 and 1992. The boy band has had many members over the years. The group has appeared on TV in the E! #thatters we've all been there haven't we ? 21.55 Breaking news just in. So Zayn was the first person just to crack up a little bit." Fans adore Harry Styles, Liam Payne, Niall Horan and Louis Tomlinson. Got home & daughters distraught @zaynmalik left 1D. Shown here at the 2000 MTV Movie Awards, the guys attracted attention with songs like "U + Me = Us (Calculus)" and "Say It (Don't Spray It)." Lots of people have pop stars or celebrities or actors who they hold in high esteem, and there is a lot of sadness and impact for people when something happens to any of them. We're looking forward to recording the new album and seeing all the fans on the next stage of the world tour." Would have been a difficult decision. Going from hotels to hotels, he probably didn't see light of day, he was just working, working, working. He's had an amazing time with the other guys.
Photos: OMG, boy bands *NSYNC – *NSYNC members Lance Bass, Chris Kirkpatrick, Justin Timberlake, JC Chasez and Joey Fatone struck gold in the United States with "I Want You Back" in 1998. Before they broke up in 2002, the group established a mega fan base with songs like "No Strings Attached" and "Bye, Bye, Bye." Although they're not together anymore, *NSYNC is as popular as ever; you should've heard the shrieking their reunion at the 2013 MTV Video Music Awards caused. Hide Caption 1 of 17 Photos: OMG, boy bands One Direction has become one of the world's most successful groups. In October, the group broke a chart record held by the Beatles before heading on a hiatus in December. Hide Caption 2 of 17 Photos: OMG, boy bands Backstreet Boys – In 1996, the Backstreet Boys released their debut album, "Backstreet's Back." "Millennium," "Black & Blue," "Never Gone," "Unbreakable" and "This Is Us" followed. McLean, Howie Dorough, Nick Carter and Brian Littrell. In March, they confirmed that they would be doing a limited Vegas residency as well as a new album and tour. Hide Caption 3 of 17 Photos: OMG, boy bands 5 Seconds of Summer – Luke Hemmings, Michael Clifford, Calum Hood and Ashton Irwin met in the Western Sydney suburbs and played their first gig as 5 Seconds of Summer at a Sydney hotel in 2011. They grew their fan base by posting videos on YouTube, and soon enough, they were opening for One Direction. Hide Caption 4 of 17 Photos: OMG, boy bands Westlife – Though they never made it big in the U.S., boy band Westlife was a huge hit in their native Ireland. They'd sold more than 50 million copies of their albums worldwide by the time they disbanded in 2012. Hide Caption 5 of 17 Photos: OMG, boy bands Boyzone – Sometimes considered the original Irish boy band, Boyzone was founded in 1993 and won many BRIT and Europe Music Awards. Hide Caption 6 of 17 Photos: OMG, boy bands New Kids on the Block – Danny Wood, Donnie Wahlberg, Jordan Knight, Joey McIntyre and Jonathan Knight of New Kids on the Block perform live in 2008. The group, which rose to superstardom in the late '80s and early '90s, reunited for 2008's "The Block" and 2011's "NKOTBSB" with the Backstreet Boys. The Kids released their box set "10" in 2013. Hide Caption 7 of 17 Photos: OMG, boy bands New Edition – Ralph Tresvant, Michael Bivins, Ronnie DeVoe, Ricky Bell, Bobby Brown and Johnny Gill of New Edition perform an homage to Michael Jackson during the 2009 BET Awards. The R&B group's albums include 1983's "Candy Girl" and 1988's "Heart Break," among others. Hide Caption 8 of 17 Photos: OMG, boy bands 98 Degrees – 98 Degrees perform in 1999, made up of brothers Nick and Drew Lachey, Justin Jeffre and Jeff Timmons. Hide Caption 9 of 17 Photos: OMG, boy bands Hanson – Isaac, Taylor and Zac Hanson of Hanson perform in 2001. The brothers became superstars with their 1997 album "Middle of Nowhere" thanks to a little earworm called "MMMBop." Hide Caption 10 of 17 Photos: OMG, boy bands The Wanted – The Wanted released their self-titled debut album in 2010, and by 2012 their song "Glad You Came" was inescapable. Jay McGuiness, Nathan Sykes, Max George, Siva Kaneswaran and Tom Parker, here after receiving a 2013 People's Choice award, are repped by Justin Bieber's manager Scooter Braun, so they know a thing or two about heartthrobbing. reality show "The Wanted Life," and their album "Word of Mouth" was released in September 2013. Hide Caption 12 of 17 Photos: OMG, boy bands 2gether – The made-for-TV boy band 2gether debuted on MTV in 2000. Shown here at the 2000 MTV Movie Awards, the guys attracted attention with songs like "U + Me = Us (Calculus)" and "Say It (Don't Spray It)." "2ge+her: The Series" followed the original TV movie, but ended in 2001 when member Michael Cuccione died of cancer. Hide Caption 13 of 17 Photos: OMG, boy bands The Boys – The Boys released three albums between 1988 and 1992. "Dial My Heart" was the debut single from brothers Khiry, Hakim, Tajh and Bilal Abdulsamad. The group, which came to be thanks to the first season of MTV's "Making the Band," is perhaps best known for the single "Liquid Dreams" in 2000. Made up of Rich Cronin, Devin Lima and Brad Fischetti, the boy band referenced New Kids on the Block and gave a shout out to girls who wear Abercrombie & Fitch on their single "Summer Girls."
for the post. He has left a major mark on this body, this country, and on so many who have met him, gotten to know him, and love him," Schumer said. Reid's choice jumps over the party's current No. He was elected Senate majority leader when Democrats took control of the chamber in 2007. Reid told The New York Times: "I want to be able to go out at the top of my game." Nevada Gov. Among those likely to replace Mr Reid in the leadership position are Illinois Senator Dick Durbin and New York Senator Chuck Schumer. “Harry has become not only an ally, but a friend,” Obama said Friday in a statement. But the good thing is that I'm going to leave this place at the same time." Image copyright Reuters Image caption Harry Reid has served in Congress for more than 30 years In his statement, he vowed to keep fighting for his party for his remaining 22 months in office. Mr Reid had a tough re-election fight in 2010 and could have faced another in 2016. The 75-year-old Nevadan made it clear that he was leaving on his own terms — not because of his accident, Senate Democrats' new minority status or worries about his upcoming reelection campaign. Activists immediately began drafting liberal Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) He wanted to regain his footing before moving forward with such a momentous decision. The accord is opposed by most Democratic lawmakers but supported by most Republicans. He said the men recounted their political battles together and reflected on what still needed to be accomplished before both leave office after next year's election.
Washington (CNN) Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid said Friday he won't seek reelection in 2016, and endorsed New York Sen. Charles Schumer as his successor for his leadership post. The fifth-term Nevada Democrat has spent months denying retirement rumors, which grew louder after he suffered serious injuries in an exercising accident on New Year's Day. He said in a video posted on Twitter and YouTube that the bruises were "nothing," but added that "this accident has caused us for the first time to have a little bit of downtime ... time to ponder and to think." President Barack Obama praised Reid on Friday, calling into an NPR interview that the Nevada senator was giving to say that Reid was "one of my best partners and best friends." "Harry is unique and he's got that curmudgeonly charm that is hard to replace," Obama told Nevada Public Radio. "I'm going to miss him. But the good thing is that I'm going to leave this place at the same time." "Well I'll be damned," Reid responded when he heard Obama was calling into the interview. Reid was a top GOP target and expecting a fierce reelection fight, and he says in the video that he feels it would be "inappropriate" for him to "soak up all those resources" while Democrats have a real shot at taking back the Senate. In an interview with The New York Times , Reid notes that many of Democrats' top targets are in big, expensive states, naming Pennsylvania, Missouri, Florida and Maryland as examples. "The decision I made has absolutely nothing to do with my injury, and it has nothing to do with my being majority leader, and it certainly has nothing to do with my ability to be reelected, because the path to reelection is much easier than it probably has been any time that I've run for reelection," he said in his video announcing his retirement. A member of Reid's staff tells CNN that the senator made the decision to retire with his family around Christmas, but told his staff that he wanted two months or so to sit on it before announcing it. He hesitated, however, because he didn't want the decision to be seen as a result of his injury. This aide says Reid has been telling people in private meetings that it's not so much about how he feels physically, which he says is great — the decision was based on how he would feel in eight years, which remains an open question. Reid, the source said, doesn't want to be one of the senators who's perceived to have stayed in the Senate past his prime. The notorious sports fan and boxer added: "I don't want to be a 42-year-old trying to become a designated hitter." In interviews Friday afternoon, Reid named Schumer as the person he'd like to replace him in his leadership post. "It's the caucus' decision, but he thinks (Sen.) Schumer has earned it," Reid's spokesman Adam Jentleson said, adding that Reid has also expressed his views to Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin, who was also considered a possible replacement. JUST WATCHED Sen. Harry Reid on his Nevada upbringing Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Sen. Harry Reid on his Nevada upbringing 02:26 A top Democrat on the Hill tells CNN that Schumer intended to start making calls later Friday morning to some of his fellow Democratic senators, trying to begin the process of succeeding Reid. Schumer issued a statement within minutes of the announcement praising Reid as "one of the best human beings I've ever met." "His character and fundamental decency are at the core of why he's been such a successful and beloved leader. He has left a major mark on this body, this country, and on so many who have met him, gotten to know him, and love him," Schumer said. The surprise retirement of Sen. Harry Reid, the gritty top Democrat in Congress, risks unraveling perhaps the biggest accomplishment of his combative decade in leadership: keeping unruly Democrats united in support of President Obama's agenda and rebuffing an overtly divided GOP. As recently as a few weeks ago, the former amateur boxer gave every indication he would seek reelection in 2016, despite a New Year's exercise mishap that left him nearly blinded in one eye. On Friday, the Capitol Hill veteran called it quits, suggesting he preferred to leave a legacy while still in his prime rather than overstay his effectiveness. The 75-year-old Nevadan made it clear that he was leaving on his own terms — not because of his accident, Senate Democrats' new minority status or worries about his upcoming reelection campaign. “I want to be remembered for when I was able to bat third or cleanup a lot of the time,” he said, sitting on a comfortable couch dressed in khakis, a gray cardigan and uncharacteristically colorful striped socks — his special sunglasses still protecting his injured eye. For Democrats, the challenge ahead is whether the post-Reid party can tamp down the growing ideological differences between liberal and more centrist Democrats, navigate a rare transfer of party leadership, and avoid the kind of infighting that has all but paralyzed their Republican colleagues. The timing is particularly sensitive as Democrats look toward the 2016 election, when they have a chance to regain the Senate majority after the Republican takeover this year. He said the men recounted their political battles together and reflected on what still needed to be accomplished before both leave office after next year's election. “I'm proud of all we have accomplished together, and I know the Senate will not be the same without him.” With Reid now positioned as a lame duck for the next two years, Obama may be losing a trusted ally if the minority leader's political influence begins to wane.
He added the family had only been in Gibraltar for a few days. Detectives and forensic teams, including a coroner, are investigating the flat, which has been cordoned off. Royal Gibraltar Police (RGP) said an investigation was being conducted by serious crime officers but they were not looking for anyone else involved. They found a 31-year-old British man, a a 37-year-old Spanish woman, a four-year-old girl and a six-week-old girl. The baby is believed to have been born in Spain, the newspaper reported. "We are trying to discover if they were here in transit to the UK or whether they were planning on staying for any length of time in Gibraltar," he said. A spokesman for the Foreign Office said it was looking into the reports. Picardo added: “Gibraltarians are not accustomed to witness this type of incident in our peaceful and law-abiding community. Words will fail us all at a moment like this and all we can do is keep the victims and their families in our thoughts." The couple and two children were found lifeless in a rented apartment off Governors Street, in the Boschetti's Steps area of the British Overseas Territory. They got no answer from within but noticed that the house was locked from inside and that sent a few alarm bells ringing, and they decided to call the police. Gibraltar Chief Minister Fabiano Picardo adjourned parliament until Wednesday after receiving news of the deaths. He added that officers are working to "establish the cause surrounding the untimely deaths of this young family and are encouraging anyone who maybe able to support the investigation to contact the duty officer of the Royal Gibraltar Police."
Image copyright Other Image caption Police officers stand guard near the scene A family of four has been found dead in a flat in Gibraltar, police in the British territory have said. A 31-year-old British man, a 37-year-old Spanish woman, a girl aged four and another who was six weeks old were found in the Boschetti's Steps area. Royal Gibraltar Police (RGP) said an investigation was being conducted by serious crime officers but they were not looking for anyone else involved. RGP said officers were alerted to the incident at 11:35 local time (10:35 BST) after a member of staff from the apartment letting agency called at the property. "They got no answer from within but noticed that the house was locked from inside and that sent a few alarm bells ringing and they decided to call the police," a spokesman said. "At the moment what we are doing is trying to get as much background information from both the Spanish and the UK sides of the family." 'Total shock' A Home Office forensic pathologist is expected to travel to Gibraltar in the next couple of days to carry out a post-mortem examination. "As a husband and father, I - like no doubt all Gibraltarians and residents of Gibraltar - am in total shock to hear about this terrible crime," he said in a statement. A couple and two children, including a baby, have been found dead with stab wounds in an apparent murder-suicide in an apartment in Gibraltar. The British man involved was originally from Liverpool, according to police sources quoted by El Mundo newspaper. The newspaper said the four-year-old girl was believed to be the woman’s daughter from a previous relationship, while the baby had been born in Spain. However, there are still inquiries being conducted to locate close relatives of the family and as you may understand it is for this reason that the identities of the deceased are not being disclosed.” The spokesman said he understood that next of kin in the UK have been informed of the tragedy. Asked how the police were alerted, he said: “A member of staff of the company that was letting out the flat, which is a rental property, attended the residence. They got no answer from within but noticed that the house was locked from inside and that sent a few alarm bells ringing, and they decided to call the police. “At this present moment in time, a full investigation is being conducted by officers of the serious crime unit to establish the cause surrounding the untimely deaths of this young family and are encouraging anyone who maybe able to support the investigation to contact the duty officer of the Royal Gibraltar police. @RGPolice tell journalists natural causes ruled out in #BoschettiSteps, but it's too soon to speculate whether this was a multiple homicide “Presently, we are not looking for anyone involved in this very unfortunate event, but the investigation will be thorough and detailed drawing in on the expertise of other professionals. Her Majesty’s coroner has already been informed and has visited the scene.” Police commissioner Eddie Yome declined to comment on the cause of death, saying it would be speculation at this stage. A family of four, including a baby, have been found dead with stab wounds in a flat in Gibraltar. Police who attended the residence at around 11:35 this morning found the bodies of a 31-year-old British man, a 37-year-old Spanish woman, a four-year old girl of Spanish nationality and a six-week-old baby girl. Officers have told the El Mundo newspaper that the British man was from Liverpool, while the four-year-old girl was believed to be the woman's daughter from a previous relationship.
once said. Brady is survived by her and Jim’s son, James “Scott” Brady, Jr., and her stepdaughter, Melissa “Missy” Brady Camins. "The gun lobby is wrong. Sarah was a champion for gun violence prevention and her commitment and fiery compassion will live on." Brady, who became involved in campaigning after her husband was shot in the head in the assassination attempt on President Reagan, has died of pneumonia Sarah Kemp Brady, who became an activist for gun control after her husband was shot in the head in the assassination attempt on President Ronald Reagan, has died. Then it hit her: Jim was hurt, too. Brady was chairwoman of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence (formerly Handgun Control Inc.), the nation's largest citizens' lobby for tougher handgun regulation. She was 73. Also injured were a Secret Service agent and a Washington patrolman. Brady was confused: Why would her friend want to take care of Scott? But just give us the laws that we need to keep guns out of the hands of criminals and out of the hands of children." The NRA, which battled the Brady bill for years, found its match in the blunt and irreverent former schoolteacher whose life was transformed by tragedy. Soon she was standing on the sidewalk outside their home, waiting for a White House car to speed her to George Washington University Hospital. The organization did not specify a cause of death. “Sarah courageously stepped up after Jim was shot to prevent others from enduring what our family has gone through, and her work has saved countless lives,” the family’s statement said.
Brady, who became involved in campaigning after her husband was shot in the head in the assassination attempt on President Reagan, has died of pneumonia Sarah Kemp Brady, who became an activist for gun control after her husband was shot in the head in the assassination attempt on President Ronald Reagan, has died. Brady, 73, died in a retirement community in Alexandria, Virginia on Friday after battling pneumonia, family members said in an email. Brady’s husband, former White House press secretary James Brady, died on 4 August, also at the age of 73. The 1981 assassination attempt on Reagan by John Hinckley Jr left James Brady partially paralyzed. Four years later, Sarah Brady became involved in gun control. “Sarah courageously stepped up after Jim was shot to prevent others from enduring what our family has gone through, and her work has saved countless lives,” the family’s statement said. “Sarah was a voice of strength, love and encouragement, and she inspired others, showing that one person could make a difference and change the world — which she did.” Dan Gross, president of Brady Campaign, called Sarah Brady “its guiding light”. “There are countless people walking around today who would not be were it not for Sarah Brady’s remarkable resilience, compassion,” Gross said. In a statement emailed by the Reagan Foundation, she wrote: “Just over 34 years ago, we shared an experience that bonded us for life, as we comforted each other in a tiny, windowless office at the George Washington University hospital emergency room, while awaiting word about whether our husbands would survive the horrific gunshots that had brought them there.” After the 1981 assassination attempt on President Ronald Reagan, nearly everyone knew that White House spokesman James Brady had been shot in the head and partially paralyzed in the attack by a mentally deranged assailant, John W. Hinckley Jr. But that wasn't why his wife, Sarah, became a warrior in a daunting political fight. During a visit to her husband's hometown in Illinois in the summer of 1985, a friend gave Brady and her then-6-year-old son, Scott, a ride in his truck. On the seat Scott found what he thought was a toy gun and waved it around. "Except it wasn't a toy gun," Brady grimly recalled. She carefully removed from his hand a loaded .22-caliber pistol, a cheap Saturday night special much like the one Hinckley had used to shoot her husband. Her friend was blasé about the incident and said he needed the gun for protection, but Brady was enraged by his carelessness. Notable Deaths Photos of leaders, stars and other notable figures who died in 2015. "Hi, you don't know me," she told the person at the other end of the line, "but my name's Sarah Brady and I'm going to make it my life's ambition to put you out of business." Brady, who became the nation's most prominent citizens' advocate for tighter handgun regulation and successfully pushed for passage of a historic bill aimed at keeping guns away from unqualified buyers, died Friday at a retirement home in Alexandria, Va., after a bout of pneumonia, her family said in a statement. A self-professed cigarette addict, she had been diagnosed with advanced lung cancer in early 2000. She underwent several rounds of chemotherapy, radiation and experimental treatments and defied the prognosis that had given her no more than a 30% chance of surviving five years. Brady was chairwoman of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence (formerly Handgun Control Inc.), the nation's largest citizens' lobby for tougher handgun regulation. Her husband became a potent symbol of the struggle and was by her side in 1993 when President Bill Clinton signed the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act, which imposed background checks and a seven-day waiting period on prospective gun buyers. The most significant change in federal firearms regulation in a generation, the Brady law has blocked more than 2 million sales to felons and others who do not meet the requirements of gun ownership, according to the Justice Department's Bureau of Justice Statistics. The law only restricts sales by licensed firearms dealers and not secondary sales by individuals online or at gun shows, the route researchers say is favored by many criminals seeking firearms. The NRA, which battled the Brady bill for years, found its match in the blunt and irreverent former schoolteacher whose life was transformed by tragedy. He called her efforts to change the nation's gun laws "an extraordinary national service." "The gun lobby likes to say that Jim and I are trying to take guns away from hunters and sportsmen," Brady said some years ago. Around 2 p.m., she was watching a favorite soap opera when a bulletin broke in: Shots had been fired at the president. At the hospital, doctors saw gray matter seep from the wound, a sign that his condition could be beyond hope. A neurosurgeon told Sarah Brady that only 1 in 10 survived the surgery her husband needed to repair the damage to his brain. After he died last year at age 73, the coroner ruled his death a homicide resulting from the wounds sustained in the shooting.
We are not doing that again. He said it was “a win for the community, a win for individuals doing the volunteering, and a win for companies”. The party’s manifesto says that a Labour government would legislate to introduce a new “local policing commitment” which would guarantee neighbourhood policing in every area. The Survation poll also showed that more voters approved of the way Miliband was doing his job as party leader over the past month than David Cameron. Cooper said that her package to safeguard 10,000 police officer jobs over the next three years would mean scrapping the expensive police and crime commissioners, halving the cost of police governance and ending the police subsidy of gun licences. Even one in two Conservatives are in favour of the plans, with just 20% against. The Prime Minister will say the pledge is “clearest demonstration of the Big Society in action”. Reiterating her stance, Sturgeon said on Thursday: “We will not vote for anything that facilitates the renewal of Trident. We will ensure victims are at the heart of the criminal justice system with the country’s first ever victims’ law. Currently full-time UK workers are entitled to 28 days’ paid leave a year, including bank holidays. Facebook Twitter Pinterest Ed Miliband says Michael Fallon has demeaned himself “I’ve got to say, I think the British people deserve better than what the Conservative party are offering in this campaign, which is a campaign based on deceit and lies. National security is too important to play politics with and I will never compromise national security”. And it’s good for our society too, as it will strengthen communities and the bonds between us.
Half of the UK workforce would be given three days’ paid leave each year to volunteer, under Conservative plans unveiled on Friday. Every public sector worker and anyone working in a company with at least 250 employees – more than 15 million people in total - would be entitled to the volunteering leave, David Cameron is expected to announce. Currently full-time UK workers are entitled to 28 days’ paid leave a year, including bank holidays. The Conservatives propose new legislation to increase that to 28 days’ paid leave plus three days for volunteering. Workers could use the paid leave to carry out charity work or other activities such as serving as a school governor, under the plans, which would create up to an extra 360 million volunteering hours. David Cameron said: “This election is about building a better future for our children and grandchildren. “That’s why today’s announcement is a double win. “This is the clearest demonstration of the Big Society in action – and I’m proud it’s a Conservative Government that will deliver it.” The Big Society was one of Mr Cameron's flagship ideas to empower local communities, but has been criticised for lack of substance. A series of high profile business figures welcomed the new plans for paid volunteering leave. He said it was “a win for the community, a win for individuals doing the volunteering, and a win for companies”. Peter Cheese, chief executive at the CIPD, the professional body for the HR industry, said: "Our research shows that corporate volunteering benefits society, as well as businesses through building stronger roots with the communities they work in and serve, and engaging and developing new skills in their employees. It's great to see this agenda being championed." It is a win win for everyone concerned” Bear Grylls, the adventurer and TV presenter, also backed the plans, saying: “Firm Government support that enables millions to volunteer is a huge step forward towards building solid communities all around the UK.” However, not everyone supported the idea. Lisa Nandy, Labour’s Shadow Minister for Civil Society, said: “Giving every public servant three extra days off could cost millions of pounds but there’s no sense of how it will be paid for. If just half of public sector workers took this up it would be the time equivalent of around 2,000 nurses, 800 police and almost 3,000 teachers." Party’s crime and justice manifesto also promises a new victims’ law and a commissioner to address sexual and domestic violence An £800m plan to protect neighbourhood policing and safeguard the jobs of 10,000 police officers over the next three years is to be outlined by the shadow home secretary, Yvette Cooper, on Friday. The “efficiency savings” are to be funded by scrapping elected police and crime commissioners, ending the subsidy of the gun licensing system and by making police forces share back-office and procurement services. We will ensure victims are at the heart of the criminal justice system with the country’s first ever victims’ law Ed Miliband Labour’s crime and justice manifesto will create a victims’ law, make prisons places of hard work and learning, ban the sale of “legal highs” from the streets and establish of a new commissioner to tackle sexual and domestic violence. The Association of Chief Police Officers warned last November that a further 20% cut in Home Office funding over the next parliament could see more than 34,000 police jobs, including 22,000 officers, disappear out of a total workforce of 205,000. The Home Office is one of the most vulnerable unprotected departments in the new round of spending cuts that is expected after the next election, whatever its outcome. The number of police officers in England and Wales has already fallen by 16,000 as a result of the first round of austerity cuts from a peak of 141,600 at the time of the last election to 125,400 a year ago. The Conservatives have not said where they will find the next round of cuts in the Home Office budget beyond the home secretary, Theresa May, talking about the need to integrate police, fire and ambulance services and to equip officers with body-worn video cameras and smartphone apps to save time. Cooper said that her package to safeguard 10,000 police officer jobs over the next three years would mean scrapping the expensive police and crime commissioners, halving the cost of police governance and ending the police subsidy of gun licences. Labour said the cancellation of next year’s police and crime commissioner elections would save £50m, with a further £25m a year saved by replacing them with a “leaner local government alternative”. The document is not expected to spell out what that alternative is, but the Stephens commission on policing set up by Labour ruled out a return to unelected police authorities. Instead it proposed policing boards made up of local council leaders within each force area, who would have the power to hire and fire chief constables and set budgets. The remaining cost of funding 10,000 police officers would come from a sum of £38m a year achieved from full cost recovery for gun licences, implementing the late night levy on clubs and pubs and increases in fees for driver education courses. The party claims that £172m in the first year, rising to £443m in year three, can be saved by compulsory joint procurement among police forces, and that £64m in year one, rising to £313m in year three, can be saved by mandating shared services between forces. Commenting on the crime and justice manifesto, the party leader, Ed Miliband, said: “Neighbourhood policing – the foundation of good policing – is at risk of disappearing, while increasing numbers of serious criminals are being left off the hook. And we will ensure the police have the powers they need to keep us safe, including proper controls for dangerous terror suspects.” The manifesto will outline plans to set up a new Whitehall child protection unit and new powers to prevent an adult contacting or communicating with a child if there is evidence of abuse. It wants to ban the use of “community resolutions” in domestic violence cases and ensure all young people are taught about healthy relationships by introducing age-appropriate sex and relationship education in all state-funded schools. The polls were all conducted before the Tories launched a raw personalised attack on the Labour leader on Thursday, accusing him of being willing to stab the country in the back and abandon Trident, Britain’s independent nuclear deterrent, to gain power. With the election four weeks away, Conservative sources insisted their steady warnings about the risk of Miliband in Downing Street would strike home and that previous Labour poll leads had failed to last.
It is, nevertheless, powerful and all-consuming. Our party will win again." He said: "This is Wales, this is meant to be Labour's pasture but the Welsh Conservatives are really here and here to stay. Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption BBC Scotland's Andrew Kerr rounds-up the winners and losers in the general election in Scotland The SNP has recorded a historic landslide general election victory in Scotland, winning 56 out of 59 seats. But UKIP's share leapt from 2% to 14%, while the Liberal Democrat's plunged from 20% to 6%. Mr Kennedy had held the seat for 32 years. The Conservative leader is now beginning the process of putting together the new government. The Conservatives have 331 seats - five more than needed for a Commons majority - their first such victory since 1992. Image copyright Jeff J Mitchell Image caption Ms Sturgeon has arrived at the Glasgow count, where the SNP has won all seven seats Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Alex Salmond will be returning to Westminster after winning in Gordon Image copyright Reuters Image caption Jim Murphy is facing calls to resign as Scottish Labour leader after losing his East Renfrewshire seat to the SNP Image copyright LESLEY MARTIN Image caption Mhairi Black has become the UK's youngest MP at the age of 20 after defeating Douglas Alexander Image caption Danny Alexander was one of the big names to lose his seat Analysis by James Cook, Scotland correspondent David Cameron is back in Downing Street but at what price? He said he was glad that people in Wales had rejected the "narrow nationalism" of Plaid Cymru but added that the results "show that we need to do much more to win back support from people across the country".
Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption David Cameron: ''Together we can make Great Britain greater still" David Cameron has promised to lead a government for "one nation" and make "Great Britain greater" as he returned to Downing Street as prime minister. Speaking outside No 10 after visiting Buckingham Palace, he said the UK was "on the brink of something special". The Conservatives have 331 seats - five more than needed for a Commons majority - their first such victory since 1992. Mr Cameron's rivals Ed Miliband, Nick Clegg and Nigel Farage have all resigned after election disappointment. The Conservative leader is now beginning the process of putting together the new government. Image caption The three party leaders appeared together for the last time at the VE Day commemorations Mr Cameron said he would reach out to all parts of the UK and strive to "bring the country together" in the wake of the SNP's election landslide in Scotland - where it won 56 of the 59 seats. In other election developments: The Conservatives' victory means they will be able to govern without the need for a coalition or a formal agreement with other parties. Mr Cameron said he had spoken to both Mr Miliband and Mr Clegg, paying tribute to the latter's contribution to the coalition government over the past five years. Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Ed Miliband: ''It is time for someone else to take forward the leadership of this party'' Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Nick Clegg: "I must take responsibility and therefore I announce that I will be resigning as leader of the Liberal Democrats'' Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Nigel Farage: "Part of me is happier than I have felt for many, many years" Speaking in Downing Street, he said: "We will govern as a party of one nation, one United Kingdom. "That means ensuring this recovery reaches all parts of our country, from north to south, to east to west." He said he would press ahead with devolution of powers to all nations as well as referendum on the UK's EU membership. "I have always believed in governing with respect," he said "That's why in the last parliament we devolved power to Scotland and Wales, and gave the people of Scotland a referendum on whether to stay inside the United Kingdom. Analysis by BBC experts Norman Smith on David Cameron's colossal achievement Nick Robinson on the result no-one saw coming Mark Easton on a nation divided Jonny Dymond on how the Conservatives won their historic victory Jonny Dymond on where next for Labour Brian Taylor on what next for Scotland Robert Peston on market reaction to the result James Cook on the implications for the United Kingdom Katya Adler on the reaction from Europe David Cowling on how the pollsters got it so wrong Newsnight reporters and producers' rolling election analysis "In this parliament I will stay true to my word and implement as fast as I can the devolution that all parties agreed for Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland." George Osborne has also been given the title first secretary of state, giving him seniority over other cabinet ministers. He said the Conservatives had been "given a mandate to get on with the work we started five years ago" and would follow the "clear instructions" of the British public. 'Dark hour' Speaking at Labour's London headquarters, Mr Miliband said he had phoned David Cameron to congratulate him on his victory. He said he would step down as leader with immediate effect after Labour won 26 fewer seats than in 2010, adding that deputy leader Harriet Harman would succeed him pending a leadership contest. Image copyright Reuters Image caption Ed Balls was one of the night's highest-profile casualties Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Four ministers have been reappointed to the senior offices of state Image copyright Getty Images Image caption But Boris Johnson is backed in Parliament and tipped for a ministerial role Labour, he said, needed an "open and honest debate about the way forward without constraints". "I am truly sorry that I did not succeed," he told party supporters. "I have done my best for nearly five years." He added: "Britain needs a strong Labour Party. Announcing his own exit as leader after more than seven years, Mr Clegg said the results - which saw his party reduced from 57 to eight seats - were the most "crushing blow" to the Liberal Democrats since they were formed in the late 1980s. "This is a very dark hour for our party," he told party supporters in London. Our party will win again." Jean-Claude Juncker, president of the European Commission, said he would work constructively with the new UK government and would consider "proposals, ideas or requests" about the UK's membership "in a very polite, friendly and objective way". 2015 election results map Image caption Conservatives won 331 seats and Labour 232 - followed by the SNP with 56 seats out of 59 in Scotland Full results service Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption BBC Scotland's Andrew Kerr rounds-up the winners and losers in the general election in Scotland The SNP has recorded a historic landslide general election victory in Scotland, winning 56 out of 59 seats. In East Renfrewshire, the SNP's Kirsten Oswald defeated Mr Murphy - who had been defending a majority of 10,400 - by 3,718 votes. Despite former Labour MP Ian Davidson - who lost his Glasgow South West seat to the SNP's Christopher Stephens - calling for Mr Murphy to resign he told a news conference on Friday morning that he would "continue the fight". Mhairi Black, who becomes the UK's youngest MP at the age of 20, overturned former shadow foreign secretary Douglas Alexander's majority of 16,600 in Paisley and Renfrewshire South to win by 5,684 votes - a swing of 27% from Labour to the SNP. It tells us nothing about independence - other than the fact that the people of Scotland were not seemingly scared to endorse a party whose reason for being is to end the Union. SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon, who is now in London for VE Day commemorations, said she had hoped her party would do well but "never in my wildest dreams would I have imagined we'd win 56 out of Scotland's 59 MPs".
It means cool, wicked, sick." Nigel Farage is the leader of the UK Independence Party He added: "For those reasons there are a lot of angry UKIP people out there. By Friday its share of the vote had risen to almost 13% - some 3.8 million votes - and while the party won only one seat, it came second or third in dozens of others. Mr Farage failed in his bid to win South Thanet, which was retained by the Conservatives. Image copyright PA It was a turbulent time for UKIP but in that year's elections it had increased its number of MEPs to 12. But he said he would consider running for the job again when the leadership contest is held in September. I’m proud that Ukip fought the most positive election campaign of all the parties up until May 7th. Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Nigel Farage: "Part of me is happier than I have felt for many, many years" During the general election campaign, it was over TV debate comments he made about migrants using the NHS for expensive HIV treatment. I decided that as much as I had earned my holidays. This inspired affection and respect among those who agreed with him on core messages about cutting immigration and leaving the European Union. Even more driven than I was before. And so it proved, when he lost out to Conservative Craig Mackinlay by almost 3,000 votes. I wanted evidence, I wanted options. And with a referendum on Britain's membership of the EU on the horizon, that situation is likely to continue for the foreseeable future.
I’m proud that Ukip fought the most positive election campaign of all the parties up until May 7th. We had a message, “Believe in Britain” that we know resonated with more than four million people across this country. Contrast that to the other parties, who used scare tactics about our NHS, about the Scottish Nationalists, and about Britain’s membership of the European Union. These are the points I had to consider today, when Ukip’s National Executive Committee met and discussed my resignation. I had promised in my book, the Purple Revolution , that if I lost in the South Thanet constituency, I would stand down as Ukip leader. This might have accounted for how much negativity the Labour Party, the Conservative Party, and the trade unions threw at me in that seat over the past few months. It was only about 20 minutes after the results in South Thanet had come in, that I stood on the cliffs outside the Botany Bay Hotel, surrounded by the nation’s media, and confirmed that I would be handing my resignation to the National Executive Committee today. What followed was something that had crossed my mind, but that I had never truly expected. UKIP’s NEC overwhelmingly refused my resignation, citing the party membership support as a reason for which I should stay on. I was left in a situation that made it clear; there was only one person the NEC wanted for the job, and the party membership was in support. So, I breathed deep, and thought for as long as I possibly had, given the meeting was ongoing, and still is, at my time of writing this. As much as I wanted to spend the summer fishing, walking, and of course, in the European Parliament where all hell is currently breaking loose – that I owed it to the party that got me here. • Nigel Farage: If I lose South Thanet, it's curtains for me There are some huge battles about to take place, and as much as I had thought that taking at least the summer off was in my best interests, I realise now that the party comes before me, and indeed, that this country comes before both. That’s why I’ll be as outspoken as I was during the election campaign on the new EU proposals for Mediterranean migrant quotas – which I highlighted during a trip to Strasbourg in the last week of the campaign, only for the issue to be ignored by most in the media. It’s why Ukip will focus its energies on the ideas of electoral reform – because 4 million people voted UKIP at this election and were rewarded with just one Member of Parliament, when just 1.4 million voted for the SNP, and were rewarded with 56 MPs. And it’s why, with a European Referendum potentially on the horizon, I feel the need to stay involved for just a little bit longer, to add my voice to those who want Britain to be a country that trades and deals with the world, rather than ties itself to a post-WWII mind set about Europe and the political union. Again, I’m proud that the statistics prove that UKIP fought a positive campaign at the General Election, and I want to go on providing positive solutions for Britain going forward. Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Nigel Farage: "Part of me is happier than I have felt for many, many years" Nigel Farage has resigned as leader of UKIP having failed to gain the seat of Thanet South, losing out to Conservative candidate Craig Mackinlay. Speaking about his defeat, he insisted he had "never felt happier", with a "weight lifted off his shoulders". Image copyright AP Image caption Mr Farage and comedian Al Murray both lost out to Conservative Craig Mackinlay in Thanet South "It is bankrupt because one party can get 50% of the vote in Scotland and nearly 100% of the seats, and our party can get 4 million votes and just one seat." They're not giving up on UKIP, but absolutely determined that we get a fairer, more reflective system." The Nigel Farage story Image copyright Getty Images On the eve of polling day, UKIP leader Nigel Farage told interviewers he would be "for the chop" if he failed to get elected in the Kent seat of South Thanet. While the self-styled leader of the purple "People's Army" will mourn the death of his dream, Mr Farage will doubtless take consolation in the party's transformation under his stewardship. In full: The Nigel Farage story Mr Farage claimed there was a new type of UKIP voter - predominantly working class, very much younger than before, and in particular young women now voting for the party. "There will be a leadership election for the next leader of UKIP in September and I will consider over the course of this summer whether to put my name forward to do that job again," he said. He also said he would recommend Suzanne Evans, the deputy chairman, to be stand-in leader until the leadership challenge is complete. Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Mark Reckless: "Today a majority of people in Rochester and Strood have decided to hire someone else" He had represented the Kent constituency for the Conservatives from 2010 until switching allegiance to UKIP and beating Ms Tolhurst at last November's by-election. Mr Reckless told reporters: "I always knew what I was doing was a risk but nobody should underestimate UKIP's achievement." Image copyright AP On the eve of polling day, UKIP leader Nigel Farage told interviewers he would be "for the chop" if he failed to get elected in the Kent seat of South Thanet. But that decision was short-lived - the party refused his resignation - and he remains at the helm of the party he has transformed from a fringe group to a major force in British politics. By Friday its share of the vote had risen to almost 13% - some 3.8 million votes - and while the party won only one seat, it came second or third in dozens of others. Much of that success has been driven by media-friendly Mr Farage, a picture editor's dream when snapped grinning with pint or cigarette (sometimes both) in hand. Image copyright Getty Images His "man in the pub" image and disdain for political correctness left him free to attack rivals for being mechanical and overly on-message. Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Nigel Farage: "Part of me is happier than I have felt for many, many years" During the general election campaign, it was over TV debate comments he made about migrants using the NHS for expensive HIV treatment.
And we have to examine that. "The Scottish Labour party will rise again. So as Mr Murphy bows out, who could replace him? It will be under someone else's leadership and I am confident about my party's future." The union leader said that it would be up to Scottish Labour members to choose a new leader. He lost his seat in last week's general election as the SNP won 56 of the 59 Scottish seats, leaving Labour with a single MP in Scotland. She added: "Both left on police arrival. Image copyright PA Image caption Jim Murphy was elected leader of Scottish Labour in December last year Supporters of Scottish Labour leader Jim Murphy have been asked to sign a letter giving him their backing. "Today I received more support in the executive vote than I did from members of the executive when I stood for election five months ago." A 'cleanskin' - as the politicos put it - may well help re-connect with voters. We need to work together to rebuild our movement and regain the trust of the people of Scotland." It is the destructive behaviour of one high profile trade unionist. Unite's Len McCluskey said the "anti-Scottish card" played by the Tories also led to Labour losses in England. Former Aberdeen South MP Dame Anne Begg is thought to be among those who have given Mr Murphy their support. He has said he is confident of retaining the leadership, despite mounting calls for him to stand aside. But leaves a tough gig for whoever comes next." Mr Murphy had been an MP for the East Renfrewshire area since 1997.
Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Jim Murphy says he will stand down as leader in June Scottish Labour leader Jim Murphy is to resign next month, he has announced. It comes despite Mr Murphy narrowly surviving a vote of no confidence at a meeting of the party's national executive in Glasgow. Mr Murphy said he would tender his resignation alongside a plan to reform the party. He lost his seat in last week's general election as the SNP won 56 of the 59 Scottish seats, leaving Labour with a single MP in Scotland. Mr Murphy said he wanted to have a successor as leader in place by the summer, and confirmed he would not be standing for a seat at the Scottish Parliament in next year's election. Instead, he said it was time to "do something else" and that he believed the party would continue to be divided if he remained as leader. His deputy, Kezia Dugdale MSP, will become acting leader until a permanent successor is found. 'Divide the party' Mr Murphy had faced calls to resign from several MSPs, trade unions and former MPs in the wake of his party's near wipeout at the general election. He insisted he had decided to stand down ahead of the national executive voting by 17-14 in favour of him staying in the job. Speaking at a media conference after the national executive meeting, he said: "It is clear that a small minority who didn't accept my election as leader of the Scottish Labour Party just five months ago won't accept the vote of the executive today and that will continue to divide the party. "Today I received more support in the executive vote than I did from members of the executive when I stood for election five months ago." He said it would be up to the executive whether to accept the reforms he would be proposing before he left the post. But he warned: "A party in such urgent need of reform blocks those changes at its peril." Image copyright PA Image caption Mr Murphy was met by protestors as he arrived for the Scottish Labour national executive meeting in Glasgow Image copyright Reuters Image caption Mr Murphy lost his East Renfrewshire seat to the SNP's Kirsten Oswald in the general election The former East Renfrewshire MP said Labour had been crushed between "two nationalisms" in Scotland and England. Mr Murphy said he left no legacy of bitterness for anyone in the Labour Party, and the only person he was angry at was the person who blamed Scottish Labour for the party's UK-wide general election defeat - a reference to Unite leader Len McCluskey. And he said that in many ways Scottish Labour was the "least modernised part of the Labour movement" and that he wanted his successor to be elected under a one member, one vote system. Mr Murphy added: "The Labour Party's problem is not the link with trade unions, or even the relationship with Unite members - far from it. "The leader of the Scottish Labour Party doesn't serve at the grace of Len McCluskey, and the next leader of the UK Labour Party should not be picked by Len McCluskey." Mr McCluskey has been a vocal critic of Mr Murphy's leadership and opposed his appointment in December when Mr Murphy won the contest to replace Johann Lamont. Analysis by Andrew Kerr, BBC Scotland political correspondent Jim Murphy laughed and joked with Scottish Labour's sole MP as he made his way down the hotel corridor to announce his resignation. He certainly brought energy and dynamism to his election campaign - but all that achieved was Ian Murray in Edinburgh South. Maybe the party's finance spokeswoman Jackie Baillie thinks her steady hand could steer the ship. Jenny Marra is also often talked about as future face of the party. Whoever steps into Jim Murphy's red shoes he or she will have to face a difficult 2016 Holyrood election, to put it mildly. Mr Murphy was very much a creature of "New Labour" - but to today's generation that's old Labour. A 'cleanskin' - as the politicos put it - may well help re-connect with voters. That's a long way from now though - even some of the party's opponents may view this latest train wreck with a modicum of sympathy. Ms Lamont had resigned after claiming Scottish Labour was treated like a "branch office" by the London-based party leadership. It will be under someone else's leadership and I am confident about my party's future." She added: "As a cabinet minister and leader of his party in Scotland, Jim has been a hugely important figure in the Labour Party. Labour peer Lord McConnell, a former Scottish first minister, said the party's problems were "much deeper than one individual and one affiliate". "We have a problem with our political positioning in the post devolution age where the party particularly at the UK level has never been comfortable with success in the Scottish parliament and has always tried to see things through a UK prism rather than a Scottish prism. The meeting of Scottish Labour's executive was disrupted by protesters who entered the party's headquarters. Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption "I think Jim (Murphy) and his colleagues should just leave the scene," said Unite's Len McCluskey The boss of the Unite union has called on Scottish Labour leader Jim Murphy to resign for "making certain" the Conservatives won the general election.
Topics: abbott-tony, defence-and-national-security, security-intelligence, terrorism, immigration, community-and-society, australia First posted Abbott said he had not put a deadline on those talks. Government promises laws to strip citizenship from dual-nationality terrorists within weeks, amid debate within Cabinet Updated The Federal Government will legislate "within weeks" to strip dual-nationality terrorists of their Australian citizenship, but the Prime Minister says Australia has "no intention" of applying similar moves to Australians with no other citizenship. Shorten also said people who have gone overseas to be foreign fighters should face the full force of the law. However the children would be treated separately and could end up in family care, Dutton told the Nine Network on Wednesday. Mr Christensen has confirmed his comments to the ABC. This will begin with the release of a discussion paper for community feedback on Tuesday. There is no indication Sharrouf himself is looking to return. The government’s first step will be to put a bill to parliament in June to deal with dual nationals. The new laws will apply to dual-national Australian citizens who fight with or support terrorist groups at home or abroad. It is suspected that the business was sending up to A$20m to countries neighbouring the conflict zone to finance terrorism,” it added, without providing details on the neighbouring countries. "Because this is something which one of our principle partners and allies does, I expect it's something that may be canvassed in the discussion paper," he said. The concern expressed by several ministers was that the proposal did not have sufficient due process for withdrawing such a substantial right. Reports about the money transfer business linked to Sharrouf’s family have cited much lower estimates for funds sent to the Middle East than the A$20m described in the UN panel’s report.
Government promises laws to strip citizenship from dual-nationality terrorists within weeks, amid debate within Cabinet Updated The Federal Government will legislate "within weeks" to strip dual-nationality terrorists of their Australian citizenship, but the Prime Minister says Australia has "no intention" of applying similar moves to Australians with no other citizenship. The new laws will apply to dual-national Australian citizens who fight with or support terrorist groups at home or abroad. "As flagged by me in my national security statement in February, we will be legislating within a few weeks to strip dual citizens involved in terrorism of their Australian citizenship," Tony Abbott announced this afternoon. Under the proposal, the immigration minister will have the power to remove a dual-national's Australian citizenship but it will subject to judicial review and oversight from the Federal Court. "I want to stress we will be ensuring that as far as we can humanly make it, no-one becomes stateless, and any decision by the minister to strip someone of their citizenship, to strip a dual national of Australian citizenship, will be subject to due judicial review," Mr Abbott said. The ABC has confirmed there was a robust discussion in Cabinet over the proposal that an Australian citizen, who has no other citizenship, might have it withdrawn. Mr Abbott and Immigration Minister Peter Dutton were described as "gung ho" regarding the idea Mr Dutton be given the power to withdraw citizenship from someone "suspected" of being a terrorist. Sorry, this video has expired Video: Government divided about removing citizenship of foreign fighters without dual nationality (7.30) "As you would expect, in the course of Cabinet discussion a whole lot of points are made; invariably good points but Cabinet comes to a unanimous view. "Every contribution was a good one, and no-one opposed what the Government was intending to do." The concern expressed by several ministers was that the proposal did not have sufficient due process for withdrawing such a substantial right. Asked about the issue, Mr Abbott said he was "open to all mechanisms which are consistent with a free and fair and tolerant society that will help this Government to keep Australians as safe as we possibly can". "So I'm certainly open, but at this stage, I'm not flagging any particular intention by the Government," he said. Earlier, Mr Dutton explained to Macquarie Radio how a British law allowing authorities to strip sole citizens of their nationality would work if applied in Australia. "The way in which it operates in the UK is to say, well, you were born in Australia to parents who have moved here from another country," he said. "They've been naturalised, you've been born in our country, but because of your birth right you have the ability to make application to your home country, if you like, for citizenship." Mr Abbott said the idea would likely be considered by the discussion paper due for release today, but reiterated that it was not part of the Government's immediate plans. "Because this is something which one of our principle partners and allies does, I expect it's something that may be canvassed in the discussion paper," he said. Veteran Liberal MP Philip Ruddock and senator Concetta Fierravante-Wells have been appointed to lead a national debate about the obligations of being an Australian citizen. 'Multiculturalism' to blame for foreign fighters, Christensen says Queensland Liberal National MP George Christensen upset some of his colleagues when he told this morning's partyroom meeting the notion of multiculturalism had led to the problems Australia is facing with foreign fighters. "We've just got to stop talking about multiculturalism, put it aside and let's talk about citizenship, let's talk about the values of being Australian," he said. "I think a lot of the problems that we're going through with foreign fighters, with terrorist actions in Australia, really, if we want to look at the root cause of the problems it's this misguided notion of multiculturalism," he said. "What I mean by that is people have ascribed to this idea that... all values from all cultures are equal, that none are greater and therefore all the problems that we see emanating from certain cultures can be considered worthy of inclusion in Australia, well that's wrong." Immigration minister warns Sharrouf’s five children may be put in care if they return from Syria with mother The children of Islamic State jihadist Khaled Sharrouf could be placed in care if they return from Syria with their mother. Peter Dutton, the immigration minister, said there will be no compromise on returning Isis fighters facing the full weight of Australian law, in response to reports that Sharrouf’s family is seeking to return to Australia. “In terms of what care arrangements [the children] could be placed into is really an individual question for each family. “But in terms of the adult’s culpability, if they have been involved in activities against Australian law they will face the law when they return home.” Sharrouf, who last year posted a photo on the internet of his seven-year-old son holding up a severed head, was on a terrorist watchlist and used his brother’s passport to leave Australia. Intelligence suggests the reason behind the family’s desire to return is because of poor living conditions in Syria, a police source told Fairfax. The figure was included in a report on foreign fighters prepared by a team of experts that monitors compliance with the UN security council’s al-Qaida sanctions regime. It is suspected that the business was sending up to A$20m to countries neighbouring the conflict zone to finance terrorism,” it added, without providing details on the neighbouring countries. Reports about the money transfer business linked to Sharrouf’s family have cited much lower estimates for funds sent to the Middle East than the A$20m described in the UN panel’s report. Analysts and western government officials say Isis finances its operations through the sale of oil from oil-producing territory it has seized, the sale of cultural heritage artefacts and works of art, extortion and ransoms, as well as private donations. The panel’s report also said there were at least 25,000 foreign fighters from more than 100 countries fighting in various organisations tied to al-Qaida around the world. The report said that two countries “with global assessment capabilities” have stated that some 20,000-22,000 foreign fighters are active in the Syria-Iraq conflict zone alone, where Isis has taken over large swaths of territory. Dutton also defended the Australian government’s plan to legislate new powers for the immigration minister to strip Australian citizenship from dual-citizens convicted of a terrorism offence. Coalition will introduce bill within weeks granting immigration minister power to strip citizenship, even if person had not been convicted Tony Abbott will push ahead with proposed changes to strip dual citizens of their Australian nationality if they are suspected of terrorism, but has deferred a decision on strong new powers against sole nationals after a cabinet backlash. The prime minister confirmed a bill to be introduced to parliament in coming weeks would grant the immigration minister the discretion to strip dual nationals of their citizenship if they were deemed to be involved in terrorism, even if the person had not been convicted of an offence.
I wish he was here tonight, too. • Charles Kennedy 1959-2015, in pictures Mr Kennedy's predecessor as Liberal Democrat leader, Lord Ashdown, said on Twitter: "Charles Kennedy. He led the party to its best election result since the 1920s in 2005, when the Lib Dems won 62 seats. The PM said he was "an extraordinary talent" and "a man of great principle". His cause of death has yet to be confirmed. The Scottish former MP was found in his Highland home in Fort William and police are not treating it as suspicious. But British politics also left its mark on him. High-profile figures from across the political spectrum expressed their shock and paid tribute to one of the “most talented” political figures of his generation. I’ve seen it in other people that my husband tried to help over the years. “He was absolutely dedicated to looking after his family,” she said. He married former Camelot public relations executive Sarah Gurling in 2002 and their son Donald was born during the 2005 general election campaign. Elected at the age of just 23, politics and the House of Commons became his life whilst alcohol was his friend, his prop and his curse. “They were very close. He was 55. Friends said he was heartbroken at the defeat. “There will be a post-mortem and we will issue a further statement when funeral arrangements are made.” Mr Kennedy's father, Ian, died only two months ago aged 88 following a long illness. But the drinking, depression and his sense of family duty meant he was frequently called off events and appointments and the party was constantly worried he would fail to appear at speaking engagements.
Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption David Cameron led tributes to the former Liberal Democrat leader Charles Kennedy was the "most human of politicians", David Cameron has said as he led tributes to the former Liberal Democrat leader in Parliament. After news of his death on Monday, MPs have been reflecting on Mr Kennedy's contribution to politics and public life in a special Commons session. The PM said he was "an extraordinary talent" and "a man of great principle". Mr Kennedy's ex-wife Sarah and his 10-year-old son Donald watched proceedings from one of the public galleries. Mr Kennedy led the Liberal Democrats for six years and took the party to its best election result in 2005 before being ousted eight months later after revealing he had been receiving treatment for a long-standing drink problem. * Politics Live - including the tributes as they happened Mr Kennedy, who lost his Ross, Skye and Lochaber seat in last month's general election, died at his home in Fort William on Monday aged 55. His cause of death has yet to be confirmed. Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption A look back at Charles Kennedy's life in politics Speaking in the Commons, Prime Minister David Cameron said Mr Kennedy was a man of "strong views and great loyalty". "Charles Kennedy played a pivotal role in bringing together two parties - the SDP and the Liberals. As leader he took the Liberal Democrats to the best electoral result for a third party in British politics for nearly 100 years. "He told Sue Lawley on Desert Island Discs back in 2003 that his ambition for his party was to find themselves part of a government of the country. "His achievements laid the foundations for that to happen and, while he was never the greatest fan of the coalition, and indeed voted against its formation, he never spoke out against the Lib Dem participation in it." Charles Kennedy: 1959-2015 Image copyright Various By Nick Robinson, BBC political editor Charles Kennedy left a mark on British politics. The man who took his party to its electoral peak, he was the only UK party leader to warn the country of the perils of invading Iraq when Labour and the Conservatives were uniting to support it. Elected at the age of just 23, politics and the House of Commons became his life whilst alcohol was his friend, his prop and his curse. Read Nick's thoughts John Pienaar's memories The Charles Kennedy story Charles Kennedy's life in pictures Charles Kennedy in his own words Scottish tributes Outgoing Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg said Mr Kennedy would have "wanted to be remembered as a kind and loving father, brother and son first; and an accomplished politician second". "His good humour must not obscure the fact that there was a steely courage about him, most memorably on display when he took the principled decision to oppose the Iraq War," he said. "Charles was often a lone voice in this House, standing up against a consensus in favour of war on all sides. 'A persuader' The two men hoping to succeed Mr Clegg as Lib Dem leader said the party would always be indebted to Mr Kennedy. Norman Lamb said the party must do everything it could "to ensure Charles's legacy, to rebuild the Liberal voice in this country" while Tim Farron said Mr Kennedy "was a persuader and he was a persuader because he was able to reach people in their gut". Image copyright PA Image caption Nick Clegg: Charles Kennedy was the "polar opposite of a point-scoring party politician". Acting Labour leader Harriet Harman said Mr Kennedy had been right to oppose the Iraq war in 2003 while the SNP's Angus Robertson said Mr Kennedy "was a giant in Scottish and in UK politics". Opening the session, Speaker John Bercow said Mr Kennedy had an unique ability to reach out to people normally mistrustful of politicians, describing him as "the boy next door of British public life". The Lib Dems have opened an online "book of condolence" where anyone can leave messages via its website. Mr Kennedy's political career began in the Social Democratic Party and he became the youngest MP of the time when he won the Ross, Cromarty and Skye seat in 1983 at the age of 23. He held a series of frontbench posts when most of his party merged with the Liberals to form the Lib Dems in 1988 and took over the Liberal Democrat leadership from Paddy - now Lord - Ashdown in 1999. He married former Camelot public relations executive Sarah Gurling in 2002 and their son Donald was born during the 2005 general election campaign. Former Liberal Democrat party leader Charles Kennedy has died suddenly at his home aged only 55, his family disclosed on Tuesday. The Scottish former MP was found in his Highland home in Fort William and police are not treating it as suspicious. Mr Kennedy, who led his party from 1999 to 2006, lost his seat in the Ross, Skye and Lochaber constituency in last month's general election. His family said they felt an "enormous sense of shock" and paid tribute to a fine man and talented politician. “There will be a post-mortem and we will issue a further statement when funeral arrangements are made.” Mr Kennedy's father, Ian, died only two months ago aged 88 following a long illness. “There are no suspicious circumstances and our report will be submitted to the procurator fiscal.” Nick Clegg and Charles Kennedy share a sofa Nick Clegg paid tribute to his predecessor as Liberal Democrat leader, saying: "Charles's untimely death robs Britain of one of the most gifted politicians of his generation.
I refer you to the television and photos of it, it is all there," said Tabarez. Cavani was sent off midway through the second half after receiving a second yellow card for flicking a hand into the face of Chile defender Gonzalo Jara. The match was then halted for several minutes after Uruguay's players surrounded the referee and linesman, and officials and players from both sides scuffled on the field. The other two quarter-finals feature Argentina against Colombia (00:30 BST) on Saturday and Brazil versus Paraguay on Sunday (00:30 BST). • Who are the top 25 players to watch at the Copa America? “We now have another game I don’t know if it will be Peru or Bolivia but we still have the dream,” said Sanchez. Uruguay held out until the 82nd minute when Isla fired home from 16 yards. Uruguay coach Oscar Tabarez leapt to the defence of Edinson Cavani on Wednesday as footage appeared to show a Chilean player attempting to provoke the star by inserting a finger into his anus. "For the expulsion of Cavani, you can see what happened and what the challenge was. The holders looked hard done by after video evidence showed it was Jara who first gave Cavani a friendly slap and then poked him in the backside behind the referee’s back. Chile, who dominated the match with 80% of possession, have never won the Copa América since its inception in 1916 and now face the winner of Thursday’s Peru-Bolivia tie. I submit to the TV images and photographs. The brawl saw almost every player from both sides involved A miserable night for Uruguay got worse for the 2011 champions when Jorge Fucile was sent off late in the game for a rugged challenge on Alexis Sanchez.
Chile have never won the Copa America tournament Hosts Chile moved into the Copa America semi-finals as Mauricio Isla's late winner knocked nine-man holders Uruguay out of the tournament. Chile dominated a bruising contest, Eduardo Vargas and Arturo Vidal both going close before Edinson Cavani was sent off for a second yellow card. Uruguay held out until the 82nd minute when Isla fired home from 16 yards. Juventus defender Mauricio Isla's goal was only his third for Chile Chile will now face the winners of Friday's match between Bolivia and Peru (00:30 BST) for a place in the final. Uruguay's tournament ended in disgrace in a stormy game that saw six yellow cards in addition to two reds at Estadio Nacional in Santiago. The biggest talking point before Isla's winner was Cavani's first red card for Uruguay on his 76th appearance for his country. Having been shown a yellow card for confronting a linesman, the 28-year-old Paris St-Germain forward was ordered off after TV pictures appeared to show Gonzalo Jara putting a hand on his buttocks. Defender Jara theatrically fell to the ground in response to a raised hand from Cavani, whose father was involved in a fatal car crash in Uruguay this week. He argued with the referee for several minutes before finally being persuaded to leave the pitch. The match was then halted for several minutes after Uruguay's players surrounded the referee and linesman, and officials and players from both sides scuffled on the field. Chile, who dominated the match with 80% possession, have never won the Copa America since its inception in 1916. Chile dominated possession throughout and had eight shots alone in the first half The game descended into a bad tempered affair with scuffles between both sets of players breaking out at regular intervals Uruguay coach Oscar Tabarez leapt to the defence of Edinson Cavani on Wednesday as footage appeared to show a Chilean player attempting to provoke the star by inserting a finger into his anus. Cavani was sent off midway through the second half after receiving a second yellow card for flicking a hand into the face of Chile defender Gonzalo Jara. But Tabarez said Cavani - who has been linked with a move to the Premier League this summer - had been the victim of provocation by Jara which should have been spotted by the match officials. Post-match camera footage of the altercation appears to show Jara shoving a finger into the back of Cavani's shorts. "We had the game under control but when we were left with 10 men it became a little more difficult because it limited our opportunities to attack," said Tabarez. Uruguay coach Oscar Tabarez makes his displeasure known Sanchez later revealed one unnamed Uruguayan player had said sorry to him for the rough treatment he had been given during a bruising encounter. "They like to fight, argue, go forward all out; one player told me in the first half 'Move you wimp' - but then later he said to me: 'I am sorry'," Sanchez said, without identifying the opponent in question. • Sanchez branded "cry-baby" for Uruguay rant "He said to me, 'That'll do, I kicked the shit out of you'. “Fucile, it was so clear!” Mauricio Isla scored the only goal in the 82nd minute when he fired home from 15 yards after Uruguayan goalkeeper Fernando Muslera had weakly punched away a cross, keeping alive the host nation’s dream of a maiden title.
And waited, and waited. “This ruling is a victory for America,” the president said. The justices then ruled in favor of marriage equality proponents, but ducked the question of whether gay marriage was a constitutional right. Scenes of happiness Facebook Twitter Pinterest The scene outside the supreme court on Friday was pure joy. Authors: The US becomes the 21st country to recognise same-sex marriage across the country. The White House also changed the default picture on its Twitter account to an image of the White House filled in with rainbow colors. Georgia was one of several states that began to issue marriage licenses immediately following the decision. Two gay couples waited at the state vital records office in New Orleans to get their marriage licenses. “The arc of history is quite clear that the struggle for LGBT equality is part of our civil rights,” Takano said. The ruling, in which Justice Anthony Kennedy cast the deciding vote, means the number of states where gay marriage is legal will rise – albeit after some stalling – from 37 to 50. — Yahoo (@Yahoo) June 26, 2015 “The petitioners in these cases seek to find that liberty by marrying someone of the same sex and having their marriages deemed lawful on the same terms and conditions as marriages between persons of the opposite sex,” he added. “When I first met my partner 20 years ago, I never thought there would be marriage. A great day for EVERYONE in the US! “They ask for equal dignity in the eyes of the law,” Kennedy wrote in his opinion for the majority. Facebook’s “Celebrate Pride” tool was announced by co-founder and chief executive Mark Zuckerberg.
Facebook has launched a tool that lets users show their support of marriage equality. Facebook’s “Celebrate Pride” tool was announced by co-founder and chief executive Mark Zuckerberg. The tool was launched shortly after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that same-sex marriage is now considered a fundamental constitutional right guaranteed under the 14th Amendment. By visiting the “Celebrate Pride” tool on Facebook, you will see a preview of your profile picture with a rainbow filter. If you click “use as profile picture,” then your existing profile photo will be uploaded with the rainbow filter that is similar to Zuckerberg’s photo above. "I’m so happy for all of my friends and everyone in our community who can finally celebrate their love and be recognized as equal couples under the law," said Zuckerberg in a Facebook post. "We still have much more to do to achieve full equality for everyone in our community, but we are moving in the right direction." Facebook is not the only technology company that showed its support for marriage equality. Apple has been supporting benefits that covers same sex partners since 1993. Google, Amazon and Microsoft also filed friend of the court papers in a U.S. Supreme Court case involving the Defense of Marriage Act, according to CNET. Those companies insisted that the lack of federal recognition of same sex marriages negatively affects company morale and makes tax benefits complicated. — Tim Cook (@tim_cook) June 26, 2015 And here are some tweets that several technology companies wrote in response to the Supreme Court ruling: Today #LoveWins. With 5-4 ruling in Obergefell v Hodges, justices determine right to marriage equality is protected under constitution in decision hailed as ‘victory of love’ Supreme court: gay marriage legal across the US – live updates Read more Same-sex marriages are now legal across the entirety of the United States after a historic supreme court ruling that declared attempts by conservative states to ban them unconstitutional. In what may prove the most important civil rights case in a generation, five of the nine court justices determined that the right to marriage equality was enshrined under the equal protection clause of the 14th amendment. Victory in the case – known as Obergefell v Hodges, after an Ohio man who sued the state to get his name listed on his late husband’s death certificate – capped years of campaigning by LGBT rights activists, high-powered attorneys and couples waiting decades for the justices to rule. It immediately led to scenes of jubilation from coast to coast, as campaigners, politicians and everyday people – gay, straight and in-between – hailed “a victory of love”. The ruling, in which Justice Anthony Kennedy cast the deciding vote, means the number of states where gay marriage is legal will rise – albeit after some stalling – from 37 to 50. “They ask for equal dignity in the eyes of the law,” Kennedy wrote in his opinion for the majority. “The Constitution grants them that right.” ‘The arc of history is quite clear’ Facebook Twitter Pinterest Plaintiff Jim Obergefell took a call from Obama outside the supreme court, following his historic victory. “This decision affirms what millions of Americans already believe in their hearts: when all Americans are treated as equal, we are all more free.” Four liberal justices and Kennedy rejected claims made by lawyers during the legal argument in April that marriage was defined by law solely to encourage procreation within stable family units – and therefore could only meaningfully apply to men and women. “The Constitution promises liberty to all within its reach, a liberty that includes certain specific rights that allow persons, within a lawful realm, to define and express their identity,” wrote Kennedy. “The petitioners in these cases seek to find that liberty by marrying someone of the same sex and having their marriages deemed lawful on the same terms and conditions as marriages between persons of the opposite sex,” he added. Crucially, the majority ruling argues that the court has frequently exercised jurisdiction over the definition of marriage in previous cases and is not overstepping its constitutional role by intervening now. In defining the right to marry these cases have identified essential attributes of that right based in history, tradition and other constitutional liberties inherent in this intimate bond,” wrote Kennedy. Photograph: Evan Golub/Demotix/Corbis The crowd outside the court – indeed, across the country – erupted in joy after the ruling was handed down, with many longtime campaigners crying tears of joy and embracing their partners. Chants of “Love has won” reverberated among the hundreds gathered below the court steps and across the street outside the US Capitol, as rainbow flags intertwined with the American flag. “I feel like the supreme court has just thrown a huge wedding bouquet to LGBT people all across the country and couples are going to be rushing to catch that bouquet,” Takano told the Guardian. Takano nonetheless cautioned that there remained legal obstacles ahead, insisting that a comprehensive civil rights act would be required to ensure that LGBT individuals do not face housing and employment discrimination, among other barriers. Judd Proctor, a 65-year-old resident of Silver Spring, Maryland, said he never thought he would live to see the day that gay marriage would be a constitutional right. Sue Simmons, Connecticut Joy across America Facebook Twitter Pinterest Jaque Roberts, left, and her partner of 31 years, Carmelita Cabello, right, show off their marriage license in Austin, Texas. Photograph: Eric Gay/AP Randy Johnson, a plaintiff in one of the concurrent cases brought from Kentucky before the court with his partner Paul Campion, said he still had goosebumps, hours after their 20-year-old son had texted them two words: “We won.” “As soon as we heard the news, we were obviously in tears, and obviously overcome with emotion because this is the most amazing event we could imagine,” Johnson told the Guardian. Kathie DeNobriga, the mayor of Atlanta suburb Pine Lake who married her long-term partner out of state last year as one of the few openly gay politicians in the American south, called the court ruling “a victory of love in opposition to fear”. Texas attorney general Ken Paxton issued a long statement suggesting he would attempt to fight the legalisation of gay marriage by asserting the “religious liberties” of clerks and officials.
It was crazy," she told the BBC. Further blasts were subsequently triggered nearby, Xinhua said. Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Debris is seen amidst billowing smoke at the explosion site in Tianjin Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption The BBC's Rico Hizon reports on how social media spread the news about the Tianjin explosion BBC producer Xinyan Yu, who is in Tianjin, said workers' dormitories were among the buildings destroyed. The blast started at around 11:30 p.m. Wednesday in the Binhai New Area. "I ... looked out the window and the sky was red ... Image copyright EPA Image caption Daylight revealed the extent of the devastation in Tianjin Image caption Buildings and hundreds of cars in the port area were destroyed Image caption Workers' dormitories in the port area were also destroyed State broadcaster China Central Television (CCTV) said a shipment of explosives had detonated but this was not confirmed. REUTERS/Stringer SHANGHAI Two massive explosions caused by flammable goods ripped through an industrial area in the northeast Chinese port city of Tianjin late on Wednesday, killing 17 people and injuring around 400, official Chinese media reported. The first explosion was equivalent to 3 tonnes of TNT and the second blast 21 tonnes of TNT, it said. Shockwaves were felt several kilometres away. There would have been many injured here. here Pictures posted on Chinese media websites showed a cloud of dust towering above buildings near the scene. The injuries were mainly from broken glass or stones. Canadian teacher Monica Andrews told the BBC that she awoke in panic after what she thought was an earthquake. REUTERS/Stringer Vehicles are seen burning after blasts at Binhai new district in Tianjin municipality, China, August 13, 2015.
TIANJIN, Aug. 13 (Xinhua) -- An explosion ripped through a warehouse storing "dangerous goods" in north China's Tianjin City late Wednesday night, injuring at least 50 people. The shockwaves were felt kilometers away, with some residents claiming their window glass and fish tanks shattered. People in neighborhoods nearby said flames lit up the sky and the blasts with big noises blew up dust of dozens of meters high. Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption A local resident captured the blasts in dramatic mobile phone footage Massive explosions have hit China's northern city of Tianjin, leaving at least 17 people dead and hundreds more injured. State media said the blasts happened in a warehouse storing "dangerous and chemical goods" in the port area of the city. Pictures and video on social media showed flames lighting up the sky, and buildings are said to have collapsed. President Xi Jinping has urged "all-out efforts" to rescue victims and contain the fire, Xinhua state news agency said. Image copyright EPA Image caption Daylight revealed the extent of the devastation in Tianjin Image caption Buildings and hundreds of cars in the port area were destroyed Image caption Workers' dormitories in the port area were also destroyed State broadcaster China Central Television (CCTV) said a shipment of explosives had detonated but this was not confirmed. State media also said senior managers of Ruihai Logistics, which owned the warehouse where the explosion took place, were being questioned by authorities. The first explosion at about 23:30 (15:30 GMT) on Wednesday was followed by another, more powerful blast, seconds later. At the scene: John Sudworth, BBC News, Tianjin The apartment complex closest to the explosion has eight rows of high-rise tower blocks. On the ground outside are the signs of the many families who have fled from their beds in a hurry - a woman's shoe, children's toys, mangled bicycles. Travelling into Tianjin blast zone Blast 'like end of the world' Tianjin pictures reveal devastation The China Earthquake Networks Centre said the magnitude of the first explosion was the equivalent of detonating three tons of TNT, while the second was the equivalent of 21 tonnes of the explosive. CCTV said four firefighters were among the dead and that more than 400 people had been injured, at least 32 of them critically. Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Debris is seen amidst billowing smoke at the explosion site in Tianjin Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption The BBC's Rico Hizon reports on how social media spread the news about the Tianjin explosion BBC producer Xinyan Yu, who is in Tianjin, said workers' dormitories were among the buildings destroyed. Hours later, fires were still burning and 100 fire engines were at the scene, reported CCTV. One witness, named only as Ms Yang, told local media she was out shopping when "suddenly from behind there was a big fireball and explosion". Image copyright EPA Image caption Fires were still burning hours after the explosions Image copyright AP Image caption The initial fireball lit up the sky above Tianjin Image copyright AFP Image caption People went down on to the streets seeking shelter after the blasts Image copyright Reuters Image caption Some seemed dazed, others distraught Image copyright Reuters Image caption The force of the blasts shook buildings and set parked vehicles alight "At the time of the explosion the ground was shaking fiercely, nearby cars and buildings were shaking, glass from a few buildings all broke and everyone started to run," she said. Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Eyewitness: "I woke in a panic" "I... looked out the window and the sky was red. I just watched a second explosion go off and [it was] just pure chaos, everyone leaving their apartment buildings thinking it's an earthquake, cars trying to leave the complex. REUTERS/Stringer SHANGHAI Two massive explosions caused by flammable goods ripped through an industrial area in the northeast Chinese port city of Tianjin late on Wednesday, killing 17 people and injuring around 400, official Chinese media reported. President Xi Jinping demanded that authorities quickly extinguish the fire caused by the blasts and "make full effort to rescue and treat the injured and ensure the safety of people and their property", China Central Television (CCTV) said on its official microblog. The official People's Daily newspaper said the death toll was 17 while other state media said three firefighters were among the dead. Video posted on YouTube from what appeared to be an apartment building some distance from the scene showed fire shooting into the night sky from the initial blast when the second, much bigger, explosion rocked the area, sending a huge fireball into the air. I just watched a second explosion go off and (it was) just pure chaos, everyone leaving their apartment buildings thinking it's an earthquake, cars trying to leave the complex and ... it was crazy the amount of light that this explosion and fire lit up," she said.
Then it roared. Four crew members, two from each plane, and three parachutists were killed, but the other 31 survived. Officials said 38 people were on board the planes rehearsing for a nearby air show when the planes hit each other at an altitude of around 5,000ft. The crash took place on Thursday morning near the village of Červený Kameň. I saw one of the aircraft falling to the ground and people jumping from it." Another told TASR, the Slovak news agency: "All of a sudden, I heard a big blow. Three rescue helicopters were sent to the site, and it was later visited by Slovakia's health minister Viliam Cislak and interior minister Robert Kalinak. Two aircraft have crashed in mid-air near the Slovakian border with the Czech Republic, killing at least seven people. The first images from the crash site, broadcast on Slovak news channel TV Markiza, showed the burnt-out wreckage of the two L-410 twin-engine planes involved in the accident. Mr Kalinak said some of the survivors jumped out after the planes collided. “They all landed safely. The government agency that investigates plane crashes said, according to preliminary information, about 40 people – mostly parachutists – were on board the L-410 planes at the time of the collision, which occurred at an altitude of 1,500 metres (4,921 ft). Five people needed some medical treatment but nobody was hospitalised. Additional reporting by agencies TA3 reported the parachutists were training for this weekend’s air show in nearby Slavnica. It's a small miracle." I thought some pieces were falling, but it could be the parachutists."
Parachutists on a trip in western Slovakia survived a mid-air collision with another plane by jumping out moments before the crash. Officials said 38 people were on board the planes rehearsing for a nearby air show when the planes hit each other at an altitude of around 5,000ft. Four crew members, two from each plane, and three parachutists were killed, but the other 31 survived. Some jumped from one plane before the crash, the rest jumped as the planes came down - and while five were treated for minor injuries, none of the survivors needed to go to hospital. The first images from the crash site, broadcast on Slovak news channel TV Markiza, showed the burnt-out wreckage of the two L-410 twin-engine planes involved in the accident. The smoking wreckage is seen on the forest floor, 7 people have died in the accident Firefighters inspect the crash site of two sport planes near the village of Cerveny Kamen, Slovakia, The crash occurred in a hilly area near the village of Cerveny Kamen, not far from the border with the Czech Republic. Three rescue helicopters were sent to the site, and it was later visited by Slovakia's health minister Viliam Cislak and interior minister Robert Kalinak. Mr Kalinak said some of the survivors jumped out after the planes collided. "The 31 (surviving) parachutists managed to jump out from the falling planes and survived," he told a Slovakian TV network at the crash site. A part of the wreckage sits amongst the trees as firefighters explore the site of the wreckage One witness told the Dennik newspaper: "I heard the crash and ran [to the site of the accident]. I saw one of the aircraft falling to the ground and people jumping from it." Another told TASR, the Slovak news agency: "All of a sudden, I heard a big blow. A spokesperson for the Slovakian rescue services confirmed that those on board had been civilian parachutists, and that they were training for this weekend's air show in nearby Slavnica at the time of the crash. Two aircraft have crashed in mid-air near the Slovakian border with the Czech Republic, killing at least seven people. Described as small "sport" aircraft, the planes were carrying around 40 people on a parachuting trip when they collided at an altitude of 1,500m (5,000ft). Officials from the Slovak air accident investigators agency said that preliminary reports suggested the two aircraft involved were L-410 twin-engine planes. A spokesperson for the Slovakian fire service confirmed that seven people had been killed in the crash which occurred at around 8.30 GMT on Thursday morning. Dozens of parachutists were on board the two aircraft when they crashed near Červený Kameň village in western Slovakia Two planes carrying dozens of parachutists have collided midair over western Slovakia, killing seven people. The government agency that investigates plane crashes said, according to preliminary information, about 40 people – mostly parachutists – were on board the L-410 planes at the time of the collision, which occurred at an altitude of 1,500 metres (4,921 ft). “The 31 parachutists managed to jump out from the falling planes and survived,” Kalinak told the TA3 news television station as he visited the crash site.
I grew up with her, the Beatles, the Stones. PA 6/13 Cilla Black Funeral A Large crowd awaits the start of Cilla Black's funeral in Liverpool. Sir Cliff Richard told mourners the journey to the church had made him realise "how much people loved her". “They are together again,” he said. “Cilla was one of us. Image copyright PA Image caption Black died at the age of 72 at her Spanish home Image copyright AP Image caption Her marriage to Bobby Willis was blessed at St Mary's following a register office ceremony in 1969 An album of the star's greatest hits re-entered the UK top 40 after her death, and is continuing to climb the chart. TV stars Paul O'Grady, Jimmy Tarbuck and Christopher Biggins joined her sons Robert and Ben in giving readings. In his eulogy, he said: “She was the first lady of showbusiness. Other guests included Andrew Lloyd Webber, Carol Vorderman and Sir Tom Jones. “I’m 71 - the same as Cill. “I don’t know what I’m going to do. Black's 1964 hit Anyone Who Had A Heart was played during Holy Communion and her coffin left the church to the sound of The Long And Winding Road by her friends The Beatles. Helen Pidd (@helenpidd) The hearse has been strewn with flowers. Angela even gave her a kiss.” Sitting next to the mother and daughter was Irene Burke, 66, who summed up Black’s appeal. To be born a lady is an accident; to die one is an achievement.” Facebook Twitter Pinterest Lorraine Chase and Jo Wood during the funeral. It was the same he had read at his father’s funeral mass, a man he described as his mother’s soulmate.
Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Key moments from Cilla Black's funeral Fans, family and fellow stars have turned out to pay their respects to singer and TV presenter Cilla Black at her funeral in Liverpool. Hundreds of people applauded and threw flowers as her funeral cortege made its way to St Mary's RC Church. Sir Cliff Richard told mourners the journey to the church had made him realise "how much people loved her". He said: "The one thing that hit me originally was that she was a woman of commitment and dedication. "She had the determination and above all she had the gift - she was able to do what she set out to do. "My memories of Cilla are going to be very, very happy ones." She loved being a star - She lived to entertain and make people happy Ben Willis, Cilla Black's son The funeral Mass was celebrated by the Right Reverend Thomas Williams, Auxiliary Bishop of Liverpool. Two of Black's sons also delivered readings. Robert Willis described his mother as a "wonderful lady who had touched all our lives and brought joy and laughter" to those she knew. He said: "Her pure enthusiasm, self belief and wonderful sense of humour made being with her a joy and a pleasure." Mr Willis added that she was a "trailblazer in the fields of music and television" and "set the bar high and it's still there". His brother Ben Willis later spoke, saying his mother "was always young at heart". He continued: "I think this was one of the reasons so many people loved her dearly. Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Hundreds of people tried to get a view outside the church Christopher Biggins delivered a Bible reading from the Book of Wisdom, Jimmy Tarbuck read the Prayers of the Faithful and Paul O'Grady gave a touching and humorous closing tribute. "I firmly believed that Cilla was indestructible," O'Grady said. Black's 1964 hit Anyone Who Had A Heart was played during Holy Communion and her coffin left the church to the sound of The Long And Winding Road by her friends The Beatles. Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Some fans threw flowers onto the hearse Inside the church - BBC entertainment correspondent Colin Paterson A Cliff Richard solo performance, Christopher Biggins taking Holy Communion and a bishop ordering Paul O'Grady to say three Hail Marys - Cilla Black's funeral had the lot. The 340 people packed into St Mary's Church included friends from right across her 50-plus years in showbusiness. Image copyright PA Image caption Carol Vorderman, Sir Tom Jones and Mike McCartney arrived at the church together Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Jimmy Tarbuck paid tribute to "Liverpool's Cinderella" ahead of Cilla Black's funeral Image copyright PA Image caption Christopher Biggins (left) and Gerry Marsden were among the mourners Image copyright PA Image copyright PA Image caption The star held her home city in great affection The church is the same one where Black and her late husband Bobby Willis had their marriage blessed in 1969, following a register office wedding earlier that year. Black grew up in Liverpool and found fame on stage after singing in clubs including the famous Cavern in the early 1960s. She went on to become a TV favourite, hosting the hit Saturday night shows Blind Date and Surprise Surprise from the mid-1980s to early 2000s. After the service, Black's body will be laid to rest at a private ceremony in Allerton Cemetery, where her parents are buried. Image copyright PA Image caption Black died at the age of 72 at her Spanish home Image copyright AP Image caption Her marriage to Bobby Willis was blessed at St Mary's following a register office ceremony in 1969 An album of the star's greatest hits re-entered the UK top 40 after her death, and is continuing to climb the chart. “Being driven here was a fantastic experience, you forget how much people loved her.” Helen Pidd (@helenpidd) Cliff Richard is talking of giving Cilla a lift in his "dukes of hazard" style truck in Barbados, "her beautiful legs" as she got out.
The other was Alek Skarlatos, of Roseburg, Oregon. She said she was "misunderstood" and her comments were taken out of "context" by "trolls". 18.35: Train was due to arrive in Paris. It's unclear whether there was a political motive to the gunman's actions. About 40 French Rail staff will be assigned to answering calls. Who are the heroes? No one came so I went back to carriage number 12 while the American soldiers were pinning the attacker down... Spencer Stone knew how to give first aid. Another passenger was wounded by a handgun in the attack Friday night, according to a police union official. That would be clearly out-ruled,” a spokesman says. And the three of us beat him until he was unconscious.” Sadler later told AFP the gunman had demanded his weapon back. 17.28 Who is Ayoub El-Khazzani? There are now 554 people on board. Your heroism should be an example and a source of inspiration for everyone," Mr Hollande. He opened fire and injured a man before he was subdued. He also thanked train staff and the emergency services for their role in responding to the emergency. Passengers in other carriages described on French TV how the train braked several times before pulling into Arras. The company is jointly owned by the national rail companies of Belgium, France and Germany. ‘Give me back my gun! At Gare du Midi however there were if anything fewer cops than normal when I was there, and other papers are noting no extra security on trains. A veteran member of the Brussels press corps notes the Americans saved the day.
One serves in the Air Force, another recently served in Afghanistan in the National Guard, another is studying physical therapy in Sacramento — and all three Americans are being hailed as heroes for tackling and disarming a gunman they happened to encounter on a high-speed Amsterdam-Paris train. Air Force serviceman Spencer Stone remained hospitalized Saturday after being stabbed, though the Pentagon said the injury was not life-threatening. Another passenger was wounded by a handgun in the attack Friday night, according to a police union official. It's unclear whether there was a political motive to the gunman's actions. French authorities are questioning the attacker, identified by police as a 26-year-old of Moroccan origin, and are expected to speak to at least one of the Americans on Saturday about what happened. Counterterrorism police are leading the investigation, according to the Paris prosecutor's office. French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve, speaking in the northern French city of Arras where the train was diverted, said the Americans "were particularly courageous and showed great bravery in very difficult circumstances," and that "without their sangfroid we could have been confronted with a terrible drama." French authorities are on heightened alert after Islamic extremist attacks in January left 20 people dead, including the three gunmen. In June, a lone attacker claiming allegiance to Islamic radicals beheaded his employer and set off an explosion at an American-owned factory in France, raising concerns about other scattered, hard-to-predict attacks. Anthony Sadler, a senior at Sacramento State University, was traveling with childhood friends Stone, of Carmichael, California, and Alek Skarlatos, a National Guardsman from Roseburg, Oregon, when they heard a gunshot and breaking glass. Sadler told The Associated Press that they saw a train employee sprint down the aisle followed by a gunman with an automatic rifle. U.S. citizens called 'courageous' in French train shooting France's Interior Minister says the country's anti-terrorism prosecutor is investigating a shooting that left three people wounded on a train between Paris and Amsterdam, in which two U.S. citizens helped disarm the attacker. (Reuters) France's Interior Minister says the country's anti-terrorism prosecutor is investigating a shooting that left three people wounded on a train between Paris and Amsterdam, in which two U.S. citizens helped disarm the attacker. (Reuters) See more videos "As he was cocking it to shoot it, Alek just yells, 'Spencer, go!' "Spencer makes first contact, he tackles the guy, Alek wrestles the gun away from him, and the gunman pulls out a boxcutter and slices Spencer a few times. Another passenger helped tie the gunman up, and Stone then quickly turned to help another passenger who had been wounded in the throat, stopping his bleeding until paramedics came, Sadler said. The identity of the person with the gun wound has not been released, and it is unclear whether the victim was intentionally targeted. Throughout the brief but terrifying episode, Sadler said, "The gunman never said a word." Sadler said French authorities were to speak with him Saturday in Arras, where scientific police circulated around the cordoned-off train and train station. The Pentagon confirmed that "one U.S. military member was injured in the incident. President Barack Obama was briefed on the shooting, and said in a statement, "While the investigation into the attack is in its early stages, it is clear that their heroic actions may have prevented a far worse tragedy." Skarlatos, 22, had returned from a deployment in Afghanistan in July, and Stone is stationed in the Azores, according to Skarlatos' step-mother Karen Skarlatos. "He sounded fine, but he was intense — he sounded like he had just thwarted a terrorist attack." The attacker did not fire his automatic weapon but wounded one man with a handgun and the other with a blade, said Philippe Lorthiois, an official with the Alliance police union. The suspect is a 26-year-old Moroccan, according to Sliman Hamzi, an official with the Alliance police union who spoke on French television i-Tele. Europe's major rail stations, such as Paris' Gare du Nord and Brussels' Gare du Midi, are patrolled by soldiers armed with rifles, but passengers can board most high-speed trains without passing through metal detectors or having their bags searched or showing their passports. Shaken passengers from the train that was attacked arrived early Saturday at Paris' Gare du Nord train station, several hours later than schedule. They were greeted by a large group of SNCF staff with water and meals and help finding hotels and taxis. For a full wrap of today's events, read David Chazan's story here . David Chazan, our correspondent in Paris, says that as concern grew about the apparent ease with which the gunman boarded the train, Guillaume Pepy, the head of the SNCF national rail company said there would be more searches of passengers and luggage. But he rejected calls for airport-style security, which he said would be unworkable because of the high numbers of train passengers - five million a day in France. “If we installed scanners in front of all trains, it would be 20 times more than what there now is at airports,” he said, adding that it was up to the authorities to step up security, not the rail company.
More to follow. The pilot, Andy Hill, was flown to the Royal Sussex hospital, where he is fighting for his life. Stephen said: "It's been overwhelming." Shoreham plane crash - In pictures 24 show all Shoreham plane crash - In pictures 1/24 Shoreham plane crash The damaged remains of the fuselage of a Hawker Hunter fighter jet are lifted by a crane and put on a pick up truck Getty 2/24 Shoreham plane crash A fireball erupted at the Shoreham Air Show in Sussex after a fighter jet crashed EPA/PAUL JARRETT 3/24 Shoreham plane crash Sussex Police and Specialist officers examine vehicles that were caught in the explosion Reuters 4/24 Shoreham plane crash Floral tributes and a football shirt in memory of victim Matt Grimstone are placed on a bridge over the river Adur Getty 5/24 Shoreham plane crash A fireball erupted at the Shoreham Air Show in Sussex after a fighter jet crashed 6/24 Shoreham plane crash Andy Hill, who was the pilot of the plane Swords Aviation 7/24 Shoreham plane crash A 1950s Hawker Hunter jet, the plane involved in the crash Paul Jarrett/EPA 8/24 Shoreham plane crash The scene at the A27 following the accident Richard Blackmore 9/24 Shoreham plane crash Smoke rises from the scene of the crash 10/24 Shoreham plane crash Smoke rises from the scene of the crash PA 11/24 Shoreham plane crash Smoke rises from the scene of the crash YouTube 12/24 Shoreham plane crash Smoke rises from the scene of the crash @Orchidflower 13/24 Shoreham plane crash Smoke rises from the scene of the crash EPA 14/24 Shoreham plane crash Smoke rises from the scene of the crash @Cromwell606/PA 15/24 Shoreham plane crash Worthing United footballer Jacob Schilt was named as one of the victims 16/24 Shoreham plane crash Another Worthing United footballer, Matthew Grimestone, was also named 17/24 Shoreham plane crash Matt Jones, a 24-year-old personal trainer, was another victim of the crash Facebook 18/24 Shoreham plane crash Police and RAF representatives address the media following the accident PA 19/24 Shoreham plane crash Police tape marks the scene on the morning after the crash PA 20/24 Shoreham plane crash Emergency services attend the scene on the day following the crash PA 21/24 Shoreham plane crash Emergency services attend the scene on the day following the crash Reuters 22/24 Shoreham plane crash Emergency services attend the scene on the day following the crash Reuters 23/24 Shoreham plane crash Flowers laid near the scene of the crash PA 24/24 Shoreham plane crash Flowers laid near the scene of the crash PA David Learmount, a former pilot and RAF flying instructor, said that the chance of the plane coming down onto a road was "horrifically unlikely", adding: "These people died in an event which is equivalent to being struck by lightning."
Sussex police confirm seven killed after fighter jet crashes into traffic on A27, with pilot in critical condition in hospital The bodies of more victims may be discovered as investigators and emergency services continue to search the scene of the Shoreham airshow plane crash, police have said. Seven people died when a Hawker Hunter jet crashed into four cars on the A27 at Shoreham in West Sussex after it failed to pull out of a loop manoeuvre. Supt Jane Derrick of Sussex police said on Saturday night that the pilot was flown to the Royal Sussex Hospital where he is in a critical condition and fighting for his life. “It is possible that tonight and tomorrow we are going to find more bodies at the scene.” Facebook Twitter Pinterest The scene of the crash. Photograph: Eddie Mitchell/Aerial News A further 14 people were treated for minor injuries. Unconfirmed reports said that two cyclists were killed in the crash. One of the vehicles hit was a Daimler regularly used for weddings. The vintage Hawker Hunter single-seat fighter jet was attempting a loop manoeuvre, but the plane reportedly failed to pull out. One eyewitness said that the pilot did not eject before the plane hit the ground. Photograph: uknewsinpictures The Hawker Hunter was listed in the airshow programme as being flown by former RAF Harrier pilot Andy “Hilz”’ Hill, whose day job is as an Airbus captain for a major airline. Hill, who is well known for his aerobatic and airshow display work, is described by those in the industry as “a very experienced formation instructor and display pilot”. Dom Lawson was driving on the A27 when the jet crashed. He described how the plane passed just a few metres above his car with a deafening roar before slamming into the ground in a fireball just five or six vehicles in front. Lawson said he saw at least two cars on fire but added that the incident could have been much worse if traffic lights at a nearby junction had not been at red. Thousands of spectators were unable to leave the airport because the A27 was closed. Laura Raymond, a presenter for the local Splash FM radio station, said a “couple of planes” were taking part in a jet display when one appeared to fly too close to the ground before onlookers saw a “huge ball of fire and black smoke”. Within seconds we were thinking, ‘Gosh, that plane is going rather low.’ There was a ball of fire: we didn’t even hear an impact, and then plumes of black smoke.” David Bryson, who was watching the airshow from Mill Hill, north of the airfield, said: “It was shocking – an awful thing to see. A wedding limousine on its way to pick up a bride was one of the vehicles hit in the Shoreham airshow plane crash, in which at least seven people died when a fighter jet crashed into a busy motorway. At least seven were killed and a further 14 people were injured in the crash, which occurred in front of thousands of spectators at the Shoreham Airshow at around 1:20pm on Saturday 22 August. Jay Sherwin from Chariot Chauffeurs, the company that owned the car, told the paper: "I can confirm that it is one of our cars but at this stage I do not know what happened to the driver." Seven are so far confirmed as dead, but police warn that more bodies may be found as investigators and the emergency services continue to search the wreckage. Onlookers reported seeing the plane flying low to the ground, followed by a huge ball of fire and black smoke. Superintendent Jane Derrick of Sussex Police said: "Sadly we believe that seven people have lost their lives today when the jet crashed." "As far as we are aware all those who sadly lost their lives were on the road, and it was nobody within the air show perimeter on the actual airport." Shoreham plane crash - In pictures 24 show all Shoreham plane crash - In pictures 1/24 Shoreham plane crash The damaged remains of the fuselage of a Hawker Hunter fighter jet are lifted by a crane and put on a pick up truck Getty 2/24 Shoreham plane crash A fireball erupted at the Shoreham Air Show in Sussex after a fighter jet crashed EPA/PAUL JARRETT 3/24 Shoreham plane crash Sussex Police and Specialist officers examine vehicles that were caught in the explosion Reuters 4/24 Shoreham plane crash Floral tributes and a football shirt in memory of victim Matt Grimstone are placed on a bridge over the river Adur Getty 5/24 Shoreham plane crash A fireball erupted at the Shoreham Air Show in Sussex after a fighter jet crashed 6/24 Shoreham plane crash Andy Hill, who was the pilot of the plane Swords Aviation 7/24 Shoreham plane crash A 1950s Hawker Hunter jet, the plane involved in the crash Paul Jarrett/EPA 8/24 Shoreham plane crash The scene at the A27 following the accident Richard Blackmore 9/24 Shoreham plane crash Smoke rises from the scene of the crash 10/24 Shoreham plane crash Smoke rises from the scene of the crash PA 11/24 Shoreham plane crash Smoke rises from the scene of the crash YouTube 12/24 Shoreham plane crash Smoke rises from the scene of the crash @Orchidflower 13/24 Shoreham plane crash Smoke rises from the scene of the crash EPA 14/24 Shoreham plane crash Smoke rises from the scene of the crash @Cromwell606/PA 15/24 Shoreham plane crash Worthing United footballer Jacob Schilt was named as one of the victims 16/24 Shoreham plane crash Another Worthing United footballer, Matthew Grimestone, was also named 17/24 Shoreham plane crash Matt Jones, a 24-year-old personal trainer, was another victim of the crash Facebook 18/24 Shoreham plane crash Police and RAF representatives address the media following the accident PA 19/24 Shoreham plane crash Police tape marks the scene on the morning after the crash PA 20/24 Shoreham plane crash Emergency services attend the scene on the day following the crash PA 21/24 Shoreham plane crash Emergency services attend the scene on the day following the crash Reuters 22/24 Shoreham plane crash Emergency services attend the scene on the day following the crash Reuters 23/24 Shoreham plane crash Flowers laid near the scene of the crash PA 24/24 Shoreham plane crash Flowers laid near the scene of the crash PA David Learmount, a former pilot and RAF flying instructor, said that the chance of the plane coming down onto a road was "horrifically unlikely", adding: "These people died in an event which is equivalent to being struck by lightning." Here is a summary of news updates on the crash from the past few hours: • No further victims have so far been found following the lifting of the jet involved in the Shoreham air disaster, police said.
An Indy car, he noted, is significantly narrower than a dragster. JAMES: Drivers try to cope with Wilson trauma CANOPY DEBATE: Should IndyCar enclose cockpits? “You can’t bake in there,” he said. Canopies are optional in drag racing — NHRA approved them for event use in 2012 — with some drivers in the Top Fuel category using them and others not. Verizon IndyCar Series driver Sage Karam was released from an Allentown, Pa., hospital on Sunday after being evaluated for right heel and left wrist injuries stemming from a crash at Pocono Raceway that severely injured driver Justin Wilson. The injury kept him out of the season finale at Las Vegas and the race where Wheldon died. I don’t know if I’m going to hit a bird. He told the Indianapolis Star on Monday: “More than ever we’ve got to be the first series to figure (protection) out. 25 Andretti Autosport Honda. Thank you for prayers and thoughts at this very hard time. Ryan Hunter-Reay, a teammate and friend of Wilson’s, said after winning Sunday that “these cars are inherently dangerous with the open cockpit like that, head exposed. “It would be quite an exercise to install as an add-on piece, so it would have to be a part of the chassis design. Rahal said that exact system wouldn’t work for IndyCar because it’s held in place by two pins. The car just unfortunately came around on me in the middle of Turn 1 and I had no indication it was about to go.” The 20-year-old rookie had been transported to Lehigh Valley Health Network Cedar Crest Hospital after the race for evaluation.
CORRECTION/CLARIFICATION: The sentence that begins, “Eight-time NHRA Top Fuel champion Tony Schumacher was the first driver to use a canopy…” was missing details. The sentence should have clarified that Schumacher was the first driver to use the canopy designed by Aerodine Composites Group that was approved by the NHRA in 2012. LONG POND, Pa. — The incident that left Justin Wilson in a coma brought a renewed push for canopies over the exposed cockpits of Indy cars. Minutes after Wilson was struck on the helmet by what appeared to be the nose cone of Sage Karam’s car during the late stages of Sunday’s Verizon IndyCar Series ABC Supply 500 at Pocono Raceway, Ryan Hunter-Reay addressed the subject in a subdued winner’s press conference. WILSON: In coma after Pocono crash “These cars are inherently dangerous with the open cockpit like that, head exposed,” Hunter-Reay said. “Maybe in the future we can work toward some type of (canopy). We’ve seen some concept renderings of something that resemble a canopy — not a full jet fighter canopy, but something that can give us a little protection but keep the tradition of the sport.” Canopies — plastic enclosures over open cockpits — have been proposed before, most recently after a Formula 1 crash in October 2014 that left Jules Bianchi in a coma for nine months — he died in July — and after a piece of debris struck James Hinchcliffe’s helmet during the Indianapolis Grand Prix in May 2014. CANOPIES: Open-wheel racing series discussing options for use Wilson remained in a coma in critical condition at Lehigh Valley Health Network Cedar Crest Hospital in Allentown, Pa., with what IndyCar officials described as a severe head injury. Hunter-Reay said he was told Wilson was unconscious and not responding when rescue workers reached him immediately after the incident. Hinchcliffe eventually recovered from his incident and returned to racing, but he doesn’t recall what happened. “I don’t recall anything until I was at the hospital getting discharged. The prevailing theory was I was knocked out briefly when it hit me and came to when I ran into Oriol Servia’s car. The first thing I started talking about over the radio was wanting to get my helmet off, but I don’t remember that.” JAMES: Drivers try to cope with Wilson trauma The primary pushback against canopies is the possibility that movement and vision could be restricted. Some drivers fear being trapped in an enclosed cockpit if a car is upside down or on fire. Richie Crampton, who has four NHRA Top Fuel victories this season, is one of them, but he says it’s a very different conversation when you are comparing Top Fuel cars to Indy cars. Canopies are optional in drag racing — NHRA approved them for event use in 2012 — with some drivers in the Top Fuel category using them and others not. Top Fuel dragsters can reach more than 300 mph and are the fastest class of the NHRA’s system. “My race car doesn’t have a canopy but has a quarter-inch thick Lexan windshield taller than my helmet and angled so that anything that might hit it should glance up and over,” Crampton explained to USA TODAY Sports Monday. But the types of cars are different.” Eight-time NHRA Top Fuel champion Tony Schumacher was the first driver to use the canopy designed by Aerodine Composites Group that was approved by the NHRA in 2012, and he’s heartbroken that IndyCar hasn’t developed something similar. I wouldn’t drive a car without it.” PODCAST: Mario Andretti on Justin Wilson and IndyCar safety Top Fuel driver Antron Brown is one of the proponents of full canopies, claiming his car’s canopy prevented injury when a portion of his front wing bounced off the canopy during a crash at Atlanta Dragway in May 2014. Formula 1 began testing full enclosures over the cockpits of its cars after Bianchi’s crash, while IndyCar’s safety committee discussed the possibility of a partial canopy. 2015: Notable IndyCar crashes “Getting out of the car as quickly as possible is the first priority, so a front deflector section seems to be a logical step,” Walker said in October. Since the next generation of Dallara chassis isn’t expected for some time, 2018 probably presents the soonest opportunity.” In May before the Indianapolis 500, Graham Rahal said he spoke to Honda officials about the possibility of the 2018 rebuild including a closed cockpit. You’ve got a great opportunity coming up soon.” COLUMN: Rahal’s title hopes running on fumes Rahal is engaged to NHRA Funny Car driver Courtney Force, whose sister, Brittany, uses a cover in Top Fuel. “We’d have to be more creative.” Rahal also noted that a drag race spans less than 4 seconds; Sunday’s race lasted 3 hours, 25 minutes.
It is hot. The refugees, who appeared to have suffocated, died before they entered Austria, police said. Macedonia/Greece Border Crisis 10 show all Macedonia/Greece Border Crisis 1/10 Macedonia Border Crisis Migrants attempt to pass the Greek-Macedonian border guarded by Macedonian police near the town of Idomeni, northern Greece AFP/Getty 2/10 Macedonian Border Crisis A migrant reacts as he carries a child during clashes with Macedonian police at the Greek-Macedonian border Reuters 3/10 Macedonia Border Crisis A Macedonian policeman armed in riot gear clashes with a migrant girl, police have reinforced control at the border with Greece in a bid to stop the influx of migrants, but a few hundred Syrians managed to cross the frontier overnight AFP/Getty 4/10 Macedonia Border Crisis Macedonian special policemen guard the border as more than a thousand immigrants wait at the border line Reuters 5/10 Macedonia Border Crisis Migrant men help a fellow migrant man holding a boy as they are stuck between Macedonian riot police officers and migrants during a clash near the border train station of Idomeni, AFP/Getty 6/10 Macedonia Border Crisis A barbed wire fence lines the border of Macedonia and Greece near the Gevegelija Railway station, Macedonian special policemen are guarding the border as more than a thousand immigrants wait at the border line of Macedonia and Greece Reuters 7/10 Macedonia Border Crisis Macedonian Police stand firm at the Greek-Macedonian border in a bid to stop the influx of migrants AFP/Getty 8/10 Macedonia Border Crisis Government of Macedonia has declared the state of emergency in the region of country's southern and northern border and in accordance with the law to open a possibility for appropriate engagement of the army of Macedonia AFP/Getty 9/10 Macedonia Border Crisis Macedonian police drove back crowds of migrants and refugees trying to enter from Greece on Friday after a night spent stranded in no-man's land by an emergency decree effectively sealing the Macedonian frontier.
Up to 50 people, presumed to be asylum-seekers, have been found dead in the back of a lorry in Austria. Officials referred to the dead as migrants, and local media reports suggested they died of "suffocation" after being trapped in the lorry's trailer. A police manhunt has been launched to find the driver, who is suspected of smuggling the victims into the country. The bodies were found in the back of a refrigerated food delivery truck, which had been parked on the hard shoulder of the A4 road, Austria's "Eastern Motorway", near the town of Parndorf. A spokesperson for the Austrian interior ministry confirmed to the Reuters news agency that the tractor trailer had been found, but was unable to provide a definitive death toll. "Unfortunately there are many dead people in there," he said. Police stand in front of a truck parked on the shoulder of the highway A4 near Parndorf south of Vienna At least 20 migrants were found dead in the truck parked on the Austrian highway leading from the Hungarian border, police said. 'Today is a dark day' Austrian police said the vehicle had been left abandoned at the site since Wednesday, but was only searched by officers on Thursday morning after it was repored by local workers. They said there were between 20 and 50 bodies inside, and that they had been dead for some time and started to decompose. Tweeting from the scene, Channel 4 News' Lindsey Hilsum said there was a "terrible smell of death as we passed". Just drove past truck on A4 in Austria with 50 dead refugees inside. pic.twitter.com/a2AiDnsy5V — Lindsey Hilsum (@lindseyhilsum) August 27, 2015 Austria's interior minister Johanna Mikl-Leitner addressed the discovery of the lorry at a press conference in Eisenstadt, according to Krone. She hit out at the "despicable methods" of migrant smugglers, saying they "belong behind bars", and said: "Today is a dark day." Macedonia/Greece Border Crisis 10 show all Macedonia/Greece Border Crisis 1/10 Macedonia Border Crisis Migrants attempt to pass the Greek-Macedonian border guarded by Macedonian police near the town of Idomeni, northern Greece AFP/Getty 2/10 Macedonian Border Crisis A migrant reacts as he carries a child during clashes with Macedonian police at the Greek-Macedonian border Reuters 3/10 Macedonia Border Crisis A Macedonian policeman armed in riot gear clashes with a migrant girl, police have reinforced control at the border with Greece in a bid to stop the influx of migrants, but a few hundred Syrians managed to cross the frontier overnight AFP/Getty 4/10 Macedonia Border Crisis Macedonian special policemen guard the border as more than a thousand immigrants wait at the border line Reuters 5/10 Macedonia Border Crisis Migrant men help a fellow migrant man holding a boy as they are stuck between Macedonian riot police officers and migrants during a clash near the border train station of Idomeni, AFP/Getty 6/10 Macedonia Border Crisis A barbed wire fence lines the border of Macedonia and Greece near the Gevegelija Railway station, Macedonian special policemen are guarding the border as more than a thousand immigrants wait at the border line of Macedonia and Greece Reuters 7/10 Macedonia Border Crisis Macedonian Police stand firm at the Greek-Macedonian border in a bid to stop the influx of migrants AFP/Getty 8/10 Macedonia Border Crisis Government of Macedonia has declared the state of emergency in the region of country's southern and northern border and in accordance with the law to open a possibility for appropriate engagement of the army of Macedonia AFP/Getty 9/10 Macedonia Border Crisis Macedonian police drove back crowds of migrants and refugees trying to enter from Greece on Friday after a night spent stranded in no-man's land by an emergency decree effectively sealing the Macedonian frontier. Reuters 10/10 Macedonia Border Crisis A migrants woman with childrens wait to pass the Greek-Macedonian border, guarded by Macedonian police near the town of Idomeni, northern Greece AFP/Getty Responding to the discovery of the bodies, Amnesty International's deputy director for Europe, Gauri van Gulik, said: “People dying in their dozens - whether crammed into a truck or a ship - en route to seek safety or better lives is a tragic indictment of Europe’s failures to provide alternative routes. “What’s urgently needed is what Amnesty International has been saying for years: Europe has to step up and provide protection to more, share responsibility better and show solidarity to other countries and to those most in need.” Earlier on Thursday, Austrian police said they had stopped three lorries suspected of carrying migrants. They included one van which had taken 34 refugees, including 10 children, across the border into Austria. The incident comes as Europe faced a continent-wide migrant crisis, with neighbouring Hungary reporting 3,241 illegal entry attempts - a record number - on Wednesday. Hungary is close to completing a razor-wire fence spanning the full 110-mile length of its border with Syria, prompting a race for migrants to reach the effective start of the Schengen Area of free movement within the EU. The migration crisis was set to top the agenda at the summit between the EU and six Balkan states including Macedonia and Serbia. Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption James Reynolds reports from Parndorf in Austria: ''The migrants may have been put on board well before they got to Austria'' The bodies of between 20 and 50 migrants have been found in a lorry abandoned in a motorway lay-by near the Austrian border with Hungary, authorities say. Austrian police say they think the people inside were already dead when the truck crossed into Austria. The lorry has been towed away for forensic examination. Austria's Chancellor Werner Faymann said the tragedy showed once again "how necessary it is to save lives by combating criminals and people traffickers". The vehicle - a refrigerated lorry with Hungarian licence plates - was found parked off the A4 motorway between Parndorf and Neusiedl am See, according to Burgenland police chief Hans Peter Doskozil. Image copyright AFP Image caption The truck was towed away in a police convoy on Thursday afternoon The vehicle was there from around 06:00 local time (04:00 GMT) on Thursday morning, Mr Doskozil said. But Hungarian cameras had identified that the truck was on the Hungarian side of the border, very close to Austria, at 09:00 on Wednesday, he said, so it must have been driven across the border in the intervening time. The decomposing state of the bodies would suggest that they had been dead for one and a half to two days, the police chief added, suggesting that the victims must have already been dead when the lorry crossed into Austria. Image copyright EPA Image caption Forensic teams were working at the site on Thursday Image copyright AFP Image caption The truck previously belonged to a Slovakian grocery company Image copyright EPA Image caption Investigators were working in very hot conditions The truck bears the logo of a Slovakian poultry company, Hyza, which said in a statement that the vehicle no longer belonged to the firm - but the new owners had not removed the branding. Hungarian police are working with Austrian police on the investigation, a spokesman for the Hungarian prime minister said. As we drove past, I saw police in white forensic suits combing the area for evidence. German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Thursday's find "reminds us to tackle the issue of migration with European spirit and find solutions". A record number of 107,500 migrants crossed the EU's borders last month and on Wednesday police counted more than 3,000 crossing into Serbia. The International Organization for Migration said on Thursday that an estimated 209,457 migrants had entered Greece between 1 January and 25 August this year, nearly five times the number that arrived in the whole of 2014. The bodies of at least 51 people were found on Wednesday in the hold of a stricken ship off the coast of Libya. Remains of people who are thought to have suffocated discovered in lorry abandoned on hard shoulder of motorway in east of country The bodies of at least 20 migrants – and possibly as many as 40 or 50 – have been found inside a parked lorry in eastern Austria, police said on Thursday, in a grim indication of the growing human toll of Europe’s worst refugee emergency since 1945.
We did. Actually, we did, and in full. Source: Al Jazeera How many of your journalists are in court? Why did you not pay Fahmy's bail? "We are really disappointed," she said. Three - Mohamed Fahmy and Baher Mohamed. If Egypt issues an international arrest warrant, Greste said, he won't be able to travel to any country that has an extradition treaty with Egypt. Was it negligent that your journalists did not have accreditation from the Egyptian authorities? How could you have put up such a catastrophic legal defence in the first trial? The retrial of the journalists was repeatedly adjourned before the verdict was announced on August 29. Were you reckless in reporting from Cairo when you knew the risks? What is the latest status with the case? This underlines the absurd nature of the charges. How could Al Jazeera have expected anything other than this situation with its Muslim Brotherhood bias? There has never been a shred of evidence to convict of any crime. He returned to Australia and continued to campaign for his two colleagues' innocence. Why did you choose to seek compensation from the Egyptian government last year? None of this justifies criminal proceedings and jail time. OK, but the Arabic channels are biased. Peter was released and expelled on February 1, 2015, after spending 400 days behind bars. We make no apologies for doing our job as a news organisation and giving the full picture. However, the Australian said he would be using every means at his disposal -- political, legal and diplomatic -- to try to clear his name and right this injustice, backed by Australia's Foreign Ministry.
Cairo (CNN) An Egyptian court on Saturday sentenced three Al Jazeera journalists to three years in prison after a lengthy retrial. Mohamed Fahmy and Baher Mohamed were present for the proceedings, with the latter given an additional six months in prison and a fine of 5,000 Egyptian pounds ($640.) Australian Al Jazeera journalist Peter Greste, who was deported from Egypt in February 2015 , was sentenced in absentia. The journalists were charged with aiding a terrorist organization, a reference to the Muslim Brotherhood, which was outlawed in Egypt after the army overthrew President Mohamed Morsy amid mass protests against his rule in 2013. The judge didn't mention terrorism on Saturday. The court confirmed over 13 sessions that the defendants are not journalists and worked without a broadcast license, Judge Hassan Farid said. "They broadcast video footage that contained false news and aired it after editing it on Al Jazeera with the aim of harming the country," he said. The defendants have said they were just doing their jobs, covering all sides of the stories in Egypt. JUST WATCHED Journalist Peter Greste: 'I can't go back' to Egypt Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Journalist Peter Greste: 'I can't go back' to Egypt 03:38 Al Jazeera Media Network's acting director general Mostefa Souag condemned the verdict, saying it "defies logic and common sense" and follows a heavily politicized and unfair trial process. The court's ruling means Fahmy and Mohamed must return to prison, he said. "Today's verdict is yet another deliberate attack on press freedom. It is a dark day for the Egyptian judiciary; rather than defend liberties and a free and fair media they have compromised their independence for political reasons." All three were convicted last year on charges that included conspiring with the Brotherhood, spreading false news and endangering national security, but they have maintained their innocence. The three appealed their convictions, and in January their attorneys announced that Egypt's highest court had granted them a retrial and they were released on bail. The reasoning for the court's verdict has not yet been released. Announcing the decision, the judge listed several charges he said had been confirmed -- including that the three were not registered journalists, possessed unlicensed broadcast equipment and broadcast footage containing "false news." Greste: No evidence to support charges Greste voiced his anger over the verdict via Twitter and in an interview with CNN from Sydney. Shocked. — Peter Greste (@PeterGreste) August 29, 2015 "I'm absolutely devastated by this verdict," he said. "There is no basis whatsoever in evidence to confirm any of the charges." Every independent observer who followed the trial, including diplomats, legal experts, lawyers and journalists, "has confirmed that there was never any evidence presented in court whatsoever to substantiate the allegations," Greste said. If Egypt issues an international arrest warrant, Greste said, he won't be able to travel to any country that has an extradition treaty with Egypt. This will devastate his career as a foreign correspondent, he said, "but that really is a minor inconvenience compared with what my colleagues are having to go through." Mohamed has three young children, one of them only a year old, as well as a wife, said Greste, while Fahmy also has a new wife he will leave behind. Both Mohamed Fahmy and Baher Mohamed will be able to appeal the verdicts in a higher court, but Greste will not because he was not physically present in court. However, the Australian said he would be using every means at his disposal -- political, legal and diplomatic -- to try to clear his name and right this injustice, backed by Australia's Foreign Ministry. In a statement on her official website, Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said she was "dismayed" by the court's decision and said she would "continue to pursue all diplomatic avenues with my Egyptian counterpart to clear (Greste's) name." The U.S. State Department said it was "deeply disappointed" by the verdict and urged the Egyptian government to take all measures to redress it. "The freedom of the press to investigate, report, and comment -- even when its perspective is unpopular or disputed -- is fundamental to any free society and essential to democratic development," State Department spokesman John Kirby said. Clooney: 'Really disappointed' Greste also said he would seek to ensure Egypt's President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi lives up to past promises that he would pardon the Al Jazeera journalists when the opportunity arose. Rights group: 'Farcical verdict' Amnesty International also condemned the court's ruling, saying the charges against the journalists were baseless and politicized. "This is a farcical verdict which strikes at the heart of freedom of expression in Egypt," said Philip Luther, the rights group's director for the Middle East and North Africa. "Today's verdict must be overturned immediately -- Mohamed Fahmy and Baher Mohamed should be allowed to walk free without conditions. Amnesty International also urged the Egyptian authorities to facilitate Fahmy's request for deportation from Egypt to Canada.
So far, the effect has been minimal. The gauge surged 1.8 percent Wednesday after tumbling 2.8 percent the day before. There are other signs that the U.S. job market remains solid. The unemployment rate is the lowest since April 2008. From June through August, the economy generated a solid 221,000 jobs a month, up from an average of 189,000 in March through May. Steady hiring could encourage the Fed to raise rates for the first time in a decade. Nonfarm payrolls increased 173,000 last month after an upwardly revised gain of 245,000 in July, the Labor Department said on Friday. The combination of more hours and higher earnings left workers with a 0.7 percent increase in their take-home wages. September is historically the worst month of the year for the S&P 500, with the equity gauge falling 1.1 percent on average based on data going back to 1927, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. "The big question is still whether financial market volatility will scupper the plans." Joy Global Inc. fell 1.4 percent, a day after it plunged the most in six years after cutting its 2015 outlook amid the global commodity downturn. A number of retailers, including Walmart (WMT.N), Target (TGT.N) and TJX Cos (TJX.N), have increased pay for hourly workers since the start of the year. Joseph LaVorgna, chief U.S. economist at Deutsche Bank, cautioned before Friday's report that job growth for August typically falls short of later revisions. The answer probably won't be clear for months. Still, stock market turbulence, a persistently low inflation rate and a sharp slowdown in China could complicate its decision.
WASHINGTON - The U.S. unemployment rate fell to a seven-year low in August as employers added a modest 173,000 jobs, a key piece of evidence for the Federal Reserve in deciding whether to raise interest rates from record lows later this month. The Labor Department says the unemployment rate fell to 5.1 percent from 5.3 percent, the lowest since April 2008. Hiring in August was the lowest in five months, but the government revised up the June and July job growth by a combined 44,000. From June through August, the economy generated a solid 221,000 jobs a month, up from an average of 189,000 in March through May. "Average hourly earnings edged higher during the month, rising just over 0.3 percent. Over the last twelve months, higher hourly earnings and a modest uptick in average hours worked pushed weekly earnings up by 2.5 percent. Recent data suggests that gains may be accelerating, which -- if sustained -- would be a positive development for workers," Jim Baird, partner and chief investment officer for Plante Moran Financial Advisors, wrote in a note after the release. Still, after three years of solid job growth that has put nearly 8 million Americans back to work, Fed officials are probably satisfied with the job market's progress. Once the Fed begins raising borrowing rates, higher rates are likely to eventually ripple through the economy. A stumbling global economy and stronger dollar, which makes U.S. exports costlier overseas, could slow growth for the next 12 months, according to Goldman Sachs. Joseph LaVorgna, chief U.S. economist at Deutsche Bank, cautioned before Friday's report that job growth for August typically falls short of later revisions. The elimination of millions of summer jobs in August tends to cause the government to undershoot the actual job gain for the month. A key question is how the stock market turbulence and China's troubles might affect the overall U.S. economy. Service sector companies, such as restaurants, retailers, banks and construction companies are expanding at the fastest pace in nearly a decade, according to a survey by the Institute for Supply Management. The number of Americans seeking unemployment remains very low by historical standards -- evidence that companies are still confident enough about customer demand to maintain their staff levels. There are other signs that the U.S. job market remains solid. Americans overall have a brighter outlook: According to the Conference Board's consumer confidence survey, nearly 22 percent of Americans said jobs were plentiful in August. That matched the proportion who said jobs were hard to get -- the first time since the Great Recession began in 2007 that the two figures have been equal. WASHINGTON U.S. job growth slowed in August, but the unemployment rate dropped to a near 7-1/2-year low and wages accelerated, keeping alive prospects of a Federal Reserve interest rate hike later this month. Indicating the hiring slowdown was likely not reflective of the economy's true health, the jobless rate fell two-tenths of a point to 5.1 percent, its lowest level since April 2008. In addition, payrolls data for June and July were revised to show 44,000 more jobs created than previously reported, bringing the average job gains for the past three months to a solid 221,000. "The payrolls data is certainly good enough to allow for a Fed rate hike in September," said Alan Ruskin, global head of currency strategy at Deutsche Bank in New York. Prices for U.S. government debt rose, while the dollar fell marginally against a basket of currencies. While the mixed report did little to alter views that the U.S. economy remains vibrant despite volatile global financial markets and slowing Chinese growth, it could further complicate the Fed's decision at a policy meeting on Sept. 16-17. But the evidence of a tightening labor market added to a string of upbeat data, including figures on automobile sales and housing, that has suggested the economy was moving ahead with strong momentum after growing at a robust 3.7 percent annual rate in the second quarter. The decline in the unemployment rate brought it into the range that most Fed officials think is consistent with a low but steady rate of inflation, and would likely bolster their expectation that a pick-up in wages will help lift inflation toward their 2 percent target. Oilfield giants Schlumberger (SLB.N) and Halliburton (HAL.N) and many others in the oil and gas industry have announced thousands of job cuts this year. "Regardless of which meeting this year the Fed begins to raise rates, next year we expect core inflation to surprise on the upside, forcing the Fed into tightening policy more aggressively than the markets currently anticipate," said Paul Ashworth, chief U.S. economist at Capital Economics in Toronto.
But in official functions, he only speaks Moore, his mother tongue. Image copyright AFP Image caption Mogho Naba Baongo II is said to have played a key role in helping Burkina Faso avoid a bloodbath The Mogho Naba played a key role in brokering the return of civilian rule to Burkina Faso after last week's military takeover. The interim government announced it was disbanding the presidential guard. Interim President Michel Kafando was formally reinstated on Wednesday after an intervention from the army and several West African leaders. Coup leader Gen Gilbert Diendere admitted the putsch had been "the biggest mistake". In October 2014, it was protests just like these – organised under the banner of the Balai Citoyen (Citizen’s Broom) movement – that forced Compaoré out of office. This is the third leader removed from power in disgrace, including Dadis Camara [Guinea], Amadou Sanogo [Mali] and now Gilbert Diendéré. An emergency meeting of the regional bloc Ecowas earlier in the week also helped to bring a smooth end to the crisis. The RSP - a unit of 1,200 well-armed and well-trained men - is loyal to Blaise Compaore, the country's long-time ruler who was ousted in a popular uprising last year. Democracy has promising days ahead in the region,” he said. Out of respect for tradition, it is customary for powerbrokers seeking to establish a foothold in Ouagadougou to seek his symbolic approval. Baongo II has been king since 1982. Members of the unit stormed the cabinet room on 16 September taking the interim president, the prime minister and others. This is unusually strong language for an institution that has a reputation for hedging its bets.
Image copyright AFP Image caption Interim President Michael Kafando attended the first post-coup cabinet meeting A unit of guards that carried out a coup in Burkina Faso last week before handing back power is to be disbanded. Interim President Michel Kafando was formally reinstated on Wednesday after an intervention from the army and several West African leaders. Coup leader Gen Gilbert Diendere admitted the putsch had been "the biggest mistake". "We knew the people were not in favour of it," he said. At least 10 people were killed and more than 100 injured in clashes during the take over. The decision to disband the presidential guard (RSP) was taken at the first full meeting of the government since Mr Kafando's reinstatement. They also dismissed the minister in charge of security and established a commission to identify those behind the coup. Prime Minister Yacouba Isaac Zida had warned that "those who will have to answer to justice will do so". The RSP - a unit of 1,200 well-armed and well-trained men - is loyal to Blaise Compaore, the country's long-time ruler who was ousted in a popular uprising last year. Members of the unit stormed the cabinet room on 16 September taking the interim president, the prime minister and others. A week later, when it became clear they did not enjoy popular support and after a threat from the regular army to step down or be ousted by force, the RSP withdrew. An emergency meeting of the regional bloc Ecowas earlier in the week also helped to bring a smooth end to the crisis. If there is one thing that Burkina Faso has proved, it is that the country has an almost unlimited capacity to confound the predictions of even the most seasoned observers. When citizens protested against then president Blaise Compaoré last year, no one expected the mass movement to work – or to see the much-feared Compaoré, who had clung to power for 27 years, retreat into exile. And last week, when the head of the presidential guard arrested the interim leadership and declared himself in charge just three weeks before planned elections, few thought that General Gilbert Diendéré would be forced out within the week. The rise and fall of Burkina Faso's coup: what you need to know Read more The major reason for the coup’s defeat was that it was instantly unpopular. “The [popular protests against the coup] demonstrated that the Régiment de sécurité présidentielle [the presidential guard] did not have control over the vast majority of the country and would not be able to rule for long,” said Eloise Bertrand, a researcher from the University of Warwick and expert on Burkinabé opposition movements. The second major factor was the resistance from the regular army, who made it clear that they were willing to act against the elite presidential guard. By ordering that Ouagadougou be surrounded, army chiefs told General Diendéré – in a language that the long-time military man would understand – that he would have to fight to maintain his grip on power. The third reason was that Diendéré and his loyalists – who have strong ties to the Compaoré regime – were surprised by the vehemence of the continental response. The coup was instantly condemned in the strongest possible terms by the African Union (AU), while regional body the Economic Community for West African States (Ecowas) scrambled together a high-level mediation team. It was only after talks with the Ecowas mediation team that interim president Michel Kafando was returned to office, with the mediators instrumental in persuading Diendéré to accept the deal. “Ecowas played a highly significant role that demonstrates the potential for effective regional intervention,” said Frank Charnas, CEO of risk analysis firm Afrique Consulting. But when civil society groups questioned his apparent willingness to grant immunity to the coup leaders, the Nigerian president, Muhammadu Buhari, took the lead. “Certainly, this may aid his image with regard to foreign diplomacy … in the silent war for continental diplomatic influence between Nigeria and Ecowas, and South Africa and Sadc [the Southern African Diplomatic Community], the Burkina situation as it currently stands could be chalked up as a victory for the west Africans,” said Charnas. “Given his status as a former coup leader and now democratically elected president, [Buhari] might have been decisive in calling for the return of the interim president, and that message was directly conveyed to the coup-makers,” he said. In a further sign of progress in the region, Ecowas leaders narrowly failed to pass a resolution in May outlawing all third terms for presidents in the region (the move was blocked by Togo and Gambia). Image copyright AFP Image caption Mogho Naba Baongo II is said to have played a key role in helping Burkina Faso avoid a bloodbath The Mogho Naba played a key role in brokering the return of civilian rule to Burkina Faso after last week's military takeover. The title means the "king of the world" in the language of the Mossi community, who constitute about 40% of the country's population of 17 million people.
Life on Mars, if it exists, will most likely be microbes, McEwen said. "If water on Mars proves to be real, it would not look or feel like water on Earth. NASA announced on Monday that liquid saltwater exists on the surface of Mars - a discovery that scientists say indicates the "potential" for life on the planet. Source: Al Jazeera Facebook Twitter Pinterest Dark narrow streaks called recurring slope lineae emanate out of the walls of Garni crater on Mars. Researchers have now turned to another instrument on board the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter to analyse the chemistry of the mysterious RSL flows. Download ABC News for iPhone here or ABC News for Android here. "We found evidence of water activity in hydrated salts on Mars," he said. The finding also fuels speculation that life may have at one time thrived on Mars or could possibly even exist today. "I think all of the scientific discoveries we’re making on the surface of Mars, these observations are giving us a much better view that Mars has resources that are useful to future travels." A study published in the journal Nature Geoscience identified waterlogged molecules taken from readings from orbit. They appeared again and in the same spot year after year. Porous rocks under the Martian surface might hold frozen water that melts in the summer months and seeps up to the surface. “Mars is not the dry, arid planet that we thought of in the past,” said Nasa’s Jim Green. Research shows the streaks "appear and grow incrementally in the downslope direction during warm seasons". Photograph: Nasa/Reuters John Bridges, a professor of planetary science at the University of Leicester, said the study was fascinating, but might throw up some fresh concerns for space agencies.
Researchers say discovery of stains from summertime flows down cliffs and crater walls increases chance of finding life on red planet Liquid water runs down canyons and crater walls over the summer months on Mars, according to researchers who say the discovery raises the chances of being home to some form of life. The trickles leave long, dark stains on the Martian terrain that can reach hundreds of metres downhill in the warmer months, before they dry up in the autumn as surface temperatures drop. Images taken from the Mars orbit show cliffs, and the steep walls of valleys and craters, streaked with summertime flows that in the most active spots combine to form intricate fan-like patterns. Scientists are unsure where the water comes from, but it may rise up from underground ice or salty aquifers, or condense out of the thin Martian atmosphere. Mars find suggests our solar system is awash with life | Letters Read more “There is liquid water today on the surface of Mars,” Michael Meyer, the lead scientist on Nasa’s Mars exploration programme, told the Guardian. “Because of this, we suspect that it is at least possible to have a habitable environment today.” A visual guide to water on Mars Read more The water flows could point Nasa and other space agencies towards the most promising sites to find life on Mars, and to landing spots for future human missions where water can be collected from a natural supply. “Liquid water has been found on Mars.” Some of the earliest missions to Mars revealed a planet with a watery past. Pictures beamed back to Earth in the 1970s showed a surface crossed by dried-up rivers and plains once submerged beneath vast ancient lakes. Earlier this year, Nasa unveiled evidence of an ocean that might have covered half of the planet’s northern hemisphere in the distant past. Facebook Twitter Pinterest Dark narrow streaks called recurring slope lineae emanate out of the walls of Garni crater on Mars. Photograph: Nasa/AFP/Getty Images But occasionally, Mars probes have found hints that the planet might still be wet. Nearly a decade ago, Nasa’s Mars Global Surveyor took pictures of what appeared to be water bursting through a gully wall and flowing around boulders and other rocky debris. Not wanting to assume too much, mission scientists named the flows “recurring slope lineae” or RSL. Researchers have now turned to another instrument on board the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter to analyse the chemistry of the mysterious RSL flows. Lujendra Ojha, of Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, and his colleagues used a spectrometer on the MRO to look at infrared light reflected off steep rocky walls when the dark streaks had just begun to appear, and when they had grown to full length at the end of the Martian summer. Water on the red planet: Nasa reveals major discovery – in pictures Read more Writing in the journal Nature Geosciences, the team describes how it found infra-red signatures for hydrated salts when the dark flows were present, but none before they had grown. The hydrated salts – a mix of chlorates and perchlorates – are a smoking gun for the presence of water at all four sites inspected: the Hale, Palikir and Horowitz craters, and a large canyon called Coprates Chasma. “These may be the best places to search for extant life near the surface of Mars,” said Alfred McEwen, a planetary geologist at the University of Arizona and senior author on the study. “While it would be very important to find evidence of ancient life, it would be difficult to understand the biology. “From this, we conclude that the RSL are generated by water interacting with perchlorates, forming a brine that flows downhill.” Facebook Twitter Pinterest These channels, which are between 1 metre and 10 metres wide, are on a scarp in the Hellas impact basin. Photograph: Nasa/Reuters John Bridges, a professor of planetary science at the University of Leicester, said the study was fascinating, but might throw up some fresh concerns for space agencies. The flows could be used to find water sources on Mars, making them prime spots to hunt for life, and to land future human missions. But agencies were required to do their utmost to avoid contaminating other planets with microbes from Earth, making wet areas the most difficult to visit. Porous rocks under the Martian surface might hold frozen water that melts in the summer months and seeps up to the surface. The Guardian view on the discovery of liquid water on Mars: cause for great celebration | Editorial Read more Another possibility is that highly concentrated saline aquifers are dotted around beneath the surface, not as pools of water, but as saturated volumes of gritty rock. NASA revealed today liquid water has been found on the surface of Mars -- upending the perception of Mars as a completely arid, desert-like planet. “We now know Mars was once a planet very much like Earth with warm salty seas and fresh water lakes,” Jim Green, planetary science director at NASA, said at a news conference. The findings come from NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter and raise the possibility there could be life -- or even microbes -- living inside the Red Planet. NASA announced on Monday that liquid saltwater exists on the surface of Mars - a discovery that scientists say indicates the "potential" for life on the planet. The historic findings by scientists from NASA and several US universities are based on research on dark, narrow and elongated streaks that appear on the surface of the Red Planet and which are known as "recurring slope lineae" (RSL).
It's not enough. It's not much, but it's something," one said. Hide Caption 8 of 15 Photos: Shooting at Oregon community college Authorities secure the campus after the shooting on October 1. "And then he shot and killed them." The gunman also died. Seven other people were injured, and the shooter is dead, Douglas County Sheriff John Hanlin told reporters. On Thursday, Mercer - dressed in a flak jacket - brought six guns to Umpqua Community College in Roseburg and opened fire. Download ABC News for iPhone here or ABC News for Android here. My heart and prayers are with the victims and their families. She said all of the students in her classroom dropped to the ground. Medicine student Sharon Kirkham told the BBC her friend Kim died in her arms after being shot three times. Should media name mass killers? "Somehow this has become routine. Multiple law enforcement officials familiar with the investigation identified the gunman as 26-year-old Chris Harper Mercer. The school itself is up on a hill outside the city center, according to Rick Francona, a CNN military analyst who lives nearby. "I think everyone is going to be scared going back to campus. Those killed and wounded were found in at least two classrooms. He then killed himself after a gun battle with police officers who arrived at the college. Investigators have interviewed members of his family and friends, they said. — Senator Jeff Merkley (@SenJeffMerkley) October 1, 2015 U.S. President Barack Obama was briefed on the situation and will continue to receive updates throughout the day.
Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Survivors have been telling their stories of the horrific events The gunman who killed nine people in a shooting rampage at a college in the US state Oregon then killed himself as police arrived, officials have said. They said that 14 weapons were later found at his home and the college. Police earlier released the names of the victims, who ranged in age from 18 to 67. 'Gasping for air' "The medical examiner has determined the cause of death of the shooter to be suicide," Douglas County Sheriff John Hanlin told reporters on Saturday. Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Mourners held a vigil for victims He said that investigators were checking numerous leads and had already interviewed hundreds of people in the area. At the scene: Vanessa Barford, BBC News, Roseburg, Oregon As the residents of Roseburg come to terms with the shooting spree that sent shock waves through their tight-knit community on Thursday, many are trying to do something to show their support for the victims. Bree Larson, 19, spent 12 hours making 100 T-shirts with the simple slogan "pray for Roseburg" on Friday. "I go to the college, so wanted to help the students. We've had 300 orders, so hopefully we will raise some money," she said. Shop cashier Latysha Nash, 23, made ribbons for her colleagues in the school colour - green. My family friend Quinn Cooper was killed. Up the road in a cafe, two 30-year-old friends are planning on baking food when the college reopens. On Thursday, Mercer - dressed in a flak jacket - brought six guns to Umpqua Community College in Roseburg and opened fire. The attacker killed eight students and a teacher. He then killed himself after a gun battle with police officers who arrived at the college. Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Sharon Kirkham: "He shot my best friend three times" The gunman also reportedly left a "manifesto" - a typed statement that was several pages long. Mercer's relatives on Saturday released a statement, saying they were "shocked and deeply saddened by the horrific events". "Our thoughts, our hearts and our prayers go out to all of the families of those who died and were injured," the statement said. When asked about his son's mental health, his father Ian Mercer told CNN on Saturday that he "has to have some kind of issue". Two victims have said religion was an issue - the gunman asked his victims to state their religion and shot dead the Christians. Medicine student Sharon Kirkham told the BBC her friend Kim died in her arms after being shot three times. Oregon college shooting - in depth Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption How common are school shootings in the US? - the copycat killing phenomenon Army vet 'hero' in Oregon shooting - the man that tried to stop the attack US gun violence in numbers - shootings have become increasingly commonplace. Oregon shooting: The '4chan' thread - did the gunman give a warning on the internet? A nursing student who was at the community college in Oregon on the day a gunman opened fire recalled tending to her dying friend and the heroism of the Army veteran who confronted the shooter.
On 28 August 2014, the body of Gabriel Kovari, 22, from Lewisham, was discovered close to the churchyard of St Margaret’s Church, North Street, Barking. Mr Walgate was pronounced dead on Cooke Street on June 19 last year. Police said Port is also charged with four counts of “administering a poison with intent to endanger life or inflict grievous bodily harm”. The fourth alleged victim was Jack Taylor, 25, from Dagenham, whose body was found near the Abbey Ruins close to North Street on 14 September this year. "Anthony was also a good friend. Prosecutors told Barkingside magistrates he gave the men large amounts of the drug GHB. Image caption Mr Port was remanded in custody to appear at the Old Bailey on Wednesday Daniel Whitworth was an aspiring chef who worked in London Docklands. If he was friends with you, he would be your best mate." Mr Port is accused of killing Anthony Walgate, 23, a fashion and design student at Middlesex University who was originally from Hull but living in Barnet. The deaths were not initially linked, but after further investigation they were referred to the Metropolitan Police homicide and major crime command on October 14. Scotland Yard has named the victims. Photo: Alamy Wearing a prison issue grey tracksuit he held one of his arms and repeatedly glanced at the floor. Police charge Stephen Port, 40, with four counts of murder in relation to bodies discovered in Barking between June 2014 and September 2015 A man has been charged with murder and the administration of a poison following the discoveries of the bodies of four young men over a period of 15 months.
An alleged serial killer has appeared in court accused of drugging and murdering four young men he met on gay websites, and dumping their bodies in and around a churchyard in east London. Stephen Port, 40, is accused of poisoning the four men, who were all in their 20s, in a spate of attacks over 14 months. Mr Port, of Cooke Street, Barking in east London, has been charged with four counts of murder and four counts of administering a poison with intent to endanger life or inflict grievous bodily harm. It is alleged he invited the men back to his house where they were given large amounts of the party drug GHB which they overdosed on. The bodies of two of the men were found by a dog walker less than a month apart in the churchyard of St Margaret's Church in North Street in Barking, while another was found near the ruins of Barking Abbey. Port, who is blonde with a receding hairline, appeared in the dock at Barkingside Magistrates' Court accompanied by three uniformed officers. He spoke only to confirm his name, age and address during the brief hearing. Photo: Alamy Wearing a prison issue grey tracksuit he held one of his arms and repeatedly glanced at the floor. Mr Port is accused of killing Anthony Walgate, 23, a fashion and design student at Middlesex University who was originally from Hull but living in Barnet. Mr Walgate was pronounced dead on Cooke Street on June 19 last year. He also allegedly murdered Gabriel Kovari, 22, originally from Slovakia but living in Lewisham. Mr Kovari's body was found by a dog walker near the churchyard of St Margaret's Church on August 28 last year. Photo: Alamy Just under a month later, on September 20, the same dog walker discovered the body of Daniel Whitworth, 21, from Gravesend, Kent, near the same churchyard. Port is also accused of killing Jack Taylor, 25, a forklift truck driver from Dagenham, whose body was found near the Abbey ruins close to North Street on September 14. The deaths were not initially linked, but after further investigation they were referred to the Metropolitan Police homicide and major crime command on October 14. Mr Taylor, who worked at a warehouse as a night duty forklift operator, had been out with friends on the Saturday evening before he was found dead. If he was friends with you, he would be your best mate" - Anthony Walgate's mother Sarah Sak The 23-year-old's parents, Tom Walgate and Sarah Sak, have previously spoken of their grief at the loss of their "funny" son. Mrs Sak told the Hull Daily Mail: "He was very funny and had a wicked sense of humour. Police charge Stephen Port, 40, with four counts of murder in relation to bodies discovered in Barking between June 2014 and September 2015 A man has been charged with murder and the administration of a poison following the discoveries of the bodies of four young men over a period of 15 months. On Sunday night, Scotland Yard said it had charged Stephen Port, 40, from Barking, in east London, with four counts of murder in relation to the deaths of four men between June last year and September this year. The charges follow the discovery of two bodies of alleged victims close to the churchyard of St Margaret’s Church in Barking, 22 days apart. The fourth alleged victim was Jack Taylor, 25, from Dagenham, whose body was found near the Abbey Ruins close to North Street on 14 September this year. Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Stephen Port, 40, is alleged to have met the victims online, as Ben Geoghegan reports A man has appeared in court charged with poisoning and murdering four young men. Stephen Port, 40, is accused of killing the men, who he allegedly contacted via dating websites, between June 2014 and September this year. Image copyright Ross Parry Image caption Anthony Walgate was found by police last June in Barking The charges relate to the deaths of: Anthony Patrick Walgate, 23, from Barnet, who was pronounced dead on Cooke Street on 19 June 2014 Gabriel Kovari, 22, from Lewisham, whose body was found near the churchyard of St Margaret's Church, North Street, Barking, on 28 August 2014 Jack Taylor, 25, from Dagenham, whose body was found near the Abbey Ruins close to North Street on 14 September this year Daniel Whitworth, 21, from Gravesend, Kent, whose body was also found near the same churchyard on 20 September 2014. Image copyright Facebook Image caption Jack Taylor was a fork-lift truck operator The deaths of the four men were not initially linked, but after further investigation they were referred to the Metropolitan Police homicide and major crime command. Image caption The men died between June 2014 and last month, police said Jack Taylor was a night-duty fork-lift truck driver at a warehouse and was last seen by friends on a night out in Barking on 13 September.
Daniel Whitworth, 21, from Gravesend, Kent, was found dead in the churchyard on 20 September 2014. Alleged serial killer remanded in custody at Old Bailey where he appeared via video link from Pentonville prison, with a provisional four-week trial set for April An alleged serial killer charged with the murder and poisoning of four young men has appeared in court via video link from Pentonville prison in London. Jack Taylor, a 25-year-old forklift truck driver from Dagenham, whose body was found near the Abbey Ruins close to North Street, Barking, on 14 September this year. No application for bail was made and Port was remanded in custody. The deaths were not initially linked but after further investigation they were referred to the Metropolitan Police homicide and major crime command on October 14. He was a fashion and design student at Middlesex University who was originally from Hull but living in Barnet. The 40-year-old allegedly gave his victims large amounts of the drug GHB. The first victim, Anthony Walgate, 23, was found dead on Cooke Street on June 19 last year. Recorder of London Nicholas Hilliard QC set a provisional timetable for the case with a plea and case management hearing on January 6 and a trial on April 11. He faces four counts of murder, allegedly committed over a period of 15 months, and four counts of “administering a poison with intent to endanger life or inflict grievous bodily harm”. The second victim, Gabriel Kovari, 22, was found by a dog walker near St Margaret's churchyard on August 28 last year. The bald defendant sat with his head bowed and spoke only to confirm his name during the short preliminary hearing.
From the section Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Stephen Port is accused of drugging the men with GHB, reports Daniel Sandford Suspected serial killer Stephen Port has appeared via videolink at the Old Bailey charged with poisoning and murdering four young men. Mr Port, of Barking, London, is accused of killing the men after contacting them via dating websites between June 2014 and September this year. The 40-year-old allegedly gave his victims large amounts of the drug GHB. The hearing lasted approximately 10 minutes, with a provisional trial date set for April. Image copyright Facebook Image caption Jack Taylor was a fork-lift truck operator Mr Port, of Cooke Street, Barking, appeared via a link from Pentonville Prison. The charges relate to the deaths of: Anthony Patrick Walgate, a 23-year-old fashion and design student from Barnet who was pronounced dead on Cooke Street, Barking, on 19 June 2014. Gabriel Kovari, 22, from Lewisham, whose body was found near the churchyard of St Margaret's Church, North Street, Barking, on 28 August 2014. Jack Taylor, a 25-year-old forklift truck driver from Dagenham, whose body was found near the Abbey Ruins close to North Street, Barking, on 14 September this year. Daniel Whitworth, 21, an aspiring chef from Gravesend, Kent, whose body was also found near the churchyard on 20 September 2014. The deaths were not initially linked but after further investigation they were referred to the Metropolitan Police homicide and major crime command on October 14. Alleged serial killer, Stephen Port, who is accused of drugging and murdering four young men he met on gay dating websites is expected to stand trial in April next year. The 40-year-old chef, who is accused of poisoning the men with the party drug GHB, appeared at the Old Bailey for the first time, via videolink from Pentonville prison. Mr Port, of Cooke Street, Barking, in east London, is charged with four counts of murder and four counts of administering a poison with intent to endanger life or inflict grievous bodily harm. Photo: Alamy Mr Port was dressed in a green jumpsuit with one yellow sleeve and shoulder panel when he made his firstappearance before a judge at the Old Bailey. The second victim, Gabriel Kovari, 22, was found by a dog walker near St Margaret's churchyard on August 28 last year. Just under a month later, on September 20 last year, the same dog walker discovered the body of Daniel Whitworth, 21, from Gravesend, Kent, near the same churchyard. Then on September 14 this year, Jack Taylor, 25, a forklift truck driver from Dagenham, was found dead near the abbey ruins close to North Street. Alleged serial killer remanded in custody at Old Bailey where he appeared via video link from Pentonville prison, with a provisional four-week trial set for April An alleged serial killer charged with the murder and poisoning of four young men has appeared in court via video link from Pentonville prison in London. He faces four counts of murder, allegedly committed over a period of 15 months, and four counts of “administering a poison with intent to endanger life or inflict grievous bodily harm”. The fourth alleged victim was Jack Taylor, 25, a forklift operator, from Dagenham, whose body was found near the Abbey Ruins, close to North Street, on 14 September this year, 300 yards from the churchyard where Whitworth and Kovari’s bodies were discovered.
They are doing badly. It was total chaos, people were trampling on each other,” he said. The fire is believed to have been caused by fireworks that were let off inside the club. The victims are being transported to emergency hospitals. A firework malfunction and subsequent fire at a Bucharest nightclub has killed 27 people and injured over 180 more. He added: "It is a very sad day for all of us, for our nation and for me personally." Many of those being treated in hospital were suffering from smoke inhalation and severe burns, Mr Arafat said. There were 300 to 400 people in the Colectiv Club in the Romanian capital on Friday night. Romania's President Klaus Iohannis wrote on his Facebook page that he was "deeply grieved by the tragic events that happened this evening in downtown." The pyrotechnics were reportedly part of a show by a heavy metal band. Local journalist Sorin Bogdan told the BBC the club was in a converted former factory with two small exit doors, only one of which was possible to open initially. The families have seen them but now we won’t know more until the morning. According to one witness speaking to Romanian media, a fireworks display around the stage set nearby objects alight. Image copyright EPA Image caption Up to 400 people were in the club Image copyright Reuters Image caption Many of those in hospital have severe burns Prime Minister Victor Ponta said he was cutting short a visit to Mexico to return to Bucharest. A young man filmed by Antena 3 said that fire engulfed clubgoers, burning their skin and hair.
Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Sorin Bogdan: "People thought the fire was part of the show" Twenty-seven people - mostly teenagers and young people - have been killed after fire broke out at a nightclub in Bucharest, officials say. Emergency response chief Raed Arafat said 155 people were being treated in hospitals in the Romanian capital. The fire is believed to have been caused by fireworks that were let off inside the club. The pyrotechnics were reportedly part of a show by a heavy metal band. Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Journalist Alison Mutler: "There was only one exit" Witnesses said a spark on the stage ignited some of the polystyrene decor. A pillar and the club's ceiling caught fire and there was an explosion and heavy smoke, they added. It was total chaos, people were trampling on each other," Victor Ionescu, who was at the club, told local TV station Antena 3. Up to 400 people may have been inside the club, which was hosting a free rock concert. Local journalist Sorin Bogdan told the BBC the club was in a converted former factory with two small exit doors, only one of which was possible to open initially. A witness quoted by Romania's state news agency said terrified concert-goers had to break the second door down to escape. Many of those being treated in hospital were suffering from smoke inhalation and severe burns, Mr Arafat said. At least 25 people were reported to be in serious condition at the Municipal Hospital. Staff at another hospital said most of the people they treated were teenagers aged between 14 and 16. Image copyright EPA Image caption Up to 400 people were in the club Image copyright Reuters Image caption Many of those in hospital have severe burns Prime Minister Victor Ponta said he was cutting short a visit to Mexico to return to Bucharest. Romania's President Klaus Iohannis wrote on his Facebook page that he was "deeply grieved by the tragic events that happened this evening in downtown." He added: "It is a very sad day for all of us, for our nation and for me personally." A firework malfunction and subsequent fire at a Bucharest nightclub has killed 27 people and injured over 180 more. Romanian news channel Digi24 reports that pyrotechnics inside the Colectiv nightclub in Bucharest city centre started a fire, which spread quickly in the small club where over 500 people were attending an album launch party. The Facebook event page for the party describes the "customized light show and pyrotechnic effects" that had been prepared. At least 21 dead and 80 injured during a fire caused by an explosion in a club in #Bucharest pic.twitter.com/RK3nI6QHJt — Breaking3zero U.S. (@Breaking3zeroUS) October 30, 2015 After the fire, many Facebook users took to the event page to ask about the whereabouts of friends and relatives who they believed were at the club at the time. Romanian Interior Minister Gabriel Oprea said 25 people were killed in the fire, and over 80 were injured. The death toll later rose to 27, and is expected to keep mounting as the night goes on. Oprea said the government has established a crisis unit to deal with the response to the fire in the immediate aftermath. Nightclub in #Bucharest before tragedy killing at least 26, shared by LemiBlack on FB, showing safety concerns pic.twitter.com/UwTUORkFj1 — Michael Bird (@MichaelBirdUK) October 30, 2015 The injured, some of whom are foreigners, have been taken to local hospitals, which are struggling to cope with the huge influx of patients. Romanian President Klaus Iohannis issued a statement of condolence shortly after the fire Klaus Iohannis, the President of Romania, issued a statement in which he said he was "shocked and deeply saddened" by the night's events. He expressed his "full compassion" for the victims and their families, and assured them that everything was being done to improve the situation. At least 27 people died and another 180 were injured after pyrotechnic display sparked blaze during concert at Colectiv venue in Romanian capital A fire sparked by stage pyrotechnics at a nightclub in the centre of Bucharest has left at least 27 people dead and 180 injured. A young woman who sustained minor injuries described the club bursting into flames. All of the wounded have now been identified, and those who died are being examined by the medical examiners.” Media reported that clubgoers initially thought the flames were part of the show and did not immediately react.
This is a painful process, but it is our only alternative. In a statement VW denied it had fitted any devices on these vehicles. Meanwhile, Porsche said it was "surprised" by the EPA's allegations. An internal investigation by the firm into diesel emissions revealed that CO2 emissions and fuel consumption were understated during standards tests. The company said the “majority” of cars involved have a diesel engine, which implies that petrol cars are involved in the scandal for the first time. The firm estimated the problem could cost about €2bn (£1.4bn). “The supervisory board will continue to ensure swift and meticulous clarification. Image copyright Reuters Volkswagen cars with bigger diesel engines also contained software devices designed to cheat in emissions tests, according to US regulators. And then there's a new brand involved: Porsche. Martin Winterkorn stepped down as chief executive of VW after the discovery of the defeat devices. The car industry agrees that real world testing is necessary. The company already faces a potential $18bn fine for the initial recall by the EPA in September of 482,000 VW and Audi cars. State and federal prosecutors in the US have announced criminal investigations and German prosecutors are looking into the scandal. The carmaker has put aside €6.7bn to meet the cost of recalling the 11m vehicles, but also faces the threat of fines and legal action from shareholders and customers. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said that cars with 3.0 litre engines from the years 2014 to 2016 were affected. We will stop at nothing and nobody. Image copyright Getty Images Shares in VW have dropped after it reported "irregularities" in carbon dioxide emissions levels, which could affect about 800,000 cars in Europe.
Image copyright Getty Images Shares in VW have dropped after it reported "irregularities" in carbon dioxide emissions levels, which could affect about 800,000 cars in Europe. An internal investigation by the firm into diesel emissions revealed that CO2 emissions and fuel consumption were understated during standards tests. VW said it concerned mainly diesel but also some petrol models and could affect VW, Skoda, Audi and Seat cars. It comes weeks after VW was accused of cheating nitrogen oxide level tests. Cars with 1.4, 1.6 and 2.0 litre motors are thought to be releasing more of the greenhouse gas, CO2, than previous tests had shown. VW has already put aside €6.7bn (£4.7bn) to meet the cost of recalling 11m diesel vehicles worldwide that were fitted with so called "defeat devices" that circumvented tests for emissions of nitrogen oxides. Image copyright Getty Images VW shares fall The scandal was revealed in September by US regulators who said the software detected when vehicles were undergoing emissions tests and changed the way they operated. On Monday US authorities also accused VW of fitting nitrogen oxide defeat devices on its larger 3.0 litre diesel engines used in luxury sport utility vehicles for Porsche, Audi and VW. VW has denied those particular charges made by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Porsche also denied the allegations but its North American division has announced it is discontinuing sales of Porsche Cayenne diesel sport utility vehicles until further notice. On the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, shares in VW were down by more than 4% in afternoon trading. The company's shares have lost about a third of their value since September, when the diesel emissions scandal first broke. Yesterday, it faced new accusations of distorted emissions tests from American regulators (which it rejects); today it announced its own investigations have uncovered "irregularities" in a completely different part of the testing and approval process. VW's shareholders could be forgiven for wondering just what else is going to come to light, what other "irregularities" might have gone unnoticed in the company's recent rush for growth, as it sought to become the world's best-selling carmaker. Matthias Mueller, VW's chief executive, said: "From the very start I have pushed hard for the relentless and comprehensive clarification of events. The firm's board will talk to regulators about the consequences of its discovery, the firm said in a statement, adding that "the safety of the vehicles is in no way compromised". The supervisory board issued a separate statement saying it was "deeply concerned" and promising "to ensure swift and meticulous clarification". Arndt Ellinghorst, who used to work for VW and is now head of automotive research at investment firm Evercore said: "We estimate the whole recall will cost VW around €28bn over time. "The question is how painful will it be to change the culture (at VW) and how long will it take the new management." Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption VW new emissions scandal allegations: Culture of fear 'Increasing gap' Automotive engineer John German works for the International Council on Clean Transportation, a non-profit organisation dedicated to reducing vehicle emissions and is credited with helping to uncover the VW emissions scandal. "There's an increasing gap between CO2 measured on test procedures (across the industry) and that reported by people in the real world." "Manufacturers are exploiting flexibility, tolerances and loopholes in the regulations to be able to show lower emissions on the official test cycles, but they aren't necessarily being implemented in the real world." The car industry agrees that real world testing is necessary. Industry associations in the UK and Europe have been working with the European Commission to devise a real world emissions test, which is due to begin for new cars from September 2017. Image copyright Reuters Volkswagen cars with bigger diesel engines also contained software devices designed to cheat in emissions tests, according to US regulators. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said that cars with 3.0 litre engines from the years 2014 to 2016 were affected. Instead the company says that cars with the 3.0 litre diesel V6 engines "had a software function which had not been adequately described in the application process". "Volkswagen AG wishes to emphasize that no software has been installed in the 3-liter V6 diesel power units to alter emissions characteristics in a forbidden manner," the company said in a statement. "VW has once again failed its obligation to comply with the law that protects clean air for all Americans," said Cynthia Giles, assistant administrator at the EPA's enforcement unit. The EPA identified these diesel models as containing software aimed at cheating tests: 2014 VW Touareg 2015 Porsche Cayenne 2016 Audi A6 Quattro; A7 Quattro, A8, A8L and Q5 Analysis: Theo Leggett BBC business reporter Although the number of cars involved in the US is relatively small, the latest allegations from the EPA represent a very serious new headache for Volkswagen. Firstly, it suggests that the fitting of defeat devices was more widespread than previously thought - although VW has issued a statement contesting the EPA's verdict. Volkswagen: The scandal explained VW could face long legal nightmare VW scandal: The unanswered questions In early September Volkswagen admitted to the EPA that cars from the model years 2009 to 2015 contained software designed to cheat emissions tests. That prompted US regulators to run further tests designed to detect such defeat devices and led to today's announcement from the EPA.
That is what we were told, that is how we were educated. What is your reaction to Prime Minister Ponta's resignation? "We want new people, at least a technocratic government. Image copyright AFP Image caption Protesters took to the streets of Bucharest and other cities demanding government resignations Romanian Prime Minister Victor Ponta has resigned after some 20,000 people took to the streets to protest over a nightclub fire that killed 32 people. "This tragedy touched the nation's most sensitive nerve," President Klaus Iohannis said. Both men also stood down on Wednesday. Concerns that safety was compromised because of corruption - a long-standing issue in Romania - have fuelled public anger against the political elite, including Mr Ponta. You can contact us in the following ways: Friday night's blaze in Bucharest started when a band performing at the club set off fireworks inside. The UNPR's support ensures the coalition government retains a parliamentary majority. Rallies were also reported in other cities across the country. "Things must change and change must come from those who govern us." More street protests had been planned in the capital and provincial towns. Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Why did Romanian PM Victor Ponta resign? He faces allegations of fraud, tax evasion and money laundering. A national election is due in December 2016. "We came here first of all to fight against corruption, people who are corrupt and the system which defends corrupt people. Image copyright EPA Image caption Romanians lit candles in Bucharest to remember the victims The three owners of the club have been arrested amid allegations that the venue was overcrowded, lacked the required number of emergency exits, and may not have been authorised to hold such a concert.
More than 30,000 people demonstrate in Bucharest and other cities to demand profound change to end corruption. Thousands of Romanians have taken to the streets of the capital for a second night to call for end to corruption despite the resignation of the country's prime minister. Prime Minister Victor Ponta quit earlier on Wednesday after mass protests triggered by a night club fire that killed 32 people. More than 30,000 people demonstrated in Bucharest and other major cities to demand a "profound change" in the government, AFP news agency reported. Wednesday's turnout was even bigger than one the previous evening when some 20,000 demonstrators massed in Bucharest's Victory Square, the seat of government, calling for Ponta's resignation and that of his interior minister, Gabriel Oprea. Protesters said the government's resignation should be just the beginning of reforming a political class and public administration widely seen as corrupt. "We came here first of all to fight against corruption, people who are corrupt and the system which defends corrupt people. If the system doesn't remove corrupt people by itself, people will make their own justice. "People want a change in the system, half measures will no longer work," Marius Matache, a musician taking part in the march, told AFP. Ponta, prime minister since 2012, had been under pressure to quit weeks before the blaze, after going on trial in September on charges of fraud, tax evasion and money laundering. His departure might lead to a political realignment, although the coalition of three mainly leftist parties that form a majority in parliament showed no signs of a split. "We want new people, at least a technocratic government. If there are no clean politicians at the moment, then let's have a technocratic government formed from the many specialised people we have in our country," said protester, Bogdan. The marchers chanted "Ponta resign" and "Killers", and some waved the national flag with holes in it - a symbol of the popular revolution 25 years ago that toppled the dictator Nicolae Ceausescu. "This tragedy touched the nation's most sensitive nerve," President Klaus Iohannis said. Image copyright EPA Image caption Spurred on by anti-corruption sentiment, protesters took to the streets again on Wednesday Thousands joined a march in the Romanian capital Bucharest, hours after Prime Minister Victor Ponta resigned over a deadly nightclub fire. It came a day after some 20,000 demonstrators spontaneously took to the streets of the capital, angry over the deaths of 32 people in Friday's fire. Concerns that safety was compromised because of corruption - a long-standing issue in Romania - have fuelled public anger against the political elite, including Mr Ponta. 'Country is rising up' Mr Ponta, who is currently facing trial on corruption charges, said in a televised address that he hoped his government's resignation would "satisfy the people who came out in the streets". The mayor of the district of Bucharest where the nightclub fire occurred and the country's Interior Minister Gabriel Oprea also stepped down on Wednesday. They marched toward parliament with protesters urging others to join in as they went, shouting: "Get out of your homes if you care'' and "Don't be afraid, the country is rising up." Image copyright AP Image caption Protesters hold a banner reading "Down with the political mafia" at the rally in Bucharest Demonstrators have been complaining of government corruption and poor safety supervision, and say they see Mr Ponta's resignation as just the beginning of reform for the political elite. Read more: Protesters prompt Ponta's fall President Klaus Iohannis, who has repeatedly called on Mr Ponta to step down since the corruption scandal unfolded in June, called for a "sea change" in Romanian politics in the wake of the resignations. He also voiced praise for Tuesday's protests, saying the club tragedy had "affected the nerve of the nation". Mr Ponta, who in September became the first sitting Romanian prime minister to go on trial for corruption, denies the charges. What happens next President Iohannis says he will start consulting political parties on Thursday to choose a prime minister and form a new government, with a view to getting a nomination in the coming days. Image copyright EPA Image caption Three arrests have been made over the deadly fire on Friday, which left 180 people injured Three owners of the club that caught fire on Friday have been arrested amid allegations that the venue was overcrowded, lacked the required number of emergency exits, and may not have been authorised to hold such a concert. Image copyright AFP Image caption Protesters took to the streets of Bucharest and other cities demanding government resignations Romanian Prime Minister Victor Ponta has resigned after some 20,000 people took to the streets to protest over a nightclub fire that killed 32 people. Friday night's blaze in Bucharest started when a band performing at the club set off fireworks inside. "I'm handing in my mandate, I'm resigning, and implicitly my government too," Mr Ponta said in a statement. "I hope the government's resignation will satisfy the people who came out in the streets," he added. Ponta under fire In September, Mr Ponta became the first sitting Romanian prime minister to go on trial charged with corruption. The protesters also demanded the resignation of the mayor of the Bucharest district where the nightclub fire occurred and the country's Interior Minister Gabriel Oprea. Profile: Victor Ponta Analysis: Nick Thorpe, BBC Central Europe Correspondent It took a fatal fire that killed mainly young people in a Bucharest rock venue to finally force Romania's youthful Prime Minister and his government to resign. But when at least 20,000 people took to the streets of Bucharest on Tuesday, blaming the country's political elite for the high death toll, and President Klaus Iohannis added his voice to the protesters' demands for political accountability, Mr Ponta finally announced his departure.
Facebook postings identified others as Staff Sergeants Peter Taub, whose family lives in the Washington, D.C., area, and Louis Bonacasa from New York. A U.S. military official in Afghanistan confirmed that the slain troops were all Americans. Two other U.S. service members and an American contractor were also wounded, officials said. REUTERS/NYPD/Handout NYPD Detective Joseph Lemm of Bronx Warrant Squad is shown in this photo tweeted by NYPD Midtown South on December 22, 2015. Six American troops, including Vorderbruggen, were killed Monday when a suicide bomber on a motorbike struck their patrol in the deadliest attack on U.S. forces this year. The area is close to the U.S. base in the Bagram district of northern Parwan province. Just last week, the Pentagon warned of deteriorating security in Afghanistan and assessed the performance of Afghan security forces as "uneven and mixed." The Taliban often exaggerates enemy casualty numbers. One unit doing so from Bagram is Task Force Buffalo, a U.S. Army-led unit that includes U.S. Marines and soldiers from the United States, the Czech Republic and the Republic of Georgia. Following several days of intense fighting in Helmand, Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid tweeted Monday night that its fighters had “conquered” the Sangin bazaar and police headquarters and were entering the district center. There have been 10 non-hostile deaths, largely from aircraft crashes. Air Force Major Adrianna Vorderbruggen is the first openly gay woman to be killed in action, the Daily Beast news website reported, citing a Department of Defense official. (Additional reporting by Joseph Ax in New York; Editing by Bernadette Baum and Alistair Bell) Carter expressed his condolences to the Americans' families.
REUTERS/NYPD/Handout NYPD Detective Joseph Lemm of Bronx Warrant Squad is shown in this photo tweeted by NYPD Midtown South on December 22, 2015. REUTERS/NYPD Midtown South/Handout A bunting honoring NYPD Detective Joseph Lemm hangs above the entrance to the 50th precinct in the Bronx borough of New York December 22, 2015. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton A flag is seen at half-staff outside a home honoring NYPD Detective Joseph Lemm down the street from the 50th precinct in the Bronx borough of New York December 22, 2015. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton A bunting honoring NYPD Detective Joseph Lemm hangs above the entrance to the 50th precinct in the Bronx borough of New York, December 22, 2015. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton NEW YORK A female officer in the Air Force, who was one of the first openly gay service members to get married, was identified on Tuesday as being among six U.S. troops killed by a suicide bomber near Bagram air base in Afghanistan. Air Force Major Adrianna Vorderbruggen is the first openly gay woman to be killed in action, the Daily Beast news website reported, citing a Department of Defense official. Six American troops, including Vorderbruggen, were killed Monday when a suicide bomber on a motorbike struck their patrol in the deadliest attack on U.S. forces this year. Facebook postings on Tuesday by Vorderbruggen's loved ones mourned her death on Monday and sent condolences to her wife Heather and son Jacob. The family lives near Washington, D.C., where the couple was married in June 2012, the year after the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy for gays was repealed. "We do find comfort in knowing that Heather and Jacob are no longer in the shadows and will be extended the rights and protections due any American military family as they move through this incredibly difficult period in their lives," said the posting from Military Partners and Families Coalition. Bagram, around 40 km (25 miles) north of Kabul, is one of the main bases for the remaining 9,800 U.S. troops in Afghanistan, after international troops ended combat operations last year. The victims included New York City Detective Joseph Lemm, a 15-year veteran of the NYPD who also volunteered in the U.S. Air National Guard and was on his third deployment to war zones. "Detective Joseph Lemm epitomized the selflessness we can only strive for: putting his country and city first," New York Police Commissioner Bill Bratton said in a statement. Local media in Statesboro, Georgia, identified a third victim as serviceman Chester McBride Jr., who was remembered by the principal of Statesboro High School as "a young man of high character with a great smile." Serviceman Michael Anthony Cinco of Rio Grande Valley, Texas, was identified by local media as another victim. Facebook postings identified others as Staff Sergeants Peter Taub, whose family lives in the Washington, D.C., area, and Louis Bonacasa from New York. “My son, Chef Jon's brother, Staff Sargeant Peter Taub was one of six killed yesterday in Afghanistan,” wrote the owner of the Taub family sandwich shop in Washington. “The restaurant is closed for the rest of this week.” Wrote Air Force member Jeffrey Behrman: “Joseph Lemm and Louis Bonacasa, I'm glad to have known you men, I'm glad I was able to buy you men a couple pints before you left for Afghanistan.” The Taliban, which claimed responsibility for the strike, remains resilient 14 years after the start of U.S. military engagement in Afghanistan. It has ramped up its attacks this year, inflicting heavier casualties on Afghan security forces. Just last week, the Pentagon warned of deteriorating security in Afghanistan and assessed the performance of Afghan security forces as "uneven and mixed." More than 2,300 U.S. troops have died in the Afghan war since the 2001 invasion, but the pace of U.S. deaths has fallen off sharply since the end of formal U.S. combat and a drawdown of American forces. Pentagon data showed there have been 10 so-called "hostile" deaths of U.S. service members in Afghanistan this year. Story highlights One of the fatalities was Joseph Lemm, a New York City police officer and National Guardsman Suicide bomber carries out attack on a joint Afghan/NATO patrol, spokesman says Two other U.S. service members and an American contractor were wounded (CNN) All six of the NATO service members killed Monday in a motorcycle bomb attack in Bagram, Afghanistan, were American, U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter said. A suicide bomber on a motorbike carried out the attack on a joint patrol of Afghan and coalition forces at about 1:30 p.m. in the Bajawri area of Bagram district, said Waheed Sediqi, a spokesman for the governor of Parwan province. Two other U.S. service members and an American contractor were also wounded, officials said. (Photo released by the U.S. military) The U.S.-led military coalition in Afghanistan suffered one of its worst days in 2015 on Monday, as six U.S. service members were killed and three more people were wounded when a motorcycle laden with explosives detonated near them in Parwan province in an apparent suicide attack. The incident occurred north of the capital, Kabul, at about 1:30 p.m. in a province best known for Bagram air base, a sprawling military complex from which U.S. forces fly F-16 fighter jets and other aircraft. Three Afghan police officers also were wounded in the blast, an Afghan official said. Gen. John Campbell, the U.S. commander in Afghanistan, and the rest of the military coalition said that “our heartfelt sympathies go out to the families and friends of those affected in this tragic incident, especially during this holiday season,” Shoffner added. [In Afghanistan, a series of attacks on Americans during ‘non-combat’ operations] In emailed statements and tweets Monday, the Taliban claimed responsibility for the suicide attack on American soldiers near Bagram and said its forces had successfully overtaken the strategic Sangin district of Helmand province in the south. Following several days of intense fighting in Helmand, Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid tweeted Monday night that its fighters had “conquered” the Sangin bazaar and police headquarters and were entering the district center. Since then, the Taliban has staged a range of attacks in various parts of the country, including a deadly siege at the fortified Kandahar airport and military base that left 50 people dead, the beheading of seven civilians in Zabul province, and a suicide bombing at a guest house in Kabul that badly damaged the Spanish Embassy. At about 9 p.m. Sunday, Kabul was rocked by at least two loud bomb explosions in the heavily guarded diplomatic zone that also includes NATO military facilities.
This was an FCA decision. Richard Lloyd, Which? The shadow chancellor said it was a "huge blow to customers and taxpayers". “It's disappointing that the regulator has decided against publishing this report on the culture of banking. However, in a move first reported by the Financial Times , it has now opted against releasing the review, deciding to work directly with banks instead. It added that a focus on the culture in financial services firms remained a priority, saying: "We have decided that the best way to support these efforts is to engage individually with firms to encourage their delivery of cultural change as well as supporting the other initiatives outside the FCA." The Treasury denies involvement in the decision - which some commentators have suggested was politically motivated. Martin Wheatley, the former chief executive of the FCA, was ousted by Chancellor George Osborne in July. It’s time he used his influence to keep this review going. MPs said the move would be regarded as a softening of policymakers’ stance towards bankers. The regulator had hailed its study of behaviour within the country’s leading lenders as one of its most important aims next year, including it in in its Business Plan 2015/16 . HSBC has been a vocal critic of the bank levy, which Mr Osborne reduced in his summer budget following the general election. The government was not involved in this decision, to suggest otherwise is wrong.” Consumer bodies were also concerned, after a string of scandals including the payment protection insurance mis-selling fiasco. “The independent FCA is responsible for ensuring that the top management of banks instil the right culture and standards of conduct in their institutions.
Image copyright Getty Images The City regulator, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), has shelved plans for an inquiry into the culture, pay and behaviour of staff in banking. The FCA had planned to look at whether pay, promotion or other incentives had contributed to scandals involving banks in the UK and abroad. The shadow chancellor said it was a "huge blow to customers and taxpayers". The Treasury denies involvement in the decision - which some commentators have suggested was politically motivated. The FCA said it had decided a "traditional thematic review" would not help it achieve its "desired outcomes", promising instead to encourage the "delivery of cultural change". Mark Garnier MP, a Conservative member of the Treasury Select Committee said he was "disappointed" by the decision. Banks around the world have faced huge fines from regulators for their involvement in numerous scandals. In May the news agency Reuters calculated that 20 global banks had paid £152bn in fines and compensation to customers since the 2008 financial crisis. 'Costly mistake' Shadow chancellor John McDonnell told BBC Radio 4's World at One programme the decision by the FCA was "shocking" and could prove a "dangerous and costly mistake". He said: "This will be a huge blow to customers and taxpayers who are all still paying the price for the failed culture in the banking sector that's been widely attributed to be among the main causes of the crash and the scandals over Libor and price-fixing." Mr McDonnell added it was "worrying" that the FCA was replacing the review and replacing it with a "potentially watered-down version", when there could potentially still be "cultural mispractice" in banking. He said Chancellor George Osborne could not "stay silent on this issue" and called for him to use his influence to keep the review going. Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron said any hope of change had been "dashed". 'Shift in tone' The decision to drop the inquiry comes six months after FCA boss Martin Wheatley - who was originally hired because of his reputation as a tough regulator - was effectively sacked by Mr Osborne following two tumultuous years in the role. Many in the City had found Mr Wheatley's approach too combative and raised concerns about some of the language he used in reference to the banking industry. Percival Stanion, head of multi-asset strategies at Pictet Asset Management, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme there was "definitely a shift in tone towards the banks". He suggested that it was "no coincidence" that the investigation was being dropped at a time when HSBC was reviewing whether to keep its headquarters in London. HSBC has been a vocal critic of the bank levy, which Mr Osborne reduced in his summer budget following the general election. The chancellor has reportedly struggled to attract a permanent replacement, with at least one leading financial regulator said to have turned the job down. Analysis: Business correspondent, Simon Jack: This will be seen by many as further evidence that regulators and the government have decided to take a softer line with the banks and bring the "banker bashing" era to a close. The government is keen the UK, and London in particular, doesn't lose its appeal as a place for global banks to do business and employ highly paid (and taxable) people. Martin Wheatley, the former chief executive of the FCA and a fierce critic of the banks was eased out of his position earlier this year and is yet to be replaced. A time limit is being proposed on compensation claims for those mis-sold payment protection insurance (PPI) - a scandal that has seen the banks haemorrhage £25bn to date and the bank levy, a charge on UK banks worldwide assets was replaced with a less onerous charge on domestic profits. It added that a focus on the culture in financial services firms remained a priority, saying: "We have decided that the best way to support these efforts is to engage individually with firms to encourage their delivery of cultural change as well as supporting the other initiatives outside the FCA." Government denies it was involved in a move that MPs say will be seen as a softening of stance towards bankers The Treasury has defended the City regulator’s decision to ditch a review into banking culture as the chancellor came under pressure to revive the scrapped study. John McDonnell, the shadow chancellor, urged George Osborne to exert his influence and reinstate the review, which the Financial Conduct Authority dropped just months after it was launched. New year, same old story as FCA lets bankers off hook by dropping review Read more McDonnell said: “This will be a huge blow to customers and taxpayers who are all still paying the price for the failed culture in the banking sector that’s been widely attributed to be among the main causes of the crash and the scandals over Libor and price-fixing.” He said the FCA was making a “dangerous and costly mistake”. Given the scale and severity of the failings in the financial sector and the criminal behaviour shown by some banks, the scrapping of the FCA’s review into banking culture sends the wrong message at the wrong time,” he said. The review was included in the FCA’s business plan for 2015, but was dropped after an initial assessment found it difficult to compare different cultures inside banks. The Treasury denied involvement and said it was not backtracking on banking reform after making changes to the way senior bankers are held to account and altering the tax regime to pacify HSBC, which is reviewing whether or not to keep its headquarters in the UK. The government was not involved in this decision, to suggest otherwise is wrong.” Consumer bodies were also concerned, after a string of scandals including the payment protection insurance mis-selling fiasco.
The city of Kaohsiung, further south, was also affected. Tainan's mayor said people were alive but trapped under the rubble and all means would be used to rescue them. "Rescue workers broke through (the building) layer by layer. Taiwanese television reported there were hundreds of people in one of the buildings that collapsed in Tainan. Image copyright Getty Images Image copyright Reuters Image copyright Reuters Residents told how they were able to escape from their homes in the block, using their own tools and ladders. Taiwan lies near the junction of two tectonic plates and is regularly hit by earthquakes. At least 70 people were taken to hospital. The official death toll from the quake rose to 38, with more than 100 people missing. And they asked us to climb out but I said my children are too small to climb. Another man tied clothes together to make a rope and lowered himself from the ninth floor to the sixth floor below, Apple Daily reports. I was really frightened as I have never seen such an earthquake," he said. Rescuers fight to reach people trapped under a collapsed apartment complex with at least 15 people dead and 150 taken to hospital A powerful earthquake in Taiwan has brought down a 17-storey apartment complex full of families gathered for the lunar new year celebrations, with at least 15 people dead and many more feared to be trapped. Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Rescue workers have been trying to free people from collapsed buildings One Tainan resident said his bed turned over as the wall collapsed. The Taiwanese president, Ma Ying-jeou, speaking to reporters in the capital before leaving for the scene, said authorities were not clear on the extent of the disaster.
Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Drone footage showed one building felled by the earthquake An earthquake has toppled buildings in the south Taiwanese city of Tainan, killing at least 11 people. The magnitude 6.4 quake struck just before 04:00 (20:00 GMT Friday) when most people were at home asleep. A baby was among at least four people killed when a high-rise building, containing 100 homes, collapsed. Tainan's mayor said people were alive but trapped under the rubble and all means would be used to rescue them. Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Kate Lao Shaffner: "The entire building was just shaking very violently" President Ma Ying-jeou, who toured the city of two million, said shelters would be set up for those who had lost their homes. Leaning ruins Television pictures showed rescue workers frantically trying to reach people trapped in collapsed buildings, using ladders to climb over piles of rubble. One of the worst affected was the 17-storey Wei Kuan apartment complex, home to at least 256 people. More than 200 people were rescued, but a baby, young girl and two adult men did not survive, officials said. Interior Minister Chen Wei-jen said he feared more people may have been in the fallen apartment block than usual as families gathered to celebrate Chinese New Year. He said investigators would examine whether the building's construction met requirements. Image copyright Getty Images Image copyright Reuters Image copyright Reuters Residents told how they were able to escape from their homes in the block, using their own tools and ladders. "I used a hammer to break the door of my home which was twisted and locked, and managed to climb out," one woman told local TV. Another man tied clothes together to make a rope and lowered himself from the ninth floor to the sixth floor below, Apple Daily reports. Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Rescue workers have been trying to free people from collapsed buildings One Tainan resident said his bed turned over as the wall collapsed. "My home completely turned into debris. A 35-year-old woman described how she and her two children were pulled from the rubble. Then one rescue worker tried his best to climb in and take the children out. Although the damage does not appear to be widespread, a number of tall buildings have been left leaning precariously. There are also reports of power outages, and transport links have been disrupted on what is one of the busiest travelling days of the year ahead of the Chinese New Year holiday. Beijing has offered assistance although at the moment at least, given the relatively limited scale of the disaster, it does not look as if much outside help is needed, the BBC's John Sudworth reports from the Chinese capital. Back in 1999, when a 7.6 magnitude quake killed more than 2,300 people in central Taiwan, a similar offer of help from the mainland became embroiled in political wrangling, with Taiwan accusing China of exploiting the situation for its own political ends, our correspondent adds. Rescue personnel work at the site where a 17-storey apartment building collapsed after an earthquake hit Tainan, southern Taiwan February 7, 2016. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu TAINAN, Taiwan Rescuers pulled out alive an eight-year-old girl and her aunt from the rubble of a Taiwan apartment block on Monday, more than 60 hours after it was toppled by a quake, as the mayor of the southern city of Tainan warned the death toll could exceed 100. The official death toll from the quake rose to 38, with more than 100 people missing. The quake struck at about 4 a.m. on Saturday (2000 GMT Friday) at the beginning of the Lunar New Year holiday, with almost all the dead found in Tainan's toppled Wei-guan Golden Dragon Building. Earlier, Wang Ting-yu, a legislator who represents the area, told reporters that a woman, identified as Tsao Wei-ling, was found alive, lying under her dead husband. Another survivor, a man named Li Tsung-tian, was pulled out later, with Taiwan television stations showing live images of the rescues. Tainan Mayor William Lai said during a visit to a funeral home that rescue efforts had entered what he called the "third stage". Taiwan's government said in a statement 36 of the 38 dead were from the Wei-guan building, which was built in 1994. Rescuers fight to reach people trapped under a collapsed apartment complex with at least 15 people dead and 150 taken to hospital A powerful earthquake in Taiwan has brought down a 17-storey apartment complex full of families gathered for the lunar new year celebrations, with at least 15 people dead and many more feared to be trapped.
Circuit, Judge Bork. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Justice Scalia would have none of it. 1986: Nominated by Reagan to the Supreme Court. He was, he said, “a faint-hearted originalist.” “I am a textualist,” he said. Reports and floor statements were not the law, he said; the words of the law itself were the law. He added that the decision did not refute his theory. “The confrontation clause — like those other constitutional provisions — is binding, and we may not disregard it at our convenience. The justices in the majority agreed about the result but not how to get there. He also predicted that the already jammed confirmation process for judges is now doomed. “What is less than zero? View all New York Times newsletters. He called Justice Anthony Kennedy's majority opinion "often profoundly incoherent" and ridiculed it for containing fortune cookie-style aphorisms. Please try again later. He voted to uphold the right to burn the American flag and dissented from a ruling allowing states to collect DNA from those arrested for serious crimes. The question in the case was whether the Second Amendment applied not only to federal gun control laws, a point the court established in 2008, but also to state and local laws. But Obama is expected to face fierce — if not insurmountable — resistance in the Senate to any nominee that he might put forth, especially given the heightened political conversation around the presidential election. That made him uncomfortable with some of the Supreme Court’s most important precedents. He said his fidelity to the Constitution overrode his sympathies. Justice Scalia’s opinions were also helpful to criminal defendants charged under vague laws.
Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia has died at the age of 79, leaving the nation's highest court split between Republican and Democratic appointees, and sparking a partisan battle over whether President Barack Obama should nominate a replacement in a presidential election year. "On behalf of the Court and retired Justices, I am saddened to report that our colleague Justice Antonin Scalia has passed away," Chief Justice John Roberts said in a statement late Saturday afternoon. "He was an extraordinary individual and jurist, admired and treasured by his colleagues. His passing is a great loss to the Court and the country he so loyally served. Story Continued Below The statement did not indicate the cause of death, but several news outlets reported that he died of natural causes while a guest at a resort in Marfa, Texas. He was later found dead in his room. Scalia, widely regarded as the intellectual leader of the court's conservative wing, was nominated by President Ronald Reagan to the Supreme Court in 1986. He went on to have one of the most noteworthy careers of any justice, speaking out forcefully from the bench and in speeches around the country for his belief that the Constitution must be interpreted based on the original intent of the framers. His death set off tremors throughout the political world. Obama, in an evening appearance, praised Scalia as one of the nation's most consequential jurists and said he shared the grief felt by Scalia's wife, Maureen, and their nine children and many grandchildren. He said that now is the time to mourn, but that he intended to fulfill his constitutional duty to nominate a replacement. But Obama is expected to face fierce — if not insurmountable — resistance in the Senate to any nominee that he might put forth, especially given the heightened political conversation around the presidential election. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who has power to prevent confirmation of any nominee, made clear within hours of the first reports of Scalia's death that Obama should not try to make a nomination before he leaves office next January. Therefore, this vacancy should not be filled until we have a new President," McConnell said. The U.S. flag is lowered to half staff outside the Supreme Court on Feb. 13, following the announcement of the death of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia. Conn Carroll, the communications director for Senate Judiciary Committee member Mike Lee (R-Utah), handicapped Obama's chances if he chooses to try to put a nominee forward. The chances of Obama successfully appointing a Supreme Court Justice to replace Scalia?” Carroll said in a tweet. He also predicted that the already jammed confirmation process for judges is now doomed. Regardless of what Obama does, Scalia's death seems certain to raise the profile of the judiciary and the Supreme Court in the ongoing presidential race. Republican presidential candidate Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas reacted quickly on Saturday evening, calling Scalia an “American hero” and stating that Obama should not be the one who gets to name a new justice. | AP Photo Other presidential candidates also weighed in, including Republican frontrunner Donald Trump, who called Scalia’s death “a massive setback for the Conservative movement.” Hillary Clinton, the Democratic national poll leader, declared: "My thoughts and prayers are with the family and friends of Justice Scalia as they mourn his sudden passing. I did not hold Justice Scalia’s views, but he was a dedicated public servant who brought energy and passion to the bench." Clinton added: "The Republicans in the Senate and on the campaign trail who are calling for Justice Scalia’s seat to remain vacant dishonor our Constitution. Scalia's death leaves the court split, 4-4, between Democratic and Republican-appointed justices. That could result in a deadlock on contentious cases before the court, including disputes over Obama's executive actions on immigration, state laws restricting access to abortion and whether public-sector workers can be required to pay representation fees to unions. In situations where the court is evenly split, the lower court ruling being appealed is upheld but no precedent is set for future cases. The court could put or keep stays in place in some cases until a new justice allows it to reach a majority opinion. Scalia generally joined with the court's other conservatives on polarized rulings in recent years, issuing caustic dissents as the court found a right to gay marriage and upheld key parts of Obamacare. He voted to uphold the right to burn the American flag and dissented from a ruling allowing states to collect DNA from those arrested for serious crimes. In December, he made blunt comments about race during arguments on an affirmative action case, asserting that many African-American students might be better off attending "lesser schools where they do not feel that they're being pushed ahead in classes that are too fast for them.” Scalia also seemed to show little concern about offending his colleagues. In a dissent in the gay marriage case last June, Scalia accused his fellow justices of a "judicial Putsch." He called Justice Anthony Kennedy's majority opinion "often profoundly incoherent" and ridiculed it for containing fortune cookie-style aphorisms. When he didn't appear for breakfast Saturday, a person went to his room and found the justice's body. (Photo: J. Scott Applewhite, AP) Corrections & Clarifications: A previous version of this story provided the incorrect birth year for Justice Scalia.
Eco was born in Alessandria, northern Italy, in 1932. "He was an extraordinary example of a European intellectual," Mr Renzi said. Image copyright Reuters Image caption Umberto Eco's last book - Numero Zero - was published last year The Italian writer and philosopher Umberto Eco, best known for his novel The Name of the Rose, has died aged 84. As a teenager, Eco wrote comic books and fantasy novels before studying Medieval philosophy and literature at the University of Turin. “He showed how not only to understand culture, in general, but to create new culture that way. That is what this man was about,” Lakoff told the BBC World Service. Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi led tributes to Eco. “It’s only publishers and some journalists who believe that people want simple things. He was later professor emeritus and chairman of the Higher School of Humanities of the University of Bologna. From 1956-1964 he worked as a cultural editor for television station RAI and became a lecturer at the University of Turin from 1956 to 1964. The novel captured imaginations globally and was turned into a film starring Sean Connery as William. "He embodied both the unique intelligence of the past and a tireless capacity for anticipating the future." It’s a huge loss for culture, which will miss his writing and his voice, sharp and vivid thought and his humanity." Although Eco’s works sold millions of copies, he was not one to pander to popular tastes. According to a family member who asked not to be identified, he died late on Friday from cancer. The work secured Eco’s international reputation and he went on to pen a number of other novels, including Foucault’s Pendulum in 1988.
The revered literary critic, author and essayist – most famous for 1980 novel The Name of the Rose – had been suffering from cancer The celebrated Italian intellectual Umberto Eco, who shot to fame with his 1980 novel The Name of the Rose, has been remembered as a master of Italian culture after his death at the age of 84. Eco died on Friday night after suffering from cancer, prompting tributes to pour in for the esteemed writer. He was “an extraordinary example of a European intellectual, combining unique intelligence of the past with a limitless capacity to anticipate the future”, said Italy’s prime minister, Matteo Renzi. “It’s an enormous loss for culture, which will miss his writing and voice, his sharp and lively thought, and his humanity,” Renzi told the Ansa news agency. Italy’s culture minister, Dario Franceschini, said Eco remained youthful until his last day. Leading daily Corriere della Sera called Eco “the writer who changed Italian culture”, while newspaper La Stampa described a country in mourning for the author’s death. Through Eco’s academic writings and his bestselling books, he became a respected intellectual voice both in Italy and abroad. Internationally, he remains best known for his bestseller The Name of the Rose, a medieval detective novel set in an Italian abbey, which follows Brother William of Baskerville as he investigates a series of suspicious deaths. The novel captured imaginations globally and was turned into a film starring Sean Connery as William. The work secured Eco’s international reputation and he went on to pen a number of other novels, including Foucault’s Pendulum in 1988. His most recent work, Numero Zero, was published last year and centres on a new newspaper in Milan funded by a meddling tycoon. Later this year a final novel will be released posthumously, Italian media reported. Although Eco’s works sold millions of copies, he was not one to pander to popular tastes. Born on 5 January 1932 in Alessandria, north-west Italy, Eco rejected his father’s wish that he study law and instead read philosophy and literature at the University of Turin. After finished his doctoral thesis, Eco lectured at his alma mater and during the same period worked at Italy’s state broadcaster, RAI, as a cultural editor. He went on to develop his interest in semiotics, the study of signs and symbols, and became a professor of the subject at the University of Bologna. George Lakoff, a professor of cognitive linguistics at the University of California, Berkeley, credited his friend with changing academia’s approach to literature by giving respectability to the study of popular art forms. “He showed how not only to understand culture, in general, but to create new culture that way. Umberto Eco, best known for the novel The Name of the Rose, was praised as "an outstanding example of a European intellectual" by the Italian prime minister following the writer's death on February 19, 2016, aged 84. Eco, who died of cancer was praised by Italy's Matteo Renzi, who said, "Eco was an outstanding example of a European intellectual, a single intelligence with an untiring ability to anticipate the future. Image copyright Reuters Image caption Umberto Eco's last book - Numero Zero - was published last year The Italian writer and philosopher Umberto Eco, best known for his novel The Name of the Rose, has died aged 84. According to a family member who asked not to be identified, he died late on Friday from cancer. Eco, who also wrote the novel Foucault's Pendulum, continued to publish new works, with Numero Zero released last year.
It was very chaotic. Photos: Blast in Turkish capital of Ankara Photos: Blast in Turkish capital of Ankara Police work at the site of an explosion in Ankara, Turkey, on Sunday, March 13. The country will bring "down terror to its heel," he said. At least five people killed and another 36 injured in suicide bombing in major tourist district of Turkish city At least five people, including a suicide bomber, have been killed and another 36 wounded in a bomb attack on Istanbul’s main shopping street. Istanbul's local government underestimated the German concern. JUST WATCHED Who is Recep Tayyip Erdogan? Image copyright EPA Image caption Medics rushed to try to help a wounded man Image copyright AFP Image caption Turkish police, forensics and emergency services work at the blast scene Image copyright Reuters Image caption Some people are in a serious condition, officials say Image copyright AFP Image caption Police quickly cordoned off the area Both the so-called Islamic State (IS) and Kurdish militants have claimed recent attacks in Turkey. Security forces said the vehicle was purchased there, the news agency said. Two Irish citizens and one person each from Germany, Iceland, Dubai and Iran were also injured. Hide Caption 9 of 9 "I suspect (the government) had some indication that there was going to be an attack ... but they probably weren't able to narrow it down," CNN military analyst Rick Francona said. Another official from the same AKP party branch later confirmed Ms Aktas was a party member, but said her tweet did not reflect the party's position and that the process of expelling her had started.
Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Footage showed police and ambulances heading to the scene A suicide bomb attack at a busy shopping area in the Turkish city of Istanbul has killed at least four people, officials say. Another 36 were injured in the blast near a government building. No-one has admitted carrying out the attack, the latest in recent months. The Turkish government has blamed Kurdish militants for previous attacks and has retaliated against them. Saturday's attack on Istiklal Street in Istanbul, Turkey's largest city, occurred at about 11:00 local time (09:00 GMT). Uwes Shehadeh was some 500m (1,640ft) away when he heard "a horrific and horrible noise". It was very chaotic. "Istanbul is on high alert and people are very worried as to what will happen next." Image copyright EPA Image caption Medics rushed to try to help a wounded man Image copyright AFP Image caption Turkish police, forensics and emergency services work at the blast scene Image copyright Reuters Image caption Some people are in a serious condition, officials say Image copyright AFP Image caption Police quickly cordoned off the area Both the so-called Islamic State (IS) and Kurdish militants have claimed recent attacks in Turkey. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said terror groups are targeting civilians because they are losing their struggle against Turkish security forces. Turkey is part of the US-led coalition against IS and allows coalition planes to use its air base at Incirlik for raids on Iraq and Syria. At the scene: Rengin Arslan, BBC News, Istanbul "Let's not meet outside", is what many were saying to each other in Istanbul, after the suicide bombing in the heart of Ankara less than a week ago. On Thursday and on Friday, Germany closed its consulate near Istiklal Street, because of a security threat. Istanbul's local government underestimated the German concern. Turkey has never witnessed successive suicide bombings like this before. In this limbo, fear and worry come and go - or stay. Turkey has also been carrying out a campaign of bombardment against Syrian Kurdish fighters of the People's Protection Units (YPG), which it regards as a extension of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK). Since then, more than 340 members of Turkey's security forces have been killed along with at least 300 Kurdish fighters and more than 200 civilians. Soon after the Istanbul blast, a tweet from a woman claiming to be a junior official of Turkey's governing AKP party caused consternation on social media. Irem Aktas, described as head of public relations for the women's branch of a local AKP bureau in Istanbul, tweeted that she wished "all Israeli citizens in the area had died." Another official from the same AKP party branch later confirmed Ms Aktas was a party member, but said her tweet did not reflect the party's position and that the process of expelling her had started. Recent attacks in Turkey March 2016: 35 people killed by Kurdish militants in Ankara 35 people killed by Kurdish militants in Ankara February 2016 : 28 killed in military convoy in Ankara : 28 killed in military convoy in Ankara January 2016 : 12 German tourists are killed in a suspected IS suicide bombing in Istanbul : 12 German tourists are killed in a suspected IS suicide bombing in Istanbul October 2015: More than 100 people are killed in a double suicide bombing at a Kurdish peace rally in Ankara How dangerous is Turkey's unrest? Tears and destruction amid PKK crackdown Turkey in midst of hideous vortex At least five people killed and another 36 injured in suicide bombing in major tourist district of Turkish city At least five people, including a suicide bomber, have been killed and another 36 wounded in a bomb attack on Istanbul’s main shopping street. Two Israelis with dual US nationality and an Iranian were killed in the blast on Saturday morning. The explosion happened close to the local district governor’s office on Istiklal Street, a pedestrian boulevard lined with international stores and restaurants. Turkey’s health minister, Mehmet Müezzinoğlu, said 12 of the 36 injured were foreigners. CNN Türk reported that the bomb went off early and the attacker had wanted to hit different target. These repeated acts of terrorism in Turkey must come to an end.” The Irish minister for trade and foreign affairs, Charlie Flanagan, said: “I am deeply saddened by today’s horrific bomb attack in central Istanbul. An embassy official is on the ground in Istanbul to provide consular assistance.” Nato’s secretary general, Jens Stoltenberg, said the attack was “yet another terrorist outrage targeting innocent civilians and our ally Turkey”.
If only. Cruyff enjoyed himself at Barcelona as a player, too. Johan Cruyff is one of those." Ajax (as a manager): European Cup Winners' Cup x 1, Dutch Cup x 2. "Why couldn't you beat a richer club? Holland lost a face in the world. Football will miss him but we will never forget. Getty Images He may never have joined them had the Dutch side got their way and sold him to Real Madrid. Right from his first appearance in a 4-0 home win over Granada in 1973, in which he made the first goal and scored twice. I don’t think anyone has ever influenced the game as much as he has done. "It's better to go down with your own vision than with someone else's." Between 1970 and 1974, the Netherlands lost only one of the 29 matches in which Cruyff featured - the 1974 World Cup final against West Germany. The greatest Ajax player of all time had suffered with lung cancer since October last year. Work on Barcelona’s new stadium is due to begin in two years with Nou Camp Nou the current working title. “The thing about great teams,” he once said, defining his belief in always playing off the front foot, “is that they start games with the score at 0-0, thinking they have lost two points and they have to go looking for them.” He also said: “It’s braver to have a style and stick to it than to win a title.” Having a style and sticking to it – his style – has often been what has brought the club titles.
After the death of the most important figure in the club’s history on Thursday, already there were supporters calling for his name to be immortalised in the naming of the new ground. Estadi Johan Cruyff would be a fitting homage to the father of the modern Barça. When the Dutchman took over as manager in 1990, Barcelona had only ever won the Primera Division 10 times in its history and were six European Cups adrift of Real Madrid, having never lifted the biggest prize in club football. With Cruyff in charge they won the next four La Liga titles and beat Sampdoria at Wembley in 1992 to win their first European Cup. Since 1990, Barcelona have won the league 13 times – more than they won in the BC era: Before Cruyff. His team-talk ahead of that 1992 European Cup final win remains the unwritten first commandment at the football club – “Salid y disfrutad” (Go out and enjoy yourselves), he told his players. His successors in the technical area are spared much of existential style crisis of other managers at other clubs because at Barça there is only one way to play, one non-negotiable philosophy. Right from his first appearance in a 4-0 home win over Granada in 1973, in which he made the first goal and scored twice. Barcelona won their first league in 14 seasons at the end of that campaign, beating Real Madrid 5-0 at the Santiago Bernabeu en route to the title. “The thing about great teams,” he once said, defining his belief in always playing off the front foot, “is that they start games with the score at 0-0, thinking they have lost two points and they have to go looking for them.” He also said: “It’s braver to have a style and stick to it than to win a title.” Having a style and sticking to it – his style – has often been what has brought the club titles. He also gave them a dogged determination and a belief that they could take on the might of Europe that they lacked before he turned up with his three European Cup-winners’ medals from his days at Ajax. Johan Cruyff - life in pictures 12 show all Johan Cruyff - life in pictures 1/12 Unrivalled success at Ajax After joining the Ajax youth system on his 10th birthday, Johan Cruyff made his debut in 1964 before going on to win eight Eredivisie titles and the European Cup on three occasions with the Dutch giants Getty Images 2/12 Setting the European agenda Cruyff was an integral figure behind Ajax’s dominance in continental football as the Dutch outfit lifted three consecutive European Cups between 1971-73. Getty Images 3/12 Reaching the World Cup final The forward’s colourful exploits allowed the Netherlands to reach the World Cup final in 1974 but he couldn’t help see off an imperious Germany side at Munich's Olympic Stadium. Getty Images 4/12 Dutch royal approval Cruyff and his fellow team-mates nonetheless earned legendary status among the wider Dutch public and they were given a heroes’ welcome by Queen Juliana of the Netherlands when they returned home in 1974. Getty Images 5/12 The ‘Cruyff turn’ Now a global superstar, the enigmatic forward wrote himself into football folklore after perfecting the ‘Cruyff turn’ which is still being copied by modern day footballers today. Getty Images 7/12 Trying his hand at management Just a year after retiring from playing, Cruyff returned to Ajax as manager where his unyielding success continued with two KNVB Cups and the Uefa Cup Winners’ Cup before leaving to take charge at Spanish juggernauts Barcelona. Getty Images 8/12 Revolution at Barcelona Cruyff led a period of revolution at the Catalan giants, lifting four La Liga titles and one European Cup as rivals Real Madrid were muzzled both domestically and on the European stage by his Barca side. Getty Images 10/12 Stripped of honorary presidency Cruyff was a controversial figure at Barcelona, however, and was named honorary president before being stripped of the title just months later after new president Sandro Rosell took office in July 2010. Getty Images 11/12 Ajax return Ajax called upon Cruyff’s services again in 2011, appointing him as an advisor, but the Amsterdam legend left just a year later after quelling with senior figures at the club. Getty Images 12/12 Legacy in football Cruyff remained a prominent figure in the world of football and was given the support of Barcelona's current generation when news of his deteriorating health was made public in 2015. That 5-0 scoreline from his first season as a player at the club may not seem so special now, coming as it does in an age when Pep Guardiola has managed a Barça team to a 6-2 victory at the Bernabeu and Luis Enrique to a 4-0 win there at the start of this season, but these were very different times. Sixty seconds of applause is planned on minute 14 of Barcelona’s next game, which is at home to Real Madrid in a week’s time. The club will open a space at the stadium today so that people can pay their respects. The club shop was also busy selling No 14 shirts as if the old maestro had just signed for the club and his glorious career was about to start over. Media playback is not supported on this device Johan Cruyff: 'An icon of the Netherlands' Netherlands footballing great Johan Cruyff has died of cancer aged 68. The Dutch FA said: "Words can hardly be found for this huge loss." It added that Cruyff was the "greatest Dutch footballer of all time and one of the world's best ever" and wished everyone "a lot of strength in this difficult time". Media playback is not supported on this device Johan Cruyff Europe's best ever - Lineker King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands said the country had "lost a unique and brilliant sportsman". Barcelona FC expressed their "pain and sorrow" at the news of his death, adding: "We will always love you, Johan. Bayern Munich's Manchester City-bound manager Pep Guardiola, who played under Cruyff at Barca, said his former manager "painted the chapel and Barcelona coaches since have merely restored or improved it". David Beckham called Cruyff a "true hero" who was "not just one of the best footballers in the history of the game but also one of the greatest men and nicest person you could meet". Gary Lineker, an ex-Barcelona player, added: "Football has lost a man who did more to make the beautiful game beautiful than anyone in history." Background Media playback is not supported on this device Archive: World Cup moments - Cruyff's turn Cruyff scored 293 goals in 521 appearances for five different clubs - including 204 in 276 games while winning 18 trophies in two spells for Ajax.
He then called for Letts to apologise. Marr's wife, journalist Jackie Ashley, tweeted about Letts' article, criticising the message it sent out to disabled people. Letts admitted his comments about "the admirable Marr" were "horrid". (Andrew Marr of course had a near-fatal stroke in 2013),” wrote one user. Robert Peston's new ITV Sunday politics talk show had received lukewarm reviews following its debut this weekend. Image caption Quentin Letts describes himself on Twitter as a "journo, author and deputy church warden" Image copyright The Quentin Letts Twitter Image caption Quentin Letts apologises for his Daily Mail article which mocked Andrew Marr's disability The Daily Mail article appeared in both the print copy of the newspaper and its online version. In a statement to the BBC, the Independent Press Standards Organisation said: "we have received a total of 11 complaints about the article. People news in pictures 9 show all People news in pictures 1/9 US President-elect Donald Trump and musician Kanye West pose for media at Trump Tower in Manhattan, New York City Reuters 2/9 Anna Wintour apologises for criticising Donald Trump on a train. A guest lineup including the chancellor, George Osborne, and broadcaster Louis Theroux did not keep viewers indoors on the hottest day of the year. https://t.co/vAXWaZuHuW — Sarfraz Manzoor (@sarfrazmanzoor) May 9, 2016 It isn't funny or smart of Quentin Letts to make fun of Andrew Marr https://t.co/LP2sVSCsN5 — Roy Greenslade (@GreensladeR) May 9, 2016 The Andrew Marr Show declined request for comment. The programme has also made audience participation central to its attempts to distinguish itself from Marr, with tweets displayed on a TV called Screeny McScreenface in reference to the controversy over the naming of the UK’s new research vessel.
Image copyright JEFF OVERS Image caption Andrew Marr presents a Sunday morning political programme on BBC One Political sketch writer Quentin Letts has apologised for an article he wrote mocking the disability of broadcaster Andrew Marr. In a Daily Mail review of the new Robert Peston show on ITV, Letts described Marr as "Captain-Hop-Along, growling away on BBC One, throwing his arm about like a tipsy conductor". Letts tweeted his apology after an article from media commentator Roy Greenslade appeared in the Guardian. Greenslade said in his article, called It isn't Funny or Smart for Quentin Letts to Poke Fun at Andrew Marr: "I don't want to come off all namby-pamby. Letts admitted his comments about "the admirable Marr" were "horrid". His tweet of apology was met with comments below it, calling him "utterly disgraceful" and "appalling". Image caption Quentin Letts describes himself on Twitter as a "journo, author and deputy church warden" Image copyright The Quentin Letts Twitter Image caption Quentin Letts apologises for his Daily Mail article which mocked Andrew Marr's disability The Daily Mail article appeared in both the print copy of the newspaper and its online version. Marr's wife, journalist Jackie Ashley, tweeted about Letts' article, criticising the message it sent out to disabled people. Image copyright Jackie Ashley Twitter Image caption Jackie Ashley, Andrew Marr's wife, criticises Quentin The Stroke Association said: "A stroke is not a joke. Stroke survivors deserve our respect and support, and Andrew Marr deserves an apology", before encouraging people make complaints to the Independent Press Standards Organisation. In a statement to the BBC, the Independent Press Standards Organisation said: "we have received a total of 11 complaints about the article. "It is IPSO policy not to comment on the identity of individual complainants, so I am unable to confirm the names of anyone who has contacted us on this article." Robert Peston's new ITV Sunday politics talk show had received lukewarm reviews following its debut this weekend. Letts reviewed Peston's programme as "breathless and batty - and bound to be a hit". In his Daily Mail column about the rival Sunday morning television programmes hosted by Marr and Robert Peston, he made an implicit reference to Marr’s stroke. People news in pictures 9 show all People news in pictures 1/9 US President-elect Donald Trump and musician Kanye West pose for media at Trump Tower in Manhattan, New York City Reuters 2/9 Anna Wintour apologises for criticising Donald Trump on a train. The couple is plotting a move to the nation's capital Getty 4/9 Samuel L Jackson calls Muslims 'the new black kids in America' 'People perceive them as a threat before even saying hello,' actor says of Muslims in the US Getty 5/9 Former JLS star Oritse Williams denies rape allegation The singer has not been charged Getty 6/9 Bill Gates announces $1bn investment fund for clean energy technology Team-up with Richard Branson, Jeff Bezos and others aims to fight climate change - and reap 'super' rewards Getty 7/9 Donald Trump's aide worked for anti-immigation extremists Poll was used by President-elect during campaign to justify banning Muslims from the US Reuters 8/9 Henry Kissinger tells Nobel Peace Prize forum to give Donald Trump a chance More than 7,000 people called for the 'mastermind of war' to be arrested while visiting Norway EPA 9/9 John Travolta dismisses new Scientology documentary by former member Leah Remini The actor defends the church and says it was a source of support for him when he lost his girlfriend, mother and son Getty “The devastating physical impact of a stroke is no joke,” said Alexis Wieroniey, the Deputy Director of Policy. High-profile guests including George Osborne fail to keep viewers indoors on hottest day of the year Robert Peston’s new politics show on ITV attracted just 166,000 viewers on Sunday, a tenth of the 1.6 million who watched Andrew Marr on BBC1. The chance to front his own show was one of the deciding factors in Peston’s move from BBC business editor to become ITV’s political editor last year.
For those who love, not for those who make declarations. Image copyright AFP Image caption Italian gay rights activists sport an image of Prime Minister Renzi (23 Jan 16) Italy's parliament has backed same-sex civil unions in a vote of confidence for centre-left Prime Minister Matteo Renzi. The bill was expected to be voted through later on Wednesday. "The text contains the recognition and protection many gays and lesbians have been waiting for all their lives," he said, but added that the omissions from the law "leave a bitter taste". Judges at the court ruled last year that Italy had breached its commitments under the European convention on human rights by denying gay couples legal unions. Mr Renzi had faced staunch opposition not only from centre-Right politicians but also rebels within his own centre-Left party. We are writing another important page of the Italy we want ... MPs in the lower house voted 369-193 for the government, ensuring that the civil unions bill will become law. A draft article that would have granted gay couples the right to adopt their partners’ biological children was dropped. While adoption has not been ruled out, family judges will decide on a case-by-case basis. Before the vote, Renzi wrote on his Facebook page: “Today is a day of celebration for so many people. The interior minister, Angelino Alfano, was among the most fervent opponents of providing a legal framework for surrogacy, saying in January that the use of paid surrogate mothers should be treated in the same way as a sex crime. Before the approval by MPs on Wednesday, Italy had been the last major western country not to legally recognise same-sex relationships.
Politicians vote 369-193 in favour of vote of confidence in government over heavily disputed bill, heralding its final approval Italy’s parliament has backed the introduction of same-sex civil unions in a long-awaited decision that has been hailed as a civil rights landmark. Before the approval by MPs on Wednesday, Italy had been the last major western country not to legally recognise same-sex relationships. However, the legislation was criticised for not providing full equality for gay couples, particularly in terms of adoption rights. Politicians in the chamber of deputies, Italy’s lower house, voted 369-193 in favour of a vote of confidence in the government, making final approval of the disputed civil unions bill automatic. The Italian prime minister, Matteo Renzi, called the confidence vote to prevent potential last-minute blocking or delaying amendments by opponents of the legislation, who include rebels in his Democratic party as well as the Catholic right. Before the vote, Renzi wrote on his Facebook page: “Today is a day of celebration for so many people. It was no longer acceptable to have any more delays after years of failed attempts.” The government used the same confidence vote tactic to ensure that the bill was approved by the senate of the republic, the upper house, in February, but only after the original text had been diluted in order to appease opponents threatening to scupper it altogether. A draft article that would have granted gay couples the right to adopt their partners’ biological children was dropped. While adoption has not been ruled out, family judges will decide on a case-by-case basis. Gay couples will be able to take each other’s names and inherit each other’s residual pension rights, but critics say the new rules fall short of the legal protection offered to same-sex couples in other European countries, as well as Canada and the US. Claudio Rossi Marcelli, a commentator for Internazionale magazine, who lives with his husband and children in Denmark, said: “For Italian homosexuals and all those who support civil rights, it’s a bittersweet victory.” Gabriele Piazzoni, the national secretary of equality organisation Arcigay, said in a statement: “The glass is half full. The text contains the recognition and protection many gays and lesbians have been waiting for all their lives ... [but] everything this law has failed to guarantee leaves a bitter taste.” Several previous attempts to legalise civil unions in Italy have foundered, often due to opposition orchestrated by the Catholic church. The present bill risked difficulties over the adoption clause, with critics insisting it would open the door to surrogacy, which is illegal under Italian law. The interior minister, Angelino Alfano, was among the most fervent opponents of providing a legal framework for surrogacy, saying in January that the use of paid surrogate mothers should be treated in the same way as a sex crime. At the same time, Renzi faced pressure to get a bill on to the statute book from the European court of human rights. Judges at the court ruled last year that Italy had breached its commitments under the European convention on human rights by denying gay couples legal unions. Opinion polls suggest that public opinion in Italy has moved decisively in favour of civil unions in recent years, but that a majority of voters remain opposed to extending equal adoption rights to gay couples. Image copyright AFP Image caption Italian gay rights activists sport an image of Prime Minister Renzi (23 Jan 16) Italy's parliament has backed same-sex civil unions in a vote of confidence for centre-left Prime Minister Matteo Renzi. Civil unions bill Does not go as far as civil union laws elsewhere in Europe, the US and Canada, critics say Clause that would have enabled gay people to adopt a partner's biological children was dropped No blanket ban on adoption, but family judges will decide on a case-by-case basis Requirement for gay couples to pledge loyalty was dropped - to make civil union less like marriage Gay couples get right to take each other's names and receive deceased partner's pension 'A first step' Last year, the European Court of Human Rights ruled that Italy had violated human rights by failing to offer enough legal protection for same-sex couples. Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Italy has seen huge demonstrations by gay activists pushing for civil unions In February this year the Italian Senate - the upper house - approved the civil unions bill, after the text had been watered down. The bill's main sponsor, Democratic Party (PD) Senator Monica Cirinna, called the compromise version a "hollow victory" and only "a first step". "The text contains the recognition and protection many gays and lesbians have been waiting for all their lives," he said, but added that the omissions from the law "leave a bitter taste". Image copyright Matteo Renzi - facebook Image caption Mr Renzi paid tribute to the late gay rights campaigner, Alessia Ballini (R) on Facebook Among the opponents, Nunzio Galantino, secretary general of the Italian Bishops' Conference (CEI), called the civil unions bill "a defeat for everyone".
Rousseff, 68, was automatically suspended for the duration of the trial, which could be up to six months. REUTERS/Adriano Machado Brazil's interim President Michel Temer addresses the audience during his first public remarks after the Brazilian Senate voted to impeach President Dilma Rousseff at the Planalto Palace in Brasilia, Brazil, May 12, 2016. She denied any wrongdoing and called the impeachment "fraudulent" and "a coup." ECONOMIC CHALLENGES Temer aides said the incoming government would soon announce a series of austerity measures to help reduce a massive budget deficit. The poster (C) reads, 'With Lula and Dilma, Brazil became a misfortune'. Writing by Paulo Prada. He quickly named respected former central bank governor Henrique Meirelles as his finance minister, with a mandate to overhaul the costly pension system. "Political parties, leaders, organizations and the Brazilian people will cooperate to pull the country from this grave crisis." After her speech she left the presidential palace and shook hands with supporters lining the pathway. Ms Rousseff had earlier suggested that sexism in the male-dominated Congress had played a key part in the impeachment process. REUTERS/Ueslei Marcelino Members of Brazil's Senate react after a vote to impeach President Dilma Rousseff for breaking budget laws in Brasilia, Brazil, May 12, 2016. “The opposition already has the two thirds necessary to guarantee the judgement and this scenario will be difficult to reverse.” After Rousseff's suspension, Temer charged his new ministers with enacting business-friendly policies while maintaining the still-popular social programs that were the hallmark of the Workers Party. She was addressing the nation on TV for the first time since senators voted overnight to suspend her for budgetary violations and put her on trial.
Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Brazil's President Dilma Rousseff will face trial after the Senate voted to impeach and suspend her Brazil's President Dilma Rousseff has condemned the move to impeach her as a "coup" and a "farce", denying she has committed any crimes. She was addressing the nation on TV for the first time since senators voted overnight to suspend her for budgetary violations and put her on trial. Ms Rousseff vowed to fight the "injustice" by all legal means. Vice-President Michel Temer has now officially taken over as interim leader and has appointed a team. Respected conservative Henrique Meirelles, who headed the central bank under leftist ex-President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, becomes finance minister. Mr Temer will serve while Ms Rousseff's trial takes place. It may last up to 180 days, which would mean Ms Rousseff would be suspended during the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, which start on 5 August. Senators had voted to suspend her by 55 votes to 22 after an all-night session that lasted more than 20 hours. Ms Rousseff is accused of illegally manipulating finances to hide a growing public deficit ahead of her re-election in 2014. 'Fraudulent' In her TV speech, flanked by ministers at the presidential palace, Ms Rousseff said that she may have made mistakes but had committed no crimes, adding: "I did not violate budgetary laws." She said: "What is at stake is respect for the ballot box, the sovereign will of the Brazilian people and the constitution." Image copyright AFP Analysis: BBC South America correspondent Wyre Davies It must have been a difficult moment for Brazil's first female president as she faced the massed ranks of the press. Surrounded by friends and colleagues, she talked emotionally about "hurt", "betrayal" and her "innocence". She left with her head held high, walking out of the presidential palace for the last time to greet loyal supporters. Ms Rousseff always points out that 53 million people voted for her when she was re-elected and what is happening now is a betrayal of the democratic process. But what she consistently fails to appreciate is how that support has evaporated as Brazil's economy nose-dived and her government became embroiled in a corruption scandal. Removing a president whose fall from grace has been spectacular will not heal this division overnight. Branding the process "fraudulent" and saying her government was "undergoing sabotage", she vowed to fight the charges against her and said she was confident she would be found innocent. Ms Rousseff, 68, accused the opposition of leading the impeachment because they had vehemently opposed all the advances she and her predecessor, Lula, had made for the Brazilian poor and lower middle classes. After her speech she left the presidential palace and shook hands with supporters lining the pathway. In another speech outside she told supporters she could feel their "love and energy" on what she called a "tragic" day for the country. The 75-year-old law professor of Lebanese origin was Ms Rousseff's vice-president and was a key figure in the recent upheaval Up until now, he's been the kingmaker, but never the king, having helped form coalitions with every president in the past two decades He is president of Brazil's largest party, the PMDB, which abandoned the coalition in March In recent months, his role has become even more influential; in a WhatsApp recording leaked in April, he outlined how Brazil needed a "government to save the country". Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption The new president of Brazil has family roots in the village of Btaaboura in Lebanon, where there is a "Temer Street" Read more on Michel Temer here Michel Temer has nominated a 21-strong cabinet. Mr Meirelles, the new finance minister, built a reputation for calming nerves in the markets when heading the central bank, and helped tame inflation to create one of the country's biggest economic booms. During the overnight debate, Senator Jose Serra, who has been named the new foreign minister, said the impeachment process was "a bitter though necessary medicine". "Having the Rousseff government continue would be a bigger tragedy," he said. Brazil is suffering from its worst recession in 10 years, unemployment reached 9% in 2015 and inflation is at a 12-year high. The 180 days allocated for the trial to take place expire on 8 November. A man holds a mock coffin at a protest against Brazil's President Dilma Rousseff calling for her impeachment in front of the Brazilian National congress in Brasilia, Brazil, May 11, 2016. REUTERS/Paulo Whitaker Police officers use pepper spray on demonstrators against the impeachment of President Dilma Rousseff in Brasilia, Brazil, May 11, 2016. REUTERS/Roosevelt Cassio Police officers use pepper spray on demonstrators against the impeachment of President Dilma Rousseff in Brasilia, Brazil, May 11, 2016. Marcos Correa/Courtesy of Brazil's Vice Presidency/Handout via Reuters Politicians applaud after Brazil's Vice President Michel Temer (C) signed a document notifying him of becoming the interim president after the Brazilian Senate voted to impeach President Dilma Rousseff, at his Jaburu Palace official residence in Brasilia, Brasil, May 12, 2016. Marcos Correa/Courtesy of Brazil's Vice Presidency/Handout via Reuters Suspended Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff greets a supporter after the Brazilian Senate voted to impeach her for breaking budget laws, at Planalto Palace in Brasilia, Brazil, May 12, 2016.
So far, there has been no resemblance to the Berlin effort. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the jihadists attacked Al-Assad hospital in Deir Ezzor as they attempted to advance towards the oil-rich city and its vital airbase. Advertisement Continue reading the main story In the Vienna talks, Mr. Kerry could not credibly threaten military intervention if Mr. Assad continued to defy the United Nations and the resolutions of the Support Group. More than 20 IS fighters were also reported killed. The frustration with the Assad forces — and the Syrian leader’s unwillingness to allow in humanitarian aid after insisting for months that he would — led to some surprisingly undiplomatic language. Officials have not been willing to say whether they ended up in the hands of the Islamic State fighters. IS's Amaq news agency said its fighters had carried out a "major offensive" in Deir al-Zour early on Saturday, storming the hospital and cutting the route between a Syrian army base and the city's airport. IS has imposed a siege on government-held districts in the south and east where about 200,000 civilians have been trapped since March 2014. Please try again later. Government forces retook the hospital after several hours, reports say, but the fate of the hostages is unclear. Activists say about 35 pro-government fighters were killed and some medical staff taken hostage. View all New York Times newsletters. The supplies did not reach people in the besieged area. It is particularly hard to know how they might target drops in densely populated areas like Daraya, a rebel stronghold southwest of Damascus. “If President Assad has come to a conclusion there’s no Plan B,” he said, referring to more coercive action to force him to comply, “then he’s come to a conclusion that is totally without any foundation whatsoever and even dangerous.” Mr. Kerry added later that Mr. Assad “should never make a miscalculation about President Obama’s determination to do what is right at any given moment of time, where he believes that he has to make that decision.” Mr. Assad, he said, has “flagrantly violated” the United Nations resolution calling for a nationwide cease-fire and allowing humanitarian assistance.
At a news conference on Tuesday afternoon with Mr. Lavrov, Mr. Kerry rejected a suggestion that, in dealing with Mr. Assad, he was operating without the kind of leverage he had in Vienna last year during the Iran nuclear negotiations — when American sanctions and sabotage of the Iranian program created the pressure that led to a deal. Advertisement Continue reading the main story But Mr. Kerry — who White House aides say has complained in Situation Room meetings about the lack of clout to force Mr. Assad to make good on his commitments — argued that the Syrian leader would be making a mistake to believe he would pay no price for refusing to cooperate. “If President Assad has come to a conclusion there’s no Plan B,” he said, referring to more coercive action to force him to comply, “then he’s come to a conclusion that is totally without any foundation whatsoever and even dangerous.” Mr. Kerry added later that Mr. Assad “should never make a miscalculation about President Obama’s determination to do what is right at any given moment of time, where he believes that he has to make that decision.” Mr. Assad, he said, has “flagrantly violated” the United Nations resolution calling for a nationwide cease-fire and allowing humanitarian assistance. Please verify you're not a robot by clicking the box. You must select a newsletter to subscribe to. Yet in making public a case that there would be consequences for Mr. Assad’s intransigence, Mr. Kerry was touching on one of the hardest issues facing Mr. Obama and his national security team in their last eight months in office. The president has repeatedly defended his decision not to authorize a military strike against Mr. Assad after he crossed what Mr. Obama had described as a “red line” against using chemical weapons. He also rejected a no-fly zone to protect fleeing civilians and opposition forces. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Those steps would draw the United States deeper into a war in which Mr. Obama initially saw no vital American interest, though Mr. Kerry and other officials, in private, have argued that the size of the humanitarian disaster in Syria and the destabilization of Europe by the flow of refugees have created such an interest. Advertisement Continue reading the main story In the Vienna talks, Mr. Kerry could not credibly threaten military intervention if Mr. Assad continued to defy the United Nations and the resolutions of the Support Group. He did suggest that if there were continued violations of the cease-fire, any violator — he clearly had Mr. Assad’s forces in mind — might become a target. But he also argued that military solutions would be of limited use, saying he and Mr. Lavrov agreed on “the futility and stupidity of an escalated process that could destroy Syria altogether and create even greater problems throughout the region,” which would attract “more and more jihadis to Syria.” Advertisement Continue reading the main story It is unclear whether an effort to get around the blockades to food and humanitarian deliveries would be effective. A spokesman for the opposition’s negotiating group, Salem al-Meslet, said in a statement that “if there is no full, unimpeded access, the World Food Program must deliver airdrops to those in need without the consent of the regime.” He said the airdrop has to be “continuous, intensive, and cover all areas in need,” a description that sounded more like the Berlin Airlift of 1948-49 than the periodic attempts to get food to starving Syrian populations. In general, airdrops are hugely expensive and inefficient compared with trucking aid into a country, and United Nations officials have long said they should be used only as a last resort. It is particularly hard to know how they might target drops in densely populated areas like Daraya, a rebel stronghold southwest of Damascus. Staffan de Mistura, the United Nations special envoy for Syria, told reporters here that the Syrian government’s cutoff of towns was “the closest to a medieval type of siege that we’re seeing in recent history.” Image copyright Reuters Image caption Deir al-Zour has been devastated by years of fighting Militants from the Islamic State (IS) group have briefly overrun a hospital complex in the eastern Syrian city of Deir al-Zour, reports say. Activists say about 35 pro-government fighters were killed and some medical staff taken hostage. Government forces retook the hospital after several hours, reports say, but the fate of the hostages is unclear. IS's Amaq news agency said its fighters had carried out a "major offensive" in Deir al-Zour early on Saturday, storming the hospital and cutting the route between a Syrian army base and the city's airport. A UK-based opposition news service, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, says government forces retook the hospital after several hours of fierce fighting. Islamic State: 'At least 20 killed, hostages taken' after militants storm Syrian hospital Updated The Islamic State (IS) group has overrun a government-controlled hospital in eastern Syria, killing 20 pro-regime forces and taking medical staff hostage, a monitor says. The attack sparked clashes with regime forces providing security for the hospital in which six jihadists were also killed, the monitor said. "IS attacked Al-Assad hospital at the city's western entrance, killing at least 20 soldiers and allied fighters," said Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman. The jihadists "seized the hospital and captured the medical staff, holding them hostage", he said. The jihadists, who also control nearly all the surrounding province, have repeatedly attacked the government enclave and seized several neighbourhoods since the start of this year.
Once again, he simply was the news. They are calling me and they are furious,” Trump said. "What we heard from the DNC was they did not want representatives of labor unions on the platform drafting committee. “I raised close to $6 million. Who got it? Photo Senator Bernie Sanders handily defeated Hillary Clinton in West Virginia’s Democratic presidential primary on Tuesday night, 51 percent to 36 percent. But it took a reporter to shame him into actually making his contribution and getting the money to veterans. “I think the liberal media — and I’ve been dealing with you for a long time — get your heads out of your butts and focus on the real issues,” he concluded. “You send people out. That's exactly what happened. “I was not surprised whatsoever that Debbie Wasserman Schultz and Hillary Clinton would keep me off the drafting committee because not only would we have participated, we would have fought for our positions.” A DNC convention official stressed that labor would be represented at the convention. “Hillary bragged on the campaign trail that she was going to put coal miners and coal companies out of business and Bernie Sanders actually said ‘to hell with the fossil fuel industry,’” Mr. Farrell said. “And you make me look very bad. “The press should be ashamed at themselves, and on behalf of the vets, the press should be ashamed of themselves. “I could have asked all these groups to come here and I didn’t want to do that. DeMoro's comments came a day after The Wall Street Journal reported that as many as 150 nurses from the union planned to go to the Democratic convention in Philadelphia as pro-Sanders delegates.
Bernie Sanders is upset that a union representative he nominated for the platform drafting committee wasn't approved. | Getty Sanders accuses DNC of keeping labor union representation off platform committee Sen. Bernie Sanders lobbed another shot at the Democratic National Committee on Wednesday, charging that chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz is keeping labor union members off the DNC's platform drafting committee. "What we heard from the DNC was they did not want representatives of labor unions on the platform drafting committee. To the best of my knowledge," Sanders said in Spreckels, California, during a news conference on fracking. The drafting committee, however, does have labor representation. Paul Booth of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees union was on the list of names Hillary Clinton's campaign submitted and the DNC approved. But another union representative — RoseAnn DeMoro, executive director of National Nurses United, the largest union of nurses in the country, which supports Sanders — was submitted by the Sanders camp to be included on the committee, but Wasserman Schultz didn’t approve her for the panel. DeMoro said Sanders called her personally to ask if he could nominate her to the powerful committee. “Bernie called me and told me that he needed somebody who was a very strong voice for Medicare for all and labor on the DNC [drafting committee] and he thought I would be very vocal,” DeMoro told POLITICO. "Bernie told me it was very important to him that I would agree to do this.” DeMoro agreed to be nominated and said she didn't hear anything until the DNC publicly announced its names for the platform committee, which didn't include her. “I'm sure it was because I've been a harsh critic of the DNC and the rigged processes that have been going on nationally,” DeMoro said. “I was not surprised whatsoever that Debbie Wasserman Schultz and Hillary Clinton would keep me off the drafting committee because not only would we have participated, we would have fought for our positions.” A DNC convention official stressed that labor would be represented at the convention. "Labor is an historic bedrock of the Democratic party and we are thrilled to have many labor leaders on the platform committee as well as a labor policy representative on the drafting committee," DNC spokeswoman April Mellody said in a statement. "We worked carefully with both campaigns to ensure overall balance and representation and have 100% confidence that the views of our allies in the Labor community will be well represented in our Party’s platform as they have always been." DeMoro's comments came a day after The Wall Street Journal reported that as many as 150 nurses from the union planned to go to the Democratic convention in Philadelphia as pro-Sanders delegates. In late May, the DNC announced it had given Sanders more sway over the platform committee by allowing both him and Clinton to submit names for the panel. DNC rules allow Wasserman Schultz to pick all 15 members of the committee, but a new agreement between the campaigns and the DNC allowed Clinton to name six members, Sanders to name five and Wasserman Schultz to pick the remaining four. The move was a bit of a compromise in an escalating fight between Sanders and the DNC, with Sanders charging that the DNC was taking steps to stack the primaries and convention against him. "I think if you look at this moment in time, that's proportionally how the votes have broken out across the country," Rep. Raúl Grijalva (D-Ariz.) told POLITICO a few days after the drafting committee names were announced. Donald Trump railed against the media on Tuesday morning as he released details of the money he’s raised and distributed to veterans organizations. Trump taunts media to its face The real estate mogul calls one reporter a 'sleaze' and another a 'real beauty' as he defends his veterans donations at Trump Tower. Donald Trump, whose entire campaign can seem like an experiment in free media, was simply trying to keep a low profile when he held an impromptu, televised fundraiser for veterans groups in January instead of participating in a GOP primary debate. At least that’s the story the presumptive Republican nominee was spinning for dozens of reporters gathered in the lobby of Trump Tower Tuesday morning — and to millions more watching the cable networks’ live blanket coverage of the entire 40-minute news conference — as he chastised the media for failing to give him his due, blasting one reporter as a “sleaze” and another as “a real beauty.” Story Continued Below Stepping to the podium with veterans standing behind him, Trump at first failed to mention the controversy of his campaign’s charitable disbursements to dozens of veterans groups — ostensibly, the reason he’d called the news conference in the first place. Trump, who’d stated at the January fundraiser that his campaign had raised more than $6 million for veterans groups that night, told reporters that his campaign has now sent $5.6 million to a number of veterans groups, which he rattled off one by one in between broadsides at news media audacious enough to ask for corroboration. “If we could, I wanted to keep it private because I don’t think it’s anybody’s business if I wanna send money to the vets,” Trump said, after accusing Hillary Clinton’s campaign of sending protesters to picket outside of Trump Tower. “I raised close to $6 million. It’ll probably be over that amount when it’s all said and done, but as of this moment, it’s $5.6 million.” Trump said a lot of the money was sent “very early” but stressed that the organizations had to be vetted first. When you send checks for hundreds of thousands of dollars to people and to companies and to groups that you’ve never heard of, charitable organizations, you have to vet it,” Trump said. Now, most of the money went out quite a while ago — some of it went out more recently.” Then the media onslaught began. “The press should be ashamed at themselves, and on behalf of the vets, the press should be ashamed of themselves. You’re a sleaze because you know the facts and you know the facts well.” Despite his professions of disgust at the media for forcing him to respond to its lingering questions about his fundraising, Trump held forth with reporters for nearly 45 minutes. I find the political press to be unbelievably dishonest, I will say that.” The real estate mogul’s most noteworthy contribution was a $1.1 million donation to the Marine Corps Law Enforcement Foundation. “I gave a million dollars to them,” he said, explaining that he was familiar with the organization because it honored him last year with a banquet at the Waldorf-Astoria hotel.
Kind, founded in 2013, sells pot tracking software to growers, sellers and governments. The start-up will now be able work on Microsoft's government cloud. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Twenty-five states have now legalized marijuana in some form or another, with Pennsylvania and Ohio the most recent. But even the cannabis company recognizes the foundations of its business is controversial in some quarters. Microsoft’s government sales team will work with Kind in bidding on those contracts, Dinenberg said. We use ours.” Microsoft told the Weed Blog it was looking forward to working with Kind "to help our government customers launch successful regulatory programs." For that reason, many banks will not work with companies involved in the regulated pot industry. It is still possible — though considered unlikely — that the federal government could decide to crack down on the legalization movement in the states. “We would have to figure out which conference might be the premier conference in this space. Kind has no state contracts. He says that number could climb to $25 billion by the year 2020 if California voters approve the recreational measure this year, as is widely expected. View all New York Times newsletters. “Kind agreed that Azure Government is the only cloud platform designed to meet government standards for the closely regulated cannabis compliance programs,” said Kimberly Nelson, Microsoft’s executive director state and local government solutions. Microsoft is based in Washington where cannabis is legal. The company, founded by Bill Gates, announced a partnership on Thursday with Kind Financial, a Los Angeles firm that sells computer systems to governments that track legalized marijuana sales.
Image copyright Getty Images Microsoft has teamed up with California-based technology start-up Kind Financial, which helps businesses and government agencies track sales of legalised marijuana "from seed to sale". Kind has been selling its marijuana tracking software to businesses and governments for some three years. The start-up will now be able work on Microsoft's government cloud. Kind's software, which is called Agrisoft Seed to Sale, "closes the loop between marijuana-related businesses, regulatory agencies, and financial institutions," a press release said. Image copyright Reuters Microsoft told the BBC in an emailed statement that it supported "government customers and partners to help them meet their missions". "Kind Financial is building solutions on our government cloud to help these agencies regulate and monitor controlled substances and items, and manage compliance with jurisdictional laws and regulations," the Microsoft spokesperson said. Kind said that Microsoft's cloud platform was the only one of its kind "designed to meet government standards for the closely regulated cannabis compliance programmes", The Weed Blog reported. Company announces partnership with Kind Financial, a Los Angeles firm that sells computer systems to governments that track legalized marijuana sales Microsoft, the famously conservative company best-known for producing office software like Windows, has taken the unexpected step of entering the burgeoning industry of marijuana. The company, founded by Bill Gates, announced a partnership on Thursday with Kind Financial, a Los Angeles firm that sells computer systems to governments that track legalized marijuana sales. Microsoft unveils Xbox One S and Xbox One Project Scorpio Read more Microsoft, which is headquartered in Washington, a state where recreational cannabis is now legal, is licensing Kind to sell Microsoft cloud services to authorities to monitor sales – rather than becoming directly involved in the trade itself. Kind, founded in 2013, sells pot tracking software to growers, sellers and governments. Its website is strait-laced and includes no images of the multi-tipped leaf synonymous with getting high. And as its CEO, David Dinenberg, stressed repeatedly during a brief interview, “We absolutely do not touch the plant.” However, Microsoft has still created a milestone in America’s slow progression towards accepting marijuana, which remains illegal under federal law. For that reason, many banks will not work with companies involved in the regulated pot industry. Some 25 states allow the sale of marijuana in certain circumstances, mostly with a prescription or license from a doctor. At least four states plan to vote this fall on following Washington, Oregon and Colorado in permitting recreational use of the drug. Kind will pursue government pot compliance contracts by pitching Microsoft’s Azure cloud services. Microsoft’s government sales team will work with Kind in bidding on those contracts, Dinenberg said. Kind and Microsoft have already bid on a contract in Puerto Rico, which began allowing medical use of marijuana this year, Dinenberg said. “Kind agreed that Azure Government is the only cloud platform designed to meet government standards for the closely regulated cannabis compliance programs,” said Kimberly Nelson, Microsoft’s executive director state and local government solutions. “We look forward to working together to help our government customers launch successful regulatory programs.” “We go after the contract and we are able to use the Microsoft sales team,” Dinenberg said. So far, only a handful of smaller banks are willing to offer accounts to companies that grow or sell marijuana, and Microsoft will not be touching that part of the business. But the company’s entry into the government compliance side of the business suggests the beginning of a legitimate infrastructure for an industry that has been growing fast and attracting lots of attention, both good and bad. Advertisement Continue reading the main story “We do think there will be significant growth,” said Kimberly Nelson, the executive director of state and local government solutions at Microsoft. “As the industry is regulated, there will be more transactions, and we believe there will be more sophisticated requirements and tools down the road.” Microsoft’s baby step into the business came through an announcement on Thursday that it was teaming up with a Los Angeles start-up, Kind, that built the software the tech giant will begin marketing. Kind — one of many small companies trying to take the marijuana business mainstream — offers a range of products, including A.T.M.-style kiosks that facilitate marijuana sales, working through some of the state-chartered banks that are comfortable with such customers. “It’s very telling that a company of this caliber is taking the risk of coming out and engaging with a company that is focused on the cannabis business.” Advertisement Continue reading the main story David Dinenberg, the founder and chief executive of Kind, said it had taken a long time — and a lot of courting of big-name companies — to persuade the first one to get on board.
It was very crowded, there was chaos. IS blamed Were you at Istanbul's Ataturk airport? Authorities said on Wednesday 41 were killed. He added that the attackers were "not Muslims". Six Saudis, two Iraqis, an Iranian, a Chinese national, a Jordanian, a Tunisian, an Uzbek and a Ukrainian were also killed in the attack, Turkish officials said. Footage on social media shows one moving through the building as people around him flee. You can also contact us in the following ways: If I could, I would leave Turkey tomorrow,” he added. They blew themselves up after police fired back. Islamic State militants also claimed responsibility for gun and bomb attacks that killed 129 people in Paris last November. REUTERS/Murad Sezer A worker cleans the roof of the international departure terminal at Istanbul Ataturk following the blasts. Image copyright AFP Image caption Armed police sealed off the area Image copyright Reuters Image caption A Kalashnikov assault rifle was later found at the scene Image copyright AFP Image caption Emergency teams gathered, with luggage and bodies scattered outside the building Pope Francis denounced the "brutal terrorist attack" and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation also condemned the "despicable terrorist act". Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan declared Wednesday a national day of mourning and said the attack should serve as a turning point in the global fight against militant groups. Nationality of dead so far confirmed (may include dual nationality) 24 - Turkish 5 - Saudi 2 - Iraqi 1 - Chinese; Jordanian; Tunisian; Uzbek; Iranian; Ukrainian; (Palestinian ambassador to Turkey says one Palestinian woman killed) Flights had resumed in the early morning, though with many cancellations and delays.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan says attack in which 42 died should be turning point in global fight against terrorism Turkey has declared a day of national mourning after more than 40 people were killed in suicide attacks on Istanbul’s main airport, the deadliest and most high-profile in a string of killings and explosions that have shaken the country this year. The violence has crippled Turkey’s tourism industry and threatens its ambitions as a global hub, as the violence in neighbouring Syria increasingly spills over into a country that once promoted itself as a stable base in a restive region. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan blamed Islamic State for the late-night attack on one of the busiest air travel hubs in the world, and called on the international community to make the attack a turning point in the global fight against terrorism. At least three people with guns and suicide vests targeted the arrivals and departures areas, where they sprayed travellers with bullets and then detonated their explosives in a rampage that lasted just a few minutes but killed dozens and injured more than 250 others. The official death toll rose to 42 on Wednesday night, according to the Turkish state-run news agency Anadolu, which reported that an injured woman had died in hospital. Police sources quoted in the Turkish media said the attackers had rented a flat in the Aksaray area of Istanbul and taken a taxi at 8.45pm local time to Atatürk airport. “When the terrorists couldn’t pass the regular security system, when they couldn’t pass the scanners, police and security controls, they returned and took their weapons out of their suitcases and opened fire at random at the security check,” said prime minister Binali Yildirim. Two Turkish officials told Associated Press that one of the three attackers entered the lower-level arrivals hall, opened fire, and then detonated his explosive. In the ensuing chaos, the second assailant went up to the departure hall where he blew himself up. The third man waited outside and detonated his explosives as terrified passengers flooded out of the airport, the officials said. Six Saudis, two Iraqis, an Iranian, a Chinese national, a Jordanian, a Tunisian, an Uzbek and a Ukrainian were also killed in the attack, Turkish officials said. Turkey paying a price for Erdoğan's wilful blindness to Isis threat Read more Five of the Turkish dead were policemen, and others were tourism guides waiting for clients in the arrivals area, two who worked in ground services, and at least one taxi driver. Although there has been no claim of responsibility, analysts and US counter-terrorism officials – including CIA director John Brennan – also said the choice of target and method of the attack bore hallmarks of Isis, which earlier this year bombed an airport and metro in Brussels, targeted Paris last year, and has been blamed for several attacks on Turkey in the past year. The latest attack drew pledges of support from leaders around the world, with Russia announcing it had eased travel restrictions and trade sanctions, and Israel promising unity in the fight against terrorism. Intelligence officials are now poring over video evidence and witness statements for clues about the suicide cell, which a senior prosecutor said may have included foreign militants. Video footage showed one gunman tumbling to the ground, apparently felled by a police bullet, as passengers and airport workers scattered. “It’s a jigsaw puzzle … The authorities are going through CCTV footage [and] witness statements,” a Turkish official told Reuters. Facebook Twitter Pinterest A worker passes windows broken from the blasts at Turkey’s largest airport. Photograph: Defne Karadeniz/Getty Terrified passengers told how they had crouched behind check-in desks, tried to hide in airport shops and raced back towards planes minutes after disembarking, as panic swept through the airport. Steven Nabil, a journalist passing through Istanbul on the way back from his honeymoon, said: “We were sitting ducks, waiting to find out who will open the door. I was looking desperately for anything sharp to protect her [his wife] if they opened the door and took hostages.” Steven nabil (@stevoiraq) We were transiting from our honeymoon tonight through #istanbul back to NYC when the bullets were closer i hugged and kissed her He decided to try to use a kettle of boiling water to throw at anyone who opened the door, in an attempt to buy his wife time to run. “Longest 45 minutes ever … when the bullets were closer I hugged and kissed her,” he wrote. Many survivors said that as they waited for rescue, they searched online for news of the attack and hoped that they might make it out alive. Then for the next few hours the only way to find out what was going on was through social media.” One barista, who wanted to remain anonymous, said he had been hiding, together with 14 coffeeshop customers, in the café’s small storeroom during the attack that unfolded only a few metres away. I was on Istiklal street a few months ago when that guy blew himself up.” The airport is packed around the clock with Turks who have been abroad, travellers streaming into Istanbul for work and holidays, and many more on stopovers for journeys across Asia, Africa and the Middle East. Beyond the human cost, the violence is likely to be a devastating blow for an economy heavily reliant on tourism, which is already suffering from falling visitor numbers after a string of attacks. Tourism industry workers had been hoping for a boost from the Eid festival that marks the end of Ramadan, after a period of relative calm, but say security worries hit business within hours. People keep calling to cancel their holidays.” Russia’s decision to lift restrictions on package tourism and trade sanctions, which had been imposed after Turkey shot down a Russian fighter jet in November, may provide some hope to the faltering sector. “It sends a strong message to the terrorists that we will stand united against hatred.” On Wednesday authorities in Istanbul moved quickly to try and limit damage from the bombing, reopening the airport within hours, stringing a vast Turkish flag across the bomb site as workers raced to repair damage and calling for a stronger global coalition against terror.
I do not. Wiesel, 87, died Saturday, July 2, 2016. "What can I tell him?" Hide Caption 17 of 21 Photos: Elie Wiesel This September 12, 2012, photo shows Holocaust survivor and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Elie Wiesel in his New York office. Photo “That place, Mr. President, is not your place,” he said. Never shall I forget that smoke. “I must do something with my life. How could the world have been mute? Two other sisters survived. His father died of starvation and dysentery in the Buchenwald camp. The museum became one of Washington’s most powerful attractions. He wrote more than 60 books, starting with Night, a memoir based on his experiences in the death camps. 'Take sides' Mr Wiesel's use of the term Holocaust helped cement the word's association with Nazi atrocities against the Jews. (The man was convicted of assault.) He was a professor at the City College of New York from 1972 until he left four years later to become a humanities professor at Boston University. While at the White House in 1985, he asked President Ronald Reagan to cancel a visit to a World War II military cemetery in West Germany. He told The New York Times he had thought about why he lived and others didn't. Do I have the right to accept this great honor on their behalf? Born in Romania, Wiesel was 15 when he was sent to the Auschwitz concentration camp in Poland with his family in 1944. Never shall I forget these things, even if I am condemned to live as long as God himself.
(CNN) Elie Wiesel , a Holocaust survivor and author who fought for peace, human rights and simple human decency, has died at the age of 87, a spokesman for Israel's Holocaust memorial, Yad Vashem, said Saturday. His family said he died peacefully Saturday after a long illness. "My husband was a fighter. He fought for the memory of the 6 million Jews who perished in the Holocaust, and he fought for Israel. He waged countless battles for innocent victims regardless of ethnicity or creed," his widow, Marion, said in a statement released by the writer's foundation. Wiesel, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1986, recounted his family being sent to the Nazi concentration camps in his first book, "Night," which was published in France in 1958. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu lauded Wiesel as a "master of words." "(He) gave expression through his exceptional personality, and fascinating books about the victory of the human spirit over cruelty and evil. In the darkness of the Holocaust in which our brothers and sisters -- 6 million -- were murdered, Elie Wiesel was a ray of light and greatness of humanity who believed in the good in man," Netanyahu said. "I was privileged to know Elie and to learn so much from him." Born in Romania, Wiesel was 15 when he was sent to the Auschwitz concentration camp in Poland with his family in 1944. Wiesel told CNN last year that Auschwitz was "to this day, a source of shock and astonishment." Wiesel survived because an older Jew told him to tell the Nazis he was 18, old enough to work. "If I survived, it must be for some reason," Wiesel said in 1981. It is too serious to play games with anymore, because in my place, someone else could have been saved. He was a "messenger to mankind" He broke his silence on his Holocaust experience 10 years after the liberation with the acclaimed memoir "Night," originally published in French as "La Nuit," which has been translated into 30 languages and has sold millions of copies since its publication. The Nobel peace laureate, who wrote extensively about the horrors he and others endured, said he knew he'd have to write at some point but feared the words would elude him.f "I'm not sure, by the way, that I did find them," he said. Maybe somehow, the Germans ... the cruel killers, have succeeded at least in one way, at least that it deprived us, the victims, of finding the proper language of saying what they had done to us, because there are no words for it." My last interview with Elie Wiesel, last year, in which we spoke about his experiences as a Holocaust survivor: https://t.co/oqB42iCbyv — Christiane Amanpour (@camanpour) July 2, 2016 In 1986 the Nobel committee called Wiesel an important spiritual leader. In his speech honoring Wiesel, then-chairman Egil Aarvik said: "From the abyss of the death camps he has come as a messenger to mankind, not with a message of hate and revenge, but with one of brotherhood and atonement." Wiesel spoke of his own guilt in his moving Nobel acceptance speech. "Do I have the right to represent the multitudes who have perished? Photos: Elie Wiesel Photos: Elie Wiesel Nobel Peace Prize laureate Elie Wiesel participates in a forum on guarding against a nuclear Iran, on March 2, 2015, in Washington. Hide Caption 1 of 21 Photos: Elie Wiesel This April 16, 1945, photo provided by the U.S. Army shows inmates in their barracks at Germany's Buchenwald concentration camp a few days after its liberation by U.S. troops. Elie Wiesel, who died July 2, 2016, is in the middle row of bunks, seventh man from the left. Hide Caption 2 of 21 Photos: Elie Wiesel Children and other prisoners liberated by the U.S. Army leave Buchenwald concentration camp near Weimar, Germany, in April 1945. The tall youth in the line at left, fourth from the front, is Elie Wiesel, who died Saturday, July 2, 2016, at age 87. Hide Caption 3 of 21 Photos: Elie Wiesel Elie Wiesel's first book, "Night," published a decade after World War II ended, recounted his Holocaust experiences. Originally published in French as "La Nuit," the book has been translated into 30 languages and has sold millions of copies. Hide Caption 4 of 21 Photos: Elie Wiesel Elie Wiesel is shown after he was awarded top French literary awards in 1968 in Paris. Hide Caption 6 of 21 Photos: Elie Wiesel Then-President Ronald Reagan and Elie Wiesel (behind Reagan), chairman of the United States Holocaust Memorial Council, take part in a "day of remembrance" ceremony in the East Room of the White House on April 30, 1981. Hide Caption 7 of 21 Photos: Elie Wiesel Author and Nazi death camp survivor Elie Wiesel kisses his wife, Marion, as they greet the press in their apartment in New York on October 14, 1986, after it was announced that Wiesel was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. Hide Caption 11 of 21 Photos: Elie Wiesel Nobel Peace Prize laureate Elie Wiesel, right, appears with the spiritual leader of Tibet, the Dalai Lama, during a ceremony for the 50th birthday of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in Paris on December 7, 1998. Hide Caption 12 of 21 Photos: Elie Wiesel Then-President George Bush, left; Rabbi Irving Greenberg, center; and Elie Wiesel, right, sing the national anthem during a national commemoration of the Days of Remembrance for victims of the Holocaust, in the Capitol rotunda on April 19, 2001, in Washington.
Very dishonest." Trump, on Twitter, said ABC's poll sample was "heavy on Democrats. A spokesman for Mr. Clinton declined to comment. ET, were down between 0.5% and 0.6%. Europe -- the U.K. included -- is a different place than it was last week. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Mr. Clinton has known Mr. Cuban for several years. Uncertainty reigned on Monday as markets opened for the first time since the Brexit Freakout of 2016. Mr. Cuban has said he would like to vote Republican on fiscal issues and a smaller government, but disagrees with the party on most social issues. View all New York Times newsletters. There are “great similarities between what happened here and my campaign,” Trump said Friday from the Trump Turnberry resort in Scotland. Clinton spoke Sunday at the U.S. Conference of Mayors annual meeting in Indianapolis, Indiana. And who put the interests of the American people ahead of their personal business interests." What is known: The EU has evolved over a half century into one of the world's true economic powerhouses. The billionaire has attended Clinton Global Initiative conferences, watched basketball with the 42nd president, and spoke at a Clinton Foundation-related event in Dallas last year that also featured former President George W. Bush. Please try again later. Related: Fear & Greed Index When U.K. voters made the momentous decision to leave the EU, investors reacted with immediate shock. British Prime Minister David Cameron quickly announced he would step aside by October. Invalid email address. A new Washington Post-ABC News poll released on Sunday showed Clinton holding a 12-point lead over Trump nationally.
An aide said Mr. Clinton regularly tacks on social events with friends while traveling the country to help his wife’s campaign. The small but eclectic dinner party in Los Angeles also included the musician Stevie Wonder: the actors Bryan Cranston and Ted Danson; John Dauer, the vocalist in the band The Ruse and a friend of Chelsea Clinton; and Gene Sperling, an economic adviser to both Mr. Clinton and President Obama. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Mr. Clinton has known Mr. Cuban for several years. The billionaire has attended Clinton Global Initiative conferences, watched basketball with the 42nd president, and spoke at a Clinton Foundation-related event in Dallas last year that also featured former President George W. Bush. While the dinner was not a fund-raiser, it did further immerse Mr. Cuban, whose incendiary statements and pro-business positions could turn off some Democrats, in the inner circle of Mrs. Clinton’s West Coast supporters, should he decide to give to the Clinton campaign or “super PAC” supporting such efforts. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Last month, Mr. Cuban told NBC’s “Meet the Press” he would “absolutely” entertain the idea of being Mrs. Clinton’s running mate, but that “she would have to go more to the center.” Please verify you're not a robot by clicking the box. Invalid email address. Sign Up Receive occasional updates and special offers for The New York Times's products and services. It is successful business people.” Advertisement Continue reading the main story While a Clinton-Cuban ticket is extremely unlikely, and there is no sign the businessman is being vetted in Mrs. Clinton’s running-mate search, the banter has put Mr. Cuban in the position of being an outspoken TV personality and billionaire who could potentially be a useful weapon against a Republican nominee with a similar résumé. Mr. Cuban has said he would like to vote Republican on fiscal issues and a smaller government, but disagrees with the party on most social issues. Last week, just before Mrs. Clinton delivered a populist economic pitch alongside Senator Elizabeth Warren, her campaign released a list of business leaders, including several Republicans, who had endorsed her, including Daniel F. Akerson, the former chairman and chief executive of General Motors, and Richard Anderson, the Delta Air Lines executive. Advertisement Continue reading the main story On Friday, Henry M. Paulson Jr., the treasury secretary under Mr. Bush during the 2008 financial crisis and a former Goldman Sachs chief executive, expressed his support for Mrs. Clinton. Uncertainty reigned on Monday as markets opened for the first time since the Brexit Freakout of 2016. The U.K. has voted to leave the 28-nation European Union, but on what terms is totally unknown -- and won't be for at least two years. The British government will have new leadership, but not until October -- and it's unclear who'll be in charge. On Monday, U.S. stock futures, which indicate how shares will open at 9:30 a.m. The Shanghai Composite in China rose 1.5% and Hong Kong's Hang Seng fell 0.03%. London's benchmark FTSE 100 index shed 2%. Stocks in Ireland, which is a major trade partner with the U.K., fell more than 8%. Some businesses are already "pausing their decisions to invest and hire people," he said, adding that Brexit will hurt the U.K. economy and government budget. The Dow Jones industrial average sunk 3.4%, while the S&P 500 lost 3.6% and the Nasdaq dropped 4.1%. Hillary Clinton, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, released a new national television ad on Sunday attacking likely Republican rival Donald Trump for his comments on the U.K's decision to leave the European Union, and later warned of the negative impact that "bombastic" behavior can have at times of crisis. The campaign of the former secretary of state, who had urged the U.K. not to leave, slammed the real-estate developer and TV personality for saying on Friday that his golf courses in Scotland would benefit from market turmoil that followed the vote, including an 8-percent decline in the British pound to the lowest level since 1985. Trump has insisted that the combination of economic stagnation, anger at trade policies, and distrust of immigrants that helped propel the Brexit vote represents the same momentum that carried him to the Republican nomination and shows that Clinton is out of step with voters. "Every president is tested by world events, but Donald Trump thinks about how his golf resort can profit from them," says Clinton's ad, which juxtaposes Trump's praise of the course with news reports of plummeting stock markets. A Clinton campaign announcement about the ad said Trump had cheered the Brexit vote and touted his potential profit from the decision "while markets plummeted and American families watched as their 401(k) accounts lose more than $100 billion in value in a day."
"She will have my full support," he added. An election to challenge Jeremy Corbyn for the leadership of the Labour party has been officially triggered, the party has said. Her decision left Mrs May - the front runner - as the only candidate to take over leading the party and to therefore become prime minister. Mr Cameron will tender his resignation to the Queen after PMQs on Wednesday. I’m here to win.” Angela Eagle: who is the woman taking on Jeremy Corbyn? Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Theresa May: "Together we will build a better Britain" Theresa May promised to build a "better Britain" and to make the UK's EU exit a "success" after she was announced as the new Tory leader and soon-to-be PM. The Labour leadership was hit by a spate of resignations from his shadow cabinet last month as dozens of MPs refused to serve under him and called for him to quit. “I will now ask the Chair of the National Executive Committee to convene a meeting to confirm arrangements for an election.” It is not yet clear whether Mr Corbyn will be automatically on the ballot paper in the leadership contest, or whether he would also have to gather nominations. A referendum to settle an argument in the Conservative party has resulted in the country being torn apart – our economy damaged, our society hurt.” “You have to lead in parliament as well,” Eagle said. Legal advice given to the Labour party says that as an incumbent he ought to be represented in the race; this is however disputed. As well as rendering parts of Eagle’s speech immediately out of date, it brought a deeply awkward moment as she sought questions first from the BBC and then ITV’s political editor, Robert Peston, only to find they were not there.
Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Theresa May: "Together we will build a better Britain" Theresa May promised to build a "better Britain" and to make the UK's EU exit a "success" after she was announced as the new Tory leader and soon-to-be PM. Speaking outside Parliament, Mrs May said she was "honoured and humbled" to succeed David Cameron, after her only rival in the race withdrew on Monday. Mr Cameron, who has been UK prime minister since 2010, decided to quit after the UK's Brexit vote. It follows another day of dramatic developments in the political world, when Andrea Leadsom unexpectedly quit the two-way Conservative leadership contest, saying she did not have the support to build "a strong and stable government". Her decision left Mrs May - the front runner - as the only candidate to take over leading the party and to therefore become prime minister. In a speech flanked by dozens of Conservative MPs, Mrs May, the home secretary since 2010, praised Mr Cameron for his stewardship of the Tory party and the country. And she paid tribute to Mrs Leadsom for her "dignity" in withdrawing her leadership bid, as well as to the three other candidates who ran in the contest. "I am honoured and humbled to have been chosen by the Conservative Party to become its leader," Mrs May told the gathered media. Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption David Cameron announces his departure date She said her leadership bid had been based on the need for "strong, proven leadership", the ability to unite both party and country and a "positive vision" for Britain's future. "A vision of a country that works not for the privileged few but that works for every one of us because we're going to give people more control over their lives and that's how, together, we will build a better Britain." And in a message perhaps designed to reassure Brexit-supporting colleagues, Mrs May - who campaigned to stay in the EU, said: "Brexit means Brexit and we're going to make a success of it." Image copyright PA The 1922 Committee of Conservative MPs, which is overseeing the leadership contest, has declared Mrs May the new party leader "with immediate effect". David Cameron says he will take Prime Minister's Questions on Wednesday and then head to Buckingham Palace and officially tender his resignation to the Queen and recommend she sends for Theresa May as his replacement Mrs May will then go to Buckingham Palace to see the Queen and receive her invitation to form a government Theresa May should then be in place as UK prime minister by Wednesday evening - it is not yet clear when the Cameron family will move out of No 10 Earlier, in a brief statement outside No 10, Mr Cameron said he was "delighted" that Mrs May was to succeed him in Downing Street. He said a "prolonged period of transition" was not necessary, and added: "So tomorrow I will chair my last cabinet meeting. On Wednesday I will attend the House of Commons for Prime Minister's Questions. The prime minister praised Mrs May as "strong" and "competent" and he said she was "more than able to provide the leadership" the UK needs in the coming years. Key dates for the new PM 18 July - Parliament due to vote on Trident renewal 19 July - Possible date for her first cabinet meeting 20 July - First PMQs as prime minister 5 September - Parliament returns from summer recess 2-5 October - Conservative Party annual conference 20 October - Her first European Council meeting as prime minister Announcing her decision to pull out of the contest, Mrs Leadsom - who was a leading light of the Brexit campaign - said a nine-week leadership campaign at such a "critical time" for the UK would be "highly undesirable" - and she gave her backing to Mrs May. A source close to the energy minister told BBC political editor Laura Kuenssberg "the abuse has been too great" for Mrs Leadsom during the contest. Mrs Leadsom had apologised to Mrs May on Monday after suggesting in a weekend newspaper interview that being a mother made her a better candidate for the job. Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Theresa May said there would be no second EU referendum Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Andrea Leadsom reads out a statement explaining the end of her leadership bid BBC chief political correspondent Vicki Young said Mrs May had begun the day launching her leadership campaign to take to the party membership - and within the space of several hours found out she would be prime minister by Wednesday. Mr Cameron announced his intention to resign as prime minister on 24 June, after finding himself on the losing side of the EU referendum, with the UK voting by 52% to 48% in favour of leaving. An election to challenge Jeremy Corbyn for the leadership of the Labour party has been officially triggered, the party has said. "Jeremy Corbyn is unable to provide the leadership this huge task needs," she said at her launch event. The Labour leadership was hit by a spate of resignations from his shadow cabinet last month as dozens of MPs refused to serve under him and called for him to quit. Former shadow business secretary says she is not a Blairite, Brownite or Corbynista but a ‘strong Labour woman’ Angela Eagle has formally launched her bid to replace Jeremy Corbyn as Labour leader, describing herself as “a strong Labour woman” who could heal divisions in the party and lead it to election victory. The former shadow business secretary, who was among dozens of Labour frontbenchers to quit in the past few weeks, said Corbyn had made a useful contribution to new ideas in the party, but should step down.
Topics: foreign-affairs, world-politics, government-and-politics, defence-and-national-security, federal-government, australia, asia, china, philippines First posted "There are of course multiple scenarios. President Xi Jinping said China's "territorial sovereignty and marine rights" in the seas would not be affected by the ruling "in any way". Image copyright AP Image caption Chinese work to expand and enlarge natural reefs was criticised by the tribunal An international tribunal has dismissed China's claims to much of the South China Sea. What is Freedom of Navigation? At the heart of these disputes are a series of barren islands in two groups - the Spratly Islands, off the coast of the Philippines, and the Paracel Islands, off the coasts of Vietnam and China. * Based on the EEZ, the Philippines has the strongest claim on the Spratlys and their resources, with its EEZ covering much of the area. China has been leading the charge with these installations, and has deployed vessels to the region to protect their interests. The Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague said there was no evidence that China had exercised exclusive control over the waters or resources historically. The ruling was made by an arbitration tribunal constituted under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), which both countries have signed. Taiwan also makes claims based on the same map, as it was created by the nationalist Kuomintang government, which fled to Taiwan after the communists seized power in China. There have been deadly protests in Vietnam over China's decision to build an oil rig off the Paracels. Senator Conroy said actions involving the Australian Navy and Air Force should not be telegraphed in advance.
South China Sea: Stephen Conroy accuses China of 'bullying' over territorial dispute Updated Labor's defence spokesman Stephen Conroy has accused China of bullying other nations over the South China Sea, claiming Australia has only been pretending to hold regular patrols in the region. Key points: Permanent Court of Arbitration found China breached Philippines' sovereign rights by claiming South China Sea Labor's Stephen Conroy describes China's actions as "aggressive and at-times bullying" Senator Conroy also pushed for Australia to carry out Freedom of Navigation operations Overnight an international court in The Hague ruled China has no historic title over the waters of the South China Sea, in a non-enforceable ruling dismissed as a "farce" by the government in Beijing. "China's been engaged in an aggressive and at-times bullying performance, and has now been called out by the international court," Senator Conroy told Radio National this morning. Foreign Minister Julie Bishop has warned China that it must heed the ruling handed down in The Hague, saying that "to ignore it would be serious international transgression, there would be strong reputational costs". She said Australia would continue to exercise its right to Freedom of Navigation in the region, but would not confirm whether Australia would conduct patrols within 12 nautical miles of China's artificial islands. "Australia will continue to exercise our international law rights to Freedom of Navigation and overflight, and support the right of others to do so," she said. A principle of customary international law that allows any sovereign state to challenge territorial claims on the world's oceans and airspace The US Freedom of Navigation (FON) program has been running since 1979, including operations in the South China Sea Australia has been urged to run its own FON operations within 12 nautical miles of China's artificial islands in the area But Senator Conroy said he had personally questioned Defence officials through the Senate estimates process and they had made it clear they were not authorised to engage in Freedom of Navigation exercises. "Australia should authorise its forces to both sail and fly over the areas of the South China Sea." Warning over possible air defence zone The Philippines celebrated the ruling cautiously, reiterating its commitment to "peaceful resolution and management of disputes" within the area. China made it clear it had no intention of abiding by the ruling, with the Foreign Ministry maintaining its people had more than 2,000 years of history in the South China Sea, and that it had announced to the world its "nine-dash" map in 1948. Professor Rothwell said the Chinese Government's reaction to last night's non-binding ruling had been "fierce", but said it was difficult to anticipate what action it would take in the longer term. The worst case one would be a Chinese reaction that sees the declaration of an air defence identification zone," he told ABC News Breakfast. Professor Rothwell said this could "most certainly" bring Australia into conflict with China. "It would mean that all Australian aircraft passing through the region would need to identify themselves and that would raise significant issues for Qantas, for example, as to how they would respond to that action." Vietnam, China, Malaysia have eyes on the prize * Rich in resources and traversed by a quarter of global shipping, the South China Sea is the stage for several territorial disputes that threaten to escalate tensions in the region. At the heart of these disputes are a series of barren islands in two groups - the Spratly Islands, off the coast of the Philippines, and the Paracel Islands, off the coasts of Vietnam and China. * Both chains are essentially uninhabitable, but are claimed by no fewer than seven countries, eager to gain control of the vast oil and gas fields below them, as well as some of the region's best fishing grounds. Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei have made claims to part of the Spratlys based on the internationally recognised Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), which extends 200 hundred nautical miles from a country's coastline. However the lure of resources, and prospect of exerting greater control over shipping in the region, means that greater powers are contesting the Philippines' claims. * China has made extensive sovereignty claims on both the Spratlys and the Paracels to the north, based largely on historic claims outlined in a map from the middle part of the 20th Century known as the 'Nine Dash Map'. Taiwan also makes claims based on the same map, as it was created by the nationalist Kuomintang government, which fled to Taiwan after the communists seized power in China. * Vietnam also claims the Spratlys and the Paracels as sovereign territory, extending Vietnam's EEZ across much of the region and bringing it into direct conflict with China. One Chinese worker in Vietnam was killed and a dozen injured in riots targeting Chinese and Taiwanese owned factories, prompting 3,000 Chinese nationals to flee the country. * EEZ can only be imposed based on boundaries of inhabitable land, and this has prompted all the countries making claims on the region to station personnel, and in some cases build military bases out of the water, to bolster their claim. Chinese coast guard vessels have used a water cannon on Vietnamese vessels, as well as blockading an island where the Philippines has deployed military personnel. Rich in resources and traversed by a quarter of global shipping, the South China Sea is the stage for several territorial disputes that threaten to escalate tensions in the region.At the heart of these disputes are a series of barren islands in two groups - the Spratly Islands, off the coast of the Philippines, and the Paracel Islands, off the coasts of Vietnam and China.Both chains are essentially uninhabitable, but are claimed by no fewer than seven countries, eager to gain control of the vast oil and gas fields below them, as well as some of the region's best fishing grounds.Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei have made claims to part of the Spratlys based on the internationally recognised Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), which extends 200 hundred nautical miles from a country's coastline.Based on the EEZ, the Philippines has the strongest claim on the Spratlys and their resources, with its EEZ covering much of the area.However the lure of resources, and prospect of exerting greater control over shipping in the region, means that greater powers are contesting the Philippines' claims.China has made extensive sovereignty claims on both the Spratlys and the Paracels to the north, based largely on historic claims outlined in a map from the middle part of the 20th Century known as the 'Nine Dash Map'.Taiwan also makes claims based on the same map, as it was created by the nationalist Kuomintang government, which fled to Taiwan after the communists seized power in China.Vietnam also claims the Spratlys and the Paracels as sovereign territory, extending Vietnam's EEZ across much of the region and bringing it into direct conflict with China.There have been deadly protests in Vietnam over China's decision to build an oil rig off the Paracels.One Chinese worker in Vietnam was killed and a dozen injured in riots targeting Chinese and Taiwanese owned factories, prompting 3,000 Chinese nationals to flee the country.EEZ can only be imposed based on boundaries of inhabitable land, and this has prompted all the countries making claims on the region to station personnel, and in some cases build military bases out of the water, to bolster their claim.Building and protecting these structures has resulted in a series of stand-offs between countries in the region, each with the potential to escalate.China has been leading the charge with these installations, and has deployed vessels to the region to protect their interests.Chinese coast guard vessels have used a water cannon on Vietnamese vessels, as well as blockading an island where the Philippines has deployed military personnel. Image copyright AP Image caption China has accelerated construction on some disputed reefs China has firmly rejected an international tribunal ruling that its claims to rights in the South China Sea have no legal basis. President Xi Jinping said China's "territorial sovereignty and marine rights" in the seas would not be affected by the ruling "in any way". But he insisted China was still "committed to resolving disputes" with its neighbours. The tribunal, based in the Hague, ruled that there was no evidence that China had historic rights to the waters or resources that fell within its "nine-dash line", and was violating the Philippine's sovereign rights with its operations there. It says China's "nine-dash line", which China uses to demarcate its territorial claims, is unlawful under the UNCLOS convention. China's state news agency Xinhua said that "as the panel has no jurisdiction, its decision is naturally null and void".
“The thing is, I’m used to it, mate,” he said. London mayor calls on Department for Transport to take over running of service amid ongoing delays and cancellations The operator of Southern rail services should be stripped of the franchise over the “unceasing misery” inflicted on passengers, the London mayor has demanded. But Khan urged the government to go further. “Since the new timetable it’s been a bit better. If I thought it would help by me falling on my sword, I would. He said: “I don’t risking getting the train from there. "So what are we going to do? Operating company Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) introduced a reduced timetable on Monday, cutting 341 trains a day for a month to try to make services more “resilient”. I don't like failure, I don't fail at stuff in my life, this feels like a failure." It has blamed poor management for the disruption. Perry repeatedly said she she would not countenance such a move. Everybody has to work together. View along the line According to commuters at Redhill station, in a part of Surrey whose residents rely heavily on Southern, the emergency timetable has proved more predictable but at a cost. But the RMT said the announcement raised more questions than answers. While some did claim from Southern delay repay – for trains more than 30 minutes late – they said the compensation was meagre. You’re held to ransom. Dobson said: “There’s not much anger but it’s past that stage.” But neither blames the staff or the strike. Both seem more resigned now than furious.
Image copyright PA The government's rail minister has resigned - just after telling MPs she did not believe quitting would help resolve problems with train services in London and south-east England. The Department for Transport confirmed Claire Perry had quit, but did not give reasons for her departure. On Wednesday she said the chaos on Southern routes "feels like a failure". There has been mounting anger from commuters after repeated cancellations and late-running services. Passengers have held protests as services have been hit by industrial action and high levels of staff sickness, while the company has attempted to ease the problem by cutting 341 trains a day. London Mayor Sadiq Khan is among those calling for the government to strip Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR), which includes Southern, of its franchise. She said: "At the moment I do not have the levers to pull to take the franchise back. "I've thought about it repeatedly. I don't like failure, I don't fail at stuff in my life, this feels like a failure." It is not yet known who will replace Ms Perry, with new Prime Minister Theresa May currently in the process of appointing her new government. Former Commons leader Chris Grayling was appointed transport secretary on Thursday, replacing Patrick McLoughlin, who becomes the Conservative Party's chairman. Claire Perry stands down after a week in which she said she was ‘often ashamed to be the rail minister’ The rail minister Claire Perry, who has been the public face of the government during the outcry over Southern railway’s failures, has resigned. No reason was given by the Department for Transport for her resignation, which happened on Thursday evening after a fractious week in which she admitted she was “often ashamed to be the rail minister”. In a Commons debate on Tuesday about Govia Thameslink Railway, which owns the Southern franchise, Perry said: “If I thought it would help by falling on my sword, I would. This feels like a failure.” While problems at Southern predate an industrial dispute that started last year over the role of guards or conductors on trains, the cancellations have worsened since strike action was called by the Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT) and staff sickness rates rose earlier this year. Southern said it would press ahead with changes to conductors’ jobs, which have been resisted by the RMT on grounds of safety and fears of job losses. Perry made an offer on Sunday to unions to guarantee the presence of a second staff member on trains into the next franchise term. Southern introduced an emergency timetable on Monday, cutting 341 trains a day to try to create a more predictable and resilient service, after a wave of cancellations and delays had caused fury among commuters. Southern Railway apologises as it axes 341 trains a day Read more On Friday, Southern announced it would be restoring 16 of those services after a relatively reliable week, with 80% of scheduled trains arriving on time, compared with about 60% when the normal timetable was running. Restored services include some of the trains serving south-east London to Tulse Hill and along the south coast from Seaford and Lewes. “The journey to restoring the railway to a better level of performance still has some way to go but we are encouraged that the new timetable is a first step in that direction,” he added. The disruption caused to commuters’ journeys prompted a demonstration at Victoria station, London, on Monday, while MPs of all parties and the city’s mayor, Sadiq Khan, have called for Govia to be stripped of the Southern franchise. Despite Southern missing targets and being fined for its performance, the government had resisted calls to take over the franchise. In transport questions in the Commons on 30 June, she said: “In my view, changing the franchise would do nothing. There is a highly experienced management team already in place.” While ministers blamed unions for disruption, commuters have often appeared most critical of Southern management. Monday’s protesters also demanded the government faced up to “its responsibility to hold Southern and GTR to account”. View along the line According to commuters at Redhill station, in a part of Surrey whose residents rely heavily on Southern, the emergency timetable has proved more predictable but at a cost. Kate Hayes, 55, from Nutfield, connects daily to London on the 6.46am at Redhill when her Tonbridge branch line train makes it in time. Fellow commuter Fran Dobson, said: “Our worry is that they say it’s temporary but could soon be permanent.” Already, timetable alterations have forced Dobson to change trains twice to return home to pick up her child and she factors in an extra hour after being constantly delayed. I’d move, but who wants to buy a house in Reigate now?” Season tickets cost £2,696 a year for the 21-mile journey to London. But you get told off if you shout at people, so I have a little internal rant or something.” Up and down the line from London to the south coast, the frustration among commuters using Southern is equally palpable.
ARM, which was founded in 1990, employs more than 3,000 people. The new deal will be funded by Softbank's own cash reserves and a long term loan from Japan's Mizuho Bank. "ARM is the last British [technology] company that has a global reach," he said. Prime Minister Theresa May recently questioned whether foreign takeovers of UK firms are always in the national interest. The $20bn deal was the biggest foreign acquisition by a Japanese firm at the time. Analysis: Simon Jack, BBC business editor: Image copyright Getty Images ARM Holdings is arguably the most precious jewel in the crown of British technology, its microchip designs are used in billions of devices. Japanese entrepreneur ARM said it would keep its headquarters in Cambridge and that it would at least double the number of its staff over the next five years. Its brilliance was to realise that if chips were about to come with everything, you didn't have to make them - designing them was the key. Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Softbank chief executive Masayoshi Son says the ARM purchase is a long-term investment UK technology firm ARM Holdings is to be bought by Japan's Softbank for £24bn ($32bn) it confirmed on Monday. "It gave Britain real strength. The board of ARM is expected to recommend shareholders accept the offer - which is around a 43% premium on its closing market value of £16.8bn on Friday. Mr Cable added the government had few legal powers to stop takeovers unless it could be demonstrated there was a national security issue. ARM, which designs the microchips used in the iPhone as well as in millions of other smartphones, tablets and other computer electronics, announced on Monday morning that it had agreed to the shock £17-a-share takeover, which will be put to investors in the coming months.
The chief executive of SoftBank has said his £24.3bn takeover of ARM Holdings is a “big bet” on the UK thriving outside of the EU, as he pledged to put Britain’s biggest technology company at the centre of the next computing age. Masayoshi Son denied that the Japanese acquisition of the Cambridge based microchip designer had been an opportunistic swoop enabled by the falling pound, as he pledged to hire thousands of engineers in the UK. ARM, which designs the microchips used in the iPhone as well as in millions of other smartphones, tablets and other computer electronics, announced on Monday morning that it had agreed to the shock £17-a-share takeover, which will be put to investors in the coming months. Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Softbank chief executive Masayoshi Son says the ARM purchase is a long-term investment UK technology firm ARM Holdings is to be bought by Japan's Softbank for £24bn ($32bn) it confirmed on Monday. The board of ARM is expected to recommend shareholders accept the offer - which is around a 43% premium on its closing market value of £16.8bn on Friday. The Cambridge-based firm designs microchips used in most smartphones, including Apple's and Samsung's. Shares in the UK technology firm surged by 45% at the open of the London Stock Exchange to 1,742.85p per share, adding £7.56bn to ARM's market value. Japanese entrepreneur ARM said it would keep its headquarters in Cambridge and that it would at least double the number of its staff over the next five years. Softbank is one of the world's biggest technology companies and is run by its founder, Japanese entrepreneur Masayoshi Son. It has previously acquired Vodafone's Japanese operations and the US telecoms company Sprint. The $20bn deal was the biggest foreign acquisition by a Japanese firm at the time. The new deal will be funded by Softbank's own cash reserves and a long term loan from Japan's Mizuho Bank. Analysis: Rory Cellan-Jones, BBC technology correspondent: Image copyright Getty Images It's hard to exaggerate just how important ARM is to the UK tech sector - and the shock many are feeling this morning at the news that it is about to lose its independence. Its brilliance was to realise that if chips were about to come with everything, you didn't have to make them - designing them was the key. Five years ago, Cambridge was home to at least three world-beating UK-owned technology firms, ARM, Autonomy and Cambridge Silicon Radio (CSR). Then Autonomy was swallowed up by HP in an ill-fated deal, last year the chipmaker Qualcomm bought CSR, and now the biggest and best, ARM, is about to have a Japanese owner. The Japanese firm bought France's Aldebaran robotics business and has gone on to give it a global profile. But there will still be sadness this morning in Cambridge, and beyond, that Britain's best hope of building a global technology giant now appears to have gone. Softbank-ARM deal is a bet on the future 'Sad day' Softbank intends to preserve the UK tech firm's organisation, including its existing senior management structure and partnership-based business model, ARM said. Masayoshi Son, chairman and chief executive of Softbank, said: "This is one of the most important acquisitions we have ever made, and I expect ARM to be a key pillar of SoftBank's growth strategy going forward. Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption ARM founder: 'Sad day for technology in Britain' However, the co-founder of ARM Hermann Hauser said: "This is a sad day for me and a sad day for technology in Britain." Analysis: Simon Jack, BBC business editor: Image copyright Getty Images ARM Holdings is arguably the most precious jewel in the crown of British technology, its microchip designs are used in billions of devices. Sources close to the deal say the Japanese company considers ARM well placed to exploit the so called "internet of things" which may see microchips embedded in whole new categories of household and business devices. That allure has been boosted by the fall in the value of the pound since Brexit - making UK targets cheaper and many industry watchers are predicting a new wave of foreign takeovers. A spokeswoman for the prime minister said Mrs May believed the deal was in the country's national interest - a gauge that she will use to assess any future foreign takeovers. "This is good news for British workers, it's good news for the British economy, it shows that, as the prime minister has been saying, we can make a success of leaving the EU," the spokeswoman added. LONDON, July 18 Britain's ARM.L said it did not consult its partners such as Apple, Samsung and Qualcomm, that use its technology in billions of chips before agreeing a $32 billion takeover from Japan's Softbank.
In a note to members, Corbyn conceded that “our party is divided”, but argued that he could unify it again. Angela Eagle was never going to be Labour leader. It came as Mr Smith won the backing of more MPs in a party ballot and said it was "time to move on" from Mr Corbyn. Jeff Overs/Courtesy of the BBC/Handout via REUTERS Owen Smith, a candidate vying to lead Britain's opposition Labour Party, is seen speaking on the BBC's Andrew Marr Show in this photograph received via the BBC in London, Britain July 17, 2016. The pair indicated that they would be putting themselves forward as a joint ticket, with Eagle saying she would work in “lockstep” with the former shadow work and pensions secretary. Labour leadership election timetable 18 July: Registration to sign up as a registered supporter to vote in the election opened at 17:00 BST 19-20 July: The number of MP nominations for each candidate to be published 20 July: Deadline for people to sign up as a registered supporter closes at 17:00 BST 22 August: Ballot papers start to be sent out in the post (Labour Party members only) and by email 21 September: Deadline for ballot papers to be returned closes at midday 24 September: The result will be announced at a special conference in Liverpool Both Ms Eagle and Mr Smith quit the shadow cabinet in the wake of the EU referendum result. Facebook Twitter Pinterest Jeremy Corbyn is backed by the grassroots movement Momentum, which has more than 100,000 supporters. “We need to use this contest to bring people together around strong policies to turn our fire on to the Tory government.
Owen Smith (R) and Angela Eagle, candidates vying to lead Britain's opposition Labour Party, are seen speaking on the BBC's Andrew Marr Show in this photograph received via the BBC in London, Britain July 17, 2016. Jeff Overs/Courtesy of the BBC/Handout via REUTERS Angela Eagle, a candidate vying to lead Britain's opposition Labour Party, is seen speaking on the BBC's Andrew Marr Show in this photograph received via the BBC in London, Britain July 17, 2016. Jeff Overs/Courtesy of the BBC/Handout via REUTERS Owen Smith (R) and Angela Eagle, candidates vying to lead Britain's opposition Labour Party, are seen speaking on the BBC's Andrew Marr Show in this photograph received via the BBC in London, Britain July 17, 2016. Jeff Overs/Courtesy of the BBC/Handout via REUTERS Owen Smith, a candidate vying to lead Britain's opposition Labour Party, is seen speaking on the BBC's Andrew Marr Show in this photograph received via the BBC in London, Britain July 17, 2016. Jeff Overs/Courtesy of the BBC/Handout via REUTERS LONDON The race for control of Britain's Labour Party narrowed on Tuesday as lawmaker Angela Eagle withdrew, leaving incumbent Jeremy Corbyn up against a challenger promising a second Brexit referendum. Labour's left wing and its more moderate factions have been locked in a power struggle ever since Britain voted to leave the European Union on June 23, with critics saying Corbyn had not worked hard enough to prevent the Leave camp's victory. Eagle, formerly the party's top business spokesperson, withdrew from the leadership contest after private tallies showed she had received less support than rival Owen Smith at the halfway stage in the nominating process. That leaves Corbyn, who has lost the support of most elected Labour members of parliament but remains popular with activists, up against Smith, his former work and pensions policy chief. Eagle triggered the contest last week after Corbyn did not stand down despite a string of resignations from his policy team and an overwhelming vote of no confidence in his leadership by Labour lawmakers. Corbyn's rivals are concerned his left-wing agenda cannot win a national election and his style will not give Labour a strong enough voice in Britain's upcoming Brexit negotiations. He will stand against Smith in a vote of lawmakers, activists, trade union members and party supporters, with a result due Sept. 24. Speaking after Eagle's withdrawal, Smith, 46, promised he could lead the party to power and still be as radical as Corbyn - a veteran anti-war campaigner elected by party supporters last September on a pledge to return Labour to its socialist roots. "I think I can persuade the Labour membership that it's time to move on from Jeremy," he told the BBC. "What Labour members want is yes, a principled leadership in this party, but they want someone who can put those principles into practice by winning power." Angela Eagle steps aside to make way for single challenger in race to lead party after receiving fewer nominations than Smith Owen Smith will take on Jeremy Corbyn for the Labour leadership in a head-to-head race that will see the pair clash repeatedly during the summer before a result is announced at the party’s conference on 24 September. The Pontypridd MP became the sole challenger to Corbyn following a decision by Angela Eagle to pull out of the race after it became clear she would fall short of her opponent when it came to nominations from MPs and MEPs. The pair indicated that they would be putting themselves forward as a joint ticket, with Eagle saying she would work in “lockstep” with the former shadow work and pensions secretary. You can guess why | Anne Perkins Read more Smith will seek to present his campaign for a leadership team drawn from all sides of the party. Describing Eagle as a great friend and a pioneer in the party, he added: “I will want to work side by side with Angela throughout this contest. I want Angela to be at my right hand throughout this.” In an appeal to the party membership, he said: “I want to say to all members of the Labour party tonight, young and old, longstanding and new members: I can be your champion. I am just as radical as Jeremy Corbyn.” Smith had attracted the nominations of 90 colleagues, including 88 MPs and two MEPs, while the Guardian understands that Eagle had the backing of 63 MPs and a further nine MEPs. Both men will now take their campaigns to members, with ballot papers and online voting information being sent out to eligible members, who joined before January, on 22 August. His pitch to the members who supported him in large numbers last summer is that he has led the party to successful results in local elections and deserves credit for his anti-austerity stance and for government U-turns on “cruel tax credit cuts” and reforms of disability benefits. But there was some disappointment that Labour would not be putting forward a woman, after the Conservative party welcomed its second female prime minister. The message it sends out to women activists around the country is politics is not for you, it’s not worth it.” Others were quick to highlight that Smith was backed by a large number of women, with his campaign being co-chaired by the former shadow cabinet members, Kate Green, Heidi Alexander and Lisa Nandy. “It would be amazing to see Labour deliver a woman as prime minister but first we have to unite this party, heal and turn into an effective force to win a general election,” said Nandy. She said Smith was a campaigning politician who was aware that this was the moment that members could choose to “set the Labour party back on the path to power”, a move that she argued was critical for many women in her Wigan constituency. “Angela is an incredibly tough politician who has acted in a way that shows, as always, that she has the interests of the Labour party at her core.” Eagle had come under pressure to step down halfway through the period for nominations by MPs and MEPs following a clamour within the party for a single candidate to take on Corbyn. Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Angela Eagle: "I'm announcing tonight I am withdrawing from this race and supporting Owen" Angela Eagle has pulled out of Labour's leadership race and backed ex-shadow work and pensions secretary Owen Smith in his challenge to Jeremy Corbyn. The ex-shadow business secretary said she was dropping out "in the interests of the party" and would back Mr Smith "with all her might and enthusiasm".
But that coordination will be a challenge, experts said. REUTERS/Goran Tomasevic Fighters of Libyan forces allied with the U.N.-backed government move towards Islamic State fighters positions during a battle in Sirte, Libya. A Pentagon spokesman said the Isil vehicles were targeted with "precision strikes" and there would be more to come. This was the third U.S. air strike against Islamic State militants in Libya. There have been two previous US attacks on IS targets in Libya - last February and in November. Western powers have become increasingly concerned at IS's growing presence in Libya. But foreign intervention is politically sensitive, and the GNA has hesitated to make formal requests for help. The militants seized the Mediterranean coastal city last year, making it their most important base outside Syria and Iraq. Strikes were authorised by President Barack Obama after being requested by the United Nations-backed government in Libya. But U.S. officials said this one marked the start of a sustained air campaign rather than another isolated strike. (Additional reporting by Ahmed Elumami in Tripoli and Idrees Ali in Washington; Editing by Yara Bayoumy and Dan Grebler) The wider military and militia forces across Libya are still embroiled in local rivalry. He said no ground troops would be deployed. But they are now besieged in a few square kilometers of the center, where they hold strategic sites, including the Ouagadougou conference hall, the central hospital and the university. "The first air strikes were carried out at specific locations in Sirte today causing severe losses to enemy ranks," Prime Minster Fayez Seraj said on state TV. Libya has become increasingly divided since the fall of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, with competing governments and rival militias seeking to gain territory and influence.
The US military launched the first of what is expected to be a sustained series of air strikes in Libya targeting Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant's stronghold of Sirte. The last US bombing in Libya was in February and the intervention marked its first to support Libyan forces in their battle against Isil in Sirte. It was likely to mark the start of a more intense US involvement in Libya, opening a new and more persistent front against Isil. The strikes involved aircaft and unmanned drones and targeted vehciles including a tank location. Isil seized Sirte last year, making it their most important base outside Syria and Iraq, but they are now besieged in a few square miles in the centre. They hold several strategically important sites including the university, the main hospital and the Ouagadougou conference hall, where they are believed to have stockpiled large amounts of ammunition. A Pentagon spokesman said the Isil vehicles were targeted with "precision strikes" and there would be more to come. The spokesman said: "Additional US strikes will continue to target Isil in Sirte to enable the Government of National Accord to make a decisive, strategic advance." Fayez Seraj, the prime minister, speaking on Libyan television, said: "The first air strikes were carried out at specific locations in Sirte today causing severe losses to enemy ranks." Forces aligned with the government have been battling Isil in Sirte, on the Mediterranean in northern Libya, since May. The air strikes came amid fears about Isil's increased threat to Europe. The Pentagon spokesman said: "They are consistent with our approach to combating Isil by working with capable and motivated local forces. Earlier this year US forces estimated Isil was up to 6,000-strong in Libya, including some who had moved there form Syria. The numbers were believed to have fallen in recent months as Isil came under pressure from the government-aligned forces and militias. Pieces of bricks fly off the wall as Islamic State fighters open fire at Libyan forces allied with the U.N.-backed government during a battle in Sirte, Libya. REUTERS/Goran Tomasevic A fighter of Libyan forces allied with the U.N.-backed government fires a rife at Islamic State fighters during a battle in Sirte, Libya. REUTERS/Goran Tomasevic A fighter of Libyan forces allied with the U.N.-backed government looks through a hole in a wall as a self-propelled artillery gun fires at Islamic State fighters during a battle in Sirte, Libya. REUTERS/Goran Tomasevic Libyan forces allied with the U.N.-backed government fire artillery towards IS fighters positions in Sirte. REUTERS/Goran Tomasevic A fighter of Libyan forces allied with the U.N.-backed government runs for cover during a battle with Islamic State fighters in Sirte, Libya, July 31, 2016. REUTERS/Goran Tomasevic Libyan forces allied with the U.N.-backed government fire weapons during a battle with IS fighters in Sirte, Libya, July 21, 2016. REUTERS/Goran Tomasevic SIRTE, Libya/WASHINGTON U.S. planes bombed Islamic State targets in Libya on Monday, responding to the U.N.-backed government's request to help push the militants from their former stronghold of Sirte in what U.S. officials described as the start of a sustained campaign against the extremist group in the city. "The first air strikes were carried out at specific locations in Sirte today causing severe losses to enemy ranks," Prime Minster Fayez Seraj said on state TV. Pentagon spokesman Peter Cook said the strikes did not have "an end point at this particular moment in time". Forces allied with Seraj have been battling Islamic State in Sirte - the home town of former dictator Muammar Gaddafi - since May. The militants seized the Mediterranean coastal city last year, making it their most important base outside Syria and Iraq. But they are now besieged in a few square kilometers of the center, where they hold strategic sites, including the Ouagadougou conference hall, the central hospital and the university. Seraj said the Presidential Council of his Government of National Accord, or GNA, had decided to "activate" its participation in the international coalition against Islamic State and "request the United States to carry out targeted air strikes on Daesh (Islamic State)." The air strikes on Monday - which were authorized by U.S. President Barack Obama - hit an Islamic State tank and two vehicles that posed a threat to forces aligned with Libya's GNA, Cook said. This was the third U.S. air strike against Islamic State militants in Libya. But U.S. officials said this one marked the start of a sustained air campaign rather than another isolated strike. Although it does not include the use of ground troops beyond small special forces squads rotating in and out of Libya and drones collecting intelligence, the air campaign opens a new front in the war against IS and what American officials consider its most dangerous component outside Syria and Iraq. The country has struggled since then and Obama said in an interview with The Atlantic magazine in April that the intervention "didn't work". "GNA-aligned forces have had success in recapturing territory from ISIL (Islamic State) thus far around Sirte, and additional U.S. strikes will continue to target ISIL in Sirte in order to enable the GNA to make a decisive, strategic advance," said Cook, the Pentagon spokesman. "There are unique capabilities that our military can provide to support forces on the ground and that's what the president wanted to do," White House spokesman Eric Schultz told reporters on Air Force One on Monday.
But, as it stands, there will be no Russian athletes at the Paralympic Games here in Rio." "This decision is absurd. Why was Russia banned? US Anti-Doping Agency (Usada) chief executive Travis Tygart said the IPC's decision was "inspiring". But it was better to say no to the Russian team than to do what the IOC did and pass it on to the international federations. The doping culture that is polluting Russian sport stems from the Russian government. “Tragically, this situation is not about athletes cheating a system, but about a state-run system that is cheating the athletes. The move also further tarnishes the legacy of the Sochi Olympics, an event held up by President Vladimir Putin to promote his image of Russia as a resurgent world power. The IPC allowed the Russian Paralympic Committee to present its case before it decided on the ban. Instead, each individual sporting federation was given the power to decide if Russian competitors were clean to compete. Their medals over morals mentality disgusts me. Mutko said the decision had been made unilaterally by Craven because he was nearing the end of his career. I don't think it will have the same political statement that it would if the Olympic athletes were banned. Canadian law professor Richard McLaren's report found that Russia's sports ministry manipulated urine samples provided by its athletes between 2011 and 2015. Which leading Para-athletes will miss out? Evgenii Shvetsov (athletics) Won three golds in the T36 category at London 2012 - beating Britain's Paul Blake in both the 400m and 800m and compatriot Graeme Ballard in the 100m.
Rio will host the 15th edition of the summer Paralympic Games Russian athletes have been banned from competing at the Rio 2016 Paralympics following the country's doping scandal. The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) had opened suspension proceedings following the McLaren report, and has now confirmed the ban. That report, published last month, detailed a state-sponsored doping programme operated by Russia. In contrast to the IPC, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) chose not to hand Russia a blanket ban from the Olympic Games. The Rio 2016 Paralympics begin in 31 days' time, on 7 September, and 267 Russian athletes across 18 sports will now miss the Games. "The anti-doping system in Russia is broken, corrupted and entirely compromised," said IPC president Sir Philip Craven at a news conference on Sunday. "The Russian Paralympic Committee are unable to ensure compliance with and enforcement of the IPC anti-doping code and the world anti-doping code within their own national jurisdiction and they can not fulfil its fundamental obligation as an IPC member. "As a result, the Russian Paralympic Committee is suspended with immediate effect." Russian Paralympic Committee member Evgeniy Bukharov told BBC World Service: "I'm disappointed and really shocked. The IOC decided to stay for the rights of the clean athletes and only to fight against the athletes who are involved in doping. Craven's damning words "Tragically this situation is not about athletes cheating a system, but about a state-run system that is cheating the athletes. The doping culture that is polluting Russian sport stems from the Russian government. The complete corruption of the anti-doping system is contrary to the rules and strikes at the very heart of the spirit of Paralympic sport. "It shows a blatant disregard for the health and wellbeing of athletes and, quite simply, has no place in Paralympic sport. Their thirst for glory at all costs has severely damaged the integrity and image of all sport, and has certainly resulted in a devastating outcome for the Russian Paralympic Committee and Para-athletes." Canadian law professor Richard McLaren's report found that Russia's sports ministry manipulated urine samples provided by its athletes between 2011 and 2015. The report identified 27 samples relating to eight Para-sports, five of which are summer sports, including some governed by the IPC. The IPC has also found evidence that samples were swapped during the Sochi 2014 Paralympic Games and it planned to reanalyse every Russian sample from Sochi. Paralympics takes a stand The IOC was widely criticised for ignoring the World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) recommendation to ban Russia from the Rio Olympics. Instead, each individual sporting federation was given the power to decide if Russian competitors were clean to compete. Reaction Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson, speaking to Radio 5 live, said: "I think the IPC has taken a really strong stance, where the IOC has slightly passed the buck. "As much as you want to protect innocent athletes and over the years there have been so many innocent athletes who have not had their moment in the sun, won medals and had sponsorship and media coverage they would have done because of cheating athletes. US Anti-Doping Agency (Usada) chief executive Travis Tygart said the IPC's decision was "inspiring". "The IPC showed strong leadership today in holding Russia's state-organised doping accountable," said Tygart. "Their unanimous decision goes a long way towards inspiring us all - most importantly clean athletes - and upholding the Paralympic values we admire." Britain's Paralympic gold medallist and world champion Richard Whitehead told the BBC's World Service: "I feel that Paralympic sport will move forward and will be the shining light of what needs to happen within sport. Let's hope that other sporting governing bodies also take the same light. " But the International Federation for Equestrian Sports (FEI) said it was "disappointed" and "troubled" by the IPC's decision. FEI President Ingmar De Vos said: "We believe the individual International Federations should be given the opportunity to defend the rights of their clean athletes." Analysis BBC Sport's Chris McLaughlin: "It's the decision the IOC resisted - a blanket ban and a hardline approach from the Paralympic movement. Its head Sir Philip Craven said it was a decision that had given him sleepless nights but one that had to be taken in the interests of sport, going on to say the Russian sporting system was broken and corrupt. Goncharova would also likely have competed in the 400m (probably against Kadeena Cox), long jump (probably against Olivia Breen) and as part of the Russian 4x100m team which won silver behind GB at last year's Worlds. Evgenii Shvetsov (athletics) Won three golds in the T36 category at London 2012 - beating Britain's Paul Blake in both the 400m and 800m and compatriot Graeme Ballard in the 100m. Olesya Vladykina (swimming) A big rival of Britain's Claire Cashmore in the SB8 100m breaststroke, beating her at almost every major championship since the 2008 Paralympics apart from the 2014 Europeans where they tied for gold.
“This is very, very, very bad news,” said one. A High Court judge is ruling on a bid by five new members of the Labour Party who have "paid their dues" for the legal right to vote in the forthcoming leadership election. Facebook Twitter Pinterest Jeremy Corbyn and Owen Smith are competing to be Labour leader. The case was triggered by an NEC decision that full members would not be able to vote if they had not had at least six months' continuous membership up to July 12 - the "freeze date". Shadow chancellor John McDonnell said Labour's appeal was "disappointing". Judgment is being given on Monday. Labour leadership election timetable 22 August: Ballot papers start to be sent out in the post (Labour Party members only) and by email 21 September: Midday deadline for ballot papers to be returned 24 September: The result will be announced at a special conference in Liverpool Delivering his judgement, Mr Justice Hickinbottom said: "For the party to refuse to allow the claimants to vote in the current leadership election, because they have not been members since 12 January 2016, would be unlawful as in breach of contract." Image caption Lawyer Kate Harrison said it was 'a good day for democracy' It is not known how many of the new members paid extra to get a vote in the contest. If Monday’s court judgment is not overturned, the party is expected to have to return their money – and will also have to ensure that members who also signed up as supporters are not accidentally sent two sets of voting papers.
Image copyright PA Image caption The leadership contest is a two-way fight between Jeremy Corbyn and Owen Smith Labour is challenging a High Court ruling giving recent members a vote in its leadership contest, with the appeal hearing expected on Thursday. The party lost a legal challenge to its rules banning anyone who joined as a member after 12 January from taking part unless they paid an extra £25. Shadow chancellor John McDonnell said Labour's appeal was "disappointing". The party said it would defend the right of its governing NEC "to uphold the rule book". The court's decision, handed down on Monday, could add between 126,592 and 150,000 people to the list of those eligible to vote in the contest - according to different estimates. The ruling is thought likely to benefit leader Jeremy Corbyn over challenger Owen Smith, who earlier branded Mr Corbyn "useless" and said he had "fractured" the Labour Party. Mr Corbyn, speaking in Bristol, where he is attending a campaign rally, said: "The judge seemed very clear that his decision was all members of the party should have a right to vote in the leadership contest. A Labour spokesman said: "The Procedures Committee of the NEC has decided that the Labour Party will appeal [against] this ruling in order to defend the NEC's right, as Labour's governing body, to uphold the rule book, including the use of freeze dates." Mr Smith is calling for the leadership contest - due to end on 24 September - to be extended "so that all members have the opportunity to engage with Jeremy and me before making their choice". Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Owen Smith on Labour Party ruling Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption John McDonnell on Labour Party ruling Mr McDonnell, who is running Mr Corbyn's re-election campaign, claimed the decision to appeal had been taken by a "small clique" that opposed the Labour leader and warned it could cost the party "hundreds of thousands of pounds". It was "an attack on the basic democratic rights of members in our party", he said. Mr Smith said it was up to the NEC to decide whether to appeal and it was not right for Mr McDonnell, or himself, to "interfere" in its decisions. But he added: "Whatever the rules are I am just going to play by them and continue to make my case and at the end of this I am confident that I can persuade the Labour Party that I am the right man to lead us." Analysis By political correspondent Iain Watson The judge was unequivocal - the five Labour members who had claimed they had been disenfranchised in the leadership contest had "wholly succeeded" in establishing their right to vote. Certainly it's an administrative nightmare for Labour officials - they will have to send out something in the region of an extra 125,000 ballot papers in the next two weeks, unless the party wins its appeal on Thursday. But the key question is: Who benefits if the newer members are allowed to vote? The widespread assumption is that they are likely to be more sympathetic to Jeremy Corbyn - joining to help rescue his beleaguered leadership. That's why a narrow majority of Labour NEC members introduced the six month rule at a controversial meeting in July when the leader had left the room. But many of the "disenfranchised" are likely to have registered subsequently as supporters, gaining a vote by this route. Owen Smith says he is happy with the outcome but the fact that the ruling was welcomed most warmly and swiftly by those close to Jeremy Corbyn is a big clue as to which side sees this as a victory. The five members that brought the legal challenge argued the ban amounted to a breach of contract, saying they had "paid their dues" for a right to vote. The High Court case was triggered after the NEC decided that full members could only vote if they had at least six months' continuous membership up to July 12 - the "freeze date". But the party offered a window from 18-20 July when they - and non-members - could pay £25 to become "registered supporters" and gain the right to vote. Labour leadership election timetable 22 August: Ballot papers start to be sent out in the post (Labour Party members only) and by email 21 September: Midday deadline for ballot papers to be returned 24 September: The result will be announced at a special conference in Liverpool Delivering his judgement, Mr Justice Hickinbottom said: "For the party to refuse to allow the claimants to vote in the current leadership election, because they have not been members since 12 January 2016, would be unlawful as in breach of contract." The judge said at the time each of the five joined the party "it was the common understanding" that they would be entitled to vote in any leadership contest. She said that under the ruling, those who had paid £25 to become a registered supporter could now claim their money back. Asked whether they should be refunded if they are allowed a vote after all, a move that could cost the party several million pounds, Mr McDonnell said the NEC "will have to abide" by the court's decision. Reacting to the ruling, Edward Leir - one of the claimants - said the court's ruling was a "victory for equality and inclusion". The others in the group - who have been crowdfunded and are seeking to raise £40,000 to cover their legal costs - were Christine Evangelou, Hannah Fordham, Chris Granger and "FM", a new member aged under 18. A high court judgment, issued on Monday morning, struck down the six-month cutoff point imposed by the NEC for members to vote in the leadership contest, with Mr Justice Hickinbottom saying it was a breach of contract against the five new members who brought the case. The NEC vowed to continue the fight, issuing a statement saying: “The procedures committee of the NEC has decided that the Labour party will appeal this ruling in order to defend the NEC’s right, as Labour’s governing body, to uphold the rule book, including the use of freeze dates.” Facebook Twitter Pinterest Christine Evangelou is one of five new Labour members named in the court action. Results of the NEC elections showed that the six members elected to represent constituency Labour parties were Corbyn backers, while his critics, including current member Johanna Baxter, who recently complained about bullying in the party, and the comedian Eddie Izzard lost out. Both sides believed the NEC’s decision to exclude new members from voting would disadvantage Corbyn, as his supporters had been running a vocal campaign to sign up new recruits since the wave of shadow cabinet resignations in the wake of the Brexit referendum, which his backers regarded as a “coup”. Now many more members will have the chance to vote in the leadership election, I am today calling for an extension of the timetable so that all members have the opportunity to engage with Jeremy and me before making their choice.” His team said they were also concerned about the logistical challenges of ensuring the 130,000 new members can vote, with ballots due to be sent out next week.
The ten channels included here are CNN, Fox News, MSNBC, NBC, ABC, CBS, Univision, CNBC, Fox Business, and NBC Universo. " With the public broadcaster's coverage added, Trump's speech had 34.9 million viewers and Clinton had 33.8 million, a difference of 900,000. And I'm so happy that you're who you are." At the Democratic National Convention on July 28, activist and former White House intern Sarah McBride became the first openly transgender person to speak at a national party convention. "Will we be a nation where there’s only one way to love, one way to look, one way to live?" “It’s against two NFL games. Tuesday night's DNC coverage averaged 24 million, versus 19 million for night two of the RNC. — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 23, 2016 Trump backed out of the long-scheduled Fox News debate several days later. the vice president asked. In an interview with ABC’s “This Week,” the GOP presidential hopeful said the NFL voiced its dismay about the conflicting primetime slots in a letter to Trump. 1 TV show in annual ratings, but Stelter pointed out that a Sunday night debate in 2012 was “still high-rated.” Some view all this as Trump grasping for excuses to back out of the debates. "And I just want to let you know that Beau is so proud of you, Jill is so proud of you and I'm so proud of you. Nielsen's totals did not include PBS. (Video: The Washington Post; Photo: Ricky Carioti/The Washington Post) On Thursday, Human Rights Campaign national press secretary Sarah McBride became the first transgender American to address a major party convention — and moved delegates to their feet by recounting how her late husband had fought for LGBT rights even as he was dying from cancer.
(AFP PHOTO/Getty Images) Donald Trump complained Friday that Hillary Clinton and her fellow Democrats were rigging this fall’s presidential debates by scheduling them alongside NFL games. That claim was easy to disprove — the debate schedule was determined almost a year ago by a private group made up of both Democrats and Republicans. In an interview with ABC’s “This Week,” the GOP presidential hopeful said the NFL voiced its dismay about the conflicting primetime slots in a letter to Trump. '” Just one problem with that: The NFL says it never sent him a letter. CNN’s Brian Stelter approached the league about the matter and got this response: Top @NFL spokesman tells me: "While we'd obviously wish the debate commission could find another night, we did not send a letter to Trump." — Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) July 30, 2016 The Republican nominee, in a tweet Friday night, complained that the first two debates — slated for Sept. 26 and Oct. 9, a Monday and a Sunday, respectively — fell into the same time slots as primetime football. As usual, Hillary & the Dems are trying to rig the debates so 2 are up against major NFL games. — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 30, 2016 On Sunday morning, the Trump team tripled down and tweaked its claim, with an aide telling CNN (via Stelter) that “Mr. Trump was made aware of the conflicting dates by a source close to the league” and “It’s unfortunate that millions of voters will be disenfranchised by these chosen dates.” The debate schedule was set up last September by the Commission on Presidential Debates, a nonpartisan group with members of both parties. The commission responded to Trump on Saturday by asserting that it “announced the number, dates and sites for the 2016 general election debates in September 2015.” “The CPD did not consult with any political parties or campaigns in making these decisions,” the group said. It doesn’t appear that ESPN’s Week 3 “Monday Night Football” matchup should pose much of a distraction for swing voters anyway. The game features the Atlanta Falcons and New Orleans Saints, a showdown that shouldn’t draw overwhelming interest outside Georgia or Louisiana, two states that likely favor Trump no matter what happens between now and November. That’s Trump pal Chris Christie’s home state of New Jersey vs. Wisconsin, a state that could be in play for Trump in the general election despite his loss to Ted Cruz there in the primary. 1 TV show in annual ratings, but Stelter pointed out that a Sunday night debate in 2012 was “still high-rated.” Some view all this as Trump grasping for excuses to back out of the debates. Based on @MegynKelly's conflict of interest and bias she should not be allowed to be a moderator of the next debate. — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 23, 2016 Trump backed out of the long-scheduled Fox News debate several days later. Who won the convention ratings race, Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton? Trump, by a margin of 2.4 million viewers, according to Nielsen, the TV ratings firm. Clinton's Thursday night acceptance speech at the DNC averaged 29.8 million viewers across ten broadcast and cable channels. Trump's speech at the RNC one week earlier averaged 32.2 million viewers across the same channels. With the public broadcaster's coverage added, Trump's speech had 34.9 million viewers and Clinton had 33.8 million, a difference of 900,000. For Trump, the victory is even sweeter because while the first three nights of the Democratic convention out-rated the same nights of the Republican convention, his speech spurred more live viewership than Clinton's on the fourth night. "We beat her by millions," Trump said at a Friday afternoon rally. When asked about the ratings for Clinton's speech, Trump communications director Jason Miller quipped, "That's the downside in running for Obama's third term -- nobody watches repeats in the summer." Nielsen's total does not incorporate live streaming views or web video clips that are viewed later. YouTube said that its official live stream of the conventions peaked with 250,000 simultaneous viewers during Clinton's speech versus 217,000 simultaneous viewers during Trump's speech. But the vast majority of convention viewing still happens the traditional way -- live, on TV sets, through channels like CNN and NBC. CNN was by far the highest-rated channel on Thursday, averaging 7.5 million viewers during Clinton's speech. Related: Hillary Clinton's acceptance speech capped the DNC's star-studded miniseries While Trump's speech was slightly higher-rated on TV, the results were reversed on Facebook, which measured the volume of conversation about each convention. Facebook said the final day of the DNC generated "46.5 million likes, posts, comments and shares" from 12.6 million American users, slightly ahead of the final day of the RNC, when the site had 45.1 million interactions from 12.2 million users. Monday night's DNC speeches were seen by 26 million viewers across seven channels, versus 23 million for night one of the RNC. Tuesday night's DNC coverage averaged 24 million, versus 19 million for night two of the RNC. And Wednesday night attracted 24.4 million viewers, versus 23.4 million viewers for the RNC. Nielsen's total for Clinton's speech, 29.8 million, does not include the noncommercial networks C-SPAN and PBS. PBS said it averaged 3.98 million viewers during the 10 p.m. hour on Thursday, when Clinton's speech began, and 2.75 million viewers during the same hour last week. (Video: The Washington Post; Photo: Ricky Carioti/The Washington Post) On Thursday, Human Rights Campaign national press secretary Sarah McBride became the first transgender American to address a major party convention — and moved delegates to their feet by recounting how her late husband had fought for LGBT rights even as he was dying from cancer.
Crimea was annexed by Russia from Ukraine in 2014 after an unrecognised referendum. The statement added: “Scenarios were carefully considered for anti-terrorist security measures at the land border, in the waters and in the airspace of Crimea.” Facebook Twitter Pinterest Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin, at his security council meeting in the Kremlin, Moscow, on Thursday. "Heavy fire" from Ukrainian territory resulted in the death of a Russian soldier. He said the group also included officers of Ukraine's military intelligence. He also accused the US state department of being behind the alleged attacks. Both envoys told the UN they hoped that tensions would not escalate further. Image copyright Reuters Image caption Soldiers facing Russian-backed rebels in the east have been put on alert Ukrainian troops have been placed on alert along the de facto border with Crimea and facing rebels in the east. Read More Poroshenko said it was Russia who was using methods of terror inside Ukraine, with its support for the rebel militia forces in the east of the country. More than 9,500 people have been killed in the conflict in eastern Ukraine that followed the Russian annexation of Crimea, according to UN figures. The heightened tensions follow Russian accusations that Ukraine is carrying out armed incursions into Crimea. Photograph: Darko Vojinovic/AP The FSB said it had detained a Ukrainian citizen, Evgeny Panov, whom it claimed was a member of Ukraine’s defence intelligence services. But Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko refuted the claims, calling them "insane" and suggesting Russia's aim was more military threats against its neighbor. “Ukraine resolutely condemns terrorism in all its forms and shapes. The alleged incidents, which have raised tensions over Crimea to the highest level since Russia annexed the region from Ukraine in 2014, took place over the weekend.
Russia and Ukraine stepped up security on the de facto border between Crimea and mainland Ukraine on Thursday, a day after Moscow accused Kiev of planning terror attacks on the peninsula. The alleged incidents, which have raised tensions over Crimea to the highest level since Russia annexed the region from Ukraine in 2014, took place over the weekend. Russia’s FSB security service claims to have detained a Ukrainian terror cell with 20 homemade explosive devices inside Crimea, and repelled fire from across the border in a separate incident. The FSB said one of its officers and a Russian soldier died during the clashes. The FSB statement on Wednesday was swiftly followed by tough remarks from Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin, who accused Ukraine of terrorism. On Thursday, Putin met his security council, and the group discussed “additional measures for ensuring security for citizens and essential infrastructure in Crimea”, according to a Kremlin statement. The statement added: “Scenarios were carefully considered for anti-terrorist security measures at the land border, in the waters and in the airspace of Crimea.” Facebook Twitter Pinterest Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin, at his security council meeting in the Kremlin, Moscow, on Thursday. Photograph: Alexei Druzhinin/AP Ukraine’s president, Petro Poroshenko, dismissed the allegations, calling them “a pretext for more military threats against Ukraine”. Putin raises stakes over alleged Ukrainian terror plot in Crimea Read more The international community responded with alarm to the increased tension on the peninsula, and European and US diplomats expressed scepticism over the Russian claims. The US ambassador to Ukraine, Geoffrey Pyatt, wrote on Twitter: “Russia has a record of frequently levying false accusations at Ukraine to deflect attention from its own illegal actions.” Russia seized Crimea in 2014, after the Maidan revolution in Kiev led to the country’s then president, Viktor Yanukovych, fleeing. The annexation, carried out by Russian soldiers wearing unmarked uniforms, led to western sanctions against Russia. Further sanctions were later introduced over Russian support for rebels in east Ukraine. Kill them and hang their bodies at the border to put off others, and make them understand that Russia will not allow anyone to risk the lives of peaceful citizens or servicemen in Crimea,” Aksyonov told Russian state television. He also accused the US state department of being behind the alleged attacks. Facebook Twitter Pinterest A Russian convoy in March 2014 moves towards Simferopol, Crimea, a day after Russia’s forces took over the peninsula. His brother told Ukrainian media he had left his house, in Ukraine’s southern Zaporizhia region, to go to his country house at the weekend and had not been heard from since. Russian agencies quoted unnamed security sources suggesting that those in detention had confessed to a plan to blow up infrastructure in Crimea, not to cause loss of life but to “destroy the tourist season”. Poroshenko said it was Russia who was using methods of terror inside Ukraine, with its support for the rebel militia forces in the east of the country. Image copyright Reuters Image caption Soldiers facing Russian-backed rebels in the east have been put on alert Ukrainian troops have been placed on alert along the de facto border with Crimea and facing rebels in the east. Ukraine's envoy to the UN asked Russia to provide evidence of the claims, and said some 40,000 Russian troops were massed on the Crimea-Ukraine border. His Russian counterpart told the UN Security Council of Moscow's "concern and outrage" at the alleged incursions. Ukraine's SBU security service said on Thursday night that the alert level was being raised to red because of "the escalation at the administrative border with Crimea" as well as in the eastern regions of Luhansk and Donetsk. 'Bad intentions' Meanwhile, Russian state TV has broadcast an apparent confession by a man named as Yevhen Panov, saying he was part of a Ukrainian defence ministry force sent into Crimea "to carry out acts of sabotage". In other developments: The US state department has urged both sides to tone down their rhetoric, saying it has "the ability to escalate what is already a very tense situation" Crimean leader Sergei Aksyonov has accused the US of being behind the alleged armed incursions, saying "Ukrainian officials wouldn't have had the courage for such actions" Russian state-run TV reported that more than 2,500 Russian servicemen were currently taking part in a large-scale military exercise on the Black Sea Russia has announced its two newest ships in the Black Sea Fleet - armed with cruise missiles - will begin exercises in the eastern part of the Mediterranean from 15 August At a meeting of the UN Security Council in New York, the ambassadors for Ukraine and Russia traded accusations. 'Dangerous game' Russia's FSB intelligence agency on Wednesday said it had smashed a Ukrainian military intelligence network attempting incursions into Crimea over the weekend. Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko described the accusations as "preposterous", calling them a "pretext" from more threats. Story highlights Russia claims to have foiled a Ukraine militant attack near Crimea Ukraine denies the accusation from Russia, calling it "insane" (CNN) Ukraine is ordering its troops to be on the "highest level of combat readiness" Thursday, amid growing tensions with Russia over Crimea. The order comes after Russia accused Ukraine on Wednesday of launching a militant attack at "critically important infrastructure" near the city of Armyansk, Crimea, according to Russia's state news service TASS. But Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko refuted the claims, calling them "insane" and suggesting Russia's aim was more military threats against its neighbor.
So we have to do that. And, yes, I did. TRUMP: Why not? And here's what we can do. We have to be -- we have to know what we're doing. She does not have a... HOLT: Secretary Clinton? I don't think so. How are we going to do it? People are pouring into our country. I did really well. You've been doing this for 30 years. And you should go down and take a look at that. But I just want to get the answer here. We need a lot of things. And Donald never tells you what he would do. How do you make them bring the jobs back? I agree with her on one thing. But let me just tell you. I do not say that. Good. All I said was, they may have to defend themselves or they have to help us out. But I'm all for NATO. (APPLAUSE) I will release my tax returns. New companies will start. All right. You have up to two minutes. We have to work with the police. I'll ask this to both of you. But it's like his plan to defeat ISIS. How much for my family? The deal with Iran will lead to nuclear problems. You asked me a question. We have made so many bad deals during the last -- so she's got experience, that I agree. I mean, it could be Russia, but it could also be China. And the $650 isn't even on that.
CLOSE Skip in Skip x Embed x Share Neither Gary Johnson nor Jill Stein achieved the 15% polling mark they needed to make it into the first debate, but hope is not lost. WIBBITZ HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. — Four years ago Stein was arrested for disorderly conduct and handcuffed to a chair at the Hofstra University debate. She tried her luck again this year and has already been escorted off campus. Stein and Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson didn’t make the polling threshold (15%) in polls to make it on stage. This USA TODAY reporter spotted Stein and her team on the bus that took press Monday morning and tweeted about the appearance. I'm pretty sure Jill Stein just boarded the media bus at the Hofstra University #Debates2016 — Eliza Collins (@elizacollins1) September 26, 2016 The tweet scrambled law enforcement officials and they attempted to track down Stein, who is not credentialed for the event. According to Stein’s campaign she was on her way to do a series of interviews with broadcast outlets when they finally caught up with her. But as the group walked from one broadcast outlet’s setup to the next they were approached by Hofstra security and Nassau county police. The officials told the Stein contingent that after the interview they “would be escorted off campus immediately, so that’s exactly what we did — we complied,” Figueroa said. Twitter | @drjillstein Dr. Jill Stein on Twitter Stein is now waiting at a location near Hofstra University as “hundreds of supporters” are bused in. They will all gather outside the gates of the university for a demonstration at 5:30 this evening. If she's not allowed in "Jill will be holding a people’s debate outside the crowd." Stein told USA TODAY later Monday that she would be demonstrating outside of Hofstra University but planned to use Twitter during the debate to answer the same questions Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump will. “I have an opportunity to have a voice that can be heard by tens of millions on social media.” Read or Share this story: http://usat.ly/2defWd5 Here are the key moments from the first 2016 presidential debate between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump on Sept. 26. Post staff annotations will appear by default; others are in a menu that you can see in the upper right when you click or tap on an annotation. The commission drafted tonight's format, and the rules have been agreed to by the campaigns. The 90-minute debate is divided into six segments, each 15 minutes long. We'll explore three topic areas tonight: Achieving prosperity; America's direction; and securing America. At the start of each segment, I will ask the same lead-off question to both candidates, and they will each have up to two minutes to respond. The audience here in the room has agreed to remain silent so that we can focus on what the candidates are saying. I will invite you to applaud, however, at this moment, as we welcome the candidates: Democratic nominee for president of the United States, Hillary Clinton, and Republican nominee for president of the United States, Donald J. Trump. I am honored to have this role, but this evening belongs to the candidates and, just as important, to the American people. We're calling this opening segment "Achieving Prosperity." There's been a record six straight years of job growth, and new census numbers show incomes have increased at a record rate after years of stagnation.
At this point, Einhorn said, no one wants to be left out. Her office is also requesting the same information about accounts opened by Wells Fargo workers in California for customers in other states. It’s not clear whether Harris’ office is considering charges against individual bank workers, high-level bank executives or the bank itself. State investigators served the search warrant at the bank’s San Francisco headquarters Oct. 5. “One wouldn’t typically think of a financial institution opening an account in the name of a customer as being an act of identity theft,” Stephens said in an interview with the Los Angeles Times. About 5,300 of those employees were fired. A spokeswoman for the California Department of Justice said she could not comment on the probe. WASHINGTON The California Attorney General's Office has launched a criminal investigation into Wells Fargo (WFC.N) over allegations it opened millions of unauthorized customer accounts and credit cards, according to a seizure warrant seen by Reuters. Last week, Stumpf resigned and was replaced by Chief Operating Officer Tim Sloan. The U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and other regulators ordered the United States' third-largest bank by assets to pay $190 million in fines and restitution to settle civil charges that its branch staff created as many as 2 million accounts without customers' knowledge in order to meet internal sales targets. One victim, identified only as "Ms. B," told the investigator that she had declined a request by a Wells Fargo teller in late 2011 or 2012 to open new accounts. “These accounts were not used to fraudulently spend money in the names of the customers. Gen. Kamala Harris, in the final weeks of a run for U.S. Senate, has joined the growing list of public officials and agencies investigating the bank in connection with the accounts scandal.
WASHINGTON The California Attorney General's Office has launched a criminal investigation into Wells Fargo (WFC.N) over allegations it opened millions of unauthorized customer accounts and credit cards, according to a seizure warrant seen by Reuters. Attorney General Kamala Harris authorized a seizure warrant against the bank that seeks customer records and other documents, saying there is probable cause to believe the bank committed felonies. The probe marks the latest setback for the bank in a growing scandal that led to the abrupt retirement of its chief executive officer, monetary penalties, compensation clawbacks, lost business and damage to its reputation. Wells Fargo spokesman Mark Folk did not immediately provide a comment in response to requests from Reuters, but was quoted in the Los Angeles Times as saying the bank is "cooperating in providing the requested information." The bank's downward spiral kicked into high gear last month. The U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and other regulators ordered the United States' third-largest bank by assets to pay $190 million in fines and restitution to settle civil charges that its branch staff created as many as 2 million accounts without customers' knowledge in order to meet internal sales targets. The CFPB said that high pressure sales tactics and financial incentives fueled the fraud, which was largely carried out by low-level branch employees. Shortly after the civil settlement was made public, CEO John Stumpf was called to testify before Congress. Observers have widely criticized his performance, with many saying he appeared ill-prepared to deal with tough questioning by lawmakers including Massachusetts Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren, who called for his resignation and accused him of him "gutless" leadership. This is at least the second criminal probe to be opened into Wells Fargo since last month. In September a source told Reuters that federal prosecutors are also looking into the matter. One victim, identified only as "Ms. B," told the investigator that she had declined a request by a Wells Fargo teller in late 2011 or 2012 to open new accounts. But sometime in late 2013 or early 2014, she started to receive notices that she and her husband "allegedly owned on three life insurance policies held by the bank," the affidavit says. She also told the investigator that Wells Fargo often claimed that her accounts had to be closed and reopened because of "problems" that it could never fully explain. The constant changes, she added, sometimes caused her to incur fees because her checks would bounce. Another alleged victim, identified as "Ms. C," told the investigator she noticed the bank was transferring money from her checking account to her savings account in amounts that grew over time, from $50 to $150. The bank claimed the transfers were done as overdraft protection, but it refused to provide her bank statements when she asked to see them. The seizure warrants by the state are seeking a variety of documents from Wells Fargo, including a list of all unauthorized California customer accounts created between May 2011 and July 2015. It also seeks information about fees, charges and other costs that were incurred and the identity of all Wells Fargo employees that may have opened the accounts. SAN FRANCISCO — California’s attorney general has launched a criminal probe into allegations of criminal identity theft linked to the Wells Fargo unauthorized accounts scandal, the latest sign the embattled bank’s troubles are far from over. The state Department of Justice on Wednesday released a search warrant and supporting affidavit that revealed the investigation into whether Wells Fargo employees unlawfully acquired customer information to secretly create 2 million bogus accounts, which were then funded with customers’ money. “There is probable cause to believe that employees of Wells Fargo Bank unlawfully accessed the bank’s computer system to obtain the PII (personally identifiable information) of customers,” Department of Justice Special Agent Supervisor James Hirt said in an affidavit he swore out before a county judge in Los Angeles. San Francisco-based Wells Fargo was hit with $185 million in fines for the years-long practice, in which employees created the accounts in order to meet sales targets. John Stumpf, the bank’s chief executive officer, resigned under fire Oct. 12. On Friday, Ohio suspended Wells Fargo from doing business with state agencies and excluded the bank from participating in any state bond offerings. The investigation by Attorney General Kamala Harris’ office indicates Wells Fargo’s woes have moved beyond a tarnished image, consumer outrage and lost business opportunities, analysts said. Wells Fargo now faces the possibility of a criminal prosecution in which individual employees, executives or even the bank itself could be hit with felony charges. “You are going to see a stream of negative consequences for Wells Fargo, and it’s going to take time for those consequences to unwind.” During the regular trading session on Wednesday, Wells Fargo’s shares rose 0.7 percent. But in after-hours trading, when word of the criminal probe had begun to spread, the bank’s stock fell 0.6 percent. Among the customers’ statements: Wells Fargo employees opened a $10,000 line of credit without permission for one person; set up multiple life insurance policies for another; and established unauthorized checking accounts for children. A 74-year-old woman said the bank opened multiple credit or debit card accounts in her name without her knowledge. Harris’ office is seeking the identify of “all California customers, their account information, and a listing of any account, credit card, life insurance or any financial product that Wells Fargo identified as being opened or created without the permission of the customer. The attorney general also is demanding the identify of all employees, managers, branch managers, area managers and regional managers associated with the accounts opened in connection with the four customers interviewed by state investigators.
Port had not only destroyed their family, but had destroyed his own, she said. On Wednesday, Port was found guilty of the murders of four young men. UK news in pictures 31 show all UK news in pictures 1/31 27 April 2017 A British police officer secures a cordon outside an entry to Westminster underground station on Whitehall near the Houses of Parliament, near the scene where a man was detained and taken away by police Getty Images 2/31 27 April 2017 British actor Judi Dench unveils an English Heritage blue plaque to commemorate British actor and theatre director Sir John Gielgud in London Getty Images 3/31 27 April 2017 Actress Judi Dench is photographed after unveiling a blue plaque commemorating Sir John Gielgud in central London, outside the Westminster home where he lived for 31-years AP 4/31 27 April 2017 British boxer Anthony Joshua and Ukrainian boxer Wladimir Klitschko tap fists as they finish posing head-to-head for the media at the end of a press conference in London AP 5/31 27 April 2017 A general view of the superyacht LADY M moored next to the Glasgow Science centre on the River Clyde in Glasgow Andrew Milligan/PA Wire 6/31 27 April 2017 A general view of the superyacht LADY M moored next to the Glasgow Science centre on the River Clyde in Glasgow Andrew Milligan/PA Wire 7/31 27 April 2017 A detail onboard the superyacht LADY M, which is moored next to the Glasgow Science centre on the River Clyde in Glasgow Andrew Milligan/PA Wire 8/31 27 April 2017 Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn is kissed by a supporter at a rally in Harlow, Essex Stefan Rousseau/PA Wire 9/31 26 April 2017 European Commission President, Jean-Claude Juncker is greeted by British Prime Minister Theresa May outside 10 Downing Street Getty Images 10/31 26 April 2017 A businesswoman who took the British government to court to force a parliamentary vote on the UK's split from the EU launched a campaign to oppose an 'extreme Brexit'.
Judge says he accepts intention of chef, who murdered four men, was to cause serious harm rather than death The serial killer Stephen Port has been sentenced to spend the rest of his life in prison for the murder of four young gay men he drugged and raped before dumping their bodies near his east London flat. The 41-year-old chef, who had a fetish for sex with unconscious boyish-looking men, was convicted on Wednesday of the murders of Anthony Walgate, a 23-year-old fashion student from Hull, Gabriel Kovari, 22, originally from Slovakia, Daniel Whitworth, 21, a chef from Kent, and Jack Taylor, 25, a forklift driver from Dagenham. Sentencing Port to a whole-life order, Mr Justice Openshaw said: “I accept his intention was only to cause really serious harm rather than cause death but he must have known and foreseen there was a high risk of death, the more so after the death of Anthony Walgate, the first victim.” He said: “The murders were committed as part of a persistent course of conduct of the defendant surreptitiously drugging these young men so that he could penetrate them while they were unconscious. “A significant degree of planning went into obtaining the drugs in advance and in luring the victims to his flat. Having killed them by administering an overdose, he dragged them out into the street in one case, or took them to the churchyard in the other cases, and abandoned their bodies in a manner which robbed them of their dignity, and thereby greatly increased the distress of their loving families.” The judge said: “I have no doubt that the seriousness of the offending is so exceptionally high that the whole-life order is justified; indeed it is required. The sentence therefore upon the counts of murder is a sentence of life imprisonment. The result is a whole-life sentence and the defendant will die in prison.” There were loud cheers and applause from family members in court, while someone in the public gallery shouted out: “I hope you die a long, slow death, you piece of shit.” DCI Tim Duffield, senior investigating officer from the Met’s homicide and major crime command, said: “These evil crimes have left entire families, a community and a nation in shock.” He said Port was one of the most dangerous individuals he had encountered in almost 28 years of policing and that a full-life term in prison was the only appropriate punishment in the circumstances. Outside court, Taylor’s sister Donna said: “We finally have justice for Jack and the other boys. A sick and twisted scumbag will never be able to hurt or destroy any other family’s life. All four men died after being given fatal overdoses of the date-rape drug GHB, also known as G or liquid ecstasy. Port was convicted of 22 offences against 11 men, including drugging and sex offences against seven men who survived their encounters with him. Despite striking similarities between the four murders, which were carried out over 15 months, the Metropolitan police failed to link them until the family of Taylor, his final victim, forced them to re-examine all the deaths. The Taylor family are planning to sue the force, and believe Port would not have been stopped if they had not fought for a full investigation. The judge referred to the police investigation in his sentencing remarks, saying: “It is not to me to say whether the seeming bizarre coincidence of these three gay young men being found dead so close together might have given rise to suspicions that these deaths were not the result of ordinary self-administered drug overdoses but that is how their deaths, including Jack Taylor’s death, were treated at the time; the competence and adequacy of the investigation will later be examined by others.” He said police had accepted the death of Port’s first victim, Walgate, “at face value”, adding: “Whether the police were right to do so, in the light of what they knew or ought to have found out, is for others to decide having thoroughly inquired into the matter, which it has not been appropriate for us to do in the course of the criminal trial.” The public gallery at the Old Bailey court was packed, and all the members of the jury had returned to court to hear the sentencing. Ahead of sentencing, Jonathan Rees QC, prosecuting, read aloud to the court from victim impact statements. His mother said her son was clever, funny and talented and wanted to be a famous fashion designer. Kovari’s brother, Adam, said the impact on his family of the loss of his only brother could “hardly be described in words”, said Rees. The loss of the son, brother, uncle, brother-in-law had left “a black hole that will never be filled”. ‘I didn’t murder anyone’ - that’s what he told me last Sunday on the telephone.” David Etheridge QC, for Port, said in mitigation that at that period in Port’s life, he had descended into a “vortex” of drug-taking, where “gratification of his sexual life was central”. As Port was convicted, Stuart Cundy, a police commander who leads the Met’s specialist crime and operations unit, offered personal letters of apology to the victims’ families for the missed opportunities to catch Port sooner. During the trial it emerged that Port, a bus depot canteen chef, had been arrested and charged for lying about how the body of his first victim, Walgate, came to be found dumped outside the communal entrance to his flat in Barking, east London, in June 2014. Their bodies were found within three weeks, by the same dog walker, propped up in a sitting position in a graveyard near his flat. As part of an elaborate cover-up, Port faked and planted a suicide note purporting to have been written by Whitworth claiming he had taken his own life by overdosing on GHB in guilt over accidentally giving Kovari a fatal dose of the drug during sex. The note, which was taken at “face value” by investigating officers, included the line: “BTW, please do not blame the guy I was with last night, we only had sex, then I left. Image caption Stephen Port was found guilty of the murders of four young men An alleged drug dealer charged with supplying banned substances to serial killer Stephen Port has appeared in court. Gerald Matovu, of Southwark, south London, is accused of supplying to Port the class B drug mephedrone, between 1 July and 31 August 2015. The 41-year-old chef stalked his victims on dating websites and plied them with drinks spiked with fatal amounts of the drug GHB so he could rape them while they were unconscious.
Is. The race, as it has taken shape since the summer, has become a referendum on Trump, not Clinton. That story and this one reinforce so many of the preconceived notions — and negative ones at that — about the Clintons and how they do business.) Wilson said if McMullin were to win in this way, Wilson said McMullin would ask for Kaine or Pence’s resignation after inauguration.“It would be the least unusual thing to happen this election cycle,” Wilson quipped. It looks and feels like trading access to the former president for donations to the Clinton Foundation. Not just because he mispronounced it as “bad hambres” (or “bad hungers”) but because he dared to use my native language and the language of Latinos’ ancestors to demean undocumented immigrants. Bad. What these facts should stress is that immigration reform affects a wider range of people than just Latinos and issues surrounding immigration cannot be fixed with a border wall, obviously. That's amazing given her fame and notoriety. But on Wednesday night he turned to Spanish to make his point. ... “I kind of have to put on my teflon armor and take it.” It’s also possible that the placeholder name the campaign used to gain ballot access, a man named Nathan Johnson, would also be stuck on the ballot instead of Finn. Inside ‘Bill Clinton Inc.’: Hacked memo reveals intersection of charity and personal income. And in this case Donald, no se puede. But the vice presidential election would get thrown into the U.S. Senate, where only the top two vice presidential candidates can vie for the spot – almost certainly Pence and Kaine only.
(Michael Loccisano/Getty Images) In a normal election, the past four days for Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign would be somewhere between “really, really bad” and “just plain disastrous.” On Monday — 15 days before the election — came the news that the average premium for those on the federal market in Obamacare would rise 25 percent in 2017 and that 1 in 5 people in the federal marketplace would have only one option to “choose” from in terms of coverage plans. On Thursday — just 12 days before the election — the WikiLeaks hack of top Clinton aides' emails produced a 13-page memo from Doug Band, a close adviser to former president Bill Clinton, that outlines — in no uncertain terms — how Band used the former president's stature (and the chance to spend time with him) to leverage donations to the Clinton Foundation. Write WaPo's Roz Helderman and Tom Hamburger: Band detailed a circle of enrichment in which he raised money for the Clinton Foundation from top-tier corporations such as Dow Chemical and Coca-Cola that were clients of his firm, Teneo, while pressing many of those same donors to provide personal income to the former president. The memo, made public Wednesday by the anti-secrecy group WikiLeaks, lays out the aggressive strategy behind lining up the consulting contracts and paid speaking engagements for Bill Clinton that added tens of millions of dollars to the family’s fortune, including during the years that Hillary Clinton led the State Department. It describes how Band helped run what he called “Bill Clinton Inc.,” obtaining “in-kind services for the President and his family — for personal travel, hospitality, vacation and the like.” That. Is. Bad. It looks and feels like trading access to the former president for donations to the Clinton Foundation. Which isn't illegal but sure suggests that the hard line the Clinton campaign has tried to draw between the Clinton Foundation and the Clintons is much more like a semipermeable membrane. A memo written by a former top aide to Bill Clinton in 2011 shows how the same organizations donating to the Clinton charity were also paying him speaking fees. (Sarah Parnass/The Washington Post) The story is bad not only because it, well, looks bad but also because it reinforces so many of the negative things that the average person already thinks about the Clintons. They think the rules don't apply to them. They use their government service to feather their own nests. They surround themselves with people who obsequiously cater to their every need — no matter whether it's the right thing to do or not. (For what it's worth: This is the same reason the Clinton email server issue has lingered for so long — and done so much damage. That story and this one reinforce so many of the preconceived notions — and negative ones at that — about the Clintons and how they do business.) Donald Trump, to his credit, quickly moved to capitalize on both the Obamacare rate hikes and the Clinton Foundation story. He tweeted out the WaPo story earlier Thursday to his nearly 13 million followers. Inside ‘Bill Clinton Inc.’: Hacked memo reveals intersection of charity and personal income. Not only has he — through a series of self-inflicted wounds — badly damaged himself as a messenger but he also has issues with his own foundation as well. The race, as it has taken shape since the summer, has become a referendum on Trump, not Clinton. That's amazing given her fame and notoriety. And it's a very bad thing for Republicans hoping to win the White House. Stories like this one on the Clinton Foundation coming this close to an election would be a massive blow to most campaigns in most elections. In this one, Clinton's momentum is slowed but not stopped by it. When Donald Trump uttered the words “bad hombres” during the final presidential debate last night, I shuddered. Not just because he mispronounced it as “bad hambres” (or “bad hungers”) but because he dared to use my native language and the language of Latinos’ ancestors to demean undocumented immigrants. On Wednesday night, when moderator Chris Wallace asked Trump about immigration policy and reform, he began, as he often does, painting undocumented immigrants as violent criminals. (Despite research repeatedly proving native born citizens are more likely to be linked to violent crime than immigrants.) Then the GOP nominee moved on to drugs, drug lords and, again, the need to deport “bad people”: We’ll get them out, secure the border, and once the border is secured, at a later date we’ll make a determination as to the rest. Sure he’s repeatedly spoken about immigrants as if they were a biblical plague of sombrero-wearing, mustachioed criminals yelling “arriba! arriba!” as they run across the border with taco bowls filled with drugs. Yes, Mexico is the source of the largest wave of immigration from a single country in U.S. history but it’s hardly the one and only source. But it’s not about pointing the finger at another demographic or another point of entry when discussing illegal immigration. What these facts should stress is that immigration reform affects a wider range of people than just Latinos and issues surrounding immigration cannot be fixed with a border wall, obviously. But what’s worse is that using Spanish while discussing immigrants in a negative fashion is almost meant to prompt voters to link the entire Latino population with something negative. And that leaves Latinos, regardless of immigration status or place of birth, vulnerable to being seen or portrayed as “foreign” or “others.” If you don’t believe me just ask U.S.-born federal judge Gonzalo Curiel, whom Trump said should recuse himself from a Trump University case because his “Mexican heritage” made him biased. My mother tongue, the language in which I uttered my first word as a child, the language that feels like family, culture and home in my mouth, being used by a man set on vilifying my community and immigrants.
You have to work with me. Image copyright AFP "I am very, very, very happy. Who is Adama Barrow? How has incumbent President Jammeh reacted? It's a new Gambia," he said. I wish him all the best and I wish all Gambians the best. "They have only seen for the last 22 years one ruler. It’s a clear victory. The country will be in your hands in January. In a televised statement, Jammeh said the vote had been “the most transparent election in the whole world,” adding that he would not contest the result. Facebook Twitter Pinterest Gambians celebrate the victory of opposition coalition candidate Adama Barrow in Serekunda. Source: Al Jazeera News and Agencies EffSalla-lamtoro (@effsalla) Thanks to Allah!!! It’s the people who have spoken. Mr Jammeh, also 51, took power in a bloodless coup in 1994 and has ruled the country with an iron fist ever since. Good time to be alive. Njai had been about to announce the latest batch of results when he received a call on his mobile phone. #GambiaDecides Gambians abroad joined the celebration, with several saying they were planning to return or expected friends and relatives to head back. Why was it such a shock? His court hearing will be on Monday and the crowds were calling for his release. Amnesty International added its voice to these calls. I’m the outgoing president; you’re the incoming president.” The father of five used his lack of political baggage to woo voters desperate for change, claiming 45.5% of the vote to Jammeh’s 36.7%.
Image copyright AFP Image caption Adama Barrow's supporters took to the streets in celebration after the results were announced Property developer Adama Barrow says his shock win of the Gambian election heralds new hope for the country. Yahya Jammeh, an authoritarian president who ruled for 22 years, has confirmed he will step down. "I will help him work towards the transition," Mr Jammeh said on state TV on Friday evening, after speaking to the president-elect by telephone. Mr Barrow, 51, who has never held political office, won Thursday's election with 45.5% of the vote. Hundreds of Gambians took to the streets to celebrate one of the biggest election upsets West Africa has ever seen. Mr Jammeh, also 51, took power in a bloodless coup in 1994 and has ruled the country with an iron fist ever since. President Jammeh took 36.7% of the vote, while a third party candidate, Mama Kandeh, won just 17.8%. President Jammeh has congratulated the property developer and vowed not to contest the results after deciding "that I should take the backseat". Image copyright AFP "I am very, very, very happy. I'm excited that we win (sic) this election and from now hope starts," Mr Barrow told the BBC's Umaru Fofana, adding that he was disappointed not to have won by a larger margin. Born in 1965 near the eastern market town of Basse, Mr Barrow moved to London in the 2000s where he reportedly used to work as a security guard at an Argos catalogue store. He returned to The Gambia in 2006 to set up his own property company, which he still runs today. Mr Barrow, who is leading an opposition coalition of seven parties, has promised to revive the country's struggling economy, look at imposing a two-term presidential limit and introduce a three-year transitional government. By Alastair Leithead, BBC Africa correspondent Despite a surge of support for an opposition broadly united behind one candidate, most people expected the status quo to prevail. Hopes weren't high for a peaceful transfer of power, with a crackdown on opposition leaders months before the polls, the banning of international observers or post-election demonstrations, and then the switching off of the internet on election day. Image copyright AP Image caption There were scenes of jubilation in The Gambia after the result was announced But in a place where glass beads are used in place of ballot papers, it seems that the marbles have spoken. The unseating of an incumbent president is not the usual way politics goes in this part of the world - but it's becoming popular in West Africa at least, with Muhammadu Buhari unseating Goodluck Jonathan in Nigeria just last year. Former businessman Adama Barrow now has his chance to tackle the poverty and unemployment which drives so many young Gambians to join the Mediterranean migrant trail every year. The incumbent president has asked his successor to set up a time to meet and organise the transition period. Yahya Jammeh, a devout Muslim, had once said he would rule for "one billion years" if "Allah willed it". "It's really unique that someone who has been ruling this country for so long has accepted defeat," the electoral commission chief, Alieu Momar Njie, said on Friday. Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption The rise and fall of Yahya Jammeh Human rights groups have accused Mr Jammeh, who in the past claimed he could cure Aids and infertility, of repression and abuses of the media, the opposition and gay people. In 2014, he called homosexuals "vermin" and said the government would deal with them as it would malaria-carrying mosquitoes. Several previous opposition leaders were imprisoned after taking part in a rare protest in April. Mr Barrow has promised to undo some of Mr Jammeh's more controversial moves, including reversing decisions to remove The Gambia from the Commonwealth and the International Criminal Court (ICC). Image copyright Thinkstock Image caption The Gambia is known to many outside the country as an ideal beach holiday location Tourism has become The Gambia's fastest growing sector of the economy, and it is known to travellers as "the smiling coast of West Africa". Last year, President Jammeh declared the country an Islamic Republic in what he called a break from the country's colonial past. The Gambia’s autocratic president, Yahya Jammeh, who once claimed a “billion-year” mandate to rule, has conceded defeat after a shock election loss to a real-estate developer who once worked as a security guard in London. 'Fear has faded': Gambian election could finally end dictator's grip on power Read more Jammeh had kept the tiny west African country under an iron grip for more than two decades, and there were fears that the eccentric 51-year-old would use violence or fraud to maintain power. Instead he became a rare dictator to accept defeat in a democratic election, agreeing to hand power to challenger Adama Barrow, a softly spoken businessman who previously had little public profile. I’m the outgoing president; you’re the incoming president.” The father of five used his lack of political baggage to woo voters desperate for change, claiming 45.5% of the vote to Jammeh’s 36.7%.
If they stay, they'll be under regime control. Why is Aleppo important? What will the government do next? He hailed the "liberation" of Aleppo and said history was being made. READ MORE: What went wrong in Syria's east Aleppo? The rebels lose all of the northern neighbourhoods, leaving them with under two-thirds of the territory they had in the city. Tens of thousands of civilians fled those districts. Buses begin to take fighters, their families, and wounded people from east Aleppo to rebel-held areas in Idlib province. Ibrahim Abu Allaith of the Syrian Civil Defence told Al Jazeera that militias loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad reportedly killed at least one person and injured four more while firing on the first convoy of injured evacuees. Why did both sides agree to a ceasefire deal? Image copyright Reuters Image caption The last UN food rations in eastern Aleppo were distributed in mid-November The UN says hundreds of civilians died, but the government and Russia denied targeting them. Who has been fighting? But with rebel forces, jihadist groups and Kurds still controlling large parts of the country, there would still be a long way to go. The evacuation got off to a shaky start. Turkey's government is a key backer of the rebellion against Mr Assad. The delay came on Wednesday morning when pro-government Shia militias demanded that civilians in Kafraya and al-Fua - two towns besieged by armed opposition groups - be evacuated, as well. But he didn't offer any new plan to end the conflict. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) says the full evacuation of civilians and rebels is likely to take several days.
Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption BBC correspondents chart how rebels lost their hold on Aleppo after four years More than 3,000 people have been evacuated in buses and ambulances from a besieged rebel-held enclave in the Syrian city of Aleppo, officials say. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) says the full evacuation of civilians and rebels is likely to take several days. Government forces, backed by Russian allies, took nearly all remaining rebel-held parts of Aleppo this week. He hailed the "liberation" of Aleppo and said history was being made. Global solidarity over Aleppo How Srebrenica's survivors view Aleppo What's happening in Aleppo? The evacuation of civilians, rebels and their families had been due to take place on Wednesday but an earlier ceasefire deal collapsed. "Some 3,000 civilians and more than 40 wounded, including children, were brought out," the head of the ICRC in Syria, Marianne Gasser, said after two convoys left. "No-one knows how many people are left in the east, and the evacuation could take days," she added. The evacuees are being transferred to rebel-held areas in neighbouring Idlib province. Image copyright AFP US Secretary of State John Kerry meanwhile accused Syrian leaders of carrying out "nothing short of a massacre" in Aleppo and urged them to return to peace talks in Geneva. "The only remaining question is whether the Syrian regime, with Russia's support, is willing to go to Geneva prepared to negotiate constructively, and whether or not they're willing to stop this slaughter of their own people," he said in Washington. Analysis by Barbara Plett Usher, BBC News, Washington John Kerry expressed moral outrage at the fate of Aleppo and he stressed that the Syrian regime was responsible for the failure of a year's worth of US-Russian negotiations aimed at a nationwide ceasefire and peace talks. Nor did he accept that the fall of Aleppo was also due to a failure of US diplomatic strategy. "You can't make someone do something through diplomacy that they're not prepared to negotiate," he told me. Critics in Washington, though, have slammed the Obama administration for refusing to back that diplomacy with the threat of credible force, giving Mr Kerry very little to work with other than good faith. Some have faulted the secretary of state for having too much faith in Russia's willingness for a deal - "delusional diplomacy", the Washington Post called it. Syrian state media said rebels had blown up their ammunition dumps and destroyed documents before leaving the city. A statement from the Russian Centre for the Reconciliation of Opposing Sides in Syria, part of Russia's ministry of defence, said the Syrian authorities had guaranteed the safety of all members of the armed groups who decided to leave Aleppo. The rebels confirmed a fresh ceasefire had come into effect at 03:00 GMT and that a new deal had been agreed. Image copyright AFP As operations began, an ambulance service official in eastern Aleppo said that one convoy of ambulances had been shot at, with three people injured. The White Helmets civil defence group tweeted that one senior volunteer had been shot and injured by a sniper while clearing an evacuation route for ambulances. Buses and ambulances are taking the injured, civilians and rebel fighters to the neighbouring province of Idlib, most of which is controlled by a powerful rebel alliance that includes the jihadist group Jabhat Fateh al-Sham. Image copyright AFP Image caption Up to 50,000 people are said to still be in eastern Aleppo The chief of the Russian military's General Staff, Gen Valery Gerasimov, told a news briefing: "A humanitarian corridor has been created for the evacuation of militants." "This corridor is 21km long," he said, adding, "6km lie across Aleppo's territories controlled by government troops and another 15km through territories in the hands of illegal armed groups." In a televised address, he said Turkey would take "children, elders, those who are really in difficult conditions". UN Syria envoy Staffan de Mistura said about 50,000 people were still trapped and he warned that moving those evacuated to Idlib might not prove much safer. Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Milad al-Shehabi, filmmaker in Aleppo tells BBC Newsnight: "This could be my last message" Aleppo's besieged residents have faced weeks of bombardment and chronic food and fuel shortages. In October, President Assad said victory in Aleppo would be "the springboard... to liberate other areas from terrorists", a term the government uses to describe all rebel fighters. The UN said it had received allegations that hundreds of men had gone missing since crossing into government-controlled areas - and that rebels prevented some civilians from leaving. On 15 December, the warring sides reached an agreement to end the fighting, and on 22 December the government declared it had taken full control of the city following days of evacuations.
They had never thought to before, they said. After a fraught election, some have called on electors to vote against their state results. Trump received 304 electoral votes to Hillary Clinton's 227. Another Democratic elector in Hawaii voted for Mr. Sanders. — FERNANDA SANTOS Congratulations to @RealDonaldTrump; officially elected President of the United States today by the Electoral College! Advertisement Continue reading the main story Many here said they had never before attended a meeting of the electors. One voted for Ohio Gov. — Mike Pence (@mike_pence) December 19, 2016 Former President Bill Clinton cast his ballot for his wife as an elector in the state of New York. The state’s other two Democratic electors were expected to support Mrs. Clinton. "We'll see what happens." Photo Arizona: Long-shot push falls short. Anti-Trump protesters have gathered outside House chambers prior to Electoral College voting. Those Washington electors also picked a mixed bag for the vice presidency. If no candidate reached 270, the House of Representatives would have held a vote when Congress reconvenes in January. Not when the doors to the chamber were closed. The chants of protest inside the Michigan capitol building never stopped. John Kasich and one backed former Texas Rep. Ron Paul. Three cast ballots for former Secretary of State Colin Powell, and one backed Faith Spotted Eagle, a Native American activist who's been involved in the North Dakota pipeline fight. Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Republican Sen. Susan Collins of Maine each got votes, as well. I will work hard to unite our country and be the president of all Americans.
The chants of protest inside the Michigan capitol building never stopped. Not when the state’s 16 electors headed up the stairs to the state Senate chamber to start their meeting. Not when the doors to the chamber were closed. Advertisement Continue reading the main story State law requires Michigan electors to vote for the candidate who won the state, which Mr. Trump did by only about 11,000 votes. Still, a group of protesters that gathered here on Monday for several hours said they had hoped there might be one elector, maybe even two, who might vote a different way. “Vote Your Conscience!” they chanted, gathering on different floors of the building. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Many here said they had never before attended a meeting of the electors. They had never thought to before, they said. And there were signs in the capitol that this meeting is not usually a focal point for demonstrators: Security officials outside the state Senate chamber looked vaguely uncomfortable as the protesters chanted right outside the room, and, through an open door, Republican officials could be seen settling in for their vote. — MONICA DAVEY Photo New York: Clinton for Clinton Former President Bill Clinton cast the state’s first electoral vote for his wife, Hillary Clinton, in a bittersweet scene played out in the state Senate chamber in Albany. Mr. Clinton, smiling, sealed the envelope with Mrs. Clinton’s vote — one of 29 she won in her home state – just before Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, also an elector, praised him as “always kind, always generous” in front of a partisan Democratic crowd in a solidly blue state. Advertisement Continue reading the main story “The president taught an entire generation of elected officials what it means to be to a professional and effective elected official,” said Mr. Cuomo, who was the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development for the Clinton administration in the 1990s. “He showed that government mattered.” Mr. Cuomo also praised Mrs. Clinton – a Senator from New York from 2001 to 2009 — as a role model and “a great friend to this state,” citing her work after 9/11. In brief remarks to reporters after the event, Mr. Clinton said he had “never cast a vote I was prouder of” than the one for his wife. Photo In the end, however, Mr. Clinton suggested that his wife’s candidacy was undone by Russian hacking as well as an announcement just before the election by the F.B.I. director, James B. Comey, that his agency would review new emails related to a closed investigation of her use of a private server. (Two days before the election, Mr. Comey reiterated an earlier finding that Mrs. Clinton’s activities had warranted no legal action.) And still won by 2.8 million votes.” — JESSE McKINLEY Photo Georgia and Tennessee: A Trump sweep. Mr. Trump won the unanimous votes of 16 electors in Georgia and 11 in Tennessee, states he handily won in the November election. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Protesters gathered outside the state capitol buildings in Atlanta and Nashville before the ballots were cast, and in the House chamber in Nashville, “there were a few protesters in the gallery, and a couple of times they would try to say something or shout — but nothing outrageous,” said Adam Ghassemi, the spokesman for the secretary of state. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Tennessee’s electors were bound by state law to vote for the winning presidential candidate. Georgia’s were not, but before voting, electors there had to select a replacement for an elector who earlier has resigned, saying he could not vote for Mr. Trump. Unlike most states, Maine does not award all four of its electoral votes to the popular vote winner. It gives two votes to the winner of the state’s popular vote, and one each to the winner of the state’s two congressional districts. The elector from the state’s Second Congressional District is expected to support Mr. Trump, who won the most votes in that district. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Mr. Sanders was defeated by Mrs. Clinton in the Democratic primary, but handily won the caucuses in Maine, and the elector, David Bright, wrote that he wanted to send a message to people who cast their first votes for the Democratic Party to support Mr. Sanders. “I cast my Electoral College vote for Bernie Sanders today to let those new voters who were inspired by him know that some of us did hear them, did listen to them, do respect them and understand their disappointment,” wrote Mr. In Harrisburg, hundreds of protesters chanted and waved signs on the steps of the State Capitol and in the lobby, but they were fairly subdued, acknowledging that they did not expect to affect the outcome. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Pennsylvania played a crucial role in the election, one of three states — with Wisconsin and Michigan — that Mrs. Clinton was expected to carry, but that Mr. Trump won by less than 1 percent. Advertisement Continue reading the main story When the electors cast Pennsylvania’s 20 votes for Mr. Trump, the legislative chamber echoed with a long round of applause, followed by shouts of “shame on you” from the visitors’ gallery. Advertisement Continue reading the main story The meeting drew a crowd of several dozen to the Capitol, and a few in the audience booed and chanted “Shame!” after the results were announced. A handful of protesters were escorted out of the room by the authorities, but most stayed seated and the meeting continued with only a few slight pauses. Advertisement Continue reading the main story A handful of protesters were outside the state capitol in Jackson, and four quietly witnessed the vote in a meeting room inside. Among the electors, The Associated Press reported, was Charles Evers, the former Republican mayor of Fayette, a talk-radio host and the brother of Medgar Evers, the anti-segregation activist whose murder in 1963 was a landmark in the civil-rights movement.
The base they were heading for, Hmeymim, is in Latakia province, from where Russia conducts air strikes against Syrian rebels. The Russian defence ministry added on Sunday that rescuers had said there was no sign of any survivors of the crash. Fans of Palmeiras and Penarol fight at the end of their match Reuters 10/46 26 April 2017 Palmeiras's Felipe Melo and Penarol's Matias Mier fight at the end of their match Reuters 11/46 26 April 2017 Palmeiras's Felipe Melo and Penarol's Matias Mier fight at the end of their match Reuters 12/46 25 April 2017 Juan Gregorio Rocha, an evangelical pastor suspected of murdering Vilma Trujillo Garcia in a bonfire after accusing her of being 'possessed' by a demon, sits with his siblings during a final court hearing in Managua Getty Images 13/46 25 April 2017 Brazilian Indians take part in a demonstration against the violation of indigenous people's rights, in Brasilia, Brazil Reuters 14/46 25 April 2017 Brazilian Indians take part in a demonstration against the violation of indigenous people's rights, in Brasilia, Brazil Reuters 15/46 25 April 2017 Riot police points his gun at Brazilian Indians during a demonstration against the violation of indigenous people's rights, in Brasilia, Brazil Reuters 16/46 25 April 2017 To the celebrate the 40th anniversary of the series of Star Wars, the Japanese jewellery store is selling a life-size mask of Darth Vader made from 15kg of pure 24k gold. What is the Alexandrov Ensemble? The plane had stopped off at Adler en route from Moscow to Syria. It had an "experienced" pilot. Konashenkov said nine Russian reporters had also been on board, as well as military service personnel.
Kremlin says technical malfunction is likely cause of crash into Black Sea of Tu-154 carrying choir, with no survivors Vladimir Putin has ordered an investigation after a Russian military plane carrying 92 people, including dozens of Red Army choristers, crashed into the Black Sea on its way to Syria. The Tupolev Tu-154 plane was carrying musicians from the famous Alexandrov military choir, as well as dancers, musicians and journalists, to a new year concert for troops in Syria. It crashed soon after taking off from the resort of Sochi on Sunday. He also ordered the prime minister, Dmitry Medvedev, to form a state commission to investigate the crash. It will determine whether safety breaches led to the crash. Russian agencies said all possible reasons for the crash were being examined, but investigators believed terrorism was unlikely. Russia’s RIA news agency, citing an unidentified security source, said preliminary data indicated the plane had crashed because of a technical malfunction, Reuters reported. A total of 84 passengers and eight crew were on board when the plane dropped off radar shortly after take-off at 5.40am local time (0240 GMT) from Adler airport in Sochi, southern Russia. The plane had stopped off at Adler en route from Moscow to Syria. Common ground on Syria unites Russia and Turkey against the west Read more Russia’s defence ministry said fragments of the plane, a Soviet-designed three-engine airliner, had been found by rescuers about 1.5km (one mile) from the shore in water 50-70 metres deep. An unnamed ministry source told Russian news agencies that those on board had almost no chance of surviving and that no life-rafts had been found. Interfax cited another unnamed source as saying the plane had not sent an SOS signal. The Russian defence ministry added on Sunday that rescuers had said there was no sign of any survivors of the crash. Defence ministry spokesman Maj Gen Igor Konashenkov said “no survivors are seen” at the crash site, less than a mile from the shore. Those on board included Russian service personnel and artists from the Russian military’s official choir, the Alexandrov Ensemble, who were on their way to celebrate New Year’s Eve with air force personnel at the Khmeimim airbase near Latakia in western Syria, the defence source told RIA. “Four ships, five helicopters and a drone are working in the area,” he said, saying a military commission had flown to Sochi to look into what happened. The Interfax news agency cited an unnamed source in the emergency services as saying about six bodies had already been recovered from the sea. More than 3,000 people, including around 100 divers flown in from across Russia, were working through the night on Sunday to search the crash site, the Defense Ministry said. According to the defence ministry’s list of passengers, Elizaveta Glinka, a member of Putin’s advisory human rights council, was on the plane. In April 2010, many high-ranking Polish officials, including then president Lech Kaczyński, were killed when a Tu-154 airliner went down in thick fog while approaching Smolensk airport in western Russia. The plane, which was widely used during the Soviet period, has been taken out of commission by many Russian airlines in recent years, but is still used by the military. A Russian military plane carrying 92 people, including dozens of Red Army Choir singers, has crashed into the Black Sea on its way to an air base Syria, killing everyone on board. No survivors have been spotted after a military plane carrying 92 people, including a well-known military band, crashed near Sochi, Russia's defence ministry has said. A total of 84 passengers and eight crew members were on the Tu-154 plane when it disappeared from radar two minutes after taking off in good weather. Emergency crews found fragments of the plane about 1.5 kilometers (less than one mile) from shore. The plane was carrying Russian servicemen and 64 members of the Alexandrov Ensemble, among them its leader Valery Khalilov, who were being flown into Russia's Hmeymim air base in Syria to entertain military personnel in the run-up to the new year. More than 3,000 people — including dozens of divers — worked from 27 ships and several helicopters to search the undersea crash site, according to the Defense Ministry. An unnamed ministry source told Russian news agencies no life rafts had been found, while another source told the Interfax agency that the plane had not sent an SOS signal. Viktor Ozerov, head of the defence affairs committee at the upper house of Russian parliament, said the crash could have been caused by a technical malfunction or a crew error, but he believes it could not have been terrorism because the plane was operated by the military. "I totally exclude" the idea of an attack bringing down the plane, he said in remarks carried by state RIA Novosti news agency. However, some experts contested Mr Ozerov's claim, saying the crew's failure to report a malfunction pointed to a possible terror attack. "Possible malfunctions ... certainly wouldn't have prevented the crew from reporting them," Vitaly Andreyev, a former senior Russian air traffic controller, told RIA Novosti, adding that it points at an "external impact." movement Emmanuel Macron kicks a ball during a campaign visit to Sarcelles, north of Paris Getty Images 5/46 27 April 2017 People dance on a boat during King's Day celebrations in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The Netherlands is marking the 50th birthday of King Willem-Alexander with orange-clad citizens holding parties and street sales throughout the country AP 6/46 27 April 2017 Activists from Amnesty dressed as the Statue of liberty take part in a demonstration to mark the first 100 days in office of US President Donald Trump outside the US Embassy in London Getty Images 7/46 27 April 2017 A policeman holds the ID's of a group of protesters who were arrested during a demonstration against the results of the first round of the French presidential election in Rennes, western France Getty Images 8/46 27 April 2017 French police arrest protesters after a demonstration against the results of the first round of the French presidential election in Rennes, western France Getty Images 9/46 26 April 2017 Penarol v Palmeiras - Copa Libertadores - Campeon del siglo stadium - Montevideo, Uruguay. The products will go on sale on Star Wars Day, May 4th Rex 17/46 25 April 2017 To the celebrate the 40th anniversary of the series of Star Wars, the Japanese jewellery store is selling a life-size mask of Darth Vader made from 15kg of pure 24k gold.
Freedom. Me, his loved ones, his friends, the world of music, the world at large. RIP George Michael. - 1984 (with Wham!) "You were such an inspiration. '90." 's I'm Your Man. POWERS: Absolutely. His manager said he died peacefully at home of heart failure. One of our most talented singer songwriters has left us. I just heard about my friend @GeorgeMichael's death. He was such a brilliant talent. I think this song really changed after he came out and became that anthem. Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption This video has been removed for rights reasons. He was a true pop auteur. Copyright © 2016 NPR. And you don't belong to me. I'm so sad. He was 53. Heartbroken at the loss of my beloved friend Yog. A brilliant artist & great songwriter." Solo albums followed, including the multi-million selling Faith in 1987. Take back your singing in the rain. He first found fame with schoolfriend Ridgeley in duo Wham! May you rest in peace. SHAPIRO: I'm good. Fans have been leaving tributes outside Michael's London residence in Highgate. And the album sold more than 25 million copies. One of the band's most enduring songs Last Christmas, is currently number 16 in the UK singles chart. I know not everybody has got a body like you. Boy George wrote: "He was so loved and I hope he knew it because the sadness today is beyond words. All our love and sympathy to @GeorgeMichael's family.
Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption This video has been removed for rights reasons. Singer George Michael has died at his home at the age of 53. The star, who launched his career with Wham! in the 1980s and had huge success as a solo performer, "passed away peacefully" on Christmas Day in Goring, Oxfordshire, his publicist said. bandmate Andrew Ridgeley said he was "heartbroken at the loss of my beloved friend". Writing on Twitter and referring to Michael by his family nickname of "Yog", he added: "Me, his loved ones, his friends, the world of music, the world at large. A xx" On Instagram, Sir Elton John posted a photograph of himself with Michael, writing: "I am in deep shock. I have lost a beloved friend - the kindest, most generous soul and a brilliant artist. Obituary: George Michael George Michael: A life in pictures How the world reacted George Michael: Six songs that defined his life Michael's family announced news of his death in a statement issued through the singer's publicist. "It is with great sadness that we can confirm our beloved son, brother and friend George passed away peacefully at home over the Christmas period," it said. "The family would ask that their privacy be respected at this difficult and emotional time. Image caption Tributes have been left outside the star's home in Goring South Central Ambulance Service were called to Michael's property at 13:42 GMT. They added: "At this stage the death is being treated as unexplained but not suspicious. Home village mourns George Michael A small heart wreath and a rose are among the tributes left outside the front door of Michael's home, a detached property by the River Thames. Court battle Michael, who was born Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou in north London, sold more than 100 million albums throughout a career spanning almost four decades. He first found fame with schoolfriend Ridgeley in duo Wham! One of the band's most enduring songs Last Christmas, is currently number 16 in the UK singles chart. The song was originally released in 1984 and is the biggest selling single not to reach number one. It was kept off the chart's top spot by Band Aid's Do They Know It's Christmas, which actually featured Michael. Solo albums followed, including the multi-million selling Faith in 1987. 1 outsold Faith in the UK but led to Michael losing a court case with record label Sony over his frustration at how the album has been marketed. From teen idol to long-term stardom Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption This video has been removed for rights reasons His talents as a singer, songwriter and music producer made George Michael one of the world's biggest-selling artists. Blessed with good looks and a fine singing voice, his stage presence made him a favourite on the live concert circuit as he matured from teen idol to long term stardom. But there were times when his battle with drugs and encounters with the police made lurid headlines that threatened to eclipse his musical talents. Read more in George Michael's obituary As a solo artist, Michael scored a further seven number one singles in the UK with songs including Careless Whisper and Fastlove, collaborated with the likes of Aretha Franklin and Elton John, and won three Brit Awards and two Grammys. The Grammy organisers said Michael's "extraordinary talent had a profound impact on countless entertainers worldwide, and his creative contributions will live on forever". After years of refusing to be drawn on speculation about his sexuality, Michael disclosed he was gay in 1998 after being arrested in a public toilet in Beverly Hills, California, for engaging in a lewd act. Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption "My life has felt so... self-destructive": George Michael's Desert Island Discs highlights from 2007 The music video for the single that followed, Outside, featured a men's bathroom transformed into a disco and policemen kissing. In October 2006 he pleaded guilty to driving while unfit through drugs, and in 2008 was cautioned for possession of class A drugs, including crack cocaine. ABC's Martin Fry said: "Absolutely devastated to hear of the loss of @GeorgeMichael Truly brilliant talent #sad #sad #sad." Image copyright Twitter Duran Duran referred to the the so-called curse of 2016 - following the deaths of David Bowie, Prince and Rick Parfitt - posting on their official Twitter account: "2016 - loss of another talented soul. Image copyright Twitter Madonna posted a video from 1989 on Twitter and Instagram of herself presenting Michael with an award, and wrote: "Another Great Artist leaves us". Robbie Williams, whose first solo single was a cover of Michael's song Freedom, wrote: "Oh God no …I love you George …Rest In Peace x".
Her son, Todd Fisher, said Reynolds died Wednesday, a day after her daughter, Carrie Fisher, died. (It was Jack Warner who gave her the name of Debbie.) It is widely considered one of the greatest movie musicals. She later reopened her museum in Hollywood. Many critics considered it her most memorable early role, and it was a favourite — Reynolds related to a woman with tremendous zest for life. It also earned her some of the best reviews of her career. “I learned a lot from Gene,” she added. Photograph: Allstar/MGM Despite being the divorced mother of two small children, Reynolds was never more active. The outpouring of public sympathy for Reynolds only served to increase her fame — the comedy “The Mating Game” that she co-starred in with Tony Randall was one of four movies she appeared in the next year. Facebook Twitter Pinterest Debbie Reynolds and Gene Kelly in a publicity shot for Singin’ in the Rain, 1952. Tammy! The movie about Hollywood’s transition to talkies was a box-office hit, and her portrayal of an up-and-coming spunky actress turned Reynolds into a star. She received the 2014 Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award. Between 1950 and 1967, she appeared in more than 30 movie musicals and light comedies, receiving her lone Oscar nomination for playing the title character in 1964’s The Unsinkable Molly Brown. He didn’t think I could play an ordinary married woman. Her first husband, singer Eddie Fisher, left Reynolds — perceived by moviegoers as the girl next door — for sultry actress Elizabeth Taylor. Love Carries Mother.” Reynolds’ singing and dancing in “Singin’ in the Rain” and other musicals and frothy entertainment turned her into America’s Sweetheart and a potent box office star for years.
Debbie Reynolds’ life was the stuff of movie legend, from her start as an ingenue playing opposite Gene Kelly in the classic 1952 musical “Singin’ in the Rain,” to her part in one of Hollywood’s most notorious scandals. And her death Wednesday at the age of 84 had the kind of tragic story line Hollywood made famous, coming only one day after her daughter, Carrie Fisher, died at the age of 60. Reynolds’ son, Todd, told media outlets that his mother was under stress over the death of her daughter and suffered a stroke at her home at about noon. On Tuesday, Reynolds had posted a statement on Facebook about the outpouring of grief about her daughter’s unexpected death. Fisher, a well-known actress and author in her own right, died four days after suffering a cardiac incident on a flight from London back to Los Angeles. "Thank you to everyone who has embraced the gifts and talents of my beloved and amazing daughter," she wrote. “I am grateful for your thoughts and prayers that are now guiding her to her next stop. Love Carries Mother.” Reynolds’ singing and dancing in “Singin’ in the Rain” and other musicals and frothy entertainment turned her into America’s Sweetheart and a potent box office star for years. She became famous near the end of the Golden Age of Hollywood and was a link to the great studio era. She continued performing for the rest of her life on screen and stage, including a one-woman revue highlighting her remarkable life on screen and off. From 1950 to 1967, she appeared in more than 30 movie musicals and light comedies, receiving her lone Oscar nomination for playing the title character in 1964’s “The Unsinkable Molly Brown.” Many critics considered it her most memorable early role, and it was a favorite — Reynolds related to a woman with tremendous zest for life. Off-screen, she starred in the real-life role of the wronged woman in a love triangle that many in the late 1950s considered at the time the Hollywood scandal of the century. Her first husband, pop singer Eddie Fisher, left Reynolds — perceived by moviegoers as the girl next door — for sultry actress Elizabeth Taylor. Standing alone in her front yard in 1958, the abandoned Reynolds met the press. Fastened to her blouse was a diaper pin, a reminder of the couple's two young children inside. The “nuclear-like split,” as a Times article from that era described it, proved disastrous to Fisher's career. The outpouring of public sympathy for Reynolds only served to increase her fame — the comedy “The Mating Game” that she co-starred in with Tony Randall was one of four movies she appeared in the next year. But as the lighthearted films she was known for went out of style in the late 1960s in favor of message movies, Reynolds turned to the stage. She earned a Tony Award nomination for playing the title role in a Broadway revival of “Irene” in the early 1970s, then gave birth in Las Vegas to the nightclub act that she would perform for decades. In 1996, she returned to the big screen for her first major part in years, playing the title role in the well-reviewed Albert Brooks comedy “Mother.” The role allowed her “to bare a steely edge beneath her famously perky exterior,” People magazine said in 1997. Decades later, Reynolds said she could still recall the pain from three months of dance rehearsals that made her feet bleed. “ ‘Singin’ in the Rain’ and childbirth were the hardest things I ever had to do in my life,” Reynolds wrote in her 1988 autobiography “Debbie.” The movie about Hollywood’s transition to talkies was a box-office hit, and her portrayal of an up-and-coming spunky actress turned Reynolds into a star. One of the keys to “Singin’ in the Rain’s” success was its “tremendous amount of energy,” dancer Donald O'Connor, who also starred in the film, told NBC in 2002. In 1969, she launched “The Debbie Reynolds Show,” a TV sitcom with “I Love Lucy” overtones about the unpredictable wife of a newspaper columnist. When NBC aired a cigarette commercial during its debut, she threatened to quit. Instead, the sponsor pulled out and the series was off the air within a year. Contemporary TV audiences knew her from her recurring Emmy-nominated role as Grace’s eccentric actress mother on the NBC show “Will & Grace.” She also gained notice in the late 1990s for her supporting role as Kevin Kline’s mother in the satirical film “In & Out.” Her last role was Liberace’s mother in the 2013 HBO movie “Behind the Candelabra.” She received the 2014 Screen Actors Guild life achievement award. Work was a necessity for the thrice-divorced Reynolds, whose public image was far more rosy than her private life. Their daughter became an actress best known for playing Princess Leia in the “Star Wars” movies and, later, a successful writer. When Mike Todd died in a plane crash, Fisher consoled his widow, Taylor — a friend of Reynolds’ from their days as teenage contract players at Warner Bros. Fisher soon left Reynolds, whom he had met in a publicist’s office. “I always thought their whole courtship was a sort of press release,” Carrie Fisher told People magazine in 1988. The Singin’ in the Rain actor, who rose to fame with her youthful exuberance in 1950s musicals, had a prolific and ambitious career and resilience to match When Debbie Reynolds, wearing a skimpy pink flapper’s dress, burst out of an enormous cake at a Hollywood party in Singin’ in the Rain (1952), she simultaneously burst into screen stardom. In fact, it was the sixth film appearance of Reynolds, who has died aged 84, but her first starring role. Debbie Reynolds: her life and career – in pictures Read more “There were times when Debbie was more interested in playing the French horn somewhere in the San Fernando Valley or attending a Girl Scout meeting,” Kelly recalled. “She didn’t realise she was a movie star all of a sudden.” Reynolds herself admitted later: “I was so confused.
We will not expel anyone," he said. Russian officials have portrayed the sanctions as a last act of a lame-duck president and suggested Trump could reverse them when he takes over from Obama, a Democrat. U.S. intelligence agencies say Russia was behind hacks into Democratic Party organizations and operatives before the presidential election. "We will not create problems for American diplomats. Moscow denies this. The Obama administration on Thursday announced its retaliation for Russian efforts to interfere with the US presidential election, ordering sweeping new sanctions that included the expulsion of 35 Russians. A television crew sets up outside the Russian embassy on Wisconsin Avenue in Washington December 29, 2016. Republican John McCain, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said on Friday that Russia must face a penalty for the cyber attacks. Diplomatic expulsions are normally met with exactly reciprocal action. "Great move on delay (by V. Putin) - I always knew he was very smart!" Climate deniers, conspiracists and one-percenters: Trump's cabinet of characters Read more “We have no reason to believe that Russia’s activities will cease,” a senior official said. Obama added that more actions would be taken, “some of which will not be publicized”. “Using this new authority, I have sanctioned nine entities and individuals: the GRU and the FSB, two Russian intelligence services; four individual officers of the GRU; and three companies that provided material support to the GRU’s cyber operations. A total of 96 Russians are expected to leave the United States including expelled diplomats and their families. The statement said the harassment has included “arbitrary police stops, physical assault, and the broadcast on state TV of personal details about our personnel that put them at risk”.
A television crew sets up outside the Russian embassy on Wisconsin Avenue in Washington December 29, 2016. REUTERS/James Lawler Duggan Television crews assemble outside the Russian embassy on Wisconsin Avenue in Washington, U.S., December 29, 2016. REUTERS/James Lawler Duggan U.S. President Barack Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin walk into a photo opportunity before their meeting at the United Nations General Assembly in New York September 28, 2015. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque PALM BEACH, Fla./ MOSCOW U.S. President-elect Donald Trump on Friday praised Russian President Vladimir Putin for refraining from retaliation in a dispute over spying and cyber attacks, in another sign that the Republican plans to patch up badly frayed relations with Moscow. Putin earlier on Friday said he would not hit back for the U.S. expulsion of 35 suspected Russian spies by President Barack Obama, at least until Trump takes office on Jan. 20. "Great move on delay (by V. Putin) - I always knew he was very smart!" Obama on Thursday ordered the expulsion of the Russians and imposed sanctions on two Russian intelligence agencies over their involvement in hacking political groups in the Nov. 8 U.S. presidential election. "Further steps towards the restoration of Russian-American relations will be built on the basis of the policy which the administration of President D. Trump will carry out," he said. In a separate development, a code associated with the Russian hacking operation dubbed Grizzly Steppe by the Obama administration has been detected within the system of a Vermont electric utility, the Washington Post reported on Friday, citing unnamed U.S. officials. The Russians did not actively use the code to disrupt operations of the utility, the officials told the Post, but penetration of the nation's electrical grid is significant because it represents a potentially serious vulnerability. Trump has repeatedly praised Putin and nominated people seen as friendly toward Moscow to senior administration posts, but it is unclear whether he would seek to roll back Obama's actions, which mark a post-Cold War low in U.S.-Russian ties. Trump has brushed aside allegations from the CIA and other intelligence agencies that Russia was behind the cyber attacks." It's time for our country to move on to bigger and better things," Trump said on Thursday, though he said he would meet with intelligence officials next week. U.S. intelligence agencies say Russia was behind hacks into Democratic Party organizations and operatives before the presidential election. U.S. intelligence officials say the Russian cyber attacks aimed to help Trump defeat Democrat Hillary Clinton. Russian officials have portrayed the sanctions as a last act of a lame-duck president and suggested Trump could reverse them when he takes over from Obama, a Democrat. A senior U.S. official on Thursday said that Trump could reverse Obama's executive order, but doing so would be inadvisable. Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova called the Obama administration "a group of embittered and dimwitted foreign policy losers." Republican John McCain, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said on Friday that Russia must face a penalty for the cyber attacks. "When you attack a country, it's an act of war," McCain said in an interview with the Ukrainian TV channel "1+1" while on a visit to Kiev. "And so we have to make sure that there is a price to pay, so that we can perhaps persuade the Russians to stop these kind of attacks on our very fundamentals of democracy," added McCain, who has scheduled a hearing for Thursday on foreign cyber threats. A total of 96 Russians are expected to leave the United States including expelled diplomats and their families. Trump will find it very difficult to reverse the expulsions and lift the sanctions given that they were based on a unanimous conclusion by U.S. intelligence agencies, said Eugene Rumer, who was the top U.S. intelligence analyst for Russia from 2010 until 2014. "If Mr. Trump wants to start the relationship anew, I don’t think he needs to walk these sanctions back. As part of the sanctions, Obama told Russia to close two compounds in the United States that the administration said were used by Russian personnel for "intelligence-related purposes." Convoys of trucks, buses and black sedans with diplomatic license plates left the countryside vacation retreats outside Washington and New York City without fanfare on Friday. A former Russian Foreign Ministry employee told Reuters that the facility in Maryland was a dacha used by diplomatic staff and their children. The 45-acre complex includes a Georgian-style brick mansion, swimming pool, tennis courts and cottages for embassy staff. The Russian consulate in San Francisco said on its Facebook page, "We hate to have to say goodbye to close to a dozen of our colleagues, our friends." Obama had promised consequences after U.S. intelligence officials blamed Russia for hacks intended to influence the 2016 election. Washington also put sanctions on two Russian intelligence agencies, the GRU and the FSB, four GRU officers and three companies that Obama said "provided material support to the GRU’s cyber operations." Donald Trump last night praised Vladimir Putin as "very smart" for not engaging in a tit-for-tat row with the US over the expulsion of 35 Russian diplomats accused of espionage. In a piece of high diplomatic theatre, the Russian president defied expectations of a Cold War-style mutual expulsion and instead met the Obama administration's sanctions with a show of magnanimity. The Obama administration on Thursday announced its retaliation for Russian efforts to interfere with the US presidential election, ordering sweeping new sanctions that included the expulsion of 35 Russians.
REUTERS/Michael Dantas Relatives of prisoners react at a riot police checkpoint close to the prison where around 60 people were killed in a prison riot in the Amazon jungle city of Manaus, Brazil, January 2, 2017. The violence began late Sunday and was brought under control by around 7 a.m. AMT (1100 GMT) on Monday, Fontes said. "Our prisons were built to annihilate, torture and kill." The Manaus-based gang is widely believed to be attacking PCC inmates at the behest of the Rio de Janeiro-based Red Command (CV) drug gang, Brazil's second largest. Bodies were thrown over the wall of the complex, and at least six people were decapitated, the news agency reported. The revolt started Sunday afternoon as part of a rivalry between two criminal organizations at the Anisio Jobim Prison Complex in the city of Manaus, Agencia Brasil reported, citing Sergio Fontes, the public safety secretary for the state of Amazonas. Canineu said it has been difficult for years for states to receive any funding help from the federal government for prisons. BROKEN TRUCE Security analysts have said that a truce that held for years between the PCC and CV was broken last year, resulting in months of deadly prison battles between the gangs and sparking fears that chaos would spread to other prisons. The prisoners were later released. CNN Map Violence erupted on Sunday between incarcerated members of the the Familia do Norte (FDN) and the Primeiro Comando da Capital (PCC) groups. As of 2014, the number of people in Brazil's prisons exceeded 600,000 people -- 60 percent more than the the facilities were built to hold, according to the Ministry of Justice's Integrated System of Penitentiary Information.
Story highlights Violence erupted on Sunday between incarcerated gang members Seventeen-hour riot started over control of the drug trade behind the prison walls (CNN) A 17-hour uprising at a prison in Brazil claimed the lives of at least 56 prisoners over the weekend, state-run media agency Agencia Brasil reported Monday. Bodies were thrown over the wall of the complex, and at least six people were decapitated, the news agency reported. The revolt started Sunday afternoon as part of a rivalry between two criminal organizations at the Anisio Jobim Prison Complex in the city of Manaus, Agencia Brasil reported, citing Sergio Fontes, the public safety secretary for the state of Amazonas. CNN Map Violence erupted on Sunday between incarcerated members of the the Familia do Norte (FDN) and the Primeiro Comando da Capital (PCC) groups. The FDN controls drug trafficking and the "inside of prison complexes," according to state media. Fontes said that the riot started over control of the drug trade behind the prison walls. Relatives of prisoners await news in front of the Medical Legal Institute (IML) after the end of a bloody prison riot in the Amazon jungle city of Manaus, Brazil January 2, 2017. REUTERS/Michael Dantas Relatives of prisoners await news in front of the Medical Legal Institute (IML) after the end of a bloody prison riot in the Amazon jungle city of Manaus, Brazil January 2, 2017. REUTERS/Michael Dantas Relatives of prisoners react near riot police at a checkpoint close to the prison where around 60 people were killed in a prison riot in the Amazon jungle city of Manaus, Brazil, January 2, 2017. REUTERS/Michael Dantas Relatives of prisoners react near riot police at a checkpoint close to the prison where around 60 people were killed in a prison riot in the Amazon jungle city of Manaus, Brazil, January 2, 2017. REUTERS/Michael Dantas Relatives of prisoners gather near a riot police checkpoint close to the prison where around 60 people were killed in a prison riot in the Amazon jungle city of Manaus, Brazil, January 2, 2017. REUTERS/Michael Dantas Relatives of prisoners react at a riot police checkpoint close to the prison where around 60 people were killed in a prison riot in the Amazon jungle city of Manaus, Brazil, January 2, 2017. REUTERS/Michael Dantas Relatives of prisoners gather at a riot police checkpoint close to the prison where around 60 people were killed in a prison riot in the Amazon jungle city of Manaus, Brazil, January 2, 2017. REUTERS/Michael Dantas Relatives of prisoners gather near riot police at a checkpoint close to the prison where around 60 people were killed in a prison riot in the Amazon jungle city of Manaus, Brazil, January 2, 2017. REUTERS/Michael Dantas BRASILIA Drug gangs sparked a prison riot that killed 56 people, with decapitated bodies thrown over prison walls in the bloodiest violence in more than two decades in Brazil's overcrowded penitentiary system, officials said on Monday. Sergio Fontes, the security chief for Amazonas state, told reporters several decapitated bodies were thrown over the wall of the prison in the Amazon city of Manaus, with most of those killed coming from the Sao Paulo-based First Capital Command (PCC) drug gang. "This was another chapter in the silent and ruthless war of drug trafficking," he said. Pedro Florencio, the Amazonas state prison secretary, said the massacre was a "revenge killing" in a feud between criminal gangs in Brazil. Overcrowding is extremely common in Brazil's prisons, which suffer endemic violence and what rights groups call medieval conditions with food scarce and cells so packed that prisoners have no space to lie down. "These massacres occur almost daily in Brazil," said Father Valdir Silveira, director of Pastoral Carceraria, a Catholic center that monitors prison conditions in Brazil. The Manaus-based gang is widely believed to be attacking PCC inmates at the behest of the Rio de Janeiro-based Red Command (CV) drug gang, Brazil's second largest. BROKEN TRUCE Security analysts have said that a truce that held for years between the PCC and CV was broken last year, resulting in months of deadly prison battles between the gangs and sparking fears that chaos would spread to other prisons. In the latest riot, a group of inmates exchanged gunfire with police and held 12 prison guards hostage late on Sunday in the largest prison in Manaus, an industrial city on the banks of the Amazon River, Globo TV reported. A video posted on the website of the Manaus-based newspaper Em Tempo showed dozens of bloodied and mutilated bodies piled on the prison floor as other inmates milled about. Maria Canineu, director of Human Rights Watch for Brazil, said the most recent violence was the result of "no government in 20 years giving much attention to the penitentiary system." President Michel Temer announced last week that the federal government would furnish states with 1.2 billion reais ($366 million), mostly to improve infrastructure and security in existing prisons and to build new ones. MANAUS, Brazil, Jan. 2 (UPI) -- More than 60 inmates died -- including the decapitation of at least six people -- during a 17-hour prison riot in northern Brazil, state-run media reported Monday. "The scene inside the prison is terrible, it's shocking to see how brutal a person can be," Pedro Florencio, the state's secretary for prisons administration, told The Wall Street Journal. As of 2014, the number of people in Brazil's prisons exceeded 600,000 people -- 60 percent more than the the facilities were built to hold, according to the Ministry of Justice's Integrated System of Penitentiary Information.
We will miss you. A versatile actor, Puri was known for his roles in Indian, Pakistani, British and Hollywood films. — KAPIL (@KapilSharmaK9) 1483681650000 RIP #OmPuri saab. Image copyright @OmRajeshPuri Image copyright @OmRajeshPuri Prime Minister Narendra Modi's office led the tributes to the actor: Image copyright @PMOIndia A number of leading filmmakers and actors also remembered Puri: Image copyright @ikamalhaasan Image copyright @sachin_rt Image copyright @akshaykumar Image copyright @AnupamPkher Image copyright @karanjohar May his soul rest in peace. "You needed loads of talent and that is what Om proved with his sensibility and sensitivity." A great man and great actor. Rip #OmPuri ji. The Prime Minister condoles the passing away of actor Om Puri & recalls his long career in theatre & films. He was awarded an honorary OBE for his contribution to the British film industry in 2004. Have grown up watching his versatility! — PMO India (@PMOIndia) 1483675747000 So sad . Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Actor Om Puri dies aged 66 Puri, who was born in 1950 in the north Indian state of Haryana, made his film debut in the 1976 film Ghashiram Kotwal. He was also known in the UK for his roles in British films such as My Son the Fanatic and East is East. Whether it was stage, TV or cinema. Had the opportunity of working briefly in A Hundred Foot Journey .. — Juhi Chawla (@iam_juhi) 1483682116000 Deeply saddened to hear the news about the legendary #OmPuri sir such a talented actor and a great human being 🙏 https://t.co/7eOf5sQbN2 — Sooraj Pancholi (@soorajpancholi9) 1483681963000 Very sad news!
Image copyright Reuters Image caption Om Puri acted in both mainstream and art films in Bollywood Veteran Indian actor Om Puri, star of British hit East is East, has died aged 66. The actor suffered a heart attack at his residence in Mumbai early on Friday, reports say. Om Puri, who acted in both mainstream and art films, was known for his gritty performances in a number of landmark Indian films in the 1980s. He also appeared in a number of British films, including a cameo in Richard Attenborough's epic on Mahatma Gandhi. He was awarded an honorary OBE for his contribution to the British film industry in 2004. Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Actor Om Puri dies aged 66 Puri, who was born in 1950 in the north Indian state of Haryana, made his film debut in the 1976 film Ghashiram Kotwal. He became a well-known figure in the Indian film industry in the 1980s before he found international fame in the following decade. His roles in American and British films included the 1999 British comedy East is East about a Pakistani immigrant adjusting to life in the north of England. Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Om Puri spoke to the BBC in 1984 about his future career hopes Puri was one of India's truly successful crossover actors, doing films with stars such as Jack Nicholson and Tom Hanks, the BBC's Soutik Biswas said. His roles in Govind Nihalani's Aakrosh as a tribal man falsely accused of murder and a policeman in Ardh Satya beaten back by the system remain among the finest performances on Indian screen, Biswas added. Puri is survived by his wife Nandita Puri, who he married in 1993, and their son Ishaan. Image copyright AFP Image caption Om Puri acted with Helen Mirren in The Hundred-Foot Journey The actor is being mourned in neighbouring Pakistan with newspapers reporting prominently on his death. He had recently spoken out against the ban imposed by India on Pakistani actors working in Bollywood films, following tensions over Kashmir. Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Film Director Gurinder Chadha has been working with Om Puri on her upcoming film Viceroy's House "Pakistani artists are not terrorists," he told an Indian TV channel. The remark led to criticism by sections of the Indian media. The actor made several other comments that caused controversy in the country. These included statements on the Indian army, politicians who "loot" the country, and a comment on the controversial lynching of a Muslim man in 2015 over beef, when he said, "Those who wanted to put a ban on slaughtering cows in the country were hypocrites." Image caption Om Puri appeared in BBC TV drama The Canterbury Tales Actor and director Ananth Mahadevan, who was a close friend of Puri, paid tribute to the star. He told the BBC World Service's Newsday programme: "It's a personal loss and a loss to cinema because he was truly India's international star." Mahadevan praised Puri's "sheer versatility", adding: "He was a man that proved that you needn't be a very handsome-looking, tall, strapping guy to be a leading man. "You needed loads of talent and that is what Om proved with his sensibility and sensitivity." In a tweet two weeks ago, the actor reflected on his life and career, saying he did not have a "conventional face" but was "proud" of his success. Image copyright @OmRajeshPuri Image copyright @OmRajeshPuri Prime Minister Narendra Modi's office led the tributes to the actor: Image copyright @PMOIndia A number of leading filmmakers and actors also remembered Puri: Image copyright @ikamalhaasan Image copyright @sachin_rt Image copyright @akshaykumar Image copyright @AnupamPkher Image copyright @karanjohar Veteran of Bollywood, Hollywood and UK film industry dies in Mumbai, according to close friend Om Puri, one of India’s most critically acclaimed actors, who starred in films across Hollywood, Bollywood and the UK, has died in Mumbai. The 66-year-old was found dead at his home on Friday morning, reportedly after suffering a heart attack. Puri, born in the northern state of Haryana, made his film debut in the 1976 film Ghashiram Kotwal. A versatile artist, Puri became a key player in India’s arthouse cinema scene in the 1980s and 1990s but achieved international fame for his roles in Hollywood films such as City of Joy, Wolf, and Charlie Wilson’s War. In a tweet in December Puri reflected on his four-decade career, writing: “I have no regrets at all. I didn’t have a conventional face, but I have done well, and I am proud of it.” He received an honorary OBE in 2004 for his contribution to British cinema and in 1990 was awarded the Padma Shri, one of India’s highest civilian honours. Actors, athletes and fans, including the Indian prime minister Narendra Modi, have posted tributes to Puri on social media. Sophie Choudry (@Sophie_Choudry) A very sad day for cinema..One of our most gifted actors whose brilliant work here & abroad can never be forgotten #RIPOmPuri ji #OmPuri 🙏🏼 Rahul Dev Official (@RahulDevRising) Had the privilege of working with Om Ji in four films.A supreme talent, shocked to hear about his sad demise,can't believe it #RIP #OmPuri 🙏 Birender Singh (@ChBirenderSingh) My deepest condolences to the family & fans of veteran actor #OmPuri ji. RIP #OmPuri — sachin tendulkar (@sachin_rt) 1483681037000 It's sad to hear about the sudden demise of a great actor n friend Om puri sahib.. may his soul Rest In Peace.
Yes we did. "Every day, I learned from you," he said. President George W. Bush gave a farewell speech eight years ago from the East Room of the White House. Barack Obama rose to power as the country's first African American president with message of hope and boundless optimism for the future. "You made me a better president, and you made me a better man." He specifically identified race relations, income inequality and the state of political discourse as threats to the fabric of the republic. Note: The transcript was updated throughout the speech. He took the opportunity of the speech to a crowd in his adopted hometown of Chicago to thank to the American people for the opportunity to serve as president for two terms. But laws alone won't be enough. "In the course of a healthy debate, we'll prioritize different goals and the different means of reaching them. While we are working to correct errors, it may contain discrepancies and typographical errors. "While the top 1 percent has amassed a bigger share of wealth and income, too many of our families, in inner cities and rural counties, have been left behind — the laid-off factory worker, the waitress and health care worker who struggle to pay the bills — convinced that the game is fixed against them, that their government only serves the interests of the powerful. But without some common baseline of facts, without a willingness to admit new information and concede that your opponent might be making a fair point and that science and reason matter, we'll keep talking past each other, making common ground and compromise impossible."
Barack Obama rose to power as the country's first African American president with message of hope and boundless optimism for the future. "If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible...who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer," he told crowds in Chicago in 2008 after winning the election. In all the years since he never wavered from his mission to help foster in America what he once called the "renewal of morality". The president acted presidential even behind closed doors: even his closest aides fail to recall moments when Mr Obama gave way to roiling anger. White House staffers have nicknamed him the 'Colombo president', after the famous television detective who always catches the killer with his questions. Transcript And Analysis: Obama Addresses The Nation In Farewell Speech Enlarge this image toggle caption NICHOLAS KAMM/AFP/Getty Images NICHOLAS KAMM/AFP/Getty Images President Obama gave his farewell address to the nation on Tuesday night from his hometown of Chicago. NPR's politics team, with help from reporters and editors across the newsroom, live-annotated the speech. Portions of the transcript with added analysis are underlined in yellow, followed by context and fact checks below. With these words, President Obama wrapped up the farewell remarks of his presidency with the same soaring rhetoric of hope that he rode into the White House eight years ago. He made mention of some of his key accomplishments and thanked those who have stood by his side through the past eight years, especially his family, for which he offered an emotional tribute, as well as Vice President Joe Biden and the military. On the issue of race, Obama acknowledged the significant progress that's been made in recent decades but said that it remains an often "divisive force in our society" and noted there was an unrealistic idea after his election that we had entered a "postracial America." "If we're going to be serious about race, going forward, we must uphold laws against discrimination — in hiring, in housing, in education and the criminal justice system. "For blacks and other minorities, it means tying our own struggles for justice to the challenges that a lot of people in this country face — not only the refugee, the immigrant, the rural poor, the transgender American but also the middle-aged white man who from the outside may seem like he's got all the advantages but who's seen his world upended by economic, cultural and technological change," Obama said. He warned that "stark inequality is also corrosive to our democratic ideas." "While the top 1 percent has amassed a bigger share of wealth and income, too many of our families, in inner cities and rural counties, have been left behind — the laid-off factory worker, the waitress and health care worker who struggle to pay the bills — convinced that the game is fixed against them, that their government only serves the interests of the powerful. But without some common baseline of facts, without a willingness to admit new information and concede that your opponent might be making a fair point and that science and reason matter, we'll keep talking past each other, making common ground and compromise impossible."
Brazil's President Michel Temer, gestures during an interview with Reuters at his office in Brasilia, Brazil, January 16, 2017. SEJUC said there was no record inmates escaped. "Our state had never seen such a bloody prison uprising." Police have identified the six prisoners who led the riot and may transfer them to federal prisons, the person said. The latest violence brings the death toll of inmates killed in riots in Brazil so far this year to more than 120 killed. Members of a drug gang started the clash by invading a pavilion in the Alcaçuz prison that housed rivals, officials with Rio Grande do Norte state said in a Sunday news conference in the city of Natal. (Editing by Meredith Mazzilli and Peter Cooney) In an interview with Reuters, Temer said Brazil's federal government would build five maximum security prisons to house the most violent convicts, often members of rival drug gangs whose turf war has plunged the prison system into crisis over the past two weeks. Almost all of its 1,400 jails are run by state governments. But about six months ago, security officials and experts say, the PCC moved to fully take over trafficking routes and tried to push the Red Command aside. Brazilian military police arrived nearly 14 hours later on Sunday -- equipped with armored vehicles and a helicopter. Forensic investigators will begin identifying the corpses on Monday, they added. Moraes authorized the state to use some of the 13 million reais ($4 million) wired in recent days to upgrade and acquire prison equipment. "By using pre-fabricated buildings - which has already been done in Espirito Santo state - perhaps we can build all of these prisons in one year."
Brazil's President Michel Temer, gestures during an interview with Reuters at his office in Brasilia, Brazil, January 16, 2017. REUTERS/Adriano Machado BRASILIA Brazil aims to build nearly 30 prisons over the next year to ease chronic overcrowding in its penitentiary system as part of a package of emergency measures to tackle a wave of deadly prison riots, President Michel Temer said on Monday. In an interview with Reuters, Temer said Brazil's federal government would build five maximum security prisons to house the most violent convicts, often members of rival drug gangs whose turf war has plunged the prison system into crisis over the past two weeks. At least 140 inmates have been killed since the start of the year in riots at poorly staffed prisons run by cash-strapped state governments. Many of those killed had their heads cut off and were badly mutilated or burned. Brazil's penitentiary system, the fourth largest in the world, is home to more than 620,000 convicts and is running more than 50 percent over capacity. Almost all of its 1,400 jails are run by state governments. Brazil's existing four federal maximum security prisons - which have not seen rioting - are close to overflowing as more and more convicts are being sent from state prisons following the riots. As part of the package of measures worth more than 1 billion reais ($309 million), Temer said state governments in partnership with the federal government will also build an additional 25 prisons to reduce overcrowding. "We want to expedite the construction of these prisons because it would take two or three years using traditional methods," Temer told Reuters. "By using pre-fabricated buildings - which has already been done in Espirito Santo state - perhaps we can build all of these prisons in one year." Brazil's prisons are largely controlled by gangs, with drugs, guns and all manner of contraband entering regularly, authorities acknowledge. Jailed gang leaders continue to run their criminal networks by cellphone from their prison cells. This year's intense violence is the result of a split between Brazil's most powerful drug gang, the First Capital Command (PCC), and its main rival, the Red Command. For more than two decades the two gangs maintained an uneasy working relationship, ensuring that a steady flow of drugs and arms easily made its way over Brazil's porous borders with the world's biggest cocaine-producing nations. But about six months ago, security officials and experts say, the PCC moved to fully take over trafficking routes and tried to push the Red Command aside. The latest round of violence came at the weekend when members of the PCC slaughtered 26 other inmates in a riot at the Alcaçuz prison in the state of Rio Grande do Norte. With more than one-third of Brazil's prison population being held pending trial, Temer said his government would work with judicial authorities to speed up their hearings to reduce overcrowding. Brazil's defense minister is due to meet with his counterparts from Peru and Colombia to discuss border security this week. "This issue is also going to be discussed with state governors so that we can incentivize the fight against cross-border trafficking of drugs, the smuggling of people and materials, and arms," Temer said. REUTERS/Leo Carioca SAO PAULO Twenty-seven inmates were killed in a Brazilian prison riot that broke out on Saturday, adding to chaos in a penitentiary system in which some 140 inmates have died in gang warfare since the start of the year. Behind the bloodshed in some of the nation's prisons is an escalating feud between some of Brazil's most powerful drug gangs, which ended two decades of an uneasy working relationship about six months ago. "There is no confirmation of this, but all the recent riots across Brazil might have created an incentive for this one," said Wallber Virgolino, the state's justice secretary. Brazil's deadliest jail uprisings in decades have exposed growing turf wars between São Paulo-based gang Primeiro Comando da Capital, or PCC, and the Rio de Janeiro-based Comando Vermelho that risk plunging a chaotic penitentiary system deeper into violence. The riot began at 5 p.m. on Saturday as a gang fight between two rival factions housed in the prison's Pavilion 4 and Pavilion 5, Brazil's Ministry of Justice and Citizenship, or SEJUC, and ran until around 7 a.m. Sunday when riot police officers regained control of the prison, officials said. In Brazil's Roraima state, at least 33 inmates were killed, some of them also decapitated, in a prison riot led by a drug gang, while in more than 60 inmates died -- including the decapitation of at least six people -- during a riot in Brazil's northern Manaus state.
“Mr. “Chelsea Manning is somebody who went through the military criminal justice process, was exposed to due process, was found guilty, was sentenced for her crimes, and she acknowledged wrongdoing,” he said. "I welcome President Obama's decision to commute the sentence of my alleged source Ms. Chelsea Manning from 35 years to time served," WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange said in a statement. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Under the terms of the commutation announced by the White House on Tuesday, Ms. Manning is set to be freed on May 17 of this year rather than in 2045. When will the US government stop persecuting whistleblowers? In 2010, then Private Bradley Manning was arrested in Baghdad for leaking hundreds of thousands of classified documents that he had access to as an Army intelligence analyst. Chelsea Manning’s treachery put American lives at risk and exposed some of our nation’s most sensitive secrets. You made this happen.” The soldier has experienced some very hard times while in military prison. She was one of 209 individuals granted commutations and 64 individuals who were given pardons by Obama today. Stay strong a while longer! "President Obama now leaves in place a dangerous precedent that those who compromise our national security won't be held accountable for their crimes." “I cannot believe it – in 120 days she will be free and it will all be over. But Earnest argued that there are key differences between the two cases. She has said she was confronting gender dysphoria at the time of the leaks while deployed in Iraq. The New York Times would like to hear from readers who want to share messages and materials with our journalists.
The whistleblower, who has been imprisoned for six years for leaking state secrets, is now set to go free on 17 May Chelsea Manning, the US army soldier who became one of the most prominent whistleblowers of modern times when she exposed the nature of warfare in Iraq and Afghanistan, and who then went on to pay the price with a 35-year military prison sentence, is to be freed in May as a gift of Barack Obama in his final days as president. In the most audacious – and contentious – commutation decision to come from Obama yet, the sitting president used his constitutional power just three days before he leaves the White House to give Manning her freedom. Manning, a transgender woman, will walk from a male military prison in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, on 17 May, almost seven years to the day since she was arrested at a base outside Baghdad for offences relating to the leaking of a vast treasure trove of US state secrets to the website WikiLeaks. | Chelsea Manning Read more Nancy Hollander, Manning’s lawyer, spoke to the Guardian before she had even had the chance to pass on to the soldier the news of her release. “Oh my God!” was Hollander’s instant response to the news which she had just heard from the White House counsel. It’s incredible.” Manning, 29, is a former intelligence analyst in Iraq who was sentenced in 2013 after a military court convicted her of passing more than 700,000 documents, videos, diplomatic cables and battlefield accounts to WikiLeaks. It was the biggest breach of classified material in US history. In 2010, WikiLeaks worked with media organisations including the Guardian to publish material that offered unprecedented insight into the workings of US diplomacy. Among the files Manning leaked was a gunsight video of a US Apache helicopter firing on suspected Iraqi insurgents in 2007, killing a dozen people including two Reuters journalists. On a call with reporters, a White House official said repeatedly that the president believed Manning’s crimes were “serious” and “harmful to national security” but refused to label her a “traitor”. Margaret Huang, executive director of Amnesty International USA, said: “Chelsea Manning exposed serious abuses, and as a result her own human rights have been violated by the US government for years. Manning exposed serious abuses, and as a result her own human rights have been violated by the US government for years Margaret Huang, Amnesty International USA “President Obama was right to commute her sentence, but it is long overdue. It is unconscionable that she languished in prison for years while those allegedly implicated by the information she revealed still haven’t been brought to justice.” But the commutation was condemned by leading Republicans. Senator John McCain, chairman of the Senate armed services committee, described it as a “grave mistake” that he fears “will encourage further acts of espionage and undermine military discipline. It also devalues the courage of real whistleblowers who have used proper channels to hold our government accountable.” McCain added: “It is a sad, yet perhaps fitting commentary on President Obama’s failed national security policies that he would commute the sentence of an individual that endangered the lives of American troops, diplomats, and intelligence sources by leaking hundreds of thousands of sensitive government documents to WikiLeaks, a virulently anti-American organisation that was a tool of Russia’s recent interference in our elections.” WikiLeaks last year published emails hacked from the accounts of the Democratic National Committee and John Podesta, chairman of Hillary Clinton’s election campaign. US intelligence agencies concluded that the hacking was authorised by senior figures in the Russian government and intended to sow chaos and harm Clinton’s chances against Donald Trump. How Chelsea Manning lifted lid on harsh facts of US wars and military justice Read more Paul Ryan, the House speaker, said: “This is just outrageous. Chelsea Manning’s treachery put American lives at risk and exposed some of our nation’s most sensitive secrets. President Obama now leaves in place a dangerous precedent that those who compromise our national security won’t be held accountable for their crimes.” Tom Cotton, a senator for Arkansas and a military veteran, said: “When I was leading soldiers in Afghanistan, Private Manning was undermining us by leaking hundreds of thousands of classified documents to WikiLeaks. I don’t understand why the president would feel special compassion for someone who endangered the lives of our troops, diplomats, intelligence officers, and allies. We ought not treat a traitor like a martyr.” Responding to Cotton, a White House official said it was worth considering that the Republican supported the presidency of “someone who publicly praised WikiLeaks” and who “encouraged a foreign government to hack his opponent”, in reference to Trump. Obama’s surprise move also raises questions over the future of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, holed up at the Ecuadorian embassy in London after claiming asylum. Two women in Sweden have accused him of rape and other sexual offences, which he denies. In a tweet soon after Tuesday’s announcement, Assange thanked “everyone who campaigned for Chelsea Manning’s clemency. Your courage & determination made the impossible possible.” He did not mention his earlier pledge that he would agree to US extradition if Obama granted clemency to Manning. “The president’s decision to offer commutation was not influenced by public comments by Mr Assange or the WikiLeaks organisation,” the White House official said on the call. I can’t speak to any charges or potential charges he may be facing from the justice department.” Manning, who is a columnist for the Guardian, was the symbol of one of the harsher aspects of the Obama administration, as an official leaker who suffered a longer custodial sentence than any other whistleblower of modern times. She was one of several leakers who were prosecuted under the 1917 Espionage Act – with more individuals falling foul of that anti-spying law than under all previous US presidents combined. She has said she was confronting gender dysphoria at the time of the leaks while deployed in Iraq. She has endured recent challenges with her morale and mental health, having attempted suicide on at least one occasion last year. Jay Brown, communications director of the Human Rights Campaign, America’s biggest LGBT civil rights organisation, said: “President Obama has a strong record regarding the humane treatment of prisoners and a long commitment to LGBTQ equality. The official said the president believed six years in prison was sufficient relative to sentences given to others who committed similar crimes. “She has expressed remorse for those crimes.” Earlier on Tuesday, the White House press secretary, Josh Earnest, was asked if the NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden, currently living in Russia, could also be in line for a pardon. President Obama granted a commutation today to Chelsea Manning, a transgender soldier who was convicted of Espionage Act violations and other charges for leaking hundreds of thousands of classified documents to WikiLeaks. Manning was sentenced to 35 years in prison in 2013, and she will now be released on May 17, according to her lawyer.
In Europe, marches also took place in Berlin, Paris, Rome, Vienna, Geneva and Amsterdam. The march formed part of a worldwide day of action following the inauguration of Donald Trump to U.S. President. I'm here in solidarity with the women of America." But it's also remarkable for its peaceful nature. REUTERS/Jacky Naegelen Protesters take part in the Women's March on London, as they walk from the American Embassy to Trafalgar Square, in central London, Britain January 21, 2017. Why didn't these people vote? Watched protests yesterday but was under the impression that we just had an election! The Women's March originated in Washington DC but soon spread to be a global march calling on all concerned citizens to stand up for equality, diversity and inclusion and for women's rights to be recognised around the world as human rights Getty Images 26/32 Manila A mother carries her son as they join a rally in solidarity against the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump as the 45th President of the United States in suburban Quezon city northeast of Manila, Philippines AP 27/32 Sydney An infant is held up at a demonstration against new U.S. President Donald Trump in Sydney, Australia Getty Images 28/32 Sydney A woman attends a demonstration against new U.S. President Donald Trump in Sydney, Australia Getty Images 29/32 Sydney A woman expresses her Anti-Trump views in Sydney, Australia Getty Images 30/32 Sydeney Protesters demonstrate against new U.S. President Donald Trump in Sydney, Australia. Wow, television ratings just out: 31 million people watched the Inauguration, 11 million more than the very good ratings from 4 years ago!
The Women's Marches which took place across the United States to protest Donald Trump's inauguration may have been the largest – and most peaceful – day of protest in US history. Somewhere between 3.3 million and 4.6 million marchers made their presence known across the United States, yet no arrests were reported at the largest protests across the nation in Los Angeles, Washington D.C., New York, Chicago or Seattle. That's according to political scientists from the Universities of Connecticut and Denver, who are compiling a mammoth spreadsheet listing march turnouts from the roughly half a million that demonstrated in Washington to the single protester who picketed Show Low, Arizona. The largest single demo was in Los Angeles, where as many as 750,000 women thronged the streets. Meanwhile, sister protests across the globe attracted nearly 300,000 more attendees. Here's how the Women's March compares to some of history's largest protests (some in one city, some in thousands: some in Washington, some worldwide: some peaceful, some not): Estimating crowd size is always difficult: where several different figures are available, the chart above takes an average. The US National Park Service used to release estimates for US demos, but stopped doing so after Louis Farrakhan's 'Million Man March' in 1995, intended to unite the African-American community. Their released figure of 400,000 was far lower than Farrakhan and other organisers had hoped for, and lower than the eventual total of around 837,000 arrived at by independent researchers. It was seen as an attempt to censor the impact of the march, and lead to a bitter row which overshadowed the demo itself. Iraq War protests in 2003 hold the record for the largest demonstration both in a single city and across the globe: 3,000,000 are said to have marched in Rome, which has also been a flashpoint for labour demonstrations on a similar scale. In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump 32 show all In pictures: Women of the world march against Trump 1/32 London An image of President Donald Trump is seen on a placard during the Women's March in London, England Getty 2/32 Sydney A view of the skywriting word reading 'Trump' as thousands rally in support of equal rights in Sydney, New South Wales EPA 3/32 Rome People shout and hold signs during a rally against US newly sworn-in President Donald Trump in Rome Getty Images 4/32 London A protester holds a placard during the Women's March in London, England Getty Images 5/32 Marseille A placard ready 'Pussy grabs back' is attached to the handle bar of a bike during a 'Women's March' organized by Feminist and human rights groups in solidarity with women marching in Washington and around the world for their rights and against the reactionary politics of the newly sworn-in US President Donald Trump, at the Old Port (Vieux Port) of Marseille, southern France Getty Images 6/32 Bangkok A young Thai girl holds a "women's rights are human rights" sign at Roadhouse BBQ restaurant where many of the Bangkok Womens March participants gathered in Bangkok, Thailand Getty Images 7/32 Bangkok A Thai woman takes a photo of a "hate is not great" sign at the women's solidarity gathering in Bangkok, Thailand Getty Images 8/32 Bangkok American expats and travellers gather with the international community in Bangkok at the Roadhouse BBQ restaurant to stand in solidarity in Bangkok, Thailand Getty Images 9/32 London Protetesters gather outside The US Embassy in Grosvenor Square ahead of the Women's March in London, England Getty Images 10/32 Marseille Women's March at the Old Port (Vieux Port) of Marseille, southern France Getty Images 11/32 Marseille Protestors hold placards reading 'My body my choice, my vote my voice' during a 'Women's March' organized by Feminist and human rights groups in solidarity with women marching in Washington and around the world for their rights and against the reactionary politics of the newly sworn-in US President Donald Trump, at the Old Port (Vieux Port) of Marseille, southern France Getty Images 12/32 Rome A person holds a sign during a rally against US newly sworn-in President Donald Trump in Rome Getty Images 13/32 Kolkata Activist Sarah Annay Williamson holds a placard and shouts slogan during the Women's March rally in Kolkata, India AP 14/32 Kolkata Activists participate in the Women's March rally in Kolkata, India AP 15/32 London A Women's March placards are rested on a bench outside the US Embassy in Grosvenor Square ahead of the Women's March in London, England Getty Images 16/32 London A women carries her placard ahead of the Women's March in London, England Getty Images 17/32 Manila Women protesters shout slogans while displaying placards during a rally in solidarity against the inauguration of President Donald Trump, in suburban Quezon city, northeast of Manila, Philippines AP 18/32 Berlin Protesters attend a 'Berlin Women's March on Washington' demonstration in front of the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, Germany AP 19/32 Berlin Protesters attend a 'Berlin Women's March on Washington' demonstration in front of the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, Germany AP 20/32 Berlin Protesters attend a 'Berlin Women's March on Washington' demonstration in front of the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, Germany AP 21/32 Melbourne Protesters take part in the Melbourne rally to protest against the Trump Inauguration in Melbourne, Australia Getty Images 22/32 Macau Protesters take part in the Women's March rally in Macau Getty Images 23/32 Melbourne Womens march on Melbourne protestors marching during a rally where rights groups marched in solidarity with Americans to speak out against misogyny, bigotry and hatred Rex 24/32 Macau Protesters hold placards as they take part at the Women's March rally in Macau Getty Images 25/32 Macau Protesters hold placards as they take part at the Women's March rally in Macau, Macau. The Women's March originated in Washington DC but soon spread to be a global march calling on all concerned citizens to stand up for equality, diversity and inclusion and for women's rights to be recognised around the world as human rights Getty Images 26/32 Manila A mother carries her son as they join a rally in solidarity against the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump as the 45th President of the United States in suburban Quezon city northeast of Manila, Philippines AP 27/32 Sydney An infant is held up at a demonstration against new U.S. President Donald Trump in Sydney, Australia Getty Images 28/32 Sydney A woman attends a demonstration against new U.S. President Donald Trump in Sydney, Australia Getty Images 29/32 Sydney A woman expresses her Anti-Trump views in Sydney, Australia Getty Images 30/32 Sydeney Protesters demonstrate against new U.S. President Donald Trump in Sydney, Australia. The marches in Australia were organised to show solidarity with those marching on Washington DC and around the world in defense of women's rights and human rights Getty 31/32 London Protesters march from The US Embassy in Grosvenor Square towards Trafalgar Square during the Women's March in London, England Getty 32/32 London Protesters carrying banners take part in the Women's March on London, as they stand in Trafalgar Square, in central London Reuters Organisers of an anti-corruption movement in India in 2012, meanwhile, claimed over 100,000,000 workers were involved in some capacity. The Women's March does seem to have been the largest day of protest in US history, though other individual marches have exceeded the tally from Los Angeles or Washington, and in proportion to the country's population then some historic demos may have attracted a larger turnout. At a 1971 May Day action in Washington to protest the Vietnam War, protesters stopping traffic were subjected to the largest mass arrest in US history, as some 10,000 people were held by the National Guard. Then-President-elect Donald Trump attends and speaks at the Chairman's Global Dinner in Washington on Tuesday (Ricky Carioti/The Washington Post) President Trump weighed in for the first time on the massive protests against his presidency that took place in Washington and around the globe, stating sarcastically on Twitter on Sunday morning that he was “under the impression that we just had an election!” His tweet came in response to more than one million people gathering Saturday for the Women’s March on Washington and at other rallies in the United States and abroad, meant as a rejoinder to his inauguration the day before. 1 of 44 Full Screen Autoplay Close Skip Ad × Photos from the scene of the Women’s March on Washington View Photos The protest march, a rejoinder to the inauguration of President Trump, was the largest D.C. rally in years. [Trump wages war against the media as demonstrators protest his presidency] The enormous event in Washington, which organizers said drew as many as half a million people, was packed with celebrities, including Madonna, Amy Schumer, America Ferrera and Ashley Judd. “Even if I don't always agree, I recognize the rights of people to express their views.” [A divided nation meets: Scenes from inauguration weekend] In another tweet Sunday morning, Trump, who on Saturday accused the media of underreporting the crowd size at his swearing-in, boasted that the television ratings for his inauguration were higher than those for President Obama’s swearing-in four years ago. Wow, television ratings just out: 31 million people watched the Inauguration, 11 million more than the very good ratings from 4 years ago! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 22, 2017 “Wow, television ratings just out: 31 million people watched the Inauguration, 11 million more than the very good ratings from 4 years ago!” Trump wrote. REUTERS/Hannibal Hanschke Participants of a rally regarding women's rights hold placards as they march in Wellington, New Zealand, January 21, 2017 the day after Donald Trump's inauguration as President of the United States.
We see you. That includes President Trump, in particular, who asked his vice president to attend the rally, according to Pence. "Life is winning in America!" REUTERS/Aaron P. Bernstein The annual March for Life concludes at the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, DC, U.S. January 27, 2017. As governor of Indiana, he signed what were seen as some of the nation's strictest abortion laws. We respect you," Conway said. “They have been working on this day in and day out. Mike Pence told the audience. REUTERS/Yuri Gripas Thousands of people gather for the annual March for Life rally in Washington. toggle caption Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images Once more, the National Mall has swelled with demonstrators. "It is a right; it is not a privilege; it is not a choice. He certainly needs to learn how to better articulate his message of being pro-life.” “I think it’s fine to have concerns — I certainly have concerns and I think many of us do — and I think we have reasons to be hopeful.” Trump’s supporting cast is cited by many as crucial to his credibility. Trump has said Roe v. Wade should be overturned and has vowed to appoint an anti-abortion justice to fill the Supreme Court seat left vacant by the death of Justice Antonin Scalia last year. Abortion rights supporters say cutting off funding for abortion providers will prevent poor women from getting other critical heath care and birth control that could prevent unwanted pregnancies. REUTERS/James Lawler Duggan The annual March for Life rally takes place on the grounds of the Washington Monument. “We’ve had other pro-life administrations,” Mancini said, “and they had other priorities along the way.” The renewed focus comes at a notable time.
Abortion opponents met Friday for their 44th annual march in Washington with reasons for buoyant optimism: Republican control on Capitol Hill and a newly inaugurated president who appears intent on proving his later-in-life embrace of their cause. On Monday, President Trump reinstated a ban on funding international organizations that provide abortion services or related counseling, reversing President Obama’s action eight years earlier. Members of Congress, meantime, are pushing several abortion-limiting measures that were blocked during the Obama years. “I’m very optimistic that things are going to go well for the pro-life movement and unborn children,” said Carol Tobias, president of the National Right to Life Committee. “I think this has been a fantastic first week for the administration.” Vice President Mike Pence, who on Friday became the highest-ranking elected official ever to appear at the march, told tens of thousands gathered near the Washington Monument that the administration will push for a permanent ban on taxpayer money for organizations involved in abortion. Thousands of marchers carried signs demanding that Planned Parenthood be stripped of federal funds, although under current law it is not allowed to use federal money for abortion services. “Life is winning in America, and today is a celebration of that progress,” Pence said. In a word, life is winning in America because of all of you.” As with many other issues, Trump’s election upended expectations, turning what anti-abortion advocates feared would have been another term in the wilderness under Hillary Clinton into a new opportunity. It also paved the way for renewed attention to federal actions, after years of focusing their battles in states with more powerful allies. “We’re living at the apex of a 40-year, state-by-state effort by the anti-choice people,” said Ilyse Hogue, president of NARAL Pro-Choice America, the prominent abortion rights organization. ... We have to be prepared for the fact that they’ve got all the pieces in place to do real damage.” Trump makes for an odd savior for abortion opponents, given that in 1999 he described himself in a television interview as “very pro-choice” despite hating abortion. As late as 2000 he reiterated that position, but by 2011 was describing himself as opposing abortion except in cases of rape, incest or threat to the life of the woman. He favors the repeal of Roe vs. Wade, the 1973 Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion. But his struggle to find the right balance with this new positioning was demonstrated in an interview last March with MSNBC’s Chris Matthews, in which Trump broke with the position usually taken by anti-abortion organizations to say that “there has to be some form of punishment” for women who receive abortions. His campaign later issued a statement saying that only doctors who performed abortions should be punished. Abby Johnson, a former Planned Parenthood worker turned anti-abortion activist, said she hoped Trump would improve his ability to deliver the movement’s message. He certainly needs to learn how to better articulate his message of being pro-life.” “I think it’s fine to have concerns — I certainly have concerns and I think many of us do — and I think we have reasons to be hopeful.” Trump’s supporting cast is cited by many as crucial to his credibility. “Pence has been a stalwart,” said Mancini, alluding to his strong anti-abortion record while in Congress and later as Indiana governor. No recent Republican president — including Ronald Reagan and both George Bushes — was able to curb abortion rights or shift the country’s views on it. A study released this month showed that in 2014, the last year for which statistics are available, the rate of abortions fell to the lowest level since legalization in 1973 — 14.6 per every 1,000 women ages 15-44. That was 14% lower than the rate in 2011. Advocates on both sides of the abortion divide give credit for the drop to the expanded availability of contraceptives and the closure of clinics. Cracking down on clinics, pressing legislatures to outlaw abortion earlier in pregnancy and requiring women to fulfill multiple requirements before they obtain the procedure have been hallmarks of the state-by-state strategy of the anti-abortion movement. Judicial appointments represent perhaps Trump’s most powerful tool in rewarding the anti-abortion community for its support in November. Scalia died almost a year ago, but Senate Republicans blocked Obama’s proposed replacement, hoping to save the choice of nominee for a Republican president. Trump’s pick next week will not give anti-abortion justices the majority needed to reverse Roe vs. Wade, but any future slots well could. “We have had for 30 to 40 years the ability to pass pro-life legislation in the states; our problem was that judges would always enjoin the laws,” said Tobias of the National Right to Life group. The March for Life took place in the same area where even more massive crowds flooded Washington a day after Trump's inauguration in favor of women's rights, including abortion rights. Pence praised "the election of pro-life majorities in the Congress of the United States of America," Trump's upcoming nomination of an anti-abortion Supreme Court justice, and the president's reinstatement on Monday of a policy that cuts off U.S. funding to healthcare providers that promote or provide abortions overseas.
There were also protests in London, Paris, Berlin, Jakarta, Manila, Hong Kong, Sydney and Melbourne. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Democrats said the president’s criticism of Judge Robart was a dangerous development. Syrians had faced an indefinite ban under the executive order. The court ruling was the first move in what could be months of legal challenges to Trump’s clampdown on immigration. It has the ability to hold everyone accountable to it, and that includes the president of the United States,” Washington state Atty. The ninth US circuit court of appeals in San Francisco made the ruling early on Sunday morning, and asked those challenging the ban to respond to the appeal filed by the Trump administration late on Saturday night, and the justice department to file a counter-response by Monday afternoon. “I am very happy that we are going to travel today. View all New York Times newsletters. “The law is a powerful thing. The Department of Homeland Security said it had suspended implementation of the order, including procedures to flag travelers from the countries designated in Mr. Trump’s order. “It’s hard for the president to demand that courts respect his inherent authority when he is disrespecting the inherent authority of the judiciary. Many visa holders had changed their plans to fly to Massachusetts even if it wasn’t their final destination because of an earlier Boston federal judge’s temporary order against Trump’s ban that was being applied locally when the national order came down from Seattle. Bad people are very happy!” he tweeted. But in a statement, the department defended the order as “lawful and appropriate.” Advertisement Continue reading the main story In his first statement on the matter on Friday evening, the White House press secretary, Sean Spicer, described the Seattle judge’s action as “outrageous.” Minutes later, the White House issued a new statement deleting the word outrageous.
The legal maneuvering led Mr. Trump to lash out at Judge James Robart of the Federal District Court in Seattle throughout the day, prompting criticism that the president had failed to respect the judicial branch and its power to check on his authority. Advertisement Continue reading the main story In a Twitter post on Saturday, Mr. Trump wrote, “The opinion of this so-called judge, which essentially takes law-enforcement away from our country, is ridiculous and will be overturned!” The Justice Department’s filing sought to have the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit block the Seattle judge’s decision and asked that the lower court’s ruling be stayed pending the appeal. Video In its argument for an appeal, the Justice Department had said the president had an “unreviewable authority” to suspend the entry of any class of foreigners. It said the ruling by Judge Robart was too broad, “untethered” to the claims of the State of Washington, and in conflict with a ruling by another federal district judge, in Boston, who had upheld the order. Advertisement Continue reading the main story The Ninth Circuit court moved quickly to reject the administration’s appeal, a measure of the urgency and intense interest in the case. Advertisement Continue reading the main story The Justice Department argued that the president acted well within his constitutional authority. Blocking the order, it concluded, “immediately harms the public by thwarting enforcement of an Executive Order issued by the President, based on his national security judgment.” Judge Robart, who was appointed by President George W. Bush, declared in his ruling on Friday that “there’s no support” for the administration’s argument that “we have to protect the U.S. from individuals” from the affected countries. The State Department said Saturday that refugees, including Syrians, could begin arriving as early as Monday. Syrians had faced an indefinite ban under the executive order. Despite Mr. Trump’s vehement criticism of the ruling and the certainty that it would be appealed, the government agencies at the center of the issue, the State Department and the Department of Homeland Security, moved quickly to comply. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Lawrence Bartlett, the State Department’s director of refugee resettlement, wrote in a departmental email that officials were working to rebook travel for refugees who had previously been scheduled to leave for the United States over a three-week period that will end Feb. 17. A State Department official said the extended time frame accounted for the fact that some refugees will have to make difficult journeys back to airports from refugee camps. A United Nations spokesman, Leonard Doyle, said about 2,000 refugees were ready to travel. Airlines, citing American customs officials, were telling passengers from the seven countries that their visas were once again valid. Those carriers, however, have yet to report an uptick in travel, and there appeared to be no rush to airports by visa holders in Europe and the Middle East intent on making their way to the United States. Etihad Airways, the United Arab Emirates’ national carrier, said in a statement: “Following advice received today from the U.S. Customs and Border Protection unit at Abu Dhabi Airport, the airline will again be accepting nationals from the seven countries named last week.” Other Arab carriers, including Qatar Airways, issued similar statements. Advertisement Continue reading the main story A group of advocacy organizations that had worked to overturn the executive order and help immigrants and refugees stranded at airports issued a statement on Saturday afternoon encouraging travelers “to rebook travel to the United States immediately.” Advertisement Continue reading the main story “We have been in contact with hundreds of people impacted by the ban, and we are urging them to get on planes as quickly as possible,” Clare Kane, a law student intern at the Jerome N. Frank Legal Services Organization at Yale Law School, one of the groups involved, said in a statement. “We don’t know what the effect will be, but we’re working to get more information,” the embassy told The Associated Press in a statement. Please verify you're not a robot by clicking the box. The Department of Homeland Security said it had suspended implementation of the order, including procedures to flag travelers from the countries designated in Mr. Trump’s order. But in a statement, the department defended the order as “lawful and appropriate.” Advertisement Continue reading the main story In his first statement on the matter on Friday evening, the White House press secretary, Sean Spicer, described the Seattle judge’s action as “outrageous.” Minutes later, the White House issued a new statement deleting the word outrageous. It recalled the attacks he made during the presidential campaign on a federal district judge in California who was presiding over a class-action lawsuit involving Trump University. Jay Inslee of Washington, whose state filed the suit that led to the injunction, said the attack was “beneath the dignity” of the presidency and could “lead America to calamity.” Photo Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, the Democratic leader, said in a statement that Mr. Trump’s outburst could weigh on the confirmation process for Judge Neil M. Gorsuch, the president’s nominee for the Supreme Court. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Until now, Mr. Trump had been comparatively restrained about the multiple federal judges who have ruled against parts of his immigration order, even as he staunchly defended its legality. Some analysts had speculated that he did not want a repeat of the storm during the campaign when he accused Judge Gonzalo P. Curiel of having a conflict of interest in the Trump University case because the judge’s family was of Mexican heritage. Advertisement Continue reading the main story But on Saturday morning, Mr. Trump let loose, and in the afternoon he unleashed another volley of attacks on the ruling. In one Twitter message, he questioned why a judge could “halt a Homeland Security travel ban,” which would allow “anyone, even with bad intentions,” to enter the country. “They know that if certain people are allowed in it’s death & destruction!” Photo The Washington State case was filed on Monday, and it was assigned to Judge Robart that day. On Friday evening, Judge Robart issued a temporary restraining order, requiring the government to revert to its previous immigration policies as the case moved forward. Advertisement Continue reading the main story “The executive order adversely affects the states’ residents in areas of employment, education, business, family relations and freedom to travel,” Judge Robart wrote. He said the states had been hurt because the order affected their public universities and their tax bases. Advertisement Continue reading the main story “Does the executive order violate the equal protection of the laws, amount to an establishment of religion, violate rights of free exercise, or deprive aliens of due process of law?” Professor Blackman asked. The analysis is bare bones, and leaves the court of appeals, as well as the Supreme Court, with no basis to determine whether the nationwide injunction was proper.” While large crowds had yet to materialize at airports, there were individual stories of people trying to enter the country.
U.S. “In the Obama administration, there would have been a lot of debate, possibly too much,” said Loren DeJonge Shulman, who was a senior adviser in Obama’s NSC. A statement by the Yemeni embassy in Washington said the government "stresses that it has not suspended any programs with regards to counterterrorism operations in Yemen with the United States Government". U.S. defense officials said they were investigating the reports of civilian casualties in the raid. But White House spokesman Sean Spicer defended the operation on Wednesday, calling it "absolutely a success." Seven more women and children were injured. More than a dozen al Qaeda members were also killed, the Pentagon said. The raid in al-Bayda province, approved by new U.S. President Donald Trump, resulted in a gun battle that left one Navy SEAL dead and an American aircraft a charred wreck. The men came from America, got off the planes and the planes bombed us.” Although the US has carried out frequent drone attacks aimed at Aqap in recent years, this was the first raid involving US ground troops since 2014. Villagers told the Bureau of Investigative Journalism (BIJ) that 25 civilians died alongside a group of militants, including nine children under the age of 13. “We are normal people and have nothing to do with [al-Qaida] or [Yemeni rebel movement] the Houthis or anyone. Kevin Harrington, the former manager of a Thiel investment fund with minimal foreign policy experience, was named last week as deputy assistant to the president for strategic planning. A deputy principals session was held on 26 January, but according to sources familiar with the meeting it was simply asked to rubber-stamp the president’s decision.
Members of the Yemeni army ride on the back of a military truck near the Red Sea coast city of al-Mokha, Yemen January 23, 2017. REUTERS/Fawaz Salman Women walk past a graffiti, denouncing strikes by U.S. drones in Yemen, painted on a wall in Sanaa, Yemen February 6, 2017. REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah WASHINGTON/DUBAI Yemen said on Wednesday it had not suspended counter-terrorism operations with the U.S. government, despite controversy over a U.S. commando raid on al Qaeda militants in which several civilians were also killed. The raid in al-Bayda province, approved by new U.S. President Donald Trump, resulted in a gun battle that left one Navy SEAL dead and an American aircraft a charred wreck. Local medics said several women and children were killed. Yemeni officials told Reuters that Sanaa had not withdrawn its permission for the United States to carry out special operations ground missions but had made clear their "reservations" about the last operation. A statement by the Yemeni embassy in Washington said the government "stresses that it has not suspended any programs with regards to counterterrorism operations in Yemen with the United States Government". The Yemeni government "reiterates its firm position that any counterterrorism operations carried out in Yemen should continue to be in consultation with Yemeni authorities and have precautionary measures to prevent civilian casualties." Yemeni President Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi has met with the U.S. ambassador to Yemen and "made clear his reservations about the problems with the last operation," a senior Yemeni official told Reuters. U.S. defense officials said they were investigating the reports of civilian casualties in the raid. Senator John McCain criticized the operation, telling NBC news on Tuesday: "When you lose a $75 million airplane and, more importantly, an American life is lost … I don't believe you can call it a success." But White House spokesman Sean Spicer defended the operation on Wednesday, calling it "absolutely a success." "I think anybody who undermines the success of that raid, owes an apology and disservice to the life of Chief Owens," Spicer said, referring to the Navy SEAL who died. The Yemeni government has supported a U.S. campaign against the country's powerful al Qaeda branch for more than a decade. U.S. TO WORK WITH HADI The State Department said the United States would continue working with Hadi "and his representatives to ensure that this important partnership remains solid in order to ultimately eradicate" al Qaeda and Islamic State from Yemen. The Jan. 29 commando raid was only the second publicly acknowledged ground attack by U.S. forces in Yemen. U.S. military officials told Reuters last week that the recent operation went ahead without sufficient intelligence, ground support or adequate backup preparations. As a result, three officials said, the attacking SEAL team found itself dropping onto a reinforced al Qaeda base defended by landmines, snipers, and a larger than expected contingent of heavily armed Islamist extremists. But the U.S. military's Central Command said last week that it only asks for operations it believes have a good chance of success based on its planning. A White House official has said the operation was thoroughly vetted by the previous administration and that the previous defense secretary had signed off on it in January. The situation in Yemen is complicated by a civil war pitting the Saudi-backed government against the Houthi movement aligned with Iran. Although the government is recognized internationally, the Houthis control many of Yemen's main population centers including the capital Sanaa. The U.S. operation may also have created a headache for the government not just by killing innocent people but also a local al Qaeda commander, Abdulraoof al-Dhahab, who was an ally of pro-government tribes fighting the Houthis.. The deaths could alienate those armed tribes fighting for the government cause and aid al Qaeda recruitment. "It was wrong to kill him and the children...he fought the Houthis and did not have any thought of launching attacks abroad. If the government allowed this to happen, it was a mistake," one tribal leader from al-Bayda said. More than a dozen al Qaeda members were also killed, the Pentagon said. Photo WASHINGTON — Yemen’s government said on Wednesday that it had requested a “reassessment” of an American commando raid last month that killed several women and children and closer coordination on future operations, but said that it had not suspended future raids by United States Special Operations forces. Photo Citing American officials, The New York Times had reported on Tuesday that Yemeni authorities, angry about the civilian casualties incurred last month in the first counterterrorism operation authorized by President Trump, had withdrawn permission for the United States to run Special Operations ground missions against suspected terrorist groups in the country. But on Wednesday, Yemeni officials publicly backtracked somewhat from what they had told White House officials, caught between the public outrage at home over civilian deaths and fear of losing American counterterrorism assistance. In Cairo, however, Yemen’s foreign minister, Abdul Malik al-Mekhlafi, called for the review of the operation, in which one American commando and some 14 fighters of Al Qaeda died, adding that “Yemen continues to cooperate with the United States and continues to abide by all the agreements.” Yemen’s embassy in Washington said in a statement that it had not suspended any counterterrorism programs with the United States. But hinting that Yemeni leaders were not fully informed in advance about the mission, the embassy also said that “any counterterrorism operations carried out in Yemen should continue to be in consultation with Yemeni authorities and have precautionary measures to prevent civilian casualties.” The raid, which suffered a number of failings and faced unexpected resistance, was an early test of Mr. Trump’s national security decision-making — and his willingness to rely on the assurances of his military advisers. Sidelining of Trump’s national security council worries experts, who liken decision-making process that led to civilian deaths to ‘shooting from the hip’ The Yemeni government said on Wednesday it wants a rethink of US counter-terrorist operations on its territory after a botched commando raid on 29 January that left 25 civilians dead. Villagers told the Bureau of Investigative Journalism (BIJ) that 25 civilians died alongside a group of militants, including nine children under the age of 13. When our children are killed, they are quiet.” Villagers also told the BIJ that people trying to flee the gun battle between US commandos and Aqap militants were cut down by helicopter gunfire.
He was in the house presenting an award, after all. It won best rock performance, best alternative music album and an engineering prize. Advertisement Continue reading the main story The show had other moments of levity. Grammys 2017: Best moments Highlights from the 2017 Grammy Awards at the Staples Center. Read more “I’m sorry for swearing and I’m sorry for starting again,” Adele said. Adele also won for song and record of the year (“Hello”) among her five Grammys. Chicago's Chance the Rapper made history Sunday at the Grammy Awards. Best Kind of Prince tribute: Just let the Time do their thing. The night had been seen as a contest between Adele and Beyoncé, two superdivas who were up against each other in all major categories. These were Mr. Bowie’s first musical Grammys; he won a video award in 1985 and a lifetime achievement citation in 2006. Lead singer James Hetfield’s microphone failed, leading him to share the microphone with Lady Gaga, who performed with the metal band. At least now we know she doesn’t lip sync: Adele messed up her tribute to George Michael and began again, apologizing profusely. And finally.” A new host tries to make his mark Photo James Corden, the host of “The Late Late Show” and new host of the Grammys, made quite an entrance, falling down a flight of stairs on the stage after a comic bit revolving around technical difficulties involving a hydraulic lift. Who are we to argue? On second thought … nah. “I just sat at my dining room table and wrote a song for my kids one day,” Ms. McKenna said.
Though he was denied album of the year, which went to Adele for “25,” Chance the Rapper made Grammy history Sunday. The 23-year-old South Side artist beat out his primary inspiration, Kanye West, and Drake for best best rap album for “Coloring Book,” and also won best new artist. Chance’s first Grammy, for best rap performance (“No Problem”), broke an invisible barrier. The rapper has never sold a single piece of recorded music, instead making his music available for free streaming on-line while developing a worldwide following. Recordings that were not commercially sold were previously banned from Grammy consideration, but the academy relaxed its eligibility standards last year, paving the way for Chance’s victory. Grammys 2017: Best moments Highlights from the 2017 Grammy Awards at the Staples Center. See more videos Chance also solidified the bond between 20th Century Chicago gospel and 21st Century Chicago hip-hop in a fervent performance with a white-robed choir. Adele also won for song and record of the year (“Hello”) among her five Grammys. As for the rest of the nationally televised broadcast, its first hour could be divided into two categories: Before Beyonce, and everything else. The dichotomy between the two leading candidates for album of the year was dramatically underlined by their performances. While Adele was stately and dignified – and briefly teary-eyed after an emotional tribute to George Michael that she cut short and then re-started -- Beyonce brought an ethereal, abstract earth-mother vibe to a performance that was a mixture of spoken word and dreamy abstraction. One imagines a large portion of America wondering, “What just happened?” and hoping that Adele would come back soon. Some notes, queries and smart-aleck observations from the Grammys telecast: Schizophrenic opening: First there was Adele alone on a circular stage ringed in lights saying “Hello” to the nationwide audience. The ‘80s crawled into a corner to die, until …: Carrie Underwood and Keith Urban resurrected the cheesiest production values of that decade’s pop mainstream in their synth-pop-country duet on “The Fighter.” Spare us: Now we know what the members of Twenty-One Pilots look like in their skivvies while giving a self-empowerment speech. The night’s best music criticism award goes go … Rihanna: As Bruno Mars embarrassed himself with a second-tier bump-and-grind bedroom come-on, the dismissive chuckle from Rihanna spoke volumes. Incisive Grammys critique alert, Part 2: As Katy Perry sang while promoting her latest single: "Happily numb, so comfortable, we're living in a bubble." It’s about time: The redoubtable if little known soul singer and songwriter William Bell finally got some recognition as he poured out his troubles with “Born Under a Bad Sign” with guitarist Gary Clark Jr. Albert King, for whom Bell originally wrote the song, undoubtedly would’ve been proud. MOST READ ENTERTAINMENT NEWS THIS HOUR Make no small plans: In an acceptance speech, Beyonce said her aim with "Lemonade" was to “give a voice to our pain, our struggles … our history." Don’t laugh, it makes sense: That Lady Gaga-Metallica collaboration wasn’t as far-fetched as it seemed – I’ve met hardcore Slayer fans at her shows. Besides, when singer James Hetfield’s microphone took a nap, the image of Gaga and Hetfield screaming into each other’s faces underlined the boldness that most of the awards ceremony was lacking. Biggest letdown: They held a “Saturday Night Fever” 40th anniversary tribute and they didn’t bring John Travolta strutting on stage in a white suit? The next best thing to Prince in ‘80s Minneapolis was Morris Day, whose mighty Time put some swag into funk and was a kicking band to boot, with Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, and their performance affirmed they haven’t lost an ounce of pizzazz. Creepiest Prince tribute: That would be Bruno Mars, who had the costume, the hair and the sound just right but somehow still felt all wrong. RELATED STORIES: Grammy Award winners 2017: Complete list Adele bests Beyoncé and the Grammys reach peak irrelevance Grammys 2017: The night's most memorable performances James Corden brings mean tweets, slapstick and Carpool Karaoke as Grammys' good humor man Anderson .Paak teams with A Tribe Called Quest to perform medley, and Busta Rhymes blasts Donald Trump Adele starts over during George Michael tribute at Grammys How Beyoncé pulled off that Grammy performance Chance the Rapper wins his first Grammy Chance the Rapper, Jennifer Hudson shine at Clive Davis' pre-Grammy gala Greg Kot's Grammy predictions: Who will win, who got shafted The singer cursed and asked to restart a slowed-down performance of Fastlove after problems with the sound Adele stopped her tribute to George Michael and cursed, before starting again, during the 59th annual Grammy awards on Sunday night. The singer apologized on stage for her second botched Grammys performance, saying that she had to restart the slowed-down arrangement of Fastlove after failing to nail the sound. Grammys 2017: performances, winners and red carpet looks - live! There was also concern in the music industry that just such an outcome — with a white woman defeating a black woman in all top awards — would feed a brewing resentment that the Grammys too often fail to recognize minority artists in the top categories.
No further details were given. However, Karnavian told journalists, in this case, "there was allegedly a dangerous substance in the sprayer." Image copyright AFP Image caption Kim Jong-nam had been critical of the North Korean government A North Korean national has been arrested over the killing of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's half-brother, Malaysian police say. North Korea has said it will reject the result of the autopsy. It has demanded that Malaysia immediately release the body. An Indonesian woman, a Malaysian man and a woman with a Vietnamese passport were detained earlier. Pyongyang has made no public comments on the issue. JUST WATCHED Who killed Kim Jong Nam? Mr Kim died after he was attacked at Kuala Lumpur airport on Monday while waiting to board a flight to Macau. We need a DNA sample of a family member to match the profile of the dead person. Aishah and the other suspects were part of a crime scene reconstruction at the airport Friday, according to the statement. Selangor Police Chief Abdul Samah Mat said the latest suspect was arrested at a condominium in Selangor state, but he declined to give further details. Three people have been arrested in connection with the death: an Indonesian woman, a woman with Vietnamese identification and a Malaysian man, thought to be the boyfriend of one of the female suspects. South Korean authorities believe suspects sprayed or splashed a poisonous liquid into his face, causing him to collapse and die shortly afterwards on the way to hospital. 8/19 A poster on the window next to one of the venues we visited in Pyongyang 9/19 Kids playing football next to the Arch of Triumph.
Jakarta, Indonesia (CNN) Authorities have arrested a fourth suspect in the mysterious death of the half brother of North Korea's leader. He is one of four people detained in the death of Kim Jong Nam , the estranged half brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. Selangor Police Chief Abdul Samah Mat said the latest suspect was arrested at a condominium in Selangor state, but he declined to give further details. The victim was on his way to catch a flight Monday morning to see his family in Macau when he died. Police say they believe he was sprayed with poison as he waited to board the flight at Kuala Lumpur International Airport in Malaysia. In addition to the North Korean man, an Indonesian woman, a Malaysian man and another woman carrying Vietnamese identification have been arrested. 'She was used' The Indonesian woman, identified as Siti Aishah, thought she was participating in a television prank show when she squirted liquid in the victim's face, Indonesian police said. Aishah said she was "not aware it was an assassination attempt by alleged foreign agents," Indonesian police chief Tito Karnavian told reporters in Aceh Province. She said she had sprayed others in a similar manner "three to four times (before)." However, Karnavian told journalists, in this case, "there was allegedly a dangerous substance in the sprayer." 02:42 Aishah said "she was given a few dollars for the job," Karnavian said. Indonesia's request to obtain consular access to Aishah has not been granted, Lalu Muhammad Iqbal Songell of the Indonesian Foreign Ministry said Saturday in a statement. Aishah and the other suspects were part of a crime scene reconstruction at the airport Friday, according to the statement. Indonesian police did not confirm who provided the sprayer to the suspects. Asked about the information on Aishah released by the Indonesian police, Mat told CNN that it did not come from the Malaysian police. Twists and turns This is the latest bizarre detail to emerge in the death of Kim Jong Nam. The events leading up to his death are sketchy, but Selangor State Criminal Investigations Department Chief Fadzil Ahmat told Reuters Kim "felt like someone grabbed or held his face from behind." JUST WATCHED S. Korea: Kim Jong Un's half-brother murdered Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH S. Korea: Kim Jong Un's half-brother murdered 02:00 Kim felt dizzy and immediately went to an airport customer assistance counter to seek medical help. Malaysian police have declined to release his body to North Korea without DNA from next of kin "This is a Malaysian investigation. The Selangor police chief said he had not received a toxicology report. Malaysia's police chief, Inspector General Khalid Abu Bakar, told CNN on Saturday that the authorities are willing to carry out a second autopsy if it is requested by his family. North Korea said Friday it would "reject" the results of a "forced" autopsy on one of its citizens that was not witnessed by its officials, according to a statement read by the country's ambassador to Malaysia, Kang Chol. Image copyright AFP Image caption Kim Jong-nam had been critical of the North Korean government A North Korean national has been arrested over the killing of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's half-brother, Malaysian police say. The first North Korean to be arrested over Kim Jong-nam's death was named as Ri Jong Chol, 46. Police believe poison was sprayed into Mr Kim's face as he waited to board a flight from Kuala Lumpur to Macau. One of the detained women, an Indonesian national named as Siti Aisyah, is said to have told Malaysian police she had been paid to perform what she thought was a prank. Image copyright REX/Shutterstock Image caption This CCTV image has been broadcast by South Korean and Malaysian media Kim is believed to have been attacked in the airport departure hall on Monday by two women, using some form of chemical. A grainy image taken from security camera footage, which has been broadcast in South Korea and Malaysia, shows a woman wearing a white T-shirt with the letters "LOL" written on the front. South Korea's intelligence agency has accused the country's rivals in the north of assassinating Kim Jong-nam, saying Pyongyang had wanted to kill him for years but that he was being protected by China. He had spoken out in the past against his family's dynastic control of North Korea and in a 2012 book was quoted as saying he believed his younger half-brother lacked leadership qualities.
officials. CNN, BBC, The New York Times, LA Times, New York Daily News, BuzzFeed, The Hill, and the Daily Mail were among the news outlets barred from the gathering. We have sought clarification from the White House Press team. Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images 16/17 Reporters leave after failing to get access to an off camera briefing with White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer and a small group of reporters instead of the normal on camera briefing at the White House on February 24, 2017 in Washington, DC. Advertisement Continue reading the main story “They came to us and said the story is not true. Some of the blocked outlets, including CNN, have been singled out by President Donald Trump as sources of "fake news". "The Wall Street Journal strongly objects to the White House's decision to bar certain media outlets from today's gaggle,” a spokesperson for the newspaper said in a statement. The F.B.I. to rebut a New York Times article last week detailing contacts between Mr. Trump’s associates and Russian intelligence officials. Joel Simon, executive director of the Committee to Protect Journalists, also called the decision alarming. Please try again later. "They shouldn't be allowed to use sources unless they use somebody's name. Source: Al Jazeera and news agencies “We decided to add a couple of additional people beyond the pool. on Friday declined to provide its account of those conversations. The Washington Post did not send a reporter to the session. Spicer invited only a pool of news organisations that represents and shares reporting with the larger press corps.
White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer on Friday hand-selected news outlets to participate in an off-camera “gaggle” with reporters inside his West Wing office instead of the James S Brady Press Briefing Room. The news outlets blocked from the press briefing include organisations that President Trump has criticised by name. Instead, the press secretary hand-picked news outlets including Breitbart News, One America News Network and The Washington Times, all news organisations with far-right leanings. “Nothing like this has ever happened at the White House in our long history of covering multiple administrations of different parties,” Dean Baquet, executive editor of The New York Times, said in a statement. Free media access to a transparent government is obviously of crucial national interest.” BuzzFeed’s editor-in-chief, Ben Smith, also responded to his outlet being barred from the briefing: “While we strongly object to the White House’s apparent attempt to punish news outlets whose coverage it does not like, we won’t let these latest antics distract us from the work of continuing to cover this administration fairly and aggressively.” And the BBC's Washington bureau chief, Paul Danahar, said: “We understand there may be occasions when, due to space or circumstances, the White House restricts press events to the established pool. On this occasion selected media were allowed to attend the briefing and the selected media, including the BBC, were not. "The BBC has a representative at every daily White House briefing so we are not clear why we were barred from today's. Our reporting will remain fair and impartial regardless.” Several media outlets including the Associated Press and Time magazine declined to attend the briefing to boycott the President's decision. "The Wall Street Journal strongly objects to the White House's decision to bar certain media outlets from today's gaggle,” a spokesperson for the newspaper said in a statement. Fox News anchor Bret Baier discouraged conservative news outlets who celebrated the gaggle, citing organisations that defended his network when former President Obama tried to freeze out Fox News in 2009. “Some at CNN and New York Times stood with Fox News when the Obama admin attacked us and tried to exclude us,” he wrote on Twitter, “a White House gaggle should be open to all credentialed orgs.” Donald Trump: We are fighting the phoney, fake news President Trump renewed his attacks on the media by again calling news outlets “the enemy of the people” at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington DC. "I'm against the people that make up stories and make up sources," he told his audience. "They shouldn't be allowed to use sources unless they use somebody's name. His comments come on the heel of reports that President Trump’s Chief of Staff Reince Priebus privately asked the FBI to prevent news stories of the Trump campaign’s communication with Russian intelligence. Reporters blocked from off-camera White House briefing 17 show all Reporters blocked from off-camera White House briefing 1/17 An empty podium is seen as an off camera briefing is held with a small group of reporters and White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer instead of the normal on camera briefing in the White House February 24, 2017 in Washington, DC. Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images 2/17 New York Times reporter, Glenn Thrush works in the Brady Briefing Room after being excluded from a press gaggle by White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer, on February 24, 2017 in Washington, DC. Mark Wilson/Getty 4/17 The Brady Briefing Room is shown after reporters were excluded from a press gaggle by White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer, on February 24, 2017 in Washington, DC. Mark Wilson/Getty 5/17 Reporters in the Brady Briefing Room listen to a tape from a press gaggle by White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer, on February 24, 2017 in Washington, DC. Mark Wilson/Getty 6/17 Glenn Thrush, chief White House political correspondent for the The New York Times, works in the briefing room after being excluded from an off camera "gaggle" meeting at the White House in Washington, U.S., February 24, 2017. Yuri Gripas/Reuters 8/17 Journalists leave after several major news organizations including CNN, The New York Times and Politico were excluded from an off camera "gaggle" meeting with White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer in his office that was held in place of the regular daily press briefing at the White House in Washington, U.S., February 24, 2017. Yuri Gripas/Reuters 9/17 An empty podium is seen as an off camera briefing is held with a small group of reporters and White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer instead of the normal on camera briefing in the White House February 24, 2017 in Washington, DC. Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images 10/17 The entrance to the Brady Briefing Room after reporters were excluded from a press gaggle by White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer, on February 24, 2017 in Washington, DC. Mark Wilson/Getty 11/17 A small group of reporters leave an off camera briefing held with White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer instead of the normal on camera briefing in the White House February 24, 2017 in Washington, DC. Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images 12/17 A small group of reporters leave an off camera briefing held with White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer instead of the normal on camera briefing in the White House February 24, 2017 in Washington, DC. Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images 13/17 Reporters wait to try and get access to an off camera briefing with White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer instead of the normal on camera briefing at the White House on February 24, 2017, in Washington, DC. Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images 14/17 Reporters wait to try and get access to an off camera briefing with White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer instead of the normal on camera briefing at the White House on February 24, 2017, in Washington, DC. Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images 15/17 Reporters wait to try and get access to an off camera briefing with White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer instead of the normal on camera briefing at the White House on February 24, 2017, in Washington, DC. Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images 16/17 Reporters leave after failing to get access to an off camera briefing with White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer and a small group of reporters instead of the normal on camera briefing at the White House on February 24, 2017 in Washington, DC. Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images 17/17 Reporters talk after failing to get access to an off camera briefing with White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer and a small group of reporters instead of the normal on camera briefing at the White House on February 24, 2017, in Washington DC. "The WHCA board is protesting strongly against how today's gaggle is being handled by the White House," he said in a statement. It is not the job of political leaders to determine how journalists should conduct their work, and sets a terrible example for the rest of the world, where sources often must remain anonymous to preserve their own lives,” he said in a statement.
After the assault, Kim stumbled into a clinic, complaining of pain in his face and dizziness. Four North Korean suspects left on the day of the killing for Pyongyang, the North Korean capital, police said. Story highlights Video shows the two women accosting Kim Jong Nam at Kuala Lumpur International Airport A high-level delegation from North Korea arrived in Malaysia on Tuesday (CNN) Two women will be charged with the murder of the estranged half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, officials in Malaysia said. He added Kim's death would have been "painful." Facebook Twitter Pinterest Siti Aisyah enters court on Wednesday. Read More What is the VX nerve agent that killed North Korean Kim Jong-nam? He said the first group, composed of North Korean state security department member Ri Jae Nam and foreign ministry worker Ri Ji Hyon, had recruited the Vietnamese suspect, Doan Thi Huong. The Indonesian suspect, 25-year-old Aisyah, told the Indonesian deputy ambassador to Malaysia that she believed she was taking part in a prank when she rubbed the substance on Kim's face. He died on the way to a hospital less than 20 minutes later. Yun Byung-se, South Korea’s foreign minister, told the UN-sponsored Conference on Disarmament on Tuesday: “North Korea is reported to have not just grams but thousands of tonnes of chemical weapons including VX all over the country … The recent assassination is a wakeup call to all of us to North Korea’s chemical weapons capability and its intent to actually use them.” Yun said that states could invoke the chemical weapons convention and take collective measures against Pyongyang. Malaysian authorities are still holding Kim's body and won't turn it over until they receive a next-of-kin DNA sample, dental profiling and body marks to identify the victim.
Story highlights Video shows the two women accosting Kim Jong Nam at Kuala Lumpur International Airport A high-level delegation from North Korea arrived in Malaysia on Tuesday (CNN) Two women will be charged with the murder of the estranged half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, officials in Malaysia said. Siti Aisyah, an Indonesian, and Doan Thi Huong from Vietnam, were detained after closed circuit television showed them accosting Kim Jong Nam at Kuala Lumpur International Airport on February 13. Police say the women rubbed a highly toxic VX nerve agent on Kim's face before running away. He died on the way to a hospital less than 20 minutes later. Malaysia's Attorney General Mohamed Apandi Ali told CNN the women will be officially charged on Wednesday. Intentional murder is punishable by a mandatory death sentence in Malaysia. Aisyah has denied she killed Kim on purpose, telling Indonesian officials she believed she was working on a prank show and was smearing Kim's face with baby oil. Indonesian and Vietnamese suspects could be hanged if they are convicted of killing the half-brother of the North Korean leader Malaysia has charged two women – an Indonesian and a Vietnamese – with murdering the estranged half-brother of North Korea’s leader using a super-toxic nerve agent that killed in minutes. What is the VX nerve agent that killed North Korean Kim Jong-nam? Read more Siti Aisyah, 25, from Jakarta, and Doan Thi Huong, 28, from rural northern Vietnam, could be hanged if they are convicted of the killing of Kim Jong-nam at Kuala Lumpur International airport on 13 February. Police brought the two women to court handcuffed. As they left, they were made to wear bulletproof vests, reflecting the Malaysian authorities’ fears that others involved in the killing may want the women silenced. The killing, described by the US and South Korea as a political assassination, has led to a diplomatic meltdown between Malaysia and North Korea, which has repeatedly tried to block the investigation and denied that Kim Jong-nam was murdered. He told reporters on Tuesday that the diplomats were in Malaysia to seek the retrieval of the body and the release of another suspect, a North Korean national. Malaysian police say the two female suspects rubbed VX, the world’s most deadly nerve agent, on Kim’s face in an assault recorded by airport security cameras. Both of the accused women said they had been duped, believing the assault to be a prank for a reality TV show. The Indonesian suspect, Siti Aisyah, said she had been paid $90 (£72), an Indonesian official has said. Photograph: Shizuo Kambayashi/AP Malaysian police are looking for seven other North Koreans, including a senior diplomat, who they say are linked to the death. Four North Korean suspects left on the day of the killing for Pyongyang, the North Korean capital, police said. South Korean politicians said on Monday that the country’s national intelligence service had told them in a private briefing that four of the North Koreans identified as suspects were from the ministry of state security, the North’s spy service. North Korea has not acknowledged the dead man is Kim-Jong-nam but its ambassador, Kang Chol, has repeatedly demanded no autopsy take place and accused Malaysia of acting in a deceiving manner. Malaysia’s foreign minister, Anifah Aman, has responded by warning Kang that he would be thrown out of the country if he continued to “spew lies” over the investigation. In a report from North Korea’s state-run KCNA news agency on Friday, the government said Malaysia had broken international law by conducting autopsies on a diplomatic passport holder and withholding the body. “This proves that the Malaysian side is going to politicise the transfer of the body in utter disregard of international law and morality and thus attain a sinister purpose,” it said. Police say Siti Aisyah vomited in the taxi after the attack, possibly due to the effects of VX on her hands. VX nerve agent is a banned chemical substance classified by the UN as a weapon of mass destruction. Yun Byung-se, South Korea’s foreign minister, told the UN-sponsored Conference on Disarmament on Tuesday: “North Korea is reported to have not just grams but thousands of tonnes of chemical weapons including VX all over the country … The recent assassination is a wakeup call to all of us to North Korea’s chemical weapons capability and its intent to actually use them.” Yun said that states could invoke the chemical weapons convention and take collective measures against Pyongyang. Lawmakers in Seoul, who were briefed by the country's intelligence officials, said the North's foreign ministry and ministry of national security had recruited the two female suspects in Kim's murde r. "The assassination of Kim Jong Nam was an act of systematic terror ordered by Kim Jong Un," South Korean lawmaker Kim Byung-kee said in a televised address. JUST WATCHED N. Korea denies involvement in assassination Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH N. Korea denies involvement in assassination 02:54 Kill groups 'worked separately' At his press briefing, lawmaker Kim said the two assassination groups had worked apart before meeting in Malaysia shortly prior to the murder. Dead in under 20 minutes Autopsy results from Kim's body showed he had died within about 15 to 20 minutes after the attack , Malaysia's Health Minister Dr Subramaniam Sathasivam said Sunday.
The new order, which takes effect on March 16, keeps a 90-day ban on travel to the United States by citizens of Iran, Libya, Syria, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen. "It's a revised one. A lot of bad "dudes" out there!" U.S. President Donald Trump delivers his first address to a joint session of Congress from the floor of the House of Representatives iin Washington, U.S., February 28, 2017. The US official said Trump asked Tillerson to get greater clarity on vetting measures in Iraq. REUTERS/Eric Thayer Demonstrators rally against the Trump administration's new ban against travelers from six Muslim-majority nations, outside of the White House. Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly also supported the move. The delays also came amid an intense lobbying effort from Iraqi government officials, including from the country's prime minister, to remove Iraq from the original seven-state list of banned countries. "We want the (executive order) to have its own 'moment,'" a senior administration official told CNN last week. The people that it does ban are banned because it's Muslim." REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque Immigration activists, including members of the DC Justice for Muslims Coalition, rally against the Trump administration's new ban against travelers from six Muslim-majority nations, outside of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection headquarters in Washington, U.S., March 7, 2017. The original order barred travelers from the seven nations from entering for 90 days and all refugees for 120 days. The Justice Department estimated 60,000 people had their visas revoked by the first order but senior administration officials said on Monday those visas were now valid again for entry into the United States.
Washington (CNN) US President Donald Trump signed a new executive order Monday that bans immigration from six Muslim-majority countries, dropping Iraq from January's previous order, and reinstates a temporary blanket ban on all refugees. The new travel ban comes six weeks after Trump's original executive order caused chaos at airports nationwide before it was blocked by federal courts. It removes out language in the original order that indefinitely banned Syrian refugees and called for prioritizing the admission of refugees who are religious minorities in their home countries. That provision drew criticism of a religious test for entry and would have prioritized Christians over Muslims fleeing war-torn countries in the Middle East. The new ban, which takes effect March 16, also explicitly exempts citizens of the six banned countries who are legal US permanent residents or have valid visas to enter the US -- including those whose visas were revoked during the original implementation of the ban, senior administration officials said. "We cannot compromise our nation's security by allowing visitors entry when their own governments are unable or unwilling to provide the information we need to vet them responsibly, or when those governments actively support terrorism," Attorney General Jeff Sessions said Monday. The new measures will block citizens of Syria, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen from obtaining visas for at least 90 days. The order also suspends admission of refugees into the US for 120 days, directing US officials to improve vetting measures for a program that is already widely regarded as extremely stringent. Trump signed the executive order earlier Monday in the Oval Office outside the view of reporters and news cameras, after more than three weeks of repeated delays, the latest of which came after White House officials decided last week to delay the signing to avoid cutting into positive coverage of Trump's joint address to Congress. The delays also came amid an intense lobbying effort from Iraqi government officials, including from the country's prime minister, to remove Iraq from the original seven-state list of banned countries. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said Iraq's removal from the list came after an intense review from the State Department to improve vetting of Iraqi citizens in collaboration with the Iraqi government, though he did not specify how vetting had been improved. "This revised order will bolster the security of the United States and our allies." The rollout of the revised travel ban marks an important moment for the administration, which has little room for error after the chaotic debut of the original plan. That failure raised questions about the new White House's capacity to govern and to master the political intricacies needed to manage complicated political endeavors in Washington. It also brought Trump into conflict with the judiciary in the first sign of how constitutional checks and balances could challenge his vision of a powerful presidency built on expansive executive authority. The original order came under intense criticism as an attempt to bar Muslims from entering the country, and Trump's call during the campaign for a "Muslim Ban" was cited in court cases attacking the ban. Administration officials Monday stressed they do not see the ban as targeting a specific religion. "(The order is) not any way targeted as a Muslim ban ... we want to make sure everyone understands that," an official told reporters. "The Department of Justice believes that this executive order just as the first executive order is a lawful and proper exercise of presidential authority," Sessions said. Democrats responded by calling Trump's order a repeat version of the first attempt. Working to contain fallout The newly crafted order also revealed that the administration wasn't just paying attention to the legal criticism in the courts, but also recalibrating in light of the heavy political fire they faced after the first order's messy rollout. While administration lawyers argued the original travel ban went into effect immediately to prevent terrorists from rushing into the country, the revised ban will phase in after 10 days. "If the ban were announced with a one week notice, the "bad" would rush into our country during that week. he tweeted on January 30 The White House also abandoned the sense of urgency with which it implemented the first travel ban, delaying the signing of a new executive order multiple times over the last three weeks. Politics also came into play as White House officials delayed the signing from last Wednesday in part to allow positive coverage of the President's joint address to Congress to continue uninterrupted. "We want the (executive order) to have its own 'moment,'" a senior administration official told CNN last week. To bolster its national security claims, the new executive order also states FBI has reported that approximately 300 people who entered the United States as refugees are "currently the subjects of counter-terrorism investigations." "We cannot risk the prospect of malevolent actors using our immigration system to take American lives." Rep. Adam Schiff, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence committee, said the ban "has the same fundamental flaws" as the first order. If it were, Pakistan has been a far more problematic source of attack planning and would be at the top of the President's list, but that country merits not even a mention in the order," Schiff said in a statement. McMaster had all advocated for Iraq to be removed from the Trump administration's list of banned countries in the new executive order for diplomatic reasons, including Iraq's role in fighting ISIS, sources told CNN's Elise Labott and Evan Perez. In Trump's call with Abadi, the President vowed to seek a resolution to his counterpart's concerns about his citizens' being unable to enter the United States, according to a readout of the phone call from Baghdad. "(The) Iraqi Foreign Ministry expresses deep relief regarding the executive order that was issued by the American president Donald Trump, which excludes the Iraqis from the travel ban to the United States," said Iraqi Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Ahmad Jamal.
WikiLeaks, in a statement, was vague about its source. And then there will be the questions over whether the CIA's technical capabilities were too expansive and too secret. "We do not comment on the authenticity or content of purported intelligence documents," he said. Your cover story (for this trip): Q: Why are you here? Image copyright Samsung Image caption The CIA is alleged to have found a way to listen to conversations that took place close to Samsung TVs Samsung has not commented on the allegations. This is a production preview of the Jaguar I-PACE, which will be revealed next year and on the road in 2018 AP 19/43 Japan's On-Art Corp's CEO Kazuya Kanemaru poses with his company's eight metre tall dinosaur-shaped mechanical suit robot 'TRX03' and other robots during a demonstration in Tokyo, Japan Reuters 20/43 Japan's On-Art Corp's eight metre tall dinosaur-shaped mechanical suit robot 'TRX03' Reuters 21/43 Japan's On-Art Corp's eight metre tall dinosaur-shaped mechanical suit robot 'TRX03' performs during its unveiling in Tokyo, Japan Reuters 22/43 Singulato Motors co-founder and CEO Shen Haiyin poses in his company's concept car Tigercar P0 at a workshop in Beijing, China Reuters 23/43 The interior of Singulato Motors' concept car Tigercar P0 at a workshop in Beijing, China Reuters 24/43 Singulato Motors' concept car Tigercar P0 Reuters 25/43 A picture shows Singulato Motors' concept car Tigercar P0 at a workshop in Beijing, China Reuters 26/43 Connected company president Shigeki Tomoyama addresses a press briefing as he elaborates on Toyota's "connected strategy" in Tokyo. A division of the US spying agency is built to explore vulnerabilities in gadgets and use them to listen in on their owners, according to new documents made public by Julian Assange.
Image copyright Getty Images Image caption The CIA has not said if the claims are true Wikileaks has published details of what it says are wide-ranging hacking tools used by the CIA. The alleged cyber-weapons are said to include malware that targets Windows, Android, iOS, OSX and Linux computers as well as internet routers. Some of the software is reported to have been developed in-house, but the UK's MI5 agency is said to have helped build a spyware attack for Samsung TVs. "We do not comment on the authenticity or content of purported intelligence documents," he said. Image copyright Twitter Image caption Whisteblower Edward Snowden has tweeted that the leak appears to be authentic A spokesman for the UK Home Office was unable to comment. Wikileaks said that its source had shared the details with it to prompt a debate into whether the CIA's hacking capabilities had exceeded its mandated powers. Embarrassment factor - Analysis by BBC's security correspondent Gordon Corera These latest leaks - which appear to give details of highly sensitive technical methods - will be a huge problem for the CIA. There is the embarrassment factor - that an agency whose job is to steal other people's secrets has not been able to keep their own. And then there will be the questions over whether the CIA's technical capabilities were too expansive and too secret. Because many of the initial documents point to capabilities targeting consumer devices, the hardest questions may revolve around what is known as the "equities" problem. This is when you find a vulnerability in a piece of technology how do you balance the benefit to the public of telling the manufacturer so they can close it and improve everyone's security with the benefit to the spy agency of leaving it in place so they can exploit it to collect intelligence. The NSA has already faced questions about whether it has this balance right when many of its secrets were revealed by Edward Snowden, and now it may be the CIA's turn. Read more from Gordon Hacked TVs The effort to compromise Samsung's F8000 range of smart TVs was codenamed Weeping Angel, according to documents dated June 2014. They describe the creation of a "fake-off" mode, designed to fool users into believing that their screens had been switched off. Instead, the documents indicate, infected sets were made to covertly record audio, which would later be transferred over the internet to CIA computer servers once the TVs were fully switched back on, allowing their wi-fi links to re-establish. Under a "future work" section, it is suggested that video snapshots might also be taken and the wi-fi limitation be overcome. Apple attacks Wikileaks also claims that as of last year, the CIA has built up an arsenal of 24 Android "zero days" - the term given to previously unknown security flaws in code. Devices made by Samsung, HTC and Sony, among others, were said to have been compromised as a result, allowing the CIA to read messages on Whatsapp, Signal, Telegram and Weibo among other chat services "before encryption is applied". Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Former CIA boss: latest leak on Wikileaks has 'made my country less safe' It is also claimed that a specialised CIA unit was set up to target iPhones and iPads, allowing the agency to see a target's location, activate their device's camera and microphone, and read text communications. The unit is also reported to have made use of further iOS "zero days" obtained from GCHQ, the NSA and FBI. "Furthermore, all of GCHQ's work is carried out in accordance with a strict legal and policy framework, which ensures that our activities are authorised, necessary and proportionate." Other claims say the CIA: was trying to find ways to infect vehicles' computer control systems. Wikileaks claims these might have been used for undetectable assassinations had found ways to infect "air-gapped" computers - machines that are not linked up to the internet or other insecure networks. Methods are said to have included hiding data in images or hidden parts of computer storage had developed attacks against popular anti-virus products had built up a library of hacking techniques "stolen" from malware developed in Russia and elsewhere Wikileaks describes its release as the first in a series of planned leaks about the CIA's cyber-activities, which it refers to as Vault 7. Analysis: Mark Ward, Technology reporter Image copyright Reuters Image caption Wikileaks's founder Julian Assange said there was a cyber-weapon proliferation risk There is a huge amount of information in the CIA data dump but a lot of it, such as its apparent success in compromising smart TVs, is not that surprising. Plus, we kind of know that a lot of the modern internet-of-things gear is broken as all kinds of holes have been found in all kinds of gadgets - including cars. It is more than likely that the agency paid millions to build up an arsenal of tools that are guaranteed to work - largely because they are based on flaws, bugs and vulnerabilities that have never been seen before. With the zero days now largely burned the CIA may have to re-trench for a while but it will doubtless have other unused attack tools stored and ready to deploy. What's potentially more worrying is that as information about the bugs gets out then cybercriminals and other "bad guys" will pile in and use them. We saw that with the zero days released in the much smaller Hacking Team data breach, and there is much more useful data to be found in this trove. The 8,761 documents published by WikiLeaks focus mainly on techniques for hacking and surveillance The US intelligence agencies are facing fresh embarrassment after WikiLeaks published what it described as the biggest ever leak of confidential documents from the CIA detailing the tools it uses to break into phones, communication apps and other electronic devices. The thousands of leaked documents focus mainly on techniques for hacking and reveal how the CIA cooperated with British intelligence to engineer a way to compromise smart televisions and turn them into improvised surveillance devices. The leak, named “Vault 7” by WikiLeaks, will once again raise questions about the inability of US spy agencies to protect secret documents in the digital age.
"It's international women's day", she reminded him. Hammond said it would remedy an unfairness in the tax system between employees and the self-employed. Read more - Budget reaction in quotes NHS and health and social care The Government is also under pressure to pump more cash into social care. Class 4 National Insurance contributions will go up to 10% from 9% and to 11% in April 2019, Mr Hammond told MPs. Business rates Image copyright Getty Images Image caption The chancellor promised business rates help for firms including a discount for pubs Mr Hammond has been facing a backlash, including from Conservative MPs, over businesses facing rates rises as a result of the revaluation of premises that is about to come into force. Read more - Reality check: Has manifesto pledge been broken? The new allowance will increase by £25,000 a year until it reaches £175,000 in April 2020. Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Chief Secretary to the Treasury tells The World at One the "majority" of the self-employed will see a tax reduction On its own, the change announced in the Budget would affect 2.5 million people. On the economy he said growth was expected to be higher - and borrowing lower - than forecast in November. As predicted, there were improved economic forecasts via the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR). Between them, these two measures will raise £1.5bn a year by 2019-20. Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said it was "a Budget of utter complacency". Income tax The personal allowance is due to rise to £11,500 this April, while the higher rate threshold will rise to £45,000.
Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption The changes are expected to raise £145m a year by 2021-22 Chancellor Philip Hammond has increased National Insurance bills for self-employed people in his first Budget - leading to accusations he has broken a manifesto pledge not to raise taxes. On the economy he said growth was expected to be higher - and borrowing lower - than forecast in November. Mr Hammond said there had been a "dramatic increase" in the number of people working as self-employed - and that the reason for doing so should not be "differences in tax treatment". The disparity between the rates paid by the self-employed and employees "undermines the fairness of our tax system", he said. Class 4 National Insurance contributions will go up to 10% from 9% and to 11% in April 2019, Mr Hammond told MPs. Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Chief Secretary to the Treasury tells The World at One the "majority" of the self-employed will see a tax reduction On its own, the change announced in the Budget would affect 2.5 million people. But a separate category of National Insurance payments, Class 2, are already due to be abolished from 2018, and Mr Hammond said that taken together the two changes meant NI payments for a self-employed person would be on average 60p a week higher. The Treasury later said that 1.6 million people would, on average, pay £240 more a year and no-one earning less than £16,250 would be worse off. Mr Hammond said the different National Insurance rates had traditionally reflected a disparity in pension and benefit entitlement between self-employed people and those in employment. But he said these had now been "very substantially reduced", and that the government would also consult on addressing disparities in relation to parental benefits. Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury Peter Dowd says the government has their priorities "absolutely wrong" The government immediately faced accusations of breaking a Conservative manifesto pledge not to increase VAT, National Insurance contributions or income tax. Read more - Reality check: Has manifesto pledge been broken? Cash for social care The government has been under pressure to offer more resources for social care budgets, with council leaders warning the entire system stands on the "brink of collapse" without an immediate cash injection and a commitment to a long-term solution. Mr Hammond acknowledged the system was under pressure with an ageing population, and said the new £2bn for services in England over the next three years would allow councils to "act now to commission new care packages". He also said the government would set out the options for long-term funding of the social care system later in the year - although these would not include a "death tax". Economy 'confounding commentators' Opening his statement, Mr Hammond said the UK economy "continued to confound the commentators with robust growth", and promised his Budget would provide a "strong and stable platform" for the Brexit negotiations to come. The OBR has revised up its growth forecast from 1.4% to 2% for 2017, predicting it will slow to 1.6% in 2018 before returning to 2% in 2021. However, as the UK prepares for Brexit, Mr Hammond said there was "no room for complacency", and that the UK's deficit was still high, and productivity "stubbornly low". According to the OBR's analysis, the government "does not appear to be on track" to meet one of its key fiscal targets. Mr Hammond told MPs the deficit, the difference between what the government spends and what it receives, was "down by over two thirds". But the OBR said: "The deficit falls little in 2020-21 and 2021-22, while the ageing population and cost pressures in health are likely to put upward pressure on the deficit in the next Parliament." He announced a £300m "discretionary fund" to be used by councils to help companies that are badly hit, and a £50-per-month cap on increases for firms facing the loss of small business relief. Read more - help for pubs in rates revamp Share dividend tax change - and other announcements The biggest money raising measure was a reduction in the total amount of dividends company directors and shareholders can receive from businesses without having to pay taxes, from £5,000 to £2,000. Mr Hammond said the move was meant to "address the unfairness" around the dividend tax advantage, which he claimed was "an extremely generous tax break for investors with substantial share portfolios". As an example, he said that instead of using £10m to set up a children's funeral fund, the government was cutting support for bereaved families. Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption The SNP's Stewart Hosie: "Five years of Tory austerity failed" For the SNP, Stewart Hosie said Brexit had barely been mentioned, despite the "momentous" challenge it posed. "It is a woefully inadequate response to the impossible pressure the NHS and care services are under," Norman Lamb, the party's health spokesman, said. UKIP MP Douglas Carswell criticised what he called an "attack" on self-employed people through National Insurance rates, and said the Budget was not "fundamentally sorting out the biggest problem we face", the UK's debt. BBC editors' analysis The chancellor repeatedly emphasised that it is a government that says it is preoccupied by "fairness" with ministers oft-quoted promise of a "country that works for everyone". The overall picture might be slightly healthier in the government's giant balance sheets but it is still extremely challenging - hardly a land of milk and honey. The Labour leader, he said, was "so far down a black hole that even Stephen Hawking has disowned him", in a reference to the scientist's criticism earlier in the week.
she said. In all the fighting, there were collateral victims, it's unfortunate," he said. {* /registrationForm *} Who is Carlos the Jackal? Carlos the Jackal is appearing in a Paris court for a deadly 1974 attack at a shopping arcade in the French capital, a trial that victims’ families have been awaiting for decades. What are the attacks Ramirez was involved in? REUTERS/Benoit Tessier The courtroom is seen before the opening of the trial of Ilich Ramirez Sanchez, known as Carlos the Jackal, in Paris, France March 13, 2017. He condemned "scavenging" lawyers and "Zionist interests". Two people were killed and 34 others were injured in the attack. Image copyright EPA Image caption Ramirez's lawyer and long-term partner Isabelle Coutant-Peyre was in court to defend him on Monday Image copyright EPA Image caption Paperwork relating to the shopping centre case is voluminous "No-one has executed more people than me in the Palestinian resistance," he said, "[and] I am the only survivor. He was first convicted by a French court 20 years ago, and again in 2011 and 2013. Check your email for your verification email, or enter your email address in the form below to resend the email. By the age of 24, he had joined the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) and began his training as a militant revolutionary. The U.S.-made hand grenade used in the Publicis attack came from the same batch as three grenades used in The Hague attack and another grenade found in a Paris apartment used by Ramirez, they say.
Image copyright AFP Image caption The man known as Carlos the Jackal denies responsibility for the shopping centre attack Carlos the Jackal, the Venezuelan man behind a series of attacks in France in the 1970s and 80s, has appeared in court to denounce being prosecuted over a deadly Paris shopping centre attack. He condemned "scavenging" lawyers and "Zionist interests". Carlos, whose real name is Ilich Ramirez Sanchez, is already serving two life terms for killings in the name of Palestinian and communist causes. But he denies carrying out a grenade attack on the centre in September 1974. Two people were killed and 34 others were injured in the attack. Kisses In an often rambling statement in the Paris court on Monday, the 67-year-old said that any murders he had committed were carried out in the name of "the revolution". Image copyright EPA Image caption Ramirez's lawyer and long-term partner Isabelle Coutant-Peyre was in court to defend him on Monday Image copyright EPA Image caption Paperwork relating to the shopping centre case is voluminous "No-one has executed more people than me in the Palestinian resistance," he said, "[and] I am the only survivor. Wearing a jacket with a red pocket handkerchief, Ramirez smiled and blew kisses upon first appearing in the dock before kissing the hand of his lawyer and long-term partner, Isabelle Coutant-Peyre. He then embarked on a diatribe in which he condemned wealthy "Zionist interests" who he said were eager to crush anybody who stood up to Israeli aggression. He said that lawyers prosecuting him for the shopping centre attack in Paris 43 years ago were "scavengers" for forcing him back to court. Carlos the Jackal was given his nickname when he was one of the world's most wanted terror suspects. Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Ramirez in court in an earlier trial in 2000 "What exactly is the point of having a trial so long after the events?" But Georges Holleaux, a lawyer representing the victims, said the families wanted the chance finally to see him in court. Their wounds have never healed," he said. In a newspaper interview which he later disavowed, Ramirez allegedly said he had carried out the attack in a bid to persuade France to release a Japanese communist militant. By the age of 24, he had joined the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) and began his training as a militant revolutionary. A few years later, he launched his first attack - on Joseph Edward Sieff, the then president of the Marks and Spencers retail chain in London. Image copyright EPA Image caption Ramirez became a leading figure in the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine The self-professed "professional revolutionary" has since been found guilty of four bomb attacks in Paris and Marseille in 1982 and 1983, which killed 11 people and injured 150. He was first convicted by a French court 20 years ago, and again in 2011 and 2013. If convicted of first degree murder charges, he could get a third life sentence. Ramirez was arrested in the Sudanese capital in 1994 by elite French police, 20 years after the first attack for which he was accused. You must verify your email address before signing in. Check your email for your verification email, or enter your email address in the form below to resend the email. {* #socialRegistrationForm *} {* firstName *} {* lastName *} {* emailAddress *} {* displayName *} {* phone *} {* addressCity *} {* addressCountry *} By clicking "Create Account", you confirm that you accept our terms of service and have read and understand privacy policy . Carlos the Jackal is appearing in a Paris court for a deadly 1974 attack at a shopping arcade in the French capital, a trial that victims’ families have been awaiting for decades. Carlos the Jackal is appearing in a Paris court for a deadly 1974 attack at a shopping arcade in the French capital, a trial that victims’ families have been awaiting for decades. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier Georges Holleaux, a lawyer representing the two widows of the men killed and 16 other people affected, talks to journalists before the opening of the trial of Ilich Ramirez Sanchez, known as 'Carlos the Jackal', at the courthouse in Paris, France March 13, 2017. Carlos the Jackal is appearing in a Paris court for a deadly 1974 attack at a shopping arcade in the French capital, a trial that victims’ families have been awaiting for decades. Carlos the Jackal is appearing in a Paris court for a deadly 1974 attack at a shopping arcade in the French capital, a trial that victims’ families have been awaiting for decades. Carlos the Jackal is appearing in a Paris court for a deadly 1974 attack at a shopping arcade in the French capital, a trial that victims’ families have been awaiting for decades. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier PARIS Carlos the Jackal, once one of the world's most wanted criminals, described himself as a "professional revolutionary" on Monday when he went on trial in France over a grenade attack on a Paris shop more than 40 years ago that killed two people. In his latest trial, which began in a Paris court on Monday, he faces charges including murder over the Sept. 15, 1974 grenade attack on the Publicis drugstore in central Paris, which also injured 34. Ramirez, 67, who now has receding white hair, refused to give his name in court and gave his age as 17 "give or take 50 years".
They were traveling between Juba, the capital, and the town of Pibor. At least 79 aid workers have been killed in South Sudan since the conflict started in December 2013, the UN says. He called on "all those in positions of power" to stop such attacks and end "the impunity that has prevailed". The government rejected the report's allegations. Famine has been declared in two counties in South Sudan, where one million people are on the brink of starvation, and there is also a cholera outbreak in parts of the country. The civil war began as a dispute between the Dinka President Salva Kiir, and former Vice-President Riek Machar who is Nuer. The "heinous murder" occurred on Saturday, said Eugene Owusu, the UN's humanitarian chief in South Sudan. Advertisement Continue reading the main story The ambush came on the same day that South Sudan’s government declared a unilateral cease-fire and granted amnesty to armed groups that renounce violence. A peace agreement signed in 2015 has not stopped the fighting. "They not only put the lives of aid workers at risk, they also threaten the lives of thousands of South Sudanese who rely on our assistance for their survival." Source: Al Jazeera and news agencies But aid organizations responding to both the famine and the cholera outbreak have been attacked by armed forces, according to the United Nations. View all New York Times newsletters. Please re-enter. He also said the government "will spare no efforts to help address the situation and calls upon the international community to help address this urgent matter". The diplomat spoke on the condition of anonymity out of fear for his safety.
Image copyright AFP Image caption South Sudan is in a state of crisis after more than three years of civil war Six aid workers have been killed in an ambush in South Sudan, the UN says, in the deadliest single incident for humanitarians since the country's civil war began. The "heinous murder" occurred on Saturday, said Eugene Owusu, the UN's humanitarian chief in South Sudan. The UN did not say who the victims were or what aid agency they worked for. They were traveling between Juba, the capital, and the town of Pibor. At least 79 aid workers have been killed in South Sudan since the conflict started in December 2013, the UN says. "These attacks against aid workers and aid assets are utterly reprehensible," said Mr Owusu. "They not only put the lives of aid workers at risk, they also threaten the lives of thousands of South Sudanese who rely on our assistance for their survival." He called on "all those in positions of power" to stop such attacks and end "the impunity that has prevailed". Two other attacks have targeted aid workers this month, according to the UN. A humanitarian convoy was attacked while responding to a cholera outbreak in Yirol East on 14 March, with one health worker and one patient killed. On 10 March, local staff of an international aid organisation were detained by armed rebels during fighting in Mayendit town for four days before being released. The wooden bridge between death and safety S Sudan ravaged by ethnic cleansing - UN First famine declared since 2011 A man-made famine has been declared in some areas of South Sudan, and the UN says around 7.5m people are in need of humanitarian assistance. The civil war began as a dispute between the Dinka President Salva Kiir, and former Vice-President Riek Machar who is Nuer. On Thursday, UN peacekeepers protected up to 1,000 civilians in Pibor who feared they would be attacked after earlier clashes between different clans. It is highest number of humanitarian workers killed in one incident since South Sudan descended into conflict in 2013. Six aid workers have been killed in an ambush in famine-hit South Sudan, the United Nations said on Sunday, without specifying what organisation they worked for. The victims were attacked on Saturday as they travelled from the capital, Juba, to the eastern town of Pibor, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). "I am appalled and outraged by the heinous murder of six courageous humanitarians in South Sudan," Eugene Owusu, the UN humanitarian coordinator for South Sudan, said in a statement. "At a time when humanitarian needs have reached unprecedented levels, it is entirely unacceptable that those who are trying to help are being attacked and killed," Owusu added. READ MORE: South Sudan famine - Eating water lilies to survive According to OCHA, it was the highest number of humanitarian workers killed in one incident since the start of a civil war more than three years ago. Saturday's ambush followed two other attacks on aid workers this month, shortly after South Sudan declared famine last month in two counties of Unity state, saying 100,000 people face starvation and another million are on the brink of famine. After gaining independence from Sudan in 2011, the world's youngest nation descended into war in December 2013 after President Salva Kiir accused his rival and former deputy Riek Machar of plotting a coup. Tens of thousands have since died and 3.5 million people have been displaced, while a surge in fighting since July has devastated food production in areas that had been stable for farmers. At least 79 humanitarians have been killed in South Sudan since the conflict began, including at least 12 killed this year, OCHA said. "These attacks against aid workers and aid assets are utterly reprehensible," Owusu said. "They not only put the lives of aid workers at risk, they also threaten the lives of thousands of South Sudanese who rely on our assistance for their survival." Earlier this month, the government announced plans to charge a levy of $10,000 for each foreign aid worker, which along with the danger of abduction could hurt efforts to help the hungry. On Thursday, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres accused South Sudan's government of ignoring the plight of tens of thousands of people suffering from famine, 7.5 million in need of humanitarian aid and thousands fleeing the fighting. "There is a strong consensus that South Sudanese leaders need to do more to demonstrate their commitment to the wellbeing of the country's people, who are among the poorest in the world," Guterres said during a UN Security Council briefing. INTERACTIVE: Mapping six months of hunger in the Horn of Africa Joseph Moum Malok, South Sudan's deputy UN ambassador, said the government "takes issue with the accusation", adding that other parts of the country are affected by drought. He also said the government "will spare no efforts to help address the situation and calls upon the international community to help address this urgent matter". A confidential UN report, which was seen by the AFP and Reuters news agencies earlier this month, found that the famine was largely caused by Juba's military operations. "The bulk of evidence suggests that the famine in Unity state has resulted from protracted conflict and, in particular, the cumulative toll of repeated military operations undertaken by the government in southern Unity beginning in 2014," the report said. But aid organizations responding to both the famine and the cholera outbreak have been attacked by armed forces, according to the United Nations.
The women, both in their 60s, have been friends for 40 years. Park and Choi deny most of the allegations. Park Geun-hye: South Korea's former president arrested over corruption allegations Updated South Korea's disgraced former president Park Geun-hye — the country's first democratically elected leader to be thrown out of office — has been arrested over high-profile corruption allegations of bribery and abuse of power. A convoy of vehicles, including a black sedan carrying Park, entered a detention facility near Seoul on Friday after the Seoul central district court granted prosecutors’ request to arrest her. She was was questioned for 14 hours by prosecutors last week. Ms Park argues that she does not pose a flight risk and will not try to tamper with evidence She and Ms Choi have both denied any wrongdoing. She could face more than 10 years in jail if convicted of receiving bribes from bosses of big conglomerates, including Samsung Group chief Jay Y Lee, in return for favours. South Korea will hold an election in May to choose Park’s successor. Prosecutors said on Monday Park was accused of soliciting companies for money and infringing upon the freedom of corporate management in her position as president. Many Park supporters waved national flags and shouted "president" as the car entered the facility. Ms Park's removal from office capped months of paralysis and turmoil over the corruption scandal that also landed the head of the Samsung conglomerate in detention and on trial. Chun and Roh staged a 1979 coup that put Chun in power more than eight years after Park Chung-hee’s death. She was removed from office when a constitutional court upheld her impeachment by parliament.
Park Geun-hye: South Korea's former president arrested over corruption allegations Updated South Korea's disgraced former president Park Geun-hye — the country's first democratically elected leader to be thrown out of office — has been arrested over high-profile corruption allegations of bribery and abuse of power. Key points: Ms Park has been taken to a detention facility and faces over 10 years in prison Her ousting leaves behind a political vacuum amid rising tensions with North Korea The scandal has also landed the head of the Samsung Group in detention and on trial A convoy of vehicles, including a black sedan carrying Ms Park, entered a detention facility near Seoul after the Seoul Central District Court granted prosecutors' request to arrest her. Many Park supporters waved national flags and shouted "president" as the car entered the facility. Ms Park can be held in a cell for up to 20 days while she is investigated over allegations that she colluded with a friend, Choi Soon-sil, to pressure big businesses to contribute to now-defunct foundations set up to back her policy initiatives. A judge at the Seoul Central District Court said in a statement that "the cause and the need for the warrant are recognised as the main charges against her have been verified and as evidence could be destroyed". Ms Park gave about eight hours of testimony at the same court on Thursday and was held at the prosecutors' office next door while the judge studied the evidence and arguments to decide on whether to issue the arrest warrant. On Thursday, Ms Park, 65, arrived expressionless at the court to plead her case that she should not be arrested or held while prosecutors investigate the scandal. Ms Park argues that she does not pose a flight risk and will not try to tamper with evidence She and Ms Choi have both denied any wrongdoing. Ms Park's removal from office capped months of paralysis and turmoil over the corruption scandal that also landed the head of the Samsung conglomerate in detention and on trial. Her impeachment this month has left a political vacuum, with only an interim president pending a May 9 election, at a time of rising tensions with North Korea over its weapons program and with China, which is angry over South Korea's decision to host a US anti-missile system. Prosecutors said on Monday that Ms Park was accused of soliciting companies for money and infringing upon the freedom of corporate management by using her power as the president. She was was questioned for 14 hours by prosecutors last week. She could face more than 10 years in jail if convicted of receiving bribes from bosses of big conglomerates, including Samsung Group chief Jay Y Lee, in return for favours. Ms Park may be given a bigger cell than other inmates in a Seoul detention facility, but she would be subject to the same rules on everything from meals to room inspections, former prosecution and correctional officials have said. The ruling sparked protests by hundreds of her supporters, two of whom were killed in clashes with police outside the court, and a celebratory rally by those who had demanded she be removed from office. South Korea's ousted leader Park Geun-hye looks out from a vehicle as she leaves her private house in Seoul. Lim Heon-jeong/Yonhap via REUTERS Ousted South Korean President Park Geun-hye leaves after hearing on a prosecutors' request for her arrest for corruption at the Seoul Central District Court in Seoul. REUTERS/Ahn Young-joon/Pool Ousted South Korean President Park Geun-hye leaves the prosecutors' office as she is transferred to a detention house in Seoul. REUTERS/Chung Sung-Jun SEOUL Ousted South Korean leader Park Geun-hye was behind bars in the Seoul Detention Centre on Friday after her arrest, on charges including bribery, in a corruption scandal that has brought low some of the country's business and political elite. In a dramatic fall from power, Park, 65, became South Korea's first democratically elected leader to be thrown out of office. She is accused of colluding with a friend, Choi Soon-sil, to pressure big businesses to contribute funds to foundations that backed her policy initiatives. In the early hours of Friday, the Seoul Central District Court approved prosecutors' request for an arrest warrant for Park after she gave about eight hours of testimony. Park and her lawyers had argued that she should not be arrested because she did not pose a flight risk and would not try to tamper with evidence. Just before dawn, Park was driven to prison just outside Seoul in a black sedan, ashen-faced and flanked by two female officers in the back seat, her hair down apparently having removed the hairpins that held her hair in its usual classic chignon style. Park's removal from office capped months of paralysis and turmoil over the corruption scandal that also landed the head of the Samsung Group, South Korea's largest "chaebol", or family-run conglomerate, in detention and on trial. The political upheaval comes at a time of rising tensions with North Korea over its weapons program and with China, which is angry over South Korea's decision to host a U.S. anti-missile defense system. Park's impeachment on March 10, which upheld a parliamentary vote in December, effectively left a political vacuum with only an interim president in place before a snap May 9 election. "The arrest of the former president Park amounts to upholding the people's stern order to build a country where justice and common sense stand firm," Moon's spokesman, Park Kwang-on, said in a statement. "It is the first step to rebuilding a collapsed Republic of Korea," Park Kwang-on said, using South Korea's official name. She could face more than 10 years in jail if convicted of receiving bribes from chaebol bosses, including Samsung Group chief Jay Y. Lee, in return for favors. Park Geun-hye can be detained up to 20 days during investigation into accusations of bribery and abuse of power that led to impeachment South Korea’s disgraced former president Park Geun-hye has been arrested and jailed over high-profile corruption allegations that already ended her tumultuous four-year rule and prompted an election to find her successor. A convoy of vehicles, including a black sedan carrying Park, entered a detention facility near Seoul on Friday after the Seoul central district court granted prosecutors’ request to arrest her. The allegations led millions of South Koreans to protest in the streets every weekend for months before lawmakers impeached her in December and the constitutional court ruled in March to formally remove her from office. The Seoul court said it decided to approve Park’s arrest because it believes key allegations against her were confirmed and there were worries that she might try to destroy evidence.
"They did it in style. The word of the day turned out to be comfortable: Sinclair looks it, Rodgers is it, as he said, and so too are Celtic. It's been a joy to watch them this season." I didn't think they'd get in the Europa League. Celtic could also became the first team to go a full 38-game Scottish Premiership campaign unbeaten. Their finishing was magnificent against Hearts - once they settled into this game, there was no chance of Hearts winning it. The club still has a Scottish Cup semi-final against Rangers to come as they chase a possible domestic treble. Patrick Roberts celebrates scoring Celtic's fourth goal ( Getty ) “It’s only the beginning of the cycle. "I've only started in management really, I've had five jobs. Rodgers' side have been top of the table since their third weekend in the competition and wrapped it up with a thumping 5-0 win at Hearts on Sunday. "The beauty of this group of players and how we're going forward is that they're only going to get better." Former Liverpool midfielder Dietmar Hamann: "Brendan Rodgers has got more chance and justification to get a big job now then he did at the time when he went to Liverpool. I’ve already worked in the Premier League. I feel very happy here and there's not a place in the world I could be right now where I'd be happier in my football life and personal life - so it's only the start for us. But the Irishman, who signed a 12-month rolling contract last May then made his strongest public commitment yet to staying at Celtic.
Celtic wrapped up the league with eight games to spare Manager Brendan Rodgers said he is "very content" at Celtic after clinching the Premiership title in his debut season. "I couldn't think of a better place for me to be at this stage of my life," said the former Liverpool boss, 44. "The beauty of this group of players and how we're going forward is that they're only going to get better." Celtic remain unbeaten domestically, winning a sixth consecutive title with eight matches to spare, having won 28 from 30. Rodgers' side have been top of the table since their third weekend in the competition and wrapped it up with a thumping 5-0 win at Hearts on Sunday. The club still has a Scottish Cup semi-final against Rangers to come as they chase a possible domestic treble. 'I want to add quality' "I've always got to be thinking about tomorrow," added Rodgers, who signed a 12-month rolling contract to replace Ronny Deila last May. "The preparation for Wednesday [at home to Partick Thistle], the semi-final of the cup. "When I came in I said the club was on a winning cycle and I wanted to continue that. "We'll add to the squad, not very many, all I want to do is add quality. "You have to spend, but the club have been great for me. We could have signed a player that I wanted to get in the last window, for quite a large sum of money, but for me it has to be the right player. "If the right player becomes available and the affordability is there then the club will back me like they've done since the first day I walked into Celtic Park. "I'm a bit older and more mature. I feel very happy here and there's not a place in the world I could be right now where I'd be happier in my football life and personal life - so it's only the start for us. "I went very close a couple of years ago with my Liverpool team, and there was disappointment in that when it didn't happen, so I couldn't think of a better football club to win my first league title with - the club I've supported all my life. Patrick Roberts scored a wonderful goal at Tynecastle and set up the first two in a 5-0 win "I have a responsibility for the supporters. "But until that moment comes, which hopefully won't be for a while, I'm very content." 'It wasn't easy' Asked if this was his biggest achievement in football, Rodgers, who also worked at Watford, Reading and Swansea, replied: "Not really, no, and I'm not trying to downplay it. "My biggest feeling is how I can influence players, so when I see Stuart Armstrong play like he did, that's my big achievement. "For any people thinking it's easy, look at Aberdeen the other night [Friday's 7-0 win at Dundee], and how well they played. "It's just been the level of our consistency - the players are getting the rewards for how they work on a daily basis. That looks probable as much as possible and as the 50th anniversary of the Lisbon Lions approaches, a season undefeated would mark Rodgers and his team in Celtic history. Brendan Rodgers celebrates with his players after the final whistle ( Getty ) Rodgers’ immediate reaction on the touchline at Tynecastle was restrained – hands in pockets even as the final whistle blew. Afterwards Rodgers said his celebration would be “a cup of tea” and a review of the game on video. Patrick Roberts celebrates scoring Celtic's fourth goal ( Getty ) “It’s only the beginning of the cycle.
At first, people were unaware it was a gas attack, Abdullah said. Victims of the suspected chemical attack. U.S. President Donald Trump condemned the "heinous actions by the Bashar al-Assad regime," but also blamed his predecessor Barack Obama's "weakness" on Syria. Western states said the Syrian government was responsible for that attack. Analyst: Regime may increase attacks A man is aided by civil defense workers in Idlib on Tuesday. Under threat of United States retaliation, Mr. Assad agreed to a Russian-American deal to eliminate his country’s chemical weapons program, which until that time it had denied having, and to join an international treaty banning chemical weapons. If confirmed, the incident reported in the town of Khan Sheikhoun would be the deadliest chemical attack in Syria since sarin gas killed hundreds of civilians in Ghouta near Damascus in August 2013. Rescue workers from the White Helmets civil defense organization said that many children were among the dead and wounded. The Russian Defense Ministry said none of its jets carried out airstrikes in the area, according to a ministry statement carried by state-run news agency Tass. The U.N. Security Council was expected to meet on Wednesday to discuss the incident. Idlib province is largely controlled by an alliance of rebel forces and is regularly targeted in airstrikes by the Syrian military and its ally, Russia. They died of asphyxiation; foam covered their mouths. Rebel fighters, doctors and antigovernment activists say there have been numerous other chlorine attacks, including at least two in the past week, in one case killing a doctor as he worked. They said the toxic substance spread after warplanes dropped bombs in the early morning hours.
A Syrian man from Idlib is carried by Turkish medics wearing chemical protective suits to a hospital in the border town of Reyhanli in Hatay province, Turkey, April 4, 2017. Ferhat Dervisoglu/Dogan News Agency via REUTERS A man breathes through an oxygen mask as another one receives treatments, after what rescue workers described as a suspected gas attack in the town of Khan Sheikhoun in rebel-held Idlib, Syria April 4, 2017. REUTERS/Ammar Abdullah A crater is seen at the site of an airstrike, after what rescue workers described as a suspected gas attack in the town of Khan Sheikhoun in rebel-held Idlib, Syria April 4, 2017. REUTERS/Ammar Abdullah A civil defence member breathes through an oxygen mask, after what rescue workers described as a suspected gas attack in the town of Khan Sheikhoun in rebel-held Idlib, Syria April 4, 2017. REUTERS/Ammar Abdullah A man breathes through an oxygen mask, after what rescue workers described as a suspected gas attack in the town of Khan Sheikhoun in rebel-held Idlib, Syria April 4, 2017. REUTERS/Ammar Abdullah A man carries the body of a dead child, after what rescue workers described as a suspected gas attack in the town of Khan Sheikhoun in rebel-held Idlib, Syria April 4, 2017. REUTERS/Ammar Abdullah BEIRUT A suspected Syrian government chemical attack killed scores of people, including children, in the northwestern province of Idlib on Tuesday, a monitoring group, medics and rescue workers in the rebel-held area said. The U.S. government believes the chemical agent sarin was used in the attack, a U.S. government source said, adding it was "almost certainly" carried out by forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. The Syrian military denied responsibility and said it would never use chemical weapons, echoing denials it has made over the course of the more than six-year Syrian civil war that has killed hundreds of thousands, created the world's worst refugee crisis and drawn in nations such as Russia, Iran and the United States. The United States, Britain and France on Tuesday proposed a United Nations Security Council resolution condemning the attack, which they have blamed on Assad's forces. U.S. President Donald Trump condemned the "heinous actions by the Bashar al-Assad regime," but also blamed his predecessor Barack Obama's "weakness" on Syria. If confirmed, the incident reported in the town of Khan Sheikhoun would be the deadliest chemical attack in Syria since sarin gas killed hundreds of civilians in Ghouta near Damascus in August 2013. The head of the health authority in rebel-held Idlib province said more than 50 people had been killed and 300 wounded in the latest incident. The Union of Medical Care Organizations, a coalition of international aid agencies that funds hospitals in Syria, said the death toll was at least 100. The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the attack killed at least 58 people and was believed to have been carried out by Syrian government jets. Director Rami Abdulrahman told Reuters the assessment that Syrian government warplanes were to blame was based on several factors such as the type of aircraft, including Sukhoi 22 jets, that carried out the raid. "We deny completely the use of any chemical or toxic material in Khan Sheikhoun town today and the army has not used nor will use in any place or time neither in past or in future," the Syrian army command said in a statement. Activists in northern Syria circulated pictures on social media showing a man with foam around his mouth, and rescue workers hosing down almost-naked children squirming on the floor. "This morning, at 6:30 a.m., warplanes targeted Khan Sheikhoun with gases, believed to be sarin and chlorine," he told a news conference. Trump faulted Obama for not enforcing a 2012 "red line" against the use of chemical weapons and suggested the attack was "a consequence of the past administration's weakness and irresolution." U.N. Syria mediator Staffan de Mistura said the "horrific" chemical attack had come from the air. The draft text of the U.N. resolution, seen by Reuters, says Syria's government must provide an international investigation with flight plans and logs for Tuesday, the names of all helicopter squadron commanders and provide access to air bases where investigators believe attacks using chemicals may have been launched. In February, Russia, backed by China, cast its seventh veto to protect Assad's government from U.N. Security Council action, blocking a bid by Western powers to impose sanctions over accusations of chemical weapons attacks during the conflict. A series of investigations by the United Nations and the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) found that various parties in the Syrian war had used chlorine, sulfur mustard gas and sarin. BEIRUT, Lebanon — One of the worst chemical bombings in Syria turned a northern rebel-held area into a toxic kill zone on Tuesday, inciting international outrage over the ever-increasing government impunity shown in the country’s six-year war. The government of Mr. Assad, who renounced chemical weapons nearly four years ago after a large chemical attack that American intelligence agencies concluded was carried out by his forces, denied that his military had been responsible, as he has done every time chemical munitions have been used in Syria. A statement from the Syrian military accused insurgents of responsibility and said they had accused the army of using toxic weapons “every time they fail to achieve the goals of their sponsors.” But only the Syrian military had the ability and the motive to carry out an aerial attack like the one that struck the rebel-held town of Khan Sheikhoun.
The country is coming together, but Westminster is not," she added. "So we need a general election and we need one now. The party said it had gained 1,000 new members in the hour after May's announcement. MPs known to be standing down at the election: Alan Johnson - Labour Tom Blenkinsop - Labour Jim Fitzpatrick - Labour Oliver Letwin - Conservative Pat Glass - Labour Kenneth Clarke - Conservative Simon Burns - Conservative Ronnie Campbell - Labour Mrs May spoke to the Queen on the phone on Easter Monday to let her know of the election plan, the prime minister's official spokesman said. May said she would place a motion on Wednesday in the House of Commons calling for a vote on June 8. If you want to avoid a disastrous hard Brexit. Opposition MPs will want reports that can be used to bash the government, while government MPs will want to avoid that, and maybe crowbar in some backing for government policy. The bills in play are: • Bus Services Bill (the big outstanding issue is whether local councils should be allowed to set up their own bus companies - the government opposes that) • Children and Social Work Bill (peers want to remove a clause enabling the government to exempt local authorities in England from children's social care legislation requirements in order to allow them to test different ways of working to provide children's social care) • Digital Economy Bill (issues in play include ticket-touting, the guaranteed prominence of public service broadcasters on digital TV platforms, and the creation of a commission to decide the level of the BBC Licence Fee) • Health Services Supplies Bill • Higher Education and Research Bill (the Lords inserted an amendment on the immigration status of students) • National Citizen Service Bill • Neighbourhood Planning Bill • Pension Schemes Bill • Technical and Further Education Bill (there are Lords amendments on careers advice and benefits for apprentices under 20) A big question mark hovers over the Finance Bill.
Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption The moment PM called for general election UK Prime Minister Theresa May has announced plans to call a snap general election on 8 June. She said Britain needed certainty, stability and strong leadership following the EU referendum. Explaining the decision, Mrs May said: "The country is coming together but Westminster is not." Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said his party wanted the election, calling it a chance to get a government that puts "the majority first". The prime minister will refuse to take part in televised leader debates ahead of the vote, Number 10 sources said. Mr Corbyn said Mrs May should not be "dodging" a head-to-head encounter, and the Lib Dems urged broadcasters to "empty-chair" the prime minister - hold a debate without her. Live TV debates took place for the first time in a UK general election in 2010, and the experiment was repeated in 2015 using a range of different formats. A BBC spokesman said that it was too early to say whether the broadcaster would put in a bid to stage a debate. There will be a vote in the House of Commons on Wednesday to approve the election plan - the prime minister needs two thirds of MPs to vote in favour to bring forward the next scheduled election date of 2020. Explaining her change of heart on an early election, Mrs May said: "I have concluded the only way to guarantee certainty and security for years ahead is to hold this election." She accused Britain's other political parties of "game playing", adding that this risks "our ability to make a success of Brexit and it will cause damaging uncertainty and instability to the country". Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Jeremy Corbyn: "I want to lead a government that will transform this country" "I have only recently and reluctantly come to this conclusion. Since I became prime minister I've said there should be no election until 2020, but now I have concluded that the only way to guarantee certainty and security for the years ahead is to hold this election and seek your support for the decisions we must take." In a statement outside Number 10, Mrs May said Labour had threatened to vote against the final Brexit agreement and cited opposition to her plans from the Scottish National Party, the Lib Dems and "unelected" members of the House of Lords. "If we don't hold a general election now, their political game-playing will continue and the negotiations with the European Union will reach their most difficult stage in the run-up to the next scheduled election," she said. Analysis: By BBC Political Editor Laura Kuenssberg Senior government sources point to a specific factor that changed the prime minister's calculation on an early election. The end of the likely tortuous Article 50 negotiations is a hard deadline set for March 2019. Under the Fixed Term Parliaments Act, that's when the Tories would be starting to prepare for a general election the following year, with what one cabinet minister described as certain "political needs". In other words, the government would be exposed to hardball from the EU because ministers would be desperate to avoid accepting anything that would be politically unpopular, or hold the Brexit process up, at the start of a crucial election cycle. Ministers say that's the central reason for May's change of heart because "if there was an election in three years, we'd be up against the clock". Read Laura's latest blog in full The PM challenged the opposition parties: "Let us tomorrow vote for an election - let us put forward our plans for Brexit and our alternative programmes for government and then let the people decide. It will be a choice between strong and stable leadership in the national interest, with me as your prime minister, or weak and unstable coalition government, led by Jeremy Corbyn, propped up by the Liberal Democrats - who want to reopen the divisions of the referendum - and Nicola Sturgeon and the SNP." Mr Corbyn said he welcomed the prime minister's decision, saying it would "give the British people the chance to vote for a government that will put the interests of the majority first", saying that this would include dealing with "the crisis" in housing, education funding and the NHS and pushing for an "economy that works for all". He told the BBC: "I'm starting straight away and I'm looking forward to it and we'll take our message to every single part of this country... We're campaigning to win this election - that's the only question now." Asked if he will be the next prime minister, the Labour leader said: "If we win the election - yes - and I want to lead a government that will transform this country, give real hope to everybody and above all bring about a principle of justice for everybody and economic opportunities for everybody." "I think the prime minister has called this election for selfish, narrow, party political interests, but she has called it and therefore I relish the prospect of getting out to stand up for Scotland's interests and values, standing up for Scotland's voice being heard and standing against the ability of a right-wing Conservative Party to impose whatever policies it wants on Scotland." Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Lib Dem leader Tim Farron says the 8 June election presents a fantastic opportunity In his response to Mrs May's announcement, Lib Dem leader Tim Farron tweeted: "This is your chance to change the direction of your country. He also accused the PM of "bottling" the TV debates and urged broadcasters to "empty chair" her if she refused to take part. Former prime minister David Cameron called Theresa May's decision to hold a snap general election "brave and right". Another ex-PM, Tony Blair, said voters need to put election candidates under "sustained pressure" to say whether or not they would vote against a Brexit deal which does not deliver the same benefits as single market membership - or against a "damaging" decision to leave without a deal. British business groups gave a mixed response to the prime minister's sudden call for a general election, as the pound jumped on the news and shares fell. European Council President Donald Tusk's spokesman said the 27 other EU states would forge ahead with Brexit, saying the UK election would not change their plans. But May's decision means that Europe's three most powerful nations -- France, Germany and Britain -- will be convulsed by internal election campaigns as the clock ticks on the two-year deadline to complete Brexit negotiations.